"Heero? Trowa? Quatre? Wufei? Anybody here?" Duo stumbled along the dark halls of the new safehouse, calling out for his friends. Duo searched the entire house room by room but no sign of the others. Duo paced around restlessly, waiting for their return until dark. When the sun set, Duo decided to call on his last possible resort.
"Relena here."
"Relena, it's Duo. Have any of the other guys contacted you within the last six hours?"
"No, why? What happened? Duo you know you can trust me."
"We were on a supposedly easy mission when we were ambushed and split up. By the way, Oz and Whitefang seemed to have ganged up on us. Anyway, Heero called for a retreat and I fought myself free. We were supposed to meet up at a certain point but they haven't arrived at the safe house yet." Duo explained reluctantly.
It was quiet on the other end for a moment. "Alright, Duo, here's what you are going to do. First, wait there just in case they arrive. If they do call me. Until then, I'll send someone over to keep watch and I'll contact the others just in case they were contacted or are hiding them. And get some sleep. You'll probably need it. Alright?"
"Alright, I guess. Thanks Relena."
"No problem Duo. Get some sleep and don't forget to call me. Bye."
"I won't. Ja." Duo hung up the phone but he still had a bad feeling about everything. He stared out the window trying to figure out why he was so upset. Replaying the conversation, realization hit Duo like a falling gundam.
"Kuso! Relena shouldn't know where this safehouse is! I never told her where I am and the conversation was too short to be traced. I'd better scram!" Duo quickly raced up the stairs to the recently set up rooms. He grabbed his duffle and begam shoving important things into it. Heero's computer, Wufei's sword, Quatre's violin, Trowa's flute, his gun and a change of clothes.
Duo paused at the door before running back upstairs and shoving pillows under his sheets in the shape of a human body. 'Let's hope this works.' Duo shoved bags of watered-down ketchup where the head and chest would be. Satisfied, he grabbed his motorcycle and slipped into the woods to watch whatever would transpire.
*************
Duo watched silently as a black van drove up. Two muscle men climbed out. Both set explosives before one picked the locks on the door and slipped inside. Duo saw the silouette enter his room before a gun shot rang out and the guy ran to the van. They sped off with Duo close on their tail. Behind him the house went up in flames with a big 'boom.' The men drove to a nearby warehouse where one got out and picked up a suitcase before driving to a suburban neighborhood.
'Damn, just normal hitmen. I might pay them a visit later, or drop the cops a tip.' Duo drove on several hours until he found a huge hotel in a busy town where no one would ever remember him. He checked in paying cash and using an alias, being extra careful to keep his braid and eyes hidden. When he entered his room, Duo began to think out the recent events, ignoring his personal feelings and analyzing the situation like a soldier he was.
"Let's see. The guys are missing; Oz and Whitefang have seemingly teamed up; Relena's messing around with hitmen and I'm in hiding, but I guess that isn't too unusual except that I don't have much of an advantage, unless surprise is considered a biggie, although I am not certain I have that on my side. Relena has the man power and resources to chase me all over outer space, the colonies, and earth if she wants to, or if she thinks I am still alive.
"Now why would Relena want to kill me? One, I'm a gundam pilot and a threat to her total pasifism. Two, Heero chose me over her. Three, she's still upset with me over stealing and blowing up her car, even if it was an emergency and an accident. Four, I'm a threat to her delusional world. Five, I crashed her one of her parties, well, two...three...five...umm, a lot. Damn, and the list goes on and on. I am so screwed. It's a miracle she hasn't tried to off me sooner."
Silencing his inner voice, Duo plugged in Heero's computer, immediately checking their mission accounts. No e-mails from the guys. Duo launched the program to bounce his location all over space, humming a song along with the computer's noise, he set to work. He searched all the Oz and WhiteFang databases he could access. No gundam captures reported, no hospitals reported any accidents, no morgue entries with their descriptions, either. Duo shut down the computer before anyone would have time to pinpoint his location, if they were looking for such a search. 'I'll look more in a minute.' Duo decided, flipping on the news.
"...an explosion rocked the quiet neighborhood, causing no injuries but killing five people. The only body identifiable was that of one, Duo Maxwell, alledged gundam pilot. The other four bodies are suspected to be the other four rebel gundam pilots. The police are investigating the cause of the explosion but they assume a suicide case..."
Duo froze, barely hearing the rest of the story, his bloody picture, curtesy of his moon base arrest, on the screen captured all his attention as his 'death' circled around in his mind.
"What the hell? There shouldn't have been any bodies found in there, let alone //me// and the guys. And why would we commit suicide if we are winning the war? What the fuck is going on?!?"
Ignoring the television, Duo turned on the computer once again and searched for recent gundanium and restraint purchases. Relena's name was listed as one of the most recent purchases for both. "No big surprise there." Duo grumbled, his words slurring with exhaustion as his adreneline gave out and the day's activities finally caught up with him. "Guess I should get some sleep. I can't help anyone if I can't see to shoot straight." Duo locked the door, barred it with a chair under the handle and fell asleep with his gun under his pillow.
When Duo woke with a start, it was one in the afternoon. Yawning, he padded over to the shower. After a quick shower, he dressed and packed his stuff. Wrapping his braid in a bun, he hid the hair under his hat. Putting on black sunglasses and rolling up his sleeves, Duo set out from the hotel. He drove into the next town, bought a new outfit as a disguise before going to the nearest fast food joint. There he ate and got directions to the nearest library with internet access. Duo spent the next two hours hacking through all the mainframes he could think of. No trace of any new captures, but he did find out that Relena had flown six people to her estate within the last two weeks.
Checking into a new hotel, Duo slipped on his disguise, a pink sundress. Looking in the mirror, he winked at his new identity. Minutes later, the braided boy, now a girl, had purchased a ticket to Sanq using his false identity for later that day. The pilot settled onto the bed, with the computer, thinking over the information he had acquired. "Relena has purchased six tickets. Who would they be? Let's check..." the radio hummed an ancient tune as the computer searched for the information Duo requested.
When the names popped up, Duo nearly went to meet his namesake. "Hilde? Catherine? Dorothy? Sally? Noin? Une? What in the seven levels of hell is going on? Think, Duo, think. Let's see…Oz and White Fang have joined forces. Now Dorothy and Une are at Relena's. Has there been a secret truce? No, Trieze and Zechs want the people to know what's going on, but come to think of it, I haven't heard anything about them recently, where are they?"
The search turned up with shocking news. "Trieze Kushrenada and Milliardo Peacecraft were killed in a fatal mobile suit accident last night." Duo stared at the article with blank eyes. "Something is seriously weird here. I was pissed at the 'death' of my friends, but no one, I mean, NO ONE screws with Shinigami's head and gets away with it! Time to get serious." The violet eyes glowed with the unholy light that they held only when in a heated battle. "And whosoever that is, will not escape Shinigami's righteous wrath! Especially when dealing with MY friends, MY family, and MY Heero!" Duo's fingers flew over the keyboard with speed unatainable by normal humans.
Information flew across the screen and the beautiful eyes narrowed in fury. Sally had purchased dozens of unrecognizable substances, all medical and their listed uses were basically for mental problems. Dorothy had closed off an White Fang warehouse for private use, restricting anyone from getting even close to the facility. Catherine, Noin, and Une had pooled their resources and had created seven large tanks, according to the records, approximately human sized, reinforced with gundanium and 18 inches of bullet-proof glass. Relena had the resources to capture and restrain the others with her network of power and influence.
"What about Hilde?" Duo frowned. She had not been seen since arriving at Relena's, whereas the others came and went quite often, seemingly by their own free will. Unable to locate her, Duo logged off the net, left the library and went to gather supplies. 'Why do I have the feeling something very bad is going to happen?'
****************
"Any sign of him?" Relena asked the other women in the room.
"None." Dorothy smiled. "None at all. It seems the great 'god of death' couldn't even hold his own against two common hit men. He hasn't been seen and nothing turned up on the net. Not even anyone that even resembles him, male or female has been sighted."
"It's a pity Hilde wouldn't join us," Noin frowned, "Duo would have made a great pet."
"Yes, but now we have her in his place." Une smiled, petting the girl's purple hair. "She makes such a great servant."
"Still, it's a pity," Catherine agreed with Noin. "Duo was cute."
"Enough about Duo." Relena snapped. "Sally, how far along are the others?"
"Stage one has just been completed." Sally reported, looking at the charts in front of her.
"Just stage one?" Dorothy's eyebrows rose slightly.
"They have been fighting the programming but like Hilde here, they couldn't resist forever." The blonde doctor slid the papers on the table to rest in front of Dorothy and Relena.
"Fine. Begin stage two as soon as possible. With Duo out of the way and with Oz, White Fang, and the Gundams under our control, no will can stand against us, let alone stop us." She paused looking over each woman in her company, meeting their eyes. "Are there any second thoughts?"
"No!" The other five women chorused.
"Wonderful. We'll have everything, plus our own perfect slaves." Relena laughed evilly, sending shivers down the others' spines.
**************
Duo looked down at the pile of supplies that is took the rest of the day and some of the night to gather. He had gone to about thirty stores and picked up one or two items at each. Hair supplies at a beauty store, no one questioned a girl buying hair dye. New clothes, same idea, a different female on a shopping spree, buying presents for her boyfriend and herself. Color contacts were easy since he had found some in the bottom of his duffel from his last mission.
The electonic stuff was slightly more difficult, since he would have to purchase them at one time, in a different disguise with different accounts. So instead, he'd get what he needed when everyone went home for the night. Five finger discount. however, guns were easy, he got them from his stash inside his gundam. Duo laughed as he remembered the others' faces when they watched him pull weapon after weapon out of his gundam until there was a large pile; they were dumbfounded. Knives, ammo, explosives, if it was small and dangerous, you name it, he had it.
Strapping on his lock picks, Duo turned to face the mirror. You couldn't tell that he was packing weapons under the jeans and semi-tight shirt, in his boots, or his braid. Giving himself a once over look, he smiled his trademark grin, before piling some of his hair under a hat. Duo Maxwell, meet Marie Dunst, a quiet, light blue-eyed girl going to Earth for her vacation, not at all threatening or resembling a gundam pilot. Placing on the last touches, a padded bra, a special bracelet, and makeup, Duo, Marie, set out for the airport, no one even noticed her. Once through the metal detectors, Duo smiled at the strange looking bracelet, silently thanking Wufei and Trowa for helping him build it. It gave off the perfect freqency to keep any metal dectector within a six foot range from detecting metal, so no one knew he was a walking weapon.
Smiling and flirting with some of the crew, Duo casually wandered onto the plane, looking so normal that no one even noticed him or gave him a second thought, another faceless person. Giving himself a mental pat on the back, the braided pilot slumped in the airplane seat, before muffling a yelp when a leather strap pinched his bare skin. Trying to adjust the gun without looking like he was groping himself, was a feat even beyond a gundam pilot, and Duo eventually was forced to go to the bathroom to do so. Returning to his seat, he sank more carefully into it, closing his eyes and mentally preparing himself for whatever might come his way.
*************
"Relena, we're beginning the second stage, would you like to watch?" Noin asked as she began to walk from the room.
"No, thank you. Just inform me of when you are going to begin the third stage." Relena dismissed her with a wave of her hand, as she continued to pour over the offical documents, making certain there were no possible loop-hole through which someone could start another war.
Noin nodded and walked down to the lab. "Hey Sally. How are they doing?" she asked, placing her hand on one of the glass surfaces.
"Well, I've managed to surpress their memories and their adversion to following orders completely. All I have left to do, is wipe out any feelings for anyone else. Heero will probably be the easiest if what Relena is saying about him caring about no one besides her is true. I doubt it, though. He's fighting the most and I don't think it is because of his training."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, just as she entered the room.
"Well, he's fought from the beginning as they all have, don't get me wrong. It's just that whenever I worked on his memories, he struggled harder. The others fought back, but they didn't fight like he did. He almost broke free. After I dealt with his memories, he still struggled, even though the others had stopped. None of them really remember their training, so it shouldn't be related to that."
"Are you certain you got rid of all his memories? You didn't miss any at all?"
"No. I was the most thorough with Heero because he was fighting."
"Then who is he fighting for?" Noin asked. "It's not Relena, and everyone else he knows is here, except..."
"Except Duo." Catherine finished for her. "Do you think they were together-together that way? We all know they were quite close as friends...but none of them gave us any reason to think they were...that."
"True, but maybe Heero is just worried about him as a friend." Noin hypothesized.
"Maybe. I can get rid of whatever emotion is causing it." Sally said, drawing up a syringe full of liquid. She injected it into his vein and threw the used plastic and needle away. "That should deal with it."
Nodding to each other, the others walked out of the lab and away from what used to be six of the greatest minds in the universe. Sally hung back, looking at each person. Heero Yuy, pilot of Wing Zero; Trowa Barton, pilot of HeavyArms; Quatre Winner, pilot of SandRock; Wufei Chang, pilot of Shenlong; Zechs Merquise, leader of White Fang; Treize Kushrenada, general of Oz. Shaking her head, she turned off the light and walked away, leaving the drugs to do their job,never noticing a shadow move.
************
The first thing Duo did when he got off the plane was to get out of the dress; pink was so not his color. Changing into some loose, old blue jeans and a faded green t-shirt, Duo piled his hair under a baseball hat, and walked out of the airport determined to get to the bottom of whatever was turing his life to hell. Snickering at his own lame mental joke, he flagged down a taxi and was dropped off near a safe house in the area.
Taking the time to glance at his watch as he checked his gear again, Duo noted that the sun was due to set in six hours, twenty-seven minutes, rounded down. Tying his boots and strapping the velcro over the laces, violet eyes scanned his figure in the full-length mirror that he had forced Heero to buy while they had stayed there. Dressed in black spandex from neck to ankles, Duo inserted his lock picks into his hair before jumping up and down, making certain that nothing would make any noise when he moved. Nodding in satisfaction, Duo strode from the house to the rented jeep and sped off to spy on the warehouse and its occupants.
Between studying maps and watching the warehouse, the next five hours passed quickly. Duo had comfirmed sightings of Une, Relena, Dorothy, Sally, and Catherine both leaving and returning, sometimes several times. Then all five left and were gone for a very long time. No visuals on Hilde or any of the guys. The women came back after dark, moving closer, Duo used every ounce of his thief abilities to sneak up almost directly behind Une and watch her type in a code on the lock. Ducking aside as Relena and Catherine walked up moments later, he watched them use the same code but only once for both of them.
'At least it isn't a different code per person. Let's hope that it's the same code for every door.' he thought. 'The door is manual and if I can catch it before it closes, I'm in with no one the wiser.'
The braided boy could be very patient when he needed to be, a fact that surprised his friends once upon a time. But luckily it wasn't long until Sally and Noin arrived and entered the door, chattering about the movie that they had all just seen. Duo managed to catch the door just before is closed, pinching his fingers in the process and having to bite back a pained yelp. After waiting another thirty seconds, he carefully opened the door and peeked down the hall. No cameras or people were in sight, so he slipped inside and carefully shut the door. Shinigami's pilot easily caught up to Sally and Noin, silently following them through the maze of halls that shouldn't be part of any normal warehouse.
'They must have converted it to living quaters, but why?' Duo thought over possible answers to that question, clamping his hand over his nose and mouth to stop the laughter from bursting out when the thought that they were filming porno popped into his head. Right after that he got disgusted. 'Eww, who'd want to see Relena or Une naked. Yuck!!'
The two women turned a last corner and stopped in front of a door, causing Duo to rush back to the safety of the last hall to keep from being seen. Peering around the corner, Duo watched Sally use the identical code as the entrance door to gain access. Duo waited very patiently, not wanting to blow his cover. Just as he was about to move forward, the door reopened and the two females walked out.
Duo moved to follow them when his sensitive hearing picked up Sally's mumble about getting some more drugs for Heero. He waited for a few minutes, trying to process the information he had just heard, before his brain kicked in. Certain he had just heard incorrectly, Duo's curiousity kicked on in place of the small twinge of fear that muffled statement had caused and walking up to the door, he typed in the code opening the door. The braided boy waited for the alarms to go off but when nothing happened, he walked inside the room.
Scanning the area, he amended his last thought. This wasn't a room, it was a labratory, and a big one at that. Walking up to one of the computer stations that were nearby, Duo could tell they were some of the most advanced on Earth, after the gundam pilots' laptops and the Gundams themselves, of course. Going to one that was on, he scanned the document that was on the screen. It was a peace declaration, written by Relena, Dorothy, and Une. Duo nearly keeled over right on the spot.
'That bitch! What the fuck does she think she's doing. Those women are psycho! Doesn't she realize they'll double-cross her or kill her first chance they get. Wouldn't they?'
Shaking his head to de-rail that train of thought, he moved away from the computer and started to move toward the large containers on the far left side of the room. But before he could see what they held, footsteps stopped outside the door. Scrambling behind some larger equipment, Duo ducked down into the shadows, hidden but unable to see or hear what was being said over the hum of the machines.
Minutes later, praying that no one would spot him, he peeked out just enough to see Sally and Noin standing in front of the only container within his sight, blocking his view, while Catherine was resting against the doorframe. He could see Sally draw a syringe full of something and moments later throw it away, empty. Then the three women walked away, turning off the lights. Duo jumped from his hiding spot and slipped up to the door, listening as the footsteps faded away from the room. Satisfied that he had some time, Duo walked to where he could see inside all six containers. Unable to handle what he was seeing, Duo slid to his knees, taken completely by surprise. In front of him, were his best friends, allies, and enemies. Only one thought made its way into his head. 'Well, shit.'
*************
Encased in front of him were his fellow soldiers. Running violet eyes over each tube, Duo took in their appearances. Each man was slightly pale, eyebrows furrowed, eyes closed and breathing shallow. They were sealed in, looking something like fairy-tale princes crossed with the Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, or some other damsel-in-distress. Forcefully kicking away his stupor, the braided pilot jumped to his feet and made his way over to the main consul. Plopping down in a chair, Duo kept one eye on everyone’s vitals while working through the system that kept the tubes sealed tight.
Minutes later, after some fairly easy hacking, the tubes slid open one by one. A slight hiss of air was audible as Duo waited for the guys to open their eyes and walk out. Duo mentally kicked himself as he remembered the syringe. Finding the bottle proved useless as it had no label on it to tell him what was inside. Duo moved forward and began to pick the locks on the restraints. Making up his plan as he went along, Duo shook Heero, trying to wake him so they could escape. A quiet groan was his only answer.
“Come on Heero, wake up! We have to get out of here right now!” Duo mumbled, giving Heero another shake. To his surprise and delight, the cobalt eyes slowly slid open, even if they were slightly fuzzy, he was awake. “Heero? Good to see you’re awake. Let’s get you out of there.” After helping the disoriented boy out of the tube, Duo repeated the process to the other five, shaking them awake and getting them out of the tubes.
Moving to the door, Duo motioned for the others to follow him out the door. As he slipped down the hall, Duo noticed that no one else was behind him. Moving back quickly, Duo saw that they were standing right where he had left them. Sighing, Duo began to push them out the door and into the hall, a little unnerved by the lack of recognition and life in their eyes. Ignoring that fact for the moment, Duo spent the next ten minutes moving the guys through the maze of halls, having to make many trips across halls and around corners to get everyone where he wanted them.
Frustrated by the lack of response and his friends’ inability to move on their own, Duo hissed, “Can’t you guys at least act semi-normal?? Is that too much to ask? We have to get out of here!” The result was astounding. The six men seemed to straighten then relax before beginning to move in a more human manner, turning to face Duo with an air of expectance. Heero motioned for Duo to lead the group. Slightly startled by the sudden change, the braided boy quickly adapted, drawing his gun and assuming command, leading the way to where the exit would be.
- - - - - - - - -
“I’m going down to the lab to check up on Heero’s progress.” Sally said throwing her cards into the center of the table before standing up and stretching. “I fold.”
“Fine, take Hilde, she hasn’t been out of this room all day.” Relena said offhandedly, not looking away from her staring contest with Dorothy over the tops of her cards.
“All right, come on Hilde, let’s go to the lab.” The blonde doctor walked from the room with the girl trailing in her wake.
They walked silently down to the lab, Sally glancing back at Hilde every so often to be sure she was following. Walking into the room and turning on the lights, Sally walked over to her computer, switching on the vital signs; all flat lines. Shocked, she looked up at where the guys should have been, her eyes only meeting empty space.
“Oh, shit. Relena’s going to be pissed.” Sally breathed, before turning to Hilde. “Find them and stop whoever is taking them. Do whatever is necessary to stop that person.”
Hilde nodded and jogged from the room as Sally rushed to get to the other women and inform them of what happened. The dark-haired girl quickly moved down the hallways, checking each room with a single glance. Hearing a noise, she turned and moved towards it, spotting several familiar figures surrounding another who was peering around the corner, saying, “Alright, let’s get out of here.” Ignoring everything else, the girl raced forward and jumped onto the person’s back, her momentum throwing them both to the floor, sending a gun flying from his hand
“Hilde? What are you…?” Duo was cut off as Hilde tried to choke him. Duo twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her back against his chest to hold her still to try to talk some sense into her. “What are you doing Hilde? Why are you doing this? Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, D-ouch!” Duo yelped as she slammed his foot with her heel and hit his nose with her head at the same time, before ripping her arm free and spinning around to knee him. Duo hunched over in pain, protecting himself the best he could, but unable to fight back for fear of hurting her. Pain and bright flashes of light exploded in his skull as she began smashing his head against the hard floor.
The others watched impassively as Hilde and Duo fought, well, Hilde attacked and Duo tried to defend. They winced slightly as Duo was kneed but no one moved. When Hilde began slamming Duo’s head into the floor, a faint light entered Heero’s eyes. He sluggishly moved forward, like he was fighting a strong current of water. When Duo stopped struggling, the light gained some strength and he reached forward to easily toss Hilde from Duo’s back. The girl rolled, using the momentum to gain her footing and jump back to her task. Heero growled and grabbed the struggling girl, throwing her against a wall, effectively knocking her unconscious.
Reaching over, he picked up Duo’s gun from where it was dropped at the beginning of the fight as Trowa scooped up Duo’s unconscious form and followed Treize out the door. Wufei and Quatre trailed them, not even pausing as the females ran around the corner, shouting for them to stop. Heero sighted down the barrel at them, halting the girls in their tracks. Zechs walked out the door next, looking back once as Heero backed out the door behind him, closing it. Wufei barred the door after them before pointing to where the rest of the pilots were waiting in Duo’s rented jeep. Hopping into the vehicle, they sped off, the squealing tires drowning out the pounding on the door and high pitch screams to ‘come back here.’
- - - - - - - - -
As Duo swam for consciousness, the first thing that he became aware of was the pain in his head making itself known full force. Groaning, he slung his arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright light. Hearing motion above him, he struggled to open his eyes and sit up at the same time, berating himself for carelessly showing signs that he was awake. Opening his eyes, he was assaulted by a blur of faces, much too close to his own. Before he could clear his fuzzy vision, dizziness overtook him and he swayed unsteadily before he was pushed down onto the bed by firm, yet gentle hands. Panic rose at the thought of being captured and he tensed, preparing to lash out at his captors.
“Calm down, Duo. You’re safe.”
Duo froze at Heero’s familiar voice and settled back into the bed, blinking rapidly to clear his muddled sight, separating the faces Duo offered a tentative smile to reassure his friends. They smiled in return, unnerving Duo even more. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he slung his feet off the bed and climbed to his feet. Another wave of pain and dizziness hit him, causing the braided boy to fall back onto the bed. Instead of reacting like they would have normally, very calm and reserved, they all rushed about, almost like they were panicked. Duo watched as Quatre and Zechs left the room quickly, Trowa disappeared into the bathroom and Wufei, Heero, and Trieze checked his pulse, eyes, and injuries. Quatre returned with some little white pills, Zechs with a glass of cold water, and Trowa came back with the first-aid kit.
Overwhelmed, Duo sat on the bed like a deer in headlights as he was re-bandaged, informed that he had a slight concussion as well as other injuries, and had the pills shoved into his mouth, while being urged to drink the water. Pushing the pills into his cheek, he swallowed some water and gave everyone a thumbs-up and a crooked smile. Lying back, he closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, counting the different foot-steps until everyone was gone.
Carefully opening one violet eye, Duo glanced around the room, making sure that everyone was gone. Silently climbing out of bed, he spit the pills into his hand and hid them in a crack in a corner of the window-sill, already having recognized them as pain pills. Booting up the laptop that was resting on the desk, Duo contacted Professor G, even though asking for his help was degrading, describing the odd behavior, the machines he’d seen at the warehouse, some of the names of the medicines he remembered that Sally had purchased, and asked him if he had any idea what was up with the other pilots and their two ‘rivals’. G responded that he didn’t have a clue what was wrong but he’d contact the other doctors and find out.
‘Some genius,’ Duo thought, asking if G had any other suggestions. The mushroom-haired doctor suggested that the pilot bring the others in to him and the other doctors. Frowning, Duo slowly typed an affirmative, unable to think of anyone else who would be able to either know or be able to get a hold of the knowledge that he would need to fix the others and could be trusted, especially since Sally was a traitor. Now the only new problem was how the hell did he get all of them to go see the mad five, especially Treize and Zechs? Stretching slightly, Duo decided he needed to shower, after that, whatever happened, happened. He’d get them all there even if he had to knock them unconscious and drag them there by their toe nails.
-------------------
Actually getting the guys to the location that the doctors had specified was easier than Duo expected. After his shower, he had casually suggested that they all go visit the doctors. No one had disagreed with him, in fact, they followed him when he asked them to come with when it was time to leave. The ride over to the doctors was not at all silent, and surprisingly Duo wasn’t the only one talking. Whenever Duo spoke to someone, they answered.
He found out that Quatre actually hated the pink shirt he wore, but he wore it because his older sisters used to make him wear them to embarrass him and it became a habit and he also hated being the youngest plus a boy because having 29 sisters didn’t allow him much privacy. He also adored coffee, but he wouldn’t drink it because it was torture to know that after the war he wouldn’t be able to get any and drinking it now would make his cravings worse. Trowa, who was usually so quiet, actually talked when he thought he had something important to add to the conversation plus the bangs * were * natural and he didn’t use any gel. His favorite animals were the lions, big surprise, and his favorite food was cotton candy. Wufei, justice and honor aside, was a pretty cool cat with an odd sense of humor and a quick tongue with the knowledge to back it up. He once had a wife from an arranged marriage, Marian, turns out he actually liked her and the anti-woman attitude was only because no woman would ever be able to compare to her, so why even date one? Treize and Zechs, although recently enemies used to be, not only best friends, but also lovers and they still wanted to be. Treize had a passion for gardening and was pursuing the war to make it so horrible that humans would think more than twice before starting another one. Zechs was related to Relena and thought her a spoiled brat that needed more than one good spanking. He wore the mask because it represented that he couldn’t be himself during the war because it would kill that part of him; it also was a reminder of his past. Heero turned out to be the one that polished off the chocolate in the houses. Not only did he have a huge sweet-tooth, he actually enjoyed baking the treats as well. He also abhorred Relena, and the only reason he ever saved her was for peace, otherwise he’d have eliminated her a long time ago.
Pulling up to the large house that bore the address he was given, leading the others inside. He was met by the doctors and led to the basement, where they entered a secret lab from behind the freezer. Duo paced the length of the room, keeping a careful eye on everything while trying to burn off nervous energy. Test after test was run and as the afternoon began to fade away, Duo’s pacing turned into leg bouncing, as he tried to sit still according to G’s orders after he had annoyed the doctors to the point of J threatening to sedate him and ship him back to the warehouse.
Finally, he left to check the status of the house. After checking all the windows and doors to be sure they were locked, Duo closed the few shades that were open over the windows and spent time going in each room to see what was where, just in case. Looking out the attic window, Duo noticed his jeep was still parked in front of the garage. Deciding it didn’t matter, he walked back down to the lab where the doctors were arguing over something.
“What’s wrong?” Duo asked, walking up to the doctors, after checking on the guys.
“Well, you see, Duo, it’s like this,” G started. Duo could tell by the way he was avoiding the point that G was upset over whatever he was trying to say.
“C’mon G, just tell me what’s up.”
“Their minds have been tampered with,” he explained, glancing to where the pilots were sitting.
“In English?” Duo thought he knew what was being said but had to make certain he was thinking the same thing as they were telling him.
“They’ve been brainwashed, you idiot!” J snapped impatiently.
“Brainwashed?”
“Yes, an experimental, quite untested and very dangerous technique, more like a theory or idea than an actual experiment, that has not even come close to being even fully thought out by the scientific community.” H elaborated.
“What happened to them then?” Duo asked, as the color slowly faded from his face. “Why do they listen to me and why are they acting like they are?”
“It seems that you somehow disrupted their programming and now they think you are the, to put it in simple terms, center of their universe.” G said.
“Huh?” Duo responded intelligently, his knees beginning to feel like jelly.
“They think you are their god, their ruler, their owner, their lives, whatever you want to call it, you are it.” J growled. Shocked beyond comprehension, Duo fell to the floor, completely unconscious, in a dead faint. The doctors lean over him, not really that disturbed by the gundam pilot on the floor.
“Zero-Two? Maxwell? Duo?”
“Well, I think he took it quite well.” S admitted. “It’s not everyday that one learns that your friends and enemies think you are everything in the world to them.”
Shaking their heads, the other doctors walked away, leaving Duo to wake from his ‘sleep’.
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