Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Whispers In The Dark ❯ The Colony ( Chapter 1 )

Horror, Suspense, yucky violence, supernatural activity...somewhat canon charas (if I can manage it).

No Pairings. Maybe just a bit of shounen ai, but not in the way that us people looooovvveee.

Stand Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Gundam Wing. There.

Um...rated 'R' for some violence? (Some violence she says...)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0 = means scene change

A/N: Just an idea that popped into my head while sitting alone in the dark...alone and afraid...and too damned imaginative for my own good...sucks when your place has ghosts and there's nothing else to think about when you're all alone and in the dark...Don't know how many chapters this will have-but I have pages and pages of notes, so...maybe five, max. Eh....I'm trying hard to be scary...^_^ Just a change of pace from my other story...

Chapter One: The Colony

It was an abandoned mining colony, Heero Yuy discovered as he went through the process of determining the floating space station's life support systems via computer. Showing no recent use, or that it was occupied, Heero guessed that it would be the safest place to use while they assessed the damage they'd sustained on their carrier during a quick flight out from an outer L-5 colony, where they had completed their latest mission. Despite tactile maneuvering and quick thinking, the computer displays before them read that some areas of their carrier needed immediate attention, and repairs were demanded. Their Gundams, tucked safely within, were also in need of minor repairs before they reached Earth.

Their carrier was slowly approaching the colony, and once he received the information he needed, he realized that it was the former mining colony that had long since been abandoned due to failing life-support systems. He wondered if it were Winner owned. He figured Quatre R. Winner, the heir to the company, would speak up if it were owned under his father's name, so he didn't bother to ask. He reported the received information about the brief history of the colony to the four other pilots, all of whom were suiting up within their insulated spacesuits, having decided that Heero had given it a thumbs up for an approach.

"Looks kinda scary," Duo Maxwell reported, a skeptical expression on his face as he stared at the drifting colony, a shiver running up his spine. He cradled his helmet against his stomach, clutching it with both hands and giving a nervous glance at his friends. "Kinda like...ghosts. Reminds me of that place in, like, I don't know."

"You probably watched too many horror films, Duo, and your imagination's running away with you," Quatre Winner said with a fond smile in his friend's direction. But he, too, received a shiver down his spine as he stared at the colony. Reluctantly, he moved away from the pilot's section and sat down in one of the long bench seats nearby, reaching down to adjust his suit into a more comfortable fit.

"Yeah, but...it's scary. Right, Tro? Right?"

Trowa Barton, the co-pilot of the carrier, looked up from the readings that he was receiving from his own initial scans of the colony and stared out the clear, protective shield that allowed them viewing access of the foreboding mining colony. He frowned only slightly, shrugging without answering.

Chang Wufei merely snorted, arms crossed over his chest. "Yes, I think that just about wraps it up, Maxwell. Not only are you a coward and a cry-baby, you're also a scaredy-cat."

"Hey! At least I'm man enough to admit it! No beating around the bush, here!" Duo exclaimed, moving to take the seat next to Quatre. He reached out and tugged on the Arabian's hand. "Hold me!"

"Ew, get away," Quatre chuckled, pushing his hand from him.

"Quat! You're my best bud! You're supposed to protect me! I'm feeling needy and scared, and you push me away!"

"Be a man somewhere else, then. You're making things worse, Duo..."

"Ooh...cold," Duo muttered as he rose from his seat and moved toward Heero. But all he needed to turn around and return to his seat was the cold, hard sound of a gun's safety being removed. Quietly, he buckled the harness around him and settled for entry. The process was slow and arduous, as Heero found trouble in allowing their entrance within the colony. The air lock refused to answer to his given commands, and he had to bypass several firewalls in order to hack in. Even then, the doors didn't look as if they were going to open as they approached.

At the last moment, before Trowa was going to make the decision to turn the carrier around for another try, the walls opened, allowing them access. Trowa watched as they maneuvered in, feeling somewhat troubled that this place made him feel rather...well, wary. There was just something about it that just did not feel right, and the fact that Heero had to fight to get in told him that he was right. Either way, it was convenient, and they needed repairs, and he wasn't the type to complain about such things. He'd leave that to Duo.

Quatre snorted at Duo's last comment, and folding his hands into his lap, he watched patiently as both pilots maneuvered the carrier within the holding bay of the ship docking area and carefully landed within.With a loud groan of sound, the carrier settled within an agreed docking port, and there were several hisses and whines as the power was manipulated into sleep mode.

"Life support systems are unstable-keep your suits and your helmets on," Heero said, looking back at them from over his shoulder as he rose from his seat, donning his own helmet. As he continued speaking, their built in communicators within the sleek helmets buzzed slightly with static at their close proximity to each other. "Duo, that means you. No removing it for any reason. Got it?"

"Shit...like I would, anyway."

"I have received no indications of life forms on the colony," Trowa reported, glancing at Heero as he tightened his oxygen tank against his back, and worked on donning his helmet, adjusting the oxygen mask settled within. "Nothing. But the gravity factor is pretty much in full effect. We don't have any areas without it here."

"Even so, we'll inspect the area for use," Heero grunted, shifting in his seat. "Even if it registers as empty, it could be used by the enemy as a temporary safe area. Duo, Quatre, you two stay here and do what's needed to repair the carrier. Wufei, Trowa and I will go out looking for any suspicious activity that might alert us to enemy ambush. Once we find that the area is secure, we'll work on the Gundams."

Duo threw his hands up as Quatre began tugging on his helmet with a nod. "Christ...so we're the lackeys while you guys go do something fun, huh?"

"Yeah," Trowa replied as he pulled on his helmet.

"Come on, Duo." Quatre unbuckled his harness and rose from his seat. "At least they trust us enough to fix what we need to be fixed."

"Ooh, that's saying something," Duo muttered as he pulled on his helmet. "Alright, Rambos one, two and three. Go at it. Leave the wimpy guys here by themselves to be plundered and ambushed while you guys go around, being all cool and shit with your neat-o guns..."

"Hey! I'm not wimpy!" Quatre protested, rather weakly as he glanced at Wufei. Wufei glanced in his direction with an eye roll, pulling on his helmet. "I'm...not! Really!"

Trowa patted his shoulder affectionately as he walked by, slapping a new clip into his Desert Eagle. Quatre sighed, utterly dejected as Duo threw an arm around his shoulders, and waved as the three left the shuttle to do their thing. Duo tapped his helmet against Quatre's. "Ready when you are, bud."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Everything appeared in somewhat working order. There was space dust everywhere, metal was rusted, and there was the faint hum of generators that told the pilots that some support systems were still functioning. There were no indications of any human life forms, and all that had been stored within the dimly lit storage areas were useless bits of junk that didn't capture their interest. Even so, Trowa, Heero and Wufei worked methodically to search out any indications that this place could have been used by any recent organization that might give them trouble should they encounter them.

Nothing was found. The colony was shown to have seven basic levels-the top were the basic entry and introduction area where protective gear was stowed and places such as a cafeteria, kitchens, basic entertainment area was set. Below three levels was the sparsely furnished living area. Below that level were the working levels that mined and manufactured various metal material that the war demanded. Everything was coated with misuse-the lights dimmed and fluttered, threatening to turn off completely. They didn't have any flashlights on them-they'd figured on a quick in and out and hadn't even bothered with them.

Heero noted, through that along the second level below the living quarters, a strange amount of rusty colored streaks along the corridor walls and floors. Even through he knew what it was after a second glance, he ignored the feeling of sudden unease and glanced at his comrades. Trowa had streaked the toe of his right boot across one particularly large splatter on the floor near a utility room, and the expressionless face told Heero nothing, but the perfect soldier knew that the mercenary had already figured out what it was. Wufei's aristocratic face already told him what he thought as he moved ahead of them, carefully pushing in doors that creaked with misuse and finding nothing but unsalvageable junk.

Heere figured that they wouldn't be here very long, anyway. They were just here for repairs-it wasn't like they were going to take a vacation or something here. He lowered his weapon and signaled the others that he was finished looking. Wufei frowned at this, wanting to explore a little more, but one glance at Trowa let him know that the mercenary was satisfied with the search results as well.

They began making their way back up to the docking area through the maze of corridors and stairways that they had taken to get down here when the colony walls seemed to shudder violently, a loud groaning sound penetrating the long, empty corridors, lights flickering madly. And then, as they reached the fourth level up, the lights went completely out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Duo bonked his head against the cover of the blast ports of the carrier when the intense darkness fell over them. Quatre, with a start, performed the same slip-up. The two boys gave quick snorts, then quieted as they listened to strong, heavy, eerie silence. Duo shivered within his suit, hearing only the static of their open communications link and his own light breathing. Looking throughout the inky black darkness that they were enveloped in, he grew slightly afraid. He couldn't see a thing. Being that the docking bay was completely inclosing, there wasn't a flicker of light anywhere.

"Ah, fuck!" he muttered, straightening slowly. "What happened with the lights?"

"Scared of the dark, 02?" Wufei's voice smirked over the link.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Duo said on a sniff. "Wanna make something of it, Wuffers?"

"Maxwell-!"

"Seeing as we're trying to be undercover about this entire thing, why don't we drop the name calling?" Trowa's voice suggested in a firm reprimand, Quatre smiling slightly as he fiddled with his portable welding tool.

"Does anybody have any flashlights? I mean, seriously-I can't even see my own fucking hand, and I know I'm waving it in front of my face," Duo declared, doing just that.

"There should be some onboard the shuttle," Heero's cold voice said, that simple sentence letting Duo know what he currently thought of his foul-up.

"Q-04...can you walk over there and look?" Duo asked, struggling to dislodge himself from his carefully seated position just over the ports, where they had been fixing a loose panel.

"Yes. Hold on..."

Duo listened to the faint sounds of Quatre's efforts as he climbed out of the port and made his way along the catwalk to the entrance of the carrier. There was a loud bang and much muffled muttering that suggested he'd walked into something.

"Oh, yeah, watch that second step! It's a little loose!" Duo called out, chuckling.

"Very funny, 02," Quatre muttered as he groped his way through the open unit of the carrier and made his way to the dimly lit pilots' quarter. He found it very relieving to have some light available as he began shuffling through various compartments, searching for a flashlight. With a puzzled frown, he rose from the last compartment, glancing around helplessly. "There are none."

"There should be some within the pilot's compartment," Heero's voice informed him.

"Well, I looked there. There isn't anything there."

"Try under my seat, within the spider net," Trowa suggested.

Quatre did just that, and straightened with a satisfied smile. "Yes! Here they are! There's three of them!"

"Bring one out here, 04!" Duo whined. "I'm scared! And I'm hearing noises..."

"It's just the colony settling, 02," Quatre said on a sigh as he tried the three flashlights. "Uh-oh...only two work. One must have dead batteries..."

"There aren't any extras?" Wufei asked, sounding rather annoyed.

"No..."

"Both of you, just continue with the repairs," Heero commanded. "We're making our way back there. We just past level five."

"Well, hurry!" Duo whined as Quatre made his way back to him, carefully clinging onto the flashlights. "I need you to protect me!"

"Idiot..."

"Here, D-er, 02," Quatre said, holding a flashlight in Duo's direction. Duo reached for it, stumbled as his foot slipped on its unsteady positioning against the port, and felt his hand knock the flashlight from the blond's grip. There was a heavy silence as both blinked at each other from behind their face shields, listening for the crack of sound the flashlight would make upon impact with the hard concrete floor beneath the catwalk.

There came one, a metal clanging sound that met with metal grating, and the sound was punctuated by the sound of breaking glass. It was so loud within the uneasy silence that it sent both of their hearts jumping upward into their throats, sure that they were going to be attacked by the unseen due to the sound. But when none came, they looked at each other in calming apology, Quatre holding tightly to their last flashlight.

Duo squeezed his eyes shut in regret while Quatre winced, shoulders hunching.

"Fuck!" Duo hissed, looking at Quatre with his lips pulling inward, between his teeth.

"What's wrong?" Heero demanded, having heard Duo's curse.

"Er...never mind," Duo said, gesturing at Quatre to hurry up and flash their remaining light his way so he could complete the repairs.

"No, what happened? 02?"

"I...uh, fucked up. Um, we're down to one flashlight..." Duo said, wincing as he waited for the barrage of curses from the others.

"Ma-! 02! I figured you'd do something so incredibly predictable!" Wufei growled, rather menacingly from wherever they were at, making Duo wince once again.

"It was an accident," Quatre intervened. "It wasn't his fault. I should have reached out further..."

"Don't try and defend him, Wi-04! Damn it, the both of you weren't the best of ideas that 01 could have used since we arrived here!"

"Chill, 05," Trowa's calm voice commanded, ceasing the mid-rant.

Duo looked up from his welding, looking at Quatre with a pleased smile, the blond smiling back.

As they worked, more light from the torch illuminating their work, Quatre was so focused on what Duo was doing that he didn't notice that Duo was trying to gesture at him in careful indication that they were not alone. Quatre caught the end of the signal, looking up from the illumination to see Duo continuously shifting his eyes over his left shoulder. Feeling utterly creeped out that someone was behind him, Quatre clenched his hold around the flashlight, and prepared to fight back if he were attacked, sucking in a deep breath as Duo signaled that one person had been sighted.

Duo continued working, his eyes locked on Quatre's helmet, trying to once more 'see' the figure that he'd seen lurking about on the catwalk behind the blond. He couldn't quite make out the shape, but he saw the darker shape against the inky blackness that generally indicated a moving mass. Figuring that their question of 'are they alone?' was answered, Duo tried to figure out a way to let the others know that they had someone nearby without alerting that person that they were noticed. So, in order to appear normal, he broke into an off-key rendition of Michael Jackson's, "Somebody's Watching Me".

Quatre grimaced at the off-key rendition, feeling his skin prickle with goosebumps despite the comforting warmth of his suit. He felt his back give a trembling shudder as he tried to anticipate whatever the person behind him was going to do, feeling utterly open and exposed. He bit his lower lip, watching Duo, trying to anticipate the right moment in which to act. Duo locked eyes with him, briefly shifting to the right of Quatre, indicating of where he should go when the braided pilot gave the signal. Quatre gave a slight nod, cradling the flashlight to him, still illuminating the welding process.

When Duo looked over to the right, Quatre quickly plastered himself against the carrier wall and Duo was pointing the torch in the direction he'd seen the figure move, and saw nothing but inky blackness. Though, he saw a shape moving swiftly through the hangar away from the carrier and toward one of the blue doors to their left. Duo pointed in that direction, making hand signals to make sure Quatre understood that they were going to go after that character. The comm-link was silent, but there was a slight heavy breathing from one of the other pilots, indicating that they'd already intercepted the real truth behind the bad, off-key rendition and were hurrying their way.

Duo left the port, carefully setting the torch aside as he joined Quatre on the catwalk. The blond held tightly onto their flashlight as they left the catwalk via a small, narrow ladder that dropped onto the main floor. They scurried carefully across the wide open expanse of the hangar floor, moving in the direction that Duo had seen the figure move in. The inky blackness was made impossible to maneuver through, as their helmets helped to obscure their vision and their peripheral sight. In frustration, Duo tapped at the back of his helmet, wanting to rip it off to ensure better vision.

Quatre shined the flash light at the door Duo knew had been closed before, and both of them were cautious as they opened it, the metal screeching loudly in protest. They both winced, cringing upon the particularly loud noise, very positive that they'd given away their position and were now going to be ambushed. But seconds moved into minutes, and Quatre nodded slowly, indicating that they were okay. He was carrying his rather treasured Glock 17 Pro. Duo took point, withdrawing his own Glock 36, and taking a deep breath as he moved through the doorway. It opened to reveal a small, empty hall void of any doorways, but taking a sharp left into an even darker corridor. They began moving in that direction, Quatre shining the flashlight on the floor near Duo's feet, allowing the braided pilot enough light to view his steps, and once they reached the darker corridor, they saw that it was a single stairway that was both narrow and rusty, seemingly unstable. Dust coated it, revealing no indication that someone had used it recently.

With a confused expression, Duo looked back at Quatre, who shrugged very slightly. They both turned to look down the stairway once more when a loud clap of sound sent both of them jumping in fright. Quatre shifted his flashlight upward toward the doorway they had entered, seeing that the door they had just left open was shut.

"01," Duo said lowly into his communicator, moving back in that direction. "We have one messin' with us. In the hangar."

"We're almost there...did you get a good look at him?"

"No...can't barely see! But they shut the door on us...we're in a hallway that's-that's-"

Duo cut himself off, pushing at the door that had closed them within the hallway. It was locked tight, unmoving as he pushed. Quatre shifted his flashlight to his armpit, and assisted, pushing with Duo against the door, then the pair shifting the push into a pull. Fumbling with the handle, Duo found that they couldn't even rattle the thing within its tightly fixed position. He moved to shoot at it, but the staircase behind them shifted with a loud, metallic screech that made them jump and whirl around, Quatre flashing both the light and his gun that way and Duo aiming with his own weapon.

When nothing appeared, Duo and Quatre exchanged nervous glances, each of them asking the other on what to do next. The door was firmly locked-they had to have one of the guys open it for them. But in the meantime, the person messing with them had taken the stairway down from them-but how was that possible when no one had passed them in the hall? Quatre lifted a shoulder, and indicated with a nod that they should head in that direction.

Duo nodded, and the pair began once more toward the stairway. Looking down the rusted metal, they were a little skeptical about its safety, and the fact that it still looked unused. With a firm grip on the handrail, Duo took the first step, judging its safety before taking another step. Carefully, he made his way down the stairway as Quatre kept the area before his feet lit, allowing him to see where he was going.

They made it into another very dark, very narrow hall that stretched long and far at their left, and stopped short in a dead-end with a closed door at their right. The sign that labeled the rusted door let them know that it was a closet-upon inspection, Duo determined that no one could hide in the minuscule space, so they began moving down the other end, noting three other doors that stretched from Duo's left, and another small doorway at Quatre's right. Taking a deep breath, Duo opened the first door, the first room revealing nothing but scattered files and papers, a forgotten metal desk broken in half within a saddened mess of its supports. The walls were decorated with various Earth concert posters, so Duo and Quatre left the room, hearing nothing through the comm-link in which their comrades could use to tell them where they were.

Duo opened the next room, seeing that it was a restroom, with a single toilet and trash can that was overturned. It stank of mildew and dust, and despite his helmet and fresh oxygen, Duo sneezed loudly.

Quatre backed out of the room carefully, still holding his Glock, when a slip of movement out of the corner of his eye and helmet caused him to whirl around, calling a warning to Duo. Unfortunately, he had been standing next to the doorframe, his hand bouncing off the corner, taking the flashlight with it. With horror, they watched as the flashlight bounced to the floor, shattering instantly.

"Fuck!" Duo shouted as they were enveloped into thicker, quiet blackness.

"I'm so sorry, Duo!" Quatre apologized on a breathless cry, gripping his gun tightly as fear gripped him. The silence was very thick, very still, and the hairs on the back of his neck had risen to stand straight up despite the insulated material of his suit. Both boys' breathing increased upon dramatically gulped breaths as they listened for movement, or sound, hearts racing wildly with combined fear of the thick darkness and the fact that they were now practically vulnerable despite their guns.

Nothing came, and despite himself, Quatre found himself taking a step closer to Duo, coming into contact with the familiar pilot. Duo moved in the same direction, so that they were pressed together in a comforting stance, moving to stand back to back, guns straining to aim within the thick darkness.

Duo stared about, squinting, hoping that would help. But seeing nothing but inky darkness, he gave up, sighing, hands in the air in a familiar gesture. "Well, shit. That just about sucks..."

"Duo..." Quatre sighed, shoulders slumping as he glanced nervously about. He couldn't see a thing-and their helmets obscured any other chance upon doing so.

It was like standing stock-still with a pillow over one's face in the pitch black darkness. In a way, it was very frightening-but he couldn't be scared. The others would think...unseemly of him. It was bad enough he was trying to constantly prove himself to the others, the only one without experience in the field. Well, Wufei was in the same boat, but the guy was a master in martial arts-while he mastered the art of the violin. While one was certainly entertaining, the other was much more useful. And he felt he had to work hard to keep up with the others because of his sheltered life.

It put more stress on him as he realized that he had to rely on hastily created survival instincts in order to get through this one.

"Well, who knew, huh? Who knew the lights would go off, and we'd be stuck in a long, dark, scary hallway with aliens waiting in the dark to suck the marrow out of our bones!"

"Duo!"

"What, Q? Are you getting scared?" Duo asked, turning to face where he thought Quatre was. He had to start joking around, or he was going to go crazy with fear about their current situation. While he was scared that the person, whomever it was, could now attack them without fear of being hurt in the process, he was more terrified of the thick darkness that prevented any sight of anything around them. Besides, if the person wanted to, they could have attacked right now. But nothing was coming. His instincts were screaming at him to run, but he couldn't-it would be pointless because he could see nothing.

"No, I just...whining and complaining won't help any. Let's go back the way we came, all right? And then from there, we'll figure out what to do. Maybe we'll find some more flashlights and continue with the repairs..."

"Fine, fine. You want to be all wimpy an' all..."

"I am not! I am not scared of the dark!"

"...I never said you were, Q-man. You said that on your own..."

"Oh. Um..."

Duo cackled evilly, hands on his stomach. He lifted his hands in the air, inching toward Quatre in the darkness, breathing heavily. "I seeeeeee yyyyyyyoooouuuu. I knnnnnnooooowwwww yyyyooooouuu'rrreee theeerreee..."

"Duo, stop!"

"I'm going to-"

"Stop it, Duo!"

"Maxwell! Winner!! What the hell are you two doing?!" Wufei interrupted, his voice causing both of them to wince.

"Ah, Wuffie! I was just having some fun," Duo whined, dropping his hands.

With a nervous chuckle, Quatre smiled, rubbing at his forearms. He felt Duo's fingers close over his right arm, tugging him gently toward his right.

"Shh...come over here," he heard Duo's sharp, low whisper. He began moving, taking a careful step after the other as Wufei's voice broke through the silence once more. He was then stopped in mid-motion, and then gently manipulated to side-step a wall of some sort before him. He realized upon reaching out with his free hand, that they were entering a room. But...hadn't they left that last room, where he'd broken the flashlight? This darkness, this lost sense of feeling and cognitive recognizance of their surroundings was made confusing by the pitch black color that had swallowed them.

His arm was tugged firmly, Duo whispering, "Hurry up...over here..."

"We aren't here to 'have fun', Maxwell. And if you didn't realize this, this abandoned colony may have some OZ followers...in case you haven't noticed, we're trying to be SNEAKY!"

"Er...sorry, Wu-man."

"Duo, you idiot," Heero muttered, and Duo grinned, knowing that he could see Heero's exasperated expression, intense blue eyes narrowed with anger. "Stop messing around. Both you and Winner return to the shuttle. NOW."

"We're going there, now, Heero," Quatre said, wondering how Duo was able to see through the darkness. The firm grip on his arm squeezed a little too tight, and he tugged lightly to loosen it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't blow a hemorrhoid," Duo muttered. "C'mon, Quat. Let's go."

"Duo, I'm right behind you."

Duo reached out, hand sweeping through the darkness. With a frown as he touched nothing but air, he asked, "Where? My right, or left?"

"What do you mean by that?" Quatre asked on an exasperated tone, feeling Duo jerk him to a stop, letting go of his arm. "You just led me over here! Stop messing around..."

Duo froze. "Quat...what do you mean by that?"

"What?"

"Maxwell!" Wufei growled.

"No, I'm serious! Quatre, what do you mean, 'led you over here'? You followed me!"

"Duo, stop messing around!" Quatre demanded. "You just grabbed my arm. We walked through a doorway."

Duo turned, flailing his arms wildly. "Quat, I did not touch you. What the fuck-? Where are you?"

"Duo, stop!"

"Quatre, I'm serious! I did not touch you!"

"Duo-!!"

"Winner! Maxwell! Gwarh! Stop fooling around! Whatever cover we had, you've both just blown it!" Wufei growled.

"Duo, I'm not playing with you! Stop this!"

"Duo, what are you doing up there?" Trowa's voice demanded with an intense measure of annoyance.

"Quatre! I swear to fucking God, I didn't touch you! Where are you?!" Duo shouted, voice rising with panic as he slapped his side for his gun. "Where are you, Winner?!"

"Duo, I'm right here! Stop it! You led me here! You grabbed my arm and left me here! You were telling me to come with you!"

"I didn't say anything to you in that context, Quatre! Stay right where you are!"

"Duo, please stop messing around," Quatre pleaded, feeling somewhat vulnerable as he clasped his hands together, trying to stare through the darkness for the braided menace. He felt his heart rate begin to race in a rather unsteady beat as fear began to pulse through his blood. Really, it was quite sickening the way Duo was joking around-didn't he ever think seriously?

"I'm not!" Duo insisted, taking careful steps. He hadn't even heard Quatre leave his side! How-? When-? "Quatre, where are you?!"

"I'm right here!" Quatre insisted, turning, squinting to peer closely within the darkness. He lifted his hands to his helmet, wanting to remove it, but then he saw a shadow of movement ahead. It was really too dark to pinpoint an exact location, but something darker than the blackness he was enveloped in caught his attention again, a slight movement that indicated something there. With his heart beating thunderously within his chest, he began moving with some hesitation in that direction.

Then came Duo's low whisper, the one that told him Duo was trying to be sneaky. For whatever reason, for they had blown their cover already, Quatre didn't know. And every hair continued to stand straight up, and while he was filled with a strong sense of fear and terror, he didn't want to appear weak before his peers. He squashed his fear and moved with firm steps. "Sshh...over here. Come over here. Come on, blondie. Come over here...follow me..."

"I am following you...move again so I can see you!"

Duo furrowed his brow, mouthing Quatre's words, "I am following you", and wondered what he meant by that. He didn't say anything. He lifted an arm, waving wildly.

"There you are!" he heard Quatre's relieved voice exclaim. "Duo, move again!"

Duo took a step to the side, waving his arms about. Quatre began venturing forward with a more confident step, carefully feeling out with his feet as he took each step. He inched closer and closer to where he'd seen Duo move, and he reached out with one hand, trying to touch him. "Duo, move to your left..."

Duo stepped to his left, reaching out to try and touch Quatre as he approached. His hand felt nothing but air, so he took a step forward. "You can see me?"

"Yes, you're right he-!" Quatre's words ended in a very startled, very brief shout of surprise, of which Duo jumped, clutching his helmet as he tried to guess what had happened. And suddenly, there was a crunch of sound within his communication link, the sound garbled and somewhat staticky. Duo knew right then and there Quatre was no where near him. In panic, he clutched his helmet hard, screaming Quatre's name.

Heero stilled in the middle of his sliding along the walls, feeling Trowa do so as well. Wufei startled, reaching up to touch the lip of his helmet, staring at nothing as they heard nothing more from Quatre. Duo's panicked shouts were ringing their ears, and Heero snapped out of his startled state, frowning.

"Duo, shut up!" he snarled, straining hard to hear from Quatre. From the mess of sound, it was almost as if...almost as if he'd fallen. Hit his head, which would explain the crunch of sound as helmet met with hard surface. The pitch in noise, the slight waver of a surprised voice, the strong intake of breath-Quatre had to have fallen somewhere. But where? And to what end? "Quatre....Quatre, can you hear me? Quatre! 04, do you read me?"

Duo, panicking, reached out for something solid, then stopped, not wanting to fall where Quatre had been. Breathing heavily, he fumbled with both contact with the floor and the wall, sliding his way very slowly to where he thought Quatre was. He couldn't remember seeing any drop in surface besides the stairway they had taken to get down here, and he was terrified, wondering what Quatre had fallen through, if he had somehow messed seeing a hole of some sort while they were looking through the rooms. He hadn't heard any doors opening and closing-the metal screech of rusted metal would have let him know if that was done.

"Duo, whatever you're doing, don't move," Trowa's voice was calm, cold, snapping Duo to a standstill. "You could fall through the same thing..."

"But-!"

"Stay right there. I'll be there as soon as I can," Trowa said, moving ahead of Wufei and Heero, emerging into the hangar. The other two followed, glancing around cautiously, weapons at the ready. "Which doorway did you two take from the carrier?"

"The-the one near the rest area...the blue one! Quatre! Quatre!! Where are you?! Quat!! Say something!"

"Duo, panicking's not going to do anything," Heero said, trying to instill a bit of calm in the panicked boy.

"Heero, Quatre's not saying anything! QUATRE!"

"Oohh..."

Everyone stilled at the groggy, somewhat faint sound, and heard the awkward shifting of movement from their speakers. Trowa then continued moving as Duo clutched the wall, holding his breath as he waited for more from Quatre.

"Owww..."

"Quatre? Do you read me?" Heero asked, frowning.

There was more shifting noises, following by a pained gasp. A few whimpers ensued, and Duo curled his fingers into the wall, about ready to scream with both relief and panic.

"My arm....ouch....ooh, I think it's broken...ow...Duo?"

"Quat! Quat, I hear you! Quatre, are you all right?!" Duo practically shouted, gripping his helmet.

"Duo? Heero? Can you hear me?"

"Quatre, we hear you loud and clear," Heero said, glancing at Wufei.

"Heero? Duo? Somebody?! Hello? Trowa? Wufei??"

"He can't hear us," Trowa's voice announced, still as stoic as ever. "Duo, which hall did you two take?"

"Trowa? Wufei?! Somebody! Help! Somebody!! I fell-! I don't-! I don't know where! Hello, can somebody hear me?! Oh, damn it...my helmet's busted...huh...must have landed hard..."

Through the wondrous tone that flitted through the speakers, Duo sighed with relief. If Quatre was up and talking to himself, then he was going to be fine. Now, the hard part was just trying to find him. And where could he have gone?! The hallway stretched into a long corridor, and from there, there were at least three other doors that he had seen before the lights went off...two of them they had already explored, so which way did he go? He'd mentioned going down the hall...but there was nothing there! Unless..that last door was an entrance way into a hallway...but the door hadn't opened!

There weren't any places where Quatre could have gone to fall-and where did he fall? Duo saw no other stairway, or elevator, or railings that indicated open space...but the one thing that remained in his mind was that Quatre had said 'you' had led him there. Whoever 'you' was, and what that person was doing-! Which meant they weren't alone! Which meant that he wasn't alone!"

"Argh!" he shouted, whirling so that his back was against the wall. "I know kung fu, damn it! And I can see through the dark! If you're out there, I'll kick your ass!"

"Duo, who are you yelling at?" Heero growled.

"Quatre said someone led him away from me...someone's here, Heero! And they're fucking around with us!" Duo yelled.

"Calm DOWN, Duo! Shouting won't get you anywhere!"

"Uh! Why do people keep telling me that?!" Duo wondered on a growl. "Shouting can get you whatever you want if you do it good! Quat! Oh, damn it, he ain't going to hear me...Guys? Trowa? Where are you?"

"I'm in a small hallway...there are three doors on my left, two on my right...which did you take?"

"There wasn't any doors in the first hall! I think you took the wrong door!"

"SOMEBODY!! HELLO!! Can you HEAR ME?!!"

"Duo, try and remove your helmet...maybe you can hear him better..."

"NO! No, I do and I die! My eyeballs will be sucked right out from my head!"

"MAXWELL!" Wufei shouted. "There's air here! Just not enough for us to be comfortable with! Do it or I'll come over there and-"

"But I'll DIE! And then who's going to help Quatre?!" Duo wailed, clutching his helmet. "I'm scared! Hee-chan!"

"Duo, stop being a baby and do what Trowa and Wufei says," Heero ordered, a disgusted expression flitting across his face. "Do it, Duo!"

"Geez...fine..." Duo held his breath and removed his helmet. Carefully, he adjusted his eyes to the dark without the clear shield, and found that there was enough oxygen to be comfortable with. His eyeballs weren't being sucked out-nor was there any trouble with breathing. Listening, he strained to hear Quatre, and quietly encouraged his friend to call out again. There was a sudden shout from his helmet, so he lifted it to hear that Quatre was calling for help again. But upon lowering his helmet, he heard nothing else otherwise.

"I don't hear him!" he whined. "I can't help him without my helmet!"

"Put it back on, then, and stay right where you are," Heero commanded as Wufei thoroughly checked the area around their carrier. "Don't move..."

Duo sighed heavily, listening to Quatre continue to call for somebody. He moved to sit down, but decided that he was going to keep the wall against his back. Nervously, and somewhat terrified, Duo crouched, feeling around for anything that would give him an idea that he wasn't alone in the hallway. While his heart raced with the thought, knowing that he couldn't see the person, he was angry as well. Angry because he couldn't see, couldn't defend himself.

"Oh...Allah...my helmet's broken...I don't think anybody could hear me, anyway. What an idiot."

There was then another clanging sound, similar to that of a plastic bucket being tossed aside on cement. With a start, Duo realized that Quatre had tossed his useless helmet aside, and he frantically rose to his feet, opening his mouth to shout out. But a slip of movement in front of him, the feel of a heavy body in front of him made him switch tactics-he kicked outward with a leg, shouting for Heero, but only felt twin forces of a hard push against his chest-suddenly, his back hit nothing as he lost his footing, and the ground was suddenly so very far away.

He gave a startled scream, then screamed again when his shoulder, then his head struck the hard edge of a staggered metal surface, and his body tumbling heels over head and over and over again, his helmet cracking in the process. His left heel briefly touched the wall, his foot becoming ensnared by what felt like a hand rail. His body in full motion by the hard push and being manipulated by gravity caused it to snap in half at his shin, causing him to scream once more with a blood-curdling shout. By the time he'd fallen down the stairway, his screaming had stopped.

Head spinning, feeling as if someone had swung a baseball bat at the top of his helmet, Duo groaned, very dizzy and disoriented.

He was aware of someone yelling at him, and in faint wariness, he reached up, pulling his helmet from his head. His hair stuck to his face, and he dimly realized that he wasn't safe, that he wasn't alone. But he couldn't stop himself from falling unconscious to the floor, passing out from the pain of the break in his leg.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Quatre caught his breath, trying to quell the rising flood of panic that seemed to envelope every one of his molecules, threatening to either suffocate him or squeeze him from within. He could feel himself trembling with intense fear and pain, his hurt arm cradled against his stomach. It had an unnatural angle in the wrist, which had snapped like a twig when he'd tried to brace himself upon landing. It hung in a way that made him intensely sick upon feeling it, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He wasn't Heero-he wasn't about to set his own bones. And he knew basic first aid, but as such, he just could not see in the pitch black darkness that had him swallowed.

He couldn't hear anything-no static feed from his helmet, no movement of familiar bodies, no hum of working generators-just the buzz of heavy silence. And he was so frightened, frightened that he could not see, or even knew where he was-! But he didn't want the others to think that he was unable to care for himself. He bit his bottom lip to keep from shouting in fear. Even then, he was probably too terrified to start shouting again. There was a creak of metal upon metal, and even as his heart seemed to slam to a stop within his rib cage, his pain and panic riddled mind assured him that it was just the normal settling sounds of a drifting colony. He let loose with a slow, shaky breath, opening his eyes wide, as if that would allow him sight to see within the darkness. He was aware that the place he'd fallen was a shaft of some sort-he could feel smooth metal against his bottom, and to his right was the familiar flatness of a wall. But he didn't know what was ahead of him, or at his left. And frankly, he was too terrified to try and reach out to find out.

He took a deep breath, choked, and began coughing, the sound utterly explosive within the silence. He sucked in another deep breath, blinking rapidly at the onset of tears produced by the coughing, and moved to get up when he heard the sound-it was a rumble, a shuddering of metal and floor, as if a large piece of machinery were moving through a very small space, the noise amplified by the enclosing of walls. But it was different than that-it was as if the very walls were very hollow, and all that rumbled was the pressure of air within-he couldn't rightly explain it.

But his heart slammed in his chest as he realized that it was growing louder as it approached him, and in frantic fear to escape whatever it was that was coming down on him, he rose from his position, unsteady due to the thinness of the air and the fact that he'd fallen a considerable distance. Add to that the adrenaline and fear rush, and his body was a mass of quivering matter. He groped his way through the blackened area, fingers brushing against the cold, dusty walls of the area, finding that he was in a shaft of some sort. An elevator shaft? There were the buttons, the open doors-the rumble grew louder, causing his bones to vibrate, his ears to ring, and he was suddenly so desperately eager to get out of here, out of this small space. He stumbled through the open doorway of the elevator, finding himself breathing heavily and quickly, nearly hyperventilating as he groped blindly for some sturdy piece of comfort in finding something to support himself with. His broken arm pressed tightly against his chest, he heard himself making small whimpering sounds as the rumbling grew more intense, causing his oxygen tank to vibrate against his back, for his ears to be temporarily deaf, his bones vibrating within.

His groping hands found a steady slide of surface, and he found with some relief that it was a wall. But where was he?! What was that sound? Was he caught in some type of machine, something that could kill him if he stayed in place? Fear, terror of the unknown and of the rising panic within, caused him to shout in desperate need for help, shouting for the others, shouting just to hear his voice.

And he shuffled blindly along the wall, the rumbling vibrating the surface beneath his sliding hands, causing him to breathe even heavier than before, heart slamming repeatedly against his chest. And suddenly, it was so very cold-so very cold, so very still...it was as if the air completely filled with much substance and lodged itself within his lungs, stilling his blood flow.

And every hair on his neck, arms and head seemed to rise straight up, and he found himself unable to move, unable to breathe as he pressed himself against the wall, back first. He wanted to breathe, he wanted to scream, he wanted to curl up in a ball and hope for the best, but he couldn't do either-he was frozen in place, too terrified to even send the command to his body to get it moving.

The air was so still, so solid that he squeezed his eyes shut, finding it hard to open his throat, as it seemed to have closed with a suffocating press. Terror so raw and real forced tears to his eyes, and he felt moisture slip over his cheeks, tiny hisses of breath escaping curled lips. He couldn't move-wasn't quite sure that he wanted to.

The silence was so thick, so heavy that he heard nothing. No accompanying buzz, no hum-just silence. Thick and pure.

And suddenly, his skin grew cold, and every pore seemed to enlarge and swell as he heard the smooth intake of breath, from something that he couldn't see, feel or even place, hiss through his ears. It was neither far away or close by, and the maddening differentiation had him trembling, as he wasn't sure what it was that was inhaling, or where it was. 'It' because he knew that It wasn't a person. It wasn't a man. It was nothing that he could imagine.

"Get out of here," the voice growled, deep and resonating, thick like an animal's, as distinctly spoken by a man. Except, Quatre knew in some part of his terror fueled mind, that it wasn't even human. The malice, the evil, the hate that he felt radiated upon him, suffocating him, was so strong and gripping that he couldn't draw in breath, nor expel it.

And his entire body stiffened, and he was so very aware that whatever it was was in front of him, a large, body mass of undeterminable description in front of him. Heavy, choked breathing suddenly overtook the silence, and Quatre felt himself lose what breath he'd had choked within his throat, and he was shaking so badly that his muscles felt as if they were locking in place, and he had no where to go, he didn't know what was addressing him, he was so scared-!

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the thing screamed in that same deep growl, only this time, it rattled every bone, shook every muscle, deafened his ears.

Quatre slapped his hands over his ears and sunk to the ground, muscles giving out. Unable to do anything, unable to see where he could escape, he did the only thing he could do----he squeezed his eyes shut and screamed in hysterical sounds, trying to drown out the menacing screams that were being directed at him. Floor and wall shifted, and a considerable force pushed down on his shoulders, pushing him to the ground. It didn't feel like hands-more like, air. Air pressing against him, and he screamed because he didn't know what was happening, and the malice that he felt from this thing was so forceful, that his mind could comprehend no other helpful thing to escape.

And suddenly the walls rattled, shaking violently, and the thing gave an rancorous howl that was pure rage, causing fixtures to rattle and metal to screech. And suddenly it was moving, moving down the hall away from him, a repetitive banging noise resonating throughout the hall. As if someone were hitting the walls with every one of their steps.

The force left his shoulders, and Quatre cried hysterically, unable to do anything else, too scared to even open his eyes and look. The sound began to fade, taking with it the banging and the roaring. The walls stopped vibrating, the floors ceased their shaking. And the silence was heavy once more, seeming to drown out his sobs. It penetrated his lungs, caused him to suck in thick, unsteady breaths, his mind working on overload through the horrific incident he'd just managed to escape through. He didn't know what it was that had screamed at him-but whatever it was had shaved off nearly all the years he'd accumulated to get this far in his young life.

Shaking violently, strangled whimpers escaping a tight throat, Quatre shifted to a sitting position, trying to see through the inky blackness for the thing that had threatened him. He heard, saw and felt nothing. But as he rose, muscles feeling entirely weak and utterly useless, he had to acknowledge with some embarrassment that he'd wet his suit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Trowa stilled, having heard hysterical screaming and what resembled the sounds of heavy machinery being operated in small spaces. But he wasn't sure if he'd actually heard such things, or if he were just imagining hearing it. The silence was overbearing, entirely too thick. The darkness was equally as thick. But he could have sworn that it had been Quatre's voice, that soft, determined voice broken by hysterics and mad hysteria. But it couldn't have been. Unless...he were hurt.

Upon that thought, Trowa continued on his careful journey through the darkness, keeping his breathing in slow regulation as to preserve the oxygen in his small tank. It was barely equipped to last over ten hours-but during their battles in outer space, he hadn't had time to refill it, and he doubted he had more than four hours left. He didn't want to waste it by breathing hard upon feeling panicked emotions, so he kept himself in check by methodically going over every sensation he felt through the insulated gloves on his hand as he slid against the wall and shuffled carefully.

The darkness was utterly thick-he couldn't see the hand that he'd waved in front of his face. His pace was slow due to the fact that he was completely alien to this area. He didn't know which was where, what was there, what was here. He had to be careful, or suffer the same fate as the other two. Heero was still trying to rouse Duo from the sudden silence of a broken comm-link, but from the sounds that had ensued before Duo had gone completely silent were the similar sounds that Trowa would place with a fall. Duo had to have fallen in the same area as Quatre. Perhaps, if those two were together, then it would be all right.

Trowa didn't feel right about the place-it was entirely creepy. And for another thing, he saw things out of the corner of his eyes that shouldn't be there. Every time he'd looked in that direction, he'd see either nothing or he would just know that what he'd seen shouldn't have been seen in the first place. He didn't believe in ghosts, or aliens. He believed in plausible explanations, and there was one with this situation. Someone, either an individual or a team, was fucking around with them using night vision goggles, or something of similar sort. Tricking them, luring them into dark areas to expose them individually for an easy take. That's what was happening.

He suddenly felt air underneath his feet, and shifted to find a stair. Carefully, he made his way down the staircase, listening for the telltale signs of either Wufei or Heero, or Duo. He knew Quatre had thrown away his helmet because he thought that it was 'busted'-Wufei was in his Gundam, using his tracking devices to pinpoint their locations. Heero was looking for Duo.

Trowa didn't think either were dead-Quatre he was sure was alive, and Duo...Duo couldn't be dead. While Trowa was a realistic person, he just knew that the two weren't dead. It was a feeling, a gut instinct. It would seem stupid to believe that they were two people that weren't supposed to die immediately, but it just...fit. Quatre, with his kindness and somewhat overbearing concern, couldn't be dead. Before the loss of his helmet, he'd merely commented on a broken arm and nothing more. Duo...Duo was just impossible to think along the same lines as dead and dying. Duo was alive-just out of commission temporarily.

Trowa hesitated upon taking the last step, because he heard sudden screams once more-hysterical screams that bespoke volumes of terror. Among these screams was a deeper, powerful bass that seemed to shake Trowa's very insides. A shaking that made his hairs stand on end and body to still completely due to the sudden loss of control. He gripped the smooth surface of the wall, feeling himself take deeper, more frequent breaths as a rise of both curiosity and panic nearly had him propelling away from the stairway and moving in that direction. For one thing, it was entirely foolish, seeing as he couldn't even see his own hand before his helmet, and for another thing, it just wouldn't do to run into a situation without knowing what was going on.

The sounds immediately ceased, and he realized upon listening that they were somewhat close by. Whether behind a wall, or down a hall, they were close. The walls began shaking, vibrating with a repetitive dance that had his own fingers bouncing slightly against the surface. He moved his face in the direction of his hands, his expression moving into a frown as he noted the slight rise and fall of his hands due to the banging force on the wall. And then it was completely silent, as if there had never been noise before.

Utterly confused, straining his ears for any indication of what the sound was and if it were Quatre that was screaming, Trowa continued to hesitate before taking that last step. As the bottom of his foot smoothed against the surface of the floor beneath him, he looked down to try and see the floor. Unfortunately, that left him with an opening to attack, his attention momentarily diverted to making sure that his footing was secure.

And when he felt the slap on top of his helmet, he looked up with annoyance, sure that one of the others were there in front of him. He stilled completely, eyes widening slowly as he stared at the human form in front of him. The person, whatever sex it had been, was completely decomposed, revealing a stooped skeleton with raggedy clothing that hung off the brittle bones. He couldn't exactly see how the person had died, how it was possible that it was standing on its own, how this was possible. His mind just did not accept it.

His mind told him that he was not seeing what he was seeing-but the person, despite the darkness and obviousness of its condition, tilted its head to the left, staring at him in what Trowa felt was curiosity. As much as panic rose within him, as his heart threatened to leap through his throat and out his mouth-his mind was not computing that this was a threat. More rather, a curiosity. A curiosity to see if he were truly seeing what he was seeing.

The person moved, shifted away from him, and disappeared within the darkness. Trowa stared, waiting for any more movement, any more indication that the person was there. His arms hairs were high within his insulated suit, and his neck prickled with the same feeling as goosebumps rose all over his body.

When nothing more happened to him, Trowa felt his eyelids blink over gritty eyes, and he found that he'd held his breath upon seeing the thing. Trying to see through the blackness for the...thing...Trowa held tightly onto the rail and reached up to touch his helmet with his other hand.

Then, finding his voice was somewhat thick due to the sudden constriction of his throat, he called, "01?"

"Barton..." came Heero's answering reply.

"...Do you believe in ghosts?"