Disclaimer: Not own GW. Hope everyone enjoys Chapter 7!!!!
Thanks again for everyone who reviewed!!! ESPECIALLY to my beta-reader, ANNE!!! (You deserve a shrine! ^_^)
THIS IS THE REVISED VERSION!
The Colours of Life
Chapter 7: Things to ponder in the Darkness
By: J.B. Santiago
- Florence – Real Time –
Hilde looked at her watch. Her and Sally's hopes had risen when they heard they had found Cathie alive and well but then had lost contact with the gang when they had entered the portal room; all hope being short-lived. At least it had given them more time to figure out what to say to Heero about Relena. Bethany had not yet returned and it would be pretty hopeless to believe she would. The silence between the two in the control room was deafening. No contact with the gang in Subspace, Bethany and Relena…missing… Hilde suddenly felt the urge to throw up. She quickly swallowed a few times, glancing at her watch again. Not even a minute had passed. The enforced silence was just making the two think of very morbid thoughts. A gust of wind startled Hilde, as she shivered looking in the direction it had come from. Her eyes nearly popped out when she saw the screen mush together and start to whirl like a hypnotic lollypop. 'I can't get in touch with Duo, Relena and Bethany are gone and now I'm hallucinating.' She thought, vaguely wondering if she would see little green men come up to her with a pot of gold. She snapped out of the trance the whirling screen had put on her when Sally grabbed her arm, dragging her to the floor as a swivel chair flew past where she had just been by the wind that was turning into a storm. Then it stopped. There was no wind and the screen had turned back into its normal form, showing different angles of subspace. An audible pop was heard in the direction of the screen and two figures appeared out of nowhere.
"AAHHHH!!!" screamed both Relena and Bethany as they tumbled into the control room, landing flat on their backs, sprawled in a most uncomfortable position.
Hilde blinked. 'I am Hallucinating. I can see Relena and Bethany.' Insane giggling bubbled out of her as she rocked back and forth tears streaming down her face, her hands holding her aching sides. 'I've gone mad.'
Sally stared at the two people who had intruded on their enforced silence. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. She looked like the complete opposite of the person next to her. Shocked and silent compared to insane and loud.
Bethany slowly picked herself up from her awkward position, leaning heavily on her hands as she peered at Relena who was untangling herself from Bethany. "What a ride…lets never speak of it again, Miss Relena."
Relena nodded shakily, looking towards where the laughter was coming from, and seeing Hilde laugh crazily, a giggle escaped from her lips. She crawled over to where Hilde was still laughing disbelievingly and hugged her. Hilde stopped laughing immediately, tears of relief flooding her when she realised Relena was really there.
Sally finally broke out of her shock, staring at Relena then at Bethany like it was a tennis match. "So I take it, the machine worked?" She hugged Bethany who had crawled over as well since standing up on watery legs would have been stupid. Bethany nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes. Relena gave Sally a tight hug causing the woman to start crying as much as Hilde was. The crying and hugging would have gone on forever but Bethany asked the 100 million dollar question. "How are the others?"
The silence became deafening again, as both Hilde and Sally didn't want to say it.
"Well? How is everyone?"
Sally finally spoke not directing her gaze at anyone, "They found Catherine and another Gatekeeper…" The two newcomers brightened at this but then Sally continued, "…but we lost contact when they entered the portal room."
Relena looked confused. She wanted to speak to Heero; she didn't think she would tell him what had just happened to her, not yet anyway, it would only worry him. "Can't we establish contact with them?"
Bethany shook her head. "The amount of power going through the portal room short circuits all of our technology. We wont be able to contact them until they get out of the portal room." She surveyed the control room, which looked like a tornado had gone through it. 'At least most of the panels look intact.' She unsteadily got up, walking towards the main panel, typing in a set of complex digits and letters. A square on the screen opened up. It didn't show anything but fuzzy lines. "Nothing. Not even a heat image." She shook her head. "If they've reached the portal room then they've nearly finished the mission. With two Gatekeepers saved the portal is unstable; it shouldn't be long before the portal is closed and we can contact them again." She said it with conviction but her companions weren't convinced.
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-Subspace – Real Time -
"NO!" Quatre banged his fist against the crystalline floor that had been the portal just moments ago. He was on his knees, using his fist and the butt of his gun to hit the floor.
"Quatre - " Duo started to reach out towards his comrade but Quatre pushed his hand away.
"NO! She's not dead, she can't be!" He continued to smash his fists against the hard floor.
A thud was heard near Wufei who quickly turned around to see a Darkness Soldier fall a few metres away from him. "What the…?"
"The portal is fully closed. They're losing the Darkness that kept them alive." Explained Myra in a whispered tone; she gave a sympathetic glance at Quatre who was ignoring everyone, as blood began to seep from cuts to his knuckles, mingling with his tears.
"No…Dorothy…no…"
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- Unknown Place – Real Time –
Floating. She was floating in the dark. She felt disoriented and her mind throbbed in pain. She was floating. Why was she floating? A voice, or a jumble of voices - she couldn't tell – started to speak but she couldn't understand what was being said. She shook her head her mind just throbbed in pain more.
"Pathetic."
It was the same voice she had heard in subspace. Dorothy opened her mouth to speak but it spoke first.
"Don't bother. I can hear all your thoughts." It made a sound that Dorothy realised was laughter of some sort. "You are now part of the Darkness. Did you really think sealing the portal would stop me?" It laughed again. "Your kind is so simple, with all your magic tricks and other useless junk. You cannot stop the inevitable and I am the INEVITABLE. Why aren't you dead, you ask?" This dark place suddenly felt colder.
Dorothy shuddered. It was just reading her mind like an open book.
"Because I will use you. What do you think was able to break through the portal in the first place? Your connection to Earth will give me the power to break free again." It laughed louder now.
Without thinking Dorothy spoke, "Yes and more people like me will seal you in this place again." She just said it, considering she couldn't see anything. If there was one thing Dorothy knew how to do, it was to annoy the hell out of someone.
The place dropped a few more degrees. "So naïve, like the first one. How curious that you would both belong to Red. Darkness will spread through Earth. I now rest in every human being, and I will make them throw away their lives…like you." A whirlpool of shimmering silver appeared, blinding Dorothy slightly since she had gotten used to looking at the dark; leaving an image of a young woman with long flowing blond hair, ghostly pale skin and blood red eyes. "Just like you…"
Dorothy stared at the image talking to her. She suddenly felt terrified and safe all in one instant. 'The Darkness…?'
The image laughed. "No, no, I am not the Darkness. The Darkness is all around us. Inside of you, inside of your family and friends, inside of…Quatre" She caressed his name, and Dorothy tensed involuntarily trying to clear her mind but to no avail. The woman laughed again. "I thought you would be more comfortable if you spoke to a being and not just the Dark. You cannot hide anything from me in here."
"What are you going to do to me?" Dorothy stared defiantly at the woman, her blue-grey eyes not betraying the fear she felt.
The woman's face twisted into an evil smile. "I wont do anything to you; you will serve the Darkness willingly."
"You're crazy! I might have done certain things in the past but I will NEVER serve the Darkness." She retorted still as defiant as ever considering she was still floating in nothingness.
The woman smile just got wider, with her blood red eyes she reminded Dorothy of a wild cat. "I was like you…I only found out the truth when the Darkness showed me the way." She motioned with one hand and a shimmering pool of blue liquid appeared. "The Darkness showed me the truth and now I will show you as well." The blue liquid cleared, showing Quatre. Dorothy's eyes widened. "This is happening now."
She could see Quatre wearing dark slacks, a long sleeved shirt and no vest. He was laughing and smiling at someone Dorothy couldn't see. She blinked back the tears, glaring at the woman. "This is supposed to change my mind? He's happy and it's because the world is free from the Darkness. This just strengthens my - " she abruptly stopped when she hear someone else laugh. She knew that laugh. Turning back to the pool she saw Bethany giggling and smiling wearing a light green summer dress. Dorothy felt relief, 'She's ok.' Bethany was one of the last of her family and she was happy she was happy. She smirked at the woman. "This just strengthens my resolve."
The woman smirked back and pointed back to the pool. Dorothy gave her a sideways glance before looking at the pool again. Blood drained from her face as she saw Quatre kiss Bethany and not a friendly peck on the cheek but a kiss that wouldn't be accepted on Jerry Springer. Dorothy closed her eyes and shook her head; the pain in her head, which had subsided to a dull throb, began to drum with vigour again. She opened her eyes and stared at the pool. Her eyes weren't deceiving her… 'Oh God…How could they do this to her?'
"No… That's not true!"
The woman laughed at Dorothy's disbelieving expression. "He was tired of you pushing him away…She didn't push him away." She smirked at Dorothy who couldn't drag her eyes away from the sight in front of her. "You are nothing but a distant, faraway memory. Not even that, really. Don't they make such a lovely couple?" The woman shimmered away and reappeared behind Dorothy. "Now you know why the Darkness should break free…Humans only care about themselves. They should pay for doing this to you." The last part was whispered in Dorothy's ear and she twitched slightly, regaining what little composure she had left and spun around to face the image.
"I'm happy for them."
The woman seemed to recoil from the statement but she regained her footing and gave Dorothy a glare. "You can't lie to me. I told you, I can see all your thoughts."
"True, right now I might not be happy for them but later, when I think about it, it makes sense. They are a lovely couple." Dorothy watched as the image became confused and vanished along with the shimmering pool, plunging Dorothy into darkness again.
"You're a good liar but you will help me out of here and you will help me willingly." The voice was still superior sounding.
Dorothy closed her eyes. 'You can read my thoughts? Well read this!' She thought of everything she could remember. All the joy, all the sadness, all the ups and downs, everyone she had despised…everyone she had ever loved. She thought of Quatre. A heaviness developed in her hand and she realised she was holding the Red key. She opened her eyes and saw the Red code shining a bright red, spinning around her. A red glow formed at the middle of her heart, spreading all over her until she shone brightly against the dark.
The Darkness laughed. "Even with the full power of the Red key and code you cannot possibly beat me."
Dorothy's eyes shone a bright red. She didn't speak, just thinking it in her mind, 'But I know what will…'
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- Subspace – Real Time -
More Darkness Soldiers dropped dead around the portal room but Quatre didn't notice, he didn't care. He placed a bloodstained hand on the crystalline floor. 'Dorothy…' A pain shot through him and he grabbed his chest, doubling over. "Argh!"
Trowa ran over to his side. "Quatre, are you ok?"
Quatre looked up, pain evident in his eyes. "It's-it's Dorothy." He clashed his chest and doubled over again.
"What?!" Duo tried to help Quatre up but he pushed him away again. "She's alive! I can feel her…" Her thoughts were becoming his thoughts…
Wufei gave a look to Trowa. Trowa turned back to Quatre, "Quatre, come on, we need to get out of this place."
"No! Listen to me, you guys! She's alive!" He pushed Trowa away as well, holding his chest with one hand, using the other to point at the Councillors. "Throw the keys and codes at the portal."
Everyone in the room watched Quatre like he was a lunatic. Alessio said snidely, "What portal? It's closed! She's dead!"
Quatre developed a mad twinge in his eyes. "Throw them at the portal now." He pointed to the spot next to him. "Throw it!"
Duo tried again to help his friend. "Come on Q-man - "
"No Duo! She's alive, I can FEEL it!" he turned to the Councillors, "Throw the goddamn keys and codes!"
Heero stepped forward. "Do it." He glared at them. If this would stop Quatre's madness then so be it.
The Councillors, not wanting to anger the Perfect Soldier, took out their respective key and code and placed them on the floor next to Quatre. Nothing happened. Quatre stared intensely at the items.
Wufei shook his head angrily. "Quatre, nothing is going to hap - "
The keys and codes sunk into the floor, disappearing without a trace. The floor began to glow a dull red.
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- Unknown Place – Real Time -
Dorothy smiled. 'Thank you, Quatre.' The other keys and codes begun to spin around her. The codes had begun to form the ancient inscription. The keys had become a blur as they spun around her, their colours mixing together to form an iridescent image.
"What? How did all…" Then the voice was silent.
Then the keys stopped spinning, revealing a long claymore-like sword, that glowed gold, then black, to blue, then green to finally settling on red. Dorothy grabbed onto the handle with both hands and the code transferred its spinning from her onto the sword. Then she saw it. The inscription finally forming into the inscription used by the Ancients to create Joir.
LIGHTDorothy murmured, "LIGHT." The gold code began to spread light everywhere through the sword Dorothy was holding on to.
Tav DARK"and DARK" The Black code followed the Gold code.
Winbe. WATER il"merges. WATER will" They merged together to form an exotic pattern. The Blue code flowed around Dorothy, showering the place blue.
Jinas whi EARTH tav"Join the EARTH and" The Green code joined with the blue, forming another intricate pattern.
Ensem ka il pae LIFE.
"Together there will be LIFE." Dorothy's eyes turned back to their normal grey-blue as blood red spilled out of the sword.
Dorothy gripped onto the handle of the sword as the voices of Darkness screamed as colour began to spring everywhere. Shades of blues, greens, gold, red; every colour imaginable covered the Darkness. Dorothy could feel her grip loosen; she was going to collapse from this outpouring of magical power. She tried to hold on, as the Darkness screamed, fighting back but it was useless.
Then she saw it. The world of Joir. The world created by her ancestors. The sky a mix of blues, oranges and yellows as the sun peeked over the towering, forest filled, ice-topped mountains. The sun's rays glistened in the streams of clear water. Utopia.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" A voice spoke behind her. Facing the speaker, still gripping onto the sword, she saw the woman who had tormented her with those images. The woman turned away from Dorothy, staring sadly at the beautiful sight. "It's been so long, since I was here…I miss it so much…I miss everyone…" the woman whispered. She shook her head, getting out of the trance the place seemed to put on her. She stared at Dorothy, her red eyes blazing not with hatred but sadness. "It was my fault the Darkness survived. Using me as a link to Earth to keep it alive. I let it use me. I let it because I was jealous, because I was too selfish to realise what I had to do." She reached out slowly towards Dorothy, her hand shaking considerably. Her fingertips touched the red aura that surrounded Dorothy and she smiled, her face brightening slightly. "You carry a part of Lavirea…" The woman began to walk away from Dorothy, saying softly, "I'm going home…"
Then Dorothy was back in the Darkness; with Colours still shooting out of the sword she held. Her grip loosened again and before she lost consciousness, Dorothy thought she heard a voice whisper, "Thank You."
The place exploded into colour.
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- Subspace – Real Time -
"What the hell is going on?!" Wufei shouted as different colours shot out from the floor lighting up the portal room.
"Everyone take cover!"
"Quatre! Get out of there!" Duo yelled at Quatre who was standing in the middle of the portal room, the others taking shelter behind the pillars. Quatre paid no attention as he stared up at the ceiling watching the colours bounce around flying every which way. A figure was beginning to form as the colours melded into each other. "Oh my God…" Duo watched as the colours created the still form of Dorothy Catalonia, a few metres above the ground.
Quatre caught her as she fell slowly from above. "Dorothy, Dorothy…" He cradled her carefully. "We need to get her out of here!" He yelled at everyone.
"Finally! A good idea!" Duo motioned to the Councillors to move out, as Trowa walked Catherine and Nanashi out, the remaining pilots giving the place one last look before following.
"Hello? Bethany, hello? Can you read me?" Heero tapped his mic.
"Heero! You're ok!" Came back a voice he knew very well.
"Relena?! What are you doing there?"
"Never mind about that now, Heero. I can hear you loud and clear. Mission complete I take it? Can I talk to Dorothy?" Bethany said, firing questions through the mic.
Heero glanced at Dorothy who was being carefully carried by Quatre. "Dorothy is unconscious, she needs medical attention; so does Catherine and the other Gatekeeper. What's the quickest way out of here?"
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The Man watched at the portal room continued to explode into different shades of colour. 'NO! This wasn't happening. NO!' The madness in his eyes heightened when he saw that woman formed from all those colours. "I'll kill you, I'll kill you." He hissed taking out a M-16 and stalking towards the group. 'I'll kill you.'
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The gang were now outside the fortress, in front of the gates where they had placed the security program in. All over the place were bodies of Darkness Soldiers who simply keeled over when the portal closed.
"Ok, you see the program that opened the doors?" Bethany asked, watching the screen which showed ten red dots all in one point.
Heero 'hn-ed', waiting for further instructions.
"Ok, I need you to link a few wires…" The conversation continued in this fashion, Heero pressing, pulling, and turning buttons, switches and wires.
"How long to go?" Quatre asked; he was leaning against the doors, still carrying Dorothy's still form.
"None." Heero answered as the transportation link formed. "One at a time. You go first Quat - " The sudden gunfire broke everyone out of their tiredness as they ducked the bullets.
"Aren't they supposed to be all dead?!" yelled Duo, firing the fire gun in the direction of the bullets. Heero saw who was shooting. A man; on one of the towers aiming all his shots at Dorothy. He took out the gun he carried everywhere and aimed and fired. The man crumpled to the floor but the gun kept firing. Heero yelled, "Get everyone into the link now!"
Trowa was pushing people through the transportation link. Quatre was running towards the link when a bullet penetrated his shield, hitting him in the leg. Quatre used his body to shield Dorothy as the shield began to fail. He tried to get up but a bullet hit his shoulder and he bit down the scream. Another shot entered his chest, puncturing his lung.
"Q-Quatre?" Dorothy said groggily.
Forgetting the pain for a moment, Quatre gazed into her half-lidded eyes. He saw them widen as she felt his blood soak her hands. The pain came back just as Wufei and Duo grabbed both of them and jumped through the link. Heero the last to go in just as his shield began to fail.
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Person who is certain to get FLAMED now:
If anyone notices ANY spelling, punctuation errors please tell me, so I can fix them (hopefully you'll find none, since I just revised this!)
Ohmigod! We've reached the end…of Chapter 7! Hehe…sorry! The next chapter is the EPILOGUE! (yah! So close to being finished!!)… hmmm….it seems when I'm on a roll, I'm on a roll! First Relena gets killed, then Sylvia, then Bethany, then Dorothy, now Quatre! (Maybe one of them will stay dead ^_^ Anyone think a deathfic is a good epilogue?) PLEASE R&R, C&C, flames are nice (cold weather and were supposedly in summer).
Thanks again for all the reviews, and to Anne ^_^ you're all the BEST!!!
