25-Nov-2001
Title: Here There Be Dragons 31/?
Author: Lasha Lee
Email: Anakerie@cinci.rr.com
Warnings: Foul language, some angst, some sap.
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xOC, OC+OC
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN GUNDAM WING! OH THE HUMANITY!
Upon reflection, Jazz figured that he probably should have tried to get some idea of where his father and Linra might be on the ship before he took off to find them.
The Wronith, seeming to get the hint that with the pounding they were taking outside, and the humans invading them inside, they were pretty much screwed, were doing the sensible thing and abandoning ship. Well, most of them. Every now and then he had to take one down, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The fight really seemed to have gone out of them. Pity really...
Something hit the boy from behind, knocking him to the floor.
Okay, so maybe not quite.
The Wronith soldier was unarmed, but he was big. Not as tall as Jazz, maybe, but a lot heavier. His hands were as big as saucers, and at the moment they were trying to get a good hold around Jazz's neck.
He tried to bring up his neuralizer, but the Wronith knocked it out of his hand immediately.
Jazz found steely-grey eyes locking with his. The Wronith's face was a stone mask of pure hatred and his hands finally got a purchase and began choking the boy.
The ship around him started to fade.
Then suddenly, there was a bellow of pure rage that shook the corridor, and the death grip loosened. His vision cleared and he could see that the Wronith was laying still, and a boot was connecting repeatedly to his head and face.
Jazz sat up, rubbing the bruises on his neck.
"Jazzy." Then the eyes looking at him were his own. "Jazzy, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Duo was beside of him, gently feeling the marked flesh. "Christ on a cracker, Jazz! You look like you've been in a meat grinder!"
The boy managed a weak smile. "Nah, Pops. Don't worry. There's still enough left of me for you to kill."
He climbed to his feet, leaning on Duo for a minute. "Where's Linra?"
"Linra is on a ship back to Dera, with Heero and the girls. Where YOU are supposed to be."
"What about the kids?"
They walked down the corridor toward where the ship waited for them. Duo was limping a little, Jazz noticed. "Dead. The Wronith wanted to make sure we couldn't get them. Rylan is the only one left."
"BASTARDS!" Jazz slammed his fist into the wall. "FUCKING BASTARDS!"
"I know." Duo said softly. "That was my reaction too."
Jazz was quiet for a moment. "You can't punish me for coming back to find you and Linra, you know." Later, he would think about what had happened, but for right now, he needed to push it from his mind.
"And may I ask why not?"
"Because." The boy shrugged. "You came back for me. You did the same thing."
Duo rolled his eyes. "Did I ever tell you that you're a punk?"
"Sure. All the time." He gave his father a smile, though. "Didn't stop you from opening a can of Whoopass on that Wronith who was strangling me."
"Well, in reference to your earlier comment, I'm reserving the right to kill you myself." Duo snarled.
They reached the planes, and Jazz opened the hatch.
"Uck. Osmar, down!" He shoved the dog back. "Bad dog. Shoo."
Osmar turned his attentions to Duo, who was giving him a thoughtful look. "I wondered if he would..." the man muttered to himself. "Same old Heero. Mission above everything. He knows I'd have been mad if he hadn't, though."
"What?" Jazz asked, closing the hatch behind them.
"There were two usable ships left. Since Osmar is on this one, he took one of the ones we came in. One without the engine trouble."
Jazz was strapping himself into the co-pilot's seat. "Cool. Linra will be okay, then. And the girls will get home."
"I'm just hoping we'll make it as well." Duo muttered, sitting down in the pilot's seat, and starting the engine. "Well, it sounds okay."
"It got Linra here in one piece." Jazz reminded him. "Do you want me to fly it?"
"No." Duo leaned back as the plane gathered speed.
He glanced over at his son's face, and then added. "Not that I don't think you can. You were fucking awesome out there earlier."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Duo confirmed. "Linra seemed a little miffed that I didn't tell you that before. And I wanted to now."
They flew down below the Wronith main ship. "If you were anyone else, anyone at all, then I'd refuse to go into battle without you by my side."
"I understand."
"You do? I mean, really?"
"I'm trying to. I sure didn't want Linra out here today. I knew she could do it, but I was scared to death for her." The boy reached down to scratch Osmar's ears, and the dog whined in pleasure. "Love sucks sometimes, ya know?"
"And if you're lucky, it swallows too." Duo had to add.
"POPS!"
Duo glanced over and gave him a wink. "What?"
The radio crackled to life.
"Shinigami? Come in, Shinigami."
"Is that Quatre?" Jazz grinned. Duo nodded, and the boy pressed the button.
"Hey, Quatre. What'd ya bring me?"
"A switch to tan your ass!" Came the reply. "Is your father there?"
"Right here, Quat. I'll need to borrow that in a minute. What's up?"
"We've just received word. The Wronith have surrendered. They want to negotiate a truce."
"It's over?"
"It's over. We're heading back to Dera. Come on home, Duo."
"It's really over." Jazz laughed. "We did it!"
Duo smirked. "I pity da fool what messes' with dem Maxwells. I say, I PITY dem."
"The Wronith took one look at you two and went screaming home in terror." Trowa's voice came over the speaker.
"Hey, when you've got it, flaunt it." Jazz called back. "Any word from Heero?"
"Yeah. He got a signal from Wufei and he's headed that way to pick him up. Wufei says he's got a couple of prisoners that have adopted him. Not quite sure what he means by that, but he promised Heero they're harmless. I'll shoot you the coordinates."
"Got it." Duo glanced at the screen of the plane. "I'll see you on the ground."
"Know what I need?" Duo asked, as the ship broke the planet's atmosphere.
"Steak."
"Oh yes. A big, thick juicy steak. And a big salad. And some pie for dessert."
"You're killing me." Jazz moaned.
"I'll be sure and let you know how it is."
"What?"
"You're being punished. You're on bread and water for the next six months."
Jazz glared at him.
"Okay, one last meal." Duo relented. "God, no wonder you're so out of control."
"I love you, Pops." Jazz said suddenly.
"Love you too, kiddo." Duo reached out and squeezed his hand.
The landscape of Dera appeared below them. "Home sweet..."
Duo frowned, and tilted his head at the controls.
"What?"
Duo was pushing buttons now, his face turning deadly serious. "The engine just went out!"
"You're pretty." Meishel informed Trowa.
"So are you." Trowa, who had never been called pretty before in his entire life, wasn't quite sure how else to respond to that. Quatre had his hand over his mouth, snickering.
The group had assembled outside the building to wait for Duo and Jazz to land.
Heero was holding tightly to Rosie and Luke, who showed no signs of ever wanting to let him go again.
"I tried to be brave, Otosan." Luke was saying. "But I got scared."
"So did I." Heero kissed his forehead. "I was really scared I might never see you again.
"But it's over. As soon as Daddy and Jazz get here, we can call go home."
The rescued girls were standing in a knot by themselves, looking unconvinced that they were really safe and not still prisoners of the Wronith.
Seeing the looks the Setan girls were giving his prisoners, Wufei stayed close to Pell and Adyn. Not that he blamed the girls in any way for their reaction, but he had captured these boys and intended to make sure they were treated honorably.
Trowa glanced over Quatre's head, and saw the Wronith child Rylan sitting on the ground, staring up at the sky. He was not crying like another child might have been, and that bothered the man. The little boy's face was a blank mask; his emotions buried so deeply they were invisible.
As if he was attached to a spindle being wound, Trowa felt himself drawn to Rylan's side. He sat down on the tarmac next to him, but Rylan did not look in his direction.
"They tell me that if it wasn't for you, those girls would all be dead right now." Trowa began.
The little boy shrugged.
"You're a hero, you know. Not many adults would have been as brave as you were."
"Doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Trowa said in surprise.
Rylan shook his head. "I couldn't save the other kids. They killed them."
Trowa thought for a minute. "I remember... I said that to someone once. I said 'why do you praise me for saving one life? Thirty more died and there was nothing I could do about it.' He told me something that I never forgot."
"What?"
"That there is no such thing as just saving one life. When you save someone, you don't just save them. You save their children, and their grandchildren, and all the generations to come after them. We're not gods; we can only do what we can, as much good as we can while we're alive to do it. And what you did today was very, very good."
"What's your name?" Rylan asked.
"Trowa."
"Mine's not really Rylan. I just like it better than the name they gave me."
"Well, we have a lot in common. Trowa's not my real name either; it's just one I've been using for a long time now."
The boy's finger's drummed on the ground. "I don't have anywhere to go." He said at last. "My home is up there."
"Heero says he's going to try and see if your mother had any family on Seta. And if you can live with them if she did."
"Really?"
"Sure. And until then, you'll stay with him and Duo. They've got so many kids one more isn't going to make much of a difference. They're not going to throw you out in the cold, you know."
"Do you live on Dera?"
"No. I just came to help out. I live on Earth."
"Are you alone there?"
"No. See that guy there? He lives with me. We're a couple."
"Oh, okay." Rylan nodded. He looked disappointed about something.
Trowa fought back the urge to hug the child. There was something so appealing about him... something so frightened and lost, even if he was trying to hide it.
"Hey, look. There's Duo's plane." Trowa pointed up. "You watch. The first thing he's going to do is raid the food."
They watched the plane come closer, and Trowa felt a sense of unease. Why couldn't he hear the engine?
Rylan touched his arm. "Trowa? Something's wrong."
Trowa squinted his eyes. "Oh my god! HEERO!"
Heero looked up. "Duo's plane! They're in trouble!"
And before the disbelieving eyes of those on the ground watching, the silver plane fell from the sky like a rock, crashing to the ground a few hundred feet from where they stood.
End Part 31
(:./lasha/dragons31)
