Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam or the characters; the only characters that are my own are the bad guys and the assorted walk-ins. Please don't sue me, I'd have to sell my Anime collection to pay and that would be a fate worse than death. And yes, I realize that my title is incredibly cliché, so just leave me alone. (Special note: Thoughts and writing are italicized, and telepathically sent thoughts are surrounded by //.)
A/N: Here's the next chapter of my story. Also shameless plug time, I have another story called Dream On, a bit more playful, admittedly, but fun. If you'd like, please check it out. I also have my other stories, not GW but I think they're good anyway. Ok, that's the end of my shameless plugging for the moment. And I would like to thank everyone who's read so far.
Blood Bonds Part 2
They had to stop to get gas three times before they were even in the same town as her. Duo's sports car climbed the winding trail up the side of the mountain…
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Finally the two pilots rolled to a stop in front of comfortably sized cottage that somehow blended with the surrounding forest that covered the side of the mountain. He walked up to the door, carefully stepping over the peacefully sleeping feline curled up in a cute little ball in a patch of sunlight. Heero grabbed Duo's hand as he bent down to pet the small creature, shaking his head in a negative. "You don't want to do that Duo. Her name is Ixtab for a reason."
"Ixtab?" Duo asked blankly.
"Ixtab was a Mayan goddess of suicide, and that's exactly what petting her when she doesn't know who you are is," Duo could almost swear he heard an undercurrent of laughter in Heero's voice.
"Are you trying to tell me that this little ball of fluff is dangerous?" Duo demanded.
Heero turned around to give him a strange look before slowly saying with an intensity that told him Heero was completely serious, "This ball of fluff will change into a half ton of muscle, with sharp teeth, and sharper claws when provoked. Trust me on this, you don't want to mess with her." Duo cautiously looked at the sleeping guardian. He wasn't sure if Heero was trying to joke with him, but the fact that Heero sounded completely serious made him decide not to risk it.
Heero eased in the door with another cautious glance at the dozing sentinel, who recognized his scent and accepted his presence even while sleeping. He called out softly as he entered, knowing that she would hear him no matter how loudly he spoke. He heard her answering call from outside behind the house, where he found her with a wide brimmed straw hat that obscured her features as she hummed softly to her flowers while she watered them. When his shadow fell across her path she carefully set the watering pot down before taking off her hat as she rose. He smiled a rare, genuine smile as she looked at him with their mother's big indigo eyes framed by soft spikes of matching blue hair.
Duo following his companion stopped short at the alarming sight that greeted him. Dorothy Catoliona!… With blue hair!… And normal eyebrows!
He gawked at the sight, not even bothering to try to collect himself until she turned and acknowledged his presence with, "Why'd you bring the braided baka?"
"Hey! That's Mr. Braided Baka to you young lady," he stated indignantly, causing her to laugh at his severe _expression.
"He wanted to know why I am what I am. He's receiving the explanation he's been itching to get for the last few years. Duo, I don't believe I've ever formally introduced to you my little sister Kyrania."
"Kyrania?! Dorothy, what's going on? I think our favorite soldier has grown one story short of a series!" Duo exclaimed staring at the two siblings.
"Actually, I'm not that much younger than Heero since we're twins. I'm making some tea at the moment, would you like some?"
"Sure, I'll just show Duo to a room real quick okay? This way, baka," Heero stated as he walked back toward the house with Dorothy, Kyrania…whoever she was, leaving Duo gaping after them, wondering if the world was going crazy or if it were just himself.
"HEY! WAIT UP!" he hollered after them and hurried to catch up with the two figures ahead of him. They didn't even acknowledge that they heard his bellowing as they continued to chat about something Duo couldn't make out and which changed to something else entirely as he neared them. They all entered the comfortably sized cottage that was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside and parted ways as Dorothy went to the kitchen and Heero led Duo upstairs. They came to a stop outside a room and Heero opened it up and gestured his confused friend inside.
"Here. You can have this room. None of us ever use it for anything. The bathroom's the last door down the hall on the right, not the door on the left since Kyra might kill you if you stumble into her room in the middle of the night." Then he turned to leave but a strong hand clamped on his shoulder, causing him to turn around with an eyebrow raised in question.
"What's going on here, Heero?" Duo asked softly and it was one of the first times Heero had ever heard the other pilot sound serious. Heero gave him the same considering look he had given him at his apartment. Then seeming to come to a decision he replied with, "I'll explain everything later, get settled in comfortably first and maybe then…" He turned and left, this time without being stopped.
"Yep, someone is definitely going insane. And I can't wait to figure out who it is," Duo muttered to himself as he started to unpack the extra clothes he had grabbed and set up the laptop he had brought with him. He joined the others downstairs a few minutes later and Dorothy/ Kyra took all of their cups into the kitchen, then she wandered through to say she had to finish up outside. Dorothy left them alone to return to her flowers. Flowers and Dorothy? I have now reached the twilight zone. It's a good thing Heero is being normal, well typically Heeroish at any rate, or I'd be really worried. Heero had been quiet every since they had returned to the living room to share tea with Dorothy, or whoever she was. Duo stared at his still silent companion willing him to say something. Finally Duo, unable to bear the silence any longer, burst out as he jumped up to start pacing across the living room, "What did you want to show me? And what is up with Dorothy's hair?!"
"It's blue," Heero stated looking at him like he was stupid or something. Duo made a sound like a steaming kettle as he fell back against the couch tossing his hands into the air in defeat. Then he stopped to look more closely at Heero. Did his lips just twitch? Nah must've been my imagination. Heero stood up abruptly, distracting his voluble friend from his present line of thought.
"Where are you going?" Duo curiously asked as he trailed along after Heero, who left the front of the house. The only response he got in return was, "Hn." Heero kept walking and Duo stayed with him, talking and occasionally peppering him with questions that remained unanswered. He led the way through the forest.
Heero finally stopped on a ridge overlooking a lake. As Duo came to stand behind him he noticed there was a small cave almost hidden by the rocks behind them. He turned to look back at what Heero seemed to be staring at, and took a moment to enjoy the view before he looked at Heero, hoping that he'd finally spill what they were doing there, or you know maybe even why they were there. What a concept! He thought somewhat mockingly. Ok, so it was really mockingly. Heero glanced up at the sky as if trying to determine what time it was by the position of the sun. Duo continued to wait, determined that he wouldn't be the first to break the silence that had descended. I won't do it!
Just as he was about to open his mouth Heero finally started to speak softly, as if to himself, not even acknowledging Duo who sat down quietly on a large rock where he could make out Heero's profile. "This is where I began to cease to exist. This is the last place I ever remember truly being happy. Sometimes when I come back I almost remember what that feels like," Heero finished in a whisper. Then he gave a sigh and sat down across from Duo.
"Jr.! Kyra! Hurry up!" the woman's rich voice floated through the trees. The sun was setting, staining the mountain lake crimson and stars were slowly making an appearance just above the tree line. A head of disheveled brown hair popped into sight and a dancing pair of Prussian blue eyes peered over the lip of the cave. The small boy scrambled out of his secret place and ran toward the sound of his mother's voice. As he raced through the woods, his blue haired twin joined him and they ran together to meet the lovely pale woman waiting on the doorsteps for them.
She embraced them, burying her face in their necks. Then she held them away so she could look at them. She straightened their clothes, her eyes roaming over them hungrily over their faces as if memorizing them as she fixed a bright smile on her face and started telling them how much fun they'd have with their father and how excited he was going to be to finally get to spend some time with them. They both stared at her unhappily as she straightened, gripping their tiny hands tightly, leading them to a smartly uniformed young man.
The youthful soldier saluted them all and held the back door of the dusty car open for them. The young looking woman ran her hands through their hair and kissed them both quietly saying, "Be good for your father. I know you've never had the opportunity to know him before, but everything he does is for you two. And darlings watch out for each other." The little twins clung to the woman with shimmering blue hair until she gently pried their arms away and shepherded them into the car. Two small faces pressed against the glass long after their mother was no longer in sight, and the loving form continued to wave long after she knew they couldn't see her.
The young children were moved from the dusty black car to the back of a long black limousine that left at the same time as six other limos, all going different directions, just in case. From there they rode for what seemed an eternity until they arrived at a space shuttle and were soon passing among the stars for the first time. This was going to be an evening of firsts. They were also going to meet their father for the first time as well. After the initial excitement of the fist time on a shuttle, the small girl lost interest in staring at what seemed to be the same background the entire time, but the boy continued to stare at the passing clusters of stars as he wondered what was in store for them.
The children arrived on a colony and were taken to a house they were told they were going to be living in. They were each shown to their own rooms, right across the hall from each other, just like in their own home. As they were taken to the rooms, they were informed by the very proper butler that the master was sorry that he was going to be in a summit meeting that would prevent him from being home before they were to be in bed. However, he had asked that a couple of gifts be left to entertain the young miss and master and they would find them in their new bedrooms.
Young Kyra's room had white walls with a blue carpet and a pale blue canopy bed trimmed in gold and fit for a princess. Some of her toys had already been brought for her and she found them all neatly lined up on a white shelf that also held children's books and new toys. She immediately opened the small box that occupied a white wicker rocking chair in one corner and fell in love with a small jewelry box with a twirling ballerina that danced to tinkling music whenever she opened it. There was a small collection of fine jewelry inside as well, although the child was blissfully unaware that she held hundreds of dollars worth of real jewelry in her chubby little fist as she tried it all on at once.
Heero Yuy Jr. was shown to his own room after that and he informed the butler that the accommodations were very pleasant with a very grave face. He turned to wander around the spacious room with its high white walls, so he missed the kind smile his father's manservant had bestowed upon him. In a corner sat a silvery wooded desk with a computer that was just like his from home. In fact on closer inspection, it was his from home. The big bed with its own canopy was covered in a deep jade coverlet and like his sister's, was trimmed in gold. His favorite books were there and he found some new ones that he had never read or had read to him before, although they were all the same genre as the ones he liked the most.
Finally the child turned to the thin wrapped box and moved toward it. After glancing at the butler for his nod of consent he carefully opened the present his father had left. He took the cords that were in the top of the box out and placed them on the small matching wood table. Then he carefully removed the thinner black box from the wrapping and opened it. The laptop was the newest edition that had been released and there was even a phone jack next to the table so he could set everything up. He happily set to work connecting wires and experimenting with the various programs that were available on this newer edition. He didn't notice he butler watching his obvious delight in his new 'toy', and if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.
The next morning the children were woken up early and shown to the dining room for breakfast. The same butler, Williard, informed them that their father had left early after he had been called on yet another meeting, and he had decided to allow them to sleep off the time difference between earth and the L1 colony. However, he was going to meet them after the meeting and they were going to spend the day getting to know each other. Heero asked if he could bring his laptop with him. Kyra insisted that if Heero got to take his gift then she was taking hers. In the end they had both managed to talk Williard into letting them take their toys.
They walked down the street after the car had let them off to go park with their new friend Will, as they by now called him, and they began to wait where they expected they would soon meet their father for the first time. Waiting on Heero Yuy, they watched as a large group of men walked out of the building. In the center of the small mob was a neatly dressed man who dominated the crowd with his presence and looked just like an older version of the young Heero who stood with his sister on the steps of the older building across the street. The twins stared in fascination, not mistaking that man as anyone other than their father as he descended the steps, answering questions and occasionally ignoring impertinent remarks of the reporters who had joined the flock surrounding him.
Suddenly a loud gunshot rang out and as the two children watched in horror the man they had traveled so far to meet began to crumple. Red stained his snow-white shirt. His eyes widened as he continued to fall and met those of his children as an explosion rocked the building they stood by sending the three flying forward from the force of the impact. Lost in the confusion of people and debris from the series of bombs that began to discharge Heero called out, "Kyra!" desperately in search of his little sister after picking himself up from the rough cement, ignoring the cuts and slight blood running down his knees and elbows from the abrasions he had received from falling.
He tightly clutched his laptop as tears began to mingle with the soot that covered his face. People ran back and forth, running by him, running into him and in a few cases running over him. As he pushed through the desperate crowd, he neared a building. The final bomb that had been planted went off in the building causing a large portion of the building to loom over him and he leapt out of the way trying to avoid the rubble that began to crash around him. The last thing he remembered was diving for the car parked on the side of the street as confusion overtook him and his world went black…
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Ok, since you guys seem willing to humor my attempts at writing, here's the deal. I've updated this, and I'll update it again when it hits 15 reviews… Unless I get an overwhelming desire to write more on it before then. Does that sound fair? (maybe not, but if I can get away with it, I'm sure gonna try! ^_~)
Thanks for Reviews Goes to~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gemini:Thanks for being the first to review this. And I'll try to keep any type of bashing to a minimum.
White Roze: I'm glad that you seem to like it so far. I hope it continues to meet your expectations.
Leigh S. Duran: Lol, such passion. Ok, I'll try to update as long as you're willing to review.
Ladybug: Thank you for reading. I'm glad that you like the way it's going so far, and I hope this update is soon enough.