Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Gundam wing. *Throws the laptop against the wall, sobbing* ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!

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Fuseiseki : Failure

Chapter Three : Wake Me Up

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"So what's the story doc?" Duo sat amicably at the bedside of the girl they had rescued. His wishes had come true. She was a babe. But her condition was to be pitied. Bruises marred her lovely pale skin, some old, some new. There was a gash in her side that had become infected. He had redressed her wounds himself, with aid of Quatre, before their hasty get away. His own wound had been dressed when they'd arrived. It was sore, but more of a flesh wound. It pained him little.

He smiled at the memory of their escape. He always did like fireworks. Wufei had put on a good show. There was nothing left of Tenshu's Tokyo base. The Maguanac doctor, Hasin, broke him from his memories. "She is stable." His voice was thick with an Arabian accent. "But her wounds were severe. She was beaten within an inch of her life." He shook his head sadly. "I'm honestly not sure how she survived this long. There are also signs of sexual abuse."

Duo sobered immediately, staring at the prone from of the girl before him. She lay on the bed, her silver hair making a halo on the pure white sheets. There were three IV's attached to her, one in her left arm, and two in her right. The skin that wasn't bruised, was almost as pale as the sheets. The maguancs that Quatre had assigned to this small base in Yokohama had washed her, and dressed her wounds once again. Helpful chaps. He thought absentmindedly. Then, berated himself. Damn attention span. It had been two days since they had rescued her from the base, but she hadn't made so much as a peep. He admired her for her strength. His fists clenched. No one so young, so innocent looking as she, deserved this.

He nodded politely as the doctor bowed, and took his leave. Pulling himself up from the chair, he moved to the girls bedside, and tentatively laid a hand on her own, bruised one. He was surprised as her brows furrowed, but did not pull away, instead gently turning her hand, palm up, and interlocking his fingers with hers. With her eyes closed, he then heard her speak for the first time.

"Duo Maxwell." She whispered, with a voice like the chime of bells. And then she was silent again.

His eyes were guarded as he looked down on her, and spoke softly. "You are one mysterious babe." And untangling his hand from hers, he took one last glance at her stoic form before leaving the room.

...

*War.* That was all these boys had seen. All they had known. She was having a hard time distinguishing the difference between her own thoughts and those of the man named Quatre. He was a strong empath. Just his touch had impressed upon her so many memories of him, of his friends, that she felt shorted out. Their stories reminded her of her own. Or did her stories remind her of theirs?

So much pain. And fear. Fear that had to be hidden. Pushed down and forgotten about. Because the mission was always foremost. They stitched the fabric of their world with the machines they fought in. There was no room for weakness. Weakness got you killed. She could hear her own heartbeat. Or was it Quatre's? A slow, steady rhythm.

Did that mean she was alive? Did she want to be alive? There was something deep below the surface of the lucid dreams she was having, something dark and cold that she was afraid to touch. A well of emotion that threatened to leave her invalid with the pain. There were other voices. She heard them every once in-awhile. Voices that broke through the memories and said things she didn't quite understand.

"Stable" The voice drifted through foggy, not one she recognized. There was an accent to it... Was she stable? Was he talking about her? What was wrong with her? That threatening feeling came back. It was a darkness that was rising, bringing her closer to the surface of understanding.

Then there was a hand in hers. It was warm, calloused. And the colors... Unlike the deep sea green she was washed in currently, this touch impressed deep purple and forest green upon her. Earthy and mysterious. A name came to her lips, and she spoke it without thinking. "Duo Maxwell." It was a whisper, the ghost of a memory. She wanted to squeeze her fingers closed. To hold him there with his warmth so that she might share in it, but she couldn't move. The hand was pulled away, and she was alone again. No, not alone. She held the company of these memories. And the sinking feeling that to come away from them, to open her eyes again, she would have to give into the darkness that scared her so.

...

"How is she?" Quatre didn't look up from the paper he was reading as he spoke. Duo took the seat across from him in the sitting room, appreciating the plushness of the chair. Quatre's bases were the best, full of luxury and comfort. Way better than Hiiro's bases. They were usually just compounds in the ground with cots and weapons. He screwed his face at the memory, but answered Quatre.

"Better than expected. But she still hasn't woken up." He put his arms behind his head, leaning back into the soft chair. "Doctor Hasin said she went through alot."

Quatre looked at him then, and Duo couldn't help seeing the pain in the blonde's eyes. "Yes, I was informed." He didn't say more. Duo wasn't sure he could. After all this time, Quatre was still the bleeding heart of their little ragtag crew. "Do you think she'll wake up soon?"

"It's touch and go." Duo said. "From what I gather she's got a lot of healing to do. She'll wake up when she feels like it."

"To a barrage of questions." Quatre sighed. "Hiiro is waiting for her to wake up, and Noin and Milliardo are on speed-dial should it be soon."

"The girl destroyed half of an enemies base with no notice and a weapon no one can find. I have questions myself." Quatre glared at him, and he smiled. " I know Q-man. Will it make you feel better if I make it my personal mission to make sure they don't question her to death?"

Quatre's smile was answer enough. Duo couldn't help it. He had a weak spot for the younger boy. A weak spot for all of them really. This was his family. But Hiiro could be quite overbearing, as could Noin and Milliardo, the pair known as Fire and Wind. He didn't mind protecting the angel that lay prone in the next room.

...

It was right there. So close she could touch. But she kept her hands at her sides, unsure. This was the darkness. The thing she had to accept, had to take back, to wake up.

She had separated herself from Quatre's memories, and was vaguely aware that upon waking she would see him. Could help him, and all his friends. The men with the dark shadowing of pain in their eyes. But first, she had to help herself. Or destroy herself? She wasn't sure. Closing her eyes, she reach a pale hand towards the dark ball. And when her fingers finally met it, all she could do was scream.

...

Duo jumped from the seat he was in, undecided what to do. Before him, Quatre was hunched in pain, clutching his chest and struggling for breath. But from the infirmary, had come the piercing screams of the girl they'd rescued. He moved to comfort the man he knew so well, but was pushed away roughly.

Quatre's eyes told him all he needed to know. They were rent with pain, misery, hopelessness. The emotions were not his, but the message beneath, the message that screamed for him to go to the girl's aide, that was Quatre. With one last look at his ailing friend, he ran to the infirmary. He wasn't the first one there. There was the Doctor, and his tiny nurse, trying to hold the flailing girl down. She had ripped all three of her IV's out, and blood trickled from the spots where the catheters had been. Without hesitation, he moved to the side of the bed, and with strength the doctor and his nurse seemed to lack, pinned the girl's arms to her sides. She thrashed for a few moments more, and relaxed.

His breath even, Duo spoke. "You're safe here babe. We're not here to hurt you." He couldn't help but gasp as her eyes open and snapped to his. They were silver. Deep pools of cold metal. Her voice was like ice.

"I know. Duo Maxwell." She said. "Nor am I here to hurt you." It was at this point that the rest of his comrades entered the room, Trowa supporting a flushed Quatre, with Wufei and Duo on their heels. "I would ask that you allow me to sit up, Duo-kun." His eyes were still on hers, and he nodded, letting go of her arms. The Doctor and nurse were waved away by Quatre, as Trowa deposited him in a chair beside the bed.

She looked pained as she stretched the limbs that had not moved in two days, but seemed to just ignore it, pushing herself to sit upright. Slowly, she gazed at her arms, fingers gently tracing the bruises. When she looked back up, her eyes were no longer silver, but a cool blue-grey. Duo couldn't help but compare them to the stoic eyes of his best friend. Hiiro Yui.

...

The screaming was involuntary. She couldn't stop herself. The flailing was because of the pain. It burned at her core. A fire that was so hot it was cold. She heard the voices telling her to calm down, and then, the warm calloused hands she remembered clamped down on her arms. The fire ebbed to a numbness that was consuming. Fear was a weakness. She pushed it down forcibly. "You're safe here babe. We're not here to hurt you." The voice was deep, even. It was no effort for him to hold her ailing body down.

When her eyes opened, they were instantly captured in deep depths of pure violet. "I know. Duo Maxwell." Her voice sounded alien. Cold, calculating. She strained to make it sound softer, more amicable. "Nor am I here to hurt you." His hands still pinned her arms down. "I would ask that you allow me to sit up, Duo-kun." He nodded, and let her go.

Pain shot through her body as she moved, but she ignored it. Pain was a weakness. She had to be strong. She gazed sorrowfully at the bruises that laced her arms, traced them with a soft finger. It had come to this. And still she lived. Would Shinigami never take her? Would she suffer forever? Such a burden. Her eyes hardened, and she gazed slowly around the room. One she accepted. One she had to accept. Just as these boys accepted theirs.

"Who are you and who do you work for." She looked at the man, tall, with unruly brown hair and cold, Prussian blue eyes, and shivered despite herself. So cold. She wondered what made him so cold.

"Usagi." She said softly. And wondered for just a moment if that was right. Could that be her name anymore? She felt split down the middle, a half of two wholes. " My name is Usagi, and I work for no one."

There was a voice to her left. "Miss Usagi..." She cut him off.

"Just Usagi will do, Quatre-kun." Her voice was sweet and soft for him, almost like it had been before...before... She gasped, and Quatre gasped with her. They were both broken from it when Hiiro shoved the barrel of his magnum in her face.

"Who are you?" His voice never changed. It was monotone with no inflection. She imagined he didn't need much more to intimidate. He cut a powerful figure. She smiled lightly despite herself.

"I told you Hiiro." Her voice was cold again. She didn't know if she liked this new self. She sounded calmer than she felt. "My name is Usagi." He did not lower the gun.

"How do you know my name?" She looked at Quatre this time, ignoring the way the gun in her face made her heart flutter. " I know all of your names. Quatre Reberba Winner." She liked the way the name rolled off her tongue. His mother had named him well. Her eyes shifted to the tallest man, standing close to Quatre, his reddish brown hair falling in his face and shielding one eye. The other shone a brilliant emerald green. "Trowa Barton." She shifted her gaze again, to the Chinese man in the corner, his arms crossed and his onyx eyes hard. "Wufei Chang." Then to the compassionate one with violet eyes. Her eyes softened for a moment at the bandages she spied beneath his tank. "Duo Maxwell." Dark blue-grey met cold prussian once again, she stared at him past the barrel, her lips curving in a soft smile. "And of course, Hiiro Yui."

The gun clicked. Hiiro had taken the safety off. But before he could make a move, Duo knocked the gun from it's intended target. Hiiro glared at him with a ferocity that amazed the petite warrior, but he didn't back down, only glared back and spoke. "Our names are common knowledge Hiiro. Give her a break." The tenseness in the room died down, just a bit. There was a visible lax in the shoulders of the occupants. Duo turned to look at her, and she looked back at him passively. "What we really need to know babe, is how a little thing like you destroyed half an acre of a secret base."

She frowned. Just a small tilt down at the corners of her mouth. "I would love nothing more than to tell you that, Duo-kun." She twined her hands together, over the white sheet her legs were draped in. "But I'm afraid I have no idea what caused that damage. The soldiers at the base seemed to think I was involved." Her voice quieted. "The way they questioned me was not as... nice." She shook her head, and hoped no one noticed her knuckles going white as she pushed the memories away.

"How did you get to the base?" Trowa asked. She shook her head again, this time to signify that she had no answers for them. She couldn't explain what had happened to anyone. There was no one that would believe her. "I don't know."

"And before you were there, Onna?" Wufei. She liked his voice. It was smooth. She felt badly about it, but could not spill her secrets. This was not her world. She may not have been the smartest cookie on the block, but there was no way she could have missed the wars she saw etched in Quatre's memories.

"I don't remember." She knew she looked forlorn. She hoped they thought it was because she couldn't recall.

"Perhaps it would be best if we let Mi... Usagi, rest for awhile." Quatre's voice broke through the silence that had followed her answer. She was grateful for it. There was still an air of tension in the room, but there was a collective murmur of agreement, and slowly, they all filed out of the room. Duo was the last to leave.

Before he could close the door behind him, she called for him softly. "Duo-kun." He turned on a dime and headed back to her bedside, his face open and attentive.

"At your service babe." He winked and smiled. She found she liked his easy nature. It reminded her of... Another forced push inside. She wasn't ready for the hurt. She needed to be clear of mind right now, focused. Duo didn't seem to notice.

Gently, she reached for his shoulder, laying her hand atop the bandages that covered his bullet wound. "You got this getting me out, didn't you?" He smiled. Oh, she was sure this man broke hearts with that smile.

"Nothing to worry about babe. Barely a flesh wound." She smiled then too, because he was just contagious. "I'd be more worried about yourself." Her smile faltered. "You're pretty tough for such a babe."

She couldn't help the smile returning. "I'll be alright." She lowered her hand. "Perhaps I should rest." Duo kept on smiling his charming smile, raising a hand to his brow and saluting a goodbye.

"I'll leave you to it."

"Duo-kun!" He looked at her with laughter in his eyes.

"Yeah babe?"

"Arigatou for saving me."

"It was a group effort, but you are welcome. Couldn't just leave a beautiful thing like you to the wolves, now could we?

"I suppose not. Til later, Duo-kun.'

He nodded once, and turned on his heel as he had before, leaving the infirmary and closing the door behind him with a soft click. When he was gone, she put her head in her hands, and for the first time in weeks, she curled up and let herself cry. "Oh Minna. How I miss you. He's wrong. The fates have thrown me to the wolves yet again." The words were wracked with sobs. "This war, these boys with the pain in their eyes. Am I supposed to help? To heal? To fight? I'm so lost Minna. I wish you were here with me. I don't even have the ginshinzou." There was no answer. Not that she had truly expected one. She was alone. But for them, for their memories...She would be strong.

She laid there on the pillow, curled in a fetal position, nursing her bruises and her side, and though thoughts still ran rampant through her head, she fell asleep like that, tears in her eyes.

...

"So what do you think of the Onna?" Wufei, in particular Wufei fashion, was leaning against the conference table with his arms crossed. His audience was the remaining four Gundam pilots.

"I think she's hot." Duo said with a cheesy grin. Wufei and Hiiro shot him a glare simultaneously. He shrunk under the power of them, and complained. "Geez I don't see you guys for a year and you still do that."

"You're still an annoying baka." Wufei surmised. Trowa and Wufei smirked. Even Hiiro's lip twitched a little, and Quatre took over the conversation as Duo pouted.

"She may have a bit of amnesia due to her experience." The room quieted at the prospect. "Or she may not want to remember."

"She may be hiding something from us." Hiiro's voice was as monotone as ever. Quatre shook his head, though it wasn't to disagree.

"That may be true Hiiro. But she deserves a bit of time to rest before you push her. This feeling she gives me." His hand wandered to the space above his heart. "I've felt nothing like it before. A deep loneliness. A deep hurt."

"So we wait." Trowa said. His eyes were on Quatre, a hint of worry floating through them. "We need what information she has."

"Let's just hope she remembers sooner than later." Wufei's voice was more somber than before. They all understood that she had been through alot. But if she could lead them to a weapon with that much destruction, they needed her help.

"So she stays with us then." Duo said with a smile. "I'll just go..." Wufei cut him off.

"Leave the girl alone baka. Let her sleep. A year and you still embody injustice." Duo pouted.

"Don't you love me Wu-man?" Wufei's eye twitched.

"Baka, if I had my katana on me, I would show you how much it loves you. And my name is NOT Wu-man!" Quatre rolled his eyes with a smile on his face as Duo 'eeped' and took off running, the Chinese pilot on his heels. He was glad some they never changed. Everything around them seemed to be changing too fast.

...

Yay! Another chapter done. We're getting further into the story now... Lots of action in the next chapter. Stay tuned to find out what happens. P.S. Usagi will have a love interest in this story. Can you guess who yet? Points to those who can. I will also be having a guest star in the next chapter. Those who can guess who it is, get brownie points... :) Until next time.. .