Disclaimer: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is property of Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu. Peter Pan is property of J.M. Barrie, Disney & Universal.
"Take care of yourself, Nataku," he said hiking a backpack full of various explosives onto his shoulder.
He scowled. This was stupid. It was merely a ploy to get him out of the way. Everyone knew this colony had no dealings with Oz. The place couldn't even hold a proper orbit it was so far off of Earth's gravitational pull. It was generally ignored as if it didn't exist.
It was the perfect place to set up an operation.
No, it was probably Maxwell playing one of his stupid games. If there were an Oz base on this colony, Wufei would eat his sword. Maxwell...
"Wha's th' matter, sir?" A tiny fireball forced her way into Wufei's vision. Her orangish hair ran down her back in a single braid and dirty spots covered her red and yellow dress. "No' feelin' too well? Ya don' look too sick."
He must be near the town. Little girls don't tend to stray too far from their homes. "Go home."
"Well, wasn't tha a bit harsh? Ya coulda said, 'Hello, li'l gel. I feels fine,' or even, 'HELP! I needs a doctor!' but no, you say, 'Go 'ome!' Tha's not very nice, is it?" She now wore an expression akin to Heero's when he was in a particularly murderous mood.
"I don't like nosey little girls."
"Ya don' much like gels a t'all, be my guess." She peered into his eyes for a moment before pulling back and crossing her arms. "Name's Angelina, but ya can call me Lina. Call me Angie and die."
"You're six years old, I'm really scared."
"Seven!"
"Alright then seven." He hid a smile. Most kids would have been crying or running home by now, but she was still waiting for his answer. "I'm not sick. I feel fine. How are you? Pleasure to meet you, Miss Angelina. I must be going."
Lina smiled, jumping in front of him to keep him from leaving. "Ya talk funny. Where'er ya from?"
"Long story."
"M'a kid. I likes stories." She grabbed his arm, pulling him to the ground. "Righ'! Story time!"
This child was insane. Or was she? A thought suddenly struck Wufei.
"I do not play games, child," he said drawing his sword. Little Miss Angelina already had a handgun pointing at his head.
"Drop it. Ain't worth yer life, is it?" He let his sword fall. "Now stand up nice and slowly." He did.
A child. A CHILD! Wufei you're loosing your touch. Anger burned behind his skull. Captured by a child.
The only truly good thing about the cell was that it stank. The stench was actually a stimulant capable of keeping Wufei awake all through the next few days and nights. Awake was good. For some strange reason Wufei was sure that if he fell asleep he'd wake up in a bonfire. So, he sat rock solid against the wall waiting for his captor to show up.
Angelina, it turned out, was a city guard on patrol in the Edge Park sector. She was posted there to intercept anyone who looked as if they didn't belong. Wufei would have passed inspection if this were a normal colony, but it wasn't.
The people who founded the colony christened it New Britain, the capital New London and the people of New Britain entertained a slight fantasy. They imagined their world to be that of Nineteenth Century Britain with accompanying decor and dress.
Wufei in his "modern" dress and with his distinctly not British features was immediately spotted as an "Otherworlder." This, he surmised, was a crime punishable by death. But, there was still the trial to go through. Wufei's wait was due to the judge and defending attorney being indisposed.
"Jes four more days. " It was Angelina. The girl had taken to visiting Wufei every morning. Wufei had taken to ignoring her. "Wasn' me fault, you wanderin' in. It's me job. It's wha' I was born fer. Ya understand, don' ya?" Her fingers slid around the bars. "I was gonna let ya go, I was."
That was new.
"I don' think it's righ'. But then... Ya... Ya were so mean ta me. 'Go 'ome!' ... Like I gots a 'ome. Wouldn't even be 'ere now 'f it weren't fer the Brits needin' a new guard. Ya understand wha' I'm sayin', don' ya?"
That seemed very important to her. That he understands. Trying to absolve herself of guilt. "It's not that easy," were his first words in three days.
She looked up. Her eyes matched the red bits of her dress, swollen and sad. "Wha' isn't?"
"If I die, the guilt will eat you for the rest of your years. You will die with the name Chang Wufei on your lips."
Horror struck her features. "But, it wasn' me fault!"
"Wasn't it? Do you even care why I'm here? Do they?"
Angelina glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had come in from behind. Her face grew hard. "In this place, ya do wha' yer told. Ya don' question an order and ya don' have a righ' ta think fer yerself."
A seven year old should not be in the position to say such things.
"Do ya even care why I's here? Ya come into this place, with yer frozen face and fancy trimmins an' find a li'l gel, all alone in th' woods an' wha' do ya do? Ya tell 'er ta go 'ome."
What does she know? She's seven. "It won't work on me."
"Wha' won', Mister Wufei, sir? Tha' TRUTH! I cames ta apologize, ta say I's sorry fer sommat I can' do anythin' about!"
"The truth. What do you know about the truth?"
She pushed herself away from the bars. "Th' truth is that everyone has a price, even seven year olds." She slid the sleeve of her dress up past her elbow to expose a barcode. "This is me ID. It means I have NO right ta do anythin' I's no' told ta do. But I comes 'ere everyday ta say I's sorry. I never caught anyone before. I don' expect ya ta take my apologies, jes ta acknowlege I said them." She covered her arm again and swept back through the door before Wufei could stop her.
"Well, that settles that," he muttered. "Oz is definitely not on this colony."
Angelina...
How could someone so young have that type of knowledge? And what exactly was her "price"?