I know I'm late again. I'm so sorry! I guess...at least I'm consistent?
Donatello references something in this chapter that sounds a lot like ZERO go a Gundam audience, but isn't. It's from a series of episodes called "Space Invaders" from the start of season 3. The whole series is worth a watch, but the second episode of that set, well, it's a lot like the ZERO in The Silken Cord and not the "friendly" version Quatre actually mastered.
Anyway.
Enjoy!
Part 7: Instead of Voices
"All right, that's it!" Raph roared. He stalked out of the dojo and charged down the hallway towards the main room.
"Get back here, Raphael!" Leo shouted after him.
"There is no way I'm spending one more minute in there with you right now unless I get to kick your shell across the room!"
"Honestly, dude?" Mikey appeared at Leo's elbow. "I'm with him. Seriously." And he followed his brother.
Leonardo was forced to trail after his two brothers a little belatedly. "Look, I know we're all frustrated, but…"
"You're frustrated, and they're frustrated." Raph pointed angrily to Leo, then to the small crowd in Donnie's lab. "But you don't gotta make the rest of us miserable!"
"Training is important, Raph!" Leo shot back, his ire rising. "Especially now."
"Dude, even Master Splinter said you should take a break," Mikey offered as he sauntered towards the kitchen area. "When sensei thinks you're overdoing it, I mean, shouldn't that be a sign or something?"
"They have a point."
Leo glanced upwards for the source of the voice. Trowa was leaning against the railing on the second level outside the room the Gundams had used as their own for the last several days. His eyes were fixed on Leo, even though he presented an overall unconcerned countenance.
"The life of a soldier involves a lot of waiting," Trowa continued. "If you spend all your waiting time exhausting yourself, you will be weak when the battle actually begins."
Leo bristled at that. "I'm not exhausting us. I'm just trying to keep us sharp."
"Well…" Quatre emerged from the room and joined Trowa at the rail. He looked down with a small smirk. "There are other ways to do that."
"How are you feeling?" Leo asked first.
Quatre shrugged. "I'm fine."
Leo didn't entirely believe him. When the five Gundams had passed through the doorway between the Nexus and their own lair, Leo had noticed them holding onto one another fiercely as if afraid to be separated. Then, the instant they emerged in the lair, Quatre's face had gone dark red, then pale. Wufei had explained it had something to do with his empathy adjusting to the sheer number of people in the surrounding area, and that he would be fine after the adjustment.
But even so, the friendliest member of the Gundam team had been oddly quiet and withdrawn for the last three days, spending a great deal of time alone with his thoughts.
On the other hand, the turtles had seen very little of Heero or Duo, either, though for entirely different reasons. They had basically locked themselves in Donatello's lab and combined forces with the resident turtle genius. After four hours of hearing Duo and Heero exclaim in surprise or dismay over the computer technology of the world – which, considering Donatello had a setup to rival the Utroms, well beyond anything in use by normal people, said a lot about what the pilots were used to – the pair had dived into not only turning the Foot systems upside down and pulling them apart, but had also started reinforcing Donatello's own network.
The residents of the lair got used to walking by the open door to Donnie's lab and hearing things like, "I can't believe they don't even have a rotating frequency sequencer on the firewall!" or "If that Foot security was a shuttle, it would be nothing but two wheels and some cardboard for the wings!" which would be followed by rapid-fire computer gibberish that wasn't worth the headache to try to translate.
The turtles learned that Trowa and Wufei and Quatre were also competent hackers in their own rights, but that Heero and Duo were the universally acknowledged masters. So while they worked their computer magic with Don, Wufei and Trowa had kept themselves busy in other ways. Wufei spent many hours with Master Splinter behind closed doors, sometimes joined by both Trowa and Quatre. Trowa also took it upon himself to scout the city, mostly with Wufei and once or twice with Quatre or Heero or Duo in tow, learning not only the layout and immediate surroundings, but also getting a sense for the society and culture.
So, while the Gundams had been keeping rather busy, Leonardo had felt like his own family was failing to live up to their standards. All five Gundams were so focused, so intent on their mission. Barely a handful of minutes passed where four of the five weren't totally consumed with their mission (excepting the meditation sessions with Master Splinter). The only exception was Quatre, who seemed to do the least in terms of active work, but Leo knew the look of a strategist when he saw one, and he knew Quatre was mentally preparing himself to lead his team into battle.
The least the turtles could do would be to train hard to ensure they would be in the best possible shape to join them.
Quatre stretched almost casually. But Leo was getting used to the five of them now, and he could see the slight speculation that passed between Quatre and Trowa.
"What did you have in mind?" Trowa asked Quatre almost too easily.
Wufei emerged from where he had been taking tea with Master Splinter, arriving behind Leo unexpectedly. "Idleness in the midst of a war can be to one's detriment if it is not handled correctly," he said as he edged around the turtles to where he could look up at Quatre and Trowa. "We have been idle too long."
Quatre nodded. "I think so, too."
Trowa smiled lazily, then tipped forward. His lanky body flipped out from the railing easily, like a yo-yo uncurling. He dropped to the ground and met Wufei's eyes. "Not all of us."
Above, Quatre rolled his eyes. "Show off!" He started down the stairs, shaking his head.
"Who's showing off?" came Duo's voice. In the doorway to Don's lab, the braided pilot was peeking his head out with a grin. "Can I come?"
"Sure," Trowa told him. "Quatre believes we need a diversion."
"Oh, Cattie, you are so right about that." Duo bounced into the main area. "If I have to listen to Heero's teeth grind for another minute, I might be tempted to glue them shut or something, and then we really wouldn't ever get him to say anything other than 'Hn' at me!"
Heero emerged. He did not smile, but there was light in his intense eyes. "Hn."
"See!"
"Are we taking a break?" Donnie asked, blinking the spots from too many hours at a computer from his vision.
"Yeah, we definitely are," Raph agreed, nudging his brother in greeting. "'Cause if Leo wants me to go another round, I'm probably going to put my sai where the sun don't shine."
Don winced sympathetically. He'd been spared the Fearless Leader's obsessive training of the last few days, but he knew how that went. Honestly, he was more surprised Raph had lasted three whole days before rebelling. Normally, Raph's patience wore out in a matter of hours. He must be worried about Karai, too, Don thought to himself.
"Well, if you tire of fighting one another," Wufei said with an arched eyebrow, "we could attempt to give you a battle of your own."
"We'll even leave our guns here," Duo offered, reaching into the fold at the back of his shirt and withdrawing the one he kept there.
Raph nodded. He wasn't surprised the Gundams were still armed to the teeth while in the lair. After all, Raph was, and he lived here.
"Four on five?" Mikey asked. "Bring it on, G-boys!"
"Quatre." Trowa smiled softly. "You need something."
"Not really." Quatre shook his head. But as Trowa continued to look at him steadily, he sighed. "Oh, all right. They make a lot more sense when you're actually in the desert, though, you know." From a deep pocket, Quatre drew a pair of goggles which he donned, leaving them balanced on the crown of his head rather than pulling them down over his eyes.
"Going swimming?" Don asked.
"No. They're…sort of a symbol of the other group I lead back home. I wear them whenever I'm in command." Quatre's face colored slightly. "Trowa likes reminding me about them."
"They're proof of your strength and wisdom," Heero said. "Proof that you are a capable and trusted leader. We all know this – but you need the reminder sometimes."
Quatre glanced at Don with a look of understanding and Don huffed a small laugh. Yeah, I know exactly where you're coming from, Quatre, he thought. Overprotective brothers, huh?
"Are we going to do this or what?" Mikey wanted to know.
The Gundams exchanged glances. Then Duo grinned and even Wufei and Trowa looked interested. Heero nodded as he unclipped two guns from his person and set them beside Duo's. "Yes. Let's go."
The nine of them made their way into the dojo.
"It ain't gonna end like it did in the Nexus, Yuy," Raph warned.
"Are you so certain?" he replied.
"Yeah I'm certain! I'm gonna kick your shell from here back to wherever you guys came from!"
"We don't have shells," Wufei informed him dryly.
In the dojo, Leo moved over to the side away from the weights and other possible obstacles to an open fight, his brothers falling in with him. He largely tuned out the traded insults between Duo, Raph, and Mikey, with Wufei and even Trowa adding their own input at times. Of course, they didn't really need to help Duo defend himself – Mikey was irritating Raph as much as he was Duo.
Leo glanced at Don, who traded a small smile with Quatre. This could go on for a while.
"When I'm through with you, you're gonna be eating that braid for lunch!" Raph threatened.
"Bad idea." Duo shook his head, face gleeful. "I keep some of my best stuff in there! And you wouldn't like a few of my toys."
"He's serious," Heero said. "Don't touch the braid. Depending on what he's stocked in there, it could be ugly."
"Hey, I took out the explosives this time!"
"You keep explosives…in your hair?" Don was aghast. "I can't even keep them in my workshop!" He glared at two of his brothers. "Some turtles can't be trusted with dangerous chemicals in easy to access places."
"I am not surprised that you must treat your materials as you would in the presence of children," Wufei sneered. But, in spite of the words, there was a tiny smile fighting at the corner of his mouth.
"Okay, enough talking," Leo said. "Let's get down to what we came here to do."
"So, what are the rules?" Trowa asked, moving from where he'd been leaning.
"Well, no bloodshed obviously," Leo said. "But using weaponry is okay."
"Tactics?" Heero asked.
Raph shrugged. "Whatever you want to do's probably fine. This ain't a nice formal match. This is the best you got." Then he glared at Heero. "Except no more pulling stunts where you make me go off-balance or risk killing you. That one's out. Anything else is okay."
"Oh." Duo smiled creepily, "I think we can live with that."
"Until one team leader surrenders, then," Wufei added.
"That'll be Fearless for us." Mikey poked Leo in the side. "What about you guys?"
The five Gundams didn't even look around at each other to debate it. Heero just gave a sharp nod. "Me."
"All right. Do you guys want a minute to come up with a strategy?" Leo glanced at his brothers who all gave him little smiles. They didn't need any time – they knew what they would do. All four had already assessed the Gundams and their fighting strengths and weaknesses. The turtles might be slightly outnumbered, but they knew how to make that disadvantage work for them.
"No, thank you." Quatre smiled a little too sweetly. "We're ready." He snapped his goggles into place.
"But you don't even have any melee weapons on you other than Wufei's dao," Don pointed out. "You could take something from the rack."
"Don't worry about us." Duo grinned. "We'll make do."
"All right." Leonardo moved into position at the far end of the mat, his brothers ranged beside him. The Gundams faced him evenly. They all bowed to one another.
"Begin!"
The instant the word left Leo's mouth, the turtles charged. They had figured the more aggressive Gundams would attack head-on, so they wanted to meet them halfway. The Gundams seemed not to have expected that and instead scattered. Leo, unsurprisingly, found himself paired with Wufei. Duo was engaging Raph, Donnie was up against Trowa, and Mikey was spinning his nunchaku uncertainly against Quatre. Where...?
Wufei didn't give Leo time to think, instead slicing expertly at him with the gleaming dao. Leo met the sword with a defense of his own and fell into an easy rhythm with the Chinese sword-master from another world. Still, no mater how stimulating his own fight, he kept an eye on his brothers. Don's bo gave him no advantage over Trowa, whose acrobatics kept him easily out of reach. Raph had charged Duo as recklessly as ever, and the braided youth was spouting taunts that had the hotheaded turtle seeing red for sure from the set of his scowl and his shouting retorts.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you," Mikey was saying, still holding back. "These things pack a punch."
"I know." Quatre smiled, ducking a half-hearted blow and striking with a side kick that caught Mikey's unprotected side. "So do I."
The pair began trading blows more evenly. Leo refocused on Wufei to jab for his knee, impressed with the swift block that turned one blade away while meeting the other. But something still bothered him, so he called out.
"Where's Heero?"
At that, his brothers all began searching for the one missing pilot, and Raph almost handed his match to Duo with his inattention, but a quick dodge just saved him an embarrassing fall.
"I don't know!" Don called back.
"You guys can't surrender without your leader!" Mikey smiled as he knocked Quatre down. The blond had to roll quickly to evade another strike before he got back to his feet. A few yards away, Raph managed to get Duo with his back to the wall, well out of range of the others.
Leo became aware of something in Wufei's face, though he couldn't put his finger on it. His expression wasn't quite like when they'd seen him train before. It was almost like...
And then Heero appeared at the door to the dojo.
Leo saw him moving fast and shouted a warning, shifting his position so he could engage Heero while still fighting Wufei, but Heero ignored him. Instead, he dodged to one side.
"Mikey!"
Leo practically threw Wufei off him at Don's cry, buying himself a bit of space to turn. He could see that Mikey had frozen in place, and that Quatre had clamped a hand around the youngest turtle's wrist.
"Let 'im go!" Raph was bellowing, turning from Duo and charging the blond.
Three blurs flew through the air.
Leo couldn't help it – he paused as he watched. Trowa had actually jumped up on the end of Don's bo, snatching a flashing something out of the air. Poised on the end of the staff, he smoothly leveled a gun at Donatello's face.
"Stop." The coldness of the order literally halted Raph in his tracks as he found himself face-to-gun with Heero, the blue eyes meeting his like a lightning strike.
"I gotcha, Cat," Duo said, and now Leo realized Heero had tossed three guns in the air, one of which Trowa had grabbed, and one Duo now had trained on Michelangelo. "Let him go."
"It's over," Wufei said softly. Leo looked at where the dao was resting just above his shoulder, its blade not far from his neck. But Leo's own katanas were still up, and he could still block...
"Don't," came Quatre's voice with a flat, piercing tone. "Don't, Leonardo." That was when Leo realized that Quatre had caught the third gun and had it trained on Leo himself. He was backing away from Mikey, who was shaking his head dazedly.
"It's over," Heero repeated what Wufei had said. "If you move, Quatre will shoot. If Michelangelo attacks, Duo will fire. If Raph moves, I have him covered. Trowa has Donatello. If two of you move at the same time, Wufei will disable you, and Quatre will shift targets while Trowa re-positions himself."
Leo had drawn the same conclusions already, as had Donatello from the look on his face. Raph was still twirling each sai angrily, and it would take more than Heero's pronouncement to get him to back off. But it was the last brother Leo rested his eyes on. "Mikey? You okay?"
"Yeah." Michelangelo ran one hand over his domed head, then gave a thumbs-up. "No prob. But I think Hee-chan's got a point, dude."
"What did he do to you?" Raph growled, his menacing expression shifting from Heero to Quatre.
"He didn't hurt him." That was Trowa, who had stepped off Don's bo as soon as the turtle's arms had started to fatigue. "He just held him."
"Think of it as a psychic sedative," Quatre confirmed. "I didn't project anything or tamper with his heart at all. I just gave his mind a simple order to stop and it shut him down. I would never enter the emotions of another without permission."
Raphael still looked very, very dubious, but he huffed and Leo knew that to be resignation. He slowly lowered his katana. "We surrender."
"That was the only way, wasn't it?" Don said, sheathing his bo and crossing his arms. "You changed the situation. You knew we wouldn't be able to defend against you and your guns with one down."
"Well, and that's our preferred method of handling a situation." Duo shrugged. "We can all fight, but shooting is what we do best. Mobile suits or guns, if it fires, we fire it."
"You four are superior to us in martial arts overall." Wufei slid his dao home. "It was not a fair fight to begin with, and you knew that. Otherwise you would have forbidden the tactic Quatre used in addition to that which won Heero's round against Raphael."
"We never expected..." Raph protested.
"I did." Leo shook his head. "He's right. I knew Quatre might use his empathy on us." He smiled a little. "I was curious to see if you would."
"If Quatre ever unleashes his true potential against you, you will not escape so easily," Heero said. "But he won't."
"Never to an ally. Never." Quatre actually shuddered as he said it.
"And you came up with that just by, what, coincidence?" Don asked, curious.
"Nah." Duo folded his hands behind his head. "We've done this one before. Four on four while Perfect Soldier over there takes the distraction and gets our stuff back. Way easier when we don't have to wait for him to break into a weapons locker and take out half the base or something. He just had to go out to the other room and come back and it was goodnight."
Leo glanced at Quatre. "Why weren't you the leader?" He tipped his head towards the goggles the blond had returned to their perch on his head.
Trowa smirked slightly. "You'd have been expecting that. We did not intend to allow you to anticipate us."
"Yeah, I guess you managed that okay. But, if we'd had a fair fight, we'd have beat you!" Mikey said cheerfully. "So we'll call it a tie."
"No we won't." Wufei frowned. "We defeated you honorably under the terms you set. We will call it that."
"It was a good battle," Heero said. "You fight with heart and courage and strength."
"Yeah? Then how about a rematch, just you and me?" Raph asked.
But Heero shook his head. "Another time. I still have work to do." And he turned to leave.
Duo shrugged. "I guess that's my cue, too. Sorry guys!"
The turtles turned to Donatello curiously, but he didn't move. Instead, he cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "Uh, Quatre? You got a minute?"
Quatre glanced to Trowa and Wufei. Wufei waved dismissively. "We will continue to scout the area around the current headquarters of the Foot. Do as you like." Trowa nodded, but winked at Quatre.
"I guess I do. What'd you have in mind?"
Don glanced around. "Let's go topside for a little while. Easier to talk."
"Don." Leo moved to stop him. "You need to be careful."
"We'll be fine," Don told him. "And you could do some patrolling if you want to make sure."
"Now, that I could get behind," Raph agreed. "I'm sure there's some skulls out there that need a good bashing."
"Last one to the surface does dishes for a week!" Mikey cheered, bolting from the dojo for the main door.
Raph and Leo were on his heels but Donatello held back while Quatre exchanged a look with Wufei. "Sure about this?"
"Winner, you worry too much," Wufei told him. "We have a mission. It's time we finished preparing for it and actually began our offensive."
Quatre nodded. "Just take care of each other."
"If there was ever a more useless statement…" Wufei rolled his eyes, striding out.
Don didn't mean to spy, but he saw Quatre and Trowa hold hands for a moment, saw the looks in their eyes, and a second hypothesis moved from probable to almost certainty.
-==OOO==-
In the warm air of the falling dusk, Donatello glanced at Quatre. He'd been so caught up in his computer work with the other two, he hadn't been out patrolling with any of the Gundams so far. Raph had told him, though, during a quick moment over breakfast (or was it dinner the night before?) that when they were on the surface, the Gundams had blended into the surroundings as if born to the city. Even Trowa's outlandishly long hair or Wufei's permanent scowl had faded into the background of New York, an oddity among so many odder oddities that they weren't worth a second look. Quatre might have gone out of his way to earn a few more smiles, but he, too, slid into and out of the press of humanity with ease. Except, in the case of Quatre, he seemed deeply pleased by what the others took for granted.
"Where do you want to go?" Quatre asked politely, eyes hungrily taking in the skyline.
Don shrugged. "Right here's fine." The old brick building situated above the lair was higher than most of its nearest neighbors and had a rooftop garden that provided lots of cover and shadows.
Quatre nodded and moved to sit at the edge of the bed of tomato plants. He leaned back against a nearby wheelbarrow. But his eyes never moved from the city around him.
"You really like it here, don't you?" Don asked.
Quatre smiled. "Yes. The Earth is always so alive, so full of mystery. When you spend your life on a colony in space, you forget about things like wind or moonlight."
"Don't you spend any time on earth?" Don wanted to know, sitting beside him.
"Sure, but I'm usually working. The only time I get away is when I'm out somewhere without people." At Don's frown, Quatre explained, "I'm…very well-known back home. I hold an extremely public position in my family's corporation."
This made Don smile. "So, in other words, you live like we do. You spend your life in a closed area that you've made as nice as you could, but it still isn't being outside. And you have to make sure nobody sees you when you do venture outside or risk getting way too much attention."
"Basically, yes." Quatre was amused. "With intermittent battles to save the world, of course."
"Oh, obviously," Don replied.
They sat in companionable silence for a few moments until Don realized Quatre was waiting for him to speak.
"It's not a big deal," Donnie said finally. "It's just…I didn't want to say anything in front of the others."
Quatre inclined his head, listening.
"Well, okay. Uh, so." Don was struggling to remember why this was a good idea. He forged ahead. "You and Trowa are…?"
Quatre's smile went soft and warm.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Does it bother you?"
Donnie actually chuckled. "You're asking the mutant turtle if two guys in love is weird?"
"I guess so." Quatre's smile was cautious but still warm.
Don shook his head. "No. We've been so many places, met so many different kinds of peoples – aliens and beings from other dimensions and demons and even intelligent life that evolved here on our own planet under our noses – life is too strangely diverse for one more option to bother me." He paused, then added, "Or my family. You don't have to hide it from us."
"We thought it was best to be cautious. At first, in the Nexus, we didn't know how it would be received and we also didn't want to give away some information that could be used against us later," Quatre explained. "Then…well, partially it's just habit, like how you and your family tend to stay to shadows even in the Nexus."
Don nodded. "I figured. So I thought I'd let you know."
"Thank you." Quatre's eyes went back to the horizon. "In our own world, Trowa and I can't walk down the street together. Well, I mean, we could. But it might not be worth the cost. The scrutiny. The public interest." He sighed. "Trowa's very private. He doesn't need a lifetime of cameras in his face demanding he speak to them."
Don nodded. "We got just a glimpse of that in the future. I imagine it would be hard on the both of you."
Then Donatello took a deep breath and launched into his original hypothesis. "But it wouldn't just be hard on you, would it? It would be hard on all five of the Gundams."
The change that came over Quatre's expression struck like lightning. One moment gentle and slightly sorrowful and still warm, in an instant his face was set and cold and steely.
"What do you mean." It was barely even a question.
Don wanted to backtrack, but there was nowhere to go having already begun. "It's just…I can tell. There were lots of clues. How the others reacted when whatever happened with you and Karai. How you all can plan and make decisions without discussing it – and sometimes without all of you even looking at one another. How you always know where everyone is."
Quatre was still looking at him coldly steadily.
Don kept going. "I reasoned that if your empathy gave you the ability to read the emotions and intentions of other with anything like the accuracy and clarity you'd already displayed, it might give you something else. My father is a little that way – he gets bad feelings, and he's almost always right. And…" Here he lowered his voice. "There was a time my mind was under attack by a computer system."
Quatre twitched, but Don was almost too busy relating it to notice. Almost.
"They were ripping my memories out of me, trying to find a friend of ours so they could capture him and use him to hurt people. And I managed to reach for Master Splinter with my thoughts. We've all meditated together and such for so long, it…I believe it formed a very, very basic link between us. Like how Leo always knows where to be to save one of us, or how we all knew none of us were dead one time we got split up by Karai and her goons. And watching you and the other five, you have something like it, but a lot stronger."
"Then why tell me about it?" Quatre asked without any inflection.
"I don't know why you didn't want to be honest with us about it. I don't know what you think you have to hide from us. But you don't. Okay? You don't have to keep things like this from us." Don looked away. "There aren't many people we really trust. But you're here. You said I was your friend. You can trust us with this, too."
Quatre let out a long breath and let his eyes fall closed. When he spoke, it was as though he were talking to himself and not Donatello at all.
"If we couldn't trust you, we wouldn't have stayed with you. Heero and Duo wouldn't have done as much as they have to reinforce your security. Wufei wouldn't have settled into long conversations with Master Splinter. Well, maybe he would – I think your sensei reminds Wufei of home, and that's rare comfort for him. Anyway. We know what you are, Donatello. We know your family.
"But we…as much as we like anyone…we're alone."
His head came up and his eyes seemed wider than usual. Sadder.
"In our world, there isn't a person alive who didn't have a sibling or a parent or a child or a friend or a cousin or a spouse killed in a Gundam attack. Killed by us. We were fighting for peace, but we were fighting a war. We have more blood on our hands than you can imagine.
"We can't fully belong to a world we caused so much pain. Even the people we trust, even the ones we love, we're still alone. We still have to face the world from a different path than everyone else, making choices no one else can or wants to make. We're still all we have."
He took a breath. "We haven't always been connected the way we are. It's sort of a recent development. And it's changed things none of us could ever have expected. Changed for the better, we think. But…"
Don put a hand on his shoulder. "What is it, Quatre?"
"Well, it's just another way we're set apart, you know? We all have the same nightmares – we always did, I guess. We all fought in a war for peace, so that innocent people could have normal lives. And…none of us can. We're too connected now. When any one of us sees a news article about those horrible Gundam pilots and all the people they killed, it hurts all of us. When one of us starts to get close to someone else, at some point either that person has to be brought into the secret with all of us or they have to be pushed away. Because not one of us can keep a relationship the others can't also maintain.
"Somehow, being connected has brought us closer together, and has pushed the rest of the world farther away."
Donatello considered that. He understood being different, set apart in the world – he understood that all too well. But he was still himself. He could still go down to his lab for days and dive into a project. His brothers' lives weren't impacted by that choice, not the same way. He tried to imagine how it would work if only he was friends with April, for example. If the rest of his family had to exercise veto power over that friendship, or participate in it, no matter how much they liked or didn't like it.
Don seized onto a strange possibility from their previous conversation. "Quatre – how much of this is your guilt as opposed to what the others feel?"
His phone suddenly pinged. Don looked at the text message in surprise.
Most of it. The rest of us maintain the secret purely for strategic purposes in hostile territory. There is no other reason. – HY
Quatre didn't look at the phone to read it, but he huffed a laugh anyway. "Heero. You can't just…"
Another text on Don's phone. Yes I can. Stop it or I'm recalling Trowa.
Don smiled at Quatre. "So, basically, you feel bad because the connection between the five of you…what? Precludes the others from finding what you have with Trowa?"
Quatre looked away. "It's not funny."
"No, it isn't." But Don was still feeling pretty smug for figuring it out.
"I created this link. It's not universal – it only goes from me out to the others. So if Duo or Heero or Wufei ever wanted to fall in love or have lives of their own, they can't ever get away from me. Even if they wanted it more than anything. We're stuck together." Quatre's head drooped. "We're not alone, and I can't be grateful for that when it also limits our options."
"And who said I wanted any of those stupid options anyway?"
Don was surprised, but Quatre didn't even flinch when Duo dropped down beside them. He nodded at Donatello. "Sorry. Heero said he needed somebody to smack some sense into him and Chang's not here."
Don gestured. "By all means."
Duo focused on his best friend. "A year ago, you were so glad to be connected. And I was the one being stupid about it. Why can't you still be glad?"
Quatre didn't look at him. "Duo…I did it without your permission. And…I can't shut it off. It's growing."
"I know that."
Now Quatre was surprised. "You do?"
"Of course. We all do. Wuggles said it was something like a virus. Like that the more we were exposed to it, the more of it would build up in our systems. And at some point, it'll be enough that we'll replicate it ourselves. Probably not your empathy, but the connections between us."
Quatre groaned.
Duo shook his head and shifted position, getting in front of Quatre and crouching until their eyes met. "Now you listen good, Cattie. You gave me something I didn't know people like me could get. You gave me something worth keeping. You gave me a family. That is way more important to me than anything else ever could be."
Quatre's eyes were beginning to look wet. "But you deserve so much more. You deserve…"
"Technically," Duo's voice was flippant, "I deserve to be executed by military tribunal. We all do." He winked. "Good thing we don't get what we deserve."
"Duo!"
"Quatre!" Duo repeated in the same tone.
"Wufei couldn't even go to the Nexus without us because of it. And when I fought Karai, it put all of you at risk. It's not just that it's keeping you from living your own life in peace. It's dangerous!"
"Okay," Duo said, calm and even. "Make you a deal. If you can look me in the eyes, bond all the way open, and tell me you aren't grateful that I'm there in your heart beside you, I'll let you off the hook."
He stared intently at Quatre, who met his gaze. But after a moment, Quatre shook his head. "I can't," he whispered. "Allah help me, I can't."
"Because you love having me where you can hear me. Where you can communicate with me."
Quatre nodded miserably.
"Okay, genius. And you're surprised we feel the same way?"
Quatre managed a slight smile. "Every single day, Duo. Every single day."
"Well, just ask me and I'll tell you. Maybe if we make this a daily ritual it won't get so bad next time, huh?" Duo flopped beside Quatre and leaned against him with a grin. "You worry about all the wrong things, buddy."
Don's phone beeped. Yes, he does. Good work, Duo.
"How is he doing this?" Don asked. "He's not listening to us through Quatre's empathy, is he?"
"Nope." Duo shook his head even as he was ruffling Quatre's hair. "Heero decided to extend your sensor net into the security systems of the buildings for however-many square miles or something. You've actually taken over half the security systems in the city by now, I think."
"There are no speakers on a rooftop surveillance camera on a building like this," Don argued.
His phone pinged. There are now.
"See that?" Duo asked. "That's life with the Perfect Soldier looking over your shoulder."
Quatre finally smiled. "Actually." He glanced at Don. "That's a really good sign."
"Is it?" Don asked.
Quatre nodded. "Yes. It means Heero likes you and your family and wants to protect you."
But then his smile faded and he looked up. Duo was already getting to his feet, his face growing serious.
"What is it?" Donnie asked.
"Trouble." Quatre rose as well, automatically checking for the two guns he'd brought with him. "Heero's on his way up, and then we'll need to move fast. According to Trowa and Wufei, your brothers need help."
-==OOO==-
Don raced over the rooftops, keeping the three Gundams within his field of vision. It made something in his chest ache to have to slow down to their speed – not that they weren't outrunning just about every human Don had ever seen, the bizarrely super-human Agent Bishop included. Heero, Duo, and Quatre were flying along at Don's side, all three silent and focused.
Oh, and armed. Definitely armed. Heero had arrived at the surface to meet them with a bag slung over his shoulders, and before Don could even complain about the delay he had tossed similar bags each to Quatre and Duo. All three wore close-fitting backpacks, and Don had spotted them pulling out guns while in mid-sprint, checking them, and stowing them with a mechanical sort of familiarity. Don had stopped counting when Heero was checking his sixth gun.
Quatre was in the lead, following the urgent signal only he could sense. Don's heart fell with every block that carried them closer to the Foot stronghold.
Into the silence interrupted only by feet hitting the roofs and the occasional grunt of effort, Heero's voice cut like a knife. "Status, Zero Four. Verbal."
Quatre nodded sharply. "Zero Three and Zero Five and our allies have closed with innumerable enemy." He paused. "Zero Five isn't giving me a numerical figure. The situation is shifting too rapidly for him to transmit."
"Understood," Heero said.
"Karai has not yet appeared," Quatre added. "Zero Three thinks it's a trap."
"We going Level Zero here?" Duo asked, barely winded.
Don caught a sudden coldness that settled over Quatre. "Affirmative. Level Zero authorized."
"Level Zero?" Don asked. "You said that before."
"Lethal force." Heero's words were clipped. "No one shall face a Gundam and live."
Donatello knew he'd have to think about that later. He was used to dealing with a potential lethal situation fighting the Foot – after all, the first time they'd defeated the Shredder, Leo had cut his head off and they'd all considered that a good thing (even if it turned out later he was an alien with his head in his stomach instead) – but it was different to hear it so clearly spelled out.
They jumped to another rooftop, but Heero came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the next one before continuing on. He looked at Quatre. "You have thirty seconds."
"Roger that," Quatre said, closing his eyes.
Don glanced to Duo.
"Zero Four is reading the battle," Duo explained. "Taking in the input from Zero Three and Zero Five as well as your brothers and all the enemies within range. He'll be able to tell us about the movements of the other side and what to expect before we jump in blind."
Don realized he'd started to count in his head with Heero's time limit, and when he hit thirty seconds he was as tense as the Gundams waiting for Quatre's report.
"Karai isn't a part of this fight, but there are a lot of soldiers out there," Quatre said, opening his eyes. "The only reason they haven't overwhelmed our forces yet is that our group retreated to a defensible position on a higher building."
"What are their objectives?" Heero asked.
"To keep us away from their headquarters," Quatre answered. "With an urgency that suggests we need to get there as soon as possible to prevent whatever they don't want us to interrupt."
Heero nodded. "Agreed."
"What's the plan?" Duo asked.
Quatre's eyes went vaguely distant. "We'll cut a path free for the others from back here. There are too many to clear the field entirely. We'll have to run for the Foot HQ with a crowd at our backs, but if we can lose them, they may spend time searching for us while we infiltrate their base."
"I've heard worse plans," Don said. "Can you tell Trowa and Wufei to let my brothers know?"
"I can and…I have," Quatre said. "Let's get started."
Taking up running once more, they rounded a few taller buildings and soon came within visual range of the fight. They closed to a shadowed corner only a few rooftops away.
Don started doing some mental math. He knew how many Foot soldiers his brothers could take out in a fight, times about how long they'd been fighting, and came up with an uncomfortable estimate of the number his brothers would have to have faced already. Even from here, he could see the wave of black-wearing ninja spreading like a plague over the buildings. They needed an exit and they needed it now or their fatigue would get them killed.
"Donatello." Quatre's voice was insistent. "We will begin clearing a path from here. You must prevent any of them from interrupting us."
Don drew his bo and squeezed it. "Got it." He wasn't usually a praying kind of turtle, but this seemed a good moment for at least one wish. Ancestors, help me stand strong and protect those who will protect my family.
Quatre, Heero, and Duo lined up along the rooftop. Each drew a long pistol fitted with a silencer. Don noticed Quatre had snapped his goggles into place and wondered if they gave any kind of night vision. It made Don miss his own night-vision gear. Even so, the ambient light of the city and the half-moon overhead were more than enough for him to see well enough. The three raised their guns almost as one.
After the first few shots, the Foot became aware of the silent killers in their midst, of the ninja who fell and did not rise. As they began to scatter, spreading out to find the unseen threat, Heero and Duo each added a second pistol in their off hands and doubled their firing rate, pausing only ever so briefly to aim. Don guessed the three had taken out between twenty and thirty Foot by the time the first Foot ninja got to their rooftop to stop them.
Don quickly dropped the ninja, readying himself for the steady stream that had followed him. "How soon will the others be here?" he asked between blows.
"Already on the move," Quatre reported. "Hold position for an additional ninety seconds before redirect to intercept."
Don swung and took out four Foot in a single blow, thinking less about his opponents and more about the emptiness in his friend's voice.
Ninety long seconds later – and about a dozen more Foot defeated by Don before they got within range of the Gundams – Quatre broke off his assault. "Let's go. Rendezvous to fallback coordinates."
He started moving easily over the bodies of the Foot on the roof. Heero and Duo fell in around him, Don settling into rear-guard. As they ran, other Foot ninja spotted them, but most never got past Heero and Duo's expert marksmanship. Those who did come within range got a face full of bo and angry Donatello.
Don had just dropped two more before securing the nearest part of a fire escape that went up several stories. "How many Foot did Karai send out after us, anyway?" he asked irritably. "She hasn't gone this nuts since taking out our lair."
"Which is why we must hurry."
Don looked up – perched on the fire escape a few levels up was Wufei. He nodded once in greeting.
"Your brothers are on the roof," he said. "They're fine."
Don released a breath and scurried up the fire escape at full ninja speed, leaving four Gundams behind. Erupting onto the rooftop, he was grateful to see Leo, Mikey, and Raph waiting – out of breath, but unhurt. "Having a party without me?"
Mikey grinned at him. "Aw, I knew we were forgetting somebody."
"What's going on, Leo?" Don asked, closing with his brothers enough to reassure himself.
"No idea. We were out patrolling and the Foot jumped us. Trowa and Wufei showed up and after a little while said that you guys were clearing the way for us." Leo's quick glance between Trowa and where the other Gundams were coming up the fire escape wasn't lost on Donatello.
He knows about their link, Don thought. Or, at least, he suspects. He's more observant than I am when he has time to pay attention.
"Status?" Heero asked.
Trowa unfolded from his watchful perch on top of a turbine and closed the circle with the other Gundams. "Mission-ready, Zero One."
"So, what's the plan?" Raph asked, clearly itching to continue the fight.
"The Foot lost track of us," Quatre said, glancing backwards. "They'll pick up our trail in minutes, though. We need to move on before that happens."
"No better time than the present to go pay that crazy lady a visit," Duo said with a manic grin.
"Normally, I'd argue with you," Leo said. "But this time, I think you're right. The Foot clearly want to keep us from reaching their headquarters, which means there's something going on there – something Karai doesn't want us to see."
"And that's just rude!" Mikey pouted.
"How are we gonna do this?" Don asked. "One penetration team? Nine is a lot of people to hide."
"We won't be hiding," Trowa told him with a small, dangerous smile.
Heero nodded. "No time for a lengthy infiltration." Then he smiled and the expression was cold and wolfish and deadly – and also somehow amused. "The Foot defenses are formidable. Strong enough to handle a full attack. Which is exactly what we will give them."
"I'm having flashbacks." Duo was practically bouncing. "From Christmas Eve 196 and your crazy stunt. Why do you take a heavily-guarded installation as a challenge, Hee-chan?"
"I don't want to know, do I?" Leo glanced to Wufei.
Wufei shook his head. "No, you do not."
"What are we going to do, then?" Raph asked.
It was Trowa who answered. "We will enter their base and destroy it. We will eliminate the risk to your world and ours. And we will not stop until we have ended Karai and her threat – permanently."