Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Hilde Duo & Gundam Wing don't belong me, but daaaaaaaaaaang, I'd die happy if they did. Well, I changed the chapter title because ...erm I had to. Its changed from Terrorist Strike to Come Back to Me. Hehe. Anyway, Don't sue me, otherwise MY lawyer would have a field day. ^_^. Besides... My brother and sister are in a conspiracy against me. They found my $$$ stash so now I'm broke. *sweat droplet*...

The Schbieker Chronicles
Chapter 1 - Part 2: Come Back to Me

back…

and forth…

Back…

And Forth…

BACK…

AND FORTH…

"I can't take it anymore!! EEEEERRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!" I clenched my fists really hard and screamed. I didn't care that the people on the 438th floor probably heard me, but right then… I didn't give a care. I was pacing around in Hilde's living room, glancing at her door every few moments in hopes of it opening up to reveal a very very late Hilde. What I got was a frustrating silence that hit me like a sack of bricks.

No, I'm not normally like this. Usually I'd shrug and just go to sleep. But not tonight. Something was wrong. The air was incredibly thick tonight, and the wind sang a soft melody of warning. The only time I've ever felt anything remotely close to this was the night that… the night that I lost Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. And the second time was when Hilde had taken the Taurus and had hacked into Libra. I almost lost her then. I wasn't about to lose her again.

I was right about to rip my hair out when the phone rang. Completely by reflex, and I do mean reflex, I ran toward it, launched myself over the couch, got my foot caught on the very top, and found myself flying toward the floor at about a hundred miles per hour. I swear, I bounced a couple of times.

I reached above the counter and felt around for the phone. Whoever was calling was going to get one heck of an earache. I put the phone to my face and prepared to yell.

"Who duh heyll iz dis, yoo leetle-." I said, my face firmly planted on the ground.

"Duo?" I stopped a moment. Wait a second. That couldn't be right…

"Quatre?" I wondered aloud. I peeled my face off the wood and I listened for a reply. What I got was an apologetic answer.

"Sorry. I caught you at a bad time. I'll call back later," said Quatre. He brought the phone away from his ear and was about to hang up. I, desperate for someone to talk to, started babbling things. It took only a few seconds before I gave up and yelled,

"IDIOT!" I listened for a clicking sound, glad that I didn't hear one. He didn't hang up yet. And just as I suspected, he answered back.

"Idiot? What did I do to become an idiot?" he asked. I was very surprised. He didn't sound the least bit insulted. If I was that immune to insults, I probably wouldn't have landed in a Gundam that just happens to associate itself with Death. Heh.

"Erm, uh, sorry. Just to get your attention. You really did catch me at a bad time, though." I said.

"Tell me about it. And may I just ask why you are in such a bad mood?" I shrugged. As if he could see me. My head was really starting to hurt from hitting the floor so hard. Stupid couch. I was going to send it to the compost heap as soon as I could.

"It's Hilde." I said. "She didn't come home." I heard a small, sharp intake of breath on the line. I could understand his surprise. I was thinking just about the same thing. I was so worried. Why was she doing this to me? She very well knew it would nearly make me break down waiting for her.

Besides. It was quiet without her to bother. I hated it when it was quiet. I, no matter what the circumstances, hated silence. That's one of the reasons I wanted to strangle Heero before I really got to know him. He was so silent. The only thing he'd probably want to converse about was probably committing suicide or some other forms of self mutilation.

Seriously!

"She's _still_ not home yet? Do you know what time it is?" I smirked.

"Look who's talking. It's much past your bed time, young man," Though there was no reply, I could tell he was embarrassed and blushing. He's still the guy I knew a year ago. He hasn't changed. That's more than I can say for myself, though. The only thing that _hasn't_ changed about me is that I'm still a total brat.

He let out a soft laugh. I blinked. Wow. So maybe he did change. Just a little.

"Heh. Anyway, do you have any idea where she is?"

"Nope. I don't. I have no idea where she is whatsoever."

"It figures." He said. I blinked again, my anger flaring. Quatre? Insulting me? Whoa, hang on there. Either I heard what I think I heard… or I was just hurting too much from the fall to interpret anything.

"Quatre! I'm hurt!" I said. Er, no pun intended.

"No! I didn't mean that. What I meant to say was that it figures she'd have something like this happen on her birthday. Poor Hilde," he explained.

"Poor Hilde? What about Poor Duo? I've been spinning, flying and careening into things because of her! Geeze, I need something to munch on. Maybe I can find something to munch in the kitchen." I left the room, the very long phone cord trailing a ways behind me. One of these days, I was going to break that phone. If I did, Hilde would probably kill me. Pretty soon, if she keeps this up, I won't have a head left for her to hit.

"Ah. I found some. Just how many are in here, anyway?" I looked inside the box and felt around inside. The box was empty. Quatre was getting a little restless while waiting for me to find something to eat already.

"What are you going to do about it? I mean we aren't just going to forget about her."

"Like hell we are! I didn't say we were going to forget about her. I'm just going to wait. I mean, maybe she's just gone somewhere important. Maybe a sick or dying relative. You never know," I replied. Come ON! There was nothing to eat in there. There was absolutely nothing in there! Oh… wait a sec. Hilde was supposed to bring home the groceries today. Darnit, I know its mean, but a guy's gotta get something to eat around here.

Then, I remembered my secret stash. Quatre however, was the only other person who knew about it. He stumbled upon it one day in my room. It was dumb luck, I tell you. And he also knew that was the next place I would look for something sweet. He made it a point to make a comment on the phone about it too.

"You can't start chewing on a twinkie every time you feel the slightest bit agitated!" He paused. "…Duo? What are you eating?"

"…Nuff'n…"

"It's a twinkie. Isn't it?"

"…"

********

"Duo, I'll kill you if you take the bed sheets again…" I muttered. I swatted the hand that was shaking my shoulder. It took me a sec before I suddenly registered that I wasn't in bed, or at home, for that matter. I blinked real hard before opening my eyes. I screamed when I found someone with dark sunglasses really close to my face. I started scratching and slapping and screeching as loud as I could before I recalled where I was.

(Oh yeah. That's right… I'm not at home. Wait a sec! I fell asleep in the car!)

"MISS SCHBIEKER!" he hollered and grabbed his face which was now covered in hand marks and scratches. I grinned sheepishly and apologized. I paused-I had fallen asleep in the limo. Man, I promised myself that I wouldn't let myself drift off! Who knew what they were going to do with me. What if they hurt me? Strangled me? RAPED ME!? I shuddered.

I stepped out of the car and into the midnight cold. The freezing temperature seemed to hesitate before suddenly wrapping around me. I shivered slightly, craning my neck to see the skyscraper in front of me. With how tall it was, it might was well have been a skyscraper.

They let me dawdle a moment, before they interrupted my thoughts.

"Hilde? Let's go." said the one to the left. Out of the corner of my eye, I finally got a full glance of his face. He had been silent the whole time. The agent or whatever, that spoke most was tall and 'klunky', you could say.

The quiet one was kinda cute. Almost as cute as Duo, I might add. WAIT A MINUTE! HOLD ON THERE! I did NOT just think that! Duo's my friend, I never think about this kinda stuff! Especially about him. Duo is good looking, yes, but I never used to catch myself admitting that. Not even in my head.

I blushed a minute, but I didn't move. The quiet one grabbed my hand and pulled me in. Without any force, mind you. It was a kind of friendly pull.

I managed to keep up with his pace as he pulled me inside. I took a look at his profile as I walked up beside him. His eyes were a like a little kid's. They were a little big, but the ends were slender and fine, while his lips were soft and pale. His nose was round and small, perfectly fitting in with the rest of his face. Now that I noticed, his height was about the same as mine.

He glanced at me when he noticed I was staring at him. I quickly turned away, hoping he wouldn't catch me staring at him again. I think he smiled.

We stopped in a large, but a little crowded room. One of them sat me down at a chair off to the side, while the rest of them left. A few moments later, a woman strolled in and stopped in front of me.

On instinct, I stood up. The woman was of high-rank. The aura around her was very distinctive, and not to mention a lot of people were 'trailing' behind her. Luckily, I seemed to do the right thin because the woman seemed to relax a little bit.

I had been in the Oz faction long enough to know if someone was higher than the hierarchy than I was. There were little things that you normally didn't notice that told you. To actually use this talent, you hard to be sharp.

She was wearing a pure white uniform, which was laced in gold every here and there. A white rose rested on her breast pocket, blending in perfectly with the clothes she wore. It blended in a little too perfectly, so much that you almost didn't notice she was wearing that rose at all.

And her hair. Oh, her hair was beautiful. It was auburn with a touch of red, which was pulled up into a tall pony tail. Her bangs were grown out and steamed down beside her cheeks.

"Hello. You must be the one they recommended to me. Hilde Schbeiker, am I right?" I didn't say anything, but my silence must have been a decent answer because she looked me over with interest. "You seem like you're up to it."

"Up to what?" I asked.

"Welcome, Hilde." She took up my hand and shook it. "How are you this night?"

"I'm uh… fine." I replied. I paused a moment, long enough to get my thoughts straight. "Miss, can you tell me why I'm here, and not at my apartment where I need to be."

"I'll tell you everything you need to know tomorrow. Take her up to her room. I want her to get rested up. She has a full day tomorrow." Said the woman.

"I'm finished with her tonight." Finished with me tonight? She had barely been in the room for more than 30 seconds and she was done with me for the night? I was completely lost.

Suddenly I was hit with a strong urge to ask her something personal.

"What's your name?" I asked. The question was out of line, but I couldn't help wonder…

"My name?" And for a moment she and I exchanged a look. I didn't know what it meant, but …it felt good. Maybe it was kinship. I still don't know what it meant then, but maybe I'll figure it out someday. She turned suddenly but stopped a moment before leaving.

"It's Lady Une. Don't forget it." She then exited the room in a hasty retreat. I tilted my head curiously as the door slid closed behind her.

"Lady Une, huh? Hm. Where have I heard her name before?" It wasn't really a question. It felt more like a statement. I shrugged and left the room through the door on the opposite side.

I hadn't known I was so tired last night, because things were too busy swirling around in my head for me to grasp the fact that I was exhausted as hell. As soon as I hit the covers I had fallen asleep. I found out just how long I slept when I woke up to the rays of the afternoon sun shining down on my face.

I blinked, and then opened my eyes slowly. I sat up in my bed and looked around. I couldn't quite remember anything from last night, except the fact that I had met someone named Lady Une. I couldn't get the feeling that I had seen her before. Maybe she was just someone I had heard about during the war or something.

I had once thought I heard Noin talking about her with Sally. I had asked her, but she just shrugged and changed the subject right away. Once I got out of this mess, I'd have to ask her again.

"Good morning." Said a voice. I nearly fell out of bed from surprise. "It's good to see that you're finally awake." My vision cleared, but I still had to squint my eyes to get a grip on what was what. And I blinked. I was under the covers. That meant someone had probably put me there.

"Lady had sent me up to get you. Good thing too. The last person who woke you up still has scars." I laughed. It wasn't funny, but I guess I needed it, so I laughed anyway. You know, not many people have the ability to make me laugh when I don't feel like it. It's hard to get me in a better mood, but I think you can get a pretty good idea of who can get me to feel better and who can't.

I sighed as a heavy feeling washed over me. I missed Duo already. I wanted to see him.

I had only been away for a few hours and I was beginning to feel like I'd never see him again. And if you've ever felt something like that, it's not the happiest feeling in the world.

"Your clothes are at the foot of your bed," he dropped a uniform at my feet, "and Lady is waiting for you downstairs. She wants to eat lunch with you today."

"Wait a minute? Lunch? Just what time is it anyway?" I hopped out of bed, a little disgusted to find myself still in the clothes I wore yesterday. Well, em, maybe not. I probably wouldn't have liked the idea of someone taking off all my clothes and then changing me into nighties. Eheh… that wouldn't have been a pleasant thought to wake up to.

"It's nearly 1:00. About 12:50 I'd say," he said. His eyes were focused on the ceiling as he thought. "Not too sure though. All I know is that you ought to wake up." And with that he left me alone in the room to change. I walked over to the pile of clothes and took a good look at what he had given me.

It was something like Lady Une's but it was a dark blue. It looked just like my old Oz uniform except my old on had a dark green tint to it. This one was just a midnight blue. It was very pretty.

"I gotta find a way to get out of here. I've gotta escape. Who know what they're up to. But for now, I'd better lay low. Figure out what they want with me," I muttered to myself as I slipped it on. It was a snug fit. "I wonder what that guy's name is. He's been hovering around me since I came here. He's damn quiet, that's for sure."

I got into the pants and stared at myself at a mirror that was conveniently placed in the front of my bed.

"Not to bad." I frowned. "I'd better stop talking to myself. Next thing I know I'll have a split personality. Heh-heh." My smiled turned upside down and I looked into the mirror and straight into my own eyes. "They can't keep me for long here. They'll see."

********

I impatiently looked at my wristwatch and began to tap my foot impatiently as I waited. Where were the others? They were supposed to be here by now! Everyone was late. Relena was there, but she wasn't supposed to show up. I hadn't asked her, but she was nice enough to come anyway.

Besides, it was a tough job being queen and all and I didn't want to bother her. I guess she must have shoved off that meeting she had to be here, so I couldn't have complained if I wanted to. Not that I did, anyway. I'd say she deserves a lot of respect, especially for the junk she does for us today.

"Where are the others," I muttered under my breath. "I swear to God, I'm gonna kick their-"

"Duo, calm down. They'll probably be here any minute. If you don't settle down, you're going to explode, so cool it!" Relena said. I shot her a look and she backed off a bit. But she still had enough backing to her to give me a look back.

I shrugged internally and started with the frantic 'where is everybody' act.

It was a while before anyone actually showed up. About an hour. And not everyone was there. It turned out, Noin had some important business to attend to, as did Wufei. As for what business Wufei had, I still am suspicious. I still remember that incident with Mariemaia he pulled. I haven't trusted very much since.

Sally was able to help, but only for a little while. She had to take care of some older relatives who were arriving in the afternoon. I still say she should leave the old geezers to fend for themselves and help look for Hilde!

And the rest of the pilots came except for Heero, who has that mystery thing going on where no one knows what he's up to. He was probably at his laptop again, hacking into enemy files. We pretty don't have very many enemies anymore, but I guess a guy like him always has stuff to tend to. Especially if that guy is as suicidal, or homicidal- whichever you please-, as him.

"Okay, guys, I think I've pretty much told everyone what is going on when I called you to invite you here. Everyone had a pretty good idea of what happened, am I right?" I said aloud. Everyone nodded or mumbled 'yes,' or gave some sort of reply.

"Good. You may think this is overreacting a bit, but if you look at it from my point of view, then it makes a lot of sense. Hilde wouldn't go and do something like this. She'd at least leave a note before she left. And you also have to keep in mind she was first gone when we were at the movie theater. Now you have to suspect something wrong when she leaves during a time like that. Especially on her birthday," I explained. Everyone nodded again and kept silent. But Sally spoke up.

"What if she did leave a note and I accidentally blew out the window or something. You can't just assume she's been kidnapped," said Sally. I paused a moment. It was a plausible explanation, but it wasn't plausible enough for me. I placed on the hat I had been carrying and I crossed my arms.

"Sally, what do you think? You think Hilde's stupid enough to leave open the windows if she left a note? And besides, that's not the point. Hilde would have taken that into consideration. Believe me when I say she takes the utmost care into EVERYTHING she does. Even a little thing like that."

"I'm just saying maybe we should take everything into consideration before we go and bust down doors, throwing threats at everyone who saw her that day." I sighed and shook my head. Okay, fine. That was it.

"I just don't think something like this is just a some stupid cooinky-dink, okay? Just maybe I have my reason for believing she didn't come home," I hadn't even noticed my posture. I was stiff and tense. Sally failed to reply, probably because of how frustrated I looked. Besides, it wasn't like I was doing it for a special reason. It was just that she was my friend.

She wasn't my girlfriend, no. Er… at least I don't think so. She was Hilde. My best friend.

"By chance, do you have any special relationship with her that you'd like to discuss with us?" Quatre said a little playfully. Ooo-kaayyy, where did that come from?

"…" The question had come out of nowhere and it left me completely speechless. I hadn't ever stopped to think about it before. The answer was no, but there was another question. COULD there be a special relationship? I hadn't known it at the time, but a Catherine had a big smile on her face. I was blushing and she could see it as plain as day.

"Who are you and what have you done with Quatre," I said. "And no, there's nothing special I'd like to speak to you about. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to start looking for Hilde as soon as possible. The sooner we set off to look for her the better." I checked my watch.

"I'm guessing we're all going to meet back again, so we all come back here in three hours, got it?"

"What do we do once we find her?" asked Trowa.

"I dunno, why are you asking me, anyway," I asked him. I shouldn't have, because he had gotten quite an attitude since last year. It wasn't bad, but every now and then he'd show traces of something besides the machine he always is.

"Seeing as you're taking charge here, I'd thought I'd consult you before doing anything stupid," he said. I shot my second look today at him. He shrugged, and he did what was a cross between a smirk and his usual blank expression.

"All right. Enough time wasted. I wanna find her as soon as possible," I said. I stopped myself for a moment to think. Geeze, I felt something awful ahead of me. Ahead of me and Hilde that is. Something in the future- something that might affect us forever- might just happen. I didn't know why I was going all mercenary about finding her.

God! There was something in the back of my mind, warning me about a big event coming up. It was so much like the time with Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. I had lost everything then. I wasn't going to lose Hilde. I wasn't ready to lose her yet. If I was going to lose her, I'd let her go, not let her die. I'd rather she left me, than disappear mysteriously. I need something to stand on. I needed some reassurance that she was okay. Some backing.

Because I cared. I mean as a friend. Only a friend. (Because that's all we'll ever be) I caught myself thinking.

eheheh...heh... *sweat droplet* that was a funky little chapter. I'm probably going to get things going in the next one. Sorry: This chapter was really flaky, if u kno what I mean. I hope it'll get better. ^_^. Review! Tell me how I'm doing! And just to let you know I wrote this BEFORE I read the fic, Switch. That twinkie bit Milo&Otis's story is hilarious. (Wufei's twinkie poem--lol)

--Shadow@ngel
superpinay@hotmail.com

http://members.fortunecity.com/animeshadowz -- My homepage
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/shinigamisangel --Hilde & Duo club
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/animeinlove -- Anime Romance Club