Kae Kae lmao… took me long enough to reveal Tirips to the masses, though. Glad you enjoy your 'insider privileges' though… ladymars UNlike me is pretty close to understatement. Almost wish I DIDN'T have it in me (it was that depressing to write)… starcrest a nosebleed, eh? I didn't know I was that good… DBZ chick I MISS YOU TOO! *huggles* And thanks so much for the wonderful picture… describes all too well what I felt… Majin-Veg ^.^;;; that was a fine review, don't worry. And thanks… Angel02 I know, I know… the ends justify the means, I guess? Oh well…
OH! There's Falls the Shadow fanart now! ^.^ Check it out here, by the ever-wonderful DBZ chick:
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=98954
C H A P T E R 9
Again, Diana found herself lost in the dreamscape. This time, there was no one else, only her.
Sighing softly as she
examined the familiar whereabouts, she slowly wandered toward the invisible
barrier within her mind, the gateway to whatever goal the Sulegna had set
before her. She wrapped her arms around
herself and stared into the empty void. 'Beyond
here is where everything comes from… where everything started,' she thought, not without a bitter twinge
passing through her heart. Furrowing her
brow, she reached out to put her hand on the barrier, watching her own
movements intently.
"That's transparent, you know, and you don't want to end up on the other side
like the rest of us."
"Duo?" Diana's head snapped upward to see the braided American standing before her.
"The one and only…" There was no joy in his voice, and he looked
her over sadly. "You're bleeding."
Diana looked away awkwardly, trying to keep her anger and despair in check as
reality washed over her once more. She
hadn't realized that her wounds followed her; she felt nothing. "I don't care."
Duo sighed. "I wish I could have done something…"
"You watched," Diana spat, turning back to glare at him. "You fucking watched him do it… never tell a
lie, huh? You said you'd protect me."
"I… I didn't count on become a pawn," Duo answered softly, Diana's words cutting deep inside with their malicious intent. "I didn't…"
"I don't want to hear it." She turned to walk away.
"Diana, wait!" Slowly, Diana turned and looked at him scornfully. "Listen, I have something to tell you. Like you said before this whole incident, we're sitting ducks unless we… unless you get some clue pointing you in the right direction, and I've got some to give you:
"The first is Behind, Within, and After you… the second is this." He held up a book, its cover so worn Diana couldn't read the title. "I can't give it to you now, but you'll come across it. And, finally, the third clue is not a number, but a concept."
Diana raised an
eyebrow and scoffed a little. "A little
cryptic, don't you think?"
"Don't blame me… I'm just your subconscious, you know." Diana gasped slightly, getting ready to
inquire further when Duo added, "Take care; fight back," and vanished.
And so Diana sat on the cold floor, curling her legs to her chest, never before feeling so isolated… so alone.
* * * * * * * * * *
The doorbell rang. Twice.
And Wu Fei growled in his bed.
Sally had already kicked off the covers and crawled out of bed. She stretched her limps out a little and then looked down at Wu Fei. "I'm answering the door. Are you coming, or are you staying?"
Wu Fei grumbled and sat up, tossing the bed sheets aside. He was already awake, so he'd might as well go to the door with her. That way he could either give the person at the door a piece of his mind, or he could protect Sally if something should be amiss. Not that she necessarily needed protecting, but he felt better being there, just in case.
The doorbell chimed for a third time as Sally unlocked and unchained the door. Wu Fei crossed his arms over his chest and remained a few feet behind her. "I wonder who's so desperate to see us at this hour?" she mused. "It's only four o'clock." She opened the door a crack and peeked outside, doing a double-take when she saw the man on her doorstep. "Heero?"
"Yuy?"
Wu Fei echoed, going to the door himself to see if Heero was really there. "What are you doing…?" His eyes fell to the blanketed body in
Heero's arms. "Who is that?"
"I'll tell you everything inside."
The two occupants of the house each looked at the other, then at Heero. Sally opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside, and Wu Fei did the same. Heero carried the body inside and toward the far end of the room, and Sally shut and locked the door as Wu Fei followed Heero. "Now, who is that? Don't you realize whoever that is is probably half-smothered by now, with that heavy blanket and this heat?"
"Move the blanket aside, then," Heero answered simply.
Wu Fei sighed, agitated, as he reached over and removed the blankets from the figure's face. He started as he realized who was beneath them. "Simen?" he breathed, running a hand over her bruised cheek in silent awe.
Heero nodded slightly, then turned to Sally. "She still has a few wounds I haven't treated. I didn't want to violate her modesty any more than it already has been."
Sally took a few extra seconds to respond as the
implications of Heero's statement sunk in.
"Bring her this way, then." She
led Heero out of the room and to a bathroom, with Wu Fei following several
paces behind. Upon arrival, she flipped
on a light and opened a cabinet, pulling out several towels and a
washcloth. "Lay her in the tub."
With a nod, Heero complied and gently put Diana's comatose figure in the
bathtub. Sally knelt down on the floor
beside him and gently removed the blankets.
What she found beneath them was an obviously beaten and ravished woman
with a heavily bandaged right arm. "I
see what you meant." Sally gently took
Diana's right hand and lifted her arm up, inspecting the bandages. "What happened here?"
"Sharp edge of a porcelain shard."
Sally looked up at the former Gundam pilot. "The rest of it? Who did it?"
"He calls himself Wodahs."
"Meaning it was Winner in body." Sally started slightly from surprise, turning to find Wu Fei standing in the doorframe, until that point quietly observing the scene before him. Heero, on the other hand, didn't bat an eyelash.
"So you know about the Sulegna." Wu Fei nodded slowly in agreement. "They're after her, and it's only a matter of time before they seek us out as well. They mean to exterminate us."
"Simen too?" Wu Fei cut in.
"No," Heero answered. "They plan to use her like they're using Quatre. They mean to resurrect their dying order." He turned and left the room, stopping just after he passed Wu Fei and looking back at Sally. "Take care of her quickly; we need to leave."
Heero turned his gaze on Wu Fei, catching the Chinese man's eye. Several seconds passed as each sized the other up, waiting for the other to falter. Last they had met had been uncomfortable terms, and the feeling had carried over. Finally they reached a silent consensus; current circumstances had put the past aside for the moment. Wu Fei gave Heero another nod, and the two left to gather the necessary provisions for the days to come.
* * * * * * * * * *
'I hear voices… Are they real?'
They are… those are the voices that matter. You are in their hands now.
'Who…?'
I am you, and you are me. We share everything but our lifetimes.
'What…?'
'Do not worry yourself with me. Rest… rest and heal.
It is upon you this all depends.