Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Two: And the Cracks Begin to Show

"He did what? Quat, him- him of all people- bought a slave?" Duo exclaimed over the vidmod, his mouth wide open in shock. Heero stared coolly back at his friend.

"We have a lead in breaking these collars and the slave he bought might be the final clue into freeing you and Wufei," Heero replied, glancing off screen into the front of the transporter where Quatre sat at the helm. After Quatre had stormed off in a rage after the Vowing ritual, which could only be broken by sale of the slave or death or the Master, Heero had sent some of the others to follow the Winner heir while he kept an eye on the slave.

Having never seen a Vowing ceremony before, he'd been slightly surprised at the strange language that had come out of the slave's mouth and the blood that had been spilled. Heero had been even more surprised when Quatre had unconsciously touched the blood and a spark had disappeared from the branded collar into Quatre. The newer models of collar didn't function like that, just the allegiance and the contract with the new master. He supposed that the reason this was different was because the branded collar was actually a part of the slave, connected into the nerves of his neck and brain. Heero briefly realized the ingenuity of having the collar branded into the neck- it was the set of nerves that connected both the heart and the brain, being able to shut down both if the Master wanted it to. Remarkable, really, how ingeniously cruel people could be.

"That still doesn't mean he had to buy the slave! After what happened to Wufei and me…" Duo paused for a moment, fingers playing with the bottom of his braid, his face dark for a second with remembrance. Heero frowned. The other man had never told him what exactly had happened during the week that he'd been captured and it weighed constantly on his mind. Whatever they had done to his friend, as well as putting a collar on him had changed the other man from someone happy and always joking into just a shadow of his former self.

Duo looked up, his eyes blazing. "It's just not right. After what Wufei and I went through and then Quatre is going to do the same thing-" Heero and Duo's heads jerked to the right as the door to the cockpit slammed shut. Heero turned back toward the vidmod and quirked and eyebrow at the perturbed look on Duo's face.

"You should know better than to think that Winner is going to do anything to the slave. I'm not sure what his plans are, but out of all of us, he is the one most likely to not abuse the power over another human being." At Duo's offended look, Heero just raised his eyebrow again and Duo looked away with a pout, still playing with the end of his braid. There was something very disturbing about seeing his friend in such a vulnerable state. While Heero had most certainly not killed Duo's former Master even when he had killed everyone else in the compound that had held Duo, the man was trapped within the confines of the black circle of gundanium. Duo didn't know who had collared him and they probably would never find out. Neither Duo nor Wufei could go out because they had not been able to Vow allegiance to any other. However, even with the collar no one saw the two former Gundam pilots as less than what they were- free men trapped within a contract of enforced obedience.

Quatre's new slave and Duo and Wufei's circumstances were different and Duo knew that. Even if at the moment Duo didn't know that the slave was one of the Branded or that he was their age and probably had been a slave since the collars had come into existence almost eight years ago, Duo knew that they were different. It was just this strange uncertainty in his own future that had him acting like this. Adding to the fact that Heero and Quatre had told neither Duo nor Wufei of the new development in freeing them fueled the flame. It was his decision to not tell them and whether or not it paid off in the end was something still to be determined.

"So… what's the slave's name?" Duo asked and Heero stared back blankly. It was silent for a second and then Duo burst, his anger focusing on Heero. "You mean you didn't even ask their name? And here I thought that Quat was doing wrong by him!"

Heero quickly shut off the vidmod before Duo could start a long rant. There was a good chance that the slave would be with them for the rest of their life because of the slave's status as a Branded and because of all of their unwillingness to break apart from the other, so why hadn't he run a background check on this person yet? Because he's not a threat, having sworn the Vow with his blood came a thought from the back of Heero's mind and that was it. While the slave might have been a threat in the seconds before saying the Vow, because they had avoided naming the Master, Quatre, at the beginning of the Vow, there had been little threat. And after the Vow they're had been none.

The slave as a person once again became relatively unimportant and Heero stood to go into the cockpit to attempt to make right with the Winner heir. Heero thought it prudent not to have the other man mad at him when they landed.

Even though Harry had flown in a transporter not even half a day ago and had slept comfortably in that previous trip, he couldn't find any place or position that felt comfortable. While he wasn't normally a fidgety person, as he usually had to stay absolutely still for a long period of time with his former Master, there was something about this seat and the three next to it that were very uncomfortable. He and his Master's entourage had entered the transport without incident and Harry hadn't even seen his new Master before they took off. He had been pushed into one of the many seats that lined the walls of the main room of the transport before everyone else had disappeared to other parts of the ship.

Harry supposed that it was lucky for the others that they considered him a zero threat- not even threat enough to leave a guard or someone else with him in the room. The idea of him being no threat to his Master was true in part, but a zero threat entirely? While Harry hadn't been trained in the Gundam mobile suits like those they claimed to be hero's of the last war, nor had he had much combat experience outside of training, there was a reason his Master had bought him at such a young age. He had been the perfect age to train as a bodyguard and assassin if need be. His former Master, for all of his old-age and senile personality, had been formerly one of the most feared men in the Earth Sphere- or so the old man would always say. Harry didn't know the validity of those statements, nor did he really care to find out at the time. His duty had been to his Master and if his Master thought that a legion of ninjas were after him to steal his blueberries, who was Harry to question such a statement? There had been no question about it- a slave's duty was to his Master, no matter the circumstances. Harry rubbed at his eyes tiredly. No matter the circumstances.

It was five hours before they reached their destination and Harry had slept restlessly curled against the window, his mind plagued with memories of the last seven years. During that time, no one came back and even when they landed, Harry wondered if he'd been forgotten about. But that's pretty much impossible, his mind reminded him, with the amount of money your service is worth to this Master. So, they had landed and Harry rested restlessly against the window still, his eyes heavy with half-rested fatigue and waited.

It was maybe an hour after they had landed that the door slid open. Harry stood fluidly and at the glimpse of a shock of light hair knelt again on the floor. There was a shuttered step to his Master's walk, but the boots came to a final resting place in front of him. "Please stand," said Master's quiet voice and Harry rose gracefully, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. In his peripheral vision, Harry could see to his surprise that Master was shorter than him. From the way Master had stood in the slaver lot, he'd have thought the other man was at least a foot taller than him, not the other way around.

A hand came into his vision and lifted his head, and Harry caught his second glimpse of Master before his eyes again were focused on somewhere other than his Master, namely over his shoulder. He could see now that his Master was very petite, light blonde hair, light blue eyes, light skin- the exact opposite of himself. As it should be. A marked difference between him and his Master made it easier for the connections to be formed in Harry's mind concerning his new Master.

Harry could see Master searching his face, what for he didn't know. Master sighed and then dropped his scorching hand to his side. "May I ask your name?"

Harry almost startled, blinking his eyes. He had assumed that his Master would give him a new name, as his old Master and sons and grandsons had done before. He had been called many things in his life, but… "This slave was called Harry once, Master. Before its branding."

"How old were you at the branding, Harry?"

Harry twitched at his name. "Eleven, Master."

His Master stilled, whether at the name or the age he was when he was branded, but pushed on. "And how old are you now, Harry?"

Again the name thing. Every time his Master said his name, it was as if a scar in his brain was being itched. It was an uncomfortable feeling. "To this slave's knowledge, it is eighteen as of last month, Master."

His Master made a humming noise deep in his throat, as if that's what he expected, but as if the answer was still unwanted. The hands came up again and tilted his face back and forth. "Open your mouth," came the request and Harry acquiesced. White teeth, many of them sharper than the normal set on a human, gleamed out of his mouth and Harry felt a finger tap the bottom of one of his sharper teeth before pulling away again. Harry shut his mouth.

"Sharp teeth you have there," his Master quipped with a slight grin and Harry only nodded. "Did your previous Master have your teeth filed sharp like that?"

Harry shook his head. "For as long as this slave can remember, it has always had teeth like this."

Master made a sharper sound Harry interpreted as shock and then suddenly the door slid open again. A tall, wiry man stepped through the door, his hand on his sidearm and a scowl on his face. "Winner," he seemed to scold, "You were supposed to bring the slave five minutes ago. The car is ready."

His Master snapped his head sharply to the right. "Yui, you don't have the right to dictate anything at this moment." The other man looked ready to retort before another body stepped into the room. Taller than the first man with more of relaxed air, the other man scanned the surroundings with a calm look. His Master relaxed and Harry himself relaxed the tension that had grown since Yui had stepped into the room. He had been ready to defend, kill, this master against the first man before the second taller man had walked in the door. With the way the first man's eyes rested on him, he had known.

"Trowa!" his Master exclaimed, rushing to hug the very tall man. The one visible eye able to seen on the new man closed in happiness as they hugged each other and started chatting excitedly (or at least Harry's Master's excited chatter reached him, he wasn't sure the taller man, Trowa, had said a word yet.) Harry and the other man continued to size the other up, until Harry realized what he was doing and bowed his head in submission. If the first man, Yui, proved to be a threat to his Master, Harry would kill the other man. It would be without thought to the other mans state as a warrior and without thought to his own wellbeing because all that mattered was his Master's safety. He would defend the man who had bought his obedience at such a price.

Heero's eyes narrowed at the man who had turned from submissive slave into warrior and back again just as fast. Though he'd originally thought the other had shown no threat, he may have to reassess that thought.

"Harry!" Quatre called from where he had followed Trowa out and the slave followed the sound of his Master's voice to out of the cargo hold. Heero's eyes tracked the slave as he crossed the room and walked through the doorway, memorizing the way the slave walked. There hadn't been anything in the slave's graceful glide to suggest he was anything but submissive and entirely under his Master's will, but Heero knew what he'd seen. The stance of a seasoned warrior was firm in his mind and Heero was determined to find out exactly what this slave knew. No one was to be around his family unless he knew exactly what they could do.

Following behind at a more sedate pace, Heero made sure there no more sudden surprises as they made their way to the car and the next destination, one of the Winner mansions on L2. Quatre chatted happily with Trowa and the slave, taller than Quatre's smaller stature by at least a third meter, Heero thought, followed at least two feet behind. When Heero was acting as bodyguard to the Winner heir at various functions, his own pace was about the same- far enough away to not hover but close enough to defend at a milliseconds notice. Although Heero had never really observed the practices of slaves, he thought that it was unlikely that they acted so defensive towards their Master.

The car was already geared up and ready to go with the Maganac Rashid in the driver's seat. Heero nodded to the large dark man and slammed the door shut, sealing the five of them within the confines of the vehicle. Heero noted the distinct lack of reaction to his slamming the door, and Quatre shot him a glare anyway. Heero resisted the urge to rub at his eyes or glare back at his blonde friend. Didn't he realize that Heero was just trying to protect him from this unknown? As far as Heero was concerned, the only reason that the slave was with them in the first place and not shipped to some laboratory back on Earth was because both of them were eager to try and free their friends. The only way they could do that was to have the slave with them.

As soon as they were through with the slave, whether their plan worked or not, Heero would convince Quatre to get rid of it or have it shipped somewhere else. The car revved down the road, weaving in and out of what little traffic there was this early in the morning. Heero stared at Quatre out of the corner of his eye. While others had called him emotionally stilted, even Heero had seen how pained Quatre had been when he had set the final price for the slave, as if he hadn't truly wanted or believed he would be able to buy it. Quatre had sworn never to buy a slave, dedicating the last year to trying to free his friends, but then Heero had found some evidence that might help Duo and Wufei and had convinced Quatre to buy it. Quatre tried to hide the choking despair of owning a slave and although neither Barton nor Rashid had commented on it, they all knew how affected the blonde was.

Heero nodded to himself and leaned back in the seat, still watching both Quatre and the slave, who wasn't a slave. Yes. He was decided- as soon as it was determined what could be done for Maxwell and Chang, the slave was gone.

Next chapter: The reveal.