*  
*   *

“Sir?” Shelly called
warily as she knocked on Duo’s office door, for the third time. “Sir, are you
there?”

There was no answer,
and the young woman sighed, shifting a few heavy folders in her hands. “Sir,
Manx wanted me to bring you this from the top floor.” She listened, waiting for
an answer. “Sir?”

But there was nothing
to answer her besides the blank stare of the door.

Sighing, she looked
down at her watch, seeing that it was nearly twelve o’ clock. “Maybe he’s out
for lunch...” She mumbled and walked a She She stopped for a minute, a frown on
her face. She looked over her shoulder, at Duo’s office, and her frown deepened,
eyes shimmering with worry. “Where are you... Duo?”

*  
*   *

Duo moaned miserably
and stirred, fighting to open his eyes. He could feel dry blood cover the left
side of his face, making the task more difficult. He tried to reach a hand down
to wipe the blood away, but found that he could do no such thing. He frowned,
moaning in displeasure, and tried again, putting more force into it.

His movements were
followed by the sound of rattling chains, and Duo’s eyes snapped open, looking
around in shock. He moved his aching head up, and saw the source of the
metallic noise.

He was tied up to a
set of chains, which were dangling down of the ceiling. His arms were stretched
high above his head, held by the metallic restrains, while his feet dangled a
few centimeters above the floor.

He looked down,
wincing at the pain it caused, and saw that his shirt had been taken off, and
he is bear foot. He frowned, his numb mind trying to figure how he had gotten
to this position.

Something cold and
metallic touched his neck, and Duo flinched, head jerking up.

“Awake already?” A
deep and low voice snarled in amusement, and the cold metal was pressed deeper
into Duo’s neck. “What a pity.” The voice continued, and Duo winced as his skin
broke, blood trickling down the small cut. “I was hoping for a few more hours
with my lover...”

Duo’s head snapped up,
eyes wide. He looked straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the large bed in the
center of the bedroom. Their bedroom.

Sitting behind her
desk, Une frowned, placing her pen down. “Did you check if he’s on assignment?”
She asked, turning to her computer. She typed a few things quickly.

“No ma’am. But I am
pretty certain that he isn’t.”

“Well, there’s nothing
on my files either, but you know Maxwell, he might have ran off without filing
his paperwork.” She sighed and turned back to face the girl. “Why won’t you
leave the files at Yuy’s office? As far as I know, his resignation isn’t valid
until Friday.” Une suggested and prepared to get back to her work. “Then go
down to section six, try to find out where Maxwell ran off to.”

Shelly swallowed,
bowing her head sorrowfully. “That’s the thing, ma’am. A.D Yuy is also
missing...”

*  
*   *

Slowly, Heero began to
wake up, his numb mind struggling for consciousness. He moaned a little,
turning his head aside, trying to clear the fog that covered his hazed miHe
He
felt ill, nauseous; a feeling he knew was caused from being drugged. But who
would drug him? What happened to him? Where was Duo?

“Good morning,
Hure...”

At the sound of
Johnson’s voice, Heero’s eyes shot open, and he gasped. His wide blue eyes scanned
the room quickly; dread reflecting in the dark-blue orbs. He gasped when he saw
that awfully familiar face invade his line of sight. And that smirk... those
mocking eyes... those hurting lips... They were all looking down at him in a
sickening expression.“No, Hure. Not a
dream.” Johnson’s low voice snarled, and Heero tensed as he felt the man run
his hands down his body, sneaking underneath his shirt. “Soon you will come to
know how REAL this dream is, Hure...”

A weak cough was heard
fromewheewhere back, and then: “...Heero...”

Heero’s eyes snapped
open.

“Duo!”

“Loved, honey. You
mean loved.” Her friend reminded her, picking up the burger she had made
herself. “Things like this don’t last long.” She continued as she took a large
bite of her meal. “Just like with me and my third, no- fourth –
husband...” She added with her mouth full of food. She rolled her eyes. “That
jerk! Treated me like a God damned toy, I tell ya!” She reached to add more
chili to her fat saturated meal.

“No... I don’t think
it’s over. Not what those two have between them...” She turned to her friend,
smiling. “I believe in them, and I believe in love.”

“Chk!” Her friend
snorted, rolling her eyes. “Girl, you won’t be believing in love after you were
married to one Fritz Johnson!” She snarled, and reacto dto drink form
her diet coke. “Fucking jerk...”

Shelly sighed and her
face fell downcast. “Maybe I’m too naïve...” She thought out loud, shrugging.
“But I’ll believe in th--“

Suddenly, her eyes
widened and she jumped out of her seat. “I’ll be right back!” She hurried to
say, already running out of the cafeteria.

Her friend raised her
eyebrow, but then shrugged. She reached back to her diet cola, shaking her head
as she drank. “Fucking jerk...”

*  
*   *

“NO! NO! NOOO! YOU
JERK! YOU FUCKING JERK! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!?!?” Heero cried over and over,
shaking his head frantically from side to side.

In the other side of
the room, Johnson smirked. He shifted the knife in his hold, casting a blinding
ray of light on the limp body that hung before him.

Heero panted wildly,
his shocked blue eyes still gaping at the sight before him.

Still held up from the
ceiling, Duo’s body hung limp and lifeless, his head hanging low, chin to
chest, his legs dangling lifelessly from side to side. Tears and blood were
running down his pale cheeks, his eyes closed and his expression forlorn.

Behind him, still
smirking, was Johnson. In one hand he was holding his knife, in the other, he
was holding Duo’s braid.

The lush and beautiful
chestnut braid was violently ripped off its owner, leaving the once braided
boy’s face gray with sickness and shock.

“HOW DARE YOU DO
THAT?! HOW DARE YOU!?!?” Heero screamed, trashing wildly on the bed. “How dare
you..?” He cried, his tears running freely. “How dare you...”

From behind a hazy
cloud of shock, Duo could hear Heero’s cries. He knew that he should wake up,
should snap out of, should go and try to help his love, but he could do no such
thing. It was this cold feeling that spread inside of him, preventing him from
overcoming what had happened.

His hair.

Johnson cut his hair.

He always had his
hair... it was a constant in a world of chaos... a friend in a time of
loneliness... a comfort at a time of need...

It was his, and now
that man took it away.

Just like he took
Heero.

He took everything.Heero... no... don’t
cry...

“...URGH! Please!”

Heero...

“SHUT UP!”

Duo’s eyes widened.

It wa whi whip.

It was his hair.

CRACK!

“URGHHHHH!!!!”

“JOHNSON YOU FREAK!
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!!!?”

CRACK!

“URGHHHHH!!!!!” On the
bed, Heero trashed and squirmed in pain. He cried and he sobbed as thousands of
thin and sharp hairs crashed onto his skin, breaking the tender flesh with a
thousand and one small whips. Blood trickled from the various cuts and hair-thin
slashes, soaking the white bed with crimson fluid.

“JOHNSOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!”

CRACK!

“STOOOOP IIIIIT!!!!”

CRACK!

“THERE’S GONNA BE MORE
FOR EACH WORD THAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH MAXWELL!”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

“URGHHH!!! D-D-Duo...”

CRACK!

“AHHHHHH!!!!!” Heero’s
screams were getting louder and louder, his voice hoarse from shouting. Tears
and blood mixed on his pale features, his eyes shut tight in torment.Johnson moved.

Heero screamed.

And Duo’s crying.

“Heero... oh God...
Heero... Heero...” After hours of begging and pleading Johnson to stop, Duo had
run out of coherent words. He mumbled and wept Heero’s name over and over,
murmuring and sobbing a thousand and one useless apologies.

Dull cobalt eyes
slowly opened, glazed over with pain and tears. Heero blinked a few times,
suddenly feeling as if everything was about to collapse into itself,
threatening to fill his world with darkness. He locked his gaze on the only
thing he could bear to look aspanspan>

Their picture.

He focused his gaze on
Duo’s smiling face, and his own lips twisted up in a small smile.

“I’m sorry... so
sorry...” Duo’s voice whispered brokenly, choked on tears and hurting.

Johnson growled and
shifted position, burying himself to a hilt inside of his reluctant lover. He
continued rocking, faster and wilder, his nails digging into Heero’s flesh.

The Japanese boy
winced in pain, and returned his attention to the picture. To Duo’s smiling
face. Those smiling features that never let him down. Never. Always kind and
smiling and cheerful. Always.

He turned his gaze
towards the figure hanging from the ceiling, and his eyes narrowed in pain. Duo
wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he had
smiled happily at him... without tears or sorrow or regret in his eyes... He
was crying now, sobbing so hard that his body was quaking. Making the chains
rattle...

Heero’s head shot up
and he looked at the direction of the photo. His face covered with
determination, his eyes narrowing in pure rage and anger.

He yanked at his
restrains.

Johnson continued
rocking, thrusting in and out of his body and shouting in pleasure.

“ALWAYS MINE, HURE!
AS MIS MINE!”

Heero’s eyes flashangrangrily, and he gave the handcuffs another pull.

“NO ONE WILL TAKE YOU
AWAY! NO ONE!!!!” Johnson continued yelling. “NO OOOOONNNNEEEEE!!!!!”

He pulled the chains
harder.

His eyes were fixed on
the picture all along, studying every inch of Duo’s face, his body, the hand
that was wrapped around his waist, the gentle fingers softly touching him. That
wonderful hair he loved to play with... to run his fingers through... to brush
and braid and tousle softly when Duo was asleep...

But now it was gone.

He pulled harder.

“J-Johnson...
please...” Duo’s voice, more desperate than ever.

Tearful amethyst eyes
looking up pleadingly.

He yanked harder.

The once beaming face,
sickly colored and covered with blood. Soaked with tears. Washed over with pain
and frailty.

He pulled harder.

The metal began to
creak.

And Johnson... he did
all this... did this to Duo!

The metal began to
twist, the chains beginning to give way.

He promised he would
never kill again... he didn’t want to kill anymore... no one deserved to die...
no one... No one but Johnson!

Heero grinded his
teeth, pouring all of his rage and energy into the effort.

And the metal caved,
slowly, twisting and turning under the assault.

Heero closed his eyes
tight, biting his lower lip until he drew blood. He panted hard, his breath
frantic, his face turning red from the effort.

Duo’s sobbing, Johnson
shouting, the rush of blood in his ears, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and
his own panting, they were all getting overwhelmingly loud. They grew louder
and louder, faster and deafening.

Flesh against flesh.

A sob after sob.

A thrust after thrust.

A shout after shout.

The rushing of blood
and the beating of his heart.

One beat.

Two beats.

The handcuffs began to
crumble.

Three beats.

Four.

And then a loud CRACK!

The snapping of metal
and Heero’s cry of pain.

“JOHHHHHHHNNNNNSOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!!!”

He flung his hands
high in the air, two wrists still clad in the Gundanium cuffs. The chain was
broken though, twisted sharply at the edge of each cuff.

“LET ME
GOOOOOO!!!!!!!” He screamed, throwing his hands down at the man’s body.

Flesh ripped and tore,
the so-called unbreakable metal entering the sweaty flesh in one, quick,
thrust. Blood gashed out of the wounds, and Johnson screamed.

“HURE! I’LL KILL
YOU!!!”

“No! No! NOOO!!!”
Heero cried, withdrawing his hands only to stab the man again and again. Blood
splattered all over the bed and on Heero’s face, hands and body. But he kept on
stabbing. “TEME! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!” He cried
with each hit, digging the torn chains deep into the man’s chest, feeling them
brush against the ribs and puncture the lungs.

Johnson gasped,
coughing out blood. “Wh---y you..!” He choked, raising his hands up to hit
Heero.

“NO! NOT ANYMORE!
NO!!!” The boy screamed hysterically, swinging his hands up to Johnson’s head.
He hit him hard on the temples, impaling his skull with the sharp metal.

With a choked cry, the
German collapsed on the bed.

In the other side of
the room, Duo watched, his gaze stunned and his face drained of color. He
watched in horror as Heero kept hitting the man, long after he had collapsed
down on Heero’s body.

“I’M NOT YOURS!” Heero
screamed as he punched the man’s back, the sharp end of the chains digging into
the caving flesh. “I! AM! NOT! YOURS!” He called with every punch, blood
shooting out of ugly wounds, staining Heero’s hands. “NOT! YOURS! NOT! YOURS!
NOT! YOURS! NOTYOURSNOTYOURSNOTYOURSNOTYOURSNOTYOURS!!!!!”

“HEERO!” Duo screamed,
trying to get the boy’s attention. “HEERO! STOP IT! STOP IT!”

As much as he wanted
to see that man dead, he couldn’t bear to see Heero like this. So overwhelmed
with rage and hatred, as if possessed by the devil. His screams hysterical and
his eyes as wild as an animal. This was not the Heero he knew. Even when they
were fighting, back in the war, Heero was never like that. Not ever. And it
hurt to see his usuallnd and and caring lover act like that, brutally killing
someone in cold blood.

“HEERO! THAT’S ENOUGH!
HE CAN’T HURT YOU ANYMORE! STOP IT! PLEASE!” He begged voice hoarse from crying
and shouting so much.

But the boy wouldn’t
stop, crying uncontrollably as his hands descended down on the motionless body.

Duo closed his eyes
and looked away, unable to bear anymore of this bloody sight. “HEEROOOOO!!!!!
PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!”

And then, suddenly,
there was silence.

Duo looked up, peeking
from behind messy and blood soaked bangs.

Heero was now lying
motionless, his arms lying limply at the sides of his body, his glazed eyes
looknumbnumbly at the ceiling.

Duo closed his eyes,
and sighed in relief.

“Heero...”

The boy didn’t answer,
and the silence grew longer.

Time stretched
endlessly, frozen in a single moment of silence.

The only sound in the
room was Heero’s labored breaths, as glazed cobalt eyes stared numbly at the
ceiling.

Duo sighed and looked
away, closing his eyes and letting his head drop limply down.

There was nothing.
Nothing. Just this horrible, thick and suffocating, silence.

*  
*   *

A soft knock was heard
on Une’s door.

“Ma’am?” Shelly’s
voice came from behind the door, and Une looked up from her work.

“Come in!” She called,
watching the door impatiently as it slowly opened and the young secretary
walked into the room. “What is it? Did you find them?”

“Well, I’m not sure,
but I have a lead.”

“A lead?” Une raised
an eyebrow, turning to face the girl completely.

“Hm hmm.” Shelly
confirmed, nodding her head. “Concerning our three missing persons.”

“Three missing
persons? Why three?” Une asked, confused.

Shelly came to stand
in front of her desk, looking her superior right in the eye. “Heero Yuy, Duo
Maxwell and Fritz Johnson.”

Une raised another
eyebrow in question.

Shelly set down a thin
folder on her desk. “I made a list. I think you might find it interesting.”

Baffled, Une looked at
the young secretary, and then down at the folder. Still a little bewildered,
she reached for the folder and opened it.“Well,” Shelly began,
slowly sitting down. “I was trying to look for, uh...” She stopped herself and
shook her head. “Well, I’ll be blunt. I had a bad feeling about Johnson, so I
went to check him out.”

Une looked at her,
eyes serious. She held the young woman’s gaze for a while, and then nodded. “Go
on.”

“Well,” Shelly
continued, watching Une carefully as she leafed through the folder. “I went to
his office, to see if I can find anything. And I think I found a little more
than I expected to.”

Une nodded, her eyes
studying the printouts inside the folder. “These are the mainframe’s system
codes.” She stated, looking up at Shelly.

The girl hurried to
nod her head. “Yes. I’ve been having troubles with the computer system for
quite some time now. Things somehow got lost, codes changed or even vanish.”

“Johnson?” Une asked,
raising an eyebrow. She scanned a few more pages. “These are the Esca and the
Anataxia cases!” She called, startled. “I almost fired Eric Roboss because he
couldn’t find these files!” She exclaimed, leafing through more printouts. “And
the hostage situation two moths ago! Oh God!”

Shelly ducked her head
between her shoulders, an instinct when it came to being near an angry Une.

“We had a rat here all
along!” Une shouted, punching her desk. “God damn it! How could he get NEAR
those files?!”

“FREEZE! PREVENTERS!
NOBODY MOVE!!!”

A small smile touched
Duo’s lips, and Heero fell silent.

The footsteps came
closer to the bedroom.

“FREEZE!”

Duo allowed himself to
smile a little, and let his head fall limply down in relief. He closed his eyes
and sighed heavily, tears flowing freely.

“DALE! PRING! GET
THOSE TWO OUT OF THERE!”

*  
*   *

Sitting in a dim
hospital room, seemed to be the only thing he got to do lately, Duo mused
bitterly as he shifted in the uncomfortable chair. He was sitting in that damn
chair for nearly a day now, waiting for his love to wake up. He kept watching
his sleeping angel, guarding his sleep from any harm.

Heero’s face was still
covered with bruises, his body wrapped in bandages and both his hands in casts.
He had lost quite a large amount of blood, and so a blood transfusion and an IV
were connected to both his thin and pale arms.

Duo sighed, slowly
bending down to stroke Heero’s soft chocolate-brown hair, moving a few stray
bangs out of the boy’s eyes. He smiled when he saw Heero respond to his touch,
something that never happened before now. His smile grew as Heero stirred a
little, moaning silently.

Cobalt blue eyes fluttered
slowly open, and the Japanese boy blinked a few times before becoming fully
awake.

Duo smiled down at his
love, softly petting his hair. “Hey.” He whispered with a joyful smile, happy
to be looking into those eyes again.

Heero remained silent,
looking up into Duo’s eyes. Violet looked and blue, and blue at violet for the
longest of time. The ticking of the clock seemed to stop as both young men
allowed themselves to be absorbed in this single moment in time.

Finally, after a
silent eternity, Heero suddenly closed his eyes.

“Is... he... out?”

This time, Duo didn’t
wince at the unexpected question. He kept petting Heero’s hair softly, reaching
his other hand to take Heero’s hand in his. “Yes, Heero. He’s out.”

Heero nodded his head
weakly, eyes still closed. He was silent for a while longer. He licked his
lower lip in thirst, and Duo hurried to serve some water to the cracked andolleollen lips. Heero gulped the cool liquid hungrily, and Duo helped him settle
back into the cushions.

“Did I kill him?”
Heero suddenly asked, opening his eyes and looking up at Duo.

Somehow managing to
keep his face straight, Duo shook his head. “No.”

Again Heero nodded
slightly, closing his eyes. “...good.”

Duo sighed, squeezing
Heero’s hand tightly. “He’s in surgery, and then off to jail. You won’t be
seeing him ever again.”

Heero ignored Duo’s
answer, and instead just turned his head up to look at him. He freed his hand
from Duo’s hold, reaching up for his face. Thin fingers slowly ran through
Duo’s bangs of hair, pushing them aside a little, so he could look at his eyes.
He then sadly shifted his gaze to the back of Duo’s hair, reaching up to touch
the short strings of chestnut silk.

“Your hair...” He
whispered sadly, tears filling his eyes.

“Don’t worry.” Duo
hurried to soothe, taking Heero’s hand in his and guiding it from his hair to
his lips. He kissed the pale hand softly, and then held it tightly in his,
looking into Heero’s ocean-blue eyes. “It will grow back.”

“My hands hurt.” Heero
stated, pulling his hand away from Duo’s grasp.

“You broke both your
wrists.” The once-braided boy informed him, his fingers running gently over
Heero’s arm. He bent down to kiss the injured wrist. “They will heal soon.”

“And they said that I
cannot break Gundanium...” Heero chuckled bitterly, turning away from where he
was staring at the wall, and looked up at Duo.

Duo chuckled bitterly.
He petted Heero’s hair gently, trailing his hand down to caress the tender
cheek.

Heero smiled weakly,
the bright light returning to his eyes. “Read me a story?” He asked, lips
pouting.>

A small smile found
his way to Duo’s lips, and he hurried to nod his head. “Sure.” He whispered,
reaching down to his bag. “It’s a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Would you like
that?”

Heero nodded his head,
snuggling deeper into his covers. He turned to lie on his side, watching Duo
with shining blue eyes.

Duo smiled down at his
lover and bent down to give him a quick kiss on his forehead. He then settled
more comfortably into his chair, and opened the book. “Through the looking-glass,
by Lewis Carroll.” He caught a small smile on Heero’s lips, and smiled back at
the boy. He then turned to the first page, and began reading. “One thing was
for sure, it was the black cat’s fault...”

*  
*   *

Late that night, after
Heero had fallen asleep, Duo put the book down and quietly left the room, not
before kissing his lover goodnight. He walked silently down the halls of the
hospital, making his way in through the maze until he got to his destination.

He sneaked past the
half-sleeping guards, and avoided all the nurses and staff until he got to the
desired room. Like a shadow, he sneaked into the room, silently closing the
door behind him.

The sound of medical
instruments, monitors and life support machines, filled the dark room. Duo
examined the room with narrow eyes, his gaze finally locking on the single bed
that occupied the room. His lips lifted up in a bitter snarl as he watched the
silent figure on the bed, her chest rising slowly up and down, with the help of
a respirator.

Within an instant, he
was by the bed.

He looked down at the
still figure, eyeing her with hatred in his eyes. He examined the tanned skin,
the short blond hair and the closed narrow eyes with disgust. His limbs were
tied to the bed, restrained to prevent the suspect’s escape.