09-Jan-2001
Title: Time and Time Again
A Gundam Wing Fanfiction
Author: BarBieBoy
Dedicated to Kav
Feedback: YES PLEASE! :o) (Don't be shy!) Comments, criticisms, ideas etc please mail me at barbieboy000@hotmail.com. Flames and abuse please mail me at techsupport@microsoft.com.
Disclaimer: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is the property of whomever. I don't own it and I am using these characters without permission (but not for profit). The original portion of this work is mine however so please don't steal it :o)
Category/Warnings/Rating: 1+2/2+1, 3+4, angst, language, R(?)
Final note: I am in Australia. I speak and write English. I know how to spell colour and grey and behaviour. :o)
Nick Moorcroft was not the brightest of fellows, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. Tonight had been a very slow night and at this rate he wouldn't be able to afford his next fix. But fortune had apparently smiled on him. For as he hung round the alleyway, back against the cold brick wall taking long drags on a cigarette, he was greeted with the sight of a boy walking along. Alone.
He could not have been older than sixteen at the most; he was dressed casually, and appeared to be fairly intent on something. Nick leered into the darkness, revealing filthy, blackened teeth rotting from neglect. The boy must be a tourist or some kid who lost his friends. Easy pickings.
Nick began to walk towards the boy, trying to look like he was minding his own business. His hand was resting on the large knife concealed in his jacket. He would walk past the boy and attack from behind.
As the boy approached, Nick noticed his oriental features. Definitely a tourist. As planned, Nick approached and passed the boy, but as he turned to strike he suddenly felt his legs disappear beneath him. For an instant he was floating, and then he felt a sharp pain in his back as he connected with the cold damp concrete. His head hit the gutter, and for a moment his vision swam. When his eyes refocused he was stunned to see the barrel of a gun, inches from his nose.
"I am looking for McFarlane Ally," the boy said in a neutral tone.
Nick didn't say anything at first, he was too surprised, but a forceful shake from the youth brought him to his senses.
"This . . . is . . . it" he stuttered.
The youth seemed confused.
"I can't see any dumpster."
"It's over there under the cardboard boxes. Just don't hurt me, man." Nick was truly scared now. When he looked into those eyes he knew that the boy wouldn't hesitate to shoot. He was about to start begging for his life when abruptly the boy released his hold on Nick's shirt and stood up. Nick's head hit the gutter for the second time and he cried out in pain.
When his vision cleared again, he saw the youth open the dumpster and pull out a large bag. Without a word, or even a glance in his direction, the youth walked briskly down the alleyway.
Nick grudgingly got back to his feet and headed home. It would be dawn soon anyway, and he had definitely had enough for one night. Life on the streets was always rough, but now it was getting to the point where you couldn't trust a young, innocent-looking boy to be a pushover.
Duo, Trowa and Quatre were in a contest with each other for the title of who looked more like death warmed over. The three pilots were sitting on Duo's bed taking turns to yawn loudly. It was 5.30 in the morning, after all.
Heero had closed the door behind them and locked it. The Japanese pilot then sat across from them on his own bed. The three pilots recognized the 'Heero Yuy with a mission' look that he wore on his face.
"Heero, why are we awake at this ungodly hour on a Saturday ne?" Duo whined, and finished up with a yawn.
"I've gathered you here because I'm in trouble and I need your help," Heero started, but stopped as he began to toy with how to proceed. "I'm experiencing something very strange and I need you to help figure out what to do"
The other three pilots exchanged odd looks, but said nothing as they waited for him to continue.
"For the last few days I have been stuck in time," Heero ventured. The other boys said nothing and just stared at him in confusion. Heero decided it would be best to get everything out at once. "I have experienced this day, the 15th of January, for the fifth time now, and it's most likely I will continue to do so until I defuse a bomb that is causing everything."
Still silent. The other pilots seemed too shocked or confused to answer. Heero had been prepared for resistance to his little revelation, though, and had set out an example he was sure would convince them.
"I didn't expect you to believe me, and so I will show you proof," Heero said as he turned to his laptop.
In plain sight of all the other pilots, Heero hacked into the OZ accounts in the bank and transferred 10 000 credits to Wufei by typing in the password. The Japanese boy turned with triumph, but was met with stern looks from the other pilots.
"Heero, you were supposed to hack into that account. How is being able to do so proof of anything?" Quatre asked, clearly unimpressed.
"But I didn't hack into the account today--I did it yesterday!" he exclaimed.
"If you did it yesterday, then of course you'd know the password," Trowa pointed out.
"But I didn't do it yesterday as in Friday, I did it yesterday as in Saturday!" Heero was annoyed that this wasn't working. He began to think. "Okay, okay, how about this, then. There is a party on later tonight at Aieka's."
"Yes, we know Heero! Everyone knows! It's all they have been talking about all week!" Quatre was beginning to lose his patience with Heero's drivel. He was tired and he was not in the mood for stupidity.
"But . . . there will be drugs there, and Duo will get wasted!"
"Nani?" cried Duo. "I would never take recreational drugs, Heero! I'm not stupid!" Duo was losing his patience too. It was for this that he had gotten up four hours too early?
Heero was becoming frustrated. Why wouldn't they believe him? He needed more proof, more convincing proof. He needed to show he knew something they wouldn't expect him to know. After a couple of seconds Heero thought of just the thing. There would be no way they would be able to doubt him now.
"Okay, then. How about this?" Heero began, with another triumphant smile on his face. "I know that Quatre and Trowa are lovers."
"WHAT?!" all three pilots exclaimed at once. Trowa was looking at his feet with a barely-contained blush, while Duo stared at them in disbelief. Quatre had risen to his feet and although clearly embarrassed, managed to maintain his control.
"Trowa and I are definitely not lovers!" he exclaimed.
"But I saw you guys kissing yesterday."
"WHAT?!" Duo cried again.
"I have never kissed Trowa; what the hell is wrong with you Yuy!" Quatre was now very angry. It was very embarrassing having his deepest feelings made fun of in front of everyone. Especially Trowa, since Quatre was sure he didn't feel the same. He was sick to death of Heero's attitudes and complete lack of empathy. But this little stunt was just plain sick.
Meanwhile, the green-eyed pilot had stood, and without meeting the glances of his fellow pilots, he had left the room. Quatre suddenly realized how nasty his denial had sounded.
"Trowa . . ." he called out, but the boy had gone. Quatre began to follow the pilot out of the room. He stopped in the doorway to give Heero a final glare and added, "As for my help? Go to Hell, Heero!"
Heero was now very confused. It hadn't occurred to him that the kiss he had witnessed between the two pilots was part of a relationship that had only started that morning.
Duo was sitting on the bed, arms crossed, and shaking his head in disgust. He had had just about enough of Heero. First the baka ignored him for two weeks, and now he dragged them all out of bed to tell some fantastic story and upset Trowa and Quatre.
"I hope you're happy, Yuy."
Heero was desperate. He had to convince Duo, if no one else. But what could he say? "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said that you and I almost had something going the other day?" he tried in desperation.
Duo was really surprised now. Heero seemed to have relationships on the brain. All those years of bottling up emotion must have driven him insane. Duo knew he was into guys, but Heero? Definitely not attractive. Especially not now.
"You just haven't a clue have you?" he said, his voice dripping with contempt. Before Heero could utter another word, the American had left the room in search of his friends.
Heero lay back on his bed and nearly screamed in frustration.
That had not gone well.
Next up was Dr Nishikubo.
The rusty gate groaned loudly as Heero moved it to the side. The fence and yard were in a state of disrepair that equalled the appearance of the house in general. The lawn was long enough to hide in, the concrete path was nearly overtaken with weeds and the stairs leading up to the porch were mostly missing. Not one to be particularly swayed by aesthetics, the Japanese paid little attention to the state of the house as he knocked firmly on the door.
While he waited, Heero Yuy began to lose his resolve. His last attempt at telling the truth had been an abysmal failure, and that had been to his friends. What was he going to say to this guy? 'Hi, I'm Heero. I'm trapped in time, and I thought you might be able to help'? It was as good an opening statement as any.
After several minutes he knocked again, but to no avail. The man didn't seem to be at home. Heero walked over to the window and tried to peer inside but he saw nothing. It was 7am on a Saturday, so it was possible that he was still asleep.
After carefully checking the street to see if anyone was watching, Heero climbed over the side gate, a feat made more difficult by the large bag he was carrying. There were several shirts hanging on the line in the back yard, indicating to Heero that it was unlikely that the man was on holiday. After toying with his conscience for a while, Heero finally convinced himself this was urgent enough to force entry and so he deftly picked the very old and simple lock on the back door. The inside of the house matched the outside. However, there were dishes in the sink that looked like they had been used fairly recently.
Heero began to scout around the rest of the house. It was fairly small and cramped. The main room was a veritable library of books, mostly on subjects relating to physics and engineering. There were two bedrooms, but it was clear that only one was in use. The bed had not been made, and looked very much like it had been slept in recently.
It became clear to Heero that the person he was looking for was out, and so he would have to wait. Those newly-acquired people skills Heero had developed suggested that waiting outside would probably be a good idea. No need to mention that he ever broke in.
Quatre nervously approached the door to the room. He felt like an intruder although it was half his room as well. He had not followed the green-eyed pilot immediately, thinking it better to plan before stumbling in. After breakfast in the cafeteria he had finally managed to build up the courage to face his heart's desire.
Quatre was about to knock, but decided it was silly. Instead he slowly opened the door and stepped into the room, making sure to keep his eyes far from Trowa's direction. After crossing over to his bed and searching through a drawer, the Arabian boy decided to risk a glance.
Trowa was sitting on the windowsill, peering out into the campus grounds through the opened window. Quatre watched the boy for a while. The 'pensive' look suited him. Quatre felt himself blush as he eyes lingered over the boy. He decided it was best to speak before he made an idiot of himself.
"I'm sorry about all the rubbish with Heero this morning," he said, and then thinking over his words, immediately wished he hadn't.
Trowa turned to regard his partner as if noticing him for the first time. He had that fairly neutral expression on his face that he often wore. People who didn't know Trowa might have thought it was melancholy or sorrow.
"He was acting strange," was all he said.
Quatre fidgeted as he tried to remember the things he had wanted to say. He wanted to say that although Heero talking about them as lovers angered him, in fact it was what he desired.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted too, I . . . was a little embarrassed," Quatre began, wondering if he should finish the sentence with 'at having my desires spoken out loud'.
"Don't worry about it, Quatre; I know that Heero wasn't saying anything that you really felt," Trowa said as he returned to his watch over the lawns.
Quatre was becoming frustrated, but he remained silent. This was exactly what he didn't want Trowa to think. The feelings were there, it was just the circumstance. Before he could begin to put his words in order, Trowa spoke again.
"It was a pretty silly suggestion."
Quatre felt a cold twist in his heart as he heard those words. The thing he feared most had just been thrown up in front of him. Not knowing was uncomfortable, but now he knew that Trowa was definitely not interested in him and it hurt.
"Yeah . . ."
"Like you and I would ever be a couple?" Trowa almost asked.
Quatre used the last of his willpower to prevent himself from crying. He stared at his feet, refusing to meet the gaze of the other boy in case he burst into tears. Instead he clenched his hands into fists and nodded.
"As if . . ." he said bitterly, and began to leave the room.
If he had looked back, Quatre would have seen the pain on Trowa's face. He would have known in an instant that the words he had spoken were contrary to his heart. But Quatre was too devastated to do so. Instead, he quietly left the room.
Dr Nishikubo was a hunched and balding man in his fifties. He had a wrinkled forehead and a large black mole on his chin. Although the weather was fairly warm, he wore a thick grey trench coat that was clearly several sizes too large. The man seemed to be scurrying in somewhat of a hurry. He opened the gate and approached the house without even noticing the boy on the porch.
"Excuse me. . . Dr Nishikubo?"
The man nearly fell over with surprise. When he recovered and stared at the boy on the porch with the bag, a look of sheer terror crossed his face. He grabbed for his keys and tried desperately to open the front door.
"Wait, sir . . ." Heero asked as he slowly approached, with his hands outstretched in an effort to look non- threatening. "I mean you no harm. I just want to ask you a few questions."
The man paused in his actions for a moment and began to closely scrutinize the boy with suspicion.
"I need your help," Heero said, before adding "Please?"
The man's suspicion changed to surprise. and then settled on neutrality.
"What do you want? How do you know my name?" he asked.
"This will sound really crazy," Heero began. "But I don't know who else to turn to. Please, you must listen to me."
The man did not seem to be particularly swayed.
"I need your expertise in the field of Temporal Mechanics."
The man raised one eyebrow, but still seemed unconvinced.
"I think I'm experiencing a temporal feedback loop."
The man for a moment looked as if he was about to laugh. He stopped when he saw the serious expression on the boy's face, though. Glancing about, he motioned him into the house.
Heero was very grateful and thanked the man profusely.
"I'm not sure where to begin, really. . ." he said when they were inside.
The man regarded him for a long time with a strange expression.
"Start at the beginning."
Duo had found Quatre in a quiet part of the campus, sitting on a chair under the shade of a large tree. The boy looked more miserable than he could ever remember seeing him.
"Heero no baka!" Duo cursed under his breath.
He strolled over to the Arabian boy and sat down next to him. For a while neither spoke. Quatre tried to hide the fact that he had been upset and Duo was trying to think of something funny to say.
"How's Heero?" the blonde boy asked.
"Dunno. I left almost straight after you did. He was making an effort to be a particular jerk today." Duo tried to make light of the situation.
"Yeah . . ." Quatre began. "He made me feel so angry I think I'm going to kill him!"
Duo laughed a little. Quatre was not the type to make threats like that.
"What did Trowa say?" Duo ventured.
The blonde boy's expression hardened. "He wasn't affected by such a stupid comment like that," he said bitterly.
A new thought occurred to Duo. He wondered if Quatre was actually like him in that way. Attracted to guys. Perhaps Heero had been right?
"It's not like you're into guys anyway. . ." he ventured.
"Not likely . . ." Quatre said bitterly.
The mood suddenly seemed to darken as each of the boys felt more alone than usual. Finally Duo got sick of brooding.
"Why don't we forget all about this and go to that party tonight?"
Quatre brightened at the idea. Anything to take his mind off Trowa and his heartache.
"Okay. When's it start?" Quatre asked.
"Seven sometime I guess. It's too early now but we have to get something to bring along. Why don't we go shopping in town?" Duo asked.
The blond boy showed a small smile and nodded. The two headed off to the bus stop to make the most of their day.
Heero was thrilled at how the conversation with Dr Nishikubo had been going. The scientist had said little at first, but as the story progressed had asked the occasional question and began to relax. He was for the most part attentive and intrigued. When Heero had gotten to the bit about how he had found him, he was notably relieved as well. Eventually Heero had said everything there was, and waited for the older man to speak.
"You know, Heero," he began, speaking slowly and deliberately. "I haven't been in the business for close to ten years now. I'm not sure what exactly you want me to do?"
"But you believe me, at least?" the boy asked hopefully.
"Well, there's nothing to suggest otherwise for the moment. And if indeed you are experiencing a temporal feedback loop, then there is no way I could be expected to have noticed anything amiss."
The old man began to shuffle over to a cabinet that opened to reveal a treasure trove of data disks. He began to look over them as he spoke.
"I have actually heard of the device you have here," he said, pointing the sphere on the desk. "But I'm not sure I can actually do anything about it . . ."
The man walked over to the computer, entered his password and began to read through some old research of his. Heero, out of habit more than anything else, noted which keys he pressed and memorized the code.
He moved away from the machine and over to the bomb. Heero showed him how it opened and the man began to scrutinize the inside.
"It was for this reason that I left that place long ago. I'm a scientist and I don't build weapons. Unfortunately, I don't know how to un-build them either. . ." the man seemed a little apologetic at his last statement.
Over the next several hours, Dr Nishikubo and Heero carefully began to study the weapon. It was agonizingly slow going and on several occasions they had had to break. Heero was anxious to get the bomb defused, but the older man seemed to need constant rests.
It was during one of these rests that he began to ask about one of Heero's observations. "I must confess I am a little confused about this observation of yours that the explosion gets larger each loop," the man asked, trying to sound uninterested.
"It roughly doubles each time. Why is that so interesting?"
"Well. It's not supposed to do that, from what I recalled anyway. And to be honest I can't think of any reason why it would be designed to do so. I would be more inclined to believe that the bomb is actually malfunctioning. That would explain why you seem to be aware of the loops when clearly you were not meant to. Assuming of course that you are the target of the weapon."
Heero had not considered that the weapon might be malfunctioning.
It was late in the afternoon when the man, who had started to become more excited as he worked, backed away from the device in triumph.
"Got it!" he cried as he removed a strange-looking cylinder from inside. "This is the trigger! Without it, the bomb will not go off"
Heero was so happy he nearly hugged him.
"So it's completely safe now?" he asked hopefully.
"Well I don't know about safe; maybe you should take it to another lab or somewhere."
Heero was thrilled and thanked the man profusely. Without mentioning his line of work, he hinted at knowing somewhere he could get a second opinion. The older man suggested that a more thorough effort be made to study the weapon. As Heero was about to leave he added one more thing.
"I'd keep that device very close to you until you are able to get it properly looked at tomorrow," he said. "There was obviously someone close by who organized everything, and he will be bound to try and get it back. Don't let it leave your sight for a moment."
Heero was elated. It was a fairly new experience for him, too. He was very happy and proud to have completed this mission. Even though it wasn't by any means an official mission, it was probably the most satisfying he had accomplished to date. It had struck at the very foundations he did not believe himself to have. Attacking his friends and Duo. Though he had suffered, it had made him aware of the importance of the other pilots to him. It had brought him out of his shell a little, and had given him experiences he was unaware he was missing out on.
The Japanese boy sat at his trusty laptop typing up a detailed report on the whole affair. This would, after all, be the last of the time loops, and so tomorrow there really would be a defused bomb on his bed whose presence would need to be explained.
It was at about 10 pm that he finished the last of the report and began to plan his day for tomorrow. First of all he would have to clear up the whole situation with his friends. As for the 'Quatre and Trowa relationship slip,' he had decided to explain that one as his own fault, a mistake brought on by the unusual experience of time looping. It would be up to those two to sort out their relationship; he had done enough damage already.
Of course there was the problem of what to do with Duo, too. Heero knew the boy meant a lot to him. He was beginning to wonder if it was the feeling others called 'love'. He had nothing to compare it with, but whenever the boy was around it drove him crazy. And when he wasn't around, all he could do was wish that he were. Thinking of Duo inevitably conjured up images of the night he had lost him.
Duo.
He had forgotten to cancel the party.
Duo would drown, and this time for good.
Heero launched himself from the desk and ran out of the room. It was only just past ten; there should be plenty of time to stop the baka from drowning if he hurried.
It was at that moment that the 'perfect soldier' made a mistake. In his haste to save his friend he had forgotten that he was not supposed to let the bomb out of his sight. He had sprinted in the direction of the party without even a second thought.
Heero was not the perfect soldier.
It was just as well, though, because this mistake saved his life.
Duo was not enjoying the party very much at all. Sure, it was loud and there were plenty of people dancing and having fun, but he was stuck with Quatre. Duo liked hanging out with the Arabian boy under normal circumstances, but tonight he seemed a little upset. The American felt too guilty to leave him alone, and so had to turn down the numerous offers he got to dance with his all female fan club.
He had had a few drinks earlier in the night, but stopped when it seemed like the party was heading towards a different form of entertainment. Heero had been right about the drug thing, although Duo was at a loss to explain how. Half of the students were now giggling stupidly to themselves since they had taken the stuff. Duo had of course refused. Heero was wrong about that; Duo Maxwell would never take stupid drugs. Unfortunately, it was no fun to be sober around a bunch of people who were off their faces. Certainly not when you're stuck with a depressed friend.
"So . . . erm . . . where's Trowa?" Duo ventured.
"He went off in his Gundam hours ago." Quatre replied flatly.
Duo was sure now that Heero had been somewhat close to the mark with his claims, outrageous though they were. Quatre really was acting like a hurt puppy, and Duo was sure it had something to do with Trowa. Surely they had to be more than just friends? Although Duo was tempted to strike up another conversation on the topic, he decided not to push his friend. Instead he sat on the couch with the boy and observed as his classmates made idiots of themselves.
It was after ten, and Duo really wanted to leave; he was about to ask Quatre when he noticed a commotion in the hallway. A few seconds later, Heero pushed his way through the crowd with a look of sheer panic on his face. Their eyes met, and for a moment Duo was worried that the other boy would kill him. Instead he pushed his way over and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Duo, are you all right?" he asked urgently.
Duo really was starting to get spooked by the Japanese boy's recent behaviour.
"Unless you consider chronic boredom as fatal, I am fine," he said, flatly determined not to let his concern show.
Heero firmly, but gently placed one hand to Duo's very surprised forehead and peeled back the boy's eyelid with his fingertip. He then closely scrutinized his pupils.
"You didn't take anything, did you"?
That was enough for Duo. He smacked the other boy's hand away, very much annoyed, and shouted, "Of course I didn't! How many times do I have to tell you I wouldn't do anything like that!"
Heero relaxed a bit and knelt on the floor next to Duo. The two simply watched each other for a moment, making Quatre, who had witnessed the whole affair with confusion, feel suddenly uncomfortable.
"I know. I was worried about you, that's all," the Japanese boy said with a smile.
Duo, although surprised, found the comment quite pleasing. Heero could be sweet sometimes, when he wasn't being a total jerk. Perhaps even a little attractive?
"I'm glad you haven't drowned." Heero said.
What an idiot. Heero was definitely NOT even a little bit attractive.
"How much more stupid will you get before you stop?!" Duo shouted.
Wufei walked along the corridors, a little curious over the apparent lack of students. He had just come from Quatre and Trowa's room, and although it was 11pm, neither pilot was there. Ordinarily this wouldn't have bothered him; he would assume that they were at a mission. But Heero and Duo were also missing, as were most of the students on campus.
Wufei remembered hearing something about a party at Aieka's earlier in the week, although he had no intention of going. For one thing, he did not expect his mission to have been completed in time; but more importantly, Wufei wasn't into student parties.
Still considering that no one else was around, Wufei decided it would probably be best if he went over just to check. He needed to alert at least one of the other pilots to his earlier-than-expected arrival.
The three Gundam pilots had just begun the trek back to campus. Neither spoke to each other, partly because they were all tired from their early start that morning, but mostly because they were each lost in thought. Wufei ran into them a short while later. He saw them approach and waved. The three pilots noticed him at once and began to walk over.
At this moment, three things happened. The first was an incredible sound that shattered the silence of the night. The second was a flash of bright light, which lit up all around them. The third was a massive shockwave which struck the pilots, hurling them several meters.
Heero was the first to recover. His senses were momentarily overloaded, and so he stumbled around trying to make sense of what had just happened. Most of the houses in front of him and been flattened, and a little way off huge fires were raging.
The explosion had taken out several districts.
Frantically he looked around for his comrades. Duo was groaning loudly and slowly staggering to his feet, several cuts evident on his face. Quatre was not far off, his white shirt was singed black in various parts and a large patch of red was evident down his front. Wufei was nowhere to be seen.
As Duo tended to the cut across the Arabian's chest, Heero began to search in an increasing radius for Wufei. Eventually he did find him. Or at least what was left of him. The boy was lying, broken and bloodied, against a stone fence. He had a large piece of wood protruding from his chest, and his arm was twisted at a sickening angle. His eyes were vacant, and even as Heero ran to his side he knew he was dead.
"No. No no no no." he babbled.
He began to panic as the all-too-familiar feeling of grief began to take hold. This could not be happening. The bomb was safe, it had been defused, it must be a mistake. While his mind went blank with confusion, Heero simply stared at his dead friend and sank slowly to his knees.
Duo, with Quatre leaning on him for support, came up behind and gasped in shock at what they saw. Quatre turned around on the spot and shut his eyes, but Duo was transfixed on the sight with horror.
Heero suddenly rose to his feet and ran off, trying hard to squeeze the tears out of his eyes. What had gone wrong? He needed answers.
Dr Nishikubo had been very much startled to see the bruised and bleeding boy on his door. At first he backed away in fear, but as the boy wearily stepped in and sat on a chair, he began to babble apologies.
"Heero, I saw the explosion on the news. I have made a fundamental mistake. The situation is much worse than I realized."
That much was already obvious to Heero.
"I have seriously underestimated the device . . ." he began to trail off as if lost in his own thought.
"What went wrong?" Heero asked simply. It wasn't a difficult question surely.
"I didn't disarm the bomb!"
"I guessed that part. Why?"
"You don't understand," the older man began to babble. "Heero, the bomb can't be defused!"
Heero frowned at that last comment. Everything could be defused; it was just that some were more complicated than others. Nothing was infallible.
"We will try again tomorrow. Tell me what you did and I'll tell it to you tomorrow; assuming that the loop does kick in, we can . . ."
"NO, you don't understand--it's much worse than that. I realized it after you left, but I couldn't contact you or warn you. The bomb cannot be defused because it has already gone off!"
Heero sighed "But tomorrow it won't have, so we can try . . ."
"NO!" the man interrupted. "It has already gone off! It has already hit its target. It just hasn't worked out when."
Heero was upset and tired; he was not in the mood for nonsense. "What do you mean!" he nearly shouted.
"The device works by fusing time and anti-time to cause an explosion. The time it uses is that of its target. The fact that there has been an explosion at all means that it succeeded in bringing you from different times into contact. Heero. The bomb has already killed you. All that is left is how."
"That is stupid. I'm here right now!" Heero reasoned.
"The minute it was armed and the first loop started, it was too late."
"Then we must stop it being armed!" Heero was desperate.
"It was armed at 4.27am. The exact moment of the beginning of the loop. You won't be able to stop it being armed; it has already happened!"
Heero was angry and confused. He was starting to guess where this was headed.
"It's worse than that, though! If it were simply a matter of avoiding the explosion, you could go on indefinitely doing so, but it's not. The explosion, as you noted, is indeed getting larger. Eventually it will get to a point where even if you fly away from the bomb the instant you wake up, you will still be caught and killed in the explosion. An explosion that could eventually take out the entire solar system."
Heero was a little stunned at this revelation. There was only one course of action. Something he was all too used to suggesting, but now seemed like the worst possible thing in the world.
"Then I have to allow the bomb to kill me, and sooner rather than later. Otherwise I will simply be allowing others to die with me."
Heero Yuy was in self-destruct mode again.
The older man was silent at the suggestion for a moment. Then he hesitantly agreed. "I fear that's the only way. I'm sorry, but there is nothing to be done. Your fate has already sealed."
Heero did not remember the rest of the conversation, nor his trip home. He was lost in his own thoughts. Tomorrow would be the last day of his life.
End Part 5
(:./barbieboy/time5)
