Date: Nov 25, 2001
Email: Anakerie@cinci.rr.com
Part: 32/34+ epilogue
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. I am making no money from this. Pizza taste better when you eat it with your mouth.
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xOC, OC+OC
Notes: Well, we're getting close to wrapping things up here. The final chapters are written, but I just need to fine-tune them a tad.
And yes, you WILL find out what was in Vire's letter. Just not in this chapter... *evil laugh*
If this was death, it wasn't quite what Jazz had been expecting.
It was dark, true, but it was also really, really heavy.
And painful.
He twisted his head, and saw a patch of green sky above him. He was... alive? But how?
Something warm was wrapped around him tightly, pinning him to the seat. With effort, he managed to free one of arms and reach upward. His fingers closed on a rope of hair.
"Pops?" Jazz shifted himself. He remembered now. Duo had grabbed him when the plane started going down, trying to shield him.
"Pops, get off me. You're heavy." Jazz complained, and pushed.
Duo did not reply.
Jazz used what was left of his strength to push Duo backward enough to slide out from underneath him. He fell a little way to the ground below, and then reached back for his father.
Duo wasn't moving, and to Jazz's horror he saw a jagged piece of metal sticking out of his father's side. Duo's face was ghostly pale, and a steady trickle of blood clicked on the metal below him.
"Oh god. Pops!" Jazz reached out to grab at Duo's neck. After a minute he felt a slow, sluggish response, but it was faint.
"Pops, no!" Some moved in the back of the plane, and he watched numbly as Osmar crawled to his feet and stepped across the wreckage. The dog was limping badly, but he made his way to Duo anyway, and began licking his face, trying to help Jazz wake him.
"Pops. Pops, oh Daddy, don't die on me! HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!"
Then he was no longer alone. Through his blinding tears he saw Heero and Trowa running toward him, Wufei and Quatre close behind.
"Hang on, Daddy." Jazz whispered. "You just hang on. Don't go..."
The sky over his head, what he could see of it through the thick canopy of leaves on the trees, was Earth blue instead of Dera green.
Duo had been walking most of the morning down the dirt path. Although he carried no food or water, he found he desired none, and that surprised him. The air was cool and sweet, and alive with sounds of nature, and he was content just to move along and enjoy it.
He also had the vague feeling that he was forgetting something important, or had forgotten to do something before he left on his trip. He puzzled over it for a while, and then concluded that it must not have been that important to begin with.
It occurred to him, not long afterward, that he couldn't really remember beginning this journey, and that he really wasn't sure where he was going. He stopped for a moment, his brow wrinkled, trying to remember.
"Will you hurry up?" An irritated voice snapped next to him. "We don't have all day."
He glanced down to see a girl, whose age could have been anywhere from 7 to 9, had appeared on the path next to him. She was dressed in jeans and a pink tee-shirt, and wearing a blue windbreaker. She also wore wraparound sunglasses. Her black hair was curly, and very short.
Duo had to smile. With that attitude to boot, the child was absolutely adorable.
"Hi." He grinned at her. "I'm Duo."
"Well, duh." He could tell she was rolling her eyes under the shades. "I wasn't expecting to find Elvis out here. Only you could get yourself into this situation." That was said with a sigh.
Duo bit his lip. "Yeah, I'm good at that. I'm always getting into trouble. Except this time, I can't really remember how it happened. What's your name?"
"I don't have one." The girl responded, her tone a bit less acidic.
"Oh, come on. Everyone has a name." Duo pressed. "You sound like my friend Trowa."
The girl seemed to consider. "I really don't have one. But if I did, I think I like the name Nadia. You can call me that, if you want to."
"Nadia it is." Duo pronounced. "So tell me, Nadia. Where is this place, and why am I here?"
"What do you remember?" Nadia asked.
Duo thought. "We were heading back to Dera. Jazz and I. We were laughing; the war was over... no, nothing after that."
Nadia toed the leafy ground. "That's not good." She said after a second. "We've got to hurry up, then. Come on." She reached for his hand and began leading him down the path.
"Where are we going?" Duo had to walk quickly to keep up with her.
"Back." Came the reply.
"Back where?" Duo wanted to know.
"Look, just trust me." Nadia sounded annoyed. "If this can be done, I'll do it."
He followed behind the child, watching the sun rise higher in the sky. Having nothing else to do, he studied Nadia more closely.
She was thin, with long, delicate fingers. She had beautiful hands, he thought to himself.
"Duo." Someone spoke his name, and his head snapped up.
He had not seen the woman before him in a long time, but every detail of her face was etched into his brain. Time had changed him, but she was free of it's effects; still young, still beautiful.
He released Nadia's hand and moved forward, reaching out hesitantly, as if the vision would vanish. But the fingers taking his own were warm and solid. The arms coming to wrap around his waist flesh and blood. The scent the same as he remembered.
"Hilde." He whispered into her hair. "Oh, Hilde..."
"Sh, love. I'm here. I'm here." She muttered back.
He finally released her, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "How? How can you be here?"
Hilde gave him a sad smile, and her fingers touched his head. "Remember, Duo. Remember now."
His face turned pale. "The plane went down..."
"Yes." Hilde acknowledged.
Duo was shaking his head. "You're saying I'm dead! No... I can't be dead."
"You're not dead." Nadia interjected. "But you will be if we don't hurry."
"I have to go back." Duo said quickly, Nadia's words making sense now. "How do I get back?"
Hilde smiled at him, and pressed a finger to his lips. "You've done a good job with Jazz, but it's not over yet. Your heart will guide you back to them. I love you..."
And then, she was gone. Duo turned to Nadia. "Help me."
"I've been trying." Nadia sighed. "But this is as far as I can take you. Listen, Duo. Listen, and you'll find your way home."
"No, you can't leave me too!" But like Hilde, the child was gone, and all that Duo could hear was the wind in the trees.
He ran down the path, tripping over roots. Jazz. The girls. Luke. Heero. He had to get back to them. They needed him! He fought down a sob and ran faster.
The trees grew thicker around him, and suddenly he found his path blocked. With a snarl, he turned around, running back the way he came, and heading down a path that branched off to the side. A moment later, he let out a scream of frustration as that too ended.
The wind picked up around him. If only it would be quiet, let him think. He sat down on the path, his head in his hands.
Duo...
His head snapped up, and he looked around wildly. It was just the wind.
Duo, please. Don't go. I love you... God, how I love you...
The wind was speaking to him in Heero's voice. But there were other voices as well... blending in with it, standing out.
Daddy... Daddy, don't you dare leave me! I need you. There's so much I don't know... come back to me. Please. I can't... I can't make it if you're not beside me.
"Jazz?" Duo took a breath. The wind pushed at him. "I'm coming, baby. I'm coming." He took off again, following the direction the wind was blowing from.
Duo... when my parents died, I wanted to die too. But you were there for me every second. You made sure I never felt like an intruder in your house, like you just took me in because you felt sorry for me. Right from the start, you made Rosie and I feel like we were your own daughters. And I am so very lucky to have gotten you as a second father. I lost my first one; I don't want to lose you too...
Blessed Nataku, keep and protect the one in your care right now. Give my brother the strength he needs to return to us. He holds us all together; life without him is impossible to imagine.
I know Duo isn't my real Daddy. My real Daddy died when I was a baby. But Duo's always been the best Dad in the world to me. He taught me how to ride a bike, and make pancakes, and a bunch of other stuff. And my real Daddy came to me in a dream, and said it was okay for me to think of Duo as my Daddy too, that he didn't mind. My name is Rosemary Rynt. If anyone is listening, please let Duo be okay.
My Daddy is a hero! He helped save all those girls. He chased the bad guys away from our home. And Daddy said that the good guys always win in the end. Rosie says I should say my name. My name is Luke Maxwell. And I don't want my Daddy to die...
Duo, you come back! Right now! Me and Shan miss you. Nataku, you give him back!
We're waiting for you, Duo. We might have some really good news to share, but you need to be here for us to tell you. Come on, man, we're a team. The five of us, even if we don't all live close. And we can't be a team without you.
Duo ran faster, following the sound of his loved-ones voices, his cheeks wet.
Duo, in one more minute, this waiting room is going to be full of tears, and we're all going to drown. Don't make me get rough with you. You quit goofing off and come back to your family.
He had to laugh. "I'm trying, Denea. I'm trying."
And the path ended again, but not by trees. The wind ceased suddenly, and ahead of him was a black void.
Duo froze, staring into the nothingness, and a mind-wretching terror overwhelmed him. It was as if every nightmare he had ever had flourished in that darkness, and he sank to his knees, shaking violently.
He was dimly aware of hands on his arms, lifting him up, guiding him down the path toward the void. He tried to struggle, but he was held fast.
"Not this time, young man." A stern voice said into his ear. "This time, we do it my way."
"Listen to Sister Helen." said a voice in his other ear. "I've learned over the years it goes much easier that way."
"Father..." Duo turned his head.
"Just a bit more, Duo, and you'll be home again." Father Maxwell promised. "From the sound of things, not a moment too soon."
He stood now before the dark void, and was not surprised to see his foster parents gone once again. He had known this would be the case. They could bring him here, but the final step would be his own.
He moved toward the blackness, and froze again, the fear assaulting him once more. Ashamed of his own cowardice, he stood trembling. "I can't." He whispered. "I'm sorry... I can't do it. I'm afraid..."
"We've lost his heartbeat. Stand back!"
The doctor had treated many war-wounded today, but no one as badly injured as Duo Maxwell. It had been several hours since the man's family had brought him in, and he had been in surgery the entire time.
They stood now, crowded in the waiting room, hoping for some news, for any signs of hope he could give them.
"Come on, Duo." the doctor pushed the paddles against the man's chest. "I can't do this alone. Fight it. They need you!"
A small hand touched his own, and Duo looked down to see Nadia had returned. She was dressed as before, with one exception. This time, she wore no dark glasses.
He sucked in his breath, and bent down to her level, staring into her wide, violet eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I'm no one." Nadia said sadly. "Not if you don't go back."
"You look like Linra, when she was your age." He saw it now, the resemblance.
Nadia gazed at him. "She was supposed to have been my mother."
"Supposed to? You're Jazz's daughter, too! You're my granddaughter!" He was amazed. "My going back has nothing to do with you existing."
"Yes it does." Nadia closed her eyes. "If you don't to back, they'll never have me. My father, your son... he said he couldn't go on. He meant it. If you die, a year from now so will he. He's going to blame himself for your death. And he'll take his own life."
"NO!" Duo slammed his fist into the ground. "Impossible! Jazz wouldn't..."
"No, Jazz wouldn't." Nadia agreed. "But Jason would. And if you die today, then Jazz dies today as well. And Jason won't survive long without him."
Duo climbed to his feet again, staring down the void. He slowly began walking toward it. The fear still slammed into him, but he had a greater fear now, and his steps did not waiver.
He did turn for a minute, and saw Nadia watching him. "I will see you again, if I go?" He asked.
She was smiling at him. "I promise. I'm going to be the first sane Maxwell, you know."
"All the granddaughters I could get, and I get a pint-sized female Wufei." Duo muttered. "Goodbye, Nadia. Thank you."
And the blackness closed around him.
"We've got a heartbeat." The doctor glanced at his coworkers. "He's coming back."
End Part 32
(:./lasha/dragons32)
