Duo's sidestory: Guilt
Une called me that morning, saying she had a mission that should be right up my alley. Having spent the last two months in utter peace and relaxation, I was as bored as if lived in a box. Hell, she didn't even had the time to tell me at what time she expected me to appear at her office, I was already out the door.
Getting to Preventer's Headquarters was no problem, there isn't much standing around it, so you can see it several miles away. They had certainly been busy since the last time I was there, almost all the buildings were done, all that was left was some paint and a few plants here and there, and it was done.
I don't know what I was expecting to find upon my arrival, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the sight of Heero Yuy standing at the entrance to the main building. Two months without seeing him had not diminished my crush on him in the least. Hell, even Wuffers noticed it, and he's kinda dense when it comes to matters of the heart.
Which made me wonder why Heero himself hadn't noticed. I was kinda glad he hadn't, since I wasn't in any hurry to get intimately acquainted with his fist, but still.
The Lady was waiting for us. Seems that Heero was as eager for a mission as I was, his reaction had been similar to mine (only he never gave Une the time to tell him why she was calling). The mission was quiet simple, although it was also quiet delicate.
An ex-Oz general has managed to get his hands on several mobile suits, as well as at least a mobile doll platoon. He was obviously planning some mischief, and thus, we were being sent to stop him. Piece of cake.
The plans were drawn quickly: I would deal with the suits and the dolls while Heero took care of the Ozzie, stole any information that was available in the guy's computer and blew up the place. A routine mission for both of us.
Boy was I ever more wrong.
Turns out the new we were coming.
Heero made it in alright, but the minute Deathscythe and I came into view, all hell broke loose. Mobile suits and Mobile dolls seemed to all but crawl out of every single hole available. They quickly surrounded me, but since I was 'the bait' I wasn't really worried. I only had to hold on long enough for Heero to finish his part of the mission, and then he could come out and kick some Ozzie ass with Zero.
I had just finished off two more Virgos, when my com beeped. I barely paid it any attention, until Heero's face popped up on the left corner of my front screen.
He took in the look on my face and calmly told me to leave. I simply ignored him, there was no fucking way I was leaving without him. That probably earned me one of his Glare O'Death (tm.) although I didn't even look at him to find out. The mobile dolls were swarming on me like ants on honey, so I had a good excuse to dismiss Heero's orders.
-"Duo."
The word was spoken so softly that I had to look at him. I'm pretty sure that my face was covered by the most incredulous look anyone has ever seen, but hell. It had sounded as if he was almost begging me to leave. That was when I saw it. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but I could see the strain on Heero's face, the pain he was trying to hide.
-"I can make it out, Duo, but I won't be able to help you. Please leave."
He was almost acting as if he cared. The tone was still so soft though, that it send shivers up my spine. How long had I hope he'd speak to me like that?
-"Swear it, Heero. Swear that you will make it out, in one piece, and that I'll see you again."
He gave me this look, like he was amused. And then he did the most surprising thing I had ever seen: he smiled.
-"I'll see you later, Duo."
And he was gone. That smile, though, will haunt me till the day I die.
It gave me the will to face against my enemies again, and I did so with a vengeance. I quickly tore a path through them, trying to get out of the circle they still formed. And that's when it happened.
As I threw away the remains of a mobile doll and turned to face another, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I spun quickly, thinking it was an enemy, but I could only gape, as I saw that my last throwaway had crashed against one of the mobile suits. I watched, frozen, as it toppled and fell, right on the base.
I remember a mindless scream as I realized what was happening, and nothing else. The others told me that I somehow managed to get rid of every single one of the suits and dolls that surrounded me. I can't tell if that happened. All I know was that the sight of that base going up in a ball of flames will be right next to Heero's first and last smile: haunting me on my nightmares.
I don't remember making the call that brought the Preventers to the area, nor I remember much of the weeks that followed. All I know was that I felt empty, empty and lost. The funeral, meeting the others, it's all blurred in my mind to the point that nothing makes sense.
He was gone. HEERO was gone.
And it was ALL MY FAULT.
Une called me that morning, saying she had a mission that should be right up my alley. Having spent the last two months in utter peace and relaxation, I was as bored as if lived in a box. Hell, she didn't even had the time to tell me at what time she expected me to appear at her office, I was already out the door.
Getting to Preventer's Headquarters was no problem, there isn't much standing around it, so you can see it several miles away. They had certainly been busy since the last time I was there, almost all the buildings were done, all that was left was some paint and a few plants here and there, and it was done.
I don't know what I was expecting to find upon my arrival, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the sight of Heero Yuy standing at the entrance to the main building. Two months without seeing him had not diminished my crush on him in the least. Hell, even Wuffers noticed it, and he's kinda dense when it comes to matters of the heart.
Which made me wonder why Heero himself hadn't noticed. I was kinda glad he hadn't, since I wasn't in any hurry to get intimately acquainted with his fist, but still.
The Lady was waiting for us. Seems that Heero was as eager for a mission as I was, his reaction had been similar to mine (only he never gave Une the time to tell him why she was calling). The mission was quiet simple, although it was also quiet delicate.
An ex-Oz general has managed to get his hands on several mobile suits, as well as at least a mobile doll platoon. He was obviously planning some mischief, and thus, we were being sent to stop him. Piece of cake.
The plans were drawn quickly: I would deal with the suits and the dolls while Heero took care of the Ozzie, stole any information that was available in the guy's computer and blew up the place. A routine mission for both of us.
Boy was I ever more wrong.
Turns out the new we were coming.
Heero made it in alright, but the minute Deathscythe and I came into view, all hell broke loose. Mobile suits and Mobile dolls seemed to all but crawl out of every single hole available. They quickly surrounded me, but since I was 'the bait' I wasn't really worried. I only had to hold on long enough for Heero to finish his part of the mission, and then he could come out and kick some Ozzie ass with Zero.
I had just finished off two more Virgos, when my com beeped. I barely paid it any attention, until Heero's face popped up on the left corner of my front screen.
He took in the look on my face and calmly told me to leave. I simply ignored him, there was no fucking way I was leaving without him. That probably earned me one of his Glare O'Death (tm.) although I didn't even look at him to find out. The mobile dolls were swarming on me like ants on honey, so I had a good excuse to dismiss Heero's orders.
-"Duo."
The word was spoken so softly that I had to look at him. I'm pretty sure that my face was covered by the most incredulous look anyone has ever seen, but hell. It had sounded as if he was almost begging me to leave. That was when I saw it. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but I could see the strain on Heero's face, the pain he was trying to hide.
-"I can make it out, Duo, but I won't be able to help you. Please leave."
He was almost acting as if he cared. The tone was still so soft though, that it send shivers up my spine. How long had I hope he'd speak to me like that?
-"Swear it, Heero. Swear that you will make it out, in one piece, and that I'll see you again."
He gave me this look, like he was amused. And then he did the most surprising thing I had ever seen: he smiled.
-"I'll see you later, Duo."
And he was gone. That smile, though, will haunt me till the day I die.
It gave me the will to face against my enemies again, and I did so with a vengeance. I quickly tore a path through them, trying to get out of the circle they still formed. And that's when it happened.
As I threw away the remains of a mobile doll and turned to face another, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I spun quickly, thinking it was an enemy, but I could only gape, as I saw that my last throwaway had crashed against one of the mobile suits. I watched, frozen, as it toppled and fell, right on the base.
I remember a mindless scream as I realized what was happening, and nothing else. The others told me that I somehow managed to get rid of every single one of the suits and dolls that surrounded me. I can't tell if that happened. All I know was that the sight of that base going up in a ball of flames will be right next to Heero's first and last smile: haunting me on my nightmares.
I don't remember making the call that brought the Preventers to the area, nor I remember much of the weeks that followed. All I know was that I felt empty, empty and lost. The funeral, meeting the others, it's all blurred in my mind to the point that nothing makes sense.
He was gone. HEERO was gone.
And it was ALL MY FAULT.