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"Time Walker"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU/Fantasy/Adventure, Angst, fluff,
sap, WAFF *g*, mild language, light lemons or perhaps more like mention
of lemons. Pairings: 1x2, eventual 3x4, unrequited Rx1, eventual
6x9, eventual 13xU (can’t really put 1 now can we? O.o), Summary: When a historic timeline is thretened
a celebrated Time Walker is called in to correct the problem. However,
when he meets a beautiful young thief everything he has ever believed
in begins to shift and change as he faces the adventure of a lifetime
and fights against the complexity of his own willful heart. " Time Walker"
“Security!” Une barked already heading that way with her lazar pistol in hand. No less than five guns were pointed at the rag tag tumble of rags that fell screaming from the portal, each agent adjusting to the heavy wash of water that had splashed their feet when the body hit with a wet thud. Duo felt the solid surface beneath him and clung to it for dear life. His body shook uncontrollably as terror gripped his mind, his wet clothes and last memory of Hiiro perched on the edge of a deadly drop making it impossible to catch his breath. He coughed up the water in his lungs distantly aware that he was no longer in the catacombs, the nausea of having had every cell in his body gripped and clawed upon by whatever demons fed on the flesh of men in the hell he’d been through making his stomach retch before he suddenly realized he was not alone. “Wait!AH!” he shouted holding out a hand which was instantly seized as he tried to skitter away from the strange weapons that were aimed at him. “Who are you!?” Une snapped pointing her weapon point blank at his head. “Duo!” he gasped unable to move at all as two of the others had quickly taken hold of him. “I’m Duo!” Une’s eyes fell to the beckon in his hand and his went instantly wide with desperate fear when her expression shifted with angry determination she and leaned into him. “That belongs to Hiiro.” “Yes!” Duo exclaimed. “What have you done to him!” a girl shouted somewhere in the distance. “You need to talk very fast,” Une growled pressing the tip of her gun hard between his eyes. “TROWA!” Duo shouted desperately clenching his eyes shut. “STOP!” someone yelled bulling their way through and Duo dared to hope it might be his savior when emerald eyes regarded him. “You’re Duo?” “Yes!” Duo gasped near to tears with relief. “Hiiro sent me here! He said to tell you I’m his paramour!” “Liar!” the girl growled pushing forward to braise him with hateful eyes. “What’s going on, Trowa?” Une asked backing off. “Hiiro must have sent him here to save his life,” Trowa replied moving to quickly wrap the shivering boy in a blanket. “Th…that’s right,” Duo stammered unable to stop his trembling even though Trowa was wrapping him in his arms as well. “You h…have to s…send me back,” he begged as the tall boy lifted him. “He’s all right,” Trowa assured him. “N…no!” Duo hissed trying unsuccessfully to free himself. “He was in danger! You have to send me back!” “Look there,” Trowa said as they passed a particular monitor. “The line in the middle represents Hiiro’s heart beat,” he explained. “As long as it’s moving he’s ok.” “H…how can you tell that from here?” Duo asked wishing he could still feel his legs. “Modern technology,” Trowa smiled glancing back at the skeptical group of his peers. “All Time Walkers have implants that make it possible to keep track of them.” “I…implants?” Duo mused eyeing the pulsating line carefully. “Devices that allow us to monitor their life signs,” Trowa explained setting him in a chair before the screen. Duo watched the green line move up and down rhythmically and though he didn’t understand exactly what it meant it reminded him of Hiiro’s heart beat. “Duo?” Trowa’s voice came from somewhere near by but his mind was swimming in the nightmarish memories of recent events. “Are you all right?” He turned to find the boy with the emerald eyes no more than foot away but when he reached for him it seemed as if he were a miles distance then intelligently replied, “No,” and promptly passed out. ** “You’re a strange sort,” Wufei smirked forcing his legs to move faster to keep up with Hiiro’s brisk pace as they pushed toward the surface. “Do you take a lover in every timeline?” “Why did you save me?” Hiiro demanded tiring of his questions and his company. “You’re friend aided me,” he shrugged glad to find the next tunnel wasn’t as deep with water. “I simply returned the favor. Besides,” he grinned sideways, “I can understand your infatuation. He has an intoxicating kiss UFF!” Hiiro growled as he slammed him up against the wall and hissed through gritted teeth, “Touch him again and I will find a new way to kill you for every year that you have been alive!” “Alright!” Wufei gasped stunned by his sudden rage. “I meant no disrespect,” he said breathing more readily when he was roughly released. “Why are you here?” Hiiro demanded but Wufei would only smile. “Who are you working for?” “I doubt you would have heard of us,” Wufei replied falling into step beside him again. “But our goals are not so very different from yours.” “Manipulation of the timeline is against fundamental law,” Hiiro reminded him. “Yes,” Wufei nodded glad to see the light of day but disgruntled when Hiiro picked up the pace. “However, an infraction cannot be considered improper when committed in the interest of restitution.” Hiiro rounded on him just before the exit and glared angrily, “You’re meddling with history because of some stupid prophesy!?” “Truth is sometimes only obtainable when seen through the eyes of the heart,” Wufei smiled. Hiiro stared at him a moment, the idea that the entire mission had been due to someone’s idiotic notion to take a prophesy seriously burning in his mind then punched him dead in the face. It was strictly against code to act on such things. If they allowed themselves to be manipulated so easily everyone that had ever slipped through a portal would have been leaving notes behind. The penalties for such things were unfavorable at best and all Walkers were trained to ignore that sort of propaganda sticking strictly to the facts of their missions. The thought that he had put Duo’s life in danger for such a foolish notion bubbled in his crawl and as he bulled through the bushes. “We all must choose what we wish to believe in!” Wufei shouted hurrying to catch up. “I choose to believe in myself,” Hiiro grumbled searching his pockets. Wufei’s head cocked indignantly as he prepared to retort but Hiiro’s sudden, frantic search of his person stalled his thoughts. “Something wrong?” “It’s missing!” Hiiro rasped turning his pockets inside out. “Damn it!” “You lost your communicator?” “Yes,” Hiiro sighed clenching his eyes tightly shut. “Shit!” Wufei’s eyes narrowed seriously as he inquired, “Will your people kill him?” “No,” Hiiro grumbled turning his feet toward the bottom of the mountain as Wufei breathed a sigh of relief. The action caught Hiiro’s attention poking the little green beast that resided behind the shadows of his heart. “Why?” “He’s a very…unique individual,” Wufei smirked making sure he was out of arms reach. “I would prefer he remain upright.” “He’s mine,” Hiiro reminded him causing the dark boy’s lips to curl as they made their way down the mountain. “For as long as he wishes to be.” ** It was dark but that was always the case just before waking. It was the odd scents in the air and strange noises surrounding him that were unfamiliar. Slowly his mind became aware; his memory recalling the foreign smells that permeated his nostrils. The air was heavier and stank with the twang of things he couldn’t comprehend. There was a hum that appeared to correspond with the slow, unnatural movement of the air and his wrists felt heavy but he understood shackles well enough. They were different than anything he’d ever seen before, smooth to the touch and much lighter than the amount of metal surrounding his lower arms warranted but they had one thing in common with all other restraints. They had to have a lock. “They’re magnetically sealed,” Trowa informed him breezing into the small room where Duo found himself held prisoner and the braided boy lifted his head grinning toothily as he displayed the lock pick clenched in his jaw. “What do magnets have to do with locks?” he asked casually returning to his task. Trowa smiled tolerantly and sat the tray of food and drink he’d brought on a table beside the military style bed. “They use an electromagnetic field to secure them in place,” he explained. “They’re quite impossible to escape from.” “Hiiro told me you could control lightening,” Duo nodded continuing anyway. “But I don’t see what magnets have to do with it.” “It’s not magnets really,” Trowa told him pulling up a chair. “It’s more like the force of gravity.” The braided boy’s eyes rolled in his head to regard him for a moment then he jerked and poked and Trowa’s eyes widened when the manacles fell away. “Thanks,” Duo smiled rubbing at his tired wrists. “How did you..?!” Trowa gasped taking the cuffs to examine. “Anything is possible once you understand the nature of the obstacle,” Duo explained. Trowa laughed tossing the hardware aside while Duo helped himself to the food. “Yes,” he sighed watching fondly as the braided boy ate and visibly soaked in everything around him. “You would be one of unprecedented comprehension.” “Why’s that?” Duo asked making a delighted face when he took a drink of the soda Trowa had brought. “It tickles,” he giggled taking another big swig. Again, Trowa found a smile upon his lips as he answered, “Because Hiiro would not have fallen for anything less.” “Is he all right?” Duo asked sobering. “We expected him to contact us by now,” Trowa informed him buffering the news with, “But his life signs are strong. He must have lost his communicator somehow.” “Probably got swept away in the flood,” Duo nodded then asked, “When can I go home?” “Not until we’re able to speak with him.” “Send me back and I’ll find him for you,” Duo bargained. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” Duo shied fearfully at the imposing presence of Lady Une as she, Relena and Walters entered his room. “Have you interrogated him?” she asked Trowa. Duo flashed him a hurt look to which he replied with a sheepish smile before addressing his superior. “I thought it best to allow him to eat first,” he sighed. “We will discuss your lack of ambition another time,” the Lady snipped. “You,” she said sternly indicating the now nervous Duo, “will tell us exactly how you came to be here and the details of the events that led to your passage.” “I told you,” Duo replied sitting up defiantly. “Hiiro sent me here.” “Why?” the woman demanded. “Because he didn’t want me to die.” “People die everyday,” Une informed him. “It is against fundamental code to interfere with the natural occurrences that transpire within a historic timeline so tell me,” she said looking down her rather regal nose. “Why would a celebrated Time Walker such as Hiiro suddenly decide to break the very laws he is sworn to uphold?” “Love is a powerful force,” Trowa interjected softly. “Don’t be stupid!” Relena snipped. “He called me his paramour,” Duo said ignoring the girl’s interruption to ask Trowa, “What does it mean?” “It is another term for lover,” Une explained bringing a dopey smile to Duo’s lips until she informed him, “And it means you are both guilty of breaking the law.” “It’s against the law to fall in love?” Duo gasped looking to Trowa expectantly. “It’s against code to fraternize with citizens of another timeline,” he explained. “You’re all being absurd!” Relena exclaimed. “That person is a boy! There’s no way Hiiro could fall in love with him!” “What has gender to do with love?” Duo asked calmly and Relena’s eyes almost exploded from her head. “You lying, little thief!” she spat. “You’ve contrived a clever story in order to infiltrate our headquarters but you will not succeed!” “I want nothing more than to return to my home,” Duo assured her. “And take the information you’ve collected back to your masters!” she snapped. “We are not fools,” she went on hatefully. “And you will pay for anything you’ve done to Hiiro!” Duo’s mouth curled demonically as he readily replied, “He has already collected retribution for the things I have inflicted upon his person.” “What’s that suppose to mean!” the girl shouted. “Relena,” Walters sighed. “Trowa?” Une questioned. “I believe him,” the tall boy replied. “That’s impossible!” Relena whined. “Why would he want a scraggly boy when he has me!?” “You?” Duo snorted. Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously as he slowly calmed. “I have known him all my life,” she informed him. “We have a history together. You barely even know his name!” “I know he has a small mole on his left nut,” Duo snickered as her face flared red. “Have you any evidence of his affection?” “ENOUGH!” Une barked bringing the confrontation to a screaming halt. “Walters.” “Yes, Ma’am!” “See to it the prisoners testimony is properly recorded. Trowa, you’re with me.” “I’d rather stay,” Trowa replied rising slowly as Une methodically turned from the door to consider him. “That was a direct order, Mister,” she reminded him. “Yes,” he nodded casting a glance at Duo. “And it goes directly against an oath I took before entering your service.” The Ladies eyes shifted to Duo in cold calculation then softened somewhat as she replied, “Very well. I leave him in your charge.” “Thank you, my Lady,” Trowa replied bowing his head slightly before she turned to leave and Relena shot them a hateful stare as she followed. “You’re really his friend,” Duo smiled. “I owe him,” Trowa replied. “What’s that?” the longhaired boy asked as Walters set a small recorder on the table beside him. “It will keep the sound of your voice,” Trowa explained indicating Walters should turn it on. “Whatever you say is recorded by the device and can be repeated back exactly as you spoke it.” “No shit?” Duo smiled sitting up straighter. “How does it work?” Trowa chuckled delightedly at his curiosity and proceeded to explain the inner workings of a voice recorder much to the dismay of Walters who figured out fairly quickly his task wasn’t going to be completed any time soon. ** “Is something troubling you, my dear?” Noin pulled her mind away from the task at hand and offered her great, great, great, great, Uncle a wan smile. “Sorry,” she sighed having been unsuccessful in contacting base before being summoned to the Generals side. Communication was impossible among these people so she had no idea if he had managed to recover his beckon or what was going on back at base but there was little choice. If she blew her cover it would compromise the mission so she was forced to play her part and aid her Uncle in the preparations to invade Sadaul, a small kingdom to the south of Cherryton whose wealth far exceeded King Dermail’s ability to resist temptation. It was a barren land to the eye but housed great riches beneath the rolling sands. However, because of its location deep within the desert and the presence of a small but adequate army there had never been a reasonable plan contrived to successfully invade until Hiiro arrived. Noventa smiled gently and Noin saw the distant affection in his aging eyes as he commented, “You look a great deal like your mother.” She knew she resembled the woman because a portrait of her great, great, great, great grandmother still hung on the wall in her family’s home. “Thank you,” she smiled gratefully but the shadow in her eyes concerned him. “What is it?” There was no way should could talk to him about what was going on with Hiiro, as far as anyone in the castle was concerned they didn’t even know one another so she redirected her melancholy. “Uncle,” she began gaining his full attention. “What do you suppose would happen if Zechs Marquise were to claim the crown?” Noventa’s eyes widened as he glanced this way and that to make sure no one had overheard her. “To speak of this is heresy!” he hissed getting up to shut the door. “It’s only speculation,” she argued grumpily. “What have you heard!?” he asked hastily going to draw the shutters. “Uh…nothing,” she replied baffled by his behavior. It wasn’t an open subject but he was reacting rather extremely. “Never breathe a word of this in public,” the man warned sitting close to her and lowering his voice even more. “But there are those within the boarders of Cherryton that would welcome a true king.” Now this was interesting. “A rebellion?” she smiled. “Zechs is a charismatic man,” he replied. “Every day his followers grow.” “And do you believe in his sovereignty?” she asked knowing very well there was no mention of a King Marquise in the region in modern history. “For those of us who remember good King Peacecraft’s face,” the man smiled seeing some distant time and place with his aging eyes, “there is no doubt.” Noin bit back on the disturbing recognition of the Peacecraft name and how intimately her family lineage intertwined with the once pacifist monarchy. If Zechs was truly a Peacecraft it changed everything. ** “Jesus! What in the hell was that?!” “It went under the desk!” “It’s a rat!” “How did a rat get in here?!” “Kill it!” *CRASH*BANG*THUD* “’ttention!” “Lady Une?!” “Who would like to explain why an elite group of chronologic investigators are crawling all over their multimillion dollar equipment like a pack of monkey’s!?” the woman snapped only just containing the sparkled of insanity in her eyes. “S…sorry, Ma’am,” Conner spoke up cautiously raising his hand. “But this rat got loose in the control room and…” he started to explain loosing the tread when the rodent dangling from it’s tail in his hand sparked and hissed billowing smoke into the air. Une stepped closer to examine the little robotic rat closer and the unstable glitter in her eyes flared as she shouted, “TROWA!” ** “S…sorry,” Duo chuckled laughing so hard he doubled up on his bed. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” “The model kit was supposed to be a car,” Trowa replied unable to hide the smirk in the corner of his mouth. “What use would that be?” Duo giggled. “As opposed to a rat?” “Infiltration is best left to those with the natural ability to skulk,” Duo grinned. “Yet still you’re attempt to spy was unsuccessful,” Trowa smiled. “Yes,” Duo nodded thoughtfully. “I most unfortunate miscalculation but how was I to know your friend’s would react so extremely to a common rat.” “Rat’s are not a common occurrence inside the buildings of our world,” Trowa chuckled. Duo nodded logging the information away as he did with everything he saw, heard or felt and Trowa smiled inwardly at his ingenuity. “How did you alter the model to look like a rat?” he asked settling in for their evening visit. “The stuffing in the chair resembles the fur,” Duo replied happily. Trowa sat back munching bits of Duo’s leftover supper and listened to him explain yet another clever attempt to regain control of his world. It was so odd to think that his stoic and often self alienated partner would have fallen for someone so utterly his opposite to him but the more time he spent with the braided boy the easier it was to comprehend. Duo soaked in everything around him rolled it around and used it to the best of his ability to further his cause which, at that particular point in time, was finding a way to return to his own timeline and find Hiiro. Trowa had assured him time and again that his lover was safe but even with the evidence of Hiiro’s life signs all Duo could think about was escape. Une had strictly forbid anyone to use the portal for any reason other than to accept communications from Hiiro or Noin but neither had contacted them and with the absence of any regular communiqué the situation was becoming dire. Duo’s antic’s didn’t help much and Trowa grieved when he had to tell him he would not only not be allowed any further distractions but would be confined to his room which meant his usual walk in the corridors with Trowa every afternoon was canceled. Duo was not very happy when he left him but resigned himself to his fate for the time being as Trowa locked his door and headed for the control room. “You locked him in?” Relena snipped when he entered the quite room. Most everyone had turned in for the night but Relena sat in front of Hiiro’s life monitors staring blankly at the screen. “Are you afraid?” Trowa smirked taking a seat beside her. “He’s dangerous,” she sniffed. “He’s also very intelligent.” “Which only makes him more of a threat,” she reasoned. “He could be a great asset if he were recruited,” Trowa mused. “Recruit him?!” the girl gasped. “Have you lost your mind!? He’s a ragged thief with no morals and a serpents tongue. You heard his lies!” “Relena,” Trowa sighed turning to catch her gaze so she could see the truth of his words, “He isn’t lying.” Her jaw tightened as her eyes narrowed and she gritted through clenched teeth, “You’re his oldest friend,” she reminded him. “I cannot understand how you can say such things. You know how much I love him,” she said loosing her anger as pain took control. “How badly I want to give him everything.” “Yes,” he nodded leaning forward a little so he could see clearly into her glittering eyes. “But what can you give him that his heart truly desires?” Her mouth dropped open then snapped shut again before
she huffed and turned to stare at the screen and sulk leaving Trowa
to swill the bitter taste of his guilt alone.
~ * ~ tbc... |
