//italics//

Part 8

When Duo awoke, his cheerful mask was firmly in place. He happily glomped Quatre and teased him about what Relena was going to do when she got a hold of him. He started to put the still unconscious WuFei's hair into tiny little braids, but the Chinese boy woke up and chased him away. Currently, he was playing cards with Trowa. It was painfully obvious to the others that Duo was trying to ignore the oblivious figure sitting in the corner. Heero still had not recovered.

"Duo," Quatre had been trying to speak with the braided pilot for an hour now, but he hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise with the chatterbox. "Daijobu?"

Duo paused for a moment, weariness clouding his features. The shadow passed and he grinned at the blonde.

"Of course, Q-man! It's not so bad! The doctors say that I'll be able to do all sorts of neat stuff like hold my breath underwater for like ever and even be able to go out into space without a suit!"

WuFei snorted. "That's impossible, baka." Duo shrugged.

"It's a neat thought anyway."

Just then, the door to the lab opened. Professor G and Dr. J stepped through the threshold, followed by five White Fang soldiers and...

"Noin..." Quatre whispered.

Noin saw who was in the cell and halted in shock. She hadn't expected the Gundam pilots to be here. She wasn't prepared to face them yet. Ever since she deserted them to be with Zechs, Noin tried her best to avoid them. Now, the victims of her betrayal were right in front of her.

"Onna! How dare you show your face to us now?" WuFei glared at the dark-haired woman.

//I'm sorry.//

Professor G spoke up. "I don't think you are in any position to be offended, 05. Ms. Noin has come to supervise over her...leaders little project."

Noin looked at the man with thinly veiled distaste. "Just what is this project of his, Professor?" Dr. J cackled.

"It's a fashion accessory!" He moved over to the table in which rested a white helmet similar to the one Zechs used to wear. "This is just a prototype, but when we perfect it, your great leader will be able to call on the Zero System at will. We call it Zero System Alpha, or ZSA for short."

Noin examined the helmet. "And this...ZSA...won't hurt him?" Professor G chuckled.

"Not at all, my dear. It is merely going to enhance his reactions, much like taking a stimulus."

Duo bashed against his cell. "Liar! Don't listen to them, Noin! The ZSA will take over Zechs, leaving a machine in place of the man you love! They plan on controlling him, to shape the war as they choose! Warn Zechs! These bastards are not to be trusted!"

Professor G signaled to the guards. "Shut him up!" He snarled. Noin turned to the Doctors.

"Is this true?" Dr. J shook his head.

"Of, course not! This street-rat is just trying to confuse you so that Zechs won't get the helmet! With the ZSA, the war will end much quicker than if left to conventional means."

Noin's dark eyes closed. //An end to the war.// Isn't that what she'd been praying for?

"I will be staying here to oversee the project." She stated. "Zechs was very impatience that it hasn't been completed." Professor G bowed.

"We will work day and night to complete it." He met Duo's eyes and grinned ferally. "Now if you would come this way, I will show you your quarters.

Noin followed the scientists out of the lab. But not before a backwards glance into the cell.

//I'm sorry.// She mouthed.

Dinner came and went silently, with only WuFei's grumbling to fill the silence.

"How come we have to eat rice while that baka gets a steak dinner?"

Duo didn't answer. Indeed, he didn't even touch his food. The braided boy walked over to where Heero sat, unresponsive. He moved aside the untouched bowl of rice and took his lover into his arms.

"C'mon Hee-chan, come back to me. We need you." He continued to talk softly to his beloved, trying to draw him out of wherever he took refuge. Trowa looked away from the scene, a look of pain crossing his face.

A voice pierced Heero's comfortable haze. //We need you.// He knew that voice! //I need you, Heero.// Heero! That was his name! The Japanese boy closed his eyes and thought, hard.

Someone...Someone important...Hooked up to a machine...Couldn't see his eyes...Needed to see his eyes...A cold voice...Familiar...Cruel...Darkness...

//Come back to me...//

"Duo..."

Duo watched as, ever so slowly, Heero turned his head. Cobalt eyes met Violet.

"Duo..."

Shinigami closed his eyes in relief. Pulling Heero close, he laid them both down.

"C'mon Hee-chan, let's get some sleep."

The two scientists looked on with disapproval.

"That boy is a bad influence." Dr. J stated.

"That's why we chose him." G explained. "02 has too much charisma, too much personality. He makes the other pilots do things that they normally wouldn't do. If we kill that, it will make the others easier to control."

Dr. J looked at him. "You are a fool." The Professor chuckled.

"Mebbe, mebbe. But I'm the fool in charge." He walked away.

Dr. J's mechanical eyes followed the man as he left. For a moment, dark lenses burned red with hatred. The light faded and the man grinned.

"We'll see about that. Zechs was a fool to put you in charge and I'll prove it. I will destroy your little pet. Then Heero will become the Perfect Weapon. It's only fitting. Your little thief would have never lived up to the potential of ZSA. Only the Perfect Soldier can handle such a powerful system. I will create the Perfect Being and you will be left with nothing." He stepped back into the shadows with a cackle.

"Nothing..."

Chapter 9

Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing © Sunrise, Bandai, and Sotsu Agency.