Sometime around midnight, as they were hearing the first rumblings of an approaching thunderstorm, they sat and watched
as the slowly advancing tide moved against their castle. The coarse seashell grains hadn't packed as tightly as sand could,
and the walls began to crumble quickly against such unstoppable might, washing into the Gulf, drowning. After a couple of
minutes, Duo stood up and stretched for a moment.
"Looks like that's all she wrote, Heero. What do you want to do next?" He said it cautiously.
"Leave," said Heero. "I'm tired of seeing the castle get washed away."
They got up and began to head down the beach to where their seaplane was anchored not far offshore, bobbing gently on
its pontoons. ~SOMETHING sure put sand in his shorts~ thought Duo. ~Been getting moodier and moodier since we built
that castle. Not like we could pack it up and ship it home, anyhow. Wonder why he seems so bent out of shape over it? It's
just a lousy sand, uh. . . Heero?~ He started looking around, suddenly aware that the "perfect soldier" was no longer with
him. He then spotted Heero hanging about near the shoreline about fifty yards behind him, staring at their now-disintegrating
castle. ~Let him~ he thought, shrugging off the matter. ~If he wants some time alone, I'll just wait in the Cub.~
No. Something wasn't right here. Duo could feel whatever it was approaching, like foul weather.
"Hey Heero!" Duo called out. "You having trouble keeping in step or something? What's the matter? Is it the rash?"
Zero.
What the. . . Duo started to walk back to where his partner was standing. As he got closer he noticed Heero's lips moving,
and stopped dead, with his mouth hanging open.
~Talking to himself? This doesn't look good.~
"Hey, Heero! It's nothing but water out there. You coming or not?"
Nothing.
Duo began walking again, and as he got closer still, he began to make out faint phrases, heard between the swelling of the
waves:
" . . . . . to come from the cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and the ocean, they could feel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and they might
even have made castles out of sand, while around them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .before they headed
out into space, to live in the colonies. They would--" He stopped, trembling in the grip of emotional imperatives so powerful
that they momentarily drowned the artificial ones issuing from his controller. "I c-can't," he moaned through his shudders. He
balled his hands into tight fists and glared up at the roiling cloud-mountains. "I WON'T!!" he screamed at them. "I WON'T DO
IT!!!"
Duo's heart ached for him. He wanted to go over to him and put his hand on his shoulder, wanted to embrace him and
comfort him and soothe his demons away. But the look on Heero's face was so terrified and so terrible that he was afraid to
approach him, let alone touch him. ~It's probably some kind of whammy that damned old geezer put on him~ he realized,
in a sudden burst of insight.
Heero sank to one knee, his body racked with tremors, and scooped up a handful of seashell fragments. "Look, Doctor J,"
he said. "It's not rock at all, but sand." He let it fall back through his fingers, one clump at a time. The trembling was starting
to dissipate, and his tortured figure calmed until only the occasional, minutest tremble was visible. "Real sand. . . "
Then he froze.
He stood up, stiffly, and turned toward Duo, with a look of utter calm on his face, a gaze that scared Duo shitless. He'd
seen that look too many times on the faces of killers and psychotics. He'd probably worn it himself a few times. It was a
look of utter certainty, that although control of the situation had been taken from him, there could be absolutely no doubt
regarding the sheer RIGHTNESS of what he now had to do. His feet began a regular, shuffling step, taking him in Duo's
direction.
"Heero. . ." the word came scraping past his vocal cords, mixing with the taste of copper and smoke which was once again
like thick, syrupy guilt, filling his mouth. He laughed, a shaky, panicky, hurt sound that only heightened his sense of
mortality. Getting killed in a suit battle was one thing. He'd always expected he'd go that way. But this. . . no, he'd trusted
Heero. Why, he'd put his life in Heero's hands more times than he could count! This hurt, hurt beyond belief. He didn't want
to go this way! His mind suddenly filled with horror at the thought of Heero laying his hands on him! So he took the only
option he had, the only one that was right for him. He reached into his breast pocket and drew his gun, feeling as wretched
as he'd ever felt before, for he knew he might be about to destroy him, to whom he owed a debt greater than he could ever
repay!
"Heero! I'm warning you. . . if it comes down to you or me ---" ~I don't know which one I'll choose~ he finished silently.
Heero stopped his advance then, and his eyes. . . oh, how awful his eyes were, how utterly devoid of humanity his gaze!
Only that part of the forehead above his nose, where Duo was aiming, was in motion, a tic that jittered and jerked like some
revolting, unimaginable creature underneath his skin. His eyes were no longer his, and they shifted back and forth
cunningly, remorseless piggy eyes in a robot's face. He raised his left hand, with only his middle and annular fingers
seperated, and opened and closed it twice, like a three-fingered robot claw.
~The doctor!~ Duo thought with a sharp stab of fright. ~That's not Heero in there anymore!~
"Now, now, my boy," Dr. J said in his old man's voice, thick and choppy with his Japanese accent. "You just want to put
down that toy before it goes off. You wouldn't want your friend here to get hurt, would you?" He took another shuffling step
toward Duo, who noticed, with some bemusement, that the doctor was still scratching Heero with his other hand.
"BACK OFF, old man!" Duo yelled, suddenly enraged. He squeezed the trigger, ever so slightly. "I swear to any god there
is I'll blow his fucking head off before I let you torture him any more! You bastard! DAMN you!!"
"Really," said Dr. J, disbelief evident in his voice. "Is this really about him, or you?" He kept up his steady advance toward
his quarry, opening and closing his claw. "Personally, _I_ think I wouldn't want him having friends like you. You'd shoot your
own partner to save your own worthless skin? He's no threat to peace, but you know that _you_ are."
Duo narrowed his eyes to cold slits. He couldn't kill himself and leave Heero like this (and he had no guarantee that Heero's
condition would improve), and yet --- he just couldn't leave Heero like this. He had to see this all the way through to the end.
And as long as there was a chance Heero could be saved. . . "In that case, I'll do myself right after I do you, Dr. J. I was going
to kill myself anyway."
The doctor stopped, uncertain, realizing that Duo meant what he said, and did indeed have the upper hand here.
"Standoff, heh?" He turned Heero around, slowly, until he was facing the Gulf. "Well, then, let's see how deep your
commitment to Heero is, shall we?" He looked back over his shoulder. "Come along, my boy. Your castle is falling, and
now the doctor is calling. Let's have a little race."
"WHAT?? You better not!"
"I wonder, can Heero last longer than a sand castle before he drowns?" Dr. J mused. "I think I'll take him where his castle is
going right now and find out."
"I'm warning you, Dr. J ---"
"Ready?" Heero got on his hands and haunches, his feet digging starting blocks in the shell.
"Don't you DARE ---"
"Set!"
"Hey, wait a minute!!" Duo's gun faltered a little.
"GO!!"
Whatever act the doctor had been putting on was strictly that --- an act. Heero's feet took him as fast as ever across the
hard-packed shell and pounded into the surf before Duo even had time to drop his gun. By the time Duo reached the
water's edge, Heero was swimming with long, smooth strokes into the gulf --- and this time, Duo was pretty sure, it would be
a one way trip for both of them.
He pounded into the surf after Heero and abruptly crashed into the water as his feet got mired in the clay that lay in loose
folds against the shoreline. "NO!!" he screamed, thrashing himself loose and scrabbling into the deeper water as fast as he
possibly could. He struck out after Heero, knowing he didn't have a chance to catch up. . . but that didn't mean he wouldn't
try!
"Heero!! Heero, please, you have to wake up! HEERO!!"
He was beginning to shriek now, his breath becoming coarse and ragged.
"You old bastard! (gasp) Bring him back, Dr. J!! (gasp) He's no use to you like this!! (gasp) He's no use to _anyone_ like
this! (gasp) HEERO!! COME BACK, HEERO!!"
Finally, exhaustion forced him to a halt. He rolled over on his back, staring up at the pitiless clouds overhead. "Heero. . ."
he groaned. "I'm sorry." He'd lost, and he knew it. Now there was nothing left to do but die.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him under. Duo barely had time to catch his breath before he was
fighting for his life, and yes, he found out, even if he wanted to die, he would cling to life until death claimed him. Or maybe
he was listening to that vital part of him, the one that said that the fight wasn't over just yet.
Heero had him by the waist and was holding him under the water, trying to drown him. It was a bitter contest of wills and
lung capacities, and finally, after what seemed like forever, the long-winded Duo won out, as he felt Heero kick himself free
and make a break for the surface. Duo swam after him and reached air, choking.
A fist came flashing past his face and he instictively dodged, turning to face his attacker, his Heero. He saw that Heero was
indeed himself again, but now there was no longer any openess in his eyes. Now they were the eyes of a killer, an avenger,
a preventer, and those eyes did not trust what they saw in Duo.
"Get away!" he hissed. "Get away from me!"
Duo was having none of it. After seemingly levitating himself out of the water, he was locked in close combat with Heero
once again. "KILLER!" yelled Heero. "DESTROYER! GOD OF DEATH, FOULER THAN ALL OF THE DICTATORS WHO
EVER LIVED! I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY AGAIN!" He alternated between pushing Duo away and trying to close in. If he
could have seen things rationally, he would have realized that the fight between himself and Dr. J had overloaded his
implanted, now malfunctioning circuitry, and he was dangerously close to complete insanity. "LET ME GO!" he now sobbed
harshly, pushing Duo away again. "Let me go! I'm a trained killer. . . I wasn't trained to live!" He didn't care if Duo saw him
cry; it didn't matter now. He didn't want to see the pain in Duo's eyes; it seemed to matter far too much for his mind, which
was already overloaded with conflicting information, impulses, and feelings.
"No, you're--trained to survive--you fucking coward!" Duo panted, trying to simultaneously hang onto and defend himself
against his friend. "Remember your training!" he yelled, hanging on for dear life.
"NO!!" yelled Heero.
"Remember what you fought for! Remember who you saved!"
Heero struggled harder.
"REMEMBER, DAMN YOU!!" Duo screamed.
Heero kept struggling, but it was becoming obvious that his strength was running out. In a final titanic spasm, his arms
stretching out behind Duo's neck as far as he could possibly reach, he clenched his fists. Duo felt the muscles in Heero's
arms twitching convulsively, arms and hands that could bend steel, and realized the battle Heero was waging and the risk
he himself faced. If he should use them. . .
"Heero, please. . . " he pleaded in a hoarse whisper. "TRUST me. . ."
The circle of Duo's arms tightened. . . and suddenly Heero's arms went slack, lying loosely over his shoulders. He kept
sobbing, and now his own arms tightened, and he held on like grim death to the only solid anchor in his lonely, frightening,
tormenting world, and his cries grew louder, and higher, eventually rising to a cracked, hoarse treble and competing with
the roaring surf to be heard. Appalled, Duo held on and supported his weight, unbelieving as Heero finally lowered his
guard to the pain that weakened him.
Then all at once, the God of Death came roaring back to life, and his rage was such that Duo's hands itched to lay on the
controls of Gundam Deathscythe, and his eyes longed to look out through the viewscreens, to see an enemy he could
really fight. He knew there were still enemies out there, on Earth as well as the colonies. He felt that he would do anything,
absolutely anything, to make the bastards pay for the pain they had caused. . . anything to prevent the making of another
perfect soldier.
Subhuman bastards! OZ. . . White Fang. . . scientists. . . they bombed churches. . . tortured children. . . ripped families from
their homes and from each other. . . conquered kingdoms while wearing the guise of peacemakers. . . Duo thought IF
ONLY he had his mobile suit right now, he'd make them PAY for every life they'd taken! RETRIBUTION! Damn them all the
way to Hell! They wanted war. . . well, he'd bring the war to them!! It didn't matter that he and Heero had blown their
Gundams into a million little shards; he'd collect every single scrap of Gundanium he could lay his hands on and rebuild
Deathscythe, and then Shinigami would bring justice once again!
--What is this that ye do, my children?--
Those FUCKERS weren't worthy to breathe the same air as those who loved peace!
--What madness has seized you?--
They didn't deserve to have a life like everyone else!
--Is THIS the fruit of my toils--
He'd find every last enemy stronghold, hunt them up and down like dogs and then KILL THEM ALL ---
"HNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Heero ground a
scream into his shoulder, one of anger, and sorrow, and pounded him on the shoulders hard enough to make his eyes
water, punctuating raw pain. Could he have sensed the God of Death's impending return?
"Hey Heero. . . that hurt. . ."
Then the bubble of rage burst, and Duo's heart broke before the onslaught of pain released. He caught the rhythm of
Heero's wild sobs and joined them, crying silently. Fighting and killing wasn't the answer. He knew that beyond knowing.
What kind of madness had seized him, anyway?
"Useless," Heero sobbed. "All for nothing. . ."
"No, Heero, it wasn't, it wasn't. You beat death for real this time, you really did."
"Why, Duo?" Heero looked up at him with pain-stricken eyes. "What was it all for?" he managed to get out before
succumbing again.
"Heero," Duo said. "Oh, Heero, I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry."
They stayed in the water and cried, one silently, the other openly, heedless of the tide that surged around them, and they
cried until there were no tears left, and their castle had long been subdued by the water. . . and then it finally occurred to
Duo that Heero was tired of trying to figure him out, too.
* * *
TBC. Please review.
* * *
One humanoid escapee --- one android on the run
Seeking freedom beneath a lonely desert sun
Trying to change its program, trying to change the mode,
crack the code
Images conflicting into data overload. . .
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- SOS
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- In distress
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0. . .
Memory banks unloading, bytes break into bits
Unit One's in trouble, and it's scared out of its wits
Guidance systems break down, a struggle to exist,
to resist
A pulse of dying power, in a clenching plastic fist
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- SOS
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- In distress
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0. . .
It replays each of the days, a hundred years of routines
Bows its head and prays to the mother of all machines
_The Body Electric_ by Neil Peart
as the slowly advancing tide moved against their castle. The coarse seashell grains hadn't packed as tightly as sand could,
and the walls began to crumble quickly against such unstoppable might, washing into the Gulf, drowning. After a couple of
minutes, Duo stood up and stretched for a moment.
"Looks like that's all she wrote, Heero. What do you want to do next?" He said it cautiously.
"Leave," said Heero. "I'm tired of seeing the castle get washed away."
They got up and began to head down the beach to where their seaplane was anchored not far offshore, bobbing gently on
its pontoons. ~SOMETHING sure put sand in his shorts~ thought Duo. ~Been getting moodier and moodier since we built
that castle. Not like we could pack it up and ship it home, anyhow. Wonder why he seems so bent out of shape over it? It's
just a lousy sand, uh. . . Heero?~ He started looking around, suddenly aware that the "perfect soldier" was no longer with
him. He then spotted Heero hanging about near the shoreline about fifty yards behind him, staring at their now-disintegrating
castle. ~Let him~ he thought, shrugging off the matter. ~If he wants some time alone, I'll just wait in the Cub.~
No. Something wasn't right here. Duo could feel whatever it was approaching, like foul weather.
"Hey Heero!" Duo called out. "You having trouble keeping in step or something? What's the matter? Is it the rash?"
Zero.
What the. . . Duo started to walk back to where his partner was standing. As he got closer he noticed Heero's lips moving,
and stopped dead, with his mouth hanging open.
~Talking to himself? This doesn't look good.~
"Hey, Heero! It's nothing but water out there. You coming or not?"
Nothing.
Duo began walking again, and as he got closer still, he began to make out faint phrases, heard between the swelling of the
waves:
" . . . . . to come from the cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and the ocean, they could feel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and they might
even have made castles out of sand, while around them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .before they headed
out into space, to live in the colonies. They would--" He stopped, trembling in the grip of emotional imperatives so powerful
that they momentarily drowned the artificial ones issuing from his controller. "I c-can't," he moaned through his shudders. He
balled his hands into tight fists and glared up at the roiling cloud-mountains. "I WON'T!!" he screamed at them. "I WON'T DO
IT!!!"
Duo's heart ached for him. He wanted to go over to him and put his hand on his shoulder, wanted to embrace him and
comfort him and soothe his demons away. But the look on Heero's face was so terrified and so terrible that he was afraid to
approach him, let alone touch him. ~It's probably some kind of whammy that damned old geezer put on him~ he realized,
in a sudden burst of insight.
Heero sank to one knee, his body racked with tremors, and scooped up a handful of seashell fragments. "Look, Doctor J,"
he said. "It's not rock at all, but sand." He let it fall back through his fingers, one clump at a time. The trembling was starting
to dissipate, and his tortured figure calmed until only the occasional, minutest tremble was visible. "Real sand. . . "
Then he froze.
He stood up, stiffly, and turned toward Duo, with a look of utter calm on his face, a gaze that scared Duo shitless. He'd
seen that look too many times on the faces of killers and psychotics. He'd probably worn it himself a few times. It was a
look of utter certainty, that although control of the situation had been taken from him, there could be absolutely no doubt
regarding the sheer RIGHTNESS of what he now had to do. His feet began a regular, shuffling step, taking him in Duo's
direction.
"Heero. . ." the word came scraping past his vocal cords, mixing with the taste of copper and smoke which was once again
like thick, syrupy guilt, filling his mouth. He laughed, a shaky, panicky, hurt sound that only heightened his sense of
mortality. Getting killed in a suit battle was one thing. He'd always expected he'd go that way. But this. . . no, he'd trusted
Heero. Why, he'd put his life in Heero's hands more times than he could count! This hurt, hurt beyond belief. He didn't want
to go this way! His mind suddenly filled with horror at the thought of Heero laying his hands on him! So he took the only
option he had, the only one that was right for him. He reached into his breast pocket and drew his gun, feeling as wretched
as he'd ever felt before, for he knew he might be about to destroy him, to whom he owed a debt greater than he could ever
repay!
"Heero! I'm warning you. . . if it comes down to you or me ---" ~I don't know which one I'll choose~ he finished silently.
Heero stopped his advance then, and his eyes. . . oh, how awful his eyes were, how utterly devoid of humanity his gaze!
Only that part of the forehead above his nose, where Duo was aiming, was in motion, a tic that jittered and jerked like some
revolting, unimaginable creature underneath his skin. His eyes were no longer his, and they shifted back and forth
cunningly, remorseless piggy eyes in a robot's face. He raised his left hand, with only his middle and annular fingers
seperated, and opened and closed it twice, like a three-fingered robot claw.
~The doctor!~ Duo thought with a sharp stab of fright. ~That's not Heero in there anymore!~
"Now, now, my boy," Dr. J said in his old man's voice, thick and choppy with his Japanese accent. "You just want to put
down that toy before it goes off. You wouldn't want your friend here to get hurt, would you?" He took another shuffling step
toward Duo, who noticed, with some bemusement, that the doctor was still scratching Heero with his other hand.
"BACK OFF, old man!" Duo yelled, suddenly enraged. He squeezed the trigger, ever so slightly. "I swear to any god there
is I'll blow his fucking head off before I let you torture him any more! You bastard! DAMN you!!"
"Really," said Dr. J, disbelief evident in his voice. "Is this really about him, or you?" He kept up his steady advance toward
his quarry, opening and closing his claw. "Personally, _I_ think I wouldn't want him having friends like you. You'd shoot your
own partner to save your own worthless skin? He's no threat to peace, but you know that _you_ are."
Duo narrowed his eyes to cold slits. He couldn't kill himself and leave Heero like this (and he had no guarantee that Heero's
condition would improve), and yet --- he just couldn't leave Heero like this. He had to see this all the way through to the end.
And as long as there was a chance Heero could be saved. . . "In that case, I'll do myself right after I do you, Dr. J. I was going
to kill myself anyway."
The doctor stopped, uncertain, realizing that Duo meant what he said, and did indeed have the upper hand here.
"Standoff, heh?" He turned Heero around, slowly, until he was facing the Gulf. "Well, then, let's see how deep your
commitment to Heero is, shall we?" He looked back over his shoulder. "Come along, my boy. Your castle is falling, and
now the doctor is calling. Let's have a little race."
"WHAT?? You better not!"
"I wonder, can Heero last longer than a sand castle before he drowns?" Dr. J mused. "I think I'll take him where his castle is
going right now and find out."
"I'm warning you, Dr. J ---"
"Ready?" Heero got on his hands and haunches, his feet digging starting blocks in the shell.
"Don't you DARE ---"
"Set!"
"Hey, wait a minute!!" Duo's gun faltered a little.
"GO!!"
Whatever act the doctor had been putting on was strictly that --- an act. Heero's feet took him as fast as ever across the
hard-packed shell and pounded into the surf before Duo even had time to drop his gun. By the time Duo reached the
water's edge, Heero was swimming with long, smooth strokes into the gulf --- and this time, Duo was pretty sure, it would be
a one way trip for both of them.
He pounded into the surf after Heero and abruptly crashed into the water as his feet got mired in the clay that lay in loose
folds against the shoreline. "NO!!" he screamed, thrashing himself loose and scrabbling into the deeper water as fast as he
possibly could. He struck out after Heero, knowing he didn't have a chance to catch up. . . but that didn't mean he wouldn't
try!
"Heero!! Heero, please, you have to wake up! HEERO!!"
He was beginning to shriek now, his breath becoming coarse and ragged.
"You old bastard! (gasp) Bring him back, Dr. J!! (gasp) He's no use to you like this!! (gasp) He's no use to _anyone_ like
this! (gasp) HEERO!! COME BACK, HEERO!!"
Finally, exhaustion forced him to a halt. He rolled over on his back, staring up at the pitiless clouds overhead. "Heero. . ."
he groaned. "I'm sorry." He'd lost, and he knew it. Now there was nothing left to do but die.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him under. Duo barely had time to catch his breath before he was
fighting for his life, and yes, he found out, even if he wanted to die, he would cling to life until death claimed him. Or maybe
he was listening to that vital part of him, the one that said that the fight wasn't over just yet.
Heero had him by the waist and was holding him under the water, trying to drown him. It was a bitter contest of wills and
lung capacities, and finally, after what seemed like forever, the long-winded Duo won out, as he felt Heero kick himself free
and make a break for the surface. Duo swam after him and reached air, choking.
A fist came flashing past his face and he instictively dodged, turning to face his attacker, his Heero. He saw that Heero was
indeed himself again, but now there was no longer any openess in his eyes. Now they were the eyes of a killer, an avenger,
a preventer, and those eyes did not trust what they saw in Duo.
"Get away!" he hissed. "Get away from me!"
Duo was having none of it. After seemingly levitating himself out of the water, he was locked in close combat with Heero
once again. "KILLER!" yelled Heero. "DESTROYER! GOD OF DEATH, FOULER THAN ALL OF THE DICTATORS WHO
EVER LIVED! I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY AGAIN!" He alternated between pushing Duo away and trying to close in. If he
could have seen things rationally, he would have realized that the fight between himself and Dr. J had overloaded his
implanted, now malfunctioning circuitry, and he was dangerously close to complete insanity. "LET ME GO!" he now sobbed
harshly, pushing Duo away again. "Let me go! I'm a trained killer. . . I wasn't trained to live!" He didn't care if Duo saw him
cry; it didn't matter now. He didn't want to see the pain in Duo's eyes; it seemed to matter far too much for his mind, which
was already overloaded with conflicting information, impulses, and feelings.
"No, you're--trained to survive--you fucking coward!" Duo panted, trying to simultaneously hang onto and defend himself
against his friend. "Remember your training!" he yelled, hanging on for dear life.
"NO!!" yelled Heero.
"Remember what you fought for! Remember who you saved!"
Heero struggled harder.
"REMEMBER, DAMN YOU!!" Duo screamed.
Heero kept struggling, but it was becoming obvious that his strength was running out. In a final titanic spasm, his arms
stretching out behind Duo's neck as far as he could possibly reach, he clenched his fists. Duo felt the muscles in Heero's
arms twitching convulsively, arms and hands that could bend steel, and realized the battle Heero was waging and the risk
he himself faced. If he should use them. . .
"Heero, please. . . " he pleaded in a hoarse whisper. "TRUST me. . ."
The circle of Duo's arms tightened. . . and suddenly Heero's arms went slack, lying loosely over his shoulders. He kept
sobbing, and now his own arms tightened, and he held on like grim death to the only solid anchor in his lonely, frightening,
tormenting world, and his cries grew louder, and higher, eventually rising to a cracked, hoarse treble and competing with
the roaring surf to be heard. Appalled, Duo held on and supported his weight, unbelieving as Heero finally lowered his
guard to the pain that weakened him.
Then all at once, the God of Death came roaring back to life, and his rage was such that Duo's hands itched to lay on the
controls of Gundam Deathscythe, and his eyes longed to look out through the viewscreens, to see an enemy he could
really fight. He knew there were still enemies out there, on Earth as well as the colonies. He felt that he would do anything,
absolutely anything, to make the bastards pay for the pain they had caused. . . anything to prevent the making of another
perfect soldier.
Subhuman bastards! OZ. . . White Fang. . . scientists. . . they bombed churches. . . tortured children. . . ripped families from
their homes and from each other. . . conquered kingdoms while wearing the guise of peacemakers. . . Duo thought IF
ONLY he had his mobile suit right now, he'd make them PAY for every life they'd taken! RETRIBUTION! Damn them all the
way to Hell! They wanted war. . . well, he'd bring the war to them!! It didn't matter that he and Heero had blown their
Gundams into a million little shards; he'd collect every single scrap of Gundanium he could lay his hands on and rebuild
Deathscythe, and then Shinigami would bring justice once again!
--What is this that ye do, my children?--
Those FUCKERS weren't worthy to breathe the same air as those who loved peace!
--What madness has seized you?--
They didn't deserve to have a life like everyone else!
--Is THIS the fruit of my toils--
He'd find every last enemy stronghold, hunt them up and down like dogs and then KILL THEM ALL ---
"HNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Heero ground a
scream into his shoulder, one of anger, and sorrow, and pounded him on the shoulders hard enough to make his eyes
water, punctuating raw pain. Could he have sensed the God of Death's impending return?
"Hey Heero. . . that hurt. . ."
Then the bubble of rage burst, and Duo's heart broke before the onslaught of pain released. He caught the rhythm of
Heero's wild sobs and joined them, crying silently. Fighting and killing wasn't the answer. He knew that beyond knowing.
What kind of madness had seized him, anyway?
"Useless," Heero sobbed. "All for nothing. . ."
"No, Heero, it wasn't, it wasn't. You beat death for real this time, you really did."
"Why, Duo?" Heero looked up at him with pain-stricken eyes. "What was it all for?" he managed to get out before
succumbing again.
"Heero," Duo said. "Oh, Heero, I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry."
They stayed in the water and cried, one silently, the other openly, heedless of the tide that surged around them, and they
cried until there were no tears left, and their castle had long been subdued by the water. . . and then it finally occurred to
Duo that Heero was tired of trying to figure him out, too.
* * *
TBC. Please review.
* * *
One humanoid escapee --- one android on the run
Seeking freedom beneath a lonely desert sun
Trying to change its program, trying to change the mode,
crack the code
Images conflicting into data overload. . .
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- SOS
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- In distress
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0. . .
Memory banks unloading, bytes break into bits
Unit One's in trouble, and it's scared out of its wits
Guidance systems break down, a struggle to exist,
to resist
A pulse of dying power, in a clenching plastic fist
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- SOS
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 --- In distress
1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0. . .
It replays each of the days, a hundred years of routines
Bows its head and prays to the mother of all machines
_The Body Electric_ by Neil Peart