July 2000
Category: Adventure, Action, Friendship.
Pairings: None for now.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Not mine no money being sought.
Pairings: Those established in my time-line (PB, OCT, Shades...) this is just Duo and Quatre out and about at the moment.
NOTES: Alright, this is where the fic starts to get a little rough. The 4th colony of L2 is NOT A NICE PLACE. There is a disturbing scene hinted at in this part and I don't want anyone to get a shock reading it. Also, this is NOT a bastardization of Duo. He's just a bit wound up at the moment. BE WARNED!
Quatre stepped off the shuttle and nearly stepped right back on. His could hardly believe his eyes. The shuttle port was little more then a pockmarked landing stripwith a small single level structure that had started out life white and was now a grimy grey due to the build up of residual shuttle exhaust.
A few scruffy looking men and women worked with the listless desperation of the totally exhausted. Their uniforms were as grimy as the structure, with bad patch jobs and some open tears. They didn't look up at the few people departing down the rickety stair structure but rather went about their business unloading the few supplies that the shuttle carried.
"Mm... come on FC, we'll use the back exit, front's a little busy." Duo's voice brought Quatre's rubbernecking head around to the gates that stood in the fence that surrounded the shuttle. Outside the gate was a long line of people, pressed tight against the fence. Quatre hadn't noticed them because they were completely silent. No jostling, no yelling, just silent haunted eyes watching the work of the men and women around the shuttle.
"Duo..." Quatre had been telling himself to keep his mouth shut. He'd braced himself for a certain level of unpleasantness and had promised himself he wouldn't overwhelm Duo with embarrassing questions but the word escaped him before he could stop it.
In front of him, leading the way across the broken tarmac, duffle in hand, Duo just shrugged. "Medical shipment."
Quatre stopped dead in his tracks. Whipping his head around he almost smacked his face with his own duffle. "Wait... you mean..."
"I mean it's a fucking medical shipment. Probably vaccine given the size of that crowd. They'll distribute to the doctors inside that building and they'll administer as much as they've got, which is never enough. What? You wanna stick around and watch?" Duo snarled, wheeling around and glaring at the small Arabian.
Quatre forced his eyes away from the crowd and looked at Duo's furious white face. He quickly shook his head. "No... no Duo." His voice was a bare whisper.
Duo gave a sharp nod and turned back around, stalking away from the scene behind them. Quatre hitched his duffle higher over his shoulder and forced himself to walk away.
Duo lead them out a small break in the fence and through some tall weeds before they popped out on a poorly kept road. Quatre kept a close eye on the duffle now slung over Duo's back while at the same time looking around himself. The colony was in a state of decay that shocked the little blonde. He'd seen destruction during the war. Crumbling buildings, shattered store fronts, scavenging animals and the air of desertion were nothing new to him.
On the 4th of L2, however, there was a sense of despair and suffering that seemed to fill the air. As they walked along, Quatre traced the path of three large dogs chasing an obviously weaker member of their species. Quatre snapped his head away from watching the conclusion of the chase as the weaker dog stumbled and fell beneath the attack of it's snarling brethren. He swallowed and tried to block the sounds out of his ears, turning his focus inwards.
That was the other feeling that permeated the colony, Quatre realized. The place was a hunting ground. In the past 100 years it had shifted from a peaceful, successful colony into a hunting ground, where the strong destroyed the weak.
"It really got bad when the Earth Sphere Alliance cut us off from the other colonies. Without their example to strive for things, just continued to backslide. Those who could flee, did. Those who couldn't..." Ahead of him Duo shrugged once again. His voice was toneless. "You really need to work on keeping your thoughts off your face. People will assume you're weak and you'll have to fight to readjust their way of thinking."
Quatre gave Duo a puzzled look. "Duo... why did you bring me? Heero or Trowa would have been less of a liability."
Duo dropped his duffle and advanced on Quatre, his features twisting in fury. Quatre gave ground, dropping back in totally shock as Duo snarled at him, "Listen to me. You're a professional and you'd better remember it. I need you to guard my back. I don't need to be baby-sitting your ass."
Quatre stumbled on a piece of broken asphalt but kept his feet as he stared back at Duo. He noticed that Duo didn't really answer the question. Duo's nearly black eyes bore into Quatre waiting for some sort of response. Quatre swallowed and nodded at Duo.
"Ah...gotcha." He whispered.
Duo whipped back around and Quatre had to duck to keep from getting smacked in the face with the flying braid. The little Arabian exhaled as Duo walked on off, his small shoulders folding inwards a little.
~My gods.. what have I gotten into.~ Quatre thought to himself. For the first time he truly feared Duo.
End Part 3
(( And along with the FC saga. A hint. It's the initials to a word, not a dirty word in and of itself. It was also a nickname used in a movie. Keep in mind this fic is set after Shades of Grey. Again, anyone with an idea, the direct mailing address is Seregill@Aol.com Laekin. ))
Laekin
Please send comments to: seregill@aol.com
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