by

revised: 13-May-2000

Title: Wings
Author: AKI
Warnings: Inadequate action description galore, and horrid lack of Gundam-savvy. Please, if you can help, feel free to.
Spoilers: Not that I'm aware of.
Feedback: C&C welcome!!! If you spot technical problems, scientific impossibilities, OOC, anything, please, tell me. I'll fix it as well as I'm able. And of course, comments on the fic in general are always cool. ^_^ Grill me if you feel so inclined...I'm fairly flame-retardant.
Disclaimers: Ahh, GWing. What I would do to own it...What I would do if I did. *grin*
Hooray for Gundam Wing! And long live Shinigami. I mean, how can you not love him? He's a fifteen-year old terrorist who dresses like a priest, calls himself a god, and has an emotional investment in his hair! Hence this fic--my sad, sad attempt at a tribute.

Viva Duo Maxwell!!

Wings by Aki

Part One

He stared at the information scrolling across the screen. "Ninmu..."

A cheerful whistle and an equally cheerful bang of the door signaled his roomate's return. Duo bounced into the room, exuding steam and shampoo. Behind him flopped a chestnut mass which was still dark and heavy with moisture. As he threw himself onto the narrow dormitory bed, the wet spikes at the bottom of the river down his back flung a few drops onto the laptop's monitor.

Heero looked up and scowled.

"So, whatcha got?" Duo asked, undeterred by his fellow pilot's dark expression. "More orders? A new mission? Geez, and I haven't even found a port to hack into the main database yet." He blew at his bangs and rested his chin in his hand. "The security here is amazing...It's hard to believe it's an ordinary base we're after. I haven't even seen some of the encryption used on the inner access gates before. Either I'm getting slow on the job--" he patted his chest in fond disbelief, "or this base has some serious technology up its sleeve." "Forget the base."

"It doesn't matter, though, I'll crack it eventu--what?"

"New orders."

Duo stared at him in disbelief. "What's more important than the base?"

"Sleep."

"Nani? Heero, what the hell are you talking about?" He sat cross-legged, brush in hand, eyes wide and puzzled.

"It's time to sleep. Turn off the lights; the monitor comes in twenty seconds."

"What's the mission?"

"Later."

"But--" The monitor's footsteps sounded in the hall. "Aw, hell." He slid off the bed and lunged for the lights. "There are some disadvantages to being in school, though it's nice not to have every person you meet trying to blow your head off."

After the footsteps had faded he turned to Heero, who had become a shadowy lump in the adjacent bed. "Now tell me." There was no answer to his request, and with a sound that was half-chuckle, half-sigh, he turned his attention to his hair. A few short weeks with the silent boy and already he knew that it was useless to try to get him to talk. "Probably asleep already," he mumbled to himself, wincing as the brush snagged. He lifted up the heavy lock and moved through it slowly, fingers working deftly to loosen the tangle.

From the other bed, Heero watched with half-lidded eyes. There was no moonlight in his corner of the room, but he kept them open at just a slit. He needed to sleep, but he could feel them, brushing against his mind. Whispers and unwanted things. He refused to yield to weakness at this time, at any time, even before he slept. Especially then. Instead he watched as Duo held a chunk of hair in his fist, making a murmur of satisfaction as the brush passed through it smoothly. The process was repeated many times, until finally the hair hung evenly all around his head. He waited for the boy to flop over with tired enthusiasm.

Instead he saw his back, edged with light. What was the boy looking at? After a few moments Duo turned away, head lowered, face utterly blocked by a curtain of hair. With a sudden motion he flung it back, and the strands gleamed softly as they flew through cold light. Under deft hands the long brown braid began to sprout. Heero shut his eyes.

In the morning he rose and dressed, quickly and mechanically. He glanced at the laptop, but the orders were the same as they had been last night. He looked at the other bed, where Duo sprawled between the sheets. "Get up," he said hoarsely.

Duo didn't move. He walked beside the bed and shook his shoulder. "Mmf...not time yet...lemme sleep s'more, Sist--" He stopped and suddenly was awake, blinking his eyes at Heero painfully. Then he yawned, sat up and looked at the clock. "Oi, what's the matter? It's still forty minutes to breakfast."

"You must be briefed on the mission before classes start. Our orders were urgent."

Duo's gaze fixed on his face. "Right. Tell me the details."

"The target is only fifty miles northeast from here. It is contained within the forest where we left the mechas and will be nearly invisible. We are to destroy all structures and search for hidden storage areas."

"Fifty miles..." Maxwell's brow wrinkled beneath the bangs. "That's right next to the base, man."

He did not speak immediately. "It is not a base."

"Not a base? But we were informed that there was an OZ military station here! I've been trying to get my hands on the plans for a week! How can there not be a base?"

He clenched his teeth, and went on. "The facility produces experimental technology which could allow OZ to install electro-magnetic field generators in their mechs."

"Research...that explains the tight security. Wait--electro-magnetic? How is that possible?"

"They've found a way to contain the force field." He watched his roommate's eyes widen.

"Contain the field? So that it doesn't affect their own operation? Man, if they could get it to produce voltage in bursts, we'd get our circuits fried in no time! You mean they'd be able to short out even the Gundam's nervous system?"

He nodded grimly.

The pilot ran a hand through his hair. "That's bad news, all right. How far are they on this, anyhow? Am I gonna have to proof Shinigami against this just yet?"

"This is the only facility which has begun researching this possibility. According to the report they have not yet succeeded, but most likely they will. However, if we destroy the critical findings, they may not be able to resume progress for at least two years."

The other boy digested the information. "Hey--a project like that's gotta be heavily guarded. How many mobile suits you think they got up there?"

He turned away. Behind him, Maxwell stood and slapped him on the back. "Oi, cheer up! Nothing we can't handle. So, what's the estimate? Thirty? Fifty?" Duo stopped, and inspected what he could see of the glowering face. "So it's more. Eighty? Or do we not know?"

He couldn't stand it. "I said it's not a base!" he snarled.

Duo moved around him and put a hand on his shoulder. "So what's that mean?"

"Zero. The answer is zero. The facility is unguarded." He jerked out of the suddenly nerveless fingers, and saw the face blanch.

"You mean..."

He nodded again, before leaving the room. "The target is civilian."

AKI-babble: The unnamed faction in this fic may very well be the Romafeller Foundation. I know very little about the storyline, so I am fuzzy on details, but that was the implication. More evidence to that effect (hopefully accurate) will be revealed later. ^_^ I've only seen about a fourth of the series, so you'll have to be patient with me when I massacre the True Order of Things.

The bell rang and he got to his feet, shuffling with the other students to the door.

"Heero! Wait up."

He strode on. There was little enough time as it was. Within seconds Duo had sprinted to his side, expression more serious than was his wont. In fact, the brown-haired boy's face was creased with worry. "I got a few questions for you."

He said nothing and the other pilot, not waiting for or expecting more, began talking. "I've been thinking, and it just doesn't make sense. Why would an advanced military research facility be completely unguarded? This is serious weapons tech; they wouldn't just leave it lying around, not even hidden in the middle of nowhere, like this backwater 'burb."

"Shut up until we get to our room."

Duo jammed his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor as he walked. Stiffly. He had never seen Maxwell so tense before a mission. Usually the prospect filled him with a hyper excitement, and his long limbs became, if possible, even more active than usual.

Once they stepped inside the room, Duo whirled around and kicked shut the door. He gave Heero a grin, but although it was wide, his eyes were dark and the effect was strained. "Ok now?"

Heero sat down and began to type. Before his roommate could start another question, he replied, "The facility does not belong to OZ."

The pilot gaped. "Whaddaya mean? Other than OZ, who--"

"It is controlled by a group within OZ."

"And who's that?"

"A powerful faction. Dr. J believes they may have different plans for the colonies' fate. We know nothing for sure."

"So, is that why they don't have mobile suits? They're not entirely legit?"

The boy was quick. "Aa."

Maxwell rubbed his forehead. "And that means their finds probably aren't widely documented... that sure explains why taking this place out would throw such a wrench in their gears. Two years is long enough for our good Doctors to develop a defense, eh? Chikusho..." He looked up at Heero. "Second question: how many--" he broke off, then resumed, "How many people are at the research facility?"

"Estimate ranges from eighty to four hundred." He spoke the words coldly, but felt his fingers tighten. Duo's eyes, he knew, were staring at him in anguish.

"Four hundred..." he heard the boy whisper.

"The best guess is one hundred and fifty," he added.

"Do we have to--kill them all?"

"The mission is to destroy all structures and search for hidden storage areas. This includes all resouces that could facilitate a renewal of the project."

Duo licked his lips and swallowed, audibly. "And do scientists count as resources?"

Heero was silent.

A violent tremor seized the pilot of Shinigami. In the next instant he had steadied himself, and gave a hollow laugh. "Guess sometimes even Death gets rattled." He walked over to the shelf where his black cap sat and pulled it onto his head, down over his eyes. "When?"

"Tonight. At twenty-two hours. I have the location and will feed it to both our systems."

The long-haired boy stood before him in uneasy silence. Then with a whirl of his braid he turned on his heel and started out the door.

"Where are you going?" The question surprised himself. It surprised Duo, too. He halted and regarded Heero in what looked like shock. He opened his mouth and shut it, and cocked his head to the side. "That's the first time--"

"Where are you going?" he repeated.

Duo shook his head, and beneath the cap rim he thought he saw a faint smile. It was gone when the pilot looked up again. "To talk to Shinigami," he answered, and left.

The boy was stronger than he'd thought.

He found himself oddly relieved that he would not have to kill Duo. He would always work alone. But if he had to have a backup it was better to have a strong one. It was strange, that the two of them had been assigned to such a simple task. He wondered if there was some ambiguities about the mission. It would not be the first time they had been drawn into a trap. But he knew it was unlikely; Dr. J had been much more cautious of incoming data since the first time the five Gundams had been drawn together. He stared at the laptop, which displayed readings to look for when they scanned the site, and did not really see them.

One hundred and fifty...lives.

Deaths.

Was there a difference?

AKI-Babble: OK, I am an absolute moron when it comes to physics, so please don't come yelling, "inaccurate science!" But if you'd like to help me out with Mecha mechanics, feel free to mail.

They reached the point where they had hidden the Gundams on a motorbike Duo had stolen. Heero had watched impassively as his fellow pilot picked the bike-lock with practiced ease, using a slim instrument folded away somewhere in his garments. "Street living," he had grinned, "comes in handy."

"It will be loud."

"It'll be faster, man. And besides, we can wheel it out of the schoolyard." Duo's face was tucked between the darkness and his cap, but his voice held a slight tinge of panic. And he said nothing, somehow feeling the same need to hasten the process. They both wanted it over with.

When they reached the Gundams and Duo left the bike lying on its side in the grass, he had objected as well.

"It could be found."

"We'll put it back later. Or we'll be dead. And then we won't have to worry about it." The pilot's voice was definitely higher-pitched than usual. "Oh wait--I forgot--the place is unarmed! No danger of us dying tonight, na?"

"Duo," he said sharply.

"Ah, don't worry. I'm fine. Besides, I'm Death. This is what I do, isn't it?"

The bitterness of Duo's reply caught him off-guard. It was the first time he had heard him speak so darkly, and he stopped his steady pace towards Wing Gundam.

"Come on, Heero. We should hurry up. Wouldn't want to break our curfew, now." With a mockery of his usual smile he spun around and ran into the forest, seeking his Gundam. Within minutes Heero heard the hum of activation, and Deathscythe emerged in cold splendor at the edge of the clearing. He walked on, until Wing rose out among the massive trees. Despite remembering exactly where he had placed it, the appearance seemed sudden. But it was far from invisible; the suit gleamed faintly even in the night. He climbed in the hatch and sought Duo.

"Where to, man?" The transmission was clear and the words were steady again.

He looked at the marked blip on his screen and considered. He had counted on the foliage to hide the suits from aerial inspection, but that same provision would make the facility difficult to spot from his airborne scout. The only visible flat surface for miles was a sizable lake in the west.

The other pilot, it seemed, was thinking along similar lines. "No wonder they thought they'd be safe. It'll be tricky going straight through all these trees. I'm going to move around the perimeter and see if I can find a shorter route."

"Hn." He activated Wing's flight design and took off into the calm night, marking the miles as he flew. Below he knew that Shinigami was following his movement.

The distance passed quickly. Thirty...forty...fifty.

There. Wing's instruments sensed radio waves being emitted less than one mile away. "Found it."

No reply came from Maxwell. Then--

"This could be worse," Duo's voice came cheerfully. "It could have been Quatre." The thought struck him forcibly. The boy was right. The Winner child would never have agreed. And perhaps the L5 pilot would not have either. That one had a rebellious streak. It would lead to trouble one day, he suspected. Fortunate, then, that he was paired with Maxwell. He was unquestionably too loud, but at least he was an effective soldier.

Duo seemed braced by the thought he had voiced, and in the next breath asked, "Shall we?"

"Aa."

Just before he prepared to land, he heard Duo again from the intercom, this time in a whisper. "Death comes."

End part 1

AKI-Babble: Somehow this is turning into purely Heero's POV. Which is all well and good, because actually I consider Duo to be the more enigmatic of the two. Crack the pathological silence and you get a flood of repressed feelings. But what's behind that crooked grin?

Only Shinigami knows.

(:./aki/wings1)

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