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Dreams of Love and Violence	By : KCbakeneko Category: Gundam Wing/AC > General Views: 772 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Dreams of Love and Violence

Pairings: 1+2; 3+4; implied 5+Sally

Warnings: violence, angst, shounen ai, naughty language

Setting: Between space battles on the Peacemillion; a soldier's romance

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing characters belong to Mixx Entertainment, Koichi Tokita, the SOTSU Agency, Sunrise, Kodansha and anyone I may have forgotten, not to me. I make no money off of this.

Duo opened his eyes, expecting the harsh lights of an interrogation room. Instead, he found himself inside a small room only dimly lit by a trickle of fluorescence from the tiny window in the steel door. He could hardly see through the gloom, the lights must have been darkened for the artificial night cycle, but even so, it was too bright for him. He closed his eyes again.

At least the hammering in his head had died down to a faint throb that pulsed with every heartbeat. Of course, the rest of his body more than made up for that relief with sharp twinges of pain that ran along his muscles. He tried to take a deep breath to clear his thoughts, but halfway there his cracked ribs reminded him to stick with shallow breaths. Well, maybe the rest of his body had escaped mostly intact. He tensed one of his arms and felt the wires wrapped around him tighten, holding him fast.

No other way to find out, he told himself, and violently tore at the wires.

A moment later, gasping in agony, he lay still. Every injury flared up and seemed to burn when he moved. Cold chills raced across him, but within a few minutes, the pain dropped into the background again.

Broken arm, he started the list off, broken leg, cracked ribs, maybe a concussion, definitely blood loss, and God only knows what internal injures--

"Duo, is that you?"

The weak voice forced Duo's mind away from his injuries and back to his surroundings. If he listened, he could just discern the sound of someone a few feet away, struggling to breathe. Duo forced himself to turn his head, and he spotted the silhouette of another prisoner, also bound in those damn odd wires.

"Quatre?" he whispered, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah," the other boy said. From what he could hear, Duo was certain that Quatre was better off than he was. The blonde sounded exhausted, not in pain. But then with Quatre, one could never be sure.

"Are we the only ones in here?" Duo asked, wishing he could see clearer.

"We're the only ones who got caught," Quatre said. "I think everyone else got away."

"Think they'll come back for us?"

"Those three? Maybe, if they can. Duo, are you all right?"

Duo nearly laughed, but that would have hurt more. "Not quite. Four guys decided to rearrange my vital organs. You?"

"Juse gue guy. I'm not as durable as you are."

They both sighed, then winced when it hurt.

"Hey, do you know why they like wires instead of plain old restraints?" Duo asked, trying to fill up the silence.

"These guys...they're running on a tight budget," Quatre said. "Restraints cost more than they care to spend."

"Then why bother keeping prisoners?"

"I don't think they were planning on keeping prisoners alive for too long. I...could be wrong. They might not have restraints because they didn't care to leave survivors..."

Duo thought about that for a moment. "I wonder why they're keeping us, then."

"Don't...know," Quatre's voice started to sound even fainter, as if he was close to blacking out. "Hostages, maybe?"

Duo groaned. "Just wonderful. I love being the damsel in distress." Disgusted that he was in such a vulnerable position, he shut his eyes, intending only to rest them for a moment. Instead, he fell back to sleep, lapsing into unsettling dreams.

"Quatre, you gonna be able to keep up?"

"Duo, quit teasing me 'till we're out of here, I'm nervous enough as it is."

"Hey, as long as you aim straight and don't shoot me, don't worry too much."

"Look at it from my point of view, I'm working with the god of death."

"See, you can't be too nervous, you're laughing--" I stop talking and hug up against the wall, and beside me Quatre does the same. Down the corridor, a small group of men float by, blissfully unaware of our presence. A moment later they disappear, and I hear Quatre sigh. Must have been holding his breath.

"Okay, come on," I say, and he follows just behind me. I have to slow down so he can keep up, he's not as fast as I am, especially not with that duffel bag he's carrying. I wonder if he knows. I'm sure he must be nervous still, and I open my mouth to start up the banter again, but Quatre puts his hand on my shoulder and points ahead.

"There's the main engine room," he whispers. "But why isn't it guarded...?"

"The intruder alarms haven't gone off," I say. "Otherwise we'd be swimming in enemy soldiers."

We glide to thor, or, and to my irritation we find it locked up tight with a number key. "Damn it, no one said these'd be locked, who the hell locks their main doors?"

"Wait a minute," Quatre says, holding me back from shooting the lock out. He takes a small packet of something from his vest and tears it open. Dust spills into his hand. He holds it up to the lock and blows the grains against the number pad, and a few numbers fade out. After briefly considering, Quatre pushes them in a certain order, and the door slides open.

"Cool," I have to admit, and it keeps me from telling the whole ship we're here. "What is that stuff?"

"Just regular old dust." He smiles as we float inside. "There's the computer console."

I nod and close the door behind us, glad that he's relaxing a bit. I head over the console and look over the controls. Stand military design. This would have been easier for Heero or Trowa, but the shafts we had to crawl through were so cramped that their bodies just wouldn't fit. Sometimes it pays to be smaller. Quatre heads out along the edges of the machines, pulling explosive charges out of his duffel bag and placing them in key areas. I press the last keystroke and the dull hum tells us the engines are now off-line.

"Hurry up, Quatre, the guards'll be here any minute now."

"I'm done, set them." He races to join my side and we take off. I shut the door again, which cues the charges to start the one-minute countdown. We hear the startled yells coming from down the corridors, and the red alert sirens blare out.

"One of the others must have set that off," Quatre says.

"Wufei. He's probably killed the captain and crew by now."

A blast rocks the ship, then another even closer to us.

"The engines have gone," Quatre says.

"The lets do the same." We continue racing down the corridors, avoiding as many troops as we can. "Y'know, this would've been easier if we could've just blown this ship up."

"I know, but an exploding ship would attract too much attentio Qua Quatre says. "We can't afford to face a large military force yet."

"If Heero hadn't decided drag us all into a fight with a fleet of Oz suits--"

"It wasn't a fleet, and as I recall, you were the one we had to drag away."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

We both duck into the beginning of the long ventilation shafts and start crawling down the darkness. I don't like putting myself into enclosed spaces like this, but at least this time I have company.

"Duo, you're still ahead of me, right?"

"Come on, Quatre, it's not that dark."

"I'm afraid it's dark enough for me."

"Bad night vision?"

"When I was a little kid, I always slept with a nightlight," he says with an ironic laugh to his voice. "Calmed me down, but it ruined my night vision."

"Don't sweat it, I'll take it easy for you," I say, then almost stop as I realize what I've just said. "Hey, Quatre, man, I didn't mean--" I try to apologize, but he chuckles, interrupting me.

"It's all right, I know I'm not as physical as you guys are," he says. "As long as I'm not a handicap, I don't mind."

I want to tell him that's an awful way to think, to allow himself to be treated like a weakling when I know he's not. This isn't the time or place for a pep talk, though, so I force myself to derail that train of thought. I'll talk some sense into him later.

"Duo, wait, there's someone up ahead."

I stop as he grabs my left ankle, holding me still. He's right, how come I didn't see that? Damn, his eyes must be really photosensitive. There's several people standing near the very end of the shaft, waiting to see if someone will pop out. "All right, let's back up and find another way out. I can't believe someone set the red alert off before schedule."

"We'll chew him out later, we need to find the alternate route now."

We both crawl backwards, and I start to get that nervous feeling in my stomach when things get super-unpredictable. "Be careful when you get out," I tell him.

"I know, I know," he says.

I smirk. If improvising makes me a tad uneasy, it makes him downright edgy. We finally get back out, and as I stand up, he's dropping the duffel bag and pulling a handgun he'd hidden somewhere in his clothing. I take out my own gun and walk beside him down the corridors, taking a different path than before. Hopefully these next shafts won't be blocked up. If they are, we'll have to make a break for the mobile suit hangars and steal a pair.

"There they are!"

We both turn in unison and face a handful of soldiers coming at us. They're pretty close, I briefly wonder who the moron was that yelled out our warning, then dive at the first one. He didn't expect me to leap forward like that and tries to back away. Instead he slams into the guy behind him, giving them both concussions as they collapse onto the metal floor. The third one is bearing down on me pretty fast, so I stay on the ground and sweep his legs out from under him. He lands on top of me, pinning me on top of the other two. He's still capable of swinging and proves it by landing a few good punches, and the slowest soldier is about to join him. A door not too far away slides open, and three more soldiers appear. I feel my heart twist up in anxiety, I can't admit to myself that I'm about to panic.

Before they get any closer, though, all three of them are suddenly thrown back in rapid succession. Blood spills in perfect circles in the air, slowly falling to the floor. The soldier about to pounce looks up just in time to catch a bullet in his chest and fall backward. The one on top of me hasn't noticed his fallen comrades and puts his s ars around my throat, trying to choke me. Our faces are only inches apart, until I blink, and his face has magically disappeared, replaced by mangled blood and bone. His body slumps down on mine until I push it off.

Quatre's in front of me, his handgun lowered. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he hates shooting like that. "You all right?" he asks as he holds his hand out.

"Yeah,an'an't believe that guy fell on me," I say, taking his offered hand. We both take off down these endless corridors. "That was a pretty good shot," I tell him as we run. "You nailed that guy without even splattering me with blood."

He smiles despite his mood. "I'm a fairly decent marksman. My teacher said I had a natural gift for it."

We turn another corner and come up behind another batch of soldiers who haven't realized we're right behind them. I launch forward and nail the first two with my best moves, kicking out a third while two bullets take out the last two soldiers.

"Two for two." I'm surprised, I've rarely seen anyone as good a shot as that, especially in combat conditions.

"Duo, behind you!"

I turn and spot another troop right on top of me. There's no time to swing as they bear down on me. Quatre kills one of them, and I hear him changing cartridges. Another one takes the dead soldier's place, while two more grab my legs. I crane my head around to get a glimpse of Quatre, he's aiming at my attackers while five more are coming down on him.

He lets off three good hits before he's knocked down. He cries out in pain but still forces himself to land on his back and fire once more. He kills as many as he can until he's got to change cartridges again, and even though he's fast, there's just too many of them. One big soldier kicks him and slams his knee down into Quatre's wrist, forcing him to drop the gun. I wince in sympathy as I hear that wrist crack, but then I feel my own bones cracking and breaking. I can still see Quatre, that soldier has his hands around his throat, and my friend can't fight back with just one arm. He reaches into his pocket for the last cartridge, and I wonder what he's going to do. Blood sprays out and some of us gasp as he shoves the slim shaft of metal directly into the man's left eye. Somehow the soldier doesn't fall. He yells in anger and pain and continues to strangle Quatre. I'm sure he's killing him but I can't be sure, and one last kick to my head puts me out.

Quatre watched Duo as he slept, wincing each time he whimpered. Duo had received the worst beating. His left arm was completely bruised, which meant it was broken. His left foot was also twisted around at a painful angle, and the wires wrapped around him dug into his skin.

Quatre smiled. At least Duo had been quiet when they bound him. I came to while they were tying us up. He closed his eyes again. Duo's body was merely tangled in wires. They'd strung the wires around Quatre so tight that he could only take in shallow breaths. I should have played dead, but the urge to fight back was too strong... Instead he now had a deep bruise and a welt rising on his cheek where he'd been backhanded again, to quiet him. He tried to twist his hands around and instead felt the wires bite into him, putting pressure on his broken wrist. He stopped trying to move and gazed back at Duo. "I really do hope they find a way to come after us," he whispered, even though his friend couldn't hear. "I know Trowa will come. At the very least they'd put us out of our misery."

The door suddenly hissed open, and the light overpowered him for a moment. The glare pounded against his head, and when he finally looked up again, a tall soldier stood in the doorway. He looked around the corridor to make sure they were alone, then entered and let the door close again. Now that the tiny cell was dim again, Quatre could make out a couple features on the man's face. It seemed oddly familiar...he swallowed his gasp. The man was wearing an eye patch. This was the man he'd rammed the cartridge into.

Quatre shot a quick glance at Duo, but his companion was still unconscious. Of course, he wouldn't have been able to help even if he had been awake, and Quatre almost felt relieved that he was alone in this. He had a feeling he knew what was about to happen, and he'd rather no one saw.

How can I be so calm about this? he thought.

It was as if he was no longer in his body when the first strike landed on his face, slamming him against the wall. He watched himself slide sideways onto the floor, the wires cutting cruelly into his skin. The soldier kicked him once in the side, then again, but he hardly felt it.

Shock, he thought. I'm going into shock now, and I don't feel the pain. Thank God for minor miracles.

"You wanted to shove something into me," the soldier snarled, forcing him onto his stomach. "Now I'm gonna shove something into you."

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Quatre shut his eyes up tight and decided it was better not to fight. Play dead. Don't give the bastard the satisfan ofn of seeing you hurt. Quatre actually smiled at that. It was something Duo would've said to him. "I won't," he whispered.

Then the world exploded into little stars and sparks as the pain hit. Had the shock worn off? No, this simply hurt more than his body could compensate for. He held his breath, ignoring the man's grunting laughter, but he couldn't stop himself from struggling to break free. Fire ran across his back, and he realized that was the wire slicing through his skin. His clothing felt slick, and when he looked down, he was covered in his own blood.

Please let this be over soon. Please, please, make it stop.

And then it was done. His clothing was rearranged so no one would know what had happened, and he was left face down in a pool of blood. The door opened up, then shut. Biting back his scream, he twisted onto his back so he wouldn't drown, then blacked out.

"It's an Oz ship all right," Trowa says, his hair falling into his eyes for a moment as he stares into the console. I try not to let myself be distracted and keep my eyes on the screen.

"They're heading for the same asteroid we are," I say.

"Looks like we're not the only ones after the gundanium," Duo says, relaxing against the wall.

"Do they know we're out here?" Heero asks.

"You don't think it's a happy coincidence, do you?" Duo says before I can answer.

"I'm not sure." I ignore his comments and answer Heero. "They haven't brought along any troops, which they would do if they thought we were nearby. But then, this satellite is pretty far out of their way, even for gundanium."

"So let's just blow them out of the sky." Duo smirks again. "It'll be fun."

I shake my head. "No way, if an Oz ship disappears then they'll know we're here and that we needed this satellite to repair our gundams."

"Quatre's right." Trowa nods, and I have to focus so I don't get lost in his voice. "We can't let them know we're here, not yet."

"But we still have to keep them from the satellite." Wufei says. "We'll need to disable the ship and make sure no one knows until we've taken the ore and vanished."

"All right, I haven't had the pleasure of a sneak attack in a long time." Duo's smirk turns into a grin. "Dibs on the engine room."

"Let me bring up the schematics," I say, pulling the diagrams on screen. "This shouldn't be too hard. Wufei would be best for taking out the captain and crew, and Heero can go with him to knock out their computers from the bridge." All of them are quiet as they listen, and it feels somewhat reassuring that they trust me to come up with the best battle plans. Nerve-wracking for me, though. "Duo and I will have to take out the engines."

"'Have to'?" Trowa asks.

I nod. "The shafts we'll have to take are...well...cramped. You guys wouldn't fit."

There's a muffled snort from Wufei, and he chuckles. "Well, if you must, you must."

"Quatre, I'm not that short, and neither are you."

I give Duo an apologetic look. "You want to stand next to Heero or Trowa and say that again?"

He glares at me, then turns his head and sulks. Wufei starts to laugh again.

"Trowa, you'd better hit their barracks, that way we can all get out again."

He nods. I wish he'd answer me, I'd love to hear him speak again.

"But how do we get on board if we can't use our gundams?" Duo asks. "Unless you all want to cram into Deathscythe with me?"

"We just need to take some of the Tauros suits we stole and come in faster than their radar can detect," Heero says. "If we enter in different areas, it'll be easier to get in."

"Then it's decided?" I ask.

They all nod.

An hour later, we're already coming in close to the Oz ship, landing as gently as we can on the hull. With the special modifications on these suits, they'll stay attached to the ship until we come back. Duo and I come out and step onto the ship, and I help him find the main shaft. All Oz ships are built with air locks for maintenance so this isn't so hard. When we're inside, we remove our helmets and leave them at the entrance so we aren't wandering around in them. And then we start moving inside.

The floor suddenlyok bok beneath Quatre, rousing him. He glanced up, unable to orient himself. "How long've I been out?" he asked.

"No way to tell," Duo answered from the darkness. "You still in one piece?"

"For the most part," Quatre said. There's no way I'm going to tell him what happened. I couldn't bear that. "What are you doing?" he asked, hearing him moving around.

"Performing a miracle," he said. "I can get out of anything."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"I'll make a believer out of you yet," he said, and Quatre heard something metallic hit the floor. Abruptly Duo's hands fell on him, pulling the wires loose. "Geez, they really did you up tight. No wonder you couldn't move." He tried to ignore the blood drenching Quatre's clothes and face.

There was another tremor along the ship, and Quatre realized that the ship was under attack. "They came for us," he whispered. "Duo, are you up to an escape attempt?"

"Always, although I might be a bit slow." He helped Quatre rise up, then suddenly toppled into Quatre's arms. "Okay, maybe not."

"You lean on me, all right?" the blonde said, holding him upright.

"No way, you've gotta go on without me," Duo said. "I can't walk straight."

"And I can't see straight," Quatre told him. "Duo, I think I've got a concussion. If we're gonna get out, we've got to go together. You have to guide me."

"It's gonna be a bad case of the blind leading the blind," he laughed. "Besides, the door's locked."

Quatre shook his head. "No, it's not. Come on." He stood on Duo's left side, so he doesn't have to step on that foot, and when they got to the door, Quatre tried to push the button to make it open. He missed twice, though, and finally Duo took his hand gently and held it to the keypad. Now he hit the button, and the door slid open.

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"The door didn't lock behind the last guy to leave," Quatre said. "I didn't hear it click. To the vents or to the hangar?"

"The hangar. We've got a better chance stealing a couple mobile suits than climbing through shafts with busted bodies."

Another blast rocked the ship, followed quickly by another.

"We've got to get out before the others come in," Duo said. "That way they know we're not locked up now."

They started out into the corridor, keeping an eye out for enemy soldiers. For some reason, there didn't seem to be any around where they were. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, Duo turned to ask Quatre something. Instead, he gasped in horror.

"Quatre...your eyes," he whispered.

Quatre lowered his face, knowing exactly what Duo meant. "They're all red, aren't they?"

Duo nodded.

"It happened when that soldier strangled me. They'll go back to normal after a week or two."

They staggered around a corner and into an open elevator. Again Duo had to help Quatre operate it, but finally they were riding down to the lowest level, where the suits were kept.

"I hope there'll be a few suits left for us to steal," Duo sighed, cradling his broken arm tighter against his side. "Otherwise, this is gonna be a short trip."

"There will be, if Trowa managed to kill even a few of the soldiers."

The elevator halted a minute later, and Quatre waited for Duo to tell him it was clear before moving out. Duo had to lead him left or right across the floor to the flight suits, but it was Quatre who helped Duo maneuver into his suit, trying to keep from jarring his injuries.

"Are you sure you can pilot a mobile suit?" Duo asked as he helped Quatre get into a flight suit. "I mean, we could both double up. It'd be a tight fit, but..."

"I'll be fine," Quatre said. The pain in his head was starting to get worse. "It's just my aim that's off. Do you think you can contact the others, let them know we're coming out in enemy mobiles?"

"No problem," Duo said.

Quatre helped Duo sit back into a Tauros, then glided over to a second Tauros and got in, bumping his head on the back of the chair. His screen flickered to life, and Duo's face appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Quatre, just remember when you aim for a button, hit the one in the middle!"

"Very funny, Duo." Quatre brought up the ship's diagram so he could find the way out, but while he was staring at the screen, something odd caught his eye. "Duo, call up the ship's diagram on your screen, will you?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Silence for a moment. "Hey, wait a second, since when does a ship have two hulls?"

"Not just that, look how thick they are! This ship was built to take heavy artillery!"

"And dish it out, too. There's more weaponry than defense. I think this whole ship's outer shell is made from gundanium...but that would mean they didn't need this satellite."

"Duo, would a hit penetrate that hull?"

"No way, it would bounce right off. This thing...oh man...Quatre, this thing's here to kill gundams! I think it could do it, too!"

"This was a trap," Quatre realized. "That's why they didn't have restraints, they didn't expect to catch us. They were going to engage us in our suits."

"Man, we were the perfect bait to pull the others in," Duo said. "And there's no way they're gonna be able to destroy this ship."

"Then we'll have to do it."

"What?! Are you crazy?"

"Duo, that's the second time you've asked me that."

"And you've never given me a straight answer. Quatre, how could we destroy this thing? We'd have to get into the computer and find--" Duo sighed. "Stupid me, we're already in it. Okay, genius, how do we do this?"

"There's a large storage area in the center of the ship, I'll bet that's where they keep their fuel. If we were to light that up, we could destroy the inside of this thing, and then the hull would just be an empty shell."

"And just how do we get there?"

"Not through here. We'll have to go outside and through an outer entrance to get to it, but that passage is also really small. The gundams won't fit."

"Well, we are the short ones, right?"

Quatre laughed at that. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" He followed Duo out, both of them heading along the side of the ship while Duo called the other gundam pilots.

"Duo?" Heero asked in surprise. "Is that you in there?"

"Yeah, me and Quatre are in these two Tauros suits, and we'd appreciate it if you didn't fire at us." His voice was strained, as if he was struggling to stay conscious.

"But where are you two going?" Wufei demanded, slicing through three enemy suits at once. "You're in no condition to fight."

"This whole thing was a trap," Quatre told them as fast as he could. He didn't turn on the view screen, keeping the transmission audio only. He didn't want Trowa to see him bloody and mangled. "This whole ship's made out of gundanium, it was sent here on a search and destroy mission."

"There still has to be a way to destroy it, no matter how strong it is," Trowa said.

"There is, in the fuel storage," Quatre answered. "One good shot into it and the ship should explode. I think I can--"

"I'll do it," Trowa cut him off. "I'm sure Heavy Arms can handle the blast. Everyone else should clear out."

"No, you'll need more than just bullets to set that fuel off," Wufei argued. "Get those two out of here, I'll handle this."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Quatre yelled. "There's no way you'll fit!"

"I'm sure we can carve a way in," Trowa said.

"No, that kind of force will set it off prematurely, and then you'll get stuck within the blast!"

This time Trowa didn't even respond, ignoring him as he called up the diagram to find the way in.

"They're not listening to me," Quatre mumbled. He stared at his controls, then made up his mind. I can still beat them to it. I know where to go already. "Duo, get out of here," he said.

"Wha--Quatre, no, you won't make it!"

It was too late. Before they even knew he was moving out, he had found the entrance and started the run inside. There was a large blast door in front of him, part of the hull, and it took half a minute to cut through it. Every second he did, each pilot was yelling at him to get back out, but he only tuned them out of his mind.

"Quatre, please," Trowa tried one final time. "Let me do this. Your suit will never make it out in time."

"I'm sorry, Trowa," Quatre whispered, tears stinging his eyes. "But it's better this way. At least now you won't have to see me like this. You can remember me the way I was." You'll remember me before I was battered. You won't have to see my eyes now, or how I've been slashed all over. Or... he shut his eyes hard and tried not to think about that last one.

"Whatatreatre, what are you talking about?"

Quatre turned off his communication controls and continued through the dark passageway, hoping the others weren't trying to follow him. The sides of the shaft bumped against his mobile suit, but after a few seconds he was right in front of the storage area. Plainly marked on the door was the bright yellow symbol for flammable chemicals. He glanced back the way he'd came. It would be difficult, and it was probably futile to even hope to survive, but he couldn't give up that easily when survival was only a few dozen meters away. He backed up as far as he could while still keeping a clear shot, giving himself a head start on his retreat, and aimed for the yellow blur in front of his eyes.

*

Outside, the enemy pilots had discovered that a gundam pilot was inside one of their Tauros suits. Duo maneuvered as fast as the suit would allow, firing madly at each target in an attempt to drive his frustration away. Now I know you're crazy, Quatre, he thought to himself. There's no way you're gonna make it.

"Duo, the beam cannons are locking onto you!" Heero yelled, knowing Duo wasn't paying any attention to the ship now.

Duo turned too late. One of the cannons fired directly at him, bathing him in a brilliant yellow light. His suit grew red hot and parts of it sloughed off, leaving him exposed to the vacuum of space. Somehow his own flight suit had stayed intact, and part of the mobile suit was operable, but he couldn't direct it anywhere. He was effectively dead in the water. Three enemy suits bared down on him, guns aimed. He closed his eyes.

Three explosions lit up the screen for a moment, and he looked out again. Heero's gundam was coming up behind him, and all that was left of the enemies were floating scraps of metal. Duo smiled as the larger suit cradled his damaged Tauros in one arm.

"I knew you'd come," he whispered. The blast had re-ignited the pain in his arm and ribs.

"Just hang on for a few more minutes," Heero said. "We need to get out of the range of the explosion."

Duo would have answered him if he hadn't passed out first. The three gundams abandoned the remaining Oz soldiers, who had no idea what was about to happen. As soon as they were a mile out, a dazzling burst of light flared up behind them, followed by other smaller blasts.

Trowa turned and gasped. He didn't recognize the sick feeling welling up inside of him, he just knew something vital had suddenly been torn out. As soon as the glow started to fade, he headed back.

"Trowa, what are you doing?" Wufei asked.

"I have to see if he made it," was the only response.

While the others waited, he slowly scoured the blast site, examining every spot of thermal radiation and each scrap of metal. Several bodies drifted around him, but all their helmets had either cracked or they had been burned up in the explosion. After he had finished searching the center, he worked his way out, losing hope as he came farther and farther out. He turned his gundam around, about to leave, but something flashed across his view screen. It was tiny, far in the distance, but as he enlarged it, he recognized it as a human body hanging weightlessly, half-in and half-out of a mutilated Tauros. He came closer and scooped the suit up gently, bringing it close to the hatch. He came out of Heavy Arms and pulled what he could now tell was Quatre out of the Tauros, carrying him back into his gundam. His faceplate misted every few seconds, which meant he was breathing deep. With Quatre comfortably tucked into a tight corner, Trowa sighed in relief and rejoined the others.

*

Trowa carefully took Quatre out of his gundam's cramped hatch and set him on the floor, removing the scuffed helmet and placing it next to his own. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the injuries he could see. There was a large bruise next to Quatre's eye, shading part of his face in a violet hue that extended to his hair which was matted with blood. He gingerly put his fingers to the boy's eyes and forced one open just enough to see into.

Completely red, that's explains the bruises on his throat. Someone throttled him. He opened up the flight suit and pulled Quatre out, grimacing when he found the slashes on his skin and the broken wrist. His breathing was harsh and irregular, but that was probably just shock. The head injury would be the worst.

He glanced over at Heero, who was working to dig Duo out of the mangled Tauros suit. "Are you going to need any help?" he called.

"No, Wufei's cracking the exterior right now. It'll take a little longer, but we're halfway there. Go ahead and take care of Quatre."

Trowa nodded and hefted Quatre into his arms, carrying him into the infirmary. "I'd better get you cleaned off first before those cuts get infected," he said, knowing his charge wouldn't answer. As he took him to the shower unit, however, Quatre moaned and squirmed, trying to push himself away. His red eyes fluttered open, but he could only see a large blur floating in front of him.

"Where...where am I?"

"It's me, Trowa. You're ban oun our ship," he whispered. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I...fired at their fuel tank...and I...outran the flames...but...I don't know, I can't...remember after that."

"I found you drifting after the explosion," Trowa said softly. He reached over and turned the water on to a thick, hot mist. On a spaceship, water was a premium, not to be wasted.

Quatre stiffened as Trowa began to strip his bloodied clothes away. "No, stop, I can...do this alone...Trowa, I said stop!"

"Quatre, don't argue. You're in no condition to do anything right now. You could pass out again any minute."

"But..." he tried to slip out of Trowa's grip, but instead he knocked his broken wrist against the floor. He hissed in pain, holding it close.

"Quatre, don't fight. Just hold still, you'll be all right. Quatre?" He paused and stared down at his patient, who was now breathing deep again. The added pain must have made him black out. "Good...get some sleep. This will be over soon."

He placed Quatre in the light flow of water and allowed the heavy clots of blood to run break up and run out before he started to wash the rest away with a soaked sponge. Quatre's body visibly loosened up as his muscles relaxed and his breathing became even steadier. While he worked, though, Trowa noticed something strange, something other than blood flowing down the drain. On a hunch, he lay one hand on Quatre's side and felt along his back until he came near the end of his spine. Sure enough, there were more bruises.

"No," Quatre suddenly groaned, twisting in his sleep. He blindly put his hands out in an effort to fight Trowa, and tears trickled down his cheeks.

"Quatre..." Trowa whispered. He knew exactly what it meant. "Who did this to you?"

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, he dried him off and started the process of bandaging up each and every slice in the smooth skin. By the time he was done, half of Quatre's body was covered in gauze. Without bothering with anymore clothing, he picked him back up and eased him into one of the beds there, leaving his damaged arm out from under the blankets.

*

Searing pain woke Duo up out of his comfortable sleep, dragging a scream out of him before he had the presence of mind to swallow it down. Someone's hands were grasping at him, and he tried to lash out in defense. His good hand was pushed back down and his broken arm wasn't touched, which meant that it was a friend holding him. Reluctantly he opened his eyes and found Heero gathering his limp body up out of the broken mobile suit.

"Wha...are we back?" Duo whispered, allowing himself to be picked up and cradled. "Where's Quatre...?"

"Trowa has him," Heero answered. "Don't worry about that now. We need to get you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine," Duo said, pushing at him. "Let me go."

"Drop him once and see if he asks for it again," Wufei called from somewhere out of sight.

"You wouldn't be that mean, would you?" Duo grinned. He struggled to lift his head high enough to see anything, but he was too exhausted. He set his cheek against Heero's chest and closed his eyes, snuggling even closer for warmth. "Heero, is the Oz ship gone?" he wondered, not really caring.

"Yes, Quatre destroyed it. Wufei is going to gather the gundanium we need and then we're leaving."

"Mm-hmm..."

"You still awake?"

"Mm-hmm..." He's so soft, even if he's real wiry. His arms are so comfy, and I can hear his heart...

"Are you even listening?"

"Mm-hmm..." He heard the door to the infirmary open, but he didn't move.

Heero looked up in surprise at Trowa, who had just finished tucking Quatre into bed. Instead of speaking and attracting Duo's ntiontion, Trowa motioned that he was heading back outside. Heero nodded in understanding and took his charge to the bed right beside Quatre's.

Duo sighed contentedly, ignoring the pain for a moment. Nestled in Heero's arms, being taken care of, what more could he ask? All too soon that soothing feeling was stripped away as he was set down on a flat mattress. A firm pillow was eased beneath his head, and his broken arm was placed on another pillow. A cruel sting pressed into his shoulder, though, and he glared at Heero. "I could've done without the drugs."

"Duo, look at my hand."

Duo tried to focus on Heero's outstretched hand, the smooth lines, the fingerprints that had been scarred away, but he could only see a blurry outline that faded in and out. "Hold it still, huh?"

"You can't focus properly, and your left eye is dilated farther than the right."

"Concussion?"

"Concussion." Heero took a pair of ice packs and softly set them around Duo's breaks, hoping they would keep the swelling down a little. He watched the clock for several minutes, while Duo drifted in and out of consciousness. Duo glanced around the room as much as he could and spotted Quatre on the opposite bed. He smiled.

"Thank God...he survived..."

"He got off a lot better than you did," Heero said, looking over the blonde pilot.

"Yeah, well, he didn't challenge a whole troop to a fistfight," Duo said.

"That was intelligent, he's not skilled enough for that," Heero said.

"He's a better shot than you are."

Heero glared at him until he realized Duo wasn't joking. "He is?"

"For a pacifist, he sure can kill. Every bullet took out a different soldier. Guy even got one not an inch from me." Duo sighed and looked back up at the gray ceiling. "Y'know, as dangerous as all of us are, I think he's the most lethal."

"If only because he looks so weak," Heero said. "Have those drugs kicked in yet?"

"Not quite. 'Nother couple of minutes, maybe."

"How did you two get out so easily?" Heero asked, changing the topic. "There were hundreds of soldiers on board that ship."

"They probably didn't think we could still move around," Duo said and laughed. "You shoulda seen the way they had us wrapped up in wires, they didn't even have restraints. They had Quatre bound so tight...wait a sec..." Duo glanced back over at Quatre, his eyes narrowing. "Those wires were tight, but they...weren't sharp...they shouldn't have cut into him...not unless he was struggling violently." He said the last soldier forgot to lock the door...but he would have mentioned that before when I woke up...what happened while I was asleep? If he heard it click shut..."They hurt him," he said.

"What?"

"Heero, they did something to him...while I was out...I don't kno' what...bu'...th'y..." His words slurred as the painkillers took their effect.

Without warning Heero seized Duo's arm and pulled in the proper direction, and the bone snapped back into place. Duo gasped in agony, but he knew it was nowhere near as bad than if Heero had done without the drugs. Heero went to the end of the bed and set his ankle. Tears sprung to Duo's eyes, and he blinked to get rid of them. At least he gave me some painkillers, though, instead of setting my breaks the way he does his.

Duo was about to ask something else when he felt something exceedingly strange on his forehead. Heero's hand was stroking his hair, pushing the loose bangs from his face. Stunned, Duo said nothing, enjoying the ministrations that he had never hoped to expect. Heero's skin felt cool against his forehead, maybe he had a fever, too, but the pain was all worth it now.

All too soon, Heero froze, then drew back as if he expected to be burned. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you in an hour."

Duo sighed, but he fell asleep before he could take another breath. Heero gazed down on him for a few more seconds, then glanced at the other bed. Quatre's breathing had finally returned to normal, and his sleep seemed restful.

I'll come back in half an hour and make sure they can wake up, he said to himself. He quietly left, trying not to disturb either of them, but pulled up short at the doorway. Trowa was leaning against the wall, staring up at him.

"Wufei's already gone," he said. "He said he'd be back in a few hours."

Heero shut the door, but he didn't move from there. He felt too tired to move.

Trowa stared down the hallway, head bowed. "They hurt Quatre," he said, his voice flat as if he was reporting statistics.

Heero nodded. "I know."

Trowa seemed startled. "You do?"

"Duo does, too, but his thoughts are too fragmented to figure it out yet." Heero stared into his eyes. "They did more than just hurt him."

Trowa sighed. "It's hard to think that even Oz could sink to such levels. I thought they believed in the honor of battle."

"They don't believe in following any rules of war." Heero shook his head. "I don't think they have any sense of honor left at all." He paused for a moment. "Does Quatre know we've found out about it?"

Trowa closed his eyes. "No, I don't think so. He'll be devastated if he finds out."

Heero narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"That's what he meant during the fight, when he said he didn't want me to see him. He was willing to die to keep us from knowing everything."

"To keep you from knowing everything."

"What?"

"Isn't it obvious? He didn't mind Duo seeing him covered in blood, but I'll bet he put up a fight when he found out you were the one taking care of him." Heero knew he was right when Trowa lowered his gaze again. "He specifically didn't want you to know how badly he'd been hurt. Of course that can only mean one thing."

Trowa folded his arms and didn't reply.

Heero didn't force the issue. 'll 'll be back to wake them up in an hour or so."

"No, I'd better wake them up now. Duo's injuries are bad, but Quatre's head trauma was severe. There...could be damage."

"Permanent damage?"

Trowa shrugged. "No way to tell yet."

"All right, I'll be working on my gundam, then. I'll let you know when Wufei gets back."

Trowa watched Heero disappear down the corridor, then headed back inside the infirmary. Duo seemed to be sleeping so soundly he hated to wake him up, but he placed his hand on Duo's shoulder anyway, gently rousing him.

"Mmm...has it been *yawn* an hour already?" Duo mumbled, about to sit up.

Trowa lay one hand across his chest, holding him down. "No, I wanted to make sure I could still wake you. It's only been a few minutes."

"Y'know, we wouldn't have this problem if we could get into hospitals," Duo said. "Can't believe...you woke me up...so soon..."

"Then go back to sleep."

Duo was out the instant his eyes closed again. Trowa shook his head, Duo had to be the worst patient anyone could be forced to take care of, but at least he was being civil right now. He stepped over to Quatre's bed, his shoes tapping lightly on the floor. He glanced back over at Duo to make sure he was fast asleep, then gazed down at Quatre, brushing the hair from his face. Quatre turned to one side, towards the soothing caresses against his skin.

"Quatre? Quatre, wake up. Quatre?"

The blonde pilot opened his eyes only halfway, giving a faint cry when the light hit him. He moved his good hand to cover his face. "It's been an hour?" he asked in a weak voice.

"No, but I needed to make sure you could wake up. I'll let you go the full hour this time."

"Could...could you dim the lights a little, too? It's awfully bright in here."

Trowa didn't mention that the brightness was due to his damaged eyes. He just nodded and brought the light down a few notches. He realized he still needed to get an ice pack on Quatre's wrist, but his patient was asleep again before he'd brought it. At least it shouldn't wake him up, he told himself as he applied it.

Part 2
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Dreams of Love and Violence