Author's Note: Right. Another day at my sucky job, another couple hours worth of minimum wage. Yay.
Eros: There there. It'll be okay.
Psyche: No it won't! Bwahahahaha!! ^____^ *sparkle sparkle*
_
Thalia: At least ~you~ get paid.
Are you hinting?
Thalia: ::heavily sarcastic:: Noooooo.
Okay then. ^_^
Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing, okay? * thoughts * ~emphasis~ *(psychic/empathic thoughts/emotions)*
PART NINE
Quatre and Wufei were still unconscious four days later. Duo had recovered the morning after Quatre's episode, and when the event had been explained to him, he immediately went to Wufei's side and tried to wake him. Of course there had been no response. As there was no help for the moment, they'd decided that repairing the gundams would take priority over tending two not seriously - at least ~physically~ - wounded people. Trowa and Duo both had insisted, quite wisely, that one person keep watch while the other two worked.
"Quatre might have another freak-out session," Duo thought out loud. "Someone should be here to keep him from hurting himself."
The phrase "or one of us" was left unsaid, but it hovered ominously in the air.
They divided the day into three shifts. Trowa took from breakfast to lunch, Duo from lunch to dinner, and Heero from dinner to midnight. Duo felt he got the worst shift, as the time he had to work on Deathscythe was split in two. Heero brooded heavily each time he came to relieve Duo, though whether for worry over his fellow pilots or at taking time away from repairing Wing no one could guess. Once or twice, Duo caught himself uncharitably thinking the latter.
"Nahhh," he said out loud one of these times. He was almost to the end of his shift, and tended to get anxious to get back to work. He tried to assuage this by talking to the "patients." "He's got to care about you guys. I mean, if he didn't, why would he promise Trowa we would save Quatre? He's a pretty deep guy, I guess. Under all that big bad spandex, he's got a heart of gold."
Wufei, his chosen focus for the moment, was silent.
"Wu, you're not shouting at me to shut up, so you must agree," he went on. He leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, clasping his hands together behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. "I wonder 'bout him...."
Truth be told, he did a lot more than mere ~wondering~. He often found his thoughts coming back to the intense blue eyes and rare, cocky smirk. He was uncomfortable when Heero was too near him; his thoughts became muddled in his head and he found himself running off at the mouth more than usual. And once or twice he'd woken up in a sweat, biting his tongue to keep from calling out Heero's name. He had no idea what was going on.
* Geeze. I don't even really know the guy, and I'm having nightmares about him or something. Maybe it's whatever the hell is in this house that's causing it. Trying to psyche me out. *
"Psyche," he mumbled. "Hah."
So, he was a psychic. What did that mean, exactly? Were there rules? Did he have to follow the Psychic's Creed now? Did he have to get a deck of weird cards and a crystal ball, and were black clothes all the time?
* Well, I got the clothes part covered. *
And how did he use this new talent? He had to find out. He couldn't let it come between him and saving the colonies. But controlling it would probably not be easy. It seemed to come and go a lot. He'd be tightening the bolts in his gundam's cockpit and get a crawly feeling on the back of his neck. It creeped him out to no end, especially after what had happened to Heero when he'd been repairing Wing a few days ago.
"It feels like freaking forever, though. Right Wu?"
He looked down at Wufei again.
*(-------...Duo...---....---.....---- )*
Duo blinked. He could have sworn he'd heard Wufei's voice.
*( -------....Help me.... --------.....Duo...------ )*
"Ummm..." he said, at a loss for words.
Then suddenly he ~felt~ it. Energy, not the kind of the thing that was possessing Quatre, was floating above Wufei. It was red, with swirls of gold and orange. It may as well have spelt out "I AM WUFEI" in bubble letters.
"Wufei?" Duo asked.
"Duo."
Duo turned to see Heero at the foot of the stairs.
"It's my shift," Heero said, coming to stand a few feet away. "You can get back to work now."
"I - can't go just yet," Duo replied, his gaze sliding back towards the ceiling. The mass of red was still there. "Do you see that, or is it a - a psychic thing?"
Heero looked up and scowled. "I see nothing."
Duo nodded. "That's what I thought."
* Wufei? * he thought hesitantly. * Is that you? *
There was on response.
* WUFEI! IS THAT YOU? * he tried again.
"What's going on?" Heero asked, craning his neck to see what Duo was staring at.
"Shut up a minute, would ya?" Duo snapped, glaring at Heero, who quirked an eyebrow at that rather ironic demand. Duo felt a bit silly as a tiny blush crept up his face, but he had something more important to do. "I need to concentrate. I think... there's something wrong with Wufei. He's floating on the ceiling. At least, I think that's him. So ummm.... Be quiet, okay?"
"Okay," Heero agreed, eying Duo warily.
Duo wished he wouldn't stare, as it made him blush harder. He felt even more silly as he closed his eyes. He could still ~feel~ the red energy on the ceiling. He found himself drawn somehow ~nearer~ to it. He flicked his eyes open momentarily and was surprised to find himself standing next to Wufei's head. He glanced over at Heero, who was still watching him like a hawk. He looked away quickly and shut his eyes again. Once again the world was dark except for the misty red stuff that seemed to be Wufei. He ~reached~ out - and stopped. There was a sort of tendril of dark, smokey indigo energy creeping toward the red. He drew back with a gasp. The tendril disappeared from his "vision." A trickle of understanding lit in his mind, and he stretched himself out again. The pseudopod reappeared, and he sighed in relief. ~He~ was the indigo energy.
Trying to brace himself, he finished the motion. The indigo "feeler" connected to the red.
Duo gave a startled cry as he was swept up into Wufei's mind. Jumbled memories, thoughts, and emotions jostled him. He felt himself falling deeper, deeper, past the conscious, past the subconscious. Finally, he stopped. Red strands had snared him. He couldn't move farther in. It was a relief. He didn't want to know what lay in Wufei's heart of hearts. It was too intimate.
*(DUO.)*
Duo winced. Here Wufei's voice was so loud... He guessed it made sense, it being inside the Chinese boy's own head and all.
*(Yeah. Sorry to bust in on you, but - )* he thought sheepishly.
*(IT IS ALL RIGHT. YOU ARE INEXPERIENCED AND UNGUIDED. I WAS PREPARED. BESIDES WHICH, THIS SHARING OF MEMORIES AND THOUGHTS IS MUTUAL.)*
Duo tried to glare through his embarrassment and chagrin, but he remembered that he didn't have eyes here. Wufei had seen into him as well?
*(DON'T WORRY. I DIDN'T LOOK. MUCH.)*
*(You think this is funny, don't you?)*
All he got in response was an odd gold and yellow ripple. He realized with a start that it was psychic laughter.
*(So what's going on? Why aren't you in your body?)* He decided to get straight to business. This was rather unnerving, especially because he couldn't really ~feel~ his own body anymore.
*(I CAN'T MAKE IT BACK. IT SEEMS MY BODY IS OCCUPIED.)*
*(Occupied? By what?)*
*(LOOK FOR YOURSELF.)*
Duo got the impression that Wufei was gesturing, and he opened his eyes. His hands were cupping Wufei's face, and he blinked down at them. His head was throbbing, and his eyes didn't seem to be focusing properly. It was a sort of double vision, like he had his eyes crossed.
*(In a way, you do)* Wufei's mindvoice said, much more quiet now.
*(Quit reading my thoughts, man. It's just too weird.)* Duo said. *(And don't get all cryptic. What do you mean by that?)*
*(You're trying to look at energy with your physical eyes, and so is your - uh - "third eye," so to speak. The images get mixed up in your mind. You have to separate them.)*
"Right. A piece of cake," he said, then realized he was talking aloud. He mentally kicked himself as Wufei "chuckled" and Heero looked at him. He didn't have time to explain; he knew this was urgent or Wufei wouldn't have contacted him.
* Okay, third eye. Right. Umm.... *
He concentrated on the double image of Wufei. Which one was the physical, and which was the ethereal? He felt so clueless it wasn't even funny. He clenched his jaw. He ~had~ to find it. There was no way around the fact. He decided to just choose one and go with it. After all, he had a fifty-fifty chance, right? Not bad odds. He grimaced as he forced himself to focus on just one Wufei.
He knew immediately he'd chosen his astral vision because the whole rest of the world went black. It was just him and a prone body that seemed to float in space. He looked down to see that he wasn't kneeling on any floor, just a strange solid darkness. He swallowed hard and returned to gazing at his friend. There was no color in the body. It was just a grayish, neutral shell. Duo repressed a shudder. He wanted to draw his hands away, but didn't. He still had to see what Wufei meant when he'd said his body was "occupied."
Wufei's eyes suddenly opened. Duo jerked in surprise.
* I knew Wu-man's eyes were dark, but that's just freaky....*
His eyes were completely black, like holes into nothingness; there was no white, no iris, no pupil. Duo had a horrible sickening feeling that the thing inside Wufei's body was staring at him. Oppressive heat surrounded him, pressing him back and away, blackness darker than the surrounding emptiness swelling to block his eyes. Then there was a flare of red, and Duo found himself flung harshly back into his own head.
He released Wufei's face as if it had turned red hot and fell backward onto the floor, panting.
"Wh-what the hell...?" he muttered.
"Duo. Are you all right?" Heero asked as he knelt next to his prone form.
"Ah... I guess so. No permanent damage, anyway. I... don't think I'm done, though," Duo explained, resisting a groan as he sat up. He wiped his forehead and found his bangs wet with sweat. He made a face. "Ew, gross. I need a shower."
"Baka," Heero accused, but there was a strange undercurrent to the insult that made Duo look at him. The Japanese boy's face was as unreadable as ever. Or was it? Duo was seeing double again. He felt a sudden strong desire to see what Heero's astral self looked like. Wufei was red, he was indigo. What color was Heero?
Duo braced himself to open his "third eye" and was surprised to find that it was much easier than the first time. The world went dark again, accept for Heero. Duo caught a glimpse of brilliant cobalt blue and... something else... He couldn't make out what it was. He went nearer for a closer look.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked sharply, snapping him into the physical world.
In a rush of awareness, he realized that he was barely an inch away from Heero's face, staring directly in to widened blue eyes. His hands were on Heero's upper arms. He could feel the tension in the muscles beneath his fingers, and knew that Heero was holding back, but just barely. Duo released him and leaned back as far as he could.
"Uh... Sorry," he stammered, yet another blush heating his face. "I - um... Just... sorry."
*(----Duo...----touch.....----....the body....---...again....-----)* Wufei said.
He turned away and his eyes lit with distaste on Wufei's possessed body. He really, really didn't want to touch it. The ~thing~ was in it. But if the resident psychic expert thought it would be okay...
He gingerly clasped a golden-skinned hand.
*(Wu? You there?)*
*(Yeah.)*
*(What the hell is going on?)*
*(I've been displaced. The night when we were talking, I did a sort of mind-meld with Quatre. I found out that the thing had gotten to his core self. When I passed out afterward, the presense tried to tap into my life force as well. But it ran into the same thing you did, my center shield. When it realized that my shield was impenetrable, it got... upset. It engaged in a astral battle. In my weakened state - )*
Duo sensed a sickly greenish-gray wave of self-hatred and guilt roll off of Wufei, surprising him.
*( - I couldn't defend myself well enough. It dislodged me from my body. I have failed you all.)*
The braided pilot bit his lip. He'd known that Wufei was prone to depression, ever since the failed attempt on Treize's life. But this was certainly not the Chinese boy's fault.
*(No you didn't, man. You've done more good here than anyone else. Without your help, we'd all have been lost. What's one battle? We've still got a whole war to wage.)* Duo told him, trying to send some good vibes Wufei's way. All he got in response was a sort of "shrugging" feeling.
*(I've got some information on the thing.)* Wufei changed the subject, obviously not comfortable.
*(Really?)* Duo asked, perking up a bit.
*(In my non-physical form, I've been able to observe it more closely.)*
*(Do you know what it is?)*
*(No... not yet. I ~do~ know what it is not. We have been operating on the assumption that it is a single entity. I am now finding that this is not quite true.)*
"What do you mean by that?" Duo frowned, once again confusing his mental voice for his physical one.
*(I'm not exactly sure. The energy it's giving off is too great and too confused. It's like a thousand voices shouting at the same time. Give me some more time. I'm going to try a few more things.)*
Maybe it was because he was getting a bit paranoid, or maybe it was because he knew Wufei a lot better now that he'd been inside his mind, but either way, Duo was instantly suspicious. Was Wufei going to do something stupid just to prove that he was "strong"?
*(What sort of "things," Wu-man?)*
*(Don't call me that. And nothing that I can't handle.)* Wufei thought at him, defensively. *(If you need to contact me, just touch my body. Don't worry about the presence inside. It's being held dormant by some traps I'd set to prevent this very situation.)*
*(What, encountering a weird all-pervading dark energy that no one's ever noticed before while hanging out at Quatre's place?)* Duo teased lightly. Well, as lightly as he could given the circumstances.
*(Yes. That's it.)* Sarcasm washed heavily over Duo, who grinned. *(I meant possession, smart-ass.)*
*(Then what happened when I was looking at it?)*
*(It was trying to tap into you. But thanks to said traps, it was unable to.)*
Duo assimilated this. That would explain the flash of Wufei's aura color just before he'd been kicked back.
*(Oh. Thanks, Wu. One more thing.)*
*(What?)* Wufei demanded, obviously impatient and mildly annoyed.
*(Is it okay with you if us guys with bodies fix your Gundam for you?)*
Vague surprise floated back. *(I'd almost forgotten. I accept your offer.)*
As Wufei relayed this information, Duo felt the red energy dissolve into the astral plane like sugar into water. He let go of the hand he held and sat back on his heels. His head swam from all the experiences and information, and he was so tired. Fighting a yawn, he scrubbed his sweaty face with his hands. All this was too weird for words. A soft shifting noise from behind him reminded him that Heero was still there.
* God, I'm turning into even ~more~ of a space case. I kinda blanked out Heero. *
"I bet you're wondering what the hell all this was about," he said, this time making certain he was using the verbal sort of communication.
"Aa," Heero responded.
"You might want to sit down and get comfy. This'll take a while."
END PART NINE
Thalia and Eros: ZZZZZZZZ...
Psyche: ::pauses in slurping soda:: BOOOOOORRRIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!
::whaps muse::
Psyche: Ow! What was that for?
What do ~you~ think?
Psyche: Well, what other word would you use to describe this chapter?
~I~ would say it was... uh... Important in the development of the plot and characters. Yeah, that sounds good...
Psyche: Riiiight.
REEEEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!
Psyche: Oh, what, it's my turn for the sign? Goody. ::holds up sign that reads "Send all Comments and Criticism to bek240@yahoo.com "
Eros: There there. It'll be okay.
Psyche: No it won't! Bwahahahaha!! ^____^ *sparkle sparkle*
_
Thalia: At least ~you~ get paid.
Are you hinting?
Thalia: ::heavily sarcastic:: Noooooo.
Okay then. ^_^
Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing, okay? * thoughts * ~emphasis~ *(psychic/empathic thoughts/emotions)*
PART NINE
Quatre and Wufei were still unconscious four days later. Duo had recovered the morning after Quatre's episode, and when the event had been explained to him, he immediately went to Wufei's side and tried to wake him. Of course there had been no response. As there was no help for the moment, they'd decided that repairing the gundams would take priority over tending two not seriously - at least ~physically~ - wounded people. Trowa and Duo both had insisted, quite wisely, that one person keep watch while the other two worked.
"Quatre might have another freak-out session," Duo thought out loud. "Someone should be here to keep him from hurting himself."
The phrase "or one of us" was left unsaid, but it hovered ominously in the air.
They divided the day into three shifts. Trowa took from breakfast to lunch, Duo from lunch to dinner, and Heero from dinner to midnight. Duo felt he got the worst shift, as the time he had to work on Deathscythe was split in two. Heero brooded heavily each time he came to relieve Duo, though whether for worry over his fellow pilots or at taking time away from repairing Wing no one could guess. Once or twice, Duo caught himself uncharitably thinking the latter.
"Nahhh," he said out loud one of these times. He was almost to the end of his shift, and tended to get anxious to get back to work. He tried to assuage this by talking to the "patients." "He's got to care about you guys. I mean, if he didn't, why would he promise Trowa we would save Quatre? He's a pretty deep guy, I guess. Under all that big bad spandex, he's got a heart of gold."
Wufei, his chosen focus for the moment, was silent.
"Wu, you're not shouting at me to shut up, so you must agree," he went on. He leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, clasping his hands together behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. "I wonder 'bout him...."
Truth be told, he did a lot more than mere ~wondering~. He often found his thoughts coming back to the intense blue eyes and rare, cocky smirk. He was uncomfortable when Heero was too near him; his thoughts became muddled in his head and he found himself running off at the mouth more than usual. And once or twice he'd woken up in a sweat, biting his tongue to keep from calling out Heero's name. He had no idea what was going on.
* Geeze. I don't even really know the guy, and I'm having nightmares about him or something. Maybe it's whatever the hell is in this house that's causing it. Trying to psyche me out. *
"Psyche," he mumbled. "Hah."
So, he was a psychic. What did that mean, exactly? Were there rules? Did he have to follow the Psychic's Creed now? Did he have to get a deck of weird cards and a crystal ball, and were black clothes all the time?
* Well, I got the clothes part covered. *
And how did he use this new talent? He had to find out. He couldn't let it come between him and saving the colonies. But controlling it would probably not be easy. It seemed to come and go a lot. He'd be tightening the bolts in his gundam's cockpit and get a crawly feeling on the back of his neck. It creeped him out to no end, especially after what had happened to Heero when he'd been repairing Wing a few days ago.
"It feels like freaking forever, though. Right Wu?"
He looked down at Wufei again.
*(-------...Duo...---....---.....---- )*
Duo blinked. He could have sworn he'd heard Wufei's voice.
*( -------....Help me.... --------.....Duo...------ )*
"Ummm..." he said, at a loss for words.
Then suddenly he ~felt~ it. Energy, not the kind of the thing that was possessing Quatre, was floating above Wufei. It was red, with swirls of gold and orange. It may as well have spelt out "I AM WUFEI" in bubble letters.
"Wufei?" Duo asked.
"Duo."
Duo turned to see Heero at the foot of the stairs.
"It's my shift," Heero said, coming to stand a few feet away. "You can get back to work now."
"I - can't go just yet," Duo replied, his gaze sliding back towards the ceiling. The mass of red was still there. "Do you see that, or is it a - a psychic thing?"
Heero looked up and scowled. "I see nothing."
Duo nodded. "That's what I thought."
* Wufei? * he thought hesitantly. * Is that you? *
There was on response.
* WUFEI! IS THAT YOU? * he tried again.
"What's going on?" Heero asked, craning his neck to see what Duo was staring at.
"Shut up a minute, would ya?" Duo snapped, glaring at Heero, who quirked an eyebrow at that rather ironic demand. Duo felt a bit silly as a tiny blush crept up his face, but he had something more important to do. "I need to concentrate. I think... there's something wrong with Wufei. He's floating on the ceiling. At least, I think that's him. So ummm.... Be quiet, okay?"
"Okay," Heero agreed, eying Duo warily.
Duo wished he wouldn't stare, as it made him blush harder. He felt even more silly as he closed his eyes. He could still ~feel~ the red energy on the ceiling. He found himself drawn somehow ~nearer~ to it. He flicked his eyes open momentarily and was surprised to find himself standing next to Wufei's head. He glanced over at Heero, who was still watching him like a hawk. He looked away quickly and shut his eyes again. Once again the world was dark except for the misty red stuff that seemed to be Wufei. He ~reached~ out - and stopped. There was a sort of tendril of dark, smokey indigo energy creeping toward the red. He drew back with a gasp. The tendril disappeared from his "vision." A trickle of understanding lit in his mind, and he stretched himself out again. The pseudopod reappeared, and he sighed in relief. ~He~ was the indigo energy.
Trying to brace himself, he finished the motion. The indigo "feeler" connected to the red.
Duo gave a startled cry as he was swept up into Wufei's mind. Jumbled memories, thoughts, and emotions jostled him. He felt himself falling deeper, deeper, past the conscious, past the subconscious. Finally, he stopped. Red strands had snared him. He couldn't move farther in. It was a relief. He didn't want to know what lay in Wufei's heart of hearts. It was too intimate.
*(DUO.)*
Duo winced. Here Wufei's voice was so loud... He guessed it made sense, it being inside the Chinese boy's own head and all.
*(Yeah. Sorry to bust in on you, but - )* he thought sheepishly.
*(IT IS ALL RIGHT. YOU ARE INEXPERIENCED AND UNGUIDED. I WAS PREPARED. BESIDES WHICH, THIS SHARING OF MEMORIES AND THOUGHTS IS MUTUAL.)*
Duo tried to glare through his embarrassment and chagrin, but he remembered that he didn't have eyes here. Wufei had seen into him as well?
*(DON'T WORRY. I DIDN'T LOOK. MUCH.)*
*(You think this is funny, don't you?)*
All he got in response was an odd gold and yellow ripple. He realized with a start that it was psychic laughter.
*(So what's going on? Why aren't you in your body?)* He decided to get straight to business. This was rather unnerving, especially because he couldn't really ~feel~ his own body anymore.
*(I CAN'T MAKE IT BACK. IT SEEMS MY BODY IS OCCUPIED.)*
*(Occupied? By what?)*
*(LOOK FOR YOURSELF.)*
Duo got the impression that Wufei was gesturing, and he opened his eyes. His hands were cupping Wufei's face, and he blinked down at them. His head was throbbing, and his eyes didn't seem to be focusing properly. It was a sort of double vision, like he had his eyes crossed.
*(In a way, you do)* Wufei's mindvoice said, much more quiet now.
*(Quit reading my thoughts, man. It's just too weird.)* Duo said. *(And don't get all cryptic. What do you mean by that?)*
*(You're trying to look at energy with your physical eyes, and so is your - uh - "third eye," so to speak. The images get mixed up in your mind. You have to separate them.)*
"Right. A piece of cake," he said, then realized he was talking aloud. He mentally kicked himself as Wufei "chuckled" and Heero looked at him. He didn't have time to explain; he knew this was urgent or Wufei wouldn't have contacted him.
* Okay, third eye. Right. Umm.... *
He concentrated on the double image of Wufei. Which one was the physical, and which was the ethereal? He felt so clueless it wasn't even funny. He clenched his jaw. He ~had~ to find it. There was no way around the fact. He decided to just choose one and go with it. After all, he had a fifty-fifty chance, right? Not bad odds. He grimaced as he forced himself to focus on just one Wufei.
He knew immediately he'd chosen his astral vision because the whole rest of the world went black. It was just him and a prone body that seemed to float in space. He looked down to see that he wasn't kneeling on any floor, just a strange solid darkness. He swallowed hard and returned to gazing at his friend. There was no color in the body. It was just a grayish, neutral shell. Duo repressed a shudder. He wanted to draw his hands away, but didn't. He still had to see what Wufei meant when he'd said his body was "occupied."
Wufei's eyes suddenly opened. Duo jerked in surprise.
* I knew Wu-man's eyes were dark, but that's just freaky....*
His eyes were completely black, like holes into nothingness; there was no white, no iris, no pupil. Duo had a horrible sickening feeling that the thing inside Wufei's body was staring at him. Oppressive heat surrounded him, pressing him back and away, blackness darker than the surrounding emptiness swelling to block his eyes. Then there was a flare of red, and Duo found himself flung harshly back into his own head.
He released Wufei's face as if it had turned red hot and fell backward onto the floor, panting.
"Wh-what the hell...?" he muttered.
"Duo. Are you all right?" Heero asked as he knelt next to his prone form.
"Ah... I guess so. No permanent damage, anyway. I... don't think I'm done, though," Duo explained, resisting a groan as he sat up. He wiped his forehead and found his bangs wet with sweat. He made a face. "Ew, gross. I need a shower."
"Baka," Heero accused, but there was a strange undercurrent to the insult that made Duo look at him. The Japanese boy's face was as unreadable as ever. Or was it? Duo was seeing double again. He felt a sudden strong desire to see what Heero's astral self looked like. Wufei was red, he was indigo. What color was Heero?
Duo braced himself to open his "third eye" and was surprised to find that it was much easier than the first time. The world went dark again, accept for Heero. Duo caught a glimpse of brilliant cobalt blue and... something else... He couldn't make out what it was. He went nearer for a closer look.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked sharply, snapping him into the physical world.
In a rush of awareness, he realized that he was barely an inch away from Heero's face, staring directly in to widened blue eyes. His hands were on Heero's upper arms. He could feel the tension in the muscles beneath his fingers, and knew that Heero was holding back, but just barely. Duo released him and leaned back as far as he could.
"Uh... Sorry," he stammered, yet another blush heating his face. "I - um... Just... sorry."
*(----Duo...----touch.....----....the body....---...again....-----)* Wufei said.
He turned away and his eyes lit with distaste on Wufei's possessed body. He really, really didn't want to touch it. The ~thing~ was in it. But if the resident psychic expert thought it would be okay...
He gingerly clasped a golden-skinned hand.
*(Wu? You there?)*
*(Yeah.)*
*(What the hell is going on?)*
*(I've been displaced. The night when we were talking, I did a sort of mind-meld with Quatre. I found out that the thing had gotten to his core self. When I passed out afterward, the presense tried to tap into my life force as well. But it ran into the same thing you did, my center shield. When it realized that my shield was impenetrable, it got... upset. It engaged in a astral battle. In my weakened state - )*
Duo sensed a sickly greenish-gray wave of self-hatred and guilt roll off of Wufei, surprising him.
*( - I couldn't defend myself well enough. It dislodged me from my body. I have failed you all.)*
The braided pilot bit his lip. He'd known that Wufei was prone to depression, ever since the failed attempt on Treize's life. But this was certainly not the Chinese boy's fault.
*(No you didn't, man. You've done more good here than anyone else. Without your help, we'd all have been lost. What's one battle? We've still got a whole war to wage.)* Duo told him, trying to send some good vibes Wufei's way. All he got in response was a sort of "shrugging" feeling.
*(I've got some information on the thing.)* Wufei changed the subject, obviously not comfortable.
*(Really?)* Duo asked, perking up a bit.
*(In my non-physical form, I've been able to observe it more closely.)*
*(Do you know what it is?)*
*(No... not yet. I ~do~ know what it is not. We have been operating on the assumption that it is a single entity. I am now finding that this is not quite true.)*
"What do you mean by that?" Duo frowned, once again confusing his mental voice for his physical one.
*(I'm not exactly sure. The energy it's giving off is too great and too confused. It's like a thousand voices shouting at the same time. Give me some more time. I'm going to try a few more things.)*
Maybe it was because he was getting a bit paranoid, or maybe it was because he knew Wufei a lot better now that he'd been inside his mind, but either way, Duo was instantly suspicious. Was Wufei going to do something stupid just to prove that he was "strong"?
*(What sort of "things," Wu-man?)*
*(Don't call me that. And nothing that I can't handle.)* Wufei thought at him, defensively. *(If you need to contact me, just touch my body. Don't worry about the presence inside. It's being held dormant by some traps I'd set to prevent this very situation.)*
*(What, encountering a weird all-pervading dark energy that no one's ever noticed before while hanging out at Quatre's place?)* Duo teased lightly. Well, as lightly as he could given the circumstances.
*(Yes. That's it.)* Sarcasm washed heavily over Duo, who grinned. *(I meant possession, smart-ass.)*
*(Then what happened when I was looking at it?)*
*(It was trying to tap into you. But thanks to said traps, it was unable to.)*
Duo assimilated this. That would explain the flash of Wufei's aura color just before he'd been kicked back.
*(Oh. Thanks, Wu. One more thing.)*
*(What?)* Wufei demanded, obviously impatient and mildly annoyed.
*(Is it okay with you if us guys with bodies fix your Gundam for you?)*
Vague surprise floated back. *(I'd almost forgotten. I accept your offer.)*
As Wufei relayed this information, Duo felt the red energy dissolve into the astral plane like sugar into water. He let go of the hand he held and sat back on his heels. His head swam from all the experiences and information, and he was so tired. Fighting a yawn, he scrubbed his sweaty face with his hands. All this was too weird for words. A soft shifting noise from behind him reminded him that Heero was still there.
* God, I'm turning into even ~more~ of a space case. I kinda blanked out Heero. *
"I bet you're wondering what the hell all this was about," he said, this time making certain he was using the verbal sort of communication.
"Aa," Heero responded.
"You might want to sit down and get comfy. This'll take a while."
END PART NINE
Thalia and Eros: ZZZZZZZZ...
Psyche: ::pauses in slurping soda:: BOOOOOORRRIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!
::whaps muse::
Psyche: Ow! What was that for?
What do ~you~ think?
Psyche: Well, what other word would you use to describe this chapter?
~I~ would say it was... uh... Important in the development of the plot and characters. Yeah, that sounds good...
Psyche: Riiiight.
REEEEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!
Psyche: Oh, what, it's my turn for the sign? Goody. ::holds up sign that reads "Send all Comments and Criticism to bek240@yahoo.com "
