Zechs stared at the small figure next to him. The pilot seemed so tiny in comparison to the king-size bed. The bandages and bruisesonly magnified that lack of size. The black, satin sheets did nothing to help. All that pale skin against the dark material made him look like some fallen angel. Especially with his hair down. Duo Maxwell didn’t look anything close to his real age either. Even his growth spurt had done little to increase his size beyond a foot. Zechs sighed. How long had he been sitting here?
A clock told him seven hours. Seven hours. That made it what? Thirty hours since they’d found the young man. Ten hours of medical treatment to determine what happened and how badly hurt he was. Zechs could have told the doctors just by looking at Duo. Five hours to transport the pilot to this secure base. No one and nothing was ever going to hurt this young man again. Not while they had a say in the matter. Eight hours of Treize alternately watching Duo and trying to find out what happened. The only reason his commander wasn’t here now was that Une, Noin, and Zechs had all ganged up on him and forced him to get some rest. Not that he was. Zechs felt certain Treize was still going over paperwork.
Memory overwhelmed the blond man for a second and he put his head in his hands. Would he ever be able to forget that sight? He’d been in Tallgeese, invading a small but beautiful country run by a dictator. For once the citizens actually helped OZ take over. Halfway to the capital, the Gundam pilots put in an appearance. Four of them anyway. The battle was long and brutal.
Zechs noticed that the pilots were very intent on protecting a warehouse off to the right of the battlefield. The fact made him even more determined to win. Whatever the pilots had come for, they would not get. In the end, sheer force of numbers won out and the Gundams retreated. With a self-satisfied smile, Zechs called Treize and went to claim his prize. And what a prize it had been.
He’d been expecting a rebel base, a weapons store, or even top secret lab, not what he found. Ordering his men to search every corner of the building, the noble had waited at the entrance. From all the signs, this had been a secret OZ base. Yet, Zechs knew all the bases in this area and couldn’t remember this one.
The sounds of someone retching brought his attention to a room on the left side of the building. Otto, one of Noin’s star students, was standing outside the door and in the process of losing everything he’d eaten that day. One of his friends was trying to help the poor man. Otto had been in the room for less than a minute. What could have affected him that deeply in such a short period of time?
Curiosity got the better of Zechs and he approached the couple.
"Otto?" He deep voice echoed through the warehouse.
Straightening, the man wiped his mouth. "I’m sorry sir. I think we should call for a medic. Sir!" Otto grabbed Zechs’ arm when the older man tried to see what was in the room. "Please, sir. It isn’t pleasant."
Ignoring the plea in his subordinate’s voice and eyes, Zechs entered the room. After all, he’d seen his family and country murdered. What could bother him after that? The sight in that room proved the noble could be bothered. For a few seconds he just stared, then he joined Otto in losing the contents of his stomach. How could anyone do that to another human being?
Finally, his insides calmed. Otto offered him a bottle of water to wash out his mouth and then Zechs began to give orders. He called the medics, ordered an emergency medical evacuation, and had one of his men get a pair bolt cutters. Once his men ran to fill the orders, the blond man forced himself to once again enter the room. A second look didn’t improve the sight; indeed, it only made it worse because now he noticed details.
Chained to a wall by his arms and legs lay a naked, unconscious young man. A quick look showed the chains ran through an intricate pulley system that could be used to force the prisoner into almost any position. From the smell in the room, the system had been used.
The room smelled of violence, pain, human waste, and worst of all, sex. The prisoner had been raped. Repeatedly. Zechs tried to remember to breathe through his mouth.
Moving closer to the figure on the floor, Zechs noted the long hair. Something about the hair nagged at his memory. Did he know anyone with hair like that? The slender body was covered with so many bruises, cuts, and abrasions, it almost looked like his skin color was purple. Approaching closer, the noble noted the dried blood on the prisoner’s wrists, arms, ankles, and, Zechs forced nausea down again, his thighs. Other fluids were visible and the OZ officer refused to think about what they were. He was fairly certain he knew anyway.
After what seemed like an eternity, Zechs stood over the still form. With stiff movements, the man knelt next to the prisoner and lifted his face up. Something told Zechs he should know this man. A gasp escaped his lips once he saw the face. He did know this person. It was Duo Maxwell, respected enemy and Gundam pilot. How? How could he be here? Like this?
A man arrived with the bolt cutters and all questions were pushed aside. What mattered now was to get this young man to a doctor. The next several hours were like a nightmare. A thorough search of the building turned up a great deal of evidence to show it was an OZ base; that would mean Treize was responsible for this atrocity. Yet, Zechs knew his commander had issued orders that all captured Gundam pilots be brought directly to him.
Treize met them at the hospital of the base the pilot of Tallgeese took Duo to. The older man had been livid. Not at Zechs, but at himself. Treize blamed himself for the pilot’s fate. He should have made more sure of his orders; should have kept a closer watch on the bases, etc. Zechs tried to calm Treize down, but little worked. The doctor’s announcement concerning the pilot didn’t help.
Duo had been a prisoner for at least two weeks judging by the marks on his body. He had been repeatedly assaulted and by more than one person. In addition, the young man had been tortured. Both physically and sexually. There were no broken bones, but massive tissue damage was everywhere. The pilot was torn up inside and out. A serious fever due to infection further complicated the matter.
Throughout the entire list of injuries, Treize had stood stiff and unyielding. Once the doctors were done, he ordered Duo taken to his personal base in the Himalayas. During the trip, the General went over every troop assignment in the area desperately trying to find out how this had happened. He came up with nothing. Who had done this?
Reaching the base was not the end of their problems. Duo woke up twice, screaming. Five guards had been injured as the pilot tired to escape, not realizing he was no longer a captive. Not knowing what else to do, they had drugged Duo. At least he slept without nightmares.
Returning to the present, Zechs stared at the slender man slowly regaining consciousness. Duo probably wouldn’t recognize Zechs at first. The blond man didn’t wear his mask at this base. It was something of a haven for the four friends. Perhaps it could be a haven for a fifth.
Slowly, violet eyes focused on the tall blond. The fire and strength Zechs had hoped to see was not there; instead, grim acceptance filled those orbs. Duo was done fighting.
"You are safe, Duo Maxwell," Zechs said, gently taking Duo’s hand. He had meant it to be a gesture of comfort and his heart just about broke when the pilot flinched from that simple touch. Once more, Zechs swore on his honor to hunt down and destroy those responsible for this. "No one will touch you here. You have my word." Duo closed his eyes and returned to sleep as if his fate completely disinterested him.
‘Whatever they have done to you, we will undo it, Duo.’ Zechs promised silently. ‘We will give you back all that was taken if it is
within our power. Just please don’t give up. Don’t let it be too late. Please, little one, don’t leave us.’