A/N: Believe it or not, my friends, this is me returning to my roots and remembering where I came from...and where my love of anime began.
This story is dedicated with a very special thank you to disturbed-girl, a woman who once likened me to the scrappy little Duo in my love of coffee and heavy metal music! Thank you for rekindling my love of Duo, Heero, and all things Gundam Wing. And...well...thank you, too, for so much more than I can express!
Without further delay, I hope you all enjoy! And don't forget to review! The feedback really does help!
A/N: It has been brought to my attention that my story as it originally was written was not in line with rules and guidelines. Thank you to those who brought this to my attention. And to those of you who enjoyed the story as it was originally written, I am sorry. It was NOT my choice to change it. For your listening entertainment please play "Indestructible" by Disturbed.
A/N: 7/20/2014. Okay, people. A lot of thought went into this. And...I have decided to return the story to it's former glory. Written as it was intended to read, with lyrics intact. Thank you to all those who supported me.
I watched as thin, bony fingers ghosted over the key board of the computer at breakneck speed. It never ceased to amaze me as I watched the man work. Oh sure, I had a very similar skill set, and could easily be in the chair myself. But he had turned hacking into an art form. A spectator sport which I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed watching.
My gaze flitted to the computer screen as diagrams and schematics popped up. Damn...that had to be a record. Either that, or OZ was just getting sloppy with their security systems. An impish grin spread across my lips at this thought. Everyone said that we were playing for the losing side. The side of the colonies. If that were true...why did we have OZ running scared?
Taking in the information on the screen, I began to realize the extent of our enemy's fear. This was bad. Very bad. With this level of tech, an assault on the colonies now would end in complete devastation. Maybe we were on the losing side after all. But it was still the right one.
"Shit." The curse slipped roughly through my lips as I continued to take in the extensive intell on the new weaponry.
The only response was a small grunt of agreement. This new weaponry was way too advanced to go up against. But, lucky for us, it seemed we had retrieved the intell before OZ had had a chance to do much with it. A small win for the underdog. I was relieved that the information Quatra had intercepted had been accurate. The odds were already stacked against us. We couldn't afford to spend precious time and resources tracking down faulty leads.
With this intell now in our hands, we needed to make sure that it left the hands of our enemy. I watched as he slipped something into the computer. A parting gift. Another helpless grin crossing my lips unbeckoned as the computer screen began to pixelate, corrupting the data files he had just retrieved. A shrill alarm pierced the silence. Triggered, no doubt, by his handiwork at the computer, alerting the enemy to our presence. And I couldn't help the snort of amusement that that escaped me. OZ had certainly taken their sweet time...
The man at the computer came to a swift stand, losing no amount of momentum in his stride. We didn't have much time, and we were sure to be outnumbered. But I supposed that made for a fair fight for the other side. OZ may have had numbers...but we had determination. And we were desperate. Because we weren't fighting for a simple win. I prepared myself, readying my firearm for the unavoidable onslot as I watched him go to work on a hand made detonation device. His own design, no doubt. The man loved his explosives.
"Five minutes." His voice came cold and distant from the corner of the room as my gaze fell to his stooped form.
"Why don't we make things a little more interesting and call it three?" My own voice unfazed amongst the shrill noise as I detected the slightest nod of concession...this was going to be fun.
Standing from his place on the floor, the man turned toward me, his cold cobalt gaze burrowing intently into my own. And a smirk crossed my lips as I thought back to the many times I had been at the receiving end of that cold stare. Not always as a friend, either. With my experience going against him, I knew it was far worse to have him as an enemy. Something Oz and I had in common, I cynically thought to myself. Though I didn't pity them. Not one bit. They were the ones who picked this fight. They got what they deserved.
"Duo..." His monotone voice came over the piercing siren as he huffed a small bag across his shoulders.
"Heero." My response came lighthearted, my grin spreading as I found my own bag. "Shall we?" And I watched as he readied himself with a firearm and a stiff nod.
Violently slamming the door open with my foot I watched as Heero darted in front of me and out into the hall. Our entrance had gone completely unnoticed up until now, using stealth to our advantage to bye us the time we had needed to gather the intell. But now. Now...it was time to make some fucking noise.
Another mission,
The powers have called me away
Another time to carry the colors again
My motivation,
An oath I've sworn to defend
To win the honor of coming back home again
No explanation, will matter after we begin
Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within
My true vocation,
And now my unfortunate friend
You will discover, a war you're unable to win
My adrenaline kicking my senses into high gear, I heard the first shots ring out over the security alarm. My legs bounded over the body in the middle of the hall, my focus unfazed. We both knew that there was no other way this could end but messy. And neither one of us really minded. There was too much at stake for us to play by the rules of engagement.
I'll have you know
That I've become
Indestructible
Determination,
That is incorruptible
From the other side,
A terror to behold
Annihilation,
Will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible
Master of war
Hearing enraged screams from behind me, my hand instinctively gripped a small explosive. Without losing pace with the man in front of me, I quickly turned and threw the device to the ground. The concussive force of the explosion in the narrowed space pushed me forward. Grabbing another device I threw it headlong in front of us, the canister igniting into a cover of smoke as we continued pushing through the hall. Just keep running. I had to keep running.
Another reason,
Another cause for me to fight
Another fuse uncovered,
Now for me to light
My dedication,
To all that I've sworn to protect
I carry out my orders without a regret
My declaration,
Embedded deep under my skin
A permanent reminder of how it began
No hesitation,
When I am commanded to strike
You need to know that you're in for the fight of your life
Live or die. Live or die. I had to live. Which meant others would die. Throwing the crook of my arm to my mouth to shield myself from the onslot of smoke, I did a mental calculation. Two minutes and eighteen seconds. Damn...we were cutting it close. I just had to make things more interesting. Great work, dumbass! Screeching to a hault next to the man in front of me we paused momentarily at the turn of the hall. Back to back in a dance we had done many times before. Leaving him to gauge what was ahead of us, I kept my eyes on where we had just been, my firearm ready.
You will be shown
How I've become
Indestructible
Determination,
That is incorruptible
From the other side,
A terror to behold
Annihilation,
Will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible
Master of war
Catching a glimpse of a form charging through the clearing smoke I squeezed the trigger without hesitation. All I needed was one shot, and it had made its mark. An uncontrollable smirk crossed my lips. I wasn't called the God of Death for nothing. A swift nudge and we were back in motion. One minute and forty seven seconds. And we were still on the third floor of the building. Faster. We had to move faster.
I'm
Indestructible
Determination,
That is incorruptible
From the other side,
A terror to behold
Annihilation,
Will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I am indestructible
Indestructible
Clearing the smoke screen and making our way to a narrow stairwell I felt every muscle in my body tense. I felt tight. Trapped. We didn't have many options for defense here, and we needed to move quickly. My breath heaving in my chest, another wave of adrenaline pushed me forward as we broke down into the second floor of the building.
Dashing through the narrow hall more shots were fired. We didn't have the time or man power to wade through the onslot of enemy fire. We still needed to gain a safe distance from the facility...and we hadn't even exited the building yet. What we needed was a better plan.
"Heero!" I growled from behind him, my mental clock still ticking.
"I know!" He shouted back, keeping his pace as another of his bullets made it's mark in the hailstorm of fire.
I watched as Heero careened himself down another corridor, a scowl of disapproval contorting my features as I realized exactly where we were going. We had needed a new exit plan, but this was not what I had in mind. Shots fired out in front of me followed by the sound of shattering glass, and I cringed. This was going to fucking hurt.
Heero leaped first, throwing himself gracefully out the window without the slightest hesitation. Yeah...he had done this before. We both had. The only difference...? I was almost certain he actually enjoyed throwing himself out of windows.
The man was a masochist of the highest caliber... A fact that didn't play in the enemy's favor. My theory of pain? It was better to give than to receive...
Sucking in the air around me violently, I jumped. The force of the gravity pulling me to the ground pushed my stomach into my lungs, making it hard to breathe. And then the impact. Jarring what little breath I had left from my body as I rolled onto my feet and into a run. Ten seconds. That's all we had to clear the perimeter to safety.
Indestructible
Determination,
that is incorruptible
From the other side,
A terror to behold
Annihilation,
Will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible
Master of war
The force of the detonation pushed me back to the ground as I covered my head. Exactly how much explosive had the man used? Glancing to the side of me I took in the mirrored image of Heero. And I knew. I knew that we had made it. A small victory for the losing team. Finally pushing myself off the ground onto my knees I turned to see the facility we had barely escaped with our lives. Completely leveled to the ground. A sigh escaped my lips as I wiped the blood and dirt off of my face, my gaze shifting once again to the man next to me.
"Heero..." I breathed painfully as he glanced over at me, his gaze cold an piercing. "The next time I want to make things a little more interesting...just shoot me." And I watched as a small, rare smirk of amusement twitched across the corner of his lips as he gave a swift nod.
The End
A/N: The lyrics featured in this story are from the song "Indestructible" by Disturbed.