Intruder - Part Twenty-six
Duo's Story...
Duo's Story.
(Again)
"Once upon a time, in AC 187, on Colony L2, there was a ruined house. In this ruined house lived a family of street kids, who were forced to steal to survive. They didn't have names, because street kids don't have names, except the oldest one, who had given himself the job of looking after the others. He was seven, and his name was Duo."
At this, he looked at Hilde sitting next to him. She was staring at him, wide-eyed.
"Now, street kids didn't need names, because everyone just called them, 'Hey, Brat' or something just as nice. But Duo had a name. He had a name, because he had named himself. A while before he lived in the ruined house, he'd shared a doorway with his best and only friend, Solo. But one day, Solo got sick with the virus that was sweeping the colony. The people wouldn't give him any medicine to make him better, so he was going to die. His little friend who shared his doorway didn't want him to die, so he told him to be careful, and he ran away to steal some medicine for him. He got some, and brought it back to Solo, but it was already too late. Solo was dying, and the medicine wouldn't work anymore. Solo died and left his friend all alone. The young boy made up a name for himself. He called himself 'Duo', because it meant two, and that way, he could never be alone. Anyway, the street kids in the ruined house were all orphans, and had no-one to look after them, which is why the stole food to survive."
He looked around again; his friends' faces were solemn and quiet.
"Aw, c'mon guys, ain't that bad is it?" He grinned, trying to lift the mood.
"Continue, Maxwell." Chang said, pointedly.
"Anyway, after a good haul one day, Duo planned to sneak into the military warehouse. The other kids thought it would be too dangerous, but he said that it was only luck that they had survived this long, so they might as well go all the way. That night they slipped into the Alliance's food store. They were seen, and shot at. Most of them escaped. The next morning, they got back to their ruined house, to find it was being pulled down. The workmen ignored the orphan's pleas to stop. A man told them that the Maxwell Church had offered to take them in."
He looked up again at this, and saw the look of recognition on the faces around him.
~ Maxwell Church, I knew I'd heard that name before. ~
The same thought was with Heero, Trowa and Quatre at the same moment.
"So I was taken in by the church, along with the other street kids from our house. It wasn't so bad, except she tried to cut my hair."
A smile crossed his face.
"She, Sister Helen, said it was unhygienic, and it should be cut. Thinking about it, she was probably right. But anyway, Father Maxwell said I could keep it long if that's how I wanted it. That's the first time I had it plaited. I thought it was great, now I was free to steal things without it getting in the way, before, it had always been down, we didn't know how to tie it up properly, and I always let the others have the ties. Then they sent me away, to a foster home, but I wanted to stay at the church, with Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. They didn't understand. It took at least five different sets of foster parents till they understood me, and what I wanted to do. I went to school, but always ended up in fights. They called me names, so I hit them. I told Sister Helen it was their fault, but she didn't understand how it was always them who came out worse off. You learn a lot in self-defense on the streets. That's when they truly decided to let me stay. I loved it there.
One day we had a conversation about God. I said that the only god was the God of Death. I hadn't seen any miracles, but living on the streets, I'd seen lots of dead people. They smiled, they thought I was funny. But then the people lost their smiles.
In AC 188, the Colony Rebels started a fight against the Alliance. Then no one smiled. The rebels made a base in the church, and decided that Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were Alliance spies. They were going to kill my new found foster parents, the only people who ever loved me. I couldn't let them, but I was only a kid, what could I do? I had heard the soldiers talking earlier, they'd said that if they could get just one mobile suit, they could win, and the fighting would stop. I told them I'd get them a suit, if they didn't kill Father and Sister. She tried to stop me, but I had to stop the fighting. I went back to the Alliance Base, and stole a truck, with a Mobile suit on the back. The guards shot at me, but they all missed. I did what they wanted. I got them a Mobile Suit. I drove the truck back to the church, but when I got there..."
Duo trailed off, and downed all of his soda in one go.
"When I got back to the church, all that was left was smoking ruins. I couldn't believe it. I jumped out of the truck, and stood in the smoldering archway of the main doors. The whole place was trashed. I heard a voice, calling me. It was Sister Helen. She was lying on the floor. She said she was glad I was safe, and that Father had been worried about me. He was already dead, probably buried under all the rubble. I said I'd get a doctor, but it was too late, just like Solo. I wasn't sad, I was angry, so angry. I yelled at her.
'Was it my fault? Because I stole the Mobile Suit from the Alliance?'
She didn't answer me, just kept telling me about Father. She choked, and reached up, to stroke my cheek with her hand. All she said was
'Duo, may you have God's blessing...'
Then her hand fell down, and she stopped breathing.
I screamed at the sky.
245 people died that day. They called it 'The Maxwell Church Tragedy'. As far as I know, I was the only survivor."
Duo got up and went to the fridge, to get another can.
"Anyone want another while I'm up?" Silence. "Guess I'll take that as a 'no' then, huh?"
He opened it with a whoosh, and it sprayed up. He dried it off, and returned to his seat.
"Oh yeah, hang on, I missed a bit, didn't I? The bit where I met the Prof.? Hmm, let's see.
In AC 192, I stowed away on a sweeper ship. I had been there for a while, and was getting hungry, so I went to raid the stores. Unfortunately, the guards caught me. Then this old guy shows up, and tells them to let me go. He wants to know how I got on board, as he designed the security system for it. I told him it was a secret, but it was tough. He liked my attitude, and suggested I stayed with him for a bit. An' I told you the rest."
He thought for a moment then continued
"The Intruder in the Docking bay today looked like Father Maxwell. Then he blew up, right in front of me. Do you think I enjoyed that?"
"Duo, that's awful." Quatre said.
"Oh, sorry." He poured his drink from the can into a glass on the table. "Better?"
"I didn't meant that."
"Well, what then?"
"The Alliance and, well, I never knew...I'd always heard of 'The Maxwell Church Tragedy, I remember it being on the news, but I never made the connection."
"Cool, huh?"
"Duo, you should stop playing it down." Heero said, seriously.
"I can't. I always have, and probably always will. That's what made me, me. I have had so many names, but they all amount to one being, and I'm standing here now.
They called me brat, or whatever they thought of at the time, but I never answered them.
I am Duo Maxwell, lone survivor of The Maxwell Church Tragedy.
I am the street kid, and the thief, who made a deal with Death.
I am the God of Death, The Great Destroyer, and The Shingami.
I am Pilot 02, of Gundam Deathscythe Hell, the deadliest 'angel' to fly the skies of the emptiness that is known as space. Not bad, huh?"
"Duo, be serious now." Heero sighed.
"Serious? Ok, I'll be serious. Here's serious. All right?
Inside of me there is this burning desire for revenge, against everyone and everything who ever hurt me, in one way or another. I have this hatred for the Alliance, for everything they were, and for OZ, who we also destroyed. And now we're being attacked by some unknown force, which could be anything, Because Oz was a splinter of the Alliance, and White Fang was a splinter of Oz, so whatever we're facing now, these intruders could have nothing or everything to do with any of these things. That's a serious business. Now I don't know about you, but I'm guessing, no I'm betting my life that somewhere, inside all of us here, is the same hatred, the same burning rage for these new enemies. And I'll be damned to Hell if I'm wrong, but I believe that I and none of us are any more willing to be destroyed by this than by those before it, if not less so!"
His voice had gotten louder towards the end, but still managed to keep his composure until he had quite finished. He sat back, relaxed, with his arms behind his head and, as a quiet afterthought he added, "Is that serious enough for you?"
Hilde looked across at him. It was true; he was all those people, all in one. He was a good person, of that she was sure. He had a kind soul, which perhaps she had seen more than most, but incredibly he still believed himself to be evil, because of all the things he had done. She needed something to change the subject.
"Ok, who wants pudding?" she asked cautiously, looking across at Quatre
He smiled appreciatively, ~ Good idea Hilde ~
He stood up, and went towards the counter.
"I'll go next." Heero said, "You don't have to do that now, unless you want to."
"It's alright, I'll just get it out, and then you can start."
Duo's Story...
Duo's Story.
(Again)
"Once upon a time, in AC 187, on Colony L2, there was a ruined house. In this ruined house lived a family of street kids, who were forced to steal to survive. They didn't have names, because street kids don't have names, except the oldest one, who had given himself the job of looking after the others. He was seven, and his name was Duo."
At this, he looked at Hilde sitting next to him. She was staring at him, wide-eyed.
"Now, street kids didn't need names, because everyone just called them, 'Hey, Brat' or something just as nice. But Duo had a name. He had a name, because he had named himself. A while before he lived in the ruined house, he'd shared a doorway with his best and only friend, Solo. But one day, Solo got sick with the virus that was sweeping the colony. The people wouldn't give him any medicine to make him better, so he was going to die. His little friend who shared his doorway didn't want him to die, so he told him to be careful, and he ran away to steal some medicine for him. He got some, and brought it back to Solo, but it was already too late. Solo was dying, and the medicine wouldn't work anymore. Solo died and left his friend all alone. The young boy made up a name for himself. He called himself 'Duo', because it meant two, and that way, he could never be alone. Anyway, the street kids in the ruined house were all orphans, and had no-one to look after them, which is why the stole food to survive."
He looked around again; his friends' faces were solemn and quiet.
"Aw, c'mon guys, ain't that bad is it?" He grinned, trying to lift the mood.
"Continue, Maxwell." Chang said, pointedly.
"Anyway, after a good haul one day, Duo planned to sneak into the military warehouse. The other kids thought it would be too dangerous, but he said that it was only luck that they had survived this long, so they might as well go all the way. That night they slipped into the Alliance's food store. They were seen, and shot at. Most of them escaped. The next morning, they got back to their ruined house, to find it was being pulled down. The workmen ignored the orphan's pleas to stop. A man told them that the Maxwell Church had offered to take them in."
He looked up again at this, and saw the look of recognition on the faces around him.
~ Maxwell Church, I knew I'd heard that name before. ~
The same thought was with Heero, Trowa and Quatre at the same moment.
"So I was taken in by the church, along with the other street kids from our house. It wasn't so bad, except she tried to cut my hair."
A smile crossed his face.
"She, Sister Helen, said it was unhygienic, and it should be cut. Thinking about it, she was probably right. But anyway, Father Maxwell said I could keep it long if that's how I wanted it. That's the first time I had it plaited. I thought it was great, now I was free to steal things without it getting in the way, before, it had always been down, we didn't know how to tie it up properly, and I always let the others have the ties. Then they sent me away, to a foster home, but I wanted to stay at the church, with Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. They didn't understand. It took at least five different sets of foster parents till they understood me, and what I wanted to do. I went to school, but always ended up in fights. They called me names, so I hit them. I told Sister Helen it was their fault, but she didn't understand how it was always them who came out worse off. You learn a lot in self-defense on the streets. That's when they truly decided to let me stay. I loved it there.
One day we had a conversation about God. I said that the only god was the God of Death. I hadn't seen any miracles, but living on the streets, I'd seen lots of dead people. They smiled, they thought I was funny. But then the people lost their smiles.
In AC 188, the Colony Rebels started a fight against the Alliance. Then no one smiled. The rebels made a base in the church, and decided that Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were Alliance spies. They were going to kill my new found foster parents, the only people who ever loved me. I couldn't let them, but I was only a kid, what could I do? I had heard the soldiers talking earlier, they'd said that if they could get just one mobile suit, they could win, and the fighting would stop. I told them I'd get them a suit, if they didn't kill Father and Sister. She tried to stop me, but I had to stop the fighting. I went back to the Alliance Base, and stole a truck, with a Mobile suit on the back. The guards shot at me, but they all missed. I did what they wanted. I got them a Mobile Suit. I drove the truck back to the church, but when I got there..."
Duo trailed off, and downed all of his soda in one go.
"When I got back to the church, all that was left was smoking ruins. I couldn't believe it. I jumped out of the truck, and stood in the smoldering archway of the main doors. The whole place was trashed. I heard a voice, calling me. It was Sister Helen. She was lying on the floor. She said she was glad I was safe, and that Father had been worried about me. He was already dead, probably buried under all the rubble. I said I'd get a doctor, but it was too late, just like Solo. I wasn't sad, I was angry, so angry. I yelled at her.
'Was it my fault? Because I stole the Mobile Suit from the Alliance?'
She didn't answer me, just kept telling me about Father. She choked, and reached up, to stroke my cheek with her hand. All she said was
'Duo, may you have God's blessing...'
Then her hand fell down, and she stopped breathing.
I screamed at the sky.
245 people died that day. They called it 'The Maxwell Church Tragedy'. As far as I know, I was the only survivor."
Duo got up and went to the fridge, to get another can.
"Anyone want another while I'm up?" Silence. "Guess I'll take that as a 'no' then, huh?"
He opened it with a whoosh, and it sprayed up. He dried it off, and returned to his seat.
"Oh yeah, hang on, I missed a bit, didn't I? The bit where I met the Prof.? Hmm, let's see.
In AC 192, I stowed away on a sweeper ship. I had been there for a while, and was getting hungry, so I went to raid the stores. Unfortunately, the guards caught me. Then this old guy shows up, and tells them to let me go. He wants to know how I got on board, as he designed the security system for it. I told him it was a secret, but it was tough. He liked my attitude, and suggested I stayed with him for a bit. An' I told you the rest."
He thought for a moment then continued
"The Intruder in the Docking bay today looked like Father Maxwell. Then he blew up, right in front of me. Do you think I enjoyed that?"
"Duo, that's awful." Quatre said.
"Oh, sorry." He poured his drink from the can into a glass on the table. "Better?"
"I didn't meant that."
"Well, what then?"
"The Alliance and, well, I never knew...I'd always heard of 'The Maxwell Church Tragedy, I remember it being on the news, but I never made the connection."
"Cool, huh?"
"Duo, you should stop playing it down." Heero said, seriously.
"I can't. I always have, and probably always will. That's what made me, me. I have had so many names, but they all amount to one being, and I'm standing here now.
They called me brat, or whatever they thought of at the time, but I never answered them.
I am Duo Maxwell, lone survivor of The Maxwell Church Tragedy.
I am the street kid, and the thief, who made a deal with Death.
I am the God of Death, The Great Destroyer, and The Shingami.
I am Pilot 02, of Gundam Deathscythe Hell, the deadliest 'angel' to fly the skies of the emptiness that is known as space. Not bad, huh?"
"Duo, be serious now." Heero sighed.
"Serious? Ok, I'll be serious. Here's serious. All right?
Inside of me there is this burning desire for revenge, against everyone and everything who ever hurt me, in one way or another. I have this hatred for the Alliance, for everything they were, and for OZ, who we also destroyed. And now we're being attacked by some unknown force, which could be anything, Because Oz was a splinter of the Alliance, and White Fang was a splinter of Oz, so whatever we're facing now, these intruders could have nothing or everything to do with any of these things. That's a serious business. Now I don't know about you, but I'm guessing, no I'm betting my life that somewhere, inside all of us here, is the same hatred, the same burning rage for these new enemies. And I'll be damned to Hell if I'm wrong, but I believe that I and none of us are any more willing to be destroyed by this than by those before it, if not less so!"
His voice had gotten louder towards the end, but still managed to keep his composure until he had quite finished. He sat back, relaxed, with his arms behind his head and, as a quiet afterthought he added, "Is that serious enough for you?"
Hilde looked across at him. It was true; he was all those people, all in one. He was a good person, of that she was sure. He had a kind soul, which perhaps she had seen more than most, but incredibly he still believed himself to be evil, because of all the things he had done. She needed something to change the subject.
"Ok, who wants pudding?" she asked cautiously, looking across at Quatre
He smiled appreciatively, ~ Good idea Hilde ~
He stood up, and went towards the counter.
"I'll go next." Heero said, "You don't have to do that now, unless you want to."
"It's alright, I'll just get it out, and then you can start."