Chapter Fifteen

"""Teasing Mr. I'm-so-unfeeling-you-could-cut-off-my-arm-and-I-wouldn't-notice-it has always been a favourite thing of mine to do. Not only doesn't he notice it, but the guy also seems to be completely unfazed when I so nicely translate it. If I don't insult his computer or gun that is. If I do, I'll find myself with a black eye and an aching stomach before I have the chance to blink. That's the kind of guy Heero is. To survive being friends with him, you better adapt or die.

This is why I'm surprised that Heero let my insults go that day. Until I learned of the reason of course. The threat of sharing space with that girl could make even the most cutting insult become the most flattering praise. Judging from the murderous look on his face, that was what Heero thought at least.

I'm not questioning how Heero got his information. He is a formidable hacker after all. Not to mention a quick call to my current contact at Earth, Sorrow, confirmed it. Sorrow, though, threw in the information that the Preventers were in chaos, something that worried me. No matter what I personally think of the Preventers, they're the only ones beside us pilots who have the resources to stand against an eventual attack.

By the time I had contacted my own sources, Heero and I had already taken the Winner Shuttle I had arrived to the colony with, heading towards the colony Relena was currently on. It became another walk down the memory lane for me. Things I thought I'd forgotten popped to the surfaces, bringing feelings of helplessness to my mind. Yet, it was something that had to happen. The world was reaching a conclusion, and so was I.

We had been travelling for almost a quarter of an hour when Quatre hailed me. He briefed my about his intentions on the gundams – of the large possibility that he would manage to cut them off and bring them back. It was then I gave up. It was then I surrendered to Shinigami. It was then I realized."""

I am staring up at my assailant, blatant disbelief in my heart and eyes. Duo – he is the man who's been trying to kill Relena? He is behind all the attempts on our lives? I can't believe it! The dull throbbing of my broken arm tells me about the probability of that thought though. Duo has betrayed us; he is the 'pet' of the man trying to wreck our hard-earned peace. Yet there is something, which strikes a wrong cord within me when it comes to this. There are too many things that don't add up.

Chancing a look into Duo's violet eyes I can't help but shudder at the emptiness in there. It is as if his mind is blank, as if his soul has been wiped away. Like he's a machine. Has he been like this since all this begun? I actually can't remember, which proves how much I've slackened after the end of the war. Peace isn't a good way to keep your skills sharp.

What I do remember though is the shiftiness as he briefed me. The way he always seemed to be prepared when something happened. I have to admit he had the possibility to do all that he now stands accused for. The only thing that confuses me is that none of his operations have succeeded. Duo is a formidable strategist and tactician. If he truly wanted us dead, we would be dead by now. What is going on here?

When Duo's attention goes from me to Heero, I start to crawl away. I know he's aware of it, the slight tensing of his body as I move tells it, but he doesn't strike out at me. Either he isn't completely under Arvidsen's thumb, or he doesn't see me as a threat. I don't know which one I should believe. Which leads me to my next question. Why is he doing this? I cannot see the answer to that. The Duo I thought I knew would never do something like that of his own free will. Does that prove that he isn't doing this freely, that Arvidsen is forcing him somehow, or does it prove that I never really knew him? I don't know, and my heart stubbornly tells me that I don't want to either.

I have now reached the floor by Quatre's feet and he crouches down by me with a disturbed and oddly thoughtful look on his face.

"Are you all right?" he furiously whispers, giving me a worried look. I know he doesn't mean it literary; it's rather obvious I'm not with that nasty piece of bone sticking out of my arm. What he's truly asking is if it's on a level I can manage.

"Yes," I blandly answer, even as I finger my arm, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through me. I've been through worse. "Help me set this, please."

It isn't really a request. Quatre nods and reaches out to grasp my arm securely. Half a minute later, my arm is set and securely pinned to the side of my body with my and Quatre's belt. It hurts even more than before, but that's only to be expected. Rising to my feet, I turn my attention to Duo and his master before us. Arvidsen is bragging about his tool to Heero, managing to infuriate my friend beyond belief. If Heero gets the chance, that man will not be alive when he leaves this building.

A split second before the man's attention turns to me with an evil grin, I see a shift in the room. Skills honed by years of training warn me. Something is about to happen.

"Looks like my pet can do damage even to you unbeatable pilots," he taunts. "And everyone says you are the best soldiers there are. Tsk, tsk. What has the world come to if weaklings like you are considered warriors?"

He is trying to reel us up. Waste of his time really, none of us care about petty insults. It's not like we haven't heard them before. Ignoring him, I intently watch Heero who is speaking rapidly with Wufei in some obscure Chinese dialect that I highly doubt Duo knows. Unfortunately, neither do I because I can sense the power coming from shifting.

Suddenly, I'm aware of movement and turn my attention to Duo. He has moved from Arvidsen's side and is moving towards Heero and Wufei. Apparently he noticed the change too. Attacking Wufei, he involves him in a battle of hands and feet. Dealing with some pretty heavy damages, Wufei is hard pressed not to get pummelled into a pulp. Did any of us even know that Duo is a more than proficient martial arts artist? I don't think so. We know so little of him. It frightens me, how could we miss something like this in a man we've spent years with in intimate quarters and combats?

Duo has hit Wufei hard and our friend is wavering, nursing broken fingers and a shoulder that looks dislocated. Forming bruises on his skin also tells of the pain he will be in tomorrow, if he lives to see it. Wufei is staring at Duo in a baffled manner with Duo just looking back. Arvidsen is speaking again.

"I think it will please you to know that the first thing I plan to do when I have gained the position as president is to get rid of those puny colonies. A nuisance is what they are…"

I filter him out again. I've heard it all before. I instead focus on what to do. The first thing on my list is to free Relena. She has been here longer that us. It's quite possible that she knows something we don't. Sneaking over to Relena, I start to loosen her binds. Duo turns to me with flashing eyes, intending to stop my doings, but at the same time Heero attacks him. This was most probably the reason to the earlier shifting. It's proving rather unimportant though. Not even Heero seems to be able to overpower Duo. But he is strong enough to keep him very busy. For that, I'm thankful.

Finally ridding Relena of her last ties and the gag, I rapidly shove her into the corner behind Quatre. We need to get her out of the way. For the moment, she I more important than anything else. Before I can take stand in front of her, she desperately latches on to my shirt, gripping it with a fervour that surprises me.

"Please," she whispers hoarsely, betraying that she most probably has been calling out for help for a long time. "Duo… He isn't right…his mind… Please. He told me... Quatre… Tell him…"

She doesn't get any further as she slips into unconsciousness due to her stressful day. I ponder her last words. Tell Quatre? Tell Quatre what? What is it that she seems to think is important enough to get out in the middle of a battle? Deciding that this is a question better left for Quatre, the one it was intended for, I sidle up to my lover again, who is watching Heero's and Duo's fight with apparent fascination.

My mind is overwhelmed by feelings, emotions. They're bleeding out of all the persons in the room, filling my mind with tidal waves. It feels like I will be washed away at any moment, like the tides are carrying me away. I'm fighting to stay aware even as I shield more and more to block the emotional storms out. The emotions are driving me crazy! I need to think!

Slowly, I'm beginning to learn how to shut the storm out, only feeling soft resonating as a particularly strong feeling slide over my shields. Calming my slightly erratic breathing, I take in the situation before me. Trowa is protecting Relena behind him and me, Wufei is keeping an eye on the whole situation, his black eyes slightly glazed as he focuses on not feeling the pain of his broken fingers and dislocated shoulder. Heero is fighting Duo.

If it hadn't been such a serious event, the beauty of the fight before me would amaze me. Their movements are utterly fluid and so fast I almost see their limbs as a blur. While they're not equal, not with the inhuman reflexes and swiftness of Duo's movements, they seem to fight at the same level. Especially as Heero throws in all the strength he has in his tight body to counter the braided man's limberness.

Wincing as Heero catches a particularly nasty blow to the side of the head, I become aware of a nagging thought in my head. It wants to remind me of something and I focus on it, sensing that it is important. However, just as I have it in my grasp, Trowa walks up to my side, touching my face with a cold and tense hand.

"Cat?" he silently says, his green eyes searching mine. "Relena said something… She wanted me to tell you something about Duo."'

I frown, inadvertently throwing a glance in the blonde woman's direction. She is unconscious, most likely from the stress of the situation. Tensing for a second as Arvidsen moves on with his continuous blabbering, I glare at the man. I doubt he even realizes that no one's listening. For a supposed genius he is surprisingly dense. But then again, with a situation like this, he doesn't need intelligence. He has all the odds on his side.

Turning my attention to Trowa again, I look pensively at him.

"Do you have any idea what she wanted?" I ask under my breath, biting my lip. "It might be important, she has been here longer than us…"

Trowa shook his head.

"No. The only thing she managed to get out was something about Duo not being right and that I needed to tell you something."

At that precise moment, a light comes alive in my mind and I remember. He knew all along! He knew that… I quickly close off that particular trail of thought. There's no time. I need to end this, now.

Grabbing the pack on my back, I shrug it off and kneel, anxiously shuffling through it while unconsciously repeating Duo's fateful words in my mind over and over again.

"You will never have to experience the Zero system again. This time, I will have to be the one to do it."

"Convert the discs to nanochips and place them in the set I mentioned. That way, we'll be
able to use it whenever it will be needed."

"You'll know what to do when the time comes."

I do know, and as my fingers close around the custom made head set Duo gave to me for this, I feel my heart go cold. ZERO is about to come out and play again. I have a feeling it won't be pretty.

TBC