*Panting* I did it! I got away! They – they thought they could get me but I got away! I fought 'em all off. All of 'em; they were no match for the great GW-Imp! That's right, ya barbarians!!!!!!! I stole Wufei's katana and cut up their insides! OH! I better give that back to Wufei for this chapter…but let that be a lesson to ya! v Hahahahahahaha……

7. Enter the "Dragon"

          Wufei felt something tickling his face. He opened his eyes but they closed again in a sneeze. He had caught only a brief glimpse of his surroundings but from what he could tell, he was in a rather dry meadow. When he could finally open his eyes, he found out that he was half correct. He was in a meadow but it wasn't just dry – it was completely dead. The stiff plants crunched noisily under his body as he sat up, sending ancient pollen and fragments of the breaking stems into the air. Sitting amongst the dead foliage, he checked himself over. He wasn't injured and he had his katana and all of his other belongings – except his shoes. He didn't ponder over the absence of his shoes very long, though. He gazed around at the field stretching before him. He felt as though he knew this place but something was keeping him from recognizing it. He turned sharply at a tiny sound behind him.

          "Who's th-?" he began but stopped short at the person lying on the ground. He knew exactly who was there. The girl was badly injured. Her small space suit was torn and stained with blood and her hair was matted with the same scarlet substance. Wufei scrambled to her, never quite making it all the way to his feet, and knelt by her, taking her head in his arms. He brushed a few strands of her silky black hair out of her eyes as she coughed, splattering even more blood on her pale face.

          "Wufei…" she moaned weakly.

          "Meiran…" Wufei replied, his voice trembling slightly.

          "Why…why didn't you…stop me?" Wufei narrowed his eyes in confusion. That wasn't what Meiran had said…

          "I know why. It's because you are weak…" Wufei's grip loosened at these words.

          "Meiran, why…?"

          "You are too weak to protect anyone…you were too weak to protect me…and you were too weak to protect Duo…" Wufei let Meiran's head fall to the ground. She started to laugh at him, blood staining her teeth. Wufei jumped to his feet, the hard plants cutting into his flesh, and drew his sword from its position at his waist.

          "You are not my wife…" he growled. A freezing cold hand grabbed him by his chin and turned him around. He found himself staring right into Meiran's eyes.

          "I am all that you fear." she hissed. She pushed him onto his back and the dead plants began to wrap around his body, their jagged edges scraping his skin off. Duo stood over him, grinning.

          "Maxwell!" Wufei snarled. Duo giggled facetiously.

          "Are you having fun, Wu-man?"

          "You can't…you can't be doing this…you don't know this place. You don't know what happened here!"

          "I know everything that you know and more. Don't you see, Wufei? I am you now. I control you. I control everything you think, everything you do – I control you."

          "No! I won't let you have me!" Wufei tensed his muscles, trying to break free of the vines holding him.

          "Don't fight it, there's no point. You'll have to give in eventually. Just admit that you couldn't protect me. Just say that you were weak. If you just give in, things will be much easier."

          "No! There was nothing I could do! I couldn't help you!"

          "Because you were weak…"

          "I was not weak!! There wasn't any way that I could have saved you!" Duo dropped to his knees and took Wufei's throat in his hand. He leaned frighteningly close to Wufei, his violet eyes burning into Wufei's.

          "I will make you watch it again, Wufei. I will make you watch your wife die and I will make you watch me die again and again and again. Admit that you were too weak to save me, or I will torture you to no end." Wufei opened his mouth to protest but Duo cut him off. "No, no, no, no. Don't argue with me, that won't do you any good. Admit, Wufei, or I will make you relive the pain – that isn't a threat, it's a promise." Wufei squeezed his eyes shut, trying to escape the painful memories. Two people that he had known…two people that he had cared about…two people that he had let die…

          "Yes, that's it. Realize the truth. You'll see how much easier it makes dying…" Wufei's eyes snapped open. His first concern was that Duo had said 'dying' but then he began to wonder how Duo had known he was starting to give in. He hadn't said anything out loud…

          "Are you ready to admit it now?" Duo asked, his smile having returned. Wufei sorted through his thoughts again. The problem was obviously him. He had let two people be killed right in front of him. With all his skills and abilities he should have been able to save both Meiran and Duo. It was all his fault. He was weak, he was worthless…he didn't deserve to live. It was perfectly clear to him now, everything was logical, every piece of the puzzle fit snugly. How could he argue with it?

          "I was weak…I should have been able to save you…" Duo's grin became even wider at this statement.

          "You're also very weak-minded, Wu-man. You have just given up your soul to Death itself. In short – your ass is mine." Wufei's eyes widened in horror as he felt the plants release him and he fell into a darkness that consumed him and swallowed the outraged and terrified scream that escaped his lips. He flipped face-down and watched as a solid wall of spikes flew up at him – but he didn't watch for long…

*I don't really like this chapter. I just needed to get through it so that I could get to the end. Besides, I don't really know of anything good to use to torture Wufei. Well anyway, one more pilot to go! I'm sure you all know who that is! Sorry about this chapter – don't be surprised if it gets reposted.*