Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Reprieve ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight

Sally Po wiped the sweat from her brow with the edge of her sleeve as she gulped down a glass of cold water. While she wasn't complaining about the heat, she found it amazing that so many men and women actually chose to live here; had parked this monstrosity in the middle of the Pacific and settled down for the long haul. She was beginning to understand how the Hawaii shirt trend had started.

It was a rare break for Sally, who spent most of her time working in the small medical wing with the Sweepers medical staff, who she found extremely interesting. Only about half the team actually had a medical degree; those who had the degrees had taught the others, and done a damned good job of it. Those with medical degrees were not originally Sweepers at all, but had been recruited by someone everyone on aboard seemed reluctant to talk about, and Sally could well understand why. If the Doctor that built the hulking black death machine at her back was anything like the one who built Wing and trained Heero Yuy he was worth fearing.

Sally sighed heavily, wondering if she would ever learn all the Sweeper's secrets. She figured she would have to become one before that ever happened, but after the last few weeks she was starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Everyone here had a job and did it without complaint. There was a sense of family here Sally had never truly known, and she found herself wanting that. Much as she assumed Wufei did.

Sally was more than a little surprised how easily Wufei had come to accept the Sweepers, and they him. She was even more surprised at how he had taken to his new teammate. Not that she found it hard to like Duo Maxwell. It was Wufei she had trouble with. Sometimes.

Mechanics were suddenly running every which way and Sally noticed Baz hurrying off in the direction of the bridge. She grabbed hold of a man's shirt as they rushed passed and realized he was wearing military pants under the garish shirt that featured massive frangipani flowers.

"Harry, what's going on?"

The younger man actually looked frightened as he pointed out the open cargo bay door.

"Ship coming in," Harry explained quickly and Sally could hear the vague sound of engines above them. "It's the Doc."

Sally released the man's sleeve in a mixture of shock and understanding that the man had somewhere else to be. Sally knew she should go find something to do, stay out of the way, whatever, but she felt drawn to the place she was, as if she needed to be there. She knew it was just her adrenaline-loving self wanting to get itself in more trouble. Still, she didn't move.

"Speak of the devil and you summon the man," Sally hissed under her breath as she drank the last of her water and stood as a ship came into view, hovering its way into a landing space near the broken Ebonshade. It was not a large ship, but like most of the Sweeper's ships there was something about it that just screamed abnormal. It no doubt had many of the foreign technologies onboard the Sweeper crew had created. Or perhaps the ship's owner had created, she thought darkly.

A sound behind brought her attention to the cargo bay, which was empty save for the slender shape of Howard making his away across the deserted metal floor and the Gundam's, silent in their vigil. Sally studied Howard as he approached, aware he seemed more than a little upset. You couldn't tell just looking at the man, but Sally could see the slight tremble in his limbs, see the way his forehead was lined more than usual. And the man had the damn glasses on again to hide the emotions in his eyes. Sally wondered if she should invest in a pair.

"It might be best if you made yourself scarce."

Sally raised a brow. Howard rarely told her what to do anymore, letting her design her own shift, work as she saw fit. He was confident n her skills and didn't perceive her as a slacker and showed her his respect in allowing her to rule her own life while in his little niche of the world. It was one of the things she liked about the man. That he was giving her an order now, however unofficial, was a sign. A big one Sally was not about to miss.

"Where are the pilots?" Wouldn't Duo want to see his mentor? Sally took in the way Howard's mouth turned into a thin line and felt her stomach tighten. Something was wrong here.

"02 and 05 are in the recovery room. 03 and 04 are locked in the east wing. Baz is guarding them."

Sally couldn't fathom why he was suddenly referring to the pilots by their codes. Was it because of the Doctor? And why lock away the other pilots? Sally's nerves were beginning to itch and she wished she had her gun, but it was locked away with the rest of her people's gear in a storeroom beside the bridge. She would have to face this, whatever it was, on her own.

Men were running from the landing site, and a set of figures began to approach. Sally studied each in turn and decided the one ion the centre, in the white coat was the Doctor, the other two his bodyguards. All her attention fell on the approaching man with a mushroom on his head. It was almost comical, except the closer he came the clearer the sinister scar down one side of his face and the darker his hooded eyes seemed.

And then he was there, right before her, and she didn't dare say a thing. Her blood was telling her to run while her pride knew it was too late for that. Howard reached out a hand and shook the Doctor's, then men sharing a deceptively warm greeting.

"And who is this lovely flower?"

Sally shuddered to hear his voice directed at her. There was just something wrong about the man. To think his mind had built Deathscythe…it was a terrible thought.

"Major Sally Po," Sally replied coldly, barely restraining the `at your service' she usually tacked on the end. Those were the last words she wanted to say to this man. She didn't want to service him in any way.

"Always letting in stray cats, Howard. Some things never change." The Doctor looked away, turning his attention back to the leader of the Sweepers. "Where's my boy, Howard?"

"What do you want with him?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed at Howard, dark and dangerous, but Howard met the gaze head on, waiting for an answer.

"I won't have my pilot incapacitated, Howard. Either I give him the shot, or I find a new one and take care of the old one. Your choice."

Sally didn't know what Howard was thinking, unable to read his reactions through the dark shades. She suddenly understood why he always wore them and resolutely decided to get a pair as soon as possible. In the mean time she had to figure out what this `shot' was the Doctor seemed so determined to give her patient.

Howard finally stepped aside, line of sight glued on a patch of nothing on the far wall as he let Doctor G on board.

"02 is in the recovery room."

Sally did not like the way that nasty mouth curled into a sinister grin one bit. She remained rooted to her spot until the Doctor and his guards were out of sight before turning to face Howard.

"What's going on?"

"He's going to give Duo a…concoction. He's given it to him before. It will work."

"What will it do?" Sally asked, narrowing her eyes. She didn't like the sound of this one bit.

"All his injuries will be healed within a week. The shattered arm will take a little longer. Three weeks at most."

Sally gaped. That was not possible. And why would he have not given Duo the shot earlier if that was the result? There had to be something wrong with it.

"How does it work?"

"Duo…he has a rare immunity to a lot of things. His body rejects anything outside the original genetic material. That's why he heals a little faster than most people naturally. He's…immune to plague. The drug enhanced his immune system; makes it function at ten times its usual rate."

Sally's eyes narrowed. She didn't think it was possible, but if someone had designed such a drug…

"Side effects?"

"Ten times the natural rate and the body can reject the original genetic material. It can kill him."

Sally balked.

"How can you let him do this?" She bellowed and actually saw Howard wince.

"Did you hear what he said at all, Po?" Howard growled low in the back of his throat, finally lowering his glasses to glare at her. She saw naught but fear in his eyes. "If we don't fix this pilot; if he's not operation by the end of the week, G will kill him and find a replacement." And with that Howard turned sharply on his heel, headed in the same direction the not so good Doctor had gone.

Trying to decide whether to fume or gape, Sally forced herself to calm down, to be a cold, analytical doctor, just like her newest enemy. She had to be strong if she was to ensure her patient was in working condition in seven days.

*

Wufei sat up the moment the door opened and he smelt…metal. It was not uncommon on the Sweeper ships, but this metal was…darker somehow. He couldn't explain it any better, he just knew he had to wake up. So he did. He glared at the three silhouette's in the doorway and was momentarily blinded as a hand reached into the room and switched the lights on to full.

When Wufei could finally see again he saw the strangest man. Dressed in a white lab coat, the figure immediately made Wufei tremble. That coat was all too familiar, as was the small badge on the sleeve. This wasn't just another doctor. It was a Doctor. Wufei knew the difference.

The man had the weirdest hair Wufei had ever seen; a huge mushroom cloud that only made him look even worse in Wufei's opinion. It was like the man had a nuclear explosion on his head!

"05, I presume?"

Wufei only nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"I've heard so much about you," the Doctor smiled and there was nothing friendly about it as he stepped up to the bedside and looked down on a knocked out Duo. A hint of displeasure shone in the dark eyes, and then it was gone, lost behind the passive mask all the Doctor's wore.

Wufei watched in silence as the Doctor pulled a needle from his pocket and removed the plastic cap. The contents inside were a dark grey. Wufei didn't like the look of it at all, but could not argue. Not with one of them.

He watched in stoic silence as the unknown substance was injected directly into a vein. Duo winced and his eyes fluttered beneath the lids.

"Time to wake up, 02."

Wufei narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. Why did he refer to his own pilot by a code name? Wufei may not have had the best relationship with his own mad scientist, but at least the man had always called him by his name! That his man did not spoke more than anything else could of his character. Wufei wanted him gone.

Duo's eyes slid open, glazed and sleepy.

"Fei?"

"Not this time, 02. It's time to wake up. You have some training to do, and you need to finish fixing your Gundam."

Duo's eyes flared wide, the glaze leaving them as he stared up at the figure leaning over him. Wufei saw nothing but terror in his friend's face as violet eyes swiveled to look at the Doctor's hand and the empty syringe there. The doctor just grinned and turned to leave as Howard and Sally Po appeared in the doorway. The Doctor ignored them, continuing on his merry way to Wufei didn't care where.

Wufei finally allowed himself to growl once he was sure the man was out of hearing.

"Howard?"

Wufei looked down at Duo and realized the fear had not left with the Doctor. In fact, Duo was starting to look pale again and his limbs were beginning to twitch. Howard sat on the side of the bed, brushed the long bangs out of Duo's eyes and rested a hand on each fine-boned cheek.

"Oh God…Not again…" Duo moaned, arms coming up to scratch at the place the Doctor had injected the odd substance.

"You can do this Duo," Howard said firmly, but Duo would not look at him.

"Not again, I can't do it again. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? It wasn't my fault. I can't do it again!"

"DUO!" Howard bellowed, snapping the boy out of his panic attack as they locked gazes. Wufei watched them both, wondering what the drug had been. He looked over his shoulder and got up to talk to Sally Po when she motioned him over.

"What was in that syringe?"

"I don't know exactly. I do know it's going to boost Duo's immune system obscenely."

Wufei's eyes narrowed. Sally had no idea what some of those kinds of drugs could do to a person. He had seen first hand in the labs when he had trained and never wanted to be one of their guinea pigs. Luckily, his social status had kept him safe. Basically.

"Wufei…that drug will multiply his immune system's capabilities tenfold within six hours."

"But?"

"Imagine what will need to take place underneath his skin for it to be boosted that far in such a short while."

Wufei thought on it, thought of all the possibilities and didn't like what he was hearing one bit. There was only one thing he could think of; there was going to be pain. Lots of pain.

"Can you put him to sleep for it?"

"There is nothing that will hold him under," Howard said softly from the bedside. Wufei looked over only to find Duo was starting to squirm on the bed, fingers flexing in the bed sheets. It was starting already.

"Fei?" He looked down at Duo, looked into eyes already be4ginning to lose focus, lose track of reality and understood. Duo needed an anchor, by he would have one. Crawling back onto the bed, Wufei lifted Duo and slipped in behind him, settling himself against the headboard and making sure he was comfortable, aware he was in this for the long haul.

A loan escaped Duo's lips and Wufei saw Duo's toes curl up in pain under the sheets. He didn't understand it. If this was only going to get worse for the next six hours…how bad did it get? He looked beseechingly at Howard but the man only looked at him with turmoil and pain in his eyes.

"He will be screaming for hours, Wufei. I give him an hour before he won't even recognize you."

Wufe shuddered, nodded and shut the world out. If Duo would not recognize him, he would not recognize the world that had done this. For the next six hours Duo belonged to the drug, and so would Wufei.

"Leave us alone."

He was amazed when his order was obeyed.

*

::47 minutes later::

Quatre lay on his side, watching Trowa sleep on the bed across from his when a sound permeated the room from the air vent over their heads. Trowa sat bolt upright in his bed while Quatre felt a stabbing pain begin in his heart. He lifted a hand to cover his chest, but the audible evidence of pain only increased his own turmoil.

"Oh Gods…What's going on?"

"Quatre?"

Quatre threw himself against Trowa's chest, hanging on for dear life, praying for it to end.

As if in answer to his prayers, the screams only got louder.