Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise, Bandai, et al. No money is made from this.

Thanks for comet for giving it a once over. Any grammar mistakes left are mine.

Pairings: Future 2+1/1+2.

Notes: This is going to start out as a standard Gundam Wing 'mission' type story, but it gets weird! Another AU.

Also, I have a habit of calling the guys 'pilots', even though, their Gundams are destroyed by the time of this story. In my eyes, they'll always be pilots <shrug>.

This could possibly be finished, even though, I may turn it into a series.

/thoughts/

"Nothing at all, huh?" Duo asked, holding his communicator in one hand and watching the complex from the tree line he was using for cover by way of the binoculars he held to his eyes with his other hand.

"No, nothing." Quatre's voice from the communicator sounded concerned. "Duo, how are you getting Heero out? We looked at the base for hours, and couldn't find a way in."

"If it works, I might explain it," Duo replied softly. "Anyway, I'm on communications black-out for the next three hours. If I haven't checked in by then, I won't be." The braided pilot then turned the communicator off, ignoring Quatre's protests.

The young man unclasped his crucifix and placed it into a pocket then methodically undressed, folding each piece of clothing neatly and adding it to the small pile at the base of a tree. Finally naked, he unwound his
braid and pulled out the lockpicks, stilettos, and other semi-legal items he hid in his braid. After adding the items to the pile of his belongings, he hid his bundle of belongings, leaving out a lockpick. Then, he stepped back and took a deep breath.

He hadn't let loose his magic in years except for short periods of time when he was certain to be alone, and the bulk of those times were in the cockpit of Deathscythe during the downtime of solo missions.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered before opening the mental seal he held around his magic.

Duo's features blurred as he shrunk, and a few moments later, a ferret the color of Duo's hair blinked violet eyes. After running around a bit to get used to the new body, Duo grabbed the lockpick and secured it with his teeth before he ran for the compound, intent on getting the man he loved free.

Coming up to the north side of the compound, he ran along the side of the one story, windowless building, looking for the ventilation tube Trowa said was somewhere on the wall.

/There it is!/ Duo thought, seeing the screened opening. Dropping the lockpick, he balanced on his hind legs to check the screen over. Seeing that it wasn't hooked to any alarms or explosives, the ferret snorted and threading his front paws into the mesh of the covering. Giving a hard tug, he was able to pull the cover off. Thanking whatever governed his magic that he retained his human strength and opposable thumbs in ferret form, he staggered under the weight and moved the cover to one side. He picked up the lockpick again before scampering down the ventilation shaft.

It took him an hour to find the cell they were keeping Heero in. Peering down from the rafters, a low growl escaped around the lockpick held tightly in his jaws. Heero was bruised and bloody, his hands manacled together, a padlock holding the manacles together. There was a heavy metal collar around his neck, also padlocked, connected to a chain which was connected via a plate flush with the wall.

Duo had to stop himself from rushing down to free the other pilot. Instead, he peered into all the corners and found two different surveillance cameras. Using the ceiling support beams as a walkway, Duo scrambled over
to one of the cameras, making sure to never be in view. He then chewed through the audio and video feed wires, being careful not to touch the power lines.

Almost immediately, the cell door banged open and a pair of guards entered, bristling with armament.

"Must be another short," one guard said, ignoring Heero's glare from where the pilot sat in the far corner. The guards gave the cell, including the ceiling beams fifteen feet above, a scan for hostiles.

"It's happening all over," the other guard complained. "You'd think an outfit with this amount of money would have a reliable surveillance system."

During the conversation, Duo quickly ran to the other camera and disrupted the feed like all the others he had come across during his search for Heero.

"The other one just went out," a voice reported from the communication devices clasped to the guards' belts.

One of the guards unclipped his communicator and answered, "Nothing happening here. It's just a bug."

"What if this is part of a rescue attempt?" the other guard asked, worried.

"Nothing larger than the normal wildlife has been sighted in the area. I seriously doubt this asshole's getting rescued by Bambi and friends."

"Who's Bambi?" the second guard asked as the two exited and shut the cell door behind them.

Duo stayed in the rafters, making sure the guards weren't coming back. He contented himself with glaring at Heero. Now that he knew the Japanese man was alive and only minorly injured, he was silently venting his anger.

/I can't believe you got captured. And I came back from vacation, all geared up to smile and pretend I had a great time instead of counting the hours till I got back to see you again. Love fucking stinks. I've been worried sick!/

"Duo?" Heero asked, looking around the empty cell and wondering why he heard Duo's voice in his head.

/You can hear me?/ Duo was startled, and almost fell off the beam he was sitting on.

"Yes, where the hell are you?"

/You're certain you're hearing me?/

"I'm replying to you, aren't I? Now, where the hell are you?"

/Umm... don't freak. I'm coming down,/ Duo replied before running down a wall and standing in front of Heero.

Heero, having stood up when he heard Duo, looked down at the brown ferret in front of him and blinked a few times. Then, he glared around the cell again. "Damn it, Duo. Where are you?"

/I'm right in front of you,/ Duo replied, rolling his eyes. /Look, Heero... You're hearing my voice, right?/

"Damn it, Duo."

/And, there's a ferret in front of you with fur the color of my hair and my eye color./

"That's enough."

/Now, said ferret, who has a lockpick in his jaws, is going to stand on his hind feet./

Heero's eyes widened as the ferret dropped the lockpick and stood on its hind legs. Giving his head a quick shake, Heero again glared around the cell. "Cut the stupid tricks out and get out here!"

/I don't believe you,/ Duo thought, glaring up at Heero. /You'll believe telepathy, but not that I'm a ferret./

"Telepathy has been scientifically proven. It's scientifically impossible to shape shift, especially from a human into a ferret," Heero replied, now glaring down at the ferret.

/That's why it's called magic,/ Duo said, his tone condescending before sighing.

"I think I understand," Heero said, nodding.

Duo's ears perked up from their almost flattened position. /You do?/

"You're telepathic and can make animals do what you want."

The ferret in front of Heero did something that normal ferret's don't even contemplate. It put its hand on its snout and shook its head back and forth while a mental groan sounded in Heero's head.

Taking a deep breath, Duo replied, /Fine, believe that. Just let the ferret pick the locks and we'll get out of here./

"Even mind-controlled, ferret's can't pick locks," Heero pointed out, grabbing the lockpick and trying to unlock the manacles around his wrists.

/Hurt the ferret, and you don't get out of here,/ Duo cautioned. Then, after waiting a few moments for Heero to acknowledge the statement, he jumped up in the air and hung by his front paws from Heero's hands. Glaring
at the Japanese pilot, the ferret quickly scrambled so that he laid on the outstretched arms of the prisoner. Pulling the lockpick from Heero's hand, Duo quickly set about to freeing the other man.

Soon, the manacles fell to the ground and Duo scrambled up to sit on Heero's shoulders so he could work on the neck padlock.

"Duo, how did you train a ferret to pick locks?" Heero asked, standing with his arms still outstretched, shocked.

/Lots of practice,/ Duo replied distractedly. A few moments later, he gave a crow of excitement as he threw the unlocked collar to the ground and wrapped himself around Heero's neck. /Now, follow my directions and I can get us out of here without being seen./

It may have felt strange to the stoic pilot to follow mental directions with a ferret draped bonelessly around his neck, but he did so without pausing. Duo guided Heero through a ventilation shaft in the ceiling, making a comment to remind himself to never have large access shafts of any kind leading to top secret locations when he built a base.

/You're building a terrorist base?/ Heero thought.

/No, but, if I ever do... Wait a minute!/ The ferret, who was now riding on Heero's back as the Japanese pilot was crawling on all fours through the shaft. /You thought that, you didn't say it./

/So, you heard it. It works both ways,/ Heero replied mentally, a smirk evident in his tone. /We'll figure it out later. Which way?/

Pausing, Duo looked around. /North. I guess it's a good thing, since this means we don't have to worry about them hearing you talking./

/Hn. Where are we heading?/

/Motor pool./

/How are we getting out?/

/Wait for someone to leave by jeep, we'll get out with them by hanging from below./

Heero grunted in agreement.

/Now, this is the way to travel,/ Duo said with a mental grin, almost boneless against Heero's back.

Heero snorted in reply. /That ferret weighs almost nothing. Barely even noticed he was there./

/We're here,/ Duo said, pushing himself up and peering over Heero's shoulder.

Heero soundlessly jumped down and hid behind a crate. Seeing his chance, he pushed himself under the body of one of the two jeeps in the area and found himself a good pair of hand and feet grips. Duo crawled onto Heero's chest and sat staring up at the pilot, blinking his violet eyes.

/What?/ Heero asked, slightly unnerved at seeing a ferret with the same eyes as Duo's.

/Nothing./ Duo replied. After a pause, he added, /When we get out from under the jeep, follow the ferret. We'll meet up, sooner or later./

/Fine,/ Heero replied.

/Here we go!/ Duo mentally exclaimed as soldiers trodded into the motor pool and climbed into the jeeps to do a routine scan of the area.

After hanging from below the chassis of the jeep for ten minutes and ignoring the pain in his arms and legs, Heero saw that the jeep was finally entering the woods around the base instead of circling the open area.

The jeep had to slow down considerably in the dense undergrowth, and Heero gritted his teeth and ignored the pain from the ricocheting debris. Deciding it was all right to drop, Heero allowed himself to fall from the jeep. Grunting from the pain, he laid still as the jeep drove on, then rolled into the underbrush.

Luckily, Duo had scampered off of Heero's chest before he rolled and wasn't trampled.

/Follow me,/ Duo said after taking a moment to gain his bearings.

/The ferret is leading me to you?/ Heero asked in reply, still taking mentally since it was possible that there were soldiers nearby.

/He'll lead you to my base,/ Duo replied evasively, not willing to lie.

After an hour of silently tramping through the forest, Duo lead Heero to where his belongings were hidden. /Here we are!/

"Well, Duo, where are you?" Heero asked. Since they hadn't seen any sign of the soldiers in the last half hour of walking, they were certain had finished their patrol.

/OK, now listen up,/ Duo said, standing on his hind legs again. /I am Duo. And, I'll prove it./

Heero crossed his arms and glared down at the ferret. His look of scorn turned to amazement as the ferret blurred and grew till finally, Duo was standing in front of him, hunched over slightly, his unbound hair cascading around his naked body.

"See," Duo said between pants of breath, "told you."

"How the hell..." Heero trailed off, taking a step back.

"I don't know," Duo replied, turning away from the other pilot to pull out his pile of clothes. After quickly dressing, he swiftly braided his hair and re-inserted all the items he hid in the braid. The whole process was done half turned from Heero to give him some privacy, but so Duo could still keep an eye on his reactions.

"Duo, how did that happen?"

Turning to face the Japanese man and seeing that he was ready to talk, Duo nodded. "I don't know. I've always been able to do that."

"Who else knows?"

"You're the only person alive who knows."

After thinking a moment, Heero cocked his head. "Why did you risk yourself to save me?"

"What do you mean?" Duo asked, waving Heero onto the motorcycle he uncovered.

"You used your ability to rescue me," Heero replied. "How are you going to explain to the others how you got in?"

"I'll think of something," Duo replied, his eyes troubled as he swung in front of Heero and revved the motorcycle's engine before taking off.