I just noticed that I hadn't put any disclaimers on this yet, so I will
now.
Disclaimers: The Rights to Gundam Wing DO NOT belong to me. The characters that ARE NOT Gundam Wing Characters though, DO in fact belong to me. The story idea is MINE. Not yours. I'll hit you with a wet penguin if you steal this.
If you have read the Episode Zero series, forget everything you read. None of that applies to this story at all. So, forget about it. I am brainwashing you into not believing the Episode Zero. Ok? Ok. Now read.
Dawn IV
Wufei pulled the car to a grinding halt in front of a darkened two-story house about thirty miles outside of New Orleans.
The moonbeams rained down upon the white colonial house, causing it to stand out against the black forest that surrounded it.
Wufei killed the engine and stepped out of the car, resting his hand on the roof of the car.
Trowa got out of the passenger's side door and Quatre emerged from behind Wufei. Quatre lifted his blue eyes up and stared at the house in awe.
"Everything here in Louisiana is mysteriously beautiful." He whispered.
Wufei nodded absently and started up the porch steps, pulling out a ring of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and allowed it to swing open.
"Leave it to Sally to make sure we had nice private accommodations." Wufei grinned and Quatre and Trowa walked past him into the house. His mind trailed off as he thought of his girlfriend. He wondered how she was doing.
Sally-Po was doing her weekly rounds of the colonies at this point, Wufei guessed. He'd have to contact her later on that night and see if there were any more reports to headquarters on the New Orleans assassin's ring.
Wufei closed the front door and switched on a nearby table light, illuminating the foyer and hallway. Already Quatre and Trowa had begun to wander about the downstairs.
"Heero should be here in an hour or so." Wufei deducted, after he checked his watch with the grandfather clock in the hallway. Stupid time zones. If you go from Tokyo to New Orleans it's almost like taking up a new day. Leave it up to earth to figure out a way to confuse a Gundam Pilot.
"This place is magnificent, Wufei!" Quatre cried out from the living room. Trowa and Wufei came into the living room at the same time through two different doorways.
"Kitchen's nice. Catherine would have a field day here." Trowa said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of his beloved sister.
Quatre was sitting on ornately carved bench of a turn of the century piano. His hands were rested lightly on the keys and his eyes were eagerly looking over the instrument.
"This is just amazing!" Quatre finally was able to say.
Wufei laughed and sat down on the couch, motioning Trowa to do the same. The lanky circus boy sat down on the recliner across from Wufei and smiled slightly at Quatre.
"Play us something, Quat." Trowa said.
Quatre nodded and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to guide his hands. Gently, he began to play.
A familiar, yet beautiful melody softly filled the room as Quatre expertly moved his hands up and down the ancient keyboard.
Wufei and Trowa sat in thoughtful silence, appreciating the peace that Quatre set off from his piano playing.
Quatre continued on for a few moments longer and then he held down the last few chords to create a lasting hum over the room. He opened his eyes as the last bit of music faded almost as if it were the rays of the sun fading away over the horizon before the darkness settled in.
Trowa paused for a moment before rising to his feet and smiling uncharacteristically at Quatre. "That was perfection, as usual, Quat." Trowa said.
Quatre smiled happily, his bright blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the living room. Wufei stood as well and moved into the kitchen.
"Anyone want any coffee or something?" he asked, searching through the seemingly empty cabinets.
"Some hot cocoa would be nice." Quatre and Trowa spoke at the same time. The two friends eyed each other, then laughed.
"And just since Duo isn't here, add extra marshmallows to mine!" Quatre said teasingly, thinking of how the braided pilot would be hogging all of the marshmallows to himself.
"I'll have the same." Trowa said after a seconds thought.
Wufei found some clean coffee mugs and cocoa mix in one of the cabinets and he pulled the items down.
"Quatre, see if you can find a pot and warm up some water on the stove over there." Wufei said.
Moving quickly, the three friends soon were sitting back in the living room in front of a warm fire, sipping hot cocoa and reminiscing.
"And, what about that time that Duo glued Wufei's ponytail together while he was sleeping, and Wufei woke up the next morning with the pillow stuck to his head?!" Quatre was able to choke out through his laughter.
Trowa laughed heartily as well as Wufei.
"Stupid baka, he paid for it though." Wufei smiled, thinking of how he got Duo back by dousing the shorter pilot's beloved braid in molasses the next day.
Quatre sobered up and looked outside, finding the position of the moon and calculating the time.
"Shouldn't Heero be here by now?" He asked, worry starting to edge like shadows into his voice.
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other and then out into the night.
"Maybe he just got caught up with something." Trowa said, though he himself doubted his words.
"Yeah, maybe." Quatre looked down into his cocoa and sighed, hoping that the feeling that was sitting like a ticking time bomb inside of him would not come to the surface.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
But how? How could he be one of the undead?
Cassandra had seen him die. She had been standing not ten feet away from him when the human men had beat him and stabbed him.
She had seen every last trace of that beautiful crimson liquid that mortals gave for granted, seep out of his broken body. She had seen the wound that had taken his life. That.beast that had thrust the blade of his sword through Demetrius' heart, how he had laughed when Demetri's eyes could no longer see him and his ears could no longer hear the demonic laughter.
There was no physical way that Demetri could have been revived, even by the most powerful of the undead. It was impossible.
This young man before her could not be Demetrius.
"Hey, lady? Are you okay?" The voice came again, so unmistakably familiar.
"Y..yes." Cassandra stuttered, immediately aware of her position in this. She had been sitting on the ground, and her face was tear streaked.
"Forgive me." Cassandra said. The young man offered her his hand and she took it, gracefully rising to her feet and standing her full five feet two inches tall.
Next to the young man she could have passed for a mere child.
He stood almost a full foot above her. But he was slender, almost sickeningly so. And his skin was just as pale as her own.
He was physically very beautiful.
Cassandra smiled at the boy, careful not to raise her lips up too far and reveal her fangs. It was a skill that she had mastered quickly after becoming one of the creatures of the night.
"Uhh.could I maybe walk you home, or to wherever you were going?" The young man asked, a hint of almost shyness coming through.
"I'm fine, really." Cassandra said, straightening out her skirts with her slender fingers.
"I wouldn't mind. I was just wandering around anyway." He smiled down at her. At least, she guessed that it was a smile. He lifted up the corners of his mouth slightly, without anything really reaching his eyes.
Cassandra couldn't help but smile back and the young man offered her his arm.
"So, where do you live?" he asked as she wound her bared arm with his.
"About three blocks back into the city." Cassandra informed him. "On Tailwind Avenue."
"That's in the French Quarter, right?" Down near Fourth Street?"
Cassandra lowered her eyes to the ground to keep from staring at the boy.
"It's close to there. Yes."
"That's not far from the hotel I'm staying in. I was heading back that way." The boy looked down at her.
"So, you're not from here." She said matter-of-factly.
There was a pause.
"Well, that's why I'm here." The young man said. "To find out who I am."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Heero stared at the creature's hand before reaching out and taking it.
"Very good." The man said. "You are coming to believe me now."
"I don't know whether to trust you or not." Heero stated evenly, pulling his hand back.
"Belief and trust are two completely different things." Daniel said. "The secret is, distinguishing between the two. It is the same for all things. Light and dark, love and hate." They are all the same, but yet, they are very different."
"Don't go getting all philosophical on me." Heero turned away from Daniel and moved to where he had last seen his handgun.
He stooped down in the grass and picked the gun up, wiping the dew from it onto his jeans before putting it back in its holster.
"You're a very strong person, Heero Yuy. No, that's not your name." Daniel let his sentence trail off. "Heero Yuy is not your real name."
Heero paused, his back still to Daniel, then he turned ever so slightly to look at the man. "How do you know that?" Heero asked softly, his voice taut.
"I can feel it."
"That makes no sense." Heero shot a glare at Daniel before turning fully around and stalking back into the dark night.
"Believe me or not, Odin. I will be walking right behind you until you come to reason."
Odin
Was that his name?
It was familiar
Too familiar
"Your name is Odin, isn't it?" Daniel asked, his voice suddenly much gentler.
"I, I don't know." Heero kept his back turned to Daniel, and lowered his head.
"Just how long have you been sleeping, Odin? How long have you been blind to what you are?" Daniel's questions were flowing out now.
"I don't know!" Heero suddenly cried out. "I don't remember anything! I don't have a childhood! I've always been a soldier!"
Daniel moved closer to Heero and put a slender hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Odin. No, Heero. I will call you that. You have been like this your entire life, haven't you? You have been the same age always." Daniel paused. "Your body has not changed since you can remember, has it?"
Heero took a deep breath. Everything Daniel was saying made sense. He couldn't remember his childhood. There was that imagined childhood that Doctor J had made up for him. But, that was useless, because it was not HIS childhood. Heero could remember only from the time his training had begun. There was no time before that.
"Odin Lowe." Heero spoke, so gently that Daniel barely heard it. "My name is, was Odin Lowe."
"Very good." Daniel smiled, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. "Very good."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Cassandra licked her lips and gave the young man a slight smile.
"Thank you for bringing me home." She said. "I appreciate it very much."
"No problem. You take care, okay?" The young man shot her a slight smile and then turned and disappeared down the street.
Cassandra stood in her doorway for a moment, then something dawned upon her. She hadn't even asked for the young man's name.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Heero and Daniel walked briskly down the crowded sidewalk of Bourbon Street.
"My hotel's just around the corner. I'm going to get my stuff and then get my jeep, and we'll be on our way to the safe-house." Heero said. "You stay outside."
Daniel merely shrugged and continued to walk alongside the young man.
When they reached the hotel Heero dashed inside and Daniel leaned against the brick wall outside.
One of us.
Heero is one of us.
But, is he?
Or is he something else?
Something far more deadly.
Daniel sighed in frustration. There were so many things he didn't understand.
Why had he known so much about Heero? How was that possible?
It was something rolling off of the young man, it was his power that drew Daniel to him. Daniel felt that he had to protect Heero. But how? Daniel was merely a Chrono-vampire [1]. He wasn't a full breed. He wasn't half as powerful as the true creatures of the night.
He could not stand up to creatures like Merissa deChambres or the legendary Corin Brookeshire, Master vampire of New Orleans. Vampires like themselves held all the power in the world over young Chrono's like Daniel.
He only had one thing over the full breed vampires. He had the assistance of the day.
Shortly, Heero re-appeared out of the hotel, carrying a duffel bag and a briefcase.
"C'mon. My Jeep's across the street." Daniel followed the young man and easily jumped up into the vehicle. Heero tossed his bags into the back and slid into the driver's seat. He switched the key on and gunned the engine.
They'd be into the rural Louisiana countryside in less than half an hour.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
End of part Four! I hope ya'll enjoyed it!
Part five should be up shortly!
Disclaimers: The Rights to Gundam Wing DO NOT belong to me. The characters that ARE NOT Gundam Wing Characters though, DO in fact belong to me. The story idea is MINE. Not yours. I'll hit you with a wet penguin if you steal this.
If you have read the Episode Zero series, forget everything you read. None of that applies to this story at all. So, forget about it. I am brainwashing you into not believing the Episode Zero. Ok? Ok. Now read.
Dawn IV
Wufei pulled the car to a grinding halt in front of a darkened two-story house about thirty miles outside of New Orleans.
The moonbeams rained down upon the white colonial house, causing it to stand out against the black forest that surrounded it.
Wufei killed the engine and stepped out of the car, resting his hand on the roof of the car.
Trowa got out of the passenger's side door and Quatre emerged from behind Wufei. Quatre lifted his blue eyes up and stared at the house in awe.
"Everything here in Louisiana is mysteriously beautiful." He whispered.
Wufei nodded absently and started up the porch steps, pulling out a ring of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and allowed it to swing open.
"Leave it to Sally to make sure we had nice private accommodations." Wufei grinned and Quatre and Trowa walked past him into the house. His mind trailed off as he thought of his girlfriend. He wondered how she was doing.
Sally-Po was doing her weekly rounds of the colonies at this point, Wufei guessed. He'd have to contact her later on that night and see if there were any more reports to headquarters on the New Orleans assassin's ring.
Wufei closed the front door and switched on a nearby table light, illuminating the foyer and hallway. Already Quatre and Trowa had begun to wander about the downstairs.
"Heero should be here in an hour or so." Wufei deducted, after he checked his watch with the grandfather clock in the hallway. Stupid time zones. If you go from Tokyo to New Orleans it's almost like taking up a new day. Leave it up to earth to figure out a way to confuse a Gundam Pilot.
"This place is magnificent, Wufei!" Quatre cried out from the living room. Trowa and Wufei came into the living room at the same time through two different doorways.
"Kitchen's nice. Catherine would have a field day here." Trowa said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of his beloved sister.
Quatre was sitting on ornately carved bench of a turn of the century piano. His hands were rested lightly on the keys and his eyes were eagerly looking over the instrument.
"This is just amazing!" Quatre finally was able to say.
Wufei laughed and sat down on the couch, motioning Trowa to do the same. The lanky circus boy sat down on the recliner across from Wufei and smiled slightly at Quatre.
"Play us something, Quat." Trowa said.
Quatre nodded and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to guide his hands. Gently, he began to play.
A familiar, yet beautiful melody softly filled the room as Quatre expertly moved his hands up and down the ancient keyboard.
Wufei and Trowa sat in thoughtful silence, appreciating the peace that Quatre set off from his piano playing.
Quatre continued on for a few moments longer and then he held down the last few chords to create a lasting hum over the room. He opened his eyes as the last bit of music faded almost as if it were the rays of the sun fading away over the horizon before the darkness settled in.
Trowa paused for a moment before rising to his feet and smiling uncharacteristically at Quatre. "That was perfection, as usual, Quat." Trowa said.
Quatre smiled happily, his bright blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the living room. Wufei stood as well and moved into the kitchen.
"Anyone want any coffee or something?" he asked, searching through the seemingly empty cabinets.
"Some hot cocoa would be nice." Quatre and Trowa spoke at the same time. The two friends eyed each other, then laughed.
"And just since Duo isn't here, add extra marshmallows to mine!" Quatre said teasingly, thinking of how the braided pilot would be hogging all of the marshmallows to himself.
"I'll have the same." Trowa said after a seconds thought.
Wufei found some clean coffee mugs and cocoa mix in one of the cabinets and he pulled the items down.
"Quatre, see if you can find a pot and warm up some water on the stove over there." Wufei said.
Moving quickly, the three friends soon were sitting back in the living room in front of a warm fire, sipping hot cocoa and reminiscing.
"And, what about that time that Duo glued Wufei's ponytail together while he was sleeping, and Wufei woke up the next morning with the pillow stuck to his head?!" Quatre was able to choke out through his laughter.
Trowa laughed heartily as well as Wufei.
"Stupid baka, he paid for it though." Wufei smiled, thinking of how he got Duo back by dousing the shorter pilot's beloved braid in molasses the next day.
Quatre sobered up and looked outside, finding the position of the moon and calculating the time.
"Shouldn't Heero be here by now?" He asked, worry starting to edge like shadows into his voice.
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other and then out into the night.
"Maybe he just got caught up with something." Trowa said, though he himself doubted his words.
"Yeah, maybe." Quatre looked down into his cocoa and sighed, hoping that the feeling that was sitting like a ticking time bomb inside of him would not come to the surface.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
But how? How could he be one of the undead?
Cassandra had seen him die. She had been standing not ten feet away from him when the human men had beat him and stabbed him.
She had seen every last trace of that beautiful crimson liquid that mortals gave for granted, seep out of his broken body. She had seen the wound that had taken his life. That.beast that had thrust the blade of his sword through Demetrius' heart, how he had laughed when Demetri's eyes could no longer see him and his ears could no longer hear the demonic laughter.
There was no physical way that Demetri could have been revived, even by the most powerful of the undead. It was impossible.
This young man before her could not be Demetrius.
"Hey, lady? Are you okay?" The voice came again, so unmistakably familiar.
"Y..yes." Cassandra stuttered, immediately aware of her position in this. She had been sitting on the ground, and her face was tear streaked.
"Forgive me." Cassandra said. The young man offered her his hand and she took it, gracefully rising to her feet and standing her full five feet two inches tall.
Next to the young man she could have passed for a mere child.
He stood almost a full foot above her. But he was slender, almost sickeningly so. And his skin was just as pale as her own.
He was physically very beautiful.
Cassandra smiled at the boy, careful not to raise her lips up too far and reveal her fangs. It was a skill that she had mastered quickly after becoming one of the creatures of the night.
"Uhh.could I maybe walk you home, or to wherever you were going?" The young man asked, a hint of almost shyness coming through.
"I'm fine, really." Cassandra said, straightening out her skirts with her slender fingers.
"I wouldn't mind. I was just wandering around anyway." He smiled down at her. At least, she guessed that it was a smile. He lifted up the corners of his mouth slightly, without anything really reaching his eyes.
Cassandra couldn't help but smile back and the young man offered her his arm.
"So, where do you live?" he asked as she wound her bared arm with his.
"About three blocks back into the city." Cassandra informed him. "On Tailwind Avenue."
"That's in the French Quarter, right?" Down near Fourth Street?"
Cassandra lowered her eyes to the ground to keep from staring at the boy.
"It's close to there. Yes."
"That's not far from the hotel I'm staying in. I was heading back that way." The boy looked down at her.
"So, you're not from here." She said matter-of-factly.
There was a pause.
"Well, that's why I'm here." The young man said. "To find out who I am."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Heero stared at the creature's hand before reaching out and taking it.
"Very good." The man said. "You are coming to believe me now."
"I don't know whether to trust you or not." Heero stated evenly, pulling his hand back.
"Belief and trust are two completely different things." Daniel said. "The secret is, distinguishing between the two. It is the same for all things. Light and dark, love and hate." They are all the same, but yet, they are very different."
"Don't go getting all philosophical on me." Heero turned away from Daniel and moved to where he had last seen his handgun.
He stooped down in the grass and picked the gun up, wiping the dew from it onto his jeans before putting it back in its holster.
"You're a very strong person, Heero Yuy. No, that's not your name." Daniel let his sentence trail off. "Heero Yuy is not your real name."
Heero paused, his back still to Daniel, then he turned ever so slightly to look at the man. "How do you know that?" Heero asked softly, his voice taut.
"I can feel it."
"That makes no sense." Heero shot a glare at Daniel before turning fully around and stalking back into the dark night.
"Believe me or not, Odin. I will be walking right behind you until you come to reason."
Odin
Was that his name?
It was familiar
Too familiar
"Your name is Odin, isn't it?" Daniel asked, his voice suddenly much gentler.
"I, I don't know." Heero kept his back turned to Daniel, and lowered his head.
"Just how long have you been sleeping, Odin? How long have you been blind to what you are?" Daniel's questions were flowing out now.
"I don't know!" Heero suddenly cried out. "I don't remember anything! I don't have a childhood! I've always been a soldier!"
Daniel moved closer to Heero and put a slender hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Odin. No, Heero. I will call you that. You have been like this your entire life, haven't you? You have been the same age always." Daniel paused. "Your body has not changed since you can remember, has it?"
Heero took a deep breath. Everything Daniel was saying made sense. He couldn't remember his childhood. There was that imagined childhood that Doctor J had made up for him. But, that was useless, because it was not HIS childhood. Heero could remember only from the time his training had begun. There was no time before that.
"Odin Lowe." Heero spoke, so gently that Daniel barely heard it. "My name is, was Odin Lowe."
"Very good." Daniel smiled, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. "Very good."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Cassandra licked her lips and gave the young man a slight smile.
"Thank you for bringing me home." She said. "I appreciate it very much."
"No problem. You take care, okay?" The young man shot her a slight smile and then turned and disappeared down the street.
Cassandra stood in her doorway for a moment, then something dawned upon her. She hadn't even asked for the young man's name.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Heero and Daniel walked briskly down the crowded sidewalk of Bourbon Street.
"My hotel's just around the corner. I'm going to get my stuff and then get my jeep, and we'll be on our way to the safe-house." Heero said. "You stay outside."
Daniel merely shrugged and continued to walk alongside the young man.
When they reached the hotel Heero dashed inside and Daniel leaned against the brick wall outside.
One of us.
Heero is one of us.
But, is he?
Or is he something else?
Something far more deadly.
Daniel sighed in frustration. There were so many things he didn't understand.
Why had he known so much about Heero? How was that possible?
It was something rolling off of the young man, it was his power that drew Daniel to him. Daniel felt that he had to protect Heero. But how? Daniel was merely a Chrono-vampire [1]. He wasn't a full breed. He wasn't half as powerful as the true creatures of the night.
He could not stand up to creatures like Merissa deChambres or the legendary Corin Brookeshire, Master vampire of New Orleans. Vampires like themselves held all the power in the world over young Chrono's like Daniel.
He only had one thing over the full breed vampires. He had the assistance of the day.
Shortly, Heero re-appeared out of the hotel, carrying a duffel bag and a briefcase.
"C'mon. My Jeep's across the street." Daniel followed the young man and easily jumped up into the vehicle. Heero tossed his bags into the back and slid into the driver's seat. He switched the key on and gunned the engine.
They'd be into the rural Louisiana countryside in less than half an hour.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
End of part Four! I hope ya'll enjoyed it!
Part five should be up shortly!