Afraid to Love: Chapter 17

[WingZero2118]

Hey there to all u loyal fans and welcome once again to fantasy island. oh wait wrong program. damn im stuck in the 70's again. lol. well thats enough of my insanity for now. i think the desert heat is finally getting to me. hope u enjoy the new chapter.




Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing and Co. They belong to Bandai and Sunrise. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I am not making a profit from it.



Afraid to Love
Written by: Ra|nMan
Chapter Seventeen


Not waiting for Zechs to completely stop, Heero leaped from the car and began running for the mansion. Upon entering the front door Heero saw more guards knocked out or dead lying inside and at the foot of the main stairs.

?Oh god please don?t let me be too late!?

Grabbing a weapon off a downed guard Heero ran up the stairs headed for the third floor and Relena?s bedroom. He wanted to call out to see if someone was still in the house but he didn?t wanted to alert the intruders if they were still there. Coming to the landing on the third floor Heero slowed and cautiously peered around the corner towards Relena?s room. The hallway was dark but Heero could still see well enough to tell that nothing was moving.

Hearing steps approaching from behind, he wheeled around to find Zechs sprinting up the stairs behind him with two of the guards who had managed to keep from being knocked out or killed.

?Who did this?? Heero demanded.

?We don?t know. They came out of no where and over ran the entire perimeter of the grounds. Most of the guards pulled back to inside but we got trapped out in the main guard house and somehow we survived.?

?Are the intruders still inside??

?We don?t know.?

Fear and anger boiled up inside of Heero as he tried to think of something other than the possibility of Relena being taken hostage.

?Heero we need to make a sweep of the house,? Zechs pointed out. ?There may be more guards still alive and some of the men might need medical attention. We must move quickly.?

?Agreed. I?ll start on this floor and work my way down.? Heero pointed at one of the guards as he continued speaking.

?You go with Zechs. You come with me. Zechs I?ll meet you back at the main entrance in forty-five minutes. If I?m not there with in five minutes after come looking for me.?

?Be careful Heero. Don?t go on a suicide mission just to try and save Relena. These guy aren?t fools. They?ll want her alive and unharmed.?

?You do the same Zechs.?

Nodding Zechs turned and headed back down the stairs while Heero slowly started down the hall to Relena?s room.

?Stay close and keep your eyes and ears open. No one is probably here any more but the last thing I need is someone sneaking up behind me.?

?Yes sir.?

As the pair neared the door, Heero slowed and motioned for the guard to cross to cover the other side of the door way. Cautiously Heero put an ear up to one of the doors and strained to listen for any signs of sound coming from inside the room. Hearing nothing he nodded to the guard and motioned for him to cover while he opened the door. Slowly, Heero eased the door open.

Peering inside he saw nothing at first. Pushing the door further open he scanned the room quickly to make sure there were no threats and saw six men lying in heaps by the door way to the balcony. Two were wearing the guards uniforms and three were wearing what must be the uniform of the rebel faction New Oz, made evident by the gold circle with the black lions head in it on the left shoulder. The last of the men lying on the ground was dressed in black from head to toe except for a white kerchief around the neck and had long brown hair pulled back in a thick braid. Realizing who it was lying there Heero dropped his gun and rushed to his side.

?Oh my God Duo! Duo are you alive?! Can you hear me? Please give me some sign of life. A twitch, a smile, a wise crack, anything just please be alive.?

Duo groaned and moved slightly in Heero?s arms.

?Duo can you hear me? Please try and stay conscious and we?ll get help.?

Turning to the guard, Heero shouted an order. ?You go and find a car. No doubt the phone lines have been cut so there?s no way to call for an ambulance. Meet me out front in five minutes. Move Now!?

?Yes sir,? the guard replied, already running for the door.

?Hang on Duo, just hang on.?

Meanwhile, down on the ground floor of the mansion Zechs was having no more luck than Heero was. Already he had found five guards with serious wounds who needed immediate help.

?Damn New Oz for this! If they think they?re going to get away with this they had better think twice. They might just end up giving birth to a second Milliardo Peacecraft!?

?Colonel Zechs over here!?

?What is it?? Zechs asked rushing over to where the guard was.

?I found him locked in the hall closet.?

?Pagan you?re alive! What happened here??

?I don?t know really. I heard shouting and gun fire from outside. Then the next thing I know a guard grabbed me and shoved me into the closet and locked the door.?

?Well at least you are safe. Hurry and get the car. We need to get these wounded men to the hospital.?

?Right away sir.?

Back upstairs Heero was placing Duo onto a mattress in an attempt to keep him flat while going down the stairs. Moving slow and steadily, Heero began down the stairs.

?Just hang on Duo. I know you did all you could to stop them but I won?t let you die for your effort. We need you in the fight. I need my best friend.?

As Heero neared the bottom of the stairs he called out to find Zechs.

?Zechs! Can you hear me??

Rounding the corner from Heero?s left Zechs entered the entrance hall at the foot of the stairs supporting a guard under the shoulder and carrying another on his back.

?Oh God Duo! Is he alive??

?Just barely. Is there any way to contact Headquarters and have them call the hospital to send help??

?Already done,? Noin said as she entered the front door. ?What in the hell has happened here??

?We don?t know. I do know that it is New Oz who is responsible for this,? Heero commented angrily.

?How do you know that,? asked Zechs and Noin together, as she helped Zechs ease the two wounded guards the ground. Heero threw the patch on the floor in front of them that he had ripped off the one soldiers uniform.

?So now what do we do? We know who did this but we don?t know where to find them or what their demands even are,? Noin asked, her voice trembling slightly.

?We wait. That?s all we can do right now. Wait on our scouts and wait on the demands from New Oz,? stated Zechs dryly.

?I don?t like the idea any more than anyone else does but I have to agree with Zechs on this. All we can do is wait.?

And as they waited Duo?s life hung in the balance. They needed time. Time to think on how to best counter this attack, time to wait on the demands from New Oz, time to get the wounded to the hospital. And time was something they did not have.

[perfectpeach]

omg! noooooooo! duo can't die! *points gun*
you better not let him die! did i detect a quote in there somewhere

[takisha16]

OK. Duo. Can't Die.
*Hiperventilating* I hope Relena's okay!!!!
Very good chp.
Very intense and heart wrenching!
I wonder who took Relena? Hopefully Heero will save her!
Great job, keep it up, update!

[KPGUNDAM]

NO DUO DON'T DIE

I hope Heero finds Relena soon and Duo lives

Please post the next chapter as soon as possible. :razz:

[miz_lou]

i think the desert heat is finally getting to me.

*hug* what a convienent excuse

Ok, must go on required loll about how great it is that Heero finally decided to take charge when Relena is in trouble *swoons* I also like how you gave Noin an active role as well.

A twitch, a smile, a wise crack, anything just please be alive.?

*giggles* I know considering the ending circumstances of this story - this is completely insensitive of me *shrugs* but it's been a rough day: I think that *points* is just funny. ^^; Especially the wisecrack part...*dodges rotten fruit*

I can't believe this is all happening right after Heero's proposal...if it doesn't send the readers into cardiac arrest, it will surely send Heero into it ^^;

*looks over forum* One more chapter to review