Gundam Wing: Genesis Part 9
Duo and Heero bowed to each other in a show of respect as they faced off across the mats. Howard was still an hour out, and they had decided that they both needed a break and a chance to work off some of their stress.
Heero immediately took the offensive, firing off multiple kicks and punches at his opponent in such quick succession that Duo would have no choice but to retreat. He was aware of it immediately, though- for some reason, the braided man was barely even paying attention to the mock combat, barely bothering to defend himself...
The Japanese pilot executed a quick roll and caught his partner tightly in his arms. Duo didn't even struggle. He quickly turned the American to face him, staring into his face with concerned eyes. "You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"
Duo just stared back at him silently, his eyes glinting sadly. He finally broke his silence. "You know, it was pretend, but I can't help thinking that there must have been something real to it. I did enjoy the killing, at some sick, deep level. You think?"
Heero quickly seated them both. "Duo, it was a crazy time, and crazy things happened. Think about it- we were fifteen! Even Quatre went nuts for a while- he seriously lost it, and almost lost it today, too."
"That doesn't change the fact that there's something in me that liked it."
Heero almost growled, "We are not going through this again, Duo! I don't care what you're trying to make yourself believe! I know you and you are not a monster! You are the man I fell in love with!" He punctuated the statement with a searing kiss.
Heero pulled back with smouldering eyes as his arms tightened around Duo. He planted a trail of kisses down the other man's jawline, whispering in between kisses, "I think... you were the one who showed me that humans are flawed. Even me, even you." He sucked Duo's lower lip into his mouth, biting down gently, just enough to sensitize the flesh before releasing it. "Neither of us are angels, and it's a good thing," he continued, tracing Duo's lip with his tongue, "because I couldn't do what I want to do to you to an angel."
Muscles flexed and Duo let out a small yelp of surprise as he was lifted from his feet in a show of pure strength. Heero set the other man down on a nearby table, nudging Duo's legs apart so he could stand between them. The long-haired young man scooted forward, and both moaned as the bulges in their pants rubbed against each other. "Heero..."
"Shh," the other chided gently, one finger pressing against Duo's lips. "Your punishment... for the things you said earlier..." He traced Duo's lips with the tip of his finger. "You will not make a sound now until I say you can. It begins now."
Heero smiled into Duo's wide violet eyes before flexing his hands on the American's butt- they rubbed against each other again, and Heero groaned out loud, "God, Duo..." The long-haired young man bit his lip to keep from saying anything.
Heero was in no mood to take things slowly- he grabbed hold of Duo's t-shirt at the collar with both hands and simply tore it form the other man's body, running his hands possessively over the uncovered flesh before following them with his lips and tongue.
Duo's hands fisted at his sides as he struggled to be silent- Heero was pushing him backwards until he was lying back on the table, his breath coming out in ragged gasps as his lover sucked on one hypersensitive nipple and then the other. His hands flew to Heero's neck as teeth closed over a nipple and pulled gently-
Heero lifted his lover by the hips and carried him to their bed, setting the other man down gently before settling on top of him and claiming a kiss. He pulled back with a smile. "Since you were such a bad boy, I suppose I need to punish you. Now what shall I do..."
He felt a sense of elation as Duo's eyes lit with an unholy light, though he remained silent. Heero grabbed hold of the end of Duo's braid and stroked it gently. "Ah yes- there is always this." Duo reached to touch him, but Heero evaded the American's touch. "Oh no- another rule- I do the touching here, not you." He released the braid and stepped back to be certain that Duo could see all of him as he stripped off his clothes.
Duo's eyes followed him hungrily as he stalked forward again and began kissing a trail down his torso. Heero quickly yanked Duo's jeans and boxers off as he continued to kiss his way down the long-haired man's body and began stroking himself in anticipation. He stopped centimeters away from the other man's hardened erection.
Heero could have almost laughed at the open longing in Duo's eyes, accompanied a gleam of uncertainty that seemed to say that Duo knew that he was in for it. The Japanese reached for Duo's braid once again as he sat up, releasing it from its elastic. "This can touch me, you see..." He began stroking himself again, this time with Duo's luxurious hair in his hand. "Damn- it feels good, so good... Don't you think?"
Duo's eyes flew wide open in shocked pleasure as Heero's fist closed over him and began pumping him and stroking him with his own hair- he bucked into that teasing hand as he swallowed a cry.
He never noticed Heero reaching for the tube of lubricant they kept next to the bed, but he certainly noticed as a slick finger pushed into him, followed by a second shortly afterwards. He smothered his moans with both hands- it felt so good-
Heero could not remember ever seeing Duo look quite as sexy as at that moment- the long-haired pilot was completely a creature of his senses, his one thought being surviving the divine torture of Heero's touch without being able to either reciprocate or vocally express how he was feeling. Being stroked inside and out...
Heero entered his lover gently, slowly sinking into him inch by glorious inch as he felt the body beneath him shuddering with the effort of remaining silent. He moaned as he sank in all the way. "I love you, baby. I love you..."
He took mercy on Duo and claimed his lips in a hot kiss as he began to thrust, gently, at first, and then gradually faster and deeper. Encased in Duo's velvet insides, surrounded by pulsating heat and immersed in the heady scents of Duo and sex... He stroked his lover roughly, knowing how close both of them were.
Duo was adrift in sensation. Heero inside of him and Heero outside, stroking and kissing, loving... And whispering in his ear as he gave a hard thrust, penetrating him completely with one masterful stroke, "I want to hear you scream my name as you come. Come for me..."
Duo's whole body reacted to those words. "Heero! God- yes! Heero..." All he could feel was mind-numbing ecstasy, like thunder sounding in his mind and echoing in every molecule in his body, his seed pumping onto Heero's hand even as the other man moaned his name and came deep inside of him. His heart racing wildly and his body thrumming with electric love as Heero collapsed onto him.
He wasn't sure yet if he was allowed to talk freely. Duo cradled the other man in his arms as he struggled to breathe deeply, to regain his control...
Heero propped himself up on one shaky arm and stared down into his beloved's face. He traced the line of Duo's pert nose with a fingertip. "I love hearing you call my name like that- I love this feeling..." he moved slightly inside of his lover, making the other bite his lip yet again to keep from moaning.
Heero laughed. "And you're going to bit that lip open if I don't let you speak again. You have my permission to talk!"
Duo's head lolled back onto the pillow. "Love you..."
Heero nuzzled his lover's neck as he pulled the blankets around them. "Is that all you have to say?"
Duo chuckled. "Took my breath away..."
~*~
Quatre felt remarkably groggy. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up- his head was still spinning slightly as he tried to get his bearings...
"Welcome back, Cat." He turned towards Trowa's voice- the other man was sitting slightly back from him, as though expecting something to happen...
As his mind cleared, he could understand why.
Quatre felt his eyes pooling with tears. "I'm sorry, Trowa! So sorry- I lost it again, and then something happened..."
The green-eyed man scooted closer. "Wufei sedated you before anyone could get hurt."
The blond simply nodded. Allah- I might have blown the whole mission by pulling that! Gotten all of us killed... "Are... is everyone okay?"
Trowa nodded. "For the most part- we caught one man, and Duo and I interrogated him. The guy you met back at the palace. Remember?"
Quatre's eyes glinted. "Did he tell you who the leak is?" He scooted to the edge of the bed.
Trowa moved back to give his lover some room. "No- he doesn't know. Dumoulin apparently didn't tell him."
Quatre stood and stretched before turning back to Trowa. "Are you sure? Maybe you just weren't persuasive enough."
The green-eyed man stood quickly, his eyes snapping anger. He had seen how Duo looked after that awful scene- he had felt sick, himself! "Tell that to Duo in another five months when he still has nightmares over what he had to do in there! How dare you, Quatre?!"
The blond took a step back. "Trowa..."
"No, you listen to me!" Trowa yelled. He backed off a little and tried to get his emotions under control. "You might not like what we've got, but that's just the way it is!"
Quatre bowed his head, the silence assaulting his ears, following the unusual burst from his lover. "I'm sorry- I need to learn better control. I'm sorry, Trowa."
Long arms wrapped around him, and Quatre buried his face in Trowa's chest. "It's a good thing Heero and Duo found her- I might have gotten you and me both killed if I had been there."
"You scared me, Cat," Trowa murmured. "I don't like seeing you like that."
The blond nodded before stepping back and schooling his features into business mode. "So... what's been happening around here?"
Trowa moved back to his seat and relaxed into it. "Dumoulin has unveiled her suits- she attacked and took out San Francisco and all the Preventers staged from there."
"Damn it!" Quatre clenched his fists. "When? How long ago?"
Trowa remained impassive. "Four hours. But a lot has happened since then."
Quatre took in his lover's calm demeanour and forced himself to echo it. "I'm listening."
Trowa continued, "Duo talked with Une, while Heero went down to the Palace and talked with Relena- we've given out two stories as to our readiness and plans. Then the interrogation..." Trowa shuddered. "It was awful, Quatre! Duo not only managed to convince this Sirius that he was absolutely crazy and dangerous, but scared him so bad with it that the man almost cried when I suggested bringing Duo back in again."
"What did he tell you?"
Trowa's eyes glinted. "We've got a locator frequency for Dumoulin now- as soon as we can triangulate the signal, we should be able to track her from her main base- she's been holed up in Costa Rica- can you imagine? We've got almost everything we could ask for- battalion numbers and specs, pilot readiness reports, command codes, the works."
"And Dumoulin? What about her?" Quatre asked in a low voice.
Trowa shook his head. "She's hurt- we know that much. But any more than that..." He shrugged. "She's ready to fight, Cat."
The blond nodded. "When can Howard be here with our suits?"
Trowa gave him a blank stare, followed by a short laugh. "I can't believe I forgot that! Um- yeah, Wufei went to meet Howard's ship and guide them in on full stealth. They should be on the ground in about an hour."
Quatre smiled. "Good- I'll feel much more in control with Sandrock around."
~*~
Heero watched his koi brush his hair and fidgeted.
Watching in the mirror, Duo didn't miss the strange behaviour on his lover's part. He frowned as he began plaiting the long mass of hair, hands moving mechanically as his eyes tracked the number of times Heero bit his lip or wrung his hands. He tied the braid off and turned with a serious look. "Okay- what's bothering you?"
Heero felt nervous under that violet stare- he had to tell Duo about why they had been in that wing, and not the other pair, but... He's gonna be pissed, very pissed, but it will only be worse if I wait. He deserves to know... He took a deep breath. "Duo, it's about the mission."
An eyebrow arched gracefully as the American crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh? Spit it out, Heero."
Here goes nothing! "Trowa and I... we discussed it, and we knew where she was. Ahead of time."
Duo nodded in understanding, his eyes tracking off to Heero's left. "So... in other words, we two went in so that Quatre would be as far away from the bitch as possible. Have I got that right?"
"Hai."
"And you nearly got your ass killed for that."
Heero winced at the choice of words. "I knew you were there."
Duo gave a bitter little laugh. "If I had been even two seconds later, Heero..." He dropped his face into his hands and took a deep breath. He continued without looking up. "Look, I'm not going to tell you it's okay, 'cause it's not. I do understand, though."
His eyes swung up to meet Heero's. "It was a dumb risk to take, Heero, even dumber not to tell me so I could have been prepared. I don't care if you didn't want Quatre to know- I can understand that, but you should have told me."
Heero bowed his head. "I'm sorry. You're right."
Two fingers pushed his chin up until he was looking into his lover's still serious eyes. "I'll forgive you this time, but you do this again and I'll beat it out of your goddamn ass. Are we agreed?"
"I'll even let you do it," Heero replied, a smirk spreading over his face.
Duo's eyes sparked momentarily as he poked his lover in the side with his free hand. "Cheeky bastard!" He practically danced away and to the door. "Briefing room in five, Heero. Don't forget!"
As the door closed behind Duo Maxwell, all Heero could do was to shake his head and smile.
~*~
Howard watched with a growing sense of glee as Wufei took in the sight of the five Gundams. The look... was priceless!
Wufei openly gawked before turning to face the old man at his side. "They're... they're fantastic!"
Howard grinned. "Keys are in the ignition, sir! Just try to return them in one piece."
Wufei snorted. "Oh, I fully intend to. Just make sure you remind Yuy of that!"
Howard chose to ignore that comment. "Where to now, Preventer Chang?"
The Chinese man smiled. "Stealth course to our base, Howard. The Sanc Kingdom."
~*~
Madeleine laughed at the image on her viewscreen. "He actually said that? I'm really supposed to believe this..."
"Please, Madeleine, I swear it's true," the woman onscreen pleaded with her. "Why would I lie? You could kill the one thing that makes me want to live..."
The redhead leaned in towards the screen. "You pathetic little fool! You honestly believed that I would let her live? You actually fell for that?"
Tears fell from tragic, red-rimmed eyes. "Please- anything you ask, but don't harm her..."
Madeleine laughed cruelly. "It's too late for that, ma chère." The connection was cut.
The tears slowly ended, and the woman's eyes hardened into steel as she wiped her face one last time. "It's never too late, Madeleine, rest assured of that," she whispered.
~*~
Duo and Quatre were still in awe of the suits they had just seen as the door of the Situation Room was sealed shut. Both men forced their minds to concentrate as the sound of the door closing. This was it.
Quatre looked them all in the eye. "Okay- the plans we make in this room go no further- we cannot tell a soul, is that clear?" He stared long and hard at Sally Po. She nodded to him.
He turned to Duo. "How effective are those shields going to be?"
The brunette chewed his lip as he thought. "They're probably already partially deteriorated, but to really destroy them, we'd have to get them into the mid-atmosphere at the lowest, ergo our dummy stories."
Sally shot him a look. "Dummy stories?"
Duo nodded. "Depending on which dummy they go after, we'll know who the snitch is- Dorothy or Une."
"Lady Une!" She whirled to face the downcast Chinese man at her side. "Fei, why didn't you tell me you were investigating her?"
Wufei looked up with glinting eyes. "We investigated you, too, Sally. We've been looking at everyone- and her past is rocky enough..."
Sally turned on the others. "You honestly think she could be your leak? You are out of your minds!"
"Be that as it may," Quatre said in a slightly raised voice- everyone else stopped talking, "this is no longer a point of discussion- it is done."
Sally took a deep breath. "What were these dummy stories?"
Heero said, "When I met with Relena, I told her that we were going to have to move her and quickly- she and Dorothy are packing right now. The story she was given was that she would be heading for L3 for her own safety. At the same time, Duo told Lady Une that Relena would be transported to L4- to the Winner family holdings there. Either way, the only time when those departing shuttles are truly open to attack is during take-off. In the upper atmosphere."
Sally nodded her understanding. "And where will she truly be going?"
"The Moon," Trowa replied. "It's all been arranged."
"Okay, then what's the plan?"
Quatre's eyes glittered as they all leaned in towards the 3-D holographic display over the table in front of them. "Duo, you will be stowing into shuttle one- the one that's supposed to go to L4. They will probably try to blow it up on you."
He did a close-up on the projected flight path of the shuttle. "You will have fifteen Manguanacs backing you up. No passengers on the shuttle..."
Duo broke in, "Can I pilot it from remote from my cockpit?"
Quatre nodded. "Good idea- there will also be two Preventer shuttles accompanying the flight- do not rely on them for help- they will probably be gone before anyone gets close to you, if they aren't traitors already."
He turned to Wufei and Trowa. "You two are accompanying shuttle two up- towards L3. Same deal, except no Manguanacs. Can you handle it?"
Wufei snorted. "Is this a trick question?"
Everyone smiled.
Quatre finally turned to Heero. "You and I will be on the shuttle that actually has Relena on it, along with twenty more Manguanacs, taking the place of the Preventers in the accompanying shuttles."
Heero's eyes narrowed. "Why so much firepower? I'm sure the others could use more back-up..." his eyes strayed to Duo.
Quatre shook his head. "It shouldn't take them long to figure out they've been duped- they will come after the last shuttle, and outside of the atmosphere, that armour will stop deteriorating."
Sally nodded along. "How about me?"
"None of that, woman!" Wufei growled, before anyone else had a chance to get a word in. "You are not in on this part of the mission!"
She turned on him. "The hell I'm not!"
"Stop it, both of you!" Duo shouted, having seen enough of those two bickering over the past few days to last him a lifetime. His voice sank back to more reasonable levels. "Wufei, why don't you want her in on the mission?"
The Chinese man grunted. "Hn- that should be obvious, Maxwell. She could get hurt."
Heero arched an eyebrow. "And that's different from her Preventer missions... how?"
"Shut the fuck up, Yuy," Wufei growled unreasonably.
Sally sighed. "We might as well tell them, Fei." She looked at them all, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I've got a little Chang growing in me."
Silence.
She was almost worried by it, until the silence broke, almost like a dam collapsing. She watched in no small amusement as Duo launched himself at her to hug her and was restrained by Wufei by the expedient measure of a tug on his braid. Quatre had an arm wrapped around her shoulder, and Trowa as well, beamed at her over the blond's head.
Heero shook Wufei's hand before giving him a small hug. "Congratulations, Chang Wufei."
Duo was finally able to give Sally a more reserved hug. "Congrats! So you're gonna be a mommy!"
She smiled. "Yeah, pretty cool, eh?"
Duo grinned. "You have to name him after me if it's a boy!"
Wufei slapped the braided man on the back of the head, but he was smiling proudly.
Sally's face sobered. "Still, there's no reason why I can't be part of this! You're going to need all the help you can get!"
Quatre looked sad. "Sally, we realize that, but if something went wrong... you could lose the baby."
The woman locked eyes with the Arab. "And if something else went wrong, I could lose Wufei. What's your point?"
It was a contest of wills, and everyone held their breath in the sudden tension. Quatre broke first, and Wufei dropped his head into his hands.
~*~
Wufei was still growling that evening, as everyone met up over coffee to discuss the plans. Une took note of it and moved as far away from him as possible- difficult, considering that they were seated around a round table.
Catherine Bloom embraced her brother shakily. "Trowa! I'm so glad to see you- no one will tell me what's going on, and I know you're part of it..."
He smiled for her indulgently. "Don't worry about me, Cathy- worry about the poor idiot I have to fight tomorrow."
Her eyes widened. "Tomorrow?"
Quatre tapped the table with the end of his pen, getting everyone's attention. "Alright- let's get to the business at hand, people."
Everyone fell silent as the small blond waited for their attention. After a moment to collect his thoughts, he began, "I have a few things to say, most of which you've probably already heard. Some of it might prove new to you, though, so I need everyone's undivided attention."
He stared down at his hands for a moment. "As you all already know, the evacuation is set for tomorrow morning. We've already gone over all those preparations, so I see no need to go over it all again." He looked around to see if anyone objected- no one did. "Since there are no objections, let's move on to the next subject.
"Since the Preventers were taking so long with their search for our mysterious leak, we took it upon ourselves to perform an independent search of our own. You'd be surprised at the results..." He looked up, his eyes glinting dangerously. "According to the results we got, the leak is someone in this room right now."
He pressed a button on the bottom of the table and watched as everyone except the pilots jumped- the doors sealed shut with an electronic whirr and a bump. Quatre gave them a chilling smile. "We're not leaving here until we know who he or she is."
The room went completely still as everyone turned to stare at everyone else. Eyes darted furtively from face to face- the pilots alone knew who was truly under suspicion. Everyone else gulped.
Quatre sat back in his seat. "Is anyone going to make this easy for us?"
His request was met with total silence. It surprised none of them, however, and Quatre turned to Trowa and Duo. "Your show, gentlemen."
The two looked at each other and nodded before Trowa spoke up, "The leak received a phone call two and a half months ago, on the very day that Genesis was approved by the Senate, from Madeleine Dumoulin. Our guess is that she has some way of blackmailing this person into giving her information. Unfortunately, the call was placed and taken on one of the many information phones in the Senate and Presidential complex, in other words, by any number of people from either Chancellor Peacecraft or Commander Une's staff."
Duo added, "Other information leaks since then have led us to believe that the person in question had access to our inner circle of information, thus is one of you. Our prisoner's insights were also helpful- thanks to him, we know that the individual is a she, and that she is very close to the Chancellor. That narrows the field to two persons. Dorothy Catalonia and Lady Une, herself."
Relena's eyes went wide as she turned to face the pale blonde at her side. "Dorothy? No! You wouldn't! I can't..."
Heero placed a restraining hand on her arm from her other side. "Please, Relena, let us finish." She sat back, her bottom lip quivering.
Both Une and Dorothy sat ramrod straight, their faces pale and their eyes cold as ice.
Duo continued, "I don't want you to think that you were singled out, either- we searched everyone who was a possibility, including Sally Po and Catherine Bloom, who are both here, though we shouldn't be keeping someone in Sally's condition up too late..."
Wufei growled again, but several sets of eyes flew to Sally, who tried to look innocent. "What?"
No one said a word, but then again, no one had to, given the blush on Sally's face and the protective way Wufei hovered just next to her. Une's eyes lit with a strange light as she looked on. I wonder if they have any idea how lucky they are...
Dorothy, too, felt something in her moved by the way Wufei stood guard at his girlfriend's side, but she refused to say a word.
Duo cleared his throat and waited until all heads turned back to him. "Do either of you have anything to say, apart from protestations about your innocence? No?" Both women sat still and gave him dark glares.
Trowa leaned his forearms on the table. "We have some questions, then." He turned to Dorothy first. "Dorothy, how did you get your hands on the communication codes and secure links to speak with us?"
She flinched as he called her name, but her voice didn't waver. "I got them from Relena- I was also in the room at all times when she communicated with you, though I was not onscreen."
He nodded to her. "And I suppose it never bothered you that this was a breach of operational security? Not even when you set up the comm codes for Cathy?"
She shook her head. "I took it as a good sign that Relena was finally getting a clue." The woman at her side shifted uncomfortably.
Duo fixed her with an intense stare. "So everything that has happened- you've known about it all, though you admit that you shouldn't have?"
She nodded. "I realize it doesn't help me any, but yes."
Heero turned his stare to Lady Une. "How about you, Une? Who else did you give our comm codes to?"
Her eyes snapped. "I gave them to no one, Yuy!"
He raised an eyebrow. "And tell me- where is Mariemeia?"
Her eyes were clouded with tears. "Sh-she's at school."
Wufei tossed her his cell phone. "Can you verify that for us, please?"
"No. No, I can't."
~*~
The room was completely silent as everyone stared at Lady Une in shock.
She sniffled- the sound was light, but it tore through the room like a shout. They stared at her, horrified, as she finally broke down and cried.
They were silently respectful of her distance, and waited for her tears to subside before Duo gently asked, "Why, Une? Why did you betray us?"
The woman refused to look at anyone- she knew that she would never be able to handle seeing hatred and contempt there, where she'd worked so hard to build trust. Her voice sounded rusty and pained. "Mariemeia... she's a wonderful child. So smart and sweet, just like her father..."
She finally looked up and straight into Sally's eyes. "You're going to be a Mom, but imagine something for a moment. Imagine... you meet the man of your dreams, you fall in love, you try desperately... but you can't there's something wrong with your body... and you can't have children. You'll never be able to."
She blew her nose while everyone waited in silence for her to continue. "So... he says that he understands and he thinks he can find a way- all you'll need is a surrogate to actually carry the child for you, someone who'd care enough to do it..." She blew her nose again. "So you turn to an old friend from school, a bright girl named Leia, who you've known since both of you were in diapers and you ask. She agrees. It's a simple procedure, and you cry in happiness when, three weeks later, the doctor confirms the impossible. Your baby is going to be born."
She broke down completely at this point- Quatre's knuckles were white where he was clenching the table, trying desperately to keep from letting the pain of her emotions overwhelm him.
Une felt herself being pulled against a warm body and she clung to whoever it was, burying her face in a broad chest while she cried. She hugged the figure- yes, her hands brushed the long braid of hair that hung down his back. He would understand the loss I feel! And I betrayed him- all of them...
She sat back slowly, her arms tucked tightly around herself. "Mariemeia was officially the daughter of Treize Kushrenada and Leia Barton, but she was mine! Ours. Treize's and mine."
"What happened?" Trowa prompted gently.
She shuddered. "Dekim Barton happened. When she came to term..." Une was raked with shudders. "Leia went to the hospital and everything seemed normal. And then... something went wrong- Treize and I were on our way over when we got the phone call, and we nearly killed ourselves getting there..." She sobbed openly. "Dekim was there to meet us, and informed us with sad, tragic eyes that both his daughter and the baby had died. That it was better... it would be better if we didn't see, and he was so sorry!"
One fist slammed into the table, and Une shook with fury for a few moments before she calmed down again. "We buried both of them. We tried to continue as before, but... Treize never admitted it, but I think he blamed me for it. I wasn't strong enough to have a baby, so it was my fault that the baby died, and our friend with her... We were never the same again- he died, thinking that she was dead all those years..."
"And then the Mariemeia incident happened, and you found out that she was alive, after all," Quatre finished for her.
"Yes," was the only answer she could manage.
Relena asked, "Madeleine found out- how?"
Une was by now trembling like a leaf in high winds. "She was also at the school with us, and she knew- we had all been friends, before we found out how... messed up she was. And she knew that Treize and I had had a daughter. She recognized her... She knew, and at that moment she had me- I could never do a thing that would bring that child to harm!"
Sally spoke through her tears, "Why didn't you tell anyone, Une? We would all have helped..."
The tall woman hugged herself again. "I know! I know- but it was happening everywhere! Threats at the school! Threats to our home! Threats to me at work! Threats everywhere! And they all said- they all showed that Madeleine could strike at me and at my little girl whenever she wanted to- especially if I told someone. You have to believe me- there hasn't been a moment that girl has been truly safe in over a year!"
"Sh- we believe you, Une. Try to just breathe..." Duo again, stroking her back lightly. She let the man rock her as she tried to gain control again.
Once she was calmed down enough again to talk, Trowa asked, as gently as he could, "Where is she now?"
Une clenched her hands in her lap. "I... I. Don't. Know." She whispered. Her eyes darted to meet his. "Disappeared from school... four days ago, she just disappeared, and I got a note..." She shut her eyes tightly, trying to breathe calmly, and two tears streaked down her face. "The note said... that Mariemeia died if I dared withhold any more information. That I had to choose... between you all and my last living vestige of Treize. I had no choice!"
Quatre's eyes narrowed. "Does she know about the Gundams?"
Une gulped furiously. "No."
"Don't you dare lie to us anymore!"
"Quatre!" Her eyes flew around in shock to find Trowa with a death grip on the small blond man's shoulder. "God damn it, man! What the hell is the matter with you!"
She began crying again silently.
Quatre looked down at the table and did not look back up again.
Heero asked gently. "I'm sorry to question your integrity, but we must be certain, Une. Does she know about the Gundams?"
Une whispered, "No- if... If I had told her about that... after withholding it for so long... she would have killed Mariemeia immediately. My poor little girl..."
Duo asked next, "Did you tell her what I told you?"
Une nodded, fresh tears coursing down her cheeks.
The braided man looked up at the others. "That's enough- we can't do this anymore."
Relena, surprisingly, backed him up. "Duo's right. We should let her recover from this- and you might have to adjust your plans a little."
She was surprised when the pilots looked at each other and smiled. "Yes- we have changes to make, but nothing that effects you, Relena," Heero said. He stood and walked around the table until he could kneel down by Une's side. "We'll get her back, Une. I promise."
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. When she looked up again, she seemed slightly more composed. "Is that your new mission?"
He gave her a dark smile. "Ninmu ryoukai."
TBC...
Back to Ashkara's Fanfictions Page