Archiving: Just ask.
Warnings: Death, slight TWT...
Blame: All on my shoulders until I get a new Muse...
Comments: Don't own Gundam. Don't sue me.
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Turnaround by Shinigami's Demon
//thoughts// *emphasis* *****dream*****
The boy sat there in the deepest shadows he could find of the bombed-out, hulking ruin that had once been a church. His church, or close enough that it made no difference. It had been his home, the only real home he'd ever known. He was curled up in a small ball, out of sight and almost out of hearing. Out of mind, certainly. The splintered wood that made up his seat was uncomfortable, but he didn't care, did not feel it. Salty red tracks burned down his cheeks, the trails of the tears that still flowed freely.
Solo was gone. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were gone. And Johnny, and Luke, Amy, Sarah, Prudence, Charity, Faith, Hope, Matthew, Paul... all of the children with them. All at once. The only real parents he'd ever had, the siblings he cared so much about even though he knew he wasn't realted to any of them...
//Why did they have to die and leave me?//
Duo's depression had taken root and grown since then. Now he barely moved except to get some water, when he thought about it. He hadn't been doing a lot of that, lately. He simply did not care enough.
The bombing of the Maxwell Church Orphanage had made front-page headlines in the colony, but Duo doubted any of the other colonies cared, much less Earth itself. More than a month later, who cared? Duo had read a newspaper the day after, read the main article on the bombing. Sister Helen had taught him how. The article said that they were short by one on the body count and suspected that he was still alive. A eyewitness was quoted as saying she had seen a kid that matched the description of the missing person, Duo's description, at the scene after the bombing. He was wanted as a criminal now, for theft of military property, aiding and abetting subversives, treason and thirty-two counts of first-degree murder.
The implications of the last phrase still stunned Duo. The Feds were blaming *him* for the destruction of Maxwell Church and the coldblooded murder of a priest, a nun and thirty children? And how did they know the count, anyway? Sister Helen barely knew, with all the in-and-outers like Duo. And that eyewitness might have seen him: he had been there. But he doubted it. Nobody saw Duo if he did not want to be seen.
//I saw what they did. Where there was no smoking rubble there was bodies. More often just parts. And blood, a lot of that.//
He was falling, and didn't really care. He did not want to stay.
Duo's body, weakened from a lack of food and undernourished to begin with, was starting to shut down. It was nighttime, and cold in the ruins of the church. At least the bodies weren't still here: those had been removed the day of the bombing, of course. But Sister Helen had come back! Duo looked at the hallucination, not knowing it for what it was, and spoke more sharply than he intended to.
"Sister Helen, I *said* I wasn't going to be long. But you've been away forever. Where did you go? I haven't been able to find you. I've looked everywhere!"
The blonde laughed a little, which annoyed Duo. "Stop laughing: it's not funny!"
Sister Helen laughed again and sat down next to Duo on the charred sticks and ashes that once had been the altar of the church and now was not even good for matches.
"Oh, Duo," was all she said.
Duo leaned against her. He was cold, but maybe sharing body warmth would help. The other kids came and knelt around them, smiling.
"So where *did* you go?" he asked. Helen smiled and some the younger kids laughed.
"On a very long trip," she said. "We just got back."
"You left and went someplace and didn't tell me you were going?" Duo straightened away from her, outraged. One and all, they shifted around and looked down. Sister Helen looked a little sheepish.
"You were needed here."
Duo growled, which drew another round of gentle laughter from Sister Helen and the kids, but he settled back down against her shoulder. Father Maxwell stood where the doors had once been.
"Sorry, it seems I'm a little bit late..."
Something didn't quite jibe in Duo's mind. "How did you get the money to go on a trip?" he asked. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen exchanged glances.
"It was free of charge. The Federation gave us the opportunity," he said finally. The kids really cracked up at that one.
"Even after all the crap I've pulled? Not bloody likely," Duo said. Father Maxwell, sitting down on Duo's other side, shot him a sharp glance. "Watch your language, I know, I know. Sorry."
"Sorry, my butt," said Johnny.
"You, sorry? That'll be the day!" Prudence added. While the kids laughed, Duo included, Sister Helen and Father Maxwell just rolled thier eyes. This was typical for them.
"What, just because I'm an irreverent son of a -"
"Duo..."
"-gun..." he finished with a grin. He was happy now: the family he knew had come back, and he drifted off to sleep.
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*****
Duo, you can't do this.
Sister Helen! Where are you?
I'm here: that's all you need to know.
Where are you? Sister Helen, I can't see you!
You have to stay, Duo. There's still work for you to do. We both have places to be.
Sister Helen, no! Please! Take me with you!
It's not time for you, not yet. I've never approved of you fighting as in brawling and stealing, but now I'm asking you to fight for your life. If only for your own sake. There is so much more for you to do. Don't worry. I'll help you as I can. Help is on the way, dear. Sleep now. You'll be all right...
*****
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"Wake up, kid."
The voice was gruff and impersonal. He lay on something warm and soft. Something cold was being held to his lips and out of reflex Duo swallowed what was in it. He opened his eyes: a woman knelt next to him. Brown eyes gazed at him questioningly from under brown hair that was pulled back into a waist-length ponytail. Her torn jeans and faded blue chambray shirt had picked up ashes and soot from the church. "You ok there? Stupid question. No, you're not. Not if you're staying there. You been staying at what's left of the Maxwell Church for the past month or something?"
"Yeah, I think so..."
"You wouldn't be the one they couldn't find, would you?"
Duo nodded.
"What's your name, or do you have one?"
Something made him say it: it wasn't planned. "Duo Maxwell."
She nodded. "You were pretty close to dying. Hallucinating, I believe, since you kept talking to Sister Helen. That's how I found you: I heard you." Duo blushed and she smiled a little, creasing her worn face. "Don't be embarrassed. That Sister Helen you kept talking to saved your life. If I hadn't heard you, it'd be a tossup between whether thirst or cold would have killed you first, and you wouldn't be here now, regardless."
"Thank you..." he said, not quite sure why he was thanking her. He tried to get up, but collapsed.
"Easy there. I don't think you've eaten in some time, either: do you think you can get some broth in you and keep it down?"
He nodded, not sure what to say. "What's your name?"
"My name? That depends on who you talk to."
"I'm talking to you. What do you call yourself?"
She laughed now, pulling a bowl and a spoon over. "Little wiseass. 'S ok, I don't mind."
"I've been called that before."
"Yeah? I've gotten just about every name in the book, but the one I prefer the most is Meredith." "That's a pretty name..."
"Thank you. Did you have any plans for what you were going to do, or were you planning on dying there?"
"I... didn't really have any plans..."
"I'll tell you what, you get better quick and there'll be a Sweepers barge in port in about two weeks. I can get you on that with some food, and you stow away until you think they're not going to stop at any colonies and then you come out and say peekaboo. Let them know if you can do anything with machines: they should take you in."
"You shouldn't be helping me. I'm supposed have murdered thirty-two people."
"Chicken shit. I don't give a rat's ass about the Feds, since I'm on their 'Most Wanted' list myself. About nine times over: I've counted," Meredith told him. "I know you didn't do it: I was after that very same Leo you stole. Nice work, by the way. And people don't generally go around firebombing their homes."
"Not usually, no," Duo had to agree.
~*~*~
"You remember everything I told you, right?" Meredith pulled into the parking lot at the spaceport and turned to Duo. His face was partially hidden under the brim of his hat and the stirrup pants hid his real size somewhat. The combat boots she'd bought him were comfortable and fit well.
Duo clutched the knapsack tightly. "I think so. Straight down past three corridors, turn right, into the ventilation shaft and be quiet, and make my way towards one of the escape pods?"
"Yes. What else? Who do you need to see?"
"Professor G, nobody else, and tell him Meredith sent me."
"Shit, I didn't mention- He doesn't know me by that name." She reached down the front of her blouse, ignoring Duo's blush and glance out the windows, then pressed something small and warm into his hand. "Show this and tell them these words exactly: 'The scorpion sends the phoenix with her greetings.' G will know what it means, but the Howard won't. Basically, you're the phoenix."
He looked at what she had handed him: a small lacquered ball in an intricate design, obviously made to be worn around the neck. The design, in black and white and maroon and gold, was of a scorpion poised to strike. "And you're the scorpion. I get it." He put in on and shoved it down his shirt.
"I thought you would. Now, remember, I'll serve as your diversion. The Sweepers might not take you if they're offered the choice. It's all but impossible to join. Even this is risky. Come on."
"Life is a series of risks, I've found."
"Well spoken."
They took spaceport staff accesses to the berth where the Sweepers barge was. Meredith hugged him tightly. "Bonne chance. It means 'good luck' in French. You've been good company: I'll miss you."
"Thank you, Meredith. Thank you for everything," he whispered into her shoulder.
They held a moment longer than necessary, but she quickly pushed him aside. "Your window of opportunity is small and getting smaller by the moment. Wait until I'm in a conversation: I'll start walking towards the pilot rooms with the half-bald guy in the Hawaiian shirt. That's Howard: my God, will he never lose those awful things? Jeez! Keep the necklace: if you need my help show it to Howard or G and they’ll contact me."
"Will do..." She smiled, and then walked towards Howard, who was busy.
"What, you're not even going to greet an old friend?" she asked by way of greeting. Howard spun around.
"Hey, how *are* you?! It's been forever since I last saw you!"
"I know..."
The next few minutes were some of the longest of Duo's life. First he had to wait for Meredith to get the conversation going, then for a clear shot through to the entrance of the ship when nobody was looking. But the moment finally came: he made a mad dash silently as he had learned to in these boots. Every moment he expected to hear someone accost him, but nobody did. He made it aboard with no problems.
The escape pods were easy to find: Duo keyed one open and ducked inside, then closed it. It was tiny, with barely enough room to turn around and sit down, even for him. The longhaired boy leaned back against the seat and got ready to sleep: a thought crossed his mind that made him smile. //You told me to fight, Sister Helen. I'll do everything I can to do just that. And I'm going to see that that doesn't happen again, even if means bringing down the government. One way or another, I'll do it. Now, I just have to wait.
//A Fed soldier once wondered if I made a pact with Death or something, because of all the narrow escapes I've had. Shinigami, I think the word was. The God of Death... you know, I still don't believe in the Christian God, only in Shinigami. More than ever, now. Is that the same as believing in myself?//
He chuckled. //Perhaps. Now, though, Death needs to sleep.//
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