Hello.
Thank you to all three of you who reviewed: Jjinks, Vwolf Youjutsu, and Hitokimi. I really appreciate your reviews.
A super thanks to Jjinks, who has reviewed every chapter since ch. 1, and Vwolf Youjutsu, who has done the same since ch. 5.
Sorry the update took so long, but school has been very demanding.
And I only got THREE reviews.
Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter!
Disclaimer: The chances of me owning Gundam Wing are the same as a snowball's chance in hell in July during a dry season.
Enjoy! (And review?)
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Shinigami
(Last time)
"What are you up to, Virinia?"
"Virinia? No one has called me that in a very long time. Where did you get that name from?"
"I don't break promises." He said, watching her carefully.
"A forgotten promise is not the same thing as a broken promise." She sighed. "I honestly didn't expect you to remember it. What else do you remember?"
"Not much. Faces, mostly. No names. Except for yours. Virginia. Virinia." Again, the look.
Silence. Then, "For how long have you known?"
"Since Duo brought you here. I recognized you as soon as I saw you. It all has to do with him, doesn't it?"
"Yes. Unlike you, he remembers nothing. None of the others do. Past lives are normally forgotten, after all."
(Now)
Heero shrugged. The oath he had taken was meant to last through death. He had known he would die, and prepared accordingly. He still remembered the oath. It was hazy, but he still remembered.
Memory
He was standing next to her. She seemed really sad.
"You know what will happen next." He did not make it a question. She nodded. "Why are you worrying? We have done this before."
There was a long pause. He knew she was figuring out what to tell him. "You will all forget me. I will be forgotten, and I will be alone."
"Yes, I know, but won't you forget us too? At least for a while."
"I don't think it will happen that way this time." Then, in a prophetic voice, she said, "You will all continue on, but by my choice I will be left behind, and you will all forget me."
He stared at her. "We would never leave you alone! We swore our lives to protect you! If you don't go on, then why would we?"
She smiled at him, but he still saw the sorrow in it. "You won't have a choice in the matter."
He stood by her for a while more, wondering what he could say to help her. Finally he had an idea. He drew the dagger that hung from his belt, and slashed the palm of his hand with it.
"I swear to you, that even if we all die and you are left alone with the pieces of our deaths, that I will not forget you, Lady Virinia Maxwell. In whatever life I live next, I will remember the name and face of the woman I swore to serve. I seal my oath with my blood."
She truly smiled at him.
End Memory
"You are Duo's sister, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yes, I am. I'm surprised you didn't recognize me when I ortal idiot who tried to burn Duo to a crisp."
"Stop trying to change the subject. Duo wants a family, why don't you tell him? You're probably the only living relative he has. And I promised to remember Virginia, not Shina. I had little to do with Shinigami affairs, and I swore to remember the woman I swore to serve. You are – almost two different people, Shina and Virginia."
"I don't tell him because he has to remember on his own. I can only help him from the shadows. And… it may not be wise to give a family member that will not last for much longer."
Heero looked at her quietly. Then, "You are dying."
"Yes. I have been dying slowly ever since your deaths nine thousand years ago. I don't have much time left."
"What keeps you here?"
"There is still something I have left to do."
"Then you'll leave us."
"No. I will always be listening, even if I am dead. And in time, I, too, will be reborn. And when that happens, I will find my way back to my eight Guardians."
Heero frowned, and cocked his head to the side. "Guardians?"
She smiled quietly. "I will tell you, because when I do die, someone will need to continue with our job. We are the nine Guardians, and each one of us guards a certain element from misuse. The elements are Water, Fire, Lightning/Air, Earth, Empathy, Mind, Fighting, Chaos, and Healing."
He cut her off. "The first four elements I can understand, but can the other five really be considered elements?"
"Each one has it's own strengths, and weaknesses. I did not create the elements, but everything comes under those nine categories. If it were not separate, where would Mind fit under Water, Earth, Fire, and Air? Or Chaos? Or Fighting? That is the best answer I can give."
Heero thought about that for a little bit. "Which element am I?" He asked.
"You will figure it out with time. But, as Guardians, we go to different worlds, and make sure there is no misuse going on there. In doing so, we keep order."
"The message the Shinigami wrote said they guarded magic." Heero commented.
She smiled dryly. "Well, as we were down to one Guardian, I enlisted the help of the Shinigami. They were glad to help out their Eldest."
He thought about that. "Which element are you?"
"Water."
"What can you do?"
"I specialize in making illusions, which is a water based skill. I am also a strong enough water mage to drown or dehydrate a person. I can create water… the list goes on."
Heero blinked. "You can drown a person?"
She smiled smugly.
(Space – several weeks later)
Virginia looked up. "Duo? You look exhausted. Having trouble sleeping?"
Duo had just walked in. He had bags under his eyes, and he wasn't even making an effort to be cheerful. "Yea. Those damn dreams won't leave me alone…" he mumbled.
Virginia felt Heero's glare from where he was sitting at the table.
She glared right back.
Quatre walked in, cheerful as always, and took in the scene of Virginia and Heero glaring at each other and Duo looking like he hadn't slept in weeks.
She's probably the only person other than Duo who won't give in to Heero's glare, He thought. And I think she is the only person who dares to return it.
"Good morning. Um… did I miss something?" He asked, looking from Heero to Virginia and back again as they finally broke the staring match.
"Hn." Was Heero's only answer.
Virginia managed a stiff "Good morning, Quatre. Don't worry about it."
He blinked, and looked at Duo, who shrugged.
"Duo, you don't look so good. Are you OK?" Quatre asked, sounding concerned.
"It's those dreams." He replied. "They won't leave me alone, and I'm not getting a lot of sleep."
Quatre noticed Heero shoot Virginia another glare, which she ignored. He filed that away for further analysis later.
He doesn't think she's sending him dreams, does he?
Is she?
(Space)
The Queen of Demons let the image shatter. So, the Eldest was indeed favoring people. Five to be exact.
And she was pretty sure she knew why, too.
"So that witch has found her Guardians." She sounded extremely disappointed. "I had hoped they would die before she found them. But it probably would have happened anyway." She sighed to herself.
She sent out a call to the demons currently living near the Hall of Darkness. She waited until the demons had come to her, gathered in her throne room. It is a pity, she reflected, that the devils broke free before I could put them to much use. They would have been extremely helpful in this situation.
"Listen to me." She hissed at them, completely capturing their attention. "I need all of you to kill the Eldest of the Shinigami. If you don't, she will become High Queen" – she spit out the title – " of the Immortals. Then she will destroy you all." She paused here while the demos booed.
Just as she opened her mouth again to speak, she found herself cut off. "And what will you do once you kill her?"
She glared in the direction of the voice. She saw Devron, the devil that had helped the others of his kind break free. He sat on the rafters, leathery wings folded behind him.
"Make myself Queen, and bring darkness to the worlds."
He looked at her. Then he shifted his gaze to the demons. "Your Queen lies to you." He said. "If the Eldest becomes High Queen, very little will change, even for us. She is not aligned with good, but with neutrality. She understands what balance is." The look he gave the would-be Queen was full of contempt, and said quite clearly that he believed that she had no idea what balance was. "I, with all of you, am aligned with evil. However, evil cannot exist without good, and visa versa. This woman will bring you to the destruction of everything, including yourselves."
"What would a devil know of it?" She snapped.
"More than you think, apparently." He hissed back.
"Why are you standing for her? She will enslave you all!" She cried.
"Because once the Eldest becomes High Queen, every being will call her Queen, even demons and devils. Think about it. Why doesn't she kill us whenever she has the chance? She lets us watch her!"
"Don't listen to the devil." She said to her demons. "Obviously, he has gone mad."
He stared at her. Then his attention shifted somewhat, as though he was listening to something. "Fine, kill her, if you can. You will only give her the throne faster." He warned, and disappeared.
She swore at the devil, well aware that he could no longer hear her. Finally, a demon spoke up.
"Even if we wanted to, we could not break free of you. So we will do as you command. But what will you be doing?"
She smiled grimly. "Distracting Them."
(Space)
The Gundam Pilots had decided to go to the beach for a while. Virginia had declined the offer to go, saying that they should do things together without her getting in the way every once in a while. Amazingly, there seemed to be someone else on the beach, even though in was February.
Trowa spotted her first. "There is a girl up ahead, coming this way." He paused. "She doesn't look like a threat."
The girl had black hair that was braided and wrapped around her head. Her eyes were black as well. She was coming their way.
Quatre shivered slightly. "Guys, there seems to be pure malice coming off that girl. Be careful."
To Quatre, the transformation that happened when she reached them was amazing. She went from the epitome of malice to a bowl full of sugar.
"Hello." She chirped cheerfully. "I thought I was the only lover of winter beaches."
"Is there anything we can do for you?" Wufei snapped.
"No, not really. As I can see I'm not wanted, I'll be on my way." As she walked by them, she called back over her shoulder "By the way, my name is Eileen."
And the malice came back.
"That was… disturbing." Quatre muttered.
Heero glanced at him. "What was?"
"As soon as she reached us, the only readings I got off of her were like sugar." He sighed. "And then right after she told us her name, the malice returned. In full force."
"What does that mean?" Wufei asked. "Do you think she was an immortal?"
"If she was, I don't think she is a nice one. I don't want to meet her again. Ever."
"You may not have a choice, you know."
They all turned around. A woman in a long black dress was standing there. She had a veil over the bottom part of her face, and her long brown hair flowed freely behind her. She held a long bow in her right hand.
"Who are you?" Trowa asked.
"Your friend knows me."
"Who?" he asked, confused.
"Me."
They all looked at who had spoken. Duo.
"She's a Shinigami." Duo said. He seemed… trance-like. "Within the Shinigami are Orders, each related to different things. The Order of the Moon is a very rare one. Unlike other Shinigami, they were their hair loose and hide their faces. They favor the bow and arrow over the scythe or whip, as well, and are very selective about who enters their Order." He seemed to come to himself. "What? Those dreams are coming in handy after all."
The woman nodded. "Indeed, I am of the Order of the Moon. I have a warning for you. That thing – it is no girl – will cause great trouble for you all soon. Eileen was an immortal, who chose to walk what we call the Dark Path."
"Basically, she went evil." Duo explained.
"Yes. But she means to destroy our Eldest."
"So? Why tell us." Wufei asked.
"Because you are in her way."
"What do you-" Quatre stopped. The woman had disappeared.
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OK! Well, what do you think? Good? Bad? In-between?
This keeps on getting more and more complicated as it goes. If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them, as long as they don't reveal part of the story line.
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DarkLady