11 March 2007
Title: Alternate Dualities
Author: WingNut (wingnut629@yahoo.ca)
Archive: http://www.fanworkrecs.com, GWA, anywhere else, please ask
Category: adventure, angst, romance, lemon
Rating: NC-17 overall
Warnings: AU - AAAAAAAAAAAU. Some yaoi, het, lemon, violence, language, OOC and/or death, depending on the universe. You should be a legal adult to read this. Open-mindedness helps, too.
Spoilers: maybe, depending on the universe.
Disclaimers: I don't own the characters from Gundam Wing; Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu do. I just play with them for non-profit fun until they run screaming back to their creators.
Pairings: all over the map; Duo-centric.
Blurb: Set in AC201, Duo is slipping from one alternate universe to another, trying to get back home.
Notes: started June 2001.
Part 8c ~ Project
Duo swept his eyes over his friend, cataloguing the differences. The Trowa he'd known at fifteen had been as slender and graceful as a willow, but this counterpart seemed a bit more generously muscled - oh my yes - all... down... the length... of his body... The guarded bearing and unrevealing expression had also changed, replaced by an open stance and an easy smile. Instead of gravity-defying bangs, there was only a short cowlick, and there was a green-jewelled earring winking from his right earlobe. The eyes were the same, though, still level and intelligent, and the single raised eyebrow spoke whole volumes of - oh, crap!! Busted!!
Duo froze as he realized Trowa was looking directly back at him as he checked out the other's body. Staring in the showers was strictly against the unwritten rules of every one of the few schools he'd been to. He blushed furiously, torn between complimenting, apologizing, joking, and pleading for mercy.
Trowa frowned and drew breath to speak.
"You are so deluded. It was only a triple somersault, not a quad!"
For half a moment Duo thought Trowa was speaking in some sort of code, and without moving his lips, too, but then reality kicked in as Trowa glanced briefly over his shoulder at the open doorway behind him. Someone else was in the change room.
"It was a quad, I'm telling you."
Trowa turned his head and captured Duo's gaze again. His eyes were considering, weighing, judging. "We'll settle this later," he said quietly under the hiss of the water.
Duo swallowed and nodded, flicking off his shower. He remembered Trowa telling him how he'd 'settled' an Ozzie who'd been bothering him when he'd been posing as a cadet. This was likely to be painful.
The three guys he'd overheard talking came in, chatting and laughing, and he slipped by them into the changing room. He could feel Trowa's gaze heavy on him as he passed.
"Ah, you guys are blind! Triton, tell these guys they're blind - it was a quad!"
"You guys are blind," Trowa's voice said obligingly. "But it was still a triple."
Triton, huh? Weird name. But whatever his name, it was clear from the comments that he was still a gymnast.
Duo grabbed his towel. From the muscles he'd seen, it looked like Triton might actually be physically stronger than Trowa was. That wasn't good, as he knew from unfortunate previous experience just how hard Tro could punch. He really wasn't looking forward to a beating, but it would be better to get it over with and put the incident behind him. He'd managed to secure a place for his alter ego in this mission to Mars, and he didn't want to ruin it by being labelled a shower peeper on his first day.
Duo frowned as he pulled on his clothes. It seemed like the best solution - so why was he feeling uneasy? Triton didn't even sound all that upset as he bantered with the others in the shower room, and despite Duo's blatant invasion of his privacy, he hadn't seemed unreasonable, so why...?
He shook his head. That wasn't it. There was something out of place niggling at him, like when he'd noticed the red sleeve patch on Wufei's uniform instead of the sage-green one he'd expected.
A burst of laughter from the shower room interrupted his thoughts. What he really needed was a private place to sit and think for a bit.
He shoved his towel through the drawstring of his duffle and slung the bag over his shoulder. He set off down the corridors, following the directions Noin had given him.
Ah, here it was, room MA-3215. Duo punched in the access code and slipped inside - peace and quiet at last!
The room was simple - four sets of bunks stacked 2 deep. There was no one else in the dorm, although he could see signs of occupancy - personal touches like books and papers under clips, extra blankets on some of the bunks, and a photo of Catherine Bloom and Triton and what looked like their parents all dressed in circus costumes...
Well, that was obviously Triton's bunk, and it was just as obvious that Duo's peace and quiet would last only as long as it took the acrobat to finish his shower and walk back here. Duo wanted to settle things between them, but he wanted even more to trace the source of his disquiet - the last time he'd felt this way, he'd had a gun to his head moments later.
Noin had said that she would drop off some orientation literature for him in his dorm while he was showering, and there was a reddish-brown 'Welcome!' folder on one of the beds, so it wasn't much of a leap to figure out which bunk was supposed to be his. He tossed his duffel into the locker at the end of the bunk and set the combination. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed the folder and tucked it under one arm. Then he poked his head out the door, confirmed that Triton wasn't in sight, and slipped out into the hallway, heading away from the shower room.
He ducked into a side corridor, then into an alcove farther along. Ahhh, just what he wanted - an access panel. He'd felt the presence of lockpicks in his braid when he'd pinned it up for his shower, so he was able to make short work of the locking mechanism.
He opened the panel to reveal a ladder in a tube. He stepped onto the ladder, latched the panel behind him, and climbed up a few rungs. There should be - yup, there it was - a tunnel running along the top of the corridor, providing access to sensors and controls.
He clambered into the accessway, sitting down with his butt on the floor and his back against a wall, laying the folder beside him. He relaxed with a sigh.
OK, then - what was bugging him?
There were certainly enough things to make him feel out of place - learning that Winner was 'a royal pain in the ass' (which still didn't seem right), realizing that Father Maxwell was still alive on L2, meeting Odin-not-Heero, and then getting caught staring at Triton-not-Trowa in the showers... But he frowned even as he listed these events in his mind; none of them was what was making his skin itch with the feeling of stepping obliviously into a crowd of enemies.
Enemies? Whoa, what was setting off that instinct? Mil appeared to be doing his best for Duo. Noin hadn't been welcoming at first, but she'd come around. Odin had been annoying, but he hardly ranked as an enemy. Neither did Triton. And besides, those conflicts were known, out in the open. What he was feeling was that there was some unseen danger, moving below the surface of events.
So, he wasn't stepping into a crowd of enemies, but there were enemies hiding in the crowd.
Aarrgghh! He wished he could just grab his subconscious by the throat and force it to give up the details! But he knew that his subconscious worked best if left alone. He would probably wake up in the middle of the night with the solution staring him in the face...
...except that he would be long gone from this universe by then. It was mid-afternoon now, and if things followed the pattern that he and Quatre had figured out in the last universe, then he only had until about 21:30 local time until the next transition.
He could be patient when he had to be, but if there was some sort of danger, then he could really mess things up for his counterpart if he went much further without knowing what was going on. Then he remembered his upcoming 'interview' with Triton, and amended ruefully, 'mess things up worse...'
Well, he didn't have many sources of information, but there was one close to hand that he shouldn't ignore. He picked up the rusty-red folder (ignoring the perky 'Welcome!' on the front) and opened it in his lap.
He soon learned that the 'Project' was more formally known as the Mars Terra-Forming Project, which was sponsored by the Yuy-Noventa Unification School and the Sanc Spaceflight Academy. He found a paragraph under the heading 'Brief History' that informed him of the 'firm friendship' which had grown up between Heero Yuy, peace activist from L1 colony, and Field Marshall Noventa of the Alliance military. They had founded the Unification Policy, which had led to the peaceful world-wide government now enjoyed by the Earth and all her colonies. The Yuy-Noventa Unification School (YNUS) was founded on the principle that all youths of merit should have the chance to further their education, no matter where their origin, blah, blah, blah.
Duo shook his head. It was so different from his own universe, where both peace-minded men had died - Yuy from an assassin's bullet, and Noventa by tragic mistake during the gundam attack on New Edwards base.
The Yuy-Noventa Unification School had come up with the idea of a Project - a peaceful goal towards which they could direct the energy of the more restless portion of the nation's population. Terraforming Mars became the answer for disaffected youth craving adventure, a fresh start, a new horizon.
Oookay, that made sense, Duo guessed. He'd always directed his 'restless energy' towards staying alive and one step ahead of the Alliance goons, but he could see how peacetime might change that.
The first trip to Mars had already been made, Duo learned, but had quickly run into unforeseen difficulties. The first team's small contingent of humans had expected to use automated flyers to seed the upper atmosphere, but Mars weather proved too volatile. The erratic but high-velocity winds had quickly destroyed most of the automated equipment.
The small on-site team had quickly discovered that human pilots were more successful at navigating the thin air of Mars, being better at predicting and riding out the sudden wind shifts. The Project's selection criteria were revised to include advanced piloting skills. Everyone enrolled in YNUS had been offered training - run through the Sanc Spaceflight Academy - and volunteer pilots from all over the Earth Sphere had applied for the next mission.
Suddenly the comments Mil and Noin had made about the pilots' list and its ranking made sense. Everyone chosen for the next (and much larger) team would have to be a damned good pilot, no matter what other skills they could bring to the mission. No wonder Mil had been so delighted with his counterpart's natural talent.
Duo shook his head. In his universe, such a huge investment of time and effort had always been reserved for war, and to a lesser extent, the Preventers. To be able to lure pilots from their current jobs, to give training at such an advanced level to hundreds of students, and then to test them all - this Project must have one hell of a budget.
He scanned the rest of the folder, checking out the station rules (nothing out of place for a high school or a space colony), his proposed class schedule (nothing a gundam pilot couldn't handle) and the layout of the station (standard spoked-wheel design).
Finally, he put the folder down with a sigh. It all seemed normal, and sounded like a bright future for his counterpart. Once he returned from Mars (assuming he didn't make a life for himself there), he would have incomparable job experience that could be put to use in a variety of fields.
He sighed again. His counterpart had promised Father Maxwell to do his best, and it all looked good. Set against that was only a gut feeling that could just be his reaction to the differences in what he was used to and what this universe had to offer.
If only he knew what to do! If he were going to run, now would be the time, before his alter ego got caught up in schedules and routine, before all the station personnel and teachers knew he was part of the student body.
If only he could be sure...
Wait, what had Wufei said about meditation - that the proper course becomes clear when the mind is clear? Well, he could sure use some of that clarity right now. Maybe a bit of meditation was just what he needed. Maybe it would put his conscious mind in touch with his subconscious. Maybe it would work...
But if his instincts were right and he really was in danger here, then he should figure an escape route from this accessway before he meditated his way into defenselessness. He glanced around, formalizing in his mind the automatic assessment he'd already made - if someone came up behind him, he'd go down the tunnel and up at the next ladder, about 5 metres away. If anyone approached from that side, he'd go back down the ladder he'd come from and out the access hatch.
He took a deep breath and let it out in one gust. OK, now he could concentrate on meditating.
He settled himself in a position he'd seen Wufei use - kneeling, sitting back on his heels, with his hands resting loosely on his thighs. He closed his eyes.
No, wait - his eyes popped open. He was supposed to be staring at a crystal or a flame or something, wasn't he? He didn't have either one. Hm, maybe the gleam of the overhead light on that curved metal handle would do.
Determinedly, Duo stared at the brightly shining spot, trying to empty his mind as Wufei had instructed.
He quickly discovered that emptying his mind was harder than it sounded. A lot harder, actually. His mind seemed to be full of thoughts, images, emotions, ideas, impressions, and sensations, and they were all vying for his attention.
He must look stupid, doing this... He could just imagine Heero's smirk... But Heero wasn't here, there was no one here - empty the mind...
Heero wasn't here, but Odin was... Mil has an admirable ass, but did Odin have to drool over it so smugly...? Odin was a disappointing shadow of Heero... No, don't think of that...
But he should be grateful that these colonies hadn't experienced the same terror and oppression as his versions had... And Father Maxwell was still alive, so that was cause for joy...! Would it look odd if he made a vid-call to Father before the next transition...? Gah! Empty the mind...
His nose itched... And his feet were going to sleep... Pins and needles creeping up to his ankles... His lockpicks were poking his scalp... Stupid body... No, ignore the body, focus the mind on... nothing.
Speaking of bodies, boy, did Triton have a fine one!! Of course, a circus brat would spend most of his time working out and practicing routines... And wasn't he wearing spandex in that photo with his family...? He'd definitely have to take a closer look at that... Triton at 15 was handsome, but he'd be even better once he grew up and filled out a little... 26-year-old Trowa from 2 universes ago was drop-dead gorgeous... Rivulets of water running over smooth skin swelled with muscle... No, No, NO! No wet, naked guys, just an empty mind...
His eyes were burning from glaring at that stupid gleam of light on that damned metal handle, and they kept straying to the distracting smudged fingerprint just below his supposed focal point.
Aaarrggghh!!! Frustrated with his inability to force his mind and body to just do what he wanted them to do, he slammed his hand down on the metal duct beside him.
"What was that?" The voice right below him nearly gave him heart failure.
"Dunno. Could be a metal duct contracting or expanding."
"Maybe. Let's check it out anyway. Gotta have everything right for the bigwigs' meeting tonight."
Duo was already moving silently down the accessway in the escape route he had planned. By the time the two maintenance workers had found their keys and opened the access hatch he had originally entered, he was up a level and poised in the junction of two more tunnels, ready to go either way.
Duo listened intently, dropping into the watchful stillness he had learned to use as a child during his thieving forays, patiently perfected during those long waits for a sentry to drop his guard, or move that necessary step or two away from his post. His muscles were loose, but he was alert and ready to move, concentrating on his hearing, his breathing even, slow, and silent.
"See anything?" From the sounds they had made, Duo figured the workers were just standing on the ladder and peering down the access tunnel he'd been occupying only moments before.
"Nope, nothing outta place, and all the indicator lights are green."
"OK. Let's swap out those filters in MB section and call it a day."
"Sounds good."
Duo stayed where he was, closing his eyes to listen better, ensuring that the sounds matched with two workers leaving and latching the hatch. He couldn't be sure they were actually gone, of course, until he braved a look. He glided down to the end of the accessway which opened onto the ladder he'd originally climbed, and edged out carefully... just... enough... to see...
They were gone. Good.
He turned to go back to the junction - it was a good place to sit, with 3 escape routes available - and was shocked to see his own body already crouched there.
Duo froze in place. If his body was over there, then... He carefully looked down at himself. Yup, he was in spirit form again, just a sparkling cloud of soul-motes hovering in the air.
Oops.
End Page Forty One
(:./wingnut/alter41)
