Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mission Complete ❯ Why Didn't You TELL Me You Were a Gundam Pilot? ( Chapter 27 )

Why Didn't You TELL Me You Were A Gundam Pilot?

You hesitate slightly. "Um…"

"It would be in your best interest to answer," Heero reminds you. You roll your eyes.

"Yeah, like I didn't know that. It's five against one here, and you think I'd forget that you most definitely have the advantage?" you mutter back. "Fine, I'll tell you some things, though probably not all. We all have our secrets, you know."

"Well, that'll have to do," Deathscythe's pilot sighs, and you can almost see the Gundam shrugging. "Okay, so your answers?"

"Hm… where to start. First off, my name. Actually…" you pause. "You might already know my name. Let's see… oh wait, you don't. Well, that's interesting. How about this, then: we all step out of our Gundams like good little children and talk on the ground, where we can actually see each other face-to-face. And then we'll figure out what to do from there. Oh… and I know that you don't trust me, so I'll go out first. That's not saying that I trust you, though. So don't expect me to wait an hour for you to get down there, or else-"

"Just shut up and get down there," someone snaps, most probably Chang Wufei.

"Okay, okay… I'm going. Man. Whoever you are, you must've never heard that patience is a virtue." Before he has a chance to respond, you shut off the comm. link, open your Gundam, and jump to the ground, landing lightly. Making sure that your face is well-hidden in the shadows, so they won't see you unless you want them to, you yell up at the five Gundams in front of you. "Okay, I'm out, so there's no threat on that front unless you think we managed to squeeze two pilots in that cockpit!" One by one, the other five exit, starting with Sandrock's pilot and ending with Heero. You study him with slight interest when he comes out; yes, it's definitely the guy you met before, though now that it's a cloudless night, you can see him a lot better than before. For one thing, you notice that his Prussian-blue eyes glint in the light emanating from the inferno behind you that was the OZ base, making them look somehow softer, while at the same time, they reflect the dancing flames. His hair's a bit messy, like he doesn't care about it as much as his duty as a Gundam pilot, and as the moonlight lands on it, it turns an interesting shade of silver-brown that makes you wonder why the heck you never noticed how hot he was before. Shaking yourself out of it and trying to ignore the blush that's somehow managed to creep its way onto your cheeks, you force your voice to be calm as you ask brightly, "So, what were the questions again?"

"Start with your name," says the Heavyarms pilot. Trowa, his name was. Trowa Barton.

"Sure," you shrug. "I guess it's only fair, since I know your names." Your face still hidden by the shadow of your Gundam, you grin at the expression on Duo's face. "What, you think I could hack the OZ database and not find out who you were? Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathscythe, who claims to be Shinigami. Trowa Barton, who took over Operation Meteor after the real Trowa Barton was killed. Quatre Winner, who somehow manages a company and being a Gundam pilot at the same time. Chang Wufei, the Dragon, who has quite a long history as being the most honorable and temperamental of you five… and Heero Yuy, who I'm surprised I didn't recognize before. But then again, the OZ profiles of you aren't that flattering."

"What are you talking about?"

You smile slightly before stepping out of the shadows, directly facing Heero. "What, don't tell me you don't remember me? The name's __________ ___________ (full name), aka Judy… and yes, that IS my real name, before you ask."

They stare at you for a good ten seconds before Duo and Wufei start yelling at the same time. "THIS is the girl-" "Yuy, you said SHE-" "-OZ base! Heero-" "-no way an onna could-" "-tell me she was that cute?" "THERE'S NO WAY AN ONNA COULD PILOT A GUNDAM!"

You glance at them, taking a few moments to sort out what they said before answering. "Yes, I was the one who destroyed the last OZ base. Yes, I could and did do it, by myself, I might add. Duo, thanks for the compliment. Wufei-" you stalk up to him and give him a full-power glare. You're slightly pleased when he shrinks back slightly, but that doesn't stop you from reaching up and slapping him as hard as you can. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I CAN'T FIGHT AS WELL AS YOU, YOU CRAZY BIASED FREAK?"

Wufei says nothing, just glares at you as he rubs his cheek. You smile sweetly, making him shudder, before you turn away and resume your former position, leaning against your Gundam's foot. "All right then," you say calmly. "Now where was I? Oh yes, the questions." You begin to tick the answers off on your fingers. "Who do I work for: someone against OZ. I think he's an old acquaintance of the scientists who made your Gundams. Why do I fight OZ? Something of a personal question, that… let's just say I have a long-standing grudge against them that has yet to be resolved - oh, and I'm a colonist, too, and I didn't buy their little 'protect the colonies' bit that they used to try and convince us."

"Nice to know someone didn't," mutters Duo sourly. You send him a glance, then remember that OZ tried to convince the colonies that the Gundam pilots were against them - and unfortunately, it had worked.

You clear your throat slightly. "Uh, yeah… anyway. I pilot the Gundam _____________ (your Gundam's name), and I think you probably saw what it can do… or at least, you would have, if you'd come ten minutes earlier. And the last question…" you turn to Duo and grin. "If you want your answer, wanna spar right now?"

A similar grin spreads over the braided boy's face, but a look from Heero stops him in his tracks. "I would, except Hee-chan apparently has other plans…" he gestures in Heero's directions.

You cross your arms and glare at the Perfect Soldier. "What do you want… Hee-chan?"

The newly dubbed "Hee-chan" gives you a look that could burn twin holes through Gundanium alloy. Quatre covers his mouth, obviously trying to hide a smile.

"Why are you so friendly now, when you didn't want to talk before?" Heero asks.

You pout. "I thought that would be obvious. For one thing, I didn't know you were a Gundam pilot before. Maybe if you'd told me that and shown some proof, I might've actually BELIEVED you. Why didn't you TELL me?"

He raises an eyebrow in your direction, looking slightly amused. "You didn't ask."

"I didn't ask? I didn't ASK? You expect me to go around asking everyone I know, 'Hey, are you a Gundam pilot? Really? Cool!' I am NOT an idiot, you know!"

"Could've fooled me," Wufei mutters. You death-glare him.

"What is it that you have against me? Is it because I'm a woman?"

"That's exactly it," grins Duo.

You roll your eyes and walk up to Wufei. "Fine then. I notice that you have your katana, right? Well then…" Pulling your own sword out of its sheath on your back, you point it at Wufei. "If I win, you don't call me onna. If you win…" you pause.

"You never bother me again," he finishes. You nod. "All right then, it's an agreement." Pulling out his katana, he also prepares himself for a fight. The two of you glance at Heero, who's apparently been appointed unofficial referee. He nods, and you and Wufei go at it.

It doesn't take you long to figure out that Wufei's had a lot of experience with swords, and the two of you are at about the same level. As soon as Heero gives his permission, he leaps for you and aims an attack for your right shoulder, which you quickly block. Pulling away slightly, you slip to the right, his left, and try a downward slash, which he dodges before pressing the attack. It goes on like this for a while, with neither of you gaining an advantage. Before too long, you figure out that he prefers being on the offensive; he relies more on constant attacking to keep his opponent from retaliating. Now, if you could only find the right moment to cut through his defense…

Your blades hit each other with a loud clang, and both of you jump back almost immediately, panting slightly and trying to ignore the shock waves that went up your arms at the impact. Wufei comes back quickly for another round, however, slashing at your middle, but you jump back reflexively before he can hit you. You fight back quickly, bringing your sword forward, which he once again blocks, and something in your brain screams, 'Now!' Stepping to the right and quickly swinging your sword under and forward to bring it out of the lock, you aim it at his throat - just as his katana finds its way to stop a hairsbreadth from your own neck.

The two of you stare each other down for a long moment, breathing slightly heavier than normal. Then, without turning or moving his sword, Wufei asks, "Well, Yuy?"

"It was at the same time," Heero replies in a monotone. "It's a tie."

Sighing slightly in annoyance, you lower your sword as Wufei does the same. You glare at him for a moment longer before it turns into a smile. Sheathing your sword, you walk forward and hold out your hand. "Nice fight."

He puts away his katana and smirks at you. "Hmph. Same goes for you." As the two of you shake hands, he says, "You know, you're now one of the few women I have any respect for."

You grin. "I'm honored. Now will you do me a favor and stop calling me onna? I have a name, you know."

"Sure thing… _________."

Walking back to the Gundams where the others are waiting, you ponder what happens next. You give the others a sheepish smile as you approach. "So, um… what do we do now?"

Duo shrugs. "Now we all go back to where we came from and wait until next time. I don't suppose you'd give us some way to call you?"

You sweatdrop. "Well, I would, but…"

"But?"

"Well…" You wince slightly. This was gonna be hard to explain. "Let's just say tonight wasn't exactly supposed to be a solo mission. I… ah… did a few things back at base, ended up ignoring orders, and… well, my boss won't be too happy about it when I get back."

"So you're going to be slaughtered in every way possible?"

"Believe me, Duo, that's the understatement of the year," you grumble. "So do you guys mind if I hang out with you for a while? I wanna give Y a chance to calm down."

"Y?" asks Trowa.

"Because he'll kill me otherwise? No, I mean Doctor Y. He's the guy I work for… so please, can I go with you guys? Besides, I wanna get to know the Gundam pilots better."

The five of them exchange glances, apparently holding a silent conversation between them. Reading their body language, you can see that Duo and Quatre are all for it, Wufei's not opposed to it, since you've already gained his respect, Trowa doesn't seem to have an opinion one way or another, and Heero… well, you can't really read Heero. But strangely enough, from what you can tell, the famous Pilot 01 doesn't seem to really mind you being around…

After a few moments of this, they turn back to you. Quatre smiles. "All right, you can come with us. We're staying in one of my mansions nearby. Things might get a little weird, but we've come to expect that, so don't worry."

"Otay!" you squeal, jumping up and glomping them all in quick succession. They look a little surprised, to say the least, and you hang on Heero for a few more seconds, grinning lopsidedly. "Well then, what are we waiting for? To Quatre's house we go!"

Run from the wrath of Doc Y! Go to page fifty-one.