The last chapter. It's kind of sad to see it end. Ah, well. Special thanks to my brother for his help with this chapter! I hope you like the last one. This chapter is also way longer then any of the others. Hopefully it's way better too...Review and let me know!
Disclaimer: Sigh My plan failed this time, so, for the moment, I do not own Gundam Wing.
Duo sat with his head over the back of his chair while his parents talked with the red-haired man. His name was Daniel Smith and he worked with William.
"Duo, are you going to drink that?" Arashi reached across the table and waved at Duo to get his attention. "Cause if you don't want that, I'll take it."
Duo looked around at her. He shook his head and stifled a yawn.
"Bill, maybe we should discuss this outside?" Daniel smiled coldly at Duo's dad. William nodded and stood to follow him out.
Duo watched as they left and glanced around. Arashi was talking with Solo and Mèmerè and Josephine were talking.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Duo jumped up and Josephine nodded to him.
"Don't get lost, Dear."
Duo pulled open the door and stopped short. A bald man in a black suit and sunglasses stared down at him.
"Uh, I need to go to the bathroom." Duo smiled up at the man.
"Rede, show Mr. Maxwell to the restroom." The bald man gestured at a shorter, black-haired man.
"Yes, Sir." The man pushed himself of the wall and motioned for Duo to follow.
Duo's mind raced as he followed Rede down the hall. "What kind of work do you do?" Duo asked innocently.
Rede grunted. "All sorts. Why?"
"Curiosity. Dad doesn't talk about it much."
Rede stopped by a door and pushed it open. "Here."
Duo stepped next to him and suddenly kicked Rede in the stomach. He fell over and landed in the bathroom with a grunted curse.
"Sorry about this." Duo punched Rede in the face as he stood and had to jump back to avoid Rede's kick. Rede jumped up and spun, kicking Duo in the chest. Duo rolled over onto his feet and caught Rede in the stomach. Rede doubled over and Duo drove his elbow into his head. Rede grunted as he hit the ground and didn't move.
"Not quiet what I was expecting." Duo lifted Rede carefully and pulled him to one of the stalls. He kicked open the door and put Rede on the toilet. "Hope you're comfortable."
Duo leaned against the wall and peered around the corner. The hall beyond was empty and Duo jogged carefully down the hall. He stopped and glanced around. A vent was on the wall above one of the doors and Duo pulled off the grate. Dust billowed out, making Duo cough as he climbed in.
His black pants muffled his movements down the vent but it still sounded loud to him.
"-not!" Duo froze at the sound of his dad's voice to his left.
"You're the only one who knows how to build the last piece!" Duo followed the sound of Daniel's voice to a vent ten feet down one of the corridors.
Duo's father and Daniel were standing on either side of a table in the middle of a white room. A few blueprints lay on the table and Duo strained to see. He swore under his breath as he saw what was on the paper. The plans for a Gundam.
"I don't care if I am. I will not make it."
Daniel leaned on the table. "You never struck me as a coward, Bill"
William shook his head. "I'm not going to be responsible for the death on thousands."
Duo decided he'd had enough and kicked the grate out. Daniel spun as he landed, swearing. Duo leapt up and hit him on the neck with a fleshy thud. As Daniel fell, Duo grabbed the gun from his holster and slipped it into his own belt.
"Duo!" Duo turned to his dad as Daniel hit the floor. "What are you doing here?"
Duo ran to the table and grabbed the blueprints. "Following a hunch. Dad, what are these?"
William shifted slightly. "Plans for work."
"Gundams." Duo breathed. "Deathscythe?"
"How do you know that name?" Duo ignored his dad and set the blueprints down, thinking hard.
"Dad, I can't answer that. Look, I need you to get Mom, and Mèmerè and everyone away." Duo turned to William. "You've got to trust me and tell me where this is being kept."
William shook his head. "Why? What are you going to do?"
Duo sighed. "This Gundam, it's not safe to have it."
William stared at him. "Duo. Don't get hurt."
Duo smiled at him as he left. The blueprints went in Duo's pocket and he left the room, leaving a moaning Daniel on the floor.
Duo whistled quietly under his breath as he dropped into the shop where the Gundam was being built. It was three or four floors below the main building and bustling with activity. Duo swore loudly as he noticed the other four Gundams. Ones exactly like the ones they flew at home. The black Deathscythe, the red and orange Heavyarms. Beside Heavyarms was the yellow and black Sandrock and next to that the green, blue, and white Shenlong (Nataku). Last was the blue and white Wing Gundam. A group of mechanics was running back and forth, working on a huge, humanoid mecha.
"Five Gundams." Duo growled. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
"Who are you?" Duo spun to face a brown-haired boy around his age with emotionless blue-green eyes and the barrel of a gun.
"Daniel sent me down." Duo smiled widely at the boy and leaned back carefully. "What's with the gun?"
The boy cocked the gun. "Dan doesn't send anyone down here. Who are you?"
Duo stepped forward, grabbed the boy's arm and spun around. The boy's gun arm landed on his shoulder and he drove his elbow into the other's stomach. Duo pulled the gun out of the boy's slackened hand and hit him over the head with it. The boy crumpled and Duo caught him as he fell.
"Dang, now I've got to hide it." Duo searched for a place to hide the boy and finally hid him behind some boxes. Once Duo was certain the body was hidden he turned back to the mecha. There was a wide, open area in front of the Gundam and it had its cockpit open.
"Hey! Have they got that part yet?" A mechanic yelled from the foot of Deathscythe.
"Nah. Apparently the man who's supposed to be making the part is getting cold feet." Another mechanic waved from near the red and yellow Heavyarms.
Duo scowled as he peered around the boxes. He adjusted his position, waited for the mechanics to turn away and sprinted for the Gundam.
"Hey! Stop!" One of the mechanics spotted Duo half-way to Deathscythe. "Hey, Kid, don't go there!"
Duo ignored him and jumped into the stirrup that carried him to the cockpit. A third of the way up and Duo swung away from the Gundam as a bullet grazed his shoulder. Four men ranging from their late teens to early thirties stood below him with guns.
"Good shot." Duo glanced up as the stirrup reached the top. "But not fast enough."
Duo threw himself into the pilot seat and smiled, the cockpit was exactly the same as he expected. "Where is it?" Duo shook his head and dug through a pile of odds and ends next to him. "Blast, it's not here."
Duo tensed as the Gundam rocked with gunfire. Duo swore and his fingers flew across the keyboard, activating the Gundam. The familiarity of it made Duo pause. The cockpit door was barely closed when the next round hit Deathscythe.
"G-get out of that suit!" Duo looked up surprise to see Daniel's face on the screen. "You dirty thief!"
Duo laughed. "I may run and hide but I never tell a lie! Duo Maxell! Dirty thief? I don't know about dirty…"
Daniel spoke into another screen. "I said get ou-"
"Oops." Duo hit the button that would cut off Daniel's transmition. "My finger slipped."
Duo laughed again, grabbed Deathscythe's scythe out of its holster and turned it on. Duo ran forward, and swung his scythe as Heavyarms fired another shot. His scythe bit deep into Heavyarms' gun. The gun didn't fall, but neither could the pilot shoot it. Heavyarm's shoulder rockets opened and blasted Deathscythe, knocking it back a few steps. Duo turned and his scythe cut across the Gundam's chest, leaving a gaping cut.
"Give it up." Muttered Duo as Heavyarms fell.
Sandrock attacked him next, pulling out two crescent bladed swords. Duo got his shield in between him and the attack, turning it and firing the shield. It caught Sandrock in the chest and knocked it back a little. A gun came up and fired at Duo who winced at the explosions.
"You dented it!" Duo jumped forward and cut at Sandrock. The scythe cut through the gun and into Sandrock's hand. Duo pulled it out and cut into the Gundam's neck.
Shenlong followed on Sandrock's heels. It held out its hand from across the hanger and a long chain shot out. Duo stood his ground and caught the blade at the end. He skidded a few feet back and turned, pulling the chain. Shenlong launched into the air, pulling a long pole off its back as it flew. Three laser prongs extended from the pole and the pilot swung it as he flew towards Duo. Duo caught the blade on his scythe and rammed into Shenlong. Shenlong staggered and Duo rammed it again. It fell with a crash and Duo drove Shenlong's spear into the head with a small explosion.
"That leaves Heero's." Duo turned to the last standing Gundam. The pilot hadn't moved yet, leaving the first move to Duo.
Wing Gundam pulled out its sword and charged at Duo. Duo's scythe came up to meet the blade and Wing stepped back, swinging low for Duo's legs. Duo grimaced as the sword cut into Deathscythe's leg. There was a shower of sparks and half of Wing's sword skidded across the shop's floor.
"Ha! I am great!" Duo punched the air and leaned back. An explosion rocked Deathscythe, interrupting Duo's celebration and Duo spun to see Wing with its gun aimed at Deathscythe. A flash of light and Deathscythe reeled from another shot. Duo growled and jumped to the side to avoid the next shot. It hit the wall and blasted through, letting a shower of dirt and rocks rain down onto the floor. Wing reacted to Duo's change of position quickly, swinging the gun around to face Duo just as he reached the other Gundam.
Duo grabbed Wing's arm and swung his scythe down as the other pilot released another shot into his chest. There was a scraping of metal on metal and Duo found himself on his back with Wing's arm in his hand. Duo grimaced as he pulled Deathscythe to its feet and flipped Wing's gun over so he was holding it normally. He rammed the gun into Wing's chest and fired.
Duo closed his eyes against the blinding white light of the explosion. "Sorry, Mom and Dad."
"-wonder if he'll wake soon." Duo kept his eyes closed, listening to the voice. It was somehow familiar. "He's been out for three days."
Quatre. Duo's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright.
"AHH-ow! My head!" Duo doubled up and clapped his hands to his head where a bandage was wrapped firmly, encasing the upper half of his head.
"Duo! You're awake!" Duo looked up to see Quatre's relieved face. Behind him were the other three pilots, all looking relieved as well. "You've been out for three days."
"Three?" Duo blinked. "That's it?"
Quatre nodded and Wufei spoke up. "You kept mumbling things. Names. Sometimes foods."
"What names?" Duo asked, still massaging his head, which had begun to throb.
"Dad. Mom. Solo. Arashi." Heero leaned against the wall. "Sometimes for us."
Duo stared at him. "Mom, Dad, Solo, and Arashi." He blinked and felt the world lurch as he passed out.
A week had passed and Duo was feeling normal. Already he had pulled four pranks, one included a stink bomb in the bathroom, and only gotten a few, minor bruises for it. Now he was standing in the kitchen door and watching Quatre set the table.
"Hurry up, Quat! I'm dying!" Duo tried to look as pitiful as possible as he staggered to the table. "Help me."
Quatre elbowed him out of the way and set a salad on the table. "You're not eating until everyone is down here."
Duo stared at him in horror. "You know they won't be down for hours! And then all the food will be cold, and doesn't it seem wrong to waste it all?"
Quatre glared at him and he slid off his chair. "Fine." Duo stuck his hands in his pockets and sulked as he walked into the living room. The other four pilots looked up from their spots on the couches.
"You're down here!" Duo whooped. "Come on! Quat finished supper and I'm hungry."
"Surprise, surprise." Wufei muttered as he followed the bounding Duo into the kitchen.
"Ha! Now you have to let me eat!" Duo flopped into his chair and smiled widely at Quatre. "So? C'mon! I'm wasting away."
Trowa shook his head as he sat down. "Quiet three days."
"And aren't you glad you've got me here to liven things up?" Duo piled some of everything on his plate. "Finally. Supper." He paused with his knife and fork poised over his plate.
The others stared at him as he lowered his head and whispered something. After a minute he straightened and dove into his food, the memory of a woman wielding a spoon and the words: "We haven't said prayers!" echoing in his head.
I have a couple of alternate endings and I might put them up if people are interested. I'm also considering putting up a sequel using one of the other pilots. If anyone would be interested, let me know, Ok?