Rapunzel: Ah, finally! The end is near! After a few bars of chocolate...
Muse: ::rubbing her head and glaring resentfully:: And a few thumps to the head...
Rapunzel: I... er... persuaded my muse to help me write my anthro paper, and now that's turned in, I can just kick back and relax.
Muse: Wonder how long this will last.
Rapunzel: ::kicks feet up, leans back in her chair, and looks smug.::
Muse: Wait for it... Wait for it....
(Rapunzel's eyes begin to wander around the room.)
Muse: Here it comes. Three, two, one...
Rapunzel: ::eyes come to rest on the calendar:: #@%*! Finals start in less than a week!
Muse: ::smirking:: Suddenly, I feel so much better. And so much more productive...
Extra Warnings for this part: I really suck at writing fight scenes, even when they involve Gundams.
Apoptosis By Rapunzel
Part 8
Heero had two thoughts pounding through his brain. The first was that he was several hours behind Deathscythe and was therefore unlikely to reach Duo in time. The second thought was more irrational, but just as persistent.
/When I get my hands on that longhaired idiot, I'll kill him!/
On some level, he knew he wouldn't really, that he couldn't bring himself to perpetrate that level of violence on his fellow, but the death threat made him feel marginally more in control. It always helped to have a plan, and at that moment, that was the only one he had.
~*~*~
Duo had decided that J was evil.
Actually, he had reached that conclusion quite a while ago when he had first learned what Operation Apoptosis was. Now, however, he was adding "sneaky" to the list of uncomplimentary adjectives he associated with the man.
"That bastard set me up!" he growled out loud.
He didn't bother to remind himself that it had, in fact, been Heero who had been set up; that only made it worse. Of course, it was partially his own fault that he was here. He resoundingly cursed his own foolishness; of course he ought to have expected a trap.
Another blast made Deathscythe shake, and his hands tightened on the controls reflexively. He was in serious trouble, and he knew it. This base was beginning to remind him of the hydra, a creature he'd read about in a myth book once. For every Leo that he cut down, two more seemed to appear. He was out of ammunition and had been for quite some time; the only weapon left to him was his scythe, and he knew it was only a matter of time before that was lost too. The Leos were drawing in a circle around him, and he couldn't even manage to cut his way out and retreat.
As another blast made his Gundam reel ominously, he allowed himself one small, comforting thought. /At least Heero isn't here./
~*~*~
Wufei would have been very unhappy if he had heard all of the things Heero was muttering about his Gundam.
"Can't this stupid, hulking, pathetic excuse for a mobile suit get there any faster?!"
In fact, Shenlong was hardly a pathetic excuse for a mobile suit- none of the Gundams were-, but after having piloted Wing for so long, Heero was finding Wufei's Gundam more than a little irritating. His chief source of irritation was that it wasn't built for traveling nearly as fast as Wing was. Now, when speed might be essential if he ever wanted to see Duo alive again, this difference was particularly frustrating.
"Dammit, Duo, if you're dead when I get there..." He trailed off, leaving the threat unfinished. If Duo _was_ dead, a possibility he didn't even want to consider, threatening him would be useless.
Duo had to know it was a trap by now, he reasoned. Possibly, he had already drawn off and retreated, in which case, Heero's presence wasn't going to be needed. However, it was equally possible that he hadn't realized the danger until it was too late.
Heero's hands squeezed the controls convulsively. A mantra ran endlessly through his mind. /Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!/
~*~*~
Duo's eyes ran over the circle, desperately seeking a weak point, a way out. No dice. He was completely hemmed in with little hope of escape. Although his scythe was still barely operational, he had taken several hits to that arm of his Gundam, and the mere idea of trying to use it to break out of a ring of over fifty Leos was ludicrous. That left only one option.
His hand twitched towards the self destruct button. "Oh, you guys are going to love the glory, aren't you?" he growled through gritted teeth. "You can tell everyone you helped take down a Gundam pilot. Well, I'll be sure to make this a victory you won't forget!"
So saying, he slammed his hand down on the button.
Nothing happened.
"Shit!" he yelled. More curses quickly followed the first. Why did his damn self destruct button never work when he needed it to? Heero's always worked, even when he didn't need it to.
Speaking of Heero...
"Duo!"
The cry came only a second ahead of the blast of fire that tore a gap in the circle of Leos. Looking through the flames, he caught a glimpse of Shenlong.
/Wait a minute. That's Wufei's Gundam, but it sounded like Heero's voice./
"What the hell do you think you're doing, taking my mission without asking me?!"
/Yup, it's definitely Heero in there./
"What the hell do you think _you're_ doing following me?!" he shouted back. "Now we're both stuck here!" Already, he could see the Leos regrouping, moving to hem in the newcomer as well.
Heero must have seen it as well. There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Duo could practically hear Heero's mind working, calculating numbers and odds. He didn't need statistics to tell him that they were both in trouble now.
"If I self destruct, I'll take out enough of them for you to escape."
Duo's blood ran cold. "No! Don't you dare!"
"It is necessary..."
"No! I didn't struggle to keep you alive just so you could die on me now! If anyone's going to self destruct, it'll be me!"
"But yours doesn't work."
"How would you know?"
"Because I disabled it a while ago."
Duo's jaw dropped for a moment in shock. Then his anger returned. The sheer nerve of the guy... "You son of a bitch!" he shouted. "How dare you do something like that?!" He was so angry he could hardly see straight. That presumptuous little...
"Because I love you."
Duo's jaw dropped for the second time in less than a minute. Heero had implied as much before, but he had never actually said the words. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Heero, you have to worst timing known to man."
"I know," Heero said as he swung the dragon arm around and fried several more Leos.
Once again, Duo began looking for a way out. They both had to come through this alive, dammit. He couldn't self destruct, and he wouldn't let Heero do it. Looking around the base, he noticed a fuel tank he had been aiming for before his ammunition had run out. An idea sprang into his head.
"Heero!" he called. "I'm out of ammo!"
"I gathered as much," came the reply.
"But you're not! Shoot that fuel tank over there!"
"Duo, it'll blow this whole place up."
"That's the idea, yes."
"But it'll blow _us_ up too."
"So? So would self destructing, and you were willing to go for that a minute ago. We've got a better chance of surviving this anyway."
There was a moment of silent hesitation, and then Heero calmly said, "Locked on target."
"Here goes nothing," Duo muttered as he began to retreat, lashing out at any mobile suits that got in his way.
He heard Heero make the shot an instant before the whole base was awash with orange and red flame as the fuel tank exploded. Leos disintegrated before his eyes, and those that weren't destroyed began to beat a hasty retreat. Then the flames engulfed Deathscythe, and his external sensors relayed nothing but static. Deathscythe trembled with the force of the explosion and he felt it pitch forward. His poor 'Scythe had apparently had enough for one day.
"Shit!" he yelled again, lacking the concentration to come up with any more original curses. He tried frantically to right himself, but the force from the explosion was too much. As Deathscythe fell, he was thrown forward and his safety harness broke. His head connected with the viewing screen, and everything went black.
tbc
Author's ramblings: Okay, I'm evil. I admit it. But, I've noticed that I get more comments when I leave cliffhangers like this. Therefore, if more people commented on my stuff, I wouldn't have to end my chapters like this. (Hint, hint) I love my logic.
Muse: ::rubbing her head and glaring resentfully:: And a few thumps to the head...
Rapunzel: I... er... persuaded my muse to help me write my anthro paper, and now that's turned in, I can just kick back and relax.
Muse: Wonder how long this will last.
Rapunzel: ::kicks feet up, leans back in her chair, and looks smug.::
Muse: Wait for it... Wait for it....
(Rapunzel's eyes begin to wander around the room.)
Muse: Here it comes. Three, two, one...
Rapunzel: ::eyes come to rest on the calendar:: #@%*! Finals start in less than a week!
Muse: ::smirking:: Suddenly, I feel so much better. And so much more productive...
Extra Warnings for this part: I really suck at writing fight scenes, even when they involve Gundams.
Apoptosis By Rapunzel
Part 8
Heero had two thoughts pounding through his brain. The first was that he was several hours behind Deathscythe and was therefore unlikely to reach Duo in time. The second thought was more irrational, but just as persistent.
/When I get my hands on that longhaired idiot, I'll kill him!/
On some level, he knew he wouldn't really, that he couldn't bring himself to perpetrate that level of violence on his fellow, but the death threat made him feel marginally more in control. It always helped to have a plan, and at that moment, that was the only one he had.
~*~*~
Duo had decided that J was evil.
Actually, he had reached that conclusion quite a while ago when he had first learned what Operation Apoptosis was. Now, however, he was adding "sneaky" to the list of uncomplimentary adjectives he associated with the man.
"That bastard set me up!" he growled out loud.
He didn't bother to remind himself that it had, in fact, been Heero who had been set up; that only made it worse. Of course, it was partially his own fault that he was here. He resoundingly cursed his own foolishness; of course he ought to have expected a trap.
Another blast made Deathscythe shake, and his hands tightened on the controls reflexively. He was in serious trouble, and he knew it. This base was beginning to remind him of the hydra, a creature he'd read about in a myth book once. For every Leo that he cut down, two more seemed to appear. He was out of ammunition and had been for quite some time; the only weapon left to him was his scythe, and he knew it was only a matter of time before that was lost too. The Leos were drawing in a circle around him, and he couldn't even manage to cut his way out and retreat.
As another blast made his Gundam reel ominously, he allowed himself one small, comforting thought. /At least Heero isn't here./
~*~*~
Wufei would have been very unhappy if he had heard all of the things Heero was muttering about his Gundam.
"Can't this stupid, hulking, pathetic excuse for a mobile suit get there any faster?!"
In fact, Shenlong was hardly a pathetic excuse for a mobile suit- none of the Gundams were-, but after having piloted Wing for so long, Heero was finding Wufei's Gundam more than a little irritating. His chief source of irritation was that it wasn't built for traveling nearly as fast as Wing was. Now, when speed might be essential if he ever wanted to see Duo alive again, this difference was particularly frustrating.
"Dammit, Duo, if you're dead when I get there..." He trailed off, leaving the threat unfinished. If Duo _was_ dead, a possibility he didn't even want to consider, threatening him would be useless.
Duo had to know it was a trap by now, he reasoned. Possibly, he had already drawn off and retreated, in which case, Heero's presence wasn't going to be needed. However, it was equally possible that he hadn't realized the danger until it was too late.
Heero's hands squeezed the controls convulsively. A mantra ran endlessly through his mind. /Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!/
~*~*~
Duo's eyes ran over the circle, desperately seeking a weak point, a way out. No dice. He was completely hemmed in with little hope of escape. Although his scythe was still barely operational, he had taken several hits to that arm of his Gundam, and the mere idea of trying to use it to break out of a ring of over fifty Leos was ludicrous. That left only one option.
His hand twitched towards the self destruct button. "Oh, you guys are going to love the glory, aren't you?" he growled through gritted teeth. "You can tell everyone you helped take down a Gundam pilot. Well, I'll be sure to make this a victory you won't forget!"
So saying, he slammed his hand down on the button.
Nothing happened.
"Shit!" he yelled. More curses quickly followed the first. Why did his damn self destruct button never work when he needed it to? Heero's always worked, even when he didn't need it to.
Speaking of Heero...
"Duo!"
The cry came only a second ahead of the blast of fire that tore a gap in the circle of Leos. Looking through the flames, he caught a glimpse of Shenlong.
/Wait a minute. That's Wufei's Gundam, but it sounded like Heero's voice./
"What the hell do you think you're doing, taking my mission without asking me?!"
/Yup, it's definitely Heero in there./
"What the hell do you think _you're_ doing following me?!" he shouted back. "Now we're both stuck here!" Already, he could see the Leos regrouping, moving to hem in the newcomer as well.
Heero must have seen it as well. There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Duo could practically hear Heero's mind working, calculating numbers and odds. He didn't need statistics to tell him that they were both in trouble now.
"If I self destruct, I'll take out enough of them for you to escape."
Duo's blood ran cold. "No! Don't you dare!"
"It is necessary..."
"No! I didn't struggle to keep you alive just so you could die on me now! If anyone's going to self destruct, it'll be me!"
"But yours doesn't work."
"How would you know?"
"Because I disabled it a while ago."
Duo's jaw dropped for a moment in shock. Then his anger returned. The sheer nerve of the guy... "You son of a bitch!" he shouted. "How dare you do something like that?!" He was so angry he could hardly see straight. That presumptuous little...
"Because I love you."
Duo's jaw dropped for the second time in less than a minute. Heero had implied as much before, but he had never actually said the words. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Heero, you have to worst timing known to man."
"I know," Heero said as he swung the dragon arm around and fried several more Leos.
Once again, Duo began looking for a way out. They both had to come through this alive, dammit. He couldn't self destruct, and he wouldn't let Heero do it. Looking around the base, he noticed a fuel tank he had been aiming for before his ammunition had run out. An idea sprang into his head.
"Heero!" he called. "I'm out of ammo!"
"I gathered as much," came the reply.
"But you're not! Shoot that fuel tank over there!"
"Duo, it'll blow this whole place up."
"That's the idea, yes."
"But it'll blow _us_ up too."
"So? So would self destructing, and you were willing to go for that a minute ago. We've got a better chance of surviving this anyway."
There was a moment of silent hesitation, and then Heero calmly said, "Locked on target."
"Here goes nothing," Duo muttered as he began to retreat, lashing out at any mobile suits that got in his way.
He heard Heero make the shot an instant before the whole base was awash with orange and red flame as the fuel tank exploded. Leos disintegrated before his eyes, and those that weren't destroyed began to beat a hasty retreat. Then the flames engulfed Deathscythe, and his external sensors relayed nothing but static. Deathscythe trembled with the force of the explosion and he felt it pitch forward. His poor 'Scythe had apparently had enough for one day.
"Shit!" he yelled again, lacking the concentration to come up with any more original curses. He tried frantically to right himself, but the force from the explosion was too much. As Deathscythe fell, he was thrown forward and his safety harness broke. His head connected with the viewing screen, and everything went black.
tbc
Author's ramblings: Okay, I'm evil. I admit it. But, I've noticed that I get more comments when I leave cliffhangers like this. Therefore, if more people commented on my stuff, I wouldn't have to end my chapters like this. (Hint, hint) I love my logic.