CHAPTER FOURTEEN (Neph Champion and Kit and Sprinkles)
Harry woke up in a strange bedroom. Where was he? Where was his big brother? "Duo…" Now what should he do? He had to get back to Quatre! To Heero and Trowa! They'd get Duo out of this mess!
Could he do what he did again? Teleport to Quatre? Or Trowa? Duo and Heero had taught him to hide and about pressure point so…
He licked his lips and tried to concentrate, remember what he did to get to his brother. He had to get this right the first time or he would be busted! He remembered the strange feeling he had gotten as he teleported to his brother. Being squeezed, like a forceful hug and being pulled through a tunnel.
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated, on the feeling and on the person he wanted to be with. He didn't want to leave his big brother here but he had no choice. Instead he concentrated on Quatre. He took a few deep breaths before using the emotion that had gotten him here, despair. He had already penned a note to his captor, for his brother.
He disappeared with a loud crack.
The guards rushed into the room to find it empty. They called for Trieze.
xx
Quatre had just finished loading Sandrock into the plane when he heard a loud crack. "Harry?"
"Quatre?" Harry tackled him. He was trying not to cry.
"I've got you, Harry, Don't worry." Quatre was pained, Harry was despairing and Quatre was trying not to let it affect him. At least Harry was back.
"Harry, we are going to see Heero and Trowa, ok?"
Harry nodded. "Yes Quatre." He had been wanting to see Heero for a while. "Quatre?"
"Yes Harry?"
"I'm worried about Duo. What if we can't get him back?"
Quatre hardened his heart and eyes slightly. "We will get him back, Harry. Heero, Trowa, and I will not let them get hurt, or killed." It was a tall order but Quatre was sure they'd be able to pull it off, somehow. He looked down at Harry and tried to smile to reassure him.
Harry tried to smile back. "I can't wait to see Heero again, Quatre."
"I know, Harry. I want to see him and Trowa too." Quatre didn't have to force the smile this time. "Heero should be up and about by now. I don't think he will like what has happened but we'll see right? At least he still has you, ne?"
Harry nodded. He was safe with his brother's friends again. His brother would also be safe again soon, right?
Right.
Quatre ushered him into the plane with a smile. The little brother was back. His mood was already lifting. Heero and Trowa would no doubt feel the same. Their moral needed this boost.
xx
Back in the OZ headquarters Trieze Kushrenada was just getting word that Harry Maxwell, Zero-Two's younger brother, had disappeared from the room he had been put in.
As Treize looked over the letter that had been left for the boy's big brother, he observed the room that the letter was left in. There was no sign of forced entry, no sign of locks being broken in the attempt of escape, no open window, nothing in disarray. It looked as if no-one had been there in the first place. In fact, everything was in the exact same spot that the room had been arranged in, nothing looked touched...if he didn't know better, he would've thought that the boy was a ghost. Creepy...
Sighing in resignation, he approached the two guards that he had stationed outside the door.
"Gentlemen, are you sure that you didn't hear anything that sounded like the boy was escaping?"
"No sir." one of the men replied. "All we heard was a cracking sound... almost like a firework going off, and that's it. No other sounds at all, sir."
Treize nodded. At least that was consistent with what he had learned about the boy's arrival. No sound, no warning, just that he had appeared where his big brother was... maybe this was a new power that was coming into the war? What if the little boy had had some sort of experiment done to him that had changed, or given something to him, to be able to do this? There were only two ways he could find out, one from the source, and from his brother.
xx
As Duo came aware of his surroundings, he noticed that he was in the same place as he was last time that he had seen his little brother. In the freakin' torture room, waiting for some arsehole to approach him with more questions about his comrades' positions, what they were up to, where their orders came from, everything that they had wanted to know, he had refused to tell them.
There was nothing that they could get from him. He knew that he was slightly insane. After all – what Gundam Wing pilot was sane? He knew that he would break soon, and not in the way that the enemy was thinking. Shinigami would come out to play, and in the end, he would kill them all, but not before they had tried to kill him, and most likely, succeeded. But Death favored him. He was made in his likeness, and like any God, Death wanted someone to dole out his punishments to those who were unworthy. The other Gundam Pilots didn't know it of course, but they were favored by the God of Death too. They each had a skill that had led them to this path of destruction, of death, of justice...even Quatre had been favored, he just didn't realize that everything he had done so far was in the best interests of Death.
Duo also knew, though he didn't like it, that Death favored his little brother, his Harry, and sooner or later, Harry would need to become Death's instrument. In what capacity yet, he didn't know. But he knew Harry was important somehow. Until the time he was needed by the God of Death, the other favored would take care of him, train him, if he wasn't there to do so. If Death thought that he deserved peace, he would go in whichever way he could, and take as many as he could with him.
As the door to his cell opened, he wondered what it would be this time. More torture? Probably...or more questions that he wouldn't answer, followed by torture? More than likely.
What he didn't expect, was to see Treize Kushrenada come into his cell, a white piece of paper folded in half in his hand, and a completely confused, yet determined expression, on his face. What is that pompous jerk-faced ass doing here? I wouldn't think he'd pay me two visits in a row. Wow, I must be really important if he's coming here. Should I give him a proper greeting? Eh, why not? Wont live long anyway.
"So, T-baby jerk-face, what'cha doin' here? I'da thought you would'a been long gone by now. After all, you don't ever get your hands dirty, do ya? You leave that up to the jerk-morons who follow you around."
Treize sighed softly. At least he knew why the guy was so opposed to him, and at such an early age at that, but he really didn't like the language that this boy was speaking. Drawing his arm back, he slapped Duo across the face, hard.
"What's the matter, T-baby jerk-face? Don't you like my greeting? Or is it some sort of offence that my face still looks the same as when your goonies started in on me?"
"I want some information from you, and you will give it, understand?"
Duo laughed. "There ain't no way I'm telling you shit, arsehole. No matter what you want from me, you'll never get it."
"Hmm. That's certainly interesting. But, you see, I'm having a little trouble with your so-called brother. He disappeared on us. Not a sound, warning, escape route, anything, is visible to how he did it...except one thing. A sound like a sharp crack, like fireworks. Do you know what I'm on about?"
Duo shook his head. "Nope. Not a god damn thing. Sorry, guess you'll just have to wonder like we all do."
Treize sighed again. He really didn't like torturing people, of any sort, but he wanted those answers, and he would have them.
"Very well, Duo Maxwell. If you wont answer with respect, then this will get a hell of a lot more painful for you, you understand that, don't you?"
Duo laughed, and unnoticeable to Duo, Treize had taken a step back. The eyes had somehow changed, he didn't know how, but they had,
Duo finally stopped laughing, sneered, and said three words. "Do your worst."
xx
"Do you read me, Heero and Zechs?" The battle between Heero and Zechs had been going for hours. True to Noin's word, the search parties were kept at bay though it was because of Trowa. In the same token, it was Trowa who actually interrupted their fight. "Relena's plane just passed me. She should be landing in less than an hour," he said as soon as he had both pilots' attention.
"You let her past?" Heero asked in disbelief. The unibanged pilot knew his feelings regarding his current stalker.
Trowa shrugged, "I believe this fight is meaningless and if the only way to stop it is to send her in, then I am willing to do so. If you don't want to accosted, I suggest we get out of here fast. Oh, and before I forget," Trowa suddenly smirked. "I might have implied that you are rather…eager to see her." The link was cut off before the first cuss word could pass Heero's lips.
Damn Trowa to the darkest pits of hell. Heero thought. I will get him back for that.
"Is my sister that bad?" Zechs' voice broke into Heero's thoughts.
"Your sister?"
"Yes. Relena Peacecraft is my younger sister."
Heero's eyes widened. "Shit!" He exclaimed before he could stop himself. "Is everyone in your family as insane and masochistic as you two?"
Zechs laughed at Heero's outburst. "Is she that bad?" When Heero raised an eyebrow, the blond man explained, "She's my little sister. I'm biased."
"Everywhere I go, she appears, preaching pacifism, while asking me to kill her," Heero deadpanned. "You, at least, are more interesting because you just want to fight me to the death."
Zechs shook his head, his amused smile still on his face. "I wish I could make the excuse that she is just a kid, but I don't think Relena will ever understand this feeling, this need for battle. And, frankly, I'm glad she never will. Her innocence and naivety will be needed in the new world."
"Heero!" Relena's shrill voice cut through the airwaves. "I have a letter that explains how you should live your life. You're obliged to read it. Heero, did you hear me?"
"Damn it," Heero cussed under his breath as the girl kept screeching. He could see her plane approaching. He needed to get out of here.
Zechs sighed, "I'm guessing our fight will have to be postponed again." Alarms suddenly began blaring, indicating the approach of enemies as Noin's voice and several others began relaying information across the lines. "They're here."
Trowa's voice joined the foray. "Thirty suits in flight. A hundred if they unload the Aries units. Each of us should be able to handle thirty easily."
"No, wait!" Zechs ordered. "I'll attract them away." He quickly took flight with Talgeese, his laughter suddenly echoing across all channels. This move was intended to that his pursuers would hear his shout of "Glory to the colonies!"
"Zechs," Heero watched stunned as his rival risked himself.
"We'll meet again to continue our battle," Zechs promised as his Gundam began fading in the distance.
Trowa landed Wing Gundam next to where Heero had his own machine. "He'll be one tough guy to fight from now on," he commented.
"Yeah," Heero agreed. "Let's go." Once Wing's transformation into its bird mode was complete, Heero scooped up the Heavyarms' lost arm, and grabbed hold of one of his Gundam's feet. This would have been inconvenient if they had to travel a long distance, but thankfully, Trowa had stealthily secured one of the carriers from the Antarctica base during the night and stashed it in an outpost fifty miles away. They made it to the shelter in less than half and hour, and had the suits loaded up and were taking off within the hour.
As soon as the airplane was cruising on autopilot, Heero turned to Trowa and said, "What's wrong?"
Solemn green eyes met his gaze and held it. "While I was passing time up in the control center–"
"More like hacking OZ's database," Heero muttered under his breath.
"– I came across something you need to see," Trowa finished as if Heero didn't talk. Leaning forward, he brought the video file up on one of the screens and turned up the volume. "It's been playing on a loop on all the media channels, even those not funded by OZ organization."
The TV broadcast bragged about the capture of a Gundam pilot. They kept flashing Duo's picture and detailing how the boy was caught by the improved, computer-controlled suits during a space fight. Heero's breath caught when the reporter closed with remarks about the expected execution that was to take place in less than a week.
He turned to speak, but the words died when he say the look on Trowa's face. The other pilot understood. Heero was planning on rescuing Duo. "We'll hide Wing at Quatre's Brazilian estate," the green-eyed pilot succinctly planned.
Heero only nodded. They spent the next few hours in quiet. Neither talked when they set the plane to crash into the Atlantic Ocean and then used their suits to cover the last distance to land. It was only after they stashed their machines in the underground bunker at one of Quatre's undetectable estates that Trowa broke the silence.
"Heero," he called softly. When the other pilot looked up, Trowa continued, "Could you send a message to Quatre? He was supposed to meet us in Antarctica with Harry, but since there has been a change in plans…" He trailed off, but Heero understood regardless. Trowa sighed, and a bit of pain entered his eyes, "Also, could you warn him that the next time we meet might not be as…friendly. I don't want to surprise or hurt him."
Heero understood the message Trowa was trying to convey. He was assigned an undercover operation in enemy territory and, while he couldn't provide details, there was a high probability that he would be forced to interact with the pilots. He nodded, and the two pilots soon parted ways – Trowa to start his undercover op and Heero to plan Duo's escape and prepare to go to space in a few hours.
Heero tried to contact Quatre to tell him of the change in plans and to relay 03's message, but the Maganac Corps informed him that the blond had gone dark since he left and warned 01 that OZ was possibly tapping the frequencies. Worried and distracted, Heero left a message on one of the secure channels that he knew would reach Quatre and then left the estate. He needed to get into space and rescue Duo.