Disclaimer: Chapter 5 is up!!!! Yay! I don't mean to spoil it, but this is going to be a very interesting chapter. Anni gets to fight with Wufei! I wonder who will win...
Wufei: I will you onna!
Anni: Keep dreaming....
*Wufei and Anni begin to fight*
Loki: Please! Not in the dining room! You broke it!!!! My mom is gonna kill me! *holds the broken pieces of the vase*
Quatre: I know how you feel...
Loki: *starts to cry*
The Lost Pilot
Chapter 5
"Put them in the corner! Make sure their ropes are nice and tight." It was the same voice of the one who knocked them out Anni and Duo. Duo! she thought. Her eyes slightly opened and looked around. He was sitting next to her; not even moving a muscle. She dropped her head on his shoulder, trying to make it look like her head had just lost balance. When no one changed reactions in the room, she whispered very, very quietly, "Duo?"
When he didn't answer, she poked him with her finger continuously. After a while he let out a small groan. Good. He's still alive.
"Anni?" The whisper was so silent she hardly knew he spoke. "I'm here."
"Where are we?"
She took her time in answering because every now and then, a soldier would look in their direction. "Don't know."
She added. "Stay quiet. Have an idea."
As an answer she got a sharp poke from him that meant "Don't do anything stupid.."
Her eyes opened completely and she groaned loudly. "Ahhh.. I see Lady Taaria is awake." The burly man smiled. "Please take off her shackles."
The henchmen obeyed. She rubbed her wrists, and looked at him. "Who are you?"
He bowed on one leg and crossed his arm over his chest. "I am Rasam, your humble servant."
She cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"You will understand in time, Lady Taaria." Rasam walked up to her, but Duo knocked him down with a kick. He grabbed Anni by the arm, and literally dragged her to the take-off pad. During Anni and Rasam's 'conversation' Anni undid Duo's ropes. When he opened the door to a shuttle, they blasted off. Mobile Suits followed them, but soon retreated. "Why are they backing off?" Anni questioned Duo.
"They probably didn't want to shoot the ship down while you were in it." He set the coordinates to Earth, and got up. "Let me check you for bugs."
"Bugs?"
"Tracking devices," he explained. Duo spread this little machine across every inch of her body. "Now do me," he ordered. She did, and they were both clean."How long will it be till we get to the mansion?"
"About an hour. It seems that after they knocked us out, they sent us straight into space. I'm guessing we were out for a couple hours. Five or so, give or take."
"Should we inform Heero and the others?"
In answer, Duo punched in numbers on the control pad. He picked up some headphone and said, "Hello. Hello. This is Duo Maxwell calling for Quatre Raberba Winner. Hello, hello."
Quatre's face appeared on the screen. "Duo? Anni? What on Earth are you doing in space, and in an Oz ship?"
Duo rolled his eyes. "Long story, just calm down, Q-man. We'll be there in about an hour."
Quatre pressed on. "And Anni? Is she ok?"
Now it was her turn to talk. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." They all said their goodbyes and hung up. Anni shifted in her seat from time to time, trying to get comfortable. "Sorry about the crampness. Oz ships aren't that big and cozy," Duo apologized.
She smiled and shifted a bit more. Now happy with the spot she was in, Anni refused to leave. It seems that whenever you find the most comfortable spot in the world, you have to move. Duo brought out some apples and shared them with her. "Why did they call me 'Lady Taaria'? They acted like I owned them or something."
He finished his apple and answered, "Maybe they think you're someone else. Or it has something to do about your past. How much do you remember?"
She thought about it. "Not much. Only till about the part when I woke up in Quatre's mansion."
"Do you at least know your parents?"
Anni shrugged. "Don't know. But the only thing I remember from them is that they died in a car accident. I don't know why that bit of information stayed with me."
She continued to think back to her dreams. Should I tell him about that? No. It's probably not that important anyway. Something outside caught her eye. "Wow! What are those, Duo?"
He looked where she was looking. "Oh that? That's some rubble left over from a battle. I've been in a couple myself."
She smiled, but then frowned. "I envy you, Duo."
"Hmm? How come?"
"Because, you're a Gundam Pilot. I would love to own a Gundam myself. Heck, I'd be happy if I could pilot one. Of course, with the way my life goes, I always move around; never staying in the same spot for a long time. That's the way it's been."
He was confused and curious. "Why?"
She sighed. "That's just how life goes. I can remember a woman named Maude. She was nice to me. On some Colony, she found me crying and scared. Maude took me in and we traveled together. I don't know where she is now. Or maybe I did, but I forgot."
Duo frowned. "What makes you think that you'll be leaving. If it's because of Oz, don't sweat. Me and the others will protect you, even Wufei. You're one of the few females he actually respects."
She smiled. "Really?"
He winked at her. "Yeah. Just don't tell him I said that."
When the ship finally landed, both of them jumped out. But before that, Duo put it on autopilot to the sun. Quatre came running out to greet them. "Thank Allah your both fine!"
"Yeah, we may have a few bruises, but I think we'll live," teased Duo. He went to go inside, but looked back at the blonde. "Oh, and Quat, remind me tomorrow to give Anni some Gundam flying lessons, kay?"
Anni eyes lit up. "Really Duo?!"
He again winked at her. "You wanted to learn didn't you babe?"
Heero joined in the conversation. "That's actually not a bad idea. If she got some practice with that extra Leo in the garage, she could help us fight if Oz would attack. Ok, we'll train her tomorrow around twelve."
"Fine with me," answered Trowa, who just merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Ok, I guess. But as long as she doesn't start with Altron!"
"Deal," said an excited Anni. Great! I can finally learn how to pilot a Gundam! This is going to be so much fun! I hope I never leave this place!
That night, Anni tossed and turned all night long. "No.." she groaned. "Don't do it, Duo. Please, don't do it....!"
A single shot was heard. from the woman and her child. "Please, no!" the woman cried. "Please, not him!"
"Mommy? What's wrong?" She felt a tear drop fall on her nose. "Why are you crying?"
The woman tried to show a smile. "Nothing, honey. Just close your eyes. It will all be over soon. Jus close your eyes...."
The elevator shook, and stopped. The doors opened up to reveal a single spaceship left. She placed the child in it, and buckled her in. Expecting her mother to sit next to her, the child looked out the window. "Mommy? Aren't we going to wait for daddy?" She looked back to see her mother close the door. But with one problem, she wasn't in the ship.
"Daddy's not coming back, sweetie."
"What are you doing Mommy?! Why aren't you in here with me!??!"
"Sorry honey. I am sending you on a course that will get out of here to escape the explosion. And to do that.... only one person can go."
The child cried, screamed, and pleaded. "DON'T YOU LEAVE ME TOO! MOMMY!!!"
The woman pressed the button labeled LAUNCH. "Goodbye, Taaria. Your father and I love you. Make us proud," she whispered.
"Nooooo!!!!!!" Taaria cried as she blasted off into the cold hands of space.
Anni was sweating up a storm. "MOM! DAD! COME BACK!!!!" she screamed; her eyes remaining closed. Duo came running into the room, panting. "Anni? Anni, are you ok!"
Soon, everyone was there. "What's wrong with her, Quatre?" he asked worriedly. The blonde put his hand on her forehead, and pulled it back. "She has a terrible fever."
Now Wufei was ready to help. "I'll get some blankets."
Heero came with a cold washcloth and a thermometer. Trowa handed Duo a cup of herbal tea. "This has herbs in it that help ring the fever down," he stated. "We mostly give it to the lions, but it is just as effective with humans."
Duo nodded and lifted up Anni's head. He took the cup and put it to her lips. "Drink this," he ordered. "Be careful. This stuff's hot."
After hours of trying, she didn't get better. Wufei had an idea, but didn't like it. "We obviously aren't doing anything to help her, so why don't we call Poe. She used to be a doctor, remember?"
They all looked at him. "Wufei? You are willing to ask help from a female!" asked Heero incredulously. Wufei looked down. "This is different. It may be a decision between life and death. I don't want to cause anymore. Now call her before I change my mind!"
Quatre nodded with a grin. "I'll do it."
After much explaining and begging, Sally Poe walked into the room. She gasped when she saw Anni. Feeling her forehead, she asked, "How long has she been like this?"
"A couple hours" answered Trowa.
"I see."
Sally pushed them out of the room. "I'll tell you when I'm done." She prepared an ice cold bath tub, and placed Anni inside it. Sally didn't bother to take off her PJ's because every second counted. After the fever had gone considerably down, she took her out, dried her as best as she could, and placed the sleeping body back on the bed. Anni would sleep for a couple hours, with nothing but a headache as a reminder. Tasha was next to her, purring all the pain away.
"Is she going to be ok?" asked Quatre once Sally had opened the door.
"Yes she is," she replied with a smile. "It was a good thing you called me when you did. If her temperature rose any higher, than we would have had to take her to the hospital."
"Thank you," said Duo; relieved.
"If anything else happens, just call me ok?" she said as she headed for the door. They said they would and watched her leave.
The next morning, Anni awoke to the fire alarm going off. Over that, she could hear Quatre yelling. She put on a pair of pants, a gray tank top, and walked downstairs.
"Duo! You're going to set the house on fire! I said two minutes, not twenty!"
A horrible smell filled the air, causing her to cough. "Hey Anni!" he called. Duo held out a bowl filled with black chunks of... something. "I hope you like your eggs burnt!" Duo just meekly smiled at her.
Anni had to laugh. "Maybe we should leave the cooking to Quatre from now on."
"How come?" he asked playfully.
"Dear Lord! What is that god-awful smell? Duo! Are you cooking again?" shouted Heero when he entered the kitchen.
"Sure am!"
After the mess was cleaned up, Quatre made pancakes with sausage. The smell of burnt eggs refused to leave, so they had breakfast outside. She learned all of the Gundams names and who they belonged to. Heero: Wing Zero, Duo: Deathscythe Hell, Trowa: Heavy Arms, Quatre: Sandrock, Wufei: Altron (a.k.a. Nataku). When the moment finally arrived, they lead her into the Gundam Garage. The same five immense Suits that she encountered before, we still standing there, ready for battle. "You ready to have a ride in Deathscythe, Anni?" asked Duo.
She smiled and turned to him. "No question about it."
They rode the elevator to the entrance, and walked inside. There was just enough room in there to sit next to the pilot's seat. (((I know that a Gundam can only hold one person, but please go along with me on this one!!!))) He buckled he in, and then himself. "Ready?" he asked.
Her grin gave away her answer. Duo grabbed the joint stick and yelled, "Then let's go!"
In an instant, they went flying into the air. To make it fun, Duo went in every direction known to man. Including going upside down and some corkscrews. They went over a secluded lake. Diving down, they descended under the water. Including fish, she saw sights she never dreamed of. Skidding across the top of the lake, droplets of water flew behind them. When they finally landed, Anni jumped out. "That was awesome!" she cried, giving Duo a hug. "I never knew it was so cool!!!!"
"I can see that you enjoyed the ride," stated Quatre when they reached the ground.
"You can say that again! I can't wait till I fly a Suit!"
"Well, let's get started," said Heero. They next couple of hours were spent with the pilots giving her lessons and some tips. When they though that she could pilot the Leo, she literally screamed. While she strapped in, Quatre talked to her from the screen. "Now don't go too fast, all right? If you feel like your going out of control, just ask for some help."
"You're sounding like a protective mother, Quatre," she told him.
He sighed. "Just start off at a slow pace, ok?" But ignoring his advice, she grabbed the joint stick. Doing just as she saw Duo do, she shot into the air. "I SAID SLOW!" yelled Quatre.
Duo put an arm on the blonde's shoulder. "Just let her have fun. It's something she hasn't had in a long time."
"I guess your right, Duo."
He playfully punched Quatre in the arm. "I know I am."
While watching Anni from the patio, Duo commented, "She gets better with every second she spends in there. If we just gave her some lessons on weapons, she could be just as good as any of us."
"I seriously doubt that, baka. It had taken us years to get us here," Wufei said.
"Yeah, but she's doing something that took us a month to do," he countered.
Wufei was getting annoyed. "I could beat that onna in a second." Duo raised an eyebrow. "Want to bet on that, Wu-man."
Ignoring his nickname, Wufei smiled. "Yeah I would. Fifty says that I can beat her with any of your Gundams. Deal?"
"Deal." Grabbing the walkie-talkie he said, "Hey Anni. Stop what you're doing and come down here! There's something I need to tell you!"
Several minutes later, "But Duo! I have no idea how to pilot the Gundams! Let alone their weapons!" Anni yelled when Duo told her the plan.
"C'mon, Anni. The battle isn't today! Me and the others, excluding Wufei, will teach you the basics about the Gundam you choose. Please!? If you win then I get fifty bucks! Please???" He gave her his famous puppy-dog eyes. She couldn't say no to that. "Well, ok. When do I get to choose which Gundam I get?"
He grabbed her arm. "Right now!" Duo led her to the garage. Heero, Trowa and Quatre were waiting for them. They had just heard the news from Wufei about the duel. Once they stopped, she glanced at the four Gundams she had a choice of. The first one that caught her eye was the red and blue one in the corner. Realizing it was the Wing Zero; she started to walk towards it. Heero noticed which one she was looking at and ran up to her. Grabbing her arm, he led her away from it. "Hey!" yelled Anni. "What's your problem, Heero?"
"You can't pilot the Wing Zero. You're not... prepared for it."
She was mad now. "And what makes you think I can't handle it?"
He stopped and looked at her. He was so serious it was scary. "My Gundam is different than the rest. It is equipped with the Zero system. It is very hard to control, and may kill an amateur like you."
"So are you saying I'm weak? Cause if you are, than you've been spending too much time with Wufei." She walked past him and towards the other Gundams. "Fine. I'll pick a different one."
She looked at Sandrock, and shook her head. Than at Deathscythe Hell, and decided against it. But when she saw Heavy Arms and the ammunition it held, she thought, Perfect. "Hey Trowa! Can I try this out?"
He looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
Anni smiled and jumped on the elevator. When she reached the cockpit, Anni strapped herself in. Activating Heavy Arms, she moved the arms up and down. Wow, no wonder they call it Heavy Arms! But she already made up her mind. Anni was going to use Trowa's.
Trowa got out the manual for his Gundam and let her study it. She saw all the different kind of guns and fighting moves. (((I have no idea whether the Gundams have a manual or not. So just pretend they do and it's this heavy book. Like the one in 'Inspector Gadget'. ^-^!!)))
Anni got a lot of advice from the Pilots, save Wufei, and shoved it in her mind. She would have studied the book all night long, if Duo hadn't of put medicine in her tea that made her fall asleep. He thought that if she stayed up, than she wouldn't be able to fight at her fullest.
The next morning, Anni continued to read. When she noticed something, she called for Quatre. When he came in, she asked, "Hey, why does the design for this Gundam look a lot like the others?"
"Well, Miss Anni, the Gundams were all built at around the same time. Plus, the designers were all friends and planned them the way they wanted." He would have gone through the whole Gundam History if she hadn't of stopped him. "Thanks, Q-man!" She ran out of the room with a wonderful idea.
He shook his head and mumbled, "That's what happens when you live with Duo."
"Where is she?" asked Duo. He tapped his foot on the ground. "It's time for the battle, and she hasn't even shown up."
"Don't worry Duo. I doubt Anni would chicken out. Not with all the studying she put into it," Heero reassured. But somehow it didn't help the God of Death.
"Just face it! That onna got scared!" said Wufei from his Gundam. "Pay the money, Maxwell."
Just then, the door to the garage opened up. "Ha! Told you she'd show up!"
Anni did come out, but with one difference. Heero's eyes grew big. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING WITH MY GUNDAM!!!!!!"
Anticipating Heero's reaction, Anni turned to him and said, "Oh, don't worry Heero. I won't hurt it. I'll show you that I can control it. It's much easier to move around in this than in Heavy Arms."
She shot up in the air to join Wufei. Heero took a step forward. "It's not the movement that's hard to control, Anni!!!"
She didn't hear him and turned her gaze to her opponent. Wufei was startled to see her in Wing Zero, but shook his worry off. "You still can't beat me, onna."
"Well see about that."
Getting out her beam saber, she got into her fighting pose. Wufei just needed his claw to help. Taking the charge first, he extended an arm at her. Anni ducked and dodged it. He charged again, but she also dodged that. That's weird, she thought. Why do I feel like I can predict his moves. Is that what Heero called the Zero System? Oh well. She brought down her saber, and swung at Wufei.
He missed it, but she still chipped a part of his shoulder. "I have to be careful," he whispered to himself. "This is the Wing Zero she's piloting."
He rammed his head into her stomach, and sent her flying towards the ground. Even though she stopped in the air before impact with the ground, Anni was still mad. Images flashed before her, making her confused. There seemed to be at least a dozen Altron's in front of her. She pointed at the mansion with her beam cannon, and fired. One by one, she saw each of the Gundam Pilots fall; dead. But then, she saw something that made her cringe. It was Duo. He was holding a gun; behind him was the man he killed from her dream. He looked straight at her... and smiled.
"What... what's happening? What's going on!!!!!"
Hearing her on the screen, Heero gasped. "Zero."
Something was happening. She lost control. Looking at the sky Anni said, "Where is my enemy?" A single bullet flew past her.
"Are we going to continue the fight, woman?" asked Wufei.
Her eyes turned into a burning gold. "You're the enemy!"
Using all of her strength, she attacked him. Startled, he backed up. This wasn't just a duel anymore; this was a fight to the death. He didn't want to kill her, but she wanted to kill him. "Anni!" he yelled. "Take control! Fight the Zero system! Don't fall into its icy grasp!"
Not even listening, she aimed the beam cannon at him. "Now die," she said and fired.
He dodged it, but it took everything her had. Heero appeared on his screen. "Try and stay alive for a little longer, ok?"
"Easier said than done, Yuy."
Heero appeared on Anni screen. "Listen Anni. This is why I told you not to use Wing Zero."
She shot a glare at him. "Would you like to be my enemy too?"
He would have slapped her if he was there. "LISTEN TO YOU ANNI! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE? IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR HUMANITY AND ALL OF THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT, THAN TAKE CONTROL!!!!"
She gasped and let go of the joint stick. Memories of her and the Pilots flashed in her brain. "They're not.. not my enemies."
"Yes! That's it Anni! Fight!"
She screamed and clutched her head. Once everything came back to normal, she looked at Heero. "Thank you. And I'm sorry."
"Continue you're fight," was his response.
She nodded and looked at Wufei. "Sorry about that little interruption. Hope you didn't wet yourself too much."
Wufei snickered. "You wish onna."
"Oh, and was it me, or did you call me by my first name a while ago?"
He shrugged. "Let's continue."
She slashed at him with the saber, and he ducked down. Suspecting this, she kicked him in the head, and placed the sword near his neck. "The battle," she began, "is mine."
"Not likely, onna."
They went back on the ground and jumped out of their Gundams. She continued to yell at Wufei. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT I WAS THE ONE THAT LOST! HEERO!"
He looked up at the sound of his name, "Yeah?"
"Didn't I win the match?"
He scratched his head and said, "Well, Wufei was actually taking it easy on you. There were several moments when he could have beaten you. So, theoretically, he won the match."
"Yes!" said Wufei.
"But, so did Anni at the end. She caught you by surprise, Wufei. It's a draw."
"WHAT!" both Anni and Wufei yelled.
After experiencing the effects of the Zero system, she didn't feel so good and excused herself. Not wanting any lunch or dinner, she stayed up in her room the rest of the day. Trowa brought up some food and water for Tasha, so the cat could stay with her. Thinking back to the Zero system, she shuddered. It was horrible to think of how she saw the Pilots when they were dead. And then the picture of Duo and the gun. She shook the thought out and buried her head into her pillow, stifling any tears.
"I don't want to go to sleep anymore, Tasha. Whenever I do, I dream about that little girl and her family. I don't want to see it anymore!"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Duo pushed open the door. "Sorry, but I can't but help overhearing conversations."
She sniffed and shook her head as a no. A part of her wanted to, but it was a small part. He nodded and closed the door.
Duo walked down the stairs to go to the living room with the others. "How is she?" asked Heero.
He slumped down on to the floor. "She's scared," Duo calmly said. Quatre looked up. "I was scared too after I experienced the System."
"No, no. She's scared of those dreams she's been having. Anni won't tell me about it."
"They must be pretty horrible than," Wufei commented, and took a drink of his tea.
"Let's hope she gets through them," said Trowa after a while.
A window broke from upstairs. "Ahhh! Get away from me!!!"
"ANNI!" Duo yelled, and headed up to her room. The others followed, but only found an empty room. "Where is she?"
"A BOMB!" yelled Heero as he snatched up a metal ball from the floor. He chucked it out the window, and a loud explosion soon followed. Duo stuck his head out of the broken window, but the remains of smoke blinded him. "ANNI!!!"
"Duo!" a faint voice called. "Help m.." Her voice stopped in mid sentence.
He couldn't see anything. Anni was gone.
A/N: What'd I tell ya! Anni and Wufei fight! And she won! Well, it was kind of a draw, but anyway, it still shows that girls can be just as good as men. *sticks her tongue out at Wufei*
Duo: Ha Ha! You got beaten!
Wufei: *goes back into 'I am not worthy to Pilot Nataku' mode.*