Haunted Memories
Chapter 5
A/N: Eh, sorry about the sadness of previous chapter. I know it wasn't very nice, but guess what? It's all for the good of the story. Normal night tonight. No sugar or fights or watching of FF12, so this should be quick and painless. Well, not so quick to type. It's another long chapter. Oh, and by the way, thank you anissa for the reviews. I really appreciate them. :-
Warnings: Yep, Duo has lost a couple of marbles. I don't think he's quite right, but then who would be after what these guys go through.
-In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems.- Dean Koontz
Wufei let the door close quietly. No need to antagonize the other pilot any farther. The hallway of the apartment complex was dimly lit and had a smell of mold clinging to it. He couldn't understand how somebody could live like this. He pulled up his hood before stepping outside. The rain had yet to let up. He pulled the jacket closer trying to keep out the wind and rain and also trying to keep his clothes in his hands from becoming throughly soaked.
He walked up to the street and waved at the first cab he saw. Mumbling his thanks, he climbed into the back seat. He cringed at the dingy feel of the drab fabric that he was sitting on. The small yellow car reeked of smoke, week old food, and sweat. A thin screen of wire was the only thing between Wufei and the driver, although he wished there was more. The man looked big and mean enough to eat him and still be hungry for more. The man grunted and looked at Wufei questioningly.
"The Purple Lotus, please," Wufei sputtered. The small car jumped from the curb with a squeel of tires and careened down the street. Wufei hoped that it wouldn't take too long to get there.
Ready to lose his soup, the small pilot paid his fare and stepped cautiously out of the vehicle. Hardly a moment passed before the yellow thing jerked away, heading somewhere else at break-neck speed. Wufei muttered curses at the sky as he turned to look at the building he was about to enter.
A big neon sign shouted the name Purple Lotus into the dark night. The building looked old and shabby, the once red brick now dulled to a murky brown was the only hotel in town. It's major downfall was that it also contained a bar. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke seemed to ooze from the pores of the walls. Wufei sighed and with a shrug of his shoulders, plunged into the gapping mouth of the monstrosity, also known as the door.
The music was kept low, so it made sleeping in the back rooms almost bearable. The lights were placed sporadicly around the large room, giving off a dim orangish yellow light. The table tops were scarred and gouged from years of use and the seats that still had cloth were torn. The food was cheap and the booze cheaper. The place drew in a steady crowd, mostly those who did not want to go to their own depressing homes or just didn't have one.
Wufei, not bothering to stop at his room first, took a seat at the high top bar. One of the reasons why he was staying here was because of the bartender.
"Hey Hilde," Wufei said to get her attention. She gave a half smile in recognition.
"So, you found him, huh?" she said noticing the black clothes. "I take it you guys got into it."
"Yeah, I found him and I guess I should just leave certain things well enough alone."
"Talked about Heero, didn't you?" Wufei nodded. Hilde sighed.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with him. You want a drink?"
"Sure, why not. A whisky sour sounds nice." Hilde put down the towel she was using to dry cups with and started to make his drink. Once done, she set the tall glass down in front of him. She winced as Wufei picked it up and drank half of it in one gulp.
"So, does he know why you came?" she asked, going back to the task of cleaning glasses. At that question Wufei looked away, slightly uncomfortable.
"Not exactly," he said, hiding behind his glass. He decided to drink it a bit more slowly. Hilde had made it quite strong. She raised an eyebrow in question waiting for him to explain himself.
"I told him I was here because of the anniversary, which by the way, did you go up there to the cemetary?"
"Yes, I went this morning. Now don't change the subject. Duo doesn't know that Treize is looking for you guys? And why is this?"
"Because I'm here instead Hilde. I went too far about the Heero thing and he threw me out. I didn't get a chance to tell him more bad news," he said, slightly angry. He changed his mind about drinking his drink slow and finished it off in another gulp.
"He needs to know about Treize, but Heero still gone really burdens hims," she said gently. Wufei met her eyes, and held her stare.
"Do you believe he's alive too?" She shrugged her shoulders and broke the stare.
"I don't know exactly what to believe. Obviously, there was no body, but this is Heero we are talking about. The guy is almost impossible to kill." She set another glass in front of him. "Duo had finally found somebody," she said softly.
Wufei looked up from the bar top in surprise.
"What do you mean found somebody? I asked him. Duo said they weren't together," he said a little more sharply than he intended to. He was starting to feel fuzzy from the drink. Hilde laughed.
"They weren't together. Not yet anyways. Duo was head over heals i love with Heero. Heero just had that problem with commitment, but he was fine living with Duo and being around him. Duo was fine with that, so he decided to wait. They were very happy that way. Heero had even started to smile," Hilde said sadly.
Wufei was quiet as he let this all sink in. The scratches and burn marks on the table top suddenly became much more interesting. Hilde patted his arm and left him to his thoughts as she attended other customers.
No wonder Duo was so protective about Heero's things. Wufei felt like such an idiot for assuming things about Duo's and Heero's relationship. Now he had to go and try to make things better, only to give his friend more bad news. He sighed. After he slowly finished his drink, he stood up to leave.
"I'll go check on him tomorrow night, ok, Wufei?" Hilde said to him.
"Sure. I'm going to stop by in the morning. Hopefully I can tell him everything without getting thrown out," he said with a wry smile. Hilde chuckled in response. Wufei picked up his still wet clothes, and with a wave good -bye, headed to his room.
Duo woke up with a scream. For a moment he thought he was back in that cell or even in that torture room. But no, bright sunlight was coming through the window, almost blinding him. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw that his pillow was thrown on the floor and his bed was a tangle of him and his blankets.
His bangs were soaked with sweat and were sticking to his eyes. His braid was a wet, matted rats nest. He groaned as he pushed his hair out of his face and tried to detangle himself from the covers.
He stood and shuffled over to the little kitchen corner. He needed caffeine and wanted it as soon as possible. His boxers, wet from sweat clung to him in the most annoying of ways. He grunted as he tried to rearrange himself and the black fabric. He started the coffee pot while drinking a big glass of over sweetened tea. Duo then stumbled to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
An hour later found Duo sitting on the floor with his back against his bed. He was braiding his long chestnut brown hair with a mug of coffee at his feet. The sun had moved just enough so that it wasn't directly in his face. He was mumbling under his breath because his hair was being stubborn. Finally finished, he wrapped a dark blue band around the end of the braid.
He felt half-way human, but only after finishing three cups of coffee. He was mostly dressed. He didn't care too much about it at the moment. It was still early. He wore a pair of loose black jeans that were sunug at the waist and a black dress shirt that was still unbuttoned. His boots were somewhere. He had decided to go visit Wufei to get some answers to the questions his nightmares had raised.
A loud knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts. He really wasn't in the mood for any visitors just yet. It was still too early.
"Go away, Hilde," he shouted to the door.
"It's not Hilde," a gruff voice said.
"Go away Wufei."
"Let me in Duo, we need to talk."
"As a matter of fact, we do," Duo grumbled. At least he didn't have to go to the hotel and talk to Hilde yet. She would probably yell at him for throwing Wufei out the night before. "Alright then, just come in."
"Wufei cautiously entered the apartment half expecting Duo to throw something at him. He was surprised to see his friend dressed. Well most of the way. Sunlight danced across the man's bare chest. Wufei quickly overted his eyes and somehow managed to not blush.
"I brought your clothes back and I brought you some rum. Just don't let Hilde find out. She'll have my head."
"Thanks," Duo said. He almost smiled. Wufei put the rum n the cupboard and the clothes on Duo's bed. He sat down across from the braided pilot, careful not to look at his chest. At how slim and muscular it was ans such a pale... Right, not looking. What was wrong with him?
"I needed to talk to you too Wufei."
"About last night, I'm sorry," Wufei quickly said. He could hardly ever apologize. Fighting a blush again he went on.
"Whatever happened or din't happen between you and Heero is none of my business. I didn't mean to pry." Duo nodded as if to say that it wasn't a big deal.
"Don't worry about it Wufei. You were always nosy even if you would never admit it." Duo chuckled.
"Well, that's not the only reason I came over to talk," he paused trying to find a way to gather his thoughts. Duo waited for him to continue, an eyebrow arched.
"You know how I said I was here for the anniversary? That's not the whole reason I had to take a break from work." He paused agian to lock eyes with Duo.
"Duo, Treize is alive," he said quietly. Ignoring his friend's gasp he went on. "He's very alive and he's looking for us. The others are dead and now he wants us dead too."
Heero is not dead. Treize should be dead. How is he alive? Heero's not dead. Why now? These thoughts were racing through Duo's mind. Emotions from rage to confusion to fear ran through his body.
"How do you know this?" Duo asked.
"I'm here aren't I?" Wufei countered, trying not to seem too obvious at not directly answering the question. Too bad Duo wasn't distracted enough.
"Yes, I can see that you're here Wufei. That surprises me. Because as far as I can tell whenever Treize comes around you do exactly what he says, no questions asked," Duo spat out. He was glaring at Wufei and leaning forward.
"Wufei tried to back away, but he was all the way against the other bed. He didn't trust the glint in the other man's violet eyes.
"Why are you here Wufei?"
"I came to warn you, to try to help," stammered Wufei. This conversation was so not going the way he expected.
"Come here to warn me? Like I can't take care of myself, huh?" Duo was now almost nose to nose with the black-haired pilot. Wufei swallowed hard.
"It's not like that Duo. You should know that. We are the only ones left," he dared to say. Duo snorted.
"The only ones left? Heero is not dead," he spat, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything.
"Face it Duo, we are the only ones left," Wufei said a little more evenly. He had to convince his friend that. If Duo was to get out of this depression he had to believe Heero was dead and Wufei was determined to do just that. Wufei dared to put a hand on Duo's shoulder as a sign of comfort.
Something seemed to click inside Duo. The tension seemed to drain from his body as he almost relaxed - almost. He broke his gaze, bowing his head. Everything was still and so very quiet. Duo took a deep breath and lifted his head. The look in his eyes worried Wufei. He considered regreting his decision to come here.
"Fine, if you say so, Wufei," the young man said quietly. "But answer me just one question then. What kind of connection did you have with Miliardo that made you do anything Treize said without the slightest bit of fight?"
"Wufei's onyx eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in surprise and fear. He paled visibly and broke into a sweat. He bowed his head. He couldn't look at Duo. His only real friend left was going to kill him. Yep, that is what Duo is going to do to him.
"How do you know about him?" Wufei asked almost too quietly for Duo to hear.
"You act all high and mighty around everyone else, like you're better than us all," Duo said slowly. "Trieze shows up and you do nothing. Later in that forsaken room, you grow balls once again and piss the commander off. He mentions Miliard and you do nothing. So answer my damn question Wufei," Duo stood, his voice rising. Wufei muttered somethinghe didn't quite hear.
"What?" Suo demanded.
"I said his name is Miliardo. You said Miliard," Wufei stated through gritted teeth. He looked up at Duo, eyes blazing.
"So what. What did you do, sleep with Treize's butt-buddy or something?" Duo spat out.
Duo found himself slammed up against a wall without remembering quite how he got there. Wufei's forearm was against his throat cutting off any breath he was trying to take. Wufei had his body up against his almost crushing him. The Chinese man had always been stronger than him. Duo could hardly breathe let alone struggle.
"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again," Wufei growled, his nose almost touching Duo's.
"Let go," Duo said in warning. Seeing that the other man had no intentiion of moving, Duo decided to make him move. He brought his knee up, making Wufei move to block it. With Wufei off balance, Duo shoved off the wall, knocking them both to the floor.
Shouting curses they each fought to gain control over one another. Wufei was stronger and had more disciplined training, but duo grew up on the streets. He was faster and knew how to fight dirty.
"What the Hell is your problem Wufei?" Duo yelled as he ducked just in time, Wufei's fist grazing the top of his head. Talking had distracted him too much though. He couldn't block Wufei's knee coming towards his stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he hit the ground with an oof. Wufei took this chance to get Duo's arms into an armblock from behind. He also had a hold of Duo's braid so he could not head butt him in the face. This forced Duo to look up at the ciling at a very uncomfortable angle.
"Have you ever cared for somebody, Duo Maxwell? Cared for somebody you know you shouldn't, but even though you try everything possible not to, you still fall in love with them anyways?" Wufei growled into Duo's ear. "I have and I did everythng possible to keep them from being hurt.
With that he shoved Duo away from him. He was pissed at his friend and disgusted with himself.
"God, Duo," he said angrily.
Duo hit the floor face first, unable to stop himself from doing so. He stood up slowly, keeping a wary eye on Wufei who ahd moved to sit on the second bed. He sat on his own.
"I guess we're even then," Duo replied.
"Huh?" Wufei said intelligently.
"We're even on touching sore spots." Wufei just grunted and nodded his head. He had a split lip and his head was throbbing. He still wasn't done explaining though.
"So why was Treize using this Miliardo guy against you? Was he somebody Trieze could get ahold of or something? And how would he know when we didn't even notice that you were with somebody?" Duo asked, rubbing the back of his head where a lump was starting to form. It was Wufei's turn to snort.
"It was very easy for Treize to use him against me. You even know who he is Duo." Wufei gave a short humorless laugh. "Miliardo is also known as the great Zechs Marquis, Treize's second in command."
Wufei flopped back onto the bed closing his eyes. He waited for Duo to kill him or start screaming at him and then kill him. Nothing happened. Wufei craked open an eye and propped himself up on one arm.
Duo sat on the other bed looking confused, utterly dumbfounded, and pissed all at the same time. Wufei fdidn't think he liked the indecision of action on Duo's behalf. Duo on the other hand definitely ahd no clue of what to do. He could understand the feeling of losing somebody, Hell he lost Heero. But, but it was the enemy for crying out loud. He should kill Wufei, but he was his ony friend left. Should he still be considered his friend?
"Close your mouth Maxwell, You're starting to drool," Wufei said wryly. Duo did as told and then opened it to say something. And then closed it. Again.
"Did you Know?" Duo managed to get out.
"At first, no. Do you think I'm stupid?" Wufei answered sitting up. "Besides, I didn't know the name Miliardo mattered until much later.
"No, I did not know and neither did he. When we eventually found out, it was too late for the both of us. We both were falling for one another and we couldn't help it. Once we knew, we saw less and less of each other. Didn't want to compromise our missions. I had decided to end it. We agreed to meet one final time, to end the realtionship."
"It was hurting so bad. I mean it was so unfair, but who am I to justify fairness? First of all, he was a guy. Me liking a guy? Come on. But I guess you can't really help it. Why couldn't I just be normal? Nope, I, Chang Wufei, had to fall for a guy ten years older than I was that jsut ended up being one of my biggest enemies," Wufei paused, exasperated. Duo just kept quiet for a moment giving Wufei the time he needed.
"What happened, Wufei?" Duo urged. The Chinese man sighed before he continuted.
"The night we met, Miliardo was really upset. Kept muttering about having to hurry, which really started to bother me. I was trying to think of a way to say good-bye without totaly losing it. Then he showed up."
"Mr. Treize Kushrenada. Mr. Perfect I should say. He was the only person I ever had to compete with for Miliardo's time. He had heard and seen everything. Even saw us kiss. He was going to kill me. He really wanted to especially after finding out I was a gundame pilot."
"But Miliardo begged him not to. He told Treize that it was all a ruse. That he was collecting information from me the whole time. He somehow made his commander believe this. I guess anybody would once they saw the affect Miliardo's words had on me."
"I didn't want to believe it. But, there they were, smugly congratulating themselves. Treize still wanted me dead, but Miliardo told him that it was enough for me having to return to my fellow pilots."
"Treize told me that I better watch myself. And they let me go. I felt so utterly betrayed. I felt as if a part of me had died out there on the balcony. Only later, much later did I find out that Miliardo had put on an act to save my life."
"I found it out the day after Trowa and Quatre died. Right before we blew the place apart."
"Before you had been put into the cell with me, Treize had already paid me a little visit. He told me that he had one other pilot at the moment and that he knew all of us were there. If I didn't cooperate with him he would kill Miliardo. You see, he knew the whole time his second in command had been lying. He was just playing along waiting for the chance like the one he had then."
"I didn't give him any information, but I got a couple of kicks and punches in return. By all the commotion coming through on his radio, he didn't need any informationf rom me. He left and soon after you joined me. And you know the rest." Wufei took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"What happened to him?" Duo asked. Wufei shrugged sadly.
"I don't think he made it out in time... He's dead Duo." Wufei said with finality. "Just as Heero is." Duo cringed, but nodded slowly. Everything was quiet for a few minutes.
Duo suddenly smiled and got a manic gleam in his eye. Wufei looked around the room, slightly worried. What in the world was he smiling at?
"We just need to kill him," Duo said simply, but with an evil grin.
"Huh?" Wufei muttered.
"We, me and you, are going to kill the great Treize Kushrenada. The God of Death shall reign again. And of course, he'll have his trusty side-kick with him this time."
'Uh oh.' That was all Wufei could think of. 'Uh oh.'