Chapter One: The hardest part is saying hello…right?
Gaia Yuy, granddaughter to the Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy, had just walked out of the computer store with her totally revamped laptop. She was a fairly tall, thin girl with icy blue eyes. Her brown hair was done in a medium bobbed cut, and pinned back. She had all the same characteristics as her grandfather had. The same death glare, the same uncanny smartness, overall, a perfect inheritor of her grandfather's traits.
She was making her way home, when a car intercepted her. It was her dad. "Gaia, you got a strange call while you were out from your granddad. He said for you to go straight to the airport after I packed a few of your things."
Just as she was about to argue, he added, "Actually, your mother did, don't worry. Get in!"
"Ummm... ok..." she said quickly and hopped in.
At the airport, she unloaded the suitcase that her mother had, she hoped, packed, waved goodbye to her dad, and walked into the terminal. Once in, a friend of Heero's met up with her, not disclosing his name. "You are to get on that carrier," he pointed out. "You have already been checked in, and your baggage too. Just give it to me, and we'll be off," he said firmly.
"Errrr..." she mumbled and arched an eyebrow. Handing him her suitcase, but keeping her carry-on with her, she told him, "It's my laptop. I'm gonna use it later, so I'm gonna carry it," she said, looking around. "I'm not going to space am I?" she asked nervously.
"No, don't worry. Here are pictures of the people that you're supposed to meet. Be sure to hook up with them," as he put her luggage onto a belt. "Have a safe flight," as he ushered her to the gates, watching as she disappeared.
~~@~~
"Congratulations, Ryder." A burly man with a thin mustache and graying hair congratulated the sixteen-year-old youth, "You've made it through L1 BMT." He stated proudly, while clapping a heavy hand on Gabriel's shoulder.
Gabriel nodded curtly and took the envelope that his officer handed him. BMT, which stood for "Basic Military Training," had been quite an ordeal. The instructors had nicknamed it, "Warrior week." Six weeks of hell, but it had paid off. Gabriel opened the envelope anxiously; these were his first orders since becoming part of the L1 Militia.
"Congratulations,
Cadet Ryder.
We are proud to have you accepted into the elite L1 Militia. Your orders are
enclosed within this envelope. They are to be looked at immediately.
Best regards,
Gen. Derek Parker
Profoundly curious, Gabriel emptied the rest of the
contents in his hands. A small note along with a miniature photograph slid out
of the envelope. The note read:
Cad. Ryder;
Your
mission objectives are to meet this person, Ten'on Kou at the L1 Yuy Airport
in 1800 hours. From there you are to accompany this person to Earth. Any other
details are classified. Good Luck.
Gabriel frowned. Exactly what did he have to do? The note was very vague, and he did not like the idea of accompanying and spending time with anyone anywhere! He glanced at the photograph and noticed it was a girl with pale blond hair and metallic silver eyes. A girl? Now this definitely wasn't what he had in mind for his first mission.
He loved solitude, and despised the annoying socials at Camp Arroyo, which he was stationed at. Not for long. Gabriel was to depart to Earth, in 1800 hours. He had lived on Earth for a few years, but hardly remembered anything.
He brushed his raven black hair out of his eyes that glittered gold and bid his instructor farewell. He began his brisk walk with his hands clasped behind him with the envelope to his quarters. He wore the traditional attire of military, cargo pants with black, heavy-duty boots, along with a jacket and black t-shirt. Although, he wasn't going to flaunt his military things where he was going.
"Hey, gold-eye! Where you off to?" A familiar voice rang down the corridor.
Gabriel grit his teeth in annoyance at his nickname, inherited because of his strange golden eyes, and walked faster. "Somewhere you aren't."
~~@~~
A young boy looked excitedly around at his surroundings. "Wow!" he cried out, jumping up and down excitedly. He grinned at his twin, Kya. His long brown hair was done exactly the same way as his grandfather's had been- a large braid. "I've never been on Earth before..." he muttered glancing nervously around. "Now, *who* were we looking for again Kya-chan?"
Touya Maxwell glanced around the small, very crowded airport. "Ah..." he muttered looking back at his twin. "Kya-chan? You're not um... talking." He waved a hand in front of Kya's face. "Kya-chan? Are you alright?" He gave his twin a worried look.
Kya Maxwell started, glanced at her twin and grinned, shoving his waving hand out of her astonished face. "I'm fine, I can't remember who we are looking for anyway. You were the one that was supposed to keep track." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. It was the same shade as her brothers but much shorter, coming about to her shoulders.
She breathed in the air, her grin still alive. "I love the air here, Touya. Its so…well…not bottled. Its so beautiful."
Touya pulled out a sheet of paper from one of his pant pockets. "Hmm... It says here that we're supposed to meet a guy named... Logam?" He frowned and looked at the paper again. "Oh...wait...or is it Logan? I forget what I put down on the paper... but he looks like this." Touya nodded as he pulled out a crumpled picture of Logan.
Kya grinned like the devil, "He's cute…let's go find
him then," she started heading of in the most interesting direction,
forward.
~~@~~
Logan Schmidt looked up, glancing at the clock on the tower. They should have been here by now.
Smiling, he rocked back and forth on his feet absent-mindedly and took out his gun, twirling it around his finger expertly. Laughing nervously when a couple of people looked at him with anxious, frightened expressions, he put the gun away again and went back to waiting.
Crossing his arms behind his neck and looking up, he moaned, "This is BORING!"
~~@~~
Ten'on Kou sat in one of those incredibly uncomfortable airport seats, arms crossed and glaring at anyone who looked at her too long. She had been told someone who knew what she looked like would come and find her. Hopefully it hadn't been a joke.
"Who ever they are should be here by now I'm sure!" She huffed to herself, pulling out a book and loosing all interest in the outside world.
~~@~~
Kage Musha crossed her arms and sighed, staring out the window of the shuttle that was brining her from L6 to Earth. She felt like she was in hell.
The flight was running 1/2 an hour behind schedule, and to make matters worse, her seat mate couldn't get it through their thick skull that she had no intention of talking to them. They, obviously bored, continued to have an almost one-sided conversation, Kage making only short remarks when the person prompted her to answer a question. Finally, the person, who had never been to Earth before, shut up when they began their bumpy descent into the atmosphere. The land below was just beginning to take a real form and she could make out houses (although still looking VERY tiny) and large buildings.
Kage was tall, with long black hair and bangs that started short in the middle of her forehead and got longer as they got closer to the sides, the last of her bangs reaching her chin. She was wearing a pair of baggy military green cargo pants and a black tank top, and a pair of sunglasses placed on top of her head. From the pocket on her left knee, she extracted a picture of a girl, who's name was written on the back, the letters so sloppy that only the first name could be read (if she was even getting it right). Shiva. This chick was supposed to meet her when she got off the shuttle.
She slid the picture back to the pocket, the reclined again, and waited for the call for landing.
~~@~~
Shiva Ragsdale was bored. Very bored. And with her being as 'special' as she was, that was a very bad thing. Her shuttle had arrived about an hour ago, but the two other people she was supposed to contact before heading to the base still weren't here. After drinking her eighth cappuccino from one of the thousand Star Bucks conveniently located in the terminal, she slipped two pictures out of her carry-on bag. Kage Musha and Kantai Yamato stared back at her.
Why are they staring at me?!? The part of Shiva's brain that she listened to the most, the irrational one, yelled in her head. She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. Despite her new perspective, Kage's blank expression and Kantai's giant grin didn't change. She found this very interesting and tilted her head the other way to see if this would produce any changes. When their expressions still didn't change, Shiva twitched and then shoved them back in her bag.
She leaned back in the overly uncomfortable terminal chair and crossed her arms behind her head. Why did I get stuck with this? And what am I supposed to do when they get here? She sighed and closed her eyes. The amount of caffeine in her body didn't allow her to sit still long, though, and she was soon back in line at Star Bucks. She had gone to a different one for every cappuccino she had ordered, and figured that she would get around to all of them if others didn't get there soon. After getting her drink, she began the walk back to the terminal she had been waiting at.
Her aqua colored hair was attracting a number of stares, but to most she was returning with a wide smile. She was dressed simply enough, in jeans and a black t-shirt with the word 'special' written on it.
She took a quick glance at the arrival time of the flight and then sat down. Why did I get stuck with this? She asked herself once again, and then sighed.
Kantai Yamato stood looking directly towards Shiva, her short rusty red hair and boy-ish look making her unmistakably look like a boy, so most of her life she had been addressed as a boy, even her voice was deep with only a tough of feminine to it, her brother, it seemed, not at all minded calling her Brother, he never wanted a sister anyway, to sissy.
In fact, the only reason she was able to be a Pilot was because they THOUGHT she was a boy, so it's better to be one then, she laughed at the thought.
Her short brown leather jacket held over her shoulder and her suitcase in the other hand, she fidgeted with her black pants pocket with her thumb and kept her long sleeved black top unwrinkled. Kantai gave a smile and walked up to Shiva quietly.
"BOO!" she screamed at almost started to laugh as Shiva jumped up out of her seat "Ya miss me?"
Shiva screamed at the shout in her ear. She spun and faced Kantai, not recognizing her former partner for a moment. When she recognized the redhead, she smiled and launched herself at her.
"Kantai!!! I missed you!! Are you here for the new Project? I am, they wanted me back 'cause it might fix what the other system did. Hey!! Now that you're here, I don't have to wait alone for the others!! You will stay with me, right?" Shiva gushed in one breath, still hugging Kantai.
"So what have you been doing since they cancelled the first Project? Go home? I didn't, they wouldn't let me. Don't know why." she said and tilted her head to the side.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down there a second and breathe," she said with a smile "Why…? Oh that little head problem of yours." Kantai said with a laugh "Don't worry about it, if you weren't important they wouldn't have set you on the new Project."
She smiled, "I see you're feeling a bit lonely, come on, who's that girl we're supposed to meat again? Page or something?" she blurted as walked with Shiva, still smiling "Well, I think that's her plane, so we don't have to wait much longer."
Kantai's grin grew even wider.
~~@~~
The landing was bumpy, Kage jolted in her seat, and her seatmate swore. Kage had to smile at that.
She'd never been on Earth before, and the gravity of the planet, slightly heavier than Colonial gravity, felt a little strange. She reached under the seat in front of her and drew out her blue backpack, one of the two bags she'd brought with her. The other, a big blue pull-along suitcase was stuffed in the over-head compartment and she'd have to wait until she could get into the aisle to get it out.
The shuttle coasted to a stop at a gate and at once, the cabin that had been, for the most part, quiet during the trip, erupted into noise. The hatch was open and people began to stream up the jet way and into the Shuttle/Air Port.
Kage took her time, waiting for most of the people to empty out, before bothering to get out of her seat and extract her pull-along from above.
When she left the shuttle, she found out how much she hated gravity. The shuttle's jet way up to the terminal was slanted uphill and she trudged her way up the slant, swearing in Japanese (a second language her father had insisted she learn when she was young) in her head. And what was with the heat? Why the hell was it this warm? A word barely in her vocabulary surfaced to her, *weather*, something the colonies lacked.
At least, when she got to the terminal, the AC was on. She dropped her backpack onto the first empty chair she found and propped her pull-along up against it, then ran a hand through her hair, her bracelets jingling as they clinked together. As her bangs fell back into place, she was already looking carefully at everyone in the crowded terminal, searching for the girl in the photo.
Shiva scanned the passengers getting off the flight. She had pulled the picture of Kage out and shown it to Kantai, before comparing it to people as they came out of the shuttle. When her eyes fell on a teenage girl who was scanning the terminal looking for someone, she examined the picture closely and then looked at the girl. Shiva wasn't sure if it was Kage because the girl she was watching was on the other side of the terminal, not to mention Shiva had just a little too much caffeine in her body.
"Tai-chan, do you think that's her? I can't really tell." Shiva said, pulling on Kantai's sleeve.
Kantai glanced at the picture in Shiva's hand then back at the girl, "Only one way to find out." she grabbed her bag and Shiva's arm and began walking towards the girl, sitting against a rail.
"Just watch," Kantai took a deep breath and placed a free hand to her mouth "HEY KAGE!" she yelled across the terminal. The girl turned to face them, "Yep that's her." She said with a grin, "Come on lets go!" She almost started to jog but stopped so she wouldn't drag Shiva around, which she had been doing for the past five minuets.
Kage turned towards the source of the voice. Well, if they knew her, they must be the people. Yeah, that looked like Shiva. She didn't know who the other was; she had only received the picture of Shiva.
She picked up her backpack and grabbed her bag and headed towards them, weaving through the crowd. Someone tripped over her roll-along and she turned, offering them a quick hand up, and then continued on her way, saying nothing.
Shiva smiled widely as the girl Kantai yelled out to, started to walk towards them. She decided to meet the girl half way when she saw that Kage was helping someone stand. She grabbed Kantai's arm, and started heading toward Kage. Being as... unique as she was, Shiva didn't just walk through the terminal, she skipped, pulling Kantai along with her.
When she reached Kage, she smiled wider, if that's possible, and repeated the action she took when she first saw her former partner. She launched herself at Kage and hugged her tightly as she babbled.
"I'm so glad you're here!!! Now we can finally leave!! I've been stuck here forever waiting for you and Tai-chan! Oh!! You don't know our names, do you? I'm Shiva and this is Kantai...and you're Kage, right?" she said quickly, almost as if she couldn't get the words out fast enough. She was still hugging Kage while she waited for a reply.
Kage blinked. The girl had launched herself right onto her. Was she insane? Wouldn't be surprised, she mused and tried to disentangle herself. But Shiva kept a tight grip.
"Yes, I'm Kage. Now would you mind letting go?" Once she finally was able to remove the aqua-haired girl's death grip, she took a few steps away from her.
~~@~~
At the Shuttle/Air Port, Gaia heard the announcer in the speakers announcing her flight's arrival. She took out the pictures. One was labeled Kage, and the other two were Kantai and Shiva.
She walked out, looking very bewildered. She held the pictures in front of her as she quickly looked around. She thought she might have spotted them, and she shrugged, shouldering her laptop. She walked towards them, all the while checking the pics to make sure she got the right people. Gaia, seeing the girl who was, hopefully, called Shiva, jovially greeting the person who seemed to be Kage. She sighed tentatively, walking up to them.
"Excuse me, I'm Gaia Yuy. I think I was supposed to meet up with you guys..." She asked, rather straightforwardly.
"Well, it seem we're the popular group." Kantai smiled, "Name's Yamato Kantai, but most of my friends call me Kantai." She said with a smile and sitting down on the seat most unlady-like. Spreading her legs and placing a hand on her leg and the other behind the chair, "So...anyone else we're supposed to meet?" She asked curiously still with the smile.
Kage looked down at Kantai, "I'm not sure...I only had a picture of Miss-little-too-much-caffeine, over there." She set her backpack on the ground, and rubbed her shoulder.
Damn it, there were WAY too many people here for comfort. Kage wanted to get going to...well...where ever the hell they were supposed to go.
"Another question, anyone know where we're going or how we're gonna get there? The letter I received said that transportation had been arranged already."
"I was informed that we were to head to a military base?" she said matter-o-factly.
Shiva smiled at Gaia. She decided that it would be best if she didn't hug Gaia, after all, Kage seemed mad that she had been hugged.
"Yeah, it'll be a military base. That's what it was before, anyway. I'm Shiva. Oh, and does anyone one know if we're supposed to meet anyone else? I was only told to meet Tai-chan and Kage, didn't even know you were coming, Gai." Shiva looked around to see if there were any teenagers or the old farts that had made the suits heading their way.
"It's alright. I'm never really introduced. It's understandable in most circumstances however, as you might have analyzed," she said, shifting her weight slightly.
"Hey, wait!" Kantai reached into her back pocket and produced a letter, "I was told to open this when I meet Page or whatever was your name again...oh well." She shrugged as she ripped open the letter and began reading it out loud.
"Well,
I hope the trip was comfortable and you're well rested, I shall meet you four
at the main entrance of the airport, there may be several other teenagers there
who are also going your destination, now any questions, please ask me when you arrive.
PS: Black van
"Well, um...interesting?" Kantai folded the letter back up and stuck it in her pocket, "Who do you think that is?" she looked up at Shiva.
"Black van?" Gaia looked uncertain, "Under normal pretences, I would think that a black van would not be appropriate."
Shiva stared at Gaia for a moment, and then started laughing. After a few odd looks, Shiva explained, "Black vans are typical, they're unmarked most of the time, too. I think they got a whole fleet of 'em that they bought on discount somewhere. Or maybe...the old farts that work on this project really like them. Maybe that's it!!!" Shiva said happily, not recognizing that Gaia was related to one of those 'old farts'.
Gaia's jaw twitched. "Maybe. But I know for a fact that my grandfather, Heero Yuy, is one of those old fogies. And I also know that he hates vans…" she smiled meekly.
Kantai thought for a second, then it clicked and she started to laugh "Your grandfather's Heero? HA!" She laughed harder, before trying to stop herself, "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself." she said starting to laughed again.
Gai looked puzzled, "I'm sorry, I don't quite comprehend the reason for your outwards expression of such exuberance?" There was no hint of anger in her voice. She just stood there, smiling politely.
Kantai laughed again, fighting tears, "The last time I saw that guy, he said he could kill me in seconds and was pretending his cane was a gun." She laughed again, "I... I'm sorry, he just cracks me up…they all do."
"I remember that!" Shiva cried with a grin. "Was it you who stole the cane later to prove it wasn't a gun? Or was that someone else?" Shiva would have continued, but she noticed that Gaia was starting to look angry.
"Yeah, he's a bit err... eccentric... but that's him," she said cooly.
"Hey, why don't we go see if the van's here? Maybe we can find the other people," she said, trying to change the subject.
"To find others would be an idea," Gaia agreed, shortly, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.
"Then let's get a move on, and get the hell out of here." Kage shouldered her backpack and, in her non-social manner, headed for the exit, without looking back.
Kantai nodded "Yeah, the last thing we need is to miss our ride," she got up from the chair and threw on her jacket, "So Ladies," she said as she placed her arms around Shiva and Kage, and flashed a grin, "Shall we?"
Kage raised an eyebrow; then glanced down at the arm on her shoulder, then back up at Kantai with a glare, before slipping out of the arm. The doors were in sight.
"Thank god." Kage muttered and quickened her pace.
Gaia picked up her belongings, following the others. This was starting to be a real drag...but everything was a drag. She kept walking, catching up with Kage.
~~@~~
(Editor's note: I had a lot of fun reading this part, I hope that the players had a lot of fun writing it)
Gabriel shuffled out of the crowded shuttle as fast
as his legs could carry him. He shouldered his bag and grabbed the photo out of
his pocket. Using it as an aid, he rapidly scanned the seats with his eerie
golden eyes.
Suddenly he
spotted a tuft of blond hair at a chair with the back facing him. He strode up
to the girl and stood by his side.
"Ten'on
Kou?" He said in a gruff voice.
The girl glanced up to the boy standing by her chair. Quickly, she grabbed her bag and shoved her book in.
"I take you are the person who I'm supposed to meet?" With out waiting for a reply she glared into his gold eyes. "You're late."
Gabriel stared back coldly. "Whatever." His golden eyes narrowed into slits, "Do you know where we're going? I don't." He scowled, shifting his weight to cross his arms.
Ten'on continued to glare. "Yes. I do."
She pushed past him and stalked into the crowd. "Do you have a name, or should I just call you Pretty Boy?" She asked over her shoulder. Ten'on disappeared into the crowd before he could reply.
Now Gabriel was really getting angry. He was not having a good day at all. He stalked up to that insolent woman and spun her around; he grabbed a fistful of her shirt and slammed her against the wall. There he locked her gaze with fierce gold eyes.
"Now you listen, do you think I enjoy babysitting you? No! I didn't ask for this." He spat. "My orders were to accompany you to a place I don't even know. We don't have to get along, but you have to cooperate. All I know is that we are to board a plane in fifteen minutes." He unclenched his fist from her shirt and backed away. "It's your choice if you want to spend up to 10 years in jail or not."
With that, he turned and left her behind, heading for the exit. He stopped and turned around. "By the way, the name's Gabriel." He said in a deep voice and continued walking. Hoping he wouldn't have to take her by force.
Without blinking Ten'on laughed at Gabriel back. Ignoring the concerned looks of passersby and refusing a few offers of help, she stared at his retreating form, then started following him, keeping a good distance behind.
Humph, I had to get paired with a stuck up pretty boy for an escort, just my luck.
Narrowing her eyes she examined her surroundings. Area clear. All seems well.
Once again facing his back she asked, ""Are you always this prickish, or did I just catch you on a bad day?" Not actually expecting him to reply.
Gabriel seethed with anger. Why was his first mission to escort a girl? And with a girl with a serious case of PMS? As he heard her little remark he forced himself to quell his billowing rage. Ignore it. He breathed in air, trying to calm himself. He curled his hands into fists, cutting his skin with his fingernails and drawing blood as he did so.
How he wanted to smash one of those fists into her stupid face. But that would get him into a fight. Not that he was afraid of a fight; he had gotten plenty of those at the BMT camp. But he certainly did not want to get arrested or court martialed for picking a brawl with the person he was supposed to escort. Let's just hope I can get this over with. I hate visiting Earth. He much more preferred living in the colonies, and Earthlings were just weird.
He strode to Gate 25, where the private shuttle would take them to Earth.
Sighing, Ten'on followed closely behind. Her escort seemed to be having some type of problem. There he was, back stiff, hands balled into fists, a dribble of blood running out of one of the fists.
Wait, blood? Why does he have blood running down his....Oh....wow, I annoyed him more then I thought I could, She blinked at her own stupidity. Smooth, Ten'on, alienate the boy. So much for any interesting discussions on the shuttle.
Quickening her pace she found herself walking next to him and grabbing his wrist, "You might want to bandage this up before you leave a trail any idiot could follow." She said quickly wrapping his forced open palm with a makeshift wrap, which used to be the hem of her shirt.
She tried to reach for the other palm to find him looking at her in shock. "What?" She snapped, looking up at him while trying to reach for the hand on the other side of his body.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes, to only a slit of gold, glittering through his lashes as he saw the girl walk with him. Suddenly she grabbed his hand, and he braced himself for an attack. But instead she tore the hem off her shirt and used it to bandage his bloody hand. Gabriel watched, dumbfounded. That was probably the first time a girl had...touched him. His stomach gave him a little lurch. He ignored it. He snatched back his hand before she could grab the other one.
Gabriel laughed coldly. "We're already being followed, girl." He strode forward again. "It seems someone has taken interest in us..." He had noticed that man dressed in casual clothes following them for a while. He had been following them ever since they left that terminal. "Don't look. He's right behind us, in a red cap." He whispered to the girl.
Ten'on stopped herself from looking back. Walking quickly again to catch up with his longer stride she grabbed the unbandaged hand.
"That's no reason not to make sure we don't leave a track for others, so hold still." She hissed, tearing a little more of her shirt and bandaging it before he could reply--or pull away again.
Then looking up at him, Ten'on smirked. "What do you say we loose him? I'm sure you're followed all the time, but I really dislike it." With that, she dragged him into the crowd.
Gabriel sighed angrily; he didn't like being
ordered around by some...girl. But she seized his hand and wrapped the cloth
around his palm before he could utter a protest.
I'm not a baby. I don't need bandages!
But she was right. There was no need to leave a DNA sample for that...stalker. He jerked his hand back to keep her from running off, "Listen, we have a plane to catch in..." He checked his watch, "7 minutes...Let's lose him quickly and then go to the terminal."
While walking swiftly, he pulled two hats from his backpack; he shoved one on him and the other over her blond head. Then, while weaving in and out of the crowd, he pulled off his jacket and reversed it, revealing a different color. He doubted that it would help to shake off that man, but at least it would buy them some time.
Ten'on pulled the hat up so she could see, and was surprised to see her companion in a new coat. Shrugging she pulled out her own coat out of her bag and pulled it on, all the while keeping one eye in front, and one behind, where the man in the red hat seemed to have multiplied. Blinking she glanced behind again.
"Uh...Gabriel? We seem to have a problem." She said tugging on his backpack, and nodding towards their, now multiple, stalkers. "What do you say I meet you at the terminal in 5 minutes...and we both try to loose 'em?"
Hmmm, if I can ditch them, this'll make the whole trip easier...now why does that man look familiar? Taking a final glance at their followers (one man in particular), she ducted off into the crowd.
Gabriel nodded. He was debating whether to confront them, or lose them. He decided that losing them would be better than delaying their flight to have a little 'chat' with them. He noticed where Ten'on went and took the opposite way, climbing random staircases. The pursuers broke off, 2 following Gabriel and 2 following Tenon, despite their disguises.
Should he make a run for it? He fingered his gun that was kept carefully in his jacket. Being in the L1 army, he had a license to use firearms when necessary, but still, he didn't want to use it in front of the public. Gabriel saw elevators to the east, and ran to an open elevator, people piling into it. He saw the men in red caps run for the elevator, but someone had already closed it, muttering about having no more room. He was safe, for now. The elevator began its descent down, suddenly; Gabriel felt the whole tiny compartment jolt. Alarms wailed, and the elevator shuddered to a stop. Persistent little bastards, are you? Gabriel thought bitterly.
He heard someone drop on the ceiling of the elevator. Damn it... He hastily pressed the emergency button to open the doors, while shoving people aside. Once open, Gabriel found himself facing a wall.
"@#%$!" He cursed. He'd have to slide down using the cable. He glanced at his watch. He only had about a minute and a half. Cursing he glanced up and saw the man aiming his gun at him. Without hesitation, Gabriel jumped, clinging to the cable. It was a good thing he had gloves on, otherwise the friction would have burned off his skin. Even now his hands were hot. He heard them coming after him, Gabriel couldn't shoot them otherwise they would fall on him and take him down to the very nasty drop below, killing everyone.
Gabriel saw an opening below him, he started to sway the cable and let go at the exact moment he was level with the doorway, making Thug #1 smash into the wall. Perfect. That will slow them some. Gabriel landed in a crouch, startling some people who were peering inside curiously. Without wasting any time he bolted for the staircase, while checking his watch. Thirty seconds... He gasped as Thug #2 slammed into his back.
Bringing back his elbow, he smashed it into Thug #2's face and rammed his fist into his gut. Thug #2 groaned and clutched his stomach in pain; Gabriel shot up and dashed out of the scene, ignoring the protesting looks from the viewers. Squinting his amber gold eyes, he could see the Terminal from a distance, he wondered fervently if Ten'on had made it okay.
~~@~~
Disappearing into the crowd wasn't hard, glancing back Ten'on saw Gabriel running in the opposite direction. So he actually took my advice, hmmm. Now to loose 'em.
Quickly locating a sign for rest rooms, she ducked inside the Woman's, hopefully the men would be too squeamish to come in. Seeing hairy arm push open the door, she decided they were not, in fact, squeamish.
"Any one have a tampon?" Ten'on asked loudly watching the door slam shut, as her shadow decided it was safer to wait for when she left. Quickly saying 'Thank you' for the pro-offered object, she looked around and noticed she was without another way of escape. Silently swearing to herself she walked up the sink and started pulling things out of her bag. Looking down at her watch she realized the initial chase had taken longer the expected and she only had two minutes left. Mumbling to herself she pulled on different cloths in a bathroom stall, and went to work on her make up.
Barely recognizable in an extremely gaudy hookers outfit, and four inches taller, thanks to the wonder of heels, she swaggered out of the bathroom and right past her followers. Their only reaction was to whistle and leer. Rolling her eyes at their stupidity she quickly made her way to the gate. Yup just on time. She noted looking down at her watch.
And there was Gabriel, looking around for her. Apparently he didn't recognize her either. Walking up to him she grabbed his hand and look at the damage he had done to her wraps. "You know these thing's weren't made to be punching people with, Pretty Boy."
Gabriel blinked. Some kind of slut was walking over to him, in fishnet stockings and a very bizarre wig. Right when she grabbed his hand he knew it was Ten'on, although his eyes refused to believe him.
Ten'on?!??
His pupils dilated and his jaw was slack in shock. "What're you doing in that...outfit." He shook his head. "Never mind, I don't need the bandages anymore." With that he tore off the trailing bandages and stuffed them into his jacket. Gabriel swept back his raven bangs, no longer tired, and grabbed Ten'on's hand again. "Let's just get out of here." He darted to the gate, hoping the thugs hadn't hijacked the plane or anything worse.
Ten'on giggled, still trying to act the part incase they were being watched, "Sounds like a good idea to me, the sooner I get to change the better." She said while nodding politely at the lady who took her ticket and walking onto the plane.
As soon as they were seated, she pulled off her wig and heels and stuck them in her bag. Stretching, she ignored the glances of a few of the male passengers, and pulled out her book and seemingly started reading.
"I take it you got rid of your shadows?" Ten'on asked softly not looking up.
Gabriel seated himself on the aisle, so access to the hallway was much easier and this way could protect Ten'on more efficiently. He leaned back casually, reclining his seat back and folding his arms behind his dark hair, stretching his long, lean stomach, and closed his eyelids halfway. Gabriel's shimmering eyes roved suspiciously over the passengers, remembering the distinct physical features of each person and where they were seated. The one thing he hated about his looks, were his unnatural golden eyes. They were very easy to spot and unforgettable, which was a certain weakness.
He nodded to Ten'on's question and said nothing, well aware that there could be bugs placed around the seats. "Do you have any idea where they came from?" He said very carefully.
Gabriel noticed that Ten'on was doing the same thing he was, and doubted she was actually reading, which was why he asked his question. He could feel sleep gnawing at him from the darkness, and it took a great deal of practice to force himself to stay awake. He had gotten very little sleep.
Ten'on looked up from her 'reading' and answered his question, disguising it, she was also well aware of the possibility of bugs. "Oh I saw the cutest ring today! It had a pattern of a silver X over a dark red backdrop, that's all I could make out, but it was so pretty! And of course I would need one of those cute red hats to complete the outfit."
Hope he understands, and doesn't think I'm nuts...Oh well no other way to put it.
Interrupting herself with a small flirtatious giggle she continued, "Did you see any thing distinguishing today, Dear?" Ten'on managed to choke out with out coughing, barely. Though there was a note of sarcasm in her voice. Can't be helped, I just hope I never have to say anything like that again.
"Please prepare for take off...." Announced the pilot as a stewardess showed the proper safety guidelines.
Gabriel winced. Dear?? What are we? A wedded couple? So much for disguise... Gabriel opened his eyes, furrowing his brows into a scowl. Gabriel understood it, barely. But they would have time to talk about it...later.
"Nothing in particular...Let's just hope those red hats disappear, Honey..." He answered with his voice dripping in sarcasm. And then, he let sleep conquer his consciousness, falling gratefully into darkness.
~~~~~@~~~~~
I think 10 pages are enough for the first chapter. Wanna know more about the Project? Maybe think about joining? http://www.gundamprojectgoddess.cjb.net
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*^_^* Kage