I really should be shot. XDDDD cackles evilly
--Misplaced in Space - Chapter Seventeen; ...And Still I Think of You...--
Was this what going insane was like? It sure seemed like it. Nick hated that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he got while he lay there in bed, thinking about Mei and his captured friends. He felt somewhat better knowing that Ashley was going to be fine, but still. There was bound to be something big happening, and what if Mei got caught in the crossfire? He was really, truly scared for her. Shiest.
Obviously sleep was not going to come, so quietly he crept from his bed to the awaiting computer and turned it on. Maybe Mei was having trouble sleeping, too...
ooo
Mei blinked in surprise as the instant message window popped open, snapping her from her silent reverie. No one ever instant messaged her at this time of night. She kept it on anyway just for the sake of it, but it was a genuine surprise for someone to actually be online and want to talk to her at that hour, especially Nick... She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She could not help feeling guilty, even if she had had nothing to do with it. Her father was making a ransom on the young man's friends.
"I hate being the emperor's daughter," she muttered aloud as she typed her response.
ooo
With a sniffle Quatre pushed himself up from the pillow he had buried his face into, his eyes a deep bloodshot red. He was so terribly sick of this loneliness, this feeling of helplessness. He had not been able to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He was too worried, too upset. Whenever he tried to sleep, or even if he had actually managed to doze off, he would suddenly remember the empty side of the bed, and that moved him to tears.
The past few days had seemed to drag like an eternity. They had made it all the way into the system of the abandoned colony, and Shou Chen had sent them another transmission the past night to give them their meeting time. As the blonde turned to inspect the clock that sat over on Nicole's-his heart wrenched at the very name-the clock that sat on the other side of the bed, he saw the time was near. He exhaled deeply and pushed himself out of bed, walking to the closet and running his hands through his hair. Why did he even bother to change into pajamas if he did not sleep? It was almost funny.
While he pulled out a fresh set of clothes he found his mind begin wondering back to the girl again. How was it she could do this to him? Certainly she was nice, but why was he so upset? Well, he did feel partially responsible for her disappearance. She and Kryss had run off because of all the fame surrounding him, and because he had taken her to the ball...he sighed once more as he pulled on his usual khaki pants with a white undershirt and dress shirt over that for a change. It was because of his origins that she had suffered so. Perhaps he had best leave her alone once-or rather if-no, he preferred once, she returned. He did not want anyone to be hurt at his expense, but still...another sigh.
As he pulled on his shoes a knock came on the door. He rubbed at his red eyes with his wrists, trying to erase some of the haggardness from his appearance. "Yes?"
The Arabian listened to the door creak open and heard Duo call softly, "Yo, Quat," as he came in and took a seat beside him on the bed.
Duo had never felt so pissed off or scared in his entire life with maybe the exception of the incident at the church so many years ago. But this was a different kind of fear and anger; sort of...it was hard to figure out. He just knew he definitely did NOT like having Kryss gone like this. He missed her, just about everything about her. Even the way she would scream at him and beat on him. How masochistic was that? The braided boy would have been willing to sell his legs for her to smack him on the head and call him a baka.
Both boys continued to drift, lost in their thoughts for a few minutes, until Duo noticed the clock. "...It's time."
ooo
The plan was very simple. All she had to do was stand there. Stoic Man would talk to Mr. Emperor, and when her friends were released she would snag them and they would make for the Peace Milion. She had a gun, but all she had filled it with was rubber bullets. If she needed to Ashley would just use it to spook the perpetrator off. Nice, easy, safe. The other pilots would be their cover fire if they needed it over by the docks on the abandoned colony to zoom them back via gundam.
Still, she was nervous. She could not walk very well yet. It had turned out Chen's dagger had been tipped with a sort of neurotoxin that had caused a temporary paralysis. After three days in the chair she had been upgraded to her pair of crutches, which she could hustle in pretty well. With the other two girls along, too...she shook her head. Everything would be fine, she thought and shook herself to try and rid herself of some of that worry.
She blinked as she felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced over at Wufei, whom was gently squeezing her shoulder, wordless. She had been quite surprised in him since she had wheeled into the cafeteria and announced she would accompany Heero personally. He had not protested at all...perhaps he understood? Bah, what was she thinking? That otoko? He did not even understand the function of a bra without explanation. But still, she reached a hand up and placed it atop his as they docked with the colony ship.
Somewhat reluctantly she exited Nataku and quickly found Heero. The other four pilots remained by where they had docked, though Quatre and Duo had protested immensely to that. But even though Quatre usually had the final say as to what the plan was, Heero had taken charge and overruled him with fervor. He knew the 04 pilot was not capable of rational thought at the moment; any decision-making he would try to do could prove deadly, despite all his strategic command training and knowledge.
A woman can make strongest men weak, Heero thought with smirk as he and Ashley made their way into the heart of the colony. The area Chen had chosen held a good view of the outside docking area; he could plainly see the gundams, specifically the one he was after.
Once there the two saw the tall China-man standing with a katana at his side, very traditional. Ashley opened her mouth to speak, but Heero raised his hand to quiet her. She bit her tongue and resided herself to only glaring angrily while her mission accomplice spoke. "Shou Chen."
"I am he. And you, murderer?" The old man's voice was positively venomous. Hatred practically seeped from his pores with the look he gave Heero. "You are the pilot of that gundam?" His eyes flicked across Wing Zero.
Heero did not bother to follow his gaze, keeping his focus upon the emperor. "I pilot the zero."
"Now...you kept up your end of the bargain...I shall keep mine." He nodded to his right, and Ashley looked over, up and saw a pair of oriental soldiers that looked high in rank holding her friends, their hands clamped over the girls' mouths standing above them on a platform with no railing. It was at least fifty feet above them, thirty feet to the side.
"Kryss, Nicci!" she cried, her crutches making a sharp, unison click on the metal floor as she moved in their direction.
"Ah-ah!" he smirked, drawing his katana as he shouted up to the pair, his eyes focused on the object of his obsession, the killer of his wife, the man he had hunted. "Qian Liu, Ming Shao! KILL THEM!" he shouted wickedly, and obediently the pair shoved the squirming girls from the platform and had drawn their guns. "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE! Angela, my love, THIS IS FOR YOU!" he screamed, his eyes wild as he rushed on the Japanese boy, clearing the distance surprisingly fast and making a neat cut across Heero's arm.
Ashley had gone zooming after her falling friends as soon as they had been shoved, and she flung herself forward, snatching Kryss just before she could splat on the metal floor, and from no where Mei had appeared and snagged Nicole, and just as the girls had hit the floor the colony erupted in gunfire.
Immedeiately Ashley and Mei were up, both drawing their weapons and Mei had opened fire. A pool of guards came filtering in around Chen, rushing on their former prisoners. Chen shouted with rage as he battled with Heero, whose gun had gone flying from a blow of the emperors. "MEI-LING! Do you betray ME!?" he screamed. "YOU HELP THE ALLY OF YOUR MOTHER'S KILLER!?"
"Dad, this has to stop, does that boy look like he would've been capable to fly a gundam that long ago? They're my FRIENDS, Dad, and I can't let you do this!" Mei hurled back, raising her weapon on her own father somewhat, shaking violently.
Ashley then pushed herself over on her crutches and pushed Mei back raising her own weapon, "Mei, don't! I'll take care of him! CHEN, put down your weapon or...OR I'LL FIRE!! AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE, I SHOULD KILL YOU!" She quaked with fear and rage. What if he found out about her fake bullets? She would have to keep up the act! Oh, gods...at that precise moment Chen had turned toward her, eyes blazing as Heero ran for his gun. Well, she had to pray this would scare him off, rubber bullet or no...and she pulled the trigger, and just as she did the crack of a real gunshot sounded, and the emperor staggered. Her eyes widened as red began to seep into the fabric of his white silk shirt, her body frozen. Did I shoot him? she thought. Maybe she had missed a bullet?! Oh gods...
Then came another shot seconds later, but not toward the emperor, who had just fallen and surely died. That bullet had met his heart... She shook herself free from her shocked state and whirled around and she understood. Standing around thirty feet back she saw Shou Hebi standing with the woman who had worn the black furs, Xi, both holding guns. A few feet back Mei stood, kneeling down now, holding her right shoulder and glaring back. An evil smile, twisted and sinister played on Hebi's lips. Her long black hair fell across her eyes somewhat...she was wickedly beautiful.
"Now, what have we here? It seems we've got my stepfather's murderer and his treacherous daughter, a kidnapper making deals with her victims' angry friend! An assassination conspiracy, how shocking! I think the media will be pleasantly surprised with such scandalous affairs! And to think the heroes of the war would stoop so low!" She laughed haughtily, lowering her gun. "Get them!"
On cue the ranking officers the late emperor had called Qian Liu and Ming Shao started forward with their ranks at their heels as more gunshots sounded.
Nicole and Kryss whirled and spotted the gundam pilots running in just a hair late, sadly, guns blazing. Under their cover the two began to help the injured Mei up and run toward them as Ashley took off on her crutches to Wufei. The imps had almost made it under the cover of Trowa as the man, Qian Liu, caught them and grabbed Mei's injured shoulder and squeezed.
The young girl's eyes widened in shock and pain, a tortured scream escaping her as his fingers dug into her wound, causing blood to run from it more freely, streaming down her arm. "LET ME GO! NO!!"
"MEIMEI!!" Kryss cried, trying to pull the tall man off of her, clawing at his face and arms, punching him in a street fighter's manner, brunette buddy doing much the same, pulling at the tight bun in his hair as more warriors came running toward them and Qian Liu snaked his other arm around the girl's waist and pulled away from her desperate friends.
Hampering them further came Trowa who pulled the two back under the cover of Wufei's fire. The short girls fought and kicked, screaming for their friend as the male general disappeared among the Beijing's fighters as Ming Shao called for a retreat, and before long both sides had cleared away, Chen's betrayed form lying cold on the ground with those the gundam pilots had left to join him in the afterlife.
ooo
Once they had regrouped upon the Peace Milion, packed into the medical bay. Their recovered impish friends were having their numerous bruises and cuts tended and disinfected after they had been allowed a long, hot shower and a change of clothes in their rooms. A mere three hours had gone by, and Ashley sat heavily in a chair by Kryss' bedside with Wufei crouched on the floor, trying to talk to her, but it was much like talking to a wall.
Duo and Quatre were clucking after the imp girls like mother hens, and both had clung to them and Quatre had cried a little, and Duo had fought his own tears back with whoops and shouts of joy. Heero and Trowa had even given their impish comrades hugs of welcome, along with a handshake from Wufei for each girl before he clucked after his onna.
Nick and Anna had come bursting in with Relena and Zechs on their heels not long after they had piled into the medical room, the doctors quite thoroughly bothered with all crowd, though they said nothing. They feared being shot. Nick had just begun trying to siphon information about what happened to Mei from the group as the small TV sitting on the counter began to blare typical news channel music and shout about a special bulletin, quieting the lot to listen as the anchor man on the television with a non-symmetrical head and a funny tie began to speak.
"Just a few hours ago it has been reported that satellite feed from an abandoned Neo-Brazil colony has picked up the signs of a skirmish and the assassination of the emperor Shou Chen, a respected aristocrat among the Federation."
A video began to play, showing only Ashley, her squeeze on the trigger, the flight of a bullet, and the fall of Chen as the man continued. "It has been gathered that the emperor's daughter Shou Mei-Ling had kidnapped two members of the Peace Milion's crew. Evidence has been found of conspiring among the girl shown in the tape, Ashley-Lynn Smith (also a Peace Milion crew member) and Princess Shou. The police have theorized that Shou Mei-Ling used the kidnapped crewmembers to bribe the officers of the Peace Milion into an assassination upon her father. Her step-sister, Shou Hebi, a respected politician shared with one of our reporters after contacting her that she always suspected Mei-Ling to be jealous of her popularity in society. Shou Mei-Ling has been taken into custody and will be put to trial on a count of conspiracy and murder in the first degree. The actual assassinator of Emperor Shou, Ashley-Lynn Smith, has eluded capture. Well, for now that's all, I'm Lance Harrold saying-,"
Nick had clicked off the television, following it up by a strangled cry of, "FUCK!" as he stormed out the room while Ashley paled considerabley, then fainted where she sat, slumping over into Wufei's arms.
ooo
oo;;; Dude, that's just so...ahhhh. I feel evil. XD R&R, preeease! Oo;;