Author's Note: Sorry for the tremendous delay! It's pretty hectic around here, what with all the shenanigans and goings-on. I'm going on a vacation tomorrow. Wisconsin, here I come. With my mother and my sister. What fun.
Eros: Enough bitching. More writing.
Okay, okay... I hope the length of this chapter makes up for having to wait for it so long... not that I think anyone is even paying attention anymore... ^^;;
DISCLAIMER: Don't own GW, etc... Don't sue.
PART TEN
Once again, Heero couldn't sleep. He knew he should, considering that he was still recovering from having his life force drained, but his mind buzzed, demanding his attention.
So, Wufei was not out of the picture. This was good. It meant that they'd have a contact on the "other side" so to speak. Any information regarding the presence in the house would be of use. Heero did not share Duo's wariness. He trusted Wufei's judgement; the Chinese boy knew his own limits. If anything went wrong, it would not be his fault. Though convincing ~him~ of that would be another matter entirely. He seemed to have a guilt complex.
Trowa was showing strain, though. Heero knew he wasn't sleeping, and when sheer exhaustion forced him to, it was uneasy. No doubt he cared for Quatre as much as Quatre cared for him. It bothered him, this inaction. Trowa was of few words, obviously, and thought actions were a better way of expression. Being so helpless against an unseen enemy was driving him insane. Heero understood that. It was one of the few things going on he ~did~ understand.
He himself was coping as well as he could. The Gundams were finished at last, and he, Trowa, and Duo would be starting on Shenlong tomorrow at Wufei's request. The work would go much faster with the three pilots working together. They'd be able to move out within the week. From his communications with Dr. J, he knew that they were sorely needed. OZ was militarizing the colonies, and an informant in space had told of OZ's plans to mass produce mobile dolls on the moon. The upgrades the gundams needed for space would take a while, but the base was stocked with the special materials needed. If things went according to schedule, a month or so would be enough time.
But the Gundams would be useless without all five pilots...
Heero clenched his jaw determinedly.
* We've ~got~ to save Quatre and Wufei. There is no alternative. *
But no one seemed to know ~how~ to do that. Hell, no one even knew what they were up against in the first place, much less how to fight it. And Duo didn't seem to know what to do with his powers. Heero suspected that there was a lot more going on than the inexperienced psychic could sense. Duo knew better than to meddle with what he didn't understand. At least, Heero ~hoped~ he did. Otherwise, they'd all be in trouble...
He carefully avoided thinking too long on Duo, as that would snap him back to total consciousness. He was finally sinking into slumber, thoughts becoming more abstract as his brain waves slowed.
Wind whipped sand in his eyes. He realized where he was within nanoseconds, and resisted the urge to scream.
* No, not again! *
He rubbed the silica from his eyes, which reacted by immediately watering profusely. He wiped at his face and looked around. He stood on a strange blank plateau that rose out of the dunes as a monster rises from the depths of the sea. The sky shimmered in heat waves... and something else. Something evil roiled around him like clouds in a storm. Lines of dead people came from all directions. Heero squinted against the harsh light of the sun, and looked closer. They weren't stopping at the base; they were going ~into the plateau~. He could see them sinking into the sand and disappearing, one after another.
* So... this is where they were going... *
"Help! Somebody, please help me!"
The cry echoed and re-echoed across the barren desert. It was Quatre's frightened voice, coming from behind him, from the center of the plateau. Heero ran towards it, afraid of what he would see.
At the exact center was a large circular indentation, filled with sand. For a moment, Heero couldn't tell what the writhing mass in the middle of the pit was. Then he realized it was Quatre. But covering every inch of his small body were hands, hundreds of them, constantly shifting. Some released their hold to sink below the sand, and others rose out to take their place. They were all of varying states of decay, some nearly skeletal, some green and puffy or slimy, some dried and mummified, and some that could almost pass for living hands. Heero felt his face slip into a mask of horrified shock.
The hands covering Quatre's face cleared away, and the blonde's terrified eyes lit on Heero. Surprise and confusion appeared in them, and he cried out as he struggled against the restraints. He came close to throwing them off, but even more reared up, whole arms emerging from the sand to grab and hold him. He kept his eyes fixed on Heero until he was once again completely enveloped.
Heero could not move. He couldn't turn away from the site. He had to do something to help. But what?
Quatre's face appeared again, though a disgusting bloated hand was firmly clamped over his mouth. The Arabian looked at him helplessly, hopelessly. Tears spilled down his sunburned cheeks.
The desert drank these pain-filled offerings with implacable thirst, the wind blowing harder to demand more, more, more...
And then he felt deadly cold. Rage like an arctic blizzard filled him, extinguishing some of the heat. He turned, ~knowing~ what he'd see. As he'd thought, it was The Girl, as he'd started thinking of her as. She appeared somber and angry as well, her gaze piercing him. Those unfathomable eyes held his seething fury in check.
"Bring help," The Girl commanded.
"How?" Heero asked.
The Girl didn't have time to answer. Hands wrapped firmly around his ankles, tripping him. He hit the ground with a started gasp. This was quickly stifled as even more hands reached up through the earth and gripped him. He struggled against them, but as soon as he could shake them off, even more would take their place. They restrained him with relentless, inevitable strength, and covered his mouth when he cried out.
"Heero!" Duo sat bolt upright in bed, and his head swam as blood rushed away from his brain.
* It's just like last time. I knew then and I know now. * *(Heero's in trouble.) *
He leapt out of his bed and bounded over to where Heero was sleeping. By quickly switching to "psychic mode," as he had dubbed it, he could tell that black ethereal ichor fairly oozed across Heero's body. Every so often there would be a break in the darkness, and Heero's bright blue aura would shine through. It was still tinted with that strangeness that Duo had felt earlier, but the braided boy didn't have time to ponder it. The colors above the Heero's core, which shifted rapidly from poison green to red to black and any number in between, could only mean great distress.
* What do I do? What do I ~do~?! *
He found his gaze falling on Wufei's motionless form. He took a deep breath.
* Okay. Calm down, and talk to Wu. He'll know. Hopefully. *
He crossed to Wufei's side and reluctantly touched the possessed body's hand.
*(WUUUUUUUUU--FEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII!!!!)* he "shouted" mentally. There was a long silence, and for a sickening moment, Duo was sure Wufei had been lost to the presence.
*(What is it, Maxwell?)* Wufei's mind-voice finally barked. He sounded worried.
*(Heero's in trouble with the thingy. It's... Um... )* Duo didn't know how to describe it.
*(I can see the image in your mind. It looks like it's trying to possess him.)*
*(Why can't it?)*
*(... I don't know. There's something... odd about Heero's aura.)* Duo didn't like that. Wufei sounded puzzled.
* The ~last~ thing I need is a mentor who doesn't know what the hell he's doing. *
*(What should I do, Wufei?)*
*(Do you know how to make a shield?)* Wufei asked.
"What do you think?" Duo snapped aloud, then caught himself when Trowa stirred.
Wufei "sighed" in frustration. *(Let me think for a moment.)*
Duo bit his lip in an impatient frown and looked back at Heero. The darkness was thicker now, and the gaps were few and far between. The American didn't realize how hard he was biting down until he tasted blood in his mouth. He looked back to Wufei as he licked his lips.
*(Hurry up, Wu!)*
*(Shut up and do as I say. This is going to be tricky without a body as an anchor. I'm going to put a shield around you. It might feel a bit... weird.)*
He braced himself. A wave of shimmering red mesh seemingly came from nowhere and wrapped around him like a second skin. It felt similar to when he'd fallen into Wufei's head, only on a much less traumatic scale. Like being hugged, instead of tackled and assaulted.
*(Now, go over to Heero. Concentrate your energy on your hands.)* Wufei said, his voice a whisper in his ear. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it made Duo wish for some personal space.
He obeyed, nonetheless.
*(Now what?)*
*(Reach through to Heero and pull him out. I'll fight off the thing if it tries to follow.)*
Duo thought about this for a second, then shrugged.
* Here goes nothing. * he thought as he slid his indigo-covered hands through the darkness to grab Heero's shoulders.
He was getting tired. The hands around him were sapping his energy, making him weaker and weaker. The stench of rotting flesh permeated his mouth and nostrils. He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. He would not retch.
The bony hand across his eyes crumpled back to the earth, and he could see. The Girl was staring at him, looking haggard. But he sensed, knew, that somehow ~she~ was protecting him. He could feel how the hands weakened under her gaze. But even she could not throw them off completely, and there were always more to take the place of the ones she affected. She would lose eventually.
Just as a hand was reaching to cover his eyes again, Heero saw a bluish-purple sort of light. The sky opened above him, and long-fingered, calloused, but living hands reached down toward him. The Girl saw these as well and smiled brightly. There was an odd, tingling pulse. She was gone, but the hands holding his arms and torso let go as if they were being burned, snaking back underground.
Heero reached and clung to the living hands for dear life. Darkness whirled around him, punctuated by red and indigo.
* amiawakeordreamingstill? *
Hands on his shoulders were shaking him.
* hands *
Dead, puffy, green flesh hanging off yellowish finger bones. They gripped him all over, shifting always, moving, groping. He shuddered, feeling sick to his stomach.
"Heero! Wake up!"
Heero opened his eyes, and felt much better for it. He was on his couch in the common room, right where he'd fallen asleep. He was drenched in cold sweat, his bangs clinging to his forehead. He shivered, noticing that his blankets had all been kicked off. Hands gripped his shoulders, but a glance at them proved they were living, vital. He followed them up. The dim glow from the adjustable overhead lights was just enough illumination for him to make out the worried expression on Duo's face.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Aa," Heero muttered, panting. He frowned in confusion. "How did you...?"
"Uhh... Don't ask. I don't know how I knew, but Wufei told me how to save you. Sort of."
"I see."
There was a short pause. Heero looked down at his shoulders again, surprised that the American was still grabbing him. The warmth from Duo's palms seeped into his skin. It was... comforting. Unfortunately, Duo took the glance the wrong way, and hastily let go.
"So it was another nightmare? About the evil possessing thingy?"Duo asked awkwardly as Heero sat up.
"Aa."
"D'you wanna talk about it?" Duo asked, a tiny solicitous note in his voice.
Heero would have bristled at the tone - he didn't need to be humored like a frightened child - but he was too drained. Instead, he told Duo what had happened this time. To his self-disgust, he actually shuddered when he told of the hands. He had to close his eyes and try to regain his composure. It was just too early, too fresh in his mind. He could almost still feel them. His stomach twisted, and he swallowed hard. Duo was wisely silent.
* Pull yourself together. * he commanded himself, forcing his eyes open again.
"Then there was indigo light above me. I assume that was you," he said, silently thankful that his voice held steady. Duo nodded, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "The Girl made most of the hands release me, and I grabbed onto you, or you grabbed onto me. I'm not quite sure which. Then I woke up."
Duo sighed heavily.
"Man, this is getting weirder and weirder. Wufei, didja catch all that?" Duo tilted his head as if he were listening.
Heero realized then that he must be hysterical, because he almost laughed. It looked for all the world like Duo was talking to an imaginary friend. He controlled himself, and concentrated on getting his breathing even. He would not crack under the pressure. He wasn't that weak.
Wufei, who had indeed caught all that, thought with lightning speed, trying to make sense of it all. The confused voice of the presence, the sheer power of it, and Heero's dreams were all falling into place like puzzle pieces. It began to make sense.
* Of course. That's it. It's got to be. * he thought.
They were fighting lost souls. Angry souls, driven mad by their inability to pass on. But what had stopped them? And why were so many of them congregated ~here~? The answer to both questions eluded him still.
*(But who's this chick in Heero's dreams? And what kept these "lost souls" from capturing Heero? Hell, why are they even trying to possess us?)* Duo questioned rapidly.
*(They want our bodies, Duo.)* Wufei replied without thinking, upset that his train of thought was derailed.
Duo didn't reply right away, but a wave of incredulity and amusement carried through the shield that connect them.
*(Really? I didn't think dead people could have libidos.)*
*(That's not what I meant and you know it.)*
*(There's a joke in there about "stiffs" but I'm not gonna touch it.)*
*(Maxwell!)* Wufei snapped, exasperated. He knew that if he were in his body, he'd be fighting off a blush. *(Be serious, dammit!)*
*(All right, all right. Geeze, just trying to lighten the mood a bit.)*
*(Look, when a person dies, sometimes the soul doesn't leave this plane. It doesn't know it's body is dead, or can't accept that it no longer has a physical manifestation. It is driven mad by the need to influence its surroundings. But it is not physical, it can't. So the logical thing is to find a physical form. They can't possess someone who isn't open, so normal people don't usually have this problem. But Quatre is a newtype, and we are psychic. We are at once more vulnerable and more protected. Understand?)*
*(Uh... Sort of. Go on.)*
*(The souls in this house are acting as a mob. The reason Quatre is unconscious and not currently being used as a vessel to the living world is probably because the souls are fighting against one another. It is hard enough for two souls to inhabit one body, that is why possession cased often end in death.)*
*(So basically, they're like psychic tapeworms.)*
Wufei "winced" at the comparison. *(Basically, yes. There is not room for many parasites in one host. That is why they want you, me, and Heero, in addition to Quatre. Trowa, being normal and blocked, is invisible to them.)*
*(Speaking of the guy , got any theories.)*
*(.....)* Wufei thought. There had been something different about pilot 01 from the beginning. What had his mentors called this talent? *(I think he is a dreamwalker.)*
*(Huh?)*
*(He is not psychic in the waking world, but his dreams take place in the astral plane. The orange sky in his dreams is representative of that. I don't know how I could have forgotten that.)*
*(So you're saying he has prophetic dreams and stuff like that?)*
*(That is one possibility, but I was thinking more along the lines that when he dreams, he sees the astral realm like a real place, and everything there has a physical form to him. The plateau, the lines of lost souls, the many hands that have Quatre, all these things are really happening in the astral plane.)*
Duo paused for a moment, digesting this. *(But what's with the chick? You never answered that.)*
Wufei "sighed." *(I don't know. She could be a separate spirit in the house, but then I would have expected her to contact you or me as well. All things considered, she is a rogue variable.)*
*(But she helped Heero.)*
*(That doesn't mean she's helping ~us~. )*
*(But-)*
*(Things are not always what they seem in the astral plane, and even if she helped ~this~ time, she might not help again. We can't depend on her.)*
*(Yeah, yeah.)* Duo grumbled reluctantly. *(How are we going to help Quatre?)*
*(We're not going to do anything yet.)*
*(What?! But we know what it is now, we could - )*
*(We could ~what~, Duo? Knowing what we're up against is a great step in the right direction, but we still don't know ~how~ to stop it.)*
*(....)* Duo searched for a reason to object and couldn't find one. He let off a psychic ripple of capitulation. *(Point taken.)*
*(I'm going to leave my shield on you. I'll need to use you as an anchor when I probe the entity.)*
*(Is that wise? What if it tries something?)*
*(Then I'll need ~you~ to make sure the shield stays in place until I can get far enough "away" from the entity. Don't worry, though. I have my full strength; you're help most likely won't be needed.)*
*(What should we do in the mean time?)*
*(I think that explaining all this to Heero and Trowa will take some time. And don't forget about my gundam.)*
*(Heh, no problem. Which color paint would you prefer, pink or mauve?)*
*(That isn't even funny, Maxwell. Wish me luck.)*
END PART TEN
::pokes muses:: What is that? ::gestures to screen::
Thalia, Eros, Psyche: ::look at screen, shrug:: Heck if we know.
-_-;;;
Eros: RRRRRREEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!
Eros: Enough bitching. More writing.
Okay, okay... I hope the length of this chapter makes up for having to wait for it so long... not that I think anyone is even paying attention anymore... ^^;;
DISCLAIMER: Don't own GW, etc... Don't sue.
PART TEN
Once again, Heero couldn't sleep. He knew he should, considering that he was still recovering from having his life force drained, but his mind buzzed, demanding his attention.
So, Wufei was not out of the picture. This was good. It meant that they'd have a contact on the "other side" so to speak. Any information regarding the presence in the house would be of use. Heero did not share Duo's wariness. He trusted Wufei's judgement; the Chinese boy knew his own limits. If anything went wrong, it would not be his fault. Though convincing ~him~ of that would be another matter entirely. He seemed to have a guilt complex.
Trowa was showing strain, though. Heero knew he wasn't sleeping, and when sheer exhaustion forced him to, it was uneasy. No doubt he cared for Quatre as much as Quatre cared for him. It bothered him, this inaction. Trowa was of few words, obviously, and thought actions were a better way of expression. Being so helpless against an unseen enemy was driving him insane. Heero understood that. It was one of the few things going on he ~did~ understand.
He himself was coping as well as he could. The Gundams were finished at last, and he, Trowa, and Duo would be starting on Shenlong tomorrow at Wufei's request. The work would go much faster with the three pilots working together. They'd be able to move out within the week. From his communications with Dr. J, he knew that they were sorely needed. OZ was militarizing the colonies, and an informant in space had told of OZ's plans to mass produce mobile dolls on the moon. The upgrades the gundams needed for space would take a while, but the base was stocked with the special materials needed. If things went according to schedule, a month or so would be enough time.
But the Gundams would be useless without all five pilots...
Heero clenched his jaw determinedly.
* We've ~got~ to save Quatre and Wufei. There is no alternative. *
But no one seemed to know ~how~ to do that. Hell, no one even knew what they were up against in the first place, much less how to fight it. And Duo didn't seem to know what to do with his powers. Heero suspected that there was a lot more going on than the inexperienced psychic could sense. Duo knew better than to meddle with what he didn't understand. At least, Heero ~hoped~ he did. Otherwise, they'd all be in trouble...
He carefully avoided thinking too long on Duo, as that would snap him back to total consciousness. He was finally sinking into slumber, thoughts becoming more abstract as his brain waves slowed.
Wind whipped sand in his eyes. He realized where he was within nanoseconds, and resisted the urge to scream.
* No, not again! *
He rubbed the silica from his eyes, which reacted by immediately watering profusely. He wiped at his face and looked around. He stood on a strange blank plateau that rose out of the dunes as a monster rises from the depths of the sea. The sky shimmered in heat waves... and something else. Something evil roiled around him like clouds in a storm. Lines of dead people came from all directions. Heero squinted against the harsh light of the sun, and looked closer. They weren't stopping at the base; they were going ~into the plateau~. He could see them sinking into the sand and disappearing, one after another.
* So... this is where they were going... *
"Help! Somebody, please help me!"
The cry echoed and re-echoed across the barren desert. It was Quatre's frightened voice, coming from behind him, from the center of the plateau. Heero ran towards it, afraid of what he would see.
At the exact center was a large circular indentation, filled with sand. For a moment, Heero couldn't tell what the writhing mass in the middle of the pit was. Then he realized it was Quatre. But covering every inch of his small body were hands, hundreds of them, constantly shifting. Some released their hold to sink below the sand, and others rose out to take their place. They were all of varying states of decay, some nearly skeletal, some green and puffy or slimy, some dried and mummified, and some that could almost pass for living hands. Heero felt his face slip into a mask of horrified shock.
The hands covering Quatre's face cleared away, and the blonde's terrified eyes lit on Heero. Surprise and confusion appeared in them, and he cried out as he struggled against the restraints. He came close to throwing them off, but even more reared up, whole arms emerging from the sand to grab and hold him. He kept his eyes fixed on Heero until he was once again completely enveloped.
Heero could not move. He couldn't turn away from the site. He had to do something to help. But what?
Quatre's face appeared again, though a disgusting bloated hand was firmly clamped over his mouth. The Arabian looked at him helplessly, hopelessly. Tears spilled down his sunburned cheeks.
The desert drank these pain-filled offerings with implacable thirst, the wind blowing harder to demand more, more, more...
And then he felt deadly cold. Rage like an arctic blizzard filled him, extinguishing some of the heat. He turned, ~knowing~ what he'd see. As he'd thought, it was The Girl, as he'd started thinking of her as. She appeared somber and angry as well, her gaze piercing him. Those unfathomable eyes held his seething fury in check.
"Bring help," The Girl commanded.
"How?" Heero asked.
The Girl didn't have time to answer. Hands wrapped firmly around his ankles, tripping him. He hit the ground with a started gasp. This was quickly stifled as even more hands reached up through the earth and gripped him. He struggled against them, but as soon as he could shake them off, even more would take their place. They restrained him with relentless, inevitable strength, and covered his mouth when he cried out.
"Heero!" Duo sat bolt upright in bed, and his head swam as blood rushed away from his brain.
* It's just like last time. I knew then and I know now. * *(Heero's in trouble.) *
He leapt out of his bed and bounded over to where Heero was sleeping. By quickly switching to "psychic mode," as he had dubbed it, he could tell that black ethereal ichor fairly oozed across Heero's body. Every so often there would be a break in the darkness, and Heero's bright blue aura would shine through. It was still tinted with that strangeness that Duo had felt earlier, but the braided boy didn't have time to ponder it. The colors above the Heero's core, which shifted rapidly from poison green to red to black and any number in between, could only mean great distress.
* What do I do? What do I ~do~?! *
He found his gaze falling on Wufei's motionless form. He took a deep breath.
* Okay. Calm down, and talk to Wu. He'll know. Hopefully. *
He crossed to Wufei's side and reluctantly touched the possessed body's hand.
*(WUUUUUUUUU--FEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII!!!!)* he "shouted" mentally. There was a long silence, and for a sickening moment, Duo was sure Wufei had been lost to the presence.
*(What is it, Maxwell?)* Wufei's mind-voice finally barked. He sounded worried.
*(Heero's in trouble with the thingy. It's... Um... )* Duo didn't know how to describe it.
*(I can see the image in your mind. It looks like it's trying to possess him.)*
*(Why can't it?)*
*(... I don't know. There's something... odd about Heero's aura.)* Duo didn't like that. Wufei sounded puzzled.
* The ~last~ thing I need is a mentor who doesn't know what the hell he's doing. *
*(What should I do, Wufei?)*
*(Do you know how to make a shield?)* Wufei asked.
"What do you think?" Duo snapped aloud, then caught himself when Trowa stirred.
Wufei "sighed" in frustration. *(Let me think for a moment.)*
Duo bit his lip in an impatient frown and looked back at Heero. The darkness was thicker now, and the gaps were few and far between. The American didn't realize how hard he was biting down until he tasted blood in his mouth. He looked back to Wufei as he licked his lips.
*(Hurry up, Wu!)*
*(Shut up and do as I say. This is going to be tricky without a body as an anchor. I'm going to put a shield around you. It might feel a bit... weird.)*
He braced himself. A wave of shimmering red mesh seemingly came from nowhere and wrapped around him like a second skin. It felt similar to when he'd fallen into Wufei's head, only on a much less traumatic scale. Like being hugged, instead of tackled and assaulted.
*(Now, go over to Heero. Concentrate your energy on your hands.)* Wufei said, his voice a whisper in his ear. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it made Duo wish for some personal space.
He obeyed, nonetheless.
*(Now what?)*
*(Reach through to Heero and pull him out. I'll fight off the thing if it tries to follow.)*
Duo thought about this for a second, then shrugged.
* Here goes nothing. * he thought as he slid his indigo-covered hands through the darkness to grab Heero's shoulders.
He was getting tired. The hands around him were sapping his energy, making him weaker and weaker. The stench of rotting flesh permeated his mouth and nostrils. He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. He would not retch.
The bony hand across his eyes crumpled back to the earth, and he could see. The Girl was staring at him, looking haggard. But he sensed, knew, that somehow ~she~ was protecting him. He could feel how the hands weakened under her gaze. But even she could not throw them off completely, and there were always more to take the place of the ones she affected. She would lose eventually.
Just as a hand was reaching to cover his eyes again, Heero saw a bluish-purple sort of light. The sky opened above him, and long-fingered, calloused, but living hands reached down toward him. The Girl saw these as well and smiled brightly. There was an odd, tingling pulse. She was gone, but the hands holding his arms and torso let go as if they were being burned, snaking back underground.
Heero reached and clung to the living hands for dear life. Darkness whirled around him, punctuated by red and indigo.
* amiawakeordreamingstill? *
Hands on his shoulders were shaking him.
* hands *
Dead, puffy, green flesh hanging off yellowish finger bones. They gripped him all over, shifting always, moving, groping. He shuddered, feeling sick to his stomach.
"Heero! Wake up!"
Heero opened his eyes, and felt much better for it. He was on his couch in the common room, right where he'd fallen asleep. He was drenched in cold sweat, his bangs clinging to his forehead. He shivered, noticing that his blankets had all been kicked off. Hands gripped his shoulders, but a glance at them proved they were living, vital. He followed them up. The dim glow from the adjustable overhead lights was just enough illumination for him to make out the worried expression on Duo's face.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Aa," Heero muttered, panting. He frowned in confusion. "How did you...?"
"Uhh... Don't ask. I don't know how I knew, but Wufei told me how to save you. Sort of."
"I see."
There was a short pause. Heero looked down at his shoulders again, surprised that the American was still grabbing him. The warmth from Duo's palms seeped into his skin. It was... comforting. Unfortunately, Duo took the glance the wrong way, and hastily let go.
"So it was another nightmare? About the evil possessing thingy?"Duo asked awkwardly as Heero sat up.
"Aa."
"D'you wanna talk about it?" Duo asked, a tiny solicitous note in his voice.
Heero would have bristled at the tone - he didn't need to be humored like a frightened child - but he was too drained. Instead, he told Duo what had happened this time. To his self-disgust, he actually shuddered when he told of the hands. He had to close his eyes and try to regain his composure. It was just too early, too fresh in his mind. He could almost still feel them. His stomach twisted, and he swallowed hard. Duo was wisely silent.
* Pull yourself together. * he commanded himself, forcing his eyes open again.
"Then there was indigo light above me. I assume that was you," he said, silently thankful that his voice held steady. Duo nodded, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "The Girl made most of the hands release me, and I grabbed onto you, or you grabbed onto me. I'm not quite sure which. Then I woke up."
Duo sighed heavily.
"Man, this is getting weirder and weirder. Wufei, didja catch all that?" Duo tilted his head as if he were listening.
Heero realized then that he must be hysterical, because he almost laughed. It looked for all the world like Duo was talking to an imaginary friend. He controlled himself, and concentrated on getting his breathing even. He would not crack under the pressure. He wasn't that weak.
Wufei, who had indeed caught all that, thought with lightning speed, trying to make sense of it all. The confused voice of the presence, the sheer power of it, and Heero's dreams were all falling into place like puzzle pieces. It began to make sense.
* Of course. That's it. It's got to be. * he thought.
They were fighting lost souls. Angry souls, driven mad by their inability to pass on. But what had stopped them? And why were so many of them congregated ~here~? The answer to both questions eluded him still.
*(But who's this chick in Heero's dreams? And what kept these "lost souls" from capturing Heero? Hell, why are they even trying to possess us?)* Duo questioned rapidly.
*(They want our bodies, Duo.)* Wufei replied without thinking, upset that his train of thought was derailed.
Duo didn't reply right away, but a wave of incredulity and amusement carried through the shield that connect them.
*(Really? I didn't think dead people could have libidos.)*
*(That's not what I meant and you know it.)*
*(There's a joke in there about "stiffs" but I'm not gonna touch it.)*
*(Maxwell!)* Wufei snapped, exasperated. He knew that if he were in his body, he'd be fighting off a blush. *(Be serious, dammit!)*
*(All right, all right. Geeze, just trying to lighten the mood a bit.)*
*(Look, when a person dies, sometimes the soul doesn't leave this plane. It doesn't know it's body is dead, or can't accept that it no longer has a physical manifestation. It is driven mad by the need to influence its surroundings. But it is not physical, it can't. So the logical thing is to find a physical form. They can't possess someone who isn't open, so normal people don't usually have this problem. But Quatre is a newtype, and we are psychic. We are at once more vulnerable and more protected. Understand?)*
*(Uh... Sort of. Go on.)*
*(The souls in this house are acting as a mob. The reason Quatre is unconscious and not currently being used as a vessel to the living world is probably because the souls are fighting against one another. It is hard enough for two souls to inhabit one body, that is why possession cased often end in death.)*
*(So basically, they're like psychic tapeworms.)*
Wufei "winced" at the comparison. *(Basically, yes. There is not room for many parasites in one host. That is why they want you, me, and Heero, in addition to Quatre. Trowa, being normal and blocked, is invisible to them.)*
*(Speaking of the guy , got any theories.)*
*(.....)* Wufei thought. There had been something different about pilot 01 from the beginning. What had his mentors called this talent? *(I think he is a dreamwalker.)*
*(Huh?)*
*(He is not psychic in the waking world, but his dreams take place in the astral plane. The orange sky in his dreams is representative of that. I don't know how I could have forgotten that.)*
*(So you're saying he has prophetic dreams and stuff like that?)*
*(That is one possibility, but I was thinking more along the lines that when he dreams, he sees the astral realm like a real place, and everything there has a physical form to him. The plateau, the lines of lost souls, the many hands that have Quatre, all these things are really happening in the astral plane.)*
Duo paused for a moment, digesting this. *(But what's with the chick? You never answered that.)*
Wufei "sighed." *(I don't know. She could be a separate spirit in the house, but then I would have expected her to contact you or me as well. All things considered, she is a rogue variable.)*
*(But she helped Heero.)*
*(That doesn't mean she's helping ~us~. )*
*(But-)*
*(Things are not always what they seem in the astral plane, and even if she helped ~this~ time, she might not help again. We can't depend on her.)*
*(Yeah, yeah.)* Duo grumbled reluctantly. *(How are we going to help Quatre?)*
*(We're not going to do anything yet.)*
*(What?! But we know what it is now, we could - )*
*(We could ~what~, Duo? Knowing what we're up against is a great step in the right direction, but we still don't know ~how~ to stop it.)*
*(....)* Duo searched for a reason to object and couldn't find one. He let off a psychic ripple of capitulation. *(Point taken.)*
*(I'm going to leave my shield on you. I'll need to use you as an anchor when I probe the entity.)*
*(Is that wise? What if it tries something?)*
*(Then I'll need ~you~ to make sure the shield stays in place until I can get far enough "away" from the entity. Don't worry, though. I have my full strength; you're help most likely won't be needed.)*
*(What should we do in the mean time?)*
*(I think that explaining all this to Heero and Trowa will take some time. And don't forget about my gundam.)*
*(Heh, no problem. Which color paint would you prefer, pink or mauve?)*
*(That isn't even funny, Maxwell. Wish me luck.)*
END PART TEN
::pokes muses:: What is that? ::gestures to screen::
Thalia, Eros, Psyche: ::look at screen, shrug:: Heck if we know.
-_-;;;
Eros: RRRRRREEEEEEEEVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!
