Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Deceptions ❯ The Request ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Deceptions Part 9: The Request

By Symee-Sama

Author's Note: Hey! Sorry that it took so long! I've been loaded down with homework the last couple weeks, and haven't had much time to write. This is sort of a filler chapter, but there's a lot of Duo in it! : p And Heero too.

WARNINGS: Mild language

Heero looked at Duo in shock. "You're dead!" He repeated. "I saw you die!" He strained against his restraints, trying to reach his friend. He looked around the room with unseeing eyes. "You can't be real." He seemed like he was trying to convince himself that it was true. "I watched her kill you!"

Duo ran a hand through his bangs, and knelt down beside his friend. "Heero buddy, you're not making any sense." He grabbed a knife from his boot and cut the straps around Heero's arms. "Come on, let's get you out of these things." He placed the knife back in its sheathe, and gently pried Heero's fingers from their death grip around the chair. "You've sure made a mess of everything."

"You're dead." Heero repeated vacantly. "Everything I did was justified." His hands clenched into fists until the knuckles were white. "She has to pay for what she's done." He grinned maniacally. "Relena will pay for what she's done!"

"What has she done?" Duo asked angrily. "Nothing! She's done nothing to earn your hatred, nothing to earn your treatment of her!" He grabbed Heero's shoulders and shook him. "So why did you kidnap her? What did you do to her?" Heero stared at him blankly, and Duo sighed in frustration. "Could you at least tell me why you kidnapped her?"

"Because she killed you -" Heero started when he realised what he was saying. "I watched you bleed to death." His eyes seemed to focus on Duo for the first time. "But you're here. You're right here. Are you real?"

"Of course I'm real!" Duo said indignantly. "Damn it Heero! I'm not dead! Relena didn't kill me!" He gestured wildly. "What do I have to do to convince you?" Heero shook his head, and Duo could hear him mumbling about the dead, and Relena. "That's it." Duo lost his temper, and punched Heero across the face. "Was that real enough for you?" Duo asked angrily.

Heero buried his head in his hands. "You're not real." He said miserably. "I watched you die. He told me that you died." He looked up, his eyes going dead, and his voice returning to its cold monotone. "He doesn't lie, so you're not real." His head snapped to the side as Duo punched him again.

"What is it going to take to convince you that I'm real? Whatever this guy told you is wrong!" He sighed as Heero rubbed his cheek sullenly. "Do I look like a walking corpse to you?" He waited for an answer, but none came. "Heero?" He noticed that his friend's eyes had glazed over. "Are ya there?" He waved his hand in front of Heero's face.

"He did it again?" Wufei asked incredulously. "He did this just before you burst in Maxwell." He said as he dragged Heero to his feet. "Come on, we should bring him to his cell." He staggered a little under Heero's weight, and walked slowly, half-carrying, half dragging Heero out of the room.

"Would it kill you to ask for some help, Wufei?" Duo smirked as he grabbed Heero's arm, and placed it over his shoulder. "For someone so skinny, he's pretty heavy." Wufei barely managed to stop himself from sighing; whenever Duo got nervous or shocked, he tended to babble. Liked he was doing now. Wufei gritted his teeth, don't lose your temper he told himself. Don't lose your temper.

"…I'm sorta honoured actually," Duo was oblivious to Wufei's inner struggle. "Ya know, that he would be so worried about me, but I don't know why he would lash out at Relena. Heero never accepts anyone at their word, he always does back-up checks, and makes sure that he knows all he can about the topic. So why did he accept this guy's word? I mean, he would've had to because he would only have to search for me in the Preventor's Database, which we know he can hack into, to find out that I'm alive and well."

"Why does this matter, Maxwell?" Wufei asked impatiently. He was already annoyed with the braided man. "Yuy's lost it. That display in the other room should have convinced you of that. He's obviously gone crazy."

"Have a little faith Wufei. " Duo smirked. "I know that something's wrong with him. If anything, the display in the other room should have convinced you of that. If he's snapped, then what made him lose his mind? What on Earth's Sphere could have made him believe that the Princess of pacifism killed me? I just doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense, Maxwell." Wufei said in a frustrated tone when they reached Heero's cell. "But you're the only one who won't accept that."

"Whatever you say, Wufei!" Duo said with forced cheerfulness as they dumped Heero into a corner. "I think that you're just being biased because Sally got hurt." Wufei looked murderously at him, and Duo raised his hands above his head. "Don't shoot! I know that I'd be feeling the same way you are if Hilde had gotten hurt, but I'm starting to think that I'm the only pilot who's looking at this rationally -"

"Shut up, Maxwell!" Wufei snapped. "You think that you're the only rational one because no one you love has gotten hurt?" Duo opened his mouth to protest, but Wufei cut him off ruthlessly. "Well maybe you're the only one who's not thinking rationally! You didn't see Heero on L3, you didn't see him when he bombed the base!"

Wufei shuddered slightly, remembering Heero's cold, uncaring eyes. He looked like he had nothing to live for. He had never seen Heero like this, even during the war. He'd been cold, but he'd never been ruthless. He'd always completed his missions, but he'd never taunted his victims before. The Heero he'd seen at the base was nothing like the Heero he'd known. Wufei's eyes narrowed. He'd tried to kill Sally.

He realised that he'd been silent for a few moments, and looked up to see Duo gaping at him. "Um…" Duo looked at Wufei uncomfortably. "Are you okay?" Wufei glared at him. He hated it when anyone saw his weaknesses. "You sort of went all pale and quiet for awhile."

"You didn't see him," Wufei said simply. "You've only seen him as this pathetic thing." He gestured at the crumpled figure on the floor. "He's a ruthless murderer one minute, and a confused teenager the next. He's dangerous." Wufei tried to make his voice gentle, but his words still cut through Duo like a knife. "He's insane."

Duo shuddered. He couldn't be insane. Heero was the strong one. He was the one who gave everyone the strength. He looked at the still form of his best friend, and shuddered again, covering his face with his hands. Heero had to be all right. They would convince him that he was wrong, and Relena would be saved, and then everything would go back to normal, right?

Duo wanted to scream. He knew that he was deluding himself. Even if Heero went back to normal and Relena was rescued, nothing would be the same. At the very least, no one would act the same around Heero again. He had done too many things in the last couple months, and the Preventors were starting to tie more crimes to him everyday. If they were right, then Heero had destroyed entire colonies, and murdered children.

Nothing would be the same. Heero would probably have to go to jail for his crimes, and would probably be executed. No one would want to risk letting the Perfect Soldier escape. He began to feel the reality of the situation settling down on him. This wasn't going to end well. No matter what happened, Heero wasn't going to get off easy from this, and nothing would be the same. And what if he was insane? Would the Perfect Soldier be reduced to a straitjacket and a padded room? Duo refused to believe it. He couldn't be insane.

He jumped slightly when Wufei placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled weakly at him. "He's insane?" He asked quietly, and when Wufei nodded, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then we should be trying to help him instead of strapping him to chairs and interrogating him. What we're doing now won't help him."

"Yuy's sanity is not our concern." Wufei pulled his hand back angrily. "We need to find Relena. She's essential to this fragile peace. Yuy is secondary to her."

"Are you blind?" Duo asked, his despair being overtaken by anger. "She's been gone for months, and the world is still at peace!"

"Are you suggesting that we stop looking for her?" Wufei snapped at him, ready to kill the braided man if he said yes. "Do you think that we should leave her to wherever Heero's dumped her?" Wufei's anger drained away, and was replaced by sadness. "She doesn't deserve that. She may not have been my favourite person, and we may not have seen eye to eye on many subjects, but she doesn't deserve what he's done to her."

"I'm not saying that we should stop searching for her." Duo sounded drained. "She's my friend too, ya know. What I'm saying is that if he is insane, we should give him some help. He might help us find her if he actually realises what he's done."

"That's a pretty slim chance." Wufei snorted. "That could take time, and resources that we don't have. We have no time to fix his mind. He thinks that Relena killed you, and you saw that he refuses to accept any evidence that proves otherwise."

"Let me talk to him." Duo suggested. "I know that I can make him believe that I'm real and that what he's done is wrong."

"Because you were so effective last time." Wufei said dryly. "Punching him did a lot for his psyche."

"Do you have a better idea?" Duo asked him pointedly, and when the Chinese man shook his head, he smirked. "Then you might as well let me try."

"Fine," Wufei said as he walked towards the door. "It looks like he'll be waking up soon. This is your only chance with him. Because tomorrow, we'll start the real interrogation, and if you couldn't handle what we were doing today, then you'd better not be here tomorrow." The cell door slammed shut behind Wufei, leaving Duo alone with Heero.

"So that's how it's going to be?" Duo's question echoed around the small cell. He cracked his knuckles and turned to the prone figure on the floor. "They want to beat the shit out of you for answers." He pulled Heero into a semi-sitting position, and sat down beside him. "I'm not going to let that happen."

* * * * *

Heero was in agony. Zero had left him. He had left him alone when he had promised that he wouldn't. He felt himself being moved, but he didn't care. What did it matter where they took him? He was alone, and nothing mattered anymore. He was alone. Duo had left him, Relena had betrayed him, his other friends had become his enemies, and now, Zero had left him.

Heero strained, trying to find that familiar golden light. Her remembered that it used to bother him, but he would kill to feel it again. He would slaughter thousands to not feel alone anymore. Zero. He called desperately inside his head. Talk to me! He felt himself being dropped to the floor, and heard the voices of Wufei and - No. It wasn't Duo. Duo was dead.

//That's right// Zero's voice filled his head. //It's just a trick so they can find Relena. You don't want them to get her back do you?//

Where did you go? Heero yelled at the machine. I was calling - you said that you wouldn't leave, but you did! You lied to me Zero! He relaxed as the golden light surrounded him. It made him feel whole again. Where did you go? He asked desperately. He had to know if this could happen again.

//The drug they used on you blocked me for a period of time.// Zero informed him. //I could not hear you calling me.// Heero nodded, making a mental note to kill Zechs next time he came near him with one of those damned patches.

"Heero?" Duo's voice cut through the golden light. "Come on." Someone shook his shoulder roughly. "Snap out of it." Heero's head spun. Duo? It couldn't be. He told himself again. I'm hallucinating.

//That's right.// Zero confirmed. //Remember that it's a trick. He's not real.//

He's not real. Heero repeated. But if Duo wasn't real then how come Heero jaw ached where he had punched him? How come he could feel him shaking his shoulders? Hallucinations couldn't touch you. If Duo was just a figment of his imagination, then how come he could touch him? Heero reluctantly stepped out of the golden light. He had to find some answers.

//Don't do it!// Zero hissed, and the golden light tried to pull him back in. //He will lie to you. They all lied to you.//

Heero resisted the urge to surrender to Zero. I have to know. He told his friend sadly. But I will be back. Don't worry. He said as he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Duo. "Are you real?" He asked again, and watched as the braided man smirked. "He told me that you were dead, that you aren't real."

"I'm alive." Duo said quietly. "And I'm real." He gestured towards Heero's jaw. "Doesn't that prove it?" He cracked his knuckles. "I can do it again, if you're still not convinced."

Heero shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary." Duo's face brightened. "So what happened then? How did you get out alive?" Duo looked confused, and Heero clarified. "Your execution. You convinced an entire mob of people that you were dead. I saw the bullets and the blood. No one could have survived that, so how did you?"

"Heero," Duo began slowly. "There was no execution. I was never on trial for anything." He noted the shocked look on Heero's face. "I'm serious! No one knows who the Gundam pilots were and we plan to keep it that way. Besides, did you honestly believe that our peaceful princess would kill someone? She didn't even kill Lady Une for murdering her father. She forgave her."

Heero shook his head, unwilling to believe what his friend was telling him. "For Relena to kill me," Duo continued. "I would have had to do something worse than murder her father." Duo ran his hands through his hair. "And if I did something worse than that, then I deserved to be shot."

"She killed you because you were a Gundam Pilot." Heero said sadly. "She told them about the people that you killed, and how you called himself Shinigami." Duo sobered slightly at that comment. He was still haunted in his dreams by the people he had killed. "She argued with you, and then she killed you." Heero's eyes hardened, and his voice became cold. "She made it as painful as she possibly could. She told them to make your death pain - " He cut off as Duo punched him across the jaw again, and glared at his braided friend. "What the hell was that for?"

"You shouldn't talk about a person like they're already dead." Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "It's rude." He smiled sadly at his friend. "You're really having trouble accepting that I'm not dead, aren't you?" He waited for an answer, but Heero remained silent. "Who told you that I died anyway?"

"Zero did." Heero answered quickly. //No!// "What's wrong?" Heero asked, ignoring the strange look Duo gave him. "It's only Duo. He won't tell anyone." //It's a trick, remember?// "He's real. He's proved this!"

//He's proved nothing// Zero snapped. //You are an idiot. Falling for such simple tricks. You don't trust me.//

"I do trust you!" Heero had completely forgotten about Duo. "Please, Zero! Don't be mad!"

"Who are you talking to?" Duo asked in a confused tone. "You can't be talking to Zero. The Zero system was destroyed along with your Gundam. Remember?" It hurt to see what his best friend had been reduced to. "Zero can't talk to you anymore."

"But he can!" Heero snapped, defending his friend. "I've been talking to him for months! He opened my eyes. He showed me what Relena did to us!"

"Um - Heero? What do you mean by us?" Duo was getting more confused by the minute. "I thought you said that you thought that she executed me. You never mentioned anything else."

"I was going to propose to her." Heero said quietly. "It took so long for me to work up the courage, and when I finally did, I caught her with another man. She was kissing him." He felt his insides twist with anger and jealousy. "She told me that she couldn't wait forever, and told me that she had moved on."

"That never happened." Duo assured Heero. "Maybe she can't wait forever, but Relena's determined to try. She's been waiting for you for years. You disappeared a year ago, and when you came back, you kidnapped her. Relena would never have turned you down if you proposed to her."

"So that's not real either?" Heero asked in a shaky voice, and Duo shook his head. "Is Zero lying to me?"

"Zero's not real." Duo told him. "It's all in your head, Heero. Zero was destroyed, and no one's made a new one. Besides, you're not in your Gundam. Even if a system did exist, you wouldn't be able to talk to it without being in a Gundam."

"Duo," Heero's eyes were filled with uncertainty. He stared at his trembling hands. "I'm hearing voices that aren't real, I'm remembering things that never happened. Am I -" He paused for a moment before continuing. "Am I crazy?" His fears were confirmed when Duo nodded, and he sighed. "What have I done?" His voice was full of remorse. "I've done terrible things," Heero confided. "Zero told me that what I was doing was right, but he wasn't real… I've killed children, Duo." Heero's voice became so low that Duo had to strain to hear it. "I've screwed up… I've totally screwed up."

"It can't be that bad." Duo placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, but Heero flinched away, and stood up, pacing around the small cell.

"Not that bad?" Heero mocked. "You have no idea what I've done. I've killed families; men, women, and children. It didn't matter to me. In fact, I liked the children the best because the adults suffered terribly whenever I killed their kids." Duo shuddered, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear all of this, but he had to. He had to know just what he was dealing with.

"I destroyed colonies. Cutting off the oxygen, and laughing while the colonists suffocated. I purposely tried to kill Sally. I placed explosives where I knew she would be. I killed Iria on purpose too." Heero grimaced. "I asked her to bring a package to a Preventor she knew, and she took it without question, and put it in her purse." Heero's stomach twisted. "I'd be surprised if they found enough of her for a proper funeral."

"They didn't." Duo cut in. "They gathered all they could find, and cremated her."

"And I could have left without hurting Catherine, but I wanted her to suffer, wanted Trowa to suffer. So I hit her… I was going to kill Trowa when I went to the hospital. Then I was going to kill her. They were so lucky that she threw the knife." Heero grimaced had become fixed on his face as he paced around the room. "She should have killed me."

"Don't say that!" Duo snapped. "If she killed you then we would never find Relena. We need you to help us find her!"

"Relena?" Heero stopped pacing, and stared at Duo. "Did she really not do any of the things that I thought she did?" Duo nodded, and Heero grasped his stomach as he realised exactly what he'd done. He ran to the side of the cell, and lost everything that he had eaten before he was caught. Duo waited patiently, trying his best to ignore the heaving sounds that came from the other side of the cell.

Heero stood up, wiping his mouth his mouth with the back of his hand. "Feeling better?" He asked and Heero shook his head.

"I sold her." Heero said hoarsely. "I sold her to a collector." Duo looked confused, and Heero tried to clarify for him. "His name is James Borden, and he likes expensive `toys'." His mouth twisted in disgust. "She loves me, or loved me anyway, and I sold her to a disgusting pig, who's probably raped her already." He felt his stomach heave again, but there was nothing left in there to purge.

"Can you tell us where she is?" Duo asked hopefully. "It might not be too late."

"Yes." Heero said quietly. "But there is a condition."

"What?" Duo looked bewildered. "You want a reward? You're the one who put her there! You shouldn't need a reward!"

"I never said anything about a reward!" Heero snapped. Duo relaxed, and gestured for him to continue talking, sure that he could handle whatever request Heero threw at him. "I want to go with you when you rescue her." Duo's jaw dropped, and for the first time he could remember, he was speechless.

Author's Note: What did you think? Please tell me! I'll even accept flames, as long as they have some sort of constructive criticism in them. Telling me that my story sucks is all well and good, but don't you think that you should tell me how to improve it?