Disclaimer: Regular disclaimer really. I am only writing this piece of fan fiction to practise my writing skills and to raise the awareness of certain deeds that should never be repeated through another medium. I own none of the rights to anything mentioned in the story following this disclaimer save for my OCs and the mobile suits the Z1 Respite, Z2 Constrict, Z3 Frustration, the AC Oblivion, the VII Sergei, the MkVII Liberate, the Y33 Gehenna, the DMF Gematria, the AA MkXII Vendetta and W0 Gunslinger.
Notice: Woot! I finally managed to get this sucker up! Sorry for the wait guys but it's been slow progress.
For new readers: This is a sequel to my crossover story between Gundam Seed and Gundam Wing. You should go and read it before reading this story. The other story is called 'Will the things I have done be remembered?' and can be found in the Gundam Seed section. Thanks for checking this out.
The hole in time and space
Duo looked up from the laptop and cast a weary glance at Cagalli. She was slumped against a wall, her own laptop illuminating her dozing features. He shook his head, his own eyes growing heavy once again. With a conscious effort he kept his eyes open long enough to see Heero a bit a way, still busy welding in the dim light. He groaned and closed his eyes to the glowing embers cast from the tool Heero held in front of his body,
"Aren't you getting tired Heero?" he asked his friend, his eyes scrunched tightly shut. Only the sound of the man welding met Duo's ears. One of Duo's eyes opened a crack. Heero was still welding. He frowned and leaned forwards, his eyes now fully opened to the world,
"Heero? Hey Heero! Buddy?!" he called over to his friend. Again, no reply. Not even recognition that Duo had spoken. The teen stood up slowly, putting the laptop to one side as he did so. He gazed down at the other teen for a long time before he noticed the twin wires trailing down from Heero's ears. Duo shook his head and gradually made his way down to his friend's side. Without any indication as to his intentions he pulled Heero's right headphone out of his ear. Quiet, tinny, music drifted up to Duo,
"… I don't know why,
It doesn't even matter how hard I try,
Keep that in mind,
I designed this rhyme,
To explain in due time,
All I know…"
Heero pushed the pause button, stopping the music instantly. He slowly removed his remaining headphone and turned to look up at his friend,
"What is it Duo?" he asked, barely holding back a yawn. Duo chuckled,
"I was gunna ask if you were tired or not but I'd say you've already answered that question." He said with a grin that slowly fell away to a look of concern, "You're tired man; it's time to get some rest."
Heero shook his head lazily,
"No I'm fine." He said before ruining his own argument by yawning loudly. Duo raised a curious eyebrow. Heero nodded slowly, "Maybe just for awhile…"
He turned the gas off and the bright blue flame suddenly died. Another yawn escaped and he stared upwards, into those lifeless yellow eyes. Duo shook his head,
"I still don't know how you got a hold of the parts. Some of them don't even exist in this reality." He commented as he too regarded the dark, almost brooding, Gundam in front of them. Heero smirked,
"You should know as well as I Duo. Only two things remain truly equal across all time and space. One, the infinite resourcefulness of mecha scavengers. Secondly, the equally infinite depths of human stupidity." He commented dryly. Duo chuckled and patted his friend on the back,
"Careful there Heero or I may just have to start calling you Troah." He joked. Heero didn't respond for a long time. He let his held breath leave him as a long sigh,
"Will I be able to be the same person again Duo?" he asked his friend as he continued to stare up into the eyes of the Gundam. Duo didn't need clarification,
"That depends. Will you be able to get over the pain of loss?" he asked, looking to the Deathscythe at the other end of the hanger. Heero nodded without a second thought,
"I think I already have. I don't feel the dull ache inside my very core anymore. But I still feel it when I think of her." He conceded. Duo nodded,
"Will you be able to forgive?" he asked. Heero thought for a few moments before nodding again,
"Yes. I think I could forgive him." He replied. Duo frowned,
"Million Dollar Question time. Will you be able to live with him and his 'position'?" he asked, already hoping that Heero's view would reflect his own. Heero spat on the floor,
"Not for a second." He fumed, his voice tinted with venom. Duo smiled,
"Plan A then?" he asked rather gleefully. Heero shook his head,
"No. Plan C." he replied. Duo frowned,
"Since when do we have a Plan C?" he asked, puzzled. Heero shrugged,
"Since I forgave him I guess. Plan C is that we avoid confrontation and finally get down to getting home." He explained. Duo frowned,
"You'd leave him be?"
"Yes… yes I would. I think that I can finally say that I have-"
"-never hated anyone more than that man!" seethed Kira as he paced the bedroom he shared with his Lacus. As she reclined, on the bed they had made good use of just fifteen minutes ago, she tried to keep her stomach under control while it lurched violently. Just thinking back to the sex they'd just had threatened to cause her to vomit violently. And maybe even follow Lacus' example and… no. She had taken up Lacus' life for a reason. To keep Kira's sanity intact. But with her fighting against retching and suicidal thoughts every time they had sex, she was sure he'd have started to suspect foul play but something had annoyed him so thoroughly that he didn't notice. Someone had gotten so far under his skin that even in the afterglow he cursed his name with an almighty fury. Heero Yuy. The man she had loved, and still did, was why Kira was never at ease. He was the reason that over three hundred operatives, both human and coordinators, were busy searching the known universe. Kira kicked the nightstand and it toppled, startling his Lacus into listening to him again,
"I want him dead for what he did Lacus! Not just dead… no… I want to kill him for the way he disgraced me!" he seethed before looking to see her staring at him expectantly. He scoffed slightly, "And for what he did to Meer's body. Of course."
His Lacus nodded, thin lipped, as she turned away from him,
"Of course." She said quietly. Kira sighed,
"Don't give me that treatment Lacus. She was my friend too. What…?" he stopped pacing, "Do you think that I didn't care about her?"
His Lacus shook her head,
"Please Kira. Let's not-" she began but stopped when the assorted items on top of her bedside table were flung across the room as one, many of them shattering as they collided with the far wall. A strong hand gripped her chin and turned her so that she faced the infuriated man,
"I gave her the biggest funeral this world has ever seen! I honoured her more than any of our other fallen comrades and you still have the audacity to insult me like that?!" he spat, his eyes slowly developing into twin balls of red light as the cyborg's anger escalated. He pushed her out of the bed roughly and towered over her with a smile that promised bloody violence and cruelty. He chuckled darkly,
"You may contradict me at every turn. You may try and take control over me but there is still one capacity in which you are useful." His tongue darted out, only to run along his teeth, "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. But this is your life from now on. Now… let's open up those legs…"
The pain ripped through Heero's body as he struggled against the restraints that held him pinned down to the examination table. The pain suddenly stopped increasing and began to fade to a constant ache as the drill was lifted from it's resting place a few millimetres bellow the surface of mid section's skin. Heero's head, the only part of him free to move, slumped back down onto the table as he panted, sweat dripping from his freezing cold body. And although it was almost completely black around him he saw a tall figure standing over him, only visible because the figure seemed to be an even darker shade of black than their surroundings. The ghostly figure slowly waved a hand above Heero's glistening face,
"Nice to see that you're not passing out like last time Heero. A chance for some intelligent conversation perhaps?" asked the figure, his accent one of a posh and well educated man. Heero didn't speak but instead slowly raised one of his fingers. Three guesses which finger. The figure shook its head and let loose a deep chuckle,
"Now that is more like it!" it cackled, stilled covered in the veils of shadow. Heero frowned in confusion, which brought on more cackling. The figure loomed over Heero until their faces must have been less than six inches apart, annoying Heero to no end was the fact that the man's face was still only a black mask of darkness. The man smiled and two rows of perfect, white, teeth split the dark face in twain like a white hot gash,
"You wouldn't be my friend if you didn't have that spark inside of you. The spark of defiance, even in the face of death. Only your past actions and that spark keep me respecting you. They are the only reason that I am still proud to call you my f-"
"Heero… wake up Heero…" interrupted a quiet voice. Heero's eyes were open before the man in front of him could finish blinking. He flung himself at the other man blindly, his once hidden knife bearing down onto the man's throat. The room's lights flicked on and Heero saw that his knife was held closely to Duo's throat. Shaking, suddenly very cold, he fell backwards, off of his friend. Duo chuckled a little,
"Now I'm thinking that waiting for your alarm clock to go off wasn't such a bad idea after all…" he said with a large smile. Heero shook wildly as shivers ran through his bones like electrical currents,
"W-why are you smiling?" he asked his friend as he tried to wrap himself up in his blanket. Duo continued to smiled,
"I'm just a bit touched that you kept the knife I gave you for your birthday." He said pleasantly. Heero regained enough composure to grunt,
"I kept it alright. I also kept the other gifts you guys got me. I kept the sword Wufai got me. I kept the pistol that Troah bought for me. I even kept the vest that Quatre made for me." He elaborated on the primal acknowledgement. Duo nodded,
"It's a good vest." He replied, "Must have come in handy."
Heero shook his head,
"Never got a chance to." He explained, "But a vest made from scales of Gundanium is very useful."
Duo grew serious,
"Perhaps you should give it to Cagalli. She will need the extra protection." He said slowly. Heero raised an eyebrow,
"We've been found?" he asked, not really believing in that possibility. Duo shook his head,
"No. A portal has opened nearby." He explained. Heero bit his lower lip,
"Is it-?"
"Identical." Duo answered the unasked question. Heero thought for a second,
"Kira?" he asked quietly. Duo shook his head,
"At least an hour away. But they will be too late to stop us passing through." Duo concluded, looking expectantly at his friend. It suddenly occurred to Heero that Duo would follow his decision even if he didn't believe that it was the right one. And if Duo agreed then Cagalli would agree as well. It was a sobering thought to have, and a powerful thing to realise. He was the one who would make the decisions that would either let them live happily or die horribly. He nodded slowly,
"Steer us home Mr Maxwell."
Duo smirked and gave a sarcastic salute,
"With pleasure sir. With pleasure."
