Guenivere Worm, Part 2/?

Warnings? QUATRE KIBBLE (it will be understood later)

Quatre woke to a sensation of screaming agony in his arms. It felt as if they were supporting his whole bodyweight…As the Arabian regained his senses, he realized that they WERE supporting his weight, which explained the situation. He looked around groggily, not comprehending his surroundings. He drug himself to his knees to relieve some of the pressure on his anguished arms. He blearily took in his surroundings; a reinforced jail cell, with a classic barred door.

Quatre's head throbbed, and his consciousness swam foggily through his mind. He wondered at the time, wondered how long it would take for the rest of the Gundam pilots to find him.

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Duo frowned, pacing, looking at the clock. He had been there for an hour; where WAS Quatre? In truth, the blond should have easily beaten Duo back. The man Duo had been chasing made so many twists and turns, Duo got dizzy just thinking about it. It had taken forever to get him into a position where he could slice at him with his Scythe.

The other 3 pilots looked at Duo silently. They too were worried, but not showing it as much.

"He probably stopped off somewhere on the way home, Maxwell. Stop pacing, you'll wear through the carpeting." Wufei said gruffly, as much encouragement as he was willing to provide.

"Yeah, you're probably right Wu…" Duo said doubtfully. "He DOES know a lot of people…He probably just got caught up. That's all…" Duo said, reassuring himself. He relaxed slightly. Of course Quatre was allright. How could he not be? As he had said himself, he could take on an empty building.

"If he's not back in the morning, then I'll worry about him." Duo said with a lopsided grin, flopping down on the couch. He looked at the pizza he had promised to buy, the few slices left a reminder that the one they were intended for was not only not here, he hadn't even called them on the radio.

Oh well…in the morning, if he wasn't back…then was the appropriate time to begin worrying.

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Morning came, as it had a habit of doing. When the first rays of the warm spring sunlight struck Duo's eyes, he woke with a start. He was sitting on the couch, where he had fallen asleep as he had waited for Quatre. The other pilots had migrated to their bedrooms sometime during the night, leaving Duo alone at his silent vigil. Duo leaped to his feet and dashed to the bedroom Quatre had been using. His heart thumped as he flung open the door. He whimpered slightly at the sight of the empty room.

Not quite giving up hope yet, he dashed outside to check the garage they were using, hoping that Sandrock would be sitting in there, or more importantly, it's pilot. Again, empty. Duo was on the verge of despairing as he darted back inside. He yanked open his computer, looking for any messages. He brightened as he saw the email icon flashing. His heart pounded in his chest as he opened it. He couldn't help the nearly heartbroken moan that came from his throat as he saw the advertisement for real-estate in his Inbox.

Duo made up his mind, grabbing his coat and heading for the door. He was just about to run out when some semblance of rationality returned to him.

(Man, the dudes took down Q. They have to be pretty badass to do that…maybe I should get some help with this one.) Duo made up his mind and went headed back inside.

Duo charged into the first room that he encountered as he headed down the hall. Wufei lay there, sleeping, looking much more innocent and sweet with his severe ponytail undone and his eyes closed, his expressions calm and peaceful. Duo smiled as he contemplated that for about five seconds, mental images of a hentai nature flickering through his mind, then went back to the matter at hand.

"Wu! Wufei! Wake up, man, wake up!" Duo said, shaking the Chinese pilot. Wufei's onyx eyes flickered open, and looked with confusion and annoyance at who was shaking him out of his peaceful dream. He blinked, realizing that this was MAXWELL, waking HIM up, not the other way around. Wufei couldn't remember a time the braided baka had gotten up before being awakened. Well, he amended, perhaps once or twice. But most definently not often. He looked groggily at his clock and watched the number switch to 5:29 A.M.

"Three questions, Maxwell, you baka!" he grumbled, dragging himself to a sitting position. "WHY are you up at 5:30 in the morning, why must (I) also be up at 5:30 in the morning, and, should this be one of your STUPID, ASININE stunts, is your insurance paid for?" Wufei growled. Duo didn't even quirk a smile as he usually did at any of the others' grumblings about him. Worry and fear were swirling through his huge violet eyes, and he didn't say anything, merely looked at the floor. He was VERY upset. Wufei softened a bit. "Quatre isn't back yet?" he asked, getting up and beginning to dress, already guessing the rest. Duo wanted to go after the Sandrock pilot, find out WHY Quatre wasn't back. And he had thought rationally…not just run out the door on his own…k'so, he must be REALLY upset. Duo only nodded.

"I'm gonna go get the rest of the guys, Wu. Thanks, man." Duo said as he flitted out of the room. He went into Trowa's room, and saw the Heavyarms pilot sleeping soundly in a fat, overstuffed armchair. He shook him and told him to wake up. "Hey Trowa…c'mon, time to get up. Rise and shine." Trowa's emerald eyes opened, and he looked at Duo's forced smile, nodded, and got up. Duo didn't pause for conversation, as he normally would have. He headed quickly down the hall and flung open Heero's door. He met with a surprise.

As he threw the door open, the first thing he noticed was that Heero was airborne, flying straight at him. The pilot of Wing Zero landed in front of him, and Duo found himself staring down the barrel of the gun, so close to his face he actually had to cross his eyes to see it. He stood there, frozen with shock, and blinked. Heero scowled and lowered his gun.

"Um…good…uh…morning, Heero…we're going off to find Quatre. He isn't back yet…"

"Aa." Heero said, grabbing for his shoes. Duo left the room and went to the living room, curling up in a corner of the couch. He wondered about Quatre. What if he was kidnapped, and being tortured for information even as he sat there? Duo sniffed, realizing he had been crying. Oh God, poor Quatre…God…no. God was dead, there was only Shinigami, and Shinigami was impartial. This proved it. Duo wiped his sleeve across his eyes and sniffed as the other 3 emerged. He wouldn't cry. Boys didn't cry. Wufei saw Duo wipe his eyes, as did Heero and Trowa.

None of them said anything. The house seemed strange…so insanely QUIET, with Quatre not around and Duo silent. Wufei shivered inwardly. It was creepy in a way. The four pilots left the building, locking the door behind them and heading for the garage. Within minutes, four Gundams emerged from the garage and were in flight to the Guenivere Base.

Once they arrived, Wufei made an announcement over the com-link. "I shall go see if OZ knows anything. If they do, I'll duel with Treize and make him give me Quatre in exchange for his worthless life. This okay with you?" Heero gave his usual 'Aa', Trowa gave him a 'Hai', and Duo merely nodded. Shenlong lifted off, streaking away towards the OZ headquarters. They all knew that chances of Wufei doing exactly as he had said when he got there with Treize were slim…but even Duo held his peace and made no remark.

Wing Zero, Deathscythe, and Heavyarms began their search. They looked around, noting the obliterated buildings and the mobile suit bits strewn around.

After hours of sifting through debris and chunks of mobile suits, they found no sign of Sandrock. This both relieved and worried Duo. It was a relief to know Quatre wasn't lying in pieces, but they weren't any closer to finding him. Who knew where he could be?

"Duo." Heero stated, fingers flying over buttons.

"Yeah, Heero?"

"Sandrock is not registering on any locators or scans. No contact can be established. It is either in a place specifically designed to prevent against even the most high tech of radars and such, or completely destroyed."

Duo's eyes filled with tears at the thought of the Arabian being destroyed, and Trowa gave Heero a reprimanding look. "Heero." The pilot of Wing Zero looked at Trowa for a few moments before realizing what Trowa meant. He mumbled an apology to Duo. The pilot of Shinigami smiled widely, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay, Heero! I'm just fine! Might as well be prepared for the worst? I mean, we could be walking through Quatre kibble, but hey, why worry about it?" he said in a cheery voice, tinged with hysteria. The accompanying half-crazed laugh made Heero wince. This was really beating up Duo. They were all worried for Quatre, yes, but Duo was a lot more sensitive than they allowed themselves to be.

They searched until it was too dark to see, for Sandrock, Quatre, or any clue to the whereabouts of either one. They came up empty-handed. Wufei returned, and sighed. "Tr…ahem…Khushrenada says that he has no clue as to either the whereabouts of Quatre or Sandrock. Have you found anything?"

Three heads shook negatively.

"Well," Heero stated, punching buttons and turning Wing Zero back in the direction of the safehouse, then lifted off the ground. "We shall have to continue our search efforts in the morning. It is too dark. If he is captured, I pray he dies quickly without giving away information." Heero cursed silently as the words came unbidden out of his mouth. Wufei saw Duo's lip quiver, saw Deathscythe shaking slightly from the trembling of the pilot's hands gripping it's controls…then Duo lost it. He broke down, wracked with sobs. As it's pilot lost its composure, Shinigami fell to its knees with a loud crash. Wufei gave Heero a glare to rival Heero's worst.

"You just HAVE to say things like that, don't you!" he growled at the Japanese pilot. Heero looked at Wufei impassively, mentally cursing himself.

Duo's communication had been shut off quickly as he lost his composure; he didn't want any of them to see him this way. He was the jester, the ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. He was supposed to take away everyone else's pain. Jesters don't cry. Boys don't cry…

The four pilots headed off for the safehouse.

~Owari part 2~

Duo - Quatre kibble?????......O.O>>>>>o<