Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 29 ( Chapter 29 )

 

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Chapter Twenty-nine

 

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Hiiro dived to the side as soon as he fired his gun, barely being missed by the flame attack from the male new-type. CC's scream, followed by TJ's cursing assured the soldier that his ricocheted bullets had hit their marks.

 

“He shot me!” CC shrieked, clamping her shoulder with a bloodied hand, “HOW!?”

 

“Shut up!” TJ snapped, his voice tense with jarring pain as he held onto his side tightly. “Shut up, you damned bitch!”

 

“He shot me- He shot me!” The girl's voice was becoming hysterical.

 

“He shot me too!” The boy shouted back.

 

“The wind- he couldn't-but he did! He shot me!” CC continued, oblivious to her partner's murderous glare.

 

Deeming the new-types no longer a threat, Hiiro slipped his weapon into the waistband of his jeans and ran towards his love, “Duo?” His breath choked him as bile rose at the image the braided boy's charred clothing and defensive position presented, “Oh, god…” The Japanese boy pleaded, as he desperately tried to find a pulse, a breath or anything that proved his love wasn't dead.

 

Hiiro had killed thousands of people. He was a soldier and was no stranger to death or to the prospect of dying. Hell, he had even dated the self-proclaimed Shinigami. However, the perfect soldier had never lost someone who had meant something to him. Now he was struck, for the first time in his life, with a deep, soul wrenching anguish. He felt horribly alone with the numbing revelations: `He's never going to play another prank… He's never going to drag me away from my laptop and make me socialize with our friends… I'm never going to feel his arms around me- His warmth next to me- the silkiness of his hair… I'm never going to hear him laugh or say… that he loves me…' A sob erupted from the boy's throat as he gathered the body of his lover into his arms, “Duo…” He wept, “Duo-Duo… Duo… Don't leave me alone… take me with you… please…”

 

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Quatre found two sets of arms steadying him as he stumbled on the stairwell, “H-Hiiro!” he gasped as a first sense of grief struck the fragile blonde.

 

“Quatre?” Trowa's worried voice anchored him to the conscious world.

 

“He's not dead yet…” Quatre whispered, “Oh, Allah, You have to tell him, Trowa! You have to tell Hiiro not to give up- Duo's not dead yet!”

 

“Are you sure, Quatre?” Wu Fei asked.

 

“I would have felt it. Believe me- I'd know.” The blonde pleaded, “Trowa- Please tell him before he kills himself!”

 

/”Hiiro…”/ Trowa mentally searched for the ex-pilot. /”Hiiro!”/

 

“What is it?” The blonde grimaced.

 

“His mind is complete chaos.” The banged boy shook his head, “He can't hear me.”

 

“We have to do something!” Quatre protested.

 

“And we will.” Wu Fei assured. “But not by standing here.”

 

“Let's go.” Trowa agreed.

 

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Isis watched the dramatic tragedy unfold before her with tears in her eyes.

 

“A real shame, isn't it?” Nicholai mocked as he entered the hall with a golden-haired child in his arms. “It really pulls at those heart strings- the death of one so young.”

 

“Savannah!” The telekinetic called to the girl.

 

“It's really your own fault, you know.” The Russian continued.

 

“Give her to me!” Isis demanded, her shield fluxuating.

 

“Do you really expect me to do that after you've betrayed me?”

 

“I'm warning you, Nicholai- If you even so much as bruise what's in your arms- I'll show you pain! You'll be begging for your end to come!” The worried mother fumed.

 

“An interesting bluff.” Nicholai mused. “We both know that you're not as powerful as you used to be. The time and energy you spend in your astrial form is draining to say the least.”

 

“To defeat you, I have plenty of power.” Isis vowed, releasing her psychic shield and focusing her mind. Silently, she cursed as she began to realize how accurate Nicholai had been in his assessments of her abilities. She was weakening, `Oh, Allah! I can't do this!”

 

/”Don't give up.”/ A mental voice encouraged her. /”We're on our way.”/

 

/”Hurry, Trowa- That monster has my little girl!”/

 

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“That bastard.” The banged boy hissed under his breath as he and his partners cautiously stalked the hallway.

 

“Are you alright, Barton?” The Chinese boy raised an eyebrow towards the brunette.

 

“Our Prisoner is holding a two year old girl hostage.”

 

“This guy isn't going to survive the night.” Wu Fei glared. “How weak is that? Hiding behind a child- A girl no less-Makes me sick. The injustice of some people-“

 

“Are you sure, Trowa?” Quatre interrupt, sounding puzzled.

 

“That's what both Isis and Nicholai are thinking.” The banged boy replied. /”What is it, Koi?”/

 

“If a child were being held against their will, with their mother insight… there ought to be some emotion…”

 

“But?” Wu Fei prompted, his rant forgotten.

 

“I feel nothing.” Quatre frowned, “Children have the most intese emotions because they do not know reason, or are unable to verbalize what they need or want. The younger they are, the less they understand and the more feelings or instincts are used… yet I feel nothing.”

 

“She's been apart from her mother, taken when she was an infant, correct?” Wu Fei asked. Trowa nodded. “Then it is possible that the child doesn't recognize her mother and has associated that bastard as her father.”

 

“That makes sense…” the banged boy thought aloud.

 

“Then she should be feeling safe, secure… loved.” Quatre adamantly shook his head, “I'm telling you- there is nothing. Not even the basics of needs.”

 

“Could she be unconscious?” The raven-haired boy asked.

 

Trowa closed his eyes as he mentally inquired, “No, Savannah is looking directly at Isis.”

 

“She has to be an illusion.” Quatre concluded. “She's not real.”

 

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With his face buried against the lifeless boy's neck, the once obsessively observant observer was oblivious to the present danger in his surroundings. Hiiro could do nothing but continue to beg Shinigami to spare his braided lover and return his soul to the empty shell; by pouring out his heart and weeping for his lost love.

 

Had Hiiro kept an inkling of his wit about him; the Japanese boy would have noticed that although Duo's clothes were burned beyond recognition, the long rope of hair, as well as the braided boy's skin weren't singed in the least. The perfect soldier would have felt the warmth that swelled in his heart and flowed through his hands to the one he held. Had Hiiro been paying attention, he would have felt the non-existing heartbeat grow in strength.

 

Had Hiiro noticed these things, he wouldn't have been startled by the gentle kiss on his shoulder before softly spoken words, “Don't cry, `Ro, it's alright.”

 

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To be continued…

 

Duo: See? I knew she wouldn't kill me.

 

Quatre: That is completely unfair!

 

Duo: Maybe she just likes me better?

 

Quatre: ::Whimpers:: T-T

 

Trowa: Duo, stop upsetting Quatre. You know perfectly well he's Weissangel's favorite.

 

Quatre: But why does she have to kill me?

 

Wu Fei: I don't know, Winner, but this isn't the time or the place for this.

 

Quatre: But-But-But…

 

Wu Fei: Later.

 

Quatre ::sulking:: fine.