Disclaimer: I don't own them nor do I claim to.
Warning: Future Yaoi. Pairing: 1x2 3x4 5xSP
Author: Starlight Soul
Beta: Bushido Samurai
Mission Children
Chapter two
Melody never closed her eyes. The children lying on the floor around her were more precious than a few hours of sleep. She walked cautiously, almost invisibly through the children making sure that they were all safe and warm. It was her weakness. If they threatened any of the children she knew that she would do anything necessary to protect them. Across the warehouse a child began crying and she quickly made her way to him.
"I want my mommy," He cried when she picked him up
"I know honey," she said rocking him gently. Down near her feet a little girl rolled over to find her brother missing. Startled she sat up and looked around.
"Wesley?" she said softly before wrapping her arms around her thinly covered body.
"Are you cold honey?" asked Melody.
"Yeah, I want Wesley," she replied shivering.
"Come here, I'll help you get warm," Melody said picking up the little girl.
With the two children in her lap she began humming a random song while watching them. Upon a closer look, she realized that they were mirror twins. Everything was opposite, from their genders to their mismatched eyes. They reached across her with their free hands and held on to each other tightly, as though afraid that one of them would disappear. After a while, their blue and green eyes drifted shut, and Melody placed them next to another group of children.
"Melody, some of the soldiers are getting nervous," warned Scooter approaching from the side, "They keep whispering about gundam pilots sighted within a day of us. Do you think they'll attack?"
"I hope not," replied Melody, "Whatever happens, it's up to us to protect these children. They are helpless if the gundams attack."
"We're helpless if the gundams attack too Melody," replied Scooter.
"I know that!" she snapped, "Look Scooter, I can't turn my back on them. They have names and faces and I've already crossed the line. I know their names, I know their faces. Do you see those two children over there? They're twins named Wesley and Melissa. They're like me. They have this thing in them that makes them understand, makes them feel your pain even when you don't even know that it's pain."
"Is that what it's like for you?" Scooter asked softly, "Is that what you feel when you see people?"
"Sometimes," she replied.
"You two! Stop talking," sneered a soldier.
"She's a pretty one," smiled his partner.
"They said we couldn't kill em," smiled the first soldier, "They didn't say we couldn't play with em."
"All that hair should make a good handle."
Scooter made to step between Melody and the soldiers but she stopped him, "Don't. If they use me, they'll leave the others alone," she whispered.
The soldier moved so quickly that there was nothing she could do before he had her by the hair, "I thought I said stop talking." Melody closed her eyes and let them lead her away; knowing what was in her future.
Duo led the way silently through the trees. They had left their motorcycles a mile back, hidden on the edge of the road. The terrain was rough but it gave Duo something other than his anger to focus on. Heero, keeping an eye out for soldiers, kept a close eye on his partner in the dappled light.
~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~
"Heero, I might need your help with this mission," Duo informed him softly as he packed his black backpack.
Heero was pulled from his own packing by the seriousness in his partners' voice, "What do you mean?"
"This whole mess struck a nerve Heero," Duo sighed, "I haven't been this mad since… well, in a long time."
"Since when, Duo?" Heero asked.
"Since I found and killed the man who authorized the plague and the massacre." replied Duo softly.
"What happened?" asked Heero knowing it was a mission before they were partnered.
"I don't remember," Duo sighed.
"Tell me," ordered Heero, worry filled his voice.
"It was my third mission. It should have been easy. All I had to do was get in, get a disk, set my charges, and get back to Deathscythe. If anything was left I was supposed to take it out with him. I got clumsy, ran right into him. He didn't recognize me but you know me, can't keep my mouth shut. Last thing I remember is him saying, 'ah, but it got rid of all the vermin.' When I woke up, I was in deathscythe's cockpit covered in blood. There was nothing left of the base but a large crater.
"There were innocent people in that base Heero. Their names never should have made it to the death tolls."
"Listen to me Duo," said Heero," you should never have been put in that position. You will be fine on this mission."
"Heero, promise me that if it happens again that you'll protect the children."
"Duo, you aren't going to black out again."
"Promise me Heero!"
"I promise."
~~~~~~ End Flashback ~~~~~~
Duo and Heero crouched side by side in the bushes. Below them they could see the rough parameter set up in a blind canyon. The ledge looking down on the compound was high enough that they could easily see the opposite side of the building when two guards lounged in view. As they watched two more guards came into view pulling along a girl with long blonde hair.
"Damn!" hissed Duo, "I'll bet that's Melody."
"Why?" asked Heero.
"She's dressed for it," replied Duo," Baggy layers easily hide stolen goods while providing a lot of warmth."
"She's not struggling," observed Heero.
"Less chance of getting hurt," spat Duo, "one of the first things you learn on the street, especially when you'd be willing to do anything to survive. She's probably trying to keep the attention off the more innocent kids."
"We're gonna get them out Duo," Stated Heero.
"Let's go, we need better numbers."
Heero followed Duo's example as he secured a rope to the jagged rock face. When they were part way down, Duo stopped them to peer into the opened door with his binoculars.
"I see twenty maybe twenty five more guards inside," whispered Duo, "The children are in the center of the barn. There are two of what I assume to be Melody's gang. One of them has a nasty looking gash and the other appears to be okay."
"Let's get back. We'll assume forty heavily armed soldiers," said Heero, "This is not very organized. They are lacking real security measures beyond the armed guards."
"I still don't like it. It's still too dangerous for the children."
"We don't have any choice," replied Heero, "We'll get them out."
"Let's go, we've almost lost all the light."
When Heero and Duo arrived back, they were amazed to find their safe house filled with Sally and her people. Two military issue trucks were hidden deep off the side of the road, behind the trucks was another small civilian truck heavily laden with medical supplies.
Inside the house they were greeted by Rashid and his men. In the next room, Sally was going through their supplies and talking softly with Wufei. Duo dropped unhappily on the couch next to Quatre and Trowa, content to let his partner report their findings.
"Well, what did you find?" asked Sally impatiently.
"We found the barn in a small blind canyon. There are easily scaled walls on three sides and two buildings. The children were sitting in the pole barn on the floor. Most of them are in light pajamas without anything on their feet, they were shivering pretty badly."
"Probably early stage hypothermia," mused Sally.
"They were cold, but not cold enough to be in danger. I don't think that Melody's gang will let anyone get that cold," Duo sighed.
Sally stared at him for a moment, before deciding to ask her question, "How old were you, Duo, when you were left on the streets?"
Duo looked stunned as though he didn't want to answer her, "Why does it matter?"
"I'm curious, and it will answer a lot of questions for me," she said softly.
"Four, maybe five," he answered playing with his braid nervously.
"I thought as much," replied Sally, "Your body type just about gives it away. The other things I noticed are the most important," Duo was more than uncomfortable, as he twisted his braid around his hand. Sally watched as Heero moved behind Duo careful not to make his lover feel trapped, "At first it was the way you moved through a crowd. You disappeared in the blink of an eye. The second thing was the way you eat."
"You mean inhales his food right," commented Wufei.
"No, Duo eats very carefully. He knows how much his body can take before it will defend itself."
"Why are you doing this to me?" asked Duo pulling his knees up to his chest.
"I'm not doing it to be mean Duo," Sally sighed, "Quatre had an idea but I need this information to help me be prepared. How did you learn to watch your eating?"
Duo sighed and rested his head on his knees making his voice strangely hollow, "When they found me on the sweepers ship they gave me clothes and fed me but I ate until I got sick. I did it for weeks until a man named Jake came from another ship. He ate with me every meal for months, teaching me to measure without cups and stuff. He said if I didn't learn, I'd eat myself to death," Duo shuddered with an unknown chill, "Jake taught me a lot of things."
"Like what?" asked Quatre. He was amazed that there was so much he didn't know about his friend.
"He taught me four of the seven languages I know," replied Duo softly.
"How many?" sputtered Wufei.
"Well, I'm only fluent in seven. I can get by in a few more but there are a lot that I can only swear in," he blushed.
"What languages are you fluent in?" asked Trowa.
Duo was getting more agitated by the minute, "English, of course, was my first language but Jake taught me Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian. The professor decided that if I could learn those languages so easily it wasn't enough of a challenge so he brought in more people to teach me German, Spanish, and French."
Wufei's jaw hung open for a moment before he managed to get the words out, "So you understood everything I've said when I…"
Duo nodded, "Do me a favor; don't leave your stuff lying around open. My curiosity still gets the better of me and although I've never intentionally invaded your privacy, I have. I know why you fight, and I know why your gundam is Nataku."
Wufei nodded, "I underestimated you. I mistook shear boredom for not caring."
"Let's get back to the issue at hand," Heero said realizing that Duo was ready to bolt, "The children are the important issue."
"How do you suggest we go in?" asked Quatre, "A frontal attack is dangerous to the children; they would easily be used as shields and hostages."
"With the help of Rashid and his men, we can go in on multiple sides," offered Trowa softly, "The five of us can repel down the cliff while Rashid's men come in from the front. Sally's people will have to wait for our call."
"That sounds like the best idea," said Quatre softly, "Let's call Rashid in here so he knows what's going on." The blonde pilot stood and left the room for a moment before returning with the large man in tow.
"Master Quatre says you have the beginning of a plan." He said glancing around the room.
"Yes, but for this to work you and your men have to know what's going on," replied Wufei, "Our goal is to rescue the children."
"We estimated around forty heavily armed men. Their security is very bad. They seemed to be relying on the blind canyon for their parameter," Heero said as he pointed out the canyon on the map. From his laptop he printed up several satellite photos of the buildings in the canyon and the road used to approach it.
"The road will have to be taken carefully," said Quatre softly, "If they have anyone on this point of the canyon they will be able to see any vehicles approaching."
"There's a rock formation here," added Heero pointing two miles away," the trucks can be hidden there."
"Our men can move in on foot," said Rashid, "The medical team can wait with the trucks for our call."
"A couple of my people are warriors as well as medics. We'll go in with Rashid's men, that way we have a head start on dealing with injuries."
"No," replied Wufei flatly.
"No choice," Duo responded unhappily, "While we were there, several soldiers were taking a girl out to a shed."
"Duo believes that it maybe the girl Melody," Said Heero, "She wasn't fighting back but she may have been protecting the other kids by letting them take her."
"How do we identify her?" asked Sally.
"She's got long blond brown hair." Replied Duo.
"Okay, she's likely to not react well to Rashid's men, Heero, and Wufei," murmured Sally softly, "Duo, I assume that you have dealt with this stuff before."
"Yes, she's likely to trust me cause I know the streets. I'll never be able to get rid of the things that mark me a street rat," Duo Sighed, "she'll prolly trust Quatre too. I'm not so sure about Trowa. Sorry man, but you just come across too dangerous."
"I understand," Trowa said darkly.
"Okay, if the girl is found get one of us."
"The five of us will take the cliff face," said Heero," Your men come around this way."
"That will corner them and they could take the children hostage." Said Quatre softly," we need to be in there with the children secured before Rashid and his men make their move."
"Then we'll be in with the children and ready," Said Duo, "I'll take some extra knives that Melody's gang will be able to use."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Trowa.
"They are used to fighting for their lives, knives are a common weapon on the streets. It begins to come naturally after a while."
"Alright then, let's get moving," Said Heero, "Inform your men of their orders and set up on secure frequency eight. We move out in ten minutes."
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A/N: Well, this chapter is finally finished. I know it took a long time but I've been really busy. I'll try to have another chapter out soon but I have to finish chapter 5 of 'To Lose Trust' and chapter one of 'Rosa Lunaris' first. I know that some of the information in this chapter seemed useless but it has a point that will be made clear later in the story. Please let me know what you think.