Author's Notes: Yea the next chapter! Any one who reads this and speaks French, please forgive me if any of the parts written in French seem odd...Thank you!
'...' are thoughts. For rest of author's notes, see end of page. With that said, on with the episode! Err-uh...Chapter...
A New Ally (1) Chapter 3: Watch Your Back
Year A.C. 195,
Somewhere in space between the L6 and L7 Colonies, Aly was sitting in the cockpit of the shuttle she had waiting a ways away from the battle. Her gundam was safely strapped down in the cargo hold. She entered the coordinates for the L7 Colony entrance she wanted and turned on the shuttle's autopilot. She propped her feet up on the control panel, crossing her ankles.
Aly crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. She found herself thinking once again about Duo, Quatre, and Trowa for the umpteenth time that week.
'Duo...' Aly thought, smiling to herself as she thought about all of the fun times they'd had together. She let out her breath slowly. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch.
'I guess I have time for a quick little nap...' Aly closed her eyes again and dozed off with the memory of when she'd first met Duo lingering on her mind...
Year A.C. 187, Fall-L2 Colony...
It was the second month of the school year. All of the students attending Evergreen Academy were just leaving the school grounds for the day. All the girls were wearing dark green, plaid skirts that came just above the knee as opposed to the black pants the boys wore. Both the male and female students wore white button up dress shirts under dark green vests and a black jacket over that. One child in particular was walking down the sidewalk humming to herself. She had her light brown hair held back with silver hair clips. She had on a small, square-ish, brown backpack and held two small textbooks in arms. Her school uniform jacket was slung over her left arm as she continued homeward.
While the girl was walking, she stopped as she noticed someone coming out of Maxwell's Church, across the street. She studied the person closely, seeing that it was a boy about her age with a very unique feature; his hair was pulled back in a long braid. The boy sat down on the steps of the church and began eating a green apple. The girl, having the friendly personality that she did, decided to tell the boy how she thought his hairstyle was really neat. She quickly walked over to the church steps. The boy looked up curiously to see the girl standing in front of him. She smiled a friendly smile.
"Hello." She said politely. The boy raised an eyebrow, then answered.
"Hmhewy..." He said through a mouth full of apple. He quickly finished chewing then repeated himself. "Hey..." He said, his mouth no longer full of apple. The girl giggled lightly.
"Je vraiment aime vos cheveux!" I love your hair! The girl said with a smile.
The boy gave her a quizzical look. The girl tilted her head to the side in wonderment.
"Que? Est-ce que vous ne moi comprenes pas?" The girl asked. The boy shook his head with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I don't speak whatever language you're talking in." The boy said with a sad smile. The girl gasped as she realized her mistake.
"Oh! Je suis désolée!" She exclaimed. The girl realized she hadn't spoken in English again. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. The boy smiled at her.
"So you do speak English?" He asked with a grin. The girl covered her mouth and giggled lightly.
"Yes I do. I'm so sorry, my father and I just moved here from a colony where they talked only in French, and sometimes I talk in French by accident." The girl replied. The boy nodded understandingly.
"It's ok, it sounded pretty-even if I didn't understand it." The boy said with a laugh. The girl giggled again.
"So what were you saying anyway?" The boy asked. The girl shook her head quickly, as if snapping back to attention.
"Oh yes, I was saying that I love your hair." The girl said, smiling again. The boy grinned broadly.
"Really? Thanks!" He said, beaming. The boy thought for a moment and set his apple core down next to himself on the steps.
"So, what's your name anyway?" The boy asked.
"Natalya, Natalya Tayeari-Shadows. Or just Aly." The girl answered, flashing a smile. The boy raised an eyebrow.
"Tayeari...like that Foreign Minister Tayeari guy...?" The boy asked. The girl furrowed her brow.
"Yes, he's my father." Natalya said. The boy made a thoughtful sound, then grinned again.
"Nice to meet you Natalya, the name's Duo." The boy said, holding out a hand. Natalya shifted her books to her left hand and shook hands with him.
"Nice to meet you Duo." Natalya said politely. She let go of his hand and put her books back into both hands. Natalya looked at where the boy sat on the steps and thought for a moment.
"Do you mind if I sit down?" Natalya asked, gesturing toward the steps Duo was sitting on.
"No, not at all." Duo said, scooting over a bit. Natalya smiled gratefully.
"Thank you so much." She said, setting down her books on the step. She slid off her backpack and set it next to her books, laying her school uniform jacket on top of it. She turned around and swept her skirt beneath herself, sitting down gracefully. She turned to Duo and clasped her hands together in her lap.
"So, you go to Evergreen?" Duo asked, eyeing the patch on Natalya's vest.
"Oh, Yeah. I've been going to there for three weeks." Natalya replied. "Where do you go to school?"
"I umm, don't really go to school...Father Maxwell and Sister Helen teach me." Duo said, glancing behind himself, inside the church.
"Oh, well... do you like them?"
"Yeah, they're like family..." Duo turned back towards Natalya.
"Oh. What about your real family? Do you like them?" Duo got a sad look on his face.
"I don't know my real family...I was an orphan, and then I was taken in by Father Maxwell..." Duo said quietly. Natalya shifted uncomfortably.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." She said softly, looking down at her hands. Duo shook his head.
"Don't worry about it." He said reassuringly. "What about you? Do you like your family?"
"Yes, my father and I get along really well...he's the only family I have."
"Oh. So...What brings you two to L2?" Duo asked, his grin returning.
"Some Foreign Minister business my father has to do with the colony leader."
"Oh. So do you guys move around a lot?"
"Yeah, all the time. It gets kinda annoying; I don't have much time to make friends..." Natalya said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I see what you mean..." Duo said, nodding understandingly.
"Oh well. At least I get to meet lots of nice people." Natalya said with a smile. Duo nodded. Natalya glanced at her watch and gasped.
"Oh shoot! I have to get home before my father gets home or else he'll worry." Natalya exclaimed. "I'm sorry I have to go now..." She said apologetically. Duo shrugged.
"Hey don't worry about it." He said, waving it off. "Go on, get home. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble or anything." Secretly, Duo wished that she could stay.
"Thanks." She said, standing up and dusting herself off. Duo nodded. Natalya picked up her jacket, backpack, and books.
"Umm, would you mind if I come back here tomorrow, after school?" Natalya asked.
"Sure, that'd be cool." Duo said, grinning happily.
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow!"
"For sure. See you tomorrow."
"Ok, bye Duo!" Natalya said with a wave as she hurried down the steps. She turned back once to wave, then dashed down the street towards her house. Duo watched until Natalya had disappeared down the street, then he picked up his apple core off the step and disappeared into the church.
Aly smiled at the memory of a young Duo. After that day when she'd first met him, she had come back every day to hang out with Duo. Sometimes, they would go somewhere other than Maxwell's church. Aly found it amazing that they hung out together every day, no matter what...everyday up until Aly moved that is.
Even after Aly and her father moved to the L9 Colony, she and Duo still talked to each other. They sent letters to each other all the time, and called each other once in a while. Aly remembered when she heard about the Maxwell Church Massacre...she was so worried about Duo. She didn't hear from him for the longest time. When she finally heard from him again, she received terrible news. Duo told her that Sister Helen and Father Maxwell were gone.
Aly had always wondered where Duo was staying after Maxwell's church was destroyed. She never asked really, or else the subject never came up. She still couldn't believe that that whole time he had been training to be a gundam pilot.
"Hmm, who knew..." Aly whispered aloud. 'Duo, my friend...it was nice to see you again...' She shifted in her seat, put her feet back on the floor, and glanced into the view screen in front of herself. She saw that she was approaching the colony entrance and hit a few keys to slow down the shuttle.
"Home again..." Aly whispered to herself. 'Wonder if Daddy's back.' She thought with a small smile.
One week later, in the middle of the L7 Colony:
Aly Tayeari-Shadows was roller-blading on the sidewalk of one of the main city streets on L7. It was about 6:00 in the morning on a Saturday, so the street was deserted, with the exception of a passing car every few minutes. Later in the day, as it got closer to 8:00 am, the street would be covered with people and busy with traffic.
Aly had on all the safety gear needed for skating. She wore the wrist guards, helmet, and such under extreme protest; her father made her wear them. Aly had bud headphones in her ears so they wouldn't get in the way of her helmet. She was zoning out, listening to one of her favorite rock stations on her mini radio, which was in the pocket of her jacket.
Unknown to her at the time, someone was watching and following Aly. That person was carrying a gun and had very bad intentions. But, little did that person know, he was also being watched.
A young man around the age of 15 with unruly chocolate brown hair and dark blue eyes was silently crouching a ways in front of where Aly was skating. The young man was none other than Heero Yuy himself.
Heero silently followed the assassin sent to kill the Foreign Minister's daughter. The assassin had no idea he was being followed. He pulled out an automatic with a silencer, preparing to shoot at the Foreign Minister's daughter. Heero pulled out his own gun and took aim at the assassin. Heero had the intention to injure, but not kill. Heero moved into the middle of the deserted street so he could get a better view of both Aly and the assassin.
Aly saw Heero standing in the road, aiming a gun at something. She also noticed a dark car speeding towards him.
"Hey you! Look out!" She yelled to Heero. Heero got a confused look on his face. Aly, realizing he didn't know about the approaching danger, ripped out her headphones, tossed aside her radio, and rushed towards him. She skated over to Heero at a reckless speed, pushed him over, and rolled him with her out of the way just in time. Heero and Aly were now both lying on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, Aly lying on top of Heero. The car screeched to a halt, allowing the person who'd been attempting to assassinate Aly to jump in the car.
The car sped off just as quickly as it had stopped. Whoever it was obviously worried about what would happen now that they'd been discovered.
"Are you ok?" Aly asked a very shocked Heero. Heero, finding himself looking up into Aly's eyes didn't answer.
Heero suddenly came back to reality, mentally kicking himself for not watching his own back.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Heero answered monotonously. Aly had noticed the shocked look he'd had on his face. It was strange to see after the stoic expression his face had held when she'd first seen him. Heero went back to looking emotionless, so Aly brushed her thoughts off. She figured he had just been a little shaken up.
Aly suddenly realized the embarrassing position they were in and quickly got up, dusting herself off. She turned away to hide her embarrassment and pretended to be looking for something.
"You didn't have to do that you know. I could've gotten out of the way in time" Heero said, now also standing up. He picked up the gun he'd dropped and checked it. He slid it under his jacket, out of sight.
"How grateful some people can be..." Aly thought sarcastically. She turned back towards Heero. "Whatever. What were you doing out in the middle of the street anyway?" Aly asked, raising an eyebrow the slightest bit. Anybody else would feel threatened by someone who had just shown they had a gun, but for some reason Aly didn't feel threatened by this person. Heero wondered if he should answer or simply not say anything.
"I was trying to stop an attempted assassination." Heero said in his expressionless way. He looked around for any trace of more assassins, but didn't see any.
"Oh, I guess that's a pretty good reason then..." Aly said. Heero remained silent. He picked up Aly's radio and held it up.
"Is this yours?" He asked.
"Umm, yeah. Thanks." Aly said, taking it from him. She inspected it to see if it was damaged at all from when she'd tossed it on the ground. Aly was relieved to see it wasn't broken. Aly turned and looked down the road.
"Do you think they're coming back...?" Aly asked, turning back around. She got a confused look on her face and looked for Heero. She couldn't see him anywhere. He'd simply disappeared.
"Who was that guy...?" Aly said softly. An automated wind blew past her and she shivered slightly. 'Maybe I should get back home and check on my father...' Aly pulled a gun that she kept tucked into the back of her jeans and checked to see if it was loaded. When she knew it was loaded, she tucked it back into the back of her jeans and pulled her jacket over it. Aly took one last look around before she sped off towards home.
Heero sat, watching Aly from the fire escape of the building next to where he'd nearly been hit by a car. He had decided not to stick around just in case Aly asked more questions. He felt that she'd be ok, now that she knew to keep on guard. Heero also knew that Aly was armed. He'd felt the gun underneath her jacket when they'd rolled out of the way of the car.
Heero waited until Aly left, then he headed to the shuttle port.
-The Previous Day on the PeaceMillion-
Heero looked up from the wires in the left shoulder of his gundam. He'd been doing some repair work from their last battle. He heard a beeping from inside the cockpit. He flipped down from his perch on the Wing Zero's shoulder and onto the platform that led inside the cockpit. Heero climbed into the cockpit and pulled up his mini screen. He read over the assignment for his next mission.
"Hey Heero, what's the news?" Duo asked, looking up from his own gundam. Heero and Duo were the only one's in the cargo hold at the time.
"Hn...I have to go to the L7 Colony and...What?" Heero momentarily got a confused look. "Watch the Foreign Minister's daughter and stop a possible assassination attempt?" Heero was surprised to say the least. No one had ever made an assassination attempt on the Foreign Minister or his daughter. That was why they didn't have bodyguards. Heero figured it must have been serious business because Dr. J. was having him sent on this assignment; him of all people.
"Lucky you." Duo said, more to himself than to Heero.
"Why do you say that?" Heero asked, stepping out of the cockpit of his gundam.
"Because she's awesome! She's funny, she's pretty..." Duo began.
"So you would want to go simply because you find her attractive and mildly-amusing?" Heero said with dismay evident on his face.
"No, she's really nice too..." Duo replied, thinking.
"You know her?" Heero asked with disbelief.
"Yeah we go way back. I'll have to tell ya about it sometime. I wish I could get the excuse to go see her..." Duo said with a smug smile.
"Hn. Well regardless of her personality, it's a mission, not a social call." Heero said pointedly.
"Well, you're still lucky though..." Duo said with a shrug. Heero just brushed off everything Duo had said.
"Mission accepted..." Heero said. He immediately began to make arrangements to leave so he could get to L7 by that evening.
-End Of Chapter 5-
Author's Notes: Hey what did every one think of that chapter? I need to know what people think of this story so far so I'll know whether or not to continue posting chapters or not. So please let me know in your reviews!
Arigato!
-AlyRain
Be Continued...
-End of Chapter 3-
Ok, the next chapter or two will have some more new characters and will most likely be in flash back mode. Also, some of the new characters that are introduced you will not find out much about until later on in the story... there's a reason for this, but I can't give anything away-hehe:) Oh yeah, I might do previews of the next chapter at the end of the previous ones, but it depends on if people want me to or not. So please let me know!
Please Review! Thanks,
-AlyRain