A/n: Ah... the joys of writing. Especially when you have nothing better to do besides homework.
RC: Disclaimer? What disclaimer?
Rabid Lawyers: ::drooling white foam:: GET BACK HERE!! YOU DON'T OWN GUNDAM WING!
RC: ::snaps fingers and turns the lawyers into cute little kitties:: Aww... aren't you cute?
#1: ME-YOW!!!!!!!
#2: MEW... MEOW MUR MEWMEW!!
RC: Isn't it strange how little kitties make you forget that they are lawyers in disguise? ::snaps fingers again, making the kitties into two boxes of chocolates:: O.o;; YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
::Gundam pilots appear::
Duo: Uh oh...
Quatre: Duck and cover!
Heero: She's paranoid again... ::rolls eyes::
Wufei: Okay, people. WHO GAVE THAT ONNA CHOCOLATE?!?!
::Trowa walks up to insane RC and grabs the poor (::snicker::), defenseless (::snort::) lawyers out of her reach::
RC: HEY! I was gonna eat that!
Trowa: ...
Duo: You mean them.
RC: Yea... uh.. ::sweatdrop:: On with the story, shall we?
Chapter 3
Politics, Dinner and... Secrets: Part One
~~***~~
After the riding lesson from hell, Ruth and the boys went back to their 'rooms'. Heero was in perfect condition: not a bruise on his body; Trowa looked a little tired, but kept his composure; Wufei had bruises along his inner thighs and knees; Quatre pulled the horse-riding off pretty well compared to Duo, who had bruises... well, let's just say everywhere.
Ruth strolled down the hall to their rooms with the guys behind her. "Okay, we have important business tonight. I suggest you get an hour or two of sleep." She glanced at Duo, who was wearing the once-white, now-brown, frilly shirt. "You need to change." She gave Heero his patented DeathglareTM. "You-" she pointed, "no spandex! And no tank tops!"
The boys opened the doors to their rooms and either sat, flopped, or slumped into a chair, couch or bed. In all rooms, sighed a breath of relief that Ruth was gone. Except Wufei. Poor, poor Wufei.
*~*
"Onna! Quit fussing with your hair!" Wufei stomped into the 'onna's' room.
"I have a name, ya know," she replied coolly. Her black hair fell to her hips when down, and now she was running a brush through the shiny strands. "I am a woman, and consequently... I own just as much hair as that Maxwell."
Wufei watched her reflection in the mirror, then drifted down to her back. "INJUSTICE!" With that, he left the room.
*~*
Duo reached the bed and landed face-first in the covers. Ruth said they could take a nap, right?
Ruth. He couldn't keep his mind off her. She was so like him. The whole black-color scheme, her attitude, her personality... everything he could think of.
Too bad he didn't have the nerve to ask her on a date, for Christ's sake!
But, wait. Who was she? How did she know their names? Why did she know the Gundam pilot's favorite things and darkest, well-kept secrets?
Whoever she was, he would find out.
~~***~~
Duo and Quatre woke at 6:30. They changed into something more than their boxers and started to do various things to occupy their time.
The braided teen stopped during a game of solitaire and glanced up at the door. "Hey, Quatre?"
"Yes, Duo?" He took another sip of his tea.
"D'ya see that?" He pointed at the door, which looked frayed and splintered; like someone or something had tried to get in.
"I wonder..." Quatre was cut off by Duo opening the door sharply. On the door was a knife, stabbing what looked like a piece of parchment. It read, "Dear Duo and Quatre: Tonight you will be attending a special dinner. You will dress up..."
Duo groaned and kept reading.
"...in formal dress attire. Duo, don't ask where you are going to find it in a place like this- go inside and look on the couch. You will find two dress jackets..." Ruth had continued to write that they needed to be at the restaurant 8:00, and to just walk in, tell the waiter, "Romefeller", and everything would be okay from then on. It also left a PS.
"--Don't be yourselves. Be courteous, and remember what year it is. Gundams and Mobile suits aren't made for centuries from now. You may see people you think you have seen before, and they aren't the same people. Please keep quiet until I get there."
~~***~~
Wufei groaned. It was 6:45 and he hadn't expected to go to sleep during his meditation. The day seemed to progressively get worse for him.
Then he opened the door. He read the note Ruth left for him and thought to himself, 'Where is she, anyway?'
The Chinese pilot closed the door and began to search the small, two-room 'apartment'. He soon realized that the onna was gone.
'Oh well. It's not like she's needed.'
~~***~~
Trowa opened his and Heero's door about five minutes after Wufei. He noticed the knife right away, seeing that he knew about knife impact from his experience at the circus.
He calmly dropped the note on the table in front of Heero.
After thoroughly reading it, the stoic pilot looked up. "I was wondering where those suits came from."
"Me too." Trowa glanced at the handwriting and immediately heard his stomach rumble quietly, which drew Heero's attention. "I'll go get some food."
~~***~~
An hour and fifteen minutes later, the G boys were dressed, fed, and ready to go. They gathered in the hall, complementing each other on their new clothes.
Heero and Wufei wore the same style penguin suit; a black jacket and pants, with a white shirt underneath.
Duo wore all black- the shirt, the pants and the jacket. Quatre was beside him, wearing a light blue shirt with white jacket and pants. Trowa wore a dark green shirt and black suit.
When they were finished fixing their hair (hair gel... ^.^), they headed for the restaurant that would ultimately change everything; past, present and future.
~~***~~
Ruth walked down a long corridor that was a faint gray and black. She glanced at a tall door to her right. "AC 285," she said aloud. The door opened with a faint 'swish' and revealed the room inside.
It was decorated with red and black, Ruth's favorite colors. She looked around the room and saw everything where she had left it.
"Home sweet home." She collapsed on a small twin bed. Ruth wondered about the fate of her new 'friends'. 'I know what I've done might not help at all, but they were such great people, for Gundam pilots. They should do fine reshaping the future.'
~~***~~
The five teens walked inside a specially famous restaurant. They saw a waiter coming towards them quickly, obviously wanting to get back to his table.
"Reservations?" he asked in an annoyed voice.
"Yes," Wufei said politely, "Romefeller."
"Right this way, sirs." Now the pilots had a chance to look around.
Women in long, formal dresses sat eloquently on chairs aside men in penguin suits. Their chatter rose quietly in the huge room, decorated with gold and fine linen. Around the seated, pairs of dancers waltzed to beautiful music.
The room was filled with what seemed like important people at the time.
"Why do we have to be here?" Quatre asked. "Does it have anything to do with our mission?"
Duo and Heero glanced at each other. "I think it may," Heero said. "We were supposed to change the past, but I don't see how."
"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, looking confused. "Why do we have to change the past?"
"Chill, Wu-man." Duo watched with pleasure as Wufei managed to look disgusted. "It has something to do with the war."
Trowa blinked. "I guess we'll find out," he said as he glanced in the direction of their table.
Everyone except Heero had seen who their table partners were. He finally glanced down to three women and four men sitting in a circled table. But to his surprise, they greatly resembled-from left to right-Zechs Marquise, Lucraiza Noin, Duke Dermail, Treize Kushranada, Tuberov, Sally Po and...
Relena Peacecraft.
At that very moment, the front door of the restaurant flew open. There stood a beautiful girl of eighteen, with raven-black hair tied up in a messy bun. She wore a midnight-blue dress that shimmered in the moonlight and clung to every curve (unlike the long, hoop-skirts that the other women wore), and finally, two-inch heels of the same midnight blue.
She glanced at the waiter, who's mouth was slacked. When he noticed that she was looking at him, he stuttered. "R-Res-sser-vaation?" The gorgeous babe walked up to him, and with a gloved hand, pushed his jaw up from where it had slacked.
"Romefeller," was her reply.
After following the stunned waiter to the table, she curtsied to the occupants, who were staring with mouths agape. "Good evening," she said politely. "I am Ro-reru Reikoku. You may call me Ruth." She watched with giddy joy as four men tried to get up and reach for her hand at once.
A man with short brown hair smiled at her. "My name is Thomas Kosura [1]. The pleasure is mine." He took her hand gently and kissed it.
Another man that was standing took her hand afterwards. "I am Delayon Dermin [2]. Please, call me Duke."
When the rest of the introductions were finally made, the people at the Romefeller table were named, in order: Michael Prinze [3], Laura Neiman [4], Delayon Dermin, Sarah Portsmouth [5], Thomas Kosura, Rachel Prinze [6], and Sir Thompson [7].
Michael Prinze was Rachel's older brother, and was also the leader of the group 'White Fang'. He told the Gundam pilots that this was a group dedicated to peace, but at the same time, could administer harm to those people who didn't approve of their morals.
Delayon Dermin was from the Romefeller family line. He said he worked for nothing but peace, but Ruth could see through that in a second. She did a mental background check on the guy, and his records had been wiped clean ten years earlier.
Laura Neiman was an accessory to Michael Prinze. She was married to him, but didn't keep close watch over him; which led to him gambling and loosing hordes of money.
Sir Thompson was known around his hometown as crazy. He had tried to kill himself numerous times, set a barn on fire, kidnapped his neighbor's daughter and threw her in a pond (in which she almost drowned), and other such things. But as the man aged, he inherited his uncle's title and used it for his own pleasure.
Thomas Kosura was laid back, usually never getting riled up about thinking anything but politics. He was most likely seen with wine in his hand, his favorite drink, and a rose presented to any woman he saw. Four of them were laid next to each female presently at the table he sat at now.
Rachel Prinze was a quiet, petite girl, but marked by her father's death. She lived in the shadow of her brother, keeping in-step.
*~*
They sat around the table in a relatively quiet conversation. Well, the occasional yell from Sir Thompson was expected, but everything was peaceful... for the time being.
Duo eyed Ruth, who was quietly talking to Rachel, keeping her voice down in case anyone would want to intrude in their conversation.
Ruth felt a leg brush against hers. 'What the...' She looked across the table. Her eyes met a grinning Duo. She could tell he wanted to talk, and he needed to talk to her. Obviously Heero had spoken to Duo into doing it, because he was looking semi-anxiously at her.
"Excuse us," Heero said, lifting out of his chair.
"Please," Ruth chimed in. She stood and motioned for the other pilots to stay there.
The trio left the restaurant through the entrance.
"Why are we eating with people we don't know, getting dressed up and--"
"What is the mission?" Heero asked calmly.
Ruth looked at Duo, who's mouth was open. "I am from the year AC 285. I will tell you this, and you will listen, because if you don't, your lives are on the line. It's your choice. You have to save mankind on Earth, and I am to watch you save it."
~~TBC
A/n:
[1]- Treize Kushrananda [2]- Duke Dermail [3]- Milliardo Peacecraft [4]- Lucrazia Noin [5]- Sally Po [6]- Relena Peacecraft [7]- Tuberov (the freaky guy that shot Col. Une and got blown up on the Lunar Base (I think...).)