"Well, it looks like we’re in a bit more trouble then we first thought." Noin sighed. She watched as the last of the kids arrived in the hanger.
"I don’t know how I didn’t catch that." She grumbled. "How could Cassius have gotten past all our security?"
"She has a mole in here somewhere." Heero said.
"What’s this about a mole?" Jason asked as he walked in.
"Cassius must have a mole in here to hack into our files and set off the self destruct in the colony."
"Well, that makes sense," Noin scratched her chin. "But…who could it possibly be?"
"My vote is on one of the rookies." Heero said. "We’ve been desperate for recruits, it would be the perfect way to get in."
"Hmm," Noin thought for a moment, and Jason looked between his father and his Aunt.
"You really believe that?" Jason wondered.
"Well, it is a possibility. Trowa used to do it all the time."
"I guess…" He turned around and spotted Brittney and Seth walking down the hallway. "Hey! Hey guys!" He dashed out of the room to catch up with them. Seth tried to keep walking but Brittney stopped and flashed Jason a big smile.
"Hi baby," She smiled. Jason was momentarily shocked by her use of the word ‘baby’ but brushed it off.
"Hey," He grinned. "Did you her Noin’s latest theory?"
"No…why?"
"Oh of course not, you guys just got here didn’t you?"
"Yeah, we just dropped off the colony citizens nearby. What’s going on?"
"Noin thinks we’ve got a mole." Jason said.
"A mole!" Brittney gasped. "That can’t be good. If there really is a mole, we could be in a lot of trouble."
"Who could possibly…?" Seth started.
"My dad thinks its one of the rookies."
"Well…I guess that would make sense. We should keep our eyes open for suspicious characters." Jason agreed. "Speaking of which…" He turned and saw Helen, the twins and that guy, Saber, heading towards them.
"Who is that?" Brittney asked, looking at Saber.
"He says his name is saber. He’s one of the new rookies. He came out and helped us in that battle. He was surprisingly good in a mobile suit."
"Hmm," Seth said.
"Yeah, ‘hmm’ is right." Jason agreed. He’s definitely on my list of people to keep an eye on."
Brittney ignored him and waved to the group. "Hey guys! Did you hear? Noin thinks there’s a mole in here!" she called. She watched for Saber’s reaction, but there was nothing more than a slight raise of his eyebrows.
"A mole? How could a mole possibly get into the Preventor base? We screen everyone thoroughly."
"She thinks it’s a rookie." Brittney explained. "It would be a good way to get in, Noin hasn’t been putting as much attention to rookies lately."
"Hm" Helen thought. "We could have a major problem then."
~~~
The Preventor base in Zimbabwe was very crowded, and it was hard for them to get into a schedule and get used to a different set-up.
The base was about half the size of the headquarters, and it now had double the people. It was so bad tat the kids no longer got their own rooms. The girls were in one room and the guys were in another. It was the same way for the rookies, but they needed two rooms each.
Jasmine was probably the most upset about the new sleeping arrangements, and everyone knew why. The poor girl couldn’t go and sleep with her boyfriend anymore, but she would probably find a way.
"So, who wants a top bunk and who wants a bottom one?" Helen frowned at the four bunks.
"Be grateful we’re not rookies. I hear they’re at least six to a room, sometimes more." Indigo snorted.
"Yeah, and have you seen their rooms? My closet back home is bigger!" Jasmine complained.
"Oh relax guys, it’s not so bad." Brittney said carefully. "Hey, if no one wants the bottom bunk, I’ll take it."
"Are you kidding?" Jasmine cried. "There’s no way I’m climbing up and down from my bed every day! I get a bottom bunk for sure."
"I don’t mind," Helen sighed, "But most of the time I don’t wake up in the morning. I wouldn’t want to fall out of bed." She laughed.
"Really? You guys actually don’t want the top?" Brittney shrugged. "Cool." She climbed up onto the top bunk in the corner and lay down. Suddenly her eyes widened and she screamed and jumped down, landing on her but."
"What’s wrong with you?" Jasmine wondered.
"You would not believe…how huge…that spider is." She choked between breaths.
"Spider!" Indigo screamed and ran to the other side of the room. Jasmine peeked over the bed and saw the tarantula on the sheets. "Aw, it’s cute."
"Cute!" Brittney shrieked. "It’s a huge friggin spider!"
"Eww," Helen winced, "Kill it Jazz!"
"Kill it? Please, I’ll just go let it outside." She walked to the door, and as she passed the other girls she held the spider out to them. Indigo and Brittney both screamed and ran again. Jasmine laughed and walked out.
"What’s going on in here?" Jason asked as he and Seth came down the hall.
"Jasmine found a spider." Brittney whimpered.
"Wha…? Whoa!" Jason jumped away from the tarantula in Jasmine’s hand. She grinned and put it close to his face.
"Jazz, get that thing away from me or I swear…"
"Oh nasty!" Jeff suddenly came from the other way. "Where the heck did that come from?"
"In our room," Jasmine said. "I’m going to let it outside."
"Ok, but watch out for scorpions.
Jasmine gulped, "S-scorpions?" She quickly shoved the spider into Seth’s hands. "Here you take it, there’s no way I’m dealing with scorpions."
Seth looked at the huge, hairy spider and paled. "Uh…uh…Jasmine…?" He squeaked as it began to move up his arm. He was positive he could make out all eight of its beady eyes.
"Help me…"
"Scared of spiders, Seth?" Joel snickered.
"It’s not a spider, its gross and it’s crawling up my arm."
Joel shook his head and picked the eight-legged thing up and carried it towards the door.
"Some boyfriend you’ve got here, Jazz." He called. As he disappeared around the corner they could hear people screaming and saying ‘gross’.
"What is wrong with you two?" Helen gawked.
"Oh boy, I am not going to sleep tonight." Indigo declared.
"Me neither, scorpions, gross!" Jasmine shuddered.
"I’ve decided that I don’t like Zimbabwe all that much." Brittney sniffled.
"Yeah…hey guys! I just realized something!" Indigo cried suddenly.
"And what is that?" Helen asked.
"All our stuff got blown up…"
They stopped and thought about that for a moment.
"Hey! She’s right!" Jason cried.
Brittney, Jasmine and Indigo all grinned. "That means we get to go shopping!"
"Wonderful…" Helen groaned.
~~~
"There is no way I am going in there." Helen protested when she saw where the rest of the girls were headed.
"Oh come on Helen, you need new clothes, don’t you?"
"Well yeah but…that’s a…a…lingerie store…"
"Oh please," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You can’t tell me you don’t wear a bra. How did you ever get anything?"
"My mom always did the shopping for that kind of stuff…" Helen pouted. "She knew all my sizes…"
"Oh come on, I bet we could figure it out." Jasmine grabbed her handed and dragged her into the store. Helen protested all the way until they ran right into a clerk.
"Can I help you…ladies>" She scrutinized the girls’ ratty appearance.
"Yes you can," Jasmine smirked, "My friend and I need some underwear."
Helen wanted to disappear.
"Well OK," The woman sighed, obviously doubting the two had any money. She looked down at Helen’s chest and thought for a moment. Helen squirmed under her view. "I’d say you’re a B, but… She trailed of and went skimming through the assortment of bras. Helen sighed and watched her, wanting to get the whole thing over with.
~
After dealing with the snooty saleswoman, they headed for the next place on their list.
"This sucks, Helen grumbled, I hate clothes shopping. Why are we going for shoes?"
"Well, we start from the bottom and work our way up." Brittney explained. "We start with underwear, then shoes, then pants and shirts, and finally, accessories."
"You make it all sound so exciting!" Helen gasped sarcastically.
"It is," indigo chuckled. They pulled Helen into yet another store.
After going through way too many shoes stores, Helen finally managed to sneak away and found something more interesting; like video games. That was where she found the guys. She dropped her heavy bags on the ground and watched them for a moment.
"Looks like you guys are having more fun than I am." She sighed.
Jason looked up and grinned, "Well, looks like Helen went on a little shopping spree."
"Shut up, Jason," She snapped. She groaned and looked through the games on the shelves. She found that the electronics store was boring as well, and soon left. "I’ll see you guys back at the base." But none of them were listening.
She traveled all the way down to the food court, and dropped her bags while she ordered some food and sat down. As she ate, she started thinking about her family. She clenched her fists tightly. If she ever got her hands on that Cassius woman she…she didn’t know what she would do, but it would be painful. She ate in silence and tried to keep down her tears. It was hard to believe that the people she loved so much were gone; never to be seen again.
Helen was halfway done when she was forced to look up as some guy started to flirt with her. Helen didn’t pay much attention. A few weeks ago she may have pondered why she was suddenly so attractive to guys. Now, she didn’t care.
Eventually, the guy gave up and called her a bitch as he walked away. Helen sighed and as she looked back, she caught a glimpse of gray hair. She stopped and looked for the person again. She saw her, with long spiral curls and silvery-gray hair. It couldn’t be…she wouldn’t show her face in such a public place, would she? Rage began to build inside her and she dashed for the woman. She heard the woman laugh and was then positive it was her! It had to be…Cassius!
Helen grabbed Cassius’ arm and spun her around, then pulled her fist back to slam it into her face.
She stopped when Cassius screamed shrilly and shrank away. Helen stopped and studied her face. It wasn’t Cassius! It was some poor old woman! Helen was relieved, but also slightly embarrassed. She didn’t know how she could mistake this old woman for that vain witch. Helen quickly apologized and headed back to her seat. She must be paranoid. Looking at the woman again, even from the back she looked nothing like Cassius. She must be going crazy. That was the only way she could explain it. She had never acted that way before. She decided to go and find the rest of the girls, and stop attacking poor defenseless old women.
On her way backed, she changed into some of her new clothes and figured they would be in some proper clothing store by then.
She found them rather easily, since Jasmine was making a big fuss about using her camera in the store.
Helen sighed and walked into the store and waited for the argument to finish. It did, with the clerk calling security to kick them all out.
Helen sighed and followed her friends and waited for them to notice her.
"Where have you been, Helen?" Indigo asked.
"Eating, what about you?"
"We got some great stuff." Brittney smiled. "Look at this shirt!" She pulled out a shirt that said ‘objects under shirt are larger than they appear’.
"That’s…cute…" Helen said tentatively.
"I know!"
"So guys, where to next…?" Jasmine asked, she trailed off for a moment and rubbed her temples.
"Jazz, is there something wrong?" Indigo asked.
"No…nothing’s wrong." Jasmine insisted. She suddenly felt very dizzy. Spots appeared in front of her eyes and suddenly everything went black for a split second.
"Jasmine!" Helen gasped as Jasmine fell to her knees.
Suddenly, Jasmine opened her eyes and saw millions and millions of scorpions racing towards her. She let out a blood curdling scream and watches as their shimming black bodies covered her skins
She frantically tried to knock them off of her, but they just kept coming. "Get them off me! Someone help!" She screamed. She crouched over the ground and covered her face with her arms.
"Jazz! What’s wrong with her?" Joel and Seth both ran to her side and looked up at the others.
Jasmine was rocking back and forth and shuddering with sobs. She could feel them crawling all over her, and stinging her with their ugly little stingers. Finally, Jasmine couldn’t take it anymore and she passed out.
"Jazz!" Seth turned her onto her bad and examined her carefully.
"She’s out cold." He announced.
"We should get her back to the base." Helen suggested.
Seth nodded and he and Joel carried her out of the mall.
~~~
Jasmine moaned as she opened her eyes slowly and carefully. She gasped suddenly when she remembered what had happened and shot out of her bed.
"Jasmine! You’re awake!" Seth ran to her side and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Wha-what happened? Where did all those scorpions come from?"
Seth looked confused.
"What scorpions?" He asked. "Jasmine you had some sort of spaz attack in the mall and passed out."
"I what?!" Jasmine shrieked. She thought for a moment. "But…but I saw them. There were thousands of them, and they were all over every part of me!"
"Jasmine, there were no scorpions, you must have been delirious. What have you eaten lately?"
"You think this is due to some bad cafeteria food? Since when does that make you have strange delusions? Lat I checked, it just made you gag or throw up."
"I can’t explain it any other way. I’m going to go get your mom, OK?" He started to get up. "She was worried about you, and she might be able to help."
Jasmine nodded and sat back in her bed. She was back in the girls’ room, but there was no one else there. All her stuff was though. She got up and got changed while she waited for her mom.
Sally came in a few minutes later. "Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" Sally asked.
"Better," Jasmine said.
"That’s good. Seth said you had some kind of delusion. Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Well…" She tried to recall the events of that afternoon without shuddering at the thought. "First I felt really dizzy, and I fell down and everything went black for a second. Then when I could see again, there were just all there scorpions and they kept coming. I couldn’t get them off me! I guess that was when I passed out."
Sally nodded and then took her daughter’s temperature and checked her vital signs.
"Well, everything’s normal, but maybe you should rest a bit just in case."
Jasmine nodded and sank down into her sheets, but she could not fall asleep.
~~
"That was really weird, what happened to Jazz." Indigo commented.
"Yeah," Joel agreed, "I hope she’s OK."
"She will be," Helen said confidently. "She just needs some rest. We should probably stay out of the room for a while."
The others quickly agreed.
"But…what if it happens again?" Joel wondered.
"And what could have caused it? Jasmine was perfectly fine and then two seconds later…WHAM!" Jason said, slamming his hand down for emphasis.
"We may never know," David sighed.
~~~
"Did it work?" Cassius asked eagerly.
"Yes Cassy," Her contact answered. "It worked perfectly."
Cassius grinned to herself. "Excellent. Looks like my new toy wasn’t a waste of money after all." She laughed maniacally, loving every minute of the Gundam pilots’ suffering.
"Having a mole in the Preventors turned out to be a great idea." She looked at the man on the other side of the screen, her mole. He was silhouetted against the light, but she could just barely make out the outline of his black hair.
"Good work darling," She cooed, "Keep it up." He smiled, just slightly. "As you wish, Cassius." He signed off quickly and left Cassy alone.
Cassius scratched her chin and stared at the machine hooked up to several computers in the corner of the room. It would be her ticket to defeating the Gundam pilots, and completely destroying her only obstacle in ruling the world: the Preventors.
