Cosmic Castaway
Isis


Treize Khushrenada is dead! How many times will you force me to say that? Lady Une asked from the cell she was confined to.

The man before looked as if he could have been Treize Khushrenada's twin. He said, I know that my brother is not dead! It is impossible for him to die at such a young age. Besides, I saw him.

Two fresh tears fell down her cheeks. Why are you so cruel? What are you gaining from tormenting me this way?

I am only recalling him. He was unwilling to fulfill his duties here, because of certain female interference by yourself, and now I will force him to come home.

What is the point of taking me?

Because he loves you. If he knows you are in danger, he will come.

Une breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know about Anna.
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Back in Australia, at Une's house, Hineraukatauri slowly regained consciousness as the door was repeatedly beaten. She stood up and stumbled to it, overjoyed to see Lucrezia standing there with Anna in hand. Lady Lucrezia, you can help, ae?



They take her away! Say they get Treize if they have her. But they do not have Little Anna, thank the gods!

Hine remembered very little. She remembered that there had been some sort of sound that might have been a ship, but she didn't see it herself. Heero brought out his computer and used it to scan the area for technology. There was a small bit not too far from the house, but probably not enough for a real ship. Still, it was a start. If that failed them, they would have to do things the old fashioned way: just start looking.

Within a mile of the house, Duo stopped short as he saw one of the larger junk collectors he had grown accustomed to seeing at the collector colony. It was so old, he couldn't figure any other place it could be from. He ran up to it and shouted, Hey! Anyone in there?

There was a gentle cough as a familiar beaten face peeked out from behind the collector. Duo! You have no idea how glad I am to see you...

Anna squealed happily as she ran over to him and latched onto his leg.

Hey, Anna! Glad to see you healthy again.

Zechs and Lucrezia stared at Ajax as he told Duo how he'd gotten there. They felt as if they were looking at a ghost. They threw a glance at each other, but neither was eager to voice their thoughts.

They were not lucky enough to run across anything else promising, so they took to their preferred methods of travel and dispersed, Quatre in Sandrock, Heero in Wing Zero, Trowa with Wufei and Sally in their shuttle, Zechs and Lucrezia in their's, and (much against his will) Duo in his shuttle with little Anna. Ajax also went with Duo because he didn't know anyone else anyway. They all split up to search various areas of possibilities from what few clues they got from Hine.

Duo, Ajax, and Anna had been flying for hours with nothing interesting happening, nor had any of the others contacted them with any news, positive or negative. Anna sulked back in her seat and started to cry.

Hey, it's okay, Kid! Ajax said. We'll find your mother, I promise.

I hope so... I hope she's okay too. I don't want those horrible people hurting her... She's kind of helpless without me.

Duo smirked and said over his shoulder from the pilot's seat, I'm pretty sure your mom can take care of herself.

You'd be surprised.

Hey, what's that?

Duo increased the size of the shot of the outside area which Ajax referred to. It looked as if some sort of small shuttle had stopped and was floating aimlessly in space. The ship itself seemed to be made of something very different from anything Duo had seen before. Ajax said that it looked very similar to the design of the large ship he and Gabriel were pulling in when he was warned to get out as fast as he could. Duo nodded, and tried to set up a transmission.

Finally, after a few minutes of nothing more that static, a face appeared on the screen. It was the face of a very beautiful woman, probably in her early twenties. She had blonde hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to capture anything around her. She wore a loose dress of all black, and a sort of Egyptian style necklace with an eye on it carved from some sort of blue stone, as well as many other stones and gems on various strings. Somewhere behind her something squawked, sounding very much like a bird. she said, very calmly. My name is Isis. Why do you wish to talk to me, sir?

Duo cringed once more at the thought of responding to He straightened up and stared back into her beautiful eyes. I am Duo Maxwell, and we thought you were stranded. Are you?

She paused for a moment, inspecting him closely before she responded a little more assuredly, Yes, I am. Are you going to help me?

That depends.

On what?

If you'll tell me where you're from.

She smirked slightly as she bowed her head and peered up at him mysteriously from just below her eyelashes. Then I suppose you will have to leave me here, for I cannot tell yet.

You could die if you just sit there, ya know.

No, I won't.

Anna watched the woman curiously from the back, while Ajax, who sat in the front but was just out of view, seemed quite captivated by her. he said, I think we should take her anyway...

I don't know if we can trust her.

If she knows anything about the people who seemed to be after me, who knows, she might know something about the people who took this Lady Une.

Duo looked back to the screen at the woman Isis who seemed to be waiting very patiently for some outcome. We're looking for someone, so we won't be able to take you anywhere and leave you. You'll just have to tag along, and we may even get you to help us. Got that?

If you insist. Her calm expression never changed.

Alright... then... we'll get everything ready on this side. You've got a suit, don't you?

Sure, I do.



A while later, Isis entered the cockpit and passenger area. She was still dressed in her black dress and necklaces, so Duo just figured she had made a point to change back before coming in.

Anna turned to her and smiled as she walked in. Hello! I'm Anna Khushrenada!

Isis raised a curious eyebrow at the child. Is... that so...? I... can tell now that you mention it.

Ajax peered out from behind his chair, and his eyes met Isis'. Her calm expression grew a bit more surprised for a moment before a slight smile appeared at her lips. And... who are you?

I'm Ajax, he answered, very friendly. He thought he knew her from somewhere, but he didn't know how he would have...

Are you really? she asked. Ajax thought this was a most curious question. She only smiled and shook her head. We'll find out when we get Lady Une back.

Duo snapped around to face her so quickly he made his neck crack. OW! Uh... What did you say about Lady Une?

That's who you're trying to save, isn't it?

Well... Uh... yeah... but how did you know?

I just know.

Duo opened his mouth to ask another question when he heard that horrible squawking again, but this time from the other side of the door. Oh, I suppose Horus is ready to join us, Isis said as she opened the door, allowing a sleek falcon to slide in. He squawked to announce his presence then came to rest on Isis' shoulder.

Duo looked most unhappy with this new addition. Oh, no... No birds... It's got to go...

What do you expect me to do with him, sir? Let him float out into outer space? She smirked as she gently stroked the falcon's wing. Not that he'd mind it too much, but he's been rather reluctant to leave my side lately.

Horus, acting as if he desired to prove a point, hopped off of Isis' shoulder and fluttered onto Ajax's, who smiled at the bird and also stroked it. Anna reached over to touch it, but Horus was just out of reach. Ajax grinned and bent a little closer until Anna could easily pet the falcon's wing. He's really pretty, Anna said in awe.

Yes, he is. And a very strange pet, Miss Isis, Ajax added.

Isis nodded, never changing her expression of calm cool. You'd be surprised. You like him, don't you?

Yes! Of course! Horus... Isis... Where have I heard those names before?

Horus... Isis... Isis began, almost mockingly were it not for her composure, Osiris... Seth.... Nephthys... Tefenet.... Anubis.... the list goes on and on.

Anubis is the Egyptian jackal god! Anna said triumphantly. I saw a pretty picture of him in a book Mommy got me for Christmas!

Very good, Little One, but you will learn much more about them than any book can tell you soon enough...



Isis smiled slightly at Anna, then held her arm out, which seemed to be a familiar signal to Horus for him to return to her. Duo winced as the falcon's sharp talons seemed to dig deep into Isis' skin. Doesn't that hurt?

No, not at all.

Duo blinked his one eye at her disbelievingly, but shrugged and stared ahead of him as if determined not to make too much out of it, or out of anything Isis talked about. She certainly was an odd one.

Finally everything calmed down a bit, but just when Duo had gotten quite comfortable with the silence, another crisis occurred. The shuttle began to quiver slowly, as if it wanted to shake apart, then began losing power to certain areas, one of those being navigation, another, the oxygen supply. The shuttle lurched in various directions, speeding up and slowing down sporadically for about ten minutes. Duo did the best he knew to do and hit the controls as hard as he could, succeeding in nothing but saying a few explicatives. By the time he finally did manage to gain control, they were hopelessly lost, and the ship still rattled ominously while the oxygen decreased steadily. He turned around to make sure everyone was alright, and was somewhat surprised to see that Isis had dozed off, while Anna clung to Ajax crying. he mumbled. Leave it to a woman like her to go to sleep at the worst time possible.

Isis' eyes opened almost immediately after his complaint, and gazed steadily into his. Perhaps it would be a little more productive to try to solve the problem instead of beating up your machinery and cursing at it.

What? Do you have any better idea, Miss Goddess?

If you must have a last name for me, it is Ennead, and yes, I do have a better idea.

Oh really, Your Excellency Space Goddess Isis Ennead? And what might that be? Enlighten me, please.

We could land on that small planet over there.

Small planet? There's no small planet over there! I just... Duo started, as he whirled around to face the screen.... and was greeted with the looming image of a small rocky planet very near to them. It wasn't there before... It wasn't... How did that...?

Don't talk, Mr. Maxwell. You are using up all the oxygen, and I am afraid the scarcity thereof is making you a little... tipsy...

Duo felt himself bristle indignantly, but ignored her insults and accusations and turned the ship towards the planet. We may be no better off once we get there, you know. We probably won't even be able to breathe there.

It's better than dying a slow painful death on board a dead shuttle. Besides, I've been there before, it is perfectly capable of supporting human life.

Sure it is... I mean look at all those rivers and lakes, Duo said quite sarcastically, as they neared the planet. It looked more and more like one huge rock the closer they got to it.

Anna managed to take a peep at the screen as well, once she was finally able to ever so slightly turn her head a bit from Ajax to see. I think it will be fine...

Duo blinked at Anna curiously, surprised at hearing her so confident of a sudden. And why do you think that? he asked gently.

Because I believe Isis.

That's reassuring, Duo grumbled as they got ever closer. Suddenly the engine lurched, and the shuttle began to spin. Luckily... or unluckily, depending on your view... they had already entered the planet's atmosphere, and were quickly united with the rock hard ground.

Ajax held on to Anna the entire way down, and, being directly next to the door, was quick to get out with the child clinging tightly to his neck, praying that Isis was correct in her assertion. He stepped out testingly, and was very surprised to feel hardly any difference on this small, uncharted planet than how he would feel walking on Earth. The air seemed perfect, though there wasn't a single sign of vegetation anywhere among the neverending landscape of rocks. The falcon, Horus, flew out after him, but Isis and Duo were not yet in sight. He looked down at Anna, who still had her eyes tightly shut, her small body trembling in his arms. Are you alright, Anna?

Y-y-yeah... I think so... Is Duo out yet?

Ajax sighed and stared into the smoky wreck, but he could not see any sign of the other two. I need to go look for them... You stay here, okay? Right here. Don't go anywhere, do you understand?

Of course, Sir.

Ajax looked at her skeptically, but finally forced himself to turn his back on her, and was very glad to see that Horus, almost knowingly, stayed behind with Anna.

He stepped back inside, hearing muffled voices coming from the controls. Duo, is that you?

He's here! Isis answered. Give him a minute, he will be fine. He was a bit injured in the crash.

A bit?! shouted Duo's voice. I broke my leg, I swear!

I know you swear. But don't. We can fix it.

No. I will not be a Heero Yuy and reset my own broken leg. I'm too much of a baby! It'll hurt! No! Waaah!

Ajax smirked and said, Well, since you two seem to have everything settled here, I'm going back out with Anna to keep her out of trouble.

((For a pic of Gabriel go to:
http://sailorxenex.diaryland.com/images/gabriel.jpg
For a pic of Duo and Anna go to:
http://sailorxenex.diaryland.com/images/scottannasketch.jpg
For a pic of Duo all by himself go to:
http://sailorxenex.diaryland.com/images/alternateduo.jpg))