Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Integration ❯ The Past Is Present ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimers and Warnings on first page of this story.

Integration

By: Bane's Desire

Part 4 - The Past is Present

Less than ten minutes later the three were on the snow-plowed road in Debra's two-door sedan, driving towards her apartment. It was Jason who broke the silence between them. "So what exactly is the mark? The one behind my ear?"

"It's a miniature flag identifying the country responsible for your Integration," the hypnotist replied. "The one behind your ear is very distinct. There are only six such marks on Earth or in the Colonies. Here in the United States, where the Integration procedure began, the tattooed mark is simply series of letters and numbers. A short, two-letter abbreviation of the state in which it was done and an individual identification number that is so small that it would have to be inspected with a magnifying glass in order to actually see it."

Jason nodded, it was yet another piece of information he would store in his mind to pull up later and think about when he wasn't feeling quite so unbalanced and overwhelmed by all that was being thrown at him. "I don't remember ever being in Europe, but I'm beginning to remember bits and pieces, maybe just flashes of images about living on the streets somewhere that's dark and cold. Will triggering that memory lead to more?" he asked, his eyebrows drawn together with apprehension. The memories coming slowly back to his mind brought with them the haunting sensations of hunger and cold, of hiding and fighting for safety and food, of death and sorrow. A violent shudder shook his slight-framed body and it had nothing to do with the frigid temperature outside the car. He wasn't sure he wanted to remember any more of that existence.

Mr. Hannible, sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, turned to him and answered, "It's possible that you might remember more on your own now that some of your childhood memories have been recalled."

Tired all of a sudden, Jason lay his weary head against the back of the seat and let it tilt to the side so that his forehead came to rest against the cold glass window. He felt as if he was being swept away by some unknown force that he didn't quite comprehend, and with it came a definite sense of deep foreboding. He listlessly viewed the dark storefronts as they passed them by, not really seeing anything but noting that the buildings, empty of people and light, seemed to reflect the feelings within himself. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, thinking that at least his head wasn't hurting as badly as it had been earlier.

Deb turned her car into an underground garage, signaling their arrival at her apartment complex. "My boyfriend, Jerome, is in California for a game on Sunday against the Raiders," she told them. "So we have the apartment to ourselves."

Mr. Hannible's head turned quickly and he gave her a surprised look. Leaning towards her to look more closely at the ebony-skinned girl he asked, "Who's your boyfriend?"

"Jerome Tolliver," she answered with a knowing smile, looking aside to catch a glimpse of the anticipated look of shock displayed in the hypnotist's eyes.

"The linebacker?"

She nodded with a full-fledged smile on her pretty face.

"Holy crap!" The older man said, his eyes wide with amazement. He was obviously a Bears' fan.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Debra said as she pulled into her assigned parking spot and turned off the car. "Come on, let's get inside where it's warm."

The two men followed the petite young woman to the elevator which took them up to the fifth floor. She then led them down the hallway to room 511, unlocked it, then entered, the other two following silently behind her. It was indeed warm inside, as Debra had promised, and she took off her coat and signaled for them to follow her example.

"Would you like something to drink, Jas?" she asked. When her friend indicated with a shake of his head that he didn't, she turned to the other man. "Mr. Hannible?"

"Call me Duane," he replied. "You make me feel over the hill with all your misters. I'm twenty-nine years old, not in a wheelchair. And no, thank you. I'm not thirsty, just nervous about this whole situation."

Jason kept his coat on to help keep his body warm, which always seemed to run on the cool side. He looked around the apartment, noting the tasteful furniture that looked both classy and comfortable at the same time, just like Debra, he thought. Feeling apprehensive about the reason they were there, he immediately began to pace the floor, his fists shoved deeply into his jacket pockets.

Debra noticed his agitated state and looked to the older man. "What do we do now?" she asked him.

"Jason," the hypnotist began, saying the younger man's name in order to gain his attention. "Tell me what you want. Do you really want me to restore your memories?"

Jason sighed, shoving his fists even deeper into his pockets, his shoulders hunched together. "What I'm remembering isn't... pleasant, and I can't imagine the memories of being a gundam pilot will be all that much better." He looked up from the floor with a pained expression on his face. It reflected a different type of pain than what he usually experienced. The steadily growing ache centered in his stomach, and this time it was caused from his fear of the dark unknown that lay before him, of his indecision over what he should do, along with a deep sense of dread that came with just thinking about the consequences for remembering his supposed notorious past. He turned to look at his good friend to see her warm brown eyes were filled with sympathy for him. "But the life I'm living now isn't much better, is it, Deb?"

The petite woman's eyes turned sad as she answered him. "No, it isn't, and you're trapped in it just as much as you would be behind the bars of a prison. This is going to help, Jas, I'm sure of it. I think you should do this. Let Duane help you."

Jason closed his eyes to ponder his decision, but even as he thought about it, he knew the decision had already been made. "All right," he said, his voice shaking slightly as he shifted his eyes to Duane. "Let's do it."

The ebony-haired man nodded then motioned for Jason to sit on the couch. "Before we begin anything, I'd first like a promise from you."

"If I can," Jason replied as he sat stiffly on the edge of the sofa.

"I want you to swear to me that once you gain your memories back you'll not come after Debra or myself in any form of retaliation or need to cover your tracks and that you won't mention our names to any officials should you be caught."

Jason nodded, he could do that. "I can't imagine that I'd ever want to hurt either of you, but all right, you have my word," he said in a serious manner and noticed that the relief the other man felt from his agreement was more than apparent when the tense lines around his eyes lessened. Jason glanced at his watch, a worried frown coming to his face again as he noted the time. "How should we do this? I have to go home in a few minutes or get knocked on my ass. It's pretty obvious, because of the lack of time, that we can't do anything further tonight and I can't get away evenings or weekends."

"I could come by your work during your lunch hour," Duane offered after a moment of thought. "Is there a room we could use there, some place we won't be disturbed or discovered?"

Both Jason and Debra shook their heads to the negative. "We work for the DMV, Duane," Debra answered with a roll of her eyes indicating that his suggestion was ridiculous. "Every inch of the building is in use all day. But, you could use my car. I have sun shades you can put up on the inside of the windows in order to give you some privacy."

"It might be too distracting," Duane replied, sounding doubtful.

"You managed to hypnotize Jason in a room full of people and he wasn't even one of your volunteers."

Duane nodded, acknowledging her point. "We'll give it a try. What time?"

"Twelve thirty," Jason answered.

"Then I'll be there Monday at twelve twenty five and wait out front." He then turned to Debra. "Give your car keys to Jason and I'll follow him to it."

With an eye on his watch once more, the younger man displayed a return of his nervousness. "I really have to go," he said anxiously, then turned to the hypnotist. "Thank you, Duane. I don't know how I'll ever repay you, but I want you to know that you're saving my life." He then took the taller man's hand and quickly shook it, gratitude shining in his eyes.

"I hope what I'm about to do is the right thing," the other man replied, looking resigned but concerned. "I don't want to doom the three of us to a life in prison."

Debra led them to the door of her apartment, grabbing up her coat and beaded purse. "Then we'll have make sure this secret is kept between the three of us. Do we all agree to that? To tell no one of what we discovered tonight or what we're going to do about it?" she asked, then looked specifically at Hannible, knowing that her friend wouldn't tell anyone and neither would she, not even her fiancé. She waited for the man's solemn nod of agreement before she opened the door.

One minute later the three were in the elevator, headed back to Debra's car with the plan to let the older man off at the hotel where he would catch a cab to his own apartment. Debra would then drop Jason off at his apartment complex, arriving ten minutes before his curfew expired where he would no doubt be greeted by his clock-watching tormentor.

~~~~~

The weekend proved to be a very long one for Jason Phillips. He'd made it home on Friday night before the extended curfew expired. Scott promptly called in his favor. Jason figured that giving the other man a blow job was worth the time away from his domineering presence and the information he'd gained from being accidentally hypnotized.

Before Monday morning arrived, he'd twice been maneuvered into performing sexual favors for the Japanese man, slapped three times, and thrown against the kitchen wall. He'd also had three heart episodes and one panic attack where he couldn't catch his breath. After surviving yet another exhausting and stressful weekend, Jason was more than ready to return to the hectic office where he worked. He was even more anxious about his meeting with Duane Hannible during his lunch hour, wondering where the clandestine sessions with him in Debra's car would take him.

In his mind, his only true sanctuary anymore, he pondered what the hypnotist had said, that he had been a gundam pilot. He wrestled with that thought over and over during the weekend, trying to overcome his disbelief and comprehend that he could possibly be one of the notorious gundam pilots he'd read briefly about and heard men in the barber shop heatedly debating over. It didn't seem real or even remotely possible that he could have been strong enough to be one of the colonies' young warriors, but he clung to the hope that it was true, that he had once been strong and brave, and the he could be that once again. He was decidedly nervous and anxious about the unknown future before him, but somehow it felt better to have hope in his life once again rather than the desolate gray that had for so long painted his outlook of the future.

Debra handed him her car keys during his morning break and quietly wished him good luck. No matter what happened he was determined to remember her friendship and try to pay her back, even if that payback could only be done by protecting her from any harm that might come about from her helping him and being his friend.

With his paper bag lunch clutched in his hands, Jason exited the building of his employment promptly at twelve thirty. He spotted the red, sporty sedan at the back of the parking lot and walked towards it, seeing out of the corner of his eye a tall, dark-haired man in a gray winter coat following him.

He reached Debra's car, unlocked it, and looked up to the opposite side to see Duane opening the passenger door, his face looking pale and grave, probably a mirrored reflection of how he also looked and felt. Jason could only guess from the other's somber expression that the hypnotist was probably having some reservations about what they were attempting to do.

The windshield and side-window sun protectors were sitting on the seats, and the two men quickly snapped them open and put them up, securing the interior of the car from unwanted eyes. "I have one hour," Jason stated, trying to get comfortable in the driver's seat while feeling tense and nervous. He pulled his coat more tightly around him as the chill in the car began to seep in.

"Since you've been hypnotized before," Duane began, "you'll be more susceptible to its influence and going under. No implements should be needed, so I want you to recline the seat, close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice as you relax your mind and body."

Jason nodded at the instructions and lowered the driver's seat until he was almost flat on his back. He closed his eyes and with a slight shuddering sigh he willed himself to relax.

~~~~~

An hour later Jason found himself sitting in his cubicle feeling strangely refreshed despite the fact that his lunch sat untouched next to his computer. He recalled the entire session with Duane during their hour spent in Debra's car. Together they'd gone back into his past where he recalled his life as an orphan and thief on the streets of L-2. The feelings of fear hopelessness was meshed together with those of hunger and loneliness, sensations that came along with the returning memories. He recalled a boy named Solo, who had been like an older brother to him. His death, caused by a plague brought upon the poor of L-2, was a painful moment to remember. He spoke haltingly and fought the feeling of overwhelming sorrow as he'd recalled that memory and he shed the tears of a bitter, frightened child. They'd stopped the session at a point where he'd been found and taken to an orphanage by a kind priest named Father Maxwell and was introduced to a nun, Sister Helen. Duane instructed him to remember all he'd recalled and that when he came back to the present, he would feel refreshed and hopeful. Those feelings lingered with him still.

Looking up to the number lit on the board above him, he hit the button next to his computer. A moment later he greeted number G-184 walking towards him, a nervous -looking teenager with braces on her teeth who was applying for her driver's license for the very first time. And to all appearances his life went on without a hiccup.

~~~~~

During each lunch hour that week, Duane met Jason at Debra's car. The amount of memories reclaimed by the younger man was nothing less than remarkable to the hypnotist. Jason, who was feeling more comfortable with the idea of being someone other than what he once believed, remembered Duo's life in the orphanage, where he'd lived for approximately two years. He received his first formal education there, grew to love the priest and nun while fighting off bullies at school who teased him for being small, an orphan, and for his long hair which had been pulled back into a braid.

Both men wiped away their tears from the retelling of the story of the little boy who had been left feeling guilt ridden and alone once more after the Alliance and L-2 rebels clashed. The confrontation ended with the church and orphanage, along with its inhabitants, being destroyed. Having survived by the fact that he wasn't there at the time of the attack, the heartbroken orphaned boy ran away to live for a short time on the streets again before going to a shipyard with the hope of getting onto a Sweeper's ship.

Desperate to escape the memories and horrors of his home colony, the scrappy little thief made good his daring escape by stealing aboard one of the ships docked and loading supplies for an apparent, imminent voyage. Duo was discovered several days out of port by a man doing a maintenance check and was hauled by the scruff of his neck before the captain as a stowaway. The captain was a man who was simply known as Howard. Duo's memories recalled the tall, middle-aged and wiry man as being easy-going, well-liked amongst his men and that he wore shirts imprinted with colorful flowers. The captain of the Sweeper ship took an instant liking to the spunky kid who ranted and cursed at great length at the larger men surrounding him, warning them that if they dared to touched him, he'd make sure they'd live to regret it. From the moment Howard laughed at his threats and antics, then grabbed the kid and ruffled his messy hair, Duo was more or less adopted by the Sweeper crew. Being a part of the Sweepers, having been accepted by them and given a place amongst the hard-working men, the boy from L-2 found a camaraderie similar to what he'd felt with his old street gang again, a feeling that he belonged. Despite the loss of the people he cared about, those in his former gang and the orphanage, he'd found a sense of happiness and security with the Sweepers that he'd never known before in his short, bleak life on the streets L-2.

Not long after that time, he'd been introduced to Professor G, a short man with a strange haircut that looked like a bowl had been placed over his head and the rim was used as a guide for the scissors. Duo's memories recalled that the man had a nose too big for his face and was about Howard's age. He appeared to be working on a secret project that the boy had heard about by carefully listening to the whispered conversations of the crew. It seemed G and Howard were collaborating to build something big, dangerous and illegal. G's attention then turned to the newest and youngest Sweeper. Duo recalled being put through several tests to determine his intelligence and abilities before Professor G began to educate and train him, turning a thief from the streets of L-2 into a pilot for a new type of mobile suit and a secret plan called Operation Meteor.

In the session following the return of those memories, Duane brought with him an old magazine he'd kept. The cover story was about the war between some of the colonies and the Alliance. It showed pictures of the almost impenetrable gundanium mobile suits, sent by the colonies to fight for their cause. The pages displayed in color graphic pictures of destroyed bases, mobile suits decimated in battle, and the destroyed shuttle of General Noventa, a pacifist, who perished after Gundam 01 attacked the ship shortly after take off.

Duane watched as Jason devoured every word and studied every picture in trying to fully understand what exactly his place in the war had been. They talked about it at length and it was becoming clearer with each session that revenge for the poverty stricken colony and the victims of the orphanage massacre were probably more than enough incentive and motivation for the orphaned boy to have become a gundam pilot.

Duane Hannible was clearly fascinated by the person he was attempting to help. It was a unique experience for him to watch a new personality evolve out of the timid and insecure young man he'd met less than a week ago. As Duo Maxwell came to the surface, Duane could see he was more intelligent than his persona of Jason Phillips, more confident and cocky rather than the timid mouse who was afraid of his own shadow and lacked the spark of life that Duo seemed to have. From Jason the abused emerged Duo the indomitable soldier, and along with the new personality came a dazzling smile that beat aside Jason's more familiar and constant worried expression.

Gaining confidence in his own abilities with each successful session, Duane was surprised to realize that his initial hesitation in helping break the Integration programming quickly dissipated as he worked with the former gundam pilot to regain his memory. Being a bit of a history buff, he was becoming more than a little anxious to learn as much as he could about the teenager who fought in the two Earth-Colony wars, to learn second hand on how it had felt to pilot a gundam and experience past events from this unique perspective of the story told in history books. He knew there was probably only a handful of people living that had ever known the identity and background of this remarkable young man he'd stumbled upon, and Duane felt privileged that he was, purely by accident, now included in that number.

"Jason." The pert nose and green-tinted eyes lifted from yet another old magazine, filled with information about the past wars. "Let's get started."

The young man nodded, closed the magazine and handed it to Duane for safe keeping. Jason then lowered the back of the car seat and wiggled slightly to get comfortable. Once settled, he closed his eyes and visibly relaxed, prepared to be taken back to his hidden past.

"Relax your mind and body, Jason. I want you to listen to the sound of my voice." This session took place just three days before Christmas. It was decidedly shorter than the other lunchtime encounters because of Jason's growing obsession with reading the old magazines Duane brought each day. But much was accomplished in the time allotted as Jason's other personality recalled the past and events that lead up to his trying to destroy Deathscythe when he learned the full extent of Operation Meteor. Under hypnosis, the boy, Duo, related to Duane who was absorbing his every word, how G invited him to steal the black gundam, which he did, then flew to Earth to became the God of Death, Shinigami.

Their time was drawing to an end that day, and as a last effort, the hypnotist worked on lifting one of Jason's blocks. In one of their earlier sessions, Jason had told him of things he suspected weren't natural about his behavior. His crippling panic attacks and excruciating chest pains were apparently brought on by any thoughts he conjured up about harming his abuser or even leaving him. He also confessed that he wasn't able to look himself in the eyes when he was in front of a mirror and had to wear tinted contacts, nor was he capable of harming himself, and the story of his attempted suicided had been haltingly re-told. After hearing Jason's symptoms, Duane was certain there had been blocks placed in his mind with pain triggers attached to them, and he was anxious to remove them and help Jason to regain some of his freedom.

As the younger man was brought back to the present, his lunch time drawing to an end, he sat up and stretched, feeling stiff from being in the same position for so long. Duane told him take out his contacts and to look at his reflection. For the first time in years, Jason looked into the rear-view mirror and into his reflection. His gaze lingered for several moments before he turned to the hypnotist and beamed a brilliant smile, clearly displaying his happiness and gratitude for the simple act of looking into his own eyes. As for Duane, he stared open mouth at the startlingly striking, blue-violet eyes. He had little doubt that the aversion set in the young man's mind against looking at his own eyes had been placed there in order to make him comply with wearing the tinted contacts, hiding his unusual eye color. His wide, long and thick eye-lashed eyes were remarkable enough that they would be unforgettable to anyone who saw them, especially up close as he was. It would be difficult to hide such rare beauty as the young man possessed in any crowd, and the Integrated were supposed to be ordinary and unassuming and kept out of the spotlight as they resumed life amongst regular citizens. From appearances alone, it was clear to see that Jason/Duo Maxwell was anything but ordinary and unassuming - he was stunning.

The next session they had proved to be just as productive. Jason was placed in yet another hypnotic trance with his body and mind relaxed and open to suggestions. Duane turned on the small tape recorder he'd thought would be useful in recalling the events that were transpiring. Who knew, maybe one day, many years from now, he'd write a book about this experience.

"Who are you?" he began once Jason was under.

"Duo. Duo Maxwell. I may run and I may hide but I never tell a lie." The former gundam pilot's voice was soft, talking as he would if he was deeply asleep.

"I want you to go back in time to where we left off yesterday, Duo. Did you come to Earth with the other gundam pilots?"

"No. I came alone," he insisted.

"That's right," Duane remembered Duo saying the day before that the five teenage pilots were unaware of their counterparts at the time of their simultaneous arrival on earth. "What happened after you landed?"

"I hid Deathscythe and began working on a farm in order to make my presence on Earth seem legit. I'd steal away at night in Deathscythe and did reconnaissance of a nearby base. It was the fifth day dirtside that I observed underwater suits trying to salvage something and that there was a ship above waiting to receive whatever it was they were recovering. I approached them, deciding to make my presence known, and attacked. It was then that I noticed a suit similar to mine, face down on the ocean floor. It was emitting a sound like a self destruct alarm. Since the suit was similar to mine, I easily deactivated it. There didn't seem to be a pilot, so I decided to salvage it for parts."

Duane sat back and listened with rapt attention to the tale the younger man told. He talked about his recovering the other gundam only to come upon a young girl being held a gunpoint by a Japanese boy. He'd shot the boy twice, only to have the crazy girl throw herself in front of him, asking Duo why he wanted to hurt the boy who had just poised a very real threat to her life. Even though he was confused by the situation, Duo soon figured out the other boy was the pilot of the suit that was emerging out of the ocean's depths.

He watched as the 'insane' boy of Japanese heritage jumped onto a couple missiles just before he set them off in an attempt to destroy their gundams that were emerging via remote control about a mile out at sea.

Duo dove into the water to retrieve the boy's body, floating face down in the water. And though he wasn't much of a swimmer himself, he managed to pull the other pilot to a smaller boat landing. He quickly administered mouth to mouth resuscitation and then darted off, leaving the boy unconscious but breathing as military vehicles and an ambulance arrived on the scene.

It was then that Jason spoke of the memories and thoughts of the fourteen year old boy and of the Japanese teenager he was drawn towards. From their first meeting he found himself curious, intrigued and attracted to the pilot known as 01. There seemed no doubt in his mind that he had to recover the captured pilot, just as there had been no doubt about recovering his gundam.

He then recounted the daring escape, of freeing the other pilot who was strapped down on a medical examination table, situated on one of the top floors of a high-rise hospital. The two of them jumped from the Alliance medical building and Duo recounted his horror when the other boy failed to open his parachute until the last minute.

By the end of the hour, Duo's memories had recalled the two of them working together, staying at the same school and becoming friends with the first tentative beginnings of a romantic involvement before being parted as the war escalated. There were several instances where the two met up again, hiding in dorm rooms or on missions, and their budding relationship took root.

Jason's voice was shaky and emotional when he recalled a mission where Heero had gone to attack the enemy by air and Duo had gone to attack by land. It had been a set up, and in horror he'd watched pilot 01 self-destruct after OZ threatened to turn its firepower on the unsuspecting colonies if the gundam pilots didn't surrender. Tears of sorrow fell from the closed eyes just before Duane brought Jason back to the present.

Opening his moisture-filled eyes and with his cheeks damp from their overflow, Jason gave Duane a sorrowful look before he covered his face with his hands and curled up on the driver's seat to give into his sorrow.

The slightly older man watched helplessly as the young man reclaiming his identity silently cried, his slight-framed body was wracked with grief while one of his hands moved through his short-cut hair as if somehow seeking comfort from it.

"Are you all right, Jason?" he asked gently, not unaffected by the other's grief. "You need to go back to work if you can." Duane found himself upset by Jason's unhappiness and stretched out his hand to rub his back in a consoling manner. He was surprised to see Jason shrink back from his touch.

Rubbing both hands over his face, Jason shook his head, indicating to the hypnotist that he needed to come to terms on his own in dealing with his emotions and memories.

Duane didn't want to push him, but he needed to remind Jason of the necessity of not raising the concern of his co-workers. "If you don't go back, they might call your home to see where you are. Scott will find out."

Even those words didn't seem to be having any affect on the distraught young man. Duane noted that the recalling of 01's self destruction was what seemed to have set Jason off, and suddenly he knew what the problem was. Jason was always a bit confused and disoriented between that past and present when he first emerged from his hypnotic trance. "He survived, Jason," Duane told the younger man. "You don't remember at the moment, but pilot 01 survived the war. He went on to fight right alongside you and the other pilots in the second war also."

His words seemed to have an immediate effect as he watched Jason get control of his emotions and successfully calm himself enough to sit up in the seat and straightened himself. With the heels of his hands, Jason hastily wiped the wetness from off his cheeks and away from his eyes, all the while avoiding eye contact with the hypnotist as if he was ashamed to have shown his emotions.

"Are you all right, Jason?" Duane asked, genuinely concerned for the other man.

Taking a deep breath and raising his red-rimmed eyes, Duane was startled to see a new look on the young man's face. A more hardened expression was set on his fair features, and a steely, challenging gleam in his eyes looked dangerous as Jason said firmly, "Call me Duo."

Moments later, Duo was headed back to work with Debra's car keys clenched in his hand. Duane watched him from his own car in the parking lot, noting that there was a sense of purpose in the young man's stride, and the lift of his chin bespoke confidence as he approached the front doors of the busy, public office. Duo, he thought, was going to have to be a damn good actor to hide the fact that he'd recalled who he was. He was certain anyone taking a good look at Jason Phillips couldn't help but see the metamorphosis taking place.

He'd cautioned him of this before he left the car. In return, Duo had looked at him with a determined look in his tinted green eyes and stubbornness visible in the set of his jaw as he gave a nod of his head, acknowledging the warning. He then opened the car door, said 'Thanks, man. See ya tomorrow," then walked off.

Unlocking the door to his own car, Duane sat for a moment, trying to comprehend all that he'd heard and seen in that one hour he'd spent with the other man. He had no doubt that the former gundam pilot, Duo Maxwell, was back to stay, and he'd come with a look of vengeance in his eyes. Starting his car, he paused, considering once again the strong, determined expression on the young man's face just before they parted. "Heaven help whoever it is he goes after," Duane said, then put his car into reverse, feeling grateful that Duo Maxwell saw him as an ally and not a foe.

Continued Soon

Author's note: Thanks to all who review and send encouragement. You're words are appreciated.