Chapter One – Attack
"If I can have everyone's attention for a moment," said a man through a microphone, towards the large crowd at the Grand Hall, "I want to welcome you all again to Polaris's Anniversary, and as to help us commemorate our hard-working employees, the President of Polaris's daughter, will sing her lovely heart out for us." He turned, and gestured for someone behind the silk, red curtains. "Please give your hands a big welcome to Ms. Ari Deveaux!" He stepped from the mic stand, giving a thunderous clap, along with the audience, to the girl who now stepped from the curtains.
The clacks of her white stilettos mixed with the audience's clatter. She wore a thin, pastel pink skirt, and an off-shoulder white blouse that buttoned up to her chest. It dipped at her breasts, revealing a small cleavage. The puffs of the sleeves touched gently at her milky white skin. Her dark almost black, brown hair was tied into an elegant bun and her long bangs were swept to the side. Her face was doll-shaped, and her eyes slanted in such gentleness, as if a halo surrounded her head.
She held the small mic in her hand, and lifted it to her cherry blossom lips. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing a deep shade of blue. Her lips parted, and from it came a melodious sound. She sang like a choir of angels, her voice tinkling at every note. She smiled sweetly, feeling the power of eyes set upon her.
Among the audience, behind the first row of decorative circular tables, sat five guys, and two girls dressed formally for the occasion. They focused their attention to the singing girl, a calm silence among them. The boy with the long, brown, braided hair shifted in his chair.
"She sure is cute," he whispered to the one beside him.
The boy beside him had platinum blonde hair, which touched the tips of his eyelashes, and his face had a puppy-dog look about them. He smiled amusingly at his American friend.
"She has a really pretty voice, don't you think?" The blonde boy replied.
The jet-black haired Chinese one, leaned over.
"Maybe you two should be quiet, or we won't even get to hear her voice," he whispered sharply.
Ari felt her surroundings gradually disappear. She felt herself grow higher within every turn of each note.
"I hope it would happen again…The precious times that passed by…Why did it happen like this?…Did all of your feelings for me disappear?….
"If only I can forget you…I won't suffer anymore…If only I can resist you…I don't have to keep coming to you anymore…If only I can…
"I hope it would happen again…I hope that you can finally notice my feelings…The past, the present, the future… There really is no other love…
"If only I can forget you…I won't suffer anymore…If only I can resist you…I don't have to keep coming to you anymore…If only—"
She stopped. The silence crept upon her body, as she turned to look above her. Her arms hung beside her. She heard the audience's sudden mutterings and whispers. Their came gasps from below, but she ignored them. She stared at the far corner of the roof, a blank look coming across her face.
"What's up with her?" Said the boy with the braided hair.
"She's looking at something," said the boy with hair covering over half his face.
The host came up to the stage, and wagged a hand in front of her. "Hello? You're ruining the show! Hey, snap out of it!"
Ari's head turned slowly, as if a rock was caught between her bones. She stared at the end wall, and with an echoing thump, the mic fell from her hands. The crowd gasped unison. At that point, there came a rumble from above, a slight hum.
The boy with the sharp look and ruffled dark brown hair, stood up. He stared at the roof, intently. "Something's coming," he said in a husky whisper.
"It sounds like a mobile suit," said Trowa, emotion gone from his face and voice.
"A mobile!" Cried Duo, standing up.
"But, what… how can there be a mobile suit?" Asked Quatre, with a worried-stricken face.
"Hmph. I don't think they're here to congratulate anyone," said Wufei, eyebrows furrowed.
"If that's the case, we have to get out of here," said a girl beside Heero; her mousy brown, straight hair reaching past her shoulders, and bangs shooting across her forehead.
The sound grew closer, with each second. Suddenly the rumbles stopped. Anxiously, the mass waited for a response. There came one, and it was not what they expected. The walls came to a sudden fell; blocks of cement fell to the ground, as the mobile suit blasted through.
As instinct, the crowd fell into pandemonium, running and screaming as they were met with a crashing defeat. Each corner was destroyed by the huge machines, the mass of people ending in a panic, as they found they had nowhere to run.
The mobile suits were colossal, reaching up to over a 100 feet, in height, and 200 feet in width. Its metals collided with each other: green plates topped with silver armor, and red and black trimmings. There humongous arms cranked out to destroy. Their heads were barely seen beneath the metallic shoulders pointing high, like a needle.
The five boys, watched intently, helping the crowd find an exit. Relena and Sally, contacted officials, begging for help. They, too, ran, swiftly trying to find an exit eligible for the group. Quatre watched, horrified, as his way was blocked with a sudden blast. Rocks hit the ground, barely missing him. He backed away, quickly, barely missing his fate.
Ari stood on the stage, being shaken from her hypnotized state, as two of her father's bodyguards carried her out to safety.
"Wh-what's going on?" She yelled, noticing the catastrophe happen before her eyes.
Columns fell to an echoing grumble, as the five boys were suddenly separated. Quatre and Duo, were left to the main hall exit, as Trowa and Sally were left to the right hall exit. Wufei was left to the front entrance, but it was blocked by a colossal column block. Heero and Relena had only the back way to go through. It was fortunate for them, however, to have walkie-talkies cramped in their pockets.
Quatre reached for his, as he contacted Heero. "Where are you?"
"Relena and I are looking for an alternate exit," came his reply, "I advise that you do the same." He clicked off, and Quatre stared at Duo questioningly.
"Well, come on, then!" Cried Duo, running ahead of him.
They ran, checking each corridor for an outlet. As they passed almost five of them, the same scene came to view: a heap of cement crumbled into pieces. Duo growled in frustration, as Quatre hurried along behind him, anxiety blanketing his face.
"What the hell—hey! There's a hallway down here, Quatre," Duo yelled, stopping abruptly. The passageway he stared at, turned to the left, and above it was the flickering light of the word, "exit". He ran in, a smirk planted on his mouth.
"Quatre," came Duo's faint voice, as he disappeared from view, "contact the rest and tell them we found an ex—ah!" Quatre stood outside corridor, catching his breath. His eyes widened in shock at Duo's scream.
"Duo!" He yelled. He heard the crash and grumble of rocks, as he made his way inside.
"Quatre, I'm alright! I made it to the other side! Get out of here before the mobile finds you!"
"Okay." He ran back, panting from worry and surprise. He ran outside, contacting Heero again.
"Heero," came his breathless voice, "I think Duo is outside!"
"He already told me, we're coming his way," replied Heero's intent tone. He cut off, once again, as Quatre ran faster, impatient to find an exit.
Ari ran, searching for her father. She was separated from her body guards, when two mobiles blocked their way. She ran, now, her courage running short, as she found herself running through a twisted maze. Sweat dotted her brow, and her breath was shallow. Stray hairs floundered around her face, as her elegant bun was now loose hair. Her head twisted in all directions, eyeing the same picture of rocks crumbled to the ground.
Suddenly, she came to loud halt, as she ran into something with a thump. She was pushed to floor by the force of her momentum, and the crash. She winced in pain as her back crashed onto the cracked tile.
Quatre, taken by surprise by the girl who ran into her, rushed to her side. "I—I'm so sorry!" He yelled, helping the girl sit up. She opened her eyes, rubbing her aching back, and stared at him. Quatre gasped. "You're the President's daughter!"
She held onto his arms, using them for support as she struggled to stand. "We…have…to get…out of here…" Her voice was soft and breathless. Quatre straightened himself up.
"I know," he said. He looked compassionately at her, "can you stand?"
"Y-yeah," she replied, looking behind her, "come on."
They ran forward, repeating the same process of searching. There came another crash, but ignored it, as they hurried forward. It wasn't long until they reached a dead end.
"What do we do now?" Asked Ari, searching fretfully for a solution.
"I-I don't know," said Quatre, imitating Ari's look.
In a sudden flash, a mobile blasted through in front of them. Ari yelped in surprise, and grabbed for Quatre's shirt, which was now hanging loosely around his pants. They ran back, avoiding the arms which reached out for their bodies. Its arms flailed around wildly, searching for something to destroy. As they crouched behind the rocks, Ari sprang up.
"He's created a way out for us!" She yelped, rushing out from their hidden position. Quatre grabbed at her arm, and shook his head.
"You can't go past him! It's too dangerous! You'll die before you get through!" He yelled, crying over the deafening crashes.
Ari glanced down at him. "Do you know any other way?"
"…No…"
"It's our only hope, we have to…"
Quatre realized she was right, and nodded in agreement. He held on to her, and ran, avoiding the mobile's arm, which swung swiftly pass. They hid their heads beneath their arms, as chunks of rock flew past, grazing against their skin. They didn't realize they made it through, until the mobile's hum passed above them.
"Are you okay?" He asked, staring down at Ari, whose body was crouched, as she tried to catch her breath. She nodded in reply.
In the distance, they spotted a man waving his arm wildly at them.
"Hey!" Yelled Duo's voice, gesturing for them to come. Coming from behind him, were the rest of the gang: Heero, Trowa, Wufei, Relena, and Sally.
Quatre laughed joyously, and waved back. "Come on," he said to Ari. She stood, slowly, and ran with him.
"Are you alright?" Asked Wufei, his voice strict.
"The President's daughter! Are you hurt?" Said Relena, eyes wide at the sight of the valuable person.
Ari still couldn't speak, her breath caught in the air, but she shook her head in reply. The gang spoke about the happenings, suspicions in their voice.
"What are mobile suits doing here?" Asked Sally.
"This just isn't right. I thought all of it was over," said Quatre.
"Apparently not," said Heero, he frowned at the thought.
"I've never seen a model like that before. It seemed to be out of place from anything I've seen," said Trowa, emotionless.
"A new model!" Said Duo.
"It seems that they came from outer space, but what the hell are they doing here?" Said Wufei, irritably.
In the distance, there came a faint swoosh of rockets. Ari stood, familiarity coming through her mind. She stared intently at the blurred clutter across. There was something behind there, and she knew what it was. She stood, and ran forward, catching the attention of the group.
"Ah…hey!" Quatre yelled after her, noticing her sudden actions. He ran after her, muscles sore from the commotion he went through today.
Ari pushed some of the rocks away from the heap, and spotted through something. She gasped in surprise, and climbed onto it, panting. She heard muffled footsteps behind her, as Quatre eyed her questioningly.
"What is she doing?" He whispered to himself. He climbed after her, struggling against the harsh material against his body. His eyes grew in surprise at the sight of the jet, preparing its flares.
"Is that-" His voice was cut short, by Ari's reply.
"My father… they left…without me…" She said gaping keenly at the image.
Quatre glanced at her, and wondered at her sudden tone. "Maybe," he began, "they didn't realize you weren't on the jet."
She stared at him, his kind and gentle eyes meeting her similar own. She smiled sweetly, her high cheekbones prominent against her face. "Yeah," she said softly, "you're probably right." Her answer was unconvincing, as her doubts rose inside her.
AN: That wasn't too long, was it? I hoped you like it…even though this is my first fic! If I made any mistakes on anything, please don't hesitate to tell me. I tried to make, my character, Ari the point of this chapter, and I hoped my writing was able to do that. Anyways…I'll type the next chapter soon… TTFN: tata for now- tigger hee! hee!