Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Wayward ❯ Wayward - Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Authors Notes: Tadaa! Chapter five, ready and rarin'! I've been told that Wayward is so dark, it may cause nightmares! WOW! I'm so pleased! As long as I'm getting strong reactions, I'm doing something right in my job as an author. So enjoy, and sweet dreams to you all… ::cackles evilly:: Many thankies to Marika Webster, who is a pillar for me and for more people than she knows. Marika, it'll be alright. I promise. And you know how seriously I take my promises. Thankies to Girl-chama (aka Sailorgundam) who not only keeps me writing excellence with her unwavering criticism, but who helped me in the naming game for this chapter! Thankies to all the peeps on my mailing list! YAH! If you want to join, see my website or my ff.net profile! Thankies to Rashaka-chan where ever you may be out there! And thankies to all you people reading this despite the fact that it isn't Broken Wing and it isn't normal. Wayward doesn't fit the usual pattern or mold for a fanfic, it's much darker, and those of you who are reading this anyway, I commend you! You know that fanfiction can be so much more than what most people think.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing don't belong to me. And any nightmares you may have as a result of the terribly dark and disturbing images in Wayward… I take complete and total credit for. Some my little spiders! Fall into the Spider Woman's web…


Wayward - Chapter Five


Quatre sensed nothing from the two boys sitting with him, not even Trowa. Constant strain on his empathy, and his own emotions, sort-circuited even his link with the one he cared most about. The feeling was strange; he was alone with his singular emotions for the first time with no one else's love or joy or pain intruding. Definitely strange, to feel the same aloneness that most of humanity felt. No wonder human beings could be so violent and cruel; they could never know the pain they inflicted on each other. Quatre knew he would feel whole again only when his abilities recovered.
"That won't work," the angry hardness in Hiiro's voice woke Quatre from his thoughts, "Duo's made it quite clear that he can be found only when he wants to be found."
"Duo's a prankster," Trowa shot back, and an uncomfortable oddness rose in Quatre's chest from seeing the two most notoriously stoic pilots in the midst of a heated debate, "He's a prankster and a joker by nature, even if he's more violent than before. What do you think Relena's crucifixion was if not a sick joke? He will want to be found aga-"
Trowa had to stop speaking when Hiiro pushed over the table and charged. Long-contained fury finally flared in the eyes of a boy deprived of emotion and his rage made Trowa a matador to his bullish intentions. The acrobat dodged the first blind charge and the second, skillfully maneuvering farther from Quatre with each feint. But by his third time around Hiiro's training caught up with his anger and he lunged at Trowa, predicted which side the boy would dodge to, and spun to land a solid blow square in the center of the tall one's chest. Trowa staggered and stumbled into a bookcase behind him, sending a rain of books toppling down over the two of them. Quatre still sat in his chair, utterly surprised and lost without his empathy to guide and warn him.
What would cause Hiiro to snap like this? What emotions had risen to bolster and feed this fury he expressed now? Quatre desperately tried to answer these questions as the fight escalated into a battle between cold rage and frustrated ignorance. Trowa could no more bring Hiiro down than he could Quatre, not only because they were tentative friends, but because their identical training wouldn't allow it. Neither could he end this fight if he didn't know its cause. So what started it? What-
"Hiiro!" The little blonde launched himself forward, "Hiiro, Relena would be ashamed of you!" His recklessly thrown shout rewarded him with a pause from the Prussian-eyed boy and a blink of surprise. "She worked so hard for peace, on Earth and the colonies, and you're starting fights between friends."
"Relena . . ." Hiiro's voice cracked, though it retained that emotionless quality in which he'd always spoken her name. With a great shock Quatre realized that though his voice sounded the same, there were tears in Hiiro's eyes. He was changing just as much as Duo had, only in a more positive, if frustrating, way.
"Hiiro, this entire situation is putting a strain on the walls Doctor J programmed around your emotions." Quatre spoke softly, slowly, keeping Hiiro's attention while Trowa slipped out of the way. "You must have cared very much for Relena, even if that feeling was hidden behind blocks. Now something worse than terrible has happened to her. You saw the body, you saw the room, and you ran tests yourself." As Quatre spoke, Hiiro remained perfectly still and silent, absorbing it all as his eyes harbored tears he simply couldn't let go of. "You must have loved her. And with her death you've not only lost her, but a good friend. Duo was closer to you than any of us except Relena. Now you have to accept that he's a killer, and he's the one who killed her." The Arabian dared to step closer despite Trowa's quiet head-shaking. "It's enough to drive any person insane, Hiiro. You're not just any person, though. You're a young man who's had enough emotional strain in the past four days to break down those walls made to keep you apathetic to pain, your own and others. You aren't used to these emotions so you've let them control you, and you struck out at Trowa because he happened to say something that angered you. I can help you begin learning how to control these feelings that must be very strange to you, but only with cooperation."
"I . . . I . . ." Hiiro swayed, no longer bent on revenge for whatever it was Trowa had said. He'd moved on to recognizing his problem. "I don't . . . want this . . ."
"I know. You're used to not caring, hiding under a blanket of apathy and training. But you can't go back. The damage done to you emotional blocks is irrevocable." Quatre didn't pause to wonder if perhaps irrevocable damage had been done to Hiiro's psyche in general. "You have to learn to live like the rest of us now."
Hiiro collapsed to his knees. Quatre didn't dare touch him yet. The blonde caught Trowa's visible emerald eye and he saw in there the same disturbing realization he had come to.
Things were different. Forever.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Lady Une- Preventer Une to those who worked under her- stared at the report in her hand. Sent to her by email only minutes before, the document detailed the strange events that had occurred at Preventer HQ. With his usual efficiency, Preventer Chang had the report typed, emailed, and filed within as hour of the escape. And Une had to admit that reading his account gave her a wave of unwanted and uncomfortable chills. Wufei- she called him that in her mind, for she had come to think of him and the other four as younger brothers- was not a flighty person, nor one given to exaggeration. She could trust that what was said in this report rang of complete truth, even if it did deal with the supernatural and unexplainable.
Une sighed, tapped the papers on her desk to straighten them, then laid them flat on the surface and placed her face in her hands. The theft of the Aurora drug, probably her government's most secret shame, had left her frazzled enough. Sweet sleep, rest and relaxation along with some quality time with Mariemaia had seemed on the horizon with Dorothy Catalonia's capture. But her escape complicated things in more than one way.
"Dammit, Duo," Une whispered under her breath, "what happened to you? And what are you up to?"
Her eyes, dark with worry and fear, fell to her desk and on the particularly terrifying statement she had chosen to highlight in nightmarish neon yellow. It was written in Wufei's abrupt manner.

"Duo Maxwell's eyes were cold. No criminal I've ever seen has those
eyes. The closest I can come to truly describing them is to say they
were a demon's eyes."
Wufei, from all he'd told her, did not believe in demons. He believed only in the inherent evil in all people. For him to compare one of his closest comrades to a demon, the change in Duo must have been profound and infinitely frightening. A malicious Shinigami with powers such as Wufei described would be a true bane of all humanity. Une knew this; she had seen his OZ profile and heard him in battle. Should Duo ever turn that hatred and battle-lust on innocent civilians . . .
"Dieu help us all," she murmured into her hands.
"I don't think he's listening."
Lady Une tried to spin in her chair before she realized that she was not in her office at HQ, but in a stationary seat in her Earth residence. By the time she figured out she must stand to turn, Une found herself unable to move at all. The same voice, such a cold voice, tittered with darkly amused pleasure.
"You've broken into the private home of Head Preventer Une," she declared with as much righteous authoritative fury as she could muster under the circumstances, "Surrender yourself now and I will see that the charges of treason are dropped. Otherwise, the action of assaulting the Head Preventer will be considered-"
"An act of war against the United Earthsphere. Yes, I know." The voice's owner dripped pure sarcasm over her carpet and she could tell he had no respect for her position or the government. "I didn't come here to attack you, my dearest Lady. I came for something else, but your appeal to your inattentive deity caught my attention." Une felt something brush against her ear. "You know God pays no heed to mere mortals such as yourself, don't you?"
Instantly she knew with whom she was dealing.
"Duo, stop this. I don't know what you're planning, but-"
"It's not worth it," he interrupted again, flinging himself around to face her. Bent over her helpless form, hands clenched over her wrists on the armrest and eyes wild, Duo looked every bit the demon Wufei had likened him to. "Nothing will be made better by my actions. Crime doesn't pay. I've heard it all, Lady Une, and I've chosen to ignore it all."
"What did you come for then?" She changed tactics, knowing that she would get nowhere trying to talk to him of right and wrong. At last Duo stood, releasing his vice-grip on her wrists. They ached, but she still couldn't move to rub them.
"I came for something very important. Very important to you, once important to others, now important to me."
"What are you talking about?"
A whimper from the doorway. Duo whirled to greet the newcomer, clapping his hands together in delight. Behind him, standing- standing- was Mariemaia. Une gasped in wonder. Then she saw that none of her awe reflected in the child's eyes. Only fear. She wasn't truly walking or standing. Duo's strange power moved her without her permission, brought her here in the middle of the night, frightened. It was she the boy wanted.
"No!"
"Quiet." Duo waved his hand at Une, almost lazily, and she lost her speech. Mariemaia, with frozen wide eyes, whimpered again as he sauntered nearer to her. She'd seen him once before, not long after the war's end and her immediate recovery from her wounds. Then he'd been just as child-like as she and with disarming cheerfulness had won an instant place in the girl's heart. For her to see him now, see the crimson gleam in once kind eyes, and know that he planned to take her away . . . She must be terrified! Une longed to reach out, soothe her adopted daughter and hurt the one who threatened her.
"D-Duo?"
"Don't worry, Carrot. You'll have a playmate where I'm taking you, so you won't be bored. And as long as Uncle Duo is your keeper, you'll be able to walk, run, and play with her all you want. I can do that."
Une saw Mariemaia glance at her. In those blue eyes it was obvious that though the girl wanted to do those things, she did NOT want to go with Duo. The lady strained against the invisible cords binding her to her chair, but she had no chance to break something that was not solid to begin with. At last Duo smiled, laid a hand on the top of Mariemaia's head, and then they were gone. Une knew she hadn't blinked. They were simply . . . gone.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

He picked up a small, gold framed photograph. Their smiling faces stared back at him, sharing the happiness of that long-passed day. Sunshine almost blotted out their two faces, but the details were forever imbedded into his mind. The man sighed. If only . . .
The picture sailed through the air, smashing into a far wall with colossal force. "If only's" were the past creeping into the present and would do him no good. None at all.
But as the last echoes of broken glass tinkled through his ears, sorrow and regret quickly drowned out anger. With another, more weighted sigh, he trudged to the fallen photo and picked it from the sharp debris, careful not to rip any part of his precious treasure. So absorbed was this man in the contemplation of much loved faces and time-frozen smiles that the insistent ringing of the telephone almost failed to penetrate his mind. He knew, however, the importance that might be carried on a phone line, and so the man shook himself from the burden of sadness and reached for the old fashioned, audio-only telephone.
"Yes?"
"You remember me, don't you, and what I have that belongs to you?"
He stiffened, recognizing the voice and its threat. The man swallowed.
"Yes."
"Then listen to me and listen carefully, because I finally know what favor to ask of you."
"And then-"
"Listen, do what I ask, and we'll see about returning what is yours."

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Wufei's eyes drifted over the two people on his vidphone screen. Quatre's was set far back so that both he and Trowa could be seen, and the volume turned up so they could be heard. The Chinese boy frowned to see the obvious absence of the one who'd started this all with his stoically frantic call to Preventer HQ.
"Where's Yui?"
"He's resting," Quatre replied, stealing a glance towards Trowa, "We had a . . . situation." The pale blonde used Wufei's own words, therefore he could not be faulted. "We've taken care of it. Why did you call us; you said it was urgent."
"Duo was here." Wufei paused to let this information truly grab hold of the two before he continued, "He freed Dorothy Catalonia, who was being held on charges of theft."
"Delilah Corinthians . . ." Quatre murmured, then shook his head and motioned for the Preventer to continue.
"She stole a highly dangerous experimental drug, known as Aurora for lack of being able to pronounce it's scientific name. It was used in the study of newtypes, to put chosen "normal" individuals into a trance state so that they would be able to communicate with newtypes on that purely mental level and perhaps gain a better understand of how their minds and abilities work." Wufei sighed and leaned back, forming a triangle with his thumbs and forefingers, curling the rest into his palms. "Unfortunately, Aurora was a little too powerful. After only three uses, the subjects would fall into permanent comatose states. All of this happened ten years ago, and all of the twelve patients have yet to wake up."
Quatre and Trowa gazed at him with wide, horrified eyes. Finally the small blonde rose and paced before the vidphone, tiny brows creased in worried contemplation.
"What were they thinking? Most newtypes still operate on the same level as normal people. There've only been a few in the history of the colonies who have ever achieved consciousness on a higher level."
"We know that now," Wufei agreed, holding up a document of lesser years than the drug itself, "but that theory was only proven eight years ago, two years after these people idiotically tested their drug on unsuspecting guinea pigs." He tossed the paper aside with a sneer of disgust. Beneath it and the folders containing the Aurora information were photographs of the twelve victims of bio-extract X51173A. "What would Duo want with this drug?" The Chinese boy didn't realize that he mused aloud until Trowa's voice filtered through the vidphone.
"What do you mean? Wasn't the theft just a distraction to keep our eyes off of him?"
"No," Wufei replied with a derogatory snort. He couldn't believe Trowa could be so blind to the obvious. "First of all, if that were the case, bio-extract X51173A would have turned up somewhere else as soon as . . ." He stopped, blinked, finally hearing what Trowa had said. "Why would he want to keep our eyes off of him?" This time it was Trowa's turn to snort, and Wufei's eyes narrowed. Quatre answered.
"That's what Hiiro tried to tell you. Duo is the one who killed Relena."
Wufei leaned closer to the screen as if he could reach into it and drag the blonde through to throttle the truth from him. He knew his eyes were wide with disbelief, but could do nothing to plaster back his mask of untouchability. He kept his mouth firmly closed, afraid questions would tumble from it in chaotic heaps if his lips should open even a crack. At last he cleared his throat and settled back into his leather chair.
"Well then, that would b-be another explanation." Wufei cursed inwardly at the insecure shaking of his voice. "As I was saying, if the theft were only a ruse, then the drug would have been returned or abandoned in some obvious place. It has not, therefore we must conclude that Duo is still in possession of it. And now we must also assume that he killed Relena for a reason. Namely, because of her position within the government. Most likely she was the person in the best arrangement to be able to stop whatever it is Duo is planning." He saw Quatre visibly swallow. Trowa supplied the only conclusion.
"He's not done yet."
"What do we do?" Quatre bit his lip, blue eyes quavering uncertainly as he pondered this strange and undesirable turn of events. Wufei met Trowa's eyes and an agreement was instantly formed. The two nodded at each other. It was Wufei who spoke.
"We have to kill him.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Hiiro felt a strange constriction in his chest at Wufei's words. At first he thought he might be having a heart attack, until he remembered that anxiety and anger was sometimes accompanied by an odd feeling in the chest. So he must be feeling some uneasiness over the idea of killing a fellow Gundam pilot and close friend. Friend. The word was so strange in his mind, so foreign. Yet it described Duo perfectly. Happy, smiling, bouncing around on his own little cloud of exuberance, the Maxwell demon could make friends with Satan himself and still make it through the gates of Heaven.
At least, the old Duo could have.
Like the rest of his comrades, Hiiro wasn't quite certain what to make of this new and darker version of their familiar friend. He only knew that the thought of killing Duo . . . simply would not take hold in his mind. No. It couldn't be allowed.
But he couldn't let them know that he knew. The three didn't even know that he stood on the outside of the door, listening to them when Quatre had specifically told him to rest. The Arabian wasn't the only one who could ignore orders meant for his well-being. Hiiro's hands clenched into fists as he heard Quatre and Trowa wishing Wufei well and cutting their connection. He backed up a bit, then strode forward as if he hadn't been simply standing and turned into the straightened study. The two looked up at him, almost guiltily, as if they knew they had just agreed to something he would not appreciate. But he said nothing.
"Hiiro . . . shouldn't you be in bed?" Quatre stepped forward and the Prussian-eyed one shrugged. The blonde glanced back at Trowa, who looked as if he were on the verge of telling Hiiro everything that had just been said. Instead, Hiiro chose that moment to speak.
"Let's call Wufei now. He should know about Duo."
"Actually . . ." the small boy glared down at his shoes, as though they were the guilty perpetrators, "we've already spoken to him. He called while you were asleep."
Having never been asleep, Hiiro nonetheless feigned a close approximation to surprise. "And you didn't wake me?"
"We thought it best not to, after your-"
"Episode," Quatre supplied for his koi.
"I'm not you, Quatre," Hiiro struck out with particular vehemence, "I'm not a frail doll that has to be put away on a shelf if I'm not to break. I can handle this." Trowa moved forward, no doubt to choke the arrogance out of Hiiro's tone, but Quatre thrust out a small arm to stop him. The pale face had settled into a cold white marble slab of controlled anger.
"I'm sure you can handle this, Hiiro. That's why you tried to kill Trowa earlier, because you're so in control of yourself. Just because I feel things, doesn't mean I'm glass." The two stared at each other, neither one wanting to back down, and neither one weak enough to admit defeat. At last Quatre spoke again, his voice as hard as his face. "I have an idea on how to find Duo, whether he wants to be found or not."
"And what would that be?"
"I've heard that Milliardo keeps the ruins of Epyon somewhere below Sanch Palace. If the Zero System is salvageable, I can use it to expand my mind and find Duo's." Hiiro glanced over Quatre's shoulder to see the widening of Trowa's eyes and the surprise written on his features. Obviously his precious little one had neglected to inform his koi of this plan. "I'm going to ask him about it tomorrow, and explain only that it can help us find the killer." Of course none of them had told the prince yet about Duo's involvement.
"Quatre . . ."
"Stop, Trowa." The blonde didn't even look over his shoulder, but continued to glare straight at Hiiro. "I won't even allow you to coddle me anymore. I'm stronger than you think I am." He said this with the air of one who has discovered his own strength and must now impart this knowledge to the world. How could he know that Hiiro had always known this? Unfortunately, the Japanese boy had allowed his new anger to run away with him again and contradict his words before they were even said.
Quatre finally looked away, gave a short sigh, and walked out. Trowa followed closely after. Hiiro was left standing, as always, alone in a strange place and not knowing what to do next.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Mariemaia sat on the large bed, sinking a bit into the fluffy white and pink comforter. At her feet, on the floor, played a young girl of about six years of age. Mariemaia had to admit the child was cute beyond words with bouncy brown curls and big green eyes. Her pastel blue dress only enhanced her inherent cuteness, as did the tiny mouth that seemed to constantly pout. But as the girl sat there on the plush tan carpet, a doll cradled carefully in her pudgy arms, there was no happiness in her eyes or in the way she played. Only a childish resignation. She had nothing else to do in this prison, so she might as well play.
"What's your name?" Mariemaia finally asked when she could stand the silence no more.
"Sanyu."
"That's an interesting name." She paused, waiting. When Sanyu said nothing more, Mariemaia tried again. "Do you know what it means?"
"Uh huh." Sanyu cuddled the doll closer to her, sorrow cloaking her chubby face within its thin veil. "Happiness."
The red-haired child was about to reply to the irony of this name when the door was flung open by an overly cheerful Duo. Since he'd shown up at her home only two hours before and dumped her here in this room, Mariemaia had come to the conclusion that he was a very bad man. The hypodermic needle in his right hand did little to change that new opinion.
"Well my little chickadees, how are things going in your palace abode?" He didn't seem all that surprised when neither girl answered. Sanyu stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes while Mariemaia glared with something akin to hatred. "Carrot, time for your medicine."
"I don't have any medicine," she stated simply.
"You do now." He snapped his fingers in a showy gesture and Mariemaia couldn't move. She figured this was what had happened to Miss Une to keep the woman from saving her from this fate. "Be still and be good my little vegetable, and this won't hurt." Unable to squirm or protest, Duo's warning seemed to her to be a little unecessary.
The needle lifted from his hand and floated over to her bare arm, which rose without permission to greet the thin, winking weapon of childish torture. Mariemaia heard Sanyu give a small whimper. "Don't worry, Sanyu, it's just a shot. It won't hurt. I've gotten plenty." And surprisingly, she was right. The guideless needle slid without complaint into her waiting vein. Whatever it held burned a bit when pushed into her bloodstream, but other than that the process was painless.
Somehow, though, she didn't think this was medicine to keep her from getting sick.

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

The instant Hiiro walked into his room, he knew something was wrong.
Out of place. Things were not exactly as he had left them. The book on the table had been moved slightly. The empty glass by his bed now resided on the floor. A subtle shift in familiar things, in the way he'd left the order of his living chambers, alerted him to the danger. And the moment he knew there was danger, a tingle of urgency crawled over his skin and he knew there wasn't time to even search for the source. He turned and ran.
Halfway down the hall, the blast from his room sent him sprawling and sliding over the slick marble floor. He slammed into a side wall and lay there as panicked shouts floated upstairs from servants and others who'd heard the explosion. Hiiro's vision swam, pain throbbing from the back of his skull.
Someone wanted him dead. That he was used to. But that person had tried to kill him in Sanch. Relena's kingdom.
And that he wouldn't . . . couldn't forgive.

End Chapter Five.