Author's Note: Yeah. I'm still supposed to be working on my report for tomorrow, but hey I've got two pages done and that's just basics so far. I haven't fleshed it out yet. It only has to be about three or four pages long. After reading the reviews I wanted to write more.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Only the wording is. Oh and Janice.
Vic: Nope! Apparently it isn't so obvious as to what's going on with Duo. That's what I get asked most frequently, so you aren't alone. I couldn't have Duo remember or find out somehow and start questioning Heero's motives, so unless I wanted a lot of problems that I'm sure Heero would have been able to see coming, Heero had to tell him. Either that, or risk losing him.
Gears: Don' worry the next installment is here since you asked so nicely. And I prefer Hee-chan and Duo. They yummy! hehehe. Duo an angel? Hmm... maybe yes maybe no. I never really said what he was. Tha's prolly the closest y'all 'll come to what's going on for now, though.
Ayumi Nekomoto: neither does Duo.
Aka-Kitsune-chan: Ya don' wanna know... or maybes you do, but I think you can use your imagination ;)
Nelia: DING DING DING! Yup. I'm glad someone caught that. Yup, it was Janice, that angelly guy (I never really did say he was an angel, just looks like one). He was the one to cut poor Duo-chan's hand. He had his reasons.
Yeah, Duo's reaction was a bit lacking wasn't it to Hee-chan's declaration. Hehehe. He overheard something that caused him to be quite a bit distracted. So he heard it, but never got a chance to respond before pretty much everything Heero said went flying out of his mind.
Story News: It's progressing nicely. Everyone is still confused about what's going on with Duo. Only two people other than Janice know as far as I know.(myself and my best friend) Janice is that 'angel' guy who visited Duo in the last chappy. AS Nelia figured out. Janice said he wouldn't hurt Duo again meaning that he had done so before. He's responsible for the permanent scar on Duo's palm. I think it's time Duo went on a mission, don't you?
-~*^*~-
"What is it Duo?" Heero asked again.
"It's uh... Heeeeerooo," Duo whined pathetically, cheeks turning a bright red in embarrassment. "Please don't make me tell you. IT's too... too... EEEeeee!" Duo clapped his hands over his ears, screaming inside his head for the two to shut up. He didn't give a damn if Quatre was tight!
*-*-*
Two floors up Trowa paused above his blonde lover and looked down at him in curiosity.
"You heard him too?" Quatre blushed. "I... I didn't' realize we were being so loud."
"Nn, Heero mentioned that his hearing had improved," he murmured leaning down to kiss the little pilot. "We'll just have to be a little more quiet while he is around."
*-*-*
Duo sighed in relief when the noise went down. It was not something that he particularly wanted to listen to. He felt bad about not responding better to Heero. He had told him that he loved him, and somehow Duo felt that it had not been easy for the pilot to admit.
Duo remembered that he had had feelings for one of the pilots. He didn't remember the name, but he knew it was the one who was constantly stalked by amazing lung capacity girl. She hadn't been around yet, but he assumed that he could figure out which of the pilots it had been.
Obviously it wasn't either of the two upstairs and it couldn't have been WuFei. That must have been what the feeling was when he saw Yuy. Yuy was the only pilot left, and he was positive that he had liked one of the pilots. "Does some girl follow you around asking you to kill her?" Duo questioned. If Heero said no then he must have been mistaken because it couldn't be WuFei.
"I will assume that you mean Relena. Yes. She's taken to hunting me down and blowing my cover. Why?" What could the pacifist have anything to do with what was going on?
"Really?" Duo's eyes lit up, the violet brightening enough to be considered to be glowing.
"Yes, but Duo wha- ughf!" his breath was taken away when the strange boy suddenly launched himself as his chest and wrapped his arms around his waist.
"You really love me Hee-chan?" Duo asked, adoring eyes looking up into slightly confused cobalt.
Heero nodded, trying to regain his breath.
The braided pilot grinned manically. "I love you, Hee-chan!" he piped exuberantly, burying his face in Heero's neck happily.
Heero smiled, wrapping Duo in his arms, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla coming from the boy's hair. Heero looked up at the sound of Chang clearing his throat. "Yes?"
"The scientists are wondering if Duo is capable of accepting missions yet," WuFei picked up the dish towel, running it under cold water to wipe the moisture off of his face. It was warm out and he had worked up a sweat practicing with his katana.
"Absolutely not," Heero stated immediately, but looked down when he felt Duo draw away slightly.
"No Heero. I think I can handle it. Other than some minor cuts and bruises, and looking like shit, I think I'm alright. I'll do it. I'll be careful," Duo added hastily seeing the look Heero was giving him.
"Alright. When is the mission?" Heero looked back up at WuFei.
"Tonight. 2300 hours. It's a base about 600km Northeast of here. We're to destroy it only after finding the official in charge and eliminating him first. He's crafty. He ranks high in Oz and is used primarily for stategical and information retrieval purposes. He's escaped our grasp three times. We can no longer assume that he will die when the base is destroyed. The scientists want Maxwell and I to carry out the mission," WuFei quickly briefed the two.
"Sounds rather easy. What's this guy's name?" Duo tilted his head to the side, turning in Heero's arms until he was leaning back against his chest and facing the Chinese boy.
"It's not easy Maxwell or else the guy would be dead. His name is Trastyre," WuFei handed them the picture of the man that the scientists had sent along with the e-mail. "That's him," Wufei murmured distastefully.
"We've seen him before. He was accosting the Dr. that Heero took me to yesterday. He was going to be fired..." Duo's eyes went wide as a thought occurred to him. "They know I'm alive."
"What?" WuFei questioned. Oz wouldn't leave a gundam pilot half dead. He had assumed that Duo had somehow escaped before he was killed and had passed out after he had gotten far enough away. If Oz had thought him dead then that ruled out that explanation.
"They know I'm alive. They thought I was dead. It was on the news that one of the rebel gundam pilots had been killed. They were talking about me. There went our advantage," Duo muttered crossly.
"Wrong. That advantage is gone, but it wasn't a big advantage to begin with. An enemy is an enemy. They would have assumed one of us would take over your duties. You still have an advantage, Duo. Can you not think of it?" Heero rested his chin on the boy's shoulder allowing him a few moments to think, while he tried to figure just when exactly Duo had found the time to watch the news. Heero didn't think he had, but maybe it had been when he was retrieving Deathscythe for him.
"His hearing," WuFei muttered, remembering the trouble it had gotten him into.
"Yes, his hearing. He can hear things we can't. It could become a very useful skill. When there is more time, we will have to test the range of it. I am curious to see just how good it has become," Yuy mused. So far it seemed as if he could hear anything in the entire house. He wondered if his hearing extended to outside of it as well.
"Ummm... Heero? I, uh... I know something else. I can see in the dark really well, too. I mean I could before, but it's a lot easier now. I could tell the light switch was on that first night when the light turned off on me when I was wishing that you had turned it off 'cause it was too bright," Duo blushed, ducking his head trying to hide the pinkness staining his cheeks.
Heero blinked. There had been no moon that night and they were too far away from any cities for there to be street lights. There was no way for any light to have made it into Duo's room. He hadn't been able to see anything in the room until he had turned on the light that night, so how had Duo.
"Iya, I'm gonna go check on Deathscythe for a while. I'll be back in for lunch," Duo gave Heero a quick peck on the cheek before running out to Deathscythe. Maybe Heero was right. Maybe there was something wrong with him. He didn't relax until he was sitting comfortably inside the gundam's cockpit.
Okay so he had good hearing, good eyesight, not to mention that his eyes randomly changed color, a weird angelly guy helping him, and the ability to steal someone else's voice. That didn't make him a freak did it? Yeah it probably did. Duo groaned, dropping his head to his knees as he brought his feet up onto the chair.
"You're not a freak, Duo," a kind voice soothed him.
Duo looked up, not at all surprised the see the angelic figure before him. He had known that his morning visit wouldn't have been the last. "Who are you?" he asked tiredly.
"You may call me Janice," the man smiled. "My mother was hoping for a girl for the sole reason of wanting to name the child after her. "I wasn't a girl, but as you can see that didn't deter her. New mission orders I hear. I will be with you. I will keep you from harm while you continue to recover. Let me see your hand, little one."
Janice took the offered hand squeezing it gently to reassure the boy before turning it over to inspect the scar. "It's healed nicely. The time has come to do the other."
Duo jerked his hand back and stared at the man. "But you said-"
"Correct. I said I would not hurt you again. This will not hurt. Give me your other hand and watch," Janice took the other hand holding it palm up. In the other hand a small dagger appeared. Duo watched fascinated as the sharp blade cut into his skin all the way down to the bone. He could see the dark red blood drip from the wound and onto the man's robes. Strangely though, it didn't hurt. He could feel it, but there was no pain, just a slight tickling sensation.
"There now," the angel smiled pressing the palms of Duo's hands together. When he finally let them go a few moment's later, the incision had healed itself and resembled a mirror image of the first.
"What do they mean?" Duo looked up at him in confusion.
"You will know what they are for when the time comes. Just be patient," Janice chuckled lightly, moving to stand behind the boy, massaging his shoulders until the pilot fell into a contented sleep.
-~*^*~-
... I'm dead, aren't I? ...
... would you like that? ...
... what about Heero? ...
... what's the price? ...
... not if I have to watch him die ...
... do you accept? ...
... what about Heero? ...
... there is a chance he may die ...
... do you accept? ...
... yes ...
... you will be ready when the time comes ...
... I will see to it ...
-~*^*~-
Duo woke up to the sound of Heero calling his name from the foot of his Gundam. He shook his head to clear it of residual images that followed the eerie conversation he'd been having with someone in his dream. He knew he'd had the dream before, but he still couldn't make much sense of it. Each time he had it though he could remember larger bits and pieces. And each times the images of murders and deaths followed.
Maybe he'd ask Janice what it meant. He didn't think the angel had anything to do with them, but he might be able to give him a little more insight. He blinked as Heero's voice penetrated his thoughts again. He got up and leaned out of a cockpit to stare down at the Japanese pilot. "Yeah?"
"Lunch!" Heero shook his head amused. So Duo had come out to sleep in Deathscythe. He wondered if he had still been able to hear Trowa and Quatre. Duo may not have told him, but the looks of relief when the two had come downstairs to find Duo's presence not there was telling. He smiled once Duo reached his side and followed him back into the house.
"I'm sorry, Duo. I'm so sorry!" Quatre gushed, embarrassed once he saw Duo.
"Forget it Q. Not like ya meant to have me overhear," Duo shrugged. He hadn't been mad about it. It could have happened to anyone. "When Hee-chan and I finally get around to it, I'll make sure we're right next door to ya," Duo grinned swaggering into the kitchen to get a plate and his lunch.
Heero choked, immediately following Duo to avoid Trowa and Quatre's reactions. He'd have to ask the two later how they had known Duo had overheard. The Latin's eyes had merely widened in surprise, whereas Quatre's entire face had gone an attractive shade of pink which he promptly buried in Trowa's turtleneck.
-~*^*~-
"Pilot 02 approaching target. Closing in," Duo grinned at WuFei over the screen as he destroyed the base's radar. "All set, Chang. They'll never see you coming now."
Duo hopped out of his Gundam, landing silently and waited for WuFei join him seconds later.
"Alright, we're in. Trastyre's office is this way," WuFei moved along, keeping out of sight of the motion detectors, shooting the one's he couldn't avoid. Thank Nataku for silencers.
"Not that way," Duo grabbed his arm, forcing him to a stop. "He isn't there. He's this way. Trust me. I can feel it. We're going the wrong way," Duo whispered running off in the other direction dragging WuFei behind him.
"Maxwell!" Chang hissed vehemently. "According to the layout, there is no reason why he'd be this way."
"Which is precisely why he's there. He'd expect to be attacked no matter where he goes. It's common sense to go where someone won't expect you to be," Duo reasoned. It made perfect sense, but he hadn't thought of that himself until something at the back of his mind had told him that their target was not in the direction his partner had been going. He couldn't say exactly where Trastyre was, but he trusted his feet to take him there.
WuFei understood the logic, but couldn't understand where it had come from. WuFei knew that Duo's sole purpose for the mission had been to get WuFei in and to destroy the base after Trastyre had been disposed of. He hadn't been sent to track the man, WuFei had.
Nataku's pilot started wondering why he was even there if Duo seemed to know exactly where he was going. He even knew exactly when to pause, when to hurry up and for how long. If WuFei didn't know better, he'd have said Duo knew each of the soldiers' movements and positions without ever seeing them.
Duo grinned at what he considered to be his luck. They hadn't had a single problem with Ozzies as of yet. All they'd had to worry about so far were the surveillance cameras. He slowed down as he came upon an inconspicuous door. It appeared to be a storage room, marked by a simple number followed by an S. He stopped just outside the door, turning and motioning for WuFei to remain silent. /In here,/ he mouthed, ignoring WuFei's doubtfulness.
He carefully oiled the hinges before easing the door open silently. He waited a moment listening to the occupants on the other side of the door. They were in the right place alright. He could hear someone gloating about how the pilots would never suspect Trastyre to be in the less guarded section of the base.
WuFei then heard laughter pour out of the slit in the open door made. The video cameras were showing the pilots heading towards the center of the base, away from where they were currently positioned outside of their door.
Duo smiled and silently thanked Janice. It must have been him. He had said he'd be there looking out for him. He drew his gun out and got into position against the wall next to the doorway. He nodded to WuFei signaling him to get ready, kicked the door open and opened fire. Trastyre never saw them coming.
TBC...