Last revised: 02/22/00 Last modified: 01/11/01 *** WARNING *** *** major alternate-reality, yaoi *** really bizarre dark humor Another e-VIL fic from yours truly. ^_^ This came from one of my "Mirror World" ideas where the evil Doctors rule the world. Sounds familiar? Well, it was just a bizarre coincidence that both me and Kat/TnM ended up writing along the same lines. Heh heh heh.... WARNING! -- This thing is totally and unmitigatedly BIZARRE, not to mention it probably doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Unfortunately, after seeing the GW dub at Katsu-Con, this diabolical new muse simply refused to leave me alone until I scribbled this down. Maybe I should just bury this fic in a deep hole and spare everyone the misery? ^_^; Oh yeah... I'm playing around with the characters' ages, so assume that most of them are at least 3-5 older than their official ages. Enjoy! ====================================================================== THE OTHER SIDE A Gundam Wing fanfic by Madamhydra ====================================================================== Prologue ====================================================================== Short Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Gundam Wing is copyright of its respective creators and all distributors of their work and used without permission. ====================================================================== A world ruled by a Council of five scientists, whose names were lost in the shadows of time and who were now only known only by letters.... Over half a century ago, the Council brought peace to a civilization tottering on the brink of self-destruction from endless warfare. Back then, the Council was hailed as the saviors of humanity. Even now, most people still thought of those scientists as the benevolent guardians of mankind.... But the kindly facade soon started to crack as the Council began to tighten its grip on the population. Some of their tactics were fairly blatant, such as the heightened presence of the Council's crack paramilitary force known as the Preventers. But the Council was not satisfied with merely developing new weapon technology -- they began to improve the soldiers themselves. First the scientists started with merely modifying natural-born humans. Within the last decade, the Council and its allies were now capable of creating limited numbers of their own custom-made humans -- genetically engineered, lab-bred beings with physical and mental abilities far superior to those of most natural-born people. However, the Council's more subtle methods such as the manipulation of communications, industry, and virtually every other aspect of human life proved to be the most dangerous of all. But as the majority of people sank ever deeper in a suffocating mire of complacency, a few brave astute people became aware of the Council's sinister agenda. These people banded together into organizations such as OZ, which were dedicated to the overthrow of the Council. The media branded the members of OZ as raving fanatics or bloodthirsty terrorists, but in truth they were freedom fighters trying to save humanity.... ....and they were losing. ====================================================================== Relena Peacecraft's arrival at the makeshift rebel headquarters went unnoticed for a few minutes as the OZ rebels scurried about with a barely controlled sense of panic. A few yards away, Sally Po finished checking the meager stock of medical supplies rescued from their old headquarters. The doctor wearily straightened and caught sight of the blond teenager quietly standing near the door with Lucrezia Noin hovering behind her. Sally walked over and gave the two young women a tired smile. "Relena, thank goodness you arrived safely." "Luckily I had Noin with me." The blond took a deep breath and visibly steeled herself before quietly asking, "Sally, have you heard any news about my brother?" Sally winced and shook her head. "Sorry. We have no idea where he is. When the Preventer Special forces launched their surprise attack, everything went to hell so quickly...." Noin interrupted sharply. "But how on earth did they know where our base was located?" The doctor sighed and replied, "It could have been plain bad luck. Or maybe it was carelessness. Or...." Relena closed her eyes briefly, then said, "Or we were betrayed." Noin slammed her fist down on a packing crate. "Damn it! We've got to do something to root out these traitors!" A cool, elegant tenor voice said mildly, "Much easier said than done, Lucrezia." The dark-haired woman gave Treize Khushrenada a rueful smile. Even his usual air of cool, steely self-control was starting to wear thin after the traumatic events of the last few hours. "I know that, Treize. That damned Council and their spies! They're everywhere! And now Milliard's disappeared!" Treize's expression froze for the briefest instant at the reminder of his missing friend. Relena said eagerly, "Any news, Treize?" "Dorothy's checked her sources. Nothing. For all we know, he could be dead or a prisoner of the Preventers." Sally said hastily, "We don't know that for certain. Perhaps he's just hiding until the coast clears." Noin bit her lip and muttered, "I hope he's all right...." "You're better off hoping that he's dead," snapped a cold, harsh female voice. Noin whirled around to face the speaker lurking in the shadows and demanded furiously, "Who the fuck are you!?" There was the unmistakable sound of steel rasping over a whetstone as the woman stepped out into the light. Physically, she looked like she was about twenty years old, but the hostile, cynical gleam in her eyes gave the impression of someone much older. Her outfit consisted of baggy camo pants, a dark green tanktop, and lots of weapons. She wore her chin-length curly brown hair tied back with a green headband and across her chest hung a bandoleer of throwing blades. The woman returned Noin's angry glare with a faint smirk as she continued to sharpen a long, nasty looking knife. "Where do you get off on saying that Milliard's better off dead!?" Noin shouted. The camo-clad woman slammed her knife into its sheath and snarled, "You idiot! Better dead than a prisoner of the Council! After all this time, don't you have any idea what those fucking scientists is capable of!? They can twist a person's mind inside out in no time flat and before you know it, your precious Milliard will be pointing a gun in your face and pulling the trigger!" Relena turned white and whispered, "I... I've heard rumors... but I thought that was what they were... just rumors." "No rumors, girl. It's a cold hard fact that I learned the hard way," the knife-toting fighter retorted. Sally said, "You know from personal experience?" The brown-haired woman's lips thinned. She glanced briefly at Treize, then said evenly, "I lost my younger brother that way. You know how the Council's makes every single kid take all sorts of tests as they grow up?" "Yes." "The Council use those tests to find children with exceptional talents. If a child scores high enough, the Council's representatives show up and take him or her away to enroll in a 'special' school. Most parents let those goons take their children away because they think that their kids are getting a headstart into some hotshot government career. The damn morons actually believe the Council's propaganda." "And if the parents refuse?" Noin asked. "Accidents happen," was the curt response. "I see. What does the Council really do with the children?" Relena asked. The woman snorted and said, "What really happens is that those poor kids are indoctrinated and brainwashed into becoming useful and loyal minions for the Council." Relena glanced at Treize. "Did you know about this?" He nodded silently. The blond teenager turned back to the camo-clad woman. "You said you lost your younger brother...." "Yeah. Our damn parents handed him over to the Council on a silver platter. That was five years ago. A couple of months after he disappeared, I ran away from home to look for him." "Did you ever find him?" Noin asked curiously. The woman threw her head back and laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah, I certainly found him." The woman actually snarled as she added, "See this?" She lifted her headband to expose a ugly scar running along her right temple. "He nearly blew my damn head off. That was four years ago. And now he's Commander Winner's new PET," she spat. "His... pet?" Noin blurted, lifting her eyebrows in an expression of shock. "Yea, Winner's prize hunting dog. He's the guy Winner sends out to do his especially dirty work." "What?" Relena said with a stunned look. "Commander Quatre Winner? You don't mean the Preventers' Chief of Security!" "That's EXACTLY who I mean, Peacecraft. They took my sweet, innocent kid brother who loved animals and music, and in less than a year, they turned him into a soulless killer. From what I've heard, your brother's one hell of a fighter and pilot. The Council won't let that sort of talent go to waste. So believe me when I tell you that you'd better pray that your brother's dead and not captured!" Relena gave the other woman a level look. "I'm sorry about what happened to your brother, but Milliard is an adult who knows his own mind. He's not a young, impressionable child!" "Age, intelligence, and experience don't do shit to protect someone against the Council's mind-twisting. And if you don't believe me, just ask Treize about what happened to his fiancee Anne!" Sally said angrily, "Bloom, that's totally out of line...!" Treize raised his hand to halt the doctor's outburst. "Enough." He then turned to the other woman and said evenly, "Catherine...." She shrugged with forced nonchalance, aware that she had gone too far, but clearly unwilling to apologize for her remarks. Relena shook her head and murmured, "I'm sorry about your brother and your pain, but no matter what happens to Milliard or what they do to him, I won't give up on him. I refuse to lose hope." "I don't need your damn pity, Peacecraft!" Catherine flung up her hands in frustration and said, "Fine. Do what you like. See if I care. Just don't expect me to help you when reality turns around and bites you in the ass!" As the brown-haired woman turned and started to stalk away, Noin said, "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" "Looking for my brother, of course," Catherine snapped over her shoulder. "Why? After all you said, are you trying to rescue him?" Relena said in bewilderment. Catherine Bloom halted in midstep, then slowly turned around. She grinned coldly at the Peacecraft before replying. "Rescue Trowa? Hell, no. I'm here to kill the murderous bastard." ------------------------------------------------- [ Preventer Headquarters, Interrogation section ] As she stared through the glass windows of the control booth, Ensign Hirde Schbeiker realized that she had found Milliard Peacecraft... and she desperately wished she hadn't. (Oh hell....) she thought. Milliard Peacecraft was in what was euphemistically called a 'conversion cell'. In reality, a conversion cell was basically a sensory deprivation tank surrounded with equipment designed for only one purpose -- the manipulation of the human mind. He floated limply in the liquid-filled tank, completely naked except for the wires and tubes attached all over his body. Long platinum blond hair trailed from underneath the metallic hood that completely encased his head. Occasionally the long strands would whip about and swirl as he tossed his head in a feeble gesture of defiance. (This isn't good. Now what do I do!? I've got to let Treize know that....) "He's a real beauty, isn't he?" a husky voice said cheerfully right behind her back. "For a terrorist, that is." "Eeep!" squeaked Hirde as she whirled around. "C-C-Captain Maxwell," she babbled as she hopelessly fumbled her salute. The young man, dressed in the black, starkly elegant officer's uniform of the Preventer Special Forces, carelessly flicked his long chestnut braid over his shoulder and gave her a wicked grin. "At ease, Ensign Schbeiker. No need to spazz out." "Ummm... thank you, Sir." He cocked his head slightly and said in a friendly voice, "You're new around here." "Yes, Sir! I just got transferred to Preventer Headquarters just last week." "I see. You managing okay? This place can be rather unnerving for newcomers." She smiled weakly and mumbled, "Um, I'm sorry to say that I still have a tendency to get lost. Which reminds me... I was supposed to deliver these reports to Lady Une." Hirde held a disk and did her best to look harmlessly confused. "Someone told me she was in the Medical section, but I can't seem to find her." "Well, at least you're close. This is Interrogation section. Medical is the next corridor. Une's lab down the hall, past the green doors, take a right, third door on the left. Just a word of warning. She doesn't like to be disturbed." "Thank you, sir. I'll try my best to avoid bothering her." "No problem. See you around," he said cheerfully. ------------------------------------------------- Hirde slowly walked down the hallway. (Don't run. Don't run. I've got a perfectly legitimate reason to be here....) After rounding a corner, she allowed herself the luxury of a deep sigh of relief. (Thank god! I was sure Captain Maxwell was going to grill me about being in the control room. I'm glad he didn't. And he was actually pretty nice to me. I bet that Captain Maxwell's natural-born, not lab-bred. I swear, these genejobs are SO creepy. That Major Yuy, for example. And most of them treat normal humans like absolute dirt....) Hirde shivered at the memory of her unfortunate encounter with the infamous Preventer officer and his equally notorious cobalt blue glare, then hurried on her way. She had to complete her errand before she could contact OZ and give them the bad news about Milliard Peacecraft. ------------------------------------------------- "Ensign Schbeiker, eh? Now let's see what sort of mischief this little girl was up to before I arrived on the scene." Duo Maxwell, Captain in the Preventer Special Forces and brain-hacker extraordinaire, nibbled absently on the tip of his braid as he checked the settings on the main computer console. Satisfied that the straying ensign hadn't tampered with the controls, he plopped himself into a chair and gazed thoughtfully at the prisoner. "She simply got lost? Fat chance. More likely than not, dear Ensign Schbeiker's an OZ spy poking around for information." Leaning back into the chair, Duo chuckled and said, "I'm willing to bet that within the hour, Treize Khushrenada is going to know all about the Preventers' new prisoner." He grinned at the captive OZ rebel, his violet eyes gleaming with a dark sort of amusement as he slipped on a headset, then flexed his fingers like a musician preparing to tackle a rather tricky piece on the piano. Duo then snapped his fingers. The air around him lit up with translucent images and Duo's hands began to dance, tapping the floating icons which in turn sent an complex sequence of commands to the equipment hooked up to the prisoner. Almost immediately, the blond man started to tremble and shudder under a new onslaught of images and data. "But it won't matter if OZ knows where you are, Milliard, because your mind is already mine. Your mind's mine. Get it? Nope, I guess not. Hey, you should really thank me, you know. A lot of these other guys would have stomped through your brain with hobnail boots and turned you into a drooling zombie. That's fine if they want another poor slob to mop the floors. But not me. A mind's a terrible thing to waste, huh? There's nothing you can do, so you might as well relax and enjoy the experience." A few minutes later, the door behind Duo abruptly slid open. Without turning to look around, the braided officer said cheerfully, "Yo, Heero!" Major Heero Yuy ignored the casual greeting and turned his attention to the prisoner. As he observed the Peacecraft's feeble attempts to resist the programming that Duo was currently uploading into his brain, Heero heard Duo softly humming his "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song and knew that the braided officer was really enjoying himself. Heero finally said, "Why the personal attention?" Duo bounced in the chair and said, "Well, after that moron Coltrane screwed up and turned the last rebel we caught into a turnip, the Docs wanted to make sure that nothing goes wrong with this guy." He cocked his head suddenly. "Ah ah ah. Naughty boy, Milliard. Don't think you can get away from me that easily." A graceful flick of a finger initiated an attack routine that quickly broke down the prisoner's resistance. "Like I was saying, Heero. The Doc have special plans for this guy which require him to retain all faculties and abilities intact. That's tricky enough with a normal prisoner, but this guy's good. Smart, determined, and stubborn as hell." "Afraid you can't do it?" Duo grinned, his violet eyes gleaming with predatory joy. "I LOVE a good challenge. But you already missed the good part. I've already won. Poor Milliard just doesn't know it yet." "Hn." "Bet you can't guess what the Docs are going to do with him." Heero merely shrugged. "Aw, c'mon. You're no fun!" Duo said with a playful pout as the door opened again. A young Chinese man, also in a Preventer officer's uniform, halted in the doorway and muttered, "Maxwell, no one in their right mind would play games with you. You're an absolute nutcase." "Glad to see you, too, Wu-man." "Don't you have ANY understanding of military protocol, Maxwell?" "Sure I do. I understand it perfectly well, my dear CAPTAIN Chang... Wu-man." Wufei gave it up as a lost cause. Duo Maxwell was undeniably brilliant, both as a Gundam pilot and as a brain-hacker, not to mention his talents in numerous other areas, but that brilliance came at a heavy price. When he was in one of his manic moods, there was no reasoning with Maxwell. The braided pilot was known to spontaneously jump up onto a table in the officers' mess and start dancing, complete with a full-blown striptease routine. On other occasions, Maxwell could exude a chilling aura of menace which made even Commander Quatre Winner step warily. The only thing any reasonable person could do was grit his teeth and endure in hopes that the mental storm would soon blow over. The only person capable of reining Duo in was Heero Yuy and sometimes the cobalt-eyed major had to resort to physical force to do it. Surprisingly, the other Preventers and the Council seemed willing to make extraordinary allowances for Maxwell's antics. Even Wufei had to admit that the braided officer was rather likable despite his considerable eccentricities. More importantly, Duo's mood swings didn't affect his performance, either on or off the battlefield -- he always got results, although his methods of achieving those results could be unorthodox in the extreme. Wufei glanced at the platinum-haired prisoner and scowled. He didn't really approved of brain-hacking or other forms of brainwashing. Somehow, it felt rather dishonorable -- almost like cheating -- but that was just a personal quirk of his. He gestured toward the prisoner and asked, "Who's that?" "Milliard Peacecraft... high-ranking OZ member, hotshot pilot...." Duo's grin suddenly widened. "And soon to be the newest member of the Preventer Special Forces." "What!?" "I see you've already told him, Maxwell." Commander Quatre Raberba Winner calmly noted as he entered the control room. As usual, he was silently followed by Lieutenant Trowa Barton. Wufei and Heero turned to stare at the head of the Preventers' Security Division. He gave them his usual charmingly benign smile in return. "What do you think of our prisoner? Trowa captured him during the recent raid on the OZ headquarters." Duo glanced at the slim green-eyed lieutenant standing behind Quatre and said curiously, "So tell me, Trowa. Did Quatre give you a pat on the head and a treat for being a good boy?" However grossly insulting Duo's words sounded, something about his tone of voice and his faintly concerned expression indicated that he actually cared about the answer. Quatre raised an eyebrow and said mildly, "Yes I did. Don't worry, Duo. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him." Duo glanced at Trowa and received a faint nod of confirmation. Apparently satisfied, the braided pilot said cheerfully, "Oh, I'm sure you are, Quatre, but you can't blame me for checking up on him. After all, it took me over a year of work to put his mind back together into any semblance of normality," as he gestured in Trowa's direction. Giving Quatre a reproachful look, Duo added, "You didn't give me much to work with." "That was hardly my fault. I didn't do anything to Trowa. He was like that when he came into my custody." "Well, I've got to say that I consider it to be some of my best brain-hacking work." "And believe when I say that I fully appreciate your efforts," Quatre replied smoothly. Throughout Duo's and Quatre's conversation, Trowa remained still and silent. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest to be talked about as if he was just another object or possession. Then again, almost nothing could provoke a reaction out of the stoic lieutenant. Wufei said irritably, "Now that's out of the way, let's get back to the original subject. What this about the prisoner joining the Preventers?" Quatre replied, "When his programming is complete, Milliard Peacecraft will be joining your squad, Captain Chang." Before the Chinese officer could object, Duo barged in and said, "Hey, Wufei! While I've got Milliard's brain online, did you want me to make any modifications?" "Modifications? What SORTS of modifications?" Wufei asked suspiciously. Duo gave the black-haired officer his most innocent look, which instantly put the others on guard. Pointing at a glowing icon to his left, the braided pilot said, "He's already programmed to follow your orders, Wufei. All I'd have to do is upload this hot little sex slave patch into his brain." Heero snorted and looked bored, while Quatre bit his lip in an effort to keep from laughing. Wufei's cheeks flushed a brilliant red as he bellowed, "What the hell do you expect me to do with a natural-born terrorist sex slave!?" "Oh, surely an intelligent person like yourself can think of something, Chang...," Quatre murmured helpfully. Wufei glared at the blond commander and snarled, "DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" "Aw, but just look at him! It would be awful to let that beautiful body go to waste!" Duo said coaxingly. "No! No! NO! Absolutely NOT, Maxwell! There's no room for whores in MY unit!" The braided pilot pouted and muttered in a miffed voice, "Man, you are such a wet blanket, Wufei." Quatre said, "I didn't realize that the Dragon Clan was so old-fashioned about a little recreational sexual activity." Wufei snapped, "They're not. It's simply a matter of personal taste, all right?" Duo perked up a bit. "Oooh, don't tell me you're a virgin...!" "I'm not! My education in that area was quite thorough, as befits the heir of the Dragon Clan!" Duo yawned, leaned back into his chair, and said carelessly, "Well, it was only a suggestion. Hey, Quatre! Did you want Milliard to use his old name or are you going to give him a new one?" "He'll be starting a new life, so it's only appropriate that he receive a new name." "So tell me!" Duo demanded, his eyes alight with curiosity. "His new name will be Merquise. Zechs Merquise." "Zechs... Zechs!?" Duo blinked, then a positively demented gleam appeared in his eyes. He started off with chuckles, but was soon cackling with hysterical laughter. "Maxwell, what the hell's the matter with you?" Wufei demanded with a mixture of annoyance and apprehension as he watched Duo's hands start flashing amid the holographic icons around him. "What are you doing?" "Me? Oh, nothing much...." The sound of Duo's diabolical little snigger made Heero and Quatre glance worriedly at each other. They knew the warning signs -- Duo was hell-bent on mischief and there probably wasn't any way to stop him. "....I'm just putting the sex in Zechs!" Duo said with maniacal cheer as he uploaded the sex slave program file into Milliard Peacecraft's mind before an outraged Wufei could stop him. "MAXWELLLL!!!!" ------------------------------------------------- Keeper of Duo's Dark Side ~~~ Duo no Seishi Co-Keeper of Duo's Scythe & Bat Wings Co-Keeper of Little Grim Reaper Duo Keeper of Saitoh's Sex Life ~~~ Saitoh no Koibito ------------------------------------------------- madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/ ------------------------------------------------- ===================================================================== The Full Disclaimer All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author. =====================================================================