The conference room was the same as always-huge. The circular table held
ten chairs, which were now being occupied by delegates from all the
departments of the Preventers. On the main wall, a large vid-screen
hummed, promising the telling of information they'd been seeking.
Gently, Trowa helped Quatre to his seat. He'd been released from Sally's manic care less than an hour ago and after a quick shower he was now with the others, prepared to hear the recovered date about the two still sleeping children. They'd had Corinne take a look at the children, but she hadn't been able to tell anything. They seemed impervious to scans.
Quatre was worried as well; he'd taken to seeing the children everyday-for the last three days-and the way they slept bothered him. Since the day they'd arrived, they'd lain in each other's arms sleeping tightly together, not allowing separation.
The girl had awoken once, but upon finding that she'd been put into another bed, she climbed out and went to the boy's. Of them both, the little boy seemed the most hurt. He'd yet to awaken and didn't react to anything done to his body at all. He seemed almost comatose, but Sally couldn't figure out why. The strange thing was, if the little girl shifted away from him in sleep, he would pull her back into him. The doctors-especially Sally- were completely baffled. Hopefully today's meeting would change all that.
"Would you like something to drink?" Trowa looked down at Quatre from his standing position over him.
His stay in the hospital had been short but tiring. He remembered why he hated them so much. His throat had almost completely healed, and so had his arm. His left arm was wrapped in nearly two inches of gauze, but that was only a safety precaution; it was painful, but not debilitating.
"Yes, please."
Trowa smiled and moved quietly to retrieve the desired liquid. Trowa had been amazing-staying with him throughout the long nights in the infirmary. Quatre had tried to kick him out more than once, but he'd adamantly refused. They finally decided on a compromise. Trowa stayed, and Quatre shared the bed; it was a tight fit, but they didn't mind.
The door opened and Heero and Duo walked in, arms linked. Motioning for Heero to save him a seat, Duo came over and sat on the table in front of him.
"Hey, Quatre, heard you got sprung. How ya feelin'?"
He offered a smile. "I'm good-can't really complain. How about you?"
Duo looked over at his partner and then back at Quatre. A purely satisfied smile came over his face. "Oh, I don't think I can complain either." He winked at him. "He's been super attentive and cuddly since we got back from that mission. Sorry to say it, but your getting hurt has totally improved my after glow time." They laughed, drawing the attention of the other people in the room-especially the ones they didn't know very well; then they blushed.
"Duo," Heero called across the table, giving his benevolent partner a glare. "Get over here and sit down."
Mimicking a ball and chain, Duo stood and moved over to his partner, disregarding the chair for Heero's lap.
Quatre laughed again, but a sudden coughing fit caught him, and he doubled over in pain. Trowa was by his side in a moment, helping him with the glass of water. Once the coughing had stopped, Trowa settled him back into his chair and chided softly. "No more laughing. It's bad for you." Quatre just smiled.
During his coughing fit, Sally and Wufei had walked in. They were all now present and accounted for, and Lady Une began the meeting.
"As you know, we sent the data retrieved by Heero down to be decoded. Those files have now been completely opened, and we are beginning to sort through the information. Seventy percent of the files are medical in nature, and those Sally and her medical team will have to go over. However, we did retrieve some basic information about the children, and I wanted to pass that along to you." She made eye contact with Quatre and offered a weak smile.
"In addition, I wanted to let you all know that the Tragona faction is now in custody, and they are beginning interrogations; however, it doesn't appear that any of the people that worked on the 'NEO' project were apprehended. Unfortunately, for right now, they've gotten away."
Quatre felt his blood boil at the thought that those cruel and dangerous people were, right this very second, free. Trowa took his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. He turned to his partner and nodded, too upset to even smile.
"Ok, let's begin." Lady Une pressed a button on her control panel and the large view screen behind her jumped to life. A picture of the little boy came up on the screen, he wasn't smiling. "We have basic tube information on him, and, yes, I said tube. He's a genetic. We know he was born on November 8, 195 A.C. which makes him five years old. The gestation time for a tube being half that of a normal pregnancy, we can ascertain that he was conceived sometime in July of 195. From what we've been able to glean from the information, he has no name-"
"No name?!" Duo's outrage was clear to everyone. "I'm an orphan, but at least I had a name!" Still perched on Heero's lap, the quiet man pulled his partner tighter into him, hugging him close to dispel past memories.
"No name, but we do know his code name-Shinigami."
"NO WAY!" Duo was on his feet in an instant, and so was Quatre.
"That can't be possible-to give a child no name but call him Death! What were they thinking?" Quatre's voice was panicked; he hated to think that this child could have been so blatantly abused.
But Lady Une remained calm. She'd known long in advance they wouldn't like that part or any of the other parts for that matter. Motioning with her hands, she got the two men to sit down quietly, this time with Duo in his regular seat.
"I understand your feelings, all of you, but believe me when I tell you, I'm not finished yet." They gulped. This wasn't at all good news. "Besides the boy's name, we also know a few more interesting facts about him. His height and weight are below normal for a child his age. Sally estimates that he's roughly three inches shorter than he should be and over fifteen pounds too light. But considering the fact that he's had every single bone in his body broken at least twice, it's easy to understand."
"Every single.twice?" Duo's voice was low, attesting to his shock and the shock of those around him. "How can that be? He's only five years old- just!"
Lady Une shook her head. "The only thing we can think of is the beatings Quatre's seen in his dreams. However, there's more. The boy's body has healed each break almost perfectly; by that I mean minimal scar tissue. We don't have a clue as to how that was accomplished. For a boy that young, he would have had major internal and structural damage." She nodded her head to Sally, who nodded back in agreement.
Quatre's voice was like Duo's-small with shock. "So he's been beaten for a very long time then-maybe his whole life. But why? What's the point? If they were to beat him, how could they-what was the point?!" He knew he wasn't making any sense, and his throat hurt from all the talking; but he couldn't stand it-that the little boy was forced to endure torture after endless torture. Quatre felt sick.
"Quatre's right. There would be no point in beating a child to that degree; it would only damage the body beyond repair-not to mention crippling him or even cause death. Why would they go to all that trouble just to beat and possibly kill him? It doesn't make sense." Heero's voice was tight. He felt the rage just like the rest of them; he'd seen the children-touched the little boy's hand.
"At this point we still don't know, but the data teams are working on it as we speak. Isn't that right Col. Hade?"
The portly man nodded in agreement. "I've got them working round the clock, Sir. We're getting the information processed as fast as we can." Heero nodded.
"What else do we know about him?" Wufei had been quiet throughout the meeting so far, but the stall in information had him wanting to get back to what they didn't know. The other pilots nodded in agreement.
"Not that much else about the boy. He's been asleep since the moment he arrived, and Sally seems to think his body is resting, allowing itself to heal. Her team has discovered that almost all of his bruises have healed, and the rest are well on their way. We do know from your observations that the boy is very protective of the girl. At this point we're not sure why. It could be they've only had each other or even something else-we're just not sure right now."
She paused and then hit another button on her control screen, bringing up a picture of the little girl, her green eyes once again dead, and her hair unnaturally white and limp.
"Again we have barely any solid information on her. Her tube date is March 2, 196, which means she was conceived sometime in December, making her four years old. As you can see from her picture, and no doubt you've all gone to see her, she has pure white hair. However, her tube description has her as having brown hair at birth. Sally has informed me that mass trauma can result in the loss of pigmentation; however, unlike the boy, we've found absolutely no physical damage to her body. She seems uninjured in any way, like a normal child-except she isn't. Her height and weight are far below average for a four-year-old; she's currently just over three feet, and her weight is only twenty-eight pounds. We've found signs of malnutrition in both children, but it was especially bad in the girl.
"We've managed to pull a code name in for her as well; and quiet frankly, I'm a little nervous about it, especially after hearing Quatre's report on the children's seeming communication without words. Her name is Killashandra. Broken down and translated, it roughly means 'Killer of the mind." If you were looking for an empath, I think we just found her."
"But that can't be. I'm positive it was the little boy I saw in my dreams. I never even saw the girl until that final one." The little boy had been in all of Quatre's dreams. The boy had to be the empathic one.
Corinne, who had been sitting quietly for some time, now spoke up. "Quatre, could it be possible that during the dreams you were actually in the body of the little girl? That perhaps it was she who was looking at the little boy, and that's why you saw him?"
Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to relive the last few dreams he'd had. "Normally I'd say yes-as if this was normal-but I felt the boy's pain, not the girl's. Every blow, I felt it." Trowa's hand came to his shoulder and he covered it with his own. "I've never felt the girl's emotions, even when she was with me, I couldn't sense anything-only from the boy-only him."
Lady Une nodded. "Nothing's been proven yet. We still have to go over the rest of the information first. A few more things about the girl-she doesn't talk. We've found logs from the scientists that say Shinigami was late to talk-almost two, but that Killashandra has yet to speak a single word. The logs write it as being a strange symptom of the 'Change'."
"Change?" Trowa's voice was soft. Quatre knew he's struck up a sort of bond with the girl. Trowa said her blond curly hair reminded him of a girl he once knew.
"We don't know any more than that. Actually the log ended right there, with absolutely no explanation. This leads us to believe that the scientists knew what they were talking about.
"One more thing-Sally has done some tests and completely ruled out the possibility that the girl is in any way mentally handicapped. I know Trowa said she seemed off in her own world, but so far that isn't due to something like Autism or the like; again at this point we don't know.
"Alright, you now know all that we do about the children. And until Sally and her team get a chance to go over the medical files, we'll just have to bide our time."
"I'll have my team working round the clock just like the other departments. We'll find out what's going on real soon." Sally nodded her head towards Quatre-her silent promise to do her best.
"Good. As far as the ZERO system combat files that were recovered with the data-"
"ZERO system?!"
Suddenly, Lady Une looked for all the world like she wanted to throw her hands over her mouth. A guilty look entered her eye, and Quatre watched her throw an apologetic glance towards Trowa. What the hell was going on?
Trowa turned to him, a stern look on his face; he wanted Quatre just to listen. "When Heero downloaded the information from their main computer, he pulled in all the children's medical files, along with a large section of the ZERO systems combat files. It appears that they got the files from Dorothy's copy of the system. At this point we're not sure what they were doing with them."
"They had the-but why?" Quatre could feel the panic rise in him. The ZERO. With that system they could do almost anything.
"We don't know yet, Quatre." Lady Une's face was back to normal-her cool demeanor back in place. "We do know this, though-they were running the files at some point in time, and they were showing them to Shinigami."
"Showing them to him! What, like Saturday morning cartoons!?" Nearly screaming, Duo was on his feet again, anger coursing off of him in waves. "Those files have pretty disturbing images on them to be showing a five year old! Hell, I'm freaked to watch them!"
"We don't know yet wh-"
"Well, find out!" Heero grabbed Duo's wrist and pulled him onto his lap, trying to quiet his enraged and disturbed partner as best he could. Duo continued to struggle until Heero leaned over and whispered something soothing into his ear. Slowly, Duo began to calm down and with a last struggling sigh, melted into Heero's strong comfort.
Quatre recalled that both Duo and Heero had been analyzed by the ZERO, and Duo had even been made to face a ZERO copy of both himself and Heero in battle. He shivered at the thought.
"Duo, I promise you we will do everything we can to find out the truth. Right now we've still got very little usable data, and the children are still asleep. Once they wake up, we'll be able to learn exactly what's been going on. Until then, we just have to wait." For a moment, Lady looked as if she wanted to protest against herself, but she quickly straightened. "I know this is hard on all of you, especially you five. I understand that, Quatre, you're very concerned about the children in general, and Trowa and Duo, both of you feel very strongly about Shinigami and Killishandra; but right now there isn't much we can do.
"Sally is planning on forcing them awake this afternoon. I think that right now, all we can do is be there for them and try to gain their trust. It's obvious we're missing pieces to this puzzle, and those children may be the only way to find them."
They nodded their heads in agreement, knowing that there wasn't anything else for them to do.
Quatre turned to Sally. "How long until you wake them up? I want to be there. Trowa told me the little gi-Killashandra, seemed to be looking for me both times she woke up."
Sally nodded. "I'm looking at late afternoon. I don't like that they're sleeping so much, but I still feel like they should get as much rest as they can now. Why don't we say four, and I'll meet you in the med. bay?" Quatre nodded.
As one the group broke up, with personnel going back to work and the pilots standing to discuss a few more things.
"I don't like it. The kid's been watching old war strategies and using my old code name. That is so not a good sign of a healthy psyche." Heero nodded but tightened his arm about Duo's shoulder.
"Not to mention all his broken bones. I can't even imagine how much pain he's had to endure." Quatre felt Trowa embrace him, holding him close.
"It's disgraceful! They are only children, who are not able to defend themselves! I'm going to rip into the curs that did this!" They all nodded grimly.
"I have talked to Killashandra. It is her eyes that worry me; they seem dead, as if she's seen the worst the world has to offer and simply couldn't stand to look anymore." Trowa's tone was wounded, and Quatre spun in his embrace to wrap his arms around his partner's waist, offering comfort.
"I guess we'll know at four." They nodded to Heero and then broke apart, each wondering what four o'clock would hold.
* * *
Quatre was lying on the couch, with Trowa lying on his chest. They'd been like this for two hours, both basking in each other's arms, the sun casting them in beautiful colors.
"You know, Trowa, I haven't gotten you a Christmas present yet. What do you want this year?" Slowly, Quatre was working his good hand through Trowa's hair, removing any knots he found there in.
They'd come home right after the meeting, both of them tired from the long morning of simply getting Quatre out of the infirmary. The pain from his throat and hand had been too much, and so Trowa had administered another dose of morphine. That had led to Quatre crashing on the couch and pulling Trowa with him. The worst of the high having worn off, Quatre was now in the mood to talk.
Trowa shrugged his shoulders, head resting on Quatre's chest. He idly played with the buttons he found there, undoing them and redoing them. "I have everything I need."
"Oh, Trowa, I know that, but this is different. This is something you want. Tell me something that will make your Christmas special."
Trowa looked up at him, a small smile on his face. "I never celebrated Christmas until you move in with me, and now I have to make up something I want every year so you can get it for me. How is that, considering you don't even celebrate Christmas?"
Quatre chuckled. "I know, but Duo's enthusiasm just rubbed off on me all those years ago. Besides that, it's a very nice tradition. Not to mention that Marieminna does. I had to get her a present anyway, so we might as well celebrate it as a group." Trowa just shook his head, smiling. "Now stop stalling and spill your guts!" He punctuated the point by leaning down and kissing Trowa's nose.
Trowa shook his head again. "I have all that I've ever wanted or will ever need. I have you, don't I?"
"Trowa! You're missing the point of this! You're suppose to tell me some frivolous thing that you want, and I-the devoted worshipper of Trowa the sex god-have to go and get it for you. Duo insists that how you maintain a good sex life, giving offerings to the sex god." They laughed, and it felt so wonderful to do it. The last two months had been the most trying of their lives, and that was saying a lot. It felt so wonderful to think things were moving back to where they were supposed to.
"What would you like for Christmas, Quatre?"
He shrugged. "I don't know? I've got everything I want or need." He smiled, throwing Trowa's earlier statement back at him.
"Alright then, I'll take your gift back." Trowa tried to say it seriously but couldn't manage it at the end.
"Trowa! You got me something already?! Oh, what is it?!" Quatre wasn't sure where the enthusiasm came from-he thought it must be the drugs.
A deep laugh sounded from Trowa, and Quatre loved the way it vibrated through his body and the link. "Nope, it wouldn't be a surprise then."
"Who said it had to be a surprise?!"
"Duo." He paused. "And Marieminna."
"They lied."
"Quatre, it's their holiday. I think they knows the customs."
"Nope, they lied. Now tell me."
"No."
"Trowa!"
They laughed. It was too funny not to.
Letting the conversation drop, Trowa snuggled closer, and Quatre wrapped him tightly into his embrace. He listened to Trowa's deep and even breaths; just hold Trowa not something he could have done a few months ago. Things were falling into place, shifting back to where they were supposed to be.
A long time later, after soft touches and gentle sighs, Trowa spoke. "I have a question for you, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Pulling back, Trowa looked at him, a mixture of worry in his expression.
"What is it, Trowa? You know I'll tell you anything."
But Trowa shook his head. "It's not like that. I-I'm wondering what you plan to do about Cijen."
Her name struck hard, and he nearly flinched. Ever since his niece's visit, he'd had time to send replies to almost all of his nieces and nephews. While he'd been in the hospital, he'd even gotten a few replies and had again talked to Sekurra. But he had not yet decided on a plan of action concerning Cijen. The com-messages he'd been receiving all said wonderful things about his sister-how she'd braved the family to stand up for him and had even given up her career to stand by his side. But he couldn't help the hesitation; it didn't seem possible for her-or anyone-to change her opinions about something so quickly. And yet, Sekurra had said that Cijen had never really doubted him-only wanted someone better than Trowa to stand by his side.
He shook his head. "I don't know, and quite frankly it's driving me crazy! I'd like to just call her and scream at her for being so stupid, and at the same time, I don't even want to talk to her. I can't help but think that it's all a game-that I'll call her up, and she'll laugh in my face for believing Sekurra. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but worry."
Strong arms encircled his waist, and Trowa shifted to lay his head on his stomach. "It doesn't sound ridiculous; it sounds cautious, and I'm glad you're thinking that way. I don't want you running off and doing something you'll later regret."
Again Quarter ran his hands through long brown bangs. "I know you worry about me, and believe me, it feels very nice to be worried over, but you don't have to. This thing with my sister-it's going to work out, you'll see. It's just going to take some time."
Trowa did nothing, just stayed where he was, letting Quatre continue to brush through his hair.
After a long moment. "So what do you really want for Christmas, Trowa?"
He shook his head. "Surprise me."
Quatre nodded.
Gently, Trowa helped Quatre to his seat. He'd been released from Sally's manic care less than an hour ago and after a quick shower he was now with the others, prepared to hear the recovered date about the two still sleeping children. They'd had Corinne take a look at the children, but she hadn't been able to tell anything. They seemed impervious to scans.
Quatre was worried as well; he'd taken to seeing the children everyday-for the last three days-and the way they slept bothered him. Since the day they'd arrived, they'd lain in each other's arms sleeping tightly together, not allowing separation.
The girl had awoken once, but upon finding that she'd been put into another bed, she climbed out and went to the boy's. Of them both, the little boy seemed the most hurt. He'd yet to awaken and didn't react to anything done to his body at all. He seemed almost comatose, but Sally couldn't figure out why. The strange thing was, if the little girl shifted away from him in sleep, he would pull her back into him. The doctors-especially Sally- were completely baffled. Hopefully today's meeting would change all that.
"Would you like something to drink?" Trowa looked down at Quatre from his standing position over him.
His stay in the hospital had been short but tiring. He remembered why he hated them so much. His throat had almost completely healed, and so had his arm. His left arm was wrapped in nearly two inches of gauze, but that was only a safety precaution; it was painful, but not debilitating.
"Yes, please."
Trowa smiled and moved quietly to retrieve the desired liquid. Trowa had been amazing-staying with him throughout the long nights in the infirmary. Quatre had tried to kick him out more than once, but he'd adamantly refused. They finally decided on a compromise. Trowa stayed, and Quatre shared the bed; it was a tight fit, but they didn't mind.
The door opened and Heero and Duo walked in, arms linked. Motioning for Heero to save him a seat, Duo came over and sat on the table in front of him.
"Hey, Quatre, heard you got sprung. How ya feelin'?"
He offered a smile. "I'm good-can't really complain. How about you?"
Duo looked over at his partner and then back at Quatre. A purely satisfied smile came over his face. "Oh, I don't think I can complain either." He winked at him. "He's been super attentive and cuddly since we got back from that mission. Sorry to say it, but your getting hurt has totally improved my after glow time." They laughed, drawing the attention of the other people in the room-especially the ones they didn't know very well; then they blushed.
"Duo," Heero called across the table, giving his benevolent partner a glare. "Get over here and sit down."
Mimicking a ball and chain, Duo stood and moved over to his partner, disregarding the chair for Heero's lap.
Quatre laughed again, but a sudden coughing fit caught him, and he doubled over in pain. Trowa was by his side in a moment, helping him with the glass of water. Once the coughing had stopped, Trowa settled him back into his chair and chided softly. "No more laughing. It's bad for you." Quatre just smiled.
During his coughing fit, Sally and Wufei had walked in. They were all now present and accounted for, and Lady Une began the meeting.
"As you know, we sent the data retrieved by Heero down to be decoded. Those files have now been completely opened, and we are beginning to sort through the information. Seventy percent of the files are medical in nature, and those Sally and her medical team will have to go over. However, we did retrieve some basic information about the children, and I wanted to pass that along to you." She made eye contact with Quatre and offered a weak smile.
"In addition, I wanted to let you all know that the Tragona faction is now in custody, and they are beginning interrogations; however, it doesn't appear that any of the people that worked on the 'NEO' project were apprehended. Unfortunately, for right now, they've gotten away."
Quatre felt his blood boil at the thought that those cruel and dangerous people were, right this very second, free. Trowa took his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. He turned to his partner and nodded, too upset to even smile.
"Ok, let's begin." Lady Une pressed a button on her control panel and the large view screen behind her jumped to life. A picture of the little boy came up on the screen, he wasn't smiling. "We have basic tube information on him, and, yes, I said tube. He's a genetic. We know he was born on November 8, 195 A.C. which makes him five years old. The gestation time for a tube being half that of a normal pregnancy, we can ascertain that he was conceived sometime in July of 195. From what we've been able to glean from the information, he has no name-"
"No name?!" Duo's outrage was clear to everyone. "I'm an orphan, but at least I had a name!" Still perched on Heero's lap, the quiet man pulled his partner tighter into him, hugging him close to dispel past memories.
"No name, but we do know his code name-Shinigami."
"NO WAY!" Duo was on his feet in an instant, and so was Quatre.
"That can't be possible-to give a child no name but call him Death! What were they thinking?" Quatre's voice was panicked; he hated to think that this child could have been so blatantly abused.
But Lady Une remained calm. She'd known long in advance they wouldn't like that part or any of the other parts for that matter. Motioning with her hands, she got the two men to sit down quietly, this time with Duo in his regular seat.
"I understand your feelings, all of you, but believe me when I tell you, I'm not finished yet." They gulped. This wasn't at all good news. "Besides the boy's name, we also know a few more interesting facts about him. His height and weight are below normal for a child his age. Sally estimates that he's roughly three inches shorter than he should be and over fifteen pounds too light. But considering the fact that he's had every single bone in his body broken at least twice, it's easy to understand."
"Every single.twice?" Duo's voice was low, attesting to his shock and the shock of those around him. "How can that be? He's only five years old- just!"
Lady Une shook her head. "The only thing we can think of is the beatings Quatre's seen in his dreams. However, there's more. The boy's body has healed each break almost perfectly; by that I mean minimal scar tissue. We don't have a clue as to how that was accomplished. For a boy that young, he would have had major internal and structural damage." She nodded her head to Sally, who nodded back in agreement.
Quatre's voice was like Duo's-small with shock. "So he's been beaten for a very long time then-maybe his whole life. But why? What's the point? If they were to beat him, how could they-what was the point?!" He knew he wasn't making any sense, and his throat hurt from all the talking; but he couldn't stand it-that the little boy was forced to endure torture after endless torture. Quatre felt sick.
"Quatre's right. There would be no point in beating a child to that degree; it would only damage the body beyond repair-not to mention crippling him or even cause death. Why would they go to all that trouble just to beat and possibly kill him? It doesn't make sense." Heero's voice was tight. He felt the rage just like the rest of them; he'd seen the children-touched the little boy's hand.
"At this point we still don't know, but the data teams are working on it as we speak. Isn't that right Col. Hade?"
The portly man nodded in agreement. "I've got them working round the clock, Sir. We're getting the information processed as fast as we can." Heero nodded.
"What else do we know about him?" Wufei had been quiet throughout the meeting so far, but the stall in information had him wanting to get back to what they didn't know. The other pilots nodded in agreement.
"Not that much else about the boy. He's been asleep since the moment he arrived, and Sally seems to think his body is resting, allowing itself to heal. Her team has discovered that almost all of his bruises have healed, and the rest are well on their way. We do know from your observations that the boy is very protective of the girl. At this point we're not sure why. It could be they've only had each other or even something else-we're just not sure right now."
She paused and then hit another button on her control screen, bringing up a picture of the little girl, her green eyes once again dead, and her hair unnaturally white and limp.
"Again we have barely any solid information on her. Her tube date is March 2, 196, which means she was conceived sometime in December, making her four years old. As you can see from her picture, and no doubt you've all gone to see her, she has pure white hair. However, her tube description has her as having brown hair at birth. Sally has informed me that mass trauma can result in the loss of pigmentation; however, unlike the boy, we've found absolutely no physical damage to her body. She seems uninjured in any way, like a normal child-except she isn't. Her height and weight are far below average for a four-year-old; she's currently just over three feet, and her weight is only twenty-eight pounds. We've found signs of malnutrition in both children, but it was especially bad in the girl.
"We've managed to pull a code name in for her as well; and quiet frankly, I'm a little nervous about it, especially after hearing Quatre's report on the children's seeming communication without words. Her name is Killashandra. Broken down and translated, it roughly means 'Killer of the mind." If you were looking for an empath, I think we just found her."
"But that can't be. I'm positive it was the little boy I saw in my dreams. I never even saw the girl until that final one." The little boy had been in all of Quatre's dreams. The boy had to be the empathic one.
Corinne, who had been sitting quietly for some time, now spoke up. "Quatre, could it be possible that during the dreams you were actually in the body of the little girl? That perhaps it was she who was looking at the little boy, and that's why you saw him?"
Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to relive the last few dreams he'd had. "Normally I'd say yes-as if this was normal-but I felt the boy's pain, not the girl's. Every blow, I felt it." Trowa's hand came to his shoulder and he covered it with his own. "I've never felt the girl's emotions, even when she was with me, I couldn't sense anything-only from the boy-only him."
Lady Une nodded. "Nothing's been proven yet. We still have to go over the rest of the information first. A few more things about the girl-she doesn't talk. We've found logs from the scientists that say Shinigami was late to talk-almost two, but that Killashandra has yet to speak a single word. The logs write it as being a strange symptom of the 'Change'."
"Change?" Trowa's voice was soft. Quatre knew he's struck up a sort of bond with the girl. Trowa said her blond curly hair reminded him of a girl he once knew.
"We don't know any more than that. Actually the log ended right there, with absolutely no explanation. This leads us to believe that the scientists knew what they were talking about.
"One more thing-Sally has done some tests and completely ruled out the possibility that the girl is in any way mentally handicapped. I know Trowa said she seemed off in her own world, but so far that isn't due to something like Autism or the like; again at this point we don't know.
"Alright, you now know all that we do about the children. And until Sally and her team get a chance to go over the medical files, we'll just have to bide our time."
"I'll have my team working round the clock just like the other departments. We'll find out what's going on real soon." Sally nodded her head towards Quatre-her silent promise to do her best.
"Good. As far as the ZERO system combat files that were recovered with the data-"
"ZERO system?!"
Suddenly, Lady Une looked for all the world like she wanted to throw her hands over her mouth. A guilty look entered her eye, and Quatre watched her throw an apologetic glance towards Trowa. What the hell was going on?
Trowa turned to him, a stern look on his face; he wanted Quatre just to listen. "When Heero downloaded the information from their main computer, he pulled in all the children's medical files, along with a large section of the ZERO systems combat files. It appears that they got the files from Dorothy's copy of the system. At this point we're not sure what they were doing with them."
"They had the-but why?" Quatre could feel the panic rise in him. The ZERO. With that system they could do almost anything.
"We don't know yet, Quatre." Lady Une's face was back to normal-her cool demeanor back in place. "We do know this, though-they were running the files at some point in time, and they were showing them to Shinigami."
"Showing them to him! What, like Saturday morning cartoons!?" Nearly screaming, Duo was on his feet again, anger coursing off of him in waves. "Those files have pretty disturbing images on them to be showing a five year old! Hell, I'm freaked to watch them!"
"We don't know yet wh-"
"Well, find out!" Heero grabbed Duo's wrist and pulled him onto his lap, trying to quiet his enraged and disturbed partner as best he could. Duo continued to struggle until Heero leaned over and whispered something soothing into his ear. Slowly, Duo began to calm down and with a last struggling sigh, melted into Heero's strong comfort.
Quatre recalled that both Duo and Heero had been analyzed by the ZERO, and Duo had even been made to face a ZERO copy of both himself and Heero in battle. He shivered at the thought.
"Duo, I promise you we will do everything we can to find out the truth. Right now we've still got very little usable data, and the children are still asleep. Once they wake up, we'll be able to learn exactly what's been going on. Until then, we just have to wait." For a moment, Lady looked as if she wanted to protest against herself, but she quickly straightened. "I know this is hard on all of you, especially you five. I understand that, Quatre, you're very concerned about the children in general, and Trowa and Duo, both of you feel very strongly about Shinigami and Killishandra; but right now there isn't much we can do.
"Sally is planning on forcing them awake this afternoon. I think that right now, all we can do is be there for them and try to gain their trust. It's obvious we're missing pieces to this puzzle, and those children may be the only way to find them."
They nodded their heads in agreement, knowing that there wasn't anything else for them to do.
Quatre turned to Sally. "How long until you wake them up? I want to be there. Trowa told me the little gi-Killashandra, seemed to be looking for me both times she woke up."
Sally nodded. "I'm looking at late afternoon. I don't like that they're sleeping so much, but I still feel like they should get as much rest as they can now. Why don't we say four, and I'll meet you in the med. bay?" Quatre nodded.
As one the group broke up, with personnel going back to work and the pilots standing to discuss a few more things.
"I don't like it. The kid's been watching old war strategies and using my old code name. That is so not a good sign of a healthy psyche." Heero nodded but tightened his arm about Duo's shoulder.
"Not to mention all his broken bones. I can't even imagine how much pain he's had to endure." Quatre felt Trowa embrace him, holding him close.
"It's disgraceful! They are only children, who are not able to defend themselves! I'm going to rip into the curs that did this!" They all nodded grimly.
"I have talked to Killashandra. It is her eyes that worry me; they seem dead, as if she's seen the worst the world has to offer and simply couldn't stand to look anymore." Trowa's tone was wounded, and Quatre spun in his embrace to wrap his arms around his partner's waist, offering comfort.
"I guess we'll know at four." They nodded to Heero and then broke apart, each wondering what four o'clock would hold.
* * *
Quatre was lying on the couch, with Trowa lying on his chest. They'd been like this for two hours, both basking in each other's arms, the sun casting them in beautiful colors.
"You know, Trowa, I haven't gotten you a Christmas present yet. What do you want this year?" Slowly, Quatre was working his good hand through Trowa's hair, removing any knots he found there in.
They'd come home right after the meeting, both of them tired from the long morning of simply getting Quatre out of the infirmary. The pain from his throat and hand had been too much, and so Trowa had administered another dose of morphine. That had led to Quatre crashing on the couch and pulling Trowa with him. The worst of the high having worn off, Quatre was now in the mood to talk.
Trowa shrugged his shoulders, head resting on Quatre's chest. He idly played with the buttons he found there, undoing them and redoing them. "I have everything I need."
"Oh, Trowa, I know that, but this is different. This is something you want. Tell me something that will make your Christmas special."
Trowa looked up at him, a small smile on his face. "I never celebrated Christmas until you move in with me, and now I have to make up something I want every year so you can get it for me. How is that, considering you don't even celebrate Christmas?"
Quatre chuckled. "I know, but Duo's enthusiasm just rubbed off on me all those years ago. Besides that, it's a very nice tradition. Not to mention that Marieminna does. I had to get her a present anyway, so we might as well celebrate it as a group." Trowa just shook his head, smiling. "Now stop stalling and spill your guts!" He punctuated the point by leaning down and kissing Trowa's nose.
Trowa shook his head again. "I have all that I've ever wanted or will ever need. I have you, don't I?"
"Trowa! You're missing the point of this! You're suppose to tell me some frivolous thing that you want, and I-the devoted worshipper of Trowa the sex god-have to go and get it for you. Duo insists that how you maintain a good sex life, giving offerings to the sex god." They laughed, and it felt so wonderful to do it. The last two months had been the most trying of their lives, and that was saying a lot. It felt so wonderful to think things were moving back to where they were supposed to.
"What would you like for Christmas, Quatre?"
He shrugged. "I don't know? I've got everything I want or need." He smiled, throwing Trowa's earlier statement back at him.
"Alright then, I'll take your gift back." Trowa tried to say it seriously but couldn't manage it at the end.
"Trowa! You got me something already?! Oh, what is it?!" Quatre wasn't sure where the enthusiasm came from-he thought it must be the drugs.
A deep laugh sounded from Trowa, and Quatre loved the way it vibrated through his body and the link. "Nope, it wouldn't be a surprise then."
"Who said it had to be a surprise?!"
"Duo." He paused. "And Marieminna."
"They lied."
"Quatre, it's their holiday. I think they knows the customs."
"Nope, they lied. Now tell me."
"No."
"Trowa!"
They laughed. It was too funny not to.
Letting the conversation drop, Trowa snuggled closer, and Quatre wrapped him tightly into his embrace. He listened to Trowa's deep and even breaths; just hold Trowa not something he could have done a few months ago. Things were falling into place, shifting back to where they were supposed to be.
A long time later, after soft touches and gentle sighs, Trowa spoke. "I have a question for you, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Pulling back, Trowa looked at him, a mixture of worry in his expression.
"What is it, Trowa? You know I'll tell you anything."
But Trowa shook his head. "It's not like that. I-I'm wondering what you plan to do about Cijen."
Her name struck hard, and he nearly flinched. Ever since his niece's visit, he'd had time to send replies to almost all of his nieces and nephews. While he'd been in the hospital, he'd even gotten a few replies and had again talked to Sekurra. But he had not yet decided on a plan of action concerning Cijen. The com-messages he'd been receiving all said wonderful things about his sister-how she'd braved the family to stand up for him and had even given up her career to stand by his side. But he couldn't help the hesitation; it didn't seem possible for her-or anyone-to change her opinions about something so quickly. And yet, Sekurra had said that Cijen had never really doubted him-only wanted someone better than Trowa to stand by his side.
He shook his head. "I don't know, and quite frankly it's driving me crazy! I'd like to just call her and scream at her for being so stupid, and at the same time, I don't even want to talk to her. I can't help but think that it's all a game-that I'll call her up, and she'll laugh in my face for believing Sekurra. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but worry."
Strong arms encircled his waist, and Trowa shifted to lay his head on his stomach. "It doesn't sound ridiculous; it sounds cautious, and I'm glad you're thinking that way. I don't want you running off and doing something you'll later regret."
Again Quarter ran his hands through long brown bangs. "I know you worry about me, and believe me, it feels very nice to be worried over, but you don't have to. This thing with my sister-it's going to work out, you'll see. It's just going to take some time."
Trowa did nothing, just stayed where he was, letting Quatre continue to brush through his hair.
After a long moment. "So what do you really want for Christmas, Trowa?"
He shook his head. "Surprise me."
Quatre nodded.