Chapter Three: I'll play your game.
Selene followed in absolute disgust, it was obvious that her stay at OZ would not be pleasant, but she swore to herself that as soon she was out of OZ and with her dear gundam again… well… let's just say the sight wasn't going to be too pretty for Zechs. "What kind of spy am I?" she thought, trying to uplift her spirit, "I can't want to leave as soon I've gotten here; there's work to be done!"
She walked in utter silence, silence that was beginning to bother Zechs to her delight. "Perhaps I was being too harsh," he thought, but quickly took the thought back, "You're being a fool, Zechs, did the Alliance care when they ravaged your home and killed everything of worth to you, NO! So why the heck should you be showing any sympathy to this girl? She's a soldier like all the others." Selene glanced at Zechs and surmised that he was fighting some sort of mental battle from the tension that marked him. She wondered what was bothering her, but she knew in an instant it must have been her.
Soon, He was walking down the corridors to the battle simulator holding his head high, not letting his conscience get to him since he had never allowed it to before. Selene just ensued slowly, gazing down at the white marble floors and wondering when it would all be over. Presently, they came into a large room, which had to have been the battle simulator. Zechs's men were already awaiting him in the battle room and some of them looked like they were getting restless. "Miss Arrogance here was lost, and didn't even know she was late," Zechs announced strutting into the room. Selene cringed at the comment, wishing that she could just become invisible. Then, she shook her head in disgust and quickly regained her state of serenity; if there was one thing she couldn't do, it was to let the men see her upset. She knew they relished degrading her, and so she could not permit it.
The men burst into laughter while some grumbled incoherently, but Selene continued to keep herself composed, with much trouble of course. She was threatening to blow like an active volcano and spew seething comments out in return. Some of the men twitched wondering, "Why isn't she getting angry? How can she remain so calm?" Zechs stared, almost a sense of respect building up for this mentally strong girl, almost.
"It's ok," she reassured herself, "I'll get him back." And so, she began to plot in her mind a proper retribution for his scathing comments.
"Well, I see you have a great sense of composure," Zechs thought with a menacing smile, "let's see how you will handle fighting me in mobile suit combat. It was wounded pride that was beginning to speak. "Alright Lieutenant, suit up in a Leo, you and I will be fighting. Let's show these men how battles ought to be fought." Selene blinked, trying to keep her eyes from widening in horror. She had never been exposed to using a Leo.
"But Colonel!" Haft protested, "She hasn't even had training!"
"Shut up you incompetent fool!" Zechs stated coolly, yet with a sense of anger, "The Lieutenant has proven herself a superb fighter, I'm sure she'll be fine." It was the pride speaking again, for one of the worst wounds one can inflict against a man is against his pride or sacred honor.
"But that's absolutely…." One of his other men started but Selene finished the sentence, "Fair." She had decided now that whether she protested or not, things were going to go as Zechs wanted it. So, it was better to go in honorably without complaint than to seem like a useless weakling.
Zechs snerked walking slowly towards his mobile suit, as he walked passed Selene, he gently pushed back her hair and whispered into her ear, "You won't win this one, and if you're smart you'll stay out of my way from now on." Her cheeks flashed scarlet, like roses in the noonday sun.
Selene scowled thinking, "Don't count on it Zechs," as he left to board his Mobile Suit. Selene stared at the Leo next to his; it seemed well enough to her for piloting. She strutted up to it imitating Zechs when he had led her to this room, trying to convince herself that she could do what she was about to attempt. "He's definitely a man of honor," she thought admiring him but then quickly reprimanding herself, "you don't admire enemies, Selene, especially inferior ones." She knew the comment on inferiority was only to kill the trepidation residing within her. She climbed into the Leo amazed at actually how large they were, since they only seemed like what flies were to humans in her gundam - pestering little bugs that needed to be eliminated. Inside the Leo was foreign to Selene, since her gundam was much more complex. She expected that because of its simplicity, she might be able to command it anyways, but the positioning of the buttons as well as their indication for what they were was different. Sweat darted down her face as she muttered to herself, "How the heck do I activate this!?!?!?" She felt a light blow against the suit; it seemed Zechs wasn't going to wait for her to activate her Leo. Or perhaps he thought she was playing with him by letting him think he had the upper hand, when in all reality, he did. She searched around, and finally found the little red button that would activate it. If the words "Activation button" had not been written on it, she would have surely perished right then and there. She quickly gave a sigh of relief as her battle screen turned on and she was able to see Zechs in front of her… prepared to attack. She quickly dodged, though the lightness of the Leo ruined her calculations and she slammed right into the metallic wall of the room with resounding clangor. It only took her a few minutes though, to regain her equilibrium, as she was slowly beginning to get used to the difference in mass and speed. After a little while, she was acclimated enough to start proving Zechs wrong about her capabilities in a Leo. But as she lifted her saber to make her first move, a thought lingered into her mind. "What if I give myself away?" she mulled, "What if they match my battle tactics to those of the pilot of Lunar Eclipse?"
In her mind she pictured a scale, on one side was her life, on the other her pride. The scale tipped a bit to the side of her pride, perhaps it wouldn't be so dangerous. Then she recalled the big picture: she had joined OZ to steal information from them for the gundam pilots, and in turn OZ would be destroyed; thus, the war would end so that children wouldn't have to be orphaned like her, and lose all that they loved. The thought stabbed her heart, and in the same way that it stabbed her heart, she allowed Zechs to stab her Leo with his beam saber. She had stalled too long in thought; it was too late to do anything about it now. The Leo became motionless and collapsed against the floor. The attack hadn't stirred Selene, but falling against the ground caused her to hit her head hard against the screen.
Zechs's Leo stood triumphant over her, and Zechs quickly jumped out. "Perhaps he's coming to help me, and I'll be able to push him aside and show that I'm stronger than he thinks," she thought. But, that was not the case, Zechs merely walked up to his soldiers and gave them a short speech, which sounded like a blur to Selene who was trying to reactivate her Leo and get up and out. He allowed his soldiers to leave practice early and then after they had left he smiled and exited the room as well. "Hey!" Selene shouted slamming at the exit button of her Leo. The Leo had landed face first and the exit hatch was parallel to the ground; so she couldn't get it open. Not only that but her Leo had shut off so she couldn't even get it to stand erect so that she might be able to get out. What she needed was another Leo to push hers up so she could get out. "How could I let myself be humiliated like this?" she thought, "SO WHAT IF HE FINDS OUT WHO I AM, IN FACT, I HOPE HE DOES SO HE WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT MY VENGENCE!" Her thoughts were interrupted were interrupted by the cacophony of metal hitting metal, and she found herself standing again. Because the Leo's sensors were blank, she was unable to identify her hero. She quickly opened the exit hatch and jumped out to see who her savior had been. The hatch of the other Leo opened too, and she strained her eyes to see the figure standing there. The young boy jumped out his long brown braid flying behind him. "Who are you and how did you get here?" Selene asked noting that he didn't wear an OZ uniform.
The boy flashed an ivory smile; "Death goes anywhere he wants."
Selene stared at him, befuddled.
"But if you must know, my name is Duo," the boy said tossing her a black rectangular object.
"What's this?" Selene asked catching the item and then inspecting it.
"It's a computer networked with ours, so that we can communicate. It's a good thing you're an ally to death." Selene meant to ask what exactly he meant but the boy had disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.
She grinned, "Well then, Zechs will soon meet death as well."
Selene followed in absolute disgust, it was obvious that her stay at OZ would not be pleasant, but she swore to herself that as soon she was out of OZ and with her dear gundam again… well… let's just say the sight wasn't going to be too pretty for Zechs. "What kind of spy am I?" she thought, trying to uplift her spirit, "I can't want to leave as soon I've gotten here; there's work to be done!"
She walked in utter silence, silence that was beginning to bother Zechs to her delight. "Perhaps I was being too harsh," he thought, but quickly took the thought back, "You're being a fool, Zechs, did the Alliance care when they ravaged your home and killed everything of worth to you, NO! So why the heck should you be showing any sympathy to this girl? She's a soldier like all the others." Selene glanced at Zechs and surmised that he was fighting some sort of mental battle from the tension that marked him. She wondered what was bothering her, but she knew in an instant it must have been her.
Soon, He was walking down the corridors to the battle simulator holding his head high, not letting his conscience get to him since he had never allowed it to before. Selene just ensued slowly, gazing down at the white marble floors and wondering when it would all be over. Presently, they came into a large room, which had to have been the battle simulator. Zechs's men were already awaiting him in the battle room and some of them looked like they were getting restless. "Miss Arrogance here was lost, and didn't even know she was late," Zechs announced strutting into the room. Selene cringed at the comment, wishing that she could just become invisible. Then, she shook her head in disgust and quickly regained her state of serenity; if there was one thing she couldn't do, it was to let the men see her upset. She knew they relished degrading her, and so she could not permit it.
The men burst into laughter while some grumbled incoherently, but Selene continued to keep herself composed, with much trouble of course. She was threatening to blow like an active volcano and spew seething comments out in return. Some of the men twitched wondering, "Why isn't she getting angry? How can she remain so calm?" Zechs stared, almost a sense of respect building up for this mentally strong girl, almost.
"It's ok," she reassured herself, "I'll get him back." And so, she began to plot in her mind a proper retribution for his scathing comments.
"Well, I see you have a great sense of composure," Zechs thought with a menacing smile, "let's see how you will handle fighting me in mobile suit combat. It was wounded pride that was beginning to speak. "Alright Lieutenant, suit up in a Leo, you and I will be fighting. Let's show these men how battles ought to be fought." Selene blinked, trying to keep her eyes from widening in horror. She had never been exposed to using a Leo.
"But Colonel!" Haft protested, "She hasn't even had training!"
"Shut up you incompetent fool!" Zechs stated coolly, yet with a sense of anger, "The Lieutenant has proven herself a superb fighter, I'm sure she'll be fine." It was the pride speaking again, for one of the worst wounds one can inflict against a man is against his pride or sacred honor.
"But that's absolutely…." One of his other men started but Selene finished the sentence, "Fair." She had decided now that whether she protested or not, things were going to go as Zechs wanted it. So, it was better to go in honorably without complaint than to seem like a useless weakling.
Zechs snerked walking slowly towards his mobile suit, as he walked passed Selene, he gently pushed back her hair and whispered into her ear, "You won't win this one, and if you're smart you'll stay out of my way from now on." Her cheeks flashed scarlet, like roses in the noonday sun.
Selene scowled thinking, "Don't count on it Zechs," as he left to board his Mobile Suit. Selene stared at the Leo next to his; it seemed well enough to her for piloting. She strutted up to it imitating Zechs when he had led her to this room, trying to convince herself that she could do what she was about to attempt. "He's definitely a man of honor," she thought admiring him but then quickly reprimanding herself, "you don't admire enemies, Selene, especially inferior ones." She knew the comment on inferiority was only to kill the trepidation residing within her. She climbed into the Leo amazed at actually how large they were, since they only seemed like what flies were to humans in her gundam - pestering little bugs that needed to be eliminated. Inside the Leo was foreign to Selene, since her gundam was much more complex. She expected that because of its simplicity, she might be able to command it anyways, but the positioning of the buttons as well as their indication for what they were was different. Sweat darted down her face as she muttered to herself, "How the heck do I activate this!?!?!?" She felt a light blow against the suit; it seemed Zechs wasn't going to wait for her to activate her Leo. Or perhaps he thought she was playing with him by letting him think he had the upper hand, when in all reality, he did. She searched around, and finally found the little red button that would activate it. If the words "Activation button" had not been written on it, she would have surely perished right then and there. She quickly gave a sigh of relief as her battle screen turned on and she was able to see Zechs in front of her… prepared to attack. She quickly dodged, though the lightness of the Leo ruined her calculations and she slammed right into the metallic wall of the room with resounding clangor. It only took her a few minutes though, to regain her equilibrium, as she was slowly beginning to get used to the difference in mass and speed. After a little while, she was acclimated enough to start proving Zechs wrong about her capabilities in a Leo. But as she lifted her saber to make her first move, a thought lingered into her mind. "What if I give myself away?" she mulled, "What if they match my battle tactics to those of the pilot of Lunar Eclipse?"
In her mind she pictured a scale, on one side was her life, on the other her pride. The scale tipped a bit to the side of her pride, perhaps it wouldn't be so dangerous. Then she recalled the big picture: she had joined OZ to steal information from them for the gundam pilots, and in turn OZ would be destroyed; thus, the war would end so that children wouldn't have to be orphaned like her, and lose all that they loved. The thought stabbed her heart, and in the same way that it stabbed her heart, she allowed Zechs to stab her Leo with his beam saber. She had stalled too long in thought; it was too late to do anything about it now. The Leo became motionless and collapsed against the floor. The attack hadn't stirred Selene, but falling against the ground caused her to hit her head hard against the screen.
Zechs's Leo stood triumphant over her, and Zechs quickly jumped out. "Perhaps he's coming to help me, and I'll be able to push him aside and show that I'm stronger than he thinks," she thought. But, that was not the case, Zechs merely walked up to his soldiers and gave them a short speech, which sounded like a blur to Selene who was trying to reactivate her Leo and get up and out. He allowed his soldiers to leave practice early and then after they had left he smiled and exited the room as well. "Hey!" Selene shouted slamming at the exit button of her Leo. The Leo had landed face first and the exit hatch was parallel to the ground; so she couldn't get it open. Not only that but her Leo had shut off so she couldn't even get it to stand erect so that she might be able to get out. What she needed was another Leo to push hers up so she could get out. "How could I let myself be humiliated like this?" she thought, "SO WHAT IF HE FINDS OUT WHO I AM, IN FACT, I HOPE HE DOES SO HE WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT MY VENGENCE!" Her thoughts were interrupted were interrupted by the cacophony of metal hitting metal, and she found herself standing again. Because the Leo's sensors were blank, she was unable to identify her hero. She quickly opened the exit hatch and jumped out to see who her savior had been. The hatch of the other Leo opened too, and she strained her eyes to see the figure standing there. The young boy jumped out his long brown braid flying behind him. "Who are you and how did you get here?" Selene asked noting that he didn't wear an OZ uniform.
The boy flashed an ivory smile; "Death goes anywhere he wants."
Selene stared at him, befuddled.
"But if you must know, my name is Duo," the boy said tossing her a black rectangular object.
"What's this?" Selene asked catching the item and then inspecting it.
"It's a computer networked with ours, so that we can communicate. It's a good thing you're an ally to death." Selene meant to ask what exactly he meant but the boy had disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.
She grinned, "Well then, Zechs will soon meet death as well."