Duo: Wow. You haven't worked on this for a while.
Cherry Blossom: I know. I've been sick. Actually, I'm still sick. That's why I have the time to write this.
Quatre: Poor Cherry. Here have some chicken noodle soup.
Cherry Blossom: Aw, thanks Quattie. You're so sweet.
Wufei: Can we just get on with it?
Duo: Somebody's impatient.
Trowa: Calm down Wufei. You're not even in the story yet.
Wufei: INJUSTICE! I demand to know why I do not have a significant role in this fic!
Trowa: 'Cause you're crabby?
Wufei: You're not in this part either clown boy.
Trowa: ….
Matteo: Can I help it if it doesn't fit?
G-Boyz: YES!
Cherry Blossom: At least Heero gets a cameo. And plus Duo wakes up!
Duo: Well isn't that peachy?
Heero: Just start the stupid fic.
Matteo: STUPID?!
::violence ensues, cut out for the sake of impressionable young otakus everywhere::
Cherry Blossom: Are you guys okay?
Heero: X_X
Matteo: X_X
Cherry Blossom: Medic!
Disclaimer: Don't own GW. No really, I don't. Seriously. I'm not kiddin' you. But I do own all the other characters so don't steal them, kay?
Warning: This is an extremely weird fanfic. And it includes a lot of original characters. Plus it was written under the influence of cough medicine. Not that a computer is heavy machinery or anything…_ This won't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't read the first few parts yet. Hell, it might not even make sense if you have! O.o;;;
Ware o Mamoru – Part 4 – Dream Wake
Heero was worried. No, that wasn't it. The Perfect didn't worry. That was more of a Quatre thing to do. But he was…annoyed. Yes, annoyed. Duo still hadn't come back from his mission. He knew that it was carried out. He had heard about the explosion of the base on the radio and seen the damage on the news. OZ hadn't reported any arrests so they wouldn't have caught Duo. So where was he? Celebrating maybe. But Duo had complained about his lack of sleep lately and Heero doubted that he would be up for a night on the town regardless of his elation at finishing a mission. Besides, he was supposed to come straight back to the safe house and report in, at least call or something! Where the hell was he?
Heero sighed and flipped up the screen on his laptop, quickly running through the codes that hacked into the main system of OZ's central intelligence. He wasn't as clean about it as Duo might have been but his tracks were suitably covered. Unless they were looking for him no one would notice the data transfer. And if they were looking, well…that told him that the mission hadn't gone as smoothly as expected.
No arrests. No captures. No unidentified bodies. No prison records or even contact of higher officers. Nothing.
Heero growled and cut his connection. He would wait precisely one hour. Then he was going to go look for Duo. Whether he wanted him to or not.
******************************************************************************
Duo groaned and shook off the sleep that had claimed him for a while now. His eyes felt heavy and he couldn't quite lift his head without vertigo making his vision spin dizzily. But his shoulder didn't hurt, surprisingly. Maybe it was just numb. Duo flexed his arm experimentally. When there was no pain he used it as a lever to help him into a half-leaning, half-sitting position. He was in a room, white, sterile-looking. Had he been caught by OZ? There was a strange smell in the air, antiseptic like the hallway of a hospital. Duo didn't like it much. Duo did a once over of his body. Despite the slight dizziness he felt no pain and his limbs seemed to be in perfect working order. He examined his shoulder and almost cried out in shock. There was nothing there. The skin of his shoulder was pink and healthy, not a blemish in sight. As if he never injured it.
'No way. There's no fucking way. I was shot! I know I was shot. So where's the scar, bullet hole, blood, bandage…anything? Even today's medicine can't heal a shot wound so completely so fast. Just what the hell is going on here?'- "You're awake."
- Duo snapped his head around towards the vice that came from behind him, and immediately regretted it. Spots danced before his eyes and the blurring of his vision made him slightly nauseous. He closed his eyes and put a hand to his head.
- "You shouldn't tax yourself. It'll be a while before the effects of Nitta's healing wears off. Besides, you need the rest. Getting shot can't be any fun."
- "Who are you?" Duo demanded, still trying to focus his eyes on a local vertical.
- The voice sounded young, female? He couldn't tell. It didn't seem threatening but then again, one could never be too careful.
- "I'll tell you. But first you have to lie back down. You're not well enough to get up yet. Just wait a sec and I'll get Ni-chan to come and bring you some food."
- Duo resisted the urge to tell the voice to go to hell, swing his legs over the edge of the table he was lying on and get the fuck out of here. He was very hungry now that he thought about it and he wouldn't have gotten very far anyway. With a sigh, he sank back down onto the table and folded his hands on his chest. Whoever this person was, they didn't seem to be interested in killing him. And his instincts told him to trust them.
- 'Follow your emotions, isn't that what Heero is always saying?'
- He waited while the person moved over to a small counsel of some sort, small feet padding softly on the floor, and said, "Nitta, this is Rhi. He's up. Bring us some soup will ya? And tell Leah. Thanks."
- When the figure finally reappeared by Duo's side he blinked up at her, observing her features closely. She was young, barely more then ten from what he could tell. Her hair was cropped short and it hung in dark brown tendrils around her heart-shaped face with streaks of red dye on the very tips. Her eyes were also dark brown and they regarded Duo seriously. A flash of recognition crossed Duo's face.
- 'She's one of the girls from the base I blew up…was going to blow up…what the hell?'
- "Who are you?" he asked again.
- The girl seemed to hesitate before answering, almost as if she needed permission to tell him anything.
- "MynameisRhi.YousavedmysisterandmefromthatOZ soldier.We'rereallygratefultoyou.Ioweyoualife-debt.Ihopeyou'reshoulderdoesn'thurt toomuch.ItwasallGilly'sfaultandI'mreallysorry—"
- "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down a bit." Duo's head spun. She talked faster then he did, if that was at all possible. He could only pick out a few words from her hastily blurted out speech and struggled to kick his brain into high gear and puzzle them out.
- "You said your name was Rhi?"
- The girl nodded.
- "What's all this about a life-debt? And who's Gilly? And for that matter where the hell are we?"
Rhi opened her mouth but before she could answer, the door clicked open and a group of people swept inside. First came a short girl, about sixteen was Duo's guess, with curly blond hair and a bright smile, complete with dimples. Following her was a serious-looking boy, Duo's age, with spiky brown hair and dark blue eyes. He reminded Duo of Heero in a way. After him came a slim girl with long, long black hair that was gathered into four braids that hung down her back, swishing from side to side as she walked. Her eyes were a cold gray, almost silver. Duo had never seen eyes quite like hers before. The authority with which she carried herself was an indication of power, the leader perhaps? Duo knew that he should watch her for clues as to who she was but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the first girl. It wasn't her looks that drew his attention, although she was pretty in a bubbly schoolgirl kind of way, but the fact that she was carrying what looked like a steaming bowl of soup. Duo's stomach took notice, rather noisily. He blushed sheepishly and rubbed his empty tummy consolingly.
The blond girl laughed and set the bowl down on a tray beside the table where Duo lay, saying, "Here. Watch it, it's hot. It's chicken noodle and if you don't like it, tough. I can't make any other kind."
"I ain't complaining," Duo said as he dug into the soup with all the air of a starving man. It was awfully hot, but it was also unbelievably good and it warmed Duo's insides and erased the last traces of nausea from his system. "This is great, thanks."
The girl blushed and did a quick curtsy.
"I'm glad you like it. My name's Nitta, by the way and I'm the resident healer. Let me have a look at your shoulder for a minute."
Duo obliged and while Nitta was busy inspecting it, remarked, " I've been meaning to ask about that. How come my shoulder is a healed? I mean, I was shot there wasn't I?"
"Yep, you were shot all right. Made a nice hole clean all the way through. You didn't lose as much blood as you could have though and it's Rhi's quick thinking you've got to thank for that."
"But why isn't there a hole or a scar or something where the bullet hit?" Duo persisted.
"Nitta's got a gift."
Duo turned to acknowledge the new speaker. The girl, the one with the eyes, was now regarding him with her cold stare. It was mildly disconcerting. He did the only thing he could think of; he gave her a patented Maxwell grin.
"I'm sure she does, Sweetheart but if you don't mind, I'm just a teeny bit confused as to who the hell all you people are."
"Don't call her Sweetheart," the boy growled, stepping forward a little.
Duo grinned wider, a hint of threat in the manic smile. "What's it to you, pal?"
The boy glared at him. "You—"
"It's okay, Teo," The gray-eyed girl said, putting out an arm to restrain the now furious boy. "Why don't you go relieve Coby of guard duty? He's been there a long time and I don't want him getting overtired."
The boy nodded and left the room slowly, his eyes burning hot coals into Duo's back as he went. Duo resisted the urge to stick out his tongue at him.
The other girl, Nitta, let go of his shoulder and said, "Everything looks fine. You should feel good as new in about two hours. Now, if you'll excuse me Leah, I've got to go see to Chiyo."
"Of course," said Leah. "Thanks for all your help Nitta."
"See ya, Ni-chan," Rhi called, waving her hand at the tiny blond nurse who returned the wave and left the room.
Duo saw Leah's eyes soften for just an instant when Rhi waved but it disappeared almost immediately and he couldn't be sure.
"Rhi, I'd like to speak to the Outsider alone for a while."
"Huh? Oh, sure Leah!" The child leapt to her feet and headed towards the door before turning suddenly and heading back and grasping Duo's hand.
"Wait! Please, before I go, would you tell me your name?"
Duo blinked in surprise but he managed to give the girl a kind smile before replying, "I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell. I may run, I may hide, but I never tell a lie."
"Duo," the girl repeated to herself, as if testing the name on her tongue. "Thanks, Stas will want to know. See you later Duo Maxwell!"
She released his hand quickly and dashed out the door, almost knocking over a tray holding various medical tools in her haste. The girl called Leah shook her head in exasperation and then turned to Duo.
"Now then, Duo Maxwell. Let me tell you all about Eden."
To Be Continued…
Duo: Are you ever going to explain things?
Matteo: Sure. Next chapter.
Heero: That's what you said last time.
Cherry Blossom: Achoo! ::sniff::
Quatre: Tissue?
Cherry Blossom: ::sniffle:: Thanks. ::blows nose noisily::
Heero: That's it, I'm going home.
Duo: Oh well. At least I'm not unconscious.
Wufei: Matter of opinion…
Duo: ::outraged sputtering noises::
Matteo: Review! Or Cherry will give you her cold.
Cherry Blossom: Trust me, you don't want it. ::cough, hack, cough::