Where Do We Go From Here
Chapter #2: Affection, Action, and…Death?
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Wow, I'm speechless (well, obviously I'm not, but anyways). I got a whole bunch of reviews for the first chapter. I'm surprised. I just wrote that while I was bored and here I get more reviews for it than any other fic thus far. I hate to repeat myself but…wow. Either way, here's part two for all those nice people who read the first in the series and gave me so many helpful suggestions for this. I think I finally decided what should happen and how it should end (thank God). And so, without any other chatter from me, I give you: Where Do We Go From Here (chapter#2).
As far as my disclaimer, you could go back and look at the first fic or…you could use common sense and realize that if I owned the GW characters, I wouldn't be on FanFiction.net writing about them. ^_^ I'd be making movies about them!
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There was nothing but darkness. The cold, uncaring void of darkness into which he had fallen where the pain of his memories couldn't hurt him. And totally alone…or so he thought. For in the next instant, a single shaft of light appeared behind him and he spun about to face it. Illuminated by the light, a figure dressed all in white stood there, not moving and not saying a word. It was a figure that he knew all too well. Cold, calm, and calculating WuFei looked up, turning his fierce black eyes to glare at Heero. "You're a disgrace, Yuy," he said softly but with obvious disgust, "You've handed our secrets over to the enemy because of your weakness!" "But I…the drugs…and the…the…" Heero argued, feeling the full weight of all his shame descending on his shoulders. "Don't give me your excuses weakling," WuFei growled, the light above him fading until Heero was left alone in the darkness once again. "I…I couldn't…I…I'm sorry," Heero whispered, dropping to his knees under the horrible truth that he HAD told OZ the secrets of the gundams. Caught up in this shame and inner torment, Heero hardly even noticed as another shaft of light appeared only inches from his nose. It was only when a gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder that he found himself looking up into Duo's concerned face. "H-Heero?" Duo asked, concern and perhaps a little confusion layering his voice, "Heero…what have you done?" "I…I, Duo please…you've gotta…you've gotta believe me!" Heero cried hopelessly, as he stared up into Duo's troubled, purple eyes. "What has he done now, Duo?" Quatre asked, walking out of the shadows into the light at Duo's left. "I would like to know as well," Trowa agreed softly, coming up on Duo's right. "He's…he's told Them about us…all our secrets," Duo answered, the concern leaving his voice and disgust and disbelief taking it's place. "But…but I didn't mean to!" Heero pleaded, begging his friends to understand. But they didn't. As silent tears ran down his cheeks, mirrors of his innermost feelings, the other pilots turned away from him and walked off into the darkness. " Guys…please. With the pain…the drugs…I…I couldn't! Guys, you have to believe me!" he cried at their retreating backs. "Guys…believe me…" he whispered softly, as if to himself as he lowered his head in defeat. And as the other pilots footsteps faded away into the distance and the light about him faded away to nothing…he woke up.
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A cold, bleak rain was falling from an equally bleak, gray sky as Duo Maxwell stood there watching it from his window. The weather seemed quite fitting, given the circumstances. By some strange miracle, Duo had managed to bring Heero back safely, got his wounds treated, and all in all, got Heero taken care of. Then, after they had gotten Heero settled in Quatre's Arabian mansion, Heero's medical reports arrived via the normal mail system. They assured the pilots that everything had been taken care of, but they also mentioned something else. Off in the corner of the page, there was a list of all the possible tortures Heero could have been through (as requested by Quatre) and a note that said Heero was lucky to have survived. But the pilots knew better. Maybe a NORMAL person would have barely survived, but with Heero Yuy, death never seemed like a possibility. "Well, we've got that list of possible tortures on Heero's med reports," Quatre said softly from his seat behind Duo, "but we still don't have the specifics. We still don't know what really happened." "And more importantly, what he told OZ about us," Duo commented bluntly as he turned and put his back against the window. "Yes, that's true," Quatre agreed, looking over towards Duo. "Well then the best way to get the answers would be to ask Heero, wouldn't it?" Trowa asked in his typical monotone from his position in the far corner, with his back to the wall. In response, Duo shook his head, "We need the answers soon…and I don't even think that Heero's conscious yet. Much less, ready to face those memories so soon." "I agree," Quatre said, nodding, "We may not know what happened to him, but I believe it's safe to assume that it was BAD. And I don't want to drag Heero back into it if it can be helped. But then the question still stands…how do we find the answers?" Duo shook his head and shrugged while Trowa closed his eyes and held his peace. A silence followed as each of the pilots went through their mental list of options and the possible consequences those actions would bring. Then, quite suddenly, Duo pushed away from the window and made his way to the door. "Wait, Duo!" Quatre cried, getting to his feet quickly, "Where are you going?" Without looking back Duo opened the door and answered simply, "I'm going to go check on Heero. And…try to find some of the answers." "But, Duo! You can't! Heero can't possibly be ready for the emotional stress! Duo!" Quatre cried, rushing to the door to stop him. But it was too late. Duo had already left and was too far for any of them to stop him.
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Footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting, Duo made his way down the twisting maze of halls to Heero's room. Pausing briefly at the door to listen, Duo didn't hear a sound on the other side and so, proceeded to open the door and go in. It was a room similar in content to any other room on this level of the manor. White or tan walls and carpets of earth colors or deep shades of green, sparsely furnished, and plain. But they were still nice rooms. Stepping through the door and closing it silently behind him, Duo entered as quietly as he could and looked around. Something was wrong…then, he saw it. Or rather, heard it. The semi-compact machine that was sitting beside Heero's bed, meant to monitor his heart rate…was silent. Which made perfect sense considering that Heero wasn't in his bed. Instead, the heart monitor and the oxygen mask that had been regulating Heero's breathing were lying on the sheets, with no sign of the thick cover blanket. So…where was Heero? Looking around the room frantically and finding no sign of him, Duo was just about to yell for the others when (quite to his relief) he found Heero. He had been seated on a tiny wall-like outcropping surrounding the window in the far left corner, chin resting on his arms, arms resting on his knees, and knees pulled up to his chest. He wasn't wearing much though. Just a plain pair of long pants (donated by Quatre) and the cover blanket from his bed wrapped protectively about his bare shoulders as he sat watching the rain. Calming his pounding heart, Duo walked cautiously over to where Heero was sitting and waited. When the other boy neither greeted him nor even acknowledged his presence, Duo reached up and tentatively touched his shoulder. Starting as if from sleep, Heero jumped at the slight touch and turned to glare down at Duo. "Yes, Duo?" he asked, all hint of the drugs slurring his speech, gone. His expression was impassive and just as stony as ever. But Duo couldn't miss the conflicting emotions that leaked through Heero's customary mask of stone and so went on to ask, "Are you all right, Heero?" In response, the other boy just nodded and then, turned back to the window, watching the rainfall as he answered softly, "I'm fine." Readjusting the blanket, Heero seemed to be doing his best to ignore Duo. But Duo didn't believe him and his "I'm fine." There was a lot Heero hadn't told Duo and he certainly wasn't "just fine"! "Uh, are you sure?" Duo asked, silently beseeching Heero to at least LOOK at him. But Heero didn't look at him or even give him any answer other than a shrug. "Come on, Heero," Duo coaxed softly, coming around so that he was facing Heero, "I want to know what happened. I want to help you." "With what?!" Heero growled, annoyance and anger heating his voice. But Duo wasn't intimidated. Heero didn't have a weapon this time and even though his voice spoke of anger at being disturbed, his eyes were telling a different story. Deep down in those intense cobalt eyes, beneath the steel and stone, hid a terrible shame and a deeply buried sorrow. So, why was he hiding it? Duo had to know. "I want to know what happened so…so I can help you…deal with the pain," Duo answered truthfully, hoping he didn't sound too lame. "I don't need any help, Duo," Heero answered coldly, pulling the blanket up tighter about himself, "Thank you for saving me…but I don't need your help." Duo couldn't believe it! "But…but Heero! With all that pain and the…the drugs intensifying it…how could you!? You're inhuman, Heero! No one could go through all that and come out the same as they were before! NO ONE!" To this, Heero didn't reply and finally, after several minutes, Duo gave up and started to leave. Just as he reached the door though, Heero spoke up. Speaking softly, as if to himself, Heero whispered, "I don't need any help…and I will fix what I have done…I will correct my mistake." What those mistakes were, Duo had no idea, but he figured he would know soon enough. All in due time, all in due time.
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"Heh-heh, we've finally caught every one of them! From now on, nothing will stand in OZ's way!" Omar chuckled from his hunched over position before a central control board. Below him, the four gundam pilots lay trapped inside a glass roofed chamber. "There's only four of them though," Heero mused mentally to himself, "why isn't Omar worried about me. I AM a gundam pilot after all." Heero continued to wonder over this in his spot up in the rafters until Omar answered it for him. Looking down at the helpless pilots, Omar continued his ranting, "One down, four to go. That other one went down far too easily…but he was weak anyway. These new ones though…" Omar continued on as Heero just sat there listening…not feeling. He couldn't believe it…he was dead! But he wasn't…cause how else could he be sitting there!? So what was he!? Heero didn't have much more of a chance to wonder about it after that as Omar began flipping switches and pulling levers on the control panel below him. He was doing it in a rather comical fashion as well, but Heero didn't find it very funny. He knew what the chamber was that the other pilots were trapped in. It was one of OZ's unique torture chambers where the executioner could watch from above and make sure that no one escaped. And the others were trapped inside it! Standing up, preparing to jump down and attempt to save the others, Heero was quite surprised to find that he couldn't move. It was as if he was chained to the spot as Omar began pulling the final lever and a steam-like gas began flooding the pilots' chamber. Obviously aware of their peril, the others intensified their frantic search for an escape and tried their best not to breathe. But as the minutes dragged on, one by one, they all gave up. Collapsing to the ground or leaning heavily on the walls, the other pilots did all they could to fight off the effects of the gas and stay on their feet. But they were fighting a loosing battle…and there was nothing Heero could do! Looking smug and quite confident, Omar leaned over the board to look down at his helpless victims. "Feh, how pathetic you are," he mused with a grin, "and all because HE sold you out." "Stop your lies right there!" Quatre cried from his prone position on the floor. Gasping from the gas, Duo picked up from where Quatre left off, shouting angrily, "Heero would never tell you anything! He's far too strong!" Across from Duo, back to the wall and panting, WuFei piped up saying, "There are many who are weak in this world and Yuy is NOT counted among them!" Trowa just nodded weakly. "Believe what you want," Omar replied haughtily, "but I know the truth. And now…I think it's time we finished this." Flipping a final switch, Omar watched smugly as the gas changed from gray to a pale blue. His smug look then changed to a grin and then, a full-fledged malicious smile as their screams began. Watching as the others shivered and shook on the floor, Heero realized that he recognized the gas. It was a brand new kind of muscle contractive that could (given the right dose) kill a person by having their body rip itself apart. As the other pilots screams filled the air, Heero dropped to his knees under the horrible knowledge that he was responsible. It was because of him that they were trapped down there, dying down there. AS each cry filled his ears and ripped his tattered soul to shreds once again, Heero curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his shoulders as his nails dug painfully into his arms. And then, just when he thought that it could get no worse, Duo's voice cried out over the others, "HEEEEERRRRROOO!"
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"Heero, Heero! Come on! Stop it!" Duo shouted, frantically trying to keep Heero from curling up on himself and tearing his arms up. The other boy wasn't responding though, apparently lost in some terrible dream. None of the others were there to help either considering that Duo was the closest to Heero's room when he'd heard him crying out. "Heero, Heero! Wake up, HEERO!" Duo cried, shaking Heero's shoulders as hard as he could. Suddenly, Heero's eyes shot open and his body stopped struggling against Duo's iron grip. Staring up into Duo's intense violet eyes, Heero's previous dream returned to him with a vengeance. Images of Duo glaring down at him in disgust, of the others turning their backs on him and walking away, and of his horrible, horrible shame that he was holding within him. Shuddering violently with restrained emotion, Heero collapsed into Duo's arms, clinging to the other boy like he was a life preserver. Startled, all Duo could do was stare at Heero as he clung to him, tears the like of which he'd never shed before streaming down his cheeks. "H-Heero?" Duo asked, half-heartedly trying to pull Heero off him. "I'm sorry, so sorry!" Heero cried, his words muffled in Duo's shirt. "Sorry for what? You haven't done anything!" Duo assured him, reaching up and placing a hand on Heero's shoulder. "YES, I HAVE!" Heero yelled back, holding onto Duo tighter, his eyes closed tight as tears continued running down his cheeks, "I've told them! I've told them everything! Everything about US, about the gundams!" "Who's they? OZ? You couldn't possibly have told them anything! Heero, you're too strong!" Duo said, trying to sound encouraging. "But I'm not," Heero mumbled back, "I'm not. I'm not strong. I…I…" Heero trailed off, exhausted from crying, his shudders weakening. "It's all right," Duo whispered gently as he used the same hand on Heero's shoulder to stroke his back. Eventually, Heero calmed down enough to speak again though he was utterly exhausted from crying. "It's all right," Duo assured him over and over again until Heero's grip on his shirt relaxed and he slumped forward against Duo's chest. Without a word, Duo turned and motioned towards the door. Quietly as they could, the others came in and helped Duo lift Heero back into bed. They had seen the entire thing (well, most of the important parts anyway), since they came running when Duo yelled. And they were quite shaken by all of it. The fact that the inhuman Heero Yuy had shown such strong emotion and actually shed tears was totally amazing. And it frightened most of them that the great pillar of strength Heero represented proved to be weaker than they thought.
"Unbelievable," Quatre whispered as he looked down at Heero's tear-stained face, which even in sleep did not lose its pained expression, "to think that he had THAT kind of emotion all bottled up inside himself…" "Well, at least we got our answers," WuFei said, ignoring the sleeping Heero as best as he could. "Yes," Trowa replied as he pulled Heero's covers up to his chin, "but now a new problem has presented itself. What do we do about OZ and…what they've learned?" "I don't know," Quatre replied slowly, already thinking up possibilities, "Let's go. We can discuss this better somewhere else." Nodding, the other pilots headed for the door along with Quatre while Duo stood, staring down at Heero. "Duo?" Quatre asked, pausing at the door with one hand on the frame, "Duo, aren't you coming?" "Uh…yeah. Just give me a sec here. I want to make sure that he's all right and then…I'll be along." Duo answered from behind Heero's bed. Concern still dancing in his eyes, Quatre nodded and after glancing at Heero once more, he left. Looking back down at Heero, Duo waited for the door to click closed before looking up again. Heero would be fine, but Duo wished that he knew what to do about OZ. This was going to be a very tricky situation. "And it would be completely 'perfect' if Prof. G. were to call up right about now with another 'mission' for me," he mused aloud, looking over Heero's face. What to do, what to do? Sighing loudly, Duo pushed away from Heero's bed and started heading for the door, clicking the lights off as he went. "Stop…don't go," Heero whispered in a pleading tone from where he lay, "I don't want to be alone again…so soon." Surprised that Heero was even awake, Duo clicked the lights back on and turned to look back over to him. "Please?" Heero pleaded weakly, much like a child who is lost in the dark and doesn't want their only light to leave. Sighing again, Duo clicked the lights off and walked over. "Heero…I…" Duo found that he couldn't continue as Heero opened his eyes, red rimmed and swollen as they were, and looked up helplessly at him. "Please, Duo?" he asked, his voice just barely above a whisper this time. "Uh…I…I…okay. But just for tonight," Duo answered, pulling his shirt off and sliding in beside Heero. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Duo thought miserably to himself as he pulled the covers up over his waist. Still complaining mentally to himself, Duo snuggled a little further under the covers and then looked over briefly at Heero. He stopped dead in his tracks though when he found himself staring straight into Heero depthless blue eyes. "Thank you," Heero whispered, without looking away. "Uh…" was all Duo could say in reply, finding himself at a loss for words. But the look in Heero's eyes told him that he understood anyway. "Sure thing," he replied softly, reaching over and gently touching Heero's tear-stained cheek, "sure thing." And that was how Heero fell asleep. Warm, safe, and no longer alone.
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He awoke the next morning, not to the sunshine and birdsong you'd expect after such a pleasant night, but to more of the same cold, gray rain. But it really didn't matter to Heero. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he had actually slept. Not the usual on guard, half-sleep that he normally got, but actual sweet and complete rest. And not only that, but he also awoke to a nice, warm bed this morning. Not a total surprise given the fact that Duo was lying right beside him, snoring softly. "Huh, he actually stayed?" Heero muttered incredulously as he pushed himself up on his elbow. But it wasn't his imagination, Duo was really there lying right next to him, hair all mussed up from sleep, mouth slightly parted, and curled up on his side, facing Heero. "I really can't believe he stayed!" Heero thought again, staring numbly at Duo's serene face. And as he did so, it hurt him to realize that it couldn't last. The peace…the utter peace he felt right now would have to be shattered so that Duo and the others could live. Today was the day that he left to correct his mistake. After two or three weeks abed (at least that he knew of-he had been unconscious for several others), Heero finally felt ready. Ready to go back and face OZ, face his fears, and…face Omar. But before he left, he had a few things he had to get. And first on the list were his clothes. Unfortunately, Heero had no clue where they were. Sighing annoyedly, he sat up and looked about him. He really didn't think that Quatre had brought his clothes in the room along with him, but it ended up that he had. Sitting up on top of a dresser on the far right wall was everything that he had been wearing when Duo had found him, right down to his boots and his gun holster. "Well, now at least they know where I keep my gun," Heero thought sarcastically, sliding out from under the covers and walking over to the dresser, "Hopefully this luck keeps up, anyway." Glancing over to make sure that Duo was still asleep, Heero quickly pulled Quatre's donated pants off and slipped into his tight, black shorts. It was an odd feeling after wearing something else for several weeks, but he was almost glad to have them back. Next came his gun holster (elastic of course), which he easily pulled over his head and around his waist. Then, he finished off by sliding his tank top on and stepping into his boots. "Hmmm…that's better," Heero mumbled, flexing his arms a bit. It was a great relief that he wasn't in the kind of pain that he had been before. Now, it was at least at a tolerable level (well, for him anyway). So, now he was ready at last.
There was nothing else he needed in here so… Pausing briefly at the door, Heero turned back and looked at where Duo lay. Even as he watched, Duo made a small noise and rolled over on his stomach, one arm flopping over the side of the bed, his snores muffled by the pillow. Then, in the next instant, a double image, one from Heero's second dream returned to him. Duo laying face down on the floor of the gas chamber, blood pooling under him as his dead and lifeless eyes stared straight ahead. Blinking and then shaking his head, Heero turned and opened the door, whispering softly, "Duo…be safe…" The moment he crossed the threshold though, his customary mask of stony indifference settled over his face. After all, he was on a mission now and nothing would stand between him and his goal. Closing the door quietly behind him, Heero set off stealthily down the hall, wary of any other people moving about. Lucky for him, he had been to Quatre's mansion before so he knew the twisting maze of hallways pretty well. And he most certainly knew where the room he wanted was. "Let's see…it's in the west sing…four, five, six, doors down and…here it is," Heero thought to himself, finally reaching the right room. Pushing the door open, Heero cautiously stepped in and looked around. "Yes, this is it. One of my favorite rooms in all of Quatre's mansion," Heero thought with a malicious glee (though his face betrayed none of this). Silent as usual, Heero stepped out of the doorway and walked over to the left-side wall. This was Quatre's weapons room and here was where Heero was planning on picking up a few new "friends". Scrutinizing the weapons racked on the wall before him, Heero finally pulled down the two that he wanted. One was a black, sturdy looking pistol, which he casually slid into the holster around his waist. The other was a moderately sized combination between a machine gun and a rifle, which he just carried carefully in the crook of his arm. He would have preferred to have tested both, but that was out of the question so, he just had to judge them by size and looks. Having checked both to make sure they had bullets, Heero let the smallest hint of a smile creep onto his lips and left. "One more thing," Heero thought to himself, heading back down the hall the way he had come, "Transportation." But there was a minor problem with that. What could he possibly take that wasn't ancient and that wouldn't be missed immediately. Passing his own room once again, Heero's mind was kept elsewhere as he tried to come up with one possible vehicle that he knew he could take. So far, he could think of nothing. Well, there had been one thought that had crossed his mind. It would have been great if he could have taken his gundam or one of the others. But that was impossible with his gundam in OZ's control and taking one of the others would get him caught right away. So then, what could he take? The answer came to him quite simply when he finally reached Quatre's huge hangar where all their gundams and more could be stored. A single vehicle, very similar to a jeep, had been stuck off behind a hand full of other nicer vehicles. It had been unused for a very long time now, but it did have the one thing he needed. A key, seemingly forgotten, already lying in the ignition slot. "Hmm, it's got a key…looks functional…this looks like it," Heero decided, gripping the door. Uh oh, what if the door was locked? Ignoring this possibility, Heero just gritted his teeth and pulled. Thankfully, the door swung right open and in the next instant, Heero was pulling himself up into the driver's seat. Now comfortably in place (though his arm throbbed a little), Heero turned the ignition key. Sparing himself a moment of triumph as the engines roared to life, Heero then gripped the steering wheel and sped off. His destination wasn't far and soon, very soon, his mistake would be corrected. And he could rest again.
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::cha-chunk…vih vih- vih vih….vrrrooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…:: "Huh?" Duo mumbled groggily, dragging himself up from the depths of sleep when he heard the noises of a vehicle off in the distance. "Huh?" he repeated, pushing himself up on an elbow and looking around. Something seemed a little odd. This wasn't his room, that much he could tell right away. It was far too dim to be his room and the layout was all wrong. But then, where was he? It didn't seem like the time he'd gotten drunk at Releena's place and woke up in a different room but…maybe. He didn't think that was it though, as scattered bits of memory slowly began returning to him. "Wait, this…this is…Heero's room. Then…why am I…?" Duo wondered aloud, putting a hand to his head as he sat up. He could feel the makings of another perfect headache starting (he hadn't had his coffee yet, and it was even later than he usually woke). Then, just when he was about to give up and go get coffee, everything seemed to click into place. Images from the previous night flooded through Duo's mind all in the blink of an eye. Of Heero clinging to him, crying as he never had before, of Heero begging him to stay just a little while longer, and of him sliding in beside Heero. "So, that's how I ended in Heero's…Heero! Where is he!?" Duo thought frantically as he noticed that the other boy was no longer beside him. Surprise and disbelief jolting him completely awake, Duo quickly pushed the covers aside and hopped out of bed. Looking all over, Duo made an entire search of the room and found…nothing. The other boy was gone. To where, Duo had no clue. Then, an idea hit him that stopped him dead in his tracks, "Those engine noises! Heero!" It didn't take more than a second after that before he took off out the door, running down the length of the hall shouting for the others, "Guys! Guys! Where are you! Heero's gone!" "He's what?" Quatre asked sleepily from one of the doorways Duo had already passed. Back tracking, Duo rushed into the room and started waking the others, all the while yelling, "Heero's escaped! He's gone! He's escaped!" "Escaped? Wha' What are you talking about, Maxwell?" WuFei growled, pushing himself up out of the chair he had fallen asleep in. "He's…he's not in his room and I can't find him anywhere else! I just heard engine noises a minute ago and I think it was him! Now he's GONE!" Duo cried frantically, hands waving wildly in the air. Instead of listening though, WuFei just stared at him as though he'd gone crazy. The other pilots took Duo a little more seriously though and a top to bottom search of the mansion began. Duo didn't help though. And when the final answer returned that Heero must have really run away, Duo wasn't surprised. Because he had known from the very instant that he noticed Heero wasn't beside him that the other boy was gone. The only question was…to where?
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::tmp-tmp-tmp-tmp:: Heero's footsteps sounded softly as he made his way down the darkened hallway. He was currently within the very bowels of OZ's latest base of operations. And here was where the information he had given them was said to be stored. It wouldn't be here much longer if he had his was though. Directly upon leaving Quatre's mansion, he had driven like a madman to the closest airport. Once there, he had managed to bait an OZ soldier on duty out of the main crowd. And once they were out of sight he "asked" him where OZ's main store of information was. The answer was quickly obtained and Heero silenced the soldier just as quickly and was gone. So, now he'd had a destination. So, the next step was to hop aboard the cargo hold of one of the shuttles heading to the right colony and…wait. And after that, it had all just been a matter of finding the right building and getting in unnoticed. All in all, an easy job for Heero Yuy. So, the only things he had left to do now was to find the information files, destroy them, and…possibly return a favor to an old "friend". "It must be one of the rooms in this hall…there's more guards…less other people…one of these room's on the right…maybe this one…" Heero mused to himself before stopping at the chosen door and listening. When he didn't hear anything, Heero decided to risk it, pushed the door open and stepped in. The room itself was close enough to pitch black inside all except for a single red lamp lighting the far corner and that was it. "This…this is it. OZ's most important information files. Huh, why is it that I don't feel proud that our info is considered important," Heero muttered softly under his breath as he closed the door behind him, "Either way, let's see. Where are the gundam pilots files?" He searched for at least 20 minutes before he actually found them, looking in file cabinets, record books, and such. It ended up that the files were fairly brief and all had been saved on circular, CD shaped disks. Now to destroy them. And the answer for how to do that was simple enough. Bending over, Heero took one of the disks from its case and placed it on its side under his boot heel, preparing to crush it. That was when it hit him. From somewhere behind him, something hit him dead in the back and the next thing he knew, he was lying against the opposite wall on his side. "Sorry, Little One, but I can't let you do that," a frighteningly familiar voice chuckled from above Heero. Even as Heero started to push himself up, he stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the voice for who it was, "OMAR!" Every inch of his being screamed out in that one instant as pure, unrestrained fear flooded through him and he shuddered from the force of it. "Heh, I see you remember me," Omar continued as he strolled over to where Heero lay trembling, "Here I thought you was dead when they wouldn't tell me what became of you." Omar's smirk evolved into one of his malicious grins as he said this. The same kind of grin he got that was so full of malice and delight at completely overpowering his victims. Upon noticing this, Heero shivered all the more, remembering one of those same grins turned towards him as he was sent sprawling on his back. "No! Not again! I…I won't be able to take it! CAN'T! NO!" Heero cried frantically in his mind, his body already curling in on itself. He thought he'd be ready to face Omar again. To look the big oaf in the face and then slam his fist right into it. But apparently, he wasn't as ready as he'd thought. And as he realized this, the terrible, all-consuming shame that had descended on him before returned, adding to his paralysis. And as he lay there, waiting for the pain to begin anew, Omar leaned down and chuckled, "How very fortunate for me. Here I thought I'd be bored, but now I guess not. How very fortunate, indeed."
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"Why don't you fight back, Little One?" Omar asked with false concern as he came over to where Heero lay. Heero just shook his head. After reclaiming the disks, Omar had dragged him off to the strange, remote room and had then proceeded to do what he did best (cause pain). "The disks?" Heero asked, looking up at Omar through swollen eyes and talking around an equally swollen lip. "Oh…these?" Omar asked slyly, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling the disks out, "You won't be needing these, Little One. Not where you're headed anyway." "No…give them back…must be…destroyed…" Heero answered, his voice sounding more like a croak as he strained to get back to his feet. "Go ahead," Omar coaxed, another one his hideous grins spreading on his face, "take them from me…if you can." Then, his grin changed again, this time becoming a devious little smile as he watched Heero stagger to his feet and come towards him. He was caught off guard in the next instant though as Heero lunged forward, ramming his fist into Omar's unprotected stomach. Making a rather odd "Oomph" noise, Omar stumbled backwards, the disks flying out of his hands. Without even pausing for a second, Heero turned around and dove for the disks. Landing stomach down on the ground, he just barely caught them. Not that it mattered if they broke, just so long as Omar didn't get them again. Grunting with the effort it took, Heero picked himself up off the ground and ran for the far corner of the room. The door was too far away just now but maybe, just maybe he could make it. If only he could get past Omar. Speaking of which, Omar was back completely on his feet and promptly came after Heero again. With his back against the wall, Heero brought his arms up into a guard position and did his best to defend both the disks and himself. But it wasn't enough and he was sent sprawling to the opposite end of the room by a powerful blow to the face. Pain shooting up and down his neck and back, Heero was surprised that his neck hadn't been broken as he just lay there, face down on the floor. It was also a wonder that the disks hadn't fallen from his hands. Growling and rubbing his stomach sullenly, Omar came slowly over to where Heero was. "You didn't die before…let's see if we can fix that, huh?" he said cockily. In response, Heero tried to shake his head and crawl away, but he was just too spent. Clenching his teeth, Heero clutched the disks tighter and tried to curl up in at least a semi-defensive position. Still growling under his breath, Omar bent over and quickly snatched the disks from Heero's hands. "Now," he said, sliding them back into his pocket, "let's finish this." Bending over again, Omar grabbed Heero by the collar of his tank top and hauled him up off the ground. "Good bye," he said simply, pulling back his fist to deliver the final blow. Closing his eyes, Heero let every muscle go slack and waited for the end, hoping it wouldn't be too painful. Then, just as Omar's fist began it's slow descent towards Heero's face, a black shape rushed up behind Omar and knocked Heero out of his grip. Not really sure what was going on, Heero braced himself as he was dropped to the ground like a useless sack of grain. Gasping from the tremendous pain and the overpowering fear he had just experienced, Heero just lay there as the sounds of fighting exploded above him. "Who…was that?" he wondered dazedly, as he fought off the pain and started to turn and look around. That was when he saw it. A flash of brown here, another flash of black and white there, a purple eye half closed as the figure blocked a blow. "DUO!" Heero's mind screamed in recognition, Where had Duo come from!? How had he found him!? There was NO WAY he could!? But he HAD!? HOW!? Heero watched in disbelief as Duo fought against his greatest fear…and was winning!
Then, just as he thought Duo had Omar cornered, Omar struck out at him and sent him flying. Ignoring Duo for the moment, Omar then made a mad dash towards Heero. Crying out in surprise, Heero did his best to curl up, but it was too late. Omar slammed his fist right into Heero's abdomin with such force that Heero skidded back a few feet. As waves of intense pain washed over him, it was all Heero could do to keep his eyes open and focused on Duo. Speaking of which, Duo had just staggered back to his feet and was just now shouting curses at Omar strong enough to flay the edges off his non-existent hair. Heero was just relieved that Duo was okay, but unfortunately he was fighting a loosing battle for consciousness. So, just as Omar and Duo came at each other again, fists raised, Heero lost, sinking down into a pain filled oblivion.
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When Heero finally returned to himself, he found Quatre at his shoulder, shaking him awake. The disks were in his hands. And…Omar and Duo were gone.
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New question peoples. Where'd Duo go? Off to fight Omar I guess. But will he ever return. Will Heero get to return the favor of saving him. Or will Duo be lost? Only YOU can decide. Actually, I'm just too lazy to pick one on my own and besides, I'm only continuing this fic because you guys liked it. Well… Okay, okay, I'll admit that I like it…but just a little! Anyways, the real reason is because I want what you guys want to happen. Did that make sense at all? Well, either way, go ahead and write me a review to send your opinion. If I get enough, I might even get started on parted three over winter break!
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