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"Lasting Impressions"Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys.
Lasting Impressions Chapter 4
Heero thought he was prepared for anything when the
airlock opened. Still, it's hard to anticipate a handsome, green-eyed
male of He didn't seem aware of the blood, which in itself was
odd, as the Ansirians are known to be a proud race, always aware of
their "Please, come with me. I need your help to move
him. He tries to get around by himself, but I don't want him to hurt
himself. Mind Heero didn't know what to make of this, so he had to rely on someone who had a better idea of what should be done. He looked at Duo, who seemed concerned solely about this unidentified second person. Duo caught Heero's gaze and nodded, then started after the Ansirian. As they left the loading bay and entered the main hall
the reason they were to mind where they stepped soon became obvious.
Streaks of blood and other, unidentified bodily fluids, all led in
one direction or another. Despite his warning, the Ansirian didn't
try They passed the doorway to what might have been the engine room, but in any case had a pile of corpses, dumped unceremoniously into a heap, and with blood pooled and congealed all around them. Hilde made a face and looked a warning at Heero. Duo passed by without a second glance. He didn't appear to notice, or care if he did. His focus was elsewhere. The whole place was quiet. Not the quiet that implies a simple lack of noise. This was the quiet that implies a lack of life. There was no electronic buzz, no tiny sounds of stirring, just the faint thud of their own footsteps. The Ansirian stopped short outside an open doorway,
and held up a hand for them to do the same. He spoke in a soft, soothing
"What are they?" a quiet, wary voice asked from the dark room. There was a faint rustling, as though something were moving around in there. "Humans, love. Spacers. The woman is a Bard." "You can let them in," the voice seemed a bit less dangerous as it said these words, lighter, younger. "Don't startle him. He's been through hell," the Ansirian admonished before striding into the room. Duo followed without hesitation. Despite the oddness
of the circumstances, the warning signs that would normally have sent
Heero By the time Heero got into the room, the Ansirian was sitting beside the room's other occupant, holding a hand. At first Heero thought it was a member of a dark-skinned race, but his eyes adjusted some to the dark, and he realized that the hand was partially covered in dry blood. Duo remained undeterred. He got a glass of water and gave it to the Ansirian. "Make him drink some," he instructed, then went about stripping the bed that Heero hadn't even noticed yet in one corner. The Nachi then tore one sheet into long strips. "If we're going to get you out of here, we have to bind that gash. It'll just reopen if we don't." Heero now recognized the room's other occupant as a
Ryunan. This one was blonde, with large eyes and dress similar to
his And small wonder, if the blood on him was any indication.
It covered his arms to the elbow, where it had been drying so long
that "No," Duo answered calmly. "I'm a healer." He met the Ryunan's gaze and held it. Duo's eyes practically radiated reassurance. At last, the blonde nodded. "Let him bind my wounds," he told the Ansirian. Heero hadn't thought about the fact that Duo had medical training, but it certainly made sense. The Nachi would have made sure he was able to be of assistance in an emergency. After all, who wouldn't want that? Duo took the strips and sat down beside the Ryunan. "By the way, my name is Duo. Do you have any serious wounds besides your side here?" The patient smiled a bit. "No, that's the worst. Is this where I say, `You should see the other guy'?" "I did. There's not much I can do for any of them. Lean forward. Let me know if it's too tight. I don't want to hurt you." "By the way, I'm Quatre, and this is Trowa," the blonde said, more to distract himself from the pain of Duo's ministrations than any desire to introduce himself. Hilde had been wrestling with her uncertainty about
the situation, and at last overcame it. She hesitantly came up beside
Duo. "I'm "Find a first-aid kit. Ask Heero for his if you can't find one here." Hilde left to do as she was asked. Heero stepped forward
and introduced himself. After being certain that Duo and Trowa could
A few doors up, he found a room full of bodies, most of them Ryunan, though Heero was interested to note there wasn't a single Ansirian among the corpses. They were all laid out neatly, and many of them were covered partially or completely with cloth or articles of clothing. Pulling back a few, Heero realized their purpose was to cover the worst of the carnage. There were varying degrees of damage, from a single gunshot wound on one female who seemed to be dressed as an officer, to a male child who was nearly as nightmarish as the bloody mess Quatre had called the "other guys". In the next room, the mess hall, Heero found more of the same. Dead men, women, and even a few children, lying on tables, benches, the floor, whatever space could be found. Something awful had transpired on this ship, and Quatre and Trowa were the only survivors. Heero didn't peer into any more rooms, but he didn't
need to. There was more than enough to look at, just by watching the
story the occasional patch of blood on the wall told. The prints of
many boots were outlined in red on the floor. The smell of it was
thick, Holding his breath as much as possible, Heero headed
straight for the bridge. He only took a cursory glance at the navigation
At last, Duo came and announced that Trowa needed help to move Quatre onto the shuttle. On the way back, he gave Heero a briefing on Quatre's status. "We're going to have to move you to the shuttle now…" Heero began. Quatre's lips pressed into a firm line. "So you
want me to explain all this, right? Can't let any murderers onto your
ship, now, can Quatre, despite his friendly manner, seemed ready for
an argument about it, but Heero looked at Hilde, and then at Duo,
and Quatre and Trowa stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
Maybe he had. It wouldn't surprise him. Heero shrugged again. After
a It was quick and fairly simple to move Quatre into the
third bunk. It was there that Heero got his first good look at the
Ryunan. He, Despite that, this one looked like a doll that had been
through hell, though washing the blood from his face and claws would
likely Glancing at where Trowa had all but collapsed from exhaustion
in the nearby chair, and noting the haggard lines on his colorful
face, "No doctor," Quatre insisted. "Nobody can know I'm injured." "I know somebody we can see. She knows how to keep her mouth shut. Well, when it comes to who her patients are, anyway," Heero added, a bit ruefully.
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