6.Comrade, where are you?:
Narrator's POV:
"Stop fretting, Duo!" said an exasperated Trowa.
"We've been stuck in this blasted waiting room for ages!" whined Duo. "Where is that wretched shuttle anyway?"
"Even when it comes," said Wu Fei evenly, "it'll still take the whole night for us to reach L4. Have some patience, Maxwell, and shut up."
"Don't you – " began Duo hotly, but he was cut off as the announcer's feminine voice filled the station.
//Passengers leaving for L4 colony cluster on shuttle X42-381 are requested to go to gate 8 immediately. Take off is after ten minutes from now.//
"That's our ride," said Heero, standing up from where he had been leaning on the wall and went out of the room. The others slung their bags over their shoulders and followed suit.
"We're coming, Q-buddy," muttered Duo as they boarded the shuttle. "We're coming, just wait a little bit longer..."
"Wake that braided baka up," whispered Wu Fei. "We're almost there."
After wolfing down his meal, Duo was now snoring happily in between Trowa and Heero. The latter entertained his time by sending traditional death glares to anyone who dared to pass by them, while the former was busy watching his bangs fly away from his face with every breath he took. They all had slept the night before, but they were awake at dawn with the exception of Duo. Thank goodness shuttles helped passengers to cope with jet lags; the pilots wanted to be wide awake when they reached L4.
It was a blessing that Duo had fallen asleep so soon; he would have made the flight a very annoying experience for his comrades, unless Heero killed him or Wu Fei took care of the injustice. They were all bored and impatient, and it was obvious that Wu Fei had been staring at the same page of his book for the last two and a half hours. "Duo," said Heero, prodding the sleeping form beside him. "Duo, wake up, we're there."
"No, I didn't paint your shorts red, Hee-chan," muttered Duo in his sleep. "I thought they looked cuter when they're pink..."
Heero's glare became, if possible, harsher as he proceeded to shake the braided teenager.
"Whassamatter?" he finally murmured, blinking his eyes open.
"We're there," replied Trowa. "Get ready to move."
"This is it," announced Wu Fei as they looked at the huge, and I mean huge, mansion.
"This is the Winner mansion?" asked Trowa.
"It's pretty big," commented Duo, "but I don't give a damn what it is as long as it gives us what we want."
"I got us an appointment with Iria Winner," continued Wu Fei. "We should be meeting in her in ten minutes."
"Yes, gentlemen," said the woman as she entered the room, "how can I help you?"
The pilots observed the Winner eldest sister, Iria. She was a pleasant woman with short brown hair and chestnut eyes, and though she did not have Quatre's features, her genuine cordiality and want to help others strongly reminded them of her brother. They knew that they could trust her.
"Actually," began Heero, "we were wondering if you could tell us where Quatre is."
"You want the whereabouts of my brother? Excuse me, but may I ask why?" inquired Iria.
"We are his... friends," said Duo, feeling a pang of guilt. "We hadn't seen him for a long time and..."
Iria looked closely at the teenagers before her. She was no empath like her brother but some instinct within her heart told her that they were deeply connected with Quatre. Finally, she nodded.
"Very well," she said. "I take your word and won't ask any questions about who you are. Quatre did come here after the war ended for a while. He then went to stay with Rashid and the Maganacs. To say the truth, I don't know which base they are at now. Quatre was upset when he left and I didn't want to disturb him – "
"You mean you don't know where he is?" interrupted an appalled Duo.
"Not exactly, but I know who can take you to him. Samra, my sister, is currently with Quatre. You can go on board one of our shuttles to sub- colony 421. You'll land in a town named Ramda' (means hot sands in Arabic). Go to the guest house and ask for Samra. She'll take you to Quatre. The shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes. You'll reach the town in about one hour. I wish you a good journey, and please give my greetings to my siblings."
"Thank you," was all that Wu Fei could say. And it was true that his comrades were a little surprised at this; Wu Fei, showing gratitude to a weakling onna?! (Am I being a little hard on Wu Fei? I don't hate him; I do like his 'justice' and 'onna' rants. Pretty amusing. Anyway, back to the story...)
Duo let out a whistle as they looked at the town of Ramda'. Saying it was a bee-hive would not have done it justice. Sands surrounded it from all sides and the weather was quite hot. People bustled here and there, talking in English, Arabic and other languages they couldn't recognize.
"There's the guest house," said Trowa, snapping them out of their stupor.
"Welcome, visitors," said the keeper of the house. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, we want to meet Samra Winner," said Heero.
"Actually, she is around here," said the keeper, nodding his head. "Would you wait for a few moments?" He disappeared into a corridor. A few moments later, his cheerful voice could be heard through the thin walls.
"Anisa (Miss) Samra," he said, "there are some gentlemen outside who want to see you."
"I told you before, Osama," a gentle voice not unlike Quatre's answered him, "don't call me miss. And who are they, previous visitors coming to complain? I trust you with the guest house..."
"No, Anisa," he replied. "I have never seen them before."
"Alright, we shouldn't keep them waiting."
A young girl in her late teenagers soon came in. The pilots had to stifle a gasp as they saw the too familiar pale skin and azure eyes. Her long hair was a darker shade of gold, braided into two riverlets that rivaled Duo's cherished locks.
She, on the other side, stopped in her tracks when she saw the vistors. Though she had never met them before, she had seen them countless times in Quatre's photograph.
"Well, I never thought you'll answer the call," she murmured.
To be continued...
Author's notes: This one was a bit long, I guess, but I couldn't help it. Please review if you have time. Chapter seven will come soon, I promise. Hope you enjoyed this! ^_^
Narrator's POV:
"Stop fretting, Duo!" said an exasperated Trowa.
"We've been stuck in this blasted waiting room for ages!" whined Duo. "Where is that wretched shuttle anyway?"
"Even when it comes," said Wu Fei evenly, "it'll still take the whole night for us to reach L4. Have some patience, Maxwell, and shut up."
"Don't you – " began Duo hotly, but he was cut off as the announcer's feminine voice filled the station.
//Passengers leaving for L4 colony cluster on shuttle X42-381 are requested to go to gate 8 immediately. Take off is after ten minutes from now.//
"That's our ride," said Heero, standing up from where he had been leaning on the wall and went out of the room. The others slung their bags over their shoulders and followed suit.
"We're coming, Q-buddy," muttered Duo as they boarded the shuttle. "We're coming, just wait a little bit longer..."
"Wake that braided baka up," whispered Wu Fei. "We're almost there."
After wolfing down his meal, Duo was now snoring happily in between Trowa and Heero. The latter entertained his time by sending traditional death glares to anyone who dared to pass by them, while the former was busy watching his bangs fly away from his face with every breath he took. They all had slept the night before, but they were awake at dawn with the exception of Duo. Thank goodness shuttles helped passengers to cope with jet lags; the pilots wanted to be wide awake when they reached L4.
It was a blessing that Duo had fallen asleep so soon; he would have made the flight a very annoying experience for his comrades, unless Heero killed him or Wu Fei took care of the injustice. They were all bored and impatient, and it was obvious that Wu Fei had been staring at the same page of his book for the last two and a half hours. "Duo," said Heero, prodding the sleeping form beside him. "Duo, wake up, we're there."
"No, I didn't paint your shorts red, Hee-chan," muttered Duo in his sleep. "I thought they looked cuter when they're pink..."
Heero's glare became, if possible, harsher as he proceeded to shake the braided teenager.
"Whassamatter?" he finally murmured, blinking his eyes open.
"We're there," replied Trowa. "Get ready to move."
"This is it," announced Wu Fei as they looked at the huge, and I mean huge, mansion.
"This is the Winner mansion?" asked Trowa.
"It's pretty big," commented Duo, "but I don't give a damn what it is as long as it gives us what we want."
"I got us an appointment with Iria Winner," continued Wu Fei. "We should be meeting in her in ten minutes."
"Yes, gentlemen," said the woman as she entered the room, "how can I help you?"
The pilots observed the Winner eldest sister, Iria. She was a pleasant woman with short brown hair and chestnut eyes, and though she did not have Quatre's features, her genuine cordiality and want to help others strongly reminded them of her brother. They knew that they could trust her.
"Actually," began Heero, "we were wondering if you could tell us where Quatre is."
"You want the whereabouts of my brother? Excuse me, but may I ask why?" inquired Iria.
"We are his... friends," said Duo, feeling a pang of guilt. "We hadn't seen him for a long time and..."
Iria looked closely at the teenagers before her. She was no empath like her brother but some instinct within her heart told her that they were deeply connected with Quatre. Finally, she nodded.
"Very well," she said. "I take your word and won't ask any questions about who you are. Quatre did come here after the war ended for a while. He then went to stay with Rashid and the Maganacs. To say the truth, I don't know which base they are at now. Quatre was upset when he left and I didn't want to disturb him – "
"You mean you don't know where he is?" interrupted an appalled Duo.
"Not exactly, but I know who can take you to him. Samra, my sister, is currently with Quatre. You can go on board one of our shuttles to sub- colony 421. You'll land in a town named Ramda' (means hot sands in Arabic). Go to the guest house and ask for Samra. She'll take you to Quatre. The shuttle leaves in fifteen minutes. You'll reach the town in about one hour. I wish you a good journey, and please give my greetings to my siblings."
"Thank you," was all that Wu Fei could say. And it was true that his comrades were a little surprised at this; Wu Fei, showing gratitude to a weakling onna?! (Am I being a little hard on Wu Fei? I don't hate him; I do like his 'justice' and 'onna' rants. Pretty amusing. Anyway, back to the story...)
Duo let out a whistle as they looked at the town of Ramda'. Saying it was a bee-hive would not have done it justice. Sands surrounded it from all sides and the weather was quite hot. People bustled here and there, talking in English, Arabic and other languages they couldn't recognize.
"There's the guest house," said Trowa, snapping them out of their stupor.
"Welcome, visitors," said the keeper of the house. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, we want to meet Samra Winner," said Heero.
"Actually, she is around here," said the keeper, nodding his head. "Would you wait for a few moments?" He disappeared into a corridor. A few moments later, his cheerful voice could be heard through the thin walls.
"Anisa (Miss) Samra," he said, "there are some gentlemen outside who want to see you."
"I told you before, Osama," a gentle voice not unlike Quatre's answered him, "don't call me miss. And who are they, previous visitors coming to complain? I trust you with the guest house..."
"No, Anisa," he replied. "I have never seen them before."
"Alright, we shouldn't keep them waiting."
A young girl in her late teenagers soon came in. The pilots had to stifle a gasp as they saw the too familiar pale skin and azure eyes. Her long hair was a darker shade of gold, braided into two riverlets that rivaled Duo's cherished locks.
She, on the other side, stopped in her tracks when she saw the vistors. Though she had never met them before, she had seen them countless times in Quatre's photograph.
"Well, I never thought you'll answer the call," she murmured.
To be continued...
Author's notes: This one was a bit long, I guess, but I couldn't help it. Please review if you have time. Chapter seven will come soon, I promise. Hope you enjoyed this! ^_^