Author's Note: This is the last part of the fic.
Eros and Thalia: YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
Psyche: Aw nuts!
Sorry for the extreme delay. I've been busy with RL commitments and a whole bunch of crap that you're not really interested in, so never mind!
I'd like to thank all my loyal reviewers. You guys have been the greatest! Special glomps to Daemonchan, who sent me the wonderful piccy of Duo (I'll find a way to put it up on where people can see it... eventually ^^;;;) and to everyone who had this fic on their favorite stories list before FF.net got rebuilt. Shout-outs to: Cherry Blossom, Long de Yunqi, Wildfire, Arabiana, Finny, Mizu-chan (for putting this fic on her page), and everyone else! Sorry, but I wanna get started writing on the fic now. ^^;; I just want everyone to know their reviews have comforted my ego a lot. THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: Don't own GW. Wanna make sumthin' of it?
PART THIRTEEN
The fall through the physical and beyond was somewhat unnerving now that he was paying attention to it. He felt guided, though, and knew that The Girl was behind it. He landed steadily on the hot glaring sand of the astral plane, his sneakers sinking in with a soft grinding sound. He was at the foot of the plateau, camouflaged by the masses of dead people still flocking into the earthen mound. The Girl stood at his side. She tossed her many braids and smiled, her gaze spearing him.
"Your friend is looking for you. Call to him," she commanded. He nodded once in acceptance.
"Duo, I'm ready," Heero said.
*(-----......Duo, I'm ready........-----)*
The unexpected thought shook the braided pilot's concentration. He glared straight at Heero's bright blue aura as the image faded. He cursed mentally. He'd been waiting for half an hour after Trowa had left to get the gun, searching for a hint to whether Heero had made it into the astral plane or not.
* Shoulda been expecting something like that. Like ~Mr. Yuy~ would ever just ~wait~ for me. * he grumbled to himself as he slipped back into psychic mode.
His hazy astral self drifted over to Heero's. He hesitated in touching the other's aura, recalling what had happened when he'd tried that with Wufei. He didn't want to invade Heero's privacy, and he certainly didn't want Heero to see inside ~his~ head. But before he could think of a way around this problem, a thin tendril of white emerged from Heero's aura and latched onto him.
With a discombobulating whirl and the odd sensation of becoming physical while in the astral plane, Duo found himself falling gracelessly onto a pile of sand. He coughed in the dust and stood, brushing at his clothes. He looked around to see Heero standing in front of him. Around them, souls of the dead were willingly enveloped by a growing mountain of sand. Duo watched with some confusion, because he could see both the astral black of the souls and the macabre parade of bodies. Heero seemed to shimmer and radiate a bluish light, with odd white spikes flaring now and again.
Duo noticed the absence of the girl that Heero had told him of. Wufei had been right; she couldn't be depended on. He frowned, realizing that this would probably make things more difficult.
Heero looked back at him resolutely. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Some dreamscape you got here," he replied, indicating the lines of dead people around him.
"You ready?"
"Yeah. Where are we going?"
"To the top of the plateau. That's where I saw Quatre last," the other boy said, turning and beginning to climb the steep slope. Duo followed with trepidation, hoping he wouldn't sink into the side like all the dead spirits were.
He was winded and sweating profusely by the time they reached the top. He spat gritty saliva from his mouth, and came to stand at Heero's side. They stared at the barren plateau top as wind kicked stinging gusts at them. Duo frowned. He hadn't expected the astral plane to have such realistic annoyances.
"What now?" he asked. When Heero merely shrugged, Duo cupped his hands around his mouth. "WEEEEEEE'RE HEEEEEEEEEEERE! COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!"
The Japanese pilot looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, and he answered with a half-smile and shrug. Heero looked pained.
For a long, long moment, nothing happened. Then the stiff wind slowed, and stopped completely. Eerie silence fell. Suddenly, the wind picked up again, whirling around them. Ghostly whispers echoed across the plateau-top, maddeningly unintelligible. They watched the emptiness around them suspiciously, tensing in preparation. Duo's nerves tingled furiously under the intense evil energy built around them. His skin crawled as the unseen, unholy waves crested.
As they crashed, the air in front of the two boys shimmered like film on a tar bubble. It swirled, coalescing and taking shape. Distorted limbs appeared, legs oozing to touch the ground and arms hanging gelatinously from a lopsided torso. A head formed, rearing up from the thing's back. Whatever Duo had expected, this wasn't it. The creature had dripping holes in it's gooey face, a disgusting parody of eyes. Its mouth slid sideways as it began to speak in a voice like that of hundreds of people's merged into one, dissonant.
"WELCOME," it said. "GUNDAM PILOTS."
"Who are you? How do you know what we are?" Heero demanded harshly.
"I KNOW A LOT ABOUT YOU," the thing replied evasively. Its mouth disappeared completely for a moment before reappearing in its original position. "I KNOW YOU ARE HERE FOR YOUR FRIENDS."
"What have you done with them?" Heero asked.
"THEY'RE IN ME," the thing said, giving a horrible gurgling chuckle.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Duo broke in, trying to mask his alarm. Were they too late to save them?
The thing's empty eye sockets slid to the side of its head to peer at him. Duo refused to blanch, and glared as hard as he could.
"I MEAN, THEIR LIFE-ENERGY IS MINE. THEY ARE FUELING ME," it said, the mouth twisting into a wide gaping grin. "I ALMOST HAD ALL OF YOUR LIFE-ENERGIES, BUT YOU TWO HAVE EVADED ME SOMEHOW. YOU WILL NOT DO SO THIS TIME"
With a movement so fast Duo couldn't follow it, two oozing globs flung out from the thing's abdomen, trailing web-like threads behind. Each hit one of them just under the chin. Duo shouted in shock, his hands going up automatically to clutch at the substance. It burned and stung his hands. The slick pseudopod curled and morphed around his wrists as it tightened around his throat. His flesh burned and rippled beneath the coating of black; he tried to break free, twisting madly. He caught glimpses of the thing grinning and of Heero clawing desperately at his throat. His face was contorted with pain and an expression that Duo had never seen there before. Fear.
* Oh shit! Heero's gonna die! I gotta - gotta- * he told himself mentally, but he could only feel the pain. He couldn't get past the horrible feeling of liquefying skin and bone and ~soul~...
Then he felt power growing around Heero, tense and crackling. It snapped, and white lightning flicked out from Heero's aura. It struck the creature, which howled, and the threads connecting it to Heero vanished abruptly. The oily ethereal substance evaporated into a foul-smelling smoke. Heero fell to his knees, panting heavily and rubbing his neck.
The creature shrieked its rage. It bubbled grotesquely, its mouth sliding down to its sunken chest before reappearing on its head. It foamed at the eyes and mouth as it focused its fury on Heero. Its strangle-hold on Duo relaxed. Duo's head swam with a mixture of relief and pain, for it hadn't released him completely.
"WHAT WAS ~THAT~?" the thing bellowed, rippling with the force of its own cry.
Heero jerked as if startled, then seemed to come back to himself. He rose to meet the horrible amorphous being's gaze defiantly.
"WHAT SORT OF ENERGY WAS THAT?" it shouted, its legs flowing forward as it approached.
"Our sort," Heero told it sullenly, his eyes coming to rest on his partner. "Release Duo. Now."
It laughed, its fury gone with startling rapidity. Heero glared in confusion, and Duo didn't blame him.
"YOUR INSOLENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED MUCH LONGER. I'VE NEVER TASTED ENERGY LIKE YOURS BEFORE; IT IS A DELICACY INDEED," it said. "I WILL POSSESS IT."
"Not bloody likely," Duo croaked, and the glob around his neck tightened again, making him choke.
"YOU CANNOT FIGHT ME," it insisted. "HERE I AM OMNIPOTENT."
"Then how come you haven't taken us down by now?" Heero challenged.
It growled gurglingly at him. "YOU ARE AN AMUSING DIVERSION."
The thing sent a thick, heavy ripple along the rope of ethereal sludge that was attached to Duo. When it drew near the American's face, it morphed, taking form. The face of the thing leered at him from mere inches in front of his face. The smell of death and carrion, of carnage and evil emanated from it's mouth as it laughed. Duo jerked away, but it stretched with him. It drew closer still.
"TOO EASY," it said as the black ooze spread over Duo's face, muffling his choked cry.
Wufei and Quatre curled together deep within the heart of the energy vampire. Their auras pulsed in tandem as they were squeezed for energy. Wufei tried to cover for Quatre as much as he could; the other boy's aura was so dangerously faded that he couldn't give much more energy without dispersing entirely.
Around them the entity shuddered, then contracted especially hard. When finally it released, even Wufei was left feeling wavery and wan.
"(Wufei? What's going on?)* Quatre asked. His mindvoice was faint and tired.
*(I don't know.)* he replied as gently as he could through the tension he felt.
*(Do you think we're going to die?)*
*(....Yes....)*
*(I - I don't. I think... the others, when they come, can beat this thing. They are incredibly strong as a team.....)*
Wufei remained silent, not knowing how to tell Quatre the true danger of the situation. He knew as well as Quatre that Heero and Duo could be strong enough to defeat the creature, if they got lured to it. But if they ~did~ manage to destroy it, the fact was that he and Quatre could likely be destroyed right along with it. That, or the creature would use them up completely before Duo and Heero triumphed.
*(Don't worry about that, Wufei.)* Quatre said.
Wufei was surprised. He'd thought that he was shielding his thoughts from Quatre.
*(You are, but I'm not like a psychic. I can... I don't know, sort of feel ~through~ shields, sometimes.)* Quatre explained. *(And I know you're more experienced, so your worries are probably well-founded. But you should have faith in Duo and Heero. They'll find a way to save us - before it's too late.)*
Wufei paused, assimilating this. Then he sent a grateful ripple to Quatre, who returned a comforting one.
*(You're right.)*
Suddenly, the pressure on Wufei slackened, alerting him to a change within the entity. It hadn't weakened; he could tell as he tested the energy vampire's hold on him. If anything, it had grown stronger. This could only mean one thing.
*(It's taken one of them.)*
*(Who is it, Wufei?)* Quatre asked.
Wufei could ill afford to reach out his antanae because both he and Quatre were running out of energy to spare, but he tried his best.
*(Hello?)* he called.
*(Wu-man? Izzat you?)* came a wisp of Duo's voice, sounding as if he was speaking through a wall.
*(Yes. What's going on, Duo?)* the Chinese boy asked without preamble.
*(Well... Heero an' I are in the astral plane, and I just got my ass kicked by whatever the hell this thing is. Heero's little girlfriend didn't show this time, so he's all alone back there.)* Duo said, giving the impression that he was grimacing as his mental voice became clearer.
*(It's called an energy vampire. So Heero is defenseless?)* Wufei's heart sank.
*(Not exactly ~defenseless~... He's been shooting lightning at the "energy vampire." You know, it looks different from the inside. Lots of colors, ya know?)* Duo didn't wait for an answer. *(Quatre?)*
*(I'm here, Duo.)* Quatre said weakly.
*(You okay, Q-ball?)*
*(Yeah, for the most part.)*
*(Glad to hear it.)*
*(Can we save the reunion for later?)* Wufei snapped, feeling a sense of urgency.
*(Why? We're going to be here for a while. I mean, if you'd had a way out, you would have taken it already.)* Duo replied easily. *(So, unless you've had any new revelations, I'd say we're all pretty much stuck here.)*
Conversation was brought to a halt then, as the multicolored prison contracted around them, squeezing energy from them mercilessly.
* It's gonna need all of the energy it can get if it's fighting Heero... * Duo thought with grim satisfaction.
Heero didn't even waste the time to call out Duo's name. He charged forward and struck the thing's squashy head. The Girl, who hadn't left his side since he'd arrived, shot power into it, and its head split around his fist. It's slick black body oozed quickly oozed across the web-like strand to wrap around Duo, until only the boy's braid poked out slightly.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" it demanded, sounding totally surprised that he'd retaliated.
"Release my friends. All of them," Heero said, feeling the Girl come to stand directly behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. His muscles suddenly became electrified, strengthened. He strode purposefully toward the thing, determined to retrieve Duo.
The astral being tried to stop him, shooting numerous pseudopod at him. He was forced to dodge and roll, and as he did so, the thing tripled in size, getting thicker and more viscous. It reared up into a column of black ichor, not even vaguely humanoid now. Its only feature was a huge, wide mouth, which laughed boomingly from twelve feet above Heero's head. It sent a thick tentacle twisting at him, but he dodged again, and again as another flew toward his head, and another swiped at his midsection. It was childishly easy; the thing was slow when it was this large.
Heero saw an opening and darted in close to the thing's body. He felt the Girl's power rush through his arms as he grabbed onto the only part of Duo he could: the long chestnut braid. Unfortunately, the thing expanded itself further, enveloping the braid ~and~ Heero's forearms. It laughed again, madly, bending far over so its lips were level with his eyes.
"YOU FOOL! YOU MIGHT'VE LASTED LONGER IF YOU HADN'T TRIED TO HELP HIM," it pointed out. "NO MATTER NOW, THOUGH. I'VE WON."
The Girl leaned in closer and slid her hands from his shoulders down his arms. He felt the flow of energy through him. The creature stopped its mad laughter when bands of white energy like electricity snaked around it. The grip of the goo loosened considerably and the entity sagged as if deflated.
"Pull them out. Quickly," the Girl urged breathlessly in his ear.
"Ryoukai," he responded automatically, already pulling with all his might. He had to lean far back, bracing himself on the sandy ground until he was almost horizontal. Slowly, the his hand emerged, holding the braid. He joined his free hand to it and redoubled his efforts.
*(Ow!)* Duo said suddenly.
*(What is it?)* Quatre inquired anxiously.
*(Something's - ow! - pulling on my braid.)*
Wufei perked up in startlement. *(You're joking.)*
*(I am not! I think it's Heero! I recognize this energy!)* Duo's voice was getting a bit muffled again. There were odd static-like crackles across his voice. *(You guys, latch onto me. Quickly, before I'm too far away!)*
Wufei and Quatre wasted no time in mingling their auras with his. They felt the tugging and the odd unfamiliar tingle, too, and tried to help, straining with it, trying to break free. Slowly, very slowly, they began to move.
Heero was no weakling, but his strongest efforts had yielded little results. His muscles ached, his were chapped and bleeding from panting in the dry desert air, and still only the braid was visible.
"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" bellowed the thing deafeningly. "I SHALL POSSESS ALL OF YOU!"
"N-no," Heero huffed, but he realized that this way wouldn't work. He didn't dare stop until he could think of a better plan.
The thing had recoiled from his fist when he'd hit it and the Girl had sent energy directly into it. Maybe... It was a gamble. If this didn't work, then there wouldn't be another chance. But it seemed the only choice.
* Ryoukai. * he thought.
Without pausing to consider further, he dove straight into the side of the creature.
Sliding through impossible depths, arms that weren't solid anymore spread wide, searching, searching -
Finding!
He wrapped his arms around the tangle of indigo, red, and aquamarine, adding his own blue. He was drowned in a sea of memories, thoughts, emotions that weren't all his own, overwhelming his senses, making him forget what he was supposed to do now...
The Girl's white lightning washed out the colors.
Four boys fell nine feet to land in a heap on the ground. For a moment, shock reigned. Then their instincts kicked in. They disentangled themselves from one another and leapt to their feet. The energy vampire writhed a few yards away, shrieking and howling. Electricity snaked around it still, and it shrank as they watched. Quatre staggered and Duo caught him before he could fall.
"What do we do now?" Duo asked.
"We wake up," Wufei responded, swaying on his feet. Heero reached out an arm and steadied him.
"I'm so happy," Quatre sighed, leaning heavily against Duo. He sighed and closed his eyes. Slowly, he faded away.
"Huh?" Duo said intelligently.
"Just wait. I'll wake you when I get back," Wufei promised. Then he too relaxed and faded. As soon as he was gone, Heero came to stand directly next to Duo.
"Is it over, then?" Duo asked frowning in confusion.
"Hai."
"But it's still alive - I mean, it's still here," he said, gesturing at the miserable form.
"Not for long, I think. The Girl destroyed most of its energy," Heero told him.
Duo looked sharply at Heero. "Ya know, I've been wondering. Where is she? I haven't seen her anywhere."
Heero's eyebrows raised. "She was here the entire time. She's the one who shocked that thing."
Duo shook his head solemnly. "I was watching the entire time, Heero. It was all you. There was no girl."
They stared at each other for a long, confused moment, dusty wind ruffling their hair. Then Duo was gone.
Heero turned to look where he knew the Girl would be. She smirked playfully at him and blew him a kiss. The desert faded away.
He woke quickly, but his head was groggy and he felt very comfortable for some reason. Warm, safe. He'd never felt safe before. He sighed deeply and relaxed, wanting to fall back asleep.
"Uh... Heero? Buddy?" Duo said, sounding just as groggy and drowsy as he felt. That probably wasn't so odd, but what ~was~ odd was that Heero felt the vibrations from the American's voice on his cheek.
Heero's eyes shot open. He had his head resting on Duo's chest, and his hands clutched at the boy's priest-like shirt. He felt Duo's arms around his waist, and their legs twined together as well. He could feel Duo's heartbeat against his chest, Duo's breath down his neck. He was so mortified, he found he couldn't speak, couldn't even jerk away.
"Heero?" Duo asked, sounding more urgent, worried. "Heero, wake up!"
"I-I'm awake," he managed to say quietly. His muscles still wouldn't obey his commands.
Duo sighed in relief. "Good. I'd hate to have to drag your ass back here."
"Hn," he replied, confusion mounting. Why wasn't Duo making an effort to untangle himself?
"Oi! You two!" called Wufei's irritated voice. "Care to join the rest of us? I think we'd better get the whole story told before the details fade, and they ~will~ fade if you don't hurry up."
Duo groaned in displeasure. Heero felt the sound, and it sent a shiver down his spine. Despite the odd tingling, he finally found the strength to move. He pulled free of Duo's arms and rolled off the couch, then headed over to Quatre's couch, where the other three were congregated. He noted that Trowa was clasping Quatre's good hand in one of his. The pilot of Wing sat down next to Wufei on the floor, and Duo quickly sat on Heero's other side. He couldn't help but notice how their thighs brushed together.
"Now," Wufei began, bringing welcomed distraction. "I think you have some explaining to do."
"Brother, you got ~no~ idea," Duo said.
END PART THIRTEEN
Continued directly in the next chapter. ^_^
Eros and Thalia: YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
Psyche: Aw nuts!
Sorry for the extreme delay. I've been busy with RL commitments and a whole bunch of crap that you're not really interested in, so never mind!
I'd like to thank all my loyal reviewers. You guys have been the greatest! Special glomps to Daemonchan, who sent me the wonderful piccy of Duo (I'll find a way to put it up on where people can see it... eventually ^^;;;) and to everyone who had this fic on their favorite stories list before FF.net got rebuilt. Shout-outs to: Cherry Blossom, Long de Yunqi, Wildfire, Arabiana, Finny, Mizu-chan (for putting this fic on her page), and everyone else! Sorry, but I wanna get started writing on the fic now. ^^;; I just want everyone to know their reviews have comforted my ego a lot. THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: Don't own GW. Wanna make sumthin' of it?
PART THIRTEEN
The fall through the physical and beyond was somewhat unnerving now that he was paying attention to it. He felt guided, though, and knew that The Girl was behind it. He landed steadily on the hot glaring sand of the astral plane, his sneakers sinking in with a soft grinding sound. He was at the foot of the plateau, camouflaged by the masses of dead people still flocking into the earthen mound. The Girl stood at his side. She tossed her many braids and smiled, her gaze spearing him.
"Your friend is looking for you. Call to him," she commanded. He nodded once in acceptance.
"Duo, I'm ready," Heero said.
*(-----......Duo, I'm ready........-----)*
The unexpected thought shook the braided pilot's concentration. He glared straight at Heero's bright blue aura as the image faded. He cursed mentally. He'd been waiting for half an hour after Trowa had left to get the gun, searching for a hint to whether Heero had made it into the astral plane or not.
* Shoulda been expecting something like that. Like ~Mr. Yuy~ would ever just ~wait~ for me. * he grumbled to himself as he slipped back into psychic mode.
His hazy astral self drifted over to Heero's. He hesitated in touching the other's aura, recalling what had happened when he'd tried that with Wufei. He didn't want to invade Heero's privacy, and he certainly didn't want Heero to see inside ~his~ head. But before he could think of a way around this problem, a thin tendril of white emerged from Heero's aura and latched onto him.
With a discombobulating whirl and the odd sensation of becoming physical while in the astral plane, Duo found himself falling gracelessly onto a pile of sand. He coughed in the dust and stood, brushing at his clothes. He looked around to see Heero standing in front of him. Around them, souls of the dead were willingly enveloped by a growing mountain of sand. Duo watched with some confusion, because he could see both the astral black of the souls and the macabre parade of bodies. Heero seemed to shimmer and radiate a bluish light, with odd white spikes flaring now and again.
Duo noticed the absence of the girl that Heero had told him of. Wufei had been right; she couldn't be depended on. He frowned, realizing that this would probably make things more difficult.
Heero looked back at him resolutely. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Some dreamscape you got here," he replied, indicating the lines of dead people around him.
"You ready?"
"Yeah. Where are we going?"
"To the top of the plateau. That's where I saw Quatre last," the other boy said, turning and beginning to climb the steep slope. Duo followed with trepidation, hoping he wouldn't sink into the side like all the dead spirits were.
He was winded and sweating profusely by the time they reached the top. He spat gritty saliva from his mouth, and came to stand at Heero's side. They stared at the barren plateau top as wind kicked stinging gusts at them. Duo frowned. He hadn't expected the astral plane to have such realistic annoyances.
"What now?" he asked. When Heero merely shrugged, Duo cupped his hands around his mouth. "WEEEEEEE'RE HEEEEEEEEEEERE! COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!"
The Japanese pilot looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, and he answered with a half-smile and shrug. Heero looked pained.
For a long, long moment, nothing happened. Then the stiff wind slowed, and stopped completely. Eerie silence fell. Suddenly, the wind picked up again, whirling around them. Ghostly whispers echoed across the plateau-top, maddeningly unintelligible. They watched the emptiness around them suspiciously, tensing in preparation. Duo's nerves tingled furiously under the intense evil energy built around them. His skin crawled as the unseen, unholy waves crested.
As they crashed, the air in front of the two boys shimmered like film on a tar bubble. It swirled, coalescing and taking shape. Distorted limbs appeared, legs oozing to touch the ground and arms hanging gelatinously from a lopsided torso. A head formed, rearing up from the thing's back. Whatever Duo had expected, this wasn't it. The creature had dripping holes in it's gooey face, a disgusting parody of eyes. Its mouth slid sideways as it began to speak in a voice like that of hundreds of people's merged into one, dissonant.
"WELCOME," it said. "GUNDAM PILOTS."
"Who are you? How do you know what we are?" Heero demanded harshly.
"I KNOW A LOT ABOUT YOU," the thing replied evasively. Its mouth disappeared completely for a moment before reappearing in its original position. "I KNOW YOU ARE HERE FOR YOUR FRIENDS."
"What have you done with them?" Heero asked.
"THEY'RE IN ME," the thing said, giving a horrible gurgling chuckle.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Duo broke in, trying to mask his alarm. Were they too late to save them?
The thing's empty eye sockets slid to the side of its head to peer at him. Duo refused to blanch, and glared as hard as he could.
"I MEAN, THEIR LIFE-ENERGY IS MINE. THEY ARE FUELING ME," it said, the mouth twisting into a wide gaping grin. "I ALMOST HAD ALL OF YOUR LIFE-ENERGIES, BUT YOU TWO HAVE EVADED ME SOMEHOW. YOU WILL NOT DO SO THIS TIME"
With a movement so fast Duo couldn't follow it, two oozing globs flung out from the thing's abdomen, trailing web-like threads behind. Each hit one of them just under the chin. Duo shouted in shock, his hands going up automatically to clutch at the substance. It burned and stung his hands. The slick pseudopod curled and morphed around his wrists as it tightened around his throat. His flesh burned and rippled beneath the coating of black; he tried to break free, twisting madly. He caught glimpses of the thing grinning and of Heero clawing desperately at his throat. His face was contorted with pain and an expression that Duo had never seen there before. Fear.
* Oh shit! Heero's gonna die! I gotta - gotta- * he told himself mentally, but he could only feel the pain. He couldn't get past the horrible feeling of liquefying skin and bone and ~soul~...
Then he felt power growing around Heero, tense and crackling. It snapped, and white lightning flicked out from Heero's aura. It struck the creature, which howled, and the threads connecting it to Heero vanished abruptly. The oily ethereal substance evaporated into a foul-smelling smoke. Heero fell to his knees, panting heavily and rubbing his neck.
The creature shrieked its rage. It bubbled grotesquely, its mouth sliding down to its sunken chest before reappearing on its head. It foamed at the eyes and mouth as it focused its fury on Heero. Its strangle-hold on Duo relaxed. Duo's head swam with a mixture of relief and pain, for it hadn't released him completely.
"WHAT WAS ~THAT~?" the thing bellowed, rippling with the force of its own cry.
Heero jerked as if startled, then seemed to come back to himself. He rose to meet the horrible amorphous being's gaze defiantly.
"WHAT SORT OF ENERGY WAS THAT?" it shouted, its legs flowing forward as it approached.
"Our sort," Heero told it sullenly, his eyes coming to rest on his partner. "Release Duo. Now."
It laughed, its fury gone with startling rapidity. Heero glared in confusion, and Duo didn't blame him.
"YOUR INSOLENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED MUCH LONGER. I'VE NEVER TASTED ENERGY LIKE YOURS BEFORE; IT IS A DELICACY INDEED," it said. "I WILL POSSESS IT."
"Not bloody likely," Duo croaked, and the glob around his neck tightened again, making him choke.
"YOU CANNOT FIGHT ME," it insisted. "HERE I AM OMNIPOTENT."
"Then how come you haven't taken us down by now?" Heero challenged.
It growled gurglingly at him. "YOU ARE AN AMUSING DIVERSION."
The thing sent a thick, heavy ripple along the rope of ethereal sludge that was attached to Duo. When it drew near the American's face, it morphed, taking form. The face of the thing leered at him from mere inches in front of his face. The smell of death and carrion, of carnage and evil emanated from it's mouth as it laughed. Duo jerked away, but it stretched with him. It drew closer still.
"TOO EASY," it said as the black ooze spread over Duo's face, muffling his choked cry.
Wufei and Quatre curled together deep within the heart of the energy vampire. Their auras pulsed in tandem as they were squeezed for energy. Wufei tried to cover for Quatre as much as he could; the other boy's aura was so dangerously faded that he couldn't give much more energy without dispersing entirely.
Around them the entity shuddered, then contracted especially hard. When finally it released, even Wufei was left feeling wavery and wan.
"(Wufei? What's going on?)* Quatre asked. His mindvoice was faint and tired.
*(I don't know.)* he replied as gently as he could through the tension he felt.
*(Do you think we're going to die?)*
*(....Yes....)*
*(I - I don't. I think... the others, when they come, can beat this thing. They are incredibly strong as a team.....)*
Wufei remained silent, not knowing how to tell Quatre the true danger of the situation. He knew as well as Quatre that Heero and Duo could be strong enough to defeat the creature, if they got lured to it. But if they ~did~ manage to destroy it, the fact was that he and Quatre could likely be destroyed right along with it. That, or the creature would use them up completely before Duo and Heero triumphed.
*(Don't worry about that, Wufei.)* Quatre said.
Wufei was surprised. He'd thought that he was shielding his thoughts from Quatre.
*(You are, but I'm not like a psychic. I can... I don't know, sort of feel ~through~ shields, sometimes.)* Quatre explained. *(And I know you're more experienced, so your worries are probably well-founded. But you should have faith in Duo and Heero. They'll find a way to save us - before it's too late.)*
Wufei paused, assimilating this. Then he sent a grateful ripple to Quatre, who returned a comforting one.
*(You're right.)*
Suddenly, the pressure on Wufei slackened, alerting him to a change within the entity. It hadn't weakened; he could tell as he tested the energy vampire's hold on him. If anything, it had grown stronger. This could only mean one thing.
*(It's taken one of them.)*
*(Who is it, Wufei?)* Quatre asked.
Wufei could ill afford to reach out his antanae because both he and Quatre were running out of energy to spare, but he tried his best.
*(Hello?)* he called.
*(Wu-man? Izzat you?)* came a wisp of Duo's voice, sounding as if he was speaking through a wall.
*(Yes. What's going on, Duo?)* the Chinese boy asked without preamble.
*(Well... Heero an' I are in the astral plane, and I just got my ass kicked by whatever the hell this thing is. Heero's little girlfriend didn't show this time, so he's all alone back there.)* Duo said, giving the impression that he was grimacing as his mental voice became clearer.
*(It's called an energy vampire. So Heero is defenseless?)* Wufei's heart sank.
*(Not exactly ~defenseless~... He's been shooting lightning at the "energy vampire." You know, it looks different from the inside. Lots of colors, ya know?)* Duo didn't wait for an answer. *(Quatre?)*
*(I'm here, Duo.)* Quatre said weakly.
*(You okay, Q-ball?)*
*(Yeah, for the most part.)*
*(Glad to hear it.)*
*(Can we save the reunion for later?)* Wufei snapped, feeling a sense of urgency.
*(Why? We're going to be here for a while. I mean, if you'd had a way out, you would have taken it already.)* Duo replied easily. *(So, unless you've had any new revelations, I'd say we're all pretty much stuck here.)*
Conversation was brought to a halt then, as the multicolored prison contracted around them, squeezing energy from them mercilessly.
* It's gonna need all of the energy it can get if it's fighting Heero... * Duo thought with grim satisfaction.
Heero didn't even waste the time to call out Duo's name. He charged forward and struck the thing's squashy head. The Girl, who hadn't left his side since he'd arrived, shot power into it, and its head split around his fist. It's slick black body oozed quickly oozed across the web-like strand to wrap around Duo, until only the boy's braid poked out slightly.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" it demanded, sounding totally surprised that he'd retaliated.
"Release my friends. All of them," Heero said, feeling the Girl come to stand directly behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. His muscles suddenly became electrified, strengthened. He strode purposefully toward the thing, determined to retrieve Duo.
The astral being tried to stop him, shooting numerous pseudopod at him. He was forced to dodge and roll, and as he did so, the thing tripled in size, getting thicker and more viscous. It reared up into a column of black ichor, not even vaguely humanoid now. Its only feature was a huge, wide mouth, which laughed boomingly from twelve feet above Heero's head. It sent a thick tentacle twisting at him, but he dodged again, and again as another flew toward his head, and another swiped at his midsection. It was childishly easy; the thing was slow when it was this large.
Heero saw an opening and darted in close to the thing's body. He felt the Girl's power rush through his arms as he grabbed onto the only part of Duo he could: the long chestnut braid. Unfortunately, the thing expanded itself further, enveloping the braid ~and~ Heero's forearms. It laughed again, madly, bending far over so its lips were level with his eyes.
"YOU FOOL! YOU MIGHT'VE LASTED LONGER IF YOU HADN'T TRIED TO HELP HIM," it pointed out. "NO MATTER NOW, THOUGH. I'VE WON."
The Girl leaned in closer and slid her hands from his shoulders down his arms. He felt the flow of energy through him. The creature stopped its mad laughter when bands of white energy like electricity snaked around it. The grip of the goo loosened considerably and the entity sagged as if deflated.
"Pull them out. Quickly," the Girl urged breathlessly in his ear.
"Ryoukai," he responded automatically, already pulling with all his might. He had to lean far back, bracing himself on the sandy ground until he was almost horizontal. Slowly, the his hand emerged, holding the braid. He joined his free hand to it and redoubled his efforts.
*(Ow!)* Duo said suddenly.
*(What is it?)* Quatre inquired anxiously.
*(Something's - ow! - pulling on my braid.)*
Wufei perked up in startlement. *(You're joking.)*
*(I am not! I think it's Heero! I recognize this energy!)* Duo's voice was getting a bit muffled again. There were odd static-like crackles across his voice. *(You guys, latch onto me. Quickly, before I'm too far away!)*
Wufei and Quatre wasted no time in mingling their auras with his. They felt the tugging and the odd unfamiliar tingle, too, and tried to help, straining with it, trying to break free. Slowly, very slowly, they began to move.
Heero was no weakling, but his strongest efforts had yielded little results. His muscles ached, his were chapped and bleeding from panting in the dry desert air, and still only the braid was visible.
"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" bellowed the thing deafeningly. "I SHALL POSSESS ALL OF YOU!"
"N-no," Heero huffed, but he realized that this way wouldn't work. He didn't dare stop until he could think of a better plan.
The thing had recoiled from his fist when he'd hit it and the Girl had sent energy directly into it. Maybe... It was a gamble. If this didn't work, then there wouldn't be another chance. But it seemed the only choice.
* Ryoukai. * he thought.
Without pausing to consider further, he dove straight into the side of the creature.
Sliding through impossible depths, arms that weren't solid anymore spread wide, searching, searching -
Finding!
He wrapped his arms around the tangle of indigo, red, and aquamarine, adding his own blue. He was drowned in a sea of memories, thoughts, emotions that weren't all his own, overwhelming his senses, making him forget what he was supposed to do now...
The Girl's white lightning washed out the colors.
Four boys fell nine feet to land in a heap on the ground. For a moment, shock reigned. Then their instincts kicked in. They disentangled themselves from one another and leapt to their feet. The energy vampire writhed a few yards away, shrieking and howling. Electricity snaked around it still, and it shrank as they watched. Quatre staggered and Duo caught him before he could fall.
"What do we do now?" Duo asked.
"We wake up," Wufei responded, swaying on his feet. Heero reached out an arm and steadied him.
"I'm so happy," Quatre sighed, leaning heavily against Duo. He sighed and closed his eyes. Slowly, he faded away.
"Huh?" Duo said intelligently.
"Just wait. I'll wake you when I get back," Wufei promised. Then he too relaxed and faded. As soon as he was gone, Heero came to stand directly next to Duo.
"Is it over, then?" Duo asked frowning in confusion.
"Hai."
"But it's still alive - I mean, it's still here," he said, gesturing at the miserable form.
"Not for long, I think. The Girl destroyed most of its energy," Heero told him.
Duo looked sharply at Heero. "Ya know, I've been wondering. Where is she? I haven't seen her anywhere."
Heero's eyebrows raised. "She was here the entire time. She's the one who shocked that thing."
Duo shook his head solemnly. "I was watching the entire time, Heero. It was all you. There was no girl."
They stared at each other for a long, confused moment, dusty wind ruffling their hair. Then Duo was gone.
Heero turned to look where he knew the Girl would be. She smirked playfully at him and blew him a kiss. The desert faded away.
He woke quickly, but his head was groggy and he felt very comfortable for some reason. Warm, safe. He'd never felt safe before. He sighed deeply and relaxed, wanting to fall back asleep.
"Uh... Heero? Buddy?" Duo said, sounding just as groggy and drowsy as he felt. That probably wasn't so odd, but what ~was~ odd was that Heero felt the vibrations from the American's voice on his cheek.
Heero's eyes shot open. He had his head resting on Duo's chest, and his hands clutched at the boy's priest-like shirt. He felt Duo's arms around his waist, and their legs twined together as well. He could feel Duo's heartbeat against his chest, Duo's breath down his neck. He was so mortified, he found he couldn't speak, couldn't even jerk away.
"Heero?" Duo asked, sounding more urgent, worried. "Heero, wake up!"
"I-I'm awake," he managed to say quietly. His muscles still wouldn't obey his commands.
Duo sighed in relief. "Good. I'd hate to have to drag your ass back here."
"Hn," he replied, confusion mounting. Why wasn't Duo making an effort to untangle himself?
"Oi! You two!" called Wufei's irritated voice. "Care to join the rest of us? I think we'd better get the whole story told before the details fade, and they ~will~ fade if you don't hurry up."
Duo groaned in displeasure. Heero felt the sound, and it sent a shiver down his spine. Despite the odd tingling, he finally found the strength to move. He pulled free of Duo's arms and rolled off the couch, then headed over to Quatre's couch, where the other three were congregated. He noted that Trowa was clasping Quatre's good hand in one of his. The pilot of Wing sat down next to Wufei on the floor, and Duo quickly sat on Heero's other side. He couldn't help but notice how their thighs brushed together.
"Now," Wufei began, bringing welcomed distraction. "I think you have some explaining to do."
"Brother, you got ~no~ idea," Duo said.
END PART THIRTEEN
Continued directly in the next chapter. ^_^
