I'll get the legal stuff out of the way. Gundam Wing property of Bandai, Sunrise and a host of other people I probably don't know about. Used for entertainment purposes and because the voices in my head tell me to write this stuff. Scary thought, eh? Not for profit.
Characters acting OCC, but in an Alternative Universe you should expect that.
#...# Thoughts/Thinking
Heero frowned at the latest subjects that had made their way into the hands of the Doctors. That's how they were all referred to around this place, as Doctors. This little out of the way torture chamber and research center that he worked at. Heero had been recruited young, right out of his accelerate rush through college and the wonderful world of the PH.d candidate. He was brilliant, there was no denying that, but most of his classmates and colleagues complained about his cold manner and obsession with work. Or as one former acquaintance referred to him; 'that heartless fucking bastard'.
Heero shrugged. He had his work, that was enough for him. That his older co-workers respected him was good. He was beginning to have a fairly decent rapport with the other new doctor that was on the staff, which was better. But he had a sneaking suspicion that he and the other new doctor were hired for reasons besides their scholastic record. One -that they were both under fifty and two -that they were in excellent physical health, which meant that they could deal with some of the more 'lively' of the experimental subjects that they were working on. But he shouldn't complain, it was rare that someone his age had unlimited funds for pure research. He just had to work on these odd projects to get it. He was staring off into space aimlessly when the head of the project and his mentor, Dr. Jared came up to him.
"Heero my boy, I pulled a few strings, but you and Trowa get to work on those two." He cackled. "It was tough, but our governmental contact wants to find out whatever the limitations are that those two 'people' have. The usual gambit of tests and anything else that you can think of."
Heero grunted. "What are they supposed to be? I can't see anything special about the two of them."
Jared cackled again. "In a few minutes you will. They were picked up outside the city, in a bombed out dinner. The cops rushed them to us, it does pay to have someone of the payroll with them. They...well you'll see what's so special about them when they wake up." Still attempting to laugh the older man wandered away.
Heero shrugged. Bombings and other acts of random violence had been growing over the past few years, he was immune to the horror of it. Trowa walked up to Heero, his eye staring at their new experiments curiously. Trowa had two, but usually hid one of them under his bang. Heero wondered how he had gotten into that habit. It was a great way to throw off anyone that he was talking to.
"The professor said that we were assigned to test those two. I wonder why?" Trowa asked thoughtfully. Henderson was Trowa's mentor, their specialty was psychology. But everyone cross trained so that they could at least understand what the others were talking about at the weekly status report meetings.
"Jared thought that we'd find out soon. But all I know is that they were found outside a bombed out dinner. But probably because we are about the only ones physically that might be able to stop them on the staff."
Trowa nodded at Heero and then stared the two that had been brought in, gagged and chained. They looked to be in their late teens or early twenties. Slender and even with their long hair and delicate features, he could tell they were male. Mostly because they were only dressed in hospital scrub pants. Both of them were starting to wake up in the small holding cell that they were in. As they cautiously and groggily sat up trying to move around, they both seemed surprised that they were shackled. Trowa and Heero watched in puzzlement when the police that dropped them off rushed to get out of the area when they saw that their prisoners were waking up.
Heero and Trowa understood the fear that the cops showed when the smaller blond stretched a little and wings popped out of his back. He stretched them out to their eight foot length with difficulty, earning a small snarl from his fellow prisoner when he bumped him with them. They were beautiful white glistening wings that captured the light and shown faintly with all the colors of the rainbow. His snarling cell mate stretched also and then wings popped out of his back. But instead of the iridescent white of his cell mate, the chestnut haired man's wings were black nine foot bat wings.
While part of Heero's mind was marveling at the fact that they had been assigned to study what seemed to be an angel and a demon, the other half was wondering where the two of them had stuffed those wings when they were hidden. Both of them were too slender to have those things in their bodies when they were hiding them, not if they wanted to have anything else important in there, like internal organs and a skeleton. Heero turned to share this observation with Trowa, when he noticed that he was staring at the two of them with fear and hatred.
"Trowa?" Heero asked, hoping that this wouldn't get in the way of their work. Trowa was a scientist, he shouldn't believe in such mythical creatures as demons and angels. It was illogical and wasteful. Even if that is what their new experiments looked like.
The above mentioned experiments were staring back at them, the angel winged one with curiosity, while his bat winged companion looked back at them sullenly, playing with the chains that bound his hands. He was apparently frustrated that he couldn't get them off. He was happier that he got his gag off and then his companion's. Snarling he then tried to break out of the cell, testing the bars that held them in. After a few minutes he calmed down. The Angel wandered over to his companion to calm him down it seemed, unconcerned that the bat winged one looked ready to kill something, anything to get out of there.
Heero shook his head in frustration. "We're going to hope that we can learn their language or they learn ours and that the special cages that those two are going to need can be put together fast or the demon is going to kill the angel. If you could keep an eye out on these two, while check I to see how things are going on the other end of the building with their new quarters. We didn't think that they would wake up this soon."
Trowa looked at Heero for a second. He seemed to have gotten over his initial disturbance with the new test subjects, but Heero leaving him alone with them seemed to bring it back. "What should I do if they start fighting? Or that demon gets more out of control?"
"Shoot him with the tranq gun. That has enough juice in it to knock out an elephant." Heero said calmly. #I just hope that it works on him.#
Trowa shrugged. "Separating them would be good, but we should leave them with in sight of one another. Their appearances maybe deceiving. They could be the same species. Or a mated pair. Or their sexual differences in their species maybe shown by their wings. One of them could be the female of their species. Just because they look like mythical creatures, does not mean that they are mythical creatures. They also might be sexually neuter for all we know."
Heero shrugged. "I'll think about it, for now just make sure they don't kill each other before we get any data off them. That would be a waste. Autopsies don't tell you enough about a subject."
Trowa nodded and went back to staring at the new subjects, with a certain fascination.
Duo woke up with a headache. The last thing that he remembered was that he was meeting with a contact among the 'pure ones' about the disturbances that were happening with the rebels that plagued both their factions. They had agreed to a secret meeting, where those damned rebels had ambushed them and let the humans capture them. He had agreed to meet his contact in an old roadside dinner that they both knew about. The food was decent and no one would expect them to be meeting there, but someone had because he remembered catching a glimpse of a known rebel before the bomb went off. He wondered how many of the humans survived the blast, the place had been pretty full. He put that thought aside, he had to worry about himself now, not the humans.
Duo sat up and snarled, wondering where they were now. He was bound, his clothes were gone and replaced by these too thin odd pants, and he was gagged. He opened his eyes and was upset that Quatre, his contact was in here with him and in the same condition. Quatre looked a lot groggier then he was and unthinkingly stretched and popped out his wings. Duo snarled again in frustration. Now they were in for it. They had seen Quatre in all his unearthly glory and there was no way that they could talk their way out of this now. He might as well come clean too and see what happened. With any luck, they could break out of there before things got too bad.
Duo stretched and popped out his own wings, trying to stretch them out in this too small cage. He was proud that even though they were slightly larger then Quatre's wings, he did not manage to smack Quatre with them, like Quatre did to him. Duo then started testing his bonds, then the cage, anything that he could try and break to get them both out of here, snarling at Quatre the entire time, to see if he could give him any information. He was glad that he managed to get the gag of himself and Quatre. Then he spent several fruitless minutes trying to break the bars on the cell that they were in, he didn't think that he could, but he had to try.
"Do you know where we are? What they want us for? How many humans do we have to worry about?"
Quatre shrugged. He had no idea, but he knew that they were being watched by the humans. "All I know is that we are being watched."
"I know that they are watching us, I want out of here! We were set up, both of us and I want to know why!" Duo snarled, then he calmed down. No use taking out his bad temper on Quatre, he was in the same fix too. "For now...we play along. I get to be the bad one, while you play at young and innocent. For some reason that always works for you." Duo finished jokingly.
Quatre wandered over to calm down Duo. He touched him lightly on the arm and shook his head. "We're in trouble. Its gone beyond what we can deal with." #I don't think that we are going to get out of this.#
"I know that! We're caged and they know about us. That we aren't human!" !" #If I ever find out who betrayed me, I will kill them slowly and very painfully.#
Quatre smiled sweetly at Duo and brushed the hair out of his eyes. It was a bit awkward with the chains, but he wanted to calm down his cell mate. He had seen the gun and didn't want either one of them to be shot. And he was scared about what would happen to them, it was difficult to predict what the humans would do to them. Shackling them was not a good start. He thought that it was only going to get worse. Humans were so unpredictable at times. Why did Duo always think that he was the bad guy? Because of his wings, the wings that marked him as one of the fallen ones? He was a lot more compassionate then some of the pure ones. Duo was mistrusted because of those wings, but learned to hide it under a cheery smile and easy nature, an angelic being trapped in a fallen one's body. He had been unborn when the separation had happened, his parent's folly had marked him in the womb. But it was his kindly nature that made him a good liaison with the pure ones, when it was needed because they had learned to trust him after a while, something that did not happen very often. Duo had been asked several times to leave his people, but he wouldn't for some unknown reason.
Quatre was furious that they had been tricked so easily, now their factions would be at each others throats or trying to rescue them, when they should be uniting to wipe out the rebels that were plaguing them. And all those poor humans, he had felt their deaths, killed because of them! That is why the rebels were a danger, they did not care about the other creation of their parent, the humans. So they weren't like them, it did not make them either an inferior or superior species to them. The humans just were there, like air or water.
"Quatre, you know that we're screwed. Anyone of your people gonna be able to hold it together, so that we can get rescued?" Duo asked. He had no idea if his people could do that.
Quatre shrugged. He knew why Duo was distracting him, trying to take his mind off the fact that there was someone outside their cage with a gun. A very nervous someone that was hiding it under a cool exterior, but Quatre did not trust humans and guns, he had been shot at one too many times by drunken hunter who thought he was something else on his rare visits to Earth. Those that had seen him with his wings and thought he was some sort of bird.
"Dorothy. Maybe. She...she is chaotic at times. It will be held against her." Quatre replied softly.
"Doro I trust." Duo said gleefully, he knew her from a long time ago. They had fun chasing each other around, she didn't realize the little man with the braid was the dreaded warlord Shinigami and teased him. When they bumped into Zechs, when they were fooling around, she seemed more frightened of him then she was of anything else. Duo wondered Zechs had done to frighten her. He did trust her, she wasn't into playing too many mind games, unlike some of his people. And she was competent, which was always good. He knew that Quatre's people were competent, just were they loyal to Quatre? That was another question to ask himself. He knew that his people were loyal, they had to be. Or they weren't his people. But they might not be up to breaking him out of here. They weren't a very large group and if they weakened themselves too much to get him out of there, they wouldn't be able to hold their turf.
"She's...a fanatic." Quatre protested.
"She knows what she can and can't do, even with her fondness for stirring things up for the sake of excitement. My second is not that together. He's going to be pissed that my getting captured is cutting into his time with his lover. Not that I mind that he has one, but he's one of yours and it might interfere with getting us sprung. But Zechs will get me out of here because he does not want to be in charge...too much exposure. Too many people will wonder what he does with his free time. And with who."
"Who?" Quatre asked curiously. He didn't think that many of his people would willingly have a relationship with the fallen ones, but then he didn't think that the rebels would blow up a human business, crowded with humans, to get them captured by the humans. To stop them from trying to end the rebellion once and for all.
Duo grinned at Quatre. He was glad to keep his little friend entertained so that he wasn't worrying about the gun and the stupid nervous human scientist. Or what they could do to them. What they will do to them. "Zechs is playing hide the sausage with Treize, one of the people that works in your intelligence section. They have a very nice apartment that they visit once every other week for hours of hot and heavy, sweaty action."
Quatre blushed. He really did not have to know about that! Duo could have just told him that Zechs was seeing Treize. Now he had these images of Zechs and Treize, together, he wasn't going to be able to look at Treize without blushing when they met again. If they met again. "How do you know about that?"
Duo bared his teeth, Quatre really couldn't call it a smile. "I don't trust Zechs really, he's a bit odd. Almost insane from a few personality problems, but he can handle the work, so I don't hold that against him. I was following him one day, to see why he disappeared for that time, almost the same time every week. I thought it might be a problem. I found out that he was sneaking off to meet Treize. After Zechs left and Treize was still in the shower, I snuck in for a little Q & A session. After I slapped him around a bit, he talked. They aren't exchanging anything more then bodily fluids, so I don't care what their doin' in their spare time."
Quatre sighed. "You did not slap Treize around." he said flatly. Duo wouldn't hurt an innocent. And sleeping with his second wasn't a crime in Duo's eyes. In fact, Duo probably liked the information so that he could tease the other one. Duo was a tease if he could get away with it.
Duo grinned at him quickly, before turning into a snarl for their audience. "A couple of snaps with a towel on his butt and he talked."
"You're terrible, you do know that?" Quatre scolded him. He thought it was something like that. Duo wasn't a really violent person, just he did things because he had to, rather then he wanted to. Too many of the fallen ones liked to hurt people. "I was worried about that for a moment."
Duo frowned and snarled again, suddenly wrapping his wings tightly around the other man. Quatre squeaked and folded his wings back into his body, so that they wouldn't get tangled together, wondering why Duo was doing this. "They look like they're going to move us someplace else. If we're separated and you can book it, go.", he whispered in his ear.
"Duo..." Quatre realized that this odd move on Duo's part was to cover up any conversation that they were having, so that the humans couldn't hear them, even if they understood the language. And it felt good. He liked getting hugs, even if it was for another reason then affection.
"You are my best chance out of here." Duo whispered, "Take it if you can and don't look back."
Quatre nodded, unable to say that he would abandon someone here, even one of the fallen ones. He didn't think that he could leave Duo behind, that would be just too cruel. He shivered a little when he heard the flat voice behind him.
"I don't know if you two understand English, but unless you let go of him right now, I will shoot you. And I am a good shot."
Trowa was astonished at what had been dragged in to the lab. While part of his brain was gibbering at the thought that mythical creatures such as angels and demons actually existed the other half was fascinated that he would be able to probe the psyche of such alien creatures. It was almost a dream come true. The anger that the bat winged one was showing was interesting. He seemed almost feral in his reaction to being caged. Was he an animal? Or was it that he just did not like being locked up? The blonde angel seemed more serene about the whole experience. He was also trying to calm down his angry companion. Trowa just hoped that if there was a problem, he was able to control them without too much trouble.
He could hear what they were saying, but their two new 'guests' were discussing their problems in a foreign language. He wondered what it was, they were being recorded, but he wasn't too sure that they were speaking in a language that could be identified. But they were inexperienced at being under close or extended surveillance, the Demon's anger was almost too calculated for it to be real, he realized after a while. The small slips that he made in his acting showed that. Trowa could tell that it was an act more then anything, a variation on Good Cop/Bad Cop? Hostile prisoner/Calm prisoner? Trowa was unconcerned about whatever they were plotting, it didn't matter, they wouldn't escape from here. No one and nothing ever did. He started making his own notes on his recorder about them. No time like the present to get his first impressions down. So he could remember what they were like before they were broken.
"Subjects appear to be familiar with each other. Neither showed any surprise to be caged when they woke up, as if they expected to be restrained. They appear to have a low tolerance to the sedative that we used. It had made them careless enough upon waking to show us their wings, marking them as a non human race. Since these wings, on both subjects, can be hidden by some means, how many of these things walk among us, hidden from us. And can they be actually the mythical creatures that they appear to be, an Angel and a Demon? They are communicating in an unknown language, but they may know other languages, such as English or French. I will test this hypothesis out once we move then to their more permanent cages. It will be more comfortable for them, since the bigger cage will allow for their wings to flap freely. I also think that we should 'clip' the feathers off the Angel, something that will keep him grounded. I have no thoughts to a temporary solution for the Demon. His wings will be harder to deal with. We might have to consider removing some of the sail to make sure that he can not fly away. But that seems like too permanent a solution right now. We may want him mobile later.
The Demon seems to be acting the part of the hostile prisoner, to the Angel's more accepting outward appearance. Is it an act or are they usually like this? And how well do they know each other? Could they members of the same species, the wings just signaling differences in sex or caste?"
Trowa was startled that before they started moved the subjects, the Demon wrapped its wings around the Angel, whispering something to him. The Angel did not look happy at that, so Trowa walked over to the cage and spoke to the Demon. "I don't know if you understand English, but unless you let go of him right now, I will shoot you. And I am a good shot."
Duo slowly unwrapped his wings from around Quatre, glaring at Trowa for all he was worth. "Mine." Was the only thing that he said. But Duo didn't back off, all he did was stand still, almost daring the other man to shoot them. He then very carefully and deliberately placed himself between Trowa and Quatre.
Quatre sighed. Duo was being unreasonable about things. "He's worried." Quatre explained to Trowa, peering around Duo with a slight smile. Those wings would get in the way, especially since Duo kept trying to make sure that he was between him and the human. Why did Duo insist on protecting him? He shouldn't take the brunt of the human's anger. And why was he acting like they had a better relationship then they did? Did he want the humans to think that they were lovers? Family? Or was he just trying to confuse the issue and was using Quatre as a pawn to do so?
"Quatre!" Duo exclaimed, annoyed that he was being this friendly with the humans, this open. He shouldn't be so trusting. It got one into a whole lot of trouble. And Quatre should remember he was dealing with a race that wasn't playing by the rules, because they never knew that there were any. And you never gave the enemy any advantage, forgetting that he just gave them Quatre's name.
"Duo!" Quatre mimicked him, "They are going to do whatever they please with us, I don't want you to get anymore hurt then we are going to be." #Remember the Good/Bad thing. If I'm going to be good, I have to appear friendly and naive. You can beat your chest all you want, but I'm going for sweetness and light.#
"What makes you think that we are going to hurt you?" Trowa asked calmly, noting that both of them spoke English with a slight accent. It was different accent for both of them, so they might not be related or living in the same area. But the Demon was acting like the blonde was his personal property. Could that be the relationship between the two of them?
"Because this is a science lab and have all the tests that you are going to want to do to us aren't going to be painless?" Duo asked in a sarcastic tone. "We have heard rumors of these places...and none of them have ever been good."
"How have you heard about us?" Trowa asked quietly.
"Not who you are working for," Quatre explained quickly, "But what you do here, in a lab. Experiments for no reason...needless deaths of animals."
"You sound like one of those bleeding heart liberals that picket science labs at schools." A flat voice said from the doorway.
Duo split his attention between the newcomer and the man in front of him. He knew that both of them were a danger. Neither of them looked like they would be easy to beat in a physical fight.
"I said needless deaths." Quatre said quietly. "If it was for something besides an overabundance of funding and idle curiosity..."
"Forget it. They ain't gonna listen, Quatre." Duo said sourly, in the language of the winged ones. "They both probably took apart anything that didn't move fast enough when they were kids. It just doesn't matter to them now that what they take apart has feelings and might not want to be poked at. We are so fucked...and not in a good way."
Zechs let himself into the apartment quietly. He smiled at the music that was playing, sometimes his lover had the oddest tastes in music. He walked into the bedroom and was surprised to find him dressed and waiting for him with a serious expression on his face.
"Lover..." Zechs drawled, "has anyone ever told you that you are wearing too many clothes?"
Treize smiled at Zechs and shook his head. "Business."
Zech stared, shocked. That was one of the main reasons that they were together, the other one was someone that they could relax with and not worry about business. What made Treize break their rule now?
"You know that it hard to take you seriously when someone is singing in the background 'Devil and Angel's Kiss'" he commented.
"Rather loudly too."
"The music is in case the place is bugged. I wouldn't put that past your boss." Treize said.
"Duo doesn't know about us." Zechs protested automatically.
Treize smiled. "He's known for a while. He doesn't care. He thinks we're nuts, but he doesn't care."
"So you are trying to drive him insane by playing the Bubblegum Crisis Soundtrack?" Zechs asked in shock. "I think that he actually liked the series in question and I think that he adores J-pop also. It's not going to work, you both have the most deplorable taste in music." Zechs' own tastes ran to classical and jazz music.
"I'm not worried about him, but who else might be listening. His security was breached, a private meeting that he was having was disrupted by the rebels."
"So the rebels have him," Zechs dismissed Treize's concerns, "not like they are going to get anything out of him. The li'l one is tough. And the rebels aren't going to care about us either, they're more interested in the monkey boys."
Treize stood up and hugged his lover. "Everyone has their breaking point. Even Duo. He's tough, but as you so colorfully put it, the monkey boys have him. That means that he's going to be tortured until he breaks. And not for information, but for what he is. And then they will find out about all of us!"
Zechs shivered. Monkey boys or humans were too clever for his taste. And they had the favor of those on high, on both the side of the fallen ones and the pure ones. Even if they didn't understand the game that was being played around them between the three sides, humans were allowed to break the rules and ignore the fact that they were in a game. No matter what they did to Duo, no one was going to interfere with his imprisonment. The song switched to something worse in Zechs' mind, "Dancing with the Devil." It wasn't any better, but it did show that someone had a sense of humor. He remembered the disc that was playing now, it contained a number of odd J-pop songs, from different artists, but all with the same theme, devils and angels. He wondered where Treize had gotten it. But he'd put that thought aside, now was the time that he had to get some information from his lover, like how long had Duo know about them. "When did he find out about us?"
Treize looked startled at the question, but shrugged. "Years ago. He snuck in after you left and questioned me one day."
"He hurt you." Zechs voice was flat. He had seen Duo at work, the man was ruthless if he had to be. And very thorough, disgustingly so. That's why he was the power that he was today.
Treize laughed. "Towel snaps to an already...tender...bottom. I talked rather then held out, because he was not going to just ignore this. Duo just wanted to know a few things."
"Like what?" Zechs sounded very suspicious. And annoyed, how did the li'l squirt find out about his affair? He had been so careful not to leave any evidence around. But Duo wasn't a fool, even if he acted the part at times. He had slipped somewhere and Duo had found out about his affair. That he and Treize had meet was an accident. That they were attracted to each other was fortune's blessing. That they had managed to keep their relationship a secret as long as they had to be a miracle, like the ones the humans were always prattling about.
"What were my intentions towards you? What were we doing besides the obvious? How long had this been going on?"
"Your intentions?" Zechs asked shocked. "Who does he think he is? My father?"
"He was worried about you. He didn't want you to get hurt. Duo was happy that you could trust me enough to have a relationship with me. He thinks that we are both insane to be doing this, but he has also tried his hardest to protect you and to cover our affair up. If he was a pure one, I'd say that he loves you, but since he isn't, I'll say that he trusts you and doesn't want to have to replace you, which would happen if anyone else knew about us."
"Who was he meeting with? It had to be one of your people, because he wouldn't have been alone if it was one of us, he would have taken a small strike force with him and Une would have been leading the charge if it had been one of us. And then you wouldn't have cared, because it would be out of your jurisdiction." Zechs said, ignoring the small warm feeling that was spreading through him. He knew that Duo trusted him, but he didn't think that he would go out of his way to protect him like he had. That went beyond trust and into that strange realm called love. Love wasn't something that was encouraged among his people, but there was something about Duo that made one think of that emotion.
"Quatre." Treize said quietly.
"Stars... why?" Zechs exclaimed. Duo was meeting with one of the higher ones? Quatre was well placed and had a huge base of support. What did Duo think he was doing? For all the power and people that Duo had gathered, compared to Quatre's power base, he was out of his league. A very little fish, next to a shark.
"The rebels... you know that they are gaining ground in their fight against both of our sides. I think that something has to break soon. Duo and Quatre were meeting to hammer out a preliminary agreement of mutual non-aggression. It was approved of by both sides, by the powers that be."
"And they got caught by the humans, set up by the rebels." Zechs sighed. Damn! That meant that he was in charge and he was going to have to get Duo back or else everyone would be aiming at him when they wanted to shake up the hierarchy around their place. That's why he liked being second, much fewer knives aimed at his back. And why Duo and Quatre? Quatre was well placed, but Duo's small force was barely above a street gang in the eyes of some of the higher ups. So why Duo? Because they could trust him? Or was he expandable in the eyes of the powers that be?
"And they got caught." Treize echoed his words, "I don't know where the leak is, but we are going to have to do something soon to get them out of the hands of the humans. What they can do to either of our people...the rebels would be a walk in the park next to the humans and their 'science'" Treize said. "I'm going try to get in touch with some of Quatre's people and then find out where they are being held and then break them out of there."
Zechs leaned over and hugged Treize, wrapping his wings around his lover. Treize stood quietly in the taller man's embrace, knowing that Zechs was worried about him, but would never admit that their affair had gone beyond mutual convenience and into the dangerous area of love.
"What would they do to you if they found out about us?" Zechs asked softly. "They are going to want to know where you got the information and if we work together, they are going to ask why we can work together. You know my reputation among the fallen ones, its worse among your people." #No one except Duo would have put up with me, during some of my bad times. I haven't had them in ages, but they are remembered. Memories are long among our people and they do like to throw past your indiscretions back at you.#
"Nothing." Treize, tried to reassure Zechs and failed.
"Don't lie to me." was the whispered plea that he heard.
"They would do nothing to me...I would become nothing in there eyes and then I would cease to exist for the rest of the community. I would be unable to speak with anyone. No one would speak to me or help me in any way. They would drive me out to the Earth or to the fallen ones with their actions. Or inactions as the case may be." Treize told him.
"Don't get caught."
"Zechs...Zechs, my heart, I knew the risks. You are worth it." Treize reassured him.
"I do not want you hurt."
"And you don't have to worry about that? I know what they will do to you...your wings will be broken off, your head shaved and then they will drop you among the humans. This is after they torture you for any information that they think that you might have passed to me or the other pure ones. Of the two of us, you have more to lose. If you disappear now, they might think that you have been captured with Duo. Then we can work together on getting him out of the hands of the humans. You can reappear together, Duo will cover you. Quatre will also."
"I'll have to tell Une. But I can't just hide. So that plan is not going to work." Zechs protested, "Une is loyal to Duo and will not take kindly to being left out of anything that we have planned. She is also a very competent fighter. And discreet. So I can work with her, she won't spill any information that she knows about us. Doing that would get Duo hurt and she won't do that. So I'm going back to her and see what can be done from our end. I can't disappear." he repeated reluctantly, "Duo wouldn't have walked into that place with me, he couldn't let me get caught, because I'd be needed to get him out of there, if something went wrong. Which it did. And we have to abandon this place, because it may be compromised, by more then our people. I'll arrange a new meeting place for us. But take what you can."
Treize sighed. "If she is as good as you think she is, Une already knows what happened. And I agree with you, this place has lost its usefulness. "
Zechs smiled sadly, "But not the memories. I'll always remember this place."
Trieze smiled back at him. "But we would have to move on anyways, people were beginning to wonder why we hadn't changed over the years. Some place closer to the area that they disappeared in would be good. A base that we might have to take them to fast once we got them out of that place."
"Then I do have to get in touch with Une, about that. Because what you don't understand is that our entire social structure is based on personal loyalty. We are loyal to Duo because he has enough power to protect us from the others. He has this power, in part because he is strong and a good leader, but mostly because we can trust him not to abandon us. Therefore we will not abandon him." Zechs said firmly.
"That is why he has never taken the offer to come back to the pure ones." Treize remarked thoughtfully.
"In part. But also because he doesn't feel that he deserves to be with the pure ones. Duo has fought many battles to be where he is today. And that has hurt him in ways that you are never going to be able to understand, because of what you are. Your society has an orderly set of rules and your people are kind to one another. Duo and the rest of us know very little about that. Its kill or be killed and Duo made his choice not to be a pawn, to become a person with power, to protect those that he could. For all his gentleness and kindness, Duo has the strength of will to be a leader among us. And has earned his nickname 'Shinigami'."
Treize shook his head. Shinigami, Death was one of the translations used of that name, was a callous warlord among the fallen ones, keeping his power base small enough to be not worth the effort of being rolled by those that were ambitious enough or stupid enough to try and take him out, while protecting his people with a ruthless nature that was matched by only a few. And honest enough to be trusted by the pure ones. This was not the same man that was worried about Treize breaking the heart of his second.
"I'll let Une in on our plan, such as it is. She can work with our people, you find someone that you can work with among Quatre's and then we figure out where our two wandering ones are." Zechs said.
"Dorothy is the best one for this type of problem. Enough people fear her not to question exactly what she is doing, so no one will ask about Quatre's disappearance."
"She's a relative of yours also isn't she?" Zechs asked, trying to fit a face with the name. He remembered that she and Treize had the same lovely eyebrows. He had run into her once or twice when she was younger, looking to trouble in places that she shouldn't have been, after scaring her off once or twice, she finally realized that picking on the fallen ones was not a good hobby. He wondered if she remembered him.
"My younger sister." Treize sighed. "Have you met her?"
Zechs laughed. "A long time ago when she wasn't as wise... I think I frightened her enough about playing where she shouldn't be, so that she wouldn't really get burned, if she met up with someone that wasn't as indulgent as I was being at the moment."
Treize smiled. "You were the one that frightened her so badly, all those ages ago. I have no idea what you did, but she behaved herself for a long time after that. My relatives would have welcomed you with open arms because of that."
Zechs laughed. "She was playing where she shouldn't be. And when I found her, she looked so innocent. So unaware of the forces that she was playing with. And I didn't want to see her hurt. So I scared her enough to make sure that she would think twice about playing with fire. Duo had bumped into her later and she led him on a merry chase. I think he likes her though... she caused him to smile, really smile."
"I think it's because they are both so devious." Treize said. "But I have to get going. Dorothy probably remembers you fondly. I don't know how she feels about Duo, but she will be willing to work with you."
Zechs smiled, "I rather work with you, but we can't afford the exposure that will create, because I don't think that we should know each other."
Treize frowned. "Then how...?"
Zechs laughed. "I noticed that the boss was missing. He left word that he was with Quatre. I got in touch with Une and recommended Dorothy because she owes me for not killing her or worse when she started to play around among us. The rest will fall into place."
Treize leaned up to kiss his lover gently. Zechs returned the kiss and they spent an endless moment just trying find comfort with one another. The lack of oxygen forced them to stop after a while and Zechs sighed.
"I will go now. Take care my love, you are the only thing that makes existence worthwhile for me."
"Ahh Zechs, you have warmed my heart like nothing else has. Take care in this dangerous game that we are playing." Treize whisper quietly.
End Part 1
Christine
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