Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Gundam. Not mine, I'm just borrowing it!
The Lost Girl
Part 3
Something was familiar. Eerily familiar, and I shivered.
It was then that I realized that I was no longer curled up on the bottom of Deathscythe's cockpit, but stretched out on a cold metal something. And it was very uncomfortable.
My eyes flew open, searching for where I was, what had happened. I was indeed strapped to a thin metal slab, my arms stretched above my head and held tightly in place by metal cuffs. It was bright in here, and the electric lights overhead buzzed loudly in my ears. I wasn't lying flat, but on a slight angle, and I was no longer wearing my jeans and ripped t-shirt but a tank top and shorts. And I was cold.
"Duo?" I called, suddenly worried, looking around for any sign of him, but the place was deserted. My stomach churned - what had happened, and why wasn't he here? Who had done this to us, and why hadn't I woken up before now?
"Where's Duo?" I called up at the ceiling angrily, loudly. I was annoyed and cold and scared now, and I wanted to know what was going on. I wasn't going to take this any more. "Let me go!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, hon."
I looked to the right as a cold, female voice - very similar to the one in my dream, I realized - cut through the air like a knife.
There was a woman standing there, wearing an OZ uniform - how did I know that? - with brown hair pulled into a tight twist and glasses that focused her cold, harsh stare on me.
She smiled, a smile that was nothing but evil and menacing and suddenly I didn't want her to look at me anymore. Something about her chilled me to the bone, and it was already pretty cold in here. I was afraid of her - truly afraid of what she was going to do, what she had done
But I had to find out where Duo was, and if he was all right. I had to.
"Where's Duo?" I demanded.
"Duo? That braided baka. He's resting comfortably." She smiled that evil smile again, and wherever he was, I was sure Duo was anything but comfortable.
"What do you want?" I spat.
"Well, we wanted him, but you were an unexpected well, let me just say that you will indeed come in handy now, don't worry."
That remark scared me, but I tried not to let her know that, just glared in her direction.
"Listen, if you've hurt Duo - "
She laughed, a high-pitched laugh that wasn't true laughter, in my opinion. "Why would I want to hurt him? At least, not yet, anyway. We need to use him Just like we need to use you." At that last sentence her cold glare grew even colder, and her words were like ice slicing my skin.
"Doctor! She's awake!" she called over her shoulder, and suddenly a door slid open in the grey metal wall and a man with dark black hair, a lab coat, and a set expression stepped into the room.
"Lady," he bowed to her.
"You may use her for whatever you like. I just need her alive. Our pilot needs some motivation, after all" The woman smiled icily, then turned on her heel and left the room, an air of coldness swirling about as she did so.
I did not like this new prospect at all. I most certainly did not want to be held captive by OZ, and I most certainly did not want to be their guinea pig. I wanted to get Duo and get out of here.
The doctor fixed his brown eyes on me, a small smile forming across his lips. He came over to the slab I was tied to and reached down, picking up a syringe from a tray beside me that I honestly hadn't even seen.
"This won't hurt," he said, slipping the needle into my exposed forearm. "Not yet, at least."
No. I didn't want to be here.
"Let me go," I growled.
"Not in the plan, girl," he said, removing the empty needle from my skin and walking over to a computer monitor. "We need to run some tests first. Like this one."
He his a button, and suddenly the pain - that same pain that I had felt when Quatre and Heero had first taken me down into the bay, a white-hot flash of a headache, making my sight cloud over and my ears buzz.
"Unhh" I could hear myself mutter, somewhere far away, and I could just barely see the doctor nod and mutter something to himself.
"Well, it seems that your internal communication link was malfunctioning. As I thought."
What was he going on about? Couldn't think clearly
"Let me"
He ignored me, continuing to work at the console as the headache and pain continued to swirl around my head. It was getting unbearable, and I was at the point where I wished I would just pass out. But something inside me wouldn't.
I had to get out of here. I had to find Duo. I needed the pain to stop. I had to -
Heero Yuy - pilot of Wing Zero, Wing Gundam, real name unknown, blue eyes, brown hair, trained in sabotage and demolition -
Duo Maxwell - pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, blue eyes, brown hair, trained in stealth operations and piloting techniques -
Trowa Barton - pilot of Gundam Heavyarms, green eyes, brown hair, explosives and tactical expert, trained in analysis and command -
Quatre Raberba Winner - pilot of Gundam Sandrock, green eyes, blond hair, trained in operational command and control -
Chang Wufei - pilot of Shenlong Gundam, brown eyes, black hair, expert at hand-to-hand combat and close-range fighting -
"Hey, don't let him scare you, it's just the way he is," the blond boy said as soon as Heero had holstered his gun, still staring at me with a look that was ready to kill. "I'm Quatre. What's your name?"
"Fine, you can look at Heavyarms, but you don't touch it without my permission," Trowa said, pointing to his Gundam.
"No one touches my Gundam but me," Heero said, piercing me with his crystal blue glare.
"I don't like the idea of a *woman* messing around with my mobile suit," Wufei said icily, crossing his arms and pinning me with a cold glare.
"My name is Relena. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and smiling prettily, offering her hand.
"I envy you, being born here on Earth, growing up on the planet" Quatre sighed as we were bringing back a supply of parts from South America, flying over the rainforests in a hijacked carrier.
"I didn't know you played the flute too," Trowa said as I picked his up, glinting silver in the sunlight; I had originally come to make sure he was feeling all right after a particularly close shave.
"I'll miss you," Duo said.
"Hand me that double-6 wrench for this servo," Heero's muffled voice commanded from beneath the compartment he was working in, his orange-sneakered feet sticking out.
"You're not a bad mechanic," Wufei said shortly, the best compliment I'd ever gotten from him.
"Well you could, you know I have an extra room" Duo said, smiling a bit and looking and the floor, playing with the end of his braid absently.
Another flash of white-hot pain shot through my head, and I think I screamed. It sounded like someone was screaming, far off, but I couldn't tell who it was. Maybe it was me. Maybe it wasn't.
As suddenly as it had begun, the headache stopped. I blinked, my throat sore and my vision still a bit fuzzy, the room spinning just a little but not enough to make me sick. I was glad for that, considering I didn't think this doctor would unstrap me for anything, even to let me be sick.
I lifted my head slowly, the bright light hurting my eyes. What had just happened? I felt so strange - like something had been activated inside my head, like a dam had been opened and suddenly it was all rushing back. Maybe not even all of it, but definitely more than ever before.
Tactical information. Gundam design and blueprints. Heero's Wing Gundam could transform into an aircraft and had a deadly blast cannon, Deathscythe had an unmatched energy scythe along with a backup supply of blades. Heavyarms was no good once it ran out of bullets, so there was a backup flipout blade. Sandrock was a killer with its sickles, and Shenlong not only had a grappling hook but a flame-thrower system.
Personal information. Quatre liked tea and Wufei could be a chauvinistic pig half the time. Trowa played the flute and Duo was a loudmouthed ass in battle. Heero was always trying to kill himself, or Relena. Quatre didn't like killing and Heero was the perfect soldier. Relena was a resolute pacifist and Wufei would rather work alone. Trowa was a circus clown - Quatre had told me, and Heero Yuy was only a codename. And Duo had let me braid his hair only once.
It was so much information, all at once. So many memories flooding over me, it was so strange and confusing and scary. It took me at least five minutes before I could even form a very coherent thought separate from all the events and parts of my past that were washing over me.
I looked up as I heard noise - the doctor was now fiddling with metal instruments on a tray near his console. I squinted - none of those looked very friendly, I thought, and my stomach churned uncomfortably. I saw a few syringes, two scalpels, and what looked like microchips on the tray, and he was holding up a laser scalpel, adjusting the output readings as I watched.
No. Not friendly at all. And I had a very, very bad feeling that I was about to get to meet those instruments, up close and personal.
I wanted out. The bonds held fast though, and I only succeeded in cutting my wrists against the metal as I struggled in vain. The doctor looked up and I saw a smile creep across his face as he saw a bit of blood from my cut wrist roll down the inside of my arm.
"You're not getting out, dear," he said, bringing the tray over and sitting down on a stool beside the bed. He flipped on a light right over my head, momentarily blinding me. As I blinked in the bright light, I saw him lift up one of the syringes.
"Now then, we're just going to fix you right up "
He jabbed the needle into my neck, and everything after that was pain and blackness.
* * *
"Have you made the adjustments?"
"Yes, Lady."
"Good. Unstrap her. She is awake."
I opened my eyes to see the same cold-faced woman as before, and the doctor who had put me under. The doctor was standing next to the slab I was cuffed to, and he pressed a button on the side, releasing the cuffs. I slid clumsily to the floor, unable to hold myself up very well. I felt dizzy, and my head ached. If I had wanted to run away - which I did, vehemently - I was unable to, what with my head and aching limbs. I silently cursed myself for my current lack of mobility, wishing I could just run out of there.
I had remembered. I had remembered everything, I suddenly realized. Before, when the doctor had shocked my body with that pain - I had remembered. For an instant, everything had come spilling back, washing over me, and I had remembered who I was.
But it was gone now. Everything. Any memory of my life before the past few days had once again disappeared, trapped behind a door that I didn't have the key to. It was gone, everything. For a split second I had had myself back. I had had my life back. I had had my friends back -
I had had Duo back.
But not anymore.
I glared up at the woman with more hatred than I thought I had ever felt in my entire life, although I once again could not say that for sure, as my memories had disappeared from me once again. But it was her fault; somehow, I knew it had to be her fault. All her fault.
I wanted to strangle her. I wanted to kill her for taking my life away, after giving it all back to me for an instant and then sweeping it under the rug and stamping on it, smiling smugly and laughing her little laugh at me.
I wanted to kill her. But I couldn't.
I could barely move, barely stand. So I just glared at her, and silently swore to her that someday I would kill her for what she'd done. Maybe not today, but someday. Someday I would.
"Bind her wrists," she commanded, and before I knew what had happened my wrists had been firmly cuffed behind my back. I hadn't even put up a struggle - yet another reason to curse my current pathetic state.
"Where are you taking me?" I demanded, trying to muster some sense of threat and most likely failing miserably.
"To see your little Gundam pilot," she said shortly, a bitter smile on her lips. She grabbed my arm in a viselike grip that I was sure would leave marks, and steered me out of the room.
The floor was a bit unsteady beneath my feet, but I did my best to pay attention to the seemingly endless maze of halls she was leading me through. I might need to know this place later, and it was a good idea to pay attention. They all looked the same, however - each turn only brought more cold metal walls, low ceiling, grated floor. She was walking so quickly and purposefully that I could barely keep up with her and attempt to pay attention at the same time. I wasn't even sure if we were underground or on the surface. We could have been in space for all I could tell - there were absolutely no windows in this place.
She finally halted in a dim hallway lined with grey metal doors that looked just like any of the doors in any of the hallways we had passed. I wondered if that was intentional - was it just cheaper to make everything exactly the same, or was it to confuse captives? No matter, I mused, since either way I was confused and lost. She hit a control pad on the side of the door and it *whooshed* open; she threw me in and the door shut seconds later. No chance for escape.
I landed sprawled out on the cold metal grating of the floor, aching and freezing. It was pitch black in here and I couldn't see a thing.
"Alison?"
"Duo?"
His voice had been tight and worried - it had come from one of the far corners of the room, but I still couldn't see a thing.
There was shuffling, getting closer to me, and suddenly I was able to make out a form in the darkness.
"Are you all right? What did they do to you?" he asked worriedly, now right in front of me, trying to look me over in the blackness of the cell.
I didn't want to tell him. For some reason I didn't want him to know how scared and lost and empty I felt. It would only make things worse, and we didn't have the time to worry about things like that. We had to get out of here.
But when I spoke, somehow the resoluteness of my mind didn't make it all the way down to my mouth.
"I don't know what they did," I replied, wrapping my arms around myself and shivering. "They did something, though. And I I remembered. Everything. But but now it's gone. They took it away - I can't remember anymore. I had it all back and now I lost it again"
There was a short silence, and I couldn't tell if he was angry or happy or -
And then suddenly he'd wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly - albeit stiffly with his broken left arm - to him in the darkness. I noticed that he was wearing a tank top too, at least; I could feel his skin, just as cold as mine. And his splint was gone.
"I lost it," I whispered into his shoulder, feeling my eyes begin to fill with tears and angrily willing them to stop. "I lost it I lost you "
"Does it look like I'm goin' anywhere to you?" His voice was light, but comforting beyond belief at the same time. Somehow he just made me feel better. Less scared. Like maybe I could get back what had been taken away. Again.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, as he released me.
"It's okay. I'll be okay," I told him softly.
I was sure he wanted to protest, but he seemed to sense that I didn't really want to talk about it right now and silence descended upon us for a moment or so.
"Hey - how's your arm?" I asked suddenly, worried that maybe they had done something to him, done something to keep him in pain, maybe, so he couldn't think. I knew they'd taken the splint off, but maybe they hadn't upset his healing break
"It hurts," he said slowly. "They took the splint off but I think the bone's still in place."
"Well, at least that's good" I trailed off. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" he demanded. "It's not your fault - please tell me you at least believe that!"
"Oh, I know," I replied. "I just I don't like to see you in pain."
There was a slight pause, but when he spoke the familiar grin had crept into his voice. "Well, that's good, then, since it's too dark to see me in here anyway."
I laughed a bit, but I was still genuinely concerned. "Listen, we've got to get out of here," I whispered. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. They did something to me, and I don't want them to do it to me again."
"I know," he said softly, "but I've been in here for at least a day, I think, and I can't find a way out. No other panels of any kind. I honestly don't know how I haven't suffocated - I can't even find an air vent."
I sighed. He had probably been captured before, and he probably knew how to escape. If I'd had my memory back, maybe I would have known. But if he thought it was hopeless
"Hey, hey, kid, I'm not saying it's hopeless," he said quickly. "I'm just sayin' the great Shinigami hasn't thought of anything *yet*. I will."
"I hope so," I said, shivering again. "I'm scared and cold and I definitely don't like it here. And I don't like people messing with my head."
"Amen."
AN: I'll try to keep churnin' these parts out, but no guarantees!
Thanks again to all reviewers, and to the little chibi Heero who's trying to make my astronomy program work. ;)