The Tomorrow We Fight For
A Gundam Wing/Tomorrow People crossover
Part 5
By Marika
�Man, Heero, you have the best taste!� Duo exclaimed as Trowa parked the truck they�d stolen to drive out here. This was the first time he�d seen the place that Heero had chosen to hide the machine. A few months ago this had been a fully operational mobile suit factory, but then one of the Gundams had torn the place apart. The Alliance abandoned it entirely when Oz rose up against them, so the place had been completely deserted for over a month now. Stupid of them, really, since there were a few halls and rooms that had been completely untouched by the destruction. If it had been Duo, he would have made sure that there was nothing left before he abandoned it, but hey, if the Alliance wanted to continue to be stupid, he wasn�t going to complain.
He pulled the transmitter out of his pocket and activated it. �They ought to be here in a few minutes,� he told the others. �You�re sure you can reverse the whatever-it-is?� Duo asked Quatre.
�Yes, I�m certain,� Quatre responded. They all fell silent again.
A few minutes later, Adam arrived in a flash of light, looking around cautiously. When he saw only the Gundam pilots, he nodded to himself, and suddenly the others appeared around and behind him. Too bad that there�s that flash of light every time, Duo found himself thinking. Would make sneaking around kinda hard. They�d make amazing assassins, otherwise.
Adam put one hand on Ami�s shoulder and started carefully walking forward, favoring his left leg but still making decent progress. �This is it?� he asked nervously, looking around.
�Yup. It�s been abandoned, so we figured that it was as safe a place as any,� Duo said. Well, actually Heero had decided where to put it, but he had a feeling Heero wouldn�t appreciate being singled out. They�d worked together to get it, anyway, so it kinda was a �we�.
Adam nodded distractedly, a faint frown on his face as he looked around.
The little girl, Jade, walked up to one of the scorched walls and put her hand on it. She froze for a second, then pulled her hand away, shaking her head.
�Jade! Are you all right?� Ami called.
�Yeah, I�m fine. Did you guys destroy this place?� Jade asked the pilots.
�Yeah, I did,� Duo said, a little startled by her comment. �Why?�
�I can feel it,� Jade replied. She hesitated, then added, �I�m glad you did!�
There was complete silence after that statement. Megabyte (what sort of name was that, anyway?) walked over and touched the wall right where she had, a faint frown on his face. After a few seconds he pulled it away. �She�s right,� he muttered. �It�s� wrong. It�s a good thing it was destroyed. What was this place, anyway?�
�Mobile suit factory.�
Megabyte glanced at Adam, a slightly guilty look on his face. �Well, that makes sense, I guess.� He stared at Adam for a few moments, then flushed and looked away.
Duo stared at them in confusion. They were acting� strangely, that was the only word he could come up with. Megabyte�s reaction seemed completely out of place, because he was acting as if Adam had yelled at him or something, but Adam had barely even looked at him. Jade was the same, and Ami� There was something very strange going on here.
�Come on, this�ll only take a few minutes,� Duo said, gesturing towards the still-standing hallway. Sure, half of it didn�t have a ceiling anymore, but it was still mostly standing, but the rooms that were still whole were down this way. �I guess you guys are happy to be going home, huh?�
�My mum�s going to kill me,� Jade declared sadly. �I promised her that I was just going to finish my homework, and then I disappeared for a week. She�s going to ground me to the end of the century.�
�Ground you?� Duo asked. �You mean in your room? Couldn�t you just teleport out?�
�She�s not talking about her mom physically locking her in her room,� Megabyte told him condescendingly.
�Megabyte,� Adam said in a warning tone.
�No, she�s not going to lock me in or anything,� Jade continued. �But� she�s my mom, you know? You have to listen to your mom.� She looked at the blank faces around her. �You know, your mom? Do any of you have a mom?�
Duo glanced around. He didn�t know who his parents were, and he knew that Quatre had been grown in a test tube. He had a father, but not a mother. Duo didn�t know much about the history of the other three, but was willing to bet that none of them had any sort of family life, not like this girl was describing. Kid doesn�t even know what she�s got, he thought a little sadly, not even the least bit envious. He�d gotten over that years ago. �Nah, not really,� he told her, and saw her face turn beet red.
�I� I�m sorry�� she stammered. �I didn�t mean��
�It�s all right,� he told her again. �You can�t miss what you never had. So you all got family waiting for you back home?� No wonder they wanted to get back so badly. Duo didn�t know what family was like, the closest he�d come was when he was in Maxwell Church, but he�d been happier there than anywhere else.
�Yes, except�� Jade trailed off, and Duo realized that all three of them were staring at Adam, who looked a little embarrassed by the attention.
�I live on my own now,� he said with a slight shrug and an expression that said that was all he was going to say on the subject. �But it will be good to get back.�
Heero grunted when they reached the room where he�d hidden the machine. It used to be a storage room, and still had a large number of spare suit parts, making it kind of hard to navigate, but decreasing the chances that someone would accidentally stumble onto it. Heero led them as swiftly as possible through the maze of parts, boxes, and fallen plaster to an open area that he�d cleared to put the machine in.
Duo wasn�t sure what it was, but something in the air made him take a second look around the room. Quatre had already moved over to the machine and was fiddling with it. Ami had left Adam leaning heavily against one of the piles and went over to look at the machine with Quatre. Heero was just standing around, glaring at everything in sight, and Wufei and Trowa were watching Jade and Megabyte. The two pilots looked confused as the two kids continuously taunted each other about the stupidest things. Probably never seen normal teasing before, he thought. But something wasn�t right.
Suddenly all four of the teleporters stiffened. �I have a bad feeling about this�� Ami said, looking around, sounding panicked. �Something�s wrong��
Duo caught a flicker of movement that shouldn�t have been there out of the corner of his eye. �Fuck!� he shouted, already reaching for his gun. Suddenly pain shot up his arm and he fell backwards, into Jade and Megabyte.
�Freeze!� shouted a half-dozen voices, and Duo saw that they were surrounded. Fuck! There were over twenty soldiers surrounding them, every one with a gun pointed at their group.
�Oh my God! You�ve been shot!� Jade squealed, pointing at his arm. She started to move forward but one of the soldiers took a step forward, aiming the gun precisely at her head.
�I said freeze,� he ordered angrily, and she froze.
For a second they were all completely still and silent, and Duo wondered why the teleporters didn�t get out of there, then he remembered something Adam had said� �Teleporting isn�t faster than a bullet.� Shit. They were really screwed.
�Stand up slowly and toss your guns away,� the lead man, who did not carry a gun, instructed. He had a look in his eye that Duo recognized, and did not like. �Nother sadist who�s high on power and pain. Where the hell does Oz find all of these people? As Duo slowly got to his feet, trying not to use his injured arm, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye� Adam. Standing by himself, against the pile of parts, he�d gone unnoticed by the Oz soldiers. He was now standing less than ten feet behind the commander of the soldiers, very pale, but most importantly, silent.
A glimmer of an idea formed in his mind. Using his good arm, Duo slowly pulled the gun out from behind his back, holding it clearly by the handle to show that he couldn�t fire it. He dropped it on the ground in front of him, then deliberately kicked it at the commander�s feet. The commander danced out of the way, then swore. �You�ll pay for that, brat!� he snarled, but Duo only grinned at him. The gun, already forgotten, skidded across the floor to bump into Adam�s feet. For a moment Adam�s wide eyes met Duo�s, then Duo saw understanding and Adam bent to pick up the gun.
�Oh, shit,� Megabyte breathed, and Duo saw that he�d seen Adam. What was he talking about?
Adam took a step forward, grimaced, then slowly raised the gun. �Let them go.� His voice was calm and steady, and except for the slightly nauceous look on his face, he looked completely in control. Or he would have, except that his hand, the one holding the gun, was trembling so badly that even at that distance, if he pulled the trigger, he only had a fifty-fifty shot of hitting anything.
The commander turned around, and the expression on his face when he realized that there was a gun aimed at him was hilarious. He quickly regained his composure, especially when he saw the wavering gun. �And what are you going to do if I don�t?� he asked snidely.
Adam didn�t blink. �Just let them go. This has nothing to do with your war.� The gun in his hand began to tremble more violently.
�If you shoot me my men will kill you.� The man paused for a moment, then smiled. �I don�t believe you could do it, anyway. Look at yourself � your hand is already shaking like a leaf.�
Adam stared at him, then at his own hand, which now looked as if he was going through convulsions. Suddenly his eyes went past the commander to the three members of his group, who stiffened as his eyes rested on them. �I�� Adam started to say, then grimaced as his hand began to drift away from the commander�s head. �I�� He swallowed. �I can�t!� he cried, sounding very frustrated, and suddenly flung the gun away from himself. In the next instant he threw himself at the commander, wrestling him to the floor.
For a few seconds, everyone just stared at him. You didn�t throw a gun away to attack someone with your bare hands (unless you were Wufei, but that was another matter entirely) � it just didn�t make any sense.
Duo suddenly realized that all of the guards were staring at Adam, not at them, but before he could do anything to take advantage of this fact, he felt a slight weight hit him. The next thing he knew, he was falling.
Then he hit water � very cold water � and was suddenly in over his head, and he hissed in pain as salt water hit the open wound on his arm. That turned out to be a mistake as he sucked in a mouthful of water instead of air. What the fuck�
Reacting entirely on instinct, he kicked his feet until his head cleared the surface. He took a deep gasping breath and looked around. He was in the ocean, that was for sure � the water stretched out in all directions as far as he could see. The only land he could see was a small island about a hundred feet away. There were a number of figures on the shore.
Suddenly a head surfaced next to him, and he almost jumped out of his skin before he recognized Jade. She didn�t look at all surprised to be there, but as he watched, her face drained of all color and she shrieked, �Adam!� at the top of her lungs, both hands pressing at her skull. Her head went under water for a second, then she resurfaced, a dazed look on her face. She looked around for a second, then at him, and then her eyes grew wide. �You�re bleeding!�
He realized that the water around them was beginning to be stained sort of red by the blood from his arm.
�Hang on,� she told him, suddenly latching onto his arm.
�What are you�� he started to say, but then there was a flash of light, and solid ground under his feet. He wasn�t ready for it, so he dropped to his knees before he realized what was happening. He was now standing (kneeling) on the sandy beach he�d observed before, next to Jade (who was still on her feet), Megabyte and Ami. The rest of the pilots were standing a little way down the beach, looking as confused as he felt.
Jade suddenly burst into tears, throwing herself at Ami, who responded with a fierce hug, ignoring the fact that Jade was sopping wet. �They�ve got him!� Jade sobbed. �They hurt him!�
�I know,� Ami said softly, �don�t worry, we�ll get him back.�
�Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?� Duo demanded, looking around. �What the hell just happened? Where are we? Why am I all wet?�
�We teleported you out of there,� Ami explained after the three exchanged a glance.
�You what?! I thought that you could only teleport yourselves!�
Ami grimaced. �We can teleport a little more than our own bodyweight with us, if we concentrate on it. You�re lucky that the five of your are so small, normally Adam�s the only one who can teleport two people at once.�
�All right, so you teleported all of us. Where are we now?� Duo asked slowly, trying not to start screaming at all of them.
�We�re on an island somewhere in the South Pacific,� Ami told him. �We don�t know exactly where. The only reason we know that much is because Adam�s done some studying of the stars, which constellations are visible and everything, and�� she trailed off. �Anyway, that�s where we are, approximately.�
�And this is what you meant when you said that you didn�t know where you were?� he asked Jade, who was starting to shiver. He wasn�t feeling to warm himself, but the burning sensation in his arm was keeping him warm enough for now.
Jade nodded.
�And this is where you�ve been staying?�
She nodded again.
�All right. Next question. Why the hell am I all wet?�
Ami looked at Jade, who grimaced. �Ah, that�s my fault. If you don�t visualize well, you end up falling in the water. I didn�t visualize before I teleported this time.�
�Why?�
�Because I was more nervous about the guns than visualizing well,� she snapped.
�No! Why do you end up in the ocean if you don�t visualize well? Why not the beach, or just stay put?� Ami and Jade exchanged another glance, and Duo could practically see what they were thinking. �Oh no, not after you dumped me and the open wound on my arm in salt water. You�re going to tell me exactly what the hell you�re talking about. Now, why do you end up in the water?�
Ami sighed. �We might as well go inside to discuss this. We�ve got some blankets and we can treat the wound on your arm.�
�Inside? Inside where?�
�The ship.� There was something strange about the way she said it, a particular emphasis she put on the second word that he didn�t understand.
�What ship?� he looked around, but didn�t see anything but dunes and palm trees.
�It�s over there,� Megabyte said, pointing. �It�s mostly buried.�
Duo turned and looked, and saw something that might have been some sort of wing (or fin) sticking up out of one of the dunes. It also didn�t resemble any sort of ship he�d ever seen. Something occurred to him � there was no sign of violence, so the ship hadn�t crashed and been buried that way. It must have been buried that way over many, many years. And ships hadn�t been around that long. �What sort of ship is that?�
�It�s� a long story. And we don�t know exactly where it�s from or when it got here, but it was a very long time ago. And the ship� it has a beacon on it that pulls in new teleporters. If you don�t visualize well, the beacon pulls you here, anywhere within a five-hundred foot radius of the ship. We think that the beacon is actually supposed to pull you to the ship, but something malfunctioned over the years. When you learn to teleport, you have to learn to overcome the beacon, or you just end up back in the ocean.� Ami held out a hand. �Come on, we�ll take you inside.�
Duo backed up a step. �Ah, is there any other way to do it that doesn�t involve teleportation?�
Ami glanced at the others again. �Ah, I guess you can use the emergency escape hatch to get in � it�s the only thing that�s not buried� but it would be kind of rough on your arm right now.�
�Let�s see it,� Duo said stubbornly. Ami shrugged slightly and started walking across the sand, one arm around Jade�s shoulders, comforting her. Megabyte gave them a glare, and then followed. Duo glanced at his fellow pilots. �You guys all right?�
�How�s your arm?� Quatre asked in response.
�I�ll live.�
�The ship couldn�t possibly have been made by humans,� Trowa observed in a low voice.
Heero grunted agreement.
Duo looked over at the three, who were now waiting for them, expectant looks on their faces. �I guess we might as well go inside,� he said and then started after them. The entire situation was ridiculous � he was a trained terrorist, he couldn�t be afraid of a bunch of kids who�d probably never held a gun in their lives. But then, they were the ones who�d teleported him here, who were headed for an alien ship with every appearance of familiarity with it. They looked like normal kids, but that was no guarantee of anything, was it? He really wished he hadn�t thought of that � it just made him more nervous.
Ami walked directly up to the surface of the ship, which was unlike any metal he�d ever seen, and waved her hand over a particular spot. Suddenly part of the metal slid away, revealing a hole about four feet in diameter. �There you go,� she said, a skeptical expression on her face as she waved at the hole.
�And this leads inside?� Duo asked, looking at the black hole.
�Yes. Are you sure that you don�t want us to just teleport you inside? It�s no problem.�
�Yes, please,� Quatre said suddenly, stepping forward and extending his hand. Then he took a firm hold of Duo�s good arm. Duo looked at him in surprise, then Quatre gave him a look . Suddenly a thought crashed into his head, and Duo could have kicked himself. They had no idea if this �escape hatch� led to the inside of the ship or a cell of some sort. At least if they teleported, they knew that the kids would be with them. Unless they could somehow drop them off� He pushed that thought out of his mind.
�Sure,� he said, giving Jade his biggest smile. She looked at him, suspicious of the sudden change in attitude, then gently touched his shoulder.
�I�m really sorry about before,� she said quickly. �I don�t usually panic like that. It won�t be so bad this time.� There was a flash of light and suddenly he was in darkness. Duo felt a stab of panic before he realized that it wasn�t really as dark as he thought, only in comparison to the bright sun outside. Then a huge column in the middle of the room lit up slightly� and moaned at them. That was the only description that Duo could come up with for the sound that seemed to resonate in his bones, making him shudder. Jade placed one hand on the column and murmured, �It�s OK, they�re friends. We�re fine.�
�You talk to it?� Duo asked, vaguely amused as the rest of the groups arrived.
�Its� alive, sort of,� Jade said, patting the column fondly.
�Alive?� Quatre asked, looking around and shivering.
�Well, not exactly,� Ami said, walking over to one of the walls and picking up a blanket, which she wrapped around Jade�s shoulder. She picked up a second and handed it to him. �It�s� aware of us. We can communicate with it, sort of. It�s difficult to explain. Do you want me to take a look at your arm?� she asked, pointing to the neat pile of medical supplies, right next to the first-aid kit he�d given her. �I took care of Adam��
�No, that�s all right, I can do it,� he told her, moving over to the supplies. � He rolled up his shirt and started cleaning the wound. Luckily, the bullet hadn�t become imbedded in his arm. He started talking to distract himself. �Actually, if you could take us back to our safe house, that would be great.�
�Ah, we can�t. Not yet,� she quickly qualified her statement.
�Not yet?�
�Teleporting that much weight, that far� it gets tiring. I don�t think we could get you guys off the island right now. In a few hours we�ll be able to,� Ami said, her eyes distant.
�You will?�
�Yes. We can take you back to the last safe house, if that�s all right,� she said, her voice politely distant.
�Then what are you going to do?�
Her lips tightened to a thin line, and her eyes hardened slightly. �Then we�re going to go get Adam back.�
Wufei snorted. �You might as well leave that weakling with Oz. He won�t do them any good.�
Ami suddenly spun around, a horrified expression on her face. �What did you say?� she demanded angrily.
�He�s a weakling. You�re better off without him. He was so frightened he was shaking like a baby.�
While Duo was not happy with what Adam had done back there, and wanted an explication, but disagreed with Wufei�s interpretation. Adam hadn�t been shaking because of fear. He�d been frightened, sure, and something made his hand shake like that, but it wasn�t fear. Just what it had been was beyond him, though, and he wanted answers.
�He wasn�t shaking because of fear!� Megabyte yelled at Wufei, his face red. �You asshole! You don�t have the slightest idea what you�re talking about! He told us to rescue you! If it wasn�t for him, you�d be�� he trailed off, his face paling rapidly as he realized that he�d said too much.
�He told you? How?� Duo asked sharply, and Megabyte looked at the floor, a sullen expression on his face. �Oh, no, we discussed this before. We�re beyond the we-aren�t-telling-you stage. We passed that when I got dumped in the fucking ocean! Whatever secrets you�re keeping could have gotten us killed back there, and it got your friend captured! Now� what the hell are you?�
There was a long � very long � silence. The three teleporters stood absolutely still, eyes distant. It was as if they weren�t really there at all. Just before he was about to demand answers again, they all blinked at exactly the same time. Megabyte muttered something under his breath and turned away, and Jade pulled the blanket a little tighter around her and retreated back into a corner.
�We�re Tomorrow People,� Ami told him. �We�re the next stage of human evolution. That�s why we can do all the things we can�� she trailed off.
�All the things? Not just teleport?�
She shook her head. �We can all teleport, but we�re also connected telepathically. We can talk into each other�s minds. Distance isn�t a factor � when I came to visit you, I could talk to the others as easily as when I was in the same room as them. We can all do that � that�s part of how we know each other. And we each have individual skills.�
�Individual skills?� he asked, thinking that this telepathic communication explained a lot about why they acted the way they did most of the time, those distracted looks, the feeling that they weren�t all the way there�
Ami looked even more uncomfortable. �I� am more sensitive to auras than most people, even among us. Sometimes I also have dreams� they�re about the future.�
�You�re a prophet?� Quatre asked, and her eyes widened.
�No, nothing like that! I just� they�re little hints about the future, sometimes. It�s hard to tell if it�s really something or just me being nervous. Like I had a bad feeling before we approached the soldiers� I thought I was just nervous about it.�
�And you can all do that?� Duo asked.
�No, just me. Jade�� she trailed off, her eyes traveling to the other girl.
�I can sometimes read people�s minds. Normal people, not just Tomorrow People,� she added. �It depends on the person and the situation. I�m the one who tracked Quatre. With the ship�s help.�
Duo decided not to ask how the ship had helped her, just yet. �And you?� he asked Megabyte.
Megabyte glared at him. �I can do weird things with electronic stuff, like open locks.�
�And Adam can heal people. Sometimes,� Ami added. �It comes and goes. He couldn�t heal himself this time.�
�OK�� Duo said slowly. �So Adam told you to save us, then tackled the guy to get everyone�s attention so you could teleport us out. That doesn�t explain why he couldn�t handle the gun.�
�There�s another part of being a Tomorrow Person that we didn�t tell you,� Ami said with another glance at the other two. �We can�t kill.�
He looked at her. �You can�t kill?�
�No.�
�Not at all?�
She shook her head. �No, nothing more intelligent than a bug. No killing at all, not even in self-defense.�
�You�re Absolute Pacifists?� Duo asked. He couldn�t believe they were making such a fuss over a political movement, any more than he could understand those who followed that movement. Pacifism was all well and good, but not when it led you to getting yourself killed.
�Yes,� Ami nodded.
�No!� Megabyte said sharply from his corner. He stared at Ami silently for several seconds.
Her eyes grew wide. �Oh, no! It�s not a political philosophy! We really can�t kill anyone!�
Duo�s eyes narrowed. �Would you mind explaining that?�
�It isn�t a choice with us. We just physically can�t kill people. And Adam�s the worst of us � he couldn�t do it before he broke out, even to save his life.�
�Broke out?�
She sighed. �That�s what we call it when we first become Tomorrow People. You go through a period of stress, or some sort, and to get out of it, you teleport. You don�t know how to do it, really, so you end up in the water off the island, and you can�t leave until you learn how to overcome the beacon.�
�I still don�t understand this whole not-killing thing. Killing is always a choice � not always the right choice, but still a choice.�
�No it�s not,� Ami insisted. She probably would have said more, but Megabyte suddenly stepped forward.
�I�ll show you. Give me your gun,� he said to Quatre, holding his hand out.
�Gun?� Quatre asked, looking innocent.
�Yeah, I�m not blind. I saw you grab it off the floor before I teleported. Besides that, I can feel the damn thing. Give it to me, I�ll show you what I mean.� He paused for a second, then said sarcastically, �Don�t worry, I�m not going to shoot you. I can�t.� There was a lot of disgust and self-loathing in his voice.
Quatre shrugged, then removed his gun from under his vest and handed it to Megabyte, who winced as the metal touched his fingers. �OK,� he said, taking deep breaths, as though even holding the gun was an action that required intense concentration for him. �Jade?�
�No, I can do this,� Ami said, eyeing the gun nervously.
�You�ve done enough,� Jade said gravely, stepping forward. �I�m not as sensitive. I can handle it better.� She looked at the gun in Megabyte�s hand and then averted her eyes. �Just do it.�
�Watch,� Megabyte told them, and then started raising his hand. The moment that it was aimed anywhere in the vicinity of her feet, his hand began to tremble violently, and the higher he raised it, the more it shook. He never even made it to her chest � as his aim reached her stomach, he suddenly flung the gun away from him, just the way Adam had. Quatre silently went and retrieved the gun.
�The safety was on,� he said quietly, holding it out and then putting it back in the holster.
�Like I could tell,� Megabyte muttered. �I can barely hold the stupid thing� it�s hard to learn a lot about guns that way.�
�So that happens any time any of you hold a gun?� Duo asked.
�We can�t kill � a gun is just a tool. But yes, it does happen whenever we hold a weapon, of any kind,� Ami said, twisting the edge of her shirt. Suddenly she looked at Megabyte, a worried expression on her face. �It wasn�t your fault,� she murmured. �It�s who we are.�
�Who we are almost got him killed!� Megabyte shouted at her. Duo got the impression that they weren�t talking about Adam. �Because I couldn�t pull the damn trigger��
Quatre gasped softly. �Who� what happened?� he asked.
Ami and Megabyte turned to look at him as if they�d forgotten the presence of the others, then Ami dropped her eyes to the ground. �Adam told you there are situations that we can�t teleport out of� sometimes we don�t want people to find out about us, but there are people who already know about us and what we can do. And the way they keep us from teleporting is they grab someone close to us and hold them hostage. Actually, we had one of us leave because she didn�t want to put her mother in danger.�
�How can you leave if you�re born�� Quatre started to say, then trailed off.
�You just pretend that you�re not different,� Megabyte told him bitterly. �We�re not that different from normal humans. If you don�t use your powers, and stay out of any situation where you might have to kill someone, we�re indistinguishable from normal humans.� He frowned and bit his lip. �Sometimes they grab people close to you and say they�ll� do things to them if you don�t do what they say. There was this guy who was trying to build the perfect soldiers, and wanted to use us� He had my dad, and he was going to kill him� and I had a gun. I aimed it at him, somehow� and I couldn�t pull the trigger. I just stood there� I couldn�t do anything to stop him!� His voice was full of helpless rage, and Duo knew that this was something for which he�d been blaming himself for a long time. �He� got away, no thanks to me, because I can�t kill. He was in the danger in the first place because of me. And because of what we are, I can�t even wish it was different!� he finished angrily.
�Megabyte�� Ami started to say, but he shot her a murderous glance and disappeared. She sighed. �Don�t worry, he won�t go far. Just up top for a while. He� there have been times when it has been very hard on all of us. We�re only human, after all.�
Duo automatically glanced at Heero, who�d been watching the entire incident with his usual non-expression. They really were innocents. They couldn�t kill, ever. They�d never had to know what it felt like, how you felt so dirty� For a brief moment he envied them. Then something Megabyte had said caught his attention. �What did he mean, he couldn�t even wish it was different?� he asked quietly.
�Oh. That. It only happens after you break out. The longer you�re a Tomorrow Person, the more� it becomes more than just not being able to kill. It becomes so that you can�t even understand the concept of killing, not really. You can�t understand how a person could possibly kill another, the very thought is� incomprehensible. Adam was unable to kill, even to protect himself, before he broke out, and he�s been a Tomorrow Person longer than any of us. I�m kind of surprised he could hold the gun at all, much less point it at anyone. But there�s no way he could ever have pulled the trigger.�
And he knew that the second I kicked the gun to him, Duo realized. Shit. This one little fact they�d avoided mentioning before � about them not being able to kill � changed his entire view of the older boy. How much guts did it take to throw yourself at people with guns, knowing that you had no way to strike back? Those times that he�d fought off the soldiers, first in the woods and later on the streets� Duo had always wondered whether it was courage or fear that had prompted Adam�s actions, and now he knew. �So he did all of that� just to give you guys a chance to get away?�
Ami nodded, and Jade made a face. �Adam can be a little overprotective, sometimes,� the little girl said. �He�d rather get himself hurt than see any of us in the same position. It�s frustrating sometimes. I mean, does he think that we don�t worry about him?!� At that, she looked ready to burst into tears again. Ami reached out and touched her shoulder gently.
�Where is he now?� Wufei asked grumpily.
�We don�t know,� Ami said, speaking for the group.
�How can that be?� Quatre asked. �I thought you could always talk to each other.�
�Not if he�s unconscious,� Ami said quietly. �They hit him on the back of the head right after we teleported.� Duo noticed Jade reached up to touch a certain point on the back of her head.
�You can tell that from here?� Trowa asked. It was the first thing he�d said since they�d been teleported.
�We all felt it,� Ami said with a wince, reaching up to touch the exact same spot on her own head. �We�re always linked� aware of each other,� she clarified. �Even when we�re not actually talking. That way we know if something happens to anyone else, anywhere in the world, the instant it happens.�
�As Megabyte would say, it�s a little rough on privacy, but you get used to it,� Jade piped up. She blushed as everyone turned to look at her, then picked up a few items of clothing off the floor. �I�m going to go change,� she murmured, then hurried into the other room.
An uneasy silence followed, and Duo busied himself looking around the room. It looked as if someone had cleaned it up, a little, sweeping the sand into piles and organizing the various items that they�d acquired. He caught sight of a small piece of paper on top of one pile of blankets. �What�s that?�
Ami followed his eyes to the paper. �Oh. Just a little note. To any Tomorrow People that arrive here, explaining who we were, and who they are. No one else is ever going to find this place, so it seemed safe enough.� That one comment told him a lot about how they lived, constantly hiding their abilities from those around them. �Adam thought it might be nice for them to have something here to dry off with when they arrive, and someone to explain it to them. He had to figure it all out for himself the first time.�
Duo nodded. �Make sense to me. How many of you people are there, anyway? I�m guessing you�re not a majority, if the government was trying to find you.�
�Six.�
�Six?� He�d been guessing a few hundred. Six?
�Yes� well, Lisa isn�t really a Tomorrow Person anymore, and Kevin�s parents won�t let him be. It�s basically the four of us. But you never know when another might break out.�
�It�s just the four of you?�
�Yes. But we have some friends who help us, and want to protect us.� She smiled slightly as Jade reappeared, dressed in dry clothes. �Do you want to change?�
�Nah, I�m fine. What now?�
�Well, you�re welcome to whatever we have to eat, or we can take you back up to the surface until we can take you back to your safe house.�
�And what about Adam?�
�When he wakes up, he can teleport back here, if they haven�t drugged him. If he can�t teleport here himself, as long as he�s awake, we�ll go get him.�
�Then what?�
�We�ll figure something out.� She gave him a small smile. �We always do.�
�And what about us?�
�Thank you for your help, we really appreciate it.�
�Hey! Who said that we�re giving up? We said we�re going to get you home, and we�re going to do it!� he told her forcefully, glancing at his fellows for support.
�Mission,� Heero said firmly, effectively ending the debate.
Ami stared at him in confusion, then shrugged. �Thank you,� she repeated, this time more forcefully. �Um, do you want to stay in here, or go to the surface?�
�Can you take us to the surface, or will it tire you out too much?� Duo asked.
�No, the distance here is so short, it doesn�t make a difference,� Ami told him. �It�s the distance that tires us out. Which is sort of strange, actually, because we can teleport ourselves wherever we want without getting tired. It�s only with other people that we have that problem.�
�Oh.�
�Hang on a second,� she told him, and put an arm on his shoulder. A few seconds later they were standing on the sand outside the ship. �I�ll be back.� She disappeared again as Jade reappeared, holding Quatre�s hand. Then she vanished as Ami appeared with Heero and Trowa, then Jade arrived with Wufei.
�See, that wasn�t so bad,� she told Wufei, gently teasing. Duo hoped that Wufei didn�t take that as an insult and try to chop her head off.
Suddenly both Ami and Jade stiffened and turned their heads in the same direction. �Megabyte!� Ami called out loud as Megabyte appeared. Without communicating out loud, the three of them formed a circle and help up their hands so that their palms were touching. A ball of blue light appeared in the center of their circle.
�Um, Quatre, do you know what they�re doing?�
�Concentrating very hard on something.�
That helped. �How do you know?�
�I can feel it. There�s vast power there�� Even as he said it, they suddenly let their hands fall, and the blue light disappeared.
�What was that?�
�We thought we felt Adam waking up, but he must have drifted off again before we could find him,� Ami explained, rubbing her head.
�And the blue light?�
�Blue light? Oh, that�s a mind link � we�re stronger together than apart, so we were working together to find Adam. It�s hard to find someone who�s not trying to be found. I think they are drugging him.� She frowned in concern.
�Then how did you feel him?�
�He was trying to wake up.�
�How do you know that?�
�Because Adam�s not a morning person. He always feels that way when he�s trying to wake up,� Megabyte explained. Jade elbowed him in the side.
�You can feel each other waking up?� Duo asked. Talk about no privacy.
�Yup. And when we�re angry or nervous, and when we have nightmares. In fact, we tend to share nightmares if we aren�t careful. And if we don�t do that, we do know when we have nightmares, and what they�re about. Isn�t that right, Jade?� he asked, a mischievous smile on his face.
�Megabyte, don�t you dare�� Jade warned.
�You know what Jade�s really scared of?� Megabyte asked. �Barney.� He grinned.
Duo glanced at the other pilots to see if they recognized the reference. When they all shook their heads, he asked, �What�s a Barney?�
�Ha!� Jade shouted. �I told you there was something good about this world! They don�t know who Barney is!�
�You would think that was important, kid,� Megabyte scoffed.
�Oooo! You�� Jade picked up a large handful of mud and threw it at Megabyte, who dodged.
�You�re going to have to do better than that, kid� agh!� he shouted as she picked up another handful of dirt, teleported behind him, and then dumped it down the back of his shirt. �I�m going to get you for that!� he shouted, grabbing up some mud himself. Jade shrieked and disappeared, only to reappear several hundred feet down the shore. Megabyte disappeared to follow her.
Duo turned to Ami. �What�s a Barney?�
�Trust me, you don�t want to know.�
�OK.� Duo was quite willing to settle down in the warm sand and watch the two kids chasing each other around, throwing dirt. It was kinda cute.
Wufei didn�t share his opinion. He sniffed and muttered, �Children,� in the most derogatory tone he could manage.
Duo ignored him � he was used to Wufei�s attitude. He had a few ideas of his own as to what caused it, but ultimately, it didn�t matter, it was part of who Wufei was. Duo understood that and accepted it, which was why he got caught by surprise when Ami planted her hands on her hips and asked, �And what�s wrong with that?�
Everyone stared at her. �What?� Wufei sputtered after a full minute had passed.
�They�re worried about Adam, and this is how they forget about it for a little while.�
�Such behavior��
�They are children, so they�re acting like children,� Ami continued, cutting him off. �Last I checked, there wasn�t a law against that. I don�t even think there�s a law against adults acting like children. And I�m quite certain that there isn�t a law against smiling, but you seem dead set against that, too.�
Wufei�s mouth dropped open. Then it opened and closed several times. Finally one word came out, and it sounded like a curse. �Onna!�
Ami looked at Duo. �What did that mean?� she demanded.
�Woman,� Duo said, quickly deciding that he�d rather have Wufei mad at him than this girl. Woman.
�What�s that supposed to mean?� Ami demanded, eyes narrowing.
�Such behavior is disgraceful!�
�What? No it�s not! It�s called childhood, and just because you guys didn�t get one doesn�t mean that no one should!�
Wufei stared at her, then snarled something in Chinese and stalked off.
�What did he say,� she asked again.
�I don�t know,� Duo said. She glared at him and he held up both of his hands. �Honest! I don�t know what he said!�
�I probably shouldn�t have done that,� she said after a moment�s thought.
Heero actually snorted, then wandered off. Duo stared after him in confusion. It wasn�t possible that the Perfect Soldier should have a sense of humor, was it?
�He�ll be all right,� Quatre said, taking off his shoes and digging his toes into the warm sand. �While we�re waiting, do you mind if we talk?�
�Well, it depends what about,� Ami said with a nervous laugh.
�Would you tell me about your world?�
�It�s not that interesting,� she demurred.
�We�ve never seen it. Please?� Quatre asked, blinking those blue eyes at her and giving her a dazzling smile. Like so many other people, she gave in to that smile.
�Oh, all right. What do you want to know?�