Shadow of the Revolution
Standard disclaimer applies.
© Seeress, 2002
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The story thus far:
Heero has visited Relena in the hospital after her surgery, and had a chat with Dr. J. Trowa comforted Quatre by playing music with him, while Noin and Zechs gave each other support. Blade is still the prisoner of the Gundam pilots, and Wufei discovered his captor's identity.
Shadow of the Revolution
Chapter 11
She struggled against the restraints binding her wrists and ankles. Apparently the ex-pilots had been very thorough in their search and almost everything that she had on her in case of capture to help herself out was taken: the knife in her boot, the bendable wire in her necklace, her gloves (containing an extra comm. device), and even the lock pick in her hair. She smiled a wiry smile at how hopeless the situation looked. She knew though, if worst came to worst, that her comrades would be sent to free her. Not that she wanted that to happen; the bitch Dorothy would never let her live it down.
She ceased her struggling, knowing that she was inflicting more harm upon herself by doing so. Her injuries had not completely healed, in fact the cuts and scrapes had only formed scabs, her ribs were still broken, and her wrist throbbed like hell. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and sighed. Shifting her shoulders and chest a bit, she stopped when she felt the familiar feel of metal poking the soft skin on her chest.
Well, she thought to herself, no matter how thorough that search was, they were still gentlemanly about it. Otherwise this wouldn't still be here. Then she looked up to the cameras, and was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no longer a red dot indicating she was being watched. She looked toward the two-way glass that was elevated off the floor to see if anyone was watching, but she couldn't tell. Guess this is as good a chance as I'm going to get with this one. It's now or never.
She bent her head down, biting at the cloth of her bra to get the lock pick free from the loose stitches. After achieving that, with the lock pick securely between her teeth, she used her teeth to undo the restraints that had been binding her for at least 24 hours. She had lost all sense of time, since no sunlight filtered into the room, but determined the time by her sleeping habits. It took her a while to get the lock open; apparently the ex-pilots had decided to choose very good locks as well. But after her right wrist was free, the remaining three were easy pickings.
At her first attempt to stand, she had simply fallen over and had to grab the metal chair she so detested to keep from falling flat on her face on the cold floor. But her second attempt was more precise and careful, and she was able to stand after she had allowed her legs enough time to adjust. Letting go of the chair, she stumbled somewhat ungracefully toward the rectangular iron door, and her hand fumbled for the doorknob. With dismay, she realized that it was locked from outside. She let out a half-sigh, and chastised herself for her disappointment. Leaning her back gently against the wall as to not hurt her sore ribs, she tried to search for another alternative.
*FLASHBACK*
"Haven't I taught you anything?"
"How dare you talk to me like that!"
"There are no disappointments in war when there are no emotions. Emotions are for the weak."
"Don't you know better that to cry?"
"You stupid, stupid girl. You're useless! USELESS!"
The sound of a whip would be heard punishing the stinging skin of the small child. Then, in the dark, a sobbing heap would curl in the corner and mutter two words over and over.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
*END FLASHBACK*
She judged that she had two options: 1) since the door could not be opened, she could get back in the chair and wait until someone came in. Then, with the bindings undone, she could easily dispose of the person and quietly make her way out. Or 2) she could grab that dangling light bulb, swing from it and break the two-way glass loudly from her impact into it, then make her way out with the pilots at her heels. In normal circumstances, there would've been no decision to make. She would've stuck with the first option, and made her way out as inconspicuously as possible. But these were not her normal circumstances, and she was not used to being held captive, especially not for a long time. It seemed to her like her capture by the hands of the Gundam pilots was a personal insult, and if her escape proved successful with the five boys hunting her down, it would be a small sort of revenge. Besides, she'd been cooped up for a long time and she definitely needed some action. She'd pay them back for what they'd done. Damn Trowa and his green eyes. Damn him and his beautiful green eyes.
Steeling herself mentally after making her decision, she climbed onto the metal chair and reached out for the light bulb, making sure not to burn herself on the hot glass. She tugged on the cord holding the bulb, and it seemed strong enough to hold her weight. Stepping off the chair, she hung onto the cord with both hands and started to swing back and forth, gaining her momentum. As she gained more speed, a single thought crossed her mind.
This is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.
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Duo, Trowa, and Quatre lounged comfortably in the large eat-in kitchen while having afternoon tea. It had become an unspoken custom among them that at this time of every day they would meet in the kitchen and just enjoy each other's company. Today, however, their topic of conversation was more serious, and Trowa listened as Duo and Quatre talked, half listening to their discussion while letting his mind drift. Inevitably his thoughts always ended up on the same person they had been of late. Blade. Or was it Sonya? Duo had informed them earlier of his peculiar discovery of Quatre's business associate and his new classmate babe being the same person, and the mysterious deletion of the files. So what was he to call her? He didn't really know, but his mind didn't really care. He had a strange suspicion that the girl that they had captured was the same girl he had seen during one of his performances once. When he had knocked the weapon from her hand and they stood staring at each other, he instantly recognized the intense hazel gaze. In reflection, he somehow knew deep in his heart that he'd see those eyes again, and he wasn't the least bit surprised to see her. But now he couldn't get those eyes out of his mind, and the thoughts were starting to bother him.
"… Don't you agree, Trowa?" Duo turned to his silent friend, expecting an answer to his question. When he saw the dreamlike state Trowa was in, he casually waved his hand in front of his face. "Tro-wa?" he said in a singsong voice. "Anybody home?"
Snapped out of his thoughts, Trowa blinked dazedly before turning to Duo. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"You know, in all the time I've known you, I think that's the first time I've seen you daydream," he said with an impish grin. Trowa merely shrugged off the comment and went back to brooding. Duo, seeing that his teasing had no effect on the other boy, grew concerned.
"You okay, Tro? You seem a bit distant…"
"I'm fine, Duo. No need to worry," he replied almost automatically, but before Duo was allowed to protest, Heero entered in a dark hailstorm and slammed the door shut behind him. They all shared a quizzical look and turned to stare at their furious friend. It was Quatre that dared to risk talking to him.
"What's got you so upset, Heero?" he began in a soft voice, his eyes searching his friend's face for any kind of reaction. Heero was pacing back and forth just outside the door of the room, cursing to himself in Japanese.
At the sound of Quatre's voice, he lifted his head up and saw them for the first time. The flicker of some inner turmoil surfaced in his eyes, as if he were making some major decision. He looked as if to say something, but then changed his mind halfway. In the end, all he asked was, "Is Wufei back yet?"
The other three looked at each other in confusion, as if they didn't know what he was talking about. Irritated, Heero gave them a penetrating stare.
"Come to think of it," Duo said reluctantly, " he was supposed to be here by now…"
"I guessed it slipped our minds," Quatre said with an apologetic look at Heero. "Do you need to talk to him?"
Heero muttered an incoherent response and resumed his pacing. Then he stopped suddenly and turned back to them again. "Has he called to check in at all?" he asked of no one in particular.
"I don't think so," Quatre replied hastily. "I could check if—"
"Do that," he interrupted before Quatre had a chance to finish. "Please," he added as somewhat of an afterthought as Quatre turned to leave the room. He almost resumed his pacing again if not for the stern look he was receiving from Trowa. The look clearly stated that Trowa knew something was going on, and he wanted to be informed immediately. Cobalt eyes met with emerald green, and the two shared a long, severe gaze. They were still staring at each other at the time Quatre re-entered.
"He hasn't called at all," he reported in a somewhat subdued voice. "He was sent on a mission, wasn't he?"
"Yeah…" Heero replied distractedly, finally tearing his eyes away from Trowa's. "He still should be here by now…"
"Heero, what's this all about?" Trowa spoke for the first time since the other teen had entered. Heero glanced at him again, then, as if struck by an idea, he walked hurriedly out of the kitchen and into the adjoining room. The others followed him cautiously, and watched as he did something on his laptop. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he started to swear again.
"Care to give us an explanation now?" Trowa's voice was quiet, but it rung with an edge of steel. He eyes clearly showed that he did not like to be kept in the dark.
"Something's happened to Wufei. I can't find him."
"Why do you wanna talk to Wufei?" Duo asked curiously.
"I don't want to talk about it until we're somewhere more secure. I just received disturbing news." His hands went back to his laptop again, flying furiously over the keys. "Call Noin. Ask if Wufei's checked in with Preventers' HQ. Then set up a meeting with her here as soon as possible. Tell her to bring Sally and Zechs, too."
They all looked puzzled, but agreed to his request.
"Oh, by the way," Duo asked, "how's Relena?"
Heero's hands stilled on the keys. "It's too early to tell," was his curt reply, and his hands began their rapid task once again. "How's our assassin doing?"
"She's pretty roughed up," Quatre replied, both sympathy and malice lacing his voice.
"Don't you recognize her, Heero?" Duo asked. "It's Blade."
His fingers stilled again. "The new girl."
"Yeah, and I don't think it's just coincidence that she's attending our school."
"Of course not. Keep a careful eye on her; Noin can have a look at her once they get here." His eyes glazed over, and then his voice dropped down to a whisper. "She's the key to everything…"
Just then, the sound of a muffled crash reached their ears. They all shared a knowing look, and then rushed off in the direction of the sound.
***************
The glass was not as thick as she had anticipated, and so her crash through it was much harder and much louder than necessary. She landed hard and ungracefully on top of a control panel, and then skidded over top the various flashing buttons to land with a resound thump onto a chair, which toppled over as soon as her weight impacted it. She got up gently, apprehensive of the pieces of shattered glass underneath her. She pulled out a small piece of glass that had dug into her forearm and looked herself over before moving on. She wasn't hurt badly, for which she was grateful, but her ribs now ached from the collision, and she knew she didn't have very much time. That crash was loud enough to wake a sleeping giant, and she knew that her captors definitely wouldn't be sleeping.
The first pang of light stung her eyes as she opened the door, and it took her a while for her eyes to adjust. Peering out of the doorway cautiously, her vision met only with long, plain corridors that stretched both ways and a door about every five feet along. Cursing her bad luck, she darted out into the empty space, closing the door behind her silently. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide at all if anyone happened to come around the corner, so she made no efforts at stealth. Instead, she ran forward as fast as she could without making any noise, stopping every time she reached a corner to peer around to see if someone were heading in her direction. Frequently she glanced back over her shoulder to detect any signs of pursuit.
She'd been running for almost five minutes but she seemed to be getting nowhere. She felt that all she'd done was run around in circles, but it was almost impossible to tell due to the lack of landmarks she had at her disposal. She'd decided that she was definitely underground, since there were no windows and the halls just seemed to be joined to one another with no real purpose, although it was a very big basement. She knew that her only chance of escape was a stairway leading up, but she'd had absolutely no luck in finding it. Where were the stupid exit signs when you needed one?
Completely by chance, she stopped to rest and leant on one of the doors to catch her breath and fell through. Incidentally enough, that happened to be the door to the stairway. She had tried to open nearly all the doors she passed at the beginning, but none of them had budged. Rolling her eyes heavenward, she stood and darted up the stairs.
***************
The four of them arrived to find the observation room completely in shambles. The two-way mirror had been broken, and pieces of glass littered the small room. Trowa had immediately gone to the broken window and looked through, even though it was quite obvious that their captive was no longer where she was meant to be. Heero's eyes were furious as they surveyed the damage, and Duo whistled appreciatively.
"Girl's got spunk," he said as he picked up the fallen chair, his lips curving slightly upward. "Must've been one hell of a crash."
"How many stairways are there that lead from the basement up?" Heero demanded of Quatre.
The blond Arab creased his eyebrows in concentration. "Two, I think. One in the East end and one in the West."
"Take Trowa and each of you take a stairway. Go down and search if she's still down there. Duo and I'll handle this floor."
The two teens nodded consent as they left the room. Heero went over to one of the undamaged consoles and brought up the camera surveillance outside the house, frame by frame. The security logs indicated that there hadn't been any movement outside since after his arrival. He turned around to face Duo.
"You take the North side. We'll meet back here in an hour." On his face appeared a predatory grin, and Duo felt his blood run cold.
"She's still in the house."
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Treize stepped around his captive lightly, his movements lithe, graceful, and catlike. Wufei continued to stare at him with hard eyes, his hatred burning in their depths.
"You haven't changed at all, Wufei," he said finally, a Cheshire cat grin appearing on his handsome face as he stopped behind his rival.
"Funny," Wufei retorted, his voice void of humour, "I was about to say the same thing about you."
The sound of Treize's laugh filled the room. "He is stubborn, isn't he?" he asked the small figure who had entered with him, whose presence Wufei had almost completely forgotten.
"You were right about him, father," a girl's voice replied. "But he does make an excellent soldier, doesn't he?" And then the owner of the voice giggled, a high girlish laugh that grated Wufei's nerves. He'd recognize that laugh anywhere.
"Why are you doing this, Mariemaia?" he asked her, staring at the shadow of her figure. "You should've learned your lesson a long time ago."
"All I learned was that I lost my bet, and that I do need some help if I'm going to be victorious." She giggled again, but then her voice turned serious. "Do you want to help us, Wufei?"
He turned his attention back to Treize, although he couldn't see him. "Is this why you brought me here? To ask for my help?" He snorted derisively. "You should know me better than that."
Wufei felt the grin spreading on the other man's face. "Oh, but I do, Wufei. I really, truly, do." Wufei heard the rustle of movement as Treize leaned in closer to him, and felt the other man's breath on the nape of his neck as his hands gripped his shoulders. Involuntarily, he shivered, and his hair stood on end. In a husky voice, Treize whispered a soft promise in his ear.
"But I bet I could change your mind."
That sent a shiver down his spine, but then the pressure on his shoulders was alleviated and Treize turned to leave. "Come, my dear," he said to Mariemaia as he extended his hand to her, and they walked out of the holding room together. He faintly heard Treize talking to the guard but all he heard was a quick "Watch him carefully," for his mind was already on other things. The fact that Treize was alive was startling enough, but now he knew the man was planning something. He needed to escape and warn the others so they could take steps to prevent another disaster from occurring. The only problem with that was: how?
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She made it up the stairs in the knick of time. No sooner had she closed the door behind her had she heard voices and footsteps rounding the corner to her left. She darted to her right and around another corner, pressing her back against the wall and peering cautiously. Quatre and Trowa emerged from around the bend, and the small teen was showing his friend the door to the stairway. Blade unconsciously held her breath; the sight of Trowa sent her heart rate up a beat or two.
He was so damn beautiful. Without knowing, she traced every detail of his face into memory, every contour, every line, every perfect feature. She didn't know why she was so drawn to him, but she inexplicably was. So entranced by the sight of him, she did not notice the person creeping up behind her until they had clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, and something cold was pressed against her back.
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Author's Notes: I think I'll stop there for now. It's a bit longer than what I usually write, so I hope that somewhat makes up for my lack of updates. The first three or so paragraphs have been sitting half-done for so long now. I've just never been in the mood to write it. Anyways, thanks (as usual) go out to reviewers of the last chapter: GW Dark Chyld, Meghanna Starsong, Blazing-moon, Kywraith Amnesi, Chaos Angst, Yami Hikaru, and Crystal. Actually, it was Crystal's urging that got me to stop being lazy and write, so thanks to Crystal for that. Of course, all your reviews are really appreciated. They really are the salary of a writer. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner.
Thanks to all,
~Seeress
