Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Dooming ❯ 4a I'm Still Alive, Honest ( Chapter 6 )

SK: First off I'd like to apologize to all of my readers for this taking so long. My place of work (cough-ACE Hardware- cough) Decided that mandatory overtime is a good thing. I've been made to work 6 days a week or 5 days at 10 hours. After all that I've been too exhausted to type. This is just so everyone knows I haven't abandoned this story. I've nearly finished Chapter 4 but its all hand written. The overtime ends after Halloween so I'll try and get back on track. Please be patient with me and review please!! I need to know that people still want me to work on this.

 

“I think I saw them go this way!”

 

“Search everywhere, leave no stone unturned!!”

 

“Check the storage bays!”

 

The metal crate dug into the braided boy's back, and he winced slightly as his panted breaths seemed to echo forebodingly. Trying to control his seemingly overload breathing he listened to the angry shouts of Oz soldiers around them. Looking to the right he could see Wufei crouching behind another cold metal box. The dark eyed pilot was clutching a gun shot wound on his shoulder all to human blood was turning the white shirt red. A cautious exchange of nods and pointed looks had let him know it wasn't serious. Duo thumped his head against his pathetic cover silently; the mission was going all to hell.

 

J had assured them that it would be an easy sneak into the Oz research lab and see what they are up t mission. Nothing to hard or heavily guarded, no worries. Pfffftt!!! It had turned into run & hide for your lies mission. And yes J had been added o his mental Doom List… of Doomy Doomness.

 

As far as the two pilots knew Trowa was a definitely captured, Quatre was wounded a minor leg wound, and was hiding like them. Heero's status was unknown. Capture for all of them was nearly a certainty.

 

He thumped his head again. No research base was this heavily guarded, unless they where working on something really really special. But J hadn't hinted at anything, nor had Heero's hacking. So they had pretty much walked into a large mess they where woefully unprepared for. The Irken made a mental promise to himself to switch J's brain with that of a Guppy and then introduce him to his Police Man Squid.

 

He looked over at Wufei again, the Chinese pilot was looking a it pale but his eyes where sill sharp and alert, violet met black and Wufei nodded slightly, signaling that he was still fine. Do nodded back and n electric snap nearly beyond the range of human hearing brought his attention back to another problem.

 

It had come from his holo disguise, the tiny device shape like a watch on his wrist. A stray bullet had damaged it and, of course, all of his spares where well hidden in his Gundam… which was with the others at the safe house. He really should remember to keep an extra with him.

 

Violet tinted eyes examined the little device, as far as he could tell the bullet had separated the connection to the power source and it was running off of back up power, which would only hold him for an hour or more. It didn't look like to much of a hard thing to fix, or at least jimmy a good enough of a fix. After all he was ZIM!!!

 

Duo blinked, my my it had been awhile he' thought of himself in third person. Another whine from he device. There was only problem with fixing it, his eyes slid subtly to Wufei again, he'd have to deactivate it in order to fix it.

 

It wasn't much of a choice really, risk being found out by Wufei now or be found out by Oz later. Shifting so his back was to Wufei and using a helpful shadow to the fullest o deactivated the holo device. With quick efficient movements Zim got to work.

 

Wufei blinked suddenly, his attention diverted from tending his wound and keep watch for Oz. Had he just seen crimson eyes? No, it couldn't of been. The only thing here with him in this accursed hallway was Duo and his eyes where a startling shade of violet not huge crimson orbs. And they certainly didn't glow like that! It must have been a reflection of light or perhaps the blood loss was getting to him. After all nothing on earth had eyes like that.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Lady Luck was a very fickle human woman Duo determined in between mentally shouted cuss words from various languages from various planets. Not even a full minuet after successfully repairing the holo unit Oz decided to flood their little hidey place with soldiers. There was no point to even try and fight back.

 

Delicate wrists shifted testing the heavy metal cuffs that bound them behind his back. He knew he could get out of them with little difficulty and the other too; it was just a matter of when. He could hear two guards standing at attention outside the cell door. The bindings on his hands might look huge and foreboding but they might as well be made of paper when compared to some of he things Dib had invented to hold him. He just needed a lax moment from the two humans outside and they could blow this joint. And if Luck decided to smile a bit in their direction perhaps that could become literal.

 

Of course before they could do anything fun they would have to find Heero. Quatre and Trowa had been keeping the cell warm for them when he and Wufei arrive. And once again Duo was surprised at how flexible the unibanged one was. He'd managed to et his hands in front of him and was currently tending to the smaller blonds leg wound. There danced around each other so much it was almost funny… if one didn't already know the steps.

 

The soft click of a lock opening and the metal door slid open as four pairs of eyes darted over to watch it, each wondering what luck had in store for them now. Pilot was tossed in without ceremony like a sack of rotten refuse by a faceless heavy-handed guard. The braided one couldn't help it really he couldn't as a chirpy voiced that he realized was his own.

 

“HI HEE-CHAN!!” jumped from his vocal cords. The Irken did manage to stop the snicker that threatened when Prussian blue eyes death glared him. Wufei rolled his eyes, Trowa nodded a greeting, and Quatre hid a small smile with his hand.

The perfect soldier rolled into a sitting position and gave his own bonds a test. A sidelong glare answered by a smirk and a nod. His best subject in Irken School had always been escaping.

 

Wufei leaned forward and said a breath above a whisper “Did you find anything or was this mission a total failure?”

 

Duo broke in, not speaking any louder “Want my vote?” he ignored the two pilots glares

 

“I found nothing conclusive, though most of the resources coming in seemed to be aimed at some ship of unknowing origin that they uncovered. I was discovered before I could learn more.”

 

Duo nodded silently with the rest even though his min was racing, his antenna blissfully hidden by his hair, twitched with his inner turmoil. Could Oz of gotten their hands on this Voot? No, it was impossible. All of his Irken Technology was sealed away, including his beloved Voot Cruiser. Only another Irken could open it and he was the only one on earth at that moment he was quite sure.

 

Another sound at the door. Five pairs of eyes this time switch their attention to he gateway to the metal box of a cell. The sounds of raised voices greeted their ears. The words themselves where lost but the tones still where clear. Heero growled softly, knowing that if they could understand what was being said it might help them escape. After a few moments Duo the argument was coming to an end. The lesser of two voices had reached what he took to be the `but but but' stage. Silence for a moment and then the door slid open once more.

 

One of the door guards was shaking his head in defeat and stepped aside to allow an older man wearing a very rumple Oz uniform to enter. He was tall and looked to be somewhere around sixty earth years in age. Thick short black hair curled in various angels and a thicker mustache growing like a unchecked weed both sprinkled liberally with gray gave the man an all around rumpled and kindly look. His eyes however gave away his true nature, for even though he was smiling it never once came close to his eyes which where dark, calculating, and utterly cold. Duo shivered invisibly as he met those eyes, they reminded him of far to many nightmares of being strapped to an autopsy table.

 

“So these are the infamous Gundam pilots? And here I was expecting someone older, heh I bet you get that comment a lot. Your actions however prove that your piloting skills are unmatched so I guess I can't complain can I?”

 

That voice sent shivers up Irken and humans spines. How could a human manage to sound so friendly yet hostile at the same time? The man continued on not caring at all about the four glares and one death glare aimed at him. “My name is Dr. Marlen and while you are here you will be working and living for me.” Again that smile, Oh they where so getting out of this place first chance they got “And against the council of my men” those empty eyes slid to the guard who shivered violently “I'm putting you to work right away. Can't risk you escaping before I've gotten a good days work out of you after all! That would be such a waist of your talents don't you agree? Come along no children!” Without a pause for comment or backwards glance he left the cell and a flood of soldiers entered, pushing the five boys to their feet a prodding them to follow in the Doctor's steps with the muzzles of their riffles.

 

02 and 03 shared a look and where about to show these soldiers just why they where considered so dangerous. After all even bound they where more then a match for a few pushy Oz men. 01 caught their look and shook his head firmly as he allowed himself to be directed from he cell. Duo rolled his eyes, always the friggen mission with Heero. He wanted to know wanted to know what this creepy Dr Marlen was up to so he could report it to the squid bait J like a good little soldier. As the Irken followed he nearly shook his head sadly, living for the mission alone wasn't living. Who better then he would know?

 

The trip through the winding corridors of the earth research base was short and lacked anything note worthy. Their eyes which never still noted every screw and panel but no way out. Finally the five boys and their escort of grim eyed soldiers entered what must have been the lab. Bight lights sparkled and reflected off of mounds of mechanical wonders. From Mobil suite parts to house appliances made up those piles adding the scent of oil and metal to the air. All in all it made Duo's fingers twitch with the want to tinker with it all. So it wasn't the rooms fault that his squiddly spooch had leapt into his throat while his stomach dropped and became infested with variously flying earth insects, but was being prominently displayed in the center of such a glorious mess.

 

It was Irken.