© Summer 2002 Lady Pax
Regular disclaimers apply.
LP: OMIGOD!!!!! SAP!!!!!! OMIGOD!!!!!! T_T so do you like it!?!?! Say you do!!!!! ^_^ Oh yeah, and I put some humor down there at the bottom A/Ns since you guys have come this far (and gotten so sticky with sap)!!! *kowtows* Thankies! Plz review!
Chapter 4: Abduction of an Angel
Two Days Later....
"So what am I supposed to do?" Duo asked Quatre as the two talked about what to do about Helen's adoption-father. (A/N: what do you call adults that are your parents when you're adopted? I wouldn't know...)
"Well, my first guess would be to call the police...but the Russinger family is very wealthy, and has some friends in the law and government. It would be his word against a five-year-old girl. It would be the same for any Children Welfare Counselors. The Russinger family has been supporting their department with generous amounts of money for ever fifty years..." Quatre replied.
"But they must have heard about you also, Quatre!" Duo said. "They won't doubt your word, you have no reason – that I know of – to lie to earth and the colonies."
"Well..."
"Oh come off it, Q. You know you come from a well-known family line! Everyone in the colonies knows that your family has been the cream of the crop for colony L4 ever since humans first came into space!"
"Can't argue with that, Quatre," Heero stated matter-of-factly, nodding his head.
"I suppose...but I don't have any relation to your daughter, Duo," he persisted.
"I know that! But there was no doubt in my and Hilde minds for having one of you guys to be her guardians! Wait...it was going to be Heero and Relena... Forget that." Duo looked at Helen who was sitting on the sofa, as far away from Trowa and Heero who were playing chess as she could and watching the fire in the fireplace flicker, absentmindedly playing with her braid. He sighed.
"What did you have in mind on doing, anyway, Maxwell?" Wufei demanded.
"If Quatre got one of his lawyers or something, and sort of represented Helen, I was thinking we may have a chance against Russinger, 'cause then it'd be against two recognized and well-liked family successors. But that isn't happening..."
Wufei looked at Quatre. "Well...that might work. But how could I possibly represent Helen? I wasn't there when Russinger abused her," Quatre argued. "We have no proof!"
"You call a black eye, and those gross wounds on her back 'no proof'?!" Duo yelled incredulously; he had seen Helen's wounds the day before, and the thought of her whimpering when he barely 'breathed' on her back still bothered him.
"Duo," Quatre said, "What I meant was that we have no proof it was Russinger who actually abused her."
"Do you just not want to do this for Helen, or what? Because I believe that Helen is telling us the truth when she says that it was Russinger that hurt her. I know that she's young, and kids will say anything to make sure someone they don't like is gone from their lives, but look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't noticed how afraid of you guys she is," Duo said.
Quatre, Wufei, Trowa and Heero – who had joined them after Heero won the chess match – heard the distinct tone in Duo's voice that told them that he sincerely meant what he had said. And the truth was: Duo was right. But 'afraid' wasn't the word they'd use. More like terrified. Extremely terrified.
"I never said I didn't want to. Of course I want to. It's horrible that adults do that to children that aren't even their own...but I'm just stating the facts. I wasn't there to see him abuse her; he has a bigger, and wealthier family than I do, therefore more well-know and liked; and I haven't even known Helen for a week, much less enough to represent her in any kind of case of law," Quatre said.
Duo nodded. "I know...I know. But this is just so God forsaken frustrating! I mean, I let that jerk take her! I practically gave him permission to abuse her! And I basically said it was okay to...to...." His voice trailed off.
"It's not your fault, Duo," Heero said, "So stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have stopped it. I mean, she and the Russingers used to live on L3 colony. You never would have saw her if they had not bought that company on earth and moved here."
"How do we know that? I mean, I didn't even recognize her when she called me 'daddy,' I might of seen her, and never knew it was her. What are the chances I would have even identified her if I had seen her? One in a million, that's what; so we can't be so sure!"
Heero couldn't argue with that. "Stop blaming yourself, Duo," he repeated.
Helen then walked over and sat in Duo's lap. "How far is it from Christmas?" she asked, facing away from the other pilots.
"What's today?" Duo asked. He knew it was winter, and he knew it was December, but he wasn't sure of the date. He never really looked forward to Christmases anymore, anyway. 'Ever since Hilde and Helen left...' he thought bitterly. But Helen was there now, and he was...happy? He supposed so. Or, happier than he had been without her.
"Today's Friday, December 10th," Quatre said.
Duo calculated mentally, and said, "Christmas is in fifteen days, Helen." Then it dawned on him. "FIFTEEN DAYS!?!?!?"
Helen jumped and grabbed onto the table to keep from falling when Duo started squirming in his seat.
'I need to get Helen a present...!' he thought in horror. "Uh...Helen, what do you want Santa Claus to get you for Christmas this year? If you tell me, I can tell him," Duo said, smiling at her stupidly. The other pilots sweatdropped.
"Do you even know where Santa lives?" she asked him, looking unsure.
"Of COURSE I do!!" Duo exclaimed, ruffling her hair. "So what do you want?" he asked. The pilots were all ears.
"To stay with you," she said and hugged his neck. (A/N: aww....^_~) Duo smiled.
"But Santa wants to get you a present!"
"I don't believe in Santa."
"Why not!?!?" 'A six-year-old doesn't believe in Santa...? Strange...'
"He's never given me any presents, before. No one in Old House liked me, not even the poodles."
Duo's mouth opened wide. 'She's never gotten a Christmas present, before?' he thought. He hugged her, and she winced as he touched her back. "Oh...sorry enjeru...sorry," he said and repositioned his hands on her shoulders. (Enjeru=angel; tenshi means angel, as well) He stopped hugging her and stood up. "I'm going to do some...business... Heero, Trowa, you guys come with me. Wufei, Quatre, stay here and take care of Helen. I'll be back soon, Helen."
"B-but...I want to stay with you, Daddy," she whimpered, grabbing onto his leg.
"Quatre and Wufei will take care of you. If they hurt you, they won't live to see tomorrow morning, okay?" Helen numbly nodded and watched as he, Trowa, and Heero walked outside.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder: Quatre. She started trembling, trying to keep from crying. Quatre kneeled down next to her and looked at her. "We're not going to hurt you, Helen. Don't worry," he said, smiling. She stopped trembling and nodded.
"Yeah...even if you are a weakling, we're not going to hurt you," Wufei said. (A/N: how charming...)
Helen didn't exactly find the insult in his sentence so she just smiled. "I'm hungry," she said. Her stomach made a growl to second her statement. Quatre laughed, and Wufei had to hide a smile behind his fake cough.
"What do you like to eat?" Quatre asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know what I ate with Old Daddy. He usually fed me though."
Quatre cocked an eyebrow. "He fed you? Like with a spoon?" he asked uncertainly.
She nodded.
"Do you need us to feed you?" Quatre asked.
Helen backed up into the cabinet. "No!" she exclaimed, putting her hands over her throat. "I don't want you to feed me...."
"Did it 'hurt' when he fed you, Helen?" Wufei asked. She nodded weakly. "How did he feed you?"
Helen took her finger and pretended to be shoving it down her throat. "It hurt," she said. Quatre's face was pale, and Wufei's face was getting a tinge of red.
'How can someone do something like that to child who's not even bonded to them by blood?' he wondered angrily.
Suddenly, the door burst open. "Daddy!" Helen exclaimed and ran to the door. But she stopped in the middle of the living room when she saw who was there. Her face paled so much, that even Quatre, who was more than just a few yards away from her could see her face was as white as Elmer's Glue.
"Helen...?" Quatre and Wufei asked together. They walked over to her, and saw five enormously muscular men standing in the entranceway. And none other than John Russinger was standing in front of them.
"Give – Helen – back," Russinger growled.
"No! She belongs with Duo!" Quatre said firmly. He tried getting Helen but Russinger interrupted.
"Get him," Russinger said. Two of the men ran towards Quatre and tackled him to the ground, one of them holding his arms in a very uncomfortable position high behind his back, the other punching him in the stomach.
"Quatre!" Wufei exclaimed. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at Quatre's two oppressors, but two more of them men tackled him from behind and did the same to Wufei as they were to Quatre. The last man took the terrified Helen and put her in Russinger's arms.
"No!! Daddy!! Help me!! Quatre!! Wufei!! Help me!!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. But the two pilots could hardly lift a finger, much less chase after the Russinger and company that were now out the door. It was only a few minutes before both Wufei and Quatre fainted from the pain that they thought was from a broken arm or leg or two.
Two hours later...
Duo, Trowa, and Heero entered, surprised to see that it was eerily silent.
Duo felt his insides churn. He knew something had happened to Helen...a sixth sense if you will. "Helen?" he yelled, dropping the bag he was holding and running into the living room. "Oh kuso!" he exclaimed. Trowa and Heero joined him, and jumped to help Quatre and Wufei.
"Hey, Q...come on, wake up," Duo pleaded, slapping Quatre's face, though trying to avoid the bruise that was on the side of his face already. The Arabian pilot's eyes opened halfway.
"Duo! ...They took her..." he murmured.
"Who? Who took who?"
"Russinger....Helen..." Quatre whispered, wincing as Heero check his bruised neck, legs, and arms for any broken bones or serious wounds. Duo stopped. Stopped blinking, stopped moving, stopped breathing.
"Where? Where did they take her?" Trowa asked.
Quatre shrugged – or, tried to anyway. "Dunno," he said. "I'm sorry, Duo...."
"It's okay, Q...It's okay." Duo walked towards the door, his shoulders starting to heave. He turned back to them, his violet-blue eyes shining with tears. "Russinger's going to meet Duo Maxwell today, and get a taste of what a great team the God of Death and the Great Destroy make," he growled.
"I'll go with you," Heero said.
"No. I'm going alone. Quatre and Wufei still need your help. If I don't come back for more than three hours, come and get me."
With those words, Duo left the safehouse and walked out to see it was snowing. 'Snow...I would be able to see tire tracks...or any kind of tracks!' he thought. But there were none, except footprints. He saw a spot of color on the snow with footprints leading away from it to the end of the road. He picked it up and saw it was a cross. His old cross. Helen's cross. Duo clenched it in his hands and looked out the horizon of the snow-covered plain, keeping a sharp eye out for Russinger and the 'gang,' or Helen.
'You're gonna regret the day you ever crossed the line with Duo Maxwell, Russinger. You can count on that.'
~~~
LP: ooh....mysterious...but I think the stories sorta sad! I made up Helen's character, and I still get a lump in my throat when I read the first three chapters! But didya like the story? I think I've gotten off Duo's character in this story...a lot. I hope you guys don't mind! ^_^-v But R&R, please!!
Rinstar (aka BjdIII/Lady Pax): what will happen next time on....Gundam Wing: The Story of a Family? Tune in next time to find out!!
LP: you should be the announcer for Toonami!! Kick that Toonami-robot-guy's @$$ for taking GW off the air!!!
All muses: YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Toonami-robot-guy: AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*all GW and reg. muses attack Toonami-robot-guy* *dust cloud forms*
~*Next Day in Toonami Space Ship*~
*Toonami-robot-guy is tied to the ship's chair, Lady Pax, Rinstar, GW muses, and reg. muses behind him* *Toonami-robot-guy looks terrified*
TRG: uh....well...since these 'people' have asked....so very nicely....we...we're going...to have a...100+ hr...marathon of...Gundam Wing...undubbed or edited...and Endless Waltz. ...We will...also be...seeing the...Thundercats....being killed...by the Gundams... And if...we're lucky....maybe even...seeing Heero...do the HamHam...dance...and sing...the HamHam...song from...Hamtaro....live...like he is...in this...home...movie....
*home movie of Heero singing and dancing to the HamHam dance at the ending of Hamtaro*
~*End to lil' Joke Corner*~ (I want reviews for this part too...please? *hopeful smile*^^0)