Part 2

 

An hour later Pocky and Rocky are still on a walk that they decided to take to give their bishomon some privacy.  Pocky seems a bit down, kicking a stone along the path as she walks in the squishy mud.  She is worried about Duo, his new-found relationship with this girl’s Heero may really complicate things for them in the future.  Pocky thinks for a few moments.  Who is this girl anyway?  I’ve never actually met her until today, and she seems… nice.  I’m not the kind of person to go around disliking anybody, but there is something strange about her.  Where did she come from?  Is there another village within a day’s walk of here?  She checks her map.  Nope, no mention of any village for at least eighty miles, which means she couldn’t have set out today.  And I’d know if she was from my village, gossiping is the thing-to-do there.  Pocky is confused.  Does this mean she lied to me?  No, I don’t think so.  Maybe she was underexaggerating… is that a word?  Maybe she had something happen to her and she was brought here?  Oh dear… so much I wanna know!  But, how do I ask?  She looks out across the landscape around her, oblivious….

 

Rocky walks along thinking about Heero, and how funny it is to see him liking the Duo so much.  She is totally oblivious to Pocky’s brooding, and seems to be lost in her own thoughts.  A few minutes later she darts her eyes around, as if startled.  After taking a good look around, she goes back to thinking.

 

*time passes*

 

Heero and Duo lay side-by-side on the soft grass, both are very tired.  It’s dark out and the stars twinkle softly above them.  They have been laying there for a while, their young bodies not used to this sort of thing.  Heero realizes it first, and sits up.

 

Heero:  *looks around confused*  Where Rocky?

 

Duo:  *sitting up also*  Pocky?

 

Worried looks cross the bishomon’s faces as they realize that their trainers have been gone far too long to just be taking a walk.

 

Duo:  We go look?

 

Heero:  *nodding* Uh huh.

 

So the two boys go out to find their trainers.  They are both very worried because it isn’t like their respective trainers to just disappear for hours.  The ground has been getting mushy as they go, and they soon find recent footprints in the mud.  One set is about the size of a girl’s 11 shoe, the other is somewhat smaller.  Heero and Duo immediately recognize the shoe sizes of their trainers and decide to follow them.  After about an hour of walking, they come to a place where many more footprints seem to circle the ones that they’re following, which abruptly end in a great mashing of mud.

 

Heero: Oh no…

 

Duo: What happened to Pocky?

 

Heero: *shaking his head* Somet’ing bad…

 

Duo: *upset* Pocky… no… *closes his eyes*

 

Heero: *looking across the grass at a distant object* What that?

 

Duo is too upset to care about what Heero sees for a few moments.  He has never been separated from Pocky for more than a couple hours and he just now realizes how attached to her he really is.  He wipes his eyes and looks up.  He can see a structure of some kind on the horizon, like a big building.  The two silently communicate to each other before they set out in that direction, readying their weapons.

 

@xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::>

 

Pocky: Ah!  Let me go!

 

The big strong man that is carrying Pocky over his shoulder has his hands full trying to keep her there.  She is screaming in his ear and kicking and hitting with everything she has.  She doesn’t know where Rocky is.  Considering the amount of people necessary to drag someone the size of her to someplace that she doesn’t want to go, she isn’t at all surprised.  Pocky is also not happy at all at being dragged around so easily.  Why are these guys kidnapping us?  What use can we possibly be?  Pocky is too angry and upset and way too frantic to reason out any theories at the moment.

 

The five other men who stayed to corral the other girl soon find out that they wish they hadn’t.  She is fighting like a cornered animal, and they can’t get the upper hand.  For at least an hour she has held them off, fighting with everything she can muster in an instant.  They have her surrounded, but that doesn’t help them.  Finally, she takes a step forward, then looses her footing in the mud and falls down.  The men are on top of her in a second, and they quickly knock her unconscious.

 

The big man that had carried Pocky to this big building had dropped her in this dark room all by herself.  She doesn’t know where she is, what’s in the room, or what can do about it.  She feels around, and touches a wall.  It’s really cold, and it feels like concrete.  She turns to her left and follows the wall, dragging the tips of her fingers on her right hand along it.  After a few feet she bumps her head on another concrete wall that seems to be perpendicular to the first.  She turns to her left again, that being the only way she can turn, and continues dragging her fingers along the new wall.  After about three feet her fingers move across what feels like a metal door with no handle (obviously).  She makes note of it and continues mapping out the edges of the room.  She gets all the way around, now sure that she’s in a rectangular room with a door with no handle.  And she can’t see a thing, which succeeds in only making it worse.

 

Pocky takes this time to reflect on the recent events.  Oi… I’m somewhere where I don’t know where I am, and it’s really cold in here.  Where is Rocky?  Is she kidnapped just like me, or was she behind all of this?  That could explain a lot if she was behind this.  It would explain the holes in her story, and also the weird feeling I got when I first met her.  But what if she’s not behind this?  Who knows what they could be doing to her.  Oh… Pocky… you must stop worrying so much.  Think about what you’re gonna do next.  Um… what am I gonna do next?  Well… I suppose “Wait” would be the thing to do for the moment.  Pocky slumps down against the cold wall exhausted, and wanting to be in her bed at home so badly.  She shivers and waits, waits until it’s her turn to find out what’s going on.

 

@xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::>

 

Rocky wakes up looking at lights hanging down from above.  So she concludes that she’s lying down staring up at the ceiling.  The bad thing is that her body isn’t responding to her messages to move.  It’s perceiving all five senses, just not moving.  She can’t talk either.  Finally she hears voices coming from next to her but out of her line of sight.

 

Voice #1:  So, this is it, eh?

 

Voice #2:  Yep, the other one’s in confinement.

 

Voice #1:  Good… leave her there for now… but make sure she is fed… I need her healthy.  And this one…

 

Rocky sees an ugly mustached face over her.  She guesses he’s some sort of scientist, and the one who spoke first.  Another comes up after him, his face long and thin, and without hair.  She’s sure now that they’re looking at her as she might a hurt squirrel.  This makes her very uneasy.

 

Scientist #1:  How hard was it to capture?

 

Scientist #2:  Not that difficult, but the men did say it put up a good fight, Nelson.

 

Nelson:  Well… we shall have to put it aside for now… I want to test the girl.

 

Scientist #2:  Where do you think?  It could escape, it’s quite capable of-

 

Nelson:  Look!  It’s awake!

 

Rocky does not like being referred to as “it”.  And she also doesn’t like being treated like some science experiment either.  Unfortunately, there is nothing she can do about it at the moment.  She makes dead sure to not alter her breathing pattern or heart rate so that they can’t detect any kind of hostility or dangerousness.  Nelson looks alarmed to see her looking up at him, but the other man is relaxed.

 

Scientist #2:  It’s okay… I have it paralyzed right now… it won’t wear off until well into tomorrow.  It can’t even move.

 

Nelson:  *relaxing*  Oh… that’s a relief… do you think it can understand us?

 

Scientist #2:  *thinks*  Probably not, or it would have reacted when we referred to the girl it was with, or to us putting it away.  The breathing, brain waves, heart rate… all constant.

 

Nelson:  Okay… put it in Section A, high security.  When we’ve finished with the girl I want to try a few things on it.

 

Rocky’s sight dims out along with her other senses.  The blackness that follows chills her to the bone.

 

@xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::>

 

Heero smashes the wooden door open and leaps inside, his gun drawn.  Duo follows shortly after, a bit less tense, and much more emotional.  Duo holds his gun tightly, He was going to get Pocky back, even if it killed him.  Heero glances at Duo, then continues down the dark hallway.  Duo readies himself and then follows after Heero.

 

A few feet down the hallway the two boys pass a metal door.  Duo freezes as he hears quiet sniffling and sobbing coming from the other side.  Heero pauses also, straining to identify the sounds.  Just as the boys divert their attention, gunfire erupts down the hallway.  Heero instinctively fires his gun towards the origin of the bullets before going down with a wound in the right shoulder.  Duo instinctively dives forward, faking injury himself.  After the initial spray of bullets passes and no more follow, Duo dares a glance up the hallway.  The crumpled form of a dead security guard lays no more than thirty feet down the hallway.  He can see a key-ring hanging from his belt.  His thoughts go back to the doorway, he is sure that Pocky is on the other side of that door.  He gets up and walks quickly and quietly up to the body.  He keeps his eyes off the blood and takes the key-ring back to the door.  As he tries to figure out which key opens the door, he glances at Heero, still lying on the floor.  He is grimacing in pain, but he is somehow managing to rip off a piece of his shirt and tie it around the wound in his shoulder.  Duo looks impressed and picks a key at random.  He tries the door, and it opens before him, revealing a very dark room with his trainer Pocky slumped in one of the back corners.  He rushes in and crouches next to her, trying to wake her up as quietly as possible.  Her eyes blink open and she looks up at him.  He puts a finger to his lips and she nods slowly, understanding the gesture.  He stands her up and puts her arm around his shoulder, supporting her partially.  They make their way across the room and out the door, passing by Heero who was on his feet standing guard, his gun in his left hand.  They glance back down the hallway to make sure it’s clear, then head out the way they had come.

 

Duo supports Pocky all the way back to their camp.  They noticed that the ground had hardened up much and that their previous tracks in the mud were gone.  Duo was a bit uneasy about that, until he saw a couple of Reccas in the bushes off the path holding pine branches.  When they arrived at their camp Heero said that he would stay and watch after Pocky and their gear (luckily neither girl had brought anything with them on their walk).  Duo said he was going back for Rocky, he said he owed it to Heero who he said had taken a bullet for him and saved Pocky.

 

Duo re-entered the compound from the same entrance, with two guns poised to attack.  He noticed the body was still there, and he guessed that it wouldn’t be discovered until morning.  He peeked around the first corner in the hallway, noting the two armed guards who stood guarding a hallway that had a red letter “A” painted on a sign next to it.  He moved away from the corner to think of a plan.  After a few minutes of deliberation, Duo makes his move.  He jumps out into the middle of the hallway, shouting to get the guard’s attention.

 

Duo:  Hey!  What’cha doin’ punks?

 

Guards:  Is that a bishomon?  Shoot it!

 

As the guards move to fire, Duo jumps back around the corner of the wall.  He counts to three, then jumps out of hiding and kills one of the guards.  After dodging the return fire, Duo rolls back into hiding and quickly slides the clip out of his gun.  He then pulls back on the top of the gun, as if loading it, but no bullet is in the chamber.  Then he slides the clip back in, and prepares for his next trick.  He pops out from the corner again, and fires his gun, and makes a horrified face when no bullet fires.  The guard lowers his guard and stands about thirty feet away from Duo.

 

Guard:  Can’t keep track of ammo can you, punk?

 

Just at the right moment, when the guard was least expecting it, Duo fired.  One shot, through the heart.  The guard fell to his knees in shock, then toppled over.  Duo takes half a second to recover before hurrying down to the area marked, “Section A”.

 

@xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::>

 

Pocky is very glad to feel the warmth of the campfire after her stay in that awful room.  Heero had sat across from her, tending to his shoulder.  Several times earlier he had already refused her help, so she just watches him curiously.  Every-so-often he picks his head up and looks around the camp.  After he has a good look, he puts his head back down on top of his knees that he has pressed up against his chest in a very pitiful way.  She knows what he’s thinking about, and wants to talk to him about it.

 

Pocky: So… uh Heero… where’d you learn how to do that stuff?

 

Heero: *looking up* Huh?  What stuff?

 

Pocky: *blinking cutely* You know… like your shoulder.

 

Heero: *looking down* I always knew how.

 

Pocky: *nodding slowly* You excited?  I mean… this is your first night out of your village.  I was when I first started.

 

Heero: *looking away down the road* No.

 

Pocky could take the hint when somebody really didn’t want to be talked to, so she let him be.  She looked dreamily down the road and wondered if Rocky and Duo were okay.

 

@xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::>

 

At that same moment, Duo is busy checking out “Section A”.  He wonders about the total laxness of security in this place, and why he had gotten in so easily.  All around him is just stacks and stacks of boxes.  He walks on for a while, peering into boxes within his reach and finding nothing of interest.  Just as he is about to turn back, he hears a noise.  It sounds like the clinking of chains.  And after he rounds a corner of boxes, Duo freezes in terror.

 

Tama-chan no Paato^^

 

 

            The girl narrowed her eyes as she stared at the building. “So. They ignored my warning. That was foolish of them, wasn’t it?”

 

            In the darkness, a pair of amethyst eyes gleamed as they looked up at her. She smiled down at the owner of the eyes, then turned back to the building. “I suppose I’ll have to get involved this time.” She sighed. “What a bother.” Hefting her force pike, she started forward from her hiding place in the shadows.*

 

*a force pike is a nifty SW weapon-it’s a long pike with a vibro-blade at the end that can cut through stone ^^.

 

            A soft flickering of light caught her attention. There was a small clearing up ahead, and she could see two figures hunched despondently around a fire. One looked to be a teenage girl, and the other...a Heero bishomon, probably.

 

            She stared for a moment, wondering what they could be doing so close to the building, and felt an insistent tugging on her pant leg. She glanced down, meeting that anxious amethyst regard. “Wakatta, wakatta. Ikuzo” 

           

            She started toward the building.

 

^^^^^^^^^^

 

            Heero jerked his head up suddenly, and Pocky nearly jumped out of her skin. “Don’t do that!” she yelped. Heero looked abashed. “Sorry.” He turned back to peer out into the forest. “Saw something.”

 

            Pocky squinted into the trees, then looked down the road. “It was probably just an animal or something. Nothing to worry about.” She knew she sounded unsure, and she tried to shake off her fears. She didn’t want to think about everything that had happened, didn’t want to think about Duo, all alone in there...

 

            She shook herself. This wasn’t helping. She stood up with a determined look on her face. “Yoshi! Heero, we’re going after them.”

 

            Heero stared at her. “How?” he asked. “We not know where they are.”

 

            Pocky’s look of determination turned to one of stubbornness. “Well, we’ll just have to look. I’m not abandoning Duo, and I know you want to find Rocky.” She shook her fist at the sky. “Gambatte!”

 

            Heero sweatdropped.

 

            Pocky marched back toward the building, feeling better now that she was doing something. Heero followed in her wake. She reached the edge of the woods and hesitated. The building loomed up before her, somehow managing to look even more foreboding. She braced herself, then stepped forward. Barred windows stared down at her.

 

            Heero stepped past her, his eyes flicking systematically over the building. Pocky wondered again where he had learned things like that. It sorta gave her the creeps.

 

            “There,” said Heero shortly, startling Pocky out of her thoughts. He pointed to a small door, almost hidden in the shadows. “We go in there.” This time he took the lead, and Pocky followed behind, glancing nervously around. Suddenly Heero halted, and Pocky had to perform several amazing feats of arm-waving acrobatics to keep from slamming into him. She glared reproachfully at him, but he was staring intently ahead. “Feel something,” he said.

 

            “What is it?” Pocky again tried to peer into the darkness, silently cursing her lack of night vision.

 

            “Strange feel. Another bishomon.”

 

            “Is it Duo?” Pocky asked excitedly. Hope flared up inside her, only to be crushed as Heero replied, “No. Another.”

 

            Pocky sighed. “Oh well.” Heero started walking again, and Pocky followed him up to the small door. She watched as Heero tested the knob, and frowned in surprise when it proved to be unlocked. “This is too easy.”

 

            Heero said nothing. He opened the door and stepped through, pulling a gun from...somewhere. Pocky had a feeling that she just didn’t want to know. They both crept through the dark room, which appeared to be some sort of storage area, filled with boxes. Chains were strewn everywhere, and Pocky had to dodge several as she followed the shorter Heero. Unfortunately, she was concentrating so hard on not bumping in to the ones hanging above her that she didn’t see the one that snaked across the ground in front of her. It caught her across the foot, and she bit back a cry of dismay as it rattled loudly. Both she and Heero froze as they heard footsteps, coming closer...

 

^^^^^^^^^^

 

            Duo’s terror quickly faded as the shadow forms resolved themselves Heero and Pocky. “Heero!” He leaped forward to embrace the other bishomon, carefully avoiding his injured shoulder. A rare smile flickered across Heero’s features, and he wrapped his arms around Duo. “Aa,” he replied. He looked up. “Where Rocky?”

 

            Duo’s face crumpled. “Didn’t find her.”

 

            Heero scowled into the darkness. “If they hurt, I kill.” Duo snuggled closer to him. “Don’t worry, we find her for sure.”

 

            “Ara, what’s this?” A girl’s amused voice rippled out from the shadows. Pocky, Heero, and Duo all spun around, startled. Heero leveled his gun in the direction the voice had come from.

 

            Two pairs of eyes glowed in the shadows. The higher pair were blue, and the lower pair gleamed violet. The owner of the blue eyes stepped forward, revealing a girl in an open, knee-length, navy blue vest and loose black pants. Her long, sleeveless beige shirt had a mandarin collar, and her arms were covered almost entirely by tight beige gloves that left only her shoulders and fingertips bare. Straight, dark brown hair fell just past her shoulders. She was carrying a metal pike of some sort over her shoulder.

 

            “Da...dare?” Pocky squeaked nervously. She edged behind Heero.

 

            “Daijoubu, daijoubu. My name is Tamanegi. May I ask what you’re planning to do?”

 

            Heero still hadn’t lowered his gun. “What you want?”

 

            Tamanegi held up her hand, palm out. “Calm down. I have no intentions of harming you. I simply came here to destroy this place.”

 

            Pocky rolled her eyes. “Oh. Is that all. You make it sound so easy.”

 

            Tamanegi sweatdropped. “Ano...”

 

            “Look,” said Pocky. “My friend is in here somewhere, so you’re gonna hafta wait on the whole destruction thing until we find her. On second thought,” she said, “why don’t you come with us? You can help us find Rocky, and then you can destroy the place. Deal? Heero, put the gun down.”

 

            Heero still looked suspicious. “Don’t trust her.” He shifted his aim. “Don’t trust him.”

 

            Startled, Pocky glanced down...and gasped with surprise. Standing next to and slightly behind Tamanegi was an AD Xellos bishomon. “Whoa!” she cried. “Those are really rare!” The Xellos blinked up at her.

 

            Tamanegi glanced behind her. “So, you finally decided to show yourself,” she said affectionately. The Xellos nodded, staring curiously at the three strangers. Or at least, appearing to. His eyes were shut.

 

            “And here I was wondering how you were going to destroy the place,” Pocky said, impressed. Xellos bishomon were said to be really powerful.

 

            Tamanegi opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. Her eyes narrowed. Simultaneously, Heero swung his gun around to point in the other direction. Pocky hid behind him again, and Duo joined her. Xellos stepped up beside Tamanegi, his eyes open again.

 

            Slow, deliberate footsteps sounded nearby. “Why, Tamanegi-san. Have you brought friends?” The disembodied male voice was courteous, but there was an undercurrent of sarcastic amusement.

 

            “Why, Shima-san,” echoed Tamanegi. “How nice to...hear you again.” She sounded tense.

 

            Pocky, Duo, and Heero looked at each other. “I think,” said Pocky, “that we’re in trouble.”