Chapter 6: Shadows and Shinigami

Duo looked apologetically at his blond friend. He was curled up on the couch with Trowa fast asleep. Duo felt bad for slipping tranquilizers into their food but he had been left with no choice. He had to go find Heero tonight and Quatre would never have let him leave. He pulled on his black snowcap and tucked his braid up in it. He silently slipped from the apartment and made his way to the parking garage where he had left his bike. Tonight he was going to get his Heero back.

(x)X(x)

Relena started kissing his neck and licking the shell of his ear trying to get a response from him. All she got was a roll of Heero's eyes and an exasperated sigh. "Relena, this isn't going to go anywhere. You. Do Not. Turn Me On!"

"I haven't even started to warm up yet lover." Relena purred as she slid down his body.

Heero turned his head away and tried not vomit. This whole thing was just making him happier that he was gay. If all women were as psychotic as this one then there was no way he could ever be in a straight relationship.

"Mistress."

Relena halted her downward progress and growled at the intruder while Heero thanked all the Gods he could think of for the interruption.

"What do you want? I told you I wanted nothing to disturb me." Relena snarled.

"I'm sorry my mistress but security believes that the Preventors are planning something. It would probably be wise to move your…guest before there is an attempt to reclaim him."

"Fine we'll move him tonight but know that I'm not happy with this set back." She stopped on her way out the door to whisper something to the shadowed figure before she continued on her way.

The shadow turned to follow their mistress and shut the door behind them, mercifully leaving Heero alone.

(x)X(x)

Duo brought his bike to a stop about a mile away from Relena's mansion and hid the sleek black street bike off the road. That was one reason he had brought the bike instead of a car; a bike was much easier to cover up. He pulled off his black gloves and smeared black face paint on his face before pulling the gloves back on. If anybody happened to look his way, all they would see was a shadow. Finally, he started his way toward the house and mentally ran over the ground plan he had memorized. Back when people had been making assassination attempts on Relena, Heero had done some bodyguard work and his laptop still had a ground plan left over for feature use. Of course Heero wouldn't just leave something like that lying on the desktop, it had been buried and protected so well he doubted that even Heero could have gotten back into it. However, Duo was a talented hacker among other things. The gundam pilots had to be skilled at everything they might have needed in a war. Duo's violet eyes narrowed in the near total darkness to dangerous slits at the thought of why this was happening in the first place. If Relena thought and interplanetary war was bad, she was really going to have nightmares now. This was war, it was personal, and Shinigami was coming specifically for her.

(x)X(x)

Quatre groaned as he felt someone shaking him back into reality. He immediately regretted opening his eyes when the lights made him feel like a semi had been dropped on his head. Trowa sat beside him waiting with a glass of water and some aspirin on hand, as he waited for the blond to sit up.

"What happened?" Quatre groaned as he grabbed both with a grateful look at his lover. "I feel like we had another one of our poker nights."

"No love." Trowa shook his head in amusement. "My guess is that Duo drugged us because I checked the entire apartment and Heero's and he's gone."

"I should have realized he would pull something like this." Quatre said starting to shake his head, wincing at the pain he stopped and laid back down on the couch. "We should call the others and have the sick bay ready at headquarters."

Trowa gave him a funny look at the last part and Quatre smirked, fearing to laugh lest it hurt his pounding head. "If I know Duo," he said throwing his arm over his eyes, "someone is going to come back bleeding."

(x)X(x)

Duo caught the comatose guard before he could hit the floor and alert anyone else to his presence. He didn't want to take anyone's life unless it was necessary, or unless it was that conniving bitch Relena's. That he would do for the pleasure. After dragging the guard to a remote closet, taking his Id and clearance card he hurried off down the hall. If he was thinking right and the ground plan was accurate then Heero would most likely be kept on the lowest floor. To get there he had to get into the ground floor of the house and make his way down. Relena was to smart to accidentally put him in a room with sewer or ventilation access. Footsteps approaching from down the hall forced him to hide in a room that was by him, he left it cracked a little so he could hear any conversation they might be having about Heero. Two people stopped right outside the door and started arguing. The first voice was familiar but he couldn't place it, something in it was different. The second voice there was no mistaking; it was none other than Relena Peacecraft's. Duo had to force himself not to jump out and shoot the dumb broad right then, she might say something about Heero. No that was an understatement; she was always talking about Heero.

"Look I don't care what you think. Heero is going to realize he loves me and as soon as he knows that all this will be over," Relena's angry voice announced.

"But this is madness, as soon as the Preventors have proof of this you'll be arrested and tried for kidnapping!" The second voice shouted back.

'Where have I heard that voice before? It's driving me nuts.'

"Look by the time that happens Heero will have come to his senses and he'll tell them that he came to me willingly," Relena assured. "Don't worry so much, I've got this all figured out." With that, she turned and continued down the hall. His blood was pounding so loudly in his ears that he almost missed the sound of a soft pain filled sigh.

"Oh Relena, when will you stop this nonsense and see how much I love you?"

This shocked Duo for a minute; someone loved Relena even though she was doing a criminal act for her own selfish reasons? Before he could do anything, the footsteps retreated down the hall and the second speaker was gone. Making sure the coast was clear he cautiously snuck back into the hallway and continued making his way toward Heero. If Relena had come from this way then he had to be close by. He quickened his pace when he heard a commotion coming from a room at the far end of the silent hall. Looking around the doorframe, he could see four people struggling with someone that was on the bed. A string of violent curses in Japanese told him that it was his Hee-chan. It looked like they were trying to drug him but he was pitching around so much they couldn't get the needle in without injuring him. Quietly he pulled his knife from the sheath at his wrist and snuck up behind one of the guards. He grabbed the preoccupied man and held the razor sharp tip to his throat halting all movement except for the thrashing Heero was doing; still unaware of the fact something was going on.

"Drop your weapons and lie face down on the ground or this one dies." Duo said letting shinigami take over. Heero finally stopped as he heard the voice. The relief in his eyes was unmistakable and unhidden. The other three guards did as they were told. Duo grabbed a syringe from the one he was holding. "Is this a tranquilizer?" The guard stammered a yes afraid to nod but barely able to speak for fear of dying. "Good now lay down like the rest." The guard did as he was told and Duo injected him with some of the tranquilizer. "If this was meant for Heero then a little bit on each of you should knock you out long enough to get out of here." He walked around and injected them all with a fourth of what they were going to give Heero. After that was done, he searched them all and found the keys to Heero's cuffs. Once Heero was free, he sat up and rubbed his wrists trying to get some circulation back into his hands. He stood up only to be surrounded by Duo's warm arms and the smell of his long chestnut hair. Finally, the American pulled back and grabbed his hand.

"We have to get out of here quick, I'm sure someone will come looking soon to see what's taking them so long." Duo said already pulling Heero from the room. He hurried along to keep up with the swift steps the former thief was using.

"Duo, thank you for coming for me." Heero said quietly even as he scanned the hall for potential danger.

"Don't worry about it, I love you so it's my duty to protect you. Besides I think I kinda like having you around." Duo said with a sly smirk, never slowing his pace.

They quickly got back to the ground floor and Duo ushered the Japanese man the window he had come in by. Heero lowered himself down from the ledge and dropped silently onto the balls of his feet with Duo not far behind.

"Quick we have to get over the wall and run like hell. I stashed my bike about a mile away from the entrance." They snuck across the dark yard and were almost over the wall when a guard spotted them. Duo pushed Heero up onto the top right as the guard started to fire. The bullet meant for Heero caught Duo and he almost let go of the rope from the blow. Heero grabbed his wrist and yanked him up and over the wall. Suddenly they were falling and then his world went black.

(x)X(x)

Heero sat next to the pale form in the bed with one of the occupants hands clasped tightly in his own. Other people would come and go but he hardly noticed them. The only thing that mattered right now was Duo. Duo had come to rescue him and now he was lying in this bed without any sign of life other than the steady beep of the heart monitor. Where was the light that had shone so brightly before? Why wouldn't he open his eyes? He had been so absorbed with a thousand questions and feelings of guilt running through his mind that he had only half heard Sally say something about blood loss and trauma from the fall. He vaguely remembered Quatre trying to make him feel better and trying to get him to eat but none of it got to him. His attention stayed solely focused on the angel lying in the hospital bed. He was afraid that if he let go for one second that angel would disappear and leave him forever.

Outside Sally, Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Trieze all looked in the small window in the door at the hunched and weary Japanese man clinging to Duo's hand. He looked like a mere shadow compared to how he had looked before Relena had taken him. Trowa tried to comfort his small lover as tears poured down his face. He knew Quatre's sense was letting him feel all of the hurt that Heero was feeling. He wasn't sure how much more the little blond could take before he broke down.

"I'm sorry guys, I don't know what else to tell you. Duo's in bad shape with all the blood loss he suffered, not to mention the injuries incurred from the fall. I still don't know how Heero got him back here alive." Sally told the somber group. If he doesn't show signs of improvement soon, Heero is going to be in a bed next to him from starvation and exhaustion."

"Trowa, there has to be something that we can do, some procedure that hasn't been tried." Quatre pleaded with his lanky lover. Trowa just looked sadly down at him and shook his head. Before they knew what was happening Quatre's eyes rolled back into his head and his body started violently shaking. Sally rushed over and tried to help Trowa keep a grip on the young man.

"Trowa what is going on? Is this normal"? Sally asked.

"No it isn't normal but I think he's having a break down from the stress Heero is putting on his sense." Trowa explained. "We have to get him out of the building quick. A hospital isn't the place to keep someone like him." Wufei ran over, grabbed the blonde's ankles, and helped Trowa get him outside to the car. By the time they got him there, his seizures had calmed down and his breathing was the slow even breath of sleep. "Tell the other's I'm taking him home, he can't be here with the state Heero's in. He may not look it but he thinks this is all his fault." With that, he sped away leaving a furious Wufei standing in the parking lot.

'How could the Perfect Soldier think this was his fault? Relena's the one who kidnapped him. Sure, Duo had some blame for going in there alone to save him but this is mainly that dumb bitch's fault. Someone is going to pay for putting my friends through this.' Something had to be done before shadows were all that were left of the Perfect Soldier and Shinigami.

(x)X(x)

Okay that's all for chapter six everyone. I hope you all enjoy it because I worked on it forever only to start typing it and completely redo it. It was originally going to be the last chapter but I didn't like the ending so it changed. It's amazing how you think of better stuff if you write it then type it. Well that's all for me I'm going to beddie bye for it is now two am and I have to go school shopping tomorrow morning. Au revior my dear readers and don't forget to review for me!

Rejected Goddess