so, this is what i've been working on for the past few weeks! i really wanted to work more on this story, and i wanted to see what would happen if i made things take a turn for the worst. i think i like this ending a lot better :D
ATTENTION:this takes place when Duo is hiding out in that closet in chapter 5.
Ethereal Life – Alternate Ending
Duo sat silently in the dark closet. His eyes had become accustomed to the small amount of light coming out from under the door. However, this only reminded him of the time he was captured by OZ and thrown in that cell. The thought of being locked away again terrified him to the very core; he had to avoid it at all costs.
Pain pulsated in his arm as he felt the wound bleed through the makeshift bandage. There wasn't much he could do except add more pressure with another torn bit of cloth. Tying the bandage was just as hard as before, but Duo was glad to find that the gunshot wound was finally beginning to clot and scab over.
After a few moments, he settled back against the cold wall. He tried to stay alert, but he inevitably began to doze off. Duo nearly jumped when he heard heavy footsteps outside his closet.
The former pilot tried to stay as silent as possible, hoping with all he had that they did not open the door. He quietly drew his gun, pointing it up, ready to fire.
He knew for sure that the thunderous pounding of his heart would alert them to where he hid, but it did not. After a few moments, Duo heard someone say, "It's locked. There's no way he could 'a gotten in here. Let's go look somewhere else."
"Wait a moment, that closet there might be open; he might be in there," Oh no! They were going to find him!
Duo stiffened even more, if that was possible, and tried to stand. He scooted over, trying to position himself so that he could shoot at the soldiers the second they opened the door.
The former pilot heard the knob turn; the fear, the need to escape was killing him. The door opened and Duo shot with all he had.
One guard went down, then two. There were two left and he was out of bullets; he couldn't take the time to reload his gun, not now.
Panic washed over Duo as he shot forward, ramming into the soldier closest to him.
The former pilot pushed the man past the other, knowing he was headed directly towards the stairs. The soldier lost his balance and fell, pulling Duo down with him.
At one point on the way, tumbling down the flight of stairs, something very hard struck Duo in the head. His grip on the soldier instantly loosened, stars dancing across his vision.
When the world finally came to a standstill, the former pilot was too dazed to get up and run, as was the soldier that fell with him. However, the guard he had pushed past now loomed over him, gun pointed directly between Duo's eyes.
The soldier that fell sat up dazedly, hand on the side of his face. He looked to see the former pilot sprawled on his back, a small pool of blood forming beneath his head.
The unscathed guard holstered his gun, walking over to crouch at Duo's side. He waved his hand in front of the former pilot's unfocused, violet eyes; there was no reaction.
"Look at 'im Kev', out cold," the soldier grabbed Duo's braid, roughly pulling him up. The former pilot instinctively winced, but it wasn't enough to wake him up.
The other guard, Kevin, waited a moment before responding, getting over the last of his dizziness, "Well I can certainly understand why…! Heh, well we better get him back to the Colonel before he comes to."
Kevin the OZ soldier stood up, wobbling slightly, "Can you take 'im Chris? I don't think I'll be able to do much for awhile after that…"
"Yeah, no problem; and just be glad you didn't end up like the other two," Chris looked sideways up the stairs; a silent respect to the two soldiers that Duo had killed. The soldier lifted the former pilot up, insensitively slinging him over his shoulder.
--
The two soldiers made their way to the front of the school, one of the pair carrying Duo.
"We've captured him, sir," said the guard.
"Excellent job, men!" complemented Colonel Berry. The man watched with an evil smirk as the soldiers loaded the former pilot into one of their many vehicles, not being gentle with his unconscious body in the least.
He'd finally be able to get his revenge.
--
By the time school got out, the soldiers were already gone. They had succeeded.
Students filled the halls, hurrying to get home.
Dianne, however, waited alone. She sat at a table out in the lunch area, thinking of all the possible places Duo could be hiding, given he was still on campus.
Her heart clenched at the possibility that he had been captured; and what terrors lay ahead for him if he had. She forced herself not to think of that.
Dianne waited an hour or so before she went looking for her lost friend.
She looked in the theater, the locker room, that weird little crawlspace by the gym, here, there. But she didn't find him. Finally, as she walked down the main hall, it dawned on her. The tower room!
Quickly, quietly, Dianne made her way up the old stairs to the remains of the building's second story. She tried the door of the tower room, finding it locked. However, she was clever enough to not disregard the closet as well.
She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted. The door opened… she sighed.
It was empty.
However, upon closer inspection, Dianne spotted a few drops of blood on the floor.
It had to be Duo, he had gotten hurt escaping the English classroom, and this was where he came to hide. She just knew it.
Dianne took a step back and took a deep breath; she could smell something heavy in the air, no doubt blood. Blood and sheer terror.
Shaking her head, she turned and headed to her locker. She had taken Duo's backpack after English class and stored it there, and now she knew that it would come in handy.
Dianne took the black bag into the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls. She then began to search through Duo's backpack, hoping to find his keys or anything that would help her.
Smiling, she pulled out Duo's house keys; this was exactly what she needed. Now she could get into his apartment and find someway to contact his friend Heero, and rally up a search party.
--
Dianne entered Duo's apartment. The place looked exactly the same as it had a few days ago.
She walked into his room, opening up his computer. She stared at the login screen for a moment; what could his password be?
She tried 'Shinigami,' but that didn't work. It just seemed too obvious for that to be it.
Dianne thought and thought and thought. Finally, something came to her. It was a stretch, but it just might work.
She typed it in and, low and behold, the computer accepted the password.
'gundampilot02'
Something in her head had just clicked; Duo's interest in the Gundam pilots when they watched the news together last night, how he had barely hidden a laugh when she mentioned pilot 02, all his scars, how he had such amazing fighting skills… it was all making sense now.
He had been fighting in the war, yes, just not on the side she had assumed… only now she understood.
Dianne blinked, regaining focus. She opened up his email and looked for his contact list. It took her a moment to find it; the program was very confusing, probably to scare off anyone who had hacked into the machine from finding information on him.
However, after a few minutes of determined searching through all the tabs and whatnot, she found a short list of contacts. There were a total of five names on the list: Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and someone called Professor G.
She opened Heero's file and read its contents. It had his email, yes, but what she was really looking for was a phone number.
"Aha!" Dianne quickly pulled out her phone and dialed the number she saw on the screen.
"Yes…?" whoever picked up sounded like they had just been asleep.
"Um… Is this Duo's friend, Heero?" Dianne stuttered; she never actually thought about what to say.
The person on the other line was instantly awake, yet he tried to hide his surprise, "It is, but how do you know who I am? How did you get this number?!"
She took a deep breath, "All that doesn't matter right now. What's important is I need you to get here as soon as possible… Duo's been captured by those soldiers… please, you have to help him!"
There was no way Heero could hide his shock now, even through his monotone, "Duo what?! Damn it!" he sighed, "Alright… I'm not supposed to, but I'll help you out. I'll find your location from the cell-phone signal and I'll be there in a few hours. Wait for me to get there. And don't try to do anything on your own; calling me on an insecure line was bad enough."
With that, the line went dead and Dianne gasped, her plan had actually worked!
Dianne closed Duo's laptop and went to sit on his bed. She looked around the room, it was so plain. Just a bed and a dresser and a computer; no posters, no fancy lamps, no nothing.
--
Dianne waited at Duo's apartment well into the night. She had dozed off on the bed when she heard the front door open in the other room. A quick glance at the clock told her it was already morning.
She walked out of the bedroom to see a boy about Duo's age with brown disheveled hair. He wore a baggy, green tank top and dark spandex shorts. He looked incredibly tired, despite his deathly serious cobalt stare.
This was Heero Yuy.
--
Heero sat up in bed, still holding his phone. He was shocked at the news he had just received; he could hardly believe it.
Duo had gotten himself captured again. Heero had to get his friend out of there, but doing so would risk his own discovery… the Japanese pilot decided that saving Duo was more important.
Shaking his head, Heero stood and went to his ever-present laptop. He hooked up his cell phone and used one of his many homemade programs to find exactly where the girl had called from.
--
Heero grumbled something along the lines of "Omae o korosu" as he boarded the plane to America.
If his calculations were correct, which they always were, he would be arriving where the girl had called him from at about the same time he got the call from her in his apartment. This was going to be a hell of a long trip.
--
"Y-you're Heero?" asked Dianne as she walked into the room.
He nodded, "Yes. And who are you and how do you know Duo?" he took a few steps toward her, looking somewhat menacing.
"I-I'm Dianne Roth… me and Duo are friends at school…" she took a hesitant step back.
Heero sighed, he should have known that Duo would go ahead and make himself known. He bet that this girl even knew that Duo was a Gundam pilot. However, Heero wasn't admonishing Duo's telling her, he knew it was a major part of the American teen's personality to trust people very easily. He knew that because he was the exact opposite. "Alright, well can you tell me the details about how he got caught?" he asked, trying not to sound mean; he instantly recognized the slight look of fear in her eyes.
Dianne nodded, "Well three OZ soldiers came into our first period class yesterday morning saying that they suspected him of blowing up their base on Wednesday… but he beat them up and ran out of there. I'm pretty sure one of those soldiers shot him in the arm on his way out. I don't know what happened in between then and when I went looking for him after school, but I think that he was hiding up in the closet by the tower room when they got him, cuz I saw some blood on the floor in there."
"Can you take me there? To where Duo was?" asked Heero, his voice void of emotion.
She nodded, "Yeah, let's go." Dianne headed to the door, Heero following.
As the two walked down the street, early Saturday morning, the girl decided to make small talk with the Japanese teen. She figured it would help get both their minds off of Duo's capture.
"Um… so where did you come here from? It sounded like I had woken you up when we talked on the phone yesterday…"
Heero cast a sideways glance at her before answering. If this girl already knew about Duo, then he wouldn't have to keep everything a secret. "I just came here from Japan…"
"Wow, and you don't even have an accent! Can you speak Japanese?" Dianne asked in amazement.
"Hai, mochiron… yes, of course," he replied.
She smiled, despite the situation, "Duo talked about you a lot. You guys are really good friends, aren't you?"
Heero looked up. He just felt so open to Dianne, like he could tell her anything and everything; he wondered if Duo had felt the same way. "Absolutely. We work best together, and at least for me, we keep each other sane."
"You two are really lucky then. Duo is a great guy," said Dianne with a sad smile, "I just hope he's okay…"
'OZ is going to pay if they so much as lay a hand on him,' thought Heero. Duo had gotten off lucky last time he was captured; OZ had no grudge against him except for the fact that he was a Gundam pilot…
"Did Duo do anything to upset OZ?" asked Heero, seemingly out of the blue. He added in a whisper, "Besides blow up the OZ base?"
Dianne looked at him, "Yeah… yeah he did. He got in a fight with the son of the guy that runs that place."
Heero's eyes darkened, "Dammit, he's going to be in bad shape once we get to him, that's for sure."
Dianne sighed as they came up to the school, "Well, here we are. It's probably locked, so we might have to hop the fence."
"It doesn't matter if it's locked; I'm not as good as Duo, but I can open any lock and trip any alarm."
The two came up to a side gate of the school campus, and Heero pulled a small lock kit from the old green backpack he wore. He messed with the padlock for a few moments before it clicked open.
The Japanese teen cast suspicious glances around him and Dianne before pushing open the gate. The two walked onto the school campus.
"This way," said Dianne, leading Heero to the main building.
He looked around him for any sense of danger; the soldier instinct within him was nearly impossible to suppress.
"It's locked. Can you open this?" asked Dianne, calling Heero's attention to what was in front of him.
"Aa," he grunted, undoing the lock. Next came the hard part. He usually left disarming the alarm systems to Duo, but this time he'd have to do it himself' his friend's life might as well depend on it.
Heero pulled out his laptop from his backpack. There was a small logo sticker on the tiny window of the door telling the name of the security company the school used. He hacked into their website, sending a signal to shut down the school's alarm system for the rest of the day.
It took several minutes for Heero to complete this task, and once he was done, he heaved a sigh and put his laptop away.
"I've disabled the alarm; we can go in now," he stated emotionlessly.
"Already? I'm good with computers and all, but I have no idea how to do that kind of stuff…!" gasped Dianne.
As Heero pulled open the door, he said, "I'm not as fast as Duo, but disarming an alarm system is easy once you get the hang of it."
The two walked down the main hallway in silence before Heero asked, "So where is the tower room…?"
"It's in here," said Dianne as the two turned to walk into the Office Wing. She nodded to the sign hanging on the ceiling that read 'Tower Room.'
The two made their way up the stairs and she led him to the closet, opening the door. The blood stain was still there on the floor.
Heero knelt by it, running a finger over the red, "Duo… please be alright…"
Shaking his head, he pulled out his laptop yet again; he opened up OZ's website, "Duo destroyed the base in this town, right?"
She nodded.
"So that means he was probably taken to the nearest OZ facility now that that one's gone," he searched for OZ bases in the area.
After a few moments, Dianne asked, "…You find anything?"
"Yes," he answered. "There's another base about an hour from here by the coast. No doubt that's where they took him."
"Ohhh I hope he's okay! Are you gonna go rescue him?" she asked, voice displaying her desperate need to see her dear friend back safely.
"Not yet. I need to rest and thoroughly plan the rescue. If I don't go in there prepared, I could get caught and you would never see Duo or me ever again," Heero sighed. He was incredibly worn out from the long hours of traveling and there was no way he could stage a rescue in his state.
"Oh… okay… well let's leave then. You can stay at my house."
Heero put away his laptop and stood, closing the door of the closet, "I'm sorry. I would rescue him now, but…"
Dianne held up a hand, "Its okay. I understand. If anyone, I know you'll be able to bring him back alive."
His cobalt eyes met with hers and he nodded, silently vowing to go find Duo as soon as he could.
--
"Well here we are! I don't have a spare bedroom, so I hope the sofa is okay…" said Dianne as the two walked into her house.
"That's more than enough. Thank you for letting me stay here," he said, sounding quite grateful to finally get some rest. Heero dropped his bag onto the floor beside the sofa and nearly collapsing onto the cushions. Dianne could've sworn he was asleep before his head even hit the pillows.
She smiled as went to get him a blanket.
--
Meanwhile, Duo struggled to regain his senses. Acting on his training to become a Gundam pilot, he kept his breath and heart rate even, as if he was still dead to the world.
He listened around him for any signs of danger. He heard none. He couldn't hear anything.
Duo dared to open his eyes a bit, but he saw nothing. It was pitch black. For a moment he wondered if he had gone blind, but then he realized the stupidity of that possibility.
He remembered that OZ had come to capture him, but everything else was a blur. Past experiences told him that the gap in his memory no doubt had to do with the burning ache in the back of his skull.
Duo sat up in the darkness and instantly regretted it. He felt so dizzy that he was back, lying on the cold floor, in an instant.
He heaved a sigh.
The former pilot waited a moment before trying to rise again. He sat up very slowly, closing his eyes against the daze.
It was then that Duo noticed the ominous weight on his wrists. He knew that feeling: OZ handcuffs.
"Dammit!" he breathed.
Just like last time, Duo crawled to the nearest wall and sat against it. His entire body ached, but the gunshot wound in his arm hurt the worst; he didn't doubt that it had reopened.
Mere moments, or several hours could have passed before light flooded the pitch black cell. Part of him expected to see Heero standing there, just like last time, but the rest of him knew he would not be so lucky this time around.
Duo hissed against it as the light burned his eyes, but he forced himself to look at who loomed in the doorway.
There was a tall, large, mean looking man followed by two average soldiers standing at the mouth of the cell. The large man stomped into the tiny room, casting a dark shadow onto Duo. The man spoke, voice gruff and equally as mean as he appeared.
"Duo Maxwell. Do you know who I am?"
Duo growled, "Oh, I know you, General Mean-and-Ugly from the Shithead department."
The man sneered at Duo before lifting him up by the throat and slamming him into the wall, "Wrong." The man's eyes glittered with evil intent in the shadows, "I am Colonel Berry, commander of the base you destroyed Wednesday. And I'll also have you know, that that boy you beat up was my son!"
"I see…" Duo gasped, bound hands clawing at Berry's wrist. "So you want… revenge…?" he was not afraid of the punishment he was about to receive, just pissed beyond reason.
"Yes." Next thing he knew, Duo was flat on his back on the ground.
The former pilot stifled a gasp; he would not let them be satisfied by his pain. He would not let himself cry out as Berry slammed his heavily booted foot into Duo's chest. He only showed defiance as he was kicked over and over again.
The pain was unbearable, but he would never let them know. Even as he hung limply in Berry's grasp, having been slammed into the wall yet again, he only glared with hatred.
"Is that… it? Is that… your revenge…? That's… weak…" Duo ground out, body trembling against the pain he fought to ignore. Nonetheless, his violet eyes blazed; their life was not yet lost.
Berry smirked, ignoring the insult, "For now. I'll give you some time to lick your wounds, good-for-nothing brat." Before he turned to leave, he flung Duo into another wall of the cell.
The former pilot sank limply to the floor, consciousness wavering. He paid no mind as the soldiers left, the door sliding shut behind them; the cell was plunged back into darkness.
Duo slumped to the floor, lying on his side, clutching his chest. He was sure that several of his ribs were cracked, if not broken. Until now, he had never really acknowledged the fact that OZ soldiers wore steel-toed boots.
The last coherent thought that crossed his mind before darkness took him grumbled at the nearly impossible chance of escape. He knew he'd never make it out on his own in his current state.
--
Duo had no sense of time in his pitch black cell. All he knew was that sometime later, he awoke to the cell door sliding open yet again.
He looked up dazedly as Colonel Berry walked in to face him. Duo was still too out of it; the pain radiating through his body was deafening all his senses.
All his senses except the ability to feel pain, that is.
Berry must've said something and expected a reply, because Duo received a very sharp kick to the stomach.
He instinctively curled into himself, but he would not show the agony that was burning through him.
"Did you hear me, brat? Your real punishment is just about to begin," snarled Berry. The man reached down and grabbed Duo's braid, using it to drag to former pilot to the middle of the cell.
Berry then proceeded to beat Duo until the teen was on the verge of crying out and begging him to stop. The former pilot was getting close to exceeding the limit of how much pain and abuse his small body could handle.
It was obvious that Berry did not care about obtaining information from Duo. He hadn't asked a single question about who he worked for, or anything of the like. He simply wanted revenge. And the former pilot had no idea how far the man was willing to go; he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Had enough?" smirked Colonel Berry as he saw a single, agony-filled tear slip past Duo's resolve and slide down his dirtied cheek.
The former pilot remained silent, body trembling. He was too busy reassuring himself that he was a Gundam pilot and that he could handle the pain to hear the man's words. He couldn't take much more of this…
Taking Duo's silence as a hint to continue, he drew a handgun from his belt. Coincidentally, this was the very gun that he had confiscated from Duo right after his capture.
Berry used his foot to roughly shove the former pilot so that he was lying flat on his back, wrists still bound in front of him. Duo's pain-filled eyes stared up blankly, despite the small, fading spark of hope hidden in their violet depths.
Berry smirked and turned off the gun's safety. He took aim and fired, the bullet blasting through the bones in Duo's arm, and lodging itself in his stomach.
It was then that Duo finally cried out. He still had not reached his limit, but he had not expected the sudden shock of the bullet creating a hole in his arm and stomach.
"Heh, well that certainly got to him," commented Colonel Berry as he nodded to the two other soldiers that had accompanied him. He holstered the gun and left the cell, leaving Duo to writhe on the floor.
--
Heero woke with a start, instantly reaching for his gun as he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar surrounding. A moment later he realized where he was and relaxed back onto the sofa in Dianne's living room.
He sat up and heaved a sigh. He reached for his tattered green backpack and took out his laptop. It was time to devise a plan to rescue Duo.
"Good evening, sleeping beauty," joked Dianne as she walked into the room.
"Hn," Heero acknowledged her presence but did not turn to look at her. His focus was on hacking into the OZ website and finding the layout of the base he had to infiltrate.
Dianne sat down on the sofa next to him, picking up the blanket he had inevitably kicked to the floor while he slept. What Heero was staring at so intently on the computer screen looked like a confusing jumble of lines to her.
A few moments later, Heero leaned back and pointed at a spot on the screen. "That's where they're keeping him, I'm sure of it. OZ facilities always have special prison cells that are light and sound proof. If you know what you're doing, they're easy to break into, but impossible to break out of," he explained in his monotone.
"Wow… and I assume you know how to open those cells?" asked Dianne, studying the computer screen.
"I do. I was the one who broke him out of one of those the last time he got caught," said Heero, a very serious look in his cobalt eyes. He said his next words more to himself than to Dianne, "But he needs to be more careful, because I won't always be there to rescue him…"
Dianne decided to change the subject a bit, "So when will you be going? Nighttime would be best, right?"
"Exactly. And while I'm at it, I'll blow up the base as well."
--
About two hours later had Heero speeding down the highway on his rented motorcycle. His backpack contained several bricks of C-4, all hooked up to a remote controlled detonator. His gun was tucked into his spandex shorts, ready to use.
Streetlights flashed across his vision. And he leaned heavily to the side, steering the motorcycle down the exit that would take him to the OZ base. He could faintly smell the salty sea air, but he could not see the ocean itself.
Heero came to a stop, turning off the motorcycle and filling the surrounding area with silence. He was about a hundred yards from a tall barbed wire fence that surrounded the OZ facility. The Japanese teen waited a few moments before running to the fence. He glanced around to make sure he was out of sight before snipping a hole in the fence with a pair of wire cutters.
Heero bolted through and into the shadows, staying as far as he could from the bright white stadium lamps lighting up the facility.
This was one of the larger, more complex OZ bases.
The prison cells were in the underground floor of the huge building, so Heero would have to find a staircase or elevator to get there. He would also set up several explosives there to bring the entire building down.
But first, however, Heero snuck into the first mobile suit hangar he came across. Dozens of Leos and Aries were lined up there, perfect to cause a domino effect of explosions.
Careful not to be seen, he snuck into the cockpit of the Leo in the very center of the hangar. He placed a block of C-4 on the control seat and activated the devise that would ignite the fuse when he set off the detonator. He continued this for the other hangars of the facility.
Heero had managed to stuff about 16 blocks of the explosive into his backpack beforehand, and the bag was significantly lighter by the time he entered the main building.
He slipped down the halls, avoiding every guard and camera that he came across. As he came to what he knew was the center of the building, he finally found a staircase leading down.
Heero ran down the flight of stairs as fast as his legs could carry him, and returned to the shadows before he was discovered. He found a small, empty closet near the staircase and stacked four blocks of C-4 inside. He activated them and ran to the perimeter of the basement floor.
He placed one block of the explosive at each of the four corners. Now that the bombs were set up, it was time to find Duo.
Heero made his way towards the area of the basement that contained the individual prison cells. He pried open the bars and knocked out the lone guard before he was noticed.
All the cells were open except for one. That was where Duo was.
--
Duo lay on the cold floor, clutching his wounded arm. He had no idea how long he had been locked in that cell; through the pain he was feeling, and the daze clouding his mind, it felt like he had been in there for months on end. Nevertheless, he knew one thing for sure: it had been far too long.
Colonel Berry had returned a short while ago (at least that's what it felt like), only to beat him for several minutes before leaving. However this time, his abuse had consisted of verbal damage as well as physical; leaving Duo with an almost empty, worthless feeling amongst all the pain.
"You worthless piece of shit!" he had yelled as he punched Duo in the gut.
"You'll never leave this place alive! You'll die by my hand!" he had growled as he jabbed his foot into Duo's chest.
"It's your fault that my son is in the hospital!" he had screeched as he lifted Duo up by his braid.
"You should have died last time you fought for your worthless cause!" he had ridiculed as he nearly crushed Duo's windpipe.
Even through all the pain, the former pilot had heard every word. Even though he knew not to believe it in the least, the verbal abuse still stung as badly as the dizzying hit he had just taken to the head. He just hoped it wouldn't screw him up as badly as the wounds that littered his body.
Through his agony filled haze, Duo had vaguely heard the man happily saying something about bringing his son as soon as he was well enough to go. That meant that Dugan was going to land a few hits on him as well.
Duo groaned, not from the pain, but from the humiliation and beatings that were to come. He curled into himself more, despite his body's protests, trying to get warm as the hot blood left his body.
He soon found himself to be losing consciousness again. He welcomed it, gratefully embracing the nothingness as it took him. He didn't care if he was to never wake up… as long as he never had to face Berry again, he was happy.
None too soon was Duo awakened to someone gently shaking his shoulder, holding onto his cold, beaten body.
He faintly heard his name being called, the familiar tone worried but still indifferent.
Duo looked up, thinking, 'What a cruel dream…'
--
Heero too the small key-card from the soldier's belt and swiped it at the lock of the cell. The little screen flashed green, happily displaying OPEN.
The door slid open and light flooded the dark cell.
Heero's eyes darkened as he saw Duo curled up on the floor of the cell, back facing him; he was obviously in pain.
Heero was at Duo's side in an instant, sitting his friend upright against his chest. The Japanese teen gently shook the American's shoulder, frowning at how cold and pale the other had become.
"Duo, Duo wake up. I came to get you out of here," Heero's monotone sounded quite worried as he stared pleadingly at his friend's motionless form.
A few moments later, Duo's glassy violet eyes slid open slightly. He looked dazedly at Heero, wondering if the other was really there. "What a cruel dream…" he whispered, voice already broken.
The Japanese teen said nothing as he took out his lock kit and undid Duo's handcuffs. He then took some gauze from his backpack and quickly bound the gunshot wounds in the American's arms. He would've done more but time was running out before guard shifts changed and he got caught.
Heero quickly lifted Duo into his arms and bolted from the cell. Even though he had only been locked up for a few days, he couldn't help but notice how frail and broken the American had become.
The Japanese teen avoided all the guards and security cameras, going out the way he came. He tirelessly bolted out to the fence surrounding the facility. Duo remained inanimate in his arms the entire time.
Heero carried the braided teen through the small hole he had cut into the fence not much earlier.
He hurried to his motorcycle at the side of the road, sitting Duo in front of him.
Duo made a small noise of pain. As he reached up to the handlebars, Heero's arms had pressed against the American's terribly bruised chest.
He kicked the kick-start and swerved onto the road. He had to take the back roads in order to avoid getting noticed.
Just before Heero was out of the blast range of all that C-4, he pulled out and activated the detonator.
A moment later, the road and sky were painted in red and yellow as a huge gust of wind blew past Heero. He didn't even have to look back to know that the OZ base had gone up in flames.
--
Heero drove and drove and drove. Taking back roads to Duo's town took at least twice as long as on the highway.
He hoped with all he had that Duo would make it until he got him to the hospital.
Heero could see the city lights on the horizon; he was almost there…
--
Heero carried Duo into the emergency room, demanding that the doctors see him right away.
Though he would've preferred to stay, to make sure his friend was properly cared for, Heero left as soon as the doctors and nurses took Duo deeper into the hospital.
The Japanese teen was not supposed to even be on this continent, and he could not stay for much longer. But if he had to, he would; he'd just have to be extra careful.
Silently sighing, Heero rode back to Dianne's house. He had instructed the girl to wait there for him, and if he had not returned by sunrise, that meant he had failed. If that happened, he had told her, then she was to forget about him and Duo and go on with her own life, like the past week had never happened.
She had left the door unlocked for him, and when he walked in, she was sound asleep on the sofa, the TV droning on quietly.
Heero closed the door behind him and locked it. He went and turned off the TV. However, he couldn't help but catch a glance at the news channel she had been watching; no doubt there had been something airing that had to do with the Gundam pilots.
He didn't bother waking her, and sat down at the small table in the kitchen. He would leave now, but he knew that there wouldn't be and planes leaving to Japan until morning.
--
When Dianne woke, she was briefly filled with despair to see that it was morning and Heero had not returned. However, as she walked into the kitchen, she saw him dozing quietly at the table, his head resting on his folded arms. She didn't want to wake him, but…
"Heero…" she gently shook his shoulder.
His eyes flew open and he automatically reached for his gun. After a moment, he remembered where he was and why he was there. Heero relaxed, "Sorry…"
Dianne was almost afraid to ask, especially after seeing that the Japanese teen was slightly on edge, "D-did you rescue Duo…?"
He nodded, "Yes… and I took him straight to the hospital; his wounds were too much for me to take care of on my own. There's no doubt that that OZ soldier who wants revenge against him will hunt him down again, so Duo is still not safe. However, he is in no condition to fend them off now."
"Well can't you protect him? I know you've already done so much, but all that would be worthless if he got caught again," pleaded Dianne, as if stating the obvious. Her eyes were locked with Heero's.
He was silent for a moment, "I can, for now. I really shouldn't stay here, but you're right. When he wakes up, I'll give him a choice. He can either leave with me, or he can dispose of the people who want him dead and stay with you.
Heero stood and walked to the living room, knowing Dianne would follow him. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. They were talking about the OZ base that Heero had destroyed.
"…It is very possible that the destruction of both these facilities trace back to the rebellious Gundam pilots. Several men died in the explosion last night, including General Kris Cain, and a visiting officer, Colonel Michael Berry. We will mourn their families' losses…"
The Japanese teen clicked off the TV and went to pick up his backpack. He walked to the door, "It won't be long until Berry's men figure out that Duo didn't get caught in the explosion, and we don't know if they will come after him or not, so we should go to the hospital."
--
After a solid hour of waiting and convincing the doctors to let them see him, the two finally made their way to Duo's hospital room.
When Heero and Dianne walked into the room, Duo was already awake, staring blankly ahead. He didn't notice them.
--
When Duo was pulled into the conscious world again, he couldn't discern whether or not he was dreaming. He could clearly remember being locked in that cell, but it felt incredibly unreal. However, the pain was undoubtedly real.
If Duo had not actually been dreaming, which was what his instincts told him, then he had no idea how he got from there to this hospital room. He could vaguely remember Heero hovering over him, but the Japanese teen was clear across the globe… or so he thought.
Duo shifted on the hospital bed and instantly cringed against the pain. He glared at the IV in his arm, knowing that the dosage of pain meds was for that of an earthling, not for someone from the colonies, and definitely not for a Gundam pilot.
It felt like white hot flames were searing through his chest. His back arched slightly and a strangled moan pushed itself past his lips.
Through the agony, Duo reached up and loosened the clamp on the IV a bit, upping the dosage slightly. It was something he always had to do when he ended up in the hospital, so he knew how far to go and not end up with an overdose.
After only a few moments, the pain faded considerably, and he found himself falling into a daze. He didn't mind.
Duo stared up blankly, now feeling the full effects of the pain medication. The dose was just barely strong enough, and it was making him so sleepy…
"Duo! Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay!"
--
Dianne and Heero walked into Duo's hospital room. The braided teen's arm was in a sling, and his wounds were heavily bandaged. His violet eyes stared off in a daze.
"Duo! Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay!" exclaimed Dianne as she hurried to his side. Heero remained at the doorway.
The braided teen lazily turned his head to face her. "…Dianne? How d'd you know I was 'ere…?" he slurred, the drugs weighing down his consciousness.
She looked at him with a very worried look in her eyes, "Heero brought me to see you. He rescued you last night, don't you remember?"
He remembered, "So it wasn' a dream…" his eyes were threatening to close, and he didn't fight it.
With a stern look on his face, Heero walked over to the bed. His focus was on the IV drip, however, as he tightened the clamp enough that the medicine would not affect Duo's consciousness.
"Duo," he said in his monotone, calling for the other's attention.
However, despite Heero's attempts, the braided teen was already asleep, his body gladly taking the chance to rest.
Dianne looked up at Heero, "Why did you…? He'll be in pain if he doesn't—"
He cut her off, "Duo is a Gundam pilot, he can handle it. And he needs to be as alert as possible right now."
--
The two waited a few hours for Duo to wake up again. The moments passed in silence, Dianne constantly getting a 'do not disturb' vibe from Heero.
The Japanese teen leaned against the wall, eyes closed, instinctively listening for danger. Dianne sat at the side of Duo's bed, waiting patiently for him to wake.
Eventually, the braided teen's violet eyes opened and he stared up at nothing.
"Duo?" she asked, afraid that he was going to fade again.
He seemed much more lucid this time, however, "Hey."
Heero looked up and walked over to the foot of the bed. His monotone was as serious as ever, "Duo, you have two choices."
The former pilot turned to stare into the other's eyes, "Eh? What're you talking about, Heero? And what the hell are you doing here in America?"
The Japanese teen crossed his arms over his chest, "Those OZ soldiers are most likely going to come after you again. You can either leave them all behind and come with me, or you can stay here and dispose of them yourself if they come after you."
Before Duo could speak, Dianne spoke up for a moment, "The man who hated you… Colonel Berry… he died last night when Heero blew up the base you were at."
Duo looked at her for a moment, but the expression on his face said that what she had said only solidified his decision, "I'm staying here. I don't want to leave yet."
Dianne looked up at Heero, anticipating his response.
His voice remained emotionless, "Very well. I will stay here until you're ready to take them on alone."
Duo smirked, but still sounded grateful, "Thanks, Heero. Thanks a lot."
--
The next few days went without incident and Duo was back at his apartment. Heero stayed with him during this time, and Dianne went over every day after school.
On Monday afternoon, Dianne told Duo all about the gossip circulating around the school.
"Everybody's talking about you. Half the school thinks they caught you, but everyone else says you got away."
"They obviously don't know what really happened then…" said Duo, somewhat serious, somewhat sarcastic.
"Exactly. And one thing is for sure, as far as I know, everybody is on your side. They all say you're innocent," she continued.
"That's good. But one question; is Dugan back…?" he asked apprehensively, almost feeling pity as he said the bully's name.
She shook her head, "Nope. Rumor is, someone told the principal that he had a knife on campus and a whole bunch of kids lied that he threatened someone with it. And to add onto his troubles, they expelled him. Those people are pretty cruel," she said matter-of-factly.
Duo felt a little bit sorry for the guy, but Dugan should have never picked a fight with him in the first place. "Karma is a bitch, isn't she?" laughed Duo, but he instantly stopped as his chest throbbed painfully. Yeah, karma.
He really hated the time it took for his wounds to heal after he got himself into trouble.
"You okay?" asked Dianne, putting her hand on his arm.
Heero looked up from his laptop to glance across the room at Duo for a moment, before dismissing him and going back to what he was doing.
"Yeah…" wheezed the braided teen. He reached for the small bottle of pain pills and glass of water from the coffee table.
--
Duo waited a full week before returning to school. He kept his gun on his person at all times now; and, even though Berry was dead and Dugan was expelled, he remained alert constantly.
"Duo, are you sure you want to go back to school with me? I'm glad you are, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do…" asked Dianne as the two walked to school Monday morning.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. Anyways, how could I miss out on all the fun when everybody sees me back after that incident?" he grinned. By now, Duo's arm was rapidly healing in a cast, black of course, and his bruises were fading. Nonetheless, he was returning with battle scars.
She smiled at him, "That is going to be pretty cool, especially since I acted like you were still gone all of last week… oh, and it's too bad Heero couldn't stay, he was nice to have around."
Duo laughed, "Well you'd get sick of him sooner or later! He never talks or nothin', he's just there… it gets to you eventually…" his tone became quite serious, yet he kept a funny expression in his face.
She laughed.
--
As Duo and Dianne walked into the English classroom, all eyes were on the former pilot.
Whispers echoed through the classroom:
"He's back!"
"Look, he's hurt!"
"What the heck happened to him?!"
Duo smirked at them and went to sit as his desk. He turned to look at Ms. Evans; she was smiling at him, glad to see that he had returned.
The bell rang a moment later and the teacher turned to the rest of the students, "That was the bell, so all quiet in the peanut gallery! You can finish your gossip after class…"
--
When Duo stood on his role call number in PE, Mr. Carter did not notice him until he walked right past.
"Duo! Gone for a week, thought you'd never come back!" the teacher patted him on the shoulder.
Back in the locker room after PE, Duo tried to change quickly, but it was somewhat difficult with the bulky cast on his arm. The bullet wound in his stomach was still not completely healed, and his chest was still slightly bruised.
Just after Duo pulled off his PE shirt, the boy across from him called for his attention, "Could you hand me my pants? I might need those…" he asked in a flat tone, nodding to a pair of jeans that had fallen to the floor on the former pilot's side of the bench.
Duo smirked and picked up the pants, handing them to the boy. It was then that the other caught sight of the many bandages wrapped around the former pilot's stomach.
"Whoa, dude, you really got screwed up!" commented the boy. His name was Jason and he looked slightly like Trowa… just enough to make it creepy. "What the hell were you doing all last week?!"
Duo smirked, pulling on his black shirt, "Last week? I was sleeping all this off." He motioned to his arm and other wounds.
--
History was a replay of English class, as was math.
At lunch, both Julian and Lewis came over to Duo and Dianne's table.
"Welcome back, man" greeted Julian.
Duo smiled, "Thanks. Oh, and I heard about Dugan getting expelled… and about his dad…"
Lewis spoke up, "It's fine. We're all sorry for him, but everyone's honestly happier with him gone… Even April. She hasn't talked to him in over a week."
"That's good I guess… there really is hope for this school," smirked Duo.
"We just wanna know one thing though, you stayin' around this time?"
The former pilot smiled at Dianne, "Of course. This place is just too much fun."
--
In his TA class, Ms. A looked at Duo in shock. She had never expected him to return! She thought for sure that he had gotten himself into some sort of permanent trouble and was gone for good… but Duo had proved her wrong.
In biology, Mr. Johnson gave the former pilot a high-five, happy to see that he was back to stay.
Duo went to Dianne's house after school, and the two did their homework together.
"So you're really going to stay? You're not just gonna randomly disappear in a few weeks?" asked Dianne.
Duo nodded, "Yep, I'm not leavin' yet. Besides, there are so many OZ bases around here; I'll be busy till this time next year!"
She looked at him, expression serious, "Please try not to do too much damage… those are human lives you'll be destroying…"
His violet eyes met hers, "It's my mission to destroy all the OZ facilities I come across. Those soldiers will be dying to avenge the deaths of the innocent people murdered in the colonies… like Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. This has to be done. But I can promise you one thing, I won't get caught again, I swear."
She lowered her gaze, "I guess I can live with that…"
--
At around noon a few Saturdays later, once his cast was off and his wounds were healed, Duo knocked on the front door of Dianne's house. She opened the door, still in her pajamas.
"Duo? What's up?" she asked, confused as to why he didn't call.
He smiled at her, "Go get dressed, there's something I wanna show you."
"Show me? Okay… but do I have time to take a quick shower first?"
"Sure, but hurry, cuz it'll be worth it," he said with a mischievous smirk.
About twenty minutes later, Duo was speeding down the back roads on his motorcycle. Dianne was sitting behind him, arms wrapped around him to hold on.
"Where are we going?!" she called over the wind whipping past them.
"You'll see!" he called back.
Not much later, a huge, abandoned factory came into view.
Duo turned at the driveway, driving all the way up to the largest building.
The former pilot pulled over, shutting off the bike. He got off and motioned for Dianne to follow him, not saying a word.
He unhooked a ring of several keys from his belt and undid the many locks on the door. Duo pulled it open and the two of them walked inside.
"Whoa…! Is—is that…?" gaped Dianne.
"Yep, it is," smirked Duo, hands on his hips.
Before them was Deathscythe. The giant Gundam was lying on its back, inanimate, yet still menacing.
Duo led Dianne closer, helping her climb up to the hatch.
"So you pilot this thing?" she asked, amazed. She had seen rare photos of the Gundams on TV, but she never had any idea they were this huge… or amazing.
"I do indeed. You wanna sit inside?" he reached down and opened the hatch.
"I'd love to!" she smiled.
He nodded and helped her climb inside. She wrapped her hands around the control sticks, smiling from ear to ear.
"Don't push any buttons," instructed Duo as he reached in and started up the computer systems. He closed the hatch, letting Dianne get a full experience of being inside a Gundam.
Within Deathscythe's cockpit, Dianne was in awe. She could see Duo standing at the hatch through the monitor in front of her. It was like she was standing right there next to him.
"Whaddya think?" he smirked, his voice coming in through the speakers.
"It's amazing! Just… I have no idea how you work this thing…" came her reply.
He reached down and opened the hatch, "A mobile suit becomes like an extension of your body once you master it. I can fight in any model, but I feel most comfortable when I've got Deathscythe."
Duo helped her out and hopped into the cockpit. "Check this out," he said.
Dianne looked down at him in the control seat, smiling. Something just looked so right about the scene before her. Duo belonged in the world of the Gundams and the war, so that's where he had to stay, no matter what. She just knew that a daring life full of battles and danger was the one that he wanted to live. And she knew that he would.
Snapping out of her musings, Dianne watched as he pushed several buttons and moved the joystick in his right hand.
Deathscythe's enormous right arm lifted up, holding some sort of staff-like device. He gently pushed forward a small lever, and a huge, white hot beam emitted from the staff.
"This is my major weapon," he said, "It's a Beam Scythe."
Dianne was speechless. She could hardly comprehend the destructive power Deathscythe… no, Duo was capable of. It was insane.
He grinned and shut down the Gundam, climbing out and closing the hatch.
Duo helped her down to the floor of the factory building. "I hope you don't mind staying here for a bit, cuz I gotta get some stuff together," he said as he went to open up a storage compartment hidden in Deathscythe's shiny metal plating.
"It's fine… but by stuff, you mean bombs, right?" she asked, her tone showing no signs of disdain, despite her words. She stared up at the giant Gundam.
"Yeah… but that doesn't matter. Its something I have to do and that's all," his voice pleaded with her to change the subject. He knew that this was something that neither of them wanted to discus.
Dianne turned to face him, "It's okay Duo, I understand why you have to do that and I'm not going to stop you. I don't want to stop you," she said, a soft, reassuring smile on her face.
"Thanks," he glanced up at her for a few moments before returning to what he was doing.
"Anyways," she said, "your Gundam really is amazing."
He laughed, putting several blocks of C-4 into his backpack.
Once he was done with the C-4 and such, Duo climbed up to Deathscythe's hatch again. It amazed Dianne how easy that was for him, like he had done it hundreds of times… which she knew he had.
The former pilot opened up the cockpit and she heard him rummaging around for several minutes. She could've sworn she heard him grumbling "Where the hell did I put that detonator…?!"
A few moments later, Duo came over to where she could see him.
"Wanna see something else cool?" he asked.
"Sure," she smirked.
He disappeared back over to the cockpit, and a few moments later, music erupted through the building. Deathscythe's stereo system was blasting something by Breaking Benjamin.
"That's so flippin' awesome!" she cried over the music; she doubted that he heard her.
A little while later, Duo and Dianne rode back to her house. He dropped her off before leaving for his next mission.
"I'll be back later tonight, so don't wait up for me!" he joked.
"Okay! Be careful!" she smiled.
Duo gave her a mock salute before speeding away.
--
Duo remained in that small town for the rest of the school year. He and Dianne became very close friends during that time.
Near the beginning of summer, Duo got an email saying that the boys were to return to their duties as Gundam pilots. He was reluctant to leave, but he desperately missed fighting in his Gundam like the old days…
They had a teary goodbye and Duo promised that once the war was over, he would come back.
That day, Dianne watched the horizon. She managed to catch a glimpse of his Deathscythe speeding over the skyline.
The months passed, and the war with the colonies finally came to an end. Duo returned, fulfilling his promise.
Now that the Preventers were setting up all around the world, Duo took a job at the base not too far from the little town.
He and Dianne spent all their free time together, laughing and telling stories about the time that they were apart.
At her request, Duo started training Dianne how to fight and how to use a gun. She was a natural. Eventually, she applied for a job at the Preventers and was, after a few strings got pulled, assigned as Duo's subordinate. He continued to train her and she did her best on every mission. As time passed, Dianne became a much better soldier, and she was soon able to become Duo's Second. Their team was one of the best.
It was a happy ending.
THE END
so, what did you think? i think the very end is kinda lame, but i still love it. and yay for heero rescuing duo! XD
and for those of you who care, i'll try to work on Inazuma ga Hikatta again... sorry i havent posted for it in so long X'D
bye! thanks guys!