Chapter 13 / 20
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
Wufei was not a happy Gundam pilot, to say the least. He was cursing and scowling, but he had a coil of cold fear curling in his stomach as he came into sight of the Lake Guenivere Base. He landed, and was more than a little surprised to see Deathscythe Hell standing a short distance away, clutching Sandrock's blades.
"N...Nani?! Maxwell?! Why the HELL didn't you come back?! Where did you find Sandrock's swords?!" Wufei yelled over the intercom, too shocked to do anything. He wasn't expecting what happened next.
Without any delay, Deathscythe Hell slammed into him full speed ahead. Shenlong was bowled over. Deathscythe slammed the swords deeply into the ground, effectively pinning and holding Shenlong Kai. Wufei shouted, surprised. "What the HELL kind of game are you playing, Maxwell?!" he yelled, enraged. The voice that came over the intercom was NOT Duo's.
"What IS wrong with you Gundam pilots? It's rather easy to pick you off one by one...open your cockpit right now, or I'll self-destruct this bad boy, and no one will ever find Duo Maxwell or Quatre Raberba Winner." Taulis said, grinning. Wufei growled.
"How the hell do you expect me to open the door when I'm pressed under that black hunk of junk?!" he screamed, his blood boiling in rage. Deathscythe shifted enough to allow him to comply with the OZ pilot's wishes. When he slowly stepped out of the Gundam, Deathscythe released the blades and scooped him up, holding him tightly in its metal fists. Wufei struggled, but soon stopped, realizing the futility of those actions. He swore in surprise when the door to the underground base opened.
~ ^ * ^ ~
Wufei was very, very upset. He had been forced to give his name to the raven-haired OZ soldier, and then was led off to what was no doubt some dingy cell, but something about this cell in particular seemed to amuse Taulis. Wufei realized what it was the second he was thrown in. His heart plummeted to his feet as he stared wide-eyed at Duo and Quatre. Quatre was curled up in a small fetal ball in one corner, using Duo's black overshirt as a pillow. His slight frame was battered, bruised, and bloodied. His breath came with an unhealthy rattle and a slight gurgle. But even worse was the sight of Duo Maxwell.
Wufei had never felt something so strong as the emotion he felt when he saw Duo. The beautiful bishounen had definitely seen better days. His long hair was scraggly and matted with blood. The right side of his face was covered by one huge, black bruise; it looked like his cheekbone might have been broken. Duo's body hung limply from the wall. Blood was slowly trickling down his leg to join the spreading pool on the floor. The room smelled of the stale odor of sex and the metallic tang of blood. Wufei almost choked in horror.
"Like that, Mr. Chang?" Taulis's voice called cheerily from the door. Wufei turned on him, sloe eyes filled with an unspeakable rage. "Ah...Gomen, I seemed to have upset you! My most profuse apologies!" Taulis said with mock seriousness.
"I will kill you for this." Wufei managed to choke out through his rage. Taulis rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes, and the same was said by Mr. Maxwell earlier about darling Mr. Winner. I'm not frightened. You are captured, I am not. You are in there, I am not. I am armed, you are not."
Wufei gave him a fierce grin. "I was stuck with a tracking device and a transmitter, you were not."
~ ^ * ^ ~
Heero blinked in surprise at the sight before him, as it was transmitted from the small camera/tracking device that he had attached to Shenlong. He, Trowa, and Wufei had all had them installed after Quatre and Duo disappeared. He was surprised to see Deathscythe Hell, more surprised to see it bearing Quatre's swords, and even shocked as it attacked Shenlong Kai. He swore when he saw the underground base open. So THAT was what had happened! He quickly paged Trowa with the new information.
~ ^ * ^ ~
Taulis swore viciously as he checked out the Gundam Shenlong, and found that Wufei had not been lying. He swore violently as he quickly destroyed the device, but he knew with a growing sense of dread that it was too late. The other Gundam pilots would come for him. They would come, and know where he was, and they would destroy him. Taulis cursed again as he stared at the smashed bits of the camera-transmitter. He growled to himself. // Fine. // he thought. // Just fine. But I'll be long gone before they even get here...and so will their friends. // With that, he strode out of the hangar.