ribbon and the ring chapter 2
Chapter 2
Duo blinked twice into the secure curve of Heero’s neck at the sound of the klaxon. "Leney," he murmured, raising his head, "what is it?"
She cocked her head in the darkness. "There’s a big metal man coming." She said, "a purple one."
Duo thought for a moment, "shit," he said sitting up, "it’s Epyon."
"Hn," Heero said, going from asleep to battle ready in seconds. "Thank you, Miss Eluneth," he said looking in the complete wrong direction.
"Pilots, scramble!" The voice came over the tannoy, "we have Oz sighted, repeat, we have Oz sighted, scramble."
There was a mad dash to the hangar where the other pilots were waiting. Wufei and Trowa were waiting patiently as Quatre struggled into his flight suit which had twisted behind him. At another time Duo would have laughed.
Deathscythe’s cockpit was like a comfortable cradle, the heavy woven straps about his shoulders and across his lap gave him the second greatest feeling of safety he knew. The other was when he was with Heero. He arranged all the HUD so that he could see what was happening. "Ready for lift off." Quatre’s voice came over the tannoy.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The g forces were a rush as Deathscythe’s rocket boosters came on line jetting him into space.
"Can we do that again?" Eluneth asked from behind him. Duo laughed to himself because he knew exactly how she felt. The adrenaline was filling his veins and he could feel his heart beat faster.
Epyon was stood waiting for them. "So you all came for me." Zech’s voice was dry and amused. "Exactly what I wanted."
Duo was surprised by the tall golden man that appeared in front of his display screen. The dead of the colonies rarely appeared to him, but this man was tall and beautiful, with a thick blonde beard. "Run." He said. "Flee."
He flicked off his microphone before answering the man. "I’m not going to take your threats." He said.
"They are not my threats." The man said, "they are my son’s, he has a weapon that Oz calls a PSP, it was designed to destroy you. Unlike my son I am a pacifist, I will not see you killed if I can avoid it."
"What’s a PSP?" Eluneth asked.
The golden man looked at her directly before he answered. "A point singularity projectile."
Duo rolled the words around in his mouth for a moment, then he switched on his microphone. "He’s got a black hole bomb." He shouted, "Take him out as quick as possible."
"No!" The King of Cinq said and then vanished into the vacuum.
"So you found out my secret." Zech’s voice was amused. "The bad news is that it’s too late." His voice was cold and calm with just a hint of laughter. "Eeny meanie, miney, Sandrock." The bomb arced out leaving behind it a trail of sparks.
The bomb exploded behind Sandrock, there was a hissing sound then an explosion, then the space warped and collapsed in on itself. The vacuum caught him in it’s power. "04!" Trowa shouted and launched himself after Quatre.
"Shit!" Duo said and dove in after him.
"Duo!" Heero shouted, launching Wing into the gravity of the event horizon.
"What the hell?!" Duo shouted.
"If we’re going down…" Wufei shouted, launching the dragon’s claw, "then you sure as hell are coming with us." It landed on Epyon with a satisfying clang. Then the world went black.
Duo came to slowly on a hard bed, listening to a series of very strange noises, Heero’s rhythmic breathing and the sound of stone crumbling and something striking stone. He opened his eyes and the room was perfectly black, there was not a glimmer of light. He closed his eyes again and opened them trying to reassure himself he was not blind.
Then there was a flood of light from his left and the sound of a minor avalanche, then a thin and rather nasal voice shouted, "Sir Gereint! I’ve found something."
Duo took advantage of the light to look around the room. It was a perfect semicircle and laid out in it were six biers, five of which featured the Gundam pilots. They were all dressed strangely, Heero was dressed like a historical samurai with a splash of embroidered camellia’s over his stomach. Quatre was wearing a pair of wide legged pantaloons and a short loose shirt that appeared to be made of a heavy linen but which showed the metal belts he was wearing. There was a heavy woven gold collar around his neck, which was open with two golden nubs, one carved with a dolphin and the other a wolf. There was a solid metal circlet twisted through his hair. Trowa wore a pair of loose three quarter length tan leather trousers, with four belts looped around his waist, and a sleeveless linen shirt that was tied tight about his chest. Wufei was wearing a long heavy silk robe with a dragon sash, and the hems were embroidered with silk dragons.
He looked down at what he was wearing, a long white heavy wool robe held fast by a silver chain. His hair was loose about his shoulders. There was a heavy pendant on his chest, and he lifted it, it was an oroborous. He was dressed in the formal robes of the Lady of Meirin. He started screaming. His hand flew to the weight about his chest and clawed at the pendant ripping it off himself, and then he realised there was something else at his throat, he felt it carefully, it was a ribbon and a ring. It was the marriage tokens that the Darin empress had given him.
"By Acuya’s golden veil." A man shouted coming into the room as the others started to rouse. "Calm down, lad, shush, calm down. Cedric!" He was a tall, broad man with wide shoulders. He was dressed in a heavy leather jacket and pants. He had loose black curls and a deep tan. "Put some soup on, and some blankets. Your corpses are alive."
He stood next to Duo and offered him his hand, to find Heero alert, awake, and holding a sword point to his throat. "Hold your horses, lad," the man said, "I don’t mean you any harm, I just want to make sure everything is fine, you can put the sword away and we can come to an agreement."
"where the hell are we?" Quatre said swinging his legs over the edge of the bier he was laid out on. There was a small chest at each of their feet. "Oh, Allah," he said clutching his head. "The voices." He murmured. Trowa sat silent, staring at Gereint through his bang, and Wufei had managed to get himself into a sitting position that promised violence.
Gereint took a deep breath before he answered. "I am Sir Gereint, an Angel of the Knights of Saint Baatori, and this is the catacombs of Sidi, I’m excavating them for Sir Cameron, Cedric is my assistant."
"An archaeologist?" Quatre asked, but Eluneth’s answer was more determined.
"Seraphim."
"You’re a seraphim!" Duo accused, Heero’s eyes grew colder as he prepared the death strike.
"We don’t go by that name usually." Gereint said, "we haven’t called ourselves that in centuries, but yes, I am Seraphim, nominally, I am an Angel, I’m a scholar, I only joined the Seraphim by my father’s command for the education. Come, let me get you something to eat and I can verify my story."
"He’s tell the truth." Quatre said. "He trained under Sir Cameron in the Academy of Saint Baatori, he’s looking for a sword that was lost here."
"How did you know that?" Gereint asked, shocked.
"I don’t know." Quatre answered, I just do."
"Draima," Eluneth hissed in Duo’s ear. "The Angels are safe though, they have no interest in politics, they are alchemists and historians, you are safe with him."
Duo nodded. "We’ll trust you," he said, "for now."