05-Mar-2002
Title: Death & the Phoenix
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1x2, 3+4
Warnings: Language, Duo-torture, sap, yaoi, some slight OOC, maybe some
spoilers.
Disclaimers: At this point I would love to keep them in my back pocket for
use at a whim, but I still don't own them. Drats.
Wufei took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "Tell us how to save him or I will hunt you down like the dog you are and make you suffer ten fold for the suffering that you have inflicted upon him."
G laughed. "I believe you would 05. I believe you would."
"Then explain." Howard commanded.
"Quatre, we're landing in thirty seconds. Get ready to get Duo to Sally!" Trowa hollered from the cockpit, snapping the two out of the quiet contemplation of life and death.
They immediately rose and Quatre took the blanket from Heero as he gently unwrapped Duo's prone form from underneath it. Heero would wait until they had touched down before lifting the boy into his arms and making the mad dash to where he was certain Sally was waiting for them.
They felt the landing gear touch the metal ground of Peacemillion's inner bay and held their breath until the pressure was regulated and the doors could hiss open manually from where Trowa was in the cockpit. In the next few moments they halted, landing quietly, and Quatre quickly helped to gather Duo from the floor and assist Heero in carrying him out of the shuttle. Trowa also was there in the moments that followed and jumped out ahead to clear the path from the Sweepers and other ship personnel gathering to gawk at the scene.
Heero only carried his burden a few steps before seeing and hearing Sally come rushing towards them and paused as she yelled directions. She took in Heero's face and then Quatre and Trowa flanking them on either side and made note to give them a wide berth. She lead them to a small room set up with everything she hoped she would need and then some.
Heero placed Duo gently on the medical bed and stepped back, giving Sally and her assistants room to work. He felt Trowa grab his arm gently from behind and let he and Quatre lead him out of the room.
"I don't want to go to far from him, Trowa."
"I know, Heero, but we need to take a look at the case and this folder Duo and I recovered from the lab. They could very well save his life. I didn't have the time to look at them while we were on the shuttle, so I think we shouldn't waste any more time. Quatre, why don't you stay here with Duo and Sally? Come get us if anything changes."
"Absolutely." Quatre went to Duo's side and watched as Sally hooked him up to various pieces of monitoring equipment.
"What folder?" Heero snapped.
"I found this shortly before Duo broke into the cabinet where he discovered the medical case. I only read the first few pages but it talks about an Operation Phoenix. It was a plot developed by the old Alliance leaders over a decade ago. They were going to develop the plague to cleanse the colonies of unwanted members of the population before sending troops from Earth to take over them." Trowa explained as quickly as possible as they walked towards Howard's office. "So Duo was correct in guessing what the real motives behind the L2 plague was all about."
"Does it say anything about a cure or vaccine?" Heero frowned, his knowledge of the events was pretty accurate, from what J had told him, and this confirmed it even further.
"Well it does confirm that both the L2 plague and the dummy cure, known as Antium-55, was definitely planted by the former Alliance. There are a whole lot of documents here with cell structure, blood test readings, and other data that I haven't been able to go through yet." Trowa let out a soft huff of exasperation, the first note of worry that Heero had heard since they had arrived on Peacemillion.
"Once Sally has Duo stabilized, we'll get her to review these with us." Hero paused before entering the office. He heard voices inside but they were too muffled to be understood. He did however note the increasingly hostile tones being spoken from Wufei as he opened the door without knocking.
Two pairs of eyes snapped up to glare at the intruders, and didn't soften once they realized it was only Trowa and Heero. Neither Trowa nor Heero blanched as they stood in front of Wufei and Howard as they waited to be let in on the heated discussion.
"I seem to have lost your attention gentlemen, and here I thought what I was saying was important."
Heero's face drained of color as he heard the unmistakable sound of Professor G's voice. In a flash he was facing the screen with a white knuckled grasp on the edge of the desk as he glared for all he was worth at the man. "Ah, 01. So I can assume that you have Duo in tow?"
"What. Do you want?" Heero bit out as he clutched the desk tighter.
"As I was explaining to Howard and 05, I have information about Duo's condition that may help to restore him to active duty."
"Active duty?" Heero growled out between clenched teeth. "And people claim to think I'm a monster."
"We all are, 01. Myself one of the biggest of all." G's smirk lessened a bit before he continued. "Enough prattle, you can all save your death threats for me for later. Duo was injected by Anitum-55 as a boy, before he found himself in my company. But he has a rare gift of being immune to several types of disease, which is how I imagine he has survived as long as he has. That coupled with the advancements in molecular cell replication that I had the privilege of conducting on him during his time with me, has increased his level of recuperative powers. Without these experimental advancements to his cell structure, he would have been dead ten times by now." G giggled excitedly and flipped through a few pages of notes he had. "No matter. He will never truly be rid of the side affects of the A-55, but with an exposure to this... " G held up a piece of paper to the screen with a complex view of a cell model. "He should recover fully in time."
"What in the name of peace on Earth and the colonies is that?" Wufei snapped looking at the screen and the complex jumble of notes and drawings.
"This, my dear boy, is the original bug structure of the L2 plague. Duo needs to be exposed to this to survive."
"So he needs to die to live." Trowa was speaking more to himself than to anyone in the room, but the Professor overheard it.
"Ah 03, good. Exactly. Like the Phoenix, he will rise up again to destroy our enemies." G cackled gleefully.
"You're insane." Heero whispered.
"Yes, of course. But this is the only way to treat him. His body must fight off the plague with his natural immunity. The bug will destroy the A-55. It's beautiful really. The A-55 will be canceled out by the plague, the plague will be destroyed by Duo's immune system, and he will once again be able to help us in our efforts as he did before." G paused in his excitement and frowned suddenly, making the hairs stand up on Heero's neck and arms. "That is, of course, if his system isn't already damaged beyond repair. He really should have sought me out sooner once the A-55's symptoms increased, instead of thinking he could cure himself, silly boy."
"What do you mean?" Wufei asked impatiently.
"Even as strong as Duo's immune system is, even he isn't immortal. His body could shut down from the effects of stress on his body from the various symptoms of A-55, hemorrhaging, seizures, etc. Or shut down because he is too taxed by the war between L2P and the A-55. Or from the L2P symptoms when he is subjected to it. He could slip into a coma and never fully recover; there are many, many different outcomes. But I suppose there is really no other choice." G smiled his twisted grin again and made a few notes on the paper he had held up to the screen. "Unless, he truly wants to die. I would rather he didn't, for my own reasons, but I suppose he will have to decide."
"And what of the threat to the Earth and the rest of the colonies, should this fall into the hands of Oz?"
"Ah 03, you were always the practical one of the group. Eh?" G chuckled to himself and then addressed the question thoughtfully. "Besides the six or seven of you who know about this whole L2 disaster, there are only a few others who also know the truth behind the plague. Although I am a monster, I have no intentions on letting humanity be wiped out on the colonies by Oz. Why do you suppose I've spent the better part of my years perfecting Gundams, hmm?" G looked at each of the boys peering at him on the screen. "And why would I kill of humanity with something as distasteful as a plague? That's about as ludicrous as dropping a colony on the Earth."
Wufei blanched at the memories of his destroyed colony. The words from G echoed in his mind so loudly that he had to turn away from the Professor and shut his eyes tightly to will them away.
"I hope that answers any question about my loyalties, boys." G smiled at Wufei's reaction then continued to address the rest of the room's occupants. "I will send this to you Howard, on your secure channel. Give it to whoever you have treating the boy. I'll even make myself available to you if you require further instructions. And I would appreciate it if you let me know weather or not I need to find a replacement to fly Deathscythe." With that said he closed the line, leaving them all to stare at the black screen.
There were a few moments of stunned silence as the information presented by G was digested by those in the room. Then it erupted with Heero's anguished cry. The rest of the people in the room could only stare as they watched Heero come apart at the seams. Enraged, Heero grabbed the monitor with both hands and ripped it free of the desk and threw it against the wall. It crashed and sparked in a destroyed heap as he picked up random objects and threw them after it.
Wufei and Howard stepped back waiting for Heero to vent his frustration as Trowa came around to gently grab Heero's clenching fists. "At least we know what to do, Heero."
"Die to live? What kind of sick, twisted game does he think this is?"
"Hopefully the kind that Duo can survive." Trowa answered quietly.
"How in Nataku's name are we supposed to infect Duo with the L2 plague, and then expect him to simply recover? Hasn't he already been exposed to it on his colony? I mean, if he had already survived the L2 plague, then why would giving it to him again make any difference?" Wufei paced back and forth as he rambled. "And how do we keep ourselves from being infected?"
"I don't think Duo actually ever had the L2 plague. At least that's what I gathered from G. He injected himself with the Antium-55 to prevent getting it, but must not have really ever been exposed to an active strain of the plague. It's the only logical explanation." Trowa answered thoughtfully.
"How could he not have? He watched as everyone else around him died." Heero whispered softly.
"As G explained, Duo already had a natural immunity to the L2 plague. After meeting G his system became even more resistant to illness. He has been suffering from the A-55, as far as I can figure. All I know is that exposing Duo to L2P and allowing nature to take its course may save him. We don't have anything else to go on."
"This is the farthest thing from nature I have ever heard of." Howard added.
"As for us contracting it from him, we'll have to be sure he's put into isolation. Is that possible on board, Howard?" Trowa turned to Howard who was staring at the smashed computer monitor on the floor of his office.
"Anything is possible." Was the solemn reply. Trowa and Wufei led Heero out of the room leaving Howard to yank broken cords from the wall and set about finding another monitor and to await for the lab notes from G. "If anyone can rise from the ashes it's that kid." Howard smiled as he tugged another wire free.
End Part 16
(:./ebony/death16)
