b**DISCLAIMER**/b
I still don't own GW. The end.
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Two; Males Suck/b
"Twitch. Twitch-twitch. Twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch."
Nicole forced herself to stop mumbling 'twitch' and to stop twitching. She sat alone in a large cube-shaped room with plain gray walls and a bright overhead light. In the center of the room was a plain table and on the side Heero had told her to sit were three chairs, one of which she was occupying, and on the other a lone chair. Heero had told her to simply sit and not do anything until he got back, and she had to have been sitting there for at least half an hour.
Just then the door swung open. In marched Kriss, then Anna, then Heero, holding several of the three's belongings. Nicole noted one of which was her sketchbook.
Heero laid the items out on the table, gesturing for Kriss and Anna to sit on either side of their friend. Once they had situated themselves he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Where do you come from?"
"Earth," all three replied together.
"Why are you here? And how did you get here?"
"Uh...well..." Anna began, "We had to evacuate our continent, 'cause it was gonna crumble up beneath us, and we don't have much space on Earth, so they evacuated us into space."
Kriss began next, "Then, um, after our ship jumped to the Andromeda area, we kind of ended up shooting ourselves into space in an escape pod, by accident of course."
"It was all Q's fault!" Anna wailed.
"YES!" Nicole and Kriss nodded in frantic agreement.
Heero raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. He lifted up one of Anna's wall scrolls with pictures of Duo going all across it. "What is this?"
Anna blushed. "Um...uh..."
"Well?" he pressed, "Where did you get it?"
"...E-bay?" she replied innocently.
"..." He again shook his head and turned to Nicole, lifting her sketchbook, thumbing through the pages he had marked. Many of the sketches in there were of Quatre, him, and the other pilots. Some were shirtless images. She labeled most all of her drawings and wrote her comments about them, too. After viewing a couple of them, probably shirtless where she wrote comments about Quatre's hotness, a smirk appeared on his face, and then faded. He set the sketchbook back down, and leaned over the table, his face inches from Nicole's.
"How did you know who I and the other pilots are and what we look like before you came here? How do you know of your location?"
"Uh..." she looked to Kriss, then to Anna with a 'Should-I-tell-him?' look on her face.
Kriss decided to step up to bat. "Okay, look. We knew because there's a television program on Earth called Gundam Wing. Everyone who's seen the show knows all about you, the other pilots, the Peace Milion, the gundams, the Libra, Princess Relena, all of that. We happen to be GW fanatics. We ended up here solely by chance and we are, all in all, thrilled to be in the belly of the Peace Milion. Nicci here has all those sketches there because Quatre is her favorite GW bishie. Otay? You follow me?"
"..." Heero sat, his face stone-like. "You...expect...me...to...believe...THAT?" He looked like he might actually laugh.
"I can prove it to you!" Kriss wailed. "Give me my movies and point me to a VCR or a DVD player!"
Heero shrugged, pushing her movies to her. "There's a film-playing device in the conference room."
***
Once the girls, Q, and the pilots were all within the conference room, Kriss grabbed Endless Waltz up and popped it in. She then plopped down in a chair between Nicole and Duo.
Duo winked at her, "Hey there, cutie." Nicole rolled her eyes.
Kriss grinned, her eyes on the screen. She whispered, "Ssh, it's starting."
Throughout the film the G-boys' eyes grew wider and wider. Kriss and company found it rather funny how they were sitting among all the characters in the movie. The boys were rather shocked by the resemblances.
Once the movie had ended, all five of the young men sat with their mouths hanging open, shock apparent on their faces.
"Now do you believe us?" Nicole asked, turning to look at the pilots.
Heero blinked once, wiping the look of shock from his face. "Hn...Leave. We have to discuss this," he said, remaining as cool, calm, and collected as one can when they've just seen themselves in a movie.
"Sure," Q responded before the others could protest, dragging them outside the room.
"What do we do with them?" Quatre asked, once they had gone.
"...I do not know," Heero said slowly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
"Uh...well..." Duo began.
"Yes, Duo?"
"Uh...why don't we let them...stay? I mean we could use them. One of them might make a good mechanic, or they might make good pilots!"
Wufei groaned, "You just want them to stay so you can flirt with the girls."
Duo blushed, "That's not true! Besides, I saw you looking at that one girl Anna!"
It was then Wufei's turn to blush. "Why you little braided brat..."
"That's Braided Wonder, thank you."
"Grr..."
"Look, we aren't going to get anywhere this way!" Heero huffed. "We'll let them stay. Tomorrow we will begin testing them and seeing if they have the capability to serve upon the Peace Milion, with authorization. Got it?"
"Got it," all four pilots replied.
***The Next Morning***
"Do you think they'll ever get tired of playing...?" Kriss wondered aloud.
"Probably not," Anna replied, stretching her legs out over the couch. The four friends had decided to hang around in the den of the Peace Milion. The ship was like being in an overly large flying mansion. "What's this called again, Nick?"
"Sparkling Harmony," he said, sliding the bow across the strings of his violin. Nicole continued to play her part in time, not speaking, as it's impossible to do such whilst playing the flute.
As the two continued playing their music the door to the room slid open. Quatre and Trowa stuck their heads in. Trowa had a tiny surprising smile on his face. Quatre spoke, "Hey, I couldn't help but hear that pretty music. Who's playing?"
Kriss pointed at Nicole and Q. "They've been playing for like half an hour straight."
Quatre shrugged, "Practice is good. Come on and pack up the instruments though. You guys have to undergo some testing today."
Nicole took her instrument from her lips to take it apart. "What kind of testing?"
"Mental endurance, physical endurance. What kind of skills and talents you have. Basically to see how you can most effectively serve upon the Peace Milion."
"Serve...upon the Peace Milion? You mean you guys want us to stay?" Q asked slowly.
"Well, sure. If you want to stay that is."
"Are you NUTS?! Of course we want to stay, right guys?!" Kriss shrieked, jumping up.
"Yeah!" the others replied in unison.
Trowa watched as Q and Nicole packed their instruments and remarked, "The four of us will have to play together sometime."
All four of the foreign teenagers looked at each other in surprise, then out the window, half expecting comets, meteors, or maybe some brimstone.
"Let's get going," Quatre pressed, walking out the door of the room.
Everyone followed suit, exiting after him. He and Trowa led them to the docking bay, where the other pilots waited. A pile of suits was on the ground in front of them, a few helmets at the side.
"Suit up," Heero ordered.
The four teenagers followed orders, putting on the suits provided, each taking a helmet.
"It's too biiiig..." Nicole whined, lifting up one of the suits that had been designed for the taller boys. Heero sent her one of his 'perfect soldier' glares. She stuck her tongue out at him, grumbling as she pulled on the overly large suit.
"We'll get you all fitting ones later," said a voice, as the docking doors opened. The figure of Zechs Marquise came into view as he walked further within the bay.
Anna blinked a couple times. Her heart skipped a beat. She feebly tried to keep her jaw up. "Wow...He's even hotter in real life..." she whispered dreamily. Kriss gagged.
Zechs coughed a bit, walking towards the teenagers. He held his arms behind his back, looking at the passengers. He ordered for the testing to commence. Test by test, the foreigners of the Gundam universe were put through mentally and physically grueling tests. Each tested aspects of their strength, ways of thinking, even their psyche.
One of the tests was one of tolerance in a Gundam, and piloting potential. Kriss and Nicole crawled out of the Deathscythe Hell and Wing Zero they began squeaking and chirping excitedly:
"Dude that was SO COOL!!! I didn't realize those things could go that fast! Did you see the weapon systems?! That was amazing!"
Duo and Heero looked at each other strangely as they watched the girls skip off to the flight simulator.
"...They have potential," Heero muttered.
"We would be in agreement, my utterly mad buddy. I can't believe that Vinyard girl is still walking after riding with you though. Geez, she's about as nuts as you are..."
The 01 pilot simply walked in the other direction, shaking his head at the braided fellow. Partly so he wouldn't show the small smile that almost crossed his lips. Female pilots. That'd be quite a change.
Once the two impish ones had reached the flight simulator they began to excel rapidly. Both knocked out nearly all their simulated dolls. When Anna and Nick took their turn at the simulator, Anna did as well as the other girls, while Nick didn't have so much luck at the start, but upon getting the controls under his fingers, he began to catch up to his friends.
After the flight work and other sorts of tests, Zechs announced to the tired teens, "For now, all of you will be tested regularly in the similar. We'll consider beginning to allow you all to begin training in Gundams in a few weeks. I believe most of you could become spectacular pilots, with some work. For now, you'll all work as regular citizens on board. Some of you talents with computers or tools will be put to use. That is all." With that, Zechs exited the docking bay as quietly as he came, leaving Anna a pool of swooning mush.
***Three Days Later***
Within the piloting simulation chambers, screams and shouts rang back and forth. Wufei, Duo, Nicole, and Kriss had occupied a few of the chambers together, battling their simulated Gundams while Heero played referee.
"Take that, you! You...you...YOU BAKAGAMI!" Kriss shrieked, firing her Vulcan cannon at Duo.
Duo flew out of the way, pulling out his saber. He slashed off the right arm of Kriss' digital Gundam. "That's Shinigami, thank you sweetie." He winked.
Nicole preformed her usual gagging sounds while Duo attempted to flirt with Kriss. While she was in the midst of exercising her gag reflex Wufei came up behind her, slashing across her Gundam's back.
"...OI!" she screamed. "INJUSTICE!!"
"Hey, that's MY line!" Wufei growled.
"MINE NOW!!"
"NO, MINE!! ONNA!!"
"...Wufei...Be nice to our guests..." Heero said monotonously.
The boy only grumbled.
Just then Trowa and Quatre poked their heads in.
"Ahem...Heero?" Quatre called.
"Yes, Quatre?"
"Uh...We caught something else on the radar today...Should we check it out?"
Heero sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. "Hn...Get Zechs. Have it picked up. We will meet you in the docking bay." He then abruptly aborted the simulator. The four disgruntled digital-Gundam pilots stomped out looking...well...disgruntled that their simulation had been cut short.
Once the five Gundam pilots and trainees of the Peace Milion had collected from the escape pod that had became misplaced in the fabric of space had assembled in the docking bay they met up with Zechs and another large object that resembled an escape pod.
"...Another?" Trowa spoke quietly.
"Yes, another," Zechs replied, "This one appears to be from a different ship than these kids came from though..." He clicked his tongue. "Shall we open it?"
Wufei shrugged, stepping up to the pod. He pushed a couple keys upon the pad beside the door, causing it to slide open.
A loud "GRRRRRRR!!!!!" emitted from within the small vessel.
SMACK!!
"OW!" Wufei howled, hopping back from the pod. From within jumped a tall girl with blackish hair and green-colored eyes. Her fists were clenched tightly, as were her teeth. She was dressed in baggy tree-trunk jeans and a quite loose, dull green tank top. On her feet she wore pink flip-flops with metallic flowers on the tops of them. In each ear she had two earrings, and her finger and toenails were painted a glittery pink color. In all honestly she looked anything but fierce.
Wufei glared at the girl, rubbing his sore cheek. The girl's look had suddenly softened as she looked at Wufei. She looked around at the other Gundam pilots, her mouth dropping open.
"Oh...my...god...I'm...on...the...PEACE MILION?!" she ended with a high shriek that vibrated back through the docking bays.
"So you've heard of us too, eh?" Zechs asked, walked towards her. "Greetings...I am-,"
"Zechs Marquise, or Milliardo Peacecraft," the girl finished for him.
"Erm...yes..." he coughed, "You are?"
"Name's Ashely...Hey...WAIT A SECOND!!" Her eyes had fallen upon Nicole, Kriss, Anna, and Nick. "Sodi? Aya? UFO? Q? You guys are HERE?! Oh my God, how'd you get here?!"
"Um...Nick did it, Zodi!" Anna shrieked, pointing at her 'sibling.'
"DID NOT! KRISS PUSHED ME!!" he shrieked, putting the blame on the smaller impish girl.
Ashley rubbed her forehead, "Sssh...Calm down, children...One at a time."
All four of her friends who she had known over the computer until about five minutes from the current moment all began going over the story. Then they demanded that Ashley describe how she'd ended up in the Gundam dimension as she drug her luggage from the pod.
"Uh...well," she coughed, "After you guys disappeared in the escape pod, search pods were sent out...My parents wouldn't let me go with the search parties...They didn't understand. So, I snuck out in an escape pod and I...kind of got lost, too. We were on the Cypress..." She sighed. "But, hey...Now I'm here...I'm in the Gundamverse!!" she grinned widely, looking over at Wufei, then quickly back to her friends.
The Gundam pilots sat, utterly confused. Once the teenagers had taken notice of their state of perplexion, they explained. Shortly after Zechs took Ashley to the hanger for quick round of testing and the simulator, where it was determined she would function as a pilot soon as well, possibly a mechanic. She had to earn her keep somehow. Shortly after, all of the teenagers were sent back to their cabins to rest. Ashley was to use one of the extra sleeping areas in the girls' cabin.
***
Ashley groaned as she clopped into the cabin that was for the girls. There was a large main room with a bed in each corner. Three of which had the appearance of being occupied, so she took her bag and plopped it on the bed. She looked around the room. The walls were all a pale blue color with a simple gray carpet. A large window was located on either side of the room, and at the back, across from the door, was a large closet. At each bed had a nightstand at its side.
Shortly after Ashley came Kriss, Nicole, and Anna. All four were just getting comfy as the speaker to their room came on.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" called a feminine voice.
Nicole groaned, "Yeah, we hear you. Who's there?"
"This is Princess Relena Peacecraft. I am requesting your presence at this evening's banquet upon the Peace Milion, as our humbled guests. Please prepare, the banquet is in two hours. Thank you."
The speaker blipped off. Nicole gagged, "Baka ne Relena...I hate her. Evil. She wants a piece of Hee-chan's ass."
Kriss snickered evilly as she removed her shirt to begin getting ready, adjusting the strap of her black velvety bra. "But not as much as you, right Nicci?"
"Grrr...You shut up. You know the only ass I want a piece of is Quatre's. Besides, you know you're after Shinigami and his braid. You want him BAD!" she shot back as she slipped off her own shirt. "Ugh, I need a shower..." she groaned, walking to the door near the closet that led to their bathroom. After a moment the water started up.
Kriss was kicking at the door and screaming while Ashley and Anna began undressing.
Shortly after all the girls had showered they all stood in their undergarments, drying their hair and talking.
"I don't care what you do tonight at the banquet, Kriss...Duo is mine!" Anna was saying as she blow-dried her hair.
"Gah...I don't care. Take the damn Bakagami..." she grumbled, raking a comb through her blonde tangles.
"Well, no matter what either of you say, Wufei is the best," Ashley said firmly, whipping her short wet hair.
"You're just saying that 'cause you want to screw him!" Kriss snickered.
"WHAT?!? I DO NOT!!" she screeched defensively. "I JUST THINK WU-KUN IS COOL!"
"Wu-kun?! Didja hear that?? Wu-kun?? Ohh, she's got it bad for him!" Anna teased.
"I do not! Geez, I punched the crap out of him. If I liked him would I do that, even if I'd known who he was?"
"Yeah, you would," Nicole piped up, "Because Wufei doesn't like little weak things. Nope, no weak onnas for him...You got his interest, I bet!"
"QUIET YOU QUATRE LOVER!"
"HEY, QUATRE'S KAWAII! HE KICKS ASS!"
"HE'S A WUSS!" Kriss screeched, obviously disgusted by her words. "HOW IS THAT KAWAII?!"
"HE IS NOT!! AND HE'S KAWAII 'CAUSE HE IS!" she growled, giving Kriss a glare almost exactly like the perfect soldier expression Heero Yuy carried.
Kriss stuck her tongue out at Nicole before electing to tell Wufei how hot Ashley was for him, then spill the beans about the brunette imp's crush on Quatre, too.
Nicole had no objections to doing such to Ashley, so she pounced upon her friend, trying to drag her to the door to shove her outside in her half-dressed state whilst Kriss trying to contact Wufei. Nicole soon called for Anna's assistance in dragged her much taller friend outside, all the while screaming and hollering.
***Down the Hall***
"...What is all that screeching?!" Duo grumbled.
"No idea..." Quatre replied.
"...Let's check it out...Something may be wrong," Heero decided as he walked out of the meeting chamber into the hall, wearing his uniform perfect soldier frown.
***Back at the Girl's Room***
"One...Two...Three...HEAVE!!!" Nicole, Anna, and Kriss shouted, giving Ashley a good final shove. With that they managed to send her flying out in the hallway, towards the cold metal floor of the Peace Milion.
Before falling she screeched, "If I go, you're coming with me!!" and latched onto Anna's arm. Anna therefore grabbed Nicole with her, Nicole grabbing Kriss with her.
"Gaaah..." Kriss chattered, wishing her boxers covered her bare legs. "Brrr..."
Just as the girls were getting up to go back in, the five Gundam pilots came around the bend in the hall, stopping abruptly. In seeming unison their mouths dropped open at the scene of four scantily clad girls fighting their way back into their bedroom, shivering from cold floors and dripping hair.
"Um...did we...miss...something?" Quatre coughed, casting his eyes down, being the kind soul he was.
Next to him, Duo was grinning from ear to ear. "This is heaven!" he whooped, looking up and down at the girls before giving a slow whistle.
This apparently infuriated Kriss, as she marched up to the braided pilot, outstretched her right arm, and thus slapped him across the face. "Take that, hentai Bakagami!"
"Aw, babe, you hurt me so..." He gave, a play-sniffle.
She smacked him again.
"Owww..."
Kriss scurried back to her friends. The guys had moved in a bit closer.
"So, uh..." Quatre began. His eyes were continually wandering over to Nicole. This was not the proper way for a gentleman to behave. Getting red faced for some half-nude girl who happened to be visibly cold... He then smacked himself into not thinking about it. He was going to get a horrid nosebleed at this rate.
All the sudden Kriss gave Nicole a good shove, "Go! Flock to your Q-sama!" Kriss cackled as her friend shrieked and fell into the arms of the Arabian boy.
Nicole turned a tomato color while glaring at her impish comrade. "You die! SHINEE!" She growled.
Kriss cackled as she backed up, bumping into Duo.
"Oooo...See, you want me!" he cackled.
"HENTAI BAKAGAMI! SHINEE!!" she screamed, smacking him for the third time before running off. While Ashley, who was yet to be humiliated, chuckled, she ran to her, shoving her into Wufei. Wufei, despite the stick in his hindquarters, blushed.
Ashley blushed as well, just as a voice came:
"What in the name of God is going on here?! Wow, Wufei, nice to see you're loosening up," came the softly laughing voice of Zechs as he walked into the hall. "Gee, Quatre, don't drop that girl. You look like you're gonna faint."
All three of the girls again turned red.
"HENTAI!! ECCHI DA!!" the girls screeched, flinging themselves inside the room, with the exception of she who was seemingly shameless. Anna, complaining about how she wanted to go exploring despite her lack of clothing, was pulled after the first three girls, letting the door shut behind them.
After a moment, Nicole poked her head out at the dumbfounded boys. "Uh...by the way...We don't have any, uh...Clothes...Formal kinds...For the banquet...Could you maybe, like, help us...?" Her cheeks were flaming. These guys had seen more of her than pretty much anyone of the male species ever had before.
"Heero...Please see to it that the ladies get dresses..." Zechs said.
"...Yes sir..." he said monotonously, turning on his heel and leaving.
***In the Bedroom***
"If there's something more embarrassing in existence then having the Gundam Wing pilots catch you half nude, I don't want to meet it," Kriss grumbled, plopping on her bed.
Anna was spasming, "Did you hear what he said?! DRESSES?! DRESSES!! AHHH!!!"
"Anna, calm down. They're just dresses..." Nicole said calmly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"JUST DRESSES?! ARE YOU MAD, WOMAN!?" She began to shake her violently, "DRESSES ARE THE DEVIL!! THE DEVIL, I SAY!! DRESSES ARE SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Her voice faded out as Ashley and Nicole stuffed her in the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
The three remaining in the main room all looked at the bathroom door with eyebrows raised as it vibrated under Anna's beating fists.
A moment later, the door opened a crack, four packages were flung inside, and the door shut again.
Ashley reached the packages first, picking them up. Each one had one of the girls' names on it. She flung Kriss and Nicole their packages, and then cautiously opened the bathroom door. A seemingly rabid Anna came tearing out. Ashley flung the package in her face and ran away.
After the girls opened and inspected the contents of the packages, all were rather pleased. Each had received a decent dress for the banquet. Ashley's was long and Chinese-styled, with a dragon going up the skirt. Nicole had received a long, shimmer-y, forest-green dress with thin straps and an even darker green wrap to go over her shoulders. Kriss' was a shorter dress, sort of like Devil Hunter Yohko's outfit, with long billowing sleeves, and was a purple color. Anna's was large and billowy, kind of like a princess' gown.
Once she was dressed, Nicole sighed, sitting on the edge of Kriss' bed.
"I hate wearing dresses," she grumbled, tugging at her long forest-green gown.
"I think Anna hates it more," Kriss cackled, pointing to their spastic roommate. She was attempting to rip off the dress while Ashley held her arms down.
Kriss hummed quietly while tapping a few keys randomly on her laptop. She suddenly gave a gleeful cry of, "It worked!"
"Huh? What worked?" Nicole asked, looking over her impish friend's shoulder.
"I tapped into the video security system aboard the Peace Milion." She grinned sadistically. "See, here's us," she pointed to one of the many boxes that were split up on her screen.
"And there's Heero, Quatre, Zechs, and Bakagami."
"You mean you can see what they're doing?" Ashley asked. She had giving up fighting with Anna. Anna scurried after her towards the two impish girls sitting before the small computer. As she went she ripped off bits of frilly stuff on the dress.
"Uh-huh," Kriss replied. "Anybody wanna spy on one of the guys?"
"ZECHS!" Anna squeaked. "ZECHS, ZECHS, ZZZZZZEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!"
Kriss twitched. "Okay, geez. Spastic." She clicked the box that had Zechs' figure centered in it. It enlarged, showing the whole big picture.
"Hey," Kriss frowned at one of the now tiny boxes in the corner. "Bakagami left his room."
"Speak of the devil," Ashley giggled as the braided boy walked into Zechs' room. "Yaoi!!!!!" she squeaked happily.
Kriss and Anna then promptly smacked her.
"Be quiet you guys. Kriss, turn up the volume," Nicole said, straining to here what the two were talking about. Kriss turned it up.
Duo laughed. "Zechs, you seemed to be really interested in that Anna girl today. I know I saw you looking at her. You sly old dog."
Zechs' eyes shifted in the braided boy's direction. "I think you should speak for yourself Maxwell. You were hitting on that Imp girl left and right."
Duo promptly turned a bright shade of red. "I...I was not!!"
"I thought you didn't lie, Shinigami?"
"I don't...I just...um...I tiptoe around the truth from time to time! Um...yeah!" Utterly flustered, Duo darted from the room, his braid nearly getting caught in the door.
Zechs snickered and started combing his long, damp hair.
Anna was blushing and Kriss was fuming when they closed that box. "Where shall we go next?" she grumbled flatly.
"Spy on Spandex Boy!" Ashley cackled, "Then I wanna see Wu-kun!" Kriss complied, clicking onto the box Heero was in.
The box enlarged, showing Heero in his room, decked out fancy clothing (anyone seen those white clothes with the stockings and the fancy jacket Peacecraft wears? Or like Zechs' clothes all the time. But modified for a gu guy, minus stockings...yeah…) clicking around on his computer. Suddenly the door slide open to his room and Quatre walked in, holding a big, black leather book.
"My sketchbook!" Nicole yelped.
Quatre coughed to get Heero's attention. Heero responded with a 'Hn' sound, not looking up.
"Heero," he began, "How come there's so many pictures of me in here? Where'd you get this?"
"Hn. That Nicole girl. That's her sketchbook."
"She drew these...? Wow...She seems...fond of me..." he blushed.
"Hn," the Japanese boy repeated.
Quatre sighed. "Well, it's almost time for the banquet to start. Relena'll have a spasm if you're late."
"Hn."
The blonde boy sighed and exited, still holding Nicole's sketchbook.
Just as Kriss had minimized the box again the door opened with a 'whoosh' sound, and there appeared the braided head of Duo.
Kriss yowled, slamming her laptop shut and flinging it beneath her bed. The rest of the group scattered across the room.
Bakagami blinked at the sudden movements as he stepped inside. "What's going on in here?" he asked, his cobalt eyes shifting between each girl.
"Nothing!" the four squeaked together.
"Uh-huh. Sure. What was on that screen, huh?" He moved in beside Kriss, placing his gloved hands upon her shoulders and his face dangerously close to her own.
Nicole muttered to Anna, "Ten bucks says she goes for the braid first."
"You're on," she replied.
Kriss scooted away from the braided wonder, glaring back at him as if he was the scum of the earth (in her mind, I suppose he was...). "Back away or die!" she growled, grabbing up a pencil from the night table.
Duo ignored her warning, placing an arm about her waist. He purred into her ear, "C'mon, babe, be kind..."
With that a war cry bubbled from the small girl's throat and she raked out at his eyes. Duo grabbed her wrist with shocking speed, stopping the pencil an inch from his left eye. Kriss only glared.
"Fuck," cursed the Quatre-lover, slapping a ten spot into Anna's waiting palm.
Duo twisted the blonde imp's wrist, forcing her to release her death grip upon the pencil. He hefted her up and smiled as he drug her towards the door. She began to scream and protest as he pulled her down the hallway, calling over her cries, "Stop this, or we'll be late!"
The other girls jumped up. "The banquet!" they cried, diving for the door. The trio rushed down the hall after the duo (haha!) ahead of them.
***
Upon arrival in the banquet hall, Ashely was astounded by the size of the room. It looked like something out of a storybook; bronzed pillars were set all around the circular room. Running behind the pillars was a hallway that offered a bit of shade from the brilliant lights that flew from the humongous chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
Oh, the ceiling! It was a large dome ceiling, painted with a large mural of cherubs and clouds. All of those tiny angels above intermingled with the intricate patterns of clouds and among those were flowers and vines and leaves. The sheer beauty of it left her breathless.
Ahead of her were bunches of tables set around a large circular clear space where people were dancing. Behind the dance floor stood a relatively small stage, and upon that were four people Ashley recognized quite well. Nicole, Quatre, Nick, and Trowa stood upon it, playing a tune together.
She blinked for a moment in surprise then giggled. She then spotted Kriss, sitting dolefully between Duo and Heero. She hurried over to their table, for she didn't recognize the majority of the people in the ballroom. She took a seat next to Duo, happy to have some people she knew there.
She looked around the room at all the people everywhere. Most of them she'd never seen on the Peace Milion in her short time there. "Who are all these people?"
Duo piped up, "Colony nobles, some of Zechs' people, and pretty much everybody Relena could drag up here. She likes having big flashy parties like this." He sighed. "Honestly, it gets so old. It's always the same folks with sticks up their ass all the time. It's no fun!" He looked over at Heero. "Really, Hee-man, you ought to make your woman invite some fun people!"
Heero only glared, reaching into his coat. He pulled something out of it, enough to show that it was the handle of his prized gun.
Duo began laughing nervously, holding up his hands defensively. "Just a joke, man, just a joke! I-I know she's not your woman! Ehehe..."
Kriss glanced over at Duo evilly, "Is Duo afwaid of Heewo's 'ittle gun? Aww..."
Duo glared at her, "I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Oh, so you weren't just backing off like a turtle into his shell just now?"
"Of course not!" he said matter-of-factly, "I was protecting this marvelous face of mine." He nodded for emphasis.
"Uh-huh, sure, whatever. Pansy," she replied sarcastically, sipping at her drink.
Duo growled and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to the dance floor. "Would a pansy do this?" he inquired as he placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He then stepped off, pulling her into the quick waltz the group on stage played.
Kriss only glared murderously at him.
Back at the table, Ashley was laughing hysterically, watching Kriss purposely stepping on his feet to cause him as much trouble as possible. It was quite an amusing sight to see.
She wiped her eyes and turned back to the table touching at the Chinese-styled bun she'd rolled her hair into. Heero had disappeared and she found herself quite alone at the table. She sighed, looking around at all the couples dancing. Everyone looked so happy...With the exception of a certain god of idiots and a wily imp.
Ahead of her, she spotted Anna. She was standing near the Marquise, leaning against a bronzed pillar. Zechs had on a rather suave face, probably working his silk tongue on the girl. Ashley couldn't tell what they were saying, but whatever it was had made Anna turn red as a beet.
Suddenly, Anna caught Ashley's eye. She smiled and gave a small wave. The lone girl replied with a grin and thumbs up, mouthing that she, 'Go get 'em!' Her friend grinned and turned back to the white-haired man, leaving Ashley alone yet again.
She sighed and leaned over, folding her arms and resting her head upon them. Despite all those people around her, all that company, she felt as though she were still alone, adrift in space. Maybe it was because she'd arrived so much later on board? After all, she'd only been on the Peace Milion a day...
The tall girl sighed once more, ruffling her dark bangs. "What is it I always feel so left out?" she wondered aloud, tilting back to stare up at the mural ceiling again.
Beside her, a voice replied, "I sort of know how you feel."
"Huh?" she squeaked, whipping her head around in search of the owner of the voice. At her left sat Chang Wufei, the original tight-ass himself, sporting a dashing fist-sized bruise in the center of his face, accented with a white strip at the bridge of his nose.
She blinked a few times before bursting into a volley of apologies.
"OhmygodI'msosorryareyouokay?Ican'tbelieveIdidthattoyou!I'mveryverysorryEEEpleaseforgiveme!" she cried, bowing to further emphasize her infinite regrets.
Wufei simply shrugged it off, insisting that she rise. "Do no be such an onna! This injustice will be forgotten, just as this bruise will fade."
The girl brightened. "Thank you."
A few moments of silence passed between the two. The pair sat, watching dancers say to and fro to the piece the small orchestra performed. A few more instruments had joined the quartet more variety within the music. As the slower piece came to a close, a strike of the cello brought on a more energetic dance that livened the crowd, controlling them like the master working his marionettes.
As the dancers swung into the quick dance, Ashley finally spoke again. "So, ah, what's it like to be a Gundam pilot? I always thought it'd be so cool, getting to ride in one of those!"
"Well," he began, "I suppose it is a tolerable line of work. All the violence, the war I must make, it is hard. Dishonorable. Sometimes, it makes me feel unworthy of Nataku..." The Chinese pilot hung his head for a moment before continuing. "All the bloodshed is unbecoming of Nataku...but I am glad Nataku is still with me, not destroyed like in that Endless Waltz." He looked back at her. "Be glad you are a woman."
"...Excuse me?"
"Be glad you are a woman; that your place is not on the battlefield that you cannot fight like that. Women are fortunate for their place in the kitchen." He nodded, as though agreeing with himself. "Don't you think?"
Ashley paused a moment, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and mouthed something the young pilot could not catch. A moment more passed before she opened her green eyes, smiling sweetly. She opened her mouth to reply:
"YOU FUCKING SEXIST PIG! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M GOING TO BE A PILOT AND I AM GONNA KICK YOUR ASIAN ASS BACK TO THE ORIENT!"
Having gotten that off her chest, she smiled, curtsied, saying, "If you'll excuse me, sir, I need a bit of fresh air." At that, the girl turned and dashed out the banquet hall.
***
"All right Chang, what'd you say to her?" an enraged Anna demanded, seeming to tower before the boy. At his left and right stood the impish duo, and all three girls glared maliciously down at him.
Only about four seconds had passed from Ashley's departure to when the three had swooped upon him with the furious shrieks and rage of angry harpies. Wufei felt as though he was sinking into his chair as he stared up at Ashley's angry roommates.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," spat Kriss, "so you better spill!"
When he continued to remain silent, Nicole clutched his coat collar. "Your nose is already broken. If you don't answer, there will be lots of pain. And we will make you pretty. You will not like it."
At that, the boy promptly left his trance. He narrowed his onyx eyes at the girls. "I will not be reduced to a mere woman onna! I did nothing but tell the girl her place, and that's in the kitchen, not the cockpit of a Gundam! And that's where the three of you belong, too! IN THE KITCHEN! SO GO AND MAKE ME A SAM'MICH!" he shouted.
His words surprised the girls at first, as they were totally out of character for him. Once his insult had sunk in, the trio pounced upon him, screeching, YOU DIE!"
A moment later Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were peeling them from their companion's bruised body.
"Maybe they should go back to their room?" suggested Nick, whom stood back behind the other boys, fearing that he would be beaten as well. Trowa nodded.
Quatre glanced down at Wufei's twitching form. "Maybe we should take him to sick bay?"
"Nah," said, waving it off. "He deserves it."
"In...Injustice..." Wufei squeaked as the murderous girls were toted away, screaming for his blood as a crowd began to form around him.
***
"'...Fortunate for their place in the kitchen...' that pig! Oh, I can't believe him!" Ashley fumed, storming down a hall towards the hanger. She'd figured it was about the only place where she could be alone. She didn't want to go back to the room; the others would try to comfort her and baby her... She didn't want that right now.
So, instead she was hoping for a little solitude within the hanger. Once she'd reached the place she entered the key bode that she'd watched Zechs use that morning when she was led there for testing. The double doors slid open then closed yet again once she'd stepped inside. She strolled past rows of Aries' and strange machines and keypads, which she supposed were for removing restraints on the gundams. She passed six or seven empty restraint gates before she came to the star gundams aboard the Peace Milion.
Her eyes glittered with child-like awe, staring up at the larger-than-life behemoths of machines. As she passed each, she read the plaques welded into each gate aloud. "01, Wing Zero...02, Deathscythe Hell...03, Heavyarms...04 Sandrock...05 Altron...Heh, Wufei's precious Nataku." She smiled with mild amusement as she stared up at the machines. Then her smiled faded and she sighed, sinking to the cold metal floor. She leaned upon the railing of Altron's gate, staring past the gundam and out a tiny window. The twin moons of a planet glittered outside like huge diamonds on black velvet with tiny flecks of ice. Their silver light streamed though the window, shining on her face. A tear rolled down her cheek and glittered like a tiny child of those parent moons.
She made a fist, and then slammed it onto the ground. "I swear..." she whispered, as though trying not to disturb the slumber of the awe-inspiring monstrosities around her, "I'm going to make him eat those words..."
***
TO BE CONTINUUUUUUUUED! *cackles*
I still don't own GW. The end.
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Two; Males Suck/b
"Twitch. Twitch-twitch. Twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch."
Nicole forced herself to stop mumbling 'twitch' and to stop twitching. She sat alone in a large cube-shaped room with plain gray walls and a bright overhead light. In the center of the room was a plain table and on the side Heero had told her to sit were three chairs, one of which she was occupying, and on the other a lone chair. Heero had told her to simply sit and not do anything until he got back, and she had to have been sitting there for at least half an hour.
Just then the door swung open. In marched Kriss, then Anna, then Heero, holding several of the three's belongings. Nicole noted one of which was her sketchbook.
Heero laid the items out on the table, gesturing for Kriss and Anna to sit on either side of their friend. Once they had situated themselves he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Where do you come from?"
"Earth," all three replied together.
"Why are you here? And how did you get here?"
"Uh...well..." Anna began, "We had to evacuate our continent, 'cause it was gonna crumble up beneath us, and we don't have much space on Earth, so they evacuated us into space."
Kriss began next, "Then, um, after our ship jumped to the Andromeda area, we kind of ended up shooting ourselves into space in an escape pod, by accident of course."
"It was all Q's fault!" Anna wailed.
"YES!" Nicole and Kriss nodded in frantic agreement.
Heero raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. He lifted up one of Anna's wall scrolls with pictures of Duo going all across it. "What is this?"
Anna blushed. "Um...uh..."
"Well?" he pressed, "Where did you get it?"
"...E-bay?" she replied innocently.
"..." He again shook his head and turned to Nicole, lifting her sketchbook, thumbing through the pages he had marked. Many of the sketches in there were of Quatre, him, and the other pilots. Some were shirtless images. She labeled most all of her drawings and wrote her comments about them, too. After viewing a couple of them, probably shirtless where she wrote comments about Quatre's hotness, a smirk appeared on his face, and then faded. He set the sketchbook back down, and leaned over the table, his face inches from Nicole's.
"How did you know who I and the other pilots are and what we look like before you came here? How do you know of your location?"
"Uh..." she looked to Kriss, then to Anna with a 'Should-I-tell-him?' look on her face.
Kriss decided to step up to bat. "Okay, look. We knew because there's a television program on Earth called Gundam Wing. Everyone who's seen the show knows all about you, the other pilots, the Peace Milion, the gundams, the Libra, Princess Relena, all of that. We happen to be GW fanatics. We ended up here solely by chance and we are, all in all, thrilled to be in the belly of the Peace Milion. Nicci here has all those sketches there because Quatre is her favorite GW bishie. Otay? You follow me?"
"..." Heero sat, his face stone-like. "You...expect...me...to...believe...THAT?" He looked like he might actually laugh.
"I can prove it to you!" Kriss wailed. "Give me my movies and point me to a VCR or a DVD player!"
Heero shrugged, pushing her movies to her. "There's a film-playing device in the conference room."
***
Once the girls, Q, and the pilots were all within the conference room, Kriss grabbed Endless Waltz up and popped it in. She then plopped down in a chair between Nicole and Duo.
Duo winked at her, "Hey there, cutie." Nicole rolled her eyes.
Kriss grinned, her eyes on the screen. She whispered, "Ssh, it's starting."
Throughout the film the G-boys' eyes grew wider and wider. Kriss and company found it rather funny how they were sitting among all the characters in the movie. The boys were rather shocked by the resemblances.
Once the movie had ended, all five of the young men sat with their mouths hanging open, shock apparent on their faces.
"Now do you believe us?" Nicole asked, turning to look at the pilots.
Heero blinked once, wiping the look of shock from his face. "Hn...Leave. We have to discuss this," he said, remaining as cool, calm, and collected as one can when they've just seen themselves in a movie.
"Sure," Q responded before the others could protest, dragging them outside the room.
"What do we do with them?" Quatre asked, once they had gone.
"...I do not know," Heero said slowly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
"Uh...well..." Duo began.
"Yes, Duo?"
"Uh...why don't we let them...stay? I mean we could use them. One of them might make a good mechanic, or they might make good pilots!"
Wufei groaned, "You just want them to stay so you can flirt with the girls."
Duo blushed, "That's not true! Besides, I saw you looking at that one girl Anna!"
It was then Wufei's turn to blush. "Why you little braided brat..."
"That's Braided Wonder, thank you."
"Grr..."
"Look, we aren't going to get anywhere this way!" Heero huffed. "We'll let them stay. Tomorrow we will begin testing them and seeing if they have the capability to serve upon the Peace Milion, with authorization. Got it?"
"Got it," all four pilots replied.
***The Next Morning***
"Do you think they'll ever get tired of playing...?" Kriss wondered aloud.
"Probably not," Anna replied, stretching her legs out over the couch. The four friends had decided to hang around in the den of the Peace Milion. The ship was like being in an overly large flying mansion. "What's this called again, Nick?"
"Sparkling Harmony," he said, sliding the bow across the strings of his violin. Nicole continued to play her part in time, not speaking, as it's impossible to do such whilst playing the flute.
As the two continued playing their music the door to the room slid open. Quatre and Trowa stuck their heads in. Trowa had a tiny surprising smile on his face. Quatre spoke, "Hey, I couldn't help but hear that pretty music. Who's playing?"
Kriss pointed at Nicole and Q. "They've been playing for like half an hour straight."
Quatre shrugged, "Practice is good. Come on and pack up the instruments though. You guys have to undergo some testing today."
Nicole took her instrument from her lips to take it apart. "What kind of testing?"
"Mental endurance, physical endurance. What kind of skills and talents you have. Basically to see how you can most effectively serve upon the Peace Milion."
"Serve...upon the Peace Milion? You mean you guys want us to stay?" Q asked slowly.
"Well, sure. If you want to stay that is."
"Are you NUTS?! Of course we want to stay, right guys?!" Kriss shrieked, jumping up.
"Yeah!" the others replied in unison.
Trowa watched as Q and Nicole packed their instruments and remarked, "The four of us will have to play together sometime."
All four of the foreign teenagers looked at each other in surprise, then out the window, half expecting comets, meteors, or maybe some brimstone.
"Let's get going," Quatre pressed, walking out the door of the room.
Everyone followed suit, exiting after him. He and Trowa led them to the docking bay, where the other pilots waited. A pile of suits was on the ground in front of them, a few helmets at the side.
"Suit up," Heero ordered.
The four teenagers followed orders, putting on the suits provided, each taking a helmet.
"It's too biiiig..." Nicole whined, lifting up one of the suits that had been designed for the taller boys. Heero sent her one of his 'perfect soldier' glares. She stuck her tongue out at him, grumbling as she pulled on the overly large suit.
"We'll get you all fitting ones later," said a voice, as the docking doors opened. The figure of Zechs Marquise came into view as he walked further within the bay.
Anna blinked a couple times. Her heart skipped a beat. She feebly tried to keep her jaw up. "Wow...He's even hotter in real life..." she whispered dreamily. Kriss gagged.
Zechs coughed a bit, walking towards the teenagers. He held his arms behind his back, looking at the passengers. He ordered for the testing to commence. Test by test, the foreigners of the Gundam universe were put through mentally and physically grueling tests. Each tested aspects of their strength, ways of thinking, even their psyche.
One of the tests was one of tolerance in a Gundam, and piloting potential. Kriss and Nicole crawled out of the Deathscythe Hell and Wing Zero they began squeaking and chirping excitedly:
"Dude that was SO COOL!!! I didn't realize those things could go that fast! Did you see the weapon systems?! That was amazing!"
Duo and Heero looked at each other strangely as they watched the girls skip off to the flight simulator.
"...They have potential," Heero muttered.
"We would be in agreement, my utterly mad buddy. I can't believe that Vinyard girl is still walking after riding with you though. Geez, she's about as nuts as you are..."
The 01 pilot simply walked in the other direction, shaking his head at the braided fellow. Partly so he wouldn't show the small smile that almost crossed his lips. Female pilots. That'd be quite a change.
Once the two impish ones had reached the flight simulator they began to excel rapidly. Both knocked out nearly all their simulated dolls. When Anna and Nick took their turn at the simulator, Anna did as well as the other girls, while Nick didn't have so much luck at the start, but upon getting the controls under his fingers, he began to catch up to his friends.
After the flight work and other sorts of tests, Zechs announced to the tired teens, "For now, all of you will be tested regularly in the similar. We'll consider beginning to allow you all to begin training in Gundams in a few weeks. I believe most of you could become spectacular pilots, with some work. For now, you'll all work as regular citizens on board. Some of you talents with computers or tools will be put to use. That is all." With that, Zechs exited the docking bay as quietly as he came, leaving Anna a pool of swooning mush.
***Three Days Later***
Within the piloting simulation chambers, screams and shouts rang back and forth. Wufei, Duo, Nicole, and Kriss had occupied a few of the chambers together, battling their simulated Gundams while Heero played referee.
"Take that, you! You...you...YOU BAKAGAMI!" Kriss shrieked, firing her Vulcan cannon at Duo.
Duo flew out of the way, pulling out his saber. He slashed off the right arm of Kriss' digital Gundam. "That's Shinigami, thank you sweetie." He winked.
Nicole preformed her usual gagging sounds while Duo attempted to flirt with Kriss. While she was in the midst of exercising her gag reflex Wufei came up behind her, slashing across her Gundam's back.
"...OI!" she screamed. "INJUSTICE!!"
"Hey, that's MY line!" Wufei growled.
"MINE NOW!!"
"NO, MINE!! ONNA!!"
"...Wufei...Be nice to our guests..." Heero said monotonously.
The boy only grumbled.
Just then Trowa and Quatre poked their heads in.
"Ahem...Heero?" Quatre called.
"Yes, Quatre?"
"Uh...We caught something else on the radar today...Should we check it out?"
Heero sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. "Hn...Get Zechs. Have it picked up. We will meet you in the docking bay." He then abruptly aborted the simulator. The four disgruntled digital-Gundam pilots stomped out looking...well...disgruntled that their simulation had been cut short.
Once the five Gundam pilots and trainees of the Peace Milion had collected from the escape pod that had became misplaced in the fabric of space had assembled in the docking bay they met up with Zechs and another large object that resembled an escape pod.
"...Another?" Trowa spoke quietly.
"Yes, another," Zechs replied, "This one appears to be from a different ship than these kids came from though..." He clicked his tongue. "Shall we open it?"
Wufei shrugged, stepping up to the pod. He pushed a couple keys upon the pad beside the door, causing it to slide open.
A loud "GRRRRRRR!!!!!" emitted from within the small vessel.
SMACK!!
"OW!" Wufei howled, hopping back from the pod. From within jumped a tall girl with blackish hair and green-colored eyes. Her fists were clenched tightly, as were her teeth. She was dressed in baggy tree-trunk jeans and a quite loose, dull green tank top. On her feet she wore pink flip-flops with metallic flowers on the tops of them. In each ear she had two earrings, and her finger and toenails were painted a glittery pink color. In all honestly she looked anything but fierce.
Wufei glared at the girl, rubbing his sore cheek. The girl's look had suddenly softened as she looked at Wufei. She looked around at the other Gundam pilots, her mouth dropping open.
"Oh...my...god...I'm...on...the...PEACE MILION?!" she ended with a high shriek that vibrated back through the docking bays.
"So you've heard of us too, eh?" Zechs asked, walked towards her. "Greetings...I am-,"
"Zechs Marquise, or Milliardo Peacecraft," the girl finished for him.
"Erm...yes..." he coughed, "You are?"
"Name's Ashely...Hey...WAIT A SECOND!!" Her eyes had fallen upon Nicole, Kriss, Anna, and Nick. "Sodi? Aya? UFO? Q? You guys are HERE?! Oh my God, how'd you get here?!"
"Um...Nick did it, Zodi!" Anna shrieked, pointing at her 'sibling.'
"DID NOT! KRISS PUSHED ME!!" he shrieked, putting the blame on the smaller impish girl.
Ashley rubbed her forehead, "Sssh...Calm down, children...One at a time."
All four of her friends who she had known over the computer until about five minutes from the current moment all began going over the story. Then they demanded that Ashley describe how she'd ended up in the Gundam dimension as she drug her luggage from the pod.
"Uh...well," she coughed, "After you guys disappeared in the escape pod, search pods were sent out...My parents wouldn't let me go with the search parties...They didn't understand. So, I snuck out in an escape pod and I...kind of got lost, too. We were on the Cypress..." She sighed. "But, hey...Now I'm here...I'm in the Gundamverse!!" she grinned widely, looking over at Wufei, then quickly back to her friends.
The Gundam pilots sat, utterly confused. Once the teenagers had taken notice of their state of perplexion, they explained. Shortly after Zechs took Ashley to the hanger for quick round of testing and the simulator, where it was determined she would function as a pilot soon as well, possibly a mechanic. She had to earn her keep somehow. Shortly after, all of the teenagers were sent back to their cabins to rest. Ashley was to use one of the extra sleeping areas in the girls' cabin.
***
Ashley groaned as she clopped into the cabin that was for the girls. There was a large main room with a bed in each corner. Three of which had the appearance of being occupied, so she took her bag and plopped it on the bed. She looked around the room. The walls were all a pale blue color with a simple gray carpet. A large window was located on either side of the room, and at the back, across from the door, was a large closet. At each bed had a nightstand at its side.
Shortly after Ashley came Kriss, Nicole, and Anna. All four were just getting comfy as the speaker to their room came on.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" called a feminine voice.
Nicole groaned, "Yeah, we hear you. Who's there?"
"This is Princess Relena Peacecraft. I am requesting your presence at this evening's banquet upon the Peace Milion, as our humbled guests. Please prepare, the banquet is in two hours. Thank you."
The speaker blipped off. Nicole gagged, "Baka ne Relena...I hate her. Evil. She wants a piece of Hee-chan's ass."
Kriss snickered evilly as she removed her shirt to begin getting ready, adjusting the strap of her black velvety bra. "But not as much as you, right Nicci?"
"Grrr...You shut up. You know the only ass I want a piece of is Quatre's. Besides, you know you're after Shinigami and his braid. You want him BAD!" she shot back as she slipped off her own shirt. "Ugh, I need a shower..." she groaned, walking to the door near the closet that led to their bathroom. After a moment the water started up.
Kriss was kicking at the door and screaming while Ashley and Anna began undressing.
Shortly after all the girls had showered they all stood in their undergarments, drying their hair and talking.
"I don't care what you do tonight at the banquet, Kriss...Duo is mine!" Anna was saying as she blow-dried her hair.
"Gah...I don't care. Take the damn Bakagami..." she grumbled, raking a comb through her blonde tangles.
"Well, no matter what either of you say, Wufei is the best," Ashley said firmly, whipping her short wet hair.
"You're just saying that 'cause you want to screw him!" Kriss snickered.
"WHAT?!? I DO NOT!!" she screeched defensively. "I JUST THINK WU-KUN IS COOL!"
"Wu-kun?! Didja hear that?? Wu-kun?? Ohh, she's got it bad for him!" Anna teased.
"I do not! Geez, I punched the crap out of him. If I liked him would I do that, even if I'd known who he was?"
"Yeah, you would," Nicole piped up, "Because Wufei doesn't like little weak things. Nope, no weak onnas for him...You got his interest, I bet!"
"QUIET YOU QUATRE LOVER!"
"HEY, QUATRE'S KAWAII! HE KICKS ASS!"
"HE'S A WUSS!" Kriss screeched, obviously disgusted by her words. "HOW IS THAT KAWAII?!"
"HE IS NOT!! AND HE'S KAWAII 'CAUSE HE IS!" she growled, giving Kriss a glare almost exactly like the perfect soldier expression Heero Yuy carried.
Kriss stuck her tongue out at Nicole before electing to tell Wufei how hot Ashley was for him, then spill the beans about the brunette imp's crush on Quatre, too.
Nicole had no objections to doing such to Ashley, so she pounced upon her friend, trying to drag her to the door to shove her outside in her half-dressed state whilst Kriss trying to contact Wufei. Nicole soon called for Anna's assistance in dragged her much taller friend outside, all the while screaming and hollering.
***Down the Hall***
"...What is all that screeching?!" Duo grumbled.
"No idea..." Quatre replied.
"...Let's check it out...Something may be wrong," Heero decided as he walked out of the meeting chamber into the hall, wearing his uniform perfect soldier frown.
***Back at the Girl's Room***
"One...Two...Three...HEAVE!!!" Nicole, Anna, and Kriss shouted, giving Ashley a good final shove. With that they managed to send her flying out in the hallway, towards the cold metal floor of the Peace Milion.
Before falling she screeched, "If I go, you're coming with me!!" and latched onto Anna's arm. Anna therefore grabbed Nicole with her, Nicole grabbing Kriss with her.
"Gaaah..." Kriss chattered, wishing her boxers covered her bare legs. "Brrr..."
Just as the girls were getting up to go back in, the five Gundam pilots came around the bend in the hall, stopping abruptly. In seeming unison their mouths dropped open at the scene of four scantily clad girls fighting their way back into their bedroom, shivering from cold floors and dripping hair.
"Um...did we...miss...something?" Quatre coughed, casting his eyes down, being the kind soul he was.
Next to him, Duo was grinning from ear to ear. "This is heaven!" he whooped, looking up and down at the girls before giving a slow whistle.
This apparently infuriated Kriss, as she marched up to the braided pilot, outstretched her right arm, and thus slapped him across the face. "Take that, hentai Bakagami!"
"Aw, babe, you hurt me so..." He gave, a play-sniffle.
She smacked him again.
"Owww..."
Kriss scurried back to her friends. The guys had moved in a bit closer.
"So, uh..." Quatre began. His eyes were continually wandering over to Nicole. This was not the proper way for a gentleman to behave. Getting red faced for some half-nude girl who happened to be visibly cold... He then smacked himself into not thinking about it. He was going to get a horrid nosebleed at this rate.
All the sudden Kriss gave Nicole a good shove, "Go! Flock to your Q-sama!" Kriss cackled as her friend shrieked and fell into the arms of the Arabian boy.
Nicole turned a tomato color while glaring at her impish comrade. "You die! SHINEE!" She growled.
Kriss cackled as she backed up, bumping into Duo.
"Oooo...See, you want me!" he cackled.
"HENTAI BAKAGAMI! SHINEE!!" she screamed, smacking him for the third time before running off. While Ashley, who was yet to be humiliated, chuckled, she ran to her, shoving her into Wufei. Wufei, despite the stick in his hindquarters, blushed.
Ashley blushed as well, just as a voice came:
"What in the name of God is going on here?! Wow, Wufei, nice to see you're loosening up," came the softly laughing voice of Zechs as he walked into the hall. "Gee, Quatre, don't drop that girl. You look like you're gonna faint."
All three of the girls again turned red.
"HENTAI!! ECCHI DA!!" the girls screeched, flinging themselves inside the room, with the exception of she who was seemingly shameless. Anna, complaining about how she wanted to go exploring despite her lack of clothing, was pulled after the first three girls, letting the door shut behind them.
After a moment, Nicole poked her head out at the dumbfounded boys. "Uh...by the way...We don't have any, uh...Clothes...Formal kinds...For the banquet...Could you maybe, like, help us...?" Her cheeks were flaming. These guys had seen more of her than pretty much anyone of the male species ever had before.
"Heero...Please see to it that the ladies get dresses..." Zechs said.
"...Yes sir..." he said monotonously, turning on his heel and leaving.
***In the Bedroom***
"If there's something more embarrassing in existence then having the Gundam Wing pilots catch you half nude, I don't want to meet it," Kriss grumbled, plopping on her bed.
Anna was spasming, "Did you hear what he said?! DRESSES?! DRESSES!! AHHH!!!"
"Anna, calm down. They're just dresses..." Nicole said calmly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"JUST DRESSES?! ARE YOU MAD, WOMAN!?" She began to shake her violently, "DRESSES ARE THE DEVIL!! THE DEVIL, I SAY!! DRESSES ARE SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Her voice faded out as Ashley and Nicole stuffed her in the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
The three remaining in the main room all looked at the bathroom door with eyebrows raised as it vibrated under Anna's beating fists.
A moment later, the door opened a crack, four packages were flung inside, and the door shut again.
Ashley reached the packages first, picking them up. Each one had one of the girls' names on it. She flung Kriss and Nicole their packages, and then cautiously opened the bathroom door. A seemingly rabid Anna came tearing out. Ashley flung the package in her face and ran away.
After the girls opened and inspected the contents of the packages, all were rather pleased. Each had received a decent dress for the banquet. Ashley's was long and Chinese-styled, with a dragon going up the skirt. Nicole had received a long, shimmer-y, forest-green dress with thin straps and an even darker green wrap to go over her shoulders. Kriss' was a shorter dress, sort of like Devil Hunter Yohko's outfit, with long billowing sleeves, and was a purple color. Anna's was large and billowy, kind of like a princess' gown.
Once she was dressed, Nicole sighed, sitting on the edge of Kriss' bed.
"I hate wearing dresses," she grumbled, tugging at her long forest-green gown.
"I think Anna hates it more," Kriss cackled, pointing to their spastic roommate. She was attempting to rip off the dress while Ashley held her arms down.
Kriss hummed quietly while tapping a few keys randomly on her laptop. She suddenly gave a gleeful cry of, "It worked!"
"Huh? What worked?" Nicole asked, looking over her impish friend's shoulder.
"I tapped into the video security system aboard the Peace Milion." She grinned sadistically. "See, here's us," she pointed to one of the many boxes that were split up on her screen.
"And there's Heero, Quatre, Zechs, and Bakagami."
"You mean you can see what they're doing?" Ashley asked. She had giving up fighting with Anna. Anna scurried after her towards the two impish girls sitting before the small computer. As she went she ripped off bits of frilly stuff on the dress.
"Uh-huh," Kriss replied. "Anybody wanna spy on one of the guys?"
"ZECHS!" Anna squeaked. "ZECHS, ZECHS, ZZZZZZEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!"
Kriss twitched. "Okay, geez. Spastic." She clicked the box that had Zechs' figure centered in it. It enlarged, showing the whole big picture.
"Hey," Kriss frowned at one of the now tiny boxes in the corner. "Bakagami left his room."
"Speak of the devil," Ashley giggled as the braided boy walked into Zechs' room. "Yaoi!!!!!" she squeaked happily.
Kriss and Anna then promptly smacked her.
"Be quiet you guys. Kriss, turn up the volume," Nicole said, straining to here what the two were talking about. Kriss turned it up.
Duo laughed. "Zechs, you seemed to be really interested in that Anna girl today. I know I saw you looking at her. You sly old dog."
Zechs' eyes shifted in the braided boy's direction. "I think you should speak for yourself Maxwell. You were hitting on that Imp girl left and right."
Duo promptly turned a bright shade of red. "I...I was not!!"
"I thought you didn't lie, Shinigami?"
"I don't...I just...um...I tiptoe around the truth from time to time! Um...yeah!" Utterly flustered, Duo darted from the room, his braid nearly getting caught in the door.
Zechs snickered and started combing his long, damp hair.
Anna was blushing and Kriss was fuming when they closed that box. "Where shall we go next?" she grumbled flatly.
"Spy on Spandex Boy!" Ashley cackled, "Then I wanna see Wu-kun!" Kriss complied, clicking onto the box Heero was in.
The box enlarged, showing Heero in his room, decked out fancy clothing (anyone seen those white clothes with the stockings and the fancy jacket Peacecraft wears? Or like Zechs' clothes all the time. But modified for a gu guy, minus stockings...yeah…) clicking around on his computer. Suddenly the door slide open to his room and Quatre walked in, holding a big, black leather book.
"My sketchbook!" Nicole yelped.
Quatre coughed to get Heero's attention. Heero responded with a 'Hn' sound, not looking up.
"Heero," he began, "How come there's so many pictures of me in here? Where'd you get this?"
"Hn. That Nicole girl. That's her sketchbook."
"She drew these...? Wow...She seems...fond of me..." he blushed.
"Hn," the Japanese boy repeated.
Quatre sighed. "Well, it's almost time for the banquet to start. Relena'll have a spasm if you're late."
"Hn."
The blonde boy sighed and exited, still holding Nicole's sketchbook.
Just as Kriss had minimized the box again the door opened with a 'whoosh' sound, and there appeared the braided head of Duo.
Kriss yowled, slamming her laptop shut and flinging it beneath her bed. The rest of the group scattered across the room.
Bakagami blinked at the sudden movements as he stepped inside. "What's going on in here?" he asked, his cobalt eyes shifting between each girl.
"Nothing!" the four squeaked together.
"Uh-huh. Sure. What was on that screen, huh?" He moved in beside Kriss, placing his gloved hands upon her shoulders and his face dangerously close to her own.
Nicole muttered to Anna, "Ten bucks says she goes for the braid first."
"You're on," she replied.
Kriss scooted away from the braided wonder, glaring back at him as if he was the scum of the earth (in her mind, I suppose he was...). "Back away or die!" she growled, grabbing up a pencil from the night table.
Duo ignored her warning, placing an arm about her waist. He purred into her ear, "C'mon, babe, be kind..."
With that a war cry bubbled from the small girl's throat and she raked out at his eyes. Duo grabbed her wrist with shocking speed, stopping the pencil an inch from his left eye. Kriss only glared.
"Fuck," cursed the Quatre-lover, slapping a ten spot into Anna's waiting palm.
Duo twisted the blonde imp's wrist, forcing her to release her death grip upon the pencil. He hefted her up and smiled as he drug her towards the door. She began to scream and protest as he pulled her down the hallway, calling over her cries, "Stop this, or we'll be late!"
The other girls jumped up. "The banquet!" they cried, diving for the door. The trio rushed down the hall after the duo (haha!) ahead of them.
***
Upon arrival in the banquet hall, Ashely was astounded by the size of the room. It looked like something out of a storybook; bronzed pillars were set all around the circular room. Running behind the pillars was a hallway that offered a bit of shade from the brilliant lights that flew from the humongous chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
Oh, the ceiling! It was a large dome ceiling, painted with a large mural of cherubs and clouds. All of those tiny angels above intermingled with the intricate patterns of clouds and among those were flowers and vines and leaves. The sheer beauty of it left her breathless.
Ahead of her were bunches of tables set around a large circular clear space where people were dancing. Behind the dance floor stood a relatively small stage, and upon that were four people Ashley recognized quite well. Nicole, Quatre, Nick, and Trowa stood upon it, playing a tune together.
She blinked for a moment in surprise then giggled. She then spotted Kriss, sitting dolefully between Duo and Heero. She hurried over to their table, for she didn't recognize the majority of the people in the ballroom. She took a seat next to Duo, happy to have some people she knew there.
She looked around the room at all the people everywhere. Most of them she'd never seen on the Peace Milion in her short time there. "Who are all these people?"
Duo piped up, "Colony nobles, some of Zechs' people, and pretty much everybody Relena could drag up here. She likes having big flashy parties like this." He sighed. "Honestly, it gets so old. It's always the same folks with sticks up their ass all the time. It's no fun!" He looked over at Heero. "Really, Hee-man, you ought to make your woman invite some fun people!"
Heero only glared, reaching into his coat. He pulled something out of it, enough to show that it was the handle of his prized gun.
Duo began laughing nervously, holding up his hands defensively. "Just a joke, man, just a joke! I-I know she's not your woman! Ehehe..."
Kriss glanced over at Duo evilly, "Is Duo afwaid of Heewo's 'ittle gun? Aww..."
Duo glared at her, "I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Oh, so you weren't just backing off like a turtle into his shell just now?"
"Of course not!" he said matter-of-factly, "I was protecting this marvelous face of mine." He nodded for emphasis.
"Uh-huh, sure, whatever. Pansy," she replied sarcastically, sipping at her drink.
Duo growled and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to the dance floor. "Would a pansy do this?" he inquired as he placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He then stepped off, pulling her into the quick waltz the group on stage played.
Kriss only glared murderously at him.
Back at the table, Ashley was laughing hysterically, watching Kriss purposely stepping on his feet to cause him as much trouble as possible. It was quite an amusing sight to see.
She wiped her eyes and turned back to the table touching at the Chinese-styled bun she'd rolled her hair into. Heero had disappeared and she found herself quite alone at the table. She sighed, looking around at all the couples dancing. Everyone looked so happy...With the exception of a certain god of idiots and a wily imp.
Ahead of her, she spotted Anna. She was standing near the Marquise, leaning against a bronzed pillar. Zechs had on a rather suave face, probably working his silk tongue on the girl. Ashley couldn't tell what they were saying, but whatever it was had made Anna turn red as a beet.
Suddenly, Anna caught Ashley's eye. She smiled and gave a small wave. The lone girl replied with a grin and thumbs up, mouthing that she, 'Go get 'em!' Her friend grinned and turned back to the white-haired man, leaving Ashley alone yet again.
She sighed and leaned over, folding her arms and resting her head upon them. Despite all those people around her, all that company, she felt as though she were still alone, adrift in space. Maybe it was because she'd arrived so much later on board? After all, she'd only been on the Peace Milion a day...
The tall girl sighed once more, ruffling her dark bangs. "What is it I always feel so left out?" she wondered aloud, tilting back to stare up at the mural ceiling again.
Beside her, a voice replied, "I sort of know how you feel."
"Huh?" she squeaked, whipping her head around in search of the owner of the voice. At her left sat Chang Wufei, the original tight-ass himself, sporting a dashing fist-sized bruise in the center of his face, accented with a white strip at the bridge of his nose.
She blinked a few times before bursting into a volley of apologies.
"OhmygodI'msosorryareyouokay?Ican'tbelieveIdidthattoyou!I'mveryverysorryEEEpleaseforgiveme!" she cried, bowing to further emphasize her infinite regrets.
Wufei simply shrugged it off, insisting that she rise. "Do no be such an onna! This injustice will be forgotten, just as this bruise will fade."
The girl brightened. "Thank you."
A few moments of silence passed between the two. The pair sat, watching dancers say to and fro to the piece the small orchestra performed. A few more instruments had joined the quartet more variety within the music. As the slower piece came to a close, a strike of the cello brought on a more energetic dance that livened the crowd, controlling them like the master working his marionettes.
As the dancers swung into the quick dance, Ashley finally spoke again. "So, ah, what's it like to be a Gundam pilot? I always thought it'd be so cool, getting to ride in one of those!"
"Well," he began, "I suppose it is a tolerable line of work. All the violence, the war I must make, it is hard. Dishonorable. Sometimes, it makes me feel unworthy of Nataku..." The Chinese pilot hung his head for a moment before continuing. "All the bloodshed is unbecoming of Nataku...but I am glad Nataku is still with me, not destroyed like in that Endless Waltz." He looked back at her. "Be glad you are a woman."
"...Excuse me?"
"Be glad you are a woman; that your place is not on the battlefield that you cannot fight like that. Women are fortunate for their place in the kitchen." He nodded, as though agreeing with himself. "Don't you think?"
Ashley paused a moment, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and mouthed something the young pilot could not catch. A moment more passed before she opened her green eyes, smiling sweetly. She opened her mouth to reply:
"YOU FUCKING SEXIST PIG! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M GOING TO BE A PILOT AND I AM GONNA KICK YOUR ASIAN ASS BACK TO THE ORIENT!"
Having gotten that off her chest, she smiled, curtsied, saying, "If you'll excuse me, sir, I need a bit of fresh air." At that, the girl turned and dashed out the banquet hall.
***
"All right Chang, what'd you say to her?" an enraged Anna demanded, seeming to tower before the boy. At his left and right stood the impish duo, and all three girls glared maliciously down at him.
Only about four seconds had passed from Ashley's departure to when the three had swooped upon him with the furious shrieks and rage of angry harpies. Wufei felt as though he was sinking into his chair as he stared up at Ashley's angry roommates.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," spat Kriss, "so you better spill!"
When he continued to remain silent, Nicole clutched his coat collar. "Your nose is already broken. If you don't answer, there will be lots of pain. And we will make you pretty. You will not like it."
At that, the boy promptly left his trance. He narrowed his onyx eyes at the girls. "I will not be reduced to a mere woman onna! I did nothing but tell the girl her place, and that's in the kitchen, not the cockpit of a Gundam! And that's where the three of you belong, too! IN THE KITCHEN! SO GO AND MAKE ME A SAM'MICH!" he shouted.
His words surprised the girls at first, as they were totally out of character for him. Once his insult had sunk in, the trio pounced upon him, screeching, YOU DIE!"
A moment later Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were peeling them from their companion's bruised body.
"Maybe they should go back to their room?" suggested Nick, whom stood back behind the other boys, fearing that he would be beaten as well. Trowa nodded.
Quatre glanced down at Wufei's twitching form. "Maybe we should take him to sick bay?"
"Nah," said, waving it off. "He deserves it."
"In...Injustice..." Wufei squeaked as the murderous girls were toted away, screaming for his blood as a crowd began to form around him.
***
"'...Fortunate for their place in the kitchen...' that pig! Oh, I can't believe him!" Ashley fumed, storming down a hall towards the hanger. She'd figured it was about the only place where she could be alone. She didn't want to go back to the room; the others would try to comfort her and baby her... She didn't want that right now.
So, instead she was hoping for a little solitude within the hanger. Once she'd reached the place she entered the key bode that she'd watched Zechs use that morning when she was led there for testing. The double doors slid open then closed yet again once she'd stepped inside. She strolled past rows of Aries' and strange machines and keypads, which she supposed were for removing restraints on the gundams. She passed six or seven empty restraint gates before she came to the star gundams aboard the Peace Milion.
Her eyes glittered with child-like awe, staring up at the larger-than-life behemoths of machines. As she passed each, she read the plaques welded into each gate aloud. "01, Wing Zero...02, Deathscythe Hell...03, Heavyarms...04 Sandrock...05 Altron...Heh, Wufei's precious Nataku." She smiled with mild amusement as she stared up at the machines. Then her smiled faded and she sighed, sinking to the cold metal floor. She leaned upon the railing of Altron's gate, staring past the gundam and out a tiny window. The twin moons of a planet glittered outside like huge diamonds on black velvet with tiny flecks of ice. Their silver light streamed though the window, shining on her face. A tear rolled down her cheek and glittered like a tiny child of those parent moons.
She made a fist, and then slammed it onto the ground. "I swear..." she whispered, as though trying not to disturb the slumber of the awe-inspiring monstrosities around her, "I'm going to make him eat those words..."
***
TO BE CONTINUUUUUUUUED! *cackles*