Chapter Ten

Duo POV

I don't think I've ever seen anything as horrific as Heero Yuy in the throes of absolute agony. Immobilized by straps, helpless, and at the mercy of the person controlling the mind control switch. It made my blood boil.

Trowa took charge of killing the scientist, Marsh, while I shut down the equipment. The visor of lights – a horrible device created by a scientist who found that the lights overwhelmed a person's eyes, and then their mind, enabling that person to be controlled easier – was the first to go. Vacant blue eyes that still reflected the myriad of lights, blinked.

"Heya pal." I said soothingly. He flinched as I moved my hands over the straps holding the tube in his throat. "It's okay. I'm going to take the tube out buddy." I unhooked the straps and gently began to pull the tube out. Heero retched as it moved, but nothing came up until the tube was out.

I dodged charcoal splatter as he retched up the liquid. I winced as his head jerked against the restraints I had yet to remove. "Easy buddy." I soothed, moving to his side. He flinched again as I removed the head restraints. His head lowered in obvious relief when they were tossed to the side.

"I'm going to destroy files." Trowa spoke up softly. Heero flinched again as Trowa moved by us.

"Okay. I'll be a while in here." I turned to soothe Heero, who began retching again. Trowa retreated and I concentrated on Heero. "All right buddy, I have to touch you to get you free." I warned him.

I started with the IV lines, gently pulling them out. He flinched each time I touched him. My eyes watered each time he did, and I had to steady my hands before moving to the wrist restraints.

"Okay buddy, I'm going to remove this crap from your left arm." I said softly. I slowly removed the cuff, wincing at the raw skin it left, then removed the electrodes from his skin. The little spots left behind were the result of irritation from the glue.

Heero kept still, breathing shallowly as I removed the other wrist cuff and electrodes. The tufts of fur that he had been fighting to keep from appearing, slid back into his body as he calmed. "That's it buddy. You're safe now, you can relax. I'm going to remove everything from your legs now. Hold still."

The cuffs and straps were removed with care, and the electrodes fell with light tugs. I coaxed him into closing his legs and tucking them underneath him. He trembled when I removed the strap connecting torso and chest to table. "Easy." I soothed.

I unhooked the strap above him, and slowly lowered him to the table. His legs slid out to the side and I let him rest on his side. I quickly removed the electrodes and the straps, tossing them to the side. "All done buddy."

"I found blankets." Trowa's sudden appearance made Heero convulse in fear on the table. I was quick to sooth him. Trowa brought a medium weight blanket over and I spread it over Heero's naked body. "Is he okay to move? The others are ready to blow this place."

"Yeah. You can take Scythe for me. He's by the vehicle hangar. I'll take one of the closed jeeps with Heero." Trowa nodded. "Okay Heero, I'm gonna pick you up buddy." Heero's eyes were clenched shut as I slipped one arm under his knees and another under his shoulders.

"Nnn…" He grunted as I lifted him.

"It's okay, I'm gonna carry you out of here." Heero's eyes opened and he stared vacantly up at me. I suppressed a shudder at the drugged, pain-filled gaze. "We'll get you home and patched up." I promised. Something in my tone must have soothed him further, because he tilted his head to rest it on my chest and let out a heaving sigh.

I followed Trowa out of the lab, careful not to jostle Heero too much. It couldn't be helped though, and he occasionally let out soft cries of pain. We made it to the vehicle hanger and I watched Trowa climb up into Deathscythe. Once the gundam was on I found a closed jeep with softer seats, and lay Heero in the back seat.

I wrapped the lap belt around his waist, and I had to grab him to keep him from flailing in fear. "It's okay Heero! It's just a seat belt, so you don't roll off." I soothed him. "I'll take it off when we get home." He whimpered, but settled. I loosened the belt so he could barely feel it, then climbed into the drivers seat and hotwired the car.

"I'm sorry buddy, but it'll be pretty bumpy." I said, glancing in the rearview mirror. He lay unmoving so I backed the car up and gunned it down the paved road. Once we hit woods and dirt roads, I slowed down to a crawl. Behind me, I heard the others open fire on the base.

The ride took longer than I wanted it to. I had to drive carefully over bumps, and even then Heero choke out a cry. When I saw the safe house in the distance, I sighed in relief. All of the lights were on, and the front door was wide open. I screeched to a stop in front of it, and carefully pulled Heero into my arms. I ignored the stains on the seats.

"We're home Hee-chan." I said as I hurried inside. Quatre met me at the stairs, and choked back a horrified gasp.

"The bath's ready." He said, and followed me up. Wu Fei was waiting, bag of herbal medicines at the ready.

"That's…." I nodded and set Heero down on the floor by the bath. The blanket slipped away to reveal a pale, bruised shoulder. I rolled up my sleeves and Heero flinched.

"It's okay. Wu Fei is here, he's gonna help me with some medicines." I soothed, tugging at the blanket. It wouldn't budge. "He won't touch you, I promise. He just needs to see your wounds so he can add the right medicines. Then he'll just stand back and watch, on hand in case I need something." Slowly the blanket slipped away. Heero was too weak to even bring his knees up to his chest.

"Damn…" Wu Fei swore, then knelt and rummaged through his bag. "Put this in first." He handed me a bottle. "All of it." Then glancing at Heero, who was staring at the bottle with that blank gaze, he told us what it was. "It's a light painkiller. It'll numb your wounds." I poured it in. "This is a light disinfectant. It'll get most of the dirt out." I poured the second bottle in. A third bottle was placed to the side and labeled as a stronger disinfectant we'd use after the initial bath. The fourth bottle was a muscle relaxant that soothed abused muscles.

"That all?" I asked as he zipped the bag.

"I have a cream to put on under dressings, but we'll do that in his room." The bag was gently shoved to the side. "You can put him in now." I nodded and lifted Heero up and into the warm water. He hissed as it hit his wounds, and I soothed him as he tried to scramble out. Eventually the painkiller and relaxants kicked in and he relaxed in my arms. "Let him soak for at least twenty minutes." Wu Fei said. "Get him in up to his shoulders if you can."

"Sure thing." I lowered Heero into the water, and he merely grunted as new wounds came into contact. He stayed relaxed as I let him soak, only stirring when I used a soft cloth to wipe his face clean of blood and the charcoal stuff.

When the water was tinted red from blood and grime, Wu Fei drained then refilled it, pouring more painkillers and relaxants in. Heero flinched when the Chinese boy moved, but otherwise stayed calm. "It's okay. Say Fei, can I wash his hair?" I asked, fingering the greasy mass. I was handed a small bottle.

"No-sting." He explained as he stopped the flow of water. I nodded and proceeded to wash the unruly mass Heero called hair. When I was done, Wu Fei handed me the bottle he had set aside before and half-drained the tub. "Wash the wounds thoroughly with this." I nodded.

Heero squirmed and flinched every time I touched one of the wounds with the cloth, but considering the torture he went through there were very few horrific open wounds. Bruises, rub marks and breaks from where the restraints held him, raw and open welts from a belt or strap of leather were plentiful. But most of the torture had been mental. And that would be the hardest to heal.

I finished cleaning the wounds and Wu Fei drained the tub. I wrapped Heero in a large fluffy towel and patted him dry before following Wu Fei into his room. The bed was made, the covers drawn back, and a med kit full of supplies was waiting.

"Almost done buddy." I said as I lay Heero on the bed. He whimpered and tried to pull the covers over himself but I gently pulled them away as I sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. "Let me bandage these first." I said.

I worked quickly. I smeared cream over all of the wounds I could reach, then bandaged them with gauze. His wrists and ankles were wrapped snugly with an ace bandage, the rest were taped on. One roll of bandage was wound around his ribs for support, and around the one shoulder that had been popped out of its socket.

I lifted him up to reach the wounds on his back, and he slumped against me. "Fei? Come help? Heero, Fei's gonna come over to bandage these so you can lean on me." Heero tensed when Wu Fei came over, and flinched when he was touched, but didn't struggle. Wu Fei was skilled in the art of bandaging so he was done in less than ten minutes.

"All done." He said in a soft voice. I let Heero drop gently back to the bed and covered him with the blankets. He curled on his side and pulled them up to his chin. He still had that blank look in his eyes, but the pain was practically gone. It left him looking even deader.

"All done now buddy." I said. "Now you can sleep, and when you wake we'll have something for you to eat." Wu Fei moved to pick up the first aid supplies and I started to stand up. I was nearly jerked onto my ass as my braid was snagged. A soft grunt and a quick glance confirmed that it had not caught on anything – Heero had grabbed a hold of it and was now looking up at me.

"I think he wants you to stay." Wu Fei said.

"Is that what you want buddy?" I asked softly. Heero nodded before burying his head in the pillow and shifting over hopefully. I sat myself back down on the bed, this time with my back leaning against the headboard. "Okay then." I said. Heero wrapped the end of my braid around his fist. "Fei? Bring me some food in a few hours?"

"Yes." He backed out of the room and shut the door. I shifted my gaze to look down at Heero, who buried his face in my thigh.

"It's okay buddy. I'm here for ya. We all are yanno? Remember when we first met? It was only weeks ago! It seems like I knew you much longer though. Trowa brought you in, they thought you were unconscious. I came out of the house just as you ran into Q-ball. According to Fei, his expression was just priceless. From what I could see of yours, it was as well."

When I brushed aside his bangs, I realized that Heero had fallen asleep. I smiled.

TBC