Eternal Flame

Disclaimer: I don\'t own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier ne? :) I do however own Shane, Paul, Colin, Mickey, Benny, Toby, Fayah and any other unfamiliar characters that crop up. I also own the plot if you can call it that.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, OC, Lemon, Lime, abuse, violence, language.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, OC x OC and maybe some more... check each part to be sure ;)

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com
http://sweetlysour.net
http://www.adult-fanfiction.org
http://www.theforsakenwk.com/

Status: Work in progress.

Beta\'s: DBZVelena, Ryouga & Yami Tai....*huggles*

Author: ShenLong

Authors notes: *sigh* Well here I am again caving into pressure. I know it has taken a while to get to this and for that I apologize but I could not come up with a plot I deemed worthy enough.... until now. This is yet another sequel... this time to United Hearts. I did promise I would write the wedding for you all and I intend to do that. For those that haven\'t read United or Lost Souls I recommend that you do, otherwise this sequel will not make much sense. All of your favorite characters are back and up to as much mischief as possible.
This is set fourteen months after the end of United and all the children are older now. The Gundam Pilots are all 20yrs, Shane and Fayah are 16, Paul is 15, Colin is 14, Mickey is 12, Benny is 10 1/2 and not forgetting that little rascal Toby who is 10.
Thank you to all those who supported me through the writing of United, I hope you enjoy this just as much.

\"Eternal Flame\"

Started April 2003 ShenLong

Chapter 27.

Howard raised his head from the pillow on the small bunk. \"What the hell is it?\" He yelled to the insistent knocking on his cabin door. \"I thought I told you not to disturb me unless the engines are about to drop out of the \'Zodiac\' or it\'s the second coming of Christ!\"

\"I\'m sorry, sir, but I think you should come up to the flight deck and see this.\"

Howard muttered to himself under his breath as he grabbed his shirt from the chair and pulled it over his thin torso. His pants followed next and he loosely did up the belt. Grabbing his sunglasses from the small table he slipped them on his face and rubbed at the stubble on his chin. He gave a yawn and pushed the button for the door to slide open. The young sweeper on the other side gave him an apologetic smile.

\"I\'m sorry to wake you sir...\"

\"Can it, and stop calling me \'sir\'. My name is Howard, use it.\"

\"Yes, si... Howard.\"

\"Well, what is it that has you excited enough that you have to come on down here and wake an old man from his beauty sleep?\"

\"Jefferies asked me to fetch you to the flight deck, Howard. The scanners have picked up on some activity not far from here and, well.... I think you should see for yourself.\"

Howard frowned at the young man. \"Well, it must be something pretty important for you to want to wake me and risk your health.\" Howard followed the man along the corridors of the \'Zodiac\', moments later arriving on the flight deck. \"Jefferies, what is it that has you all so excited you\'re nearly wetting your pants?\"

The man Howard had addressed turned to face his boss. \"There was some unusual activity picked up on the radar sensors, it was coming from just beyond the L3 cluster.\"

\"The radar often picks up on unusual things, Jefferies, you should know that.\"

\"Yes, I agree, but this was... well, different. I set the scanners up to record whatever it was that was going on and... here... I\'d like you to have a look.\" Jefferies turned to one of the other sweepers. \"Roll it.\"

The sweeper complied and Howard watched the viewing window suddenly change and take on the appearance of a vid screen. Moments later Howard stood riveted as he watched the little scenario play out before his eyes.

\"What the fuck!?\"

\"I thought you would be interested.\" Jefferies replied, a hint of smugness in his voice.

\"How long ago did you say this happened?\"

Jefferies punched in a few numbers to the main console. \"Precisely twenty minutes ago.\"

\"Shit!\" Howard ran his hand over his slightly balding head. \"Cal, get me a com line to Earth, now!\"

Cal jumped in his seat and scrambled to patch into the communications network and secure a line to Earth. \"Number?\"

\"Here,\" Howard moved to the console and typed in a secure number. Cal moved out of the seat and let Howard take over.

\"You think this could be serious?\" Jefferies asked as Howard waited for his call to weave its way through the various air waves and connect.

Howard looked at the man, a grim expression on his face. \"Well, I think it may be the second coming, but not of Christ.\"

\"Huh?\" Jefferies wasn\'t sure about Howard\'s attempt at supposed humor.

\"Somehow I think we are about to meet with the devil himself, head on.\"

~ * ~

The vid \'phone began to beep incessantly; Shane dragged himself from the couch where he\'d been snuggling with Fayah and reluctantly went to answer it. He was just starting to get nicely warm, Fayah in his arms and sweet kisses on his lips when the \'phone had to disturb them yet again. \"Yuy-Maxwell residence. This is the underpaid and over-worked secretary answerin yer call on their behalf.\" he sighed out.

\"Shane? Is that you there?\"

The screen remained blank, obviously the connection wasn\'t good enough to give a picture, even the vocal was a little hazy and breaking up from time to time. \"Howard?\"

\"Yeah, it\'s me, Shane. Can you get Duo for me? I have something really important to tell him.\"

\"Sure, I\'ll go get \'im now fer yer.\" Shane duly trotted off to the study and knocked on the door.

\"Yo!\" Duo\'s voice sang out.

\"Duo, Howard\'s on the \'phone. He says it\'s important.\"

\"Comin!\" Duo appeared seconds later. \"Thanks, Shane.\" Duo proceeded to the vid \'phone. \"Howie! What\'s happenin man?\"

\"Duo? Look, there\'s something going on out here. I\'m not too sure what it means as yet but I thought you guy\'s should know about it.\"

\"Oh? What is it, Howie?\"

\"Look, I\'ll send it through to your e-mail, have a look and I\'ll contact you back in half an hour. I\'m going to look at it a bit more and see if I can\'t find anything else. See what you guys make of it.\"

\"But, Howie, why can\'t yer tell me over the \'phone?\"

\"Not secure enough. Besides, I doubt that the picture is working and you really need to see it.\"

\"Okay. Talk to yer soon then.\"

The line went dead as the connection was severed and Duo strolled back to the study deep in thought.

\"What did Howard want?\" Heero asked as Duo returned.

\"He\'s sendin through somethin, said it was important and wants us ta take a look and see what we think.\"

\"Any idea what it is?\" Wufei said.

\"Nope, not a clue.\"

\"Hn.\" Heero moved to the side and allowed Duo access to the key board. Quickly Duo brought up his e-mail and logged in; the screen changed and then displayed the in-box. It took him a second or two to work out which was the e-mail from Howard and then with a grin he clicked on the message. The screen changed again and Duo clicked on the attachment.

\"Barbie and Ken?\" Heero asked, an eyebrow raised.

Duo shrugged his shoulders. \"Howie always did have a weird sense of humor, there would be a reason fer him namin the attachment that,\" replied Duo. \"Holy fuck!\"

Heero and Wufei crowded around the screen. \"Where did Howard say this was shot?\" Wufei questioned.

\"L3 cluster,\" Duo replied absently, he was too busy watching the destruction on the screen to say much else.

The clip came to an end and the three agents sat back. Heero had a deep frown etched into his face as his mind grappled with the clip it had just witnessed. They were connected to the current situation, he knew that for certain, but how and why were the two things he didn\'t have the answer for right now. Given a little more time though he was sure he would.


\"Any idea what that was all about?\" Wufei asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

\"Looked like a trial, yanno, a test run type thing ta me, but why? I thought all the dolls and suits were destroyed or dismantled afta the wars.\"

\"That\'s exactly what it looked like to me too, Duo. But there\'s something more to it.\" Heero continued to puzzle over the clip. \"Run it again will you Duo? There\'s a few things I would like to study a bit more.\"

\"Sure, Heero.\" Duo set the clip in motion again and then hearing the beep of the vid \'phone he went to answer it, knowing it would be Howard again.

Shane also heard the beep of the \'phone and cursed loudly. \"I swear, I\'m nothin more than a fucking \'phone answerin service. I should start ta charge fer this...\" His little tirade was cut short though as he nearly ran into Duo in the hall way. He gave the American a sheepish grin.

\"Gettin a little annoyed?\" Duo asked with a grin on his face. \"Livin on the edge with two of the best Preventer agents not exciting enough fer yer?\"

\"Sorry,\" Shane muttered.

\"Don\'t worry about it, Shane. Go back ta Fayah but don\'t go any further than yer already have, I\'m too young ta be a grandpa.\"

\"What!\" Shane went bright red and began to splutter. \"I wouldn\'t... she\'s more than.... I can\'t believe...\"

\"Shane... Shane... It\'s okay, I\'m only teasin yer.\"

Shane shook his head. \"I can\'t believe yer said that, Duo.\"

\'Ahhh... it gets worse. I thought yer knew that, now get goin back ta Fayah and finish yer biology lesson, I got a call ta answer, a case ta solve and shit going down like diarrhoea at a laxative convention.\" Duo turned and made his way to the \'phone.

\"Yer sure got a way wiv words, Duo.\" Shane snickered. \"Laxative convention,\" he chuckled as he went back to Fayah and the \'Biology\' lesson.

Duo hit the receive button on the vid \'phone but the screen refused to show a picture. \"Maxwell-Yuy residence,\" he stated.

\"Duo?\"

\"Howie!\"

\"You get the clip okay?\"

\"Yup.\"

\"What did you make of it, kid?\"

\"Looks like someone has made themselves a few suits and has been testin \'em out.\"

\"That\'s what we thought. Seeing as how all the mobile dolls and suits were destroyed after the last war I thought you Preventers should know about this.\"

\"Thanks. ideaidea\'s as ta why though, Howie?\"

\"None as yet but we\'re working on it. Thought we would head in a little closer to where the \'action\' seemed to be taking place. How about you guys?\"

\"Not sure yet either, Howie, but we\'re lookin inta it.\"

\"Okay, kid. You want any more information just let me know. Meanwhile I\'ll see if we can\'t find out anything else that might help get to the bottom of this.\"

\"Thanks, Howie.\"

\"No problem, kid. I\'ll be in touch.\"

\"Bye.\"

The call was disconnected and Duo stood by the machine for a moment, lost in thought. The ring of the doorbell though jolted him back and he went to answer the summons. \"Trowa, Quat. Come on in, guys.\"

Trowa and Quatre entered the house for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day, although now it was evening. \"Heero in the study?\" Trowa asked.

\"Yeah, go on through. Wufei\'s still here too.\"

Trowa and Quatre headed for the study where Heero and Wufei awaited caught up in something on the screen of the computer. Heero glanced up as Trowa entered first, the smaller blonde right behind him. Duo came in last and quietly closed the door.

\"What happened?eeroeero didn\'t believe in wasting any time, he got straight to the point.

\"The police have arrested and charged a man by the name of Fielding in relation to Shand\'s death,\" Trowa began. \"At first he was rather uncooperative, but he soon changed his mind.\"

Wufei raised an eyebrow.

\"No, I did not lay a finger on him.\" Trowa replied. \"Merely pointed out a few home truths to him which convinced him that to talk would be the best option.\"

\"And?\" Heero was becoming a little impatient.

Trowa continued. \"It seems that Fielding worked as a courier, a supplier of sorts. You wanted something then Fielding could pretty much guarantee that he would be able to get it for you. Shand needed some extra cash, Fielding was given an order for some chips,… specific computer chips. There are only so many companies that deal with these types of chips and WEI is one of them. Without going into all the minor details, suffice to say Fielding offered Shand a generous amount of money if he could get a certain number of chips. Shand took him up on the offer.\"

Quatre took over the story. \"Shand began to steal the chips from WEI, putting in fake invoices for them. It was only because Trowa double checked on some of the stock that we picked up on the discrepancy. When Trowa looked into it we couldn\'t locate the missing chips, they weren\'t where the paperwork said they were supposed to be. It was shortly after, that Shand turned up dead.\"

\"It seemed our friend Shand was beginning to get nervous. Trowa turning up and demanding to know where the chips were and all scared him. He told Fielding he didn\'t want to play ball any more, he wouldn\'t steal any more chips from the company and he wanted more money for what he had stolen.\" Quatre paused for a moment.

\"Fielding killed him.\"

\"So, who was Fielding\'s client?\" Wufei asked.

\"A guy by the name of Mark Davis,\" Trowa stated.

\"What did this Davis fellow want with sophisticated computer chips?\" Duo asked as he fiddled with the end of his braid as he was apt to do when thinking deeply.

\"Fielding couldn\'t tell us much more on this Davis fellow, said he\'d only met him a couple of times, mainly to set up the deal and hand over the chips. This guy was the one who said he\'d give Fielding an alibi when Fielding told him he\'d killed Shand.\"

\"Did he know who this Davis fellow was working for?\" Heero asked; it was a slim hope at best.

\"No.\"

\"Fuck!\"

\"But.\"

Heero\'s eyes narrowed, Wufei stared at the Latin man while Duo continued to fiddle with the tuft of hair. Trowa took another breath before continuing.

\"He gave us a pretty good description. The police artist drew up a sketch based on what Fielding described and Quatre thought he recognized the man in question.\"

\"Did you?\" Heero asked.

\"Yes. I borrowed the police computer and brought up a few things. I seemed to have recalled seeing someone remarkably like the sketch and so I checked into it. The man, Davis, he works for a person by the name of Roland Grant.\"

Duo sat bolt upright. \"Roland Grant did yer say?\"

Quatre nodded.

\"He\'s the guy that owns Automaton Industries.\"

~ * ~

Bob Martins held his head in his hands, the destruction before him a testament to how good his programming had been. He felt the bile rise in his throat and barely managed to keep it from coating the floor.

\"Quite an effective little show, don\'t you think?\" Grant rubbed his hands together. \"I\'m very pleased with your work, Martins. I may just keep you around for a bit longer, who knows what other things I can use you for.\"

Bob repressed the shudder and raised his face to meet the cold, cruel stare. \"I will never help you again if I have any say in the matter,\" hesed sed out.

\"Oh, but I think you will,\" Grant smirked and then turned to a guard. \"Take him back to one of the confinement cells.\"

The guard nodded and moved to Bob\'s elbow, yanking the man to his feet.

\"Recall the dolls and set course for the Colony L3 X437. Notify me when we are within range.\" Grant said and then turned back to Bob. \"I will have my revenge,\" he stated and then followed the words with a cruel laugh.

Bob stumbled as he was led from the control room and back to confinement, once he was locked inside he lay back on the small cot and let his mind wander. He didn\'t know how far this revenge was going to go, he hadn\'t a clue where, or even if, the said Gundam pilots still lived and if they did, would they make themselves known just to satisfy this mad man\'s thirst for vengeance? There were far too many variables in the equation and Bob\'s weary mind couldn\'t cope with it any longer. He looked around the room, nothing there he could use either to end his miserable life and prevent himself from being used any further. While he lived, Grant could hold his son\'s life over his head to manipulate him, but if he were dead...

He bit back the sob he felt forming in his throat and swallowed the lump. Would he ever get to see Leith again? His mind began to shut down, unable to process any more information at this point in time. He was exhausted both physically and mentally. As he drifted off to sleep a small smile curved at his lips. The programming of the Dolls hadn\'t all been what Grant had requested; there were a couple of little added extras in there.

~ * ~

The silence in the study was deafening as Duo\'s words registered. \"Let me have another look at that clip, Heero,\" Duo said as he shot across the room and plonked himself down in Heero\'s lap. \"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!\" He swore as he watched the scene again. \"That\'s near the Delegates section of the L3 cluster.\"

\"Didn\'t the e-mail from Bob Martins come from out...\" Wufei began.

\"Hai.\" Heero\'s mind was going a mile a minute, everything suddenly clicking into place.

\"Automaton Industries is the one that\'s been buying up the bits...\" began Trowa.

\"Grant runs the company and Davis is the one wanting the chips...\" Quatre added.

\"And this little *battle* looks suspiciously like a test run ta me, strange that it\'s out where the rest of this shit is going down..…\" Duo finished.

\"I think I know what\'s happening here now,\" Heero stated.

Four pairs of eyes turned to the Japanese man, all were thinking the same thing, all had put two and two together and come up with a rat. All they need was to hear Heero confirm it. Taking a deep breath, Heero gave voice to his thoughts.

~ * ~

Paul sat in the chair next to the bed. He\'d finished his supper a little while ago and was sitting with Leith while the green eyed youth finished off the last of his supper. The television was playing softly and the pair were watching silently. Well, at least Leith was watching, Paul was more intent on studying his boyfriend.

With a happy sigh Leith lowered his fork to the plate and wiped his mouth on the napkin. \"That was delicious, Paul. Sally sure is a good cook.\"

\"Yer don\'t hafta tell me that,\" Paul grinned and then stood up to remove the tray from Leith\'s lap. \"Would yer like anythin else?\"

\"No, I think I\'ve had quite enough,\" Leith laughed. \"Much more of this feeding and I\'ll begin to stack on the weight!\"

\"I\'ll go put this back out in the kitchen then,\" Paul said and went to leave the room. Sally stuck her head around the door jamb.

\"Time for your medication, Leith. Paul, you need to go take a shower, you can sit with Leith for a little while afterwards if you want.\"

\"Okay.\" Paul left the room and after depositing the tray in the kitchen he went and took his shower.

Sally fetched Leith\'s pills and brought them, along with a glass of water to the bedroom. \"Here you are,\" she said and handed Leith the three pills.

Leith obediently took the pills and swallowed them. \"Thank you,… and I don\'t just mean for the pills,\" Leith said quietly. \"I don\'t know what I would have done if you and Wufei hadn\'t...\"

\"Hush now, Leith,\" Sally said, a smile curving her lips as she ran her fingers through Leith\'s ragged bangs. \"It\'s our pleasure to have you here. Don\'t you worry yourself about anything at all, okay? You just concentrate on healing and getting yourself better.\"

Leith smiled and grasped the woman\'s wrist. He brought Sally\'s hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. \"I really am grateful.\"

\"I know. Now relax, I\'ll go make some cocoa and get Paul to bring you in a cup.\" Sally left the room and Leith went back to watching the television.

Paul finished his shower and slipped on a pair of boxers followed by his flannel pajama pants. He pulled on the top but left the buttons undone. Toweling off his hair he tidied up the bathroom before returning to his temporary bedroom and brushing the black locks. Satisfied, he strolled back out to hear Sally calling his name. \"Yeah?\" he answered and wd ind in the direction of the kitchen.

\"I\'ve made some cocoa, could you please take a mug through to Leith?\"

\"Sure.\" Paul picked up the two mugs and headed for Leith\'s room. Entering he smiled at his boyfriend. \"Cocoa,\" he whispered as he raised one of the mugs.

\"Thanks,\" Leith replied and reached for the mug.

Paul settled himself on the edge oe bee bed next to Leith, mug held carefully in one hand. They sat in companionable silence, sipping at their cocoa and watching the television. When Paul had finished he placed his mug on the small nightstand and snuggled a little closer to Leith, careful not to knock the other man and spill his cocoa.

\"Would you mind?\" Leith asked as he waved his mug in front of Paul\'s eyes. Paul grinned and took the mug, placing it next to his own on the nightstand. As he sank back against Leith so Leith\'s arm came around his shoulder and pulled him a little closer. Paul sighed softly.

They continued to snuggle as the television droned on, eyelids growing heavy as the clock ticked on relentlessly. Paul could feel himself beginning to drift off when the sound of the \'phone drew him from his near slumber.

Sally answered the vid \'phone. \"Wufei...\"

~ * ~

\"It seems to me that this guy Grant has something far more sinister in mind than building specific robotics.\" Heero began. \"Looking at all the facts we have so far I think I can safely say that there is something much bigger brewing here. We now know where all the scrap from the mobile suits as well as the circuitry etc. has gone, not into building specialized robots but into building these mobile dolls. I\'m betting they are dolls as opposed to suits, given that the computer chips that went missing from WEI were taken by someone who passed them on to a connection with the company. Those chips were designed with specific programming in mind.\" Heero took a breath.

\"Add to that the missing Bob Martins, a computer programming expert who not only worked on the Epyon version of the Zero system but now writes combat simulation programs for the military. One e-mail manages to make its way through, traced to the L3 area, which is where the rest of this little set up is based. Someone didn\'t want that e-mail to get through which was evident by the injuries sustained by Leith. I think it\'s safe to say that we will find Bob Martins somewhere within this Automaton Industries company, obviously against his will.\"

The group sat in silence, each digesting the words. While they all had a pretty good idea of what everything added up to, it was one thing to think it, another to have it spelled out for you.

\"I think that we need to inform Commander Une about this as soon as possible,\" Wufei stated.

\"I agree,\" Heero replied. \"The Preventer group needs all this information so we can plan out the next step.\"

\"What would you suggest the next step should be, Heero?\" Trowa asked as he took hold of his blonde lover\'s hand.

\"If I know Heero, it will be ta get up there and infiltrate this company, find Leith\'s dad and arrest \'em fer makin objects of a warlike nature when building of such objects is against the new peace rules,\" Duo stated. \"Yeah, Wuffers, contrary ta belief I did read the rule book,\" he added as he noticed the look on Wufei\'s face.

\"Glad to hear it, Maxwell. Nice to know you have at least retained some skills such as reading and writing,\" Wufei countered.

Duo retaliated by poking out his tongue.

Everyone turned though as Quatre suddenly spoke up. \"I agree with most of the points made so far, Preventer does need to know all the facts, however.…\" Quatre rubbed his nose. \"We can\'t just go waltzing in there and arrest people. We need to have proof.\"

\"We got the proof, Quat. Wasn\'t yer watchin the screen?\"

\"Yes, Duo, I did watch the screen but it isn\'t enough. We need something more concrete. You can\'t just arrest people without the necessary evidence to make the charges stick. I feel just as strongly as you do about this, there is something more there, but we still can\'t go and arrest people without stronger proof.\"

Quatre was prevented from saying any more as an urgent hammering at the door blocked out all chance of talk. \"What the hell is it?!\" Duo yelled.

\"Heero, Duo, I think you guys should get out here and see this...\" Shane\'s panicked voice shouted.

The five quickly stood, Duo wrenching open the door so they could exit. \"What is it, Shane?\" Heero asked, his voice remaining calm.

\"It\'s on the telly, a news flash... somethin ta do wiv a colony out in the L3 sector..…\" Shane said quickly, his voice still panicky.

The group shot through to the lounge room where Fayah was sitting upon the couch, her hand over her mouth, tears glistening in her eyes as she watched the drama unfolding on the screen.

\"Oh my god,\" Duo said as his hand flew to his mouth.

Quatre slumped slightly and clutched at his chest, Trowa immediately wrapping his arms around the slender blonde\'s waist to support him. Heero\'s eyes widened and he bit his bottom lip. Wufei stood as still as stone.

\"I repeat, news just to hand... Colony L3 X437 has been completely destroyed. There are no survivors....\" The screen showed pieces of debris floating in a black void as the newsman\'s voice continued to drone on.

\"Somethin tells me yer just got that proof yer wanted, Quatre.\"

~ * ~

tbc......