Thank you again for sending another review Crystal Gundam. I don't know if Aladdin will fit here, butI might.Ok, Bon Appitite everyone! (if you've been waiting for the next chapter that is)
Outside Salamabad, in the desert that surrounded the city, the sun rose up and shined. Its sunlight touched the sandy earth, making the parched world around them an uncomfortable place to be.
"Try again!" said Auron's voice. He was watching from a distance sitting on a rock as both Heero and Quatre were dueling each other. After getting out of the hospital, Auron suggested that the two of them practice their swordsmanship, especially Heero. And as for Quatre, he would see if he needed practice. At the moment that is.
Doing as told, Quatre readied his sword. For practice, he decided to use only one instead of his usual dual wielding swords to make it fair for Heero. And Heero positioned his brand new sword right directly in front of him with his front leg bent and as rear one straight behind. Auron had told him earlier that it was called "Plume". After a few moments of sharing silence, Quatre began by trying to strike his leg from the side. Calmly, Heero quickly and easily moved his sword down to the right and blocked the blow. To have the sword in front of you allowed quick movement to anywhere in front of you. To counter attack, Heero leaped up in the air and landed about three feet away behind from Quatre. As soon as he landed, he made a forward dash at his opponent with Plume placed as much forward as he could. But Quatre was very fast and agile. He simply dodged to the other side. Vulnerable, Heero was left open to attack from his side for a second until he was able to defensively position himself. Trying to make use of that one second he had, Quatre tried to make a slash at Heero. But in response, he ducked and moved his sword over to his left in order to strike Quatre. But just as Heero before him, Quatre also leaped up in the air. But when Heero looked up to see where Quatre was so that he'd know where he'd land, his vision was unable to see. In those certain places of the sky, the very bright sun and its rays made impossible to look constantly no more than a quarter second. Now an uneasy feeling hit him. What was he going to do? Before he knew it, Quatre silently landed behind him and placed his sword very close to Heero's neck. It was just a hundredth of a millimeter away. Any closer, the sharp blade would cut his skin and cause it to bleed. Now the duel was over. And I lost! Damnit! he cursed mentally in his mind.
"That's enough for now" Auron said walking up to them. "You still have a lot to learn" he said. Though he did not look at him, all three of them knew that Auron was talking to Heero. "Stay calm in every fight" he said to him. Yeah, whatever. Easy for you to say. We should see how well you do without your 'sunglasses' Heero thought. But he kept his thoughts to himself.
After they walked back into the city, they stopped at a café for a morning meal. As they ate, Heero broke the constant silence that was among them. "So what do we do next?" "We're going to head back into the palace. We need to make a stop." Auron answered. Thinking that was all he needed to know, Heero went back to eating his bowl of Lucky Charms.
That afternoon, they came into town at last like a caravan. Their marching style was military like arranged in straight rows and lines. The people sat on the chocobo's and camels wearing desert tunics, vests, and round red hats(1). They were a traveling troupe who had crossed the nefarious desert and had just come into town to both perform and rest. The people who had been walking on the streets going about their everyday lives looked at the newcomers, wondering about their presence.
A young woman dressed in plain simple garments walked up as close as she could to the caravan. C'mon Relena...this is your chance...she thought determined. She kept walking up to the front until she saw a slim lad just about her age. He was riding on a chocobo dressed in khaki tunics and with his back neatly erected. He had long, mild brown frontal hair that nearly covered half his face and only one of his green eyes could be seen. From his posture, it looked as though he were a commanding officer of some sort.
"Excuse me! I was wondering if you would accept me as part of- she tried to say to him as she tried to keep pace with his galloping, but she was interrupted. "We're not hiring" he said, his tone sounding like that was the end of story. But now, the troupe had reached a part of the city were there less people. They were now able to move at a faster pace and the lad and his companions didn't hesitate to do so. Relena ran as fast as she could after them, but could not keep up. She coughed from the dirt and sand being diffused into the air from the herd's trampling on the ground. Then, she sat down on the ground and broke to tears as she sobbed.
Auron, Heero, and Quatre walked along the streets en route to the palace. While they walked, Quatre observed Heero just to see if there were any signs of hard feelings after their brief duel. He thought he could see that his manner was saying something like 'Oh yeah, you got a problem with me? Huh tough guy?' But Quatre didn't want to be his enemy or anything. "Heero?" he asked them as they walked. "What is it?" Heero responded back looking at him. "I hope that there isn't any hostility from each other. You know, we could learn sometimes by losing." When Heero heard this, he thought for a moment. Maybe I could. But what if it's the real thing? If so, there won't be any reset button so that I can start over... No, I can't lose anymore from now on. I might get too used to it. "If this is about that 'game' we played earlier, you can just forget about it ok?" he said to Quatre. And their conversation ended there.
As they made their way to the city center walking on the street, Quatre's eyes spotted a girl sitting alone right in the middle of the road. He saw and heard that people were laughing as they walked by her and for some reason she was crying. Should I go and see what's wrong with her? Or should I just pretend nothing is going on? While he thought about what he should do, a feeling had emerged from inside him. A cloudy memory. But he had time to think about it later. Without another moment's hesitation, he chose to take the action he thought was best. "I'll see you back at the palace later ok guys?" he said quickly. Then he suddenly ran off into the crowd on the road.
"Are you alright miss?" he asked once he found her. She looked up at him through sobs and sniffs. She gave a slight nod as she went back to looking down again. Quatre had a feeling that she wasn't telling the truth. He knew it was possible to cry when you were happy, the state she was in didn't appear to be so, so he thought she wasn't telling the truth. It was none of his business anyway. "Listen, whatever is going on must be troubling you. You could stop by the palace with me if you'd like. I think you could rest a little while" Quatre said to her, assuming that she had been through hell. He reached his hand out for hers. He didn't know why he even offered. But it just seemed like he should. Again, she looked at up at him, but this time surprised.
"What does this lamp do?" Heero asked Auron. They were now at the palace gates in front of the yard. There was a long moment of silence. "...We'll see when the time comes..." was all he said. While they were walking over here, Auron had explained to them that they had come to get a lamp. Auron told him to go inside and see the sultan for it. "Aren't you coming?" said Heero as he was about to open the court yard's front door. Remembering that the sultan had told him not to come back he said that he would wait. Not wasting anymore time, he opened the door and went inside. Alone now, Auron sat on the stairway and took some time to think.
When he was in the hallway, Heero looked for the sultan. In this particular room which he had not been in yet, there were large bronze pillars that stood on the great floor supporting the ceiling. He went up the second floor, and by chance he met Jasmine along the way. "Heero! Are you ok? How are you feeling?" she greeted him smiling. "I'm fine thank you" he replied back. Trying to get down to business, he asked where her father was. "He's at his room over on the third floor" she answered. He bid her farewell and walked on. "Heero?" she called after him. He turned around to face her. "There's going to be a musical concert tonight downtown. Would you like to come with my father and I?" Why are you asking me?... "I don't think I'll be going. But thank you for asking." And he walked on, but Jasmine followed him for a few steps and asked "Why not?" Again, he turned around to face her.
After Quatre had decided to run off somewhere, Auron and Heero took a break and sat on the public couch that was placed on the sidewalk. "You are a messiah" he said to Heero, starting the conversation. 'That again...' he thought. "So I've heard. But do you know anything about this?" "It's unclear what your role in life is" Auron explained. "But you did appear at the gate that is said to be the link to other worlds. That fact alone makes you who are supposed to be. And now after we get this lamp, we must travel all around this realm until we find the next clue as to where we go next." He did not know anything about anything here. So for now he thought that he would follow Auron's lead. "Would you just happen to know what this clue is? And just what is it exactly that I'm trying to save?" Heero asked him. "No I don't know. And as for your other question, I think you'll find out eventually." They got up and stretched and walked on. "In the meantime, we should watch out for Quatre too." Hearing this, he began to feel something wrong. So far, Quatre did seem like a nice person, but was there more to it than meets the eye? And even possibly the heart? "What do you mean?" he asked Auron with suspicion. "He lives very strongly by some beliefs..."
"I'm going to be very busy. But thank you for the hospitality you've shown me." Heero said to her looking at her directly. Jasmine tried to look normal but hid it. "I understand. Well, I guess I'll be going now." Once she was alone, she thought over about what had happened. I feel like a fool just for asking...I should've known better. Sighing, she continued to walk and down below under the railway, she saw Quatre and a girl she had yet to meet. Looking for something to distract her from her new sadness, she called out to him. "Hello Quatre! Who is your new friend?" she smiled.
Heero knocked on the door as soon as he found it. The door opened and sultan appeared before him. Unlike his usual jolly self, he looked as if he were sad. And the radiant eyes that once glowed were now like adead flower. "You majesty, I've come- but before he could even finish his sentence, the sultan took out shiny golden lamp and held it in his hand and offered to Heero. Surprised, he took it. "How did you-Heero began. "Nevermind lad. If this is going to help you on your quest, then take it." And then he went back in his room and closed the door.
Having got what he came for, he retraced his steps back. When he finally made it to the first floor's entrance door, he saw Jasmine, Quatre, and Auron talking with each other. And there was also a girl he had never seen- Wait a minute! That's the girl from my dream. It was just as he saw: mild honey brown hair, sapphire blue eyes, and a pretty face. He walked over to them.
"So Heero, you're here" Quatre greeted as he came over to them. "Did you get it?" Auron asked. He gave Auron a nod. Then he turned over to the new girl and asked "Who might you be?" She smiled and said "My name is Relena Darlian. What's yours?(2)" "My name is Heero Yuy."
1.I don't know what you call those red caps the Maganacs wear.
2.Hehehehe...You can't forget that famous line by Relena! (If you forgot, go watch Gundam Wing episode 1.)
Alright, despite the lack of reviews, I'll still try and stay dedicated to this fic for as long as I can. But I can use some reviews. Please review!!!