Mission: Impossible-- Chang Wufei
by Euterpe
OK, so this is part 2-- same deal as part 1-- only this time Wufei's in charge of taking care of Mariemaia. Mind-warping hijinx ensue. A little OOC in places and some shonen-ai...
Disclaimer: *Enter Sylvia Noventa* "Hello and welcome to all my fans! I'm so happy to see you again! Euterpe hand-picked me over so many other choices to present her disclaimer tonight. I guess she realized that I'm a fan favorite-- everyone loves me! You know, I had a hard time getting into the studio tonight-- there were just so many of my adoring fans who all wanted my autograph, and so many paparazzi who were just /dying/ to get a glimpse of me, the star of "Gundam Wing"! Many critics like to say that I only had a bit part in the show, but it turned out to be a breakthrough role for me! Since then, the offers have just poured in. For a while, the producers of the show were even considering renaming it the 'Sylvia Noventa Show', and making little old /me/ the star! Well here it is: 'The /fabulous/ Euterpe does not own 'The Sylvia Noventa Show'--" *throat clearing backstage* "Um, wait, I mean 'Gundam Wing'." *Exit Sylvia Noventa, whispering* "Did I get the part?" *authoress' voice* "Remember why you're here, Sylvia. I'm only doing this as a favor to an out-of-work actress. We agreed from the beginning that this was a one-time deal. Now get your sorry ass out of here." *Sylvia crawls out, dejected* "Yes, Miss Euterpe."
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6:00 AM Saturday:
Wufei watched Heero pull away. 'Surely Mariemaia can't be as difficult as he makes her out to be,' he thought to himself. 'I've worked for her family before, and aside from their desire to conquer the world, they weren't all that bad. It'll be nice to see Miss Mariemaia again.' He decided to go check on his former employer and see if she was awake yet.
As he opened the door to her room, he noticed that she was indeed awake, and examining a small object-- the Chinese pilot couldn't quite make out what it was-- it looked like a computer disk. When Mariemaia heard the door open though, she quickly hid whatever she was playing with, and looked up at her favorite pilot with a big smile on her face. "All right! Hey Wufei, you're gonna take care of me today?"
"It's nice to see you too, Miss Mariemaia." He stood there fidgeting nervously for a minute, hoping the girl wouldn't remember how he had pledged eternal servitude to her family, making him her virtual slave.
No such luck. "Tsk. Tsk. Wufei, you're forgetting something." Damn. So close too. Sighing, the Preventer fell to his knees and groveled before her. "That's better. I'm hungry. Make me something to eat and bring it to me. I want fried chicken." she demanded.
Wufei's face faltered. Fried chicken for breakfast? But there was not much he could do. "Right away, Miss Mariemaia." Thinking quickly, he added, "But I think we're out of fried chicken. How about some cereal for m'lady?"
"Fine, whatever. Hurry up, I'm missing my cartoons." The redhead shooed him away. "And when you're done with that, I have other work for you."
A few minutes later, Wufei was back with a bowl of Lucky Charms. He carried it in on a tray, and set it down in front of Mariemaia, waiting for her to eat. She just sat there with her arms crossed. "Well?" he inquired. "What's wrong now?" The ex-dictator pouted. "You hafta taste it for me first. What if someone's trying to poison me so they can take over my position? I hafta be careful."
God, she was paranoid. Still, Wufei was in no position to argue with her. He took a spoonful of the little colored marshmallows and ingested it, suffering no ill effects. "There. See, it's perfectly fine." He handed the tablespoon back to her, but she recoiled in disgust. "Ew! I don't want it-- it's got your cooties on it now. Get me a new one." she waved him away again.
*****
The ordeal of breakfast continued for another half hour. After Wufei returned with a new spoon, Mariemaia was content for a while until she decided that the non-marshmallow pieces were yucky. Her servant was forced to remove every single one. By then, the cereal had gotten soggy, and Miss Mariemaia wanted a fresh bowl brought to her. Then Wufei had to repeat the entire process over again. Finally, she was finished. Wufei brought the tray back down to the kitchen, then returned for his next instructions.
When he got back, the mysterious disk was sitting on Mariemaia's table next to her bed. The girl picked it up and showed it to him. "Wufei, do you know what this is?" she asked him curiously. He came closer to inspect it, and noticed that the label said "ZERO System". He cursed mentally. Stupid Yuy. How could he let her get her hands on such a dangerous piece of equipment?
"Miss Mariemaia, how did you get this?" the pilot asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.
"I got it from Heero." she replied matter-of-factly.
Wufei paled. "He gave it to you?!?"
"Not really." the child giggled. "I kinda found it. So tell me, what's it do?"
The former Altron pilot reluctantly explained. "This was a special program that we used in our Gundams to help us fight. It was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago, but Yuy must've kept a copy around for his own reasons." Probably for something perverse that involved a certain braided pilot, Wufei thought.
Mariemaia grinned. "Do ya think it would work on my bike? It would be soo cool-- all the other kids on the block would be real jealous!"
Wufei realized he was stuck. Damn loyalty oath. "I don't think so. It was designed for giant machines like the Gundams." He prayed that she would just let the issue drop.
"Why don't you try it and find out?" the girl insisted, more a demand than a request. "My bike's in the garage. It's pink, and it has streamers on the handlebars."
'Blasted manipulative woman,' he thought. He had one last chance though-- he was desperate. "But I promised to watch you and I can't leave you alone." he claimed, but it was already clear that she would win this argument.
"That's no problem. I'll come and watch you. Get me some clothes so I can change." she ordered.
Defeated, Wufei slunk over to the closet, opening it to reveal numerous pink and frilly garments. 'INJUSTICE!' his mind screamed out.
*****
"I'm gonna get you!" the tiny figure shouted, as she tore down the street on her Huffy, in hot pursuit of the neighbor's cat. So far, two kittens, a mailman, and a poodle had fallen victim to her Zero System-induced insanity.
Wufei ran inside the house, searching around frantically for the videophone. His fingers fumbled around on the keys in panic, as he tried to dial the phone number for the nearest Preventers' house, to call for backup. He glanced outside of the window as he caught a flash of red hair speed by again. "Dammit, pick up," he pleaded with the phone.
Finally, the party on the other end of the line picked up. The image of a sleepy Quatre appeared, clad in a terrycloth robe, his blond hair a mess and his eyes bloodshot. "Wufei, what the hell do you want? It's Saturday morning. It'd better be freakin' important." he muttered.
"It is rather serious. Actually, I called you because I figured that I'd be able to reach Trowa at your number. He is there, right? Tell him it's an emergency and I need him over here now." Wufei's plea was punctuated by Mariemaia's screaming in the background "I can see my enemy!".
The Arabian turned around and called out grumpily, "Trowa, get your ass out of bed and get over here. Wufei wants to talk to you. And put some pants or something on first."
This was a little too much information for Wufei to handle. 'I will not get a nosebleed,' he repeated silently, as he waited for Trowa to appear, while anxiously glancing up throught the window every few seconds to survey the damage. Finally, the tall pilot, now wearing a matching robe, dragged himself over to the screen and sat down next to Quatre who scooted over to make room for him. "What's wrong, Wufei?" he asked groggily.
"Somehow Mariemaia got a hold of a Zero System disk and now I've got a bug-out on my hands. It's all Yuy's fault. I could really use your help right now."
At this, Trowa became instantly alert. "Did I hear that correctly-- a Zero bug-out? You mean a Code 04?"
Quatre gaped. "Zero-Four? Aw, come on, don't tell me you guys named it after me! I thought we put that behind us. Just let it go already!"
Trowa glanced over at his petite lover. "Go have Rashid make you some coffee, Little One. Wufei and I can handle this." He placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"Hn." Quatre grumbled, and left.
Once he was gone, Trowa resumed the conversation. "Sorry about that. He's always like that in the morning before he has his coffee." he apologized. "So give me the rundown on the situation."
Wufei quickly explained what happened, finishing up just as a grinning Quatre came trotting back in, carefully holding a huge steaming mug in his hands. "Hi! I'm back!" he announced in his usual cheerful tone. "So what did I miss?"
"Wufei has a little...situation...with Mariemaia, and he needs me over there as soon as possible," Trowa explained. "She's caused a lot of damage with the Zero System, and he wants me to come over to the house and try to talk her down from it."
"You did such a good job the last time, when that certain person went crazy from it and blew up that colony," Wufei pointed out.
The Arabian looked like he was about to cry. "Would you please stop bringing that up? I /told/ you, I didn't mean to do it. I was just under a lot of stess at the time and-- I'm sorry I almost killed you, Trowa!" sobbing, he clung to the green-eyed boy tightly and buried his face in his shoulder.
Trowa rubbed his back and gave Wufei a threatening glare. "Why did you have to start? You know that's a sensitive topic for him. I'll be over right away, as soon as I can get him calmed down." He whispered soothingly into Quatre's ear. "Please stop crying, Little One. It's over now-- forget about it."
The young heir looked up at him. "C-can I make it up to you tonight?" he sniffled. Trowa gave him the slightest smile. "If you wish." His lover brightened. "OK, go and help Wufei. Then I want you back here as soon as possible.
"All right. I can be there in half an hour," the former Heavyarms pilot promised. "Try to keep things under control until then." He shut off the videophone.
Half an hour? The Chinese Preventer grimaced. Mariemaia could inflict an awful amount of destruction in that amount of time. Just maybe, if he was lucky, she would tire out before then...
*****
Thirty minutes later, the precocious second-grader was still pedaling furiously down the street. "My enemy-- Mr. Whiskers!" she cried out. "You're all my enemies!"
Trowa had just arrived and he was trying his best to convince her to stop. "You don't want to do this. You're a very nice girl, Mariemaia-- you're too nice for this. Please stop before it's too late."
At the sound of his voice, the redhead immediately halted and turned around, giving up her pursuit of the tabby and instead targeting the unibanged figure who was addressing her. "You've all turned against me now. I must crush all opposition!"
As she approached him on the bike, Trowa calmly stepped out of the way and continued talking to her. But he knew reasoning with a victim of the Zero System was next to impossible-- it was simply too hard to free them from the system's control.
The confrontation continued for a while, until finally, Mariemaia came to an abrupt halt and leapt off the bike. 'Sweet Nataku, it worked!' her babysitter thought. 'I owe you one, Trowa.'
The girl wheeled her bike into the driveway, and stopped in front of Wufei and Trowa, who were standing there. "This is boring," she whined. "I'm gonna go inside now and watch TV." She flung the bike down and scampered inside.
Wufei sweatdropped. She was /bored/? Of the Zero System? Psychotic kid. He glanced over at Trowa, who just shrugged. Before either of them could say anything, a speeding car pulled up and skidded to a halt. Heero sprung out, with Duo following closely behind.
"Geez, Heero, why don't you just drive a little faster and get us all killed?" the American muttered. "Honestly, sometimes I think you care more about your precious Zero System than you do about me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Duo," Heero intoned in a dull voice. "Now let's find out what the little brat did with Zero. Trowa, Wufei, have you seen my disk?" he inquired, as his tone became more frantic.
The Chinese pilot sneered. "That was very irresponsible of you, Yuy. You should be ashamed of yourself for letting a weapon like that fall into a child's hands." He pointed to the bike. "She made me install it on there."
Heero raced over and pried the device from between the handlebars. "Zero, what have they done to you? Please forgive Daddy. It'll never happen again. I'll get you grafted onto my skin so we'll never be apart."
His braided companion looked on in shock. "You liar! You swore to me it was over between the two of you. How do you think all of this make /me/ feel? Well, I've had enough-- make your choice, Heero-- it's either me or the Zero System."
Heero looked at the disk, then at Duo, then back at the disk. After only a second's hesitation, he announced his decision. "Bye Duo."
"Argh!" Shinigami howled in frustration. "I can't take this anymore!" he lunged at the disk, ripped it out of Heero's hands, then threw it to the ground, smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces. "I win! Finally! Ha, take that, Zero!" he crowed triumphantly.
"Zero, no!" the Japanese boy's lower lip trembled as if he were about to cry. "What did Duo do to you? That was very mean of him-- I'll have to have a talk with him about that."
The awkward scene that was playing out was too tense for Trowa to handle. "I have to get going now. Quatre's expecting me back," he explained. "Good luck, guys." He got into his car and left.
"Trowa's so lucky," Duo sighed. "Quatre shows him that he's loved. Why can't you be more like Quatre, Heero?"
"You want me to be a nymphomaniac?" Heero was puzzled.
"No! Well, that wouldn't hurt, but-- what I mean is, try showing me how you care sometimes, even if it's just in little ways. I have to tell you the truth-- you've been spending so much time around Zero lately, it's been making me jealous, as crazy as it sounds. Try to pay a little more attention to me."
"Mission accepted." Oh well, close enough. That was about the best he'd be able to get out of the stoic pilot, even on a good day.
Wufei, who had been watching the tender scene with a mixture of horror and fascination, cleared his throat. "Remember, Duo, you have to be back here in a couple of hours to take over for me. I expect you here at 6:00."
"'Kay, Wu. No problem. See you later." The American grinned as he and Heero got back into the car and rode off.
Worried that the young girl had set the house on fire in his absence, Wufei went back inside to check on her. She was parked in front of the television set, eyes glued to a talk show, as if nothing had happened at all. The Preventer checked his watch. Great-- another 6 hours to go. He prayed fervently to Nataku for the strength to get him through the day.
To be continued...
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Good God, I finally reached the end of this part. Sorry if anyone found it too long-- once I get on a roll, it's just impossible to stop. Well anyways, unless you have something more constructive to do with your time, tune in next time for the adventures of Duo Maxwell and his charge, every babysitter's worst nightmare-- Mariemaia Khushrenada.
by Euterpe
OK, so this is part 2-- same deal as part 1-- only this time Wufei's in charge of taking care of Mariemaia. Mind-warping hijinx ensue. A little OOC in places and some shonen-ai...
Disclaimer: *Enter Sylvia Noventa* "Hello and welcome to all my fans! I'm so happy to see you again! Euterpe hand-picked me over so many other choices to present her disclaimer tonight. I guess she realized that I'm a fan favorite-- everyone loves me! You know, I had a hard time getting into the studio tonight-- there were just so many of my adoring fans who all wanted my autograph, and so many paparazzi who were just /dying/ to get a glimpse of me, the star of "Gundam Wing"! Many critics like to say that I only had a bit part in the show, but it turned out to be a breakthrough role for me! Since then, the offers have just poured in. For a while, the producers of the show were even considering renaming it the 'Sylvia Noventa Show', and making little old /me/ the star! Well here it is: 'The /fabulous/ Euterpe does not own 'The Sylvia Noventa Show'--" *throat clearing backstage* "Um, wait, I mean 'Gundam Wing'." *Exit Sylvia Noventa, whispering* "Did I get the part?" *authoress' voice* "Remember why you're here, Sylvia. I'm only doing this as a favor to an out-of-work actress. We agreed from the beginning that this was a one-time deal. Now get your sorry ass out of here." *Sylvia crawls out, dejected* "Yes, Miss Euterpe."
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6:00 AM Saturday:
Wufei watched Heero pull away. 'Surely Mariemaia can't be as difficult as he makes her out to be,' he thought to himself. 'I've worked for her family before, and aside from their desire to conquer the world, they weren't all that bad. It'll be nice to see Miss Mariemaia again.' He decided to go check on his former employer and see if she was awake yet.
As he opened the door to her room, he noticed that she was indeed awake, and examining a small object-- the Chinese pilot couldn't quite make out what it was-- it looked like a computer disk. When Mariemaia heard the door open though, she quickly hid whatever she was playing with, and looked up at her favorite pilot with a big smile on her face. "All right! Hey Wufei, you're gonna take care of me today?"
"It's nice to see you too, Miss Mariemaia." He stood there fidgeting nervously for a minute, hoping the girl wouldn't remember how he had pledged eternal servitude to her family, making him her virtual slave.
No such luck. "Tsk. Tsk. Wufei, you're forgetting something." Damn. So close too. Sighing, the Preventer fell to his knees and groveled before her. "That's better. I'm hungry. Make me something to eat and bring it to me. I want fried chicken." she demanded.
Wufei's face faltered. Fried chicken for breakfast? But there was not much he could do. "Right away, Miss Mariemaia." Thinking quickly, he added, "But I think we're out of fried chicken. How about some cereal for m'lady?"
"Fine, whatever. Hurry up, I'm missing my cartoons." The redhead shooed him away. "And when you're done with that, I have other work for you."
A few minutes later, Wufei was back with a bowl of Lucky Charms. He carried it in on a tray, and set it down in front of Mariemaia, waiting for her to eat. She just sat there with her arms crossed. "Well?" he inquired. "What's wrong now?" The ex-dictator pouted. "You hafta taste it for me first. What if someone's trying to poison me so they can take over my position? I hafta be careful."
God, she was paranoid. Still, Wufei was in no position to argue with her. He took a spoonful of the little colored marshmallows and ingested it, suffering no ill effects. "There. See, it's perfectly fine." He handed the tablespoon back to her, but she recoiled in disgust. "Ew! I don't want it-- it's got your cooties on it now. Get me a new one." she waved him away again.
*****
The ordeal of breakfast continued for another half hour. After Wufei returned with a new spoon, Mariemaia was content for a while until she decided that the non-marshmallow pieces were yucky. Her servant was forced to remove every single one. By then, the cereal had gotten soggy, and Miss Mariemaia wanted a fresh bowl brought to her. Then Wufei had to repeat the entire process over again. Finally, she was finished. Wufei brought the tray back down to the kitchen, then returned for his next instructions.
When he got back, the mysterious disk was sitting on Mariemaia's table next to her bed. The girl picked it up and showed it to him. "Wufei, do you know what this is?" she asked him curiously. He came closer to inspect it, and noticed that the label said "ZERO System". He cursed mentally. Stupid Yuy. How could he let her get her hands on such a dangerous piece of equipment?
"Miss Mariemaia, how did you get this?" the pilot asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.
"I got it from Heero." she replied matter-of-factly.
Wufei paled. "He gave it to you?!?"
"Not really." the child giggled. "I kinda found it. So tell me, what's it do?"
The former Altron pilot reluctantly explained. "This was a special program that we used in our Gundams to help us fight. It was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago, but Yuy must've kept a copy around for his own reasons." Probably for something perverse that involved a certain braided pilot, Wufei thought.
Mariemaia grinned. "Do ya think it would work on my bike? It would be soo cool-- all the other kids on the block would be real jealous!"
Wufei realized he was stuck. Damn loyalty oath. "I don't think so. It was designed for giant machines like the Gundams." He prayed that she would just let the issue drop.
"Why don't you try it and find out?" the girl insisted, more a demand than a request. "My bike's in the garage. It's pink, and it has streamers on the handlebars."
'Blasted manipulative woman,' he thought. He had one last chance though-- he was desperate. "But I promised to watch you and I can't leave you alone." he claimed, but it was already clear that she would win this argument.
"That's no problem. I'll come and watch you. Get me some clothes so I can change." she ordered.
Defeated, Wufei slunk over to the closet, opening it to reveal numerous pink and frilly garments. 'INJUSTICE!' his mind screamed out.
*****
"I'm gonna get you!" the tiny figure shouted, as she tore down the street on her Huffy, in hot pursuit of the neighbor's cat. So far, two kittens, a mailman, and a poodle had fallen victim to her Zero System-induced insanity.
Wufei ran inside the house, searching around frantically for the videophone. His fingers fumbled around on the keys in panic, as he tried to dial the phone number for the nearest Preventers' house, to call for backup. He glanced outside of the window as he caught a flash of red hair speed by again. "Dammit, pick up," he pleaded with the phone.
Finally, the party on the other end of the line picked up. The image of a sleepy Quatre appeared, clad in a terrycloth robe, his blond hair a mess and his eyes bloodshot. "Wufei, what the hell do you want? It's Saturday morning. It'd better be freakin' important." he muttered.
"It is rather serious. Actually, I called you because I figured that I'd be able to reach Trowa at your number. He is there, right? Tell him it's an emergency and I need him over here now." Wufei's plea was punctuated by Mariemaia's screaming in the background "I can see my enemy!".
The Arabian turned around and called out grumpily, "Trowa, get your ass out of bed and get over here. Wufei wants to talk to you. And put some pants or something on first."
This was a little too much information for Wufei to handle. 'I will not get a nosebleed,' he repeated silently, as he waited for Trowa to appear, while anxiously glancing up throught the window every few seconds to survey the damage. Finally, the tall pilot, now wearing a matching robe, dragged himself over to the screen and sat down next to Quatre who scooted over to make room for him. "What's wrong, Wufei?" he asked groggily.
"Somehow Mariemaia got a hold of a Zero System disk and now I've got a bug-out on my hands. It's all Yuy's fault. I could really use your help right now."
At this, Trowa became instantly alert. "Did I hear that correctly-- a Zero bug-out? You mean a Code 04?"
Quatre gaped. "Zero-Four? Aw, come on, don't tell me you guys named it after me! I thought we put that behind us. Just let it go already!"
Trowa glanced over at his petite lover. "Go have Rashid make you some coffee, Little One. Wufei and I can handle this." He placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"Hn." Quatre grumbled, and left.
Once he was gone, Trowa resumed the conversation. "Sorry about that. He's always like that in the morning before he has his coffee." he apologized. "So give me the rundown on the situation."
Wufei quickly explained what happened, finishing up just as a grinning Quatre came trotting back in, carefully holding a huge steaming mug in his hands. "Hi! I'm back!" he announced in his usual cheerful tone. "So what did I miss?"
"Wufei has a little...situation...with Mariemaia, and he needs me over there as soon as possible," Trowa explained. "She's caused a lot of damage with the Zero System, and he wants me to come over to the house and try to talk her down from it."
"You did such a good job the last time, when that certain person went crazy from it and blew up that colony," Wufei pointed out.
The Arabian looked like he was about to cry. "Would you please stop bringing that up? I /told/ you, I didn't mean to do it. I was just under a lot of stess at the time and-- I'm sorry I almost killed you, Trowa!" sobbing, he clung to the green-eyed boy tightly and buried his face in his shoulder.
Trowa rubbed his back and gave Wufei a threatening glare. "Why did you have to start? You know that's a sensitive topic for him. I'll be over right away, as soon as I can get him calmed down." He whispered soothingly into Quatre's ear. "Please stop crying, Little One. It's over now-- forget about it."
The young heir looked up at him. "C-can I make it up to you tonight?" he sniffled. Trowa gave him the slightest smile. "If you wish." His lover brightened. "OK, go and help Wufei. Then I want you back here as soon as possible.
"All right. I can be there in half an hour," the former Heavyarms pilot promised. "Try to keep things under control until then." He shut off the videophone.
Half an hour? The Chinese Preventer grimaced. Mariemaia could inflict an awful amount of destruction in that amount of time. Just maybe, if he was lucky, she would tire out before then...
*****
Thirty minutes later, the precocious second-grader was still pedaling furiously down the street. "My enemy-- Mr. Whiskers!" she cried out. "You're all my enemies!"
Trowa had just arrived and he was trying his best to convince her to stop. "You don't want to do this. You're a very nice girl, Mariemaia-- you're too nice for this. Please stop before it's too late."
At the sound of his voice, the redhead immediately halted and turned around, giving up her pursuit of the tabby and instead targeting the unibanged figure who was addressing her. "You've all turned against me now. I must crush all opposition!"
As she approached him on the bike, Trowa calmly stepped out of the way and continued talking to her. But he knew reasoning with a victim of the Zero System was next to impossible-- it was simply too hard to free them from the system's control.
The confrontation continued for a while, until finally, Mariemaia came to an abrupt halt and leapt off the bike. 'Sweet Nataku, it worked!' her babysitter thought. 'I owe you one, Trowa.'
The girl wheeled her bike into the driveway, and stopped in front of Wufei and Trowa, who were standing there. "This is boring," she whined. "I'm gonna go inside now and watch TV." She flung the bike down and scampered inside.
Wufei sweatdropped. She was /bored/? Of the Zero System? Psychotic kid. He glanced over at Trowa, who just shrugged. Before either of them could say anything, a speeding car pulled up and skidded to a halt. Heero sprung out, with Duo following closely behind.
"Geez, Heero, why don't you just drive a little faster and get us all killed?" the American muttered. "Honestly, sometimes I think you care more about your precious Zero System than you do about me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Duo," Heero intoned in a dull voice. "Now let's find out what the little brat did with Zero. Trowa, Wufei, have you seen my disk?" he inquired, as his tone became more frantic.
The Chinese pilot sneered. "That was very irresponsible of you, Yuy. You should be ashamed of yourself for letting a weapon like that fall into a child's hands." He pointed to the bike. "She made me install it on there."
Heero raced over and pried the device from between the handlebars. "Zero, what have they done to you? Please forgive Daddy. It'll never happen again. I'll get you grafted onto my skin so we'll never be apart."
His braided companion looked on in shock. "You liar! You swore to me it was over between the two of you. How do you think all of this make /me/ feel? Well, I've had enough-- make your choice, Heero-- it's either me or the Zero System."
Heero looked at the disk, then at Duo, then back at the disk. After only a second's hesitation, he announced his decision. "Bye Duo."
"Argh!" Shinigami howled in frustration. "I can't take this anymore!" he lunged at the disk, ripped it out of Heero's hands, then threw it to the ground, smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces. "I win! Finally! Ha, take that, Zero!" he crowed triumphantly.
"Zero, no!" the Japanese boy's lower lip trembled as if he were about to cry. "What did Duo do to you? That was very mean of him-- I'll have to have a talk with him about that."
The awkward scene that was playing out was too tense for Trowa to handle. "I have to get going now. Quatre's expecting me back," he explained. "Good luck, guys." He got into his car and left.
"Trowa's so lucky," Duo sighed. "Quatre shows him that he's loved. Why can't you be more like Quatre, Heero?"
"You want me to be a nymphomaniac?" Heero was puzzled.
"No! Well, that wouldn't hurt, but-- what I mean is, try showing me how you care sometimes, even if it's just in little ways. I have to tell you the truth-- you've been spending so much time around Zero lately, it's been making me jealous, as crazy as it sounds. Try to pay a little more attention to me."
"Mission accepted." Oh well, close enough. That was about the best he'd be able to get out of the stoic pilot, even on a good day.
Wufei, who had been watching the tender scene with a mixture of horror and fascination, cleared his throat. "Remember, Duo, you have to be back here in a couple of hours to take over for me. I expect you here at 6:00."
"'Kay, Wu. No problem. See you later." The American grinned as he and Heero got back into the car and rode off.
Worried that the young girl had set the house on fire in his absence, Wufei went back inside to check on her. She was parked in front of the television set, eyes glued to a talk show, as if nothing had happened at all. The Preventer checked his watch. Great-- another 6 hours to go. He prayed fervently to Nataku for the strength to get him through the day.
To be continued...
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Good God, I finally reached the end of this part. Sorry if anyone found it too long-- once I get on a roll, it's just impossible to stop. Well anyways, unless you have something more constructive to do with your time, tune in next time for the adventures of Duo Maxwell and his charge, every babysitter's worst nightmare-- Mariemaia Khushrenada.