Title: Thestrals
Author: Lady Akita
Rating: Story – R; Chapter – PG-13
Warnings: Wufei-centric, Adventure, Mystery, Mayhem, Wise-cracking Heero, Original Characters etc...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC/Endless Waltz are the property of Bandai, Sunrise and other large corporations both Japanese and American that have no idea I am writing this. I am making no money from this. My personal characters, those not from the TV show, are my property. As is the present storyline. Take it and die. "Thestrals" are the property of J.K. Roling and her Harry Potter franchise.
Summary: Sequel to Shinigami, Come Home. A beaten and almost thoroughly broken Chang Wufei is a Preventer Agent Third Class, unlike that of his former -fellow pilots, all of whom have risen to high ranking places within the organization. When he is partnered with smart-mouthed, devilish Preventer First Class Heero Yuy after being pulled from a six month assignment that has taken over his life, he finds himself being transported to the main colony of the L2 cluster where he is forced to find out just who he is able to trust. What he finds may force him to return to a life he thought he'd left behind forever.
Notes: To understand the background of this story, especially after Wufei and Heero arrive at L2, it is essential that you have read Shinigami, Come Home. Otherwise, you will find yourself lost and I'm not going to explain anything. Rupert Gelding, his secretary, and Lucifer are all my personal characters. Any similarities to any persons living or dead are merely coincidental. "Thestrals" are winged, horse-like creatures who are invisible to those who have not seen death and are visible by those who have.
I forgot to mention in the last chapter that this story begins almost directly after Shinigami, Come Home. Please read that first. As another side note, I'd started this chapter out a few nights ago, and saved it to a disk. Unfortunately, the file ended up being corrupted, so I lost all that work. I'm going to attempt to work back up to the quality of what I had had, but unfortunately, I can not remember what most of it was. This will be touch and go people.
And a big thank you to those who reviewed. They really made my day to read that you liked what I wrote.
Chapter 2 – Broken Boundaries
As the shuttle climbed its way through the atmosphere toward space and the wayward colony, Wufei began feeling steadily worse. Dealing with Une and Evans never meant a good day, and having dealt with them both only hours previous seemed an ill omen to the nauseous agent. However, he was finding it hard to distinguish whether he felt this bad due to the badly filtrated air circulating the private shuttle cabin, or the lumpy, uncomfortable seat he'd been shown to, Heero Yuy's infuriatingly focused presence across from him, or if it was the information that his mission specs were currently providing him. Wufei was of the mind that the latter two were the causes of his discomfort, as during his terrorist days, he'd spent longer in worse conditions than these.
Heero shifted in his seat across from him, drawing Wufei's attention from the disturbing information on his computer screen. Heero's focus was on his own laptop, a staple even after the almost ten years since the wars. Wufei took the opportunity to look at his former friend and comrade and now current partner without Heero's express knowledge or disapproval. He was still very handsome, having grown into his boyish good looks. His face and facial features were strong and solid, much like the lean muscles that covered his body. Wufei knew that most women, and quite a few men, considered Heero Yuy to be something of the perfect man – strong, muscular, possessing a golden skin tone and dark features that portrayed an air of mystery and seductive allure. Of course Heero knew that people thought of him in this way and he never failed to use it against them if the occasion arose. Wufei knew this from experience.
Heero Yuy was no longer the mentally and emotionally stinted young man who once flew the death machine known simply as Wing Zero. Heero Yuy was now a 25-year-old man, his own man, fully capable in all areas of life and he was one of the few people, men or women, that Wufei knew who possessed a keen mind and body for seductions, betrayals and successes. Wufei counted only three men and two women at Heero's level, and that was just on principle.
Heero looked up abruptly from his work and smirked when he caught Wufei staring. Wufei was unable to hide the flinch that came in reaction to that smirk, and he returned his gaze to his computer screen almost immediately. Heero let him work in peace for a few minutes, studying him intently; Wufei could feel Heero's eyes boring into his skull. Wufei did his best to ignore it, as he always did when Heero acted this way. Normally this would preclude an argument of some sort, but it had been months since the last time that he'd seen the other man, Heero was always off on one mission or another, and Wufei couldn't be certain that their old behavioral patterns would continue.
"What do you think?" Heero asked, just as abruptly as he had looked up from his laptop. Wufei looked up as well and was surprised to find that Heero's smirk was gone to be replaced with his old 'focused-on-the-mission' face, something Wufei hadn't seen since during the last time they'd saved the world.
Wufei knew that Heero was asking about the mission, and he found it hard to focus on the task at hand. Something was up, more so than what the specs were presenting them with and Wufei had a bad feeling about the space of the next few weeks. Hell, the specs were giving him enough to know that he'd have a rough couple of weeks ahead of him without going into the personal and interpersonal.
The mission was a simple one – bring down one Lucifer Yoiki and his constituents and whatever activities he was involved with. Unfortunately, that was the only simple part of the mission. Lucifer Yoiki was a former Alliance officer who'd been pushed out of the service by Treize and the Oz factions during the first Eve War. Yoiki then found himself within the underground crime world, a position the Preventers had been unable to explain, but from there he worked himself into a position of power and had been charged with numerous crimes, including that of weapons smuggling and attempted coups against whichever government happened to be in power.
However, those were the days before Yoiki had stumbled upon his true seed of power – human merchandising. Though the world was highly sophisticated and technologically advanced, human bondism had continued to exist along the same lines of crime, murder and drug usage. When Yoiki discovered what a valuable commodity human flesh was to the underground market, he came upon the cornerstone. He now stood as the most important 'Master', a term Yoiki insisted be used in reference, in the trade, that on top the normal underground fares. To top it all off, Yoiki hadn't forgotten his attempted revolts. Instead he'd found himself with an inexhaustible source of manpower and his own personal wealth was more than enough to finance his personal vendetta. All in all, the information pointed to Yoiki starting another coup, only doing it without underling fanatics, which made him all that more dangerous.
Simply, Wufei was disgusted and very worried. This was not a man who would be easy to beat, not at a game he'd been playing for the last ten years. The only possible way to win this and accomplish their mission was to beat Yoiki at his own fame. If their informant didn't have more information for them or even a feasible plan, they and the world were looking at another war. He expressed the same to Heero.
Heero nodded. "I thought the same thing myself." He returned to his computer screen, the seconds stretching into minutes. Wufei waited for another response, question or possibly even a comment, but found none forthcoming. The nausea he'd been experiencing since his meeting with Une earlier that day was quickly being pushed aside for the rising anger that he'd learned to keep hidden ever since the day that one Duo Maxwell had walked out of all of their lives. Chang Wufei was once a man known for his short temper and harsh, honest words, but time and the events spanning the two years since Maxwell's disappearance had bent and broken the once strong man into the quiet downtrodden figure now seated in front of Heero Yuy on a commercial flight to L2 Colony XE289839. Only twice in those years had Wufei lost his temper, showing a spark of who he had once been, the first when a trainee had been fool enough to press an insult on the past abilities of the Gundam Pilots, the second when he'd learned first handedly that Heero Yuy was a man who took his opportunities, no matter who had to fall for him to do so.
"What the hell are you doing Yuy." Wufei snapped, anger flashing in his eyes and soaking his words, turning the question into a flat statement that demanded an answer and told it all in the same moment.
Heero looked up in surprise at the tone of the question-statement. Across from him, the Gundam Pilot-turned-meek-agent glared at him, a black fire smoldering within the dark depths of his partner's eyes. Even Wufei's face was flush with his impassioned fury, something Heero did not quite understand, for all that he was given to picking up on people's emotionality's. The flush also reminded him of a time when the two of them held a partnership between them that didn't hold the taint of betrayal or pain.
"Don't stare at me in that manner Yuy. You forfeited your right to do so when you walked on to your new-cushy position at my expense. And save me your useless drivel." Wufei snapped in a tone so rough and low that he almost seemed to be growling. "Answer the question."
Heero choose to smirk at his former lover turned apparently reluctant working partner instead of letting down his patented mask. "Or what Chang? You'll kill me?"
"I'll leave you to this mission alone. I've had enough of your antics and those of that so-called policing agency." Wufei shot back instantly. "Answer or I'll walk, and laugh as the world falls to another mindless, needless war." The more he talked, the freer he seemed to feel, the nausea fading rapidly as Wufei recognized the truth in his treats. He would willingly walk away from the Preventers and from the life and peace he had built in the post-Eve War era if he didn't get his answers. And he would have no qualms leaving one Heero Yuy to shoulder the complete, acute blame. "Its high time you answered for your actions Yuy. I've had it to Hell and back with being the only one having to do so."
Heero blinked in surprise at the forcefulness and blatant honesty presented in Wufei's tone and words. He knew in that moment that Wufei would do so without looking back, and he'd lose his last chance.
"Yuy!" Wufei snapped when Heero continued to stare in shock, horror and awe. "I'm far from joking. Answer me, damn-it!"
Heero knew that he was and that he should answer, but all he couldn't think of anything to say. So he simply said nothing at all. The two stared at one another, Wufei waiting to hear something of an explanation and Heero not knowing what to say.
The door to their cabin opened and both of them turned to look at the flight attendant with an audible snap. The young woman seemed to be oblivious to the tension in the small room as she asked if there was anything that either of them needed. When both signaled negatively, she left with a smile.
Wufei closed his eyes and brought a hand to his nose as he struggled to control his emotions. He'd been so furious with Yuy that he'd almost attacked that woman when she opened the door. That wouldn't have been a good notation on his record, though he could see the headline anyway. "Preventer Prevents Long Life of Flight Attendant!" At the thought, his fury left him, leaving him feeling empty and shaken from the severity of the emotions running through him. With a sigh he admitted to himself why he was acting this way.
He was hurt, plain and simple. Hurt by the way he was walked on and pushed aside by the Preventers, by the people he worked alongside of, people he respected. Hurt by how he'd seemingly been walked on and used by one of the very few people he trusted and respected as family; someone he loved. When Heero had pulled his cards and then left without reason or explanation, it had felt like he'd once again been abandoned by those he needed most. The nightmare-memory of his colony exploding before his eyes had returned nightly after Heero had left. Those dreams coupled with the increased disrespect and disregard from those within the Preventers had left him like this. Beaten and almost thoroughly broken.
But his fury had shown him one thing, if nothing else. The Chang Wufei who had existed prior to his comrades' changes in attitudes still existed, though buried as he was under the beaten man he had become after a year and more of abuse. He would become that man again, even if it would be a difficult trying ordeal. Hell, he'd flown a Gundam and won a war all at the age of fifteen. But first he had to dispel the pain that had grown since Heero's disappearance.
Sighing, he turned to face Heero again, not surprised to see the other man watching him. Wufei didn't bother to hide what he was feeling when he asked, "Why did you do it Heero. That's all I want to know. Why did you do it?"
Silence reigned for the rest of the trip.
End Chapter 2
Author: Lady Akita
Rating: Story – R; Chapter – PG-13
Warnings: Wufei-centric, Adventure, Mystery, Mayhem, Wise-cracking Heero, Original Characters etc...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC/Endless Waltz are the property of Bandai, Sunrise and other large corporations both Japanese and American that have no idea I am writing this. I am making no money from this. My personal characters, those not from the TV show, are my property. As is the present storyline. Take it and die. "Thestrals" are the property of J.K. Roling and her Harry Potter franchise.
Summary: Sequel to Shinigami, Come Home. A beaten and almost thoroughly broken Chang Wufei is a Preventer Agent Third Class, unlike that of his former -fellow pilots, all of whom have risen to high ranking places within the organization. When he is partnered with smart-mouthed, devilish Preventer First Class Heero Yuy after being pulled from a six month assignment that has taken over his life, he finds himself being transported to the main colony of the L2 cluster where he is forced to find out just who he is able to trust. What he finds may force him to return to a life he thought he'd left behind forever.
Notes: To understand the background of this story, especially after Wufei and Heero arrive at L2, it is essential that you have read Shinigami, Come Home. Otherwise, you will find yourself lost and I'm not going to explain anything. Rupert Gelding, his secretary, and Lucifer are all my personal characters. Any similarities to any persons living or dead are merely coincidental. "Thestrals" are winged, horse-like creatures who are invisible to those who have not seen death and are visible by those who have.
I forgot to mention in the last chapter that this story begins almost directly after Shinigami, Come Home. Please read that first. As another side note, I'd started this chapter out a few nights ago, and saved it to a disk. Unfortunately, the file ended up being corrupted, so I lost all that work. I'm going to attempt to work back up to the quality of what I had had, but unfortunately, I can not remember what most of it was. This will be touch and go people.
And a big thank you to those who reviewed. They really made my day to read that you liked what I wrote.
Chapter 2 – Broken Boundaries
As the shuttle climbed its way through the atmosphere toward space and the wayward colony, Wufei began feeling steadily worse. Dealing with Une and Evans never meant a good day, and having dealt with them both only hours previous seemed an ill omen to the nauseous agent. However, he was finding it hard to distinguish whether he felt this bad due to the badly filtrated air circulating the private shuttle cabin, or the lumpy, uncomfortable seat he'd been shown to, Heero Yuy's infuriatingly focused presence across from him, or if it was the information that his mission specs were currently providing him. Wufei was of the mind that the latter two were the causes of his discomfort, as during his terrorist days, he'd spent longer in worse conditions than these.
Heero shifted in his seat across from him, drawing Wufei's attention from the disturbing information on his computer screen. Heero's focus was on his own laptop, a staple even after the almost ten years since the wars. Wufei took the opportunity to look at his former friend and comrade and now current partner without Heero's express knowledge or disapproval. He was still very handsome, having grown into his boyish good looks. His face and facial features were strong and solid, much like the lean muscles that covered his body. Wufei knew that most women, and quite a few men, considered Heero Yuy to be something of the perfect man – strong, muscular, possessing a golden skin tone and dark features that portrayed an air of mystery and seductive allure. Of course Heero knew that people thought of him in this way and he never failed to use it against them if the occasion arose. Wufei knew this from experience.
Heero Yuy was no longer the mentally and emotionally stinted young man who once flew the death machine known simply as Wing Zero. Heero Yuy was now a 25-year-old man, his own man, fully capable in all areas of life and he was one of the few people, men or women, that Wufei knew who possessed a keen mind and body for seductions, betrayals and successes. Wufei counted only three men and two women at Heero's level, and that was just on principle.
Heero looked up abruptly from his work and smirked when he caught Wufei staring. Wufei was unable to hide the flinch that came in reaction to that smirk, and he returned his gaze to his computer screen almost immediately. Heero let him work in peace for a few minutes, studying him intently; Wufei could feel Heero's eyes boring into his skull. Wufei did his best to ignore it, as he always did when Heero acted this way. Normally this would preclude an argument of some sort, but it had been months since the last time that he'd seen the other man, Heero was always off on one mission or another, and Wufei couldn't be certain that their old behavioral patterns would continue.
"What do you think?" Heero asked, just as abruptly as he had looked up from his laptop. Wufei looked up as well and was surprised to find that Heero's smirk was gone to be replaced with his old 'focused-on-the-mission' face, something Wufei hadn't seen since during the last time they'd saved the world.
Wufei knew that Heero was asking about the mission, and he found it hard to focus on the task at hand. Something was up, more so than what the specs were presenting them with and Wufei had a bad feeling about the space of the next few weeks. Hell, the specs were giving him enough to know that he'd have a rough couple of weeks ahead of him without going into the personal and interpersonal.
The mission was a simple one – bring down one Lucifer Yoiki and his constituents and whatever activities he was involved with. Unfortunately, that was the only simple part of the mission. Lucifer Yoiki was a former Alliance officer who'd been pushed out of the service by Treize and the Oz factions during the first Eve War. Yoiki then found himself within the underground crime world, a position the Preventers had been unable to explain, but from there he worked himself into a position of power and had been charged with numerous crimes, including that of weapons smuggling and attempted coups against whichever government happened to be in power.
However, those were the days before Yoiki had stumbled upon his true seed of power – human merchandising. Though the world was highly sophisticated and technologically advanced, human bondism had continued to exist along the same lines of crime, murder and drug usage. When Yoiki discovered what a valuable commodity human flesh was to the underground market, he came upon the cornerstone. He now stood as the most important 'Master', a term Yoiki insisted be used in reference, in the trade, that on top the normal underground fares. To top it all off, Yoiki hadn't forgotten his attempted revolts. Instead he'd found himself with an inexhaustible source of manpower and his own personal wealth was more than enough to finance his personal vendetta. All in all, the information pointed to Yoiki starting another coup, only doing it without underling fanatics, which made him all that more dangerous.
Simply, Wufei was disgusted and very worried. This was not a man who would be easy to beat, not at a game he'd been playing for the last ten years. The only possible way to win this and accomplish their mission was to beat Yoiki at his own fame. If their informant didn't have more information for them or even a feasible plan, they and the world were looking at another war. He expressed the same to Heero.
Heero nodded. "I thought the same thing myself." He returned to his computer screen, the seconds stretching into minutes. Wufei waited for another response, question or possibly even a comment, but found none forthcoming. The nausea he'd been experiencing since his meeting with Une earlier that day was quickly being pushed aside for the rising anger that he'd learned to keep hidden ever since the day that one Duo Maxwell had walked out of all of their lives. Chang Wufei was once a man known for his short temper and harsh, honest words, but time and the events spanning the two years since Maxwell's disappearance had bent and broken the once strong man into the quiet downtrodden figure now seated in front of Heero Yuy on a commercial flight to L2 Colony XE289839. Only twice in those years had Wufei lost his temper, showing a spark of who he had once been, the first when a trainee had been fool enough to press an insult on the past abilities of the Gundam Pilots, the second when he'd learned first handedly that Heero Yuy was a man who took his opportunities, no matter who had to fall for him to do so.
"What the hell are you doing Yuy." Wufei snapped, anger flashing in his eyes and soaking his words, turning the question into a flat statement that demanded an answer and told it all in the same moment.
Heero looked up in surprise at the tone of the question-statement. Across from him, the Gundam Pilot-turned-meek-agent glared at him, a black fire smoldering within the dark depths of his partner's eyes. Even Wufei's face was flush with his impassioned fury, something Heero did not quite understand, for all that he was given to picking up on people's emotionality's. The flush also reminded him of a time when the two of them held a partnership between them that didn't hold the taint of betrayal or pain.
"Don't stare at me in that manner Yuy. You forfeited your right to do so when you walked on to your new-cushy position at my expense. And save me your useless drivel." Wufei snapped in a tone so rough and low that he almost seemed to be growling. "Answer the question."
Heero choose to smirk at his former lover turned apparently reluctant working partner instead of letting down his patented mask. "Or what Chang? You'll kill me?"
"I'll leave you to this mission alone. I've had enough of your antics and those of that so-called policing agency." Wufei shot back instantly. "Answer or I'll walk, and laugh as the world falls to another mindless, needless war." The more he talked, the freer he seemed to feel, the nausea fading rapidly as Wufei recognized the truth in his treats. He would willingly walk away from the Preventers and from the life and peace he had built in the post-Eve War era if he didn't get his answers. And he would have no qualms leaving one Heero Yuy to shoulder the complete, acute blame. "Its high time you answered for your actions Yuy. I've had it to Hell and back with being the only one having to do so."
Heero blinked in surprise at the forcefulness and blatant honesty presented in Wufei's tone and words. He knew in that moment that Wufei would do so without looking back, and he'd lose his last chance.
"Yuy!" Wufei snapped when Heero continued to stare in shock, horror and awe. "I'm far from joking. Answer me, damn-it!"
Heero knew that he was and that he should answer, but all he couldn't think of anything to say. So he simply said nothing at all. The two stared at one another, Wufei waiting to hear something of an explanation and Heero not knowing what to say.
The door to their cabin opened and both of them turned to look at the flight attendant with an audible snap. The young woman seemed to be oblivious to the tension in the small room as she asked if there was anything that either of them needed. When both signaled negatively, she left with a smile.
Wufei closed his eyes and brought a hand to his nose as he struggled to control his emotions. He'd been so furious with Yuy that he'd almost attacked that woman when she opened the door. That wouldn't have been a good notation on his record, though he could see the headline anyway. "Preventer Prevents Long Life of Flight Attendant!" At the thought, his fury left him, leaving him feeling empty and shaken from the severity of the emotions running through him. With a sigh he admitted to himself why he was acting this way.
He was hurt, plain and simple. Hurt by the way he was walked on and pushed aside by the Preventers, by the people he worked alongside of, people he respected. Hurt by how he'd seemingly been walked on and used by one of the very few people he trusted and respected as family; someone he loved. When Heero had pulled his cards and then left without reason or explanation, it had felt like he'd once again been abandoned by those he needed most. The nightmare-memory of his colony exploding before his eyes had returned nightly after Heero had left. Those dreams coupled with the increased disrespect and disregard from those within the Preventers had left him like this. Beaten and almost thoroughly broken.
But his fury had shown him one thing, if nothing else. The Chang Wufei who had existed prior to his comrades' changes in attitudes still existed, though buried as he was under the beaten man he had become after a year and more of abuse. He would become that man again, even if it would be a difficult trying ordeal. Hell, he'd flown a Gundam and won a war all at the age of fifteen. But first he had to dispel the pain that had grown since Heero's disappearance.
Sighing, he turned to face Heero again, not surprised to see the other man watching him. Wufei didn't bother to hide what he was feeling when he asked, "Why did you do it Heero. That's all I want to know. Why did you do it?"
Silence reigned for the rest of the trip.
End Chapter 2