Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing: La Femmes ❯ The Never Ending Dance ( Chapter 1 )

La Femmes: Rewrite

By Lady Lye

© 2001, 2002

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is very muchly not mine. So shoo, lawyer-scum.

Thanks to Dame Aia for editing!!! ^_^ She's got great original works! Go read `em!

Note: This is the reworked version of one of my first works "Gundam Wing: La Femmes", which was started in April of 2001. Now, a mere eight months later, I look back on what I've written and squirm. (*vision of Lady Lye HTML-ing all her files to post on her life-sucking little website and rereading things with a growing look of horror*) Normally I would shrug and say `I should rewrite it, but hey, there's more stuff to do. Maybe later', but I cannot do so with this. The reason being that I have a sequel planned and a half-sequel to the sequel/fic in itself (as in, the OCs here will appear but their pasts may change) and so I really need to clean this up so it's not painful to read. *sigh* See how naive I once was? *cough* So, why I rewrote it: So that future readers need not suffer through my icky beginning phase. And those who stick with it can see what I missed the first time `round. ^^;

Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read…

Now enjoy!!

Chapter One: The Never Ending Dance

Earth… Space… Peace… War… Order… Chaos… Conform…

Individual.

His own reflection in the large window of the airport caught his eye as he passed it. In that one brief moment, he could take in all the familiar aspects of himself, from the flyaway hair to the faded yet crisp denim jeans and leather boots and all in between. That in between irked him and he looked away. He had worn these green tank tops so long, it was a wonder they were still holding together. Through all the battles and the many times he had brushed death, it seemed a cruel irony that these had stayed with him. They made him feel ill sometimes to look at them, horrible, decaying reminders. If he had had his choice, he would have burned them long ago, and put another piece of himself to rest, but- more irony- they were all he had.

Readjusting the backpack's strap on his shoulder, he moved on as though nothing had happened.

There was no welcome for him as he left the building, his papers already checked and stamped, and moved out onto the unfamiliar street. No smiling faces, no hugs, no jokes or inquiries as to his trip; not even anyone to look up at him disinterestedly, because no one was expecting him. He had left all the people who cared behind.

He had no direction, and perhaps no purpose, but he did not move randomly, making conscious decisions as to his journey. First go here, then there. Don't go that way, go there. Calculated, thought-out, and precise. That this was his normal mode of existence unsettled him. Even away from all that was past, he still carried the same habits.

He left the city, passed through the suburbs, following the roads that lead away to more unknowns, and gradually the area became more wooded. Despite the tall, leafy trees that rose above him, he could still see the vast mountains behind them, a landmark. The road turned into a highway, with little room to walk safely, and he turned off it into the woods, using the mountain as his guide as he pressed on. He wasn't bothered at all as the foliage grew more dense around him; he had many abilities and had confidence in them.

Including the one that allowed him to detect the faintest of unnatural rustlings beyond a stand of bushes. Without hesitation, he was on full alert, his senses at the ready and analyzing all they could detect, mind whirling to problem solve. What was it, and what was to be done about it? He could feel it watching him.

`Cover blown… he's watching for it… so get in there!!'

Heero turned abruptly and something crashed through the bushes to his left, a swirling mass of copper glistening in the dapples sunlight. As it came to a halt, so did the hair, falling away to reveal first a gun, aimed at the ready, backed by a pair of lethal green eyes.

"Don't. Move."

He knew better than to move, not yet anyway. Instead he took the time to study his ambusher, but even his training could not prepare him for this shock, and it read clearly on his face. In his long career as an assassin, and then a soldier, he had faced and killed many, many enemies. Men, old, young, soldiers, a few highly trained women, but never this. "A girl??"

Her pale eyes narrowed at him, miffed at his appearance as well. She had expected either a stupid hiker or someone much older and more leathery. Instead she'd been faced with a young, hot, obviously intelligent, and obviously well exercised guy. Had it been any other circumstance, she would have praised whatever deity was up there for the awesome luck. As it was… "State your name and business immediately or I will be forced to take further action." Her voice sounded a lot firmer than her jumping nerves would indicate.

"Hn," came the almighty response as he looked her over again, judging just how much of a threat she could really be to him.

She nearly lost her composure- it was such a- random- sound. Really rather- weird. If he didn't look so serious, it might've been funny. "You know you're trespassing, right?" she deadpanned.

"I wasn't aware of that, no."

It speaks! Uh… She looked him over again, reevaluating her initial impression. "You must not be from around here, then. What're you doing in this neck of the woods, stranger?" she raised a canny eyebrow at him.

Static buzzed up from something at her waist and her eyes momentarily flickered towards it, but training kept them centered on him. Nothing could hide the wince at what came next from the small walkie-talkie. "Hel-looooooooo! Little Miss Silence, are you done talking to squirrels yet? Great gods, Andry, you take this stuff way too seriously, muchacha-" began the stream, a slight accent making certain parts difficult to make out through the static.

"Isabel, can it!" the fiery girl snapped out.

There was a very brief silence before it began again. "What the hell is going on then?! Would you answer me-?"

"There's an intruder," Green-Eyes ground out, eyes fixating firmly on Heero, pinning him in place, the gun never wavering. `I take it too seriously, do I?'

"Well then what are you still doing hanging out there?! Fuck the intruder- bring it the fuck in and stop fucking around! Crimity.."

Anger flared clearly, but her voice remained cool and in control. "You heard her. March." She indicated the path through the bushes.

Heero looked her directly in the eyes, his brain processing everything and making decisions for survival. Completely unfazed, he put his hands where she could see them and did as bade. He didn't have to turn around to know that she followed, nor did he have to strain his senses to do so. The radio was all he needed.

A stream of babble came from it, berating his captor, inserting random comments, and rising in pitch as it sunk in from the copper-haired girl's clipped responses that she had actually caught someone. "You kidding me?!" The slight lilt in its tone was now recognizable as Spanish.

"Geeze, Isabel, would you shut up, already!?" Came the other girl's moan. He could hear that she was both embarrassed and badly losing grounds on her authority- and she knew it, too. He almost smirked a little. `Captured' by a bunch of teenage girls? No problem. He'd be back on the road before night fall.

By the time they reached the edge of the woods before their destination, it should have been quite clear that Andria, his blazing captor, was, to say the least, pissed. This was <I>not</I> how she had envisioned bringing in her first prisoner. And her so-called friend's constant tangent coming from the two-way radio wasn't helping in the least.

Had Heero been a wiser man, he would have picked up on this. Had he taken the time to get to know the few women who had crossed his path in the last three years, he would have recognized the warning signs immediately. Few men are wise at only seventeen. It was probably too much to expect of him.

He was not paying attention to her when they moved free of the trees and came into a clearing dominated a huge- fort? That was certainly what it looked like, from here. Square, surrounded by high walls, with a single large building rising from its center. Just what the hell it was, he had no idea. OZ? Romefeller? White Fang? Zech's idea of a joke?!

The gun barrel poked him in the back, urging him forward. He obeyed mildly, now curious to find out just what this place was. The gates in the wall opened, seemingly on their own, and he was marched inside. Now able to look around, he saw that he was standing in the great, bare dirt courtyard between the walls and the building, which was set back quite a way. The rest of the courtyard was empty, from what he could see, but there was grass growing along a far corner. Rows of ordered trees towards the back could be an orchard. Small storage shacks were spaced where necessary, and it was clear that many feet ran over this sandy dirt everyday.

"Move," he was ordered by the irritated girl behind him, and he did so. He was lead to a door in the side of the building, a plain brick affair, and had to blink to readjust his vision from the bright sunlight to the dim interior. He wasn't given a chance to look around. He was shoved into a room to the left of this small corridor and found himself blinking at a girl presumably the same age as the girl at his back, who was in the process of brushing out her thick black hair.

"That him?" she asked, disbelievingly.

Ego boost. She could already recognize him as feral and dangerous- and he had been warned women found him greatly attractive, and these <I>were</I> hormonal teenage girls…

"No, I brought him in here for my health," snapped the voice behind him.

"Are you kidding me, muchacha? This guy doesn't look like he could last a walk in the woods if he had a golf cart! Never mind that it's nearly ninety degrees out there!"

Ego go <I>pop</I>! Scowl.

"Look, I don't know how he did it, I don't <I>care</I> how he did it, but he's not my problem anymore. And Isabel, if you don't stop calling me muchacha del idiota, I'm gonna frigging break that damn radio over your head!" The door behind Heero slammed shut, and only training kept him from jumping- although he was indeed surprised. Had he missed something? Hn. Must pay better attention.

The girl at the desk before him blinked at the absence of the third party, and then carefully laid down her hairbrush. "Well. You certainly came on a good day, didn't you?"

Brooding, glaring silence.

She arched a sharp eyebrow at him. "Not one for talking much, are you?"

How dare you expect me to dignify that with more than my patented intimidating silence?

"Hm. You're cute."

Ok, now that was just~ weird. The change in expression was so subtle- a mere movement of muscle over his eye- that it was impossible to catch in this dim light. Confusion… who the hell were these people? Ok, Yuy, just ride it out…

"Well, not much I can do with you in here," she stood, moving in and out of the patch of lamplight. Her skin was a bit paler than he would've expected for someone so obviously Spanish, and her eyes were a deep black. She stepped towards him and before he knew it, he was cuffed. That, of course, didn't worry him so much as he had dealt with handcuffs before, but <I>that</I>, that she could do so so easily, was another blow to his pride. She also took his backpack and neatly slung it into a locker, closing the door and twisting the dial on it, locking it harmlessly away. "Come on, caliente." She walked out into the hall, expecting him to follow- when he didn't, immediately, the cuffs sent a sharp shock at his wrists and he quickly decided it would be easier to just follow.

They took a service elevator about three floors up, and he was escorted to a simple but comfortable bedroom, not much different from his hotel room the night before- although the latter had had the comforts of a TV and telephone.

She swiftly uncuffed him and hooked them back on her belt. "There you are, all yours til you're seen to. Don't worry, we'll feed you and everything. Oh- and I wouldn't bother trying to escape. It's not worth it; I doubt it will work. Someone will come for you later, hot stuff- adios!" There was the distinct sound of the door locking.

"Hn," Heero swept his disdainful glare around the room, taking in all details and promptly considering the best means of escape. He went to the only window, a much nicer and bigger one than he would have expected for a prisoner, and ran his hands along the seams, studying the locks closely. Then motion outside the window caught his eye.

A bell rang, and the girls aimlessly milling in the courtyard in identical white uniforms instantly formed well-practiced rows. As one, they began a complicated set of martial arts discipline motions.

To his puzzled mind, what it was was obvious, even if he didn't want to accept it. "A training ground?" he murmured softly, all ideas of escape a thing of the past.

Several stories up, in a large common area furnished with comfortable chairs and couches, and tables. It was a place meant for relaxing. Roughhousing was obviously frowned upon here.

At a table by one of the windows, a tall young woman quietly sipped a warm cup of tea, cradling it in her hands. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, but her bangs parted and trailed down on either side of her face. Blue eyes, framed by long lashes, watched the mountains in the distance, and the heavy gray storm clouds forming around them, urged on by the heat.

She glanced up as another girl, also blond, though she allowed her curling locks to fall freely down her back, took up residence in the chair across from her. She reached into her bag and took out a sketchpad and pencil, settling herself to work. "Penny for your thoughts?" her speech was clear and precise.

The first blond shook her head and sipped her tea again. "I was just looking."

"Oh? Me too." Pale green eyes glanced out at the mountains as well and then scowled down at the sketch. "How am I supposed to work on shading when that damn cloud's in the way?"

The other shrugged. "Why not draw something else? It's not like it's impossible, Stell."

Estelle glanced up at the nickname. "What's eating you, Raisa?"

The taller girl shrugged and shifted in her seat, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting the teacup there. "I feel like- like something's happening, and we're not there and we should be."

"Not that again," Estelle put down her sketchpad and poured herself a cup of tea. "You've been feeling that way for the last two years. Get over it and move on, Rai."

"Yes but- now it's like there's something right on top of us. It was more… distant before."

"You've been hanging out with Kyla too much."

"She feels it too. She's been getting weird dreams."

"And can't remember them when she wakes up. It's all a bunch of hogwash, I'm telling you. The Madam told us there was a war going on, and you both want to go do something about it. Now it's over and you feel cheated. Perfectly logical."

"Stuff logical," Raisa threw one of Estelle's favorite phrases out.

"All I'm saying," Estelle idly stirred her tea with a small spoon, "Is not to put too much faith into stuff like that. It's been wrong before and you're just getting yourselves worked up over nothing."

Raisa said nothing, and turned to gaze out the window again, noting the small flashes of lightning amidst the dark clouds. "What's so damn fascinating about those mountains anyway?" she murmured, musing aloud.

"I thought you grew up in the mountains," Estelle began arranging the condiments on the table, fingers itching to draw <I>something</I>.

"I grew up in Siberia, not here. Kyla's the one who was here before the rest of us," Raisa said quietly.

"I heard that, yes," Estelle paused, quiet. "How old was she again?"

"Four, the first time she showed up… Andria told me," Raisa tipped her head to lean against the back of the chair.

"See what I miss, being the last?" Estelle tried to smile. They both knew it failed.

The door onto the room banged open, and both blonds looked up, surprised, as the copper-haired wonder from before stalked in and dropped unceremoniously into a third chair. "Tea. No sugar, no cream, just milk and lots of it," she scowled.

"Are you sure you should be having caffeine?" Estelle asked midly, and received only a glare in response.

"Rough day?" Raisa humored her.

"If you think `rough' is adequate to describe hot, sweaty, under-appreciated, scratched to ribbons, hungry, thirsty and tired from lack of sleep with a report due in an hour, not to mention being in pain and otherwise just generally emotional and miserable, then sure, I've had a rough day."

"Poor baby," Estelle pushed a fresh teacup towards her. Andria's eyes lit gratefully and she promptly accepted it.

"What happened?" Raisa asked, concerned.

"Hot forest. Bugs. Bushes. Jackass in forest. Isabel. BACK to icky, hot, forest. Cramps," Was all they received between sips. Finally she sighed in relief and put the almost empty cup back down. Then she smiled brightly and said, "So, how were your days?"

Heero was sitting rigidly on his bed when Isabel returned to get him for questioning. She didn't seem to feel the need to cuff him again, and lead him back to the elevator, seeming to trust he would follow. Considering just how odd that behavior was- he decided it was best not to push his luck.

They entered onto a floor that, rather than a corridor, was merely an anteroom. Isabel walked straight ahead to the door without hesitation and pressed a small intercom button, speaking into it. A moment later, a buzz sounded and she held the door open for Heero to enter first.

It was like an apartment, a living area and more doors presumably onto a bathroom and bedroom showed clearly through another doorway on their left- but to their right- was the open door of a large and elite office.

"The intruder, Madam," Isabel bowed her head.

"Thank you, Isa, you may go, now," the woman seated behind the large and only desk nodded.

"Ma'am," the girl bowed her way out and shut the door behind her.

The woman tipped back a little in her chair, studying Heero just as he was her. She wore a uniform similar to that of many ranking officers he had seen- although it held no emblems of distinguishing marks of rank of sovereignty. Who she was allied with was a mystery. She herself appeared only a little beyond middle age, thin brown hair only beginning to go gray was tied back in a twisted rope before looping up to its base. She wore thin wire glasses and now peered at him over their tops. Frankly, Heero couldn't help being reminded a little of Colonel Une. Her skin was not the same fair paleness of that lady's however; this woman's was dark and weathered from much time out of doors.

She smiled slightly, and leaned in to prop her elbows on the desk, and rest her chin on her delicately interlaced hands. "Isabel called you caupo*. Do you know what that means?"

"No."

"It means she thinks you're very attractive. I'm inclined to agree with her." Somehow, with that holier-than-thou smirk on the woman's features, his ego couldn't justify an inflation- and instead shrank. Considerably. Blow one to Heero Yuy's confidence. "She also said that you were very quiet." Silence. "I see her judgement is confirmed there, as well. May I ask your name?"

"You may." He did not volunteer the information. Technically, she had not yet asked.

One eyebrow arched at the game. Obey while still frustrating the asker's wishes. Very sly. "Come now, you must realize we cannot proceed this way. The sooner you and I finish our little discussion, the sooner we can… deicide, what to do with you." A veiled threat. And he knew it.

"Heero Yuy," he replied in his even monotone.

"The Heero Yuy?" Madam Anthony gasped in surprise. "The Gundam pilot?"

"Hn."

"I'm surprised, Mr. Yuy," she seemed to collect herself fairly quickly. "What are you doing wandering around in the Sierra mountains?" No answer. "Are you on some kind of a mission? No, I suppose not… you wouldn't have bothered to stick around if you were." More silence. "I assume you're curious about our organization, then."

"Why are there so many young girls here learning how to fight?" he stated evenly, not bothering to sidestep around the issue. "Peace has been assured. The government is finally stabilizing. There should be no need for more soldiers." `Soldiers like me… why put more people like that? Especially little girls?' He had watched the routines for almost an hour before he felt he might become ill. Again and again they repeated their routines, each girl pushing herself ever harder to complete the task at hand. They ranged in age from ten to four, and walking between them and leading the acitivites had been teenage girls, who he saw doing separate, more complicated work off to the side, apart from the rest. Even the youngest seemed determined. It was, frankly, disturbing.

"It is our purpose," she said simply. "We take in girls who have lost something, and we give them something. Wars are started by people who need something that is not their own. We are eliminating the problem at its source. Why only girls? Frankly, they're more open to receiving what we have to offer and are overall more intelligent. No offense to present company." He merely stared at her stonily, giving no indication to his opinions on her words. She was beginning to catch on that he would merely wait for her to continue until she was finished, and so continued on. "Did you know, Mr. Yuy, that in ancient times, it was females who were dominant in society? They were seen as goddesses and revered and worshipped. It is unclear when men became dominant, but I believe the move from matriarchal society's was a grievous error on mankind's part. Look at all the great destructive forces in our history. The Roman empire was always run by men. They spread over a continent and left destruction in their wake for those who would not submit. Stalin practically crippled his people for his own benefit. Hitler was responsible for the murder of millions. If you'd like an example closer to home, you need think only on OZ and the Romefeller Foundation. Both run by men and look at where that has landed us. The two major leaders in the Great War of AC195 were both men, Treize Kushrenada and Milliardo Peacecraft, more commonly known as Zechs Marquise. I don't need to remind you what a waste of lives their little battle was. Now one is dead and the other vanished."

Heero merely stared back at her. He knew the men she had named. Zechs and Treize. One killed at Wufei's hand and the other… he had heard that Zechs had gone to Mars, with Noin. He hadn't pressed anyone for information, however. His own wounds were still too fresh.

"What makes you think women can rule the world so much better than men can?"

She looked startled that he had spoken, but pleased as well. "I don't. To have one gender dominant over the other destroys balance and draws battle lines in the sand. However, I do believe that it must be a woman to unite the world now. One woman in particular. I believe you know her very well."

He felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. So obvious- why hadn't he guessed? "Relena…" he murmured involuntarily. The Madam smirked at him. "Who are you?"

"I was an integral part of the Sank kingdom when it stood. I am training the girls here to become protectorates of peace, and Ms Relena is a symbol of peace. You should know this argument well, Mr. Yuy." The glitter in her eyes turned feral. "Protect Relena at all costs, until peace is assured."

"That's their mission, is it?" He didn't like the feeling of his soul being ripped apart by this woman's vicious brown eyes.

"Mission is such an- overused word, Mr. Yuy," she smirked at him.

"Why Relena?" he was glaring at her now. He didn't like this woman at all. That she dared think she had something to do with Relena was seriously getting under his skin.

"Don't worry, Mr. Yuy," she smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "She'll be in safe hands. I know how very much her safety matters to you. I know you two have grown close during the wars."

"Hn," and a glower.

"Yes, you've gotten very close indeed," she continued that infuriating smirk. "You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you would like, Mr. Yuy. It would be an honor to have you on, even if only for a short while. Your training and experience are invaluable."

"Hn."

"Shall I take that and it's accompanying glare as a `yes'? Isabel?" she pressed the button on the intercom again. "Show Mr. Yuy back to his room and help him get settled in. And for god's sake give him his bag back. He's going to be with us for quite some time, I believe."

They rode down in the elevator in silence, but when they began the walk down the corridor to his room, she walked beside him, rather than in front or behind. There was respect for him in her dark eyes now. She unlocked the door to his room for him and gave him the key, taking the time to look him over once again. "I'll bring up your bag later. Maybe you're more than just caupo*." She mused rhetorically.

"Maybe, I'm too hot for you to handle," he smoothly walked right past her and into his room, closing it with a finality that signaled she was dismissed. The startled Spanish girl was left alone in the hallway.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: According to Dame Aia, who's in Spanish II, caupo is a much better word to use than caliente. ^^;; Seeing as all my friends in Spanish II discovered this year that caliente actually means `horny'. (SHUT UP BAKA NO HENTAI!) ^^; Since I didn't pick up exactly how caliente SHOULD be used (adj, n, etc) I decided to change. :( I know… no more Isa going `Muy Caliente!' but hey, maybe it'll return later on… who knows…

Um, lessee… What else is note…

Obviously, there are some big differences between this and the original- this is NOT just an editing job, this is a rewrite.

I do believe the next chapter will, instead of jumping two-three years into the future, will be of Heero's insinuation into the keep. So, yes, more Dames! More Heero and Andria screen time! (I know you've been so cheated of that… I apologize…) And, even better, more allusions to just where these girls come from! I felt like such a hack- they were coming out so 2-D… Now's my chance to repent.

This opener was much more introspective from Heero's POV, gave MUCH more information on Andria's personality, and delved more into the Madam's lil philosophy. *shrug* Confused? Aw, don't worry, it'll come to you…

Thanks again to Dame Aia for editing, and of course *GLOMP!* THANK YOU to all the people who R&R'ed the first version!! This is sort of an apology to you guys. ^-^; I know how much that one sucked- don't tell me it didn't cuz I know that at the time I liked it, too.

For more information on the new characters appearing in La Femmes, visit Penname: Lady Lye. (http://ladylye.20megsfree.com click FanFiction, Gundam Wing: La Femmes, and scroll down.) There you'll find character bios, relationship bios, polls, side fics (which I strongly recommend you read), and of course the rest of the fic in its crappy form if you decide you REALLY want to read ahead. ^^; This rewrite is not yet at the site but should be soon.

Thank you for taking the time out to read; I hope you enjoyed! Please do leave me your comments!

^_^

-Lady

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