Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to the characters of Gundam Wing, the DBZ shunkaniido, or the RK sakabatou. All Sentinels and Dimension Masters, except Meiran, are original characters.
(^_^) This is my first fic so please read and review!!!
Chapter 2
30 miles outside of the Cinq Kingdom, in the third warehouse of GWS Industries in charge of collecting MS parts for recycling on the moon, a small group of Preventers prepared to infiltrate the plant. Oblivious to the impending invasion, the workers continued to use huge cranes, and bulldozers to unload MS remains and load them onto cargo shuttles headed for the moon base.
The base was one of the smaller ones that were attacked and later abandoned during the early days of OZ's coup' de tat. GWS Industries recycled all of the old weapons, rebuilt the runway, and remodeled the base as a junkyard. The workers live in the soldier's quarters and utilize all of the other facilities of the base; the GWS motto is: "Grasp the past, build the present and fuel the future."
Sally, in her usual Preventers uniform, turned on her headset and contacted the unit moving in from the south. "Wing, we're in position along the northeastern road leading to the main gate, over."
"Ryoukai. Wait for the lunch call. That should be her, see that she goes into the building before you move, over," came the monotone reply.
"Right, Water out."
"Are you sure this is where that Army is supposed to be, Onna?" Wufei inquired, skeptical of the fact that this was supposed to be a front operation for a new mobile suit army. "Because it looks exactly like what I imagined it to be: a junkyard."
"According to the information Quatre sent to Lady Une, the materials manifest sent to the mother base on the moon was inconsistent with the number of materials being collected at this base," Sally replied, ignoring Wufei's condescending tone. "And if that isn't enough, Heero traced that e-mail himself, right to a computer in this building. Anymore questions, O Pessimistic one?" she drawled, earning a scathing glare from the former Gundam pilot.
"Humph." five years of being Sally's partner had been rough on Wufei as she constantly challenged his long held ideals. Slowly, after repeatedly getting shot down by her practical wit and having his ass saved by her battle skills, he no longer regarded all women as weak, just those who weren't Sally. But he would never admit it.
"That still does not change the fact that something feels wrong. Heero also said that they go inside for lunch at 11:30 and it's almost 11:45," Wufei began, as he watched the workers load the shuttle bay with scrap.
Just then a shrill whistle pierced the air like an arrow.
"Alright people, that bay looks full enough. Shut it and let's break for lunch. The pilots can take it from here," a young woman with glasses in a hard hat, jeans, a sleeveless t-shirt and work boots, bellowed over the moan of dying machinery. When the last of the workers disappeared into the shade of the main hangar, she made as if to follow but stopped as the engines of the shuttle roared to life.
A prickling sensation ran down Wufei's spine as the woman who was supposed to be the 'Captain' turned to gaze at the rocks on the southern ridge, as if searching for something. 'Heero should already be locking down the mess hall,' Wufei thought as the sensation nested in his chest and tightened as the 'Captain' swept her gaze to peer down the northeastern road, and their position, before continuing into the hangar.
"She saw us," he said, dropping the binoculars.
"That's impossible. She was just enjoying the view," Sally explained, having watched the whole thing through her own binoculars, and tried to ignore her soldier's instincts that told her that something was wrong. "In either case Heero is already inside, we can't just leave him," she reasoned. "We stick to the plan; trap her in the corridor leading to the mess hall. Move out!"
The four Preventers skirted in and out of the trees, parallel to the road, and entered the main gate. Guns drawn, they moved from junk pile to junk pile into the hangar as the shuttle taxied out onto the runway, the engines drowning out any noise they may have made. As they rounded the last big pile of scrap and headed for the back door that would take them to the mess hall, a curious sight greeted them.
"Halt!" Wufei demanded, following his own advice and leveling his gun at what he assumed was a person. "Identify yourself!"
Directly in the path to the door stood a magnificent suit of armor with wisps of gold playing along deep green metal plates and outlining the thousands of jewels that dotted the entire ensemble. The horns of some animal graced the tops of the shoulder pieces and helmet. Sunlight from an overhead window beamed directly on the stranger causing the runes to dance, the armor to glow and the tense onlooker to wonder if this were a god.
"Who are you?" Sally asked having stopped next to Wufei with the rest of the Preventers, her own weapon trained on the stranger.
"I have been waiting here for you Wufei," it said in a young voice, although they couldn't see if the mouth moved as it was facing to their right allowing only a profile view.
"Just who are you and how do you know my name?" Wufei demanded, catching sight of the katana that hung on its left hip and the easy way the left hand rested on the hilt. With the exception of the three in charge, the group of Preventers was becoming ill at ease in the presence of this mysterious knight who spoke casually to them.
"I am the Captain that you seek." As the voice spoke, Heero and his group came through the door, and screeched to a halt at the spectacle before their eyes. "I have some small business to attend to and am unable to accompany you to Preventer Headquarters right now, but I will meet you there this evening. I will give you a token to…"
"You're not going anywhere. If you move I will open fire," Heero interrupted, the glare in his eyes left no doubt that he would make good on that threat.
Although the figure neither turned nor addressed him by name, the focus of conversation shifted to the Perfect Soldier. "I need to meet with someone very important who needs to hear my story as much as you do so let me leave my sword as a token and I will meet you at your Headquarters. You have my word of honor."
A metallic ring could be heard in the silence that followed and only three people recognized it for what it was: a katana popping out of its saya. Wufei knew because he had done the same thing a thousand times and Heero and Sally knew because they heard Wufei do it a thousand times.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Preventers heard it as a gunshot and opened fire on the armored figure. In one fluid motion, the sword was drawn with a half turn to face Heero's group and brought up in a sweeping arc perpendicular to the ground. The sheer force of the movement sent them hurtling back through the doors as a MS torso cascaded down to block the entrance. In the next instant, the stranger covered half the distance to Wufei's group in a sprint almost too quick to follow as the bullets clinked harmlessly off of the armor.
"Cease fire!" Wufei hollered to no avail as the shuttle outside turned on its boosters and roared past the hangar. He stepped forward to meet the rush but the figure was in the air twisting in a move that would impress even Trowa, considering that it was done in armor, and came crashing down with lightning force. Landing in a crouch behind Wufei, back facing him and sword arm extended to the right, the knight paused as if waiting for something. Wufei spun to face it and stepped a few paces back as Sally and the two other Preventers fell unconscious to the ground, their guns now missing half of their barrels.
Wufei felt his chest tighten, as Sally remained motionless on the grease stained floor. Unsure of what he was feeling, Wufei became angry and directed it at the only person available.
"What did you do to them?" he asked in a dangerous whisper, leveling his gun at the horned helmet as the stranger rose but realizing belatedly that it was sliced as well.
"They are just unconscious," the voice stated from the depths of the helm as the Captain moved closer. He could see the dark brown eyes glittering with untold secrets like the emerald embraced in gold below the horn.
Cursing himself for not drawing his own blade earlier, Wufei slid the polished metal out of its sheath and settled into a fighting position. "Fight me, if you win I will let you leave," he challenged, knowing that Heero only needed a few minutes to go around the building and come in the front.
"Though you are armed you are not armored, this is an unfair match," came the voice again. Replacing the weapon in its saya, the figure stood in a passive position.
"Then you will not leave this room," Wufei countered, giving a battle cry and launching himself at his motionless opponent, katana gripped in both hands.
In a blur of motion Wufei closed the distance, raising his weapon to slash across the knight's chest, which would only cut the armor but not wound much.
"Yahhhhhhhgh!" He was so close now that he could see that what he once thought were jewels were really buttons, insignias and other trinkets; he focused on the eyes. What he saw there froze his soul for those orbs were full of…amusement. Every muscle in his body tense, Wufei felt his adrenaline fuel the momentum of his sword in this single test of strength.
The knight's left foot dropped back, right leg bent, left hand popped the sword out of its saya, and right hand grasped the hilt, all in one motion. Continuing the movement, the shining blade leapt out as if alive and met Wufei's in a single devastating blow.
"CLANG!"
Barely a few seconds passed during the fight and Wufei stood frozen in mid-stride, panting as if he just ran a marathon, staring at the remaining half of his katana while the other landed ten feet away. In a similar stance, not even breathing hard and katana fully intact, the Captain paused. Rising at the same time, both warriors turned to face each other.
"As I was saying earlier," the Captain continued, "Here is my token. Take it or leave it. I will conduct my business and return to Preventer Headquarters in two hours, regardless." Delicate movements brought the naked blade up lengthwise, parallel to the ground and slid underneath it, palms up, in a gesture of offering. "You have my word of honor."
Recognizing that he was in no position to stop this armored warrior with no weapon, half his backup behind a pile of metal and the other half out of commission, Wufei took the proffered weapon with grudging respect. "This is not finished," he stated.
"I would not wish it to be," the voice agreed as Sally stirred on the ground, bringing Wufei running to her side. Too late he caught himself and glanced around frantically for the knight only to find empty air.
"What happened?" she asked in a groggy tone as he helped her to sit up while the others came to.
"I lost," Wufei replied, bowing his head and staring at the 'token' in his hand.
"Where did the Captain go?" Heero demanded as he and his unit raced around the scrap heap, prepared to surround the suspect.
"I lost," Wufei repeated, bowing his head in anger more than defeat.
"Looks like you put up quite a fight though," Sally said, noting Wufei's shattered katana on the floor.
"What the hell kind of sword is that?" one of the Preventers exclaimed, indicating the shape of the blade. Unlike Wufei's, this sword had the sharp edge on the inside of the blade's slight curve and the blunt edge on the outside or striking edge.
"She must have flipped it before hitting your sword," Heero commented, replacing his gun in that unknown place in his jacket and dialing his cell phone for a clean-up crew.
"We were lucky then," Sally realized, rubbing the back of her neck, "she could have killed us all."