Sabre
Part 2
Ciara awoke to a splitting headache. Without opening her eyes, she tried to bring her hand to her throbbing forehead. Her eyes shot wide when she realized that her wrists were bound behind her back. The room she was in was stark white with no furniture or windows, only a door.
The girl struggled to her feet and walked to the door.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?"
"Ciara, is that you?" Nolan's voice sounded outside her cell.
"Nolan!"
Before he could answer, the door opened, and two men stalked into the room and grabbed Ciara by each arm. Dragging her into the hallway, she saw that Nolan was getting the same treatment from inside his own cell. They were hauled out of the detention area and onto an elevator.
"What do you want from us?" The black-haired man demanded. One of their captors cuffed him in the back of the head.
"Silence!" The man commanded, "You will speak only when Commander Millardo addresses you!"
Ciara and Nolan exchanged nervous glances as they realized where they were.
"Commander Millardo? As in Millardo Peacecraft?" The blonde girl exclaimed, "That means we're on Libra, and you are part of the White Fang!"
The man raised his hand to silence the girl, and his fist struck her in the side of her face as the lift's doors opened to reveal the bridge of the ship.
Nolan lunged at Ciara's attacker, but was restrained by the other men.
"That's enough, Powers," a firm, but soft voice rang out. Ciara peered through her bangs, blood gushing from the cut on her cheek. A tall man with waist-length platinum hair rose out of the commander's chair, accompanied by a small girl with forked eyebrows.
"Commander Peacecraft," Ciara remarked as she struggled against her captors.
He approached the two wriggling victims with an indifferent air. He stood before the prisoners and crossed his arms.
"It seems I am at a disadvantage," the commander addressed them, "You know my name, but I don't know yours."
Both Ciara and Nolan remained silent.
"That was a fancy way of saying 'Who the hell are you, and what are you doing with the Tallgeese's remains?" The girl with the weird eyebrows replied. She stalked up to Nolan and slapped him in the face. He never winced, only glared at the blonde.
"Dorothy, that's enough," Millardo stated in a monotone voice. She backed off and resumed her place at his side.
"Fine, if you won't tell us voluntarily, we have ways of making you talk." The guards drug them away to a shadowed room as Millardo and Dorothy followed.
Ciara fought against the brute that was holding her when she saw the exam tables and rows of syringes, but to no avail. She was strapped down, then stripped of her shirt so she was only clad in her black cargo pants and sports bra. A man in a white lab coat approached them, but Millardo waved him away, saying,
"I want Miss Catalonia to handle this personally."
"With honor, sir," the girl exclaimed, and neared the restrained Ciara. Nolan was doing all he could to break free of the chains they had put him in; he had to protect her.
Dorothy picked up a syringe and tested it. With a gleeful laugh, she plunged it into Ciara's arm. A sharp cry of pain was emitted from her as a single tear escaped her eye. The world began to get hazy as she felt all resistance escape her.
"Now, what is you name?"
"My name?...My name is..."
She trailed off, her head lolling listlessly to one side.
"Answer me, god dammit!" Dorothy punched Ciara in the stomach.
"My name..." she breathed.
"No! Don't do it!" Nolan yelled. A heavy hand promptly silenced him on the back of his head.
"My name is..." she fought to regain control, to fight of the drug that was distorting her mind.
"My name is...Ciara Riley Winner."
She relaxed then; exhausted from fighting the serum she had been injected with.
* * * * * * *
"Ciara, wake up," Nolan gently shook the girl awake. They had been moved to living quarters, but had been locked in. She mumbled something incoherent and opened her eyes. Smiling weakly, she looked up into Nolan's worried face and asked softly,
"What happened to me?"
Nolan knelt down by her side; she was lying in the bed and had numerous cuts and bruises on her body. He brushed her bangs out of her face and whispered,
"Shh, don't try to talk. They used a truth serum on you, then some other drug that seemed to cause a lot of pain."
Ciara's eyes winced in agony as his hand passed over a cut on her cheek.
"What did I tell them?" She whimpered, fearing the worst.
"Nolan took her hand as he told her, "Everything. You told them everything.'
Ciara gave a low groan as she hid her face from him in the pillow.
"So, they know you're a Maguanac," she mumbled.
"Yeah, and they know Quatre is you brother. That blonde bitch knew he was a Gundam pilot, which is probably why we're still alive."
"I betrayed you," she whispered, her words barely audible, "You and Quatre." She tried to sit up, but a sharp twinge in her side made her wince, and she was resigned to stay in her original position.
Nolan reached down and wiped the tears from her face.
"You didn't betray anyone," he said consolingly, "If anyone is to blame its me. I swore I'd protect you, then knocked myself out on a toilet seat. Oh Gods, Ciara, I'm so sorry."
She reached out and pulled him to her. Both were crying hopelessly and hugging each other made them feel a little safer.
"Did you say your brother's a Gundam pilot?" A small, feminine voice asked form behind them.
Ciara looked over Nolan's shoulder only to see a petite girl with big blue eyes and honey-blonde hair.
"Relena Peacecraft!" She bellowed as the pilot jumped away from her shout. "You're the bitch who started this whole thing!" Her injuries forgotten, she lunged at the princess, but Nolan restrained her from getting too far out of bed.
Relena raised a fine eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Violence doesn't solve anything."
Ciara glared at her. "It'll solve a hell of a lot if I kick your prissy little ass right now!"
Regardless of her wounds, the girl was putting up quite a fight to get free of her friend's grasp.
"Ciara," he hissed in her ear, "Control yourself! She is obviously in the same predicament that we are, so get a grip!"
She gave one last defiant jerk, then became compliant, though she sulked from time to time.
Sitting at a small table, Relena addressed them.
"So, which pilot is your brother - no, wait, let me guess...Duo? You would have his flare for the dramatics...no, that's not it...Oh wait, I know! Quatre's your brother, right? You look exactly like him!"
"Except for the long hair and girl parts, yeah," Ciara responded dryly.
"Ciara, honestly!" Nolan sighed in exasperation. She crossed her arms and pouted.
"So, why are you here?" The black-haired man asked, in an attempt to recover from Ciara's rude behavior.
"I came to talk me brother out of this foolish war. Then Dorothy locked me in here."
"Dorothy? The one with the fucked up eyebrows?"
"Yup, that's the one."
"She's dead! She the one who did this to me!" The older girl pointed at the bruises and needle tracked on her arms and legs.
Suddenly, the door slid open, and the subject of their discussion waltzed in, carrying a bundle.
"Here. Put this on." She threw the package at Ciara, who looked at it and exclaimed,
"Why? What the hell is it?"
"A space suit. You will be using that fancy suit of yours in the upcoming battle, and you'll need this to pilot it in space."
"And if I refuse?"
Dorothy shrugged and pulled her gun out of its holster and trained it on her head.
"I'll kill you."
It was Ciara's turn to shrug. "I'll be killed in that battle anyway, might as well do it now and get it over with."
Dorothy thought about that statement then suddenly made a change in target. Now, her gun was aimed at Nolan's chest.
"OK, then, I'll just destroy something that's a little more important to you. You obviously care for him more than your own life, so maybe now you'll do what I say."
Ciara looked from the gun to Nolan to the space suit, then back to Nolan. His eyes were pleading with her to refuse Dorothy's order, to let him die.
The torn girl looked down at the floor, defeated.
"Fine. You win. Just don't kill him.
"Good, now you're listening to reason," the evil girl replied, lowering her gun. "Follow me to the hangar; there you'll get further instructions."
Following the overbearing girl out the door, Ciara stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Nolan.
"I'll come back for you, I swear it," she whispered. He walked up to her and wordlessly, they hugged. He handed her the suit, saying,
"Just stay alive. That's all I'm asking you to do."
She nodded then left to catch up with Dorothy. The door slid shut, and he leaned heavily upon it.
"You love her, don't you?" Asked Relena quietly.
"Is it that obvious?" He crossed his arms and blushed.
"You should have told her. You may never see her again."
Nolan grinned. "You don't know Ciara. Loyal to a fault, tough as nails, and stubborn as hell. And I wouldn't have her any other way. She'll be back; she always keeps her word. Always."
* * * * * * *
As Dorothy led Ciara into the main hangar, they were surrounded by the departing mobile dolls.
"What makes you think I won't try to escape once I'm out of here?" Ciara asked smugly, struggling with her suit.
Dorothy grinned manically. I have the self-detonation mechanism to your Leo in my hand. And in my other hand, I hold you "friend's" life. I can kill either him or you at any time I wish."
The young Winner looked defeated, and shuffled her way towards her suit.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"When the World Nation Space Force attacks, you are to engage the Gundams.
Ciara's mouth became slack-jawed and she looked at Dorothy as if she had just put on high heels and danced the Macarena, while holding and iced tea.
"Fight...the Gundams? Are you crazy? I'll be killed?"
The other girl smirked. "Oh well, you die, your friend dies. I suggest you be careful."
Ciara climbed into the Sabre and left to engage the World Nation. Mechanically slicing her way through to where the Gundams were fighting, she suddenly felt extremely strange. She saw the image of Dorothy in front of her Gundam and began muttering to herself.
"Must destroy all enemies...Anyone who does harm to my family or me is my enemy...Dorothy Catalonia is my enemy!"
She screamed in rage and struck at the shadow of the other girl before her. The specter faded, and she found her energy sword embedded in a mobile doll.
Ciara was sweating heavily and breathing hard. Suddenly, another apparition appeared before her. She was using the Tallgeese's modified beam cannon to blow up Libra. She saw the death of Relena...Quatre...and Nolan in the explosion.
"NOOOO!" She cried, banging her hands on the console, "What have I done?" Her head cleared, and she witnessed the battle before her.
"What's happening to me?" She yelled, diving back into the fray. Ciara had recognized some of the symptoms she was experiencing; Quatre had fought like that when he was under the influence of the...
"Those fucking bastards!" She screamed, shaking off three dolls in her efforts to engage the Gundam pilots. "They installed the Zero System in my suit! They're going to pay!"
In that instant, a reddish-orange Gundam appeared in front of her and began firing. Dodging the bullets, Ciara brandished her energy saber and made a downward swipe at Heavy-Arms, who sidestepped.
"I don't want to fight you!" She yelled into the intercom.
"And yet, you continue to attack me," a calm voice answered. Ciara recognized that voice. Trowa...was it? Yes, that was it, the one she met when he had stayed at their home. So, if Trowa was there, than that meant...
"Trowa! Is Quatre here?"
"What? Who is this?"
"It's Ciara, his sister!" She flipped on the visual so he could verify her identity.
"Yeah, he's here. He went inside to find Dorothy."
"What?!? Why?"
"He believes she can be saved."
Ciara shook her head in disbelief. So like Quatre, to try and see the good in people, even the evil ones. "Come on, Trowa, we have to find Quatre before he gets himself killed.
* * * * * * *
Nolan and Relena were sitting in the locked room, watching the battle out the window, and feeling hopeless.
"Damn it!" Nolan shouted when he couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his hands down on the table. "I should be out there fighting, not her!"
"Yelling about it won't change anything," Relena said calmly.
"I know, I"m just so frustrated," Nolan stated. Just then, the door slid open to reveal a boy with tousled brown hair and piercing blue eyes.
"What do you want?" Nolan demanded, rising to a defensive posture. Relena walked around him and greeted the stranger.
"Hello, Heero."
"Come on, let’s get out of here," he said in his monotone voice, then turned to go.
He followed them out of the room and then went off in his own direction-towards the mobile suit hangar.
* * * * * * *
"Stay here; I'm going to go ahead in. I'll find him and bring him out," Trowa's calm voice sounded over the intercom. He piloted Heavyarms down a dark hallway, leaving Ciara at the hole they had blown in the hull of Libra.
"Computer, locate Dorothy Catalonia." She figured if she could get to that conniving witch before Quatre or Trowa, both there lives might be spared.
There was a slight whirring, then the computer gave the correct coordinates- Mobile Doll Control.
Ciara walked down the hallway, took a left, went up to the 47th floor on the elevator, then took the first door on the right.
She strode in the appropriate room, just in time to see Dorothy stab her brother in the side. Suddenly, there was a red haze that seemed to fade over everything. Ciara slowly walked forward and took Quatre's disguarded sword in her hand. Her space helmet was still on, so Dorothy didn't recognize her.
"Hmm, and who might you be?" She asked, sword in hand, "Perhaps one of the Gundam pilots?"
Very methodically, Ciara advanced on Dorothy, making an accusing statement with every stride.
"First, you kidnapped my friend and I. I was OK with that. Then, you tortured me and threatened Nolan's life. I was able to handle that, too. I might have been able to forgive you for sending me into battle unknowingly with the Zero System. But you will not get away with hurting my brother. Dorothy Catalonia, you will die."
She slowly lifted her helmet to reveal her identity.
"Ciara Riley Winner," Dorothy responded, "It's so nice to see you again. I hope you aren't as weak as your brother was."
She let out a primal scream and attacked. Ciara blocked her sword with her own, then used leverage to knock her opponent off balance. Dorothy fell backwards, but caught her herself. Swinging around, her blade cut Ciara's left shoulder.
"First blood," Ciara noted, "Touche"
She saluted Dorothy with her rapier, then lunged at her. Dorothy neatly sidestepped the thrust and caught Ciara with the edge of her sword against her throat. Wide-eyed, the young Winner stood straight and dropped her sword.
"The duel is mine," Dorothy gloated. "I believe I was mistaken. You are weak, just like your brother."
At the mention on Quatre, she looked over to see his lifeless form hovering in the low gravity, blood spilling from his wound to the floor.
"Listen," Ciara reasoned, "I've had a really bad day, and I don't want to kill you. So if you'll just remove your sword from my gullet, I'll let you live."
Dorothy laughed then, a short, contemptful laugh.
"You. My dear, are in no position to be making demands. Do you know how long I've been looking forward to killing you? Ever since I laid eyes on you. I want you to know, I consider this an honor."
She drew her sword back for the final blow, then hesitated when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw a gun in Ciara's hand, pointed at her midriff. Dorothy felt the blood from the gunshot seep through her space suit, and the sword clattered to the floor. She fell to her knees gripping her stomach.
* * * * * * *
Nolan rounded yet another corner. They all looked the same to him. He sighed in defeat; he was lost. "Trowa, right?"
The younger man whirled on him, gun in hand. "Who are you?"
"Whoa, whoa!" Nolan shouted, raising his hands, "put the gun away! My name's Nolan, I'm with the Maguanac Core, and I'm looking for Ciara, Master Quatre's sister."
Trowa lowered his weapon and turned back to the console,
"It seems that she is in the Mobile Doll Control Room." His voice died off as he realized whom else was in there. "Dorothy's there, too."
The two men ran towards the room.
"How do you know Ciara?" Trowa asked as they entered the elevator.
"She's my best friend," Nolan answered.
"Funny, she never mentioned you."
"What do you mean?"
Trowa gave the pilot a sidelong glance from underneath his bangs before answering.
"We were...close. I met her when I stayed with Quatre. She's an amazing person."
Nolan blinked. * * * * * * *
"Ciara..." a voice behind her murmured. She turned to see Quatre kneeling and holding his side.
"Can you stand?" She asked him, giving him her shoulder to lean on.
"Wait," he said, then turned towards Dorothy, who was now laying sprawled on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her motionless body. He lightly ran his hands over her face, closing her lifeless eyes.
"OK, lets go."
Ciara looked at her brother's disturbed face. "I'm sorry, Quatre. I know you think she could have been changed, but you didn't see that monster that was inside her. Maybe with enough time and patience, she could have been turned. But there just wasn't time..."
"I know, sis," Quatre broke in. "You did it in self-defense. She would have killed you, and I don't think I would have been able to live with myself knowing that you died for me."
As they exited the room, they ran into both Trowa and Nolan, who was giving the younger pilot a death glare.
"Here, take him." Ciara shoved Quatre at Trowa, then silently approached Nolan.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"I told you I'd come back for you, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did."
Ciara spontaneously hugged him. And he was taken aback, but only for an instant.
"What was that for?"
Ciara looked him in the eye and said,
"The last few hours have made me see what is really important to me. I don't want to go into the next era without you knowing what I have to say. Nolan, I..." She took a deep breath.
"Ciara, shh," Nolan hushed her, his finger upon her lips, "Don't say anything right now. Save it for when we get out of this mess. The Maguanac Core is here, and we have to help them."
She nodded, and the two left for their suits.
* * * * * * *
"Master Quatre, do you need any help here?" Rashid's deep voice sounded over the communications system.
"Yeah! Hey, sure!" Quatre replied, then winced as an explosion racked his suit.
"Sorry we're late," cried a frantic voice over the open channel. A Leo with white armor appeared behind them, along with one of the standard Maguanac Core.
"Miss Ciara, is that you?" Rashid inquired. He never got an answer, for the two mysterious suits began to cause some serious damage to the wounded section of Libra.
Just then, The Gundam 05 rounded a corner and handed Zero its buster rifle.
"Here, you might need this," the pilot said.
"Mission Accepted," Heero replied.
"All hands, retreat! Get the hell out of here!" Bellowed Rashid, as everyone fled the falling section on Libra.
Everyone waited in silence, holding his or her breath in the darkness of space. The Earth watched as their immanent demise hurtled towards them. Then, a great explosion lit up the sky and the outline of Wing Zero was seen appearing from the light. Many cheers of thanks and congratulations were heard as Heero rejoined the group.
* * * * * * *
"And that's how I got on board Libra the second time," concluded Ciara, who was speaking to the enthralled Gundam pilots.
"So, you know about the Zero System then," commented Heero.
"Yeah, but I'm uninstalling it from the Sabre. I'm not big on things that put the mind woogie on me."
After a while, the group broke up. They were in an airport for their last meeting, much to Heero's insistence. Ciara pulled Nolan aside when she saw Heero with a teddy bear. He boarded a plane, then got back off. Suddenly, Relena appeared in the window.
"Heero."
He turned to face her. She pulled out the card that was with the bear and tore it into two.
"Next time, give it to me in person."
His face softened for a moment, and he walked away. Nolan walked up behind him.
"Can I give you some advice, from soldier to soldier?"
"Yeah, sure. I guess."
"You should tell her. How you feel, I mean. You may never see her again."
Heero raised an eyebrow and he thought the statement over in his mind.
"Oh, what the hell?"
He raced back on board the plane and sat down in the seat next to a shocked Relena.
"What? The bear was just saving my place! I swear it!"
Outside, Ciara came up behind Nolan.
"What did you say to him?" She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I told him to tell the girl he loves how he really feels," he responded.
"That's good advice. Who told you that?"
"Relena."
"How ironic."
And uncomfortable silence formed between them, and they stared awkwardly at each other. Finally, Ciara broke the quiet.
"You know what I wanted to tell you on Libra, but couldn't?"
Nolan raised an eyebrow, but decided to humor her. "What's that?"
She smiled a small smile. "I wanted to tell you that if you died, I don't think I could have lived with myself; knowing that it would've been my fault." She swallowed, choking back a sob that had begun to form in the back of her throat. "I don't ever want to live without you, Nolan. You mean too much to me.
Nolan was taken aback. He never expected her to feel this way about him. All the times he wanted to tell her his feelings for her, but too scared that she would reject him. He put his arms around her small waist and whispered softly in her hair,
"I never want to be without you, either, kid." He reached up and caressed her cheek with his hand. As they closed the distance between them, their eyes closed in anticipation on the coming kiss. Neither was disappointed.
Ciara felt Nolan's lips softly brush her own, first gently, then more bold. She teased him with the tip of her tongue and pulled away, suddenly aware of their surroundings.
From a distance, Quatre and Trowa were watching with growing interest.
"Well, he may be a good fighter, a good friend, and a great pilot, but her certainly was a lousy bodyguard," Quatre steamed, violently throwing various articles into his knapsack.
"Yeah, but I don't think you'll have to worry about him protecting your sister anymore. Look," Trowa indicated at the two, who were still in the middle of their kiss. Trowa was barley able to hide his disappointment.
Quatre's eyes widened.
"Do they not have to breath or anything? HEY YOU TWO!!! STOP NECKING AND GET OVER HERE!!" He yelled so loud that the whole colony heard.
Blushing, they walked over to where the two pilots were waiting for them.
"So, what are you guys going to do, now that the wars over?" Ciara asked.
"I'm going home to see my sister, and perform in the circus again."
"I guess I'll go back to being the Winner heir again," Quatre sighed. Ciara nudged her younger brother in the side.
"You make it sound as if it were a chore."
"It is."
"Then it that case, I could take over for you!" Quatre playfully swatted at his sister, and said,
"You wish."
"What about you, Nolan?" Trowa asked. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, Ciara and I decided that we would join this group on Earth headed by Sally Po called the Preventers. Figured we needed to see more of the world before some other psycho decides to blow it up."
Everyone laughed at this statement, and then said their good byes.
Ciara hugged her brother fiercely, holding back the tears that were once again threatening to fall.
"I'll see 'ya around, ok, bro?"
"OK, sis."
She gave him a small peck on the cheek and walked away from him. Walking towards Trowa, Ciara noticed Nolan's expression darken.
"Thank you, Trowa. For everything." She gave him a quick hug, catching him off guard.
"I...uh...you're welcome," he stuttered out, barley able to form words.
Ciara walked over to Nolan and took his hand in hers. Together they stepped onto the shuttle headed for Earth, and their future.
As the shuttle was lifting off, Ciara heard her brother call from outside,
"Bye sis! Promise to come visit me!"
Ciara leaned out the window and shouted,
"As if you could get rid of me that easily!"
Sitting back in her seat, she nestled into Nolan's strong arms and dreamed of the future that they would have together.
The End