Disclaimer: Still don't own, still hate the directer!
I'd also like to say THANK YOU! Thanks to the reviewers, I can now continue this story with your support. Anyway, on with Chapter 2.
Tired emerald eyes shot open as the battle alert sounded. Athrun groaned and jumped out of bed. It was probably the 'Legged ship' they were going after and that would mean fighting him! Moaning in frustation, he pulled on his flight suit, grabbed his helmet and ran to the GAT-X303 Aegis GUNDAM. 'This is Athrun Zala on Aegis launching!' He shouted.
Sure enough, as soon as he was out, he saw the legged ship looming in front of him. Strike and the mobile armour were already on the field. Kira. Athrun shook himself, acting the way he was would get him killed. 'All right, I'm going after their engines! Nicol, cover me?' He shouted, swallowing the tears threathing to fall. Kira, why did you leave me too? Nicol's cheery voice answered: 'Sure thing, Athrun!'
Athrun nodded and lunged forward.
'Athrun don't you dare!' came the voice of the person he'd once dared call friend. Strike stepped in front of him, sabre raised. Athrun brought up his shield, but couldn't, wouldn't attack back. Nicol fired around him, at Kira, but the white MS dodged. Breathing hard, he yelled: 'Nicol, handle him, all right?' Nicol's voice held no cheer now, Athrun knew the younger pilot was worried about him, but never the less he answered: 'OK!' and attacked Strike again. Turning to his other team-mates, he shouted: 'Dearka, handle the mobile armour, Yzak, you come with me!'
'What? Who made you the leader?' Yzak demanded. Athrun growled, he didn't have the energy for this. 'Just move!' he snarled. Yzak growled, but moved round to him.
Joffie Wheeler was preparing to board, from her shuttle, onto the Versalius when the shuttle's sudden jerking threw her off balance. She turned to look out the front window. 'Jeezus!' she yelled as her shuttle barely dodged a stray blast from the battle going on in front of her. Running to the co-pilots chair, she grabbed the mike. 'You just concentrate on dodging.' She told the pilot, smiling reasuringly. He nodded and she contacted the Versalius. 'Commander le Creuset, this is Ensign Joffie Wheeler of ZAFT, please allow our shuttle to dock as we are unequiped for combate.'
'Ensign Wheeler, I do not have time to let you dock.' came her calm reply.
'Sir, I really must insiste, at least send out the O8A for me!'
'I have no spare pilots,Ensign.' Jo couldn't belive this, what was the man playing at? Did he want them to die?
'Sir, I honestly don't care how you do it, just do something right now!' she practically screamed down the mike as the pilot pulled off another spectacular dodge.
Creuset's reply was hard and cold. 'I don't like your tone Ensign, but as you've not offically joined my team yet, you've avoided punishment...' Jo cut him short, training told her talking to her commander like this was wrong, but the will to stay alive overrode it. 'Great! Now about getting us out of this mess?' She could almost see the smirk on her commander's face, 'I'll attempt to send the 08A out to you Ensign.'
10 minutes later, she saw a grey mobile suit floating towards them. Jamming on her helmet, she gave the pilot a reassuring smile. 'Don't die on me!' He winked and inched closer to the mobile suit. Breathing hard, she pushed out the door and into the open cockpit of Caliber. Starting up the machine, making sure the PS armour was up and buckling the restraints, she took off towards the battle. Contacting her new commander again, she asked 'Who are my allies?' 'The red, the yellow-brown, the black and the silver,' came the reply. 'Right,' she muttered, and drew her sabre.
Nicol knew he probably wasn't able to handle Strike on his own. However, he also knew Athrun couldn't handle Strike at all. The other pilot was acting strange, hesitant. He wondered why. 'Nicol! Look out!' Dearka's voice cut through his thoughts. By then, however, Strike's sword was inches away. He was dead, he knew it. But Strike's blade made contact with another. A strange black-n-green MS forced Strike back. 'Huh?' 'This is Ensign Joffie Wheeler of ZAFT!' a female voice sounded. 'Eyes on the battle, idiot!' He flinched at the comment, but acknowledged that she was right.
Yzak listened to her transmission. Ensign Joffie Wheeler? But she sounded so young, not to mention she was a girl! 'Nicol, swap places, leave Strike to me!' he yelled, not wanting some girl who had no idea of anything to take out Strike. And she was doing well. To his amazement, she started forcing Strike back towards him. 'Hit him when he's distracted by me!' she yelled at him. He smirked, time to distroy that stupid natural!
Athrun watched in mounting horror as Yzak and the new girl ganged up on Kira. Kira didn't have the experience to deal with them. Kira, why do you have to fight against ZAFT? What do I do? Someone, tell me what to do! Squeezing his eyes shut, he made up his mind and transformed the Aegis.
Jo watched in amazement as the red MS grabbed the white one and pulled it out of her reach. 'Isn't the white mobile suit our enemy?' she asked, confused. 'ATHRUN! What do you think you're doing!' the pilot of the silver MS praticaly screamed.She winced.'I'm capturing the Strike.' came a calm reply.
'We're ordered to distroy it! Hell, even she knows that!' Jo blinked, Weren't these guys ment to be a team?
She followed the others back towards the Versalius. The mobile armour came out of nowhere, attacking the red MS. 'Mobile armour? Nobody told me there was a mobile armour!' Jo shouted angrily. Nobody listened to her.
'Athrun!' the pilot of the black MS screamed.
'Uggh, damnit!' the pilot of the red MS...Athrun? yelled, releasing the white MS and giving chase to the mobile armour. The white MS made its way back to the enemy ship. 'He's mine!' the pilot of the silver MS screamed chasing after it. Something shot out of the enemy ship, which the white Ms grabbed. Her eyes widened. 'No, stop you idiot!' she screamed, but had to shut her eyes at the crunch of metal.
'Pull back guys, our power won't hold out much longer.' someone said. She opened her eyes and made her way back to the Versalius.
'You stupid bastard!' Athrun flinched, as Yzak slammed him into the wall of the locker room. 'Are you out of your mind? Interferring for no reason!' Yzak had not been hurt in the battle, miracle if there ever was one, but his pride was badly bruised, and that meant someone else, usually Athrun, got badly bruised. 'Quite the little disaster, and all because you had to disobey orders!' Dearka added, backing Yzak up like always. Athrun looked away from them, at the new girl, hoping for support, but she said nothing. She merely hovered behind Yzak, looking half confused and half annoyed.
Suddenly, the door slid open to admit the fourth member of the team, Nicci. He stood at the door for a moment, then pushed into the room, looking annoyed. 'What are you doing? This isn't the place. Stop it!' Athrun felt gratitude swell for the green-haired boy.
'We went out with four machines! Then she came and made five. And we still couldn't get him! It's too humiliating for words!' Yzak yelled, tightening his hands on Athrun's collar. Athrun fought the urge to whimper. 'Yes, well, I don't see how hurting one another will solve anything,' the girl interupted in a low but forceful voice. 'That means you let him go!' she added to Yzak.
All four boys stared at her in shock. Athrun tried to decide if he should thank her now, or wait until Yzak was gone and it was safer. But Yzak wasn't releasing him. Nicol growled, startling them almost as much as the girl had. 'Yzak, you can take it out on Athrun all you want, but it won't change anything, will it?' Yzak humphed, but pushed him away and made to leave, Dearka behind him.
After the door closed, Jo turned to look at the two boys still in the room, more than a little confused. 'What was that about?' she asked. 'Athrun ... do you want to...?'asked Nicol, hesitantly. 'Just leave me alone, OK!' he spat, leaving as well.
'Um, sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with him.' Nicol shrugged at her apologetically. 'No worries,' she replied, warming to the friendly young man. 'Maybe you should take me to Commander Creuset? And explain what the hell is going on?' 'Sure,' he smiled, leading her out into the now deserted corridor. 'So? What's the story?' He grimaced. 'You saw what Athrun did out there. Yzak was just a little upset, perhaps justifiably. Athrun's a little weird right now. just leave him alone.'
'You don't know why he ...?' 'No! He won't tell me anything! He never does! He just lets things tear him apart!' Nicol practically screamed. Jo froze.
'Don't worry, Jo! I'll be fine. Just run!' The older boy could hardly stand, she could see it. She may have been only fourteen, but she was neither blind nor stupid. She knew how hurt he was, and how scared. 'No! Zach, come with me! You need a doctor! Come on, please!'
The terror in her brother's eyes never left, but he did all he could to hide it, not showing what he felt, but letting it rip him apart inside. 'Just go, Jo! I won't let them hurt you, not ever!' he yelled, shoving her away so she got caught in the tide of fleeing people. She heard the scream as the gun sounded, lost in the seething crowds. She never saw her brother again.
'Here we are,' Nicol said, bringing her back to the present. 'Hey, are you alright?' She blinked. 'Oh, um, fine. Thanks, ...?' he smiled. 'Nicol. Nicol Amalfi. You're welcome.' 'Call me Jo. Everyone does,' she said, turning into the little room.
'Ah, Ensign Wheeler!' Her new commander stated, smiling. 'Sir!' She saluted smartly. 'Haven't you changed yet?' he asked. 'No! There are four boys in that room!' She went scarlet, whether with embarrasment or fury, even she wasn't sure. 'Well, that's the only changing room we've got, so you'll have to work something out.' She stared at her amused commander in horror.
'How was the XO8A?' he asked mildly. 'F .. Fine!' she said, snapping out of her stupor. 'Good, good. I'll have the others show you around,' he said, turning to summon the rest of his team. They arrived some ten minutes later, minutes Jo spent wondering about the sanity of those on her new team. Even the commander seemed just a touch unhinged. The only changing room...?
Le Creuset smirked at the newly arrived boys. 'I see you havn't changed either. Too worried about doing it in front of a girl, I suppose?' He took obvious enjoyment in their discomfort. 'You'll have to get over that, all of you. For now, I want you to show her 'round the ship and take her to her quarters. After you all get changed.' They left, blushing to a man. Or girl.
'If any one of you looks at me, you are ALL dead! Do you hear me!' Jo snarled, her suit at her waist. 'Sure thing, little lady!' the blonde (Dearka) smirked. Eying her revealed stomach (the stupid regulation tee-shirt was too short!), he didn't seem particularly concerned with her threat. 'Pervert,' she muttered, turning away. Not really a great welcome to her new home, but what could you do?
