Title: Death & the Phoenix
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4
Author's Notes: Up until now we had a whole lot of Duo torture, but this
is where is starts it actually turn into a story... hold on a little longer. Plot
gets a little thicker here. Also wanted to mention that I don't know the
specifics on how and when Duo stole Deathscythe or the history behind the L2
plague so I have a little creative fiction there. Just wanted those who know
that stuff not to be too awfully disappointed in the inaccuracies.
Warnings: Language, fluff, Duo-torture, angst, some slight OOC, maybe
some spoilers, liberal literary use of characters that I don't own, the usual.
Duo glanced again at the clock on the wall of Sally's small office. They were all seated around it waiting for the other guests to show. There were also three very conspicuous chairs left open on the far end of the oval table. Quatre, having only slept for three hours, had gone with Trowa to get coffee and tea for everyone. Wufei was skimming over some papers, feigning interest in what he was reading. Heero was drumming his fingers on the top of the table and looking tense enough to snap if a breeze hit him the wrong way.
"Heero, you're tap dancing on my last nerve." Duo said quietly glancing at his drumming fingers.
"They're late." Heero replied instantly stilling his hand.
"You noticed." Snorted Wufei not bothering to look up from his reading. Heero shot him a glare anyway, and resumed his drumming.
Duo was about to tear his hair out. He had hardly slept in anticipation of the news he'd hear this morning. He spent most of the night pacing in the common room, until Trowa came in and told him to go to bed. Quatre was due anytime, keeping Trowa up, but it didn't make any sense why the light was still on in Wufei's room or why Heero had decided to sleep on the couch in the lounge instead of their bed. He wanted to ask him, but thought better of it after seeing how sullen Heero was that evening. Even after he crept into bed, he couldn't seem to find any peace. He opted instead to read more from the book of Shakespeare the priest had loaned him until he drifted off.
They had all gone about their routines in the morning in silence and skipped breakfast all together, seeing that no one seemed to have an appetite for it. During classes there was an eerie tension that seeped down every hall and kept the other students a fair distance from the five pilots. They got a few meek glances and some distinct whispers of 'good morning' but it was as if everyone woke that morning and found themselves walking on a delicate spread of eggshells.
It made Duo jumpy and anxious, and he found some of his old habits clicking into place from L2. He was constantly checking for various escape routes, noting everyone's positions in the hall and rooms. Listening for anything that sounded out of place. He realized how moody he had been in the past weeks as well, and tried to clear his head of the negative thoughts that were creeping up on him. They skipped out early that day, and Duo had tried to talk to Heero before going to Sally's, but met with the stony countenance that he had first encountered with Heero. It was as if Heero took a giant step backwards, putting space between them in the past few weeks. Space enough for planets to collide and turn to dust in Duo's mind.
His imagination and paranoia was working on overtime all day, and even now in the relative safety of Sally's hidden office, he couldn't decide if the ticking from the wall clock was normal, or if he was being hypersensitive to the fact that it moved a half second behind. He shot a glance to Heero who was staring off into space. He had been acting strange ever since he got home from meeting the Priest. Duo thought it was that he was still angry or worried for the disappearing act he'd pulled, but Heero never said anything more about it. Shaking his head he concentrated on waiting.
Trowa and Quatre returned a very short time later, bringing with them steaming cups of various beverages. Trowa sat between Duo and Quatre. Duo didn't realize how anxious he was until he felt Heero put his hand over his own to keep him from cracking his knuckles again. Duo expected him to remove it when he acknowledged Heero, but he left it there and gave a small smile, instantly making Duo's whole body relax. He was about to speak when the door to Sally's office opened. They all rose as she and two doctors entered the room, exchanged pleasantries, and sat down across from the five pilots.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, gentlemen. Especially Mr. Winner, I understand that you flew a great distance to be here today." One of the doctors said, smiling at each of them. Seeing the varying degrees of irritation and hostility he looked to Sally for help.
"Gentlemen, this is Doctor Diaz and Professor Nobles. They have been reviewing Duo's tests and charts and are here to discuss what they have found. The reason you have all been asked to attend this meeting is because some of the test results lead us to believe that Duo is not an isolated case. He is just presently the only one showing symptoms."
"What are you saying? That what I have is contagious?" Duo interrupted.
"No. You are not carrying anything that can endanger anyone around you." Doctor Diaz said quickly grabbing a file and opening it to a section for Duo to look at.
"Yeah, I've seen the damn tests. I was there after all." Duo took a deep breath. They were dancing around the issue at hand. Why where they all here and what the hell was wrong with him?
"Duo, please." Quatre shot him a look and Duo held his tongue.
"Mr. Maxwell, how much do you know about molecular biology and cell replication?"
"Enough to know what happens when you fuck with Mother Nature." He answered impatiently.
"Yes, well, it seems that you have had some severe modifications to your systems. You all have. At a cellular level." Professor Nobles opened each of the five files and passed them to the respective pilot. "As you can see in these files, the Professors and Scientists who treated you during your training made certain adjustments to your basic body systems. The cellular modifications range from simple tissue enhancements to full blown experimental techniques in the reorganization of your cell structure. Things like muscle mass, agility, dexterity etc." He paused and looked at each of the boys thoughtfully. "There are certain risks associated with the these augmentations. Did you all understand what you were getting into?"
"That is not a relative to our present situation." Heero spoke for the first time in his perfect monotone tinged with barely contained menace.
"I believe that what Heero is saying is that at this point the training and the modifications we had done is in the past. We have all been aware of the certain necessary 'adjustments' that were needed in order for us to pilot the Gundams." Wufei said, closing his file. "There is nothing in these files we don't already know."
"I'm afraid you are incorrect, Chang Wufei." Doctor Diaz handed each pilot another folder from a small satchel on the floor. "These files show that you all have gone through some other experiments in varying degrees. Some you may not be aware of. Mr. Winner and Mr. Barton for example, have had much less done to them seeing how they were brought into the Operation at unexpected times. Everything is clearly noted by the Professor or Scientist treating you. I do not believe you have had access to these files, seeing that we have only just come across them."
"Where did you find them?" Trowa asked.
"I got them." Sally answered quietly. "They were recovered after some Resistance Fighters blew a compound where Lady Une was known to be training some new recruits. When they went through the place they came across some very interesting correspondence and these files on you five. You are not named and there are no photos, but they're definitely you guys."
"Are they planted?" Heero inquired.
"As far as we can tell, they're legit. They are from Master Treize's personal documents." She answered calmly. "In Duo's file we came across correspondence to some high level bureaucrats in the L2 colony from members of the original Alliance. At the time, a plague was running rampant and unchecked killing hundreds of people. They didn't have the resources to afford the vaccine for everyone, so it was only given to those who could pay. The general public was given something else."
"What were they given?" Wufei asked gravely.
"A placebo of the original vaccine, it was injected by syringe to get it into the bloodstream as quickly as possible. It was meant to help the immune system keep white cells from decaying, giving the patient a better chance of fighting the illness and surviving. However, harsh side effects that in an affluent colony that could have been dealt with a round of antibiotics, actually caused far more damage and slower deaths." Sally looked to Duo whose eyes looked distant and whose frown deepened further. "The placebo was Anitum-55, produced by labs run by the Alliance, and later Oz after the coup. In most people the white cells simply burst apart, instead of stabilizing. Most of the poverty stricken people on L2 at the time actually died from this, not the L2 plague. When Alliance officials saw that the placebo was not going to work, they produced the more expensive vaccine and distributed it to the rest of the colonies. Earth, however, was never immunized."
Duo's mind flashed to all the people he knew who died their slow agonizing deaths on L2. The children on the streets, the prostitutes, the pimps, the poor. Dying in gutters and alleys, in abandoned hotels and bombed out shelters. He had stolen Deathscythe to try to make a change, to force people on the Earth to notice the struggles of the L2 colony. He was never a part of the original Operation Meteor and only agreed to the modifications so he could better fly his Gundam. After the destruction of Maxwell Church, he swore to avenge them. Duo could feel the slow burn start from his gut as it slowly crept through his body. He had been able to contain the building rage, focusing on the information that was being presented, but when he found that G himself was keeping secrets from them after everything they have been though he could feel his control beginning to falter. They had been guinea pigs. "How severe is the threat?"
"I think it would be best if you read the file yourself." Professor Nobles answered.
He passed the new files out and sat back down, crossing his hands in his lap and watched carefully as the boys read through the information.
Wufei glanced at the first few pages and then closed it, adding it to the other file and stood. "What does all this have to do with Duo's illness?"
Duo looked up from his reading with an unreadable expression on his face. He held the papers with a white knuckled grip and was slowly beginning to tremble with suppressed fury. "I'll tell you what. The people of L2 were nothing more than fuckin' lab rats, not people! It was a great way to get rid of all the garbage on L2 and testing an experimental drug. They found themselves a powerful biological weapon all the while pretending to help the people on that colony!" Duo's pitch became higher as he got himself wound up. "I wasn't going to take vaccine. I was going to give it to one of the kids who really needed it, but in the end... when my only friend died on the street, before I went to Maxwell's church, I didn't want to give it to any of the kids in the orphanage. I didn't want them to get sick from me being a carrier, so I took it." Trowa and Wufei both stood as Shinigami's tell tale characteristics began to glint in Duo's eyes. Eyes that had turned a dark shade of purplish-black with rage.
"Duo, please, calm down. You getting all upset isn't going to help you, and we don't want to risk a seizure, please." Sally stood and moved to where he was seated but kept an arm length away from the now seething pilot.
"Your systems are deteriorating, Mr. Maxwell. The procedures you underwent in order to operate the Gundam at maximum efficiency have caused a reaction with the Antium-55 you had taken. The problem is without knowing the exact vaccine that was given to inoculate the L2 plague, there is no way we can reverse your system deterioration. Your systems will shut down one by one until you're dead. I'm afraid the only thing I can do is make suggestions on how to slow the process and make you more comfortable." The room was quiet while the information sunk in.
Duo was still shaking, but now had his head bowed, his long bangs shielding his face from view of the other people in the room. "So I'm gonna die from the very thing I tried to protect everyone from in the first place." He let out a bitter laugh that sounded hollow and flat as it bounced around the office walls.
Trowa sat down and took Quatres hand. Wufei stopped his pacing, but remained standing next to Heero, whose brow was creased in concentration as his brain processed the data he was being given. Heero suspected it was something along these lines. He knew that the L2 plague was not just an odd strain of bacteria that popped up on that colony. He knew it had been a deliberate planting to cleanse the colony before Operation Meteor could take place. He was only a child, but J had him read the files. It was something few knew anymore and something he didn't want Duo to know. One more blow and the Deathscythe pilot could go off the edge and due something rash.
With the overthrow of the Alliance and the formation of Oz, data on the original L2 plague, Anitum-55, and even Operation Meteor had slipped through the cracks. His objectives were becoming convoluted. He needed to contact J as requests further instructions. His thoughts were broken as Quatre began speaking in a clear, concise manner that reminded them all of his leadership during stressful times.
"Basically, if Oz discovers that Antium-55 can cause this type of damage, it would be a very dangerous weapon, correct?" Quatre folded his hands neatly on the table in front of himself and looked at each person in the room.
"If Oz is developing it as a biological weapon, the potential for massive exposure to it is very high."
"But if they are making a biological weapon, they will also develop the vaccine in case of accidental exposure to their own people. It's the only logical thing to do." Trowa commented.
"The L2 plague was an epidemic that was resolved in the early years of AC 185. The labs that made the original A-55 and L2 vaccine have been turned over to Oz when they took over power from the Alliance. They may have records, but I doubt if any original antigen or the vaccine actually exists any longer."
"So we need to find one of these labs, infiltrate it, and get whatever we can from it." Trowa spoke quietly keeping a hand on Quatre's knee.
"It's a long shot, but possible." Sally replied. "If Oz discovered A-55, it could used as a very dangerous biological weapon. Duo's case is rare. The only reason he's still alive is due to the extensive modifications he underwent to pilot Deathscythe. But people in places like Sanq or the countries that are resisting Oz and White Fang could be wiped out in the matter of days. It's that serious."
Duo raised his face to the others, a feral smirk on his lips and malice sparkling in his violet depths. Both Nobles and Diaz took a long calming breath and remained silent. "If there's a chance to stop this from happening on the Earth, I want it." Wufei, Quatre and Trowa all nodded in agreement. Nobles and Diaz excused themselves leaving Sally with the five young men in the room. Once they left, Duo turned on Heero and pinned him with a fierce glare. "You knew."
"Heero and I had our suspicions." Sally answered quietly.
Duo ignored her and kept his eyes on Heero, who rose and was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. "When?" He demanded.
"When you had your seizure." Heero answered without opening his eyes or changing his controlled tone of voice.
"Why didn't you say something?" Duo was between shocked and irate.
Heero opened his eyes and looked at Duo. He didn't want to cause him pain, and he risked ruining the delicate relationship that was blooming between them, but he had no right to keep anything from Duo, especially now that he had an idea of what was going on. "I needed to assess whether you were going to be a liability or not and if we needed to do something about the A-55 threat. The L2 plague happened long before I was sent to Earth. When you became ill, I contacted J to get all the data I could on your symptoms. I later realized they mimicked the influence of A-55 in one's system. I wanted to wait until the time was right to act on my suspicions."
"Time?! Well shit Heero. That's one thing I just don't seem to have a whole lot of." Duo shoved the chair out of his way and stood in front of Heero. Wufei made a move to calm him down, but was stopped by Trowa who held his arm loosely and shook his head. "You knew. You knew that this shit I was going through could have been linked to the crap those sickos did to us on L2, and you said nothing! They just used us!" A small trickle of blood began to drip from Duo's nose as he ranted and raved around the room.
"Duo, my objectives were not to discover the truth behind the L2 plague, I was following different mission parameters when I came to Earth and even after meeting all of you, those parameters have not changed. My mission is to destroy my enemies, to follow my instructions, to end this war. If A-55 becomes a treat it will be dealt with." Heero's firm monotone was the only noise in the room.
Wufei, Trowa and Quatre couldn't disagree with the Wing pilot. Although this new information was brought to light about the tragedy on L2 all those years ago, it didn't change their present situation. If Oz was planning to use A-55 as a biological weapon against the Sanq kingdom or anyone else for that matter, they had to stop them. Once the information was relayed to their contacts, their mission would be clear. Destroy the labs and find the vaccine to prevent the L2 plague to be unleashed on Earth. Revenge would have to wait.
Duo understood too. Something in the back of his mind always nagged at him about how convienient the L2 plague was at the time. How the vaccine appeared so easily for the richer people on his home colony and that even stealing it from the Alliance compound had proved too simple for a small boy. He wound up stealing Death for them. He gave it to everyone he loved in tiny plastic syringes that promised life. He was a fool then and he was a fool now. Heero knew and didn't tell him, didn't trust him. All the pain, the guilt, the hope, and the promises overwhelmed him. He didn't even know who he was fighting for anymore. "Yeah, I volunteered to come to Earth too, to try to make a difference, for peace, to avenge the deaths of all those that have suffered, but you? You were just following orders. It doesn't really matter who gets hurt along the way as long as your mission doesn't fail. Well, guys this time Death's coming, and I'm bringing Hell with me." He let out a bitter laugh bordering on the hysterical and stormed from the room.
End Part 9
(:./ebony/death9)
