Gods of War
Chapter Four
An Evangelion x Gundam Wing Fic
By Korogi Nagisa

      Duo's eyes popped open to stare at the yellowing tiles of a hospital room, the warm sterile air flowing out of his lungs as his mind caught up with him.
      He felt no pain. He felt no discomfort. Just the fading, residual ache of the dream.
      "Where am I? Am I still dreaming?"
      "Oh, you're awake!"
      Duo turned his head slowly to see Dr. Ritsuko Akagi leaning over his bed smiling at him widely, tucking a stray strand of her bleached blonde hair behind her ear.
      Slowly, Duo frowned, flexing his neck. "What… happened?"
      "We pulled you out of Eva Unit 01 about 24 hours ago. You were unconscious and barely breathing, and your brain waveform pattern was off the scale. I'd say you're lucky to be alive."
      Duo chuckled slightly to himself and attempted to sit up….
      His arms and legs seemed firmly attached to the bed.
      For a second, Duo thought perhaps he had been slightly paralyzed by the incident… or he was still not fully awakened from his dream. He chuckled lightly to himself and turned his head to the side, smiling widely until his eyes fell on the thick leather straps wrapped around his wrists securing him to the bed.
      "Oh, don't bother moving. You're strapped to the bed," Ritsuko added as if commenting on the weather.
      Panic ran over Duo in an instant, the boy raising his head off the bed to see the same leather straps binding his feet to each corner of the bed.
      Behind her, Commander Genrou Ikari walked slowly into the room, a thin smile painted over his face. "Well, I see our little saboteur is awake now."
      "Hey, what's going on here! Let me go!" Duo fought against his restraints.
      "You broke into a highly classified NERV vehicle yesterday, the Evangelion Unit 01. You will be released only when you tell us what information you have transmitted and to whom."
      "What! What are you talking about? I was just trying to pilot the damn thing!"
      "Or steal it," Ritsuko offered.
      "No! I was just… just… shit, I don't remember. I can't remember a thing, only that I woke up in this damned hospital!"
      "What did Eva tell you? What systems did you access?"
      "I swear… I don't remember a thing!" he struggled against the restraints. "God, come on!"
      Genrou smiled ferally. "Dr. Akagi, it seems our patient won't talk willingly. You know what to do."
      Dr. Akagi turned to a cart and pulled out a syringe filled with a yellowish liquid.
      "Wha… what's that?"
      "It's Silver Nitrate. It's a truth serum. Among other things."
      "You're not seriously gonna use that, are you?" Duo chuckled feebly, tugging again on his restraints.
      "If you don't cooperate…"
      "Really… I'll tell you anything you want to know…"
      "Who gave you access to Eva? What did you see while you were in the plug."
      "Look! I told you I don't remember! All I remember is a bunch of weird colors, breathing liquid and some crazy jerk on a subway car! THAT'S IT, I swear…"
      "That's not the information we want. Dr. Akagi…"
      Duo's eyes widened as Dr. Akagi expelled the air from the syringe. "Stop… please…"
      "Tell us…"
      "I don't know! Come on!!"
      Dr. Akagi took an alcohol swab to the vein in Duo's arm.
      "You can't do this! I'm an American!! I'll get the entire Armed Forces after your sorry asses…"
      "You're not in America, boy… NERV is it's own jurisdiction, outside of the UN and all those other dusty law groups."
      Duo felt the cold syringe enter his vein, felt the even colder liquid seep into his blood.
      The only thing he could think to do was scream.

      Wu Fei popped open an eye and pushed himself away from the wall that he leaned against. "Where is that idiot Duo anyway?"
      At his feet, Quatre sat quietly scribbling some notes on a piece of paper, occasionally leaning over to rest his head on Trowa's leg who stood directly on his other side. "Who knows. Duo has an odd habit of disappearing and magically reappearing when you least expect him. Any minute now, he'll come waltzing around the corner with a big, stupid grin plastered all over his face."
      "It's been nearly 24 hours since he last checked in," Trowa commented, looking down to the blonde pilot below him. "And these NERV people have all been acting very suspiciously since Duo disappeared."
      "You think they could have something to do with Duo's sudden vanishing?" Wu Fei cocked an eyebrow in Trowa's direction.
      "You guys are worrying me," Quatre whispered beneath them both. "You make it sound like he's dead."
      Across the room, Heero stood to his feet calmly and crossed to a computer consul. He punched around absently on the keys as the others continued talking.
      "Duo had said something last night about Shinji showing him his Eva. It's possible Duo just got caught up in the schematics."
      "Or he got caught up in industrial espionage." Wu Fei pushed himself across the room to Heero, peering over the other's shoulder. "What are you doing?"
      Commands were flying across the screen as Heero madly typed about on them. The occasional "Unauthorized Access" or "Password Incorrect" warning appeared on the screen before Heero could crack them, plowing through NERV's data files.
      Curiosity pulled Quatre to his feet, joining the group at the monitor, followed by Trowa. "Found anything?"
      Heero raised an eyebrow. "There was a security breech in Evangelion Unit 01 last night about the same time that Duo disappeared, but all the information has been restricted."
      "Well, can't you 'unrestrict' it?" Wu Fei asked calmly, crossing his arms over his chest as Heero worked.
      "There was one reported injury," Heero continued, ignoring Wu Fei. "The patient was taken to an isolated wing of NERV's 1st Cranial Nerve Division."
      "Looks like as good a place to start as any I've seen."

      The room was blurred badly under Duo's vision. His mind felt like soup and he could barely think straight. He could see the blob of colors that represented Dr. Akagi moving about the churning room, coming to the side of his bed. "How are you feeling?"
      The voice came to Duo's mind slowly and slurred, his brain barely able to put sense to the words. "What's… what's going on."
      "Tell us about the Evangelion."
      Duo frowned and tossed his head to the side. "I don't know… I can't… why are you doing this?"
      "You know our secrets," Genrou's voice floated in. "You will never leave this compound again, you realize that, don't you boy?"
      Duo arched his back, trying to make some sort of effort to free himself from his bindings. "I'll kill you once I'm free…"
      "Not likely," Ritsuko laughed. "That serum clogs the portion of your brain that coordinates motor functions. You'll barely be able to sit up straight for the next week… that is IF you get out of here."
      Duo felt another needle enter into his arm…

      Heero peaked stealthily around the corner to the 1st Cranial Nerve Division, watching as a stray nurse disappeared around the corner.
      "This is a slightly bad idea," Quatre whispered to them all, on his tip-toes, peering over Trowa's shoulder. "This is the only way in or out of the Division. If we're caught, we have no escape route."
      "Kids's got a point," Wu Fei spoke silently, peering around the corner.
      "This would be a good lesson in team work if one of us stayed behind and prepared the Mobile Suits incase something DID go wrong."
      Wu Fei turned sharply to glare at Trowa. As much as he wanted to chew a strip out of Trowa's hide, he DID have a point. "Fine."
      "Quatre…" Trowa looked over his shoulder to Quatre. "We need you to prepare our Gundams to move out incase something happens.
      "What do I do with Heero's Gundam? The pilot's cage was severely damaged. He can't pilot it without the necessary repairs."
      "I'm piloting Deathscythe then," Heero interupted. "If Duo's been captured, there's a chance he may not be in any shape to pilot his own Mobile Suit."
      "What do you mean by that?" Quatre whispered, worry setting in on his face.
      "Just go, Quatre," Trowa motioned back down the hall with his head. "We'll keep in close communications," he held up one of the mobile communication devices they always had strapped around their wrists."
      A bit reluctantly, Quatre nodded and turned, running swiftly down the hall.
      Trowa, Wu Fei and Heero leaned around the corner as a single unit.
      The coast was clear…

      Shinji stepped out of one of NERV's recreation rooms, stretching an arm over his head. As he did, he barely caught a glimpse of Quatre as the blonde haired Arabian boy rush down the hall and disappear into a maintenance shaft. "Was that just… Quatre?"
      Slowly and quietly, Shinji ducked down the hall and began to follow the sounds of the footfalls as they lead him through service tunnels and air ducts.
      It seemed to Shinji that he was being lead around for nearly 5 minutes before he popped out of a ventilation shaft nearly on top of Quatre.
      "AHHHH!!!"
      Shinji blinked and shook his head from the fall to see Quatre pressed up against the wall of the hall they were now in, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. "You scared the life out of me, Shinji-kun!"
      Shinji smiled and picked himself to his feet, brushing imaginary dust from his white shirt and jeans. "What are you doing sneaking around in the launch bays, Quatre?"
      "I'm trying to get to our Mobile Suits," the other explained quietly, still breathing heavily.
      "Why? Are you guys all leaving?"
      Quatre stopped a moment and watched Shinji. "Duo. Do you know where Duo is?"
      Shinji shrugged. "No. I haven't seen him in a while. I thought he was with you guys."
      "We think something happened to Duo. I have to get to our Mobile Suits."
      "Need some help?"

      Duo felt as if he would throw up any second now. The second drug that Ritsuko had injected him with pretty much left his nervous system shut down. He could feel everything around him, could feel the leather straps on his wrists and ankles. But no amount of effort could get his body to move.
      "Once again… what do you know about the Evangelions?" the voice came at him from all sides at once.
      Duo pressed his eyes tightly closed. What he wouldn't give to see Heero suddenly come barging into the room with his gun blazing, shooting everything in his path and rescuing poor Duo from his torment.
      But the room was silent. Completely.
      "Eva's…" Duo whispered, stalling for time. He had to make something up if he was going to save his hide from this one. His mind was a jumble, he decided to just throw together whatever idea popped into his mind. "I AM in fact the Devil… if so, then Eva is God. Opposites. We'll destroy all of you…"
      Genrou frowned heavily as Duo trailed off and started laughing quietly to himself.
      "Boy, did you guys pick the wrong pilot to pick on…" Duo whispered quietly to them.
      "Oh? And why is that?" Genrou growled.
      "Because he's coming for you right now. To kill you."
      "Who's that?"
      Duo shook his head and laughed insanely.
      At almost that instant, the door to the infirmary slid open.
      Genrou threw a nervous glance over his shoulder to the open door way.
      No one stood in it.
      Slowly, the door slid shut again.
      Duo's laughter quieted to a soft chuckle. "Too late now…"
      Genrou growled and leaned over the bed. "No more funny business, boy. You talk or die."
      "You can't kill what's already dead." Duo opened his bloodshot eyes and stared keenly up at Genrou.
      The door hissed open again.
      Again, there was no one in the doorway.
      Genrou turned to Dr. Akagi. "See to it that the door gets fixed. I'm not willing to believe this boy has any sort of psychic powers if he wasn't able to overcome the synch ratio on Unit 01 to pilot it.
      Again, the door hissed open
      Genrou ignored it.
      "You have ten seconds to say something meaningful, boy, or I pump you so full of neural stimulants that your brain will bleed to death."
      The sound of a cocking gun echoed into the room.
      Genrou looked up from Duo to see Dr. Akagi stumble forward, wide eyed.
      For a moment, the two stared back and forth at each other until Heero Yuy rounded out from behind Ritsuko, a gun pointed in her back. "You may not care about the good doctor here," Heero motioned to Ritsuko, "but if you don't step away from Duo now, I WILL kill you."
      Genrou stood straight, ready to begin arguing with the boy when he felt the cold end of a sword find his neck. He looked slowly down the curved blade to the thin, smiling eyes of Wu Fei, quietly snarling at his prey. "I wouldn't move if you value your head."
      Trowa cornered Ritsuko with the barrel of another gun as Heero shoved his into the back hem of his spandex shorts, rounding the bed quickly to begin tugging at the straps that held Duo firmly to the bed.
      "My Heero," the other laughed in his drug-induced hysteria. "Man, Heero… I feel awful."
      Heero looked up from his battle with the leather strap. Duo's eyes were bloodshot as he stared helplessly up at his savior. The skin around them was deeply yellowed and sunken from the concoction of drugs that he had been injected with. "You don't look any better, either."
      Duo's eyes sparkled over, heavy with tears that threatened to spill out of his deep blue eyes. "Heero…"
      "Shut up, now. We're getting you out of here," Heero said, growling at the stubborn leather strap.
      "Heero…"
      Heero turned in his fury to see Wu Fei. "Cover the commander here…" he gestured to his sword.
      "Right." Heero pulled out his gun and aimed it expertly between Genrou's eyes.
      Wu Fei leapt into the air and landed with the agility of a cat atop the hospital bed, carefully avoiding Duo. He raised his sword high above his head and let loose four clean sweeps. The leather straps split apart and released Duo's wrists and ankles, Wu Fei not wasting a second as he hopped off the bed to settle his blade back at Genrou's throat with a thin smile of accomplishment.
      Heero once again pocketed his gun, raising his communicator to his mouth. "Quatre. Are the Mobile Suits ready?"
      "Yes, they are," Quatre's quiet voice came back through the communications. "Deathscythe is running. I've downloaded your profile into its computer system from Wing Zero."
      "Good. We're on our way."
      He turned and slid an arm under Duo's neck as gently as he could, lifting the other to a sitting position. "Can you walk?"
      "I can barely breath," Duo whispered, his head rolling to the side to rest on Heero's shoulder.
      In a sudden jerk, Heero heaved Duo into his arms and headed for the door. "Let's go."

      Quatre sat quietly in Sandrock, watching as Shinji waved to him from the launch bay below.
      "Thank you!" he waved, calling down to the boy.
      At that moment, the bay suddenly erupted into alarms, the Magi whirling into a three-man warning klaxon. "Intruder alert. Intruders have been detected in the 1st Cranial Nerve Division. All security please report to junction 3-4-7."
      "Oh no," Quatre whispered. "Shinji… go on now! You don't need to be involved any further in this!"
      He watched as Shinji waved again and ran off, ducking out of the bay just as a handful of soldiers stormed in.
      Quatre brought up his communications. "Guys! What's going on?"
      Static filled the line a moment before Trowa's voice came over, huffing. "They've found us!" it was more like a statement. "We have Duo and…" the sounds of gun fire rang through the communications. "Shit…"
      "Trowa? Trowa, are you ok?"
      "Fine… we'll be in the launch bay in about 2 minutes. Are the Gundam's ready?"
      "They're fine. But there's beginning to gather a large crowd of soldiers in here."
      "Hold off till we get there. If they don't know you're in the Suit, we may be able to take them by surprise."
      Quatre's face grew a worried look and he sat back in his Gundam, watching the troops settle in to defend the Gundams as their prisoners of war. "All of you, just leave," he whispered to the soldiers. "They're so defenseless against a Mobile Suit…"
      Quatre patiently waited as the alarms kept going off. "I don't want to kill anyone…"
      Around the corner, he saw Trowa bound out, laying a shower of bullets across the soldiers, catching them quite off guard and managing to take out a good handful of them.
      Quatre sat up suddenly and smiled, watching Trowa duck back down the hall.
      Behind the scuffle, Wu Fei and Heero snuck in unnoticed, Heero carrying a very sickly looking Duo. "Oh no," Quatre whispered. "What happened to him…"
      "Quatre!!!" Trowa's voice yelled over the communications. "I'm gonna need some back up here soon."
      "Ok!" Quatre watched out his view port to see Heero climb safely into Deathscythe with Duo. "Tell me when…" he watched Wu fei leap up the armor plates of Shenlong.
      "Right now would be good."
      Quatre took a deep breath…. He pulled his Gundam to attention. "SURENDER!!!" he yelled through his external communications.
      He watched rather pleased as the entire mass of soldiers turned as a single unit to watch Sandrock take a few menacing steps into the middle of the bay, raising his gun to them all. "Surrender and I won't hurt any of you," Quatre's voice came again, trying not to sound too pleading.
      Cautiously, he watched as Trowa darted out of a service duct and jumped into the middle of the bay. The troops watched him cautiously, but didn't move under Sandrock's shadow. Shenlong soon flanked him, pointing the napalm flame thrower down to the mass of soldiers as Deathscythe jerked to attention with Heero at the helm.
      "Ok. Let's get the hell out of here," Trowa's voice yelled over the comm.
      Heavy Arms raised it's gattling gun to the roof of the bay. "Fire in the hold!"
      A barage of arsenal file soon began blasting a whole through the armor plating above them. Beside him, Deathscythe took up Wing Zeros plasma cannon and began aiding in the attempt.
      Concrete and melted metal clamored to the bay around them, the troops all taking to their heels to escape the falling matter.
      "We're through," Heero announced. Deathscythe harnessed the cannon and picked up the damaged Wing Zero, initiating it's rocket boosters. One by one, each Gundam flew up through the enormous hole created in Nerv's infrastructure.

      His head throbbed uncontrollably as Duo's eyes slowly opened.
      He was lying in a soft bed with an Arabian-print canopy over the four-poster bed. It must have been Quatre's room.
      Duo slowly tested his limbs. They moved freely without restraint, but it took an incredibly amount of energy to move them.
      "Try not to move too much, Duo," a soft voice called, Quatre's smiling face soon leaning over him to place a cold compress over his forehead. "You've been out for days."
      "Quatre…"
      The other smiled and smoothed out the wrinkles on the compress. "I'm guessing it wasn't me that you were hoping to wake up to, huh."
      Duo raised a hand and rubbed the cloth on his forehead.
      "Truth is, I finally convinced Heero to leave you be so he could rest. He's been sitting on the edge of your bed ever since we got you here."
      Duo groaned lightly. "I feel like shit."
      "The doctors said you have a lot of powerful chemicals running through your system. It's amazing that they didn't kill you!"
      Again, Duo groaned and pushed his elbows under himself.
      Rather than to uselessly tell Duo to lie still, Quatre helped the other to sit up, fetching the compress as it tumbled off of the other's head.
      Duo's head spun furiously, blurring his vision. His headache pounded in his mind as Duo let his head fall into his hands. "I never want to see another needle as long as I live."
      Quatre chuckled as one of his servants entered the room with a plate of food. "You should try to eat something. I'll go get Heero for you."
      Duo watched as Quatre sauntered off across the room, tugging on his pink vest as he left the room.
      The food smelled delicious, but Duo's stomach threatened to resurrect whatever it could if he wasn't careful.
      The door opened again, Duo raising his still bloodshot eyes to see Heero slide quietly into the room. "So… you're awake."
      Duo tried his best to smile like a goof as he had always done, succeeding in only a pained grin.
      "You look like hell."
      "Boy, do I feel like it," he chuckled, taking up a slice of bread and butter and taking a small, cautious bite. "Were you worried?" he winked an eye, surprised at the pain it induced in his headache.
      "No."
      Heero left his perch at the door to sit quietly on the edge of the bed. "It's good to see that you're alright," he spoke quietly.
      Duo just smiled widely.

~ OWARI ~

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