By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
Trowa and Quatre entered the attic carefully, glancing around in the dark. Trowa reached up and found a string hanging from a single bare bulb. Pulling it cast an unhealthy stark glow throughout the attic, barely chasing the shadows to the corners of the stark room. The space was completely empty, save for the random splaying of spider webs and piles of dust. The pair sighed, relieved not to find Wufei in this dank, cramped space.
Quatre couched lightly and turned around a few times, then glanced up to examine the underside of the roof. Nails poke through intermittently. He squinted up at the wood between the framework. Nothing there but some spiders. He turned to Trowa and shrugged.
"Trowa? Do you think we'll find him?" Quatre asked as they turned towards the stairs.
"It depends on whether he wants to be found or not. Or on whether he's in his right mind," Trowa replied, unconsciously bringing his hand up to lightly rub his sore neck.
Quatre stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around the taller boy's waist. "I don't like what's been happening today. So far everyone has been affected by this. There has to be something connecting the events, some purpose," he said, resting his head against Trowa's shoulder as the pilot pulled him closer. He continued. "If we can figure out exactly why this is happening, maybe we can find out how to stop it."
"Have you been picking up anything with your uchuu no kokoro?" Trowa asked softly, stroking Quatre's back lightly.
"That's the strangest thing, I picked up something this morning from Heero, a nightmare. It woke me up. When Duo had his episode I felt something, but it was very distorted. Then after the wreck I got another pain, but it was muddled. I think that was because I was regaining consciousness. You know, it comes and it goes. It's hard to have any control," Quatre said, pulling away slightly to look up into Trowa's face.
"We just need to be very careful," Trowa said.
"That we do," Quatre agreed.
The couple left the attic to search the second floor.
~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile Heero and Duo were skulking through the dank basement, dodging around boxes in the darkness. The lights had been burned out, so they had resorted to searching with flashlights. As they entered each room, shadows danced and dodged around piles of boxes and sheet covered lumps, causing the pair to see phantom figures out of the corners of their eyes.
Finally satisfied that the current room was Wufei-free, they carefully made their way to the next doorway. Glancing at each other, they stepped through the shadowed opening together, shining their flashlights quickly around the room. It was totally silent, save for the boys' soft footsteps as they split up at the doorway and began stalking around opposite walls, shining their lights around every box and into every nook and cranny. Meeting again in the center of the room, Duo caught sight of something behind Heero. Gasping, he quickly turned his light onto it, illuminating a small rat. It squeaked and ran from the annoying glow that had invaded its abode. Duo grinned and laughed softly, throwing his head back as he tried to calm his nerves with nervous glee.
"Whew, I thought that rat was Wufei. I'm sure he'd appreciate that, huh, Heero?" Duo whispered, still laughing softly.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Heero deadpanned, also whispering.
"Hey, Heero?" Duo whispered, as they turned towards the last room in the basement.
"What?" Heero whispered back.
"Why are we whispering? If Wu was down here, he'd see our flashlights and know exactly where we are."
Heero stopped and turned to look at Duo in the backwash of the flashlights. "Good point," he responded in a normal voice, eyes glittering in the faint light.
"Well, as long as that's cleared up, then," Duo grinned, teeth flashing white in the semi-darkness. He continued conversationally as they stepped together into the next dark room. "So, what the hell do you think it going on today?"
"I don't know," Heero responded, taking the left side of the room. He had a pretty good idea, actually, but he didn't really want to think about how his dreams could be directly related to attempts on his friends' lives. It didn't make sense, so Heero kept this to himself.
"Heero, do you really think I'm that stupid?" Duo said as he peered under a sheet at a table with uneven legs.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you really think I can't read the tone of your voice? I've spent countless weeks with you in dorm rooms, been on countless missions with you, and I consider you as a friend, despite your stubborn aloofness and attempts at making me go away. So I can tell when you're not being completely straight with me. Spill," Duo said seriously, stopping his searching to point his flashlight at Heero's sneakers.
Heero's eyes widened in the darkness. Duo could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth? This was new information. He considered how to answer the other pilot's question. Make something up? No, maybe if he told Duo a little bit about what was going on, he could shed some light on it. Or maybe Duo would think he was crazy for believing such illogical nonsense. Heero was being to think the latter himself. He didn't want to lose Duo's friendship or otherwise, so he deliberated between the option of outright lying and the option of risking Duo's opinion of him with the truth.
"I'm waiting."
"Duo, can I trust you?" Heero asked, deciding to go with the truth. He wanted someone else to know, anyway. Never mind that he didn't want to lie to Duo.
"Of course you can, Heero. I can't believe you'd ask me that," Duo's voice teased, a hint of bitterness sneaking its was into his tone despite his best efforts.
"Then let me get my thoughts in order. I'll tell you what I think when we finish this room," Heero responded. "What do you think is going on?" He added as Duo's beam began sweeping over boxes again.
"Uh-huh, Soldier Boy, I asked you first!" Duo said as he peered into a particularly dark corner.
"Duo," Heero growled in warning.
"Okay, okay, yeesh. I don't really have a frickin' clue as to what's going on, but I'm starting to see some definite patterns here. For instance, everyone that's when crazy, myself included, has been in some form of unconsciousness, right? And these incidents have been increasing in seriousness all day," Duo turned his flashlight back towards the center of the room, finishing his side. "And, well, basically that's all I can really think of right now, but it's better than nothing at all. All I know is that it's freaky, and that it's completely not normal at all. Oh, and Heero, as soon as we find crazy Wufei, we need to get lunch. I'm hungry. Being possessed and getting in car wrecks does that to me."
"Hn. Fine." Heero finished his side of the room and met Duo in the middle, their flashlights shining down at their feet, illuminating them in the backwash of light.
Duo's eyes glittered, his teeth flashing as he grinned, "Your turn! What's your theory?" The pair walked through the doorway together, heading back toward the stairs to leave the basement and begin their search of the ground floor.
Heero set his face into an emotionless mask and prepared to retell his illogical suspicions with as much dignity as he could. He opened his mouth to speak. "First of all--"
"Heero! Duo! You guys need to come upstairs, we've found him!" Quatre's voice cut him off mid-sentence.
Heero breathed a silent sigh of relief, then hastily followed Duo up the stairs and away from the dark basement. He could feel the skin on the back of his neck crawling as he dashed up the creaking stairs. It was irrational, but he couldn't help but think something lurking in the darkness was going to grab him and pull him back into the darkness.
~ ~ ~ ~
Following the sound of Quatre's voice, Heero and Duo reached Wufei's room. Stepping inside, they saw the Chinese pilot scowling indignantly at Trowa and Quatre, the former of which had his gun out, though it was pointed at the floor. Wufei had changed clothes and was seated on his bed, holding a book with the arm that wasn't in a sling. As soon as Duo and Heero entered, he turned his scowl in their direction.
"Now, will someone please tell me the meaning of this intrusion of my privacy?" Wufei asked angrily.
"Wufei, where have you been the last hour or so?" Heero asked flatly in response.
"Right here, reading! Answer my question, Yuy. Why is Barton here have his gun out and ready? Do you have orders that regard me?" Wufei's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you were ordered to kill me, have it done with! Did you think I would be so weak as to shirk orders?"
"Wufei, don't be ridiculous!" Quatre said from his place by the window. "We were worried about you. You had an episode and then you disappeared. Your arm was broken. So we split up and went to look for you, understand?" The Arabian's tone was calm, and when he finished he smiled at Wufei. Trowa put away his gun.
"I had wondered about the arm. All I remember is meditating before my Nataku and then being here with my arm in a sling," Wufei's tone was much less hostile, but he still regarded the other pilots warily. "I hadn't really thought about it. And what do you mean, an episode?"
"Oh, that's right, Wu-man missed all the action with the car wreck and temporarily insane Quatre," Duo said thoughtfully. Then he grinned. "By the way, the car's a molten heap of scrap in the front yard now. Makes a nice piece of modern art, we might be able to sell it. Okay, now, can we please eat now that we've found him?"
"Hn." Heero turned and walked out the door in response.
"Guess so," Duo said, bouncing out after him.
Trowa motioned for Wufei to go next, and the Chinese boy obliged, but not without glaring at the silent pilot and muttering about injustice. Trowa bowed slightly to Quatre, and they left the room together.
~ ~ ~ ~
Later, sitting around their rickety table and seated on the lawn chair, stools, wicker rocker, and boxes, Wufei was much calmer. After having apologized for his actions, and then being told not to worry too much about it because his arm had been broken and was much worse off. And, Duo added, they now knew he snored.
"Wufei, did you notice blood on your arm?" Heero asked suddenly, remembering the blood, and the cut he had seen in his dream.
Wufei blinked a few times, then rubbed his left upper arm as well as he could with his slung right arm. "Oh, I had forgotten about that," he sounded genuinely surprised. "It's strange, but there was no wound. There was blood, and my arm hurts mildly, but no skin was broken. I'm a bit more concerned with the break, you understand. No cut, though."
"Wow, that's freaky," Duo's statement summed up his reaction perfectly. "You know what I've noticed, though?" He paused, but not long enough for anyone to speak. "Despite the all around weirdness, and the fact that sleeping now seems like a very bad idea, no one's actually been hurt beyond a couple of bruises and a couple scrapes." Wufei glared at him and looked pointedly down at his arm. "Errr…Well, Wu-man, that's different, okay, so it's not that different. It was a bit more indirect than anything. You know what I mean, though."
"You're right, Duo. Although I don't know if I think it's a coincidence or not. Maybe we've just been really lucky," Quatre said. "I still don't think we should stay in this house any longer. Nothing like this happened until we got here. Even my, uh, episode, didn't happen until we got within sight of the house."
"I already looked into that earlier, J said we are to remain here," Heero said, glancing down at his now emptied plate.
"You asked him if we could move?" Duo sounded incredulous. "I thought you said--" Duo held his hands up in the air and made air quotes, and doing a pretty decent impression of Heero's monotone "--what kind of soldiers would we be if we let some stupid suspicions interfere with our mission?" He laughed.
"Don't push it, baka."
"Fine, fine," Duo waved his arms in apology.
"I think the main question right now should be what we're going to do about this," Trowa said after a few moments of silence.
The five pilots just sat there and stared at each other for a few long seconds.
"I don't know about you guys, but I am not going to sleep tonight," Duo said, crossing his arms.
"Sounds like a plan," Quatre responded. "It's not that I'm scared or anything, but I don't like the idea of not being in control of myself."
"No, we can't do that, we wouldn't be good for missions after a couple days. We should stay up in shifts, sleeping separately, somehow restrained, while one of us, or maybe two of us, stays up to watch for trouble and untie the others at the end of the shift," Heero had been considering this since his conversation with Duo in the basement.
"That's an even better idea," Duo chimed.
The other pilots nodded in agreement. No one really thought they were going to get much rest, though, regardless.
~ ~ ~ ~
After staying up as late as they could possibly do without appearing to be nervous about going to bed, the pilots decided it was time to start the shifts and get some sleep. Duo and Heero were to take the first shift, Trowa and Quatre the second, and Wufei wanted the last shift.
Once the other three pilots were sufficiently restrained for their sleeping, which was slightly embarrassing due to the fact that Quatre was able to provide silk-lined handcuffs, Duo and Heero sat across from each other in the hallway outside the doors to the bedrooms. Heero had his laptop out and Duo had a pack of cards, cheating at solitaire.
After about an hour of waiting, Duo was finally sure the other pilots were asleep. Every fifteen minutes he had listened at the others' doors to listen to their breathing. Trowa and Quatre had finally fallen asleep (in separate beds) just a little while ago. He had to assume that Wufei had went to sleep immediately, because strangely enough, his breathing hadn't changed, but since he was almost completely silent Duo decided that he must have been unconscious.
Figuring they could now finish the conversation they had started earlier in the basement, Duo stopped shuffling through his cards and got up from across the hall to sit next to Heero. The soldier glanced up when Duo plopped down beside him, minimizing whatever was on the computer screen.
"What?" The Japanese boy asked stoically.
"You know, I never got to hear your theory on what's been going on lately. You were about to tell me in the basement, but then Quatre called us upstairs before you could say anything," Duo returned promptly. "And could you please turn that thing off?" He pointed at the laptop. "What else could you possibly have to do on it?"
Heero sighed and obliged, taking his time in putting the precious equipment carefully to the side. He was trying to stall for time. Heero was still reluctant to discuss his thoughts on the matter, mainly because they sounded too ridiculous. His dreams affecting reality? Very logical, sure, totally normal. Heero mentally scoffed. Duo's going to think I'm crazy. I don't want that. Hn. Stall. Ask him about something else.
"Do you have anything you'd like to add to your observations from earlier? I'm still assimilating the new information since we found Wufei," Heero finally responded. Maybe if he could get the longhaired boy talking, he would be able to avoid having to discuss his own thoughts.
Duo rolled his eyes. "You know I'm going to get it out of you eventually. But I'll play along like I don't know you're avoiding answering, okay? I mean, hell, Heero, if you think something totally off the wall, I won't care. You didn't see the books that Q and I stole from the library. All sorts of ghost stories and supernatural stuff. Too bad they got turned into kindling in the car fire," Duo paused. "Oh yeah, anyway, what do I think now? Well, I think that Wufei's more affected by his little fit than he's letting on."
"What do you mean by that? I thought he was acting normal. Well, normal for Wufei," Heero replied.
"Did you just crack a joke? Good job, you're getting more human everyday, He-bot!" Duo exclaimed quietly. "Uh, anyway, that's because you don't know Wu as well as I do. I was talking to him this evening, seeing if he really was okay. He just wasn't acting right. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but he was just…off. He didn’t' react to stuff the way he normally would. So, I tried to get a rise out of him about Nataku. I couldn't get a reaction from him at all. It was weird. I even took it too far, just to get him to do something. I feel bad about it now, but it's like he had no idea what I was talking about," Duo paused, biting his lower lip. "Besides, doesn't it seem strange that Wufei just woke up with a broken arm and didn't seem to think anything about it? I know he was out of it, but jeez, he doesn't set his broken bones like you do."
"What exactly did you take it too far?" Heero asked while considering the broken arm. Duo was right about that, Wufei normally would have had needed help with that, only Heero himself fixed his own broken bones. But he was also just curious as to what Duo actually considered as taking something too far.
"Well, I asked him if when he was ever out there worshipping his Nataku if Meiran ever talked back to him. It was a lousy, mean thing to ask, but damn! He didn't even blink. I was expecting to have to run errands for him for weeks to make up for asking something like that, or at least have him try to attack me with his sword, but he just turned and looked at me, like he didn't know what I meant. It was beyond weird," Duo replied, spilling out his story.
"Who's Meiran?" The Wing pilot asked. He had never heard Wufei mention that name to him.
"Uh, well, that's who Nataku is named after, sorta. You should ask Wu about it, though. It's one of those personal things. Sorry, I thought you knew about it," Duo responded.
"No, Wufei and I don't really talk about personal stuff," a hint of melancholy entered Heero's voice, completely against his will. "No one talks to me about personal stuff."
"Well, if you'd loosen up a bit and talk to the rest of us, maybe the others would talk back. Besides, I tell you personal stuff, well, as much as I tell anyone. You never talk about anything but the mission, never mind yourself," Duo smirked and glanced sideways at Heero. "You know, you could start off right now, and tell me what's going on with you lately. What's with these nightmares you've been having? And what do you really think is going on? You've been avoiding talking about it, so I know you must think something or you wouldn’t bother to avoid it."
Heero took a deep breath and contemplated exactly what to say. Duo had asked him directly, and he was loath to lie to the boy. The American had already proven that he could tell when Heero was lying, and he obviously did not approve of such actions. Heero was reluctant to displease Duo. So he thought about how to put his words so they wouldn't sound completely insane and scare the other boy away from him. Besides, he was supposed to be the "Perfect Soldier" and soldiers did not abide by stupid superstitions and supernatural bunk. But it was getting harder and harder to avoid thinking along those lines. Heero was at a quandary about what to say.
Duo tilted his head back and closed his eyes tiredly. "I'm waiting."
"I know. Give me a minute. I'm trying to think of a way to say this without sounding completely crazy," Heero responded, drawing one knee up to his chest and hugging it.
Duo whistled lowly. "Wow, must be something if you think it'll sound that bad. Look, just be straight with me here. You'd be surprised about what I'm open-minded about. I won't think you've gone insane, and lord knows that it won't hurt my opinion of you or anything. So just fuckin' say it!" He finished in exasperation.
Heero glanced over at Duo, who was glaring sideways over at him. Well, here goes nothing, might as well sound like a lunatic.
"I think the two things you're asking me about are part of the same thing, so what do you want me to start with?" Heero finally asked, deciding to just let Duo think whatever he wanted. He couldn't keep avoiding the subject if Duo was going to be this tenacious about it, might as well get it over with.
"Okay then, that's progress. Why exactly to do you think the two are related? You'll thank me later for this, I promise it'll help to let someone else know," Duo said quietly. "Sorry I cussed at you."
Heero shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Well, I'm not sure what's going on, to be totally honest, but I think it's been related to those dreams I've been having."
"How so?" Duo's eyes widened slightly.
"Well, ever since we got to this safe house, I haven't been able to control my dreams. Usually they don't affect my sleeping, but these have been so real that I toss and turn, and, as you know, this morning one even woke me up," Heero said quietly, staring twin holes into the wall across from him.
"I've noticed. Why are they so bad?"
Heero's eyebrows raised slightly at that as he fought to keep his voice impassive, eyes focusing up at where the opposite wall met the ceiling. "I keep reliving all the things I've done that I feel guilty about. And it's like I'm reliving them in every little detail. Sight, sound, the taste of the air, the smell of burnt flesh and explosives. Everything. It always starts out the same, in this bare, cold room. Then it moves on and I'm forced to replay those things even as I'm restrained, trapped in the visions," he took a deep breath and closed his eyes before continuing.
"And there's always my conscience whispering, narrating all the doubts and mistakes that made those things plague me to begin with. I felt so, so, helpless, having to relive those mistakes over and over. Then it started to change, and instead of the actual people from the real memories, I was reliving killing you and the other pilots in their places. Then you experienced the absolute worst parts of my training, the really bad stuff that I try everyday to forget. It was terrible. And all I could do was watch. This morning was the worst yet, though, because it was different," Heero said in a rush, trying to get it all out before he changed his mind. He wasn't used to talking about himself at all, never mind talking so much at once. He took a deep breath and risked a quick glance at Duo's face.
Duo's expression was openly sympathetic, not even slightly tinted with disgust or disbelief. "So you do care about the rest of us," he said quietly.
"Yeah, I guess I do. These experiences today, and these dreams have forced me realize that," Heero replied softly, glaring at the wall across from him again. Admitting feelings was weak, not useful to the mission. Not to mention slightly embarrassing. Soldiers shouldn't feel.
"Aw, don't look so guilty. Feeling emotions is not a weakness. I actually think it's weaker not to feel them because then you don't have to deal with them," Duo replied, reading the other boy's expression. He poked Heero lightly in the ribs. "See, we're making progress. Now, why was this morning the worst one yet?"
"This morning the dream was interrupted by someone. A little girl came and told me that we had to leave this safe house or the nightmares would come true. Then it started again. There were new things added at the end, things that had never happened in my memories. I could see myself doing unspeakable things, brutally murdering you and the others, but all I could do was watch, trapped in my body with no control over my actions. It was like I was an outside observer, but could feel everything," Heero replied quietly. "Then I woke up."
"Wow, that is some extremely heavy stuff there, Heero," Duo said, laying a hand on the other boy's arm. "Does it help that you talked about it?"
"Yeah, it does," the Japanese boy admitted, turning slightly to look at Duo. "But that's not all. At the end of this morning's dream, a voice spoke to me. Then when you had your thing this morning at breakfast, you spoke in the exact same voice."
"Why the hell didn't you say something earlier?!" Duo exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down.
"It sounds insane."
"Well, yeah, but after today, it doesn't really sound that farfetched. Is that everything or is there more?" Duo replied, turning to the lean sideways against the wall, legs curled up so he could face Heero.
"Well, this afternoon, I took a nap, trying to make up for the lost rest from this morning. You know, I didn't go back to sleep after I woke up," Heero said, finding it easier to keep going after he had started talking. It did help to let someone else know what was going on. Especially since it was Duo. As much as he hated to admit it, he really valued the American's opinion about some things.
"I know. I didn't go back to sleep either," Duo replied, nudging Heero's leg with his foot.
"What? Why?" Heero asked, genuinely curious.
"I was worried about you, baka," Duo chided softly. "Anyway, what about this nap?"
"There was a figure, and for the first time I could actually see it in my immediate field of vision. It spoke more to me, about a game, and about how you guys were pawns towards some objective. Then Wufei appeared. The figure, who was completely covered in this big cloak, by the way, spoke in Wufei's ear, then cut his upper arm. Wufei looked like he was in a trance. He then walked out of the area I could clearly see, so I don't know what happened after that. Then the dream started, and the figure kept taunting me about how so much was my fault," Heero finished, then looked dubiously over at Duo, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ, Heero. This is major. So that's why you asked about his arm, huh?" Duo replied. "See, this little conversation has provided some good clues as to what's going on. It explains a lot. See, if this figure is tormenting you, and using us, then obviously it's doing a good job of it. And it stands to reason that if this guy is haunting your dreams, it can only get us when we're unconscious, too. It fits. I wonder what he had Wufei do, did you figure that out?"
Heero shook his head and turned to face Duo completely, shifting to lean sideways against the wall as well. "I have no idea. Now do you see why I didn't want to talk about this? It sounds completely unreasonable and illogical and completely against what I was trained to look at, the hard facts," Heero said, studying Duo's gold cross in the semidarkness. He didn't want to look the American in the eye.
"Actually, we're taking the hard facts and applying them to theories that may or may not be scientific. And there is a lot of stuff that science can't explain, so I wouldn't worry about that. As for what Wufei did, well, that's something we need to figure out before it bites us on the ass," Duo replied. "Now the only question is why this is happening to you, and why now? Then I bet we can figure out how to deal with it."
"Don't mention it to the others, okay?" Heero asked suddenly.
"No problem. Believe it or not, I can keep my big mouth shut," Duo grinned. "Anything else?"
"Well, one more thing, the figure gave me its name, said it was a clue," Heero looked at the boy opposite him.
Duo raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"It said its name was Scelestum," Heero finished, eyes glittering as he stared up at Duo through his heavy bangs.
"Scelestum? That's sounds like Latin," Duo said thoughtfully, scratching his temple. "They made me start learning that after a while at the church, ya know. Argh! I should remember what it means!" He thumped his head lightly against the wall.
Heero leaned forward expectantly. "Latin? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, positive. Could you look it up online?" Duo asked. "It's right on the tip of my tongue, though. Gah! How frustrating! I should know this."
Heero picked up his laptop and went into their room, plugging into the phone jack. "Hn, that's odd."
Duo had followed him into the room and was leaning on the back of the computer chair, braid draping over Heero's shoulder. "What?"
"I can't connect. I keep getting an error message," Heero replied. He plugged the phone line back into the wall and went to try the receiver. The line was dead.
"I think we've just figured out what Wufei's task was today. The phone lines have been disconnected," Heero said, turning back to look at Duo.
"Oh. Shit. That's not good. Trying to cut us of from the rest of the world, maybe? I think we might want to check the backup radio downstairs," Duo replied.
After checking the radio, it was obvious that it had been rendered completely useless. Half of its insides had been destroyed and broken, but the outer covering had been carefully replaced to hide the destruction.
"Double shit. The phone lines have been cut, we have no radios outside the Gundams, and our only other form of transportation has been burned to a metal crisp in the front yard. This is very bad," Duo concluded as they returned upstairs and back to their post in the hallway.
"Very," Heero agreed, slumping against the wall and sliding down to a sitting position. Duo followed suit beside him, both boys stretching their legs out into the passageway. "It must have been close timing, though, if he cut the lines this afternoon. I received a message from J right when I woke up, so we had access earlier. Maybe a small timed explosive?"
"Probably. I'd go outside and check the house, but I really don't want to climb a ladder in the dark. We can look tomorrow. Point is, they've been cut," Duo responded, scooting sneakily closer to Heero.
Of course Heero noticed this, but he pretended that he didn't. "Yeah, that would be the point," He replied. Duo scooted closer again, the fabric of his pants now lightly brushing against Heero's skin and spandex.
"I think we've made some progress tonight, don't you, Heero?" Duo asked softly, not daring to look over at the Japanese boy.
"Hn. I suppose," Heero responded, leaning almost unconsciously closer to the braided American, bringing their shoulders into contact.
Duo grinned and leaned against Heero's shoulder, pleased to note that Heero leaned back. They sat that for the rest of their shift, quietly contemplating, but not moving any closer. Neither wanted to upset their precarious position, and neither wanted to move away.
~ ~ ~ ~
Thankfully, nothing happened during the rest of their shift, and waking Trowa and Quatre for their watch was uneventful. They filled the two pilots in on the phone situation and the destroyed radio. After the pair left Duo and Heero restrained to their respective beds, they shut the door and sat down in the hallway outside.
Duo turned his head and peered through the darkness of the room in Heero's direction. He could just make out the Japanese boy in the meager light from the draped window. "You going to try and sleep, Heero?" He whispered across the room.
"I don't want to, but I suppose I'll have to," Heero replied, looking back at Duo through the gloom.
"Well, if it gets real bad, I'll probably hear you and wake up. Then I can pick these locks and be over there in a jiffy to wake you up, okay?" Duo answered.
"You can pick these?" Heero tested the handcuffs Quatre had used, trying not to think too hard about exactly why the blond boy had them so handy.
"Of course I can," Duo scoffed softly.
"I just hope you'll be able to wake up, then. Who knows what'll happen," Heero mused quietly.
"Heero, we really need to deal with all of this, but I don't know what else to tell you. You can't stay awake forever. And if we need to leave the house to stop this crap from happening, I say screw it and lets get the hell out tomorrow morning. We can figure out something to tell J and the other scientists later," Duo concluded firmly.
"I hate to say it, but I think you're right," Heero answered softly.
"Damn right, I'm right!" Duo laughed softly. "Now, let's at least pretend we're going to sleep so Trowa and Quatre don't worry, 'k?"
"Alright."
Before long, however, both pilots had drifted off into a deep sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~
Trowa and Quatre sat across from each other in the dark hallway and played the ancient game of battleship. Their feet and legs bumped against each other periodically.
"B2," Trowa whispered.
"Hit. You just sunk my submarine," Quatre whispered back. "J10?"
"Miss," Trowa answered quietly, putting another peg in the board.
Suddenly a light thump came from Heero and Duo's room. Trowa glanced up at Quatre, and at the same time they closed their game boards and stood in front of the bedroom door. Quatre stuck his ear to the crack and listened.
"Sounds like someone is having a night--OW!" The Arabian gasped and clutched at his heart.
"What is it?" Trowa whispered, grabbing a hold of Quatre's arms so the boy wouldn't fall.
"It's Heero. This happened yesterday when he woke up from a nightmare. It jolted me awake when I sensed it. An incredible pain, mental anguish. It faded quickly then, but now it's just getting worse," Quatre panted quietly, leaning on the taller pilot for support.
"Try to block it out," Trowa said helpfully.
"I am. I think we need to wake him up, though," the blond whispered back, taking a few deep breaths and steadying himself.
"Agreed," Trowa said, and then opened the door to the room.
~ ~ ~ ~
Heero was deeply entrenched in the dream. It had started again with the bare room, and the circle of light he was forced to stand in. His body was mostly paralyzed, but at least this time he could turn his head and look around of his own accord. As he squinted into the realm of darkness outside the light, he could see the robed figure of Scelestum move forward. In the hateful figure's gloved hand was the frayed end of a rope.
Heero vainly tried to wake himself before the dream could progress any further. He had a bad feeling about what was on other end of that rope. Scelestum laughed coldly at Heero's attempts to escape.
"Now, now, we can't have you leaving so soon. I have some fun planned for us," the voice rasped from the confines of the black hood.
"What's at the end of the rope?" Heero asked, knowing that he probably didn't really want to know.
"You'll find out later," Scelestum answered, tying the end to a post that had suddenly appeared at the edge of the light. "I must commend you, you're making progress my dear boy. It seems that my attempts have not all been in vain."
"What are you talking about? If you speak plainly, maybe I can do what you want so you can go away," Heero growled, clenching his muscles in immobile frustration.
"But that wouldn't be any fun at all!" The cloaked figure returned with a dry chuckle.
With that, he waved an arm to the side making the light extend in that direction. It illuminated a figure sitting strapped to a chair. The figure was struggling, and as the light became brighter, Heero could just make out the long chestnut braid swinging behind the back of the chair and a dull golden glint around the figure's neck. Duo.
"Let him go!" Heero exploded. "What could he possibly have to do with this! Why are you bringing others into this, if all of this stuff you've shown me in the other dreams my fault? What is the point!?"
"Temper, temper," Scelestum scolded as he walked over to Duo's chair and placed a black gloved hand on top of the boy's head, forcing his face up. "This one is important to you, yes? How important?"
Heero's voice caught in his throat, voice frozen. He felt his body float closer to where Scelestum stood over Duo, and in a blink he was in a chair opposite the American, at eye level and able to look him directly in the face.
"Aw, what? Can't say it? Or do you still delude yourself?" Scelestum purred, stroking the top of Duo's head lightly. At the new, closer proximity, Heero could see the fear glinting in the boy's eyes. More disturbing was the look of awareness on the American's features. He knew exactly what was happening. Duo's mouth worked silently, desperately trying to communicate, and Heero realized that he couldn't even read the boy's lips. Heero tried desperately to answer the cloaked figure, hoping that maybe the right response would make the creature leave Duo alone, but Heero couldn't make a sound.
Scelestum chuckled, his dry snicker echoing through the boundless room. "I thought not. All of today's progress, and you're still not ready. Oh well, time for more demonstrations then. Time to feed me. Remember, this is completely and utterly your fault."
The entity reached into the surrounding darkness and pulled out a ball preen hammer, swinging it lightly into his other hand a few times, gloves smacking lightly against the hard steel.
Both boys' eyes widened at the sight of the hammer, and Duo struggled even harder against his bonds, muscles twitching frantically. The sinister figure held his hammer high, then turned his gaze onto Heero again. Heero noticed Scelestum had dark blue eyes underneath his hood.
"Such a lovely smile, don't you think?"
Scelestum swung the hammer.
~ ~ ~ ~
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