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Children of War
By,
Luna Dragon
"Come on," Akiko said. "You can't be serious?" She and Duo sat face to face on opposite ends of the room, arguing on whether or not both of them should go and pay a visit to the Prof.
"Sorry babe, can't let you go alone." Duo answered as put his arms behind his head.
"I told you not to call me babe!" Akiko shouted. "And furthermore, you cannot come with me to see my ex-boss!"
"Why?" Duo asked in an attempt to be stubborn.
"Why? What do you mean 'why'?" Akiko growled. "You and the rest are supposed to be dead by my hands and by Kaiya's! Don't you understand? If you go, you'll not only get yourself killed, but me too!"
Duo frowned. "My main ability's stealth, babe. I can handle myself."
"I know that Duo." Akiko retorted. "But this is the Prof we're talking about. And there's no help I need anyways. All I need is to sneak into his lab and retrieve some information. It'll be easier if I go alone. I know my way around there and I won't have to worry about getting killed for not completing a damn mission." Before Duo could open his mouth, Akiko added, "And don't call me babe."
"Listen Akiko," Duo muttered. "Another thing. You remember Rei's speech, trust has to be earned. How do I know that you're not planning anything? Besides, can't let a pretty babe fight all by herself. It goes against my morals."
"Note that this 'pretty babe' saved your life. I can handle myself."
"Then how come you got controlled?"
Akiko sighed. 'Why's he being so stubborn?'
"My point exactly. You need the help."
'Doesn't he get it that I don't want him to go? I cant hide the fact that they destroyed my homes, even if it does sound perplexed now.' Akiko thought darkly. "On one condition."
Duo smirked, satisfied he got through to her. "Name it babe."
"You stay in the car at least." Duo shook his head and Akiko sighed heavily. She wasn't going to argue anymore. She was tired and it was obvious he wasn't going to let up, no matter how uncomfortable Akiko felt around the ex-boys. "Fine, then don't call me babe. You promise me that, and I'll come."
Duo nodded. "Can't promise how long it'll last though." He grinned at Akiko's almost pained reaction. It was somewhere between annoyance and a plead.
"Fine, Duo." Akiko agreed.
~*^*^*~
"You've figured out how we should go about this?" Rei asked the pacing Setsuna. She sat in a chair, curiously watching her ecstatic friend with a hint of amusement. She had gotten here less than an hour ago, and told Setsuna everything that had happened, including the new mission. "We need to buy the others time if we want everything to work out as planned, you should know that."
"I know," Setsuna murmured. "But this just knocks everything out of place. Kidnapping Relena Peacecraft was not supposed to happen! He . . . I should have known, he's always needed to kill pacifist leaders to gain control. But kidnapping? This was not supposed to happen! And if something similar did happen, it would be later on!"
"Basically you're saying that the Professor just knocked us off schedule?" Rei asked. Setsuna continued to pace in panic, but nodded quickly. "We can fix this. Just time it right and differently."
"We have no time, Rei. You haven't been here as long as I have. When he wants something badly, he gets it one way or another, and he gets it quickly. Extremely quick. And if you ask me, I have my doubts, a lot of my doubts, on our side. Something's not . . . right. It's almost as if he knows something, and he's waiting for just the right moment to go in for the kill."
The phone suddenly rang, causing both girls to jump at the sound. 'If Akiko were here, she'd say that this is just like some horror movie, I bet.' Rei thought absentmindedly, her eyes following Setsuna pace as she answered her cell phone. "Rei here," She said.
"Where?" Rei asked the person calling, as if not believing what she just heard.
"And exactly why? Akiko have you gone completely insane! We have enough trouble here as it is! Don't you understand that you and Maxwell will add to that long list?" Rei whispered loudly.
She paused, listening to Akiko talk. "That's a lot you're asking, Akiko." Another pause, then, "We'll see what we can do. But whatever it is your doing better be worth it." A third pause, longer than the last. Finally, Rei said good-bye and disconnected the call, turning her cell phone off. "I don't even want to know how she received my phone number."
"What did Akiko want?" Setsuna worriedly asked, having stopped her insignificant pacing.
"She and Maxwell are on her way here."
"Duo Maxwell?" A nod from Rei made Setsuna feel faint. "This is not happening. Does she not know what will happen if she brings him here? Everyone thinks he's dead!"
"She knows that. Akiko also said that she needs for us to buy some extra time, other than the time we were going to, because she needs to find something out. Apparently Heero, Wufei, and Trowa aren't having much luck hacking in here, so she's going to try to retrieve some information the old fashioned way."
Setsuna shook her head but smiled slightly. "If I can recall correctly, only Hotaru could hack in here constantly and successfully. Not even Heero can do it right now." She said, remembering the bit Rei had told her about Hotaru having amnesia. "And now, we need to lure Professor Tomoe away from his lab and keep him here for how long?"
"Akiko should be here in about twenty minutes. She said she'd call when she arrives, and that'll be soon. After she calls, we'll get him."
"And if we can't?" Rei didn't answer. "Then . . . I sincerely hope they can . . ." Setsuna mumbled.
*******
Author's Note: Extremely short chapter I know. But I haven't slept in like 30 hours, do to some insomnia or whatever the doctor dude said. *sigh* And now, thanks to pills I was forced to take, my eyes are drooping like flies sprayed with Raid. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna upload this, and sleep. It's like 10:00pm, a world record for me going to sleep. LOL. Oh yeah, I'll get the chapter out sooner than usual, promise!
U.U----zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sleepy, sleepy, sleepy . . . .
