Okay! Here's the next chapter. This one has 'Chinese' in it which is indicated by the brackets. [These] I know Trowa doesn't talk a lot but I didn't like the scene using any other pilots – you'll see what I'm talking about. Yeah, this story has a little Soap Opera Drama in it but I really try to keep it at a low level. Also, this chapter's pretty graphic but not too much.
Virus
Continued
4. Losing Oneself
Quatre sat pouting on one of Dr. J's examination tables, gingerly holding an ice pack to his left eye. He had regained consciousness after a while and he was given pain killers while his wounds – which were very numerous – were tended to. Dr. J was thoroughly disgusted with him; he'd let Wufei escape.
"Why were you in the room?" he demanded. Quatre blushed slightly, embarrassed at having let his guard down.
"I – I was watching him and he was pacing like…like…well, like a caged animal. He leaned against the glass, but – I thought that he couldn't see me! I mean…you said that there was a mirror on Wufei's side!"
"Just tell us what happened."
"W-when he leaned against the glass, he – he started rubbing his head…I didn't know what was wrong, so I moved closer to try to see and he turned around and looked straight at me – I mean directly into my eyes! I didn't realize what he was going to do until he did it."
"What did he do?"
"He – he grabbed my shirt and pulled me through the glass. It really hurt, but it didn't knock me out. So, he punched me." Dr. J sighed. There wasn't much use in yelling at Quatre – they needed to find Wufei.
"Well if he didn't kill you, there's still a little bit of human left in him." Dr. J stated. "I haven't yet developed a serum to fight off the organism, but I did manage to figure out why he was acting so strangely and I came up with an injection to rectify that."
"Why is he acting like that?" Quatre asked.
"He's got a huge chemical imbalance in his brain. His adrenaline levels are also dangerously high. The most I could do would be to give him a strong tranquilizer and some depressants so that his brain will stop producing the neurotransmitters that are causing the imbalance. This injection combines both of these things."
"Okay, so where do we look for him?" Duo asked.
"Well, we have to think of possible reasons he would have left." Dr. J watched as the four pilots exchanged glances.
"Oh come on, why would any organism migrate?!" Dr. J demanded.
"He might have left because he didn't like his surroundings…" Trowa suggested.
"Okay, good. What kind of environment would he want to be in?" This was followed by another round of absent staring.
"Alright, I'll tell you. His body temperature has dropped dramatically so he'll want to be some place cold. Also, he's very vulnerable to light so he's going to be some place dark. Last, he now requires vast amounts of water so he'll have to be somewhere damp. Can anyone think of a place that fits these properties?"
"What about a meat locker? Meat lockers are cold and dark…" Duo offered.
"But they're not damp." Quatre pointed out.
"Well, they have ice in them…"
"What about a swimming pool?" Quatre suggested.
"A regular pool probably isn't cold enough." Dr. J said.
"What about a sewer?" Heero mumbled. Dr. J considered this possibility.
"A sewer is dark, damp and since it's underground, it will offer protection from the sun during the day and it will be cold – during the night, at least. That seems to be the most likely place we've thought of so far."
"So we're gonna go snooping around in sewers?" Quatre asked, making a face.
"It's our best bet. I can't think of any other place he might have gone…but we'll need to get equipped before we go." Dr. J told him.
***
Armed with flashlights, tranquilizers and Dr. J's serum, the four Gundam pilots and Dr. J set off to search for Wufei. They hadn't gone far at all when they saw an open manhole in the middle of the street. Duo turned briefly in the direction they had come from. He could still see the building that held Dr. J's laboratory.
"Geez, you'd think he'd go a little farther away…" he commented. Heero waved his flashlight at the edge of the manhole. There was a book lying near it and it was smeared with blood – normal, red blood. He noticed a trail of more books, papers and blood that led away from the sewer. He wondered if something had been dragged out of the sewer but upon closer examination, he concluded that something had been dragged into the sewer. He pointed this out to the others.
"You don't think he…killed somebody, do you?" Quatre asked, afraid of the answer.
"I hope not…" Duo murmured.
"Okay everybody put the filters on your flashlights. We're going in." Dr. J ordered.
The sewer was indeed dark, damp and cold. Duo shivered as they moved along.
"I didn't know it was gonna be this cold…" he complained through shaking teeth. He wasn't the only one who was cold, though; everyone but Heero was shivering violently. Quatre moaned and whimpered as he felt something squish beneath his foot. His favorite shoes and pants were ruined. He'd have to throw them away – washing them a thousand times would never get them clean in his eyes. Heero was beginning to wonder if they would ever find Wufei. The colony's sewer system was immeasurable and with the filters on their flashlights, they didn't have much to see by. And if Wufei didn't see the little round blue lights first, he would definitely hear them sloshing noisily through the grungy water. He snapped out of his thoughts and halted abruptly as he heard a sound. Duo bumped into him.
"Hey!" he cried. "Why'd you stop?" Heero shushed him.
"Do you hear that?" he asked the others, straining his own ears to catch the sound again.
"What is that?" Duo wondered aloud.
"It sounds like really loud breathing…" Quatre said, frowning in confusion.
"Maybe it's someone crying…" Trowa mumbled.
"Yeah, it sounds kinda shaky…" Duo supported.
"Well don't just stand there! We need to see what it is." Dr. J growled. The five of them continued to move forward and at last their flashlights shined on a small figure sitting on the cement edge of the man-made 'river'. It was holding another figure out over the water at arm's length. The person didn't move as they approached nor did it flinch or shrink away as they shined the light of their flashlights on it. It was Wufei. He didn't seem to mind the dark blue lights being on him as much as he would have minded the pure light. He was covered in blood, his clothes were ripped and his hair was wild and untamed, sticking out in every direction and sticking to his face from the moisture in some places. The rubber band that had held it back was gone.
"Wufei?" Heero called. Wufei's head turned slowly. He gazed blankly at Heero. There were no tear streaks on his face but they saw that he was the person who was breathing so loudly. Heero dared to shine his light on the object Wufei was holding. He winced and there was a chorus of disgusted moans behind him as the others caught sight of what he was looking at. Whatever the object had been, it was now a bloody mess. It appeared to be wearing a dress but it was missing limbs and the chest cavity had been ripped open. Wufei whispered something in Chinese as he turned back to look at the girl. He repeated it as he ran a finger along her blood stained cheek. Trowa stepped forward and said something similar. Wufei hung his head and gave an almost inaudible response.
"How come Wufei is only speaking Chinese?" Duo asked Dr. J.
"Sometimes, when a person's mind has been compromised, he or she will revert to speaking whatever language they first learned." Dr. J replied.
"What did he say, Trowa?" Quatre asked.
"He said he…ate her, basically." Quatre gagged at this statement. Wufei turned back to Trowa.
"[What's happening to me?]" he asked. Trowa translated for the rest of them then asked Dr. J what he should tell Wufei.
"Tell him that he's been infected with something that's changing him." Trowa turned and said this to Wufei. Wufei looked away and stared at the lifeless corpse in his hands. There was no expression on his face. He resembled a child trying to figure out what something was. He spoke without glancing at his friends.
"[No, I'm human.]" He simply stated it. There was no questioning it. Trowa informed Dr. J of what Wufei had said. Dr. J dictated some new words and Trowa translated.
"[We know that you're human but something is changing your body and mind. You have to come with us so -]" Wufei cut Trowa off before he could finish.
"[I won't go anywhere with you!]" he exclaimed.
"What did you say, Trowa?" Duo demanded. Ignoring Duo, Trowa told Dr. J what Wufei had said.
"I don't think he recognizes us." he added afterwards.
"Well ask him." Dr. J said.
"[Do you know who we are, Wufei?]" Trowa asked. Wufei stared hard the five people in front of him. After a few moments he snorted and turned away. Trowa turned to Dr. J and shook his head. Quatre wadded through the water towards Wufei.
"Don't get too close." Heero warned. Quatre didn't kneel in the filth but he bent slightly so that he was at eye level with Wufei.
"Wufei, do you remember me?" Trowa started to translate but Quatre silenced him with a wave of his hand. Wufei glared menacingly at Quatre for a moment then a pained look crossed his face. A memory played in his mind. He could see clearly how he had yanked Quatre through the glass window and punched him. He reached slowly towards Quatre's swollen eye. Quatre was tempted to run but he held his ground. Wufei's hand stopped however when he saw the cuts lining his arm – cuts made by the same glass window he'd pulled Quatre through. He dropped the body he'd been holding and examined his arms. Everything was coming back to him now. He remembered who he was and who the other pilots were and what had happened to him in outer space. But not all of his memories came back to him and it was still difficult to think correctly.
"Where…where are…we…" he asked. A unanimous sigh of relief echoed throughout the tunnel as Wufei was heard speaking English again.
"We're in a sewer." Quatre told him.
"I…can't…think…"
"Dr. J made something to help clear your mind." Dr. J stepped forward at Quatre's words and pulled the syringe from his lab coat. Wufei jumped up and backed away, panting heavily.
"It's okay, don't be afraid." Quatre said reassuringly. A loud clang echoed through the sewer as Wufei backed into a wall and his katana hit it. He glanced down at the glinting weapon at his waist. Everyone else's breath caught in their throats as they watched him pull it from its place at his side and examine it closely. He ran his thumb along its blade and watched his blood spread over it. A smile appeared on his face as he glanced down at Dr. J. He had remembered what he was holding and what he could do with it.
"Well, we're screwed." Duo mumbled. Heero elbowed him in his side. "OW!" Dr. J was not about to admit defeat, however. He popped the filter off of his flashlight and shined it on the water below Wufei. Wufei's smile vanished as he stared at the light.
"Heero, stand over there and do what I'm doing." Dr. J ordered. Heero obediently walked further down the tunnel past Wufei and after removing the filter, shined his flashlight on the wall to Wufei's left. Trowa caught onto Dr. J's plan quickly and shined his unfiltered light on the wall to Wufei's right. Quatre shined his flashlight on Wufei but kept the filter on. Wufei glanced about himself then hissed angrily at Dr. J. Sharpened teeth were visible below his lip.
"You're surrounded." Dr. J said, stating what Wufei had already come to realize. "Now, let me give you the injection." Wufei smirked at Dr. J. His bare feet made no sound as he began to pace slowly back and forth on the cement walkway between Heero and Trowa's flashlights, swinging his katana at his side.
"It's strange," he said. "That I, Wufei Chang, a member of the Dragon clan, I who pilot a Gundam in a war and have faced countless armies of mobile suits and fought the leader of those armies alone and lived, should be held at bay…by flashlights." He laughed darkly at the irony of his statement.
"Well it sounds like he has all of his memories back now." Quatre said, trying to be positive.
"Yes, I remember everything now." Wufei said, the humor gone from his voice. "I remember how I weak I was. I let my body be invaded. I let my humanity be taken from me. Now I am no longer fit to pilot a Gundam so I have let all of you down."
"Don't say that, Wufei! You haven't let us down!" Quatre protested.
"But worst of all," Wufei continued, ignoring Quatre completely. "I let Nataku down. I will have to be destroyed…and I haven't yet avenged her death…" Wufei stopped pacing and closed his eyes. "Meiran…" he whispered. 'I am sorry my wife. I was not strong enough to honor you and bring those who wronged you to justice. I have failed you.' Wufei thought bitterly. Wufei's eyes snapped open as he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He whipped his head down to see Dr. J backing away and the syringe planted in his own flesh. He yanked it out of his leg and held it up to his eyes. It was empty and he could already feel himself succumbing to the drug. He flung the needle down furiously.
"C-coward…" he stammered. He could see the other pilots moving in on him out of the corners of his eyes. He brandished his sword threateningly and backed against the wall. "Don't come…any close…r…" Wufei's vision blurred as he slid down the wall and dropped his arms to his sides. He watched as Heero lifted him and he tried to resist but there was no strength left in his limbs. All he could do was curse the people who were trying to help him.
"We need to get him back to the lab immediately." Dr. J told the other four boys. "That serum was supposed to render him unconscious for two hours but it didn't even knock him out."
"Let me…go…" Wufei murmured from Heero's arms. Heero ignored the plea. He suddenly found himself looking off to the side as Wufei mustered up enough strength to punch him. Heero glared down at Wufei only to see him out cold.
"He's out now." Heero informed Dr. J bitterly.
"Was that emotion I heard in your voice, soldier?" Dr. J demanded. Heero halted in shock then regained control of himself.
"No." he replied.
"Good."
*You know, I'm considering taking out that last little interaction between Heero and Dr. J. I've never really seen them talk or anything but from what I gather, Dr. J doesn't really respect Heero or treat him compassionately. What do you think? If you guys think I should, I'll take it out but it does kind of come into play later… Oh well. Review please!*