Part 19: New Destination

It happened so fast. Duo heard the quiet explosion as the silencer-equipped gun went off. Then there was a rush of air and he was falling. It took his dazed mind a few seconds to realize Heero had shoved him off the bed and was holding him down. Heero was shielding him. Duo's eyes widened and he looked over Heero's shoulder to see their attacker. He saw Relena's hand turn as she followed them, and she fired again, the bullets finding a resting spot in the boy hovering over him.

Heero knew her target was Duo. He couldn't rush the girl without leaving Duo unguarded. He gritted his teeth as his body expelled the bullets and did its best to heal him as quickly as possible. There was no choice. He had to wait until she ran out of bullets. That was the plan, but his chest caught a sudden blaze of pain and he sagged forward as his vision grew hazy.

Duo knew Heero took bullets often, but not at such a close range, not so many. He let out a cry when the dark-haired boy fell back on him. He quickly wrapped his arms Heero's waist and turned invisible. That was the best he could do since whatever he held was also unseen. There was a pause in the firing, and Duo focused on Heero. He could hear him breathing so close to him and the sound was wet, almost bubbly. He was certain Heero had taken a hit to the lungs. What if he couldn't heal something that severe on his own?

Duo sent a panicked look at Relena. She was still standing near the door, but her cool blue eyes were locked on the corner where they lay as she efficiently reloaded.

'She's going to kill him!'

.-.

Quatre stiffened suddenly, a fist clenched to his chest as he let out a keening cry. He bent forward for a second, almost cringing over his knees. But he fought it off desperately. By the time Trowa had moved to his side, he was standing.

"Something's wrong!" Quatre cried.

.-.

Zechs had reacted nearly as quickly as Quatre, though for a different reason. He ran toward the house and threw a wild look at the boy beside him.

"Duo's gone," he said to Wufei. "I don't know what, but something's happened and he's not here anymore!"

.-.

Trowa and Quatre rushed down the hall and skidded to a halt just short of Heero's room. The Japanese boy was standing just outside the door, a large gun in his hand.

"Heero?" Quatre cried. He was caught by Heero's furious eyes and he sent a confused look at Trowa before taking a step toward their friend. "What's going on?"

"Relena attacked us," Heero said, his eyes narrowed to slits as he gripped the gun tightly.

"Where's Duo?" asked Quatre. His eyes were very wide in aprehension. He took another tentative step toward Heero. Then Trowa flinched and suddenly shoved him to the side and into the wall.

"Stay back!" cried Trowa. "That isn't Heero!"

Trowa reeled against the wall as the Heero, who clearly wasn't Heero, fired on him. He heard Quatre give a horrified cry, but his pain-fogged eyes stayed on what looked like their friend. Heero immediately turned the gun towards Quatre.

.-.

An immensely confusing scene greeted them when Wufei and Zechs reached the hall. Zechs didn't even try to make sense of it. Quatre was leaning over Trowa, trying desperately to stop his bleeding. Zechs rushed to Quatre's side. He pushed the boy back and quickly looked over Trowa's wounded chest. Blood was soaking the dark turtleneck. He sent one glance to where Heero lay unconscious on the floor, then he pushed it out of his mind. Heero was breathing, Trowa wouldn't be in a few more minutes. Zechs left the questions to Wufei while hurried to heal Trowa.

Wufei stopped over the scene. "What-"

"That's not Heero," said Quatre. His voice was as cold as his pale blue-green eyes. He glared at the body lying on the floor. "I don't know who it is, but it's not him."

"What are you talking about?" Wufei demanded, his eyes moving from Trowa back to the blonde boy. Then he remembered what Zechs had said outside and his black eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where's Duo?"

"I...don't know." Quatre stepped over the body and glanced into the open bedroom, his eyes moving over the bloody floor before he turned back to the hall. "This person said Relena attacked them. Then he shot Trowa. I knocked him out."

"Quatre..?"

The familiar voice made Quatre give a shocked gasp. He turned to look into the bedroom again, and his face went ashen. Duo was standing behind him. He was covered in blood, and his violet eyes were very wide and distant.

"Duo!" gasped Quatre. "What happened? What's going on?"

Duo shook his head and stumbled out of the room. He grabbed Quatre by the shoulders and looked him over quickly.

"Relena's crazy," Duo blurted. "I don't-"

His voice died off as he caught sight of the dark-haired boy lying on the carpet of the hallway. That wasn't possible. His mouth fell open in disbelief. "Heero...?"

"It's not..." Trowa shook his head. He sat up slowly, his eyes burning from the pain of both the shot and the healing. Suddenly he understood what Duo had meant about the healing hurting as much as the injury.

"That isn't Heero," said Trowa.

"No shit!" Duo cried, his eyes wide. "I left Heero at the ruins..." The four of them looked at him, and he groaned suddenly. He pressed his hands to his head. "Damnit. I don't even know if I can go back and get him..."

"You teleported," Wufei said in surprise. Then his eyes widened. "With Heero? You took him with you?"

"Yeah," said Duo. "But don't ask me how, or why the hell I ended up at the Maxwell church, what's left of it, anyway..." Staring down at the person who looked just like Heero, Duo shook his head suddenly. "I guess you guys didn't need my help, after all. I'm going to try to get Heero."

The boy disappeared suddenly and the four looked at each other, then their gazes centered on the body.

"Let's get him into the kitchen," Wufei murmured, glancing at Quatre. "Then we can find out what's going on here."

Wufei bent to lift the Heero-impersonator. He was dragging him toward the kitchen when his way was suddenly blocked. He blinked in surprise. Then his eyes glinted warmly. Duo looked so proud standing there, with Heero's arm slung over his shoulders.

"Are you all right, Heero?" asked Wufei.

Heero gave a weak nod, but his eyes were on the figure Wufei was carrying. "I'll heal. Who is that?"

"Can't you tell?" Zechs said, pushing open the kitchen door as he eyed the two boys with relief. "That's your double."

.-.

They tied the captive tightly to a chair in the center of the kitchen. Then they let Quatre have the honors. With his mental control, he both woke the figure, and forced him to return to his original form. Actually, it turned out to be her original form. None of them recognized the woman who sat before them. She had long brown hair that was caught up in two braids, each tied to the back of her head. Her eyes were the same brown color. She looked to be in her thirties at the latest, and she didn't seem at all afraid of what they might do to her. A derogatory smirk was playing over her lips.

"Who are you?" Duo asked, his glare as biting as his voice.

The woman's smirk widened, but a carefully controlled thought from Quatre had her wincing suddenly.

"Colonel Une," she said, "of Treize Cushrenada's front line."

"What the hell?" Duo shot a look at Zechs and shook his head. "How did she get in here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Zechs. He glared down at his folded arms with blatant guilt written over his face. "They must have used her instead of Relena. And I never suspected a thing. I let her in, brought her into your safe-house..."

"What happened to Relena?" asked Quatre. His eyes widened as he stared at the downcast Zechs, who merely shook his head. Quatre turned his glare back on Une, suddenly more furious than before. "Tell me."

"She's still in the Sanq kingdom, as far as I know," Une muttered, her eyes glinting in obvious hatred. "The fool never searched his sister's mind to make sure it was her. It wasn't."

"They must know where we are, then," Heero said, his eyes narrowed as he looked to the others. "We have to move now. Before they attack us again."

"What do we do with her?" asked Quatre.

"Kill her," said Heero. Quatre's face fell, but Heero didn't waver. "Whether she's a mutant or not, she's still a member of OZ. And she tried to kill us. Quatre, she tried to kill Trowa, as well."

"I know..." Quatre whispered. "But...she's one of us. A mutant. It hurts..."

"Maybe we don't have to kill her," Duo offered slowly, wincing when Heero's intense gaze was suddenly directed at him. "Well, if she can take the shape of anyone, then wouldn't it be a better idea to use her instead of just killing her?"

Une flinched in outrage. "I'd never work for you!"

The words were barely spit out before Quatre glared at her. She growled and lowered her head.

"You would do well to keep silent," Quatre said coldly, not forgetting the woman's attack on Trowa and his friends. "Can't you see that he's proposing something that will keep you alive? At least a little longer..."

"That's right," Duo said, his eyes on Heero as he tried to read the boy's expression. "The way I see it, if Quatre can control her, then we can have her infiltrate a lot better than we ever could."

"It's a good plan," Quatre added, also turning to Heero. "I don't know what my range is, since I've never controlled anyone much, but it wouldn't be too hard to find out. We shouldn't kill her out of hand, Heero."

"No," Wufei said suddenly. He pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and approached the table. "We should kill her. There's no reason to take the chance of her escaping later."

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and he held up a finger over his mouth. He leaned over Duo, the boy's betrayed glare almost amusing him. When he was close enough that only Duo would hear, he whispered in his ear. "This place is probably bugged. We should take her and make our plans elsewhere."

Wufei was sure Heero must have either heard him somehow, or read his lips, because the dark-haired boy nodded sharply. As for the others, he knew they would either read his thoughts or those of Duo, who was now smiling at him. Straightening, he nodded to Une, satisfied by the way the woman's eyes widened suddenly as she realized her eminent death.

"Heero," nodded Wufei. "Would you?"

Une closed her eyes and tensed when Heero pulled his gun. Then he fired and she slumped forward in her chair. The bullet lodged harmlessly in the wall over her shoulder. It didn't matter that she hadn't been hit, since Quatre had evidently knocked her out again. Either that or she'd fainted. Somehow Heero doubted she'd fainted.

The others were moving to gather what they could for their escape. No one objected when he got a sharp knife from one of the drawers in the kitchen. It was a simple thing to cut the woman's hand deeply enough to draw blood and a few bits of flesh. He then smeared the blood onto the floor across from the wall and pushed a bit in to surround the bullet, which had lodged into one of the boards.

Quatre sighed as he returned to the kitchen, two filled bags slung over his shoulder. His eyes sparkled, but he managed to sound mournful. "I wish there was another way. I hate having done this..."

"It's done," Heero said harshly. He bent over the woman and threw her limp body over his shoulders. "We'll get rid of the body. OZ will never find it."

.-.

Since they didn't have any other safe-houses to move to, they decided to spend the night at a motel, and they were lucky enough to find one that was too busy to notice them. The evening found them gathered in one of the rooms. They'd left Une tied in a corner, Quatre making certain she would continue to sleep. Once the door was shut behind them, Duo stepped to the bed near the closet and sat on it, crossing his legs under him.

"Well, what now?" asked Duo. "We can't stay here. Not for long, anyway." He glared at the unconscious woman for a minute before sighing. "In fact, we probably shouldn't even stay in this area. I mean, if the safe-house was bugged, she probably managed to get a lot more information on us than OZ had before."

"Yes," Zechs said slowly, still furious at himself for having endangered them. "She went for a walk earlier today. I'm sure she was reporting to Treize. They might even have pictures of us."

"Oh." Duo blinked for a moment, then a smile came to his face as his eyes moved over the other boys. "That means you guys are just as 'wanted' as I am. Pretty neat being a celebrity, isn't it? Looks like we'll all have to hide, now."

"That means we can't let anyone see us," Quatre said slowly, leaning against Trowa. The tall boy was standing in the corner, and he was grateful to the strong arms that were wrapped around his waist as he realized how bleak things looked. "We have to find a place where no one is tied to OZ, where we won't be turned in even if someone does recognize us. But there isn't any place like that..."

"There's one that comes to mind," Zechs murmured. He didn't look up, his eyes locked on the floor at his feet. "But I wouldn't blame you if you don't want to hear any more of my ideas."

"Just stop it," said Heero. He didn't blink until Zechs looked up. Then he nodded sharply. "There's no point placing blame. Trowa or Quatre could have thought to search her mind as easily as you could have. No one did, though, so there's no point blaming yourself. She got past us, that's all there is to it. We just make certain it doesn't happen again."

"What was your idea?" Wufei asked Zechs, his eyes narrowed. "You're thinking about your country...aren't you." Zechs looked at him, and he knew he was right when the man flushed lightly.

"Yes," said Zechs. "The Sanq Kingdom has always practiced pacifism. They wouldn't side with anyone, and certainly not OZ. I can't think of a better place to seek refuge in."

"Wait-a-sec," Duo said quickly, staring at the white-haired man. "We can't go into a pacifist nation! Think of what we'd do to it."

"So long as we don't do any fighting inside the borders," Zechs said, shaking his head, "there shouldn't be a problem."

"And you want to see your sister," said Quatre. He gave a small smile when Zechs raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't blame you at all. Actually, I'm glad you suggested it. The only place I could think of was at my - the Maguanac's base, and I'd hate to involve them."

"Weren't you kicked out of that nation?" Duo asked Zechs. He tried to keep his question gentle since he knew it was a touchy subject, but he could see as how that would create problems. "Would they really let you come back in?"

"The people may not realize I'm a mutant," said Zechs. It wasn't that he didn't see the way Duo was trying to be kind, but he knew that he'd have to put his own hesitations aside. "And Relena may not have changed as much as I feared. I think she would welcome us, even knowing we're mutants."

"You know something?" Duo smiled, glancing around before looking back to Zechs. "You're coming in real handy. Just wanted you to know that."

"I...thank you." Zechs blinked for a moment, then flushed again as Wufei smirked at him.

"Then we go," said Trowa. "It would be best to go soon, tomorrow." He glanced at Heero for a second, then at Quatre. "Is there a reason to hesitate?"

"No," said Heero.

"Okay," said Duo, "that's settled. But how are we going to get there?" He smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "I've only heard of the place in passing, but I figure it's pretty far away."

"It would only take eight hours by plane," said Zechs.

Duo glared at Zechs for a second, then frowned at him. Zechs didn't seem to know why that suggestion made him angry. "And what about me? Even if there aren't pictures of us all, mine are in every single airport. It's not like they're going to let you buy a seat if no one's going to be sitting in it."

"I can fly," said Trowa. Duo shot him a dirty look, and Trowa's jaw tightened a bit. His eyes narrowed in response. "I mean a plane," he said scathingly.

"There are a few of us who can fly a plane," Zechs agreed. A glance to Heero showed the Japanese boy nodding. He met Duo's calmer gaze with a small smirk. "I'm sure Quatre could rent a private plane."

"I could buy one," Quatre smiled. "Then that's settled, too. If we want to move early, we should probably sleep. But what about her?"

Following the boy's gesture, Heero's eyes narrowed. "The closet's big enough. We can put her in there for the night."

"That's cruel," Duo winced. "What if she's claustrophobic?"

"She isn't." Quatre shook his head. "If she was, you can be sure I would have objected. She may be our enemy, but that's no reason to lower ourselves to her level."

"Great," Duo smiled. Throwing his arms out, he suddenly plopped back on the bed, smiling as he closed his eyes. "I hereby claim this bed in the name of Shinigami."

"Duo, there are only two rooms," Wufei said with a smirk. Duo cracked open an eye to look at him. "You'll have to share."

"Oh, I planned to," Duo said smoothly. He smirked at Heero, who straightened abruptly.

Wufei groaned lightly and turned so he could look at Trowa.

"I can't share a room with those two," said Wufei, "so you and Quatre will have to. Zechs and I can take the other room."

It was evident that Zechs was relieved because he let out a nearly silent breath. Trowa nodded slowly, and Wufei smiled. He stepped to the door without another word, and he was followed closely by Zechs. Heero was already moving Une into the closet. While Wufei doubted Heero would have done anything with him in the room, he wouldn't put it past Duo. Wufei just didn't want to hear that.

.-.

"I can hear you," muttered Trowa.

The sound of muffled giggles broke the silence, and Trowa was grateful to the darkness of the room. He really didn't want to know what the two boys across from him were doing. Not that he didn't understand, but he wasn't interested in listening, especially when he couldn't do the same with them in the room. He sighed and waited. Barely a second passed before another giggle sounded. This time, he could feel Quatre move. He couldn't help but be irritated that they'd woken him.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" Quatre asked sleepily. He had to fight his urge to look over at the other bed. He knew he wouldn't be able to see anything, but the urge was still there. "We have to get up early."

"T-tell th-that to Heero," Duo managed to get out amid giggles.

Quatre's eyes widened in his face and he sat up abruptly. He couldn't imagine what the stoic boy could be doing not three feet from where he and Trowa were lying. Then he felt Trowa's arm snake around his waist and he allowed himself to be pulled down for a kiss. He tried to drown out the muffled sounds. The noises were cut off abruptly, and he snuggled against Trowa, eager to sleep. Then there was a sharp hiss, and his eyes snapped open as both he and Trowa tensed.

"You bit me," Heero whispered. He sounded afronted.

Trowa choked at Heero's accusing tone. He suddenly groaned and lifted his head, pulling his pillow free and then pressing it down over his face so he nearly hid beneath it. His mind screamed at him that he didn't want to know. He didn't. Really.

"Well, don't put your hand over my mouth," Duo retorted, his glare evident in his voice. "Besides, there are better ways of silencing me..."

With a groan equal to Trowa's, Quatre lifted the edge of the pillow, joining his tall lover beneath it. Promising himself to never share a room with the pair again, he did his best to sleep despite the distractions so nearby.