Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.
An: This is part II. Thank you, everyone, for the very kind reviews and for everyone who waited on me. I got a kick out of everyone who welcomed me back. Did I go somewhere? Probably to a different fandom for a bit, but I promise this story isn't dead. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A nice longer chapter as a thank you for reviewing.
Warning: English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can.
Summary: Usagi turns into a cat and get adopted by the gundam boys.
Cat for a Week
Day 6-Nightfall
Duo becomes panicky when he couldn't find Silver. He scurried around, looking into nearby bushes and behind trees, and Quatre was right at his heel.
"We'll find her," Quatre tried to reassure. He fought against his own wave of anxiousness.
"Relax, Maxwell. She's so small, she couldn't have gotten far," Wufei said with annoyance.
"But what if that thing finds her? What if it eats her?" Duo looked alarmed. He grabbed Wufei's arm. "We have to find her first! You'll help me, right?"
Duo didn't give Wufei much of a choice before he dragged him off.
"Let's try that way," Trowa spoke softly. Quatre nodded. He was grateful for the quiet strength that Trowa exuded. Forty-minutes later, in the darkness and stumbling through the uneven terrain, he and Trowa came face to face with Wufei and Duo again in the same clearing they had started from.
"We're going in circles," Wufei gritted his teeth.
Duo practically pulled his hair out in frustration. He cupped his hands around his lips.
"You idiot!" Wufei hissed. He reached over and covered Duo's mouth. "That thing will probably hear us!"
The sky thundered loudly.
In the mist of the bang, Quatre heard a faint meow. He stopped in front of an overgrown bush a few yards away and peered into the thickets. There, in the middle of the twisted foliage, Silver squirmed and gave a distraught wail.
"How did you get stuck there?" Duo complained. He knelt next to Quatre.
"She probably tried to follow Heero," Quatre said. He pulled the branches apart. Silver, with her little body trembling, tried to show him the leg that had been caught by a gnarled branch. She wiggled uncomfortably.
"So much for separating," Wufei grumbled. He reached into his jacket and toss them a knife. When she was freed, Duo scooped her into his arms.
"You scared me to death!" he scolded. He lovingly stroked her back.
Silver purred.
She abruptly arched her back and hissed when the crackle of the youma echoed around them.
They moved instantaneously.
They were back to back to one another, each one facing one direction. They all had their guns in their hands.
"What's the probability that we'll make it out of this?" Duo asked. He tucked Silver into his shirt so that her head was the only thing poking out.
"Considering that it's starting to rain, it's dark, and the fact that our bullets have no effect on it...we'll be lucky if we last the next hour," Wufei was grim. "It depends on how hungry it really is." He frowned when he noticed Quatre clutching his chest in pain. "You alright?"
Quatre would have fallen if Duo hadn't caught him. His space heart was working overtime and he felt it thump in warning. He stared off to the west, Wufei's line of vision, and pointed. "It's going to come from that direction."
In the back of his mind, he worried. How was he going to explain his gift? Were they going to ask question? Would they look at him strange? Would they pull back like everyone he had known and be afraid of him?
More importantly, would they even believe him?
"I don't know how you know that," Duo aimed his gun. "I'll take your word for it though."
Wufei and Trowa followed suit and pointed their guns in the direction that Quatre gave.
There was no hesitation.
Quatre was stunned by their easy acceptance. "Thank you." Their faith in him brought the most sincere smile to his lips.
Duo was nonchalant. "What are comrades for?" He steadied his shaking hand with determination. "Nothing like death to bring a couple of brothers together."
Wufei snorts.
"If we don't make it make it out, I just want to say one thing..." Duo grinned at Wufei. "I'm the one who super glued your window open and put the bee hive in your room. I wanted to get back at you for messing with my braid."
It was so very much like Duo to completely ignored the fact that he had started everything by messing with Wufei's shampoo bottle.
"I figured," Wufei's eyes gleamed. "Just so you know, I was the one who stole all your clothes and the blankets and buried them in the backyard. I thought I would get you back for the blackmail." He gave Duo a warning look. "I'm a gundam pilot, not a chauffeur. The damn handcuffs wasn't funny either."
"I told you the handcuffs wasn't me," Duo looked insulted. "Though, the extra strength termites to Heero's room was. I planted them the day after he pointed a gun at Silver."
Wufei scowled. "Did you think it would help with the stick lodge up his ass? He was in a bad mood the entire night!"
"So the refined Wufei-sama can curse," Duo smirked.
Wufei snarled. "You know that saying 'Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience?' I think that was written especially about you!"
Duo looked unruffled.
"The air conditioner was me," Trowa admitted to Duo. "I knew about the termites. I thought you were behind the fire-ants."
Quatre shifted and felt guilty."The fire-ants was my fault," he confessed. "I brought them as a gift for one of my sisters. She's an entomologist. They somehow got loose before I knew it."
"What about the flood?" Duo eyed all of them with suspicion. "I didn't do that."
"The building is old," Wufei said wearily. "The pipes probably just rusted."
They stared at one another.
Trowa reached out a hand and stroked Silver's head. "I'm sorry I suspected you."
"Why were you blaming Silver?" Duo gave him a weird look. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Let's all get our deathbed confessions out of the way!"
He waited.
"Well...who did the handcuffs? I'm not taking the credit for something I didn't do," Duo scowled. He closed his mouth when the trees a few hundred yards away were destroyed. They were uprooted and tossed aside like they were mere twigs. He couldn't see the monster yet, but it was getting closer.
The tension in the air made them wary.
Quatre almost jumped when Trowa finally spoke. His low voice sounded like a foghorn.
"Snakes have bad eyesight," he remarked. His one visible green eye tried to convey a message to them. "To track down their prey, they concentration on smell and the vibration of the ground."
"No offense or anything, Barton, " Wufei snarled. "But now is not the time for a biology lesson."
Duo agreed.
"The rain..." Quatre finally understood. His eyes snapped to the large oaks that surrounded them. "It'll mask our smell. If we can get in the trees, then it won't be able to spot us."
"And what if we ended up in one of those trees?" Duo pointed. As if to prove his words, a tree was tossed high into the sky before it crashed several feet away.
"The trees are close enough...we can jump from branch to branch," Quatre's brain thought quickly. "We need to climb before the creature get here. It's our only chance!" He broke from the group and ran to a tree. "Hurry!"
Duo and Wufei exchanged looks.
"What have we got to lose?" Wufei grimaced.
"I'm game," Duo shrugged.
Trowa was already in the trees.
"I hope you're not scared of heights, girl," Duo said. He grabbed a low hanging branch and swung himself up. He made it up to the fifth branch before he went still.
The creature finally made it to their spot.
The rain came down harder much to Quatre's relief and he ignored the urge to look up at Trowa who was standing on the branch above him.
Wufei was two trees away from him and Duo was a little to his left.
"Come out and play," the snake monster cooed. Its tongue flickered out to taste the air.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to Trowa.
Trowa held a finger to his lips and pointed.
Slowly cross the thickest tree branches and head towards the hanger.
Quatre nodded. If they could get to the hanger and get to the gundams, they would have a better chance of survival.
They carefully moved in the shadows as the creature slithered below. Quatre picked out Trowa's figure moving silently ahead of everyone else, guiding them, because with the few facts that they were given about each other by their respected mentors, they knew that pilot 003 had the best night vision.
Quatre turned his head to make sure the others were following.
He saw it happen. He couldn't move fast enough. The rain had made the branches slippery and treacherous. Almost in slow motion, Duo had lost his balance. The American reached up and grabbed a branch with a small yelp.
The sound was loud enough for the monster to crow in triumph.
It wrapped its body around the tree bark and snaked its way up, grabbing Duo by the arm. There was a strange glow from its hand and Quatre watched helplessly as Duo's knees gave out. Duo's face took on a green hue.
"Damn it!" Wufei jumped from above and kicked at the monster.
"Wufei!" Quatre shouted. The monster knocked Wufei into the tree, but held onto his ankle. He looked slightly dazed.
"Stay back," Wufei warned. He couldn't focus his eyes. "It steals energy."
Quatre saw a flash before the creature gave a horrified shriek. It released Duo and Wufei and touched its face in horror. The long, deep puckered marks were red, angry, and visible.
Silver gave an angry hissed and flex her claws. She made another swipe.
The creature gave an inhuman cry of outraged.
It raised its hand to strike a snarling Silver.
A blurred figure appeared from out of nowhere. It knocked into the monster, sending it crashing to the ground with a deafening thud. When the dust settled, Heero stood above the creature and pointed his gun directly at its forehead.
He fired.
"Did he do it?" Duo weakly looked down.
"Move Yuy!" Wufei bellowed.
"Tch." Heero jumped back and narrowed his eyes as the creature sat up. The hole he made with his bullet was slowly closing.
"Stay in the trees," he ordered.
"Who died and made you king?" Duo snorted. He jumped from his branch and landed on his hands and knees. Quatre and the others followed.
Duo looked up. "Stay up there, Silver."
The kitten mewed in protest.
"I told you to stay in the tree!" Heero growled. He looked as if he wanted to reach out and strangle Duo himself. He gave each of them a glare, but reserved his best for Quatre. "I thought you were the sensible one."
Quatre smiled at him serenely.
"Don't be like that," Duo tsked. "You're going to need all the help you can get."
Heero looked irritated. "Get back up there!"
When they didn't do as he ordered, he looked resigned.
"Fine, but I'm not saving you," he warned.
Duo gave him a twisted grin. "Ready?"
"Just go, idiot!"
They all lunged at the monster.
Instinctively, somehow, they were perfectly in sync.
Every time Heero feinted to the right, Duo went to the left. Every time Wufei kicked up, Quatre aimed low. When Duo was knocked away, Trowa jumped in front, guarding him.
"It's not so tough," Duo spat. He got to his feet and wiped the blood from his chin. He gave a loud war cry and attacked. He and Trowa doubled over when the monster's tail whipped out and caught them in their ribs. They flew backwards and disappeared into the trees.
"Forget them for now," Wufei commanded. "They're fine." He locked eyes with Quatre. He gave a slight hand signal and Quatre jerked his head and agreed.
The ground was littered with puddles. Quatre felt the water soak the bottom of his trouser as he launched his body with his hands, kicking his feet out at the monster's midsection. Wufei flanked him, coming from above.
The monster batted them away as if they were nothing more than insects.
Duo cursed when Quatre was knocked into him.
"Sorry," Quatre flinched. He untangled himself from Duo. "Are you alright?"
"Peachy," Duo moaned.
Even without the aid of his heart, Quatre understood Duo's pain. His own eyes blurred and he was exhausted. He and Duo got back on their feet. Quatre saw the other pilots slowly retreat as the creature advanced.
"We're no match for it, are we?" Duo asked.
"No," Quatre closed his eyes. He swayed with nausea. The monster was playing with them. It enjoyed the cat and mouse game and its claws always seem to find its mark, while none of them managed to land a blow.
Quatre doesn't know how long they fought.
One by one, they passed out from fatigue and their wounds. Wufei was the first, then Trowa. Duo followed next, slumping face first into the ground. All Quatre could see was his braid.
Only Heero and Quatre was left. Quatre was on his knees and Heero wasn't in better condition. Heero glared before his eyes glazed over. He fell. He didn't get up.
Quatre was alone.
He staggered back up and ignored his bleeding side.
"Why won't you give up, human," the creature hissed out the suggestion. "You can't possibly win."
Quatre thought about it before he smiled wanly.
"I'm like their mother," he said simply.
'You know...if this was like a family, you would be like the mother.'
"A mother's duty is to protect their young, isn't it?" he asked. He picked up a fallen gun and aimed it.
"Whose says you're my mother?" Wufei moaned. He opened his dark eyes and glared at Quatre.
"Don't listen to him," Duo said tiredly. He forced himself to his feet. "You're a great mom."
Duo stood protectively over Heero and Wufei took a position over Trowa. Heero and Trowa's wounds were the heaviest and they hadn't regained consciousness. Quatre realized, with a slight winced, that the two of them had taken most of their wounds shielding the rest of them.
Quatre feels a little bit of regret.
Heero might have survived if he hadn't double back. Heero should have been in his gundam while the monster concentrated on the rest of them. Now, the world was going to lose five gundam pilots instead of four. But, here the thought came, if Heero hadn't shown up they would have all been dead by now.
As impossible as it was, they actually survived this long by working together.
That same warm feeling that he got during breakfast was back and it was stronger.
Quatre felt the pieces shifted and the puzzle was complete.
'You finally get it.'
Someone's thoughts drifted into his space heart. Something light landed on his shoulder and Quatre stared at Silver.
Duo's impulsiveness was to Heero's analytical thinking...Trowa's quiet nature was in contrast with Duo's open, friendly personality...Wufei's sense of justice was conflicted with Heero's sense to get the mission complete no matter what the cost...Quatre's overindulging nature was a stark contrast to Wufei's sensibility...
They needed each other, Quatre realized. All five of them needed each other to balance their weakness...
'I'm glad someone finally understands,' Silver rubbed her face against his. 'All you need to do is convince them.'
Quatre watched as Duo kept one eye on the creature while the other tried to assess how hurt Heero was.
Wufei angled his body so that he could intercept the creature if it decided that Trowa would make a easy meal.
Convince them?
He didn't think it would be hard to do.
They were halfway there.
'Good.' Silver lifted a paw and pointed. 'Aim for that jewel on its chest.'
Quatre shot forward.
Wufei and Duo followed him blindly into battle.
Long after the grueling fought battle, one in which he had somehow managed to hit the barrel of his gun against the jewel, shattering it, Quatre found himself on his back.
The rain was a light drizzle now.
He managed to turn his head and saw that Duo and Wufei were slumped on the ground. He was relieved to see that they were still breathing, but their eyes were closed. Duo had a horrible gash on his forehead and Wufei's arm was bent at an awkward angle.
He wanted nothing more than to crawl to the other guys and check on them. They needed medical attention. With the way they were loosing blood, they might not make it to the next day. Quatre struggled to move. All he managed to lift was his left hand. He was so tired. Quatre doesn't think he'll have the strength to open his eyes the next time they close.
He felt a light hit his face.
The moon peaked out from behind the clouds.
"You can sleep," a gentle voice said. A slender hand tenderly combed through his hair.
Quatre turns his head to see an angel.
She smiled down at him.
Her hair, streaming from the two buns on the side of her head, fell passed her shoulders and into his cheek.
Quatre caught the flowery scent and it soothed him.
She reached down and with surprising strength she drew him onto her back.
She hunched slightly under his weight, but she stubbornly piggy-backed him to the safehouse.
"The others..." Quatre wanted to turn his head and look.
"Don't worry. I'll get them," she said cheerfully. She tilted her head and smiled at him.
It was a beautiful smile.
It was like the smile of a princess, he thought.
"You did really good," she said. "Sailor Moon would be proud."
He wanted to asked who Sailor Moon was, but by that time, his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.