17-Feb-2001
Sorry it took so long to get this piece out!!! I've been working on it since January, but I had a run-in with a nasty case of Real Life, and a dash of Writer's Block. *sweatdrop*
I tried to make it a little longer, to make up for the wait; it's a bit different, because I'm not used to writing action scenes, really. Hope you like it!!
*glomphuggles everybody and gives pocky*
"Stupid scientists with their stupid freaking missions against stupid fucking OZ!"
As Duo pulled on his jeans and continued to rant, Heero opened the urgent e-mail that had so rudely interrupted them. Inwardly, he echoed the sentiment. His entire being was still flushed and tingling with unfulfilled need. He'd been so close to the familiar feeling-- the warmth, the absolute rightness that he hadn't felt in so long; only to be torn from it once more, thrown back into the sterile world of machines and battles that Dr. J had forced him into all his life.
Odin growled softly, voicing the frustration that Heero would not, as he dressed in one of Duo's black t-shirts and matching jeans. "What does he want now?" His glare at the screen was every bit as intimidating as Heero's. Unfortunately, the laptop was immune.
"Mission. Destruction of vital base. Troops and suits are being gathered as a step toward OZ's next big move; they must all be eliminated." Heero sent his reply, then paused after closing his laptop for a deep breath. "Perfect Soldier" calm seemed to elude him; instead, emotions churned in his heart, even as battle strategies filled his mind.
"Sooner we get started, sooner we're done," Duo said dully, already loading his gun. He paused, his eyes staring blankly into space, his sight turned inward. Shinigami was restless, wanting action; blood and screams and adrenaline and death. He shuddered. <I don't know how much longer I can keep control of him; it's getting so hard.>
"Saa, iku zo!" he plastered a smile onto his face, and they began making plans.
"Oi, too bad Odin's missing all the fun, ne?" A searing thermal scythe swept through ranks of Leos, setting off a chain of explosions as Duo pivoted swiftly toward his next victims.
"Hn. Mission parameters required only two pilots."
"You're no fun on the job, y'know that? Biiida."
"Reinforcements are approaching from the southeast; interception in progress. Take out the base."
"Yeah, yeah, ninmu ryoukai." Duo sped off toward the carrier, hearing the buzz of the Buster Rifle behind him.
The carrier went down easily; no mobile suit resistance. His eyes narrowed. <It's empty,> he realized, as the debris fell toward the earth. <Shit! It was fucking empty!> Suddenly his eyes widened. "Fuck! Heero, it's a setup!" He yelled into his comm unit.
He was too late, he realized, as the world exploded around him.
"Aw, man, what the hell just happened?" Duo groaned, stirring in his harness. Awareness was returning slowly-- the smell of sweat and blood and oil surrounded him; his head throbbed, making vision difficult, and he was aware of aches all over his body. Dimly the sound of his alarm system inserted itself into his conscious mind.
"Fuck, how long was I out?" Memories came rushing back; the carrier, the lack of debris... the explosion! Heero! <Oh fuck oh fuck...> His hands flew over the controls, trying to bring Deathscythe back to life. "Heero, you there?" He called out, as his external viewscreens flickered, then finally showed his surroundings.
Surroundings that consisted of a lot of mobile suits, for one thing. <I am sooo screwed,> he cursed inwardly. His eyes darted suddenly toward a flash of white-- Wing Gundam. It was down, amidst a swarm of enemies; battered and much the worse for wear, the giant was still.
"Heero!!!" He realized he had screamed aloud; that hot wetness streamed down his cheeks, as the other units closed in to capture them both.
"Surrender, Gundam Pilot. We've got you surrounded." The voice was staticky and soft, coming from his comm system. <Shit, I took way too much damage from that last big boom,> he realized, working to get propulsion and weapons online. <No way I'm letting you losers take us in, kisama no baka.>
But Heero's gundam wasn't moving. Why wasn't it moving? Why??
<Shit, I'm panicking. Damnit, Deathscythe, move!! C'mon old buddy, I'll give you some nice brand new parts. I'll overhaul your fuel system. I'll fix that rusted bolt in your leg, whaddaya say?>
<Need a little help, hmmm...?>
<oh fuck. Shini. Go away. You're the last thing I need bugging me right now.>
<Oh really? I'd say I'm exactly what the Doctor ordered... you are rather outnumbered, and your gundam is trashed. Take a look at your companion, hmm?>
The viewscreens flickered; Wing was being lifted by two other suits, like a boxer that had taken too many punches it hung, limp and useless. <no!>
Shinigami snickered. <Your main systems are down; that last explosion was quite large, and you two were almost dead center in the blast radius.>
"What... what about Heero...?" He whispered, his voice hollow, trembling. <Please be okay, please, please...>
<See for yourself.> The main viewscreen switched to an interior view of Wing's cockpit; Heero was slumped in his restraints, blood streaming down the side of his face, which was pale and slackly unconscious. Several panels had been knocked loose, jagged edges hanging around Heero's seat. <Must have been knocked against those in the blast, eh? My, that's a lot of blood loss. He might not last very long. Pity.>
"Shut up, you bastard," he growled. <Heero, I can't lose you... not now, please...>
<You know, I could help you out of this little situation you're in...> Shinigami sounded far too smug for Duo's taste. "If you weren't in my body I'd hit you," he grumbled, as the mobile suits that had surrounded him moved in, grabbing Deathscythe's arms and taking to the sky, following the ones carrying Wing.
<We've gotten out of worse scrapes together, haven't we...? You know all you have to do is give in to me, and we'll be free... Heero will be safe... you want him safe, don't you? Don't you... care about him...?> The word ‘care' was spit out like a particularly noxious substance. Duo snickered inwardly.
Then he sobered. "Hell. We're not supposed to get caught, no matter what... I can't just sit here like an idiot and get captured... but what about Heero? I can't leave him here...!"
<You could always self-destruct. Take out the other suits. Who knows, maybe Heero would wake up, and get away. But it's not likely. You two will get dragged into that base, and tortured for information. Maybe they'll kill you both, maybe not. Either way, your mission's failed. Too bad, isn't it?>
They'd already arrived at the base they were supposed to destroy-- Shinigami's prediction was dangerously close to coming true.
<Damnit, I will not go down like this!! But... I can't just let him free, who knows what he'll do?!>
"Wake up."
The harsh voice intruded on the black haze of unconsciousness that shrouded Heero's mind. He frowned inwardly; the voice was unfamiliar, who was it? A stinging pain exploded across his cheek, startling his eyes into slowly fluttering open. Another OZ officer, his uniform impeccably pressed, his brain perfectly empty.
His wrists were restrained, he realized. He was in a chair. His head pounded with every heartbeat, greying his vision slightly. <The explosion, outside the base... the buster rifle set off something..? No. It came from between our two gundams. Motion-sensors on explosives?>
Another punch landed on the side of his face, startling him from his thoughts.
"What is your name?"
*smack*
"What is your mission?"
*smack*
"Who do you work for?"
Heero closed his eyes, bearing the punches stoically, as the pain faded into a soft tingle, easily ignorable. Another tiny tingle was starting at the edge of his consciousness, a tiny sound, barely audible. As he focused on it, it grew stronger.
<...ro..?>
<..eero?>
<Heero, are you okay? What's happened?> Odin. Back at the safehouse.
<Ninmu shippai. It was a setup... they must have known we were coming.>
<Shit. Where's Duo?>
<Location unknown. I was unconscious at the time of apprehension.>
<Crap. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? I don't exactly have a gundam, but I do have some... useful abilities. Cavalry's on the way, baby.>
<Ryoukai.>
<everything hurts...>
<Why do they always beat on me? Do I have some big sign that says, Beat Me Up, floating over my head?> Duo groaned, curled on the floor of his cell. A lot of those punches would leave nasty bruises, he reflected, clutching his stomach after the last punch had sent him to the floor. The guards were losing interest in their Gundam Piñata, thankfully, and since their Interrogation by Beating revealed no information from their uncooperative subject, they finally left him alone.
The cool of the floor felt good against his skin, flushed from adrenaline and aching. Numbness was a welcome relief. He just wished he could numb his mind, so he wouldn't hear Shinigami laughing at him.
<And this day started out so well....>
End Part 13
(:./madcat/separate13)
