Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Wherever You Will Go ❯ Memories and Misconceptions ( Chapter 4 )

Starting note: Heya…Skaara here. This chapter was previously combined with the one that is now before it, but for you benefit, (or lack therof ^_^) … of rereading what you've already read, I thought I'd better tell you! Sorry to those who have read this and have no desire to do so again! Hehe…^_^

After Quatre had signed off, Duo found it much easier to think; to remember. And so it was that he sat now, head still leaning laxly against the cushioned headrest, braid still in hand; its end twirling his fingers. Duo's already scowling frown deepened in vehement concentration; he still struggled to get his mind around what had happened on the base. Sighing and releasing his intricate plait for the moment, Duo thought back, remembering his mission from the day before……

<<FLASHBACK>>

Duo crouched languidly in the small, cold room, the small blips from the detonation keypad sounding quickly as his fingers virtually flew over the digits. Sparing only a brief second to itch his shoulder, his eye caught the logo on his uniform; the sewn-on OZ label recognisable by its insignia; so different from his usual clothing. Turning back to his work, he sighed. Just a little more to go…

"Hurry up."

Duo turned to look into the eyes of Heero Yuy; his partner for this mission. His voice had sounded cold; nasal as usual, but what else was it that he heard? From where he stood, he thought he had caught a faint trace of anxiousness in the voice of his usually stoical companion. Emotion, Duo thought strangely. How odd…nah, no way! "Heero? We still have plenty of time. Just let me extend the countdown for this and-"

"Listen to me…hurry up! There's probably not as much time left as we may need, and you may think." The words flew from Heero's mouth, and his voice was snappy now, no sign of the small scale of emotion he had shown before, his azure eyes focussed solely on the closed door. Duo felt himself scowling.

"Sure 'Oh mighty ruler of the spandex generation!' Whatever you say oh mighty leader!" Duo giggled, eyes twinkling with apparent mirth before turning serious once again. Heero was probably right. These dim, dull and cold corridors were beginning to creep him out, the vents not far above them emitting freezing and fresh air that addled the brain and impaired concentration. All this, and not to mention the one insignificant number of the room they were now in, bothered him. Room 13 to be precise, he corrected himself, and proceeded to shiver, scowling to himself at his superstition. Great, just great! Maxwell, you are not gonna let a room number get to you! But sometimes, he had discovered, it didn't matter where you were or what you told your mind to stop doing, it just wouldn't, and today Duo had decided, was one of those days. And as he continued now to hurry about his tasks, he felt his mind racing; racing that had nothing to do with the numbers on the display before him. Just where was everybody anyway? He shivered again and decided to hurry up the process. He wanted to get out of here ASAP.

"Do you want me to shorten the time for the explosives then? I mean, we don't want them escaping now, do we? Hell…there's nobody here now!…Just wait 'till we get started!"

"Hn."

Duo almost laughed out loud. He should have known that would be Heero's reply. Looking up, he flicked his chestnut braid over his shoulder. "That a yes?"

"Hai."

"'Kay." Within a matter of moments, Duo had reconfigured the detonation system, hands flicking hastily and deadly accurate over the encoded numeric keypad. All he needed now was a time span. "Lets see…Heero, pick a number; any number!"

"What?"

"How long do you reckon we'll need? Say maybe five minutes to head out of the base, and another five to demolish any protestors and run for it?" Calculations ran through the braided pilot's head and he paused his typing for just a second, thinking quickly, a grin coming across his face at the chaos and demolition that would be caused.

"That'll do fine. Lets hurry up, ne? I don't want to be seen; they know us now, it'll give us too much trouble if they escape. Even if we are in these uniforms, they'll have seen us." The Japanese pilot gestured plainly to the emblazoned logo burnished on his shirt, before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Jeez, Heero! Lighten up, huh? I'm nearly done.' Upon speaking, Duo threw his hands up in a peacemaking gesture, and drew an angled chestnut brow which arched lividly in a faint trace of sincere amusement. What had caused Heero to be so apprehensive? Obviously, however, Heero saw nothing to be amused by; his face didn't change; not a movement but a stiff shift of his eyes to the keypad. Suddenly, humour gone from his eyes and his face, the braided pilot turned muttering wryly to the detonator, the finishing touches only moments away. But even as concentration began to return to Duo's face, and his fingers began and then finished racing and blurring across the keyboard; finally closing its hatch, tapping footsteps and trailing, rising voices made their presence known. Duo froze in his limited tracks, and with widening eyes he looked over to Heero, who, in turn met his gaze with a frustrated prussian one of his own.

"Of all the times to-"

"Shh!" Heero halted the crouched American with a finger to his own lips, brows knitted together in suspicion. Snippets and catches of the voices could be heard now, and were growing closer by the second.

"…Disturbance…thirteen…checks…" Shit. Room 13…but how? Stupid suspicions! Stupid, stupid…

"…Nothing much before…who'd be in there?…"

"…Not s'posed to be anyone there…"

The footsteps continued to grow louder; the voices grew louder, and if possible, Duo's bright eyes widened even more; the realisation of bad timing obvious on his expressive face.

"Shit!" Duo looked to the timer, and Heero found his eyes following; the final encoding button had been pushed. 10:00…09:59…09:58. Fuck, shit, fuck. Duo met Heero's eyes , but parted it once again as they heard the handle jiggle, then turn slightly before a faint curse could be heard from the other side of the door.

"…Bugger. Jerome, you have the key?"

"…Yeah, hang on a sec will ya?" The muffled melody of a set of keys could be heard, together with a frustrated sigh. "Man, I've got to get rid of some of these!" A laugh, another jingle and more triumphant words filtered through the closed door. "Right! This should be it." The sound of a key entering a door and turning, caused alarmed gasps from the two Gundam pilots in the room, and Duo suddenly felt himself being shuffled to a darker corner; the crate of explosives moving with him, only to be shoved under a dim table close by. Please don't let that be the right key, Duo thought morosely as he curled himself up in the corner with a rustle, hand resting with practised ease against the holster of his gun. They were sure to be seen if anyone entered. From the other side of the dull door a hex could be heard.

"…Damn! If that one isn't the right one, then-"

"Here, give me those!" The key withdrew and Duo found himself whooping slightly in delight.

"Hey, did you hear that…?"

"Of course I did! That's why we're checking this room out in the first place! Hurry up!" Duo felt a cool gaze upon him, and flicked his eyes to Heero, who sat next to him in the obtuse light. After receiving the uniform scowl that told him he'd done something wrong: again, the braided pilot sighed. He couldn't wait to get out of here. Distracted, his eyes focussed anxiously upon the bomb under the table, when he began to notice not for the first time the unrelenting draught above them. Of course! A gentle nudge to his shoulder, and a brief inclination of his companion's head signified that Heero also seemed to notice the cold; and the vent; just cold enough, and large enough to squeeze through. Perhaps the cold would favour them on this day.

After meeting Heero square in the eyes, Duo lifted his hand and pointed toward the outlet, an eyebrow raised in question. Heero simply nodded in reply, and without much trouble at all he stood, climbing onto the table with practised agility and removing the latch to the vent above them; shortly after which he proceeded to hoist himself into the vent; faint clanks and clatters sounding from where his uniform boots hit the aluminium as he crawled.

Duo felt himself leer at the pilot who now lay above him. How can he be son unaffected by the cold? Its freezing in here!

"…Yep, this is the one!"

"You sure? I mean, you said that last time!"

"Positive, man. I remember this one now…the key with the nick in it…" Man, why me…? Without any further adieu, Duo found himself clambering onto the table and staring at the vent, but not without one last look at the clock: 08:57…08:56. Shit. They were definitely going to run out of time; it'd be a tight squeeze to get out before the blast. Pulling himself stiffly into the ventilator, he collected the latch from Heero's hands, and clipped it onto the outer layer; effectively concealing him and his companion from view, except for the small gap in the vent which the two pilot's found themselves staring through; careful not to let the enemy too close to their prized work.

Just in time it seemed that they hid, for upon their climbing and clambering a victorious gasp made itself known, and the door opened hastily, with two rather ordinary OZ troopers presenting themselves to view. Both bore ordinary buzz cuts; their hair cropped customarily short; their young faces clean shaven. They scuttled into the room cautiously; silently, weapons drawn in a trained motion, focussed and trained to kill on movement or sight. However, no such obviously apparent opportunity presented itself, and the two soldiers relaxed some, bringing their weapons down to their sides and meeting each other's eyes; their search of the bare room effectively complete. Neither saw the bomb.

"Well man, looks like there's nothing here. What do you say we head back? The cafeteria is still open this time of night, and I haven't eaten for hours!"

"Amen to that, my guts is rumbling louder than I talk!" The two turned, holstered their weapons and began to exit the room; the shortest one stretching lazily. Duo felt his face contort into a snigger. Wow! Great search guys…the bomb was under the table. Ten out of ten! Untucking his elbows from beneath his body, Duo also felt the need to stretch. The space in the ventilator was cramped, and they barely had enough room to move their head from side to side, let alone an arm. In the small space before him, Duo brought his arms forward, hearing his shoulder crack with satisfaction, before shifting his body, rolling his neck to work out the kinks.

Unfortunately, the vent was unused to such pressure, and as the braided pilot continued to move his body uncomfortably in the confined space, he heard the unmistakable creak of solid weight on metal. "Duo!" Heero hissed in warning, his voice sharply toned but dangerously quiet in the perimeter of the chamber. But no matter what, it was simply too late.

"…Hey, Tod…did you hear that?"

"…Yeah."

"Then it wasn't just me?"

"No."

"Good,' a pause and the clear sound of a pair of guns being withdrawn. "Sounded like it came from over there." With horror, Duo watched the two officers draw closer and closer until…Please don't let them find us…Please don't let them find it…

"Shit! Tod, take a look at this!" Fuck! No way my luck can get this bad!

"What is it? Bad?"

"See for yourself" The recepting soldier gasped in shock, and seemed to reel back at first, before examining the table and shifting it from atop the bomb. "Woah…Tod, quick! Push the evacuation alarm over there." The soldier known as Jerome gestured generally to the starch-white walls, which held a glass-covered alarm panel. His eyes were still on the countdown clock, glued to the display in front of him.

With the table now out of their way, Duo and Heero could clearly see the vivid neon digits…06:04…06:03…06:02.

"Shit," Duo found himself whispering; and surely he spoke volumes for the both of them. This simply wasn't supposed to happen. They'd never get out now…unless… "Heero?"

"Hn?" The reply was also a question, whispered harshly in the dark of the aperture. The Japanese pilot's eyes remained on the pair of OZ troopers below them.

"I have an idea, I'll see ya round; I know my Gundam is on the other side of the enclosure to yours, so I might see you there. I don't know when…this might not work. Hell; it probably won't. But at least one of us will get out. Good luck Heero!" A final grin was spared as he said this, and not waiting for a reply, he squirmed to the entrance of the vent, bursting out of the release end with a final cry that determined Shinigami was in the building.

<<END FLASHBACK>>

Duo ran a hand over his face, rubbing his raw eyes; his tired eyes. A lot had happened in such a small time…but what had happened after that in which he had just recalled? There certainly wasn't much he could recollect, everything had happened so fast from then on; time a swift moving blur. After the vent, there was the fight; the two soldiers easy to render unconscious; their experience obvious in the handling of their weapons, and in their delayed uncertainty upon seeing the apparent 'OZ employee' fall from the vent. Then came the rush of soldiers from the corridors. He remembered fighting a few from the cover of the wall, before lastly meeting Heero's gaze and running down the corridor. He remembered thinking that it didn't matter if he were to fall; only that if Heero had survived then everything would be fine; the other pilots wouldn't mind too much as long as 01 was still in function. Struggling, he fought to recall.

What else? What else can there be? Surely…was there…wait!

Finally, after straining his brain for what seemed like an eternity, he remembered the rest. Well, whatever rest there really was; all that came after that was his final bout down the mezzanine, and to the door. But that wasn't what had puzzled him so. If he had calculated right, then the blast should have reached him just as he was scoping the final hallway. He remembered expecting to feel the red, white hot off the flames of the explosion licking his heels and swallowing him up as he flew down the corridor full pace. He remembered not expecting to live through the blast; but he had. He remembered the confusion he had felt when he had…when he had only stumbled from a sudden weak blast; not fallen for good in his flight of the compound.

The only thing he didn't remember was Heero. There was no recollection of Heero leaving, or the Japanese pilot suiting up and flying off just behind him. Hell; even the chances of Heero surviving that blast had to be slim when he thought about it, the only thing that could have saved them both meaning someone would had to have stuffed with the bomb. Which meant someone had to have access to the password…

"No." Duo found himself shaking his head, the rhythm of the movements slowing until a realisation stopped him altogether. "No, he wouldn't have," he paused. "…Wait….maybe. No! I set it; it should have gone off full blast. But…maybe. Shit…Heero! Maybe that's why…" His mask slipped, and he felt his usually comical face twist in intense anger. Heero! Heero must have weakened the power of the blast…Damn it all…I knew he was a selfish bastard.

With a frustrated lament, the braided pilot brought Quatre up on his vid-screen, noticing languidly that the blue eyed face hadn't changed from before: his friend still held the worried stare. Though perhaps upon seeing his friend's enraged face it increased maybe a little.

"Duo? Are you alright?"

Despite his anger, the pilot of Deathscythe found himself smiling at the concern of his companion. Oh Quatre, always the one to care! If only…"Yeah Q, I'm fine. But listen, I just remembered something. You know when we were in the building, I set that blast for full throttle, and it shouldn't have been so weak. Trust me…I've used these explosives so many times before, I don't know why they failed me this time. I only really remember Heero and I getting stuck; some foolish OZ workers came to inspect the room we were setting up in. The counter was stuck on ten minutes, and by the time I did anything about it, we only had about five and a half minutes left…there was not way we could have both gotten out alive. I created a diversion so he could escape, figuring you guys'd need him more than me and…"

"…Heero." Quatre's voice was warm, and his tone whispered, but as he spoke, there was the faint trace a smile upon his face, as if some realisation had hit him; some joyous realisation.

"So you guessed it too, huh?" Duo felt his voice grow hot with fresh anger again, his words livid with the pure and hated emotion on his tongue. "Dammnit Quatre! It took me weeks to even get close to getting into that base! The security was that tight that everything required more effort than usual, and Heero…he…he simply goes and stuffs it up because he wants to live all of a sudden! Fuck! That explosion should have taken at least me out with it, as well as the rest of the base, what was he thinking? We'll never get near there again, and I'll be blamed for his arrogance! Even if he did leave at the same time as me, then even he would have had trouble. Man…when I get my hands on-"

"Duo!" His rant was interrupted by a stifled giggle, and he looked up into the mirthful eyes of Quatre.

"Yeah?" What was Quatre finding so funny? This was weeks of hard work. He hadn't spent all that time in the filty, repulsive OZ bases for nothing…or had he now? Frustrated, and a lot less than amused, Duo covered his amethyst eyes with his hands before dragging them away slowly, as if to wipe the frazzling emotions off his features.

"Heero wouldn't do that and you know it. He's too set on his 'I'm suicidal and I'm proud of it charade', he'd never ruin something like that. He knows what it's like to go through all of that, Duo. Don't judge him too quickly." Duo felt some of his anger fading into confusion. Just what was Quatre getting at?

But just as Duo was about to get an explanation from his friend, the screen blipped and the signal for an incoming message flew in type across his computer's screen. Sighing, he opened the file and his eyes widened in first irony and then anger.

"Dammnit!"

"What is it, Duo?"

"It's from Professor G. I've got another mission…to destroy the remains of that OZ base, and their employees and soldiers that escaped…which means another base also no doubt. Look, I'll talk to you later, Q-man." Duo paused briefly, the anger darkening his face, before he smiled again upon his next words. "I'll be seeing ya shortly."

"Okay Duo, we'll continue this conversation later." Quatre wasn't sure what to feel; happy at the confirmation of Heero's apparent feelings, or sad. Sad at the impending and looming jeopardy of yet another dangerous mission for the American pilot. They had all been nearly run flat to the ground with missions and tasks recently, and Duo had had as much of a tiresome week as the rest of them. He only hoped for all their sakes that they'd get a break soon, before something happened. "Good luck, Duo, my friend." He forced a warm smile, though his heart wasn't in it. This would be Duo's number…what mission in a week?

"Sure thing Q," he paused before deciding on adding something else. "Oh, and if you see Heero?…tell him thanks. Thanks a lot."

"But Du-," The Arabian pilot tried to voice his words before the other cut him off, but to no avail; in no time at all Duo had ended the conversation, and had begun to fly his way to the remains of the other base a fair way away; all the while wondering what had caused Heero to do what he had done.

…All the while wondering what Quatre was going to say, and thinking…

…Why?

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Author's Notes: Okay, this is really unedited; probably entirely wrong as far as Gundam Wing goes, and probably extremely OOC. Sorry if it disappoints, and I know it's a really weird place to end a chapter, but it's really late here. Anyway, if you like it…thanks a lot, and please, PLEASE…no matter what!…Read and Review!

Cheers!

Skaara!