Whoa. it's been. well. a while. A _long_ while! I'm sure you thought I
dropped off the face of the earth!
Well, I haven't ^_^ I was going back through this story and decided that I was going to post the rest no matter what [yeeeeeeeees, I finished. ^_^ betcha didn't expect that one, ne? ^_^], but I was wondering. I was thinking about doing a major, _major_ revising of this story, but I need to know if you think it's a good enough one to spend time doing so. I would really appreciate your feedback.
Thank you so much Jenihenpen, Jaid Skywalker, Lorimlowe2, Aras Melanki, and Kawaii ^_^ I really appreciated all of your mails and reviews. ^_^ Though I have been a slacker.
Meanwhile, here's a tiny treat for you to chew on while I wait, ne? ^_^ FF.net was doing weird things to my word documents, so a lot of the sentences may end up looking like fragments because the places where I put [three dots] signifying that a train of thoughts was trailing off often turned out as one period. Sooooooo. without further disclaimer [oh, and Gundam Wing is not mine. ::stares a gun in creator's hand::] here you go!
Wufei returned home and consciously locked the door behind him. The house was just as he left it: every door was shut, every room dark, and Trowa still sleeping somewhat soundly on his side. He retreated to his own room and laid down on his bed, not shutting his eyes, not cutting on the light.
/What is happening? It's not me... it can't be me.../ He narrowed his eyes. /I do not have nightmares like this. Something is trying to take a hold... a hold of... but why me? What could someone gain from controlling my mind?/ He sat back up and glared at the mirror across from his bed, seeing only his own, 16 year old features glaring back at him, not a 6 year old's. /Whoever took Quatre did this one on purpose... divide and conquer.../ He thought about it another moment, then smiled, and laughed at himself at he mirror. /I can't believe it. It just took one of us to mess everything up. It just took one... but now I've gotten you figured out. The destruction of L5 was a dirty trick, but an old one, and it won't work on me. You have to do better than that. Now there is no way you are going to take a hold of me. Ever./ Over and over he repeated this until the repetition was no longer frantic...
But then he began to think about the others... Quatre had been kidnapped... Heero had been gone for who knows how long... Trowa was asleep... but Duo... He narrowed his eyes again. He hadn't even heard a report from Duo, not even an e-mail report. Something had to be wrong. He rose from the bed and went to the basement where the Gundams used to be stored. He packed a few items into his Jeep and returned inside to grab his keys before leaving. He shut the door behind him.
After a moment, a click sounded as the door was unlocked and Wufei returned back into the house with an annoyed look on his face. He reached inside of the closet and retrieved a heavy black jacket, then locking the door and heading into his car for the space port so he could in turn retrieve Duo...
* * *
"I couldn't possibly be any more freaking disturbed and confused by everything you _just_ said," stated Duo, in truth, horribly disconcerted. /Show the world what it's like to be me? How freakin depressing can you get?/
"I understand your confusion," replied Azuya earnestly, deep eyes set on Duo, "so you have to listen to me carefully. I'll give you an offer you won't refuse."
"Won't or _can't_," asked Duo bitterly.
"Both," whispered the other. He leaned closer. "Do you want to hear it?"
Duo didn't. He really _really_ didn't want to hear it. So he stood to leave.
Suddenly, Azuya grabbed Duo's wrist to keep him from moving. And very very suddenly, very totally, the Deathscythe pilot couldn't move an inch. He couldn't move his arm, his legs, his eyes, even twitch a cheek. He could only stare in fear as Azuya's features became slightly feminine, but young like a child's.
"You're a very lucky boy, Duo," said Azuya sweetly. "You've survived a non-discrepant Holocaust and now I'm going to allow you the chance to reap your rewards."
There were five or six four-letter words that Duo was thinking about at the moment in both good English and bad English. Mostly bad English.
"I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor and I'm not bluffing."
/Operation Meteor!! Why the freak does everybody keep bringing that up?!/
Slowly, "Azuya" released Duo's arm and he was able to move again. He heaved a deep sigh.
"Akimiko."
A deformed half-male Akimiko giggled childishly. "I can't believe you know my name. But I suppose that is well enough. You are in direct possession of four incredibly important assets to the future of Earth, and I would like to borrow them from you."
"Assets?" choked Duo. Quatre. "What, you mean the guys?"
"That's right."
"Unbelievable." Duo's panic humor kicked in and he laughed nervously. "I don't think Wu-man will be so happy when he finds out he's an asset. He doesn't take too well to stuff like that. Heero just might try to kill you. Hell, I might just try to kill you. And Trowa might be forced to retaliate."
Akimiko's eyes narrowed. "_Trowa_. Who--"
Akimiko was cut off by a giant explosion that rocked the building. The doorway flew open from the blast, fire outlining the background and smoke poured into the room, making Duo cough. Azuya looked around wildly and her face changed back to that of the male Azuya. "What was that?!"
A voice began to scream from down the hallway. "THERE'S A GUNDAM DOWN HERE!! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!"
Duo blinked. "A... Gundam..." Another blink later, Duo had disappeared from the room.
* * *
Wufei waited patiently by his car and off handedly watched the smoke pouring from the little medical center. Not even a minute later Duo bolted out of the front door. Wufei groaned. "That's not such a good idea! The Gundam is that way! Are you that much of a baka?" He gave a small smile of relief as a perfectly healthy Duo spotted him and ran flat out toward the car. Unfortunately for Justice, Duo didn't stop running, but instead threw his full weight into giving him a great big hug.
"Man I have _NEVER_ been so glad to see you!!"
"That's obvious. Are you ok?"
"NO! I'm scared to death. I think I peed my pants."
"Get in the car."
"Yes sir, Mr. Destruction, sir."
Wufei paled just a little. "You mean you just met... Akimiko? Is that who it is?"
"Unfortunately, she's not the one hundred and twenty year old lady we thought was wobbling around the place." Duo groaned and stretched back in his seat. "Oh man! What's with this? Crap like this isn't supposed to happen to kids."
"Kids," echoed Wufei angrily, then, after a moment, thoughtfully. "Of course this isn't supposed to happen to kids..." Suddenly, Wufei yanked on the wheel and the car screeched into the other direction. Thankfully, it wasn't a very busy road. Not very.
Duo spat forth several more words from his extensive area of not very good English before swinging to face Wufei. "What the freak do you think you're doing?!?"
"We have to go back."
Duo's mouth dropped open and didn't go back up. All he could utter was 'uh'. Although his surprise turned into a steady glare, the driving pilot did not appear to notice. By the time Duo got his voice back, Wufei began to speak.
"I need to see Akimiko."
"For what?!" choked Duo. "How-To-Scare-The-insert word-Out-Of-A-Gun- dam-Pilot lessons?! That's _suicide_! A-And she's a _she_, I told you! She freakin trans--!"
"Did she try and _kill you_, Duo?" asked Wufei, ignoring the last part both ritually and personally. The last thing he needed to know was that he was going to be extensively creeped out, _then_ killed. He already had the creeped out part down. The killed part wasn't something he was planning on.
Duo blinked. "Well no, but--she said she wanted to borrow us. Does that even give you the hint that going back is not such a good idea?"
"You didn't complete your mission!" snapped Wufei irritably, diverting his nervous energy towards Duo in anger. "Now I have to do it! We need to find Quatre because he's the missing piece in this mess! If we get Quatre and bring everyone together before it's too late, Akimiko won't be able to finish whatever she's got planned to do with the children--"
"Plan. You know that she's planned something? What are you, psychic? Schizophrenic? Both?"
Wufei gritted his teeth. He could even feel the nervous energy flowing off of Duo and both of them were getting nauseated with the smell of innate fear neither could shake. He sighed heavily and tried to clear his mind. "We don't have the time or the energy to be fighting about something petty like this and you know it. It's no secret that she's got us both scared."
Duo closed his mouth and slowly sank back into his seat. He absently let a window down and let the feel of the slightly bitter wind flow over him and distract him. He gave a weak laugh. "You just said that you're scared. I guess we're not going to live so long after all."
"That's a bad attitude to have." Wufei sighed again, the nervous energy mostly leaving him through the cleansing explusion of air from his mouth. His chest untightened. "The only way that I have been able to keep my mind mostly clear through this is because of my meditation. I've trained myself to mostly resist thoughts that are not good for the mind or the body, like constant fear, or even _nightmares_..." He frowned a little at the thought. "...nightmares about the horrors of the lives we led before... and I think that has something to do with what Akimiko wants us for. It has something to do with our past. To her, somehow, we're different, but I don't think it's specifically--"
"--the Gundams," voiced Duo softly. "We were trained from birth to be Gundam pilots."
"From children, yes. From birth, I'm not so sure. Although...I feel like we've been trained from birth _just to pilot the Gundams_."
The braided boy cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, me too. All of us have gone through some rough times, and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to touch base with each other about exactly what happened, am I right? Well hey, lots of kids have gone through bad times. We're not the only ones who have had to abandon being plain old kids to enlist as soldiers. But Quatre I just don't understand. I just don't understand. What happened to him? Of all of us he seems to be the one that's had the least trouble with his life besides his mom's death. I mean, look at him! Well dressed... a truckload of sisters, head of a company to boot..." Duo crossed his arms behind the back of his chair. "What is so similar with us and Quatre that Akimiko wants us? What is she planning? She said 'I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor.' Do you think... she's trying to launch another war on Earth?"
"No," replied Wufei firmly. "I don't think it's that materialistic. I think... it can't just be about us but about a lot of people... children, but what children? What kind of children is she aiming for? Children like us?"
"But there aren't any--" Duo stopped short. "Maybe..."
Wufei looked at him. "Maybe what? What are you thinking?"
Duo's thoughts averted darkly toward his own Deathscythe pilot- training before he could fight on his own. "Maybe there are other children like us, Wufei. Did the Doctors or Professors train anyone else to be like us, ya think? Maybe we aren't the only ones who were supposed to train the Gundams. Trowa--our Trowa--wasn't the real Trowa, remember? He wasn't supposed to pilot Heavyarms in the first place. Maybe there are other people like the other Trowa on the rest of our colonies--" He stopped short, not saying anything about what he knew of Wufei's own colony. Wufei didn't offer anything, but nodded toward the little med. center. Duo sat up in his seat. He couldn't see anything but smoke.
They pulled up as far as they could behind the crowd of people who had gathered before the site of the med. center. Both of them gaped as they scanned the decimated building they had left at least partially whole only 10 minutes before. They didn't have a very good view so they jumped on top of the hood of the Jeep. The report of the vigorous newscaster attracted both of their attention.
"--at the site of the old Children's Research Medical Center, where only 15 minutes before there had been rumors of a Gundam attack. But the accucastions, as they were titled, were only rumors, and moments later the building caught fire from the inside and burned down. Leads point to electrical sparks or paper fires, but no one is for sure. All of the minor doctors, students, and children were evacuated safely before the fire consumed the building, but two persons remain unaccounted for, presumably dead--"
"Azuya and Tomoe," whispered Duo as the reporter said the names. "That makes sense. But why would they cause the building to go up?"
"I--" Wufei stopped short and looked around him. Not seeing anything unusual but feeling very strange, as if someone was watching him, he glared harshly at the heads of the crowd before him. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah," hissed Duo. The feeling of being watched increased until he looked beside him and the feeling evaporated. He hadn't noticed before that a boy had climbed the Jeep and stood beside him, staring with deep blue eyes intently at smoke. Duo elbowed Wufei and motioned to the boy. The boy had faded blue and black hair that went down a little past his ears. He looked maybe 11 or 12 in his faded simple dark blue medical clothes, but his countenance and demeanor gave off otherwise more mature airs.
"Hey, are you a med. student here?" asked Wufei suddenly. The boy didn't turn his head.
"I was a patient," he answered softly. He curved his head until Duo and Wufei were both in his sights. "You weren't patients there, were you?" His eyes softened. "That's good."
"I guess," said Duo, "you were helping with the research?"
The boy blinked at him. "You know about the research?"
"I know about Ak--Azuya," amended Duo quickly. "He was a childhood friend of mine."
The other's eyes began to water a little, his expression one of almost happy joy, but he continued in the same inquiring tone of voice. "How about you?"
Wufei shrugged. "I didn't know anyone here."
"That's good," repeated the boy. "I knew everyone here. All of my friends were in that fire."
The Chinese pilot stared intently at him. "You mean all of your friends got out of it?" The reporters had said that everyone made it out alive...
"No," said the boy, a tear falling from one solemn blue eye. "My friends are there now, beneath the ground... nobody can help them, but finally they have been given graves in thier resting place. Maybe... maybe you can help me. I think I know who you are."
"Have I ever seen you before?" asked Wufei. He twitched when the boy began to laugh, the tears freely flowing down his face by now. "Did I say something funny?"
"You're the ones who she's been looking for. I've finally found you!"
"That's it!" said Duo angrily, grabbing the boy's shirt collar. "You're one of Akimiko's people, aren't you?! What the freak does she want with us?!"
"She wants your souls," said the boy in a hushed voice, a tears slowing and his expression turning slightly fearful, but then becoming hopeful again. "But she can't get them from you yet! I know two of your freinds. You have to go get the bright-hearted boy from Aomori. He's waiting for you."
"Bright-hearted," echoed Wufei. "Do you mean bright-_haired_? Quatre?"
"Quatre," breathed the boy reverently, "Quatre... you are... Duo and Wufei... I am so happy... I can finally be free, just if, just if..." He released himself from Duo's now fairly weak grasp and quickly grabbed his hand, placing it beneath his shirt on the chest area above his heart. The tears began to flow freely again. "Please free me. Give me a part of your heart!"
Duo only gaped and fumbled for words, not coming up with anything. He looked weakly at Wufei, motioning for help or an answer at least. Wufei only gaped at him. The boy reached for Wufei, but Wufei recoiled reflexively from his reach. The boy's expression turned pleading. "Please! Please help me! If you give me a part of your heart, I will in turn give you the coordinates of Aomori. You can retrieve Quatre! Please!" Again, he tentatively reached for Wufei's hand, and this time the boy did not resist but stood stock still.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Just say my name," said the boy softly. Only vaguely did Duo notice that he couldn't feel a pulse underneath the cold skin. "My name is... Hikaeru."
"Whaddaya think, Wu-man?" asked Duo half-heartedly. "Wanna be a Care Bear today?" Wufei nodded softly and Duo didn't have the heart to laugh at him. "Me too."
"Hikaeru."
"Hikaeru."
"Thank you," whispered Hikaeru, tears coursing even harder. He clenched the boys' hands tightly for a moment, then slowly began to back away. "I know that you can save Earth before Akimiko kills it. Go to Aomori." He pointed toward the sky. "The 3rd section of our colonies, beneath Aomori, in lesser Aomori. In this place lies the Aomori Wood and just one entrance door. It will be easy to find because you have not been lost. There you will reunite and become one heart again. Goodbye, space hearts..." Hikaeru smiled brilliantly, then faded until there was only air, just like before.
Duo blinked about four times before saying anything. "Well, that was ritually weird."
"And yet... the tightness in my chest is completely gone." Wufei looked back at the remains of the building and fancied that he saw beraggled children standing there, smiling back at him. He ripped his gaze away and jumped back down into the Jeep, starting the car up again. Duo followed suit and consiously snapped his seat belt across his waist.
"We goin?"
"Definitely."
"I hope Quatre's ok, cuz I've had just about enough of this crap."
Well, I haven't ^_^ I was going back through this story and decided that I was going to post the rest no matter what [yeeeeeeeees, I finished. ^_^ betcha didn't expect that one, ne? ^_^], but I was wondering. I was thinking about doing a major, _major_ revising of this story, but I need to know if you think it's a good enough one to spend time doing so. I would really appreciate your feedback.
Thank you so much Jenihenpen, Jaid Skywalker, Lorimlowe2, Aras Melanki, and Kawaii ^_^ I really appreciated all of your mails and reviews. ^_^ Though I have been a slacker.
Meanwhile, here's a tiny treat for you to chew on while I wait, ne? ^_^ FF.net was doing weird things to my word documents, so a lot of the sentences may end up looking like fragments because the places where I put [three dots] signifying that a train of thoughts was trailing off often turned out as one period. Sooooooo. without further disclaimer [oh, and Gundam Wing is not mine. ::stares a gun in creator's hand::] here you go!
Wufei returned home and consciously locked the door behind him. The house was just as he left it: every door was shut, every room dark, and Trowa still sleeping somewhat soundly on his side. He retreated to his own room and laid down on his bed, not shutting his eyes, not cutting on the light.
/What is happening? It's not me... it can't be me.../ He narrowed his eyes. /I do not have nightmares like this. Something is trying to take a hold... a hold of... but why me? What could someone gain from controlling my mind?/ He sat back up and glared at the mirror across from his bed, seeing only his own, 16 year old features glaring back at him, not a 6 year old's. /Whoever took Quatre did this one on purpose... divide and conquer.../ He thought about it another moment, then smiled, and laughed at himself at he mirror. /I can't believe it. It just took one of us to mess everything up. It just took one... but now I've gotten you figured out. The destruction of L5 was a dirty trick, but an old one, and it won't work on me. You have to do better than that. Now there is no way you are going to take a hold of me. Ever./ Over and over he repeated this until the repetition was no longer frantic...
But then he began to think about the others... Quatre had been kidnapped... Heero had been gone for who knows how long... Trowa was asleep... but Duo... He narrowed his eyes again. He hadn't even heard a report from Duo, not even an e-mail report. Something had to be wrong. He rose from the bed and went to the basement where the Gundams used to be stored. He packed a few items into his Jeep and returned inside to grab his keys before leaving. He shut the door behind him.
After a moment, a click sounded as the door was unlocked and Wufei returned back into the house with an annoyed look on his face. He reached inside of the closet and retrieved a heavy black jacket, then locking the door and heading into his car for the space port so he could in turn retrieve Duo...
* * *
"I couldn't possibly be any more freaking disturbed and confused by everything you _just_ said," stated Duo, in truth, horribly disconcerted. /Show the world what it's like to be me? How freakin depressing can you get?/
"I understand your confusion," replied Azuya earnestly, deep eyes set on Duo, "so you have to listen to me carefully. I'll give you an offer you won't refuse."
"Won't or _can't_," asked Duo bitterly.
"Both," whispered the other. He leaned closer. "Do you want to hear it?"
Duo didn't. He really _really_ didn't want to hear it. So he stood to leave.
Suddenly, Azuya grabbed Duo's wrist to keep him from moving. And very very suddenly, very totally, the Deathscythe pilot couldn't move an inch. He couldn't move his arm, his legs, his eyes, even twitch a cheek. He could only stare in fear as Azuya's features became slightly feminine, but young like a child's.
"You're a very lucky boy, Duo," said Azuya sweetly. "You've survived a non-discrepant Holocaust and now I'm going to allow you the chance to reap your rewards."
There were five or six four-letter words that Duo was thinking about at the moment in both good English and bad English. Mostly bad English.
"I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor and I'm not bluffing."
/Operation Meteor!! Why the freak does everybody keep bringing that up?!/
Slowly, "Azuya" released Duo's arm and he was able to move again. He heaved a deep sigh.
"Akimiko."
A deformed half-male Akimiko giggled childishly. "I can't believe you know my name. But I suppose that is well enough. You are in direct possession of four incredibly important assets to the future of Earth, and I would like to borrow them from you."
"Assets?" choked Duo. Quatre. "What, you mean the guys?"
"That's right."
"Unbelievable." Duo's panic humor kicked in and he laughed nervously. "I don't think Wu-man will be so happy when he finds out he's an asset. He doesn't take too well to stuff like that. Heero just might try to kill you. Hell, I might just try to kill you. And Trowa might be forced to retaliate."
Akimiko's eyes narrowed. "_Trowa_. Who--"
Akimiko was cut off by a giant explosion that rocked the building. The doorway flew open from the blast, fire outlining the background and smoke poured into the room, making Duo cough. Azuya looked around wildly and her face changed back to that of the male Azuya. "What was that?!"
A voice began to scream from down the hallway. "THERE'S A GUNDAM DOWN HERE!! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!"
Duo blinked. "A... Gundam..." Another blink later, Duo had disappeared from the room.
* * *
Wufei waited patiently by his car and off handedly watched the smoke pouring from the little medical center. Not even a minute later Duo bolted out of the front door. Wufei groaned. "That's not such a good idea! The Gundam is that way! Are you that much of a baka?" He gave a small smile of relief as a perfectly healthy Duo spotted him and ran flat out toward the car. Unfortunately for Justice, Duo didn't stop running, but instead threw his full weight into giving him a great big hug.
"Man I have _NEVER_ been so glad to see you!!"
"That's obvious. Are you ok?"
"NO! I'm scared to death. I think I peed my pants."
"Get in the car."
"Yes sir, Mr. Destruction, sir."
Wufei paled just a little. "You mean you just met... Akimiko? Is that who it is?"
"Unfortunately, she's not the one hundred and twenty year old lady we thought was wobbling around the place." Duo groaned and stretched back in his seat. "Oh man! What's with this? Crap like this isn't supposed to happen to kids."
"Kids," echoed Wufei angrily, then, after a moment, thoughtfully. "Of course this isn't supposed to happen to kids..." Suddenly, Wufei yanked on the wheel and the car screeched into the other direction. Thankfully, it wasn't a very busy road. Not very.
Duo spat forth several more words from his extensive area of not very good English before swinging to face Wufei. "What the freak do you think you're doing?!?"
"We have to go back."
Duo's mouth dropped open and didn't go back up. All he could utter was 'uh'. Although his surprise turned into a steady glare, the driving pilot did not appear to notice. By the time Duo got his voice back, Wufei began to speak.
"I need to see Akimiko."
"For what?!" choked Duo. "How-To-Scare-The-insert word-Out-Of-A-Gun- dam-Pilot lessons?! That's _suicide_! A-And she's a _she_, I told you! She freakin trans--!"
"Did she try and _kill you_, Duo?" asked Wufei, ignoring the last part both ritually and personally. The last thing he needed to know was that he was going to be extensively creeped out, _then_ killed. He already had the creeped out part down. The killed part wasn't something he was planning on.
Duo blinked. "Well no, but--she said she wanted to borrow us. Does that even give you the hint that going back is not such a good idea?"
"You didn't complete your mission!" snapped Wufei irritably, diverting his nervous energy towards Duo in anger. "Now I have to do it! We need to find Quatre because he's the missing piece in this mess! If we get Quatre and bring everyone together before it's too late, Akimiko won't be able to finish whatever she's got planned to do with the children--"
"Plan. You know that she's planned something? What are you, psychic? Schizophrenic? Both?"
Wufei gritted his teeth. He could even feel the nervous energy flowing off of Duo and both of them were getting nauseated with the smell of innate fear neither could shake. He sighed heavily and tried to clear his mind. "We don't have the time or the energy to be fighting about something petty like this and you know it. It's no secret that she's got us both scared."
Duo closed his mouth and slowly sank back into his seat. He absently let a window down and let the feel of the slightly bitter wind flow over him and distract him. He gave a weak laugh. "You just said that you're scared. I guess we're not going to live so long after all."
"That's a bad attitude to have." Wufei sighed again, the nervous energy mostly leaving him through the cleansing explusion of air from his mouth. His chest untightened. "The only way that I have been able to keep my mind mostly clear through this is because of my meditation. I've trained myself to mostly resist thoughts that are not good for the mind or the body, like constant fear, or even _nightmares_..." He frowned a little at the thought. "...nightmares about the horrors of the lives we led before... and I think that has something to do with what Akimiko wants us for. It has something to do with our past. To her, somehow, we're different, but I don't think it's specifically--"
"--the Gundams," voiced Duo softly. "We were trained from birth to be Gundam pilots."
"From children, yes. From birth, I'm not so sure. Although...I feel like we've been trained from birth _just to pilot the Gundams_."
The braided boy cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, me too. All of us have gone through some rough times, and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to touch base with each other about exactly what happened, am I right? Well hey, lots of kids have gone through bad times. We're not the only ones who have had to abandon being plain old kids to enlist as soldiers. But Quatre I just don't understand. I just don't understand. What happened to him? Of all of us he seems to be the one that's had the least trouble with his life besides his mom's death. I mean, look at him! Well dressed... a truckload of sisters, head of a company to boot..." Duo crossed his arms behind the back of his chair. "What is so similar with us and Quatre that Akimiko wants us? What is she planning? She said 'I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor.' Do you think... she's trying to launch another war on Earth?"
"No," replied Wufei firmly. "I don't think it's that materialistic. I think... it can't just be about us but about a lot of people... children, but what children? What kind of children is she aiming for? Children like us?"
"But there aren't any--" Duo stopped short. "Maybe..."
Wufei looked at him. "Maybe what? What are you thinking?"
Duo's thoughts averted darkly toward his own Deathscythe pilot- training before he could fight on his own. "Maybe there are other children like us, Wufei. Did the Doctors or Professors train anyone else to be like us, ya think? Maybe we aren't the only ones who were supposed to train the Gundams. Trowa--our Trowa--wasn't the real Trowa, remember? He wasn't supposed to pilot Heavyarms in the first place. Maybe there are other people like the other Trowa on the rest of our colonies--" He stopped short, not saying anything about what he knew of Wufei's own colony. Wufei didn't offer anything, but nodded toward the little med. center. Duo sat up in his seat. He couldn't see anything but smoke.
They pulled up as far as they could behind the crowd of people who had gathered before the site of the med. center. Both of them gaped as they scanned the decimated building they had left at least partially whole only 10 minutes before. They didn't have a very good view so they jumped on top of the hood of the Jeep. The report of the vigorous newscaster attracted both of their attention.
"--at the site of the old Children's Research Medical Center, where only 15 minutes before there had been rumors of a Gundam attack. But the accucastions, as they were titled, were only rumors, and moments later the building caught fire from the inside and burned down. Leads point to electrical sparks or paper fires, but no one is for sure. All of the minor doctors, students, and children were evacuated safely before the fire consumed the building, but two persons remain unaccounted for, presumably dead--"
"Azuya and Tomoe," whispered Duo as the reporter said the names. "That makes sense. But why would they cause the building to go up?"
"I--" Wufei stopped short and looked around him. Not seeing anything unusual but feeling very strange, as if someone was watching him, he glared harshly at the heads of the crowd before him. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah," hissed Duo. The feeling of being watched increased until he looked beside him and the feeling evaporated. He hadn't noticed before that a boy had climbed the Jeep and stood beside him, staring with deep blue eyes intently at smoke. Duo elbowed Wufei and motioned to the boy. The boy had faded blue and black hair that went down a little past his ears. He looked maybe 11 or 12 in his faded simple dark blue medical clothes, but his countenance and demeanor gave off otherwise more mature airs.
"Hey, are you a med. student here?" asked Wufei suddenly. The boy didn't turn his head.
"I was a patient," he answered softly. He curved his head until Duo and Wufei were both in his sights. "You weren't patients there, were you?" His eyes softened. "That's good."
"I guess," said Duo, "you were helping with the research?"
The boy blinked at him. "You know about the research?"
"I know about Ak--Azuya," amended Duo quickly. "He was a childhood friend of mine."
The other's eyes began to water a little, his expression one of almost happy joy, but he continued in the same inquiring tone of voice. "How about you?"
Wufei shrugged. "I didn't know anyone here."
"That's good," repeated the boy. "I knew everyone here. All of my friends were in that fire."
The Chinese pilot stared intently at him. "You mean all of your friends got out of it?" The reporters had said that everyone made it out alive...
"No," said the boy, a tear falling from one solemn blue eye. "My friends are there now, beneath the ground... nobody can help them, but finally they have been given graves in thier resting place. Maybe... maybe you can help me. I think I know who you are."
"Have I ever seen you before?" asked Wufei. He twitched when the boy began to laugh, the tears freely flowing down his face by now. "Did I say something funny?"
"You're the ones who she's been looking for. I've finally found you!"
"That's it!" said Duo angrily, grabbing the boy's shirt collar. "You're one of Akimiko's people, aren't you?! What the freak does she want with us?!"
"She wants your souls," said the boy in a hushed voice, a tears slowing and his expression turning slightly fearful, but then becoming hopeful again. "But she can't get them from you yet! I know two of your freinds. You have to go get the bright-hearted boy from Aomori. He's waiting for you."
"Bright-hearted," echoed Wufei. "Do you mean bright-_haired_? Quatre?"
"Quatre," breathed the boy reverently, "Quatre... you are... Duo and Wufei... I am so happy... I can finally be free, just if, just if..." He released himself from Duo's now fairly weak grasp and quickly grabbed his hand, placing it beneath his shirt on the chest area above his heart. The tears began to flow freely again. "Please free me. Give me a part of your heart!"
Duo only gaped and fumbled for words, not coming up with anything. He looked weakly at Wufei, motioning for help or an answer at least. Wufei only gaped at him. The boy reached for Wufei, but Wufei recoiled reflexively from his reach. The boy's expression turned pleading. "Please! Please help me! If you give me a part of your heart, I will in turn give you the coordinates of Aomori. You can retrieve Quatre! Please!" Again, he tentatively reached for Wufei's hand, and this time the boy did not resist but stood stock still.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Just say my name," said the boy softly. Only vaguely did Duo notice that he couldn't feel a pulse underneath the cold skin. "My name is... Hikaeru."
"Whaddaya think, Wu-man?" asked Duo half-heartedly. "Wanna be a Care Bear today?" Wufei nodded softly and Duo didn't have the heart to laugh at him. "Me too."
"Hikaeru."
"Hikaeru."
"Thank you," whispered Hikaeru, tears coursing even harder. He clenched the boys' hands tightly for a moment, then slowly began to back away. "I know that you can save Earth before Akimiko kills it. Go to Aomori." He pointed toward the sky. "The 3rd section of our colonies, beneath Aomori, in lesser Aomori. In this place lies the Aomori Wood and just one entrance door. It will be easy to find because you have not been lost. There you will reunite and become one heart again. Goodbye, space hearts..." Hikaeru smiled brilliantly, then faded until there was only air, just like before.
Duo blinked about four times before saying anything. "Well, that was ritually weird."
"And yet... the tightness in my chest is completely gone." Wufei looked back at the remains of the building and fancied that he saw beraggled children standing there, smiling back at him. He ripped his gaze away and jumped back down into the Jeep, starting the car up again. Duo followed suit and consiously snapped his seat belt across his waist.
"We goin?"
"Definitely."
"I hope Quatre's ok, cuz I've had just about enough of this crap."