Gomen, minna, for taking so long about this
chapter--I had midterms, car problems, scanner problems, a sinus infection and
wisdom teeth, so you can see why I didn't get a lot of writing done! I'll try to get back into the swing of
things now.
This one's for Jade, for finishing "Reunion
197" and getting me out of a serious writing slump!
Ashura
***********
Chapter Ten
***********
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Duo asked helplessly as Hilde dragged him
through the corridors by his hair. "If somebody catches us--"
"Then they catch us," she informed him
resolutely. "What's the worst
they're going to do? They're too nice
to really punish us."
"Yeah, but the Romafeller folks might
not--OW!" He winced as she gave a
tug on his hair, reaching up to rub at the sore spot on his scalp. "Knock it off, huh? That hurts." Reluctantly she let him free, if only to jerk open a closet door
and shove him inside it.
"Now shut up, will you? Or they'll hear us and we /will/ get
caught!" Hilde pressed her slim
body close against the wall, her ear against the paneling. "Besides, I can barely hear what
they're saying!"
Duo slumped against the wall, resigning himself to
spending the bulk of the afternoon in a cramped utility closet while his
section-mate tried to overhear Treize' meeting with the Romafeller
representatives. It wasn't even that he
objected to what they were doing--he just thought their methods left something
to be desired.
For example, he could be stuffed into a closet with
Heero....
He stopped /that/ train of thought before it burst
into full bloom. //Focus, Duo,
focus.// He pressed his ear to the
wall, but the best he could make out was the faint buzzing of low, frustrated
voices.
"Stop moving around!" Hilde hissed, nudging him. "I can't hear!"
"I can't hear at all anyway!" he shot
back, reaching a decision. "I'll
go guard the hall, you listen." She nodded, satisfied with the arrangement, and Duo retreated out into
the hallway.
What he did /not/ expect was to find himself face
to face with a pint-sized, redheaded little girl, her surprised expression
rapidly melting into a rather superior smirk.
"What are you doing in the closet?" she
asked him.
Duo fumbled for words, for an excuse, then realised
he was under no obligation to answer to strange children in his own school's
hallway. "Putting something
away," he lied, "what do people usually do in closets?"
"Oh." She seemed not only satisfied with his answer, but disappointed in it,
beginning her next interrogation with a shrug. "I'm Mariemaya Khushrenada," she announced pertly. "Who are you?"
"Duo Maxwell," he answered automatically,
his mind wrapping itself busily around this unexpected development. "So you're--"
"Treize Khushrenada's daughter, yes," she
answered, as if this were a question she was regularly asked. "Except that I'm in custer--custo--I
live with Mr. Barton from the Romafeller Foundation." A flash of irritation crossed her face as
she stumbled over the word. "He's
my grandfather."
"Why don't you live with your dad?" Duo
asked, and the girl shrugged.
"I don't know. I'm told there are circumstances only adults
understand." She seemed less than
pleased with that admission, as well, as if it grated her that there were some
aspect of her life of which she was not in complete control. "Grandfather's in there now with Mr.
Tsuberov, talking to my father."
"Do you know what about...?" Duo asked
cautiously.
Mariemaya shrugged. "Closing the school, presumably." Without warning she flashed him a shy,
rather smug smile. "I'm not supposed
to know about that," she added.
Duo grinned at her warmly. "Hey, it's good to know what you're not
supposed to. It's all in the interests
of self-preservation."
The girl's smile brightened under his
approval. "I know something
else," she said, her voice lowering conspiratorially. "I know that my grandfather doesn't know
there's a Duo Maxwell at this school. So he doesn't know anything about you." She frowned, her brow furrowing and wrinkling beneath a fringe of
red hair. "I'd keep it that way,
if I were you."
"Thanks," said Duo, wondering why he
suddenly felt his stomach sinking.
****
"He has a /daughter/??" Dorothy repeated, staring at Duo in
dismay. "Why the hell didn't any
of us know that before? Why didn't /I/
know that before?"
"It means they have leverage over
Treize," said Quatre unhappily. "They don't have to have someone equal to him in power if they can
keep him from acting."
Wufei nodded. "Though I'm not certain why, if they've been holding his daughter
this entire time, it's never come up before." He shrugged. "But
I'm sure they have their reasons, even if it takes time for us to discern
them."
"We don't have time," Quatre
growled. "They were wrapped up in
that meeting with Treize all afternoon, that can /not/ be promising for
us."
"They all sounded upset," Hilde
interjected, bouncing on the end of Dorothy's bed. "I couldn't make out any real words, I'm afraid."
Trowa let out a long breath. "It doesn't matter. It'll all come down to the same choice
eventually: give in to Romafeller, go
into hiding, or fight them."
"And we know which one you think we should
choose," Quatre acknowledge softly, brushing gentle fingers across his
lover's cheek.
"I remember," Trowa answered simply. "If you don't...maybe you can just
trust me."
"Of course I do," said Quatre, in a soft
voice that dared anyone to protest. No-one did.
"I remember too," Heero said, almost
casually. "So does Sylvia, and Duo
does, a little."
"I don't know what you're talking about,"
Wufei growled fiercely--a little too defiantly, perhaps, and he looked at the
wall past Heero and Duo when he said it.
"Neither do I," said Relena tentatively,
"but I believe you. And I don't
want to go into hiding--but there's no way I'll ever become a tool for
Romafeller, either. I won't."
"No," Dorothy promised darkly. "And neither will I."
"I would hide," Cathy admitted a little
ruefully. "I wouldn't mind. But Trowa feels so strongly about
it...."
Hilde laced her fingers into her lover's, smiling
grimly. "And I'd go with you, you
know. But if the rest of the crew says
fight, I guess I'll be right up in the front taking damage for 'em."
Dorothy let out a long sigh. "I guess it's decided then. We fight Romafeller."
Quatre nodded. "I suppose someone should go tell Mr. Treize."
*****
Treize Khushrenada had not yet gone to bed. To judge from the empty coffee pot and the
grounds scattered around it, he was not intending to any time soon. He greeted the parade of students into his
office with a quirk of an eyebrow and a tired smile.
"I suppose I should pretend to be surprised to
see you all up," he said wearily, "but I'm not. Come in, sit down, tell me what's on your
collective mind."
None of them made a move to sit down in the single
extra chair near the desk. "We
want to fight Romafeller," Quatre said flatly.
Treize sighed. "I suppose I should have expected that as well. You realise, I imagine, my problem agreeing
to this course of action?"
Duo and Quatre traded worried glances. "Mariemaya," said Duo
tentatively. Treize masked his surprise
admirably, but nodded at last.
"We've got a plan for getting around
that," Trowa announced softly, slipping forward to Quatre's side. "We thought if we could bring her back
here, they wouldn't have that hold over you anymore."
Treize cocked his head. "I think I know where this is going," he said
mildly. "And I'm forced to admit
this...inevitable altercation will be far simpler with the lot of you
involved."
"Indeed," said Trowa, smiling slightly as
he began to change. Only when a
pert-nosed, redheaded replica of the young Miss Khushrenada stood before them
in his place did he add in her high, tight voice, "They don't even have to
know she's gone, and you'll have a plant on the inside."
Quatre shook his head, shooting Trowa-Mariemaya a
look of pure distaste. "That's
truly disturbing, love--promise you'll change back at least until morning, won't
you?"
Trowa-Mariemaya just giggled.
"If we could get back on the subject...?"
suggested Wufei dryly.
"Allow me to anticipate," said Treize,
with a nod to Wufei. "Trowa
replaces Mariemaya and relays information to us through Catherine--more convenient,
really, than my original plan to utilise Miss Noin. By the time Dermail, Barton and Tsuberov realise they have a
doppelganger in their midst rather than a child, we'll have uncovered their
weak point and how to exploit it. Am I
correct?"
They traded nods and glances, as Mariemaya slowly
morphed back into Trowa--to Quatre's profound relief. "Essentially, sir, yes."
Treize nodded. "A few changes--and clarifications, if you're to understand what's
truly going on. The whole of Romafeller
is not the problem--it's only a select committee known as Oz. It consists of Dermail, Tsuberov, Dekim
Barton, and a few others--and originally myself, Zechs, and Lady Une. You'll be relieved, then," he added, a
ghost of a smile quirking his lips, "that it won't be necessary to take
out the entire Romafeller Foundation. If we just eliminate or manipulate a few certain people, the three of us
can redirect Oz in the direction we want it to go."
"You mean you'd really have control of the
school?" Relena asked, hope lighting up her face.
Treize nodded. "Indeed. With the continued
support of Dr. Winner, of course."
"Then--" Dorothy began, but stopped, letting the full significance of this
statement sink in. "Full
control. No answering to them, no
pandering to them--no chance at all that we'd be made into weapons--!"
"Full control," Treize confirmed
again. "And an opportunity for all
of you to reach your full potential. That is, if--"
"If what?" Hilde chirped, but it was not Treize who answered.
"If we could all remember what Trowa and Heero
do," said Quatre bluntly. "Whatever it is that gives Sylvia visions and Duo nightmares."
Treize sighed. "Yes," he conceded. "But I'm afraid there's very little I can do to facilitate
that."
"I, on the other hand," a smooth voice
said from the doorway, "may be able to make myself useful in that
respect."
They turned, surprised--even Treize, who should
have seen her entrance. Lady Une leaned
casually against the doorframe, her hair loose around her shoulders, watching them
all intently through the glasses perched on her nose.
"Ah, Lady...." Treize greeted her gracefully, but seemed a little at a loss for
words. "I didn't realise you,
ah..."
"Knew who they were?" she finished for
him smoothly, gliding into the office, a wry half-smile twisting her lips. Unlike the headmaster, she seemed to have
already found her bed and left it; she was wrapped in a silk robe of deep
violet, and its the folds of soft fabric clinging to her body may have had
something to do with Treize' momentary distraction. "Of course I do. I've been watching them, after all...for a very long time."
Quatre let out a long breath. "That's a little freaky," she
confessed. Une turned to him and
smiled.
"I don't mean to disturb you, Arbaa," she
said smoothly, and the Siren winced.
"Don't call me that."
Her head tilted. "Does it bother you so much?"
Quatre fixed her with a fierce glare. "If you really understood as well as
you say you do, you'd know that. And
you'd know why. I already remember more
than I want to." He crossed his
arms defiantly over his chest, still glaring at her. "Play with the rest of their heads, if they consent to it. Not mine."
Une bowed her head, a little sadly. "As you wish."
"Quatre," Trowa murmured, resting a slender
hand on his lover's shoulder and caressing lightly at the curve of his
neck. "This could be
important...."
"NO!!" Quatre snapped, jerking away--the Siren's single turbulent shout scraped
against their skin like a razor, pain erupting almost tangibly through the
room. Trowa yanked his hand back as if
stung, naked hurt and disappointment on his normally dispassionate face.
"Quatre--" he began, tentatively.
"I said no..." It came as a whimper this time, as the blonde boy threw himself
into his lover's arms and buried his face in the folds of Trowa's shirt. "Don't ask me, muHibb, please don't ask
me...."
"All right," the doppelganger promised,
wrapping his arms around Quatre protectively. "We won't. I won't."
Heero cleared his throat, subtly drawing all their
attention from where it lingered on the tearful couple. "I don't mind, Lady Une, but I never
forgot in the first place...."
She nodded. "I know, Heero." Her
hazel eyes flickered over the rest of the group, questioning. "What about the rest of you?"
Dorothy shrugged delicately, putting to words what
really they all wanted to know. "How does it work? Do we
just suddenly have this awareness of--well, I guess it's some kind of past life
thing, the way you all make it sound--I don't know if I could handle that, but
I'd try...."
"It would be more gradual than that," Une
answered, with a glance at Treize--who merely watched the entire proceeding,
attempting to school his face into an expression that indicated this unexpected
turn of events had really been his plan all along. "You'd remember bits and pieces of things, at first--in
dreams, or flashes of insight. Not all
at once."
"Before I agree to anything drastic,"
said Wufei, "could you explain to me just what it is you're going to
do?" A silent chorus of nods from
his schoolmates indicated their agreement, and Lady Une shrugged.
"I'm a medium," she replied. "Normally, I call up the spirits of
those already dead. But it's not so
much a stretch to invoke the spirits of those re-born."
"That," Dorothy said flatly, "sounds
a little freaky. But I guess I'm
in."
Relena nodded her own agreement, sliding an arm
around her girlfriend's waist. "Me
too."
Trowa disentangled from Quatre and stepped forward,
in perfect time with Catherine who joined him. "We're willing," they said together.
Duo watched nervously as Heero stepped off to the
side, near where Quatre had slumped against the wall.
"Don't worry," Heero whispered, planting
a quick, tender kiss behind his ear. "You'll be all right."
Duo smiled weakly at him and joined the
others. Hilde squeezed his arm gently
as she moved to stand next to him, silent for once as her eyes spoke her
acceptance in place of her voice. That
left only Wufei, who looked rather tempted to refuse, and join Heero and Quatre
against the wall.
Finally he let out a long breath. "I will never again be weak," he
whispered, more to himself than any of them, and joined them. "I am no longer Long Diwu, the Fifth
Dragon, no matter what memories you evoke in me."
"I know," Une answered softly, reaching
for his hand.
He slipped his fingers into hers, gazing trustingly
upward into her face. His dark eyes
rolled back in his head and his body went limp, sagging against her, and she
slid her arms around him to support him. It looked, from Duo's vantage point, like she whispered into the
firestarter's ear, but her words were nothing he could make out by the movement
of her lips.
And when at last he sunk to his knees, gripping
Lady Une's hands as if they were his last line to the world, Wufei was
murmuring too.
"Duibuqi--duibuqi--I'm sorry--" His head dropped forward, fine black hair
falling forward to obscure his face.
"It's all right," Une answered, kneeling
next to him and pulling him into her arms. "It was a long time ago, Di--Wufei. We all forgave you a lifetime ago."
He pushed himself to his feet, supporting himself
on her arm, in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability allowing her to
help him to stand. "I will make
amends," he stated flatly, calmly, although he was trembling.
Without answering, Une eased him into the
chair. "The most painful is
finished," she informed them, "since Wufei's old memories...differ
from the rest. And enough of them
remained that he's reclaimed the bulk of them all at once."
Relena, Dorothy, Hilde, Duo, and the twins looked
at each other.
"Who's next?" Relena asked tentatively.
Duo swallowed. "I guess I'll go," he said.
He turned to Lady Une, who was looking at him
gently, almost maternally. "Don't
worry," she whispered, low enough that only he could hear her as he
stepped close. "You've dreamt the
worst of yours already. Nothing else I
can awaken in you will match the vision of your own death."
Duo grinned weakly. "That's good to know."
She reached out her hand, and he took it.
****
Voices.
//Bin, if you want to eat tonight, help your sister
carry the firewood.//
//All right, all right--I'm coming! How come I have to help and Trey-ti
doesn't?//
//He is helping. He's mending the saddle so he can go fetch Heero and Arbaa tonight. Firewood, Bin. Now.//
A face--pert, delicate, wide blue eyes staring up
at him, mouth split it a wide, winsome grin, dark hair chopped short like a
boy's just to spite him for leaving his own long. A short blue linen dress, leaving bare her mud-spattered legs as
she dragged along a satchel of wood that must have outweigh her. //C'mon, you're supposed to help with this
too.//
//Hilde?//
//Kara, silly.//
A tall form, chestnut hair framing a pale face and
deep green eyes--only to his shoulder, not so long as his own, and belong to an
angular boy in roughworn breeches and carrying a saddle.
//Hey, Trey-ti! Heero and Arbaa are coming tonight?//
A smile that lit up his brother's blank face like
the sun was rising in it. //Finally,
they're back from the East....//
A pair of deep azure eyes, captivating, holding
him, they must have been impressed indelibly on his soul's memory since the
beginning of time--
//Heero?//
//Of course.//
//Heero!//
The swirl of images around Duo faded, and darkened,
and he fell--
He felt Heero's arms around him before he had time
to reach the ground.
*****
It was dark when he awoke--he was in his own room,
in his own bed, tangled in his duvet. Whoever had put him to bed had taken off his shirt but not his jeans,
and they were stiff and sweaty against his skin.
He'd been dreaming again--it was, ostensibly, the
result of Lady Une's "awakening" him, as his mind tried to cope with
the onslaught of memories suddenly overwhelming it. He still couldn't "remember" all of his friends, but a
few faces he knew as intimately as his own.
"Kara...." He wondered how much she remembered--she was Hilde now, and was
usually the one looking after /him/, but a lifetime ago she's been his adoring
little sister, had idolised and looked up to him.
He'd been the one to find her body, and it had
crushed him.
"Trey-ti." An elder brother, quiet and strong--he had vanished, leaving no
trace that he had ever existed at all. Duo remembered acutely how it had driven Arbaa nearly insane, until the
blonde shiekh had disappeared in search of his lost love. Quatre and Trowa had been together even
then.
But then, so had he and Heero. Duo recalled that most of all, the gentle
caress of soft fingers against his skin, the warmth of desperate kisses and
whispered promises of faithfulness for all eternity.
//I'll find you. No matter what it takes.//
He was surprised to find tears stinging his cheeks.
//Promise you'll never leave me--//
//I won't leave you.//
//I'll always come back to you.//
He didn't stop to think about what he was doing
before he crawled out of bed, didn't bother with shoes or untangling his
hair--he padded barefoot and bare-chested down the hall, and down the stairs at
the end of it, finding his way through the dark corridor to the door he thought
was Heero's.
And tapped, hesitantly.
A muffled grunt came from the other side--he
remembered with fondness that Heero had always been a light sleeper--and the
rustle of bedclothes, and light footsteps before the door opened. Heero's hair was as matted as Duo's--it was
easy to tell he'd been asleep, strands of dark brown pointing every which way
from his head as he rubbed blearily at his eyes. He stepped back and motioned Duo inside.
"I missed you," Duo said simply.
Heero, rather than being annoyed at the disturbance
to his sleep, managed a sleepy smile and brushed his fingers across Duo's
cheek. "Do you want to stay
here?"
The braided boy nodded, adding a tentative,
"If that's all right..."
"Of course." Heero crawled back into his rumpled bed, scooting over to make
room for Duo, then wrapping his arms around him as soon as he lay down. "I missed you too, you know," he
whispered drowsily into soft strands of chestnut hair.
"Heero," Duo asked softly, "how long
were you waiting?"
Heero considered, nuzzling into the hollow of Duo's
side, his face so close his breath warmed the other boy's cheek. It felt good to be in his arms, Duo thought
blissfully as he waited for an answer. "A long time," Heero mumbled. "Centuries, at least."
"Oh...." Duo was not sure what to say.
But Heero knew. "I'm not letting you go this time," he promised.
*****
