Intruder - Part Twenty-two
Past secrets...
Quatre and Heero were on their way to the pilot's wing. Heero, now recovered from the shock, was walking on his own, without aid. His upper right arm was neatly wrapped in bandages, and no other injuries were visible. That was how he liked it. He pain in his side, from the kick he had received whilst lying on the floor was still throbbing strongly, as he hadn't told Quatre about it. He didn't want to be seen as either injured or weak. He limped slightly to ease the ache, but not enough to be noticed.
Apart from by his current partner. He'd noticed Heero was not walking properly, but didn't want to intervene, he was sure he could handle it by himself.
~ He would have said if about it if he didn't think he could. ~
They got to Heero's room and stopped.
"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked his friend, concerned and curious.
"It's nothing." He opened the door and stepped into his room.
"Positive?"
"I've had worse."
Quatre pulled a face, that statement didn't make him feel much better, considering some of his previous injuries, like when he'd broken his leg, or when he self detonated Wing...
Heero saw the unconvinced look on his friend's face. He didn't blame him.
"Here, look..." He pulled up the hem of his shirt, showing an angry looking bruise.
"Ow..."
"...Yeah...I'll see you later."
He nodded, and Heero disappeared behind his now closed door.
"Hey, Quatre!"
He turned around to find Hilde hanging out of the next door up.
"Wanna come in?"
"Actually I was going to-" he stopped as Trowa appeared next to her.
He jogged up the corridor, and looked into the room. Only Charlie was behind them.
"Where's Duo and Wufei? Are they alright?"
"Firstly, they're in the Carrier bay. Secondly, yes, they're fine."
"Oh..." he wondered why they were still there, but the tone of Trowa's voice implied that he didn't need to inquire further.
"Would either of you like a drink?" Hilde called, from across the room, the fridge open.
"Uh, yes please."
"No. I had one already."
Trowa ducked, as a can of coke came flying their way. Quatre caught it.
"Thanks."
'You think...' they smiled, and Hilde went back to the DCS.
"Hey Trowa, if they're fine, how come I can't get them on screen?"
"Because there isn't a camera where they are."
"Which is where, exactly?"
He walked over to the screens and pointed to the middle of it. The load of Gundanium.
"They're in there?!? How did they get in there?!?" Hilde wasn't happy.
Quatre wasn't ever so thrilled by the idea either. Trowa sighed, and explained.
"Duo and Wufei were standing here when the explosion went off-" he pointed to the top of the pile.
"Where did the explosion come from?" she asked.
"An Intruder self detonated. Here-" he tapped the screen just below where he did before.
Hilde's eyes widened, and she gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.
"But they're fine." Quatre reminded her.
"How?!? How did they survive that!?! They were right in the middle of it!?!"
"I was by the door. Wufei shoved himself and Duo downwards. They fell through a hole and were shielded from the explosion by the Gundanium."
"...Oh..." Hilde was very quiet for a while. "So how do you know they're ok?"
"I had a chat with them-" he stopped.
Hilde was smiling ~ Him chat? ~ Then realized he had stopped, and tried to hide it.
"They probably have a few minor cuts and bruises, but no serious damage was done."
The pair in question were still sitting in the docking bay, under several tons of Gundanium. Wufei thought that maybe he shouldn't have asked.
"Maxwell. It was his name. He probably saved my life. If he hadn't taken me in-" he stopped again. He couldn't believe he was actually telling someone his biggest secret. Only he knew it. He hadn't even told Hilde. The only other person who had a faint idea of his past was Professor G.
"-In off the streets." He looked up into Wufei's dark eyes. He saw surprise there, perhaps even faint pity - no. Not pity. Wufei pitied no one. But there was something there. Duo couldn't tell what. He waited for him to say something in response, to tease him, like all the other kids at school had. Him the orphan. The loner. It hadn't always been that way. He and some of his street kid pals had lived in an abandoned house together. They stole to survive, but survive they did. Until the Alliance came.
"The Alliance came when I was 7. They tore down our house. It wasn't ours really, but we all lived there. We survived there. It was our home. We had no where else to go. Then a man came. He said we could live at 'Maxwell Church'. I thought it was stupid, going to live in a church. But it wasn't so bad. They gave us food and new clothes.
They tried to cut my hair. Looking back now, I suppose she was right to have tried, but I wouldn't let her. Sister Helen. She was nice. Father Maxwell said I should be allowed to keep my hair how I liked it, long. So she washed it and plaited it for me. That was better than loose, I remember saying I liked it because ' it won't get in the way when I steal stuff.'. Father Maxwell told me I would never need to steal again while I was there."
He stopped again, visualizing their faces when he'd said that.
"I was sent away, with foster parents, but I always came back. To start with they didn't understand. I didn't want to go away. I wanted to stay with them."
Wufei was watching him intently, barely able to keep track of the storm of emotions hidden behind his familiar smile. He would never have guessed...
Heero was lying on his back, on his bed, with his eyes shut. He couldn't believe what he'd seen earlier. Odin Lowe, his original teacher, the last time he'd seen him seemed so long ago. The intruder managed to copy him, to look and sound like him. Well he thought so anyway, he could hardly remember what he'd really sounded like, but his appearance had shocked him. He hadn't known he was still capable of being surprised like that. Sitting there against the wall, on the cold hard tiles. He'd truly thought it could have been the end. He didn't think he would have minded, and at the time he'd wondered if the others would miss him. He felt stupid now. Of course they would. Their reactions had proved that.
The first one to arrive at his side, was Duo. The anger in him had been a fire, burning bright in his eyes. He'd been surprised by that too. The happy playful smile of always had been replaced by this burning rage. The way he'd come charging down that hall...
Heero felt like a child, experiencing these feelings for the first time.
And Wufei, the strong willed silent one had been just as irritated at the situation, but, of course, he had held it in. He was an expert at that, but even Wufei Chang, faced with the possibility of the death of one of his allies, one of their group of five, had felt the flames.
When Quatre and Trowa had come, he had joked with them to calm them.
A trick he had learned from Duo. Trowa had gone immediately to help the other two, but he'd just seen the last shreds of worry fading from his face.
And the way they had both come hammering down the corridor...
Quatre. Quatre was a law unto himself when it came to worrying about things. He would often mother them all, which was fine, but on occasion he'd worry too much. When he'd arrived he'd gone straight to Heero, and would have done regardless of what either he or Trowa had said. There had been no worry there. Concern, yes, and he'd dealt with the problem by making sure that the injured one was all right. In this instance, it had been him. It made no difference which one of them it was he was always ready and willing to help. After he'd made sure he was definitely ok, he'd wondered whether to help the others, or to take care of his adopted patient. Heero had given him an answer, and this time he had agreed, but if he had thought that the others did need his help more, fighting the enemy, you could be sure he would be as eager as ever to help them instead.
Heero smiled, ~ I must be lucky to have friends like these. Friends. ~
He fell asleep. It had been another long day.
Quatre sipped his coke as he watched Hilde pace the room, worse than Trowa sometimes did. She still wasn't convinced that the other two could be unharmed, being right in the center of the explosion, which had rocked the whole base to the foundations.
"Hilde?"
She stopped and looked up at him. She was anxious, but when her eyes met his she was calmed instantly, seeing the confidence in his expression.
"Come and sit down."
She was going to protest, but her legs were starting to ache from her constant stomping, and she didn't want to upset him either. She went over and fell into the armchair. It was her favorite seat to relax it, because they'd all done it so many times, the springs had perished, and she just sank into it. She sighed and closed her eyes. The resulting darkness was reassuring, sweeping her up and closing around her, like a blanket.
"So, when can they get out?" she queried casually, sinking deeper into the chair.
Trowa looked up from stroking Charlie. He checked her over. She had relaxed now.
"As soon as the metal has cooled for them to climb out."
"They'll probably just come out when they're bored." Quatre suggested, "I can't see a lump of hot metal keeping either of them at bay for longer than they're willing to be."
She smiled, envisioning Duo trying to climb a mountain of burning alloy. He bounced about nimbly, 'ouching' at every touch, or when he'd stayed still for too long.
'Hmm....' she said, as the image faded and she dozed off.
Duo looked at Wufei again; looking for the amusement, waiting for the torment he'd faced from all the people who'd seen him back then. No, that wasn't right. Not all the people. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen had been different. He recalled what she had said to him, after he'd come back home, from yet another fight. It had been started by them calling him names, and had ended with them in hospital. She had told him off to start with, for fighting again, but then asked him to tell her what had happened. He had explained, and she reassured him that they were lying. She hugged him.
'No matter what people say, you just ignore them.'
He remembered being confused and uncomfortable when she wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight, but when she let go, he wished she hadn't. That he could stay there, safe in her embrace, forever.
"After they understood that I wanted to stay, it was great. They were my foster parents now, and it felt so...true. I liked-no I loved it there. It was so peaceful, safe. It was home. But then the soldiers came. They stayed in the church, using it as their base. They were fighting the Alliance, and losing. They said that if they got just one mobile suit, they could win, and freedom would be theirs. Father Maxwell tried to stop them from fighting. They hit him. Sister Helen ran to protect him, and they hit her too. The soldiers said they might be Alliance spies. I thought they were going to shoot them, my new parents. I shouted at them. I said
'All you want's one mobile suit?! I'll go steal one for you! And in return, I want you guys to get out of here!'
They thought I was just a stupid kid.
'I may run and hide...but I don't tell lies like you guys.'
That got their attention. Sister Helen yelled at me, told me not to go. I had to.
'One mobile suit! Coming right up!'
Sister Helen shouted at me again to come back, but I had to go. I ran out as fast as I could, out of the doors and down the road to the Alliance base. The guards there tried to shoot me, but I carried on going. One of them tried to stop the others.
'He's only a kid!'
'Yeah, so what? ALL the colonists are our enemies!'
The reply came from his partner, who, like so many others, didn't care about women or children. I found a truck with a suit on the trailer. I jumped in and drove it real fast, back to the church. Back home. The guards were all shouting and shooting at the truck, but I kept going. I figured that I'd only survived on luck anyway, so I should do the dirty work."
He looked down, away from Wufei's face, and Chang saw a single drop of water land on his jeans.
~ Why am I hiding my tears? I am not ashamed. ~
Duo looked up at his friend. There was a line of moisture down, from his eye to his chin. Another tear appeared opposite.
His blue eyes were sparkling, as always, but from tears not borne of laughter.
"Maxwell...Duo, you don't have to-"
"I do. Someone needs to know. You all need to know. The intruder used people from my past to confuse me, and it worked."
"It confused me too."
"Yeah, I know. The guy who ran from Heero wasn't Zechs. I didn't recognize him, but Heero sure did. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. The Intruder will use this against us."
"Then we must all share our pasts." Wufei looked down. He was uncomfortable with this.
"...Yeah...Ok, on with mine then." Duo smiled, not very convincing, but it meant more than just 'happy'. It was a symbol of normality, before their lives had been turned upside down all over again. When Wufei looked up, the solemn expression had returned.
Past secrets...
Quatre and Heero were on their way to the pilot's wing. Heero, now recovered from the shock, was walking on his own, without aid. His upper right arm was neatly wrapped in bandages, and no other injuries were visible. That was how he liked it. He pain in his side, from the kick he had received whilst lying on the floor was still throbbing strongly, as he hadn't told Quatre about it. He didn't want to be seen as either injured or weak. He limped slightly to ease the ache, but not enough to be noticed.
Apart from by his current partner. He'd noticed Heero was not walking properly, but didn't want to intervene, he was sure he could handle it by himself.
~ He would have said if about it if he didn't think he could. ~
They got to Heero's room and stopped.
"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked his friend, concerned and curious.
"It's nothing." He opened the door and stepped into his room.
"Positive?"
"I've had worse."
Quatre pulled a face, that statement didn't make him feel much better, considering some of his previous injuries, like when he'd broken his leg, or when he self detonated Wing...
Heero saw the unconvinced look on his friend's face. He didn't blame him.
"Here, look..." He pulled up the hem of his shirt, showing an angry looking bruise.
"Ow..."
"...Yeah...I'll see you later."
He nodded, and Heero disappeared behind his now closed door.
"Hey, Quatre!"
He turned around to find Hilde hanging out of the next door up.
"Wanna come in?"
"Actually I was going to-" he stopped as Trowa appeared next to her.
He jogged up the corridor, and looked into the room. Only Charlie was behind them.
"Where's Duo and Wufei? Are they alright?"
"Firstly, they're in the Carrier bay. Secondly, yes, they're fine."
"Oh..." he wondered why they were still there, but the tone of Trowa's voice implied that he didn't need to inquire further.
"Would either of you like a drink?" Hilde called, from across the room, the fridge open.
"Uh, yes please."
"No. I had one already."
Trowa ducked, as a can of coke came flying their way. Quatre caught it.
"Thanks."
'You think...' they smiled, and Hilde went back to the DCS.
"Hey Trowa, if they're fine, how come I can't get them on screen?"
"Because there isn't a camera where they are."
"Which is where, exactly?"
He walked over to the screens and pointed to the middle of it. The load of Gundanium.
"They're in there?!? How did they get in there?!?" Hilde wasn't happy.
Quatre wasn't ever so thrilled by the idea either. Trowa sighed, and explained.
"Duo and Wufei were standing here when the explosion went off-" he pointed to the top of the pile.
"Where did the explosion come from?" she asked.
"An Intruder self detonated. Here-" he tapped the screen just below where he did before.
Hilde's eyes widened, and she gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.
"But they're fine." Quatre reminded her.
"How?!? How did they survive that!?! They were right in the middle of it!?!"
"I was by the door. Wufei shoved himself and Duo downwards. They fell through a hole and were shielded from the explosion by the Gundanium."
"...Oh..." Hilde was very quiet for a while. "So how do you know they're ok?"
"I had a chat with them-" he stopped.
Hilde was smiling ~ Him chat? ~ Then realized he had stopped, and tried to hide it.
"They probably have a few minor cuts and bruises, but no serious damage was done."
The pair in question were still sitting in the docking bay, under several tons of Gundanium. Wufei thought that maybe he shouldn't have asked.
"Maxwell. It was his name. He probably saved my life. If he hadn't taken me in-" he stopped again. He couldn't believe he was actually telling someone his biggest secret. Only he knew it. He hadn't even told Hilde. The only other person who had a faint idea of his past was Professor G.
"-In off the streets." He looked up into Wufei's dark eyes. He saw surprise there, perhaps even faint pity - no. Not pity. Wufei pitied no one. But there was something there. Duo couldn't tell what. He waited for him to say something in response, to tease him, like all the other kids at school had. Him the orphan. The loner. It hadn't always been that way. He and some of his street kid pals had lived in an abandoned house together. They stole to survive, but survive they did. Until the Alliance came.
"The Alliance came when I was 7. They tore down our house. It wasn't ours really, but we all lived there. We survived there. It was our home. We had no where else to go. Then a man came. He said we could live at 'Maxwell Church'. I thought it was stupid, going to live in a church. But it wasn't so bad. They gave us food and new clothes.
They tried to cut my hair. Looking back now, I suppose she was right to have tried, but I wouldn't let her. Sister Helen. She was nice. Father Maxwell said I should be allowed to keep my hair how I liked it, long. So she washed it and plaited it for me. That was better than loose, I remember saying I liked it because ' it won't get in the way when I steal stuff.'. Father Maxwell told me I would never need to steal again while I was there."
He stopped again, visualizing their faces when he'd said that.
"I was sent away, with foster parents, but I always came back. To start with they didn't understand. I didn't want to go away. I wanted to stay with them."
Wufei was watching him intently, barely able to keep track of the storm of emotions hidden behind his familiar smile. He would never have guessed...
Heero was lying on his back, on his bed, with his eyes shut. He couldn't believe what he'd seen earlier. Odin Lowe, his original teacher, the last time he'd seen him seemed so long ago. The intruder managed to copy him, to look and sound like him. Well he thought so anyway, he could hardly remember what he'd really sounded like, but his appearance had shocked him. He hadn't known he was still capable of being surprised like that. Sitting there against the wall, on the cold hard tiles. He'd truly thought it could have been the end. He didn't think he would have minded, and at the time he'd wondered if the others would miss him. He felt stupid now. Of course they would. Their reactions had proved that.
The first one to arrive at his side, was Duo. The anger in him had been a fire, burning bright in his eyes. He'd been surprised by that too. The happy playful smile of always had been replaced by this burning rage. The way he'd come charging down that hall...
Heero felt like a child, experiencing these feelings for the first time.
And Wufei, the strong willed silent one had been just as irritated at the situation, but, of course, he had held it in. He was an expert at that, but even Wufei Chang, faced with the possibility of the death of one of his allies, one of their group of five, had felt the flames.
When Quatre and Trowa had come, he had joked with them to calm them.
A trick he had learned from Duo. Trowa had gone immediately to help the other two, but he'd just seen the last shreds of worry fading from his face.
And the way they had both come hammering down the corridor...
Quatre. Quatre was a law unto himself when it came to worrying about things. He would often mother them all, which was fine, but on occasion he'd worry too much. When he'd arrived he'd gone straight to Heero, and would have done regardless of what either he or Trowa had said. There had been no worry there. Concern, yes, and he'd dealt with the problem by making sure that the injured one was all right. In this instance, it had been him. It made no difference which one of them it was he was always ready and willing to help. After he'd made sure he was definitely ok, he'd wondered whether to help the others, or to take care of his adopted patient. Heero had given him an answer, and this time he had agreed, but if he had thought that the others did need his help more, fighting the enemy, you could be sure he would be as eager as ever to help them instead.
Heero smiled, ~ I must be lucky to have friends like these. Friends. ~
He fell asleep. It had been another long day.
Quatre sipped his coke as he watched Hilde pace the room, worse than Trowa sometimes did. She still wasn't convinced that the other two could be unharmed, being right in the center of the explosion, which had rocked the whole base to the foundations.
"Hilde?"
She stopped and looked up at him. She was anxious, but when her eyes met his she was calmed instantly, seeing the confidence in his expression.
"Come and sit down."
She was going to protest, but her legs were starting to ache from her constant stomping, and she didn't want to upset him either. She went over and fell into the armchair. It was her favorite seat to relax it, because they'd all done it so many times, the springs had perished, and she just sank into it. She sighed and closed her eyes. The resulting darkness was reassuring, sweeping her up and closing around her, like a blanket.
"So, when can they get out?" she queried casually, sinking deeper into the chair.
Trowa looked up from stroking Charlie. He checked her over. She had relaxed now.
"As soon as the metal has cooled for them to climb out."
"They'll probably just come out when they're bored." Quatre suggested, "I can't see a lump of hot metal keeping either of them at bay for longer than they're willing to be."
She smiled, envisioning Duo trying to climb a mountain of burning alloy. He bounced about nimbly, 'ouching' at every touch, or when he'd stayed still for too long.
'Hmm....' she said, as the image faded and she dozed off.
Duo looked at Wufei again; looking for the amusement, waiting for the torment he'd faced from all the people who'd seen him back then. No, that wasn't right. Not all the people. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen had been different. He recalled what she had said to him, after he'd come back home, from yet another fight. It had been started by them calling him names, and had ended with them in hospital. She had told him off to start with, for fighting again, but then asked him to tell her what had happened. He had explained, and she reassured him that they were lying. She hugged him.
'No matter what people say, you just ignore them.'
He remembered being confused and uncomfortable when she wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight, but when she let go, he wished she hadn't. That he could stay there, safe in her embrace, forever.
"After they understood that I wanted to stay, it was great. They were my foster parents now, and it felt so...true. I liked-no I loved it there. It was so peaceful, safe. It was home. But then the soldiers came. They stayed in the church, using it as their base. They were fighting the Alliance, and losing. They said that if they got just one mobile suit, they could win, and freedom would be theirs. Father Maxwell tried to stop them from fighting. They hit him. Sister Helen ran to protect him, and they hit her too. The soldiers said they might be Alliance spies. I thought they were going to shoot them, my new parents. I shouted at them. I said
'All you want's one mobile suit?! I'll go steal one for you! And in return, I want you guys to get out of here!'
They thought I was just a stupid kid.
'I may run and hide...but I don't tell lies like you guys.'
That got their attention. Sister Helen yelled at me, told me not to go. I had to.
'One mobile suit! Coming right up!'
Sister Helen shouted at me again to come back, but I had to go. I ran out as fast as I could, out of the doors and down the road to the Alliance base. The guards there tried to shoot me, but I carried on going. One of them tried to stop the others.
'He's only a kid!'
'Yeah, so what? ALL the colonists are our enemies!'
The reply came from his partner, who, like so many others, didn't care about women or children. I found a truck with a suit on the trailer. I jumped in and drove it real fast, back to the church. Back home. The guards were all shouting and shooting at the truck, but I kept going. I figured that I'd only survived on luck anyway, so I should do the dirty work."
He looked down, away from Wufei's face, and Chang saw a single drop of water land on his jeans.
~ Why am I hiding my tears? I am not ashamed. ~
Duo looked up at his friend. There was a line of moisture down, from his eye to his chin. Another tear appeared opposite.
His blue eyes were sparkling, as always, but from tears not borne of laughter.
"Maxwell...Duo, you don't have to-"
"I do. Someone needs to know. You all need to know. The intruder used people from my past to confuse me, and it worked."
"It confused me too."
"Yeah, I know. The guy who ran from Heero wasn't Zechs. I didn't recognize him, but Heero sure did. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. The Intruder will use this against us."
"Then we must all share our pasts." Wufei looked down. He was uncomfortable with this.
"...Yeah...Ok, on with mine then." Duo smiled, not very convincing, but it meant more than just 'happy'. It was a symbol of normality, before their lives had been turned upside down all over again. When Wufei looked up, the solemn expression had returned.