Intruder - Part Fourteen
An Idea...
Wufei Chang was sitting in his room. He would have gone to the Hangar, but something told him that it would be easier to concentrate in the larger privacy of his chamber. Sitting up on his bunk, he sat with his eyes shut. He was confused. He thought he should be pleased, the intruder had been defeated, although not by his own hand, and the danger was over. Maybe that was what bothered him, there was no challenge anymore. No that wasn't it. Being a Gundam pilot, he knew there was always something there, a lurking threat to peace, or another organization which had over-imaginative ideals of it's place in the universe.
It was too easy. That's what it was. They had discussed (if somewhat briefly) that this enemy was a 'Gundam', therefore it would be severely difficult to destroy, but not invulnerable, (as they themselves had found out the hard way more than once) but it would definitely take more than a single bullet to 'kill' it. Something was definitely wrong, but he still couldn't deduce the whole point of this foe. So many questions, and so few answers. Perhaps it was programmed to act like a human should.
~ But if this was true, it wouldn't stay, would it? ~
Because if it did, it would be searched, and the discovery would be made that it was not a person, then it's secret would be out, and it would be pointless acting anymore.
~ This is going in circles ~
Trowa walked silently along the corridor. Hilde broke the silence.
"So, why are we going to my room?"
"You'd better get changed first."
Hilde was going to protest, then looked down at her shirt. It had gone a dark reddish brown, stained with Duo's blood.
"Ok."
He waited in the corridor for her while she got changed. He was mildly surprised when she came back out in an old pilot shirt, and a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees.
"Better?"
He gave he a funny look.
"What? Hey, this is who I am. If this Charlie/Max guy doesn't appreciate me for who I am, then I don't even wanna meet him. Where is he anyway?"
Trowa had started up the corridor, and stopped at Catherine's door.
"Why are you going in Catherine's room? Is this Charlie/Max person in there?"
"Not person exactly." He said opening the door. Being the gentleman he let her in first.
"Well what-"she stopped in the doorway in front of him. "A lion! - What's with the lion?"
She turned back to Trowa. He'd shut the door behind them. The lion looked up at them, sniffing the air. Trowa whistled *phweeet *"Here," He said, pointing at his feet. He crouched down, as the lion came running towards him, leaping across the room, and over the heap of rugs on the floor.
"Uh, Trowa?..."
He made no reply as the lion pounced, landing on the floor just in front of him, and licked his face. ~ Ok, now I know the guys aren't exactly usual, but this is pushing it. ~
Trowa shoved the lion away, "I've told you not to lick people's faces." He sounded as though he was scolding a naughty child, and Hilde was somewhat bewildered as it held its paw over its face and looked at the carpet. Trowa stood up and came over to her.
"This is Charlie."
"Oh..."
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Uh, I'm not sure...how exactly-"
"Come." She moved nervously to follow him, and realized he was referring to the lion. It came. He sat down and it stretched itself out in front of him, raking the rug with his claws, then lay out across the floor, reminding her of that ancient statue in one of the deserts on Earth. She crouched down next to Trowa, wondering how she should do this.
But she didn't need to worry, as he took he hand and stroked it along Charlie's back.
The result was a noise which sounded similar to the engines of the boosters on the back of her Taurus, or possibly a space carrier being launched. She assumed it was purring.
"He likes you."
"Oh." ~ Great. Well I guess it could be worse. He might not have. ~
After watching with amusement the performance of Duo and Quatre trying to fix the bandages, Heero dragged the robotic corpse to the Mess hall. He would have taken it to his room, but that was all the way up the other end of the compound, and he'd already left a trail of its 'blood' all the way along the corridor.
~ Guess I'd better clear it up. ~
He laid the mechanical body on the table, on top of a thick layer of paper and cloth. He knew Quatre wouldn't appreciate this, especially if he ruined the table.
He left the Intruder lying on his makeshift workshop, and went to fetch something to clear the hall floor.
Duo was still lying on the bed, as he'd been instructed, and he'd decided that it was, in this case, best to do as he was told.
~ Well this is a first. ~ Quatre thought as he sipped his lemonade. Heero had been thoughtful enough to bring him and Duo one each, as the one originally intended for him had been shattered across the floor of the corridor.
Quatre wondered what Heero was doing, where ever it was he'd gone. ~ He's probably up to something, and he's trying to keep me happy so I don't go and interfere. Well, whatever it is he can do it, it's probably important, and I'm supposed to be in that bed anyway. ~ He looked across at Duo. He'd just sat up, well, kind of, and was examining his braid.
"What's wrong, Duo?"
"D'ya want me to write a list?"
"No, I meant what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much, well not that I'd wanna talk about anyway."
"So why are you fiddling with the end of your plait?" Quatre couldn't see exactly what he was doing, he was at the wrong angle. It looked like- no, he wasn't sure.
"I was thinking about how long it's gonna take me to wash the red-brown stuff out of it."
"What?" Quatre looked confused.
"That guy bled all over it." Duo frowned. "It's gonna take ages to wash out."
"Here let me see..." Quatre started over to the bed.
"...No."
"Why not? Maybe I could do something with it while you're just lying there..."
"But-"
"It's okay, I'll be careful."
Duo was going to refuse again, but he didn't want to see that hurt look in his friend's eyes again, so instead he agreed.
"...'K" he moved and pulled it round the other side. It was undone. Quatre looked slightly confused. Duo frowned again, and explained.
"I would have tied it up again, but-"
"It looks like it's been c-" Quatre realized what he was saying. He looked down at his friend, who was looking away from him. If Duo had been standing up, he would have been looking at his feet, but all he could do was turn away.
"Oh..." Quatre looked down too. None of them knew why Duo kept this braid, he'd never said, and they'd never asked. But they all knew it was important to him, as important as Nataku was to Wufei, or as the Magnamac corps were to himself.
'I never let her cut it, but this guy managed to.'
It was barely a whisper, and Duo didn't turn around to face him. Quatre saw a single drop of water fall, and soak into the bed sheets. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say.
~ Her? Who's "her"? An old friend? His mother? Someone from his past? ~
Quatre then realized that it was probably Duo who they knew the least about out of the five of them. He himself was born of one of the richest and most famous families in Earth and the colonies, and although no one but him knew every detail, they got the idea.
Heero had been previously trained as an assassin, and then found by Doctor J, who looked after him, and he became a Gundam pilot.
No-one knew much of Trowa's past, even perhaps Trowa himself, they'd only recently found out that Catherine Bloom was his sister.
Wufei was another dark one, from the Long clan. His name for Altron (and Shenlong before it) "Nataku" was thought to be the name of one of his friends, or clan members who'd died in battle, possibly against the Alliance.
But Duo, no one knew much of at all. Quatre realized now that his friendly, slightly crazy persona hid everything, from everyone, as he was hardly ever serious, you couldn't ask him serious questions, and when he was serious, in battle, there was no time to talk anyway. But now? But what about now?
~ Duo Maxwell. 'Maxwell'. I've never properly thought about it before, but I'm sure I've heard that name before, somewhere...~
Duo was ashamed of himself, well the Duo that everyone knew was.
~ How could I just break like that? Well at least it was only Quatre, ~
He wasn't being hard on him, he just knew the Arabian wouldn't tell, if he had heard or seen anything.
~ Now it's time to cover my trail. ~
*growl * faint laugh * "You didn't hear that, did you?"
"Hmm? What?"
"Obviously not...wait for it..." *growl, rumble *
"What? Was that you?"
Duo smirked, and sat up, about to swing his legs round, and get off the bed.
"Y'know what? I think I'm hungry." He said as he swung himself around, and slipped gently off of the bed, onto his left leg. "Ok, lets try-"
"Duo! No! You can't go now, you've gotta stay here in bed."
He turned to face Quatre. "I'm sure you had the same orders." He said, with a smile.
"Yes, maybe, but I think you're the one who'd be better off resting. Especially with your-" "Ow! My leg..." he winced as he touched it cautiously, then lifted it up, and got back on the bed. "Uh, ok, maybe you're right, for now."
"What do you want?"
A smile spread across Duo's face, Quatre imagined it was just because of the proposition of lunch.
"Hmm? Oh, um y'know, some sandwiches or somethin', crisps, or chocolate, or-"
"You call that lunch?"
"Sure, s' what I had all the time."
"When?"
"From the canteen at Relena's school. Y'know, me 'n' Heero, we used the school as a cover, it was just down the road from the OZ military base."
"School food?! Yuck! I'm going to show you a real lunch."
"Quat-" Duo started but he'd already gone.
~ Ok, Lets get this sorted. ~
He looked down at his well wrapped leg, and the rather odd jeans he was now wearing. The left leg was intact, although somewhat dirty, but the on other side the denim had been cut off just above his knee.
~ Aw man?! Hmm, Hey! Maybe Heero wants some new shorts...~
An Idea...
Wufei Chang was sitting in his room. He would have gone to the Hangar, but something told him that it would be easier to concentrate in the larger privacy of his chamber. Sitting up on his bunk, he sat with his eyes shut. He was confused. He thought he should be pleased, the intruder had been defeated, although not by his own hand, and the danger was over. Maybe that was what bothered him, there was no challenge anymore. No that wasn't it. Being a Gundam pilot, he knew there was always something there, a lurking threat to peace, or another organization which had over-imaginative ideals of it's place in the universe.
It was too easy. That's what it was. They had discussed (if somewhat briefly) that this enemy was a 'Gundam', therefore it would be severely difficult to destroy, but not invulnerable, (as they themselves had found out the hard way more than once) but it would definitely take more than a single bullet to 'kill' it. Something was definitely wrong, but he still couldn't deduce the whole point of this foe. So many questions, and so few answers. Perhaps it was programmed to act like a human should.
~ But if this was true, it wouldn't stay, would it? ~
Because if it did, it would be searched, and the discovery would be made that it was not a person, then it's secret would be out, and it would be pointless acting anymore.
~ This is going in circles ~
Trowa walked silently along the corridor. Hilde broke the silence.
"So, why are we going to my room?"
"You'd better get changed first."
Hilde was going to protest, then looked down at her shirt. It had gone a dark reddish brown, stained with Duo's blood.
"Ok."
He waited in the corridor for her while she got changed. He was mildly surprised when she came back out in an old pilot shirt, and a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees.
"Better?"
He gave he a funny look.
"What? Hey, this is who I am. If this Charlie/Max guy doesn't appreciate me for who I am, then I don't even wanna meet him. Where is he anyway?"
Trowa had started up the corridor, and stopped at Catherine's door.
"Why are you going in Catherine's room? Is this Charlie/Max person in there?"
"Not person exactly." He said opening the door. Being the gentleman he let her in first.
"Well what-"she stopped in the doorway in front of him. "A lion! - What's with the lion?"
She turned back to Trowa. He'd shut the door behind them. The lion looked up at them, sniffing the air. Trowa whistled *phweeet *"Here," He said, pointing at his feet. He crouched down, as the lion came running towards him, leaping across the room, and over the heap of rugs on the floor.
"Uh, Trowa?..."
He made no reply as the lion pounced, landing on the floor just in front of him, and licked his face. ~ Ok, now I know the guys aren't exactly usual, but this is pushing it. ~
Trowa shoved the lion away, "I've told you not to lick people's faces." He sounded as though he was scolding a naughty child, and Hilde was somewhat bewildered as it held its paw over its face and looked at the carpet. Trowa stood up and came over to her.
"This is Charlie."
"Oh..."
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Uh, I'm not sure...how exactly-"
"Come." She moved nervously to follow him, and realized he was referring to the lion. It came. He sat down and it stretched itself out in front of him, raking the rug with his claws, then lay out across the floor, reminding her of that ancient statue in one of the deserts on Earth. She crouched down next to Trowa, wondering how she should do this.
But she didn't need to worry, as he took he hand and stroked it along Charlie's back.
The result was a noise which sounded similar to the engines of the boosters on the back of her Taurus, or possibly a space carrier being launched. She assumed it was purring.
"He likes you."
"Oh." ~ Great. Well I guess it could be worse. He might not have. ~
After watching with amusement the performance of Duo and Quatre trying to fix the bandages, Heero dragged the robotic corpse to the Mess hall. He would have taken it to his room, but that was all the way up the other end of the compound, and he'd already left a trail of its 'blood' all the way along the corridor.
~ Guess I'd better clear it up. ~
He laid the mechanical body on the table, on top of a thick layer of paper and cloth. He knew Quatre wouldn't appreciate this, especially if he ruined the table.
He left the Intruder lying on his makeshift workshop, and went to fetch something to clear the hall floor.
Duo was still lying on the bed, as he'd been instructed, and he'd decided that it was, in this case, best to do as he was told.
~ Well this is a first. ~ Quatre thought as he sipped his lemonade. Heero had been thoughtful enough to bring him and Duo one each, as the one originally intended for him had been shattered across the floor of the corridor.
Quatre wondered what Heero was doing, where ever it was he'd gone. ~ He's probably up to something, and he's trying to keep me happy so I don't go and interfere. Well, whatever it is he can do it, it's probably important, and I'm supposed to be in that bed anyway. ~ He looked across at Duo. He'd just sat up, well, kind of, and was examining his braid.
"What's wrong, Duo?"
"D'ya want me to write a list?"
"No, I meant what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much, well not that I'd wanna talk about anyway."
"So why are you fiddling with the end of your plait?" Quatre couldn't see exactly what he was doing, he was at the wrong angle. It looked like- no, he wasn't sure.
"I was thinking about how long it's gonna take me to wash the red-brown stuff out of it."
"What?" Quatre looked confused.
"That guy bled all over it." Duo frowned. "It's gonna take ages to wash out."
"Here let me see..." Quatre started over to the bed.
"...No."
"Why not? Maybe I could do something with it while you're just lying there..."
"But-"
"It's okay, I'll be careful."
Duo was going to refuse again, but he didn't want to see that hurt look in his friend's eyes again, so instead he agreed.
"...'K" he moved and pulled it round the other side. It was undone. Quatre looked slightly confused. Duo frowned again, and explained.
"I would have tied it up again, but-"
"It looks like it's been c-" Quatre realized what he was saying. He looked down at his friend, who was looking away from him. If Duo had been standing up, he would have been looking at his feet, but all he could do was turn away.
"Oh..." Quatre looked down too. None of them knew why Duo kept this braid, he'd never said, and they'd never asked. But they all knew it was important to him, as important as Nataku was to Wufei, or as the Magnamac corps were to himself.
'I never let her cut it, but this guy managed to.'
It was barely a whisper, and Duo didn't turn around to face him. Quatre saw a single drop of water fall, and soak into the bed sheets. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say.
~ Her? Who's "her"? An old friend? His mother? Someone from his past? ~
Quatre then realized that it was probably Duo who they knew the least about out of the five of them. He himself was born of one of the richest and most famous families in Earth and the colonies, and although no one but him knew every detail, they got the idea.
Heero had been previously trained as an assassin, and then found by Doctor J, who looked after him, and he became a Gundam pilot.
No-one knew much of Trowa's past, even perhaps Trowa himself, they'd only recently found out that Catherine Bloom was his sister.
Wufei was another dark one, from the Long clan. His name for Altron (and Shenlong before it) "Nataku" was thought to be the name of one of his friends, or clan members who'd died in battle, possibly against the Alliance.
But Duo, no one knew much of at all. Quatre realized now that his friendly, slightly crazy persona hid everything, from everyone, as he was hardly ever serious, you couldn't ask him serious questions, and when he was serious, in battle, there was no time to talk anyway. But now? But what about now?
~ Duo Maxwell. 'Maxwell'. I've never properly thought about it before, but I'm sure I've heard that name before, somewhere...~
Duo was ashamed of himself, well the Duo that everyone knew was.
~ How could I just break like that? Well at least it was only Quatre, ~
He wasn't being hard on him, he just knew the Arabian wouldn't tell, if he had heard or seen anything.
~ Now it's time to cover my trail. ~
*growl * faint laugh * "You didn't hear that, did you?"
"Hmm? What?"
"Obviously not...wait for it..." *growl, rumble *
"What? Was that you?"
Duo smirked, and sat up, about to swing his legs round, and get off the bed.
"Y'know what? I think I'm hungry." He said as he swung himself around, and slipped gently off of the bed, onto his left leg. "Ok, lets try-"
"Duo! No! You can't go now, you've gotta stay here in bed."
He turned to face Quatre. "I'm sure you had the same orders." He said, with a smile.
"Yes, maybe, but I think you're the one who'd be better off resting. Especially with your-" "Ow! My leg..." he winced as he touched it cautiously, then lifted it up, and got back on the bed. "Uh, ok, maybe you're right, for now."
"What do you want?"
A smile spread across Duo's face, Quatre imagined it was just because of the proposition of lunch.
"Hmm? Oh, um y'know, some sandwiches or somethin', crisps, or chocolate, or-"
"You call that lunch?"
"Sure, s' what I had all the time."
"When?"
"From the canteen at Relena's school. Y'know, me 'n' Heero, we used the school as a cover, it was just down the road from the OZ military base."
"School food?! Yuck! I'm going to show you a real lunch."
"Quat-" Duo started but he'd already gone.
~ Ok, Lets get this sorted. ~
He looked down at his well wrapped leg, and the rather odd jeans he was now wearing. The left leg was intact, although somewhat dirty, but the on other side the denim had been cut off just above his knee.
~ Aw man?! Hmm, Hey! Maybe Heero wants some new shorts...~