Ashes, ashes
We all fall down.
-Part of a famous children's song, refers to the deaths of many children during the Bubonic Plague
The walls were white. The light stung her eyes as her sedated mind attempted to make heads or tails of the situation at hand. She raised her left arm to rub her head, to knead away the pounding, and was shocked to see a string of tubes. One came from her arm and one from her nose. She grunted in anger as she pulled out the one in her nostril, and began to wonder just how worn down she must look. Her mother had been in the hospital for a few
weeks when she was a child. She remembered how old and frayed her usually flambouyant mother had looked, and prayed to whatever God would listen that she didn't look so pathetic.
"Miss Une!" A nurse stopped outside her door in surprise. "You're awake!"
"Anyone can see that," Une yelled in the sharpest tone she could muster. She was pleasantly surprised with herself. "Where the hell am I? And where is that bastard, Tuberov?" The nurse looked confused, then frightened when Une tried to get up.
"Oh, no, you mustn't do that!" The nurse ran over to take her hand and try to sit her down, but Une recoiled and gave her a stinging slap across the cheek. With the oily toungue of a snake, she said "Don't you dare touch me, you lowly bed-pan washing child."
The nurse grabbed a hold of her face and ran from the room, tears threatening to take hold of her. //Baby.//thought Une as she stood up. She looked around for a moment before figuring her next move. //I'll call Trieze-sama, that's what I'll do.//
Her hand went blankly to her breast, in search of the uniform jacket which had for so long contained a cellular. Upon the realization that she was wearing a hospital gown, she pressed the call button on the inside frame of her bed. A crackily voice responded, "Yes?"
"This is Lady Une. I request my belongings to be brought to me immediately."
A muffled conversation ensued, then an answer, "Miss Une, we've been informed of your awakening. Mister Treize will be informed at once."
"What happened to Tuberov?" An embarrassed and secretive answer came, "Uh, you see, Tuberov has been...dismissed of his post. A recent...problem...has caused Mr. Dermail to call for assistance from the Treize faction. Lord Dermail sends his deepest apologies for *any* inconvenience."
"Well I should hope so." Une stopped, then added, "What sort of problem?"
"Well, that information is classified. Us lowly bed-pan washing children have not been informed of that." Une cringed slightly at the cynicism in the woman's voice. She pulled her finger off the button, not bothering to thank her, and sat on the bed.
//What problem has befallen us, Trieze-sama?//
"What do you mean 'dump her off'?!" Duo pushed the chair he had been sitting in onto the kitchen floor, the clatter resonating throughout the room. "That's insane!"
Quatre held onto Duo's arm and urged in a strong voice, "Duo, stop, perhaps Heero will be open to sug-" He was cut off as Duo pulled away in anger. He stuck a finger in Heero's face. "You idiot. That girl is an OZ refugee, you can't just stick her in an orphanage! There's something that makes her different from other kids! She should stay with one of us, out of OZ's reach."
Heero looked at Duo calmly. "I'm surprised you'd be so adamantly against an orphanage. A lot of kids grow up in one. I know of one, in fact, that grew up in one." Quatre tried to understand the undertone to what Heero had just said when Duo, seething at the brim, said, "Yeah, well fuck you. This kid isn't a street-rat who needs a place like that. This kid wouldn't
grow up happy. She'd read some stupid brat and scare them all. Then OZ would find her, and she'd grow up a soldier, like one of us."
"What happens to The Girl is none of our business. We should stick to our mission." He narrowed his eyes. "If she stayed with one of us, we'd all be in danger. She doesn't know we're gundam pilots yet. If she finds out and is caught after that, special or not, she's going to screw us over."
Duo turned away. "Shut up."
Heero pressed on, hoping he was getting through to him. "You keep forgetting she's just a kid, Duo. If she gets caught they'll scare her into revealing everything. She may be able to tell things about us we can't even imagine. Our past, our plans. She'd tell them that, too."
Quatre couldn't handle this. "That's stupid, Heero." The two pilots looked at Quatre in surprise. "She wouldn't be caught if she stayed with us. Even if she was, so would we, and they wouldn't need her to get all the information they needed."
"Idiocy." Duo joined Quatre in the tear-down of Heero's words. "Complete idiocy. They could use her against us if they caught her in an orphanage. You didn't even say they wouldn't, you said it didn't concern us. How come it concerns us if she gets caught while she's with one of us, huh? Maybe she does know we're pilots. She isn't stupid." He picked back up his chair, and with a lopsided grin, continued, "We should take extra precautions to make sure she won't leak info, right?"
Heero got up slowly. "You two can do whatever. I'm leaving tonight. Take the chance." He walked out, adding, "If she's caught, or if she learns to much-"
He paused. "I will have to kill her."
Duo turned to Quatre. "What do we do? We got her now, so where should we bring her?" Quatre pondered for a moment. "How about Cinq? We could ask Miss Relena for a political asylum."
Duo reached over and hit Quatre on the head lightly. "You moron. If we ask for political asylum in Cinq, OZ'll know something's up. I can imagine it now." He sat back down and leaned back in his chair. "Damn."
Quatre frowned. "We could ask Trowa to allow us to stay in his circus. I doubt Trowa would let us down."
Duo looked sideways at Quatre. "Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't you?" He sighed. "No, Trowa and Heero are practically one in the same. Trowa would see this girl as too much of a threat. Maybe Wufei has a little hiding place we can hang..." It was Quatre's turn to shatter Duo's idea. "Yeah, I'm sure Wufei would be all for baby-sitting."
"Fine, then somewhere else, I don't care!" Duo sulked for a moment. "I bet Hilde's still hanging out at the scrap yard. If I were to trust anyone, it'd be her."
Quatre nodded. "If you're sure Trowa isn't trustworthy-"
"Damn, Quatre, he's trustworthy, I guess, but he'd lose his job anyways. He can't just go bunking his war buddies." Duo shook his head. "Christ."
Quatre stood up. "All right, Duo. I'll go get The Girl." He smiled. "Maybe now she'll tell us her name."
We all fall down.
-Part of a famous children's song, refers to the deaths of many children during the Bubonic Plague
The walls were white. The light stung her eyes as her sedated mind attempted to make heads or tails of the situation at hand. She raised her left arm to rub her head, to knead away the pounding, and was shocked to see a string of tubes. One came from her arm and one from her nose. She grunted in anger as she pulled out the one in her nostril, and began to wonder just how worn down she must look. Her mother had been in the hospital for a few
weeks when she was a child. She remembered how old and frayed her usually flambouyant mother had looked, and prayed to whatever God would listen that she didn't look so pathetic.
"Miss Une!" A nurse stopped outside her door in surprise. "You're awake!"
"Anyone can see that," Une yelled in the sharpest tone she could muster. She was pleasantly surprised with herself. "Where the hell am I? And where is that bastard, Tuberov?" The nurse looked confused, then frightened when Une tried to get up.
"Oh, no, you mustn't do that!" The nurse ran over to take her hand and try to sit her down, but Une recoiled and gave her a stinging slap across the cheek. With the oily toungue of a snake, she said "Don't you dare touch me, you lowly bed-pan washing child."
The nurse grabbed a hold of her face and ran from the room, tears threatening to take hold of her. //Baby.//thought Une as she stood up. She looked around for a moment before figuring her next move. //I'll call Trieze-sama, that's what I'll do.//
Her hand went blankly to her breast, in search of the uniform jacket which had for so long contained a cellular. Upon the realization that she was wearing a hospital gown, she pressed the call button on the inside frame of her bed. A crackily voice responded, "Yes?"
"This is Lady Une. I request my belongings to be brought to me immediately."
A muffled conversation ensued, then an answer, "Miss Une, we've been informed of your awakening. Mister Treize will be informed at once."
"What happened to Tuberov?" An embarrassed and secretive answer came, "Uh, you see, Tuberov has been...dismissed of his post. A recent...problem...has caused Mr. Dermail to call for assistance from the Treize faction. Lord Dermail sends his deepest apologies for *any* inconvenience."
"Well I should hope so." Une stopped, then added, "What sort of problem?"
"Well, that information is classified. Us lowly bed-pan washing children have not been informed of that." Une cringed slightly at the cynicism in the woman's voice. She pulled her finger off the button, not bothering to thank her, and sat on the bed.
//What problem has befallen us, Trieze-sama?//
"What do you mean 'dump her off'?!" Duo pushed the chair he had been sitting in onto the kitchen floor, the clatter resonating throughout the room. "That's insane!"
Quatre held onto Duo's arm and urged in a strong voice, "Duo, stop, perhaps Heero will be open to sug-" He was cut off as Duo pulled away in anger. He stuck a finger in Heero's face. "You idiot. That girl is an OZ refugee, you can't just stick her in an orphanage! There's something that makes her different from other kids! She should stay with one of us, out of OZ's reach."
Heero looked at Duo calmly. "I'm surprised you'd be so adamantly against an orphanage. A lot of kids grow up in one. I know of one, in fact, that grew up in one." Quatre tried to understand the undertone to what Heero had just said when Duo, seething at the brim, said, "Yeah, well fuck you. This kid isn't a street-rat who needs a place like that. This kid wouldn't
grow up happy. She'd read some stupid brat and scare them all. Then OZ would find her, and she'd grow up a soldier, like one of us."
"What happens to The Girl is none of our business. We should stick to our mission." He narrowed his eyes. "If she stayed with one of us, we'd all be in danger. She doesn't know we're gundam pilots yet. If she finds out and is caught after that, special or not, she's going to screw us over."
Duo turned away. "Shut up."
Heero pressed on, hoping he was getting through to him. "You keep forgetting she's just a kid, Duo. If she gets caught they'll scare her into revealing everything. She may be able to tell things about us we can't even imagine. Our past, our plans. She'd tell them that, too."
Quatre couldn't handle this. "That's stupid, Heero." The two pilots looked at Quatre in surprise. "She wouldn't be caught if she stayed with us. Even if she was, so would we, and they wouldn't need her to get all the information they needed."
"Idiocy." Duo joined Quatre in the tear-down of Heero's words. "Complete idiocy. They could use her against us if they caught her in an orphanage. You didn't even say they wouldn't, you said it didn't concern us. How come it concerns us if she gets caught while she's with one of us, huh? Maybe she does know we're pilots. She isn't stupid." He picked back up his chair, and with a lopsided grin, continued, "We should take extra precautions to make sure she won't leak info, right?"
Heero got up slowly. "You two can do whatever. I'm leaving tonight. Take the chance." He walked out, adding, "If she's caught, or if she learns to much-"
He paused. "I will have to kill her."
Duo turned to Quatre. "What do we do? We got her now, so where should we bring her?" Quatre pondered for a moment. "How about Cinq? We could ask Miss Relena for a political asylum."
Duo reached over and hit Quatre on the head lightly. "You moron. If we ask for political asylum in Cinq, OZ'll know something's up. I can imagine it now." He sat back down and leaned back in his chair. "Damn."
Quatre frowned. "We could ask Trowa to allow us to stay in his circus. I doubt Trowa would let us down."
Duo looked sideways at Quatre. "Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't you?" He sighed. "No, Trowa and Heero are practically one in the same. Trowa would see this girl as too much of a threat. Maybe Wufei has a little hiding place we can hang..." It was Quatre's turn to shatter Duo's idea. "Yeah, I'm sure Wufei would be all for baby-sitting."
"Fine, then somewhere else, I don't care!" Duo sulked for a moment. "I bet Hilde's still hanging out at the scrap yard. If I were to trust anyone, it'd be her."
Quatre nodded. "If you're sure Trowa isn't trustworthy-"
"Damn, Quatre, he's trustworthy, I guess, but he'd lose his job anyways. He can't just go bunking his war buddies." Duo shook his head. "Christ."
Quatre stood up. "All right, Duo. I'll go get The Girl." He smiled. "Maybe now she'll tell us her name."