Warnings: AU, angst, post-apocalyptic, violence
Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst
Rating: R (for language and graphic descriptions)

________

01:

In the aftermath of chaos, his harsh breathing was the only sound in lobby – at least what had once been a lobby - of the grandest hotel in the city. He remained in his crouched position behind the marble pillar, his rather long bangs damp with a mixture of sweat and thick blood, now plastered against his forehead. The choking smell of gun powder, smoke and death assailed his senses while he accessed the damage done to his body, dark purple eyes moving quickly in seemingly random motions as they calculated the number of broken bones (six ribs, a femur and his tarsal), bruises (numerous) and burns to his flesh (his knees looked raw and his arms shot to hell). He felt no pain at this time but was sure that it would all come in a rush when the healing process began.

‘Ammunition dangerously low, Agent 002. You need to reload immediately.’

He winced at the automated female voice that filled his ear, fingers already doing its best to switch cartridges in the semi-automatics he had been holding in both hands. He emptied them and reached for the extras he kept in a pouch around his waist. He was aghast to find his hands trembling as he reloaded as fast as he could and for a heart-stopping moment, he felt sure that his mind was going to shut down in a few seconds. He couldn’t afford to let that happen at this time. There was too much at stake in this mission.

‘Intruder – two o’clock.’

He stiffened and remained as still as death, his entire being as taut as a bowstring waiting to spring into action. He held both guns to either side of his face, dark eyes now peering carefully around the pillar as the faint but undeniable sound of footsteps approached. He glanced at the dead bodies sprawled across the lobby with a dispassionate eye, knowing that he had somehow managed to eliminate all of the Opposition without fail. He had requested for backup almost half an hour ago and yet no one had shown up to help him. But he had managed on his own so far. Oh yes indeed. He could manage just fine on his own. However…

“This is Agent 002,” he whispered harshly, now noticing the shadowy figures approaching. With his ammo this depleted, there was no way he could tackle this without some sort of help. “I’m requesting for backup as soon as possible. Repeat. This is Agent 002. Requesting for backup…”

“THERE’S THE COCKSUCKER!”

He dove just as a series of rapid gunshots were let loose around him. There was a whole lot more than just one intruder. It was as if they had all waited for him to make a move and then sent another troop to finish him off!

“DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!” Their leader thundered. “PUNCH HOLES INTO THAT THING!”

Thing, he thought wildly as he dived behind what was once the Welcome Desk. He bit his lower lip hard, as a torrent of debris, including chunks of marble and wood strips, rained on him. I’m nothing but a thing.

/You are my creation, Agent 002. You belong to me…/

Nothing but a fucking thing.

A sudden flare of anger ignited within the pit of his stomach and with a loud roar; he got to his knees, fingers pumping the triggers of his weapons as he shot, with precise aim, at the group of men who were heading his way. He watched them with a dull sense of triumph as they danced wildly like puppets on a string, jettisons of blood sprouting out of the holes he had created on their useless bodies.

‘Ammunition dangerously low, Agent 002. You must reload immediately.’

Shut up! Just shut the fuck up! Don’t you think I know that?!

He tossed away the now ineffective weapons and reached into his pouch, rolling over the debris-infested floor as he dodged yet another series of blue fire that was now being shot in his direction. The blood was beginning to pour into his eyes in thick rivulets and he was now aware that he must have cut himself above the forehead for it to be this bad. His fingers finally found what they were searching for and without thinking twice about it; he pulled out the pin from the small grenade. This was his last one and he sincerely hoped it would make and reach its target.

With a soft grunt, he threw it over his shoulder, while sliding across the floor to grab a hold of one of the soldier’s ankles to topple him down.

“Arrgh! He’s got me…uugh!”

A swift punch to his face silenced the blubbering fool as he confiscated the other’s rifle. Something hot and sharp whizzed by his face and for a second, he was sure that his hair had been singed with the bullet. However, the hot sensation of blood on his cheek was a sharp wake-up call to his current situation. He had barely missed getting his head blown off. But all of that was pale in comparison to the sudden and tremendous explosion that rocked the very foundations of the building. He lay flat on the ground, hands over his head as hot smoke, fire and ash enveloped them.

The faint sounds of dying soldiers were music to his ears, as a torn limb fell beside him. However, he was barely able to savor his victory for long. He could feel his mental capabilities rapidly shutting down and in his ear, ever persistent and yet patient, the female’s voice continued,

“Warning. System overload. System shutting down, Agent 002. You need to go in for damage check and repairs.”

---

When he finally came to, he wasn’t surprised to find himself in The Room. In here, everything was white – too white – and he felt blinded by its brilliance. He was lying on a narrow cot, completely naked beneath the pristine white sheet that was draped around him and up to his neck. He could feel the soft sheet, now warm with his heat, beneath his back, buttocks and legs. He felt incredibly stiff and didn’t trust himself to move for fear he might strain something or break yet another bone. There were no comforts in The Room for it was simply a place to repair his damaged body and to clear his mind. There was no bedside table, flowers, music or television. There was simply an oval-shaped door with enough bolts and screws to last a lifetime and a narrow window for the curious doctors and other scientists to peer in for observations. Tiny and barely visible white cameras were stationed at the four corners of the room (he had discovered that the first time he was brought in here) and he knew that they were for surveillance regarding his activities, whatever those might be.

He sighed and closed his eyes, wondering how long he had been kept in here and rather surprised that he felt little to no pain this time around. They must have really pumped him full of sedatives for all he could feel was nothing but a numb sensation equivalent to cotton balls being stuffed in his brain.

That’s right. I really have no mental capacity to think on my own, do I? After all I was a vegetable to begin with…wasn’t I?

He tried to flex his fingers and wasn’t surprised to find it immobile. Even his toes hadn’t been spared from the iron-clad weights that chained him down.

Yes, that’s right. I was found and rescued…and was made into this…thing.

He could barely remember anything from The Past or rather from The Before. All he knew was that he had woken up one sunny day to find himself strapped to a bed with enough wires and gizmos to make a grown man cry. He had asked (raged like an insane man) some questions and had only gotten the basic and rather cryptic answers.

There was a nuclear blast…explosion type thing.

It wiped out the entire city.

You are one of the lucky few. The survivors. You shall now be assigned to a doctor who will take care of you and make you a soldier. You will fight for us. Fight to stop the Opposition from gaining power. They are the ones at fault. They are the ones who destroyed your homes and took away your families.

You are being reborn and your name is Agent 002.

He felt his chest tighten as if someone or something was sitting rather heavily on it. He gasped and tried to get some air into his lungs but all he could manage was a soft whoosh of air from his lips.

This is my equivalent of crying. I can’t even do that anymore.

I once had a life…but I don’t know that anymore…

I once had a name…but I don’t know it anymore.

There was a dull ping sound and then the door was being pushed in from the outside. A cloud of dry ice drifted into the room and it was accompanied by the figure of a tall young man in a white coat.

The agent felt his heart palpitate rapidly in response to the newcomer and he found himself flushing in pleasure while kicking himself inwardly at how ridiculous he was being…again.

“You’re finally awake,” came the quiet voice as the dark-haired man closed the door behind him slowly. “I thought we had lost you for good this time. You’ve been out for almost a week.”

“I…” His voice sounded raspy as did his throat – dry and scratchy. It hurt. “I called for backup…”

“We lost communication with you at 0800 hours,” the man replied calmly. He bent a little to pull out a clipboard from underneath the bed, dark blue eyes roaming over the chart quickly. “You broke your internal tracking device.”

Agent 002 winced and lowered his lashes in embarrassment. He must have done that when he had leapt from the second to the ground floor. It was a risky thing to do and he had paid for it by losing his only means of communication.

“Good thing you had an extra grenade with you,” the doctor said with a small smile. He leaned over the long-haired man and placed a gentle finger against his temple before giving it a sharp rap. “Feel anything?”

“No…” Yes, actually. Just that you smell really, really nice and not like those clinical nurses who come in here and make me want to barf. In fact, I think I feel a whole lot for you, doctor.

“Hmmm…as I thought,” the man in white replied with a thoughtful frown on his handsome visage. “We’ll have to rebuild the nerves there again. You sustained a grave injury around the prefrontal lobe. It’s a miracle you survived, I’ll give you that. Ah and notice anything else?”

“What?”

The man reached down to unclamp one of the steel braces around the Agent’s wrist and held up his arm gently. For a long second, the prone man stared at his arm as if seeing it for the first time…and indeed it did seem like he was actually looking at someone else’s arm. It was definitely a far cry from the raw, peeling flesh he had been sporting during the mission.

“Severe burns from the explosion,” the doctor explained patiently. “We had to remove over ninety percent of your original flesh to graft it all over again. You are turning out to be one expensive model, my dear Agent 002.”

He had the grace to flush and it wasn’t just from the statement made, but rather from the way the doctor was still holding him and how good those strong and lean dark fingers felt against his skin – his new skin. He gave an involuntary shiver and of course this didn’t escape the observant man.

“Is the temperature too cool for you, 002?”

“No…I’m…fine…”

“Hmm, your heart rate is increasing…”

The Agent could feel himself getting incredibly flustered and he sincerely hoped that the region between his legs wouldn’t decide to come ‘alive’ at this time. He was also sure that he had caught a glimpse of a knowing smile on the doctor’s visage even though he had turned away a little.

“…you seem to be burning up as well, Agent 002. Is there a problem?”

“No…” God, yes, there is! Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?!

“I see.” He released the Agent’s hand gently, unaware of the low moan of dismay that escaped his ward’s lips. Suddenly, he sighed and pinned intense blue eyes on the man below him. “Actually, I came here for something rather important, 002.”

The Agent remained as impassive as he could while telling himself that there was nothing wrong. But would this be it? The final axe? The final blow? He had known of some mysterious disappearances with other agents who had failed their missions or were no longer found useful. He was no fool and he was sure he knew what happened to them. Failure was not an option in this line of work.

The doctor toyed with the gold badge on his coat pocket, which had the words Heero Yuy written on it. He sighed again and rubbed a hand across his forehead as if in great distress.

“You are my responsibility, Agent 002 since I found you and brought you here. I was among the scientists to rebuild you…”

“Making me half-human, half-machine, right?”

Heero winced inwardly at the bitterness in that voice but stood his ground, forcing himself to stare into those amethyst eyes he had found beautiful from the moment he had seen them.

“Do not talk that way, Agent 002. Without me…”

“I know. I would have been fish food in less than a week.”

He turned his head away to stare blindly at the stark wall, that painful compression of his chest preventing him from showing any weak emotion. What the fuck had they implanted in there anyway? An emotional barrier or something?

I’m a soldier. And soldiers are not supposed to have useless emotions.

He had spent months with the other units – survivors like himself who had been rescued from the massacre. Many of them were full machines; the only human traits that remained were simply their features. Others were like him – half human, half machine. Still able to feel basic human sensations like cold, heat, pain and pleasure. Unfortunately, he had learned that many were deprived of such things and had their hearts replaced with implants. Agent 002 had known he wasn’t one of those kinds – thank goodness. He still had his heart in place and if he listened hard enough, he could hear it thumping each night as he lay in his bed or like right now…racing faster at the presence of this man.

“They want you out of commission,” Heero suddenly said flatly, causing Agent 002 to turn back to him with panic in his eyes.

“What?!”

Heero lowered his lashes, his voice sounding strangled and pained. “I’ll fight them. They know they can’t do this…”

“But did I not complete my mission?!” He struggled to sit up, uncaring of the pain that raced up his arms and legs as he tried to release himself from the chains. He twisted his wrist and promptly felt as if a dozen volts of electricity had just been delivered to his spine. He howled in agony and fell back to the bed, breathing harshly as he tried to control the sudden rush of blood to his head.

“I completed my mission!” he bellowed and once he thought he was in control again, he tried to release himself. “Fuck it! They can’t do this to me!”

Another blood-curdling howl of pain escaped his lips but Heero could see that his creation was somehow succeeding with his intentions. The chains around his legs were beginning to give way…but just barely. He could also see that the skin around his ankles and wrists were beginning to glow a dull red. It was only a matter of seconds before the Agent would tear his skin again in frustration.

With another loud roar, he tried to move again, but Heero had seen enough.

“Don’t move another inch, DUO MAXWELL!”

The effect was immediate. Agent 002 fell back to the bed with a glazed but confused look in his eyes. All will to fight seemed to have seeped out of his body in a rush and he remained limp and unmoving, gaze now fixed at the doctor standing beside him.

That name…

Duo Maxwell…

My name…is that my name?

“Yes,” Heero began quietly, glancing towards the cameras, knowing that they were watching and that he had little to no time left. “Yes, your name is Duo Maxwell and we found you in the L2 area where the nuclear blast occurred. There were only a few survivors and you were one of them…”

---

Nine Months Ago:

“Holy Mother of God. What the hell did they do to this place?”

Heero would have echoed Colonel Tom’s sentiments had he not been too busy getting his bag out of the helicopter. The protective suit they had been made to wear felt like a ton of heavy foil around his body. He had thought he looked like a really bad astronaut as he slipped the helmet over his head but it still wasn’t going to be good enough to shield them from what they were about to see. He, Doctors G and J as well as the Colonel and several other troops from the Earth’s Forces, ran beneath the heavy gust of wind from the helicopter and towards the waiting group of men standing on a plateau.

“Colonel Tom,” said the man in dressed in similar attire but with a gold eagle pin attached to the sleeves of his suit, saluting smartly. Their voices within the helmet sounded alien and distant – like automated humans forced into speech. “Lt. Briggs. Earth Forces Division 145. We’ve got a big mess on our hands, sir.”

“You can say that again,” the burly man replied briskly. “Jesus.”

“I think you had better come this way, sir,” Lt. Briggs said as he led the team of experts towards the worst part of the devastation. He and his men had arrived earlier in the week and even though he had been in countless wars, he hadn’t been able to hold back his meal the moment he had laid eyes on the scene. How any human being could cause this much pain and havoc was beyond him. Those Opposition motherfuckers would definitely pay for this.

“Gotta warn you, sir…it’s not very pretty…”

The Colonel motioned impatiently for the tour to continue and as they crossed the narrow bridge or rather what was left of it, they found themselves staring into what was literally hell on earth.

“My God…” The Colonel breathed in disbelief. “Everything…disappeared!”

And he wasn’t exaggerating either. He had once visited L2 – the Main City to be exact – and what was once a place of bustling activity with skyscrapers and towering buildings of commerce and industry, no longer existed.

Simply…gone.

Not even a steel pole was in sight. It was as if the bomb had simply sucked everything into space and all that was left was nothing but ashes of the dead. A small stream – on closer inspection it turned out to be a broken water main pipe – was now a dark murky mixture of ash, blood and dirt. Bits and pieces of human remains floated within the thick liquid and at the sight of several eyeballs floating within it, the Colonel lost his composure and excused himself for a minute or two.

Heero Yuy, one of the few young graduate doctors called for this ‘rescue’ mission (it really was ridiculous when you thought about it. I mean what in the world could they rescue in this place?) walked down the slope, wincing inwardly as he found himself stepping in mangled remains. He almost slipped on the intestines of what was once a human being and was steadied by one of the soldiers’ who was following him. He stepped over the flowing river of what was undeniably blood and began to explore the landscape as best he could. He could see that the other doctors and soldiers had begun to scour the area as well but he was under the impression that they were in for a rude awakening. They would find no survivors in this sector and they’d have to move to the next one.

One bomb. One measly bomb on innocent victims. It’s just…mind boggling.

“Any sign yet?” came the crackle over the walkie talkie attached to his waist. He lifted it to respond briskly.

“No sign of survivors yet, sir. We’re still scouring the north side.” His gaze drifted towards what seemed like a series of holes in the ground. “Discovered underground tunnels, sir. We’ll be searching that. Over.”

“Give us word on what you see, Yuy. Over and out.”

Still having little to no hope of finding anyone, the young doctor walked towards the tunnels he had spied earlier, not surprised to find the half written words T R A and the rest of it buried beneath rumble. It was an underground train station and Heero was sure that someone or two must have survived if they had stayed beneath the surface. Motioning for several soldiers to accompany him, he led the way down the flight of stairs, now pitch black and rather eerie in its silence. Their booted feet made loud crunching noises on the debris as they walked and to Heero it made the situation even creepier. He felt his skin break out in goose bumps as he held out the powerful flashlight before him almost sure he could hear the faint ghostly sounds of train engines, whistles and the cacophony of waiting and impatient passengers on the platform.

But instead, there were more bodies in here although they weren’t as badly mangled or decapitated like the others above ground. These people must have died from the radiation, a bitter after effect of the bomb.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers whispered harshly beside him. “I think I hear something, sir.”

They all stood still and listened intently. At first there was nothing but the low sounds of their breathing and then they all heard it – a low scraping sound as if someone was crawling along the floor and trying to reach them.

“Is there anyone here?!” Heero yelled out, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He shone the light all around them, but there was nothing on the platform – at least no sign of another life. Simply a few scattered bodies and the faint smell of decay. “Hello?! If you’re here give us a sign!”

“Help…us…” It was faint and barely audible but it was a voice all right.

“Over here!” One of the soldiers shouted in triumph as he flashed his light towards the railroad tracks. In unison, the four of them ran towards it and looked down and into the most amazing sight they had ever seen – at least in this hell hole. There were two young girls of about seven and eight in age, covered from head to toe in black soot and caked blood. Their eyes were wide and frightened as they stared into the faces above them. However, it was the sight of the boy or man lying halfway over them that told the story. It was clear that he must have tried to shield them from the blast but had suffered the brunt of the attack anyway. Half of his face and head was caved in but despite it all, his eyes – those amazingly beautiful violet eyes – had looked at them with something akin to hate and yet relief.

Heero could also see that the man’s legs were twisted at a rather awkward angle – broken legs – and that his arms, although still around the girls, had been burned rather badly. The man must have lost a lot of blood and as Heero watched, he could see the luster begin to fade from his eyes.

“Quick! Get me an extra cloth and blankets. Get these kids out of here. I’ll take care of the man.”

“Yes, sir!”

The girls, not surprisingly, began to cry as they were forced to leave their source of comfort for God knows how long. Heero moved towards the man who was now slumped in a boneless heap on the ground and winced at the extensive damage done to his body.

He must have been a strong guy to last this long, he thought as he noticed the silver necklace around his neck. He reached out to read the inscription written on the flat piece of metal attached to it, his lips mouthing out the words softly.

“Duo Maxwell. Sector 234. Level C.”

The man groaned and mumbled something unintelligible as Heero placed his arms beneath Duo’s armpits to hoist him up. It was then that he finally noticed the incredibly long braid that had been tucked into the remnants of the black jacket he had been wearing.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and fixed, hmm, Duo?” he said with a light grunt as he allowed the soldiers above to take him away. “I’ll take care of you myself.”

---

“This is a fool-hardy operation, Yuy,” Doctor J said even as he continued to scrub his hands in preparation for the surgery. “You do know the higher ups aren’t too happy about this.”

Heero gave a small and almost sickly smile as he placed the mask over his face and slipped a pair of surgical gloves over his hands. “I’m quite aware of that, sir.”

“There’s a ten percent chance of survival, my dear boy. You should have left him to die out there.”

“No.”

The doctor raised a brow at the vehement reply, meeting the dark blue gaze that seemed to blaze with anger. “Okay, okay. He’s your responsibility though. Anything goes wrong, it’s going to be put on you, got it?”

“I’m quite aware of that, sir. Good luck with the operation.”

“Hn. I should be telling you that. After you, sir.”

It took five grueling hours to complete the new and improved Duo Maxwell only this time, he would no longer have a name and would simply go by the number 002. Several bones made out of that elusive metal – gundanium – had been used to replace the ones lost during the blast. His left leg – from tarsal to femur while his right arm – from phalanges to humerus received the same treatment. The left side of his face which had suffered more from the blast had also been reconstructed and it was a rather delicate operation since the young man would literally have half a face of metal and the other of real flesh and blood. Internal tracking devices as well as a tiny self-detonation switch had been implanted in his lower back and nape of his neck respectively. But the real problem came when it was time to implant the chip within Duo’s heart. Heero could feel the three pairs of eyes boring down on him as he held the tiny device within the sterilized probe. If he put this in, Duo would no longer be considered human. The chip would take away every emotion he was capable of experiencing and Heero couldn’t see himself doing that for some reason.

Perhaps it was because of the two girls Duo had rescued or the unspoken strength, dedication and courage he had shown. Heero wasn’t sure of what it was, but he just couldn’t get himself to…

“What’s the matter, Yuy?” G asked impatiently. “Go ahead and put the damn thing in. I’ve got a golf game to catch.”

I can’t… I can’t do this!

He stared at the section of Duo’s visage that wasn’t swathed in bandages and silently begged for forgiveness. But just as he was about to place the damned device within the pulsing mass of bleeding flesh, a low hum resonated within the room causing the other doctors to lift their heads in confusion.

“What the hell is that?” J asked with a light frown.

“Don’t ask me. Probably another preventive raid measure,” came G’s bored reply. “I would have thought they’d keep this damn room soundproof. Done already, Yuy?”

The young doctor nodded, motioning for the nurse to hand him the needle and thread. He could feel the sweat running into his eyes as he worked silently and it was taking all of his concentration not to let his hands tremble at what he had just done. However, both older doctors didn’t seem to care much or pay much attention to him afterwards. The operation had been a great success much to their surprise and they reluctantly had to praise the kid for doing such a great job.

“They’ll make you Head Surgeon yet,” G joked as they made their way out of the operating room several minutes later. “You just wait and see.”

Heero had the grace to blush at the compliments, nodding in farewell as the doctors made a left turn towards their quarters. Heero walked in the opposite direction, his feet leading him towards the area reserved for new units. Smiling dutifully at the other doctors and nurses he walked past, he made his way down the long corridor with oval doors on each side.

A123, A900, A401, A456

It seemed to go on forever. All impersonal and cold – just lifeless beings kept to be used for the Organization’s secret missions. Within each room, some lay in silence, no longer able to experience the joys of being human again while others lay in agony locked in a place where reality and nightmares met. Some of them called out to the ghosts of The Past, longing for bright lights, green lawns, good food, water and fresh air. They begged to see their loved ones again, mumbling unintelligible words as names no longer held any meanings to them. And yet within this sea of misery, those unable to withstand the treatments and changes within their bodies were de-commissioned ‘mercifully’ and put out of their misery. Their rooms would remain forever silent until the next unit was brought in to replace them.

He came to a stop before the oval door with A002 written on it. He peered through the thick pane of glass at the lonesome still figure strapped to the bed. A002 would wake up in the morning screaming in pure agony as his body would try to adjust to the new implants. He would feel like dying, his insides boiling with molten heat with each movement he would make.

It was going to be a long process in rehabilitation for Agent 002 but Heero Yuy was determined to be there every step of the way. After all, this unit was his creation and he had an obligation to take care of it for as long as they would let him.