[To think of all the night I cried myself to sleep
You really ought to know how much you mean to me]
      --- Lyrics to 'I Close My Eyes' by Babyface

Life... Really Part 21

It hurt... everywhere.

Curled into a tight ball as he lied on his side, Duo had to struggle to do so much as open his eyes. The sharp pull on his braid forced him awake with a sharp cry of pain. Looking up into Jacob's narrowed eyes. He kept his violet eyes wide as the tall man shined a light to inspect them. A thermometer was then forced into his mouth as his jaw was gripped tightly in the scientist's free hand.

When the thermometer beeped, Jacob pulled it from the cat-eared boy's mouth and brought it up to his face to read the results. Nodding down to the braided teenager, he warned in a deep growl, "Don't let me find you sleeping when I return again. You know what happens when you don't follow orders."

Duo shuddered at the harsh words. He did not need to be reminded what happened when he did not do as he was told. The things that they were doing to him...they were nothing like the things they used on him before. Everything that they came to inject into him caused pain. Time bled together as he coped with overcoming the agony of it all.

Sleep seemed the only way to escape it all. He could see Heero when he closed his eyes. Despite the relief it gave, he did not dare anger Jacob now by allowing himself to surrender to it.

Finally, Jacob stepped from the room, slamming the door behind him. As he curled into a ball again, Duo's tail wrapped around his waist like a security blanket. He couldn't shed tears anymore. In reality, it was better for Heero's sake that he did not interfere anymore than he already had.

Still... it was impossible for Duo to put the other boy out of his mind.

*   *   *   *   *   *

"We're pushing it with these experiments," Jacob frowned deeply as he held out the folder containing his findings. "If we keep going at this rate, his organs will collapse on him before the end of the week."

Dekim accepted the folder, scanning it as he replied, "The Secretary of Defense will be visiting us after the weekend. Our lab rat only needs to live until then. All that we have to do is impress the Secretary when he and his staff observe him."

Leaning back in his seat across from his mentor, Jacob asked, "And after that?"

With a shrug, Dekim answered, "After that, our experiment would have served its purpose. He will be expendable after that."

A smirk tugged at the old man's lips as he stated, "It would be interesting to see just how far we can push his body. It would be beneficial to know for the next batch of nekos that we make. I am certain that the Secretary will approve our suggestion to build an army out of them as opposed to using actual people to go to war."

Jacob nodded, "Very well." Rising from his seat, he announced, "I'll pull back on the dosages just enough to have him last through our honored guest's stay, then." With that, he turned and stepped from the office.

Leaning back in his leather seat, Dekim spun it so that he could gaze out of the window to the view of the city lied out before him. "Finally," he sighed to himself with a smile of content. "In a matter of days, everything I have worked for the last twenty years will be coming to light."

*   *   *   *   *   *

"Heero Yuy."

Applause followed the announced name as Heero walked up to the stage. The deep blue, silk robe and matching graduation cap shined under the auditorium lights as he approached the smiling Principal and other members of the faculty where they stood in their black robes.

Taking the boy's hand in hers, Lady Une handed over his diploma with her free hand. "It has been a pleasure, Heero," she smiled sincerely. "Best of luck to you."

With a firm nod, Heero replied with a small smile of his own, "Thank you, Lady Une." Catherine grinned and winked at him when he turned to appraise the teachers that had taken him under their wing for the last four years. Other teachers gave their own gestures as they looked on one of their favorites preparing to move on.

"Way to go, Yuy!" Wufei's voice yelled from his fellow graduating classmates. Laughter erupted along with the applause at the outburst. Whistles filled the air as Heero turned to see his smiling and waving friends waiting in their seats before the stage. With the boys in dark blue robes and the girls in white, the air of the commencement ceremony completed the reality that this really was it...the end of their high school careers.

Back in the stands, Heero spotted his mother taking pictures with a glowing smile of pride from where she stood in the stands with the large crowd that had gathered to watch. Noin and Zechs were also with her, at his mother's insistence that they attend. The young couple waved happily to the boy and he returned the gesture with a small grin of his own.

It hardly seemed possible that four years could pass so quickly. The last four weeks, however, were another story.

Returning to his seat, Lady Une returned to the podium with a pleased smile as she announced, "It is my honor and privilege to announce the Class of AC 198." With that, a road of cheers, applause and whistles rose as the graduates moved their cap's tassels before throwing them up into the air.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged amongst the graduates. Relena and Quatre managed to find each other amongst the confusion and they hugged tightly before kissing each other. Trowa and Wufei joined their tight-knit group as they all shook hands and exchanged hugs. Before long, their families joined them.

Danielle came up in her crème suit to kiss her son's cheek before embracing him tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Heero." With a gracious response, the Japanese teenager returned the hug. Zechs and Noin greeted him with their own kind words.

Once the wave of confusion finally passed and the crowd was finally moved out of the large auditorium, Heero said a brief farewell to his friends before heading to the stretch limo. Sitting in the back with his mother and Noin, the unruly-haired youth removed his graduation cap. With a sigh of relief, he unzipped his robe and undid the tie of his suit underneath.

Removing a small, wrapped box, Danielle announced almost nervously, "Heero, this is your graduation gift that I had picked out." Blinking his widened cobalt eyes, the teenager accepted the box and loosened the ribbon before working at the wrapping paper.

With a gasped, "Mom," Heero removed a key from within the small box.

"It does not go to a specific car, yet," his mother told him. "You have your choice of any vehicle at any dealership of your choice."

Lowering the box, the shock remained on the teenager's face when his eyes met hers. Finally, he grinned and replied quietly, "Thank you, mom." at that, he moved to hug her tightly. Noin watched the scene with a small smile of her own.

When he pulled back, Heero sat back in his seat and looked out the window. Watching as her son's smile faded to show the look of concern that he had worn for the last four weeks, the red-haired woman took his hand into hers and squeezed it. "We'll find him Heero."

Slightly nodding, the youth squeezed her hand back, not quite willing to trust his voice at that moment. The day had been quite difficult for him, not being to enjoy it with Duo. As much as he had hoped that they would be able to find the braided teenager, the fact that four weeks had passed with not so much as a hair found, it was becoming difficult to think of what had become of him.

*   *   *   *   *   *

During the graduation party that his mother was throwing for him, Heero stayed with his friends once he welcomed and thanked his fellow class mates and his teachers that had attended. "So what are you plans now that your mother's changed her ways?" Trowa asked from where he sat across from the Japanese youth.

Heero shrugged, "I really don't know much outside of law practice, so I will just continue to study it at Wayne." As for the scholarship that he had won for the most prestigious art school in space, he did not have the heart to draw ever since duo disappeared. It reminded him too much of his braided lover.

At the frowning faces around him, Heero rose from his seat. "I'll be back in a little while, guys," he told his friends. "I need to get some air." The others watched with concern in their eyes, but did not move to stop him.

Shaking his head, Quatre frowned, "Duo should be here for this. I don't know what could have happened for him to have just disappeared like this."

Relena ran her fingers over the hem of her skirt to give her nervous hands something to do as she commented, "I just can't see him running off without having an intention of coming back. He loved Heero."

With a deep sigh, Wufei rose from his seat and announced, "I'm going to follow Heero. Whether he wants to admit it or not, I'm sure he needs to talk about it. He hasn't talked about it for weeks now."

Trowa rose from his own chair and nodded, "Yea. I'll come along." Together, the two boys walked off from the hall.

Stepping outside, Heero moved past the hall and started to walk down the block, taking some comfort in the gentle spring breeze that cooled him. His head lowered, he never noticed the looming figure that appeared behind him until he was suddenly pushed into an alley nearby.

A fist slammed into his back, knocking the wind out of him just as another fist cracked down on his face while he turned. Falling backwards, Heero fell against the wall only to be knocked in the gut with two more swift punches. Stunned and feeling a line of blood rolling down his chin from his cut lip, he forced his eyes to focus on the two faces sneering at him.

Panting heavily, Heero's cobalt eyes widened before turning into a fiery glare as he hissed, "Muller. Alex." The other teenagers smirked darkly before they went back to their assault. Being punched and kicked back deeper in the alley, the Japanese youth did his best to block as many blows while maintaining his balance in being suddenly outnumbered.

The two brutes stopped only to allow their target to regain focus on the two of them again. "We have unfinished business from back at the school yard," Alex growled deeply.

"Yea," Muller chuckled deeply. "Too bad we weren't able to repay your boyfriend the same way." At that, Heero's half-lidded eyes widened.

Just as another fist launched out to land into his face, Heero suddenly gripped it in a tight hold just before impact. "What did you just say?" he growled deeply, blood still running from his lip as he glared heatedly at the stunned Muller.

"Not bad, you little prick," Alex snapped. "But you can't stop both of us." His arm pulled back to land a swift hit, only to have his wrist to be snatched from behind and his body slammed into the wall by a force from behind.

Muller spun with wide eyes, only to see Trowa's cold glare before the world went white when a sudden punch broke his nose. Wufei kept Alex pinned against the wall from behind as he shouted, "You bastards just don't know when to quit, do you!"

Quickly, the Chinese teenager spun his assailant to hit him in the gut hard enough to make Alex double over in pain. As the thug remained prone, Wufei was able to make full on contact with his face, knocking him unconscious when his head bounced off of the wall.

After delivering several swift and powerful hits, Trowa had Muller swaying on his feet. The brute's nose oozed blood as he struggled to keep his eyes opened. "Good night, asshole," the tall teenager smirked as he pulled his arm back to knock his attacker out.

"Trowa don't." Heero suddenly yelled. Both Trowa and Wufei froze with wide eyes as their friend quickly stepped before Muller to grip him by the collar. Pulling the near-unconscious boy's face down towards his own, the Japanese teenager yelled, "Where's Duo?!"

Even through his pain and stunned state, Muller's eyes widened in fear. Heero's determination and resolve only hardened. So he did know what happened to Duo. Slamming the taller teenager's back against the wall, he yelled all the louder, "Where is he?!"

Narrowing his eyes, Muller hissed through panted breaths, "Like I would ever tell you." With a sharp cry, Heero just reacted as he sent a crushing blow against the brute's face, knowing the boy unconscious, his body collapsing to the ground.

Turning to his stunned friends, Heero wiped the blood from his chin and snapped, "Stay here with them. I'm going back to call the police." Breaking from their shock, the two boys nodded firmly with grim looks. Quickly, Heero turned on his heels and ran back to the hall.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Everything passed by in a blur of confusion once Heero got back to the reception hall. Quatre and Relena were the first to run into the near frantic teenager. Once the names Alex and Muller were uttered along with their location, the young couple quickly went off to call the authorities.

Sally ran up to Heero immediately after, examining the boy's injuries while his worried mother watched anxiously. Despite the Japanese youth's insisting that he was fine, the braided nurse made sure to look over all of his bruises.

By the time Sally passed Heero off as not needing further inspection, and ordering him to keep an icepack on his swollen bottom lip for at least thirty minutes, the sirens from the patrol cars filled the air.

Insisting on seeing if either Alex or Muller had woken while he was getting help, Heero ran off to the scene along with his mother, Sally, Relena, Quatre, Noin and Zechs. Relena's friend, Hilde, made sure to stay behind along with Dorothy and Catherine to see that the remainder of the guests enjoyed the party without realizing what was taking place.

By the time the group reached the alleyway, both Muller and Alex were loaded into the back of one of the officer's cars. The two teenagers were still unconscious as they were cuffed and locked into the back seat. When the officer looked up, Heero was just as surprised to see that it was the same patrolman who came to the school the first time Muller and his friends became a problem.

With a laugh of surprise, the young officer greeted, "Trowa and Wufei already gave me their statements on what happened. I was hoping the last time we met was the last we would see each other under these terms."

Her cobalt eyes narrowed, Danielle asked, "Those boys have been a problem for my son before?"

The officer sighed deeply, "And his friend." Raising his hand before the young woman spoke her mind, he reassured her, "Don't worry. I'll see to it that this is the last time that this ever happens again. They won't be able to get anywhere near your son or his friends again." Danielle eased and placed a hand on her son's shoulder.

As the police calls wheeled off, Heero turned to his mother and said quietly, "Mom, Muller knows where Duo is."

With a sharp gasp, Danielle's eyes widened. "What? How do you know?" she asked while those present all gathered close in interest of the conversation, their concern clear on their faces.

Swallowing hard, the unruly-haired teenager tried to keep his calm as he replied, "He told me that he was sorry he wouldn't be able to 'repay' Duo the same was he tried just now with me. He called him my boyfriend. How would he know that, or that Duo was missing, if he didn't know what happened to him?"

With a firm nod, Danielle cupped a hand to the back of her son's neck as their cobalt eyes remained locked on each other. "Did he say anything else?" she inquired, her voice clear and resolute to getting answers.

Heero licked his swollen lip and choked back a whimper, unable to find his voice. Wufei stepped forward and answered for his friend with a deep frown, "Muller said that Duo is as good as dead." Relena's hand covered her mouth as she bit off a shark cry. Noin and Zechs's hands found each other as they squeezed on tightly.

Danielle remained in control as she kept her eyes focused on her son's. "Think, Heero," she began firmly. "Muller is not stupid enough to kill another person, himself. If he was, Duo wouldn't still be alive now, and out of his reach. Do you know anyone who is related to, or an acquaintance of Muller who might have the ability to hurt Duo? Anyone who would want to do so?"

Shaking his head, Heero responded in a broken voice, "I only met his father when he came to apologize for Muller's hurting Duo before."

"Okay," the red-haired woman nodded as she tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her own mind. "Did his father see Duo at any point during his visit to the house?" Her son took a moment to think things out before he nodded.

Noin suddenly spoke up with widened eyes filled with realization. "His father did see Duo," she commented, brining all eyes to fall on her. "I thought for a moment he seemed to freeze when he saw Duo, as if he recognized him, but I didn't think anything of it. I thought that I might have been paranoid over the matter."

With a firm nod, Danielle replied, "That's it, then. What is his father's name, then?"

Finding his voice at last, Heero looked up with wide eyes and stated, "Jacob. He introduced himself as Jacob." Noin nodded excitedly in agreement.

His own cobalt eyes widening, Danielle's hand fell away from her son's neck as he breathed, "Jacob Muller?" confused gazes turned to the young woman as she started to back a few paces. bringing her hands up to tighten in her hair, she thought aloud, "My God, that explains everything."

With his breath hitching in his throat in a swell of hope that maybe they would finally find his missing lover, Heero walked towards her with a quiet, "Mom?"

Quickly, Danielle lowered her hands and explained, "Jacob Muller is an associate to an old client of mine named Dekim Barton." At the mention of the name, Trowa's eyes widened along with his friends' when the young lawyer smiled, "No relation to Trowa, of course." The tall boy relaxed at that assurance.

"But Dekim and Jacob are two scientists who are known for gene splicing to enhance the human form," Danielle continued, all the while talking aloud to herself. Shaking her head, she said to herself quietly, "Why did I not see this before? That explains where Duo came from."

Heero frowned, "Cell splicing?"

Raising a hand as to not lose her train of thought, his mother spoke to herself in little more than a whisper, "Dekim knows how to contact me. That's how I received those pictures in my email." Her head lifting with wide eyes, Danielle announced, "I know where Duo is."

Before the shock was able to settle over everyone, the red-haired woman turned to the braided nurse and asked, "Sally, do you know where my house is?"

Receiving a sputtered affirmative, Danielle told her, "I need you to wait there with whatever medical equipment you can get a hold of. If you know anyone who works at the hospital, I need you to contact them to tell them where to meet you."

"I'm on it," Sally replied, quickly running off as she removed her cell phone and began dialing numbers that she had committed to memory.

Looking to Noin and Zechs, Danielle pointed to the young couple, "I am going to need the two of you to come with me." The pair gave their affirmatives while Danielle turned to her son. "Heero, I need you to go back to the house and wait until we return."

Heero's eyes widened and he asked, "Why? I want to go with you to see Duo."

Danielle took a deep breath and nodded, "I know you do. But this situation is going to be quite delicate. Dekim is going to be difficult, and I need to handle him the only way that I know how-without anyone else present."

Swallowing hard, her son nodded hesitantly before sighing, "All right."

With a reassuring smile, his mother offered, "Your friends are more than welcome to stay at our house with you." Looking back to Trowa, Quatre and Relena, she nodded, "Feel free to use any of the spare rooms for the night." The three teenagers smiled their appreciation for the offer.

Placing her hands on her son's shoulders, Danielle spoke gently, "Heero, I know that it will be difficult to keep your mind off all of this. But, please try and enjoy the remainder of your party with your friends. It will be late this evening before I have everything ready, but I assure you that I will waste no time in getting Duo back home."

In taking a deep breath, Heero nodded and kissed his mother's cheek, whispering, "Thank you, mother." The red-haired lawyer smiled warmly at him and cupped his cheek. Without another word, she waked off quickly, Noin and Zechs quickly following behind.

Removing her cell phone from her purse, Danielle called a line saved in her speed dial. When the voice on the other line answered, she greeted, "Judge Thompson, Danielle Yuy. I apologize for contacting you on the weekend, but this is a matter of urgency." Her voice trailed off as she walked off and out of earshot.

"She'll get Duo back, Heero," Relena reassured her friend quietly when she approached him. taking his hand in hers, she suggested, "Let's get back to the party now that we have something else to celebrate."

At that, Heero smiled at last and nodded, "You're right." Along with his friends, he headed back to the hall, trying to calm the bundle of nerves in his stomach. Silently, he prayed that Duo was all right when his mother reached him.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. This was not supposed to be happening.

Looking up from his monitor, Jacob's eyes widened in fear as the readings showed that the experiment was taking a turn he had not planned. His body temperature was dropping drastically. The image of the cat-eared creature curled in a ball showed that he was trembling uncontrollably.

"No... not now," he breathed. Quickly, he reached for some of his medical equipment along with a few syringes. Pushing the door to his cell open, the scientist looked over the serums in his collection. Removing one vile, he moved swiftly to trembling form.

Lowering his bag beside him, Jacob took of one of the needles filled with a blue liquid. "You can't die on us yet," he muttered to the whimpering creature. Entering the needle into its arm, the young man set of a heart monitor.

The elevated, irregular beeping that filled the room only heightened Jacob's concern. "Come on.... Come on," he growled as he waited for the serum to take effect and reverse the results of his last test. The beeping on the monitor only increased.

Time was suddenly running out.

"Damn it," he hissed, quickly looking through his other medications. Sweat beaded his brow as he fumbled through hundreds of little bottles in his black bag. Taking up another vile, he quickly filled another syringe.

Suddenly, the form of the tightly wrapped body relaxed as his muscles relaxed. The beeping droned out into one, continuous drone. His eyes widening with a sharp gasp, Jacob looked to the flat green line on the screen and shouted, "No! not now!"

TBC...

 

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