Disclaimer: I'm tired of making disclaimers. . .you all know I don't own the show or whatever so I'm just gonna disclaim when I put something in I haven't commented on before like a song or something. . .okay, I'm lazy. There! I said it. . .
Chapter 12
"Where. . .where have you been?" Duo asked, slowly walking over to her.
"With him. . .it's a long story." Rachel said, staring at Michael's back.
"Rachel. . .Rachel!" Quatre came running out to the lobby with Chang behind him. Michael reached for the doorknob suddenly, starting to pull the door open. Running to him, Rachel grabbed his hand, saying, "No, Michael, don't go!"
"Let go! You know I don't need the door to leave!" Michael growled, trying to throw her off. She held onto his hand as he let go of the doorknob, pulling away from her.
"Wait, please don't go yet, what about your sister!" She exclaimed.
"Shutup! Let me. . .GO!" yanking free, Rachel went flying back with his glove in her hand, hitting the floor hard.
"RACHEL! Why you son of a-" Duo raised his hand to him and glared into his eyes, but nothing happened, causing Duo's eyes to widen.
"Duo, what is it?" Chang said, curious as to why he was putting his hand in his face and doing nothing.
"My. . .powers aren't working. . ." Duo muttered, staring at the nervous looking man backing toward the wall.
"What?" Chang stared at him as well.
"They won't work. . .no matter how hard you try." Rachel whispered as she got up.
"What are you talking about, have they gone away or something?" Duo blinked, looking at his hand.
"No. . .it's not you, it's him. And. . .it's my fault. . ." Everyone stared at her in surprise, all except Michael who was inching toward the door still.
"What?" Chang exclaimed.
"So I was right. . .amazing. . ." Heero walked up behind them, eyeing Michael curiously.
"How did you know, Heero?" Quatre asked, remembering their conversation earlier. Shrugging, Heero said, "So how did he get powers?"
"It was an accident. . .look, it's hard to explain everything but right now we need to just-"
"Hey, where'd he go?" Duo said suddenly. They all turned and stared at the door, blinking in surprise.
"He just. . .vanished." Chang said.
"Who. . .was that?" Everyone turned to the hallway and saw Trowa staring at the place where Michael once was.
"Trowa!" Rachel said, staring at the emotionally drained man barely standing on his own.
"He. . .he looked like. . .Alyssa. . ." Trowa looked over at Rachel who seemed shocked that he recognized his face so quickly.
"Trowa. . .he. . .he's Alyssa's brother. . ." Rachel said, clutching the glove to her chest as a look of shock crossed Trowa's face.
"No. . .no, he can't have Precious, I won't give her up." Trowa whispered, running back down the hall to his room.
"Trowa!"
"So, Ms. Noin, what do you think of her? Do you approve?" The man asked, watching as Noin jumped down from the boarding platform.
"She's amazing, drives like a dream. I haven't piloted a mobile suit that flew so fast and smoothly, you've outdone yourself this time, Doctor J." Noin said, sounding breathless.
"Then you'll be wanting more?" The old man watched her through his robotic eyes, seeming pleased by her response.
"I'd like to take the prototype and the blue prints back to Preventors HQ, and you also, since you're the brains behind the invention." Noin said, glancing at him as she pulled the Velcro apart on her gloves to remove them.
"I'm flattered but I must decline, I have. . .other projects to work on."
"If you insist, then I'll be going."
"Oh, Ms. Noin?" Doctor J called out.
"Yes?" She turned back for a second.
"How is my little pilot doing?" With a grin, Noin said, "He's not so little anymore, and he's married. . ."
"Ah. . .he's finally lived down all that training. . .I'm happy for him."
"Yes. . .so am I." Noin nodded to the man and walked away, exiting the warehouse as he slowly followed, thinking, No more missions to the death, I suppose. . .you've got something to live for now. . .keep her safe, Heero.
"So, what's our next move? We've got three hostages as of yet. . .HAAA!" Chris said, swinging his sword to block Sara's attack. Clashing and quickly withdrawing to circle one another, they danced in opposite directions to wait for a moment of attack.
"Now it's time to let them know the terms of our agreement. Since they know who we are by now. . ." Raising her sword to her shoulder, she lunged at Chris, who rolled away and brought his sword around to slash her back. Quickly, she pulled out a dagger and blocked the shot, throwing off his blade as he stepped back a few paces. Her chest heaving from the practice, she faced him, her sword ready to defend at any moment as she continued where she left off, ". . .we must take the defensive and wait for them to make their move!" Chris advanced, bringing his sword down multiple times as Sara blocked every shot, backing up several feet before standing her ground.
"Right, but what if they try to use their special abilities? We can't stop them that way, they're ruin everything." Dodging her swing, Chris brought his sword around to defend his flanks and knock her blade away. They faced off again as Sara said, "I have a plan to keep them out of the picture. One of my eyes has been roaming around in this small town where we got word there were able men willing to join our cause, but he saw something quite surprising in a local grocery."
"What's that?" Chris asked, taking the chance to catch his breath while she talked.
"Do you recall the demise of the late Treize Khushrenada?"
"Of course, he died of a sudden heart attack, or at least that's what the press released as his cause of death."
"Never trust the news, Chris. He was murdered by one of the people we're fighting against; no one's sure whom. Everyone who was at the Victoria Base when it happened evacuated immediately following the tragedy, all except one officer that was unaccounted for."
"Oh? How mysterious. . ."
"Rumors spread that he was seen in several places after that, followed by a disaster every time and the cause of many people's lapses into comas."
"Interesting. . .so you think he's got some powers as well?"
"We'll find out soon enough, now won't we. . ."
"He's being brought in?"
"No. . .but once we have a little meeting with him, he'll decide it's for the best. . ." Sara grinned.
"You're so evil. . ." Chris said slyly.
"Why, thank you. Now. . .are you going to attack me or just play with your sword! GRAAAH!" Sara quickly advanced and clashed swords with Chris again.
"Trowa? Can I come in?" Quatre knocked on his friend's door. He got no response and decided to just go in anyway. Peeking in, he saw Trowa laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Stepping in, Quatre closed the door and said, "Trowa. . ."
"Sorry about earlier. . .my head's kinda mixed up right now." Trowa muttered, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.
"I can imagine. . ."Quatre walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge and leaning back, staring at Trowa intently. Trowa looked over at him, saying, "Was that really. . .Alyssa's brother?"
"I guess so. . .it's just as much a surprise to us as it is to you. . .none of us knew."
"Why was he here?"
"I don't know, Rachel said he was an ally. . .he ran off when he looked at me though, I don't know what was wrong."
"Really. . .didn't think you were that intimidating. . ." Trowa turned his head back, closing his eyes.
"I didn't either. Come to think of it. . .he did look like a face I've seen before. . .perhaps from back in the war. . ." Quatre mused, looking up lazily.
"I've seen so many faces, you'd think they'd all look the same by now. . ." Trowa moaned, folding his hands over his stomach.
"Yeah. . .I don't understand why we can't just solve this problem already. . .it's beginning to cost too much. . ." Quatre sighed, feeling the weight of the situation setting in.
"We're waiting for their next move, it's their turn."
"Huh?"
"It's like a game. . ."
"But most games, you take turns. . ."
"True. . .this was all their first move: the stolen money, the kidnapping. . ."
"So when is it our move?"
"When they hit the timer." Quatre blinked, not sure what he meant. A knock came on the door and Quatre hollered, "Come in!"
"Hey guys. . ." Duo stepped in, looking a little more awake than before.
"What is it?"
"Heero just got an email. . .it's from them." Duo said, his face full of concern.
"There's the timer. . ." Trowa muttered. As the two men followed Duo down the hall, Duo glanced at Quatre curiously, wondering what they were talking about before he interrupted. Quatre ignored his stare. Entering Heero's office, they found a few of the other guests present.
"What's this about an email? What did they say?" Quatre asked, staring at Heero. Turning to him, Heero said, "They've stated their hold on Asuka, Precious, and her escort-Hope, no doubt. A terms of agreement has been set and we've been given 24 hours to decide before they kill their hostages."
"What are the terms?" Trowa asked.
"Basically to give over the power Relena holds so they can take over the world and bring havoc to everyone's lives again." Duo commented snidely.
"Why don't we just go in there and take them back?" Noin wondered.
"They say they have a trump card waiting in case we try anything, I don't know what that could possibly be but I'm not sure it's worth risking their lives for." Heero said plainly.
"So what do we do, we obviously can't let them have their way. . .nor can we let them rule!" Chang said, sounding aggravated by this change in events.
"Ugh, this is so annoying. . .why do people keep trying to ruin everything!" Duo said, looking ready to hit something, balling up his fists as a growl came out of him. Rachel touched his shoulder and said, "There's no need to worry, good always comes out victorious. . ."
"But what do you think they meant by 'trump card'? What could they have that could stop us?" Noin pondered curiously. Rachel blinked and said, "They. . .they couldn't know. . ."
"What is it, Rachel?" Relena turned to her.
"Michael. . .he has the ability to block our powers within a certain distance and drain our life force through physical contact. . .could he. . .no, he never gave any indication. . ." Rachel mumbled to herself before turning to go.
"Wait, where are you going!" Duo grabbed her arm, feeling his heart skip a beat at the thought of her being out of sight again.
"I have to find Michael, before they do!" She said, disappearing and leaving Duo grasping air.
"No, come back!" Duo shouted futilely.
"I can't go back there. . .he's there. . .I didn't expect to ever see him again. . ." Michael mumbled to himself as he shuffled around his room trying to find things to do.
Stupid woman, cleans my home and leaves me with nothing to fix! Michael grumbled in his thoughts as he sorted through some papers he had left on his desk. As he stuffed the papers in a drawer, a knock echoed through the house and caught his attention.
"A visitor?" Michael whispered in surprise as he quietly pulled out a gun and made his way to the door. As he inched toward the solid oak door, he heard a discussion on the other side, drawing in his curiosity.
"Perhaps he's out for an evening stroll. . ." a female voice muttered sarcastically.
"Then go check out the woods if you have such suspicions. . ." A male voice remarked snidely.
Don't sound like they like each other. . .Peeking through the peephole, he saw the figures standing on his porch and didn't recognize either of them, a little wary by their mode of dress: All black. Tucking his gun in the back of his pants, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, staring out at the visitors casually.
"May I help you?" Michael asked, looking calm as he occasionally scanned the horizon.
"Yes, we're looking for a Michael Chamberlin." The girl said, looking at a clipboard, seeming to give a professional air.
"Sorry, don't know him. . .you must have the wrong address." He lied.
"Really. . .too bad, we had a cushy job for him, great salary and fringe benefits. . .you sure you haven't heard of him?" The man asked, seeming to be on to Michael's game.
"Nope, doesn't ring a bell."
"Well maybe this will help." Suddenly, he pulled out a gun, pointing it at his chest. Michael stared at it curiously and said, "Was I suppose to say otherwise?"
"We tried to be nice but you leave us with no choice. Either you come with us willingly or we take you by force; it would be more fun if you put up a fight but the boss wouldn't like that." The man grinned. Michael eyed them, saying, "Why do you think that I'm this guy you're after? Can't someone live out in the woods alone without being mistaken for some bum? The whole point of living here was to be away from people. . ."
"Sorry, but orders are orders, and this would happen to be you. . ." the woman showed him a picture of himself in an OZ uniform.
That picture makes me look fat. . .I never liked their uniforms. . .Michael thought as he scoffed at the photo.
"What's so funny?" The man seemed disturbed by his reaction.
"Nothing. . .that's a nice picture but it looks nothing like me. . .I think you should leave now." Michael said, his voice slowly dropping to a low and threatening tone. The man cocked the gun up menacingly, squinting his eyes as he said, "Is that a threat? Who do you think you're messing with?"
"I could say the same for you." Michael said blatantly. With a growl, the man hollered over his shoulder and the forest exploded with bodies quickly closing in on their location with weapons drawn. Michael shifted uneasily in the doorway.
"Now. . .what were you saying?" The man said, glaring at him.
"I was just going to get my keys and follow you. . ." Michael said, a hint of anger in his voice as he scooped up his keys and stepped out, following the 20 men escort down the dirt trail away from his cabin.
