Disclaimers Note - I don't own Gundam Wing, or any of the characters therein. All of the unfamiliar characters are my own, but some unfamiliar ones might become familiar, in which case they are not mine, or they may not! You'll have to read this and find out! Any correlation of this story to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental, honest. Phew! The characters of Hayley Reo, Kaia McInrae and Emma Kentley are mine, 'though, all mine! MINE!
**The Original Age Part 10 – Realisation of the Inevitable
By Espion
Duo leapt over the door of the general-purpose vehicle and sprinted towards where the Dragon was now lying in its new position. It was a couple of seconds before he noticed the short girl rapping on the hatch of the mech with her knuckles. Trowa ran up beside him.
'We need to find out what happened,' he said, 'and she's the only person around.'
They walked over towards the girl.
*
'Lena! Can you hear me?' Hilde banged on the hatch again. Surprisingly, when her friend spoke, she could hear her voice clearly.
'Yes, but I can't get out, the hatch has locked on both sides.'
Hilde tried to pull open the hatch, but ended up hurting her fingers. She sank back thoughtfully, sucking them.
'I have a small request…' said Relena.
'Yes?'
'GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!' There was a bang from inside.
'Calm down, I'll get you out… I hope.'
'Sure, I'm calm, I mean, why wouldn't I be, I'm just out riding, trying to stay as far away from this hunk of rubbish as I can, when suddenly...Pah.' Relena slumped inside the machine.
The cockpit of the Gundam was a mass of blinking lights. From the ceiling hung two robotic levers with what looked like knuckle-dusters at the end of them. She realised that the pilot was supposed to put their fingers into them, and then use them to control movement. In the centre of the pad in front of her there was a large control stick with a red button on the top of it. She had a good feeling that she shouldn't touch it, as she knew what it was. It was the control for the weapon that Hilde had described to her. In fact, had she not been blinded with fear, she'd've found the cockpit very interesting.
*
'Excuse me.' Trowa tapped Hilde on the shoulder. She spun around, and Trowa looked surprised.
'Hey, don't I know…?' But Hilde interrupted him.
'It just suddenly moved, we couldn't get outta the way…Oh my God…' She ran over to the hatch again, and drew an Allen key from behind her ear and began to frantically try to unbolt the hatch. Trowa grabbed her shoulder again and turned her around. She glared, but then stopped as she realised who she was glaring at. She lowered her head, and said quietly, 'You've gotta get her outta there.'
'Who?' asked Duo, looking around, 'what happened?'
Hilde took a deep breath; she had to make this clear.
'We were up there (She pointed) riding, when my horse and me fell into a hole in the mountain. It led down here. She leant forward to see where we'd gone, and she fell in too. Then, as we were about to go back up to find her horse, that… thing… (She motioned at Doloria) lunged at us, and managed to get her on the side of its head, here. (She walked forward and touched where Relena had been) Then, when she was about to get off, the hatch opened on its own, and she fell in. Then it locked.'
She looked at Trowa hopefully. He looked completely confused.
'She…?' He prompted Hilde.
'Oh…of course. Relena.' Duo blinked.
There was another bang from inside.
'Hilde, what's going on out there?' Relena's voice made both Gundam pilots look up.
'Wait a tic, she's in there?' Duo shot Hilde a questioning look.
'YES!' cried Hilde.
'Well, I suppose it's unfortunate for you, but since you're in there…' He was cut off by a squeak from the cockpit of the mech.
'What's wrong?'
'N…Nothing, this kind of camera scanned me, but its stopped now…' Hilde looked at Trowa.
'What was it?' He shrugged.
'I don't know. We don't even know this mech's name.'
'Its name is Doloria,' said Hilde, 'does that help?'
'How d'you know that?' asked Duo, but Hilde held up a hand to silence him.
'We're getting away from the point of this entire conversation. I need to get her outta there.'
She suddenly looked around her. It had just occurred to her that there might be people in the bushes.
'Well, actually, since she's in there, we need to ask her something.' Trowa shot a glance at Duo. Might as well get it over with.
Ten minutes later
'You have got to be joking,' spluttered Relena when Duo had finished, 'do you have a death wish?'
'What's that supposed to mean?' Duo now had a large headache.
'Okay, you're proposing that I take this thing to a cave somewhere. Did it ever occur to you that I have no idea how it works? I'll probably manage to destroy the entire forest before I figure it out.'
'Hey, you weren't our first choice either, but it's your own fault.' Duo snapped
'What? How is it my fault?'
'You were the one who went inside it first, ne?'
'I guess…but…'
'So now it thinks that you're its pilot.'
Silence. Then Relena spoke.
'How does it think?'
'Good question, I have absolutely no idea. So, are you gonna do it or what?'
Hilde looked up at the mech lying on its side, with Relena imprisoned inside. Somehow, she knew what Relena was going to say.
'I claim no responsibility for any damage I cause,' said the trapped girl, 'Okay, what do I do?'
'Try getting up,' suggested Hilde.
'Smart first move,' agreed Duo.
*
Heero crept along the outside of the school, keeping in shadow. He had no idea where to go, as he hadn't been given any pre-mission information. He'd just have to listen out for information. Hayley watched him just standing there and tutted.
She dropped out of the tree she was in and landed silently next to him. As he spun around she said, 'Alternatively, you could just ask me where her office is, ne?'
'Hn,' said Heero.
'End of the Arts corridor, combination for the door is 4n86k9f. Good luck.' She turned and simply melted into a passing group of students. Heero blinked. That had been easy. He stole into the school, avoiding the teachers, and was soon on his way back to the base with the offending Doc. in his hand.
*
'What happened?'
'The tail twitched,' said Hilde. Relena sighed.
She had put her fingers through the control loops, and was methodically trying each position.
'Hey, what do you suppose would happen if I did this…' she twisted her hands so they were one above the other, with the palms facing each other.
Hilde and Trowa dived out of the way as fifty tonnes of Gundanium rolled over onto its belly.
'Okay, I just have to move like it moves, sort of,' Relena muttered to herself.
'Have you got it?' called Hilde.
'I don't think I'll ever really 'get it' Hilde, but if you mean 'do I have a basic idea how it works', then yes.'
'I wonder what this does…' Relena muttered to herself.
'Might as well try it,' muttered Duo, 'cos it doesn't look like you're ever gonna get outta there.'
Relena pressed the blue button. Instantly, she could see out of the front screen.
'Cool, it's the right way up,' she said.
'You turned on the viewscreen,' said Trowa.
'Guess so,' said the captive girl.
*
Heero walked into the base and put the Doc. on the table. The base seemed deserted, but then he found Quatre sitting in front of the main computer.
{AN- How hard did he look?}
'I got the Doc. Where are the others?' he asked. Quatre looked up.
'Oh, hello Heero. Trowa and Duo are checking out the breach of the security shield, and I don't know where Wufei is.'
Just then the radio crackled.
'Quatre, are you there?' Quatre spun his chair around and pulled the microphone towards him.
'Yes, Trowa, what did you find?'
Hilde looked at the tall boy as he began to explain.
'There was an accident.'
'Is everybody alright?'
'Relena Peacecraft is trapped inside the Dragon.'
'Allah preserve us, d'you want to speak to Heero?'
Heero took the mike.
'What is it Trowa?'
'We need you to guide Gundam Omega to the cave we're gonna hide it in. We think that the mech actually intentionally captured the girl.'
'On my way.' The line went dead.
'I'll be on the radio,' said Quatre as Heero left for the hangar, 'I'll tell you if they come up with anything.'
Heero left the room. He didn't answer, because it wasn't a question.
Quatre swung back towards the computer.
'Do you still want to know who I am?' Quatre turned again and saw Kaia, sitting on the windowsill, kicking her ankles gently against the wall. Quatre nodded.
'My name is Kaia McInrae, and I'm an orphan. I've spent my entire life looking for this.' She handed him a drawing. It showed a mobile suit about the size of Espion, but unmistakably modelled on something feline, probably a panther. Quatre turned the picture over. On the back was printed, 'This will keep you busy. If you have time, I'd find your brother.' Quatre looked up into the girl's dark blue eyes.
'Who gave you this?'
'An old man I passed in the street one day, just after I was chucked outta the orphanage.'
'That doesn't make much sense.'
'Gomen,' Kaia hung her head.
'Did you find him?'
'No.'
*
'Do you think this thing flies? Oh well, time to find out.' Relena reached out towards some controls she hadn't touched yet. Hilde waited, and then watched as the machine got to its four feet slowly. Relena carefully kept the tail held high, so as not to damage the trees any more than she already had. The three onlookers watched as Relena experimentally tested the spring in the legs.
'Sproingy,' she reported. Hilde laughed. Suddenly Relena had a worrying thought.
'I don't really wanna fly… can't I walk…'
'If you walk, you'll leave an unmistakable trail for others to follow,' said Trowa. Relena sighed.
'Okay, then jump, that's all there is to it…'
'What?'
'Sorry, I always mutter to myself when I'm nervous…'
Suddenly, so quickly that none of the other three expected anything, the girl trapped inside the huge mech coiled the springs in the mech's legs and sprang into the air. The G force nearly knocked her out, but she managed to remember: -
If you don't open the wings you'll be a stain on the forest floor, no da.
Relena yanked the huge wings open, and the force was instantly decreased, and she could feel her feet again. She dared to look out of the viewscreen.
To her astonishment, the huge wings had stopped the fall entirely, and she was now hovering about thirty metres above the treetops.
Suddenly something clicked. If she wanted to do this right, she had to make it move like it should. She gradually increased the angles of the wings until air began to spill out from under them, and the mech began to glide downwards. At the last second before she hit the ground, she raked the legs forward using the finger control, and came to a halt exactly where she had been before.
'Okay, I think I can do it now,' she said.
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Felflowne – Two chapters in one day, I'm shattered. Sorry there's been so much about HER in these last few chapters, but soon the focus will shift elsewhere.
Relena – What do you mean HER? You're rude!
Felflowne – Hey, shut up, I gave you an okay character in this fic! You should see what someone like DeathSi would do to you!
Relena - *sulkily* Okay…
So anyway! Chapter 10 already! *Strokes her chibi-neko-cat muse* aren't you a good muse! See you soon!!