25-Mar-2004
Title: Tetractys
Author: Sol, but archived as Zefyr on FF & MM
Chapter 07 "Yesod, III" --- ONGOING
Story Started: 21 Dec 2003
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.
Lyrics in this chapter are by Kagemihari, and shock of SHOCK, are used with PERMISSION.
Never thought you'd see THAT in a fanfic note, didja. ;D
Heero woke up to a pounding against his door, and immediately reached for the gun that wasn't under his pillow. Startled, he stretched his mind, trying to find a switch, and frowned when it finally clicked on, revealing the room. The pounding continued, and he stumbled from the bed, navigating his way around the debris before unlocking the door and ripping it open. Duo was on the threshold, one hand raised to pound again. The man's braid was half-undone, his eyes wild and wet.
"Heero---" Duo glanced past Heero, and stumbled backwards. "What the *fuck*?"
"No buffer," Heero grunted, stepping out of the way to reveal the extent of the destruction. The lamp was shattered across the room, the fold-down tabletop ripped from the wall and broken in three pieces. The overhead light's cover was laying in shards across the floor, and one light tube hung down, sparking every now and then as it swayed. Even the carpet was shredded, folded back as though thrown about in high winds. Heero sighed and pushed past Duo, closing the door behind him. "I don't know how I'll---"
"Whatever," Duo snapped. "I need you to get Trowa's door unlocked."
He grabbed Heero's hand, and Heero's knees nearly gave out from the relief of feeling the world settle back down to its proper weight. Duo threw an annoyed, desperate look over his shoulder, and Heero nodded, jogging to keep up as they headed down the hallway to Trowa's door. It took only a half-second of concentration and Duo had the door open, throwing himself across the room to the bed.
"Trowa," Duo cried, patting the blankets. "Fuck, where is he?"
"What happened," Heero said, coming up behind Duo and looking around. He knelt down, looking under the bunk, and saw a shape, huddled in the bad. "Trowa," he called softly, feeling Duo crouch down beside him. "Trowa," he called again, but the only response was a soft whimper.
"Thought you were taking a turn," Duo muttered, getting down on his belly and scooting under the bed. His voice was muffled for several minutes, only his legs hanging out from under the bunk, as he coaxed Trowa out from under the bed. "Grab his ankle," came the command, and Heero reached down, pulling Trowa out, with Duo attached.
"Oh, Trowa," Duo moaned. Trowa was in a fetal position, his hands over the back of his neck and his forearms against his ears. He was whispering softly under his breath, and completely unresponsive. Heero helped Duo roll Trowa upright, and Duo moved forward to wrap his legs and arms around Trowa's body, holding the shivering man closely. Duo glared at Heero over his shoulder. "It was your night, damn it. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know," Heero admitted. He sighed, and moved closer, opening his legs to spread them around Duo's. He wrapped his arms around Trowa, pulling in close until his chest was pressed flat against Trowa's back. The man continued to shudder at intervals, his whispering silent but his mouth continued to move as he swayed between them. "I thought... "
"No, you didn't think," Duo snapped. "Fuck, I should've known... "
"How?" Heero glared at Duo. "How did you know this morning?"
"Morning," Duo said, snorting. "I think it's four a.m. That's not morning, that's still night, in my book." He glared right back, but the expression melted into exhaustion when Heero didn't relent. Duo dropped his eyes, one hand running up and down Trowa's arm. "People keep walking past in the hallway," Duo explained. "And... in my dreams... " A flash of pain crossed his face, and he buried his nose in Trowa's hair.
"We've got to get better arrangements," Heero told him.
"Not like we can use your room, now," Duo said, his derision clear despite having his lips against Trowa's neck. "You haven't totaled anything that badly in years. Losing your touch, Yuy."
"Gentlemen, is everything---"
Heero's head came up at the unfamiliar voice, and he looked up to see a young Chinese woman standing in the doorway. She was wearing a flight suit, and had a bag over her shoulder. Vaguely he registered that she looked as fatigued as Duo, but it was swept away by Trowa's sudden whimper as he tried to shrink even more between Heero and Duo.
"Get out," Duo hissed, his blue eyes flashing.
The woman looked startled, then frowned. "If you have a medical emer---"
"Heero!" Duo barked the command, and Heero nodded.
A second later the woman was shoved backwards by an unseen force, and the door was slammed in her face. Heero locked it, for good measure, and the two ignored the woman yelling in the hallway. Trowa's whimpers died down into soft, choking sobs.
"If I fall asleep, will there still be a tomorrow?" Duo began singing in Trowa's ear, more spoken than any recognizable melody, he was singing so softly. "If I fall asleep, will I know it then, if I never wake again?" It was an old song they'd used as a lullaby, during their first years together, but there was no reaction from Trowa.
"We'll need to stay with him," Heero muttered.
"At least one of us," Duo agreed, breaking off before the chorus to look at Heero. "I'm starving. Can you handle getting us food, while I take first shift?"
Heero nodded, and stood, disengaging himself from the tangle of arms and legs wrapped around Trowa. "The bed would be more comfortable," he suggested. It took both Duo and himself several minutes to get Trowa up onto the bed.
Duo promptly crawled back into his spot beside and around Trowa, turning Trowa so his back was to the door. Heero knew that normally such a position would have any of them on full alert, but at this point, it couldn't be helped. He didn't have the strength to fight the barrier to move Trowa without the man's help, and Duo was already panting from the simple exertion. Heero suspected there was something else going on, perhaps an effect of either the training program, or the travel through the bend in space. Without more information, he couldn't be sure.
He was at the door when Trowa's shuddering came back, accompanied by soft moans. The hands that Duo had managed to pull down from around Trowa's head came flying back up, nearly hitting Duo in the nose with the force. Trowa doubled over on himself, crying under his breath as he squeezed at his head with his forearms, as though trying to block out all the sounds.
"No good," Duo said, trying unsuccessfully to pry Trowa's hands away from his head. "Let Winner or Chang know, and let them bring us something. You get back here. It's going to take both of us."
Heero sighed, clicking the 'com switch a few times, waiting for a response as he settled back into the bed. He could feel Trowa's body quivering against his touch, and he sighed, running a hand up and down Trowa's spine as he toggled the switch a few more times, waiting for Quatre or Wufei to respond. Finally, a sleep-heavy voice came over the 'com.
"Alright, shut up, I'm allegedly awake now," Quatre said.
"If I close my eyes... " Duo chanted softly in the background, continuing with the next verse. "... When I open them, will I still be able to see?"
"We need food, and drink," Heero told him. "We're in Trowa's room."
*Rest, sleep, dream, close up... *
"It's... it's night," Quatre replied, groaning. "Or really early morning, as in too early to run errands for you."
*Shut out, shut down, fall away, fall asleep, dreaming... *
"I can't leave," Heero said. "Barton... " He sighed.
"If I should dream an awakening, will I know it is a dream?" Duo's voice gained a little in strength, finding the low, minor-key melody as he began stroking Trowa's hair.
"Just bring us some bread," Heero said. "Some tea, too. Or fruit juice. Sugar packets, if that's all they've got."
"Will this world still be here, on the other side of the dream?" Duo smiled, sadly, as Trowa's whispers faded into humming, echoing the tune of the lullaby. Duo glanced over Trowa's shoulder at Heero, a hopeful expression on his face.
"I think I saw snacks or something in the kitchen area." Quatre's voice instantly sounded wide-awake. "Status?"
"We slept separately," Heero replied, a bit chagrined.
"If I let go of tonight," Duo murmured, "will the morning truly come?"
Heero scowled at Quatre's unspoken response. "Just... knock four quick times, and I'll unlock the door when you get here."
"Understood," Quatre replied. "Be there in ten."
They could hear Wufei murmuring something in the background, and then Quatre's voice faded as the 'com was muted. Heero sighed, stretching out his legs to wrap them around both Trowa and Duo, and leaned his head against Trowa's shoulder. Duo had finally gotten Trowa to lower his arms, but it meant Trowa's hands were now clenching Heero's and Duo's hands, tightly enough to make the bones complain. Duo was still whispering in Trowa's ear, the last refrain of the lullaby.
*Can I know as I fall into darkness, I will wake to find there is still a tomorrow? Is there still hope, and will morning see it come... *
Quatre rubbed his forehead, and wondered whether it was possible to get back to sleep. He could feel tension swirling around him, seeping into his pores, the longer he stayed in the hallway. Barton had calmed down, settling back into sleep, once Duo had managed to get some fruit juice down the man's throat. Hopefully a few hours of rest, and the three would be able to handle dealing with people again.
He looked up to see Wufei stepping from the room they'd shared, already dressed. He was busy with a ponytail holder as he pulled his hair back, snapping the band around it quickly.
"They're idiots," Wufei said, as Quatre walked up.
Quatre rolled his eyes. "Something's going on... when I was in the kitchen, there were two men in there. Unless one of them's waiting for news on delivery of his firstborn, I'd say they're about to head into their first firefight."
"Is five in the morning too early to investigate?" Wufei turned and strode down the hallway, and Quatre kept up easily. "What about Maxwell and Yuy?"
"Yuy trashed his room," Quatre reported. "And I couldn't tell much from Maxwell, but he was focused completely on Barton."
"That'll help stabilize him, then," Wufei said, and cast a glance sideways at Quatre. "You have that in common."
Quatre snorted. "If you call me a mother hen, I will shave your head while you're sleeping."
"Liar."
"Feel free to test the theory," Quatre quipped, letting a lazy grin spread across his face. He was brought up short as a young woman came around the corner, her head down. She slammed into Quatre's chest, jumping back with a scowl.
"Watch where you're---oh my god," she breathed.
"I'm getting tired of that response," Wufei said to Quatre, then looked down at the woman. His face went pale, then, and he stumbled backwards, saved only when Quatre put a hand at the small of Wufei's back, catching him. Wufei didn't notice, his jaw slack as he stared at the woman. "Meiran," he whispered.
"Wufei," she said, and then blinked, stepping backwards. "I... "
She exhaled quickly, blowing several black strands of hair out of her face. The rest of her hair was haphazardly braided into two pigtails, and looked like they'd been caught as she'd removed a helmet, pulling the bands free of the ends of the two braids. Her face was gently rounded, her eyebrows arched, and Quatre was amused to see her surprised and abashed expression bore a great resemblance to Wufei's embarrassed look. A Wufei several inches shorter, Quatre noted, in a flight suit that had seen better days, but showed off her shape nicely, nonetheless.
"Quatre Winner," Wufei said, formally, to get Quatre's attention. "This is Meiran Long."
"Pleasure," Meiran said automatically, bowing crisply to Quatre. "I... " She paused, her lips in a tight line. "Did you check on your friends? I saw them earlier, there seemed to be---"
"It's all settled now," Quatre said quickly. "The adjustment is more difficult than we expected," he added. He swallowed hard, finding it difficult to focus past the anger and desperate pain that had begun pouring from the woman once she'd gotten over her shock. He wondered if it had anything to do with Wufei, and probed deeper.
"Right," Meiran replied, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else.
Quatre withdrew his tentative search, realizing Meiran had all but forgotten they were standing there. Her eyes were fixed on the distant corridor, as though she were hoping they'd let her pass, now. He blinked, glancing at Wufei, who frowned in confusion.
"Long," Quatre said, "what's going on?"
"Excuse me?" Meiran gave him a startled look, which quickly grew suspicious. "I should ask you that. I was thrown out of your---"
Quatre narrowed his eyes, hoping to cut off that line of questioning. "No, there's something else. Are we about to be attacked?"
"Ah... " Meiran stared at him for a minute, and then shook her head. "No... it's too late for that. Come with me, then, and maybe Doro can fill you in. I just... I just want to sleep." She sighed, her shoulders slumping, and pushed between Quatre and Wufei. At her touch, Wufei fell backwards again with a soft gasp, but Meiran didn't seem to notice.
Quatre put a hand on Wufei, and the other man nodded, regaining his composure as they caught up with Meiran, flanking her.
"Too bad we didn't figure out a way to bend time, instead of space," Meiran muttered darkly, half to herself. "Would've been a hell of a lot more useful."
Wufei frowned, but shook his head when Quatre glanced over. They followed in silence, unsurprised when Meiran led them to the meeting room, across the hall from the control room. She barged straight in, the door slamming against the wall in the force of her passage. In the room, Quatre could see Doro coming to her feet, Lena beside her.
"Report," Meiran barked, coming to stand across the conference table from the two women, her arms crossed.
"Nothing," Doro said, and frowned. "You should be sleeping."
"I heard the decoy shuttle was chased as well," Meiran said, a bit stiffly. "I'm not sleeping until you give me confirmation."
"There's no news," Doro told her. "Get some sleep. We'll wake you when we hear."
Wufei narrowed his eyes, and toggled the 'com switch once. Quatre glanced at Wufei, seeing he was staring intently at Doro, and Quatre took a breath before pushing his way through the swirl of emotions in the room. He felt like he was suffocating, between Lena's grieving exhaustion, Meiran's furious desperation, and Doro's tense fear. That made Quatre pause, as he tried to sort out the complex feelings running through the female Sandrock pilot's heart. Doro's face was calm, completely impassive, but behind the mask, she was a swelter of fear, and wanting desperately to get Meiran out of the room, immediately. And according to Wufei, she'd just lied point-blank to Meiran about the lack of news.
Meiran took a step forward to place her palms on the table and lean forward, staring intently at Doro. "Bitch," she spat. "I've known you for far too long to not know when you're lying to me." She pounded one fist on the table, and Lena jumped slightly. Doro didn't even flinch, and Meiran brought her fist up. "Tell me, *damn it*."
"No," Doro said, still composed on the outside, but her fear had spiked dangerously. "Sleep first. You are in no condition to deal with anything more difficult than removing your own flight suit, and even that may require assistance." She nodded to Lena, who stepped around the table, but didn't approach Meiran closer than a few feet.
"Fuck you," Meiran spat. "Tell me! I have the right to know!"
"04," a man's voice interrupted. "We've routed, and bounced twice. Line's secure, and holding."
"Holding," Meiran repeated, looking over her shoulder, past Quatre and Wufei to the young soldier in the doorway. Meiran turned, grabbing Doro by the collar of her shirt across the table, and shook the woman. "What aren't you telling me?"
"*Sit*," Doro snapped, one hand on Meiran's wrist. She twisted it efficiently, and Meiran winced, nearly falling backwards as Doro shoved at Meiran's hand. "Like I said, in no condition," Doro added, and glanced around the room. "Winner, Chang, one of you shut that door. And I want complete silence."
Chang nodded, shutting the door. He leaned against the wall to the right, his arms crossed, and Quatre mirrored him on the other side of the door. Meiran was silent, then nodded, seating herself stiffly on a chair at the table. She glared at Doro, who waited as Lena sat, as well. Then Doro leaned over and hit a button on the speaker box embedded in the center of the table.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Doro said in a calm voice, as though simply greeting a friend for tea.
A bright laugh echoed through the speaker. "No problem, my dear. I'm sure you had fun having your little toy soldiers play at programming, sending the signal everywhere across the planet, so I'll keep this short. Wouldn't want you to waste your time."
Meiran snorted, settling down when Doro shot her a look.
"Get to the point then," Doro snapped. "It's three in the afternoon, and I really would rather be catching a matinee right now."
"Fine," came the reply. "Decoys just don't work these days. Don't you think I learned anything from my father?"
Doro rolled her eyes, and made an obscene gesture with one hand. Something rustled on the speakerphone, and then a new voice came over the line.
"Mommy!"
Meiran was out of her chair in an instant, lunging at the table, her face twisted in fury. Lena was immediately at her side, holding the woman back. It was a testimony to Meiran's exhaustion, Quatre sensed, that she was unable to push past Lena's guard, and he nearly collapsed against the wall from the strength of Meiran's fear drowning out everything else. He could barely make out the rest of the conversation over the blood rushing in his ears. His heart was pounding dramatically, his body flooding with the fight-or-flight endorphins from the vicarious experience.
"Give us 05, and we'll let you have Zhiyi," the voice said.
"And you promised you wouldn't waste my time," Doro replied, hitting the button. The line went dead, and the room was silent for a second. Then Meiran screamed.
"No!" She clawed at Lena, blindly fighting to free herself, and Lena yelped, caught across the cheek by a fist. Meiran twisted in Lena's grasp, and managed to shove the woman away from her. Lena fell backwards, hitting the wall, and Meiran spun on her heel, heading for the door.
Doro was in her way almost instantly. "You are not going out there," Doro commanded. "I'll send---"
"No fucking way!" Meiran hauled back to punch, but Doro dodged. She dropped to her knees, sweeping a leg against Meiran's knees, bringing the other woman to the floor. Meiran was up again immediately, but swaying on her feet. Lena, behind them, was pushing herself away from the wall, a grim look on her face. Meiran's fists were clenched. "I'm going after her!"
"That's what they want, you idiot!" Doro dodged another punch, and slammed a fist into Meiran's stomach. The shorter woman gasped, her eyes going wide, before she slowly fell to her knees, coughing. Doro moved with her, taking Meiran by the shoulders. "I know, I know," Doro said, gently. "But I'm not sending you into a trap."
"She's all I have left," Meiran moaned, trying to get to her feet, and failing. "I can't... "
"We'll go," Quatre said. He'd seen enough. "Tell us where to go, give us Gundams, and we'll bring her back."
"You can't," Doro replied, twisting to look up at him. "The effects of the space-bend are going to be messing with your systems for at least another twenty-four hours, possibly longer."
"How do you know?" Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Brought any other Gundam pilots through?"
Doro frowned. "Two scientists."
"They're not Gundam pilots," Wufei replied.
"Your point?" Doro leaned closer to Meiran, holding the woman down as Meiran tried again to get to her feet.
"We're not your average men," Quatre said, moving away from the wall to stand over Meiran. He took a deep breath, pushing away at the emotions struggling to cloud his judgment. "There are three Gundams in there. If they want 05... I say we give them an 05." He glanced over his shoulder to see Wufei looking pleased.
"I'll go with you," Meiran announced.
"Oh, shut up, you stubborn moron," Doro told her, but there was no malice behind the tones. Doro sighed. "You have to sleep. You just came in from a six-hour flight, after a two-hour pitched battle. The only thing you'd manage right now is falling asleep at the controls."
"Take the X-15," Lena said, very softly. The tone was quiet enough to draw attention, and Quatre looked over to see Lena's drawn face. "Take Nataku, Shenlong, and Sandstone."
"Shenlong's only eight-five percent complete," Doro protested. "That's suicide. And they've not piloted Gundams in ten years! We can't expect them to---"
"Don't underestimate us," Quatre told her, a bit coldly. "Show us to the Gundams, and give us coordinates for our destination." He stared down at Meiran's hopeful expression. "And hope it's at least an eight hour flight, because you won't be worth much with even a moment's less of sleep." He waited until Doro nodded, and Lena stepped forward.
"Depart in an hour," Lena said to Doro, as she walked past. "Gentlemen, follow me, and I'll introduce you to the other reason our Gundams are different than what you may remember."
The knock at the door was sharp, four raps and silence. Heero looked up, rubbing his eyes, and reached out, feeling the tumblers move as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, revealing Wufei.
"We have to ship out," Wufei said, without preamble. "I came to tell you personally, rather than announce it while walking down the hall." He shut the door behind him, moving to the bed, where Duo and Trowa lay in exhausted slumber. Wufei sighed, and glanced at Heero, his expression irritated. "What idiocy prompted you to split up?"
Heero growled, and ignored the question. "All five? Where to, and how soon?"
"No," Wufei replied, shaking his head curtly. "Meiran's... daughter was in a decoy shuttle, and it seems Mariemaia has her, now. We're going after her, with Meiran."
"We?"
"Quatre and I."
"Location?"
"Old Moscow." Wufei ran a hand through his hair, and pulled out his hair band, letting the black strands fall down around his face. "The other Wufei fathered a child," he whispered. "She's eleven, now... "
"It wasn't you," Heero said, unable to find the energy to sound anything more than flat. He could feel everything around him twitching, aching to float upwards, as though he were trapped in zero-G. Heero moved closer to Trowa, relaxing as the sensation faded. "You'll need back-up."
"We're our own back-up," Wufei said. "They're expecting 05, alone. They're going to get double. Triple, even."
"How? You can't both fly Shenlong."
"They have a second 05 Gundam. Meiran's is Nataku," Wufei said, and his voice sounded hoarse for a minute. Heero had no time to reflect on that, as Wufei's professional mask fell back into place. "I'll be taking Shenlong. But you three have to prepare to ship out, as well. Doro wants us gone from this base, within the next two hours, regardless of destination."
"Why?" Heero frowned, and Trowa stirred in his sleep. Instinctively Heero put a hand on Trowa's shoulder, rubbing softly until the other man quieted. Wufei caught it, and gave Heero a puzzled look. "It's bad," Heero said, and left it at that, returning to his original question. "Why?"
"The control center just got news that there are battalion ships heading in this direction, and should be here within twenty-four hours," Wufei explained. "That's all I caught. I don't have much time. The shuttle should be in the departure lane, now. Doro wants you out of here so you can have more time to acclimate, and to work with the Gundams they've built." He sniffed. "Which aren't entirely complete, either, apparently. Their troops can handle what's coming, but she wants us elsewhere."
Heero nodded, and Wufei bowed, a strangely formal gesture.
"Unusual to have a mission apart, after so long," Heero murmured.
"Like old times, Yuy," Wufei replied, and he was quickly gone.
Heero watched the door slip closed behind his teammate, and sighed. Leaning forward, he shook Trowa gently. "Hey," he said, "we've got to get up, now."
Trowa mumbled something, sitting up, and Duo stretched beside him, yawning and slipping back into sleep. Trowa's eyes weren't focused, and Heero had to guide him to a sitting position at the edge of the bed. Heero leaned over, calling Duo's name until Duo woke up as well, making a face before trying to roll over and go back to sleep.
"Come on, damn it," Heero said. "You two are useless in the morning."
"Better than being useless all the time like you," Duo replied, his tone cranky. He yawned again, and sat up. "Feels like we just got here, and now we're getting moved right along. Hell, you sure we're not still in the same universe?"
"You caught all that?"
"Hard to sleep when there are people chattering on around you," Duo said. He grinned and stood, guiding Trowa to a standing position as well. Keeping one arm around Trowa's waist, Duo turned to Heero. "Or maybe we just have some kind of secret tattoo on our foreheads that tells people they can ship us about to do their bidding, regardless of universe?"
"Idiot," Heero replied. "Let's retrieve our stuff and go find out when we leave."
The shuttle was crowded, and even Heero eyed the people with some trepidation. Trowa was slowly coming out of his shell, and Duo was fussing about the likelihood of another episode if they were to spend four hours in flight with that many people around. Duo kept shying away from people moving past, their bags and belongings in their arms. Duo finally shouldered his pack, turning so his front was to Trowa, with Trowa's pack forming a barrier on the other side. Trowa's head was down, his jaw tense. Duo glanced past Trowa to Heero, his eyebrows raised.
"Doro says there's a private room, that we've been assigned, away from the seating," Heero said. He watched another group of men and women shuffle their way on board, and regretted not getting there earlier. Unfortunately, people were already loading by the time Doro had decided the traffic patterns for each shuttle.
"No choice, Duo," Heero said, and put his hand on Trowa's arm, steering the taller man towards the shuttle. Duo tensed, falling into step beside, but remaining close by Trowa.
Soon they were in line, and Heero noticed Duo flinching as more people bumped against him. The man's face was pale, creased in pain as he huddled closer to Trowa. It was too many people, for too long a duration, and Doro's comments to Heero had led him to conclude that there was precedent for lowered immunity and heightened sensitivity for others coming through the bend. And that, he had deteremined, was for people without their skills, assuming the two scientists didn't have his team's adaptations. Heero could only reason that the exposure to this many people, as well, after a night of seclusion, was only compounding the problem. He swore under his breath.
"Lock-down mode," a man yelled, waving a beacon in a complex series of arcs. There was movement in the shuttle's pilot window.
Duo reeled backwards at the shout, slamming up against Trowa. Before Heero could react, Duo crumpled to his knees, moaning. He put his hands down on the hangar floor, trying to push himself upright. His arms were shaking so badly he couldn't manage it, and he sank back down just as Heero got to him, pulling Duo up to a kneeling position. Duo's eyes had rolled back in his head, and Heero shook him gently. Trowa, above them, leaned over, placing his hand on Duo's head, and hissed.
"Sabotage," Trowa said. The word was lost in the press of people around them, but Heero caught it loud and clear through the 'com. Trowa caught Duo's hand, and stood up straight, studying the crowd around them. Duo cried out softly, twisting in Heero's arms.
"Anything?" Heero looked up at Trowa.
"Hold on... *there*," Trowa announced. In the blink of an eye, he'd dropped his pack and pulled out the gun holstered at the seat of his jeans. Several people near Trowa saw the gun and pulled back, uncertain, but Trowa ignored them. Leveling the barrel at the one mental voice he'd selected from the forty around him, Trowa pulled the trigger.
The ricochet echoed through the hangar. Several people screamed, backing away quickly. The body was twenty feet away, the head mostly gone. The crowd had pulled back, allowing clear sight from Heero's position by Trowa's feet, down to the bloody mess that remained. Trowa nodded and holstered his gun.
"Under the left engine, just ahead of the asymmetric nozzle entry point," Trowa said, without looking over his shoulder. He reached down, helping Duo to his feet, as Heero stood behind them.
Heero moved away from the two men, just a step, and focused, feeling the belly of the shuttle. The people milled around, as more men appeared, several speaking to Trowa, but Heero ignored them. There was a small box, up inside the belly, resting within a tangle of electrical wires and attached to the underside of the entry point. Heero probed it experimentally, and wondered if his hands were shaking. It had been a long time since he'd needed to move something, blind, and it was like feeling his way through a dark room while his hands were wrapped in cotton and his ears were plugged. He swallowed hard and steadied himself, moving into the box's interior. Heero exhaled sharply, uncertain.
"Duo," Heero said, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead. "Need to know short-term."
Duo's head came up, and he took a deep breath, nodding. Trowa was still explaining the situation to the five men in uniforms, and Heero could see other people cleaning up the body. The crowd had pulled back, and few were approaching the shuttle. Most were watching Heero and his partners, their movements nervous but quiet. Trowa's words drifted into Heero's awareness.
"Saboteur," Trowa was saying. "Now is not the time... check his pockets, there should... confirming the bomb's placement... No, I... just go look... " Trowa paused, and toggled the 'com to get Heero's attention. "Green wire will blow the shuttle and everything in here. Blue wire will disable."
Heero vaguely registered the five men with Trowa exchanging baffled looks. He glowered at the back of Trowa's head. "I'm feeling my way, here! I can't see the fuckin' colors, Barton!"
"Barton?" One of the men stared at Trowa, then leaned past him to look at Heero. The man backed up, quickly, whispering something Heero couldn't catch. Trowa, meanwhile, was silent, and Duo shuddered, swaying. Trowa caught Duo gently, and bent down, slinging Duo over his shoulder. Duo's braid fell, slapping against Trowa's calves.
"From the opening," Trowa said. "Not the side attached to the entry point, but the lower side, reaching up, the first wire is green. The second, above that and to the right, is blue."
Heero nodded, and concentrated. He could feel the first wire, a thick, stiff vinyl feeling that made his skin crawl. Above that were two more, and he struggled for a second, uncertain. Heero probed farther, trying to feel around the wires without moving them, clenching his fists to keep the bomb perfectly in place rather than smash it like his power wanted. Slowly, cautiously, he let his senses feel the next few wires, stopping as he reached a second one that felt similar to the first. He took a breath, and ripped the wire in two. It held for a heartbeat, then shredded under his touch, and Heero opened his eyes.
"We're still here," Trowa said, his voice tight but amused. "Duo," he added, and then sighed. "Done."
"Ah," Heero replied, and bent down to pick up Duo's and Trowa's packs as well. "Go."
Trowa nodded and put a hand on Heero's shoulder, pushing him towards the shuttle. The crowd parted before them, and no one said a word. The five men in uniform remained where they were. Heero considered pushing everyone backwards, and decided against it. The only thing he wanted, at that point, was a long hot shower, a day's worth of sleep, and some answers. He doubted he'd get any of the above.
End Part 7
(:./sol/tetra7)
