Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Let Slip the Gods of War ❯ Part Four: Day Dreams ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Duo and Hiiro were sound asleep in the second seat of the van, Duo's head resting on his best friend's shoulder. The moving van was the first chance they'd had to really rest in several weeks. Sally sat in the first seat with Quatre. Her new tablet, courtesy of Hiiro, completely held her attention as she soaked up everything she could about the nanites that she and some of her friends were now infected with.
Quatre slept tucked against the side of the van, his bruises already beginning to fade from black and plum to green and yellow. He had been alternating between deep sleep and ravenous hunger. It was a good sign; it meant his nanites were hard at work repairing the damages Kronus and his men had done to his body. Given enough time, he would be back in fighting trim. They just had to survive until then.
"Hey guys, we've need to make a pit stop," Trowa announced from the driver's seat. "The car's fuel cells need to be recharged, and we need a stretch and bathroom break. I don't know about anyone else, but I've been sitting in cars, off and on, for nearly thirty hours now, I haven't seen the inside of a loo since before I left the bad guys' lair, and I really don't feel like peeing behind another bush unless it's absolutely necessary."
Hiiro stretched, nearly dislodging Duo. "We should get some food and supplies, too, while we're at it," he said with a yawn. "Katoru's gonna go through a ton and a half of protein over the next few days."
"He needs more fluids, too. I'm sorely tempted to insert that IV," Sally sighed.
"Everybody armed?" Duo questioned. At the chorus of affirmatives, he smiled and laid out his plan.
Trowa pulled up to the recharger unit closest to the front of the store and gingerly climbed out of the driver's seat, then stretched and helped Sally get Quatre out of van. They'd decided to use the lavatory in shifts; Trowa and Quatre first, then Sally, Duo, and finally Hiiro, and the latter two decided that they would pick up and pay for the food and fluids while Trowa took care of recharging their vehicle.
With all of the van's doors opened, Trowa could keep watch on Quatre and still keep an eye on Hiiro and Duo inside the store. Sally stayed with Quatre and Trowa to watch the taller man's back while his attention was on the van. Despite his weakened state, Quatre sat hidden in the shadows with a gun resting in his lap, his alert blue eyes never leaving Duo and Hiiro as they gathered everything they needed in the small store.
"How are they doing?" asked Trowa as Quatre's stomach growled loudly.
"They've cleared just about all the beef jerky from the shelves and they're moving to another aisle. Duo's got a basket full of bottled water and yogurt drinks, too, and he's now at the microwave. They're about to leave my direct line of sight, but they're tall enough for me to see them over the aisles," said Sally.
"They'll watch each other's backs," murmured Trowa, closing the plug station and moving to climb back into the van.
Quatre tapped Sally's arm to gain her attention. Once he had it, he signed to her, "Trowa's too tired to keep driving. He's worried; he's gonna wind up pushing himself too hard."
Sally nodded in response before turning her attention back to the two men in the store. "They've hit the register."
Trowa started up the van and was surprised to find someone tugging on the tail of his shirt. He turned to find it grasped in Quatre's hand and turquoise eyes focused on him. Sally's watched as Duo and Hiiro finished checking out and made their way back to the van. Before Sally could say anything to Trowa, Duo did.
"Look out, clown boy, I'm driving. Get back there, cuddle with your hubby, get some rest, and for God's sake, EAT SOMETHING," Duo ordered as he handed Quatre a cup of hot tomato soup.
"Oy, yebat'... Duo," warned Trowa. [1]
"You're as predictable as Relena says I am, Trowa," Hiiro added as he climbed into the passenger's seat. "Our first reactions have always been to protect our loved ones no matter what, even when we've pushed ourselves past our limits. There are five of us to carry the weight of this load, jikei-san, so let us help you out, okay?" [2]
Trowa gave in with little more than a token grumbled complaint, and then settled into the seat with Quatre tucked against him, accepting the packet of beef jerky pressed into his hand by Sally. Quatre was carefully sipping his soup to avoid causing his throat more pain and to allow his stomach to adjust to real food again.
"I think I understand your nanites a lot better now," said Sally, going over her notes again. "They were given to you to counter the adverse effects of all the g-forces you were pulling during mobile suit battles." [3]
"So that's why we never lost consciousness or redded out," Trowa quipped. [4] At that moment, Quatre finished his soup and handed the container to his husband, who handed it to Hiiro, who stuffed it into an empty bag for later disposal.
"And why you boys are all still healthier than horses while many mobile suit pilots have cardiovascular problems," Sally replied. After a moment, she grimaced and added "I'm gonna stop beating around the bush. This guy had to have some kind of inside knowledge on your nanites to be able to use them against you the way he was."
"Even without first-hand knowledge of them, he could've accidentally stumbled on how to use them to cause pain," said Hiiro from the passenger's seat. "I learned that the hard way; EM grenades are not a lot of fun. Luckily, the nanites aren't damaged by them, just forced to shut down and reboot."
"I've always wondered why those disappeared from armory so quickly," Duo murmured.
"I thought it was for the best after that mission," Hiiro replied. "It's a wonder I didn't get caught. Rendezvous point in three minutes."
Quatre tapped Trowa's arm to get his attention before signing, "Ask Hiiro what it felt like. Did it burn like fire, or freeze like ice?"
"Cat wants to know what it felt like, fire or ice," said Trowa, giving his husband a questioning look.
"Both," replied Hiiro, surprised. "It felt like fire when they went offline, then like ice when they finally rebooted. It didn't happen all at once, either. It was more of a cascading effect."
"Then they used some sort of EMP weapon on me," signed Quatre tiredly.
"Those electrodes I took off of you at the rest stop…," Trowa said softly. "I wonder... were they the source of the pulse, or did they just produce electricity?"
Quatre closed his eyes and leaned his head against Trowa's chest, letting his heartbeat calm him. "Don't remember much," he signed with trembling hands. "At first, he only tried questioning me, but soon he became more than a little eager to start on the pain. Once he started, it was all I knew."
He twisted, hiding his face against Trowa, unwilling to let them know how much the man enjoyed torturing him, or how much it was still affecting him. Trowa could feel Quatre's whole body tremble against him, and started to rub his hand up and down his husband's back. The Heavyarms Bombardier pilot wrapped his arms around Quatre and snuggled in as best as he could in the seat. He placed a gentle kiss against the ridge of Quatre's ear, and was surprised when he jumped away, terrified. Blue eyes opened wide and his body trembling uncontrollably, Quatre fought against the fear that washed through him.
Trowa met those wide, frightened turquoise eyes with his steady emerald ones. Gently, as he would have with a child on the street, he pulled Quatre back to his chest. "It's okay, love. You can tell me what happened."
Quatre fought with his panic, and let his hand close around Trowa's. His body continued to tremble, his mouth working though no sound escaped. Finally, he buried his face in Trowa's neck and the words slowly tumbled out. "He-he'd put his lips right by my ear and whisper. I - I could feel his l-lips on my ear. H-he'd keep them there while the p-pain burned and whisper."
Trowa's arms tightened around Quatre and the rage he felt shimmered in his deep green eyes. "We're gonna get this bastard, Cat. He's never going to hurt you again."
A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a busy market. There were people milling about everywhere, giving them enough witnesses and cover to ease their fears of attack. Wu Fei stood with his back to a stone wall, his bags against one side. They pulled up right in front of him and Sally opened the side door.
"Oi, Fei! Get a move on!" Trowa exclaimed, his eyes still blazing though Quatre was drifting off again.
"You look like you're ready to kill someone," Wu Fei snarled as he climbed in the van, obviously in a foul mood of his own.
Once they were moving, Trowa took one look at the group and felt the fury drain from him. Quatre was drifting deeper into sleep against him; his gentle, rhythmic breathing reminding him of just how exhausted he really was. The adrenaline he'd been running on since Quatre's abduction suddenly seemed to abandon him all at once and he lifted a trembling hand to brush through his bangs.
Wu Fei was suddenly beside him, dark eyes locked on him. "Trowa, how long has it been since you've gotten more than a few minutes of sleep?"
"I - I couldn't... not u-until...," Trowa stammered as he felt exhaustion overtake him.
"I know, brother," murmured Wu Fei. "You had to make sure we were all safe and keep the squad together. We're all here now, so you can get some rest and I'll take the watch."
Tears glimmered in Trowa's eyes though none fell. "They hurt him, Fei. They hurt him so badly."
"And we're gonna catch them, but you need to rest so you can take care of him. Quatre needs you," replied Wu Fei, keeping his voice low and even. He continued to murmur to his friend until emerald eyes drifted closed and sleep overtook him. Once he was positive Trowa was sound asleep, he turned to his friends and asked "What the Hell happened?"
"D'you remember during our training, that asshole who called himself Kronus?" Duo asked softly.
Wu Fei paled drastically and his hand strayed to his shoulder. "Yeah, he was a fucking monster," he hissed, drawing himself up. "Master O sent him away after he… after he tried to break me. I still have the scars from it."
"Well, the bad news is that the fucker's alive and he's figured out how to use our nanites against us. Worst news is that he seems he's trying to collect us, though we don't know why yet. D'you happen to remember what his real name was?"
"No. The only thing I'd ever heard him call himself was Kronus. I know he had a name for us, too, but I don't remember it."
"He called us his Gods of War," sighed Hiiro. "When we check in with Lady Une later, we'll pass on the information we have. Fei, there's a change of clothes in one of the bags behind the last seat. We've been changing and ditching everything as we go."
While Wu Fei changed, Sally looked over at Trowa and Quatre. "How much should I be worrying about him?" she asked softly.
"What do you know about his past?" asked Duo.
"Just the basics. Born on Earth in July, After Colony 180, orphaned and separated from his sister at the age of two, escaped from an Alliance orphanage at four, ran with a merc crew until he was almost ten, emigrated to L3-8253 and went to work for Doktor S at eleven, then became Trowa Barton and Gundam Pilot 03 and returned to Earth at fourteen. He told me something earlier... that he'd been raped by the real Trowa Barton just before the start of Operation Meteor."
"That makes you the fifth person he's ever revealed that to," Wu Fei replied gently. "We can't tell you the rest of the details, Sally; he has to. What we can tell you is that he was taught at an early age to protect his squadron, and he takes that very seriously; so much so, he can sometimes forget that we can help protect ourselves."
"Like the day your stomach growled and he practically fed you his lunch?" said Sally thoughtfully.
"Yeah. If I hadn't ordered food and had it delivered to his office, he wouldn't have eaten until he returned home later that evening."
"The four of you always carry little bags of his favorite candy," Sally prompted, trying to understand completely.
"He won't buy stuff like M&Ms for himself," explained Duo, "but he'll buy 'em for everyone else. He's more likely to pick out a healthy snack for himself an' Cat; usually a piece of fruit or something."
"Three o'clock apples," Sally murmured. "Trowa shows up at my office every day at three and gives me an apple, though I'm not sure how he found out they're my favorite."
"He's good at ferreting out little details," Wu Fei replied. "He's truly a master spy, and he'll do anything for those he considers family. Somewhere along the way, he realized you get hungry around three in the afternoon. He doesn't tolerate the thought of one of us being hungry well."
"Given our pasts, Fei, z'at surprise you?" asked Duo. "That's the one thing he an' I really have in common. Starving to death was a distinct possibility for a lot of our early years."
He was about eight years old, and had just stolen some apples for dinner when he spotted her. She couldn't have been more than five or six and tiny for her age. Her dark hair was filthy and matted and her big brown eyes were filled with fear. Bruises decorated her too-thin face and arms. He circled the block and made sure she knew he was coming towards her. He was almost there again when she darted into the alley, sobbing. He stopped at the outside edge of the opening, knowing there was no exit within the alley.
"Are ye hungry?" he called softly. His only response was a terrified whimper. "I won't hurt ya." He set the apple on the ground in front of him. "Ye can have it. I won't touch ya."
He watched as she silently slipped out of her hiding place to slowly move towards the food. Once she was within easy reach of the apple, her tiny hands snatched it and she started gobbling it up. Once the apple was gone, she looked up at him adoringly with her big brown eyes.
"Ye got a name?" asked Nanashi, handing her another apple. She shook her head and he tipped his head to the side thoughtfully, "How 'bout I call ye Mouse, then?"
She nodded and reached out to take his hand. As soon as her small fingers touched his, a blackness spread from where their skin met. He dropped her hand but it didn't stop the spread. He screamed as she was devoured by the blackness, tears streaming down his cheeks from wide, terrified green eyes.
Strong arms held him and rocked him while crooning softly. Those arms held his arms pinned to his sides and he was confused to still feel Quatre's weight across his lap. He slowly opened his eyes, confusion swirling in their emerald depths. Worried turquoise orbs met his as Quatre moved so they were almost nose to nose.
"Dreaming about Mouse again?" Quatre asked softly. Trowa nodded and was surprised when Quatre reached up and wiped away a few stray tears and kiss his husband's cheek. He gave Quatre a weak smile before looking over his shoulder to find Wu Fei behind him.
"Are you finished trying to jump out of the van?" asked Wu Fei calmly.
Trowa nodded again, still not trusting his voice. He didn't move to get out of Wu Fei's grasp but he pulled Quatre back against him and hid his face in his husband's dirty hair. Of all his nightmares, the ones he had about Mouse always shook him the worst.
"Trowa, tell us about it," Hiiro said from the passenger seat. He was pale and his eyes wide when he saw one of Quatre's hands stray towards his chest.
"When I ran with the mercs, we'd pick up any little ones we found and took them to safety. I was good at finding them, and they trusted me because I was a kid, too. One day, I think I was eight, I'd found this little girl and took her with me. The poor baby was covered in bruises and didn't have a name. She was maybe only five or six, and I called her Mouse because she was so tiny and so scared. I'd stolen a bag of apples from an abandoned shop that day, just a little while before I found her… but some OZ soldiers saw me take them and followed us. They beat her to death to punish me, then started in on me." A sob tore from his throat. "She was just a baby... she trusted me!"
Wu Fei held on tighter as Trowa tried to pull himself back together. The tears that had fallen freely in his sleep were bottled up tightly once more, denying him the release he needed and deserved. Giving an exasperated growl, Quatre pulled his hand away from his chest and grabbed Trowa by his chin.
"It wasn't your fault," he ground out, his voice sounding much closer to normal. "You did what you had to in order to survive. Those OZ soldiers were monsters."
Isn't that what I keep trying to tell you about ZERO, Cat? That it wasn't your fault? Trowa thought, looking into Quatre's face.
"Quatre's right, Trowa," said Sally from behind him. "It wasn't your fault. You were just a baby yourself."
"Aw, shit! Guys, we've got a problem!" said Duo, drawing their attention to the road ahead of them. Without giving them more than a second to look, he turned across traffic to avoid hitting the man standing in the road. A moment later, an explosion rocked the speeding van, nearly causing it to roll over.
"Was that a grenade?" Sally questioned, blinking.
"Yeah, it was," Hiiro answered, his voice starting to slip into his old wartime "mission mode" monotone.
"How the Hell did they manage to find us?" demanded Wu Fei.
"I think it's me," said Quatre. He turned to Trowa. "Muhib, did you check me for bugs?"
"I - I didn't have time to. I stopped looking after I found the electrodes," Trowa stammered, wide-eyed. He scrambled for his duffel bag and pulled out the scanner. Starting at the top of Quatre's head, he scanned all the way to his feet. "Found it; socks off, Cat."
Quatre pulled off his socks, and on the top of his right foot was a small scar over a bulge. "Sub-dermal," he said to Sally.
"Hiiro, hand me my bag, quick!" ordered Sally slipping into the seat and pulling Quatre's foot into her lap. Pulling out a needle and a vial of lidocaine, she quickly numbed the area she was about to work on. "Take some of those gauze pads and use the alcohol to prep them. I'm gonna need them."
"Please, just hurry," Quatre growled. Sally sighed and opened a sealed package containing a clean scalpel while Hiiro prepared the gauze. With practiced ease, she swiped the top of Quarte's foot with the squares and sliced along the small scar. A moment later, she held up a small tracking device before handing it to Hiiro in exchange for more of the gauze. She cleaned and stitched up the incision before taping a dry piece of gauze in place.
"Hiiro, get rid of that damned thing," said Trowa softly as he leaned with his head against the window and closed his eyes. "Duo, please... just get us to the safe house as quickly as possible."
Author's Notes: A reviewer posited to me this question: "[D]on't you think it's a little too much for all the pilots be Newtypes? Since you stated they all have nanites, therefore heal faster plus are pretty much as close to perfection as anyone can be, it feels a little over the top to make them Newtypes as well (except for Quatre since it's practically cannon by now)."
My answer was, quite simply, this: "Well, that all of the boys being Newtypes is right there in the series. We know that Quatre's an empath and a bit of a telepath, but Trowa shows both telepathy and empathy, too. Duo's was kept vague, Wu Fei's ability to sense evil was downplayed, and though there were hints, you don't find out what Hiiro's is until the very last episode."
Then again, many in the cast had Newtype abilities, including Relena (unspecified, though she had a connection with Hiiro), Zechs (unspecified), Treize (ditto), and Lady Une (projective empathy strong enough to make people do whatever she wanted). Hell, Victor Gaintz from Battlefield of Pacifists and Dekim Barton in the manga version of Endless Waltz were also depicted as being Newtypes who could control peoples' minds.
In fact, I think the only characters in the series who weren't Newtypes were the Mads and Howard (though they could recognize them), the Dorlans, Cathy, Mr. Hawthorn (the ringmaster/owner of the Circus), Noin, Sally, Tsuberov, Dorothy, Dermail and most of the rest of Romefeller, Quinze and most of the rest of the White Fang, Nichol, Leia Barton, the real Trowa Barton, and Mariemaia. I'm not sure about Hilde.
In closing out the notes on this chapter, I hope I've provided a better explanation of what the nanites do and why the boys were given them in the first place.
Annotations:
[1] Oy, yebat' is Romanized Russian for "Oh, fuck."
[2] Jikei-san is Japanese for "revered older brother."
[3] More information of the effects of gravitational (g) forces can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-force
[4] See [3].
Next Chapter: Exhausted, our stalwart heroes reach the safe house, but find no time to relax. Realizing that their chances of survival will be greater with help from their comrades, the Gundam pilots decide to continue on to Preventer HQ.
Next, on Gundam Wing - Let Slip the Gods of War: Noon