Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing in the Wild Wild West ❯ Traveling by Train ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Traveling by Train

“I think if I had to spend one more day in this town I would go stark raving mad,” Heero grumbled darkly. “These people are crazy.”

“I think they're kind of fun,” Duo commented.

“That's because you haven't been called out every other day for a duel with some idiot who thinks he knows how to handle a gun. When do we get to board the damn train?”

“Soon, I think,” Treize replied.

They were standing on the wooden platform of the train station waiting for the call to board, along with dozens of other passengers.

Alexa clutched Zechs' hand and swung back and forth. “Will the train go very fast, Mommy?”

“Not really. A Gundam is faster.”

“But I haven't been in a Gundam. Will you take me for a ride in a Gundam?”

“Uh… well…”

“Roku got to drive a Gundam! I want to drive a Gundam, too.”

“That wasn't really a Gundam,” Quatre said. “It was just an old mobile suit.”

Alexa turned to Roku. “Did you put it in your storage space?”

Roku looked guilty. “Um… well…”

Quatre stared. “Don't tell me you put a mobile suit in your storage space!”

“Well, Mr. Rashid said they didn't need it anymore and that they were just going to get rid of it.”

Quatre put a hand over his face. “I told you not to put a mobile suit in your storage space...”

“But they were just going to throw it away!”

“I can't believe you did that!”

“I made it smaller first. It hardly takes up any space at all.”

“Does that really matter?” Duo wondered. “I mean, Roku's storage space is infinite, so what does it matter how many mobile suits he's got in there.”

“Just tell me there's not more than one,” Quatre groaned.

“Um…”

“Maybe we should drop it,” Trowa suggested. “I think Quatre's getting a headache.”

“My son is a kleptomaniac,” Quatre muttered. “He must get that from Duo.”

“Hey!”

“I think it's time to board,” Wu-Fei interrupted loudly.

A conductor in the traditional long-sleeved white shirt, black vest and round hat with a small brim came walking down the platform. “All aboard!” he cried. “All aboard for San Francisco!”

“Yay!” Roku and Alexa squealed. They dashed for the nearest car and bounded up the steps. The rest of the group followed at a more sedate pace.

“Why, hello again!” a gentlemanly voice said as they were taking seats.

They all looked around to find Hieronymus Gree seated a few rows in front of them.

“Hey, you got away!” Duo exclaimed. “You must run fast.”

Hieronymus tipped his hat. “A card player needs to have many talents in these dangerous times,” he said with a wide grin. “Thankfully, your friend's gunplay convinced that fellow to move along, allowing me the opportunity to catch the train. I think my tastes and talents are better suited for a fine city like San Francisco.”

“Take care not to be shanghaied,” Treize said casually. “I understand that is a common problem in that city.”

“I am by nature a careful man.” Hieronymus eyed them curiously. “Are you traveling without luggage?”

“Oh!” Quatre flushed and tried to avoid glancing at Roku. “We pack very lightly. There's less stuff to lose that way.” In fact, they had stuffed everything into Roku's storage space because that was easier. Even Quatre had agreed it made more sense than risking having their goods stolen on the train.

“Very light indeed,” Hieronymus mused.

“Alexa, try not to fall out of the train,” Zechs cautioned.

“I won't!” Alexa exclaimed, despite the fact that she had her head and shoulders stuck out the window and was leaning way out to stare along the platform. “I think we're going to leave soon! Everyone's in the train now.”

“Good. So can you get back inside with the rest of us?”

“But I want to see it move! Did you know the little bars on the engine wheels chug back and forth and that's what makes them turn? But I don't see why they don't slip. It's just steel on steel.”

“It's friction,” Roku said wisely. He was leaning well out the neighboring window, also looking along the platform. “They do slip a little at first, though.”

“All aboard!” the conductor shouted again and he clanged his bell loudly. In response, the engineer sounded a long blast on his steam whistle. Then he slowly engaged the clutch and there was a loud clunk. The train lurched forward as the wheels squealed loudly for a few seconds before they caught properly and began to turn. Then the train began to chug forward slowly, jerkily at first but then it smoothed out as it picked up speed.

“Yay! We're moving! We're moving!”

“Alexa, please don't jump up and down while leaning out the window.”

“Yes, Mommy! But look! We're moving!”

“I can see that.” Zechs sighed as the wind streaming by the window tangled Alexa's hair thoroughly. “I'm never going to get those tangles out.”

“You should braid it,” Duo advised. He nodded at Roku's thick braid, which was a copy of his own. “We never have a problem with tangles.”

“But she looks so cute with the curls around her face.”

“Cuteness has its price.”

“So it would seem.”

Alexa finally pulled her head back inside and plopped into Zechs' lap. “That was fun! How long will it take to get to San Francisco?”

“Several days, I imagine,” Treize answered. “Possibly weeks. Although the trains have schedules, once they cross the plains and begin the climb into the Sierra Nevada, any number of delays can crop up.”

“Does the train stop for potty breaks or do we go in the train?”

Zechs flushed. “What kind of question is that?”

“A very practical one,” Trowa said. He patted Alexa's head. “There's a car with a hole in the floor where you can go.”

“And you just potty on the tracks?” Alexa exclaimed, scandalized.

“It gets spread around.”

“But… but…” Alexa's little cheeks turned pink. “I don't think I can do that! Maybe I'll just hold it until we get there.”

“It could be a while.”

“I'll go with you, Alexa,” Duo volunteered. “Since we're both girls right now, we can do it together.”

“I don't think I want Duo taking my little girl to the bathroom, even while he's a girl,” Zechs muttered.

“But it's easy for you men,” Duo sniffed haughtily. “You can just point it out the window and let fly. We females have to squat over something and I can appreciate Alexa's sensitivity.”

“But the wind is blowing in the window, Papa Duo,” Roku pointed out with a pensive look on his face. “If we pee out the window it will just blow back in.”

“I was speaking figuratively!”

“Oh.”

“I think I've had quite enough of this conversation!” Quatre interrupted.

“He's so prissy,” Duo muttered.

“Having a sense of decency is not prissy!”

“You're awfully quiet, Hadeya,” Wu-Fei said, obviously trying to change the subject. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing,” Hadeya said quickly. His face turned red. “It's just that this conveyance seems… well… rather dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we're hurtling along on two skinny little rails and this train car is much taller than it is wide. If we go around a corner, it will tip over and we'll all be crushed.”

“You certainly know how to take the charm out of train travel,” Duo said dryly.

“Don't abuse my son!” Heero snapped. “He is simply pointing out some very practical flaws in the design of this train. In fact, there are limits to how fast it can safely go and damage to the tracks can be disastrous.”

Alexa turned large worried eyes on Zechs. “Mommy, are we all going to die in a train crash?”

“No!” Zechs said pointedly. He glared at Heero and Hadeya. “Train travel is much safer than these two pessimists would have you believe. Isn't that right, Heero?”

“Um, yeah, right!” Heero managed a sickly grin. “Hadeya and I were just, ah, speculating. Trains are perfectly safe and fun, too!”

Treize suddenly yawned. “Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but the rocking is making me sleepy.” He settled his head onto Zechs' shoulder. “Wake me when it's time for lunch.”

“That's a good idea,” Trowa agreed. He snuggled up against Quatre. “Nudge me if I get too heavy.”

“I thought you liked him on top.” Duo blinked innocently at Quatre.

“Don't start!”

One by one, the others all nodded off as the train chugged along, except for Roku and Alexa, who stuck their heads back out the window to watch the world go by, and Duo, who just looked bored. After a while, Hieronymus stood up and came down the aisle to Duo's seat.

“I was wondering, Miss, if you would care to join me?” Hieronymus tipped his hat politely and then used it to point down the aisle. “There is a private car at the end of the train where I believe a card game is being organized.”

“Oh, really?” Duo's eyes lit up. “Perhaps I will.” He got up and preceded Hieronymus down the aisle and out of the car.

Some time later, Heero woke up and looked around. He reached out and tugged on Roku's pant leg. “Hey Roku, where's Duo?”

Roku looked around and shrugged. “I don't know. He left a while ago.”

Heero frowned. “He better not be getting into trouble somewhere.”

“Papa Duo can take care of himself, even with a baby.”

“Are you forgetting he let himself get kidnapped during the bank robbery?”

“He had a good excuse.”

“Whatever.”

Alexa pulled her head in. “He left with Mr. Hieronymus, Uncle Heero. I think they went to play cards.”

Heero groaned. “Not again! I'm going to look for him. Did you see which way he went?”

Alexa pointed down the aisle and Heero marched away.

Roku grinned. “It's so cute how worried Papa Heero gets.”

Alexa grinned too. “Yeah, it is. Can we have a snack now?”

“Sure.” Roku produced several pieces of cold fried chicken, some bread and two bottles of Sarsaparilla. “I like this soda.”

“Me, too.”

They were just finishing when Zechs woke up. “Hey, did you eat without us?”

“We were hungry,” Alexa said.

“You're always hungry.”

“I'm still growing.”

“No kidding. What do you have? I wouldn't mind some lunch about now.” Zechs nudged Treize. “Wake up. It's time for lunch.”

Treize opened his eyes and stretched. “Sounds good, although I was rather enjoying the dream I was having about you.”

“You were dreaming about me?” Zechs purred. “What was I doing?”

Treize smiled and patted his cheek. “I can't tell you in front of the youngsters. Suffice it to say it has given me all kinds of ideas for later.”

“That's sounds like a good dream.”

“It was. What's for lunch?”

Soon the whole group was awake and munching on lunch.

“So where did Heero and Duo run off to?” Wu-Fei asked.

“Uncle Duo went to play cards with Mr. Hieronymus and Uncle Heero went to find him.”

Quatre paled. “How long ago did Heero leave?”

“Fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“More than long enough for him to have killed a bunch of people,” Quatre groaned.

“Cut Heero some slack, Quatre,” Trowa said. “Sometimes he just maims and dismembers.”

“That's when he's using a sword. He has a gun, remember?”

“Good point.”

Hadeya stood up. “I will go find him.” He looked questioningly up and down the aisle. Alexa pointed with a greasy finger and he set off down the aisle toward the rear of the train. He opened the door to the exterior platform and stared at it in alarm. The chains and coupling connecting the two cars rattled and clanked alarmingly, shifting back and forth in a way that did not inspire confidence. He drew himself up and bravely prepared to step out onto the platform, but then the door in the next car opened to reveal Duo being prodded along by a grumpy-looking Heero.

Hadeya sighed in relief. “Father! Where have you been?”

“Dragging Duo out of a stupid card game!”

“They still had money left!” Duo exclaimed. “It's not right to quit a game when there are still people at the table with money.” He plopped down in his seat and waved a wad of bills. “The man who owns the private car at the end of the train is rolling in it.”

“You would be too if it wasn't all stuffed in Roku's storage space!” Quatre exclaimed. “How much money can you possibly need?”

“It's not a question of need,” Duo said primly. “It's the process of accumulation that I find irresistible.” He giggled. “Anyway, Mr. Jefferson, that's his name, proposed to me three times while we were playing. Horny bastard. I told him my two husbands would beat the crap out of him if he kept pestering me. And then Heero showed up looking ready to kick butt and take names. It was great!”

“You didn't kick his butt, did you?” asked Quatre.

“No!” Heero growled, sounding very much like he wished he had.

Duo patted his round tummy. “We're starving! What's for lunch?”

Roku produced more chicken, some sliced roast beef, more bread, some cheese, several apples and a bottle of red wine.

Other passengers eyed this apparently endless feast with open curiosity, but before anyone could muster up the courage to ask if they could share, the train whistle sounded several times in succession and the engineer threw on the brakes. Everyone in the car was thrown forward, amid shouts of alarm and startled cries of pain.

“Damnation!” Duo shouted from where he landed on top of Heero. “How is a body supposed to eat getting tossed around like that? And I'm pregnant, dammit!”

A sudden explosion of gunfire sent some passengers diving for cover and others dashing to the windows to see what was going on.

“It's a train robbery!” a woman screamed in fear. “We'll all be murdered!”

“Not likely!” Heero snarled. He snatched his gun from his holster and dove out the nearest window.

“Heero! Wait!” Wu-Fei shouted. He leaped out the window after Heero.

“The tracks are blocked up ahead!” a man cried out. “That's why the train stopped!”

“Great!” Treize stood up. “We have to clear the tracks. Zechs, Trowa and Hadeya come with me to clear the tracks. Duo and Quatre, go help Heero and Wu-Fei hold off the bandits. Roku, keep an eye on Alexa. Let's go!”

The four slated to clear the obstruction left the train through a window on the opposite side from the shooting. Duo and Quatre left through the rear door of the train car so that they could use the car's bulk for cover.

“I'm glad you're not nuts like Heero,” Duo muttered. “Leaping out the window into raging gunfire is idiotic.”

“But that's why we love him,” Quatre replied absently. “Keep your head down.”

“Should we go help them?” one of the passengers asked worriedly. “What if they can't get it clear?”

“I'm not going out there!” someone else replied. “I'm not risking getting my ass shot off!”

Alexa clung to Roku's hand. “I want to stay near Mommy!”

“Ok.”

She and Roku slipped out the window and hurried after the team running to the obstruction at the front of the train. A jumble of large branches and small logs had been piled on the tracks and roped together with a chain that was also looped under the tracks where dirt had been dug away. Several meters away, Heero and Wu-Fei lay flat on the ground, shooting at an unknown number of bandits concealed behind rocks. Duo and Quatre were still crouched between the train cars.

“Alexa, stay out of sight!” Zechs called. He and the others began pulling at the branches to loosen them so the chain could be removed.

The bandits tried to shift around to shoot toward Zechs and the others, but they had not positioned themselves well. Clearly, they had not expected any resistance. Heero and Wu-Fei kept them pinned down while Quatre and Duo sprinted to cover farther from the train where they could catch the bandits in a cross-fire.

 

“We've almost got it,” Treize grunted. He and Zechs together tugged a large branch free and the chain fell slack. Trowa and Hadeya immediately yanked on the chain from one side, pulling it clear of the tracks.

The engineer promptly engaged the clutch and with a screech of steel on steel, the train began to move.

“What the hell?!” Zechs exclaimed.

“Thank you, gentlemen!” a voice rang out. “Well done!” A man with flowing white hair and a neat little goatee waved at them from the window of the engine.

“Jefferson! You bastard!” Duo shouted. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

“Getting my money back, little lady!” Jefferson laughed. “Thank you so much for leaving the train.”

“You son-of-a-bitch!” Duo jumped up and snatched the wad of bills from his pocket. “But MY money's not on the train, asshole!”

Jefferson's mouth fell open, but now the train was picking up speed and the engineer clearly had no intention of stopping. Zechs, Treize, Trowa and Hadeya all scattered to either side as the train plowed through what was left of the barricade. Roku and Alexa, who had been standing beside the engine, hurried to Treize and Zechs.

“Are you all right, Mommy?”

“I'm fine, dear. And I'm very glad now that you got off the train.”

As the train pulled away, the bandits suddenly stopped shooting and ran for their horses. They galloped out of sight just as the last train car passed by.

“Well this is just great!” Duo complained. “We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no transportation of any kind except our feet. This sucks!”

“We can follow the tracks,” Treize said. “That will take us to the next town.”

“That's true,” Zechs agreed. “But we have no idea how far that is.”

“I can fly ahead and look,” Quatre said. “It would be better to know how far we have to go.”

“Good idea. There's a bit of shade near where those bandits were hiding. We can wait there.”

So Quatre shimmered into a bird and swooped off to check things out while the others settled in the shade to relax. He returned about an hour later.

“I didn't find the next town, but there's a native village about ten kilometers north of here. I imagine they would know where the nearest town is.”

“Is that a good idea?” Wu-Fei asked. “Didn't the native people not get along well with the European settlers?”

“Some did and some didn't,” Duo said. “Maybe we'll get lucky. I think we should check it out.”

“Why is it that most of our journeys seem haphazard?” Wu-Fei muttered under his breath. “Has anything ever gone according to plan?”

“I'm sure something must have,” Trowa chuckled. “Let me think about it.”

“I think it's more fun when stuff just happens, Papa Wu-Fei.”