Hey, y'all! Man, I almost went out of my mind when ff.net closed down. On the upside, I got the opportunity to get about thirty more pages of Alaryan's Keep typed up, so just sit back and watch the updates roll in! –Lady PhoenixDagger *//.^*
I don't own Gundam Wing (I do, however, have Trieze Kushranada locked up in a trunk in my basement) The rest of this stuff is mine.
*****
The school hallway was packed as Duo tried his best to claw his way through. He mentally ran through his checklist of supplies. Backpack, paper, uniform gym clothes, notebooks, binders, stationary. Yep. All there. He shifted slightly in his cheap uniform golf shirt that for some reason cost about forty dollars. The night before, he and Misty had spent about an hour on the phone going over the stuff he and the others would need to know to look at least mildly normal in St. Mark's school. Griping about the uniform was number one on the list and feeling the flimsy material of his shirt binding at his shoulders, Duo realised this wouldn't be too hard to do.
" 'Scuse me, pardon me, coming through."
Duo squeezed through the clots of grade 9's clogging the halls. Everywhere he looked, people in uniform clothing were jabbering excitedly at each other about what they did over the weekend, who was dating who and what homework they didn't do. Scanning the crowds, Duo spotted Quatre, who waved back at him before being swallowed up again.
People were staring at him as well. Duo could all but taste the searching looks people gave him. Must be the braid, he decided, watching a group of girls drool over his fabulous hair.
BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
First bell.
Duo grinned and checked his timetable. The odyssey begins. First stop, gym class. After ducking into a nearby boys room to change, he made his way to the gym. Heero and Trowa were already there, stretching out. Presently, the teacher –a dark, hard faced man with the countenance of a brick- made his way into the gym, wheeling in on a rolling desk chair.
"Allll right!" he said. Duo flinched as the echoes died down. He must think we're all deaf! "I'm Mr. Dell, your PE teacher! I'm not going to go into any details, so everyone outside for the fitness test! Anyone who dawdles has to do pushups until I get tired of watching you!" He pointed to a random student, a scared-looking girl who was trying to cover her ears and look like she wasn't at the same time. "You! Wheel me outside! And hustle!"
*****
"Okay, kids, this is hospitality class. Oops! But you already know that, don't you?" At the front of the room, Mrs. Randolph began to laugh hysterically. The students quietly shifted away in their seats. Mrs. Randolph, just recovering from her laughing fit, didn't notice. "We'll be doing health, cooking, family life and my favourite, sewing! Yay!"
Quatre backed away a little more. This lady was scarier than Lady Une with a monocle. And that crazy quilt she tried to pull off as a vest was starting to make his head hurt.
"I love to sew Do you all see the vest I made?"
How can we not? Quatre squinted, trying to locate her face amidst the wildly swirling colours.
"Now get out your spatulas and let's all make some cake!"
Kill me…
*****
"Hey!"
Alone in the hallway, Wufei turned to look at the guy standing behind him and kept on walking. The guy behind him was tall and broad with a varsity hockey jacket and the low, sloping forehead of the common St. Mark's jock, or sportacus moronicus. He also looked angry.
"Hey, you!"
Wufei shrugged and slowed his pace. He was on spare, so he could stand to waste a bit of time. "Yeah?" he called back.
The ogre stopped and there was a short pause as his brain conveyed the words piece by piece to his thick-lipped mouth. "Chinamen aren't welcome here!" he said finally. "Go back to China!"
"What did you say?" Wufei's almond eyes narrowed dangerously, but he still kept on walking.
The ogre didn't notice. "I said go back to China, freak!"
Wufei stopped.
Wufei lunged.
And for a scant moment in the hallways of St Mark's, time froze.
*****
"Okay!" Out of doors, Mr. Dell's voice was still painfully loud. The entire gym class was out by the track shivering in the freezing wind. Duo couldn't understand it! It had been perfectly nice outside the day before! What was it that Misty had told him over the phone last night? Ah, yes. 'If you don't like the weather in Canada, wait a minute.' Mr. Dell was sitting before the class in his rolly chair. The wind didn't seem to touch him at all. "Divide up into two groups! We'll now be doing the running test! Twelve minutes of straight running around the track! Everybody divided up? Okay, first group, go!"
The class –collective ears still ringing- divided quickly up, Trowa and Heero in the first group, Duo in the second. The first group lined up on the track and took their marks.
Dell took out his shiny metal whistle. "GO!" He blasted the whistle.
The group started out in a dead sprint, if anything than to get away from the sound of that bloody whistle.
"Don't overdo it! You'll be doing this for a looong time!" Dell crowed, nearly inhaling his whistle.
Duo recognised the look in Trowa and Heero's eyes as they sprinted by him. He knew this look. It clearly read "mission, accepted". The braided boy grinned to himself and settled back to watch the show. Watch out, whistle man. It's gonna be a looong semester.
*****
"Now break your eggies. Geeeeeeeently." Mrs. Randolph gingerly tapped her egg against the side of the bowl and let the yolk slide in.
Kill me. Quatre cracked his own egg and let the yolk slide in. Geeeeeeeently. Kill me now.
It's not so bad, really, Kari "said" from across the room. Even with the blindfold, she manipulated her egg with exquisite perfection. At least she loves what she does. She paused. Albeit a bit too much.
Quatre nodded. Can you hear me, Kari?
She winced. Don't shout. I'm not deaf just yet!
Sorry.
That's a bit better.
Okay. Quatre paused to toss out his eggshells. Can I ask you a question?
Of course. The mental voice held the note of a smile in it. Ask away.
Why… Quatre took a deep breath and began to add in his dry ingredients to his egg goop. What…happened?
I'm afraid you've just lost me there, Quatre.
To you. Mental gulp. I can feel a deep sorrow in you.
A feeling of deep tension, almost fear, came to Quatre through the blonde girl's mental touch. Something bad. I was hurt. Those who caused it are dead. There's nothing more to say about it.
Oh. Quatre went back to mixing. Will you tell me someday?
A long pause. Yes, perhaps. The thought was laden with sorrow. It weighed down on Quatre's soul like leaden ballast. Perhaps…
*****
Wufei walked away from the boys washroom, wiping his hands on a small scrap of St Mark's varsity hockey jacket.
"Pathetic weakling," the Solitary Dragon smirked and tossed the remnant of cloth into a nearby trashcan. "See you at lunch," he purred and made his way to the library.
Behind him, the terrified whimper of a sportacus moronicus came from inside the recesses of locker number 395.
*****
Today was not a good day for Mr. Dell. First of all, he had almost fallen down the stairs leading outside, which had almost caused his buttocks to leave the cushy padding of his rolly chair. Then, he had accidentally forgotten his favourite pair of track pants at home and had to wear the electric blue sweats that idiotic students who forgot their gym clothes had to wear. (AN: I have worn the electric blue sweats. I wish flaming death to the maker of the electric blue sweats). And now, fifteen minutes after the fitness test should have been over, those two kids –the skinny kid with the non-uniform bike shorts below his gym shorts and the one with the funny hair- were still going strong, sprinting around the track with grim, disturbing grins on their faces.
And that freak with the braid was still whining about taking his turn.
Dell decided to take matters into his own hands. Leaning over, he grabbed a heavy stick and chucked it right into Heero's path.
Not seeming to see it, Heero tripped and landed on his hands.
Dell grinned.
At least, until the boy vaulted to his feet and they both went on. Twice as fast. And they still grinned at him. Dell turned white and put his head in his hands. They've got to stop sometime! No one could keep up that pace for more than two minutes more!
But Trowa and Heero kept on until the bell. They even ran all the way to the changeroom.
*****
Thank goodness! Another school day finally over. Misty grabbed her books as the echoes of the final bell died away and made a beeline to her locker. She had to hurry or else those jerks with the Federation for Human Purity would catch up with her and bother her again about Kari and her own "freak" brothers. She grimaced. Dad always told her to ignore them and Mom always said defend yourself, but either way, the outcome could either mean suspension on her part, or at least missing the bus home.
"Hey!"
Misty stifled a scream and turned to see Duo grinning cheerfully down at her. She caught her breath and hurriedly began to jam her books into her bag. She only had a few minutes to get to the parking lot before the Federation jerk came.
"Hell-oo-oooo…"
"Hi." Misty dropped her pencil case, spilling it all over the floor. Damn! Duo bent over to help her pick it up.
"Misty?"
"Hurry up," she hissed. Movement down the hall caught her attention. Misty's heart dropped as she recognised the scarlet armbands bobbing in the crowd. "Go!"
Duo protested as she tried shoving him quietly down the hall. "Hey, I need to get my books!"
"Get them later!"
"Hey, Freak-lover."
"Shit," murmured Misty. "Hi," she said, warily keeping an eye on the door leading outside. The group with the Federation was neatly blocking it. She watched the group of armband-clad youths like a cornered rabbit, ready to spring to freedom as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
"Who's this?" One of them -a girl- reached out and grabbed Duo's braid. "Another freak to add to your collection?" The ex-pilot shot her a look filled with venom and slapped her hand away. She whistled loudly as she made a quick appraisal of what she saw. "A feisty one, I see. Nice bod." Her look became malice-filled. "Made to be a play toy like your bitch friend Kari? Gonna be someone's pet kitten, braidy-boy?"
"Leave us alone. We have a bus to catch," Misty said. She hated this. The only reason they bothered Misty was because she was the only one they knew of who was affiliated with the Keep that wouldn't fight back.
"Where's the hurry?" A boy grinned, grabbing Misty's slender wrist. "We only want to play."
"Piss off." Misty's heart nearly stopped at the cold, murderous tone to her left. Duo apparently had gotten annoyed. "Before I decide to play back."
"Oooh, a fighter." One of the older ones, a guy with a black crescent of higher rank on his armband, grinned like a snake. "Do you want to dance, kitten?"
Crack. Duo answered by cracking his knuckles, one by one. Crack. Crack. There was something almost offensive in the way he did it, his eyes clearly saying "bring it on, bitch,". Misty braced herself, feeling gently for the dagger sheath strapped to her wrist.
"Hey."
Misty gasped. Walker! He was standing at the far end of the hallway, car keys held easily in hand like some sort of lethal weapon. Narrowed yellow eyes honed in on the group, burning whatever more words they wanted to say into cinders. They backed off, warily keeping their eyes on Walker until they moved out of sight. Two kids were one thing, they would argue later, but a full grown freak? Even the most devout members of the Federation for Human Purity would consider such a crossing to be a lethal idea.
"Lousy punk-ass kids," Walker mumbled to himself, watching them go. He wore a plain T-shirt and jeans like any normal person would, but Duo couldn't help but notice the flesh-coloured Tensor bandages wrapped around the bits of his bare arms that were scarred or touched by plague. Not noticing Duo's stare, the young man casually dropped a powerful forearm around his little sister's thin shoulders. "I wanted to surprise you, sis. Amy and I are going to grab a shake or something and we figured you'd like to come." He smiled like a lazy cat at Duo. "How 'bout it, Duo? You could get to see the town, what little there is of it."
Duo nodded excitedly. Oh, boy. Sugar! "Just let me grab my books and stuff."
"Sure. Amy and I are going to be outside waiting in the parking lot."
" 'Kay."
Duo turned to Misty as soon as Walker was gone. "Ookay…what in the hell just happened back there?"
Still shoving books in her bags, Misty didn't look up. Duo noticed with some concern that she was shaking like a leaf. "That, my dear, are junior members of the Federation for Human Purity. A bunch of card-carrying wackos who think that all those who survived Black Hood's experiments should be eradicated from the face of the Earth."
Duo whistled. "Daaaaaamn. Isn't that just a little bit extreme?"
A tiny nod and then silence. Obviously the Federation was a sensitive topic for Misty. They headed for Duo's locker. He'd only been at St Mark's for a day, but for some reason Misty wasn't very surprised to see it was a complete mess. He grabbed his books and they went on.
"Sometimes they hold protests outside the walls of the Keep –most of the other survivors live there, at least until they can face the outside world- and scream the same things over again: 'Send out the freaks! Send out the freaks!'. They usually have baseball bats or bits of lead pipe with them. Once one survivors couldn't take it any more." Misty bit her lip and swallowed. Duo put a comforting arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. "He was beaten for hours before we could get him back. Sometimes they even wait in alleys for some unsuspecting 'freak' and beat them senseless, or try to kill them. So far it hasn't worked yet." She smiled wanly. "Black Hood builds their freaks to last." A small tear slipped furtively down her cheek, followed closely by another.
Uh, oh, Shinigami. Time to change the subject. "So, uh…who's Amy?"
"Huh? Oh, she's Walker's girlfriend." They were in the parking lot now, moving towards a green Jeep. Walker waved at them from the driver's seat. Duo waved back, taking his arm off Misty's shoulders. "She's a real sweetheart, almost like one of the family," Misty continued, "They've been together since high school." A tiny, mischievous smile played upon her elfin face as the pair neared the Jeep. "Tama and I used to spy on them when they made out on the couch. They still don't know about it, either!" She paused. "I think."
"Huh." Duo said thoughtfully. He's dying and she's staying with him. Talk about tight.
"Hi!" A beautiful young woman stepped out of the front passenger side of the Jeep. Amy. Duo felt his heart lurch. Daaaaaamn…
Amy was a smallish young woman with huge blue eyes and short black hair that curled gently at the nape of her neck, held back by a simple clip. She was slender and beautiful as a summer day with an air about her that seemed to shout "let's play!". She leaned now on the Jeep's hood, slim ankles crossed, divine legs bent slightly at the knee. Upon seeing her, Duo's body quickly forgot the simple mechanics of breathing.
"Hi!" Misty called back. Grabbing Duo by the wrist, she dragged him to the Jeep. "This is Duo," she declared.
"Hello, Duo." Amy took the limp hand and shook it. "I'm Amy."
"Gnngh." Could I swim in your eyes?
"Come on, you guys, I'm getting hungry." Walker sighed gustily and started up the Jeep.
"Errg." Did you know you were a goddess when you woke up this morning?
Amy leaned over to Misty. "Nice guy, but is he always so quiet?"
"Ahahaha, no." Misty climbed into the backseat, dragging Duo the bumbling imbecile behind her. "Cherish this moment while it still lasts."
Walker laughed and made his way out of the parking lot. The last of the buses where just pulling away. "Amy's been with me too long. She's immune to too much chatter."
Amy's slender hand found Walker's upper thigh. "Not that I mind it," she purred, "coming from you."
And lo, Walker Broman, all powerful war mage, master of the sword, and Lord of Alaryan's Keep turned red to the roots of his hair.
Misty rolled her eyes. Duo mentally took notes. If he can get a babe like that, I'm a shoo in!
*****
Sugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugarsugar!
"Um, I think that's enough sprinkles, Duo," Misty said, standing on her tiptoes to peer over her friend's shoulder. The people behind the counter at the Dairy Dream looked like they regretted ever having heard the words "self serve". Duo looked like a mad scientist putting the final touches on his monster creation.
"Yeah," Duo agreed. "I'd better leave enough room for my ice cream."
"You mean there's no ice cream under all that!?" Misty prodded the small mound of brightly coloured pellets in Duo's cup with her spoon. It slid apart, revealing that the ice cream was indeed not there. "You'll be bouncing off the walls for hours!"
"Yep!"
"Oh, man, you're actually proud of it?"
The pair wandered together to the table Walker and Amy had chosen after Duo layered mound after mound of soft serve into his cup. The older couple was already deep in serious conversation. Walker seemed agitated.
"What's up?" queried Misty. She took a lick of her cone.
"We've just located another unmanned Black Hood base," murmured Walker. "A storage bunker in the Gobi desert disguised as a government research facility."
Misty nodded, sombre now. "What are they storing?"
"Chemicals, some basic guard dog experiments, and about fifty or so clone tanks."
Sweet-faced Misty suddenly turned dead grim. "And the security level?"
"Moderate, but there's definitely going to be some fierce resistance. Kari, Ryu, Darien and I can't do it alone." The scarred young man moodily watched his ice cream melt in front of him. "I'm thinking Dulcet will have to come, but we still need people with advanced ballistics knowledge and expert explosive experience." Thud. Walker dropped his head heavily on the table, almost knocking over Amy's milkshake. Amy gently began to stroke his hair, offering what little comfort she could. "Where am I going to get a bunch of sharpshooters and bomb-makers on such short notice?"
Duo simply smiled. "Y'know, I think I can help you."
******
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!!
Ja ne!
L.P.D. *//.^*