26-Nov-2000
Category: Action, Adventure, Romance, ANGST
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4x5 (Combinations there of)
Rating: R (Adult Situations)
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made or sought here.
WARNINGS: ANGST Warning!!! The following will introduce a subplot that will
involve some serious heartstrings tugging on behalf of a very young ORIGINAL
character. Please be warned if you are sensitive to such situations.
NOTES: Lots of 1+2 sneaky stuff in this part. Bonne
is the wonderful puppeteer of Heero, I'm responsible for Duo and the little
dragon.
Heero accepted the device. He then lifted the child easily in his arms. Using the radio, he said, "Duo... trouble. Extract now."
It was difficult to read the lips through the face shield of the space suit but the young boy managed it. He shook his head vigorously from side to side the way children do, tapping on the face shield imperiously with his small fingers till he was certain he had Heero's attention. He then again shook his head in the negative.
*No trouble.* He squirmed then, trying to back flip over Heero's arm so he could get down on the floor.
Heero set the child down, watching him but did not put away his gun. He unsealed his faceplate and let it slide back. "Don't you have a duty to report me?" he said without making any sound, just moving his lips.
The little boy stood there for a moment, frowning fiercely then he made quick graceful gestures with his hands. He halted halfway through them and frowned again... realizing that Heero most likely couldn't understand him. Damn it was frustrating being small! Pursing his lips together in an expression of deep concentration the child slowly began to move his mouth in the way he thought the words would be formed.
~You said you'd help.~
Heero nodded. "Hai," he mouthed silently. "You want help now?"
The little boy looked thoughtful, then he reached up and took Heero's free hand. He tugged, firm enough to make his intention clear but not hard enough to yank Heero out of his cover until the Japanese boy was ready.
Heero nodded and allowed the child to lead him.
The little boy was crafty, ducking Heero back when they needed to duck and moving along very swiftly to his destination. He had to stand on the very tips of his toes to peek into a window leading into one room. Nodding to himself he then lead Heero a little further down the hall to a small door.
Here, the child released Heero's hand and began to work his small fingers across the keypad that kept the door locked. He was obviously concentrating very hard on his work but in a moment, the door hissed open with a soft swoosh, allowing them access to a set of stairs.
The child quickly drew Heero into the stairwell and up along the stairs till they reached a small platform. The platform ran along large vats of some sort of opaque liquid. Long tubs and wires ran into the vats. There were about fifty vats all together in the room. The child pointed down into the vat and mouthed carefully.
~They succeeded.~
Heero frowned. Looking around the room, he located a small container used for taking samples and... took one. He stowed it carefully away.
Looking down at the child, he said silently. "Will you come live with me?"
The little boy looked at Heero with an expression that said that was all he'd like to do in this world. But then his dark eyes went sad and he held up a finger to Heero, bidding him to wait. Quick as a small cat the child dropped down off the small platform they were on and slipped through the vats towards the large bank of computers and other equipment at the far end of the room.
Though men worked right there, the child had impeccable timing as he slipped past their notice and silently appropriated what he was after. The movements were... positively perfect infiltration. A folder in his hand the little one skipped back through the vats, looking very pleased with himself as he scrabbled back up onto the platform in the dark beside Heero. He held the folder out to the Japanese boy.
The information within was laid out like a perfect science experiment. From *conception* through *gestation* and *birth* a small picture in the corner, linked this file to the child sitting in front of Heero. It spoke of how the genetic designers, designed the child with material taken from a name "Master" and other volunteers. Cloning attempt, trying to splice together many different traits, including intelligence, speed, grace, strength. Everything you'd want in a "perfect solider"
The notes went on to detail the child's life. Above average intelligence, accelerating at an unheard of speed, dexterity, everything... but later in the file were notes that detailed more disturbing findings. The child was advancing at an inhuman rate. A rate that his small body would not be able to endure much longer. At the bottom of the last page were written the words.
%Experiement, Failed. %
Heero read it all rapidly and with no expression showing. He knelt and looked at the child. "How long?" he mouthed.
This was one of the draw backs to being super intelligent. You could number crunch with the best of them.. even if you didn't want to. The child held up 7 fingers, then he lowered two of them... then back up to 7... then he gave Heero a little shrug.
*Between 5-7 months* the gestures spelled out.
"Then you should spend the time free," Heero mouthed silently, his dark blue eyes showing a deep fire. "Come with me, please."
Again, the child looked torn but then he shook his head, looking around he held out his hand, as if asking for a pen.
Heero felt the utility pockets of the suit and found one, handing to the child along with the folder to write on
.The little boy plunked down on his butt and began to write. It took him a little while but he finally held the folder out to Heero. It was... strange to see the intelligent words written in a child's uneven scrawl.
&They've succeeded in the experiment. They're just waiting to see if the current group survives to adulthood but all tests indicate they should. I've seen the outside world. This is not good. It must stop. &
"We'll stop it." Heero promised silently, his eyes burning cold fire. "You can help. Come with me."
This time, he carefully mouthed out the words. ~They'll notice I'm gone.~
Heero looked into the boy's eyes. "And what will they make of it? They won't know what it means. They'll be nervous, yes, but they will not have any certainty. We can fake an accident in the shuttle bay. But I must go, now, quickly, to avoid discovery. Come with me. I promise I will keep you safe and I will make sure you have a chance to taste freedom. I will stop them. If you are as smart as you seem, you might even know my name."
The child gave Heero an *Well Duh* expression. He wrote this time since it was going to take longer. &Your code name is Heero Yuy, named for the space leader and known pacifist Heero Yuy who was assassinated &
The child lifted his brows at Heero as if asking.. *I get it right?*
Heero nodded. "I won't leave you here," he said simply.
Again the child sank into that thoughtful expression. One of wanting and of duty. He took up the folder and wrote on it, he'd have to remember to replace it later, &You need to go now. There are still things I can do here that they don't know I can do. They don't realize how advanced I've become and I'm not the only one. I can help you from here.& He handed Heero the folder and raised his chin in that little way that was very Wufei'ish.
Heero reached out and touched his gloved finger to the child. His eyes were incredibly sad. "You are advanced," he agreed. "But you don't understand how much more you would help *me* if you would let me take you. And what it will cost me to leave you."
The little dragon continued to watch Heero's eyes. He'd never had someone look at him that way before and it... touched something in him. Looking down at the folder in his hands, he folded it carefully and tucked it into his shirt. He knew that the information held within the folder would be helpful and he could.. sort of pretend to himself that he was just once again playing messenger. It would help ease the ache of leaving some of the other's behind.
Raising his arms he held them out to Heero.
Heero picked up the child and then moved with uncanny speed, tracing his steps, being careful to avoid exposure as he made his way back to the shuttle bay. He closed his faceplate. "Duo... have you extracted?"
"Yeah! I'm here at the shuttle man and I've got some interesting stuff. Where the hell have you been??"
"I'll be there in two minutes." Heero answered. He looked around the shuttle bay quickly and found a small sealable container used for transporting cargo. It was airtight and would have to do. He opened it and set the child down inside. "Your jacket," he said, reaching for the clothing.
The little boy stood in the container with an expression of unbridled amusement. Cargo again eh? Okay, wasn't like he hadn't been labeled such before. Shrugging out of his jacket, he shivered a little, handing it to Heero as he hunkered down in the container, folding his limbs up into a somewhat comfortable position, then he looked up at Heero curiously. Next?
"Hold your breath," Heero said, "breathe shallow."
He grabbed a small piece of insulating material and packed it around the child, then closed and sealed the container. Moving again with inhuman speed, he took the jacket and placed it where it would snag on a piece of equipment near a small pressure hatch. Then he blew the hatch, getting himself and the container out before the auto-saftey function could reseal it. From there, towing the container, he snuck around the edges of the outside of the facility until he was clear and then shot himself and his cargo towards the shuttle where Duo was waiting.
He got to the shuttle and got inside. Setting the container down, he unsealed it quickly, then pulled off his own helmet.
Duo had seen Heero coming and, already out of his suit helmet and in control of the shuttle, he had banked the shuttle to pick up his partner. Duo hadn't thought anything of the container, obviously something Heero felt the need to have. Once he had Heero on board and the panel indicated that the doors were shut, he fired the low level engines, sneaking around the rock till he could get into their blind spot, before flying away from the rock, accelerating as he got further and further away.
Once he was happy with the distance, he turned and looked towards his partner. The words on his lips died off as he saw the small dark head pop out of the container, large dark eyes blinking at both Heero and Duo.
"Um... Heero?" Duo asked in a calm, perplexed tone.
Heero looked up, his eyes showing the banked fire. He looked back to the child and said, "This is Duo... I would like for him to read your file. Is that acceptable?"
The child was a little stuck in the container but he leaned forward and his nose wriggled in Heero's direction for a moment. Then he gave an affable little nod, sitting back in the container. He reached into his shirt and tugged free the folded up folder, holding it out towards Heero.
Duo watched the proceedings with curiosity written in his face and body language.
Heero accepted the file, handing it to Duo, before helping the child out of the container. He carried the boy over to the 'shotgun' seat and sat in it with the boy on his lap.
The child stretched his legs a little as he was freed from the container. Then he perched on Heero's lap... this was.. novel. He hadn't put in a lot of laptime. Leaning over, the child began to study the control panel of the shuttle. His expression was fierce but clearly showed that he was soaking in the information being read out on the gauges. One small hand reached up towards a knob and he adjusted it just a little.
Duo took the file, still watching his lover with the small person, then he looked down at the file and began to read through it. His delicate features, paled... then hardened as he read. His large violet eyes seemed to sink and become shadowed with darkness. He closed the file and set it with deliberate care aside, to keep from throwing it across the shuttle.
"Can we go back and plant charges?" He asked the question matter of factly.
"Not yet." Heero said. He looked at Duo. "There are others there... like him. I... want to get them all out."
Since he couldn't hear them, the child just quietly continued to play with the shuttle's controls. He didn't do anything... drastic.. and he didn't do anything wrong. Just minor adjustments... then a minor adjustment to set it back to rights. He squirmed a little on Heero's lap, reaching to gain more access to the controls.
Since the shuttle wasn't flinging them around, Duo wasn't really paying it a bit of attention. He frowned at Heero's words then took a long slow breath and nodded. "All right but I want someone's face in my gunsights." He paused, then moved in a violent gesture that he simply could not seem to contain.
"This is... this makes what the Doctors did.. look like.. humanitarian actions!"
"It's all the same," Heero said with almost no expression. He gave the boy a little jog on his lap to get his attention.
"You need a name," he said once the child was looking at him.
The child had been in the middle of reading the star chart and he frowned a little fiercely at being disturbed but the expression dropped away very quickly as he looked up at Heero's face. He gave Heero a dubious look and began to make those quick gestures with his hands... but.. again he stopped. Licking his lips he got that expression of fierce concentration on his face and mouthed out slowly.
~You don't name experiments.~
Heero looked back steadily. "That changes now," he said. "I think a good name for you would be T'ien Lung. That's the Chinese Celestial Dragon. They live in the sky - like you. They are benevolent. And powerful. And they are also by tradition supposed to be deaf. Fitting, ne?"
Duo watched the exchange with something akin to awe. He'd seen Heero interact with the children at the orphanage but Wufei had, had the little ones wrapped around his finger from the get go. This was the first time Duo was getting to see Heero really, one on one with a small person.
The small person was busy looking pensive as he tried to mouth out the *name*. It took him a couple of attempts but he made a passable attempt. He then moved his fingers in the manner he thought would spell out the name. Then he gave a little grin and he nodded.
'I approve.' The silent action said.
Heero nodded. Then, ever so slightly, he smiled. "I have a file for you to read when we get back," he said. "Don't change the course too much, okay?"
Duo blinked and looked down at the shuttle's controls. He frowned for a moment, then he gave a bark of laughter. "Hey Heero, you sure he isn't running around with some of your genetic material? Check this out. He's banked us off a couple gravitational fields. It'll save fuel."
"That's good since the fuel, like the shuttle, was stolen." Heero said deadpan. "I'm going to call Sally and see if I can get her to smooth that part out for us."
Duo chuckled. "Call Quatre, maybe he can just buy the damn thing." Duo turned back to look at his lover and the child. The little one had turned back to his study of the star charts. With his eyes on the charts, he slipped into his own silent world.
Heero nodded and began making the calls that would allow them to land without getting arrested.
T'ien was a rather accepting little fellow. He stayed pretty much quiet and unobtrusive for the whole of the trip. A child who was obviously very used to making his own amusement and keeping his own active, young mind busy.
Duo watched the two out of the corner of his eye. He'd read the file, all the way through, including the information spelling the end of this little child's life. He looked at his lover and felt his chest tightening already. 'Oh Heero' Duo thought to himself.
Heero looked over at his lover. His eyes were a little haunted but it was receding under the soldier's shell, not to hide from Duo but just to keep things under control.
"You said you found something interesting?" he asked. But he wasn't entirely behind the soldier facade. His hand reached over to capture the braid-tail.
Duo leaned a little to give Heero full access to the braid. "Yeah. Though not as interesting as what you found but... I dug around a little in the files, couldn't find too much but I was able to access where the *bills* are going. It's a company called Li Trading."
Heero nodded. "That's good. Maybe Quatre can do something with it."
Duo smiled, a little sadly. "If you can get him away from T'ien here."
"T'ien's got brothers and sisters," Heero said. "You saw them. We have to do something, Duo," he said, his voice impassive but an underlying edge that Duo could read.
Duo nodded very calmly. "We will. I promise you koi, even if it's just you and me." Duo's eyes flashed with the commitment to his promise.
In this time, T'ien had turned about and just caught the tail end of the conversation, so to speak. He frowned a little and looked like he was going to say something when his stomach gave a long low growl. The only noise Heero had ever heard out of the boy.
Heero looked through the storage compartments and found some snack bars tucked away in one. He pulled them out and offered on to T'ien and one to Duo.
Duo leaned forward and caught up his snack with a grin and a wink. Heero knew him so well. T'ien took his snack bar with a very polite and careful hand. He held the bar, watching Duo who was making a production out of sniffing the wrapping and other silliness. T'ien never showed a hint of impatience as he politely waited for his *elder* to eat first.
Well... almost no impatience, he did finally peek up at Heero with just a touch of sassiness in his dark, solemn eyes. "Duo you're keeping T'ien waiting, do you know that?" Heero remarked. Duo looked up from his sniffing of the bar and blinked. Then he grinned, winking at the child. "You're going to have to just dive in when around me T'ien. I like to play with my food." But Duo dutifully ripped open his snack bar and began to inhale it. T'ien grinned and his small shoulders shivered a little in what was silent laughter. The boy then turned his attention to his own snack and though he was much more dainty about it... somehow that snack bar pooufed... gone... inhaled. Just the smallest little burp to mark it's passing.
End Part 7
Laekin
Please send comments to: seregill@aol.com or bonnejeanne@yahoo.com