Chapter 1 – Fushigi Ichiban (mystery number one) - Updated
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DrkGoddess: I should have known you would look there first…
-ZERO-: Who are you?
DrkGoddess: Oh no one important… find what you're looking for?
-ZERO-: How do you know what I'm looking for?
Duo watched the chat in mystification. This individual had gotten past Heero's firewall… remarkable. Only about 10 people had Heero's screen name and were able to IM him.
"Dark Goddess? Have you ever talked to this person before?" Duo asked then realized the reply to his query as he expressed it.
"No… not that it matters. What I want to know is how they know what I'm viewing. Have you been using my laptop?" Heero glanced over at this best friend who face was only illuminated by the blue glow of the VDT.
"No… I only used your PC and that's the one without the fire wall… besides I signed on under my SN." Duo was now baffled completely.
"Damn," Heero went back to the tête-à-tête.
DrkGoddess: Trying to figure out who I am, Heero? Do you not know who I am?
Now Duo and Heero were unnerved. Not only had this someone gotten past a very hard firewall but also they knew whom Heero was.
DrkGoddess: Worried yet, Heero? Worried that some girl has gotten past your "security"? Worried that a girl knows who you are?
-ZERO-: Just who are you?
DrkGoddess:laughs: just keep on asking, Yuy… you'll find out later. You've got fifteen seconds to track me before I'm off… better get going… Heero…
Heero swiftly started up the tracking system and surveyed the separate monitor as the transmitted signal was vaulted all across earth, then all about the colonies. Then it started to head back towards L1
DrkGoddess: Aop… to slow. Good-bye, Heero Yuy
The IM box flashed "DrkGoddess is now offline". Almost directly after that an E-mail came to Heero.
From: DrkGoddess
To: -ZERO-
Subject: Reminder… Heero…
Be there… 10 sharp…. Down fall… Be there…
"Who would have ever thought that you would be getting stalked…?" Duo commented with wide eyes. "So I guess that's your gorgeous caller both times. Dark Goddess. Think she has any more SN's?" Heero nodded and studied the E-mail. The search had long been finished but long since been forgotten.
"Every e-mail base keeps a record of the master screen names of all members. And then from there they access all the other sub screen names." Heero explained as he pulled up the AOL homepage page. "By getting into her account I should be able to find that out."
Duo nodded and pulled out Heero's encryption disk from the floppy container in the bottom right draw. "So by that you should be able to find out where this girl is, right?"
"That's the idea. This should all work if this girl isn't a computer genius and someway knows a way to block herself completely from existences." Heero pushed in the floppy as he typed in the Screen name.
"And if she is?"
"Well then I'm not going to find anything out and I'm wasting my time." Heero answered and started up the encryption program.
"Couldn't you track her down by her Internet bill?" Duo asked.
"No… if she's blocked herself completely then she's not paying for the Internet but stealing it." Heero answered calmly and nearly choked when his disk was popped back out and a message flashed up. PLEASE ENTER PASSWORD.
"You're kidding me!" Duo was dumbfounded. Heero shook his head with a chortle.
"I should have thought as much. She's first-class… then this is going to be of no use to us." Heero closed down the guest list to the Cave of Darkness. "She won't be on there… she would have established a way to expunge her name." Duo shook his head in utter astonishment and stood up.
"Looks like you've got yourself a challenge buddy," Duo patted Heero's bare shoulder and laughed quietly. "Good luck. Catch ya later man, I'm bushed and I have to go to work tomorrow."
"Oh don't remind me!" Heero groaned and collapsed on to his bed with a snarl.
Three hours later… Heero was asleep.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Next day
Heero pulled up into his driveway and climbed out of his Ferrari. He might live in a condo but he was a sucker for nice fast cars and had to money to have one. With a sigh he set the alarm and blindly pulled out the door key from the mass of keys on the double ring. Something trapped his eye –a yellow bit of paper. Stopping dead in his tracks, he pulled out his gun and considered the entrance. Someone had been, or was in his dwelling and he didn't know who it was. Duo or any of the other pilots would have opened the door without letting the paper drop, but this individual hadn't identified his straightforward precaution preparation.
Suspiciously, he took a stride towards the door and studied the piece. Had there been a wind today? No… then the person isn't in the house anymore. Heero nodded. If there had been a breeze then the paper would have moved from its designed falling place and landed in some other position. The paper wouldn't stir save if the door was opened and shut again.
"Damn," Heero muttered and put his handgun away as he promptly unbolted the door and strode indoors. Heero wrenched off his black windbreaker and flung it across the back of his couch. With a swift fleeting look about the ground level of his residence he noted nothing missing but saw something fresh. On his coffee table was a piece of paper with a very nice woman's necklace resting next to it.
Dearest Heero,
I had arranged on informing you this in person but of all days you decided to work over time it had to be today, huh? Anyway… Yeah it's me… the girl that you were meant to be meeting tonight. Sorry… amendment of procedure. The darling doctor has set me away on an assignment and you appreciate how it is with missions. There's always that likelihood that you won't be coming back from it. Right? That and I have that gut feeling that this mission will take forever. JOY! Sorry, also, if you can't read my writing… I sent you an E-mail in addition informing you this as backup if you can't.
Okay here's what's going to come to pass. You're still departing for COD… if you want to be familiar with just what is taking place. A companion of mine will be in attendance… in substitute for this necklace that I left she will give you a diskette. This optical will contain my personal information (bio etc). I've put a publication inhibiter on it so don't think you can post it on the Internet or share it with the others. I have programmed it to except only one computer forever and only one computer. It will only cause yours and their computers to detonate if you circulate the records or instigate the succeeding accessed workstation to go into a fritz. Fun? Thought not, so don't do it. As for my herald, she'll be in the back, second from last on the right. She looks a lot like me; don't ask any questions… just hand over the necklace and she'll confer to you the disk.
Fair forewarning concerning administrating a search on my penmanship… I accept as true that Earth justice structures wish for me… FBI, CIA et cetera. You know… If not ask your friend Duo Maxwell. He ought to be capable to enlighten you what I'm talking about… I suppose. Only I'm sought after by more than he is! Oh I feel so proud. Okay you pulled up a moment ago so I'll be disappearing at this time… bye-bye!
With love,
Your associate 006, Dark Hells Warrior
"I'm jealous…" Said a voice from behind Heero. "She's good… really good if the CIA, FBI and the rest of them are after her and she still hasn't gotten caught she's really good."
"I guess so… but 006?" Heero turned around and found Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei standing in his living room.
"You left the door open," Trowa answered before Heero could ask.
"006? Dark Hells Warrior… sounds interesting." Wufei commented and looked at the note.
"Nice writing and a nice necklace." Quatre observed.
"So you had another visit from the mysterious beauty. Nice perfume she wears…" Duo commented as he sniffed the air. Heero followed his example and inhaled a lung full of gardenia and a light spice. "Expensive," Duo added.
"You would know?" Trowa asked with a raise of an eyebrow. He still hadn't out grown that silly hairstyle but now like the rest of the pilots he tented to wear more loose baggy clothes.
"Oh yeah… of course. Now if she flipped her hair then we might be able to find some of it and could run a sample on it."
"What would that help?" Wufei asked as he sat down on a chair.
"None… he's just being a dumbass." Heero rejoined with a gesture of the note.
"Oh har-har Yuy… like you can talk. You're the one that was cock crazy for her last night." Duo answered with a brutal smile.
"I was not, Maxwell… I was purely questioning if she was b-sing me or telling the truth." Heero answered dully.
"Uh-huh… sure whatever you say." Duo rolled his eyes and picked a magazine off the coffee table.
"Can I see that letter quickly, Heero?" Quatre requested civilly.
"Sure…" Heero was vaguely curious why Quatre was asking for it but handed it over.
"I noticed that when you waved it… something flashed through it. Look," the blonde Arabian held it up to the light and there was a further communication.
If you find this then I'm guessing that you're smarter then you all seem. Gentlemen… you are more then welcomed to join Mr. Yuy, my colleague, and search for my identity. I've left several clues through out this house and if you look closely you can piece together just who I am… only thing is you have to know what to look for. Good hunting, Gentlemen. Heero, if you do figure them out then you'll know where to look at the club… for you're… oh how to say it… Surprise.
Lady…
Everyone was hushed for some time. All thinking or just staring off in lala land (Duo).
"Well…" everyone's awareness was brought to Wufei."This girl… or woman… I'm not sure has given us three or four clues already. Someone want to write them down?"
Trowa reached over the back of the couch and took the pen and paper that Heero handed him.
"What are they?" Quatre asked.
"First… she's a girl. Second… she's a Gundam Pilot and a very strong one if she's Heero's partner," Wufei paused as he ticked off the items on his fingers. "Third her e-mails I'm guessing Heero still has. Fourth she's rich… very, very rich. If someone looks at that necklace and tells me that it's fake. I'll laugh at 'em."
Duo picked the necklace up off the coffee table and looked at it. "I think it's a black diamond," Heero held up his hand and snatched it out of the air when Duo tossed it to him. Heero analyzed it mutely as Wufei continued.
"Fourth-"
"Fifth," Trowa corrected. Wufei shook his head in a "whatever" motion and went on.
"Fifth she's not afraid of death. Heero has what she looks like and was smart enough to draw it down before he forgot." Heero looked up at the mention of his name but then went back to studying.
"Anything else?" Duo asked. "That's more that "three or four. And how the hell do you know if she's afraid of death or not?"
"Shut up braid boy!" Wufei snapped and glared at the longhaired young man. "She's high ranking… if she signed it "Lady" something or another then she probably does have that title. Plus look how she signed it… it doesn't look like it's bogus."
"True." Quatre inspected the letter some further under his carefully trained eye. "From her hand writing you can tell she has an attitude that comes off like she doesn't care but from the seriousness of the tone said she takes things very seriously and is one to get her work done before she fools around." Wufei nodded his agreement and the room lapsed into silence. Heero got up and walked up stairs with the necklace still clutched in his hand. Trowa raised one of his eyebrows and then went back to studying the list with Duo. So far none of the guesses that he had written down were linking collectively. Moreover they were all assumptions founded on prior training that could hold no argument with this young woman.
Heero came back down with a piece of paper and his laptop in hand. The paper was handed to Quatre and the laptop was attached into his cell phone.
"Checking for the E-mail?" Duo asked.
"No," the short answer cut all questioned but only raised more. Wufei got up from his chair and surveyed what Heero was doing in curiosity. An E-mail from DrkGoddess came up when he clicked the icon for his mail. Wufei arched his eyebrow at this screen name but said nothing. The E-mail said the same thing, as the letter only there was a map attached and a little sub note.
"Addendum- My name is an atypical name… and once you find it out… there is one, and only one web page on me. Once you have my name the key to get into the page should not be problematical, if not the hard disk will have the password on it. Good hunting, sweetie. Signed, your collaborator 006 Dark Hells Warrior." Heero read out loud to everyone.
"Pull up a search page," Trowa instructed. "Now type in rare names." Heero nodded settlement what he was suggesting and was given back three results. Each list was three pages long with fifty names on each one.
"That didn't help," Wufei commented cynically.
"You don't know that," Quatre countered. "Look here… not all these names are on each page. Yet there are some names that are one each." Wufei raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
"So, that means the names that are on all three truly are rare while the ones that are on only one of the pages aren't." Quatre answered and grabbed a highlighter. Trowa watched the blonde hair boy as he highlighted only seven names.
"Seven names? That's it!" Duo shouted.
"Seven female names," Quatre corrected. "Igraine, Morgause, Nimue, Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, Niniane, and Elaine."
Duo thought for a moment. "They don't sound all that 'atypical' to me…"
"These are all Goddess names," Heero said idly bring about each person to gaze at him. "Not Goddess as the Goddess but people that have had dealing with the Great Goddess. Remember the time of Arthur?"
"I think," Quatre nodded.
"Well Igraine was Arthur's mother; Morgause was his aunt, Morgaine his half sister and rightful Lady of Avalon. Gwenhwyfar his wife, Niniane one of Gwenhwyfar's waiting women and at one time Lady of Avalon till it was proven that Morgaine was the rightful heir, and Nimue… she was Morgaine's second cousin and a priestess of Avalon."
"How do you know all this?" Trowa asked.
"I've always studied the times of Arthur and that type of stuff. Actually Morgaine was called Morgan le Fay, know who she is now?" Everyone nodded now in identification.
"That woman was cool… witchcraft and stuff." Duo said and Heero rolled his eyes.
"I'm going tonight at ten and getting that information. You're all welcomed to come but I'm not staying." Heero declared and stood up with a yawn. "Till then I'm taking a nap," With no more words he climbed the stairway and was napping by the time he fell to his bed.
