Creature of the Wood
Chapter 15
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"You realize this is insane."

"Maybe." Duo continued to check over the mental list of items he'd decided were worth bringing on his journey. He didn't look up at the blonde who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Duo, you can't be serious. You don't know where he's gone, you have no idea how to contact him, and space is absolutely HUGE. What are you going to do, get up there and start passing out 'Missing Person' flyers?" Quatre could hear his voice rising, and made a valiant attempt to control it, but he couldn't keep the stinging anger out of his words. "I thought you were smarter than that, I really did."

Duo spun around, violet eyes blazing as he stepped closer to Quatre. "I know enough to get a general idea of where he is. It's fucking dangerous, what they're doing, and I refuse to let the best thing that ever happened to me DIE without knowing just how much he means to me. Your sister is going up there, Quatre. You heard the call yourself, whether you want to believe that your family could be involved in this or not. Whatever the hell is going on, we're ALL caught up in it. I'd rather be useful than sitting down here on my tail while the people I care about are risking their lives."

The blonde Sidhe clenched one hand, half closing his eyes as Duo's words sunk in. He couldn't help but overhear the call that had come in for Selena the day before. She was leaving... she had no choice. Just when it seemed that things were settling down, everything had gone to hell. Quatre had never felt more helpless in his life. "So what are you going to do, Duo...", he whispered, his gaze dropping to the carpet beneath his feet. "We're children still. What can we do?" He felt hands on his shoulders and looked up into the somber gaze of his friend.

"What could Heero and Trowa do? Whatever it is, they were called, and there has to be some way to help them." Duo smiled softly, letting his grip tighten for a moment. "All I know is that when this is over... whatever it is... I want to be able to celebrate with all of you. I can't just sit here and hope everything turns out for the best." He wanted to say so much more, but found himself turning away to his packing once more. Relena had contacted him, and he knew about what had happened between her and Trieze. Whatever was happening, their freehold was fully backing it. Therefore, he'd have to find some other way to get out to space. He had a few ideas already, but wasn't certain exactly how well they'd work. He was scared to death, to be honest... but it as far as Duo was concerned, it was time for him to stop bemoaning his fate and take steps to change it.

"Duo?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see Quatre still in the doorway, but with a pensive expression he'd never seen on the outspoken Sidhe before. He started to take a step towards the blonde, but was stopped by a raised hand. "I know what you mean.... Just be careful up there, alright?" Duo smiled faintly, nodding in agreement before the other boy disappeared into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Quatre leaned against the door, looking up to the ceiling as he held back the tears that had threatened to spill. He couldn't let them see him cry... it was a weakness he'd hated himself for since childhood. Even when he'd been told that it was alright to cry if there was good cause, he couldn't bring himself to let the tears fall in front of anyone else.

Heero and Trowa were gone... Wufei was gone as well... now Duo was leaving. What was left? The flickering image of Cathy drifted through his mind, and he smiled softly, letting his eyes slip closed. She was his one last grasp on sanity in a world gone mad, and now he found himself frightened to death of losing her as well. With that thought in mind, he sprang from in front of Duo's door, pelting through the halls and up the stairs to the room he'd shared with her and Trowa. As he burst in the door, he saw her sit bolt upright on the bed, staring at him in fear.

"Quatre!! What is it, what's wro--" She didn't get any farthur before he'd crossed the space between them and pulled her into a fierce hug. He nestled his face against her hair, his body shaking as he felt her arms wrap around him in return. He wouldn't cry... couldn't cry... but everything was happening too quickly, and he was slowly losing what little control he had over himself.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that... cradling each other as they lay across the bed, unspoken fears being laid to rest within one another's arms. It felt good, being able to do this... knowing that there was at least one person who understood what he was going through. Everything was falling apart, their group of friends was scattered to the winds. And now it seemed that it would be rendered even farthur.

"You're going... aren't you?" It wasn't a question, and as Quatre looked up into Cathy's eyes, he realized that she knew exactly what he was planning. He brought up one hand, resting it against her cheek and tried to smile.

"I can't let my sister go up there, Cathy," he began, trying to find the words to make this better, even though nothing could. How could he explain why he felt the need to put himself in Selena's place?It had seemed so rational when he'd made the decision, and then he'd been faced with Duo doing something similar... and now he wasn't certain of anything. "Trowa's in danger... I don't know how I know that, but I can't shake the feeling that anyone involved is going to get hurt. I can't let that happen, if I have any way of stopping it."

Cathy didn't respond at first, she just brushed back the errant strands of gold that kept falling in front of his eyes. She knew that he was going, she just hadn't known when. Hell, if she had any indication that she'd be more help than hinderance, she'd be going right along with him. As it was, someone had to stay safe and be there for them when they returned. "I understand. Just promise me something." She waited until he looked up at her, those sea-ice eyes gazing at her in question. "Promise me you'll both come home."

Quatre nodded softly, smiling now that he knew she would be alright. He hated leaving so soon after Trowa had vanished, but it was something he felt he had to do. For now, however, he was content to just stay there with her for as long as he could... the time to leave would come soon enough.

* * *

Heero slid the helmet from his head, sighing in relief as the cool air hit his sweat-dampened face. Leaning back in the molded seat, he let his gaze flick up towards the girders above, wishing that for just a moment he could see the stars instead. Ever since his arrival, he'd not had a moment's rest, and he was beginning to wonder just what it was they were supposed to accomplish with little sleep and no contact with the outside world. The training was grueling, but he'd adapted easily enough. Even his trainer was amazed at the speed with which he'd picked up the basic concepts of piloting and the manipulation of the exoskeleton suits that were used on the asteroid refinery. He'd even adjusted to the weightlessness easily enough, which was usually the hardest obstacle to overcome. All in all, things were going even more smoothly than anyone had expected. All those at the small refinery-turned-training center were ecstatic, save for one.

Heero Yuy was furious, and with every passing day it was only growing worse. Dr. J, a cantankerous grump of a Nocker fae, was thrilled with how easy it was to prepare his pupil for the battles to come. However, he had made no secret of the fact that if Heero hadn't been awakened, he'd be useless to their cause except as perhaps cannon fodder. From what he'd been able to gather, Dr. J and his compatriots had heard of Duo and his exile... they'd also heard that the errant Sidhe had a knack for awakening even the most stubborn of Changelings to their Fae heritage. The fire at Montessori school was staged... the students moved according to the will of the men... and Heero paired up with Duo for the specific purpose of bringing his Fae seeming into consciousness.

They'd been used.

Now that Duo's usefulness was over, the men were perfectly content to let him go back to whatever punishment he'd been enduring. They had gotten their soldier, now it was time to take their toys and go home. Heero smirked faintly, the cerulean blue eyes narrowing. Those fools had no idea what they'd done. The Duo he knew wouldn't just lay down and accept fate, he'd fight it with every ounce of his being. It was during these musings that the 'good doctor' managed to come upon him, and simply cleared his throat to gain the boy's attention.

"You're ready for the final preparations, Heero." He turned then, walking away and obviously expecting his charge to follow him. Heero blinked in confusion for a moment, then extricated himself from the exoskeleton, being careful that bare skin never touched any of the steel supports. He'd found out the hard way that steel was derived from iron... and had a jagged scar across his left palm now to prove it. At first, they'd been afraid that the scarring would affect his ability to pilot, but he'd been able to avoid losing any mobility in that hand. As his feet hit the ground, he was already moving to follow the Doctor's motions. They wound their way through several of the corridors leading to the depths of the asteroid, eventually reaching areas that Heero was certain he'd never seen before. The hall ended at a large metal door that slid open with a high shriek as they approached.

Passing over the threshold, Heero felt his eyes widening at the sight before him. There were people milling about, testing equipment and preparing the hold's cargo for transport. The cargo was what had sent him into shock... for up against the far wall of the bay was the largest mobile suit he'd ever seen. It wasn't like the workers exoskeletons that he'd been training on... this was far more massive, and it didn't take a genius to see that the thing was armed to the proverbial teeth. Heero stepped closer, not even realizing that his jaw had remained open, his head tilting to gaze upward at the suit. Without realizing it, he laid one hand almost reverantly against the lower leg, and discovered that the metal didn't sear his skin as the steel had before.

"It's Gundanium, boy. You're looking at the first of five suits made with the specific intent of having a Fae as its pilot. Not a scrap of steel in the entire thing." The Doctor clasped his hands behind his back, moving around so that he was looking directly at Heero, who was still in awe. "Fae have better reaction times than humans, and some Fae can up the scale even more. You're one of those... you've repeatedly broken every expectation we had, even taking into account that you're Satyr. This..." he motioned up towards the suit, "This will be your weapon. From this moment on, your mission will be to train as often as possible with this suit and learn its limitations... and your own."

"You said that it was the first of five." Heero began, still gazing up as if memorizing every detail that presented itself. "Where are the other four?"

Dr. J smiled, nodding softly. He'd expected that those chosen to pilot were above average... he should have expected that Heero would pick up on that. "This is Unit 01, also known as Wing. The other four are with my fellow scientists, where they are being prepared for battle much as we are here. 02 has undergone a delay, as the pilot was killed during the original testing of its ECM devices. My comrade has been trying to find another suitable to take on the responsibility. 03 and 05 are well into their training, and 04 will be leaving earth shortly. Our hope is to have you all train together, if even for a short period of time, so that you can learn each other's strengths and weaknesses before you are forced to rely on each other in battle."

Heero lowered his gaze then, fixing it upon the elder Fae with a faint hint of confusion. "Why are we doing this... what happened that we need to take this extreme of an action?"

"That, my boy... I'll tell you in due time. For now, I need you to get as accustomed to this suit as you can, as quickly as you can. We don't have much time left."

* * *

TBC