Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Magic Knight Rayearth. They belong to Bandai and CLAMP, respectively.
World 2 World
Chapter II: The Meeting
Heero was irritated that he had actually allowed Duo to convince him to go clubbing. Heero shook his head to clear his thoughts, glad to be outside in the calm night air. He slowly walked through the park, enjoying the silence and darkness.
Suddenly a bright blue beam of light shot down from the sky, a few feet in front of him. Heero blinked and pulled up an arm to shield his eyes from the light while reaching for his gun. As the light dissipated, he found himself staring at three young girls.
"Home!" exclaimed a short girl with red eyes and a red braid.
"That felt different," the tall blue-haired girl stated, blue eyes blinking rapidly.
"I don't think we're in the tower," a blonde, green-eyed girl commented, frowning as she looked around. Her eyes settled on the brown haired boy in front of her, eyes trained in shock at the gun in his hands, pointed at her.
Noticing the blonde's eyes widen in fear, he narrowed his eyes in confusion, wondering about the bright blue beam and these three young girls who appeared out of nowhere.
"Who are you?"
The other two girls turned towards the emotionless voice, eyes widening as well when they saw the gun. They immediately raised their arms into the air.
"Excuse me, sir, I don't think that's necessary," Fuu tried to reason nervously, slowly putting her hands up in a gesture of peace.
Hikaru nodded vigorously. "We're just a few girls that happen to be lost. So if you'll let us be on our way, we'll leave you alone."
"Three young girls in the middle of the park at this hour?" Heero questioned, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "How do I know you're not some assassins?"
Umi released a snort of disbelief. "Excuse me, but who are you to accuse us of being assassins? You can't be any older than us and yet here you are with a gun, pointed at three helpless, lost girls—okay, not completely helpless, but definitely lost. What are you doing with a gun at this hour and in this place, sir?"
Hikaru and Fuu stared at her friend as if she were crazy. Apparently the tall girl did not realize that she was only a magic knight in Cephiro.
Heero's thoughts ran along the same lines, dubbing the girl crazy. Who in their right mind would scold a dangerous looking man pointing a gun at them? Nevertheless, he noted that she had a point and warily lowered his gun, still eyeing the three of them cautiously.
Umi released a sigh of relief as she put her hands down, realizing a little too late what she had said. She was glad that he wasn't some murderer and that he didn't fire his gun at her outburst. Maybe he was an officer, although quite a young one.
"Would you mind telling us where we are, sir?" Fuu finally asked, still a little nervous.
Hikaru recovered from her shock as well, smiling nervously as she explained, "We were supposed to land in the Tokyo Tower. I mean, we were at the Tokyo Tower. Well, we aren't anymore, obviously, but we need to get there."
Umi and Fuu stared at her, eyebrows raised. Even they couldn't make sense of what their short friend has just said, and apparently, neither could the stranger because he merely narrowed his eyes more. Hikaru scratched the top of her head, smiling apologetically.
Umi sighed mentally. They were never getting out of here. She focused on the strange young man in front of her, finding him attractive despite the fact he had just pointed a gun at her. Taking in his appearance, she noted his face looked oriental, although he was taller than most Japanese men. Plus, his brown hair and blue eyes were more of a western trait. Now she was confused. Were they even in Japan anymore?
Heero tried to process what the short girl had just said, but even his brain couldn't make much sense of it—but neither could her friends, he noted when they raised their eyebrows. But he knew the girl had said Tokyo Tower, which made no sense at all since they were halfway around the world.
"Tokyo Tower is in Japan," Heero finally answered slowly, as if he were talking to a baby, crossing his arms.
"Yes, we know it's in Japan. Thus, it's name Tokyo Tower. Did you know it was in Tokyo, Japan?" Umi asked sarcastically, irritated at this man's tone of voice. They were lost, not stupid.
Heero growled in his mind and replied just as sarcastically, "No, it's in Little Tokyo on the moon."
Umi rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, the moon."
"I don't have time to bicker with you, little girl."
"Little girl? I'm sixteen, thank you very much!"
"I couldn't tell."
"Why you—"
"Umi-san, please," Fuu said as she placed her hand on Umi's arm. "Please, sir, we were on our way to Tokyo Tower to meet some friend, but it seems we are now lost. Would you be so kind as to tell us where we are?"
"You're in England," he replied suspiciously after a moment of silence, frowning as to how they ended up halfway around the world from where they should have been.
"What? That stupid marshmallow rabbit sent us to England? Is he losing his powers?"
Marshmallow rabbit? Heero frowned as he thought that the blue-haired girl and her friends might be crazy. They're either obsessed with Alice in Wonderland or they somehow broke out of the mental hospital. However, that still didn't explain the mysterious light from which they came. Maybe this was Duo's idea of some sick joke.
"Maybe we can stay for a few days! I've never been to England, although I'm here now." Hikaru giggled.
"Are you insane? Our parents might be worried sick about us! Besides, I was looking forward to going home!" Umi stated, then remembered the stranger and glared at him. "Besides, this guy here isn't very friendly."
Heero glared right back, irritated at her audacity. "Friendlier than you."
The two started a glaring contest while Hikaru and Fuu could only watch in amazement. At least they knew this stranger wasn't dangerous—hopefully.
"Maybe we should go find Heero," Hilde suggested.
"Nah, the guy can handle himself," Duo replied, waving her off.
"Not because I think he's not capable of taking care of himself!" Hilde replied, smacking her boyfriend's arm.
"Then why are we supposed to look for him?"
Hilde growled in frustration. "You men are so dense! Look at Relena! The poor girl has been sulking ever since Heero left!"
"You mean ever since Heero blew her off."
Hilde glared at him. "You are impossible."
Duo scratched his head. "Is that an insult?"
Hilde threw up her hands in defeat, groaning in irritation.
"You know, I think Duo's right. We should go out and find Heero," Quatre agreed.
"But the night's still young!"
"I'm going to strangle that idiot when I see him," Milliardo hissed, eyes narrowed in anger.
"Let's go, Quatre. We'll go look for Heero and Zechs, you can take the girls back to Quatre's place. We'll meet up with you guys there!" Duo quickly amended as he grabbed Quatre's arm and pulled him away from the fuming older brother.
"Duo, slow down," Quatre pleaded as he tried to keep up with the brunette.
"And let Zechs use me as a Heero-replacement and strangle me with my own braid instead? No thanks. Besides, I forgot to tell Heero about the little after-party at your house, so we have to go find him and drag him over."
"You didn't tell him that we were planning to return to my house after?"
"Of course not. He wouldn't have come."
"Then how were you planning to get him there?"
"I was hoping he'd be too drunk to notice."
"Where in the world can he be?" Duo asked, tired from running all around the city looking for their missing friend. "Why did you convince me not to take the car?"
"I didn't think he'd get too far on foot," Quatre replied honestly.
"This is Heero we're talking about."
"Well, we'd better find him soon or the girls will start to worry," Quatre said, walking briskly down the park path. "Are you sure he'll be here, Trowa?"
"I know he likes to come here to think," came the stoic reply.
"It's the middle of the night!" Duo whined. "Who would come to the park at midnight to think? Only an insane person would—oh, I just answered my own question."
"Maxwell, do you never shut up?" Wufei growled, tired and irritated.
"I don't think so, why?"
"Well learn how to shut up, now!" the Chinese man snapped.
"Make me!"
"I'm warning you…"
"What? You'll have Sally beat me up?"
"That's it! Get your ugly braid over here!"
"You guys, come back! Please stop fighting! We need to find Heero!"
"I must first punish that braided idiot for his unjust remark!"
"Where did you get that sword? Get it away from me! Somebody, help! Oh, Heero! Help me! Heero?"
Duo stopped right next to Heero, who had finally broken his glaring contest to stare at Duo in a mask of indifference—although he was surprised to hear Wufei's threats and Duo's screams from so close by.
"Heero! We found you! Man, we've been looking everywhere for—get away from me, Wufei! Put the damn sword down! Really, waving a weapon around in front of three beautiful girls."
Duo turned his head to the three girls, finally noticing the oddity of the situation.
Wufei had also stopped, sheathing his sword. He raised an eyebrow at the peculiar scene in front of him, smirking as he finally said, "Is there something you'd like to tell us, Yuy?"
"Excuse me?" Fuu finally asked, breaking the three men's reunion.
"Hey babe. My name's Duo Maxwell, at your service," Duo flirted, picking up Fuu's hand and kissing it, causing her to blush.
Fuu pulled her hand back hesitantly and bowed. "My name is Hououji Fuu, and I have a boyfriend."
Duo winked at her. "And I've got a girlfriend. So who are your friends?"
Fuu waved to the other two. "Shidou Hikaru and Ryuuzaki Umi."
"Now what are three beautiful young ladies such as yourselves doing in a deserted park at such a late hour?" Duo asked, putting an arm around Hikaru and Umi, who shifted nervously under in his embrace.
"Duo!" Quatre scolded as she caught up to the group, Trowa beside him. "Stop pestering the poor ladies. Please, my friend's a little forward. My name's Quatre Rebabar Winner."
Fuu liked the blonde as he seemed like a gentleman. "Pleased to meet you, Winner-san. I am Hououji Fuu, and these are my friends Hikaru and Umi."
"They're lost," Heero interrupted bluntly, annoyed at all the formalities and wanting them all gone.
"Oh, well perhaps I may direct you back to your homes?" Quatre offered.
"Well, we're supposed to be in Tokyo," Fuu began, unsure of how to explain their situation. "I'm not exactly sure how we ended up here."
"Tokyo? That's on the other side of the world. So what are you doing here?" Wufei inquired suspiciously.
Fuu looked helplessly at her friends, who shook their heads as well. Umi shifted as she felt a warm sensation in her pocket and glanced down, seeing the Heaven's Tear pulsing with light glows.
"We can figure that out later," Quatre proposed, smiling at the girls. "Why don't you stay at my place for the night and we'll help you get home tomorrow?"
The three knights glanced at each other, confused at his sudden generosity.
"I'm sorry sir, but you don't even know—"
"Thank you very much!" Umi interrupted Fuu, silencing her with a look. "We really appreciate it!"
Hikaru shrugged and nodded, sensing that something had happened with Umi. "Yes, thank you very much!"
Fuu sighed and bowed deeply. "We apologize for inconveniencing you, Quatre-san."
Duo waved his hand in dismissal. "No worries. We're having a small party anyways, so you three can come join us."
"Party?" Hikaru echoed, eyes lighting up in delight.
Duo nodded as he released the two girls from his grasp, instead grabbing Heero who was trying to slip away unnoticed. Heero glared at the impeding arm, knowing immediately that Duo had wanted to trick him into going to the "party" at the club.
Quatre nodded as hung up his cell phone—he had been making a call to his chauffeur, asking for two cars to pick them up at the park. He then offered Fuu his arm, which she gladly accepted. "We have more than enough room for the three of you. It's no trouble at all."
Duo pulled Heero along with him, ignoring the tired but irritated growls. "With the three of you, strip poker will be much more interesting!"
"Strip poker? What's that?" Hikaru questioned. She and Umi walked on the other side of Duo, following behind the politely conversing Fuu and Quatre.
"Oh, you'll love it."
"Maxwell, stop corrupting the girl."
Heero tuned them out after that, the alcohol starting to affect his brain. He was too tired to argue or pry himself away from Duo, and numbly allowed his friend to pull him into the limousine. He usually had a high alcohol tolerance, but that blue light had caused him to become drowsy—he didn't show it earlier simply because he was too surprised to be tired, but now all he wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, Duo wouldn't stop talking.
"What are they doing? You don't think they ditched us and went back to the club, do you?" Hilde tugged at her hair again.
"That sounds like something we would do," Dorothy corrected, the others laughing at the truth of the statement.
"Maybe we should do that," Sally remarked thoughtfully. "After all, the boys sure are taking their time to find Heero."
"If that man doesn't want to be found, he won't be found," Dorothy interjected.
"Duo found him during the Mariemaia incident," Hilde said.
"That was merely a coincidence," Noin explained. "They just ended up going to the same place."
"She's just trying to think optimistically," Relena defended her friend, still gazing into the fire blazing in the fireplace.
"Thank you," Hilde muttered, crossing her arms. "You guys are too negative."
"No, just realistic," Dorothy retorted, raising an eyebrow at Hilde. Before the other girl could reply, a loud voice interrupted from the foyer.
"Honey, we're home!"
"Maxwell, it's not your home."
"It might as well be considering how much time I spend here."
"Most of the incidences in which you were not invited."
"Hey, no need to get jealous. It's not my fault that Quatre likes me so much."
"You're impossible, Maxwell."
"Whoa, Hilde said the same thing! Wait, that means it was an insult."
"I'm glad you finally realized that," Hilde said as the boys came into the living room. "Did you find him?"
Her question was answered as Heero walked in, glaring tiredly at the group. However, Milliardo and the girls were surprised to see three strangers walk in as well.
This is Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi," Quatre introduced. "We found them in the park and I offered them a place to stay."
"What, were they homeless?" Dorothy snapped as she stood up, glaring at the young girl holding onto Quatre's arm.
"They're from Japan," Quatre explained, a little surprised at Dorothy's snappish tone. "They needed a place to stay until they leave tomorrow."
"Well why can't they just get on a plane tonight?" Dorothy hissed, causing Fuu to release Quatre's arm and move aside.
Before someone could answer a question, a bright blue light filled the room and disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. The three knights blinked in surprise as the glanced down at Umi's pocket, sensing a pulsing magic from the jewel.
"I'm tired," Dorothy suddenly said, yawning. "I suppose it's fine that they stay the night. How much trouble could they cause?"
Quatre nodded as he covered his own yawn as he turned to the girls. "I'll show the three of you to the guestroom."
Everyone else welcomed them to England as they retired or simply walked upstairs silently, leaving Quatre and his guests in the living room. The three girls looked at each other in confusion, but followed their host up the stairs nonetheless. Something was going on and it was related to Umi's jewel, but they had to wait until they were in private to discuss it.
"How convenient: three beds and a bathroom," Fuu said as she walked to the green-blanketed bed, depositing her small travel bag on the floor beside it.
"Wow! There's this huge closet!" Hikaru exclaimed as she ran through the bathroom into the main area. "And the bathtub is huge too!"
Umi situated herself on the edge of the blue-blanketed bed, throwing her own duffel bag onto the pillows. She giggled as she bounced as she sat down on the soft mattress and layers of comforters.
Hikaru jumped onto her red bed, bouncing up and down happily. "This is like a mini-hotel! I could live here for the rest of my life."
Umi stopped her own bouncing and sobered, pulling out the jewel from her pocket. It was not glowing anymore but all three of them could still feel the magic radiating from the jewel.
"I think this jewel brought us here," Fuu informed them, moving to sit on Umi's bed and examining the jewel in her hand. "Either Ascot-san was wrong about its powers, or this has something to do with your wish, Umi-san."
Umi shook her head. "I can't even remember what I wished for."
"Or maybe it sent us here for a reason?" Hikaru piped in, jumping off her own bed to join the other two.
"But where is here?"
"Definitely not Cephiro," Fuu ruled out. "They know about Japan and England. We must be on Earth."
"Why would the jewel send us to Earth?" Umi questioned, holding the jewel up to the light.
Hikaru shrugged. "Maybe you wished to come to England?"
Umi thought about the possibility. "No, England didn't even cross my mind all day. I remember thinking how there was nothing I really wanted."
"So what should we do now?"
"Ask the jewel."
Umi and Fuu stared at Hikaru, who shrugged again.
"Well, if it sent us here, then it should tell us what we should do now."
Umi and Fuu continued to stare at Hikaru, but finally Umi gave in and sighed.
"Your instincts have never been wrong yet. Um," she glanced at the jewel uncertainly. "Oh great and mighty Heaven's Tear, please tell your obedient servants what you wish for us to do?"
Now Hikaru and Fuu stared at Umi, but before she could even manage a sheepish look, the jewel starting and glowing, then suddenly enveloped them in a bright blue light.
Umi felt as if she were floating, and when she opened her eyes, she was indeed floating—in space! Panicking, she flailed her arms and legs around, panting as she tried to swim—she couldn't think of any other way to describe it—to Hikaru and Fuu, who were also opening their eyes. Then she noticed that she could breathe, and that something glowed and pulsated to her left. Turning her head, she realized that it was the Heaven's Tear.
"Umi-chan? What's going on?" Hikaru asked, trying to reach her friend. As if sensing her desire, the jewel glowed a little brighter as Hikaru and Fuu found themselves moved right next to Umi.
"Is it the Heaven's Tear?" Fuu whispered, gazing in awe at the powerful jewel.
"I think so," Umi whispered back, staring at her jewel.
"Why are we whispering?" Hikaru whispered, leaning her head in between the two.
Umi shrugged and looked around. "Where are we?"
"In space. I think."
"Wow! I've never been in space before."
"Technically, this isn't possible."
"Honestly, Fuu, after spending so much time in Cephiro, you still don't believe the impossible is possible?"
"Well…"
"Exactly."
"That's the Earth! But what are those things?" Hikaru pointed at the ring-shaped objects suspended around the Earth's atmosphere.
"Satellites?" Umi offered.
Suddenly, the found the scene moving past them rapidly, and before they knew it, they had somehow ended up right in front of one of the "satellites."
"This is definitely not a satellite," Umi gasped. Satellites were not this big. This thing was the size of Japan! Something moved beneath them, and the three glanced down to see a shuttle leave an opening.
"I dare say this is a space colony," Fuu finally concluded. "This must be a glimpse of the future."
"Why would my jewel show us a glimpse of the future?"
As if to answer her question, the found themselves pitched forward again, right through the walls of the colony. They closed their eyes to brace themselves for the impact, but instead, all they felt was a rush of air. When they opened their eyes again, they were in a dark room, the only light from two candles on either side of the large desk they illuminated. Behind the desk, a leather chair swiveled so that the seated figure could turn to face them. But what caught their attention was the creature in the figure's lap, its red eyes glowing as it opened its mouth to reveal long, sharp fangs and hissed.
Author's Notes:
Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Finally, the knights meet the pilots! There wasn't too much interaction between them there, but they only just met! Just wait until the next chapter—after all, maybe you'll find out just what they are doing in the Gundam universe.
I totally rewrote nearly two-thirds of this chapter. I'm sort of changing certain details so that it makes more sense and it fits into the overall plot better. Also, I'm trying to make the characters as IC as possible, but of course, they will still be a little OOC as I can't really remember how they acted (haven't seen either series in forever) and it wouldn't be interesting if they didn't act this way.
