Through the Vortex
Bane's Desire
Part 5 - And Behind Curtain Number Three

My cheek was being gently stroked as if I were a treasured, pampered pet, and the soothing sensation slowly brought me out of my drugged-induced sleep. I immediately recalled the events that had occurred just before I was drugged and I decided that I really didn't want to open my eyes. I'll admit, I was scared about having to face the new reality that was going to be my life from then on. As the petting of my face continued, I realized I couldn't avoid it forever, and if my full bladder was any indicator, not even another five minutes would pass before I had to face reality. I was more or less forced by that bulging, complaining organ into deciding that I might as well get on with it, and the sooner the better.

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked at the blurred person above me, who paused in petting my face. The dark hair and sharp oval face came more into focus with each passing moment. Then, just as my vision cleared, it became blurred again, but this time with tears when I realized exactly who it was that was gazing down on me. "Heero," I whispered, and with aching, irritatingly heavy arms I reached up and clasped hold of my lover, bringing him down to my chest and holding tightly to him. "I was having a horrible nightmare," I told him in a shaky voice, my eyes closed tightly.

Heero whispered back while returning my embrace, "I was told of your unfortunate misadventure at the medicinal center and was called to offer comfort. You are secure and I am present. Everything will be well as soon as you heal and come to yourself again."

My eyelids snapped opened, and looking over Heero's shoulder my eyes swept across the room. I didn't recognize it or see anything familiar. The walls were an oddly tinted white shade, almost a very pale purple, and there was a large, single window where I could see blue-white clouds scudding across a pale yellow sky, reminding me that I wasn't in the world I was familiar with anymore. I forced myself away from that thought for a moment to bring my focus back to the room, to the furniture. It was ultra modern, sharp angles and stiff looking, not my style at all and done in varying shades of... purple. Ugh!

"Where am I?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Heero pulled himself up from off my chest and looked down on me, frowning with concern. "In your resting space," he answered in a matter of fact tone.

"Is it a private room in the..." I had to pause a moment in order to recall the name of the place where I'd awaken to Wufei, Sally and Hilde's doubles. "Medicinal center?" I guessed.

"No," Heero replied, gazing at me cautiously. "This is your resting space in Chooser Hidah's abode."

"Shit," I moaned and closed my eyes against further proof that I was out of my league, off my planet and going out of my mind.

"Wudon spoke of your speech, that it was odd and seemed foul. You must restrict your tongue and temper your vileness, Duwan, or face another mark."

I opened my eyes again to see him frowning down on me, disapproval in his eyes. Now that I was really focusing on him I could see those eyes weren't quite the deep-blue shade that I'd often lost myself in, the ones that had made me fall in love with a teenage soldier. Also, like Wudon, this man's skin was lighter in color than Heero's and there were no small frown lines around his eyes that I used to kiss away. He looked younger and... soft. Even with the apparent differences, this person appeared so much like Heero that I had to look very hard to assure myself that he wasn't my lover. Seeing him dressed in a completely dark purple getup further convinced me further of that fact.

"You're not Heero."

"You know full well that my name is Herron," the other man told me, sounding and looking rather put out with me. "What is this gambit that you are entertaining?"

I couldn't answer him as the enormity of my situation hit me once again. I turned my head away instead and buried my face into the pillow. It was unbelievably painful to realize that I really was completely removed from all that had been familiar to me: my job, even though I hated it, my friends, home and most of all, Heero. I wondered if everyone back home would think I was dead? Maybe I was and this was some sort of afterlife, my purgatory. But I knew I wasn't dead because I felt so wretched. I didn't think it was possible to feel so bewildered or be in so much pain and grieving the loss of my former life if I were in that permanent state of rest. My heart was heavy and although I tried not to, I was unable to resist the need to give into my grief for all that I'd lost, for Heero and my friends. I broke down, crumbled like a stale cookie, and although I didn't make a sound, I hadn't cried like that in a long, long time. I was devastated, having lost everyone dear to me the moment I was sucked up into the swirling vortex. It was as much a physical pain as it was emotional, and it hurt more than I had ever dreamed possible.

I felt a comforting hand rubbing my back, trying to console me, but I would have none of it. The person behind me wasn't who I needed him to be, he wasn't Heero, only a stranger that sort of looked like him.

"Duwan, what troubles you so?" Herron asked softly, clearly puzzled by my behavior. "Sallah expresses to Relna that you appeared confounded, that you had been taken up into an unknown apparition that looked like a spinner storm and that your bands had been mysteriously removed." Then Herron's voice softened even more as his consoling continued. "Cast aside your concerns, Duwan, Mistra Hildah still chooses you. Your contract is still intact. She even had your bands replaced before you were brought to your resting space."

That got my attention. I lifted my face from the pillow, roughly wiping at the evidence of my grief, sniffed, and then turned my red eyes to look at the other man. "Bands?"

He look confused at my question for a moment, then pointed to his right, bare upper arm where I saw two tattoos, each one an inch wide line encircling his biceps. The upper stripe was blue, the lower one purple. I then followed his hand as it moved upward to his neck, where he motioned to a quarter inch metal choker that looked like burnished copper, wrapped around his neck and resting lightly on center of his collar bone.

I realized than that there had been a persistent stinging on my upper right arm from the moment I woke up but I'd ignored it because my body ached just about everywhere. I'd also been just a bit distracted in seeing Heero, or rather the person I thought was Heero. I looked down at myself for the first time since waking to see that I was wearing clothing similar to Herron's. It was sleeveless, purple, and felt softer than silk against my skin. On my arm there were two stripes identical to Herron's in size and placement, but the colors differed slightly. The upper band was red and the lower one purple. My hand flew to my neck, confirming the fact that I also wore a near-weightless but solid metal band there, like Herron's. I customarily wore only my cross on a slender silver chain around my neck, but it had never been as close to my throat as the band I found there. My searching fingers confirmed that my cross was gone, my only physical memory of Maxwell Church, and I could only guess that I'd lost it while spinning inside the vortex. Another loss I've suffered because of the vortex. The metal band, barely registering against the skin on my neck, was a poor substitute for my cross, and it felt too close and strangely constricting, though I think that was more of an emotional reaction than physical discomfort.

"What do they mean?" I asked Herron, feeling numb with loss and a little breathless by everything that was happening.

"That you are a Chosen." He pointed to the purple stripe on his arm. "This denotes my rank as Purple." His finger then moved up to the blue band. "This signifies the rank of my Chooser. I am Chosen by Mistra Relna, a Blue. You are Chosen by Mistra Hildah, a Red."

"Tell me about the ranks." I figured I needed to learn as much as I could about this world if I was going to have to live in it. I've always had to learn quickly in order to fit in, to adjust my way of living and thinking as the necessity of surviving came into play. I decided this situation was no different.

Herron reached out and with gentle fingers brushed back some of the loose hair that had fallen over my shoulder. "You are not yourself, are you?" he asked gently.

I shook my head, feeling lost and alone. "I don't know, Herron. I feel so strange." I didn't know if I should tell anyone in that foreign world that I didn't belong there or if I should just try and bluff my way through this new life. It seemed to me that Duwan had a pretty cushy life, at least that was my first impression. I had this gut feeling that it would be better to play at being Duwan, using the excuse of the known accident for my loss of memory, my obvious confusion, and if there were any noticeable differences between me and my counterpart. I decide to keep up the pretense that I was Duwan until I gained more information and viewed my options.

Arms, not as strong as those I was used to, gathered me up and held me against a chest less muscled than Heero's. But damn, Herron smelled good even though the scent was different from my Heero. He smelled like musk and spring thrown together. "Have no fear, Duwan," the other man whispered into my ear. "All will be right once again. You experienced a terrible fright but in a cycle or two all will be righted. After your mind settles, Mistra Hildah intends for you to start your heramones again; your contract will remain intact."

I shamelessly clung to Herron as if he were my lover. I desperately needed something to anchor myself to and, at that moment, he filled that role. I wished harder than I'd ever wished for anything before that all that I was experiencing was just a dream, a very vivid and twisted one, and that I would wake up in a hospital in Sanq with a really good story to tell. But the dream just wouldn't go away, and I knew that sooner or later I was going to have to face the fact that I was an alien in this strange world.

"Herron?"

The voice that came from the doorway was unmistakable and it set me on edge immediately. It was Relena, or rather, Relna. I looked over Herron's shoulder to see her standing just outside the open door, silhouetted by the brighter light in the hallway. She was a vision in blond hair that fell in loose curls to her waist, dressed in a gossamer, royal-blue dress that seemed to kiss her skin from her pale, visible shoulders down to her wrists and ankles. Herron's reaction to her voice was immediate. He disentangled himself from my arms and quickly stood to face his Chooser and bowed his head to her in what I gathered was a sign of respect.

"Are you prepared to take your leave?" she asked in a soft, melodic voice.

"As you desire," Herron returned, politely accommodating.

I sat there with my eyes bugging out of my head. This was coming a bit too close to the nightmares I'd had during the war. Sure, I'd dreamt about death and the horrors of my youth back then, but what I feared the most during that time was Relena's pursuit of Heero and how he wouldn't completely put her off, saying she seemed important enough to the cause of peace for him to keep her happy in her fantasy world of the two of them being a couple.

"Don't go," I said to him in an embarrassingly needy voice before I could stop myself. As both of them looked at me in a peculiar way, I belatedly reminded myself that this wasn't Heero and the woman standing in the doorway wasn't Relena. Even so, I was reluctant to let him go. I felt strongly that Herron was my strongest link so far in understanding this world. He'd revealed more of this foreign place to me in the few minutes we'd spent together than what I'd learned the first few times I'd awakened in the hospital, or rather, medicinal center.

"Duwan." Relena's twin addressed me with a genuine look of concern on her face. "Are you well and more yourself?"

I paused to consider my answer, knowing that I needed to justify my confusion. I looked squarely into her eyes and said truthfully, "I'm feeling a bit lost, Relna."

"Herron?" Relena's double then looked questioningly at her Chosen. Herron's head rose from its bowed position. "Forgive him, Chosen," he rushed to say. "He doesn't remember us or anything of his life."

"Then his behavior is excusable. Hildah is concerned that he may need retraining, which is a pity since he was about to acquire the insertion."

For some reason her statement or some parts of it seemed to upset the other man. I watched Herron, puzzled to see him bow once again, but this time deeper and from the waist. "If you would allow me, I would instruct Duwan myself rather than put him through the full retraining again. He's very fragile at the moment, my Mistra."

There was a moment's pause as the young woman considered her Chosen and his request. She slowly turned her eyes to meet mine as I pushed myself up to a sitting position on the bed. Her gaze was startlingly intense and made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. She didn't deign to address me again, instead she turned her full attention back to Herron. "Your concern is admirable, Herron. Knowing Duwan is your chosen familiar, I will grant your request and speak to his Chooser to see what we can arrange, but I believe that his caregiver may be more functional in this matter. Now, enough," she said with a tone of finality concerning the last subject. "Take your leave now as Naylor is requesting your attention. You may return another cycle to visit Duwan and give instruction as required. Say your departing words and then meet me at the main portal."

With that said, Relna turned and left the room, her gossamer blue dress gently flowing behind her like a fairy-tale princess. Herron straightened from his long-sustained bow and moved back to me, immediately taking me in his arms again. He wasn't Heero, but he certainly knew how to give comfort and I was feeling vulnerable enough to soak up as much of it as I could.

"You are fortunate that Mistra Relna is very fond of me, that she grants me this request," Herron whispered softly into my ear. "I would do much to keep you from going through the training again. I have to depart now, but my return will be made as soon as possible, in tu or tre cycles." I clung to him for a moment longer, having no idea how long tu or tre cycles was. I was afraid to let him disappear into the unknown. "Duwan," he said my name more firmly. "I really must depart. We can not risk Relna's displeasure." It was odd to hear a hint of fear in that familiar voice. Heero didn't fear very much, and I'd never seen the Relena in my world do anything to intentionally hurt anyone, much less Heero. She may have been persistent in chasing him down during the war and sometimes a pest, but I truly believe that she'd never intentionally caused harm to another person. I had to wonder what it was that Relna had done to make Herron afraid of her displeasure or this training he was trying to keep me from.

He forcefully loosened my grip from around his waist, and I quickly settled my needy hands in my lap. "All right," I said, sounding as defeated as I felt. "Just hurry back." Before he left the edge of the bed, Herron swooped down and captured my lips, delivering an open mouth kiss that I eagerly accepted, mostly out of habit. His mouth was familiar and the touch was something I desperately needed.

When he pulled back, Herron said something that I'd never anticipated. "You smell of body heat and taste of medicinal substances. Cleanse yourself." I was a bit embarrassed, but that had to be the most unromantic parting line I'd ever heard. I watched as he straightened and smoothed his purple getup, then turned and walked briskly out of the room without casting a single look back at me.

I sat on my bed feeling a bit stunned. Slowly, I turned my head to take in the unfamiliar room that I was told was mine. The purplish walls were a soft contrast to the darker, colorful furnishings. "What is it with purple?" I asked myself out loud. Sure, I was told I was purple in rank, though I had no idea at the time what that meant, but did I have to wear the damn feminine color and live with it, too? My eyes went to a large scenic painting on the wall and I studied it for a moment. The colors depicting the landscape were all wrong. I hoped it was merely an artist's interpretation, displaying their artistic slant rather than depicting actual life, because the yellow sky, blue grass, green lake in the distance and trees of orange, yellow and other colors of which I'd never seen the likes of, were too odd to be real. Yet somehow I knew that if I looked out the window, those were the colors I'd see. Feeling out of place and time, I could only wonder how I was going to pull off being Duwan, a chosen - whatever the hell that was - and not Duo Maxwell, a former street kid and gundam pilot, thrown into this world by a freak accident. I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be a lot more difficult than I could ever imagine.

TBC

Author's note to reviewers: Thanks to those who have taken the time to review. To answer some questions:

ahanchan: I've toyed with the idea of writing Heero's POV from the other side of the vortex, but if I do write it, it won't be posted until this story is finished. I don't want to give away what's going to happen.

Pia: Straight? Not really... just wait.

Anon & Sylishkiller: Confused? We'll so is Duo, in his own world as well as his life in Erith. As this story is told from his POV, you're supposed to be as confused as he is and you'll find out about this new world as he discovers it. He's not going to figure it all out, but what he does discover is going to surprise the socks off of him.