21-Sep-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Special Guest Writer! Nixie the Pixie!*
Nixers - Nixerchan@aol.com
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: NC-17 for now, that will change
Pairings: 1+2+5, 3+4
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, Mission: Arcadia
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners.
Kenny, Duan, Wufan, Tryan, Carter, Jack and the Ripper, and everything relating to Rip & Jack's universe are ours. No money being made here.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
WARNINGS: AU (Alternate Universe), Original Characters, LEMON in some sections. Kiddie-Angst.
WARNING THIS SECTION: More Angst, Suspense
Voices raised almost to a shout to be heard over the loud alarm, the blond Preventer's message could just barely be made out over Une's commline. "No time to explain," he began, face pinched with frustration and anxiousness. "Marcus is escaping and Relena, Mariemeia and the boys are all unaccounted for. Their systems are down here. We need everything you can get."
"Zechs! Got it! Negative on the aid! I repeat, we cannot assist at this time. We've been sabotaged from within! All Preventer communications going to lockdown mode! That's Sphere-wide! I repeat, Sphere-wide! We're attempting to switch over to civilian channels, but it's going to take some time!" she called out over the din in the office. Looking into Zech's eyes over the comm, "I am sorry, Zechs," she said and in the next instant the communication was terminated.
Shoving the dead communicator back into the hands of the officer, he asked tersely, "Nearest mobile suits?"
"M-m-mobile suits?" the officer answered. "We don't have... only Preventers have mobile suits, sir..."
With a scathing last look at the man, Zechs turned and ran to follow the path the Gundam pilots had taken, berating himself for the waste of time.
In the bay on the west side, Quatre's head jerked up an instant before the claxon went off. He stumbled and stopped, hands rising to press against his chest. As the departure alarm rang around them, he slipped to his knees, eyes closing.
Trowa turned. Seeing Quatre, he ran over and put his arms around the blond pilot. "What is it?" he asked, over the din of the claxon.
The tall boy saw Quatre's lips move, though his eyes did not open. He seemed to be repeating, 'I hear you... I hear you...'
Trowa's arms tightened around Quatre as they sat together on the floor. He didn't ask, but waited until Quatre could speak again. A frown creased his brow as the sense of illease around them deepened.
The ground under Heero's feet began to shake with a familiar vibration as the alarm rang around them. Somewhere - very close - a ship was revving for takeoff.
"NO!" Heero called out, moving quickly, yet knowing that he would be too late to prevent what logic dictated was happening around him.
Just ahead, he saw a sealed hatchway. Before he was aware, his hand came up with gun drawn and a blast issued from it to the obstacle in front of him. Door... dead, he thought.
The multiple layers of armored metal seemed to sizzle and peel away under the bright beam from the muzzle of the unusual weapon. As the metal melted and vaporized, the sound of shuttle engines could be heard thundering on the other side.
As the door before them evaporated into a mist of molten metal, Duo turned down another corridor, not missing a beat in his headlong flight. He shifted Tryan against him tightly with one arm, freeing the other as a familiar warm weight appeared in his palm. A similar hatchway loomed ahead, the heavy blast door barring his way for all of the second it took for him to focus his thoughts. Ducking through the now slagged portal, Duo cast around quickly, letting out a triumphant shout as he spotted an empty shuttle waiting patiently in the deserted bay.
Sprinting up the boarding ramp at a dead run, he entered the shuttle and slammed his fist down on the hatch release, shutting it behind him and locking it down. Tryan was quickly deposited in the co-pilot's chair in the cockpit, even as Duo flung himself into the other, fingers already flying over the controls.
The rumble in the next bay over crescendoed ominously as system after system flashed up green within Duo's purloined shuttle. As the last of the system checks cycled through, Duo slapped his hand down on the main thruster ignition, disengaging all locking clamps with his free hand.
Everything went dark within the cockpit for a split second, and then the entire control panel erupted in a cacophonous wail of alarms and flashing red lights. With eyes widening in horror, Duo watched helplessly as system after system suffered a catastrophic failure and shut itself down, leaving the pilot and boy in deafening darkness once again.
Tryan clasped his hands over his ears as he slipped to the shuttle floor. Curling into a ball, he closed his eyes tightly, feeling the first echoes of despair. He thought of Carter and then, one by one, the others as he forced himself to lay still and try and be with them as best he could.
Strong arms suddenly gathered him up against a warm chest, tightening around him as Duo struggled to retain the shreds of his calm facade. "We'll get 'em back, Tryan. I promise, we'll get 'em back. I won't lose anyone again. I promise," the braided pilot murmured shakily, trying to comfort himself with the small body clutched in his arms, as much as he tried to comfort that same small form.
The thunder beyond the opening increased until Heero was forced to fall back further into the corridor. When the engines reached their escape thrust, the ship beyond sprang into the sky, leaving only the smoking cradle behind.
The next moment, Heero Yuy stepped out and raised his face to the sky. His hand moved up, aiming the gun as he locked onto the vapor trail now streaking through the atmosphere. 'I took down a small space craft with this,' he heard Gun's voice from Arcadia say in his mind.
He felt rather that saw the weapon lock on and *knew* at that moment that he could fire once and it would hit the target.
At the same time, he felt something in his mind that was not a memory, or even a voice with words, but the meaning was as clear as the impression was both familiar and completely new.
/Not yet./
Heero blinked, feeling his arm drop at almost the same instant. A wave of nausea assaulted his senses, bringing him to his knees amid the smoke and scarred remains of the launching bay.
Hands of steel closed on his shoulders, holding him steady. Wufei stood behind him, face an iron mask, even as water streamed down his cheeks unheeded.
"We'll find them," his voice was so intense it was devoid of emotion. "He can't stop us. It can't stop us. We'll reach them. Get up, Heero Yuy."
Hearing the timbre of Wufei's voice, Heero took two deep breaths and stood. The nausea had passed and he looked up at Wufei, nodding his agreement. He then took one more look up at the sky and touched Wufei's hand. "Let's find Duo," he said, locking the emotion down. "And then we'll make some plans."
Wufei nodded silently, turning in the same moment to carry out the words. He registered Treize's absence without comment.
Gradually, the thunder of Duo's heart slamming in his ears faded, and his thoughts slowly ordered themselves. Tightening his hold around Tryan, he rose to his feet once more and departed the useless shuttle, not even bothering to secure it behind him.
"Were you guys all wearing your knives today?" he asked quietly.
Tryan sniffled, then nodded. "Y..yes," he said, reluctant to move his face away from Duo's neck.
Duo hugged the boy tightly, brushing his lips over the tousled hair tucked under his chin. "Then let's go find Heero and his computer and look up those tracking beacons I hid in all of them, shall we?" he offered. "We're gonna get 'em back."
Tryan nodded, but didn't say anything at first. Something was bothering him. "I did what he said, Duo. That was right, wasn't it?" he finally asked.
"You did right, Tryan. You did good. It's not your fault. You did the right thing," Duo repeated urgently, struggling to keep his voice even in the face of the painful question.
Tryan nodded again, then leaned his head back against Duo's neck and held on.
As Duo and Tryan emerged from the side corridor, they saw Heero and Wufei coming from the empty bay.
Crossing the threshold, Heero looked up as his eyes locked onto Duo's. He saw the reflected despair in the violet depths, even though Duo's face didn't register it.
After a few moments, his eyes moved to Tryan and Heero felt his chin lift. For a moment, the veil of pain parted and glimmer of hope shone through. Moving closer, he reached out and touched Tryan's shoulder and rubbed his fingers gently over the boy's back. "He got away," he said, flatly, searching his partner's face.
"Not for long," Duo replied darkly. "The boys had their knives. No matter where he takes them, we can find him."
Unless he searches them, Wufei thought, but kept silent. He had a sense of unfolding destiny in the events that were occurring, not a feeling he was fond of - it always brought pain and loss - but he was determined to find a way to save the children, all of them.
As they all returned to the local authorities' room, they saw Zechs, with Dorothy and Relena, as well as representatives from both Preventers and cops.
"That's what I said - every single docking bay in the port has locked down - all codes scrambled," the voice repeated over the comlink as in ones and twos, people converged on the once-empty local command center. "It will take hours - maybe days to free up any of them!"
"The bays aren't your only problem," Duo interjected in a toneless voice. "The shuttles have all be sabotaged, too. You have your work cut out for you."
"Heero, I'm so sorry," Relena whispered almost inaudibly.
Heero turned to Relena and nodded. "We'll get 'em back," he said, simply.
"I know you will, Heero," Relena answered softly, but with unshakable conviction.
Standing little further than a foot away from his sister and Dorothy, Zechs quickly glanced over the small group. Fixing finally on Wufei he asked, "He's not with you?"
Wufei met Zechs' eyes and the blond man could see that there was no longer anything hidden in the Asian man's soul. He shook his head. "He'll be doing what he feels he can," he answered directly.
Not finding a verbal response immediately, Zechs simply nodded, returning his attention to the teeming room. "Outside help won't be available immediately," he said, a mixture of frustration and regret in the statement.
"First we have to determine their destination," Wufei replied.
Coming into the room on Trowa's arm, the Arabian pilot said quietly, "I know where they are going."
"That was fast," Zechs said, mostly under his breath.
"No it wasn't," Quatre answered with a brief, uncharacteristic touch of bitterness, quickly banished by will. "I know because *he* knows. He knew last night, just not what it meant. They'll be on the Moon."
Heero glanced up at Quatre, then to Duo and Wufei. "Let's go," he said.
"It's not going to be that simple, Heero," Quatre said with desperate calm. "We won't be able to simply grab a ship and go. They will have prepared for that. They will be waiting for us. We have to be prepared to fight."
Heero's eyebrow lifted as he listened to Quatre speak. "They?" he asked.
"Yes, they," Quatre said. "It. It's waiting. You understand? This is what It wants. To end the peace. To end us. We have to stop it. For the kids, yes. Also for everyone and everything else."
"So we fight," Duo replied evenly. "Up there, before It can bring all that down here. And we kill It before It can win."
The blond Arabian nodded, but at the same time answered, "I'm not sure if it isn't already too late for that. But we have to try and find a way."
Tryan scrambled down to the floor suddenly and dashed over to Quatre. Looking up at the blond pilot, he took Quatre's hand. "It's not too late!" he said. "It wasn't too late for us. It can't be for you. Gotta keep thinking good thoughts, ok?"
Quatre went to his knees in front of the boy and placed his arms in a protective circle around him. He nodded solemnly.
"Ok," he said simply. "I will. And Tryan... he's ok. He wanted you to know that he was sorry for sending you off, but someone had to tell us what was happening. He's sleeping now... but I can feel him. And I promise I won't lose him."
Tryan clasped his arms around Quatre's neck, holding on tightly for a moment. He sighed deeply, feeling his body slowly relax. "Thank you," he said, next to Quatre's ear. "I know you won't lose him."
Quatre hugged the little boy gently. He looked up at Duo and Heero for a moment and they each saw the momentary flash of strain, not unlike the doubts they'd seen once before, before a battle to save Earth. "That's right," he said quietly.
"If you need anything at all, Quatre," Heero said, "Let me know. We're in this together."
"Exactly," the blond answered firmly. "Don't worry."
"Another meaningless battle," Wufei said softly. "And for the first time, I finally know who, what the real enemy is."
Trowa's mouth lifted in a rare smile at Wufei's statement. He looked down and caught Tryan's attention. "Hup!" he said, watching as the little boy disengaged himself from Quatre to execute a perfect standing somersault into his arms.
One of the doors opened and a uniformed woman entered briskly, scanning the room and dismissing the officers without a moment's thought.
"Did somebody call for a mobile suit squad?" Noin asked crisply.
Zechs reached and gave Relena's shoulder a light touch before stepping into Noin's line of sight, relief and some warmth returning to his features at the welcome announcement and friend. Standing idle had not sat well with him, not with even an approximate destination.
"That would be mine," Zechs said, a small flash of a smile accompanying the words before it settled back to business. "Are they modified for hard vacuum?"
"I'll take whatever you got," Heero replied to Noin's statement.
Noin lifted her hand in a quick salute to Heero, and then turned to Zechs with a smile. "Half and half, Preventer Wind, that almost goes without saying. I'll have the space-ready suits on the pad in an hour."
Wufei glanced around the room quickly. "An hour - then I have preparations to make," he said, and indicated his desire to leave the premises of the Spaceport.
As soon as Tryan had crossed to Quatre, Duo slipped silently from the room, stepping just outside into the deserted corridor as he pulled his comlink from his pocket. Deft fingers flashed over the keypad, inputting a familiar code, one he hadn't thought he'd ever need again. Schooling his features into a calm mask, he waited for the other end to open the connection.
The answer came after a short interval. A pair of narrow sunglasses looked back from the small comm screen.
"I won't tell you how nice it is to hear from you, kid, cause my sources tell me there's something going on at Noventa field and I'm betting you're in the middle of it and it ain't good."
"You have good sources," Duo replied, "Because I am, and it's not. I need a favor, Howard."
"What color and how many rounds?" the MS designer asked, with a half smile. "Better still, can ya come out here, and pick it out yourself?"
"With bells on, man. Or stealth baffles if I can wheedle the chopper outta Wufei," Duo replied with an almost unwilling answering smirk.
"We'll be ready for ya kid. Maybe readier than you know," Howard said, and then the connection ended.
Duo frowned thoughtfully as he stuffed the small device back in his pocket and slipped back into the room, just in time to catch Noin's arrival.
And far from Noventa Field and the souls still wandering about there lost, Treize Khushrenada stood back and watched as a pair of huge doors yawned open into a maw of darkness. Blue eyes flashing with resigned anticipation, he stared into the inky depths of the bay for a long moment.
"Things have moved swiftly, old friend. The time for reunions has come at last," he murmured quietly before striding through the doors into the darkness beyond.
Duo nodded a sharp agreement with Wufei as he slipped up beside Heero and bent close to murmur in his partner's ear. "I need to go, koibito. Howard's expecting me."
Heero's head turned sharply in Duo's direction. "What?!" he asked, surprised.
"Howard," Duo repeated, "He's expecting me. I have to go pick something up from him. Tallgeese and a bunch of Tauruses aren't going to be enough. I have to go."
Heero's brows knitted together as he tried to grasp what Duo was saying to him. "Duo... " he began, "You talked to Howard?"
"Just before Noin showed up," the braided pilot replied with a nod. "When Tryan talked to Quatre."
Heero took a breath and nodded slowly. "But.." he started, then shook his head and for a moment there was confusion in the blue depths of his eyes. He looked at Duo again. "Do what you think is necessary, then. Just.. Duo aren't we supposed to be trying to work together on this?"
The calm facade of Duo's expression shuddered for a moment, just an instant's reflex at Heero's words before the lapse vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "I never said I had to go alone," he said quietly.
Heero looked down for a moment, then back up to his partner. He placed a hand on Duo's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I can't leave right now. If Howard is waiting for you, then go. You can fill me in later. I need to talk to Sallah."
A figure materialized in front of the two, blocking the rest of the room covertly.
Wufei looked from one to the other, a slight frown creasing the smooth iron mask that had welded to his face.
"I will talk to Sallah," he said, answering Heero's last statement. "I have to do it. Go... *together*," he said, his cool tone vibrating almost imperceptibly on the last word. His dark eyes were as intense as his face was devoid of expression.
Duo glanced at Heero from the corner of his eye, a flicker of hope in his violet gaze slipping past his carefully schooled expression.
Heero looked up at Wufei with conflict in his eyes. Blinking, to clear his vision, he nodded to the dark-eyed pilot, then gripped his arm tightly. "I ... promised her, Wufei," he said, by way of explanation. "I'll talk to her later... when we get back."
Wufei met Heero's look with one of perfect understanding, based on his own history of pain. "The promise is not broken yet," he said, pronouncing each word precisely. "She is a soldier as well as a mother. I will do what needs to be done. Go," his eyes flickered from Heero to Duo and back, and the braided boy could see a shift as layers realigned, cloaking the Chinese boy once again in his private soul. He'd given them his trust... but perhaps... not *all* his secrets, yet. "I will find you, and quickly."
Duo reached out and laid his hand on Wufei's arm, giving it a slight squeeze. "Whatever happens, 'Fei... You be careful, too," he said.
Wufei acknowledged the admonition with barely a flicker, turning away as he tossed a set of keys into Duo's chest. "West side, on the platform," he said over his shoulder. The keys were to a motorcycle. On the same ring, another key, to another type of vehicle altogether.
A Shinigami smile spread over Duo's face as he examined them for a moment before turning back to Heero. "Let Relena know. I'll tell Tryan and the others."
Heero nodded, moving without thought. He looked up at found the Vice Minister and her Attaché standing together like battered paper dolls.
"I'm going with Duo to talk to Howard," Heero began, as he touched Relena's face, unable to resist checking her over.
"You don't have to tell me anything, Heero," Relena said calmly. "I know you will do what has to be done. Don't concern yourself about us. Dorothy and I can handle things here. It takes more than another crazed madman to overset us, you know. Do your part and we'll do ours - you can count on us, Heero."
Heero looked down at Relena for a long moment. "This is different," he said, quietly. "It's ... personal. "
Relena grabbed his hand in a firm, almost hard grip. "It may be different, but you are not, Heero. I believe in you. That will never change. Don't waste time."
"Hai," Heero said, then looked Dorothy over cursorily. Looking down into the Attaché's blue eyes, he said. "I might need your help this time."
"Anything," Dorothy replied earnestly, one hand unconsciously drifting to Relena's arm. "Name it and I'll do what I can."
"I'll remember that when the time comes," Heero said, squeezing her shoulder. "You two get some medical attention as soon as possible," he added, then turned to leave.
"And Dorothy will explain to me what the... heck is really going on..." he heard Relena said behind him, her voice sweet but with an undertone of steel.
As Heero turned to find Relena and Dorothy, Duo slipped over to Trowa, who still held Tryan in his arms. "Hey kiddo," he said gently, "Heero and I have to go talk to an old friend of mine and pick some stuff up. Will you be okay with Trowa and Quatre until we get back?"
There was a momentary flash of panic in the green depths, which was covered quickly as Tryan settled back against Trowa. He nodded. "I'm okay, Duo. You ..." he began, then remembered something important. "Duo! Before Carter left he said something... He said that he had to go and that I was to find you guys. He also said that ... umm.. Kenny. He said he had to stay with Kenny because Kenny didn't know how to fight It! It's Kenny who's the target!"
Duo felt the words hit him like a physical blow, covering the flash of terror with a sharp nod. "We'll get them back. And I promise, we won't leave you behind. We'll make It sorry It ever even heard of any of us. Got it?"
Tryan nodded, then reached out and touched Duo's arm. "I got it, Duo," he said. "And it's okay to be scared now. This is scary."
The braided pilot blinked suddenly before letting his lips curl into a wicked half smile. "Scary's gonna be when I get a mobile suit," he said with a snort. "You take care of them, okay Tryan?"
Tryan nodded again. "Okay, Duo... and pick me up a mobile suit too!"
Duo grinned before leaving a quick kiss on the boy's forehead. "I'll see what he's got laying around," he said before turning his attention to Trowa. "We'll be back. We've got our comms if anyone needs us."
Quatre reached out and gripped Duo's arm briefly. "Don't forget who you are, Duo," he said quietly. "*All* of who you are."
Violet eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Duo glanced at Quatre. "I'll see what I can do."
The blond pilot nodded, his teal eyes filled with concern and empathy.
"Take care, Duo," Trowa said.
"You bet," Duo replied, turning and striding away quickly, tossing his last comment over his shoulder as he took Heero's arm and steered them towards the door. "Don't start the party without us, okay?"
"What do you mean, the space Tauruses are malfunctioning?!" Noin's voice could be heard as she snapped at the hapless Preventer on the other end of the comlink.
"Ef this, let's get you to the Tallgeese before anything else happens," the dark-haired Preventer agent muttered, grabbing Zechs' arm.
Following easily, the comment, "If McCormick has so much as touched the paint on it, I'll skin him," muttered from Zechs before the door slid shut behind the two.
Heero allowed himself to be steered out of the office and down the hall. He followed Duo rapidly as he attempted to clear his mind of distractions.
"Tryan said that Carter was pretty sure It's after Kenny," Duo said quietly as the hall slid past them. "That's why Carter made sure to go with them."
Before he could stop it, Heero's hand reached out and grabbed Duo by the shoulder stopping the braided pilot's forward motion. "What?" he said, simply.
"Carter told Tryan that Kenny didn't know how to fight It, so he had to stay with Kenny when he sent Tryan to find us," Duo explained dully. "Kenny was the target."
Heero nodded as he struggled to make some sense of what was going on. "Why Kenny in particular?" he asked.
"I don't know," Duo answered, continuing down the corridor once again. "I don't want to find out. I want them both dead before it comes to that."
"We might not have that chance, Duo," Heero said, finally admitting all possibilities into his overall picture.
"Then we get the kids out and make what happened at Maxwell Church look like a picnic," Duo replied evenly.
Heero looked at Duo for a moment, then slid his hands around the braided pilot's heart-shaped face. "We'll get them," he said, firmly, then kissed Duo's lips.
Duo's arms came up, wrapping firmly around Heero, crushing the other pilot to him fiercely as he poured all of his frustration, desperation, and fear into the kiss. Pushing Heero backwards, he pinned the Japanese youth to the wall behind him, plundering the moist cavern of his mouth before he finally had to draw back for a breath. Chest heaving as he fought for both breath and his composure, Duo rested his forehead against Heero's shoulder. "I won't lose anyone again," he whispered. "Love you."
Heero felt his mouth stretch into a small smile, as his lips tingled with a slight bruise from the kiss. "Never again," he said, holding Duo tightly. "Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"Omae o korosu," Heero murmured against his lover's ear.
He felt grounded once again, as his fingers stroked Duo's back.
Duo's breath rushed from him in a long sigh as a wave of relaxation washed over him. Together. They were in it together. "Flirt," he muttered, giving Heero a final squeeze before withdrawing. He took Heero's hand in his own, turning to head outside and the motorcycle waiting patiently for them, but paused before setting off. "Thank you, koibito," he whispered quietly.
"You can thank me after this is over and I show you just how big a flirt I can be," Heero said, sliding his arms around Duo's body firmly.
"Deal," the braided pilot replied with a small, but genuine, smile.
As the blades of the helicopter slowly wound down, faces, some familiar to Duo, many new, appeared, securing the craft while he cycled the big engine down.
A familiar figure stood on the dock, shading his eyes, which were already covered by sunglasses. He sent the rest of the crew back to work, ignoring the grumbles, and waited for the two ex-Gundam pilots to approach.
Duo couldn't help but grin as he hopped out of the pilot's seat and waited for Heero to join him. "Good old Howard and his shirts that could light deep space," he said with a slight chuckle.
The MS designer looked over the two pilots and nodded to himself, noting some changes and also the signs of stress and even well-covered shock. He waved them forward and began leading the way into the huge building complex, threading a path through the 'legitimate' construction and heading for the darker corners beyond.
"Something tells me you don't have time to schmooze about times old and new over a couple of beers," Howard mentioned. "So I won't keep you waiting. Is there anything you can tell me at all?"
"Other than some whack-job stole our kids and we're fixin' for a fight? And if we're real lucky, we might be able to keep most of the rest of the world outta it? Not sure. You seem to be pretty well informed already," Duo replied, tossing Howard a searching look.
"I keep my ear to the ground, it's an old habit," the designer answered. "Your kids, huh? That's seriously rough. Kids. You know, Duo, somehow I never pictured you settling down so quickly."
Heero listened to the exchange, glancing over at Duo as they walked with Howard. Something tickled the back of his mind, something that Carter had said and he tried to recall it.
An unreadable expression flickered briefly over Duo's features, covered quickly with a rueful grin. "Stranger things have happened."
A flash of a keen eye glancing out the side of the sunshades flickered at Duo. "That is certainly true," Howard remarked as he led them to a wide, tall door that looked as if it had not been opened in about a century. Pulling a small remote from his pocket, he pressed a button and the door slid open just enough for them to enter single file.
The room beyond was dark, with a few work lights scattered here and there.
"I think I have something here you may be surprised survived the war..." Howard said, with a somewhat ironic curve of his mouth.
"After today, I'm not sure if I *can* be surprised anymore, Howard," Duo sighed tiredly. "But what the hell."
"It would be a shame for you to lose that refreshingly unaffected quality you always had," a voice said out of the shadows as a figure stepped forward. "It was so much a part of your particular... charm."
The voice was one Duo would never forget, and Heero recognized as well. It was the voice of a dead man.
Duo's feet halted as his whole body shuddered to a frozen standstill. After a long moment of stunned silence, he took a deep, shuddering breath as his lungs reminded him that he required air. "I stand corrected," he said weakly. Staring straight ahead, he took another deep breath before finding his voice again. "How?"
"Irrelevant," the characteristically impatient voice snapped as the old man stepped into the dim light. "What's important is not that I'm here... but what I have with me."
Heero turned in the direction of the voice and watched as the Professor emerged from the darkness. Suddenly, he felt something lock into place and without thinking, found his hand extended with the gun aimed towards the old man. "I disagree," he said, sighting, "The fact that you're still breathing lets me understand many things. You aren't alone, are you?"
"Interesting piece of ordinance," Professor G commented coolly, and before Heero could blink, deft fingers had snatched the gun from his grip, turned it around in a quick examination and then returned it to the Japanese boy's grasp, all in a single motion. "Alone, 01? That's not an accurate assessment. When analyzing a hostile situation, precision is vital. What you meant to say was, I am not the only one. Unfortunately, that is correct."
Heero blinked at the old man's dexterity, but did not lower the gun once it was back in his hand. His eyes narrowed. "You guys weren't content with us, were you?" he said, steadily. "Duo, are you following me?"
"He's not involved in that part of it," Duo guessed evenly, turning, finally, to face his old mentor. "But he's going to help us stop whoever it is, right G?"
The keen eyes seemed to soften for mere seconds at Duo's guess, but it might have been a trick of the light. "What I can do, yes," he said. "Unfortunately it's not a great deal at this point. As usual, it's going to be up to you. You've had more than enough experience. I don't expect you to fail."
Heero made the gun disappear and relaxed slightly. He was relieved that Duo's answer had been a guess and not some other thing he hadn't been apprised of. His shoulders dropped slightly as he glanced over at Duo, then back to the old man. "Thanks," he said, "We can't afford to fail this time."
The old man shuddered slightly. "You have no idea how correct you are, 01." The Professor pinned each of the pilots with a look. "My former colleague has finally gone completely out of his mind. Never more than half in it to begin with, a half-mad Dr J was an effective mobile suit designer. A completely insane Dr J, unfortunately, is an even more formidable technician. And whereas I have been forced into almost complete hiding to preserve my life, he has had the benefit of allies and resources."
Though he gave no outward sign of it, Duo's mind was screaming with fear for the children, Kenny in particular. Dr J. It was as if Satan himself had leapt from the pits of Hell and manifested his every fear. "So, just like old times, that's what you're saying."
"If by old times you are referring to the Biblical purge of heaven and the war between the angels, you may have an accurate gauge of what you are on the edge of," Professor G returned coolly. "My sources tell me you are aware of the Artifact. It has possessed his mind, as he possesses it physically. He believes he is achieving inhuman perfection and creating a new world order. Pathetic," the old man snapped. "You must stop them."
"We'll do better than just stop them," Heero said.
Turning, the Professor led the way back into the depths of the huge room, and lights came up as he did so, showing the path. "Unfortunately I haven't had time to work on more than one project, and even with Howard's help, it's been difficult. If I hadn't had the prototype to start with, we'd be, what was that quaint phrase you used to use so frequently? Shit out of luck."
"Prototype?" Duo said warily. "Not... that... prototype..."
The Professor threw a wicked look back over his shoulder. "My prototype was better than most of the others' finished products. And I've been working on it, improving it, redesigning. Don't tell me you'd prefer a Leo or Taurus?"
Duo shook his head, a defeated slump to his shoulders as he followed G. "No. You're right. Of course." He threw the old man a look from under his bangs before adding a hopeful, "Redesigning? Improving... the weapons system?"
The lights came up in the back of the bay, revealing what could only be a Gundam. Its black armor gleamed in the light, the somewhat gothic styling familiar, yet slightly different than Heero remembered. Duo noticed that G had added the wing-armor from DeathScythe Hell to the body of the prototype L2 Gundam. He saw other improvements that were entirely new as well. And he also saw an all too familiar...
"Actually, I left the weapons system for last, and spent most of the time improving the stealth technology and shielding, the power source, the command module..." the Professor mentioned. "You have a problem with the thermal sickle?"
Heero broke out of his reverie for a moment and glanced over at the Professor. He laughed. "Death... sickle?" he said and looked towards Duo.
Duo scowled silently, tossing G a look that clearly stated, "Look what you started."
After a moment, Duo sighed and then shot his partner a quick look. "Laugh it up, Yuy. It'd kick Wing's ass any day of the week," he grumbled.
"In the ... Death Sickle?" Heero repeated and laughed again.
Professor G turned a bland look on the two pilots but there was a suspicious twinkle under the heavy gray bangs.
"The DeathSickle is a machine to be reckoned with," he mentioned. "As the prototype for the DeathScythe... It was annoying when Instructor H somehow came up with a similar design for Sandrock's shotels, forcing me to design something even more innovative... how did he manage that, anyway, Duo? Something about a security breach, wasn't it?"
Duo assumed an utterly bland look as he turned back to examine the Gundam. "Something like that, if I remember correctly," he replied tonelessly. "As great as this is," he continued quickly, indicating the mobile suit with a wave of his hand, "You sounded before like you had an idea what that crackpot had designed..."
G scowled, losing the deadpan humor in an instant. "His work has been concentrated on a control system, a variant of the Zero System, that even incorporates aspects of Zechs Merquise's modifications in it. But it is specifically designed for one thing. Where the Zero System became a part of the pilot's consciousness, eliminating distraction, J's new system does the reverse." He paused. "It incorporates the pilot into itself."
"Hn," Heero remarked. "So, what's the catch? Why hasn't he used it already?"
"The catch, 01?" Professor G snapped. "The pilot doesn't use the control system, the system uses the pilot. It pushes the human mind's strategic capabilities and reflexes past every human limit. In short, the catch is, it destroys any mind it is fused with in minutes. So far, he has not been able to find a mind flexible, and resilient enough to adapt to the system. If he were to find such a subject, the consequences could be indescribable."
"So now we know why Kenny," Duo breathed.
Heero looked over at his partner and nodded, solemnly. "That's why we have to stop them," he added. "Professor, how do you intend on getting the mobile suit into space?"
G threw a sideways glance at Heero. "We have it on good authority that transport to space is being arranged," he said cryptically. "Unfortunately, I only have this Gundam. I understand that the Preventers are having problems with their hardware - something about an in-house sabotage job. Howard is going to help them with it but it will take a little time. And there is very little of that commodity. Duo," he snapped. "Stop wasting time and check out the suit so we can load it for transport."
The braided pilot jerked guiltily, snapping back to himself with a soft cough before tossing G a nod and obediently heading for the cockpit. "You always were a grumpy bastard," he muttered on his way past the Professor.
"Duo," Heero said, stopping him briefly. "It's a good suit."
"You'll blow my cover, Heero. I've got a perfectly good rant going here," Duo replied as he squirreled up the side of the suit and slid into the familiar contours of the chair.
Heero watched as Duo made his way into the Gundam giant. He sat down on the floor cross-legged. 'I was trying to tell you, I'm a little jealous, baka,' he thought as he sat back and watched the demonstration.
Lights flickered on across the boards as Duo powered up all the systems, inspecting the readouts with the eyes of a hawk... or a well-trained terrorist with more than just the world on the line. The control sticks settled into his hands as if he'd never let them go, old calluses matching answering grooves, fingers tingling at a sensation that had been so ingrained that Duo hadn't even realized that he'd missed it until that moment.
One by one, each system was tested, an occasional grunt or nod coming from the violet-eyed youth as he readjusted to the prototype he'd learned to pilot in. Finally, the sickle flared to life as Duo completed the systems check with the weapons system.
"Don't s'pose you'd have a spare beam saber laying around anywhere, to add to it," Duo called hopefully. "Not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but I'm not sure if the weapons system's gonna have enough oomph..."
Heero noticed another subtle hint of a twinkle in G's mostly-hidden eyes as he responded. "A beam saber..." he grumbled, one corner of his mouth twitching up. He glanced back at Heero and then to a corner of the bay off to one side, out of Duo's immediate view, where a beam saber waited, almost unnoticeable in its deactivated status.
Before he could respond further, however, Duo felt something, an increasing warmth that seemed to come from his waistband, and a vibration.
At the same time, Heero felt a similar warmth from a secret area about his own person.
With a startled exclamation, Duo called his gun to his hand, eyeing it warily as it settled into his palm.
The little device seemed almost to purr in his hand, giving a strong impression of interest and response to his thoughts and unconscious desire. Suddenly lights began to flash on his console. Something appeared to be making a new coupling to his power system, but the readings did not make a great deal of sense.
The gun in Duo's hand began to shimmer, and then melt into a thick metallic fluid that seemed to flow out of his palm, snaking around his wrist almost caressingly, before flowing along his arm and down onto the main control board. It flowed across the board, and readings changed as it passed. Then before Duo could react, it seemed to find invisible crevices in the surface and suddenly flowed into the board and disappeared.
Wide violet eyes darted across every surface of the cockpit, Duo's braid slapping against his shoulder as he whipped his head around with surprise. Nothing on his readouts making any sense, he shoved the console out of his way and stumbled out onto the hatch, staring down at the rest of the Gundam with shock plainly written on his features.
Heero looked down at his gun in his hand and frowned. He looked up and saw Duo. "What's wrong?" he called.
As the braided boy stared down at his partner, speechless for once, the control systems of the still powered-up machine gave forth a series of sounds, and the power system hummed, as if notching up to a higher level. Suddenly the thermal sickle in the Gundam's hand switched off cold, and dropped to the bay floor with a loud clang. The suit's hand opened and something seemed to flow from the metal joints into the machine's huge palm. A formless mass of liquid metal, increased in volume almost proportionate, no, greater than proportionate to the scale of the suit vs the human form. The silvery liquid metal seemed to become more solid, elongate, and flow into a shape familiar to the young pilot. As he watched, a huge scythe began to take shape.
"Well, fuck me. I stand corrected... I *can* be surprised today," Duo observed.
Duo was not the only one. Professor G watched with a mask over his features that did not quite conceal an expression of total shock.
The weapon took shape, solidifying, its lines clean and somehow just slightly more elegant than and previous version of the weapon. A moment later a clear hum filled the bay as the energy blade emerged, the wide curved shape glowing neither green nor red, but a brilliant opalescence of ever-changing rainbow hues.
"This power reading... can not be accurate," G muttered.
Duo tore his eyes away from the brilliance of the blade long enough to duck back into the cockpit and check the consoles.
His systems were recognizing a new weapon. It readout simply as 'scythe' and the power readings were a good three times the maximum of the double bladed scythe of Deathscythe Hell. Additionally, the power drain seemed to be about a tenth of the previous weapon.
Heero watched without words. A small smile appeared and disappeared on his features. "Test it!" he called out, then stepped back to watch.
"Looks like Shinigami's back, eh old friend? Thanks Reg," Duo murmured before he ducked his head out the hatch to grin at Heero. "But there's no vases handy," he called with a wicked smile.
Howard, who'd been watching silently through the entire previous meeting, whistled sharply and pointed to a corner of the bay. There was a 40 meter pillar of raw Gundanium metal, balanced on its end, waiting future use.
Catching the gesture, Duo's smile only widened, and he spun around, dropping into the seat and sealing up the hatch. With a trademarked twirl, the Gundam spun on a heel and lashed out with the incredible weapon. There didn't even seem to be an instant of hesitation as scintillating rainbow brilliance met Gundanium, leaving two halves of the pillar behind. As the upper half toppled towards the floor of the bay, the Gundam whirled around again, adding a backwards slash after the first pass, and three huge chunks of Gundanium slammed to the floor with a massive clash.
Smirking to himself, Duo turned the Gundam back towards the others and double-checked all the readouts, a wicked gleam coming into his eyes as he noted no changes.
"This is what you've been waiting for, too, isn't it?" he murmured, trailing his fingers over the controls.
Duo felt a vibration and sensed an assent. Then the control board read out: 'scythe disengage'. The blade powered down, the metal seemed to liquefy and flow back into the machine. Moments later, a pool of silvery metal formed on the console and flowed up to reorganize in Duo's hand with something almost like a silent purr.
With his other hand, Duo quickly powered down the suit, popping the hatch at last and stepping out. "Then let's go kick Its ass," he replied softly, grabbing the winch cable and lowering himself back to the bay.
Heero moved closer to Duo. "Good demo," he said, evenly. "Course, you're a little slow, but you haven't piloted a mobile suit in awhile. Don't worry, you'll get faster."
Duo opened his mouth to make a response, then his gaze darted to Howard and G quickly before fixing a look full of heat and promise on his partner again. "We'll see," he replied, vanishing the gun once more.
"You've been holding out on me, Duo," Professor G muttered, glaring under the mop of gray hair. Howard chuckled and patted the scientist on the shoulder.
"We'll pack him up and get him to the Preventer's launch pad, kid," he said. "Seems someone is outside waiting for you two."
Duo blinked at Howard in confusion. "Waiting outside?"
"Who?" Heero asked, suspiciously.
"Just another Gundam pilot," Howard said with a slight grin. "I believe his name is Wufei Chang."
Heero looked at Duo, then took off running. The little break in the action was a good thing.
Duo jogged after his partner, stopping for a moment just as he passed G. "Thanks for not dying on me after all, old man," he said quietly, then took off again in Heero's wake.
"Hmph," G muttered, unsettled by the weapon demonstration, but a gleam in his eyes betrayed a sudden new interest and the possibility of something the old scientist didn't pay much lip service to. Hope.
TBC
End of Part 50
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