Share my Thoughts
Oct. 13th, 2004 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misanagiRated: PG13
Warnings: Shonen ai, angst.
Pairings: 3x4, 1x2, 5xS
Summary: Quatre seems different and the other pilots would do anything to find out what happened to him.
Notes: This is my first GW fanfic. I rewrote it and I'll be posting the chapters as soon as they are done. If you read this before (which I doubt) the plot is still the same, I just changed some style things.
Dedication: To Anne, for her patience. Thanks a lot for beta reading this twice. *gives her some chocolate to feed her addiction and some carrots to feed her bunnies*
Previous parts here
________
Chapter III
"Something is bothering you," said Heero, after closing the door of his and Duo's room.
Duo snorted. "That's the understatement of the century." He took his shoes off and threw them in a corner. After removing his shirt, Duo let himself fall onto the bed. His head was resting in the middle of the mattress and he was looking up at the ceiling. "I just hate thinking about what they did to Quatre."
Duo watched Heero's face appear in his line of vision. Heero had his eyes focused on Duo's and his lips were in a thin line. Some people might have thought that Heero always looked that way, but Duo had learned to notice the fine details that made his lover's face change and express his emotions. Heero was worried. "Quatre isn't weak. We all had to deal with different things when we were growing up."
"That's exactly what I mean," said Duo with a sigh. "I know he isn't weak. I know that our childhoods were less than perfect." A humourless chuckle escaped Duo's throat. "This might be silly but, somehow, I liked to think that, at least, /he/ had a good childhood, you know? That maybe not all of us were screw ups."
Heero lay on the bed beside Duo and played with a few strands of Duo's hair. "We all saw something that wasn't there. However, I can certainly tell you that Quatre is not a screw up; none of us are." Duo turned his head to look at his lover, and noticed the contemplative look in Heero's eyes. "Quatre's capacity to believe the best of people has always amazed me," continued Heero. "At first I thought that he didn't know better. Now, I know that he is very aware but refuses to lose faith in humanity. Duo, if something really happened to Quatre when he was growing up, then he is even more remarkable than I thought. He somehow managed to keep that kindness that makes him who he is."
A smile found its way to Duo's face. He remembered his first thoughts of Quatre when he met the Sandrock pilot for the first time. Duo had to admit that he had also thought that Quatre was naïve. The blond's persistence to work with the other pilots had struck Duo as nothing but idealistic. However, after spending some time with Quatre, Duo had come to the conclusion that if the Gundam pilots ever managed to work together, it would be thanks to Quatre. Duo hadn't been mistaken and he had come to admire and respect the blond in many ways.
The recent discoveries had him worried. A part of him was scared of finding out what secrets were hidden in Quatre's mind. The other wanted nothing but to discover what had happened, and make the responsible pay. Duo didn't appreciate people messing with his friends.
Heero put an arm around him and Duo closed his eyes, hoping for a dreamless sleep.
* * *
Sally Po lowered the window of her car and pushed the small button on the wall. She didn't have to wait long before Wufei's face appeared on the small screen. He had obviously just stepped out of the bathroom. His hair was wet, and loose from the usual ponytail; a few locks were falling in front of his eyes. "You are early," he said simply.
"I don't remember telling you a specific time when we talked yesterday. I said I would be here in the morning, and since the sun has risen, it is morning." She grinned at him. "Are you doing to open this gate or do I have to get the gear out of the truck and sneak in?"
He didn't answer. Instead, the screen went black and the metallic gate started to slide open. Sally smiled and parked her car in the driveway, making sure that she wasn't blocking the door to the garage. After turning the engine off, she exited the vehicle and took a medical bag from the trunk.
Wufei was waiting for her at the door. He was leaning on the wall. His hair was now tied in the customary ponytail, but it was still dripping. The blue t-shirt he was wearing matched the simple white pants. "Are shoes out of season?" Sally asked when she noticed that Wufei was barefoot.
"I don't wear shoes while I'm in the house," he replied. "I dislike them."
Sally raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Everyone had their little quirks, and the fun thing about knowing someone, was finding them.
She followed Wufei into the kitchen and sat in one of the chairs, laying the medical bag at her feet.
"I was just making coffee," he said, retrieving two cups from a shelf. "I don't think that we have cinnamon here so you are going to have to drink it with sugar."
The statement made Sally blink a couple of times, before she was able to smile politely and nod at Wufei. She hadn't realized that Wufei knew the way she took her coffee. Granted, they had been working together for a few years, but she never thought that Wufei would notice such trivial things. She smiled again, but this time it was a sincere smile.
A steamy cup of coffee was placed on the table before her. Sally thanked Wufei, reached for the sugar and started sipping the beverage. She was grateful that the cup covered half her face, and Wufei wasn't able to see her silly smile.
"How soon do you think you'll be able to start?" asked Wufei, taking a seat in front of her and placing his own cup of coffee on the table.
"I can start as soon as Quatre is ready," she said. "Actually, the sooner we start the better. The hypnosis takes a lot from the patient, especially if we are dealing with something as severe as what you described yesterday on the phone. He is going to need some time to recover in between sessions."
Wufei's cup didn't manage to touch his lips. "There is going to be more than one session?" he asked.
"I believe so," replied Sally, placing her own cup on the table. "Mental blocks are complicated things and they need to be treated carefully.
He nodded and took a sip from his coffee. "We trust you," he said after a while.
They drank in silence after that. She knew what those simple words meant, and she was honoured to be regarded as a trustworthy person.
"Winner doesn't get up until nine," said Wufei after they had finished drinking their coffee. "And as I said before, it's early. We have a couple of hours to kill. Do you want some breakfast? It seems to be my turn to cook today."
Sally smirked. "I would like that. Thanks, Wufei."
He smiled at her as he made some more coffee. "My pleasure, Sally."
* * *
Trowa lazily munched on a piece of toast. The sweet flavour of the strawberry jam and a few sips of plain coffee had woken him up. He was alert but he wasn't very hungry; he was eating more because it was necessary rather than out of hunger.
When Trowa had first walked into the kitchen that morning, with his hair still dripping from the shower and using his t-shirt to dry the wet drops on his face, he hadn't realized that he would find Sally there. She was helping Wufei with breakfast, or at least she had been doing that until she saw Trowa. He had been stared at before; he knew what it was like to have someone looking at him and thinking not so pure thoughts; Trowa had always managed to ignore it. However, the way Sally was looking at him was enough to make him uncomfortable. She grinned and lowered her eyes to his abdomen. That was when Trowa noticed that he still had his t-shirt half way up. He pushed his shirt down and smiled at Sally shyly. After she was done laughing and batting her eyelashes at him in a teasing manner, she went back to help Wufei with breakfast.
They worked well together, even if they were only intending to make toast and eggs. The way they moved showed that they were familiar and comfortable in each other's presence. Trowa smiled a little, noticing the way Wufei and Sally looked at each other while they ate, or how when their hands brushed, they didn't pulled away immediately but let them linger there for a moment. Somehow, Trowa felt like he was intruding.
Trowa checked his watch; he still had some time before Quatre would wake up. When they had gone to bed the night before, Quatre had been exhausted and had fallen asleep the moment his head had touched the pillow. Trowa realized that Quatre had used most of his energy trying to fight the mental block. The little things Quatre was able to say had been enough to tire his already fatigued mind, and the fact that Quatre had been working non-stop for the last few days hadn't helped at all.
Heero walked into the kitchen, bringing Trowa back to the present. After greeting Sally with a simple nod, Heero took a seat beside Trowa.
"I guess you are all taking a brief leave from work?" asked Sally.
"Lady Une gave us permission," replied Heero, buttering a piece of toast. "Things have been slow for a while anyway. If we are needed, she will call us."
They ate in silence for a while, until Trowa decided to interrupt. "Sally, have you dealt with something like this before?" He had been waiting for the right time to ask the question. No matter how much he trusted Sally, both as a physician and a friend, Trowa couldn't help but worry about Quatre.
"I've had some experience," Sally assured him. "I've seen cases of mental blocks before, when I was working with the Alliance. However, I have to admit that some of the things that Heero mentioned are new to me."
"It wouldn't be the first time J was able to develop something that hadn't been seen before," commented Heero.
"It was probably H who messed with Quatre's head." Duo entered the room and found a seat beside Heero. "Those doctors were all mad; you never knew what to expect when dealing with them."
Sally sighed. "Is it too much to expect a proper greeting in this house?" Her tone faked annoyance and her eyes were sparkling with amusement.
Duo smacked his forehead and then smiled at Sally apologetically. "Forgive me?" he asked after he stood up, and then gave Sally a small peck on the cheek. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, as far as we know, the doctors are all dead." Wufei commented, returning the conversation to the previous topic. "Although, I wouldn't be surprised if we were mistaken about their deaths."
Duo grabbed some juice from the fridge and took a seat beside Heero again.
"Heero, you did say that it was possible to get rid of the blocks?" asked Sally, refocusing everyone's attention.
Heero frowned, a small frown that Trowa doubted would be detected by Sally, but that the other ex-pilots could easily recognize. "Yes, but for that we need to know exactly what method was used on Quatre. J was very proud of the fact that his blocks couldn't be broken by anyone but him, because he was the only one who knew exactly what to do. If Quatre has the same kind of block, only the person who put it would be able to remove it."
"Great!" said Duo, his tone full of sarcasm. "If H was the one who did this to Quatre, there is no way he can be cured."
"Not necessarily." Sally stated, pensively. "If we can somehow find exactly what was done to Quatre, there might be a way to reverse the process."
"But how likely is that, Sally? He can't tell us what happened." Trowa put down the toast he was holding. He didn't feel like eating anymore.
"That is exactly why I'm here." Sally's expression was tender but also determined. "I'm going try to use hypnosis so that Quatre's subconscious can tell us something about what happened to him. I doubt it'll be clear enough; the block is obviously strong, but maybe we'll be able to get some hints."
Trowa checked his watch again. It was almost nine o'clock. Quatre would be waking up soon and he wanted to be there when it happened. He excused himself and left the kitchen.
* * *
Trowa opened the door slowly and closed it as soon as he stepped in. The room was dark, the curtains were closed, and the only light was the one coming from the small clock on top of the dresser.
Quatre was lying in the middle of the bed. His eyes were shut, a small smile graced his face, and his hands were hugging his pillow. Trowa allowed himself a few moments to contemplate the sleeping figure. Quatre's bangs were falling on his eyes. His mouth was slightly opened and his breathing was even. The sheet covering Quatre's body only reached his stomach, leaving his back visible to Trowa. The back muscles flexed a little with each breath Quatre took, showing that he was having a peaceful sleep.
The room was suddenly filled with the soft tunes of a violin emitted by the alarm clock. It was nine, time to for Quatre to get up. Trowa had witnessed the show many times before, but seeing Quatre wake up was always a spectacle worth watching more than once.
The blond took a couple of moments to notice that there was something disturbing his peaceful sleep and that it wasn't going to go away. He turned a little in bed and finally curled up, hugging the pillow tighter as if it was his only anchor to the dream world.
Quatre's smile was completely gone and a frown took its place. He moaned a little and whispered some incoherent words before turning again and trying, in vain, to get away from the annoying sound. By then, the soft violin tunes weren't the only ones filling the room. Trowa's laughter was a great companion.
Something in Quatre must have recognized that sound. He shifted again and faced his lover. His eyes were still closed and the frown firmly in place. Quatre blinked a couple of times before focusing on Trowa's face. He made a few more incoherent noises, hugged his pillow tighter, and closed his eyes again.
"You know, you're making me jealous," said Trowa, smiling as he continued looking at his sleepy lover. Quatre didn't move again and completely ignored him.
"I knew the time would come," Trowa continued, adding a dramatic tone to his voice "I just wish it wasn't so soon, but I understand that you have chosen her over me. I'll leave now so you and your beloved pillow can live happily ever after."
That did it. Quatre sat on the bed, laughing loudly and still holding the pillow.
Trowa pouted. "You see? She gets all the attention while I'm left to suffer alone."
Trowa was able to blink once before he was pinned to the bed by Quatre, who was hugging him like there was no tomorrow. Quatre's head was lying on top of Trowa's stomach and the smile was back in place.
"Mmm, this is so much more comfortable," murmured Quatre, closing his eyes and hugging his new pillow.
Trowa couldn't help but smile. He ran his fingers through Quatre's hair a couple of times, quietly enjoying the moment.
Quatre grunted before finally letting go. "I have to go," he announced in a resigned tone.
"No, you don't. Sally is here."
Quatre stopped before he was able to get out of bed. "Already? I thought it would take her a bit longer to get here."
"She wasn't that far away," explained Trowa.
"So this means..."
"That you're not going to work for a couple of days so she can start the hypnosis treatment, yes."
After thinking for a moment, Quatre nodded, and then headed to the bathroom. "I'll be down in a moment; go and finish eating." He walked to the bathroom and closed the door before Trowa had time to say anything.
* * *
"I presume by the smile on your face that "Cranky Morning Cat" didn't come out and play?"
Trowa ignored Duo. He sat to finish his breakfast and waited for Quatre to arrive.
It wasn't long before they saw the blond ex pilot appear in the kitchen doorway, dressed formally, but not in the dark suits he wore to work. He smiled and greeted Sally, gave Trowa a hello kiss and then went to get some breakfast.
Wufei glared at the coke can Quatre was holding in his hand. "Winner, I can't see how you can call that breakfast."
Quatre smiled and opened the can. "What can I say? I'm addicted to this stuff." He took a big mouthful and then sat down and started eating some toast.
"I hate to say this but I have to agree with Wufei." Sally smirked at the Chinese man before continuing. "As a doctor, I can tell you that drinking too much of a beverage filled with sugar and caffeine is not healthy."
"I know that," answered Quatre, "but it is one of the few pleasures in life." He winked at Trowa. "Not the best but it's definitely high on the list."
Sally raised her hands in an 'I tried' gesture and then dropped the issue. She knew from experience just how stubborn the Gundam pilots could be.
Quatre quickly finished breakfast and then went to leave
"Where do you think you are going, handsome? You have an appointment with me." Sally crossed her arms and waited for Quatre to reply.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," answered Quatre, smiling at Sally softly, "but I have to make a call before we can get started. Why don't I meet you in the living room in a moment? Please go ahead and get everything ready; I'll be there shortly."
* * *
Quatre's study was a room on the first floor that he used to do all the work that he didn't have time to do at WEI. It was a messy place, usually filled by papers and folders, and no one but Quatre ever used the room. It was the one room in the house that Quatre could call his own, even if it was just an extension of WEI. However, Quatre preferred to keep his work and personal life separate so he tried to do all his work in the office but sometimes, he had no choice but to bring some of it home. Since he didn't want the endless paperwork to start taking over the life he and the other ex-pilots had built in the house, Quatre had claimed the study for it. It was the only place in the house where he was allowed to work. All work related things were forgotten as soon as he exited the study.
Since he needed to sort some things before he could take a few days off work, Quatre went to the study to make some calls. He dialled a number and soon a woman with brown eyes and red hair appeared on the vid.
"Winner Enterprises offices. How can I help you?"
"Good morning, Alexa."
The woman's eyes widened a little. "Good Morning, Mr. Winner, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner."
"Don't worry about it, Alexa, and please call me Quatre."
She smiled. "I can't do that, Mr. Winner, it would be weird."
Quatre sighed. This wasn't the first time he'd had that argument with her and she, like all of his employees, simply refused to call him by his first name. "So how are you today?" he said, dropping the name issue. "I hope that problem with your landlord has been fixed?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Winner, and yes the problem is fixed. Thanks a lot for that. If it wasn't for you I would probably be without a home by now."
"I'm glad to hear that everything is all right. I don't think the paperwork will take very long, but if he does anything while he still owns the property, please let me know."
"Yes, Mr. Winner," she said, smiling brightly, "and thank you."
"Now, Alexa, would you please put me through to Cecilia?"
"Yes, Mr. Winner. Have a nice day."
* * *
Alexa put Mr. Winner on hold and dialled Cecilia's extension.
Winner Enterprises was the best job she had ever had and she especially liked her boss. Mr. Winner wasn't like any boss she'd had before. He didn't need to be above his employees to get their respect; he earned it.
Mr. Winner was nice to everyone and the door of his office was always open. Alexa had liked him from the first day; she could tell just by looking at him that he was a kind person. She didn't care about his age. There were a lot of people who had questioned Mr. Winner's capacity to handle a company as big as WEI. At the end of the day Mr. Winner had won everyone's heart and respect, and his age was no longer a problem.
Cecilia and Alexa were good friends so when the problem with Alexa's landlord had started, Cecilia had suggested talking to Mr. Winner. Alexa was reluctant at first, but when her landlord threatened to put everyone out on the street if they couldn't pay the new and much higher rent, she decided to take Cecilia's advice. When she got home from work that day her neighbor told her that the landlord had decided to forget about the new rent and was even selling the building. Later she learned that it had taken Mr. Winner just one phone call to get the landlord to sell him the building, way below market value, and to stop the harassment of his tenants. They just needed some more paperwork before the building was officially Mr. Winner's property. Cecilia had told Alexa that as soon as the deal was done, Mr. Winner would give the building to the tenants.
"Mr. Winner's office. How can I help you?"
"Hi Cecilia, I have your golden boy on hold for you."
"Mr. Winner? Please put him through," replied the secretary.
"Of course. See you at lunch." Alexa winked at her friend before she connected the call.
* * *
"Good Morning, Mr. Winner"
"Hello, Cecilia, how are you?" said Quatre as soon as his secretary appeared on the vid. "How is Jason?" he asked, before giving her time to reply to his previous question. Cecilia had a weak spot for her son, like all mothers do, and Quatre knew what a simple question about Jason's well being, meant to his secretary. Quatre had never met Jason but Cecilia had showed him countless pictures. He and Jason were the same age but no matter how hard he tried, Quatre couldn't relate to what he had heard of the other teen. There was an abysm between the two and it wasn't made by age, but by experience.
"He is fine, Mr. Winner," replied Cecilia, smiling kindly at Quatre, "and so am I."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry, Cecilia, but I won't be able to come to the office for the rest of the week, so I need to cancel all my appointments. Move them to next week and please tell Mrs. Castel to handle the ones that can't be rescheduled. Give her my cell phone number so she can call me if she has any problems. I also need you to send me the files that I need to check, but please only the urgent ones; I won't have time to look at my usual share. I'll deal with those later."
Cecilia took all the necessary notes and then looked at the vid again. "Is that all, Mr. Winner?"
"I think so, but please call me at home if you need anything."
"Of course, and what should I tell your sisters if they call?"
"My sisters..." Quatre sighed. "I don't know. Just tell everyone that I have some business to take care of and that I'll call them at the end of the week."
"Understood." Cecilia opened her mouth and closed it again. "Mr. Winner, are you all right?"
"Yes," Quatre assured and gave his secretary a confident smile. "I just thought I'd take your advice and get some rest."
She nodded and smiled back. "Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Winner. We'll be fine. I'll see you next week."
"Thank you, Cecilia. Bye." Quatre cut the connection and headed for the living room where everyone was waiting for him.
* * *
"So, how do we do this?" Quatre asked Sally, as soon as he arrived in the living room.
"Quatre, I need you to lie on the couch. The rest of you can sit wherever you want, but please stay quiet."
Duo sat down on the small couch next to Heero. Trowa sat on a chair near Quatre, and Wufei on the one across from him. Sally had taken a chair from the kitchen and put it in front of Quatre so she could be close to him and monitor his progress. Meanwhile, Quatre lay on the couch, ready to follow Sally's instructions.
"Hypnosis is a very complex technique," explained Sally. "There are very different kinds of patients and they all respond in different ways. Some people are easy to hypnotize because their minds are not trained to resist it." She focused her attention on Quatre. "I know you have a strong mind. No-one with a weak mind can control the ZERO system, so this tells me that there is no way I can use hypnosis on you unless you are willing."
Quatre nodded. It was his way to give Sally permission for what she was about to do.
Sally continued. "Quatre, need you to open your mind and follow my every instruction, but I also want you to convince yourself that I'm not violating your psyche. You need to give me access, otherwise this will be impossible. Your brain is a very powerful tool; just as it can prevent me from hypnotizing you, it can help me do it faster. If you help me and convince yourself that you want this, you can make the hypnosis go faster and work better."
She received another nod from Quatre.
"Close your eyes and listen to my voice. I want you to picture yourself on top of a long staircase. Look at the thousands of steps leading down. Climb down the staircase very slowly. With every step you take, you are going back in time. Your mind is not now and here, your mind is going back. Back before the war, before you became a Gundam pilot, before you met Trowa or any of us. I'm going to count very slowly from ten to one and when I'm finished you will have reached a spot in the stairway that shows something you can't speak of. You will be back in the past."
"Ten…"
"Nine…"
"Eight…"
"Seven…"
"Six…"
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
* * *
Wufei blinked a couple of times. Where was Sally? Where was the living room? And where the hell was he?
He looked around and noticed that he was standing in a large room. The walls were tall and covered with various paintings. Two large windows let the light of the afternoon drift into the room. In the middle of the area was a large carpet and above it, some expensive looking furniture.
Where was he? Wufei looked around the room again, trying to find some clue that told him what he was doing here.
Then Wufei saw him. In one of the dark corners of the room was a small boy sitting against the wall. His legs were pressed against his chest and his arms were around them. The boy's head was resting on top of his knees. Wufei noticed that the boy's breathing was even and he concluded that he was asleep. He wondered why a child was sleeping in the shadows of a room instead of in a bed, but didn't have much time to question it because the large doors of the room opened with a thud and a young woman walked in. The sound woke the child and his head snapped up.
Wufei gasped.
'Quatre.'
There was no mistaking him. His blond hair fell on top of his face, covering his big blue-green eyes. The features were exactly the same, except that the child in front of him was obviously younger. Wufei briefly considered the possibility of the boy being a sibling of Quatre's but he quickly remembered that Quatre was the youngest and the only male, so that was impossible. Besides, he was certain somehow that the child in front of him was a younger version of Quatre Winner.
Quatre looked straight at him and Wufei froze, waiting to see what the little Quatre would do. But Quatre didn't see him. He was looking right through Wufei, and at the woman at the door. The child's eyes grew wide and for a moment, he looked scared. However, the look soon disappeared and was replaced by the hopeless gaze of someone who knows that there is no way out and is ready to face whatever is thrown at him.
Wufei kept his eyes focussed on Quatre. He knew that look. It was the one the older Quatre used whenever he battled, and Wufei had never associated it with fear, but with braveness.
Quatre slowly rose from the floor and waited for the woman to reach him. She walked to him, ignoring Wufei too, and staring at the boy with disgust on her face.
"There you are!" she screamed at him. "Do you think you can hide from us? You are such a terrible heir. Wait until I tell Father that you've been missing your lessons."
Quatre looked at her with a bored expression. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened and that the little boy was tired of arguing.
"Don't look at me like that!" she screamed again. "You have no right. I'm your older sister; you need to learn how to respect your elders."
"What would you like me to do, Sheara?" asked the small boy, with an even voice and a determined tone. "Would you like me to hang my head while you insult me and threaten to tell more lies about me to Father? You know I won't deny it anymore; I'm tired of it. But I won't lower myself to you, Sheara."
Wufei gasped after hearing Quatre's words. The child didn't appear to be older than about ten, and yet he already talked like an adult. There was no bitterness on his voice, just the acceptance of the world he was forced to live in. Wufei didn't have more time to think about this since the woman slapped her brother sharply. Quatre remained silent and kept his eyes on her.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that! You are a disgrace; you are not worthy to be the heir of the Winner family."
"I know that, and I never asked for it." Quatre's tone hadn't changed. "Father can always make another boy to replace me."
"I don't know why he hasn't," spat the woman. "He knows that you are worthless."
"I wonder who gave him that impression, Sheara?"
She didn't miss the sarcastic tone of Quatre's voice, and soon another slap was delivered to the boy's face.
'That has to be the most despicable woman I have ever seen,' thought Wufei as he moved to stop Sheara from hurting Quatre further. He wasn't that surprised when he found out that she didn't notice him or that he couldn't touch her. However, he was angry that he couldn't stop her and that whenever he tried to touch her, his hand passed right through her.
Sheara took Quatre roughly by the arm and led him out of the room. Wufei followed them through the richly decorated hallways, never taking his eyes from the woman. He might not be able to do anything to stop her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try.
By the time they reached their destination, Wufei had no doubt that he was in Quatre's home on the L4 colony cluster. Sheara entered a small room without announcing herself, pulling Quatre behind her.
It was a classroom. The room wasn't big and it was dark. There was only one small window at the top of one wall and a tree outside prevented much light getting in. The walls in the room were bare and in the center of it rested just one small desk with a chair. A bookshelf was the only thing on the right wall. There was a board at the far wall and in front of it was a big wooden desk with a severe looking man sitting behind it.
"Here he is, Karim; I found him hiding in the sitting room." Sheara's tone had changed completely when she addressed the man. All the disdain that was noticeable when she talked to Quatre was gone. "I'll see you at dinner," she said to the man and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"You are late," Karim said after a moment, in a cold voice.
"I wasn't aware that there would be a lesson today," replied Quatre, in the same even tone he'd used with Sheara.
"Your father thought that giving you a full day off a week was too much. On Sundays, you'll have lessons with me for the whole afternoon. Be grateful that you have the mornings free."
Quatre didn't reply or show in any way what he thought of the new arrangement.
"Sit," Karim ordered. Quatre did as he was told.
"You are doing very poorly with your algebra work. I didn't expect it would take you so long to comprehend the simple concept of Structure of Noncommutative Rings." [1]
Quatre kept silent and his teacher started his lesson. Wufei wasn't paying attention; he was trying to work out why a ten-year-old was learning such a complicated concept. Wufei, too, was a Gundam pilot and knew that the skills they needed weren't possessed by everybody. Piloting a Gundam required both physical and mental strength. Their training hadn't just consisted of resistance and reflexes; they had also needed advanced knowledge, such as physics, math, mechanics, and chemistry. All the Gundam pilots had that knowledge, it was a requirement.
Wufei knew that Quatre possessed great intellectual strength. He wasn't the strategist for nothing, and Wufei had put his life in Quatre's hands countless times. Even so, Wufei was amazed to discover what Quatre was learning and he couldn't help but being angered by the way this Karim was treating the child.
Karim talked down to Quatre and told him how useless he was at every chance he got. The man explained the concepts only once, even though they were very complicated and probably had taken him years to comprehend. Quatre just sat quietly listening to his teacher and taking some notes in a notebook he had taken from his desk. The lesson was almost an hour long, and then Karim got up and gathered his things.
"Open your book at chapter fifteen. I expect all of the exercises to be done before you can leave this room." Karim exited the room and locked it from the outside, leaving Quatre inside.
The boy got up from his seat and took a book from the shelf. He sat at the desk and opened it. Wufei heard a sigh, followed by a young voice that said, "I won't finish in time for dinner."
Wufei took a look at the book and saw that, in fact, it was impossible to finish all those exercises in less than a few hours, and the artificial sun was already setting.
For the next hour Wufei saw the young Quatre work silently on his exercises. He was working quickly but he wasn't even halfway when the door opened and Sheara walked in.
"It's dinner time. Have you finished with your work?"
Quatre looked up from his books. "No," he said simply, before returning his eyes to his papers.
"See? Worthless! Can't even finish a simple task on time. I guess you won't be joining us for dinner then. If you are done by breakfast tomorrow you may have something to eat."
Quatre ignored her and she left, locking the room behind her.
As soon as he heard that the door had been locked, Quatre dropped the pencil and threw his head back. He closed his eyes and sighed.
Wufei wished that he could teach that woman a lesson. How dare she treat her family that way? He knew that Quatre didn't get along with his sisters very well. Quatre had said that he didn't even know most of them but Wufei had never expected that the blond's relationship with them could be like this. It was true that he had only seen Sheara treating Quatre badly, but he had to wonder what the rest of the family was doing while this was happening.
Quatre worked for a couple of more hours, until he finally finished. The child closed his notebook and returned the book to its place. And then, he did something that Wufei didn't expect.
Climbing on top of the teacher's desk. Quatre used his arms to lift himself to the small window above him. His experience obvious, Quatre jumped from the window and into the garden. Wufei wasn't surprised when he found out that he could walk through the wall and he followed Quatre outside.
The boy moved, hidden by the shadows, until he reached another window. This was a big one, like the one Wufei had seen before in the other room. Quatre opened it and, after getting the curtains out of the way, walked inside.
It was a music room. The place was big and bright. There was a piano in one corner and an entire wall was filled with all kinds of instruments. Quatre closed the window after entering and straightened the curtains. Wufei watched him move to a control panel on the other wall and activate the sound proof system. It isolated the sounds in one room and made it impossible to hear them from outside. The system was very popular and it was used everywhere, from movie theaters to conference rooms.
After the boy was sure that he was isolated in the room and that he wouldn't be heard, he took a violin from the wall and started playing. Wufei had heard Quatre play a few times before, and each time the blond had enchanted him with his music. The young Quatre played beautifully, and Wufei discovered by listening to the boy play, that Quatre could still envelope him in his music. However, the most wonderful thing was the expression on Quatre's face. His eyes were closed but his smile and his music spoke loud enough. This was Quatre's happiness.
The moment ended too soon and Quatre returned the room to the way it was before he had snuck in. He opened the window and slowly returned to the classroom. After easily climbing inside, Quatre sat at the desk. Five minutes later, the door was opened and Karim walked in followed by Sheara.
"Are you done?" asked Sheara, looking down at Quatre. "Karim wants to go home and he won't waste his time with a lazy boy like you."
Quatre got up and handed the notebook to his teacher. Karim looked at it and noticed that the boy had finished. He nodded to Sheara and then she took Quatre by the arm again.
"You may go to your room and sleep. Breakfast is tomorrow at seven. I hope you won't be late. It would be a shame if you missed that too."
"No doubt it would be," Quatre said sarcastically, leaving the room and ignoring Sheara's undignified words.
Wufei followed Quatre but after a few steps, he felt a wave of dizziness overtake him. He stopped walking and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was no longer following the boy in the hallway, but looking at Sally's worried eyes.
* * *
"Wufei, can you hear me?" Sally asked, pointing a small flashlight to his eyes.
Wufei closed them and put his hand over his face. "Are you trying to blind me?" he asked, waiting for the annoying light to fade.
Sally turned off her flashlight and then looked at Wufei. "Oh gods, are you okay?"
"Of course I am!" Wufei blinked a couple of times. "What are you talking about?"
"You just—"
Her reply was cut short by Duo's exclamation. "Man, that was weird." He was rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. "I think I'm finally going crazy."
Sally turned around and her eyes filled with relief at the sight of the other Gundam pilots awake.
"Did it work?" asked Quatre, sitting up slowly and putting a hand on his forehead.
"Did it work?" repeated Sally, a little too loudly. "Did it work? You guys almost gave me a heart attack! Now, is someone going to explain what just happened here?"
"What do you mean?" asked Quatre, looking at everybody in the room. He had put his hand on his lap and he was frowning, like if he was concentrating on something.
Sally was slowly calming herself. The early adrenaline rush that seemed to have taken her over was dissipating. "After you fell asleep," she explained to Quatre, "the others did too. I couldn't wake any of you, no matter how hard I tried." She sighed. "On top of that, you didn't say a word, Quatre. You were supposed to talk about your past, but you didn't say a thing."
"I didn't? But I was there again, and it felt like the first—" Quatre stopped talking and closed his eyes tightly as he put a hand on his forehead again. He had probably said too much. Trowa was beside Quatre in a second. He put an arm around the blond and Quatre leaned on Trowa's chest.
Sally kneeled in front of Quatre and took a hold of his wrist, checking his pulse.
"So you did remember?" asked Heero. He looked as if nothing had happened but there was something in Heero's eyes that stated that he was angry about something.
Quatre simply nodded and then everyone was quiet for a moment.
Wufei stood up and stretched his legs. "Was it a classroom scene with your sister and teacher?"
Quatre's head snapped up but he didn't answer Wufei's question.
"You saw that too?" asked Duo, looking at Wufei with confused eyes.
Wufei didn't have time to answer before Heero and Trowa muttered something unintelligible. He didn't have to answer the question now, it was clear that everyone had been in Quatre's memories. The true mystery was how that was possible.
"Okay, this is really starting to freak me out," said Duo, shaking his head slowly.
Everyone was silent for a moment and then Heero spoke. "The only explanation I can think of is that the hypnosis worked. Quatre relived one of those blocked memories and somehow we did it with him."
"How?" asked Wufei, voicing his earlier thoughts.
"Maybe it's my space heart," whispered Quatre. He sat up straight but kept a hand on Trowa's lap.
Sally finished her quick examination of Quatre and took a seat in the chair Trowa had vacated. "What are you talking about?" she asked, looking confused.
"His empathy," answered Trowa. He put one of his hands on top of Quatre's and wrapped his fingers around it. "Quatre is a newtype and has empathic abilities."
"He felt me self-destruct," Heero added. The small frown was the only indication of how painful that memory truly was.
"Maybe the combination of Cat's empathy and Sally's hypnosis made us witness what he remembered," Duo proposed. At that moment it was the only reasonable explanation.
There was a long moment of silence. Wufei kept replaying what he saw in his head and he was sure that the others were doing the same thing too; especially since Duo cursed once in a while and Trowa muttered things and put an arm around Quatre, as if he was trying to protect him.
"So what I saw wasn't a dream but Winner's actual memories?" asked Wufei breaking the silence. He looked at Quatre. "Did that really happen?"
Everyone looked at Quatre and after a couple of moments he managed to nod at them. He closed his eyes and began to massage his forehead.
Trowa bit his lip and ran his fingers through Quatre's hair in a soothing manner. However, his other hand was in a fist and his knuckles were turning white. "Sheara Winner is going to pay."
* * *
TBC
[1] I know nothing about this. I just know that it is really complicated, or so my engineer student friend has told me. I'm just a literature student and what I learned about Algebra in school I've already forgotten. But if you are interested in the topic of the Structure of Noncommutative Rings (I was just looking for a complicated name) you can go read about it in the site that I took it from. Here is the URL:
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/aaol/noncommutative.html
_______
Warnings: Shonen ai, angst.
Pairings: 3x4, 1x2, 5xS
Summary: Quatre seems different and the other pilots would do anything to find out what happened to him.
Notes: This is my first GW fanfic. I rewrote it and I'll be posting the chapters as soon as they are done. If you read this before (which I doubt) the plot is still the same, I just changed some style things.
Dedication: To Anne, for her patience. Thanks a lot for beta reading this twice. *gives her some chocolate to feed her addiction and some carrots to feed her bunnies*
Previous parts here
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Chapter III
"Something is bothering you," said Heero, after closing the door of his and Duo's room.
Duo snorted. "That's the understatement of the century." He took his shoes off and threw them in a corner. After removing his shirt, Duo let himself fall onto the bed. His head was resting in the middle of the mattress and he was looking up at the ceiling. "I just hate thinking about what they did to Quatre."
Duo watched Heero's face appear in his line of vision. Heero had his eyes focused on Duo's and his lips were in a thin line. Some people might have thought that Heero always looked that way, but Duo had learned to notice the fine details that made his lover's face change and express his emotions. Heero was worried. "Quatre isn't weak. We all had to deal with different things when we were growing up."
"That's exactly what I mean," said Duo with a sigh. "I know he isn't weak. I know that our childhoods were less than perfect." A humourless chuckle escaped Duo's throat. "This might be silly but, somehow, I liked to think that, at least, /he/ had a good childhood, you know? That maybe not all of us were screw ups."
Heero lay on the bed beside Duo and played with a few strands of Duo's hair. "We all saw something that wasn't there. However, I can certainly tell you that Quatre is not a screw up; none of us are." Duo turned his head to look at his lover, and noticed the contemplative look in Heero's eyes. "Quatre's capacity to believe the best of people has always amazed me," continued Heero. "At first I thought that he didn't know better. Now, I know that he is very aware but refuses to lose faith in humanity. Duo, if something really happened to Quatre when he was growing up, then he is even more remarkable than I thought. He somehow managed to keep that kindness that makes him who he is."
A smile found its way to Duo's face. He remembered his first thoughts of Quatre when he met the Sandrock pilot for the first time. Duo had to admit that he had also thought that Quatre was naïve. The blond's persistence to work with the other pilots had struck Duo as nothing but idealistic. However, after spending some time with Quatre, Duo had come to the conclusion that if the Gundam pilots ever managed to work together, it would be thanks to Quatre. Duo hadn't been mistaken and he had come to admire and respect the blond in many ways.
The recent discoveries had him worried. A part of him was scared of finding out what secrets were hidden in Quatre's mind. The other wanted nothing but to discover what had happened, and make the responsible pay. Duo didn't appreciate people messing with his friends.
Heero put an arm around him and Duo closed his eyes, hoping for a dreamless sleep.
* * *
Sally Po lowered the window of her car and pushed the small button on the wall. She didn't have to wait long before Wufei's face appeared on the small screen. He had obviously just stepped out of the bathroom. His hair was wet, and loose from the usual ponytail; a few locks were falling in front of his eyes. "You are early," he said simply.
"I don't remember telling you a specific time when we talked yesterday. I said I would be here in the morning, and since the sun has risen, it is morning." She grinned at him. "Are you doing to open this gate or do I have to get the gear out of the truck and sneak in?"
He didn't answer. Instead, the screen went black and the metallic gate started to slide open. Sally smiled and parked her car in the driveway, making sure that she wasn't blocking the door to the garage. After turning the engine off, she exited the vehicle and took a medical bag from the trunk.
Wufei was waiting for her at the door. He was leaning on the wall. His hair was now tied in the customary ponytail, but it was still dripping. The blue t-shirt he was wearing matched the simple white pants. "Are shoes out of season?" Sally asked when she noticed that Wufei was barefoot.
"I don't wear shoes while I'm in the house," he replied. "I dislike them."
Sally raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Everyone had their little quirks, and the fun thing about knowing someone, was finding them.
She followed Wufei into the kitchen and sat in one of the chairs, laying the medical bag at her feet.
"I was just making coffee," he said, retrieving two cups from a shelf. "I don't think that we have cinnamon here so you are going to have to drink it with sugar."
The statement made Sally blink a couple of times, before she was able to smile politely and nod at Wufei. She hadn't realized that Wufei knew the way she took her coffee. Granted, they had been working together for a few years, but she never thought that Wufei would notice such trivial things. She smiled again, but this time it was a sincere smile.
A steamy cup of coffee was placed on the table before her. Sally thanked Wufei, reached for the sugar and started sipping the beverage. She was grateful that the cup covered half her face, and Wufei wasn't able to see her silly smile.
"How soon do you think you'll be able to start?" asked Wufei, taking a seat in front of her and placing his own cup of coffee on the table.
"I can start as soon as Quatre is ready," she said. "Actually, the sooner we start the better. The hypnosis takes a lot from the patient, especially if we are dealing with something as severe as what you described yesterday on the phone. He is going to need some time to recover in between sessions."
Wufei's cup didn't manage to touch his lips. "There is going to be more than one session?" he asked.
"I believe so," replied Sally, placing her own cup on the table. "Mental blocks are complicated things and they need to be treated carefully.
He nodded and took a sip from his coffee. "We trust you," he said after a while.
They drank in silence after that. She knew what those simple words meant, and she was honoured to be regarded as a trustworthy person.
"Winner doesn't get up until nine," said Wufei after they had finished drinking their coffee. "And as I said before, it's early. We have a couple of hours to kill. Do you want some breakfast? It seems to be my turn to cook today."
Sally smirked. "I would like that. Thanks, Wufei."
He smiled at her as he made some more coffee. "My pleasure, Sally."
* * *
Trowa lazily munched on a piece of toast. The sweet flavour of the strawberry jam and a few sips of plain coffee had woken him up. He was alert but he wasn't very hungry; he was eating more because it was necessary rather than out of hunger.
When Trowa had first walked into the kitchen that morning, with his hair still dripping from the shower and using his t-shirt to dry the wet drops on his face, he hadn't realized that he would find Sally there. She was helping Wufei with breakfast, or at least she had been doing that until she saw Trowa. He had been stared at before; he knew what it was like to have someone looking at him and thinking not so pure thoughts; Trowa had always managed to ignore it. However, the way Sally was looking at him was enough to make him uncomfortable. She grinned and lowered her eyes to his abdomen. That was when Trowa noticed that he still had his t-shirt half way up. He pushed his shirt down and smiled at Sally shyly. After she was done laughing and batting her eyelashes at him in a teasing manner, she went back to help Wufei with breakfast.
They worked well together, even if they were only intending to make toast and eggs. The way they moved showed that they were familiar and comfortable in each other's presence. Trowa smiled a little, noticing the way Wufei and Sally looked at each other while they ate, or how when their hands brushed, they didn't pulled away immediately but let them linger there for a moment. Somehow, Trowa felt like he was intruding.
Trowa checked his watch; he still had some time before Quatre would wake up. When they had gone to bed the night before, Quatre had been exhausted and had fallen asleep the moment his head had touched the pillow. Trowa realized that Quatre had used most of his energy trying to fight the mental block. The little things Quatre was able to say had been enough to tire his already fatigued mind, and the fact that Quatre had been working non-stop for the last few days hadn't helped at all.
Heero walked into the kitchen, bringing Trowa back to the present. After greeting Sally with a simple nod, Heero took a seat beside Trowa.
"I guess you are all taking a brief leave from work?" asked Sally.
"Lady Une gave us permission," replied Heero, buttering a piece of toast. "Things have been slow for a while anyway. If we are needed, she will call us."
They ate in silence for a while, until Trowa decided to interrupt. "Sally, have you dealt with something like this before?" He had been waiting for the right time to ask the question. No matter how much he trusted Sally, both as a physician and a friend, Trowa couldn't help but worry about Quatre.
"I've had some experience," Sally assured him. "I've seen cases of mental blocks before, when I was working with the Alliance. However, I have to admit that some of the things that Heero mentioned are new to me."
"It wouldn't be the first time J was able to develop something that hadn't been seen before," commented Heero.
"It was probably H who messed with Quatre's head." Duo entered the room and found a seat beside Heero. "Those doctors were all mad; you never knew what to expect when dealing with them."
Sally sighed. "Is it too much to expect a proper greeting in this house?" Her tone faked annoyance and her eyes were sparkling with amusement.
Duo smacked his forehead and then smiled at Sally apologetically. "Forgive me?" he asked after he stood up, and then gave Sally a small peck on the cheek. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, as far as we know, the doctors are all dead." Wufei commented, returning the conversation to the previous topic. "Although, I wouldn't be surprised if we were mistaken about their deaths."
Duo grabbed some juice from the fridge and took a seat beside Heero again.
"Heero, you did say that it was possible to get rid of the blocks?" asked Sally, refocusing everyone's attention.
Heero frowned, a small frown that Trowa doubted would be detected by Sally, but that the other ex-pilots could easily recognize. "Yes, but for that we need to know exactly what method was used on Quatre. J was very proud of the fact that his blocks couldn't be broken by anyone but him, because he was the only one who knew exactly what to do. If Quatre has the same kind of block, only the person who put it would be able to remove it."
"Great!" said Duo, his tone full of sarcasm. "If H was the one who did this to Quatre, there is no way he can be cured."
"Not necessarily." Sally stated, pensively. "If we can somehow find exactly what was done to Quatre, there might be a way to reverse the process."
"But how likely is that, Sally? He can't tell us what happened." Trowa put down the toast he was holding. He didn't feel like eating anymore.
"That is exactly why I'm here." Sally's expression was tender but also determined. "I'm going try to use hypnosis so that Quatre's subconscious can tell us something about what happened to him. I doubt it'll be clear enough; the block is obviously strong, but maybe we'll be able to get some hints."
Trowa checked his watch again. It was almost nine o'clock. Quatre would be waking up soon and he wanted to be there when it happened. He excused himself and left the kitchen.
* * *
Trowa opened the door slowly and closed it as soon as he stepped in. The room was dark, the curtains were closed, and the only light was the one coming from the small clock on top of the dresser.
Quatre was lying in the middle of the bed. His eyes were shut, a small smile graced his face, and his hands were hugging his pillow. Trowa allowed himself a few moments to contemplate the sleeping figure. Quatre's bangs were falling on his eyes. His mouth was slightly opened and his breathing was even. The sheet covering Quatre's body only reached his stomach, leaving his back visible to Trowa. The back muscles flexed a little with each breath Quatre took, showing that he was having a peaceful sleep.
The room was suddenly filled with the soft tunes of a violin emitted by the alarm clock. It was nine, time to for Quatre to get up. Trowa had witnessed the show many times before, but seeing Quatre wake up was always a spectacle worth watching more than once.
The blond took a couple of moments to notice that there was something disturbing his peaceful sleep and that it wasn't going to go away. He turned a little in bed and finally curled up, hugging the pillow tighter as if it was his only anchor to the dream world.
Quatre's smile was completely gone and a frown took its place. He moaned a little and whispered some incoherent words before turning again and trying, in vain, to get away from the annoying sound. By then, the soft violin tunes weren't the only ones filling the room. Trowa's laughter was a great companion.
Something in Quatre must have recognized that sound. He shifted again and faced his lover. His eyes were still closed and the frown firmly in place. Quatre blinked a couple of times before focusing on Trowa's face. He made a few more incoherent noises, hugged his pillow tighter, and closed his eyes again.
"You know, you're making me jealous," said Trowa, smiling as he continued looking at his sleepy lover. Quatre didn't move again and completely ignored him.
"I knew the time would come," Trowa continued, adding a dramatic tone to his voice "I just wish it wasn't so soon, but I understand that you have chosen her over me. I'll leave now so you and your beloved pillow can live happily ever after."
That did it. Quatre sat on the bed, laughing loudly and still holding the pillow.
Trowa pouted. "You see? She gets all the attention while I'm left to suffer alone."
Trowa was able to blink once before he was pinned to the bed by Quatre, who was hugging him like there was no tomorrow. Quatre's head was lying on top of Trowa's stomach and the smile was back in place.
"Mmm, this is so much more comfortable," murmured Quatre, closing his eyes and hugging his new pillow.
Trowa couldn't help but smile. He ran his fingers through Quatre's hair a couple of times, quietly enjoying the moment.
Quatre grunted before finally letting go. "I have to go," he announced in a resigned tone.
"No, you don't. Sally is here."
Quatre stopped before he was able to get out of bed. "Already? I thought it would take her a bit longer to get here."
"She wasn't that far away," explained Trowa.
"So this means..."
"That you're not going to work for a couple of days so she can start the hypnosis treatment, yes."
After thinking for a moment, Quatre nodded, and then headed to the bathroom. "I'll be down in a moment; go and finish eating." He walked to the bathroom and closed the door before Trowa had time to say anything.
* * *
"I presume by the smile on your face that "Cranky Morning Cat" didn't come out and play?"
Trowa ignored Duo. He sat to finish his breakfast and waited for Quatre to arrive.
It wasn't long before they saw the blond ex pilot appear in the kitchen doorway, dressed formally, but not in the dark suits he wore to work. He smiled and greeted Sally, gave Trowa a hello kiss and then went to get some breakfast.
Wufei glared at the coke can Quatre was holding in his hand. "Winner, I can't see how you can call that breakfast."
Quatre smiled and opened the can. "What can I say? I'm addicted to this stuff." He took a big mouthful and then sat down and started eating some toast.
"I hate to say this but I have to agree with Wufei." Sally smirked at the Chinese man before continuing. "As a doctor, I can tell you that drinking too much of a beverage filled with sugar and caffeine is not healthy."
"I know that," answered Quatre, "but it is one of the few pleasures in life." He winked at Trowa. "Not the best but it's definitely high on the list."
Sally raised her hands in an 'I tried' gesture and then dropped the issue. She knew from experience just how stubborn the Gundam pilots could be.
Quatre quickly finished breakfast and then went to leave
"Where do you think you are going, handsome? You have an appointment with me." Sally crossed her arms and waited for Quatre to reply.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," answered Quatre, smiling at Sally softly, "but I have to make a call before we can get started. Why don't I meet you in the living room in a moment? Please go ahead and get everything ready; I'll be there shortly."
* * *
Quatre's study was a room on the first floor that he used to do all the work that he didn't have time to do at WEI. It was a messy place, usually filled by papers and folders, and no one but Quatre ever used the room. It was the one room in the house that Quatre could call his own, even if it was just an extension of WEI. However, Quatre preferred to keep his work and personal life separate so he tried to do all his work in the office but sometimes, he had no choice but to bring some of it home. Since he didn't want the endless paperwork to start taking over the life he and the other ex-pilots had built in the house, Quatre had claimed the study for it. It was the only place in the house where he was allowed to work. All work related things were forgotten as soon as he exited the study.
Since he needed to sort some things before he could take a few days off work, Quatre went to the study to make some calls. He dialled a number and soon a woman with brown eyes and red hair appeared on the vid.
"Winner Enterprises offices. How can I help you?"
"Good morning, Alexa."
The woman's eyes widened a little. "Good Morning, Mr. Winner, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner."
"Don't worry about it, Alexa, and please call me Quatre."
She smiled. "I can't do that, Mr. Winner, it would be weird."
Quatre sighed. This wasn't the first time he'd had that argument with her and she, like all of his employees, simply refused to call him by his first name. "So how are you today?" he said, dropping the name issue. "I hope that problem with your landlord has been fixed?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Winner, and yes the problem is fixed. Thanks a lot for that. If it wasn't for you I would probably be without a home by now."
"I'm glad to hear that everything is all right. I don't think the paperwork will take very long, but if he does anything while he still owns the property, please let me know."
"Yes, Mr. Winner," she said, smiling brightly, "and thank you."
"Now, Alexa, would you please put me through to Cecilia?"
"Yes, Mr. Winner. Have a nice day."
* * *
Alexa put Mr. Winner on hold and dialled Cecilia's extension.
Winner Enterprises was the best job she had ever had and she especially liked her boss. Mr. Winner wasn't like any boss she'd had before. He didn't need to be above his employees to get their respect; he earned it.
Mr. Winner was nice to everyone and the door of his office was always open. Alexa had liked him from the first day; she could tell just by looking at him that he was a kind person. She didn't care about his age. There were a lot of people who had questioned Mr. Winner's capacity to handle a company as big as WEI. At the end of the day Mr. Winner had won everyone's heart and respect, and his age was no longer a problem.
Cecilia and Alexa were good friends so when the problem with Alexa's landlord had started, Cecilia had suggested talking to Mr. Winner. Alexa was reluctant at first, but when her landlord threatened to put everyone out on the street if they couldn't pay the new and much higher rent, she decided to take Cecilia's advice. When she got home from work that day her neighbor told her that the landlord had decided to forget about the new rent and was even selling the building. Later she learned that it had taken Mr. Winner just one phone call to get the landlord to sell him the building, way below market value, and to stop the harassment of his tenants. They just needed some more paperwork before the building was officially Mr. Winner's property. Cecilia had told Alexa that as soon as the deal was done, Mr. Winner would give the building to the tenants.
"Mr. Winner's office. How can I help you?"
"Hi Cecilia, I have your golden boy on hold for you."
"Mr. Winner? Please put him through," replied the secretary.
"Of course. See you at lunch." Alexa winked at her friend before she connected the call.
* * *
"Good Morning, Mr. Winner"
"Hello, Cecilia, how are you?" said Quatre as soon as his secretary appeared on the vid. "How is Jason?" he asked, before giving her time to reply to his previous question. Cecilia had a weak spot for her son, like all mothers do, and Quatre knew what a simple question about Jason's well being, meant to his secretary. Quatre had never met Jason but Cecilia had showed him countless pictures. He and Jason were the same age but no matter how hard he tried, Quatre couldn't relate to what he had heard of the other teen. There was an abysm between the two and it wasn't made by age, but by experience.
"He is fine, Mr. Winner," replied Cecilia, smiling kindly at Quatre, "and so am I."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry, Cecilia, but I won't be able to come to the office for the rest of the week, so I need to cancel all my appointments. Move them to next week and please tell Mrs. Castel to handle the ones that can't be rescheduled. Give her my cell phone number so she can call me if she has any problems. I also need you to send me the files that I need to check, but please only the urgent ones; I won't have time to look at my usual share. I'll deal with those later."
Cecilia took all the necessary notes and then looked at the vid again. "Is that all, Mr. Winner?"
"I think so, but please call me at home if you need anything."
"Of course, and what should I tell your sisters if they call?"
"My sisters..." Quatre sighed. "I don't know. Just tell everyone that I have some business to take care of and that I'll call them at the end of the week."
"Understood." Cecilia opened her mouth and closed it again. "Mr. Winner, are you all right?"
"Yes," Quatre assured and gave his secretary a confident smile. "I just thought I'd take your advice and get some rest."
She nodded and smiled back. "Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Winner. We'll be fine. I'll see you next week."
"Thank you, Cecilia. Bye." Quatre cut the connection and headed for the living room where everyone was waiting for him.
* * *
"So, how do we do this?" Quatre asked Sally, as soon as he arrived in the living room.
"Quatre, I need you to lie on the couch. The rest of you can sit wherever you want, but please stay quiet."
Duo sat down on the small couch next to Heero. Trowa sat on a chair near Quatre, and Wufei on the one across from him. Sally had taken a chair from the kitchen and put it in front of Quatre so she could be close to him and monitor his progress. Meanwhile, Quatre lay on the couch, ready to follow Sally's instructions.
"Hypnosis is a very complex technique," explained Sally. "There are very different kinds of patients and they all respond in different ways. Some people are easy to hypnotize because their minds are not trained to resist it." She focused her attention on Quatre. "I know you have a strong mind. No-one with a weak mind can control the ZERO system, so this tells me that there is no way I can use hypnosis on you unless you are willing."
Quatre nodded. It was his way to give Sally permission for what she was about to do.
Sally continued. "Quatre, need you to open your mind and follow my every instruction, but I also want you to convince yourself that I'm not violating your psyche. You need to give me access, otherwise this will be impossible. Your brain is a very powerful tool; just as it can prevent me from hypnotizing you, it can help me do it faster. If you help me and convince yourself that you want this, you can make the hypnosis go faster and work better."
She received another nod from Quatre.
"Close your eyes and listen to my voice. I want you to picture yourself on top of a long staircase. Look at the thousands of steps leading down. Climb down the staircase very slowly. With every step you take, you are going back in time. Your mind is not now and here, your mind is going back. Back before the war, before you became a Gundam pilot, before you met Trowa or any of us. I'm going to count very slowly from ten to one and when I'm finished you will have reached a spot in the stairway that shows something you can't speak of. You will be back in the past."
"Ten…"
"Nine…"
"Eight…"
"Seven…"
"Six…"
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
* * *
Wufei blinked a couple of times. Where was Sally? Where was the living room? And where the hell was he?
He looked around and noticed that he was standing in a large room. The walls were tall and covered with various paintings. Two large windows let the light of the afternoon drift into the room. In the middle of the area was a large carpet and above it, some expensive looking furniture.
Where was he? Wufei looked around the room again, trying to find some clue that told him what he was doing here.
Then Wufei saw him. In one of the dark corners of the room was a small boy sitting against the wall. His legs were pressed against his chest and his arms were around them. The boy's head was resting on top of his knees. Wufei noticed that the boy's breathing was even and he concluded that he was asleep. He wondered why a child was sleeping in the shadows of a room instead of in a bed, but didn't have much time to question it because the large doors of the room opened with a thud and a young woman walked in. The sound woke the child and his head snapped up.
Wufei gasped.
'Quatre.'
There was no mistaking him. His blond hair fell on top of his face, covering his big blue-green eyes. The features were exactly the same, except that the child in front of him was obviously younger. Wufei briefly considered the possibility of the boy being a sibling of Quatre's but he quickly remembered that Quatre was the youngest and the only male, so that was impossible. Besides, he was certain somehow that the child in front of him was a younger version of Quatre Winner.
Quatre looked straight at him and Wufei froze, waiting to see what the little Quatre would do. But Quatre didn't see him. He was looking right through Wufei, and at the woman at the door. The child's eyes grew wide and for a moment, he looked scared. However, the look soon disappeared and was replaced by the hopeless gaze of someone who knows that there is no way out and is ready to face whatever is thrown at him.
Wufei kept his eyes focussed on Quatre. He knew that look. It was the one the older Quatre used whenever he battled, and Wufei had never associated it with fear, but with braveness.
Quatre slowly rose from the floor and waited for the woman to reach him. She walked to him, ignoring Wufei too, and staring at the boy with disgust on her face.
"There you are!" she screamed at him. "Do you think you can hide from us? You are such a terrible heir. Wait until I tell Father that you've been missing your lessons."
Quatre looked at her with a bored expression. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened and that the little boy was tired of arguing.
"Don't look at me like that!" she screamed again. "You have no right. I'm your older sister; you need to learn how to respect your elders."
"What would you like me to do, Sheara?" asked the small boy, with an even voice and a determined tone. "Would you like me to hang my head while you insult me and threaten to tell more lies about me to Father? You know I won't deny it anymore; I'm tired of it. But I won't lower myself to you, Sheara."
Wufei gasped after hearing Quatre's words. The child didn't appear to be older than about ten, and yet he already talked like an adult. There was no bitterness on his voice, just the acceptance of the world he was forced to live in. Wufei didn't have more time to think about this since the woman slapped her brother sharply. Quatre remained silent and kept his eyes on her.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that! You are a disgrace; you are not worthy to be the heir of the Winner family."
"I know that, and I never asked for it." Quatre's tone hadn't changed. "Father can always make another boy to replace me."
"I don't know why he hasn't," spat the woman. "He knows that you are worthless."
"I wonder who gave him that impression, Sheara?"
She didn't miss the sarcastic tone of Quatre's voice, and soon another slap was delivered to the boy's face.
'That has to be the most despicable woman I have ever seen,' thought Wufei as he moved to stop Sheara from hurting Quatre further. He wasn't that surprised when he found out that she didn't notice him or that he couldn't touch her. However, he was angry that he couldn't stop her and that whenever he tried to touch her, his hand passed right through her.
Sheara took Quatre roughly by the arm and led him out of the room. Wufei followed them through the richly decorated hallways, never taking his eyes from the woman. He might not be able to do anything to stop her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try.
By the time they reached their destination, Wufei had no doubt that he was in Quatre's home on the L4 colony cluster. Sheara entered a small room without announcing herself, pulling Quatre behind her.
It was a classroom. The room wasn't big and it was dark. There was only one small window at the top of one wall and a tree outside prevented much light getting in. The walls in the room were bare and in the center of it rested just one small desk with a chair. A bookshelf was the only thing on the right wall. There was a board at the far wall and in front of it was a big wooden desk with a severe looking man sitting behind it.
"Here he is, Karim; I found him hiding in the sitting room." Sheara's tone had changed completely when she addressed the man. All the disdain that was noticeable when she talked to Quatre was gone. "I'll see you at dinner," she said to the man and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"You are late," Karim said after a moment, in a cold voice.
"I wasn't aware that there would be a lesson today," replied Quatre, in the same even tone he'd used with Sheara.
"Your father thought that giving you a full day off a week was too much. On Sundays, you'll have lessons with me for the whole afternoon. Be grateful that you have the mornings free."
Quatre didn't reply or show in any way what he thought of the new arrangement.
"Sit," Karim ordered. Quatre did as he was told.
"You are doing very poorly with your algebra work. I didn't expect it would take you so long to comprehend the simple concept of Structure of Noncommutative Rings." [1]
Quatre kept silent and his teacher started his lesson. Wufei wasn't paying attention; he was trying to work out why a ten-year-old was learning such a complicated concept. Wufei, too, was a Gundam pilot and knew that the skills they needed weren't possessed by everybody. Piloting a Gundam required both physical and mental strength. Their training hadn't just consisted of resistance and reflexes; they had also needed advanced knowledge, such as physics, math, mechanics, and chemistry. All the Gundam pilots had that knowledge, it was a requirement.
Wufei knew that Quatre possessed great intellectual strength. He wasn't the strategist for nothing, and Wufei had put his life in Quatre's hands countless times. Even so, Wufei was amazed to discover what Quatre was learning and he couldn't help but being angered by the way this Karim was treating the child.
Karim talked down to Quatre and told him how useless he was at every chance he got. The man explained the concepts only once, even though they were very complicated and probably had taken him years to comprehend. Quatre just sat quietly listening to his teacher and taking some notes in a notebook he had taken from his desk. The lesson was almost an hour long, and then Karim got up and gathered his things.
"Open your book at chapter fifteen. I expect all of the exercises to be done before you can leave this room." Karim exited the room and locked it from the outside, leaving Quatre inside.
The boy got up from his seat and took a book from the shelf. He sat at the desk and opened it. Wufei heard a sigh, followed by a young voice that said, "I won't finish in time for dinner."
Wufei took a look at the book and saw that, in fact, it was impossible to finish all those exercises in less than a few hours, and the artificial sun was already setting.
For the next hour Wufei saw the young Quatre work silently on his exercises. He was working quickly but he wasn't even halfway when the door opened and Sheara walked in.
"It's dinner time. Have you finished with your work?"
Quatre looked up from his books. "No," he said simply, before returning his eyes to his papers.
"See? Worthless! Can't even finish a simple task on time. I guess you won't be joining us for dinner then. If you are done by breakfast tomorrow you may have something to eat."
Quatre ignored her and she left, locking the room behind her.
As soon as he heard that the door had been locked, Quatre dropped the pencil and threw his head back. He closed his eyes and sighed.
Wufei wished that he could teach that woman a lesson. How dare she treat her family that way? He knew that Quatre didn't get along with his sisters very well. Quatre had said that he didn't even know most of them but Wufei had never expected that the blond's relationship with them could be like this. It was true that he had only seen Sheara treating Quatre badly, but he had to wonder what the rest of the family was doing while this was happening.
Quatre worked for a couple of more hours, until he finally finished. The child closed his notebook and returned the book to its place. And then, he did something that Wufei didn't expect.
Climbing on top of the teacher's desk. Quatre used his arms to lift himself to the small window above him. His experience obvious, Quatre jumped from the window and into the garden. Wufei wasn't surprised when he found out that he could walk through the wall and he followed Quatre outside.
The boy moved, hidden by the shadows, until he reached another window. This was a big one, like the one Wufei had seen before in the other room. Quatre opened it and, after getting the curtains out of the way, walked inside.
It was a music room. The place was big and bright. There was a piano in one corner and an entire wall was filled with all kinds of instruments. Quatre closed the window after entering and straightened the curtains. Wufei watched him move to a control panel on the other wall and activate the sound proof system. It isolated the sounds in one room and made it impossible to hear them from outside. The system was very popular and it was used everywhere, from movie theaters to conference rooms.
After the boy was sure that he was isolated in the room and that he wouldn't be heard, he took a violin from the wall and started playing. Wufei had heard Quatre play a few times before, and each time the blond had enchanted him with his music. The young Quatre played beautifully, and Wufei discovered by listening to the boy play, that Quatre could still envelope him in his music. However, the most wonderful thing was the expression on Quatre's face. His eyes were closed but his smile and his music spoke loud enough. This was Quatre's happiness.
The moment ended too soon and Quatre returned the room to the way it was before he had snuck in. He opened the window and slowly returned to the classroom. After easily climbing inside, Quatre sat at the desk. Five minutes later, the door was opened and Karim walked in followed by Sheara.
"Are you done?" asked Sheara, looking down at Quatre. "Karim wants to go home and he won't waste his time with a lazy boy like you."
Quatre got up and handed the notebook to his teacher. Karim looked at it and noticed that the boy had finished. He nodded to Sheara and then she took Quatre by the arm again.
"You may go to your room and sleep. Breakfast is tomorrow at seven. I hope you won't be late. It would be a shame if you missed that too."
"No doubt it would be," Quatre said sarcastically, leaving the room and ignoring Sheara's undignified words.
Wufei followed Quatre but after a few steps, he felt a wave of dizziness overtake him. He stopped walking and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was no longer following the boy in the hallway, but looking at Sally's worried eyes.
* * *
"Wufei, can you hear me?" Sally asked, pointing a small flashlight to his eyes.
Wufei closed them and put his hand over his face. "Are you trying to blind me?" he asked, waiting for the annoying light to fade.
Sally turned off her flashlight and then looked at Wufei. "Oh gods, are you okay?"
"Of course I am!" Wufei blinked a couple of times. "What are you talking about?"
"You just—"
Her reply was cut short by Duo's exclamation. "Man, that was weird." He was rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. "I think I'm finally going crazy."
Sally turned around and her eyes filled with relief at the sight of the other Gundam pilots awake.
"Did it work?" asked Quatre, sitting up slowly and putting a hand on his forehead.
"Did it work?" repeated Sally, a little too loudly. "Did it work? You guys almost gave me a heart attack! Now, is someone going to explain what just happened here?"
"What do you mean?" asked Quatre, looking at everybody in the room. He had put his hand on his lap and he was frowning, like if he was concentrating on something.
Sally was slowly calming herself. The early adrenaline rush that seemed to have taken her over was dissipating. "After you fell asleep," she explained to Quatre, "the others did too. I couldn't wake any of you, no matter how hard I tried." She sighed. "On top of that, you didn't say a word, Quatre. You were supposed to talk about your past, but you didn't say a thing."
"I didn't? But I was there again, and it felt like the first—" Quatre stopped talking and closed his eyes tightly as he put a hand on his forehead again. He had probably said too much. Trowa was beside Quatre in a second. He put an arm around the blond and Quatre leaned on Trowa's chest.
Sally kneeled in front of Quatre and took a hold of his wrist, checking his pulse.
"So you did remember?" asked Heero. He looked as if nothing had happened but there was something in Heero's eyes that stated that he was angry about something.
Quatre simply nodded and then everyone was quiet for a moment.
Wufei stood up and stretched his legs. "Was it a classroom scene with your sister and teacher?"
Quatre's head snapped up but he didn't answer Wufei's question.
"You saw that too?" asked Duo, looking at Wufei with confused eyes.
Wufei didn't have time to answer before Heero and Trowa muttered something unintelligible. He didn't have to answer the question now, it was clear that everyone had been in Quatre's memories. The true mystery was how that was possible.
"Okay, this is really starting to freak me out," said Duo, shaking his head slowly.
Everyone was silent for a moment and then Heero spoke. "The only explanation I can think of is that the hypnosis worked. Quatre relived one of those blocked memories and somehow we did it with him."
"How?" asked Wufei, voicing his earlier thoughts.
"Maybe it's my space heart," whispered Quatre. He sat up straight but kept a hand on Trowa's lap.
Sally finished her quick examination of Quatre and took a seat in the chair Trowa had vacated. "What are you talking about?" she asked, looking confused.
"His empathy," answered Trowa. He put one of his hands on top of Quatre's and wrapped his fingers around it. "Quatre is a newtype and has empathic abilities."
"He felt me self-destruct," Heero added. The small frown was the only indication of how painful that memory truly was.
"Maybe the combination of Cat's empathy and Sally's hypnosis made us witness what he remembered," Duo proposed. At that moment it was the only reasonable explanation.
There was a long moment of silence. Wufei kept replaying what he saw in his head and he was sure that the others were doing the same thing too; especially since Duo cursed once in a while and Trowa muttered things and put an arm around Quatre, as if he was trying to protect him.
"So what I saw wasn't a dream but Winner's actual memories?" asked Wufei breaking the silence. He looked at Quatre. "Did that really happen?"
Everyone looked at Quatre and after a couple of moments he managed to nod at them. He closed his eyes and began to massage his forehead.
Trowa bit his lip and ran his fingers through Quatre's hair in a soothing manner. However, his other hand was in a fist and his knuckles were turning white. "Sheara Winner is going to pay."
* * *
TBC
[1] I know nothing about this. I just know that it is really complicated, or so my engineer student friend has told me. I'm just a literature student and what I learned about Algebra in school I've already forgotten. But if you are interested in the topic of the Structure of Noncommutative Rings (I was just looking for a complicated name) you can go read about it in the site that I took it from. Here is the URL:
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/aaol/noncommutative.html
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