Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you guys a little something to read since I'm not going to write a whole lot for the next few days (I have four tests down and have two labs, one presentation, and one more test to go for this week – did I mention college sucks?) So anyway, this is the first fanfiction I have ever written! Be kind and don't knock it too much. It gets crazy in places and isn't very well written in others (I hope I've improved since then…), but I'm attached to it since it is my first. And the beginning is cool anyway. Just thought I'd post it for the hell of it. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER – I do not own Gundam Wing
Chapter OneDuo Maxwell slowly came back to consciousness, willing his eyes to take in his surroundings. Small room, gray walls, gray floor, gray ceiling, gray door and no windows. An OZ prison cell. This was all too familiar. But why the hell was he in an OZ prison cell, years after OZ had been defeated?
"Damn," he muttered to himself as he rose to a sitting position on the cold floor, rubbing his aching head. Why couldn't Heero have been the one to get captured? After the wars ended, Duo and Heero had decided to work together in a salvaging yard. Duo had sent Heero on an errand earlier that day. Sure, he and the other ex-Gundam pilots always thought it was wrong how they used Heero as a go-for, but the boy needed a mission. He had trouble adjusting to life with peace instead of war. And so Duo had sent him to go pick up some pistons and converters from another guy. While Heero was gone, some smart-ass started bothering Duo, asking stupid questions about the junk he was selling. And as Duo's attention was focused on this guy, his cronies came up from behind him and smacked him on the head.
And then he woke up here. Duo rubbed the back of his head, pissed about the bump protruding under his hair. His hair. Duo smiled. No matter how good they think they are, OZ guys just don't ever think about searching his hair. Duo's hand moved to the place behind his ear, where he kept his picklock.
He chuckled at himself a little. And he had thought about not carrying this around anymore. Old habits die hard. And I'm not so easy to kill off either, he thought.
His handcuffs clattered to the ground. Duo rose to his feet and began to search for a way to get out of this prison cell.
* * * * * * * * *
Sally Po took cover in the doorway leading to the cellblock detention area. She hoped they weren't too late to get to Duo. Earlier that afternoon, Heero had contacted Noin as soon as he had reached the junkyard where he and Duo lived and seen Duo's blood on the ground, but no Duo. Noin didn't seem too surprised that something had happened, and neither did Heero, but then again, Heero wasn't exactly the easiest man to read. They both had suspected something would happen soon. That's why Noin had ordered her Preventor spacecraft to remain in the L4 colony cluster after the last mission.
Of course it would all happen in L4, Sally thought. That's where the action was. The Gundam pilots all lived around here, due to Quatre's generosity. Who wouldn't accept money and provisions from the heir? Even the Preventors stopped by whenever their missions took them near L4 to get a free place to stay and some good food. And Quatre was extremely happy to help everyone. Duo and Heero were staying on the same colony as his main mansion, but they lived in the junkyard district to carry out their salvage business. But they did leave the junkyards behind and stay up at the main house with Quatre whenever they felt like it. Trowa and Catherine were busy in the circus, but came back every year when the circus was off-season. Wufei returned whenever he had vacation time from the Preventors. And right now, Relena was on the colony. This was definitely where all the action is.
"Sally," Mimic whispered, calling her back to real time. "Maxwell's cell should be the third door on the left."
Sally nodded in acknowledgement.
"Remember," Mimic continued. "Do not jeopardize his safety or yours. You must be willing to carry out the mission to the fullest extent."
Sally nodded again. She remembered the details of this mission and was determined to carry them out, regardless of her own feelings on the matter.
She counted silently to three, and then rushed down the hallway to retrieve Duo, while Mimic ran in the opposite direction.
* * * * * * * *
Heero cursed the speed of his shuttle, or lack thereof. He and Duo had been working on this piece of junk, literally, for months. They had been making it from scratch, and now he knew why they hadn't used it before. But it was all he could get his hands on at the last minute, and he had taken off for Noin's ship the moment after he called her to report Duo's disappearance.
On route, he'd received a message from Relena, reporting that a surviving OZ faction still existed and they had kidnapped Duo. She said that they threatened to torture then kill Duo if she didn't recognize them as rulers of the United Alliance, the new peaceful organization of colonies and earth that she was now president of. They were giving her until 18:00 to make her decision, for that was when Duo's torture would begin. It was already 17:37. She had been crying when she called him, and he told her not to worry. Noin was already on the mission and Duo was as good as rescued. He hoped, for his friend's sake, that he had been right.
* * * * * * * *
Duo was pacing in his cell, looking for a weak spot. Sirens started going off in the hallway, and the lights of his cell dimmed. This may just be his chance. He was about to test the strength of the door against his running body when the door burst open, and Sally Po stood in the light of the hallway.
"Whoa!" Duo yelled crashed to floor to avoid mowing her down. He skidded until he bumped into her legs. "Am I glad to see you!"
Sally jerked in surprise as Duo threw his arms around her neck in a gracious hug. "What are you doing?" she stammered. "Do you not realize we're in the middle of a rescue here?"
Duo grinned sheepishly and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Sorry there, Sal. I got a little carried away."
"Well here," she said, thrusting the butt of a pistol in his stomach. "Let's get out of here while we still can."
Together, they ran through the hallways of the OZ space base toward the shuttle hangar. Small explosions from gunfire went off all around them and occasionally one of them would turn and fire to cover their backsides. Duo could see the entrance to the hangar ahead. As they rushed into the hangar and away from the OZ soldiers, he thought he heard one of them shout, "I've captured him, Sir!" but the noise of the guns and small explosions was too intense for him to be certain.
He and Sally climbed into a shuttle and took off from the base, back to safety.
* * * * * * * *
Heero glanced at the time as he stood in the command deck of Noin's Preventor craft. 17:56. He was hovering over the same monitor he'd looked at when he first boarded Noin's ship, the monitor that showed the view in direction of the OZ base. His body was tense, and his grip on the edge of the chair in front of him was starting to bend the metal frame.
Noin took in the appearance of Pilot 01. She could tell that he was beyond worried. He had come to her ship immediately after calling her about Duo's disappearance, not even taking the time to change from his dirty jeans and an untucked light gray mechanic's shirt with the name "Bob" stitched onto the left front pocket. Duo had been dressed similarly, she found out after their initial conversation of Duo's kidnapping, except his shirt said "Earl."
Finally, he breathed an inward sigh of relief, and relaxed. A shuttle came into view, zooming from the OZ base.
Sally hailed Noin's ship. "Commander Noin?"
Smiling, Noin answered, "Yes, Sally?"
"Mission complete."
"Good job, Sally. I take it Duo's alright?"
A cheerful voice piped up from the background, "Of course I am!" Duo's smiling face appeared in front of Sally's. "And I have to say, Noin, I am very grateful to you and Sally for helping me out in all this."
"No problem at all, Duo," Noin lied. Of course, she would have done anything to save one of the Gundam pilots, but this mission carried a heavy price. It was a problem, but she'd never let him know it.
"See you in 45 seconds," Duo said, signing off.
Noin walked over to Heero. "Would you like to come with me to meet them in the hangar?"
Heero didn't speak, but he did crack a slight smile and barely nod his head.
Boy, he hasn't changed much, Noin thought. She walked with him in silence to the hangar. The pilots were older now. Heero was about nineteen by now, and he was taller than her. Of course, his shoulders were broader and he had filled out to become a lean and muscular man, with all the lifting and moving of junk he did with Duo. But despite the physical differences, his personality had hardly changed. He was still the silent giant he always had been, and his eyes still had a taint of impersonal coldness that they had before, though now the deep blue eyes seemed a little warmer, she thought. Perhaps being friends with a hyper, loudmouthed sidekick like Duo had softened his stone heart a little.
At the hangar, Heero waited impatiently for Duo to emerge from the shuttle. His eyes were locked expectantly on the hatch of the recently landed vessel.
First, Sally came out, laughing. Duo's voice reached Heero's sensitive ears, and he knew Duo had just told her a joke. Duo was still talking as he climbed out of the hatch. His blabbering stopped when he saw Heero.
"Heero! I didn't know you would be here, man!" Duo firmly gripped his friend's shoulder, happy to be reunited with him. He wanted to hug Heero in jubilation, but a hand on his shoulder was about all the affection the Perfect Soldier could handle. So instead, he hugged Noin.
"Wha?" Noin looked confused.
"Don't worry," Sally said coming up from behind. She, too, put a hand on Heero's shoulder in greeting. "He's been hugging everyone today."
"Well," Noin said, peeling Duo off of her. "Don't wrinkle the suit. We're receiving President Relena's shuttle in fifteen minutes. And try to behave."
Duo faked a look of wounded pride, then grinned from ear to ear.
* * * * * * * *
Preventors Noin and Po stood with the two ex-Gundam pilots awaiting Relena's exit from her shuttle. She didn't come. Confused looks passed between all of them, except Heero, who was impassive as normal. Noin shrugged to Sally, and started to enter the shuttle herself.
Guards blocked them from going to see Relena. They gave some pitiful excuse about Relena being too upset to accept visitors, but Heero shut them up with a stern look. Then they caught sight of Duo, and stood there with their mouths open as he passed by.
"Weird," Duo commented quietly so that only Heero could hear. "They act like they've just seen a ghost or something."
"Very weird," Heero replied.
Relena saw Noin approaching, and began to scream at her with tears streaming down her face. "You promised! You promised me that he would be safe! You lied to me!" Relena shut her eyes tight and rushed at Noin.
Duo stepped out from behind Noin and caught Relena. Relena began flailing her clenched fists, hitting Duo on the arms and chest. "Hey, now," he said in his best comforting but happy tone of voice. "What's wrong?"
Her head slowly lifted up to look at him, tears brimming in her blue eyes. "DUO!" she screamed and threw her arms around his neck, nearly choking him with her ferocity.
Thoroughly confused, Duo wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. "Of course it's Duo, who else would I be?" he joked.
He barely heard Heero mutter, "You'd be dead."
"Huh?" Duo looked over at Heero, scared. "Relena, tell me what's going on."
"The message," she stammered. "The message they sent me. The message."
"What message?" Duo asked, still trying to get information from her.
Heero had given up on counting on Relena for the answer. He walked over to her desk and turned the screen around so everyone in the room could see the blank monitor. Heero used one hand to type a command, and suddenly an image brightened on the screen. It was a replay of the last call that Relena had received.
"President Peacecraft," a scruffy looking man wearing an OZ uniform addressed her. "We are most pleased to inform you that despite the attempts to reclaim the Gundam Pilot Duo Maxwell, we continue to hold him in our custody. And since it is now 18:00 and we have received no answer from you concerning our demands, it is my pleasure to present you with this…" He indicated a group of men standing behind him, surrounding a figure strapped to a strange wall.
Duo continued to hold Relena, who kept her head buried in his chest, as he walked closer to the screen. He didn't understand. He had escaped with Sally…
They watched as the men parted, and the person on the wall was revealed. His dark chestnut hair was pulled back in a long braid, with bangs that covered his eyes. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans that were littered with spots of grease and rust. The light gray mechanic's shirt had the name "Earl" stitched onto the left front pocket. They watched in horror as the scruffy looking man flipped a switch on the wall and the body of the mechanic jerked violently as jolts of electricity ran through him, then stopped. The man never screamed. The torture continued. Two, three, four times. With each flip of the switch, the time of exposure to the high voltage torture increased. But the man never screamed. The men standing around seemed disappointed.
The scruffy looking man reappeared on the screen, standing next to the prisoner whose head was bowed down, as it had been through the entire ordeal. "So, President Peacecraft, do you think we're bluffing anymore?" He laughed manically. "President, I will give you one more chance to save your friend, since you no longer can doubt the severity of the danger he is in. Respond to us by 20:00, or the torture will result in death." At that, the man reached over to the prisoner and grabbed him by the hair. He yanked the prisoner's head back, revealing his face. Even through unspeakable torture, his fully conscious eyes radiated contempt and defiance.
Duo stared at the screen. His own face stared back at him.
________
Read and review if you wish. Like I said before, this is simply my first fanfic written, and I finally decided to go ahead and post it.