Crawl, Part 1

by Becca


( Opening Scene )

the team is in the middle of a big battle, Trowa and Wufie are off to the left doing some major damage to a bunch of Leo's in their gundam's...while ....over to the right Quatre and Heero are fighting off about a dozen mobile dolls in theirs...and Duo, who is silently creeping up behind about five Leo's suddenly stops his Shingaimi in it tracks...a missile, launched by a mobile doll was heading straight for a church about two hundred yards away.... he could see that there were still people in the Church who didn't get a chance to evacuate...He screams, then wastes all of the Leo's in his sight before racing off to try and stop that missile.

"NOOOOO!!!!" Duo screams as he sees the missile from one of the mobile dolls heading straight towards a church that still had innocent people in it.

The other Gundam pilots hear Duo's cry and turn to see what had him so freaked out.

Heero turned on his view screen and saw that the wide-eyed pilots normally cheery face, was distorted in terror and that his eye's looked like they were pleading for something.

As Duo got close enough to stop the missile, he was blocked by about a half a dozen Leo's and about half that in mobile dolls. Duo frantically tried to dispatch the enemy (and at the same time taking on some serious damage to his Gundam and to himself) before the missile hit the church, but Just as he finished off the last Leo and raced for the church, he was to late. The missile hit the Church with great impact.

The other pilots who had been frantically dispatching Dolls and Leo's as well so that they could help Duo, watched as the Church burst into a fiery pit of flames and explosions.

"OH GOD NOOOO!!!!!" Duo said as he let out a blood-curtailing scream that shook the other pilots. Duo's face now was nothing more than a mask of complete terror and remembrance as the tears started to escape his eyes and he watched the Church burn to the ground, he could hear the final screams of those who were in there...and he remembered all over again. **in a whisper that only Heero had seem to hear** "Oh God...not again" Duo said through sobs as he watched the horror of the church burning to the ground and people taking their last ounce of breath....he remembered.

[Music starts...instrumental piece-mostly strings.....then Lyrics]

Faces I remember I still see
And places in a memory hold on to me
And I can't wait to crawl out of my shell

[Scene]

Heero watches the usually cheery braided haired pilot break down in the Cockpit of Deathscythe and suddenly he feels his heart start to clench as the heart wrenching sounds of the oher boy fill his ears and the tears of pain, sorrow, anger, and remembrance start to flow down Duo's face. He watches as the other boy violently starts to shake and he watches as Duo cries his heart out over a past memory that has haunted him for far to long, a memory that Heero knows nothing about.

The other pilots who had dispatched the last of the Leo's and dolls and who had been listening to Duo's agonizing sobs, touched down near where Heero in Wing, was standing and watching the other boy loose the last of his reserves and totally looses his composure.

As the pilots wait till their comrade was able to fly his Gundam out of the area safely, they could hear Duo's desperate cries for an answer as to why.

"Why?....why did it happen?...why did it happen again....WHY?!!!!!" Duo said as he screamed the last part of his grief and anger filled question, when he had started out it had been at a whisper, then it grew louder and louder till the anger filled and his heart ached and he wanted to know why.

Heero closes his video monitor that showed the cockpit of Deathscythe so that Duo can have a moment, unaware that this last battle had taken a toll on the youngman with the long chestnut braid.

[Music...soft sounds that grow a bit more aggressive...as the lyrics flow]

Promises tell me in a thousand ways
moving on forever living life this way
And I can't wait to crawl

[Scene]

Heero and the others realize that it has gone quiet in the Deathscythe and figure that Duo is calming down , as he and the other pilots approach The Gundam suit, Heero's eyes widen as he notices that the braided haired pilots Gundam has taken on some serious damage and he wondered if the young pilot inside was also suffering from any damage. Panic starts to creep up on Heero as he realizes that something seems to be wrong, the other pilots are also feeling the same way.

"Duo!?..." Heero calls to the pilot of Shingaimi, he had a hint of urgency in his voice

::Silence::

Quatre was worried, Trowa could see it on his beloved's face and in his eyes.

Wufie was too, for more than one reason. He was worried about his fellow pilot, but at the same time he knew that they had to get out of there before more mobile's and Leo's show up.

"Duo...answer me!" Heero orders the young violet-eyed pilot.

::Silence::

When he gets no response he flips on his view screen again, as the picture clears of static, Heero is suddenly horrified to see that Duo is slumped over the controls of Deathscythe's cockpit and blood running down the side of his face from an obvious head wound that he hadn't noticed earlier.

"DUO!..." Heero yelled has he saw that the other boy had fallen unconscious, he frantically tore off his harness and scrambled out of his Gundam.

The other pilots heard Heero yell their comrade's name and they all flipped on their view screens to see into Deathscythe.

**Gasp** "Duo!..." Quatre exclaimed as he too tore off his harness and scrambled out of his gundam to go help Heero, while Towa and Wufie kept look out for the enemy.

[music...starts soft then grows stronger and more pronounced...as lyrics flow]

I can't wait at all
I can't wait to crawl
I can't wait anymore

[Scene]

Heero reaches the opening of Deathscythe, he hits the over ride panel and the door whooshes open. He peers inside the pit, where he notices that the inside looks just as bad as the outside. The cooling systems had kicked in and put out any small fires that would have started in the tiny cockpit.

"Heero...Heero!...is he alright?" Quatre's frantic voice called as he had also made his way up to the door of Deathscythe.

Heero hears Quatre's frantic calls, he's a bit annoyed but knew that Quatre was only concerned for his friend and comrade.

"I'm not sure yet....stay there till I see if I will need your help to get him out!" Heero ordered the smaller blonde haired pilot, his voice was raw with anger.

"Alright..." was all Quatre said as he followed Heero's orders

[Music....long instrumental plays...mostly strings very apropriate..no lyrics at this point]

Heero reached out towards Duo, he noted the scratches that marred the delicate looking skin of the young pilot, Heero could see rhythmic breathing and that told him that Duo was alive. He unfastened Duo's harness, it surprised him that the long haired boy with chestnut colored hair was even wearing it.

"Heero...Is Duo alright?...how bad is he Heero?" Quatre asked, his concern for his friend our weighed his fear of Heero's wrath for asking questions while he was trying to assess the damage.

Heero, once he was able to get Duo in a position where he could check him over better, finally answered Quatre's question as he took note of any wounds or bleeding.

"Hai...he's breathing....I'm just getting his harness off now...he's lost alot of blood from a cut on his right arm....he's got a head wound and I'm pretty damn sure he's got some cracked if not broken ribs" Heero told his fellow Gundam pilot who was waiting not quite so patiently outside Deathscythe.

Heero wasn't quite sure when he had started to care about what happened to the longhaired pilot with beautiful chestnut hair, but he did. He cared so much that it hurt and he wanted to make sure that he had the chance to tell Duo that. He wanted so much to take away his friends pain, to tell him that he doesn't have to face things alone anymore, he wanted to tell Duo so much, but that scared him, it scared him more than any war, then self-desructing, then any torture or imprisonment that he would ever have to face. Because He, Heero Yuy was afraid that the young pilot of Deathcythe wouldn't feel the same way about him.

Suddenly both Heero and Quatre hear Trowa's voice over Duo's com link.

"Hurry!....were going to have company in less than ten minutes...Mobil's and dolls are coming just over the range!" Trowa told his fellow pilots, there was urgency in his voice?

Heero grabbed the com link.

"Trowa...The mission isn't complete, someone has to blow that Lab!" Heero told the pilot of Heavyarms.

Heero could careless about the mission at the moment, but he didn't want the deaths of those people in that church, nor the heart wrenching screams and sobs of his friend to be in vain. Somewhere, somehow Heero had started to think of Duo as more than a fellow gundam pilot, he had started to think of him as a friend, and then he started to think of Duo as something more, Heero didn't know what that was yet, emotions were a mystery to him, caring and feeling for another person were all foreign to him, he didn't know how do describe the strange ache he had in his heart or the overwhelming feelings that were coursing through his body, all he did know was that he only felt that way around the longhaired pilot with a beautiful chestnut braid that shimmered with golden highlights. Heero knew that soon, he was going to have to figure out and confront what these strange feelings are, the unmistakable urges and the overwhelming sense of fear that he was experiencing for his fellow gundam pilot.

[Music...instrumentals playing aggressively in the background....will the lyrics flow with fire]

Cause if I wait to long
how am I gonna reach my destination
And now I know that time has come
It's all right here
yeah it's all so clear to me

[Scene]

Trowa in his gundam Heavyarms with a disbelieving look on his face that turns into a harsh scowl as he answers Heero back.

"Wufie is taking care of the Lab...don't worry Heero...the mission won't be a failure" Trowa told his fellow gundam pilot, he had an air of disgust in his voice. He thought that Heero was only worried about completing the mission and not about his fellow gundam pilot."Now get Duo out of there and let's go....before anyone else gets hurt!" Trowa the usually silent gundam pilot told the other boy, he was concerned for both Duo's and Quatre's well being and he knew that Quatre wouldn't get to safety till he knew Duo was all right and safe himself as well as Heero.

Heero was snapped out of his silent reverie, when he heard Trowa's normally quiet voice over the com link again, Heero could detect a hint of disgust in the other pilot's voice and he knew that the usually silent gundam pilot had taken what he had said wrong, Heero mentally berated himself. **Baka...why can't you just forget your programming and show emotion like everyone else....let people know what your feeling....show them that you do care...that you do hurt....that you can love...why can't you just drop your defenses and show them?** he told himself, he too was clearly disgusted with how he had sounded to the other pilots.

Trowa waits for Heero to answer him, at the same time he's worried about Quatre and hoping that he gets back into his gundam before they're attacked.

"Hai..." Was all Heero said to Trowa and that was all Trowa needed as he raced off to see how close the enemy was now.

Heero in the meantime had lifted Duo up over his left shoulder and was heading out of Deathscythe's pit, as he came towards the opening with the unconscious pilot flung over his shoulder, he could see a pair of bright wide eyes that belonged to his fellow gundam pilot Qutare, those eyes were quite worried and full of questions.

"Get back to your gundam Quatre...I'll take Dou in Wing" Heero told the smaller pilot, he could tell that he was going to protest.

"But Heero..." Quatre had started to protest, before Heero cut him off.

"We don't have time for arguing Quatre....we have to get out of here....now do as I said and get back to your gundam....before the enemy gets here.....now go!" Heero ordered the young blonde haired pilot, he didn't mean to sound so harsh, but years of training and his worry over his fellow pilot's had caused him to sound and be harsher than he had intended.

Quatre, his face slightly stricken as Heero ordered him to get back to his gundam, nodded his head in response, took one last look at both Duo and Heero before heading back to Sandrock.

Heero climbed off of Deathscythe with Duo, being consciously aware not to hurt the young pilot further as he made his way over the arm of Wing and towards the cockpit of his own gundam.

As Heero was about to enter into Wing's pit, He heard a deafening explosion and knew that Wufie had completed the mission.

Quatre, seeing that Heero and Duo were safely inside Wing's cockpit, went over to Deathscythe and with his Gundam lifted the other gundam up into the air.

"Heero....how's Duo doing?" Quatre's urgent and concerned voice came over Wing's com link.

Heero had gently laid Duo down inside Wing's pit, it was a tight squeeze and he was grateful that the other boy was small enough to fit, making sure that he didn't injure the unconscious pilot further he gently laid him down on the floor of his gundam then he checked his pulse to make sure it was still strong and to his relief found that it was, he then made his way into the pilots seat and hit the com button.

"His pulse is strong Quatre....Duo's going to be fine....now get your butt and Duo's gundam out of here." Heero told his fellow gundam pilot, as he hit the ignition buttons and lifted Wing off of the ground. He could see that Quatre was up in the air as well with Duo's gundam, but wasn't leaving. "Quatre...Go Now!....The last thing I need is Trowa kicking my butt cause you got hurt too!" Heero ordered the smaller blonde haired pilot, as he did that, he felt he should reassure him as well, why he felt he should he didn't know, this was all new to him. "Don't worry Quatre....Duo and I will be right behind you...we'll meet at the safe house....Wufie and Trowa will be right behind us as well covering our backs so we can get away safely" Heero had said to the young blond haired pilot, Trowa and Wufie had also heard What Heero had told the other pilot, they both detected a strange presence in Heero's voice, something that neither of them had ever expected to hear from Heero Yuy....Compassion.

Quatre listen to what Heero had said and felt better about leaving, he took Deathscythe and headed for the destination they had set for them to hide-out in till things cooled off, he knew that the others would be right behind him.

*****
On to Part 2!

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