Braids of a Feather

Braids of a Feather

Chapter 15

By AlantisB

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter of BOAF! You know; this is the last chapter...FOR THIS BOOK! MWahahaa! That's right, it will continue! Mostly because if I kept going, this chapter would never end and end up being 40 pages long. But it does leave you on a major, major cliffhanger. Just because I'm Sooooo mean!

Now I don't know exactly where Book2 will be coming but probably not until August since I am going away this summer to North Carolina. I'm sorry! :;cries:: I really want to write but I don't go a computer in an RV park! Gomen! So don't be mad okay?

Again, sorry I can not continue book 2 right away! Oh, and remember, REVIEW! ::smiles:: Have a nice day.

"..talking.."

'..thinking..'

OoOo Scene Change

Warning: This chapter has a graphic scene in which if you are not mature enough, don't read!

OoOoOoOoOo

Sally looked at her computer worriedly as her screen saver clicked on. The worse possible thing had happened at the wrong moment. She had just received an e-mail from Doctor G that Duo Maxwell has been captured by OZ and hidden in a Tokyo base. That wasn't even the bad news, the bad news was that he was going to be executed in two days.

She frowned and leaned over her desk, clicking on a black button. "Noin? Get me Quatre, Wufei, Heero, and Trowa right now. Tell them it's concerning Duo Maxwell and that this is very important and I need them here ASAP. You got that?"

Noin appeared on the small screen she had on her desk and she saluted. "Right away ma'am, I'll get them right now. Is Duo alright?" She asked with a slightly worried expression.

"You can come into this meeting if you want Noin, I won't discuss this on the phone. Just come with them to my office." Sally replied indifferently as she shut off the screen and looked out at the evening sky with worry. 'Duo, how could you let this happen?' She thought.

The gundam pilots and Noin crowded into the room a few minutes later. Quatre had a worried expression on his face as he looked at Sally as if he knew what had happened. But that couldn't be right since no one knew that Duo had been captured yet but her and the doctors. She filed away Quatre's expression into her memory and sighed.

"What do you want woman?" Wufei said in an annoyed voice. "I was in the middle of fixing my gundam."

"It's about Duo," Sally said not looking at the pilots. "He's been captured."

"WHAT?!"

OoOoOoOoOo

He stared out at nothing. His eyes were blank and no emotion showed on his face at all. Duo Maxwell was broken. He was a broken boy that would never show any emotion any more. As soon as he saw his braid in front of his face and didn't feel the comforting weight on his back, he snapped. He was sure Lady Une didn't expect it, hell he didn't expect to do it. But when a man is pushed to his limits, then past them, no one knows what he would do.

He had grabbed those scissors from the surprised hands of Lady Une and stabbed the two soldiers that held him down in the eyeballs and into the brain, instantly killing them. Then he called on the power he hadn't used in this lifetime yet and tried to self-destruct. It backfired, of course, since he was still alive. Spared only from the amount of blood he lost causing him to have not enough power. But he did give Lady Une a nice burn on one side of her body. It would scar her horribly and she deserved it in his opinion.

He hadn't moved in a day, he hadn't eaten either. He just wanted to die. He knew it was just hair, but he had never cut it and now it was gone. It was his vanity, his most prized possession and the only thing that had been with him since the beginning. But it was gone now and he was left broken like a doll.

He hadn't dared to look in a mirror, even if he had one. He didn't want to reach up and finger the ragged edges of his short hair now. He wanted to think this was all just a very bad dream and that he would wake up soon and feel his braid again. A day had past and he was still waiting. He wished this nightmare would end.

The Sleeping Beauty wanted to wake up out of the dream world now but he knew it wasn't a dream. He knew his braid was gone just as he knew if he had his blades, he would end it all right here and now. The hell with the war, fuck Ranma and Ryoga his supposed friends who he was sure had turned him in. He hated his goddamn life. He just wanted to go to hell already, it couldn't be much worse then the hell he was living now.

He heard the door open but he didn't even look in the direction of the person. He knew it was Trieze just like he knew he was going to be in a world of pain in a moment. The bastard wanted him to pay for horribly disfiguring his Lady Une, the girl he had a crush on. Go figure on how he likes a person with a split personality, but Duo didn't give a damn about her at all. It would all be over soon, the pain. If he was lucky, he'll die of blood-loss and then go off to hell like a good little demon.

He heard the unzipping of a zipper and tuned it out to go into his own little world. He would have grinned if he had any soul left in his body, it would be just like when he was younger. It's like riding a bicycle, you never forget. All he had to do was just block it out and don't give the bastard the satisfaction of crying or screaming. 'Be a doll', he chanted in his mind as he felt the older man roll him onto his stomach on the hard concrete of the floor. 'It'll be over soon.'

OoOoOoOoOo

He nodded to Ryoga as both of them slugged their traveling packs on their backs. Ranma motioned the lost boy to follow him toward Nabiki's bedroom and the other boy followed without trouble. Ranma smirked as he picked the lock of the door with the pick he kept in his braid. It was something he had learned from Duo in Junior High. 'Trials of a learning pickpocket!' Ranma thought with amusement as he heard the door give a satisfying click as it unlocked.

He never really used this ability before, but it was always handy to know. Now he was glad that Duo had taught him about picking locks, it was a useful skill to know.

He turned to Ryoga with his finger on his lips and Ryoga nodded knowing Ranma wanted him to be quiet. Ranma silently snuck into the mercenary's room where he glanced around. He tried to remember all the tips he had learned that few weeks from his friend.

"When stealing money from a rich guy's house, never go to the safe. It's always full of alarms and stuff. Usually they keep money taped under a drawer in the dresser or under some loose floorboards in a tin box."

Ranma spotted some slightly discolored floor boards near Nabiki's bed and he headed over to the spot without a sound. He carefully pried up the boards and grinned when he saw the tin box. He carefully reached in and took out the metal box while opening it. The wads of yen in rolls caused his eyes to widen. 'This must be her own little profit she keeps for herself!' He thought.

He took out a little black pouch and put all the wads of bills inside and took out a little piece of paper and put it into the box. He shut it quietly and put it back into the floor, placing the boards over the spot again. He smirked and stood giving Nabiki a silent salute with the finger.

'That's for all the times cheating me out of MY money from MY pictures. AND for calling the military on my best friend,' Ranma stated in his mind. 'You've underestimated me for the last time, Tendo. I might not be as smart as you in math, but I'm still a genius in battle. I might not fight girls, but I still can out-smart you!'

He smirked and turned around, walking out the room just as silently as he did when coming in. He shut the door behind him and looked up at Ryoga with a smile. He pointed down the hall and Ryoga gave him a fanged smile as the two boys walked out of the Tendo dojo for the last time.

OoOoOoOoOo

End of Book One

OoOoOoOoOo

Oooh, I'm so mean. I love giving major cliffhangers, blame it on all the authors I've read that have done it. Hey, it always hypes up suspense! Don't you think? Now, Book one is over! :;cries and hugs the book:: I LOVE YOU! ::blinks and looks around, blushing:: Oops!

To all Kuno fans: Sorry he got such a short part in this book. Only two scenes actually..::clears her throat:: I promise he will appear more in book two okay? Don't be mad!

Suspense Questions:

Is Duo really broken?

Is he dead?
What does Lady Une look like now? A freaky womanized Jekle and Hyde?!

What will the gundam pilots do now that Duo has been captured?

What are Ranma and Ryoga planning to do with all that money?

What the hell will Nabiki do when she finds out?

What did Ranma write on that piece of paper?

Where the hell is Kuno, for god sakes?!

Anyway, hope you all liked the first book of "Braids of a Feather".

Remember, be kind and review!

-AlantisB