Note: My personal life may have gone up in flames like Duo's church during this no buffer gap, but it's over as of this chapter! Wrote my way clear through it. Fuck yeah!

The next 4 chapters were written many months ago. Then there's another undetermined gap, several more finished chapters, and then? I'll finish the ever growing wrap up! Starting today I'm taking week off work, with writing as a priority. When I finish everything, I'll go back to weekly updates until we hit the end.

This chapter includes events that may be difficult for some readers. Take care.

Chapter 80: Déjà Vu

When Wufei split with Duo, he steadied himself and raced towards where he would find the others. Keeping a lookout on the street, he saw the two large vehicles Quatre rented parked down an alleyway and kept running towards the addition built onto the old church. Heero, Quatre, and Trowa must be inside by now. For as long as the encounter in the shopping center felt he knew it was over fairly quickly. He doubted they arrived very long after the others infiltrated the building.

He heard gunfire before he entered the northern side.

His heart raced, wondering if it was the right call to let Duo go off on his own, but the level headed Preventer in him ordered him to stick to the plan. His friends, and presumably the hostages, were under fire. Not Duo.

And Duo, who never lied, promised not to die. As silly as it was, he believed him.

He grabbed his gun and held it at the ready, entering through the doors he knew were in Quatre's original plan. As fast as he could he cleared the living areas towards the first staircase that would lead to the dormitories. Before he got there three figures stormed down the stairs. He opened fire while he had the surprise advantage, hitting the man furthest up the stairs in the shoulder and intending to pick them off from back to front. The first target fell to the side, and Wufei shot the next man, hitting him above the knee. He pitched forward into the last man, and they both toppled to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

The men were slow to react, and to Wufei that meant they weren't trained.

Moreover, the way he easily handled them spoke volumes. They were restrained with little effort, and the two men he shot were crying and confessing before being asked any questions.

Hired for a blind hit. They all got paid, but anyone who killed one of the Preventers agents got a bonus, paid to them or to their heirs. That bonus was guaranteed, no matter if they were dead or alive. After seeing the 4th recruit shot to death, they all changed their minds. It wasn't worth the money.

Wufei had one thought. What the hell was going on?

He ran up the stairs and saw blood at the other end of the hall along with a body that had to be the 4th recruit. Quickly, he met with an intense-looking Quatre, who caught him up to speed.

Heero was shot.

Trowa was tending to his wounds.

They needed to get the hostages out.

And nothing made sense.

It wasn't long before he was leading Elise and the children down the second flight of stairs. It was less bloodied than the first. He left the building ahead of them, just in case they were met with resistance. No one was there. The run out to the alley where transportation waited was uneventful, other than several terrifying gunshots in the distance that sent Wufei's sense of urgency off the charts. They'd cleared the secondary building. Those shots had to involve Duo. There was no other explanation.

Elise organized the children into the relative safety of those vehicles while he was distracted.

When he anxiously turned back towards the building he saw Quatre running point, searching their path as Trowa followed several steps behind. Although he was told Heero was shot, seeing him unconscious and manhandled by Trowa was not something he was prepared for. That kind of vulnerability was not congruent with the indestructible man he knew from the wars.

"Satus!"

The look in Trowa's eyes told him everything. He turned to Quatre and barked orders.

"You need to go. Now! Take both vehicles and head to the nearest hospital. I'm going after Duo." He didn't wait for a response and took off, but paused when he heard his name.

"Wufei!"

He turned to Quatre.

"Bring him out alive!"

With a curt nod, he bolted back towards the building, noting how smoke was starting to billow from the church roof and hoping Duo wasn't trapped. He was still worried about the gunshots he'd heard, but refused to believe Duo would be shot. Those kinds of thoughts would only impede his ability to focus.

Running to the first doors leading into the church, he pushed them open. Instantly the haze of smoke warned him of what he'd find.

He covered his face as best as he could to protect his lungs. Before visibility diminished to zero or the flames overtook everything, he had to find Duo. There were really only two places he might find his friend: the main hall, or Sister Elise's office. Duo wasn't in the private quarters, and he doubted he'd find him in the kitchen or utility rooms. There was a chance he was out back in the athletics court, but with the fire not yet spread to those facilities it wasn't a priority.

"Duo!"

His lungs were starting to contract from smoke inhalation, and he found himself coughing as he rounded a final corner to the main hall and found the air suddenly clearer. He hadn't seen the interior before, but it was stunning. Duo told them on the way to L2 that he'd built additions to an old church, using their lot of land. Though the blueprints illustrated what he'd find, he was still surprised to enter the crossing of a moderately sized Neo-Gothic style cathedral. Though not made of stone, as few structures were in the colonies, the high ceiling with ribbed vaulting was unmistakable, even through the haze of smoke caught high in its grasp.

To his right there was a large and open rectangular space through which he saw the glow of a stained-glass window, but no signs of Duo. To his left were flames, rising high at the far end of a rounded apse. He saw Duo's silhouette, kneeling in front of the light of the fire, and ran towards him. On the way he noticed three bodies and checked them for signs of life. There were none. The men were hit with expert marksmanship. That only left Duo to contend with.

"Duo!" Wufei's voice was urgent. "Status! Where's—" When he was closer he noticed a child held in his friend's arms. There was no mistaking that the boy was dead. He gathered his wits and finished his question. "Where's Chevalier?"

When violet eyes landed on him Wufei felt them piercing through his soul. Somehow that look from Duo physically hurt. Between the emotions contained within those eyes and the flames reflected on their surface he wasn't sure just which was more frightening.

"I let him go."

Nothing about that computed, but there would be time to ask questions later. For the moment, the flames were getting stronger, and they needed to evacuate immediately.

"And now we have to go."

He tugged on Duo's shirt but his friend didn't budge.

"Duo! Move!"

Something passed through Duo's lips, but he couldn't hear it over his own coughing. Though the main area of the church was free of thicker smoke thanks to those high ceilings, immediately next to the blaze it was getting rough, worse with each passing second. Frustrated, he demanded his friend repeat himself only to have his heart drop when the words "it's all my fault" were finally loud enough to hear.

"None of this is your fault, Duo! But we need to go, right now! The fire is spreading, and I don't think the suppressant system is working!"

He tugged again, but Duo was unmoving, so he tried another tactic. The last thing he wanted was to throw an emotional punch at his friend when he was so clearly broken up, but it was the only way he could think of to get Duo out of the church. While he might give up on himself, he'd never give up on Heero.

"Listen, Duo. Heero's been shot. It's really bad. Trowa and the others are taking him to the hospital. He needs you. We have to go, now!"

The way Duo's expression didn't change made Wufei incredibly worried. The unmistakable cry of metal losing its structural integrity didn't help, either. Something was bowing under all the heat, and he hoped it wasn't the ceiling.

"They really shot Heero? It wasn't a bluff?"

"Yes! And we have to go!"

He was beginning to think Duo must be lightheaded from the fumes. The man he knew would race towards an injured Heero, not remain in this daze. Maybe Duo didn't think he was real, either. Wufei reached out a hand a touched his shoulder in an attempt to ground him. That seemed to pull Duo back a little.

"Heero. He's hurt?"

"Yes!"

Duo teetered to his feet, and Wufei tried to help balance him. He wasn't letting go of the body in his arms, but unless it proved to slow him down too much Wufei wasn't going to protest. As long as Duo was moving, he was satisfied.

"Can you follow me?"

Though he got a nod, he was afraid to scout too far ahead and lose Duo. If not for the fumes it wouldn't be so bad as they moved away from the main source of flames. Though the smoke was thickening, those tall, vaulted ceilings were holding it off well. But the fumes from an accelerant burned his lungs in addition to making the fire incredibly hot. He could hear metal groan again as part of the structure slowly became increasingly compromised. That the building was more responsive than Duo was terrifying.

He held onto his friend and rushed them towards the Southern doors. They were the closest escape route.

Duo followed him without much problem, though Wufei could hear his labored breathing. How long had his friend been in those fumes? He should at least be dizzied if not passing out. At one point Duo did stagger and adjust his grip on the body. Wufei had to step back and grab him by the arm to restart his journey to the doors and into fresh air.

That rush of air, untainted my fumes and smoke, felt amazing in Wufei's lungs. He held the heavy doors open for Duo, who brought the boy a few steps further, into the street, before lowering himself and the body to the ground to catch his breath. Noticing the bike they used earlier parked right outside the door, Wufei hauled it farther from the building before approaching his friend.

"We have to go."

"We can't leave him."

Though he knew he shouldn't be angry, that was what Wufei felt. Angry that Duo was not complying with orders. Angry that a child died. Angry that the situation felt so bleak. That anger slipped into his words, and he flinched at himself when he responded "Well we can't take him, either!"

Duo said nothing.

Frustrated, Wufei looked around, searching the area. They were in a neighborhood. People lived here. And though it was an odd hour of the night and they would largely be asleep, the gunfire should have caused some residents to awaken. Furthermore, the fire ought to draw some kind of audience. He spotted people looking to the street from windows, then he spotted a small crowd at the entrance to what looked like an apartment building. Without much thought he left Duo and ran to them.

"Excuse me, you live here, yes?"

A younger woman asked "Whatsit to ya?" with an attitude that clearly showed she was put off by anyone she didn't know speaking to her.

"We need your help. Do you know Sister Elise?"

A woman slightly older than Wufei stepped out from the group.

"Ev'ryone knows Elise. Didn't see her yesterday. What happened?"

"They were in danger. We helped them. Some of the perpetrators were killed, and two others were shot. Our friend's in critical condition and on his way to the hospital and one of the kids was killed. Can someone look after him until authorities arrive?" He pointed back to Duo. "We need to help the survivors but he won't leave a child, even a dead child, unattended."

"No. No fuckin' way I ain't stayin' with no body."

"I will."

A teenager in a robe emerged from the shadow of the building's door. "I'll stay with da kid."

The woman snapped at him. "Don't get involved! This isn't yer biz'ness!"

"Someone has to! I know them kids. I tutor some of them kids!"

"How'd you know he's not one of 'em killers?"

Before Wufei could defend himself the teenager rounded on the woman. "D'ya really think a killer woulda pulled a kid from church before it burned? Or cared enough to ask fer us to look after a body insteada leavin it in the street?" He turned to Wufei. "I don't wanna see no dead body. Made it this far without that, ain't startin. But I'll stay with the kid."

With a frown Wufei explained "You won't have much choice but to see him."

The teen nodded sadly. Then he got an idea and took off his robe. He was wearing only pajama pants underneath it.

"Take this. Wrap the kid, and I'll keep 'em safe til someone comes."

The thoughtfulness struck Wufei as yet another indicator that people on L2 were community minded. All the rumors he heard about the populous over the years were just lies, or information taken out of context. From the civilians who stood up for him at the shopping center to this kid, barely older than he was when he fought in a war, the people here were kind, and they provided for each other. He reached for the offered robe.

"I'll do that and bring him here."

His mind, working the adrenaline out of his system, realized something on delay. He met the young man's eyes again.

"I need to pull out some of the men who did this, too. The fire might spread to the secondary building. Think the neighbors will watch them until the cops arrive?"

"Them bastards? Fuck yeah." The kid turned to small gathering of people who were watching their interaction closely. "Who wantsta hold them thugs responsible?"

An older man spoke up, looking directly at Wufei.

"Them cabróns who went after Elise an' co?"

"Yes."

"Any time, any place."

Wufei noticed several adults fall into line behind the man. They didn't appear to be a gang, per say. They were more like defenders of their block. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad, and he didn't know if their bravado stemmed from knowing the hard work was done, but he'd take it.

"Follow me. They're tied up but you all can easily drag them out."

The men and women who rounded up the three hired thugs were not gentle with their prisoners, but Wufei didn't particularly care. He'd come to accept that on L2 people did things their own way. They yelled and cursed at the men, saying things about the community center, about the kids, about how no one gets to mess with their own. It actually explained a few things about Duo's attitude, too. As soon as everyone was back out of the building he ran towards his friend, the robe given to him earlier securely tucked under an arm.

A few seconds later he was once more next to Duo, who still cradled the child's body. The sight made him sick. His best friend was holding a kid who was missing part of his face and skull. His death, though instant, was brutal. Duo's entirely blank expression remained on his face.

No words passed between them as he gently began to pull the child away from Duo and wrapped him fully in the robe. Sirens were once again echoing in the distance, and it was becoming vital they leave before emergency personnel held them for questioning.

"Hey, Duo. A neighbor's going to look after the kid for us. We need to go. Heero, remember? He needs you."

With a shaky breath, Duo nodded and stood. Wufei assumed he would follow, and carried the child in his arms back towards the teen he'd spoken to. He laid the child gently onto the ground near the apartment building, and the teenager sat down next to the body, his back to the wall and his eyes never dropping to the bundle next to him.

"Hey, pig!"

Wufei tensed, then met his eyes.

"Y'ain't so bad, for an obvious cop."

"I'm not a cop. I'm a..." he lowered his voice "Preventer."

The teenager's eyes widened.

"Y'all are on L2 now?"

"Not really. This was a special circumstance. We became aware of the danger Elise and the children were in, and we couldn't sit by."

"Aware?"

Unsure of how much to disclose, Wufei simply told him "A friend of mine is from here, and is devoted to that community center and those kids. He asked for help."

"Huh." The kid looked like his whole world view was tilting. This was closer to what he was expecting from a colony still refusing Preventers presence. "Well... still a pig. But not too bad. Tell Elise... I dunno just tell 'er what ya already know, from yer friend. Tell 'er we don' leave our own in a lurch, 'kay?"

It took some effort to keep his emotions in check. What a very, very Duo attitude to display. It was hard not to be immediately endeared to these people who reminded him so much of someone he loved.

"I'll tell her. You have my word."

Wufei turned away to find Duo hadn't gone far. He was standing where Wufei left him, watching the church burn. When he got close enough to place a hand on his friend's shoulder, Duo asked quietly "It's happenin otra vez, yeah?"

"What?"

"How come I always haveta míralo quemar? Por qué nadie put an end to this?"

"Duo, you're not making sense."

"Claro."

"We have to go."

"Déjame."

"I don't understand when you don't speak English."

"Aprende español."

"Hey!" Wufei grabbed Duo and turned him around to look him in the eyes. "There's nothing more we can do here, we need to go. Now!"

Duo just stood there, looking at him blankly. Wufei suppressed a shudder. There was something very wrong about Duo being devoid of expression. It was unnatural. He increased his grip and tried again.

"We need to go."

"How come the suppressant systems never work? How come I always haveta watch it burn?"

Wufei wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but the way Duo said it broke his heart. His voice dropped and became tender.

"I don't know, Duo. But we're running out of time. Heero's been badly hurt. We need to go. You need to be there for him."

Without waiting for a reply he dragged his friend to the bike and ordered him onto the back. Unable to process what was happening, Duo didn't even attempt to hold on. Wufei had to reach for his arms and wrap them around himself.

"Hold tightly!"

Thankfully, he did.

There was something mildly comforting in knowing that his friend could still follow directions. Because as much as he believed Duo when he'd promised not to die, he was beginning to worry that Duo's promise only extended to his physical well-being.

Because something inside of him sure seemed like it died.