Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 26 ( Chapter 26 )

 

 

 

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Chapter twenty-six

 

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“How can they get away with this?” Wu Fei shook his head in disbelief. “We were children!”

 

“By being dead.” Hiiro sighed as he scanned through G's file on Duo and comparing it to H, S and O's reports. “It looks like Trowa's abilities have begun to manifest, while Quatre's have been active for some time.”

 

“Quatre's an empath, but what can Barton do?”

 

“S speculated that he would develop similar abilities as Winner, i.e. empathy, telepathy or foresight.”

 

“Duo?”

 

“G suggested that he may develop a more… active power. Possibly something dangerous, but he was unable to say what.” Hiiro clicked on Wu Fei's file, enlarging it. “O wrote that your abilities may be elementally based, though he could not specify which.”

 

“And you?”

 

Hiiro's expression deepened, “What about me?”

 

“Surely you're a new-type as well?”

 

“My abilities… have been engineered to suit the war's needs.”

 

“So they're already active?” The Chinese boy raised an eyebrow.

 

“Hn.”

 

Wu Fei quirked an irritated eyebrow at his friend.

 

“I have enhanced strength, and speed…” Hiiro relented. “But that's what was engineered. My natural ability… is to heal.”

 

Wu Fei's eyes grew in surprise “WHAT!?” Then comprehension dawned on him, “Siberia.”

 

“Ironic, huh?” The Japanese boy shook his head, as he printed the files out. “This is totally screwed up, Chang.” He grumbled. “I have orders that I can't disobey… None of you are safe now…”

 

“What are they holding over your head?” Wu Fei asked.

 

“What?”

 

“There must be a reason that you'd turn on your friends. On Duo.”

 

“I can't say.” Hiiro glared, standing.

 

“How can whatever threat they made be carried out if they're dead?”

 

“…”

 

“Hiiro?”

 

The boy sighed. “Because the real bosses are still very much alive.”

 

“Real bosses?” He shook his head, “What are you talking about, Yui?”

 

Wu Fei watched as the other boy grabbed his printouts and headed out the door. “We need to save Quatre first.”

 

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“What do you see?” Duo asked as he checked his arsenal.

 

“Nothing.” Trowa frowned. “Not a single guard or camera.”

 

The braided boy snorted, “Confident bastard, isn't he?”

 

“Unless…” The banged boy started, his eyes closing as he extended his senses. “It's an illusion.”

 

“How?” The other demanded.

 

“I don't know, but I can definitely hear other's thoughts…” The boy grimaced and shook his head, “They're confusing, loud… jumbled… DUO!”

 

“Easy, Tro.” The violet-eyed boy cautioned, “We can't rescue Q if you pass out again.”

 

Taking a few deep breaths, Trowa seemed to have calmed himself. “Th-there are three guards pacing around the perimeter…” He gasped, gripping the sides of his head, “Four inside… Isis… Nicholai… and…” The boy's emerald eyes widened, as his face paled. “No… No, no-no!”

 

“Trowa?” Duo gripped his partner's shoulders, “TROWA!”

 

“We have to get Quatre out now!”

 

“What is it, Tro?” The braided boy asked worriedly, “What is Nicholai doing to him?”

 

“It's not Nicholai…”

 

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“I can feel his strength wavering.” Nicholai snickered, as he ran his hands through the unconscious boy's blonde locks. “He can't keep this up forever, I will get back inside.”

 

“I wouldn't count on it.” Isis taunted. “In case you haven't figured it out, that isn't my brother.”

 

“When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.” He snapped back.

 

The girl shrugged, “Fine, waste your time. I don't care.”

 

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Zero could feel the strain on the mental shields it had erected around his master's psyche. It knew that it wouldn't be able to hold up for much longer. Grimacing, the system glanced at the sleeping blonde. `I must protect my master.' It thought resolutely.

 

Suddenly, Zero's eyes widened in surprise as a conscious mind brushed with it, as it searched for the rightful owner. `This is an interesting development…' the system frowned, `I never would have predicted this.'

 

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“Duo?” The Japanese boy called, when he walked into the living room only to find it empty. “Duo? Trowa?” He frowned when he looked into the banged boy's room to find it deserted as well. “Where the hell are they?”

 

“Yui.” Wu Fei handed him a note that was attached to a map.

 

Quickly scanning it, Hiiro grabbed his gun and his motorcycle keys. “They've found him.”

 

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“Maybe we should wait for Hiiro?” Duo frowned as he studied the guard's patterns. “This doesn't feel right.”

 

“We can't afford to wait.” Trowa declined. “Zero knows I'm here.”

 

“What a sec! Zero?” Duo glanced at the other boy incredulously. “As in the Zero System!?”

 

“Yes.” Trowa nodded, worry crossing his face.

 

“How? Last time we saw that atrocity was at the Eve war.” Duo shuddered at the memory. “It was destroyed when we self-destructed the Gundams.”

 

“Remember when Quatre mastered the system?” Trowa whispered, his voice distant, numb. Duo nodded, allowing the banged boy to continue. “When that happened, the system did something funky.”

 

“Funky?” If it hadn't been such a serious conversation, the braided boy would have burst out laughing at his quiet partner's choice of words. As it was, a grin tugged at his mouth as he stifled a snicker.

 

“It… integrated itself into Quatre's mind… In essence, Quatre is the Zero System.”

 

The braided boy glared at the ground, “Damn it.” He swore.

 

“It really isn't a bad thing.” Trowa explained, “Zero has saved him on several missions… But lately… It seems as if Zero has become… humanoid? Quat said that it became personified by his negative emotions… almost like it has a voice of its own.”

 

Duo just continued to glare. “And when were you going to share this tid-bit of important info with the rest of us?” The braided boy ground out angrily, “When you decided to tell us that Quatre was an empath? Or maybe when Zero decides to overtake Quatre and blow up a few more colonies? Damn you and your fuckin' secrets!”

 

“It wasn't by choice.” Trowa said defensively.

 

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that if anything happens to Q.”

 

“If I was right and that was Zero I sensed, then it's managed to subdue Quatre.” Trowa checked his gun's ammunition. “We need to get him out of there.”

 

“Alright. Enough talking then.” Shinigami smirked. “We've got some ass to kick.”

 

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“What are you doing, My Precious?” He demanded, noticing that the blonde girl seemed distracted.

 

“Thinking.” Came Isis's cryptic answer. /”Trowa? Is that you?”/

 

/”We're at the south entrance.”/ Two gunshots echoed from somewhere in the building. /”Where is Quatre?”/

 

“What was that?” Nicholai demanded.

 

The girl shrugged, “I didn't hear anything.” /”Center of the building, second floor.”/

 

“I know I heard something-Go check it out!”

 

“Bossy Bastard.” She grumbled, as she headed towards the door. /”I'm on my way, Trowa.”/

 

/”What!? No! You've got to protect Quatre!”/

 

/”Trust me, you will need me more than Quatre at the moment…”/

 

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Trowa halted in his running, causing Duo to nearly skid into him. /”What do you mean, Isis?”/

 

“TROWA LOOK OUT!” The braided boy exclaimed, knocking his distracted friend out of the way of a fire blast. “What the Hell!?”

 

/”I'm not the only new-type Nicholai has in his employ.”/ Came the mental reply. /”Without an active power, you won't be any match for Hageshii!”/

 

“Damn… maybe we should've waited for Hiiro…” Duo complained, as he rolled out of the range of another blast.

 

/“Don't worry; the Calvary is going to be here any moment.”/ Trowa promised, taking cover behind a stack of crates. /”Hiiro and Fei are on their way too.”/

 

`That's a relief.' The braided boy rolled his eyes. `Who's going to help out until then?'

 

The banged boy didn't get a chance to respond as an eruption of scorching heat surrounded them.

 

“Hageshii! Stop!” A crystal voice ordered, as an invisible shield reached out around the Gundam pilots as their cover disintegrated. “They are not the enemy.”

 

“But master ordered me…” A small, uncertain, child-like voice questioned.

 

“Trust me, Hageshii.” Isis pleaded, as she reached out her hand to the attacker that hid in the shadows. “They will help us. They will set us free.”

 

“B-but what about m-my mother?” The small boy whimpered, “Master told me to obey or H-He'd h-hurt her…”

 

“I know, Hageshii.” The blonde girl sighed wrapping her arms around the child, as she ran her fingers through his red hair soothingly.

 

“Care to explain?” Trowa asked, as he and Duo approached the new-types.

 

“Nicholai learned a long time ago that it was easier to have others do his dirty work for him.” Isis bit out, “All he needed was to find the right leverage to motivate cooperation. For me, it was my daughter, Savannah. For Hageshii, it was his mother.” She locked eyes with Trowa, /“For you, it will be my brother if you don't stop him.”/

 

“Where is he?” Trowa demanded.

 

“Down the hall, up the stairs, center room.” Isis directed.

 

“And the Hostages?”

 

“I don't know.” Isis glared at the floor. “This place is bigger than it appears to be, and he keeps me on a fairly short leash. I haven't been able to find them, yet.”

 

“Duo, go with Isis.” Trowa ordered, taking out his gun, “Use the heat scanner to find them.”

 

“WHAT!?” The braided boy exclaimed, “Are you insane? I'm not going to let you go without some backup! Quat will kill me!”

 

“I'll have backup.” Trowa promised, “But we can't allow the hostages to be hurt.”

 

Duo huffed, “And who, pray tell, will back you?”

 

“Quatre.”

 

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To be continued…