A/N - For those that have stuck with me this long a huge Thank You! I'm sorry it has been so long hears crickets chirp This fic should have the next chapter up soon but will unfortunately probably be going through a brief hiatus after that due to minor revisions. (Unless I get more time to go through all the chapters) Be patient a little longer and thanks again!
Aranami
Without further delay Chapter 8 Kuuchuusen (Air Battle)
The hours ticked away slowly. Duo relaxed while watching Morgaine get pissed at the video game and Morgaine contented herself with getting in a one-sided cussing fest.
"Heero," Morgaine gently shook his shoulder. "Heero wake up." There was a grunt of objection and Morgaine was shoved on her ass. "Get your ass off my couch Yuy!" Morgaine growled and pulled him to the floor with a thump.
"I'm up!" Heero yelled dizzily. "I'm up dammit. Leave me alone."
"No. Get up! I told you… you should have downed all of your café mocha. Now get your lazy ass up. I have to go over to Enchantress and I need two people at the controls." Morgaine started to haul him to his feet.
"Leave me alone Duo!" Heero mumbled and shoved Morgaine again, this time pushing her into Duo.
"DAMMIT HEERO!" Morgaine screamed and shoved him right back, sending him flying in a sleepy stupor into a wall. "I'm not Duo! Now get up! OR I'll make you get up!" Heero's eyes opened slowly. A shapely figure with bright hair stood before him. Slowly his eyes began to focus. Oh shit… Heero wished he were back asleep when he saw the look on Morgaine's face. "I'm dead…" He groaned and sank to the floor.
"Yeah you better be saying oh shit you dickhead! That hurt!" Morgaine rubbed her stomach and then her shoulder. "I'll get you back for this…" She mumbled.
"You already have… trust me…" Heero said under his breath and rubbed his back. "Sorry, Morgan." Heero mumbled. Morgaine held both of her hands down to him and hauled him to his feet.
"No you're not. I'm mad at you," Morgaine turned her back to him and crossed her arms, tossing her nose up in the air. "Now I'm late so let's move." Morgaine, with her arms still crossed, walked towards her 'room'. Heero only looked at Duo in question. With a shrug Duo headed towards the cockpit, leaving Heero to look after his new crush. "Joy of all ye who have hell…" Heero mumbled and rubbed his head, following after Duo.
Morgaine returned shortly after dressed in a flight suit. The black space suit hugged her form perfectly. There was a red lining along the high collar that ended just below the back of her jawbone. There was a red stripe that ran down the middle of her chest and ended below the top of their ribs. A white line ran across the collarbone and on the upper arm that ended just below her deltoids. In between the white and the red stripes was a stripe about two and a half inches big of dark gray on her upper breast. Next there was a white stripe no more than an inch and a half big on the center breast. Ending was a light gray stripe an inch and a half big. There was a red V stripe on the wrist, upper thigh, and middle calves. Just below the stripe on the middle calves there was another red stripe circling her calves. To finish it off she had on black boots that went about three inches above her ankles and black wrist high gloves. Heero and Duo's jaw dropped.
"Hehehe…" Duo laughed stupidly. Morgaine frowned at him and he directly shut up.
"Smart move." She handed her helmet to Heero before wrapping her hair into a tight bun. "I'll go ahead and clear the way otherwise we're going to be searched." She explained as she tucked bobby pins into place. "Make sure Angelina is awake by the time we land. I won't be coming back to the shuttle so seal the doors after me. I'm on communication line seven if you need protection or anything. Don't call just to bug me because I'll kick your ass. Remember I'm the one in the Gundam and you're in the civilian shuttle." Morgaine slipped the helmet over her head and pushed up the visor.
"Understood." Heero didn't argue. He couldn't.
"See you on earth," Morgaine smiled at them both then left. The sound of the hatch door sealing behind her was all that informed them of her departure. A red light abruptly blipped to life.
"Hit the green button below the light." Morgaine's voice came over the speaker. Duo pressed the button and the outline of two devilish looking Gundams lit up on the board, one looking like a cross between Deathscythe and some other Gundam. The one that looked the more evil of the two started to blink, a second later something black, red and silver speed past them. A large gun that reminded Duo of Heero's buster rifle was attached to Gundams left arm. Bat like wings spread out on either side of the black object. Red jewels flickered delicately in the star radiance, silver glinting from the glow of the red thruster burn. Horns of some sort of silver like metal adorned a head that had a dragon like hat over the head of the Gundam. Red eyes could barely be seen as the killing machine silently skimmed past. A long tail came from the Gundam and both young men suddenly realized what it looked like, a dragon … a black dragon. Everything resembled a dragon, the headpiece with the horns, the wings, the legs and feet and the tail. Enchantress fitted the Gundam as it seemed to cast a spell as it passed a spell of its dangerous beauty.
"That's… um… freaky…" Duo commented after a moment.
"Yah…" Heero responded dryly and returned his awareness to the controls. Plotting in a course straight to earth he leaned back in his chair and watched a red light shoot around orange explosions like a humming bird around a cluster of sweet flowers. "It's fast…" Heero noted, and zoomed in on the view screen, watching the battle progress.
"She's good… I can see why she's your partner." Duo added. Heero grunted his agreement.
"She's already gotten in a fight?" A sweet voice asked. Heero barely even moved his head when he glanced over his shoulder. Duo smiled broadly and patted his leg. Angelina walked in sleepily seating herself in Duo's lap.
"You don't waste anytime now do you?" Heero commented. Duo just snorted and put his arms around Angelina's mid section, nuzzling her neck.
"Where… damn I hate waking up." Angelina rubbed her eyes with closed fists and blinked several times. "Where are we?"
"Fifteen twenty minutes from earth. Morgaine-" Heero was cut off
"Your crush," Angelina added just for the sure hell of it. Duo looked at the young woman in his lap mildly wondering if she wanted to be slapped or if she was just trying to be annoying.
"Morgaine is out there clearing the way so we can get in without being searched." Heero shot back. Duo saw a look of worry cross his friends face.
"Don't worry about it Heero…" Angelina must have caught the look as well. "She's good at her job… very good and she knows what she's doing. This is fun for her." Heero just slithered into silence in answer. "Stubborn jackass…"
"That's Heero…" Duo mumbled and watched Enchantress destroy the remaining suits. What he didn't expect was for Morgaine to raise the large gun she carried with her and fire at Earth. Something just coming out of the atmosphere exploded in an inferno of flames and chunks of metal.
"Morgie," Angelina reached over and flipped a switch.
"What?" Morgaine snapped back. "I'm a little busy right now for chit chat…" Duo chuckled, any other time she was willing to talk.
"Why did you just use your Beam cannon?"
"Get it straight... it's the Vulcan Beam cannon." Morgaine snapped back. Heero nearly choked when he saw what she was fighting.
"WUFEI?" Both Heero and Duo demanded in union.
"That's who this prick is?" Morgaine asked. They watched as Enchantress' tail wrapped around Altron's dragon.
"Wufei!" Heero yelled over the intercom. "What the hell do you think you are doing!" There was a silence before a Chinese boy's face came up on the right hand corner of the communication screen.
"We all fought a war Heero. People lost their lives in that war. Now everything we fought for is being ruined by this pilot!" Wufei said.
"We won nothing in that war!" Duo slammed back. "We only gained a moment of rest before the next war started up! This girl knows that better than all of us. She knows the way to avoid such a war!"
"She fights for earth! And for the colonies, you said before you didn't agree with Relena's ways." Heero had by now placed his: I-hate-you-leave-me-alone-dickhead look on his face. Duo watched Morgaine easily dodge all of Wufei's attacks and slam at him with her own, without realizing it his arms wrapped around Angelina again, tightly.
"I do no fight for Relena Peacecraft. I still do not agree with her ways. They're wrong. Yet she has held together a peace… a peace we haven't had before. I fight to help Relena and show this pilot that she cannot continue robbing my colony! Right now Relena and I fight for the same reason."
"You only fight because you're a fool!" Angelina screamed at him. "And Relena is only worried about Morgaine because Morgaine shows Relena just how hopeless her pacifisms are! How weak Relena really is! Your ruler is dying, Chang! Open your eyes! She won't live through this… in the beginning all rulers die." Wufei glared at Angelina scornfully.
"Quiet onna!" He snapped.
"Shove it up your ass!" Morgaine yelled and suddenly slammed her Gundam into Altron. Wufei's image was lost, but not before his yelp of pain came through. "No one tells her to shut up but me! You're a fool Chang! Don't you realize Relena's finished." Wufei's snarl came over the speakers. The battle ragged on. Altron was losing… it stood no chance to Enchantress. Enchantress was a new model of Gundams… faster, more powerful, and sleeker. Lights went at each other only to snap away seconds later, electricity snapping through the murky darkness of space, the Gundams thrusters sparkling like diamonds among glowing sparks of stars. Heero pounded his fists down on the controls and growled something no one could understand.
"I've gotta help…" Angelina said quietly and moved from Duo's lap. Heero shook his head, wild spikes shuttering in the sudden movement.
"She's sealed off the Gundam shuttle. I've looked." He informed her. Angelina joined Heero in his silent frustration. Muttered curses filled the air with controlled breathing.
The battle was intense… both pilots eager to see the end of the other. Morgaine would love to see Altron explode yet she knew, deep down, she couldn't kill him. Wufei Chang, as stubborn and pig headed as he may be, was part of her team.
Maybe, Morgaine's counter thrusts, parries and blocks came without thought. I can start this over… and finish it…
She lessened her hold on the joystick controlling her Gundams movements. The thrusters slowed and kept the large devil Gundam hovering in open spot. Commanding Enchantress, she withdrew her beam saber and ignited it.
"Oh shit…" Angelina's eyes widened. "He's screwed…"
"Why?" Duo looked at the girl on his lap curiously.
"Morgaine's a champion swordswoman… and her main skill in Gundam battle is saber fighting…" Angelina explained. Heero listened but kept his eyes glued to the screen, watching nervously.
Wufei seemed to agree and withdrew his double-sided halberd, the green pitchfork like design of the thermal blade coming from both ends.
The two circled each other… studying for a chance to attack. Altron raised its halberd and shot forwards. Enchantress dodged sideways, then charged and lunged; Altron dodged and counter thrusted. Enchantress parried, riposted and then broke away.Several times the two maneuvered about space, stalking one another, looking for advantageous positions, and occasionally exchanging a flurry of blows.
Swords clashed and Enchantress tried to snag Altron's blade with her clawed hand. Altron dodged and slashed, drawing a gash across Enchantress's left forearm. Morgaine feigned shock and fell back- and Altron fell into her trap, rocketing forward to take advantage of a feigned weakness. Enchantress's thermal blade flashed bright red in the glowing sun as she struck; Altron parried at the last moment, swinging his halberd up, but the tip of Enchantress's blade punched through Altron's left shoulders, a far more serious wound that the scratch Altron had inflicted.
Time dragged on, and the two fought on still. Enchantress received a gash across her 'ribs' and another just above one 'hip', while Altron left shoulder was pierced again, and a long gouge cut into his right leg. The pilots were bleeding from being bashed inside the cockpit, blood smearing across the controls and seat. Both grew tired but fought on. Neither wasted breath on further speech; the time for talk was past, and they both knew that.
Morgaine had no idea how long the fight lasted, the earth had shifted day regions but she didn't have time to take a reading. She could only judge by how tired she was, by how heavily her arms had become. Finally, she thought as they maneuvered around from behind the shuttle, Wufei made a thrust, Enchantress' parry slammed both weapons against each other, and Altron's blade snapped, no more than five inches from the guard. Enchantress acted before Wufei could and drove the blade through Altron's blade arm without heed of the metal and parts.
Heero, Duo, and Angelina's jaws plummeted. Wufei was thunderstruck and fuming to say the least. Morgaine was soundless… either reviewing or exhausted.
"Woah…" Duo breathed, watching the replay since Heero had been tapping it. "No way our Gundams would answer that fast… Altron has always been the quickest of us too!"
Angelina watched the screen. "She's never done this good…" the young Shade girl remarked. Heero sent fleeting look over at his best friend's crush inquisitively. "I mean she's first-class but I've in no way seen her go this far out just to pound someone. On average she'll just gun down till they don't move."
"Morgaine?" Heero inquired, powerless to veil the concern in his tone. There was no rejoin. "Morgaine are you okay?"
"I'm…" There was a malleable whimper. "Fine…" Heero's cold eyes softened in apprehension and relief.
"Need to have one of us come out?" Angelina asked.
"No…" Morgaine's picture flickered onto the view screen. "We should to get home…" Angelina didn't question the decision and sent a meaningful glimpse at Heero when he went to disapprove. There was a weak smile on her face and Angelina knew Morgaine had been cleaning off blood from her battle.
"Sure thing … you can go home and take a bath. Sound good?" Angelina suggested. Duo didn't say anything; he just looked at Heero and shrugged.
The trip to earth continued on with only minor interference from earth. It was around one in the morning when all four pilots found themselves situated back at Keef Manor. Morgaine had booked it to her bedroom and turned on her bath without a word to the others. Angelina had shown Duo and Heero into the first floor guest bedrooms and retired to her room after giving them access to the fridge and entertainment articles. Duo, without wasting any time grabbed a Pepsi and found a football game. Heero contented himself with a random book he found on one of the bookcases. Aimlessly he wandered out back into the large backyard and soon found himself seated in the gazebo, gazing out over the ocean. The book rested over one leg, maybe a hundred pages read. One arm was placed across the back of the bench, while the other rested at his side. His eyes didn't stir with the exception of timely blinks. His chest rose and fell with small breathes a few deep almost as if he was trying to breath in as much of the sea air as he could. A look of peace showed across his stern face figures… eyes sparkling gently in the moonlight. Waves crashed on damp sand, lulling him into a quiet trance.
The perfect soldier didn't even hear the attentive footsteps come up the steps to the gazebo.
"It's peaceful isn't it?" The voice of a female drifted into his head… melting into and becoming one with his peace. He nodded absently… never taking his eyes from the ocean. A school of dolphins played in a pool of silver lit water, their calls ringing through the still night of the ritzy neighborhood. "She's in the bathroom…" The female said. Heero didn't ask whom, only nodded to show he understood. "I just um… thought you might like to… eh… know where she is," Angelina said.
"Angelina," Heero took his dark blue eyes from the ocean and rested them on the Angel Vixen. "Can I ask you something?" Angelina nodded, almost seeming eager to hear him speak. "Why are you a Gundam pilot?" Angelina was surprised, Heero could tell from the look on her face.
"I don't rightly know… I guess. I was raised as a pilot. My mother passed on when I was young and left my sister and I to fend for ourselves. That's how I met Morgaine. I've never honestly thought about why I am, ya know." She seated herself across from him, resting her elbows on her pants, her chin cupped in her palms.
"Do you like being a pilot?" He was answered with a nod. "Why?"
"Because it makes me feel as if I'm helping people, peace is the illusion of fools." She stated firmly then relaxed again. "It makes me feel complete… almost as if I do it to make myself seem useful. I realize it's not the best of jobs for someone like me… but its part of me. Without it…" She sighed and let her sentence trail. "You'd feel empty…" Heero finished with a nod.
"Exactly."
"And Morgan feels the same?" Heero asked.
"I can only guess."
"Hmm…" The two pilots slipped into thought, watching one another without much interest. "Where did you say she is?" Angelina smiled.
"Upstairs, the door in the middle of the hall to the right, she was in the bath when I last checked." Heero said nothing to her, only got up and walked away.
Watching his figure slowly disappear among the trees and darkness she smiled. Looking down at the book in her hand only caused her to smile more.
The Mists of Avalon Angelina thought with a chuckle. One of Morgaine's favorite books… they really are alike.