Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Chapter 6

Title: Broken

Author: Skeren Dreamera

Notes: I know, many of you wish to do something unspeakably brutal to my person for the long... long... long.... Long.... LONG pause between the last chapter and his one. I can only ask for forgiveness and plead that the writer's block did it's best to flatten me on this particular story as it tired to beat me violently into submission... It only won to a little while... promise!

Chapter six

They'd been travelling for two weeks. During that time, it had become glaringly obvious to the six that they were at least three steps behind their enemy. Each time they seemed to be making progress, another stumbling block suddenly threw them back to where they'd been before. There was little they could do to prepare. Especially since they had yet to really work out what there enemy was in the first place, not to even mention what it could do.

Duo slammed on the cars breaks, throwing the car into a rather violent stop in the center of the road as he pounded furiously on the steering wheel. "Damn it! There isn't any point!"

"Duo..." The smaller blonde didn't get any further before a violent glare was sent in his direction. He closed his mouth, aware there was no arguing, or placating, against the look.

"No! I will not calm down! What are we doing?" He turned the car off, tossing the door open to yank himself out of the car, gesturing widely around them. "Look! There is nothing! NOTHING! Every city is more of the same! There is endless soul after soul! And what can we do about it? What can we possibly do???"

"Duo..." This time is was Zechs that was approaching the irate god, as he'd flared into his full powers in his rage. Only Zechs or Heero really had a chance of getting near him at this point, since they were gods that had partnered him in various guises. "Duo! Stop this!"

He seemed to crumple when the taller god grabbed him, pulling him close holding the winged god as his knees gave, frustration and pain quickly lending themselves into tears. It was no agony that the others did not share in, but Duo had been expected to do more than they in each of the cities they had passed through to reach where they were. He'd dealt with the clustered souls in each passing city and town, and it had clearly taken a toll on him. He only had so many reserves to work with.

Heero moved closer to the pair and stroked between the wings, making a soothing sound. "I understand. We all understand. We will find a solution to this."

Wufei, for his part, only watched the two in their attempts to soothe Duo, Quatre quickly moving to the side of the three to murmur softly. He didn't seem to dare to touch duo himself. There was something about all this that caught the L5 man wrong. He'd been turning it over and over in his head, trying to identify the niggling in the back of his mind that simply wouldn't leave him alone.

Trowa, who'd been watching the justice god as he watched the others, was quietly amused when dark eyes suddenly lit up, and it was almost a certainty that he had nearly shouted something like 'eureka.' That would have been amusing, but instead the man rushed over to the others.

"I have it!" When the energetic announcement failed to gain him their full attention, even though Duo was wiping at his eyes, his tone turned rather snippy instead. "Would all of you stop for a moment so I can tell you something rather important?" That earned an annoyed glare from Duo, and the other three huffed at him in aggravation of their own.

Zechs gestured for him to continue when the multicolored man failed to keep speaking after his declaration. "Well?"

"It's an injustice." Trowa slipped up behind Wufei, saying the words for him. It earned four puzzled looks and one annoyed stare.

Heero shook his head, sighing. "What does that have to do with anything? Of course it's an injustice, all of these lives are going to waste and there doesn't even seem to be any form or a reason behind it."

Wufei turned his look on Heero and moved over to him, cuffing him upside the head. "Idiot! Think for once! It is an injustice!" The emphasis on the word failed to get more than an annoyed look for the smack to the head.

"Oh." Quatre blinked and turned to look at Wufei, eyes wide. "You mean, it's an injustice!"

Seeing the comprehension in the aquamarine stare, he relaxed, nodding slightly. "Exactly Winner! You understand just what I'm trying to say."

"Well, can you say it plain? Ro doesn't have a clue, and I'm not that much better here." Duo had reverted to his fully human shape, and was giving Wufei a rather bland look as he leaned against his partner, recovering from his outburst.

Zechs just chuckled softly, arms wrapped around the other man's shoulders so he didn't fall over. "I believe he was referring to his godly status."

"Yes, and... OH!" Duo promptly smacked himself in the middle of his forehead, giving Wufei a sheepish look. "Never mind, I get it."

"Well, I still don't get it. Just what are you all talking about?" Heero looked terribly annoyed. It was understandable though, he was rarely ever so slow on the uptake, and he was always uncomfortable when such a situation cropped up.

"Yuy, what am I the god of?" Wufei leaned in so he was eye to eye with Heero.

"Justice."

"Think for just one second now. What could I possibly have to do with an injustice?"

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

"Not to be mean, but just what does that have to do with the current situation. Y'know, the cause of my little tantrum a minute ago and all that?" Duo put a hand between them, tired of waiting for them to break it up.

Wufei's eyes followed the fingers back to the man they belonged to, an amused smirk crossing his face as he did. "Simple. I've figured out exactly what that itching sensation that keeps bothering me was." Then he again paused.

"Well? Are you going to share this most important revelation with the rest of us?" Zechs' amused drawl rather ruined the dramatic affect the man had been reaching for.

"Next time it happens, we'll be able to see what we're dealing with, because I'll be able to take us there." A petulant sigh followed the words. Couldn't he have any theatrics?

"And why didn't you say anything sooner??" The rather shrill shriek came from Quatre's direction. It was a most unexpected event, really. "Hey! Don't look at me like that... You know I've been having a hard time with the super empathy crap!" A series of blinks were his reply, and they all started back to the car, leaving the irate blond just standing there. He stared after them, more than a little annoyed. "HEY!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It hadn't taken them very long to work out how they would work with the sense of justice that Wufei had. They did have memories to work from after all. Nobody could call on a god that they didn't know about anymore, so they had to do it more by the method of mass need. In that sense, there shouldn't be too many problems. It seemed even clearer as they worked out that the issues Duo had been having somehow tied into his godly portion as well. A sort of grief that he couldn't be there to relieve the soul was what it equated to. The others felt nothing.

"Okay, so what we need to do is just all focus on Fei and me and poof, we'll end up wherever all this crap is happening, no more of this cleaning up the mess shit we've been putting up with." The braided man gestured slightly, shoving a few loose strands that had fallen forward out of his face.

"What if we don't all go to the same place? And what about our supplies?" Quatre leaned over the back of the seat, frowning. They still hadn't moved from the middle of the road.

"Aren't you just an optimistic little thing?" Zechs snickered softly, his more playful past jumping out before he composed himself. "Well, I suppose we should decide now who will go with who in case that happens."

"I'll go with Wufei." Trowa gestured slightly, shifting minutely in his seat as he watched the others. Whatever they decided, he knew one of the new pairs would have to part.

Zechs immediately put his hand on Duo's arm. "I'm sticking with my better half."

"You just made me sound like a girl, you pest." He flicked the hand off of his arm and looked to the remaining two. "Q, you think you'll be able to be apart from Heero now? I know you've been practicing."

"There hasn't been much else to do. I'll go with Trowa and Wufei."

"Are you sure?" Heero didn't really seem that eager to split off from the man at the moment, considering how badly his powers had been affecting him before they'd started driving. He hadn't really been out of close proximity since.

"Entirely. I know I won't be able to stay with you once things start to get heated up. I need to deal with this now, before the other side becomes aware that we are around. I have the feeling that they don't know that we are like this. I think that we're still just the nameless Gundam pilots at the moment." His sense of balance made his certain of it.

Sighing at the matter of fact reply, Heero nodded a little, studying each person in turn. "How do we make sure that the people we chose to go with will get us there? I know some ways in my memory, but there are differences between then and now that worry me. I was never a human before, for one. You guys?"

"No, I wasn't either." Duo shook his head with his denial, and the other four did the same. "I guess you'll just have to grab your things and grab on, cause I certainly don't know where the ride'll stop."

It was only a moment after Duo's words that the signals that they'd just been discussing started, and it was time to test out the theory once and for all.

To be continued.

(And I mean that!)