Ms. Selly owns Fire Blossom, Annabellina, Frank, and Lynx. Nyneve owns Saxen Maverick and Moksha

Chapter 23:

Awake. Kira. Found.

The first thing Saxen was aware of was a throbbing pain in her head. She opened her eyes and saw that her eye patch had been ripped away in the impact and now lay in her lap. Her poor eye, unaccustomed to even the small amount of light in the Ravana's cockpit, tried to focus but only resulted in tinting everything blood red.

Grunting, the bounty hunter sat up and rubbed her forehead. She felt a split in the skin there, and a stream of dried blood that felt like it ran all the way down her left cheek to her chin. Freeing herself from the seat's harness, she picked up the eye patch and tied the ends together behind her head. The first thing she would do as soon as she got back to the Tsunami, she decided, was find a flight suit. Or even just a helmet. Anything would be better than her current uniform: tank top, loose pants, and sandals.

She knew it was a poor choice in clothing when going into battle (even if it was in the middle of the night) but when she exited the Ravana, she really regretted not having her coat or hat with her.

Her mobile suit had crash-landed in the middle of a vast, snow-covered plain. Around her, a frigid blizzard roared, and made the mountains on the horizon look like a blurry gray line. Shivering, she yanked off her ring and threw it in the snow.

"The Password is Shiva."

Immediately, light shot out of the middle of the ring and it widened immensely. Climbing back into the cockpit of the Ravana, Saxen maneuvered it into the hole. When she reemerged, a heavy woolen shawl was around her, and a pair of worn leather boots were on her feet. An improvement, but not much.

"Vyasa help me…" she murmured, lowering her head and closing her eyes. She knew what she had to do. The God of Protection had fallen with her, and he was close by. And cold as she was, she could not leave him out to brave the elements.

Maverick felt something slide out of her chest and pull her forward. Keeping her head low, she allowed the sensation to lead her several hundred feet from the glowing hole of her ring to the white mobile suit that had been almost invisible in the blowing snow.

Tying her shawl tighter, she climbed up to the door of the cockpit and yanked on it. It didn't budge. Muttering to herself, she pulled a revolver from her belt and emptied the barrel against the handle and hinges. This time, it gave. Pulling the door off, she looked inside to see a young boy in a blue and white flight suit lying unconscious in the pilot's seat. Stowing the gun back in her belt, she pulled him free and carefully climbed off the mobile suit, the boy still cradled in her arms the way a child might carry a doll.

She could still see the thick shaft of light piercing the sky. As she walked towards it, she silently gave thanks to her goddess. But the wind remained fierce and the wind stung as it hit her cheek, and she was glad when she penetrated the hole and it all but closed over her, leaving only a tiny opening the thickness of her finger.

The space Saxen liked to call her "closet" resembled a dim room with an orange glow in the center that almost resembled a fire, but not quite. It was warm and dry there, and several artifacts were scattered on the infinite floor. There were no walls in sight, but about twenty or so feet from the orange glow, darkness took over.

She laid the boy on the floor beneath the glow and carefully removed his helmet. There was no blood on him, but his eyes were closed and his breathing slow. However, after taking his pulse and making sure his airways were clear, she determined he would be all right.

A strange instinct seemed to awaken within her. With an uncharacteristic tenderness, she gently brushed a few spikes of brown hair from his eyes and touched the side of his cheek. No fever. Still, better to be safe the sorry. Already adapting to the warmth of the space herself, she removed her shawl and spread it over him.

He looks so young she thought silently, watching him a bit more. Through the hole overhead, she could hear the wind and the sheer sound of it made her shiver. With nothing else to do, she took a lotus position and began to wait.

Effie stood alone in the empty prayer hall. She had watched Saxen down here a few times, but she had never been here by herself. To her surprise, the various clusters of candles were lit, and the scent of chai lingered in the air. Shadows played over the walls, and Effie thought she could almost make out the shape of her friend, dancing across the mural of Vyasa, Moksha at her feet.

It was too much.

Sinking to her knees, she silently began to cry. But as the tears streamed down her cheeks, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you crying?" a kind female voice asked.

Effie looked around. The voice sounded almost like Saxen's but not quite. All of the hardness and severity of Saxen's voice was gone, replaced by understanding and compassion.

"Who are you?" she asked, turning around. She froze. Although she was certain of the touch she had felt moments before, she was alone.

But someone was laughing. "It's all right…don't be frightened."

"Who are you?" Fire Blossom repeated, her voice dropping to a frightened whisper.

"I am Someone's Mother, Someone's Friend, and Someone's Protector. I can be one or all to you, if you like," the voice answered.

Effie said nothing, but backed away from the space the voice seemed to be coming from.

"Do not be frightened," the voice repeated. This time, she could pick up a hint of what sounded like a Jamaican accent. "Why are you crying?"

She swallowed. "Late last night…my friend was killed."

"Oh child…I'm sorry," the voice murmured. For a moment, Effie thought "it" was going to touch her again. But she felt nothing. "Your friend," the voice went on. "What was their name?"

"Saxen…Saxen Maverick," she answered finally.

Suddenly, the candles all appeared to flicker frantically, as if the room had become very windy.

"Saxen Maverick? Saxen Maverick dead?" the voice cried.

"Yes…she was…killed in battle…"

"Impossible."

Effie blinked. "What?"

"She cannot be dead. The Ravana is old, but it would never betray her to her doom."

"But I saw—" Effie froze. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"About the Ravana. How do you know she piloted a machine called a Ravana?" she asked fearfully.

The voice just laughed again. "I know Saxen, child. I have known her her whole life, and I know her very well."

Effie swallowed. "Who are you?" she repeated.

"Who are you?" the voice said back.

She straightened her back. "My name is Fire Blossom. Saxen was the best friend I ever had."

"I see…your best friend," Effie could sense a smile on the being's face, if it had one. "All right then. I will tell you this, Fire Blossom. Saxen Maverick lives, but not forever. Help her, and I will be in your debt."

"That's not necessary…not if she's alive," the girl's heart was beating fast. Saxen? Alive? It was too good to be true.

"She is. And it is necessary. It is My Code that requires that no deed come without consequence, good or bad," the voice explained.

"But if I don't know who you are, how will I collect payment?" she asked.

"Saxen will tell you, if you ask."

"I see…" Effie closed her eyes and smiled. "Thank you. Whoever you are, you're a very nice person. I wish you lots of luck and good karma."

The voice laughed. "The same to you, child. The same to you."

The boy awoke to find himself laying on a smooth floor, covered by a woolen shawl. At first, he though he saw a fire in the middle of the room, but it was spherical, and floated about three feet off of the floor. There were no walls in sight, but there was a figure hunched over about six feet away from him.

Sitting up, he looked around. "Where am I?" he asked softly.

"You're awake. Good."

The figure stood and resolved itself into the shape of a pretty woman with dark skin and maroon hair. She only had one eye and was dressed in a black tank top and brown pants. One side of her face was completely red with dried blood.

Walking over, she knelt down in front of him and felt his forehead.

"What's your name? Can you remember anything?" she asked.

"My name? Kira…Kira Yamato…" he answered, then closed his eyes. "I remember fighting the Dominion…but then another ship came out…and two mobile suits. I shot one down, but then…I think the other one got me, if I ended up here."

"I see…I am Saxen Maverick," the bounty hunter replied.

"Where are we?" Kira asked again, looking around.

Maverick shrugged. "On your Earth, I don't know. I'm not from here. But this," she waved her arm across the dark empty space. "This is a dimensional pocket that serves as a storage space. And a hangar."

Kira followed her eyes to the Ravana standing motionless at the edge of the shadow. He paled.

"You…"

Saxen held up a hand. "I don't mean you any harm. But I was assigned to kill you at any cost. And now that I have—"

"Are you with the Earth Forces, or ZAFT?" Kira asked frantically, then stood up. "Because I'm warning you, I won't—wait a minute. Did you say you already killed me?"

"In not so many words, yes," she answered.

He blinked. "But…I'm here. I'm moving. I'm alive."

"Yes you are. And trust me," she too rose and looked at him. She stood at least a foot and a half taller than him, and the difference made her uncomfortable. But her face showed nothing. "You are far more capable of hurting me than I am you. I am only mortal, after all."

"But…how can I be dead?"

"As I said, you're not. This is your second incarnation, your immortality as the God of Protection."

"God of Protection?"

She sighed. "Mr. Yamato…"

"Kira."

"All right, Kira. You must understand I am not even fully aware of how all of this is working. But I will do my best to give you an abbreviated explanation. Have you ever heard of a planet called Jurai?"

"No."

"Well, it may not exist in this dimension, but that's not important. But in my universe, it does exist, and it's ruled by three goddesses. One of them is called Washu, and she sent me, my partner, and my friend Fire Blossom on a quest to find the Nine Sacred Ones who are destined to become the other gods of Jurai. But in order to do that, we have to kill the human incarnations first. You are the seventh one we've found, the God of Protection," she explained.

"God of Protection…" Kira repeated again, then shook his head. "No…no, that can't be right. I'm…I'm just Kira…"

Saxen stared at him solemnly. "I was sent here to collect you. And I have. I honestly cannot tell you what is fact and what is fiction here, but I am only doing my duty and cannot be held responsible for how you decide to view these things."

He was silent for a while, then leaned back against a bookcase that seemed to appear out of thin air. Kira blinked, startled, then settled back and closed his eyes. "You're not from Earth? Are you from the PLANTs?"

She cocked her head. "Plants?"

"Colonies?"
"No. There are only four colonies in the Maffei III. I am from Gagan," she answered.

"Gagan? Maffei?" Kira looked at her. "I've never heard those names before."

"I don't know if it exists here. In this universe, I mean," Maverick explained.

"There are other universes?"
"Yes. We have been to several now. Are you hungry?" She stood up and vanished into the shadows.

The boy stared after her, bewildered. "Um…"

A small box flew out of the darkness. His reflexes kicked in quickly and he reached up to catch it. Turning it over, he looked at the label. It was written in some strange language he had never seen before.

"What is it?" Kira asked.

"Something a bit like crackers. I keep a supply of emergency rations here in case I should ever become stranded. I think we'll be all right though. I sent out a distress signal to the Tsunami and hopefully they'll arrive in a few hours," she explained, sitting down next to him.

"So your ship is called the Tsunami?" he took a bite of the cracker. It was lighter and saltier than expected, but not unpleasant.

"It's not mine. Washu is loaning it to us. I expect once we're done, we'll give it back," Saxen replied, unwrapping her own package of wafers. "After you, there are only two more left to find. And then…"

"Then…?"

She smiled weakly and shrugged. "I don't know. Washu will give me my payment, and I suppose I'll be on my way."

"I see…"

He paused and looked at her. Something was strange about her. There was almost a sadness in her eye. "I don't mean to question your kindness in saving me…but if I'm really a god like you say I am, couldn't you just have left me out there in the cold?"
"I suppose…I didn't really want to risk finding out. And besides," she didn't look at him. "You remind me of someone I used to know. A few people, actually."

"Who?"

"Well, me, for one," she turned to face him. "A very long time ago. And," a pause. "You look like my younger brother."

"Your brother?"
"Yes. His eyes are like yours. The same color of purple…" she swallowed hard and turned away again. "I…I haven't seen him in thirteen years. That's just the way I remember them looking."

"You've been searching for him?" Kira guessed.

She nodded. "Yes. For a very long time now. You remind me of how he looked when he was a child. But he would have to be at least seventeen now…"

"I'm seventeen," he replied.

Saxen blinked in surprise. "You?"

Kira blushed slightly. "Yes."

"I thought you were thirteen at the oldest. No offense to you, of course, but, you look so young and innocent," she said.

The boy let out a bitter laugh. "I'm not. There's blood on my hands."

"There is far more on mine. If you've killed, you have not killed many. Your eyes are still kind. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of. Not yet, at least," Maverick explained.

Kira looked at her quietly for a while. "Who are you?" he asked softly.

She looked at him emotionlessly. "I told you. My name is Saxen Maverick. Will you remember it please?"

Tilting his head slightly, he looked at her with wondering eyes. Then he nodded. "I will remember your name, Saxen."

"Thank you."

"So what now?"

"We wait."

Duo dashed down the Tsunami's corridors, breathing hard and heart beating fast. He had to find Effie. Had to tell her what had just shown up on the radar…

There was a sound crash as he collided with another body. Ironically enough, it was the very girl he'd been looking for. Pausing only a moment to pull her to her feet, he gripped her shoulders and looked into her brown eyes.

"Saxen's alive!" they cried at the same moment. Blinking, Effie took a step backwards.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"A distress signal from the Ravana just showed up on radar! How did you know?" he replied.

"I…um…well…" she paused, thinking back to the conversation with the disembodied voice in the prayer hall. "It's kind of hard to explain. But the important thing is she's alive, right?"

"Right!"

"So where is she?"

"Come on," Duo took her hand and led her to the bridge. The screen in the front showed a map of northern Asia. And just west of the Ural mountains on the plains of Siberia, a tiny yellow dot was flashing. Words scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

"I'm all right…please come right away…I've found him…"

"She's all right," Effie repeated, as if it had taken the creeper at the bottom of the screen to confirms all her doubts. "She's all right! Duo, she's all right!"

She spun around, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly. The pilot blinked in surprise, but then kissed her back.

They pulled away when they heard the distinct sound of a throat clearing. Slowly, Effie turned around and saw Van Helsing looking up at her from the lower deck, Moksha at his side.

"Oh…um, hi Van," she said, turning a shade of red. "Did you hear the good news?"

He nodded. "Yes…we're on a course to get her right now."

"A course to go where?" Tabby asked, walking in.

Effie tackled her friend. "Saxie's alive!" she squealed.

Tabby's jaw dropped, but then she closed her mouth and smiled. "I'll be damned…the girl's got the devil's luck. But that's great that she's alive. I wasn't sure we'd be able to keep going without her."

Moksha let out a bark then, then dashed up the stairs to where Miyu had behind Tabby. The blond girl jumped.

"Damn it! Don't do that Miyu!" she cried.

The small vampire said nothing, but knelt down and put her hands on either side of Moksha's head and smiled. "I'm happy for you," she whispered, then rose and walked away.

"What's all this now?" Jack asked, walking in with Dru on his arm.

"Saxen's okay," Duo said. "We've found her in Siberia. She's got the God of Protection with her too."

"Mummy says no nap for she-wolf then, hmm?" Dru mused. "Poor thing…she'll be awfully cross."

"I don't care! Better cross than dead!" Effie answered gleefully. "Come on! What are we waiting for? Full speed ahead!"

The others stared at her.

"She did not just say "Full speed ahead!"," Tabby said.

The hippy sighed and sat down. "Just go already."

Kira looked across the darkness at Saxen. She had gone back to her original spot several hours ago, folded her hands beneath her head, and went to sleep. The bounty hunter was by far one of the strangest people he had ever met, and since joining the war, he had met many strange people. But Saxen Maverick was the wild card. He wasn't sure what sort of part she was playing in this change in destiny, however, he had a feeling she could be trusted as his ally.

Snow had stopped trickling in the small hole in the ceiling (if that's what the space overhead could be called. He couldn't actually tell how far up the hole was, only that it was either very high or very low and tiny). But the wind had continued howling, and was now growing louder. Unnaturally loud. A small alarm within him tripped, and he crawled over and gently nudged Saxen.

"Saxen? Hey, Saxen. Wake up," he said softly. "I think there's something up there."

Her eye snapped open and she was instantly awake. She stood slowly and looked up through the hole. It widened, and she climbed up through it, motioning for Kira to follow. He nodded, checked to see that he still had a gun on him (he did) and followed her up.

There was several feet of snow on the ground, and it looked like the sun was either rising or setting, although it was too cloudy to tell the its exact location. He saw Justice laying idle with a coating of snow several feet away, and beyond that a hill silhouetted against a bright light.

Saxen approached it slowly, both revolvers pointed straight and ready. She was shivering heavily, but other than that didn't seem to notice the cold.

Several figures climbed over the hill and approached her. She squinted and pulled back on the trigger…

A howl suddenly pierced the air, and something large and red streaked towards the pair. The bounty hunter braced herself, and managed not to be bowled over as Moksha launched himself at her. However, as the wolf licked her face, she found herself laughing helplessly and she fell to her knees in the snow.

"Moksha!" she smiled, throwing her arms around the wolf and hugging him tight.

"Saxie!" Effie cried, following the wolf's path with extraordinary speed and landing on top of her with twice as much force.

"Mph!" Saxen gasped as the wind knocked out of her. However, after she got her bearing she sat up and put her arms around her friend. "Effie, I'm fine. It's okay."

But the younger girl was crying. "I was so worried about you! Don't you EVER scare me like that again, or I'll have to rethink my pacifist ways!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, then shook her head. "Now will you get off me?" she asked gruffly.

"No. You deserve to be sat on," Fire Blossom snapped.

Saxen rolled her eyes, pushed the girl off into the snow, and stood up. By now, the rest of the Tsunami's crew was standing around her.

Duo put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right. I'm sorry I didn't back you up as well as I should have."

"Don't worry about it," she said.

Tabby grinned. "Girl, you are truly amazing. I bow in your presence."

The bounty hunter blinked in confusion, then shrugged and looked at Jack and Dru.. The pirate gave her a knowing smile and a wink, while the vampire watched her with scheming eyes. Next to her, Miyu gave her a solemn look and pointed at Kira.

"You've found him," she stated.

Saxen nodded and stood next to the new addition. "Everyone, this is Kira Yamato, God of Protection."

"Hello," he said shyly."

"Hey there," Tabby smiled and waved. "Good to have you aboard. I'm Tabby. Goddess of Chaos. This is Jack, God of Thieves, and Dru, Goddess of Majick. With a "j" and a "k." I don't know why though."

The others sighed, and Miyu looked up at him. "I am Miyu, the Judge," she said simply. "You have caused quite a bit of trouble for us, Kira. But I too am glad you are here."

"So am I," Duo grinned. "First off kid, let me say that you are an amazing pilot. Your mobile suit's a Gundam, right?"

"Yes…Justice," he answered, then realized something. "You were piloting that other mobile suit, weren't you? The black one?"
"Guilty," the braided man replied. "Duo Maxwell, pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, and God of Death, at your service. It's good to have you as an ally rather than an enemy, because I really don't want to fight you again."

"Neither do I," Kira replied, smiling at his fellow pilot. "Not if I have to fight you and Saxen again."

"Only people with death wishes want to fight Saxen," Van Helsing commented stepping forward. Saxen blushed slightly, unsure why. She hadn't seen the hunter before, and had wondered if he'd come.

"Gabriel Van Helsing," the tall man introduced, shaking Kira's hand. "God of the Hunt."

"And that just leaves us support staff," Effie grinned, putting an arm around Kira's shoulder companionably. "I'm Effie, and if you had killed Saxen, you'd be dead now," she replied cheerfully. "But since you didn't, I'm glad you're here. So's Moksha."

She motioned to the wolf at Saxen's side.

"He's my partner," she explained.

"He was really worried about you," Miyu commented, looking at the bounty hunter.

Maverick tilted her head, but said nothing.

"Well, um, not that I don't think the snow is beautiful, but I'm not really a winter person, and if hell ever froze over I'm pretty sure this is what it'd look like, so if you guys wouldn't mind going back to the ship…" Tabby pointed at the hill.

"Sure. Come on kid, let's get Justice into the hangar," Duo looked at Kira. "Come on Effie, you come too."

"I don't know," she looked doubtfully at Saxen.

"Hey, I'm not going to vanish or anything, okay? I'm just going to get my ring and go back," she said, and started in the direction of the tiny shaft of light still sticking up out of the snow.

"Fine," Effie turned to Van Helsing. "Go with her."

He nodded and followed after her. When he caught up with her, he gently touched the blood on her cheek.

"You're hurt," he stated.

She shrugged. "Just a cut. It doesn't even hurt. Nothing does, really. It's so damn cold here…nothing like I've ever felt…"

The hunter removed his long coat and put it around her shoulders. "Here."

"Thank you."

His hand brushed aside the hair from her forehead and traced his hand down the long gash there. "It's at least four inches long. I'm surprised you don't need stitches."

"It's not deep," she answered quickly. She shivered again, not from the cold but from the gentleness of his touch as his hand slid from her face down her neck and the jacket's sleeve to her hand, which he clasped tightly.

"We were really worried about you Saxen. I thought I lost you," he whispered.

She was aware of something snaking around her waist and realized it was his arm. She swallowed, then pushed away before she could enjoy it too much. "You should have more faith in me. I'm a professional."

"Professional what?"

"Gambler. Every time I put my life on the table, I always get it back," Saxen answered.

He smiled and squeezed her hand, then let her go. "Come on. Effie will kill me if I let you stay out her and get sick."

She nodded, and this time allowed him to keep his arm around her as they walked back to the Tsunami.

Lynx stood in Saxen's empty prayer hall, grumbling to himself.

"For someone who has so many moral expectations, she sure is rude about intruding on someone else's domain."

It's not your domain, Lynx. If anyone's, it's Washu's. And since Washu has her…

"I've got people to worry about too. Saxen and her wolf aren't the only ones at risk here. Effie's a liability to the Juraians too. And I'm not going to let them do anything to her."

I'm not going to stop you.

"Stay out of the way."

You stay out of my way and there won't be any trouble. After all, you're on probation here, not me.

"Oh shut up," he muttered, then walked out.