I can't wait until I'm posting my own writing.
CHAPTER NINE: (Raliena)
Heero frowned as he came across Duo apparently meandering around the corridors of the school after the end of the school day.
"Hey, Heero." Duo smiled, "You seen Harry?"
"No." Heero replied bluntly.
"Good." Duo grinned, "Means he's getting better. We're playing hide-and-seek."
"Why?" Heero frowned.
Duo glanced quickly around and then pulled Heero close.
"Because one day it might save his life," Duo murmured, "I won't teach Harry to fire a gun or fight until he's older. But if he can run and hide… he'll stand a chance to get away if someone comes after me… I can buy him the time."
"Hnn." Heero nodded.
"And right now," Duo smirked, "He's in the ventilation ducts about three feet up the pipes. Kid learns fast. Only took me telling him once that people only really search at eye-level and below before he started climbing on stuff. The ducts, that was all his idea. Once he gets better, I'll teach him forty-forty-home. That'll teach him to move quietly and quickly."
"You're teaching him stealth and evasion."
"I refuse to teach him SERE." Duo stated, "He shouldn't need to resist torture. And I refuse to do that to him, but I can teach him Escape, Evasion and Survival. That should be enough."
"Pressure points." Heero countered.
"Why?" Duo was curious.
"Release a hold." Heero explained, "Help him escape."
"I'm not too good at those." Duo shrugged, "And I don't know if he'll remember them all. He's still only a kid. And I want him to stay that way... He's not meant to be a soldier, not like us."
"I will teach him." Heero stated, "He will learn."
"You don't scare him." Duo ordered, "You don't frighten him. Make it into a game. It might help."
"When will you find him?" Heero asked, realizing that Duo was purposefully stretching out the time.
"In a while." Duo shrugged, "I increase my ability to 'find' him as his hiding gets better. Tell him where he made his mistake. Only one at a time. And I congratulate him on fixing the last mistake, if he has. He's definitely improving. I'll teach him lock-picking tonight, after we go to bed."
A little pause, as the two boy-terrorists leant against the wall.
"I'd better get him down from there." Duo pushed himself off the wall. "What do you think I ought to pick up on? The slightly misaligned grill? Or his slightly audible breathing?"
"The grill."
"Yeah," Duo nodded, as he moved a chair to stand on, "He's getting better though. Didn't think he'd think about replacing the grill. Even managed to get the screws mostly done back up… Wonder how he did that?"
Duo's head disappeared into the duct. He quickly spotted Harry lying full length out in the duct.
"Found ya!" Duo chirped. "Good hiding place, kid. Real good. Next time make sure the grill is on straight - that's what gave you away. Well done on thinking high though. Come on! It's nearly time for supper."
"Why do you keep him?" Heero asked, having snuck into Duo and Harry's room.
"What?" Duo looked up from where he was trying to fake some homework.
"He would be safer somewhere else." Heero pointed out.
"I know that." Duo shrugged, "But just look at him, I mean really look at him. What do you see?"
"Hn?" Heero frowned.
"I see hope." Duo barely registered the non-committal remark from Heero. "I see someone who has never had to kill. Someone whose first resort isn't violence. But will use it to defend himself. If we do our job right… if we complete our mission… if we win, he'll never have to kill. He'll never be a soldier, like us. He'll never be a terrorist. He can choose to defend himself or others, as he likes. I see hope that the future might be a place where there are no more people like us… And no need for them either."
"Peace." Heero whispered almost reverently.
"Yeah," Duo nodded, "But that's not why I keep him around. I keep him around, because it's simple. Either I care for him and want him around so he stays, or I don't and he goes… and I care for him. I won't allow anyone to harm him, while I can still prevent it."
"Mission Accepted." Heero muttered so quietly that Duo could barely hear it.
"Thanks." Duo returned, knowing that more words were both unnecessary and unwanted.
"Keep him safe." Heero ordered as he paused slightly in the doorway.
"You bet, partner." Duo whispered, knowing that Heero would hear him.
It was only two days later that Heero downloaded the information about the next mission.
"Mission Accepted." He murmured almost to himself. A noise outside the door caused him to spin around, "Who's there?"
"I've come to say see ya," Duo sighed, as he leant against the doorway, "I've got a bad feeling about this one. This transport plan is good. As far as I can tell, they're going to be taking two routes, by air and by land… Heero? Could you take the air route? I'll fight them on the ground. We'll lose unless we have our own plan this time."
"Understood." Heero agreed.
"I hate to do this to ya, buddy." Duo breathed, "But if I don't make it and you do… look after the kid for me? I told him to stay here. If he hears soldiers coming here, he's gonna hide or run. Your pass-phrase is 'Mermaids'. It'll only work for you. You take him wherever you want. Just keep him safe… if I don't make it."
"Mission Accepted."
xx
"Damn you!" Duo stared at his screens. "Damn all of you. Because you bluffed with the colonies."
"We can't fight any longer." Black-and-Gold announced, before starting to retreat.
Duo didn't waste any time in copying him. Nothing could be gained by hanging around.
"There's really no way out with all this security." Duo muttered to himself, "Besides, to swipe a carrier I'd have to cross the desert to get to an airport."
A screen alerted him to some movement not too far away. Zooming his external cameras in, Duo managed to focus the image, revealing Black-and-Gold's Pilot. He was standing on a cliff-face and using a flashlight to signal him.
"That guy!" Duo stared for a moment, before deciding to see what the blond wanted.
Duo stared at all the brown and grey suits that were trying to merge with the cliff-face.
"We're in the same boat." Duo remarked, "With all those planes looking for us you're stuck, too."
"There's a large sandstorm coming." The blond stated, "That's when we'll cross the desert. Want to join us?"
"Yeah," Duo sighed, "I do. I could use some sympathy."
"I need time to think too." The blond nodded. Duo could almost see tears in the sapphire eyes.
Duo felt a little unnerved walking through the desert surrounded by Mobile Suits. He became even more unnerved when they spread out on the alert for something he couldn't see or hear in the storm.
"Crap! I can't see a thing in this sandstorm." Duo tried to control his panic. "What could be out here?"
"There's a middle east nations' military base unaffiliated with the United Earth Sphere Alliance or OZ, let's take refuge there." Blond appeared on the vid-com.
"A base?" Duo looked around, but still couldn't see any sign of… Well, anything. He heard the confirmations of the Brown-and-Grey suits that nothing was around.
The ground began to shake and open up just in front of them, barely visible through the sandstorm.
"An underground base?" Duo stared.
"Let's go!" Black-and-Gold announced, leading the way.
"H-hey!" Duo blinked.
"This base belongs to our Maguanac Corps' homeland." The Suit Duo had assumed was the leader of the Brown-and-Grey suits announced.
"It's your base?" Duo was starting to think that the day couldn't hold any more shocks for him.
He didn't emerge from Deathscythe immediately, wanting to assess where he was and the opinions held.
"We're to blame for not stopping them." Blond stated.
"Yeah, we're totally to blame." Duo agreed.
Immediately Turban leapt to blonds' defense, while Tall-and-Dark stated his intention to fix the Mobile Suits.
"Oh, and Rashid-" Blond started to speak.
"Yes, I know." Tall-and-Dark nodded, "We'll repair both Gundams."
"Okay?" Blond turned to ask permission.
"Just fine by me." Duo shrugged, "I appreciate it."
"I haven't introduced myself." Blond was apologetic, "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner."
"Winner?" Duo blinked, "You're the Winner family's heir? The influential and financial power of the Arabic Nations? No wonder everyone looks up to you around this place."
"Our family is all pacifists." Quatre corrected, "I disinherited myself to come out here."
"Yeah?" Duo stared, trying to get his head around the idea that someone would willingly give up everything… risk everything for someone else's benefit, "It takes all types, I guess. I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell. I might run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's me in a nutshell."
"Duo," Quatre rolled the name around on his tongue, "And the other was Heero?"
"Yeah." Duo nodded. "Oh Crap! I gotta go!"
"You need to rest." Quatre countered, "We both do."
"I don't have time," Duo argued, "I've got to be somewhere. I need to pick something up, I have to. Look, there's a lot I want to talk to you about, but I need to get…" Duo trailed off, not really knowing how much he could trust the Maganacs.
"Need to get what?" Quatre frowned, confused by the sudden turn in attitude.
"The most precious thing I have," Duo fired back, "And I need to get it quickly. I don't care if I have to leave Deathscythe here, I don't care if you tag along or if you send your men with me. But I have to go get it."
"Why didn't you keep it in your Gundam?" Quatre asked.
"It's too precious to risk in a battle." Duo replied.
"I'll come with you." Quatre stated, "Rashid, could Abdul and two other men come with us?"
"Of course, Master Quatre." Rashid nodded.
Quatre looked around at the woods around the school Duo had directed them to. It was early evening, the sun just beginning to set.
"You left it here?" Quatre stared.
"Safest place at the time." Duo shrugged. He looked around. It was the right clearing.
A tiny movement caught his eye. He smiled.
"Hey," Duo called out, "You want to go on an adventure?"
A small blur dashed from the bushes into Duo's arms, as the braided boy knelt down to catch the small child.
"Duo." Quatre only just caught the name slip from the child's lips.
"Hey," Duo murmured, "It's alright. I came back. It's okay, Harry."
"Heero." Harry sobbed. Quatre reached out empathetically and could sense the almost all encompassing grief the small boy radiated.
"I know." Duo nodded, as he started to rock the distraught child. "I know."
Quatre and the three Maganacs watched as Duo simply held his brother until exhaustion won out and sleep claimed the child.
Then Duo carefully rose to his feet, cradling the precious burden in his arms.
"Quatre Raberba Winner," Duo spoke almost formally, "I'd like you to meet the most precious thing I have in this Sphere. My little brother. Harry Maxwell."
Quatre blinked. "Brother?"
Duo nodded. "Well, he's not really my brother. I found him being beaten on L2 the night before we left on mission M. I couldn't leave him there, and when I interfered on his behalf the man charged us." Duo sighed. "I'll tell you the whole story when we get back to base and I put him to bed, okay?"
Quatre nodded. "Alright, Duo."
Duo looked down at Harry sadly. What had happened to Heero? "We need to get back to the base, Quatre. Let's go. We can ask him what happened to Heero later."
Quatre nodded. "I understand, Duo. Rashid, let's get out of here, we're in the open. With your brother with us, he's in danger right?"
Duo nodded sadly. "Heero and I have been teaching him how to run and hide and to use pressure points. It might have saved his life today."
Quattre frowned. "Rashid, make sure Harry here gets a nice room. Duo and I need to speak alone for a bit."
"Yes, Master Quatre." Rashid bowed. "I will also make sure that he gets a thorough check-up if needed."
Duo smiled up at Rashid thankfully. His little brother meant the world to him. If anything happened to Harry…
Later, after they returned to the base, OZ was in the middle of setting up the bombs. After OZ left, Rashid ordered one investigated. "What is it?"
"It's a bomb!"
"What kind?" Rashid asked.
"It's-"
Duo came running up. "If it's a time bomb, we just have to trash them all."
"We can't move them. They are set up so that they will go off if moved."
"Rats!" Duo looked at Quatre. "What do we do then?"
xx
Harry woke in a strange room. "Where am I?"
Duo looked in. "Oh good, you're awake Harry, the city is evacuating so we have to leave. You can tell us what happened to Heero later, okay?"
Harry nodded miserably. "Yes big brother."
Duo smiled. "It's a good thing nothing was unpacked, right?"
Harry looked up. "I'm going with you?"
"Of course, I don't know anyone here well enough and it's better if you're with me anyway." Duo grinned. "Ready to continue our adventure?"
Harry grinned happily. "Yes, Duo!" He hugged his brother happily.
Duo led Harry out of the room quickly. "There's a few people you need to meet little brother."
"Oh?"
Duo nodded as they arrived.
Quatre Smiled when they appeared. "Duo - oh, hi there."
Harry hid behind Duo's legs.
Duo and Quatre laughed. "Hey, no need to hide."
"Have you picked anyone to come with us? We need an extra person so that they can look after Harry while we are on missions."
Quatre nodded. "Rashid and one other will be coming with us."
Duo pushed Harry forward. "Harry, this is my new friend Quatre, he and two other's will be going with us on our adventure."
"Hi, Mr. Quatre, I'm Harry."
Quatre laughed. "There's no need to call me Mister Harry." He turned, "This is Rashid, he and another, Buunta will be coming with us, Just in case Duo and I have to be out working at the same time, okay?"
Harry nodded. "Okay!"
TBC...