12-Sep-2000
Title: Mission Arcadia
bonnejean & vonceia *present* RavynFyre & Kateri MarieCategory: yaoi, AU
in The B&V Guest Authors Series!
Duo - words, thoughts, actions - RavynFyre
Heero - words, thoughts actions - Kateri Marie
Rip & Jack, Their World and General Production - bonnejeanne & vonceia
Heero had gotten the front gate open, and Gun made it to and through the gate. There was a wide, huge tunnel that led out for about 50 yards and they could see the opening at the end. The sky was dark, and there were frequent flashes of that odd, colored lightning punctuating the storm that was wrapping itself around the area.
Heero looked around with a slight touch of worry on his features. "We have to hurry." Taking one last glance around for any sign of Duo or the kids but seeing no one, he helped Gun into the tunnel.
Gun stopped a moment. He gestured to the left. "There's a.... small garage that way..." he managed.
"Let's go." Heero acquiesced with a curt nod.
Off to the left he saw a wide open area in the concrete of the tunnel that was a temporary loading space for maybe three or four vehicles, although there was only one there. It looked like an old vehicle once known as a hummer.
Heero's eyes gleamed at the sight of the hummer.
He helped Gun into the vehicle and climbed into the driver's seat. "Strap in." He ordered as he glanced at the column. No key. It stalled him for barely a second. After piecing together a Gundam for several years, hotwiring the hummer was preschool work.
The engine turned over. The smell was not that of fossil fuel combustion. This one had been converted to alcohol.
Suddenly the air was split with a tremendous light, a bigger sound and a concussion that rocked the earth.
BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!
Gun winced. "We're out of time. The Storm is starting to hit this place."
"Hn." Heero grunted disdainfully. He'd self-destructed enough times to have hope still. "Hold on," was all the warning he gave before he floored the gas pedal.
Duo kept a close eye on their retreat as they sprinted through the hallways and corridors at Carter's direction. The last thing they needed now was for any of them to get shot by an overlooked guard when they were so close to escaping.
The corridors flew past, and the smell of weather grew stronger in Duo's nose as they neared the entrance.
Suddenly there was a tremendous sound and concussion that shook the walls around them. It was like having a multi megaton bomb had just been dropped on the base overhead.
"Shit! Outta time... How far, Carter?" Duo yelled.
"Not far!" the blond called, starting to run.
He slowed and paused for a moment when he reached the open space in front of the gate. His face turned pale at the sight of the bodies lying all around.
Tryan put an arm around Carter and started to run. He couldn't protect the little blond entirely, but he did what he could.
Duan moved faster, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
Wufan took a deep breath and focused on getting out.
Kenny stayed close to Duan and ignored the carnage. He might think of it later but for now he simply blocked it out.
He also kept an eye on Duo.
Duo rounded the last corner and caught sight of the congealing mess lying in his path. He never even broke stride, but his mouth thinned into a deep, and pained scowl.
It wasn't the messiest thing he'd ever seen, but the kids...
He growled in the back of his throat as he jogged through the mess on the heels of the kids, concentrating on not splashing or slipping.
That's all they'd need on their trip home: hanging out with a blood drenched Duo probably didn't rank up there on anyone's list of 'Things to do this week'.
They all burst out of the gate and into the tunnel which was dark, showing the story sky further on and increasingly frequent lightning strikes. The heard an engine off to the left.
"Transport?!" Duan called out.
Carter was breathing deeply, looking around, and his eyes were drawn over and over to the patch of storm-filled sky beyond.
Kenny turned, targeting the sound. He dug into the bag Duo was schlepping and pulled out one of the flashlights, waving it to signal their presence.
Heero saw the light and turned the hummer towards it unerringly. He sped over quickly, squealing to a stop just in front of the small band.
"Ride?" He asked, just a touch sardonically.
"You can pick me up later, Hee-chan. Right now, we gotta get out of here," Duo called, watching as the kids scrambled onto the vehicle.
Duan looked at Kenny briefly and frowned. Then, he shook his head and scrambled into the huge vehicle.
Kenny swarmed up behind him, pulling Wufan in, then leaning out to pulled Carter and Tryan in as well. Once Duo made it into the vehicle, Kenny called, "All clear!"
Heero nodded and geared up once more. "Hold on." He repeated before gunning the engine and tearing off away from the storm.
Duo settled the kids into secure spots and then squirmed forward to lean close to Gun.
"Got something for ya," he said.
Gun rolled a swollen eye in his direction and nodded but he seemed distracted by the storm above and around them.
Once out of the tunnel, they were hit with the full force of the weather and the winds were strong enough to try and push the sturdy vehicle off the course Heero was steering. There was what appeared to be an ancient asphalt road surface from the tunnel, that led past the small building where they had met Carter, and then appeared to wind off to the east, the direction they had approached the whole area from when transported by Jack and Rip.
"I can get you to Arcadia from here," Tryan said to Heero.
The boy had to yell over the noise of the wind and the frequent and incredibly loud sound of thunder.
Heero nodded, most of his concentration on keeping the hummer from overturning in the wind. He cocked his head backward to listen for direction.
Before Tryan could speak, a lightning strike hit the ground directly between the two domed buildings, and above the tunnel they had emerged from. It was so close that the flash and the sound were immediate and deafening, and they could feel the concussion as the massive bolt of electricity hit the ground so close by. The air was thick with ozone.
Tryan closed his eyes a moment and then began shouting directions in the simplest forms he could think of.
The road lasted for a while but disappeared beneath earth and vegetation soon enough. From then on they moved cross-country. But they could not go very swiftly against the force of the storm.
While Heero concentrated on maintaining their course, Duo busied himself with making sure none of the boys were injured, and tending what he could find. Gun would have to wait until they had more space and materials to deal with his injuries.
The strange little girls hadn't managed to do much more than inflict some scratches on the boys, and maybe a small bruise or two, so there wasn't much to deal with. Carter had not been touched, and he strained around in his seat, his eyes glued with fascination to the storm.
Another stroke hit the base - they were further now but it was still incredibly loud and powerful. Another hit... then it seemed almost as if a purposeful barrage followed that lit the sky and filled the air with thunder so frequent as to be nonstop. None of them could have said how long it lasted. It was the fury of nature, directed in a way Duo and Heero had never seen or imagined and it gave the impression that man and all his weapons were truly puny and powerless in the final analysis, is nature ever turned her forces against him.
Carter covered his ears but still tried to watch the destruction of the base behind them.
"Damn," Duo murmured, "She really meant business, didn't she?" he whispered reverently, thinking back to what he remembered hearing about the woman who'd apparently been responsible for the Storm.
Gun heard and smiled tiredly. He caught Duo's eye and nodded.
The hummer was almost thrown on it side as a massive strike hit... they could almost feel this one cleaving into the ground itself, penetrating the earth like a savage lover.
"It's getting the... thing," Wufan said.
"Good," Duo said gravely, shuddering as he remembered seeing the green monstrosity.
"Helen said that it was like that all over the world," Duan offered.
The rain hit suddenly, adding another obstacle to Heero's driving.
Gun leaned over to Heero. "We're not going to make it to Arcadia," he said as loud as he could manage. "The Storm is building to hurricane strength. Better head for the tunnel..."
He gestured, indicating a direction, and continued to do so. Eventually they discovered the remains of a long- abandoned superhighway. They were a few rusted vehicles on it but it had mostly been scoured clean over time. The surface was broken and treacherous but it was a path to follow that cut through the countryside.
Tryan looked down at Carter. "You ok?" he asked.
Carter looked over at Tryan, half deafened by the thunder, but his eyes were wide and seemed to be free of the traces of dread and worry they had carried from the time Tryan had first met him. He nodded. "Yes!" he said. Then he smiled. "I'm FREE!"
"Whoo hooo!!!" Duan screamed from the back seat.
Duo smiled, carefully dropping a gentle hand on Carter's shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Told ya we'd get ya out of there."
Carter looked up at Duo and his expression was little shy of adoring. "Thank you!" he cried. Then he blinked. His eyes widened more.
"My head... doesn't hurt... but the Storm always hurts...." he exclaimed. Then he looked up at Duo. "The... the thing! It's dead!!! It's not in my head any more! That's what made it hurt!!"
Duo blinked once, considering that. This little boy had to deal with that... that thing being in his head? For most of his life?
Duo shook his head in amazement.
"Yer one tough kid, Carter."
Carter smiled incredibly, blinking away happy tears. He stuck his hand as far out of the vehicle as he could to catch some rain on it.
Even Heero had to smile at the boy's joy as he drove on.
Wufan smiled as he looked out at the rain. Then, his expression changed and he sighed to himself. He thought of his mother and what he was going to have to confess to her. Taking a deep breath, he thought about the great memories he would have of his adventure and felt that it had been worth it. He was happy for Carter and his freedom even though the thought did cross his mind that he would be doing some major time studying and staring at the walls.
"I'll go with you, Wufan. I'll help explain," Duo said, swallowing uncomfortably as he considered the fate of the entire group.
There was just about nothing in any world scarier than an angry mother, but he'd face it with Wufan if it would help.
Heero shuddered. He didn't relish the prospect.
Wufan smiled. "Thank you, Duo," he said. "It will be all right. Ma can only kill me once."
Duo couldn't stop the laugh that burst from his lips.
"Heh... Ya never know. Mothers have amazing abilities..."
"I'll go with ya too," Duan offered. "You know Sallah can't resist me."
Kenny nodded. "I'll come," he said.
"I can bring Sheba, if that would help?" Tryan offered.
"Thanks," Wufan said, suddenly not feeling quite so alone.
"Team." Heero reminded the smaller boy.
"Naw... Family," Duo corrected his partner.
"You have a mother?" Carter asked, eyes wide. "Can I meet her?"
"Yes," Wufan said, "She would love you, Carter."
Kenny heard the "team" and "family" comments and simply smiled to himself.
Duo glanced down and noted Kenny's expression.
"What are you so amused at, short stuff?"
"I just like the idea of the team... and the family," Kenny answered, taking Duo's hand.
Duo smiled gently.
"Good. Because yer stuck with me at least. And where I go, so does he," he replied, nodding towards their driver.
"Hai." Heero said emphatically, glancing back at them quickly with a rare smile.
Gun directed Heero to an offshoot of the highway, that sloped downwards.
"Tunnel," he said briefly. "Used to go under the ship channel. Blocked at the other end but this side's intact. We can wait until the worst of the Storm has passed."
Kenny nodded. "And where I go, you got Duan too," he added, nudging his friend.
"Of course," Duan said. "Maybe some day we can keep the rest of these guys too!" he added.
Duo smiled and nodded.
"That would be nice," he agreed wistfully.
"Why would you wanna do that to yourself?" Tryan asked, with a small grin. "That would be like five kids!"
"Because I'm a masochist at heart. Why else do you think I hang out with Heero?" Duo replied quickly, winking at the boy.
Tryan grinned. "Because you love him," he answered.
"Well, yeah. There's that."
Heero found the tunnel entrance and backed into it, sheltering them from the full brunt of the storm.
Heero glanced around quickly, evaluating the shelter, then nodded. "Good. Secure."
He glanced back to his passengers, "Everyone all right?"
"Think so," Duo replied, scanning the group once more.
"Yes," Kenny called. "What about you, Heero?"
"Yeah. What about you, Heero?" Duo said, his voice growing suspicious and almost a little grumpy.
"Fine." Heero responded with barely a thought. It was an automatic response.
"Yeah. Okay. How about thinking about it for a second and then telling me the truth?" Duo replied, well acquainted with his partner's idiosyncrasies.
"And how about you, Gun?"
The kids all looked to one another, then back to the big guys. Grown-up battles were fun.
"Better, without those assholes taking a crap on my head," Gun mumbled in his impeccable British flavored accent.
Heero chuckled at the accent.
The storm continued in full force for a while as they watched and marveled, resting now that they could.
"You never answered my question, Yuy," Duo prompted.
Heero looked over at his partner neutrally, "Nani?"
"How about thinking about it and telling me the truth?" Duo repeated.
Duan looked over at Wufan. "That was a great kick! You have problems hittin' a girl?" he asked.
Wufan smiled. "Yeah, at first, but then they were coming after me and so I had to defend myself. They were tough!"
"I agree. Excellent form," Duo said, nodding towards Wufan.
Heero raised an eyebrow, thankful for the distraction, and asked, "Care to share?"
"Share?" Duo replied, arching an eyebrow himself and tossing his partner and a neutral expression to mirror Heero's earlier one.
"Share what?" he asked innocently as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Heero! We..w..." Duan started and then sighed. He then looked over at Carter. "Sorry... they were your sisters and all."
Heero looked at Duan and the rest of the boys, "Explain."
Carter sighed. "I felt guilty for not saving my sisters," he said. "So we went to try and get them to come out. I have... had... nineteen sisters. We're all clones," he said solemnly.
Heero's eyebrows stayed raised but he wasn't too shocked. 19 was a hell of a lot better than 29.
Duan looked at Kenny, then back to Carter. "But you're not a sheep," he said.
Carter scratched his head. "No..." he said doubtfully. "What's a sheep?"
"We have a lot to show you, Carter," Duan said, dropping a hand on his new friends shoulder.
"Heh. World-wise young Duan now, eh?" Duo asked, winking at the boy.
Duan winked back, then he leaned forward. "How come you don't wanna tell Heero we kicked butt? Was that wrong?" he asked.
"Nope. Not'all. I'm just waiting for Heero to fess up. He's not as okay as he says he is, and I want him to confess," Duo replied conspiratorially.
Duan sighed, heavily. "Good luck. That stuff never works on Kenny. He just gets quieter." he said, patting Duo on the shoulder.
"Like I said, kiddo. I'm a masochist at heart."
Kenny threw a low wattage glare at Duan.
"Hn."
"Sadist." Heero muttered in correction.
Duo sighed in defeat.
"You'd have been proud of them, Heero. They did good."
"Those sisters were weird," Kenny mentioned.
Carter sighed and hung his head slightly.
Duo reached out and laid a gentle hand on Carter's shoulder again. He gave the boy a look filled with sympathy and support.
"Carter was brave. It took a lot to do what he had to do. He did good and he didn't hit anybody," Tryan said.
Kenny nodded. "He did something better," he murmured.
Carter looked around, and seemed to be a bit surprised. He was feeling the emotions of support coming from everyone. It was unusual to him. He began to smile.
Heero looked at the small boy and smiled, "I'm sure you did good." His blue eyes glanced over the others. "I'm sure you all did good."
Then he darted a quick look at Duo and leaned back over the seat to whisper in his ear, "And I am fine. A little... drained, but fine."
Duo's eyes grew round with surprise. He blinked once before a wide, and tender smile, broke out over his features.
Kenny observed the exchange and smiled slightly, leaning back.
After a while, the storm slackened to a steady rain, and the fury of the winds and lightning seemed to diminish a bit. It would be possible to finished the short journey to the city of Arcadia.
End of Part 23 -- TBC
bonnejeanne & vonceia present
RavynFyre and Kateri Marie
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
ravynfyre@hotmail.com,
nacl3salaris@hotmail.com,
vonceia@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com.