04-Oct-2000
Ok, here we go again. ^_^ Please be forewarned that this continues to be DARK - there is a scene in here which might be disturbing to gentler readers, while those of you who are bloodthirsty will probably be really happy with me. ^_~ I guess I should also warn you that there's some truly foul language in this - Duo is a regular potty-mouth. *^_^* Hope that doesn't offend anyone. ^_^
By the end here, you'll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. ^_~
Some elements of this story are owed to Robin McKinley's novel, Deerskin. I mean no more disrespect to Ms. McKinley or her work than I do to the creators of Gundam Wing. I hope you enjoyed the story.
"Well?"
"No change," Duo sighed, weary, red-rimmed violet eyes raising to meet Wufei's. "They've been coming in, drawing blood, tried a couple of different shots, but nothing yet."
Wufei couldn't help but notice the way Duo's hands gently clasped Heero's stiff fingers, and while he kept his opinions to himself, he hoped his friend wasn't letting himself in for heartache. Duo noticed his gaze and returned it with a mild, silent challenge, and Wufei was the first to look away.
The Perfect Soldier lay on the hospital bed, surrounded by tubes, wires and monitoring devices. His vacuous blue eyes blinked, and his chest rose and fell with his breathing, but there was no indication of any kind of thought behind the empty smile.
"Where are the others?" Duo asked, his eyes slowly travelling the course of the tubing that ran from the IV bag to Heero's arm, alleviating the dehydration that had been one of the doctors' main worries. Heero's heart beat strongly, his lungs filled with air... all the involuntary actions of his body were completely healthy. Duo slowly looked over the defined muscles of Heero's arms and chest, the stunning beauty of his face, and glumly contemplated that it was Heero's mind he loved.
"Quatre's gone back to Headquarters, and Trowa's talking to Coneely." Duo's head snapped up, violet eyes blazing with a fury that bordered on the demonic.
"Mel's alive?" he asked softly, his voice as quiet, as still and emotionless as Heero.
"Two doors down."
"Stay with Heero," Duo said, and gently disentangled his fingers from Heero's before stalking out of the room.
"You targeted the Gundam pilots," Trowa stated. "You knew there were Gundam pilots on the Preventers force, and you knew that at least one of them would be assigned to the case, if New Atlanta suddenly had a rash of killings."
"Do you realize how insane that sounds?" Mel snapped. "It totally invalidates my five previous pets. Running into little Heero was just pure luck."
"I don't have to invalidate the first five; you did that. You killed them in cold blood."
"I took good care of them! Gave them the best of everything! They were my darlings! My precious dolls," Mel replied, his voice thick as though he were choking back tears.
"But you killed them."
"They stopped breathing. I didn't want them to stop breathing. A doll's no fun if he's not breathing."
"So what would you have done if Heero had stopped breathing?"
"I'd cry, and get me a new doll," Mel explained, his tone of voice indicating that he was speaking to an idiot. "Maybe that Maxwell; he'd be a fun doll. All that hair to play with. But I didn't have to do that. Heero was a good doll, the very best doll. All the others stopped breathing after the third shot, but Heero had seven and kept breathing. My precious little Heero... he's mine, and you have to give him back to me!"
"You sick son of a bitch!" Duo snarled from the doorway. "You god- damned, ill-begotten, sick motherfucker!"
"Oooh, I'm so scared of the little Maxwell boy!" Mel sneered. "You won't touch me, little Maxwell boy. That would violate my rights."
"I don't intend to touch you, you shit-headed little puke," Duo answered sweetly. "I don't have to."
"Aren't you going to threaten to kill me?"
"Hell, no. I'm going to do worse. I'm going to let you live. In fact, I'm going to see to it that you live a long, long time. And you'll never touch anyone again, you murdering bastard."
"I will, too! I'll find a new pet!"
"You'll be paralyzed for life," Trowa said. "Severing the spine does that to a person."
"There's nothing wrong with my spine!" Mel said, tugging at the restraints that held him to the bed.
"Oh, yes there is," Trowa replied. "So sad, the bullet that grazed you paralyzed you from the neck down. You were lucky to survive it."
"What?" Mel's eyes widened as he watched Trowa pull out a small knife, then he turned to glare at Duo. "Are you just going to stand there? Stop him!"
Duo paused for a long moment, his gaze shifting from the eyes of the killer to those of Trowa, calmly waiting for Duo's decision.
"... such a shame," Duo said at last. "I sympathize with you; it must be terrible to be paralyzed."
Trowa smiled a tight little smile as Duo nodded to him and left; this way, if questioned, Duo could reply without lying that he hadn't seen anything. Mel's screaming echoed through the empty hallway, along with the steady tapping of Duo's bootheels as he walked back to Heero's room.
Quatre sighed heavily, and continued typing. In just a few more minutes, he'd be done with his report and could then go to the hospital to visit Heero. In spite of his heightened senses, Quatre was unaware of the presence in the room until Trowa cleared his throat.
"Oh!" he gasped, relaxing and returning his gun to its holster. Old instincts died hard. "I didn't know you were there."
"Sorry to disturb you," Trowa said, slowly lowering his hands. "There's new information that needs to be added to the file."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Apparently, the bullet that hit him severed Mel's spine, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down."
"Really?" Quatre managed to keep his voice calm, but his eyes were wide with horror. There was no mistaking how Mel had ended up paralyzed, and even though he considered it a form of divine justice, it didn't alleviate the dreadfulness of the thought.
"He's definitely paralyzed," Trowa asserted. "If you don't mind... I have something else to talk with you about."
"Ah... Ok," Quatre answered, saving his file and then turning his full attention to Trowa, his heart sinking. He already knew where this was headed.
Duo tossed his damp braid back over his shoulder and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. It had been a day and a half since Wufei, Trowa and Quatre, with the unexpected help of Zechs, had insisted that he go home, sleep, and take a shower. He hadn't really expected to be able to sleep, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. He hadn't even felt Quatre pulling his boots off and covering him up, though some wistful part of him seemed to recall feeling someone kiss his forehead... and a voice telling him everything would be Ok... or, at least, part of him wanted to believe it had been real. "Heero will come back to you. He cannot fail, because he cannot conceive of any other outcome," the gentle voice had said, and Duo had slept sweetly, surrounded by peace and contentment as could only be had in dreams. The last time he remembered feeling so... light... was at Maxwell Church Orphanage, when Sister Helen had hugged him.
That strange peace lingered as Duo finished getting dressed and headed toward the hospital, stopping along the way to pick up a bagel. He still had a half-nibbled bagel in his hand when the elevator stopped and let him off at Heero's floor, and he walked in the room half expecting to see Heero back to normal.
Wufei looked up as he walked in, taking in the details of clean clothing and food before nodding his head and closing his book. Heero was no longer smiling; his slack mouth hung open slightly. Duo's eyes widened, and he lifted Heero's hand, feeling it limp and relaxed in his.
"The strange paralysis wore off, but he's still in his coma," Wufei said, lowering his eyes because it would hurt him to see the disappointment on Duo's face.
"He'll be right as rain in no time," Duo answered, smiling. Wufei looked at him sharply, then without comment started gathering his things.
"I've been reading Moby Dick to him," Wufei said after a few moments. "Would you like me to leave the book here?"
"Sure thing, Wu-chan. They say he can probably hear us, so I might as well entertain him."
"Maxwell..." Wufei said, then leaned in to whisper, concerned that Heero might in fact hear him. "Don't get your hopes up too high, Maxwell," he said, his eyes speaking volumes about his regret. "They don't know what kinds of permanent effects there might be."
"He'll come back to us, because he can conceive of no other outcome," Duo said, and smiled as he gave Wufei an affectionate clap on the shoulder. He didn't feel nearly as confident as he sounded - after all, this strange reassurance he felt was just the result of a dream. But somehow... somehow, he couldn't doubt it...
Wufei paused in the doorway, and turned back to face him. "Here," he said, crossing the room with the book in his hand. "I almost forgot, and took it with me anyway."
Duo leaned over to grab the book, and the still-damp end of his braid landed across Heero's hand.
"Maxwell..." Wufei whispered, his eyes widening. Duo looked down, and a burst of joy washed over him, so intense he started to laugh, giddy with delight.
Heero's fingers had wrapped themselves around the end of the braid, and now clutched it tightly.
End Part Six
Yoiko ^_^v
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