Author's Note: ::bound and gagged:: MMMMMMPPPHHHHHH!!!!
Thalia: ::pokes authoress with a stick:: Quite you. This is OUR fic now.
Thalia, Eros, and Psyche: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Eros: Do you think we'll be able to explain what's she's got started?
Thalia: Uhh...... We can ~try.~
Disclaimer: Psyche: WE DON'T OWN GUNDAM WIIIIIINNNNNGGG!!! So if you're going to sue you can bloody well piss off!
Eros: Very tactful, dear.
Thalia: * These are thoughts. * ~These~ are for emphasis. *(These are psychic/empathic thoughts/emotions.)*
PART FOUR
Wufei was having trouble sleeping. Every slight creek of settling resounded as if from across a great distance. The constant drone of the air conditioning system grated on his nerves. He was used to the natural sounds of night outdoors. He preferred to stay near his gundam's hiding place always, and this lead to much camping. The recycled air felt stale, and the silence, while punctuated by house noises, was too thick. His bed was too soft, and yet not soft enough, refusing to give in the right places but he kept sinking lower and lower in it.
He rolled on his side, giving up on sleep for the time being. He instead directed his thoughts to the events of the day, and inevitably to his conversation on the balcony with Duo. He growled into the dark.
* I messed that up pretty well. I was much too blunt. *
He wished he had been more tactful about the whole thing, but he honestly hadn't thought that Duo was so ignorant of his ability as to reject the idea completely. Wufei was a bit insulted that the American would even consider the possibility that he'd been trying to play a practical joke on him. Such a thing would be extremely dishonorable, to take advantage of a fr- of a comrade's trust like that. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd lost his patience at that accusation. He shouldn't have let Duo go without understanding what he meant. But he'd had a hard enough time just keeping himself from blowing up at him. He frowned self-reprovingly. His temper would get the better of him if he wasn't careful...
But back to Duo. Wufei didn't know what to do about him. He'd done his best by putting shields on him, but it still didn't change the fact that the boy was a ticking time-bomb. An untrained psychic was a danger to all those around him. He could be unknowingly used by spirits to gain possession of others, or could become possessed himself. And the feel of this house was unlike any Wufei had experienced before. Whatever was here was strong, it was old, and it was waiting, waiting, waiting...
He felt the air in the room thicken with energy, even through his barriers.
*( It knows what I am. )*
He quelled the surge of fear that came with that realization. He couldn't afford to be weak in the face of this - this presence. He had to be strong enough to protect all of them until Duo accepted what he was and could help.
He felt it undulate and ripple unpleasantly, pressing down on his own protective bubble of energy. It was trying to probe his depths, gauge his strength. He glared into the unnatural darkness and gathered himself.
*( GO AWAY. )*
He reinforced his command with a burst of energy. He became even more uneasy when this was just absorbed into the mass of black without a reaction. Then it slowly left, rising into the ceiling like some perverted imitation of steam, leaving a faint but distinct smell of rotting meat.
Then he heard something outside his room crash into a wall. He jolted out of bed and ran across the room the his door. He opened it and rushed out into the lit hall. The noise was repeating itself regularly, a loud thumping against a door. He sped down the hall to it's source. It was Heero's room. For a split second, Wufei stood there with a look of honest surprise playing across his features. Then he went into action.
"Heero!" he shouted, coming close to the door. "What's going on?"
The pounding skipped a beat before speeding up.
"Wufei, if this is your doing, I will kill you," Heero's muffled voice threatened.
"If what's my doing?" he responded, trying to sound calm. Something was wrong here. Heero's normal monotone was audibly strained.
"I'm locked in."
Very strained. It was puzzling, but Wufei had no time to reflect on the meaning of Heero's tone. He tried to open the door, but the knob wouldn't turn.
"It's not locked, Heero, it's jammed. I can't open it from this side either," Wufei told him.
There was no response, but the pounding increased even more. A sudden crack drew Wufei's attention to the hinges. The screws were breaking out of the wooden doorframe. He had barely enough time to dodge before it broke open completely, falling to the floor with a clatter. Heero's momentum kept him going, but he tripped over the door. He careened into Wufei and both boys went down in a tangle.
Heero was the first to recover, and he sprung up looking wild. He was stripped to the waist, drenched in sweat that reeked of fear. But even as Wufei dragged himself to his feet, he seemed to get a grip on himself. He turned his head down and away, his eyes squeezing shut. Wufei stood in silence for a moment, waiting for Heero to regain control.
"What happened?" Wufei finally asked.
Heero's gaze snapped to his face, staring searchingly. Wufei kept his expression carefully blank and returned the look. Finally Heero gave a small grunt.
"I was over-reacting. I thought someone had locked me in," he explained.
"Ah. I see. Anything else?" Wufei queried. He knew that Heero wasn't telling the whole truth. Nothing as simple as that would reduce his normal nerves-of-steel self to panic, and if he hadn't been panicked when he'd freed himself, Wufei didn't know a Leo from Nataku.
Again Heero gave him a long, almost suspicious look. But was that a flicker behind the glare?
"No."
*( He's lying. )*
"I see." Wufei frowned suddenly.
"What is it?"
"You were hardly silent about opening the door. Shouldn't it have woken the others?"
Surviving in battle gave one the ability to jump to several large conclusions at once. Heero followed the train of thought, and without another word they both went to check on why the others were absent from the scene. Heero went straight to Duo's door, Wufei noticed. He himself went to Quatre's and knocked.
"Quatre?"
There was no answer. Rippling fear made his knees feel watery. He wiped his sweaty hands on his the large tank top he wore over his boxers as pajamas, wondering why he was so shaky all of a sudden. He tried the handle, and found it turned easily. As soon as he stepped inside, he knew.
The strange writhing darkness swirled lazily over Quatre's bed. The boy was panting in short shallow breaths, his blonde hair plastered to his head with sweat. It was horribly hot in the room, the oppressive extreme heat of the desert at high noon. And the - the ~thing~ drew energy from Quatre. Wufei could feel it slipping slowly but surely from the young Arabian. Like sand in an hourglass, or blowing in the wind.
*( LEAVE HIM! )*
Wufei threw himself into the heart of the inky energy, landing next to Quatre on the bed. He heaved the boy into his arms and over his shoulder, enfolding him in his shields. Then, before the parasite could react, he bolted to the door and back into the hall. He had to get back to the light, had to wrap himself and Quatre in the light and burn out the dark...
He nearly ran into Heero and Duo in the hall. Duo looked disheveled and grouchy, his braid frayed. Heero looked up from opening Trowa's door, a scowl on his face.
"Wufei, what's going on?" Duo demanded. "Heero won't tell me any- "
Wufei gestured him silent with his free hand. He backed away from the door and kicked it closed. He could still feel the sheer force of the darkness, even through the door. Such a physical barrier would mean nothing to it, should it choose to follow. But the power was fading, flowing away as quickly as it had manifested. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was gone for now. He set Quatre down on the hallway floor as gently as he could.
"What's all this about?" Duo demanded. "What's wrong with Quatre? Why is there a door in the middle of the floor?"
Wufei ignored him for a moment to nod at Heero, who then went in to get Trowa.
"Heero broke down his door. It was jammed. Didn't you hear it?" Wufei asked.
"No, I didn't hear it, obviously," Duo snapped. "What happened to Quatre?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he replied with a meaningful look. It had its intended effect of sending Duo into indignant silence.
Wufei examined Quatre. His sky-blue silk pajamas clung to his sweat-soaked body, and his breathing was still faster than it should be, but it was slowing. His pale brows were knit, almost as if he was in pain. His lips were slightly parted as if for a kiss or a whimper. Wufei glowered. He could sense that Quatre's energy was dangerously low. He pressed an ear to Quatre's chest. The heart beat was incredibly faint. And now that he could actually ~hear~ Quatre breathing, he realized that it was not getting ~slower~, it was getting ~shallower~ with greater spaces between breaths.
"He's not going to make it," he muttered.
"What?!" Duo shouted. "What did you ~do~ to him?"
"I didn't do anything, baka," Wufei snapped back. He thought rapidly. Quatre needed energy or else his body would stop functioning and he'd die. Wufei had no spare energy, having used it all on shields and banishing the presence from his room earlier. He needed a source. "Duo, come here."
"What are you going to do?" Duo asked, a sliver of fear in his voice, but he approached. Wufei held out his hand to him. He hesitated.
"Quickly! You don't want him to die, do you?" Wufei demanded.
Duo glared at him and grabbed his hand. Wufei stripped him of the shields mercilessly, funneling the energy through his arm and down the other, into Quatre's chest. There was a shock like muted lightning. As Quatre pulled in a deep breath of air, both Wufei and Duo swayed.
Heero and Trowa emerged from Trowa's bedroom just in time to see Duo fall gracelessly on his rear a few feet behind Wufei, who promptly slumped forward over Quatre's still body. They needed no urging to rush to their sides.
Duo was breathing hard and his eyes were the size of saucers. He stared in shock at Wufei, who seemed barely conscious, as Trowa rolled him over and checked both his and Quatre's pulses.
* Why's he doing that? Wufei just fixed him. * he thought hazily. Then he frowned. No, he couldn't have fixed Quatre. That would mean that Wufei was.... And that was just impossible.
The tingling in his right arm seemed to disagree. And he felt exposed, open, and shuddery, like someone had ripped off his clothes and then made him stand in the rain. He felt all raw and naked.
* Bet it's all psychosomatic or whatever. When your mind makes it real because you think it's real. * he justified to himself. * But then, if your mind made it real, then is it any less real than if it had been that way in the first place? *
"Duo," said a voice in his ear, breaking his unsettling train of thought. He realized that someone was shaking him rather vigorously. "~Duo.~"
"Huh? Wha-? Heero?" he asked uncertainly. He turned toward the source of the voice to find himself staring into cobalt blue eyes. * Pretty.... *
"Snap out of it," Heero commanded, shaking him again.
Duo blinked, and forced himself not to blush.
"Sorry. What - er, what just happened here?" he asked, then winced as he realized how pathetically plaintive that sounded.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Heero said, giving him an uninterprettable look. Then he turned his head to look over at Trowa. Duo followed his eyes and gasped.
Trowa had pulled Wufei's shirt up and had his hands clasped over the Chinese boy's chest and was pumping his arms hard. Wufei's eyes looked glassy and his lips were turning blue.
"Trowa?" Duo recognized that faint voice as his own.
"His heart has stopped," Trowa dead panned, but his eyes gave away his anxiety.
*( I see - the - the energy- )* *what energy?* *( he's going to - )* *huh? I don't - *( understand it now, yes and I have to - )*
It was a disturbing thing, not being able to understand his own thoughts. It all lined up in his mind, but he couldn't express it even to himself. He just knew - only he didn't ~know~ - and that was all.
Heero stopped staring at Trowa and Wufei when Duo moved. He tried to restrain him, but Duo shook off his grip like it was nothing. His fingers tingled.
"Duo?"
The American crossed the short distance on hands and knees, a peculiar expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on Wufei, but Heero got a strange feeling that he didn't see at all. Trowa didn't pause his CPR, but he was staring at Duo apprehensively. Duo stopped beside Wufei and pushed Trowa off to the side. The tallest pilot looked as surprised as he ever did, and allowed himself to be shoved away. Then Duo tilted Wufei's head back and bent very close.
Heero felt a funny twist in his stomach, as if the ground had dropped out from under him.
* He's not going to - *
But then he did.
It was a strange kiss because both of their mouths were wide open, almost like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But no breath passed between them... Heero felt his hair literally stand on end, and watched in morbid fascination as the same thing happened to Wufei's unbound hair. Then there was an almost audible crack as the static electricity disappeared.
Duo pulled back abruptly, and Wufei arched his back, sucking in a great gasp of air. He promptly rolled over onto his side and began to cough. Trowa appeared shaken, his visible eye quite wide. He touched Duo on the shoulder, and Duo merely smiled beatifically before toppling over. Trowa checked his pulse and breathing.
"He's just unconscious. He'll be fine," he said after a moment.
Heero felt himself relax ever so slightly. Then he frowned. He hadn't even known he'd been worried. He shook himself. There were things to take care of.
Wufei was recovering a little by now, and had sat up. He looked blearily around the hall, his obsidian eyes finally resting on Duo's unmoving form. He looked torn between a scowl and a smirk.. Heero felt an inexplicable urge to hit him.
"Baka," Wufei muttered at the braided American. "I told you. But did you listen? Huh, I guess it didn't matter anyway."
"Wufei," Heero intoned coldly. The black-haired boy turned his head to blink owlishly at him. "What just happened?"
"Ah. You don't know, do you? No, I suppose not. Well, it should be obvious. Duo just saved my life. I told him. He didn't believe me. But he'll have to now. It's too late to go back."
"What are you saying?" Heero demanded, confused and angry.
"It's too late to go back, you see. Too late for all of us," Wufei repeated with an unnerving drunken giggle. Then he too passed out.
END PART FOUR
MMMPPHH!! ::squirming in the ropes::
Thalia: ::pats authoress on the head:: Settle down, dearie. That wasn't so bad.
MMMMMMPPPPHHH!!!!
Eros: ::sigh:: She just don't appreciate us, does she?
Thalia: She'll thank us later. Really, you will, won't you dear?
MMMPPPPHH!!!
Psyche: REEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!
Thalia: ::pokes authoress with a stick:: Quite you. This is OUR fic now.
Thalia, Eros, and Psyche: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Eros: Do you think we'll be able to explain what's she's got started?
Thalia: Uhh...... We can ~try.~
Disclaimer: Psyche: WE DON'T OWN GUNDAM WIIIIIINNNNNGGG!!! So if you're going to sue you can bloody well piss off!
Eros: Very tactful, dear.
Thalia: * These are thoughts. * ~These~ are for emphasis. *(These are psychic/empathic thoughts/emotions.)*
PART FOUR
Wufei was having trouble sleeping. Every slight creek of settling resounded as if from across a great distance. The constant drone of the air conditioning system grated on his nerves. He was used to the natural sounds of night outdoors. He preferred to stay near his gundam's hiding place always, and this lead to much camping. The recycled air felt stale, and the silence, while punctuated by house noises, was too thick. His bed was too soft, and yet not soft enough, refusing to give in the right places but he kept sinking lower and lower in it.
He rolled on his side, giving up on sleep for the time being. He instead directed his thoughts to the events of the day, and inevitably to his conversation on the balcony with Duo. He growled into the dark.
* I messed that up pretty well. I was much too blunt. *
He wished he had been more tactful about the whole thing, but he honestly hadn't thought that Duo was so ignorant of his ability as to reject the idea completely. Wufei was a bit insulted that the American would even consider the possibility that he'd been trying to play a practical joke on him. Such a thing would be extremely dishonorable, to take advantage of a fr- of a comrade's trust like that. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd lost his patience at that accusation. He shouldn't have let Duo go without understanding what he meant. But he'd had a hard enough time just keeping himself from blowing up at him. He frowned self-reprovingly. His temper would get the better of him if he wasn't careful...
But back to Duo. Wufei didn't know what to do about him. He'd done his best by putting shields on him, but it still didn't change the fact that the boy was a ticking time-bomb. An untrained psychic was a danger to all those around him. He could be unknowingly used by spirits to gain possession of others, or could become possessed himself. And the feel of this house was unlike any Wufei had experienced before. Whatever was here was strong, it was old, and it was waiting, waiting, waiting...
He felt the air in the room thicken with energy, even through his barriers.
*( It knows what I am. )*
He quelled the surge of fear that came with that realization. He couldn't afford to be weak in the face of this - this presence. He had to be strong enough to protect all of them until Duo accepted what he was and could help.
He felt it undulate and ripple unpleasantly, pressing down on his own protective bubble of energy. It was trying to probe his depths, gauge his strength. He glared into the unnatural darkness and gathered himself.
*( GO AWAY. )*
He reinforced his command with a burst of energy. He became even more uneasy when this was just absorbed into the mass of black without a reaction. Then it slowly left, rising into the ceiling like some perverted imitation of steam, leaving a faint but distinct smell of rotting meat.
Then he heard something outside his room crash into a wall. He jolted out of bed and ran across the room the his door. He opened it and rushed out into the lit hall. The noise was repeating itself regularly, a loud thumping against a door. He sped down the hall to it's source. It was Heero's room. For a split second, Wufei stood there with a look of honest surprise playing across his features. Then he went into action.
"Heero!" he shouted, coming close to the door. "What's going on?"
The pounding skipped a beat before speeding up.
"Wufei, if this is your doing, I will kill you," Heero's muffled voice threatened.
"If what's my doing?" he responded, trying to sound calm. Something was wrong here. Heero's normal monotone was audibly strained.
"I'm locked in."
Very strained. It was puzzling, but Wufei had no time to reflect on the meaning of Heero's tone. He tried to open the door, but the knob wouldn't turn.
"It's not locked, Heero, it's jammed. I can't open it from this side either," Wufei told him.
There was no response, but the pounding increased even more. A sudden crack drew Wufei's attention to the hinges. The screws were breaking out of the wooden doorframe. He had barely enough time to dodge before it broke open completely, falling to the floor with a clatter. Heero's momentum kept him going, but he tripped over the door. He careened into Wufei and both boys went down in a tangle.
Heero was the first to recover, and he sprung up looking wild. He was stripped to the waist, drenched in sweat that reeked of fear. But even as Wufei dragged himself to his feet, he seemed to get a grip on himself. He turned his head down and away, his eyes squeezing shut. Wufei stood in silence for a moment, waiting for Heero to regain control.
"What happened?" Wufei finally asked.
Heero's gaze snapped to his face, staring searchingly. Wufei kept his expression carefully blank and returned the look. Finally Heero gave a small grunt.
"I was over-reacting. I thought someone had locked me in," he explained.
"Ah. I see. Anything else?" Wufei queried. He knew that Heero wasn't telling the whole truth. Nothing as simple as that would reduce his normal nerves-of-steel self to panic, and if he hadn't been panicked when he'd freed himself, Wufei didn't know a Leo from Nataku.
Again Heero gave him a long, almost suspicious look. But was that a flicker behind the glare?
"No."
*( He's lying. )*
"I see." Wufei frowned suddenly.
"What is it?"
"You were hardly silent about opening the door. Shouldn't it have woken the others?"
Surviving in battle gave one the ability to jump to several large conclusions at once. Heero followed the train of thought, and without another word they both went to check on why the others were absent from the scene. Heero went straight to Duo's door, Wufei noticed. He himself went to Quatre's and knocked.
"Quatre?"
There was no answer. Rippling fear made his knees feel watery. He wiped his sweaty hands on his the large tank top he wore over his boxers as pajamas, wondering why he was so shaky all of a sudden. He tried the handle, and found it turned easily. As soon as he stepped inside, he knew.
The strange writhing darkness swirled lazily over Quatre's bed. The boy was panting in short shallow breaths, his blonde hair plastered to his head with sweat. It was horribly hot in the room, the oppressive extreme heat of the desert at high noon. And the - the ~thing~ drew energy from Quatre. Wufei could feel it slipping slowly but surely from the young Arabian. Like sand in an hourglass, or blowing in the wind.
*( LEAVE HIM! )*
Wufei threw himself into the heart of the inky energy, landing next to Quatre on the bed. He heaved the boy into his arms and over his shoulder, enfolding him in his shields. Then, before the parasite could react, he bolted to the door and back into the hall. He had to get back to the light, had to wrap himself and Quatre in the light and burn out the dark...
He nearly ran into Heero and Duo in the hall. Duo looked disheveled and grouchy, his braid frayed. Heero looked up from opening Trowa's door, a scowl on his face.
"Wufei, what's going on?" Duo demanded. "Heero won't tell me any- "
Wufei gestured him silent with his free hand. He backed away from the door and kicked it closed. He could still feel the sheer force of the darkness, even through the door. Such a physical barrier would mean nothing to it, should it choose to follow. But the power was fading, flowing away as quickly as it had manifested. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was gone for now. He set Quatre down on the hallway floor as gently as he could.
"What's all this about?" Duo demanded. "What's wrong with Quatre? Why is there a door in the middle of the floor?"
Wufei ignored him for a moment to nod at Heero, who then went in to get Trowa.
"Heero broke down his door. It was jammed. Didn't you hear it?" Wufei asked.
"No, I didn't hear it, obviously," Duo snapped. "What happened to Quatre?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he replied with a meaningful look. It had its intended effect of sending Duo into indignant silence.
Wufei examined Quatre. His sky-blue silk pajamas clung to his sweat-soaked body, and his breathing was still faster than it should be, but it was slowing. His pale brows were knit, almost as if he was in pain. His lips were slightly parted as if for a kiss or a whimper. Wufei glowered. He could sense that Quatre's energy was dangerously low. He pressed an ear to Quatre's chest. The heart beat was incredibly faint. And now that he could actually ~hear~ Quatre breathing, he realized that it was not getting ~slower~, it was getting ~shallower~ with greater spaces between breaths.
"He's not going to make it," he muttered.
"What?!" Duo shouted. "What did you ~do~ to him?"
"I didn't do anything, baka," Wufei snapped back. He thought rapidly. Quatre needed energy or else his body would stop functioning and he'd die. Wufei had no spare energy, having used it all on shields and banishing the presence from his room earlier. He needed a source. "Duo, come here."
"What are you going to do?" Duo asked, a sliver of fear in his voice, but he approached. Wufei held out his hand to him. He hesitated.
"Quickly! You don't want him to die, do you?" Wufei demanded.
Duo glared at him and grabbed his hand. Wufei stripped him of the shields mercilessly, funneling the energy through his arm and down the other, into Quatre's chest. There was a shock like muted lightning. As Quatre pulled in a deep breath of air, both Wufei and Duo swayed.
Heero and Trowa emerged from Trowa's bedroom just in time to see Duo fall gracelessly on his rear a few feet behind Wufei, who promptly slumped forward over Quatre's still body. They needed no urging to rush to their sides.
Duo was breathing hard and his eyes were the size of saucers. He stared in shock at Wufei, who seemed barely conscious, as Trowa rolled him over and checked both his and Quatre's pulses.
* Why's he doing that? Wufei just fixed him. * he thought hazily. Then he frowned. No, he couldn't have fixed Quatre. That would mean that Wufei was.... And that was just impossible.
The tingling in his right arm seemed to disagree. And he felt exposed, open, and shuddery, like someone had ripped off his clothes and then made him stand in the rain. He felt all raw and naked.
* Bet it's all psychosomatic or whatever. When your mind makes it real because you think it's real. * he justified to himself. * But then, if your mind made it real, then is it any less real than if it had been that way in the first place? *
"Duo," said a voice in his ear, breaking his unsettling train of thought. He realized that someone was shaking him rather vigorously. "~Duo.~"
"Huh? Wha-? Heero?" he asked uncertainly. He turned toward the source of the voice to find himself staring into cobalt blue eyes. * Pretty.... *
"Snap out of it," Heero commanded, shaking him again.
Duo blinked, and forced himself not to blush.
"Sorry. What - er, what just happened here?" he asked, then winced as he realized how pathetically plaintive that sounded.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Heero said, giving him an uninterprettable look. Then he turned his head to look over at Trowa. Duo followed his eyes and gasped.
Trowa had pulled Wufei's shirt up and had his hands clasped over the Chinese boy's chest and was pumping his arms hard. Wufei's eyes looked glassy and his lips were turning blue.
"Trowa?" Duo recognized that faint voice as his own.
"His heart has stopped," Trowa dead panned, but his eyes gave away his anxiety.
*( I see - the - the energy- )* *what energy?* *( he's going to - )* *huh? I don't - *( understand it now, yes and I have to - )*
It was a disturbing thing, not being able to understand his own thoughts. It all lined up in his mind, but he couldn't express it even to himself. He just knew - only he didn't ~know~ - and that was all.
Heero stopped staring at Trowa and Wufei when Duo moved. He tried to restrain him, but Duo shook off his grip like it was nothing. His fingers tingled.
"Duo?"
The American crossed the short distance on hands and knees, a peculiar expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on Wufei, but Heero got a strange feeling that he didn't see at all. Trowa didn't pause his CPR, but he was staring at Duo apprehensively. Duo stopped beside Wufei and pushed Trowa off to the side. The tallest pilot looked as surprised as he ever did, and allowed himself to be shoved away. Then Duo tilted Wufei's head back and bent very close.
Heero felt a funny twist in his stomach, as if the ground had dropped out from under him.
* He's not going to - *
But then he did.
It was a strange kiss because both of their mouths were wide open, almost like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But no breath passed between them... Heero felt his hair literally stand on end, and watched in morbid fascination as the same thing happened to Wufei's unbound hair. Then there was an almost audible crack as the static electricity disappeared.
Duo pulled back abruptly, and Wufei arched his back, sucking in a great gasp of air. He promptly rolled over onto his side and began to cough. Trowa appeared shaken, his visible eye quite wide. He touched Duo on the shoulder, and Duo merely smiled beatifically before toppling over. Trowa checked his pulse and breathing.
"He's just unconscious. He'll be fine," he said after a moment.
Heero felt himself relax ever so slightly. Then he frowned. He hadn't even known he'd been worried. He shook himself. There were things to take care of.
Wufei was recovering a little by now, and had sat up. He looked blearily around the hall, his obsidian eyes finally resting on Duo's unmoving form. He looked torn between a scowl and a smirk.. Heero felt an inexplicable urge to hit him.
"Baka," Wufei muttered at the braided American. "I told you. But did you listen? Huh, I guess it didn't matter anyway."
"Wufei," Heero intoned coldly. The black-haired boy turned his head to blink owlishly at him. "What just happened?"
"Ah. You don't know, do you? No, I suppose not. Well, it should be obvious. Duo just saved my life. I told him. He didn't believe me. But he'll have to now. It's too late to go back."
"What are you saying?" Heero demanded, confused and angry.
"It's too late to go back, you see. Too late for all of us," Wufei repeated with an unnerving drunken giggle. Then he too passed out.
END PART FOUR
MMMPPHH!! ::squirming in the ropes::
Thalia: ::pats authoress on the head:: Settle down, dearie. That wasn't so bad.
MMMMMMPPPPHHH!!!!
Eros: ::sigh:: She just don't appreciate us, does she?
Thalia: She'll thank us later. Really, you will, won't you dear?
MMMPPPPHH!!!
Psyche: REEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!
