::disclaimer::
gundam wing and all affiliated characters, symbols, etc. belong to Sunrise and the Soutsu Agency. the author claims no ownership and no trademark infringement is intended in the publication of this piece of fiction.
::author note::
Well...here it is, Chapter Two! Sorry it's taken me so long...let me be the first one to tell you that school can truly suck when you're actually in the mood to write, and some random English teacher won't let you. Nothing against my teacher personally, of course; she seems like a really cool person, but I'm just sitting in her class scratching out lines whenever she's not looking...*sigh* But here it is anyway. I know things are still a little vague (I'm the effin' author, and I think it's vague, even subconsciously filling in the blanks), but I promise it'll be clearer in the next two chapters or so...Enjoy! And don't forget to review. I love feedback.
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"We must leave, now. I will carry him; you provide cover. Trowa's already gone."
Nodding, Duo peered out the back window (nothing more than a crude hole cut in the wall, really) and pulled his gun. Knives were more his specialty, a trait he shared with Trowa, but in this instance a gun would be many times more useful. Stealth was no longer much of an issue. Wufei gently hefted the still-groggy Heero, and even to the semi-distracted Duo it was obvious he was 'lightening the load' somewhat.
"Well," he muttered, "if we're getting out of here we gotta do it now. Clear." With that, the three teenagers disappeared into the darkness, echoing footsteps the only sign they had ever existed.
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"I wonder where they could be? Wufei went out after them hours ago, and the sirens have stopped..." Sally fretted as she shut the old, decaying door on the sunrise. Quatre, affected by his comrade's anxiety, began to pace.
"They're fine, Sally. Probably taking the long way back, to make sure they haven't been followed."
A tall girl with short, curly brown hair waltzed down the stairs, seemingly unaffected by the tension in the room.
"Trowa's outside," she commented, then strolled back out. A moment later, the lanky youth walked in as predicted.
"Have the others come back yet?" he asked, peering around the room. After a series of "no"s, he sighed and sat down on one of the ragged, decrepit old sofas.
"I told Duo to be careful...I hope he's listened to me."
The air retained its tense electricity as silence fell on the group, and they all jumped as the old door banged open and Duo entered.
"Hullo everyone! Didja miss me?"
Another voice sounded from behind the boy.
"Duo! Kisama! Get out of the way!"
He did as he was bid, and Wufei entered, carrying a still, almost lifeless body. The Chinese teen gave Sally an imploring look, and she nodded.
"Bring him upstairs...I'll see what I can do."
He took another few steps, then grunted.
"Trowa, could you give me a hand with this? I've been carrying him for an hour, and he's heavier than he looks."
Silently, he acquiesced, and together the two boys moved him up the stairs. Sally followed, and Duo left the room to wash up. Quatre's gaze followed the medical group worriedly, and he muttered to the now-empty room,
"There's something funny about all of this. I hope everything turns out okay..." Resigned, he too went upstairs, to see if there was anything he could help with.
"...going to do, Sally's out and this guy's gonna be real sore when he wakes up..."
"...care, Maxwell...drugs. There's more risk in giving that to him than..."
"...show up soon, Hilde's gone for him, maybe he can help Heero..."
Groaning, the bedridden teenager slowly opened his eyes. The sickly glow of the streetlights trickled in through the rags serving as curtains, and he could hear voices downstairs. Wincing at the assorted cuts, bruises, and other injuries he had sustained (from what? he thought briefly), the boy tried vainly to sit up. Hissing at the sudden pain in a dozen points all over his body, he fell back onto the sheets, exhausted by the minor effort.
"I see you're awake," someone commented from the shadows. The patient snapped his gaze around to see his companion, and a tall, thin boy emerged from the dark corner he was been sitting in. The slender brunette regarded him seriously, almost as if looking for something. Intense, glittering green eyes met confused, stormy blue, if only for a moment. The penetrating gaze made the boy uncomfortable, and he shifted in the bed.
"Sorry for asking...but who the hell are you?"
Chuckling, the youth relaxed his stare and strolled over to the side of the infirm's bed.
"Trowa. Trowa Barton."
"How did I get here? What happened?"
Trowa sighed, then retrieved his chair from the corner and sat.
"We found you in an OZ building...well, specifically, Duo found you. We don't know how you got your injuries. Don't you remember any of it? Duo swears you were at least partially awake during your escape."
Frowning, the boy tried to remember. There were a few fleeting moments he could recall; soldiers storming the hall, being carried by two different people whose faces and names he couldn't place, and a fierce, constant ache that seemed to extend all over his body.
"I...don't...remember..." Realizing the importance of this confession, he began to tremble.
"I don't remember anything." Numb with disbelief, the teen stared at the ceiling for a moment, then let his eyes close.
"Nothing..." he murmured, numb with disbelief. He heard Trowa sigh, then lean back in his chair. The stairs creaked with someone's approach; the amnesiac was far beyond caring who it might be.
"Nothing, Zechs. He can't remember...he's a clean Phase II."
Another sigh, then suddenly a cool hand was placed on his forehead. Dark blue eyes flew open in surprise, only to be met with a pair of mirroring blue. The newcomer (Zechs, his mind added stubbornly) had pale skin, long blond hair, and the hardened look of someone who has seen more than his fair share of suffering. The expression on Zechs' face was sympathetic and somewhat sad, but he calmed the boy somehow. Satisfied with his connection, the man began to speak.
"Rest, Heero. Your questions will not go unanswered for long...but first let your body heal. Answers are coming. Sleep."
He obeyed without argument. A single, pure, free thought drifted into his mind before he succumbed to the irresistible waves of sleep washing over him. A soft smile crossed his face, then he passed into the unconscious.
My name is Heero.
When Heero woke up the second time, wispy sunlight was streaming in the windows, and there was no one upstairs with him. Sounds floated into the room from the street; yelling, bartering, the clank of metal against metal, and the occasional squealing of tires against the pavement. He tested his limbs carefully, then slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The teen was pleasantly surprised to find that the ache was nearly gone; the bruises were fading, and the cuts were well on their way to healing, he could see. Deciding to test his luck a little, Heero stood...a little to quickly, it would seem. After a little wobbling, he regained his footing, and proceeded down the rickety old staircase. It was slow going, due to the stiffness in his joints, but it gave him his first good view of the house. It was little more than a shack, really; the walls were okay, with only very small holes, but it was obvious there were structural problems. It was plain, splintered wood, and someone's idea of a joke had been to hang a 'Home, Sweet Home' plaque on the wall. The few windows there were, were cracked, broken and mainly boarded up. The doors to other rooms had broken off- parts of them were still attached to the rusted hinges- and the ancient laminate flooring was stained past recognition. Heero sighed. It wasn't much, but for now, it was all he had; for some reason, the house felt right. He couldn't explain how, exactly; it was just a feeling he had. At that moment, his thoughts were interrupted.
"Oi! Guys! He's awake! How're you feeling, Heero-my-man?" An overly cheerful, braided youth threw a friendly arm around his shoulders, and steered him towards an unbalanced old couch. It was leaning into a wall for support, but the boy threw himself onto it with relish and waited for 'the guys' to come in. Heero could only assume that the Trowa he had spoken to earlier was one of them. He didn't have long to wait; seconds later, a large, ragtag group began walking in. First came a small, smiling blonde; then a severe-looking Chinese boy he vaguely remembered seeing somewhere; Trowa and what seemed to be a twin sister; a smiling woman with short, dark hair; and another woman, this time with golden hair in twin braids.
"Introductions!" the apparent leader of the group announced gleefully, then began. "The two that look alike- yeah, that's them- are Trowa and Catherine. They're twins, Trowa is precog and Cathy is retrocog. Our own little Psychic Friend hotline. Next...the blonde is Quatre-"
The newly-introduced Quatre cut his friend off.
"Hello-"
"Later, Quat...the first gal, with the black hair...mmhmmm...that's Hilde, don't mess with her or I'll have to kill you..." Hilde giggled at this, and the boy continued. "The pissed-off looking one is Wufei..."
"Watch it, Maxwell," he growled, and the antagonist grinned, then picked up his list again.
"...and let me be the first to tell you a pissed-off telekinetic is a bad thing. Sally is the one who's supposed to keep him whipped, but she's sleepin' on the job right now. She's our resident biokinetic." He smirked, then looked around, trying to decide if he was finished. Something crossed his mind all of a sudden, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh! Almost forgot." He extended a hand towards Heero, grinning. "Name's Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. And that's the crew..."
Heero, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this, smiled halfheartedly.
"...Nice to meet you all."
The one named Quatre smiled back, and stepped forward.
"If there's anything we can help with...anything at all..."
"We're your men!" Duo finished, then added on (with glares from Sally, Catherine and Hilde), "and women!"
::author note take two::
Sorry if this one's a little short! Here's a little crazy rambling for you...courtesy of my psycho brother...
"The Gundam Guys invade Wal-mart! No, seriously! And Quatre loses his little-goggle-thingies, and has to get a pair of the shark ones...with the fins...Wufei visits the fishies and moans about the dishonor of caging animals, goes on a spree and 'frees' them all...Duo runs over the greeters in one of those Barbie cars...Heero checks out the guns and accidentally shoots someone...it'd be a riot! You should write it!"
But oh, it gets better.
"Then, you could write a sequel! They went to K-Mart or Wal-Mart or Target or whatever...nah, Wal-Mart, I kinda like Target...well, they went because they were going on vacation. To Disney World. Or something. And Trowa+Duo jump the dudes in the animal suits, and run wild through the park...Heero terrorizes the midway...Duo drags Quatre onto the rollercoasters, and Quat hates 'em...Heero 'fixes' the rides 'cause they're too slow, then Quat gets on...they get kicked out, of course..."
Oh, the horror. But it's STILL not over...he went on about going back to their hotel ("Stealing Quatre's credit card for room service! Cannonballing into the pool from the top floor! Quatre in water wings!"), getting kicked out of the hotel and going to a casino ("Wufei dealing poker, Quatre getting REALLY drunk and signing up to be a male stripper, Heero and Trowa getting dragged into...well, a drag contest...or maybe Sigfried and whoever the hell that other guy is...Duo laughing his ass off the whole time..."), then getting kicked out of the casino and going to Sally Po's (pronounced really fast, like "Sallipo", and all one word...she's never "Sally" at my house) house...where all the G-girls happen to be...need I elaborate further? I think the Applebee's waiter was trying to spike my drink and got his instead, or maybe he was trying to spike my bro's drink?
...
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...Maybe I should stop while I'm ahead. Hope you got at least a couple laughs out of that...he and I were getting some truly funny looks the first time we discussed it. Well, now I'm really done rambling. Please review...if you don't, Duo and Wufei and I will come out after you, tie you to the bed and tickle you senseless until you give us some feedback. *innocent smile* So, no problems, right? Ja ne!
~Christi, aka the Impossible Gundam