Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Don't sue
------------------------------------------------------
"I can't believe you guys ripped my shirt off! And then _you_ go and knock me into the water. What the _hell_ did you do that for Wu? Q was gonna get shishka-bobbed and neither you _nor_ Heero were gonna do anythin'! You just stood there like....like..." Duo was in good form, despite nearly overheating earlier and getting nearly drowned by the boy of his dreams. He'd been ranting for over five minutes, ever since Heero had disappeared into the trailer.
"It is better to lose one pilot than to lose two. Quatre got himself into the situation, he could get himself _out_ of it." Wufei crossed his arms and looked down at Duo in a way that set his teeth on edge.
**Ohh I _swear_, If I didn't like the guy so much I'd deck 'im.**"Whatever Wu. Look, I'm hot, I'm wet, and I look like somethin' the cat dragged in. I'm gonna go and change".Turning on his heel, he stalked to the trailer and entered, completely missing the way Wufei followed him with his eyes.
Entering the trailer, Duo found Heero, Trowa, and Quatre in deep discussion. All three froze and stared at him, making him feel like a specimen on a petri dish. "Eh heh. Hey guys! How's it goin'?"
Quatre blushed and looked entirely too innocent. "Oh, uhh...nothing!
Just....umm..discussing our next move against OZ". He shot a look to both Heero and Trowa that screamed 'Help! I'm drowning over here. Do
_something_!'
Duo held back a snicker. **I'll bet. What _are_ you up to now? Then again there's probably a big possibility that I _don't_ want to know!**. "Right, I'm gonna go an' change, then I'll join you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Duo was brushing out his hair when Heero reached the sleeping compartment. His mission, get Duo into something other than his usual clothing _and_ set him up with Wufei. The first part would be easy, he had a large number of tank-tops the boy could wear, and if push came to shove Wufei probably had something he could lend Duo until Quatre could take him shopping.
The second part would take a little more work. **Ninmu Ryoukai**. With a smirk Heero entered the compartment and headed for his bag.
Duo noticed him almost immediately. "Finished _planning_ already Yui?"
He didn't miss the slight emphasis on the word 'planning'. For a brief
second Heero froze. **Could he suspect something? K'so, he's never been
_that_ observant before!** "Hn." He reached into his bag and started digging through for a spare tank-top.
"Ah, the Universal Grunt language lives!" (1) Duo grinned at him and kept brushing his hair.
Finding a spare tank-top Heero pulled it out and threw it at Duo, managing to hit him in the head with it. He suppressed a grin as the boy jumped and turned to him with wide, questioning eyes. **As Duo would say, Ten Points!....hn, he's rubbing off on me**
"Wha?" Duo picked up the top and looked at it like it was some sort of
alien.
"You wear too much black."
"And you want me to wear _this_?!"
He didn't answer. Instead he scanned the room for Duo's bag. Finding it, he reached over and started rummaging through for a pair of _non-black_ pants.
"YUI! What the _hell_ are you doing? That's _my_ bag!"
Heero ignored him and kept rummaging, throwing items out on the bed when he found them. **Clothes, all black. He has to have _something_ non-black in here. Gun, spare ammo, Manga.....a dog-eared copy of 'Lord of the Rings'?! I didn't think he read anything other than manga!** He looked up into the face of a _very_ pissed off Shinigami.
"I'll ask you _again_ Yui. Just what're doin' goin' through _my_ bag? Do you have _no_ sense of _privacy_?" Duo was raising his voice with each word.
"You wear too much black. You'll overheat in this climate. You almost _did_ overheat" He pointed out as he went back to rummaging only to have the bag ripped out of his hands. He looked up and glared at Duo.
The boy opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Quatre, Trowa and Wufei getting stuck in the doorway, all three tried to get in the room at the same time. Finally Quatre squeezed through past a mildly embarrassed looking Wufei. "Duo, are you all right? We heard yelling!". Quatre looked between the two and the contents on the bed and raised and eyebrow.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Quatre had been highly embarrassed when Duo had walked in as he, Trowa, and Heero had been planning 'Operation: Get-together'. **Talk about being caught with my proverbial pants down! and those two didn't even help.**
"Penny for your thoughts little one?" Trowa wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer where they were sitting in the small recreational area on the trailer.
It was large as far as trailers went, just over a metre or two longer than an old bananna-bus, and a little wider. It was broken up into two sections. The front end was dedicated to work, with computers and other such things situated in there. The back end was the living area, with a small kitchenette, dining room, and rec-room at the very back. A sleeping compartment was situated between the computer work room and the dining room. It contained five beds - two bunk beds and one single. As of yet none of them had claimed a bed, but Heero had suggested placing Wufei and Duo together.
That _had_ been a surprise when Heero had offered to help. "I'm thinking about nothing really..."
For the second time that day they were interrupted during discussion, this time by Wufei. **At least _this_ time we weren't discussing him and Duo!**
"Barton, Winner." He nodded to both of them on his way to the small fridge in the corner.
**No time like the present to get this moving** Quatre gave a small smile. "So Wufei, what _do_ you think of Duo?"
"I beg your pardon?" Wufei turned around holding a bottle of water in his hand.
"Duo, long haired fellow pilot...You've only been eyeing him off for the past month or so. What do you think of him?" Quatre got up and moved over to Wufei. Placing his hands on his shoulder, he gently maneuvered the chinese boy into the seat between him and Trowa. **This way he can't make a fast escape if he doesn't like the question**
"Winner....." His voice squeaked slightly. "Barton, control your lover!"
"Sorry Wufei, you're going to have to answer this." He sounded amused. To the untrained eye Trowa would have looked calm, but Quatre could see the amusement in his one visible eye.
"He is a good pilot. I believe that we sell him short sometimes though...He.." Wufei was squirming slightly.
Quatre rolled his eyes. "Escaping the question won't help you, though I
suppose I should have worded that better. How do you _feel_ about Duo?"
Wufei opened his mouth to say something but Quatre continued. "I know what you told Trowa," **Well, sort of** Wufei blushed. "but I want to hear it out of your mouth. Don't _make_ me _look_ at you Chang."
"He'll do it too. Trust me, you _don't_ want to be on the receiving end of this!"
**Why Trowa, I do believe you're enjoying this.**
Wufei's face was developing quite a decent blush.
"Do you have _no_ concept of the word _privacy_?" Duo's voice reached them where they were sitting at the rec-room table. He sounded _mad_, as in I-am-Shinigami-and-you-have-seriously-pissed-me-off-prepare-to-have-a-scythe-shoved-up-where-the-sun-don't-shine. It was the kind of tone Duo usually reserved for when he was in Deathscythe.
The three boys looked at each other, checked who was missing, and took off for the sleeping compartment to prevent possible bloodshed, tripping over each other in their hurry.
The sight that greeted them was one of total chaos. Heero was standing near a bunk with nearly the entire contents of a bag on the bed. Duo was holding said bag and doing his best impersonation of Heero's 'Omae o korosu' glare.
"Duo, are you all right? We heard yelling!" He took in the mess on the bed and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess....spring cleaning?" (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh _very_ funny Quatre, ha ha. Yui decided that I wear too much black, so he beans me with one of his tank-tops an' then starts pullin' stuff outta my bag _without_ my permission!".
Wufei saw red. **How _dare_ he go through _my_ Duo's bag!** "Yui, explain yourself _now_". If the other pilots had not been there he would have called Yui out for that. Nobody touched his Duo's things without asking. Of course, he realized a couple of moments later, Duo wasn't his and that was half the problem.
Heero didn't look in the least bit apologetic, actually he looked a little smug. "He wears too much black for this climate. I was searching for a pair of jeans or long pants that could be worn with the tank-top".
"Hey, I _have_ a pair of jeans!"
"They're black baka"
"Oh"
**I don't want Duo wearing _any_ of Yui's clothes** Jealousy was rearing it's ugly head again in Wufei. "He can borrow some of my clothes. Everybody _out_" When Duo made to move out of the room Wufei caught him by the wrist and pulled him back again. "Duo stay".
Watching everybody leave Wufei caught the wink Quatre threw at him. **Damn meddling blonde. Just _what_ is he up to?**
"Look, um...Wu.."
"Wu_fei_, Maxwell, Wufei" He blinked **The boy's got me trained**
"Whatever, look you don't have to lend me stuff. I do have my own clothes." Duo was fidgeting, looking everywhere but at Wufei.
He arched an eyebrow. "And how much of that _isn't_ something black or dark coloured?" He already knew the answer.
"Eh heh....none of it." Before Wufei could say anything else he continued. "Yeah, yeah, I _know_. Duo no baka an' all that crap, but it's all I've got. Clothing isn't exactly the highest thing on my priority list."
Wufei reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know. Let's see what I have that you can wear."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When the other three pilots left the compartment they didn't go very far. Quatre was pressed up against the closed door trying to hear what was said and Heero was hovering just behind.
**It can be a little frightening how determined those two can be when they put their minds to something. _Especially_ when they team up like they have now. Heero seems to see this as some sort of side mission. I almost feel sorry for Wufei and Duo** Thought Trowa as he watched his blonde lover and the Wing Zero pilot.
"Oh my, I was right Trowa. Duo is going for a nice long shopping trip once this mission is over". The blonde called quietly back to him, determined look in his eyes.
**Correction, I _do_ feel sorry for Wufei and Duo, especially Duo**
"Heero, you listen. I'm having trouble hearing them, they've moved away from the door." Quatre relinquished his place at the door to Heero, but he didn't move very far away.
Trowa had to fight back the laughter that was threatening to bubble over. Those two made one of the funniest pictures he had ever seen. Heero was now pressed up against the door with his ear to it. Quatre was hovering over his shoulder with his head tilted to one side as though trying to listen to what was going on. Without warning Heero turned and catapulted Quatre to the rec-room chair Trowa was sitting in. A second later Heero followed, flinging himself into another chair just as the sleeping compartment door opened.
Wufei stepped out first with a look that plainly said 'Mine! touch and you die' that he appeared to be directing at Heero. **Quatre's probably doing another mental victory dance right about now**. He looked to the blonde sitting next to him, he was grinning from ear to ear, left hand twitching slightly. **_Definately_ doing a victory dance**.
Duo followed Wufei out. His hair had been re-plaited, though it was still slightly damp from his earlier tumble into the stream. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, with his boots, and a white T that clung to his form like a second skin. He looked good, which went a long way to explaining Wufei's touch-and-die expression. Trowa could already see the wheels turning in Quatre's had for his planned shopping trip with Duo. **The boy is doomed**.
"So guys, what are we gonna do 'bout OZ?" Duo wasted no time getting down to business.
"Hn."
Trowa could have sworn he heard Duo mutter something about a 'Universal
Grunt Language' as he walked past to get to a seat. Wufei followed behind and took the only spare seat next to Duo. Beside him Quatre gave a small smile, and he was sure he caught a look of amusement pass over Heero's face briefly. **Those two planned this! They don't waste any time do they? When did they organize this though? I was in the room the whole....oh sneaky. When I went to make Quatre a cup of tea. I'd wondered what those two were talking about.**
Once Wufei and Duo were seated Heero began to outline his plan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) This was a running joke between me and James (a guy in my Japanese class last year, he was also an anime fan....we actually did our last oral on anime characters **snicker**). He used to tell me that because he was a guy he'd have nowhere _near_ as much trouble surviving in a foreign country as me, a female, because males have something he called a 'Universal Grunt Language'. Something about each grunt has a different meaning.....don't ask
^_^
(2) A line from another of my favourite movies 'The Mummy'.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The camp was relatively quiet, except for the occasional hoot or moan from the captured dinosaurs. Zechs was sitting in the communications tent waiting for his call to Trieze to go through.
**A good day today, though I do not approve of some of the methods Ludlow uses**. The man had discovered a Rex nest earlier in the day, the parents hadn't been around but Ludlow had decided that he just _had_ to have one. He had taken the baby and tied it with thick wires out near the local watering hole. The baby had been injured during its' capture, with a nasty gash on one of its legs. Zechs could do nothing to stop the man as he was under orders to 'play nice' and do what Ludlow said.
"Zechs, I trust everything is going well?"
"Well enough Trieze. We captured fifteen dinosaurs today alone."
"I hear the sound of a 'but' in there old friend." Trieze had always been able to read Zechs like a book, even with the mask on.
"I do not......" he tried to find a nice word for what he thought of Peter Ludlow and his methods, "agree with how Mr. Ludlow operates".
Trieze chuckled. "You don't like him very much, do you? I knew you wouldn't, that's why I sent you."
"..."
"Ludlow is entirely too influential. I needed someone who wouldn't fall for his 'charming' personality." Trieze's dry tone gave a hint of what he thought of Peter Ludlow.
"You needed someone you could trust to keep him in line."
The dinosaurs in the camp started braying loudly.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Treize cocked his head to one side. "Tell me Zechs, have those dinosaurs been getting louder or is it just me?"
He never got a chance to reply, a Triceratops chose that moment to barrel through the thin canvas of the communications tent. Zechs stared as it ran past. He then had to fling himself to the side as a pair of dinosaurs trampled through the area he had just vacated.
Then his men started screaming.
He was able to make out a few words of what they were yelling, something about the dinosaurs were loose.
**I would never have known** He briefly wondered why human nature dictated that somebody _always_ had to state the obvious in situations like this, usually screaming at the top of their lungs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gundam pilots were perched behind a convenient outcropping of rocks
watching the chaos unfold in the OZ camp. Duo started snickering as he
watched trained professionals forget _everything_ they had ever been taught and start running around in circles screaming.
**There's never a camera around when you need one** He thought to himself as one officer went flying through the air, landing a good distance away in a small bush. **Ouch! I'll bet that hurt**
"Duo, Quatre" Heero called out quietly, not that OZ would have heard them with everything going on, but Heero was being careful. "There is a watering hole situated 50 meters in that direction, make sure there are no other dinosaurs hidden there. Wufei, Trowa, you're with me."
"Gotcha Heero. C'mon Q. We're goin' dino huntin'". He crawled to the
relative cover of the trees, stood up, and waited for the blonde to reach him.
While he was waiting he watched Wufei, as he too crawled towards the trees before standing up where he was standing.
"Duo, be careful." was that concern he saw in Wufei's eyes?
**Naaah, must be a trick of the light. There's no _way_ he'd ever be
concerned about me anywhere but in my dreams. Love ya Wu. I just wish you returned the feelings** "Hey, it's me! Careful Wu, or I might start thinkin' ya cared."
"Maxwell...."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wu_fei_, I _know_. Now amscray before Yui comes and drags your butt off."
He watched as the Chinese teen gave him one last look and disappeared into the night with Trowa and Heero. **Why is he being so nice to me all of a sudden? First at the stream, he actually _carried_ me. He didn't have to do that. That was nice... I haven't felt safe like that in a long time.
Then he lent me some of his clothes. He didn't have to do that. I could've worn my stuff an' one of Heero's tank tops.** He pulled a face and then jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. Spinning he prepared to deck whoever it was but stopped the action when he saw who had startled him.
Quatre instinctively ducked before flashing him a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Let's go check out this water hole and then get back to camp."
"Sure thing Quat. Lead the way" He fell into step just behind and to the side of the blonde and went back to his thoughts.
**I'm glad I don't have to wear one of Heero's tanks. How many of those
things has he _got_ anyway? He's always wearin' them. When Wu said that he was lending me some clothes I thought for a minute that I was gonna end up with some of those funny pants of his. They look good on him, but on me they woulda looked really funny.
I hadn't realized Wu had western style clothes. He never wears them......He sure knows how to put together an outfit though!** He smiled softly as he remembered what had happened earlier in the trailer. Wufei had been very picky on what Duo could wear. Tops and jeans had been discarded because they didn't look right together, or they didn't look quite right on him. He must have tried on at _least_ five different outfits before Wufei was even halfway satisfied.
It was something completely new to Duo. He was used to throwing on the first things he laid his hand on, never a problem when you wore almost nothing but black. **Chang Wufei, fashion designer. I'd never've believed it if I hadn't seen it. I wonder what else he hides under that exterior. He looks good when he smiles. Not that 'Justice is served' smirk of his either. When he smiles his whole face softens and lights up. He looks almost ethereal. It's times like those I realize why I fell for him.....and then he goes and acts like a real jerk and spoils it.** He was jerked out of his musings as Quatre let out a cry and took off toward the water hole at a run.
"Shit! Q, what is it?" He ran after the blonde, mindful of any upstanding tree roots, there was no Wufei here to catch him this time.
----------------------------------------------------------
**Duo is being awfully quiet**. Quatre glanced briefly at the American. The boy appeared to be in deep thought, a soft smile playing over his features in the pale moonlight. Up ahead Quatre could just make out the watering hole. **I think I can see something tied down there. I'll have to get closer before I can tell for sure.**
A few moments later the Arabian was absolutely positive. He started running towards whatever it was that was tied down. He could hear Duo calling out to him but he ignored it.
Closer inspection revealed the dinosaur to be a juvenile......well he wasn't sure what. It was bipedal with a big head, two small - seemingly useless - arms, and powerful legs. It was tied down in the mud by thick wire cords. It had a nasty looking wound on its' right leg, which was going to definitely hinder its' movement. **If it can't move properly it'll become easy prey for predators....I can't just leave it here, it's OZ's fault it's injured in the first place. Our orders _were_ to stop OZ taking the local 'wildlife'...**Mind made up Quatre began work on freeing the....he'd have to check what it was with Duo when he got here.
Duo came crashing through the underbrush moments later, mouth running faster than he could. "Jeez Quatre, _don't_ go takin' off like that without warnin'! You coulda tripped an' broken you pretty little neck. Then what would I tell Trowa? 'Sorry Tro, your boy toy slipped an' broke his neck in the dark', 'That's all right Duo'. He'd _kill_ me if anythin' happened to you. Then Heero'd kill me. Then the _Manguanacs_ would kill me! All forty of 'em!! I like my life thank you _very_ much!
Are you even listening to me? Q you have entirely too many.......HOLY
SHIT!!" Duo had been moving progressively closer as he ranted, and only just now caught sight of what the blonde was freeing. "Back away from that thing Quatre."
Quatre didn't stop what he was doing. "Why?"
"Quatre," Duo's voice took on a tone that one might use to explain something to a small child "do you even know what that _is_?"
"No" He moved and pulled out one of the many stakes in the ground holding the wires in place. It came out with a wet SHLOP. "I figured you would tell me when you got here. It's _injured_ Duo. I'm taking it back to camp to fix its' leg."
Duo's eyes widened and he started flapping his arms in a 'no' style
gesture....either that or he suddenly thought he could fly. "No _way_!, Nuh uh, it's _not_ happenin' Q-ball. _That_ is a Tyrannosaurus-Rex! A carnivore, as in _meat_eater, do you get what I'm sayin' here? That thing _eats_ things like us and you want to take it back to _camp_. Are you _insane_? What if its' parents come lookin' for it? T-Rex has one of the largest olfactory thingies on the _planet_. Those suckers are gunna be able to track that kid from miles away! Do you _want_ to deal with pissed off parents with _really_ big sharp teeth? didn't think so, so let's just free the thing an' get outta here huh?" Duo's eyes had taken on a hunted expression and were darting from shadow to shadow, as though looking for the parents.
Pulling the last stake out, Quatre struggled to pick up the baby and turned to Duo. "I'm taking it back." He turned his _look_ on Duo.
"Oh _no_, you are _not_ giving me that look, you are _so_ not doing this to me" He tried to glare at Quatre but it didn't seem to work. "oh _fine_! But if it eats you don't come cryin' to me!" He stalked over and grabbed the head. "_I'll_ carry the head. Given _your_ track record with babysaurs it'll try and _eat_ you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wufei was feeling quite uncomfortable. Ever since he had returned from the OZ camp, Heero and Trowa had been staring him out, and he'd been staring right back. **I refuse to give an inch to these two, especially Yui. _Why_ are they staring at me?! Do I have something on my face?** He resisted the urge to check himself over.
Finally he bit. "Is something the matter Yui? Barton?"
Heero folded his arms and gave Wufei a mild, for him at least, glare. "Just wondering how long you're gong to leave it before you tell Duo how you feel."
**Not him too! Are they _all_ in on this?!** Wufei stared at Heero.
"Excuse me Yui, but my private life is hardly any of your concern." He
turned to leave but was stopped by Trowa grabbing his upper arm.
"He's not going to wait forever Wufei."
BANG All three pilots turned to the noise. One of the doors had been violently flung open. Duo came in, back first, carrying the front end of a baby dinosaur. Quatre followed after him with the legs and thrashing tail.
"I want this to go on record that I was _against_ this idea!" Duo did not look happy.
In unison all three turned and looked at Quatre, the blonde at least had the decency to blush. "OZ tied it down with wires and injured it. I couldn't just _leave_ it there".
The two moved to put the baby on the table and Wufei got his first good look at it. **That looks like a Tyrannosaur....** He may not have known the names of _all_ the dinosaurs, but even he could recognize one of the most famous. **a noisy Tyrannosaur at that** In the past few minutes the baby T-Rex had been getting rather vocal, letting out odd sounds that Wufei guessed were calls to its' parents. "Other animals are going to hear that."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a good five minutes before it was safe for Zechs to crawl out from where the tent had fallen on him. His helmet may annoy him at times, but now was not one of them. A support beam for the tent had fallen on his head at some time during the stampede. His helmet had saved him from what would possibly have been a rather nasty bruise.
Zechs got his first good look at the damage to the camp. The place was
almost completely flattened. A whimpering off to his left caught his
attention. Mr. Ludlow was cowering behind an upturned trailer.
**Damn. They missed him!** "Mr. Ludlow, are you all right?"
The man turned to him with a dazed look "I don't know, do I look all right?" [1]
"Yes" **Unfortunately**. Moving on he examined the rest of the camp. Nobody _appeared_ to be seriously injured, the worst damage was to the camp itself.
"Sir, Sir!" One of the countless officers came running up to him, something in his hand.
"What is it ensign..."
"Dieter sir" He held out the object in his hand. "The stampede was not an accident sir, we found this near one of the cages" Zechs took it and
examined it. [2]
"Sir!" Another officer came running up. Zechs at least remembered this ones name.
"What is it RJay?" [3]
"The baby Rex is gone Sir".
"Escaped?" Given what he had just been shown he was certain that that
possibility wasn't so.
"No Sir. Somebody freed it. There are footprints all around, and they lead off towards the cliffs. What should we do Sir?"
" Grab what is salvageable and easily carryable. I'll lead a team to follow those tracks"
Ludlow appeared to have recovered from his cowering fit and had wandered over. "Would somebody _please_ tell me what is going on?"
Zechs turned and stared the man down. "We are not alone". He dropped the item Dieter had given him and stalked off to prepare a team. He was pretty sure _who_ their company was.
Ludlow was left staring at Zech's back. Bending down he picked up the item he had dropped. It was a cleanly cut padlock.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Heero had sent Trowa out with Quatre to watch for OZ patrols. That left Duo, Wufei, and himself to fix up the baby dinosaur and set it loose before its parents came looking for it. Duo's warning was still ringing in Trowa's ears.
//"If you run into the parents for gods sake _don't_ move! The T-Rex's
visual acuity is based on movement. If you don't move it can't see you"//
The long haired boy had been rather worried when the pair had left him with the other two pilots.
Trowa had offered to take Duo with them but the boy had declined, handing them a communicator stating that it would take three to tend the baby, two to hold it down and one to fix the wound. He'd then given them the warning and pushed them out the door.
Off to his left Trowa noticed some broken bushes. **Did Quatre and Duo try and hide their path when they came back, or did they come straight here?**
"Quatre, which way did you come back to camp?" He had his suspicions. If he was right they could probably expect OZ to find them any time now.
"From over there" Quatre pointed in the direction of the broken bushes. His eyes widened when he saw them. "We forgot to cover our tracks".
Trowa placed a hand on the blondes shoulder before he could begin to berate himself. "It's all right. You were concerned for the baby, and Duo was hardly in a frame of mind to remember. Let it go and let's check for OZ patrols."
He nodded. "Just let me tell the others first." He pulled out his
communicator and proceeded to call the others.
While Quatre was calling the other pilots Trowa skirted ahead to examine just how much damage was done to the shrubbery. It wasn't that bad. If you weren't trained to look for things like that you'd probably miss it, or chalk it up to local animals. Unfortunately, with the OZ team being led by Zechs Merquise the chances of that happening were slim.
A distant, blood chilling roar broke Trowa from his thoughts. The answering one, somewhat closer, made Trowa worry. **I hope that's not the parents**.
"I hope that's not the parents. I've told them, let's go" Quatre came up behind him voicing the same concerns as him.
Nodding Trowa headed down the path.
Five minutes later they were ambushed by Zechs Merquise and half a dozen heavily armed men, they never stood a chance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] From Jurassic Park 2
[2] &[3] Dino fodder 'R' us. These two are from Jurassic Park 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
"I can't believe you guys ripped my shirt off! And then _you_ go and knock me into the water. What the _hell_ did you do that for Wu? Q was gonna get shishka-bobbed and neither you _nor_ Heero were gonna do anythin'! You just stood there like....like..." Duo was in good form, despite nearly overheating earlier and getting nearly drowned by the boy of his dreams. He'd been ranting for over five minutes, ever since Heero had disappeared into the trailer.
"It is better to lose one pilot than to lose two. Quatre got himself into the situation, he could get himself _out_ of it." Wufei crossed his arms and looked down at Duo in a way that set his teeth on edge.
**Ohh I _swear_, If I didn't like the guy so much I'd deck 'im.**"Whatever Wu. Look, I'm hot, I'm wet, and I look like somethin' the cat dragged in. I'm gonna go and change".Turning on his heel, he stalked to the trailer and entered, completely missing the way Wufei followed him with his eyes.
Entering the trailer, Duo found Heero, Trowa, and Quatre in deep discussion. All three froze and stared at him, making him feel like a specimen on a petri dish. "Eh heh. Hey guys! How's it goin'?"
Quatre blushed and looked entirely too innocent. "Oh, uhh...nothing!
Just....umm..discussing our next move against OZ". He shot a look to both Heero and Trowa that screamed 'Help! I'm drowning over here. Do
_something_!'
Duo held back a snicker. **I'll bet. What _are_ you up to now? Then again there's probably a big possibility that I _don't_ want to know!**. "Right, I'm gonna go an' change, then I'll join you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Duo was brushing out his hair when Heero reached the sleeping compartment. His mission, get Duo into something other than his usual clothing _and_ set him up with Wufei. The first part would be easy, he had a large number of tank-tops the boy could wear, and if push came to shove Wufei probably had something he could lend Duo until Quatre could take him shopping.
The second part would take a little more work. **Ninmu Ryoukai**. With a smirk Heero entered the compartment and headed for his bag.
Duo noticed him almost immediately. "Finished _planning_ already Yui?"
He didn't miss the slight emphasis on the word 'planning'. For a brief
second Heero froze. **Could he suspect something? K'so, he's never been
_that_ observant before!** "Hn." He reached into his bag and started digging through for a spare tank-top.
"Ah, the Universal Grunt language lives!" (1) Duo grinned at him and kept brushing his hair.
Finding a spare tank-top Heero pulled it out and threw it at Duo, managing to hit him in the head with it. He suppressed a grin as the boy jumped and turned to him with wide, questioning eyes. **As Duo would say, Ten Points!....hn, he's rubbing off on me**
"Wha?" Duo picked up the top and looked at it like it was some sort of
alien.
"You wear too much black."
"And you want me to wear _this_?!"
He didn't answer. Instead he scanned the room for Duo's bag. Finding it, he reached over and started rummaging through for a pair of _non-black_ pants.
"YUI! What the _hell_ are you doing? That's _my_ bag!"
Heero ignored him and kept rummaging, throwing items out on the bed when he found them. **Clothes, all black. He has to have _something_ non-black in here. Gun, spare ammo, Manga.....a dog-eared copy of 'Lord of the Rings'?! I didn't think he read anything other than manga!** He looked up into the face of a _very_ pissed off Shinigami.
"I'll ask you _again_ Yui. Just what're doin' goin' through _my_ bag? Do you have _no_ sense of _privacy_?" Duo was raising his voice with each word.
"You wear too much black. You'll overheat in this climate. You almost _did_ overheat" He pointed out as he went back to rummaging only to have the bag ripped out of his hands. He looked up and glared at Duo.
The boy opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Quatre, Trowa and Wufei getting stuck in the doorway, all three tried to get in the room at the same time. Finally Quatre squeezed through past a mildly embarrassed looking Wufei. "Duo, are you all right? We heard yelling!". Quatre looked between the two and the contents on the bed and raised and eyebrow.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Quatre had been highly embarrassed when Duo had walked in as he, Trowa, and Heero had been planning 'Operation: Get-together'. **Talk about being caught with my proverbial pants down! and those two didn't even help.**
"Penny for your thoughts little one?" Trowa wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer where they were sitting in the small recreational area on the trailer.
It was large as far as trailers went, just over a metre or two longer than an old bananna-bus, and a little wider. It was broken up into two sections. The front end was dedicated to work, with computers and other such things situated in there. The back end was the living area, with a small kitchenette, dining room, and rec-room at the very back. A sleeping compartment was situated between the computer work room and the dining room. It contained five beds - two bunk beds and one single. As of yet none of them had claimed a bed, but Heero had suggested placing Wufei and Duo together.
That _had_ been a surprise when Heero had offered to help. "I'm thinking about nothing really..."
For the second time that day they were interrupted during discussion, this time by Wufei. **At least _this_ time we weren't discussing him and Duo!**
"Barton, Winner." He nodded to both of them on his way to the small fridge in the corner.
**No time like the present to get this moving** Quatre gave a small smile. "So Wufei, what _do_ you think of Duo?"
"I beg your pardon?" Wufei turned around holding a bottle of water in his hand.
"Duo, long haired fellow pilot...You've only been eyeing him off for the past month or so. What do you think of him?" Quatre got up and moved over to Wufei. Placing his hands on his shoulder, he gently maneuvered the chinese boy into the seat between him and Trowa. **This way he can't make a fast escape if he doesn't like the question**
"Winner....." His voice squeaked slightly. "Barton, control your lover!"
"Sorry Wufei, you're going to have to answer this." He sounded amused. To the untrained eye Trowa would have looked calm, but Quatre could see the amusement in his one visible eye.
"He is a good pilot. I believe that we sell him short sometimes though...He.." Wufei was squirming slightly.
Quatre rolled his eyes. "Escaping the question won't help you, though I
suppose I should have worded that better. How do you _feel_ about Duo?"
Wufei opened his mouth to say something but Quatre continued. "I know what you told Trowa," **Well, sort of** Wufei blushed. "but I want to hear it out of your mouth. Don't _make_ me _look_ at you Chang."
"He'll do it too. Trust me, you _don't_ want to be on the receiving end of this!"
**Why Trowa, I do believe you're enjoying this.**
Wufei's face was developing quite a decent blush.
"Do you have _no_ concept of the word _privacy_?" Duo's voice reached them where they were sitting at the rec-room table. He sounded _mad_, as in I-am-Shinigami-and-you-have-seriously-pissed-me-off-prepare-to-have-a-scythe-shoved-up-where-the-sun-don't-shine. It was the kind of tone Duo usually reserved for when he was in Deathscythe.
The three boys looked at each other, checked who was missing, and took off for the sleeping compartment to prevent possible bloodshed, tripping over each other in their hurry.
The sight that greeted them was one of total chaos. Heero was standing near a bunk with nearly the entire contents of a bag on the bed. Duo was holding said bag and doing his best impersonation of Heero's 'Omae o korosu' glare.
"Duo, are you all right? We heard yelling!" He took in the mess on the bed and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess....spring cleaning?" (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh _very_ funny Quatre, ha ha. Yui decided that I wear too much black, so he beans me with one of his tank-tops an' then starts pullin' stuff outta my bag _without_ my permission!".
Wufei saw red. **How _dare_ he go through _my_ Duo's bag!** "Yui, explain yourself _now_". If the other pilots had not been there he would have called Yui out for that. Nobody touched his Duo's things without asking. Of course, he realized a couple of moments later, Duo wasn't his and that was half the problem.
Heero didn't look in the least bit apologetic, actually he looked a little smug. "He wears too much black for this climate. I was searching for a pair of jeans or long pants that could be worn with the tank-top".
"Hey, I _have_ a pair of jeans!"
"They're black baka"
"Oh"
**I don't want Duo wearing _any_ of Yui's clothes** Jealousy was rearing it's ugly head again in Wufei. "He can borrow some of my clothes. Everybody _out_" When Duo made to move out of the room Wufei caught him by the wrist and pulled him back again. "Duo stay".
Watching everybody leave Wufei caught the wink Quatre threw at him. **Damn meddling blonde. Just _what_ is he up to?**
"Look, um...Wu.."
"Wu_fei_, Maxwell, Wufei" He blinked **The boy's got me trained**
"Whatever, look you don't have to lend me stuff. I do have my own clothes." Duo was fidgeting, looking everywhere but at Wufei.
He arched an eyebrow. "And how much of that _isn't_ something black or dark coloured?" He already knew the answer.
"Eh heh....none of it." Before Wufei could say anything else he continued. "Yeah, yeah, I _know_. Duo no baka an' all that crap, but it's all I've got. Clothing isn't exactly the highest thing on my priority list."
Wufei reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know. Let's see what I have that you can wear."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When the other three pilots left the compartment they didn't go very far. Quatre was pressed up against the closed door trying to hear what was said and Heero was hovering just behind.
**It can be a little frightening how determined those two can be when they put their minds to something. _Especially_ when they team up like they have now. Heero seems to see this as some sort of side mission. I almost feel sorry for Wufei and Duo** Thought Trowa as he watched his blonde lover and the Wing Zero pilot.
"Oh my, I was right Trowa. Duo is going for a nice long shopping trip once this mission is over". The blonde called quietly back to him, determined look in his eyes.
**Correction, I _do_ feel sorry for Wufei and Duo, especially Duo**
"Heero, you listen. I'm having trouble hearing them, they've moved away from the door." Quatre relinquished his place at the door to Heero, but he didn't move very far away.
Trowa had to fight back the laughter that was threatening to bubble over. Those two made one of the funniest pictures he had ever seen. Heero was now pressed up against the door with his ear to it. Quatre was hovering over his shoulder with his head tilted to one side as though trying to listen to what was going on. Without warning Heero turned and catapulted Quatre to the rec-room chair Trowa was sitting in. A second later Heero followed, flinging himself into another chair just as the sleeping compartment door opened.
Wufei stepped out first with a look that plainly said 'Mine! touch and you die' that he appeared to be directing at Heero. **Quatre's probably doing another mental victory dance right about now**. He looked to the blonde sitting next to him, he was grinning from ear to ear, left hand twitching slightly. **_Definately_ doing a victory dance**.
Duo followed Wufei out. His hair had been re-plaited, though it was still slightly damp from his earlier tumble into the stream. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, with his boots, and a white T that clung to his form like a second skin. He looked good, which went a long way to explaining Wufei's touch-and-die expression. Trowa could already see the wheels turning in Quatre's had for his planned shopping trip with Duo. **The boy is doomed**.
"So guys, what are we gonna do 'bout OZ?" Duo wasted no time getting down to business.
"Hn."
Trowa could have sworn he heard Duo mutter something about a 'Universal
Grunt Language' as he walked past to get to a seat. Wufei followed behind and took the only spare seat next to Duo. Beside him Quatre gave a small smile, and he was sure he caught a look of amusement pass over Heero's face briefly. **Those two planned this! They don't waste any time do they? When did they organize this though? I was in the room the whole....oh sneaky. When I went to make Quatre a cup of tea. I'd wondered what those two were talking about.**
Once Wufei and Duo were seated Heero began to outline his plan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) This was a running joke between me and James (a guy in my Japanese class last year, he was also an anime fan....we actually did our last oral on anime characters **snicker**). He used to tell me that because he was a guy he'd have nowhere _near_ as much trouble surviving in a foreign country as me, a female, because males have something he called a 'Universal Grunt Language'. Something about each grunt has a different meaning.....don't ask
^_^
(2) A line from another of my favourite movies 'The Mummy'.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The camp was relatively quiet, except for the occasional hoot or moan from the captured dinosaurs. Zechs was sitting in the communications tent waiting for his call to Trieze to go through.
**A good day today, though I do not approve of some of the methods Ludlow uses**. The man had discovered a Rex nest earlier in the day, the parents hadn't been around but Ludlow had decided that he just _had_ to have one. He had taken the baby and tied it with thick wires out near the local watering hole. The baby had been injured during its' capture, with a nasty gash on one of its legs. Zechs could do nothing to stop the man as he was under orders to 'play nice' and do what Ludlow said.
"Zechs, I trust everything is going well?"
"Well enough Trieze. We captured fifteen dinosaurs today alone."
"I hear the sound of a 'but' in there old friend." Trieze had always been able to read Zechs like a book, even with the mask on.
"I do not......" he tried to find a nice word for what he thought of Peter Ludlow and his methods, "agree with how Mr. Ludlow operates".
Trieze chuckled. "You don't like him very much, do you? I knew you wouldn't, that's why I sent you."
"..."
"Ludlow is entirely too influential. I needed someone who wouldn't fall for his 'charming' personality." Trieze's dry tone gave a hint of what he thought of Peter Ludlow.
"You needed someone you could trust to keep him in line."
The dinosaurs in the camp started braying loudly.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Treize cocked his head to one side. "Tell me Zechs, have those dinosaurs been getting louder or is it just me?"
He never got a chance to reply, a Triceratops chose that moment to barrel through the thin canvas of the communications tent. Zechs stared as it ran past. He then had to fling himself to the side as a pair of dinosaurs trampled through the area he had just vacated.
Then his men started screaming.
He was able to make out a few words of what they were yelling, something about the dinosaurs were loose.
**I would never have known** He briefly wondered why human nature dictated that somebody _always_ had to state the obvious in situations like this, usually screaming at the top of their lungs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gundam pilots were perched behind a convenient outcropping of rocks
watching the chaos unfold in the OZ camp. Duo started snickering as he
watched trained professionals forget _everything_ they had ever been taught and start running around in circles screaming.
**There's never a camera around when you need one** He thought to himself as one officer went flying through the air, landing a good distance away in a small bush. **Ouch! I'll bet that hurt**
"Duo, Quatre" Heero called out quietly, not that OZ would have heard them with everything going on, but Heero was being careful. "There is a watering hole situated 50 meters in that direction, make sure there are no other dinosaurs hidden there. Wufei, Trowa, you're with me."
"Gotcha Heero. C'mon Q. We're goin' dino huntin'". He crawled to the
relative cover of the trees, stood up, and waited for the blonde to reach him.
While he was waiting he watched Wufei, as he too crawled towards the trees before standing up where he was standing.
"Duo, be careful." was that concern he saw in Wufei's eyes?
**Naaah, must be a trick of the light. There's no _way_ he'd ever be
concerned about me anywhere but in my dreams. Love ya Wu. I just wish you returned the feelings** "Hey, it's me! Careful Wu, or I might start thinkin' ya cared."
"Maxwell...."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wu_fei_, I _know_. Now amscray before Yui comes and drags your butt off."
He watched as the Chinese teen gave him one last look and disappeared into the night with Trowa and Heero. **Why is he being so nice to me all of a sudden? First at the stream, he actually _carried_ me. He didn't have to do that. That was nice... I haven't felt safe like that in a long time.
Then he lent me some of his clothes. He didn't have to do that. I could've worn my stuff an' one of Heero's tank tops.** He pulled a face and then jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. Spinning he prepared to deck whoever it was but stopped the action when he saw who had startled him.
Quatre instinctively ducked before flashing him a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Let's go check out this water hole and then get back to camp."
"Sure thing Quat. Lead the way" He fell into step just behind and to the side of the blonde and went back to his thoughts.
**I'm glad I don't have to wear one of Heero's tanks. How many of those
things has he _got_ anyway? He's always wearin' them. When Wu said that he was lending me some clothes I thought for a minute that I was gonna end up with some of those funny pants of his. They look good on him, but on me they woulda looked really funny.
I hadn't realized Wu had western style clothes. He never wears them......He sure knows how to put together an outfit though!** He smiled softly as he remembered what had happened earlier in the trailer. Wufei had been very picky on what Duo could wear. Tops and jeans had been discarded because they didn't look right together, or they didn't look quite right on him. He must have tried on at _least_ five different outfits before Wufei was even halfway satisfied.
It was something completely new to Duo. He was used to throwing on the first things he laid his hand on, never a problem when you wore almost nothing but black. **Chang Wufei, fashion designer. I'd never've believed it if I hadn't seen it. I wonder what else he hides under that exterior. He looks good when he smiles. Not that 'Justice is served' smirk of his either. When he smiles his whole face softens and lights up. He looks almost ethereal. It's times like those I realize why I fell for him.....and then he goes and acts like a real jerk and spoils it.** He was jerked out of his musings as Quatre let out a cry and took off toward the water hole at a run.
"Shit! Q, what is it?" He ran after the blonde, mindful of any upstanding tree roots, there was no Wufei here to catch him this time.
----------------------------------------------------------
**Duo is being awfully quiet**. Quatre glanced briefly at the American. The boy appeared to be in deep thought, a soft smile playing over his features in the pale moonlight. Up ahead Quatre could just make out the watering hole. **I think I can see something tied down there. I'll have to get closer before I can tell for sure.**
A few moments later the Arabian was absolutely positive. He started running towards whatever it was that was tied down. He could hear Duo calling out to him but he ignored it.
Closer inspection revealed the dinosaur to be a juvenile......well he wasn't sure what. It was bipedal with a big head, two small - seemingly useless - arms, and powerful legs. It was tied down in the mud by thick wire cords. It had a nasty looking wound on its' right leg, which was going to definitely hinder its' movement. **If it can't move properly it'll become easy prey for predators....I can't just leave it here, it's OZ's fault it's injured in the first place. Our orders _were_ to stop OZ taking the local 'wildlife'...**Mind made up Quatre began work on freeing the....he'd have to check what it was with Duo when he got here.
Duo came crashing through the underbrush moments later, mouth running faster than he could. "Jeez Quatre, _don't_ go takin' off like that without warnin'! You coulda tripped an' broken you pretty little neck. Then what would I tell Trowa? 'Sorry Tro, your boy toy slipped an' broke his neck in the dark', 'That's all right Duo'. He'd _kill_ me if anythin' happened to you. Then Heero'd kill me. Then the _Manguanacs_ would kill me! All forty of 'em!! I like my life thank you _very_ much!
Are you even listening to me? Q you have entirely too many.......HOLY
SHIT!!" Duo had been moving progressively closer as he ranted, and only just now caught sight of what the blonde was freeing. "Back away from that thing Quatre."
Quatre didn't stop what he was doing. "Why?"
"Quatre," Duo's voice took on a tone that one might use to explain something to a small child "do you even know what that _is_?"
"No" He moved and pulled out one of the many stakes in the ground holding the wires in place. It came out with a wet SHLOP. "I figured you would tell me when you got here. It's _injured_ Duo. I'm taking it back to camp to fix its' leg."
Duo's eyes widened and he started flapping his arms in a 'no' style
gesture....either that or he suddenly thought he could fly. "No _way_!, Nuh uh, it's _not_ happenin' Q-ball. _That_ is a Tyrannosaurus-Rex! A carnivore, as in _meat_eater, do you get what I'm sayin' here? That thing _eats_ things like us and you want to take it back to _camp_. Are you _insane_? What if its' parents come lookin' for it? T-Rex has one of the largest olfactory thingies on the _planet_. Those suckers are gunna be able to track that kid from miles away! Do you _want_ to deal with pissed off parents with _really_ big sharp teeth? didn't think so, so let's just free the thing an' get outta here huh?" Duo's eyes had taken on a hunted expression and were darting from shadow to shadow, as though looking for the parents.
Pulling the last stake out, Quatre struggled to pick up the baby and turned to Duo. "I'm taking it back." He turned his _look_ on Duo.
"Oh _no_, you are _not_ giving me that look, you are _so_ not doing this to me" He tried to glare at Quatre but it didn't seem to work. "oh _fine_! But if it eats you don't come cryin' to me!" He stalked over and grabbed the head. "_I'll_ carry the head. Given _your_ track record with babysaurs it'll try and _eat_ you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wufei was feeling quite uncomfortable. Ever since he had returned from the OZ camp, Heero and Trowa had been staring him out, and he'd been staring right back. **I refuse to give an inch to these two, especially Yui. _Why_ are they staring at me?! Do I have something on my face?** He resisted the urge to check himself over.
Finally he bit. "Is something the matter Yui? Barton?"
Heero folded his arms and gave Wufei a mild, for him at least, glare. "Just wondering how long you're gong to leave it before you tell Duo how you feel."
**Not him too! Are they _all_ in on this?!** Wufei stared at Heero.
"Excuse me Yui, but my private life is hardly any of your concern." He
turned to leave but was stopped by Trowa grabbing his upper arm.
"He's not going to wait forever Wufei."
BANG All three pilots turned to the noise. One of the doors had been violently flung open. Duo came in, back first, carrying the front end of a baby dinosaur. Quatre followed after him with the legs and thrashing tail.
"I want this to go on record that I was _against_ this idea!" Duo did not look happy.
In unison all three turned and looked at Quatre, the blonde at least had the decency to blush. "OZ tied it down with wires and injured it. I couldn't just _leave_ it there".
The two moved to put the baby on the table and Wufei got his first good look at it. **That looks like a Tyrannosaur....** He may not have known the names of _all_ the dinosaurs, but even he could recognize one of the most famous. **a noisy Tyrannosaur at that** In the past few minutes the baby T-Rex had been getting rather vocal, letting out odd sounds that Wufei guessed were calls to its' parents. "Other animals are going to hear that."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a good five minutes before it was safe for Zechs to crawl out from where the tent had fallen on him. His helmet may annoy him at times, but now was not one of them. A support beam for the tent had fallen on his head at some time during the stampede. His helmet had saved him from what would possibly have been a rather nasty bruise.
Zechs got his first good look at the damage to the camp. The place was
almost completely flattened. A whimpering off to his left caught his
attention. Mr. Ludlow was cowering behind an upturned trailer.
**Damn. They missed him!** "Mr. Ludlow, are you all right?"
The man turned to him with a dazed look "I don't know, do I look all right?" [1]
"Yes" **Unfortunately**. Moving on he examined the rest of the camp. Nobody _appeared_ to be seriously injured, the worst damage was to the camp itself.
"Sir, Sir!" One of the countless officers came running up to him, something in his hand.
"What is it ensign..."
"Dieter sir" He held out the object in his hand. "The stampede was not an accident sir, we found this near one of the cages" Zechs took it and
examined it. [2]
"Sir!" Another officer came running up. Zechs at least remembered this ones name.
"What is it RJay?" [3]
"The baby Rex is gone Sir".
"Escaped?" Given what he had just been shown he was certain that that
possibility wasn't so.
"No Sir. Somebody freed it. There are footprints all around, and they lead off towards the cliffs. What should we do Sir?"
" Grab what is salvageable and easily carryable. I'll lead a team to follow those tracks"
Ludlow appeared to have recovered from his cowering fit and had wandered over. "Would somebody _please_ tell me what is going on?"
Zechs turned and stared the man down. "We are not alone". He dropped the item Dieter had given him and stalked off to prepare a team. He was pretty sure _who_ their company was.
Ludlow was left staring at Zech's back. Bending down he picked up the item he had dropped. It was a cleanly cut padlock.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Heero had sent Trowa out with Quatre to watch for OZ patrols. That left Duo, Wufei, and himself to fix up the baby dinosaur and set it loose before its parents came looking for it. Duo's warning was still ringing in Trowa's ears.
//"If you run into the parents for gods sake _don't_ move! The T-Rex's
visual acuity is based on movement. If you don't move it can't see you"//
The long haired boy had been rather worried when the pair had left him with the other two pilots.
Trowa had offered to take Duo with them but the boy had declined, handing them a communicator stating that it would take three to tend the baby, two to hold it down and one to fix the wound. He'd then given them the warning and pushed them out the door.
Off to his left Trowa noticed some broken bushes. **Did Quatre and Duo try and hide their path when they came back, or did they come straight here?**
"Quatre, which way did you come back to camp?" He had his suspicions. If he was right they could probably expect OZ to find them any time now.
"From over there" Quatre pointed in the direction of the broken bushes. His eyes widened when he saw them. "We forgot to cover our tracks".
Trowa placed a hand on the blondes shoulder before he could begin to berate himself. "It's all right. You were concerned for the baby, and Duo was hardly in a frame of mind to remember. Let it go and let's check for OZ patrols."
He nodded. "Just let me tell the others first." He pulled out his
communicator and proceeded to call the others.
While Quatre was calling the other pilots Trowa skirted ahead to examine just how much damage was done to the shrubbery. It wasn't that bad. If you weren't trained to look for things like that you'd probably miss it, or chalk it up to local animals. Unfortunately, with the OZ team being led by Zechs Merquise the chances of that happening were slim.
A distant, blood chilling roar broke Trowa from his thoughts. The answering one, somewhat closer, made Trowa worry. **I hope that's not the parents**.
"I hope that's not the parents. I've told them, let's go" Quatre came up behind him voicing the same concerns as him.
Nodding Trowa headed down the path.
Five minutes later they were ambushed by Zechs Merquise and half a dozen heavily armed men, they never stood a chance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] From Jurassic Park 2
[2] &[3] Dino fodder 'R' us. These two are from Jurassic Park 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------
