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"Searching "Written By: CalicOcat
Rating: Umm, I guess... PG-13 Warnings: Profanity Pairings: 2x5x2 and 3x4x3 in this chapter, more
to come Author's Notes: This is actually the first chapter
of a multi-part AU story - one that's languished in fragmentary form
on my hard drive for a very, very long time, but which the au100 LJ
community has inspired me to dust off and actually finish. As allowed
by the community rules, although both of my claimed pair are in this,
their relationship, in this particular chapter of this particular
AU, isn't that of lovers. In fact - fair warning to my usual readers
- this chapter's pairings are actually 2x5x2(!) and 3x4x3. (And now
you know why I've never gotten around to finishing this, since I became
a 1x2x1 OTPer.) However, have faith! All will be made clear, and there
will be 1x02x1 (nope, that's not a typo). Eventually.
"Searching " "Hiiro, why can't you just settle down and enjoy life like the rest of us? We've done our job, obtained peace, why not enjoy it? Why go looking for more trouble?" I gave my best friend a faint smile and shook my head.
"I can't. I really wish I could, but I just can't." I looked
around the small "I wish that you would at least let us go with you." I shook my head firmly. "No, Wu. You all have roles to play here. And people that need you..." I touched my fingertip to my best friend's mouth, silencing his objection before he could add it. "I know you're getting better, Max. But it will be months before you're really fighting fit again. You deserve to have your lover here with you while you're recovering. I won't take him with me. The same goes for you two," I added sternly, forestalling the blond's inevitable offer. "*You* have a company to run Winner, and you're going to need Triton's support. Neither of you can come with me." And both Max and Q needed their life partners there to watch their backs; Max because he was still barely able to walk a few feet on his own even after a month out of the hospital and Q because his position as head of his family's company left him highly vulnerable. Just because we'd stopped this latest flare-up before it even got under way, that didn't mean that there weren't others out there just watching for a chance to take us out before going after the government yet again. "We understand, Hiiro. Please, be careful and come home to us as soon as you can," the Arabian said gently. "I will," I promised. I looked around the
group again. We'd been through a long, rough few years together. First
the war, then the We'd all virtually lived at the hospital until he was
finally released. He was the heart and soul of our group. The one
who'd turned We all loved him in our own way. But from the very start, Max and Wu had been soul mates. They'd fought like cats and dogs at first, both afraid to love someone after the losses they'd suffered in the past. When they'd finally given in and admitted their feelings, everyone else had heaved a huge sigh of relief. Things had become much more peaceful from that point on, though the two of them would never have the sort of quiet serenity that Q and Triton had. I was the only one of our group that still had not found my other half. A small part of me had the foolish hope that perhaps I would during my chase after the missing scientist, though the practical part of me scoffed at the notion. That part was skeptical of the very notion of soul mates, despite the evidence I could see in this very room. Skeptical that there was anyone out there that I would ever feel that deeply for, feel that mixture of caring and passion towards. "Well, Hiiro, you'd damn well better be back before I'm fighting fit again or we'll be coming after you," Max warned, the stubborn gleam in those cobalt eyes of his emphasizing his seriousness. "If I'm not back by then, I'll welcome your assistance," I told him. "But now, I'd really better get going. Saunders has a far greater lead on me already than I would like." A far, far greater lead. Nearly three months worth. But it had taken an entire month for me to recover enough to even leave the hospital, and Max had been there for another month after that. There was no way that I would have left before he was safely on the road to recovery. Even if I had been ready sooner, it had taken virtually
that entire length of time for our five scientists to piece together
the research From what I understood, the world immediately adjacent to ours was very similar. Advance scouts had studied it closely, then had contacted our counterparts who were able to verify that the man we sought had been there, but had fled when he was caught trying to contact individuals that were being monitored as potential sources of rebellion. Their description of his departure, vanishing into thin air, had confirmed that he had moved on again. Since he had no reason to return here - and precautionary monitoring had yet to find any trace of his presence - it was assumed that he had continued along the chain of realities. I just hoped he would slow down enough for me to catch up. And that I wouldn't run into more trouble than I could handle alone. It appeared that each world in the direction the fugitive was heading was at a slightly earlier point in time relative to our own. While the exact details varied substantially, the basics remained the same. The colonies inevitably ended up fighting against a totalitarian Earth-based regime and their forces consisted of a small group of Gundams. If our fugitive went far enough, I was going to end up back in the war again. So, I had pulled an old friend out of storage to act as my transportation. But, when I turned and opened the hangar bay doors, instead of a familiar figure of silver and white waiting patiently, I discovered a menacing black hellmonster looming over me. "Since I can't go with you, I'm sending Shini," Max said calmly. I was speechless. No one else *ever* piloted Max's baby. "Max..." "You'll need his cloaking abilities, Hiiro. Professor Gage and Doc Jacobs moved Zero from Wing over to him so you've got the best of both suits." I crouched beside his wheelchair and hugged Max carefully. Shini was far better suited for covert ops than my Wing but I would never have even considered asking to borrow him. "Thank you," I murmured fervently. "Yeah, well, just make sure you bring both of you back in one piece!" he threatened, the tight hug he was giving me belying his joking words. "I will," I promised. Carefully drawing away from him - god, he was still so damn frail - I stood and caught his lover's shoulder in a fierce grip. "And you take damn good care of *him*, Wu. Don't let the sneaky bastard come after me before he's fit." "Believe me, he is not setting one foot off the estate until he can knock me on my ass again," the Chinese man answered drily. "I can think of better things to do with your ass than that," Max leered suggestively. "Hentai!" Wu scolded affectionately, very gently tugging Max's long chestnut braid. I turned reluctantly from the byplay, sweeping one last glance across the familiar faces that were all here to see me off. My friends. My family. Wu and Max. Q and Triton. Lena. Hirde. Sally. Even those lingering further back, the former enemies, now fell under the designation of friends. Milliardo. Lu. Doro. Une. And, of course, the five scientists that we all had
a love/hate relationship with. They meant well most of the time, but
had an With a last word of farewell, I headed for Shini. I would need to check out the controls since they were not identical to Wing's, but I would leave as soon as I had done so. I did not want to have to go through all those goodbyes again. Something that Max had evidently guessed, as a note in his handwriting, a manual, and a handwritten "cheat sheet" - I snickered at the sight, who else but Max would create a cheat sheet for operating a Gundam? - were waiting for me in the cockpit. I knew he blamed himself as much as I blamed myself
for the scientist's escape. And yes, it was foolish on both of our
parts, it I snorted slightly at the thought. All five of us were terrible that way. We knew that we took responsibility for things we had no control over, scolded each other for doing so, but each of us still kept on doing it ourselves. I ran down Max's checklist, noting with satisfaction that all systems were go. A quick flip switched on the stealth equipment, then I triggered the dimension device. Time for this show to get on the road. After all, I had a mad scientist to catch. ~ * ~ tbc...
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