Selenity owns Fire Blossom, Annabellina, and Frank. Nyneve owns Saxen Maverick and Moksha. All others belong to other people.

Please bear with Nyneve's attempts to write a Buffy the Vampire Slayer character. She will try her very hardest.

Chapter 7:

Confusion. Ravana. Showdown.

"So…who is she?" Maverick asked as she, Effie, and Van Helsing stared at the sleeping vampire. They had managed to get her back onto the Tsunami with little trouble. However, considering the fact she had tried to "eat" Van Helsing (as Maverick so blatantly phrased it; Effie and the hunter in question preferred the term "drink the blood of"), none of them were standing very close to her. Just as a precaution.

"How should I know?" Effie answered. "I just killed her. Er, sort of."

"Washu said she was the Goddess of Majick," Van Helsing pointed out.

"Good lot of help that does."

"Is the she-wolf angry?" a soft voice asked. The three looked over to the hospital bed where the vampire was now sitting up.

"Oh, you're awake. Um, hi," Effie said. "How are you feeling?"

"Lovely. As though I have eaten all I can, and danced for the stars until I fell asleep."

Maverick raised an eyebrow and glanced at Van Helsing. "Psycho…"

"Be nice!" Effie scolded, then looked back to the woman. "So anyways…what's your name? I'm Fire Blossom, but you can call me Effie, this is Saxie—"

"Saxen Maverick," she corrected.

"—And Van Helsing, or just Van."

"And all three wear the sheep's wool. The vixen, the she-wolf, and the hunter. All hungry, all wanting the lamb's blood, all—"

"Look, cut the crap and tell us your name, okay?" Maverick snapped.

"Drusilla."

"Thank you."

Effie looked at the bounty hunter. "What's your problem?"

She shrugged. "I thought you were annoying. Next to her, you're a mother's dream." And with that, she walked out.

Drusilla giggled. "Off to eat the red berries, yes?"

Van Helsing looked at the hitchhiker. "Do you think it's contagious?"

"I reeeeeeeeeeeeeally hope not."

He looked at the vampire warily. "So…do you understand why you're here?"

"The great quest, yes," she replied impatiently. "A naughty game, but a lovely time. We shall all play. But who will win? Who will win? The she-wolf? The devil boy? The little vixen with the dying sparks?"

"Okay, okay. So long as you don't try to eat us."

Drusilla only giggled some more.

"So," Effie asked as she walked to the bridge where Maverick sat in the pilot's seat drinking a thermos of coffee. "Any word from Washu yet?"

She shook her head. "No. And it's been almost a day since we found the crazy girl."

"Her name's Dru."

"And she's crazy."

"Your point?"

"How are she and Van Helsing getting on?"

Effie frowned. "Okay as far as I know. Why?"

Maverick shrugged. "Well you know how it goes…she's a vampire, he's a vampire hunter…you'd think there would be a little friction."

"I don't think either of them are really what they were before," she replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they're different."

"Different how?"

"Not the same."

Maverick gritted her teeth and took another sip of coffee. "You're quite aggravating, you know that?"

"Mm-hm," she answered nonchalantly, sitting back in her own chair. Moksha padded in, and sat down next to her. Smiling, she patted his head and scratched his ears. "So, speaking of our God of the Hunt…"

"Yeah?"

Something sparkled in Fire Blossom's eyes. "You like him?"

Saxen spun around and stared oddly at her. "What? Why would you think that?"

"I didn't say I did. I'm just wondering if you do," she grinned slightly. "You know…he's really hot with his shirt off."

She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn Saxen's face had gone the slightest shade of red.

"Of course…" she went on. "If you're not interested, I might decide to make a move myself."

"What? Effie, he's like…five or six years older than you!"

"So?"

"It's just kind of disturbing. Date someone your own age. Which would be…?"

Effie blinked, and realized they had never actually mentioned each other's ages. Although it wasn't hard to guess. "I'm eighteen. My birthday's in July. How old are you?"

"Twenty. I'll be twenty-one in a month."

"Really? Hey, if we're still on this mission, we should have a party for you!" Fire Blossom suggested.

Maverick frowned. "I don't do parties."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! We can have cake, and ice cream, and karaoke, and—"

"Look, with any luck, this will be over by then, and we can all go back to our old lives," she cut off.

"And won't that be fun?" Effie muttered.

Suddenly, the screen in the front of the bridge came down, flashing the words INCOMING TRANSMISSION. Saxen immediately set to work typing on the keyboard. Washu's face appeared on the screen.

"Wow…this is unorthodox…for you anyways," Effie commented. "Hey, did you know we found your Goddess of Majick?"

But Washu ignored her. "Saxen, we've got an emergency."

"What is it?"

"I've found the God of Death."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Fire Blossom frowned.

"Not this time. As it turns out, he's a soldier. In a war. You two have to act fast. I've spoken with Tsunami, and she says that she has seen him dying in battle within the next two days," Washu explained.

"But why does that matter? You said that when one of the Sacred Ones dies, they're just reincarnated into a new body," Maverick pointed out.

"Exactly. But what good is an infant God of Death going to do us? He won't be able to use his powers, and we don't have time for him to grow up. You need to get to his world and make sure that you are the ones that kill him, got it? You can come back for the Goddess of Majick later. Right now, I'm sending you to Delta-Earth," Washu said.

"But we've got—"

Effie didn't get to finish, because Washu had disappeared and the shift was initiated.

Moments later, Van Helsing walked into the bridge, Dru in tow. "Time to look for someone else?" he asked.

But before anyone could answer, the ship was suddenly shaken by something.

"What in the thousand hells?" Maverick whispered. "You guys take a seat. Now!"

"The little boys play rough, don't they?" Dru commented. "Mother hen lets them scratch all they please, all they please. But none can find enough seed to be full. Perhaps they must eat each other."

"Shut up!" Maverick snapped. Another tremor rocked Tsunami.

"Saxie?" Fire Blossom asked uncertainly. "What's going on?"

"Washu said the God of Death was a soldier in a war. So logically, she sends us into the middle of a Vyasa-damned battlefield!" she snapped. She typed a few orders into the computer, and suddenly the front panels of the bridge pulled away to reveal the darkness of space. But it wasn't as dark as usual. All around, mobile suits and battleship were fighting each other. And every now and then, a stray beam or shot would come their way.

"Okay, let's see. Well, at least we've got a combat system, right guys?" Saxen asked, looking at the others. Effie looked upset, Van Helsing looked confused, and Dru appeared to be smiling at absolutely nothing.

Swallowing her last mouthful of coffee, Saxen took a deep breath. "Okay. This is what we're going to do. Effie, are you any good at setting up shields?"

"I don't know. I've never tried."

"Okay, you're going to learn. You sit over here. Drusilla, you too. And don't talk please."

The two women climbed down the stairs in front of the pilot's seat and sat in two chairs in the very front.

"Effie, I want you to go through everything on this list and click "ENGAGE" okay?"

"No problem," she replied confidently.

"And you," she turned to Drusilla. "Keep an eye on the power levels," she pointed at a little gauge on the screen. "Let me know when it starts changing colors, all right?"

"Colors like—"

"Yeah, good," she climbed back up the stairs to Van Helsing. "And you are going to be in charge of evasion. Ever drive a ship?"

"What kind of ship?"

"Whatever kind they had in your time."

"No. But I've seen it done."

"Okay, they use a wheel or something, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, instead of a wheel, you're going to use this," she put a joystick in his hands. "Go forward for forward, back for back, right for right, left for left, push down to go down, and pull up to go up. Make sure we don't get hit. Got it?"

"Yeah, but what about you?" he asked.

"I'll shoot 'em down."

"Wait a minute Saxie!" Effie cried. "We shouldn't be killing anyone but the God of Death!"

"This is war, Effie. The only rule is to get them before they get us," Maverick said coldly.

"Still—"

"The she-wolf enjoys the taste of blood on her muzzle. And foxes bleed well too," Dru pointed out. "Be sly, little fox. Be clever."

"Hmph," Effie pouted.

The first move Saxen made was to shoot down three mobile suits one after another. Although they were not unfamiliar to her, she had never seen any in this particular style anymore. The models were all different, but the colors were uniform. However, she did notice a couple of original ones. Mostly white, with varying armor colors. She didn't target anyone in particular; just those that were close and acting aggressively towards the Tsunami.

Ten minutes later, another transmission came in.

"Saxen!" Van Helsing called.

"Effie, accept the transmission," she ordered.

"Uh…'kay," she said. After a little fumbling, the face of a young man filled the screen.

"Hey there!" he grinned. He was about Effie's age, maybe a little younger, with indigo eyes and long brown hair that appeared to be pulled back in a braid. He wore an old-fashioned flight suit and appeared to be in a good mood.

"Hi," Effie replied. "Who are you?"

"Pilot of one of those mobile suits out there," he answered. "Since I don't know whose side you're on, I won't tell you my name, but I will tell you I'm in the Gundam Deathscythe."

"That's nice," Maverick snapped. "What do you want?"

"Geez, someone's in a bad mood," he teased. "I want to know who you're with. You've shot down three of those MD, but that doesn't mean anything, does it?"

"We're not on anybody's side. Saxie's just making sure we don't get killed," Effie explained.

The pilot looked thoughtfully at her, trying to decide if he believed the story or not. "Hm. Well, I guess that's okay. That's a hell of a ship you've got there. Do me a favor and don't use it on us."

"Tell you what," Maverick said. "You don't shoot us, we won't shoot you."

"Deal. Maybe after this we can get to know each other better," he winked at her, then the screen went black.

The battle waged on.

"That's the last one," Van Helsing said.

"Good," Saxen replied, and leaned back in her seat panting. Effie ran up the stairs.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired," she answered. "You guys all right?"

"Ever so much fun. A lovely dance for the little lost boys. They like the song played upon bones and written in blood," Dru said.

Van Helsing looked at her and shrugged. "What do you suppose happened to the boy?"

"The one who contacted us? I don't really give a damn," Maverick answered.

On cue, another transmission came in. She groaned and accepted it. But this time, it was a different boy. A blonder, paler one, with large blue eyes, dressed in a similar old flight suit.

"Hello? Is everyone on board all right?" he asked.

"Yep," Effie replied. "Just fine. You a friend of that other pilot's?"

He nodded. "Yes. My name is Quatre."

"You're also a mobile suit pilot?" Maverick asked.

"Mm-hm. We wanted to thank you for your help," Quatre said.

"We weren't—"

"Oh, it was no problem," Effie cut off. "Really, don't worry about it."

"We were wondering if we could meet with you on board your vessel," he continued. "No one has any information on it's make or origin, and if you're willing to answer a couple of questions—"

"Who's "we"?" Saxen asked.

"The other Gundam pilots and myself. There are five of us in all."

"Can we trust that you mean us no harm?"

"At the moment, yes."

She looked at the others. Effie nodded, Van Helsing gave her an approving look. She didn't bother with Dru.

"All right. You have permission to board."

"Thank you. See you shortly," Quatre finished, and the transmission ended.

Effie stood up and walked to the door. "Good move Saxie. One of them has got to be the God of Death."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it."

"Yo! Remember me?" the braided boy asked as he entered the Tsunami.

"Yeah!" Effie replied, sharing his enthusiasm. "Are these your friends?"

"Yep. This is Heero Yuy," he pointed to a thin, dour faced young man with piercing cerulean eyes and wild brown hair. "Trowa Barton," a tall boy with long auburn bangs that covered half his face. "Chang Wufei" a Chinese pilot who appeared to be annoyed at something. "And of course you already met Quatre Raberba Winner. And I'm Duo; Duo Maxwell."

"Saxen Maverick," Saxen introduced. "This is Fire Blossom, Van Helsing, and Dru. Our vessel is the Tsunami."

"Colonial?"

"No. Juraian," Effie answered.

"Juraian?" Duo frowned.

"An independent company. This is just a prototype. We were testing the combat systems when the battle broke out. The only option was to fight back," Maverick said quickly.

"Really," Heero said, not believing a word she said.

"And you five…which side are you on?" she inquired.

Duo smiled. "Don't worry. We're the good guys."

"How very strange you are. A devil that fights in the name of a god that does not exist?" Dru asked.

They expected him to make some sort of "is she crazy" remark, but he didn't. Instead, he merely leaned back against the wall in a devil-may-care slouch.

"I'm no devil, baby. I'm Shinigami, God of Death."

The four froze. Even Dru and Van Helsing could feel it. Duo was the one; the God of Death.

"An arrogant name," Saxen said. "Do you truly think you deserve it?"

"Anyone who sees me dies. With the exception of beautiful women," he smiled at Effie, who giggled amusedly.

"Do you think your abilities could back that claim up?" Maverick continued seriously.

"If you wanna fight me," he smirked. "That's just fine. But don't you think a battle between MS is more fair than fighting against this thing?"

"And who says I'm unprepared?" she asked, turning away and walking down the corridor towards the hangars.

"Oh my…" Quatre said.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Can't just keep your mouth shut, can you Maxwell?"

"Aw, this'll be no sweat. She's probably got a Taurus or something. Nothing too difficult."

"Um…Duo? You'd better go get ready to fight. And the rest of you…" Effie thought hard. "Um…well…"

Van Helsing put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll handle them. You go after Maverick," he whispered. She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, okay. You guys stay with Van," Effie said, following Saxen down the corridor.

"Perplexing. Black and Red. Black and Red and Brown, all want to dance, but there is no music. Perplexing," Dru said.

"Saxie! What are you doing?" Effie asked as the bounty hunter entered the empty mecha hangar.

"Killing him. What else?" she asked.

"But how? Don't tell me you've got a mobile suit stashed away somewhere…"

"I don't," Maverick answered simply, pulling off her ring and putting it in the middle of the hangar. "I have a Ravana."

"A what?"

Her question was answered as the ring grew again and the light spewed out. Maverick looked back at her. "Stand by the wall, I don't want you to get hurt," she said, then climbed down into the hole. Effie hastily backed up and stared as the ring grew even more. After a minute, it was nearly fifty feet in diameter. And something was rising out of it.

It was a mobile suit. Well, a similar premise. A large, humanoid robot, but rather than being angular and sharply colored, it was compact and a camouflage of black, brown, and tan. It held a huge rifle of some sort, and a beam saber hung at its "hip".

"Ravana?" Fire Blossom mused.

"Effie," Saxen's voice spoke out through speakers from somewhere. "Go back to the bridge so I can stay in contact with you. When you get there, open the hangar. Then be ready to come out and get him when he's dead."

She nodded, then turned and ran for the bridge.

In the cockpit, Maverick took a deep breath and waited for the door to open. When it did, she jetted out into space.

About twenty feet from where the Tsunami idled, Duo waited in what was obviously Deathscythe. A black-cloaked mobile suit armed with a giant scythe, Maverick note that the name did fit.

"Are you ready, Duo?" she asked as she sent the transmission.

"Ready when you are sweetheart," he replied.

She smirked. "The terms of familiarity are very impolite. It's time you learned some manners."

With that, she jetted towards him, firing rapidly. However, no sooner than she'd moved he had seemingly disappeared. Narrowing her eye, she turned and checked her radar. Nothing.

But directly in front of her, a glowing scythe came down.