"Down the corridor and to the right. You'll find the cell where they keep all the war prisoners," the guard drawled leaning against the doorway, looking bored. He was wearing one of those Drab dirty blue uniforms and he twirled a cigarette in one hand. "Its a dark cell with big metal rungs in the front. You can't miss it." He dismissed them with a careless wave of him hand.

Duo and Trowa looked at each other, rattled by this man's behavior. Duo's anger showed in his eyes and he stepped forward, about to lash out at the man when Trowa caught his arm and steered him off in the other direction, into the dark smelly corridor, towards that cell.

"...That flea-bitten, imp-festering..." Duo cursed as he shook off his arm and walked along side Trowa, braid bouncing back and forth agitatedly

"Forget about it. We're here for Wufei." Trowa said firmly, but one could see that he was restraining himself from throttling the guard for dismissing the prisoners so carelessly.

"Yeah." Duo sobered up quickly. "You are right." They walked in comfortable silence. Both were looking forward to see their long lost friend. The OZ had captured him six months ago.

It had been a simple infiltration mission, where Wufei and Trowa had gone. But some how the base security had found out and they had to call for back up. Heero, Duo and Quatre had been close enough to come by quickly in their Gundams. The battle had begun with Leos and Tauruses coming at then in huge numbers. There had been no time to do anything but take a defensive stance. Wufei and Trowa were still on the ground, on opposite sides of the battlefield, but Sand rock had been able to pick up Trowa. With all the fighting going on with the mobile suits, Wufei had seen a leeway and had slipped inside the base.

The next the other pilots heard from him was when he was talking to Heero.

"01! I've gotten into the main control room. I'm uploading all the information into Wing's Database."

"Understood, 05. Return to safety immediately."

"Roger tha- oh Shit!" A lot of static and noise could be heard from the other side. Heero had frantically tried to talk to Wufei again.

"05! 05, do you read me?!? Shit! Wufei!"

"Heero, to your right!" Duo's voice had yelled. Heero swung with all his might at the Mobile suit coming towards him. The suit exploded. By the time Heero got back to Wufei, the line had gone dead.

Since then they had tried many times to get Wufei back. But the OZ had captured him and kept him as prisoner until the war had ended six months ago. All the attempts to bring Wufei back had failed. They had no news of their fellow pilot and had hoped, that just by chance, Wufei was still alive. Then on the list of prisoners that had been posted came Wufei's name and the pilots had jumped with joy. Well, to be precise, Duo and Quatre had jumped with joy and Trowa and Heero had been happy, but they limited themselves to staying in contact with the ground.

Heero, Duo and Trowa had decided to stay and live in Quatre's mansion upon his request after the war. But today, Heero had to attend some business function with Relena as her bodyguard and had given Duo a gentle kiss goodbye, with the promise that he would return to see Wufei. Trowa had done the same with Quatre, though the blond had insisted on coming, he simple had too much work to do as the head of WEI.

Now Duo and Trowa approached the dark, smelly cell. It reeked of rotting bodies and other unsanitary scents. Two guards stood watch, quietly conversing. They looked up as they heard Duo and Trowa's footsteps. One of the guards, who was a short stocky figure with scraggly brown hair and dark eyes, approached them, holding a clipboard of some sort.

"Name?"

"Chang Wufei." Trowa said quietly but firmly.

The guard looked up with surprise and relief on his face. "Thank the gods." He sighed heavily and opened the cell to go in a retrieve the prisoner.

The other guard with black hair and eyes came forward. "Thank you for coming to get him." He said sincerely. "He's been through a lot."

Trowa and Duo frowned upon him slightly. The guard continued, unaware of their scrutiny, his eyes turned towards the cell. "They were brutal to him. Cruel. Absolutely."

"They?" Duo asked, not understanding the term.

"The other prisoners." The guard clarified. "He was drugged when he got here but still proud. Just like a fierce warrior. They didn't like that. They took it upon their sick twisted selves to break his spirit. They took advantage of him when he was drugged."

Duo's eyes widened at the implication. "No…" He whispered in disbelief. His large violet colored orbs turned to look at the dim cell. "Wufei…"

"And break him they did. Not a word he speaks now, sir. He's become a mute. Neither does he react to much. But never once did he cry. No sir, he refused to shed tears." The guard shook his head sorrowfully. "A word of advice to you, sir. Do not speak loudly to him or make much noise. It frightens him. He's also afraid of large groups of men and crowds. That lad has suffered too much. Been five months since he has spoken."

At this time, the other guard came out of the cell. Trowa stepped forward and looked at the shorter man. "Where is he?"

The guard sighed softly. He looked at his partner and spoke sadly. "He ain't coming, Bernie. Kid's too scared."

Duo who had been quiet all this time stepped forward to talk to the man. "Can…Can I try? I've known him for a long time now. He might recognize me." He pleaded softly.

Bernie looked at him carefully, sizing him up. Shaking his head he led Duo and Trowa into the cell. "Well, there ain't no harm in trying."

Entering the cell, Trowa noticed that the cell was pretty big. Groups of guys sat around in various places, regarding them warily. Bernie weaved through them with a practiced ease, making his way to a deserted corner. At first it seemed as if no one was there, but then Trowa noticed a small figure sitting huddled and all curled up, shivering.

"Well, well, well." A cocky voice sounded from behind them. "Look what we have here." Trowa, Duo and Bernie turned around. A large burly man with small eyes sneered at them.

"Someone has come to actually drag the little whore out of here. Ain't that nice?" He laughed and his inmates laughed along with him stupidly.

"Shut up, Jack." Bernie snapped. "We don't need your nonsense here."

"Oh Bernie, you just jealous that you couldn't have him. He was a nice little whore. I'll miss him." He laughed again, thinking that was the funniest thing on the planet.

Duo saw red but before he could do anything, the man was lying on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain with Trowa standing over him Cold fury blazed in those emerald depths. "Think about who you are speaking to before you speak." He said icily. Then he looked up and glared at the others, as if daring them to say anything. The prisoners wisely backed away from the man, sensing the danger. Trowa turned around and walked back to his place beside Duo. The braided pilot looked up at him, expressing his gratitude. Trowa simply shook his head in a 'not-needed' gesture and turned towards the huddled figure.

Duo crouched down beside Wufei and called out. "Wufei?" The figure only seemed to curl up tighter. "Wufei…it's me, Duo. Look at me please."

The figure raised his head slowly and Duo gasped as he finally saw Wufei's face. Bruises everywhere. Hair loose and dirty, filth covering the skin. But most of all what shocked Duo was his eyes. The eyes that once held so much pride and so much dignity were now haunted and lost, dull and empty like a void.

"It's just me. Trowa is here too. You remember Trowa? He's our friend also. We've come to take you home. You're going to be okay…" He continued to speak in gentle soothing tones, meant to comfort Wufei. After a while, the shivering subsided. Wufei reached out a tentative hand and touched Duo's cheek hesitantly. Duo swallowed, holding back tears.

Then all of a sudden, Wufei launched himself into Duo's arms with a cry and held on for dear life. Duo caught the barely covered body in his arms and returned the death grip, murmuring softly to him. "Shh, its okay. It'll be all right…" But he didn't know who he was comforting, Wufei or himself.

Trowa removed his long over coat and placed it on Wufei's shoulders, tucking it in around the shivering body.

"He can't walk." Bernie said softly to Trowa. "His left leg is broken, so you'll have to carry him." Trowa nodded. Duo stood up carrying the frail body in his arms. Wufei weighed nothing. He had lost so many pounds that Duo could feel his bones sticking out.

"Let's get you home." Duo and Trowa walked out of the cell, along with the promises of making Wufei better.

well, what do you think? R and R!