A Different Side
By SariaSubi-kun
SariaSubi: I really want to thank everyone for the reviews you have sent me. It really means a lot to me. I want to try and see if maybe I can come up with ten by the end of the month.
Thank you for staying with my story so far. Like I said, it means a lot, and it urges me to keep on writing. I don't care if I only get ten reviews. What matters is that people are reading. Thank you so much, my readers!
Navi: And don't forget about me! I was here when it started.
SariaSubi: Maybe forgetting about you is a bad thing….I mean, you're making me put dumb humor into my intros. People don't think this is funny, you know.
Navi: Okay, let's put something funny into it. Something Quatre would never say:
::in his Gundam:: WHEEEE!
^^"
Chapter Twelve
//:://Realized I can
never win
Sometimes I feel like I have failed
Inside, where do I begin?
My mind is laughing at me
Tell me, why am I to blame?
Aren't we suppose to be the same?
That's why I will never change
This thing that's burning in me//:://
She had smashed the intercom receiver on the control panel. The calls from Sato and Arielle were really starting to get to her. Naomi knew very well that she had fallen of course.
"Don't you see? I mean for it to go this way." She knew that by the time she had reached her destination, the Black Gemini would need to be refueled. "That's fine by me," she switched on the Conservative mode. "Now all I need to do is get far from visible sight from the others, avoid any underground aqueducts and pipelines, and then I can surface. Maybe I can get into space and take some break time." She leaned back and sighed as she put the Mobile Suit on auto-pilot for a couple of kilometers. It would be a long journey into space.
She cringed. Naomi hated traveling into space by herself. Her mother died going into space, and ever since, she hated it. When she was fifteen, she had found out her father had lied to her. Her mother never divorced him. She had gone to Earth for treatment on an unnamed disease. When she was finally treated and ready to come home, her shuttle exploded only a few miles out of the earth's hemisphere, killing Cecilia Atsui.
Naomi really couldn't blame her father for lying to her. I mean, who would want their child to know their mother exploded in a shuttle? She shook her head. I guess it's better this way. But poor father has lost both his wife, now.
She closed her eyes, letting the gravity off Earth pull at the Gemini and the rumble of the engine lull her to sleep as the Mobile Suit set off for space
//::// This is my December
this is my time
of the year
this is my December
this is all so clear //:://
Her sleepy mind let her wander, and soon she stood on Earth. The cold December froze her skin. She stoop atop a hill, looking at the snow-covered trees, her snow-covered home for the winter. The snow was beneath her feet, crunching under her boots.
//::// This is my December
this is my snow covered home
this is my December
this is me alone //:://
The snow and hill faded, and soon Naomi was left standing in the darkness, a sadness coming across her eyes.
//::// And I give it all away
just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away
to have somewhere to go home to //:://
That's what she felt. Sometimes she felt like she could give up her war just to have a warm home to go come home to, a blanket and a fire, a father there who would hold her and keep her warm. Or even a best friend. She could finally smile, and the sadness would be gone. Forever…
No, that wasn't Naomi's reality. It would never be; it was just another world, some portal far, far away she just couldn't find. Forever, she would stand on the side, cold and empty, and watch everyone have happiness.
A silent tear slid down her cheek, even through her closed eyes, but she winced through her nightmare. Some people had so much happiness, why couldn't she? Her past was so full of pain, and the faces that haunted her were out enjoying their lives. Just like that Winner. She hated him with all her black heart. He had happiness. Even Heero Yuy had happiness. But she hated Winner even more. And that was because he was Alex's friend. Not hers.
She opened her ice blue eyes, dark as midnight as she looked out into space. She was already there, and she barely noticed. Was she wallowing in her solitude this whole time? Naomi sighed. The sadness was there again, but she replaced it with hate. It was easier to hate others than hate herself.
All her life, she had wondered what she had done to the world to deserve this punishment. Even before she had slaughtered San Francisco, a strange sadness had plagued her and never let her free. Like chains of ice were holding her down in Hell, the fires engulfing her, turning her into one of their demons. It was too late now. Nothing could save her. Her mind only fed on violence and pain, suffering. She wanted the whole world to feel it. She wanted to set the Earth on fire.
//::// This is my December
these are my snow covered trees
this is me pretending
this is all I need //:://
Naomi didn't want or need anyone else. Technically, she could do without the other Gemini pilots. It was that damned old woman, who was, what, 100? telling her that her way of life was wrong. That people would get so used to her frowning, they would wish she would never smile. The only smile she had was the one that appeared when she spilled blood. That way, everyone could suffer, share her pain, her rage.
But most of all, she wanted to make him mad. Just like when he took the Wing Zero and destroyed those colonies, Naomi wanted to make Quatre Rebarba Winner break and loose all control over his perfect sanity. It had become a small obsession of hers, but that didn't matter. She would kill the Gundam pilots, kill NOZ, and then…she sighed. Probably kill herself.
Maybe there's something out there for me, she thought as she imagined herself somewhere else. Maybe in Tokyo during a warm summer evening, standing out in the streets, the rain coming down like soft pieces of liquid snow. They would hit her bare arms and turn to warm droplets instantly, and she closed her eyes. But this is only a fantasy. There's so much that I wish was real…
Soon she was asleep again, dreaming, probably about things that would never be real. But she was in a room. A dark room on Earth, and outside a storm was raging. She was only thirteen in the dream. The room was empty, nothing but a bland carpet and a window, showing the thunderstorm outside. Naomi was in the corner by the window, holding her arms against a cold that only she felt. But no matter how much she rubbed her arms, she remained cold. The claps of thunder grew louder and louder.
The room was quite dark that she could only see a little ways away from her, whatever the lightning from outside revealed when it flashed. But she could see, as she hugged her knees towards herself, that the shadows were growing. More and more, they pervaded the room. Thirteen-year-old Naomi, scared and frightened, watched with wide, bloodshot eyes and the darkness came closer to her and devoured her…
Her eyes shot open. She looked at the controls to make sure she was still on course. She figured she could make it to the moon in a matter of minutes.
The lunar base had changed once NOZ came out. The base supplied NOZ, but it was controlled by the NEAC. At convention centers on the moon were held meetings relating NOZ issues. The government there, if you would call it that, didn't often welcome the number of troops sent to the moon, however, because it made a tense atmosphere, making it look like there might be a war. It made it look like part of the fighting that the security was needed for would come to the moon because the lunar base supported NOZ through the NEAC.
Since Naomi was part of the NEAC, she should do fine there.
"Damnit," she breathed. Unlike the Red Gemini, she couldn't become invisible and dock on the moon. Sure, with the Hyper Jammer she could stay off the radar, but someone would notice a big, black Mobile Suit that was just on the news destroying San Francisco eventually. She looked around, searching for a space asteroid nearby that she could land the Gemini. No, that won't work…damnit all. She sighed. Naomi would just have to store it in its hiding place on the L3 and take a shuttle to the moon. That meant she would have to stop by Lady Phoenix's place, which was on the other side of the colony, under a great deal of cover, buy some more brown hair dye and some green contacts. She figured she could just put her hair up in a hat like she did in Relena's office and walk around discreetly. She still had her NEAC uniform on.
Which made her retrace her thoughts back to Relena. What was Marissa doing with her now?
Ah, it didn't matter. Naomi had shut her radio off already. If she was to turn it on again, she would have Sato's and Arielle's voice ringing in her ears forever.
"Now, to switch directions," she instructed herself out loud. The Black Gemini stopped in midair, turned itself, and blasted off, heading towards Colony 85546 of the L3 Colony Cluster.
Marissa looked around the empty kitchen, sighing dejectedly. Sato and Arielle always overpowered her. The only one who sometimes accepted her was Naomi, but that was because she felt she owed her something since Marissa had saved her life. But no, that probably wasn't why. She had already repaid Marissa by making her a Gemini pilot. Yeah, but for this? No. No way. She would rather still be living in the woods in Canada.
An idea popped into her head. She would show them. Yes, that's it! she congratulated herself in her mind. She darted out of the kitchen, down the hallway, into the hangar, and then, running across the wide open area, opened a large steel door. She pulled on it hard, for she was very small compared to its size and weight. Her knuckles grew white, her fingers sore and red. Come on, she scolded herself, come on! The room behind there was a control room that only Naomi knew about. The way Marissa had found out was completely by luck. She was sitting in her cockpit, checking out the controls, when Naomi herself opened the door. How Marissa had stayed hidden through the whole thing and not have Naomi notice her was a miracle, but it happened, and she knew about it now.
Sweat dampened her forehead. With one cry, she ripped the large door open and flung herself inside. She knew that it only opened by control from the inside. A button on the outside would make it too noticeable.
Marissa gaze in sheer awe at the room. It was dark, mostly, but there were some red lights in the creases where the ceiling and wall met. She walked over to the large screen and controls.
"Damnit!" she cursed in a quieted shriek. She had forgotten to take some gloves with her to cover her hands so Naomi wouldn't find fingerprints. Marissa was sure that Naomi was smart enough to test for that kind of stuff in a hidden place like this. Fumbling with her shirt, she took it off and wrapped it around her hands, binding them lightly together. The room swept with a chill, and she was cold with only a camousel* covering her torso, but it was better to get a chill than to get killed by a fellow Gemini pilot. She knew very well Naomi would if she found out Marissa was here.
Her hand wrapped her shirt, she typed what she thought was the access combination.
PASSWORD.
Marissa frowned. Ah, damnit, there were so many things that she could type. NAA, Atsui, Naomi, Alex, Alexandra, Julius, Yossonan, Gemini…ugh!
This could go on for hours, and I only want to do something for three seconds. She bit her lip and looked at the damned keyboard, but her eyes widened when she noticed something. Looking closely at the keyboard, at the two ends of the letters there were some cracked keys, bending inwards. She gasped, realizing what it was. She balled her hands into fists and put them in the depressions.
They fit! But this had to mean…she realized it for sure then, and she could picture Naomi doing it herself. Naomi must have been frustrated at one point and slammed her fists into the keyboard. An idea jumped into her head again. Maybe that was the password! It could be. Marissa balled her hands into fists again, knowing that fingerprints couldn't be deciphered by a fist, and put them not even a centimeter hovering over the depressions in the keyboard. With a violent thrust, her hands bashed down onto the keyboard, hitting the keys they covered.
ACCESS GRANTED
She grinned devilishly and licked her lips. "Yes," she cracked her knuckles and wrapped her hands in her shirt again. What she actually wanted to do is track the three Geminis and shut them down.
Blue Gemini; status: 6.436 kilometers away
White Gemini; status: 6.545 kilometers away
Black Gemini; status: NOT FOUND
Marissa nearly fell off her feet. "Not found?! What do you mean?" She shook her head. Did that mean that Naomi was…in space? But wasn't she supposed to be in the attack with the others? It didn't matter. As long as she could stop Sato and Arielle from attacking, that would be perfect.
It took her a while, but at the end, she figured she had it. The status of the White and Blue Gemini was slowing down dramatically. And then it didn't take long before they were completely disabled.
Then, Marissa fled from the room and went down to the basement where Relena was held.
Naomi pulled a large coat over her, making sure the collar was still flipped up. She adjusted the baseball cap on her head, making sure that none of her blue hair showed. She walked swiftly through the crowd, her head bent down so no one would see her face. Be like you're invisible. Let people nudge you. Say nothing. Just keep walking. Don't look up unless you need to.
She approached a small hair care shop and smiled. Pushing open the door, she pushed past the other girls. All of them were tall and beautiful, all smiling and bright. She snickered. They disgusted her. They knew nothing about pain and suffering, war or blood. They could never stain their hands without screaming in fright. She had to stand there and be soaked in blood until she was the blood. She was the violence, she was the war.
As quickly as she could, she swiped a bottle of chestnut brown hair dye and tore off the label. Taking a piece of wax paper out of her large coat pocket (it always came in handy every once and a while), she swiftly wrapped the bottle in it and stuffed it in her coat under her armpit. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she slipped out of the store unnoticed.
Stealing and shoplifting wasn't new to her: it was basically how she lived.
At the nearest drugstore, she walked inside unnoticed and found a box of green contacts. She was about to walk out the door, when the cashier caught her.
"You going to pay for that, sir?"
D'oh! she mentally smacked herself. Yes, yes, she remembered she was disguised as a boy. She turned around and smiled. "Ah, yes sir!" she clapped her hands together. "I'm sorry," she rubbed the back of her head as she followed the cashier back to the register. "I'm in a bad mood, so I kinda forgot to pay for it. I have to buy this for a sister that really gets on my nerves."
The chubby cashier chuckled as picked up the package Naomi placed on the counter.. "Heh, yeah, I know how you feel, kid. I got a sister who's a pain in the neck." He was about to scan it, when Naomi stopped him.
"Wait, man. It looks like somethin's wrong with the box." Naomi snatched the box from him and looked at it closely. The cashier bent forward. "Look at this," Naomi pointed at the box. The cashier leaned even more forward, adjusting his glasses.
He was almost completely over the counter right now. "What is it, kid?"
Naomi stepped back and let him take the box. She laughed at him in her head and let one of her sick, evil smiles slip past her still façade. Stupid man. She reached behind him and, straightening her hand, chopped the back of his neck. He let out a low groan as his eyes widened at the pain, but he soon fell forward, letting the package of contacts fall from his limp hand.
Naomi caught the man. "Someone help," she called in a relaxed tone, "this guy's unconscious." She let him fall as a few employees came over to the chubby man immediately, looks of worry all over their faces. Probably thinking he had a heart attack. Now they'll take him to the hospital, and he'll have to pay a nice bill for his stay. She was so cruel, but she smiled at the thought. Yeah, I'm evil. I could have paid for that. I have more than enough money with me.
But she pushed her way out of the store and walked down the streets, the bottle of hair dye in her hand.
After a while, she looked up at a series of apartment buildings. Which one was she, damnit? Naomi frowned and scratched her arm, the long coat becoming itchy on her. She looked up at the building again, the dull white paint slowly chipping off the fake bricks. She narrowed her eyes, looking into one of the windows.
She saw an old woman move slowly to the window and small balcony. The window-door opened and she walked out, a black shawl draped over her shoulders. Hmmm. The woman looked down at Naomi, a serious tone on her face. She nodded, frowning deeply, and limped back inside.
Naomi looked up at the window one more time. Then she shrugged and headed towards the door of the building. Phoenix has to be making more androids again, because they're the same every time. Same gray, nasty face with a black shawl. I wonder if the neighbors notice that isn't her.
She got up to floor she assumed the android woman came out of (maybe 5 or so) and walked down the hall. Look for the only one that doesn't smell like foreign, and disgusting, cooking she told herself, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she passed the homes she guessed belonged to some Swedish or German family.
The last door was at the end of the hall, and around the corner. There was only a small hallway, even though it was more like a nook, that led to one door. This should be it she smiled halfway, opening the door.
But one of the those old woman androids had answered it for her. Naomi looked at the machine strangely but said nothing. She walked inside and looked around. The apartment seemed normal enough, the good side it not smelling bad. She slipped her jacket off and threw it on a nearby loveseat, throwing her hat off with it. Then she set off on finding the old woman.
Quatre sat in his office, rubbing his temple. The whole collision with those two Gemini left him with a big headache. He looked at the papers of information in front of him.
The data still didn't say what the names of the Gemini were. But assuming from the week before, when the Black Gemini destroyed San Francisco, they were called the White and the Blue Gemini. It was so strange, the way they looked, the way they were modeled.
"It's like a mold of our five Gundams together," he sighed. Then his head shot up. Wait, the Gumdans! He flipped through the sheets of paper, looking at each and everyone. He saw pieces of designs from the Wing, Deathscythe, Heavyarms, Altron, Shenlong, even his own Sandrock was built into these models.
"How did they make this?" he dropped the papers, his eyes wide. His hands were trembling, even though they no longer held the papers. A paella of their Gundams…
And it made the Gemini.