Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets ❯ life in a box ( Chapter 8 )

SECRETS 06: life in a box

 

The boxes, the truck, the room, everything seemed to be just as they left it. It was a little creepy. The truck was parked facing the shipping elevator that had brought it down; the boxes were stacked neatly in the opposite corner of the room, labeled neatly. The table was set against the wall which left the room looking far bigger than what they needed and far more empty than was comfortable.

 

“This is weird.” Duo shook himself as he exited the elevator behind Heero and Wufei. Looking around, he found himself clutching his braid in a comforting manner, hoping that the cold would go away. “So what do we do first?”

 

Wufei lifted an eyebrow as Heero smirked. With a nod to each other, they headed for the stacked boxes and began to move them, once again, to the table.

 

Quatre lay a reassuring hand on Duo's arm as they watched their friends move about the room. Heero and Wufei finished placing the boxes to their satisfaction; four on the table top, two on the floor; and looked expectantly at Duo as Trowa set up the monitoring equipment.

 

“It'll be all right, Duo.” Quatre said quietly as he lead the braided boy toward the table. “We all ready know that you can protect us so nothing bad can happen and you did say that all you needed was for it to weaken.”

 

“Maxwell, this stuff as been here, without sunlight, the whole time we've been under Po's thumb.” Wufei folded his arms across his chest and looked hard at the American. “It should be sufficiently weakened.”

 

Duo could have told Quatre that it being weak was not the reason why he didn't want near that stuff. There was something innately evil about it that made his skin crawl and his senses scream. Shinigami did not like the echoes that ordered these shadows.

 

Taking a deep breath, Duo nodded and stepped toward the first box. With a quick flick of his wrist his blade cut the seal and flipped the box open before quickly jumping back. When nothing happened, he slowly eased forward and leaned over to peer cautiously inside.

 

“MAXWELL!”

 

Duo ducked and rolled as fast as he could away from the table only to be stopped by a pair of heavily booted legs. Looking up, he slowly took in the dark fatigues and the weapons belt before taking in the large breasts and the fuming green eyes and messy green hair.

 

Green hair? What the hell?

 

“You are a dead man, Maxwell.” Orah growled as she leaned closer to her prey's cowering figure.

 

Duo shoot up as Heero, Wufei, and Trowa slowly put away their weapons, the latter making a quick move to hide his mirth.

 

“Lt. Shorbah, what brings you here?” Quatre ever the diplomat quickly stepped over to deflect her ire so that Duo could gather himself and stand up.

 

Unfortunately the braided boy was laughing too hard to get his balance and crashed into Quatre who in turn crashed into Heero, who had come up to see why the Lieutenant had been sent here. Luckily Heero kept them all upright as he glared at both the growling Lieutenant and his laughing friend.

 

“Duo, please.” Quatre pushed the boy up. Duo stopped laughing to gasp for air until he looked at the angry Lieutenant again and her bright green hair.

 

Orah grabbed at Duo's collar only to be stopped by Heero. “I'll ask only once more, Lieutenant, why are you here?”

 

Orah gulped and reined in her anger. She'd forgotten how Yuy could get when it came to his partners. Taking a calming breath, she held herself still. “Commander Une ordered me to help you. She thought extra security was in order.”

 

Duo stopped laughing and grabbed hold of Heero's wrist. “It's okay, Hee-man, I sorta knew that Une would send her sooner or later.” With a cheeky smile, he winked at her, “but didn't know you'd dress up for me.”

 

Orah resisted the urge to rubbed her bruised wrist once Yuy had released her, as well as the urge to throttle the laughing maniac. “You did this, you little freak.” She murmured. “It's gonna be a week before I can get this out. Next time you're bored warn me and I'll find someone for you to torment.”

 

Duo bowed and danced quickly away from the angry woman.

 

Heero ignored the bouncing boy and raised an eyebrow at Quatre. “Hn.”

 

Quatre smiled as Heero moved back into the room and left him to take care of the green hair Lieutenant.

 

“We really don't need anyone in here while we work.” Quatre spoke quietly as he began to steer the large woman toward the door. “If you could just keep people out, we would be grateful.”

 

Orah smirked as she looked down at the gentle looking blonde. She wasn't fooled for a moment. “Listen, tiny, if you want me out all you have to do is say so. I can find things to do.” She was pleased when he had the grace to blush.

 

Gathering herself, she straightened her uniform vest and glared at the braided bane of her existence, before shouting. “Maxwell! number those things and set them up in order. You got `em scattered to hell and back.”

 

Duo looked at Lt. Shorbah's retreating back and back at the boxes. `Shit, she's right.'

 

Moving quickly, he re-arranged the boxes twice before finding a pattern only he could see and cutting them open with quick slashes. The others just stood back and watched him as he donned the thick rubber gloves and reached into each box to pull one panel out, laying it just so, before moving on to the next.

 

“Maxwell, what are you doing?” Wufei frowned as Duo had a sample laid before the each box in a neat order, his patience had finally giving way to curiosity.

 

Once satisfied, Duo removed the gloves and shook his hands loose. “She was right, there was an order to them.”

 

Duo reached out and placed his hands over the first of the samples. It felt like steam caressing his palms and wrapping around his wrists. It was weird, but not painful and not frightening, which made Duo all the more cautious. Lessons learned in the past, he slowly reached out with his gift and waited. Tendrils of darkness rose from the panel, lightly at first, until they gathered like spiral clouds in his palms. There was only light residual echoes here, no way to tell where or what from.

 

Holding them lightly with his fingertips, he moved down to the next sample. Again he gathered and waited with little results, until all the samples had been gathered. The cloudy black spheres were now the size of his palms as he flipped his hands over to hold them. Concentrating he could feel a wisp of something, but it was too light to be tangible.

 

The others had watched silently as Duo went about the process meticulously. There was a science to his movements, a method to his lay out. When he was done, he stood still with the gathered samples floating just above his palms as if by magic. It was awesome to watch and frightening to witness.

 

Quatre stepped forward without being prompted and placed his hands above Duo's, making sure not to touch the darkness. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. There deep inside, he found the power glowing and pulsing with each breath he took. Focusing on it, he pulled some of the power to him and contained it in his own hands, holding it there.

 

“Okay, let's do this.” Duo took a deep breath and folding his hands around the dark clouds. There was pain; there was anger; and there was - - - concentrating on that, he forced himself to look closer. Duo jumped as a pair of gray eyes looked back at him. Pulling back, he could see the doctor's coat, but the face was obscured by the glaring white of the coat and walls as the man leaned down. This was the one who had made the stuff. This was the person. . .

 

 

Pain raced up his arms and Quatre screamed. That was all it took to spur the others into action. Trowa grabbed Quatre and held him tight as he folded in on himself. Wufei grabbed the gloves and shoved his hands between Duo's to remove the darkness while Heero held on to the twitching boy. Once the darkness was held in Wufei's gloved hands, he moved it to a glass beaker set up on another table and sealed it away.

 

“Duo?”

 

“It's like looking at . . . strings.” He muttered as Wufei gripped his shoulders trying to help Heero hold him still. He felt the warmth of the dragon's power sink into him and gave way to the comforting feeling.

 

Heero felt Duo go limp and looked at Wufei, the boy was glowing softly and his eyes were closed. `What's going on? What was happening to them?'

 

“Wufei, you're glowing.”

 

“It's okay, Wufei, it was written in your codes long before your births.”

 

Wufei's eyes shot open and he gasped. Pulling back on the power he suddenly realized he had, he looked at Heero surprised.