A/N: Hiya! Welcome to the Extremely Cool Chapter 13. This is, of all things, where the end begins. Muwahahah! It'll be great. So, lemme just say that this is going to get INSANE, and if you thought you hated me before, well...you're about to loathe me. Welcome to the beginning of the end! : D Probably three more chapters.
Also, please (if you haven't done so) vote for which story you would prefer I complete after this one by reviewing that one. So far, Prodigy is winning. And as soon as my scanner FINALLY works, the Quatre picture (and subsequent new description) will be up. Heck, I might even put up a 1 & 2 picture I recently drew (non-yaoi), if the stupid thing cooperates. Thank you. Feel free to continue now.
Not Average Warnings: Scary...well, basically Scary Everybody, and Extreme Plotness And Length. (See? The wait's worth it!) Oh! Implied 6x9, too. Yay!
Sea of Silence
Chapter 13
The Usurper
x---x
"It's not that I'm not having fun, it's that I keep feeling something bad from Heero and Duo," Quatre reassured his lover, who frowned. "It's like...it's like nails and ice and being compacted by a glacier." The blonde, with a sigh, released himself from the brunette's loving embrace and slid off his lap.
"And you think we need to check on them again," Trowa stated. Quatre, in all honesty, would have been just fine with getting another chance at a romantic evening, but he'd never felt anything like this before, especially from Heero. He nodded, eyes begging understanding, and Trowa stood up. "The sooner we check, the sooner we're done."
Quatre smiled, and stood on his tiptoes to give the older boy a quick kiss. "I hope you don't mind running then," he said, and smiling jogged out of the door.
However, after a few meters of good-natured racing, Quatre suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall, his face as pale as the moon. "Trowa?" His voice was a hoarse whisper as the blonde fell to the ground.
Thirty seconds later, when Quatre opened his eyes again, urgency gripped him. "Trowa! We have to get to their room! Duo's dead," Quatre began yelling, and before he knew what was going on, Trowa had grabbed him off the floor and was sprinting down the hall. He skidded to a halt in front of the door, putting Quatre down gently yet quickly.
"It's locked. I'm breaking it open," Trowa stated, and tried to kick the door in. Of course, it didn't work, since Heero had insisted upon the reinforced mahogany set.
"They're both gone," Quatre muttered, and for the first time Trowa noticed the glaze across his normally bright aqua eyes. "Far away..." Trowa picked his lover off the floor.
"Quatre? Can you hear me," he asked, and in an elegant motion, the younger boy waved him away.
"Heero's going to get himself killed one of these days with stunts like this," he grumbled, and with a shake of his golden locks, Quatre was suddenly frantic again. "Get the doctor! Quick! I'll break down the door." Trowa eyed him skeptically.
"I love you, but you don't seem big enough," he said. Quatre smiled, and grabbed one of the nearby swords from a coat of armor.
"It's all how you go about it. If I slammed myself against the door like you, I'd end up breaking something," Quatre said, and with a look of intense concentration poised the blade over the door handle. "Sometimes, force is better than brute force." Quatre slashed the wood directly to the left of the handle, and the clasp broke, right along with the blade.
Trowa couldn't help but smile as Quatre opened the door swiftly. He was a man of many talents.
"Doctor, Trowa! Now," Quatre yelled, and with a nod he raced down the hall. The blonde himself threw the shattered sword aside, and walked quickly into the room.
An exhausted Heero sat bleeding both above and below Duo, their wrists tied together with a bloody cloth. Duo himself seemed frozen in time, a pained yet peaceful expression on his face as he lay in Heero's lap.
"...Heero," Quatre asked warily, and tired blue eyes met his own. To his astonishment, violet snapped towards him in greeting as well. "What's going on?!"
"Duo's frozen," Heero stated. It appeared he didn't have the energy to say anything longer. With a dry gulp and a deep breath, he continued. "My blood's keeping him from dying, but it's also stopped time for his body. He's conscious, but stuck in his own body. He can move his eyes, but not blink. He can think, but not speak. He..." Heero's voice died on him as exhaustion took over. "A lot of blood's involved, and I don't know whether we'll survive."
Duo rolled his eyes, and Quatre heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you two aren't dead! I sent Trowa to get the doctor-"
"He's in on it," Heero said, and gulped again. "Sally." Quatre nodded.
"I'll try, Heero, but she'll be awfully hard to find, and I don't know how long you two can survive," Quatre explained, and Heero nodded silently.
"We'll survive long enough," he stated, eyes returning to Duo's. Quatre took it as a hasty dismissal, and left. Violet shimmered in amusement. "You're laughing, aren't you?" Up, down. "You look stupid, too." Roll, forceful stare. Heero smirked, feeling proud of himself for knowing Duo's eyes that well.
Glance at the door. "Quatre's gone for Sally." Up, down. Glance at wrists. "I'll be fine." Forceful look straight into his eyes. "I'll be fine." Eye roll. Heero smirked. "I'll. Be. Fine."
Duo's eyes gazed into his own, a swirl of hope and despair, love and agony. "Does it hurt?" Up, down. "Can you feel?" Up, down. Heero frowned. "I still owe you the party." Up down up down up down. His frown deepened. Heero Yuy had never been a fan of costume parties.
x---x
The next morning, Dorothy found herself fulfilling her promise. She stood in front of the Noin apartment's door, debating with herself. It wasn't like anything was different now that Atropos was a girl. Well, she'd always been a girl. Yet more proof nothing was different.
Dorothy grimaced. Except her sexual preference.
She'd admit it. Dorothy Catalonia had fallen head-over-heels for a girl. An assassin. She was even wearing pink today- PINK!- for Atropos. Or was it Hilde? Dorothy wasn't really sure.
With a mental shrug, Dorothy knocked politely on the door. After some hushed voices and scrambling, Lucrezia Noin's head peeked out of the door, looking ruffled and blushing like a rose.
"Hi, Dorothy. Attie's not here; she's been out since last night," Noin said, her blush deepening with every moment. Finally, after Dorothy had been digesting the words for about fifteen seconds, Noin spoke again. "Excuse me for a moment." The door slammed shut, and the bodyguard could hear the muffled yelling in the other room.
"Zechs! Damn it, give me three minutes to help Attie and Dorothy," Noin yelled. There was a muted and very male chuckle, and some muttering the blonde woman couldn't make out. A giggle, another yell of "Zechs!", and Noin was back at the door, her hair looking even more unkempt. She was scarlet. "Sorry about that. I don't know where she is, but I know she was acting strangely all last night." Dorothy nodded, barely trying to hide her smirk.
"I'll leave you two alone now," she said, and Noin turned positively purple. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Noin nodded her thanks, and slammed the door. "ZECHS! What did I tell you about stroking?!" Dorothy smiled, and soon made her way out into the streets.
She quickly regretted her choice on pink clothing again. As soon as she began walking in the worse parts of Rayth, she'd be propositioned about five times a block. Finally, she opened her cloak enough to show off the loose, flowing white pants and rapier at her side. The sword quickly shut the common perverts up.
Dorothy stopped when she noticed her friend sitting on top of the wall surrounding Rayth Castle.
"Hey, Dorothy," the woman called half-heartedly, head swiveling towards the blonde. Dorothy frowned. This wasn't her Atropos.
"Are you okay," she asked, hurriedly scaling the twenty-foot stone wall with total disregard for her outfit. The navy-eyed girl shrugged.
"I guess. It's just, I tried to make myself forget, and now..." her friend trailed off, and Dorothy couldn't help but stiffen.
"Hilde," she stated, and the woman looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Dor," Hilde said sincerely. "I'm still Atropos, but...I'm Hilde too." She shook out her shoulder-length gray/blue hair in frustration. "Gaah! I don't know what's going on!" The bodyguard began to absentmindedly twirl a small strand of gold hair. It was a nervous tick she'd never known she had, mostly because Dorothy Catalonia did NOT get nervous.
"No need to apologize," she said. "I'm glad you remember your past. You know who you are now." Hilde sighed, leaning backwards until she lay on the top of the wall.
"I kind of wish I didn't. Now I've gotta go tell Duo what I've been doing the past year," Hilde sighed, and jealousy stung at the blonde's heart. "Not to mention I can't kill my own brother, but that means someone else'll get the contract. So, Une's going to kill me too." Dorothy's eyes widened.
"There's going to be another attempt on the prince's life? And UNE planned it," Dorothy asked incredulously.
Treize had always been happy with whatever life gave him. It was one of the reasons he'd been chose for regent, and now Prime Minister. So was Une working by herself? She didn't seem the type to scheme without adding Treize into the picture; Lady Une lived solely for her master, and they were practically married. (Of course, Une wouldn't accept Treize's proposal, since she was 'below him'.)
Hilde shrugged. "Well, either that or Lady Une suddenly developed an evil twin," she said. A finger traced the scar that graced her cheek. "Hey, Dorothy, why did you kiss me?"
Dorothy froze.
"I have to warn Relena," Dorothy finally said. "As the prince's fiancée, she'll be a target as well."
"I'll come, if you'll let me," Hilde said. Dorothy couldn't help but be pleased at the sudden burst of Atropos. Sure, Hilde was great, but Atropos was hers.
"Should I call you Hilde or Atropos," Dorothy asked, and the girl smiled.
"Whatever you want to call me works just fine," she said, and to Dorothy's utter shock batted her eyelashes. "I'd support whatever you want to do."
x---x
Hilde couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she walked down the hall in her green cloak, gray pants, and burgundy shirt. Dorothy would probably have wanted her to dress in skirts, and talk to Relena, and at the least stay nearby. But, she had to see her brothers.
"I'll meet up with you later," Hilde said, and before the bodyguard could protest, the blue-eyed girl was running down the hall. She'd always been able to tell where Duo, Wufei, or Trowa was; she held it as proof that they were truly family.
The Atropos within her began muttering Noin was her family, Zechs was her family, Dorothy was...Dorothy was hers.
Feeling guilty again, Hilde took off again, barely registering the blonde woman's yell of protest. Her feet quickly carried her to a battered corridor, a mahogany door hanging from a single bent hinge, the other propped on the floor. She grinned. It was clearly Trowa's work.
"Trowa," Hilde yelled out, and quickly made her way into the room, only to gasp. "Duo! What happened?" Violet eyes looked shocked as she approached, and Prussian blue attempted to appraise her.
"Atropos," Heero stated.
"Hilde," she corrected absentmindedly, coasting over to Duo. "You okay, bro?" Duo's shining eyes moved up and down vigorously. "What's wrong?"
"You have a scar, and your hair's longer," Heero muttered. "Different from the shrines. He knows you, and he's really relieved. But, more worried too." Hilde tilted her head at the stormy, tired boy cradling her brother.
"You're pretty good at this," she noted. "You got some kinda connection to him?" Heero's eyes widened, and quickly flicked to their joined wrists.
The door was bypassed again by a flurry of two blonde figures, one the smaller blonde she remembered by Trowa, the other a woman who was looking intently at the bedridden boys.
"Miss, please leave," the woman said, and Hilde crossed her arms.
"I'm staying."
"Go," Heero stated, and begrudgingly Hilde began to trot out the door. "Come back in an hour."
x---x
"I don't approve of how you go running around with that assassin friend of yours," Relena said coolly, sitting like the royalty she was in a tall-backed white chair. Dorothy stood in front of her in the soiled white pants and pink shirt from before.
"It's not your choice who I like and don't like, Relena," Dorothy snapped, blue eyes glinting dangerously at her mistress. To the bodyguard's surprise, Relena's matched her own with a cold fire.
"You are my bodyguard. Take responsibility for my safety, just for once," she retorted. "Why can't you respect me? Why won't you just do your duty and serve?" Dorothy's jaw clenched.
"You're on thin ice," she growled, and Relena rose elegantly. For the first time, Dorothy realized the princess wore red, not pink.
"I can swim," she said coldly, and without a hint of fear slapped the armed and trained taller woman across the cheek. Dorothy, shocked, backed away. "You will help me. You will respect, obey, and serve."
"No, I won't," Dorothy yelled. "I'm not your servant!" Relena sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Sometimes, you surprise even me with your stupidity and emotional rationale," she said, and Dorothy gaped. This wasn't the Relena she'd had charge of for five years. This Relena was...
...dangerous.
The immensity of the change weighed down on the blonde-haired girl.
"Une, if you would," Relena called out, and Lady Une stepped out from the shadows, her hair up in two buns tied with a red ribbon the same shade as Relena's dress. Like any bodyguard, her sword was at her hip, but in her right hand she held (to Dorothy's shock) a dagger. "Dorothy, you're like a sister to me, if not more. Please help."
"I won't assist you," she said, jaw set stubbornly. Relena's expression darkened again, making her blue eyes like sapphire coal.
"Fine," she snapped, and before Dorothy could even draw her rapier, Une had clobbered her over the head with the hilt of her sword. As the blonde slumped to the ground, she wondered what they would do to Atropos.
As Une moved forward with the knife, Relena held up her hand. "No. We'll let the others take care of her. We have things to do." Une nodded, tucking the dagger into her boot. "Pick up her little criminal friend, too." The two women walked out the door.
x---x
Duo blinked blurry purple eyes, and looked down. He frowned. What was he wearing??? Someone had dressed him in the same black clothes from the party, except clean, and (the most significant and disturbing change) black bat wings. The things had to have cost a fortune.
"You're up," a very familiar voice said pleasantly, and Duo turned his head to see Heero in a costume he could only guess was a fallen angel. And Duo definitely wanted to kiss him. But, he couldn't stand up. His frown deepened. Damn.
"Not really, what with being propped against a wall on the floor," Duo snapped, and began to rub his temples. "Gahh! I have a headache the size of a giant turtle, and I can't stand up to tackle you, and you look so sexy, but I'm stuck on the floor! The...wooden floor. Where are we?" Heero smirked.
"I owe you a party," he said, and quickly put a black mask on Duo's face, followed by a gray mask for his own face. "Come on. I got everything but Solo." Duo gaped at him.
"Hilde? You found Hilde?! She's alive? I really saw her? Oh, I love you Heero," Duo yelled, and grabbed the shocked white-clad boy around the ankles. With a burst of strength, Duo then pulled him over to the wall, giggling madly as he began sucking the life out of his lover.
"Duo! Off," Heero said, barely pulling himself away, and Duo started to pout. "Hilde's waiting outside; she almost attacked me to get in here." Duo smirked.
"You owe me, then," he said, and Heero couldn't help but be a little unnerved by the demon's sadistic smile. Not that he objected, of course. Usually it was extremely fun. Heero frowned. Usually.
"Can you get up," Heero asked, and after Duo shook his head Heero (who had plenty of practice now) pulled him up easily into a bridal-style hold. The braided boy cuddled closer, and Heero kissed the top of his head gently. "Don't die again."
"I'll try, but if you go I go," Duo said sincerely. Heero frowned.
"Yes, you will," Heero said, and Duo looked at him confusedly. "I kept you alive by stopping time in both of us, and then just by you. We share blood now, so if you die I die, and if I die you die. We halve the pain by each taking a bit. We're...bonded." Duo rolled his eyes.
"So what's that mean, I can make you twitch by poking my foot," he asked, and Heero shrugged.
"Basically, yes," he said, and opened the door. A dark blue fairy flung herself at the couple.
"DUO!!!! DUO DUO DUO DUO DUO!!!" Hilde yelled repeatedly, and Heero had to literally pry her from the braided boy, who was gasping for air, not to mention ridiculously annoyed by the sheer yet itchy blue wings that kept getting shoved into his face.
"Hilde! What the hell happened to you? Where'd you get the scar? Why didn't you come back," Duo was yelling, squirming so much in the white-clad boy's arms Heero almost dropped him. Hilde shrugged, and Duo gaped. "And why are you in such a short skirt, young lady? I thought you were decent!" Hilde giggled, her smile making the white scar curl up against her eye.
"I got the scar from a knife, obviously! And I didn't come back because I didn't know I had somewhere to go. I've been living with my sister," Hilde shrugged, and Duo gaped at her.
"We have a sister now?" Hilde toyed with her longer hair.
"Well, It's more I have a sister. Lucrezia Noin," she shrugged, and then glared at him. "And you're sure one to criticize my outfit, Mr. Hang-All-Over-Heero!"
"That's because I can't walk yet," Duo defended, and then smiled, giving her a warm hug. "You look cute, though. Seen 'Fei and Tro?"
"Yep. Wufei nearly stabbed me until I explained I remembered who I was, and Trowa just did that quiet smile thing," she shrugged. "Then again, they'd seen me. I was there when you got stabbed; Wu was pulling me over to you."
"Atropos stabbed the assassin in the side. She saved you just as much as I did," Heero said, and Duo (yet again) shifted closer. "Party?" Duo grinned.
"Oh yes."
On the deck of the horrifyingly civilian ship was a mass of balloons, cake, candy and any alcoholic beverage imaginable. Heero plunked him down in an extremely cushy armchair, and Duo was amazed his wings didn't rip when they were bunched up against the back's cushioning. Heero himself sat on his left in a stiff-backed gray chair, and Hilde sat on a stool straight in front of her brother.
"Hey, what's this about Atropos," Duo asked, and Hilde shifted uncomfortably.
"That's me," she muttered, staring at her shiny blue shoes. "I didn't remember who I was, so I just..." Hilde shrugged. "I was Atropos Noin. All I could remember was being the God of Death's sister, so I was the Goddess of Death. Over here, that's Atropos." Duo nodded.
"So what happened to you that made you leave and get all amnesia-y," Duo asked, and Heero handed him a piece of chocolate cake. Violet eyes shining, he grinned at the bodyguard. "You're so good to me. Save my life, carry me around, find my sister, AND bring me chocolate cake? What more could I ask for...wait. Ummm, Hee-babe?" Heero sighed, and left his chair, returning with a big glass of some fizzly green alcoholic drink. Duo beamed at him. "I love you." Heero snorted.
"You'd better. Any idea how much this cost?"
"Well then it's a good thing I'm paying for our first date!" Hilde stared at the two.
"You...you've never been on a date," she asked, eyebrows crossed.
"Relax, sis! No need to protect my honor or something," Duo said, taking a big bite out of the cake. "Ahhh, that's goood. Tastes like Heero!" The other two choked on their food, and Duo slapped his bodyguard on the back.
"Thanks," Heero grumbled.
"Too much information. TOO MUCH INFORMATION." Hilde had her hands clapped over her ears and Duo grinned.
"I'm glad to see someone else has the sense to be disturbed by that," Wufei's voice drifted out, and the three turned to see Wufei and Meiran striding on-deck. Meiran was wearing a tiger-striped dress with a little tail hanging down and cat-ears, and Wufei was dressed as...
Duo glared. "That is NOT funny," he snapped, and Wufei smirked, very proud of himself for dressing up exactly how Duo usually did, with black pants, a white shirt, and a white collar. There was even an identical knee-length coat, and a very familiar sword hung at the other boy's hip.
"Yes it is," Heero smirked. Duo whacked him.
"Anyway, now that you're over that, we have news to announce," Meiran said coolly, and Wufei glared at his wife.
"I thought we were doing that later," he said, and she shrugged.
"Well, I'm saying it right now. I'm pregnant," Meiran snapped, and the three winged creatures gaped at Mrs. Chang.
"Oh. My. GOD," Hilde yelled. "WuFEI! You're gonna be a daddy!" As hard as the Duo-clad boy tried, he couldn't help but smile. Meiran was (as common as it sounds) glowing. Hilde ran forward and hugged her almost-sister-in-law. "Ahh! I'm gonna be an aunt, and you're gonna be a mommy!" Meiran uncomfortably hugged the fairy back.
"Enough, Hilde! Off," Wufei yelled, and pried the blue creature off his wife. However, Hilde just tackled Wufei instead.
"You know, you're gonna have to tell Meiran's parents you two are married now," Duo said, and Meiran shrugged.
"True. They still think I'm dead, though, so I think we should do it after the baby's born," Meiran said, just as Trowa strolled onboard in a very interesting ensemble.
He was painted gray, wearing tight gray pants, and covered with vines. Duo couldn't help but laugh aloud, and for about five minutes while Meiran and Wufei announced again their upcoming child.
Finally, everyone was sitting in a circle talking about absolutely nothing, when Quatre walked in, blushing furiously.
He was in a hat. A pirate hat. And looked so undeniably cute yet sexy that Heero was glaring at EVERYONE for looking at his almost-brother like that (well, except Duo, who was just gaping). The rest of the ensemble, which was a loose white shirt and tight brown pants with a brown coat similar to Wufei/Duo's, but it was barely noticed.
"Excuse me," Statue Trowa said quickly, and stood up to quickly throw his lover over his shoulder and almost run into the ship, Quatre giggling madly. Heero growled.
"Down, babe," Duo said, scratching the top of his bodyguard's head. Then, the braided demon turned to his sister. "Trowa and Quatre are basically married now. Eh, that's the blonde. Quatre. He and Heero grew up together, so he's a little, ah, protective, shall we say?" Heero glared at him.
"I am not," he stated.
"And in denial about it."
"I am not!"
"...Oookay," Hilde said, scratching the top of her head. "So, Trowa's with Quatre, Duo's with Heero, and Wufei's married to Meiran, but Wufei and Trowa and Duo are still in the family- WITH me- and Heero and Quatre are basically brothers?" They all nodded, and Hilde shook her head. "And I thought MY life was complicated. I'll have to thank Lu for not adopting anyone but me later. Wufei's not a pirate anymore, Heero's Duo's bodyguard, and Duo's the prince?" Again, everyone nodded. "Damn."
"And that's even without the tattoos," Duo pointed out. The blue fairy whimpered, and Duo patted her on the head. "Don't worry, Hil. You don't have to catch up on a year in a day."
Hilde suddenly frowned. "Anyone else hear that," she asked, and the other four shook their heads. "It's like a faint whistle-"
"Down," Heero, Duo, and Wufei yelled at the same time, and they all fell to the floor as the first arrow hit the deck. It pierced a balloon, and it popped loudly. Meiran couldn't help but shriek, and everyone else but Heero jumped a bit.
"Damn it! Heero, don't ever buy balloons again," Duo snapped, and the angel rolled him below one of the tables. "Oww! Watch the wings." Heero smirked, noticing Meiran was being completely barricaded beneath one of the other tables. Hilde had pulled two daggers out of nowhere, and was crouched under a chair, a foreign glint in her navy eyes Duo had never seen before. "Oi! Hilde! You okay?"
"I'm fine," she snapped, and the ladders came, their tops falling to brace on-deck. As the most experienced when it came to ship battles, Duo was mad as hell he was too weak to walk.
"Heero! Wufei! Get the ladders," he yelled out, and the two ran off to do as he'd commanded, Wufei from habit, and Heero from trust. "Ummm, Hilde? Wanna help?" The girl blinked for a moment, and then realized Duo was trying to stand.
"If I were you, I'd stay down," Hilde shrugged. "You got plenty of cover." Duo glared at her.
"I KNOW. I wanna help!" She rolled her eyes, and went to join the two boys with their unsuccessful attempts at getting the metal contraptions out of the wooden deck.
Finally, they gave up, and let the red and gold-clad men climb onboard. Duo, from years of experience, knew they were from Sanc. As he tried to pinch his legs into obedience, a blade touched down at his throat.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Maxwell," a woman's voice said coolly, and with a sideward glance identified the red-ribboned brunette as Lady Une.
"Well, hi, Une. Sorry we didn't invite you, but it was for, you know, people I can trust," Duo bit out. Lady Une chuckled.
"I'm loyal, if that's what you mean," she said. "Just, not loyal to you." Duo rolled his eyes.
"Typical," he grumbled, and the bodyguard pulled him overboard, to land with a silenced thunk in a rowboat. She propped him up against the side and slipped back up, to return with an unconscious Hilde in her arms. "Heeey! What's with stealing the fairy?"
"Atropos and my lady have some things to discuss," Une stated coolly. "Now please, sit back and enjoy." Duo quirked an eyebrow up.
"Eh? What the hell does that mean," he said, and Une knocked the confused boy unconscious.
x---x
A/N: WOW was that long. I mean...wow. 12 pages! WOOHOO! Bet you guys didn't expect the usurper to be Relena, huh? Muwahahahah! Well, this took a while, didn't it? (shrugs) I told you it would, so no apologies! None!
So, either 2 or 3 chapters more. Exciting! Now, reader responses! So fun.
TheRoguePrince: I'm so glad you finished it! And love it! I got the fight club stuff though, but thank you for offering.
SilverCateyes: Heero was two –YES, TWO- when his training started. I think I started his Special at...five? Maybe? Can't remember right now...so, yeah. Basically, he's never had a childhood. Poor thing. And, sorry 'bout ending one cliffhanger and then putting on another. It's the only place I could really stop, so...sorry?
Mlaine: Well, my dad was always extremely overprotective. Plus we only lived a couple miles from the coast, so we kind of had to leave when a hurricane was on the way. And I consider 'back in the day' less of an 'I'm so old' and more of a 'I'm so experienced' type of saying. Otherwise, it's the only reason to look forward to being old. Well, maybe retirement. Agh! Rambling.
Windy River: Sorry?? Well, length makes up for it.
TrenchcoatMan: Sama. Ha. Anyway, thanks so much! That helped a lot. I haven't seen it all the way through, but I wanted to know which one was fake. My parents won't let me. That confuses me. I own Kill Bill, but can't watch Fight Club. Twisted. And trust me, you do NOT want me to write a 3x4-centric fic. I tried one of those, and...(shudder) you just don't want it.
Priscel: Awwwww! Make me feel all gushy inside. You get a cookie for sympathy. (Hugs back)
Mistress Koishii: Oh, just you wait! I'm thinking a big orgy with wine everywhere and Mr. Steamy would be a LOVELY ending to SOS. Well, not really, but it'd be fun anyway.
Magical-flyingdragon: Well, I've never read the manga either. (shrugs) I read a translation of it online, though. Does that count? I'm so glad you like my story!!!
Well, thanks for reading! Please, please review. Still gonna do Wuffles' special 150. Bye!