The Laptop…
Heero was sitting at his laptop. Heero liked his laptop, it was his form of escapism, on it he became some one else. Someone called Wing. One day he received a message while he was sitting with the other Gundam pilots. It was addressed to Wing, telling him to follow the forked brow. He checked who it was from; a name appeared on screen flashing quickly before shrinking into oblivion.
Chameleon....
At that moment, the doorbell rang; it was Dorothy inviting them to a big party at Relena's. Where they coming? She wanted to know. Heero shrugged and nodded. Why not?
At the party a girl approached him.
"Wing," Heero reeled round. Who knew him by that name in the real world? "We have been searching for you." He looked at the girl, trying his best to ignore the loud music and flashing strobe lights. He managed to see her clearly when a white light flashed on her for a nano-second.
Her eyes were hidden away by her black reflective sunglasses, but her dark brown hair was coiled up in a bun on the back of her head. She was wearing a red tank top and matching red sweat pants with a yellow stripe down the side. She cocked her head, looking at him as she was joined by another person.
She too stared at him, cocking her head.
Dressed in cargo shorts and a green tanktop, her almost black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Deep brown eyes filled with an interest, she then turned, nudging the girl who had spoken to him.
"Aurora? Have you delivered the message?" she asked the other girl. "Tomorrow you will have a message from the Chameleon. Be ready," and with that both girls disappeared into the heaving crowds.
Elsewhere in the party the other Gundam pilots were having the same experience. The strange thing was that they too were all being addressed by their Internet names, which was, in some cases, very embarrassing.
"Shinigami." Duo blinked. *What the....?* he thought as he turned around. A girl was standing behind him. "We have been searching for you."
He studied the babe... girl.... chick? She looked like she would be able to kick ass in any fight. A pink bandanna held back her brown hair, which was streaked with pink hazel. Eyes stared into his as they began to travel down her; sizing her up, taking in her attire, a plain white dress shirt and jeans. She was joined by another person in jeans and a simple t-shirt. Her long blonde hair reaching her ankles was loose; blue eyes that were sparkling with amusement looked from him to the other girl.
"Hey, Sakura, just deliver it will ya? The night is young!" Sakura blushed then shrugged.
"You'll get a message tomorrow. Just be ready. Kay?" she said before turning away, flicking a stray lock of hair over her shoulder, joining the other girl and walking away.
"Wait! Message from who?" Duo tried to grab her but she had already blended back into the crowds.
"JusticeBoy," Wufei paled and then turned red from anger, expecting it to be the braided baka. Instead he found an onna standing there, brown eyes trained on his brownish red hair glinting in the strobe lights, her deep blue shirt and baggy white pants seeming out of place at the party.
"What do you want, onna?" he growled in a threatening way. He was slightly suprised when she showed no fear.
She blinked before continuing. "We have been searching for you." As she said it another girl ran up to her.
"Hurry up! C'mon Lilangel! I wanna go and- did you deliver the message already?" her green eyes turned towards him, tilting her head so her brown hair fell across her eyes. Her clothes made Wufei scowl they were unsuitable for a party
"Indecent onna." he snorted at her baggy shorts and halter neck top. The green eyes filled with tears.
"Piker?" Lilangel queried she turned back towards Wufei, her eyes hardening. "Be ready for a message tomorrow!" she growled at him, narrowing her eyes as she lead her friend away; melting into the crowds before he could question them.
"Aurora?"
"Yes heart fire wind?"
"You know the others?"
"Yes?"
"You don't think they went out to find a hacker to be the chosen one as well do you?"
"Uhhhh I hope not!"
"Uh-oh...."
"Sakura?"
"I'm busy Sidra Astro..."
"Doing what?"
"Partying!!!"
"YEAH!"
"Piker? Are you okay, hun?"
"Yeah. Can we go kick his butt now?"
"Nah. Sorry, we gotta let chameleon talk with him first. You don't think the others are here do you?"
"No. LETS GO PARTY!!!"
Trowa blinked as a girl suddenly appeared at his elbow.
"Hello, Silent Clown."
"....?"
"We have a message for you"
"We?" He looked at her. Her midnight blue hair shimmered in the lights, blood red eyes reflecting him. She looked dressed to kill; black pants with a silver belt and a purple top with a silver star on it made her stand out from the now messy crowd. She flicked her hair back causing her large hoop earrings to shake a little as she introduced herself.
"I'm Emaleneangel and this," she gestured towards the crowd where another girl materialized, "is Dlilyhart."
The other girl was dressed in a red semi-tight shirt and tight blue pants; her emerald green eyes peered through blonde-brown hair, as though sizing him up.
"Be ready. A message will come for you tomorrow from chameleon," she said abruptly. With that, they both disappeared. Trowa blinked, then went to find Quatre.
Quatre was socializing with Relena and Dorothy, when someone tapped his shoulder ever so gently. Excusing himself, he turned around and saw two girls, one with long honey blonde hair and hazel eyes, dressed in a black tank top and capris.
"I'm Jaid."
He turned to the other girl who had blue-green eyes, not unlike his own, and blonde hair, she smiled at him. "I'm Miri and we have brought you a message from Chameleon," here she sweat dropped. "It says wait for a message from me tomorrow." With that, both girls disappeared.
The rest of the party passed without a hitch and it was only in the car on the way home when Duo started to ramble drunkenly about chameleons and weird babes that the others took notice.
* * *
Somewhere in a computer........
"Gypsy reporting." A girl with cobalt blue eyes and long silvery blonde hair stood in front of a desk.
"Well done, Tollamer, have you intercepted the agents of the Chameleon?" the girl sweat dropped.
"Well sir, there was a slight problem with that..."
"Which was?"
"The tech guys gave us the wrong coordinates." A growl came from behind the desk and the girl began to back away anxiously.
"Very well. They will be punished. And Gypsy?"
"Yes sir?"
"Next time get changed! We don't all want to see your pajamas!"
"Not even the ones with-?"
"NO! Not even the ones with the fluffy little sheep on them! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," she replied meekly before backing out of the room.
* * *
On a ship floating somewhere....
"So let me get this straight. You all went to find a chosen one; am I correct?"
There was a chorus of "Yes sir" as the assembled agents shuffled their feet. The Chameleon always had the power to make them do that, although it was a computerized voice and a blank screen.
"Fine," there was a sigh, "I will give the message to all of them. Go back to your duties."
Once again on the ship that is floating.....
"D'you think that the Chameleon is mad at us?"
"Well let's see, we lost Neo, accidentally told five of the most dangerous assassins in the world that our organization exists, and only just missed having the agents on our tail. What do you think?"
"Ummmm, no?"
"You baka!"
The Gundam pilots' house 10 a.m. (its Duo's fault he just can't seem to get up early!)
"So, Yuy, what was all that about weak onnas that Maxwell was shouting about?'
"Hn."
At that moment the kitchen door swung open and a girl with long black hair walked in. She glanced at Wufei. Her cold features reminded him of pilot 01 as she stood stock still in her black strapless top and leather pants, a pair of black sunglasses pushed up high on her head. She raised a delicate eyebrow and smirked.
"You're the chosen ones?" she asked incredulously. "The Chameleon really should stop taking lucky dips."
At the mention of the Chameleon, both boys sat up alert and Wufei disappeared to find the others. A second person walked through the door behind her. She turned to face the second girl and grinned.
"Hi, Lirial, didn't see you there." There was a soft snort of laughter before the other replied.
"You seldom do, Raine. You're usually too damn trigger happy!" Heero noted what dressed in a slightly more normal fashion jeans and a simple t-shirt did for her, but her eyes held a certain sparkle showing she was up for mischief as she tossed her coppery hair behind her. Wufei chose that moment to bring in the other three. Instantly, Duo sidled up to the girls and gave them his trademark grin.
"Hi, I'm Duo and you would be a total babe." Raine narrowed her eyes and turned away. He was small fry compared to her but Lirial was trapped. Her huge blue eyes flared with that sparkle and she moved faster than a cat on a hot tin roof, before anyone knew what had happened Duo was on the floor gazing at the ceiling wearing a slightly dazed expression.
"Tut tut, Lirial! We're meant to deliver them all in one piece, including the baka," scolded Raine, "so stop hitting on him and lets get going."
"Go where?" asked Duo.
"To where the agents can't find us, of course!" answered Lirial. "We're going to take you to the chameleon!"
Somewhere in cyber space....
"GYPSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Yes sir?"
"Have you got rid of those damn pajamas yet?!"
"Um, yes sir!" *which is slightly true,* she thought, *because now I have my fleecy ones on.*
"Have you managed to track down those scum that call themselves rebels?"
"Well, you see, there was a slight technical glitch again sir, and, well, you see...." Gypsy trailed off into silence; already cringing at the telling off that was to come.
"............"
"Sir?"
"I want them found soon, Gypsy. Or else you see that Internet add over there?" Gypsy gulped, everyone hated the ads.
"Yes sir?"
"I will make you wish, DO YOU HEAR ME? WISH that you were one of those ads! NOW GET TO WORK!!!!"
Gypsy quivered in front of the black leather chair. *I'm in for the high jump and its only 12 p.m.!* she thought.
"GYPSY!!!" she gulped.
"Yes sir?"
"What have I told you about those pajamas?"
"You told me not to wear the sheep ones and to take the fluffy ones off, and so I thought, well no one can resist puppy patch pajamas?"
"Gypsy?"
"Yes sir?"
"I can resist puppy patches pajamas."
"Oh."
"Enough of this idle chatter! Two rebels have been located at the pilots' house, send someone after them!"
"Immediately sir!"
"And gypsy?" she cowered, not daring to look up.
"Yes sir?" she whispered.
"Try not to wear your pajamas, the other agents are getting ideas..."
* * *
Raine and Lirial suddenly stood bolt upright and Lirial shot a scared look at Raine. "I thought this area was meant to be agent free," she whispered.
"It was." came the emotionless reply.
"Then what the HELL was that?" they both turned as another voice spoke up from the doorway
"It was me." A brown haired girl was resting against the doorframe.
"And just who might you be?" asked Raine, the sarcasm almost crystallizing in the air. Lirial narrowed her eyes, taking in the girl's features. Deep brown eyes that were devoid of emotion regarded them coolly. Her pants and tank top were black and she gave them a reptilian smile as she answered the question.
"The name is Yingfa, and you will soon be dead my, eh-hem, friends, for want of a better word that is."
"How about most deadly enemies?" suggested Duo, sensing the general mood of the conversation.
"Hmmmm." The girl smiled at him, and walked over from where she had been leaning. "You, my lil' guy, aren't a deadly enemy." She inched closer and ran a finger down his cheek. "Oh no, quite the opposite of an enemy, in fact," she murmured into his ear as he involuntarily shuddered.
"I think you got the wrong guy, miss," Quatre said shyly. Yingfa threw him a look of distaste, then she smirked.
"You'd fetch me a pretty penny with my superior," she leered and then fell to the floor as Raine hit her over the head with a frying pan.
"Well, now that that's over and done with, I think we should all go outside don't you?" she said in a nursery school teacher voice as they filed out of the room, all of them trying to ignore the very large frying pan she still held in a deathlike grip.
* * *
A phone rings, and a girl with jade green eyes and dark blonde hair answers it…
"Hello, who's speaking please?"
"Phoenix! Cut it out, we got them and Raine's threatening them already."
"So you require a transfer for five then?" she said, gazing intently at her faded flared jeans.
"Five? What do you mean five? There's seven of us."
"You're needed for a mission for the Chameleon, ohhhh, is Heero there?"
"Ah, this isn't the kind you don't come back from, is it? And yes, but tell me what the mission is."
"No, you've just gotta go delete some of the web."
"Right, kewl, we give 'em the pills and go, right?"
"Yup."
"Okay, hang on, then."
Lirial turned around and gave Raine a quick nod as she pulled out a small box containing five red pills. She smiled at the pilots as her mind thought up a plausible excuse.
"Here, have one of these, please." Instantly, Heero was suspicious. (A.N. with good reason too I mean have you seen that part of the film??)
"What are they?"
"Tictacs."
"Ohhh, great!" said Duo as he swallowed one down. After seeing nothing bad happen to Duo the other pilots took their 'tictacs', swallowed them down, and stood there feeling a bit stupid.
"Whoa! Quatre, I never realized you had such a funky mirror!" shouted Duo as the mirror began to stretch its tendrils towards them. All of the pilots screamed in unison as they were sucked inwards and upwards.
"Hey, Phoenix? Lover boy's about to arrive." Lirial and jade laughed as they put down the phone and ran off to begin their new mission.
Screams echoed down the halls of Quatre's mansion then it went deadly silent. The screams however did continue, it was just that now they were being made in a different reality. Or maybe that should be realities? As the Gundam Pilots whizzed through quite a good number of worlds (^_^ I'm bored, its time for a flight of fancy ok? And they never said we couldn't put in any other computer programs right? I mean imagine Keanau in 'the Sims'?)
First they passed a large battle where a green monster was attacking about seven other men, even in his state of trying not to bring up his breakfast Wufei still managed to yell, "Weaklings!" before they were sucked through another strange patch of air. This world was just like home, well like the colonies at least because the earth and moon were in the sky. Okay, so the flying mechanical dragon was a little bit strange, but what can you do? That was when the feeling of, wetness? No that's not quite the right word, think about a time when you've stayed in the sea or swimming pool for so long that you feel wet through, and when you get out the air is moist and you can't escape the wetness. Remember? Well that's what they feel like now.
'....Glhgrghhf,' choked Heero as he tried to spit out what ever it was that was in his mouth, that's when he realized he was completely naked. (^_^ Ok, all Heero admirers close your mouths now please.) Then a robot appeared in front of him and extended one very sharp glittering and above all evil looking arm, before pulling the plug out of the back of his head. Heero floundered around wondering if the same thing was happening to the other pilots, he heard a faint scream that sounded like Duo, which confirmed that it was happening to the other pilots. Suddenly, something felt different his eyes widened as he realized what it was. The floor of his crib or whatever it was he was in WAS MOVING AWAY, trying to refrain from screaming like a terrified child pilot 01 was dragged backwards down a hole as gravity acted like he was water going down a plug hole.
There were five simultaneous splashes.
Then someone screamed like a child in the middle of a temper tantrum.
"MY HAIR! MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!!! IT'S GOOOOONE!!!!!!!!!!" other than that there were just splashing sounds as the pilots tried desperately to stay alive in the sea of, well, lets not get into that.
Quatre was the first to go under, slipping beneath the waves as quietly as possible, then Trowa, then Duo, and then Wufei, followed soon after by Heero. So all the pilots were unconscious as they were lifted out by a small hovercraft.
The first thing Quatre saw when he opened his eyes was blinding white light.
"Allah," he moaned, "am I dead?" someone chuckled softly at his question and a familiar voice answered.
"No, Quatre, you're not dead," he heard another moan off to the right and Trowa's voice asked why his eyes hurt so much.
A different voice answered in a matter of fact tone. "Its because you've never used them before." Three other moans told Quatre that the other pilots were having the same experience and feelings of their eyeballs exploding in their heads. Unfortunately, the little Arabian lost consciousness before he could offer any words of comfort to his friends.
Two girls stood watching the process and swapping gossip
"Did you hear what happened while they were making the transition?"
"No! What?"
"Raine and Lirial ran into an agent! They were lucky to get out alive.....Don't you think it's strange?"
"Do you always finish your sentences off with questions, Emily?" there was a slight pause before the girl with blue eyes tossed her short brown hair and replied.
"No, I just wondered if you thought it was strange."
"You have to tell me what is strange before I can tell you if I think it is." answered Chazzkat grinning at her friend, her dark brown eyes shining with laughter.
"ARGH! That we have FIVE..."
"SHHHHHHH!" was hissed at them from the medical room.
"Sorry! That we have five chosen ones this time instead of one. Does the Chameleon know do you think?" Emily carried on in whispers.
Chazzkat gave this some consideration, "No."
* * *
IN THE GREAT BEYOND..... (No, not that one the other one.....)
"GYPSY!" *Oh, crap, what have I done now?* she wondered as she half-ran, half-walked in to the office.
The master didn't look very happy.
"I want a report on Yingfa, NOW!" Gypsy gulped she was dreading this.
"Yingfa has already reported in sir. The rebels knocked her unconscious and, and, and…" Gypsy stuttered as the masters eyes went from dark brown to red.
"Bring her here now." He was using his quiet voice. *This isn't good,* she thought, biting her lip and managing to run out of the door just as a vase exploded nearby where she had been standing.
Trowa woke up in a smallish cabin. He watched the handle on the door turn very slowly and sat bolt upright as it swung forward to reveal a lanky looking girl with glasses and her goldish brown hair tied in a bun. She narrowed her eyes at him and turned slightly, muttering to someone in the corridor. Another girl stepped in and grinned at him, purple eyes glinting mischievously through a thatch of red hair.
The first girl snorted at her companion's obvious infatuation with him and gave him a grim smile.
"Breakfast is ready and waiting." Trowa followed them both down the hall and was greeted with the sight of the other Gundam pilots with no hair, just fuzz.
Duo looked.......not like Duo. The trademark plait was gone, replaced by short brown fuzz, making his eyes look even bigger, but then the same could be said for all the pilots.
They were seated at a table and plates of 'stuff' were passed down to them as everybody got ready to eat. Duo took a huge mouthful, a strange look crossed his face before he eventually swallowed and announced, "This stuff tastes like-"
"Couscous!" interrupted Quatre happily. "It tastes just like couscous!"
The others stared at him before the girl with her hair in a bun coughed slightly and explained,
"The food that you are eating is made up of all the nutrients we need to survive, i.e. 'things,' hence the name 'stuff.'"
"But it TASTES like-" Duo tried again.
"Couscous!" the little Arabian nodded at him again, obviously happy someone thought it tasted the way he thought it did.
"By the way, my name is Jenny and that is MystikalAngel, or Mysti for short, I believe you already know the others…" stated the green-eyed girl in a bun. Piker and Lilangel waved at them from their discussion. Then the other girls poured into the room to grab something to eat: Aurora, Heart fire wind, Sakura, Sidra astro, Emaleneangel, Dilyhart, Jaid, Miri, Phoenix, and Lirial.
"Raine is on another mission," grinned Lirial as she grabbed her food and hurried away but not before calling over her shoulder, "On babysitting duty again, Jenny?"
* * *
The boss was upset. Gypsy could tell this by the way he had ordered her to go and find Yingfa and bring her to him.
He had then deleted her while she had been forced to watch. Not deleted as in shot mind you, deleted as in erased files from the Internet. Gypsy had had pixilated nightmares.
Now he wanted to be shown photos of the 'ones' they were after and she had agreed. So here she was, in the Matrix, wondering around the pajamas section of Macy's.
*It's a shame the old saying is true,* she thought. "You can't take it with you" she sighed as she stroked the fleecy pajamas now available in baby pink.
"Mouse, reporting for duty!" the girl in the schoolgirl outfit straightened, her twin pigtails bobbing.
"Valerian, reporting for duty!" Valerian straightened up too tossing her hair behind her shoulder.
"Xel-chan, reporting for duty!" Xel-chan, too, straightened trying to get rid of the bored look.
"Excellent, well done Gypsy you actually managed to find three new recruits"
"Yes sir," Gypsy was blinking rapidly, *who's that girl leaning on the masters chair?* she thought, then paled as she realized. The girl smirked at her, green eyes glinting evilly as she flipped her braid back over her shoulder fingering her silver cross.
"Hello, Gypsy," she purred, "nice to see you again."
"Hello, Rei, amazing to see you wearing anything but black." Rei glanced down at her green cargo pants and white tube top before smirking.
"Well, I thought I'd make an effort, since someone has too," she added, glaring pointedly at Gypsy's pajamas.
The Boss grinned. "I see you two know one another then? Well, that's good as you'll be working together to help the newbies infiltrate this organization called OZ."
"But-" started Gypsy.
"No buts, I want Mouse in and working with their top people before the week is up. Go now!"
"Yes sir." Gypsy led the new recruits out of the room trying to ignore Rei smirking at her back.
* * *
"So what're we doing now?" inquired the ever active Duo, still pouting due to braid loss.
"Well...." Jenny paused trying to think, "The Chameleon should be teaching you, but we don't know if it'll come so we'd better just plug you in and see what happens."
"Plug us in?" asked Quatre.
"Oh, yes," interrupted Katreon, golden eyes sparkling, her hands beginning to twist the front of her blue shirt as she thought about it, "We get to have fights in the Matrix, just as practice you know? We can run any program in there. All purely professional, of course."
"How?" that was Heero.
"Well you see this plug here, we shove it into the socket at the back of your head and voila! You are a computer character."
"Raine! We didn't see you come in," grinned Lirial "but then most people don't until it's too late."
"Laugh all you want Lirial, but there's some serious stuff happening at the moment."
"Like?" asked Jenny, pressing her lips together.
"Like, they just found three more agents and Rei Shiryu is on the case now," Raine's tone was deadly, "so," she continued, "we better get these newbies trained up fast and ready to move out."
Lirial gulped and looked at Jenny.
"We'd better get Kurea and Juliemoonstar in to help us then." Jenny nodded her agreement.
"You go find them, I'll set up the programs and get the rest of the crew together, no doubt they'll send some more seekers after us soon."
Julie moonstar looked at the pilots, sighed, and pushed her hand through her brown lavender streaked hair. She turned back to Jenny.
"You give me THIS to work with?"
"Hey!" said Duo, more than a little put out.
Raine looked at Julie. "I know we're short on time and I *know* that they are complete ignorants to the type of programs that we will be using but we need to get them trained up, and fast."
Jenny smiled at them both and swiveled back around to her laptop. "Wing, get in that chair. Kurea, hook him up; and then Raine will hook both you and Julie in with him. One can teach him the basic fighting program and the other can teach strategy. Okay?"
"Why do I get the feeling that we're being ignored?" asked Duo loudly.
"Because you're in a largely female populated society right now, but you'll get used to it," came a male voice. Four of the pilots swung around to greet the newcomer and the fifth was currently being hooked up to a computer.
"Strifo, so nice of you to join us," grinned Kaetron, fluttering her eyelashes. "Who's bed did you drag yourself from today?"
Quatre turned red, Duo began to laugh, Wufei looked disgusted, and Trowa..…looked like Trowa. Strifo didn't seem to mind, though.
"Now now, Kaetron, just because it wasn't yours...." Strifo trailed off; brown eyes laughing as the golden eyed girl turned an angry red before launching herself at him, to the amusement of standersby.
"NO FIGHTING IN THE ROOM! TAKE IT INTO THE CORRIDOR!" shouted Jenny over the mini wrestling match that was now taking place, frightened that her beloved computers would be damaged.
Strifo grinned as he rolled over and stood up in one easy movement and dusted off his black trousers and red tank top before offering his hand to the Gundam pilots.
"I'm Strifo-man, but everyone here calls me Strifo, one of the few guys here on ship."
"Few?" murmured Quatre, "Oh my, I think I'm supposed to be called by my Internet name, but call me Quatre."
"Duo Maxwell, I may run and I may hide but I never tell a lie, and my Internet name's Shinigami."
"Chang Wufei."
"Trowa Barton."
"What, no internet names?" grinned Strifo as he shook their hands one by one, "anyway," he continued, noticing Wufei's glare, "your friend's called...?"
"Heero Yuy, best hacker they could find, although I don't know why you managed to find HIM and not Neo....."
The Chameleon had arrived.
* * *
"Captain Tollamer Reporting with the rest of my unit Sir!"
"At ease Captain, you and your unit have been assigned on a special mission to help capture the elusive Gundam pilots."
"Yes sir!"
"...and captain?"
"Yes sir?"
"Please, try and stick to regulation dress codes! There is no gender in the army and a few of the lads are getting a bit uncomfortable, shall we say about your pajamas......although could you tell me where to find a nightie like that? My wife wants one...."
"Yes sir."
* * *
The Chameleon suddenly let out a high pitched giggle and began to sing
"Strifo-man! Strifo-man, I wanna be a Strifo man!"
Strifo tried to hide his embarrassment as the Chameleon ran around him in circles, when another guy dressed in green pants and an orange shirt ran in and managed to grab the Chameleon. He gave a nervous laugh as Jenny glared at him.
"Hi there I'm Maxmillian...Max fer short, and this here is the Chameleon."
"SQUEEEEEEEEE!"
Quatre blinked followed by Trowa, Wufei, and Duo. They stared at Max, unsure of what to say.
"Oh you found the Chameleon then?"
Yet another guy jogged in, ruffling his almost black hair as he yawned; then stretched upwards before dusting off his grey cargo pants and matching muscle t-shirt. He winked at Max, causing the other man to take a few steps back, holding the Chameleon in front of him as a barrier.
"SQUEEEEE! ZANOSIEL!"
"Hey, Jenny, just chuck that there duct tape would'ya?"
Jenny casually flicked the roll of grey tape over to Max, flashed a grin at Zanosiel for a second, then turned back to the screen as Kaetron smiled up at Max, then winked at Duo, eyes full of mischief.
"Well, hey Max, you look kinda flustered."
"I do?"
Zanosiel rolled his eyes at Strifo and held out his hand to the pilots, shaking each of the four lads' hands in turn. He merely pointed to a large screen, which now held Heero, Julie and Kurea.
"'Okay Jenny, whack it on, lets see what he's got."
"Roger that."
The pilots watched as Julie flew at Heero, literally, and then began to attack him while Kurea watched and shouted out directions to Heero, all the while in the background they could hear Kaetron winding up Max.
"Yeah you look REALLY flustered."
"Why-?"
"SQUEEEEE!" There was a sound of duct tape being torn off and then a muffled noise, which could have been "squeee".
"You'd look flustered too if you'd had to chase after the Chameleon, crawl through the air vents, and had then fallen out onto a mess hall table."
"No, it's just, you look kinda ruffled too. You know, your hair's more messed up than usual. Actually, come to think about it, so's Zanosiels..."
"Look, I'm straight okay? He's not, let's leave it at that."
"Awww, but you make such a cute couple..."
"Yeah? Well, you wanna know where Strifo's been-?"
Strifo leapt from his place next to Wufei and pinned Max to the floor, tearing off another length of duct tape and slapping it over Max's mouth. The Chameleon chose this point to jump into Strifo's lap while he was still sitting on Max, and began to bounce up and down.
Duo looked at Zanosiel with a raised eyebrow, "You expect us to believe that THAT is the Chameleon?"
They both looked over at the bouncing hyperactive five-year-old girl with curly black hair and brown eyes. They winced when she reached down and ripped off the duct tape over Max's mouth. "She acts very mature for her age," he replied, trying to avoid Duo's eyes, "the stuff she comes up with is amazing, but, like any other five-year-old girl, she's attracted to shiny, sparkling things, sugar, and pink."
"So, a hyper five-year-old is leading the fight against- what exactly? The monster dust bunnies?" The sarcastic tone was Wufei. Even without his eyebrows fully regrown, his scowl was something to be reckoned with.
"She's leading the fight against the agents, lead by Him." Yet another girl had stepped in. (the room was becoming quite crowded now) "I'll tell you more in the viewing area."
"MHHHHHH MPHHHHG!" the Chameleon leapt at the newcomer and was thrown to the ground. Dirty-blonde hair askew, hazel eyes laughing, and her skater clothes mussed up. She grinned.
"Let me translate that for you, ahem, The Chameleon says: TETSUO-SHIMA! But let's move to the viewing room before we go any further."
* * *
"Group, ATTENTION!"
"Captain Tollamer?"
"FORWARD MARCH!"
"Captain Tollamer?"
"ABOUT FACE!"
"CAPTAIN TOLLAMER!!!!"
"Yes?"
"If I have to tell you one more time about wearing your pajamas on the battle field..."
"But they're camouflaged pajamas!"
"Well, yes, but... Look! It's spread among your troops."
A man with ash brown hair and hazel eyes waved meekly from inside his mobile suit.
"Well they are Army ISSUE."
"CAPTAIN TOLLAMER! We do not want our troops going into battle in standard issue Boxers! Whether they are standard order or not! Do I make myself clear?"
There was a pause as Gypsy looked down and sighed inwardly. *And the guy in boxers looks so cute too,* she thought.
"Yes sir."
"Right, carry on Captain!"
Heero was sitting at his laptop. Heero liked his laptop, it was his form of escapism, on it he became some one else. Someone called Wing. One day he received a message while he was sitting with the other Gundam pilots. It was addressed to Wing, telling him to follow the forked brow. He checked who it was from; a name appeared on screen flashing quickly before shrinking into oblivion.
Chameleon....
At that moment, the doorbell rang; it was Dorothy inviting them to a big party at Relena's. Where they coming? She wanted to know. Heero shrugged and nodded. Why not?
At the party a girl approached him.
"Wing," Heero reeled round. Who knew him by that name in the real world? "We have been searching for you." He looked at the girl, trying his best to ignore the loud music and flashing strobe lights. He managed to see her clearly when a white light flashed on her for a nano-second.
Her eyes were hidden away by her black reflective sunglasses, but her dark brown hair was coiled up in a bun on the back of her head. She was wearing a red tank top and matching red sweat pants with a yellow stripe down the side. She cocked her head, looking at him as she was joined by another person.
She too stared at him, cocking her head.
Dressed in cargo shorts and a green tanktop, her almost black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Deep brown eyes filled with an interest, she then turned, nudging the girl who had spoken to him.
"Aurora? Have you delivered the message?" she asked the other girl. "Tomorrow you will have a message from the Chameleon. Be ready," and with that both girls disappeared into the heaving crowds.
Elsewhere in the party the other Gundam pilots were having the same experience. The strange thing was that they too were all being addressed by their Internet names, which was, in some cases, very embarrassing.
"Shinigami." Duo blinked. *What the....?* he thought as he turned around. A girl was standing behind him. "We have been searching for you."
He studied the babe... girl.... chick? She looked like she would be able to kick ass in any fight. A pink bandanna held back her brown hair, which was streaked with pink hazel. Eyes stared into his as they began to travel down her; sizing her up, taking in her attire, a plain white dress shirt and jeans. She was joined by another person in jeans and a simple t-shirt. Her long blonde hair reaching her ankles was loose; blue eyes that were sparkling with amusement looked from him to the other girl.
"Hey, Sakura, just deliver it will ya? The night is young!" Sakura blushed then shrugged.
"You'll get a message tomorrow. Just be ready. Kay?" she said before turning away, flicking a stray lock of hair over her shoulder, joining the other girl and walking away.
"Wait! Message from who?" Duo tried to grab her but she had already blended back into the crowds.
"JusticeBoy," Wufei paled and then turned red from anger, expecting it to be the braided baka. Instead he found an onna standing there, brown eyes trained on his brownish red hair glinting in the strobe lights, her deep blue shirt and baggy white pants seeming out of place at the party.
"What do you want, onna?" he growled in a threatening way. He was slightly suprised when she showed no fear.
She blinked before continuing. "We have been searching for you." As she said it another girl ran up to her.
"Hurry up! C'mon Lilangel! I wanna go and- did you deliver the message already?" her green eyes turned towards him, tilting her head so her brown hair fell across her eyes. Her clothes made Wufei scowl they were unsuitable for a party
"Indecent onna." he snorted at her baggy shorts and halter neck top. The green eyes filled with tears.
"Piker?" Lilangel queried she turned back towards Wufei, her eyes hardening. "Be ready for a message tomorrow!" she growled at him, narrowing her eyes as she lead her friend away; melting into the crowds before he could question them.
"Aurora?"
"Yes heart fire wind?"
"You know the others?"
"Yes?"
"You don't think they went out to find a hacker to be the chosen one as well do you?"
"Uhhhh I hope not!"
"Uh-oh...."
"Sakura?"
"I'm busy Sidra Astro..."
"Doing what?"
"Partying!!!"
"YEAH!"
"Piker? Are you okay, hun?"
"Yeah. Can we go kick his butt now?"
"Nah. Sorry, we gotta let chameleon talk with him first. You don't think the others are here do you?"
"No. LETS GO PARTY!!!"
Trowa blinked as a girl suddenly appeared at his elbow.
"Hello, Silent Clown."
"....?"
"We have a message for you"
"We?" He looked at her. Her midnight blue hair shimmered in the lights, blood red eyes reflecting him. She looked dressed to kill; black pants with a silver belt and a purple top with a silver star on it made her stand out from the now messy crowd. She flicked her hair back causing her large hoop earrings to shake a little as she introduced herself.
"I'm Emaleneangel and this," she gestured towards the crowd where another girl materialized, "is Dlilyhart."
The other girl was dressed in a red semi-tight shirt and tight blue pants; her emerald green eyes peered through blonde-brown hair, as though sizing him up.
"Be ready. A message will come for you tomorrow from chameleon," she said abruptly. With that, they both disappeared. Trowa blinked, then went to find Quatre.
Quatre was socializing with Relena and Dorothy, when someone tapped his shoulder ever so gently. Excusing himself, he turned around and saw two girls, one with long honey blonde hair and hazel eyes, dressed in a black tank top and capris.
"I'm Jaid."
He turned to the other girl who had blue-green eyes, not unlike his own, and blonde hair, she smiled at him. "I'm Miri and we have brought you a message from Chameleon," here she sweat dropped. "It says wait for a message from me tomorrow." With that, both girls disappeared.
The rest of the party passed without a hitch and it was only in the car on the way home when Duo started to ramble drunkenly about chameleons and weird babes that the others took notice.
* * *
Somewhere in a computer........
"Gypsy reporting." A girl with cobalt blue eyes and long silvery blonde hair stood in front of a desk.
"Well done, Tollamer, have you intercepted the agents of the Chameleon?" the girl sweat dropped.
"Well sir, there was a slight problem with that..."
"Which was?"
"The tech guys gave us the wrong coordinates." A growl came from behind the desk and the girl began to back away anxiously.
"Very well. They will be punished. And Gypsy?"
"Yes sir?"
"Next time get changed! We don't all want to see your pajamas!"
"Not even the ones with-?"
"NO! Not even the ones with the fluffy little sheep on them! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," she replied meekly before backing out of the room.
* * *
On a ship floating somewhere....
"So let me get this straight. You all went to find a chosen one; am I correct?"
There was a chorus of "Yes sir" as the assembled agents shuffled their feet. The Chameleon always had the power to make them do that, although it was a computerized voice and a blank screen.
"Fine," there was a sigh, "I will give the message to all of them. Go back to your duties."
Once again on the ship that is floating.....
"D'you think that the Chameleon is mad at us?"
"Well let's see, we lost Neo, accidentally told five of the most dangerous assassins in the world that our organization exists, and only just missed having the agents on our tail. What do you think?"
"Ummmm, no?"
"You baka!"
The Gundam pilots' house 10 a.m. (its Duo's fault he just can't seem to get up early!)
"So, Yuy, what was all that about weak onnas that Maxwell was shouting about?'
"Hn."
At that moment the kitchen door swung open and a girl with long black hair walked in. She glanced at Wufei. Her cold features reminded him of pilot 01 as she stood stock still in her black strapless top and leather pants, a pair of black sunglasses pushed up high on her head. She raised a delicate eyebrow and smirked.
"You're the chosen ones?" she asked incredulously. "The Chameleon really should stop taking lucky dips."
At the mention of the Chameleon, both boys sat up alert and Wufei disappeared to find the others. A second person walked through the door behind her. She turned to face the second girl and grinned.
"Hi, Lirial, didn't see you there." There was a soft snort of laughter before the other replied.
"You seldom do, Raine. You're usually too damn trigger happy!" Heero noted what dressed in a slightly more normal fashion jeans and a simple t-shirt did for her, but her eyes held a certain sparkle showing she was up for mischief as she tossed her coppery hair behind her. Wufei chose that moment to bring in the other three. Instantly, Duo sidled up to the girls and gave them his trademark grin.
"Hi, I'm Duo and you would be a total babe." Raine narrowed her eyes and turned away. He was small fry compared to her but Lirial was trapped. Her huge blue eyes flared with that sparkle and she moved faster than a cat on a hot tin roof, before anyone knew what had happened Duo was on the floor gazing at the ceiling wearing a slightly dazed expression.
"Tut tut, Lirial! We're meant to deliver them all in one piece, including the baka," scolded Raine, "so stop hitting on him and lets get going."
"Go where?" asked Duo.
"To where the agents can't find us, of course!" answered Lirial. "We're going to take you to the chameleon!"
Somewhere in cyber space....
"GYPSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Yes sir?"
"Have you got rid of those damn pajamas yet?!"
"Um, yes sir!" *which is slightly true,* she thought, *because now I have my fleecy ones on.*
"Have you managed to track down those scum that call themselves rebels?"
"Well, you see, there was a slight technical glitch again sir, and, well, you see...." Gypsy trailed off into silence; already cringing at the telling off that was to come.
"............"
"Sir?"
"I want them found soon, Gypsy. Or else you see that Internet add over there?" Gypsy gulped, everyone hated the ads.
"Yes sir?"
"I will make you wish, DO YOU HEAR ME? WISH that you were one of those ads! NOW GET TO WORK!!!!"
Gypsy quivered in front of the black leather chair. *I'm in for the high jump and its only 12 p.m.!* she thought.
"GYPSY!!!" she gulped.
"Yes sir?"
"What have I told you about those pajamas?"
"You told me not to wear the sheep ones and to take the fluffy ones off, and so I thought, well no one can resist puppy patch pajamas?"
"Gypsy?"
"Yes sir?"
"I can resist puppy patches pajamas."
"Oh."
"Enough of this idle chatter! Two rebels have been located at the pilots' house, send someone after them!"
"Immediately sir!"
"And gypsy?" she cowered, not daring to look up.
"Yes sir?" she whispered.
"Try not to wear your pajamas, the other agents are getting ideas..."
* * *
Raine and Lirial suddenly stood bolt upright and Lirial shot a scared look at Raine. "I thought this area was meant to be agent free," she whispered.
"It was." came the emotionless reply.
"Then what the HELL was that?" they both turned as another voice spoke up from the doorway
"It was me." A brown haired girl was resting against the doorframe.
"And just who might you be?" asked Raine, the sarcasm almost crystallizing in the air. Lirial narrowed her eyes, taking in the girl's features. Deep brown eyes that were devoid of emotion regarded them coolly. Her pants and tank top were black and she gave them a reptilian smile as she answered the question.
"The name is Yingfa, and you will soon be dead my, eh-hem, friends, for want of a better word that is."
"How about most deadly enemies?" suggested Duo, sensing the general mood of the conversation.
"Hmmmm." The girl smiled at him, and walked over from where she had been leaning. "You, my lil' guy, aren't a deadly enemy." She inched closer and ran a finger down his cheek. "Oh no, quite the opposite of an enemy, in fact," she murmured into his ear as he involuntarily shuddered.
"I think you got the wrong guy, miss," Quatre said shyly. Yingfa threw him a look of distaste, then she smirked.
"You'd fetch me a pretty penny with my superior," she leered and then fell to the floor as Raine hit her over the head with a frying pan.
"Well, now that that's over and done with, I think we should all go outside don't you?" she said in a nursery school teacher voice as they filed out of the room, all of them trying to ignore the very large frying pan she still held in a deathlike grip.
* * *
A phone rings, and a girl with jade green eyes and dark blonde hair answers it…
"Hello, who's speaking please?"
"Phoenix! Cut it out, we got them and Raine's threatening them already."
"So you require a transfer for five then?" she said, gazing intently at her faded flared jeans.
"Five? What do you mean five? There's seven of us."
"You're needed for a mission for the Chameleon, ohhhh, is Heero there?"
"Ah, this isn't the kind you don't come back from, is it? And yes, but tell me what the mission is."
"No, you've just gotta go delete some of the web."
"Right, kewl, we give 'em the pills and go, right?"
"Yup."
"Okay, hang on, then."
Lirial turned around and gave Raine a quick nod as she pulled out a small box containing five red pills. She smiled at the pilots as her mind thought up a plausible excuse.
"Here, have one of these, please." Instantly, Heero was suspicious. (A.N. with good reason too I mean have you seen that part of the film??)
"What are they?"
"Tictacs."
"Ohhh, great!" said Duo as he swallowed one down. After seeing nothing bad happen to Duo the other pilots took their 'tictacs', swallowed them down, and stood there feeling a bit stupid.
"Whoa! Quatre, I never realized you had such a funky mirror!" shouted Duo as the mirror began to stretch its tendrils towards them. All of the pilots screamed in unison as they were sucked inwards and upwards.
"Hey, Phoenix? Lover boy's about to arrive." Lirial and jade laughed as they put down the phone and ran off to begin their new mission.
Screams echoed down the halls of Quatre's mansion then it went deadly silent. The screams however did continue, it was just that now they were being made in a different reality. Or maybe that should be realities? As the Gundam Pilots whizzed through quite a good number of worlds (^_^ I'm bored, its time for a flight of fancy ok? And they never said we couldn't put in any other computer programs right? I mean imagine Keanau in 'the Sims'?)
First they passed a large battle where a green monster was attacking about seven other men, even in his state of trying not to bring up his breakfast Wufei still managed to yell, "Weaklings!" before they were sucked through another strange patch of air. This world was just like home, well like the colonies at least because the earth and moon were in the sky. Okay, so the flying mechanical dragon was a little bit strange, but what can you do? That was when the feeling of, wetness? No that's not quite the right word, think about a time when you've stayed in the sea or swimming pool for so long that you feel wet through, and when you get out the air is moist and you can't escape the wetness. Remember? Well that's what they feel like now.
'....Glhgrghhf,' choked Heero as he tried to spit out what ever it was that was in his mouth, that's when he realized he was completely naked. (^_^ Ok, all Heero admirers close your mouths now please.) Then a robot appeared in front of him and extended one very sharp glittering and above all evil looking arm, before pulling the plug out of the back of his head. Heero floundered around wondering if the same thing was happening to the other pilots, he heard a faint scream that sounded like Duo, which confirmed that it was happening to the other pilots. Suddenly, something felt different his eyes widened as he realized what it was. The floor of his crib or whatever it was he was in WAS MOVING AWAY, trying to refrain from screaming like a terrified child pilot 01 was dragged backwards down a hole as gravity acted like he was water going down a plug hole.
There were five simultaneous splashes.
Then someone screamed like a child in the middle of a temper tantrum.
"MY HAIR! MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!!! IT'S GOOOOONE!!!!!!!!!!" other than that there were just splashing sounds as the pilots tried desperately to stay alive in the sea of, well, lets not get into that.
Quatre was the first to go under, slipping beneath the waves as quietly as possible, then Trowa, then Duo, and then Wufei, followed soon after by Heero. So all the pilots were unconscious as they were lifted out by a small hovercraft.
The first thing Quatre saw when he opened his eyes was blinding white light.
"Allah," he moaned, "am I dead?" someone chuckled softly at his question and a familiar voice answered.
"No, Quatre, you're not dead," he heard another moan off to the right and Trowa's voice asked why his eyes hurt so much.
A different voice answered in a matter of fact tone. "Its because you've never used them before." Three other moans told Quatre that the other pilots were having the same experience and feelings of their eyeballs exploding in their heads. Unfortunately, the little Arabian lost consciousness before he could offer any words of comfort to his friends.
Two girls stood watching the process and swapping gossip
"Did you hear what happened while they were making the transition?"
"No! What?"
"Raine and Lirial ran into an agent! They were lucky to get out alive.....Don't you think it's strange?"
"Do you always finish your sentences off with questions, Emily?" there was a slight pause before the girl with blue eyes tossed her short brown hair and replied.
"No, I just wondered if you thought it was strange."
"You have to tell me what is strange before I can tell you if I think it is." answered Chazzkat grinning at her friend, her dark brown eyes shining with laughter.
"ARGH! That we have FIVE..."
"SHHHHHHH!" was hissed at them from the medical room.
"Sorry! That we have five chosen ones this time instead of one. Does the Chameleon know do you think?" Emily carried on in whispers.
Chazzkat gave this some consideration, "No."
* * *
IN THE GREAT BEYOND..... (No, not that one the other one.....)
"GYPSY!" *Oh, crap, what have I done now?* she wondered as she half-ran, half-walked in to the office.
The master didn't look very happy.
"I want a report on Yingfa, NOW!" Gypsy gulped she was dreading this.
"Yingfa has already reported in sir. The rebels knocked her unconscious and, and, and…" Gypsy stuttered as the masters eyes went from dark brown to red.
"Bring her here now." He was using his quiet voice. *This isn't good,* she thought, biting her lip and managing to run out of the door just as a vase exploded nearby where she had been standing.
Trowa woke up in a smallish cabin. He watched the handle on the door turn very slowly and sat bolt upright as it swung forward to reveal a lanky looking girl with glasses and her goldish brown hair tied in a bun. She narrowed her eyes at him and turned slightly, muttering to someone in the corridor. Another girl stepped in and grinned at him, purple eyes glinting mischievously through a thatch of red hair.
The first girl snorted at her companion's obvious infatuation with him and gave him a grim smile.
"Breakfast is ready and waiting." Trowa followed them both down the hall and was greeted with the sight of the other Gundam pilots with no hair, just fuzz.
Duo looked.......not like Duo. The trademark plait was gone, replaced by short brown fuzz, making his eyes look even bigger, but then the same could be said for all the pilots.
They were seated at a table and plates of 'stuff' were passed down to them as everybody got ready to eat. Duo took a huge mouthful, a strange look crossed his face before he eventually swallowed and announced, "This stuff tastes like-"
"Couscous!" interrupted Quatre happily. "It tastes just like couscous!"
The others stared at him before the girl with her hair in a bun coughed slightly and explained,
"The food that you are eating is made up of all the nutrients we need to survive, i.e. 'things,' hence the name 'stuff.'"
"But it TASTES like-" Duo tried again.
"Couscous!" the little Arabian nodded at him again, obviously happy someone thought it tasted the way he thought it did.
"By the way, my name is Jenny and that is MystikalAngel, or Mysti for short, I believe you already know the others…" stated the green-eyed girl in a bun. Piker and Lilangel waved at them from their discussion. Then the other girls poured into the room to grab something to eat: Aurora, Heart fire wind, Sakura, Sidra astro, Emaleneangel, Dilyhart, Jaid, Miri, Phoenix, and Lirial.
"Raine is on another mission," grinned Lirial as she grabbed her food and hurried away but not before calling over her shoulder, "On babysitting duty again, Jenny?"
* * *
The boss was upset. Gypsy could tell this by the way he had ordered her to go and find Yingfa and bring her to him.
He had then deleted her while she had been forced to watch. Not deleted as in shot mind you, deleted as in erased files from the Internet. Gypsy had had pixilated nightmares.
Now he wanted to be shown photos of the 'ones' they were after and she had agreed. So here she was, in the Matrix, wondering around the pajamas section of Macy's.
*It's a shame the old saying is true,* she thought. "You can't take it with you" she sighed as she stroked the fleecy pajamas now available in baby pink.
"Mouse, reporting for duty!" the girl in the schoolgirl outfit straightened, her twin pigtails bobbing.
"Valerian, reporting for duty!" Valerian straightened up too tossing her hair behind her shoulder.
"Xel-chan, reporting for duty!" Xel-chan, too, straightened trying to get rid of the bored look.
"Excellent, well done Gypsy you actually managed to find three new recruits"
"Yes sir," Gypsy was blinking rapidly, *who's that girl leaning on the masters chair?* she thought, then paled as she realized. The girl smirked at her, green eyes glinting evilly as she flipped her braid back over her shoulder fingering her silver cross.
"Hello, Gypsy," she purred, "nice to see you again."
"Hello, Rei, amazing to see you wearing anything but black." Rei glanced down at her green cargo pants and white tube top before smirking.
"Well, I thought I'd make an effort, since someone has too," she added, glaring pointedly at Gypsy's pajamas.
The Boss grinned. "I see you two know one another then? Well, that's good as you'll be working together to help the newbies infiltrate this organization called OZ."
"But-" started Gypsy.
"No buts, I want Mouse in and working with their top people before the week is up. Go now!"
"Yes sir." Gypsy led the new recruits out of the room trying to ignore Rei smirking at her back.
* * *
"So what're we doing now?" inquired the ever active Duo, still pouting due to braid loss.
"Well...." Jenny paused trying to think, "The Chameleon should be teaching you, but we don't know if it'll come so we'd better just plug you in and see what happens."
"Plug us in?" asked Quatre.
"Oh, yes," interrupted Katreon, golden eyes sparkling, her hands beginning to twist the front of her blue shirt as she thought about it, "We get to have fights in the Matrix, just as practice you know? We can run any program in there. All purely professional, of course."
"How?" that was Heero.
"Well you see this plug here, we shove it into the socket at the back of your head and voila! You are a computer character."
"Raine! We didn't see you come in," grinned Lirial "but then most people don't until it's too late."
"Laugh all you want Lirial, but there's some serious stuff happening at the moment."
"Like?" asked Jenny, pressing her lips together.
"Like, they just found three more agents and Rei Shiryu is on the case now," Raine's tone was deadly, "so," she continued, "we better get these newbies trained up fast and ready to move out."
Lirial gulped and looked at Jenny.
"We'd better get Kurea and Juliemoonstar in to help us then." Jenny nodded her agreement.
"You go find them, I'll set up the programs and get the rest of the crew together, no doubt they'll send some more seekers after us soon."
Julie moonstar looked at the pilots, sighed, and pushed her hand through her brown lavender streaked hair. She turned back to Jenny.
"You give me THIS to work with?"
"Hey!" said Duo, more than a little put out.
Raine looked at Julie. "I know we're short on time and I *know* that they are complete ignorants to the type of programs that we will be using but we need to get them trained up, and fast."
Jenny smiled at them both and swiveled back around to her laptop. "Wing, get in that chair. Kurea, hook him up; and then Raine will hook both you and Julie in with him. One can teach him the basic fighting program and the other can teach strategy. Okay?"
"Why do I get the feeling that we're being ignored?" asked Duo loudly.
"Because you're in a largely female populated society right now, but you'll get used to it," came a male voice. Four of the pilots swung around to greet the newcomer and the fifth was currently being hooked up to a computer.
"Strifo, so nice of you to join us," grinned Kaetron, fluttering her eyelashes. "Who's bed did you drag yourself from today?"
Quatre turned red, Duo began to laugh, Wufei looked disgusted, and Trowa..…looked like Trowa. Strifo didn't seem to mind, though.
"Now now, Kaetron, just because it wasn't yours...." Strifo trailed off; brown eyes laughing as the golden eyed girl turned an angry red before launching herself at him, to the amusement of standersby.
"NO FIGHTING IN THE ROOM! TAKE IT INTO THE CORRIDOR!" shouted Jenny over the mini wrestling match that was now taking place, frightened that her beloved computers would be damaged.
Strifo grinned as he rolled over and stood up in one easy movement and dusted off his black trousers and red tank top before offering his hand to the Gundam pilots.
"I'm Strifo-man, but everyone here calls me Strifo, one of the few guys here on ship."
"Few?" murmured Quatre, "Oh my, I think I'm supposed to be called by my Internet name, but call me Quatre."
"Duo Maxwell, I may run and I may hide but I never tell a lie, and my Internet name's Shinigami."
"Chang Wufei."
"Trowa Barton."
"What, no internet names?" grinned Strifo as he shook their hands one by one, "anyway," he continued, noticing Wufei's glare, "your friend's called...?"
"Heero Yuy, best hacker they could find, although I don't know why you managed to find HIM and not Neo....."
The Chameleon had arrived.
* * *
"Captain Tollamer Reporting with the rest of my unit Sir!"
"At ease Captain, you and your unit have been assigned on a special mission to help capture the elusive Gundam pilots."
"Yes sir!"
"...and captain?"
"Yes sir?"
"Please, try and stick to regulation dress codes! There is no gender in the army and a few of the lads are getting a bit uncomfortable, shall we say about your pajamas......although could you tell me where to find a nightie like that? My wife wants one...."
"Yes sir."
* * *
The Chameleon suddenly let out a high pitched giggle and began to sing
"Strifo-man! Strifo-man, I wanna be a Strifo man!"
Strifo tried to hide his embarrassment as the Chameleon ran around him in circles, when another guy dressed in green pants and an orange shirt ran in and managed to grab the Chameleon. He gave a nervous laugh as Jenny glared at him.
"Hi there I'm Maxmillian...Max fer short, and this here is the Chameleon."
"SQUEEEEEEEEE!"
Quatre blinked followed by Trowa, Wufei, and Duo. They stared at Max, unsure of what to say.
"Oh you found the Chameleon then?"
Yet another guy jogged in, ruffling his almost black hair as he yawned; then stretched upwards before dusting off his grey cargo pants and matching muscle t-shirt. He winked at Max, causing the other man to take a few steps back, holding the Chameleon in front of him as a barrier.
"SQUEEEEE! ZANOSIEL!"
"Hey, Jenny, just chuck that there duct tape would'ya?"
Jenny casually flicked the roll of grey tape over to Max, flashed a grin at Zanosiel for a second, then turned back to the screen as Kaetron smiled up at Max, then winked at Duo, eyes full of mischief.
"Well, hey Max, you look kinda flustered."
"I do?"
Zanosiel rolled his eyes at Strifo and held out his hand to the pilots, shaking each of the four lads' hands in turn. He merely pointed to a large screen, which now held Heero, Julie and Kurea.
"'Okay Jenny, whack it on, lets see what he's got."
"Roger that."
The pilots watched as Julie flew at Heero, literally, and then began to attack him while Kurea watched and shouted out directions to Heero, all the while in the background they could hear Kaetron winding up Max.
"Yeah you look REALLY flustered."
"Why-?"
"SQUEEEEE!" There was a sound of duct tape being torn off and then a muffled noise, which could have been "squeee".
"You'd look flustered too if you'd had to chase after the Chameleon, crawl through the air vents, and had then fallen out onto a mess hall table."
"No, it's just, you look kinda ruffled too. You know, your hair's more messed up than usual. Actually, come to think about it, so's Zanosiels..."
"Look, I'm straight okay? He's not, let's leave it at that."
"Awww, but you make such a cute couple..."
"Yeah? Well, you wanna know where Strifo's been-?"
Strifo leapt from his place next to Wufei and pinned Max to the floor, tearing off another length of duct tape and slapping it over Max's mouth. The Chameleon chose this point to jump into Strifo's lap while he was still sitting on Max, and began to bounce up and down.
Duo looked at Zanosiel with a raised eyebrow, "You expect us to believe that THAT is the Chameleon?"
They both looked over at the bouncing hyperactive five-year-old girl with curly black hair and brown eyes. They winced when she reached down and ripped off the duct tape over Max's mouth. "She acts very mature for her age," he replied, trying to avoid Duo's eyes, "the stuff she comes up with is amazing, but, like any other five-year-old girl, she's attracted to shiny, sparkling things, sugar, and pink."
"So, a hyper five-year-old is leading the fight against- what exactly? The monster dust bunnies?" The sarcastic tone was Wufei. Even without his eyebrows fully regrown, his scowl was something to be reckoned with.
"She's leading the fight against the agents, lead by Him." Yet another girl had stepped in. (the room was becoming quite crowded now) "I'll tell you more in the viewing area."
"MHHHHHH MPHHHHG!" the Chameleon leapt at the newcomer and was thrown to the ground. Dirty-blonde hair askew, hazel eyes laughing, and her skater clothes mussed up. She grinned.
"Let me translate that for you, ahem, The Chameleon says: TETSUO-SHIMA! But let's move to the viewing room before we go any further."
* * *
"Group, ATTENTION!"
"Captain Tollamer?"
"FORWARD MARCH!"
"Captain Tollamer?"
"ABOUT FACE!"
"CAPTAIN TOLLAMER!!!!"
"Yes?"
"If I have to tell you one more time about wearing your pajamas on the battle field..."
"But they're camouflaged pajamas!"
"Well, yes, but... Look! It's spread among your troops."
A man with ash brown hair and hazel eyes waved meekly from inside his mobile suit.
"Well they are Army ISSUE."
"CAPTAIN TOLLAMER! We do not want our troops going into battle in standard issue Boxers! Whether they are standard order or not! Do I make myself clear?"
There was a pause as Gypsy looked down and sighed inwardly. *And the guy in boxers looks so cute too,* she thought.
"Yes sir."
"Right, carry on Captain!"