This fic is dedicated to Shadow of a Rose who I feel I know but whom I've never met. Thank you for reading my writing!
I obviously don't own Gundam Wing or its characters, but I DO own my brain and all of the ideas that come out of it! So there!
Living Memories
1. The Death of Death
The four surviving Gundam pilots, Heero, Trowa, Wufei and Quatre, stood silently staring at the grave of their dear friend and trusted teammate, Duo Maxwell. (Hey! You can't get mad already! He might not be as dead as you think!) There was nothing special about the grave. It was a simple square block with only Duo's name and the years which he had lived. It didn't even have his alias, Shinigami, on it. The four of them just stood there and watched as rain drops began to splatter on the grassless soil. They were so shocked that they couldn't move. None of them could believe that Duo was actually gone. It had all happened so quickly…
Flashback:
Zechs held the back of Duo's ripped shirt firmly in one hand and a fully loaded pistol to his head with the other. Duo was in horrible shape. His left eye was swollen so much that his eyeball couldn't even be seen, even though the eyelid was open. It was also such a deep purple that it looked black – hence the term 'black eye'. His clothes were so torn that they could barely even be called clothes anymore. Patches of his once beautiful chestnut colored hair were missing from his head and the hair that remained was filthy, caked with dirt and matted with dried blood. There were huge scars and deep gashes lining both his arms and legs and one of his arms hung limply at an odd angle, as it had been broken. Despite all of the injuries he had suffered, Duo still fought Zechs rigorously with every ounce of strength he had in him. Heero glared angrily at Zechs, remaining as defiant as Duo.
"Tell me the codes!" Zechs demanded.
"Never." Heero growled. He couldn't attack Zechs, or he would have already. He was standing quite a way away, very much out of arm's length. He was surrounded by Zech's soldiers also. He didn't really care about the men around him, even though they all had automatic machine guns aimed at his head. What he cared about was the fact that Zechs would shoot Duo before he could reach him if he did decide to attack. Zechs shook Duo violently and cocked the pistol.
"Tell me or he dies, right here, right now."
"Don't tell him, Heero!" Duo cried. Zechs slapped Duo across his face with the pistol, leaving yet another cut on his cheek.
"Shut up!" he hissed at Duo. Heero was at a loss. He couldn't give Zechs the codes to the Zero system; it contained information that was much too important. But could he be so heartless as to let Duo be killed? And possibly his other friends after that? They were not very expendable, each being Gundam pilots. Duo was in particular a large part of the team. His was the only Gundam on their team with stealth technology. He was also the main repair technician for their Gundams. Without him, they would risk exposure by having to take their Gundams to a government mechanic. So no, Duo was not expendable. But neither was the Zero system. So what could he do?
"I see you have made your choice." Zechs said. Heero could see his finger tensing and pulling back.
"Wait!" Heero called. Zechs' finger loosened. He looked up at Heero. "I'll…I'll tell you." Heero told him. A smiled formed on Zechs' face. "The first code is 52AFG – 256T. The second one is 53AFG – 267P."
"Those had better not be fake codes." Zechs warned him.
"They're not. They're real." Heero replied. "Now let him go." Zechs motioned to two soldiers near Heero.
"Scan him." he ordered. The soldiers waved two metal rods around Heero's head and chest.
"Brain waves normal." One said.
"Heart rate normal. Blood temperature normal." Said the other. The men had scanned Heero to see if he was lying. The codes had been real – at one time. Heero had changed them quite a few times since then. But they didn't know that.
"Thank you, mister Perfect Soldier. You've been a very big help to me." Zechs turned his attention back to Duo. Heero watched as Zechs' finger began to tense again.
"What are you doing?!" Heero demanded. "I told you the codes! You said –!"
"I know what I said." Zechs snickered. "It was a lie."
"Heero!" Duo called in desperation.
"Nooooooooooo!" The gun fired. Heero tried to run to Duo but was grabbed violently by the men surrounding him. The other three Gundam pilots, who had also been present, tried to attack Zechs, being closer to him than Heero, but they too were subdued by Zechs' soldiers. Duo's limp body fell to the ground, a gaping hole in the side of his head and an expression of complete horror forever etched on his young and innocent face. After being severely beaten, the four remaining Gundam pilots had been left, along with Duo's body, on the grass that covered the empty field where this unlawful event had just taken place.
End Flashback
Fortunately, the four still breathing pilots had managed to get back to their safe house before Zechs had discovered that the codes weren't real. They had taken Duo's body along with them so he could be given a funeral. Quatre had enough money to provide Duo with such, but hardly anyone came, since Duo had not been allowed to make many friends; as a Gundam pilot, it was necessary to maintain a low profile. At the end of the service, Duo's friends had stood near his grave, just as they were doing now. Quatre laid his flowers on the damp soil, a tear indistinguishable from the rain on his face running down his cheek.
"We'd better go." Heero told them in his usual monotone voice. He was actually just saying it to be saying something. He didn't even turn to leave. Neither did any of the other pilots. But after a while, the rain drove them away and though they were reluctant to leave, they did, hoping that they were leaving Duo to rest in peace.
Where am I? How did I get here? Them…they did this to me…it's their fault…they must pay for what they did to me…
Since their capture by Zechs' army, the remaining pilots had relocated to one of Quatre's many mansions. It was in a very desolate and remote area, perfect for keeping secrets such as enormous Gundams. The mansion had a great deal of rooms so each of the pilots had their own room. They each retired to their rooms to busy themselves so they wouldn't think about the recent loss. Wufei sat quietly meditating in his room, becoming more than slightly disturbed by the fact that Duo would never burst in and interrupt one of his meditations ever again. He felt a light, cold breeze blow through the room. He didn't open his eyes, but he stopped to listen intently. Hearing nothing, he returned to his meditation. A stronger and even colder gust of wind filled the room, extinguishing some of his candles. This time he opened his eyes and gazed about the room. He saw no one but he felt as though he was being watched. Without warning, a huge blast of icy wind hit him full on from every angle and all of the candles went out. He was left in darkness. He jumped up, senses alert and katana in hand. He spun around wildly at a noise behind him. Then he saw that the window was open. He cursed angrily and went to shut it. Afterwards, he stalked out of the room and down to the kitchen, feeling too shaken to continue his meditating. He knew it had only been the wind, but that didn't change what he had heard on it. A faint whisper, a chilling message even colder than the wind. Wuffers… it had said.
*Does that give away too much? I dunno. Did anybody like that? What about you Shadow of a Rose? Stay tuned for the next chapter!*