14-Mar-2004
Title: Tetractys
Author: Sol, but archived as Zefyr on FF & MM
Genre: Semi-AU, AU-in-AU, Drama, Sci Fi
Pairings: Wait and see.
Rated: R for the time being
Archived: fanfiction.net and gwaddiction.com
Warnings: Violence, language, adult situations, butchered scientific theory
Archiving: Ask permission for each story separately, please.
Critiques: Always welcome, especially constructive.
Doro frowned at the screen, moving aside so Trowa could read the information more easily. "This doesn't seem right," she muttered. "It's like... he's learning it again. The score here, on---"
"He's not relearning, he's figuring out the system," Trowa answered, but his voice was calm, and a bit preoccupied, as he watched his partner's statistics roll past. "We've used Tauruses and Leos in the past ten years, but not Gundams." He paused, frowning as Duo's score dipped momentarily as he took a hit, then tripled as he came back with a vengeance. Through the door of the simulation room, they could hear Duo cackling madly. Trowa smiled, half to himself. "He just needed a chance to adjust, and stop trying to use his second nature."
"His what?" Doro gave Trowa a perplexed look, but the laconic man didn't seem to be interested in saying much more. Shrugging, she bent her head to the statistics updating on the screen, stunned as they shot up from barely surviving to making such incredible maneuvers that even the computers' antagonist programs had troubles keeping up. Trowa pointed over her shoulder at Duo's kill rate.
"See," he said, and left it at that.
No, I don't, she thought, but now I know he's someone I can use. And next, we'll see if this other Trowa is as good as the one Relena knew.
"Just black, please," Heero said, and Lena nodded as she headed into the galley kitchen.
It was strange to find his voice again, but Lena's wide-eyed look at his silence had made him force the effort. Fortunately Duo's occupied, he thought, or I'd have to hold him off from protecting me again. He sighed, absently wishing Duo weren't occupied. He didn't want to be social, not yet, and certainly not with someone who was the identical image of the girl he'd known. Not identical, he thought, noting some changes, but whether those were due to age, or his own faulty memory, he wasn't sure.
"Here." Lena returned with two mugs, handing him one before she sat down next to him on the bench.
They were waiting outside the small simulation control center, which only fit three or four people. Wufei was waiting his turn, while Trowa spoke with Doro. Quatre had asked to stay in the main control center, reviewing documentation and news reports from the past ten years. Lena looked up and down the empty hallway and sighed, leaning back against the wall. Her shoulders slumped, and she yawned, then smiled.
"Sorry," she said. "It's just... the Heero I knew liked sugar and cream in his coffee."
"Did he?" Heero felt odd, thinking of someone who was him, but not him. "I... never really got into it, I guess. I'm fine with it plain."
"You must be having a hard time with this," Lena replied, her tone muted. "To have to deal with us looking at you and not really seeing you."
Heero shrugged, and sipped his coffee. He didn't know what to say to that, and it seemed his silence was acceptable.
"Did you know... the other me... in your world?" She was staring down at a rip in the knee of her jeans, playing with the small hole. She poked a finger in the hole, wriggling it.
"Yes." Heero wondered what he should say, and settled for, "she was... younger than you are."
"Well, so was the Heero I knew," Lena shot back, and grinned. "When my Heero died... " She paused, and made a face. "I'm sorry, I guess that must be creepy."
"Not really. It wasn't me, after all." He watched the door of the simulation control center, and wondered whether Duo was trying to take the system apart to see the hardware. "Your Heero and I had very different paths."
"True," Lena replied. "And your Relena?"
"Died in an assassination attempt," he said, a bit uncomfortably. "Treize was trying to kill her father, but she and Lady Une were killed instead."
"It was close," she agreed. "In my world, I gave the bomb to Une, and she threw it through the window. That's when I met Dr. J."
"Doctor J?" Heero's head came up, his eyes wide. "You---"
"Yeah," Lena said. "He died during the Mariemaia Invasion, as we call it... He was a bastard. A complete, ruthless bastard, but he loved his Heero. He just wasn't much good at showing things." Her voice faded, and she stared off into the middle distance. "He was never quite the same, after my... our... Heero died."
Heero could only nod, but wasn't sure if that would be true, of his Doctor J. The man had treated him like an adult through the whole of their interaction, if a very small adult, when he was younger. It was a suitable working arrangement, and Heero had no complaints. It had definitely prepared him for the life he'd come to lead. Not all of it, though, he added wryly.
"What is it?" Lena's voice was gentle. "Your turn to go a thousand miles away."
A thousand miles, Heero repeated silently. More like a billion, if time and space can bend. He shook his head, and finished off the rest of the coffee. It was nearly lukewarm, anyway, but it had caffeine, and he needed that, badly. "Just thinking about the Doctor J I knew." He pursed his lips, uncertain, but decided to plunge ahead anyway. "You and your Heero... were you close? Friends?"
"In love," Lena said. Her expression was calm, but when she looked at Heero, something in his face must have surprised her, because she chuckled. "Don't worry. You aren't him. Your eyes... " She shivered, doing her best to hide it, but Heero could see it.
She's so much like my Relena, he thought... but was my Relena ever frightened of me? No. She wasn't. That's why... Heero pondered the reasons, and decided Relena's lack of fear was just one thing that had made him notice her. There were so many things, he thought; and so many things that never happened. To think that someday his Relena might've been afraid of him... He turned away from that thought, instead choosing to laugh at himself for thinking of Relena as his. She had been nothing but a friend...
"You and Trowa and Duo are very close," Lena was saying. "I'm glad the five of you remained friends."
"Yeah... " Heero contemplated that, trying to think of something to say that wasn't too much or too little. "We work together," he finally said.
"Doing what?"
Killing people. Destroying hopes. Ending plans. Heero stared down into his empty mug. "Running missions for the emperor," he told her. He kept his voice flat.
"Emperor... "
"Treize."
"He won, in your world?" Lena's tone was casual, if shaded with curiosity.
Heero nodded. "Nine days, from when he declared war on the Gundams, to the successful incarceration of all five." And ten years later we're still in his prison, he was going to add, then froze as the depths of their escape finally hit him. They might be in a world not their own, but they were now free. He realized his mug was shaking. He jumped, when Lena put her hand on his, steadying him.
"Are you alright?" She cocked her head at him.
"Ah, yeah," he said, too aware of the warmth of her hand on his wrist. He stared at it, and she dropped her hand, scuffing lightly at the thighs of her jeans before falling still. His skin tingled where she'd touched, and it made him feel like he was fifteen again. He couldn't think of what to say. He wasn't sure how to excuse himself, or where he'd go, and he wished Trowa or Duo were around to run interference for him.
Lena seemed to recognize the sudden tension, however, and didn't say anything. The two were quiet, as Lena finished off her own coffee before taking Heero's empty mug and heading into the kitchen. Heero was tempted to watch her as she walked, but instead lowered his head. Staring at his own hands, he considered the questions. If that other him had survived the war, where would he be? At Lena's side, or somewhere else? Now that Treize's leash couldn't reach across worlds, was he free to make his own choices? The idea filled him with a heady joy that was almost frightening in its intensity.
"Yuy," Quatre said, and Heero looked up, startled. Quatre's face was questioning, but quickly melted into impassivity. "I spoke with the barracks manager, and we've been assigned rooms." He paused, and frowned. "Five separate rooms."
Heero shrugged. It might be unfamiliar for Quatre and Wufei, but he had every third night to himself, anyway. And at least this vacation he wouldn't have to come up with a reason to sleep on his own, either. Which meant not having Duo hog all the covers, he thought, and brightened. He looked up to see Quatre watching him, his eyebrows raised.
"You look a bit more happy about that then I expected," Quatre surmised.
"Are the arrangements permanent?" Heero stood up, just as the simulation control center's door opened. Duo stumbled out.
"Man," Duo drawled, shutting the door behind him and leaning against the wall. His legs started to give way, and he let himself slowly slide down until he was sitting on the floor. "That system is a damn *bitch*."
"Which level did they run you on?" Quatre gave Duo an amused look.
"All of them. Started with the first, and went up to twenty before Trowa hauled me out and demanded his turn." Duo yawned, open-mouthed, and stretched lazily. "I could fall asleep right here. Chang's next. Then you two. I think Barton's on the Heavyarms system."
Lena returned, smiling at Duo. Heero noticed there were wet handprints on her jeans, and the black lines of grease were still under her fingernails. He mused over that, trying to remember any time he'd ever seen his own Relena looking less than impeccable. Heero groaned mentally. I have to stop thinking of her as my Relena. My world's Relena, he decided, then amended it to just Relena. This was Lena. Different.
"Heero?"
Heero blinked, realizing Lena was speaking to him, and he nodded perfunctorily. Duo had stood up, and Heero automatically put a hand under the other man's arm, and Lena lead the way. Two hallways down, she stopped. Heero could see Duo's name, neatly lettered, at the door where they'd stopped; the other, across the hall, had his own name.
"These are your rooms. Wufei, Quatre and Trowa are just past you. The rooms are private, but they don't have bathrooms, so you'll have to use the one at the end of the hall." Her eyes dropped, as her cheeks pinked just a little. "They're... coed. We're kind of squeezed for building room."
"Thanks," Duo muttered, reaching out with one hand for the doorknob. "Need sleep." He didn't let go of Heero. As they entered, Duo disengaged from Heero long enough to shut the door behind him. He leaned against the door, one arm tensed as he held himself up by the doorknob, then pushed forward, stumbling once before landing face-down on the bed.
"Shoes, idiot," Heero grunted, kneeling by the bed and untying Duo's boots. He got one off, and reached for the other as Duo rolled over on his back.
"You watch yourself," Duo said.
"I am... Wait... " Heero's head came up. "You seeing?"
Duo snorted and threw one hand over his head, but didn't answer. Heero tugged the other boot off, dropping it noisily next to its neighbor. He stood, but didn't move away from the bed, and Duo shifted his legs to make room. Sighing, Heero sat on the end of the small bunk, his back against the wall. The room was barely large enough for the bed, a small closet, and a bedside table, but there was a fold-down that would probably make a workstation, even if one had to sit on the bed to use it. He pulled his legs up, tucking his knees under his chin.
"Does she seem like Relena?" Duo's voice was muffled from the arm over his face. He prodded blindly with one foot, poking Heero in the hip.
"Some." Heero shrugged. "You saw her."
"You'd know better than I." Duo lowered his arm, but his eyes were closed. "You talked to this one, in the hallway, didn't ya." His lips twisted. "Well, as much as *you* talk."
"We did talk," Heero protested. One of Duo's eyes cracked open, the thin slit of blue vibrant against the stark white sheets and Duo's pale, exhausted face. Duo's eyebrows went up, and Heero realized he must have a rather goofy smile on his face. He glared at Duo, who shrugged and closed his eyes.
"I'm guessing she was more than friends with this world's Heero," Duo muttered.
"Ah... " Heero sighed. "She said they were in love. I guess they knew each other longer... "
"Could be." Duo's foot moved again, rubbing at Heero's hip, a distant yet comforting motion. "You thinking it'll be different here?"
"Maybe." Heero was about to let himself hope, not yet.
"Yeah, well, you be careful anyway," Duo chided him, but his voice was growing thick with sleep. "Don't make me pick up the pieces again."
"You wish." Heero unclasped one arm from around his legs, reaching down to grasp Duo's foot. It stopped moving, but Heero didn't take his hand away. The contact somehow grounded him, making everything around him seem more solid. "There's a lot that hasn't changed."
"It didn't go away."
Heero stared at the lamp, watching as it clicked off, then on. He glanced at the closet door, which opened and closed. "No." Heero exhaled deeply and moved to get off the bed. The blankets yanked themselves out from under Duo, who yelped as he was nearly flipped over on his stomach.
"Hey!" Duo's sputters were lost as the blanket enveloped him, and he struggled for a second before ripping it away from his face. "You could at least warn a guy!"
Heero smirked. "Where'd be the fun in that?"
"Asshole." Duo flipped over on his side, facing the door, and scooted backwards until his back was almost against the wall. He punched the pillow a few times, and settled down. "Be nice to have a night without listening to you snore."
"I'm looking forward to keeping all the blankets to myself."
"Shut up, and turn the light off as you go." Duo pulled the blankets over his head.
"Lazy ass," Heero retorted, then paused. He considered staying, for just a moment, but vetoed it. It would be good to have his own room, he decided. He rather liked the feeling of that, as he rolled the label around in his head. My own room. He wondered if it had a lock. Heero shook his head at his childish questions. The light flicked off as he glanced that way, and the door closed behind him with a soft snick. Idly, he glanced at the doorknob, feeling his way through the mechanism before it locked with a satisfying click.
A minute later, Heero was in his own room, identical to Duo's in every respect, except the bed was empty. Heero sat down on the edge, toeing off his boots. Collapsing backwards, he didn't even bother to pull the blanket over him, but was asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
"I hope our rooms are a long way away," Trowa murmured, leaning against the system console. He'd spoken low enough only for Quatre, but Doro's head came up, although her eyes remained on Wufei's stats.
"They're at the end of the second hall, down to the left, first right, then another right. We're at low capacity right now, since the fighting's focused in the Pacific." Doro whistled as Wufei's score went up again, and she hit the button to move him to the next level. "We may be called on in the next day or two, I suspect."
"Two days, I hope," Quatre said quietly. He glanced at Trowa, his eyebrows raised.
Trowa sighed, and raised one hand, tapping his ear casually. Quatre looked surprised, and Trowa sighed, dropping his head. It felt like it was full of rocks, twisting constantly in a noisy tumbler, but none of the sharp edges were smoothed. Doro's mind was too complex, running on too many channels at once, and it drained Trowa. His legs felt heavy, and the exhaustion of making it through sixteen levels on the training program had taken its toll, as well. Numb, he pushed away from the desk.
"Going to bed, then," he said.
"Your name's on the door," Doro called over her shoulder. "Shit, look at that," she breathed, her attention clearly back on the screen.
Trowa could hear her mind rattling off the statistics, comparing them to his and Duo's. At the same time, she was contemplating the tech engineer's affirmation that Deathscythe's ECM was operational, and calculating the likelihood of moving forces from the Pacific arena to the South American forces, to capitalize on their strengths on this continent. And that's just on the surface, Trowa thought, irritated. He wondered if Quatre's mind moved in as many directions, and had to struggle to keep from yelling at Doro to stop thinking, for just a moment. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and the echoes were muffled, but only a bit. Not enough to make a difference.
"I need them," Trowa breathed, and Quatre nodded.
In the hallway, Trowa exhaled slowly, letting the tension subside long enough to focus on the directions Doro had given him. It didn't take long, and he was standing in front of Duo's door. He knocked quietly, heard nothing, and tried the door. Locked. Frowning at it, he turned and saw another label, with Heero's name. No answer came when he knocked, and it, too, was locked. He considered shouting, hoping the ear implants might make enough noise to wake them, but he doubted it. If they weren't waking at the sound of the knocking, then they were both too far asleep. It was rare any of them could sleep that heavily.
Trowa leaned against the wall, his forehead against the smooth, cold concrete, before pushing away. His eyes half-closed from exhaustion, he barely registered his own name on a label in time, and stumbled into the dark room. From the hall light, he could make out the bed's shape, and that was good enough for him. He shut the door behind him, pausing for a second before locking it. His knees hit the bed and he groaned, sinking down into sleep as other people's dreams filtered into his brain.
"You're going to score the highest from having a night's sleep," Wufei said, sighing as he sank down on the bed. He glared at it, prodding the mattress a few times with a stiff finger. "Crap. This is not what I had in mind for a vacation."
Quatre dropped their bags by the door, and shook his head. "None of them are going to be happy that their packs were left in the meeting room."
"They won't be disturbed," Wufei replied, kicking off his boots before stretching out across the mattress, and pulling the blanket over him. He shifted, moving over to make room. "Doro's word is good."
"Hard to tell... her emotions are pretty sealed," Quatre replied, grunting as he slid in beside Wufei and twisted to lay on his side, facing the door. He reached up and clicked off the small bedside lamp. "It's like... there are so many, they're all muted."
"When she makes a decision," Wufei suggested. "Listen then. Then it's loud and clear. Too damn loud," Wufei said, wincing. "I'd give anything for some aspirin right now."
"Climb over me, then, because I'm not moving." Quatre pushed backwards, until Wufei was pressed against the wall. "Go on. Making room for you."
Wufei scowled. "You're still gloating."
"Hell yeah. Watching the three of you stumble out of there... still not sure why she let Maxwell go through the entire program." Quatre sighed. "She gave Barton sixteen levels, and you seventeen."
"He's a good pilot. Maybe she didn't believe he wasn't pulling a few tricks." Wufei sighed and slipped an arm around Quatre's waist, squeezing closer. "Fuck, I don't know how those three are going to handle it. Separate rooms... " He was quiet for a minute. "Maybe they decided to ignore that."
"Yuy seemed to be looking forward to it, and I'm pretty sure Maxwell and Barton went along." Quatre shrugged, moving one shoulder, too exhausted and worn out to really manage the energy to care. "Their rooms were all occupied."
Wufei was silent, and when he spoke again, the whisper echoed too loudly in the room. "Does it bother you that Meiran's alive? In this world?"
"She's not your Meiran," Quatre pointed out. "She's another Wufei's. And no... not really."
"Makes you wonder, doesn't it... " Wufei was quiet, his fingers trailing back and forth along Quatre's stomach, twitching the fabric of Quatre's shirt. "If here... things can be different."
"Maybe yes, maybe no," Quatre replied, and yawned. "But I don't think... Well, I don't know. But I do know that Barton's catching it all. And Maxwell was too damn exhausted for just two hours in the simulation program. He's gone for six times that---"
"We all have, but not after a day like today," Wufei pointed out. "Maybe Doro figured that out, and went easy on the rest of us." His voice turned surly. He didn't like the notion of having someone go light. It rankled, and Quatre shifted, elbowing him lightly in the ribs.
"Stop pouting," Quatre murmured. "Get some sleep." He waited until Wufei's breath had evened out, and slowly sighed, doing his best not alert Wufei into awakening. Tentatively he reached out, feeling for the rest of his partners, but couldn't pick up anything. He strained, trying harder, and gave up with a choked sigh. It took close contact most of the time, to get past the barrier, and he was left with an odd sensation of emptiness. Trying to put it out of his mind, he sank into dreams, glad that at least he would be one less person battering Trowa all night long.
"We've got the finals on three," Doro said. She leaned back, rubbing her forehead. "Maxwell had a kill count of 42, including two Long. Barton had a kill rate of 47, but only one Long. And Chang managed 39, and five Ho."
"Not bad," came the tinny voice through the speakerphone. The woman's alto, normally refined, was ragged with fatigue. "Any word from L5?"
"Only a few minutes ago," Lena replied. "They've been moved again. She caught rumors they're heading for Northern Europe."
"Probably Bremen, for the trial. I talked to Atropos. She's in China right now, running with the forces there. I expect her back within the week, however, once they've finished demolishing the munitions plant outside Hunan."
"What about Lachesis?" Doro raised her head.
"Radio silence."
"Figures," Lena said, shaking her head. "I'll tell L5 to reconnoiter with you at the Elizabeth Base."
"Roger that," and the voice softened. "Lena, you sound tired. Get some sleep. You too, crazy leader."
Doro snorted. "Luce, you must be exhausted. Open line, woman."
"Not on my end," the voice replied. It chuckled for a second. "You're paranoid. You managed the impossible. I'd expect you to be raving drunk at this point, celebrating."
"The techs already beat us to it," Lena replied, a little dryly. "But I do have a half-bottle of tequila in my quarters."
"I claim no responsibility for that."
"Sure thing, Clotho, you're always the innocent one." Doro stuck her tongue out at the speakerphone.
"Don't make faces at me," the voice retorted. "Go on, you two. I should hear back from Lachesis in the next twenty-four hours, and we'll come up with something. I'm on my way there, but I don't think I'll manage it for a day or two."
"The pacific rim action... " Doro leaned forward, resting her cheek on her fist. "I'm expecting that to swing this way pretty soon. The warships are moving, and they'll be on our doorstep soon."
"Move out, then, to Shenandoah Base," came the answer. "No, I don't want to hear your protests. If you've got the five, then you're going to need at least four or five days before you can throw them out there."
"But---" Lena started to speak, but was cut off by the voice.
"There's no way we'll get the rest of the team out, if we don't have five working together. And if Marco's any example, it'll take at least two days for them to recover. I'm amazed you got them through systems testing."
"I was amazed they didn't collapse or start gibbering in shock," Lena replied. "But they didn't. All five of them, cool as cucumbers on one more walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon."
"I hate it when you mix your metaphors," Doro grumbled. "Makes me think about cucumbers on a jungle gym."
"Maybe you two broke into that stash of tequila already," the voice told them. "And if you haven't, you should. Sleep in, your five definitely will. Clotho out."
The line went dead, and Doro reached forward, hitting the disconnect button. She rubbed her forehead again, and managed a wan smile. Lena was watching her intently, her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah," Doro sniffed. "I want at least three shots. Maybe four."
"I think there's enough of that for both of us," Lena replied, and helped Doro stand. "Come on, let's go celebrate."
"Sure. I don't know what we're fucking celebrating," Doro grumbled, following Lena from the room. The halls were deserted, and Doro crossed her arms as she watched the concrete distance pass under her feet. "We're just gaining more bodies to send off to their deaths."
"Not these five," Lena said, shaking her head.
"You're too damn optimistic."
"You're too damn paranoid," Lena shot back.
"Never said I wasn't," Doro replied. "But I prefer to think of it as pragmatic."
"You do that, but I'll keep hoping," Lena said. "Not like there's much else, at this point."
They said nothing else, the whole way back to Lena's quarters. There wasn't anything to say, to that statement.
End Part 6
(:./sol/tetra6)
