A Gundam Wing (2)
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2003 8:27 pm
A Gundam Wing 2
?Lost Soul?
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Three daggers.
Three bulls-eyes.
Catherine crossed the short distance to the target and retrieved her daggers. Cheers and applause echoed off the flimsy tent, and drew her attention to the center circle where Trowa and Heero were performing. The crowd never had been so lively.
It had been a month since Heero had awakened. The siblings convinced their manager to allow Heero to take on a roll in the show, as he was vulnerable (as vulnerable as a Gundam pilot could be) in his current state. Trowa had taken him ?under his wing?- exampling basic acrobatic maneuvers and tricks of the trade. He moved as agilely as Trowa, flying with ease and skill that made those who had trained for years marvel.
Trowa wore his expressionless mask as always, but was afire inside. Heero astounded him. More that astounded-- baffled. Even with no memory, Heero was able to keep up with him. However, how would he fare when he was once again behind the controls of a Gundam? How would his mind fair against all that encompassed the machines? Years of physical and emotional training were required, and Heero was in dire need of mental preparation not only for the suit, but also for ordinary life.
Then Trowa remembered.
He doesn?t have a Gundam?
His momentary lapse cost him his balance as he misjudged his leap, tumbling to the safety net below.
Heero's expression had yet to change; signifying the real Yuy was awake somewhere. However, for one used to concealing his emotions, it was easy for Trowa to see the humor glinting in Heero?s eyes. The sparkle seemed so out of place that Trowa couldn't help himself.
He laughed aloud.
*****
"Wow, you two must be very good friends,? Catherine?s hand hugged her hip as she leaned one out towards her new friend, ?I don?t think I?ve never seen Trowa laugh like that," she said as she stood outside the kitchen door.
Heero heard her, but couldn?t focus on what she said. He glanced up from his reflection in the soup. The liquid moved his face about-- contorting it to the point where he no longer looked human.
My reflection?
"I don't know," he replied to no one?to himself?to the world.
"I keep having images, pictures...flashbacks. All these old men are around me?No one my age. I feel alone and scared?but not scared. I feel?? he grabbed his head when it became too hard to recollect any of the images. Or?perhaps they had begun to harm him.
Maybe he doesn?t want to remember.
Catherine nodded in sympathy. She knew all too well what he was going through. When she?d been found?She sighed and moved her gaze off of him, and to the pictures he had sketched. It had been her suggestion to draw what he had had seen to spark some shred of memory when he later looked at what he?d drawn. After he would have one of his numerous flashes, he sketched as much as he could remember about his dream girl. Though he found it increasingly difficult to draw all her beauty. To confine her to paper seemed wrong somehow.
If they could get any kind of identifying features, hopefully, they would be able to get some kind of idea as to who she was. From her spot in the kitchen, Catherine heard the trailer door squeal with the appearance of a stranger.
She sighed, only one person didn't knock before entering, "Evening Trowa."
"Catherine," his answer was barely audible. "Manager has called a meeting. He has something big to announce. He wants you and Heero there."
Heero?s eyes moved to a solitary tree outside, and Trowa found himself worried.
The tree moved with the wind, creaking and moaning. It threatened to uproot, and Heero watched as the sky that outlined it grew as dark as the dead bark.
"There goes dinner," she sighed snapping off the small electric stove. The sound awakened both men, and they looked at Catherine, who blew a strand of her curly red hair away from her face with a harsh air.
******
"Gather round everyone. I have some great news," the rickety old manager was unusually animated tonight. The freaks and geeks of the circus family whispered to one another, and besides the low rumbling of thunder in the distant hills, there was no other sound when the manager was silent.
?One month from now we'll be performing in Marseilles, France."
The family shrugged the fact off; the quote ?been there, done that? was muttered as well as a few rude phrases. Catherine looked confused. Her usually jovial features clouded. France was a nice place...but their circus had performed there numerous times in the past.
"Stop with the nagging, and Benny, I heard that. It's going to be special this time. We'll be performing for the Romefellar Foundation.?
<Romefellar?>
Heero?s attention was caught instantly. He knew that name from somewhere, and tried to grab hold of the memory, but like all others, it slipped from his grasp. He glanced around. The name obviously meant something as everyone was talking all at once. They all seemed overjoyed and excited, chattering like mad idiots. The sound alone was enough to drive him crazy. His short temper faded when he glanced towards his friend.
No...not everyone.
He saw Trowa who appeared lost in thought. His eyes grew hard and cold, taking on the appearance of the quickly forming storm. For the second time that day, Heero recalled something. He knew that look. It shouted at him. He knew it. He had made it countless times before?But WHY?
Trowa silently shook a thought from his head; a motion only Heero?s eye caught. All other attention was settled on the Romefellar Foundation?whatever that was. Heero scanned his newfound friend, and reminded himself to ask what he had been thinking.
This too escaped his memory.
*****
"Blast it. We have a show tonight and Trowa's run off,? Manager was out of breath having run all the way from the main tent to Catherine's trailer. His temper was evident in his face. A split riding crop that he waved around gallantly during a show dangled lifeless and broken in his hands.
"Yes but he did say he was coming back," Catherine defended her brother?again, "And Heero volunteered to take his place in the act tonight."
"BLAST that kid. I'll deal with him, you see if I don't," the trailer shook with the force of the slamming door.
Catherine continued applying her makeup, pausing only for a moment to let out a deep soulful sigh.
<Trowa...what are you thinking? Running out on us like this.>
******
OZ Base ten miles North of Chelsea, England
Explosions lit the air like fireworks as OZ Leo's fired seemingly randomly into the pillars of fire only to be cut down by salvoes of rockets and cannon fire from the Heavy Arms Gundam. The base was completely wiped out, and by the time morning had arrived, there was no sign of the massive mobile suit; save scattered bullet casings and the intermittent flare up as firefighters from Chelsea attempted to smother the remaining flames.
*****
Heero tugged uncomfortably at his clown costume, "Are you sure about this Cathy?"
"You'll be fine," she replied, patting the younger man's shoulder. "Just like we did it in rehearsal."
Heero had no chance to reply as their act was announced next. Following Catherine's lead, he flipped and tumbled to center stage where the high-wire poles had been erected. His flips lacked Trowa's fluidity, but he had no desire to attempt to outdo his friend. At the end of his final flip, he landed in the center stage spotlight and braced himself as Catherine finished her own tumble atop his shoulders.
The crowd roared with applause and laughter. A few men sitting in the front, too drunk for their own good, cat-called to Catherine, and she manipulated the situation as if it never happened. Heero found his eyes copying what he had seen Trowa?s do. The mask he wore felt too familiar; too comfortable. The glare he sent fit him and sent all fears he had away. These men had to pay for their rude behavior. They would pay.
Catherine?s gentle touch awoke him from his damning repose, and she shook her head. ?If you fight them, you?re as low as they are. Fighting that way isn?t the answer,? she said softly, leading him out of the ring.
?Fighting that way?? he replied, a childish look toyed with his face.
?That way?you know. You?ve heard of the Gundams, surely? They fight for what?s right. They fight to honor and protect. They fight for something they believe in; they try to achieve something greater than the destruction of empires or the blood on their hands.?
Gundam?His Gundam?
He cried out, pain permeating into his head as if he had set no barriers for it.
Barriers?Walls?He had set up walls?Emotions?Where were his emotions? Why were they here?
His head continued to throb long after he had heard Trowa?s voice.
?Catherine,? he said coldly, ?what do you know about a Gundam??
For the first time in her life, she was afraid the man she loved was going to hurt her the way she?d been hurt when she was so young.
Trowa Barton.
He looked like he could murder her.
He looked like a mercenary, and she was afraid.
_______________________________________
Thanks for the rest of the chapter Mellie.And the editing. ^__^
?Lost Soul?
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Three daggers.
Three bulls-eyes.
Catherine crossed the short distance to the target and retrieved her daggers. Cheers and applause echoed off the flimsy tent, and drew her attention to the center circle where Trowa and Heero were performing. The crowd never had been so lively.
It had been a month since Heero had awakened. The siblings convinced their manager to allow Heero to take on a roll in the show, as he was vulnerable (as vulnerable as a Gundam pilot could be) in his current state. Trowa had taken him ?under his wing?- exampling basic acrobatic maneuvers and tricks of the trade. He moved as agilely as Trowa, flying with ease and skill that made those who had trained for years marvel.
Trowa wore his expressionless mask as always, but was afire inside. Heero astounded him. More that astounded-- baffled. Even with no memory, Heero was able to keep up with him. However, how would he fare when he was once again behind the controls of a Gundam? How would his mind fair against all that encompassed the machines? Years of physical and emotional training were required, and Heero was in dire need of mental preparation not only for the suit, but also for ordinary life.
Then Trowa remembered.
He doesn?t have a Gundam?
His momentary lapse cost him his balance as he misjudged his leap, tumbling to the safety net below.
Heero's expression had yet to change; signifying the real Yuy was awake somewhere. However, for one used to concealing his emotions, it was easy for Trowa to see the humor glinting in Heero?s eyes. The sparkle seemed so out of place that Trowa couldn't help himself.
He laughed aloud.
*****
"Wow, you two must be very good friends,? Catherine?s hand hugged her hip as she leaned one out towards her new friend, ?I don?t think I?ve never seen Trowa laugh like that," she said as she stood outside the kitchen door.
Heero heard her, but couldn?t focus on what she said. He glanced up from his reflection in the soup. The liquid moved his face about-- contorting it to the point where he no longer looked human.
My reflection?
"I don't know," he replied to no one?to himself?to the world.
"I keep having images, pictures...flashbacks. All these old men are around me?No one my age. I feel alone and scared?but not scared. I feel?? he grabbed his head when it became too hard to recollect any of the images. Or?perhaps they had begun to harm him.
Maybe he doesn?t want to remember.
Catherine nodded in sympathy. She knew all too well what he was going through. When she?d been found?She sighed and moved her gaze off of him, and to the pictures he had sketched. It had been her suggestion to draw what he had had seen to spark some shred of memory when he later looked at what he?d drawn. After he would have one of his numerous flashes, he sketched as much as he could remember about his dream girl. Though he found it increasingly difficult to draw all her beauty. To confine her to paper seemed wrong somehow.
If they could get any kind of identifying features, hopefully, they would be able to get some kind of idea as to who she was. From her spot in the kitchen, Catherine heard the trailer door squeal with the appearance of a stranger.
She sighed, only one person didn't knock before entering, "Evening Trowa."
"Catherine," his answer was barely audible. "Manager has called a meeting. He has something big to announce. He wants you and Heero there."
Heero?s eyes moved to a solitary tree outside, and Trowa found himself worried.
The tree moved with the wind, creaking and moaning. It threatened to uproot, and Heero watched as the sky that outlined it grew as dark as the dead bark.
"There goes dinner," she sighed snapping off the small electric stove. The sound awakened both men, and they looked at Catherine, who blew a strand of her curly red hair away from her face with a harsh air.
******
"Gather round everyone. I have some great news," the rickety old manager was unusually animated tonight. The freaks and geeks of the circus family whispered to one another, and besides the low rumbling of thunder in the distant hills, there was no other sound when the manager was silent.
?One month from now we'll be performing in Marseilles, France."
The family shrugged the fact off; the quote ?been there, done that? was muttered as well as a few rude phrases. Catherine looked confused. Her usually jovial features clouded. France was a nice place...but their circus had performed there numerous times in the past.
"Stop with the nagging, and Benny, I heard that. It's going to be special this time. We'll be performing for the Romefellar Foundation.?
<Romefellar?>
Heero?s attention was caught instantly. He knew that name from somewhere, and tried to grab hold of the memory, but like all others, it slipped from his grasp. He glanced around. The name obviously meant something as everyone was talking all at once. They all seemed overjoyed and excited, chattering like mad idiots. The sound alone was enough to drive him crazy. His short temper faded when he glanced towards his friend.
No...not everyone.
He saw Trowa who appeared lost in thought. His eyes grew hard and cold, taking on the appearance of the quickly forming storm. For the second time that day, Heero recalled something. He knew that look. It shouted at him. He knew it. He had made it countless times before?But WHY?
Trowa silently shook a thought from his head; a motion only Heero?s eye caught. All other attention was settled on the Romefellar Foundation?whatever that was. Heero scanned his newfound friend, and reminded himself to ask what he had been thinking.
This too escaped his memory.
*****
"Blast it. We have a show tonight and Trowa's run off,? Manager was out of breath having run all the way from the main tent to Catherine's trailer. His temper was evident in his face. A split riding crop that he waved around gallantly during a show dangled lifeless and broken in his hands.
"Yes but he did say he was coming back," Catherine defended her brother?again, "And Heero volunteered to take his place in the act tonight."
"BLAST that kid. I'll deal with him, you see if I don't," the trailer shook with the force of the slamming door.
Catherine continued applying her makeup, pausing only for a moment to let out a deep soulful sigh.
<Trowa...what are you thinking? Running out on us like this.>
******
OZ Base ten miles North of Chelsea, England
Explosions lit the air like fireworks as OZ Leo's fired seemingly randomly into the pillars of fire only to be cut down by salvoes of rockets and cannon fire from the Heavy Arms Gundam. The base was completely wiped out, and by the time morning had arrived, there was no sign of the massive mobile suit; save scattered bullet casings and the intermittent flare up as firefighters from Chelsea attempted to smother the remaining flames.
*****
Heero tugged uncomfortably at his clown costume, "Are you sure about this Cathy?"
"You'll be fine," she replied, patting the younger man's shoulder. "Just like we did it in rehearsal."
Heero had no chance to reply as their act was announced next. Following Catherine's lead, he flipped and tumbled to center stage where the high-wire poles had been erected. His flips lacked Trowa's fluidity, but he had no desire to attempt to outdo his friend. At the end of his final flip, he landed in the center stage spotlight and braced himself as Catherine finished her own tumble atop his shoulders.
The crowd roared with applause and laughter. A few men sitting in the front, too drunk for their own good, cat-called to Catherine, and she manipulated the situation as if it never happened. Heero found his eyes copying what he had seen Trowa?s do. The mask he wore felt too familiar; too comfortable. The glare he sent fit him and sent all fears he had away. These men had to pay for their rude behavior. They would pay.
Catherine?s gentle touch awoke him from his damning repose, and she shook her head. ?If you fight them, you?re as low as they are. Fighting that way isn?t the answer,? she said softly, leading him out of the ring.
?Fighting that way?? he replied, a childish look toyed with his face.
?That way?you know. You?ve heard of the Gundams, surely? They fight for what?s right. They fight to honor and protect. They fight for something they believe in; they try to achieve something greater than the destruction of empires or the blood on their hands.?
Gundam?His Gundam?
He cried out, pain permeating into his head as if he had set no barriers for it.
Barriers?Walls?He had set up walls?Emotions?Where were his emotions? Why were they here?
His head continued to throb long after he had heard Trowa?s voice.
?Catherine,? he said coldly, ?what do you know about a Gundam??
For the first time in her life, she was afraid the man she loved was going to hurt her the way she?d been hurt when she was so young.
Trowa Barton.
He looked like he could murder her.
He looked like a mercenary, and she was afraid.
_______________________________________
Thanks for the rest of the chapter Mellie.And the editing. ^__^
