DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine, with the exception of Sette
and Kumi. Maybe they are mentioned in this, maybe not, but you’ll find that
out! Enjoy!

Trial by Fire
Part 4
by Skylark


Heero had spent the whole night in a bed encased in glass as purified air
had been flowed throughout the chamber. His heart was beating normally now
and his breathing was steady again. He had yet to wake up, however. Heero
had been in this comatose state for almost a full twenty-four hours now. Duo
had kept a constant vigil by his bedside, never sleeping. Sitting in his
chair, he lied everything from the waist up over the glass as he looked down
to his sleeping lover’s face.

He sighed and whispered, “Please fight this, Heero. I don’t know what I’d do
without you. I’d give anything for you to wake up and call me ‘baka’ right
now,” he smiled with a weak chuckle. Heero’s steady breathing and heartbeat
were hypnotizing. Duo fought to stay awake as he continued to lie there
watching the fallen pilot.

A few minutes later, he swore that he saw the closed eyes begin to struggle
to open. “Heero!?!” Duo gasped as he sat up and watched. Heero’s eyes began
to slowly open as he groaned softly. His cobalt eyes became alert when he
saw that he was wearing a pale blue hospital gown, in a glass case. His eyes
softened when he looked up and saw Duo looking at him with concern.

“Duo?” as asked weakly. “Oh Heero,” Duo whispered as he lied his forehead
against the glass. “Thank God you’re all right.”

“W-What happened?” his lover asked, fully awake now and regaining strength.
“Someone filled the room with natural gas to cause an explosion. How the gas
was pumped in only that room isn’t certain, but the hotel was almost burnt
to the ground.”

Heero then sprang up as much as he could without hitting the glass. It
wasn’t the fact that someone tried to kill him that worried him, he was
scared to death that Duo might have been hurt. He pressed a hand against the
glass, wishing that he could touch the man he loved.

“Are you okay!?! They didn’t hurt you, too did they!?!” he went on asking
questions rapidly, concerned about the braided pilot’s well being.

Duo shook his head and whispered, “Shhh. I’m fine, honest, love.” When the
Japanese pilot calmed a bit, Duo pressed a hand against the glass where
Heero’s hand was, mirroring it perfectly. “I’m just fine. I wasn’t in the
room when it was filled with gas. I was out getting some air since I
couldn’t sleep,” he assured him. He lowered his head and cursed himself, “I
could kill myself for doing that, too. If I got back even two minutes
later...” He couldn’t bring himself to even imagine what would have happened
if that was the case.

He began to fight tears as he continued to hang his head. “I was so stupid.
I would have lost you in the explosion...Damn it! If I just stayed there, I
would have noticed that the room was filling with gas before it hurt you.”

Heero tapped on the glass, forcing Duo to lift his head look at him. The
Wing pilot had a warm smile on his face. “You saved me, Duo. I owe my life
to you. Please don’t be mad at yourself. You did nothing wrong,” he
whispered.

Duo nodded and rested his forehead on the glass. “I’m just so glad you’re
okay,” he said softly. “I am thanks to you, hon,” Heero smiled. Duo couldn’t
stand not being able to hold Heero any longer. He rose and smiled, “Let me
get someone to get you out of that dome.”

Heero laughed, “Yea, it is pretty cramped in here.” With a laugh, Duo was
bolting out of the room to find a nurse or doctor.

Soon, the glass case around Heero’s body was removed. When the two pilots
were alone, Duo sat next to his partner and they wrapped his arms around
each other. The American placed a kiss on Heero’s cheek and whispered in his
ear, “I won’t let anything take you from me.”

Heero smiled and kissed Duo’s lips. “I love you too, koi,” he whispered
back. Before long, they would be leaving the hospital and looking into
another hotel. They managed to find one that was close to the manmade lake
that they both loved. The courthouse was still a bike ride away. So, they
were content with where they were to be staying.

It was late when they entered the room. Both exhausted, they removed their
shirts and prepared for bed. Heero’s eyes widened when he saw the huge scars
and gashes that were covering Duo’s back as he undid his braid. The bleeding
had stopped, but every gash was too long to cover with any bandages, so they
were life in the open.

“Duo,” he gasped as he sat behind him. The long-haired pilot just remembered
that he had never mentioned the fact that he was hit badly from the debris.
Hero gently traced the scars and sighed, “You said you weren’t hurt, baka.”

“It’s nothing to worry about, hon. Just some bumps and bruises,” Duo assured
him as he turned his head back to look at him. “I never even felt the pain.
I was too worried about you,” he continued. The Wing pilot softly kissed all
of the wounds. “They hurt my Duo,” he groaned to himself.

“Is there any way of knowing who set that explosion up?” Heero asked.

His lover shook his head and growled, “Not a damn thing. I’ll kill those
bastards for what they did to you...They can’t hide from the god of Death.”

“Only as long as you let me get a shot at them, too. Nobody hurts my Duo and
gets away with it,” Heero replied. Duo chucked, “I love you, too, Heero.” He
kissed his forehead and lied on his side as his lover took care when we
wrapped his arms around him. The lamp was turned out and neither pilot found
it difficult to sleep.

************************************************************************

The three soldiers were lounging in their own hotel room the next day,
satisfied with their work two nights prior. The afternoon just before this
was the second day of trial. Neither Heero nor his friend arrived. Davis was
now at the hospital to check on the conditions of the two young men. The hit
men didn’t think to do this the day before, there wasn’t a chance those two
pilots made it out of an explosion like that. Davis insisted on going this
day, just so that he could get the official word by a doctor that the two
young men were dead. The gas alone would have nearly killed them off by the
time the flare would enter the room. They were so certain that they killed
Yuy and the man who was always with him that they spent the night before
drinking and celebrating. There was nothing to put their leading officers in
jail for even a week. The lawyers were doing an wonderful job of clearing
their names as the third person was called upon just before the judge called
for the trial to resume this afternoon.

The hangovers that the three men had that morning were now passing. Johnson
lied on his bed and asked, “So what do we do when Davis gets back?”

Matthews shrugged and chuckled, “We’ll be late for the trial by the time he
gets here. No point in going anyway. The Commander and Lieutenant will be
found ’not guilty’ soon enough. The four people that will stand against them
don’t have anything that’ll prove that they committed those crimes.”

Johnson nodded, “Yea. I wish that I could have seen the explosion closer
that a few blocks away.”

Matthews laughed, “I knew that Davis and I would wear off on you. Before,
you hated the thought of killing, now you’re just as bloodthirsty as we
are.”

Johnson smirked and whispered in a low voice that Matthews missed, “If only
you knew.” Just then, the phone rang. Matthews picked it up and answered,
“Yea.”

After a pause, his face became pale. “Are you sure!?!” he cried into the
phone. There was another pause. “We’ll meet you out front then,” he growled
as he hung up the phone. His face was still very white as he looked to his
comrade. “Get dressed,” he ordered.

“What happened? Was that Davis?” Johnson asked, a ting hint of concern in
his voice.

“Yea. We’re going to the courthouse now move your ass and get dressed!”
Matthews shouted as he ran around the room to get a suit together. Johnson
didn’t need to be told again as he sprang from the bed and quickly got an
outfit together. They were dressed just in time as Davis pulled into the
parking lot in the black car. The other two young men ran out of the room
and jumped into the automobile as it sped off.

************************************************************************

In the courthouse, a wave of people walked about. Most of them were heading
to watch the thirst day of the trial where Reinhart and Starks were waiting
for their verdict. It seemed that the courtroom was filling more and more
each day. Matthews, Davis and Johnson quickly walked into the room and stood
in the back. The third witness called by the lawyers was being
cross-examined now. The trio scanned the room. That’s when Davis saw it, the
long braid falling down the back of one of the men sitting in the middle of
the room. The man sitting closely to his side had untamed dark hair. He
didn’t need to see their faces as he felt his stomach fall out from under
him.

He grabbed Matthew’s shoulder, which caught their third comrade’s attention
as Davis pointed to the pair. The eyes of the other shoulders widened as
they quickly left the room again and made a swift escape back to the car.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?!” Matthews screamed when the doors were closed. “There’s NO
way they could have survived that!” Johnson shouted.

Davis was again in the driver’s seat as he clenched the wheel tightly,
growling. “I don’t know how the hell they got out, but it won’t matter
before too long. Heero’s death was just prolonged, that’s all,” he hissed.
Matthews fell pack into the passenger seat.

“You’re right...DAMN!” he yelled as he tried to think of what to do. His
hands covered his face as he tried to thing straight. “So hitting them while
they sleep won’t work,” he stated, trying to formulate a plan.

Johnson smiled as he leaned forward, “So we follow them to the hotel they’re
at now and wait until Yuy goes out for some air. He can’t stay cooped up in
a room forever. Eventually, he’s going to want to get out. By the time he
does, we‘ll have a better idea of how to kill him.” The idea was a simple
one, but it was all that they could come up with for now.

A smirk came across Davis’s face as he nodded, “It’s not the most creative
idea, but it’ll do, kid...We will need time to come up with a plan that
can‘t backfire.” Matthews agreed, “It’ll have to do for now.” So they stayed
in the car until late that afternoon when the trial was dismissed until the
next day.

Duo and Heero walked out holding hands, much to the amazement of the three
men watching. “So, they’re more than just friends,” Davis snickered.

“No wonder they’re always together,” Matthews sneered. “I thought that the
“Perfect Soldier’ couldn’t have any emotions,” Johnson questioned.

“Looks like even Doctor J couldn’t kill that aspect of him,” Davis shrugged.
He continued, “I know that other guy must be a Gundam pilot as well. It’s
only logical to say that’s a certainty.”

“So we’ll kill two pilots for the price of one,” Matthews laughed. “This is
going to be fun,” Johnson whispered as he licked his lips.

The two pilots walked to their bike again as Duo took to driving. He smiled,
“Well, tomorrow the fifth guy to stand in favor of those bastards will get
cross-examined. More than likely, the first witness to testify against them
will be called on, too.”

Heero nodded as he slipped onto the motorcycle and held his lover’s waist
tight. “I’ll just be glad when this whole thing is over. I’m glad it’s
moving as fast as it is,” he replied. Duo started the bike as they pulled
out and drove through the city.

“So where to, love,” Duo asked as he slightly turned his head to face his
partner. Heero thought about it for a second. “Are you in the mood for a
drink?” he finally asked. Duo laughed, “That sounds great to me!” With that,
they made it back to their apartment to change and grab a quick dinner
before heading out to a nearby bar that night.

************************************************************************

Back on Colony H4, Sette was in her palace looking over the beautiful view
of the countryside from the window of the living room. She now wore an
elegant, sky-blue dress that fell to her feet. Her hair was up in a braided
bun as a thin crown went across her forehead.

Sette sighed, “It’s been almost a week since I’ve had a mission...I wonder
how Kumi’s doing?” She frowned and turned to her laptop that waited on her
desk. She looked into the progress of the trial on S9 that had caught her
friend‘s interest so quickly.

She looked at the report and thought aloud, “So it’ll only be a few more
says before the verdict will be reached. The first witness to stand against
the defendants will get their chance to testify tomorrow. Knowing how S9
handles their cases, the verdict will be debated in three or four more days.
I wonder...”

Sette typed away, trying to see if there was any information on who would
stand against Reinhart and Starks. “Damn,” she growled as there was no
information on the witnesses to be found. She wined as she fell back in her
chair. As she did this, she felt the gold band on her head.

The young pilot laughed as she ran a finger over the crown. “It’s only times
like this I’m glad I have this position,” she smirked. She sat up right away
and typed very quickly. On the screen, the image of an old man dressed in a
suit appeared.

He smiled and asked, “Yes, Princess Sette? Is there anyway that I can help
you?”

Sette smiled, “Yes, Henry. I know that you heard of the Reinhart, Starks
trial.” The man nodded, “Yes, that is true.”

“I was wondering if you could do a little favor for me,” she began, as her
eyes softened. Sette continued, “I was wondering if you knew the names of
the witnesses who will be called on to testify against the men being changed
of the crimes. I know that information is classified...”

“Anything for the princess of H7,” Henry smiled. The princess’s smile grew
as she giggled, “You’re a doll.”

The man on the screen typed away at his own computer to obtain the
information that was requested. He was one of the many servants of the
family. After hacking through the information, the man smiled.

“The witnesses that John Grayson will call on are in this order: David
Ferver, Maggie Walsh, Brandon Stork, Jessica Lloyd, and Heero Yuy.”

Sette’s eyes widened at the last name. She finally understood. “Thank you
for your help, my friend,” she winked. “My pleasure, your majesty.”

The computer was turned off as she walked back to the window and looked to
the sky. “That‘s why you were in such a rush,” she smiled. Just then, a
young man in a guard’s uniform ran in and saluted her.

“Princess Sette,” he cried, out of breath.

“What is it,” she asked as she looked to him. “I have received urgent news.”
As he said this, he handed her a disk. He stood straight again.

“You may want to contact your friend, Kumi, as soon as possible...If what
this report says is true.” Sette nodded, “Thank you. I will look at this
now.” The young man saluted again left the room quickly. Mason’s pilot
entered the disk and scanned through the disk.

After going through the scanned images and reports, Sette found what was so
urgent about this information. Her eyes shot opened as she rose from her
seat.

“Oh my God!” she yelled as she removed the disk and removed her heels to run
to her room. Minutes later, she was seen in her tomboy attire again. Running
to the chamber where her Gundam slept, she jumped into the cockpit. Several
members of the guards there tried to see what was wrong, but were too late
to stop her. Soon, she was back in space, clutching onto the disk that she
was given.

“Let’s just pray that this is a false alarm...For Heero and Kumi’s sake,”
she told herself gravely.

************************************************************************

That night, the lovers were at a huge bar that had been pretty busy that
night. Sitting at one of the tables, they just finished on the bottles of
beer that they had. Neither pilot really had a favorite beer. Heero had an
Icehouse, since it had been a while since he had that kind of beer, and Duo
went for Budweiser tonight.

Heero asked, “So how is the construction of the new orphanage coming?” Duo
smiled, “It’s doing great! Everything should be finished in about two more
weeks.”

Heero’s head lowered, “I’m sorry...We could be back on L2 helping out
instead of being on this colony for the trial.”

Duo wrapped an arm around his shoulder and assured him, “This is more
important that that. You were with me for the groundbreaking. And you’ll be
there with me for the grand opening.”

Heero smiled and nodded, “I’m looking forward to that.” The Wing pilot
leaned in and kissed his cheek. The waitress came back with two more opened
bottles of beer. Heero took the bottle of Icehouse while Duo took the
Budweiser.

An hour later, it was almost 10:30 pm. Heero requested, “Mind if we visit
the lake for a while?” A huge smile went across Duo’s face as he whispered,
“You read my mind.” They walked out arm-in-arm. They both only had two
beers, which was nothing compared to how much they could actually handle.
So, an hour was all they needed to get the alcohol out of their system.
However, Heero was beginning to get a nasty buzz. So it was only the right
choice that Duo drove, his lover clinging closely to him as they sped
through the empty streets.

At the lake, they lied on the sand watching the stars. It was almost
midnight, but neither Heero nor Duo was ready to leave anytime soon. Heero’s
buzz hadn’t subsided, but he was content here with his lover and didn’t want
to head back. They were the only people at the lake and the city was a good
seven miles behind them.

Duo looked to his lover and whispered, “You know I’m proud of you right?”
Heero sat up and looked to him. “For what?” he asked quietly. “For taking a
stand against those monsters. I know that it’s not going to be easy for you,
but you’re still going through with it anyway.”

The Wing pilot rested a hand on Duo’s cheek gently and smiled, “I can do
anything hen you’re with me, Duo. I wouldn’t be so willing to go through
with it if you weren’t here. I would have left once I sobered up that night
after I got here.”

Duo didn’t know what to say. He sighed as he gently pressed his lips to
Heero’s. The kiss became passionate and soon, Heero’s head was spinning. He
felt the ground fall out beneath him as he collapsed into Duo’s arms. The
braided pilot cried, “Heero!?!” “W-What’s happening to me?” he is lover
asked, gasping for air. His body began to shake as he slammed his eyes shut
and cried in pain.

Heero lost consciousness immediately. “Heero! Hang on!” Duo shouted. Just
then, he heard the barrel of a shotgun being loaded not far behind them. He
turned to see a tall man in black laughing in his husky voice, gun ready and
aimed at his head.

“What the hell did you do to him!?!” the American demanded, a look of
glaring in his eyes. The man smiled. His red hair was blowing in the wind as
he never moved his position.

“The worst is over for him,” he sneered. Just then, two jet skis pulled into
the shore just ahead of him. “You’re the bastards who tried to kill Heero in
that explosion,” Duo growled as he continued to hold onto his lover tightly.

“That’s right,” one of the men who came on a jet ski admitted. The other man
had a very young face. But, he looked just as threatening as his comrades.

The man with the gun ordered, “Just let your boyfriend go. You’re heading
the same place he is.” The two men from the skies took the thick rope that
was wrapped over their arms off. Duo let his lover go gently and rose with
his hands over his head. The man with the large shotgun walked behind him
and chuckled,

“Good. We didn’t drug your second drink since you’re not as much of a
challenge as your lover here. We also needed one of you to have the strength
to drive from the bar. Keeping you down won’t be a challenge at all.” He
sent a swift blow to the pilot’s head with the gun’s base. Duo fell to the
sand as the three men made a quick move to tie the arms and legs of the
pilots.

Matthews and Johnson shared one ski as they carried the fallen form of
Heero. Davis took Duo’s unconscious body and dropped him onto the back of
his ski. Together, they rode to the center of the massive and deep lake. As
they were approaching the center, a ride that took much longer than
anticipated, Duo was slowly becoming conscious. Heero had taught him how to
recover from a blow to the head rather quickly. It proved successful. The
young man driving the ski he was on had his back to him.

The American was facing downward, into the water with his bound hands nearly
in the cold lake. He only had one chance of getting loose, but he might lose
his hands in the process. Still, there was nothing else that he could do. He
lowered his hands, hoping to find one of the propellers. After a silent
struggle to do so, he managed to locate one. He then forced his hands to
move in the direction of the metal blades. Soon, he could feel the rope
being sliced away. Just as the job was almost done, the ski came to a stop.
He went on to tear away the remainder of the rope as Johnson still had his
back to him.

Matthews and Johnson went on to stand as they lifted Heero’s body.

“See you in Hell, Yuy,” Matthews called as they hurled his form into the
water. Duo sprang up, spun his bound legs to knock Johnson off his feet in a
sudden, unpredicted move and knocked a swift punch across his face as they
wrestled for the long gun.

“Davis!” his partners yelled as they quickly fought to obtain their own
guns. Just then, Duo shouted as he forced the gun to aim into Davis’s chest
and bulled the trigger. Davis lied motionless, his eyes and mouth wide as a
thick trickle a blood flowed past his lips. The huge bullet hole in his
chest was the exit for the remainder of his blood to pour through.

Matthews and Davis had just managed to get their guns out of their resting
places when they were staring into the barrel of their fallen comrade’s gun.
The Gundam pilot shot the hands that held the weapons. The two men cried in
anguish. Matthews ducked as he and his remaining partner jumped pack onto
the ski. Duo continued shooting, hitting Johnson’s shoulder and Matthew’s
right leg in their escape. All of this took place in less than two minutes.
Snatching the long blade from Davis’s body, the braided pilot quickly cut
through the ropes that kept his ankles together. He rose and gathered a deep
breath as he dove into the lake.

Heero had sunk quickly below the surface. Duo managed to reach him as he
wrapped his right arm around his waist and swam up to the surface as quickly
as he could. When he made it, he gasped for air as he pulled himself and his
lover onto the ski. Davis’s body had fallen into the lake and began sinking
on its own now as the pilot took to the ski’s controls. Once he reached the
bank, Duo lifted Heero until they were in the sand. Once he lowered him, the
violet-eyed pilot tore the Wing pilot’s thin gray t-shirt away and began
CPR.

“Come on, Heero, breathe!” Duo shouted as he pumped his chest. Again, he
forced his breath into Heero’s lungs. It would take a few transitions of
this before his efforts paid off.

As Duo breathed into the Wing pilot’s mouth for the fourth time, he heard
his lover gasp and begin to couch the water out of his chest. He turned to
his side as the water began to leave his mouth in big spurts. Duo rubbed his
back and tried to keep his emotions at bay. Heero turned himself to lie on
his back again, his eyes still closed. Duo wrapped the Wing pilot in his
arms and held him tight. He kissed his cheek quickly and breathlessly as he
sighed deeply. The drug that the three men gave him was just beginning to
wear off as Heero groaned.

Still not fully conscious, he whispered, “D-Duo?”

“I’m here, Heero. You’re going to be all right, hon,” the braided pilot
whispered in his ear as he continued to hold him. Duo went onto carry his
lover gently in his arms.


In their hotel room, Heero slowly came to. His eyes fought to open as he
moaned again. “Heero?” he heard a sweet voice whisper. His eyes finally
found a reason to open with that one word. With one more soft moan, his eye
lips parted as the concerned face of his lover came into focus. “Hi,“ he
whispered to the American with a soft smile. Duo fought the urge to cry as
he bit his lip. He simply sighed and gently wrapped his arms around the
Japanese soldier’s neck. Heero responded by wrapping his own arms around
Duo’s body. Not a word was spoken between the two. Heero knew that his life
had been threatened again. And again, Duo kept him alive. He heard the
American whisper, “We’ll get through this, Heero.” The Wing pilot nodded,
“Yes we will.”


TBC