Chapter 11 / 20
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
Duo sighed as he looked at the shattered remains of the Guenivere base. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he remembered joking around with Quatre at this very spot about the terrible opposition an empty building imposed. Duo rubbed his sleeve over his eyes viscously.
"Man, Q...how could you just disappear on us like that...what got you?...There weren't any more OZ guys here...You just disappeared, you disappeared and I never got to say that I loved you to your face."
Duo fell to his knees and sobbed, his heart splitting in two. He sat there and sobbed for a while, then slapped himself across the face. "Man, what's gotten into you, Duo? Boys don't cry...boys don't...cry...what the..." Duo forgot his anguish for a moment as he saw the small crack in the ground, with a gleam of metal shining through. Duo's eyes narrowed, and he began brushing away the hard-packed earth. He grabbed a piece of scrap metal and started digging with that. Soon he stood up, eyes wide.
"No way! An underground base! QUATRE!" Duo shouted joyously. He turned to head back to his Shinigami, when he heard the hydraulic hiss of compressed air, and with a low rumble, the ground behind him opened wide. Duo stared in shock at the underground bunker. He saw a couple dozen Leo's propped up against the walls, but that wasn't what surprised him most. What surprised him most was seeing Sandrock leaning against the far wall. Duo ran inside towards the Gundam. He almost immediately regretted it, as the door shut behind him.
"No! Aw hell!" Duo cursed. His eyes suddenly lit up and he grinned mischievously. "All righty then! After I find Quatre, I'll just go through the roof with Sandrock here!"
"You'll do nothing of the sort, Gundam pilot." A voice said from behind him. He slowly turned and saw a raven-haired OZ soldier staring him down, gun in hand, smirk on face.
"Aw great. Who the hell are YOU?" Duo asked, raising his hands slowly to prove he didn't have any weapons on hand, mentally cursing himself for not grabbing his gun before he left the house.
The man before him bowed slightly. "I'm pleased to meet you. I am Taulis Majeare, lone survivor of the attack at Guenivere. You Gundams missed me. And you are?"
"I'm the Easter Bunny. Pleased to meetcha!" Duo said with a wide grin, which quickly turned to an alarmed look as a bullet sped past him, close enough to tear his shirt. "Damn...you mean business, don't you?..."
"Oh, I do, Mr. Bunny." Taulis grinned. "Now. Tell me who you are, or I'll make Mr. Winner tell me who you are. I'm sure that braid makes you distinguishable enough that he won't mistake you."
"Mr....you have Quatre?!" Duo said in rising alarm.
"Oh, yes, I've had him a few times." Taulis smiled at the way the venom seeped into the braided pilot's eyes.
"You're fuckin’ with me." Duo growled.
"Eventually, yes. But for now, please, do be patient. I can only have fun with one of you at a time!"
"Why you bastard, I'm going to..."
"You're gonna what?" Taulis's tone immediately turned deadly. "Hurt me? Try it. I have a gun. You do not. I know where the only key to my jail is. You do not. I have many hidden cameras in here recording everything, and numerous copies of the Guenivere worm hidden in the places OZ leaders told me to hide them, should something happen to this base. Face it. You don't have a chance. Now put these on." Taulis threw Duo a pair of handcuffs, which the braided pilot put on, growling at the indignity of surrender.
"You're a smart one. Now, who are you, my new-found friend?"
"I'm Shinigami. Duo Maxwell."
"Duo Maxwell. What a sweet name." Taulis smiled at the obvious rage of the braided bishounen. "Oh, just calm down, Mr. Maxwell. I swear, you Gundam pilots are so HYPER when you're captured...for a while, anyways." Taulis motioned for Duo to follow him with a wave of his gun. Duo trudged behind him, reviewing every curse in his mind that he had ever learned, and making a few up. This was so NOT cool. Oh well, at least he had told them where he was headed...
"Here we are!" Taulis chirped, unlocking the door to a room that was all too obviously a jail. "Enjoy your stay. I'm most apologetic that I am out of those little chocolate mints...I would have left one on your pillow if I had some, so you would enjoy your stay..." Taulis looked at the death glare this self-proclaimed Shinigami shot him. "God, you have about as much humor as that Quatre did...tsk tsk tsk." Taulis clicked his tongue and motioned for Duo to go into the cell. Duo did, glaring out the door the whole time. Taulis waved and smiled, then closed the door.
"DAMNIT!" Duo cursed loudly to no one in particular. He turned around to go sit down against a far wall, and his heart almost stopped. "Quatre!"
Duo choked at the sight of the petite blond. He was naked, shivering, and covered with blood. It was amazing he was even alive. Duo darted over and dropped to his knees, scooping up as much of the blond as he could within the limitations of his handcuffs. "Oh my god...that bastard really got you, didn't he, Q..." Duo blinked away a tear of anguish and rage as he sat there, cradling the fallen angel of Sandrock.