Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Catching the Past ❯ Living Life ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

LIVING LIFE
CHAPTER 7


Duo woke late the next day feeling as if he had just finished a full day of hard labor. It didn't help that Sally was already there and waiting for him so she could run more tests and draw more blood.
Uncharacteristically silent and groggy on top of that, Duo finally realized something was going on from the bustle and the fact that his things had been packed and were sitting by the door ready to go.
"Oi! Sally, what's going on?" he demanded as he peered at her over his arm were she was intent on her syringe. She looked up at him, her eyes dark.
"We are moving to Preventer HQ as soon as Relena's done with...whatever she's doing. Things have been happening while you were being lazy." there was a faint twinkle in Sally's eye as she said this. Duo tilted his nose at her but too groggy to think of a good comeback reverted to his earlier question.
"So what happened?" he persisted. Sally withdrew the syringe and carefully stowed it before turning to face him, swab in hand.
"Well, lets see... first Relena's cat died from poisoned milk which we couldn't figure out at first but was made clear when we discovered that our prisoner had escaped, then this morning Quatre got a call that a friend of his, a Jase Hollander, was involved in a hit & run and isn't expected to survive, and then there's Trowa. He got a call just now that there had been an attempt at kidnaping Catherine Bloom. That one failed when Catherine pinned the man to a tree and one of their strong arm men just happened to see what was going on and shoved her out of the way of the second man who was fixing to shoot her. The strong arm will recover but it shattered his arm and they're not sure if it'll heal right. Oh and then there's Wufei. When he heard about the cat he tried to get up and investigate and as of now he's irritated his wound to the point that it's developed an infection and is now sporting a bruise on his chin where I socked him for doing something so stupid. On the good side, apparently your friend Deuce has decided to join us and said he'd have that PC11 here by noon" she finished up checking each point off on her fingers.
Duo had looked taken aback until that last bit where he shrugged irritably.
"Doesn't do me any good, I can't use it." he mumbled as he pulled his undershirt back over his head. Sally looked at him with a slight expression of exasperation on her face.
"Well, and how do you know anyway?! Maybe you can't use that but I'm hoping we can develop a derivative that you can use." she retorted. He raised his head briefly to look her in the eye. His eyes went distant for a moment.
"I'd rather die like this than a brain dead, pathetic shell of a human being." he said quietly. Sally looked at him sharply.
"So are you saying you want to die?" she asked him a bit angrily.
"I've been ready ever since the war." he said curtly focusing back on Sally. She moved in close to him and got right in his face.
"So you're quitting just like that. Well, Mr Maxwell, thanks for wasting our time and our friendship. You know, nobody here wants to see you die and everything we've done is a result of that! I, for one, am fighting so I won't have to miss your smile! I'm not even starting on Hilde. And what are you doing? You're making it all into a joke. Piper's going down if you live and he's for sure going down if you die! And the one thing that you could be doing that would help the most, is to fight this and what are you doing instead?! And you call yourself a Gundam pilot!!" Sally glared at Duo who was looking surprised at her vehemence.
Snatching her case, Sally stormed out the door slamming it behind her. Duo stayed where he was staring blankly at the door; only his white knuckles showing the signs of the tension within as he clutched his black shirt.
"Like as if it would make much difference anyway..." Duo finally muttered half heartedly under his breath as he finished dressing. Then angrily to himself, "What's she want? Me to get my hopes up and then kick the bucket in spite of it all?! I told Heero I didn't want to come but would he listen? NO! So what's he do? Drag me off anyway... I had plans! I was gonna marry Hilde someday and maybe have a few kids after a while and then there's those ideas I had to improve the business and everything!!"
Fury welling up from somewhere so deep inside he couldn't stop it if he'd wanted to.
"Well for your information Ms Po I don't believe in God and I don't believe in miracles!! I haven't seen one yet, but I've had a close up acquaintance with death which is looking to get even closer! So what do you want from me?!!" Nearly yelling in fury by the time he was done, he viciously punched the closest wall and then again, and again. At last, his rage spent, he slid down the wall and turned so he was sitting with his back to it. Numbly, he watched his hand drip blood from his knuckles as Sally's voice replayed in his mind...
"...one thing that you could be doing that would help the most, is to fight this and what are you doing instead?! And you call yourself a Gundam pilot!!"
"...nobody here wants to see you die and everything we've done is a result of that!"
"...and I'm not even starting on Hilde"
There was a sigh from nearby.
"You going to keep on dripping blood on Relena's floor or are you going to do something about that hand?" it was Hilde's voice.
She almost flinched when Duo looked up at her, his eyes scared her. She had been having a hard time dealing with everything and Duo had been so cold and... well... different. She'd never thought she'd be so lucky to have a boyfriend like him and then for this to happen... so she'd tried to distract herself by helping Relena in her efforts at unraveling the knot of warrants, laws, regulations surrounding Duo's problem with the shuttle and salvage yard. Soldiering was one thing, you knew you could die in battle but this, this was different. It was sickening. Hilde didn't understand how anyone could think of doing battle this way. This wasn't battle; Wufei had been right. This was a cowards way.
Tearing her thoughts away from that line of thinking she looked down at Duo again. With another sigh she went looking for some bandages.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her finally as she smoothed the last bandage over his hand.
"Sally said she didn't think you'd been getting enough to eat so I came to get you for a brunch." she told him.
"Forget it. It won't stay down anyway." he said gruffly pushing himself up. Hilde followed him up putting away the last bits of gauze that had spilled out of the First Aid kit.
"You should try at least..." Hilde started but Duo cut her off.
"I said forget it! Food will just make me nauseous. I'll just get me some juice and be on my way! Aren't you supposed to be going with Relena?" he said sharply. Hilde bit her lip.
"Yes. How long has this been going on? Not being able to keep anything down I mean." Hilde asked stubbornly. Duo opened his mouth with a scowl on his face.
"Since the day I brought him back at least." came Heero's calm voice from the doorway, his eyes taking in everything from the new hole in the wall to the bandage on Duo's hand.
Duo glared at him having had the intention of brushing it off. Obviously that was out of the question now. He soon gave up though as he was too tired to keep it up and his hand was really beginning to throb. Good job baka! Never get done pulling stupid stunts like..... hurting Hilde's feelings. <sigh> He'd seen the flicker of hurt in her eyes when he'd growled at her.
"Well, if you can keep juice down than that's what you'll get. Just let me talk to Sally first, that is probably half your problem right now not getting enough nutrition to your body..." Hilde's voice soon disappeared after her down the hall as she briskly walked off to do what she could.
Heero picked up one of Duo's cases but left the other for Duo. Duo heaved a sigh and bent to pick it up.
"Hey, next time someone asks me about something I'll just say 'ask Heero, he knows me better than I do'; didja have to 'help' me out?" he groused.
"Yes." Heero said shortly and left. Duo made a face at Heero's back than hurried to catch up with him. Walking down the hall in morose silence he absently rubbed his already aching shoulder muscles. It must be cloudy out it seemed rather dark even though there were lights on.
"Hey Heero, you remember that time I busted you out of that Hospital?" he asked suddenly.
"Of course." Heero grunted looking at Duo out of the corner of his eye.
"You know how you made 'em believe you were unconscious and all, you know, the bit with your breathing and heart rate...."
"Uh huh"
"What do you call that? How'd you do that?"
"I think you're thinking of Bio Feedback."
"Oh. Think I could learn it fast?"
"..."
"It was just a thought."
"Maybe. Better ask Sally about it."
"..."
"It might be worth a try Duo."
Duo moaned,"I've had enough of Sally and her needles."
"..."
"It was just an idea."
"I'm not forcing you Duo."
"Maybe it'd work better if I got myself hypnotized..."
Heero's step faltered for a bare moment.
"...hypnotized..." he repeated in an odd, almost strangled tone of voice.
"What? It was just a thought, can't a guy think out loud anymore?" Duo scowled at Heero's suspiciously straight face.
"Mm mm"
"You're laughing at me!" Duo accused. Heero didn't answer but Duo saw a tick start up in Heero's cheek.
"You are....!" Duo was interrupted by Hilde who was jogging towards them with a big glass of some suspicious looking liquid in it.
"Duo! I got something for ya! It's a special protein drink that Sally came up with. Here!" with that Hilde thrust the glass at him. It was either catch it or spill it on Relena's floor.
He caught it out of reflex, leaning away from it in instinctive revulsion at it's odd orange/brown color and texture. It oozed. (A.N. if you 've ever tried one you know what I'm talking about LOL) Hilde was already spinning away from them but as she trotted away she called back over her shoulder, "Heero, make sure he drinks it all!!"
"Ninmyou Ryoukai." Heero said eyeing the drink with as much suspicion as Duo was.
"Heero, no way am I drinking this stuff!" Duo started to say, then backed up a step nervously as Heero leaned close.
"You heard her. All of it. Or do I have to get Trowa?"
"You wouldn't.... you would wouldn't you?" Duo moaned.
Heero nodded with a glimmer in his eye.
Duo glared at him which had it's usual affect....
Rolling his eyes Duo addressed the ceiling in a plaintive tone, "With friends like these who needs enemies? At least this way I'll die healthy; healthy and orange!"
"You're just stalling Duo. Drink it."
"OK! Ok! I'm drinking! I'm drinking!"
Somehow Duo managed to get the entire glass down. It really wasn't that bad tasting, only the color and smell was odd.
Satisfied, Heero nodded and started walking again. Duo paced alongside making faces at the emptied drink. Then they were at the door and there were people, helicopters, trucks and Wufei looking pale and ill making his way to one of choppers and protesting every step of the way with Sally ignoring everything he said. And somehow, after a while, they were on their way.
There had been a slight change in plans. The girls were going to be secretly shuffled off to a safe house with Zechs and Noin which was about the only way Heero would let Relena out from under his protection. Heero and Zechs had long formed a sort of wary mutual acknowledgment of each others abilities and though they had not completely settled their differences they were able to work and work well together burying such disagreements in the face of mutual goals. In the end they weren't so very different after all. Not were it counted anyway.
The boys would be going to the Preventers HQ and would be using that as their base of operations with Sally and Miller. Somewhere, Lady Une had found another doctor to help the two in their efforts.
Catherine had refused the offer of such protection so Lady Une had sent a few choice Preventers, hand picked by Trowa, to help out at the circus.
Quatre was torn between wanting to take a flying trip back to check on his friend and advisor Jase who, to everyone's surprise, was hanging on although barely, and staying with his friends and Duo. And then there was Winner Enterprises.
In the end he stayed, making arrangements to be updated everyday on Jase and as for Winner Enterprises; his sisters were once again keeping everything steady.

Duo was on the bike, having instructions to take the Kuzi back, with Heero driving the Mustang. He had a suspicion that Heero actually liked the old car. Then his mind switched gears as he once again started thinking about what Sally had told him.
Coming to the road where everyone would split up and then split again making it hopefully impossible to track the girls (they'd even created a decoy), Duo spotted an ice cream stand off to the right. Having a sudden notion for a cone, even if he couldn't keep it down, he pulled over with Heero right behind him.
Duo could see Sally hesitating so he waved her on. Seeing that Heero was with him, she waved back and went on.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked in confusion as he climbed out of the car.
"Exactly what it looks like." Duo grinned at Heero's face and went over to order.
"I thought you couldn't keep anything down." Heero asked as he reluctantly followed.
"Doesn't keep it from tasting good on the way down, here Heero take one." Duo turned away from the window and thrust a cone at a surprised Heero. Taking a lick Duo moved back to his bike and paused to grin faintly at Heero.
"After all it may be the last time I get one." he said calmly. Heero frowned.
"You'd better eat that before it melts all over you. Don't want to get it all over the Mustangs upholstery." Duo advised. Heero absently took a lick as he studied Duo. Duo ignored him. Makes up for that....goop. Whatever was in that glass. Duo thought contentedly.
"So did you ask Sally?" Heero asked absently taking a bite out of the cone.
"Nah, she was busy with Wufei. I'll ask her about it later." Duo said without any expression on his face at all.
Heero finally gave up trying to figure out what was going through Duo's head and realized he'd eaten a whole peanut butter topped cone while Duo was only half way through his Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl. Duo was taking his jolly good time about it. Heero leaned back against the Mustang and waited patiently for Duo to finish.
Done finally, Duo threw the paper towel in a trash canister and swung his foot over the saddle. Slipping the helmet on but leaving the visor up, he grinned at Heero.
"Ne, Heero, wanna race?" with that Duo flipped the visor down and kicking the bike to life he spun out of the parking lot. Heero growled to himself, had the car running and was after Duo in moments.
Having a head start and faster acceleration, Duo had a good lead over Heero but the car had a nice if noisy motor in it, (Heero suspected it was custom made but didn't know enough about the antique Mustang to know for sure) and he was soon making up the difference.
Coming into the edge of town, Heero was only a little ways behind Duo when the traffic signal turned and an oncoming truck which had started to slow down for the light, sped up and moved on out into the intersection. Heero watched in surprise as Duo apparently, not planning to stop, headed right for the truck only slamming on brakes and laying rubber at the very last second nearly laying the bike over. He only just managed to avoid the truck as it also hit it's brakes and swerved. Fortunately, there was no other traffic at that intersection, so Duo put the bike in motion once more and went on totally ignoring the angry driver of the truck.
Catching up to Duo as he was walking out of the rental Heero strode up to him, fell in step and demanded, "What the heck were you doing?! Trying to kill yourself?"
Duo came to a stop with his hand on the door of the Mustang and looked up into Heero's angry eyes after a moment.
"I didn't see it."
"What do you mean you didn't see it?! Are you blind?" Heero growled yanking his own door open and sliding in. Duo followed suit.
"I thought the light turned in my favor. I've been having trouble seeing colors." Duo said quietly looking out his window. Heero looked at him fast. Then his mouth thinned and he turned back to the road.
"How long has this been going on?" Heero asked flatly at last.
"Since this morning. Only it's not just colors." Duo added in a subdued voice. "I keep trying to turn on lights and sometimes I see spots."
Nothing more was said the rest of the trip.
When they arrived at Preventer HQ, Heero clamped onto Duo's wrist and hauled him directly for Sally Po totally ignoring Duo's protests that Sally couldn't do anything so why bother? Duo soon gave up protesting although Heero could hear him mumbling under his breath.
Getting directions to the new lab arranged specifically at Sally's request, Heero barged in to find that she was indeed there with Miller looking over some files.
"Oh there you are." Sally said looking up. Miller never paused from where he was poring over some old records of L2's PC11 tragedy. The information wasn't very thorough.
"His eyes." Heero said abruptly. "Check his eyes, something's wrong with them."
"What?!" Sally said sharply, standing up abruptly and spilling the papers all over the floor. She sucked in a breath looking as tired as she was for a brief moment. Then it vanished and she moved to grab Duo's arm (he was still mumbling under his breath) and yanked him into an adjacent room for the second exam of the day.
Trowa soon joined them having heard that they were back. Heero tersely explained what had happened and they both settled down to wait.
A good 13 minutes later Sally popped her head out the door to ask for someone called Volscheck. Moments later a tall, spindly man with a scraggly beard came in and after a questioning look at Miller who jerked his thumb in the direction of the room, joined Sally.
They waited patiently for Sally to make another appearance and after another wait, Miller looked up in time for Sally to leave the room with Volscheck trailing her. Duo came out a moment later rolling his sleeves up to their customary height. He was still mumbling under his breath. Heero unconsciously found himself trying to hear what Duo was going on about but even with his above average hearing he could only catch one or two words.
"This isn't funny!" Sally said grimly. Volscheck nodded his agreement sublimely.
"What's going on?" Heero demanded. Miller kept his intense gaze on Sally.
"What's going on? I'll tell you. And I'll try to keep it simple. This PSD23 isn't just a toxin, it's an engineered hybrid artificial viral/toxin." Sally started running a frustrated hand through her hair, or at least as much of it as she could with it in it's two twisty braids.
"It's mutating isn't it?" Miller asked calmly.
"Yes! At first, Duo's body was treating like the intruder it is. That's why the dizziness, fever, and general ill feeling. Then it started attacking certain of his motor controls and muscles fibers. Specifically his lungs and the muscle bruising." Sally paused grimly.
"Now it's attacking his eyes. And there isn't much we can do about it. And the way it's going, we have no way of knowing what it's going to do next and next time it could target something directly life threatening like kidneys." Sally was struggling to suppress her frustration, fear and the beginnings of pessimism It was the last thing Duo needed. And just what was he mumbling anyway? She thought in annoyance. He'd been mumbling off and on ever since he'd been drug in here by Heero and she couldn't catch a single word.
"Duo's body just can't keep up with it. It's already wearing him down in general so each attack is more and more effective." Sally finished up. She turned and glared at Duo.
"Will you quit with the mumbling??!! I don't understand a word you're saying!!" she snapped at him. He glared back in equal annoyance.
"That's the general idea and I was talking to myself!" he huffed and subsided.
"How did the cure work then if this stuff keeps changing?" Trowa spoke up.
"Basically, it stimulates the brain, virtually reroutes the synapses and neurons. Somehow it affects the immune system to counter the toxin though we can't figure out how exactly." Miller spoke up. Duo looked up from his now internalized monologue, his eyes burning with intensity.
"People only actually use a very small percentage of their brain." Deuce's voice from the door broke in on their discussion. He moved into the room carrying a small case.
"The way it was told to me, it stimulates the brain forcing it into a sort of evolutionary growth. The fine details have been lost along with a great amount of the research done on it." he finished up. Handing it to Sally, he just nodded at her questioning glance. He glanced in amusement at Duo. She turned around and handed it to Miller.
"You could use a few levels of evolutionary improvement right?" he quipped at Duo. He wasn't expecting Duo's reaction.
Duo leaned forward fury in his eyes.
"Why don't you tell the rest of it?! Why don't you tell them that pretty soon you're so far above everyone else that you forget to eat, drink and sometimes even breath? Why don't you tell them how you forget everything that was once important to you? How you forget friends and family? How you are so advanced that you can't be bothered with things like a sister that needs treatment for burns? Or that you could care less you're sick and dying?" he hissed.
"And when you finally do die, because you can't live without this wonderful drug, you're so advanced that you never hear your sister and friend tell you good bye?!!" with that Duo jerked upright, spun towards the door and quickly left.
Deuce looked after him a surprised but thoughtful frown on his face. Volscheck grunted in amiable agreement, although no one quite knew what he was agreeing with.
"The unpredictability of the PSD23 has been the problem all along." Miller spoke up in a faintly 'I told you so' voice. Sally nodded unhappily as did Volscheck.
"So what if you tried a toxic cleanse?" Volscheck asked. There was dead silence for a long moment. Miller shook his head frowning in thought. Sally tapped her lower lip with her finger in a rhythm known only to herself.
"That drink I put together for him has a cleanser in it...amongst other things. But it is a delaying action, something to buy some time with and we all know it. Soon it won't have any effect at all on the PSD23, just like the other things that have been tried." Sally said absently.
"The engineered artificial viral part of the toxin protects it from that kind of thing at any rate." Miller threw in still frowning.
"Yes but didn't you say you saw some interesting results from that tea that your Chinese friend was feeding young Maxwell?" Volscheck asked
"Interesting but inconclusive." Sally replied mulling it over.
"And Wufei has a limited supply of it at any rate." she added.
"But if we could somehow suppress the viral part...." Miller started.
"You mean treat one side of it at a time?" Sally asked eyes gleaming.
"Is it even remotely possible?" Volscheck wondered out loud.
"New things pop up everyday! Of course it's possible!" Sally said briskly.
"I'll ask Wufei about his tea...like if he knows what's in it or can he get more and if I can test it and where it comes from..................." her voice trailed along after her as she left.
Heero and Trowa decided they could do best by getting out of the way. They left knowing that time was running out. And all any of them had to go on was the determination and grit of the team of doctors embodied in Sally Po. And they still had their part of the mess to clean up. It was time to make their next move on Piper.