Last revised: 01/23/00 Last modified: 04/17/00 ******* WARNING ******* *** NC-17, mature content *** ALT-REALITY, yaoi, darkfic, Well, here's a hastily slapped together teaser for Quatre's and Trowa's portion of "Mechanics of Control". It also gives some interesting hints about what will (hopefully) happen in Part 2 of "Wicked Game". ^_- It's really more for flavor than content, so it implies a lot, but says little. The actual fic will go into things more thoroughly. Also, I changed the name of the story from "Masquerade" to "Brilliant Disguise" after listening to my Bruce Springsteen CDs. If anyone wants to take a look at the earlier parts of the fic, they're available at: http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/GW.html ====================================================================== MECHANICS OF CONTROL: BRILLIANT DISGUISE A Gundam Wing ALTERNATE-REALITY fic by Madamhydra ====================================================================== teaser 1 ====================================================================== Short Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Gundam Wing copyrighted by their respective creators and all distributors of their work. Used without permission. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * I saw you last night Out on the edge of town I wanna read your mind To know just what I've got in This new thing I've found So tell me what I see When I look in your eyes Is that you baby Or just a brilliant disguise? -- "Brilliant Disguise" -- Bruce Springsteen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ====================================================================== [two weeks after the events in MoC: Wicked Game, Part 1] Trowa stepped out his bedroom only to find Duo waiting for him in the hallway. As he casually leaned against the wall with his arms folded, the Deathscythe pilot said calmly, "Have you noticed anything strange about Quatre recently?" The Heavyarms pilot's visible eye narrowed, then he replied, "What do you mean?" Duo patiently said, "I mean, have you noticed anything usual about Quatre's behavior recently?" "He's been under a great deal of stress recently." That was an massive understatement on Trowa's part. Less than a week ago, almost half of Quatre's sisters, including his oldest sister Iria, had nearly died in the bombing that devastated the Khayim Hotel which had been hosting the wedding of his sister Martine Katerina Winner to her long-time fiance Nicholas Longilus. Ten of Quatre's sisters were still hospitalized, five of them still in critical condition, and one was not expected to survive due to massive head injuries. The massive series of blasts had also killed his sister Martine's fiance, his father, and a good third of the wedding guests. Even now, although various crackpot organizations had claimed responsibility, no one was sure of exactly which of the influential wedding guests -- many of whom were highly placed in business, government, or even the OZ military -- had been the true targets of the bombing. "No, he's not." Trowa blinked and demanded sharply, "What are you talking about?" "Oh, he certainly looks, sounds, and acts all torn up over what happened to his sisters. But he's not." "That's ridiculous. You know how much he cares for his family. What possible reason could you have for thinking...." "I know Quatre loves his sisters, but that doesn't change the fact that at the moment, I don't think he feels a damn thing about anybody. And that includes you, Trowa." In a freezing cold voice, the Heavyarms pilot said evenly, "Duo, I'll make allowances for your... condition... and ignore that comment." "My 'condition' has nothing to do with it. Do you know that his heartbeat barely changes when he visits his sisters at the hospital? Or when you and he are having sex?" Trowa's eyes widened in shock. "What?" Duo continued, "And he doesn't smell right. Strong emotional states, whether it's stress caused by some disaster or excitement caused by sexual desire, alter the body's chemistry and changes a person's scent slightly. Not much, but it is detectable if one's sense of smell is sensitive enough. It's like an animal being able to smell fear. Whatever's going on, Quatre is not feeling stressed out or upset." "How on earth could you...?" "I just can, the same way I can tell that something's bothering you even though your face or body language doesn't show it." "Duo, considering what's happened between you, Heero, and Relena, you'll understand if I have a hard time accepting what you're saying as true." "Considering my generally fucked up state of mind, you mean?" "To put it bluntly, yes." "You don't have to take my word for it, Trowa. Listen to what your instincts are trying to tell you. You've probably noticed little things about Quatre the last few days -- things that bother you -- but you've been trying to ignore them. You don't want to think about them because those things are telling you that Quatre's acting out a big lie while you desperately want your relationship with Quatre to be real." The brown-haired pilot looked away and said nothing. With a sigh, Duo said quietly, "I know you love Quatre. I also I know that he loves you. But whatever's been motivating Quatre to have sex with you in the last week or so has NOTHING to do with a desire for comfort, love, or even lust." "Then... why?" "I don't know. I can say this much -- he might not be fucking you for love, but he's also not fucking you for any other emotional reason like hatred, contempt, or because he enjoys playing with your mind. So why is he going through all this trouble?" Trowa's face became even more expressionless and more suited to a marble statue than to a living, breathing being as he remembered what he had been doing before he had gotten all caught up with trying to comfort Quatre.... The Heavyarms pilot whispered, "A distraction. But why?" (Why would he want to keep me from investigating the Khayim Hotel bombing? Surely he wants to know who's responsible! Unless... unless Quatre already KNOWS who's responsible. But why try to cover it up? Doesn't he want the people who nearly killed his sisters to be caught and punished?) Trowa's face went stark white and for an instant, Duo thought that the other teenager was going to faint. (Dear god, the security video! The small bellhop in the hotel's underground garage... the one carrying the large briefcase... he had dark hair and I never saw his face, but I thought he seemed familiar....) (No... NO... that's impossible! Quatre couldn't possibly be the one who....) Without another word, Trowa suddenly bolted in the direction of the hanger. ------------------------------------------------- Duo watched as the Heavyarms pilot disappeared down the hallway, then turned and said, "You can come out now." A nearby door opened and a somewhat sheepish Relena hobbled out on a set of crutches. "How did you know I was there?" she asked. He shrugged casually and said, "I heard you." "Through the closed door?" "Yeah. Should you be walking around on those legs?" the Deathscythe pilot inquired with a concerned look. It was Relena's turn to shrug as she replied, "I'm fine. The doctor said that the first bullet barely nicked the femur in my left leg and the right leg only has a flesh wound." Duo winced. "But I know how much gunshot wounds hurt! By the way, I'm really sorry about that." She shook her head emphatically. "It wasn't your fault! With all those radical shifts in your brain chemistry that Sally Po told me about, it's no wonder that you were behaving so irrationally. And you did rescue me and save my life...." "Oh yeah, after shooting you twice, then trying to toss you off a hotel balcony into a two hundred feet deep gorge!" Duo exclaimed, banging his fist against the wall. Relena smiled wryly. "But you didn't let me fall. You even pulled me back up to safety." "Only after I managed to pry your hands off the railing so I could lift you over the handrail! And you were screaming bloody murder all the way." She snorted indelicately. "You have to admit I had plenty of reason! I was afraid you were going to planning to drop me...." Duo looked away. "If Dorothy and Heero hadn't shown up... who knows, I might have. And if I hadn't been so insanely jealous, I wouldn't have tried to kill you in the first place!" Relena scowled, "Listen, Duo. It was really just a combination of bad luck and miscommunication. What happened to me was not *YOUR* fault! I don't blame you, Heero doesn't blame you, so don't worry about it, okay?" The braided pilot didn't looked particularly convinced, but let the matter drop for the moment. The Peacecraft paused, then said in a more tentative voice, "All those things you said about Quatre...." "Yeah?" "Are... are they true?" "Unfortunately, yes." "But... but why? Why lie to Trowa, of all people? I thought Quatre really liked him!" "He does. That's part of the problem. Something's not right with Quatre. I can sense it. Something's changed inside him. He's not the person I knew or trusted." Relena gazed at him steadily with her clear blue eyes and said, "Duo, I hate to say it, but those statements could apply just as well to you." He gave her a somber glance. "Exactly. That's why I'm so worried." She shifted uncomfortably. "Are they...? I mean, are Quatre and Trowa really...?" "Sleeping with each other? Having sex? Yes, although I think it's more a matter of Quatre fucking Trowa." Duo noticed her face becoming noticeably red. "Does it bother you when I say that? Fucking?" "Well... yes! It sounds so... sordid...." She blushed even more. "That's because it is. What's going on between Quatre and Trowa can't really be called 'making love' or even 'having sex'. It's too cold-blooded and calculated on Quatre's part for that." Duo's lips thinned in barely suppressed anger. "Quatre and Trowa really care for each other. That makes what's happening between the two of them now almost an obscenity. It's only fitting that I use an obscenity to describe it." She sighed and muttered, "It suppose it makes a weird sort of sense, but it's such a personal thing... I can't help feeling that it's really not our business...." In a clipped voice, Duo retorted, "Besides being your friends, Heero and I have to work with Quatre and Trowa. I consider anything that involves or might affect Heero to BE my business." His violet-eyed gaze had an icy, almost fanatic gleam. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Relena realized that if Duo perceived the Sandrock pilot as a threat to Heero, it was all too possible that he would attempt to remove that threat. (end of teaser) ===================================================================== "Mechanics of Control" is the title for the overall alternative-reality storyline, with sub-stories for each pilot. ^_^ The sub-stories are titled as follows: "Wicked Game" - Heero and Duo "Brilliant Disguise" - Trowa and Quatre "Dragon's Fire" - Wufei ------------------------------------------------- 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. =====================================================================