�So why�d you pick this guy out of the other four?� Green eyes turned to the speaker. In the dim light from the computer monitor, all they could make out was a silhouette leaning against the wall. �We�ve got the most information on him and picture I.D., the most recent update to the files is that he�s going to Colorado on vacation in two days.� The other figure pushed off the wall, �Then pack your bags, cause that�s where we�re going.� The large black and white dog got up from the floor, tongue rolling out of his mouth. The pilot at the computer council leaned over and scratched his head, �Yeah, you�re coming. After all, we might need the cavalry.�
The first ones off the plane were Heero and Relena, followed shortly after by Duo. Quatre miraculously didn�t run into anything, his full attention focused on the Colorado guide he�d purchased before they�d left. He looked up from the travel guide, �Heero, you might want a jacket. This time in the year, the temperature is around ten degrees.� Wufei shook his head, �Give up Quatre, you know he won�t listen.� The flight attendant continued to force a smile to each customer, �Bye�good bye now�have a nice trip�� Trowa glanced at her and adjusted his backpack, �How far is this place anyway? We should be working.� Duo pulled off his headphones, making sure no one was close enough to hear before saying, �The Gundanium won�t arrive for at least three more days, and we have time for a short vacation. Enjoy it.� Trowa adjusted his backpack again, shifting it to the other shoulder, �Still, it seems like there could be something else we could be doing. Not relaxing when the earth is being taken over again.� Duo stuck the Walkman in his pocket; �There�s jack we can do right now without some weaponry.� Quatre frowned, �Duo, where�d you get that Walkman? I don�t remember you bringing it.� He shrugged, �It doesn�t have a very good tape, and the head phones don�t work in the right ear. Not worth my trouble.� Relena looked at him with surprise, �You stole it?!� They reached the baggage claim just as it was starting with the bags from their plane. Heero picked up a bag off the moving belt, �If you�d been around him longer, you wouldn�t be surprised. Come on, let�s get going.�It took two taxis to get them all to the mountain resort; the men were paid and dismissed. Duo picked up a handful of snow, molding it into a ball, �Hey Heero, heads up!� The back of Heero�s hand deflected the flying snowball, �Are you having fun?� Relena squealed and hid herself behind pilot one. Duo finished molding a second ball, chunking it at Quatre. He wasn�t fast enough and it pegged him in the chest. A third hit Trowa in the back of the head. Wufei pulled his sword, slicing a snowball in two, �How about we give Duo a taste of his own?� All in agreement, the others began molding snow for revenge. Duo backed up, �Now guys, think about what you�re doing. Violence isn�t necessary. No don�t!� Snowballs hit him from every side, each erupting in a powder flurry. When he�d been completely battered, they let up, �Alright, let�s go inside. It�s too freggin cold out here.� Quatre helped Duo to his feet and followed the others to the lodge.
Around midnight, the cabin to the east of the resort was broken into. Once it was determined that no one was home, the two that�d forced entry relaxed, �Can we at least get some rest before we pull this off?� The other answered this question with slight cockiness; �There is no rest for the wicked, Gundam Pilot.� The first speaker sighed, �I guess sleep is hopeless then. Is everything ready for tomorrow?� � Yes, we�ll begin after they make their first move.� The large hound growled his agreement to the plan.In the morning, Duo aroused early and woke up Heero, �Hey man, you said you wanted to go skiing, now�s the best time.� Heero glared at him from underneath his pillow; �I could honestly kill you. I didn�t mean at six in the morning.� He grinned, �Not my fault you weren�t specific. Well, you�re up now, aren�t ya? Cause I can stay and bug you some more.� He pushed his weight against the bed and bounced lightly, �Wakey wakey Heero!� Heero threw the pillow at him and climbed out of bed, �Alright, I�m up. Can it.� Duo went outside to wait for him. Patience short, he left to rent a snowboard.
At the peak of the mountain, Duo looked down at the snow-covered terrain, �That�s a steep slope, but it�s worth a try. Here we go!� He slid down onto the unbroken snow, gaining speed rapidly. A small stand of evergreens loomed in his way. Bred agility allowed him to quickly change coarse. The loud sound of a motor caused Duo to look over his shoulder, �The hell?� Despite his attempts to ditch the snowmobile, it gained ground. A darkened motorcycle helmet hid the rider�s face from view. When it was running parallel with him, Duo was dealt a blow to the back of the head. Everything spun then went black.
When they�d driven out of sight, almost on cue, a snowboard rider nearly identical to Duo slid onto the slope. The imposter made it to the bottom of the mountain, taking a look around his surroundings, �So far so good.� The comlink on his wrist crackled with static and a reply came, �You know what to do.� Duo�s duplicate smiled, �Oh yeah. See you in a few hours. Don�t start without me.� Inside, the other pilots were just beginning to move. Heero looked at �Duo� with surprise, �I said I�d meet you out there.� He shook his head, �Nah, I�m done. Snow�s all yours Heero.� He shrugged, �Whatever.�Duo regained consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes to complete darkness, when he tried to get to his feet cold metal tightened around his wrists. A sharp metallic sound and restraint of his hands told him he was handcuffed, �Why can�t I see anything?� A voice came from his left; �It�s a matter of secrecy.� Duo turned towards the speaker, �Who are you?� The answer came after a few moments of silence, �Not going to tell you.� Duo asked another question, trying to get the speaker to reveal something, �Why�d you bring me here?� His captor was apparently very clever, nothing was hidden in the answers, � We�re going to ask you a few questions, and you will be honest because you�re hooked up to a polygraph. When the person I�m waiting for arrives, we�ll begin the questions.� He remained very calm, �If it�s about those suits stolen from Oz, I didn�t do it.� A machine on his right began beeping rapidly. He kicked at it but found it was on a table. The unknown speaker laughed, �I don�t know what you�re trying to do, even if that machine did fall, it wouldn�t break.�
Duo�s decoy was becoming agitated. The snowfall from the night before had buried the small cabin; a wall of ice sealed off the doors and windows. He looked down at the hot chocolate in his hands; he needed time to search for a way out. No opportunity seemed to present itself. An idea struck, he looked up at the other pilots, �I�m going to go get some marshmallows.� When he was gone, Heero frowned, �Does something seem different about Duo? Or is it just me?� Trowa pushed off the wall and came to join the others; �It�s defiantly not you.� Quatre looked from one to the other, �What do you mean?� He motioned at Duo�s untouched hot chocolate, �That�s the third run he�s made for marshmallows, and have you noticed that he never brings any back? Normally he would�ve chugged his drink and already had two or three refills by now.� Heero added on to what Trowa had started, �His eyes were a different shade of blue than they normally are, lots darker. His hair is different, too. It�s too neat. There�s no way that�s Duo, but he�s good enough to believe that this person knows what he�s doing. He also knows who he�s dealing with, we should be cautious.� The imposter came back to the den, �No luck, I think we�re out.� A loud rapping at the door prevented any reply. Wufei got up to answer it; a search and rescue member was standing in the doorway, a large black and white dog by her heels. The imposter got up and ran to the door, �Thank god, you�re here!� He looked back at the others; �I�m going to go snowboard some more, ok?� Several of them nodded as he ran out the door, the rescue member smiled, �Any one else?� Trowa looked up at her, �No, I think we�re ok.� She shut the door quietly and climbed back up the tunnel her dog had dug in the snow. The imposter was waiting at the top for her, �What took you so long?! I was freaking out down there!� The search and rescue member took off her hat and unlatched the leash on the dog�s collar, �I left not an hour after you were supposed to come back, it took me nearly two hours to dig you out. That guy you chose to catch is a pain in the ass, he picked the lock of the handcuffs and I had to hog-tie him.� Duo�s imposter look at her, �You left him in the house unsupervised?� The other pilot shrugged, �The way he�s tied, I doubt he could go anywhere, even if he wanted to.� The imposter stopped in his tracks, �Did I forget to mention that pilot two is an escape artist. He�s been caught by Oz around eleven times, each time he escaped out from under heavy guard.� Her eyes went wide; �Oh shit lets go.� Both began running up the snow-covered hill at top speed.
Once inside, the first thing spotted were the ropes Duo had been tied up with laying in a pile in the floor. Fang sniffed the ropes and growled; his owner looked down at him, �Go find him.� He followed the scent to the kitchen where Duo was sitting on the floor, an empty pan by his side. Duo continued to examine his hands, despite the dog�s presence, �Shit that hurt. How is it I can never find oven mitts when I need them?� His captor slapped her head and pulled him up by his wrist, �You idiot.� She turned on the tap and forced his hands underneath the running water. Duo cringed, then relaxed, �Cold, but nice.� The imposter stepped up to his side, �That was stupid, did you try the drawer by the oven?� The first pilot let go of his wrists and went to the door, disappearing into the living room. Duo turned his attention to his double, �Wow, you�re pretty good at disguises.� He scanned him, �Really good.� The imposter smiled, �Thanks, but Amber helped me a lot. I�m not to good in this area.� Duo glanced over at the door, �So her name�s Amber, huh?� She stuck her head in, �Thank you so very much, Jess.� Duo�s copy frowned, �Oops, wasn�t supposed to say that was I? Sorry, I�ll be back in a little while. I�ve got to wash this hair dye out.� He watched his duplicate go upstairs then pulled his hands from the water to examine them. Duo�s left hand had a small blister; the other had only turned slightly red. �God damn oven mitts,� he muttered and entered the living room. Amber, as she was called, was making adjustments to her comlink. She gave no attention to Duo�s entrance. Fang raised his head from his place on the floor, growling quietly at him. Duo sat on the blue and green-stripped couch across from where Amber was working; she acknowledged this with nothing more than a glance. He put his feet on the coffee table, disturbing the comlink parts that were resting there, �You know, I still don�t really understand why I�m here. You�re explanation left a lot to question.� Amber glared at him with grayish-green eyes and shoved his feet off the table, �That�s because you, pilot two, are a jack ass.� He frowned, �Aw, now that was a little unnecessary.� She made no reply to him, Duo got back up, �You�re no fun.�
A semi- short redhead came in through the door, drying her hair with a towel, �God you�d think some one died, it�s so quiet in here� Hey Amber, will you re-braid my hair?� Duo turned to size her up and pulled back suddenly, as if slapped. His hand pushed into his pants pocket and fingered a folded slip of paper. Quickly hiding his shock, he eyed her and issued a low whistle, � Damn, who�s this chick?� His eyes wandered from the very form-fitting top that revealed most of her stomach to the tight jeans hugging the curve of her hips closely, �Once again, I say damn.� Amber very quickly braided her hair and turned on Duo; �You weren�t brought here to stare at Jess.� She did a high-kick that connected with the side of his head, sending him flying into the coffee table. It erupted in a storm of shattered wood and glass. A shard of broken alder gashed Duo�s forehead deeply. Jess sighed, �Amber, kindness will bring out the answers easier than violence. Remember me telling you that?� Duo was sitting on the floor, rubbing the deep wound on his forehead. He pulled his fingers away; they were covered in thick crimson liquid. Duo regarded this bitterly, �What answers? I haven�t been asked any questions yet!� Jess kneeled in front of him and gently touched the wound, �I�m sorry about that, are you alright?� He looked down at her; Jess�s low-slung shirt allowed him to see more than he was meant to, �I am now.�
She pulled a teddy bear Band-Aid from her back pocket and put it across his cut. Amber crossed her arms and pretended to ignore all this, �Alright that�s enough. Time to get to work.� Jess pulled away from Duo and came to where Amber stood. Duo slowly climbed to his feet, feeling defeated but keeping a steady gaze on them, �So what do you want to know?� She got directly to the point, �Where you get your Gundanium and what cooperation sells you the military supplies.� He was silent for a long moment before answering; �Colony L5 specializes in Gundanium and sells it to us cheap. The Unified Earth Sphere may have issued a proclamation of neutrality, but they sell us weaponry.� Amber smiled wickedly, �Thanks for your advice.� She aimed a gun at his head, �Bye now.� Duo cringed, though he already expected this. Jess put her hand on the cold, steel barrel, �Isn�t there another way? We don�t have to kill him.� She looked at Jess questioningly, �I won�t get to kill any of them, will I?� Jess pushed the gun down, �Not right now.� Amber put it back in its holster and stormed into the kitchen. Confusion filled Duo�s violent eyes, �Why�d you�?� She smiled kindly at him, but gave no answer. A loud crash came from the kitchen, followed by Amber�s cursing. She emerged a few moments later with a glass filled half-full of a thick, turquoise fluid, she gave it to Duo, �Drink this.� He pushed it away, �No. For all I know, you�re going to poison me. After all, it�s much cleaner than shooting someone.�
Amber picked up Fang�s food bowl off the floor and poured a small amount into it, �Alright, I�ll prove it. Would I poison my own dog?� She whistled and Fang came over to the bowl and sniffed. When he was satisfied with it�s contents, he lapped it up. Duo frowned, �I still don�t trust you.� Jess took the glass from Amber and had a small drink, smiling after she�d forced the vile liquid down, �Do you still believe it will kill you?� She held the glass out to him, �Please Duo, it�s easier this way.� He took the cup unwillingly, looking from one to the other, �All hell, here goes.� As if he was in a drinking contest, he threw his head back and took it all in one shot. He handed the glass back to Amber, �You need to work on taste a little, � so, why�d I�have�to�dri��? He looked dazed for a moment then collapsed in a heap on the floor. Jess eyed the dozing pilot with a tired smile, �It worked Amber, he�s gone.� Amber grinned, �I never get tired of that look they get on their faces when they realize they�ve been tricked.� Jess nodded and went to the door, �I�m going to go take a nap now, can you take care of him?� Amber waved her off and dragged Duo out the back door. She loaded the boy known as the death of darkness and his snowboard on the back of the snowmobile.
Amber stopped at the bottom of a slope near the lodge, tossing Duo out into the snow. She leaned the snowboard against a tree and put her foot in the middle of it. The board resisted for only a moment before snapping in two. While strapping one of the pieces on Duo�s foot, Amber noticed the Band-Aid on his forehead, �No sympathy for you.� She yanked the bandage off. The wound began bleeding freely again. Amber got up and stuck the other half of snowboard in the snow a few yards away. A few broken limbs off a nearby tree gave the right image. Her job complete, Amber got on her snowmobile, �See ya.� A fresh snow began to fall, covering her tracks.
Duo thought he heard voices. They were muddled and didn�t make any sense, but they were there. One vaguely sounded like Heero, the other he recognized as Quatre. He still found it hard to open his eyes; everything was so cold. The voices slowly became clearer, he could hear Trowa now, �How long do you think he�s been out here?� Heero�s reply, �Who knows� Duo, hey snap out of it.� Someone shook his shoulder, but he barely felt it. Reluctantly he pulled himself from the abyss of unconsciousness. Duo�s head cleared, he sat up, �Jess, Amber, Fang?� His four comrades looked at him questioningly. Quatre put a hand on his shoulder, �No Duo, it�s just us. You took a nasty fall from the looks of it.� Wufei offered no true sympathy, �You should learn to ride before you attempt that again.� He shook his head, �No, I wasn�t snowboarding. These girls and a really big dog captured me. One had red hair and was kind of short. The other had dark-brown hair and she was really mean. They were asking questions about the Gundams�� Heero stopped him from going further, �Duo, you hit your head pretty hard, they were probably just a dream.� He stood up, �No, they weren�t. You can�t feel pain in a dream. How the hell could I have burned my fingers in a dream?� He held up his hand to show them. Heero wasn�t convinced, �You probably did that when you were roasting marshmallows over the fireplace last night. That pain you felt came from when you hit your head, your pain sensory just told you that your fingers hurt.� Duo became frustrated, �Wait, did I come home after I left to snowboard this morning?� Trowa nodded, �Yeah, you came in and said you were done.� He looked at him, �Ok, was I acting strange?� The silencer mustered a sad smile, �You mean more so than usual, not really.� Duo glared at him; �Don�t you get it, that wasn�t me. I don�t remember ever going back to the cabin.� Heero shrugged, not letting onto their discoveries from earlier, �Not a big concern, have you ever heard of temporary amnesia?� Wufei, Quatre and Heero began walking towards the lodge, Duo remained rooted in his place in the snow, �You mean none of you believe me?� Trowa stood beside him, �Duo, explain what the dog looked like.� He sighed and looked down at the snow, �He was a good three feet high at the shoulders and black and white all over.� Trowa nodded, �I believe you.�
