Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ When angels die. . . ❯ what is left to live for? ( Chapter 18 )

 

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… what is left to live for?

 

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“Oh, Shinigami…” The braided vengeance choked out, sinking to his knees. A faint greenish tint crossed his face as his stomach churned.

 

“Duo?” Hiiro's concerned voice called from where he was trying to hack into Catalonia's personal computers. Receiving no answer, he exchanged a worried glance with Wu Fei, who was leafing through a file cabinet.

 

“Maxwell?” The Chinese boy called; closing the drawer he was shifting through and followed the Japanese teen into the next room.

 

Duo sat in front of a television set, tears streaming down his cheeks. Before him, a home movie was playing on mute. The familiar images of Catalonia and Dean were laughing as they pulled on a rope. It seemed as if something was pulling against them in a tug-a-war, and it seemed that it was loosing.

 

“Duo?” Hiiro whispered, kneeling beside his grieved love.

 

“It's Quat…” The teen shook his head, his violet eyes lost in pain and helplessness. “What they did to him…”

 

Wu Fei, who hadn't looked away from the TV, gagged, and ran from the room.

Turning back to see what had his fellow pilots so upset, The Perfect Soldier choked.

 

Their beloved blonde friend was strung up, naked. Fresh wounds bled over darkened bruises. He looked barely conscious. Suddenly, Quatre's image jerked as if he had been struck and Dorothy laughed while Dean withdrew the whip for another blow.

 

The pilot of death whimpered as the long cord embedded itself in the empath's back. An agonized wail escaped Duo's throat as he watched the silent screams of pain that twisted his friend's usually kind and gentle face.

 

Hiiro wrapped his arms around his distraught love and held him close, blocking Duo's view of the TV. Fighting to stable his own tortured emotions, the former pilot encouraged his partner to stand and moved him out of the room. Taking out his cell phone, he dialed Sally.

 

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“You've gone mad!” Sally hissed at her commanding officer, “What the hell is wrong with you!?”

 

Emerald eyes blinked confused as Trowa took in his surroundings. Having a gun in his face was not a normal thing to wake up to and he was trying his best to remain still until a worthy opportunity to retaliate presented itself. That's when he noticed the glint off of his opponent's glasses and the tight braided buns on the back of her head.

 

“She hasn't gone mad.” The pilot corrected, his voice slurred. “She just isn't herself.” He groaned as he tried to force his body to sit against the sedatives in his system. Squeezing his eyes shut against the wave of dizziness that played with his head and stomach, he took a shuddered breath. “It's been a long time, Colonel Une.”

 

“Barton.” The soldier sneered, the aim of her weapon never wavering.

 

“Colonel Une?” The doctor looked bewildered. “What the hell is going on!? Trowa, you shouldn't even be remotely conscious let alone sit-Standing!” She looked flabbergasted as the banged Preventer found his legs and managed to get them to support him.

 

“An angel wished me to live.” Trowa replied his tone saddened. “I could never deny him anything…”

 

Sally smiled sympathetically at the grieving teen. It was the most hope inspiring thing to come out of the former pilot's mouth since the death of his lover. If the banged boy kept this mentality up, he might actually survive the loss of his other half… that is if the crazy colonel didn't kill him first.

 

“How touching.” The ex-OZ officer sneered, her eyes void of any humane emotion. “Too bad you won't be able to keep your promise… Trowa Barton, for crimes of terrorism, premeditated mass murder, underage driving, possession of an unregistered firearm, use of an unregistered firearm, impersonating a military officer, fraud and theft, I hereby sentence you to an immediate death!”

 

“Death?” Trowa glared, “Is that what you blackmailed Quatre with? Our death sentences?”

 

The doctor looked horrified while his enemy remained impassive.

 

“You lied to him! Told him that someone needed to pay the price, and it was him, his company, his life- ME! Or the rest of us… You forced him, with the zero system, into a corner telling him that the only salvation was through penance!”

 

“Bravo, you've figured it out.” Une smirked, “04 was the most dangerous, the one with the most blood on his hands. He was the one who had not only been an enemy of OZ but of the rebels as well. He's the one that blew up two colonies! Yet he was the most kind and compassionate of all of you cold-blooded killers. Winner was willing to pay the price so that you wouldn't have to.”

 

“What did you make him do?” Trowa demanded. “Why Dorothy? Why Dean!?”

 

“04 was a manipulative little slut. He deserved every bit of what those two dished out… and as for the pair? Well, Dean was more than willing, and Catalonia had her own crimes to atone for.”

 

“Atone…” Sally shook her head, “You make it sound like this is judgment.”

 

“It is.”

 

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“There's no answer.” Wu Fei frowned, when he received Sally's voicemail. “I don't like this. Something isn't fitting.”

 

The other two pilots glanced at him, “Like what?” Hiiro demanded.

 

“Like the video tape.” Duo spoke up. “Dean and Dorothy were too occupied with torturing Quat to worry about angles and such… but…”

 

“But the camera followed them around, meaning someone was behind it.”

Wu Fei finished.

 

“There's a third rapist.” Hiiro's fists clenched at his sides. “Chang, grab the tapes, Duo come with me.”

 

“Where to?” Shinigami asked, trailing the perfect soldier, his braid lashing about him angrily.

 

“We have to get back to the hospital.” Cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously. “Trowa's life is in danger.”

 

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To be continued…