Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from GW

Note: This was for a contest from Shades of Color. It didn't win and I wanted to post it somewhere.



word = Italics

// word \\ = thoughts

PART ONE

Chapter Three

"Shit! Trowa's gonna skin me alive!" Duo raced around the trees, looking for any sign of Quatre. Heero followed slowly, refusing to panic until they actually found the boy. He had been in bad shape; he couldn't have gone far.

Upon reaching the Gundams before Duo, Heero noticed that Sandrock's hatch was open, it hadn't been before. Looking behind his shoulder, he found Duo running through the trees calling out to a person that wasn't there. Rolling his eyes, Heero stepped over to Sandrock and proceeded to climb up to the open hatch.

Before going in a voice stopped him and he silently listened realizing it was Trowa's. "Where are Heero and Duo anyway?" The voice asked.

Quatre giggled. "I don't know why people think we're rabbits." Heero blushed at the idea. // He left to give us privacy. \\ He realized and nodded to himself. He tuned out the rest of the conversation as he waited for it to end. His eyes fell upon Duo who was out of earshot but in a clearing, looking behind every bush.

"Baka." He mumbled to himself as he leaned against Sandrock's hull, he would have never admitted to anyone that it was amusing to watch Duo run around like a chicken with its head cut off. It actually brought a smile to the face of the used-to-be perfect soldier. // No love, no life. What the hell was I thinking? \\ He sighed to himself as he watched his soul mate. // The mission, that's what I thought about. Mission this; mission that, it was always first. And now...I'd drop anything just to hear him laugh. \\ He leaned his head back against the cool Gundanium. // It was the mission that got two of us killed. \\

No noise came from inside the large machine and Heero realized that Quatre had cut his connection with the Heavyarms pilot. Slowly, Heero forced himself to his feet. His body was still shaking and he couldn't make it stop. // Gemini is finally taking effect. \\ He realized as he climbed into the cockpit.

He found Quatre curled up in the pilot's seat fast asleep. "I'd better get you back before Duo gives himself a hernia." He sighed as he picked up the pilot. "Geez, you used to weigh nothing." He groaned at the weight. // I'm getting weak, damn it. \\ He sighed and made his way out of the cockpit and down to the ground.

He was slightly surprised that Quatre hadn't woken up on the trek down but shrugged it off and started walking back to the safe house.

Duo spotted Heero walking and realized that he was carrying a body. "You found him!" He puffed as he caught up with him. "Where was he? Is he hurt? Heero, answer me!" Duo demanded.

Heero glared at him; "If you would shut up long enough for me to talk maybe I would answer you." He hissed then turned back to watch where he was walking. "He was in Sandrock, talking to Trowa. He woke up...and saw us and decided to give us some privacy."

"Oh." Duo nodded. "I'll hafta thank him for being considerate. What were he and Tro talkin' about?" He wondered, bending his arms and putting his hands behind his head.

"I didn't listen." Heero replied. "It was private." They reached the safe house. Just before entering the door Heero gasped as he lost his grip on Quatre's body. Duo reacted by catching the falling pilot.

He looked up at Heero. "What happened?" Duo asked, worried.

Heero rubbed his sore wrist. "I'm getting weak." He replied. "Quatre used to weigh nothing to me, but now I can hardly pick him up." He shook his head. "And it's not because he's gained weight."

"Gemini?" Duo whispered.

Heero sighed and nodded, "Hai."

Duo bit his lip then shifted Quatre. "Let's get him inside and then rest." He said, taking charge. Heero didn't disagree and went inside.

After lying Quatre down in his spot Duo went over to Heero who had sat down at the table and had started to type on his laptop again. "Hee-chan, you need to rest." He said, leaning over the computer.

"I know, and I will. I need to see where Trowa and Wufei are first." He was silent then and Duo watched a message appear on the screen, informing them that the two other pilots were on the way home. Duo smiled to himself as he saw a small message from Trowa, telling the Deathscythe pilot that if he let anything happen to Quatre that he'd meet up with Heavyarms' foot.

"We'll sleep with him between us." Heero said, closing the computer off. Duo sighed, but didn't argue as the two went over to the sleeping boy. Quatre moaned and his face was contorted in pain.

"He's having a nightmare." Duo knew the expressions and understood the pain. He had plenty of his own nightmares. Heero knew this as well and nodded in sympathy. Together the two pilots lay beside their friend and tried to fall asleep.

***

Trowa and Wufei entered the small dilapidated safe house after landing and hiding their Gundams. Once inside they spotted their three comrades sleeping. Duo and Heero were curled up together and Quatre was sleeping next to Duo.

Trowa frowned at how sick his lover looked and he sighed as he turned back to Wufei. "I'm going to start getting a meal ready. They're probably hungry and it doesn't look like they had any supplies." He explained as he set a bag down.

Wufei nodded. "Yeah, I guess we're lucky we picked up supplies on our way here." He said. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, looking at Trowa.

Trowa looked back at Heero and Duo, "Wake Duo. We're going to need firewood and he can gather it easily. Did you bring in the water?" Trowa asked looking over at the Shenlong pilot.

"No, I left it in Nataku. I'll wake Duo and we'll go."

Trowa nodded as Wufei shook Duo's shoulder.

"Five more minutes Hee-chan." He mumbled tiredly, then slowly his violet eyes began to open. "Wu? That you?" He blinked then grinned. "Hey Dude!" He sat up carefully and yawned. Then his eyes went wide. "Shit! Don't tell me we lost Quatre again!" He looked around.

"He's behind you Duo." Trowa's voice was calm but Duo realized there was an amused tone there. "And what do you mean lost him again?"

Duo grinned, "Ah, never mind Trowa, it's not important." He waved the other boy off as he looked at Quatre. // Little runt, you know that we don't have much time left.thank you for letting Heero and I spend it together. \\ He sighed and shook his head as he got up. As he did he accidentally woke Heero.

"What is it Duo?" Heero mumbled.

"Nothing koi, Trowa and Wufei have arrived, go back to sleep." Duo spoke gently.

"Trowa and Wufei are back? Where's Quatre?" Heero noticed the missing presence of their friend.

"He's right there." Duo said. Heero looked over at the blonde boy.

"Hn." He mumbled as he dragged himself over to the sleeping figure and wrapped his arm around him. Quatre huddled into Heero's warmth.

Duo grinned then turned back to Wufei. "What's up Wu-chan?" He asked.

"Trowa needs firewood and I have to get water from Nataku so that leaves you." Wufei explained.

"Mission accepted." Duo said, doing his best Heero impression.

Trowa rolled his eyes as the two left, then he gathered the things from the bag he had carried in with him. It didn't take long to get everything ready. They'd be able to have coffee and soup as soon as they had a fire. He waited silently, sitting beside Quatre, watching the boy sleep. Sighing as quietly as he could, he gently ran his fingers through Quatre's damp hair. Trowa could feel the extra heat from the little body against his hand. By the way the boy was breathing; Trowa debated whether or not he should strip Quatre of his damp clothes.

Heero stirred slightly then opened his eyes. He blinked, confused as he stared at Quatre's flushed face. His eyes moved up and he saw Trowa sitting beside the two quietly. "Sleep well?" Trowa asked in his usual calm tone. Heero yawned and nodded.

"Did Duo give you a report?" He asked as he sat up, carefully pulling away from Quatre. After losing the heat Quatre whimpered in protest.

"No." Trowa shook his head. "I didn't ask. We needed firewood." He shrugged as he gathered Quatre into his arms. Quatre adjusted to the new position by shifting so he could rest his head against Trowa's heart.

"Baka." Heero mumbled even though Duo wasn't there to hear.

Trowa smiled softly. "Don't worry. Quatre reported back to me. What about you? Has Gemini taken effect yet?" He asked, cradling the smaller boy.

"My muscles are weakening and I have a fever." Heero replied dryly. He hated to admit that any part of him was weak, at least it was Trowa. "Gemini works fast, but I have reason to believe that it will slow down eventually and stabilize."

"What reason would that be?" Trowa asked wondered.

"Quatre's fever has stabilized and I don't think it will get any worse, nor will it get any better. As it is his fever is up to 104 degrees and it hasn't fluctuated at all over the past..." He got up and went to his laptop. He had set up a clock that told him how long they had been infected. "For the past six hours. Gemini is supposed to make its victim suffer, but not to suffer so much that they will die so soon. Quatre's fever will cause him discomfort but it won't kill him. This virus is a predator and its on top of the food chain, but for it to survive on top it needs to feed off its host. To survive as long as possible it has to become stable before killing its host completely." He explained, hoping that his theory made sense to Trowa.

Trowa nodded as he looked down at Quatre. "So what we need to find is a stronger predator to make Gemini the prey." He said softly. "But Sally said that the only thing that even compares with Gemini is the AIDS virus and hell can freeze over before I allow you or Quatre to become infected." His voice got louder, surprising Heero and waking Quatre.

Quatre whimpered painfully as he looked up at the blurred figure above him. "Trowa?" He whispered almost too softly to hear.

Trowa looked at him as he gently caressed Quatre's flushed cheek. "I'm here little one." He spoke softly. A shy smile appeared on Quatre's lips as a trembling hand rose and gently rested on Trowa's cheek. The light fingertips moved slowly until a finger traced over Trowa's lips.

// He's almost completely blind. \\ Heero realized as he watched the two in silence.

Quatre's hand fell back gently and rested across his stomach. "Missed you..." He said sleepily as his eyes closed again. The blonde boy was fast asleep by the time Duo and Wufei came back and Trowa had stripped him down to a pair of black boxers after Quatre had mumbled about being too hot.

"About time." Heero muttered as he took the wood from Duo and piled it in an old crumbling fireplace. Duo handed Heero matches then went over to the other three. Wufei and Trowa were trying to get Quatre to drink water but Quatre kept spitting the water out, shaking his head.

Finally Duo sat down in front of the frustrated Heavyarms pilot. "Can I try?" Duo asked. Trowa looked at him for a few seconds, not quite ready to let Quatre go just yet, but finally figured he had nothing to lose. He handed Quatre over to Shinigami.

Duo smiled as Quatre's eyes opened. He could tell that the small Sandrock pilot wasn't aware of what was going on, he was probably delirious from fever. "Hey Q. You feeling sick buddy?" He asked, gently rocking Quatre a bit. The boy nodded slightly. "Do you want to feel better?" He nodded again. "I have something that will make you feel better, will you take it for me?" Duo's voice had changed, as if he were talking to an uncertain child.

Slowly Quatre nodded again. Wufei handed Duo the water bottle and Duo put it to Quatre's lips, tipping it so he could drink. When he had had enough his tongue pushed the bottle away. Duo wiped the water from around Quatre's mouth. After a few minutes he spoke again. "Feel better?" He asked.

Quatre nodded again then yawned. "Are Trowa and Wufei here yet?" He wondered.

Duo smiled as he helped the now coherent Quatre to sit up. "Yep, they're right here. You go sit with Trowa while Wu-man and I take the food to Heero." Duo helped Quatre over to Trowa, who held him protectively.

"Has Heero had any water?" Wufei asked as he and Duo grabbed the coffee and soup. The Chinese boy knew that Heero was strong, but even then, the virus had to be affecting him by now. It had almost been forty-eight hours since the two boys had been infected.

"Not to my recollection." Duo sighed, but Wufei noticed that he had the water bottle in his hand as they went over to the Wing pilot. "Hey Hee- chan, here's the food. You look like you could use a drink." He said and handed Heero the water bottle.

"I was hoping for alcohol." Heero muttered as he gulped half of the bottle.

Duo laughed, "I'll remember that." He grinned then motioned to the food. "Do you want help?" He asked.

Heero shrugged, "All we have to do is heat it up. It won't take long to do that." He replied as he placed the food and coffee near the fire. With that done Heero sat down beside the fireplace and leaned his back against the wall.

Wufei took his leave quietly as Duo sat beside his lover, knowing that Duo could take care of him. Wufei stood at the window, staring at the fleeting light as the sun slowly disappeared behind one of the mountains surrounding the safe house and their Gundams. He felt betrayed. Treize had used him to get to the other pilots and because he had been weak enough to fall into the trap, two of his closet friends were going to parish.

"Pitying yourself doesn't get you anywhere you know." Wufei turned at the voice. He looked over at the pair sitting by Heero's laptop. He looked at Quatre, who had spoken the words.

Wufei sighed as he looked back out at the window. "I suppose you are right." He nodded.

"Hey. I just had a thought." Duo got everyone's attention as he and Heero joined the other three.

"Oh great." Heero sighed, "Here it comes." He teased as Duo shot him a nasty look.

"What is Oz going to do when Heero and Quatre are.gone?" Duo wondered, "I mean they think that the three of us will stop fighting. We won't but with just the three of us we don't stand a chance." He flopped down.

"Maxwell is right. But that doesn't mean we give up." Wufei sat beside Trowa. "We didn't know about each other when we first began to fight and we still fought against Oz."

Everyone silently agreed. Quatre looked at the blurry image of Wufei. "What will you do Wufei?" He asked softly. "Will you go back to Treize?"

"Never." Wufei growled at the thought of seeing that bastard again. He would kill the man who caused this injustice. The Chinese boy looked at Quatre; "He is my enemy."

"I thought he was before." Duo mumbled but was silenced when Heero elbowed him hard in the ribs.

Wufei smirked. "I was foolish to believe that the enemy was honourable and I understand that I was weak for better judgement. From now on Treize is my enemy and he will meet his demise by my hand." He voiced, clenching his hands into fists, as if emphasizing the point.

No one doubted him and the rest of the wait was in silence. Finally, Heero got up and grabbed the canisters sitting by the fire. Coffee was poured and the food was shared.

"I'm not hungry." Quatre yawned. "Can I have the water bottle please?"

Duo looked at Trowa then handed Quatre one of the water bottles. Quietly he picked up Heero's laptop and opened a file he had created. Heero read it quietly from over Duo's shoulder.

Subject: Heero Yuy - 01

Time of Infection: 14:02 A/T 0502 AC195

Status.

Symptom: Muscles growing weak

Time Occurred: 12:00 A/T 0503

Symptom: Slight Fever 102 D.

Time Occurred: 19:34 A/T 0503

Subject: Quatre Rabarba Winner - 04

Time of Infection: 14:013 A/T 0502 AC195

Status.

Symptom: Fever unknown temperature

Time Occurred: 18:07 A/T 0502

Symptom: Blurring of vision, probable lose of sight

Time Occurred: 20:27 A/T 0503

Symptom: Lose of appetite.

Time Occurred: 1:04 A/T 0504

Heero watched Duo add the third symptom to Quatre's record. "Two questions." He spoke. "One, what is A/T? Two, how do you know that Quatre just isn't hungry? This might not have anything to do with Gemini." Everyone looked at the Deathscythe pilot, wondering the same thing.

Duo grinned as he closed the computer. "Guess it's a good thing I'm so well in tuned with food, ne? One, A/T stands for American Time, I've been using my watch and it was set to an American Time Zone 'cause we were in America when we got captured. Two, Hee-chan, we were captured almost forty- eight hours ago and have had nothing to eat. Maybe Wu and Trowa but you, me and Quatre were stuck here with no supplies. You're hungry, I'm starving, why wouldn't Quatre be hungry?" Duo asked.

Everyone was silent then Heero sighed, "Point taken." He nodded.

"You should try to eat something anyway little one." Trowa spoke in that calm voice. Quatre looked up at him, blinking several times before smiling softly, and with Trowa's help he was able to sit up. Duo handed Quatre a bowl of soup.

Heero cleared his throat. "I may have a plan to defeat Oz." He explained, "If we can defeat Oz before the two of us.expire, then our deaths will not be so pointless. If we can get Treize to surrender then the war will be over."

"And how do we make Treize surrender?" Duo asked.

Heero looked at him calmly, then took a breath. "We infect him our own virus."



To be continued.

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