Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 2 )

SECRETS 00: revelations

It was like a rude slap in the face when he opened the door. Why did the bad guys always pick old Oz facilities to inhabit. Didn’t they realize how many bad things happened in those rooms. The echoes alone were some of the darkest he’d ever felt and that was while Oz still had control.

"Shit!" Duo spun as a shot rang out. He felt the burn in his arm as he raised his own gun in response and fired three shots, the first one taking out the shooter and the third killing him. The second went right and hit a shadow dissipating it before it could truly form. "Dammit! don’t you know I hate when you take over these freakin’ buildings!"

"Duo!"

The com beeped and Duo flinched before he steadied himself enough to answer Heero’s call.

"Clear!" Kicking the body to make sure he was dead, he muttered a few choice words before looking around the room. "Office building - one. Terminated. Piece of shit."

"Duo, mark the rooms and start checking for communications." Quatre ordered, his voice a little breathless.

"You still good, Kitty Cat?" Duo’s question was asked in an absent kind of voice, while he went through the desk. He all ready knew the answer to his question as a shadow passing by gave him the all clear of Quatre’s area.

"I’m good. Hate this place, though." Came the reply.

Duo smiled a bit. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself, closed his eyes, and let loose his own curse. Shadows expanded, filling corners and coalescing into forms that vaguely looked human. Slowly opening his eyes, he scanned the room.

"Ok, you pieces of shit give me." he spoke softly but the glow in his eyes commanded their obedience.

Images assaulted his senses before one shadow shifted and pointed to the wall next to him. Duo walked over to the spot and looked it over. The shadow brushed passed him, making him cringe, before expanding across the spot and sinking into the seams of a hidden opening.

"Guys, we got rats." He murmured into the com before edging his fingers one of the seams. "Shit." He pulled on the seam and with a whoosh it gave a little.

"Duo, where are you?" Quatre’s concerned voice almost shouted in his ear.

"Wait for us!" Heero yelled and Duo could tell that he was running.

Duo heard the cries, but ignored the yells as he pulled open the panel. Behind it, in the darkness, was the truly unexpected.

"Fuck me." He breathed and then cursed the shadow that had let him open the panel without warning. "Guys, stop!"

Lights blinked a few times then steadied. A large screen showed a vague outline of the compound grounds and what buildings were damaged or lost. Four smaller lights blinked red then white then red again. Around the perimeter green lights flashed as more men moved along the outer boundaries of the old base.

"You piece of shit. Fuck!" Duo looked closer and noticed a weapons lock on each of the blinking lights and orders pending on the green ones. "It’s all , automated, guys. Q, move two steps left."

A light flashed red as it moved infinitesimally before turning white again.

"Duo?" Quatre’s voice was unsteady and Duo knew he was feeling his unease and could not fathom what the cause was.

"Maxwell, what’s going on?!" Wufei was angry and his light was shifting color rapidly but didn’t move from where he stood.

"Wufei, are you shifting on your feet?" Duo asked seriously, using the boy’s true name so he’d know how serious he was.

He felt the pause before Wufei stopped moving all together, his light going white. "I was."

"Duo, what the hell is going on?" Heero’s voice was strong and angry not liking that he had no idea what was really going on.

Duo sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face before checking the setting on the panels. There was no way he could stop the automated sequence from continuing if his comrades, his friends, kept moving. And the countdown meant that if they didn’t move within so many minutes they would be blasted where they stood because they were so still.

"Shit." Heaving a heavy sigh, Duo looked around. He could think of only one way of getting out of this mess. "Guys, there is an automated tracking system here tied to some orbital laser. It’s one of those new ones the Q-ball has been working on."

"What?!" Quatre’s outrage could be felt through the shared link he had with his friends, but also through the link of the com. "That system isn’t even fully functional yet, how the hell did they get it?"

Duo shrugged both mentally and physically. "It’s locked onto you guys with red and white lights. When you move you’re red, when you’re still you’re white. It’s tagged the outer rim with green but I don’t think their targeted. However, there is a countdown that only resets when one of you move. It’s a sixty second count."

"Shit." "What?!" "Oh Allah." "Hn."

Duo shook his head at the last, knowing that Heero wouldn’t voice his own feelings openly.

"Duo, can you. . .?"

"Sorry Q-man, but this fucker’s enclosed with no visible switches, buttons, or levers. Not even an open terminal nearby." Duo sighed as he watched his friend’s lights blink again. "Ok, shit, I have an idea, but I’m sure it will work so just sit tight a minute."

"Duo, don’t do anything stupid." Wufei said quietly.

Duo laughed. Stupid, right. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and summoned one of the shadows to him. Eyes the color of bright amethyst beckoned and the shadow drifted to the window to stand beside him. Without a word spoken, Duo pointed to Wufei’s still figure. The shadow shimmered then streaked away. "Wufei no matter what do NOT move."

"Maxwell, what?" Duo knew the moment the shadow reached his friend and surrounded him. "What the hell?!"

"Don’t move." Duo ordered again. Turning he saw the light blink before disappearing, only to return much fainter. With a nod, Duo headed toward the door. "I’m on my way, guys."

"What?" "Duo, be careful."

The last was from Yuy, an unusual statement to be sure.

Stepping into the doorway, he spread his arms wide. Eyes glowed brightly, as if lit from the inside as shadows moved over the compound. The other four pilots became still as they watched the dark forms move around them. Surely the machine wasn’t doing this. The shadows flew from all places dark around the compound and centered around the doorway where Duo stood.

Taking a deep breath, Duo centered himself and hoped that the dark feelings would not touch him. He could control this. He had to.

"Let’s go." he murmured as he stepped out into the light, shadows around him like a dark cloud.

The pilots watched half fascinated, half afraid as the joker among them seemed to command the darkness. A breeze that wasn’t blew the strands of hair escaping from his braid, his eyes were bright- almost too bright- as he walked, floated toward them. His demeanor completely void of all that they knew to be Duo Maxwell.

"Wufei." Upon the softly spoken command, shadow separated and surrounded the Chinese man, startling him again.

"Maxwell." Wufei started, but the shadows surrounding him began to push him out of the compound.

"Quatre." Again the softly spoken command forced shadows to move. Surrounding the blonde, Duo heard the painful gasp. Turning glowing eyes on his friend, he looked hard at the shadows before spitting out. "Dissipate."

An unholy scream blew through the air as one of the shadows shimmered, formed an image of evil before blowing away.

"Thank you." Quatre smiled as he moved with the shadows in the direction of Wufei.

Duo turned back and continued his walk. "Heero."

Heero stood at attention as the shadows formed around him. None touched him, a lesson learned, before moving him to follow Quatre. His silence weighing more than any words he could have spoken.

"Trowa." Duo met the eyes of his friend as the shadows surrounded him. He saw acceptance and understanding in those green eyes and then confusion.

"Duo, where are yours?" Trowa had noticed that with each order the darkness around his friend faded more and more until now there was only a light coating, like a cloud hanging above him.

Duo smiled. It was like looking into the innocent face of a dark angel that smile with those eyes.

"Duo?" Trowa tried again as his shadows began to push at him. He could hear whispers of voices that seemed to beg him to move, but he held still. "Duo?"

In answer, the shadows formed behind Duo. Wings of pure darkness formed and lifted the braided hair boy off the ground.

Go.

The word caressed Trowa like a wind and he allowed the shadows to guide him the same direction as his other friends.

The other pilots waited outside the perimeter of the compound. Heero had contacted Une and let her know that the compound was wired with the latest tracking weapon, but that all the faction members were in custody or terminated. He did not tell her how they had escaped or that they were waiting for Duo.

"Duo!" Quatre’s scream had everyone looking toward the compound in time to see a pinpoint of light shoot from the sky. Everyone knew what it was, the laser from an orbital weapon had fired.

Wind, strong and smelling of smoke and filled with minute traces of debris washed over the valley and up the canyon walls to touch those waiting there. The four pilots stood steadfast as the men around scrambled to avoid being hit. So they did not see the darkness swell up and cup around the valley like a dome over a bowl. Nor did they see the figure thrown up, before it was pushed toward the ledge where the pilots stood.

Heero caught the Deathscythe pilot as he was thrown into him. He was surrounded as he lowered the boy to the ground. A mischievous smile cocked at them as the glow faded from his eyes.

"Nice catch, Hee-chan." He whispered before passing out.