"Duo, wake up," I pushed at the sleeping boy beside me, careful not to put any pressure on the bruises that littered his face and body. "Come on, Duo, please wake up." A wave of pain pounded through my head, but I ignored it, set only on waking my companion.
A soft groan escaped him and for a moment I held my breath until his dark blue eyes opened and locked on mine. "Where are..." he coughed, "where are we?"
Sadly, I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut when the pain came through again. "I don't know, Duo. An OZ base I'm guessing." I slid over next to him, pressing my side against his, hoping he would take the hint that even though I was injured as well, he could lean on me. Luckily he did; I pushed away a few fallen strands of chestnut hair from his face. He looked up at me. The skin around the bottom of his left eye was swelling up and I could see the beginnings of a black eye.
"How long have we been here?" he asked softly, laying his head on my shoulder and closing his eyes briefly.
"A day I guess. Longer, maybe. I just woke up." I bit at the inside of my lip. The tiny cell we were locked in was dank, damp. A single bulb hung from the low ceiling casting its dirty yellow light all around. It made Duo's bruises look worse. It made me feel nauseous. I closed my own eyes, cringing against the throbbing headache. "At least they don't know where the Gundams are. I wonder if they know we're even pilots?"
For a moment all was silent and I thought that Duo had fallen asleep against me. But he had not for he shook his head gingerly against my shoulder and spoke again. "Maybe not you. But they've got files on the rest of us. Even if the lower officers don't know us, as soon as a top official comes around, I'm toast." He grimaced in pain and coughed again.
I laid my hand against his cheek, feeling the heat radiate from his skin. At least he was warm. And I was warm. That meant we were still in some kind of good condition. His hair was a mess of dried blood and tangles and that matted braid he always wore; his clothes were in tatters with burn and scorch marks here and there. I assumed I looked the same. We both smelled of smoke and gun powder.
"Geez, Adelize, we must really be done for," he sighed heavily.
"No, don't talk like that, Duo. There's a way out of here." I tilted my head until it was resting atop his, my auburn hair curling down and around his chestnut tresses. In a whisper I added, "At least I hope there is." However, the braided pilot beside me had fallen asleep, I could hear his breathing slow and become regular. Taking a deep breath I dared to close my own eyes and then I, too, fell asleep.
"Get up, filth!" A demanding female voice yanked me from the nap.
Head pounding, I managed to sit up and open my eyes. Duo was already standing, smoothing out his clothes in vain. Still wanting to look good even after being beaten and captured. I couldn't help but smile just a little. However the woman officer at the door yelled once again and I dragged myself to my feet just so she'd shut up. My head felt as if it were going to explode from all the pressure. I hoped I didn't have a concussion.
As soon as I'd gotten on my feet, four male officers joined the woman and then entered the cell. Two manhandled Duo into a pair of handcuffs and shackles, while the other two wrenched my arms behind my back and proceeded to do the same. They shoved us none too gently out of the cell and we began our procession down a long corridor of cells.
Most of them were empty, but a couple were filled with prisoners of war. All of them were much older men, not like me and Duo. Someone had had a great idea a while back that little teenagers wouldn't be suspected for mass destruction of the OZ forces. Yet, here we were being led to Goddess only knows where by five heavily armed OZ officers.
Perhaps they were leading us to interrogation. That would be the most logical assumption. Well, that was fine. I was a master at holding my tongue no matter how awful the circumstances.
"Stop, woman," one of the male officers grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
Duo looked over his shoulder, eyes wide. I bit my lip and gave him what I hoped was a meaningful look, one that would tell him I'd be okay. However, I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut when the butt of a rifle was jammed into my back.
"To the room on your right, filth," the officer said again.
After the other officer had opened the door, the one with the rifle shoved me in. I stumbled forward, hastily taking in my surroundings. White walls, bright lights, a black curtain pulled to on one wall. Three chairs and a table with some weird looking electrical box on it. It was covered in switches. What was that for? Were they going to electrocute me into telling them what they wanted?
I was lead over to the chair and they forced me down into it. My ankles were then chained to the legs of the chair and my arms were chained to the sides, with just enough chain length that I could reach that odd looking box.
"Now, let's begin the interrogation. However, woman, you'll be the one doing the questioning." With that the officer closest to me flicked a switch and the curtain rolled back revealing Duo on the other side. All that separated us now was a thick plate glass window. I leaned forward, instinctively wanting to touch that window, for the two of us to rest our hands together on it. But the chains on my wrists weren't long enough and for a few moments my hand simply hung in midair.
They had chained him to the chair he sat in, with one minor detail. I hadn't seen it before, too preoccupied with my own thoughts to notice, but there was a hole in the wall and several wires passed through it, leading to where Duo's arms had been secured on the desk. A fair sized electrode had been placed just before his elbow on either arm and there was only one possibility as to why those could be there.
"I'm... I'm interrogating him?" I asked softly, closing my eyes. How could I look at Duo knowing what they were about to force me to do? I knew the answer to my question, in fact I wasn't even sure why I'd asked it in the first place. Some Gundam pilot I was. Swallowing hard I brought my eyes open and looked up at the officer standing nearest me. He pointed to a small circle of punctures in the glass.
"You'll speak through those. Any time he does not answer, hit one of the switches. They go up in voltage each time and you are to hit them successively. If you do not do as we say, both of you will be killed. However, if you cooperate perhaps the two of you shall leave these rooms alive." Then he marched off to the two chairs that sat behind me and added, "We will tell you what questions to ask. Afterwards, you will trade positions."
The lump in my throat wouldn't go away. I couldn't fathom what I was about to do and I could only hope the questions were stupid ones. Ones that Duo could answer. Helplessly I looked through the glass at him, watching for some glimmer of hope. But his eyes were distant. "Forgive me," I mouthed to him. He only nodded once, slowly.
The officer began to read off the questions and reluctantly I repeated them.
"What is your name?"
"Duo Maxwell."
"Are you from the colonies?"
"Yes."
"Do you pilot the Gundam 02?"
"Yes."
"Do you know the woman sitting before you?"
For a moment he hesitated and the officer was just about to tell me to flick the first switch when he finally replied, "Yes."
"What is her name?"
He looked up at me, eyes wondering silently if he should tell them the truth. I shrugged. They had me now. There was no way around it.
"What is her name?" I was forced to ask again.
"Adelize Harp."
"Is she a Gundam Pilot?"
"Yes."
"Which Gundam?"
"Gundam 07."
"Are you in contact with the other Gundam pilots?"
Here things would be complicated. We could give ourselves up, that was easy enough. However, it was imperative that the others were able to continue the operation. There was a job to do. Colonies to defend. No matter what the consequences, we could not give up the four others. I swallowed again, feeling a hard rock form in the pit of my stomach. Sweat trickled down my face; my scorched clothes clung to my body even more. Duo's face grew stern. I knew he would not answer this question.
"Are you in contact with the other Gundam pilots?"
Again, Duo remained silent. The usual cheery look on his face was gone, replaced by a grim expression. Pale lips were set into a thin pink line and his eyes, though locked intently on mine had gone cold and blank. Taking his lead I hardened my own face into a look that one could barely ever see on someone with such warm brown eyes. But it was effective, usually.
"Harp," the officer began now with my name, "switch one."
With a deep breath I flicked the switch. A small buzz emitted from the machine and Duo grimaced only slightly. These were the only indications that anything had even happened at all. He settled quickly back into his complacent stare and I was left to repeat another question.
"Where are the other pilots?" Silence. I asked again; my voice a chilly monotone. I wondered if it unnerved the officers behind me. I wondered if they thought a woman could ever pilot a Gundam efficiently.
"Switch two."
My fingers danced delicately over the switch, reluctant to press it. However a sudden gun barrel pressing into the back of my neck was all the incentive I needed.
Only another grimace from Duo.
The questions continued, but Duo refused them all and I was forced one by one to flick the switches. After seven of them had been pressed I was certain that we'd surpassed 150 volts of electricity, but Duo still clung to the table, to consciousness. He'd not made a single sound since the first question he'd refused. He'd only gasped twice when I'd hit the switches. I felt like a traitor, as if I were working for OZ. How could I sit here and do this, knowing I must be killing my companion? How could I?
For a time there was silence. Anxiety coursed through me, like something tangible and thick running through my very veins. Then I felt them. The tears. They welled up in the corners of my eyes, threatening with all their might to spill over. No. I couldn't let them. I was a big tough Gundam pilot! Gundam pilots don't cry. Fighting them back, I hadn't realized I'd been spoken to until the butt of the gun was smacked against the side of my head.
"I said push the switch!" the officer yelled.
Gasping for breath, I squeezed my eyes shut as if that would stop the pain reverberating through my head. "You stupid fucker!" I cursed, not caring, "I could have a concussion! Don't hit my head!"
"Hmph. Do I look like I give a damn about your well being, Gundam pilot?" The last part he uttered with a sneer, as if it might be an insult. "Now push the damned switch!"
And I did, biting back the pain, and squeezing my eyes shut when Duo finally cried out in pain. How much more could he take? "Oh, Goddess, don't hate me," I whispered.
The soldier pressed his gun against my head. "Next one."
I breathed in sharply as Duo cried out again and tried helplessly to hold in my tears. If he could continue through this then I could stop myself from crying. Another switch. Two more. Three. Goddess, how many volts were they sending through him now? I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep the tears from sliding down my cheeks, I couldn't keep pushing these switches. I couldn't keep torturing my ally, my companion, my friend.
And so I let my hands fall to my sides, I closed my eyes to block out Duo's now still form, and I let my chin slide against my chest. I did not care anymore what happened to me. We had kept our information safe, we had not told them the location of the other pilots. Quatre, Wufei, Heero and Trowa were safe. As safe as crazy teenagers on a suicide mission from hell could be, that is. Setting my lips in a firm line, I waited for what they would do next. Beat me? Rape me? They could do whatever they wanted. I wasn't talking.
A hard slap stung my face, sent my head slipping crazily from side to side. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth and I had to spit it out, hoping my nausea wouldn't flare up. Last thing I needed to do was throw up all over myself. Talk about losing some dignity.
And there, while I was chained to that chair, they beat me. Punches, slaps, kicks. A couple of times they even used the shackles. But after the first few blows to the head, I didn't feel anything anymore. Everything had gone pleasantly numb.
I was completely surprised by the next events to take place however. The gun barrel was pressed firmly against my forehead, the soldier's itchy finger curled around the trigger. The end? Not quite, I hoped. Suddenly the door slammed inwards with a spray of wood splinters and the heavy scent of powder and explosives. Standing there, guns ready and silver katana raised, were my fellow pilots. Heero stepped forward first, "Put down your weapons, OZ soldiers. Maybe you'll get to live."
The soldiers, who'd been so confident before, were suddenly sweating, shaking in their boots. Their guns dropped heavily to the floor and I was startled out of my numbness by Quatre's pale hand on mine. "Adelize, are you all right?"
"Good," I gave him a weary thumbs up. "Help Duo," I choked out around the blood in my mouth.
"Trowa is," Quatre reassured me. "I'm here to help you." Miraculously he'd recovered the keys off of my captors and he set to work freeing me from the chains. At last, he pulled me up into his arms and slung my own arm around his shoulders. "Come on, Sandrock is waiting outside." Then we stumbled out together, the world distorted and watery through the tears filling my eyes.
As he pulled me up into Sandrock's cockpit, I asked, "Is everyone... are they... okay?"
Tenderly, Quatre set me down into the pilot's seat. "They'll be fine. We're going to take you and Duo to my mansion."
"No hospital?"
With a weak smile, he replied, "Not safe enough."
"Yeah," I managed to utter, "Not safe." Then I felt my head loll to the side and everything faded to black.
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This one shot is based upon the Milgram experiment, which I studied in psychology during a semester at college last year. If you'd like to learn more about the experiment, search for Milgram Experiment on Wikipedia. (Because FF won't allow hyperlinks within the story)