Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eagle In Flight ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

This is a disclaimer. Please note the dis before claimer. As in, I make no claim. In other words, the characters in this work are not my own. I'd like to think the storyline at least somewhat original, any similarity to other works, fiction or non-fiction is entirely unintentional.

 

Eagle In Flight

 

Chapter 5

 

Duo awoke to a loud, repetitive pounding. It took him a moment to realize the sound was that of someone at the door. Groggily shaking his head, he began climbing out of bed.

 

“What is it?” He called to the person at the door.

 

“You mean who,” a voice answered. “It's Heero. May I come in?”

 

“Give me a moment or two,” Duo replied, making his way over to the door and unlocking it. “Okay, you can come in.”

 

“Thank you.” Heero opened the door and stepped into the room. “I hope you slept well. I thought I would fill you in on what would be happening today.”

 

Duo blinked once as a surprisingly soft hand brushed across his cheek and Heero leaned closer to him, nostrils flaring briefly. Glaring he stepped away from Heero and rubbed a hand across his cheek.

 

“Thank you, I guess. I would like to know what is going to happen . . . as long as they're not going to force me to do anything.” Duo frowned softly for a moment, eyes flaring briefly with anger.

 

Heero stepped back as well, eyes sad. “He won't force you to do anything, mi- . . . Duo. He will probably simply treat you as they would a newly bonded guide, or a person with just awakening gifts. G is very good, a powerful telepath, and an excellent trainer from all I hear. At least listen to him and allow the training of your gifts.”

 

Duo stared at him. “And what about the other stuff? The stuff that doesn't have anything to do with my gifts?”

 

Heero sighed. “It would greatly please me if you would agree to be my guide, but neither he nor I will force you to accept that aspect. In matters to do with guiding a sentinel I simply ask that you listen to what he has to say.”

 

Duo nodded. “I can do that. What are you going to do while I'm in training? I may not want to be your guide full time, but I saw you yesterday. You were a mess.”

 

Heero smiled softly at this sign that his guide at least cared and that his behavior yesterday hadn't been just fluke. “I will probably stay in my room and wait for Wufei to be relieved by the guards the center was arranging for. Once he has gotten some sleep he and I may go over to visit Quatre and Trowa. Then he will probably spend the evening tracking down leads on who may have ordered the shooting while I stay in my room.” The unsaid `And wait for you to come back' passed between them.

 

Duo smiled and laughed, “You need a life man. Come see me this evening and we can talk. I would like to get to know you, so if I . . .”

 

Heero's eyes softened for a moment before saying, “I'd like that.” His brain was racing as he said it though. `So if he what? So if he stays? Oh, please let that word have been stay.'

 

Duo's voice intruded on Heero's musings. “So man, you were going to tell me the plan for today, right? Spill.”

 

Heero pulled himself back to the here and now. “Hn. G will arrive at about 0800 and take you to the testing labs. There you will undergo the procedures all new Ganymede students undergo to determine the strength and type of your gifts. The tests will take most of the morning and afternoon, with a break for lunch. Sometime in the late afternoon the two of you will go up to the fourth floor, where you will sit down and make up a training schedule designed to bring you up to basic competence in your powers over the course of the next year. If you decide to accept the Guide training he has to offer, those will be an additional course you will take during that time. After you have achieved this level there are other, optional things you can study at the center itself, under other instructors.”

 

“A year! I can't just drop my life for a whole year. What about my job, my apartment, my friends?” Duo shouted. “What do you expect me to do?”

 

“Duo, it normally takes all of middle and high school to receive this training. One year is the absolute minimum.” Heero shook his head, “You can call your friends from the center and you have Sundays off. Someone will help you pack your apartment and move everything to the center. And as for your job, I thought you were self-employed. Sure it will be a setback, but if you have loyal customers . . .”

 

Duo growled, “I may be self employed, but I have a contract with the Sweepers for shipping work that I can't just back out on. I like my apartment and vid calls and one day a week are not the same as hangin' out with my friends.”

 

Heero ran a hand through his hair. “Sweepers will give you time off for this. Their Captain, Howard, was a late blooming psychokinetic. They know the deal. You're an inner space shipping vehicle's Captain; you're away from your friends and your apartment for weeks at a time. Once a week visits are fairly frequent and if you like your apartment so much, find a way to keep it.”

 

Duo walked up to Heero and waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello? Apartment takes money. No job equals no money coming in. I'm stuck with whatever crappy excuse for an apartment they provide.”

 

“On base housing is pretty nice, but I can see you're determined to be difficult.” Heero closed his eyes for a moment. “Can you please state the rest of your objections more softly?”

 

“Fine.” Duo said softly. “I'm sorry for being so difficult. It's just, a whole year . . .”

 

“Seems like a lot.” Heero's lips quirked into a small smile, “But you're starting to come on line now; and if you don't get training by the end of a year you won't be able to work at all. Late bloomers are usually much more powerful than other potentials and they tend to come on line all at once, instead of gradually over the course of a few years. Can you see why I'm concerned?”

 

Duo ducked his head. “Yeah. Okay. You said this guy will show up at 0800 right? Now scram, I need to get ready.”

 

Heero turned and walked out the door. Another crisis averted. Now if only he could get rid of this headache.

 

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G wandered down the halls, tracking in on the feel of Heero's mind to locate which suite in the paired Sentinel - Guide quarters the pair had been given. Of course, he could have just asked the receptionist, but that would ruin his mystique. Ah, here they were. Walking up to the proper door he knocked twice, then stepped back to wait.

 

Duo had just finished braiding his still-damp hair when the knock came at his door. Standing, he walked towards the door while wrapping an elastic band around the end of his hair. “Who is it?”

 

G snorted. “Professor G. I'm here for one Duo Maxwell.”

 

Duo opened the door, “Hi, I'm Duo.”

 

G smiled at the young man before him, “Nice to meet you. Heero has told you what is going to happen, yes?”

 

“Yeah he did.” Duo flicked his braid behind his back and stepped out to let the door close behind him. “So, which way?”

 

G started off down the hall heading left. “This way of course. Elevator to the basement is at the end of this hallway.” He turned around, seeing that Duo had not moved. “Step sharp now. Don't want to get left behind.”

 

Duo shook his head and started down the hallway after G, `Man, this guy is . . . indescribable.'

 

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Once in the basement, Duo followed G through a seemingly endless series of twists and turns, finally ending up at a plain metal door set into the wall. The sign on the door read “Testing”, and G opened it to reveal a large bank of computers situated behind a chair with an electrode mesh lying across its back. A technician sat on a chair in front of the computers, typing something into the system.

 

G coughed softly and then spoke. “Alan we're here now. Is the system up?”

 

The technician spun his chair around, revealing a young man of about twenty-five. “Yes sir. If the young man could have a seat in this chair . . .” He walked over and lifted the electrode mesh off of the chair, gesturing for Duo to take a seat.

 

Duo walked over and sat down in the seat, leaning back slightly. The technician looked at his hair briefly and sighed. “Sir, could you please take your hair down so I can properly position the electrodes?”

 

Duo bolted upright. “Repeat that.” He said, eyes making his displeasure quite known.

 

The technician took a step back and spoke, his voice faint. “Sir, I'm sorry, but in order to properly place the electrodes I need you to take your hair down. Some of them lie along the back of the head and base of the neck, and in order to position them properly I need your hair to be loose, as in not braided.”

 

Duo glared, and then stood. “I'm only doing this because Heero asked me to, you understand. Whatever I may think of you, I respect him. But if you ever tell any one I did this, I'll hurt you.” Glaring and muttering under his breath, he pulled the tie from the end of his braid and began unraveling the strands. Once he was done he walked back over to the chair and sat down, leaning back and flicking his hair over the seat back

 

Once he was seated the technician walked over behind him and began placing electrodes on his head. The mesh rested on top of the hair, with the electrodes threading down to rest on the skull and secured with conductive paste. It took almost twenty minutes to get them all secured, after which the technician stepped back for a moment. “Okay now the next couple of hours are going to be kind of boring. We're going to ask you to do a number of weird things and to respond to weird things done by other new types. We'll take a break for lunch and then we'll ask you to take some tests with the electrodes still attached. That will finish up around 1600 and then you'll go upstairs with the Professor and work out your training schedule. Okay?”

 

Duo nodded. “I think I understand.”

 

The technician smiled. “Then let's go.”

 

Over the next three hours Duo felt like his brain was being taken apart. It started with a whole ream of people that walked into the room one at a time. They would just stand there, and then suddenly something would happen. His head would hurt for a second and then a box would fly across the room. They would stare him in the eye and he would start hearing voices. Occasionally, nothing would happen, but those moments were rare. Then the slew of people stopped and G stood in front of him and told him to try and recapture those feelings, with startling results. Trying to recapture that moment before something flew resulted in a paper exploding into bits. Trying to recapture the voices lead to hearing G say something about telepathy, without his lips moving. By the time they stopped his head was aching, there was a pile of exploded bits on the floor in front of him, and he had learned more about telepathy than he had ever thought possible.

 

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Lunch was a simple affair. It was served in the lab by a plain looking girl who he thought he recognized from the testing. Duo ate quickly and neatly, trying not to pull against the electrodes still glued to his head. After lunch was cleared away, a table was pulled up in front of him, and a thick packet was set down on it.

 

G placed his hand on the packet. “This is a copy of the standardized testing all Colonial students take upon their graduation from High School. He placed three pencils and an eraser beside the test. “The card is inside the front cover, you have four hours. Go.”

 

Duo pulled the packet closer to him and opened it. Placing the answer card next to him, he verified that the format appeared the same as the one he had taken when he had graduated. Shaking his head he grabbed a pencil and began filling out the answers.

 

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Three and a half hours later he pulled himself up from his focused daze and closed the test. G walked over to him. “Done already, boy?”

 

Duo nodded. “Yes.”

 

G smiled. “Knew you were smart. Alright then. Alan will take the electrodes off while I print off the test results, okay?”

 

Duo nodded again. “Okay.”

 

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1600 found Duo ensconced in G's comfortable but eclectic office, hair tied in a loose ponytail.

 

Duo sat in the leather armchair, staring at G across the desk. “So Prof, what's the verdict?”

 

G smiled. “Well boy, you are unique if nothing else. One of the twenty existing doubles on record.”

 

Duo cocked his head. “Doubles as in I have two gifts?”

 

G nodded. “Exactly boy. You are a telepath and a psychokinetic. One of the more common combinations to be sure, but there are still only five or six of them at the center.”

 

Duo rolled his eyes. “Is that supposed to impress me, Prof?”

 

G laughed. “Not necessarily, but given that you are a Guide it's an interesting pair. Guides tend to be more passive. They learn to fight but usually rely on their Sentinels to protect them when it comes down to it. On the other hand, psychokinetics are known for taking care of physical dangers quickly and efficiently. See?”

 

Duo leaned back. “Yeah, I see. So this schedule we're supposed to be creating . . .”

 

G placed the testing results on the desk. “Normally it would take about a year to bring you up to what I consider a reasonable level. Given the results you've shown, and the fact that you already have a Sentinel, I've had to revise that some. So, for the next several weeks, while Trowa and Quatre recover, you and I are going to work on basic telepathic control and background material for Guiding a Sentinel. After that . . .”

 

Duo interrupted. “Wait a minute. While I've agreed to learn about my gifts and how to control them, I haven't agreed that I will become a Guide. That's a lifetime commitment, and not one I feel I can just make. There's more to my life than the center.”

 

G shook his head. “Heero's being too easy on you boy, and it's because he's your Sentinel and can't stand the thought of hurting you. So I'm going to lay it on you straight. If you don't agree to bond with him and become his Guide, sometime within the next eight years he's going to go insane, and you will have to watch the whole time and know you could have prevented it. If he doesn't go insane, it will be because he finally got tired of waiting for you and killed himself.”

 

Duo shot out of his chair. “What? I mean, yeah I knew he had some problems, but insanity, killing himself? Couldn't he just find another Guide?”

 

G frowned and shook his head once more. “That's not the way it works. One Sentinel, one Guide. They are, for lack of a better term, soul mates.”

 

Duo collapsed back into the chair. “Soul mates? So you mean for him it's me, or no one. I have a choice, but he doesn't.”

 

G nodded gravely. “Exactly.”