A/N: I would have had this up yesterday but I was having computer problems. Apparently the file was too big or something, but I got it fixed. Well, I hope you all enjoy it!
Ch. 12
Heero gave Duo some ice from Sally's freezer and then sat on the couch next to him. To their surprise, Une had shown up not long ago. It must really be bad news if she had come all the way from headquarters to talk to them about it.
"We need to discuss two things," Une informed them. "The first is the most troubling. The Doctors that trained you are on the move. At this time we neither know what they are doing or where. We only know that G has gotten in a big fight with J, who is trying to stop him from doing something big. Should any of the doctors contact you we need you to tell us immediately what they said. Especially you, Duo."
Une took out a paper and handed it to Duo. "For the second issue," she continued as Duo took the paper, "we will need you to join the preventers Duo. Remnants of the White Fang have popped up, and this time they have a strong leader that can actually do some damage to the peace. We will need your help in snuffing out this steadily growing fire."
"No sweat," Duo commented as he took a pin from the table next to him and began to sign his name. "I was getting bored just being a rich brat anyway."
Une gave a rare smile. "Good. Because if you are there to take them down it'll be much easier." Duo looked up at her in confusion. "Their new leader is banding under 'The Cause of Deathscythe' as he calls it. He says that the new peace doesn't truly give peace to all, and the ones who suffer on L2 have been forgotten. He wants to separate L2 from the rest of the Earth Sphere and rule it, to 'make it a place of true peace for those forgotten'."
"Well you have to take into account that the situation on L2 hasn't really changed that much," Duo commented as he handed her the signed contract. "These kids just need to understand that the peace process will take some time to truly account for everyone. And I see where you're going with this. They're more likely to believe it if the God of Death himself explains it to them."
"So you understand," Une nodded to tell him he was correct, "you're to convince them that we will take care of the situation in L2; it's just that good Preventers that can do it are hard to come by and are needed to take care of threats to the peace."
"You want me to recruit them," Duo inquired.
"That would be an ideal situation," Une answered.
"No problem, when do I leave?"
"You will leave today, the others will join you one day later as backup should you fail."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Duo remarked.
"Why don't we send one of us with him," Quatre inquired. "After all, they may decide to take Duo hostage."
"I may have not been on the force this last year but I think I can handle a situation like that," Duo retorted. "If it happens I'll sneak out. It's never been published how I managed to get out of all those Oz cells after all."
"True," Quatre apologized, "I'm just worried."
"He'll be wearing a bullet-proof vest under his uniform," Une informed them. "Don't worry, he'll be properly protected."
"To change the subject," Duo interrupted, "were the guys I shot working on Relena's orders? No one ever told me."
"No," Une gave him a wry smile. "They were maniac followers of hers that somehow managed to get into her personal guard. They were acting on their own twisted desire to force Heero to love Relena."
"It did give us the opportunity to finally make Relena accept psychiatric help for her obsession," Sally commented.
Duo snorted and crossed his arms. "I doubt that'll help much."
"It's progress nonetheless," Sally replied.
"When will your cheek stop swelling," Une inquired. "It could be troublesome if they thought we had beaten you into talking with them."
"By the time I reach L2," Duo answered. "The slight bruise should also be pretty faded, most of them heal completely in four days, and it'll take three to get there."
Une nodded. "Then I want you headed for L2 by dinner time, understood?"
"Yes mam," Duo saluted. "I'll just need to talk to Dad." Duo winced. Heero put a hand on his shoulder, concerned about his injuries, but Duo shook his head to say that they weren't the cause. "He won't like it much, he believes in battles being fought and won with words. He won't be happy with me going in there with the mindset of having to defeat them in a battle."
"I could talk to him about it," Quatre suggested. Duo shook his head.
"It's okay; I'm used to his anger by now. I've never really pleased him."
"Then go home and get on with it as the others go back to school," Une commanded. She reminded them of her scary general self, and so they all hustled to do as she had said, for no one really liked being around when she had a rare personality switch.
Duo walked downstairs with his old duffle bag slung over one shoulder. It was the one he had used during the war, and it was a little weird to have to use it again. Then again, it also felt reassuring, like his life hadn't changed so much that he didn't have to fight at all anymore. Call it psychotic, but Duo enjoyed fighting. It gave him an adrenaline rush like no other.
His father was in the study like normal, and Duo paused at the doorway to study the man. Their hair color was the only thing they had in common, and they fought almost all of the time. Yet as Duo starred at this worn out man, leaning over an endless sea of papers, he couldn't help but feel something in his chest stir. In that moment he reminded him of Father Maxwell, when all the hardness of being a middle-class church running an orphanage where you needed a first-class income in order to care for all of them finally got to him.
"Would you like some help, Dad?" Duo nervously asked. Mr. Sullivan snapped his head up in surprise to stare at him. Duo had never called him dad—well, when it was just the family—before, and Duo was getting uncomfortable under the surprised stare. Had he done something wrong in a moment of impulse?
Suddenly Mr. Sullivan's face softened as he smiled. "I would love some," he finally answered, "but it looks like you're already busy."
"I've joined the Preventers," Duo informed him. "But Une only said I had to be headed to my mission by dinner; it can wait a few hours."
"The Preventers, huh?"
Duo looked at his feet. This was why he didn't like being around his dad very much. It made him feel like he used to when he viewed Father Maxwell as his dad. Like any possible wrong move would make the man he so admired not approve of him, which was stupid because he didn't even admire Mr. Sullivan that much.
"Yes," he answered. "I know you don't approve of fighting, but I am a solider. I've fought my whole life, I don't know how not to."
"It's not that I don't approve of fighting," Mr. Sullivan interrupted. Duo looked up at him in surprise. Mr. Sullivan went to sit down on the small couch on his study—the one Duo would find him asleep on at five in the morning and always make sure to cover him with a blanket—and motioned for Duo to join him. Duo put down his duffle bag and joined him on the couch.
"It's just that I've had so many friends in the army," he continued. Duo listened in wonder as his dad's eyes became the distant ones of those seeing memories long past. "But they were all fools, whose hearts weren't in it. They wanted the glory and fame of being a war hero—if such a thing truly exists—and were killed within the first month of actual fighting. I just hate fighting with anything other than words because of all the young fools it inspires. Several don't know what they're getting into, and then they end up dying, or mentally scarred by the realities they experience."
Mr. Sullivan sighed heavily, but continued before Duo could speak, "I guess I'm so hard on you because I wonder if you were like that. I know that G took you into training after the Maxwell Church Massacre. I just wonder if you did it because you had no other options. And if with all your joking around if you truly realize—even after all you've done—that it's not a game and what war truly means."
"I joke as a way of self-defense, mainly," Duo commented. He starred at his hands—which had betrayed him to fiddle with the end of his braid even though he didn't want his dad to know of his nervous habit. "I wouldn't be able to see the good in life if I took everything seriously. I joke to point out the good things in life, more so once I met the other pilots. If it weren't for me lighting up the mood they would have drowned in all the bad things they were doing."
Duo gave his dad a faint smile. "I knew what I was getting into; I've been surrounded by death since birth. I knew I could be the cause of other orphans like me, but the chance of making things like what happened to Father Maxwell stop permanently was too appealing. I knew that I was the best choice for it. After all, I'd been surrounded by death so much, why bother having some idiot soil his hands with it when I could do it?"
"How I wish I could thank those who raised you," Mr. Sullivan stated as he tenderly cupped Duo's cheek in his hand. "You're a remarkable boy. Yes, your rebellious attitude does scare me at times, because how you manage to live that way is beyond me and the rules my father beat into my head with a mallet. But you truly are remarkable. Perhaps you could teach me how to let go the bitterness I hold for my past, and instead see things the way you do."
Duo felt that he was on the verge of tears. This kind man had been hiding behind that angry and stuck-up façade?
Mr. Sullivan seemed to have read the question in Duo's eyes, for he added, "I'm afraid my mask isn't as good as yours. I'm sorry if I've hurt you with my—as I heard you so graciously call it—stick-up-my-ass attitude. I developed it to please my dad, and it just sort of stuck."
"Dad," Duo whispered. Who knew this question would be so hard to ask? But now that his dad had allowed him to see his real self, Duo simply had to know. "Did you leave me knowingly?"
"Oh Duo," he answered. "If I had known I would have been there in a heartbeat to take your mother home and care for you both. I knew she was pregnant, but she was deathly ill. The doctor had told me that she had died when she was in her second month. If I had only known,"
Duo suddenly found himself clinging to his father for all he was worth. He had always been scarred that he had simply abandoned his mother, and that he was simply a mistake that wasn't supposed to have been alive. Mr. Sullivan hugged him tightly as they mended a year and a half of misunderstandings after a lifetime of hurt.
Duo found himself crying. It wasn't very hard, but still. Duo could count on one hand the people that had seen him cry. Father Maxwell and Heero were the only ones who had seen him cry the painful heart-wrenching sobs that come with extreme grief. With the new addition of his dad, that made it six people who had ever seen him cry.
When they had gotten over the emotions raging inside them, Duo had set himself to helping out with the office work. Mr. Sullivan had to revise what he thought of Duo's business skills, for Duo was a great help. He even pointed out a major error that someone in the company had made that could cost them millions of dollars.
By the time dinner had rolled around, the two shared a better understanding of the other. They stood together at the door as Rodger came home from his extra prep class.
"Are you leaving Duo," Rodger asked.
"Yeah, some confused kid is trying to take over L2 and bring 'true peace' to it," Duo answered. He sighed and shook his head. "He just needs someone to show him the truth about the matter. Peace will take time to reach the crime infested slums that so many kids call home. I hope to talk him out of this war he's planning, but I'm prepared to fight if I have to."
"I'm sure you'll be able to make him see the light," Mr. Sullivan commented as he put a hand on Duo's shoulder. Rodger raised an eyebrow at the odd behavior of the two, for Duo just smiled thanks at him.
"Good luck, Duo," Rodger said. He took a small necklace off and handed it to him.
"This is your mom's locket," Duo observed. "Why—"
"You have to return it to me personally," Rodger interrupted. "I want it back and I won't accept it from anyone else."
Duo smiled in understanding. He hugged Rodger tightly as he reassured the younger boy. "I'll be back, I promise."
"You better," Rodger replied. The two pulled apart and Duo waved as he opened the door.
"I'll see you guys in a few days, don't worry," Duo told them. He headed out the door.
"Duo," Mr. Sullivan stopped him as Duo turned back to look at him. "Be careful, son."
Rodger felt his jaw connect with the floor. He had to know what had happened between the two now, Mr. Sullivan never called Duo son.
Duo just gave him a gentle smile and replied, "I will Dad. Don't worry." And then Duo was gone, leaving the house with a Duo sized hole in it as the two men silently prayed for his safe return.
Three days later Duo was wearing his new Preventers uniform and walking down the roads he knew so well.
"A Preventer in the slums," a boy commented. "You're either here to kill me or you've got some sense about you and you want to see the reality of the world."
"The roads paved in blood and misery are home to me," Duo replied. He slowly turned around to stare the boy in the eyes. "Boys whose voices and eyes hold the kind of maturity only the cruelties of life can show you all too early are not strange sights to me either."
The boy's eyes widened. He whipped out a gun and demanded, "Who are you?"
"One who knows the pains of L2," Duo answered. "I'm Duo Maxwell."
"The God of Death," the boy breathed. He dropped to his knees in front of Duo, who had to fight not to laugh at the silly display. The boy actually considered him as a god? "My name is Greg. What do you wish of me?" Duo was sure thankful of all those years of having to control his laughter; otherwise he would have burst out right then.
"I just wanted to talk to you about the stupid thing you're doing," Duo answered. "You need to understand that the new peace we have is just that, new. It will take time for it to truly reach every area."
"That's time we don't have!" Greg proclaimed as he jumped to his feet.
"Don't you think I know that?" Duo snapped. "L2 is my home too, and I want nothing more than to allow the children here the same possibilities as other children on other colonies! Don't you think I'm sick and tired of having to see the youth of my home sell themselves to crime and pimps to simply survive?! But there aren't any Preventers left for the task of cleaning up this dump! In order to prevent a war that will just make more orphans on these streets we need to focus our forces fully on the fires that pop up!"
Greg was letting those words soak in as Duo reigned in his urge to unleash Shinigami. He was never able to control his rage when someone implied that he didn't care about his home.
"When I am able to take care of my home I will," Duo finally continued. "But the fires will not stop until I am old and grey, and don't ask me how I know; I just feel it in my bones. I also know that as long as there are fires, I will put them out until I die. If you and your troops truly want to bring peace to our home, then you should join the Preventers. I talked with Une, who has promised that she will let you all take care of L2 after you finish training. And I will personally see to it that you are all stationed about L2. So you can either help by joining the Preventers, or hurt our home more by bringing war to it once again. Even you can not deny that the lack of war has helped things out here."
Greg was silent as Duo walked past him with his hands in his pockets. As Duo visited the Maxwell memorial he could feel eyes on him. He was not bothered by Greg watching him. The boy needed to figure something out about Duo, and it was the only way he would be able to.
Duo knelt in front of the gravestone for Father Maxwell. It was the only grave he showed respect to. He had laid a flower on Sister Helen's, but he and Father Maxwell were due a long talk.
"The war is over Father," Duo said. "We won. I told you on my last visit about the Gundams and the relationships I held with the pilots. Heero is now very publicly my boyfriend, and I'm sorry if you disapprove." Duo let loose his special sense for knowing what the dead were feeling, and he could feel Father Maxwell smiling down on him from heaven.
"Thank you for approving, have you been watching me?" Duo asked with a smile. He felt Father Maxwell nod. "Then I don't need to inform you about what has happened, and I hope I've done you proud." Duo could tell someone was coming near, but he knew it was Heero. As expected, Heero had arrived early. Duo had asked him to, he had wanted him to meet Father Maxwell. "And you needn't worry, even with things patching up between me and my birth dad; you will always be my father."
Heero knelt by his side and Duo took his hand, letting his special ability flow over to Heero.
"I'm able to sense the dead," Duo confessed to Heero. "And also—as you can tell—share that skill with someone of my choosing. The one you feel smiling down at us is Father Maxwell. I wanted you to meet him."
"It's an honor," Heero greeted. "I am very blessed to know your son." They could feel the smile get brighter. Duo smiled, and then his connection broke.
"It only ever lasts for two minutes," Duo confessed. "But at least we know he approves from where he looks down on us."
"I thought you didn't believe in God," Heero stated.
"I don't," Duo replied as he stood up. "But I do believe that Father Maxwell went to the heaven his God promises. Him and Sister Helen. If there were ever any deserving of the free gift, it was them. Let's go."
Heero stood and took Duo by the hand. They left the colony silently together as they felt Greg's eyes watching them depart.
The next day they were positioned with their Gundams in front of the line of mobile suits led by Greg.
"We've decided to join the Preventers," Greg announced. "Only a third of us have decided to continue to fight. They are the White Fang members." Most of the mobile suits then flew over to the Preventer's ship, ready to go to headquarters and begin their training. About thirty were left facing them.
"Let's get this party started then," Duo proclaimed. Heero nodded through their visible link, and then Duo led the charge as he broadcasted his battle cry, "Time to meet the God of Death!"
Ten decided they were better off alive and fled, only to run into Heavyarms and Sandrock. Duo took the legs off of suits as Heero got rid of their arms. The opposing pilots were frightened and not that great at their job, so they finished disarming them quickly.
"A bit too easy," Wu Fei stated. They were escorting the thirty to the ship when a visual feed from Heero popped up.
"They're gonna self-destruct," Heero told them. As one the pilots scattered. The mobile suits glowed with the tell-tale sign of self-destruction and then exploded, causing the gundam pilots to doge debris.
"Status," Heero asked.
"I'm alright," Quatre answered. "But Sandrock lost a scimitar."
"Fine," Trowa answered.
"Nataku and I sustained no damage," Wu Fei answered.
"Right as rain, how 'bout you hon?" Duo replied.
"I'm fine," Heero answered.
The five of them gathered close to each other and decided to wait there for Une's orders. She was on the ship.
A mobile suit shot out and charged at them. When he was close he began to self-destruct as well, yelling, "For the forgotten!" The pilots wouldn't be able to get away in time as they noticed the giant bombs strapped to the mobile suit's back.
Duo darted out in front of the others as the suit blew up. As they heard the sounds of the explosion yet felt none, the pilots all braved a look. There was a black and violet energy shield around them, keeping the explosion back. They opened up visuals with each other, and gasped as they saw Duo. Duo was sitting straight up in his seat, eyes completely black. The explosion died down, and Duo slowly returned to normal.
"Duo are you alright," Heero asked.
"I-I think so," Duo replied. "I'm just tired. I've never raised a shield that large before. Are you guys okay? I mean, it did work right?"
"Yes, thank you Maxwell," Wu Fei answered.
"What do you mean by 'raised a shield'," Trowa inquired.
"Um," Duo flushed in embarrassment as he decided to stare at his lap. "Well, I can do some magic. Dr. G helped me focus my odd power into shield form, and so I can make a shield."
Trowa nodded in understanding as the others starred at Duo in surprise.
"I can talk to animals, so I slightly understand," Trowa commented.
Quatre blushed and added, "I'm slightly more than empathetic, I sometimes catch thoughts too, by accident."
"And what do you do, Wuffers," Duo teased, "turn into a Dragon?"
"No," Wu Fei replied as he looked off to the side. He added quietly, "But I can grow scales."
Duo burst out laughing as Wu Fei flushed. "And you Hee-chan," Duo asked after he had managed to get his laughter under control. "What's your magic power?"
Heero shrugged. "I don't know, J said I did have some, but he also said magic was a useless weapon and so we never developed it."
"Well I guess we'll just have to find out then," Duo commented. "Magic has a habit of exploding if you deny its use."
"Alright guys," the audio from the ship gave them Une's orders. "Come on in, let's go home."
A/N: There's the chap. And just so you all know, I'm not trying to make any political point with Mr. Sullivan's opinion of war, it's simply his thoughts and an excuse for why he's such an ass at times. I think he'll stop being such an ass now, but there will still be moments of course. Well, till next time, TTFN!
