Lost in the Photographs

By: mellonemrys
Pairings: Eventual: 3x4, 1x2, 5 - 2, Zechs x Noin, Treize x Une, 5 x Sally (may change), plus a few more not listed and pairings that could change as the story goes on.
Rating: R/ NC-17
Warnings/Spoilers: Some things may parallel the canon series but they will be marked for each individual chapter. Shonen-ai/ Shoujo-ai, language, character death, blood, smut (in later chapters, will be marked), torture. ALL chapters with graphic scenes will be marked at the beginning of the chapter.
Story Summary: In a AU and futuristic world photographs are illegal possessions. It is somewhat unclear as to why this is, but Quatre who has supposedly lived on the streets for the duration of his memory is found with a batch of photographs and the negatives that go along with them. He is forcefully brought to a military run base in the large city he lives in. As he finds out more about his new teammates and they discover more about their new team member they also discover a government cover up going back to the assassination of one of history's greatest leaders, Heero Yuy. The five members of special operations team 'Gundam' try to find out more about this plot along with one that may be executed against the government very soon and another just as dangerous plot that must be stopped for the future peace of their city.
Notes: The first five chapters of this fic were written for the "beatofdestiny" community (on livejournal), but officially it's theme writing has been put on a permanent hold...do to the fact that the maintainer didn't think many people would really finish all 100 themes. So I decided to write a chapter for each theme...so 100 chapters, hopefully.
Thank you to: dentellenoir for beta-ing for me!
E-mail:
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it's characters, ideas, plot, names, etc. I do own this plot, the original characters, the ideas, and some of the names however. So don't steal…from anyone! XP

Lost in the Photographs

Chapter One: Brief Encounter

"You know photographs are illegal."

Turning around, Quatre found himself face to face with another boy. The boy was much bigger than he was, and was wearing a badge on the pocket of his navy blue military shirt. Snatching the photo, the older boy squinted at it, and then handed it back to someone behind him. He reached his hand into the hollow that Quatre had been hiding in, and was promptly bitten by the stray dog that had been following Quatre everywhere he went. The boy let out a yelp, pulling his now bleeding hand back; and Quatre took the time created by the distraction to gather up his belongings, a small backpack and a water bottle, and ran. He didn't really look where he was running to; that didn't matter. The thing that did was that they wouldn't learn anything from him. He didn't know anything. So he only watched his back; keeping an eye on the three larger boys chasing after him.

He guessed that they must be at least three or four years older than he was. And by looking at their badges he had gleaned that they were part of some special unit of the military base in the city. They weren't high ranking, but they were still military, most likely the same unit that had been following him for the past year or so.

Quatre was a bit small for his age, he reasoned that it was somewhat due to living on the streets for so long. His blond hair hung in ragged clumps over his eyes and ears, but was surprisingly clean for someone who didn't have access to a shower whenever he wanted. He had been taught by one of the old men he had stayed with when he was younger to try to stay clean, even if it did seem silly and pointless. The more normal you looked, the more likely it was for someone to help you. And the cleaner the environment you lived in, the better your chances at staying healthy and alive were.

After running a few blocks through the slums of the city, Quatre began to see the streets change from the run down, rubbish filled alleys of the down town area to the cleaner, middle class streets of the upper city. Slowing a little because of the abundance of people and vehicles in the streets, he weaved his way through the traffic in an attempt to lose his pursuers and head back the way he had come. Looking behind him he saw none of the government boys that had been chasing him and let out a sigh of relief. He crashed into someone, and before he could stand he felt painfully strong hands pull him to his feet and turn him around. Finding himself looking at the face of the dark haired teenager again, he tried to wiggle free, but the other boy's grip only tightened as he started to pull Quatre to the side of the street.

"You have quite a record." The older boy mumbled as he pushed Quatre up against a wall, and began fiddling with a pair of restraints on his belt. "It's taken us almost a year to track you down, so I'm not taking any chances and letting you get away."

Quatre looked around for an opening somewhere in the crowd that he may be able to slip into; even allowing himself to be cuffed. Then he darted out from under the other boy's arms. He only got a few feet away before he ran into someone who put a gun to his chest. It was other boy with a badge, though he was clearly part of another team. This boy could have been the same age as Quatre, but he guessed that he was a year or so older. His dark blue eyes showed no compassion or mercy as he knocked Quatre out with a blow to the side of the head with the butt of his gun.

Opening his eyes sent pain racing through his head from due to the light, and the large bump that had formed on the side of his head. The room he was in was very bright, so it took his eyes a moment before they could process where he was. His first thought was prison, but that would be darker. His next thought was that he was dead, but upon finding that he was tied down, and he could feel pain, he finally settled on some sort of hospital, or another type of military facility. Dark blue eyes met his in a stern gaze. And Quatre's eyes darted to the badge on his shirt indicating his rank, but found he couldn't read it, his head felt fuzzy, and he couldn't focus on it.

"Does your head hurt?" the boy asked, looking at a clipboard in his hands.

Quatre nodded, and watched as the boy found a bottle on the table next to him and opened the cap, pouring out the contents into his hand. Choosing two pills of the same size and color, the boy replaced the other pills and pinched Quatre's arm until he gasped out in pain. Then the other boy shoved the pills into Quatre's mouth and pinched his nose until he swallowed. Quatre wanted to retort, but he had been taught not to tell anyone anything; it only got you into trouble.

The boy with blue eyes checked a few readings on various screens and monitors before writing a few notes on his clipboard and leaving, turning off the light behind him. Staring at the dark ceiling, Quatre began to shift around in his restraints, trying to feel for the lock that he knew would be somewhere on the metal strap. He didn't have anything to cut into them with, or pick the lock with, (which he finally found and ran his finger over the indent). Even if he did have those tools, it was unlikely that he would have been able to reach them with his hands pinned down. And by just moving his head screamed in pain. After a few minutes he felt drowsy again, and decided that without the proper tools or the means to get them, he wouldn't be able to free himself. He let sleep overcome him, hoping that when he woke up again an opportunity would present itself and he would be able to escape. Until then he would just close his eyes and hope that the specters that normally haunted his dreams had been left out on the streets.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No."

"Well that's a bummer. I was hoping he would talk." Duo crossed his arms over his chest and put on his best pouting face. After a few moments he noticed that Heero wasn't paying him any attention, and decided to take another approach. "So, do you know why the other guys couldn't keep hold of him?"

"No, but my guess is that they asked too many questions."

Taking the hint Duo closed his mouth, stifling the row of questions he had lined up. They stood in silence for a moment as Heero worked on some of his never-ending paper work at his desk. After a few more minutes of silence though, he couldn't take it and began asking Heero more questions. "Why would we have to go after a kid? It just doesn't make sense; all he had on him was a few fuzzy photographs, a water bottle, and a blanket, if you could call it that."

"They wanted the photos."

"Why? You can't see anything in them…"

"He can."

"What are you talking about? I can't even see anything in those!" Duo protested, "You can't see anything, right?"

"No, but he can. Believe me."

"That's what you always say."

Heero just glared at him and continued with his work. Half an hour passed before he spoke again, "I want him on the team."

"What!? Heero, are you insane!? We just lost Shen! 'Fei is going through enough already without you trying to replace his brother!" Duo protested, not caring whether or not he could be heard down the hall.

"I'm not trying to replace him…believe me. I don't want to admit losing Shen as much as Wufei doesn't, but we can't do this with only the four of us. We could barely get by with five." He paused, setting his pen down and turning to Duo, "I'm sorry…it was my mistake for letting him go off alone in the first place."

Duo shook his head in despair, "No Heero…it wasn't anyone's fault. But we can still hope that he'll turn up. I mean the official report says his body was brought in…but I know it wasn't. I had Relena and Dorothy pull a few strings for me." Wiping the back of his hand across his forehead he sighed, "I guess you're right though…we need someone. But that kid is just so young, and I can't really even see how he managed to stay clear of someone like Gon for a year! I guess I don't want another member of this team to disappear…"

"I know. We'll get through this Duo. Some rest will do us all good. And if Shen is out there, we'll find him for sure."

"Thanks man."

Heero nodded his 'you're welcome' and pushed the papers on his desk away from him before walking the few steps to his bed and collapsing on it.

"He kept telling me that I should talk to you…"

Looking up Heero asked, "About what?"

Duo looked away and turned back smiling, "Oh, nothing. I'll tell you later. You've been up since five this morning."

"Right…"

"Night sleepy head." Duo said as he turned out the lights and left the room to file some of his own paper work.

Note: This is a revised version of Chapter 001: Brief Encounter. This will be the final revision, and all chapters that are posted (or re-posted) will also be final revisions. Thanks very much to Ashley for beta reading this for me!

This revision was posted on Feb. 21st 2007 at 8:06 Pacific Time.