"Everybody's got something they had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back or wondering how it could be now or might have been
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go..."
--Steps - "Never Had a Dream Come True"
Wufei had decided that he would not wear a suit. Although tradition demanded clothing of the stuffy, stodgy nature that no one would ever dream of wearing otherwise...he couldn't. Duo wouldn't want his friends to be all "dressed in their Sunday best", as he used to say, Wufei didn't think that's what he would have wanted. Instead, he had opted for a nice, crisp white shirt and dark slacks. As he observed his friends occupying the row of chairs with him, he could see that they had done the same.
Duo. Every time he even thought the name, his chest tightened and he could barely breathe. He knew it wasn't healthy, he knew he should tell Sally...but he didn't. Perhaps it was his masochistic subconscious, or his stubborn conscious, that was keeping him from mentioning it. Whatever it was, he wouldn't mention it. The woman had enough on her mind, she didn't need to be stressing over his inability to control his own damn feelings...
There weren't a whole lot of people Wufei could recognize, which was surprising and, at the same time, not surprising at all. Duo had touched so many people over the years, and it made sense that they'd all fly out to pay respects. In the first row, along with him, were who Wufei deemed the "nearest and dearest". This included Heero, Trowa and Quatre (they seemed to be inseparable lately), himself, Sally, and Une. In the row behind him were some of the Preventers agents and other assorted employees, including that new agent, O'Toole. His new partner. To replace Duo...
He tried to remain calm as his chest cramped again, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Sally, who happened to be sitting next to him, raised an eyebrow, but he just shook his head and muttered something about heartburn. Sally seemed to buy his excuse, and turned back towards the front of the assembly. Wufei breathed a sigh of relief that was more like a short gasp. He could get through this. He could do it.
For what seemed the hundredth time, he examined the crinkled white paper that was clenched in his right fist. Later, after the man officiating was done talking about Duo's hard-working and ever-loving soul was finally liberated and at rest, the people assembled would have a chance to stand up and talk. Wufei had a feeling that that alone would take a considerable amount of time. Everyone would have a Duo story they would just HAVE to tell. Heero would probably talk about the incident with the coffee maker, Quatre would talk about the time Duo put dishwashing liquid into one of his estates' fountains, Une...maybe about that prized plush kitten that had mysteriously appeared on her desk from him one day...
As for Wufei...
Wufei planned to tell of a fool who had let his heart's desire slip through his fingers. Reiterate how one always thinks that he has all the time in the world to build up the courage to confess, but like a bad movie cliché...
How'd that poem go? Wufei mused to himself. He was my noon, my midnight, my talk and my song...I thought that love would last forever...I was wrong...
The cramp in his chest had dulled to an ache-irritating, painful, but nothing he'd die from. He'd had worse during the war. He shook his head wryly; Duo would get a kick out of---
He clenched the hem of his shirt as another sudden wave seized him.
Sally was trying her darndest to pay attention to Trowa's story about Duo and an incident with a box of violin strings and some very interesting pictures of Heero, but as she watched him out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but feel a little niggling bit of worry in the bottom of her stomach. Wufei kept breathing hard and clutching his shirt, and it had only been a day since that episode in his office. She still had no answer for Wufei's painful seizure, but she was going to figure it out. Nothing was going to take him from her too; one casualty was enough for her to last a long time.
Trowa had to pause to clear his throat and regain a little bit of dignity, so Sally leaned over briefly in Wufei's direction.
"If something's wrong, you need to tell me," she hissed. "I need to help you."
Wufei snorted softly, hiding the fact that it had made his chest spasm. "I'm fine, woman. Lay off."
Sally just shook her head and turned her attention back to Trowa. "Fine. Be masochistic. But if I think you need to take a trip to the hospital, then you're going whether I have to drug you or not."
Their dialogue ceased for awhile, as they listened to each of the little stories people told about Duo. Unfortunately for Wufei, every time his name was mentioned, he had to clench his fists and hope that he was going to last long enough to get through his speech and away from Dr. Po the Hypochondriac.
As Une finished her speech about Duo's dedication to his job and to the peace he'd helped create, she signaled to him with a raised eyebrow that it would be his turn to speak next.
Wufei took a few steadying breaths and hoped Sally would think they were to alleviate nervousness. Wufei had never been afraid of public speaking in his life, but with Sally playing Mama Hen, it might not be a bad idea to pretend to be. He'd been under her medical ministrations enough to suit twelve lifetimes.
He slowly made his way to the podium, and looked out at the tear-streaked faces of the audience. His fingers curled around the podium's side; hopefully that was enough to keep him upright for five or six minutes.
"Let me tell you a story," he started solemnly, "Not about violin strings or confetti raining from the sprinkler system...this is a story about an idiot," he chuckled at the flabbergasted expressions he was receiving, "No, no, not Duo---" he grimaced and breathed deeply before continuing. Hopefully, no one had noticed, "A different idiot. An idiot who could face down mobile suits, Treize Khusherenada, and his own family, but couldn't admit to one simple thing," he paused not only for effect, but because the ache in his chest was becoming even more pronounced, "He couldn't admit to love.
"We all know that Duo was beautiful...inside and out as corny as it sounds...he loved life, he loved his cat...and everyone loved him..."
Sally sat forward in her seat, biting her lip to keep from leaping up. To say Wufei looked like hell would be an understatement. He was clinging to the podium as if it was a life-line, his face was the color of talcum powder, and he was breathing in shallow gasps.
"Everyone loved him, but only one person was stupid enough to neglect telling him." Everyone exchanged confused looks with the person next to them, until Wufei managed to add, "Me."
That got the reaction Wufei had predicted - a collective gasp. He hated the pained look Sally was giving him, but he did his best to ignore it so he could finish his speech and then collapse into a dead heap.
"'Fei..." From behind him, a long arm reached out and touched his shoulder. Duo tried to help steady Wufei as much as possible, but it's hard to do when you're not exactly solid. He was ever-so-slowly starting to sink, but he was trying his best to stay upright.
"Every day, I told myself, 'Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll stop by his office and I'll tell him.' But I never did," he said, swallowing hard. "I didn't realize how much I would miss by not telling him until he wasn't around for me to..."
He faltered suddenly, gripping the podium until both hands were as white as his face. Everyone gasped and Sally made a jump out of her seat, but he waved her off.
"...until he wasn't around." He looked out at the row of his friends, seeing Quatre's deep eyes pool with even more tears, Trowa's mixture of shock and sadness, and Heero's averted eyes. Une just mouthed 'I'm sorry', and then looked down at her lap again.
"And I just wish I could get one more day...hell, one more hour with him, so I could tell him. So he would know...and so I wouldn't feel like such a fucking coward."
"'Fei, you're not a coward!" Duo shouted as his back, even though his voice would not be heard. "Don't ever say that!"
By now, it was obvious even to the most lay of the laymen, that something was terribly wrong with Wufei. If the podium hadn't been there, there was no doubt that Wufei would be puddled out all over the floor. Watching him trying to brave through his speech was painful and listening to his heart break was even worse. But nobody wanted to get up to rob him of his confessional, for which Wufei was quite grateful.
"I wish I had some brainy quote to finish this whole thing up with..." Wufei was sagging into the podium, his voice nothing more than a harsh whisper, "Duo loved random quotes..." Wufei gasped sharply and started to fall.
"'Fei!" Duo tried to catch the unconscious boy, but he fell through Duo's hands. Duo wanted to scream in frustration. He couldn't tell Wufei how he felt in life, and now he couldn't help him see that this whole situation ~wasn't~ his fault! It wasn't fair!!
Wufei hit the carpeted floor with a sickening crunch and Duo let out a small cry.
Sally was up and flying across the distance from her chair to the podium, Une right on her heels. Heero had materialized from who-knew-where to Wufei's side, and Duo could see Quatre and Trowa starting to elbow their way through some now-panicking Preventers. And in the very back of the room...
Duo blinked.
In the very back of the room was a woman Duo had never seen before. She was pale and her jet hair tumbled past her waist. And she was looking at him. Right at him. At Duo. She could SEE him and she was smirking at him.
He swallowed.
"He'll be mine," she shouted at him. "You had your chance, and you lost him. Now he's mine!"
"No! I won't let you use him!" Duo shouted back, but the woman's smirk transformed itself into a nasty grin.
"You have no say. I'll use the thing he wants most - you - to bring him to my side!" She wiggled her talons, and something black and ominous seemed to snake across the room and up the podium to Wufei's fallen body. Duo squawked as it slithered into his head.
Wufei struggled to get his eyes open, and when he finally did, he didn't see what he expected to. He was no longer sprawled on carpet, but kneeling in a very different place. The landscape was dark and ominous; sharp black rocks stuck out from every direction imaginable, and everything was covered in thick, blood-red fog.
"Where am I?" He looked around to get his bearings, but realized that his view was exactly the same in every direction. "A better question would be, 'why I am I here?'"
"Wufei..."
Wufei sprang to his feet. That voice...that was Duo's voice!
"Wufei, please...be with me..."
"Duo! Where are you?" he shouted, his voice echoing off the strange cliffs. "Duo!"
Out of fog, someone began to walk toward him. Wufei squinted to see them better, but he could not make out the face.
"Wufei..."
But he could sure make out the voice.
"Duo!" He rushed forward, tripping and stumbling over a few poorly placed rocks.
"Wufei!" Everything about Duo suddenly began to smile; his posture perked up, his eyes positively glittered.
"Duo, where are we?" he asked, reaching out to touch Duo, to make sure he was real. As his knuckles brushed up against Duo's shoulder, he sighed. It was real. Solid, beautiful, and reeked of mango-n-starfruit shampoo. Yes, it was Duo.
Wufei had the urge to just break down right then and there. Everything that had happened in the past 24 hours was starting to fade like a horrible dream...
With a muffled sob, Wufei sprung into Duo's arms, and much to his utter delight, Duo didn't cast him aside. Rather, he pulled him closer, and buried his face in the crook of Wufei's neck.
"I thought...I thought..." Wufei stammered out, not quite sure what he was intending to say. He could feel tears starting to slide down his cheeks, but he did nothing to stop them. Gods, he was so relieved! Everything would be okay now! He'd been given his second chance!
"I know," Duo whispered into his hair, "I know, Wufei," he tightened his arms around Wufei and sighed his own blissful sigh, "But Wufei...we're not out of the woods yet...I need your help..."
Wufei quickly nodded, "Anything!"
If Wufei had seen Duo's grin, he might not have been so eager to help. If Wufei had seen Duo's grin, he might have questioned himself on whether or not this was the actual Duo. After all, how many sentences had Duo uttered without sticking Wufei with some odd nickname? But considering Duo's face was nuzzled in Wufei's neck, he didn't see the grin. And, also considering Wufei was relieved to find Duo alive, he didn't pay notice to the lack of "wu-man"s, "fei-babe"s, "wu-wu"s, and "fei-kitty-pants-chan"s...
"There's trouble brewing," Duo said. "They tried to take us apart, Wufei, and we can't let them do that to us."
"'They'? 'Them'? Who are you talking about?" Wufei couldn't think of anyone who'd actually known about his feelings for Duo, let alone anyone who'd act to sabotage them.
"The Powers That Be, Wufei. His Almightiness. Father In Heaven. God's trying to ruin us, Wufei." Duo's voice had suddenly gotten sharper. "They try and tell us it's His way, there's nothing you can do...Bullshit."
Wufei tried to interject, but Duo kept going. "I need you to come with me. Away from everything He's connected to. He'll never get in our way again, Wufei. We can finally have what we always wanted..."
Oh, how tempting it sounded! Abandon all the pain and suffering that he'd been given, devote himself to Duo and Duo alone...
...but then Sally's pained, miserable face came floating back into view, and Une's sympathetic eyes, and Quatre's cute fluffy plushies, and Trowa's smirk...
No, none of them mattered. Only Duo mattered. Only the things that Duo needed mattered. He could put all the others behind him...
"I don't want to see you hurt anymore, Wufei. I need to help you."
"I'm sorry..."
"Please, call us?"
"Duo, I love you, but can I...can I really abandon them like this?" he asked softly, gripping Duo's shirt in his fists.
"I know you don't want to, but you've gotta, Wufei. If you want to be with me, it's the only way," he whispered, nuzzling his head into Wufei's silky black hair.
"No! Stop lying to him!"
Wufei jumped slightly at the new voice. Only it wasn't new, it was Duo's! But that couldn't be right because Duo was right here and Duo hadn't spoken! But if this was Duo holding him, and if this was Duo nuzzling him, and if this was Duo talking softly to him...
Who in the hell was that?!
Wufei peeked over Duo's shoulder to see...Duo. Except it wasn't Duo, because Duo had never been endowed with wings. But this Duo had wings. Large, white, beautiful, swan-like wings. They should've looked ridiculous. They should've looked out of place. But rather it was just the opposite. Those wings belonged. They were meant to be there.
The wings weren't the only thing different about this new Duo. Wufei couldn't describe it-he hadn't been lying when he said that Duo had been beautiful in life. However, this Duo...this Duo...this Duo seemed to glow.
The Duo that had been embracing Wufei whipped his head around in shock, "What are ~you~ doing here?! How did you get here??" he spat.
Winged Duo shrugged, "I don't know how I got here..." he mumbled kinda sheepishly. But then he locked eyes with the other Duo, and his amethyst eyes turned fiery, "As for what I'm doing here, RAVEN, I think it's obvious."
The pseudo-Duo's form melted and Wufei found himself being held in the embrace of a rather attractive woman. Or rather, she would have been attractive if her delicate features weren't scrunched up in a sneer...and if she hadn't been trying to trick him by impersonating Duo, "Michael," she snarled after a moment, "Michael was at the wake. Michael sent you here."
Duo nodded, "You should really double-check everything before launching an attack, sugarbumps. Now," his tone lowered, "I'm going to say this once: let my 'Fei go."
Raven crushed Wufei closer to her breast, and he winced as he felt her talons digging into the skin of his back, "What are you going to do, Mr. Maxwell?" she asked sarcastically, "YOU can't touch him! If he passes out from merely ~thinking~ about you, what's he going to do if he's tainted by you?"
Duo actually looked startled, "But...but...I was trying to touch him at the wake..."
Wufei's eyes widened. Duo had been at his own wake?! So Duo had heard his little tirade...
"You're a non-corporeal being on Earth, idiot! You CAN'T touch him! But not here! Not here!" somehow, she managed to hold Wufei tighter, "And I'm not relinquishing my prize to you! He's MINE!"
Okay. Wufei had had it with the possessive, lying, bitchy demoness. He had had an incredibly lousy couple of days, and someone was going to get beaten down. And it looked like the Raven woman was just aching for an elbow to the gut or a foot to the jaw.
"Woman," he growled as he readied himself for attack, "Like the band said, you. Don't. Own. Me. Now!" and he lashed out.
"Can we touch the soul of heaven?
Can we unite a sacred lesson?
Every child creates a skylight of beauty..."
Someone's soft, sweet voice began to sing, and Duo looked around,
puzzled, for its source.
"Can you hear cathedrals falling?
All the universe is calling,
Cry a single cello from your heart..."
Raven rolled awkwardly as Wufei's fist connected with her jaw with
incredibly force. She sprung back up quickly, licking away a trickle
of blood from her lip.
"Every voice along the shoreline
Standing still within time
Spinning unresolved the walking..."
"You got one cheap shot, boy," she snarled, and she leapt into the
air.
"As each season passes
Through wonderland, looking glasses
The secret garden shire beckons you..."
"Isn't there something I can do?" Duo shouted, turning his attention
above him. The soft voice ignored him and continued to sing, but
Michael's voice interjected briefly.
"I know this is going to sound moronic, but let your heart guide you,
Duo!" he said. "That's the only way you can push Raven out!"
Duo nodded resolutely. They would regret hurting his 'Fei!
Wufei yelped as Raven's foot snapped down onto his shoulder, sending
him stumbling backwards into the sharp rock. They ripped away at his
uniform, and his arms and chest began to bleed. She landed on top of
him, and pinned him against the towering stone with all her weight.
"Give yourself up," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.
"You'll be sacrificing for a greater good!"
"Leave him alone, Raven." Something sharp and sizzling exploded on
Raven's back, and she screamed as she was torn away from Wufei. Duo's
face definitely screamed Not Pleased, and his entire body was
radiating a white hot glow now.
"I'm only going to say this one more time, and then I'll have to get
really nasty," he growled deep in his throat. "Get away from Wufei."
"It's my mission to bring him back," she wheezed, struggling to get
to her feet.
Duo chuckled, and it was not a nice chuckled. "I don't give a flying
fuck what your mission is. You can't have him."
"Gentle flower, don't fade away!
Sweet innocent still harbors thee,
In faith of garden dreams
Where one love lives eternally!"
Wufei watched this scene, with Duo and the demoness, with a detached
fascination. All this fighting, over him? What had he ever done to
become so coveted?
It's not really something you did. I suppose this whole mess is all
My fault, but I'm not letting the other guy get away scot-free
either.
"Who...are you?" Wufei asked. There were too many voices going at the
same time, and they were all giving Wufei a headache.
Oh, no one particularly important. I'll give you a formal
introduction later.
For lack of anything better, Wufei responded dumbly, "Aa."
"I'm not going to shred you now, Raven," Duo said, wings suddenly
extending to their full length, making Duo look like some gorgeous
mythical being. "I might do it later, since 'Fei's subconscious
really isn't the right place for us non-corporeal beings to get all
gooky with each other, yah know what I mean? So I'm going to let you
flee like the little trapped rodent that you are. And you'd better
hope I don't see your face for a very long time, because angel or
not, I'm still the God of Death."
Raven's eyes narrowed and she took a step back. She wanted Wufei-who wouldn't??-but she wasn't willing to be mangled in his subconscious by a jealous lover. She did have a sense of self-preservation after all.
"I won't forget this," she promised darkly.
"Spoken like a true villain," Duo responded snidely.
Raven scowled before disappearing into her flurry of black feathers and bobby pins.
As if in slow motion, Duo turned from where the demoness had vanished to face Wufei. Wufei was staring at him with wide, chocolate colored eyes, and he was trying to speak, but no words were emerging. Duo smiled slightly, "Hello, Wufei."
"Duo...?" Wufei whispered, almost afraid that if he spoke too loudly, whatever spell had been cast would be broken.
Duo nodded once.
Once more the color drained from Wufei's face, and he extended a trembling hand, "Duo..." he said shakily, "Duo...I..."
"I know..." Duo held up his own hand, but despite what his heart was screaming at him to do, he didn't touch Wufei. Raven's taunts were still fresh in his mind, and he wouldn't be the instrument of death to one he loved.
"You can't stay here, Chang Wufei," came Michael's voice from above.
"Who's that?" Wufei asked, cursing himself for wasting his precious time with Duo with stupid questions like that.
"His name's Michael, and he's sorta second-in-command of that whole crew," Duo jerked his thumb upward. "Second only to the Big Guy himself, if you know what I mean."
"I'm not sure I do."
The Powers That Be, His Almightiness, Father In Heaven, or the Artist Formerly Known as God.
"You mean...you...and...he...?" Wufei was having a hard time putting this all together.
"Look, this is all nice and crap," Michael snapped irritably. "But you two can't stay there. Raven created this place, and it's going to implode any second now."
"Wait!" Wufei shouted, reaching out for Duo's hand. Before he could touch it, the braided boy pulled it away and looked at the ground.
"I'm really sorry, 'Fei, but...he's right. I have to go," he whispered. In a flurry of white feathers and staples, Duo faded away.
"No, Duo, wait! Wait!" Wufei cried, looking upward. "Please, no, don't go again..."
"You have no idea how much I want to stay, 'Fei. But, there are rules, and...gods, I'm sorry..."
Wufei fell onto the hard, jagged black soil with a sob. When he made contact with the ground, he found himself on the carpet again, five familiar distraught faces right up in his. I'm so glad I didn't give this up, he thought.
"Well, hello there," he croaked, as Sally fiddled with his shirt sleeve so she could get his pulse.
"Don't you 'hello there' ME, young man!!" she snapped irritably and grasped his wrist so hard that Wufei could feel the flesh bruise under her fingertips, "I ~told~ you to tell me if something was wrong with you! I ~told~ you!! Now look at you! Gods, Chang! If you were anymore irresponsible..." Sally trailed off into a long strain of various assorted mumbled curses.
Wufei smiled slightly to himself. It was good to be back. Ohhhhh yes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I want answers."
Sally heaved a sigh. Une had said that to her how many times in the past three days? Not only was the monotony irritating, but her lack of any answer was irritating as well.
"I don't have any, Une-sama."
Now Une heaved the sigh, for that had been Sally's response every time she had asked that very question. Une didn't like loose ends. Period. She hated movies where the audience had to interpret the ending, and she hated mysteries. Especially when they concerned her staff.
"Let's think this through logically," she started.
Sally sighed again. Indeed, this was becoming a never-ending cycle.
"One, Duo is killed. Two, Wufei goes into seizures. Three, Wufei collapses," Une listed, ticking each and every incident off on her fingers. She leaned forward intently in her over-plushed office chair, "Why?"
"You forgot the hiring of the new guy!" Duo quipped from his vantage point of perched on the corner of Une's desk.
Neither of the women heard him.
"I don't know, Une-sama," Sally said, and plunked down in one of the hard plastic chairs littering Une's office, "Do you know how hard it is for me to say those words in sequence...and so many times, to boot?"
"Say, Sally...where's Wufei?" Duo asked.
"Sally, where's Wufei?" Une asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
"He's in the infirmary. I threatened to break both of his legs and stuff his right arm up his nose if he even THOUGHT about leaving."
"Well, he's a smart boy. Stubborn as an ass, but smart." She paused as someone knocked at the door. "Yes?"
"I hate to be a bother, ma'am, but..." Une recognized the meek voice as O'Toole's.
"Come on in, O'Toole. You might as well be in on this too," she sighed, and the heavy wooden door creaked open. The white haired young man slipped in, and then quickly shut it behind him.
"I'm worried about Mister Chang, ma'am," he said, pulling himself up a chair and sitting next to Sally.
Duo snickered. "Gads, you see him acting this way, and then you hear him yell and scream about how Humans Will Ruin Themselves. I swear it isn't the same guy."
"Welcome to the club, O'Toole," Sally shook her head. "We've been pondering and pondering as hard as we can ponder, but I'll be damned if we've got even an inkling of what's wrong with him."
"I guess x-rays don't look for demon taintings," Duo added. Michael, although in mortal form, could still hear Duo talking and it took all of his strength to keep from laughing aloud or smacking him (whichever came first).
"Maybe it's an emotional problem?" Michael offered. "He does seem to take Mister Maxwell's death very hard, although I can't blame him."
"Yes, the staff did get very close to him. Ch--Wufei, especially, since they had been partners for quite some time," Une agreed. And Wufei loved him more than he loves himself, she added.
"I feel badly, replacing Mister Maxwell like this. I'd understand if Mister Chang resented me for it," Michael said softly, scratching his head. "I know I wouldn't like it if some new recruit stepped in right after such a senseless death..."
"Man, have you taken acting lessons?" Duo shook his head, trying to mask the fact that he hated the way the conversation was heading. "I'd almost believe you, if I didn't know better."
Michael kept his face set in worry, but inside he was laughing and crying at the same time. Poor Duo, to have to stand around and watch this play out...
"Don't feel bad, O'Toole," Sally said with a shake of her head, "It is going to be hard without Duo around, but no one's going to hold you to Duo. We're professionals," she winked.
Michael gave a small laugh, "Well that's a relief, ma'am."
Duo rolled his eyes, "Cornball," he muttered.
There was a light knock at Une's door, and the trio of humans and the non-corporeal being turned, "Come in," Une called out.
Wufei stumbled through the door.
Michael blinked.
Une blinked.
Sally shot to her feet and was half-way across the office in between blinks, "Dammit, Chang!" she grabbed him by the arm and resisted the urge to wildly shake him, "I told you---!!"
"I wanted some tea, woman," he glared up at her, "And you've been in here all afternoon."
Une raised an eyebrow, "Wufei, this isn't the coffee room..."
Wufei sighed in exasperation and folded his arms. Une almost withered under his glare. He was crabby alright. Ho boy, was he crabby.
"Some weakling hid the..." Wufei's voice trailed off. He stared at the corner of Une's desk in confusion, "Duo...?" he whispered.
"Hey, 'Fei," Duo said softly, and then jumped about a foot in the air. How could Wufei see him? He was a friggin' non-corporeal being! He'd covered his tracks like Smoke had taught him! So why could Wufei...?
"Must have something to do with that whole Raven thing..." he muttered. Michael's face suddenly looked puzzled and he turned around to face Wufei and his non-mortal assistant.
"Mister Chang?" he said. "You're not looking well. Maybe you should go sit down, and I'll get some tea for you...?"
(( The hell is going on?! )) Duo's heard Michael's voice bark in his head. (( Une can't see you, Sally can't see you... ))
"It probably has something to do with Raven! Don't get your knickers in a snit!" Duo snapped back.
He heard Michael snort and muttered something about hating knickers, although no one else did. He got out of his chair, and led Wufei out of the room, carefully, by his arm. Wufei began to protest, but a quick glare out of Michael's sharp blue eyes shut his yap pretty fast.
"C'mon, sir. Miss Po is busy. I'll help you out," he said, closing the door behind him with a kick of his foot.
Duo sighed, turning around to slip through the wall - since he didn't really need the door. "Raven, I will kill you yet, you slimy bag of puss..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven sneezed.
With a sigh, she took her dainty black silk kerchief from a pocket and dabbled at her delicate little nose. Sheesh. Earth with its pollution and general vileness. If her nose got chafed from too much sneezing, she and the Boss were having words.
Raven stopped in front of a tall, drab grey building, and she double-checked the directions that had been hastily scribbled on a Post-It note. Corner of Fifth and Dreyman? Check. Non-descript parking lot? Check? Sign that declared said building to be Preventers HQ? Check.
Raven ran her human hands through her dark tresses once and shook her head. If Michael could play at being human, well she could too! She was going to get that Chang boy, no matter what she had to do.
With a slight giggle, she pushed open the door and made her way to the elevators.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Let me go."
"Please, Mr. Chang, sir---"
"O'Toole! LET. ME. GO."
Against his better judgment, Michael let Wufei go. However, Wufei didn't bolt right back into Lady Une's office like he had expected. Rather he rubbed at the arm that Michael had been holding, and shook his head.
"I wasn't hallucinating," Wufei said briskly.
Michael agreed. Wufei hadn't been hallucinating. But Michael O'Toole wasn't supposed to realize that, "Sir, you have been working---"
"Will you stop calling me 'sir'!" Wufei snapped irritably and starting to stomp in the direction of the coffee room. Michael had no choice but to follow, "I saw Duo, O'Toole! I saw him on Une's desk!" he stopped and whipped around so quickly that Michael almost plowed into him, "Do you believe me?" he asked quietly, with his eyes downcast.
Michael groped for something to say. Somehow, "yes, I do believe you, because he and I were chatting," just didn't seem to sit right. Think like a human, Michael reminded himself. Think like a human.
"I'd like to believe you sir---Mister Chang," he said, somehow both quickly and reluctantly, "But this paranormal stuff...it's beyond me!"
Wufei was quiet for a moment, "I'm not going crazy," he mumbled, "I'm not..."
"I didn't say you were," Michael said, turning his attention to the cabinet so he could find his new partner some tea.
"But you were thinking it," Wufei added sourly.
Michael finally produced a bag of Earl Gray. "Was not."
He winced. (( Gads, that was mature. Maybe I should stick my tongue out for good measure... ))
(( No, whatever you do, don't do that, )) Duo's voice echoed. He was wisely staying out of the coffee room. (( He'd slice it off with his katana first. ))
Michael did his best not to snicker aloud as he stuck the tea bag into a chipped mug that proclaimed, "WELCOME TO HELL - NOW GO HOME" and handed it to Wufei. When Wufei looked hurt at the mug he'd been handed, Michael wanted to shoot himself.
(( Stab and twist, )) he thought guiltily. (( Here, have Duo's old mug! If Raven doesn't kill him, I just might. ))
(( Can I come in? ))
(( NO! )) Michael shouted, and he could almost hear Duo wince.
(( No, )) he said again, this time a little less rough. ((Right now, you'd just make it worse. Stay THERE. ))
"I think you've just gone through an awful time, Mister Chang, and stress is just catching up to you," he said aloud, as Wufei held the mug as if it were made of precious crystal.
"I know what I saw," Wufei snapped. "It wasn't stress, by God, it was Duo."
Now we're dragging Me into this?!
(( Not you too! Stop distracting me! )) Michael moaned. (( You'll make me look suspicious - as if the white hair didn't do it! ))
Suddenly, Wufei brushed past Michael and across the hallway, toward the vicinity of Duo's office. Fortunately, he had not looked to his left as he'd exited, because he would have caught Duo looking much like a deer in the headlights. Michael rushed out after him, sending Duo a Look that said "Stay back or I'll yell at you later".
"Ah, si--Mister Chang, where are you going?" he asked, but his question went on deaf ears. Wufei transferred the grip of the steamy mug into one hand, and placed the other on the worn brass latch of the door that proclaimed "DUO MAXWELL WORKS HERE!".
Michael hoped beyond all hope that whatever Raven had done to him wouldn't kill him when he entered the office.
But no, Wufei pushed open the door and stepped in without incident. Michael breathed a sigh of relief...which lasted for about three seconds. His eyes widened and he rubbed at his temples, "Not nowwwww," he pleaded, "Raven..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo's office hadn't changed from the last time Wufei had seen it. Why would it? No one had been able to muster the courage to peek into the office. Hell, no one had even been able to lock the door! The scent of Duo's incredibly powerful mango and starfruit shampoo wafted through the room, making Wufei slightly dizzy. He carefully set the mug of tea on the bookshelf, in between Duo's prized bat plushie and several abandoned manga. He picked his way through the various papers littering the floor and somehow made it to the desk.
The desk was covered in STUFF. Several rainforests had obviously met their death with all the paper work scattered about. It made ~Une's~ desk look sparse by comparison.
Just the computer space alone was covered with personal items. A tiny figure of Death with long bat-wings seemed to glare down at him with little glowing eyes. The monitor was covered with tiny sticky-notes with Duo's scribbled handwriting, with reminders like, "phone q-bean about une's b-day surprise," "finish roebert-vice report," and "make my 'fei smile once a shift."
Wufei stopped looking and stared at the last one, flashing a neon-yellow like a tiny beacon: Make my 'Fei smile. ~My~ 'Fei. Not just 'Fei, Wu-dude, 'Fei-kitty...~my~ 'Fei. He fingered the edges, and he couldn't take his eyes off the little note. All this time, Duo had made it his mission to make him happy every day? The thought made the cold hole in his chest just the tiniest bit warmer. He didn't read too much into "my 'Fei"; he called Une "my dear Lady Bitch", and Trowa "my silent shadow"...It was just another term of endearment, like he used for everyone. But how he wished it were different...
His eyes roamed over the framed photos. There was a picture of Heero wearing a pair of kitty ears, looking particularly unamused. There was a picture of Milliardo's proposal to Noin; he was grinning as she nearly swallowed the diamond ring in the bottom of her wineglass. There was a picture of Trowa and Quatre curled up under a dogwood tree, asleep under a covering of fallen blossoms. Tucked carefully under a coffee mug with an upside-down smiley face on it, there was a white envelope with his name written in sprawling cursive. He pulled it out carefully, and clenched his fist around it until his knuckles turned white. The letter was for him, but with Duo gone...was it wrong to open it?
Did it matter?
Wufei ran a finger under the seal, breaking it, and removed the piece of stationary that had been folded within.
(( Oh boy... )) Duo stuck his head into the office, making sure Wufei's back was facing him at all times. ((Ohhh boy oh boy... ))
"You ain't just whistling Dixie, kiddo," Michael muttered, and then made a "meep!" sound as he realized he'd said that aloud. Fortunately, Wufei was way too engrossed with the letter to pay him any mind.
"'I have to tell you this now so if that day comes when one of us leaves and doesn't come back, we'll both have this out in the open'..." Wufei whispered aloud, eyes slowly widening with every line he took in.
(( I guess that note wasn't a stupid idea, after all, )) Duo mused, biting his lip and tasting one salty tear.
(( Guess not, )) agreed Michael.
"He...oh, god..." The letter slid out of Wufei's hands and fluttered to the floor. He sank to his knees in utter shock, and Michael shot forward (nearly tripping over a cardboard palm tree).
"Mister Chang, we'd better get you back to the sick bay," Michael said, but he had no intention of taking Wufei anywhere.
"He loved me too," Wufei said, casting a sideways glance at the letter. "He loved me, but he was afraid I'd shut him out if he told me...What a fucking, fucking idiot I am."
Michael said nothing, because he really had nothing intelligent to say. He just knelt down on one knee next to Wufei.
"Nah, 'Fei. You're not an idiot," Duo whispered aloud, so softly that almost he couldn't hear it.
"Yes I am," Wufei said, thinking it had been Michael speaking. "I caused Duo pain by forcing him to keep his feelings inside...and he died thinking I didn't care about him."
A couple of salty drops plopped onto the stationery, and Michael put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, sir," he whispered, locking his sharp blue eyes with Wufei's wet chocolate ones.
Wufei swallowed audibly, "Me too...and you know what the worst part of it is?" he didn't wait for Michael to answer, "It's too late to do anything about it..."
"Oh, 'Fei..." Duo whispered and started into his former office. Forget Michael. Wufei was here, now, and he needed to be told that what had happened ~wasn't~ his fault---
Duo was jerked backwards and something grabbed on his braid and yanked. He yelped in pain, and his braid was released. He spun around to see his attacker---
"Raven?!"
It looked like Raven, smirked like Raven, had the cocky stance of Raven, but it couldn't be Raven! This person was human! The lack of talons on her fingers were a dead giveaway---wait. Duo almost slapped himself on the forehead. If ~Michael~ could pass as human, why couldn't Raven pull the same trick?
((Good thinking, sweetie!)) the woman thought cheerfully at him, ((Shame you're non-corporeal though.))
Duo narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
((It's terrible to be the bystander!)) with a wink, she walked confidently into the office, her high heels muffled by the plush carpeting.
Michael's head shot up at the intruder, "You," he snarled.
Wufei looked up and felt the color drain from his face, "You," he whispered.
"Captain Obvious," Raven nodded at Michael, "and his adorable side-kick," she nodded to Wufei, "I do hope you'll let me conclude my business here. The Apocalypse ~is~ coming, you know."
"How the fucking hell did you get in here?" Michael was FURIOUS. Not just pissy, not just angry. He was foaming at the mouth, ready to kill something furious. She had the nerve to just stroll into this office, probably weaving some damn spell of Compulsion to get past all the armed agents...
"Hell does many things, but it doesn't really 'fuck'. It's a place, it lacks the parts you need to do that sort of thing," Raven smiled quirkily. Michael wanted to rip the smirk right off her face.
"Get away from him." Duo had had enough of this. Raven was not causing any more hurt for his 'Fei. "I told you I didn't want to see your face again."
"You think I care?" Raven's face lost its smirk. She was all business now. "You can't stop me. All the goodness and light in the world can't stop me and The Boss. We want him --" She pointed a talon-less finger at Wufei, "--and we are going to have him."
"No. You aren't," Duo stepped into the office so he was facing Raven.
Finally, Wufei regained his voice. "O'Toole, get the hell out of here."
"Like bloody fucking hell I am," Michael hissed. "I'm not leaving you in here alone with them!"
{{You know, I think I'll save the speech about cussing until you've gotten your behind out of this mess.}}
(( Nice to know that morality comes after helping your messengers saving their asses, )) muttered Michael.
{{...I wouldn't put it quite that way, but something like that.}}
"We're not going to spar here, are we?" Raven smiled and got into a fighting stance. "Your precious 'Fei might get hurt."
"Little late for that, isn't it?" Duo growled. "If you were so worried about keeping him healthy, you're doing a pretty crappy-ass job, what with that spell that nearly kills him every time he even thinks of me..."
"I had to do that. It's part of the tainting process," Raven shrugged. "I didn't want to, but I didn't write the rulebook."
"No, you didn't," Duo agreed darkly, "but you're the one who follows it."
"'Taint'?" Wufei repeated to himself softly. He brushed his fingertips over his lips. Is that what it had been? The seizures, the over-whelming spasms of pain...it was due to a demon taint? A demon taint?!
Last week, Wufei would have scoffed at the notion. Taints were the things of folk lore and myth, not Preventer problems. But so much had happened in the past several days...so much he couldn't explain...
Sally was going to flip eight ways sideways when he told her what was wrong with him.
Therefore, if he had been tainted by this woman before him---obviously a demoness---maybe Duo's death hadn't been a freak accident? Maybe...maybe, maybe, maybe...it had been some sort of pre-arranged plan? Maybe this demon woman had even planned it? But why? Just to get to him? Just to get to Chang Wufei? Could the universe really be that screwed up?
{{Not so much "screwed up" as "caught in a massive power struggle."}}
Wufei rubbed his temples in exasperation, "Not you again," he grumbled.
"Look," Raven was saying, "I work for the Boss, because I agree with Apocalypse, okay? If I had a choice, I'd keep that little truffle of a Preventer to myself...which I intend on doing, after we destroy the world and such---"
"You killed him."
Everyone was silent.
Wufei was still by Duo's desk, Michael's hand was still on his shoulder, and the tears were still streaking Wufei's face. But his eyes, oh his lovely almond eyes were smoldering with an unsurpassed rage.
"You killed him," he repeated coldly, "You killed him. You killed him! And for what! So you could get me? Is that it?! Why?" he picked up a stapler and beamed it at the human demoness. She easily blocked it, but was blinking in rapid surprise, "Answer me!!"
"Well...yeah, that's about it," Raven scratched the back of her head. "We didn't actually expect Duo to be turned into an angel, but so much for the better."
"He can suffer for all eternity knowing he was the cause of this."
"No." Wufei stood up, shrugging away Michael's hand. "No, you're not going to cause Duo any more suffering on my account."
Raven giggled. "What are you going to do? Glower at me until I die of fear?"
"I'm going to rip you a new breathing hole, that's what I'm going to do," Wufei snarled. From out of some place that no one seems to know about, he whipped out a long, sharp katana. He drew his finger over the blade, noting that it was properly sharp by the tiny trickle of blood he left along its edge.
"In case you've forgotten, you're a mortal. You can't touch me," Raven now turned her full attention away from Duo, who was gaping like a fish, and to her soon-to-be prize.
"And in case you'd forgotten, you're also mortal right now." Before Raven could come up with a retort, Wufei sprang into the air and drove his katana straight for her chest, hoping to hit her somewhere that would cause considerable damage. Raven thought she could dodge him easy, but before she could even think about doing so, there was a sickening snap as a cold piece of metal jammed through her shoulder blade.
"You killed him," Wufei's anger was so palpable, you could almost hear it humming in the air around him. "You took Duo from all of us, just so you could get to me. What a fucking cowardly onna you are."
Raven stared at him, mouth wide and eyes bulging in shock. This mortal, this ordinary young man...had stabbed her. Not just stabbed her - he had run her through with his sword. She could feel the blood seeping out of her arm and down her chest, and she numbly realized that she'd better grab him while she could before her human form died.
"'Fei, back off!" Duo shouted, realizing with sudden dread that Raven was about to teleport away.
Wufei tried to jump back, but Raven shot out a hand and gripped it with surprising strength for a dying woman. "If I'm going back to Hell, you're coming with me, you little shit bug. I'm making you my consort whether you like it or not."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Muhahahaha.
To be continued when my computer is no longer being stupid.
And yes...we are evil.
~AA&M
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back or wondering how it could be now or might have been
Oh this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go..."
--Steps - "Never Had a Dream Come True"
Wufei had decided that he would not wear a suit. Although tradition demanded clothing of the stuffy, stodgy nature that no one would ever dream of wearing otherwise...he couldn't. Duo wouldn't want his friends to be all "dressed in their Sunday best", as he used to say, Wufei didn't think that's what he would have wanted. Instead, he had opted for a nice, crisp white shirt and dark slacks. As he observed his friends occupying the row of chairs with him, he could see that they had done the same.
Duo. Every time he even thought the name, his chest tightened and he could barely breathe. He knew it wasn't healthy, he knew he should tell Sally...but he didn't. Perhaps it was his masochistic subconscious, or his stubborn conscious, that was keeping him from mentioning it. Whatever it was, he wouldn't mention it. The woman had enough on her mind, she didn't need to be stressing over his inability to control his own damn feelings...
There weren't a whole lot of people Wufei could recognize, which was surprising and, at the same time, not surprising at all. Duo had touched so many people over the years, and it made sense that they'd all fly out to pay respects. In the first row, along with him, were who Wufei deemed the "nearest and dearest". This included Heero, Trowa and Quatre (they seemed to be inseparable lately), himself, Sally, and Une. In the row behind him were some of the Preventers agents and other assorted employees, including that new agent, O'Toole. His new partner. To replace Duo...
He tried to remain calm as his chest cramped again, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Sally, who happened to be sitting next to him, raised an eyebrow, but he just shook his head and muttered something about heartburn. Sally seemed to buy his excuse, and turned back towards the front of the assembly. Wufei breathed a sigh of relief that was more like a short gasp. He could get through this. He could do it.
For what seemed the hundredth time, he examined the crinkled white paper that was clenched in his right fist. Later, after the man officiating was done talking about Duo's hard-working and ever-loving soul was finally liberated and at rest, the people assembled would have a chance to stand up and talk. Wufei had a feeling that that alone would take a considerable amount of time. Everyone would have a Duo story they would just HAVE to tell. Heero would probably talk about the incident with the coffee maker, Quatre would talk about the time Duo put dishwashing liquid into one of his estates' fountains, Une...maybe about that prized plush kitten that had mysteriously appeared on her desk from him one day...
As for Wufei...
Wufei planned to tell of a fool who had let his heart's desire slip through his fingers. Reiterate how one always thinks that he has all the time in the world to build up the courage to confess, but like a bad movie cliché...
How'd that poem go? Wufei mused to himself. He was my noon, my midnight, my talk and my song...I thought that love would last forever...I was wrong...
The cramp in his chest had dulled to an ache-irritating, painful, but nothing he'd die from. He'd had worse during the war. He shook his head wryly; Duo would get a kick out of---
He clenched the hem of his shirt as another sudden wave seized him.
Sally was trying her darndest to pay attention to Trowa's story about Duo and an incident with a box of violin strings and some very interesting pictures of Heero, but as she watched him out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but feel a little niggling bit of worry in the bottom of her stomach. Wufei kept breathing hard and clutching his shirt, and it had only been a day since that episode in his office. She still had no answer for Wufei's painful seizure, but she was going to figure it out. Nothing was going to take him from her too; one casualty was enough for her to last a long time.
Trowa had to pause to clear his throat and regain a little bit of dignity, so Sally leaned over briefly in Wufei's direction.
"If something's wrong, you need to tell me," she hissed. "I need to help you."
Wufei snorted softly, hiding the fact that it had made his chest spasm. "I'm fine, woman. Lay off."
Sally just shook her head and turned her attention back to Trowa. "Fine. Be masochistic. But if I think you need to take a trip to the hospital, then you're going whether I have to drug you or not."
Their dialogue ceased for awhile, as they listened to each of the little stories people told about Duo. Unfortunately for Wufei, every time his name was mentioned, he had to clench his fists and hope that he was going to last long enough to get through his speech and away from Dr. Po the Hypochondriac.
As Une finished her speech about Duo's dedication to his job and to the peace he'd helped create, she signaled to him with a raised eyebrow that it would be his turn to speak next.
Wufei took a few steadying breaths and hoped Sally would think they were to alleviate nervousness. Wufei had never been afraid of public speaking in his life, but with Sally playing Mama Hen, it might not be a bad idea to pretend to be. He'd been under her medical ministrations enough to suit twelve lifetimes.
He slowly made his way to the podium, and looked out at the tear-streaked faces of the audience. His fingers curled around the podium's side; hopefully that was enough to keep him upright for five or six minutes.
"Let me tell you a story," he started solemnly, "Not about violin strings or confetti raining from the sprinkler system...this is a story about an idiot," he chuckled at the flabbergasted expressions he was receiving, "No, no, not Duo---" he grimaced and breathed deeply before continuing. Hopefully, no one had noticed, "A different idiot. An idiot who could face down mobile suits, Treize Khusherenada, and his own family, but couldn't admit to one simple thing," he paused not only for effect, but because the ache in his chest was becoming even more pronounced, "He couldn't admit to love.
"We all know that Duo was beautiful...inside and out as corny as it sounds...he loved life, he loved his cat...and everyone loved him..."
Sally sat forward in her seat, biting her lip to keep from leaping up. To say Wufei looked like hell would be an understatement. He was clinging to the podium as if it was a life-line, his face was the color of talcum powder, and he was breathing in shallow gasps.
"Everyone loved him, but only one person was stupid enough to neglect telling him." Everyone exchanged confused looks with the person next to them, until Wufei managed to add, "Me."
That got the reaction Wufei had predicted - a collective gasp. He hated the pained look Sally was giving him, but he did his best to ignore it so he could finish his speech and then collapse into a dead heap.
"'Fei..." From behind him, a long arm reached out and touched his shoulder. Duo tried to help steady Wufei as much as possible, but it's hard to do when you're not exactly solid. He was ever-so-slowly starting to sink, but he was trying his best to stay upright.
"Every day, I told myself, 'Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll stop by his office and I'll tell him.' But I never did," he said, swallowing hard. "I didn't realize how much I would miss by not telling him until he wasn't around for me to..."
He faltered suddenly, gripping the podium until both hands were as white as his face. Everyone gasped and Sally made a jump out of her seat, but he waved her off.
"...until he wasn't around." He looked out at the row of his friends, seeing Quatre's deep eyes pool with even more tears, Trowa's mixture of shock and sadness, and Heero's averted eyes. Une just mouthed 'I'm sorry', and then looked down at her lap again.
"And I just wish I could get one more day...hell, one more hour with him, so I could tell him. So he would know...and so I wouldn't feel like such a fucking coward."
"'Fei, you're not a coward!" Duo shouted as his back, even though his voice would not be heard. "Don't ever say that!"
By now, it was obvious even to the most lay of the laymen, that something was terribly wrong with Wufei. If the podium hadn't been there, there was no doubt that Wufei would be puddled out all over the floor. Watching him trying to brave through his speech was painful and listening to his heart break was even worse. But nobody wanted to get up to rob him of his confessional, for which Wufei was quite grateful.
"I wish I had some brainy quote to finish this whole thing up with..." Wufei was sagging into the podium, his voice nothing more than a harsh whisper, "Duo loved random quotes..." Wufei gasped sharply and started to fall.
"'Fei!" Duo tried to catch the unconscious boy, but he fell through Duo's hands. Duo wanted to scream in frustration. He couldn't tell Wufei how he felt in life, and now he couldn't help him see that this whole situation ~wasn't~ his fault! It wasn't fair!!
Wufei hit the carpeted floor with a sickening crunch and Duo let out a small cry.
Sally was up and flying across the distance from her chair to the podium, Une right on her heels. Heero had materialized from who-knew-where to Wufei's side, and Duo could see Quatre and Trowa starting to elbow their way through some now-panicking Preventers. And in the very back of the room...
Duo blinked.
In the very back of the room was a woman Duo had never seen before. She was pale and her jet hair tumbled past her waist. And she was looking at him. Right at him. At Duo. She could SEE him and she was smirking at him.
He swallowed.
"He'll be mine," she shouted at him. "You had your chance, and you lost him. Now he's mine!"
"No! I won't let you use him!" Duo shouted back, but the woman's smirk transformed itself into a nasty grin.
"You have no say. I'll use the thing he wants most - you - to bring him to my side!" She wiggled her talons, and something black and ominous seemed to snake across the room and up the podium to Wufei's fallen body. Duo squawked as it slithered into his head.
Wufei struggled to get his eyes open, and when he finally did, he didn't see what he expected to. He was no longer sprawled on carpet, but kneeling in a very different place. The landscape was dark and ominous; sharp black rocks stuck out from every direction imaginable, and everything was covered in thick, blood-red fog.
"Where am I?" He looked around to get his bearings, but realized that his view was exactly the same in every direction. "A better question would be, 'why I am I here?'"
"Wufei..."
Wufei sprang to his feet. That voice...that was Duo's voice!
"Wufei, please...be with me..."
"Duo! Where are you?" he shouted, his voice echoing off the strange cliffs. "Duo!"
Out of fog, someone began to walk toward him. Wufei squinted to see them better, but he could not make out the face.
"Wufei..."
But he could sure make out the voice.
"Duo!" He rushed forward, tripping and stumbling over a few poorly placed rocks.
"Wufei!" Everything about Duo suddenly began to smile; his posture perked up, his eyes positively glittered.
"Duo, where are we?" he asked, reaching out to touch Duo, to make sure he was real. As his knuckles brushed up against Duo's shoulder, he sighed. It was real. Solid, beautiful, and reeked of mango-n-starfruit shampoo. Yes, it was Duo.
Wufei had the urge to just break down right then and there. Everything that had happened in the past 24 hours was starting to fade like a horrible dream...
With a muffled sob, Wufei sprung into Duo's arms, and much to his utter delight, Duo didn't cast him aside. Rather, he pulled him closer, and buried his face in the crook of Wufei's neck.
"I thought...I thought..." Wufei stammered out, not quite sure what he was intending to say. He could feel tears starting to slide down his cheeks, but he did nothing to stop them. Gods, he was so relieved! Everything would be okay now! He'd been given his second chance!
"I know," Duo whispered into his hair, "I know, Wufei," he tightened his arms around Wufei and sighed his own blissful sigh, "But Wufei...we're not out of the woods yet...I need your help..."
Wufei quickly nodded, "Anything!"
If Wufei had seen Duo's grin, he might not have been so eager to help. If Wufei had seen Duo's grin, he might have questioned himself on whether or not this was the actual Duo. After all, how many sentences had Duo uttered without sticking Wufei with some odd nickname? But considering Duo's face was nuzzled in Wufei's neck, he didn't see the grin. And, also considering Wufei was relieved to find Duo alive, he didn't pay notice to the lack of "wu-man"s, "fei-babe"s, "wu-wu"s, and "fei-kitty-pants-chan"s...
"There's trouble brewing," Duo said. "They tried to take us apart, Wufei, and we can't let them do that to us."
"'They'? 'Them'? Who are you talking about?" Wufei couldn't think of anyone who'd actually known about his feelings for Duo, let alone anyone who'd act to sabotage them.
"The Powers That Be, Wufei. His Almightiness. Father In Heaven. God's trying to ruin us, Wufei." Duo's voice had suddenly gotten sharper. "They try and tell us it's His way, there's nothing you can do...Bullshit."
Wufei tried to interject, but Duo kept going. "I need you to come with me. Away from everything He's connected to. He'll never get in our way again, Wufei. We can finally have what we always wanted..."
Oh, how tempting it sounded! Abandon all the pain and suffering that he'd been given, devote himself to Duo and Duo alone...
...but then Sally's pained, miserable face came floating back into view, and Une's sympathetic eyes, and Quatre's cute fluffy plushies, and Trowa's smirk...
No, none of them mattered. Only Duo mattered. Only the things that Duo needed mattered. He could put all the others behind him...
"I don't want to see you hurt anymore, Wufei. I need to help you."
"I'm sorry..."
"Please, call us?"
"Duo, I love you, but can I...can I really abandon them like this?" he asked softly, gripping Duo's shirt in his fists.
"I know you don't want to, but you've gotta, Wufei. If you want to be with me, it's the only way," he whispered, nuzzling his head into Wufei's silky black hair.
"No! Stop lying to him!"
Wufei jumped slightly at the new voice. Only it wasn't new, it was Duo's! But that couldn't be right because Duo was right here and Duo hadn't spoken! But if this was Duo holding him, and if this was Duo nuzzling him, and if this was Duo talking softly to him...
Who in the hell was that?!
Wufei peeked over Duo's shoulder to see...Duo. Except it wasn't Duo, because Duo had never been endowed with wings. But this Duo had wings. Large, white, beautiful, swan-like wings. They should've looked ridiculous. They should've looked out of place. But rather it was just the opposite. Those wings belonged. They were meant to be there.
The wings weren't the only thing different about this new Duo. Wufei couldn't describe it-he hadn't been lying when he said that Duo had been beautiful in life. However, this Duo...this Duo...this Duo seemed to glow.
The Duo that had been embracing Wufei whipped his head around in shock, "What are ~you~ doing here?! How did you get here??" he spat.
Winged Duo shrugged, "I don't know how I got here..." he mumbled kinda sheepishly. But then he locked eyes with the other Duo, and his amethyst eyes turned fiery, "As for what I'm doing here, RAVEN, I think it's obvious."
The pseudo-Duo's form melted and Wufei found himself being held in the embrace of a rather attractive woman. Or rather, she would have been attractive if her delicate features weren't scrunched up in a sneer...and if she hadn't been trying to trick him by impersonating Duo, "Michael," she snarled after a moment, "Michael was at the wake. Michael sent you here."
Duo nodded, "You should really double-check everything before launching an attack, sugarbumps. Now," his tone lowered, "I'm going to say this once: let my 'Fei go."
Raven crushed Wufei closer to her breast, and he winced as he felt her talons digging into the skin of his back, "What are you going to do, Mr. Maxwell?" she asked sarcastically, "YOU can't touch him! If he passes out from merely ~thinking~ about you, what's he going to do if he's tainted by you?"
Duo actually looked startled, "But...but...I was trying to touch him at the wake..."
Wufei's eyes widened. Duo had been at his own wake?! So Duo had heard his little tirade...
"You're a non-corporeal being on Earth, idiot! You CAN'T touch him! But not here! Not here!" somehow, she managed to hold Wufei tighter, "And I'm not relinquishing my prize to you! He's MINE!"
Okay. Wufei had had it with the possessive, lying, bitchy demoness. He had had an incredibly lousy couple of days, and someone was going to get beaten down. And it looked like the Raven woman was just aching for an elbow to the gut or a foot to the jaw.
"Woman," he growled as he readied himself for attack, "Like the band said, you. Don't. Own. Me. Now!" and he lashed out.
"Can we touch the soul of heaven?
Can we unite a sacred lesson?
Every child creates a skylight of beauty..."
Someone's soft, sweet voice began to sing, and Duo looked around,
puzzled, for its source.
"Can you hear cathedrals falling?
All the universe is calling,
Cry a single cello from your heart..."
Raven rolled awkwardly as Wufei's fist connected with her jaw with
incredibly force. She sprung back up quickly, licking away a trickle
of blood from her lip.
"Every voice along the shoreline
Standing still within time
Spinning unresolved the walking..."
"You got one cheap shot, boy," she snarled, and she leapt into the
air.
"As each season passes
Through wonderland, looking glasses
The secret garden shire beckons you..."
"Isn't there something I can do?" Duo shouted, turning his attention
above him. The soft voice ignored him and continued to sing, but
Michael's voice interjected briefly.
"I know this is going to sound moronic, but let your heart guide you,
Duo!" he said. "That's the only way you can push Raven out!"
Duo nodded resolutely. They would regret hurting his 'Fei!
Wufei yelped as Raven's foot snapped down onto his shoulder, sending
him stumbling backwards into the sharp rock. They ripped away at his
uniform, and his arms and chest began to bleed. She landed on top of
him, and pinned him against the towering stone with all her weight.
"Give yourself up," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.
"You'll be sacrificing for a greater good!"
"Leave him alone, Raven." Something sharp and sizzling exploded on
Raven's back, and she screamed as she was torn away from Wufei. Duo's
face definitely screamed Not Pleased, and his entire body was
radiating a white hot glow now.
"I'm only going to say this one more time, and then I'll have to get
really nasty," he growled deep in his throat. "Get away from Wufei."
"It's my mission to bring him back," she wheezed, struggling to get
to her feet.
Duo chuckled, and it was not a nice chuckled. "I don't give a flying
fuck what your mission is. You can't have him."
"Gentle flower, don't fade away!
Sweet innocent still harbors thee,
In faith of garden dreams
Where one love lives eternally!"
Wufei watched this scene, with Duo and the demoness, with a detached
fascination. All this fighting, over him? What had he ever done to
become so coveted?
It's not really something you did. I suppose this whole mess is all
My fault, but I'm not letting the other guy get away scot-free
either.
"Who...are you?" Wufei asked. There were too many voices going at the
same time, and they were all giving Wufei a headache.
Oh, no one particularly important. I'll give you a formal
introduction later.
For lack of anything better, Wufei responded dumbly, "Aa."
"I'm not going to shred you now, Raven," Duo said, wings suddenly
extending to their full length, making Duo look like some gorgeous
mythical being. "I might do it later, since 'Fei's subconscious
really isn't the right place for us non-corporeal beings to get all
gooky with each other, yah know what I mean? So I'm going to let you
flee like the little trapped rodent that you are. And you'd better
hope I don't see your face for a very long time, because angel or
not, I'm still the God of Death."
Raven's eyes narrowed and she took a step back. She wanted Wufei-who wouldn't??-but she wasn't willing to be mangled in his subconscious by a jealous lover. She did have a sense of self-preservation after all.
"I won't forget this," she promised darkly.
"Spoken like a true villain," Duo responded snidely.
Raven scowled before disappearing into her flurry of black feathers and bobby pins.
As if in slow motion, Duo turned from where the demoness had vanished to face Wufei. Wufei was staring at him with wide, chocolate colored eyes, and he was trying to speak, but no words were emerging. Duo smiled slightly, "Hello, Wufei."
"Duo...?" Wufei whispered, almost afraid that if he spoke too loudly, whatever spell had been cast would be broken.
Duo nodded once.
Once more the color drained from Wufei's face, and he extended a trembling hand, "Duo..." he said shakily, "Duo...I..."
"I know..." Duo held up his own hand, but despite what his heart was screaming at him to do, he didn't touch Wufei. Raven's taunts were still fresh in his mind, and he wouldn't be the instrument of death to one he loved.
"You can't stay here, Chang Wufei," came Michael's voice from above.
"Who's that?" Wufei asked, cursing himself for wasting his precious time with Duo with stupid questions like that.
"His name's Michael, and he's sorta second-in-command of that whole crew," Duo jerked his thumb upward. "Second only to the Big Guy himself, if you know what I mean."
"I'm not sure I do."
The Powers That Be, His Almightiness, Father In Heaven, or the Artist Formerly Known as God.
"You mean...you...and...he...?" Wufei was having a hard time putting this all together.
"Look, this is all nice and crap," Michael snapped irritably. "But you two can't stay there. Raven created this place, and it's going to implode any second now."
"Wait!" Wufei shouted, reaching out for Duo's hand. Before he could touch it, the braided boy pulled it away and looked at the ground.
"I'm really sorry, 'Fei, but...he's right. I have to go," he whispered. In a flurry of white feathers and staples, Duo faded away.
"No, Duo, wait! Wait!" Wufei cried, looking upward. "Please, no, don't go again..."
"You have no idea how much I want to stay, 'Fei. But, there are rules, and...gods, I'm sorry..."
Wufei fell onto the hard, jagged black soil with a sob. When he made contact with the ground, he found himself on the carpet again, five familiar distraught faces right up in his. I'm so glad I didn't give this up, he thought.
"Well, hello there," he croaked, as Sally fiddled with his shirt sleeve so she could get his pulse.
"Don't you 'hello there' ME, young man!!" she snapped irritably and grasped his wrist so hard that Wufei could feel the flesh bruise under her fingertips, "I ~told~ you to tell me if something was wrong with you! I ~told~ you!! Now look at you! Gods, Chang! If you were anymore irresponsible..." Sally trailed off into a long strain of various assorted mumbled curses.
Wufei smiled slightly to himself. It was good to be back. Ohhhhh yes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I want answers."
Sally heaved a sigh. Une had said that to her how many times in the past three days? Not only was the monotony irritating, but her lack of any answer was irritating as well.
"I don't have any, Une-sama."
Now Une heaved the sigh, for that had been Sally's response every time she had asked that very question. Une didn't like loose ends. Period. She hated movies where the audience had to interpret the ending, and she hated mysteries. Especially when they concerned her staff.
"Let's think this through logically," she started.
Sally sighed again. Indeed, this was becoming a never-ending cycle.
"One, Duo is killed. Two, Wufei goes into seizures. Three, Wufei collapses," Une listed, ticking each and every incident off on her fingers. She leaned forward intently in her over-plushed office chair, "Why?"
"You forgot the hiring of the new guy!" Duo quipped from his vantage point of perched on the corner of Une's desk.
Neither of the women heard him.
"I don't know, Une-sama," Sally said, and plunked down in one of the hard plastic chairs littering Une's office, "Do you know how hard it is for me to say those words in sequence...and so many times, to boot?"
"Say, Sally...where's Wufei?" Duo asked.
"Sally, where's Wufei?" Une asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
"He's in the infirmary. I threatened to break both of his legs and stuff his right arm up his nose if he even THOUGHT about leaving."
"Well, he's a smart boy. Stubborn as an ass, but smart." She paused as someone knocked at the door. "Yes?"
"I hate to be a bother, ma'am, but..." Une recognized the meek voice as O'Toole's.
"Come on in, O'Toole. You might as well be in on this too," she sighed, and the heavy wooden door creaked open. The white haired young man slipped in, and then quickly shut it behind him.
"I'm worried about Mister Chang, ma'am," he said, pulling himself up a chair and sitting next to Sally.
Duo snickered. "Gads, you see him acting this way, and then you hear him yell and scream about how Humans Will Ruin Themselves. I swear it isn't the same guy."
"Welcome to the club, O'Toole," Sally shook her head. "We've been pondering and pondering as hard as we can ponder, but I'll be damned if we've got even an inkling of what's wrong with him."
"I guess x-rays don't look for demon taintings," Duo added. Michael, although in mortal form, could still hear Duo talking and it took all of his strength to keep from laughing aloud or smacking him (whichever came first).
"Maybe it's an emotional problem?" Michael offered. "He does seem to take Mister Maxwell's death very hard, although I can't blame him."
"Yes, the staff did get very close to him. Ch--Wufei, especially, since they had been partners for quite some time," Une agreed. And Wufei loved him more than he loves himself, she added.
"I feel badly, replacing Mister Maxwell like this. I'd understand if Mister Chang resented me for it," Michael said softly, scratching his head. "I know I wouldn't like it if some new recruit stepped in right after such a senseless death..."
"Man, have you taken acting lessons?" Duo shook his head, trying to mask the fact that he hated the way the conversation was heading. "I'd almost believe you, if I didn't know better."
Michael kept his face set in worry, but inside he was laughing and crying at the same time. Poor Duo, to have to stand around and watch this play out...
"Don't feel bad, O'Toole," Sally said with a shake of her head, "It is going to be hard without Duo around, but no one's going to hold you to Duo. We're professionals," she winked.
Michael gave a small laugh, "Well that's a relief, ma'am."
Duo rolled his eyes, "Cornball," he muttered.
There was a light knock at Une's door, and the trio of humans and the non-corporeal being turned, "Come in," Une called out.
Wufei stumbled through the door.
Michael blinked.
Une blinked.
Sally shot to her feet and was half-way across the office in between blinks, "Dammit, Chang!" she grabbed him by the arm and resisted the urge to wildly shake him, "I told you---!!"
"I wanted some tea, woman," he glared up at her, "And you've been in here all afternoon."
Une raised an eyebrow, "Wufei, this isn't the coffee room..."
Wufei sighed in exasperation and folded his arms. Une almost withered under his glare. He was crabby alright. Ho boy, was he crabby.
"Some weakling hid the..." Wufei's voice trailed off. He stared at the corner of Une's desk in confusion, "Duo...?" he whispered.
"Hey, 'Fei," Duo said softly, and then jumped about a foot in the air. How could Wufei see him? He was a friggin' non-corporeal being! He'd covered his tracks like Smoke had taught him! So why could Wufei...?
"Must have something to do with that whole Raven thing..." he muttered. Michael's face suddenly looked puzzled and he turned around to face Wufei and his non-mortal assistant.
"Mister Chang?" he said. "You're not looking well. Maybe you should go sit down, and I'll get some tea for you...?"
(( The hell is going on?! )) Duo's heard Michael's voice bark in his head. (( Une can't see you, Sally can't see you... ))
"It probably has something to do with Raven! Don't get your knickers in a snit!" Duo snapped back.
He heard Michael snort and muttered something about hating knickers, although no one else did. He got out of his chair, and led Wufei out of the room, carefully, by his arm. Wufei began to protest, but a quick glare out of Michael's sharp blue eyes shut his yap pretty fast.
"C'mon, sir. Miss Po is busy. I'll help you out," he said, closing the door behind him with a kick of his foot.
Duo sighed, turning around to slip through the wall - since he didn't really need the door. "Raven, I will kill you yet, you slimy bag of puss..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Raven sneezed.
With a sigh, she took her dainty black silk kerchief from a pocket and dabbled at her delicate little nose. Sheesh. Earth with its pollution and general vileness. If her nose got chafed from too much sneezing, she and the Boss were having words.
Raven stopped in front of a tall, drab grey building, and she double-checked the directions that had been hastily scribbled on a Post-It note. Corner of Fifth and Dreyman? Check. Non-descript parking lot? Check? Sign that declared said building to be Preventers HQ? Check.
Raven ran her human hands through her dark tresses once and shook her head. If Michael could play at being human, well she could too! She was going to get that Chang boy, no matter what she had to do.
With a slight giggle, she pushed open the door and made her way to the elevators.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Let me go."
"Please, Mr. Chang, sir---"
"O'Toole! LET. ME. GO."
Against his better judgment, Michael let Wufei go. However, Wufei didn't bolt right back into Lady Une's office like he had expected. Rather he rubbed at the arm that Michael had been holding, and shook his head.
"I wasn't hallucinating," Wufei said briskly.
Michael agreed. Wufei hadn't been hallucinating. But Michael O'Toole wasn't supposed to realize that, "Sir, you have been working---"
"Will you stop calling me 'sir'!" Wufei snapped irritably and starting to stomp in the direction of the coffee room. Michael had no choice but to follow, "I saw Duo, O'Toole! I saw him on Une's desk!" he stopped and whipped around so quickly that Michael almost plowed into him, "Do you believe me?" he asked quietly, with his eyes downcast.
Michael groped for something to say. Somehow, "yes, I do believe you, because he and I were chatting," just didn't seem to sit right. Think like a human, Michael reminded himself. Think like a human.
"I'd like to believe you sir---Mister Chang," he said, somehow both quickly and reluctantly, "But this paranormal stuff...it's beyond me!"
Wufei was quiet for a moment, "I'm not going crazy," he mumbled, "I'm not..."
"I didn't say you were," Michael said, turning his attention to the cabinet so he could find his new partner some tea.
"But you were thinking it," Wufei added sourly.
Michael finally produced a bag of Earl Gray. "Was not."
He winced. (( Gads, that was mature. Maybe I should stick my tongue out for good measure... ))
(( No, whatever you do, don't do that, )) Duo's voice echoed. He was wisely staying out of the coffee room. (( He'd slice it off with his katana first. ))
Michael did his best not to snicker aloud as he stuck the tea bag into a chipped mug that proclaimed, "WELCOME TO HELL - NOW GO HOME" and handed it to Wufei. When Wufei looked hurt at the mug he'd been handed, Michael wanted to shoot himself.
(( Stab and twist, )) he thought guiltily. (( Here, have Duo's old mug! If Raven doesn't kill him, I just might. ))
(( Can I come in? ))
(( NO! )) Michael shouted, and he could almost hear Duo wince.
(( No, )) he said again, this time a little less rough. ((Right now, you'd just make it worse. Stay THERE. ))
"I think you've just gone through an awful time, Mister Chang, and stress is just catching up to you," he said aloud, as Wufei held the mug as if it were made of precious crystal.
"I know what I saw," Wufei snapped. "It wasn't stress, by God, it was Duo."
Now we're dragging Me into this?!
(( Not you too! Stop distracting me! )) Michael moaned. (( You'll make me look suspicious - as if the white hair didn't do it! ))
Suddenly, Wufei brushed past Michael and across the hallway, toward the vicinity of Duo's office. Fortunately, he had not looked to his left as he'd exited, because he would have caught Duo looking much like a deer in the headlights. Michael rushed out after him, sending Duo a Look that said "Stay back or I'll yell at you later".
"Ah, si--Mister Chang, where are you going?" he asked, but his question went on deaf ears. Wufei transferred the grip of the steamy mug into one hand, and placed the other on the worn brass latch of the door that proclaimed "DUO MAXWELL WORKS HERE!".
Michael hoped beyond all hope that whatever Raven had done to him wouldn't kill him when he entered the office.
But no, Wufei pushed open the door and stepped in without incident. Michael breathed a sigh of relief...which lasted for about three seconds. His eyes widened and he rubbed at his temples, "Not nowwwww," he pleaded, "Raven..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo's office hadn't changed from the last time Wufei had seen it. Why would it? No one had been able to muster the courage to peek into the office. Hell, no one had even been able to lock the door! The scent of Duo's incredibly powerful mango and starfruit shampoo wafted through the room, making Wufei slightly dizzy. He carefully set the mug of tea on the bookshelf, in between Duo's prized bat plushie and several abandoned manga. He picked his way through the various papers littering the floor and somehow made it to the desk.
The desk was covered in STUFF. Several rainforests had obviously met their death with all the paper work scattered about. It made ~Une's~ desk look sparse by comparison.
Just the computer space alone was covered with personal items. A tiny figure of Death with long bat-wings seemed to glare down at him with little glowing eyes. The monitor was covered with tiny sticky-notes with Duo's scribbled handwriting, with reminders like, "phone q-bean about une's b-day surprise," "finish roebert-vice report," and "make my 'fei smile once a shift."
Wufei stopped looking and stared at the last one, flashing a neon-yellow like a tiny beacon: Make my 'Fei smile. ~My~ 'Fei. Not just 'Fei, Wu-dude, 'Fei-kitty...~my~ 'Fei. He fingered the edges, and he couldn't take his eyes off the little note. All this time, Duo had made it his mission to make him happy every day? The thought made the cold hole in his chest just the tiniest bit warmer. He didn't read too much into "my 'Fei"; he called Une "my dear Lady Bitch", and Trowa "my silent shadow"...It was just another term of endearment, like he used for everyone. But how he wished it were different...
His eyes roamed over the framed photos. There was a picture of Heero wearing a pair of kitty ears, looking particularly unamused. There was a picture of Milliardo's proposal to Noin; he was grinning as she nearly swallowed the diamond ring in the bottom of her wineglass. There was a picture of Trowa and Quatre curled up under a dogwood tree, asleep under a covering of fallen blossoms. Tucked carefully under a coffee mug with an upside-down smiley face on it, there was a white envelope with his name written in sprawling cursive. He pulled it out carefully, and clenched his fist around it until his knuckles turned white. The letter was for him, but with Duo gone...was it wrong to open it?
Did it matter?
Wufei ran a finger under the seal, breaking it, and removed the piece of stationary that had been folded within.
(( Oh boy... )) Duo stuck his head into the office, making sure Wufei's back was facing him at all times. ((Ohhh boy oh boy... ))
"You ain't just whistling Dixie, kiddo," Michael muttered, and then made a "meep!" sound as he realized he'd said that aloud. Fortunately, Wufei was way too engrossed with the letter to pay him any mind.
"'I have to tell you this now so if that day comes when one of us leaves and doesn't come back, we'll both have this out in the open'..." Wufei whispered aloud, eyes slowly widening with every line he took in.
(( I guess that note wasn't a stupid idea, after all, )) Duo mused, biting his lip and tasting one salty tear.
(( Guess not, )) agreed Michael.
"He...oh, god..." The letter slid out of Wufei's hands and fluttered to the floor. He sank to his knees in utter shock, and Michael shot forward (nearly tripping over a cardboard palm tree).
"Mister Chang, we'd better get you back to the sick bay," Michael said, but he had no intention of taking Wufei anywhere.
"He loved me too," Wufei said, casting a sideways glance at the letter. "He loved me, but he was afraid I'd shut him out if he told me...What a fucking, fucking idiot I am."
Michael said nothing, because he really had nothing intelligent to say. He just knelt down on one knee next to Wufei.
"Nah, 'Fei. You're not an idiot," Duo whispered aloud, so softly that almost he couldn't hear it.
"Yes I am," Wufei said, thinking it had been Michael speaking. "I caused Duo pain by forcing him to keep his feelings inside...and he died thinking I didn't care about him."
A couple of salty drops plopped onto the stationery, and Michael put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, sir," he whispered, locking his sharp blue eyes with Wufei's wet chocolate ones.
Wufei swallowed audibly, "Me too...and you know what the worst part of it is?" he didn't wait for Michael to answer, "It's too late to do anything about it..."
"Oh, 'Fei..." Duo whispered and started into his former office. Forget Michael. Wufei was here, now, and he needed to be told that what had happened ~wasn't~ his fault---
Duo was jerked backwards and something grabbed on his braid and yanked. He yelped in pain, and his braid was released. He spun around to see his attacker---
"Raven?!"
It looked like Raven, smirked like Raven, had the cocky stance of Raven, but it couldn't be Raven! This person was human! The lack of talons on her fingers were a dead giveaway---wait. Duo almost slapped himself on the forehead. If ~Michael~ could pass as human, why couldn't Raven pull the same trick?
((Good thinking, sweetie!)) the woman thought cheerfully at him, ((Shame you're non-corporeal though.))
Duo narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
((It's terrible to be the bystander!)) with a wink, she walked confidently into the office, her high heels muffled by the plush carpeting.
Michael's head shot up at the intruder, "You," he snarled.
Wufei looked up and felt the color drain from his face, "You," he whispered.
"Captain Obvious," Raven nodded at Michael, "and his adorable side-kick," she nodded to Wufei, "I do hope you'll let me conclude my business here. The Apocalypse ~is~ coming, you know."
"How the fucking hell did you get in here?" Michael was FURIOUS. Not just pissy, not just angry. He was foaming at the mouth, ready to kill something furious. She had the nerve to just stroll into this office, probably weaving some damn spell of Compulsion to get past all the armed agents...
"Hell does many things, but it doesn't really 'fuck'. It's a place, it lacks the parts you need to do that sort of thing," Raven smiled quirkily. Michael wanted to rip the smirk right off her face.
"Get away from him." Duo had had enough of this. Raven was not causing any more hurt for his 'Fei. "I told you I didn't want to see your face again."
"You think I care?" Raven's face lost its smirk. She was all business now. "You can't stop me. All the goodness and light in the world can't stop me and The Boss. We want him --" She pointed a talon-less finger at Wufei, "--and we are going to have him."
"No. You aren't," Duo stepped into the office so he was facing Raven.
Finally, Wufei regained his voice. "O'Toole, get the hell out of here."
"Like bloody fucking hell I am," Michael hissed. "I'm not leaving you in here alone with them!"
{{You know, I think I'll save the speech about cussing until you've gotten your behind out of this mess.}}
(( Nice to know that morality comes after helping your messengers saving their asses, )) muttered Michael.
{{...I wouldn't put it quite that way, but something like that.}}
"We're not going to spar here, are we?" Raven smiled and got into a fighting stance. "Your precious 'Fei might get hurt."
"Little late for that, isn't it?" Duo growled. "If you were so worried about keeping him healthy, you're doing a pretty crappy-ass job, what with that spell that nearly kills him every time he even thinks of me..."
"I had to do that. It's part of the tainting process," Raven shrugged. "I didn't want to, but I didn't write the rulebook."
"No, you didn't," Duo agreed darkly, "but you're the one who follows it."
"'Taint'?" Wufei repeated to himself softly. He brushed his fingertips over his lips. Is that what it had been? The seizures, the over-whelming spasms of pain...it was due to a demon taint? A demon taint?!
Last week, Wufei would have scoffed at the notion. Taints were the things of folk lore and myth, not Preventer problems. But so much had happened in the past several days...so much he couldn't explain...
Sally was going to flip eight ways sideways when he told her what was wrong with him.
Therefore, if he had been tainted by this woman before him---obviously a demoness---maybe Duo's death hadn't been a freak accident? Maybe...maybe, maybe, maybe...it had been some sort of pre-arranged plan? Maybe this demon woman had even planned it? But why? Just to get to him? Just to get to Chang Wufei? Could the universe really be that screwed up?
{{Not so much "screwed up" as "caught in a massive power struggle."}}
Wufei rubbed his temples in exasperation, "Not you again," he grumbled.
"Look," Raven was saying, "I work for the Boss, because I agree with Apocalypse, okay? If I had a choice, I'd keep that little truffle of a Preventer to myself...which I intend on doing, after we destroy the world and such---"
"You killed him."
Everyone was silent.
Wufei was still by Duo's desk, Michael's hand was still on his shoulder, and the tears were still streaking Wufei's face. But his eyes, oh his lovely almond eyes were smoldering with an unsurpassed rage.
"You killed him," he repeated coldly, "You killed him. You killed him! And for what! So you could get me? Is that it?! Why?" he picked up a stapler and beamed it at the human demoness. She easily blocked it, but was blinking in rapid surprise, "Answer me!!"
"Well...yeah, that's about it," Raven scratched the back of her head. "We didn't actually expect Duo to be turned into an angel, but so much for the better."
"He can suffer for all eternity knowing he was the cause of this."
"No." Wufei stood up, shrugging away Michael's hand. "No, you're not going to cause Duo any more suffering on my account."
Raven giggled. "What are you going to do? Glower at me until I die of fear?"
"I'm going to rip you a new breathing hole, that's what I'm going to do," Wufei snarled. From out of some place that no one seems to know about, he whipped out a long, sharp katana. He drew his finger over the blade, noting that it was properly sharp by the tiny trickle of blood he left along its edge.
"In case you've forgotten, you're a mortal. You can't touch me," Raven now turned her full attention away from Duo, who was gaping like a fish, and to her soon-to-be prize.
"And in case you'd forgotten, you're also mortal right now." Before Raven could come up with a retort, Wufei sprang into the air and drove his katana straight for her chest, hoping to hit her somewhere that would cause considerable damage. Raven thought she could dodge him easy, but before she could even think about doing so, there was a sickening snap as a cold piece of metal jammed through her shoulder blade.
"You killed him," Wufei's anger was so palpable, you could almost hear it humming in the air around him. "You took Duo from all of us, just so you could get to me. What a fucking cowardly onna you are."
Raven stared at him, mouth wide and eyes bulging in shock. This mortal, this ordinary young man...had stabbed her. Not just stabbed her - he had run her through with his sword. She could feel the blood seeping out of her arm and down her chest, and she numbly realized that she'd better grab him while she could before her human form died.
"'Fei, back off!" Duo shouted, realizing with sudden dread that Raven was about to teleport away.
Wufei tried to jump back, but Raven shot out a hand and gripped it with surprising strength for a dying woman. "If I'm going back to Hell, you're coming with me, you little shit bug. I'm making you my consort whether you like it or not."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Muhahahaha.
To be continued when my computer is no longer being stupid.
And yes...we are evil.
~AA&M