Author's Notes: Gee, minna-san, I've missed the net! What happened? Well,
my kingdom of the dead claimed my presence for a while and I couldn't go
back to the realm of the living to type, you know.that means, my laptop
fried! Totally fried, it's already in the afterlife. After a week of
begging, I'm borrowing my sister's, so here we come.
This is sorta sequel to "Musings", because lots of things here won't make sense if you haven't read it. Angst and Duo, like usual. When the G-boys are captured, they face torture in their captors' hands. However, they are ready to hold on against anything, but when a former OZ's general shows up, Duo recognizes him as...the author of the Maxwell Massacre. How will 02 react when this man throws in his face his painful memories? Will Duo finally break?
* ---- * this marks Duo's memories.
"Facing a Past's Shadow"
Captured. The five Gundam Pilots had been captured. The mission: failed. Their orders had been sabotaged, sending them right into a New Oz's trap.
The pilots were kneeling, their hands and ankles cuffed and a dozen of armed soldiers were surrounding them.
"Damn!" -Duo cursed in low voice.
"There's no honor in this. A vile ambush" -Wufei added.
"Vile, but very well prepared" -Quatre murmured- "Whoever planned this, was really careful"
"Indeed" -was Trowa's agreement.
"The orders were sent to 02" -Heero murmured as he eyed the priestly boy beside him.
"And exactly what do you mean with that?" -Duo muttered back.
"Silence!" -a soldier ordered, coming near to the prisoners, his gun trained on 02.
"Chill, man, we were just talking about the weather, ya know?" -Duo replied with a grin.
The hilt of the gun struck 02's face, making him tumble.
"Take them to the cells!" -the one in lead ordered, clearly exasperated.
They were dragged and thrown to a cold shielded prison, partially illuminated by two dusty lamps.
"Baka" -was the first thing Heero grunted.
"What?!" -Duo complained- "At least we are not cuffed anymore"
"They must be planning what to do with us" -04 commented.
"That is, how to torture us to break our strength in order to get the data they want, to be more specific" -Wufei said in flat tone.
"Whatever happens, we will not give in to their methods. None of us" -Trowa said aloud, his expression calm.
They all nodded in agreement.
---o---
"I got them in my hands..."
The sub commander of New Oz watched carefully the monitor which pictured the cell where the prisoners where held.
"Maybe in a couple of days, they'll break down. I'm almost sure..I need to get that data about the suits and the systems in little time...."
"It won't be so easy, commander"
A tall man, with a horrible scar crossing his right eye, nearly in his 50s, came closer to the Ozie.
"It's been four days and they hadn't said a word, right? They won't crack even if you keep kicking, punching or starving them. They won't say a word. They've been trained that way..."
The sub commander frowned, not quite happy. He looked at the screen again, at the image of the five boys. The best, roughest of his soldiers had been working them out, but failed miserably. Not one useful word spilled.
"You may be right, general" -the commander replied.
The 'general' was a retired officer, one of the 1st Oz's generals, the ones in charge to terrify the colonies years ago. Now, he had been called to work for New Oz.
"Maybe I should leave this case in your hands as we have planned since the beginning. You will take care of them with those new mental methods. Start the procedure by shaking down 02's fortitude, since you are familiar to him..."
"Of course" -the man smiled with a perverse grimace- "I owe him this" -and he slid a finger over his scar- "Who would have guessed that I was going to bump with this brat again, now as a Gundam pilot? We will soon see how much can he endure a psychological torture......"
---o---
Those four days were like a déjà vu of beatings and shouting for the pilots. The interrogation sessions were twice, even three times a day. They took turns into punching or threatening them. However, the ozies were amazed at the stubbornness of the 5 teenagers. None of them had said a word!
Not the Japanese, not the Chinese, not the blonde, not the tall European, not the American...well, to say the truth, the American had talked, but only insults, taunting and ironic jokes were the words he used to say. That joker prisoner was getting in their nerves!
On the other hand, the torture couldn't weaken the pilots, just their defenses were slightly lower, but their fortitude was immobile. The really creepy thing was the coldness and closeness of the cell.
Without Duo's constant chattering and black humor jokes, everything would have been silence.
"Yo, Cat, what time is it?" -the 02 pilot asked from his place against the wall.
Quatre was sitting in front of him, Trowa and Heero at his sides and 05 was sitting in a corner, concentrated in his meditation.
"I think it's like 18:30"
"Perfect!" -Duo chirped- "I'm gonna order a giant double cheese pizza with extra pepperoni. What do you want, guys?"
"Just a cup of tea" -Quatre smiled, trying to be positive.
"Hnn" -was the simultaneous answer from 01 and 03.
"I bet I know what that means!" -Duo smiled, bouncing to stand up- "Heero wants a huge order of French fries, and Trowy wants a big salad with lots of dressing and black olives.."
The three pilots sighed in resignation.
"I don't like black olives" -Trowa suddenly said, lifting his glance towards 02.
"Me neither" -Duo smiled, pleased with 03's support- "So..Yo, Wuff, Wuff, what you wanna eat?"
The Chinese's response was silence.
"Wu? Hello? Someone home? You want sushi?" -Duo quipped, standing in front of 05, who finally opened his eyes, not at all please to be interrupted. And it was Maxwell on the top of it.
"Do you mind staying away from me? Go pester someone else, Maxwell. Get serious. There's no food or restaurants around. It's a useless waste of energy to create false hopes..."
"Oh, but hope is the last thing we can lose, my grumpy friend" -the grinning teen retorted- "It wouldn't hurt you to smile once in a while, ya know. See Heero and Trowa? Well, they don't actually smile 'coz it's more like a smirk, but anyhow, life is sure better if we play sunshine.."
"This is not a 'sunshine' situation, Maxwell. I don't see the point in fooling around like you do. If we were to face a much worse situation, are you going to stick to that smile...." -the Chinese pilot started to say.
"Of course, always, at any situation" -Duo smiled defiantly.
Wufei stared at him in silence.
"Any situation? I don't think so" -was the next reply.
"Better start believing it. I've been through a lot with the smile" -the boy in clerical clothes shrugged, as his enthusiasm started to fade away, some memories reawakening.
"Then it's only a sign of weakness from you" -the boy with the black ponytail said, folding his arms.
"Weakness?!" -Duo repeated, totally confused.
"Yes. You use your smile to neglect the reality. That's a weakness, because you are not strong enough to face the situations in front of you.."
"I don't neglect anything!" -Duo retorted, folding his arms too.
" I suppose you started to use the smile when you couldn't take what life threw to you, so you smiled and ran away. And running away from hard situations is also a weakness..." -the stoic 05 pilot said aloud as he did his sort of analysis.
Though his resolution of not taking seriously this argument with Wufei, Duo found it hard not to grit his teeth at the comment. Was the Chinese boy insinuating he was a coward? His smile was not a weakness, and it wasn't true he wear it before running away. He had smiled for the dying children in order to give them strength! How dare Chang Wufei to say that?
"You know, Wufei, I've realized you're one of those 'square' people. You see things either black or white, with drastic judgments. Therefore, if you are so fair, you shouldn't talk without being sure of what you are saying" -the American answered calmly as he returned to his seat, not bouncing anymore.
Onyx eyes were not pleased with the reprimand, and he was about to reply, but he was cut in short.
"Enough you two"- Heero raised his voice.
"This is not the moment to be arguing among us" -Quatre added.
Duo crossed his arms over his head and leaned against the wall, eyes closed and a smile. Wufei frowned and directed a stony glance towards 01 and 04.
He was taken aback when he noticed Heero was still looking at him with a serious gaze.
"Don't touch that argument again. You were in the wrong position and didn't have the right to judge his acts" -01 silently shaped the words with his mouth in order to communicate with the Shenlong pilot.
"Why?" -was the doubtful, silent reply.
"You are positively conscious he doesn't like talking about his past, so neither will I explain" -was the harsh response from Heero.
The Asian teen though about that for a moment as he resettled himself in his former position. Frankly, he didn't understand what 01 had meant with that.
Onyx eyes crossed glances with green ones, as Trowa directed him a curious stare, which practically meant the European didn't understand either.
Both 03 and 05 were only half-informed about Duo's story, since Heero and Quatre explained them just little details about the information they gathered from the Sweepers Ship. They knew about the street urchin life 02 had led and the massacre he had survived, but that was it. The explanations were minimal, therefore, when it came to understand Duo's behavior, they were clueless.
A moment later, shouts and orders could be heard in the distance, as many rebel prisoners were being led out of the cells, towards the ships in order to transfer them.
"This is favorable for our mission, since we were not suppose to sacrifice the rebels' lives" -Quatre murmured with clear relief in his voice.
"We will proceed when the prisoners are out of range" -Heero added in low voice.
They all nodded. Hidden among their clothes, 01 and 04 carried small detonators, in order to blow up the Oz facility and escape at 1st opportunity.
Some minutes later, a group or soldiers entered the place.
"On your feet, prisoners! Do not try anything! Cuff them!" -the orders were shouted with every .22 pistol the Ozies were carrying as a threat- "Start moving, get out!"
As they were being led towards the interrogation room, they were communicating without voice, only reading their lips.
"They won't shatter our determination and resolution. Our duty of secrecy is in full force" -Trowa reminded.
"Quatre and I will determinate the moment to activate the detonators" -Heero shaped the words.
"We will endure this until the last rebels are evacuated from the facility, and then..." -Quatre said.
"Boom!" -the violet eyed-teen added in silence.
There were 5 chairs partially distanced in the almost dark room. Four of them were settled in the middle, and the fifth was right in the front.
01, 03, 04 and 05 were sat in the posterior chairs, a soldier aiming a gun in each one's temple. 02 was forced to sit in the first chair at the front. The sub commander's voice ran through the wallphones:
"Pilots, this is my last warning. I've tried to be kind and human to you, but if you still don't cooperate, I will be forced to use...different methods"
The five boys remained silent.
"Cadet, shoot 05" -the leader ordered. The cadet released the safety of the gun and pushed it against Wufei's head.
But neither 05 nor the others reacted.
"You have 5 seconds to reconsider, or the pilot dies" -the commander threatened, but the clock ticked away the time and none of them moved. A stream of insults and curses were heard through the phones.
"Idiots! If you weren't so valuable prisoners I would.....Well, since you're not talking by the good old habits, I'll required some support from a comrade, who has offered a new 'psychological' method, if I can put it that way..Maybe our 02 pilot here wants to be the first one to try it. I have an special guest for him...."
The silhouette of a man entered the room and slowly walked towards them, until the light of the lamp fell upon him. A slightly and almost wicked smiled was drawing in his face marked with a long scar.
The other pilots looked at him without recognizing him or understand what was really happening, until they were startled by Duo's agitated voice.
"You! You, damned bastard!" -was the immediate exclamation from 02, who practically jumped from the chair towards the incomer, but the two soldiers beside him punched him and relocated the prisoner in the seat.
"Well, well, what a way to greet a friend of yours" -the ex-general laughed ironically- "I can see you haven't quite forgotten me yet. I feel so special, little demon" -he continued as he advanced towards Duo.
The four pilots observed the scene with confusion. It was clear that the man was someone from Duo's past, but who? The normally grinning American's expression was totally unknown for them. He was furious. No, it was something worse. He was far much from furious, he was livid.
"You haven't changed much from the little petulant brat of before" -the general said, staring at him- "And your glance reminds me the last time we saw. Do you still hate me? Of course you do. But it has passed a long time...7 or 8 years, right? Didn't time help you to forget it? Or maybe, you hate me even more..."
Duo was silent, his eyes fixed on him. If glances could kill, that man would have been fried in the spot. Some meters behind, the other pilots crossed glances. This was a situation they hadn't foreseen, and they were in a delicate position now. The voices and noises outside told them the rebels were still being transferred to the ships.
"I haven't forgotten you either. After all, you left me this little present" -he said as his fingers traced the scar crossing his right eye- "Though I thought you were dead. You can't imagine my surprise when I was called by New Oz and I bumped with the 02 pilot's files. Everything was so obvious. Your appearance, the black clothes, and of course, the priest collar. Only one person could match with that description. The one and only survivor of Maxwell's Massacre is now a Gundam Pilot. My congratulations, brat. You used to be just another street rat, and now you're a soldier...."
Heero looked at the general and then at Duo. So that was it. That man seemed to have complete knowledge of 02's past, on the streets and at the church. But how? The American had no files anywhere. The other three pilots were wondering the exact same thing....
The sub commander interrupted the moment:
"General Dardou, you must not forget that this isn't a personal quest of vengeance, this is a mission and your objective is the data we need..."
The general shrugged at the reminder.
"As you can see, the commander is interrupting my entertainment. This reencounter proves to be very interesting for me, though you don't seem to be enjoying it. So, here's the deal: spit the systems' codes, and I am going to leave your messed up mind alone...."
The pilots in the back traded glances of mutual understanding. So, the trick was to alter Duo's emotional state with his past's traumas in order to make him easy target of torture and get the information from him...
Much to their surprise, Duo took a deep intake of air and closed his eyes, at the time his expression turned calm, ignoring the general's deal.
"What are you going to do now? Try to ignore me? To let it pass like if it is nothing?" -the man smiled as he looked at him- "Oh no, it's not going to be that easy. I can play with your mind anyway I want. I can twist, control, kill, or bring back to life so many details. After all, I was there...I took them prisoners...I ordered the attack.....I set the place in fire...."
Not a single movement. Duo didn't fidget at all, like if he couldn't hear the general's words.
"So, tell me, do your comrades know what are we talking about? Yes? No? Much? Little?" -Dardou added as he trained his stare at 01, 03, 04 and 05 -"Maybe a little bit of re-telling will help, hmm? I was General of the Command Troops at L2 colony many years ago....and part of my job was to 'impress' the rebels, to make them clear what was OZ ready to do in order to take control over the colony. It was an interesting job, to scare them to the gut. I practiced some tortures, some executions, then I came with an idea. I needed a special place, a well-known place with neutral civilians, innocent people....Maxwell Church was perfect. There was a priest, a nun and a bunch of useless orphans. My perfect hostages...."
The boy clad in black was as indifferent as if hearing rain fall. However, inside of his mind, among the darkness he was wrapping himself into, like a protective cloak, flickered an image....
*Dozens of soldiers burst into the chapel at middle morning. Father Maxwell left the crucifix he had been lifting upon the altar, as he and Sister Helen ran to collect the children. Guns pointed everywhere, shouting orders, pushing everyone to the back of the church. The little ones started to cry at the offending noises, a shot sounded through the fuss. The image of Holy Mary, Mother of the Orphans, shattered to pieces.....*
The image faded as Duo concentrated to put his mind in blank.
The man paced across the room as he narrated the past. He stopped in front of Duo once again, a sneer of contempt in his features.
"But something went out of my control. One of those brats was not as useless as I imagined. He was very stupid, but he had something resembling courage. Courage and stupidity was a dangerous combination. I was pretty sure of it, when he somehow stepped in front of my men, pushing them back, protesting for some absurd reason....What was it that you were saying? Oh, yeah, something like how did we dare to scare the kids like that......"
Duo didn't even turned his face up. The darkness was ripped by another image.
*The soldiers were hitting the ones who wouldn't move. One of them pushed a little girl and made her fall to the ground. The girl started to cry out. The soldier was about to lift her by the hair, when a little boy pushed him back, protecting the girl. The almost violet eyes of the kid shinned with anger at the man. He scooped the girl in his arms and he gave her to other boy, urging them to back off. The kid with the long braid returned to his position, between the soldiers and the children, yelling at them, yelling for them to leave the kids alone....*
Dardou continued with the story, the glances of the pilots fixed upon him.
"According to this orphan, it was his 'duty' to take care of the other street rats in the place. Of course, a gun trained in the nun's face made him shut his mouth. All the hostages were locked inside that chapel, with all those silent images observing. Kind of unnerving for them, I guess. The priest tried to talk to me, begging for the little ones to be freed" -a maniacal grin crossed the general's face- "Fool. I wanted the children of hostages. They were so naïve, so unaware of how unsteady life can get, hanging from a tiny thread....."
Trowa averted his green eyes from the man, to steal a glance towards Duo. He inwardly frowned in concentration as he studied the elfin features of the boy from L2. He seemed almost as if sleeping. His breathing was normal, his eyes closed without effort.
If people were able to see through our minds surface, what would they see? Our secrets, our thoughts, our emotions would be revealed. However, the pilots weren't able to do this. So they weren't able to see the memories displaying right in front of the closed amethyst eyes.
*Father Maxwell stood in front of the little long-haired boy, coaxing him to back off. Sister Helen was released from the soldier's grip as the kid did so. Immediately, the nun wrapped the boy in her arms and dragged him backwards, with the other children. The priest traced the cross sign in his chest as he took several steps forward, facing the guns, addressing the general in command.
'They are just children, sir. May you please let them go? Just children, sir. We can stay as hostages if you want, but let the children go. Show a bit of compassion....'
The little leader, the 'boss' as the other children called him, heard all the conversation. He heard the denial of the general. He heard the cruel satisfaction of the man as he declared them as Oz's victims. The victims of a calculated massacre they were about to perform. He heard the bark of laughter from the soldiers as the priest continued begging, continued asking them in God's name. But the general punched the priest, saying he didn't know any God. He punched Father Maxwell again, sending him to the ground. The nun disentangled her arms from around the boy and ran towards the priest, to avoid more abusing. She was received with a sharp slap right on her face. The boy opened his eyes wide in surprise and anger. He also ran towards them, his agility allowing him to pass through the soldiers, his street-training allowing him to squarely punch two in their stomach, who dropped their guns. In a second, he was beside the nun and the priest, helping Father to stand. The general looked at him with a mixture of admiration and fury.....*
Wufei joined 03 in his contemplation. Maxwell seemed to quiet, so calm, so unreal. Like a marble statue. Was Maxwell really listening? Or was he blocking himself out of the room? The Chinese pilot almost furrowed his delicate black eyebrows as he remembered what Maxwell had said back in the cell. He had been through a lot with the smile...Wufei wondered if the American was referring to this....
"All of those brats were so unaware of what suffering was....but not that one, the brat with the braid. He was left in charge, to say it so, when we cuffed and muzzled the priest and the nun. He gathered all the children around him, the kids calling him 'boss'. The soldiers were muttering among them, saying they knew about him. They knew he was also called the 'demon', back on the streets. Now I was surprised, I had bumped with a demon in a church? Anyway, this only proved to make things easier. If I controlled the leader, the others would stop crying out and screaming. So I ordered to take him out and to tie him up. Maybe a beat would help. But oh no, those stupid soldiers under my charge were too damn slow or the brat was too damn fast. He got himself free of the ropes, kicking the gun out of the man's hands, and he sprinted on his feet like devil himself. He had almost passed through us, when I knocked him down. He turned to see me, his eyes lit with anger. I tried to hold him, but with the skill of a thief, he snatched my knife from my belt and before running again, he slid it over my face....."
As he spoke, Dardou had been walking in circles around 02's chair. The soldiers beside the chair were also deep concentrated in the words, but the guns were still trained in Duo's silent figure.
"My trophy was this precious scar. But I would make sure to return the gesture. I sent men to track him down, as the others tied the rest of the children up. Then, all of a sudden, the roar of one suit sounded in the air. The little bastard had stolen a suit, I supposed, but instead of running away as logic would have said, the suit made its way towards us. Seconds later, more suits appeared in view. Rebel suits. I was perplexed. How in the Hell had the rebels found us? The brat, I guessed, the brat was a rebel himself. And there's this stupid rule among rebels to never abandon each other, right? My men occupied their suits and the battle started. I wasn't worried, to say the truth. We were stronger, we had more suits, we were better soldiers....but for some sort of damn lucky fluke, my men were being defeated. It was impossible! A complete Oz's keep was being defeated by a group of rebels led by a kid?! Nonsense! I wasn't about to let them win, so I took off in my MS, and trained the lasers upon the church...."
The other pilots could tell the end of the story by now. Quatre flinched as a sudden flash of pain struck his chest for an instant, but it disappeared almost as fast. The Neo-arabic was sure his empathy between himself and the others was the responsible of the sensation, and he was sure that sensation had come from Duo. But 04 didn't know how Duo had been able to block it out so fast..
"Should I continue?" -the general asked with a visage of perverse smile, but Duo didn't even open his eyes. That single gesture fed the general's anger even more- "Answer me!" -he shouted, punching him with all his force, sending 02 out of the chair, on the ground. The pilot attempted to get up, but the man kicked him in the side, making him stumble again. Another kick hit the teen's chest, and then another hit his side.
Duo kneeled slowly, spitting blood, but totally silent. The soldiers took hold of him and made him sit again.
"You damned demon!" -the general stuttered between clenched teeth, his patience slipping away- "I lost the entire keep in that fight! And all because of a mere brat! I was relieved of my charge for that mistake. My military career was ruined by a street rat! I wouldn't let that go away. What did you want, ah?! The children? The church? Why were you fighting? To protect them? Fine! I would make sure to take all that away from you, for you to remember that day. And you wanted to save them?" -the man smiled an ugly grin of savage rage- "You doomed them! You killed them!" -he shouted, withdrawing his gun and placing it on Duo's forehead, forcing him to look up and to barely open his eyes.
"How many children were there, uh? Like..say what, 18? Oh, and the nun and the priest, with them were like 20 people. 20 lives....and it just took me a couple of seconds to set the place in fire, as the explosions made by the lasers consumed the church. I was about to leave the place, when I saw you, standing in the threshold. Little poor brat didn't make it on time, right? The demon didn't save them. Not one of them. They were all burned to ashes. You remember it, don't you?...."
The Gundam Pilots watched the general, almost horrified by such cruelty. And Duo? A silent admiration and surprise started to rise in their minds as they stared at the fortitude and determination of 02, who remained calm as those eerie scenes were reawakened in his mind. Outside in the hangars, the last rebels were being taken into the ships, ready to leave.
"Now I wonder, how have you been able to live all this time, Maxwell's demon? How can you wake up to every single day with that memory? How can you sleep at night?" -Dardou went on- "I bet you can't. I bet you remember them every minute of your damn existence. I bet you can't stand silence, because the screams of 'your' children come back to you, screaming in agony as they burn alive. And when you close your eyes at night, the heat of the flames reach towards you again...."
Quatre closed his eyes and bowed his head. It was unbearable. Listen to that was horrible. Trowa's usual flat expression was disturbed by a trace of suppressed anger. Wufei's breath was unsteady, heavy, onyx eyes shining. Heero's death glare was trained upon the general, but he also stared at Duo's hands, cuffed at his back. They were clenched in fists, but beside that, Duo didn't show any emotion. How could he endure such emotional mistreat?
The powerful sound of the cargo ships flying away from the base and into space filled the room. Suddenly, the scene turned to life and movement, like if a button had been pressed.
Heero and Wufei jumped from their chairs, knocking out the soldiers with the shackles. Trowa and Quatre whirled in the air, lifting the chairs, sending them to crash against the guards at the gates. The detonators appeared in 01 and 04´s hands, and the explosives set on the base started to explode, causing total confusion.
Dardou could only blink at the sudden noises, when he felt a metallic blow crashing against his face. He fell to the floor, dropping the gun in the process, and Duo kicked it away. The general came to his feet in a moment, just to receive another punch on his face, another one on his stomach, which made him double down in pain. Stumbling, he backed off at the incredible strength of the 02 pilot.
The other four pilots turned to see them, at the same time the cruel Ozie lifted his face, and he was faced to the 'little demon'. The American's expression was serious, but there was something terrible in his eyes, something mortally dangerous.
With a movement of his wrists, Duo freed himself from the cuffs, which fell to the floor. A steel hand clasped Dardou's throat, hitting him against the wall. The general tried to punch him, but Duo landed another blow in the man's chest, making the Ozie gasp.
"So you said you didn't know God" -a lethal serious voice came from Duo's lips, as his hand gripped more strongly the general's neck. The amethyst eyes flickered with anger, as Duo's face moved an inch closer to the man- "Well, meet the God of Death"
Duo's voice was filled with all the coldness and cruelty he could muster. His other hand lifted, a gun in his grasp. The gun was place between Dardou's eyes. The man paled in fear.
"No, Duo! Don't! This won't change anything and you know it!" -Quatre's voice cut the moment.
The others were also comtemplating Duo and his prey. They knew it was too much to ask, to ask for taht man's forgiveness was too much for Duo. He had all the right to shoot and take that beast's life.
Duo turned to see the blonde teen, and 04 almost trembled at the glance of the American pilot. His eyes were as hard as stone. The boy with the white collar turned to see the general again, the gun still in place.
"I'll see you in Hell" -Duo said, releasing the gun's safety, and ignoring Quatre's words, he pulled the trigger. Duo pulled the trigger.
To Be Continued......
A/N: (eyes wide open) Is this what people call 'cliffhanger' ? If it is, or if it isn't, I would like a review anyway. Please? R&R! When I get like 10 reviews I'll post the other chapter, k? Please leave a comment.
This is sorta sequel to "Musings", because lots of things here won't make sense if you haven't read it. Angst and Duo, like usual. When the G-boys are captured, they face torture in their captors' hands. However, they are ready to hold on against anything, but when a former OZ's general shows up, Duo recognizes him as...the author of the Maxwell Massacre. How will 02 react when this man throws in his face his painful memories? Will Duo finally break?
* ---- * this marks Duo's memories.
"Facing a Past's Shadow"
Captured. The five Gundam Pilots had been captured. The mission: failed. Their orders had been sabotaged, sending them right into a New Oz's trap.
The pilots were kneeling, their hands and ankles cuffed and a dozen of armed soldiers were surrounding them.
"Damn!" -Duo cursed in low voice.
"There's no honor in this. A vile ambush" -Wufei added.
"Vile, but very well prepared" -Quatre murmured- "Whoever planned this, was really careful"
"Indeed" -was Trowa's agreement.
"The orders were sent to 02" -Heero murmured as he eyed the priestly boy beside him.
"And exactly what do you mean with that?" -Duo muttered back.
"Silence!" -a soldier ordered, coming near to the prisoners, his gun trained on 02.
"Chill, man, we were just talking about the weather, ya know?" -Duo replied with a grin.
The hilt of the gun struck 02's face, making him tumble.
"Take them to the cells!" -the one in lead ordered, clearly exasperated.
They were dragged and thrown to a cold shielded prison, partially illuminated by two dusty lamps.
"Baka" -was the first thing Heero grunted.
"What?!" -Duo complained- "At least we are not cuffed anymore"
"They must be planning what to do with us" -04 commented.
"That is, how to torture us to break our strength in order to get the data they want, to be more specific" -Wufei said in flat tone.
"Whatever happens, we will not give in to their methods. None of us" -Trowa said aloud, his expression calm.
They all nodded in agreement.
---o---
"I got them in my hands..."
The sub commander of New Oz watched carefully the monitor which pictured the cell where the prisoners where held.
"Maybe in a couple of days, they'll break down. I'm almost sure..I need to get that data about the suits and the systems in little time...."
"It won't be so easy, commander"
A tall man, with a horrible scar crossing his right eye, nearly in his 50s, came closer to the Ozie.
"It's been four days and they hadn't said a word, right? They won't crack even if you keep kicking, punching or starving them. They won't say a word. They've been trained that way..."
The sub commander frowned, not quite happy. He looked at the screen again, at the image of the five boys. The best, roughest of his soldiers had been working them out, but failed miserably. Not one useful word spilled.
"You may be right, general" -the commander replied.
The 'general' was a retired officer, one of the 1st Oz's generals, the ones in charge to terrify the colonies years ago. Now, he had been called to work for New Oz.
"Maybe I should leave this case in your hands as we have planned since the beginning. You will take care of them with those new mental methods. Start the procedure by shaking down 02's fortitude, since you are familiar to him..."
"Of course" -the man smiled with a perverse grimace- "I owe him this" -and he slid a finger over his scar- "Who would have guessed that I was going to bump with this brat again, now as a Gundam pilot? We will soon see how much can he endure a psychological torture......"
---o---
Those four days were like a déjà vu of beatings and shouting for the pilots. The interrogation sessions were twice, even three times a day. They took turns into punching or threatening them. However, the ozies were amazed at the stubbornness of the 5 teenagers. None of them had said a word!
Not the Japanese, not the Chinese, not the blonde, not the tall European, not the American...well, to say the truth, the American had talked, but only insults, taunting and ironic jokes were the words he used to say. That joker prisoner was getting in their nerves!
On the other hand, the torture couldn't weaken the pilots, just their defenses were slightly lower, but their fortitude was immobile. The really creepy thing was the coldness and closeness of the cell.
Without Duo's constant chattering and black humor jokes, everything would have been silence.
"Yo, Cat, what time is it?" -the 02 pilot asked from his place against the wall.
Quatre was sitting in front of him, Trowa and Heero at his sides and 05 was sitting in a corner, concentrated in his meditation.
"I think it's like 18:30"
"Perfect!" -Duo chirped- "I'm gonna order a giant double cheese pizza with extra pepperoni. What do you want, guys?"
"Just a cup of tea" -Quatre smiled, trying to be positive.
"Hnn" -was the simultaneous answer from 01 and 03.
"I bet I know what that means!" -Duo smiled, bouncing to stand up- "Heero wants a huge order of French fries, and Trowy wants a big salad with lots of dressing and black olives.."
The three pilots sighed in resignation.
"I don't like black olives" -Trowa suddenly said, lifting his glance towards 02.
"Me neither" -Duo smiled, pleased with 03's support- "So..Yo, Wuff, Wuff, what you wanna eat?"
The Chinese's response was silence.
"Wu? Hello? Someone home? You want sushi?" -Duo quipped, standing in front of 05, who finally opened his eyes, not at all please to be interrupted. And it was Maxwell on the top of it.
"Do you mind staying away from me? Go pester someone else, Maxwell. Get serious. There's no food or restaurants around. It's a useless waste of energy to create false hopes..."
"Oh, but hope is the last thing we can lose, my grumpy friend" -the grinning teen retorted- "It wouldn't hurt you to smile once in a while, ya know. See Heero and Trowa? Well, they don't actually smile 'coz it's more like a smirk, but anyhow, life is sure better if we play sunshine.."
"This is not a 'sunshine' situation, Maxwell. I don't see the point in fooling around like you do. If we were to face a much worse situation, are you going to stick to that smile...." -the Chinese pilot started to say.
"Of course, always, at any situation" -Duo smiled defiantly.
Wufei stared at him in silence.
"Any situation? I don't think so" -was the next reply.
"Better start believing it. I've been through a lot with the smile" -the boy in clerical clothes shrugged, as his enthusiasm started to fade away, some memories reawakening.
"Then it's only a sign of weakness from you" -the boy with the black ponytail said, folding his arms.
"Weakness?!" -Duo repeated, totally confused.
"Yes. You use your smile to neglect the reality. That's a weakness, because you are not strong enough to face the situations in front of you.."
"I don't neglect anything!" -Duo retorted, folding his arms too.
" I suppose you started to use the smile when you couldn't take what life threw to you, so you smiled and ran away. And running away from hard situations is also a weakness..." -the stoic 05 pilot said aloud as he did his sort of analysis.
Though his resolution of not taking seriously this argument with Wufei, Duo found it hard not to grit his teeth at the comment. Was the Chinese boy insinuating he was a coward? His smile was not a weakness, and it wasn't true he wear it before running away. He had smiled for the dying children in order to give them strength! How dare Chang Wufei to say that?
"You know, Wufei, I've realized you're one of those 'square' people. You see things either black or white, with drastic judgments. Therefore, if you are so fair, you shouldn't talk without being sure of what you are saying" -the American answered calmly as he returned to his seat, not bouncing anymore.
Onyx eyes were not pleased with the reprimand, and he was about to reply, but he was cut in short.
"Enough you two"- Heero raised his voice.
"This is not the moment to be arguing among us" -Quatre added.
Duo crossed his arms over his head and leaned against the wall, eyes closed and a smile. Wufei frowned and directed a stony glance towards 01 and 04.
He was taken aback when he noticed Heero was still looking at him with a serious gaze.
"Don't touch that argument again. You were in the wrong position and didn't have the right to judge his acts" -01 silently shaped the words with his mouth in order to communicate with the Shenlong pilot.
"Why?" -was the doubtful, silent reply.
"You are positively conscious he doesn't like talking about his past, so neither will I explain" -was the harsh response from Heero.
The Asian teen though about that for a moment as he resettled himself in his former position. Frankly, he didn't understand what 01 had meant with that.
Onyx eyes crossed glances with green ones, as Trowa directed him a curious stare, which practically meant the European didn't understand either.
Both 03 and 05 were only half-informed about Duo's story, since Heero and Quatre explained them just little details about the information they gathered from the Sweepers Ship. They knew about the street urchin life 02 had led and the massacre he had survived, but that was it. The explanations were minimal, therefore, when it came to understand Duo's behavior, they were clueless.
A moment later, shouts and orders could be heard in the distance, as many rebel prisoners were being led out of the cells, towards the ships in order to transfer them.
"This is favorable for our mission, since we were not suppose to sacrifice the rebels' lives" -Quatre murmured with clear relief in his voice.
"We will proceed when the prisoners are out of range" -Heero added in low voice.
They all nodded. Hidden among their clothes, 01 and 04 carried small detonators, in order to blow up the Oz facility and escape at 1st opportunity.
Some minutes later, a group or soldiers entered the place.
"On your feet, prisoners! Do not try anything! Cuff them!" -the orders were shouted with every .22 pistol the Ozies were carrying as a threat- "Start moving, get out!"
As they were being led towards the interrogation room, they were communicating without voice, only reading their lips.
"They won't shatter our determination and resolution. Our duty of secrecy is in full force" -Trowa reminded.
"Quatre and I will determinate the moment to activate the detonators" -Heero shaped the words.
"We will endure this until the last rebels are evacuated from the facility, and then..." -Quatre said.
"Boom!" -the violet eyed-teen added in silence.
There were 5 chairs partially distanced in the almost dark room. Four of them were settled in the middle, and the fifth was right in the front.
01, 03, 04 and 05 were sat in the posterior chairs, a soldier aiming a gun in each one's temple. 02 was forced to sit in the first chair at the front. The sub commander's voice ran through the wallphones:
"Pilots, this is my last warning. I've tried to be kind and human to you, but if you still don't cooperate, I will be forced to use...different methods"
The five boys remained silent.
"Cadet, shoot 05" -the leader ordered. The cadet released the safety of the gun and pushed it against Wufei's head.
But neither 05 nor the others reacted.
"You have 5 seconds to reconsider, or the pilot dies" -the commander threatened, but the clock ticked away the time and none of them moved. A stream of insults and curses were heard through the phones.
"Idiots! If you weren't so valuable prisoners I would.....Well, since you're not talking by the good old habits, I'll required some support from a comrade, who has offered a new 'psychological' method, if I can put it that way..Maybe our 02 pilot here wants to be the first one to try it. I have an special guest for him...."
The silhouette of a man entered the room and slowly walked towards them, until the light of the lamp fell upon him. A slightly and almost wicked smiled was drawing in his face marked with a long scar.
The other pilots looked at him without recognizing him or understand what was really happening, until they were startled by Duo's agitated voice.
"You! You, damned bastard!" -was the immediate exclamation from 02, who practically jumped from the chair towards the incomer, but the two soldiers beside him punched him and relocated the prisoner in the seat.
"Well, well, what a way to greet a friend of yours" -the ex-general laughed ironically- "I can see you haven't quite forgotten me yet. I feel so special, little demon" -he continued as he advanced towards Duo.
The four pilots observed the scene with confusion. It was clear that the man was someone from Duo's past, but who? The normally grinning American's expression was totally unknown for them. He was furious. No, it was something worse. He was far much from furious, he was livid.
"You haven't changed much from the little petulant brat of before" -the general said, staring at him- "And your glance reminds me the last time we saw. Do you still hate me? Of course you do. But it has passed a long time...7 or 8 years, right? Didn't time help you to forget it? Or maybe, you hate me even more..."
Duo was silent, his eyes fixed on him. If glances could kill, that man would have been fried in the spot. Some meters behind, the other pilots crossed glances. This was a situation they hadn't foreseen, and they were in a delicate position now. The voices and noises outside told them the rebels were still being transferred to the ships.
"I haven't forgotten you either. After all, you left me this little present" -he said as his fingers traced the scar crossing his right eye- "Though I thought you were dead. You can't imagine my surprise when I was called by New Oz and I bumped with the 02 pilot's files. Everything was so obvious. Your appearance, the black clothes, and of course, the priest collar. Only one person could match with that description. The one and only survivor of Maxwell's Massacre is now a Gundam Pilot. My congratulations, brat. You used to be just another street rat, and now you're a soldier...."
Heero looked at the general and then at Duo. So that was it. That man seemed to have complete knowledge of 02's past, on the streets and at the church. But how? The American had no files anywhere. The other three pilots were wondering the exact same thing....
The sub commander interrupted the moment:
"General Dardou, you must not forget that this isn't a personal quest of vengeance, this is a mission and your objective is the data we need..."
The general shrugged at the reminder.
"As you can see, the commander is interrupting my entertainment. This reencounter proves to be very interesting for me, though you don't seem to be enjoying it. So, here's the deal: spit the systems' codes, and I am going to leave your messed up mind alone...."
The pilots in the back traded glances of mutual understanding. So, the trick was to alter Duo's emotional state with his past's traumas in order to make him easy target of torture and get the information from him...
Much to their surprise, Duo took a deep intake of air and closed his eyes, at the time his expression turned calm, ignoring the general's deal.
"What are you going to do now? Try to ignore me? To let it pass like if it is nothing?" -the man smiled as he looked at him- "Oh no, it's not going to be that easy. I can play with your mind anyway I want. I can twist, control, kill, or bring back to life so many details. After all, I was there...I took them prisoners...I ordered the attack.....I set the place in fire...."
Not a single movement. Duo didn't fidget at all, like if he couldn't hear the general's words.
"So, tell me, do your comrades know what are we talking about? Yes? No? Much? Little?" -Dardou added as he trained his stare at 01, 03, 04 and 05 -"Maybe a little bit of re-telling will help, hmm? I was General of the Command Troops at L2 colony many years ago....and part of my job was to 'impress' the rebels, to make them clear what was OZ ready to do in order to take control over the colony. It was an interesting job, to scare them to the gut. I practiced some tortures, some executions, then I came with an idea. I needed a special place, a well-known place with neutral civilians, innocent people....Maxwell Church was perfect. There was a priest, a nun and a bunch of useless orphans. My perfect hostages...."
The boy clad in black was as indifferent as if hearing rain fall. However, inside of his mind, among the darkness he was wrapping himself into, like a protective cloak, flickered an image....
*Dozens of soldiers burst into the chapel at middle morning. Father Maxwell left the crucifix he had been lifting upon the altar, as he and Sister Helen ran to collect the children. Guns pointed everywhere, shouting orders, pushing everyone to the back of the church. The little ones started to cry at the offending noises, a shot sounded through the fuss. The image of Holy Mary, Mother of the Orphans, shattered to pieces.....*
The image faded as Duo concentrated to put his mind in blank.
The man paced across the room as he narrated the past. He stopped in front of Duo once again, a sneer of contempt in his features.
"But something went out of my control. One of those brats was not as useless as I imagined. He was very stupid, but he had something resembling courage. Courage and stupidity was a dangerous combination. I was pretty sure of it, when he somehow stepped in front of my men, pushing them back, protesting for some absurd reason....What was it that you were saying? Oh, yeah, something like how did we dare to scare the kids like that......"
Duo didn't even turned his face up. The darkness was ripped by another image.
*The soldiers were hitting the ones who wouldn't move. One of them pushed a little girl and made her fall to the ground. The girl started to cry out. The soldier was about to lift her by the hair, when a little boy pushed him back, protecting the girl. The almost violet eyes of the kid shinned with anger at the man. He scooped the girl in his arms and he gave her to other boy, urging them to back off. The kid with the long braid returned to his position, between the soldiers and the children, yelling at them, yelling for them to leave the kids alone....*
Dardou continued with the story, the glances of the pilots fixed upon him.
"According to this orphan, it was his 'duty' to take care of the other street rats in the place. Of course, a gun trained in the nun's face made him shut his mouth. All the hostages were locked inside that chapel, with all those silent images observing. Kind of unnerving for them, I guess. The priest tried to talk to me, begging for the little ones to be freed" -a maniacal grin crossed the general's face- "Fool. I wanted the children of hostages. They were so naïve, so unaware of how unsteady life can get, hanging from a tiny thread....."
Trowa averted his green eyes from the man, to steal a glance towards Duo. He inwardly frowned in concentration as he studied the elfin features of the boy from L2. He seemed almost as if sleeping. His breathing was normal, his eyes closed without effort.
If people were able to see through our minds surface, what would they see? Our secrets, our thoughts, our emotions would be revealed. However, the pilots weren't able to do this. So they weren't able to see the memories displaying right in front of the closed amethyst eyes.
*Father Maxwell stood in front of the little long-haired boy, coaxing him to back off. Sister Helen was released from the soldier's grip as the kid did so. Immediately, the nun wrapped the boy in her arms and dragged him backwards, with the other children. The priest traced the cross sign in his chest as he took several steps forward, facing the guns, addressing the general in command.
'They are just children, sir. May you please let them go? Just children, sir. We can stay as hostages if you want, but let the children go. Show a bit of compassion....'
The little leader, the 'boss' as the other children called him, heard all the conversation. He heard the denial of the general. He heard the cruel satisfaction of the man as he declared them as Oz's victims. The victims of a calculated massacre they were about to perform. He heard the bark of laughter from the soldiers as the priest continued begging, continued asking them in God's name. But the general punched the priest, saying he didn't know any God. He punched Father Maxwell again, sending him to the ground. The nun disentangled her arms from around the boy and ran towards the priest, to avoid more abusing. She was received with a sharp slap right on her face. The boy opened his eyes wide in surprise and anger. He also ran towards them, his agility allowing him to pass through the soldiers, his street-training allowing him to squarely punch two in their stomach, who dropped their guns. In a second, he was beside the nun and the priest, helping Father to stand. The general looked at him with a mixture of admiration and fury.....*
Wufei joined 03 in his contemplation. Maxwell seemed to quiet, so calm, so unreal. Like a marble statue. Was Maxwell really listening? Or was he blocking himself out of the room? The Chinese pilot almost furrowed his delicate black eyebrows as he remembered what Maxwell had said back in the cell. He had been through a lot with the smile...Wufei wondered if the American was referring to this....
"All of those brats were so unaware of what suffering was....but not that one, the brat with the braid. He was left in charge, to say it so, when we cuffed and muzzled the priest and the nun. He gathered all the children around him, the kids calling him 'boss'. The soldiers were muttering among them, saying they knew about him. They knew he was also called the 'demon', back on the streets. Now I was surprised, I had bumped with a demon in a church? Anyway, this only proved to make things easier. If I controlled the leader, the others would stop crying out and screaming. So I ordered to take him out and to tie him up. Maybe a beat would help. But oh no, those stupid soldiers under my charge were too damn slow or the brat was too damn fast. He got himself free of the ropes, kicking the gun out of the man's hands, and he sprinted on his feet like devil himself. He had almost passed through us, when I knocked him down. He turned to see me, his eyes lit with anger. I tried to hold him, but with the skill of a thief, he snatched my knife from my belt and before running again, he slid it over my face....."
As he spoke, Dardou had been walking in circles around 02's chair. The soldiers beside the chair were also deep concentrated in the words, but the guns were still trained in Duo's silent figure.
"My trophy was this precious scar. But I would make sure to return the gesture. I sent men to track him down, as the others tied the rest of the children up. Then, all of a sudden, the roar of one suit sounded in the air. The little bastard had stolen a suit, I supposed, but instead of running away as logic would have said, the suit made its way towards us. Seconds later, more suits appeared in view. Rebel suits. I was perplexed. How in the Hell had the rebels found us? The brat, I guessed, the brat was a rebel himself. And there's this stupid rule among rebels to never abandon each other, right? My men occupied their suits and the battle started. I wasn't worried, to say the truth. We were stronger, we had more suits, we were better soldiers....but for some sort of damn lucky fluke, my men were being defeated. It was impossible! A complete Oz's keep was being defeated by a group of rebels led by a kid?! Nonsense! I wasn't about to let them win, so I took off in my MS, and trained the lasers upon the church...."
The other pilots could tell the end of the story by now. Quatre flinched as a sudden flash of pain struck his chest for an instant, but it disappeared almost as fast. The Neo-arabic was sure his empathy between himself and the others was the responsible of the sensation, and he was sure that sensation had come from Duo. But 04 didn't know how Duo had been able to block it out so fast..
"Should I continue?" -the general asked with a visage of perverse smile, but Duo didn't even open his eyes. That single gesture fed the general's anger even more- "Answer me!" -he shouted, punching him with all his force, sending 02 out of the chair, on the ground. The pilot attempted to get up, but the man kicked him in the side, making him stumble again. Another kick hit the teen's chest, and then another hit his side.
Duo kneeled slowly, spitting blood, but totally silent. The soldiers took hold of him and made him sit again.
"You damned demon!" -the general stuttered between clenched teeth, his patience slipping away- "I lost the entire keep in that fight! And all because of a mere brat! I was relieved of my charge for that mistake. My military career was ruined by a street rat! I wouldn't let that go away. What did you want, ah?! The children? The church? Why were you fighting? To protect them? Fine! I would make sure to take all that away from you, for you to remember that day. And you wanted to save them?" -the man smiled an ugly grin of savage rage- "You doomed them! You killed them!" -he shouted, withdrawing his gun and placing it on Duo's forehead, forcing him to look up and to barely open his eyes.
"How many children were there, uh? Like..say what, 18? Oh, and the nun and the priest, with them were like 20 people. 20 lives....and it just took me a couple of seconds to set the place in fire, as the explosions made by the lasers consumed the church. I was about to leave the place, when I saw you, standing in the threshold. Little poor brat didn't make it on time, right? The demon didn't save them. Not one of them. They were all burned to ashes. You remember it, don't you?...."
The Gundam Pilots watched the general, almost horrified by such cruelty. And Duo? A silent admiration and surprise started to rise in their minds as they stared at the fortitude and determination of 02, who remained calm as those eerie scenes were reawakened in his mind. Outside in the hangars, the last rebels were being taken into the ships, ready to leave.
"Now I wonder, how have you been able to live all this time, Maxwell's demon? How can you wake up to every single day with that memory? How can you sleep at night?" -Dardou went on- "I bet you can't. I bet you remember them every minute of your damn existence. I bet you can't stand silence, because the screams of 'your' children come back to you, screaming in agony as they burn alive. And when you close your eyes at night, the heat of the flames reach towards you again...."
Quatre closed his eyes and bowed his head. It was unbearable. Listen to that was horrible. Trowa's usual flat expression was disturbed by a trace of suppressed anger. Wufei's breath was unsteady, heavy, onyx eyes shining. Heero's death glare was trained upon the general, but he also stared at Duo's hands, cuffed at his back. They were clenched in fists, but beside that, Duo didn't show any emotion. How could he endure such emotional mistreat?
The powerful sound of the cargo ships flying away from the base and into space filled the room. Suddenly, the scene turned to life and movement, like if a button had been pressed.
Heero and Wufei jumped from their chairs, knocking out the soldiers with the shackles. Trowa and Quatre whirled in the air, lifting the chairs, sending them to crash against the guards at the gates. The detonators appeared in 01 and 04´s hands, and the explosives set on the base started to explode, causing total confusion.
Dardou could only blink at the sudden noises, when he felt a metallic blow crashing against his face. He fell to the floor, dropping the gun in the process, and Duo kicked it away. The general came to his feet in a moment, just to receive another punch on his face, another one on his stomach, which made him double down in pain. Stumbling, he backed off at the incredible strength of the 02 pilot.
The other four pilots turned to see them, at the same time the cruel Ozie lifted his face, and he was faced to the 'little demon'. The American's expression was serious, but there was something terrible in his eyes, something mortally dangerous.
With a movement of his wrists, Duo freed himself from the cuffs, which fell to the floor. A steel hand clasped Dardou's throat, hitting him against the wall. The general tried to punch him, but Duo landed another blow in the man's chest, making the Ozie gasp.
"So you said you didn't know God" -a lethal serious voice came from Duo's lips, as his hand gripped more strongly the general's neck. The amethyst eyes flickered with anger, as Duo's face moved an inch closer to the man- "Well, meet the God of Death"
Duo's voice was filled with all the coldness and cruelty he could muster. His other hand lifted, a gun in his grasp. The gun was place between Dardou's eyes. The man paled in fear.
"No, Duo! Don't! This won't change anything and you know it!" -Quatre's voice cut the moment.
The others were also comtemplating Duo and his prey. They knew it was too much to ask, to ask for taht man's forgiveness was too much for Duo. He had all the right to shoot and take that beast's life.
Duo turned to see the blonde teen, and 04 almost trembled at the glance of the American pilot. His eyes were as hard as stone. The boy with the white collar turned to see the general again, the gun still in place.
"I'll see you in Hell" -Duo said, releasing the gun's safety, and ignoring Quatre's words, he pulled the trigger. Duo pulled the trigger.
To Be Continued......
A/N: (eyes wide open) Is this what people call 'cliffhanger' ? If it is, or if it isn't, I would like a review anyway. Please? R&R! When I get like 10 reviews I'll post the other chapter, k? Please leave a comment.