Thanks to: All the reviewers and readers, and the War Room. ^_^
Special thanks to Arith, for helping me out with Gabriel, being encouraging, and musing me through this chapter and all that good jazz. Thanks to Solly, too, for thwapping me for being self-doubting. *hugs to both*
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
--- John Stuart Mill
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
--- Revelations, 14:8
Requiem for the Sinners Part 28
Children of Babylon
You flatlander bastards!!!
Paradise, this is Legion Four. They're coming through! We can't stop them!!
Gabriel shuddered to consciousness, the dark, chilling dreams full of fire and blood falling away into stark reality. The room he was sleeping in was cold, and he pulled the blanket more closely around him, pulling his feet back up underneath the covers.
He closed his eyes, folding his hand underneath his face on the pillow. It was damp, as if he had cried in his sleep. There was also a red stain there. Blood. His head pounded, and he pulled the sheets back over his head.
He couldn't go back to sleep.
"Hey kiddo, you up yet?" He heard one of the pilots, a former gutter brat named Ramos, open the door. He'd recognize the cigarette-torn, husky drawl anywhere. "You awake? They've got cereal in the galley."
Gabriel pushed down the covers as he rubbed his eyes wearily, about to tell Ramos's that he was still sleepy, but he froze as soon as he saw the young man's face.
Pull up! Alvarez, pull up!!
He's hit! Ramos is hit! Somebody call in recovery!! Drag his suit out!
His mouth fell open in a silent shriek, and he gaped at the pilot in wordless terror. The skin on the man's face barely clung to the bone, tendrils of charred flesh still fighting valiantly to adhere to the skull. One side of the the pilot's head was a bloody, crushed wreck.
"Something wrong, kid?" There was nothing wrong with the voice that issued from that ruined face. It was alert and gentle and concerned. But that didn't make it right.
Remember what I said, Gabe. Those things you might see, they aren't real. You just fight through it. Count to ten and look again. They'll be gone, I promise. It's just like a movie, except it's in your head. You can turn it off any time you want to.
It's not real... it's not real...
Gabriel closed his eyes, counting silently, mouthing the numbers, too scared to look up.
One, two, three...
"Gabe? Hey, kiddo?"
four, five, six...
"C'mon, kid, snap out of it." He heard Ramos walk towards him, and closed his eyes more tightly.
please don't come over please don't touch me seven eight nine...
"Kid..."
Ten.
Gabriel opened his eyes. It was gone. Just Ramos's, round, slightly apprehensive face leaning over him, brow furrowed. No blood. Nothing.
"You okay, kiddo? You don't look so hot. Coming down with a flu or somethin'? Need to go see Margie?"
Gabriel shook himself out of it, shaking his head. "No. Bad dream."
"Ah, yeah." Ramos patted him on the head, and Gabriel fought desperately not to flinch under his touch. "Nightmares, huh? Poor kid. You wanna tell me?"
Hell no, Gabriel thought, shivering. He shook his head.
"Okay. You get up and get some breakfast, yeah?"
"... Yeah." Gabriel smiled, but it felt forced. He felt his lip wanting to tremble and bit the inside of his cheek to stop it. Ramos didn't seem to notice, however. He ruffled the kid's hair briefly before straightening up, walking out of the room.
Gabriel watched him leave, feeling as if ice water was seeping into his heart. The little boy closed his eyes tightly and pulled his knees up to his chest, bowing his face against them as his chest began to hitch with silent sobs.
Bye, Ramos...
~*~
"What is this, Maxwell?" Wufei asked softly, looking into the darkened storage room near the shipping holds.
"These are my recruits," Duo replied, smiling a little. Wufei didn't like that smile. He had seen it too many times in the past, and it usually meant some kind of violence was involved. But then again, violence was always what Maxwell was good at.
"Why are the lights out?"
"They're not used to daylife. A bunch of these kids sleep during the day and work during the night. I should know," Duo added, that strange half-smile never faltering.
"How many?"
"Ah..." Duo looked at a piece of paper tacked to the corkboard posted just outside the locked door. "This is A-6 Squad. So there's six of them, two girls and four guys, and they're in primary; just off the streets. These guys aren't ready for combat yet."
"You make them sound like real animals," Wufei said, peering into the darkened room. He could see six empty mattresses on the floor, and a few forms moving in the darkness, but they were only shapeless forms in the shadows.
A long rectangle of light fell into the room, and as Wufei watched, one hand that had been outstretched into the light drew back into the shadows. Even though he couldn't see the faces of the young men and women in the room, he could almost feel their eyes burning into him.
Duo gave him a sharp look. "They're not animals. They're just... not used to things the way you are. Most of these kids have been on the streets for as long as they can remember. Some of them don't even know their own name."
Wufei glanced at him, but his eyes were drawn back to the darkened storage room.
Duo took a deep breath. He took his pistol from the holster at his hip, holding it out to Wufei. "Hold this for me."
"Why?"
"Because they can't be trusted yet. Not with weapons." He moved to the door and reached over to press the button to unlock it. Wufei moved to follow him, but Duo stopped him with a warning glance. "Not you. Just me. They'd rip you up in a heartbeat, no offense."
Wufei began to protest indignantly. "Look, Maxwell, I-"
"Wuffers, just trust me on this one. ...They'll kill you."
Wufei trailed off, not sure whether to be anxious or insulted, watching Duo slip silently into the makeshift dormitory.
Three of the formless shapes that were sleeping woke up immediately, moving into a low, defensive position. The way they moved, in that low, easy, liquid stalk, reminded Wufei of a pack of wild animals, no matter what Duo said.
Duo turned up the lights a little once he was inside, throwing the six young men and women into shadowy relief. Wufei almost expected their eyes to glow in the half-light, like wolves.
The one nearest to Duo was already on his feet, a matted shock of blond hair falling into the boy's face, a ripped muscle shirt covering his torso with a message across the front that was illegible. There was bloodied gauze wrapped around each of his wrists, tied with cut strips of duct tape. The shirt, which had been white once upon a time, was covered with grime and blood. Blue eyes shone out of a feral, angular face.
He can't even be sixteen, Wufei thought, a sense of horrified awe coming over him like a cold blanket. Not even that.
The other two that were immediately on their feet were in no better condition. The second boy's jeans were more holes than actual fabric, and he wore the top of what seemed to be half of a tech's jumpsuit; the bottom of it had been cut away. There was a raised tattoo across his dark face; three bars.
The girl at his side had her hair tied back with a stretched piece of garbage bag. Her bright green eyes glared out of her pale face, baleful and wary. She was barefoot.
Duo stood almost in the doorway, hands outstretched and palm out, waiting.
The boy lunged forward, and Wufei startled at the speed of the attack; it was as if the boy was a few yards from Duo one second, on top of him the next. He moved towards the doorway to intervene, but Duo's actions stopped him.
Moving even more quickly than the boy, Duo side-stepped, striking so quickly Wufei barely saw him move.
The blond boy landed at his feet in a crumpled heap.
Wufei heard a low whistling issue from the room. A signal, starting low and ending high. It was the girl. The other three were already awake, moving forward in that strange crouching stalk. All were unarmed, but Wufei saw immediately that these homeless young men and women needed no weapons.
Wufei heard the laugh in Duo's voice, even though he couldn't see the Deathscythe pilot's face. "No go, kiddo. I already got the blond one. You see?"
The girl bared her teeth at him. As far as Wufei could tell, it was a perfectly unconscious gesture. Her eyes flicked to the black boy at her side, and he nodded, an almost imperceptible gesture. They moved forward.
"I'm warning you, girl. Don't make me hurt you."
The two of them came at him at once. Wufei watched as the showdown came down to the same results. There were three kids on the ground now, the wind knocked out of them.
The rest of them came at him furiously. The fight was so quick and vicious that Wufei could barely follow it. It was only a blur of motion, swinging limbs and utter, deadly silence. They weren't even breathing hard. The only sounds were the thuds of flesh hitting flesh and flesh hitting concrete.
After only seconds, it was over. Wufei watched as the bodies fell away, leaving only Duo standing. There was a series of bloody furrows across one cheekbone, where one of the girls had caught Duo with her fingernails, and the L2 general's lip was split and swelling. But he still wasn't breathing hard.
...Damn. I don't remember Maxwell fighting like that.
~*~
...Damn. Tougher than I thought. ...Good.
Duo surveyed the young street kids carefully, watching for any signs of a new attempt to attack him. None of them quite dared to do it. Although the look in their eyes told him one or two wanted to give it a go.
Duo pulled up the blond kid from the floor, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. The blond kid glared back at him, eyes flashing, but he didn't attempt to attack again.
"You're a gutter brat. But I'm a gutter brat too. Don't pull that shit again." Duo's eyes never left the boy's, but Wufei could see by the tense set of his shoulders that he was paying attention to the others as well, making sure they remained motionless. "You follow me, and you eat. You can sleep without fighting, and you eat. Food and freedom. You understand?"
The boy was silent, but his head moved slightly, a nod, and Duo let him down. He looked at all of them. They had all recovered from the blows they took, and watched his movements as warily as dogs that had been kicked in the ribs too often, and didn't intend to let anyone close enough to do it again.
"You're all gutter brats. But I'm the best," Duo said, his voice carrying clearly in the dim silence. "I talk, and you listen. I fight, and you follow. Follow me and you eat. Follow me and they never hurt you again. Don't follow, you go back to the streets. Walk out. You understand?"
He looked at the first boy who attacked him again. "Understand?"
The boy was silent. But he seemed to be mulling it over.
"I know you can talk. The nurse told me."
The boy's eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed again. "... Yes."
"They hurt you," Duo said softly, looking out at all of them. "They hurt you, but you can fix it. You can take the streets back. No one can tell you no. You understand that?"
Six nods. Their eyes never left his face. Wufei observed as the general walked in front of each of them, putting his hands on their shoulders, forcing them to look into his eyes. He waited until they couldn't take his gaze anymore, then looked down or away. "You fight, and you can be free. You understand?"
The last one, the blond-headed one that reminded him vaguely of Quatre, would not lower his eyes. After staring intensely into those defiant cornflower orbs, a color that would make the boy look innocent if he wasn't such a savage fighter, Duo backed off a little, smiling. A little defiance was promising, in his humble opinion. Especially in the beginning. To his way of thinking, it was how you could tell a good soldier from a great one.
"You all wait here. Try to sleep. I'll be back for you. Then we'll get you cleaned up. Understand?"
Again, those silent, wary nods. But with a little more acceptance this time. Duo turned his back on them as he walked to the door, knowing they wouldn't attack. He closed the door behind him, but left it unlocked.
He walked back over to Wufei, a smirk on his face as he rubbed the back of his hand against his cheek, smearing the blood there. "Tough bunch."
Wufei raised an eyebrow at him. "Those are your pilot candidates?"
"Oh hell yeah. You see the reflexes on that girl? They're perfect." Duo looked at Wufei seriously for a moment, his expression contemplative. "What did you see, Wufei?"
Wufei thought a moment, then scowled. "Wild children, Duo."
"Children, hell... they're older than we were." Duo laughed softly. "You know what I see?"
"What?"
Duo gazed back at him, a small smile on his face. "Good soldiers. Damned good ones. The people who care about this place are the ones who are going to fight for it. And that, Wufei, is justice."
"... You're forcing them." Wufei scowled disapprovingly.
Duo snorted, brushing his bangs out of his face. "I'm not forcing them to do anything, Wuff. They can walk back out onto the streets any time they want. But I needed to give them that choice."
He looked at his former comrade steadily. "I've never had anyone walk away. They get three hots and a cot, they don't need anything else. Not yet. And they're dangerous either way. But under me, they're dangerous for good reasons. And if we win, they'll have the opportunity to want more than just food and a bed."
The L2 general turned to walk away. "I'm heading up to my office, Fei. I need to talk with Yamagata, and see if we can't get an official alliance out of L1. Seems like you already know how to pilot our ships, so why don't you take it easy until the real fun begins."
Duo's footsteps faded as he walked down the corridor. Wufei watched him go silently, then glanced back at the storage room, which was dark again. He heard soft whispering from inside, but couldn't make it out.
"They're something, huh?"
Wufei jumped, whirling towards the sound of the voice behind him.
Harper.
He narrowed his eyes. "You."
Harper leaned up against the wall, his black military jacket left open, thumbs hooked in the top of his slacks. He grinned at the Chinese commander, and there was no good humor in it. "You're not still sore at me about that whole hostage thing, are you? You need to learn how to drop a grudge, Chang."
At least he didn't call me Ching, Wufei thought absently, and he looked back at the vice general with a blank expression. He gazed at the older man, never dropping his eyes. "Fine. Perhaps we started off on the wrong foot. If we have to fight on the same side, we can start off fresh. I'd rather not have to fight enemies and allies alike."
There was a period of tense silence between them. Someone could have died in the space of those seconds.
A small smile touched Wufei's lips. "Just keep one thing in mind, Vice General."
Harper gazed back at him unflinchingly. "And what is that?"
"I've killed men faster, stronger, smarter, and more honorable than you."
The Preventer commander walked away.
TBC...
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