25 May 2000
Disclaimer: I´m getting boooooored by this. Do I have to keep this up?
Rating: R (yes, I´m prejudiced against the chronically challenged LOL)
General Barton groaned, feeling the sore lump on his head. The last thing he remembered was seeing a black van screeching to a halt in front of him, before he was rudely grabbed and thrust into its dark recesses. It had all happened so fast that he wasn´t even sure if anyone had noticed that anything unusual had taken place. Then nothing, as a black bag was shoved over his head and next thing he remembered was a very painful crack as he blacked out. Barton blinked his eyes and regarded the small empty room with disfavour, noticing that a steel manacle was chaining him to the crude bed that he had been dumped on. He stretched his neck, trying to get the kinks out from having been left in a heap of legs and arms and wished that his kidnappers had been considerate enough to use chloroform and had the decency to arrange his body properly while he was unconscious so that he wouldn´t have woken up with stiff and sore all over.
He pulled at the rumpled uniform and loosened the collar, deciding that he should try to get as comfortable as possible while waiting for his captors to arrive. He looked up at the small surveillance camera and gave it a confident smirk as he resettled himself on the bed.
Duo studied the now awake General curiously through the monitor, unnerved by how exactly he resembled their friend, Trowa. He turned to Heero who was working on the lap top that Winner had lent him, the pale green light of the monitor screen reflecting on his pale face and grinned at the familiar sight. Heero had shown considerable interest in the DNAS project from the beginning and was keen to learn all he could about it, and after a long argument between Yuy and Winner, they finally agreed to let him poke around the net, provided he could promise that he wouldn´t leave any trails leading Oz back to the UFC or Preventers. Yuy was standing over Heero´s shoulder and Duo couldn´t believe how weird to see his friend in duplicate, though he kind of liked being able to tell them apart easily since Heero still had long hair. He really hated talking to Quatre because he was never quite sure which one he was talking to, even their voices were totally identical and their body language was very similar, except Duo swallowed a grin, when Winner looked at Yuy, and Heero, he had to admit. He wasn´t too sure how he´d feel about meeting his counterpart in this world, though from the way Yuy got so skittish around him still, he had a feeling that he´d hate the son of a bitch. It was a shame that someone so good looking had to be such a rotter, Duo thought crossly.
‘How´s our prisoner?´ Wufei asked as he came into the room bearing a tray filled with sandwiches and drinks. He stared at the image of Trowa with curiosity plain on his face. ‘I just can´t believe that´s not our Trowa.´ He muttered to himself.
‘Imagine how we feel when we look at you.´ Yuy responded quietly as he came over to collect sandwiches, Duo noted with amusement, for himself and for Heero, which he placed silently next to the man still intent on the lap top. ‘I know Senator Wufei, I´ve met him and I know that you´re not him… but sometimes,´ he shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich, ‘it´s a little bizarre talking to you and trying to remember that I´m talking to a stranger.´
‘Tell me about this General Barton.´ Duo asked hesitantly, still touched on the raw by the way Yuy avoided looking at him as much as possible. ‘Do you know him? What´s he like?´
Yuy laughed mirthlessly as he looked at the arrogant man sprawled casually on the makeshift bed, staring back at the camera. ‘Yeah. I know him. We met a long time ago actually. I was visiting Earth for the first time with my father,´ he continued not noticing the sudden start the two men gave as they turned to look at Heero, who had lifted his head from the computer screen to give a penetrating stare at Yuy.
‘He was Heero Yuy as well, technically, I´m Heero Yuy the Second. My father worked hard to liberate us, the Colonies from the oppressive rule of the old Federation. It´s ironic really because it was with Barton´s father´s assistance who established Oz, not as a military force but more as a Peacekeeper unit, that the UFC first got started. I was about twelve,´ Yuy looked away from the monitor and turned his gaze to Wufei, still not feeling comfortable about seeing or being near the Maxwell clone, ‘and Trowa was already a cadet in Oz at that time, when I met him at his home. We were sent out to play together while our fathers talked and I thought that he was kind of nice, though a bit bossy. He wanted to show off his skills with the firearms that were being kept on the wall in the study, so after we snuck into the study and took the guns, he dragged me into the garden and told me to set up some targets.´ Yuy shook his head with resignation. ‘I thought that he was rather wonderful until he got bored and,´ his eyes hardened into cold ice, as he unconsciously clenched his fist, ‘started shooting the birds in the nearby trees.´ He laughed harshly and stopped talking, Wufei looked at Duo who looked as though he wanted to throw up.
After a moment of silence, Heero quietly prompted, ‘and then?´
‘And then,´ Yuy continued emptily, ‘I couldn´t stop screaming,´ he looked away, his mouth twisting bitterly, ‘until my father came for me. All I could see were blood and feathers everywhere. And the sound of Trowa laughing ringing in my ears.´ Yuy shuddered, sa he closed his eyes against the memory, ‘My father was furious with Trowa. That was the last time we met casually.´ He finished, his mouth set in a grim line.
Wufei´s face looked faintly green as he stared at the man in the screen with patent disgust. Duo´s face had turned a pasty white and he started to walk out of the small room, suddenly feeling a need for fresh air. Heero stared after his friend with a look of concern and after a moment of hesitation, he followed him. Yuy saw them leave with narrowed eyes, a frown puckering his brow.
‘They´re good friends aren´t they.´ Yuy spoke flat, his voice neither stating nor questioning.
Wufei nodded absently as he picked up the nearly emptied tray. ‘Yeah but so´s our Trowa. A good friend I mean.´ He sighed heavily as he prepared to leave, looking at the cold eyes of the man who was again staring at the monitor. ‘Look, we don´t belong here, that´s getting more and more obvious. And I think it might be simpler if we all remembered that we aren´t anything like each other, no matter what we look like.´
Yuy suddenly grinned at the startled Chinese, who had to remind himself of his own words as he couldn´t help thinking how unexpectedly different this man could be from Heero. ‘I´ll remember that you said that.´ His blue eyes twinkled slightly as he looked at the discomfited man and added slyly, ‘when you hear what you, or rather your counterpart is like.´
Wufei groaned theatrically, glad to change the subject, ‘don´t tell me, he´s an idiot.´
Yuy smirked, ‘worse, a pompous idiot.´
Wufei gave him a pained look as they left the surveillance room together, Yuy holding the door open for him. ‘Just don´t tell Duo,´ he said lightly, ignoring the little grimace that passed Yuy´s face at Maxwell´s name, ‘okay? Or I´ll never hear the end of it.´
The red haired man sitting in the small cramped room continued staring at the camera, then as he noticed that it was no longer following his movement, the lenses remaining absolutely still, he smiled to himself and opened his jacket, pulling out a tiny tool from the inside lining of his pocket. He removed the manacle from his wrist immediately and rubbed the chaffed skin as he got to his feet and walked over to the door, feeling the edges very carefully for any wiring, then he stepped back and raised his leg, and with a single vigorous kick, shattered the flimsy lock. General Barton tsked under his breath as he walked out into the deserted corridor carefully, thinking that his captors were very clumsy and inexperienced, but then, he reminded himself cheerfully that most of the UFC corp personnel were hopeless amateurs, still clutching on to silly sproutings about ideals of Peace and Unity and all that. The only one that even slightly concerned him was Quatre Winner, he was very annoyed by the fact that Maxwell had so completely slipped up when it came to Winner, who had displayed such outstanding qualities as a field commander, driving Oz from UFC space and fighting them to a stalemate on Earth. But he had to admit, that as Maxwell pointed out, nothing in Winner´s background had ever indicated that the man would be so talented in the art of making war. Remove Winner and he was certain that all resistance would crumble instantly. Despite Yuy´s popularity with the masses, heightened by the respect that his father´s name still commanded, the pacifistic fool was soft and according to Maxwell, easily manipulated into serving Oz´s interests, once he was properly re-educated. Barton wondered who had been stupid enough to arrange this particular kidnapping, surely Winner wouldn´t have had anything to do with something this clumsy and Yuy tended to get all idealistic and lofty about matters of honourable conduct.
He continued stealthily down the corridor, wishing that he still had his gun but at least his captors weren´t stupid enough to leave him armed.
‘I wish we were in that fantasy world still.´ Duo sulked as he tucked into the chocolate fudge ice cream with a big spoon.
‘I don´t.´ Heero answered somewhat tartly as he pulled forward his long hair, reminding Duo of the changes that had been wrought on him. ‘You never had the opportunity to properly meet the Shadowlord remember? I have to say that he was kind of scary, even if he was you.´ He ended slightly incoherently as Duo grinned at him cheekily, chocolate ice cream smeared slightly at the corner of his mouth. ‘That really hurt, what he did.´ Heero sighed and rubbed his shoulder again, as he remembered what it had been like to be wrapped in crackling energy.
‘Yeah but you got wings out of it though.´ Duo´s face was thoughtful as he slipped the large spoon with the heaped ice cream into his mouth, rendering him speechless momentarily. ‘ah..aish..arrh…´
‘Don´t talk with your mouth full.´ Heero glared disapprovingly, as he held out a paper serviette. ‘You´re putting me off my ice cream. And as far as the wings go, who knows when they´ll disappear.´ Heero looked rather concerned as he toyed with his spoon, pushing the ice cream round and round, turning it into a brown slush. ‘I´m not too keen on having them vanish on me, while I´m in mid flight, you know.´ He started to eat the ice cream, taking neat little bites. ‘And I think you´re over reacting over the way Senator Yuy is acting around you. He´s not me, any more than you are this Colonel Maxwell.´ He spoke firmly as Duo smiled widely at him. ‘Don´t worry about what he thinks of you. I mean, come on.´ He grimaced as he took another bite of his ice cream, ‘you don´t see me freaking out around Quatre over what we saw in their bedroom.´
Duo chortled loudly as he suddenly remembered the scarlet flush on Quatre´s face when he had come out of the bedroom that first time. ‘Oh I don´t know.´ He smirked with a meaningful flutter of his eyelashes, as Heero rolled his eyes. ‘I thought that you guys made a really cute couple.´ He giggled again, as he thought of the way Senator Winner kept eyeing Heero when he was near him. ‘But you aren´t going to break my heart are you?´ He teased lightly as Heero snorted and refused to answer him. ‘I mean look at what a totally cool couple we made, as Shadowlord and Lightbearer. I really liked the idea that you were,´ his eyes twinkled wickedly as he lingeringly took another bite, ‘now how did Myerdin put that? My loyal servitor who lived to please me?´
‘Huh´, Heero grunted, as he continued to ignore the excited babbling of Duo, who seemed finally free of the despondent air that he had worn since his arrival in this world. He hadn´t wanted to admit to any one that he was also feeling very jitterish in this world, so much so that when Sally had insisted that he stay out of the mission, he hadn´t bothered to press the issue any further. Something about this whole world made him feel… strange, sort of nervous and anxious, especially that man in the room. Heero´s instincts had screamed danger at him when he had first seen him, even unconscious there had been a hint of cruelty around the mouth that he knew so well. He had felt less and less confident that Trowa could successfully impersonate someone like that and now, he felt edgy as he waited for Quatre to finish his discussion with Winner regarding their final disposition. His attempts to surf the net had proved futile, the Oz network was far better protected than he was used to at home and he had decided against trying to hack into the secured files when he found that any attempt would trigger booby traps to track the invader back to his system and release a virus that would lock his own system down.
‘You know I can´t help wondering what the girls would have been like in that world.´
Heero started as Duo´s voice penetrated his thoughts and blinked in confusion. ‘Girls? What world?´ He answered automatically.
Duo gave a dramatic sigh, even as he served himself another helping from the ice cream tub, having decided that it would be simpler to just finish it off, rather than to go to the bother of transferring it to the dish. ‘You know, Relena and them. I kind of thought that Relena would have been,´ he sniggered, ‘oh I don´t know, Queen of the world or something. Can´t you just see her facing up to the Shadowlord and being fried?´ Duo sighed as he savoured the melting chocolate ice cream in his mouth. Heero simply shook his head in resignation and decided not to bother. ‘Oh a witch,´ Duo added happily, as he scooped up another big spoonful, ‘I could definitely see her royal stuckupness as a witch.´
Duo waved his spoon carelessly. ‘I mean, look at how weird it is seeing them as us in this world,´ he paused to finish off another spoonful. ‘I mean as Gundam pilots, you know? I thought I´d faint when I heard that Hirde was Shinigami. She was a cool pilot but darn it, that´s my machine. And that Catherine being the pilot of Heavyarms?´ Duo chuckled to himself as he started scraping the bottom of the tub, ‘I don´t think I´ve ever seen Trowa actually look surprised before. And did you hear the way Wufei squawked when he found out that Sally was driving around in his Nataku? Not that she calls it that. She calls it Shenlong, which is what it was supposed be called in our world too I think. Weird.´
Heero shrugged, as he put down his spoon, having finished his potion. ‘Weird is relative.´ He said calmly, ‘they found us just as strange you know. Sally kept on looking at me funny when we were getting briefed on the mission, like she´d never seen me using a gun before.´
‘She probably hadn´t.´ Duo said, as he dumped the emptied ice cream tub in the bin with a satisfied sigh. ‘Didn´t you see the way Yuy was holding the gun when he was pointing it at me? I don´t think that he´s really experienced with it.´ He suddenly laughed as he pulled out the biscuit tin and held it out to Heero who made a face and shook his head. ‘I can´t get over you being the Pacifist in this world. Talk about role reversal.´ He giggled as he bit into the arrowroot biscuit.
Trowa saluted solemnly, his face remaining expressionless as he walked into Oz headquarters. He had studied the floor plan that Winner provided very carefully and he was reasonably confident that he could get to his office. He tried to keep his eyes as cold as possible, as he remembered Sally´s warning that his body language was too different to that of General Barton. It was a pity actually that he hadn´t been able to study the man for himself before the switch took place but Quatre was very anxious to get out of this world as soon as possible. And since Winner was equally worried about this DNAS being set in operation, the timetable for the mission had been very tight. Colonel Maxwell was luckily absent from headquarters, ostensibly on a visit to Sanc Kingdom where the Oz training camp was but Winner´s sources had told him that he was actually off Earth, though they couldn´t say exactly where. So they had two days in which for Trowa to find the files on DNAS and to download a copy and bring it back with him.
‘Excuse me, General Barton?´
Trowa stopped and regarded the timid receptionist coolly.
‘I have a message for you from Colonel Maxwell.´ She handed him the text printout and sat down again when he walked into his office, wondering why the General had looked so disconcerted as he had read through the message.
Barton debated silently with himself when he saw the blond Senator walk past where he was concealed, then coming to a sudden decision, he quickly ducked out of the cupboard and went up the narrow staircase that he had seen Winner go up. He heard muted voices as he approached the landing and cautiously peeked over the edge, then walked up as silently as possible when he saw the it was empty. He looked around carefully, noting the slightly ajar door on the left and feeling exposed, he swiftly walked over to the small room and saw that it had a balcony. He also found that he could hear the voices quite clearly from the other room, if the balcony door was open. After fastening the door of his room, and jamming a chair against the lock, he drew the light curtain and set himself against the wall. With the balcony door wide open, he could hear the voices clearly, as pieces of conversation floated out from the next room. After a few minutes Barton frowned as he strained to hear more clearly, it sounded almost as if Winner was talking to himself….
‘So do you think that you´ll be able to stop Oz from activating this DNAS?´ Quatre asked curiously as he sipped his tea, his counterpart also doing the same.
Winner thought about the question carefully, as he picked up the cucumber sandwich. ‘Maybe.´ He conceded carefully, biting neatly into the sandwich. ‘If Trowa manages to get us the files holding the activating codes to DNAS, then its more than possible. Frankly, there´s no way that we could stop Oz from putting the satellites in orbit, last time we tried, we lost Heero.´ Winner grimaced bitterly as he remembered the treacherous Anaheim representative, Doctor Treize Khushrenada who had sold Maxwell information regarding Heero´s secret visit to the head of Anaheim Industries, Lady Une. ‘Oz will have the satellites in place within the next couple of months. We can´t stop them, we don´t have the resources to wage a full scale war to shut down the Oz space ports and that´s what it´ll take. So,´ he put down his cup on the saucer with a light rattle. ‘You are our only real hope. The activation codes will allow us to take control over the satellites.´
Quatre´s eyes widened disapprovingly, ‘are you telling me that we are helping you to take control over Earth?´ He frowned severely as he rubbed his jaw. ‘I´m not too sure if we should do that.´
Winner´s lips twitched, ‘you sound just like Heero. My Heero.´ He smiled more broadly as Quatre flushed slightly at the mention of his lover. ‘He´s not too pleased with this operation either.´ He sighed and clasped his hands together in his lap as he gave an appealing look to this image of himself, willing him to understand. ‘We aren´t going to use the satellites, though I have to admit,´ a rueful grin passed over his mouth, ‘that the thought does have its appeal. We are just going to order the satellites to destroy each other. And no,´ he shrugged, ‘I don´t have any guarantees for you. All I can do is ask you to trust me. To trust in yourself really.´ He smiled disarmingly at Quatre who snorted softly. ‘So, tell me.´ Winner settled back into his chair. ‘What´s your relationship with your,´ he emphasised the word slightly, his eyes laughing when Quatre reddened at the word, ‘Heero like? Are you two lovers?´ He laughed as Quatre choked, ‘you can´t complain that I´m invading your privacy. Not after the rude way you and your friends barged in on us.´
Quatre´s face was still rather red as he avoided meeting the other´s questioning gaze. ‘I´d rather not talk about this, if you don´t mind.´ He muttered at last. ‘Why don´t we just concentrate on the mission, and on when and how you´ll hand over the beam rifle so that we can get out of here, okay?´
Winner nodded calmly, as he poured out another cup of tea for Quatre and for himself. ‘Suit yourself. Just trying to make polite conversation that´s all. As for the beam rifle, that´s quite easy, as soon as we have the DNAS files, we´ll take one off one of our suits and you can be on your way, is that satisfactory?´
‘Yes. Thank you.´ Quatre answered shortly, still feeling a little ruffled. He didn´t want to admit how shaken he had been to see himself tangled up with Heero in bed, and he still felt rather confused and perturbed whenever he looked at his own Heero, who had remained completely silent on the subject. He hadn´t dared to bring it up yet either and he really didn´t feel up to talking about it with the very person who had caused such chaos in his feelings. He saw the way Winner and Yuy looked at each other, the private smiles they shared when they thought no one was looking, the little touches and unconscious caresses they exchanged and a part of him felt very envious of Winner but… Quatre wasn´t at all certain about his own feelings and he hadn´t been able to catch Heero to talk it over privately since then, though he wasn´t too sure whether the dark haired pilot was actually avoiding him on purpose.
His heart hammered loudly whenever he thought about the possibility of being able to share that kind of warmth and love in his own world. He had also noticed that Duo was looking very upset at being cold shouldered by Yuy and felt a pang of pity when he thought of how he´d feel if that had been directed at himself. He wasn´t too sure about how the other pilots felt about sharing a relationship beyond that of a friendship and his trips in these alternate worlds, so similar in some respects, so different in others, had already shaken the way he saw his future considerably. But for now, he just wanted to concentrate on getting them home, he thought that the question of how and whether their relationships should change could wait till then.
Barton frowned as he considered the conversation that he had just overheard. Either Winner had snapped and was now talking to himself, about some pretty weird things he thought, or there´s more than one Winner in the room and they had mentioned another Trowa….. General Barton decided to leave while he still could and figure out what was going on later, he opened the door and stopped as he saw Heero standing in the doorway holding a gun in his face.
‘What have you done to your hair?´ Barton blurted out even as he reflexively raised his hands. He smiled when he saw Heero look away momentarily, as they heard the clicking sound of a door opening and immediately kicked the gun out of his hands, the smirk leaving his face when Heero, instead of being stunned, swung around and kicked him, hard in the stomach.
Barton gasped as he staggered back, the sheer force of the kick rendering him speechless. ‘Since when did Yuy learn to fight like that?´ He thought confusedly as Heero dashed at him, hands and feet blurring as they darted furiously at his body. Barton started fighting back automatically, too hard pressed to do anything except move on pure reflex. The two men thrust their hands at each other then whirled in a frenzy of movement, each movement being matched precisely. After a while Barton started grinning confidently as his superior height and weight allow him to gain an upper hand against the slighter man, who had started to sweat visibly as he continued to fight back, even as he was being slowly pushed towards the open balcony door.
‘Stop now.´
Barton froze as he heard Maxwell´s familiar voice and turned around with a triumphant grin that faded when he saw his friend pointing a gun at him, and then blinked as he took in the two identical blond men standing behind Maxwell.
‘Are you okay Heero?´ Duo called out anxiously, even as his eyes never left the confused General who was staring at him and the others in the room with an open mouth.
‘Yes.´ Heero panted softly as he wiped his brow with his sleeve. He stood poised, ready to launch into movement, looking warily at the General who started to laugh as he put up his hands in surrender.
‘So what is all this Winner?´ Barton asked with a mocking grin, ‘you´ve found a way to clone people or something?´ He stared at the heavy braid that hung at Duo´s back and then turned his attention to Heero and studied the long dark hair that fell over his shoulder. ‘I gather this isn´t really Yuy.´ He inclined his head to Heero, ‘I must congratulate you, whoever you are. I´ve never met such a fine fighter before.´
‘Actually, he is Heero Yuy.´ Winner answered drily as he stared at the arrogant man before him. ‘Just not our Heero Yuy. It´s a little complicated. They´re only visiting our world, not intentionally I might add. Once they´ve given me a little help, they´ll be on their way, and,´ his mouth twisted bitterly as he looked at the cold green eyes that mocked him. ‘so unfortunately will you. We don´t intend to do anything to you. Just keep you confined for a couple of days. Then, you´ll be free to go.´
Barton held out his hands passively as Quatre came forward with metal cuffs and clicked them in place around his wrists. He looked at Heero who was staring at him, still breathing heavily from their fight. ‘I like the long hair. It looks very pretty.´ He smirked when Heero glared at him and then moved over to the door, picking up his dropped gun, and then stared at the Maxwell lookalike in fascination, amused by the anger that was evident in the familiar violet eyes.
‘And you?´ He asked curiously as they moved aside to allow him to walk out of the room. ‘I suppose that you are a Duo Maxwell too?´ He chuckled as he shook his head, ‘I´m a bit taken back by the hair though, I´d never imagined the Colonel with long hair before. I don´t suppose that you people plan to substitute him as well?´
Duo gave the General an annoyed glance as he took place behind him, Heero taking the lead with Winner. ‘And I´m a little surprised by how much you talk, I´m kind of used to Trowa being silent and stoic. Why don´t you just shut up and walk?´
Barton narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Duo and after a moment, he sidled up to Heero who frowned at him, and said sweetly, ‘I suppose that you do know that we, the Heero in this world and I, were childhood sweethearts, don´t you? This is all a terrible mistake you know. You shouldn´t trust Winner, he´s a devious man who has totally brainwashed my poor Heero. You should never listen to just one side of the story after all.´ He continued lightly as Heero grimly ignored him, Quatre grabbing Duo and shaking his head to silence him when the highly agitated American looked as though he was about to throttle the tall man in front of him. ‘I was very impressed by the way you fought me just now, I assume that you have some combat experience. You do realize that I can do a lot to help you in this world, all you have to do is to trust me.´
Winner snorted scornfully as Heero gave the smiling General a blank look and pointed him in the direction of the cellar.
‘Since you´ve broken the door of your room, we´ll have to put you in the cellar for now.´ Heero said quietly.
Barton clenched his hands for a minute before smiling calmly and following Heero into the cellar. ‘I assume that you´ll be staying with me?´ He asked coyly as he sat down on the wooden bench.
Heero sighed and sat down at the other side of the cellar, turning his head slightly to face the door where he called out to Duo, ‘We take turns, four hours at one stretch, I´ll start. Tell Trowa that he better hurry. And bring me a book please.´
‘Does this mean that you don´t want to talk?´ Asked Barton plaintively.
‘We have a problem.´ / ‘There´s been a problem.´
Then a pause as both Quatre and Trowa stopped talking, and with a frown, Quatre took the lead, as Trowa fell silent.
‘What´s happened.´ He spoke brusquely into the mouthpiece, his voice tensing slightly and attracting the sharp glance of Duo who had been playing solitare.
Trowa stared expressionlessly at the smiling man who held the gun aimed directly at his face.
‘It´s Maxwell. He´s here. Now.´
‘What?´ Quatre yelled out, as he leapt to his feet, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on the phone. ‘Shit.´ He waved at hand at Duo who had also jumped to his feet, scattering the cards all over the glass table and his feet, motioning for him to sit down. ‘He´s not supposed to be there till tomorrow. Remember, you called and told us that the message said that he´d be a day early, not arrive tonight.´
Trowa kept his eyes unwaveringly on the rounded face and the dancing violet eyes, feeling his hackles rise as the other man simply remained in his chair and listened calmly.
‘Apparently,´ he forced out slowly, ‘I tripped an alarm when I tried to access the DNAS files. The system doesn´t show the intruder the password window, and when the files are accessed without going the password, the intruder is rerouted to useless data files while an alert is sounded and Colonel Maxwell receives a mail alert.´ He tightened his lips as Maxwell grinned smugly at him. ‘When the Colonel realized that I was the intruder, he made a pass at me and figured out that I wasn´t the real General when I didn´t respond.´
Quatre gritted his teeth as he ground out, ‘so you let him just kiss you. I´m assuming that you thought that it was a part of the cover.´ He ignored Duo whose eyes had rounded with surprise and continued, ‘look, exactly what´s our situation?´
‘Actually, I´d say that it was rather bad.´
Quatre started as he heard the familiar voice, and yet unfamiliar in its soft cloying sweetness.
‘Please excuse the interruption but I was listening in on the speaker phone.´ A tremor of laughter ran through Maxwell´s voice as he spoke, ‘I gather that I´m speaking to the other Quatre, not Senator Winner. I must say that I´m rather intrigued by this. Imagine having a duplicate of yourself, and apparently there´s more than one variation possible.´
Quatre´s face reddened with anger as he wondered exactly how much Trowa had already told this Maxwell. ‘What do you want?´ He asked icily.
‘Not much for pleasant conversation, are you? Pity that you had to take after your gauche counterpart in that.´ Maxwell shook his head in mock regret, amused by the brief glint of annoyance he managed to trigger in the impassive green eyes staring at him. ‘Look at this stage, I propose a truce of a kind. It seemed that you people were duped by Winner into doing his dirty work. Basically, you merely want to try to return to your own world, I gather. So, there´s really no reason for you to be involved in the political manoeuvring of this world. Right?´ Maxwell deliberately swung the point of the gun away from Trowa and ostentatiously returned it to his holster. Shrugging nonchalantly when Trowa immediately pulled out his own gun and pointed it at him.
‘Your point would be…´ Quatre asked finally as the silence lengthened on, trying to figure out what was going on at the other end of the phone.
Trowa kept the gun pointed at Maxwell, who leaned back in his chair and rested his head against the palms of his hands.
‘You need a beam rifle. I want my General. I say a trade is in order.´
Quatre drew his breath sharply. ‘And what if I say no?´
‘Will you?´ Asked Maxwell curiously, as he gave Trowa a bland look. ‘Do you usually kidnap people and hold them prisoner for no reason in your world?´
Quatre flushed angrily, unable to look at Duo who was staring at him with a whitening face as he began to realize who he was speaking to.
‘I wouldn´t call the General an innocent.´ He snapped, then immediately regretted rising to Maxwell´s bait as he heard an arrogant laughter ringing out from the earpiece.
‘Let´s not waste our time on facile arguments,´ Maxwell chuckled as he gave Trowa a challenging look. ‘Either your friend fires and kills me. Which would be a damned shame.´ He added flippantly, ‘Or he doesn´t, in which case he leaves himself wide open to being arrested for the impersonation of an Oz General, and probably executed.´ He finished musingly. ‘In either case, I still don´t get my General back, and I´m afraid that I am going to have to insist on that. Now, you have to choose between undoing a terrible wrong,´ Maxwell purred, ‘and accepting our help so that you can remove your redundant,´ he emphasised lingeringly, ‘from my world, or…´ He stopped and grinned at Trowa who was glaring at him venomously.
‘Or?´ Quatre shot back before he could stop himself.
‘Or… I don´t know.´ Maxwell finished softly and stared at the silent image of Barton standing before him unblinkingly. ‘Don´t you have a non interference policy or ethics or something, that says that its immoral to interfere in the affairs of another world?´
Quatre fought the urge to slam the phone down. ‘So, what… do... you… want?´ He forced out gratingly.
Maxwell smiled charmingly, ‘I thought you´d never ask.´
‘This is crazy. You are crazy. What do you think you´re doing?´ Duo screamed at Quatre who had flushed uncomfortably and was avoiding his stare. ‘How can you agree to let that monster come here? And without consulting with Winner first.´ He threw up his hands, ‘Jesus, Yuy is going to have a fit. I can´t believe you agreed to this.´
Wufei didn´t speak but he too had a disapproving frown on his face.
Quatre was twisting Widget round and round in his lap, his face looking pale. He sighed deeply before raising troubled eyes and giving Duo an imploring look, that was totally ignored by the furious brunette who looked ready to tear into him. ‘Our objective is to get out of here.´ Quatre said finally.
‘Oh great!´ Duo shouted, ‘so, screw this world, screw everybody else so long as we get to go home, is that it? Damn it Quatre, how can you think like that? Is that what we fought for? To turn our backs because it´s not our fight?´ He spat the hot angry words at the immobile blond who refused to flinch from the force of his anger.
‘This isn´t our world.´ Quatre said, his mouth twisting with bitterness as he firmed his grip on Widget who remained unresponsive, its eyes closed firmly. ‘No,´ he put up a hand, forestalling Duo who had opened his mouth, ‘let me finish. That Maxwell was right about one thing. We don´t have the right to meddle in their business. We agreed to help Winner because he promised to help us get out of this world. Are you absolutely sure that we are doing the right thing by helping Winner fight Oz?´ He asked gravely, his eyes turning to include Wufei who stared back impassively, and Duo who had closed his mouth but was still looking stubborn. ‘We´ve fought our war. It´s not our responsibility to decide whether Oz or the UFC is better for this world. I think that we should accept Maxwell´s proposal. Release Barton, take the beam rifle and get out of here before we make things worse.´
‘Bullshit.´ Duo´s face was flushed with the heat of his emotion. ‘That´s garbage and you know it, Quatre. You´re just taking the easy way out. And don´t you dare try to tell yourself otherwise. I don´t want any part of this.´ He started to stalk away, then stopped as he saw Yuy staring at them with a pale face from the doorway. ‘Damn.´ Duo swore softly as Yuy swirled and disappeared down the stairs. ‘Now what?´ He glared at Quatre, who had gotten to his feet, Widget dropping from his numb hands and rolling gently across the floor until it came to a rest at the feet of Wufei, standing by the fireplace. ‘Are you going to kill him? Can you do that? Kill someone who looks like Heero?´
Quatre shot Duo an angry glance even as he dashed after the vanishing figure. ‘Why do you think I want us out of here? That´s our friends that we are trying to fight. No matter which side we select.´
Duo bit his lips as he stood staring at the empty door. He looked at Wufei who simply shrugged and started running after Quatre. Duo cursed all blonds, especially ones who were right, as he too took to his heels.
‘So have you thought about my proposal?´ Barton prompted when Heero refused to lift his eyes from his book. ‘Think about it, I can give you power, money, whatever you want. Why bother to stay with that doltish group of yours when you can have so much fun in this world? Imagine what life could be like as the President of Earth? You would have to cut your hair though.´ Barton added regretfully. ‘And as for Heero, my Heero that is, well.´ He hummed lightly, ‘I´m sure that he´ll be quite happy to retire from the limelight of the political world and grow roses or something on my estate. I promise I won´t hurt my old childhood pal. We used to have so much fun together. He was always a bit squeamish though. I bet you aren´t like that.´ He reached out a hand to gently caress the long dark lock that fell tempting from the slender neck and froze when Heero´s head snapped up, his blue eyes burning with cold fire and a gun was placed in his face. Barton fell back, pouting, ‘you´re so repressed. I´m sure it´s bad for you.´
Heero relaxed when Barton moved away from him, the gun only dropping down to his side when the sulky General returned to his seat on the other side of the cellar. He was beginning to wonder if he could last for another 40 minutes without giving in to the rising temptation to just shot the repulsive man and put himself out of his misery. He could see why Wufei had only lasted half an hour before they had to return to the cellar to pry to the two men apart. But this had unfortunately meant that he had to take two shifts to Duo and Quatre´s one, to replace Wufei. Heero found himself praying that Trowa would complete the mission by the end of the day. He really didn´t think he could stomach any more sessions with his friend´s clone.
Barton smiled to himself, the smile hidden beneath the long fringe as he stared at Yuy´s counterpart settle down and return to his reading. He had been impressed by the man´s tolerance and patience, far higher than that of Maxwell´s counterpart who had been so unexpectedly easy to needle, though no where near as responsive as Senator Chang´s lookalike. He wasn´t quite certain what to make of this other Winner though, he had been slightly unsettled by the similarity between the two, simply because of the sheer contrast between the idealistic Yuy and this Heero, who was so controlled and so obviously skilled in the art of war. Still like the others from his world, he could tell that Quatre was experienced in killing and fighting, though perhaps not a match for Senator Winner in strategic tactics. How naïve of him to have accepted this mission so easily, Barton thought in amusement, as he drummed his fingers lightly against his bench, as he bet with himself on how much longer Heero would last before his stoic façade cracked.
‘Oy Heero.´
The two men looked up, as a panicked Duo stuck his head around the door, his braid falling over his shoulder.
‘Have you seen Yuy?´
Heero shook his head silently, his eyes wide as Duo swore loudly before disappearing, only to return and noisily run down the small flight of stairs, a gun in his hand. ‘We´ve got trouble. He overheard us talking.´ Duo gave Barton a dirty look as he spoke. ‘We were discussing letting him go.´ He finished shortly as Heero joined him at the foot of the stairs. ‘I think it sucks but Quatre talked to that creepy Colonel and thinks that we should exchange the General for Trowa and a beam rifle.´ He swore again as Heero immediately ran up the stairs and vanished out of the door. ‘Man I wish, they wouldn´t keep running off like that.´
‘That´s how it is with pretty things.´ Barton laughed when Duo turned back to him with outraged eyes, ‘they keep running and we keep chasing. Oh relax.´ He added calmly when Duo pointed his gun at him. ‘Lets not even pretend that you´re going to kill me.´ He stopped, sobered suddenly by the manic grin on Duo´s face as he aimed the gun deliberately at his knee and froze.
Duo´s eyes reminded Barton of Colonel Maxwell for the first time since he had first seen this clownish version of the ruthless man who worked for him. He raised his hands carefully and swallowed carefully, wondering if he should say anything. Then, he knew that he had pushed too far when Duo cocked his head and winked at him. Then he heard a soft phut as at the same time his knee exploded in pain and crimson rain. He dropped to the floor silently and looked at the violet eyed man realizing that he had underestimated his opponent disastrously, fooled by the foppish long hair and the easy laughter.
Duo shrugged at Barton who was gazing at him with black rage as he clutched the shattered knee. ‘You´re right.´ He admitted carelessly as he turned to follow Heero out of the cell. ‘I´m not going to kill you.´
Part V – teaser
Heero skidded to a halt as he ran past a distracted Quatre who had grabbed hold of Yuy and was trying to speak to him, even as the man twisted violently in his grip.
‘Wait. Listen to me.´
Quatre blinked as suddenly he felt fingers like steel grab hold of his arm and he was turned around, Yuy managing to twist free, even as he came face to face with Heero, who stared at him with icy eyes before he felt the world go black and gasped as he felt the air forced from his lungs, as Heero´s fist slammed into his guts and he fell to his knees. Shit. Quatre thought, his eyes watering, no wonder Duo still complained about being hit on that colony during the Mariemaia incident.
Yuy stopped and looked at his counterpart who was glaring at the blond, still wheezing painfully. He felt confused and angry, furious at the betrayal that he had overheard but he wasn´t sure what he should do about it either. From the argument that had attracted his attention when he had returned from his meeting with Hirde, who had reported that Colonel Maxwell had returned earlier than expected, it appeared that these men weren´t in total agreement as to their course of action. Yuy had been startled by the extent to which he had felt personally betrayed by this Quatre, in particular. But seeing his lover, even though they weren´t the same men, bent over with pain had hurt him more than he thought possible.
Heero locked eyes with Quatre who had gotten back on his feet, his face still twisted with pain. ‘Why.´ He demanded coldly. ‘We had a mission. Why did you break orders?´
Katana: So what do you think of Track 2 so far? I have to finish getting them out of there so I can move on to Track 3. Boy these guys are tough to get rid of. You´ll have to wait till ‘Ripples´ if you want to run into the Track 2 guys again after Part V. Wait for it. Hey if you want to see it faster, email me. I work better on feedback. Yep. Totally shameless now.
By the way, this one was written over a longer period of time than usual (I got interrupted but bad by RL) so I´m not quite sure of the structure. Hope it flows okay.
My fics are stored at GW Addiction AND also at Alana Winter´s Guest Archive! (I´ve linked to her fiction page because you should read her stuff too, verry nice) http://www.geocities.com/alanawinters/FanFictions.html
Yaaaay. It´s so exciting to find your stuff on the net.