** Well, here's the second chapter of my premiere fanfic Turn of the Tides!!! ((Crickets chirp)) Well…I'm happy about it. I kinda put the last chapter up in a hurry and forgot to put a disclaimer, so here I go.**

**Disclaimer**

Eeeep. Almost none of the characters in this story are mine. The only ones that are mine are the ones you've NEVER heard of. So please don't sue me. All you would get is an empty cookie box and a very upset cat that I haven't paid much attention to lately.

Now that that's out of the way, I think you should go read! I've worked very hard on it! Go!!

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            Heero awoke as he heard someone sliding the window open to the dorm room he shared with Duo. He reached underneath his pillow and pulled out one of the guns he kept by him at all times. He looked toward the window, hoping it was his roommate. He should have been back over an hour ago. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was getting a little nervous. He relaxed a little when he saw Duo's face in the open window. He flicked on the light next to his bed and all his worry came rushing back.

            Duo crawled through the window, falling on the floor as he did, and let out a moan. He lifted his head and Heero could see that he was deathly pale. He saw the scratches on his face and the dried blood that had run down one cheek. He tumbled out of bed, grabbing the first aid kit from under the nightstand, went to Duo and tried to get him up onto his own bed. He grabbed Duo's left arm and tired to lift him, letting go immediately as Duo hissed in pain. He may have been injured, but he still understood the need for silence. When Heero drew away his hand, he saw that it was covered in blood.

            "Where is it?" he asked Duo as he glanced over him.

            "Back…. of shoulder…. bullet," he managed to gasp out.

            "How long ago, and is there anything else?" Heero looked down at his roommate, seeing how pale the young boy was. 'Damnit,' he thought. 'I knew they shouldn't have sent him. I knew something was going to go wrong.'

            "About 45 minutes ago," Duo said. His voice was getting weaker and he was beginning to feel very tired. "Glass cut in right thigh, but only bleeding sluggishly now." He was in so much pain. But he knew that he couldn't shout out. Not only would it wake someone up, it would make Heero think he couldn't handle it. He couldn't do that.

            Heero scooped him up and laid him face down on his bed. He ripped off Duo's shirt from the back and took a look at the wound. The bullet had been high enough to not hit anything vital. It had gone through some muscle, but had managed tot avoid the collarbone. This was too much for Heero. He could set bones and patch up scratches fine, but this was way beyond him. He glanced down at Duo as he lay on the bed. He didn't really want to leave him, afraid of what might happen while he was gone.

            "Duo, I have to go get Quatre. He's better with bullet wounds than I am. Stay here and don't move. I'll be back with him as soon as I can."
            "Don't you worry, Hee-chan. I ain't going nowhere." Duo breathed out his response in his weakening voice. He didn't really want Heero to leave, but he understood that Quatre was the one he needed. He tried to give Heero a little smile, and was surprised by the look on his face. He almost looked…worried? 'Nah,' he thought. 'Not Heero. Probably just angry that I woke him up.'

            Heero left the room, quietly making his way down the hall. When he came to Quatre and Trowa's room, he gently knocked on the door. There was no answer so he knocked a little louder. They weren't supposed to be out of their rooms, and he didn't really want to explain all the blood on his hands and clothes to anyone other than the other pilots. He was just about to knock a third time when the door opened and Quatre poked his blonde head out, looking sleepily up at Heero.

            "Heero? What time is it?" Quatre asked as he glanced down at his wrist. "Is there anything wrong?"

            "It's about midnight. Quatre, I need your help. Duo just got back, and…" that was as far as Heero got. At the mention of Duo's name the sleep quickly fled from Quatre's eyes and he rushed back inside. Heero heard him mumble something to Trowa, who quickly got out of bed and turned on the light. Quatre grabbed his own first aid kit from their closet, along with some special materials he had himself.

            "How bad is it?" he asked Heero as the two of them went back down to Duo and Heero's room.

            It's not as bad as it could be. The main thing is a bullet wound in the left shoulder. There is also a rather large gash in the right thigh, but I don't know what that is from." Heero let Quatre into the room and flicked on the overhead lights, the light giving Duo a pale glow.

            Quatre ran over to him, doing a quick check over his friend before settling down by the side of the bed.

            "Hey Quatre," Duo breathed out. "Save me my dinner?" He chuckled slightly, and started off a fit of coughing.

            "Well, you can't be that bad off if you can still make jokes." Quatre go out his medical kit and rummaged through it for some painkillers. "Um….Duo?" Quatre said in a very sympathetic voice.

            "What now?" He wheezed. He was very pale. He had a smile on his face, but he was scared. Quatre could see it in his eyes.

            "I don't have any painkillers besides Tylenol, and I seriously doubt that would work for what I'm about to do."

            "Shit." Duo's whole heart sank. He knew that this was going to be bad. Way worse than whatever pain he was in now. "All right, just do it." He buried his head into his pillow and gripped the sheets with his right hand.

            Quatre took out some forceps (especially designed for bullet retrieval) and inserted them into Duo's shoulder. Duo held the pillow up to his face, hoping to muffle any sound that might escape his lips. He clutched the sheets so hard that he left marks on the palm of his hand through them. Quatre finally found the bullet and pulled it out gently. Duo relaxed his grip a little and let out a long sigh.

            "There," said Quatre. "That's the worst one." He placed a bandage over the wound and started inspecting all the other cuts and scrapes. He took a look at Duo's face making sure there weren't any big permanent things people would question.

            "Am I still a good looking stud muffin?" Duo asked Quatre with a lopsided smile. He heard Heero snort from the foot of the bed and Quatre let out a little laugh.

            "I'm pretty sure the ladies will still swarm you." Quatre stopped inspecting Duo and turned to  Heero. "Make sure he sleeps most of the day tomorrow. He doesn't have a concussion, so you don't have to worry about waking him up every hour. See if you can get him to eat something tomorrow. Oh, and…"

            "Quatre, calm down. He'll be fine. Go back to bed. I'll take care of his leg." Heero guided the worried blonde toward the door.

            "Just…be nice. Don't yell at him. It's probably not his fault." Quatre knew that Heero could be very temperamental at times and didn't want him giving Duo another bullet hole after he just patched up the first one. He allowed himself to be pushed out the door.

            "I will not yell. I will ask him what happened and if he got the files. I would also like to know what he managed to get out of the conversation."

            "But do it nicely!" Quatre said as Heero closed the door gently. Quatre was right to be anxious. Now that Heero knew Duo would be okay, he was fuming at the fact that he'd gotten caught. 'He should have been more careful.' He was also rather angry with himself. He knew something was going to go wrong. He just knew it. He should have been more forceful and have persuaded Dr. J to let him go instead. They he would be the one laying face down on the bed.

            He went over to his partner and bandaged up the gash in his leg. He was putting away his supplies when Duo opened his eyes.

            "Ne, Heero. I gotta give you something." He used his right hand to gently reach into his pocket. He pulled out a little black disk. "At least I managed to do something right." He gave Heero a lop-sided grin. "That's got new mecha data and the meeting sound files." He rolled back over and fell into a deep sleep.

            Heero just starred at the disk in his hand. He hadn't actually thought Duo had completed the mission. He stood up and walked over to his computer, still in a slight daze. 'Well, I guess I better look at this now while I have a moment of peace,' Heero thought, trying to banish the image of the wounded Duo fighting through hordes of OZ soldiers to get the data back successfully to his partner, just so he could complete the mission. 'It should have been me,' Heero thought, one last time before he flicked on his laptop, the glowing screen slightly illuminating the dark room, casting a pale flow on the sleeping pilot. Heero pulled out his desk chair, the legs scraping lightly over the floor as he sat down and began to get at the information his partner had almost died for.

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            The next day, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were all seated in various places around the room. Quatre was on the foot of Duo's bed, being sure not to block the injured boy's view of Heero as he presented them all the information from Duo's disk. Wufei was seated in a chair cross-legged near the window, onyx eyes starring intently at Heero's face. Trowa was sitting on the floor; his back placed up against Duo's bed. Quatre was nervously playing with Trowa's hair as Heero talked. He was mainly concentrating on the data on the new mecha OZ called Gemini.

            "They have the shields like Virgos," Heero pointed out on the wall where the picture was shown through the mini-projector, "but more of them. They also are made of a new synthetic metal called alotanium, which is being manufactured on the moon and is said to rival gundanium in strength." Heero let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, since Treize knew Duo was there, chances are that the recorded conversation is useless. He would not have knowingly divulged anything to us like that." Heero glanced up to see Duo hanging his head. He made a mental note to have Quatre talk to him later.

            "But if we know the meeting is wrong, what's to say the files themselves are not also fake?" Wufei's eyes flashed at Heero, searching for an answer.

            "Well," Heero glanced around the room as he ran his fingers through his spiky bangs, "we don't know if they're real or not, but right now we have nothing else to go on. We will just have to be ready in case we're up against something completely different."

            "So when exactly are we going to meet these things and how long will we have to prepare?" Trowa, ever the logical thinker, asked.

            Heero stared at them all, his eyes very deep and serious. "I don't know. You must prepare tonight, but I do not know when the message will come. We'll just have to wait."

            Everyone nodded, understating that it was not up to them when they had to leave. They all had thought racing through their heads. Heero was calculating plans for an attack on the moon base already. Duo was wondering if he was going to be well enough to fight when the time came. He hated sitting out on missions. Trowa was running through all of the OZ bases he had infiltrated, thinking about the usual layouts and capacities. Quatre's head was filled with thoughts of the new mobile suit. He wanted to know how much power it actually had, and if he and his friends would be able to defeat a base full of them. He hoped everyone would be all right. Wufei's thought troubled him. Treize was at the base. Would he get the opportunity to fight him again? Would he ever defeat him? He hated thought like these. They made him feel weak. He had yet to regain his honor, but that was not what his missions were about. He was weak to think of his own personal problems.

            After several minutes of silence, Duo finally spoke up. "Well, if we don't know when the mission is coming, guess there's no use worrying about it now. He smiled as he glanced over at the big digital clock on his bedside table. "Hey, it's 6:00. Dinnertime!" Duo put on a big grin just as his stomach let out a loud rumble. Someone had spread the rumor that Duo had dislocated his shoulder in a car crash, which would help explain why he wore a sling to classes, but they still weren't up to taking any unnecessary risks. Quatre had volunteered to bring Duo up breakfast and lunch, but Heero had to cover dinner. He glanced at Duo, who was looking at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen.

            "Fine," Heero growled as he turned off the projector. "I'm going." Duo let out a cheer as the other pilots removed themselves from their current positions. They said goodbye to Duo in their various ways, with Quatre slipping in a very reassuring hug, and left to get their meals.

            "Remember Heero! Don't be stingy!" Duo called after his friend as he closed the door. "And you know what I like!"

            Heero swore to himself under his breath about stupid pilots who made themselves dependent on others as he closed and locked the door behind him. It was going to be a long recovery.

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            "Duo, wake up! Wake up! We have to talk now!" Someone was lightly shaking him. He mumbled something to the effect of "5 more minutes, mom" but the person persisted. Finally he cracked one eye, glaring at the person who had so rudely awakened him during his dread. He had been dreaming of himself, with Heero, a bottle of whipped cream, and some cherries. Enough said. His gaze fell upon the very same eyes he had just been picturing, except this time they looked annoyed, not lustful.

            "What do ya want? I was sleeping!" Duo whined as he buried his head back into the pillow.

            "I could tell," snorted Heero as he pulled the pillow out from under Duo. "You can go back to sleep in a minute. I just have to fill you in on what's going on." Duo dragged himself up and leaned against the headboard, putting most of his weigh on his right side.

            "This had better be important," Duo yawned. "I was having a great dream." He reached behind himself and moved the pillow he was leaning on.

            "This is no joking matter, Duo," Heero said in a gruff voice with a bit of an edge to it. He was rather upset himself about being dragged out of his bed at 2 am. He had been having a wonderful dream including himself, Duo, a pair of handcuff, and a riding crop. He had definitely wanted to finish that dream. "It's about the mission. We have been given orders."

            The sleep suddenly fled from Duo's eyes. It had only been two days. Only two days. "Did they say who was going?"

            Heero looked at Duo, knowing the look of realization in his eyes. He hardened his face, not wanting Duo to see that he was as upset about the timing as he was. "You're staying here. I'm going, along with Quatre and Trowa. Wufei will stay with you. We're leaving tomorrow at 6 AM and should very early the next morning."

            Duo was crushed. He hated sitting out on missions, but he had really wanted to go on this one, since he had so badly botched up the reconnaissance. "Why is Wufei staying? Why not Quatre? Sandrock won't be as useful as Altlong would be, right?"
            Heero shook his head. He was not quite sure about this himself. Wufei's gundam had more destructive power than Quatre's, but he was not one to question orders. "Because they said so." Heero stood up, deciding this conversation was over. "Now go to sleep. I have to get up in about 2 hours to get ready, so don't stay up."

            Duo rolled over in his bed, making sure he wasn't lying on his bad shoulder, and pulled the covers up tight. He glanced at his digital clock as the numbers glowed brightly in the darkness of the room. 2:17. It was going to be a long night.

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            Wufei sat on his bed cross-legged. His hands were draped over his knees and he was deep in mediation. He was searching himself. He wanted to find the real reason he was not on the mission. Why had he refused to accept it? Why did he send Quatre in his place, a person with less fighting ability and less offensive weapons? He was so weak. Was all of this really because he was too afraid to face him? Too afraid to lose again?

            'Why?' he thought to himself as he came out of his meditation. He got off the bed, too upset to continue his morning exercises. Not only were they sending Quatre in his place, they were making him stay there and look after the injured Duo. He was not a nursemaid. 'But you're not a gundam pilot either. They are nowhere near as pathetic as you.'

            Wufei grabbed his head, growling at the nagging thoughts of self-doubt that constantly plagued him. He wished he didn't have his overdeveloped sense of justice. It would make his life so much easier. He grabbed his jacked from the hook on the back of the door. He needed a walk. Students weren't allowed out in the halls before 6 AM, so Wufei went over to the window. He opened it slowly, letting the cool night air waft over him. He stuck his head out the window and glanced around, making sure there were no random administrators out and about. Once he was sure it was clear, he propped the window open with a random textbook and slipped out, dropping to the ground as gracefully as a cat.

            He stood under the window for a few minutes, just relishing in the calmness of the night. He loved how quiet and clear everything was. He sniffed the night air, smelling the scent of the new flowers. He stepped through the bushes and away from the wall, onto the sidewalk that surrounded the school. He started walking, heading for the woods. He liked walking through the woods, away from all the lights from the school and the hustle and bustle of the city. That was on thing he really loved about earth. There were just so many placed you could escape to. That was not a prominent thing that had been incorporated into the designs of the colonies.

            Wufei reached the woods and passed underneath the protective covering of the trees. He walked, glancing down at his feet, watching himself step on twigs and sticks, breaking them in half effortlessly. Everything in the world was so fragile. All of life was fragile. His mind flashed to a picture of Duo, bandaged up and lying in his bed, unable to go on the recent mission due to the fragileness of his own life. It was all so wrong. Life shouldn't be so fragile. He just wished that he could make everything as strong as he wanted to be. If only…

            He continued to walk deeper into the woods, so submerged in his own thoughts, he was not aware that he was not the only one unable to sleep that night and out taking an early morning stroll.

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            Duo glanced up, breaking his train of thought, when he thought he was someone walking down the little path he was heading towards. He stopped for a moment, thinking maybe a rogue teacher was out and about, but after he didn't see anything for a few seconds, he figured he was okay. He looked back towards the school, thinking about how stupid he was being. They had all had to sit out on their share of missions due to injury. Why was it bothering him so much? 'Because you got caught,' the voice said. 'Because they have to go clean up your mess and they probably don't even have the right information.' Duo hated that voice. He hated it because he knew it was right and there was nothing he could do about it. What if the guys got hurt? Or worse, captured? What was he going to do? He didn't know what was going to happen, and that scared him.

            He passed under the cover of the trees, still thinking about Heero and the others. He was also thinking about Wufei. Why wasn't he going on the mission? Everyone knew that Altlong was more powerful than Sandrock, even Quatre admitted it. This was weird. Worse than that, it was dangerous. What if Sandrock got ambushed? Duo wasn't sure Quatre would be able to fight his way through a horde of those new mobile suits. Why did Wufei have to pick now as the time to have a break down?

            Duo stumbled on an upturned tree root, cursing under his breath. All of the sudden he was very aware of someone watching him. He glanced around, not seeing anyone. "Okay," he said in a voice that had sounded a lot stronger in his head. "I know you're out there. I don't like being followed, so come out now and I won't have to shoot you." Duo glanced around. He didn't actually have a gun with him, but he was hoping the other person didn't know that.

            "You shouldn't threaten to shoot someone if you don't even have a gun." Duo turned toward the voice and found himself starring into a pair of deep onyx eyes. Duo leapt back, startled by the stealth Wufei had used to sneak up on him.

            "Yo, Wu! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack? What are you doing out here this early in the morning?"

            "I could ask you the same thing. Aren't you supposed to stay in the room when not in class?" Wufei's eyes burned into Duo.

            "Couldn't sleep. Heero was moving around too much, getting ready for the mission." Duo turned his head, but it was unnecessary. Wufei heard the bitterness in his words. "What about you?" Duo asked, glancing back at Wufei. "Why are you out?"

            "Couldn't sleep either. Needed to get some space to think." He didn't have to say what he needed to think about. Both he and Duo knew: the mission. "We should probably get back," Wufei said. "Teachers are going to be waking up soon." Duo nodded and both boys made the trek back to the school in silence.

            Wufei helped Duo in through his window since they figured teachers would be waking up and it would be too risky for Duo to walk around to his own room on the other side of the school. He left Wufei's room with a nod of thanks and glanced around. No one in the halls. He made his way over to his door, pulling the key from his picked. He unlocked the door and stepped in and was greeted by the black emptiness of the room. Heero had left. Duo glanced at his watch, the glowing digital numbers reading 5:32. 'Right on time,' Duo thought. Now came the hard part. The waiting.

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Well, the second chapter is done. Yay! Sorry about the incredibly long wait. There were some problems. First I lost the notebook I'm writing it in. Then I found the notebook, but I lost the disk it was saved on. So I had to re-type the entire thing. -_-;; So, needless to say I've been rather irritated. But it's here and I'm already working on the third chapter, which should be up within the next month (fingers crossed). Bye till then!

~Queen Vixen