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"Band of Steel"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: AU, shounen-ai, yaoi in later chapters,
some language, drugs Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3 Summary: With the Sanc battle of the bands contest on the horizon, do the GW boys need the exciting singer from L2 to give them the winning edge? Other credits: Songs are credited in the chapters they are used. Recognition should go to the late Mitch Hedburg for a couple of his wonderful one-liners used. In chapters 7, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18, dialog from the anime was incorporated directly into the storyline. Acknowledgment goes to someone else for the 'cats are gay', 'knowing color names is gay', and other gay jokes sailing around the Internet. And the New Age affirmations are not mine, but may seen and heard everywhere, even in the GW universe. (Original version 2007 - this is the rewrite version
2009) "Band of Steel " Chapter 15 - Satisfaction A/N: look for many, many more of the series quotes, like Trowa's speech, which was paraphrased to fit the scene. Treize Khushrenada finally had Lady Une to himself. He walked with a lift in his step and a smile on his face. As he passed the control box, he flipped on the ambient music-- soft, atonal, and noncommittal-creating the perfect ambiance to augment the seductive atmosphere. He was on the cusp of achieving worldwide domination. The syndicate owned vice on L2, and would be opening the first of thousands of mining operations on L5's meteor belt. Soon, he would acquire the rights to synth-oil production on L4 in a smooth takeover of the failing Winner Corporation. His journalistic spin-masters and news-feed originated from L1, which left him room to develop plans yet for L3, an unimportant colony that would fall in with the others. With all the colonies enthralled to the syndicate, and Earth dependent on them as a source of information, entertainment, resources, and power, he would soon be the omnipotent leader of the New Order. Even Dermail, the aging duke and figurehead leader of the syndicate, would cave in to his demands. Yes, Treize Khushrenada, would have it all. His self-indulgence knew no bounds, which meant that he could take time for a little coddling, a little personal growth and development. Time to acquire a girlfriend. Of course, Lady Une didn't see him as a suitor, but that didn't mean they weren't, in some abstract sense, already in love-to his way of thinking. I must begin by showing her my strengths: power, money, and refined, good looks. "You are driving me crazy, Lady Une," he confessed in a whispered tone. "It's a short trip," she muttered beneath her breath. He didn't hear her. He was completely engrossed by a reflection, admiring their portrait in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his thick, tawny mane and watched it snap back into place, leaving a single lock to curl over his forehead. Damn they made a handsome couple! "So true, so true," he purred automatically to her comment, which he had missed actually hearing. No matter, I have plenty of conversation for the both of us. "I just want to say," his eyes roved over her face appreciatively, and then lowered to encompass her whole person. "How enchanting you look in that robe, Lady Une." He held out a hand and touched her hair hanging loose and dusky in the dim light, his eyes open and luminous. "You are the most beautiful young woman I have ever set eyes on." "Perhaps you've been out of the loop too long," she whispered over her shoulder. He thought that was an odd way to put it. He had not been in any loop, and now he damn well wanted into a loop, any loop as long as it was an important one. He wasn't going to be left out any longer! (o) "Now that we are here, I regret bringing you into this," Zechs said. "Treize is a man to be reckoned with, not toyed with. If he really has taken over the Winner property for his own, then he will have dug in his heels to stay. He won't be pleased to meet the assumed heir face-to-face or an angry young man from L5 looking for justice." "We would have come without you," Heero said. "What concerns Chang and Winner, concerns the rest of us." Duo was about to joke about Winner being more of a Trowa concern, but stifled his comment in view of Trowa's despondency. No need to remind him of Quatre's danger, which Trowa was blaming himself for not have seen coming and stopped. Quatre returning to his home amid what amounted to a war when he was an outcast was absolutely insane, and Duo hoped Quatre hadn't gone over the edge. The shuttle was about to land, and Duo was glad to have been a passenger this time. He had slept mostly, dreaming of Heero, but now the four sandwiches, apple and quarter pound of cheese that he'd eaten hours earlier sat like an auto accident in his stomach. "You seem to know more about Treize than you let on before, Zechs," Duo said. "I know about his past," Zechs said. "I once worked with the man." This was startling and disturbing news to them all, except Lucrezia, who stepped in and took over his defense. "The Peacecraft family has past ties to OZ, which wasn't always or ever entirely linked to the syndicate. The recording industry wasn't, certainly, and I'm not certain how it is today..." "Underworld, drugs, money, kids, and control-" Duo suggested. "Okay, I can imagine those links, but in the past OZ was the center for the New Age Movement, and you know how into that Zechs is." Noin leaned in and kissed his tense jaw. "Mr. Inner Light Himself," Duo began. "You know what I think?" "Unlikely," Zechs said then sighed. "What do you think, Duo Maxwell?" "I think you've taken us all into your home to assuage your guilt. The only thing the five of us have in common is how we've been hurt by the syndicate, by OZ." "Is that true?" Heero asked. Lucrezia Noin chuckled. "These children are too pure." "Not me!" Duo assured her. "God, no, not any of you are pure, but most particularly not you," Zechs agreed. "Heero, I'm not sure what to tell you. Altruistic motivations are complex and easily misconstrued. I did want to undo the harm done by the syndicate in whatever small ways I could, but I didn't choose you with that tantamount in my mind." "So, why did you choose me?" Trowa asked. "Maxwell was different. He was a contribution for the band, but why me, or the others?" "In particular? Catherine had located you and she was a friend of mine from the old days, as I told you before." "And Heero?" Trowa prompted him. "Heero, well, Relena noticed him outside her school once and wondered why he wasn't forced to sit in the classroom like the rest of the children. A little research revealed no family and that started the process, which found him escaping the hospital. Wufei was rather direct. A survivor of the L5 disaster... the sad news touched me. Giving him a new home was the least I could do." "What about Quatre?" Trowa asked. "He was my first step into guardianship. The local Maguanacs that run the deli we visited contacted me, actually, even before he's been officially disenfranchised. I collected him soon after they secreted him off L4." Zechs grasped his hair and retied it at the nape of his neck with a bead-and-braided hemp tape. "I had this large, empty space and you needed homes. So, whether guilt over having been a part of OZ entered into any of my deliberations, I honestly don't know. I don't think of it that way." He stood to exit the shuttle. "Time to find our missing boys." Dawn was hours off. Zechs had chartered a driver to take them as close to the family compound as possible. The rest was a long walk past rolling and dunes, luckily in the absence of sun. As they approached the first outbuilding, they could see signs of battle: damaged vehicles, burned out and rolled over onto their sides forming someone's last defense, nice cars at one time; barbed wire and torn out fences strewn helter-skelter; a blast hole through a stone wall, but no bodies. Either no one fell at this point, which was unlikely, or they had been carried away. "Looks like an encampment," Noin said. Duo wondered at that comment. What experience had a recording scout with battlegrounds? More than he'd thought, apparently. He pointed at a gaping hole in the wall. "Looks like our entry point," Duo said. "I'll take the top of the wall," Trowa said. With the grace, strength, and agility of an acrobat, he hoisted himself to the top, balanced, and walked several feet. "This wall cuts back to the right, where it meets another. There's an undamaged SUV parked further over that way." "Possibly how Quatre and Wufei got here, if they are here. Can you see a 'WM' insignia on the side?" Zechs asked. "Yes." "Maguanacs vehicle, then. So, possibly one of his corps survived the attack and picked the boys up from the shuttle launch site. Trowa, do you see any guards?" "I see no one about, but I do see security cameras. The ones nearest you are seriously damaged, so I'd say if anybody's watching, you're safe for about 200 feet. Then-" "Yeah, near the next building-I see it!" Duo shouted, already leading Heero past the blown out wall. Zechs and Noin followed Duo and Heero, watching for gun-toting OZ patrols or, on a positive note, Maguanac corpsmen. Trowa was lost from sight soon after. Hugging the shadows and staying out of line-sight of the surveillance cameras, the foursome inched their way toward the main building where they were once again furnished with an entry. "You think this is where Quatre once lived? It's fuckin' humongous. Even bigger than your palace in Sanc," Duo said. He was in awe of such vast expanses of living quarters and splendor, even in ruins. "The Winner family is very wealthy," Noin said, avoiding tagging on "if any of them are alive." Just inside a door which was blasted off its hinges and simply resting against the door jam, Duo felt a tug on his arm. Heero required his attention. For a moment, Duo was lost in fond memories of Heero's smooth legs forcing his thighs apart, and, later, those legs braided with his and the sheets in bed. "Duo! Over here," Heero said, while hauling Duo to look at his significant find. "Central Control for the building, and power, I think." Duo looked over the complicated circuitry and touched a wire, causing an electrical arc and fall of sparks. "Hey!" Zechs yanked him away from the exciting lights and pressed a hand over his mouth. "Voices...that way," he whispered. Noin was practically glued to the wall and edging her way toward the sounds. Heero cocked his head to the side and hissed to get Zechs' attention. "What?" Zechs whispered. Heero tilted his head to the side and looked up, indicating the stairway. "More noise." Zechs still had a grip on Duo, holding him in place as Heero sprang up the stairs. He poised to listen, then whispered "Trowa," and disappeared on his way to the next floor. Zechs shook his head and nudged Duo forward. "Follow Noin." "Sure, boss. Pick on the newbie little guy," Duo groused. Noin had halted at the end of the hallway. A man's voice resonated against tiles and "elevator" music wafted on the steamy air, highlighted pale peach by the first glow of morning. One quick glance and Duo knew it was Treize Khushrenada's voice. There was a woman as well, the voice too muted to recognize. Seeing that Zechs had lost interest in him in favor of Treize, Duo slipped away, returning to the control circuits. First task on his agenda was to change the tunes. All it would take was some Duo-skilled reprogramming of the music channel. Something loud. (o) The rising sun cast its rosy glow into the room. Treize Khushrenada liked the way Lady Une's shiny, dark hair caught the light reminding him of burning wood, but he couldn't stare at her for too long or he might lose control. She wasn't his to have, yet. He hadn't won her heart for certain, even though he had saved her life. Of course, he had endangered it in the first place, but what was important was that he had been there to care or her afterwards, or at least his agents were. And now she was here safe and sound. He watched wisps of steam rising from the water and decided it was time. "Ready to soak those tired muscles?" "By the dawn's early light?" she asked. "Sure, but shouldn't we wait an hour or so? We just ate breakfast. I believe we are supposed to wait an hour before entering a pool." "Piffle! Wives' tales! We can go in now. We just shouldn't stay in the water too long or exert ourselves after eating. Would you like to get in first?" "With you watching me? No. You first, then turn your back." "With you watching me?" he chuckled. "I see. Well, have it your way." He strode confidently to the pool's edge, but when he was about to drop the robe, he was overtaken with a flash self-doubt. He had no idea how experienced she was with men as perfect as he, as manly, and he didn't want to shock her. He modestly turned his back to her, stepped into the water, and at the last possible instant removed the robe and gave it a hard toss to the side. He slipped under the water to his neck and sighed contentedly. As soon as he heard the padding of her feet on the rock edge, he closed his eyes and turned away. If he could throttle his eagerness, allow Lady Une to move at her own speed, he might have a chance. "This feels...unbelievable. I've never been in a place like this. Not even a hot tub. I want one of these in my house someday," she said, sighing. "This is one of your estates you say?" It is now. Those Winners had lavish tastes. "Hmmm," he moaned into the water. "Is that...roses I smell?" she asked with a pause to wave away the strong perfume. "Yes, damask rose oil from Provence, France. Do you like?" "I...suppose." Again, she just managed not to cough and wheezed instead. He knew it would help if she saw him as a real man, an honest to goodness, real man. Women wanted their men to be sure of themselves and hold strong opinions. They certainly didn't like their men to dissemble at times like this. "I adore it," he said in a moment of revelation. "In that case," she said, hiding a smile, "I will have rose essence ready for your next bath." They soaked in silence awhile, watching the sunrise. After awhile, Treize decided he needed to begin his pitch. "Lady Une, let me begin by apologizing for my stupidity the last time we were on L2, and then again at Lunar Recording Studios where, I must say again, you were most impressive. I was thinking that by cutting short any possible...romance between us, that I'd protect you from my evil devices, but, then the way I ended up treating you turned out to be worse than ever." "I
can't get no sa-tis-fac-shun 'Cause
I try "Good Lord! What's gone wrong with the damned music?!" Treize roared. "He's
tellin' me more and more His setting was ruined. Like a stage, the background lighting was perfect, the props in place, actor and actress poised for action, but then the sound system deteriorated into that awful hollering, throwing off his whole performance. And to top it all off, before the curtain could fall, from behind one of the window draperies leaped a young man flailing a sword. "I will decide justice!" Wufei Chang announced, drawing his sword, and taking aim at the older man's neck, which was not yet completely submerged beneath the fragrant water. "I
can't get no sa-tis-fac-shun "Holy crap! Who the hell are you?" "Wufei Chang! If you guys are justified, then you'll defeat me." "'Cause
I try "Wufei?" Lady Une said. "What are you doing here and put down that sword. It's very dangerous. You could slip." "But
he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke "No." Wufei flipped the sword about, looking intimidating. Lady Une recognized Wufei, so Treize assumed the boy wasn't the threat he had taken him for at first. "That was beautiful, Little Dragon Chang," Treize said, gaining his composure. His mind churned with the water as the jets suddenly engaged. He had no weapon of his own, but the water. So use that! With a powerful thrust of one arm, he showered Wufei with a wave of water. "Argh!" Wufei screamed. "Treize! How could you?" "'Cause
I try and I try and I try and I try Wufei shook the water from his hair and wiped his eyes. His quick-acting, drenching-bath move provided all the diversion Treize had needed. The sword was lowered. Treize heaved his body out of the bath and grabbed his robe. "And
I'm tryin' to make some girl Hey hey hey, that's what I say..." "Bye Wufei, my eternal friend, I'm honored I could fight with you," Treize said mocking him as he slid the robe's tie from the loops. "You haven't fought me-" Wufei insisted. Anger (and water) roiled in waves off Wufei's lithe frame. But, before he had his say, Treize whipped out the tie in a lightening quick move and snapped the sword from Wufei's hands. Wufei wore an expression of astonishment as the gleaming blade clamored to the tile deck out of reach of everyone-- except Zechs. He tall blond stormed into view and snatched it up in a demonstration of his agility and willowy grace. "You can't get away with this, this destruction," Wufei wailed in frustration. "No! This can't be true. No way! I won't let this happen!" "Milliardo?" Treize said. His voice was filled with wonder. This was an unexpected, and unpleasant, addition to the play. "I thought you'd bowed out of the game. Have you come to join forces again? Lucrezia? You, too? Have you recruited our friends to the cause?" "Ah... Damn it! I didn't think I'd win," Wufei moaned, moping around and stomping his feet about in a circle, disappointment continuing to drip from him with the bath water. "Just this once-" he mumbled the rest in Chinese. "I
can't get no sa-tis-fac-shun "The honorable spirits of the Sanc Kingdom can never be killed off; that's what I want to protect," Noin replied. Wufei, not grasping the changing situation at all, and thinking that she was talking to him, snapped, "That's just the kind of thing a woman would think of. But I follow my own path!" Zechs moved continuously, placing himself between Wufei and Treize. "Wufei, shut up-please. You do not understand what is going on." "Damned straight!" Wufei shouted, realizing with a blush that he'd chosen to express himself with one of Duo's passionate turns of phrase. Zechs looked askance at Lady Une, wondering what role she had in the attack on L4, and what she was doing here at all, naked in a hot tub with Treize. She appeared calm-neither the serious business woman nor the sweet lady who had shown up at his party. He wondered at her transformation then turned his attention to the older man. "I am called Zechs now. You know that and yet refuse to accept me as I have transcended the 'me' of the past. You too can change. You too can find the way. Once you still your mind, you will discover your heart's desires. Once you listen to your heart, your soul will be able to guide you to your new destiny, just as my soul did for me." "Milliardo, you are so full of shit," Treize said. "Treize, I can't be your friend." "Then that makes us enemies. How very uncomfortable." "I
can't get no, Treize played with the pool skimmer with his toe. At the last moment, he flipped up the handle, catching and holding it like a bo staff. Zechs offered the sword to Wufei, who promptly seized it and tested its weight to correct his grip. "Treize Khushrenada, back down. That young man was just toying with you before. He can slice, dice, and skewer you into kabobs if he wants." Wufei rushed Treize, sword held in attack stance. "For justice against what you've done!" Wufei shouted. Wufei dove at Treize, reengaging him in the duel, with both verbal and actual sword jabs. "I
can't get no, Treize parried with the staff and his wit. "I am merely a middleman for a vast enterprise." Wufei dove forward, cutting a slash in the robe. "Too many people have died pointlessly!" Treize dodged a blow and blocked the next with a snap of his wrist. "Do you really want to know how many people have died? 99,822 people have died, and I remember all their names. None of them died pointlessly! Their grave markers pave my path of glory!" "I
can't get no, Treize charged, but lost his equilibrium as he stepped in the water which had puddled off Wufei. He dipped his shoulder to regain his balance, lowering his guard, and fell faster. "Argh!" he bellowed as he impaled his leg on Wufei's sword. Wufei blanched in shock, but had the clarity of mind to yank his sword free. "Ugh!" Treize groaned. How had this come to pass, he wondered? He fell heavily to the floor, shocked at the sudden and unexpected end to the fight. He stared at his leg as bright red blood gushed from the wound. Wufei stood by and watched helplessly. "What should I do?" "There's a stack of towels!" Lady Une she told him, not bothering to lift a finger to help Treize. "I'm bleeding," Khushrenada said. With all eyes turned to the prone man, Une took this opportunity to exit the pool and cover herself with her robe. "No
satisfaction, "Stupid children-the both of you!" Noin grabbed a towel off the top of the pile and rushed to Treize's side. She immediately administered first aid, applying pressure to the wound with the wadded up towel. "Lie still until the bleeding stops," she admonished him as he tried to stand. "Leave, woman," Treize said through clenched teeth. Noin chuckled, "I'm not moving even if I have to kill you, boss-man." "Noin?" "Zechs, don't worry. I'm with you no matter what; still, I do like my job in the recording industry." Zechs nodded. "Khushrenada, you understand that you must leave this colony at once," he told the fallen man. "At least turn off that damned music!" Treize growled like a trapped animal, a dangerous, injured one. "Then I have a proposal for you. A little wager." "No
satisfaction, BOOM! "That was an explosion!" Wufei shouted. "God damn brilliant deduction, little dragon," Treize said, his diction a bit slurred. "Where's Maxwell?" Zechs asked, noticing his absence for the first time, apparently. "He was here... Chang! Go see what's happened to the others. Duo! Duo, where are you?!" (o) BOOM! Heero didn't know what caused the loud noise, but he urged his legs to move faster to find out. Heero took the stairs two at a time and rounded the corner on the third floor, where he reached his friend. His heart pounded, regulating the blood flow to his limbs with perfect fine tuning. Trowa shook his head, looking unsure which way the noise had come from. "Trowa, left!" Heero bit off as he abruptly turned right. Heero wasted no movement. His body was in excellent condition. His reactions, whet to a razor's edge of precision, were put to the test on his next turn. One glance and Heero froze in place, his muscles rigid as if chiseled from the stone of the walls. He didn't sweat. Or blink. He observed. Quatre stood, shotgun raised, the floor littered with bloodied, dead syndicate men. Heero remained fixed in place by that weapon aimed at his heart. An enormous bookcase lay overturned, partially blocking the doorway. Through the murky scrim of still-rising dust, Heero scanned the gun with what seemed a glacial pace, but was unable to automatically recognize the make of the gun. Suddenly, the armament registered in his brain as a Ted Williams over-and-under shotgun with 28-inch barrels, 48-inches overall, weight seven and a quarter pounds, firing either two and three-quarter or three inch standard or magnum shell in twelve gauge, available in Sears stores. He smiled fractionally. Quatre's finger had already moved from the front trigger, which had fired the modified choke barrel and resulted in the noise, possibly, and was now hovering over the rear trigger. At any moment he could unleash the entire contents of the full choke upper barrel. Heero understood his immediate and grave danger, but did his friend, he wondered? "Quatre, put that down. It's me, Heero." "Go away, heathen, or you can join your brothers in a bloody heap!" "Brothers? Winner, I'm not an OZ fighter. I'm your friend." Heero cast about for something to say that wouldn't aggravate Quatre or something he could use as a weapon. "This, ah, looks like a kid's room. Was this your room, Quatre?" He couldn't remain standing where he was, exposed. If Quatre fired, even if he moved at top speed, Heero knew he couldn't avoid the wide stream of deadly projectiles. He had no choice but to move closer and attempt to disarm his friend. With extreme caution, Heero stepped through the splintered bookcase and entered the room. He could see Quatre's face and that from his wild-eyed expression Heero guessed that a battle raged in his friend's head. Luckily, Quatre appeared reluctant to kill him right away. "The nursery..." Quatre answered then his eyes glazed over. "Go away! Leave my home!" Heero heard footfalls nearby that were so quiet he was certain Quatre, especially this crazy Quatre, couldn't hear their progress. At the edges of his vision, he could make out Trowa slipping behind him. "I-I will kill you if you don't go!" Quatre screamed. "I will kill everyone!" "Oh, Quatre." It was Trowa speaking. Heero glued his eyes to Quatre's trigger finger, while tracking Trowa's movements by sound. "It doesn't matter how it happened," Trowa said, starting a long rambling monologue, "but it looks like some of the colonies have teamed up with OZ, and we have to keep in mind that it does mark the end of an era. We've got no choice but to accept it. The only question left is what happens within our hearts. With some of us, we once trained to be soldiers before we even realized that when you put everything into a battle you start to think you can change the times all by yourself. Don't you?" "I-I don't know. I'm not sure," Winner said uncertainly. "Maybe...?" Grateful that Trowa chose now to wax eloquent, Heero used the distraction to inch closer to Quatre. He was halfway to his mark. He had never heard Trowa link that many sentences together before, and he hoped the clown didn't run out of babble before he reached his goal. "But Quatre, you're not the only one who feels that way. We all do, but the kinder you are the bigger the toll it takes on you. We have to fight with ourselves, within our hearts, and we have to do it ruthlessly in order to come to the right conclusions. We have to acknowledge the facts. The five of us have become more than redundant soldiers, Quatre. We're a band. We have a chance to become something better, and then, we can show these people. And we can prove to your father and Wufei's wife that they didn't die for nothing. But for now, let's just accept it. Turn back into the nice guy I once knew, please? I just hope something triggers your mind and calms you down. Something..." Trowa's voice trailed off. Quatre aimed a finishing blast at Heero, but Trowa leaped, his own body crossing paths and the blow slamming into his chest. Heero heard Trowa struggling for air as wetness saturated his shirt. He reached out to catch Trowa's fall, but was too far away. Trowa collapsed on his back, clutching his stomach. "Oh, no! W-what have I done?" Quatre wailed. Quatre pressed the shotgun to his chest and fell forward toward his fallen friend, but, before he made contact with Trowa, Heero ripped the gun out of his grasp in a single movement. Heero, astonished to discover the gun hardly weighed a pound, slammed Quatre backwards into the wall. "What is this weapon?!" "Heero, let me go, Trowa's gonna die!" Quatre cried. "Yeah, and you're the guy that killed him," Heero said cruelly, then added, "Practically, but not today...baka...idiot." Heero tossed the gun into the corner and bent over Trowa, touching the dampness and bringing his finger to his nose. Trowa opened his eyes and gasped, drawing in a shaky lung-full of air. Heero yanked up his t-shirt to reveal Trowa's damp, reddened, but intact torso. "Toy water gun, Barton." "Damned, powerful one. Shit," Trowa hissed as he rubbed the bruising flesh. "Knocked the air out of me." Heero met Quatre's eyes with an intensity that he hoped would knock the breath out of his crazy friend. "Winner, I will kill you for scaring me like that." "I'm so sorry!" Trowa placed a hand on his arm. "Don't be too hard on Quatre, Heero." (o) Duo decided Zechs had things under control. He wondered where Heero had disappeared to and decided find him next, after he found a bathroom. One sandwich too many, or one bad apple. He wandered through the empty halls filled with ghosts of wrong turnings. "A bathroom!" he discovered with joy. He went to the bathroom, and washed his hands and face, and went back to the bathroom, and rummaged through the drawers, found and swallowed some antacid pills, and again went to the bathroom, and started down the hall, and then turned around and went to the bathroom, and washed his hands and face, and raked his fingers through his hair, and re-braided it, and went to the bathroom, and washed up. When he left the bathroom, he heard a loud explosion in another wing on the same level, and started running. Duo found Trowa, Heero, and Quatre sitting on the floor amid the carnage and nearly flipped out. He ran the gauntlet of the bookcase and the bodies to stop amid his friends. Heero beckoned him into his arms, and not having a better idea, he collapsed on his lap. "You're okay?" he asked Heero. Heero nodded and Duo's stomach gurgled just as Wufei pounded down the hall. "Is anyone hurt?" Wufei yelled as he stopped at the doorway. Heero shook his head and Quatre sighed. "Things are chill, man," Trowa answered. "Just a bookcase falling over. Pretty loud, huh?" "Bookcase!" Wufei was outraged. "Who... why are those...dead bodies--?" "My bet's on the surveillance tapes for getting answers, if we could get our hands on them," Trowa said. "Wanna see how many we can score, Maxwell?" "Sure... But first, I'm going," Duo swallowed loudly, "to be sick." Wufei, sotto voce, hissed, "We can't take you anywhere." "I don't want to be anywhere. I want a bathroom." Wufei looked away, jawline eloquent with rejection, he icily explained they would all have to get up and move so Duo could be sick. Duo nearly made it to that glorious bathroom he'd visited earlier. Everything might have been all right had the bookcase not snagged his pant leg as he leaped for the door. Wufei blanched, "Not on me!"
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