Author's Note: I always admired Manon Chapman in ep 9. She was such a strong lady and so devoted to her husband. When Gentle reappeared at the tournament, I wondered what his wife thought, considering her efforts to help him win gundam fights until his "death". So I wrote this chapter to explore it a bit. Thanks to all who have reviewed and those who have read.
MANON'S LAMENT
The government jet of Neo Japan prepared to make its descent to Heathrow Airport in Neo London. An attendant approached a dozing Rain shaking her gently.
"Dr. Mikamura, we are landing now."
Rain was startled to wakefulness. "Thank you," she responded as she yawned and stretched, peering out the window at her surroundings.
The early evening sky was overcast, leaden and gray in spite of the waning daylight, typical for Neo London, so she reached for a trench coat she had thought to bring along, seeing as it was late fall. She remained seated as the plane completed its landing and when assured they were on terra firma, Rain donned the garment and went to disembark. As she scanned the area, the flight attendant approached her again.
"Excuse me Dr. Mikamura but your transportation has been arranged." He pointed to a waiting hover car parked at the far end of a hangar. "Your luggage has been stored in the vehicle." They walked over to the waiting car.
Rain inspected the vehicle and noted that the Neo Japanese government had spared no expense in proffering a vehicle, at least here in Neo England. She approached the driver's side as she answered, "Thank you for everything. I'll contact you to let you know when we'll be leaving for the next destination."
"As you wish, doctor." The attendant turned to head back to the jet.
Rain settled herself behind the controls of the hover car but did not fire up its engine. Instead she pulled out a cable she received from Manon Chapman. . . .
Dear Rain,
I have thought carefully about your request and am agreeing
to meet with you to discuss Gentle's illness in depth. Please consider this an invitation to the Chapman estate and you
are free to stay here as long as you are in Neo England.
I am awaiting your arrival.
Sincerely,
Manon Chapman
Rain refolded the missive and put it in her purse as she flipped the switch of the hover car's engine and pulled out of the airport to the outside route that would take her into the Neo English countryside. She made her way out to the Chapman estate swiftly, avoiding the main drags as the company that provided the rental had programmed the Auto Route Computer to get her to the estate in the quickest route possible. She pulled up to the stately manor house, bedecked in wisteria vines, adding to its understated elegant charm.
As she cut the engine and the craft lowered to ground level, the front door of the estate opened and Manon Chapman approached the vehicle with a polite welcoming smile, flanked by the tall austere figure that was her butler.
"Rain, I'm so glad you could come. I trust you had a pleasant flight from Neo Japan?"
Rain bowed in respect as she responded. "Yes, I did thank you. And thank you for inviting me to stay here."
Manon continued to smile as she said, "It's my pleasure." She turned to her butler. "Please take Dr. Mikamura's luggage to the guest room in the west wing."
Rain glanced dubiously as the man wordlessly reached into the hover car to retrieve her bags. She remembered all too well that the man packed quite a wallop, as he nearly broke her ribs when he punched her in the stomach and knocked her out the last time she was here.
Manon took note of her discomfort and laughed. "Don't worry, Rain. Since Gentle is no longer with us, Montgomery's duties are confined exclusively to household." She gestured to the door and added, "Let's go inside."
"Uh, yeah," Rain said sheepishly with a slight blush tinting her cheeks as she followed her hostess.
The foyer of the manor house was a study in rustic beauty with highly polished oak trim and a collection of family portraits gracing the walls from generations back. The windows were covered in heavy velvet draperies in an evergreen hue. It was warmly lit by wall sconces that burned in an incandescent light.
Manon directed, "Montgomery has taken your bags to your room. I anticipated that you'd be hungry so I have dinner ready and waiting in the dining room."
"Please, Manon, don't go to any trouble," Rain demurred.
Manon dismissed her with a wave. "Oh it's no trouble, I was expecting you so I waited dinner for you. Just follow me."
They entered the dining room and the table was elegantly set with fine bone china and delicate crystal. Manon gestured to the right of her place at the head as she took a seat. "I have green tea this time, I figured you'd prefer that to our English blends, the last time neither you nor your partner appeared to like them." She grasped a china teapot and poured two cups, sliding on over to her guest.
Rain lowered her head in apology. "Please forgive us. At the time we were concerned with--"
"Finding the Dark Gundam," the titian haired widow finished for her, her verdant gaze like twin emeralds penetrating. "I have been keeping a watch on the entire gundam fight and tournament. I see that you're not any worse for wear even with that hideous ordeal you went through." She placed the teapot down and offered sugar, lemon or cream, which Rain politely declined.
The cinnamon haired doctor shook her head painfully. "That's not entirely true. Although physically I'm fine, emotionally there are scars that will remain with me until death. Because of the Dark Gundam, I lost my father."
Manon looked at her in sympathy. "Now it's my turn to ask forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
There was a short period of awkward silence, which was interrupted by the butler Montgomery bringing in trays bearing the meal. He served both his mistress and her guest without a word and then bowing, took his leave.
"I hope you like Beef Wellington. I'm afraid cook isn't familiar with Japanese dishes," Manon apologized.
Rain smiled as she answered, "Please don't worry. I'm quite fond of Western dishes. Remember, I spent all of last year traveling around the world with Domon as he fought."
"Ah yes, and how is Mr. Kasshu since he won the Tournament?"
Rain's eyes had a sparkle as she replied, "He's well. He's doing some consulting work for our government as they upgrade the gundam."
Manon studied the young woman with a knowing glint. "That nice but that's not exactly what I meant. I meant how are you and Mr. Kasshu doing?"
A slight blush stained Rain's alabaster cheeks as she answered demurely, "We're fine. After he rescued me we made a vow to never part from each other."
Manon nodded as she asked, "Are you planning to get married?"
Rain's smile faded a bit as she sighed. "We've discussed it on and off but until I accomplish this task of finding a antidote to eradicate DG cells, I can't dedicate myself to anything else. Even being Domon's wife."
Manon responded with a nod as she remarked. "I see. So what do you want to discuss about Gentle's illness?"
Rain said between bites, "We can discuss it after dinner. It's rather involved."
"Very well then."
Both women continued to eat dinner silently. After declining dessert, both headed into the parlor for coffee and settled in to the purpose of Rain's visit. Rain opened her briefcase and drew out the results of Gentle Chapman's autopsy. She held them out to Manon.
"Have you seen these?"
Manon shook her head then took the folder and perused its contents. Her expression remained impassive as she leafed through the documents and then set the folder aside. She sighed deeply and took a sip of coffee.
Rain delicately cleared her throat. "As you can see, his brain was entirely covered with DG cells. It was documented as the contributing cause along with cardiac arrest for his death."
Manon asked dully, "So this was after the Tournament?"
Rain nodded as she took the folder back. "It's plain to see he was infested with DG cells. So my question is did you see any evidence of DG cells on him before?"
Manon studied the rug intently as she commented, "I was unable to see the signs. I'm unfamiliar with the effects of DG cells but I knew about his illness for a long time. He tried to hide it from me in the beginning but I became persistent and he had no choice but to tell me."
Rain listened intently as the lovely widow continued, "When you and Mr. Kasshu came here to challenge Gentle the first time, as I had told you when you came out here that he was determined to overcome his illness to continue fighting. He was told by our personal physician to stop, that the fighting would eventually kill him but for Gentle to quit fighting was far worse, like giving in to a slow painful death that he couldn't accept. So he eventually found a doctor that would prescribe drugs that would allow him to go on, stimulants and enhancers that would neutralize the symptoms and let him keep on fighting. So Montgomery and I came up with the fog machine and equipped the Royal Gundam with the capability to give the illusion of duplicating. It was the only way I saw, to give him an advantage over stronger fighters as his health deteriorated."
Rain asked, "What was his diagnosis that the doctor told him?"
"He wasn't quite sure. The symptoms were for several diseases but Gentle refused any further tests. I guess he was afraid to find out what it really was." Manon stared out in space, her look far away.
Rain leaned in closer and addressed the woman. "Manon, did you see any unusual covering on any part of Gentle's body, like metallic scales?"
Manon sighed as she went back to some painful memories "Gentle wouldn't allow me to see if he did. Even after he had supposedly died when he lost to Mr. Kasshu, I didn't see any."
"So he did in fact die when he lost to Domon," Rain said thoughtfully. "You do know that he made a miraculous re-appearance in the Tournament, don't you?"
Manon sighed as she replied, "Yes, I did. But the Neo English consulate kind of brushed me off and then dismissed the fact that I was his wife. I was pretty much kept in the dark." Her emerald eyes bore a mixture of pain and bitter resignation as they welled up. "My husband basically disappeared."
Rain felt a deep sense of compassion for the redhead who was understandably resentful yet resigned. It seemed she was trying to deal with the situation the best she could. "I'm so, so sorry, Manon," was all she could say.
Manon hurriedly wiped her tears away. "Thank you but it's like I said before. I always knew that the day would come where the constant fighting would be his end. I knew it when I fell in love with him and married him. I just wish I had been allowed to stay with him and been with him when he finally died."
Rain was speechless as she offered a comforting hand to Chapman's widow.
Later that evening, Rain was in her guestroom, typing out an e-mail to Dr. Kasshu, deciding to communicate her findings to him directly. The rest of the evening garnered no further data for her research but the interesting fact she ascertained was that it had appeared that Gentle Chapman had been resurrected from the dead by the infection of DG cells. She knew that DG cells could help self recovery in parts of the Dark Gundam but in a human with no prior infection? And how was the Neo English consulate involved? Two very pertinent questions to ask Dr. Kasshu.
When she had finished and sent the e-mail, Rain received note that she was receiving a message via e-mail so she clicked on the flashing icon on her laptop monitor. The e-mail came up:
From: dkasshu@DOD.neojap.gov
Date: October 20, 60 F.C.
To: drrmikamura@DOR.neojap.gov
Subject: (no subject)
Rain,
Hope you had a good flight—I miss you
Love, D
Rain smiled as she read the cryptic message and she realized that this was as sentimental as Domon would get, for him to even take the time to drop an e-mail when he seldom used the address that the Neo Japanese government gave him was huge. She saved the message and then sent off her own:
From: drrmikamura@DOR.neojap.gov
Date: October 20, 60 F.C.
To: dkasshu@DOD.neojap.gov
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Domon,
Message received and….
I miss you too (((HUG)))
Love, R
She grinned widely as she sent her answer and giggled as she imagined his reaction to the hug she sent him over the bandwidth as there was a knock on her door. She immediately shut the laptop and went to answer it.
Manon stood there with a pile of documents. "I was thinking that these final medical records from Gentle's first 'death' might be of some assistance to you." She handed the files to a surprised Rain and then turned and walked away.
"Thank you!" Rain called after the widow's retreating figure
Her curiosity piqued, she took the files to the writing table in her guestroom where the laptop was. She took a seat and opened the first one, carefully perusing the contents. Inside, various doctors' notes were written detailing Gentle's symptoms, and then a variety of diagnoses that ranged from several neurological disorders, circulatory problems, and one even suspected a mental chemical imbalance due to overuse of stimulants but nothing that pointed to DG cell infestation. She sighed as she was about to push the documents aside when something caught her eye. There was a document that looked as if it came from the Neo English consulate regarding the 13th Gundam Tournament addressed to Prime Minister Wong of Neo Hong Kong. As she read the contents, her azure eyes widened in disbelief and then shock.
Rain opened her laptop and dashed off another e-mail to Dr. Kasshu about her discovery. It appeared that there was a conspiracy going on during the past Tournament, right under everyone's nose and nobody was even aware. It was turning out that her fact finding mission would uncover more than she ever dreamed possible . . .
Back in Neo Japan, Domon and the Shuffles were in the government gundam hangar, and gathered in conference in the corner by Burning Gundam. Domon had just joined them from his cockpit where he had e-mailed Rain from the computer so Chibodee had to give him a bit of a jibe.
"Well, it's nice that you're finally joining us. Writing a love letter were ya?"
Domon's umber eyes narrowed but he ignored Chibodee's prying way as he addressed the rest of the Alliance. "Well, I talked to Karato this afternoon."
"And?" George inquired.
Domon continued sarcastically, "First he apologized profusely, the typical politician, then he told me that he had decided to take apart the main body of the Dark Gundam remains and disable its capabilities permanently."
"So did he explain why you weren't informed about his decision?" Argo asked.
Domon smirked as he replied, "Yeah, he said that he thought that I would rather not have anything else to do with it. But he has no idea that this affects me personally, and every thing I lost and---,"
"Almost lost," Sai finished for him quietly.
The rest of the Alliance all glanced at the teen, the somber manner of the usually exuberant youth surprising them all. Memories of them all entering the Dark Colony to rescue Rain were present in everyone's mind.
"So," Chibodee began, "What's our next move?"
Domon sighed and replied flatly, "I convinced Karato that we, the Shuffle Alliance should be involved in the project. We are the best of the best, after all."
"Yes, indeed," George agreed. "And that is no empty boast."
The Shuffles were silent for a few moments as each man contemplated facing the Dark Gundam, even in its fragmented state, and the circumstances standing before them. An atmosphere of ambivalence floated about them as each were in their own individual reveries.
Domon Kasshu, the King of Hearts broke the silence by stating, "Well, let's go and see what we're getting ourselves back into." He turned and headed to where the remains of the great monstrosity were being stored.
The Shuffles nodded and followed their leader.
They went into the area and began to stroll about the tangle of metal, wires and other material, dead but still as insidious even in its dormant state. The Shuffles all let their eyes roam about the Dark Gundam, each reflecting on their last encounter with the thing as they examined its malevolent structure.
"Man, the thing's still as creepy as it was when we fought it," Chibodee remarked.
Domon grunted as he stared up at the head, the evil red eyes still looking baleful and formidable. "Yeah." He then turned to the rest of his comrades. "I forgot to tell you, Karato is contacting all of your nations to make sure you are all available for this. So contact your crews to join you here with your gundams."
"I've already done that," George answered. "Raymond and the princess will be joining me presently."
"Yep, the girls should be here with Gundam Maxter tomorrow," Chibodee informed him.
"Nastasha assured me that she and Bolt Gundam will be here this evening," Argo responded.
"And you, Sai?" Domon asked, his eyes on the diminutive fighter.
"Keiun and Zuisen said they'll be here as soon as they can," Sai replied. "As long as the Emperor approves."
Domon nodded in satisfaction as Akino approached him. "Pardon the intrusion, Domon-san but Prime Minister Karato informed me that you and the rest of the Shuffle Alliance will be overseeing the dismantling of the Dark Gundam?"
"That's right."
She made a notation on her ever-present clipboard. Domon smirked as he idly wondered if she ever put the thing down at any time. She may be a top gundam mechanic but she certainly wasn't Rain.
Chibodee came to her and smiled engagingly "Hi there pretty lady, I'm looking forward to working with you. Name's Chibodee Crocket."
Akino smiled politely as she responded in her typical impersonal way, "A pleasure, Crocket-san. If you'll excuse me, I must attend to my work." And she took off to the perplexed dismay of the Neo American fighter. The rest of the Shuffles hid their grins as they surrounded their snubbed comrade.
George patted Chibodee on the shoulder consolingly, "Well, mon ami, as you Neo Americans say, you can't win them all."
Chibodee snorted as he tried to save face. "Think that bothers me? I couldn't care less." But the slightly hurt glint in his sea-green eyes belied his statement.
Domon shook his head and addressed the rest of the group, "Okay, enough with the Shuffle Alliance version of 'The Dating Game', let's get to work." He headed to the discombobulated pile of metal know as the Dark Gundam.
Everyone nodded and followed the King of Hearts.
Rain was standing in the midst of the busyness that was Neo Athens, capital of Neo Greece looking at her surroundings. She stared at the ancient ruins of centuries long past as she found herself on Sintagma (Constitution) Square and was amazed by the combination of beauty past and present with the modern buildings of steel and the older ones of white marble.
As she glanced about at the seat of ancient civilization, Rain noticed the large monument erected right at the parliament building, in memory of the now deceased gundam fighter, Marcelot. Even in statue, the mutant giant was formidable, as the stone image stared down from its lofty perch.
Wow, she said to herself. He must have been over ten feet tall. Domon surely had his hands full when he fought him at Lantau Island under effect of the DG cells.
Since Marcelot had no family or friends, Rain went to the Neo Greece Ministry of Defense, gundam division to inquire there but her efforts were fruitless, she was unable to retrieve any information to add to the huge man's autopsy report. But her tender heart was touched by the story of the giant with no family, shunned by others until he was recruited by the Neo Greek government to train to be their gundam fighter.
Her fact finding in Neo Greece done, Rain headed to her next destination….Neo Turkey.
Back in Neo Japan, Domon and the rest of the Shuffle Alliance were busy going through the findings gathered by the Neo Japanese team of gundam technicians under the direction of Commander Akino who was waiting for the Alliance's response.
Domon and the other Shuffles rifled through the sheaf of documents and then looked at the patiently waiting Akino. Domon spoke first.
"I see that the techs have been thorough in taking the main structure of the Dark Colony apart, that survived the blast when we destroyed it but the capabilities appear to be activating for self recovery?"
Akino nodded as she replied, "Domon-san, your father has been called to assist us. With Hakase Mikamura away, his knowledge of the Dark Gundam is invaluable. But there is something else. Today we were contacted by the nations of Neo Canada, Neo Mexico, and Neo Denmark with reports of some other Dark Gundam remnants that fell there after the main explosion. But these are only sightings not actual confirmations that they are Dark Gundam fragments."
She went on, "And since Prime Minister Karato has appointed me in charge, he has asked me to ask you and the rest of the Shuffle Alliance to go and investigate these sightings for substantiation."
Domon grunted as he continued to peruse the documents. "Humph! I wonder why they contacted Neo Japan?"
"Probably because you guys have been awarded the honor of ruling the earth till the next tournament," Sai Saici piped up as the rest of the Shuffles nodded.
"Okay then! We'll leave in the morning when all your gundams arrive," Domon commanded as he got to his feet. "Neo Canada, Neo Mexico, and Neo Denmark, here we come!"
"Yesss!" Sai crowed with a sparkle in his cinnamon eyes. "Neo Denmark and Cecile!"
The other Alliance members all glanced at him strangely then burst out in laughter.
Author's note: Some of the Japanese terms are as follows:
Hakase: Doctor
San: an honorific—in Japanese, a person is addressed by their surnames with an honorific like san or
dono as a term of respect. Akino referred to Domon as "Mr Domon" in the dubbed version of ep 40.
NEXT---SNATCHED INTO THE PAST