Disclaimers: See Prologue.
Can be posted anywhere, just ask first.
_______________________________________________________________________
Christmas Wishes Part Two
By Puu
_______________________________________________________________________
A.C. 197...Christmas Eve
He would never admit it to anyone, but...
He was *glad* that Sally had dragged him out to the party.
Wufei had been working on a particular case that caught his attention
when some anonymous tip came across his e-mail a while back. At first,
he thought it was a trap or some practical joke someone wanted to play
on the Preventers. After some careful checking, however, he realized
that wherever the information came from, it seemed legitimate.
That seeming legitimacy was very disturbing.
He brought the case to the attention of Lady Une, who okayed the
project, but told him that he needed to exercise discretion. So he
worked alone, not even telling Sally what he was *really* doing. But
after his initial check, he couldn't find his anonymous tipper or
anymore information.
Frustrated couldn't even begin to describe what he felt. So when Sally
found him at the office, he half-heartedly argued, but capitulated
quickly so he could leave the problem for another day.
Of course, if he had known that the girls were going to ask him
embarassing questions, he might have decided to stay at the office
after all. He looked at Sally, who was still talking to Lady Une, and
tried again to picture her in the way that Relena, Dorothy, Hirde, and
Catherine implied their relationship. He shook his head. He couldn't
do it, of course.
Sally was a friend, nothing more, although they both had entertained
the thought of being more and tried dating. After a couple of weeks,
they couldn't do it and broke off the attempt.
The process was disappointing and a little painful, but it was all for
the best.
Wufei glanced around the room and noticed that Duo seemed absent from
the party. Out of all of them, Wufei expected Duo to be out full
force, joking and partying and generally having the best time in his
life. But Duo was nowhere to be found. Wufei found the situation
a little strange, since Duo had been exhibiting some strange behavior
for the past few months. He wondered if anyone else had noticed.
He turned his attention to Trowa and Quatre, who started playing
another beautiful duet and decided to mention it after the holidays.
After all, it was Christmas.
***
Hirde gave everyone a smile and excused herself. Then she looked
around the room, frowning to herself. As the holidays came closer, Duo
had been spending an inordinate amount of time at the Preventer
offices. He never seemed so preoccupied with work before, but this
time, this time he stayed until all hours, working his ass off. He had
not told her what he was doing and when she asked questions, he was
very closed mouthed about it. She worried about him and wondered what
could be so important that he would go without sleep for days on end.
He seemed pretty normal today, Hirde thought, but now, now he was off
by himself somewhere. It just wasn't like him.
Wufei stood to the side watching Quatre and Trowa. Hirde walked over
and tapped him on the shoulder. Wufei looked back at her and he raised
his eyebrows in question.
"Have you seen Duo?"
Wufei shook his head. Hirde frowned. "Well, thanks." Hirde was about
to walk away, when Wufei grabbed her elbow gently and steered her to a
corner opposite to the grand piano.
"Is there something wrong?" Wufei looked at Hirde intently.
Hirde shook her head, stopped, then sighed. "I don't know."
"That's not a reassuring answer," said Wufei with a wry smile.
Hirde looked exasperated. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you."
Wufei blinked, that wasn't the response he expected from her.
"All right," he said slowly. Then he paused and a long silence hung
between them. Hirde looked around at everyone else and Wufei sipped
his drink. "Everyone's worried, you know." Hirde looked sharply at
him and he laughed. "Didn't you think everyone would notice how hard
Duo's been working lately? It's a bit unnatural for him."
Hirde gave him a wide astonished look. "I thought you were always on
Duo's case for being a, now let me get this right, 'lazy, worthless
bum.'" Wufei blushed. Hirde crossed her arms and leaned toward him,
her eyes narrowing. "Am I right?"
"Well..." He looked at Hirde, eyes serious. "I don't really think
he's lazy. He's harder working than we realize sometimes. But he
hasn't been himself lately. He hasn't played a joke on me in ages."
"Yeah, ever since you said that--"
"I don't expect him to change just because I say something, and
personally, I don't want him to change because it wouldn't..." he
grinned, "well, wouldn't be just."
Hirde sighed. Then she gave Wufei a sideways glance. "You're nice
when you want to be, you know." She paused, thinking. "But he has
changed. And not for the better." She went quiet, thinking for a
moment, then snapped her fingers. She looked at Wufei and Wufei raised
an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You remember that anonymous tip you got over the 'net?"
"Yeah?"
"He started acting strange at about the same time."
Wufei stared at the far wall, his eyes distant as he thought. Hirde
was disappointed when he shrugged. "It doesn't prove anything."
"He was going to play another joke on you. He hacked into your files
and looked at them. He was going to make your computer sing love songs
every time you opened a file. The next morning, when your computer
didn't sing, I knew he didn't do it." Wufei gave her a flat look. She
raised her hands. "Hey, that was months ago and nothing happened."
"Well..." Wufei shrugged. "Anyway, that's not the point. What makes
you think it has something to do with my snitch?" He paused and his
brow furrowed again. "And how did you know about that tip? The only
person who knows about it is Lady Une."
"I'm not without my own sources." Wufei's eyes bore into her, but
Hirde closed her mouth and refused to elaborate. He didn't need to
know that Duo told her. Besides, she was pretty good at hacking her
own way in when she needed to. "And, like you said, that's not the
point," she said quietly. Hirde took a deep breath. "I think he's
looking for your snitch."
Wufei started. "He's looking for..." He shook his head. "Nah."
"Why not?" Hirde took Wufei by the elbow and drew him farther into the
corner, keeping her voice low. "He didn't start looking until he got
into your files. He's never been this obssessive."
"There are a lot of holes in your theory."
"Oh yeah?" Hirde let go of Wufei's arm. "Well, he may not be looking
for your source, but something he saw in your computer is making him
crazy."
"Maybe..." Wufei said dubiously.
Hirde gritted her teeth. Her instincts concerning Duo were never
wrong. Wufei may be willing to help, but he wasn't taking her
seriously enough. "There's something else you should know."
"What?"
"As you know, he wears this cross around his neck. Now, I've seen the
cross before, he always wears it, but I've noticed lately that there's
also a locket on that same chain. He never takes off the necklace,
so I think he's always had that locket. Every time he got frustrated
with what he was doing, he would always pull out his cross..." Wufei
nodded and Hirde felt a little surge of triumph at his agreement, "but
lately he's also been pulling out the locket, opening it, and looking
inside."
Wufei nodded again, more slowly, and his eyes grew distant. Hirde
waited as he thought about her words.
"So, whatever Duo is looking for, the answer would be in that locket."
They spun around at the extra voice. "Or perhaps I should say
whomever?"
"Q-Quatre..." stammered Hirde. Quatre looked at them and smiled.
"I'm sorry if I was listening in but you weren't at the tree, so I
went looking for you." He smiled at Hirde. "Interested in some
advice?" Hirde nodded, her face burning. Wufei tilted his head toward
Quatre. "Well, since we're not really sure what's actually going on, I
think the best course is to just ask him what he's doing."
"Well..." said Hirde, still a little embarrassed about being caught.
Wufei, on the other hand didn't look disturbed in the slightest.
"It's not that simple, Quatre. He's being evasive," said Wufei.
Quatre shrugged. "Then, we'll simply be sneaky about it. Why don't I
go talk to him first?" He looked around the room, in search of his
missing guest then he turned back to the other two. "I haven't seen
Duo all night. Do you know where he is?" Both shook their heads.
Quatre then looked to the balcony and saw a lone figure standing
outside. He turned to Wufei and Hirde. "Anyone care to join me?"
"You found him?" Hirde asked. Quatre nodded to the balcony. "What's
he doing there? It's freezing outside."
Wufei also looked over and said, "I think someone's already beaten you,
Quatre. Look." All three watched as Trowa walked toward the balcony
door and stopped for a moment. He appeared to hesitate for a moment,
looking at the person there, then he opened the door and stepped
outside.
***
Trowa watched Duo for a while, waiting for him to register his
presence. But Duo never turned around, never acknowledged him, so he
came closer. Duo's eyes were closed and he held something tightly in
his hands. Yet, Trowa didn't notice those things. His attention was
attached to Duo's face and those little things paled in comparison to
the tears hanging precariously to his eyelashes.
Duo was crying and that was something that Trowa had never seen
him do, even when he was hurt. Trowa reached out to grip Duo's
shoulder and had to jump back as Duo snapped out of wherever he was and
attacked. Trowa landed five feet away from Duo and they eyed each
other, Duo still in his attack pose and Trowa crouched on the ground
calmly regarding him. Neither of them moved or spoke for the longest
time.
"You've been hiding a few things. Isn't that my move?" Trowa stood
and folded his arms, raising his eyebrows in amusement.
Duo relaxed from his stance, still gripping the thing in his hand
tightly, and turned away. "Then maybe you shouldn't sneak up on
people, since you know what'll happen." He paused and then moved to
slip the thing in his hand into his shirt. "What're you doing out here
Trowa?" He brushed away the almost tears before turning back to face
the taller man.
"I just came to call you in. We're going to open presents soon. It's
almost midnight, you know." Duo turned back around and leaned on the
railings of the balcony, his chin resting on his hands. Trowa waited
for a moment then started to go back inside. He did what he was
supposed to do, he need not do anythi...
"I'll be there in just a minute." Duo's voice was soft, but Trowa
detected a catch in his voice. "I just needed to be alone for a
while."
Trowa had reached the door, but did not go inside. Instead, he came
back and settled right next to Duo. "What's wrong, Duo?" Duo looked
at him sharply, then returned to staring off into nothing.
"Nothing," muttered Duo.
"Bull."
Duo's head snapped around, his mouth hanging open. Trowa calmly
studied Duo, his mouth working. After a series of gaping gasps, Trowa
spoke again.
"The fact that you've actually changed quite a bit in the last few
months is far from nothing. You're actually working very hard, Duo.
Not just hard, you're becoming a lot like Heero in that sense. And you
don't joke around as much anymore, you're becoming more quiet. What's
bothering Duo Maxwell so much that his personality begins to change,
and not necessarily for the better?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Both men turned, and Hirde came up
from the shadows, to join them.
"It's nothing!" Duo snapped. He glared at Hirde and Trowa.
Trowa saw Hirde stiffen and lift her chin. "Okay," she said. Her
voice stayed deceptively even. "Well, then..." She turned back around
and headed for the door. Before she went inside, she looked back and
said, "You two better hurry. Everyone's gathered around the tree."
After watching them for a couple of more minutes, she went inside.
Trowa watched Duo closely. His clenched jaw and stiff face seemed to
indicate that his *nothing* was, in fact, everything. "That was
was unfair, Duo. She's worried." Duo shook his head and turned away.
He walked to other side of the balcony. "We're all worried. You've
been acting strangely and everyone's noticed." Trowa sighed. Duo was
determined to ignore him, it seemed.
Trowa walked to the balcony doors. "We're willing to listen. When
you're ready." He went inside and saw Quatre standing next to the
door.
"Will he be coming in?"
Trowa shook his head. "He needs time."
***
Duo knew he was being unfair, he didn't need Trowa to point that out,
but this was his problem. It was too personal to bring in anyone else.
Duo didn't want to burden them. A tear slipped down his cheek and he
brushed it away angrily.
But he wasn't getting anywhere. His search kept on coming up to dead
ends and he was running out of ideas.
He needed help.
He took out the locket and cross from beneath his shirt and stared at
them. He stroked the locket gently, opened it, and looked once more
at the pictures. One small frame had Hirde's picture, a recent photo
that she didn't know he had taken, but the other was of a little girl,
faded after ten years.
"Ducina..." he whispered.
He walked back to the door and looked inside. Everyone surrounded the
Christmas tree and he saw Hirde sitting with Relena and Dorothy. They
started exchanging presents and he felt a little pang of shame when he
realized how he acted toward Hirde and Trowa.
They were only trying to help, after all. And it was Christmas. What
would have Father Maxwell said about his behavior? Or Sister Helen?
Or Du...
No, he won't go there.
Duo knew he owed them both an apology.
Taking a deep breath, he closed the locket, shoved both the locket and
cross underneath his shirt, and opened the balcony door.
***
Wufei watched the scene unfold with a twinge of apprehension. Hirde
held her hands clenched tightly in her lap, but there was no other
outward sign of distress. She was talking with Relena and Dorothy
about some of the things that were going on in the L-2 Colony.
But something about her expression seemed a little...off.
He heard a door shut quietly behind him and he listened as Duo stood
behind him. Wufei kept his eyes focused on the things going
on in front of the Christmas tree.
Heero gave Relena a teddy bear with a red bow around its neck. Relena
threw her arms around Heero's neck and gave him a kiss. His flat
expression didn't change, but he grew very red and twisted out of
Relena's grasp. Wufei heard a soft snort come from Duo. Tilting his
head slightly, he could see Duo grin out of the corner of his eye.
Wufei turned to face Duo.
"Hey, Wufei. Nice party, huh?" Duo said lightly. But Wufei noticed
that Duo's eyes, usually bright, seemed dull and gray, highlighting the
shadows beneath.
"You look like shit, Maxwell." Wufei grabbed Duo's arm and steered him
away from the little festivities around the tree.
"Gee, Merry Christmas to you too, Wufei. You're so observant." Duo
shook Wufei's hand off. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to
Hirde."
"It looks like you've already said enough."
Duo looked over to where Hirde sat and sighed. "I was going to
apologize. Is that all right?" He sat heavily into a chair and buried
his face into his hands. "God, it's not supposed to be this way."
"What way?" A voice came coolly over the sounds of celebration around
the tree.
"Well, hello Heero, coming to lecture me on good manners too?"
"More likely he came to get away from Relena."
"Hey, Wufei, you do have a sense of humor!"
Wufei sniffed. "No. Just stating the obvious."
"Are you both done?" The icy tone of Heero's voice could have frozen an
erupting volcano.
Wufei winced and Duo gave a short bark that couldn't pass for a laugh.
"I didn't even know we started."
Everything was silent except for the merry sounds coming from around
the tree.
Heero glared at Duo. Duo just stared at his hands. Wufei cleared his
throat.
"Duo, I think you should tell us what the hell is going on."
"Don't say hell. It's Christmas," Duo snapped, but he kept looking at
his hands rather than at them.
"Duo..." Heero snarled.
Duo hunched down in his seat. He reached into his shirt and brought
out a gold chain with a cross...and a locket. Duo unclasped the chain
and handed the necklace to Wufei. "Recognize anything?"
Wufei turned the objects over in his hand. The cross was plain and
made out of real gold, slightly bent out of shape. The locket, round,
an inch in diameter, and similarly dented, had a symbol etched onto the
front. Wufei looked back up at Duo, who watched him. Wufei handed the
necklace to Heero.
"A Celtic trinity surrounded by two olive branches." Wufei knew where
this was going, but he tried rationalizing. "The trinity is fairly
common..."
Duo pinned Wufei with his tired blue eyes. "Which was also our
verification signal for any of our missions."
Heero offered the necklace back to Duo, who replace it around his neck.
"You knew who our mission contact was."
"I did. But she disappeared after Lady Une threatened to destroy the
colonies." Duo went back to staring at his hands. "I haven't been
able to locate her since then."
"Her?"
Wufei and Heero looked at each other before stepping aside for Hirde.
Duo stood up and extended his hand.
"Hirde, I'm sor--"
She put a hand up to his mouth, stopping the words. "I know. I know.
You always say that." Wufei and Heero started backing away. "Wait,"
said Hirde. They stopped at her command, but she didn't look back at
them. "I think you need to tell all of us, Duo."
Wufei could see Duo swallow, but he nodded. Hirde offered him a hand
and he took it. She dragged him to the couch, leaving Wufei and Heero
to follow. Duo sat down heavily, a blush spreading on his face.
Wufei almost felt sorry for Duo as Relena settled next to him, opposite
of Hirde.
"Everything has something to do with this," Duo whispered and he took
out the locket. He unclasped the necklace and gave it to Hirde.
Wufei was surprised when her eyes widened in what seemed like
recognition, before she frowned. She seemed to think for a moment,
then handed the locket to Relena.
Relena glanced at the locket. Then she stared at it. She gasped.
Duo's eyes widened. Wufei raised his eyebrows in question. Heero came
over to stand next to Relena. Everyone else looked puzzled at her
reaction.
"The locket," she whispered. "Dorothy, look at the locket." Dorothy
came over. She also gasped as she saw the locket.
"What? What is it?" Duo queried, his confusion growing. Relena looked at
him.
"There's another locket like this, isn't there, Duo?"
"Yeah, there is." Duo frowned. "How do you know there's another one
like it?"
Relena ignored the question. "And are the only two of their kind?" she
asked anxiously. Duo's frown deepened.
"Yes. I found out years later, that the lockets were handmade
especially for... Look, why are you asking me all this?"
By this time, Wufei noticed everyone's curiosity had heightened ever
since Relena's reaction and intent query. Lady Une and Mariemaia came
up to also look at the locket. Their look of interest turned to shock.
Sally, looking at their faces, also came up to take a look.
"I've seen that locket before," Sally whispered.
"So have I," whispered Lady Une, her expression turning thoughtful.
She shot Wufei a questioning look.
He casually shook his head. He still hadn't found anything out about
his mysterious snitch.
"She was the one who..." Mariemaia's voice trailed off.
Duo, looking thoroughly confused, and tired of their cryptic remarks,
demanded, "What are you talking about? How do all of *you* know about
this locket?"
Wufei butted in. "I'm a little curious about that too." He knew the
symbol, all the Gundam pilots did, but a lot of people recognized the
whole locket.
That meant he had to step up his own investigation and bring the other
guys in on the case. Wherever the information came from, his new
snitch *had* to know something about *her*. Whoever *she* was.
"Can you tell us about the locket, Duo?" Relena asked softly. "How you
got it?" Duo was silent. Then he spoke.
"I had--have a twin sister," he whispered.
Hirde sighed and looked straight in his eyes. "Can you tell us about
your sister? Please."
"Only if you all can tell me how you know about this locket." When
they nodded, he began to tell them what he remembered.
"My sister and I were orphans on L2. Neither of us remember our
parents. I'm not even sure if we're really related or if there's just
an uncanny resemblance, but all we had was each other and for as long
as we could remember, we were together."
He took a deep breath. "I guess that was what was really important.
Nothing else quite compared to that..."
****
Somwhere in the tundra of Canada...
"Finally, this is it. The Preventers can take care of the rest." A
person in a snowsuit and goggles, with a muffler around their face,
trudged a few more feet, before turning around to face an abandoned
base. The person fingered the self-destruct control and checked the
maps on the laptop. There were red dots with the word "destroyed" next
to them all over the world map. There were very few green dots left.
The person nodded, confirmed the location, and pressed down on the
button and watched as explosions bloomed over the base. The person
watched until the dust cleared and all that was left was the falling
snow. A few taps on the keyboard entered the report into a log and the
person e-mailed the log off to Preventer Headquarters.
The person turned and began to walk toward the nearest town that was a
couple of miles away. "Now, time to keep that promise." The person
sneezed twice and then again once more. "Geez, what's with the
sneezing? Probably getting a cold. That's all I need," the person
muttered as she made her way back to town, periodically flicking snow
off her long braid.
...to be continued
Can be posted anywhere, just ask first.
_______________________________________________________________________
Christmas Wishes Part Two
By Puu
_______________________________________________________________________
A.C. 197...Christmas Eve
He would never admit it to anyone, but...
He was *glad* that Sally had dragged him out to the party.
Wufei had been working on a particular case that caught his attention
when some anonymous tip came across his e-mail a while back. At first,
he thought it was a trap or some practical joke someone wanted to play
on the Preventers. After some careful checking, however, he realized
that wherever the information came from, it seemed legitimate.
That seeming legitimacy was very disturbing.
He brought the case to the attention of Lady Une, who okayed the
project, but told him that he needed to exercise discretion. So he
worked alone, not even telling Sally what he was *really* doing. But
after his initial check, he couldn't find his anonymous tipper or
anymore information.
Frustrated couldn't even begin to describe what he felt. So when Sally
found him at the office, he half-heartedly argued, but capitulated
quickly so he could leave the problem for another day.
Of course, if he had known that the girls were going to ask him
embarassing questions, he might have decided to stay at the office
after all. He looked at Sally, who was still talking to Lady Une, and
tried again to picture her in the way that Relena, Dorothy, Hirde, and
Catherine implied their relationship. He shook his head. He couldn't
do it, of course.
Sally was a friend, nothing more, although they both had entertained
the thought of being more and tried dating. After a couple of weeks,
they couldn't do it and broke off the attempt.
The process was disappointing and a little painful, but it was all for
the best.
Wufei glanced around the room and noticed that Duo seemed absent from
the party. Out of all of them, Wufei expected Duo to be out full
force, joking and partying and generally having the best time in his
life. But Duo was nowhere to be found. Wufei found the situation
a little strange, since Duo had been exhibiting some strange behavior
for the past few months. He wondered if anyone else had noticed.
He turned his attention to Trowa and Quatre, who started playing
another beautiful duet and decided to mention it after the holidays.
After all, it was Christmas.
***
Hirde gave everyone a smile and excused herself. Then she looked
around the room, frowning to herself. As the holidays came closer, Duo
had been spending an inordinate amount of time at the Preventer
offices. He never seemed so preoccupied with work before, but this
time, this time he stayed until all hours, working his ass off. He had
not told her what he was doing and when she asked questions, he was
very closed mouthed about it. She worried about him and wondered what
could be so important that he would go without sleep for days on end.
He seemed pretty normal today, Hirde thought, but now, now he was off
by himself somewhere. It just wasn't like him.
Wufei stood to the side watching Quatre and Trowa. Hirde walked over
and tapped him on the shoulder. Wufei looked back at her and he raised
his eyebrows in question.
"Have you seen Duo?"
Wufei shook his head. Hirde frowned. "Well, thanks." Hirde was about
to walk away, when Wufei grabbed her elbow gently and steered her to a
corner opposite to the grand piano.
"Is there something wrong?" Wufei looked at Hirde intently.
Hirde shook her head, stopped, then sighed. "I don't know."
"That's not a reassuring answer," said Wufei with a wry smile.
Hirde looked exasperated. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you."
Wufei blinked, that wasn't the response he expected from her.
"All right," he said slowly. Then he paused and a long silence hung
between them. Hirde looked around at everyone else and Wufei sipped
his drink. "Everyone's worried, you know." Hirde looked sharply at
him and he laughed. "Didn't you think everyone would notice how hard
Duo's been working lately? It's a bit unnatural for him."
Hirde gave him a wide astonished look. "I thought you were always on
Duo's case for being a, now let me get this right, 'lazy, worthless
bum.'" Wufei blushed. Hirde crossed her arms and leaned toward him,
her eyes narrowing. "Am I right?"
"Well..." He looked at Hirde, eyes serious. "I don't really think
he's lazy. He's harder working than we realize sometimes. But he
hasn't been himself lately. He hasn't played a joke on me in ages."
"Yeah, ever since you said that--"
"I don't expect him to change just because I say something, and
personally, I don't want him to change because it wouldn't..." he
grinned, "well, wouldn't be just."
Hirde sighed. Then she gave Wufei a sideways glance. "You're nice
when you want to be, you know." She paused, thinking. "But he has
changed. And not for the better." She went quiet, thinking for a
moment, then snapped her fingers. She looked at Wufei and Wufei raised
an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You remember that anonymous tip you got over the 'net?"
"Yeah?"
"He started acting strange at about the same time."
Wufei stared at the far wall, his eyes distant as he thought. Hirde
was disappointed when he shrugged. "It doesn't prove anything."
"He was going to play another joke on you. He hacked into your files
and looked at them. He was going to make your computer sing love songs
every time you opened a file. The next morning, when your computer
didn't sing, I knew he didn't do it." Wufei gave her a flat look. She
raised her hands. "Hey, that was months ago and nothing happened."
"Well..." Wufei shrugged. "Anyway, that's not the point. What makes
you think it has something to do with my snitch?" He paused and his
brow furrowed again. "And how did you know about that tip? The only
person who knows about it is Lady Une."
"I'm not without my own sources." Wufei's eyes bore into her, but
Hirde closed her mouth and refused to elaborate. He didn't need to
know that Duo told her. Besides, she was pretty good at hacking her
own way in when she needed to. "And, like you said, that's not the
point," she said quietly. Hirde took a deep breath. "I think he's
looking for your snitch."
Wufei started. "He's looking for..." He shook his head. "Nah."
"Why not?" Hirde took Wufei by the elbow and drew him farther into the
corner, keeping her voice low. "He didn't start looking until he got
into your files. He's never been this obssessive."
"There are a lot of holes in your theory."
"Oh yeah?" Hirde let go of Wufei's arm. "Well, he may not be looking
for your source, but something he saw in your computer is making him
crazy."
"Maybe..." Wufei said dubiously.
Hirde gritted her teeth. Her instincts concerning Duo were never
wrong. Wufei may be willing to help, but he wasn't taking her
seriously enough. "There's something else you should know."
"What?"
"As you know, he wears this cross around his neck. Now, I've seen the
cross before, he always wears it, but I've noticed lately that there's
also a locket on that same chain. He never takes off the necklace,
so I think he's always had that locket. Every time he got frustrated
with what he was doing, he would always pull out his cross..." Wufei
nodded and Hirde felt a little surge of triumph at his agreement, "but
lately he's also been pulling out the locket, opening it, and looking
inside."
Wufei nodded again, more slowly, and his eyes grew distant. Hirde
waited as he thought about her words.
"So, whatever Duo is looking for, the answer would be in that locket."
They spun around at the extra voice. "Or perhaps I should say
whomever?"
"Q-Quatre..." stammered Hirde. Quatre looked at them and smiled.
"I'm sorry if I was listening in but you weren't at the tree, so I
went looking for you." He smiled at Hirde. "Interested in some
advice?" Hirde nodded, her face burning. Wufei tilted his head toward
Quatre. "Well, since we're not really sure what's actually going on, I
think the best course is to just ask him what he's doing."
"Well..." said Hirde, still a little embarrassed about being caught.
Wufei, on the other hand didn't look disturbed in the slightest.
"It's not that simple, Quatre. He's being evasive," said Wufei.
Quatre shrugged. "Then, we'll simply be sneaky about it. Why don't I
go talk to him first?" He looked around the room, in search of his
missing guest then he turned back to the other two. "I haven't seen
Duo all night. Do you know where he is?" Both shook their heads.
Quatre then looked to the balcony and saw a lone figure standing
outside. He turned to Wufei and Hirde. "Anyone care to join me?"
"You found him?" Hirde asked. Quatre nodded to the balcony. "What's
he doing there? It's freezing outside."
Wufei also looked over and said, "I think someone's already beaten you,
Quatre. Look." All three watched as Trowa walked toward the balcony
door and stopped for a moment. He appeared to hesitate for a moment,
looking at the person there, then he opened the door and stepped
outside.
***
Trowa watched Duo for a while, waiting for him to register his
presence. But Duo never turned around, never acknowledged him, so he
came closer. Duo's eyes were closed and he held something tightly in
his hands. Yet, Trowa didn't notice those things. His attention was
attached to Duo's face and those little things paled in comparison to
the tears hanging precariously to his eyelashes.
Duo was crying and that was something that Trowa had never seen
him do, even when he was hurt. Trowa reached out to grip Duo's
shoulder and had to jump back as Duo snapped out of wherever he was and
attacked. Trowa landed five feet away from Duo and they eyed each
other, Duo still in his attack pose and Trowa crouched on the ground
calmly regarding him. Neither of them moved or spoke for the longest
time.
"You've been hiding a few things. Isn't that my move?" Trowa stood
and folded his arms, raising his eyebrows in amusement.
Duo relaxed from his stance, still gripping the thing in his hand
tightly, and turned away. "Then maybe you shouldn't sneak up on
people, since you know what'll happen." He paused and then moved to
slip the thing in his hand into his shirt. "What're you doing out here
Trowa?" He brushed away the almost tears before turning back to face
the taller man.
"I just came to call you in. We're going to open presents soon. It's
almost midnight, you know." Duo turned back around and leaned on the
railings of the balcony, his chin resting on his hands. Trowa waited
for a moment then started to go back inside. He did what he was
supposed to do, he need not do anythi...
"I'll be there in just a minute." Duo's voice was soft, but Trowa
detected a catch in his voice. "I just needed to be alone for a
while."
Trowa had reached the door, but did not go inside. Instead, he came
back and settled right next to Duo. "What's wrong, Duo?" Duo looked
at him sharply, then returned to staring off into nothing.
"Nothing," muttered Duo.
"Bull."
Duo's head snapped around, his mouth hanging open. Trowa calmly
studied Duo, his mouth working. After a series of gaping gasps, Trowa
spoke again.
"The fact that you've actually changed quite a bit in the last few
months is far from nothing. You're actually working very hard, Duo.
Not just hard, you're becoming a lot like Heero in that sense. And you
don't joke around as much anymore, you're becoming more quiet. What's
bothering Duo Maxwell so much that his personality begins to change,
and not necessarily for the better?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Both men turned, and Hirde came up
from the shadows, to join them.
"It's nothing!" Duo snapped. He glared at Hirde and Trowa.
Trowa saw Hirde stiffen and lift her chin. "Okay," she said. Her
voice stayed deceptively even. "Well, then..." She turned back around
and headed for the door. Before she went inside, she looked back and
said, "You two better hurry. Everyone's gathered around the tree."
After watching them for a couple of more minutes, she went inside.
Trowa watched Duo closely. His clenched jaw and stiff face seemed to
indicate that his *nothing* was, in fact, everything. "That was
was unfair, Duo. She's worried." Duo shook his head and turned away.
He walked to other side of the balcony. "We're all worried. You've
been acting strangely and everyone's noticed." Trowa sighed. Duo was
determined to ignore him, it seemed.
Trowa walked to the balcony doors. "We're willing to listen. When
you're ready." He went inside and saw Quatre standing next to the
door.
"Will he be coming in?"
Trowa shook his head. "He needs time."
***
Duo knew he was being unfair, he didn't need Trowa to point that out,
but this was his problem. It was too personal to bring in anyone else.
Duo didn't want to burden them. A tear slipped down his cheek and he
brushed it away angrily.
But he wasn't getting anywhere. His search kept on coming up to dead
ends and he was running out of ideas.
He needed help.
He took out the locket and cross from beneath his shirt and stared at
them. He stroked the locket gently, opened it, and looked once more
at the pictures. One small frame had Hirde's picture, a recent photo
that she didn't know he had taken, but the other was of a little girl,
faded after ten years.
"Ducina..." he whispered.
He walked back to the door and looked inside. Everyone surrounded the
Christmas tree and he saw Hirde sitting with Relena and Dorothy. They
started exchanging presents and he felt a little pang of shame when he
realized how he acted toward Hirde and Trowa.
They were only trying to help, after all. And it was Christmas. What
would have Father Maxwell said about his behavior? Or Sister Helen?
Or Du...
No, he won't go there.
Duo knew he owed them both an apology.
Taking a deep breath, he closed the locket, shoved both the locket and
cross underneath his shirt, and opened the balcony door.
***
Wufei watched the scene unfold with a twinge of apprehension. Hirde
held her hands clenched tightly in her lap, but there was no other
outward sign of distress. She was talking with Relena and Dorothy
about some of the things that were going on in the L-2 Colony.
But something about her expression seemed a little...off.
He heard a door shut quietly behind him and he listened as Duo stood
behind him. Wufei kept his eyes focused on the things going
on in front of the Christmas tree.
Heero gave Relena a teddy bear with a red bow around its neck. Relena
threw her arms around Heero's neck and gave him a kiss. His flat
expression didn't change, but he grew very red and twisted out of
Relena's grasp. Wufei heard a soft snort come from Duo. Tilting his
head slightly, he could see Duo grin out of the corner of his eye.
Wufei turned to face Duo.
"Hey, Wufei. Nice party, huh?" Duo said lightly. But Wufei noticed
that Duo's eyes, usually bright, seemed dull and gray, highlighting the
shadows beneath.
"You look like shit, Maxwell." Wufei grabbed Duo's arm and steered him
away from the little festivities around the tree.
"Gee, Merry Christmas to you too, Wufei. You're so observant." Duo
shook Wufei's hand off. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to
Hirde."
"It looks like you've already said enough."
Duo looked over to where Hirde sat and sighed. "I was going to
apologize. Is that all right?" He sat heavily into a chair and buried
his face into his hands. "God, it's not supposed to be this way."
"What way?" A voice came coolly over the sounds of celebration around
the tree.
"Well, hello Heero, coming to lecture me on good manners too?"
"More likely he came to get away from Relena."
"Hey, Wufei, you do have a sense of humor!"
Wufei sniffed. "No. Just stating the obvious."
"Are you both done?" The icy tone of Heero's voice could have frozen an
erupting volcano.
Wufei winced and Duo gave a short bark that couldn't pass for a laugh.
"I didn't even know we started."
Everything was silent except for the merry sounds coming from around
the tree.
Heero glared at Duo. Duo just stared at his hands. Wufei cleared his
throat.
"Duo, I think you should tell us what the hell is going on."
"Don't say hell. It's Christmas," Duo snapped, but he kept looking at
his hands rather than at them.
"Duo..." Heero snarled.
Duo hunched down in his seat. He reached into his shirt and brought
out a gold chain with a cross...and a locket. Duo unclasped the chain
and handed the necklace to Wufei. "Recognize anything?"
Wufei turned the objects over in his hand. The cross was plain and
made out of real gold, slightly bent out of shape. The locket, round,
an inch in diameter, and similarly dented, had a symbol etched onto the
front. Wufei looked back up at Duo, who watched him. Wufei handed the
necklace to Heero.
"A Celtic trinity surrounded by two olive branches." Wufei knew where
this was going, but he tried rationalizing. "The trinity is fairly
common..."
Duo pinned Wufei with his tired blue eyes. "Which was also our
verification signal for any of our missions."
Heero offered the necklace back to Duo, who replace it around his neck.
"You knew who our mission contact was."
"I did. But she disappeared after Lady Une threatened to destroy the
colonies." Duo went back to staring at his hands. "I haven't been
able to locate her since then."
"Her?"
Wufei and Heero looked at each other before stepping aside for Hirde.
Duo stood up and extended his hand.
"Hirde, I'm sor--"
She put a hand up to his mouth, stopping the words. "I know. I know.
You always say that." Wufei and Heero started backing away. "Wait,"
said Hirde. They stopped at her command, but she didn't look back at
them. "I think you need to tell all of us, Duo."
Wufei could see Duo swallow, but he nodded. Hirde offered him a hand
and he took it. She dragged him to the couch, leaving Wufei and Heero
to follow. Duo sat down heavily, a blush spreading on his face.
Wufei almost felt sorry for Duo as Relena settled next to him, opposite
of Hirde.
"Everything has something to do with this," Duo whispered and he took
out the locket. He unclasped the necklace and gave it to Hirde.
Wufei was surprised when her eyes widened in what seemed like
recognition, before she frowned. She seemed to think for a moment,
then handed the locket to Relena.
Relena glanced at the locket. Then she stared at it. She gasped.
Duo's eyes widened. Wufei raised his eyebrows in question. Heero came
over to stand next to Relena. Everyone else looked puzzled at her
reaction.
"The locket," she whispered. "Dorothy, look at the locket." Dorothy
came over. She also gasped as she saw the locket.
"What? What is it?" Duo queried, his confusion growing. Relena looked at
him.
"There's another locket like this, isn't there, Duo?"
"Yeah, there is." Duo frowned. "How do you know there's another one
like it?"
Relena ignored the question. "And are the only two of their kind?" she
asked anxiously. Duo's frown deepened.
"Yes. I found out years later, that the lockets were handmade
especially for... Look, why are you asking me all this?"
By this time, Wufei noticed everyone's curiosity had heightened ever
since Relena's reaction and intent query. Lady Une and Mariemaia came
up to also look at the locket. Their look of interest turned to shock.
Sally, looking at their faces, also came up to take a look.
"I've seen that locket before," Sally whispered.
"So have I," whispered Lady Une, her expression turning thoughtful.
She shot Wufei a questioning look.
He casually shook his head. He still hadn't found anything out about
his mysterious snitch.
"She was the one who..." Mariemaia's voice trailed off.
Duo, looking thoroughly confused, and tired of their cryptic remarks,
demanded, "What are you talking about? How do all of *you* know about
this locket?"
Wufei butted in. "I'm a little curious about that too." He knew the
symbol, all the Gundam pilots did, but a lot of people recognized the
whole locket.
That meant he had to step up his own investigation and bring the other
guys in on the case. Wherever the information came from, his new
snitch *had* to know something about *her*. Whoever *she* was.
"Can you tell us about the locket, Duo?" Relena asked softly. "How you
got it?" Duo was silent. Then he spoke.
"I had--have a twin sister," he whispered.
Hirde sighed and looked straight in his eyes. "Can you tell us about
your sister? Please."
"Only if you all can tell me how you know about this locket." When
they nodded, he began to tell them what he remembered.
"My sister and I were orphans on L2. Neither of us remember our
parents. I'm not even sure if we're really related or if there's just
an uncanny resemblance, but all we had was each other and for as long
as we could remember, we were together."
He took a deep breath. "I guess that was what was really important.
Nothing else quite compared to that..."
****
Somwhere in the tundra of Canada...
"Finally, this is it. The Preventers can take care of the rest." A
person in a snowsuit and goggles, with a muffler around their face,
trudged a few more feet, before turning around to face an abandoned
base. The person fingered the self-destruct control and checked the
maps on the laptop. There were red dots with the word "destroyed" next
to them all over the world map. There were very few green dots left.
The person nodded, confirmed the location, and pressed down on the
button and watched as explosions bloomed over the base. The person
watched until the dust cleared and all that was left was the falling
snow. A few taps on the keyboard entered the report into a log and the
person e-mailed the log off to Preventer Headquarters.
The person turned and began to walk toward the nearest town that was a
couple of miles away. "Now, time to keep that promise." The person
sneezed twice and then again once more. "Geez, what's with the
sneezing? Probably getting a cold. That's all I need," the person
muttered as she made her way back to town, periodically flicking snow
off her long braid.
...to be continued
