Chained3

	Sign In Sign-Up

Chapter 3

By Sulia Serafine

Email: Silverwlng@aol.com

[Author’s ramblings: A semi-romantic comedy/ adventure of Gundam Wing.

Additional note: this may also fall under Alternate Universe Category. I’m screwing around the episode plot. That’s all. Standard Disclaimer!!! I don’t own Gundam Wing (darn it) and I’m not making money.

Don’t sue! It’s all for fun!

Send criticism to me at Silverwlng@aol.com]

"This can’t be possible!" Wufei exclaimed as he rotated his wrist. The cuff did not show any part where it opened up.

"Damn those Jokers," Ellis muttered. She looked up at Wufei while unconsciously putting her free hand over her bruised rib. All intensity from the previous fight seemed to disappear. "What’s your name? It looks like we’ll be stuck together for a while."

"Wufei Chang. And you, Woman?" He eyed her wearily.

"You can call me Ace of Spades for now."

"What kind of name is that?" he snorted. "And I want to know what the deal is with y--"

"I can’t answer that!" she interrupted him. "I don’t know if I can trust you yet or if I can trust you at all. Let’s get out of here for now. I can’t possibly go into pursuit off that Joker when I’m chained to you. "

"Joker? Is that what he was?" Wufei raised one eyebrow. "I agree; it was dishonorable to attack us when we were in our own battle and then, not even to fight fairly with that light. Back to the Joker… is it the new rebel group?"

"…Rebel…Group?"

"Terrorists!" he said. "Were they terrorists or not?"

Ellis grimaced. "I can’t say. You can trust me to be telling the truth when I say that I’m definitely not one of them."

He tugged with his left hand. Annoyed, she tugged back.

"Is there any way to get these off?"

"I don’t know. I’ve never the seen the like before."

"WHAT?"

"I’m telling the truth! If I had known anything about these cuffs, I would already be getting them off as we speak! Do me the honor, sir, of not assuming the worst of me without proof."

"Fine. It is fair enough. I am just angry that this Joker, as you call him, attacked the wedding party. I cannot tolerate this injustice! He and whoever else works with him, will pay for the crimes they have committed!"

Ellis stared at him. He seemed to be very dependent on the ideas of honor and justice. It was almost valiant, if it wasn’t for the nagging reminder that he had underestimated her because she was female.

"May we leave now?" she asked. "We must think of how to get these cuffs off."

"How could you do anything? You let that Joker get away and blame me for accusing you of the worst! Women!" he exclaimed. "You’re a nightmare!"

"Thank you for the compliment," she sarcastically muttered. She began to exit the warehouse, yanking on the chain. Wufei yanked back every time she did and grumpily walked beside her.

"Where can we go?" she asked.

"Back to the banquet hall," he answered. "You will tell us everything you know."

"Wait a minute!" Ellis stopped and yanked on the chain. "I didn’t say I would! I don’t know who I can trust yet."

"What? Oh, you think I am a double agent for the Jokers, or whatever you call them," he said dryly.

"Earthlings aren’t supposed to know anything about the mission," she whispered to herself, then suddenly gasped. Wufei stared at her.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"None of your business!"

"Well, I’m making it my business!"

They argued all the way back to the bombed parking lot. Heero, Trowa, and Quatre were done examining the evidence and were putting together ideas and names to see if any of it made logical sense. Duo and Relena were still out on their walk, and gradually, the wedding guests (excluding those people whose cars were destroyed) had left. The three pilots looked up and saw Wufei and Ellis.

"What happened?" Quatre gasped and ran up to them. Ellis moved away from him. Wufei tugged on the chain.

"This is the Ace of Spades. A stupid name," he muttered. "Ace, this is Quatre."

"Quatre Raberba Winner. Wufei, what happened?"

"The bombers are called the Jokers. And they aren’t from around here, it seems." Wufei glared at Ellis.

Heero and Trowa reluctantly introduced themselves, then immediately went into asking Ellis questions.

"I can’t answer any of those questions," Ellis said irritably. "Just leave me alone."

"Well, maybe we could get Zechs out here. He’s supposed to be the ruler of the Sanc Kingdom. He can ask her why someone tried to kill him and ruin his wedding banquet," Wufei said.

"You’re in relations with the Sanc Kingdom?" Ellis asked. She had researched major parties of the Earth and its colonies. The Sanc Kingdom was supposed to be one of the most pleasant nations.

"Yes," Trowa answered. "We all work for Zechs from time to time or for the Preventers."

She relaxed a little. "You can trust them," she thought to herself. "But just be ready to defend yourself if they aren’t who they seem. If you can best the imperial guards of your own kingdom, then five men from a primitive civilization can’t be hard."

"Why can’t we all just help each other with this common problem," Heero persuaded.

"Maybe," Ellis answered.

"By the way, how come you two are…?"

Wufei rolled his eyes and described the fight, the Joker, and the bright light.

"Unbelievable," Trowa simply said.

Ellis looked around. "Does it matter? We have to get to work on this."

Duo and Relena arrived. This time, Quatre related the story of the golden handcuffs to them. Duo gave a low whistle and scratched his head. Relena stared at the chain.

"Well, it’s starting to get late. We’ve been out here for hours. Let’s say we sleep right now and get an early start in the morning!" Duo suggested cheerfully.

"What?" Heero blinked. "Duo, we have to work on this tonight. A lot of things can happen between now and the morning."

Ellis spoke up. "That isn’t the way the Jokers work. They may be crafty devils, but they value their pleasure and comfort as much as terrorism. They’ll sleep until noon tomorrow."

"Aha!" Duo exclaimed. "See? So, Heero, why don’t you relax and attend the Governor’s party!"

Relena was hopeful. "You said you would, but if this-"

"I don’t think I can," Heero answered. "Even if the Jokers will not strike again until next evening, I prefer to be one step ahead of them."

"Oh," she frowned. Duo bit his lip.

"I’ll… see you guys back at hotel. I’m tired!" He suddenly yawned with his mouth stretched open. Then he darted away, heading for his car.

"I’ll help you look for information, Heero." Trowa nodded. "But let’s go home and research there."

"And what about this?" Wufei held up his left hand.

"Knowing the Jokers, only they would have the means to break it," Ellis replied.

They went back to the pilots’ hotel. It wasn’t too far from where Paris’s scientific research facilities were, so Wufei and Ellis spent a good long time trying to remove the cuffs by burning, cutting, exploding, magnetizing, electrifying, and eroding the cuffs off. Defeated, they went back to the hotel for dinner.

"Fitz," Ellis thought. "I have to reach the jerk. I hope he’s alive."

They sat around the rectangular table of their joined suites. Ellis and Wufei were seated on one side, with Trowa and Quatre sitting across from them. Heero sat on the end of the table next to Trowa and Duo sat on the end near Quatre. Wufei and Ellis had a tough time eating. Ellis and Wufei had problems with hand movement between them.

"Quit it," Ellis warned as she jerked his hand so it hit the drinking glass. He caught it in time and set it down carefully.

"You quit it," he shot back.

They went like that throughout the whole evening, arguing over who got their turn to have use of their hands without restraint from the other person. Quatre often tried to come between them.

"Now come on. You guys might be stuck for a long time. Who knows when we can get the key from the Jokers."

"Don’t remind me," Ellis mumbled.

Duo fidgeted in his seat. He kept looking at his watch. After a few minutes, he stood up.

"Hope you guys don’t mind. I have to meet with Howard. He came back into town today."

He waved nervously and shot out the door without his jacket. Heero shook his head.

"I’ve got to get to work." He stood up when all of sudden, the phone rang. He went to the next room and answered it.

He was startled to see Dr. J.

"Is something wrong?"

"Heero, I have a mission for you."

He became grim-faced and nodded. "Yes?"

"There is a man at the Governor’s home. He comes from one of the other scientists bearing a disk. Retrieve it for me."

"Mission accepted."

"Good. And Heero, why don’t you enjoy yourself? There is a party there, I’ve heard. Take your time."

Heero raised his eyebrows. "If you wish it to be part of the mission…"

"I do."

"Yes, Sir."

He hung up and immediately went to his bedroom to get dressed. The phone rang again. This time, Trowa got up and answered it. He stepped back when he saw Dorothy.

"Dorothy? What do you want?"

"I need to speak to Quatre."

"Why?"

"It’s none of your business. Now get him on the phone."

Trowa narrowed his eyes at her before calling to Quatre and returning to the table. Quatre ran up and his mouth dropped open when he saw her.

"Um, yes, Dorothy?"

"I need your help, Quatre. Don’t tell anyone," she said in mock-urgency. It would be the kind of thing to make someone like Quatre to trust her. But he wasn’t fooled.

"Why?"

"Don’t you trust me?"

"No," he thought, but his kinder side spoke. "Of course. I won’t tell anyone, Dorothy. What is it?"

"Come to the new warehouse in the same district we were in today. Please, I need your help."

"She looks sincere," he thought. "Come on, Quatre. Dorothy has learnt her lesson from the war. She isn’t like that anymore." "Okay," he said aloud. "I’ll be there as soon as I can."

He hung up and returned to the table. "I have to go somewhere. It looks like it’s just going to be you three tonight."

"Two," Trowa said. "I made an arrangement to meet with the Sanc Kingdom imperial guard to research the list of wedding guests and any enemies they might have. I must leave within the hour."

"You mean that I’m stuck here with her alone?" Wufei said incredulously. "I can’t believe this!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ellis yelled. "You’re not the only one who has to suffer-" she stopped abruptly and lowered her gaze nervously.

"Now what?" Wufei rolled his eyes.

"I have to use the bathroom."

His eyes widened. "NO! No, no, no, no, no!"

"What?" she looked back at him. "You want me to hold it in?"

"As a matter of fact," he began.

"Now Wufei!" Quatre chided. "Don’t be so uncooperative! Just keep your eyes closed."

"And if you look, you die!" Ellis added as she stood up and he reluctantly followed, cursing all the way.

"I wonder how they’re going to bathe every night," Quatre wondered, his cheeks tinted pink. He chuckled nervously. "I’m sure they’ll find a way. And cutting the left sides of Wufei’s clothes so he can put them on will be difficult. And the same with the right sides of Ace’s clothes!" He tried to think of every other difficulty they would encounter and kept blushing.

"Hurry up!" They heard Wufei shout from the bathroom.

"Oh shut up!" she yelled back at him.

Heero exited his room and headed for the door out of their joined suite. He was dressed in another tuxedo. "I’ll be back by midnight, maybe 1:00 in the morning-- whatever it takes."

Quatre looked at his watch. "Oh, I have to go now, too. Bye!"

They left Trowa by himself at the table. He stood up and collected the dishes to put them on the cart for room service. Then he went to his bedroom to prepare with his meeting with the Sanc Kingdom imperial guards.

Meanwhile, Wufei stalked out of the bathroom, practically dragging Ellis behind him.

"Hey!" she protested, trying to keep pace. "Would you stop that? Come on!"

He looked around at the table and discovered that everyone had already left without even a word of sympathy for his situation. Ellis glared at him.

"So what now?"

"Keep your mouth shut while I try to call some metal-smiths and--"

"What? We already tried to get these stupid things off! You want to go back and spend the whole night trying again? I have work to do!"

"So do I!" he yelled back.

"You are the most insufferable…"

"Stubborn…"

"…Pig-headed…"

"… Infuriating…"

"… Aggravating…"

"… What did you call me?"

"… Oh, I got a lot of other names for you besides…"

"Oh really! So, maybe I should just call you…"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Why you little…"

"Bring it on!"

"Argh! Out of all the men I have to be chained with…"

Duo drove as fast as he could, hoping he would beat Heero to the Governor’s. He was lucky Heero hadn’t recognized the call from Dr. J as a fake. Heero would’ve murdered him for impersonating good old Dr. J. He hoped that Heero would take "Dr. J’s" advice and have a good time. If he didn’t, that meant Duo would have to meddle even farther than he wanted to tonight.

"Man, oh, man… what will I do? Uh, I’ll dress up like a complete stranger and carry the fake disk. I’ll stay away from Heero for a few hours so he’ll be forced to ask Relena if she wants to dance or something! No… maybe I could get Relena to be apart of the whole role-play. She could carry the disk and I can be dressed up as a mysterious guy giving Heero a tip. This match-making stuff is hard work!"

At the party, stately men and women in formal attire were holding glasses of champagne or waltzing on the ballroom floor. The governor was in a deep discussion between him, his wife, and the Prime Minister of France. Duo ran into a bathroom and started to change.

First, he had to hide his hair. Wearing a hat to a formal thing like this would be wrong, but he didn’t want to end up cutting it either.

"Well, Heero knows I don’t ever want to part with my hair. If I cut it just a little, there’s no way he would ever suspect it’s me." He held up his braid so he could see it in the mirror. Should he make the sacrifice? "I want Relena to be happy. She’s the second-best friend I have besides Mr. Suicidal-Tendencies. Hair does grow back. And it’s not like I’ll chop the whole thing off…Yeah…" He groaned and slapped his forehead.

"I’ll be regretting this in the morning, I’m sure."

He picked up a pair of scissors and cut off a little more than half his braid. It fell to the ground. He stared at it for a long time, tears forming in his eyes.

"Don’t think about it now. Heero might arrive soon and I have to tell Relena my plan!" He undid the rest of the braid left that hung to a little above the middle of his back. Then he fixed it into a simple ponytail and leaned over the sink so he could tint it to a darker brown. After that, he added a thin, fake mustache and parted his bangs. Then he changed into his tuxedo and added a pocket watch. He looked in the mirror.

"Whoa. Who is that handsome older man in the mirror? That’s me? Wow! I look like a handsome devil. I look like… a baron or something! Aha! That’s how I’ll introduce myself." He smirked and bowed to his reflection. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Good evening, mademoiselle, monsieur. Ha! This will fool them for sure!"

He chuckled to himself and packed up his stuff and clothes, leaving them in the utility closet next to the bathroom. He locked it and placed the key in his pocket. As an afterthought, he packed his poor braid, too. It was for sentimental value, of course.

Back in the main ballroom, Relena was sipping her glass of champagne and sighing. "Where is Duo?" she thought. "He should have been here by now."

Aaron stopped talking. "Miss Relena? Are you listening?"

"Oh! Of course I am. Please, do go on about your vacation to Switzerland. Ha-ha," she laughed softly, smiling with a grimace. Inside, she was screaming.

Duo walked up to her, behind Aaron. He waved silently, and gave her a thumbs-up sign. Relena let out a sigh of relief. It was Duo, here to rescue her. He looked so different! And he cut his hair!

"Pardon me," Duo said in a low French accent, "But may I have this dance?"

He offered his hand to Relena. Aaron glared at him. "I’m sorry, monsieur, but she--"

"Would be delighted!" Relena exclaimed. She curtsied and took his hand, letting Duo lead them into a waltz. There, they started talking.

"I can’t believe it! Duo, is that really you?" she whispered.

"Uh-huh! It’s me!" he grinned. "What do you think?"

"You cut your hair! And dyed it, too!"

"The dye comes out. I think," he frowned. "Well, I just wanted to tell you Heero will be here. I’m going to be warning you now. I had to fake a mission. He’ll be looking for a guy carrying a disk."

"And that guy would be you?"

"Yeah. Don’t worry. Eventually, he’ll find you. Tell him you…" he whispered in her ear as they waltzed near Aaron again. Aaron stared at them and silently plotted the elimination of his competition.

Heero arrived. He looked around the ballroom, searching for anyone who looked like a messenger from one of the other scientists. Then he spotted Relena being led off by Aaron.

"It’s still early. What the heck," he muttered and came up to them. He bowed. "Excuse me, Miss Peacecraft, but may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

Aaron rose to his feet. "I hate to disappoint you, my good man, but Miss Peacecraft has just-"

"I’m sorry, Aaron. I hate to disappoint anyone here! Please, calm down. I will dance with him," Relena said and curtsied before taking Heero’s hand and waltzing again onto the floor. Aaron wrung a cloth napkin in his hands, imagining slow painful deaths for Heero.

"This is the second time you’ve rescued me today, Heero," she smiled as they waltzed.

"You’re welcome," he replied, keeping his voice even and unemotional. She frowned.

"Oh, um, Heero? I met a man earlier tonight who said he was looking for a friend of mine. I told him that I had no friends here. After all, Aaron is not a friend."

"What did this man look like?"

"I can’t tell you. My back was turned and he kept out of my view. He told me not to turn around."

Heero stopped looking at her although they continued to dance. He observed the other men around him and made small mental notes about each of them.

"Do you think he might talk to you again tonight?" he asked her.

"Maybe. I’m not sure."

He nodded. The song ended and another set of musicians sat down and played another song. He led her off the floor and continued to look at passing men. Which one was the messenger?

Duo watched them from where he sat on a window seat. A young woman with curly blond hair pinned up high came up to him. "Bonjour, monsieur. I don’t believe we have met."

He flashed a smile. "No, we haven’t. I am Jean Dunois. No special titles, please. I find them… impersonal and stifling."

"How charming," she said. "Well then, you may call me Paulette d’Legeant."

Relena glanced around her. "Where was Duo? He was supposed to be nearby, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. Then, she found him. He was talking to a woman, obviously forgetting his mission. Heero caught her gaze.

"Do you think you see him?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just letting my mind wander," she answered. Aaron was coming closer to them as he saw them. "Heero, can we leave the room for a moment? Please?"

He saw Aaron, too. He glanced back at Relena. She looked so hopeful and desperate. Actually, she looked beautiful. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyelashes fluttered when she looked around her. Her dress was a light green off-the-shoulders gown. A thin silver locket hung on a sterling silver chain around her neck. Heero sighed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No. We can stand at the veranda for a few minutes, if you wish to get away from your escort." He scanned the room one more time before leading her off again. He really didn’t want to miss Dr. J’s man. But at the same time, he felt this warm feeling starting to nestle in his chest.

Meanwhile, Duo was grinning at Paulette. She was the daughter of a French politician. She liked tennis and adored independent men who knew how to get what they wanted. Duo had a hard time turning his eyes away from her. When he finally did, he saw Aaron looking furiously at him. "Uh-oh," he thought. "I forgot about Relena!"

Duo stood up. "Please forgive me, Paulette. I have forgotten an appointment with a dear friend of mine. Perhaps we will meet again?"

She kissed him on the cheek, making him shuffle his feet and give a foolish grin. Then he darted away, his eyes sweeping the room. Did she leave with Aaron or something? No, Heero had rescued Relena, just as planned. Then where did Heero go?

"The moon looks beautiful, don’t you think?" Relena asked as she leaned on the edge of the veranda. Heero folded his arms and leaned on the veranda a few feet off.

"I guess. If you like that sort of thing." He shrugged.

"I do. What about you, though? You never told me what you like."

He paused. "I’ve never had time to like anything like that. If you must call it attractive and pleasing to the eye, then it is something that isn’t necessary. All I need in life are my skills, my logic, and myself. There is no time for liking things."

She pouted. "Oh, I see."

Heero noticed her pout. He’d offended her and he didn’t mean to. He was so used to being distant, he didn’t know how to respond. Besides, there were plenty of other guys who could make her happy much better than him. Why did she insist on having him around?

"But Heero, don’t you ever wish you could have something to like? Maybe a pet would be nice. Or at least have a favorite movie. The war is over. You don’t have to be so…" she bit her lip.

He watched her face slip into a slight depression. He forced himself to remain expressionless no matter how much it hurt.

"I think we should go inside. It’s getting chilly." He said and left the veranda. Relena sadly followed. She was hoping he would have done something else besides be the same distant pilot she knew. Where was Duo? He was supposed to—

"Relena!" Duo pulled her off to the side and into the shadows.

"Duo, where were you?" she asked. She stomped her foot angrily.

"I’m so sorry. I got caught up. How did it go?"

"Not so well. You were supposed to--"

"I know, I know. I’m so sorry." He hugged her as her eyes began to water.

"Why is he being so difficult? I know there’s a sweet, caring person in him somewhere! Why does he have to be so…" she buried her face in Duo’s shoulder. He stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Shh," he whispered. "Come on. It’s not so bad. We’ll just have to work on it."

She lifted her head, but kept her arms around him. "I hate being this emotional! He’s the only person in the whole entire world who can make me into a weak helpless girl who needs rescuing!"

Duo nodded. "I know. He’s one heck of a intimidator."

Heero turned when he realized Relena wasn’t with him. She was still at the opening of the veranda in an embrace with a different man. He had dark brown hair in a ponytail and a mustache.

"So, she has a love-interest," he thought. Something inside him began to sting. "Doesn’t matter to me." He looked down at a window seat near a blond woman. There was a black disk on it. He picked it up and discreetly put it in his pocket.

"Mission complete," he whispered as he left.

Duo changed in the bathroom again. This time, he stuffed his hair under his hat and hoped none of the other guys would notice.

"Well, tonight was a disaster. At least I got Paulette’s number," he added with a grin. "But poor Relena. Maybe I should just talk to Heero." He paused. "Man! That guy is impossible!"

When he got home, he discovered Wufei and Ellis now arguing over their clothes. Wufei had to cut his sleeves down the seam under his arm and down the side of his shirt. Ellis had done the same. Since all of her clothes were with her and Fitz’s ship though, Ellis had to borrow some of Wufei’s clothes to sleep in. Again, shirts were slashed down the side and fixed with temporary buttons so that they would be able to be put on.

"You’re not sleeping in the same bed as me!" Wufei said.

"Where then?"

"On the floor!"

"Oh, no. I didn’t come all this way to get chained to a jerk and sleep on the floor! You get on the floor and I’ll take the bed."

"No!"

"Well, I’m not!"

Duo rolled his eyes and sank down onto a chair. Heero was seated across from him, typing on his laptop computer.

"This disk is full of gibberish," Heero said aloud.

"It is? Well, looks like a decoy," Duo muttered, tilting his hat so it covered his eyes. He yawned and leaned back in his chair. "Did Quatre and Trowa come home yet?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, how was your night? I assume you went to the Governor’s?"

"Yes."

"Did you talk with Relena? Dance with her?"

"Yes."

Duo smiled. "Did you two hit it off?"

"I am not interested in her, Duo. And besides, I think she’s interested in someone else."

"Huh?" Duo suddenly sat up and lifted the brim of his hat to get a better look at him. "Why do you say that?"

"I saw her with some poor fool."

"Aaron?"

"No. It was a guy with a ponytail and a thin mustache. She was hugging him pretty tight. Obviously, she likes him. And it doesn’t concern me."

Duo grimaced. "Now, Heero. I don’t think she likes him."

"He was stroking her hair fondly. I think that’s proof enough they’re personal."

Duo grimaced even more. "Oh, great!" he thought. "Instead of getting Aaron, the immediate nuisance, out of the way, I’ve made a nuisance of myself and given Heero a reason not to get near Relena! Man!"

Fitz: Hey! Fitz here to give you a preview to what’s on chapter 4 of Chained! Wufei and Ellis are still stuck with each other, but oh? What’s this? Ellis is going to tell them everything?!? They’re getting along? Oh, next, you’ll be telling me they like each other! WHAT? Gerald is going to be mad at me! Whoa! Duo is going to use his "Jean Dunois" disguise to get Heero and Relena together? WAIT! What’s going on while I’m asleep?!? Am I ever going to wake up? What does Dorothy think she’s going to do with me? ARGH! Get me out of here!!! And while this is going on, where are those Jokers???