Hope From the Past - Part 1 by Keara
Standard disclaimers apply

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//Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real//

“Crawling” by: Linkin Park

Three rebels stealthily crept through the corridors of a base. They were completely garbed in black clothing so that they couldn’t be identified by their enemies. However, they could tell each other apart quite easily.

They had just completed their mission . . . to hack into the base’s mainframe and steal as much information as possible. The only thing left for them to do was to escape. And that seemed to be becoming increasingly difficult. The number of patrols in the corridors was higher than when they had broken in. The three rebels were unsure whether their presence had been discovered, or if it was just a normal everyday occurrence.

“Look out.” The leader of this small group whispered as he caught sight of another patrol heading their way. He glared at the creatures, despising their every movement.

The eyes of the group’s leader surveyed the movement of the patrol, as the three of them remained hidden in the shadows. Taltheans . . . that’s what those creatures were. They were aliens that had come to Earth almost three hundred years ago, conquering and laying the Earth to ruins. They roughly resembled humans, with only a few differences. Their skin was pure white, their hair a reddish orange shade. They had four arms, and the lower pair of those limbs had black stripes. A pair of snake-like eyes stared coldly and without mercy at the humans that usually cowered before them.

The humans were now just slaves to them, mining the resources of their own planet until everything was depleted. Then they would leave the Earth a broken shell of what it had once been and move onto the next planet, abandoning the humans to die in the ruins of their once beautiful planet.

However, for as long as the Taltheans had been on Earth, the resistance movement had also existed. Rebels interfered in every aspect of the Taltheans' occupation of Earth. Even though technology amongst humans had not improved, staying almost exactly the same as it had been all those centuries ago, the rebels were still able to slow down the death of the Earth, delaying what seemed to be inevitable for as long as possible.

"Our position will be compromised soon." One of the rebels whispered, the tallest of the three.

“This way.” The leader of the rebel group said, gesturing for the other two to follow him. He stopped at the first door they came to and opened it. “In here.”

*****

He stopped short at the sight of the room before him. “This is the ugliest room I’ve ever seen.” He commented, pulling the hooded mask off his head.

“Heero, do you think it is a wise idea to remove your hood?” One of the other rebels asked.

The third rebel sighed. “Wufei, sometimes you worry too much. It’s obvious that the room is vacant.” He removed his own hood, a long bang falling down to cover half of his face.

“Trowa’s right.” Heero said. “This is obviously a bedroom of some kind. And you know as well as I do that they don’t install security cameras in their own bedrooms.”

“Fine.” Wufei relented, tugging off his hood. “I still say it is not a wise idea.”

Heero ignored his friend’s last statement, deciding to look around the room instead. It was an elaborate bedchamber, and just as Heero had earlier commented, a very ugly room. It was gaudy, done in bright yellows, with splashes of deep red thrown in, and every now and again a purplish color or a bright green. All together, the colors just clashed . . . looking too loud.

He walked over to the large bed that dominated the entire room. Heero took off one glove and let his fingers brush across the smooth bed sheets. Although they were a bright color, they were a pleasure to touch, softer than even the finest silk. Of course since silk was as rare as it was, Heero had rarely come across the fabric before.

His attention was drawn to the footboard of the bed. He put his glove back on, not wanting to leave fingerprints behind. Then he picked up the object that had attracted his attention. There was a length of chain, which ended in a leather restraint, attached to one corridor of the bed. Heero looked to the other three corners and saw identical restraints at each one.

“Did you see this?” He asked his comrades.

“Forget that . . . Look at this.” Trowa remarked, pulling aside a screen that had separated the room.

Heero took in a sharp gasp, although his exterior remained as calm as ever. The sight beyond that screen had just been surprising to say the least. A set of chains hung down from the ceiling, a system of pulleys so that whoever was chained up would remain suspended in air. A second set of chains were imbedded in the floor, probably to keep the victim from kicking.

“What’s in that?” Wufei asked, pointing to a chest at the foot of the bed.

Both Heero and Trowa approached as Wufei opened the chest. Peering inside, Heero felt his breath catch in his throat. What kind of sadistic freak lived in this room, Heero wondered to himself. The chest was full of sex toys and devices, many of which looked as if they could only cause pain. He knew that some people enjoyed the use of toys, but this was ridiculous. Most of those that he saw in the chest had sharp edges, or something else which could inflict severe damage to whoever it was used on.

“Damn Taltheans!” Wufei exclaimed, closing the lid.

Heero turned, looking around the room. He had a vague feeling as if he had missed something important. His eyes scanned over the walls, looking for anything unusual. Then he saw it, a white, fabric curtain across the room from the bed. He walked over to it, raising his gun as he grabbed a fistful of the curtain. If there was someone hiding behind it, he would be ready.

He yanked the curtain aside with one swift movement, blinking at the odd sight before him. Two cases stood in front of him, the clear lids covered in a layer of condensation. “What are these?” Heero asked, curiously examining the objects as he put his gun away.

Trowa stepped past Heero. “I don’t know.” He replied.

As Trowa moved closer to one case, Heero stepped over to the other. Trowa wiped away some condensation with his gloved hand, a gasp escaping his lips. “What the hell . . . ?”

Heero peered over his friend’s shoulder, his brow furrowing in confusion when he saw a human inside the case. It was a young blonde by the look of it, pale, eyes closed in apparent slumber. Heero turned to the case that he stood in front of, quickly wiping the condensation away.

He let his eyes trail over the face he saw. The skin was pale, although not so light in pallor as the other. It was a male, like the other. However, unlike the other, this one had dark hair, long and flowing. The dark strands were fanned out behind him, seemingly put on display as much as the slender body of the boy was.

“Beautiful.” Heero murmured before he realized he had even opened his mouth.

“Yes, I quite agree.” Trowa whispered, although his attention was more focused on the blonde.

“What are they?” Wufei asked. “Statues?”

Heero frowned, examining the body inside of the case. “No . . . I don’t think so. They just seem too lifelike. Besides, I doubt that statues would have bruises on them.”

He did see a number of bruises, although they were obviously still in the beginning stages. Heero wanted to see these young men better, wanting to know for sure if they were alive, dead, or just statues as Wufei had thought.

Heero leaned over, trying to find a way to open the cases. He put his hand down, feeling immediately as something depressed into the panel between the cases. He stepped back, surprised when a voice announced seemingly from nowhere. “Thawing procedure initiated.” It wasn’t any Earth language, but the Taltheans’ own language. Most humans could speak and understand it. Out of necessity, they had learned. “Beginning countdown.” A small digital display appeared between the two cases, counting down from thirty minutes.

“We might as well wait for the process to finish. Perhaps the amount of patrols out there will decrease while we wait.” Trowa said.

“You can’t seriously be thinking of waiting around here?” Wufei gasped. “We don’t know what they are. For all we know they could be some new weapons to destroy the resistance.”

Heero turned to glare at his friend. “Wufei . . . you’ve seen the objects in that chest, not to mention the chains. I highly doubt they are weapons if they are alive.”

“Then . . . if they are alive . . . they are traitors for selling their bodies to those creatures.” Wufei spat, his tone seething.

“We won’t know for certain until this process is complete.” Trowa replied.

Heero sighed, not wanting to listen to them begin an argument. “Wufei, why don’t you keep watch.”

“Yes, sir.” Wufei said, then turned and walked to the door and opening it just the barest crack.

It was obvious, by the way that he had stalked away, that Wufei was not happy about being told to keep watch. Heero sighed and turned his attention back to the long-haired young man, watching everything about him, waiting for him to awaken.

*****

Trowa stared intently at the pale features of the blonde. He saw a number of harsh, red marks on the pale skin, and knew that they would become ugly bruises if they had the chance. Despite the marks, Trowa had never found anyone so strikingly beautiful before. He hoped that Wufei was wrong about him . . . that he wasn’t a traitor.

An annoying beeping sound drew his attention and he looked over to the display. It had reached zero. Trowa was surprised that he hadn’t realized the passage of time. That blonde surely must be enchanting to capture his attention so completely.

“Thawing process completed.” A computerized voice stated.

Trowa stepped back, Heero doing the same as a pair of loud clicks emanated from within the cases. The doors unlocked and opened a fraction of an inch. There was a hissing sound, while a cloud of cold vapors poured from the now open cases.

Trowa reached out, grasping the edge of the door and pulling it completely open, waving his other hand to disperse the cloud of vapors. He watched closely as the blonde’s eyes slowly fluttered open. What a lovely shade of blue, Trowa idly thought, gazing into those eyes that only remained open for a brief moment.

He glanced over at Heero, watching as his friend leaned closer to the long-haired youth. While the blonde remained still, the other young man was writhing, his lips parted slightly as his eyes remained closed. Trowa didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he didn’t give it much thought either.

Trowa reached out, laying his hand against one pale cheek. He winced at the cold he felt, even through his glove. He turned, grabbing the curtain and tearing it from its hooks. Quickly, he wrapped the fabric around the blonde, watching as the pale body began to shiver.

“Take him over to the bed.” Heero said. “See if you can get any answers from him. I’ll question this one.”

Trowa nodded. He gently shoved his arms under the blonde’s body, carefully lifting the limp form into his arms while trying to keep the cloth around his body. While he was walking across the room, the blonde’s eyes opened again.

A pale, trembling hand reached up and stroked Trowa’s cheek. The blonde smiled, a strange gleam in his eyes. “Beautiful.” He murmured, cuddling his body closer to Trowa’s, his small hands beginning to wander. Trowa noticed the exploring hands, and fought back a blush that was creeping across his face. This young man was definitely forward, considering they had just met each other.

Only moments later, Trowa reached the bed. He carefully set the blonde down on the soft bed, on the silky sheets. Almost immediately afterward, the blonde began to tremble, frightened whimpers escaping his throat. Trowa sat on the bed beside him and watched, concerned, as emotions played across the angelic features before him.

One moment he saw fear and listened to the terrified whimpers. The next moment the fear was replaced by lust and desire, punctuated by the needy moans that the blonde uttered, his body arching of the bed enticingly as he reached out to touch Trowa. If it hadn’t been for his training, Trowa would have given into his instincts and pounced on the young man already. The blonde was extremely attractive to the eyes, and the sounds he made . . . just so very tempting. But Trowa wouldn’t use him, couldn’t just take advantage of him in an obviously vulnerable state.

“Please . . . don’t.” The blonde whispered in one of the moments of fear.

“Don’t what?” Trowa asked, curious.

The blonde’s reply was a sultry groan, his hands trailing over Trowa’s chest as he seductively licked his lips. However, his mood quickly changed and he pulled his hands back, fear clearly written on his face. “Don’t hurt me . . . please.” He whimpered, his body trembling again.

Trowa sighed, seeing the terror in the other youth’s face. He wasn’t sure if he could hurt him, even if he had to. “What’s your name?” Trowa asked, brushing the damp bangs away from the young man’s face.

“Quatre . . . my name is Quatre.” The blonde replied.

Trowa nodded, getting a faint impression that he should know that name. It seemed oddly familiar to him. He brushed off the thought, moving onto his next question, while he deliberately avoided telling Quatre his own name. “What was that case you were in and why were you in it?”

Quatre shuddered violently. “Cryogenic stasis . . . Taltheans wanted trophies of conquest . . . used us . . .” His sentences were broken by choked sobs, until finally he was unable to continue speaking. Tears ran down his face, his breath coming to him in short gasps as he obviously struggled to control his emotions.

Trowa felt a fresh surge of hatred toward the Taltheans, knowing exactly what Quatre had meant. Those damned aliens had raped Quatre and the other youth, probably repeatedly. This room was a personal torture chamber to the two of them. It was no wonder that Quatre had felt terrified when Trowa put him down on the bed.

It was also obvious that Quatre had been drugged . . . his own mood swings testifying to that fact. Drugs were probably used to keep them docile while they were being raped, not to mention causing a loss of inhibitions to make them more receptive to what was being done to them.

He smiled gently, reaching out a hand to clasp one of Quatre’s. The blonde smiled back, although only slightly, his body still trembling. Trowa hoped he could be trusted. It would be a shame to have to kill something so beautiful.

*****

While Trowa had picked up the blonde and carried him away, Heero lifted the long-haired youth out of his case. Gently, he laid him down on the floor, frowning as the young man continued to writhe.

Heero stood and stepped over to a table that was covered by a dark, red tablecloth. He pulled the cloth off, thinking it would make a good enough blanket. He knelt down beside the young man, covering him with the cloth. As he was taking his hands away from the cloth, the young man’s eyes snapped open. Heero winced at the sheer intensity he saw within the hyacinth depths.

The young man reached up, grabbing Heero’s shirt by its collar and attempted to pull him down. Heero allowed this, although he could have broken that hand by now, but he was curious to see what the young man would do.

Heero was only a breath away from his face when the youth stopped pulling. He listened to his panting breaths, enjoying the feel of the heat against his own lips. Heero had never been so close to another human being before . . . he wondered if his heart should be beating so fast.

The young man’s lips just barely brushed across Heero’s, leaving behind a fleeting tingling sensation. The youth quickly pulled back, removing his trembling hand from Heero’s shirt. “Help.” He pleaded, his raspy voice just barely a whisper.

“What is your name?” Heero questioned, moving his face away from the young man’s. He silently watched him as he knelt there, waiting for his answer.

“D-Duo Maxwell.” He stammered in reply before biting into his bottom lip.

Heero watched curiously as Duo’s body arched off the floor, his hands clawing at the tiling beneath him. Heero decided that Duo must have been drugged, not having any other explanation for Duo’s writing or for his fear filled pleas for help.

“Please help.” Duo asked again, his eyes begging for assistance.

“Are you in pain?” Heero asked, not truly certain what he could do. None of the fresh marks on his skin seemed to be that serious.

“Get it out of me.” Duo hissed, his request punctuated by the bucking of his hips.

Heero’s eyes widened in realization. The aliens apparently used them in bed, and those ‘toys’ wouldn’t just go by ignored and unused. Heero nodded slightly to Duo, removing one glove and reaching his hand under the cloth covering Duo’s slender body. Heero just didn’t feel comfortable enough to lift the cloth and actually watch what he was doing, knowing that it was probably already extremely embarrassing for Duo.

He slid his hand along the smooth skin of Duo’s inner thigh, using it to guide his hand where it needed to go. Heero gulped, however didn’t pause, as he moved further down, spreading the cheeks of Duo’s ass with his hand. As soon as his fingers came in contact with what he was searching for, Heero breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, he began to pull the device out of Duo, even as the object continued to vibrate. All the time he watched Duo’s face, noticing the way he winced and gasped now and then, obviously in discomfort.

Heero looked down at the vibrator he had just extracted from Duo’s body, grimacing at the sight of blood staining the device. He was unsure as to whether the blood was due to the device being forced into him or when it was pulled out. He switched it off, wiping it off on the cloth to remove his fingerprints from it before he tossed it aside with his gloved hand.

Duo was panting, his body shivering as he lay there on the floor. Heero frowned as he looked into Duo’s eyes, watching as they began to slip shut. Heero grabbed his shoulder and shook it. “Stay awake!” He ordered.

Duo flinched, trying in vain to push himself away from Heero. “I-I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me, please.” He whimpered, his face contorting into a pain-filled expression.

“Calm down.” Heero replied, looking down in concern for the young man.

Suddenly, Duo’s eyes began darting around wildly. “Quatre . . . Where’s Quatre?” He asked, his raspy voice panicked.

“Is he the blonde?” Heero questioned.

“Yes . . . Please . . . Where is he?”

“My associate is taking care of him.” Heero replied, gesturing back to the bed.

Duo slowly reached out with a quivering hand, hesitantly touching Heero’s arm. “Please . . . May I see him?” He whispered, his tone pleading almost as much as his beautiful eyes were.

“Fine.” Heero relented, although he was unsure why he had given in. He still had questions to ask Duo, more information to pry out of him. In fact he didn’t know why he seemed so concerned about the young man, not understanding why he didn’t just interrogate him now.

He lifted Duo, and the cloth covering him, into his arms. Silently, he moved over to the bed. Trowa turned slightly, noticing his approach and slid back away from the blonde to give Heero room.

“Duo . . .” The pale blonde sighed, smiling up at the long-haired young man.

Heero laid Duo down on the bed, stepping back to see how the young man reacted to the blonde’s presence. Duo quickly reached out, embracing the other young man. They clung tightly to each other, Quatre’s face pressed against Duo’s chest while his shoulders shook from his silent sobs. Heero noticed the tears on Duo’s own face, but it seemed that the young man was trying to fight the urge to sob.

It was then that Heero decided . . . No matter what they were, he couldn’t just abandon them here. He wouldn’t leave them in the clutches of the Taltheans when it was so obvious that the two of them had been used and abused in so many ways.

*******

TBC

*******

On to Part 2

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