++Ch. 8++
"A Shattered Mirror"


"Do you think Relena has a gundam??"
Heero stared at Duo wordlessly, shaking his head in ignorance.
"But how would she get one?" Duo raved, crouching in front of Heero. They were still in the ventilation ducts, but had moved to a section over a part of the castle that was rarely traversed. Heero seemed just as confused as Duo.
"I don't know. Dr. J should have told us about this. He has to know."
"Unless HE's the one who made the thing for her," Duo shot back. "She mentioned 'some men' she knew that gave it to her. That could be the scientists!"
Heero frowned pensively, looking away as he thought to himself. Duo refused to give him the peace and quiet to think.
"Look, we can't tell the scientists; like you said. They're definately in on it, and they're keeping it a secret. Why would they do that? I'll tell you why," Duo hissed. "They're going to turn Trinity against us! We're still the enemy in the eyes of a lot of politicians, and you heard the kid-- he's going to fight by his own heart, his own ideals, just like us. So if he sees us as the enemy in battle, he's going to turn on us, and there won't be any way to change his outlook on the subject. I know--" Duo shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked. He had almost said 'I know him too well. He won't give up.' He was afraid Heero had noticed his abrupt cutoff, but the perfect soldier was already opening his mouth to shut him up, and took Duo's silence as compliance.
"That's enough," he growled. "Quit making so much noise. We don't know for sure if it's a gundam that Relena is talking about, or if it is, who built it. I don't think Relena would want him to turn against us; she can't make up his mind for him, but she can start the idea in his head that we aren't the enemy."
Duo shook his head silently, but let his partner speak.
"We're going to have to tell the others about this, but don't make a move until I say so." He glared at the other boy, and Duo knew he was referring to his spying on Relena the past night. He made a face at Heero, sticking out his tongue, but didn't argue. "We don't want Relena to know that we know, yet."
"Yeah, yeah," Duo sighed, flapping a hand carelessly. "Jeez, fight one war and stumble into another one. Just great."
Heero turned and started crawling away. "Let's go."
"M-matte, Heero!" Duo scrambled to catch up. "Wait for me!"

***

Quatre glanced up, feeling eyes on him, a smile and a greeting on his lips as he turned to face his expected lover. "Wufei, I was just looking for you. Have you seen--" he stuttered to a stop, blinking in surprise. "Ah- Trowa. I didn't see you there."
The lanky boy was leaning in the doorframe, arms crossed as he watched the blond pilot with a single unreadable eye, his jade gaze unnerving.
Quatre swallowed hard, looking away uneasily. This was not the first time he had caught his companion watching him when the two were alone; looking at him with that strange, almost wistful expression. It made him sad and confused, and usure of what to do or say. Something inside of him suspected the reason for Trowa's strange behavior, but he refused to acknowledge the thought. "Did you need something, Trowa?" They had
"No," the clown shook his head slowly, finally turning his eyes away and straightening, striding towards a bookshelf. "Just looking for something."
Quatre smiled, pulling a dog-eared book from the shelf, offering the oil-stained pamphlet to his friend. "Is this what you're looking for? Your old mechanic book. Do you need help with something?"
Trowa accepted the tattered book calmly. "Iie. Domo." He left as silently as he had arrived, walking on quiet cat's feet. Quatre watched him go.
The roar of a motorbike outside alerted him to Heero and Duo's arrival, and he hurried over to the large bay window of his study, peering down into the driveway below. He blinked, leaning closer to the glass, his nose pressed up against the surface. He held his breath as the solitary rider swung his leg over the seat and pulled off his helmet, tucking it under his arm as he gazed up at the building with a strange look on his face. Quatre's Kokoro no Uchuu gave a sudden lurch. As he started towards the front door, Quatre whirled around and raced from the room to get the others.
Grabbing the banister, he almost lost his balance as he turned sharply, pounding down the stairs, stumbling in his haste. "W-Wufei!" he gasped sharply as he spotted the startled boy at the bottom of the steps, staring up at him curiously. "Don't let him in! He's here to--"
Just then there was a deafening explosion that nearly rocked the house. Quatre cried out, his feet slipping from the stairs as he went tumbling helplessly down the remaining steps, head over heels, deaf to Wufei's shout. He landed in a heap at the foot of the stairs, and something cracked loudly. He opened his mouth to scream as pain shot from his arm throughout his entire body, but he couldn't seem to be able to draw in enough breath to scream. He forced his head up, looking through Wufei's legs-- the boy was standing his ground, protecting him --at the shattered front door.
The bike rider stood calmly in the splintered doorway, watching them with dead eyes, helmet still tucked firmly under his arm. Pounding footsteps announced Trowa's arrival from upstairs. Quatre could not seem to pull his eyes away from the strange boy, who was now staring directly at him, their gazes locked. His instincts were blaring a warning, and he tried to force himself to his knees, knowing that he had to run. Then the boy gave the barest of smiles and stepped towards them.

***

"Ch', the battery's dead," Duo complained, banging the walky-talky they used to communicate with Quatre against the seat of the motorbike. "Damn piece of shit.."
"That's enough, Duo," Heero snapped, clipping the strap to his helmet under his chin. "Get on. We're going."
"Yeah yeah, hold your horses," Duo grumbled, plopping his own helmet over his head and bouncing on behind his partner, wrapping his arms around the other's waist as the engine roared to life. He frowned slightly. "Hey, uh... step on it, could ya, Heero?"
The soldier shot a glance over his shoulder as he raised his foot from the ground, the bike shooting off down the road. "Why?"
Duo ducked his head to avoid the wind, his braid lashing out behind him like a flag. "I just.. have a bad feeling. That something's wrong."
"..Hn." Heero didn't say anything, but he turned the handlebar a fraction, and the bike's speed increased.
A cloud of dust was all that remained to show the passing of the two pilots.

"Tadaima~!" Duo hollered the moment he pulled his helmet off. "Oiii, Q-man! We're back!" He dumped his helmet on the driveway next to the bike as Heero stepped calmly from the seat, tugging off his helmet. Duo dashed towards the front door, still calling cheerfully, "Man, you're not gonna *believe* what we..."
Heero glanced up, instantly suspicious as Duo's voice trailed off. The Deathscythe pilot was standing several feet from the front porch, a look of numb shock on his face. Heero dropped his helmet into the dirt alongside Duo's and hurried over, suddenly wary.
It was immediately obvious what had caused Duo's pause.
The front door was gone. The doorway was now a gaping, jagged hole of splintered, twisted wood. Heero shot a quick look around. Bike tracks. The tires were thinner than his. Someone else had been here. He whirled as Duo darted away, pounding up the porch steps and rushing into the house.
"Baka! Wait-!"
But the boy was already inside, shouting frantically. "Quatre! Trowa, Wu-man, where are you??"
Heero cursed, his gun appearing in his hand in an instant. He raced after his partner, his thumb deftly clicking the safety to 'off'. He halted directly inside the door, looking around warily. A mirror farther down the hall was shattered, as if something or someone had been thrown into it bodily. The shards littered Quatre's prized rugs. There were other signs of a struggle; an upturned coffee table, a shattered vase.. and the bottom of the banister to the staircase was snapped in two. Duo was huddled on the ground, cradling someone in his lap. Heero shot a quick look into the two adjoining rooms, checking for any threat before padding over, gun still held ready.
Duo was patting Wufei's scratched face gently, rocking back and forth slightly as he muttered fiercely to the unconscious warrior. "Wake up, god damn it, wake up. Wake up, I said, you anal jackass! Who did this to you??"
Heero crouched beside the two, reaching out to check for a pulse and finding one. His eyes skimmed the pilot's limp body. His shirt was torn and a little bloodied from numerous scratches that covered his chest and the right side of his face. He shot a glance at the nearby mirror. Had someone thrown him into the mirror? But who could possibly have the strength and the speed to get past the boy's defenses? Wufei groaned slightly, wincing before slowly opening his eyes. Duo gave a sharp gasp of relief. The minute he realized he was conscious, Wufei sat up, so quickly he looked dizzy for a moment. He struggled with Duo, trying to stumble to his feet, grabbing at the banister for balance as he breathed harshly, hate making his eyes darker than ever.
"Quatre! That son of a..."
"Whoa, Wufei, hold on!" Duo cried, leaping up and grabbing at the other boy. "Sit down, you're hurt! What the fuck happened here?!"
"He took Quatre," Wufei's voice was a thick growl of fury. "He came out of nowhere.. took Quatre... I couldn't do anything. Never seen anyone move so fast..." He paused, leaning heavily against the banister and gulping in air, slowly regaining his senses. Duo clung to his shoulders, looking around in frantic confusion.
When Wufei looked up once more, his eyes were still clouded, but his tone was calmer as he spoke to the silent Wing pilot. "It was just one guy; the door exploded and he came in. Quatre fell.. I think he hurt himself... Trowa ran in and that kid came at me and Quatre. Trowa jumped him, but.." he shook his head, reaching up to wipe blood from his nose. "He threw him aside like he was nothing. Then he.. *looked* at me." He closed his eyes tightly, as if sure his memory was wrong. "I don't know what happened. It was like he picked me up and threw me at the mirror.. but he was too far away."
Heero's eyes narrowed.
Duo's hands tightened on Wufei's shoulders, his voice strained. "Where's Quatre?" He demanded. "Where's Trowa?"
"He..took Quatre," Wufei breathed, looking away, clenching his fists tightly by his sides. "Took Quatre. Bent over and touched him.. looked like Quatre passed out. He picked Quatre up and carried him out. Then..I don't remember anything else." He pointed towards the den. "He threw Trowa in there.."
Heero hurried into the other room, looking around quickly. The couch had been overturned when Trowa's body had crashed into it, and the lithe boy was sprawled on the floor behind it. Heero edged around the couch and checked his wrist. He was alive. Heero glanced from the door to the couch, assessing the situation. He must have slammed into the couch and toppled it over backwards, then he had either rolled or flipped once or twice, landing under the window. It would be a wonder if nothing was broken. But then, Trowa was pretty flexible.
Who could have had the strength to do such things to the two trained Gundam pilots? Wufei had said he was only a boy... but even Heero could not do such things so easily. Getting past the chinese boy's martial arts defenses was no one-second easy victory, and Trowa was quick on his feet and had a surprisingly strong grip.
Duo was talking frantically with Wufei as Heero heaved the couch upright and grabbed Trowa under his arms. He dragged the boy away from the wall and propped him against the couch in a sitting position, patting his cheek sharply. After a few moments Trowa's eyes snapped open, his hand flying up to seize Heero's wrist, his other hand, balled into a fist, aiming a crack at Heero's jaw. Heero seized the fist in mid-punch, and Trowa blinked, recognition lighting in his eyes. His arms relaxed, and Heero released him, pulling his other arm free. He frowned to himself. Trowa had lightening-fast reflexes.
Who the hell could have done the things that had been done in this house??




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