A/N: PLOT! We're getting into the ACTUAL DEEP PLOT! And I'm very sorry, but the 3x4 migrated to becoming the entirety of next chapter, since this part's SOOOO much longer than I thought it'd be…
And yummy, yummy cookies go to KawaiiTenshi27 & Catoblepas for getting my nerdy Oedipus reference! Huzzah! (:) (:)
I don't pretend to speak Latin, either. I'll just direct you to the all-powerful online translator I used and apologize for any mistakes you may find.
Warnings: (…Do I have to do these anymore? Well, just in case…) Latin (translated, as always, at the bottom.), and Further Plotness! Oh rah! Cliffhanger, too.
x---x
Prodigy
Chapter 10
Apprehensive Ignition
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prplSldr: sir? he's alive
K:You have proof?
prplSldr: sending it now
prplSldr wants to send file C/My Files/poem.mp3
K received C/My Files/poem.mp3
K: Well.
K: Isn't this interesting.
prplSldr: orders?
prplSldr: …sir?
K: Bring him in.
K signed off at 7:34:47 PM.
prplSldr signed off at 7:36:42 PM.
x---x
-…Filius.
He stood in the carpeted church aisle, head down, as the blood tinkled down from the dark wooden rafters. It caught the colorful light winking from the windows.
Meus filius.
Like a gentle winter rain the red flowed down, cleansing and condemning him at the same time. Her willowy voice bent through the air, swirling about with her ghostly soul.
Meus filius, quare vos vox?
Confused blue eyes stared up at him, bathed in blood and yellow glass on the frayed blue carpet of the chapel. She choked out a sound. It could have been his name. It could have been a curse. He didn't know.
Her eyes dimmed painfully, and he turned away, spattered boots hollow on the floor.
Ego sum defluo.
Sirens wailed and moaned in the distance. Damp cheeks hardened, the gun springing back into his hand.
He stepped over the father.
Ego sum unus.
The bullet shot out as the hammer crashed down, twirling along its dangerous arc.
The resounding slam of the pistol.
His black descended, the finality crashing with the breaking angel's face.
Ego sum mortis…-
"That Latin?"
His head jerked up, shaken violet eyes meeting dark purple in an intrigued face. The woman smiled as he ground out a "What?", shifting in the two-person booth.
Her one-and-a-half visible eyes grinned just as pleasantly as her lips. "You said… 'I'm dead'? I think that's the translation." She laughed softly.
"Close enough," he grumbled, bleak eyes blinking sleepily. "Whadaya need?" Duo stretched out, cracking his back in the process as he stretched out in the squishy booth. As he looked around, he noted the rest of the restaurant was empty, surprisingly enough, lights dimmed for the night. The café closed whenever Lisa (who also happened to be the owner) left, so she must have had an early appointment or something.
Again, the overly friendly woman was smiling at him. "I heard your poem. I'd like you to get in touch with my employer," she said, and pulled out a simple white card, the single "OZ inc." emblazoned on the front shining in the dim green lights. "He's interested in talking with you, and that's a rare honor."
Duo's face twisted in confusion as he blinked up at her. "Huh?"
The woman laughed. "Let me start over," she said, and held out a hand. Duo shook it. Her grip was firm, an entirely business handshake. For some reason the thought was reassuring. "My name's Lucrezia Noin, and I work for OZ incorporated. Your poetry caught our interest, and I'd like to take you to our main office to speak with my supervisor."
He scratched his head, yawning. "Uh, no thanks. I've already got a job." He snorted. "Two, actually."
The woman cleared her throat. "I don't think you're entirely understanding. There may be a chance you wouldn't have to do an ounce of work ever again. This is an incredible opportunity, Mr. Maxwell."
Duo chuckled. "And I don't think you heard my poem, then. It sucked. But," he continued, "I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying either. I don't want to meet your boss. Or do anything other than sit and mope right now."
Noin sighed. "Listen. I was told to bring you back with me, and I'm going to. You can either come willingly, or hostilely. If it makes you feel better, I could make it worth your while." She reached into her purse, and Duo frowned again.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
She laughed. "It means, Mr. Maxwell, that you have two choices if coming hostilely," she said, and pulled out her checkbook. "The first is, as you can see, I bribe you." Again her hand went into the purse. "Everyone has a price."
When she looked up, ballpoint pen in hand, Duo was wide-awake, glaring apprehensively. "And those that don't?" Anyone could have noticed his hand innocently cradling the steak knife from the side of his plate.
Noin sighed. "Which, of course, leads us to option two." Her hand was back in the purse, and flicked back out with a pistol. The gun's barrel pointing at his temple answered any question about option two.
Duo grinned darkly at her. "Well. That's not very smart, since you obviously need me alive."
Her smile was still kind, surprisingly, and her level voice was pure business. "Alive, yes, but not uninjured. I'm sure he wouldn't be too displeased if you were missing a functioning hand or ears."
He nodded slowly. "I see." A slow smile slid back out. "What did you say your name was?"
"Lucrezia Noin."
Duo blinked. The woman's mouth hadn't moved, and that sure as hell hadn't been her voice. It almost sounded like-
A gun's safety was flicked off. "Put the gun down."
Duo's head banged onto the table as Noin complied. Juuusst great. Of all the people to come and save the day, it just had to be Heero.
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
Before his head became intimate with the table a fourth time, a firm hand snatched his braid. "Idiot."
His head rose back up, glaring straight into the bruised face of Chang Wufei. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
The ex-captive drew him out of the booth using the braid like a leash. "Saving your ass with Yuy, apparently." As the white-clad spy pried him further away, Heero took the occupied seat, staring down the unfazed woman.
"Why the frrrmmph-"
Duo's words were cut off by a convenient wad of napkins and a far too pleased smirk. "Ever heard the phrase 'silence is golden'?"
Duo's rather prominent middle finger responded with what his mouth couldn't. Wufei's smirk widened triumphantly as he led the other teenager to the rather suspiciously scuffed back door.
As soon as they heard the door slam shut, both of the booth's occupants had their pistols aimed at each other, fingers millimeters from pulling back the trigger. Heero glared.
"Leave him alone."
Noin stared straight at him. "It's not my place to decide."
"Leave him alone."
"Why do you care?"
"Noin." The hammer was pulled back. "Leave him alone."
She shook her head minutely. "If he wants to see Duo, I have to bring him in."
Heero's glare intensified. "I can guarantee Relena won't be very happy if you try to take him in." At Noin's blink, he smirked. "And an unhappy Relena means an unhappy Zechs."
Noin's startled expression morphed into a glare as her own gun's hammer was cocked back. "Did you hear his poem, Heero?"
It was his turn to blink in surprise, but he regained control fast enough. "That's beside the point."
She smiled. "I disagree. It's the entire point." A hand crept down to her purse, and against his better judgment Heero didn't shoot her. Instead, she pulled out a tape recorder, eyes never leaving his as it thunked down onto the table. "Listen to it when you get the chance."
His face remained still. "I will."
Her smile grew, and in a movement her pistol was lying on the table in front of him. "I could never outshoot you anyway."
Putting his own down, he quickly dismantled her pistol and grabbed the tape recorder. "Do I have your word you won't go after him?"
She shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Heero. But we were mostly after him to find you- who, may I add, seem in excellent health for someone legally dead."
He snorted. "Tell your arsonist he needs some work." A pause. "Mostly?"
Noin's grin was sheepish. "What better blackmail than your boyfriend?"
"Hn." The pistol waved her to the front door. "Out, Noin."
With an acquiescent shrug, she scooted out of the booth. "Oh, and it's she."
Heero frowned. "What?"
"The arsonist. It's a she." Noin turned back towards him, face serious. "Not many of us approved, Heero. I hope you know that."
He glared at the wall. "Tell her I'll see her soon then." He slid her dismantled gun across the linoleum and she grabbed it without thinking, putting the pieces into her purse again.
Noin looked up and nodded, smiling. "Goodbye, Heero."
He nodded in return, and with a final wary look the two turned to their respective exits and re-locked the café behind them.
Outside Wufei and Duo sat on the hood of the black sedan, Wufei conveniently sitting on top of a hefty chunk of braid as he watched Heero's approach. Duo was busy being all-around pissed and indignant about the situation, grumbling and shouting at seemingly random intervals.
"Yuy," Wufei nodded, utterly blocking out the rant.
Heero nodded in return, and Noin's white convertible quickly zipped out of the parking lot. His eyes flipped to the suddenly still Duo. "Keys?"
"What, no invasion of privacy to get them this time?" Duo growled.
"Duo."
"WHAT is it NOW?"
Heero glared. "Shut up." Heero's hand shot out, but this time palm up. "Keys."
Hissing out profanity, Duo handed the keys over. One of the parking lot's streetlamps flickered off. "Mr. Take-Without-Asking-I-Know-Better-Than-You-So-Shut-Up…"
Choosing to ignore the annoyance, Heero unlocked the car and started it up. Duo quickly jumped into the passenger seat (after Wufei had stood up), and with a roll of his eyes Wufei clambered into the back. As soon as everyone's seatbelts were on, Heero gunned the poor car onto the highway.
"What the hell are you doing to my car!" Duo was holding on for dear life as Heero seemed to glare the other cars out of his way.
"Nothing you haven't."
"Oh, that's SO reassuring," Duo snapped back.
"Why don't you both just SHUT UP for once and watch the fucking road!" Wufei's shout came just as they passed by the off ramp to Duo's small apartment.
"…Where are we going, anyway?"
"The hospital," Heero bit out, dodging a truck and holding the steering wheel like a racecar driver. "Trowa's been shot."
x---x
prplSldr: sir? more info
K: And it's good enough to interrupt my meeting?
prplSldr: definitely
prplSldr: visual confirmation yuy's alive
prplSldr: and chang
K: You're absolutely positive?
prplSldr: saw them with my own eyes
K: Their status?
prplSldr: both around the maxwell boy
K: Well this is interesting.
K: Your status?
prplSldr: perfectly fine back home
K: I want you to make sure our littlerogue doesn't try again. Understood?
PrplSldr: yessir
K: I'll see you tonight then.
K: And Noin?
prplSldr: yes
K: I know it may not be in person, but please use capitalization and punctuation when speaking with me.
prplSldr: Yes sir.
K signed off at 8:14:28 PM.
prplSldr signed off at 8:16:43 PM.
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A/N: MUWAHAHAHAH! Ah. I just couldn't resist. And don't worry, next chapter will be out MUCH sooner. Sorry 'bout the wait for this one again. The entirety of next chapter is 3x4, explaining the Trowa-hospital thing, so no worries.
(Moronic A/N trait of the day:) Don't you just hate those people who bold every other word? Me too!
Translations
(Latin)
Filius: Son.
Meus filius: My son.
Meus filius, quare vos vox?: My son, why do you cry?
Ego sum defluo: I am lost.
Ego sum unus: I am alone.
Ego sum mortis: I am death.
READER RESPONSES (I'm still madly in love with you all!):
(Now with underlined names for easy findage!)
SnakeMistress: Aww, thanks! You like my character poetry! I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
KawaiiTenshi27: YAY! Oedipus! (throws confetti and yummy cookies) Eh…sorry 'bout the wait, too. But hey! I updated eventually! (hugs!)
Gods sent angel: (blush) Awwww, you're so sweet! That's like how I get with reviews, too. I see a review, and I'm up there on Cloud 90 with you for the whole freakin' day. And I've always wanted an obsessive stalker bitch! YAAAYYY:)
Serena429: Thank you very much! I try!
Kaaera: o.O You're GOOD. Almost got the entire chapter down in a prediction! Well, aside from the bikers not being there in the story, but hey. Still pretty damn impressive! You get a Gold Trophy for Prophetic Reviewing.
Bunch-o-Nuts: Thanks for coming back to me! (welcome back hug!)
Catoblepas: (gives yet another yummy yummy cookie) Wow, that's impressive you can remember that. AND Jocasta's name. And the creepy thing is they had four kids. (shudder) That's just nasty. And thanks so much for liking my story!
Memeal: Thanks! Awww, you liked the poem! Thank you so much! You're so nice.
Windy River: As always, I try!
Evil Chibi Kitten: Aww, thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!
ravel queen: …And now I hang my head in shame at the mention of Chemical Romance. (does so) It'll be updated eventually, I swear. Oh yes, all my poetry's mostly-spontaneous. For some reason I just go stare into the bathroom mirror for a couple minutes, talk to myself, and then it's done in my head. Creeps my family out, too, 'cuz I'm there muttering and staring. Heh. Wow, this got long…Thanks for reviewing!
dk-joy: Awww, my fic's all gushy inside now. Thanks for reviewing!
Ezzy: Thanks so much! Now I'm gonna be really annoying and ask what the Maxwell's Coffee House is…(blush)
eBooeBoo: OOOO! I got favorited! Thanks so much!
Lachwen: Thank you! I wrote more! Yaay!
And, as always…Thanks for Reading! Please Review!