DISCLAIMERS: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters. I do own Liana and
other future original characters but that's it, I don't own anything else
much to my own dismay *sobs*
A.N. I am so sorry I just realized something in all of the other chapters, except for the first, the title of the story is different. It is the old title of the story before I decided that the current title fits it better. Also I don't have a name for the enemy so if anyone has any suggestions please help me out! Hey, Geminia, here is the bit about the Gundams that you were wondering about. Thank you, now on with the story.
The Perfect Life
By Stardust
Chapter 7
With an available weapon at hand she got into a fighting stance and asked the boys this: "If you don't believe my words then you will believe my knife." But she couldn't hold her smile and the boys knew she wasn't serious. They continued their advance and almost had Duo and Nashada cornered when Cathy came in.
"Une is in the vidphone, says she wants to talk to everyone. Apparently they found more information about the enemy." Cathy spoke quickly but slowed as she guessed what had been happening. "Stop playing games and come. You guys know Une doesn't have any patience."
With that they all left the kitchen and headed to the living room, of course the guys sending glares to Duo who was at the end of the group. As soon as they entered the room Une started speaking.
"Finally, for being the Preventer Elite Team you guys take way too long to gather. Continuing into the real reason for this call, we have just found out more information about the enemy and their base in Japan. It seems they have their most advanced suits and weapons in this base but the problems start here. The security is much more advanced than what we thought it to be and that is only the beginning. Their man power is double of the predicted and more than half of it is in permanent duty in that base. Completing the mission with the equipment that you were given will result impossible and more of a suicide than anything else. This is why I have called you, to see if anyone of you can figure a way to carry out this mission without the whole team getting killed."
They stayed in silence for a couple of seconds until Duo started to drum his fingers on the table, much to the annoyance of the other occupants in the room.
"STOP! Your incessant tapping will not let me think! It is not honorable to not let others think!" Wufei puffed as he leaned against the wall once again.
"You stop with your 'honor', it has no place here. Besides I think better when I move." Duo indignantly crossed his arms over his chest and leaned into the sofa.
"You. Think. I never could imagine that in a million years." Wufei's sarcasm reached a new level with every word he spoke.
"The Gundams. We could use the Gundams to infiltrate the base and continue the mission as planed once we are inside." The tiny whisper echoed throughout the room before chaos broke out. Everyone put their opinion in at the same time and argued against each other. Heero only stared at Nashada who had been the one to voice the solution. He knew for a fact that anyone that wasn't a high ranking Minister or Preventer knew nothing about the re-construction of the Gundams. So he wondered how a Preventer of only a couple of months and whom, to the knowledge of the Preventers, had never been involved in politics knew about the current Gundams.
"Nashada is right. I will have all of the available Gundams shipped to our base in Tokyo. As of the moment there are nine available suits so one of you will have to ride with another pilot. I will leave the minor details for you guys to plan together. The only requirement from my part is that you work as a team and call me if anything happens. Your mission has been moved a day back as you need time to familiarize yourselves with your Gundams. The Gundams should be in the Tokyo base at around 22:00, your time, tomorrow. I recommend you get a good night sleep, a good meal and relax tomorrow, we don't know when you will be able to do any of the three again. Good night." With that the screen went blank and the people in the room looked at each other silently.
~ o ~ o ~ o
The Next Morning
"So, Duo, did you convince them to go or am I going to enjoy a bloody show?" Nasha said with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Well. You see." Duo gulped loudly and backed away, "I did get them to say that they would come but. well. see. they think that we are going to see the surroundings of the base so that we are ready for the mission."
"I specifically said that YOU had to get them to go in a SIGHT-SEEING trip not a reconnaissance trip. I don't know if you know the difference but the first one is for fun and the second one is for WORK."
"At least they are going out with us and by the time they realize that we are not going to do what I told them it will be too late for them to turn back. Besides Une said you were good with negotiations." Already thinking someway to get out of his current problem, Duo was seriously considering falling to his knees and begging. When Nasha's temper started things could get seriously nasty. When he heard people coming their way he started giving thanks to whatever higher power had saved his neck.
"Nasha, everyone is ready, should we get started?" Hilde smirked while she opened the door to show a sunny and clear sky day over the city of Tokyo.
~ o ~ o ~ o
Hours Later
"Ladies and gentleman, the last attraction in our tour, the Tokyo Tower." Nasha tried to mimic the tones of the tour attendants. For some reason, beyond her understanding, Wufei, Heero and Trowa glared at her before they angrily walk, or rather stomped, with the rest of the group towards the Tower. But even the angry trio had to admit that the view was fabulous. The setting sun gave the whole city an orange light while some of the lights started to turn on. It really looked more like a postcard than anything else.
"This is my favorite place at this time of the day. I love the way that the city looks right before night falls." Nasha couldn't help the big sight, she had missed being home. Odd enough she felt this place was more of a home to her than her old, huge and lonely mansion. She gently hugged herself and turned to the friends that she had very much missed and gave them a smile. "I think our Gundams should be ready by now, besides we are close to the base." She pointed to the Preventers building before moving away from the window.
"You really love it here don't you, Nasha?" Cathy asked while they walked to the base.
Thinking of all the lonely nights and quite days she had spent in the mansion she realized once more how much she loved it here. "Yes, I sure do, Cathy." She smiled but it was a sad smile.
"Then why work with the Preventers if you knew it would take you away from here?" Sally normally didn't like to poke into people's lives but she was curious.
"Well, during the war I wasn't able to fight, both because other people wouldn't let me and because I wouldn't let myself." She thought back to her life back then, how empty and meaningless it felt. "But then after the war was over something changed in me and I felt the need to protect this peace." Yes, something had changed in her after the war. She wanted to be the protector not the protected. Besides she had figured that the last place they would look for her would be among them. She shrugged off her thoughts as they entered the base.
~ o ~ o ~ o
A tiny man in a white lab coat met them at the entrance of the hanger where the Gundams where being held.
"If you will follow me I will show you to your Gundams. Also General Une told me that the Preventer who is missing their Gundam is Catherine Bloom." With that said he led them into the hanger.
"This one is for Heero Yuy. The next is Hilde Sc..ha," He was interrupted as Hilde raised her hand, "Thank you. The next is Duo Maxwell. The next is Trowa Barton. Dorothy Catalonia is next. Quatre Winner after her. The one after is Sally Po. The next is Wufei Chang. After that is Lucretzia Noin. The next Zechs Marquise. The last one is Nashada Wong. The Gundams have no name as of yet so you may name them what ever you wish but I need their names for the files. I'll leave you now to get acquainted with your suites. Be back in an hour." The small man left the hangar. As soon as the door was heard the girls ran to their Gundams while the boys took their time.
Heero's looked exactly like Wing Zero but its wings were bigger and had a bluish tone. Hilde's was mostly black but had a bit of baby blue and the figure of the Gundam seemed rounder than the boys. Duo's looked like his beloved Shinigami but this Gundam carried two scythes instead of one. Trowa's looked like Heavyarms but he could see that more ammo and machines were built into it now. Dorothy's like Hilde's was rounder but hers was mostly red with a bit of brown. Quatre's looked like Sandrock but he could see a laser beam attached to its back. Sally's like the other girls' was rounder and it was the color of old gold with a bit of pale yellow. Wufei's was like Altron except for the long laser sword that was at its feet. Noin's was a dark and light purple and like the other girls' it was rounder. Zechs' was like Epion but like Quatre his had a laser beam attached to its back. Nashada's was dark blue with white and pale blue but it had wings like Heero's. Hers too was rounder than the other Gundams.
An hour had passed by and they heard the scientists enter the hangar. He busied himself by scribbling notes. Once they were all gathered around him he asked for the names for their Gundams. Hilde's would be called Hell's Gate for which she received a thumbs up from Duo. Dorothy's would be named Vici which as Dorothy explained later was Latin for conquer. Sally's was now Excorde meaning with all the heart in Latin. Noin's would be Cara which meant beautiful in Italian. Zech decided to maintain the tradition and called it Epion III. Wufei's became Honor. Quatre decide to call his Desertstorm. Trowa's was now Wildarms. Duo scratched his head and called his Hades. Heero decided to call his Thisbe. As he announced this a tiny gasp escaped Nasha's mouth before she could stop herself. Heero looked at her and his uncertainty arouse. To clear her head Nasha gave the man the name for hers, Heaven's Tear.
~ o ~ o ~ o
Long after everyone had gone to sleep Nasha stood in the open hall facing the garden where they practiced everyday. She could not help the memories. Thisbe. Another sigh escaped her lips. The only conversation that they had had, how could she forget?
*Flashback* "What are you reading?" Heero nodded his head towards her book.
"I am reading a roman myth. Would you like to me to tell you about it?" Her voice was polite and steady but inside she was shaking. Had Heero just started a conversation with her?
"Hn" Was his only and usual response.
"The story is like Romeo and Juliet but this one is much older than that. It's about a guy, Pyramus, and a girl, Thisbe, who are madly in love with each other but their parents won't hear about it. Then Pyramus thinks that Thisbe was eaten by a lion and kills himself. But Thisbe is not death and when she sees Pyramus dead she kills herself too. The Gods were so touched by their love that 'the color of the mulberry fruit still darkens to blood- red when it is ripe, and all that remained from both funeral pyres rests in a common urn'. It is such a lovely story a bit sad but touching really." She knew she was being childish but she said it anyway. " I hope one day someone will love me like that." 'God knows I already love someone in that way, you.'
She smiled gently at Heero and started to talk with him.
*End of Flashback*
The memories didn't come alone. The pain came with them. The pain she had thought she had left behind. And also the longing but that she knew wouldn't go away, not with time nor with distance. With a sigh she went into the temple and struggled to sleep. When it came it was fitful and full of darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading this chapter, the next one will probably be up about next week but I cannot promise anything. Thanks to CowgurlEvee, Kiki and Beth. Special thanks to Geminia and Sakura Kinomoto for all their commentaries and ideas. I will probably get some action in the next chapter but I don't know if it will be any good, I don't like to write about fights too much, but I will try, the things I do for you guys. ; p If you skipped the whole hangar thing you should at least read the names for their Gundams as they will be used in battles instead of the persons name in the future. He, he, he! Heero is starting to suspect something about Nasha. I am having so much fun.
A.N. I am so sorry I just realized something in all of the other chapters, except for the first, the title of the story is different. It is the old title of the story before I decided that the current title fits it better. Also I don't have a name for the enemy so if anyone has any suggestions please help me out! Hey, Geminia, here is the bit about the Gundams that you were wondering about. Thank you, now on with the story.
The Perfect Life
By Stardust
Chapter 7
With an available weapon at hand she got into a fighting stance and asked the boys this: "If you don't believe my words then you will believe my knife." But she couldn't hold her smile and the boys knew she wasn't serious. They continued their advance and almost had Duo and Nashada cornered when Cathy came in.
"Une is in the vidphone, says she wants to talk to everyone. Apparently they found more information about the enemy." Cathy spoke quickly but slowed as she guessed what had been happening. "Stop playing games and come. You guys know Une doesn't have any patience."
With that they all left the kitchen and headed to the living room, of course the guys sending glares to Duo who was at the end of the group. As soon as they entered the room Une started speaking.
"Finally, for being the Preventer Elite Team you guys take way too long to gather. Continuing into the real reason for this call, we have just found out more information about the enemy and their base in Japan. It seems they have their most advanced suits and weapons in this base but the problems start here. The security is much more advanced than what we thought it to be and that is only the beginning. Their man power is double of the predicted and more than half of it is in permanent duty in that base. Completing the mission with the equipment that you were given will result impossible and more of a suicide than anything else. This is why I have called you, to see if anyone of you can figure a way to carry out this mission without the whole team getting killed."
They stayed in silence for a couple of seconds until Duo started to drum his fingers on the table, much to the annoyance of the other occupants in the room.
"STOP! Your incessant tapping will not let me think! It is not honorable to not let others think!" Wufei puffed as he leaned against the wall once again.
"You stop with your 'honor', it has no place here. Besides I think better when I move." Duo indignantly crossed his arms over his chest and leaned into the sofa.
"You. Think. I never could imagine that in a million years." Wufei's sarcasm reached a new level with every word he spoke.
"The Gundams. We could use the Gundams to infiltrate the base and continue the mission as planed once we are inside." The tiny whisper echoed throughout the room before chaos broke out. Everyone put their opinion in at the same time and argued against each other. Heero only stared at Nashada who had been the one to voice the solution. He knew for a fact that anyone that wasn't a high ranking Minister or Preventer knew nothing about the re-construction of the Gundams. So he wondered how a Preventer of only a couple of months and whom, to the knowledge of the Preventers, had never been involved in politics knew about the current Gundams.
"Nashada is right. I will have all of the available Gundams shipped to our base in Tokyo. As of the moment there are nine available suits so one of you will have to ride with another pilot. I will leave the minor details for you guys to plan together. The only requirement from my part is that you work as a team and call me if anything happens. Your mission has been moved a day back as you need time to familiarize yourselves with your Gundams. The Gundams should be in the Tokyo base at around 22:00, your time, tomorrow. I recommend you get a good night sleep, a good meal and relax tomorrow, we don't know when you will be able to do any of the three again. Good night." With that the screen went blank and the people in the room looked at each other silently.
~ o ~ o ~ o
The Next Morning
"So, Duo, did you convince them to go or am I going to enjoy a bloody show?" Nasha said with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Well. You see." Duo gulped loudly and backed away, "I did get them to say that they would come but. well. see. they think that we are going to see the surroundings of the base so that we are ready for the mission."
"I specifically said that YOU had to get them to go in a SIGHT-SEEING trip not a reconnaissance trip. I don't know if you know the difference but the first one is for fun and the second one is for WORK."
"At least they are going out with us and by the time they realize that we are not going to do what I told them it will be too late for them to turn back. Besides Une said you were good with negotiations." Already thinking someway to get out of his current problem, Duo was seriously considering falling to his knees and begging. When Nasha's temper started things could get seriously nasty. When he heard people coming their way he started giving thanks to whatever higher power had saved his neck.
"Nasha, everyone is ready, should we get started?" Hilde smirked while she opened the door to show a sunny and clear sky day over the city of Tokyo.
~ o ~ o ~ o
Hours Later
"Ladies and gentleman, the last attraction in our tour, the Tokyo Tower." Nasha tried to mimic the tones of the tour attendants. For some reason, beyond her understanding, Wufei, Heero and Trowa glared at her before they angrily walk, or rather stomped, with the rest of the group towards the Tower. But even the angry trio had to admit that the view was fabulous. The setting sun gave the whole city an orange light while some of the lights started to turn on. It really looked more like a postcard than anything else.
"This is my favorite place at this time of the day. I love the way that the city looks right before night falls." Nasha couldn't help the big sight, she had missed being home. Odd enough she felt this place was more of a home to her than her old, huge and lonely mansion. She gently hugged herself and turned to the friends that she had very much missed and gave them a smile. "I think our Gundams should be ready by now, besides we are close to the base." She pointed to the Preventers building before moving away from the window.
"You really love it here don't you, Nasha?" Cathy asked while they walked to the base.
Thinking of all the lonely nights and quite days she had spent in the mansion she realized once more how much she loved it here. "Yes, I sure do, Cathy." She smiled but it was a sad smile.
"Then why work with the Preventers if you knew it would take you away from here?" Sally normally didn't like to poke into people's lives but she was curious.
"Well, during the war I wasn't able to fight, both because other people wouldn't let me and because I wouldn't let myself." She thought back to her life back then, how empty and meaningless it felt. "But then after the war was over something changed in me and I felt the need to protect this peace." Yes, something had changed in her after the war. She wanted to be the protector not the protected. Besides she had figured that the last place they would look for her would be among them. She shrugged off her thoughts as they entered the base.
~ o ~ o ~ o
A tiny man in a white lab coat met them at the entrance of the hanger where the Gundams where being held.
"If you will follow me I will show you to your Gundams. Also General Une told me that the Preventer who is missing their Gundam is Catherine Bloom." With that said he led them into the hanger.
"This one is for Heero Yuy. The next is Hilde Sc..ha," He was interrupted as Hilde raised her hand, "Thank you. The next is Duo Maxwell. The next is Trowa Barton. Dorothy Catalonia is next. Quatre Winner after her. The one after is Sally Po. The next is Wufei Chang. After that is Lucretzia Noin. The next Zechs Marquise. The last one is Nashada Wong. The Gundams have no name as of yet so you may name them what ever you wish but I need their names for the files. I'll leave you now to get acquainted with your suites. Be back in an hour." The small man left the hangar. As soon as the door was heard the girls ran to their Gundams while the boys took their time.
Heero's looked exactly like Wing Zero but its wings were bigger and had a bluish tone. Hilde's was mostly black but had a bit of baby blue and the figure of the Gundam seemed rounder than the boys. Duo's looked like his beloved Shinigami but this Gundam carried two scythes instead of one. Trowa's looked like Heavyarms but he could see that more ammo and machines were built into it now. Dorothy's like Hilde's was rounder but hers was mostly red with a bit of brown. Quatre's looked like Sandrock but he could see a laser beam attached to its back. Sally's like the other girls' was rounder and it was the color of old gold with a bit of pale yellow. Wufei's was like Altron except for the long laser sword that was at its feet. Noin's was a dark and light purple and like the other girls' it was rounder. Zechs' was like Epion but like Quatre his had a laser beam attached to its back. Nashada's was dark blue with white and pale blue but it had wings like Heero's. Hers too was rounder than the other Gundams.
An hour had passed by and they heard the scientists enter the hangar. He busied himself by scribbling notes. Once they were all gathered around him he asked for the names for their Gundams. Hilde's would be called Hell's Gate for which she received a thumbs up from Duo. Dorothy's would be named Vici which as Dorothy explained later was Latin for conquer. Sally's was now Excorde meaning with all the heart in Latin. Noin's would be Cara which meant beautiful in Italian. Zech decided to maintain the tradition and called it Epion III. Wufei's became Honor. Quatre decide to call his Desertstorm. Trowa's was now Wildarms. Duo scratched his head and called his Hades. Heero decided to call his Thisbe. As he announced this a tiny gasp escaped Nasha's mouth before she could stop herself. Heero looked at her and his uncertainty arouse. To clear her head Nasha gave the man the name for hers, Heaven's Tear.
~ o ~ o ~ o
Long after everyone had gone to sleep Nasha stood in the open hall facing the garden where they practiced everyday. She could not help the memories. Thisbe. Another sigh escaped her lips. The only conversation that they had had, how could she forget?
*Flashback* "What are you reading?" Heero nodded his head towards her book.
"I am reading a roman myth. Would you like to me to tell you about it?" Her voice was polite and steady but inside she was shaking. Had Heero just started a conversation with her?
"Hn" Was his only and usual response.
"The story is like Romeo and Juliet but this one is much older than that. It's about a guy, Pyramus, and a girl, Thisbe, who are madly in love with each other but their parents won't hear about it. Then Pyramus thinks that Thisbe was eaten by a lion and kills himself. But Thisbe is not death and when she sees Pyramus dead she kills herself too. The Gods were so touched by their love that 'the color of the mulberry fruit still darkens to blood- red when it is ripe, and all that remained from both funeral pyres rests in a common urn'. It is such a lovely story a bit sad but touching really." She knew she was being childish but she said it anyway. " I hope one day someone will love me like that." 'God knows I already love someone in that way, you.'
She smiled gently at Heero and started to talk with him.
*End of Flashback*
The memories didn't come alone. The pain came with them. The pain she had thought she had left behind. And also the longing but that she knew wouldn't go away, not with time nor with distance. With a sigh she went into the temple and struggled to sleep. When it came it was fitful and full of darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading this chapter, the next one will probably be up about next week but I cannot promise anything. Thanks to CowgurlEvee, Kiki and Beth. Special thanks to Geminia and Sakura Kinomoto for all their commentaries and ideas. I will probably get some action in the next chapter but I don't know if it will be any good, I don't like to write about fights too much, but I will try, the things I do for you guys. ; p If you skipped the whole hangar thing you should at least read the names for their Gundams as they will be used in battles instead of the persons name in the future. He, he, he! Heero is starting to suspect something about Nasha. I am having so much fun.