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"Greeting Cards"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, funeral practices, AU, fluff Pairings: 1+4, 1x2x1, 3+H, 5xH, 3x4, 6x9 Summary: Each chapter is based on Heero’s
greeting cards and Duo's mortuary. "Greeting Cards " Chapter 36 -- April Showers, Part 4 of 6 (o) Duo POV With a hard wrench to one side, the aged wood splintered, giving way, and my foot freed suddenly. Too suddenly. My weight shifted onto my unsupported elbows and I couldn't recover my balance. Down I went, sliding backwards into a darkened side chute. "Gah!" I yelped, followed by other nonsensical noises like, "Oof!" and "ugh!" until I was brought up shortly when my head and shoulders collided with a stout board. Luckily, I hadn't knocked myself out; however, I had slid far enough to get wedged into a weird spot I never would have discovered by looking. I touched my sore head and discovered a rising bump rising under a mat of damp hair. "Oh, man—!" Shadows danced off the rocks like moving creatures, nearly scaring me to death. "Aah!" But, it turned out to be caused by the light from my headpiece playing off the surfaces glistening with seeping water. "This place sucks royal." It had to be one of the creepiest places I'd ever been stuck. Then I saw a brilliant flash of light off a smooth patch. "Metal?" I quickly reached up and adjusted my headlight, which had been knocked awry in the accident, then turned to examine this new find. It turned out to be a fine brass plate engraved with elegant script. I polished it up and read: Leia Barton. Aside from the nameplate, the box was in good condition, but was nondescript. My walkie-talkie crackled with static and then Heero's voice came over. "Yuy here, love. Over." "H-hello? 'Ro? You won't believe it, but I think I found it! Just now! Yeah, there's a nameplate that says: Leia Barton." "Be careful. Do you want me to come find you, for backup?" "Not yet! I'm going to open it and then try for the samples. Ah, over." I set the walkie-talkie to the side, then used my trusty breadknife to pry open the lid. The rims parted slowly. I shouldered the weight, pushed, caught and held the edges as the seal gave way and lifted. Again, I put my knife to use, embedding the point into the coffin body to brace open the top with the knife handle. I took a moment to give the corpse a cursory look. The body inside was covered in linen cloth. Pushing away the yellowed shroud, I revealed a smiling, white skull. Embalmed or not, it took very little time for decomposition to completely remove the skin and flesh of humanity. "Don't think; do," I muttered aloud to myself. If I thought too hard about what I was doing I just might start screaming at the horror of it. I pried loose a few teeth and popped them out, carved off a finger and a toe, dumped the remains into a sterile pouch, and wrestled my blade free from the wood. Dust flew into my face as the lid slammed shut, and I was grateful for the mask. I stashed everything into my small pack and crawled up, hoping I could pick my way back to the main cavity without further mishap. My communication device sputtered before 'Ro's voice came through. "Duo? Are you all right? Over." I had to stop to retrieve it, remove my mask, and think of what to say. "Yeah, just a minute. I'm in a really cramped space here and the mask is in the way. There. Okay, I collected the bone samples and I'm on my way out." "Sounds good. Was it...difficult?" "In what way do you mean that? In a desecrating-someone's-grave kind of way or in a could-have-used-a-hand kind of way?" As the adrenaline keeping me going was wearing off, a pounding headache was settling in making me crabby. "Sorry. I just keep getting this feeling that I've been stuck in a cave before. Creepy. No matter. I got the goods and I'll be out momentarily. Over and out." I clipped the communication device onto my belt loop, yanked the mask up over my nose, and continued creeping slowly back up the tunnel. (o) Wufei's POV I fumbled with the next group of coffins, searching for identification or signs that any one of these could be Leia's burial site. It was nasty work and I continually had to distract myself from the moldy contents, the black sticky ooze, and slimy, damp wood I was handling with more pleasant thoughts. I thought about Hilde, certainly a pleasant pastime. I wondered if the time was right to bring up the subject of marriage. How did a man know when it was time to settle down or that he'd found the right woman to settle with? I think I was ready. I certainly wanted a family. I was ready. I felt she was the perfect mate for me. What it would be like if she did happened to get pregnant? How would she feel about carrying my child? "How would I?" I wondered out loud. Then it occurred to me that I hadn't heard from Hilde all night and hoped she was safe. Trowa and Quatre were trustworthy, but I hadn't wanted her to come along at all. She had been so very persuasive. Now, that fond memory was enjoyable enough to mind-wipe me for several coffins, but then my walkie-talkie buzzed. I clicked it on. "Chang. Over." "You can come back, Duo. Duo found her. The search is over." "Yuy? Are you saying Maxwell found the coffin? You're certain? Over." "Yes. Over." "Excellent. Notify Zechs, please. I'm on my way out. It is very... tight in here." I assumed Heero would be there when I dropped down from my crypt hole and inched my way down the rock wall. Instead, it was Maxwell. "Whoa! You sure are dirty!" Duo said with a flinch. "So are you." "Yeah, lucky me. I got a hell-hole. Hey, at least I found what we came for, right?" "We have achieved our goal." I joined Duo looking over the stolen material with a marked lack of enthusiasm. "Pretty great, huh? So, we can go now? Maybe make something of the rest of the weekend, right?" "That would be ideal. Did Yuy go out already?" Maxwell held out a page torn from Heero's drawing book with an arrow pointing down a dark tunnel. Duo tipped his head to the side, indicating the third tunnel into the mountain. "He went 'thattaway'." "It says on the back that he'd be back shortly and that his battery ran out on his walkie-talkie. Have a seat. Oh, and keep that mask on. We've stirred up dust everywhere." "Not me," I said. "I was making mud pies." I corrected the fit of my mask, then asked in a muffled voice, "Has anyone told Zechs or notified Trowa and the others?" "Heero said he would after I reported my find. When I came out of the hole and found his note, I looked outside and didn't see Zechs on guard duty so I assume he went to get Trowa so we can load up and leave." I'd never seen Duo so unenthusiastic about an achievement and marked it up to the nasty work and exhaustion. Obviously he wanted to go after Yuy. "Go on, I'll follow you in. You know you want to go after him." I was right. He flashed me a grin. "Okay." The tunnel was wide and dry, and Maxwell had to comment on it, as he did everything he encountered. The man left nothing to my imagination. "'Ro picked the easy route. Roomy and clean-- we can stand up." "Far better than what I had had to endure. Hold up! There's a narrow gap here. We ought to look." He tore off his face mask. "Huh? Is that another side tunnel? Nah, 'Ro wouldn't have fit in a place that small. He knew I'd already found what we'd come for. Forget that and keep to the main one here." "We don't know what we'll find. He may have gone this way." "Okay, just a look, though. We have what we came for, and I don't want to push my luck." "We only need to look for signs that Yuy passed this way." The passage was narrow with sharp turns, but not wet, steep, or littered with debris. Doing it with swords strapped to our sides, or in Duo's case his very lethal-looking knife, was a challenge, but I was not going to traipse about these tunnels unarmed or leave my clan's heirloom behind. "Looks new by the clean rock and used," he observed, "by midgets." He was having trouble maneuvering in the tight space and was last to step into the gap beyond. He nearly ran me down. "Hey!" "Shhh!" Didn't he ever shut up? "Whoa, would ya look at that?" "I am looking!" I said. Instead of wooden coffins, hundreds of clear, plastic body bags were stacked horizontally, bounded by steel dividers to keep them in place. I took out my datatron and recorded my observations. "They must be fifty deep," I said, "and as many rows over here." "Fuck! The bodies just keep going back further into the mountain. There could be thousands and thousands." "Tens of thousands." He moved cautiously to the nearest bag and fingered the end. "Toe tags just have a number. You suppose these are dead guys from the jail or the nuthouse?" I shook his head, my lip curling in disgust. "No, they look too neat, orderly. Look at the bodies. They are mostly alike, or of a couple kinds." "They look unfinished. I know!" he shouted as he realized what they actually were. "It's where they bury their test subjects." I felt an unwanted shiver pulse through me. "Dear Buddha! Let's get out of here. We have the main passage to search." "Not that way!" I argued to go the opposite direction certain that "forward" was the other way, but Maxwell thought I was turned around. A directional device would have settled the problem, had I had one. "I'm sure!" he boasted and took off, leaving me in the dark. Someone had to keep an eye on the lunatic, so I trailed him. Naturally, since I had been correct all along, after a couple minutes we were back at the opening to the main chamber room. "Ah, shit!" "I told you we were heading the wrong way, but would you listen? No! Now we've wasted more time. I'm going back to get Yuy—alone if necessary!" Duo raced across the room to the exit and looked out. "Hey, Zechs, you there? Heero show up?" When I approached Duo, he spun around, ripping off his mask, and looked worried for the first time. "No one's there!" "Zechs must be doing his perimeter walk. We can renew our search for Yuy." I thought he'd be excited to finish what we'd started. He shook his head and pushed me to the side, clamping onto my arm. "You hear that?" he shrieked in my ear. "No—Yes!" Next thing we knew, Treize, looking better than he had any right to, floated into the room beneath a voluminous cape. It was Treize. It had to be. He looked just like his pictures. He had come from out of nowhere, or so it appeared, although I thought later the he must have come through the passage we hadn't finished exploring. He certainly hadn't come from the clone-corpse storage room; that would have been too much of a squeeze for a man his size. "Treize Khushrenada," I informed Duo. "Aw, crap!" Duo complained. Now this tall oddly attired man stared over my shoulder, alarm growing on his pale face. I looked back to see Merquise just appearing at the cave's entrance. Maxwell patted himself down looking for a weapon, I guessed, while I, well, I didn't know quite what to make of the apparition except that he had a hand on a sword pommel. I felt for mine and took up a defensive stance while Duo went about talking the man to death. Firing a gun would be reckless. It could be more dangerous to us than to my target if I missed and the bullets were sent ricocheting off rock walls. Duo began the sparring with his customary verbal attack. "What are you doing here in a getup like that? It's ridiculous, though, gotta say... that sword of yours is pretty damn sweet. Can I see it?" Treize drew the sword, taking the more hostile approach. "Nice job, Maxwell," I said. Just like Duo to stir things up. Naturally, being the professional here, it would be up to me to restore calm and smooth things over. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," I began, taking the formal more officially sanctioned approach. But Treize pointed the sword to the side, moved it further from Duo's outstretched arm, and shook his head. The man smiled a patient smile, as if he had to merely endure "the naughty child" one more time. His eyes remained fixed on the man behind me, towering above me, as he said, "You shouldn't have brought these others, lieutenant. It's time to go. This way." He gestured with the long sword, pointing toward the gaping, dark passageway. "Just you hold on there, mister!" Duo shouted. "Where's 'Ro?" The man's eyes shifted to Duo, his expression blank. "Row-?" "We all came here for a party, if you have to know, not that it's any business of yours. So, if you don't like us being here, take it up with the resort management. Now, you have to have seen another guy, or passed him when you came in from that tunnel." "I have come for Lieutenant Milliardo Peacecraft." Maxwell took it upon himself to carry our side of the conversation. "Well, that's your problem, you mindless drone! Far as I know, you haven't got an appointment with any of us. Now, I got more important things to do than argue with you." I didn't know how close to the truth he'd come with the name calling. Treize wheeled around, swinging his sword. "He is mine!" Treize yelled. "Wrong!" I shouted, blocking the attack with my sword in a most advantageous move, and giving Duo the opportunity to get away. "Go on! Find him!" Duo didn't wait for the sword man's permission. He sped past us down the passage to find Heero and, hopefully, bring him back to help us. Zechs appeared stunned to the core at seeing the madman of OZ. I grabbed at my fellow agent's shirt. "Get out of here and get Barton!" Treize roared, "Barton? Barton is dead, the duplicitous villain!" I parried another thrust. "Move! Trowa doesn't answer his call! Those are orders, agent!" Zechs, previously frozen in place like a fish filet, reanimated under orders. "Yes, Sir!" (o) Zechs POV Stunned by the sight of my former superior officer, I had been unable to arrange my thought processes. Not until Chang commanded me to. I dashed in the direction opposite to Maxwell, down the tunnel, out into the cavern, up the stairs and out into the open of the shrine garden. Trowa was nowhere to be found. I had called him in as soon as I received word that Duo had discovered Leia's remains and gathered his evidence. He had been here then. I checked the road for the van. Both Barton and van were missing. I whipped out my walkie-talkie and yelled, "Barton! We need back up here! Over!" Now, Trowa wasn't even answering. "Winner! Damn you anyway! Pick up!" A shot rang out, the echo bouncing off the stone walls. "Ah!" My walkie-talkie exploded into fragments. Someone was shooting at me! I returned to the relative safety of the crypt, out of sight, and stared back out into the darkness, gun drawn. I hoped Trowa had returned to protect the others at the cabin and was safe. The thought that he'd been ambushed and our van stolen would have meant our mission was doomed. Ping! Another shot and a scampering of feet. The shadows came alive. I fired to pick off a possible enemy, buying me a few moments to haul out my automatic. Whoever was out there, I would not let them get past me. (o) Duo POV I left behind the sound of shouting, scuffling, and the clang of metal on stone, but not because I wanted to! My friend was in trouble but I had a terrible feeling my lover was in over his head, too. I ripped off my pack and dug into the center compartment for the hand guns. I had returned my trusty blade, my 'breadknife', to its scabbard at my hip, freeing a hand for carrying a gun. What had happened to 'Ro? I pushed away all kinds of nasty visions of him hurt and lying bleeding someplace. What was with Treize showing up? I removed the safety from one of the guns, stuck the other in a pocket. Setting the headlight to a lower level, I stepped cautiously down the rock staircase just about the time I heard the pounding of feet coming up, many feet. Not Heero's shoes, either, unless he'd become a centipede. Not good. I spun about and headed back to warn Wufei. (o) Wufei POV I parried skillfully with the tall and equally talented man. Possibly he was the better swordsman; he stood a head taller, at least, but I was quicker. I could see that one of us would slip up eventually, and it could just as easily be me as Treize. He didn't look old at all. From the history Zechs had given us, I was imagining an aging man. This man was hardly thirty! My attention was diverted by the sound of footsteps. For a second, I guessed it was Duo returning with Yuy in tow. No! It was Duo, but alone. Wrong again! "There's a mess of dudes after me!" he cried out. I could not battle them all single handedly. I plunged my sword again, tearing at the robes and connected with flesh. Treize staggered backwards. I had my break. "Head for the exit with Zechs and Trowa!" I commanded. I gauged my distance to the slimy, high passage. "I can't believe I am voluntarily climbing up there again!" I took a running start and leaped, looked for the hand holds in the poor light, and scrambled up. (o) Trowa's POV "Oh!" Quatre cried out as we arrived at the shrine. Shadowy forms surged around the tomb entry. "Who are those people?" I ran the van off the road, jumped out, and slammed off the lights. I was grateful for the horse-tranquillizers Hilde had given me, or whatever kind of painkillers they were. I wasn't concerned about my strength holding up or damaging myself more. I was riding pretty damn high. "This is bad." I pushed Quatre back into the front seat. "Stay here and guard the van and Hilde!" "But you're hurt! Shouldn't you stay here and I--?" The question died on his lips under my determined gaze. "There's no time to argue. I'm moving in. I need you to fire off a few shots to distract them." My eyes pleaded with Quatre's for understanding and compliance. He acquiesced with a curt nod. "Right!" Hilde pushed forward. "I can do something. I demand to help. I can aim, target shoot." I stared her down a moment before I decided to take my chances that she wouldn't shoot me in the back. "Okay. Come with me. You'll watch my back until we get to the wall there, see it? Then stay behind that and cover me until I go in. Then, I want you to fall back to the van and guard it with Quatre, understand? No heroics!" "Just yours... Oh, fine," she agreed and climbed into the back of the van to get her shotgun. My lover was going to be so mad at me for this, I thought. (o) Wufei's POV I hated caves and graves, so I gritted my teeth and closed my mind to my surroundings. I had to ignore the smell of decay coming through the mask; my ghoulish work exposing more of the sticky tar of what Duo informed me was decomposing soft tissue from the bodies. I ripped apart the burial cases and collected skulls -- more than any weaker soul could take—and whispered apologies to these souls. I begged my ancestors for understanding and strength. "This is not the rot inside a corpse," I muttered over and over. From somewhere outside my morbid world beat a report of distant gunfire, reminding me of how little time I had to waste. I worked frantically, piling up dozens of white, grinning skulls, and then rolling them all down the passage to the opening. I desperately hoped that this risky, utterly disgusting, strategy would work. Where had Yuy disappeared to? It wasn't possible that he would just run off. I hoped he was okay. I hoped Hilde was safe. I regretted not taking the time before entering the crypt to say something reassuring to her. Something personal. Something intimate. Another volley of gunfire shook me out of my dream world. "Here I am thinking of sex!" Worse, I was talking to myself! My mind cleared to crystal clear acuity. Treize had sounded so odd, not that I had ever met the man for real, but it was as if he were possessed. I guessed that the man had gone insane. Experimenting on people like that—he had to be a mad man! Or maybe he was one of those cloned soldiers? "Right!" I shouted, excited by this inspired logic. Hadn't Agent Shari told us about a rumor? Is that a copy-Treize? Just then, the hollow voice from below intoned, "Milliardo! I must talk to you. Come out!" I scrambled to the lip of the lofty opening and peered out. My face throbbed where Treize's sword had struck my cheekbone. Opening the jaws of one of the skulls, I jammed it full of mud and rocks from the passage, packing them down hard. "This had better work!" I hazarded one more look out the hole, and saw Duo slashing out with a huge knife. The brave idiot! Why hadn't he run when I told him to? I yelled at the tops of my lungs hoping the braided manic could hear me. "It's not Treize. That's his clone. It isn't a real man!" I aimed then threw the bony projectile down atop of copy-Treize's head as hard as possible. "Banzai!" Yes, I shouted a Japanese word in my excitement. (o) Duo's POV The place was a madhouse! I couldn't see 'Fei anywhere but there were these guys in cloaks swarming the cavern and Treize was at the center of all the excitement. I didn't know whether to start shooting or not. Bullets bouncing off the rocks could be just as dangerous to me as them. And then Treize came at me, so I went for my knife. I hoped I wouldn't have to killed anybody—again. Over the din, I made out Wufei's voice. It was coming from overhead, but I couldn't see him. "—Treize... -- clone. It isn't a real man!" That I could believe. That explained the cloaked men I was fighting. They were the fighting minions. Created things, fashioned from what, I didn't know. I especially didn't want to know how me and my friends came into play. Why we'd been used, tagged, and listed by the labs here. However, knowing that I didn't need to hold back any more, I lashed out one more time. Thunk! This heavy rock, projectile thing just slammed into my opponent's head. My knife connected with the man's gut, sending the Treize clone crashing into the wall behind me with such force that the wall crumbled, enveloping the creature in a fall of rock. I looked up in time to catch sight of Wufei launching another bone-bomb at a cloaked figure running his way. "Bombs away!" I signaled him with a 'thumbs up' before confronting my next attacker. A wild thought occurred to me; I had an idea. "Chang! Toss me one!" "Catch!" I caught the heavy skull, grimacing as I ran my fingers along its smooth surface; the eye sockets were like bowling ball finger holes. With a short windup, I fired off the skull, sending it skittering it to the ground, where it shot off spinning like mad, knocking cloaked men over like wooden pins. My plan, such as it was, worked me away from the stairs and closer to where Wufei was hanging out. I slit the throat of the any man blocking my way. I had not thought I was a bloodthirsty man, but it was me or them. Actually, my attackers had not yet hurt me, as if they were not certain if I were important or not. I reacted like a berserker, though, hitting, cutting, destroying anything or anyone in my path. One man came up behind me and ripped off my face mask. I whirled around and stabbed him through the heart, silencing him forever. I moved another step forward and spotted Zechs' pale hair rising above the moving mass, his muscular arms striking out with his rifle butt, cutting down the opposition in his path, reminding me of a warrior out of a story book. I caught sight of Treize: limp, eyes closed, and immobilized against the wall, taken out. I felt oddly unsatisfied and empty. I jumped when something dropped from a point above my line of sight, and a hooded attacker crumpled to the ground. I traced the trajectory and found Wufei, grinning like a frenzied demon, thrusting another grisly missile out the passage gap. I felt a rush of relief, knowing that I wasn't the only one caught up in the bloodlust. We weren't doing too bad either, I thought, until I heard a roar of excitement and more ageless minions appeared at the main entry. There was no escape. We were doomed. And Heero?! Heero, where are you? I couldn't get to my walkie-talkie. Where was Zechs? Trowa? Wait. Trowa had called me about something. He was going back to the cabin for something. What had he called about? When I had last heard from Trowa, I had been too busy to listen carefully. Had he said wolves? Wolves! Anguish swept over my mind when I considered the kind of terrible situation Hilde was in-- protecting our worthless shit from wolves. She had both Trowa and Quatre with her. And they all had guns and knew how to use them. Possibly they could get away. I hoped they were better off than I was... (o) Quatre's POV I could have strangled Trowa, but he was out of reach. He treated me like some precious porcelain relic, while neglecting his own injury! And I could almost swallow my pride, but then he let Hilde protect his back! That was insulting! I forgave him only because I assumed the injury must have affected his judgment. I watched Hilde lay down a thick volley of shots, enabling Trowa to make his run all the way to the shrine. I just knew she had had no intention of hiding in the van with me, so I reached for our medical bag and my guns. As soon as I saw Trowa's head disappear past the ruined gate, Hilde called back to me with this manic grin. "Move on out!" I guess I should have been pleased that she was inviting me along. While in the cabin, I had watched as Hilde filled her knapsack with a variety of hypodermic needles. She'd explained how some contained relaxants. She'd also stowed tape, scalpels, and other first-aid supplies, and snapped it shut before I could ask her any more questions. I know Trowa swallowed antibiotics and something to reduce inflammation and another for pain. I wanted to know what particular mix of drugs she'd given him, but that would have to wait. Now, with the sound of gunfire all around me, the first aid kit seemed to be a valuable thing to bring along. I grabbed it along with my firearms and made my run. I knew Trowa hadn't wanted us to do this. I knew he wanted us to remain behind in comparable safety, but right now the van didn't feel so safe and I was absolutely not going to stay behind. "He ducked in there," Hilde told me as we raced past the fountain. Whoever had been shooting at us was either dead or pursuing Trowa. I brushed past her. "I hear shouting, fighting in the cave." "I'll be last," Hilde said. "In case more attackers to come in behind us I'll watch your back. Don't worry; if anyone comes I'll scream bloody murder. They won't sneak up on you." We started down the dark stairs and immediately ran into Trowa and Zechs. Trowa looked mad, so I looked just as mad back at him. "You were too badly injured to do all this running around," I stated as tartly as possible. "I shouldn't have let Hilde give you all those painkillers." "Quatre! What are you doing here and... Hilde?" "No, go back--!" Zechs shouted. He wasn't able to finish as a cloaked man jumped onto his back. I raised my rifle and slammed it into the hooded end of the man, and he crumpled over Zechs' back. What pleasure I felt doing something! "That's one!" He shook off the dead weight, clamping a hand over Trowa's shoulder for support, and looked me in the eye. "Thanks." "Argh!" Trowa groaned as pain from his shoulder injuries and staggered into me. "You're injured! Forgive me. What happened to you?" Zechs asked. He helped prop up Trowa and get him back onto his feet. "Wolves," Hilde blurted out as she pressed past us. "C'mon! I hear Wufei calling!" We plowed into the fray, Trowa and I tagging behind. The entry chamber was dimly lit by lanterns scattered around the chamber. I assumed Wufei was responsible for their placement, since they were marked with Preventers emblems. I wondered if he was aware he was advertising Preventers involvement. Then I got a good look at what was going on. "I see Duo!" I yelled, and shot over my shoulder to Hilde, "There's Wufei!" Duo heard my shouting and kicked an attacker in the gut as he turned to look our way. "Yes! More troops!" I watched him elbow a man out of his way and set out, cutting a swath to meet up with us. "It's great to see you," he said, and then caught sight of Hilde, who was partially hidden in the deep shadows behind Trowa. "She should be at the cabin." His face mask was long gone; his coveralls torn at the shoulder, revealing a patch of grimy t-shirt, which in better light would have looked dirty blue. Trowa leaned to the side as Zechs reached around him, swinging his weapon and knocking out two hooded men before they could grab Duo. He caught another on the backswing. "Ah, ha! I knew those golf lessons were good for something!" Zechs crowed. "I heard gunfire," Duo yelled over the din. "Outside," I shouted back. "Good, too dangerous in here." Duo's hand flew around over his head simulating bullets bouncing around. I could feel his alarm when his eyes rested on Trowa. "Whoa, Tro'. You look, well, you've looked better." I should say so! His hair was matted, his shoulder wrapped, and his arm was bandaged and tied across his chest. His skin looked clammy, dripping with sweat. "Wolf attack," Trowa shot out, just before he ducked a short staff one attacker was wheeling, allowing me space to run out and trip the man jumping on him from behind. "Wolves?" Duo asked. "Later." "Where's Wufei?" Hilde asked, poking at Duo. "I heard him." "Wufei's up there," he said, pointing to the opening to the upper chambers with a blood-stained knife. The blade caught the flickering light from a hanging lantern and glinted wickedly. I couldn't see a thing up there. "You're hurt bad, Tro. Stick with Quatre and I'll try to protect Hilde." See? Even Duo put me in the role of protector! Trowa used his rifle like a cattle prod, batting away at the men who seemed intent mostly on getting a hold of Zechs. "Yeah, hurts like hell, too. None of these guys are using their guns, are they? Most don't even have weapons at all!" Duo jumped agilely over my latest victim to get closer to Hilde. "Not any more. One wave came in with guns but we got them. These are all clones, at least we're pretty sure they are, so don't mind hurting them." He hacked an attacker before Hilde could raise her gun. "Where's Heero?" I asked, batting away an attacker who was clinging to Zechs' hair and attempting to drag him to the ground. "He went down the farthest passage, but no one's heard from him since I found..." He punched an attacker in the face, sending him into the man behind him. "...Since I found, oh yeah, did you hear I found Leia's coffin?" Trowa left off swinging, grabbed me with his good arm and leaned his weight onto my shoulder. "Great, so we can leave this shit hole. Let's go get him." "I think I should get you out of this mess," I told my bad, bad lover. "You've been running on adrenaline and it's wearing off." He chose to misunderstand me and shouted at Duo, "Quat and I are going for Heero!" Duo nodded, but we were all too busy blocking attacks to go far. I found it best to stand behind Zechs, who was very strong and tall. One swipe of his huge gun, and three men, or cloned men, fell. A rock flew from above, nearly taking off the tall blonde's ear. As it fell it clipped my shoe and bounced at my feet. It was a skull! "Ah!" I screamed. "Damn it Chang! Aim!" Zechs swore. I looked up to see if I could spot Wufei. Had he thrown the skull? He was splayed out on the rock face thirty feet up and crawling down. "Ya gotta be real impressed with Wufei's show of strength," Duo remarked. "I think I'll take up rock climbing later, if I ever get out of this place." "So, that's the plan?" Hilde asked me. "I guess we're all going through that passage—the far one where Duo thinks we'll find Heero." I rolled the skull out of the way so Trowa wouldn't rip over it. I wanted him to rest, but clearly there wasn't any safer place to take him. Duo took the lead pulling along Hilde, I supported Trowa, and Zechs guarded the rear. We pressed forward until we were regrouped with Wufei. His face mask was off, caught in his tangled hair. "You made it," he said. "Barton, you look awful." "I don't feel great either." We passed the grisly scene of the Treize-copy's burial, Duo explaining what had happened while Zechs smashed in the "face" of another attacker. The rest of the way we continued to fend off the oncoming enemy, stumble, and get stepped on. It was chaotic, and then as we dipped into the tunnel, Duo backed into me. "It's my walkie-talkie! Quat, can you reach it? It's gotta be Heero!"
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