Breaking Point
By: Memory Dragon.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and Bandai. I don't own it and make no claim.
Heero hesitated. He stood in front of the modest apartment that belonged to Duo Maxwell, his fingers inches away from the door bell. This might affect the other pilots as well, but it also meant Heero had to admit he needed help. The pilot sighed and stepped back. He would send a message to everyone else and then he would come up with a plan.
But where else could he go? He knew it would soon be too big to deal with alone.
Indecision held him on the edge of Duo's doorstep. Heero swallowed and raised his hand to knock, only to have the door open before he had the chance.
"Hilde, I'm going out for-" A boy about Heero's age with a long chestnut brown braid ran out of the house and right into him, pushing the pilot over. In an effort to regain his balance, Heero accidently grabbed onto the other's braid, causing both of them to fall onto the concrete sidewalk. The young man yelped about his braid as Heero rubbed his head where he hit it on a patio table trying to get up.
A teenaged girl with a beret covering her cropped blue hair in a jacket with jeans came to the door to see what the commotion was. At the sight of her best friend and his fellow Gundam pilot sprawled out on her patio looking dazed, it was all she could do not to laugh.
"Duo! You should watch where you're going..." She put a hand up to her face to hide the giggles that threatened to ruin her scolding. She began to help Duo up.
"It was his fault, Hilde! He tugged my braid!" As soon as he was up, Duo started to stroke the said braid tenderly. He looked up to glare at the intruder, but his expression changed to one of happiness. "Heero! What're you doing here?"
Mindful of the table, Heero slowly got up. "I came to warn you..."
The braided boy threw an exasperated look to Hilde before he got behind Heero and pushed him inside. "Lighten up! Couldn't ya come over once in a while for a regular visit? Like normal people?"
"Why?"
"Why do I even bother with you sometimes..." Duo threw his arms up in the air in a gesture of giving up. "Come on, the war is over! It's been over for several years. Get out and relax!"
"Spend some time with friends!" Hilde picked up his lead. "Have some fun!"
Heero gazed back at both of them with his level persian blue eyes. Hilde looked down, but Duo refused to let him win. "Heero, you need to enjoy yourself more often! Live life to the fullest!" He waved his hand over Heero's eyes when he got no response. "Any of this getting through to ya? Hello?"
"Ch. Whatever."
The American sighed. "I give up. What did you come to warn us about?" Hilde excused herself to make some tea, leaving the two boys standing in the door. Heero narrowed his eyes and tentatively suggested they continue inside, where no one would over hear. "Sure, come on in."
Duo waved for Heero to follow and disappeared into the house. As he slowly walked in, the Wing Zero pilot was thrown into a dream-like state of memories. The hallway was full of pictures, some with frames of all sorts, others just taped on until Duo could get a frame. The pictures were not only on the walls either. Stand up frames on the small table with a phone nearly overcrowded it.
The pictures themselves varied. There was one of Duo and Hilde at the fair. A picture of a clown standing by a lion with an older women in the back. A rich looking blond Arabian in the middle of a group of men in uniforms; all making funny faces. A surprised Chinese boy with a katana in a small practice area. Out of all of the photos, those four stood out to him.
Heero came to the living room, a room with even more pictures. The furniture was cheap, but nice; an old couch in front of a put together T.V. Next to it was a coffee table, all four legs level, with a lamp. A easy chair was on the side with another lamp for night reading, for the window behind the T.V. let plenty of light in. There was even an old record player, complete with records of some old groups Heero had never heard of. He was about to sit on the patched-up couch when Duo yelled, "Heero!"
He turned around only to be blinded by a flash of light. His reflexes took over and he immediately reached for his gun. "Heero, calm down!" The boy's vision returned to see a frantic Duo with a camera in his around his neck, hands held up in surrender. "Hey, I was only taking a picture!"
"Why?"
He smiled brilliantly. "I only wanted a picture of you, is all. And you're just as bad as Wufei about letting me take them. At least with you I don't have to turn tail and run hoping Wufei would run out of breath from screaming 'Maxwell!'" The smile faded as he noticed Heero was not amused. "Aw, it wasn't that bad was it?"
"Ch."
Duo muttered under his breath about forgetting how much of a wonderful conversationalist Heero was and sat in the easy chair. Taking the picture out, he started to wave it around and eventually put it down on the table. He turned on the radio as Heero sat on the couch. "So, now that we're inside, what did-ya come to warn me 'bout?"
"The reports of the terrorist organization calling themselves the X-cybers have risen in the past few weeks. The threats have ranged from bombings to random shootings all over the world. The group tries to get across it's point that the current government of earth is-"
"Turn that off."
Duo hit the off switch on the radio and the room was again filled with silence. The whole point of him turning it on was to fill that gap... He was wondering if the other pilot would ever start talking, when he finally did. "Someone's been trying very hard to kill me. Usually, I've been able to get away, but the attacker has been growing more persistent and hired more men." He hesitated slightly, unsure of if to go on. Shaking his head he continued. "I was followed here. I lost them, but I think you should know this might not be limited to me if he succeeds. I believe the other pilots are in danger too."
The American smirked, "Aw, so the perfect soldier does care about his friends." Heero ignored the comment. He tried again. "Would it kill you to at least crack a smile once in a while?"
"Why?"
"This is going nowhere..." Duo sweat dropped. "Okay, someone's trying to kill you. There aren't many people who actually know we're the pilots, right? Are you sure this isn't just some mistake?"
"I-" Heero reacted before Duo knew it. He pulled his friend down just before a bullet broke the window and hit the place where Duo's head had been resting.
"Okay, next question. Who the hell are they?!?!" Duo whispered as they both jumped behind the couch. More shots rang out. "Hilde! Call the police!" Not like they would be any good, but at least it might distract the sharp shooters.
Heero pulled out his gun and began to shoot back, taking careful aim. "I don't know."
"Great! Just great!" Duo sat back and shook his head, watching the bullets enter the wall and cringing at the sound of shattered glass frames. "And we just bought this couch... They'd better have good insurance!"
Heero ran out of bullets. Ducking down and disregarding Duo's ramblings, he reloaded. They must be desperate, attacking in daylight in a semi-respectable neighborhood. He was taking aim again when a small object came through the broken window. Smoke came out of it, slowly filling the room. "We have to get out."
"Can't. They're shooting at the front door too!" Heero looked back at the gas bomb and the realization hit him.
They weren't desperate. This was well planned.
"This is bad," Heero said as he dropped down behind the couch a final time. He covered his mouth with his hand, but that would not help for long.
"Gee, ya think?" The sarcastic remark was cut off by coughing as the other pilot did the same. "This is... not cool..." Duo fought to say as he folded his body over closer to the ground. He soon passed out.
Heero reached in his pocket for a bomb. They would not succeed; he would not let them. Even if it meant killing himself and Duo. But before he could ignite it, the smoke had clouded his blood. He fell forward next to Duo.
The smoke dissolved harmlessly into the air after a few minutes and two men came in with gas masks obscuring their faces. The smaller of the two knelt down besides Heero and nodded. "This is the one."
The tall one kicked Duo in the stomach and smiled as his foot connected. "What should we do to the rat's friends? I don't believe in spilling the blood of a lady, but this one... This is 02, isn't it?" He brought up his gun and aimed for the braided boy's head.
"Leave him for now." The short one stood up. "That way he can suffer knowing his friend is missing. We came here to get Pilot 01 and that is all."
"Fine." The tall one gave Duo one more kick in the ribs and picked Heero up. They both left through the window just as the wailing of police sirens pulled up to the front of the house.
Duo regained consciousness with great difficulty. He could hear a news report somewhere in the distance. When the pilot finally managed to open his eyes, he was staring at an unfamiliar white ceiling. "Where-What happened?"
Hilde came from out of no where – she had been sitting next to him the whole time – and hugged him. "Duo! You're okay!"
He blinked a few times as he tried to get his bearings. "Hilde? Where are we?" Besides the obvious that he was in a hospital, something else was not right. There was something Duo was supposed to remember....
"We were taken to the nearest hospital after the attack. I woke up in the ambulance, but you've been out for nearly four hours. The doctors were beginning to worry. The last thing I remember was cooking in the kitchen and a weird smelling cloth was put over my mouth." She babbled on, but Duo was far from paying attention.
Not something he had to remember, but someone. But Hilde was here and neither of them were real fond of the neighbors. Attack? Oh, those guys shooting at him and Heero could be considered an attack. But they could take care of- "Heero! Hilde, where is Heero?" He was such an idiot. How could he forget his best friend? Even if Heero may not regard Duo as his best friend, who else would put up with his moodiness? It's not like-Damn it! Pay attention, Duo!
He concentrated as hard as he could on Hilde's face as she swallowed hard. What was wrong with him? "Heero... He wasn't there when the police got there, Duo. They searched every where, but he just disappeared. Do you think he left?" Her voice rose with a slight hope.
Duo dashed it. "No..." Well, time to do something about it then! If Heero was gone, he couldn't just lie in bed all day!
As soon as he tried, Duo realized sitting up might not be such a great idea after all. The room was spinning. Hilde was spinning. His head was spinning. And it was not pleasant. He quickly lay back down and closed his eyes. After a few painful minutes of wondering if the world would ever stop that dratted spinning, it had stilled enough that Duo could start calming Hilde. "I'm fine, I'm fine... Just very dizzy..."
At least the pain brought him into awareness and he could focus. Heero was gone. He had come to the braided pilot for help and Duo failed him. He would not fail his friend again. But how to find Heero if he could not even sit up?
Hilde seemed to want to get a nurse. He grabbed her wrist before she could leave. "Hilde, I need you to contact the other pilots."
"I'm not doing anything until you're better."
"Hilde!" He carefully opened his eyes and tried to stop the girl from whirling around. "Listen, get the nurse if it makes you happy. But while she's here, you've got to get hold of the others."
She turned back and he thought she nodded. "Alright. Just lie still, I'll be right back." And she left.
And now Duo could regret being able to think clearly.
Yo! Memory here! Well, here is my Gundam fic I've been promising! I must say getting in Duo's head is fun. At the time I wrote this- was it really only a year ago? - I had been considering having Hilde as a bad guy. Not the main one, but still evil. But then I thought, no, it's too much for Duo already. It is really fast paced. I don't like dragging things out like some famous authors I refuse to list.... It may have gotten them a place in my AP English class, but I'm not writing the great American novel here! Hopefully I'll be able to get the next part typed up soon. Until the next chapter, l8r!