Dark Secrets

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Part VI

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Dorothy looked up as the door opened and watched Wind walk inside with a familiar ginger haired form held against his chest. She stood as he walked further into the room heading for the bed behind her. "You did it.." she began softly.

He laid Treize down on the bed and then turned to face her silently, before he left the room to walk into the bathroom. She heard the door opened again and Duo's voice then. "And this is our room.. I'll introduce you to Dorothy, and Wind if he's here yet. " She turned to see who he was speaking to and did a sudden double take as the second tall form walked into the room.

"How.. " she turned to look back at the bathroom door, it was still closed. Frowning faintly she turned to look at the two again. "Duo...who is your friend?"

Duo grinned suddenly and looking back at the tall blonde once before he answered her. "Miriald Peacecraft." He then gestured towards her while turning to face Miriald. "That is Dorothy.. she's ok.. she's the one who told us about Shady Meadows."

Miriald nodded silently and then turned to look at her while lifting his hands from his sides.

/Thank you for that./

For a moment stunned she was about to say something when she heard the bathroom door open. "Dorothy..." the sentence died as the two blondes saw each other. She turned stepping out from between them and glanced over at Wind. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak then closed it again walking slowly towards them and the twin.

Duo broke the silence. "This is Wind, also known as Milliardo Peacecraft." Both Peacecrafts turned their attention to the braided Preventer.

"Duo.. what do you know about this?" Wind asked, looking back over at Miriald.

Duo sighed and then looked from one then the other. "Well.. I thought the Doctor's little story was a load of bull.. but apparently he was telling the truth for once.. He said that there was another heir to the throne that one that no one knew about. Also he mentioned that twins were supposed to be bad news for a monarchy, so to fix that little problem, they kept the older of the two and sent the younger away right after he was born to be taken in by someone else that they trusted."

"I had.." Wind began softly and then shook his head slightly and looked back at Duo. "Did he say anything else?" He turned his attention back to his twin though without waiting for an answer. "What is your name?"

Miriald lifted his hands from his sides again to once more sign his name, before continuing to tell him that he had no voice. Wind narrowed his eyes slightly at this information.

"Why? What happened.. if I may ask?"

A different person answered his question though as another tall form walked into the room, glancing at both Peacecrafts as he came to stand a couple feet away from them. "His ability to speak was taken away by an arranged riding accident. I assume it was to keep him silent so that when they hid him like they did, that he couldn't ask for help or so that someone would not mistake him for the Older Peacecraft, namely you." Trowa glanced at everyone in the room before walking over towards the phone. "If you will excuse me I need to call Headquarters."

Wind finally pushed this mystery to the side for a moment. "Where is Heero?"

Trowa glanced up from the phone towards him. "He's taking care of the last of those people we were able to get out of that place. He should be here soon." he said before turning his attention back to the phone and dialing.

Dorothy sighed and then tapped Wind on the shoulder to get his attention. "What happened there.. obviously something big happened.. fill me as to what would you?"

He nodded silently and walked over towards the bed sitting down beside the sleeping Treize. "We went in and split up.. strangely, or perhaps not seeing as to what I know now, everyone one was giving me strange looks and acting as if they were afraid of me.. " he looked over at Miriald after he said that and gave him a considering look. " Mind telling me why they were afraid..? Did you do something while you were there?" he asked Miriald.

A small silent sigh escaped the younger Peacecraft and he nodded before signing. / I once broke one of the nurse's arms when they tried to drug me once.. and while I didn't mean too.. I also broke the Doctor's nose once.. he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I had swung back trying to get one of the nurses to leave me alone.. /

"I see.. that might be why the nurses and even the Doctor all paled at my appearance there."

Miriald nodded and signed again. /Plus the fact that I was supposed to be locked in my rooms.. and not outside where I might be seen./

"True.. anyway. After we waited for a while for the Doctor, we decided to go to him instead and after a bit of persuasion got him to tell Duo about the bands around the wrists and about Miriald it seems. While Duo was getting answers I had left to find out if Heero had found Treize. I found them on their way towards the Doctor's office I had just left. After that we found out how to turn the bands off and then we discovered that after turning all of them off we had set off a time bomb that was wired into the building. So we worked to get everyone we could out of the building. Minutes after we finished, the building exploded and killed anything that had been left behind. If the explosion didn't get them, the gas that the Doctor said was in the building to apparently kill..." he paused for a moment before continuing. "my.. brother.. would kill any survivors."

Dorothy sat down in a chair beside the bed and stared at him for a moment, her face pale. "Dear gods.. I had thought there was something wrong with that place but I never thought.." she trailed off glancing back at the younger blonde still standing beside Duo. She looked back at Wind, who had turned his attention to the person beside him running a hand silently through the long ginger hair, brushing it out of the scarred face.

"What now Mr. Milliardo? How do you think Miss Relena will take finding out she has another older brother? Also what is to become of him..?"

He looked up at her briefly, before looking back down at Treize. "I have the same answer to all three questions. *I don't know* I can only hope that Relena takes this well.. maybe he could work with me as a Preventer doing behind the scenes work.." he looked up, glancing over at Miriald. "Would you care for that?"

/Possibly.. / Miriald glanced down at Duo for a moment before asking the younger man. /Are you one of them.. one of these Preventers?/

Duo grinned and nodded. "Yes.. so is Trowa over there.. and Heero who should be here any time now. There are others too.. I'll introduce you once we go back there. I wouldn't mind working with you if you did decide to help.. "

Miriald nodded and then glanced up at Wind and seeing he still had his attention signed another question.

/Who is Relena? Another sibling?/

A dark look passed very briefly over Wind's face at the second mention of his sister and he sighed looking away again, back down at the face below him. 'I'll show her when I go back.. I'll be able to leave that god awful place and possibly live with Treize..' "Yes.. she's .. our.. sister."

Duo snickered softly. "She also has .. no offense.. but a reality problem you might say."

Wind sighed and then returned his attention to Treize as Miriald looked down at Duo in slight confusion.

/Reality.. problem? Do you mean she has a mental impairment?/

That got a laugh out of Duo and he had to calm himself down slightly before he could speak again. "Well.. I wouldn't put it exactly like that.. but you might be on to something.."

Dorothy rolled her eyes and sighed. "Duo..."

Duo snickered again and then held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright so she's not mentally impaired, but she acts like it at times it seems.. who else would scream at the top of their lungs for someone to come and *kill* them? Sheesh.." he grinned again and looked back up at Miriald who was staring at him in slight disbelief. "I know.. hard to believe huh.. I thought so too when I heard about it. Anyway.. she has the hots for Heero, but won't realize he's not interested in her that way. I'll just let you draw your own judgments when you do meet her.."

As he finished the door to the room opened again and Heero walked inside and glanced at everyone there before centering his attention on Miriald. " I assume your Subject Mir San, or Miriald." he said as he walked towards them.

Duo moved to stand on Miriald's other side placing himself between the Japanese pilot and the tall blonde. "Yea.. and he's Zechs's brother too.. " he said as he watched Heero stop in front of him.

"I like to speak to him Duo, not a go-between."

"Fine."

Dorothy watched the two pilots and glanced over at Wind and Trowa to see they were also watching the confrontation. Duo hadn't moved from his place between Miriald and Heero and didn't show any signs that he was going to.. ' What is going on here..? He's acting like a mother cat protecting kittens..'

Heero watched Duo silently for a couple minutes then moved to stand on Miriald's other side. Duo then moved to stand closer to Miriald almost switching sides again. Heero ignored him, turning his attention to the man in front of him now. "How long were you at that place?" he asked, his tone expressionless.

A small sigh escaped Miriald before he signed. /As I told .. Trowa.. ten years./

Heero glanced over at the auburn haired Preventer watching him from beside the phone. "You're the one who found him?" Trowa nodded silently. He turned his attention back towards Miriald to find that Duo had once again come between him and the other man. "Duo.. what is your problem? I'm not going to harm him.."

Duo just stood there with no real expression as he watched Heero. "You don't need to touch him to hurt him.. just back off until everything calms down.. then if he wants to talk about it, fine.. you guys can talk, Ok?"

Something in the Duo's speech made Dorothy glance up at Miriald and she saw the sudden brief flash of relief in his azure eyes. 'He didn't want to talk about that place.. of course I can't blame him. I don't even like to remember what little I saw of it.. I don't even want to think about having to stay there ten years..'

Heero gave Duo a silent glare before turning away from him to glance at her. "We're finished here.. I'm leaving now since we don't need four agents just to escort both of them to Headquarters." With a brief glance at both Trowa and Wind he turned and left the room.

Duo seemed to relax slightly when he left and smiled up at the tall blonde beside him. "A small bit of advice.. if you don't want to talk about something just tell them you're not going to talk about it. Most of the time they'll listen."

Miriald nodded and then sighed softly. Trowa then spoke up breaking the awkward silence that had fallen after Duo's statement. "I've explained the situation to Home. We have orders to return ASAP, bringing both of them with us in secret of course."

Wind looked over at Trowa. "If he wants to remain hidden from the world that's fine with me.. but I will tell Relena about him.. I will prove to her that I *was* right and leave that place." Dorothy sighed softly then stood up to ready her suitcase to leave. He didn't need to say what place he spoke of.. everyone here, with the exception of his newfound brother knew what Relena had done.

Duo nodded and then walked over and picked a small duffel bag up before returning to stand by Miriald again. Trowa said nothing as he walked away from the wall he had been leaning against and retrieved his own bag and Wind's as well, setting it down beside the bed for him.

Dorothy turned her attention back to them as she shut the suitcase and set it down on the ground. "Everyone ready?" she asked softly, glancing once at her cousin still sleeping on the bed. Wind nodded silently as he stood and picked Treize up again holding him silently as he bent slightly to pick the bag up as well. Treize sighed softly at this shifting and then went back to sleep resting his head against Wind's neck and shoulder.

Trowa and Duo left first with Miriald, Dorothy and Wind followed a couple minutes later with Treize silently and the two pairs left to travel to the Airport and back to Brussels.