17-Jan-2001
revised: 12-Jul-2001
Whew. This is the last one till the new part. And in fact, this
part was the reason for all my rewrites!! Can you believe that? I
changed the casting of the 'new character' who is featured in this
fic. ^_~ Read to the end and see if you can guess who it is? :lol
This is what I get for being distracted by new toys and interests
during writing. But seriously, I think it'll work out a lot better
with 'him' in the lead.
R. OOC, AU, Continuation, 4x1/2x1, Sci-Fi
Sigma, blue sector, level 19F
Cold...
He blinked slowly, numbed by the hard lump of icy coldness that nestled inside him, and wondered where he was...
Click, click, click...
There was someone near him...
He could hear the sound of the other's breathing, the faint thumping of a warm heart...
And his world burst into a blinding glow of blue light and he remembered...
Who he was...
What he was...
And he reached out with his mind and grabbed hold of the tiny spark of warm light and threw it against the wall... just for fun...
And the light winked out...
In his mind, he saw the crumpled figure sliding wetly down the wall and he started to laugh...
They break so easily...
Then stopped, as an image of a pair of brilliant eyes staring out from an untidy fringe rose before him...
Who...
He cried out, in sudden anguish, as the image flickered and disappeared, leaving him, bereft... alone...
And the blue light dimmed and faded once again... plunging him into darkness...
No.
He raised his arm and pushed against the hard, black surface...
A surge of blue electric lightning crackled and whipped around the small man-sized black cylinder and burst into a dazzling array of webbed light that washed across the silent rows of the remaining black cylinders, leaving them blackened and seared by their caress.
He smiled...
And wrapped his mind around the flesh that housed him and gently drifted up and out of the broken cylinder. He looked around at the smoking cracked cylinders with vague amusement, noting the odd charred arms and legs that stuck out of their wrecked containers. Had they been others like him... he wondered... Then he laughed...
Not like me... not any more...
He smiled dazzlingly, uncaring that there was no one to share his moment...
Except...
He frowned again, as once again the image of a dark haired man rose before him, tantalizing him with faded remembrances...
I know him... don't I? ...
This time, when the image again withdrew, he followed... casting his mind through the walls, uncaring of the chaotic babble that greeted him as he soared, unseen, after the disappearing image, until he found himself in a white room, looking down on a small blond girl.
And felt a brief surge of emotion... something that might have been called disappointment...
He probed the girl gently, wondering why she had sent him the image... intrigued by the blank emptiness that he saw behind the fragile flesh... not expecting an answer...
Only to be tickled by a faint echo of delight as he heard her... a faint whisper in his mind...
Who are you?
She was someone like him... No... He frowned, as he saw the girl stare blankly through him. Not really like him, he thought with scorn... He whispered back, slowly, finding it difficult to try to lower his mind voice, and giggled silently to see her frightened bewilderment when she heard the echo of her words in her mind... He played with her for a few more minutes until his restless mind found out that the man he sought was also on the station...
Heero...
Somewhere else on the station, a brown-haired man suddenly screamed and collapsed to the ground.
He blinked slowly, his mind pulling back in surprise as the object of his attention threw up a mind shield, and withdrew from his presence...
How...
He didn't understand what had happened but his attention was distracted by a sudden coughing attack and he realised that his physical body was beginning to be overwhelmed by unpleasant sensations. His flesh was uncomfortably warm from the still sparking power surges and his nose wrinkled with distaste from the acrid black smoke surrounded the devastated cargo bay.
'You've made a lot of mess.'
He started and looked around in confusion, wondering where the deep voice was coming from...
'Down here.'
He looked down and through watering eyes, made out a waving figure below his floating feet. He inclined his head in puzzlement as he noticed that this person also showed the smooth blank emptiness of a mind-shield, instead of the soft flickering light that he was used to seeing inside the flesh encasement. And then his eyes widened as he realised that the black smoke was somehow avoiding touching this person, surrounding him in a small, swirling trail of smoke that left a small protected air space encircling him. He coughed, the tendrils of bitter smoke starting to reach through his nose and mouth... and suddenly felt angry...
'Shit!'
Colonel Frost swore loudly as crackling blue light surrounded the floating body and dove for the exit, silently thanking his brother for insisting that he stay close to the door, when they had walked into the bay and discovered the destroyed cylinders and their grisly remains. He ran to the surveillance station where his younger brother was grimly staring at the frizzing images.
Blue light surrounded the floating body and shot out angrily, blasting through the black smoke harmlessly, until it reached a surface, which cracked and split open from the heat and energy roiling in the blue coloured energy.
'Ni-san, at this rate, he's going to destroy the bay and draw more attention than we can deal with.' Olba chewed his lower lip in concern as he peered at the continuing destruction.
'I know.' Colonel Frost sighed with regret as he reached over and flipped open the emergency panel. 'I'm afraid this venture hasn't worked out quite as we hoped...' He murmured softly as he pressed the control opening the cargo bay doors and watched the debris being swept out with mild disappointment... and drew a sharp breath as he stared unbelievingly at the floating figure, which remained unmoved by the sudden gust of depressurising air...
'My god...'
He dropped a reassuring hand on his younger brother's shoulder, his blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on the glowing figure. 'Not quite. But he'll do.' He grinned suddenly, as he continued to stare at the floating youth, his voice dripping with gloating glee. 'And just imagine how surprised Doctor Nagisa is going to be when he meets our friend.'
Olba smirked, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously as he imagined the look of surprise and fear, etched on the arrogant scientist's face, as he came face to face with the powerful redhead.
'Do you want me to invite the good doctor over now, Ni-san?' He asked greedily as he started to move towards the communications station.
Colonel Frost shook his head decisively. Olba waited obediently as his brother continued to stare at screen, showing the slender youth, slowly descending to the floor, his long red-gold hair spreading out behind him.
'No.' He said shortly, 'I think that our part is done for now. I have a feeling that it might be best for us to be as far away from this station as possible. We'll report to Imonoyama that Sigma has fallen to Langley's strike-force. That should be finally prod him into moving his damned fleet.'
'But ni-san.' Olba questioned silently, as he ran behind his older brother, heading towards the hanger where their mobile suits were waiting. 'Sigma isn't destroyed.'
'Not yet.' Colonel Frost sent back smugly, thinking of the devastation wrought by the beautiful redhead who had emerged from the cylinder. 'But by the time we reach Centrom, it will be. Along with the good Doctors Nagisa and Sakurazuka, who declared that we weren't good enough for their precious experiments.'
Shagia Frost sensed the echoing flare of burning resentment from his younger brother as they thought about the two arrogant scientists who had scorned their powers as weak and useless. He would make them pay...
Interesting...
He hovered above the floor idly, his long hair sweeping out behind him, his eyes glinting coldly as he slowly moved his right arm until it was of same level as his shoulder and spread out his fingers and pointed to the closed doors, which the black-haired man had run into when he was trying to eliminate the annoying smoke.
He stared intently at the closed doors. He was beginning to realise that he had more than one way of dealing with these physical structures... and gathered his will behind his hand and gently pushed...
The heavy metal doors crumpled inwards and strained against the hinges for a moment, before yielding and bursting outwards.
This is fun...
He thought with amusement as he floated out of the cargo bay, silencing the noisy klaxon instinctively as he moved out into the smaller room. He looked around the clattered room with mild curiosity, until his attention was caught by the image of the blond girl he had seen earlier... He moved closer to the screen and stared... then a faint smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as the girl turned her head towards him and their eyes met... he pouted crossly as the screen went black.
Spoilsport...
He wondered briefly if he should try meeting her in person but then forgot all about her as his thoughts wandered back to the image of the dark haired man...
I want to find him...
He turned his attention away from the distracting screens and started down the empty corridor...
Sigma, white sector level 1A
'So... where do you want me to start?' Duo asked nonchalantly as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Heero, who was staring at him with a solemn, serious expression that made him want to...
'With J.' Quatre broke in abruptly, as he walked to stand next to Heero, taking his hand possessively. 'What does he have to do with any of this? And what's your involvement with all this?'
'Geez Quatre,' Duo grimaced sourly as he started to tap idly on the armrest of his chair, 'you make me sound like some kind of Machiavellian villain who has all the answers...'
He blinked his eyes innocently at Heero, who suddenly gave a soft cough, as though he was trying to swallow a laugh.
'Yeah, yeah...' He held up one hand imperiously, forestalling an angry rejoinder from Quatre as he continued smoothly. 'I'm not quite sure where I'm supposed to start with all this, since it gets kind of complicated... ' He puckered his brow, trying to organise his thoughts, as he began.
'You might say it all starts with Heero... I wanted to know more about him... so... I started to dig around in old Federation and Colony records for anything to do with Dr. J. just on the off chance I might find something about Heero's background...' Duo sighed ruefully as he stared at Heero's surprised face. 'Do you remember anything of your life before Odin, Heero?'
Heero shook his head silently, his hand tightening involuntarily on Quatre's hand, as he instinctively sought comfort... from what, he didn't know...
'I didn't think so.' Duo sighed heavily, his face betraying a sudden weariness as he steeled himself to continue. 'You were only five when Odin broke into the Gemini Institute and rescued you.'
'Gemini Institute?' Wufei interjected sharply, his black eyes narrowing to slits, 'are you suggesting that Heero was one of their experimental subjects? I thought that they were all terminated,' he spat, ' when Oz overthrew the Federation. It was just about the only useful thing that they did.'
'All known subjects, yes.' Duo shrugged unhappily as he studied Heero's pale expression. 'But as far as I know, there were at least 3, if not more, subjects, like Heero, who had been rescued from the research facility and hidden, mostly through J's intervention, before the Oz takeover. For example,' he turned to Amuro, who began backing away with a blank look of panic, 'both Amuro and Camille were found in sleeper capsules, although we're not sure what had happened to their paired partners...'
'No. No. No. That can't be true.' Amuro shouted angrily, his hands curled into balls by the side of his hips. 'I don't believe you. I can't remember anything about a...' He swallowed painfully, his face whitening with shock, his large brown eyes glazing over as he tried to remember something... anything... before waking up and finding himself with Doctor Ikari... He dropped slowly to the floor, his trembling arms wrapping around his knees, as he continued to try to deny the harsh reality of Duo's words...
'What exactly do you mean by a paired partner?' Trowa's voice was muted, his green eyes filled with pain and sorrow as he stared at the shaking boy at his feet, and at Heero, who remained silent and stoic, as usual.
'All subjects at the institute were designated with a genetically engineered partner. Heero would have one as well. Apart from that I don't really know much, though I assume that there was a reason for working with them in pairs. As for Heero's partner, I assume that he's still alive, since I couldn't find out what happened to him. As far as the records showed, both Heero and his partner disappeared from the project at the same time, but Odin only took Heero, so... And while we know that Camille's partner is dead,' Duo added briefly, in response to the silent question in Quatre's eyes, 'the sleeper capsule was damaged and the boy died from oxygen deprivation. We don't know what's happened to Amuro's partner...'
'What was so special about these... subjects?' Quatre asked slowly, not wanting to acknowledge his suspicions.
'What do you think?' Duo answered sarcastically, 'what do they all have in common? The Gemini Project. Gamma, Theta, my Epsilon, and now this Sigma project. The Zero system... And Heero, Amuro, Camille... do I have to spell it out for you?'
'Psi ability.' Heero's monotone broke the heavy silence. 'It's about making a human weapon. Someone who can read thoughts, or predict the future... A soldier who is able to meld with the machine... an ultimate weapon. That's what this was all about.' He stopped abruptly, a queasy look on his face. 'That's what I was supposed to be...'
'Don't.' Quatre grabbed hold of Heero suddenly and hugged him tightly. 'Don't talk about yourself that way. I won't let you... I won't let anyone, turn you into a weapon. I promise.'
Duo scowled blackly as he exchanged hostile glances with the blond man over Heero's bowed head, but managed to restrain his impulse to get to his feet and tear the two apart. His hand tightened on the armrest until the knuckles turned white, as he waited impatiently, until Heero managed to collect himself and broke free from Quatre's embrace. Duo's mouth twisted into a sour grin as Heero gave Quatre a look of silent gratitude.
'I think that it's time we started talking about our next course of action.' Wufei spoke, looking uncomfortable as all eyes turned to him. 'Or are we going to just sit here until Nagisa gets back?'
'That reminds me... where is Nagisa, I wonder?' Duo mused out loud, grateful for the distraction. 'From the way he ran out of here, it must have been something pretty important...'
'Maybe it was that green creature...' Amuro ventured hesitantly, his chin still resting dolefully on his knees.
'Ehh... green creature...' Duo gave a confused look to Heero, who gave a short grunt in affirmation. 'What are we talking about exactly?'
'It's green. And big.' Amuro got back on his feet and straightened his back, putting his hands behind his back as he started speaking. Duo thought with amusement that the boy looked as though he was presenting a report in class.
'Well... okay, not as big as a Gundam. But... bigger than a normal human. And it looks like an insect. Well... kind of... it's sort of more human.... That is, it's got a head and legs and arms and all that... And wings... Really beautiful wings. Kind of like a butterfly's I think... or maybe more like a dragonfly's... anyway, it flies really fast. And it can teleport. Not just itself. We were brought here.... That is... close to Sigma... And it's very, very strong... I thought that maybe if it was attacking this base.... But... why would it? I thought that it wanted us to be here... um...' Amuro trailed off at last, his brown eyes wide and guileless as he stared from one blank face to another. 'Heero? Tell them...'
Heero shrugged helplessly as his friends turned to him with bemused expressions. 'There isn't much more to say. I think you've pretty much covered it. Except...' He turned to Duo, 'didn't you say that Sigma was trying to develop some kind of an exoskeletal armour that enhanced psi energy? Something about tapping into an alternative energy source... wha...?' He gasped out loud as the floor shook beneath them.
The sound of klaxons rang throughout the room and the six were thrown to the ground as the floor rocked and trembled, accompanied by sounds of explosions.
'Lets leave any more explanations till later.' Duo grinned as he held out a hand to Heero, bracing himself against the table, and pulled both of them back on their feet. The ground continued to shake ominously under them as he dragged himself along the table to offer a helping hand with a cheeky grin to Quatre, who was finding it difficult to get back up.
'The guards are gone.' Trowa announced coolly from the open doorway.
'That's rather convenient.' Heero muttered suspiciously as he began to move towards him.
Wufei eyed the confident looking redhead with envy, wishing that he could emulate the grace and steady ease with which the tall man had navigated his way to the door. He sighed as once again, the floor rocked and he found himself sprawled untidily on the ground.
Quatre stared hard into the dancing violet eyes and hesitated for a long moment, then with a sudden smile, he grabbed hold of Duo's hand with a grateful nod. Heero was already by Trowa's side, peering into the corridor, almost as agile on his feet as the redhead, though an occasion tremor forced him to keep a steading hand on the wall.
'Umm...' Amuro looked worriedly at Wufei, who had fallen down for the third time. 'Maybe you should lean on something. Or just crawl, like me.'
Wufei glared at the young teenager, feeling distinctly discomfited by the fact that the others seemed to be managing better in getting across the increasingly unsteady floor.
'I don't crawl.' He snapped coldly, lurching unsteadily to his feet, and resisting the temptation to grab hold of the table, or chair, or anything... 'I... don... oh...' He broke off, his eyes widening as he suddenly found himself floating.
'There goes the gravity.' Duo muttered faintly as he found himself trying to walk on air.
'Zero gravity I can handle.' Wufei smiled smugly with relief, as he gracefully spun around and thrust off from the ceiling. Then cursed loudly as yet another explosion shook the room and this sent time a wave of force that hurled him back to the far corner of the room.
'What the hell's going on?' Amuro yelled loudly as he found himself falling painfully to the ground as the artificial gravity field came back on line. He winced painfully as he stared sympathetically at the tangle of arms and legs that resulted when Director Maxwell collapsed on top of his blond friend, who was yelling loudly in his ear. Amuro rubbed his shoulder, which had taken most of the impact of his fall, and wondered what was going to happen next...
Sigma, Central Command
'Doctor Nagisa, we have the intruder on our sensors.'
'Put him on screen.' Nagisa commanded quietly, his eyes hiding the turmoil of emotions raging inside him.
He frowned at the image of a slender young man, dressed entirely in a skin-tight black outfit that covered him from neck downwards. And ordered the camera to zoom in on the intruder's face. He stared with interest at the jade eyes and the long red gold hair, the thick fringe of unruly locks that framed the pale thin face. The camera pulled back, showing the debris and the destruction that were left in the wake of the intruder's movement.
'What the hell is he?' Nagisa said to himself, ignoring the fearful glances from his staff, as he leaned forward, his eyes glowing red with avarice and lust for the awesome power he saw on screen. 'There was no mention of this kind of psi ability among the Gemini subjects.'
'Doctor Nagisa...' The young technician paled as he pointed a shaking finger at the screen. 'I think he can see us...'
Nagisa stared into the brilliant deep green eyes which began to glow gold, and felt his heart skip a beat, as the unknown man raised his hand and a blue energy bolt flared forward.... and the screen went dead.
'Incredible...' Nagisa could hardly contain his excitement as he turned to the tall, black suited guard next to him and imperiously commanded that they capture the red haired youth, alive and preferably, unhurt.
'You've got to be kidding.' The Captain of the guard burst out furiously. 'You want me to take my men and go against that... that thing? After what we just saw? Doctor Nagisa, that freak is tearing this station apart! We lost more than one fifth of the station all ready and who knows what's going to go off line next? We got lucky with in only losing gravity so far, but what if we lose a more critical system, like life support next time? We could all die of suffocation or the cold. If that bastard doesn't just fry us all first. There's no way I'm going to try to capture that monster. And I don't even know how I'm supposed to kill it!'
Nagisa glared at the angry man with icy rage, infuriated by the man's cowardice. He stepped forward and slapped the tall Captain, hard, enough to leave a red imprint of his hand on the brown cheek.
'Next time you question my orders, is going to be the last time Captain. And don't worry,' he sneered coldly, 'I'm not going to send just you and your men. Elaine will deal with him. All you have to do is to bring the boy when she's done. Or is that too much for you and your men?'
The Captain reddened darkly with embarrassment and anger, and shook his head mutely. He didn't want to mention that neither he nor his men were thrilled with the opportunity to work with Elaine... The green monstrosity was almost worse than this new threat, who at least looked human...
Sigma, white sector, level 1B
'The elevator is out.' Trowa commented gravely, his face half hidden behind the long heavy fringe.
'Again?' Amuro muttered crossly as he stared helplessly down the long, empty shaft. 'Don't tell me we have to go back to the emergency stairwells again. It's going to take us forever to move around this station at this rate...' He stopped talking as the floor again shook heavily, throwing him into Quatre, both of them collapsing in a graceless heap on the floor and another loud explosion sounded.
'That sounds kind of close...' Wufei looked a little nervous as he braced himself against the wall.
'This could be kind of fun...' Duo grinned with delight as he sat on the floor with his arms around Heero, who had fallen against him this time.
Heero sighed and struggled to get back on his feet, only to fall back into Duo's arms as yet another explosion shook the floor.
'Why fight destiny?' Duo breathed softly into Heero's ears, tickling him and making him choke back a faint laugh. He smirked maliciously at Quatre who was glaring balefully at him whilst busily trying to untangle his legs from Amuro's. Heero muttered something indistinctive under his breath and abruptly got back on his feet, only to slam backwards into Trowa as yet another explosion took place, this time blowing out a section of the corridor nearby.
Duo hugged the floor, managing to ride out the tidal gust of air accompanying the explosion, and cried out in alarm as he saw Wufei lose his grim grip on the wall, forcing him to collide heavily into both Trowa and Heero, sending Trowa through the open elevator doors. Heero reached out desperately as the impact of Wufei's body sent him sliding into the shaft as well, and grabbed hold of the edge of the floor and hung helplessly. Wufei groaned heavily as his head smashed against the side of the elevator and he felt a blinding burst of pain in his head.
'Trowa!' Quatre screamed loudly, scrambling to his feet and dashed to the elevator. He looked past Heero, who had scrambled back onto the floor, and peered into the darkness inside the shaft, desperately trying to see the tall redhead.
'Trowa!'
Quatre moved to the side, allowing Duo to join him at the edge, as both of them peered down, screaming Trowa's name.
'I'm okay.' A shaky voice called out a few minutes later. 'I caught hold of the cables. I'll be up in soon.'
The two men sagged in relief, sharing a private smile.
Amuro stared at Duo and Quatre in confusion. 'I thought they hated each other...' He mumbled under his breath as he got back on his feet, rubbing his sore shoulder, which had been badly jarred in his second fall. 'I don't understand them...'
Heero, who was busy trying to help Wufei, who appeared to be suffering from a mild concussion, heard Amuro and a slight twitch tugged at the corner of his lips as he looked back at Quatre and Duo, who had started to argue again, as they waited impatiently for Trowa.
Hello...
Heero blinked. Did he just hear something? He looked into the empty corridor and felt his skin prickle uncomfortably as he felt a heavy pressure approaching him.
'It's coming...' Amuro cried out and stopped, looking confused. He looked around frantically, trying to identify the source of his discomfit, a heavy darkening presence that pressed down on his mind....
And the smoke finally cleared....
He smiled happily...
I remember now...
His eyes drank in the huge dark grey-blue eyes that stared at him so solemnly, and lingered over the delicate porcelain skin, the thick brown hair that fell untidily into those eyes...
Mine...
He thought caressingly and reached out a hand to the still figure, who remained frozen on the ground... and stopped as the other, his other, raised his hands to his head and started to scream...
Why...
He was angry, hurt beyond words by this rejection. He tried to reach him again... Only to fall back, confused and enraged, by the smooth mind-shield that refused him, once again...
'What... who is that?' Quatre gasped out loud, his eyes fixed on the vivid green eyes, the long redgold hair that spilled across the thin shoulder.
Duo shook his head grimly, his hands clenching into fists as he stared at Heero, who had curled into a foetal position, his hands pressed tightly against his ears, then at this stranger.
'I have no idea. But I think we've got trouble.'
Amuro had hurried to Heero's side when he heard the piercing scream, and tried to reach him with his mind once again. Quatre ran to their side and gently lifted Heero's head, cradling him in his lap, as he joined Amuro in calling out Heero's name...
Don't...
Don't say my name...
Heero curled in tighter and tighter, trying to run from... what was he trying to run from...
Jade green eyes...
Changing, gleaming with golden light...
So cold...
Heero shrank in further as images started to flash through his mind...
I like you...
A small boy with thick red hair was smiling at him...
Sitting in the sandpit...
I made a small castle...
In a white room...
More and more images swirled past him, even as he tried to shut down his mind and he saw...
Odin...
Heero reached out a hand... seeking... oblivion... absolution...?
Come with me...
Who said that... Heero wondered... was it Odin... or someone else...
Green eyes...
And for an instant, fear exploded in his guts until he realised...
No...
Not the same...
Warm... so warm...
Heero breathed more evenly as he clutched tightly on to the soothing image...
Heero...
He stiffened painfully, as he heard someone call out his name...
No names...
Number Z-23681...
Heero felt hot tears stinging his eyes, as a wave of grief swept through him... grief for... who...
I want to play...
He shuddered, drowning in a wave of fear, of unremembered terror...
Don't...
It hurts...
Heero gasped, convulsing painfully as he clutched his side...
Red...
He blinked slowly, staring emptily at the red smear on his hand...
Blood...
I'm bleeding...
The red drained away, leaving behind thin lines... strands...?
Hair...
Heero remembered... why Odin had taken only him... and not his partner...
Heero...
That voice... he'd heard it before... it wasn't him... Heero sighed with relief...
Heero...
A second, more familiar voice joined in and Heero smiled...
Heero, come back...
Safe... he'd always been so safe with him...
Heero uncurled slowly, lazily opening his eyes on the gentle green eyes looking down at him anxiously and smiled... then his eyes widened in shock and he sat up abruptly. Staring at the red-haired man... at his nightmare...
Duo stood in front of Heero protectively, his eyes sparking angrily as he glared at the intruder, whose eyes had never left Heero's pale face.
'What do you want?' He asked in a flat voice.
The stranger finally turned his attention on the taller brunette, his green eyes poring over the bigger frame of the man who had dared to confront him, with mild curiosity.
'Him.' He said at last, in a husky whisper. And Duo stiffened, recognising the familiar voice.
'Why?' Duo asked simply, ignoring the angry protest from behind him by Quatre.
A look of surprise passed over the stranger's flawless features as he stared into the angry violet eyes.
'He's mine.' He said at last.
Duo grinned humourlessly. 'The partner from the Gemini Institute.' He guessed shrewdly. The stranger looked confused and Duo elaborated, 'a genetic partner. A copy. You want him because he's the same as you.'
'Not the same.' The stranger answered automatically, his eyes sliding past Duo to rest on Heero's white face. 'I need him.'
'He doesn't need you?' Duo asked shrewdly, trying to stall for more time, wondering if Trowa would realise that he was better off hiding in the shaft then coming out here, to face this... whatever it was...
'He needs me.'
'No.'
The stranger's husky whisper was overridden by an identical voice.
Duo looked behind him, to find Heero starting to his feet, his eyes burning coldly with hate as he stared back at the red haired man.
'I don't need you. I don't want you. I don't want anything to do with you. I hate you.' Heero spat out furiously. 'Get away from me.'
'You remember him?' Duo asked gently.
Heero shot him a black look, and nodded stiffly. 'He likes to... play.' His face twisted with distaste on the last word. Heero added grimly, a look of sheer loathing on his face as he spoke, 'with people. And I'm... or I was... empathically linked to him. As a control.' He spat out.
'To be his conscience. To remind him that he was human...' Heero gritted his teeth as he tried to push away the painful memories.
To push away the memories of the voices screaming in his mind... the brittle cracking sound of the breaking bones... the sickeningly wet sound of pieces of flesh slamming on to the floor... the smell of blood...
Heero gasped and fell on one knee, his hand wrapping around Quatre's arm for balance as the images came searing into his mind...
'He was only a child...' Quatre's voice was thick with doubt and fear as he knelt beside Heero, his eyes turning to Duo, who continued to stay between Heero and the stranger, using his body as a shield. 'How could he...'
'Age is irrelevant.' The stranger laughed coldly. 'Neither Heero nor I were ever children... any more than you.' His eyes were sharp with interest as they moved from Quatre to Duo. 'You were both killers when you were only teenagers. And even earlier,' he added sweetly, as he stared at Duo, who glared back grimly. 'They wanted to see how powerful I was. And I showed them. And he... he turned back to Heero, who was trying not to gag, 'he showed me what it was like to have emotions. They tasted so sweet...'
A shot rang out.
A thin red line smeared across the stranger's cheek, and he raised his hand and gently touched the wet blood, studying his reddened finger with interest.
Behind him, Heero stiffened, his hand automatically moving to his cheek in a protective gesture...
He turned around slowly, his red hair spreading out behind him like a cloak, his eyes glazing over with a golden gleam, as blue energy crackled around his body.
The black suited guards who had formed a line behind him, began backing away nervously, their guns held ready.
Duo felt himself sweat as he looked past the redhead and at number of barrels pointed in their direction. Even if the stranger could survive the barrage, he had no illusions about his and his friends' chances if the guards opened fire.
A glow of white light suddenly blazed in their midst and Duo saw himself staring at a tall, green creature, with a humanoid shape and face, with insect-like claws instead of hands and feet and mentally reminded himself to apologise to Amuro later, for not taking his description more seriously.
He backed away and helped Quatre to get a still shaky Heero back on his feet, and then motioned Amuro to take Wufei, and began to move towards the elevator shaft.
'The minute they move, we jump down the shaft.' Duo mouthed soundlessly at Quatre, who nodded wordlessly, and then stared at Heero, who gave him a grim nod.
Elaine was terrified, for the first time in her life. She stood in front of the slim man with the long red hair and felt a sickening wave of nausea sweep through her as she summoned all her will, determined to eliminate this obstacle, no matter what Nagisa and Sakurazuka told her.
Are you afraid to die, sweet child?
Elaine fought back an urge to scream as she heard the scratchy whisper in her mind and she threw back her head and roared her defiance, then swooped in to the unmoving figure in front of her and slashed down with all her might...
Not good enough...
She screamed again, this time in fear, as her claw slammed against an invisible wall and hung helplessly in the air.
My turn...
Elaine shrieked...
'Son of a...' Duo watched, in horrified fascination as the slender redhead lifted his left arm, almost lazily, and tore the attacking limb of the green creature, covering the corridor with a thick shower of red blood.
'Amuro...'
Duo turned his head to see the auburn haired pilot throwing up on the floor, his body shaking with convulsions, while Quatre rubbed his back, trying to help him to settle his stomach.
'I guess we'll wait another few minutes before we try jumping down the shaft.' Duo muttered dubiously as he inched his way closer to the open elevator doors. 'How's Wufei?'
'I'm fine.' Wufei answered gruffly, still looking rather white around the lips, 'I've just got a mild headache.'
'I'll bet.' Duo grinned sympathetically, remembering the loud crack that he had heard when Wufei's head had slammed against the wall earlier. 'Do you think that you can help him Heero? Heero...'
Heero nodded absently, his eyes mesmerized by the slaughter that was taking place before them...
'I figure he should be occupied for at least another five minutes.' Duo commented callously, 'since he seems to enjoy his work so much. So with any luck, we might be able to get down to at least another level, maybe more, before he comes after us again. And no,' he snapped suddenly, turning on Quatre who had opened his mouth with an indignant look of fury, 'I really don't have time to waste on any hypocritical sentiments right now, Winner. I'm more interested in trying to get out of this with all of our skins and limbs intact. I suggest that you move, quickly.'
Quatre closed his mouth hard, his green eyes smouldering with suppressed anger, but he nodded silently and grabbed hold of Amuro's arm, helping him to stagger towards the elevator shaft.
Heero put a steading hand on Wufei's arm as the Chinese pilot leaned gingerly towards the elevator cables.
'Don't look back...'
Heero looked up at Duo who had come up behind him, and gave him a trembling smile...
And the floor shook once again as the corridor lit up in a burst of light, blue crackling energy that writhed chaotically as blinding white light surrounded the damaged green creature...
And Heero felt himself falling into the elevator shaft, his hand reaching out towards Duo, who had fallen head first, thrown off his balance by the explosion...
End Part 11
Katana
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