Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wing ❯ Broken Wing - Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Authors Notes: I want to make it very clear that any increase in writing productivity you guys may have noticed is a direct result of waves of wonderful reviews I receive every time I post a new chapter of Broken Wing



Authors Notes: I want to make it very clear that any increase in writing productivity you guys may have noticed is a direct result of waves of wonderful reviews I receive every time I post a new chapter of Broken Wing. If you want more, review! If you review, I know that you guy like BW and want more. If I know you want more, I'll write more! Now that THAT'S out of the way: Thankies to Marika Webster, as always, and the ever awe inspiring genius of Trenchcoat Man. And thankies to VeeBees, who got jealous when she wasn't mentioned before. ::winks:: But she knows I luvs her, and she gives me LOTS of support by reading every chapter! Also, I know that everyone is waiting for updates on Broken Wing, but I would really appreciate it if you guys would read and review my new fanfic, Dream Infinity as well. It's a Sailormoon crossover with Rurouni Kenshin, and I hope that it will be of the same quality as BW.

Disclaimer: Do I really haveta say it AGAIN? ::gets prodded by some lawyers:: Okies, okies: I don't own Sailormoon or Gundam Wing. There, ya happy?!?



Broken Wing ~ Chapter Eight


In the quiet that followed Duo's retelling of his story, no one dared to look at him. Hiiro noticed this, as he noticed most things, even if he didn't offer this knowledge. He saw Quatre lower his blonde head to place his face in waiting hands. Trowa stared into the white paint of a far wall as if Usagi was lingering there to jump out at them and say it was all a very cruel and distasteful joke. Wufei sat with his arms crossed, glancing with dark eyes between his four companions, waiting to see what they would say. They all knew that he would be the strongest advocate for Hiiro's point: they should leave the girl.
"Come on!" Duo growled with a special vehemence that shocked them all into looking up into his face. The features that normally looked so childish were twisted into a pained expression of desperation. "We CAN'T leave her! You all know it as well as I do! She's an innocent who got caught up in our fight, and we can't just let OZ have her!" He paused to look at them each in turn, asking silently if he had gotten through to them.
Hiiro sighed inwardly. Yes, she was an innocent, and it wasn't fair that she had to be sacrificed for their safety. But the fact remained that they were Gundam pilots: wanted, and destined to be executed if OZ were to find them. Usagi would most likely merely be interrogated and then released. He couldn't think of a single reason for OZ to want her, though they obviously did, let alone a reason for them to want her dead. Yes, it was better for them to leave Usagi to Oz, and save themselves.
"I can't believe you guys!"
Duo's anger was so intense that he stood to his feet in a shot without a wince although his head must have been causing him agony.
"We don't know if we can trust her-" Hiiro began, only to be interrupted.
"God damn you, Hiiro!" the braided one spat in a display of near hatred, "If there is a God, he'd damn all of you for this! SHE'S AN INNOCENT!" He stumbled a bit at his own shout, gripping his head. But he gave no cry of pain, and in a moment his steely indigo eyes had landed on Trowa. "She gave you back your memories. She helped you be a complete person again and you're going to let her be taken prisoner? Are you?!?"
Trowa blinked and looked at the floor in shame.
"We don't know if we can trust her?" Duo went on, just as fiery, "QUATRE!"
The blonde jumped to hear his name spoken so harshly.
"Y-yes?"
"What do you feel from her? Any malice? Any darkness at all? If she had any plans to harm us in any way, if we couldn't trust her, you would have told us, right? Right??"
"Duo-"
"Answer me! Is she a danger to us?"
A pause. Then, looking even more shameful than Trowa, Quatre opened his shaking lips and replied.
"No. I feel nothing but compassion, kindness, and love from her."
"Alright then," Duo seemed to calm at that, more from his own pain that Quatre's words. Just when Hiiro thought that he was done, the braided boy turned on Wufei. "You."
Even Wufei was taken off guard by that.
"What about me? I agree with Hiiro, she's a liability, nothing more. Not only that, but she is weak to have allowed herself to be caught. She should have known better than to get herself involved in a situation that she obviously couldn't handle." Wufei smirked, certain that there was no way Duo could circumvent that logic.
"She's weak, a weak woman, that's all?" Duo seethed when the black-eyed boy nodded arrogantly, "Where in your damned code of honor does it allow you to leave the weak at the mercy of the strong? Instead of abandoning an innocent person weaker than you, shouldn't you be fighting to protect her? I thought THAT was honor."
Wufei paled by several shades.
Duo spun to glare at last at Hiiro. Stoically, the pilot of Wing stared back at the braided one, who seemed finally at a loss for words. Hiiro knew what was going on in his head: What now? What possible words could he say to Hiiro Yui to make him cave in? At long last, those lips opened once more, and the words that exited were a mere whisper.
"She . . . she's an innocent, Hiiro. We protect the innocent, we don't abandon them. Is there nothing in your past that you regret enough to want to repent for it?"
A flash of memory burst into Hiiro's mind.
A girl . . . a puppy . . . a flower . . . the base burning, the mobile suits falling . . . if only he'd been more careful . . .
"Please . . ." he heard Duo beg him once more. Then the braided one said haltingly, in Hiiro's own language, "Onegai, Hiiro."
No . . . we can't. It's too dangerous for us, and we are the last hope for peace. She's just a girl . .. a girl . . . an innocent girl . . .
Not trusting his voice to speak, Hiiro gave a brief nod and a grunt as his reply. With a relieved sigh Duo sank onto the loveseat and promptly passed out.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Damn him! Damn that braided idiot and damn the girl too!
Two hours after Duo's scene in the living area, Wufei, was in the Gundam hanger as he always was when upset. Facing Shenlong, his Nataku, he suddenly spun in fury and slammed a fist into the nearest wall. The pain that resulted did little to quell his rising anger, however. How dare Duo speak to him like that? As if the American knew anything of honor! He placed both hands on the assaulted wall and hung his head between his arms, eyes blazing as they stared at the floor.
He had a point, a deeper part of the Chinese boy murmured to himself, honor means protecting the weak . . . and you were going to leave her to OZ. You know they have no honor.
A sigh, ever so slight, escaped from his lips.
"Thank you."
Wufei spun, hand ready to clutch his katana if necessary. He saw no one, and didn't recognize the voice. He stood in silence, dark eyes narrowed as he searched the hanger for sign of the hidden speaker. At last, from the darkness shrouding Deathscythe, stepped Duo, head wrapped in a bandage that needed changing more as the seconds slipped by. For a soundless second indigo eyes stared into black. Wufei relaxed. Despite his general dislike for Duo, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boy was trustworthy. He piloted a Gundam, and fought against OZ, didn't he?
"Why thank me, Maxwell? You got the better of me in there. Shouldn't you be gloating?" Wufei stood tall, prepared for the snickers and the snide comments he knew were coming.
"I'm thanking you . . ." Duo paused, and Wufei suddenly understood why he had at first not recognized the boy's voice. It was deeper than before, weighted down by solemnity and dignity. "I'm thanking you for understanding," he concluded at last, sad eyes straying from Wufei's face to gaze on Deathscythe. If any of the pilots were as connected to their Gundams as Wufei, it was Duo. "You would have agreed eventually. You know much more about honor than I do," he sighed, placing a hand on the black, shiny surface of his mobile suit, halfway, it seemed to Wufei, for support, "I just had to remind you."
"No, Maxwell," Wufei replied in his usual harsh tone, for that was something he couldn't help, "I was completely in agreement with Hiiro. I would have left her." He hesitated, knowing what he had to say next, but not liking it, "If anyone should be giving thanks, I should be thanking you. For reminding me."
Duo blinked, and looked at Wufei in nothing less than shock. The black-haired boy felt his lips tilt upwards in an unwilling smile. He knew more than anyone how surprising his offered thanks had been. It surprised him as well.
"Don't look at me like that, Maxwell," he said, turning his back to walk out, "This doesn't mean that we are friends."
But the smile didn't leave his face until he was well away from the hanger.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Usagi sat in the dank cell, arms handcuffed together by the odd cuffs that certainly did look like something from the far future. She heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping forward with the effort. Eyes having adjusted to the dark, she spotted the place on the nearest wall were she had been marking the hours, or at least the closest approximation she could get without a watch. Carefully she counted them. When she came up with the number thirty-five, Usagi made a face. It surely hadn't been that long. The guys wouldn't leave her here for longer than a day, she was sure of it. Most likely her impatience and discomfort made her imprisonment seem lengthier.
"Alright, minna-san," she grumbled to herself in Japanese, picturing the five boys at the base, "where are you? I think I've been waiting long enough."
"Saying your prayers, Little One?" came the sneering voice of her guard from outside. It was the same one that she had knocked unconscious with the Silver Crystal when she first appeared in this time.
"Hai," she answered, "I'm praying for you that when my friends come to rescue me, they won't hurt you TOO badly. You are, after all, just human." She heard his arrogant humph and was distinctly reminded of Wufei.
No, even Wufei is better than this baka. At least Wufei is fighting for peace. If I can believe Setsuna-san.
"I'd be praying for myself, if I were you. At least if you continue to refuse to tell use what weapon you used against me and my soldier." His callous speech chilled her even though there was a steel door between them, "My superiors won't keep you alive as long as you refuse, if that's what you're thinking. After a while they'll get so tired of your insolence that they'll have you executed just to be rid of you."
Usagi shivered, not because the cell was cold, but because his words cast an iciness over her heart.
Minna-san . . . Duo-kun . . . what's taking you so long?
It was then that she remembered Setsuna's words to her regarding the Gundam pilots:
They are kind underneath, but all are very dangerous. Until you know for certain that you have gained their trust, and that they deserve yours, never turn you back on them.
Despite herself and her vow to remain strong in the hands of the enemy, Usagi felt renegade tears spilling from her eyes. She closed them tight, trying to close back both the tears and the thoughts that caused them. Could the pilots have abandoned her? Would they? She couldn't believe it. She rejected the very idea that any of the boys would desert her, especially to OZ. There was too much kindness in them for that. She trusted them, Kami-sama help her, she trusted them.
Duo-kun . . . I trust you!
She took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. Yes, she trusted them all.
Well . . . maybe not Wufei.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


All of them wanted to go immediately after Usagi, but it quickly became evident that Duo was in no condition to go anywhere outside of the base, let alone into the heart of battle. Hiiro, in his quiet way, backed by Trowa and surprisingly Wufei, ordered the braided one to his room for two days of bed rest.
"We need the time anyway," Hiiro had said, "to find out which base they're keeping her at."
"And you'd be no use to her like you are," Trowa added quietly.
"So you might as well just lie down, be quiet, and leave all of the work to us until you can stand without swaying." Wufei growled, arms crossed, no trace of the friendly smile left on his face.
So Duo lie in bed, arms folded gingerly behind his head, indigo eyes staring upwards at the ceiling. His mind rolled back a day. He saw only Usagi's face, twisted in fear as it had been the moment before he had blacked out. A large, poisonous ball of guilt rolled up in his chest and began to eat away at him from the inside out. Over and over Duo cursed himself for being stupid, for turning too soon, for getting involved in the fight in the first place, for not taking the large soldier out completely. This was all he had to do all day.
Without warning Trowa's face appeared in his line of vision.
"AAHH!" Duo jumped and whacked his head on the headboard, "OOWW!!" His howl of pain was enough to make Trowa wince.
"Sorry."
"Yeah, right! Sure, I know that this is what you all do for fun! Go on, surprise Duo, make him blackout from pain! It'll be a riot!"
Trowa stared at him in silence. He waited until the braided one calmed down before he handed forth a sheet of paper, freshly printed from Hiiro's computer screen.
"We found her."
Duo snatched the paper away from Trowa's outstretched hand. It was a map, showing the two closest OZ bases. One of them had been circled in red, no doubt by Hiiro's precise hand.
"You sure this is the right one?"
Trowa nodded.
"Absolutely sure?"
Trowa nodded.
"Beyond a shadow of a doubt?"
Trowa nodded. Again. And something sparking in his emerald eye made Duo shut up.
"It's the closest. From your story it's the only place they could have taken her, because they weren't in Sanch for military reasons. They probably were only looking for supplies and to make trouble. Therefore they wouldn't have had the manpower or the equipment to travel from any of the other two bases." Trowa tossed him a glance, "That is, if your story checks out."
"Why wouldn't it?" Duo asked furiously through clenched teeth.
"You took two blows to the head, Duo," Trowa replied, "It's enough to cause anyone to forget details. It wouldn't be your fault if you were wrong about something."
Duo crossed his arms and sat back, his ire assuaged by Trowa's explanation, although he still felt a bit as if it had been meant as an insult. The tall boy stood by quietly, as if knowing somehow that Duo was far from finished. At long last the braided one looked up with one eye and pursed his lips in seeming thought. When he spoke again his voice had returned to normal. Or what was normal for Duo.
"So, when are we going? It'll be good to pilot Deathscythe again, it's been way too long!"
"We'll leave as soon as you seem to be ready-"
"Ready? I'm ready! I've been ready ever since that OZ bastard hit me and took Usagi-san!"
"-and we won't be taking the Gundams. At least not all of them."
"WHAT?!? What do you mean 'not all of them'? How-"
This time, however, was Trowa's turn to interrupt.
"Hiiro will be the only one piloting a suit," he said in his monotone, "he will go first, as a diversion. Wufei and I will fight on the ground while you and Quatre infiltrate in the ensuing panic and find Usagi-san." He handed Duo another sheet, this one a schematic of the interior of the OZ base. "You'll see that the prisoners wing has been marked. That is your destination."
Duo shook his head, impressed.
"Is there anything that guy can't do?" he muttered to himself, thinking of Hiiro and his amazing laptop.
"I doubt it," Trowa replied, completely serious. The he turned and walked out in order to leave Duo to his thoughts.
"Well," Duo spoke aloud, not wishing just yet to go back into complete silence, "seems like they've got this all worked out. Without me." He gave a sigh and gazed on the floor plans before him, memorizing it with his sharp, trained mind, "Looks like I'm the useless one. They worked out a perfect plan without my help, and could probably pull it off without me too." It crossed his mind for the briefest of seconds that perhaps if he were expendable, he should just leave and let the others continue on without him.
No, was his next, immediate thought, I want to see Usagi-san freed. Then a wicked grin spread over his childish features, And kicking a little OZ ass while I at it would certainly be an added bonus.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


"What was the weapon?!?"
Usagi's head jerked to the side with the force of the officer's backhanded slap. Vaguely, through a haze, she felt the chair she was tied to begin to topple over sideways, and she wondered if they would return her to her cell if she fell over. The soldier behind her caught the chair, however, and she was returned to the safety of a straight sitting position.
"You're starting to annoy me, girl," the officer growled. He was quite strong and intimidating despite a small and wiry build. Usagi managed a pained smile through her busted lip as she thought that he must have looked something like Umino when he was younger. She was rewarded with another furious backhand. She felt her face swelling on either side due to the numerous hits and slaps she'd taken in the past hour. "Tell me what weapon you used!"
"Weapon?" she murmured groggily, "You must have the wrong girl, I don't have a weapon. I'm just a normal girl . . . normal . . ." a sob shook from her chest at the utterance of her most cherished dream: to be a normal teenager.
"Normal," he scoffed, picking up a vicious looking stick from the desk behind him, "You're about as normal as the freaks that sit in circus tents and expect to be paid for their abnormalities. You're disgusting. But OZ is determined to know the nature of that weapon you used against our soldiers, or see you dead if you don't tell us." He slapped the carefully carved and treated wooden stick against his hand, beady eyes glinting maliciously from behind oval-shaped glasses, "So start talking. Or I can beat you to death right here."
She coughed. Then, ever so slowly, Usagi lifted her face to gaze serenely at this monster of a man and smiled as well as she could.
"Could I have something to eat? I'm starving."
She saw his mouth twist in rage, and his arm flew up, prepared to bring his shiny baton down on her head and end her existence. Usagi sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that never came. When again she opened her eyes, the officer was paused in position, gaze thoughtful. Finally he slammed the stick back down on the desk and waved at the two soldiers flanking her to take her away.
"I'll try again in a few hours," he said, "One more time. Only once more."
Usagi felt herself being untied, then lifted from the seat and carried by her elbows down one of the many identical corridors that made this place a maze. Her head fell forward, chin resting on her chest as she let them carry her.
What had this been? Number three? Since her arrival she had been interrogated a questionable number of times, each one more violent than the last. Judging from the level of suffering she felt now, Usagi knew that the next time likely would be the last, as the officer had asserted. He would kill her next time for certain, whether on purpose or simply from the sheer intensity of his attack.
She heard the hiss of a cell door sliding open and in the next second was being dumped carelessly on the hard floor, left to her own agony.
Minutes passed, and once she was certain that neither of her escorts still waited outside, she allowed all of her pain out in the form of tears. The moisture dripped from her eyes down her cheeks, cleansing away the dirt and blood in their path. This was not her usual crying; this was the soul-tearing sobs of a person in deep misery physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ribbons of torment slid through her body as it shook with the strength of her sorrow, pain from each and every cut, bruise, or possibly broken rib.
Her thoughts wandered to her home, her friends, and Mamoru. What were they doing now? Did they even miss her? Were they alive to miss her? These thoughts only made her sobs harder, and the pain became so intense that she barely even felt it anymore.
Kami-sama, w-what have I done to deserve this? Who are these horrible people? I don't think I can take much more! Oh please . . . let them kill me next time.


~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


"We can't wait much longer," Quatre told the assemble pilots, voice cracking as he closed his eyes, "I feel it, she's in pain. Who knows what they're doing to her."
Hiiro felt a brief, weak pang of guilt at the blonde's words. He had thought for certain that Usagi would be released. Obviously he, Hiiro Yui, the Perfect Soldier, had been gravely wrong. So mistaken that if Duo had not convinced them to rescue her, it might have cost her life. Who knows, their necessary delay might already be enough to sign her death warrant. She might be dying even as they sat there speaking.
"Quatre's right," Duo said, unwrapping his bandages, "We have to go now, no more waiting."
"But Duo-"
"But nothing, Quatre. I'm fine. I'm not going to die any time soon. She might, if we wait any longer." He stood, dropping the gauze strips to the ground with careless abandon. "I suggest Hiiro take Wing up, 'cause I'm leaving now and not one of you can stop me. I'd like to see you try."
None of them did as he turned and walked away, no doubt to get his silver pistol and a few other essential items he would need. They passed a glance amongst themselves and Quatre was the first to get up and go after Duo. Trowa rose and left to gather his own supplies, while Wufei went to sharpen his katana one last time before leaving.
Hiiro stayed behind a few more moments, a frown weighing the corners of his mouth downwards.
That baka is going to get us all killed one of these days, he thought, His courage borders too much on stupidity.
Then Hiiro pushed himself from the chair and headed towards the hanger and Wing.


End Chapter Eight