My new clothes was all greased up and clayey, and I was dog tired.
-from _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ by Mark Twain
* * *
3am:
The thunderstorm had passed just slightly to the west of where the boys were floating. Heero's flood
of tears had dried to a mere trickle, like a burst dam, rebuilt again, and as Duo felt his pulse and
respiration slow to normal he sighed, almost regretfully. He was happy now, extremely happy that
Heero had finally managed to break through the cone of silent misery that had surrounded him, and
overjoyed that they'd managed to break whatever spell was cast on him by his former master (for he
couldn't bring himself to think of Dr. J as being anything even remotely like a parent, not with the
aftershocks of Heero's screams still shaking him), but he was also sad that this time of falling had
almost come to an end. It was good to fall, sometimes, to let things go, to jump off a lofty peak to the
earth below --- as long as the landing wasn't too hard, and the soul survived it, falling now would
always be like birth, or like giving birth. A new beginning. A gift. Besides, what other choices are
given? Once the pinnacle of resistance is reached, there is no choice but to either let go or get
something torn off. And also, there was something so very, very nice about this situation, comforting
Heero like this and being with him in his time of need.
~like I'm right where I'm supposed to be, right here. . . right now. . .~ he thought dreamily. ~So this is
peace.~
Heero hiccuped.
"Heero?" Duo asked gently. "You okay, now?"
"We need to get back to shore before we get too far away from the plane," Heero said by way of an
answer. He pushed away from Duo and pointed somewhere to the east of where they were. "It's
about five miles that way, I think."
"I guess I'll take that as a yes, then," said Duo mildly. "So, let's start swimming before we end up in
Texas. How far out would you say we are?"
Heero took a moment to consider, looking at the shoreline. "We floated out about two miles, I
think."
Duo took a moment to add it up. Two miles of swmming, and five miles of walking. . . geesh. "Right.
Let's get paddling then. D'ya think we should bear slightly to the east, so we don't get farther away
from the Cub?"
"No, straight in. Walking's easier than swmming."
"Wanna race?"
Heero looked at Duo like he was nuts. "No."
Duo grinned. "I was only kidding, anyway."
The trip back to shore was excruciatingly long. Heero was looking rather pale and drained by the
time they approached land, and even Duo's ludicrously hard-wearing engine was beginning to grind.
All in all, he believed it to be the the most difficult two miles he'd ever had to traverse.
"Ouch!" he suddenly yelled.
"What's the matter?" Heero asked, coming to a stop. Suddenly his toes touched bottom and he stood
up. "We're in shallow water again."
"Yeah, I got that impression," said Duo, inspecting a torn kneecap above the water. "There's a
helluva mean log shark down there."
"Log shark? . . . oh. Okay, I get it."
The shore was still about a hundred yards away. "We must be standing on a silt deposit," said Heero.
They were up to about their waists in water. "Be careful as you wade in or more 'log sharks' may
bite you."
"Thanks for the tip, Heero. I'll remember that." ~and you might've warned me ahead of time, pal. . .~
Finally, they made it to the beach and collapsed in a crunch of shells. "That's it," Duo groaned,
suddenly feeling very heavy. "I'm sleeping right here tonight."
"We can't stay here," said Heero. "What if somebody steals the plane?"
"Don't be paranoid," said Duo. "Where would they come from?"
"It could happen." Heero persisted. "How would we get back? I don't fancy wading through the
marsh. Not with all of those mosquitoes."
"Since when do you worry about a little pain?" Duo wondered.
"Pain is one thing. Irritation is something else," Heero explained dryly.
"Fine," said Duo. "If somebody steals the plane, we'll just ride in by marsh-buggy."
"Where on earth would we get a marsh-buggy?"
"Same place you got those somebodies," Duo retorted. He flung an arm over his face. "Now let me
get some shuteye."
"Might I remind you, Duo," Heero growled, "that we have a liability clause on the plane? One that
covers theft?"
Duo shrugged indifferently. "Mm."
"That means if it gets stolen, it's us who foots the bill for a new plane."
"Mm," said Duo, curling up on his side.
Heero got up, half-staggered over to where Duo was lying and grabbed him by an upper arm. "Get
up, Duo. If you fall asleep in those shells, you're going to regret it when you wake up."
"Mmf. Go 'way," groaned Duo. "C'mon, Heero, just half an hour, okay? I just need to get my energy
back."
"NO," said Heero, and with that he pulled Duo all the way up into a standing position.
"Alright," Duo groused, wincing. "Alright already! I'm up. You can stop abusing my arm now."
Heero let go his grip so quickly that Duo almost fell. "Hey!" Duo protested. "What the hell was that
for?"
Heero lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to."
"You don't know your own strength, Heero." Duo remonstrated gently with him, putting a hand on
his shoulder. "You're gonna have to be more careful when you move into regular society."
"No, I do know my strength," said Heero. "I know what I can do. I just wasn't. . . wasn't. . ."
"Wasn't what?"
Heero looked up at him. "Thinking. I wasn't thinking. What's happening to my mind, Duo? Why can't
I control it anymore?"
I think it's time we had a talk now, boy Dr. J's voice suddenly spoke in Heero's mind.
"No," Heero whimpered, reflexively putting his hands to his ears. "GO AWAY! I don't take orders
from you anymore!"
"What, Heero?" Duo yelled, grabbing his shoulders. "What's going on?" A murderous look suddenly
crossed his features. "Is it _him_? Is it Dr. J?"
Heero pushed Duo away hard, and fell down onto the beach with his head almost in his knees and
his hands laced over the back of his head, whining.
"Go away," he sobbed. "Please just go away and leave me alone."
Duo put a hand to his heart, as if to ward off pain there. "Heero. . ." ~Is he talking to me?~ he
thought anxiously.
Then suddenly, a soothing light and warmth washed gently into the dark and narrow valleys in
Heero's mind, caressing it and coalescing softly into Dr. J's presence, the way Heero had known him
when he'd been kind, almost like a father.
Calm down, Heero it said soothingly. I won't make you do anything against your will. But
time is growing short for this program, and much relates to what we must talk about.
Heero grew quiet and waited for Dr. J to begin.
* * *
TBC
-from _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ by Mark Twain
* * *
3am:
The thunderstorm had passed just slightly to the west of where the boys were floating. Heero's flood
of tears had dried to a mere trickle, like a burst dam, rebuilt again, and as Duo felt his pulse and
respiration slow to normal he sighed, almost regretfully. He was happy now, extremely happy that
Heero had finally managed to break through the cone of silent misery that had surrounded him, and
overjoyed that they'd managed to break whatever spell was cast on him by his former master (for he
couldn't bring himself to think of Dr. J as being anything even remotely like a parent, not with the
aftershocks of Heero's screams still shaking him), but he was also sad that this time of falling had
almost come to an end. It was good to fall, sometimes, to let things go, to jump off a lofty peak to the
earth below --- as long as the landing wasn't too hard, and the soul survived it, falling now would
always be like birth, or like giving birth. A new beginning. A gift. Besides, what other choices are
given? Once the pinnacle of resistance is reached, there is no choice but to either let go or get
something torn off. And also, there was something so very, very nice about this situation, comforting
Heero like this and being with him in his time of need.
~like I'm right where I'm supposed to be, right here. . . right now. . .~ he thought dreamily. ~So this is
peace.~
Heero hiccuped.
"Heero?" Duo asked gently. "You okay, now?"
"We need to get back to shore before we get too far away from the plane," Heero said by way of an
answer. He pushed away from Duo and pointed somewhere to the east of where they were. "It's
about five miles that way, I think."
"I guess I'll take that as a yes, then," said Duo mildly. "So, let's start swimming before we end up in
Texas. How far out would you say we are?"
Heero took a moment to consider, looking at the shoreline. "We floated out about two miles, I
think."
Duo took a moment to add it up. Two miles of swmming, and five miles of walking. . . geesh. "Right.
Let's get paddling then. D'ya think we should bear slightly to the east, so we don't get farther away
from the Cub?"
"No, straight in. Walking's easier than swmming."
"Wanna race?"
Heero looked at Duo like he was nuts. "No."
Duo grinned. "I was only kidding, anyway."
The trip back to shore was excruciatingly long. Heero was looking rather pale and drained by the
time they approached land, and even Duo's ludicrously hard-wearing engine was beginning to grind.
All in all, he believed it to be the the most difficult two miles he'd ever had to traverse.
"Ouch!" he suddenly yelled.
"What's the matter?" Heero asked, coming to a stop. Suddenly his toes touched bottom and he stood
up. "We're in shallow water again."
"Yeah, I got that impression," said Duo, inspecting a torn kneecap above the water. "There's a
helluva mean log shark down there."
"Log shark? . . . oh. Okay, I get it."
The shore was still about a hundred yards away. "We must be standing on a silt deposit," said Heero.
They were up to about their waists in water. "Be careful as you wade in or more 'log sharks' may
bite you."
"Thanks for the tip, Heero. I'll remember that." ~and you might've warned me ahead of time, pal. . .~
Finally, they made it to the beach and collapsed in a crunch of shells. "That's it," Duo groaned,
suddenly feeling very heavy. "I'm sleeping right here tonight."
"We can't stay here," said Heero. "What if somebody steals the plane?"
"Don't be paranoid," said Duo. "Where would they come from?"
"It could happen." Heero persisted. "How would we get back? I don't fancy wading through the
marsh. Not with all of those mosquitoes."
"Since when do you worry about a little pain?" Duo wondered.
"Pain is one thing. Irritation is something else," Heero explained dryly.
"Fine," said Duo. "If somebody steals the plane, we'll just ride in by marsh-buggy."
"Where on earth would we get a marsh-buggy?"
"Same place you got those somebodies," Duo retorted. He flung an arm over his face. "Now let me
get some shuteye."
"Might I remind you, Duo," Heero growled, "that we have a liability clause on the plane? One that
covers theft?"
Duo shrugged indifferently. "Mm."
"That means if it gets stolen, it's us who foots the bill for a new plane."
"Mm," said Duo, curling up on his side.
Heero got up, half-staggered over to where Duo was lying and grabbed him by an upper arm. "Get
up, Duo. If you fall asleep in those shells, you're going to regret it when you wake up."
"Mmf. Go 'way," groaned Duo. "C'mon, Heero, just half an hour, okay? I just need to get my energy
back."
"NO," said Heero, and with that he pulled Duo all the way up into a standing position.
"Alright," Duo groused, wincing. "Alright already! I'm up. You can stop abusing my arm now."
Heero let go his grip so quickly that Duo almost fell. "Hey!" Duo protested. "What the hell was that
for?"
Heero lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to."
"You don't know your own strength, Heero." Duo remonstrated gently with him, putting a hand on
his shoulder. "You're gonna have to be more careful when you move into regular society."
"No, I do know my strength," said Heero. "I know what I can do. I just wasn't. . . wasn't. . ."
"Wasn't what?"
Heero looked up at him. "Thinking. I wasn't thinking. What's happening to my mind, Duo? Why can't
I control it anymore?"
I think it's time we had a talk now, boy Dr. J's voice suddenly spoke in Heero's mind.
"No," Heero whimpered, reflexively putting his hands to his ears. "GO AWAY! I don't take orders
from you anymore!"
"What, Heero?" Duo yelled, grabbing his shoulders. "What's going on?" A murderous look suddenly
crossed his features. "Is it _him_? Is it Dr. J?"
Heero pushed Duo away hard, and fell down onto the beach with his head almost in his knees and
his hands laced over the back of his head, whining.
"Go away," he sobbed. "Please just go away and leave me alone."
Duo put a hand to his heart, as if to ward off pain there. "Heero. . ." ~Is he talking to me?~ he
thought anxiously.
Then suddenly, a soothing light and warmth washed gently into the dark and narrow valleys in
Heero's mind, caressing it and coalescing softly into Dr. J's presence, the way Heero had known him
when he'd been kind, almost like a father.
Calm down, Heero it said soothingly. I won't make you do anything against your will. But
time is growing short for this program, and much relates to what we must talk about.
Heero grew quiet and waited for Dr. J to begin.
* * *
TBC