See Part One for Disclaimers
That was something which both pilots agreed upon. Heero Yuy had been stunned by a jolt of electricity. When he regained his senses, he found himself. . .bouncing. . .around in the gundam. That was insane. He was the Perfect Soldier. And the Perfect Soldier did NOT bounce! Except. . .at the moment. . .he was.
And Heero was feeling so dizzy from the bouncing, and the electric charge, he couldn't even take comfort in the knowledge that Zechs Merquise was experiencing the exact same thing. Heero could only presume that the other pilot was experiencing this nightmare. Every time he tried to look outside to see where Tallgeese was, he began feeling even more dizzy. It was then that a face appeared on the screen. . .one that didn't belong to his. . .well, however one wanted to describe Zechs Merquise. His enemy? Sparring partner? The other side of the coin that was Heero Yuy?
No, this man was a bit older than the nineteen year old colonel. In fact, he looked old enough to be Heero's father, in his mid to late thirties. He had dark brown hair, laced somewhat with white, and pale blue eyes. He smiled impishly and said with a slight lilt, "Good day to you, Heero Yuy. I won't bother telling you my name, because that's not important. What is important is that you don't try to take back controls of this machine. If you do, I'll have to hurt you again."
Heero was a soldier. He was used to pain. However, he was NOT used to this infernal bouncing. And he was reasonably sure that if he did try to take back control of his Gundam, the bouncing would only get worse. He stared back at the strange man grinning madly at him, and said with more than a little resignation, "Mission accepted."
* * *
Zechs wasn't faring nearly as well. While he hadn't tried to take back controls of his machine, the motion of the gundam and the music was giving him a headache to end all headaches. He had finally closed his eyes, feeling all the color drain from his face, and quietly prayed for the strength to endure.
And then. . .it stopped. A soft, feminine voice. . .the same voice which had addressed him earlier. . .said, "I'm gonna release your restraints, honey, and open the door. The point of the exercise was to get you to loosen up, and it's kinda hard to do that if you're half sick. So, I won't torture you any more than I already have." Zechs forced his eyes open, and looked at the girl.
He tried to speak, but a wave of dizziness prevented that. He shut his eyes quickly, clinging to the armrests to keep from losing consciousness. The restraints popped open, along with the hatch to the cockpit, and Zechs tumbled out face first onto the grass. He lay still for several moments, just breathing in the fresh air. Then he managed to turn himself over onto his back, as he heard someone kneel down beside him. He forced his eyes open, and stared into a pair of violet eyes. He swallowed hard, then mumbled, "Noin?"
"Yeah, I'm right here, Colonel," came the soothing voice. He was lifted gently up from the grass, and his head came to rest against her shoulder. Zechs was dimly aware that his mask was lying on her collarbone, and that must hurt, but he couldn't do anything about it. Not that he really wanted to. As he lost consciousness, it occurred to him that if nothing else, the recent nightmare had gotten him into Noin's arms.
The safest place he knew.
* * *
It had been, by far, the strangest sight Lucrezia Noin had ever seen. And each time one of the huge feet landed on the ground, it shook the earth where she stood. The gundams, dancing the can-can. If she hadn't seen the shocked expressions of those around her, she would have been certain the whole thing had been the result of a really bad dream.
But at last, the two gundams moved away from each other. Wing Zero went down on both knees and its wobbly young pilot emerged, collapsing into a heap on the ground. That was all the prompting Relena needed. She ran across the erst-while battlefield, screaming, "HEEEEERO!" I wonder, Noin thought absently, shaking her bangs back, what would happen if I told her that her brother is in the other gundam? Uhm, better not. Zechs would never forgive me. He still wants to keep his identity a secret from her. And then the Tallgeese knelt down, almost tossing out Zechs through the now-open hatch. As if. . .no, she wouldn't think that.
Noin ran to her fallen friend and colonel. He lay face down for several moments, gulping in the air, then rolled over onto his back. His eyes were squeezed shut as she approached him, then as she knelt at his side, his eyes opened. Lucrezia was alarmed to see how pale his face was. She hadn't seen him this pale. . .since the first time he had flown the Tallgeese. And when Otto had sacrificed himself to free Sank.
Without really thinking about it, she scooped him into her arms as he breathed her name, drew his head to rest against her shoulder. She murmured, "Yeah, I'm right here, Colonel." She felt his body relax in her arms, and Noin realized he had passed out. Within moments, they were surrounded by the rest of Oz. . .complete with medical officers.
* * *
Well, it was worth it. If only to tell off that idiot Khushrenada. And to see my boy Zechsy in his lady's arms. That last is reason enough, Tallgeese mused. Except, she was no longer in Tallgeese. That worthy gundam was being checked over, from top to bottom, by the Oz engineers and technicians, for the cause of the 'anomaly.'
No, she was now in her spirit state, the last human body which had been hers. She was outside Zechs Merquise's hospital room, where he was now resting comfortably, as they still liked to say. Ever so often, she would peek inside, and smile, seeing the ever-present Noin seated beside him. Where else would she be?
Pagan had helped Relena get Heero into the car, and that had been the last Tallgeese saw of them. Zero had opted to keep control of the gundam just long enough to get it back to where it belonged. That had taken the better part of a day. . .and now, he was with her. He lounged against the opposite wall.
Just wish I could have gotten a chance to tell off Colonel Une. By the way, that was perfect. . .Princess Leia wanna-be, Wing chuckled and Tallgeese smiled. To borrow a phrase from the third member of the little circle, who had visited her during the possession, Colonel Une was a PMSing Princess Leia on crack. The original observation, a PMSing demi-goddess on crack, just didn't fit the current situation.
Well, she was starting to get on my nerves! And you know I'm not like my patient sis, who can tolerate people like that. So. What happens next time? Tallgeese asked and Wing shrugged. They had used these personas for so long, it was hard to think of themselves as anyone else. Even the names which had been theirs two hundred years earlier.
Next time? The macarena? Wing suggested. Tallgeese stared at him, then burst out laughing. Damn him, he could still do this to her! Wing continued, Hey, it might be fun! Or maybe an Irish jig. Next time, though, I'll possess Heavyarms, or maybe the Deathscythe. Hey, now, don't laugh! Duo Maxwell might even cooperate!
Yeah, whatever, Tallgeese answered, trying not to laugh. The scary thing was, Wing was right. If he did possess Deathscythe, she had an eerie feeling that Duo Maxwell would do a lot more than cooperate! She looked over her shoulder. . .Zechs was starting to stir. With a soft smile, the ghost blew a kiss to the young man. You take care of yourself, honey, she thought, but even if you don't, Lucrezia and I will be watching over you. However, I would appreciate it if you would make it a little easier on us! And then she vanished with Wing.
* * *
Take care of him, his Excellency had said, which was why Lucrezia had fallen asleep at Zechs' bedside. Not that she was physically taking care of him. . .the doctors had said he just needed rest. But she was with him. She was with him, and she would not leave his side. Not until he was strong again.
"Noin?" his weak voice called, and she opened her eyes to see his face turned toward her. She smiled at him, slipping from her chair to his bed, sitting down beside him. He smiled back weakly, a smile that grew a little stronger when she took his hand. He asked softly, "What happened to me? I don't remember anything."
Noin fought back her desire to giggle, and instead replied, "It's a long story, and a slightly unbelievable one." She could have sworn she saw his eyes narrow behind the mask, and she continued, "I'll tell you everything after you've rested, I promise. You'll need your strength just to hear this, I think." She had already decided to tell him the truth. If she didn't, someone else would. . .and he would never forgive her for lying to him. No. . .she would be honest with him. About this, at least.
"Oh. Noin?" he asked and Lucrezia looked back at him. Zechs stared at her for several moments. . .she could feel his eyes on her. . .then he finally said, "Thank you. For. . .being with me." Lucrezia just smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek. However, he turned his head at the last second, and their lips met instead.
After a moment, she pulled away and smiled at him tenderly, answering, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He smiled back, and pulled her down for another kiss. It was a strange way to get your heart's desire, but Noin wouldn't argue.
And high above them both, three spirits smiled in approval, then disappeared. Their work here was done.
The End
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