Hi there

An early post as my Christmas present to you as I thought I'd never get anything ready with the week I've had. I was hoping to get an Alternatives chapter up but if I'm lucky that will come along about the time of the New Year [cross fingers].

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and you keep safe and well through the holiday.

Take care

Karina

Bishi Pile Challenge:

Major challenge response: Veteran, Expectations, Time

Minor challenge response: Warriors, Rescue

Word count: 3,249

Series: Friends 2: Friends and Enemies

Author: Karina

Pairings: Zechs + Duo, Trowa x Quatre

Ratings: M 15+ [In Australia] Rated in the event of bad language and violence.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters.

Warnings: No apology given for Aussie spelling, but fair warning given.

Many thanks to Katie for betaing this chapter and to Deb for some quick feedback and Dragon Dagger who expressed an interest [grin]. Love you people.

Character Challenge: Quatre, Duo and Zechs

Chapter 9

Well, yes, he supposed he had to allow that Duo had a point. Just what about Zechs Marquise could be called 'ordinary'? The man was an enigma, pretty much a law unto himself. He should have died at least twice, possibly more than twice if he cared to look into the past of the man, which he certainly did not want to do… but he would have to, he decided, in order to answer some of his more demanding questions.

Marquise had an uncanny knack for survival.

Might that well developed survival ability be due to the existence, and exercise of, a psychic talent?

Ah, he had thought it. He had finally thought 'the' word he usually danced around when it came to Marquise; and even to his own ability. Psychic. It was a word that usually evoked a scoffing response from the scientifically learned community, who insisted if something could not be measured, monitored and dissected… it did not exist. The sceptics always had a ready and extremely mundane explanation for phenomenon that occurred, no matter how outlandish, how 'odd' that explanation might be.

It was only the 'few', people who, like himself, possessed a higher usable talent who did not immediately jump all over the word and point fingers and laugh.

He was empathic. He was sensitive to the emotions of all living animals around him. Animals… as in the human animal and other animal species. There was not so much difference between the human species and all other animal life on the planet, not really. He had learned with time and experience that in many ways it was the animals he preferred to be around. Their emotions were not so complex, not so easily and quick to change like quicksilver.

His ability did not work all of the time. He was far from infallible. Some days he was what he had once called 'normal', just like everyone else around him-dead to the deeper emotions of all surrounding him. At other times he could howl and scream with the overload of emotions that did not belong to him, always forcibly encroaching on him, demanding his attention, filling him with other people's desires, hate, joy, jealousy, love, lust, greed… Some days he could burst with the awareness and wish himself suspended in space, thousands of kilometres from the furthest colony, where there was no one and nothing that could encroach on him.

Where he could simply be himself in his own head

But he could not afford to be distracted now. This was not about him and when the input got to be too much for him to take. This was about someone else who might, if they were not like him, at least possess something, some ability, that could be fitted into that very large and misunderstood category loosely termed 'psychic'.

Duo was in there with them, Quatre had no doubt of it. He could feel it, he had felt the drive that made him act even when Duo did not understand why he acted-or what he was reacting to. That 'feeling', the need that drove him… but Zechs was not like Duo either. At least, he did not think Zechs' extrasensory ability would be the same as how Duo's talent presented.

Zechs surely would not have found himself caught up in the situation which placed him on that mountain if he had the same or a similar ability. Unless the man was too confident in his own ability to handle whatever came his way…? No. The man was too cautious, too aware of the dangers that placed a permanent target on his back. The Terror of Earth was no fool and would never ignore an itch that warned of trouble; he was too much a Gundam pilot to make so fundamental a mistake.

No, it was, it had to be, something else. Something infinitely more dangerous if what he suspected was true. What he could expect from Marquise would be extraordinary; not that any of what Quatre knew of psychic ability was what he could loosely term 'normal'. Marquise just did not know how to do ordinary, rather like Duo in that regard. Well, honestly, what Gundam pilot knew how to be ordinary?

Trowa, Yuy and Chang were all trying their hand at it. They were trying to be just like everyone else, normal people with normal jobs… okay, so not quite normal jobs, but the closest thing to it they could manage… and he was no better. He was trying to be a business man, a mogul of such power and influence that it could rock the ESUN if he got this wrong, but the truth was there was nothing ordinary about who he was or what he was.

Winners did not do ordinary any more than Peacecrafts did.

What did the world expect from them? What was it the world expected them to do, to be? How could any of them possibly live up to expectations if they did not know what 'ordinary' was? They were what they were: Gundam pilots. Teenagers trained to be exceptional in every way, good and bad. That was the truth, it was how things were, and the world needed to understand that. If those men and women in positions of prominence made the decision that he and his friends could not change and become just like the man across the street… What then?

None of them could be anything less than what they were trained to be. Eventually that decision, that damning designation, would be made.

Life was no less dangerous for them now than it had been during the war.

Marquise, Peacecraft, whatever he wanted to call himself, was tied by the same strings that bound them. Perhaps even more so than they, as he was the one who had threatened to decimate the planet and then had had the poor grace to emerge from the conflict alive. Alive and re-emerging to save the arses of the then incumbent politicians about to be deposed by Barton's bid for dominance.

The identity of the pilot of the Tallgeese III had not been revealed to the world at large, nor had the identity of the pilot of the white Taurus been announced. He knew those in charge of the government knew after the fact it had been Marquise and Noin who had held Barton until the Gundam Pilots had arrived on the scene, and it had been Dorothy Catalonia who had stirred the people to stand up for themselves. Both Dorothy and Marquise had been commonly viewed as White Fang and, therefore, it had been 'The Enemy' who had saved them from Barton's little revolution.

How embarrassing was that? It was no wonder Marquise had chosen to make himself scarce.

Leaving for Mars had been a smart move; it separated Marquise from those who might well have panicked after their safety was assured at the thought of the man running loose on Earth. They might have taken action on their own… for the greater good of course. The man might well have found an assassin's bullet with his name engraved on it and was it possible this latest episode might be a hold over from that past time? Whether it was or not, and Quatre thought not, Marquise still was a hot commodity.

After so many years what had really changed in the ESUN?

It seemed more and more they were walking in circles. They were condemned to repeating cycles already repeated a thousand times in history. Would mankind ever grow up? The expectations of change taking place after the war had proven to be a disappointment to him, but perhaps he should not be so hard on the world? Changes had been made, he could not deny that, but he could never forget that old fears died hard.

The people who had trained as warriors throughout history had long been segregated in the aftermath of conflict. War changed people and places and soldiers who expected to return to their homes and all to return to normal had not always settled well to the changes that had taken place in the aftermath.

Many soldiers who had survived the conflicts had succumbed to the shadows, displaced, dispossessed, losing themselves in despair and falling into ruin. Tragically not everyone received help to adjust.

After 'that' war… it seemed everyone on Earth and in the colonies had been affected. Seeing how close the Earth had come to being decimated… well, everyone saw it. Everyone understood how close they had come. It was inevitable people would lose themselves realising how fragile their lives really were. How fragile the whole planet was.

Marquise and Khushrenada had succeeded in throwing a scare into everyone and it would take time for that fright, and the anger that came with it, to work its way out of the politics of their civilisation. It had been what Khushrenada had intended, after all.

Eventually stability would be assured.

/It hasn't been a full decade yet. It takes time. We are watched because they fear we will take action when all we want to do is settle to our lives and be given half a chance of conforming to this world's future. By marking us; by forcing us to conform as they determine we should, they are making it harder for us to adjust. Duo is the only honest one amongst us. He has not, will not, allow them to force him to be what he is not./

"Yo! Kitty Kat? You in there? You've gone all spacey on me."

Startled, Quatre shook himself from his revere and blushed, offering up a sheepish smile in apology. "Sorry."

Duo snorted softly, eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his friend. "So what planet were you orbiting?"

He had to smile, just a little bit, at his friend. Duo had such a way about him and it appeared his moment lost in thought had seen the transition point between Duo being miffed at him and Duo having forgiven him.

"I was thinking. Sorry. Lost in times past, I'm afraid. Not good times either, though in some regards they were the best of times. They let me meet you, after all."

"Eh?"

"Just a stroll down memory lane, Duo. Forgive me, that was not why I went to such trouble to talk to you where we could not be overheard. You are quite right, Zechs Marquise is anything but normal."

Blue eyes narrowed but Duo seemed to decide not to argue the point and settled a little more comfortably in his seat as the trailer shuddered and rocked. Quatre knew Duo now wanted an explanation for the weirdness he had fallen into when he must have wanted nothing more than a decent meal and to fall into a warm bed for a few hours. Quatre would see he got that, in just a little while, but first they had to talk.

"You know about my empathy, right? About what we call the Space Heart."

"Yeah, I do. But it's not like you to talk about it."

Warning bells would probably be ringing for Duo and Quatre inclined his head, acknowledging the truth of that observation. "I know… but I think it's as good a place to start this conversation as anywhere. I am a psychic and so are you, Duo Maxwell."

Blue eyes, not a hint yet of violet, widened. "Say what already?"

Not quite the reaction he had expected, but that was nothing unusual when you were dealing with Duo. He was not what one would generally expect a survivor of the L2 streets to be, but he had had a few bouts of luck that separated him from the norm. Luck, Quatre mused, or was it, as he suspected, more than mere luck?

That 'go here' instinct might account for the changes in Duo's fortunes.

"You, Duo Maxwell, are a psychic. Some kind of a precog, I think."

"Precogwhatsits?"

He really was taking this better than Quatre had expected and that, given the company he had been keeping of late, might be an indication of events having taken place on the mountain.

"Precognition. It can take the form of dreams of events which later happen or it might be more vague, feelings, an 'itch' to do something or go somewhere." He loaded the later part of his sentence with a little emphasis, trying to get Duo to make a connection, if he had not already.

"Vague?"

"Yes. Vague. Something that might be like… uneasy feelings, a sudden certainty that you have to do something or go somewhere, or NOT do something."

He wanted, needed, Duo to pick up on past instances when he had acted for no apparent reason and had, as a result, survived. He needed to be suggestive but not overdo the leads. Duo was bright, he had a very high IQ and was not shy of using it. He had to have faith in his friend.

"Rather a handy ability to have if you are a Gundam Pilot."

"Shit, Quatre, if I could know in advance what was going to happen do you think I would have gone through half the shit I went through during the war?"

Well, yes, there was that, but he was not wrong. If Duo had the kind of extra sensory perception that revealed to him the secrets of future event then yes, Duo would have avoided a great many nasty situations. Precognition came in a variety of forms and strengths and he already was pretty sure Duo's ability was not of the 'dream' and know 'it' has to be avoided or changed sort.

"My space heart does not work all of the time. Why should we expect your precognition to work all the time?" That was a bit of an oversimplification, but sometimes it was best to keep things simple. They could talk in greater detail once Duo accepted he had this ability and Quatre was not a fool, he was not exactly expecting Duo would accept it any time soon. It had taken him years after all.

"You been drinking something besides tea, Quatre?"

"I don't 'drink' and you know it. I am quite serious, Duo. You have a precognitive ability. What was it that drove you to go up the mountain?"

"I… erm."

Quatre grinned, triumphant, knowing Duo could not find an excuse that would hold water. He could undoubtedly come up with a whole swathe of reasons, but none of them would be true and meeting those blue eyes now… he knew Duo knew he understood.

"It was the message. The anonymous message we received. The one that said Zechs was snatched. You forgot about that, did you?"

A good try, but… "Why did you act when no one else did? Why did you force the issue with the others? It was only reasonable to check before acting, as they wished to do, but you would not wait."

"With that weather front closing in? He's have died if I had delayed to check."

"True, but you might have been locked in up there, on your own for days, unable to come back down the mountain until the weather cleared. If he had been found to be at home, safe and sound, you would have gone for no reason."

"I didn't think you were one for 'what if's'."

Duo scratched his head, trying to cover the minute tremble in his hands at the very thought of Zechs being up on the mountain alone in that blizzard. Freezing the life out of him, leaving him to be found later, when it was too late. He was shaking? Why? In reaction to the thought of the man dying… of ignoring that… that 'itch' that he had learned to listen to? He had known. He had known without a doubt it would have been too late if he had not acted when he had, as he had. He had known Marquise was up there, as soon as he had set eyes on the warning.

As it was he had almost been too late. Almost.

"I'm not. The point is this is not a 'what if', Duo. You acted, decisively and quickly. Why? You acted because you knew it would be too late if you did not act 'then' and you knew, deep inside, that he was up there. You knew if you did what the others said that it would be too late to make a difference. That is your ability, Duo, that 'knowing' when you have to act. You live close to the edge; you have a fantastic survival instinct and you 'know' when you need to do something. If it is strange to others, even to yourself, you still do it. Even if it seems suicidal or just plain odd, it makes no difference, because you KNOW. You have learned to listen to that instinct. It's why you are still alive today."

"You must be on something, Quatre."

"I do not do drugs unless its caffeine based liquid, black as the ace of spades with a consistency that emulates hot tar and strong enough to curl your hair." Quatre grinned. "I am an empath. I can tell you that Rashid is irritated because Auda is playing the fool instead of concentrating on what he is supposed to do… the driver has an itchy leg and is annoyed because he can't scratch it at the moment… Sahid is hungry and wishing he had thought to slip a chocolate bar in his pocket and you… Well, you are irritated, uneasy, afraid, still with an underlying thunder of anger… and you know, deep inside, that I am right. The conviction is there, I can feel it. You just don't want to acknowledge it yet."

"I'm not psychic."

"Of course you are… and I think, after reading your emotions for so long since you joined me, that the fear I am feeling in you is based in something you saw up on the mountain. Something you… don't understand but… What did you see? What happened up there, Duo?"

He could feel a stir in Duo, his emotions picking up, clarifying as his particular talent sharpened to a rare fine perception. Quatre's eyes widened and he resisted the urge to put his hands to his temple in a vain attempt to block out the input that was not his own emotional response.

"You feel that I am trying… trying to make you betray…Betray… him? He asked you for something? No, not for some 'thing' but… to do something for him, didn't he?" The more he spoke the more he felt Duo tighten up against the intrusion, but it was Duo's intensity that was forcing his perception, not his desire to read his friend. "You saw something up there, on that mountain, while you were with Zechs. He 'is' a psychic! I was right, wasn't I? What was it, Duo? What did you see… or sense about him?"

Something snapped, like a rubber band stretched too tightly. It was a moment of pained awareness, a sharp rebound of emotion in Duo and Quatre almost flinched as he shared it. There was a hint of violet in Duo's eyes that Quatre really did not want to see.

"What did I 'see'? What did he want me to do? He wanted me to stay the fuck out of what is happening, that's what he wanted me to do!"

End

Karina Robertson 2010