42, or So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
A Gundam Wing / Hitch-hiker's Guide to The Galaxy crossover
By Beth
[email protected] 

Warnings: Crossover with H2G2, and Beth putting her feelings in a fic again.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sotsu, Hitch-hiker's Guide to The Galaxy
            belongs to Douglas Adams. No copyright infringement intended.

"K'so!!" The console shattered under Heero's fist. "Where are they?"

Sally considered putting her hand on his shoulder, but thought better of it. She knew that if Duo and Wufei did not return in the next few days, they would be not two, but three pilots' short. At least Trowa and Quatre leaned on each other for support, she mused.

"Heero?" she tried. "You should get some sleep."

"I don't need to," he responded curtly.

"You've been up for three days now."

"They've been gone for a week." Heero seemed not to have heard her.

"Yes Heero, I know that," Sally sighed. "And they've disappeared without a trace during battle. But you have to admit that after all this time one of the options is that they're-"

Suddenly one of the walls of the Peacemillion's control room folded itself into an origami crane and flew away into another dimension, revealing a rather different space. It seemed to be a ship's control room as well, but one that had been designed by interior decorators who had too much time on their hands. Each corner was broken into many slightly curved surfaces, which gave the overall impression of something so simplistic, it had to be extremely expensive. As did the consoles, which were discreet to the point of almost non-existence.

In the middle of the floor sat three wicker garden chairs. Two of them held what appeared to be a normal human female and male, but the occupant of the third did not allow himself to be seen before bounding up and rushing at supernatural speed to glomp Heero.

"Woo-hoo! We made it! Aren't ya happy to see me, Hee-chan??" Duo babbled.

Heero's arms went around him, squeezing the other boy tightly.

"We?" the woman in one of the chairs asked. "I did the improbability factor calculations."

"Sure, sure, anything you say Trillian..." the braided pilot shrugged.

"I'm glad you're back," Sally said. She turned to the still-seated pair. "I'm Sally Po, I'm the doctor on the Peacemillion."

"This is Tricia MacMillan, also known as Trillian, the pilot of the Heart Of Gold and significant other to that Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the Galaxy, who's currently on the run from the Galaxy, but that's no problem, and I'm Arthur Dent-"

"The most arthurdentic creature in existence!!" another man cried, coming out of a sliding door. "Hi, I'm Ford Prefect and this-" he held up a scrap of soggy terrycloth "-is my towel!"

"Hello," Sally said hesitantly. "Uh... it's a nice towel..."

"I don't leave home without it!"

Yet another man stepped out of the same door. This one had a very friendly face, and an overall easygoing air that was only slightly spoiled by the second head and third arm.

"So those are your friends, Duo!" He rubbed his hands gleefully. "And now we can drop you off -- quickly, mind you, you know how it is, places to go, Jynnan Tonyx to drink..."

"Has he caused trouble?" The unspoken continuation of Heero's words was 'the baka that he is'.

"Oh nooo, Duo's a dear young thing, but that other... boy..."

From the corridor a conversation could be heard.

"And then he just up and left! Where's the justice in that, tell me? Sometimes I don't know why I hang around at all, no-one seems to appreciate what I do..."

"Wufei?" Sally asked.

"Oh, I do know that so well." The other voice was rusty and filled with electronic despair. "Look at me -- brain the size of a planet and what do they use me for? Showing people around, opening doors, turning screws..."

"That's Marvin," Duo sighed. "World beware, here come Justice Boy and his sidekick, the Paranoid Android."

The braided boy extricated himself from Heero's arms and bounced over to the door, through which he pulled a spluttering Wufei. "We'll be off then!" he exclaimed cheerfully, keeping a hand clamped firmly over Wufei's mouth.

The others waved as the barrier between the two ships started to solidify.

"Don't forget to write!"

"Try that recipe for Pangalactic Gargle-blaster!"

"Always know where your towel is!"

"Don't remember me -- no-one does anyway, I don't know why I bother anyway, might as well go and rust in a corner-"

Duo waved for all he was worth. Then he looked over to Wufei and they both drew a deep breath.

"So long and thanks for all the fish!!!"

Some time later, Sally got a look at a small portable computer Duo and Wufei had brought with them from their excursion. It was labeled "Don't Panic" in large friendly letters. She hit one of the buttons at random.

"Douglas Noel Adams," the computer said. "Noted as the creator of this 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and other worthy books. His sudden death following a heart attack on May 11th, 2001 caused many inexplicable phenomena, including webpages going black, people getting drunk on Jynnan Tonyx, and bad fanfic being written in under 15 minutes."

"He's spending a year dead for tax reasons."
- Douglas Adams, "Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

Rest in Peace

~THE END~