Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Masquerade ❯ Chapter Fifteen ( Chapter 15 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Fifteen

The seagulls cried loudly in the sky as the waves beat upon the shore. Sage weakly opened one eye. She tried to move, but pain slammed through her when she even cocked her head the slightest bit. She shivered. Bits of Epyon lay all about her. But she had saved the base…

Tired. Oh, so tired… I mustn't close my eyes.. Or they may never open again… But someone was beckoning to her, and she obliged them, closing her eyelids.

"Hey Heero! Over here!" Duo picked up a small chunk of maroon armor.

Heero walked over to his fellow pilot. "Looks like a bit of Epyon… Spread out and search the area!" He barked to the others, who scurried to oblige.

Quatre picked up bits and pieces of Epyon. A chunk of armor, a bit of glass from the windshield, the small lion pendant Sage wore. He picked it up and tightened his hand into a fist around it. Was this his last memory of her? He sighed softly, tears falling steadily from his eyes. He couldn't give up yet! She was alive. She had to be!!!

Trowa was the one who found her. He kneeled to her level and checked her heartbeat-barely pulsing. He picked her up gently and walked to the others.

Duo saw him coming from afar.

"Guys! Trowa found her!" Duo ran towards him, the others hot on his heels.

"She's barely alive. We have to get her stabilized…" Duo gently touched her face, and sighed as he stepped back. Quatre pushed his way up, relief in his eyes.

"Let's not stand here gawking…Let's get back to the base!" Heero picked up a folder with singed corners and opened it. Inside was the disk. He smiled softly and pocketed it, then led the way back.

Sage weakly opened her eyes to the sight of a blindingly white room. Flowers and roses littered her side table and dresser. Am I…dead?

She tried to sit up--that was a mistake. Pain slammed through her again as she lowered back onto the mattress again. I guess not… As her eyes adjusted, she realized this was her room, at the base. The base! She had saved the base and made it! Sage smiled and closed her eyes.

The door began to slowly open, and Duo's head popped in. Sage opened one eye to look at him.

"Sage! You're awake!" He stepped in and grinned at her.

Sage cringed. "Yeah-this hell of a pain has informed me on that subject…"

He shrugged lightly, moving towards the bed.

"Well, you do have three broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a dislocated hip." Duo ran a finger along her cheekbone. "Not to mention that gash. Did someone slash you with something?"

Sage's eyes closed again. "Some Captain of an OZ base with a pocketknife…" That reminded Duo.

"What the hell were you doing out in freakin' broad daylight, flying around in a giant, PURPLE mobile suit?!? Did you think you were INVISIBLE?!?!? I suppose they found you and shot you down, right?" Sage pulled back from his angry words.

"They wanted me to decode my disk…"

"Well? Did you?"

"They were going to torpedo the base, Duo!"

"You atleast terminated them, right?"

"…Right." Duo smiled.

"Atleast. That was really heroic of you, stopping the torpedo and all." Sage blushed softly.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do. Epyon's terribly messed up though, I bet."

"Epyon? What Epyon? Smashed to smithereens!"

Sage looked down. "I figured as much. Well, that'll end my missions for a while."

Duo tweaked her nose playfully.

"Hey, look on the bright side kid! You're alive!" He grinned and left. Sage smiled, burrowing under the covers. Tomorrow was another day.

Sage yawned and woke up, still immobile. Someone had put a cast on her arm while she slept, but her hip was aching terribly. The same someone must have snapped it back into place. Her middle was bandaged tightly, and she couldn't swivel or bend very well. Sage sat up very, very carefully and swung her legs to the ground. She tested her legs. They seemed fine, if a little wobbly. With a gentle push off of her nightstand, she lifted herself onto her feet.

It hurt terribly, but she would have to live. She picked up the pair of crutches by her bed and leaned on one heavily, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Only pausing a moment, she took up the other crutch and swung herself into the hall.

In no time she was in the dining room. The pilots waved and smiled at her, and she gently lowered herself into her chair. Quatre poured her a cup of tea, and handed it to her with a wink.

Sage took a sip gingerly.

"Thanks…" She leaned back in her chair, looking at everyone else. Heero looked up and grunted a greeting, then went back to sorting the mission leaflets. Trowa was cooking something again-smelled like bacon and eggs. Wufei was, well, Wufei-and Duo was just coming into the room with a cup of coffee.

Sage sat up.

"How are the repairs on Epi coming?" She asked quietly.

"Not so good. We're missing a whole lot of pieces that will have to be made again from scratch…" Duo bit a chunk out of his toast.

"Wonderful. Just-wonderful." She slammed a fist on the table. "And who do I get to use until it's repaired?"

"You can borrow one of the Leos…" Heero remarked casually. Sage rolled her eyes.

"Oh thanks.. A Leo.. I feel so-privileged…" She sighed and looked at her tea.

"You could borrow The Deathscythe… I wouldn't mind."

Trowa set Sage's food in front of her and handed her a fork and knife.

"Don't forget that your bones will take atleast a month to heal, no missions until then…" Sage opened her mouth in protest but Quatre cut her off.

"No buts, Sage. We don't need you dead." He sighed and patted her on the shoulder. She bowed her head.

"I guess you're right-I might as well go for a walk.. I'll need the extra strength in my legs." She stood and waved a cheerful goodbye, then followed the hallway to the garden. She sat down on the same bench she had first sat on on her first day. It was peaceful and quiet; the birds were singing and the flowers blooming. It was June 25th. Her birthday was in three days. She wouldn't tell them. A birthday was a silly thing to celebrate! Sage shrugged and closed her eyes, tilting her head back to welcome the sunshine.