Intruder - Part Nineteen
An old acquaintance...
Wufei had already exited the Hangar, and Quatre was standing on his platform. He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, as he somersaulted down. Hilde jumped down too, but she couldn't see Duo anywhere. Quatre had spotted him, and she followed his gaze to find him sitting in his Gundam, the hatch was open, but he wasn't coming out. Watching him as he fiddled with some controls on his left she called up to him.
"Hey, Duo! Are you coming down or not?"
"Yeah! Just doin' this first!"
Quatre came over to her. "Do you think he'll be ok? On landing I mean? I could put the gravity back down."
She looked at him blankly. "Why?"
"His shin. If he lands badly he could-"
"Incomin'!" Duo leapt from his cockpit into the air above them. Swinging around, Quatre saw he held the pole from earlier. Something flew out of the end of it, and started spinning. They watched as he floated gently downwards. He didn't say a word, but the satisfied smile said it all.
"Duo, what is that?" She asked as he touched down just in front of them both.
He turned it off and handed it to her. "Old"
She looked from him to Quatre, who looked almost as confused, and back to him.
"That is what I used when I rescued Heero, right at the beginning." Hilde looks slightly disconcerted, ~ I didn't know he saved him. ~ Duo sighs, and starts to explain.
"Honestly, he blows up his Wing and my Deathscythe, an' I still go an' get him out."
This statement only made matters worse, as neither of them knew this anyway.
"Ok, so he tries to kill some girl, just as I turn up, who I then saved from him. Anyway, she has a right go at me, and threatens me with Heero's gun, she was going to try to shoot me, when Heero then jumps up onto these missiles which he'd prepped earlier. So, I shoot at him again, 'cause by now I've realized that he's gotta be the pilot of the other suit I found at the bottom of the sea. An' I've already set Deathscythe to raise this unknown Gundam, so they're both together, an' he goes an' fires these blasted missiles at the both of them, the girl's still tryin' t' stop me from shootin' him, and he just drops off an' tries t' drown himself in the sea. I leave the girl an' I go an' get the Gundams outta the water before the authorities get round, I find out later that he got himself captured.
I then break in to the place where he's bein' held an' free him. Then I blow a hole in the wall of about the 30th floor of this tower block, and jump out. I float down on this-"
He waved at the metal stick and continued "-and he should have pulled his 'chute, but he wouldn't, he just shut his eyes and fell head first. I yelled at him, an' tried to get him to pull the damn thing but he wouldn't, he might have been unconscious, but I didn't know. So while we're both still fallin' down the side of this buildin' Relena-"
"Relena?!" Hilde interrupts "Oh, sorry."
"Yeah, she's the girl he was gonna kill the night before. Anyway, she looks outta the new window an' screams 'HEEEERO!!!' He wakes up an' pulls his 'chute, but it's way too late now, an' he takes it off. He's fallin' fast an' he just takes it off! I've gotta slow my fall 'cause I don't wanna go splat, an' he just hits the cliff an' rolls down it, so I go down after him, an' he hits the beach at the bottom of the cliff. So now I think, well that's it he's gotta be dead, but no, he just gets up an' tries t' walk off! Relena and the official, who happens to be Miss Sally Po, are still watchin' from the top as I land, an' run over to him. He's broken his leg, an' he's got some cuts an' bruises, but other than that he's fine!"
Duo shakes his head in disbelief that Heero somehow managed to survive. Quatre and Hilde both stare at him, unable to accept the fact that Heero is still alive today. Hilde is completely lost for words. Quatre had heard the rumors of this story, but never been told it firsthand - this was worse. They had been walking the whole time Duo had been talking, and they had reached the Pilot's Quarters. Maxwell stopped outside his door.
"Y' wanna come in?"
The other two nodded.
Trowa wasn't really bothered about his silent flight, he knew he wasn't exactly talkative at the best of times. He concentrated on getting their load back to base, and re-calibrating some of his system controls. He noticed a large dot on the radar, they were nearing home. ~ Home? How interesting to have one of those... ~ He shifted in his seat.
"03 to 01, How are we going to get this in?"
"...I'll take it down alone."
Trowa frowned, ~ He can be so...*sigh * Fine, if he wants to do it alone, I'll let him. ~
"Ok."
"Let go on my mark..."
They flew on towards the main hangar bay. He wondered if it would be easier to take it through the space-plane entrance. ~ He would have thought of that already. ~
The monotone signal came. "Ok."
The roof slipped from HeavyArms' hands, as he let it go. Wing Zero had let go too, and it began to float past him. Then he caught the weightless Gundanium, and held it straight ahead of him. Trowa watched on a viewer as he continued to the dock. 01 paused for a moment, then took the shipment over to the carrier docking bay. A faint smile passed across his face, as he entered the Gundam's hangar.
"Hi ya Charlie! Did ya miss me? C'm'ere darling, Aw, poor boy..." Duo had opened the door to his room, and Hilde had recovered from her stunning as soon as she had seen 'my baby kitty'. Quatre and Duo looked at each other. "Women" they tutted, and followed her in. Duo looked at his bed longingly, as it still hung above their heads. As he looked down, he noticed on the screens that there was only one space left in the Hangar.
"Trowa's back." He said.
Quatre looked up, turning his back on Charlie's rumbling.
"Where is he?"
Duo flicked through a screens on the original set of screens.
"Coming this way, actually."
Hilde stopped tickling the lion and stood up. Charlie frowned - well, sort of anyway.
"Trowa's coming?" She brushed herself down in a shower of tan colored hairs. Then she walked over to the couch and sat down. Charlie padded after her and rubbed his head on her jeans. She stroked him absently and he lay down on her feet. She reached down to pick off the new set off the newly laid fur, but gave up. She sat back and sighed contentedly. The action was echoed by Charlie, who then rolled over, away from her.
"Ok, entry on 3, 2, 1-"
He was interrupted by the door opening. Trowa walked in. Hilde was laying on the sofa with her eyes shut. Duo was playing with his cameras. Charlie was lying on the floor, breathing softly. Quatre was looking at him.
"Hi Trowa, did you find anything?"
"Yes. The Gundanium was still there."
"Was?"
"Yes, but we brought it back. Heero's bringing it in through the carrier bay."
"Oh. Was there anything else there?"
"No, nothing but us and the ruined base."
Duo had been tapping away on his camera's controls. He'd found what he was looking for. "Here's the dockin' bay, and-" he waited as the camera zoomed in. "Here's Heero."
He'd just got out of Wing Zero. He walked across the hall to the exit. Duo switched to another camera. They watched as he strode purposefully down the corridor, and out of sight. Duo hit another switch, and Heero came back into view, walking around the corner towards them this time. The camera swung around and followed him down the hall. His pace slackened to a casual stroll. Trowa was bored of spying on Heero, he'd been with him most of the morning, and didn't think it was the most interesting thing to do, so he walked over to the other stool opposite Hilde. She opened her eyes and sat up straight. Charlie was with Trowa now, so she was free to move. Wondering what Duo had found she went under the bed, and watched over his shoulder. Quatre wasn't really interested, but had nothing better to do, therefore continued to spy on Heero, who was oblivious to the fact that he was being watched, by his friends, but he did have the smallest feeling that he was under surveillance, and it wasn't the DCS.
Heero was walking up the musty corridor towards the main part of the base. The carrier dock wasn't often used, so they hardly ever came up here. There was a weird smell, just dusty and kind of old. ~ This must be part of the original structure. ~ He felt odd, as if he shouldn't be there. It was strange for him, he was used to being alone, and in places he wasn't supposed to be. But this was his home now, their home, personal and private property, for their own use. He quickened his pace again, but couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.
As it was switched to another camera, the view screen went fuzzy.
"Darn it! Man, I gotta get myself organized." Duo blinked as he realized what he'd said.
Hilde squeezed his shoulder. "I'll help..." She whispered.
"What's wrong?" Quatre asked.
Duo shrugged her hand away. "The camera isn't online yet, I didn't have time to calibrate them into the system."
"Them?"
"There's a couple- that aren't set up."
"Couple?" Quatre pushed.
"Yeah, a couple...of dozen." He smirked "Hey gimme a break will ya? Do you have any idea how long it takes to get these things set up?"
"As long as you spend doing 'nothing'." He answered.
"Smart ass." He played with a couple of dials and typed in some commands. ~ Darn it ~
Heero was now sure he was being followed, but by who or what he didn't even want to think about it. His hand slid down and stroked his pistol, remembering Quatre's words.
~ 'I just aimed at where the power source is on my Gundam.' ~
A fusion reactor located in the middle of their backs supplied all the Gundam's power. ~ Gundam. No problem. ~ Heero turned around to go back to Wing Zero. He'd take off from the carrier bay, and land back in the Gundam Hangar, so he wouldn't have to come and get it next time, and he could take it back now. ~ Simple. ~ He started walking back the way he'd come. He ignored his instincts they screamed attack.
"Ah, there it is. Hey, where is he?"
"Who?"
"Don't be stupid, Heero o' course, he should be here." Duo jabbed an accusatory finger at the screen. "Right here. But he's not. So where is he? Huh? Anyone got any ideas?"
Quatre was quiet. Hilde shook her head. Trowa seemed to ignore them all.
"So?"
"Could he have gone back?" the Arabian asked.
"Yeah, but why would he want to?"
"Maybe he forgot something?" Hilde suggested, playing with his hair.
'Hey babe, will you quit it? It's annoyin' me' She continued, oblivious to his plea.
He turned around to face the other screens, swinging his chair around and pulling his plait from her reach. Well almost, it had got longer recently, and she caught the end.
"Hey, Duo, did you cut it?"
"No." he said. ~ but someone else did ~ he continued silently. Fortunately the intruder had only just got the tie, and barely made any difference to it. He still got bad tempered just thinking about it though, so he buried himself in his work. Literally. Hilde had let go of his braid, so she wouldn't get dragged under the desk along with its owner.
"Uh, Duo, what are you up to?" she asked.
"Actually that should be down to." Trowa commented from across the room.
* Clump * "Ow" Duo complained as he hit his head on the base of the desk. "Quatre-"
He said, prompting his partner in crime to rationalize his actions.
"He's got to re-configure the primary circuits to allow access from the secondary input-"
"Ok, I don't need to know any more." She stopped him, before she was drowned in his techno babble. 'Nice one Cat.' Quatre looked at the floor, not in embarrassment, merely to see what Duo was actually doing. 'Pass them wires will ya? Thanks.'
Heero heard rushed footsteps behind him, and spun around - but no one was there.
He frowned. This wasn't good. He hastened his pace slightly, but not enough to seem worried, although he was. ~ If Duo is behind this...No hang on a bit, he's a player, but he wouldn't go this far, would he? No. He wouldn't. This was something completely different. But what? ~ He didn't know, and that's what bothered him most.
The footsteps came again, behind him. He waited till the last second, the span, arms outstretched to grab his stalker. His hands closed - on thin air.
~ If they're watching me now on the DCS, they're going to find this highly amusing. ~
He decided that the next time he would ignore it. ~ But what if next time isn't a fake? ~
* sigh * * sigh * ~ It echoed. It shouldn't echo. It never echoes, does it? ~ The footsteps came again. He spun around again. But this time there was someone there, someone he knew. "But, you're dead..." the perfect soldier wavered, his former master had returned.
Dodgy deep voiced bloke: On the next episode of DragonBall Z...
Stupid poncey happy voiced person: Hey, this is Goku, on the next exciting ep-
Duo: Hey, the other guy already said all that! It's our slot now!
Goku: Oh, sorry...
Duo: (big grin) You're watchin' Gundam Wing! Where we blow everythin' up, an' generally have a great time! Ha ha! See ya! (waves and walks off screen)
An old acquaintance...
Wufei had already exited the Hangar, and Quatre was standing on his platform. He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, as he somersaulted down. Hilde jumped down too, but she couldn't see Duo anywhere. Quatre had spotted him, and she followed his gaze to find him sitting in his Gundam, the hatch was open, but he wasn't coming out. Watching him as he fiddled with some controls on his left she called up to him.
"Hey, Duo! Are you coming down or not?"
"Yeah! Just doin' this first!"
Quatre came over to her. "Do you think he'll be ok? On landing I mean? I could put the gravity back down."
She looked at him blankly. "Why?"
"His shin. If he lands badly he could-"
"Incomin'!" Duo leapt from his cockpit into the air above them. Swinging around, Quatre saw he held the pole from earlier. Something flew out of the end of it, and started spinning. They watched as he floated gently downwards. He didn't say a word, but the satisfied smile said it all.
"Duo, what is that?" She asked as he touched down just in front of them both.
He turned it off and handed it to her. "Old"
She looked from him to Quatre, who looked almost as confused, and back to him.
"That is what I used when I rescued Heero, right at the beginning." Hilde looks slightly disconcerted, ~ I didn't know he saved him. ~ Duo sighs, and starts to explain.
"Honestly, he blows up his Wing and my Deathscythe, an' I still go an' get him out."
This statement only made matters worse, as neither of them knew this anyway.
"Ok, so he tries to kill some girl, just as I turn up, who I then saved from him. Anyway, she has a right go at me, and threatens me with Heero's gun, she was going to try to shoot me, when Heero then jumps up onto these missiles which he'd prepped earlier. So, I shoot at him again, 'cause by now I've realized that he's gotta be the pilot of the other suit I found at the bottom of the sea. An' I've already set Deathscythe to raise this unknown Gundam, so they're both together, an' he goes an' fires these blasted missiles at the both of them, the girl's still tryin' t' stop me from shootin' him, and he just drops off an' tries t' drown himself in the sea. I leave the girl an' I go an' get the Gundams outta the water before the authorities get round, I find out later that he got himself captured.
I then break in to the place where he's bein' held an' free him. Then I blow a hole in the wall of about the 30th floor of this tower block, and jump out. I float down on this-"
He waved at the metal stick and continued "-and he should have pulled his 'chute, but he wouldn't, he just shut his eyes and fell head first. I yelled at him, an' tried to get him to pull the damn thing but he wouldn't, he might have been unconscious, but I didn't know. So while we're both still fallin' down the side of this buildin' Relena-"
"Relena?!" Hilde interrupts "Oh, sorry."
"Yeah, she's the girl he was gonna kill the night before. Anyway, she looks outta the new window an' screams 'HEEEERO!!!' He wakes up an' pulls his 'chute, but it's way too late now, an' he takes it off. He's fallin' fast an' he just takes it off! I've gotta slow my fall 'cause I don't wanna go splat, an' he just hits the cliff an' rolls down it, so I go down after him, an' he hits the beach at the bottom of the cliff. So now I think, well that's it he's gotta be dead, but no, he just gets up an' tries t' walk off! Relena and the official, who happens to be Miss Sally Po, are still watchin' from the top as I land, an' run over to him. He's broken his leg, an' he's got some cuts an' bruises, but other than that he's fine!"
Duo shakes his head in disbelief that Heero somehow managed to survive. Quatre and Hilde both stare at him, unable to accept the fact that Heero is still alive today. Hilde is completely lost for words. Quatre had heard the rumors of this story, but never been told it firsthand - this was worse. They had been walking the whole time Duo had been talking, and they had reached the Pilot's Quarters. Maxwell stopped outside his door.
"Y' wanna come in?"
The other two nodded.
Trowa wasn't really bothered about his silent flight, he knew he wasn't exactly talkative at the best of times. He concentrated on getting their load back to base, and re-calibrating some of his system controls. He noticed a large dot on the radar, they were nearing home. ~ Home? How interesting to have one of those... ~ He shifted in his seat.
"03 to 01, How are we going to get this in?"
"...I'll take it down alone."
Trowa frowned, ~ He can be so...*sigh * Fine, if he wants to do it alone, I'll let him. ~
"Ok."
"Let go on my mark..."
They flew on towards the main hangar bay. He wondered if it would be easier to take it through the space-plane entrance. ~ He would have thought of that already. ~
The monotone signal came. "Ok."
The roof slipped from HeavyArms' hands, as he let it go. Wing Zero had let go too, and it began to float past him. Then he caught the weightless Gundanium, and held it straight ahead of him. Trowa watched on a viewer as he continued to the dock. 01 paused for a moment, then took the shipment over to the carrier docking bay. A faint smile passed across his face, as he entered the Gundam's hangar.
"Hi ya Charlie! Did ya miss me? C'm'ere darling, Aw, poor boy..." Duo had opened the door to his room, and Hilde had recovered from her stunning as soon as she had seen 'my baby kitty'. Quatre and Duo looked at each other. "Women" they tutted, and followed her in. Duo looked at his bed longingly, as it still hung above their heads. As he looked down, he noticed on the screens that there was only one space left in the Hangar.
"Trowa's back." He said.
Quatre looked up, turning his back on Charlie's rumbling.
"Where is he?"
Duo flicked through a screens on the original set of screens.
"Coming this way, actually."
Hilde stopped tickling the lion and stood up. Charlie frowned - well, sort of anyway.
"Trowa's coming?" She brushed herself down in a shower of tan colored hairs. Then she walked over to the couch and sat down. Charlie padded after her and rubbed his head on her jeans. She stroked him absently and he lay down on her feet. She reached down to pick off the new set off the newly laid fur, but gave up. She sat back and sighed contentedly. The action was echoed by Charlie, who then rolled over, away from her.
"Ok, entry on 3, 2, 1-"
He was interrupted by the door opening. Trowa walked in. Hilde was laying on the sofa with her eyes shut. Duo was playing with his cameras. Charlie was lying on the floor, breathing softly. Quatre was looking at him.
"Hi Trowa, did you find anything?"
"Yes. The Gundanium was still there."
"Was?"
"Yes, but we brought it back. Heero's bringing it in through the carrier bay."
"Oh. Was there anything else there?"
"No, nothing but us and the ruined base."
Duo had been tapping away on his camera's controls. He'd found what he was looking for. "Here's the dockin' bay, and-" he waited as the camera zoomed in. "Here's Heero."
He'd just got out of Wing Zero. He walked across the hall to the exit. Duo switched to another camera. They watched as he strode purposefully down the corridor, and out of sight. Duo hit another switch, and Heero came back into view, walking around the corner towards them this time. The camera swung around and followed him down the hall. His pace slackened to a casual stroll. Trowa was bored of spying on Heero, he'd been with him most of the morning, and didn't think it was the most interesting thing to do, so he walked over to the other stool opposite Hilde. She opened her eyes and sat up straight. Charlie was with Trowa now, so she was free to move. Wondering what Duo had found she went under the bed, and watched over his shoulder. Quatre wasn't really interested, but had nothing better to do, therefore continued to spy on Heero, who was oblivious to the fact that he was being watched, by his friends, but he did have the smallest feeling that he was under surveillance, and it wasn't the DCS.
Heero was walking up the musty corridor towards the main part of the base. The carrier dock wasn't often used, so they hardly ever came up here. There was a weird smell, just dusty and kind of old. ~ This must be part of the original structure. ~ He felt odd, as if he shouldn't be there. It was strange for him, he was used to being alone, and in places he wasn't supposed to be. But this was his home now, their home, personal and private property, for their own use. He quickened his pace again, but couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.
As it was switched to another camera, the view screen went fuzzy.
"Darn it! Man, I gotta get myself organized." Duo blinked as he realized what he'd said.
Hilde squeezed his shoulder. "I'll help..." She whispered.
"What's wrong?" Quatre asked.
Duo shrugged her hand away. "The camera isn't online yet, I didn't have time to calibrate them into the system."
"Them?"
"There's a couple- that aren't set up."
"Couple?" Quatre pushed.
"Yeah, a couple...of dozen." He smirked "Hey gimme a break will ya? Do you have any idea how long it takes to get these things set up?"
"As long as you spend doing 'nothing'." He answered.
"Smart ass." He played with a couple of dials and typed in some commands. ~ Darn it ~
Heero was now sure he was being followed, but by who or what he didn't even want to think about it. His hand slid down and stroked his pistol, remembering Quatre's words.
~ 'I just aimed at where the power source is on my Gundam.' ~
A fusion reactor located in the middle of their backs supplied all the Gundam's power. ~ Gundam. No problem. ~ Heero turned around to go back to Wing Zero. He'd take off from the carrier bay, and land back in the Gundam Hangar, so he wouldn't have to come and get it next time, and he could take it back now. ~ Simple. ~ He started walking back the way he'd come. He ignored his instincts they screamed attack.
"Ah, there it is. Hey, where is he?"
"Who?"
"Don't be stupid, Heero o' course, he should be here." Duo jabbed an accusatory finger at the screen. "Right here. But he's not. So where is he? Huh? Anyone got any ideas?"
Quatre was quiet. Hilde shook her head. Trowa seemed to ignore them all.
"So?"
"Could he have gone back?" the Arabian asked.
"Yeah, but why would he want to?"
"Maybe he forgot something?" Hilde suggested, playing with his hair.
'Hey babe, will you quit it? It's annoyin' me' She continued, oblivious to his plea.
He turned around to face the other screens, swinging his chair around and pulling his plait from her reach. Well almost, it had got longer recently, and she caught the end.
"Hey, Duo, did you cut it?"
"No." he said. ~ but someone else did ~ he continued silently. Fortunately the intruder had only just got the tie, and barely made any difference to it. He still got bad tempered just thinking about it though, so he buried himself in his work. Literally. Hilde had let go of his braid, so she wouldn't get dragged under the desk along with its owner.
"Uh, Duo, what are you up to?" she asked.
"Actually that should be down to." Trowa commented from across the room.
* Clump * "Ow" Duo complained as he hit his head on the base of the desk. "Quatre-"
He said, prompting his partner in crime to rationalize his actions.
"He's got to re-configure the primary circuits to allow access from the secondary input-"
"Ok, I don't need to know any more." She stopped him, before she was drowned in his techno babble. 'Nice one Cat.' Quatre looked at the floor, not in embarrassment, merely to see what Duo was actually doing. 'Pass them wires will ya? Thanks.'
Heero heard rushed footsteps behind him, and spun around - but no one was there.
He frowned. This wasn't good. He hastened his pace slightly, but not enough to seem worried, although he was. ~ If Duo is behind this...No hang on a bit, he's a player, but he wouldn't go this far, would he? No. He wouldn't. This was something completely different. But what? ~ He didn't know, and that's what bothered him most.
The footsteps came again, behind him. He waited till the last second, the span, arms outstretched to grab his stalker. His hands closed - on thin air.
~ If they're watching me now on the DCS, they're going to find this highly amusing. ~
He decided that the next time he would ignore it. ~ But what if next time isn't a fake? ~
* sigh * * sigh * ~ It echoed. It shouldn't echo. It never echoes, does it? ~ The footsteps came again. He spun around again. But this time there was someone there, someone he knew. "But, you're dead..." the perfect soldier wavered, his former master had returned.
Dodgy deep voiced bloke: On the next episode of DragonBall Z...
Stupid poncey happy voiced person: Hey, this is Goku, on the next exciting ep-
Duo: Hey, the other guy already said all that! It's our slot now!
Goku: Oh, sorry...
Duo: (big grin) You're watchin' Gundam Wing! Where we blow everythin' up, an' generally have a great time! Ha ha! See ya! (waves and walks off screen)