I awoke to hear Dr. J's voice. Oh God, I thought, it really was just a dream!
I slammed my eyes shut and desperately reached behind me for Duo, but he wasn't there. I had to repress a scream. Slowly, I forced myself to relax and noticed that, while Duo was not there, I was still in his bed. I took a deep breath, Duo's scent filling my nose and comforting me. Then I opened my eyes. The curtains were drawn so that as little light as possible could get into the room. I was alone in the bed with the blankets up to my chin. As I sat up I noticed that there was evidence of someone having slept next to me. Duo had been here. J's voice came again and I shuddered, fighting the urge to hide under the blankets. What kind of a coward had I become? What the Hell had happened to the Perfect Soldier?
"Shinigami killed him in the war, J killed him after, and you killed him now," I thought coldly. I stood, the last remnants of sleep fading from my mind. I realized that there were voices arguing in the backyard and moved to the window. I opened the blinds a slit, letting a ray of light fall on my skin. It hurt, but didn't cause any damage, so I knew I was strong enough to stand the sunlight. I pulled the curtains and gasped at what I saw there. First was Dr. J standing in the middle of the back yard, looking angrier than I'd ever seen him. Second was the forty men behind him carrying guns and holding back more of those huge monster dogs. Third was the other pilots, lined up and ready to face them, Duo leading the way. Duo would be killed! There was no way they could stand up to that many soldiers alone! I had just found him, I wasn't about to lose him now!
I scrambled out the window and down the roof of the house to some bushes on the ground below. If I could just take J out, maybe his troops would fall apart. It was a long shot, but it was my only hope. From the bushes, I could hear Duo and J bantering. "So, Doc, what brings you here?" Duo said lightly, pretending he didn't know. "You know exactly what brought me here, 02. You will release the pilot 01 into my custody immediately"
"Whoa! Now let's just hang on a sec. What makes you think I have Heero here anyway"
"He was tracked here by my guards and you are one of his closets comrades. It would only make sense that he would come to you"
"You know, I don't think comrade really describes my relationship with Heero. I mean, it's so damn hard to get past that icy exterior of his and make friends," Duo said. It was another of the half truths and evasions that Duo was known for. Lying without lying. I could almost hear Duo smuggly saying, "but I did it." "Enough of these distractions 02! You will turn over Heero Yuy to us!" Dr J continued, enraged and undeterred. "And what if I don't?" Duo replied, completely and blatantly unafraid. "Then he will be taken by force"
Duo smiled evilly, the Shinigami smile. "I'd like to just state for the record that I am giving you all the chance to run for it here. I'm not going to let you have Heero. If you think you can get past me, go ahead and try"
"Why are you protecting him? He's not even human"
"Yeah, but neither am I," Duo retorted. That caught J off guard and he hesitated, which he had always taught me was the first thing that could get you killed. I hoped the same was true for him. Suddenly Duo frowned and the space around him seemed to get darker. The entire area buzzed with power. A wind kicked up around Duo and suddenly his wings burst free. But that wasn't all, as his skin paled until it was almost translucent. He grew long fangs and the skin on his hands and feet became thicker and darker, like protective gloves. Duo wasn't wearing anything but his pants, so I could see the muscles in his arms and chest become stronger and more defined. The finishing touches where his claws and a long tail that swished back and forth behind him agitatedly. When he opened his eyes, they were red with slitted pupils. He was terrifying. He was powerful. He was gorgeous. He was mine.
Then all Hell broke loose. I couldn't tell if J gave the order or the men just moved at once, but all of a sudden the dogs were free and everyone was running at Duo. I rushed from my hiding place to try and help, but found myself restrained. I looked over to see Quatre and Wufei holding me back. I threw a pleading look at Wufei, but he just shook his head. I tried to struggle out of their grasp, but the two of them were too strong for me. I screamed incoherently before the guys managed to pull me away from the fighting and back to the bushes. All I could do was watch helplessly as the soldiers attacked Duo. The first attackers were the demon hounds, who leapt at Duo. An almost invisibly fast swing of Duo's tail knocked them all the way across the lawn, splattering them on the ground. Three of the soldiers ran at Duo, slashing at him with their knives, but Duo dodged them by jumping into the air and flying behind them. Once behind them he attacked, shooting fire from his hands to incinerate them. A few of the men lined up and began firing, but Duo hid behind his wings. Small sprays of blood formed where ever the bullets hit, but didn't seem to do much damage. Duo's tail wiped around and hit the soldiers from the side, caving their heads in. Pushing his wings behind him, Duo threw himself at a group of soldiers who were heading for us. Using his claws, he ripped them limb from limb. It was then that the rest of the dogs jumped him, piling on him so that he completely disappeared from view. I screamed and tried to struggle to him again, but was still restrained. In a moment he burst free, throwing the dogs away from him in a flurry of movement. Some of them were still clinging to his body, while others that hadn't been thrown so far shook themselves and attacked again. His tail whipped around him, trying to keep some of the dogs at bay, while his claws worked frantically to pry the dogs off. I was horrified to see that Duo was starting to weaken. Then suddenly there was someone at his side, tearing the dogs away and someone else tearing apart the others. Absently, I recognized Wufei, green scales adorning his body, claws, horns, wings, and a tail all in green scales, and Trowa, dark brown fur covering his lithe frame, glowing yellow eyes that shifted to take in everything, and a bushy brown tail. With Duo now free and Wufei and Trowa backing him up, they finished off the rest of the soldiers in minutes. But I knew they hadn't gotten J. He had run off into the forest at the first sign he might lose. I also knew the I didn't want one of the other's going after him. He was mine. I managed to catch Duo's eye. He understood.
"Wufei," he called, "I think one of the soldiers might have hid in the house. Do a perimeter search for me, Kay"
"Weak cowards," Wufei muttered as he headed toward the house. "I have something I have to do," Duo said loud enough for everyone to hear it, then jumped into the air. He threw a look at me that I read as, I trust you Heero, you had better bring your ass back here safe! Then flew off in the other direction. With Quatre tending Trowa's wounds and Wufei in the house, I had a clear opening. Slowly, so as not to draw attention, I maneuvered myself into the forest and then set off in a run. Dr. J was pathetically easy to track, even if I hadn't been using my vampiric senses. I found him scurrying through the underbrush still trying to get away. There were no words exchanged between us. There was no toying with my prey. I made my presence known by snapping a twig loudly. J whirled around and looked at me, a mixture of fear and loathing on his face. I had always known he hated me, but when I thought he was going to turn me human it hadn't mattered. Now I hated him right back for it. I reached out and grabbed his head, twisting it until I heard the bones snap, then let his limp body fall to the ground. It was so easy, and yet I found myself oddly regretful. I really hadn't needed to kill him, I hadn't needed the closure. After seeing Duo and all of my friends fighting to defend me I knew that they would never let anyone hurt me again. J was just one more body on my conscience, nothing more. Slowly, I walked back to the house. When I got there, Quatre rushed at me and demanded to know where I was. I simply told him that I had something to take care of and collapsed in a chair. Quatre, thankfully didn't pursue me. I sort of spaced out, having too much to think about at one time. So it took me a while to realize that someone was staring at me. I looked up to see Trowa looking at me with a sort of loathing on his face. And that was when I realized. Trowa hated me. That was what he and Duo had been fighting about. Me. Trowa was a good friend. He meant a lot to do, and I didn't want to lose him either. Losing him would mean our group would break up, because Quatre would follow him. Wufei would remain neutral between the two sides, but our... family would never be complete again. All because of me. Before I had time to say anything, there was a huge explosion from outside. We all rushed out to see what had happened. There was smoke rising form the direction of the base I had been held at. Then it dawned on me. Duo had gone to destroy the base, to destroy the last remnants of the nightmare I had gone through. But was he ok?
I could only wait to find out. It seemed like forever before I spotted Duo in the sky, but in reality it wasn't very long until Duo flew over the trees and into the yard. He was mildly injured and visibly tired, but he managed to make a graceful landing before collapsing into a heap.