Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Like a Bolt from the Blue ❯ Like a Bolt from the Blue ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and I make no money from this or any other story I write

Pairings: None

Category: General

Rating: PG

Warnings: Mild Language, Author Insert - you have been warned! Lol

Title: In Just a Minute

Author: yellowhorde

Status: Finished

You can visit my humble web page, yellowhorde's house, at: http://www.webspawner.com/users/yellowhorde/index.html

Or feel free to send comments/constructive criticism to me at yellowhorde@hotmail.com

Note: This is for the January 2003 contest at Infinity Base

LIKE A BOLT FROM THE BLUE

The gray overcast sky had just started spitting a mixture of snow and sleet when the woman caught sight of the approaching bus. With a weary sigh she heaved herself to her feet and shuffled out of the so-called bus shelter towards the massive vehicle's yawning doors. Her footsteps, slow and lurching, were those of an elderly woman even though she was still in her twenties. A cold wind whipped at her short brown hair and tugged fretfully at the black shawl she had thrown on over her winter coat.

Cold days really are the worst, she thought as she paid her bus fare and settled heavily into her regular seat near the front of the bus. The bones in her left foot, which had been broken in a car accident three years earlier, ached terribly and it was a relief to be able to sit. Unfortunately, experience told her that it would hurt more than ever once she tried to regain her footing.

Calmly she removed fogged glasses that were really too large for her oval face and swiped at the lenses with the shawl before replacing them back on the bridge of her nose. Easing herself into the corner, she closed her brown eyes and let her head drop. Anyone boarding the bus would think she was sleeping and would, theoretically, leave her alone. The young woman wasn't anti-social -exactly- but she had learned that it was better to feign sleep than to deal with the sometimes-questionable strangers who shared the public transportations of the city. Better, and safer.

And it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The bus began to rattle, thump, and sway along its established route. An occasional barely suppressed cough and the rustling of a newspaper punctuated the murmured conversations of at least a dozen passengers. The warm, slightly stale air was heavy with a scent that was equal parts wet wool and leather, and the powdery, itch-the-back-of-your-throat scent of some woman's heavily applied perfume.

Feeling warm and more than a little drowsy, the young woman allowed her mind to drift freely as the bus rumbled through the night. Somewhere along the line, it began to flirt shamelessly with sleep. She was still conscious of her surroundings, but the connection with the real world was getting fainter with each passing second.

Suddenly, she bolted upright, a small and excited 'Oh!' escaping her mouth before she could stop it. She had almost passed up her stop! Quickly, she yanked the nearby chord, which signaled to the driver that a stop was requested and the huge vehicle lumbered to a stop.

Once off the bus, she hurried up the steep hill that lead to her apartment complex, her aches and pains nearly forgotten as she muttered excitedly to herself. She had been granted a vision! Like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky, an idea had struck her and had blossomed full blown in her mind. The resulting rush of exhilaration that surged through her body was ten times bigger and better than any sugar/caffeine high!

Happily she hurried up the four flights of steps that lead to her tiny one bedroom apartment. There was a small spring in her steps and she felt tingly all over and even the smell of fresh carpet glue didn't distract her from her thoughts.

Two orange blurs shot out of the apartment and down the hallway once the door was opened. Swearing under her breath she set down her purse and took off in pursuit.

"Sanosuke! Shinji!" She called in an exasperated half whisper so as not to disturb her neighbors, "Get your butts back here this minute!"

Neither cat paid her any heed - had she really expected them to? - And it was several minutes before she was able to herd them back into the apartment.

Muttering to herself as she engaged the locks and deadbolts on her front door, she turned and was not at all surprised to see the five Gundam pilots gathered in her living room. They were clustered around the entertainment system apparently taking turns playing 'Bushido Blade 2' on the PlayStation 2 system. Heero and Duo sat on the floor with controllers in hand while Quatre and Trowa were cuddling on the sofa behind them. Wufei was off by himself on the loveseat and the two cats, tired from their daily escape attempt, were now curled contentedly on his lap purring loudly.

Five sets of eyes tore themselves from the television long enough to shout out a greeting ("Hey, yellowhorde, welcome back!") before once more riveting themselves to the screen where a fierce battle was being waged.

After depositing her coat and shawl in the hallway closet, the woman sometimes known as yellowhorde made a beeline to the bedroom, kicked off her shoes and changed out of her drab uniform which consisted of a hunter green polo shirt and black slacks and into her favorite pair of pajamas. The outfit was a sack-like one-piece made of black fleece that zipped up the front with long sleeves. Her mother had often told her that it made her look like a penguin but it was incredibly warm and comfortable which more than made up for its appearance.

Now ready for a warm and comfortable night of writing, yellowhorde threaded her way across the crowded living room to the computer desk in the far right corner. It was a cluttered area crammed near to bursting with books, several sketch books, an odd assortment of writing utensils and a whole herd of stuffed Pikachus. A scattering of CD discs lay across the desktop like bizarre Christmas ornaments. It was a wonder that there was any room left for the computer.

Ignoring the chaos of the desk, she plopped down onto a rather uncomfortable looking metal-backed chair and switched on the computer. Once all systems were operational she loaded Microsoft Word and waited for the familiar screen to appear. Just as she was about to begin, she was interrupted by a loud howl of indignation from Duo.

"Hey, that's cheating, Heero!" The braided American shot a glare at his companion that rivaled the famous - and patented- Heero Death Glare.

"Alls fair in love and war, Duo." The blue eyed Japanese gloated, flashing the 'V' sign of victory at his opponent.

Heero, who had been playing the character of Chihiro, a member of the Shianto, had successfully carried out the infamous frog attack in which the young boy threw his pet frog at unsuspecting victims. Usually this attack was pretty useless, but Duo's fighting character of choice was Mikado of the Narukagami, and girls seemed to be particularly vulnerable to this bit of treachery. When the video game character reacted in the stereotypical girl fashion - freaking out and falling to her knees in fright - Heero had managed to deliver a deadly blow with his katana, which sent up geysers of hot computer animated blood.

In this game of single blow killing attacks such a devastating combination spelled certain victory if used with sufficient skill and cunning. And Heero was not above use of such techniques to win the game.

"Would you guys mind holding it down a bit?" Yellowhorde snapped irritably from her perch in front of the computer.

"Heero's cheating!"

"I am NOT! It's a perfectly legal move. Check the booklet."

"It's cheap and underhanded!"

"Maybe so, but it sure got the best of you, didn't it?"

"I demand a rematch!" Pouted Duo.

"No way!" snapped Heero, "I won that round fair and square!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The argument might have come to blows but yellowhorde slammed the flat of her hand against the desk and surged to her feet shocking all those in the living room. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and black tendrils of battle aura leaked out around her in a bizarre and terrifying haloing effect. It was difficult to believe that this woman, who stood barely 5'2" with shoes on could possibly be an intimidating figure, but at this moment she was all that and more.

Unnoticed, the cats prudently headed for safer grounds.

"I have had had enough of your nonsense!" Yellowhorde snarled, pointing at the two squabbling pilots. "Do you want me to go Jack Nicholson on your ass?"

Silence fell like a heavy blanket and both of the battled hardened soldiers shook their heads and mumbled their apologies. The other three teenagers sat wide-eyed and motionless until the volatile woman returned to the computer desk and slowly began to type. Pretty soon the click-clack of the keys filled the room with bursts of irregular speed. A bout of typing then a few moments of silence then another burst of typing.

Eventually the boys decided it was safe to breath. They huddled together like cattle before a storm and spoke in soft, hushed voices.

"What does she mean when she says 'go Jack Nicholson on your ass?" Duo wondered as he cast a cautious glance at the woman sitting at the computer desk. She seemed totally absorbed and there seemed little chance that they would disturb her.

It was Wufei, yellowhorde's favorite, who answered.

"Have you ever seen 'The Shining' with Jack Nicholson?"

Everyone shook their heads except Trowa who replied, "That's that old movie about some hotel and a little boy who talked to his finger. His dad went crazy and tried to kill him and his mother with an ax. Right?"

Wufei nodded emphatically, "That's right. Do you remember the scene where the father, played by Jack Nicholson, got angry at his wife for interrupting him when he was writing?"

Trowa nodded his head slowly, his emerald eyes slowly filling with comprehension.

"Well, she gets like that if people disturb her when she's trying to write." He paused for a moment as if considering then, "Actually, she gets a lot worse."

"I believe it!" Murmured a very nervous looking Quatre.

All eyes turned fearfully towards the woman who muttered and laughed to herself as her fingers flew over the keyboard. She was oblivious to the world around her and the boys intended to keep it that way. For the time being it would probably be better to go play a board game in the bedroom.

"Wow," exclaimed Duo, as he got 'Risk' down out of the closet, "big tempers really do come in small packages!"

THE END