26-Jun-2000
Oshashibri Minna! It's been a long time (hey on the
net, a week is supposed to be a year after all) so I
hope you haven't all forgotten me or my fics. ^_^
I've finally gotten back to writing, so here is Part V
to Shadows and Reflections series. Please enjoy.
Track 2
Heero scowled blackly as he ran out of the doorway and saw two men struggling wildly in the kitchen. The small dark haired man twisting violently, trying to free himself from the grasp of the tall blond man, ignoring his pleas to calm down.
'Senator Yuy, wait. Listen to me.'
Quatre blinked as suddenly he felt fingers like steel grab hold of his arm and he came face to face with Heero, who stared at him with icy eyes before he felt the world go black and gasped, 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 whirled around and dashed to the other side of the kitchen counter, staring warily at the two men glaring at each other. He hesitated briefly as he fingered the sharp knife sitting on the counter in front of him, then froze as he felt the tip of a gun press lightly against his side. He put his hands up and turned in resignation to face an apologetic Wufei.
'That really hurt.' Quatre hissed out at last, as he continued to glare at the impassive blue eyes staring coldly at him, gingerly rubbing his stomach. 'What do you think you're doing?'
Heero narrowed his eyes with disapproval as he gestured at Wufei who continued to hold Yuy at gun point. 'What do you think you're doing? I just heard from Duo that you were going to exchange General Barton for a beam rifle. Since when did we turn into kidnappers and extortionists?'
Quatre sighed as he tugged at his lock fringe unhappily, looking at the angry face in front of him, an exact mirror reflection of the other angry face glaring at him from the other side of the kitchen counter. 'Can we please talk about this without indulging in any further displays of testosterone? I've always been fond of talking over a nice cup of tea for example. And for heaven's sake, put away that gun Wufei, that sort of thing doesn't help anyone you know.' He snapped crossly at the black haired man who looked indignant for a minute before shrugging and putting away his gun. Quatre turned to face Senator Yuy who still looked more than ready to bolt across the room and said, 'two lumps of sugar?'
Yuy blinked, a little taken back at first then nodded reluctantly even as Quatre started to rummage in the cupboard shelf over the refrigerator. He looked at Heero who was still glaring at the blond man's back with disapproval, waiting silently until his counterpart turned to him and gave him a short reassuring smile. He wasn't sure what was going on but Yuy felt certain that he could trust this other Heero Yuy implicitly.
'Umm... excuse me...' Duo poked his head in with a guilty expression on his face. 'But can anyone tell me where the first aid box is? There's been a little... um.. accident. Heh....' Duo coughed nervously as the four sets of eyes fixed on him. 'I eh... sort of shot General Barton.' He grinned weakly even as Quatre groaned and started to run out of the kitchen, an empty teapot still held in one hand.
'I want that braided idiot skinned alive then pickled in brine.' Barton swore furiously as he shot a nasty look at Duo who grinned at him unrepentantly from the other side of the room.
'Please, General Barton.' Maxwell rolled his eyes impatiently as he tried to placate the raging man for the umpteenth time. 'That idiot you're talking about resembles me, unfortunately. And at the moment, the silly braid is the only thing that is stopping Winner from eliminating both you and me and using our duplicates to take our places. And while I can understand and sympathise with how you feel, I want you to focus on the fact that we are going to have to co operate with these men and assist them to leave our world, as soon as possible.'
Barton gritted his teeth, as he fingered the edges of the heavy white bandage on his knee. 'Why are you so insistent on letting them go Colonel? I would have thought that you would have welcomed the opportunity to play with these doppelgangers.' He scowled heavily as Maxwell smiled indulgently at him. 'And don't think that I don't know that you've brought some guarantees for our safe departure from this laughable excuse of a rebel base.' He hissed softly as he looked meaningly at the satchel in Maxwell's hand.
Maxwell's lips twitched slightly as he studied the fuming man in front. 'Very observant as always my General.' He turned his head to regard the silent man staring at him from the doorway. 'I must say that Senator Yuy looks simply stunning with long hair don't you think? And he's so spirited, this one. It's an interesting experience seeing him and knowing that he doesn't fear me at all. And you're right.' He turned back to Barton with a wide beam on his face, violet eyes dancing merrily. 'I am going to be very sorry to lose the opportunity to get to know him better. But,' he shrugged as he continued firmly. 'That's how it is sometimes. You don't get everything that you want. And right now, what we're going to do is to assist these men to leave our world, and get back into our rightful places so that we can go on with our lives. Sans their disruptive presences.'
'How very enlightened of you.' Winner interjected scathingly from the other sofa. 'And why is it that I don't believe a word of it?'
Maxwell turned to the icy green eyes boring into him and pasted on a sweet smile. 'Why Senator Winner,' he spoke mockingly, placing his hand over his heart. 'I'm wounded. To the core. How can you say that about me? Especially after the way you tried to pull this pathetic switch with General Barton and that poor innocent traveller from another world? You really can't expect them to get involved in your little sordid plots, not when all they want to do is to get a little help to get back into their world.'
Duo shifted his feet uneasily as he observed the soft whispered conversation between his lookalike and Senator Winner. He leaned over to Wufei who had a troubled frown on his brow and whispered, 'is it me or does that guy, y'know the one who looks a little like me but not as good looking, make your trigger finger itch like crazy?'
Wufei grunted in assent and gave a low growl in his throat as Colonel Maxwell threw him a wink when he noticed them staring at him. 'I really hate that guy.' He spat.
Duo grimaced as he looked at the arrogant grin on the face that stared back at him, wondering if he should think about seeing a plastic surgeon, and answered shortly. 'So do I. You can't imagine how weird that makes me feel.' He looked over his shoulder at Heero, who had remained leaning against the doorway and was now talking to Quatre who had finally appeared after his disappearance earlier with Yuy, in muted voices. He bit his lips as Heero pointedly refused to look in his direction and turned a baleful glare on the violet eyed man who was now smiling poisonously at the blond Senator.
'How is he?' Heero asked softly with a concerned look in his eyes as Quatre arrived noiselessly at his side.
Quatre sighed and shrugged, 'I'm not really sure. You saw how he was around our Duo as it was. Just imagine what it must have been like for him to be suddenly face to face with the real Colonel Maxwell. He's had a bad shock. I asked Sally to take him back to the penthouse suite so that he can be kept out of this from now on. She is pretty furious with me.' He smiled ruefully as Heero looked a little confused. 'She thinks that I masterminded this whole thing. She's told me flat out that we are definitely not going to be welcome around here.'
'Did you?'
Quatre blinked as a quiet voice cut into their conversation and he moved back a little, withdrawing from the sight of the occupants in the living room, as he stepped back to face the silent accusatory stare of Trowa Barton.
Trowa remained leaning against the wall of the adjoining corridor, his arms folded over his chest as his green eye stared out solemnly from behind the heavy bang covering over half his face. Quatre noticed that his friend had changed out of the black Oz uniform, and back into the pullover and jeans that he usually preferred.
'What's that supposed to mean?' He asked at last, trying to keep his voice low and even. 'Are you accusing me of something Trowa?'
Trowa sighed, looking troubled as he stared at the indignant expression on Quatre's face. 'I don't know.' He said at last, 'I don't know why you agreed to this impersonation in the first place and I don't know why you agreed so easily to swap Barton for the beam rifle. I don't know why you are doing any of this, Quatre. What I do know is that your counterpart lied to you, to us.' He continued on drily, ignoring the sudden movement at his side as Heero turned sharply, attracted by their conversation. 'When I was at the Oz headquarters, I realized that there was no way that Winner could afford to return the real General Barton to the base. He had told us that all he wanted was to get someone inside, to get his information and then to get out.' Quatre nodded silently. 'He also told us that the reason he needed the codes was in order to neutralize the DNAS from becoming a treat. But when I was discovered by Maxwell, he told me that even if we had been completely successful in our attempts, all that would have happened is that as soon as Barton returned, he would have changed the codes to the DNAS. So that means that..'
'That Winner would have never let Barton go.' Quatre finished hollowly. 'Why do you think I was so willing to enter into negotiation with Maxwell? I was worried about that from the minute we first received this assignment.'
'Then why didn't you...?' Trowa started to ask sharply.
'Why didn't I say something earlier?' Quatre completed his sentence with a bitter smile. 'Why didn't I refuse to take the assignment? Just who do you think I am? We are stuck in another world and unfortunately we need access to a very strong power source in order to trigger our temperamental friend, Widget. I don't think that if we waltzed up to someone and said, 'could you spare us a beam rifle' that they'd be willing to say, 'sure, here y'go', straight off, do you? That means that I'm going to have to play along with these people until we can get what we need. And yes, it means that sometimes we don't have the moral luxury of debating every little decision that we make. You don't seem to have understood that we are dealing with different people. These people may look like us and in some respects they may seem like us but they are not us and until you understand that, you're going to allow silly sentimental reasons to sway your choices. Right now, our best choice, our only choice, is to stay cool and wait. Whether you personally like Colonel Maxwell or not, he does seem to be the only person to have fully grasped the fact that we don't belong here and he may be our best chance to get home.'
'It's such a pleasure to talk to someone who can be reasonable.' Maxwell purred sweetly as he stood next to Quatre, staring with fascination at the small white object eagerly chomping its way through a beam rifle that once belonged to the Taurus mobile standing guard.
Quatre grimaced sourly as he looked up at the Taurus mobiles surrounding him and his friends. 'The feeling's mutual.' He muttered acidly. 'It was so foresighted of you to bring the explosives to our little gathering. I'm sure that without them, we wouldn't have been able to persuade Senator Winner to release General Barton or to allow us to accompany you to this base.'
Maxwell threw back his head and laughed loudly. 'Oh my dear Quatre, I'm really going to miss you. You have such a good sense of humour, unlike the boring old Senator. He's a dreadfully bad loser, I'm afraid.' He chuckled fondly as he saw the dark haired man trying to calm his agitated companion, who had started to dash forward, his heavy chestnut braid swinging wildly as they argued. 'Do try to look after him for me.' He beamed happily at the furious violet eyes that blazed in his direction. 'I'm very worried about him you know. He is very excitable, isn't he? I would hate to have anything happen to him.'
Quatre fought the urge to kick the smug arrogant bastard in front of him, reminding himself of the tall black imposing giants surrounding them. Instead, he turned impatient eyes on Widget who had finally finished eating the beam rifle and was starting to transform his shape into the by now familiar thin gateway. 'I can't begin to tell you how much I'm going to miss you and this place,' he informed the amused Colonel, through gritted teeth, 'but it looks like it's time for us to go. Now I want you to release Trowa please, as you promised.'
Maxwell grinned and nodded complacently, then raised his arm in a prearranged signal to the circling Taurus above, who started to descend slowly, a small body dangling limply in one hand. He leaned forward to whisper confidentially, 'I did think about keeping him for a while. He's a very good kisser.' He laughed out loud as Quatre whirled around with a furious glare, then threw him a mock salute. 'It's been... interesting,' he savoured the word, rolling it sensuously around his tongue, 'meeting you. I wish you luck in finding your way home.'
Quatre swallowed his retort as he started to run towards his friends, Heero and Wufei assisting the still dizzy Trowa carefully to his feet. He grabbed Duo roughly by the arm and ignoring his loud protests, he ran towards the glowing portal in front of them, knowing that the others were closely behind him. Just before he plunged into the portal, Quatre stopped for a minute and stared at the smug looking man who was waving at him. He wondered if Senator Yuy had opened the package that he left for him yet...
Track 3
A white shape flashed by and the green uniformed goons dropped to the ground. The man wearing the purple masked costume started to choke with fury as he stared at the only too familiar scene in front of him. He had been certain that this time he had gotten it right but as always, the wretched five teenagers had appeared to spoil his plans, yet again. He started to nibble on the purple wing on his costume out of sheer frustration as he saw his flunkies decimated in front of his eyes. Then a sudden blinding flash dazzled his eyes, even through the shaded eye pieces and he blinked furiously, trying to clear his vision. Then the frenzied motion below him stopped as all combatants turned as one to see the dropping young men who had appeared out of nowhere.
'What in the world...!'
'Look Out!'
'Oh no, not again with the faaaaaaaaall!'
'Heero! You rat! Don't you dare float there! Catch meeeeee!'
The man in the purple suit stared with an open mouth as one of the falling men suddenly threw off his top and sprouted wings from his back, gliding gently to the ground, even as his companions dropped rapidly, with loud yells. He stood stunned, staring at the beautiful angel who was looking around him with a confused look on his face, not even noticing that a sudden flash of green, black, blue and orange had saved the other falling men from being splattered all over the metal floor of his latest mecha. He wondered whether he should do something, but found himself mesmerized by the most beautiful pair of intense blue eyes he had ever seen, staring at him, from an exquisite face, framed by a cloud of long dark hair.
Heero felt very confused and also more than little chilled. He shivered and held his arms, wishing that he didn't have to lose his top whenever he needed his wings. He could definitely understand the reason behind the peculiar tailoring of Vailyn's outfit now. He looked around the weird dome like room, noticing that it was totally hollowed out in the middle, with layers of shelf like levels, where men in funny looking green suits were standing, with guns held in their hands. They looked as confused and surprised as he felt, though it was a bit hard to tell through the ridiculous masks that they all wore. There was one man who stood apart from the crowd, a tall man wearing a purple costume. Heero blinked as he thought, 'was it me and does his mask look like a Doberman?'
He saw that all eyes in the room were on him and his large wings and wished that he didn't feel quite so naked and vulnerable. All those guns were making him feel very nervous. He stared around him, wondering what had happened to his friends, the last thing he remembered was a falling sensation as usual, then some loud screeches from Duo and then, here, this enclosed room with people wearing funny costumes. He hovered hesitantly, unsure of what he should do, debating whether he should try asking the man in the purple suit who was obviously someone in charge to help him. As he slowly descended to the ground, hoping desperately that no one would start firing at him, Heero jumped as a sudden loud explosion locked the room, spilling some of the green clad men screaming onto the floor. He flapped his wings frantically as a black cloud of smoke started to fill the room, trying to keep the acrid smoke away from his face.
'Come with me.'
Heero started as a sudden deep voice sounded near his ear. He turned around just in time to see a white shape flash past him, and dash through the open doorway at the bottom right side of the circular room. He hesitated for a moment, then saw other shapes flash through, followed hastily by his friends. Heero immediately started to dive for the opening, his heart hammering wildly when he realized that the doors were started to close. He willed his wings to disappear even as he ducked between the narrow opening left and hit the ground at a run, trying not to lose sight of his friends.
The man in the purple suit cursed loudly as he realized that once again he would have to explain to his master that he had been responsible for losing yet another mecha. He turned and started to walk towards his escape shuttle when a sudden glint of white attracted his attention and he stooped down to pick up a round object rolling at his feet. He frowned as he examined the strange looking object, wondering where it had come from. Then with a shrug, he tucked the little ball like object under his arm and strode off.
'Wait. Wait! Waiiiiit!' Duo wailed loudly as they ran desperately around yet another corridor, the floor beneath their feet rocking heavily from the ongoing explosions. 'Oh shit!' He spat as they rounded the corner and came to a room with a gaping hole on the floor, revealing that they were on some kind of an airborne craft. He looked down at the distant ground below and shuddered. 'Now what are we going to dooooooooo!' He squealed loudly as he was grabbed around the waist and dragged through the hole, then closed his eyes desperately as he felt himself falling. 'Heeeeeeeeelp! Heeeeeeero!' He screamed loudly as he put his hands over his eyes.
'If you don't shut up, I'm going to let you go.' He heard a deep voice say coldly.
Duo gasped nervously and slowly peeked through his fingers, and saw that he wasn't falling but gliding towards a large blue and red aircraft that was approaching. 'I'm going to live.' He gulped and dropped his hands, then tried to twist his neck around, only to freeze when the voice growled, 'stop wriggling like that or I'll drop you.' He stayed motionless, his heart hammered madly in panic as he saw the aircraft, bigger than he had first thought, appear below his feet and held his breath until he felt his feet touch the metal hanger doors on top. He stayed still, held in a firm grip, his braid flying out wildly in front of him, as he felt other bodies landing beside him. Then he overheard the now familiar voice mutter to someone behind him, 'what about that one? He's not coming down.' And another voice, lighter in texture, answer serenely. 'Let's go down into the Phoenix first. He'll probably land as soon as he sees his friends enter our ship. These others are looking pretty scared at the moment anyway.'
Then Duo sighed in relief as a transparent dome formed over his head and for the first time, he felt relatively safe. Then he yelped as the floor started to move down, taking him into the aircraft. He looked up and saw Heero fly towards them before he found himself in a small cabin, and the roof closed over, cutting him off from Heero. He turned around and found himself surrounded by men wearing brightly coloured tightly fitting body armour and helmets, with visors shaped like beaks and blinked. He looked at Quatre who was already in deep discussion with the one wearing white, then at Trowa who had made his way to the front of the aircraft and was studying the instrumental panel with interest. He turned to Wufei who was staring open mouthed at the man in black, who had removed his helmet, revealing tousled chestnut shoulder length hair that he moved off his face, and felt his jaws go slack as he recognised the violet eyes staring at him suspiciously.
End Part 5
Katana: No more teasers. Wait until I get around to Part VI. By the way though, have you managed to guess what Track III world is based on? LOL They used to be my favourites a long, long, long time ago when I was little girl.
Katana
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