Chapter 24

Duo sat in a chair facing a TV monitor and watched the people of Star Gate Command walk around the halls. The soldiers that were there couldn't help but notice him finally Rodney walked in and found him. "Don't you ever do anything other then sit around and sleep?" Rodeny asked him. Duo lifted his head and then gave a smile.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Come on, we're going to take you boys to a game called laser tag," he said

Duo turned his head to the side and then moved his feet from the table and followed Rodney out of the base and into a van. The other boys were there as well. They were all wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and t-shirts.

John looked at them, "now, General O'Neill, Rodney and myself has rented out this place for the day, we are taking several military personal, and later their children may be joining in on the games. This is a game boys, please keep that in mind. At first its going to be am everyman for himself, then team battles after a lunch," John said. "Scores will be kept and they will use your codenames and the rest of us their last names."

"Sounds easy enough," Quatre said.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "We are not children."

"Well, comparing ages, yes you are," Rodney informed him. "You are only a teenager."

They arrived at the game center. They dressed in the vests, the boys refused to have the elbow or knee pads. They looked at the room and walked through the circle like door and blinded at first by all the neon colors. They looked at each other, standing for a moment. "Scatter!" John said and watched the cameras. Duo and Heero bound up the ramp while Quatre, Trowa and Wufei went down the stairs and split up. Heero and Duo stayed with each other for a moment and then Duo turned to the left in a packet of walls. John watched them and looked to Rodney. "Begin," John said in the microphone.

Heero stood behind one of the towers, the music blared in the background and neon lights flared on and off. This was not the best conditions for a fight. He wouldn't let any of that bother him, he could hear shuffling around a corner, it was too much weight for Duo. He moved out and fired twice into the target, it was a soldier. Heero moved fast and jumped up grabbing part of the wall and pulling himself up, from here he could get a better look around, and snipe his opponents.

Duo had split from Heero towards the beginning. He was the best at hiding and moving silently. There were those who where just lucky, or unlucky in this case. While Duo was running around he had half the top floor map in mind. Always moving, it was not a good idea to stay in one spot for long. He came across four people, however before he could shoot one of them, their vest lit up, showing that someone else had gotten to them first; Duo hid behind the wall and looked. His eyes scanned the area from his hiding place. His eyes scanned up and saw Heero sniping, picking off who he can see. Duo watched for a moment but Heero turned to look towards him, Duo pressed his back to the wall and when he looked again, Heero was gone.

Quatre placed himself in the center of four towers and listened. He was more or less in plan site, but the way he used the towers to his defense was something inhuman. Moving around them with ease, as if he was use to fight around stationary items. None of the soldiers could really get a good aim on him, and his aim wasn't always spot on, but it was close enough, often times clicking the trigger two or three times before finally 'killing' one of the targets.

Trowa and Wufei found each other and they squared off. Unsure of who was going to move first. Their battle was at a stand still and then they moved off away from each other attacking the soldiers.

When the bell rang and the lights dimmed. The people of the battle walked out. Duo was retelling what happened, blowing it out of proportion. Telling them of explosions and the complete destruction of an Oz base that he had broken into. They shook their heads at him as they went to explore the rest of the games. Duo teased Wufei into going against Trowa in a game of Dance Dance. It took something for Duo not to start laughing like some mad person. When they finished, with a very angry Wufei, Duo took Quatre with him. Needless to say Duo and Quatre did better then the other two boys.

John and Rodney had left to get them lunch. The boys stood together in a corner, their faces fallen some.

"I don't think they did it on purpose," Quatre whispered to them.

"Yeah they did try and get us here," Duo said.

Heero narrowed his eyes. "I believe they want to keep us here for our Gundams, they don't have any of their own, and they want it."

"Rodney though was starting at Atlantis. They are good weapons," Duo said.

"That's the problem; we will have to destroy it before we leave, and all information containing the Gundams. Remember our first order," Heero replied.

"Anyone to lays eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it," Trowa answered.

Heero nodded his head and watched as the door opened and John and Rodney walked in carrying cardboard boxes.

"Pizza's here!" he called and looked at the boys.

Duo perked up and came bounding over in his normal happy self.

After their lunch the kids of the soldiers came in to join them. Most of them teenagers that tired to talk to the boys about music and tv shows. The boys had no idea what they were talking about but they were too polite not to tell them so. Then the game of laser tag started again, the kids were worse than the adults. It was something they knew was going to happen. Duo sat down on one of the walls and let out a sigh as Heero joined him.

"Its like shooting helpless children," Duo said.

"Because they are," Heero answered and looked down as someone pointed up to him with a gaping mouth.

Trowa joined them soon after and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked around at the battle arena. Quatre pulled himself up and sat next to Duo, and finally Wufei joined them. They watched as the kids ran around the room shooting at each other, the flashes of lights, the music and the sounds of the vests being hit didn't seem to bother them. They waited for the day to end.