Disclaimer: I don't own the characters...only the plot. Do not sue me, for I am frightfully poor.

Author's Note: I hope you all like this one. I'm going to updating more frequently from now on. This story is a little on the weird side...and I'm hoping to throw everything back to being relatively normal sometime soon. Have fun with this one. I know I did.

Pushing My Luck

Chapter 11

As we neared home, I handed the blindfold to Hilde. She nodded and tied it on herself. Hell, she knew the drill by now.

We drove in complete silence; it was a strange sensation for me, considering that I was usually talking non-stop, but for some reason it seemed appropriate right now. We both had to do some serious thinking and start mulling everything over. Now, away from the distractions of the safehouse and other pilots, seemed like the perfect time.

Suddenly, the SUV lurched to one side of the road and I heard a loud noise, like a bang. We were moving bumpily now, and I sighed internally. Flat tire.

I pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine. As I stepped out of the car, Hilde asked, "What is it?"

I leaned down and saw that the front tire was indeed flat as a pancake. "We've got a flat," I said. "Could you help me out here?"

She took off her blindfold and stepped out of the car. "Got any tools?"

"Yeah, in the back." I motioned toward the back of the vehicle and she went to get them. "Grab the spare tire while you're at it," I called as an afterthought.

She came back with the tools and the tire and I began to jack the car up. As we worked together, we didn't speak. It was complete silence.

Finally, the tire was on and we were ready to hit the road again. As I moved toward the car door, I heard a shrill cry from the forest that was bordering the right side of the road. I flinched, but shrugged it off as some pissed off bird or something. "What the hell was that?" I shook my head and started to get into the car.

Hilde, however, hadn't moved. She remained fixed in place, listening intently. "Duo..."

I leaned out of the car. "What?"

She looked at me, and I could have sworn that I saw a glimmer of...no...could it be? Was it...fear?

"What is it?" I repeated, more forcefully this time.

Her voice shook as she responded. "Vampires."

I shot her a look that was a mixture of surprise and fear. "Are you serious?"

"That's their call. They're here. And they're following us."

I looked around hastily. "But...they couldn't follow us if we were driving."

She raised an eyebrow. "You know how fast they are. They could follow a train, as long as it wasn't going too far. A car would be easy. They must have seen us in the city." She bit her lip and looked around, now fearful.

I felt like pounding my head against the car. This was not good. We couldn't just take off – we'd lead them straight to the safe house. We had to fight them.

I nodded. "Alright. Let's see how much these fuckers can handle." I grabbed my gun out of the glove compartment and cocked it, then took another from under the seat and handed it to Hilde. "Take this. You might need it." And the 'Understatement of the Year' award goes to...

She took it from me, looking at it as if it would jump up and bite her nose off. "Duo, I...I can't."

I looked at her, shocked. "What?!" I said incredulously. "Are you kidding me?!"

She looked ashamed and I immediately felt bad. "As a rule, an angali can't use certain man-made weapons against their foes." The shriek sounded again, closer this time, and we crept over to the opposite side of the car, away from the forest, crouching down onto the ground and waiting for the attack.

"And what 'certain weapons' would you be talking about?" I hissed through the darkness.

"Guns, mainly. There is one Japanese weapon that we're also prohibited from using, but it's not really that - "

"You can use mobile suits to kill these fuckers! Doesn't a beam cannon qualify as a gun?" This was unbelieveable. "You know, you could have told me this before. Your timing sucks, babe."

"So does theirs," she whispered forcefully.

I had to agree with that. "So...what can you do against them?"

She shrugged. "I can use whatever powers I possess."

I raised an eyebrow. "Which would be...?"

She peered over the hood of the car and then quickly ducked down again. "I can immobilize them one at a time."

I grinned. "You hold their arms behind their back while I deal the blows?"

"In theory, yes."

"Well, aren't you just a big bully." Things were looking up.

Suddenly, something landed with a heavy thunk on top of the car and we scrambled, she to the front of the car, and I toward the back. My gun was a'loaded and my trigger finger was a'itchin'.

It was on.

The being on the roof of the car jumped down and bared its teeth like one big-ass dog. I'd spoken to these things before on a vaguely human level, but I'd never heard anything in my life make the sounds this thing was making.

It lunged toward me and I fired, catching it in the shoulder. It stopped for a moment in surprise and then turned back at me with a snarl and leaped at me again, rage etched into the lines of its face. His face. It was hard to remember that these things had a gender.

I fired again as he reached me and the bullet grazed his temple. Completely nonplussed, he grabbed my wrist and twisted it as he forced me to the ground, simultaneously causing me to drop my gun.

And then suddenly, he was still. He was still snarling at me and his eyes were full of a fire that shook me to the core, but he wasn't moving.

Hilde yelled from somewhere, "Duo! Do it!" and I snapped out of my trance long enough to grab my gun off the ground and plant a slug between his eyes. He fell to the ground and twitched before becoming completely still.

One down, x-amount to go.

I ran back to the side of the SUV and looked around frantically for Hilde. She appeared at my side not moments later. "There are three more," she panted. I didn't bother asking her how she knew this little bit of information – the only thing that mattered right now was that it was accurate.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded, and as she did so, something lunged at her from above. Like a shot she was gone, and it took my mind much wheel-turning to figure out what she'd done; she'd grown wings. The same, bright, white, feathery wings that she'd had the first time I'd seen her. And then, like a flash in the sky, she was gone.

The attacker, however, remained planted in front of me, a wonderfully dumbfounded look on his face. It passed quickly, though, as he spotted me and made his attack. Jumping on me, he forced the two of us into a frantic roll as I struggled to keep my gun. His first thought was obviously to disarm me and he did his damn best as he pinned me on the ground and sat on my back, crushing my arm until I let my weapon go. He pulled my arms behind my back as I ate asphalt for a moment, but this was the opportunity I'd been waiting for – my backup weapon was tucked into my waistband. I twisted my arm behind me with strength that I hadn't known I possessed and latched onto the gun to shoot him in the gut before he knew what hit him. He fell to the side, clutching his stomach as I emptied the clip into his skull.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed another round, slamming it home with extreme satisfaction. Whirling, I waited for the next opponent...but he never came.

Crouched behind the SUV I pondered my next move. The world around me was silent and it was starting to make me nervous...and where was Hilde?

I looked up over the hood of the car and then ducked down again. I couldn't see anything on the other side of the car, but I did remember it being some kind of a field. I'd have to take my chances.

I ran around the back of the car, crouched low. I looked behind me briefly before proceeding forward and into...

I stopped short and stared for a moment in a mixture of shock and dismay.

Dear God.

A frigging corn field.

Just shoot me now.

"What a fucking joke," I muttered to myself as I began to make my way down one of the slim rows before me. I was nervous by now...really nervous.

Suddenly, I heard another cry rip through the silence and tensed, gun at the ready.

A rustling beside me caused me to whirl around and my finger began to pull the trigger...

"Hilde! Shit," I cursed in a harsh whisper as she appeared before me. "What the hell's going on? Where did they go?"

She came and stood with her back to me, and I turned as well until we were back to back, staring furiously into the darkness in hopes of detecting danger before it arrived.

After a moment she whispered, "They're around us somewhere. They're staying well hidden – they know what they're up against."

I raised an eyebrow. "A pilot with a gun and an angali with none? They must be having a bad day."

She didn't bother to respond to that, and we remained in darkness, awaiting the next attack.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, two shapes materialized on either side of us and I flinched. Even though I'd been expecting it, it still surprised me.

Everything seemed to be playing out in slow motion at this point. I saw the two figures close in on us at almost lightning speed. I fired at one of them, hitting him in the shoulder, I thought, and then fired again, this one taking him in the head – that much was obvious from the way he jerked back and fell to the ground.

I turned to face Hilde, only...she was gone.

I stared at the empty space she'd been occupying not a second before in surprise, and immediately heard a screech coming from nearby.

"Wha the fuck?" I started off toward the noise, pushing leaves and stalks out of my path as I progressed. Suddenly, I broke into a clearing I was shocked into halting on the spot.

The last vampire was on top of her, pinning her down with his hands. As I took another step forward, he ripped off her blouse and tossed it aside. Licking down her chest, he chuckled. "How's this for you, m'lady?"

She didn't answer, and I saw that her head was turned to one side, her eyes closed tightly.

He reached for her pants and began to fumble with the button there, and I snapped.

"Get the fuck off her!" I fired at him, but he was fast, and dodged my bullet. He came toward me at lightning speed, and I braced myself...

And then he stopped. He was still, just like the first one had been before I'd shot it. I levelled my gun at his head and my finger twitched as it began to pull the trigger tighter...

"Duo, not yet." Hilde spoke calmly and quietly, but it was enough to surprise me into almost dropping my gun.

"What the hell, Hilde?" I yelled, a little pissed by now. "Let's just kill the fucker and get the hell out of here!"

"I need to ask him something," she stated softly as she stood and retrieved her blouse, surprising me once again. "Then you can have your way with him."

I lowered my weapon. "How dreamy," I muttered as I waited to see what she would do.

She approached him and stared him straight in the face as he snarled at her, an expression of pure hatred on his face. "Why did my father send you?" she asked quietly, no display of emotion in either her tone or manner.

The vampire hissed at her. "You know the answer to that question, my pet." She slapped him and he laughed. "We are your warning. Next time, you will not be so lucky." He cackled, and then one of the weirdest things I'd ever seen in my life occurred;

He burst into flame.

I watched in shock as the flame quickly diminished and burned to the ground, leaving little left but a column of smoke that drifted ominously up into the sky.

Hilde relaxed, and her wings, which were still displayed, quivered as her shoulders sagged. She turned toward me. "He's gone."

I looked at her in bewilderment. "Gone how?"

She shook her head. "It takes a lot of strength to do that under the power of an angali."

"Do what?" I pestered her.

The words came out as barely a whisper but I caught each one of them. "He self-destructed."

I raised an eyebrow. "He pulled a Heero?" I asked, a little incredulous. "Kicked his own damn bucket?"

She nodded. "Call it what you will." As she turned her back and began walking in the direction of the SUV, I saw her wings disappear. They didn't retract, didn't sparkle, didn't go 'poof'. It was as if they had just ceased to exist – here one minute, gone the next.

I broke into a jog and caught up with her. "Hilde, what the hell happened?" She didn't bother to answer, and a moment later we broke out of the field and back onto the road, about a hundred yards away from the SUV. As we neared it, I saw that it was dented and banged up. Great, I thought with an internal sigh. Just one more thing that we needed to take care of.

I opened the door on the driver's side and retrieved my cell phone from under the seat. I dialed Quatre's number and he picked up almost immediately.

"Duo!"

"Quatre, chill. We're fine. Long night, tell you about it later. Listen, could a couple of you bring out some of the bikes...Hilde and I are stuck for a ride. Pick up the location off our GPS system."

"Al-alright." He sounded shaken. "You're sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, we're okay. Hey, could you call Howard and give him the same location? Tell him to pick the vehicle up tomorrow for repairs."

Quatre's voice sounded worried on the other end of the line, but he refrained from asking any more questions. "Sure, Duo. We'll be out right away."

"Okay, thanks man." I paused and thought of something. "Hey, Quat?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring some decent sized backpacks – we've got some supplies here that we can't really afford to leave behind."

"Gotcha."

"Okay, see you soon."

I flipped the phone shut and leaned against the car. Hilde was standing beside me, unmoving.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head and ignored my question. "You don't understand. This is bad."

I turned toward her, and when I spoke, my tone was far from joking. "Then explain it to me. I'm getting pretty sick of being left in the dark."

She sighed. "Vampires only self-destruct for one reason, and they need consent from the Vampire Council to do so."

"Why's that?"

"When they do that, they send a message, one that relays select information to the recipient. Only suicide for vampires is special in more ways than one – with the message goes their power. And the person who recieves it keeps it. All of it."

"Wow." I leaned back and looked at the sky. "So...who was the message for?"

It was her turn to snort. "Not exactly sure, but I have an idea. I'll give you three guesses."

I sighed. "Ubithe."

"Right on the money."

She straightened and walked a couple of paces toward the road. "I should have just let you kill him."

I walked up behind her an laid a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, you should have," I agreed softly. "But you can't beat yourself up about that. You didn't know he'd be able to do that while he was under your power."

She clenched her fists without looking back at me. "II made a stupid mistake and he got to me. He - " She cut herself off, seeming to think better of what she was about to say.

I shook my head. "You're only human." I grinned. "Well...sort of. And you're strong. We'll beat them. So answer my question." My voice became more forceful. "How areyou?"

"I'm fine," she snarled at me.

I whirled her around to face me. She refused to meet my gaze but I pushed on. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I told you, I'm fine." He voice shook a little as she spoke. I really wanted to push her further, get her to talk...but right now she was being about as responsive as Heero. "It's just been a long day."

I chuckled. "Try week."

She gave a watery laugh and stared down at her feet. "Tell me about it. Just when I think that everything is normal, reality comes and slaps me in the face just to prove that it isn't...never can be." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

We stood in silence for a while, each thinking our own thoughts.

I was pissed, and to tell the truth, a little frightened. That vampire had been about to...if I hadn't come along...what if I hadn't come along? Would he have...

Suddenly, all the rage built up inside of me, and it was all I could do not to scream. No one should ever have to go through that...ever. And she almost had.

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of two motorbikes approaching, and a second later they were pulled up beside us. Trowa got off one and tossed me his helmet. "You can ride back with her. Quatre has the bags."

I took the spare helmet off the bike and handed it to Hilde as Quatre got out the backpacks and moved toward the SUV. I helped him load the supplies into them and then strapped one of them on. He insisted on carrying the other.

"You give Howard the location?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Once we call home and give Heero the okay, he'll do it. Wouldn't want our conversation tapped and our location given away before we're gone."

I nodded. "Good. I'll give him a call now." I dialed his number and he picked up immediately with a distinct, "Hn."

"Hey, Hee-baby. Call Howie and give him the location. We're on our way. Hope you missed me."

There was a click as the line went dead and I smirked. It was so easy to get under his skin.

We clambered onto the bikes, Quatre and Trowa on one, Hilde and I on the other. She wrapped her arms securely around my waist as we started off. We'd have to take some detours to get there in case anyone followed us, but it would just give me more time to think.

Huh. And Heero said I didn't have the brainpower for it.