Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Mortally Corrupted ❯ Chapter 2

sailor c. ryoko

Title: Mortally Corrupted

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warnings: bit o' angst. pain. violence. Duo POV. Lina POV. OOC. dark. language.

*blah* = emphasis

02~*~02 = scene change

Chapter 2:

I landed swiftly with poise onto the solid pavement in a crouched position beneath me. I didn't even need to think twice about whether or not I should loosen my comfortable grip on the sheathed sword by my side; for fear that it may create any unwanted clanking noise and attract attention. Face unmasked, my legs sprung forward from the low stance, blending flawlessly amongst the hours of darkness with ease. My hair flowed smoothly behind me with the relaxing breeze that just seemed to shout pleasure and blissfulness. I then recalled what I'd just thought not even a few seconds ago. . .and I didn't even *try* to suppress the snort at the irony in that. Ha! Yeah right. This mission was far too dangerous to even call this night *near* the terms of pleasure and blissfulness.

My mind didn't even register the fact that I was slightly panting until I had stopped running, with my back now against a big maple tree and away from sight. I guess it was quite some run, jumping from roof-to-roof, but I supposed that since my thoughts had been on other things, I hadn't even noticed.

I didn't exactly want to but I'd change my outfit and dressed all in black because the logical side of my head convinced me so-- but, I did bring my magic amplifiers that're in their normal spots. Though my pride just wouldn't let me mask my face nor would it allow me to conceal my unbound hair. Disguising is one thing but to hide this beautiful face of mines-- now I couldn't repress my grin at that, not that I'd want to anyways. . . --then that'd just be goin' against my code as the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse. And unless I had to. . . .for a logical reason that is, I don't anticipate on doing that anytime soon.

Turning my head, I peered over my right shoulder before slowly turning my whole body around but still making certain that I kept myself out of sight. My alert eyes rapidly scanned the perimeters of the Oz base to both confirm if I was spotted and to see how heavily guarded the base was. Satisfied to know that I did, indeed, blend in flawlessly, I took off towards the big truck that was parked at the side of the building with stealth and speed. Though there were only about three soldiers standing at the entrance of the building that was to the right, I didn't exactly want to gamble any chance of being spotted. And I'll persist in attempting to avoid that risk by all means possible as well. But it doesn't mean that I won't do anything rash if the situation is called for.

Noting that I'd still remained unnoticed, I slid around the truck in direction of the open window that I'd perceived when I was scanning the perimeters earlier. I first checked inside the building to make sure that no one was in there and that no soldier-- or anyone for that matter --who was keeping watch, would spot me when I slip in. The lights were off and the only light that I could make out from within the room was the radiating moonlight from high above. Grip still firm on my sword, I dashed approximately twenty feet across the pavement before silently slipping into the relatively standard-sized room. My eyes surveyed the new surrounding and I noted that a desk and chair were located right before with just a few drawers to the corner at my right.

A click filled my ears and my head jerked up, apparently startled. I hadn't counted on anyone coming in so quickly so I definitely wasn't expecting it. Silently cursing myself for that fault, I jumped-- head first --over the desk towards the door and into a roll, finishing in a squatting position with the lower half of my back against the wall. Since the door wasn't opening my way, I was able to push myself up into a standing position as the door slowly creaked open. I was able to glance through the narrow opening of the inner end of the door and could make out that the soldier was about only a couple of inches taller than me.

The door closed behind him and my unsheathed sword was at his vulnerable throat before he knew what hit him. The twenty something year old brunette looked at me with wide, fearful obsidian eyes, as his cap fell from his hands to the floor. I smirked. "Who. . .Who are you?. . . . P. .Please don't. . . .kill me."

That smirk slowly faded, replaced by my dark narrowing eyes. "Where are the gundam pilots?"

I was really taken aback by the utter iciness of how that came out but I masked it without a glitch.

"Please don't kill. . .me. Please don't. . . .kill me. . . . Oh God, p. .please don't. . . ." he pleaded. From the stench that just emitted from him, `specially his foul breath, any idiot could tell that he was drunk. And man, if I hadn't truly seen a real ghost before, I would've said that his face was as pale as a ghost. But he wasn't far off though, I'll tell ya that. The man was visibly shaking with sweat all over his damn forehead and all, like as if he really, *really* needed to take a leak or something at the moment. Really pathetic if you ask me.

I remained indifferent, unaffected by his obvious trepidation. I mean, who knows how the conditions of the gundam pilots are y'know, so I'm not gonna take any chances. "Where are the gundam pilots?" I seethed, pressing the naked blade against his flesh, threateningly. His eyes looked glassy before but they were completely wide awake and right in the head now, if you ask me. . . . . .He'd paled even more when he felt the aggressive contact and it looked like he was going to pass out any second. I definitely couldn't risk that so I smacked him across the head with my free hand to keep him from doing so. I wasn't going to let him do that until I have all the information that I need. "I didn't say you could pass out." I hissed, still whispering. "And *don't* make me repeat myself again. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded without any second thoughts and I could tell that he would've gulped if it hadn't been for the fact that he'll hurt himself if he did. "They. .they're. . .on the. .the last fl. .floor. . . .underground. . .in the m. .main. . .inter. .interrogation. . .room. . . . Room. . .number. . .DS125. . . ." he stuttered. I didn't need to make sure to see if he was really telling the truth or not. The sheer look of fear had said it all. I guess it is true like they say. Your eyes are the windows to your souls.

"How many floors down?"

"F. .Four. . ." he sputtered. I smirked coldly at that before slightly bowing my head, my eyes shadowed from sight. Chanting a spell in my mind, my head jerked up at the same time the magic amplifiers glowed and I brought my left hand to his forehead, murmuring a "Sleep." I drew back my sword and sheathed it, watching as the floor came to meet his face. I would've killed the pathetic loser but then again, if someone comes in here later and find a dead body, they'd obviously know that there's an intruder on the base. . .which just wouldn't make it any easier for me, man. Now see, with him already drunk as it is, they'd evidently be thinking that he'd just passed out. Smart eh?

I turned away, aiming to leave the room and go find the main interrogation room logic or rather my women's instinct stopped me. I turned about and found myself staring at the Oz uniform the unconscious wimp was wearing. . .and I knew exactly why I'd unwillingly stopped. Man. . .I am *not* gonna wear that uniform that's just radiating with beer and, no less, pose as an Ozzie.

But you *know* that you can't waste any valuable time, Inverse. You know that `cause there aren't nearly as many mazokus here as there are back in the other dimension, your magic is reduced to only half of your full power or less. . . . And wearing that uniform will save you a great deal of time since it'd be easier for you to avoid any Oz soldiers if you are spotted. `Sides, he's not *that* much bigger than you. It would only be a *little* baggy when you wear it on. And considering that you're seemingly going to wear that over your black outfit, it should fit even more and it'd be no problem if you're thinking that it might be a distraction and or interference if or when you fight.

I frowned darkly knowing exactly that my logical side was right. Oi, it may be right but it's not like I was going to admit it or nothin' y'know. But damn man. . . .stupid magic. Stupid mazoku. I scowled. Things just *have* to be more worse than it already is. Gawd. I'd better freakin' hurry then. I squat down next to him, flipped him over so he was lying on his back, and began to unbutton his shirt. My frown darkened more if that was even possible. So much for trying to avoid any possibility of someone shouting `Intruder! Intruder!' if someone comes in here later. I sigh. Let's just pray and hope that no one does. After a little thinking, I knew I was getting selfish, `specially in a dangerous situation like this that not only deals with my life on the line but five others, and a pang of guilt engulfed me. Man, I've been suck a jerk, only thinking about myself. I sighed, continuing to take off the jacket and slipping it on myself. I guess. . .it's not like I'm going to be able to use my magic anyways even if I had full power. Yea but it'd still make me feel more secure and somewhat relieved if I had the capability to use all of my magic, I reasoned. I unconsciously began to slip the pants off of him now and onto me, over my outfit.

Take the sleep spell you put on this Ozzie for example, my logic explained. If you were able to use all of your magic, the Ozzie would be asleep until the next morning and right now is barely 9:32. But now, the least the spell is still in effect before it wears off is less than two hours, four at max. Since you brought the magic amplifiers, this spell would probably last eight hours or so, if your lucky. However. . .even with your magic amplifiers, you'd be exhausted as hell if you were to try and cast a Dragon Slave. And you wouldn't even be *able* to cast it without your magic amplifiers. You might as go and try to convince Amelia to stop preaching about justice. And imagine if you were attempting to cast the Ragna Blade. It'd be like when you were combing that hikari no ken with the Giga Slave back then at that final battle with the Dark Lord Shabranigdo all over again. You know how completely fatigued you were back then. And since it'd cost you to lose your powers for a few days back then, it'd probably cost you a few weeks or two staying here in this dimension.

Damn, it is just me or is it always right? Tch.

I stood up and straightened the uniform out. The smell of beer was barely there, noticing that it wasn't as strong as before. "It must've just been that idiot's breath." I muttered. My eyes caught sight of the cap lying on the floor and I debated whether or not I should wear it. Logic won this round once again and I glowered at the cap, at the same time swooping down to snatch it up roughly. So much for not hiding my hair and hair hiding my face anytime soon. . . A soft sigh in annoyance brushed across my parted lips as my shoulders slumped somewhat. Well, point is. . .I might have to wear this cap to hide my face to keep it less suspicious and all but it doesn't mean that I'd have to enjoy it, y'know. I placed the cap on the desk and pulled my hair in a high bun, keeping my hand there so that they wouldn't fall out and get loose. Searching around on top of the desk, I didn't see any rubber bands, contrary to what I'd hope for. Since there weren't any, I just picked up the cap again and placed over my head, at the same time letting go of my hold on the bun. Adjusting the cap so that it won't fall off by itself without much movement, a particular weight on me caught my attention that I was surprised I hadn't felt it before. My hand slipped into my right pocket and I pulled out the object. A gun. . . . .

I don't know if I should take it since I'm not flawless when it comes to using a firearm. I mean, I don't know about you but to me, shooting a Flare Arrow is somewhat different than from using a gun. I know I have a fairly accurate aim when it comes to arrows, but last time I checked, firing an arrow was different from firing a projectile. I know how to operate a gun, I mean, how hard can it be to pull a trigger? I think the problem that I'd have with using a gun would be to actually shoot my target and not mistakenly shoot someone else without intention. But then again. . . .using this would be a better back up than using magic. . . . With that decided, I tucked the gun in the back pocket of the uniform. Just in case. . .

The door slightly creaked when I pulled it open. I was going to peer outside to see if anybody was around when I heard quite a number of footsteps coming from my left. I quickly shut the door again and leaned against the wall, staying as silent as possible. They got louder as they approached closer but now that they were to the right of the room I was currently occupied in, the footsteps began softer with each step, finally fading away. I let out my breath that I wasn't even aware that I was holding. I opened the door once again and poked my head out, viewing the corridor from right to left and back to right again. Glad that no one was around, I slipped through the door and my woman's instincts told me to go left, so left I went. Still keeping my eyes on the lookout, I silently ran down the hallway and turned right as the one way hallway turned right. Hearing some muffled voices coming up the stairs ahead of me, I slowed down to a walk, hand now gripping onto the sword. I pulled the cap lower as to secrete my face simultaneously, dropping my head more than before as if I'd found the tiled floor suddenly more interesting. I remained quiet when I proceeded to walk again.

The voices began louder as I walked closer towards them and they to me. Three soldiers came into view as I observed them in between my bangs that were, more or so, covering my eyes. The chattering between them slowly faded, and I could fell their eyes on me as we walked by one another but I directly paid them no heed. We were about ten feet apart when I'd heard their footsteps behind me come to a halt.

"Oi! Where ya goin', soldier? And who're ya? I've never seen you around here before. . ." one spoke up, trailing off in suspicion. I turned around, still keeping the upper part of my face hidden.

My voice was filled with no emotions, whatsoever. "I'm new here, sir." Whether any of those three were any high ranking soldiers, which I fully doubt, I still added the `sir' in to keep things cool and hopefully stay out of trouble. I'd say that as long as you show some "respect" to them, either truthfully or not, it doesn't exactly matter. I mean, it keeps ya out of trouble. `Sides, I doubt it if any of these three are wise enough to decipher through my mask. "I'm heading down towards the cells, sir."

"Oh? And for what objective would that be, soldier?" the same one questioned. "What particular cubicle are you heading to?"

"DS125, sir." Boy, could I feel them glaring darkly at me or what? I was gonna say more but the second of the three idiots beat me to it.

"Do you even *know* what prisoners are in that cell?" he hissed.

I resisted the urge to just roll my eyes at them and utter in annoyance, `No shit, Sherlock.'…but I knew better than to do that so I didn't. "Yes, sir. The infamous and notorious gundam pilots." That came out indifferently. "I was ordered to keep watch on them with the others that are already there, sir."

"Well…since you do know which prisoners are in there, why would anyone send you, a *newcomer*, to make sure that the *gundam pilots* don't escape?" They scoffed and crossed their arms. "*Especially* with someone who only has a stupid, cheap, good-for-nothin' *sword* of all things for a weapon and with only one gun!" the first one, whom I assumed was the leader and the other two were his lackeys, narrowed his eyes. "I dun't tolerate liars, y'got that?!"

"Yes, sir. But I am not lying… I did, indeed, say that I was a newcomer, sir. But I did not say that I was new to being in the military. I've been in the military for little over two years now, prior to occupying at a different base. I was explicitly commanded to transfer to here, particularly *because* the gundam pilots are at this base. I may be young, sir, but I am not incompetent and definitely not inexperienced with fighting and with war, quite the opposite actually. My skills lie especially within the category of martial arts, both in hand-to-hand combat and with wielding a sword expertly. . . . . .which is why I carry my blade around. Not to mention, this sword is a family heirloom that has been passed on from generation to generation in my family so I can not just dump it somewhere as if it were trash, sir. Because I guarantee you, it is not," I lied smoothly, inwardly grinning. I'd paused for a mere second before continuing again. "And sir. . .I may not exactly match up with the gundam pilots' skills since they *are* professionally trained terrorists. However, I am only but a few notches away from being situated in their level of knowledge and both combating and piloting skills. And especially in their current situation, I can gamble even my life that I can most definitely surpass their skills now. . . . . . . .sir."

"Why you--!" I inwardly smirked, proud that I was actually able to make the whole shit up as I went…and the fact that I thoroughly pissed them off. Talk about victory eh? Haha! Man, am I good or what?

"How dare you speak to your. . .your commanding officer like that?!" the third and final soldier yelled, outraged.

"Like what sir?" My tone remained emotionless as it did when I was voicing all of that bullshit. Well, not necessarily *all* bullshit anyway. I *am* pretty good with fighting with a sword. Not the best, I know that, but good enough.

The supposedly `commander' spoke up. "You--!" he scowled. "I could report you to Commander[1] Une-sama and have you dishonorably discharged from the military and Oz altogether y'know!" he shouted.

"But, I don't understand. Exactly on what indictment, sir?" I remained calm and collected like I had been doing all along. . . . .well, externally that is. . . . . . And geez, ya'd think that these idiots would have a big enough brain to smell the stench of beer lingering in the air. Not that I'd want them to smell it, but it's not like this friggin' smell was *that* weak y'know. It definitely isn't strong, I'll tell ya that, but you would think that they would be able to at least smell a teeny bit of it. Tch.

"Why you--! Kiisama--!" Guess not.

His face grew as red as a tomato as he scowled, the other two clenching their fists. "You are dismissed, soldier!!" he bellowed and they immediately stomped away in fury and embarrassment, only successfully. .amusing. . .me. Turned around, I faced the stairs and proceeded to walk the opposite direction from them, all the while hearing those three idiots-- `specially the leader --cursing like a madman to no end. Man, if I'd thought that he was pissed as hell earlier, I most definitely know that I was wrong in that, `cause his earlier expression of fury couldn't even compare to this outburst of blazing rage.

I was, indeed, thoroughly satisfied with my exceptional handiwork if you ask me. My right hand was lifted, adjusting the front of the cap lower again since it had elevated earlier from the slight movement of my head when I was talking nonchalantly. The cap now concealed my scarlet-colored eyes and part of my nose just like I'd wanted it to. The only thing you *could* perceive as I progressed down the stairs was the full blown smirk on this pretty face of mine that I had absolutely no intention of hiding.

02~*~02~*~02~*~02~*~02~*~02~*~02~*~02~*~02

Unconsciousness departed from my side, a low moan catching up to my ears. Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I groaned in evident annoyance at the stiffness of my back for lying on the damned metal floor for so long. The iciness of the floor that just seemed to radiate throughout the damned cell caused me to release a shudder I couldn't suppress as well. Pausing for the abrupt wave of dizziness to leave me, I slowly opened my eyes and like the last couple of times, only darkness had greeted me. Hmph. Nothin' new there, I thought.

An abrupt surge of pain shot through my ribs and my face contorted in pain, a scowl brushing against my slightly parted lips. K'so! For a moment there, I'd forgotten about those bruised ribs of mine. Baka.

My hands were bound in manacles, not making the situation any better. . .nor any different either. I've already lost count of the number of times I'd fallen in and out of consciousness so whether it were already days. . .or even weeks since the first time I'd woken up and found myself in here, I had absolutely no idea. And I haven't seen Heero since then either. . .nor any of the others. I'd refused to believe the exceedingly possible reality that all five of us are captured, and not only me and Heero. But logic contradicted with my hope, articulating that if Wufei and `em ain't captured and all, they would've hauled our asses outta here long ago.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I closed my eyes and focused on my inner `strength'. . . Ha! Such mockery in using that term to describe this. . . . .curse. Yea…curse would be more like it alright, I thought. My mind seemed to begin to wander off down memory lane but I snapped, refusing to let myself do so and thus, stopping myself before I even had the slightest chance to.

I hadn't even known that my shoulders were tense until I had forced myself to relax, letting `em slouch in the process, my back now leaning against the wall. Before long, I found myself focused once again and just like I'd wanted, I felt the magic flow through me in the healing process. I wouldn't be able to undertake escape in the current condition I was in so I had to recover a.s.a.p. Though I won't admit it, I guess the logical side of me is right in the reality that the others are captured as well. And if the others are in any condition as how I am in. . . . K'so. Too bad my earlier attempts of healing myself had failed due to the interruptions of them Oz bastards and their fuckin' "interrogations". Ha! Interrogations my ass. A fuckin' sick, repulsive game is all that is. They'd only question you once or twice and the rest of the hours would be `trash-the-enemy-and-then-brag-ta-their-fellow-soldiers-that-they-beat-the- fuckin-crap-outuv-the-notorious-gundam-pilot' game. Motherfuckin' sonuva bitches. Man, they piss the hell outa me when those two fuckers show up. And they have the *nerve* to fuckin' brag that I'd bawled like a baby and practically *begged* them for mercy every fuckin' time. Keh! I'd rather die and go ta hell than beg for mercy to their sorry asses. My ass. . . .and I didn't even make a sound, if you ask me. . . .I never do. . . . . Now you see, a grunt or something similar is different from a shout. Grunt, yes; scream, no. Keh. Like hell, I'd ever give the enemy the gratification of listening to me scream in pain and agony. My pride wouldn't ever let me show any weaknesses comin' from me. Tch.

Footsteps outside the cell reached my ears and I knew exactly that the cell door was going to open any second. K'sotare. . . . They must be monitoring the cells if they know every single goddamn time when to show up at the `right' time. So much for tryin' to fully recover and then escape this time. . . .

The door opened with a hiss and two Oz soldiers walked in, emitting such a bright light in the dark cell. I shielded my eyes with my arms briefly before lowering them as I adjusted my sudden slightly stinging eyes with the sharp change. I opened one eye first, then the other and inwardly snorted with the view I had taken in. Boy, speak of the devil. Hmph, no surprise there. . . "Well, well, well. . . .if it ain't dumb `n dumber here with another round of `interrogations', eh?" I hid my anger behind the charming smirk glued to my face.

The leaner of the two, Jeff, narrowed his eyes and walked up to me picking me up by the collar of the priest's grab I had on. "And I see you haven't changed one bit, colony shit. Still runnin' that smart ass mouth of yours. . ." he hissed.

I grinned. "No kiddin', man. But that just makes it all more the better doesn't it? I get to see you guys fume in anger at my remarks." My grin grew. The dirty blonde, blue-eyed Ozzie glowered at me and before I knew what was coming, he delivered a one painful blow to my gut. My orbs widened in pain but all I let out was a grunt as I felt his grip loosen on me and I dropped to the floor with a thud. I struggled to pull myself onto my feet but then my chest started throbbing again. Before I could collapse, I felt two arms carry me from each side and I was lifted off the ground again, my feet slightly brushing across the floor.

"Too bad we're not doin' the interrogations this time." Jeff's partner, Randall, had spoken. Though both were at least a head taller than me, Randall was probably an inch or two taller than Jeff. He was more buff and built than Jeff but to me, I'd consider Jeff more a threat than his brown haired, brown-eyed partner. After all, from what I'd observed from the last couple of our encounters, Randall is just all meat and no brains.

I noted that they were going to drag me to another room and I knew that this would be the perfect time for me to try and escape. Other than my bruised ribs and now sore abdomen, the only wound left on me was my sprained left ankle. The dizziness earlier had faded and though my ankle stung, it ain't as if it's something I can't handle for the time being. Seeing that Randall had used one hand to open the door more wide, I used this to my advantage and kicked my feet in the air, swinging `em over my head. With my arms twisting backwards with my body, the grip had loosened enough that I was able to flip the whole way. I took their surprise to my benefit and kicked them as hard as I could square on the back. They flew straight forward, both comin' face ta face with the solid, metal floor.

Before they had a chance to stand up-- which I doubt they will for a minute or two, or hopefully. . .maybe more --, I sprint pass them with speed that even surprised me considering my condition but that didn't delay me. Two guards that were outside had lifted their machine guns and prepared to open fire. I kicked a gun out of one of the soldier's hands, successfully knocking that the gun at the second one's face. Though the second soldier was falling backwards from the whack, he pulled the trigger and several gun shots rang throughout the hallway. I silently cursed, at the same time striking the gunned soldier unconscious with my cuffed hands and then kicking the first one in the gut. He too fell to the ground unconscious after releasing a groan.

I never did get a chance before to pick the lock on the manacles and I surely didn't have time now. Picking up a machine gun, I prepared to dash down the hall in search for the others but a brisk yank on my ankle sent me plummeting to the ground on my stomach. I blindly kicked the foe behind me and I felt my boot connect, followed a vibrating thud not long after. Flipping myself in an upright position, I turned about only to find myself using the machine gun to shield my chest from the swift and especially hard kick Jeff thrust at me. A gun was stuck straight in my face before I knew it and I loosened my grip on the machine gun in defeat.

The weight of his booted feet didn't lighten though; in fact, it had become heavier. I grunted at the growing pain weighting on my ribs, which only resulted in making the smirk on his face grow more. What I would give to wipe that fuckin' smirk on his face. . . . Teme. But soon enough, my slightly pained expression I revealed was immediately replaced by a smirk of my own, most definitely brightening my day. The front of his teeth was now wide enough that you can stick three whole fingers through there and then maybe squeeze in one more. Not ta mention that you could visibly spot the red liquid on his other teeth and then some that slowly filled his mouth. Oh. . . . .the wonders of actually getting a chance to see my own beautiful handiwork. I silently praised with wonder.

"Y'know. . . . . I actually know this one dentist particularly well. Hmm. . . .what's his name?" I asked myself in pretense, my brows scrunching in supposedly deep thought. My head then shot up with the snap of my fingers. "Ah yes! I remember. . . .Dr. Mark Wilkston. . . . He's a terrific dentist y'know. I could hook you up with him if ya like, `coz it looks like you kinda need it ya know. Oh, and you know what the best thing is about all of this?" I didn't bother to wait for the fuming baka to answer. "He's at this colony cluster, L2! Cool huh?" I plastered a fake beam of delight on my face. He increased the weight of his foot but I covered the pain with my grin. "Oi, y'know what I just thought of Jeff?" I started to pant slightly as it suddenly became harder and harder to breathe. "Dude, good thing is. . .that you could actually stick like a. . .real big ass lollipop into your mouth without even opening. . . .your teeth!" I was inwardly crackin' up like hell despite the fact that my chest was burning up in pain. But I'll tell ya now. It ain't that easy to keep myself from bursting out laughing right now. Not one bit.

Before I could say any more, the one who had yanked on my ankle stood up and I recognized it as Randall. I couldn't help but wince all dramatically. . . .well, s'not like I'd wanna keep it in anyways. . . I silently snickered but outwardly let out a cough or two. "Da~ng, Randall. . . . That nose has *got* to be placed. . .under surgery man, a.s.a.p. if y'know what I mean. . .with how it's *all* twisted to the right `n all, man. . . And then there's all that blood leaking down. . .to your chin and man, now it's even dripping to. . . .your shirt. And I'm pretty sure your nose's swollen like shit too. . . . But dude, ya know what?. . . You look like one of those two crooks in that. . . .really, really old 20th century movie. Y'know. . . .the one called Home Alone when it was at the part when the. . . .two crooks," I coughed. ". . .were pulling on the door knob that was actually a rope connected to the big tool box. . . .And then the tool box came clattering down the. . .stairs and then-ou~ch." I feigned a hiss of pain. ". . .man, all I can say is that. . . .that was just plain ugly- straight out." Now I was inwardly laughin' my ass off, outwardly panting hardly. Whoo. . .that was a good one.

"Oi, but chu'know?. . . the dentist dude, Dr. Wilkston, he also does nose surgery. . . . So I could probly hook you up too, . . .and maybe even getchu a . . .discount to top it off. . . Whata ya say?" Talk about a hundred watt smile on my face aside from the paleness of it. Ok, now it's a hundred and ten.

"Kiisama. . ." Jeff growled loudly. He was just shaking with rage now, squashing his foot even more against me. Ok, it won't look good when he beats the shit outa me but I honestly think it's worth it. . . O~h yea. . . . .

When I briefly glanced over at Randall-- at the same time trying to breathe easier which I was failing in doing so --, he was pissed alright but he had look of confusion in his eyes too. I raised a brow at that. Ok, now I'm confused. What the hell is *he* confused about? "Yare yare. . ." I hadn't even known that I'd softly whisper that out loud.

Jeff, his face a scarlet red, glared daggers at me and clicked off the safety. "That's the last time you're gonna piss me off, pretty boy." He prepared to pull the trigger but my grin never faltered one bit. My only regret then was that I wasn't able to escape and haul out the others. His fingers gripped tighter and he prepared to pull the trigger when Randall grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"It ain't worth it Jeff! We gotta take him to Commander Une or she'll have our heads!" So that's where they were s'pposed ta take me. . . .

"So we're. . .goin' ta. . . .see the Lady. . . .eh?" Damn, now even just taking in a bit of air caused my lungs and ribs to scream like hell. Just knock out my source of respiration would he. . . "Y'know. . .I was gonna go--"

"Damare!!" Jeff snarled. Lifting his foot off of me he threw a hard kick to my side, making me drop the gun and roll over a few times before halting with me lying on my abdomen. I grit my teeth to keep from crying out. The new gash, that I knew was caused by the pretty sharp edges of his boot, began to bleed. I don't know how long I'd been coughing because it seemed like the only thing I've been doing, aside from my chest rising and dropping heavily. I was, I admit, relieved that it was easier to inhale and exhale though. As my coughs began to slowly subside, I rolled onto my back. When my hands went to cover the gash to hopefully stop the bleeding, I grit my teeth in silent anger. K'so. The red liquid was already soaking my priest's attire. But. . . . .ama[2]. . . .if my ribs were bruised before, it's as sure as hell fractured or broken now. . .

"K'so. . . . This just gets better `n better doesn't it?" I muttered with heavy sarcasm as I felt them lift me up by the arms again. But this time though, my feet were literally dragging against the pavement as they hauled me down the empty corridor. I couldn't afford having blood loss so I concentrated on casting the healing spell on myself again. The one I'd cast before had long faded since I had lost focus due to interruptions.

From what I've calculated, the trip to Une must've taken approximately only two to three minutes. It's times I these when I actually *wish* that I had powers other than the healing spell since now I know where the others are. And even now, the healing spell doesn't work that rapidly. I'd say that compared to the normal human healing ability, mines would probably be only five times as fast-- which compared to a pure bred mazoku. . .hell, it ain't even comparable.

As the footsteps stopped and the creaking of a door reached my ears, I lifted my head and was greeted with the face of one ugly Une. Eto, not that she was `ugly' ugly but s'not like she's all that pretty right now either. I mean, with her hair in two braided buns on the side of her heads like that and that. . .that *look* she's just givin' people- man. . . but-da~ng, was she friggin' pissed off like shit or what? I snickered. Both at that and the fact that dumb and dumber here were trying to hide their faces. My snickering increased.

"I don't see what you can find so amusing, Duo Maxwell." Une glowered. Yep, she's pissed al'ight. Can't deny that. "Care to elaborate." That, from the tone of her voice, was more of a command than an inquiry.

"Anou. . . . .on the contrary Une-chan, not really. . ." I said thoughtfully. If I could, I would've even added the `tapping-the-chin' effect to it. That remark got a scowl outa her. I grinned.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped.

"Hai hai." A jolt of pain shot through me again and I flashed her a somewhat weak smile, but one nonetheless. ". . . . .Une-chan."

"Teme!! Dump him in there!" They did as commanded and dragged me into the room, passing Une who had been blocking the door.

"Duo! You're ok!"

That all-too-familiar shout made me snap my head up and gaze before me, as I unconsciously wiped my bloody hands-- from covering my gash earlier -on my dark attire. Without any doubt that the four in front of me were, indeed, my friends and not just some figments of my imagination, my face lit up to a hundred watt smile of relief and gratitude. Of course, I was thoroughly in high spirits now knowing for sure that Heero and `em were alive and well. Ok, so maybe we weren't in the best situations-- heck, our present situation was way below zero -but, oi. . .as long we were alive and in shape, we'll figure out a way outa here. . .hopefully.

"Oi! You're all here!" Ok. . . .I admit, that was a very stupid comment. Jeez, just state the obvious dontcha Maxwell.

"I could never figure out why you always like to mortify yourself, Maxwell." Wufei commented dryly before snorting. "Then again, I don't exactly want to know anyways. . . ." Quatre giggled at that and the remaining two had a look of amusement on their faces. The pilot of Shenlong, himself, smirked. I glared at them and just like I'd expected, they were unaffected by my glare. Although we had a funny way of showing it-- for most of us anyway --, I knew we were all relived that none of us had been beaten to death or something already.

I found myself briefly giving them a look over as if to assure myself that they were in a great condition. . .or fairly good anyway. They were each chained to the wall alongside to one another with Wufei to the far left with Quatre next to him. Trowa was in between Quarte and Heero and to the right of Heero, there were a few chains hanging from the wall that was, I assumed, reserved for me. How nice. . . .

Having being chained by the wrists with their arms near either side of their heads was apparently not a pleasant thing since I could tell that the chains were on pretty tightly. It was either that or they all had been struggling until it started bleeding. . . Other than the wrists, there were also chains around their ankles as well. Gee, just like an old fashioned medieval movie ain't it. Keh. As far as I can tell, their condition weren't as bad as mines. I could tell that their faces had been punched a few times and only Trowa had a spilt lip, that wasn't bleeding at the moment. For one thing, I'm pleased that they're injuries aren't as bad as mines and glad that they couldn't see my bleeding side for another. And. . .I s'ppose the fact that they're in better conditions than I am would be `coz they were smart enough not to give any smart remarks like how I'd been doing. . .and still will be doing so if you ask me. I mean, how could you *not* like the feeling of pissing the hell outuv your enemy when you can?. . . Exactly.

My brief observation was literally cut off as I was abruptly thrown on the cold, metal floor with a pretty nasty thud. I silently hissed in pain as my chest began hurting more than before. That was a rather hard throw, but I guess that was to be expected after the number I did to their faces. Despite my aching ribs, I beamed in content.

"What the hell took you so long just to get the last gundam pilot?!" I heard Une bellow. "And what the hell happened to you two??!!" So Une finally saw. . .

My direction was now focused on the busted idiots, but I can see that I wasn't the only one interested in this matter. . . .

"Uh. . . .Anou. . . .You see Commander. . ." the two kept stuttering.

"On with it already!!"

"We. . .umm. .had a bit of a. . .trouble with zero two." Those two were growing paler and paler by the second. I grinned. Out of the corner of their eyes, I could tell that they promised intense pain if they ever got their hands on me. But my eyes flashed with mischief, a full blown smirk on my face. When I stole a glance at Heero and them, I could tell that from their looks of satisfaction, they were silently applauding me. I gave a curt nod as if I were bowing and mouthed a simple `sankyou' to them.

Une threw a look of disgust at them. "Pathetic. Two of my top leading soldiers can't even properly fetch a prisoner with his condition," she pointed to me, "to the main interrogation room. Even if he is a gundam pilot, that is extremely pathetic. . .and most definitely are not ones that are fit to be called as soldiers under OZ." she didn't even bother to look them over before walking away from them and halting a few feet before us. The other two glared daggers at me even more darkly if that was possible. Boy were they embarrassed and humiliated like shit or what? I threw my smirk to them and they were, by now, clenching their fists in silent rage.

"Now. . . .since none of my previous methods has worked--" she started.

"I wonder why. . . . ." I thought out loud, interrupting her.

"--I've decided to experiment on this new one." she stated. "And pilot zero two. Thank you for volunteering to be the first. . . . .victim, Maxwell." She smiled coldly.

"What an honor." my voice was just dripping with cynicism. "Shall I add a `no problem' or a `your welcome' with that as well?" I raised a brow at her frigidly.

She deliberately ignored that comment, her lips just twitching to counter back with a remark of her own but she let it be. With her hands behind her back, she turned to face Heero and `em. "Here is how this. . . .game operates." I narrowed my eyes at her. Another fuckin' sick game this is going to be. Kiisamara[3].

"I will question you four and if any of you answer the questions correctly, you will prevent us from-- . . . .well, let's put it this way. . . you'll save your long haired comrade here a lot of pain and agony. And if you answer incorrectly or don't even bother to answer at all. . . .well, I'm pretty sure you guys are smart enough to understand what the consequences will be. . . . ." She trailed off, a wide ass smirk on her face. "And if player one goes down, I shall move on to the next. . .volunteer, if there is any. If not, I shall have the honor of choosing myself."

I didn't even need to glance at my comrades to know that they were boiling with rage. And I wasn't far behind either. If I fuckin' could, I'd wipe that fuckin' smirk off her fuckin' face right now. And those two lapdogs as well. The only thing that I'm actually glad about all this shit is the fact that she's goin' afta me first. And I'll be fuckin' damned-- as if I ain't already --if I let her or any or her lapdogs lay a hand on Heero or any of `em. I know well enough that each and every one of us were trained to be able to endure and undergo torture and pain without giving the enemy any information no matter what the circumstances. So I know that the others will keep their mouths shut at all costs and I'm grateful for that. But I also know that I'm the only one here that is able to heal themselves if injured like how I'd been doing right now. If someone would have to undergo pain, I'd rather have it be me `coz. . . .well. . .I never expected myself to get out this place alive in the first place. Earth Sphere and the Colonies don't need a mazoku like me in a world such as this. . .or in any world for that matter. Even if I am half-human, what kinduv a fuckin' human being actually enjoys killing their enemies when in battle??. . .

Well, one thing I know `bout alluv us is that we've come this far without just handing the info to our foes so we can save ourselves the torment. . .so we ain't gonna do it now. That'd just be-- like Wufei'd say. . . --dishonorable and unjust. I mean if I have to die, which I'm pretty sure I will any day now, I want to die honorably and I'll make sure that transpires too. I know the others feel this way too.

Une cleared her throat. "Where are the gundams?"

The others remained silent but I don't blame them. We were prepared for this. And as for me? I let out a very audible sigh, catching everyone's attention. "Yare yare, Une-chan. . . . I would've thought that since you're the *brains* of this operation that you'd be smart enough to quit with the askin' the same question routine already when you should know very well that we won't answer any anyways." I sighed again, shaking my head in mock disappointment.

"Why am I not surprised that you'd be the one to comment, brat?" The expression on her face revealed that she was calm but by the tone of her voice, you could take notice of a hint of anger and irritation in `em. She approached me gradually, each step of the way sounding throughout the whole cubicle. "I'm pretty sure that I haven't told you yet," she started, at the same time picking me up by the collar of my shirt with her left hand. Now I was face to face with her-- like that's a good sight. Inwardly I snorted. "but I extremely detest those that continuously make smart remarks." Before I even had a chance to say anything, a hard blow to the gut made me silently gasp and contort in agony but I bit my lip, refusing to cry out. I could've sworn I'd seen her eyes flashed for a millisecond but before I could confirm it, I found myself unable to dodge the fist flying at my face. She had let go me as the fist connected and thus, I was sent sprawling backwards. I heard someone shout my name but I wasn't sure who it was.

Landing on my back, I was determined not to slip into oblivion since that totally seemed like the best idea right now. I moistened my lips with my tongue, wiping off the blood dripping from the tear on my lower lip. I struggled to get up in a sitting position and somehow, managed to do so. Everywhere just seemed to ache all of a sudden but most of all were my ribs and side. I knew I was panting but that only made me even more determined. My spell had faded before but I paused for a few moments to try and pull myself together. As my healing spell began its work again, my panting leisurely resided. "And I believe. . .that I haven't told you. . .the small fact. . .that I enjoy seeing my foes fume in anger. . .at my remarks. I'm pretty sure. . .that dumb and dumber over there. . ." I jerked my thumb in their direction seeing them scowl at me out of the corners of my eyes. ". .already know that fact. . .ne?"

Her eyes were narrowed at me but she seemed to be deep in thought. I had a feeling that she it must've been `bout me `coz her gaze was now traveling up and down on me as if she were lookin' over my wounds and stuff. I don't know what the hell she's up to now but I was getting uncomfortable. And to make it work, her eyes flashed again and I blinked. Now this time I was able to confirm that this wasn't the first time that I'd seen her do that. As she tilted her head, the light reflected upon her glasses, making it hard for me to see her eyes. But what I was able to see didn't make me feel any better. Her lips had slowly curled up into a cold, disturbing smile. And I betcha if I were able to see it, her eyes would be flashing mischievously. What the fuck is she up to now?

"Y'know zero two. . . .I've discovered something very. . ." she paused, pondering on what word, I s'ppose, that would fit best with what the hell she's trying to say. ". . . . .interesting. .about you."

"Oh?" I remained impassive. "And dare I ask, what would that be?" I hadn't even known that there was a sharp yet strikingly cold pitch to my voice until it'd come out. From a brief glimpse out of the corners of my eyes, my friends were, indeed, surprised. Can't blame `em there though; I'm as equally surprised as they are.

". . . . .You always seem to make a smart remark and can never shut up when we want you to. . .and yet you never make a single sound when a punch is thrown at you. . . ." she paused taking a few steps forward. "I don't know about you but I find joy and satisfaction in hearing my prisoners scream in pain and agony."

"Kiisama. . . ." I heard Wufei growl.

"Welp, I guess that's just another disappointed that you'll hafta live with then Une." My lips slowly quirked up into a smirk and my voice was now only but a whisper. "I may be a loud mouthed baka, as I am told, but you forget that I'm also as silent as Death. . .Ore wa Shinigami. . . . ." If only I wasn't. . . . .

"Iya. I don't think I'll be disappointed, Maxwell. This just makes the game all the better. . ." The fuck'd she mean by that?[4] "I've decided to change the rules of this game a bit. . . ." Before I could even decipher what she'd meant by that, I suddenly found myself being the target of her pistol. But I didn't back down nor did I flinch. That move is totally ineffective to me. I've had that same thing happened to me. . . .who knows how many times-- and I have my koi to thank for that. I inwardly grinned.

"Lady Une, I don't think we need to take matters that far!" Quatre protested, both in fear and anger. The rattling of chains reached my ears and I knew that the others were struggling to break free again, but they were unsuccessful.

My intense gaze to Une's never faltered, nor did hers. Unexpectedly, she whipped the gun away from me and directed its aim at Wufei. My eyes widened at the brief alter, but that immediately faded into slits. Quatre was the only one that gasped but then all of them glared daggers at the commanding officer of Oz. "I'm only gonna say this once, colony scum." She smiled. "But of course. . .if you miss what I'm going to say, then that's your loss. . . .of your partner's life, that is."

I knew that my nails were digging into my skin and they were now bleeding but I didn't give a fuck. I now knew what the fuckin' sick game was all about now. Motherfuckin' sonuva bitch. . . . . So far, I'd approximate that I'd already healed perhaps forty to fifty percent of my wounds. If she weren't holding fuckin' gun to Wufei's head, I swear I would've broken her fuckin' neck her then and there. Kiisamara.

She motioned to tweedle dee and tweedle dum, who were now fuckin' smirking, to come and stand by her side. They apparently followed her silent orders. "Since you love to keep quiet so damn much, you'd better do so in this game, Duo Maxwell. . . .`Cause if you make one little sound. . .just *one*;. . . . . a tiny grunt, a tiny moan, a tiny gasp. . . .then I'm afraid that zero five, here, will be seeing you in hell before he can scream in pain. The bullet will pierce his skull from right in between his eyes and that'll be the end of him. . . . .But don't forget. . .every sound you make, . . .another shot will be fired. . .and another one of your comrades will go down. . . ."

I was boiling with rage by then and I had to literally fight the urge to not beat the fuckin' smirk offuv her damn face. Teme! How the fuck can she just fuckin' play with our lives like that?! I narrowed my eyes at her even more if that was possible. I was as pissed as hell at the fuckin' bitch but more or so at myself because I wasn't able to get them out of this fuckin' mess in the first place. I mean, I actually *did* have a chance to escape earlier and get alluv us outa here but I just . . .I blew it! I completely fucked it up!!. . . . . How much more of an asshole could I be?

". . .Worst of all. ." she continued. "It'll be all. your. fault."

It finally hit me like a ton of bricks that she was right. If I totally blow this one, alluv `em are gonna die and it'll be because of my doing. . . It'll be like I'm the one pulling the trigger, not Une.

Her words started to sink into me and her voice repeatedly rang in my head. I shut my eyes, trying to silently drive it away but it was no use. I could've sworn that a couple of different voices aside from hers were yelling something at me. Faintly, I heard something along the lines of don't listen to her. . . and don't. . .play. .game and yamero. . .but I wasn't sure if they were just my imagination or not. I kept hearing loud familiar voices that seemed so far away, shouting my name but her voice just seemed to drown their out. I hadn't even known that it was coming until I felt a blow to my back. The assaults just kept on coming and coming and the only thing I felt anymore was the pain. The familiar voices were barely above a whisper now. They still seemed so far away and yet so close at the same time that I sensed calling out to them would be futile. Maybe it was my pride that told me not to call for help; maybe it was my conscience that told me: keeping quiet was the right thing to do. . .I don't know, but whichever it was, I listened to it.

I don't know how long time had passed but I was pretty sure that my body had numbed by now. And to say that I wasn't glad was a straight-out lie. No longer did I want to feel the pain, but a brutal twist of my right leg prevented that. My eyes snapped open and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. A sick crack filled my ears and I knew then that my knee was not dislocated but rather broken.

A gasp had been drowned out by the sound of a gunshot ringing throughout the room, at the same time a fist to my shoulder made me roll over. I wasn't sure if Une had broken the rule and shot Wufei but I still refused to shout. My head snapped up sharply, fear creeping up onto me. That was immediately replaced with relief when I'd seen that Wufei was alright, the projectile only slightly grazing his temple, letting a few strands of his hair come loose. My mind registered then that Une had tried to trick me into yelling out and I glared daggers at her in total fury, inwardly wincing at my throbbing leg. She glared back at me in silent rage that her trick obviously didn't work, a scowl following not long after. Her hands were clenching the gun tightly as she lowered the gun and I gave a weak smirk that I'd won this game despite my results.

At the angry motion of her hands, the brutal assaults finally came to an end. But any idiot would be able to tell that my body was broken in several places and bloodied as well. . . .I didn't even want to look but I most certainly knew that the gash on my stomach that had actually stopped bleeding earlier was soaking my attire once again. And my right foot. . . .I couldn't even feel myself trying to move it anymore. Pain. Only pain was all that I could feel. Chikuso. . . .

"Yokatta. . . . By Allah. . .yokatta. It finally stopped. . . . ." Quatre sighed with total gratitude. "Duo--"

"Mou iize, na Q. Daijoubu na, minna. Daijoubu. . ." I threw them a reassuring smile. But whether I was trying to assure them of my condition or myself. . .I wasn't sure.

Even if I wasn't looking, I could sense that Quatre had been crying. . . and guilt began to eat at me. He was crying and upset because of me. . . . . With me lying on my side, I laid my head down, moderately letting the exhaustion overwhelm me. I was panting rather hard; I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, I noticed, but I let my body get as much rest as it needed. Casting a spell on myself again would be pointless considering the fact that I barely had the energy, but I did so anyways. It may be weak but it will heal me, nonetheless. . .even if it is at a snail's pace. But. . .funny thing was, I finally noticed. . .other than the blood trickling from my split lower lip-- that resulted from my own biting --and the small bruise resulting from the punch Une threw at me, my face was completely void of any other wounds or injuries. . . .

A rather loud growl in pure anger reached my ears and I slightly turned my head about to see what was going on. "Where are the fuckin' gundams?!" she bellowed, but as expected. . .there was not a single answer. The only response she got in return were four full blown smirks. I couldn't help but grin at that-- s'not like I wannit to hold that back anyways.

Throwing her hands up in frustration, Une threw a round house kick at the four of them, her boot hitting them square in their faces. Regardless of the split and bleeding lip on Heero's and Trowa's faces and the bruises on Quatre's and Wufei's, their smirk never faltered. Now I *had* to give `em props for that. I couldn't have done it better myself. . . . Ok, so maybe I could've but, I admit, they were good, really ticking her off like that. `Sides, that was the key point so-- Yosh.

Glaring at us with pure hatred one last time, Une literally stomped towards the exit. Without looking back, she lifted her gun up in the air and pulled the trigger. As the gunshot rang throughout the cubicle, the sound of glass shattering and the feel of electric spark momentarily filled the room. One of the only two lights above produced a small explosion, that light instantly dying out. The remaining light flickered a few times before turning dim. Her footsteps were heard once again accompanied by two more pairs that followed her. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief, glad that they were leaving. The cell door creaked open but the footsteps didn't resume as quickly as I'd thought it would.

Curiosity and cautiousness struck me and I opened my eyelids, staring in their direction. I saw that though Une was facing her two lapdogs, her eyes were scanning over Heero and `em and then over me. Our eyes met in a silent battle before her eyes flashed wickedly, the light outside reflecting upon her glasses like before. I strained my acute hearing senses, getting the impression that she was going to say something to tweedle dee and tweedle dum. What I'd heard from their short conversation that was but a whisper made my blood froze, my spine suddenly stiffing in iciness. I didn't want to believe that she'd actually said that but the disturbing smirk of triumph she threw me before she departed proved my hopes wrong. Their conversation and expressions echoed in my mind as the cell door slowly closed shut.

~ ". . . .Break `em." They smiled frigidly with sheer lust in their eyes.

"Ryoukai." ~

tbc. . . . .

What do you guys think?? Please review/give feedback! Sankyou!!. . . . .oh yea. I also want to apologize for not updating so quickly. . . I was really busy but I have to admit, one does get lazy too. ::scratches head:: heh heh. -_-0 I hope I get the next chapter out a.s.a.p. but I can't promise anything. . . I also have other fics to type up too. heh heh heh. . . ^ ^;;

[1] In the first chapter, I'd made a mistake by calling Une a lieutenant when she really is a commander. I'd figure that out when I was watching GW again. ::grins:: So people. . .it's actually Commander Une not Lieutenant Une. ~_^

[2] ama - bitch. *much thanks to ~Serena Jackson O'Neill~ for this one! arigato! ^__^

[3] kiisamara - you bastard.

[4] If ya didn't understand what Duo meant here, he meant: What the fuck did she mean by that? ^__^