Shattered Minds
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Chapter 2
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Duo sighed as he boarded the plane and sat down in his window seat. It had been two long days since he had escaped from Quatre's base. He had first gone to England, his closest safe base where he picked up his fake ids, passports, weapons, and extra clothes. After he had finished packing, he had gone to work on creating a separate identity for himself, which wasn't to hard. He even did some pictures on the computer where he would take some pictures of him dressed as a girl and some of him as a guy and scan them into the computer, where he put them together so he had a bunch of pictures of him and his 'sister'.
Now on the plane, he wondered what his life in America would be like. It wasn't as if he was on a mission and would be out of there within a week or two. No, he was going into hiding in a place he had never been to before, and he was a little scared. He didn't even have his Gundam because it had already been shipped to outer space by the time he had even gotten near the base. He had flown by just in time to see it launched.
Well, I guess that it's time for us to learn to get by on our own. We'll have to get a job and enroll at the nearest high school. It shouldn't be too hard. I mean, we already have a place to live and we hacked into that bank and shipped some money into an account for us. It's not like we're totally helpless like normal fifteen year olds. Bitter said quietly to Duo, who had been very silent for the past two days.
I know, but I still can't get over the fact that this is all happening because they thought that we were crazy. I mean, I trusted them and they turn around and stabbed me in the back. thought back just as quietly.
You can't really blame them, Duo. They haven't really be around to many people like us. Guardian said but Duo interrupted her before she could say anything else. Yes, I can blame them. Sure, they thought I was insane and I can understand that to a point, but they took away all I held dear and then tried to drug me. That I can't forgive.
Knowing that she wouldn't be able to change his mind right now, Guardian dropped the subject. As the jet took off, Duo silently contemplated the other pilots and their reactions to what Quatre and Trowa would tell them, unknowing that at Howard's repair ship, that those confrontations were happening at that precise moment.
"What?" Heero growled at the image on the vid phone in front of him. He had just arrived at the base a few minutes before and had been told immediately that he was to call Quatre at his desert base by Howard.
'You heard me, the doctors want us to find Duo as soon as possible. We won't be having that many missions until we find him. In fact, Dr. J said that this was your next mission. The rest of us will be taking over your other one's until he's found and sent to Professor G for treatment.' Quatre said from the other end of the line.
"I will have to confirm this with Dr. J." Heero said and saw Quatre nodded.
'Fine, but where are you going to start looking?'
"Japan. You go to outer space and look." Heero said and cut the connection before the blond could say anything else. He glared at the phone for a moment before he turned and stormed back to his Gundam where his laptop was plugged in. 'Duo insane? I guess, I can see that. He has always been slightly crazy but he got the job done. Now he was a liability to them and he needed at be under wraps as soon as possible.' He thought to himself as he sat down on the arm of the mobile suit and picked up his laptop. There was an email from Dr. J. waiting.
'Find Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe and send him to Professor G on colony L2. He is to be considered insane and dangerous. There will be no missions until this mission is completed.'
After reading it through and deleting it, he sent back a simple message of his own saying, 'Mission accepted.'
Shutting the laptop, he heard the whine of another mobile suit landing on the massive ship and hurried out to check and see who it was. Seeing the massive form of the Shenlong Gundam, he came out into the open and headed for Wufei as he shut down his Gundam and climbed down. Meeting him at the feet of the huge machine, Heero snapped, "Have you received your new orders?"
"No. What new orders?" Wufei demanded.
"Duo has gone insane and most of our missions will be stopped until we can find him and send him to Professor G on L2. Check your laptop." Heero said flatly and Wufei looked at him in shock.
"Maxwell, insane? Wasn't he always?"
"Apparently not."
"Hump, weakling." Without another word, the two separated, Wufei back into his Gundam to check his laptop and Heero to finish refueling his Gundam and to begin his search.
Duo landed at the airport in Rhode Island and took a taxi to West Warwick. The car stopped at 36 Epworth Ave. After he paid the cab, he looked up at the mother/daughter house and sighed. (For those of you who don't know what a mother/daughter house is, it's a two-floor house with two apartments in it, usually identical with doors for both in a stairway towards the back.) It was a light blue color and slightly run down. The whole town, in fact, was slightly run down. There were toys all over the front yard, which didn't have too much grass, and even more junk on the front porch. Following a sidewalk that went down the side of the house, he saw a set of three steps with an overhang leading to another door.
Going through the door, he saw two doors, one on each side. The one to the right led to the down stairs apartment and the one on the left lead to a rickety staircase that went to the basement. Deciding to explore the bottom half another time, he headed up the twisting stairs right in front of him and unlocked the door at the top of them. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into his new home.
The others had been silent for the entire trip from the airport, and now Bitter spoke up. Well, this is just wonderful. Couldn't you find a better place?
This was the only place in our price range and beside, who would think to look for me here? Duo asked as he looked around. The dirty white paint on the walls needed to be redone and the stove needed to be cleaned and the wall cabinets were sagging just a little bit. Walking into the room right in front of him at the other end of the kitchen, he found a small bedroom with a tiny closet with two windows. This would be perfect for a study. Bitter said grudgingly while Play, Flirt and Lyric protested loudly until Guardian told them all to be quiet. Addressing Duo, she said, Let's go look at the room next to this one, near the sink. You know, the one without a door?
Sure. Do said back to her and left the small room and went to the one next to it. They decided that it was a living room as it was the second biggest room in the house and had three windows. Across the kitchen from the living room was a tiny bathroom with a bedroom on the adjacent wall next to it. There was one more bedroom next to that one and Play immediately exclaimed, This is my room!
And how will you be living in it? Bitter asked acidly.
As Play started sniffling, Guardian said calmly, That was a great idea, Play. As Duo is supposed to be living here with his 'sister' she will need a bedroom, too. The one next to the bathroom will be Duo and the guys' room while this one will be Duet and us girls' room.
But how will you guys use it if we did turn it into a girl's room? Duo asked as he want back to his bag and dragged out his laptop.
You were planning on letting us out sometimes, right? Flirt asked coyly.
Um….I guess.
Well, where would we hang out and do things when we're home? Your room? No way! We want our own place. Flirt exclaimed happily and Duo remained silent for a moment.
Besides, what if you invite a new friend here after school or work? They would wonder where your sister slept. This will lend credence to our cover story. Guardian said and Duo reluctantly agreed.
"Well, this place needs some furniture and some other things. I guess it's time to go shopping." Duo said out loud as he opened his wallet and checked to see if there was money and his check card were there. The card and the account were in Duet's name, with his as a secondary name so it would take longer for the others to tack him with that.
Four hours later, Duo was back at his new house driving a black Dodge Pickup truck loaded with the pieces of two full sized beds, sheets, blankets, pillows, clothes for him and 'Duet', which Guardian and the other girls picked out, a stereo and a few CDs, and some groceries. The furniture store in Artic was supposed to bring the rest of the furniture in the morning.
"Well, lets get this stuff up stairs." Duo said out loud as he grabbed the grocery bags first and headed for the stairs. As soon as the food was put away in the fridge and the cabinets, he ran back down the spiral stairs. He was soon running back up the stairs with the bags of clothes and other things. A third trip was just for the pillows and CDs and another for the stereo system. On his fifth trip, he saw a tall man about 18 standing next to the truck.
"Hi, can I help you?" Duo asked as he approached slowly.
"Yeah, my name's Justin and I live next door." The guy said, pointing to the white two-story house behind him. On the porch was an older woman with dark brown hair, obviously his mother, and two girls, one about six with blond hair and an older one with golden brown hair, probably about sixteen. "Do, you need any help?" Justin asked, drawing Duo's attention back to him.
"Sure, my sister isn't here yet, so I have to bring the beds up the stairs. You're welcome to help if you want." Duo said smoothly and watched as Justin waved to his family and the others came over.
"I'm Elaine and these are my daughters Sashi and Shayla." They older woman introduced her and her daughters before they all started picking up various pieces of the beds. Sashy grabbed the nuts and bolts to put the beds together with while Shayla and Elaine each picked up a piece of the bed that connected the head and foot boards.
After the three females had carried their loads up stairs, Duo and Justin picked up on of the head boards and maneuvered I up the stairs with a bit of difficulty. The headboard was worth the effort to Guardian and the other girls though. It was for their room and it was a wood one that had roses carved on it and varnished a deep brown that shined. They had picked it out and Duo just couldn't refuse them.
"Wow, this thing is heavy." Justin said as he lowered his end to the floor in the girls' room.
"Yeah, but Duet loves things like this." Duo said as he mopped the sweat from his forehead.
"Duet? Who's that?" Sashy asked. She was leaning against the doorframe.
"My twin sister. She should be here tomorrow." Duo lied while internally wincing. He hated to lie. You're not lying, Duo. All of us girls are your 'sister' in a sense and we will be here tomorrow because we are going to take control and sign us up for school. Guardian said and the others agreed, making Duo feel a little less guiltily.
"Well, let's go get the next part." Justin said and led the way back down the stairs. Within and hour, they had both beds upstairs and put together in the right rooms. Duo's bed was a black lacquered one that meet the approval of the other guys while the girls' rose carved bed was perfect for them, and even Elaine and the others like it. After saying goodbye to his new friends, Duo went back out to a hardware story about ten miles away and bought paint and paint brushes and drop clothes and everything else he would need to paint the rooms the colors he wanted.
Working quickly, he painted his room black and the girls room a light purple with a darker purple trim. The living room was redone in white, along with the kitchen. The study was done in blue and it was almost midnight by the time he was done. Luckily he had grabbed the quick drying paint that dried within an hour, so he had enough time to do two coats by the time the delivery people were supposed to get there with the furniture.
"I'm so tired!" Duo exclaimed as he yawned. He had been painting since before two o'clock and now it was after twelve.
Well, let's just make at least one of the beds and go to sleep.Bitter said tiredly.
But I wanted to stay up! Play pouted, despite the fact that she sounded like she was going to pass out.
I don't care. I just want to sleep a little. The furniture is going to be here around eight and I want to be up and showered before then. Duo said before anyone else could protest.
In ten minutes, his bed was made with the black sheets and black comforter and he was dressed in gray boxer shorts and a black tank top and was already under the covers and asleep.
Duo woke up to a loud, buzzing noise going off right next to his ear. Grumbling, he slapped at the noise and hit the alarm clock right on the snooze button, silencing the thing, before he got up groggily.
Anyone else awake? he asked the others as he looked at the alarm clock and saw it was 6:00am.
No, and neither should you." Bitter snapped, then receded into a corner of Duo's brain where Duo couldn't find him. As no one else appeared to be awake, Duo just yawned and stumbled out of his room and into the bathroom. Half an hour later, he walked out in a huge burst of steam, drying his hair, dressed only in a pair of black boxer shorts
"That's much better!" he said happily as he entered his room and plopped down on the bed. Grabbing his brush, he gently started working the tangles out while humming happily to himself. Nothing could go wrong so early in a day, especially when Duo was in such a good mood.
Just as he finished brushing his hair, he heard a knock on the door. Frowning at his clock, which read quarter after seven, he hurried to the door and opened it. Outside, an older man was standing, looking like he was wishing he were anywhere but there. "Are you Duo Maxwell?" the man asked and Duo nodded slowly, unsure about who this man was and what he wanted.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"I have a rush delivery for you." the man said sourly as he handed Duo a clipboard. Duo signed his name, confused about what he had ordered besides the furniture. He was about to ask the man when another one came up the stairs carrying a huge box that had Samsung written across the side with a picture of a TV. Suddenly, everything clicked and he smiled while gesturing for the men to come in.
"You can just put it over there. How many more boxes are there?"
"About twenty, all as big as that box." The first man said, gesturing to the TV box.
"Let me finish getting dressed and I'll come down and help." Duo said and the guy nodded, his expression seeming to brighten just a bit as he realized that he wouldn't have to move as many boxes now.
In five minutes, he was dressed in baggy black jeans and a black t-shirt, and his hair was in a neat braid. He had decided that his priest outfit stood out too much, so he changed his wardrobe while he was in hiding. Every once in a while, he might wear it but for now, most of his clothes were going to be jeans and t-shirts.
Stamping his feet into boots and quickly lasing them up, he ran out the door and down the stairs where the deliver men were just putting the last of the boxes just out side of the door. "I'll take them from here, you've been a great help." Duo said as he tipped the men. Watching them leave, he wondered if they had a clue about what they had just brought him.
Chuckling, he turned around and started carting the heavy boxes up the stairs. Once they were in the house, he put them into the living room. "I can't believe that they're here."
What's here? Play asked as she woke up.
The stuff we shipped from our safe base. Duo said happily as there was another knock on the door. That must be the furniture, but they're a little early. Bitter said as Duo headed for the door. Sure enough, it was the movers. As he let them in, he had to move out of the way as the black couch was carried it, almost knocking him over. It took three hours to get everything set up, but when the movers left, Duo was in heaven.
His room now had a dresser and a full-length mirror, along with posters plastered all over the walls. On the dresser, was his stereo that had just arrived in one of the boxes. His window had heavy black curtains that could cut out every bit of light and the rest of his clothes were stored in his drawers.
The girl's room had a dresser that matched the motif on the bed with a huge mirror attached. The window had lacy curtains and the stereo that he had bought yesterday was sitting on a small table near the window.
The living room now had a black couch and love seat on two walls facing the entertainment center where there was a big TV, VCR, and DVD player. On the fourth wall were two bookshelves that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. One was crammed with various books and knickknacks that he had collected over the years. On the other was hundreds of DVDs and tapes, most of which where of animes. There was also a small glass topped coffee table.
The kitchen had throw rugs in a couple places and a sturdy wooden table with chairs for three people placed around it. The study had a small desk and a desktop computer so that he would have something more permanent than his laptop, which was giving him some trouble.
Finally, I have a place of my own where I can do what ever I want, when ever I want and not have to worry about saving the world all the time! Duo said privately to the others as he flopped down on the couch.
Did you hate fighting? Guardian asked quietly.
No, I loved being able to fight for what I believed in, for peace, but I was always alone. Duo said, his happy mood fading.
What about Howard? Bitter asked.
He was my friend, but he was always busy with repairs and I was always busy training or going on missions. Besides he was like 40 years older then me. How close could we possibly be? Duo protested as he grabbed the remote and started the DVD that he had put in the machine earlier. As the opening credits for the old serried Inu-Yasha started, Duo spoke up again.
For a while Quatre was my friend and when we had missions together, we would hand out. He was the only one with a personality. I mean, Heero was always so cold and mission obsessed, Trowa never even showed that, and Wufei was so obsessed with justice that I couldn't even go near his without him finding something wrong with me and start ranting. he said quietly as he watched Inu-Yasha as he was shot with the magic arrow from his beloved.
I think it's time we got out of here. Guardian said suddenly after a few minutes of silence.
What do you mean? Duo asked dully, still wrapped up in his depressing thoughts.
In answer, Guardian took control and turned off the TV. Standing she said, "It's time we register for school." She said out loud and headed for her room. In one of the boxes were costumes that Duo had used and one of them was for when he had to enroll in an all girls' school. Along with the school uniform were some skirts, dresses, and even a bra with blowup cups to make him look more feminine.
Drawing the shade down, she quickly striped and put on some panties and the bra, blowing it up until she was a size C. Over these she slipped on a red and black Chinese style silk dress that was sleeveless and went to just below the knees with two slits that went to mid thigh. On the inside of the collar, there was a voice synthesizer that made Duo's deeper voice into a lovely alto with a hint of huskiness. She added the red spiked heels that went with the outfit and studied herself in the mirror
Let me do the makeup! Flirt shouted and Guardian agreed. Slipping back, Flirt took over and grabbed the makeup from the box and put it on the dresser. Before starting on the makeup, however, she turned to the radio and put in a CD. Turning it to a song, she rushed back to the mirror just as the first strands of No Doubt's song 'Don't Speak' started playing.
With sure motions, Flirt applied a base, cover up, and blush before turning to her eyes. Outlining them in black eyeliner, she put just a touch of violet eye shadow to help bring out the color of her eyes and finished with adding mascara to her long lashes. Grabbing the brush, she took out the braid and brushed out all the kinks to her still slightly damp hair until it hung in a mahogany waterfall that fell to her knees.
It's going to get in our way. Guardian said and the other girls agreed, though the boys stayed silent.
How about if you use a headband? Play suggested, but Flirt vetoed that idea saying that it wouldn't look right.
Wait, I've got an idea… Flirt trailed off as she divided the hair in half and quickly it up in heart shaped odangos, like Chibi-Chibi from Sailor Moon Stars. Well? What do you think? she demanded of the others as she studied her reflection.
I love it! Play shouted happily.
Yes, I have to agree, it is good. Guardian agreed as she took control again. Studying her reflection on last time, she hit the power switch on the radio, grabbed the purse that went with the dress and put her ID and check card in it before leaving. You, know, we should get our ears pierced. All girls have it and so do a lot of the guys. Guardian said as she locked the door and headed down to the truck.
We also have to get a car suitable for a teenage girl. she said as she got in and slammed the door closed.
Ok, but we're going to have to hack the bank again then, as we're starting to get a little low on cash. Duo said, but Bitter interrupted.
Well, you have to get jobs for each side right? So why doesn't 'Duet' put all her money she makes off her job to get her car. That way we can blend in better. After all, people don't usually pay in full for a car. They make payments. he said and the others reluctantly agreed.
I guess. We need to find jobs fast. Guardian said quietly as she pulled out of the driveway and head for West Warwick Senior High School to register.
"Where is he?" Quatre asked softly as he stared out the window of the shuttle as it flew through space. It was a privet shuttle with almost no one on board beside himself. He was on his way to Colony L1, the first of the colonies that he was to check for the missing pilot.
An hour later, the shuttle landed on the colony and he disembarked with the few other passengers, heading directly to the branch of Winner Enterprises that was there. His official reason for being there was to check up on his family's holdings on all colonies. He spent the next week going to meetings and touring factories during the day and searching for Duo during the night.
It took him a week to figure out that Duo wasn't there and he left for the next colony, L2, Duo's home colony. On the way, he remembered what Duo had said to Trowa about his life growing up there.
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Flashback
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Duo looked at Trowa over his shoulder.
"Basically, I have your mercenaries to thank for ruining my life again, huh? I mean, it was bad enough when my parents where killed and I had to live on the streets. It was just as bad when most of the street gang, including Solo, were killed in the plague when there was medicine available, but they didn't want to waste it on street rats, but know I find out that father Maxwell and Sister Helen would be alive if your group had been on time?!" by the end, Duo was screaming and Trowa and Quatre were staring at him in shock.
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End Flashback
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'I think that I should try and find out more about his past.' Quatre thought as the shuttle headed towards the colony. It would be about an hour until they would land, so Quatre opened his laptop and started looking up information from L2's records.
Typing in Solo first, he got only a small newspaper clipping.
Street Gang Almost Wiped out by Plague
Earlier today, the remains of a small street
gang was found in one of the alleys in the rundown
section of the colony. The only child to be positively
identified was Solo, the leader or the gang.
The little boy with the long brown hair that
was believed to be second in command was no where
to be found, but the alliance continues to
hunt for this small boy to keep from spreading
the plague to others.
"That's…horrible." Quatre whispered to himself as he reread the article. He was positive that the brown haired boy it was talking about was none other than Duo. He contemplated the impact that would have on a young Duo for a moment before he looked up the next piece of information. This time, there was a short vid clip along with an article. 'I think I'll read the article first.' He thought as he brought it up on his screen.
Maxwell Massacre
Yesterday at noon, rebel soldiers took over the
Maxwell church and held Father Maxwell,
owner and reverend of the church captive along
with the Nun and the children who stayed there
at the orphanage. The Alliance sent troops to
capture the rebels, but unfortunately, everyone in the
church has died except one small boy. He is
currently being held in protective custody with
the Alliance military to determine his exact role
in this tragedy as he had no marks on him, but
was, none the less, at the scene as police and
medics arrived after the Alliance soldiers left.
There was also a stolen mobile suit at the church,
but there were no pilots around. This unexplained
event has caused all involved some concern.
Quatre shuddered and called up the vid clip as soon as he shut down the window with the article. He settled back as the clip started playing.
"I'm here on the scene of the Maxwell Massacre the day after this tragedy happened." A good looking woman said as she gestured around her at the remains of a church where many people were poking around the wreckage, which was liberally spotted with dried blood.
"This was once a church run by Father Maxwell, a catholic priest who also ran an orphanage for war orphans who were living on the street. He was a kind old man who everyone liked, but that didn't stop the rebels from taking him and everyone in the church as hostages while they made their demands of the Alliance Military." The woman continued as pictures flashed on the screen.
The first was a picture of a kind looking older man with gray hair wearing a black ministers outfit with the customary white tab on the front of his throat. After that picture disappeared, another showing father Maxwell and a Nun taking care of a bunch of children too it's place. The next was a scene as rebel soldier. Using Father Maxwell as a shield as he shouted orders to men in tanks and mobile suit who had surrounded the building.
Suddenly, the woman appeared on the screen again and continued talking. "At roughly 12:30 yesterday, the rebels opened fire on the soldiers, who returned fire. Within twenty minutes everyone in the church was dead. Just as the soldiers were leaving, though, a small boy ran up and threw himself at one of the victims, who had barely survived that long. The boy held the Nun, Sister Helen while she talked to him for a moment before she died. A citizen near by had his camcorder with him and he recorded what happened.
A Video clip started playing suddenly as the woman disappeared. Quatre was shocked as he watched a boy, no more than 10 or 11 run up out of no where and fall to his knees next to a nun whose habit was missing. He was dressed like Father Maxwell had been and it was obviously a young Duo. He cradled her head on his lap as she said something to him while he shook his head; tears falling freely down his face, which could barely be seen through a curtain of brown hair that had fallen out of a braid that trailed down to his waist. The woman was talking to softly for it to be picked up, but when she finally died, the boy's scream of 'No!' could be heard clearly.
He knelt there for a minute or so crying and saying no as he hugged the cooling body to his chest and rocked back and forth slightly before a man in an Alliance uniform came up and dragged him away from her. "Let me go!" the Duo screamed as he struggled against the man's grip on his arm. Suddenly he stooped and threw a handful of rocks at the startled man's face. As the man let him go, the he grabbed something out of his boot and slashed at the man with a small knife, screaming, "I'll get you for this you bastards! I will kill all of you for killing them!"
Another soldier rushed up and grabbed the boy from behind while the first grabbed the knife away from him and sent a powerful blow across the boy's face, knocking him out, yelling as he did, "You little demon!" As they boy slumped over, the two soldiers dragged him away and threw him into the back of a van and climbed in after him. The clip ended with the van driving away.
"We're not sure who this boy was but it is being speculated that he was a war orphan that was staying at the church and had been away at the time of the attack. He is currently being held in custody by the Alliance and is being called Maxwell's Demon. This is Dora Goody, coming at you from L2's lower south side. Now, back to you, Dave."
The clip cut off there, and Quatre looked at the blank screen for a moment in shock. He had heard of the Maxwell Massacre from Trowa and had seen the pain in Duo's eyes when he had talked about it, but the news clip hit him with the strength of a sledgehammer in the chest.
"Poor Duo.' he said quietly and he had to admire Duo for being so happy all the time, despite what had happened to him in the past. It also made him wish he hadn't been so hard on Duo when he was brought to the desert base and he had found out about the MPD.
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TBC