Just for the sake of pretending like we have a legal leg to stand on, we wanted to mention here that we did not create Gundam Wing, that we have no rights to the series and that we mean no disrespect whatsoever to the creators, nor is this story meant to be taken as a claim to either the characters or the situations which were not created by us. Also, we have no money, we're not going to make one red cent off of this story, and suing us would be pretty durn pointless since there wouldn't be anything to gain by it. You'd be more likely to get blood from a turnip ^_~
"Oi, Quatre!" The blond looked up from his pile of paperwork to see violet eyes and a wide grin not five inches from his face.
"D-Duo?" Quatre stammered, nearly jumping out of his skin. Damn if Duo wasn't capable of complete silence when it suited him! "I didn't hear you come in. What are you doing here? And where is Heero?"
"He went to Luxembourg." Duo stated it flatly, his resentment at being left behind all too obvious. "He's going to try and hack into the Romafeller computer system."
"Aa... because the Luxembourg estate was once the property of Romafeller," Quatre said, nodding. "If the system is still running, he might be able to find out something about that last battle. That was good thinking."
"I guess," Duo grumbled. "I hate having nothing to do, though, man."
"Well... actually, there is something I've been wondering about," Quatre answered. "I've been trying to trace Treize's last days, and it's occurred to me that Wufei must have done the same thing..."
"So you wanna go search Wu's place?" Duo's violet eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he grabbed Quatre's hand and started pulling him toward the door. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Glancing around, Heero sidled up to the electronic lock. It hadn't been hard to slip past the 'guards' who turned out the general public -- a little flashy fireworks display and he was in.
A smirk graced his features. No matter what might have been done to the systems here in the intervening years, his voice and handprint ID were still embedded deep in the security codes. With ease, he slid into the darkened manor and jogged his way to the central computer room.
Everything was down.
Well, that wouldn't be a problem. Not for him. Not for long.
Cracking his knuckles, Heero got down to business.
"Man... Wu-chan's got like... *NOTHING*," Duo proclaimed, glancing around and thinking of his own cluttered possessions.
Aside from the few decidedly Oriental furnishings in the large living room, the futon in the tiny bedroom, the scattering of sandalwood candles on the counter in the minuscule bathroom and a handful of cooking utensils, cup ramen and detergent in the kitchen/utility room, the entire apartment was almost bare.
"I'm not sure we're going to find anything but all we can do is look!" Duo concluded.
Quatre nodded in response. "We'll start in the larger room and then go through the bedroom."
An hour and forty-five minutes later, Duo laid down the last cushion in the living room and sighed. "Nothing in this room, Q. Not in the vases, cushions, pillows, under the coffee table, not even hidden in the stereo wires... inside or out. Nada."
"Then we move on," Quatre replied and the two walked as one to Wufei's tiny bedroom.
Searching here was easier. For one thing, the area was much smaller. Even the closet was uncluttered - aside from his Preventers uniforms, the Chinese man only had a small collection of tank tops and loose pants in white and black as well as a single tuxedo wrapped carefully in plastic (and probably bought for him by Sally).
"It's not looking much bette... wait a minute." The nimble fingers of the former thief pried quickly at a loose board until it came free with a cracking sort of pop. "Bingo. We struck treasure, Q!"
"Oil," Quatre corrected, dropping the corner of the futon with some relief. The problem with searching the homes of other people was that one inevitably discovered things one equally inevitably wished one had not.
"Fuck me," the braided pilot intoned finally, flipping through paper after paper, newspaper clippings with Treize's face on them, pictures. Sprawlingly elegant handwriting filled the thick cream paper of a leather bound journal which lay at the back of all these, and Duo read as Quatre flipped through the newspaper articles as well. His fingers fumbled slightly over a picture of their fellow pilot stretched out in sleep upon a divan covered only by a black satin robe, ebony tresses loose and tangled.
"Yanno," Duo spoke up, "there's some shit I just didn't need to know about." With that, he picked up some of the newspaper clippings and handed the journal to Quatre.
/
My dearest and most beloved,
Though it has been hours only since last I caressed the warmth of your caramel skin, since I kissed those lips so ripe and ready for me, I find that I miss you already. Does that surprise you, little dragon? It should not for my heart yearns to be one with yours even when you are laying less than centimeters away, stars forbid when we are a heaven and an earth apart, as is too often the case.
Our encounter barely passed will be our last for quite some time, well I know. I will think of you often while you are away from me -- but you know this, that even after the spicy scent of your body and the drugging effects of your kisses are gone, you remain with me.
One day, Chang Wufei, this war will end, no matter who wins or what happens; and in the end, there is one thing I know with certainty. As you are mine, so am I yours. I will be with you always, connected by the red thread of our destiny which binds us together. Not even death will separate us, not even death will destroy that bond, my beloved Wufei.
Not even death.
Yours, always, Treize Khushrenada/
Quatre nearly jumped out of his skin when the communicator beeped, and he had to smile as Duo leaped up, knocking his head solidly on the wall of the bare little closet. Quatre waited till Duo's muffled curses had quieted before he palmed the device on.
"Yes?"
"Quatre," Trowa's voice sounded a little tinny over the comlink, but Quatre nevertheless beamed with delight.
"Trowa!" he cried. "You have news?"
"We've located what's left of Tallgeese II," Sally interrupted. "You'd better come over here, Quatre. You need to see this."
"I'm on my way," Quatre said. "Duo and I have found something, as well." Duo quickly replaced the wooden board, rearranging things to look just as they had, and then the two of them left. A casual inspection of the place would show nothing amiss, but Duo held the precious journal tucked under his shirt, and Quatre carried the other papers.
"I'm glad you're finally here. Look at this!" Trowa said as Duo and Quatre walked into the garage. His tone of voice was more animated than Duo had ever heard before, and the long-haired boy hid his smile behind his hand. Quatre subtly elbowed him in the ribs as he pushed past.
"What are we looking at?" the blond asked, gazing at bits and pieces of charred wreckage. The remaining pieces of Tallgeese II's cockpit were so small... surely if Treize had been on board he could not have withstood the blast!
"This," Trowa said, and held up a can of Luminol. "I sprayed these already. These pieces here formed the inner wall of the cockpit, and this was, of course, the pilot's seat." The piece indicated was a barely recognizable lump, even the metal constructs of the chair mangled and twisted from the blast.
"I see," Quatre said. Trowa launched into a long discussion about the different recovered parts of the mech, and pointed out where on his blueprints of Tallgeese II the pieces would have fit. Duo had a sudden coughing spell that sounded suspiciously like muffled laughter, and Quatre felt the corners of his mouth quirking in response, and forced himself to glare at Duo. It was rare to see Trowa so visibly excited about anything...
"Are you ready for the blacklight?" Sally asked, and Trowa nodded. Somehow he managed to look like a child at Christmas time, even though his facial expression remained as impassive as ever. Duo bit down on his own hand in an effort to stop laughing. Trowa would never understand.
The lights went out, and Trowa ran the black light over the metal shrapnel, revealing... nothing.
"Oi, Trowa, isn't it supposed to be something you can see?" Duo asked, peering into the darkness.
"So you see it, too," Trowa said.
"See what, man? I don't see anything at all!" Duo cried. The lights blazed back on, and Duo covered his eyes with a muffled exclamation.
"I think we should move on to the laser scan, Sally," Trowa said.
"Is there anything else we can help with?" Quatre asked.
"Not at the moment," Trowa said, and actually managed to turn from his work to give Quatre an almost-smile.
"All right, then," Quatre said. "Come on, Duo, we'll get some lunch and go over the papers we have while they finish up here."
"Good, I'm starved," Duo said. As they left the room, he heard Trowa muttering "fascinating..." under his breath. Duo barely made it out of the room before another mysterious "coughing fit" left him doubled over and gasping for breath.
"Man, I'm beat," Duo said, rubbing his eyes and gazing owlishly at Quatre. The blond looked up at him, stifling a smile as he noted that Duo now had black newsprint smudges on his face.
"Anything?" he asked hopefully.
"Nothing, man," Duo answered, wearily stretching the kinks out of his back and rolling his shoulders. "The last anyone reported seeing him was a week before the last battle."
"That's all I've found, as well," Quatre said. "But... we're missing something, Duo, I just know it!"
"All I know is, the man came to the Luxembourg base. He made a big speech about being willing to die for his beliefs, and then he disappeared. People reported bringing food to his chambers, fixing his bath, laundering his clothes... but nobody actually SAW him since that day."
"We have to find him," Quatre said, blue eyes gleaming in determination. "We'll start at the top." Duo groaned, and flipped back to the beginning of the pile of musty articles.
"No.. no, oh, God, no... not again..." Quatre breathed. It was too late. The dream had begun.
/The soft stream of artificial moonlight filters down, dreamlike. It matters not, however; that pretension does not soothe me. How anyone can expect to be soothed under such circumstances, I cannot claim to know!
As always, the thread is there, tugging at my heart. It tugs more frantically now, as it has for the past several weeks.
Something is wrong, desperately, horribly wrong, with my lover.
How I know this, I could not explain. I have thought of him often in the ensuing months (years?) of my capture. I have wished for rescue, the Russian fairy-tale of Maria Morevna often running through my mind. It was foolish of me to be so easily deceived by my captor. Had I half the suspicion of my little dragon, I would not now be in this irreconcilable position. I did not suspect, however -- I did not know; and I have suffered since for my lack of perception.
This new suffering, this knowledge granted me, to know the pain of my beloved's heart... it is too much. I cannot bear it, cannot stand to know that he is suffering so. From where does this knowledge come? Am I finally gone mad in my confinement? I have to get out of here! I must be released!
I must come to the aid of my beloved!
Let me out! LET ME OUT, DAMN YOU, LET ME OUT!!/
"Let me out!" Quatre moaned. "Let me out, let me out, let me out, let me...!!!"
A hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Quatre! Quatre-kun, wake up!" That violent shake brought him out of the dream, Trowa's face close and real. "Quatre?"
"Trowa..." With a stuttering sob, the blond man pressed his face tightly against his lover's shoulder and wept even as thin arms settled around him, holding him tightly. "I can't bear it anymore! I can't!"
"Shhh... Shhh. It will be all right," Trowa whispered, gently smoothing tangled curls.
At that, Quatre shook his head. "No," he whispered tearfully. "It won't be all right until we find him. We have to find him, Trowa! We've got to!"
Zechs stalked into the main office of Winner, Inc., irritably brushing a wayward lock of long, pale hair back over his shoulder. At the sight of his stormy expression, Quatre's secretary leaped to his feet and hurriedly ushered Zechs into the Winner's private office.
Zechs waited until the man had left, closing the door behind him, before he turned to glare at the four former Gundam pilots gathered in the office.
"This had better not be about what I think," he said in a dangerous, soft voice.
"Just shut up and listen, man," Duo said. "We'll make a believer out of you." As the obnoxious long-haired young man spoke, Heero had oh-so-subtly moved between Zechs and the exit. Deep cobalt eyes all but dared Zechs to try to leave. With unmistakable ire, Zechs sat in the chair offered to him. Duo, Trowa and Quatre sat as well, but Heero chose to remain standing.
"Get on with it," Zechs snapped. "I have a babysitter waiting."
"We found what was left of Tallgeese II," Trowa began, apparently oblivious to Zechs's huff of exasperation. "I used Luminol on the pieces of the cockpit. You might already know that Luminol, when sprayed on a surface, causes any blood that came in contact with the surface to be visible under black light. Tallgeese II showed no evidence of any contact with blood, let alone in the quantities Treize Khushrenada would have shed. Laser scan produced no evidence of any organic matter at all, except for a few hairs - some from you, Zechs, and some from Lieutenant Otto. If Treize was ever in Tallgeese II, he never shed so much as a hair."
Trowa sat back, and Quatre had to resist the urge to smile. He had probably just used up his supply of words for the entire week.
"Heero'n I 'interviewed' one of the guards who arrested Wufei," Duo chimed in. "Apparently, Wu was calm and offered no resistance, which explains how they were able to arrest him in the first place, 'cause, you know, Wu can really kick a-" Quatre cleared his throat noisily, and Duo continued, offering a slightly sheepish grin. "Anyway, Wu wasn't acting nuts. And Q and I found that Wu had been researching Khushrenada's last days. The man was last seen in Luxembourg, about a week before that last battle with Tallgeese II, and announced when he got there that he was prepared to go into space himself and settle things. Nobody saw him on base after that. Nobody saw him get into Tallgeese II."
"I analyzed data from the Luxembourg estate's memory bank," Heero added quietly, glowering as everyone turned to face him. "There was no human pilot in that mech the day it exploded."
"This is insane!" Zechs gasped.
"Tallgeese II was being operated remotely," Heero continued. "It probably had some borrowed Mobile Doll circuits at the time."
"And it's an easy thing to mock up an audio-vid transmission," Duo said eagerly. "Look at this!" He pressed a button on the com panel, and Zechs himself appeared on the screen.
"I think I have pink hair," said the image of Zechs. Duo snickered.
"How did you do that?" Zechs demanded, slapping the com panel off.
"Pieced together clips of you talking, and morphed the image to make it look smooth," Duo said. "You should see what else I have you saying!"
"No, thank you," Zechs growled. "So you're saying that Tallgeese II... the mech we saw explode... you're saying that it was some kind of mechanical puppet, with a faked transmission to make it appear that Treize was in it?"
"Rrrrrrrright!" Duo answered, grinning. "That's exactly what we're saying." Quatre nodded his head solemnly, giving Duo a warning frown before he could say anything more.
"Someone went to an awful lot of trouble to make us all think that Treize Khushrenada was dead," Quatre said.
"And when Wufei started questioning it," Heero added, "someone went to a lot of trouble to put him away."
"Yeah, 'cause who would listen to a crazy guy?" Duo asked. "Even if he was right."
"It's not possible..." Zechs muttered, his face pale and grim with old pain.
"But if it were..." Quatre said urgently, his blue eyes pleading. "Who could pull off such a deception? And who would?"
"Khushrenada could have done it himself," Heero said, but before Zechs could protest, he added, "but I don't think he would. It's not like him. He was ready to die for his beliefs."
"So this person might then be holding Treize prisoner," Quatre mused, "but why? You can't hold a dead man for ransom... why would anyone want to kidnap Treize?"
"Lady Une..." Zechs whispered, his haunted blue eyes widening with dawning horror.
/The world... is a dark and lonely place, eternally dim and murky in the never-ending night of this small enclosed place that has been my prison for nigh on to three years now; a very long time. An infinity to live with nothing more than rumors of the outside... Rumors that SHE brings, vague rumblings of war and madness.
SHE is the one who told me that my golden wolf has given up all hope, that he has never believed that I would survive, has never doubted those final moments. SHE is the one who brought to me the news that the little one is quite mad -- beyond mad, in fact, and suffering miserably for it, a slow course of insanity and self-destruction.
My tiny dark-eyed angel... sweet, sweet child of mine. I close my eyes, eyes that have not seen the light of day since I have been imprisoned in this hell, since she fooled them all into thinking me dead. It seems almost too much effort to remain standing beside my chair, staring at the bed where she comes to me sometimes, forces me... or attempts to force me. It is not so simple as she would like. I will make it no easier.
Imprisoned. That would explain a great deal, such as why my angel has not yet come for me. The boy... is brave, I know, and intelligent, too, with quick tongue and fiery wit. If he was capable, he would have come by now. Yes... he would have come by now... and so he must be as dead in spirit as am I.
I wish desperately that we were dead together./
Zechs paused outside the office door and took a deep breath, steeling himself. He knocked and entered smoothly, his face frozen into a bland expression. His azure eyes iced over with the ghost of old memories as he came face to face with Lieutenant Une. It had been almost a year and a half since he had actually seen that look in her eyes - she, his old rival for Treize's affection and approval. There had been many times he would have gladly killed her and the only thing that stayed his hand was Treize's request that he watch over her. And now she occupied the office that should have been Treize's, wielded authority that should have been his, raised his daughter... everything that Treize had left behind in this world was now in Une's care.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Une asked, the bitter twist to her mouth implying that the pleasure was a dubious one, at best.
"I have a... personal matter I wish to discuss with you," Zechs said, sighing inwardly. He had hoped the more agreeable personality would present herself, but it was obviously the cold-hearted Lieutenant... not that there was much love lost between himself and her alter ego, either.
"Well," Lieutenant Une said, "I trust you'll keep it brief. I have a very important meeting in ten minutes."
"Then I'll get directly to the point," Zechs said, his icy gaze fixed on her bitterly amused eyes. "I want to know what happened the day Tallgeese II was destroyed."
A little sound, somewhere between a laugh and a gasp, escaped Lieutenant Une's painted lips. "Why are you asking this?" she said at last. "Why dredge up that horrible day?"
"Because I don't believe what I saw," Zechs said coldly, wondering if this conversation would drive her further over the edge. "I don't believe that Treize Khushrenada died in that explosion."
"This is all that Winner boy's fault," Une said, and Zechs's heart sank as he realized that she had regained her composure. There was no hope now of rattling her into revealing anything important. "You may go tell your little friends that things are exactly as they appeared - Tallgeese II exploded, taking Treize-sama far beyond the reach of anyone who would harm him."
"Chang Wufei seemed to think he had reason-"
"Chang Wufei is clearly insane," Lieutenant Une interrupted. "It's much safer for everyone now that he's receiving professional help. Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Peacecraft, I do have business to attend to." There was nothing else he could do. Zechs gave her a barely courteous nod, and left.
As the door shut behind the blond man, the eyes of the head of the Preventers fell closed and her head tilted to rest against the high back of her chair, her mind falling into the pattern in which it so often resided while she was alone.
{Hello.}1 Lady Anne smiled gently in greeting.
{Why, hello! It's so nice to see you again.}2 Anne replied. The smile she offered in return was weary - it was no easy task running the Preventers.
{Likewise, as always. How is Mariemaya?}1
{A beautiful child. Extremely intelligent. She now understands Tr... her Father's true desire for peace for humanity.}2
{I knew that she would. A beautiful child,} Lady Anne agreed. {And you still enjoy your work with the Preventers?}1
An almost audible pause rang eerily. {Yes.}2
{Is there a problem? Perhaps I can help.}1
{One of my Preventers had to be committed recently to an institution for the criminally insane.}2
{Oh, my!}1
{Yes...} Another pause. {He was attempting to dig up the g... grave of Tr... of Him.}2
{...of... Him... Oh. Oh, dear!}1
{Don't fret, Lady. Everything has been arranged. The poor delusional creature. He wanted to be sure that... that He was truly... gone. He's been hospitalized. She arranged it.}2
{Oh, dear. She goes too far sometimes. I worry about her.}1
{Aa. But she takes care of the necessities, the things which are too much for us...}2
{Yes. Still... the poor thing.}1
{Yes. The poor thing.}2
{Ladies.}3
{Hello.}2
{Ohayo.}1{We must speak; and quickly.}3
{Whatever is the matter, Une?.}2
{Yes; what seems to be wrong?.}1
{Simply this. The Gundam pilots are once again uniting. They are attempting to unearth... Him.}3
The two protested simultaneously. {No!!}
{No!!}
{No!} Lady Anne repeated. {They mustn't! He must be left in peace!}1
{Indeed,} Anne agreed. {There was no peace for him before and now there will be. He must be left alone!}2
The Lieutenant seemed incredibly sly. {Yes. No one deserves him. No one deserved him but us - certainly not that little criminal digging at his resting place, much less that ridiculous pale boy who loved him so and then married Lucrezia. Don't worry. Everything will be taken care of properly but you must, at all costs, make sure that the Gundam pilots know nothing; especially that they know nothing of our 'trips'.}3
A moment's hesitation. {Une... What do we do on those 'trips'?}1
{Yes.} Anne agreed quietly. {What do we do? Why is it such a secret?}2
A sinister smile seemed to permeate them. {It must remain a secret. It is better for all of us. For Him. You must keep the secret.}3
There was acquiescence... but it was not the same bland acceptance she had always been given before. {You will have to tell us one day.}2
{Yes. We deserve to know.}1
Seeming agreement flowed forth. {One day. But not today. We must present a united front, ladies. They must never doubt that He is dead and has been since that day.}3
{He is dead,} Lady Anne sighed hollowly. {Poor Tr...}1
{Yes,} whispered Anne. {Our poor Master.}2
And Une's soft laughter rang loose... never-ending.
Heero was as silent on his feet now as he had been during the war.
The American ex-pilot marveled over the fact that his old partner never snapped so much as a twig as they tracked their way around the mansion into which the head of the Preventers had so lately disappeared. "There's somethin' fishy here," he breathed to Heero. "I mean, really fishy. Smelly, even. But where the hell could she be hidin' the man in this place so that he can't get out?" His dusky eyes narrowed with concentration as he reached back and pulled his lockpick from his hair and went to work at the back door, steadily whispering, as much to himself as to Heero.
"Hn," was Heero's typical answer -- but Duo had been expecting it so that was all right.
"I mean, it ain't like all of the rooms on the first floor ain't got windows you can damn well walk out of," Duo elaborated. "And all the second and third floor windows've got balconies. Where the fuck's she keepin' him - locked up like a flower in the attic?"
Again, a sour noise came in reply but this time he earned a true response. "If not there then beneath the house. Remember Mariemaya," the young Japanese man muttered.
"Precisely." There was satisfaction in Maxwell's voice. "On the nose, Heero-kun!"
That particular rejoinder earned him one of Heero's Special Looks -- The Yuy Look of Eat Hot Death and Die, as he'd been known to call it. "Don't be stupid. You knew that before we ever got here."
"Yeah," Duo admitted, "I figured as much but I wanted to hear you say it, too. You think Quatre and Trowa have gotten in the front yet?"
"Aa." Heero's conversational skills had improved soo~oo much in almost three years.
"Then what're we waiting for, man!? Let's get in there!"
With that, the door clicked quietly shut behind them and the search began.
/I am finally going mad. I knew the moment would come, the moment when I would be unable to bear another word of Moliere, another witticism from Shaw or Voltaire.
SHE has suggested that I find some new hobby; I have many talents but may indulge none. Paints could be swallowed; small pencil sharpeners may be torn apart and used as a weapon or for suicide. Even my shampoo is carefully rationed and non-toxic -- just in case.
As if she'd allow me a rapier!
One day, she will come and she will be off-guard. On that day, I will snap her neck as though it was a twig beneath my fingers and find a knife as quickly as possible.
On that day, I'll end her life and mine... and the never-ending torment that brings to me dreams of rescue by Gundam pilots...
...And not the Gundam pilot I so love..../
"Nothing here," Trowa reported almost silently as he crept down the front stairs with care, gun at the ready by his side. "No sign of her, no sign of Khushrenada."
"I know he's here!" Quatre insisted, his gaze vague. "I feel it. I feel him! She has him, Trowa!" he insisted.
In that moment, Trowa could see how Wufei's insistence could lead someone to think he was mad. "We'll find him," he soothed. They'd damned well better, anyway. He wasn't about to have Quatre torturing himself until the woman put him away, as well!
A quiet sound drew his aim and he looked along the sights before realizing that Heero was aiming at him from the lower part of the hall. A sheepish expression stole over his face as he gently pulled Quatre further down the stairs. "Nothing to report," he voiced in a noise barely above a whisper. "Nothing to be found."
"Then we're right. It's gotta be below ground, man. We just gotta figure out how the hell to get there..." Duo muttered, expressive eyes narrowing with thought.
After a moment, Quatre spoke again, seeming a bit more clear-headed than before. "There's a service elevator in one of the back halls. Maybe..."
"Iku zo," Heero pronounced and with that, they were prowling down the halls as a unit.
"Treize-sama..."
The sound of that voice scraped along his nerves, danced over the furious edge of his ears. "Let me go," he rasped furiously, rising from the wing-backed chair in which he spent so much of his time.
"Don't be ridiculous." Her voice was sharp and he knew, as he always knew, that he was speaking with the Lieutenant and not with the Lady Anne who'd become so kind for him... for space. "I can't let you go. You would be in danger then."
{Danger from whom,} he wondered, teeth clenching fiercely. "Let me go," he insisted once again. "There are things I must do. This has gone on long enough." It was an obstinate sort of reply, one he'd repeated over and over again since the very beginning. Sharp tears rose despite himself and ginger-spiked lashes blinked them away as his frustration grew and grew. Gods above, he had to get out of here!!
"What is there for you?" she asked smoothly. "What is there for you up there besides death and persecution as a war criminal?"
His teeth ground together, molars dancing along one another furiously enough to be audible. "Freedom, perhaps?"
Lieutenant Une laughed. "You have no need of freedom any longer, Treize-sama. Why, I've given you everything you could ever ask for. I bring roses for your bath, I provide you with the finest foods and the companionship of one who loves you. Why must you always insist on more?"
Treize's reply was spoken in a soft voice, but with great intensity. "You've taken my life from me... everything that matters to me is now gone."
"It would be gone anyway. You would have lost your life had I not intervened. You would have gone into space and <I>died</I> for those pathetic souls who meant you harm, Treize-sama. I couldn't allow that!"
"How can you know what would or would not have happened, lady?" Treize asked. "It was not my intention to die. Had you so little faith in me then, as you do now?"
"Treize-sama! Of course I have faith in you! I love you like none other!" Lieutenant Une said, her brow creasing in a stern frown.
"You do not even trust me well enough to live my own life."
"Because you have proven yourself untrustworthy!" Lieutenant Une snapped. "Consorting with that repulsive Gundam pilot... and before that there was your precious Zechs. I saw him today, you know," she said, smiling a little slyly now. "You did know that he and Lucrezia had a son now, didn't you? She's provided him with so much that you could never give him."
Treize blanched, but held his tongue. It was a rare thing for her to tell him anything about the outside world...
"And your little Gundam brat. I believe I did mention that he'd been committed? Well, I've arranged for him to receive extra-special care."
"It looks like it's key-operated," Trowa remarked, examining the elevator's touch panel. "It must be an antique model."
"So the car stays on whatever floor she left it, until she puts the key back in," Quatre finished.
"Unfortunately," Trowa agreed. Heero wordlessly spun on his heel and stalked toward the kitchen.
"Heero! What are you doing?" Duo hissed, following at the silent pilot's heels with Trowa close behind him. This was no time for a snack!
"Dumbwaiter," Heero answered, triumphantly pushing open the doors to the dumbwaiter compartment he'd noticed earlier. As he'd suspected, the dumbwaiter ran down into the basement. It creaked softly as he pulled on the wires, drawing the small box upward. With an almost-smile and a wave of the hand, he indicated that Duo should climb in.
"Uh-UH," the slender young man whispered emphatically, shaking his head till his braid writhed behind him like a thick snake. "No way, man."
"Get in," Heero hissed, glaring at his uncooperative partner.
"No fucking way!" Duo whispered harshly, facing Heero with a defiant glare. "I am NOT going in there! Send Trowa!" Panic welled in his throat and he shuddered, horrified at the idea of climbing into that little dark box.
"Trowa's too tall."
"Then you go!"
"You're the smallest," Heero said bluntly, scowling. It wasn't as though he *wouldn't* go down the dumbwaiter himself, if he could fit in there. But the past two years had seen his lanky form fill out. He was slightly taller and a great deal more muscular since the end of the war.
"I don't care; I'm not doing it. No fucking way," Duo reiterated, crossing his arms. "You go, if you're so hot to have someone in the dumbwaiter!" He tossed his head to fling his long bangs out of his eyes, then looked back at Heero in time to see the dangerous gleam in his eyes.
Quatre crouched in the darkness of the hallway, lining up his sights on the elevator doors. He could hear the frantic whispering of his teammates, apparently arguing about something. Quatre shrugged. Heero obviously had some sort of plan to get downstairs, but Quatre was certain of one thing: at some point Lady Une would have to come out of the elevator.
"It seems that we have company," Une said, her mouth twisting in a malicious smile as the dumbwaiter creaked softly. "Why don't you have a seat, Treize-sama?"
"Thank you; I don't care to sit," Treize replied.
"Oh, but I insist," Une said, and pulled out her gun.
"Do you think to persuade me with that?" Treize asked softly. "I would welcome my death at this point."
"Then I'll persuade you another way," Une hissed, growing more urgently insistent as the dumbwaiter creaked again. "If you don't cooperate, I'll see that different arrangements are made for your precious lunatic's care."
"What are you saying?" Treize asked, growing pale as the blood drained out of his face.
"In plain English... I'll see to it that your little 'angel' dies a horrible death," Une snarled. "Now sit down, Treize-sama."
"I'm going to have to kill him," Duo thought to himself as he struggled to draw a breath in his cramped position. The dumbwaiter creaked again, and Duo's heart hammered in panic - surely Une would be lying in wait. Nobody could have missed that last squeak. As soon as the dumbwaiter doors opened, he'd die. And it would all be because his sadistic partner, Mr. Perfect Soldier Yuy, wouldn't take "I'm claustrophobic" for an answer. "Oh, he's gonna die," Duo assured himself. A tiny little something, hard-bodied and many-legged, crawled across his hand, and he shuddered violently, his wide-open eyes straining against the pitch-black interior of the little compartment. He had to be near the bottom now...
The dumbwaiter came to a halt with a jarring thud, and Duo remained frozen for a hideously long moment, expecting that at any second Une would pull the doors open and shoot him. He'd die in this tiny, buggy place...
Nothing happened. Steeling himself, Duo slid the doors open and tumbled out onto the lushly-carpeted floor of the basement, whipping his pistol out and rolling onto his feet. His startled violet eyes took in the sight of the luxuriously-appointed cell, from the satin-draped bed to the holographic window display that almost looked like a real window to the outside world. And that was when Duo realized that he was face to face with a dead man.
"Khushrenada," he whispered. The man tried to speak around the gag in his mouth, and strained against the rope that bound him to an overstuffed chair that was bolted to the floor. Duo ignored the frantic pleas as he scoped out the place and confirmed that the two of them were alone in the room. There was a chain around the prisoner's ankle, just long enough that he'd be able to make his way from the bed to the little bathroom to the chair. The dumbwaiter was within easy reach... Duo surmised that this must be how Une had sent food to Treize, when she was too busy to visit him personally. The opposite side of the room was well out of reach of the chain, and Duo saw that the elevator stood empty and ready, with the key in place.
"I'll be damned. She must have gotten out some other way," he breathed. "Don't worry, I'll come back and let you loose," he whispered to Treize. The captive general's eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically, but Duo was already pushing the button for the first floor.
Quatre held his breath as the elevator hummed into action. Any second now... He trained his sights on the center of the elevator doors, waiting for them to open. But something nagged at him... something not quite right...
The doors slid open, and he saw Duo's violet eyes widening in horror as his finger squeezed the trigger - then the world went black.
Duo threw himself on the floor, looking up to see Une walk up right behind Quatre and slam the butt of her pistol against the back of his head. The blond fell without so much as a whimper, and Duo screamed his name. Une smiled at him, her eyes alight with triumph as she raised her weapon and fired. Duo rose up enough to slam his hand against the button, driving it into the elevator panel with the force of the blow.
The doors slid shut, and the elevator started to move. Duo could hear other shots, the sound muffled as the elevator made its slow way back to the basement. Something warm was trickling down across his ribs, and his whole side suddenly burned with the icy, fiery pain of a bullet wound.
"Shit," he whispered. The elevator finally stopped, and he staggered out, meeting Treize's wide-eyed gaze with a grimace.
"Yeah, I know, I shoulda let you out first," he whispered. His blood roared in his ears as he stumbled over to the chair and began loosening the man's bonds. "You know," he said in a purely conversational tone of voice, "I think I might pass out." And then he did.
Trowa heard two shots, and he ran recklessly toward the spot where Quatre had been keeping watch. He arrived in time to see the elevator doors closing, and Une raising her pistol to point it at Quatre's head. His blond hair was matted with blood, and Trowa couldn't help but gasp in horror at the sight. Une aimed at him, and he stepped out into the light with his hands up.
"Please don't shoot, Lady Anne, it's only me," Trowa said.
"I seem to have found another intruder," Une said, but her eyes were unfocused.
"No, it's only me," Trowa said. "You remember me, don't you, Lady Anne?"
"It's Lieutenant Une," Une corrected him, glaring coldly through her eyeglasses.
"Of course, Lieutenant," Trowa amended.
"Don't bother explaining," Une said. "I'm going to have to kill you anyway, since you obviously know too much."
"I understand," Trowa said. "But before you kill me... please tell me how you did it."
"What?"
"Well, I've spent the past weeks trying to unravel this mystery," Trowa said, "and my last wish is to have it resolved before I die. How did you do this? You were in a coma when Treize Khushrenada went to space for the last time."
Une scoffed at him, unaware of the intense cobalt-blue glare focused on the back of her head as the Perfect Soldier inched carefully forward. "Lady Anne was in a coma. I was completely aware of everything going on around me. He came to me, you know, in the hospital. He wanted me to know what he was trying to do." Une's mouth twisted bitterly at the memory. "I'm afraid it came as something of a surprise to him when I sat up in my bed and took him prisoner."
"But how did you-"
"It was all too simple," Une said. "I merely told him that I needed his help, and that his precious Wufei's life depended on it, and he believed me."
"And then you brought him here?"
"Yes, of course, I had planned everything all along. Treize-sama merely forced me to move before everything was in complete readiness, but he managed to achieve some measure of comfort in his living quarters, even before I brought in the carpet and furniture."
Trowa nodded wordlessly, his pity welling up for the man who had been locked in the basement for so long... his green eyes silently urged Heero to hurry.
"But now, I'm afraid I have to kill you," Une said.
"I'm ready," Trowa said quietly, and met her gaze with the same unruffled, dead expression that had so unnerved Catherine during their knife-throwing act. Heero inched a little closer, crouching to spring at her... and Une hesitated, the barrel of her gun wavering indecisively.
{What are you doing, Une?.}1
{You mustn't!}2
{Leave me alone! I'm doing this for all of us! I'm doing what needs to be done!}3
"Please put the gun down," Trowa said, stepping toward the disturbed woman as gently and carefully as one approaches a lion. "I mean you no harm."
"But you would do me harm, nonetheless," Une said, and the Lieutenant snapped back into focus. "Just stay right where you are," she said, pointing the pistol at him again.
{This is wrong!}1
{We can't allow this!}2
{Leave me!.}3 Lieutenant Une protested, appalled to suddenly realize that her counterparts were far more powerful than she'd given them credit for. {You don't understand!}3
{Drop it!}1
{You have to drop it!}2
{NO!}3
"NO!" Une screamed, dropping the pistol just as Heero came barreling out of the darkness and took her down with a flawless tackle. Trowa left her to the Perfect Soldier as he rushed to his lover's side, unaware of the tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You gotta help me," Duo whispered, his numbed fingers finally working loose the locked metal cuff around Treize's ankle. He could have gotten the thing off in less than half the time if his vision didn't keep blurring in and out. The skin where the cuff had lain was raw and oozy with a long-untended infection. "Looks like we both need a doctor," Duo commented, and then fell back in a half-faint to rest for a moment, his lopsided grin still intact.
"If we get out of this," Treize said. His long captivity had left him weakened in more ways than one - the resolve and determination that had seen him through his darkest days had slowly eroded beneath the weight of the endless, monotonous imprisonment. With a great deal of effort, he hauled the dizzied former Gundam pilot against his side, being careful not to aggravate the wound. Duo moaned softly and made every effort to walk on his own, and between the two of them they staggered over to the hidden panel in the wall that Treize had seen Une use on many occasions. Duo shook his head in amazement. He couldn't believe that none of them had looked for a secret staircase!
Treize and Duo crept up the staircase slowly, each of them certain that Une would be waiting for them at the top. Just as Treize was sliding the wall-panel open, someone on the other side opened it forcefully. With a cry, Duo slid down the staircase as Treize dropped him and placed himself directly in the line of fire.
Heero Yuy glared at the man, pulled him out of the way, and went down the stairs to get his fallen comrade.
"It's about time you two came up here," he said quietly. "You broke the elevator, and neither of us could fit in the dumbwaiter. And she wouldn't tell us how she got out of the basement." He indicated Lady Une, who was firmly bound and being watched by Trowa. Quatre leaned against his lover's shoulder, pressing a wadded-up cloth against his fiercely aching head where the skin had split.
"I love it when a plan comes together," Duo muttered, and then he felt his knees sagging as his body finally gave out.
"The place is set up like so," Heero announced, poring over the blueprints. "We go in via this duct that they've got placed for water drainage. Not too bad, they've got bars over the end, but I scoped them out on my way back from Luxembourg. The bars are screwed in... from the inside, not the outside, so the crazies can't get loose but anybody else who wants to can get in with ease."
The sound of Treize's throat clearing didn't seem to bother Heero at all. "Once in, he's in room B-17, sixth window down from this point on the left wing. The structural integrity of the building should make an explosion within the range of the bend, here, and the window, here, a viable solution. The wall will come down like so and still be supported by beams on either side. There's supposed to be a guard around the clock but it won't be hard to put him out of commission. Duo and Quatre will wait with Treize in a van at the exit point, here, back through the drainage duct. It's big enough so that we'll be able to get Wufei in and out all right. Trowa and I will be in charge of the explosives and the rescue operation."
"No." All four of the Gundam pilots turned to stare at their former enemy. With his typical flare, Treize raised a hand and flicked strands of ginger hair back out of his eyes, frowning. "I'm going with you to get him out of there."
"That's not part of the mission, Khushrenada. Mission objectives are to get Wufei out of the institution. All wounded will remain in the van. Duo will drive," Heero informed him sternly.
"Hot DAMN! Heero-Perfect-Soldier-Yuy is gonna let me behind the wheel!" Duo crowed. Even that was a miracle -- Une had shot the hell out of his side and cracked a rib to boot when the bullet bounced off of it. He was lucky she hadn't killed him! Not to mention the tumble down the stairs that had left him bruised and shaken (though luckily he hadn't injured himself further).
"I'm going with you," Treize insisted, scowling as a hand settled on one denim clad hip. "Whether you like it or not, Yuy."
Quatre's voice interrupted them with quiet good sense. "Treize, you really aren't well yet. Your ankle is in terrible shape and you've been..." He paused. "You've been held prisoner for so long. Don't you think it would be better to allow Heero and Trowa to do this? They know what they're doing. I promise they'll do just as well as you would - and once Wufei is safe, we can discuss where to go from there." He almost held his breath as he waited for Treize's answer.
The former Oz general turned his face away, almost seeming to crumble beneath the weight of those combined gazes. "As you say," he murmured, not looking at any of them.
The others watched in surprise as Trowa laid a hand lightly against Treize's arm, emerald gaze meeting bright sapphire eyes. No words passed between them, only that momentous gaze and then even that was finished as Treize nodded slowly. "As you say," he repeated once again and then he turned to limp from the book-lined study and in the direction of the stairs.
"Tro-man, what the hell was that?" Duo asked, reaching up to rub the back of his head.
The slight smile that crooked the edges of Trowa's lips was almost secretive. "He needed reassurance," he murmured. "It's late. We'll all have a long night ahead of us tomorrow. I suggest we find our beds."
"Yes," Quatre murmured, still staring at his lover. Even after all this time, Trowa could surprise him in the most wonderful ways -- almost daily. "It's time for bed. Tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow," Heero said firmly, "we'll rescue Wufei."
"All for one," Duo said, grinning wildly, "and one for all."
The night was perfectly dark aside from the sharp sparkle of stars through the freezing cold air. A lone silhouette moved silently through the darker areas of the yard. Anyone who noticed would have found it impossible to trace the shadowy figure, or to see how it had managed to find its way inside the thirty-foot wall enclosing the small hospital's lower floor.
The windows on said floor were shatterproof, supposedly, impossible to break, impossible to open -- but not for him. As he glanced into one barely-lit room, an expression of fury filtered across the face of the shadow as he carefully, oh so exquisitely carefully, placed the acid that would eat its way through that glass no matter what it had been made of. The soft sizzle and plop soaked through the first layer and the second before he heard the sounds that made his skin turn cold and fury dance down his spine; heated sobs and cries and pleas that shook him to the depths of his soul.
"IIE!! Yamero! Yamero! TREIZE! YAMERO! IYAAAAA!!!"
The glass shattered inward with the body that was flung through it, drawing a startled gasp from the man ravishing the taut body tied so tightly to the rails of the bed. "FUCK!"
The shadow rolled with the impact and came up, the barrel of his gun pressed lightly against the guard's forehead. The vague similarity of his face to the one pressed against the pillows only feet away sent a shiver through his frame. "I would suggest that you remove yourself," he murmured silkily.
"Wh...who are you?" the guard managed to ask as he rose, fumbling to button his pants.
A brilliant smile, white teeth gleaming. "The dead come for vengeance. Did you not hear him calling for me?" The small guard stepped back as Treize moved closer. "And now..."
The thump of Treize's gun against his temple, the thud of a body hitting the ground, and Treize turned easily. A quick flick of a knife freed Wufei from the restraints holding him to the rails of the bed. The slender man curled in upon himself, sobbing so deeply that he shook violently with each wretched breath. It took only seconds to get the rail down and to gather that slight figure to his chest. "Wufei..." The sound was tortured, deep. "My Wufei."
"Not even death..." a scarcely audible whisper declared. "Not even death!"
"Shhhh..." Tears welled in deep sapphire eyes as he buried his face against hair that smelled of sweat and fear and sex, not the warm coconut and patchouli he remembered. "Wufei... oh, my Wufei..."
Dark eyes slitted open, shielded by long lashes. "Treize?" he murmured uncertainly, voice raw.
"I'm here. Oh, my beloved one," Treize breathed. "How I have longed for you."
"You'll save me? Love... oh, love you so..." The words seemed groggy, disjointed
"I'll save you, my little dragon," was a warm puff of breath in his ear and he floated up from the bed held secure in Treize's arms. He watched as though far away as he was wrapped tightly in the blanket from the bed and placed in the chair beside it, his tall ginger-haired lover turning away momentarily. The man who looked so like {Who? Her? Me? I don't know...} someone was gently placed in the bed in his place, the cut wrist restraints tied tightly back together even as the figure being tied moaned, came around. "Wufei?"
He turned his face up in anticipation, brows rising with drugged curiosity. "Yes?" Words were thick in his mouth, barely heard over the angry and hysterical cries now sounding from the bed.
"Shall we do the honors together?" A metallic snap, a whir, a bright flicker of flame. Wufei's eyes lit up brightly even through the haze of drugs and Treize smiled.
Wufei always HAD been a little pyromaniac.
He stood, wobbled, and then was held steady within Treize's arms, the Zippo lightly placed into his palm. Carefully, the hysterical screams of the man on the bed ignored, they began at the corner of the mattress. The starched sheets burned easily and soon the smell of foam and rubber and cloth and flesh pervaded the area, the bed wildly aflame even as sprinklers began to go off, spraying everywhere.
With a click, Treize closed the Zippo and gathered Wufei into his arms, blanket and all. "Time to go, little one!" With that, they were out the window and gone, only a momentary pause made for one last thing.
Walking away, neither of them flinched as the carefully planted detonator exploded, blowing everything in the small room behind them to bits.
The paper was placed neatly beside Quatre's tea cup as breakfast began, only one person missing from the table. Duo was, fairly typically, tucking into his scrambled eggs and pancakes with the fervor of a starving man as Trowa turned faintly green and carefully nursed his cup of tea.
"So, Hee-chan!" Duo mumbled around a mouthful of eggs. "You ready to blow some shit up, my good man?" A grunt was the only answer he gained in reply and so he turned to look at Quatre as the rustle of the newspaper being unfolded sounded. "And what's the state of the universe today, Q?" No answer came. A fair oddity. "Q?"
"My God," the blond whispered, standing abruptly and moving quickly from the room.
Three pairs of eyes met in fleeting glances before the other young men rose and followed him.
At the top of the stairs, Quatre took a right and moved down to the fourth room on the left, flinging open the door. It bounced back slightly. "He's gone!"
Duo peeked in over his shoulder. "Maybe he had to pee."
"Or maybe he was tired of being kept cooped up," Trowa suggested.
"Or maybe," Heero proposed, "he's ready to blow that damned hospital to bits, too."
With a distraught sound, Quatre turned and ran back downstairs, leaving his befuddled friends to follow.
"Man, I wonder what kinda bug crawled up Quatre's butt," Duo murmured in amazement at the formerly calm pilot's behavior.
Quatre's voice rang out as they reached the dining room. "The explosion, thought to have been caused by the rupture of a gas main, seemed to come from a single room. The fire was put out quickly but not before a patient who had been left restrained, Chang Wufei, died in the blast. An intern whose name has not yet been released has been missing since early this morning. His disappearance is thought to be connected to the blast."
Silence.
"Do you suppose Treize...?" Duo's voice trailed into nothingness.
Trowa whispered, "Saw the morning paper?"
"No!" Heero ground out, "He snuck out in the middle of the night and did the job himself. He botched it."
"Wufei..." Quatre's eyes filled with sharp tears and before he knew it, Trowa and Duo had both reached out to him, arms wrapping tightly, all three in a huddle. He could feel Duo's trembling against him, even though he knew the American would deny tears to the last. Trowa's hand rested lightly upon the small of his back.
Wet tourmaline eyes opened slowly, blond lashes clumped together, and met cool Prussian. Yes... the uchuu no kokoro. Uchuu no kokoro... Heero. In that moment, that quick meeting, they knew, and a pact was sealed.
Silence... for Treize and Wufei.
Forever.
The sound of rich earth plopping unceremoniously against hollow wood made Quatre shiver as each of the former Gundam pilots and the few high-level Preventers who had come to the tiny private cemetery walked by and tossed a fistful down into the open grave. The symbolism of their journey to discovery was not lost upon him as he glanced down into the hole, clouded eyes seeking out the scattered petals of white and yellow roses that had been shaken loose from their stems by the falling dirt. Trowa's arm was tight around him as he turned to look at each of the others in turn.
Only steps away stood Zechs and Noin with their son, Relena, Sally, even Catherine. They did not attempt to join the small circle of friends standing so close to that open grave, only waited and watched, murmuring quietly amongst themselves.
"I thought Khushrenada would at least come to the funeral," Duo muttered dispiritedly. "Guess he couldn't stand it. You know. Waiting all this time, just for this to happen."
Quatre's heart welled with warmth as he smiled slightly at Duo. "It's best to leave him be, wherever he is."
"Wherever he is," Heero intoned, "I've got a feeling we won't hear from him again."
Emerald eyes glanced over at Zechs, the older man's haggard expression calling to him somehow. "No," Trowa agreed. "We won't."
They walked away as the November rain began to mist down into the small ossuary grounds beside the empty burial plots of Treize Khushrenada and Mirialdo Peacecraft.
His glasses were slipping down his nose, an irritating fact, and he pushed them back up, pulling the velour blanket more tightly around him as he turned another page and waited patiently. The stars outside the huge window so close by glittered with a fierce brightness that was almost like the clear sharp cold of space to him and yet he was wrapped in the warmth of his cover and the fire blazing so cheerily only feet away from where he sat.
The sound of a door opening and shutting caught his ear and he slid a scrap of silk between the pages to mark his place, rising and moving silently in stocking feet to the small foyer, smiling at the figure rapidly pulling away mittens, scarf and heavy winter coat. "I believe, my angel," the tall slim man said, "that it is getting colder. Much colder. Perhaps tomorrow, we will find it impossible to leave the house."
A dark brow rose as he took Treize's coat, helping him put things away. "It won't be that much of a catastrophe, I think," Wufei replied, heading towards their well-appointed kitchen and the soup bubbling merrily in wait for them. A fleeting thought crossed his mind, the image of Quatre smiling so sweetly, and he smiled in return, unable to help himself. "Even death could not part us. I find it unlikely that being snowed in for a few days will have any effect other than to bring us closer."
Arms wrapped around him from behind and a warm mouth nuzzled his ear even as cold fingertips found his hands and held them tight. "No, my angel. I believe that you are right. It will not be a catastrophe at all. And nothing will ever part us again." His voice lowered to a husky whisper. "Not even death."
~owari~
Yoiko & Tzigane
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