Only half a chapter and then it's all mine! :) Also, I've created a poll as to what to do with Wufei - we're stuck with 3x4 and 1x2, so I'm having to decide whether to pair him up with a GW character, a HP character, or not at all. (or toss him into one of the pairings for a threesome...) I really don't care one way or another - so I'm leaving it up to you guys... mostly. I will take into account compatibility and the story plot as well, but I need something to start with.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, that scene a few chapters back with Duo and Heero is about as explicit as any of this is getting. I don't want to up the rating and I really don't like writing sex scenes enough to stick them in where they're not needed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (Me and Raliena)
Heero couldn't look away from Harry, still seeing the dark bruises speckling Harry's small torso despite the cloth that now shielded them from view, silently berating himself for not having examined the boy closer when he had allowed Harry to heal Quatre. How had he not seen the pain Harry was going through?
"Heero?" Harry whispered, his hands twisting the cloth of his shirt as he hunched his shoulders nervously.
"Yes?"
"Why's Duo mad?" Green eyes looked up, filled with tears. "I only wanted t' help! But Duo's mad... did I do somethin' wrong?"
Tears. Harry was fighting them, sniffling and blinking to keep from letting the tears escape his eyes, but he was just a child, a little boy who didn't understand how much he was cared for. Heero shifted in place, unsure of how to go about reassuring Harry of his own worth. Carefully choosing his words, Heero answered the questions slowly, "Duo is not mad at you, Green Eyes." That much Heero knew, his own anger boiling deep inside for the child that should never have had to learn to hide his pain so well, and for his own part in allowing Harry to take on the pain. "He is angry at himself for not seeing that your gift caused you such pain."
"...Why?" Harry wiped at his eyes.
Heero frowned, "Why do you not wish to see Duo in pain?"
"'Cause he's my brother. And-" Harry hesitated, wincing as he shrank away from Heero before continuing in a whisper. "And I gotta be useful so he doesn' change his mind. Nobody wants a useless freak."
Behind them, Heero heard Duo enter the room just in time to catch the last bit of Harry's confession, followed closely by Quatre.
"Harry..." Duo's face was stricken, horrified, while Quatre's face sang of pain, his hand clenched at his chest as his eyes filled with tears.
"Sorry! M'sorry!" Harry wailed, scooting back on the bed with only a sharp hiss of pain.
"Oh, no, no, kiddo. Yer not a freak! Yer not useless, yer my baby brother, got that? We're brothers! There's no takebacks with family, kid. Did ya even think that I wouldn't want t' see my brother hurting?"
The wide-eyed look in Harry's eyes was answer enough, but he didn't move, tense and nervous like a frightened kitten as Duo sat down on the bed beside him with the first-aid kit, his street accent fading as he controlled his emotions. "'Member what ya said before? You said if I wanted to keep you, I should, and you know what? I want to keep you, and I don't lie. So don't go thinking you gotta hurt so's we don't get rid of you, okay?"
Harry nodded, slowly and hesitantly, his gaze darting up to Quatre and Heero, as though wondering if the same applied to them.
"You are ours, Harry Maxwell." Wiping his cheeks dry, Quatre met Harry's gaze with the ferocity of a mother bear, his hands twitching in a way that indicated he would be wrapping himself around Harry if it weren't for the injuries he'd sustained from healing Duo. "We are family now, and family protects its own. We will protect you and keep you safe, but you have to let us. You have to talk to us, so that we know how to help you." At the mulish expression Harry made, Quatre continued, "what if Duo or I had been hurt worse? What if your small body hadn't been able to handle it? Do you know how much it would hurt us if you died?"
Eyes brimming with tears once more, Harry shook his head. "M'sorry!"
"S'okay, kid," Duo reassured, ruffling Harry's hair and pulling off his shirt in one movement. "Just... no more healin' until we figure out how it works, 'kay? And not at all without one of us there to watch."
"But-"
"No buts, and no healin'." Eying the light marks, and pressing his fingers against ribs that should have been bruised near to breaking, Duo exhaled sharply. "What the- it's almost completely fixed? Hey, 'Ro, take a look, tell me I'm not seein' things?"
After both of the other pilots had examined Harry's chest and verified that it was indeed mostly healed, Duo pulled Harry into his lap, holding him close. "Don't think this means you're not restricted. You went and got me attached, and I'm not gonna lose you because of something we'd have walked off eventually."
xx
My Pride,
The Hunters are angry that the Desert Cat and his Cub have escaped. The Cub must be kept away. If he is caught, the Hunters' tame Wolf will send the Cub back to the cage the Panther stole him from, the same one the Wolf allowed his pack's Cub to be sent to in the first place. The tame Wolf is caged, but the Pride must not approach him. The Wolf has the Cub's scent, he will know that the Pride has the Cub, as he knew the Lion had seen him. The Wolf must not know the Cub is with the Pride.
The Cub must be protected.
Trowa read through the message one last time. It was rather vague but there wasn't much he could do about that without giving something away. Carefully, he sent the coded message, encrypting it in such a way that only Heero should be able to decipher it. There was no such thing as taking too many precautions.
Once the message was sent, and all traces of it wiped from the computer, Trowa allowed himself to relax minutely. His Pride would protect Green-Eyes.
xx
"Harry Potter has gone missing."
Five simple words that ignited a riot. The "old crowd" had gathered at Dumbledore's call, and had predictably begun yelling and shouting, each trying to be heard over the others.
"Quiet!" Sparks lit the air so brightly that most had to look away for fear of being blinded. "Let the Professor speak." Alastor Moody grumbled, tucking his wand back into its holster as he took his seat.
"Thank you, Alastor." Dumbledore nodded to the scarred man, "As I was saying, Harry Potter has gone missing. He was kidnapped by men who left his uncle for dead. We will need every available resource to find him, before the unthinkable happens."
"Death Eaters?" Molly Weasley gasped in horror.
"Perhaps. It happened on the Colonies, and there was no Mark over the scene, but they may have learned discretion since the disappearance of their Master. As I have been unable to locate Harry with magic, it may be best to be on the lookout for a child with dark hair and green eyes. I would ask that a few willing volunteers travel to the colonies and search for him there."
"Are you certain he's not dead?"
"Until a body is found, we must hope that he is alive."
There was a horrified silence before volunteers began stepping forward to volunteer for the trip to the colonies.
With business concluded, Dumbledore dismissed them. All but one.
"Severus. You never answered my summons."
The dark man sneered in response, his eyes shadowed. "I have better things to do than to search for a brat who runs off without a thought for others."
"The boy no longer sees himself as Harry Potter. It is my fear that he may have been abducted by those who would turn him against the Light." Dumbledore twinkled sadly. "He is still Lily's son, Severus. And you may be our only chance to save him."
Severus's eyes narrowed, "What do I have that others do not?"
"You have experience in many of the Darker arts-"
"That time in my life is over! I gave up the Dark arts when I turned away from the Dark Lord. I will not take it up again." Severus fought the urge to take a step back as Dumbledore's eyes flared with barely restrained fury.
"The boy must be found. It is your duty to the Light to do whatever you can."
"You would have me in Azkaban for your precious Savior?"
"I would have you use your skills for the cause." Dumbledore paused, his eyes twinkling madly, "Only one not of the Light would refuse. Was your turning from the Dark merely a facade?"
It was all the Potions Master could do to keep from gaping at the older man. Only Dumbledore's word had kept him from Azkaban after the Dark Lord's fall, and the Ministry would gladly see him Kissed should it be retracted. His lips drawn and white, Severus snapped, "I will find the boy."
Dumbledore smiled benevolently, "Thank you, Severus."
His only answer was a sneer, before the dark man swept out of the room. Alone once again, Dumbledore nodded to himself. He would find Harry, and if it gave Severus one more reason to hold a grudge against his precious Lily's child, all the better. No one would keep the boy from being his perfect weapon.
xx
Heero carefully read the message Trowa had sent. Weighing up the risks he chose to print one copy, before eliminating all trace of the message.
He knew he would have to discuss the message with the others, but he would not let Harry find out about it yet.
Had J been present and known of the thoughts going through Heero's brain, he would have deemed his Perfect Soldier a failure. Heero not only had emotions, but was considering the emotional impact of things on others.
Though even Heero could not have said whether it was the effect on Harry or Duo that affected his decision the most.
xx
That night, after Harry had gone to bed (partially aided by the mild sedative Heero had slipped him), the four Pilots looked at the message their fifth had sent.
"Okay," Duo frowned, "Cub is simple, Harry. And the Desert Cat is Quatre. Hunters have to be Oz. Trowa is the Lion, though why I don't know… And I'm probably the Panther. But who's this Wolf? And what is a Panther?"
"You don't know?" Wufei was shocked.
"Didn't exactly have a lot of education," Duo shrugged, "Mine's mainly mechanical in nature. All chemistry and maths and physics. With a huge dollop of languages and weaponry. I don't know much 'bout animals."
"It's a type of cat," Quatre explained simply, "Black fur. Stealthy."
Inwardly Heero agreed with the description. He only wished he dared find out just how 'cat-like' the braided boy was.
"Wolf can't be Heero," Quatre carried on, "It almost seems like there's another person involved. One who has ties to both OZ and Harry."
"There is an on-going research project in OZ," Heero spoke slowly, as he tried to remember the details, "It is entitled 'Wolf'. I came across it a few years ago."
"What was it about?" Wufei pressed.
"Super-soldiers," Heero recalled, "All senses enhanced. They were trying to reverse engineer someone else's work. All Doctor J would say on the subject was that there were serious draw-backs that they would not be able to overcome. Therefore I shouldn't worry about it."
"Could this 'Wolf' be the original subject?" Duo cut to the chase.
"Probably," Heero nodded, "It would explain the high number of geneticists assigned to that base."
"And he just let someone give Harry away?" Wufei was slightly in shock, "He has no Honour."
"What do we tell Harry?" Quatre asked.
"Nothing." Duo growled.
"He has a right to know, Maxwell." Wufei countered.
"To know what?" Duo retorted, "That his parents probably loved him. And when they died their friends let Harry be given to those monsters? I don't want to keep things from him. But I will not allow him to be harmed either physically or emotionally. How do you think he will interpret this? As him being a bad kid. It would do more harm than good at this point, Chang."
"Agreed," Quatre nodded, "Emotionally, he's very unstable right now. And he will be for some time… When he's stronger."
"Not just emotionally," Duo came in, "Unless it is an absolute emergency do not allow Harry to heal anyone!"
"Why?" Wufei frowned, "Maxwell, the child shows great courage in defying what he has been told to aid others. You would interfere with that? He has shows great empathy and compassion."
"The injuries don't vanish," Duo sighed, "They're just transferred. They heal faster on him, but he still feels the pain... and it takes a lot outta him."
"He has a strong spirit." Wufei breathed in awe.
"That he does." Quatre agreed.
"So what do we do now?" Duo asked, "I mean OZ destroyed my buddy. Cattie's is gone as well."
"Nataku is also destroyed." Wufei added.
"So we're four Gundam Pilots with one Gundam," Duo summarised, "Great!"
"Soon to be two." Quatre announced.
"What?" Duo blinked.
"How?" Wufei frowned.
"Instructor H," Quatre smiled slightly, "Left me blueprints for a Suit called Gundam Zero. While I can never truly replace Sandrock, once he was destroyed I sent orders that Gundam Zero should be constructed… Before I was captured. The men doing it had the parts already. So it shouldn't take that long."
"Are you sure you can trust them?" Heero was worried about security.
"They constructed Sandrock." Quatre countered. "I trust them. They don't know who I am. Or where I am. We're safe."
"So we will be at half strength." Wufei sighed.
"Not for long." Duo smirked, "I didn't say anything earlier… But I guess there's no harm in it… I got a message from G today. Don't worry about security. Pestilence is canny. He said that he was sorting out my toys. He's fixing Deathsycthe and, knowing him, Nataku as well. We just need to wait for the sign that they're ready. Then we bust in and pick 'em up."
"And you didn't say anything because?" Wufei growled.
"Because I thought it was only my buddy." Duo fired back, "My problem. But you deserve to know. Yours is at stake too."
"You and Wufei need to stay in space," Quatre stated, "Nearby for when your Gundams are ready. Every moment they are in OZ territory is a risk. When word comes, you're going to have to move fast."
"We can't stay all together," Heero announced, "Too big a target."
"Agreed," Wufei nodded, "However Maxwell and I will need to co-ordinate our actions."
"Cattie," Duo frowned slightly at the blond, "You have a plan. What is it?"
"Through a series of links," Quatre started to explain, "I have received word that former Lieutenant Noin is seeking our aid in protecting the Sanq Kingdom. My suggestion is that Heero and I go there."
"No." Heero replied quickly.
"They need our help." Quatre countered, "They don't have any defences."
"No." Heero repeated.
"Noin isn't part of OZ anymore," Quatre declared, "She's in charge of Relena Peacecraft's guard. The Queen of Sanq."
"She's a security risk." Heero scowled.
"Noin?" Wufei sniffed, "She does not count as a soldier. She does not have the strength of will."
"Relena!" Heero almost spat.
"She's that Relena?" Duo gulped.
"You know her?" Quatre was surprised.
"She's a walking security nightmare!" Duo snarled.
"How so?" Quatre was confused.
"She drives around in a pink limo." Duo started to count off on his fingers.
"She's Zech's sister." Heero added.
"Really?" Duo was surprised, "Didn't know that. She's famous. She knows both Heero and I are Gundam Pilots… And she has a huge crush on Heero."
"How huge?" Quatre pressed.
"Stalker-huge." Duo replied.
"She physically assaulted Harry upon discovering that he might know my location." Heero stated.
"What?" Quatre exclaimed.
"She shook him," Heero explained further, "A small child dressed in duck covered pyjamas."
"We still should go." Quatre argued, "You may not like her. But right now… She needs us. She's becoming a beacon for peace. It's another way of fighting. Only with words not actions. Her actions are pacifist… But she doesn't realize the fires her words are starting."
TBC...