TITLE: Ghost in the Machine AUTHOR: Shira EMAIL: shira_uma@hotmail.com CATEGORY: Best Crossover; Best Multi-part; Best Overall ******** WARNINGS: None, really. NOTES: Crossover fic between GW and Ghost in the Machine. The reader need not have seen GitS to appreciate this fic - there is plenty of background information dispersed within the fic. STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY. GHOST IN THE MACHINE Prologue In the year 20 30, the Internet has become the foremost figure of life as it is known on earth. The computer explosion if the 1980's and '90s has led to man becoming totally and completely dependent on this superhighway of information. Everything, everyone, is online and connected, and there exists a matrix, a mainframe within which everything is intertwined with everything else. Every imaginable activity now takes place with the use of computers, stretching from the running of corporations and governments, to taking a virtual vacation to "rest ones head". Human beings, having been the ones to put this technology into play, have also managed to modify normal everyday existence via the use of this matrix in surprising ways. One such way being to combine the functionality of the most powerful computers with the intelligent and emotional being... the 'ghost'... of the human soul, creating the ability to 'connect' to matrixes and networks and obtain information faster and more permanently than ever before. With advances in modern technology and medicine, the human species as it has always been know has been altered, now becoming a sort of super-intelligent race, even if that intelligence is now largely artificial. Humans working like computers - data chips residing in the brain which are fed via cables and wires that people can 'plug in' to. More interestingly, there now also exists the ability for ghosts to 'reproduce' or combine to spew off new ghosts, similar to upgrading a computer program - thus creating free-floating entities that reside purely in the expanses of the networks of the world and knowing no physical human form. Corporate crime now runs rampant, as not only is it easier for crimes to be committed, but it is much more difficult to capture the criminals. People now have the ability to jettison themselves, or their 'ghosts', into these information networks to perform whatever devious deed, be it espionage, body-snatching, blackmail or computer hacking. They can then escape persecution by jumping back into the matrix, or into artificial bodies - cyborgs - of which the difficulty in obtaining one is only as hard as buying it from one of the manufacturers. Made of flesh-like silicon, metal and wire, these androids of sort have been invented to act as surrogate bodies for free-floating ghosts in need of resting-places. Some will stay happily in their cyborgs, others will only stay temporarily and switch appearances like the wind, in order to keep from capture. Others still will inhabit unsuspecting humans, taking over their bodies and 'deleting' the original ghost as if it was an unwanted file. Currently, there is no telling how far the human psyche has the ability to travel on the all-encompassing networks of present life, and the human spirit has become immortal as long as it surfs these information highways. The only limit that exists at this point is the limit of dimension. Existence in a single dimension. However, the advance of technology has promised to crack that code too, if given enough time. Then, with the advent of inter-dimensionality, the human spirit will, in essence, reign supreme throughout all of universal existence. Part One "Get in." Trant demanded of his prisoner. Heero obliged silently, climbing into the waiting cockpit of the rogue Gundam, the one that Quatre had had built from the scientists plans. The one that he'd destroyed two colonies with in a fit of psychotic rage. Settling himself into the seat, Heero remained poised, motionless as an OZ soldier affixed electrodes to his head, burying them under his mop of unruly hair, getting them as close to his scalp as possible. At a couple of the contact points, the electrodes were actually tiny alligator clips, and they were pinched to Heero's scalp, digging them in slightly. He didn't flinch once while the contraptions were attached to him. The soldier backed away and went and stood at attention behind Trant after finishing. Heero moved only his eyes to look toward Quatre, who stood on the landing dock with Trant, and grimaced. "Heero... is there a problem?" Quatre asked in response to the look. " Not at all." Heero responded emotionlessly, his eyes switching to focus on the video monitor in front of him, preparing to test the new Gundam, which supposedly was able to enhance a pilot's ability to fight. After another few seconds he added "Tell them to begin now." Trant interjected "Good, let him fight with the Mobile Doll simulation program." His assistant responded by pushing a few buttons on the computer system that was now networked with the on-board system of the Gundam. The cockpit became alive with lights and sounds as the simulation program commenced, and Heero began his battle against the mobile dolls, his concentration evident as he shot down targets one by one. With amazing speed and accuracy, he obliterated every mobile doll that entered his site, his reaction time beginning to increase the longer the test went on. Staring in amazement, the three onlookers watched him as his hands twitched seemingly uncontrollably at the controls of the Gundam, bringing down mobile dolls at an unheard of rate. "He's fighting at high skill levels. That must be why he's a Gundam pilot." Trant's assistant blurted out with excitement on his voice as he checked the monitors on his own computer. The levels were astounding. "Are his levels running greater than those of the Mobile Dolls?" Trant exclaimed, running toward the computer monitor. "He still has more room for growth." "Retrieve the limited response speed." Trant was grinning now, envisioning the power that this pilot and this Gundam had together, and thinking about the commendation that he'd get for enabling OZ to use this technology. He watched intently as Heero continued with the test of the mobile suit. Heero's speed was lightening fast, his gaze fixed and unyielding, and streams of sweat were now trickling slowly down the sides of his face. He was like a demon possessed at the controls. Blips of light and sound shot all over the cockpit and monitor. The air was filled with an electricity, a static. The kind that just reeks like something unexpected is going to happen. Quatre ran up beside the cockpit, concerned. "This system is capable of defeating the Mobile Dolls. The war won't require humans any more. Heero, it's people who fight in war. These people rely on machines to increase their ability to fight. Heero, this has got to be a mistake. This Gundam has got to be a mistake," he thought to himself. From behind him, Quatre could hear the other soldier reporting on Heero's statistics again. "His battle skills are extremely high..." Quatre looked on, worried, as Heero continued, his eyes starting to take on a blank stare, his respiration increasing, blood pounding in his veins. The zero system was taking over his mental being, and he began to hallucinate as strobes of colored light reflected in his glassed-over eyes. "My... My enemy is..." he whispered under his breath, his lips barely moving, eyes still fixated before him. There was motion outside the cockpit as Trant and Quatre became aware that something was going on inside, although they were unsure of exactly what. "What? My enemy is the one who tries to kill me." Heero said out loud as visions of the battle reflected in his mind, and almost in front of his eyes - visions other than the simulator, in 3-D, almost touchable, but transparent at the same time. The computer screen inside the gundam flashed bright yellow, and suddenly, Heero's eyes did the same as he repeated his words, sweat now pouring from his forehead and neck and from beneath the electrode probes. "Heero!" Quatre yelled out to the other pilot, looking in horror as the awful machine was about to control Heero's mind as it had done his. Checking Heero's vital signs at the control board, Trant rushed over to the gundam and called out to his assistant. "Get him out of there. NOW!" The soldier ran past Trant and leaned toward the cockpit of the Gundam. "I don't know what's happening here, but I want him alive!" By this time the effects of zero were beginning to take hold, Heero's body twitched and spasmed involuntarily as the probes were one by one removed from his scalp and the simulator was shut down. Quatre, Trant and the soldier hurried as they worked, and all three jumped nearly out of their skins as Heero let forth with a sinister, blood-curdling scream before slumping forward in the pilot seat, unconscious. "Oh dear Allah... No!" Quatre cried out seeing Heero pass out, he himself climbing into the cockpit to crouch beside the comatose Japanese boy. "Heero!" Quatre slapped his face and looked to Trant. "Well? What's wrong with him?" Trant demanded a little hesitantly. His thoughts of recognition now fading to thoughts of the reprimand he'd get if something were to happen to this pilot, since he'd taken it upon himself to do these "performance tests" of the new Gundam, using the prisoner as a guinea pig. Quatre pushed one eyelid back and the globe beneath it still shone gold. Heero's breathing was labored and harsh, but after a few minutes it began to steady again. "It's this gundam... It affects the pilot..." Quatre tried to explain as he continued to attempt to rouse Heero. "It's a mistake. It should never have been built" Pangs of guilt washed over the blonde boy, and his cheeks flushed some. Then drawing Quatre's attention away from Trant, Heero stirred. Quatre looked up from his kneeling position to stare hopefully into Heero's waking face. "Heero?" Quatre said quietly. There was no answer as Heero opened his eyes and the glow slowly faded from them. He blinked slowly, then lifted his slumped form to sit straighter in the seat, looking wide-eyed around him without recognition of anyone or anything. Turning to look at Quatre, he saw his fellow pilot give a look of relief, then one of concern and confusion when he replied to the blonde boy. "Am I Heero?" The voice was different, and took Quatre by surprise, causing him to jump backward slightly. It wasn't the monotone voice of the young soldier that he'd begun to know, but rather, an older voice... cold, dark... almost hollow... but with a sarcastic twinge to it. Heero now looked Quatre straight in the face and repeated his question, sending a chill through him. "Am I Heero?" Black sinister eyes pierced through the other Gundam pilot as the would-be Heero waited for a response. "Y-yes..." Quatre began as he leaned as far back from Heero as he could in the cramped confines of the cockpit. "Y-you're Heero Yuy... Don't you remember?" Quatre exchanged nervous glances with Trant on the landing dock. There was a pause, and then Heero spoke again in the scary voice. "Heero Yuy." An evil chuckle emanating from Heero's body, although it seemed to come from within him, rather than from his mouth. Heero's expression remained blank, barring the black pools of oil where his determined blue eyes used to reside. "Actually..." the voice continued, "... you can call me Top Secret Project 2051. Heero is..." More hushed laughter. "Heero is... indisposed at the moment". There was complete silence as three pairs of eyes stared at Heero now. "Heero..." Quatre began. "It's the Gundam. It did this to you. I don't know what you're talking about, but... lets get you out of here". Quatre reached out to offer his assistance to his fellow pilot. "Yuy! Out of that mobile suit!" Trant yelled to him. Heero laughed. "Me? Take orders from you?" Trant looked on, a bit confused at the personality change that had occurred in the pilot. He knew that Heero Yuy was one tough soldier, but this seemed so out of character for him. "You obviously have no idea with whom you are dealing, do you?" "Then tell me..." Trant answered. "Exactly WHO am I dealing with?" "I already told you. Top Secret Project 2051. Some people prefer to call me the Puppet Master." Heero situated himself back in the cockpit of the gundam, pushing Quatre callously over the edge of the gangway for Trant to run to his aide as he tumbled from the mobile suit. "And right now, I have more important things to do than to sit here and try to convince you who I am, or where Heero Yuy went. You'll find all that out soon enough." "HEY!" Trant yelled out as Heero started to close the hatch on the Gundam's cockpit and power up the mobile suit. "Somebody stop him!" Running across the landing dock, the other soldier went to board another mobile suit to try to stop the escaping mecha and it's pilot, only to be met by a shot from the Gundam's gattling gun before he could reach the safety of his suit. The sound of shots being fired alerted others in the vicinity, and soon the security alarms were buzzing, warning lights were flashing and OZ soldiers came running from every direction in attempt to help stop Heero from escaping with the Gundam Wing Zero. All pandemonium had broken loose as the Gundam left its stance beside the landing dock and walked heavily toward the back of the hanger. "Heero, NO!" Quatre called out in vain from the landing dock as Wing Zero armed its beam cannon and proceeded to blast a hole in the heavy steel doors of the hanger, providing its exit. OZ soldiers in mobile suits began advancing on the Gundam, but it was all for naught, because with one quick blast from its armament, Wing Zero had demolished nearly all of its attackers and left the hanger in shambles. With its pilot inside smirking, the rogue mecha passed through the hole in the steel doors, disappearing into the blackness of space. After a few seconds its jets could be heard engaging, and then slowly fading as Wing Zero fled the OZ Lunar Base. Back at the landing dock, Trant was busying himself in attempts to secure the hanger, but meeting with little success. Apparently the blast inside the hanger had damaged part of the central power system to the building, and there were failures throughout it. Quatre, thinking quickly on his feet, used this opportunity to get himself past Trant and climbed into a waiting Taurus, engaging the jetpack and mumbling something about going to stop Heero before he did something foolish. Then before anyone could do anything to stop him, Quatre was also through the convenient exit that had been created in the wall and jetting through space after Wing Zero. Part Two Duo Maxwell was tinkering inside the cockpit of his Deathscythe Gundam. It had taken a real beating in the last two stints against OZ, and was in need of parts and repairs. He'd manage to hijack an OZ equipment shuttle and trade for fuel and some parts. Hopefully that was enough for what he needed, but there was a lot of work yet to be done. Hiding out back on the L2 colony, Duo worked diligently for a few hours now, wondering every now and again about the other four gundam pilots, and what was happening with the war against OZ at that moment. Sitting himself into the pilot's seat, the hatch fully open, Duo switched on his on-board computers and ran a diagnostic test of his hydraulics and electricals, looking for shorts and other damaged componentry that wasn't immediately visible to the naked eye. The computer ran a scan, words and codes flying across the screen in fast rows, occasional blips and beeps sounding as it went through its process. At the end of its testing Duo read intently at the verdict. Barring some external damage, it looked like he'd done a pretty decent job repairing the old boy, with only some pressure adjustment needed in the hydraulics, and two small electrical outages. Climbing down from the cockpit, he maneuvered around the mobile suit taking care of those last few things. Then finally satisfied, he climbed back up to the pilots chair where he began with the computer again, this time checking his assignment logs and looking for traces of the other pilots. It was during his check of his navigational mapping program that he first heard the voice come over his computer's audio system in the cockpit. A voice that was unfamiliar to him. "Duo Maxwell?" A female voice asked. Catching his interest, Duo responded smartly "Yo, that's me." The voice from the computer began again "Duo Maxwell? You don't know me... but I need your help." "Who is this?" Duo questioned. He leaned forward in the seat, toward the computer monitor, and switched it on, but there was no visual. Only sound. "My name is Major Motoko Kusanagi, and I'm a secret agent with the Internal Bureau of Investigations." "Yeah, well... " Duo interrupted. "Whatever it is... I didn't do it." He pushed himself back in the pilot's seat with a look of disinterest and started to play with the end of his long braid, flicking the tip around his fingers. Raising a hand to touch the droopiness of one puffy, bruised lower eyelid he winced, reminding himself of his latest run-in at the OZ Lunar Base before he made his escape. More trouble was NOT what he needed right now. "No... You misunderstand me..." Motoko began, but was interrupted again. "Why don't you switch on your monitor and let me see you?" "I can't let you see me." Came the flat reply. "Why not?" Duo challenged. There was a sigh. "It's a really long, complicated story, that I plan on telling you... but you have to promise to listen to me very carefully. Understood?" Duo was becoming intrigued by the mystery lady with the seductive voice floating from his computer. "Shoot. I'm listening" "I work for the Internal Bureau of Investigations on earth as a secret agent. I'm after a criminal that has, from what I understand, made contact with one of your partners, and I need your help to fi..." Duo interrupted her again, even after he promised not to. "Who is it that this "criminal" has come in contact with... and what does he want?" He emphasized the word criminal. "I'm trying to get to that..." Motoko complained. "Sorry." Duo replied "The criminal I'm after... technically named Top Secret Project 2051, although it has been called the Puppet Master..." "It?" "It. It's not human. Or at least, it didn't start out that way." Motoko continued. "It was formed as a secret computer program to be used as a weapon, but naturally fell into the wrong hands, hence, the problem." Duo was still fiddling with his hair, slouched back in the seat. To anyone who didn't know better, he looked like he was carrying on a conversation with himself, holed up in the cockpit of Deathscythe. "Who's hands?" he questioned. "It's own." Motoko answered, figuring that she'd be confusing Duo about now. "What?" He asked. "This computer program... I know this is going to sound very strange to you, but... essentially what has happened is this program has, in a sense, assumed the entity of a living human, even though it exists only in cyberspace." Duo was silent for a moment while he thought. "You're losing me..." came his reply. "OK, look..." Motoko started again, trying to present her case in a way that Duo would understand. "What year is it here?" Duo chuckled. "What do you mean "what year is it?" It's AC 195." He readjusted himself in the seat, peeking out of Deathscythe's hatch for an instant as if he were expecting someone to be spying on him. "My point exactly." Motoko continued with her soothing voice. "Where I'm from, it's the year 2031." "How can that be?" Duo questioned, his interest piqued. "In my world, everything is run by and connected to a computer mainframe. Everything. Everybody. It's how we live, it's how we do business... how we learn. I guess our world just progressed further in a shorter amount of time than yours did in respect to technology." She explained further. Duo sat for a few seconds before replying "I don't get it. Are you trying to tell me that you're in another time... like... another world?" "Well, right now I'm in your world. But yes." The voice answered. "How? How is that possible? I mean, I've seen some pretty weird shit in only fifteen years but..." he hesitated, waiting for Motoko to jump in. "Fifteen?" she blurted, surprise in her tone. "You're only fifteen... and you're fighting a war?" "Well... almost sixteen, but yeah. Heh.. start 'em early, I guess. "How...but..." Motoko silenced for a few seconds. "Duo... you're only a child. You have so much life left to live yet." "And, if I'm lucky, I still will. But as far as being a child is concerned... war makes you grow up awful fast. Besides, we're not here to talk about me now... finish telling me what you were telling me." Duo quickly switched the conversation back to the original topic, hiding the anguish and pain that this war had already caused him at his young age. Over the next hour or so, Motoko continued to explain to Duo about Project 2051, about herself, and what life was like in the year 2031 in a totally different dimension. She told him about how human beings, having gone through so much genetic and technological enhancement, were now able to connect themselves to the vast computer matrix that essentially 'was' life, and send and receive information with very little effort. Increasing numbers of cybernetically enhanced people were jumping into the networks via implanted external wire connections, thus giving them the ability to leave their bodies in a sense, and allow their ghosts, or spirits, travel electronic highways. Top Secret Project 2051 was a creation devised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act as an espionage tool. However, what they got instead was more like a computer virus that eventually came into it's own 'being'. 2051 developed into a net-borne personality all it's own, and through its own ability as a human 'ghost', demanded political asylum and a physical 'form' from its creators, who refused to acknowledge that 2051 was actually human. Thus began the war between the Ministry and its creation, but the issue escalated to much grander scales. While questioning the definition of what it truly means to be 'human', 2051 has sought a permanent human body to live in, all the while causing havoc behind it. Because 'it' decided that if it couldn't have its own way, it would force the Ministry into recognizing it as being human by ways of blackmail, terrorist acts and other acts of violence, all of which has led 2051 to realize just how powerful it really is against authority. Naturally, with the ability to evade authority tends to come deviations from one's original purpose. So is the case with Project 2051, which originally yearned for only a human presence, but now was after much more, and has now managed every realm of corporate crime imaginable, including impersonating important leaders and officials, hostile takeovers and murder to name a few. Once it figured out that it could not only threaten people but dispose of whoever got in its way, it was a lost war. That was two years ago, and since that time, Project 2051, also known as the Puppet Master, for it's ability to inhabit another person's body and have that body do it's bidding for it, has penetrated every conceivable corporation and government. It has disguised itself as head figures turned traitorous, ultimately causing the demise of corporate business and taking total control itself, doing nothing more than filling the networks with more subordinate ghosts and continuing with it's chokehold on humanity. The most recent development in this reign of electronic piracy being the newly found ability to enter different dimensions via computer networks. 'So this 'thing' is here now?" Duo asked Motoko, trying to understand the complex scenario she'd laid out before him. "Yes" she replied flatly. "How?" "That's why I need your help Duo." She explained. "I think it's entered the shell of one of your associates. Is the name Heero Yuy familiar to you?" "Heero!" Duo jerked his head around to face the blank video screen in the cockpit as if he was expecting Motoko to suddenly appear before him with those startling words. "It's inside Heero? But how?" "I'm not completely sure, but I think it had something to do with the testing of an experimental weapon. From what I've been able to piece together, 2051 must have passed into your friend's shell through an electrical surge - apparently Heero was wearing detection probes during the testing, and that did the trick." Duo thought for a moment. "Can it DO that?" "I guess it can." "And what does it want with Heero?" the young pilot asked. "My guess..." Motoko began, her voice becoming obviously sullen and disheartened "...is that what it wants to do is use your friend to infiltrate whatever the governing body is around here and destroy it. Get rid of whoever is running things, and then flood this world with its presence the same as it's done everywhere else. Take over the place and move on. It's almost become a game to 2051 - to see how many conquests it can have." There was silence in the cockpit of Deathscythe for many minutes while Duo pondered everything he'd just learned. It was getting near dusk and the setting sun was orange in the artificial sky of the L2 colony. A chill hung in the air now. Sitting alone in his gundam, Duo thought about the impact this 'thing' could potentially have on the world that he knew... that is, IF this was all legit in the first place. He was almost convinced, but not totally; and with the position he was in, being the underdog in the war against OZ, he wasn't about to get swindled by a strange voice on the telecom. "Motoko... how did you find me?" he asked warily. "I followed 2051 and tapped into your friend's computer system - that's how I know what happened to him. Anyway, I searched his system for files, connections, email addresses... then you must have switched on your networked system, because his computer brought me to you." Duo went back to fiddling with the end of his braid and allowed his eyes to wander over the componentry of the cockpit. "So... IF I decide to help you... how do I know this is for real?" Motoko responded. "I don't know how to make you believe me, other than to follow your own instinct. But if you don't help me, and your friend takes out whoever the group is that's in charge out here..." "That girl Relena!" Duo quickly recalled the long-haired girl that Heero was supposed to be protecting, because she was to become the new Foreign Minister... and if he remembered correctly, OZ was after her too... because of her idea of total pacifism and her late father's popularity with the people of earth. OZ had killed him, or so it was suspected, and they were after Relena as well. "You mean... 2051 would make Heero kill Relena, even though he's supposed to be protecting her?" "Very possible. If she is the one that stands in the way of it taking over this society" "Well... there's OZ too. We're trying to fight OZ now, the five of us gundam pilots. Because they're fighting a war to control the earth and the colonies by..." "It could infiltrate both organizations." Duo sat silent again for a few minutes before he came to the conclusion that really, he had no choice but to go along with Motoko... at least long enough for him to figure out if she was being truthful, or was some plan put into effect by OZ to distract him. He'd have to be very careful, especially since there was no telling where the other pilots were; Trowa was apparently dead, Heero was now the host life form for a computer program... (For a split second Duo thought that was strangely fitting for the Japanese pilot), Wufei had returned to his colony and was off communication, and who knew where Quatre was, since Sandrock had been destroyed. The scientists were imprisoned at the Lunar Base too. As much as he didn't want to admit it - he was the only one left that could conceivably do this. "I'll do it." He blurted. "But..." "Yes?" "No funny stuff, OK? Because I'm having a hard time figuring out whether I can trust you or not. This all sounds a little goofy to me, you know." Motoko replied with a relieved "No problem. And don't worry - you CAN trust me." "Well, lets just say I'll feel a little better once you get here, or wherever you want to meet me, to plan this out." Duo said. "What do you mean?" Motoko responded with some amount of surprise on her voice. "I AM here." "You mean..." Duo began, taken a bit off guard. "I'm a ghost too, yes. I'm existing right now in the network of your on-board computer." The stranger's voice seemed to suddenly take on a non-human-like, hollow ring to it, even if it only became that way in Duo's mind. "So... you don't have a body either?" he asked "Not unless there is a cyborg manufacturer in this world!" Motoko chided him. "What you hear is what you get! That's precisely why I need your help." Confused again, Duo questioned "But... how are we going to actually do this? Capture this 2051?" "That's where things are going to get a little interesting." Part 3 The video link picked up finally, after two days of trying, finding a stern looking Chinese boy on the receiving end. "Maxwell..." Wufei began, annoyed that the disturbance was, of all people, one of the other Gundam pilots. "Hey, hey! Wufei my man! Long time no see!" Duo teased, grinning broadly. "Been hanging around any oxygen bars lately?" "Very funny, Maxwell." He was not impressed. "To what do I owe this honor?" "Gee Wufei... just make a guy think you're happy to see him why don't you." Duo kidded the other pilot, full well knowing that he really hadn't planned on hearing from any of the other pilots so soon, not with things in the state of total disarray that they were with the colonies, the earth and OZ, and the Gundams supposedly not able to fight. "Where the hell are you man?" "Relaxing. I'm back on L5 right now. Taking some training also." Shaking his head "Yeah... you'll be in great shape for when OZ blows you up with the rest of us." "That's why you shouldn't be fighting Maxwell... because you expect to get killed. You aren't strong enough to foresee that you will survive..." "Yeah... right... look, I need some help." Duo said in a rather blase tone to the video screen, cutting off the lecture about how people who are weak should not be fighting wars. "What kind of help?" "Remember back on the Lunar Base, when we were in the cell together? You were telling me about that girl... that doctor that you met on Earth. You said she was one of the good ones, right? "Sally Po?" "Yeah, her. She's a doctor, right?" Duo was getting a little impatient with the idle talk now as he got serious. "Yes." Wufei answered. "So?" "I need to know how to get in touch with her. Do you know where she is?" "What do you need HER for?" "Damn it Wufei... just tell me if you know. I don't have time to explain it all, but Heero is in trouble, and she can help me help him." Duo's agitation showed and Wufei recognized that he wasn't kidding around any longer. After a brief silence, Wufei spoke again. "Last I heard from her she was still on earth... I think trying to find Heero's Gundam before OZ does. They apparently already have a Gundam captured, but not one I've ever seen. It's that one that destroyed those colonies. Here... I'll forward her contact information to you, and you can find her yourself. The Chinese boy dropped his head and tapping sounds could be heard over the monitor as he typed in an encrypted email to Duo and sent it. "It's on its way." After a few moments of silence from both sides, a blinking envelope in the corner of Duo's screen indicated that the message had been received. "Thanks" he said, preparing to power down his on-board system. "Duo... what's going on?" In an out-of-character moment, Wufei questioned the other boy, partially interested in whatever this secret was that Duo was dealing with. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Duo replied. "But... if I need any help, you'll be the first to know, so keep yourself where I can find you if I need you, OK?" "Yeah... sure." Before Wufei could ask anymore questions, Duo switched off his screen and broke his net link with the on-board computer inside the other Gundam, silencing its pilot. He tapped quickly at the keyboard and retrieved the coded message, then uncoded it with a special program written specifically for the five Gundam pilots and the scientists. "Perfect," Duo whispered to himself as Sally Po's last known location and her computer contact information was brought up on his screen. "Can you find her?" A different voice sounded from the speakers of Deathscythe's computers. "I should be able to" "We need to find her fast" Duo paused for a moment, then switched one of his video screens to receive the Colony news program. In this time of war, it was on twenty-four hours a day, reporting the latest happenings in outer space and on Earth, replaying old information until new information was added. For a few minutes he watched, then leaning back in the pilot's seat, Duo sighed and shook his head as a reporter's voice sounded over video footage shot recently in outer space. ///"...same Gundam that was responsible for the destruction of two colonies a short time ago was found to have destroyed part of the OZ Lunar military base prior to its fleeing the base. There is no confirmation from either the OZ organization or the Romefelar Foundation as to whether this new Gundam had been captured by OZ before it escaped the base, or if this mobile suit is now in OZ's power. Most recent information indicates that the Gundam was last spotted descending toward earth, and was lost by cameras after re-entry into the earth's atmosphere but..."/// He knew it was Heero, just as Motoko had said. He was headed toward earth, either to demolish OZ's military bases, or to find that girl Relena and kill her. A slight smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth for just a fleeting few seconds. She kept asking him to kill her now, didn't she? She might just get her wish. Switching off the news program, the monitor screen blacking out to a momentary white dot in the middle, Duo sighed and finally acknowledged Motoko's last statement. "I know we do." ********* "Quatre! Where the hell are you?" Duo exclaimed at the sight of the blonde boy on the video monitor. "I'm headed to Earth. I'm following Heero... I've been trying to get in touch with..." He was abruptly cut off by Duo. "You have your Gundam?" Duo asked in surprise, remembering that the last time he saw Sandrock was just before Quatre self-destructed it. Quatre answered "No. I stole a Taurus at the Lunar base to follow Heero in the new Gundam. OZ was testing him on its cockpit system and something went wrong. He went unconscious... then when he woke up he was acting really strange. He stole the Gundam and took off with it, then left it after stealing a shuttle. I'm following in a small shuttle as well. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this Duo. About Heero." He spoke very quickly, very excitedly. "Then it's true..."Duo thought to himself, watching the exasperated Quatre explain the events that went on presumably just before 2051 must have entered Heero's body. "Quatre, do you know where he's going?" "No." Quatre replied. "He stopped communicating with me after we both escaped the Lunar base. But Duo, there's something you should know..." "I think I already know." "He's not himself. I don't know what happened, but... that isn't Heero piloting that shuttle. I heard him... I can feel him. I don't understand why I feel this way but..." Quatre's empathic and intuitive senses had been in high gear ever since the start of the testing on the Zero system Gundam, and his state of mental alertness was telling him that there was something seriously wrong with Heero right now. "I'm headed to earth too." Duo said to his worried friend. "To capture Heero before he does something really stupid. I'll be leaving shortly, but I need to find someone first." "What's going on then?" Quatre asked. "You said you knew?" "Let's just say that those feelings you have are right. That isn't Heero there. We have to get Heero back. I can explain it to you once I'm on my way to Earth." Duo informed. "By the way..." "Yeah?" "I had heard rumors of you and a sixth Gundam... and about Trowa. Is this the Gundam that..." "Destroyed two colonies? Killed Trowa? Almost killed Heero?" Quatre interjected aggressively, ashamedly. There was much pain in his voice. "Yes Duo. That's the Gundam that I caused all that damage with." His speaking suddenly became very low and he dropped his eyes so Duo could not see them. "The Gundam... it's different... I saw... enemies. Everything became my enemy, so... I did away with what I thought were my enemies. I didn't know what I was doing..." Raising his head to face Duo again, a single tear slid down Quatre's fair pink cheek, his eyes, pooling over, looked like moving liquid oceans. "...I didn't mean to do it, Duo. I didn't mean it." With a lump rising in his throat and his eyes glued to Quatre's, Duo tried his best to say something constructive. "Quatre... you... I know... If you say you didn't know what you were doing,... then I believe you. Because I know that's not the Quatre that I got to know a little bit back on Earth. The one I got to know would never kill someone unjustly" Duo sighed and looked away from the screen for a moment. "But... for the moment, I think we need to concentrate on getting to Heero." They both paused. "Right." Quatre agreed. "Follow him. I'll contact you when I get going and explain all this you and..." "I can do it." "Who was that?" Quatre asked, startled. Duo started to reply "Umm... long story Quatre. OK, Motoko, you talk to Quatre through my computer and brief him on everything that is happening here, and I'll get set to leave. I have to set computer net coordinates in the shuttle before I go so I don't lose track of either of you" "No problem Duo." Motoko answered. "Quatre?" "Y-yes?" While Duo secured a few arrangements on L2 and locked Deathscythe up tight in an old warehouse for safe keeping, Quatre continued en route to Earth to find Heero, with Motoko briefing to him the whole way, since really, she was the one who could explain the situation best. Hilde, who had been staying with Duo since he convinced her to go awol from OZ, was none too happy to hear that he was leaving again, and she warned him that he'd better return in one piece "or else." He promised her the very same, a slight twang in the pit of his stomach, and he had to consciously push aside the thought that had entered his mind that he was starting to really like Hilde... in that way. She drove him to the nearest shuttle port where chartered a small shuttle to take to Earth, and then meet up with Sally Po. Giving Hilde a final squeeze, he kissed her lightly on the cheek, then turned to board the shuttle, taking with him a duffel bag and his laptop computer. It was time to go find Heero, and get his body back. As weird as that sounded to Duo... that was essentially what he was setting out to do. Part 4 She hadn't been as difficult to locate as Duo assumed she would. Actually, it turned out to be quite easy. After trying a number of times to make contact via computer, Sally did receive his transmission from the shuttle, and was more than receptive to helping Duo out. As soon as he'd introduced himself, she immediately replied "Pilot of the 02 Gundam Deathschythe." She had definitely been doing her homework, and knew the five Gundam pilots not only by the mecha they piloted, but by name, number and photo as well. Sally Po would turn out to be a great ally to the Gundam pilots, and her offer to do whatever necessary to help was just what Duo needed at a time like this. They arranged a time and a place to meet as soon as Duo was able to reach the Earth. Sally had been searching for the two Gundams, Sandrock and Wing, which had been left behind by their pilots when the five were forced into outer space the first time. Sandrock had been easy - Quatre had self-detonated the mecha just prior to escaping the cockpit, and it had been found near the New Edwards Air Force Base in shambles. Upon collecting up what was left of the Gundam, she'd come across a few of the Maguanac Corps who were looking for Sandrock as well, and she allowed them to take the mobile suit with them to be repaired. Finding Wing, on the other hand, had not been so easy, and she was still searching when Duo contacted her. Duo finally reached the coordinates that Sally had sent him, and she was waiting. There were two men with her, and all three were dressed in fatigues. The men helped to hide the shuttle while Duo went on to take care of his business with Sally. He left his on-board computer powered up so that Motoko could link from there to Sally's system inside her makeshift 'home base', a well equipped ground transport loaded with computers and other devices with which she tracked enemy activity and followed the progress of the Gundams. After seeing that the tiny craft was secure, Sally showed Duo to the mobile unit and led him inside. She locked the door behind them. They linked up with Quatre in the other shuttle, still following Heero. "If I calculate correctly," Quatre began "I'm guessing that he's headed to the Cinq Kingdom." "Aw shit!" Duo blurted out. "That's not good." "Why not?" Sally questioned, still getting filled in on the whole situation. "What's the Cinq Kingdom?" the voice from the computer asked. Duo was beginning to look a little distressed. There was a moist sheen to his face as his body temperature rose slightly. "The Cinq Kingdom is where Relena is. He's really out to kill her, isn't he? Quatre... don't lose him." "It." Motoko answered. "IT is out to kill her. Let's remember what we're dealing with here. That's not your friend. It's only in you're friend's body... and it knows the things that he knows. It can access Heero's memory banks." "Yes but... how do we GET Heero back?" Sally interjected. "That's where we need your help, Sally." Motoko explained. "I need you to get me inside of Duo." "WHAT?" Duo whipped his head around to yell into the computer speakers as if Motoko were hiding in them. "I don't understand Motoko..." Sally slouched back in her desk chair, crossing one leg over the other knee and chewing on the end of a pen. "Yeah..." the startled pilot added. "I need you to make it so that I can pass into Duo's shell to enable me to hunt down 2051 so we can isolate it, and get Heero's ghost back where it belongs." Sally pondered that premise and looked interestingly at Duo. "Yes but... how exactly do we do that? We know it's possible; we see that it's happened with Heero but..." "It's very possible. As I was telling Duo earlier, my entire world exists that way now... people hopping from their shell to the net and back again. You don't have the technology here to do this yet... but if we go on the pretence that we can duplicate what 2051 did to get into Heero, I think we have a shot at this." "Wait a minute..." Duo objected. "What do you mean 'a SHOT'. What in the hell are you two talking about? What are you going to do to me? I'm not so sure I like the sound of this." He was waving his hands as his head shook in an obvious 'no'. "A shot meaning... it's either going to get me inside you, or it won't. That's all." "No way. I mean... what the... Motoko! No. Period. I said I'd do everything I could to help here, but sharing my body isn't one of those things. Y-you're going to have to find someone else." He was exasperated, and a little unnerved. "Duo... we don't have enough time to get someone else." "What about Quatre? He can do it." "Who... Me!?" Came the excited reply from the com link to Quatre's shuttle. He was still listening to the conversation from the shuttle. "Duo..." the voice pleaded. "It's the only way, Duo." Rising up from his chair next to Sally, the young pilot paced a few times down the center of the transport, hands on his hips, head down, looking as if the weight of the world rested on his decision. In a way it did, and that didn't make him very confident. Walking back up to the computer, he stopped and stared into the speaker beside the CPU. The long-haired boy looked at the doctor, then once more at the computer, and sighed a deep sigh of resolution. ******** "Can you feel anything now?" There was a pause. "No. Well... just... pressure. But nothing hu... rts." "Good." "You didn't... shave t-too much... hair off, d-did you?" Chuckling, Sally shook her head and assured her patient that she shaved only what was absolutely necessary. "You won't even be able to tell once the rest of the hair lays on top." In an enormous display of trust, Sally followed Motoko's instructions to place a probe inside Duo so that the 'voice' could switch places with him, and borrow his physical form for a little while. In spite of how crazy the premise was, the idea did make a little bit of sense to her, which is why she followed through with her initial offer to help. That and the fact that in reality, as long as she was careful, very little harm would come to Duo if the procedure didn't work out the way they were all hoping it would. Duo was face down on a fold-out stainless examining table in the mobile ground unit, his head tilted, cheek on the cold metal so that every breath left a spot of warm condensation on the table. A green scrub cloth covered the back of his head over a small shaved spot near the top of the neck. His long braid was flipped up over the back of his head and hung down in front of him, off the edge of the table. Sally stood over her patient, pulling a tiny needle out of his skin at the base of the neck. A local anesthetic. She was numbing the back of his scalp in preparation for the procedure that she would perform with Motoko's directives. Swabbing the area with a chlorasan swab through the hole in the scrub cloth, she was ready to begin. "OK, the area is sterile and numb." "Good. Now Duo...?" Motoko called to the sedated pilot. "Ye-yeah?" His eyelids were very heavy from a sedative, so he just kept them closed. "This is a very minor procedure Duo. So I don't want you to be worried." "Yeah... 'kay. S-sure thing." Even sedated, sarcasm was evident in his tone. Sally was ready, scalpel in hand, stern look of concentration on her face. "OK Duo. Here we go. I need you to be real still. Motoko?" "Sally, I want you to make a half-inch incision in the skin at the junction of the C3 and T1 vertebra. Be very careful to only cut through the skin." With skilled, steady hands, Sally did just so, swabbed the area clean of blood and awaited her next instruction. "OK." "Can you see the brain stem?" "Yes. Duo? Hangin' in?" "Yeah." "Place the probe on top of the brain stem where it leaves the spinal column." There was a tiny computer chip with two wires floating in a pan of alcohol, and Sally gripped it gingerly with her hemostats, so as not to damage it. Working very slowly, she parted the skin at the incision she'd made, and inserted the chip, putting it in place on top of the brain stem. She swabbed another trickle of blood that leaked from the corner of the incision. "OK." "Now secure the chip any way you can with a couple of stitches, but stitch to the fascia around the area only. Once you close the skin, the pressure against the brain stem should be all the contact that's needed for good energy transfer. Just make sure the wires stay outside the incision." "Gotcha." She wiped a wisp of blonde hair away from her eyes and completed the procedure as Motoko guided her. Then closing the skin with some coarse black nylon suture, she wiped the area clean with more chlorasan, and placed her instruments back down in the alcohol pan. "Then I guess I splice in the connection hub to the wires?" "That's right." A few more minutes passed with Sally working carefully at the back of Duo's head, he all the while not feeling anything more than tugging and pulling from the sutures being placed. The connection hub, very similar to a phone jack, was wired in and lay snugly against the back of his scalp. Sleepily, Duo asked, "You finished already?" "It's done." Sally responded as she taped a bandage over the incision. "Be really careful when you sit up." The boy cautiously rolled himself off the table and into a seated position, rubbing his groggy eyes. He was met with another injection, this time in the arm, to reverse the effects of the sedative. Within a few minutes he wasn't feeling too badly. "Try it." Motoko cut in. The young doctor brought over the a cable that was wired in to her computer and gently clipped the male end into the female end sticking out of Duo's scalp. Within seconds his eyes were wide and his heart rate had increased, and he panted in excitement. "Oh my god!!" he cried excitedly. "This is so... unreal!" "What are you experiencing, Duo?" Motoko asked the astounded pilot. "Everything! This is... this is GREAT! Thoughts! All these... thoughts! All kinds of things! And pictures. Mental pictures. Damn... Is this what tripping is like?" Duo chuckled. "What you're experiencing is information... information flowing from Sally's computer modem straight to the computer chip and then directly to your brain. You're receiving the messages from the probe through the sensations reaching your brain stem." She chuckled. "It's always quite enlightening the first time." "And people can do this all the time?" "Yup. But... right now you can only receive the information, and store what your brain would normally put into memory. We can retain much more, because of the insertion of another chip, like a little storage drive. We didn't put that in you. You won't need it for this." After a few minutes of experimentation with the probe, Sally disconnected the wires and with a big sigh, Duo's mind went back to the way it had always been. One hundred percent human and unaided. Then after covering the probe up with the bandage again, Sally started to gather up her supplies. Turning to Duo she gave him a few instructions before she was going to let him leave, namely that he was to report directly back to her for removal of the computer chip as soon as the mission with Motoko had been completed. He agreed, preparing to get on his way again to find Heero and save the world. Then finally it was time to put the procedure to the test. "We need to do it now..." the tinny voice said through Sally's computer. "So that I can be in a physical form when we confront 2051." Immediately Duo's face went white. Sally had already brought over Duo's laptop computer, which they had decided was the safest place to "store" Duo's ghost, in a closed circuit. "Wh-what's gonna happen? How do I know..." he swallowed hard. Motoko tried to calm the boy by explaining everything that was going to happen when the transfer occurred. Once Duo was in connection with a closed circuit on the laptop, Motoko would enter his shell, and Duo's ghost would enter a memory bank in the system, from where he'd be able to talk to everyone via the computer, just as she did. Flashing looks of worry in Sally's direction, the long-haired boy sighed and muttered under his breath. "Then lets do it." Sitting in the desk chair before Sally's desk, the laptop set up there, Duo sat as she disconnected the modem and secured the computer with a firewall as Motoko instructed. "It's ready." Sally blinked at Duo, noting the concern in his eyes. "OK." He huffed, trying to psyche himself up for whatever it was that was going to happen to him. Sally clipped the connector into the end of the one she'd placed inside Duo, then stepped back. "Ready Motoko." "OK Duo... I'll be seeing you in a minute." He nodded and closed his eyes. Watching intently, Sally observed everything that happened as Motoko switched 'places' with Duo, entering his body. The boy opened his eyes once to look straight at her, his violet irises vibrant and full of life, then closed them again. A primal scream escaped him causing Sally to yelp as well, as a bolt of energy reached the chip in his head, causing him to throw his eyes wide open suddenly, then in an instant it was over. Leaned back in the chair, Duo slumped, unconscious and still. A few seconds passed and there was no movement. Looking at the second hand on her watch, Sally felt a twinge of concern in the pit of her stomach, her heart racing, and she leaned forward and pushed up an eyelid. To her surprise, the natural violet of Duo's eye was darkening as she witnessed it. Dropping the lid down again, she watched for breathing and there wasn't any. "Duo!" Sally called him, shaking his shoulder. Her worry had spread to her expression, and a bead of sweat formed on her brow as she repeated his name. She had no idea what to expect, or whether this transfer was proceeding as expected. Nervously, she sat on the edge of her seat leaning right in his face and decided to wait a few more seconds before intervening. Suddenly the tension in the air was cut by the sound of Duo letting out a huge breath, then sucking in another lung full of air. Startled, Sally jumped in her seat. "Duo?" He grasped both sides of the chair and straightened himself in it, wincing, then slowly opened his eyes. They were brown. Brown. Looking around a little bewildered, he sat silently pensive for a few minutes while Sally watched him, then finally looked toward her to speak. "Motoko." Part 5 "This is so weird." "I'm used to it. I've been in bodies before. But I have to admit... life is very different through the eyes of a Gundam pilot." "It's like... I can't even explain this. I mean... I can think and speak and all that but... I don't feel like I'm real, or something." Duo's hollow voice sounded from his laptop computer while Motoko's came from Duo's body. Quatre was amazed, and a little unnerved by all of this, but seeing is believing, or in this case hearing so... who was he to judge? After all, Motoko sure put on a good show, disguised voice and all. Quatre had tailed Heero all the way to the Cinq Kingdom, where it was expected that the other pilot would try to kill Relena. Within a few hours time Duo and Motoko caught up with them, and the chase to get 2051 'out' and Heero 'in' had begun. Motoko briefed both Quatre and Duo on what to expect from 2051 - that is... what kind of behavior he was likely to display while occupying the body of someone else. Secrecy was it's best friend in this case, so naturally, it would try to act just like Heero, right down to being able to mimic his voice, as she could mimic Duo's. She warned them not to allow 2051 to convince them that this was Heero that they would be acting against, and above all, to follow her lead in order to successfully capture it. With apprehension, both boys agreed to follow through with her plan. Duo didn't really have any choice... after all, he was now inhabiting a hard drive. Upon reaching the Peacecraft mansion, the two pilots were greeted at the front gates by a guard and were, for lack of better words, interrogated before they were allowed entry into the grounds. They were brought before Lieutenant Noin, an advisor to Miss Relena, who immediately recognized the boys as Gundam pilots, and she waved off the guard that showed them in. With her stylish hair and a pretty complexion, she looked to be about twenty, and very official in her fancy OZ uniform. She led them into the elaborate building to a sitting area where the three sat to discuss the pilots' unannounced arrival in the Cinq Kingdom. "Yes, as a matter of fact, Heero Yuy did arrive earlier today." The Lt. told them. "He's with her right now." "Oh no!" Quatre gasped. "What's wrong? Lt. Noin's expression became concerned as Motoko, in Duo's body, and Quatre filled her in on what was happening. To further illustrate what they were talking about, Motoko pulled out Duo's laptop computer and really threw poor Noin for a loop when she heard Duo's voice on the computer, and then a strange female voice coming from... Duo? This was definitely out of the ordinary. Rightfully so, she didn't know what part of this grand concoction was truth and what part was fallacy, but if it concerned the well being of Miss Relena, it was her job to find out. She agreed to take them to see Heero and Relena, and if they could prove to her that what they were saying was indeed truth, then she would offer her assistance as well. For the time being, that would have to suffice, since time was wasting, and they had to get to Heero. They were lead to the second floor of the mansion, to Relena's office, where Relena and Heero had been talking. Knocking gently on the door, the Lt. asked for entry. "Miss Relena, there are two Gundam pilots here to see you. Shall I let them in?" Surprised, Heero looked quickly toward the door and back at Relena, then calmed himself. He had to act natural. He had to be casual, take care of whatever business the two intruders meant, and then get down to his own business. Relena smiled at Noin's voice and replied for her to allow the other two pilots in. "Duo? Is that you?" she said as she rose from behind her desk, a desk that looked much too imposing for her gentle demeanor, and waved him in. "Heero. Miss Relena." Duo nodded to them both, eyeing Heero just as warily as Heero was eyeing him. He noticed. He had to have noticed. The eyes. Duo's brown ones eyeing Heero's black. Motoko knew right away that 2051 was probably well aware of her presence, but played along anyway to see where this would lead. "Miss Relena..." Quatre stepped up to introduce himself, having never actually met the future Foreign Minister before. "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner." "Pleased to meet you Quatre" After the greetings and formalities were taken care of, Relena offered the two pilots a seat on a rather hard looking sofa in a seating group along one wall in the office. Heero reluctantly joined the two, sitting in an armchair perpendicular to the sofa. Relena was just about to ask Noin if she would give them privacy when Duo spoke up, glancing over to Quatre and then to Noin. "Would you mind if Lt. Noin stayed?" "Oh... Why of course." Relena replied accommodatingly. Noin moved to sit beside Quatre on the sofa. Relena sat in another armchair at the other end of the sofa. She looked regal in her military uniform, her hair done up in a bun and away from her face. A far cry from the child that Duo had met on Earth that first time when she'd stood between Heero and a bullet. "So... what brings the two of you to the Cinq Kingdom today? What can I do for you both?" For a few seconds, nobody said a word, but rather, the two pilots exchanged looks. Motoko looked directly at Heero, staring him down with a stern look amidst a flurry of chestnut bangs. "Actually Miss Relena... we're here to see Heero." "Oh!" Relena looked over to Heero, who seemed a bit uncomfortable with the presence of his two 'supposed' fellow pilots. "Heero," Motoko continued in Duo's voice. "We'd like to talk to you about the tests that were performed on the new Gundam at the OZ Lunar Base. Quatre tells me that something went wrong?" Heero fidgeted in his seat. Motoko was on to it, and 2051 knew it. Heero cleared his throat before speaking, giving his best glare to Duo. "Everything went fine, Duo." The voice was Heero. But the eyes were not. The eyes, Motoko could tell, were artificial... unfeeling. Not human. "It's" eyes. The tension was beginning to build in the room and neither Lt. Noin or Relena really knew what was going on; only that 'something' was going on. Relena stood up to walk toward the door to the office. "If this is something that the three of you need to discuss in private, I can arrange a safe place for you to talk." Relena looked over to Heero, who was rising from his seat as well. "No Relena... this is fine." Heero tried to keep everyone in the room in the hopes that the others wouldn't dare create a commotion while Relena and Lt. Noin were there. Moving toward the door Heero ushered Relena back to her seat. As she passed beside him, he reached his arm toward the door before it latched in an effort to beat everyone to the chase, but was surprisingly met by Lt. Noin's handgun at the back of his head. "Lt. Noin!" Relena cried out when she realized that the Lt. was holding Heero at gunpoint. "Have a seat, Heero. No one's going anywhere." Duo said from his seat on the sofa, very smitten. With Noin's assistance, the Japanese pilot was led back to the armchair where he flopped back down, a look of utter disgust and hatred on his face. Relena stood up again. "I demand an explanation for this! What is going on here!" She looked one by one to the others in the room. Heero. Noin, her gun still watching Heero's every move, Quatre, quietly sitting waiting for Motoko's queues, and Duo, grinning, pulling out his laptop computer and powering it up. "I apologize, Miss Relena. Here's your explanation." He popped up the display in the laptop, typed in a few codes, then set it on the coffee table before them. "Duo?" Motoko called to the computer. "What?" Relena asked in complete confusion as she heard Duo call to himself. Heero sat, mildly amused, but knowing what was coming. "I'm here." A metallic voice responded from the speaker on the laptop. Relena just watched, slackjawed. "Duo... why don't you tell Miss Relena what's going on?" Motoko said, staring directly at Heero. "Tell her Heero's little secret." There were now two voices, both sounding like Duo's, carrying on a conversation. Motoko turned the laptop toward Relena so she could hear from the speaker better. "Well... this is all really hard to explain so you can understand it but..." the voice on the computer began. "You see, Heero isn't Heero. Well... he looks like Heero, but that's not him. There's this 'thing' inside him... that kind of took over his body or something." "Wha... I don't understand." The young girl exchanged bewildered glances with Heero, then Noin. "Lt. Noin... do you know about this?" She nodded. "Better let Duo finish explaining." "Me... I'm in here right now. In the computer. Weird, I know. What you see there? That's my body, with someone else inside it." "This is ludicrous." Relena blurted. "That's enough. I don't know what you're all trying to pull here but..." Heero still sat, silently observing, his elbows propped and his hands pressed together like a little tent, hiding a sinister smile. "Relena, listen to me." The computer pleaded. "Better yet, listen to Motoko." All of a sudden Duo, Duo in the flesh that is, was speaking with... a woman's voice? "Miss Relena, he's right. If you'll allow me to restrain Heero so that he can't escape us, I'll be more than happy to explain all of this to you." "Restr... What? Are you all mad?" Relena was flustered, her color getting flush. "He's going to kill you." All heads turned to the otherwise silent Quatre, who was standing now, anticipating what was going to happen next. Using that distraction to his benefit, Heero sprang up from his seat and leapt for the door, followed closely by Duo and Noin, who pushed him up against door, smashing themselves against him. All three were huffing and puffing in their struggle to keep Heero inside the office. "Stop it! Stop it!" Cried Relena. Quatre went to her aid to quiet her while the other two did what they had to, to get Heero confined. Motoko yelled out. "Give it up Puppetmaster. You can't get away." "So help me... I'll KILL you all!" The deep voice of 2051 resounded through the office. Relena stopped in her tracks and just stared. That voice had come from... Heero! Now she was convinced that either she was losing her mind or this... craziness... was real. Through all the pushing and shoving and yelling and voices, Relena had to go back and sit down again, with Quatre at her side trying to console the girl. Duo could only hear what was happening, and hoped for the best, because interesting as it was, he wanted his body back. "Get his arms!" Lt. Noin yelled out as Motoko wrestled to put a pair of handcuffs from her back pocket on Heero. His wrists kept slipping out of her hands before she could close the cuffs. "Damn it!" "Motoko... you won't win. I'll finish you once and for all! I'll take this world just like I took all the others." Heero huffed in 2051's gruff voice. "You can't stop me. I'm too powerful for you Motoko." Finally getting the handcuffs secure, Motoko moved on to roping Heero's legs together. He laughed a sinister laugh as she did. She was sweating and out of breath by this point, as was Lt. Noin, and Duo's light brown hair lay matted against his forehead. "Do we need to do all that?" Noin grunted, still crushing her quarry up against the door while the other worked. There were now guards on the other side of the door trying to gain entry to see what the commotion was about, and Relena's shrill voice adding to the mayhem as she tried to tell them that everything was 'alright'. "He'll try everything in his power to escape. I've learned this. I'm not going to give him the chance this time." Part 6 Panting, Motoko and Noin were collapsed on the sofa after their struggle with Heero, who was, by nature, a very strong young man. Heero was bound, wrists and feet, and was lying face down on the plush carpet, also panting, but chucking too. Yes, she'd caught It again, but this was all just a game to It. Another round in the fight between It and the Federal agent that had so far led them both through worlds and dimensions and universes. Sometimes she was successful in stopping it, sometimes she wasn't. Score one for Motoko today. Looking up from his kneeling position beside Relena, Quatre asked. "So what do we do now that we've caught It?" "Get... Heero... back." Came the winded answer. "Yeah, and then get ME back." Duo added from his cybernetic confines. Motoko wiped an arm across Duo's forehead and stood, ready to finish what had already turned out to be an exhausting trek. The only thing they could do now was to get Heero back to Sally Po so that she could perform the chip implant in him as well, allowing 2051 to vacate Heero, and hopefully put the pilot's ghost back where it belonged. With Relena's and Noin's help, the four dragged the uncooperative boy to Duo's shuttle and boarded him, then took off to rendezvous once more with the doctor. After contacting her to alert her of their impending arrival, she was ready and waiting when they returned. Once inside the ground unit, Sally was prepared to repeat the implantation procedure, and she immediately began prepping Heero, all the while cursing her with insults and foul language. "My Lord!" Sally grumbled under her breath while she worked. Drawing up a syringe of sedative, she stabbed Heero in the buttocks right through his spandex shorts and pushed the plunger. "There. Try that on for size." In a few minutes time the complaining had all but stopped, and only a pair of evil black eyes sleepily followed her movements. "Lets do this." Motoko commanded, standing by with Quatre, ready to assist if need be. They had the laptop set up so that Duo could at least hear what was going on. Sally methodically repeated the detailed chip implantation procedure on Heero while the others watched on. In only a few minutes time she was stitching up the skin and wiring in the connector, then covering the area with a bandage for safe keeping. After the minor surgery was completed a sedative reversal was once again administered and Heero came back to full consciousness with all the spit and vinegar that he had when he fell asleep. Last of all, the computer connection was set as the cable end of the connector was snapped into place. "I've set up another firewall on your computer, Sally. I'm hoping that we can get Heero back where he belongs, and confine 2051 before it escapes again into the network." Motoko was whispering so that 2051 didn't hear her. "Are we ready?" Sally asked. Motoko nodded and prepared to switch on the computer. "I'm not going to leave here." It snapped angrily. "I'm not going to jump back in so easily. I like it here." It laughed sarcastically. "I haven't finished my work yet!" "Puppetmaster... when I flip this switch... DO IT! Or I'll kill you IN this body!" Sally and Quatre both shot looks of surprise at Motoko and something metallic hit the floor. It only laughed, taunting her. Motoko's patience was near its end. Flipping the long braid out of the way over Duo's shoulder, she winked at Sally. "When I tell you... turn it on." Then placing Duo's hands loosely around the neck of the constrained pilot, still flat out on the cold stainless table, she bent down and whispered in It's ear. "I'm going to give you one chance to do this right... and find that boy's ghost and put it back in this body. Then I'm going to kill you both." Straightening, she signaled Sally to turn on the machine, which she did warily. Immediately the energy surge to the chip in Heero's head caused his body to tremble and shake as 2051 hung on to Its physical existence with every effort. Motoko adjusted her fingers some, and nonchalantly looked down at the boy on the table, waiting a few more seconds. A deep growl emanated from within Heero as 2051 withstood the energy transfer and continued to claim Heero's body as his own, until the growl became a choked grumble. Tightening her grip around the still-bound boy's neck, Motoko grimaced and yelled to the ghost. "I'm going to do it. So help me! I'M GOING TO DO IT!" Sally ran beside Motoko, questioning herself whether to try to stop what was happening, or to trust Motoko's judgement. Catching the concerned uncertainty in her eyes, Motoko shook her head and mouthed to Sally 'No'. The tighter she squeezed, the more 2051 sputtered and wheezed, black eyes bulging out, mouth wide and gasping for breath that wasn't there. It hung on until the point when Heero was losing consciousness from asphyxiation, inky black eyes fluttering on the verge of death, body struggling against the bindings which held it tight. Then suddenly everything stopped, and the only sound was that of heavy breathing. Motoko's, Sally's, even Quatre's. "Is everything OK out there guys?" the computer voiced. Dropping her grip on Heero's neck, Motoko nearly collapsed from the force she'd exerted, draping partly across the pilot's still form. He began to cough. Good. He was still breathing. "Check his eyes." Sally did. "Blue." There was a collective sigh. "Then It's gone." Panting, Motoko unclipped the cable from the back of Heero's head and made her way to the desk chair. Dropping herself down, she grabbed the cable that was connected to the laptop, lifted the long braid off the back of Duo's neck and clipped the connector into place. "Do it. Quickly. And when it's done, Network this computer immediately so I can follow It." Motoko said, eyes closed, as Sally went to work on getting Duo back. Quatre in the meantime went to Heero and started undoing his handcuffs and ties as the other pilot slowly began to regain his consciousness. Sally began the 'ghost swapping' process again, this time on the laptop computer. She was getting accustomed to the reactions as the energy transfers occurred, so this time she wasn't quite so alarmed when Motoko whined some as she was sucked out of Duo's body and into the vastness of cyberspace. Watching patiently, the blonde woman waited for the indication that the swap had been completed, and Duo was safely back in his body, but for many minutes nothing at all happened. She shook his shoulder and called his name and still nothing. "Sally?" It was Motoko. Shooting a glance at the computer monitor Sally answered "Are you in there?" "Yeah. Is everything OK on your end?" Sally felt a bowling ball in the pit of her stomach. "He isn't here. Motoko... Duo isn't here yet." "What?!" The tinny voice fed back on the tiny audio speakers of the computer. "He's not HERE!!" Now there was panic in the young doctor's voice. "What do we do?" "Oh no... OK... let me find him. He's here... he's got to be here. The fire wall is still up, right?" Motoko's voice was a little shaky with worry now. "Firewall is still up." "Damn it!" For many minutes Sally heard nothing from either voice in the laptop, and she was staring to be gripped with the fear that in saving Heero, they'd just lost Duo. She paced in little rows in front of the desk, hands on her hips, concern in her eyes. Trying to calm herself, she went to Heero and Quatre. "How's it going here?" "Heero's waking up. He's pretty confused right now, but he seems to remember what happened." The blond pilot said while helping Heero to sit up finally. "Wha.... what's going on?" Back in his own body, Heero blinked and rubbed his eyes, then looked around as if he was seeing things for the very first time. "Welcome back." Sally chided. "But our problems aren't over yet." "Duo!" Quatre called out. "She's in the computer, and so is he. He's.... lost." Quatre left Heero and rushed to the form of his fellow pilot, unconscious and inanimate, slumped back in the chair. "Duo! Answer me! Duo!" "Quatre?" The female voice from the computer. "Quatre, I think I've located his ghost. I'm extracting it from a hidden file and it should transfer momentarily." "Oh-kay." Upon hearing that Motoko had located Duo, Sally crowded Quatre near the computer, waiting and watching. Heero got to his feet and quietly moved beside them to watch what was unfolding as the voice in the computer tried to rescue his friend. Then all at once, the three leapt backward as if they had been shot from a cannon as Duo's still body suddenly jumped to life in a momentous effort from Motoko to jettison his ghost across the transfer cable. With a painful cry Duo reentered his body, gasping and quivering the whole time. She had done it. "Sally... the network. Hurry." Sally slid behind the desk and tapped away at the laptop, restoring its connections with its network, allowing Motoko to reach it and follow behind 2051. For many minutes everyone remained in silence, not knowing if anything would happen, or if they had heard the last of the voice in the computer. Looking solemnly at everyone, Sally reached out to power down the laptop when Motoko chimed in again. "It's gone." She sighed. "What?" "I don't know... got past the firewall... something. But It isn't here." Duo was collecting himself after his ordeal. "So... what does that mean?" He scratched the back of his head near his stitches, wincing, only to have his hand slapped by Sally. "It means... that my work is not done. I'll probably have to repeat everything that we've done here the next time I catch up with It, to stop yet another takeover. The unfortunate thing is, with network and interdimensional traveling, there's no telling where I'll find It. I'll have to keep looking until I do." "Wow." Quatre replied. "When do you get to go home?" There was a pause. "I don't really have a home. Not any longer." "Why not?" Heero joined the conversation. "Because... because my real body was killed a long time ago. So, really, I exist, much the way 2051 does, as cyberkinetic energy flowing through computer nets. I tell ya... it's a real treat for me sometimes when I have to do what I did here, and jump into someone else. Reminds me of what life used to be like before all of this. Sally and Quatre? Thanks for all your help." Collectively they mumbled a 'You're welcome." "Heero,... good luck. Glad we could help you." His glare softening a bit, Heero looked at his feet and softly said "Thanks for... for getting my body back." Duo thought for a moment "Motoko... any chance we'll hear from you again? You know you can always take up space in my computer any time" The long-haired boy smiled to himself. "No Duo... I don't suppose I'll be around here any time soon, maybe never. Really, it's hit or miss, dimension hopping, as I've found out. But if I ever accidentally wind up in this world again, I'll be sure to find you." Uncomfortable silence filled the mobile ground unit. "Oh, and Duo?" "Yeah?" His eyes perked an looked in the direction of the speaker. "Thanks. For everything. Without you, none of this would have been possible. You trusted me with your life. I'm just relieved that everything worked out for you all." "Hey... no sweat! Anytime!" he kidded. "Oh yeah right!" the blonde pilot teased. "You were ready to chicken out and volunteer ME for this!" Everyone had a good chuckle as Duo blushed, waving them off. "Well everybody, I guess I need to be on my way. It's been... exciting." That was the last that anyone heard from Motoko or Project 2051. Epilogue Quatre and Heero walked together along the beach. They discussed the whole episode with the Zero System Gundam, and 2051, sharing experiences and what each had been witness to. As the sun sunk into the ocean in a late afternoon showcase, the two padded their way barefoot, stopping occasionally to rest and talk more, or to dip their toes in the waves lapping the shoreline. It had been an exhausting couple of days, and neither boy really knew at this point where they needed to be. OZ had probably recovered the new Gundam, and the Gundams themselves were still revered as enemies by the colonies. Too much had transpired in space to leave them much choice of what to do. "Let's stay here on the Earth, Heero." Quatre had said, rationalizing another trip back to the Cinq Kingdom in the hopes of gaining asylum for a little while. "The Earth has been good to us." ******** Exhausted, Duo flopped himself down on the old couch that he and Hilde had managed to dig up at a sale one weekend. It was hard and smelled bad, but it was a couch. And when you had no couch, a hard smelly couch was better than no couch at all. Yawning and stretching, he let out a big breath and closed his eyes for a few minutes, allowing his thoughts to return to Motoko, and everything he'd just experienced. It was late - the sky was dark and everything was quiet. Hilde heard him come in, and in a burst of excitement she quickly dressed and trotted out to meet him. Sliding herself beside him on the hard, smelly couch she hugged him around the neck and kissed his cheek, and asked of his mission. Of course, not having been witness to any of it, it sounded a little far fetched to her. It 'was' far fetched... but it was all truth. Chiding him about tall tales and 'why can't you really tell me about your mission', Duo sat up grinning and looked at her. "You don't believe me, eh? "No. Duo... that's... that's crazy!" "Yeah! Well... check THIS out!" He lifted up his long braid to show the under side of his neck, exposing a fresh set of stitches along an incision. The chip had been removed just prior to he leaving the Earth for the L2 Colony. Heero had a matching one. He giggled at Hilde's look of astonishment and hugged her, extremely happy to be home and in his body once and for all.