Swing, Swing - Ch. 2

July 06, 2008

…All he could do now was hope the wind carried him to where Heero had crashed. Even then, he would have to pull himself together enough to help his co-pilot…

Before he could finish these thoughts his world, too, went black.

Heero slowly opened his eyes, staring straight up into the vast starry sky. It was so big, so dark blue, so…lonely. He recalled a quote he read in this old book once when he was a kid at the library, "And then I looked at the stars, and considered how awful it would be for a man to turn his face up to them as he froze to death, and see no help or pity in all the glittering multitude." It was by some dude named Charles Dickens…the book title was "Great somethin' or another". It was old – a couple thousand years old actually. Why that came to mind was beyond Heero, he wasn't freezing but rather burning up. The stars did look rather pitiless though. Somewhere amongst his thoughts, the Wing Zero pilot realized was not in his Gundam. What happened? Wait…what's a Gundam? Heero's head began to spin and the stars seemed to turn into a glittering vortex of confusion.

The pilot lifted his hand to the back of his head and felt a smooth wetness. Assuming this was blood Heero realized he needed to find something to bandage himself up with.

"Hey – you alright man?"

"Who was that?" Heero couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus. Was his name "man"? Why was this guy calling him "man"? He thought his name was…wait, what was his name? Where was he?

"Hey man, I said are you alright?"

Man? That must be the right name…and once more, the world turned into blackness.

--

Duo grudgingly opened his eyes and was surprised to be looking down onto a forest floor. Wait, why were his feet not touching the ground? The DeathScythe pilot realized he was dangling from a tree and that his parachute had been tangled. Quickly grabbing a knife and cutting himself free, the braided man gracefully jumped down onto the forest floor. His landing wasn't as smooth as he would have liked, but he blamed that on his lack of blood…or food…or both. He could feel the dried crust of his wounds around his mouth and ears and decided that although he was feeling surprisingly chipper it would be best to seek some medical attention in the nearest town before beginning his search for Heero. . .

Duo gasped and froze, "HEERO!"

The memories came flooding back to him as he replayed the explosion in his mind. This wasn't just him waking up from another mission, this wasn't a regular day, he had aborted a mission! Where was his best friend? Nearby? Miles away? He could be anywhere! Duo's mind became a frenzy of emotion and thoughts as he realized reaching the next town was imperative. Duo didn't know the extent of his injuries, still being in shock, and broke into a light jog towards what he hoped was the nearest village.

--

Once more, Heero "Man" slowly opened his eyes but this time he was staring face to face with a girl. He sat up immediately and the girl was frightened off the bed into a standing position. She bowed in a very traditional Japanese way and shakily introduced herself, "H-hello. M-m-my name i-is V-v-violet."

'Violet…' Man began thinking, that color seemed so familiar, like from another life.

"My name is Man, I think. That is what the man who brought me here called me. Do I live here?"

Violet looked confusedly at the man with shaggy brown hair and deep cobalt eyes, "Well, sir, um, Man, m-my step-brother brought you here f-from the forest w-when he was c-c-chopping wood f-or the f-f-fire."

"So I don't live here?"

"U-um, n-no, b--ut you c-c-can stay until you f-f-find a p-place."

Man was not sure as to why this girl was so nervous when he caught sight of himself in the reflection of a pan in the kitchen. He looked awful! He noticed he had stitches in his right eyebrow leading all the way to his temple and his arms were battered and bruised. He could see his head was wrapped in some sort of gauge bandage and he sure would hate to examine the rest of himself!

Man slowly stood up with the intentions of thanking the brother who saved him (and who apparently knew his name), wanting to ask him questions about himself. Who was he? Why couldn't he remember anything? Was he his brother, too? Was Violet his sister? Man teetered in his stance; breaking his thoughts and making him fall back on to the bed. Man looked down and noticed his feet were swollen and red.

Examining this, Violet piped up, "Step-brother bandaged you up pretty well." Apparently she was feeling more comfortable because the stutter had disappeared, "You may not be able to walk for a while, would you like some soup?"

Man meekly nodded and arranged himself more comfortably on the bed – what a day.

--

(Wish) cast into the sky
I'm moving on
Sweet beginnings do arise

--

Duo, gasping for breath, arrived into what seemed to be civilization. There was a cluster of houses and what looked like a space mail station, which made him happy. At least he wasn't in a completely un-advanced specter of the world.

Walking up to the nearest house he lightly tapped on the door. After only half a knock, the door was swiftly opened and he was quickly ushered inside, the occupant eyeing the outside warily.

"We were warned you would be coming."

"I'm sorry?" Duo questioned.

"Don't speak unless spoken to," the figure hissed.

"Huh?" was all Duo could spit out before he felt a sharp smack across the face. The wound he had suffered to his mouth ripped open a new as fresh blood began to drip down his mouth. Immediately Duo was to his feet and ready to pin the figure/man/thing that let him into the house. It kept to the shadows so the pilot could not get a good look at him.

"You abandoned the mission Duoooo," it taunted, "nnnow you will die!"

Duo realized now the town was a set-up by the government to punish the traitor – him. He abandoned the mission! The doctors must have done this. The braided man was tossed from his thoughts by a stabbing feeling in his back.

Duo turned and landed a punch square into the man's face – ha! He saw him! He had a scar going across his right eye and red hair that was pulled back into a thin ponytail. Now that his enemy was insight, Duo landed another punch to his jaw and kneed the man in the stomach. A swift kick to the legs and the man was on the floor. Duo smiled down triumphantly until he registered a beeping noise coming from his foe's body. Suddenly noticing the timer strapped to the man's ankle, Duo swiftly ran out the door and back towards the forest right as a loud BANG was emitted not only from the one house – but all of them! The sky was lit in flames as logs and flaming debris was flung everywhere some of it clinging to the pilot's skin and hair. Making it to the brush just in time, Duo turned to watch the town burn to the ground – along with his hopes of finding Heero or making it out of this alive.

What was going on?

--

Bury me
You thought your problems were gone
Carry me
Away, away, away

--

TBC

Love,

M-Chan

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