4-Feb-2001
Disclaimer: I am in no way connected to Gundam Wing, Jurassic Park or any of their characters. The original characters are my own creation, including Junior (with a nod to Nixerchan), Spot and Dino. I want to thank ClarySage and Nixerchan for beta reading, Nixerchan for writing Death and the Dead Parrot (which inspired me to create Junior) and especially B.J. Pearce (Bonnejeanne) whom I consider my mentor, I would never have had the guts to try my hand at writing if not for her encouragement. And please allow me to thank those who read and enjoy my humble attempts at entertaining you while I mess around with the G-boys lives.
Pairings: Still 1X2 (implied), 3X4 (implied) 5Xsasha (implied)
Rating: R due to language
Warning: Sorry folks, no lemons this time around and just a squeeze of lime.
Oh, and if you haven't noticed by now, this is just slightly AU in the sense that I am not following the timeline or the plot of the series.
"SPOT! How the hell did you get in here?" Quatre exclaimed as Trowa collapsed on him and groaned.
The playful dinosaur looked eagerly at Quatre as he thumped his tail and inched his way closer to the object of his affection.
"*Spot! Down!*" Quatre commanded, pointing his finger towards the floor.
The Troodon stretched out on the bed with his head on the pillow, giving Quatre a sad, soulful look as he gently flicked his tongue against the blond's cheek.
"Not lie down, GET DOWN, NOW!" Quatre ordered, once again pointing his finger towards the floor.
Instead of obeying, Spot wiggled closer, his eyes on Trowa as if begging him to intercede.
"Oh, so you like me when you want me to help you out, huh?" Trowa laughed as he scratched the reptile between his eyes, "Sorry Spot, no deal . . . come on Quatre, let's get dressed and get this bad boy back to his owner."
The two young men unfolded themselves from each other and began dressing. As Quatre slipped his pants on, Spot whined, a doleful look on his reptilian face.
"Awww, don't look so disappointed, you silly thing, I'll spend time with you in the morning. But right now you are putting a damper on my love life," he remarked.
"You got that right," Trowa muttered.
Duo was half-dozing on the bed as Heero took his shower. Although the towel still covered Junior's cage, the parrot was wide awake. The sounds from all the activity in the room had roused him from his nap.
Junior was behaving himself, the only noise he was making was the cracking of the seeds in his bird feed as he ate or an occasional whistle or caw, until . . .
"Ooooohhhhhhh! I-I-I-m-m-m-m-c-c-c-o-o-o-o-m-m-m-m-m-m-iiiii-n-n- n-n-g-g-g-g-g! Ooooohhhhhhhh! I-I-I-I-I-I-I-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-c-c-c-c-c-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-m-m-m-m-m-m-iiiiiiiii-n-n-n-n-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g! Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh! I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-c-c- c-c-c-c-c-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-n-n-n-n-n-n-n- n-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g!"
Duo sprang to a sitting position, "Shut up Junior!" he said in a loud whisper as he leaped from the bed to the cage.
"Just what the hell was THAT!?", Heero bellowed as he opened the bathroom door, standing naked and dripping wet. He had just turned off the water and stepped out of the shower when he'd heard the parrot.
"Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh! I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-c-c-c-c- c-c-c-o-o-o-o-o-o-m-m-m-m-m-iiiiiiiiiiiiii-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-g-g-g-g-g- g-g-g-g!" Junior repeated.
"DUO!" Heero yelled as he grabbed a towel and commenced drying himself, "Tell me you didn't teach him that."
"Uh . . .mmmm . . . heh, heh . . . uh . . . I . . . heh, heh, didn't teach him, YOU did," Duo said, a huge grin spread across his face.
"ME! The hell I would! Do you know what he's mimicking?" Heero sputtered.
"Oh, I am extremely aware of what he's mimicking," Duo snickered, "I hear it all the time . . . he imitates you very well, wouldn't you say?"
Duo began to laugh, a deep, low gut wrenching laugh that started from his toes and worked its way up. He laughed so hard he almost could not catch his breath.
"Duo, this is not funny! What if that damned bird does that in front of everyone?" Heero protested as he glowered at Junior, standing naked with a hand on one hip, the towel dangling from the other to the floor.
Duo tried, but he could not stop laughing, instead it got louder and deeper and harder. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he doubled over from the cramps he was getting from laughing so hard. He pointed at Heero as he took a deep breath and tried to talk.
"I . . .I . . .I'm s-s-sorry H-h-eero, I . . . I . . .c-can't h- help it," he stammered out as he again tried to kill his laughter and calm down enough to talk, "Th-th-at l-look on your f-f-face," he continued to speak, "A-a-and s-st-st-and-ing there nak-ed, wh-wh-ile you r-r-a-ant about Junior," he managed to say, "It's j-j-ust t-o-o-o f-f-fun-ny."
"That bird has it in for me," Heero swore as he glared at Junior, "I don't know why but he hates me."
Duo finally managed to get the laughter under control, taking in a few deep breaths to cleanse it from him.
"I don't know why he picks up the things he says, but it's not because he hates you, he is just a bird after all," Duo reassured his lover as he stifled the next wave of chuckles welling up inside him.
"I love you, Duo!" Junior piped up.
"He doesn't hate me, huh?" Heero pointed out, "I get 'Heero has a nice ass' or worse and all you get is 'I love you, Duo'."
Duo lost what little control he had gained and burst out laughing again.
"I'm getting dressed," Heero said in frustration as he grabbed some clothing from his bag, "Dino should be done by now."
Heero threw his clothes on and swiped a comb through his hair, "Keep him away from everyone and please break him from saying those things."
"I promise, as soon as we're back home again, I'll find out how to train him right," Duo swore, putting his hand over his heart, "Mind if I come with you?"
"Sure, just leave him here," Heero said, jerking his head in Junior's direction, "And from now on, we sleep with the door closed while he stays in the living room."
"Agreed. I must say though, you are taking this better than I thought," Duo said as he pulled his shirt on.
"Don't bet on it, I have a very strong urge to shoot that bird right now," Heero groused, "Come on, Dr. J is waiting."
Junior stood on his perch, flirting with the bird in the mirror, oblivious to the discussion revolving around him.
The four pilots met in the hallway, Trowa and Quatre were returning from the kennels.
"I thought you two had 'retired' for the evening," Duo said.
"We did, but we had an unexpected visitor . . . Spot," Trowa answered.
"I guess we're not the only one's having 'pet' problems this evening," Duo chuckled.
"Pet problems?" Quatre asked, "What's wrong with Junior?"
"Oh, nothing that a gag or laryngitis won't cure," Duo hinted.
"Uh-oh, what did he learn to say now?" Quatre asked in an amused tone.
"Never mind," Heero muttered, 'Come on Duo, we have an appointment to keep."
Heero began walking faster down the foyer, to avoid any further questions. Duo followed after him, trying to keep up.
"What's wrong with him?" Quatre wondered.
"My guess is whatever Junior's learned to say now, it's far worse than 'Heero has a nice ass'," Trowa laughed, "And I can't wait to hear what it is," then looking at Quatre with those deep green eyes, he asked in a slightly more serious tone, "Are you still in the mood to finish what we started?" as he leaned in for a kiss.
Quatre signed, "I'm sorry Trowa but Spot ruined it for me."
Trowa groaned with disappointment, "I understand, I don't like it, but I understand."
"So I guess we'll just have to start all over again," Quatre teased, smiling broadly.
"Oh, I think I'm 'up' for it," Trowa's mood instantly brightened.
"You always are," Quatre said, nestling his head against Trowa's shoulder as they entered their room.
Trowa closed and locked the door, then took a chair and wedged its back up under the knob.
"Let Spot try and get in now," he remarked as he began taking off his shirt.
"Hello Heero," Dino greeted, "Hello Duo, I am very pleased to meet you."
"Hello Dino, how did it go?" Heero responded.
"It went quite well, thank you," the computer answered, "Duo, is there something wrong?"
Duo was staring, mouth agape, at what was essentially a bare wall. Heero nudged him, with no effect.
"Duo . . . close your mouth before the flies get in," he chuckled.
"Heero, I must point out there are no flies in here," the computer said.
"I know, it's just an expression," Heero responded
"I see, an attempt at being humorous?" the computer asked.
"Yes, a very lame one," Heero nodded, "I forgot you are still trying to understand humor and its meaning."
"Hmmm, I don't see the humor, but I think I understand the meaning of it," was Dino's reply.
Duo continued to stand motionless with his mouth wide open, Heero raised his hand and gently closed it for him, snapping him out of his daze.
"Oh . . . uh . . . sorry . . uh . . . Heero . . . ," violet eyes, wide with surprise, narrowed as their gaze shifted from the wall to their deep blue counterparts, "Why didn't you tell me Dino could talk?"
"Because I wanted to see your reaction," Heero grinned.
"But just where is he? How can he talk? Why do you call him Dino? What is this place exactly? What does Dr. J have to do with it? Are the other scientists involved? Why does everyone here know you? And what's with Spot, anyway?" Duo unleashed all his questions in one longwinded stream, without stopping for a breath.
"I will answer all of your questions, but first I need to talk to Dino," Heero answered, clearly enjoying this, it wasn't everyday you could catch Duo by surprise.
"Does he always talk this much?" Dino asked.
"That reputation seems to follow him wherever he goes", Heero laughed, "but no, he really doesn't talk any more than the average person. He's just full of questions right now."
"Questions that I can answer, while you go over those programs," Dr. J offered as he walked into the room, "Come young man, let's get a cup of coffee and maybe something to eat while they work."
Duo followed Dr. J out of the computer room to the dining hall. The small scientist looked old but he was quick on his feet and full of energy. They entered the dining hall, where Theresa was waiting for them.
"Theresa, would you get us some coffee please?" Dr. J asked, "Duo, would you like something to eat? Just ask and Theresa will make it for you."
"Oh, I'm still full from that great meal you served, but . . . would you happen to have some lemon jello? With whipped cream?"
"Why yes, I do. Lemon jello is Dr. J's favorite, I always have it made. I'll get you some. Dr. J would you like a bowl as well?"
"Yes, I would love some, thank you," Dr. J grinned, "I'm surprised you like lemon jello, Duo, it's not a popular flavor. In fact, Heero would never eat it, couldn't stand it."
"Hmph . . . really? He loves lemon now," Duo said innocently.
Theresa returned from the kitchen with two cups of coffee and two bowls of jello, one with whipped cream. She served them then returned to the kitchen.
"Let me know if there will be anything else you need," she called out.
"Well Duo, about all the questions you have, which one do you want answered first?" Dr. J opened the conversation as he took a bite.
"I take it you had no trouble with deciphering the program?" Heero inquired.
"I didn't even need the decryption program," the Dino's voice sounded smug.
"You didn't? I would have thought the colonies would use a program that would give even you some trouble deciphering."
"They did, the best system available. You see, I wrote the program and the system years ago," the smugness was still there.
"What is this place?" Duo asked his first question, "I know what you told Khushrenada, but what is it really?"
"Exactly what I told him, the research we do here is to make sure mankind survives, no matter what. We're busy storing all our accumulated knowledge, finding ways to grow food in hostile climates or conditions, developing medicines to combat any diseases that might crop up, as well as the obvious cloning experiments," Dr. J held up his mechanical arm, an emphasis to his last statement. "But that's not all we're doing. Mankind is a restless breed, already he has his eyes set on other planets, as well as the stars. We're developing ways for him to get there. It will be exciting to watch Man fulfill that dream."
"Hmmm . . . traveling the stars . . . I think I'd like that," Duo mused.
"Maybe someday you shall," Dr. J said.
"Ok . . . about the cloning . . . why a dinosaur?"
"That was Dr. Ross's doing. He wanted to see what would happen, not that I agreed with it. He did that on his own. Remember he said he wanted to see if it could be done right?"
"Yeah, I remember him saying that, I thought it was a weird thing to say though, like it had been tried before," Duo looked at the scientist, who had an odd look on his face, "You mean it was done before?" his voice full of incredulity.
"Let me explain the history of this place. I have an ancestor who was not only wealthy but eccentric, some even considered him insane for what he had planned for this island. That ancestor's name was John Hammond and his company, InGen, was involved with cloning research a very long time ago, before the last world war."
"John Hammond was not only rich and eccentric, but he was also fascinated by dinosaurs. He thought it would be a great idea to create a recreation park filled with dinosaurs cloned from recovered DNA."
Duo sat, listening to the story unfolding before him. The story seemed too farfetched to be real, it was almost as if it were a plot to a movie and he continued to listen wanting to disbelieve what he was hearing.
Dr. J continued, "His plan did not quite work out the way he envisioned it. The DNA samples found were incomplete, so they filled in the missing parts of the chain with frog DNA, but they chose the wrong frog . . . this is a rather complicated story, and I see you're cup is empty, would you like more coffee?"
"Don't call Theresa, I'll get it," Duo offered as he rose from his chair, he needed to take a pause from the tale he was hearing, so he could digest what he'd already learned.
"Mind getting me more coffee too?" Dr. J asked, handing him his cup.
"I'm hungry," Quatre said, "You want to get something to eat?"
"I thought we just did," Trowa leered as he shifted off Quatre, sprawling out next to him.
"I meant food, you big goof," Quatre laughed as he gave Trowa a lighthearted slap on the butt.
"Hey!" Trowa yelped, "So you want to play huh? Not a good idea 'cause I know someone who is very ticklish."
He leaped on the blond, pinning him down, Quatre was in for the tickling of his life. But Quatre had other ideas and using his legs, flipped Trowa off him and on to the floor.
"I'm still hungry," Quatre yawned, "I'm getting dressed then I'm going to the dining hall . . . you gonna go with me or are you staying on the floor?"
"Well, what do you think would work better? An override program, instructing the colonies' computers to ignore the shutdown orders, or a virus that turns Romefeller's program against their own computers?" Heero was in favor of doing both, but wanted Dino's input.
"Why don't I do both? That way you're covered, no matter what." Dino gave Heero the answer he'd expected.
"Sounds like a plan, how soon can you have it done? I'm going to need five copies of each."
"Yes, in case Romefeller figured out the fifth program," the computer added.
"Of course they'll need to be compatible with the gundams' current systems, and the gundams need to be made space worthy, plus we are going to need spacesuits."
"The overrides will be compatible, Howard is outfitting the gundams as we speak, and I will remind Dr. J about the spacesuits."
"When did you tell Howard and how did you know I was planning on taking the gundams into space?"
"I notified Howard as soon as you boarded the jet, and what better way to prove to the colonies that the gundams exist to defend them?"
Wufei woke suddenly, his mouth was parched and his stomach was growling. He looked over at Sasha, she was lying on her side, clutching her pillow in her arms, her legs loosely bent. Wufei could hear her long intakes of breath, gently and slowly released, a sign she was in a deep sleep. He raised himself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. After relieving himself, he washed his hands and face, got dressed and headed for the dining hall. He didn't usually wake up during the night, hungry as hell. But then he usually didn't have wildly fantastic sex before bed, either. His mouth curled in a smile and released a deep sigh of contentment. For once in his life, Wufei felt right with the world, and sighed again.
He entered the dining room, expecting it to be empty. To his surprise Dr. J was sitting at a table with Duo, Quatre and Trowa and they were listening intently to what he was telling them.
"What am I missing?" he asked as he sat down and noticed the others weren't just talking they were eating as well, "Is there any more of that?" he asked, pointing to the plate of fruit salad Quatre was munching, "And maybe some tea?"
"What kind of tea would you like, chulo?" Theresa asked as she approached their table.
"Do you have any Lady Grey?" he asked.
"Yes, I'll be back in a few minutes with your tea and your salad," Theresa returned to the kitchen.
"Lady Grey?" Quatre asked, "I don't think I've ever tried that one."
"Yes," Wufei said, "Lady Grey. It's flavoring of orange and lemon rind should mix well with the fruit salad. . . so what's going on here?"
"Dr. J is telling us the history of this place . . . let me get you caught up," Duo said, "before the last world war . . ."
"I've been monitoring reports from Romefeller, Heero, they are almost ready to install their programs into their battleships' computers. We don't have much time left." Dino stated in his usual flat tone.
"What's Howard's status?" Heero inquired.
"He says he is finished, and did a damned fine job, if he does say so himself," the computer reported.
"Well, we're done. We got lucky, Dino, if you hadn't designed those original programs, we'd still be working on them." The young pilot observed.
"Even the good guys get a lucky break sometimes, at least that's what Dr. J says," Dino replied.
"Dr. J is right, well I guess its time to rouse everyone out of their sleep so we can start back. Poor Treize, he's not going to get to snoop like I know he was planning," Heero chuckled.
"How do you know he would do that?" Dino asked, "You know there is more to that man than what meets the eye. If you could ever convince him to side with the colonies, he'd make a great ally."
"He would do it, and I know because it's what I would do. I know what you are saying Dino, but that isn't going to happen. Treize's vision for peace is very different from ours, he believes peace can be obtained through war and the sacrifice of the lives of the people who are willing to die for it. There is no reason for countless people to die in war, that's why the scientists developed the gundams. We five fight for the people of the colonies, so they don't have to sacrifice themselves to stay free. What good is a peace obtained through death? What good is peace if there are no survivors? But enough preaching, you already know this anyway."
"Yes I do know, but it is also part of my programming to make sure you and the other pilots don't get so caught up in the fighting, you forget what the fighting is for."
"There is no danger of that, the gundams themselves are a constant reminder of what they were created for and why we were trained. Oh, by the way, thanks for the upgrade on my laptop."
"My pleasure Heero, and give 'em hell." Dino said.
"That's Duo's job," Heero chuckled, "Goodbye Dino, I'll be seeing you," he walked towards the door.
"Does that mean you don't plan on self-destructing anytime soon?"
Heero paused and turned, "I don't plan it, Dino. It just turns out that way sometimes," he retorted, and added almost as an afterthought, "Was that an attempt at humor?"
"Yes, Heero, and I apologize if I insulted you, instead."
"No insult, it was almost funny. You are learning, and so am I," Heero admitted.
"I'm glad, Heero. Take care."
"You too, and take care of the doc for me," Heero answered as he walked through the door.
"My job is to take care of you," Dino replied, "Stay alive," but Heero didn't hear, he had already left.
Heero headed straight for his room, but Duo wasn't there, only Junior sleeping soundly in his cage. Heero could swear he heard snores coming from the parrot. Heero headed for the dining hall.
//Dr. J must be telling him the long version// Heero thought, remembering how many times he had heard both versions. It was a tale the scientist loved telling, too bad he could only tell it to a select few, all of whom knew the story as well as he did by now.
Heero found not only Duo, but the other pilots as well, sitting at a table, talking amongst themselves. Dr. J was not with them.
"What's going on?" he asked as he approached the table.
"Dr. J was filling us in on your progress and telling us about this place," Quatre answered, "You want to hear something strange? My family was one of the original investors of Jurassic Park. My father used to talk to me about it. Although he never mentioned the dinosaurs, just the extreme financial losses the family suffered because of InGen's failure. It's amazing how the Hammond family kept this place all this time and kept it secret. Did you know Dr. J is about as rich as my family?"
"Yes I know," Heero grinned, "It's time to pack up and leave. Dino and I are finished, we now have what we need to stop Romefeller. Did Dr. J tell you the gundams are outfitted for space now?"
"Yeah, he also said not to forget the spacesuits he had made for us," Duo added, rising from his chair, "I'm going to get us packed, Dr. J said he's got something for you. He said he'd give it to you before we get on the helicopter, you'd know what it is."
"Hm," Heero nodded, "Yeah, I know. I'm going to go wake up the others, except Sasha that is," he added.
The others got up and left behind him, to pack and get ready to leave. The air felt electrified with excitement and dread. The time was drawing near for their showdown with Romefeller and finding out if Treize was indeed a man of his word.
Everyone was packed, everyone was ready. They stood on the helipad as their baggage was loaded onto the helicopter for their flight to the airport at Puerto Limon. Dr. J approached, holding what appeared to be a briefcase. He called Heero aside, handing it to him.
"You know what to do?" Dr. J asked.
"Yes, although I don't think it will be necessary with Georgie," Heero protested.
"I'll leave that judgment to you," Dr. J allowed, "but I think it's safer for us if Sasha is included."
"Agreed," the tone of Heero's voice was level and cold, even though he had concurred, it wasn't something he was looking forward to.
"Manuel will be flying the jet as well, so you and Duo can be free to outline your mission with the others."
At that moment, Manuel arrived carrying a large picnic basket, "Theresa packed you something to eat and told me to tell you to take care of yourself and stay in one piece, or you'll have to answer to her."
"I'll take that," Duo had approached the trio when he saw Manuel with the basket, "Manuel, how did you get so lucky? Not only is Theresa the best cook, she's a beautiful and loving person as well."
"It's not because I'm lucky, its because I'm smart," Manuel bragged, "When you find the one that completes you, grab on and never let go," he looked at Heero, "Remember that, it's the sagest advice you'll ever get."
"I'll remember," Heero promised, his gaze shifted to Duo and he smiled.
"Goodbye Lord Khushrenada, I'm sure our paths will cross again, soon," Dr. J bid farewell to the last of his guests, got in the jeep and signaled the driver to go.
Georgie, Sasha, and Col. Pulaski were already sitting in the helicopter when Treize joined them, taking his seat.
"Well Alban, we didn't get to see much of this place but what we did see was very interesting." Treize hid the disappointment in his voice.
He hadn't expected them to be leaving the same day they arrived. Not only that, it was night, almost pitch black outside. It was too dark to make out any landmarks and so isolated, the sky was too full of stars to make out any familiar constellations. There was no moonlight to see by, Luna was in her new phase. There wasn't even a way to tell which hemisphere they were in, much less be able to mark their location by the stars. He missed the one opportunity he'd had to snoop, because they weren't supposed to return until tomorrow. He had napped instead. Treize was leaving as ignorant as he came. He did not like feeling ignorant.
The five gundam pilots were standing outside the chopper, Heero had signaled to them to gather as they had prepared to board.
"Because of the nature of this place, Dr. J has decided it would be dangerous if Khushrenada and Pulaski remember being here. I'm sorry Wufei, but he feels that way about Sasha as well."
"I don't like the sound of this Heero, just what does Dr. J want us to do?" Wufei asked, his voice full of dread. "And what about Georgie, does Dr. J think it's dangerous for him to remember too?"
"He's letting us decide about Georgie. What do you think? Should Georgie be allowed to remember?" Heero asked the others.
"No," Wufei decided, "I trust Georgie but it would not be safe for him to remember. All it would take would be a slip of the tongue in front of the wrong person."
"I agree," Quatre said, "It wouldn't be wise to let him remember."
"Same here," Trowa said as Duo nodded in accord.
"I'm glad you all agree, I didn't think it was necessary at first, but Wufei is right, Georgie would be endangering himself if he slipped and mentioned Dr. J or this place."
"But why Sasha? I was planning on sending her to my clan on L5. She won't be in a position to accidentally say something to the wrong person there," Wufei pled his view.
"That's where you're wrong, Wufei," Heero pointed out, "It would be just as dangerous for White Fang to find out about the island as it would be for Romefeller or Oz. The secret stays among us."
Heero held up the briefcase, "Inside are four small injection guns. They contain a drug that makes the brain compliant to 'learning' in a few short hours. It's something new the scientists here developed. Also inside are four small 'teachers'. Each one is labeled with a name. Once we are in flight after we board the jet, we administer the drug to them, they will fall into an unconscious state. We put the teachers on them and they will be given a new memory of where they were and what happened. They will all still remember Romefeller's plot, they will still remember that Treize and Pulaski are helping us. But other than that, their memories will be altered. We need to leave now, I will explain more about this after we are on the jet."
They got on board the chopper, took their seats as they lifted off and began their flight to Puerto Limon. Wufei kept alternating between squeezing Sasha's hand and staring quietly at her.
"What's wrong, Wufei? You seem unhappy about something," she asked, "Don't worry, I'm already expecting to wear that blasted blindfold once we get on the plane."
"You won't have to wear the blindfold," he said, his voice subdued.
"Promise?" Sasha asked, happy with the news.
"I promise," Wufei said, kissing her hand.
//Only because they have something more sinister in mind// he thought.
TBC
End of Act 10
KwyckSylver
Please send comments to: kwycksylver@yahoo.com