A/N: Inspired by just about every supernatural sci-fi/fantasy thing I've ever read. In particular, a shout out to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files… 1x2X3, 5x?, 4x? Expect multiple pairings, some het and some not, and also some breakups and…changes.
Warnings: Language, violence, sex, language. Angst. AU. Gore.
A/N #2: Thank you for the reviews! And as a reminder, if you aren't logged in and if you don't accept PMs I can't respond to your reviews. So… just know that I appreciate them!
A/N #3: as of this posting, this fic has 76 reviews, 6600+ hits, is on 50 alert lists and 29 favorites! THANK YOU so much everyone!
A/N #4: A note on safe sex: it's important! Always wear protection. If you are reading my fic for…uh, educational and instructional purposes I suggest that you look elsewhere – I'm a girl, and have never been involved in an all male threesome. Just stating, for the record. That said, I do want to say that Duo also believes in safe sex – he used condoms when he and Trowa were together, but, since he and Heero always, at least subconsciously, viewed themselves as being in a long term relationship, Duo and Heero do not use condoms when they are together. I just wanted to say that.
A/N#5: My work will soon be archived on Shenlong's Gundam Wing Diaries, so if you want to read them in a different format – or read the works of some really great authors – check it out! I will, however, still be posting all of my work on as well.
A/N #6: I exaggerated on how far we would get this chapter – the Council meeting will be NEXT chapter instead.
Umbra
Chapter Eleven
It was just after dawn when Heero returned to the condo, and Duo was up waiting for him.
Duo hadn't slept well that night. He had spent several hours on the phone arguing with Hilde about her safety – it was clear to him , if no one else, that Hilde was likely to be a target – maybe even the next target – of the serial killer. Hilde, of course, saw his concern as chauvinistic. After a few hours, however, she had finally conceded that she was terrified of the possibility that the serial killer would start targeting her coven – that Dorothy was just one of many future victims. They eventually agreed that she would get the coven to move their meeting time and place, and that she would check in with Duo before and after each of her meetings.
After he got off the phone with Hilde he attempted to sleep, but nightmares plagued him. It had taken years for him to bury the White Fang tragedy in his mind, but now it was raw and fresh again, and he was haunted by the screams of those children once again. His nightmares fused into some strange meld of the dying children, and Solo and Trowa killing each other.
He gave up on going back to sleep after waking up in a cold sweat for the third time, and parked himself on the couch and finished reading the book Heero had given him a few days ago.
When Heero entered the condo Duo could see how exhausted he was, and the slight limp he walked with. His face was covered in small, shallow cuts that looked like a window had exploded over him.
Duo frowned. Clearly there had been an attempt on Quatre's life, but he knew that Heero would have called him if Quatre was injured – or killed.
"You look like shit."
Heero smirked grimly.
"You should see the other guys."
"How many?"
Heero shrugged one shoulder and sat down on the couch beside Duo. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch.
"Four."
"Any collateral?" It went without saying that Heero had killed them.
"Quatre's office – his night secretary is probably going to quit and flee the country, but no injuries."
"Except yours."
"I'm fine," Duo growled.
"There's still glass sticking out of your cheek, Heero," Duo pointed out.
The other man frowned and then winced.
"I'll clean it before I go to bed." Heero sounded tired and despondent. Duo wouldn't go so far as to say that killing usually made Heero happy – but Heero was at least usually content with a job well done. And taking on four bad guys and keeping Quatre alive was definitely a job well done. Something was bothering him.
"Friends of yours?" Duo guessed.
Heero tensed, but then forced himself to relax.
"Yes. Two of them were Odin's grandsons."
"Fuck. I'm sorry."
Odin Lowe had been a special ops major in the United States Army and had trained Heero into the killing machine that he was today. He had also been one of the few humans to show Heero much kindness – Duo knew that Odin had always invited Heero over for dinner with his family and that, while still enlisted, Heero spent most of his leave time with Odin's family. To have to kill his grandsons must have been a terrible conflict for him.
"They fought well," Heero eventually said. "Odin would have been proud of them."
"Implying that he wouldn't have been proud of you? That's bullshit – you were fighting to protect someone's life. They were just hired killers."
"They were still his blood," Heero murmured. He shook his head and seemed to be making an effort to put the thoughts at the back of his mind. "The Emissary sent a message tonight – you and Quatre are invited to brunch at eleven."
Duo arched an eyebrow. "Really? Interesting… you coming?"
Heero nodded. "I need to get a few hours of sleep first." He sighed. "So just ask about Zechs and Trowa already."
"Okay… how do you know Zechs?"
"He was my last government assignment. I was given the task of killing him."
"He's still alive…" Duo pointed out.
Heero glared at him.
"He is my one failure. I was… foolish." Heero shook his head. "He caught me off guard and he could have killed me, but he let me go." Heero sneered. "He claimed that he didn't waste his time butchering pathetic humans. After that failure I… drifted for a while. I resigned my commission, and I spent a few years just wandering. But then Odin contacted me and told me that the government was allowing a vampire who murdered children settle permanently in the country and asked me to do something about it. I couldn't let that happen – and I had to know I could still do something."
"So you became a private contractor. Yeah – would this be back in the sixties? When I didn't hear from you for ten years?"
Heero nodded, still looking miserable.
"Zechs is a powerful bastard," Duo mused. "I don't think that I would stand a chance against him."
"I do. I can kill him. I will."
"Okay, well easy there tiger, we need a good reason first – you go and kill him now and the Council is going to make our lives a living hell."
Heero shrugged. "There was reason enough to kill him before – that hasn't gone away."
Which made Duo wonder just what Zechs had done to warrant the United States government sending their most deadly assassin after him in the first place. He wanted to ask, but at the same time, he really didn't want to know.
"The government has never wanted me dead, have they?" Duo asked. Because, surely, he had done worse things than Zechs.
"No, of course not. Every time I asked you for assistance I was able to bargain for your life."
"Wait, wait, so they do want me dead?"
"No," Heero sighed. "Back then – in the fifties – the Defense Department was just starting to accept the fact that there were Old Ones and Ephemerals, only a small fraction of people knew your kind existed. But everyone saw you – all of you – as a threat to human life. They wanted all of you dead, but there was a classification system of who represented the greatest threats. I was sent to deal with those who represented the greatest threat – you were never at the top of the list, but you were the first one on any list. They had information on you dating back to the Civil War."
"Fucking bastards. That was supposed to have been destroyed."
"Well, it wasn't. In any case, every time you assisted me, you moved farther and farther down the list of threats, until, by the time I left, you were in the green zone – potential allies."
"Huh." Duo was happy to know that the government didn't want him dead, but still not thrilled about the idea of a hit list of magical beings.
"More on this or do you want to ask about Trowa now?" Heero asked after a moment of silence.
"No, I'll ask about this later. What the hell were you thinking?" Duo demanded. "You fucked someone who would gladly rip my heart out right now."
Heero winced. "At the time he didn't want to," he pointed out.
"What did he want at the time?" Duo asked.
"He came by looking for you." Heero's face became very serious. "He does actually care about you. Aside from this Soul Mate bullshit – he…wants things to work between all three of us."
Duo snorted. "Not anymore, I'm betting."
Heero shrugged. "Tonight was obviously been a setback."
"One that I'm okay with – I do not have any interest in getting involved in some permanent threesome."
"Really?" Heero looked doubtful. "I can tell that you like him – that you still want to, despite what he is." Heero frowned. "I think, if you had known what he was all along, he still would have wound up in your bed."
"I've never been involved with a shape shifter."
"There's a reason why you are Soul Mates. Yes, it's a crazy Gypsy curse – but there's more to it. He's not like us. And that's why you need him."
"Not like us?" Duo mused.
"Not cold… not a killer. A fighter, yes, but he values life very differently than we do. And he's…he's your kind of stupid."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"He fights losing fights, and he cares about the ones that he can't save. Just like you." Heero's blue gaze seemed to be staring through all of Duo's defenses and straight down to his soul, to his darkest memories.
"I'm still waiting for the part where you thought it was a good idea to sleep with him."
"We got into a disagreement."
"About?"
"You. He's convinced that you aren't ever going to forgive him."
"Wait, wait. You got into a fight because you think I'm going to forgive him and he doesn't? Heero, what the hell –"
"Duo, usually you're more honest with yourself than this. You know you're going to forgive him. Especially now that he has something to hold over you – almost every relationship you've ever been in in the result of you trying to assuage your guilt."
Duo opened his mouth to argue but realized that Heero was completely right. He had never thought about it in those terms, but every meaningful relationship he had ever had – from Heero to Anthony to Solo and everyone in between – had, in part, been something he pursued out of a desire to make amends for something.
"Fuck," Duo muttered.
"It's not entirely healthy," Heero pointed out.
"Thanks for the support."
"I do support you. But that doesn't mean I'm blind to your faults, or the way your mind works. Or what emotions drive you the most."
Duo sighed.
"Yeah, I just didn't realize you knew that much about me."
Heero gave him a hard look.
"Of course I know that much about you. Even Quatre Winner knows that much about you. You wear your guilt like a sweater – it's there for anyone to see and manipulate."
"So you're saying that Trowa's going to –"
"No," Heero said quickly. "He's too used to be used by his masters. He isn't about to start playing those games with either of us. He knows they won't work, and the stakes are too high. He isn't interested in manipulating you."
"You know, for two guys who seem pretty quiet you two do a lot of chatting."
"We understand each other. Better than I thought we would."
"So…you got into a fight about me not forgiving him and then what? How did you go from that to fucking him?"
Heero drew in a breath and sat still for a moment, clearly trying to think of the best way to explain it.
"He's been a slave for most of his life – almost five thousand years. But he's not submissive. He's an alpha shape shifter and he's the son of a god and a Gypsy prince."
"I know."
"He doesn't want to belong to you – or to me, especially. Almost every night of his life he's been physically or sexually abused. Friday night – it started off too much like those other times."
Duo winced. He had been driven by his anger and desire to punish Trowa – but he had only wanted to make the other man angry and jealous. He had not wanted him to feel powerless or abused.
Heero shrugged. "He needed to know that it wasn't going to be like that."
"So he asked you to –"
"No, it just seemed the easiest way to show him that I considered him an equal, not a slave."
Duo shook his head. "Seriously, sex is not the solution to everything."
"It's easier than talking, sometimes," Heero muttered.
Duo chuckled at that. So often, for them, sex was easier than talking.
"I don't suppose that you took a break from all of this bonding to ask him if he had a Ephemeral servant who was a serial killer?"
Heero gave him a patronizing look.
"I asked him if he had a servant."
"And?"
"He said that Treize wasn't stupid, and would never allow someone as powerful as Trowa to have a servant. He also said that he wasn't enough of a masochist or a sadist to want a servant who would only be doomed to a life of torture."
Duo sighed. "So he didn't come out and say no."
Heero paused, then shook his head.
"No, but I really don't think he does have a servant."
"And I think it's a really strange coincidence that the serial killers concentration was broken at the same time that we were releasing a shit load of magical energy less than a block away."
"Does he – the Ephemeral have to be connected to one of you?"
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
"But you don't know."
"No. Not for sure."
"We could try again."
Duo glared at him.
"No."
Heero shrugged and then smirked.
"Only a suggestion."
"Go get some sleep so we can go to this stupid brunch thing."
Heero stood and stretched his arms over his head. He smirked as he did so.
"What?"
"He is amazing in bed," Heero said.
Duo glared.
"Yeah, well, treasure the memory, because it's not going to happen again anytime soon," he growled, thinking of the look on Trowa's face when he had stormed out of Quatre's office.
The Loews hotel on Lake Las Vegas was half an hour south of the city itself, and the weather was perfect for a bike ride. Duo knew that this was likely to be the last few moments of freedom he would have for who knew how long. Between dealing with a Council Emissary, the Council, Trowa, and the FBI's investigation of an Ephemeral serial killer, Duo wasn't likely to find a moment of peace.
When he and Heero arrived at the exclusive hotel Duo reluctantly handed the bike keys over to the valet and allowed him to ride it out of sight.
Heero chuckled at his nervousness.
"Hey, that baby is a beautiful machine – and some punk kid is riding it right now. I'm allowed to be anxious."
"Of course," Heero agreed, still smirking.
Duo rolled his eyes and led them inside, where they were instantly intercepted by a uniformed hotel staffer.
"You must be Duo Maxwell," the man said, his eyes darting to Duo's long braid of hair.
"That's me."
"Your party is already on the veranda – please, follow me."
"Veranda?" Heero muttered. "Does he want to die?"
Duo had to agree – he would prefer if Quatre was inside a windowless room, not on a veranda where any schmuck with a sniper rifle could take him out.
They arrived on the veranda and were greeted by the sound of a high, girlish laugh that Duo recognized instantly. Duo caught sight of Quatre's blonde head, and beyond him a woman Duo had not seen in more than a hundred years.
"Relena!" He called out.
She looked up and her blue eyes widened with delight. She grinned and rose to her feet.
"Duo Maxwell, you look as devastatingly handsome as always."
He smirked and sketched a brief bow to her.
"And you, as beautiful and charming as ever," he replied.
They neared the table and she rose so that he could embrace her. She looked beyond him to Heero.
"And who is this?"
"Heero Yuy, one of Quatre's bodyguards."
Heero nodded at Relena before moving to take a seat between Quatre and the lake. It didn't completely block the blonde man from potential snipers, but it did at least limit the range.
Duo took the open seat between Quatre and Relena, and nodded to Rashid, who was standing guard a few feet away.
"And why does such a delightful Ephemeral need so many bodyguards?" Relena asked as she resumed her seat and gazed between the three men.
Quatre sighed. "There's a contract out on my life – it expires at sundown today, actually."
"Hm. It sounds like someone didn't want you to meet me," Relena guessed.
"That – or it has something to do with the Council meeting tonight," Duo murmured.
"Regardless, we shouldn't let it spoil this occasion," Relena insisted. "I haven't seen Duo in ages and I'm hardly ever in the company of three exquisite men at the same time." She leaned back and shot Quatre a flirtatious look. "I wouldn't have thought it possible, but you are indeed an improvement over the last Arbiter."
Quatre flushed.
"Duo, you do have such refined tastes," Relena added with a happy sigh.
"He's not mine," Duo told her.
"Oh? But the null? Is he yours?" She glanced over at Heero, who was scanning the lake with a determined frown on his face.
"Yes," Duo said.
"And you never were good at sharing," she sighed and then shrugged before turning back to Duo with a smile. "Well, what have you been up to since I was last here?"
Relena had always been one of Jason's favorite and most trusted Council members. Unlike her brother, Zechs, Relena was a Light Court Faery who truly embodied the idea of a pure, good spirit. She might be boy crazy, but she meant well, and she always ensured that Jason's desires and orders were carried out. When the American Council had petitioned to have Duo executed, it had been Relena that Jason sent to hear their arguments. She had passed judgment – telling them that Duo could not be executed – and left before the Council had carried out their own justice and executed Anthony instead.
"I've been a bit of a nomad," Duo confessed. "I've wandering around the country for the last hundred years until Quatre asked me to be his Consigliore."
Relena arched an eyebrow. "You left the Council? Why?"
Duo swallowed hard. "They executed Anthony." He shrugged. "I know Jason has a soft spot for me, but after I killed Noventa I figured I should take a break from magic before I got carried away."
"We heard he had…passed. No one mentioned that you had killed him, however."
Duo nodded.
"You always did get attached to your servants," Relena chastised. She shook her head and turned her gaze back to Quatre. "And you, Arbiter, I have already heard that you are every bit the troublemaker that Anthony Quinn was."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Quatre said, and Duo had to grin at that.
Relena laughed. "Yes, I expect you would. While I admire the fact that you are trying to create a world of justice and equality, I must caution you that we are used to things moving at a very slow pace."
Quatre frowned.
"I can understand that – but there are times when action must occur. We are at the beginning of a new order – this is the first time in the history of the world that magical beings and magic users are recognized and not persecuted for their talents. However, there is still so much we don't understand about each other, and so many traditions that are counter-active to the way that American society works. If we don't act to resolve these potential conflicts, I fear that disaster will be the only outcome."
Relena nodded. "Well said, Arbiter. Jason and I had nearly the same discussion before I left him." She turned back to Duo. "He had no idea you were no longer serving the Council. He gave me specific orders for you."
"Oh?" Duo smirked. He hadn't had an order from Jason in nearly four hundred years.
"He feels that Treize is attempting to create a situation that will force the American government to grant him, as the Head of the Council, the ability to rule over all other magical beings."
Duo frowned. "Doesn't he already have that?"
"Not anymore – not since your government legislated that magical beings are subject to American law and jurisdiction. Treize has to accede to the Arbiter's will in any matter that overlaps with humans."
"So what is Treize up to, then?"
"Jason believes that he is trying to create a conflict that will demonstrate just how powerless the humans are without HIM ruling over all magical beings."
Duo frowned. The simmering tension between the shape shifters and the Council seemed like a perfect situation for Treize. If he allowed the shape shifters to start a revolution that could potentially harm humans and draw them into the conflict, it could certainly play in his favor. Likewise, the serial killer on the loose could present Treize with the perfect situation for having to step in.
"That sounds like Treize," Duo conceded. "What did Jason want me to do?"
"He wanted you to find an excuse to execute him," Relena stated before taking a sip of the mimosa in front of her.
Duo arched an eyebrow and then looked over at Quatre. The blonde man was frowning.
"Relena, they do things a little differently here – just ask Quatre," Duo nodded to him.
"I respect the Old Council – and their fears for our situation," Quatre began, "but Duo can't just go around killing people because they might cause problems in the future. Under our legal system Treize is innocent until proven guilty of a crime – and right now all we can do is think that he will commit a crime. He hasn't even done anything yet."
"I see." Relena sounded disappointed, but the look on her face as she smiled at Quatre told Duo that she was also impressed. Not even Anthony had stood up to her this much when they had met.
"Then perhaps Duo can simply promise to keep an eye on events as they develop, and if the occasion arises, take the appropriate measures to ensure the survival of both humans and magical beings?" She suggested.
Quatre's lips twitched upwards into a smile. "Perhaps," he agreed. "But he is no longer the Council Executioner."
"Not your Council's Executioner," Relena argued, "but he is still – and always will be – an Executioner for the Old Council."
Quatre looked at Duo in surprise. Duo shrugged.
"It was part of the deal I made with Jason when I asked to leave. I'm still his to call on, should the need arise."
"I didn't know that. So what would happen if Jason demanded that you execute me?" Quatre asked.
Duo hadn't given the possibility much thought, but in light of recent events, it no longer seemed like an impossibility. If Treize messed things up enough, Jason might decide to scrap everyone and want the Arbiter and the Head of the Council dead.
He glanced at Relena, and she seemed just as interested in hearing his answer as Quatre was. Heero, of course, was still on sentry duty and while Duo had no doubt that he was hearing every word, his face was blank.
"Well…I've disobeyed Jason before," Duo drawled. "It's been a while – he could use the excitement."
"His patience with you is not infinite," Relena pointed out.
"I'll take my chances, princess," Duo responded. "Killing Quatre wouldn't make any situation better. He's the future of our kind – and the sooner that Treize, and Jason, and everyone else realize that the better off we will all be."
"The future, hm?" Relena smiled again at Quatre and winked at him. "I certainly agree with that."
Quatre smiled uncertainly, but sent Duo a panicked look.
Duo, meanwhile, had to cough to cover his sudden, uncontrollable urge to laugh. It was very obvious that Relena was taken with Quatre – more taken than she had been with Anthony, even – and that the blonde man had no idea what to do about her advances.
"How is Jason?" Duo asked, forcing Relena to break eye contact with Quatre.
"Bored. He misses the old days and he misses you, actually." She rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "He wanted me to tell you that you can return at any time and you would be welcome."
Duo shook his head. "That's very generous…but I'm never going back, Relena. Surely he knows that."
"It doesn't stop him from dreaming," she murmured. "Can you really blame him? I certainly understand his fixation with you." She sighed. "I don't suppose - ?"
Now it was Duo's turn to blush. Relena really was incredibly sweet and very intelligent, but her appetite for sex was disconcerting when you looked at her. She seemed like such a good, innocent girl. But Duo had known her for long enough to know that sex was always on her mind.
"Relena, now really isn't a good time. It's not you," he hastened to add when she started to frown, "it's me. I – " he tried to think of any excuse to not jump into bed with her. She wouldn't accept the fact that he and Heero were together – knowing her she would simply insist that they BOTH join her.
"He has a Soul Mate," Heero helpfully supplied. "Who is very possessive."
Duo frowned. He hadn't really wanted Relena OR Quatre to know about that, but it was a legitimate excuse. Come to think of it, Trowa was on the possessive side, so it wasn't even a lie.
He shrugged.
"Sorry."
"A Soul Mate? You?" Relena leaned forward. "Do tell."
Duo wanted to sink under the table. If there was one thing that Relena liked almost as much as sex it was romance.
Quatre, however had gone pale.
"Is it –"
Duo frowned at him, and Quatre shook his head.
"Oh Duo."
"Well?" Relena prompted, looking between them.
Duo sighed. "It's kind of a long story."
"And we have all afternoon to enjoy the sunlight, good food, and good stories," Relena pointed out. "Don't spoil this for me, Duo. I hardly ever get to see you – and now you have a Soul Mate!" She looked to Heero. "It isn't the null, is it?"
"No," Duo told her reluctantly. She continued to look expectant, and even Quatre looked eager for details.
"Okay, fine. He's… a shape shifter."
Relena's eyes went comically wide.
"A shape shifter is your Soul Mate?"
"The irony isn't lost on me," he assured her.
"But that's terrible. Oh, Duo –"
"It isn't terrible," Quatre interrupted, a fierce scowl on his face, "a shape shifter is an Old One, just as Duo is – just as you are. They shouldn't be treated like second class citizens. Duo's Soul Mate is an honorable man, and Duo is lucky to have him."
Relena looked amused. "I'm sorry if I offended you, Arbiter, I was merely referring to the fact that with Duo's history, a shape shifter is the most unlikely of Soul Mates for him. After all, ever since his childhood –"
"Okay, we're getting a bit off track here," Duo jumped in before Relena could tell more of his secrets than he wanted anyone else to know.
There had been a time when he and Relena had been very close. He had enjoyed sharing her bed – she was enthusiastic and very, very skilled – and he counted her as one of his few friends. Over the centuries he had told her about himself, details from his life before his service to the Council, but they weren't things he wanted either Quatre or Heero to know about him. As far as he was concerned, they had all the dark and twisty details about him that they needed.
"So, my Soul Mate is a shape shifter. We're very happy together," he added, giving Quatre a hard look when he opened his mouth to argue, and Relena smiled.
"Good. You deserve to be happy. Even if it is with an unlikely mate." She looked over at Heero. "And where does he come into things?"
Duo smiled lasciviously. "He comes wherever he wants to," he assured her.
Relena giggled and blushed. He saw Heero's lips twitch.
"Duo!" She swatted his arm playfully, but Duo knew she was even now picturing him with Heero.
She sighed and shook her head.
"Well, I really do wish we could sit here all afternoon, but I have a meeting with my brother soon."
Duo arched an eyebrow.
"Nothing like a family reunion to ruin a lovely day."
She scowled.
"One day I will be able to understand just what goes on in his head, but that day certainly isn't going to be anytime soon."
Quatre frowned in confusion.
"Your brother?"
"Zechs Merquise," she explained. "We share very little aside from lovely hair and blue eyes."
Duo smirked at that. It was very true. Their personalities and their magic were as different as two siblings possibly could be.
"Well, we won't keep you," Duo said and stood. Quatre and Heero followed suit.
Relena walked with them through the hotel and to the front entrance. Rashid went ahead to retrieve Quatre's car, and Duo, Quatre, Relena, and Heero waited inside.
"It was delightful to meet you," Relena said and kissed Quatre on both cheeks. "I have every confidence that you will do wonderful things as the Arbiter." She smirked at Duo and Heero. "If these two can keep you alive, in any case."
Almost as if her words were an invitation, Duo saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He reacted at the same moment as Heero, and threw himself in front of Relena just as Heero tackled Quatre.
The sound of gunfire echoed loudly through the lobby.
Duo looked down to see Quatre and Heero on the floor.
"I'm fine," Quatre said, answering Duo's unspoken question.
"As am I," Relena assured Duo.
It was all the permission Duo needed, he took off after the assassin – a uniformed staffer now sprinting down a long hall out of sight – and left Heero to watch over Quatre and Relena.
The man was almost out of sight and Duo cast a wave of pain in his direction. The man stumbled and cried out, but kept moving, turning a corner and vanishing from Duo's sight.
Duo chased him down two more corridors, always just out of shooting range, until he saw a third turn.
As Duo rounded the corner he drew his gun, cautiously peeking around and almost getting his head blown off for his troubles. He sent another wave of pain as well as a few shots in the direction of the assassin. He was rewarded with a grunt of pain.
Duo leapt out into the corridor, sighting down his gun, and was able to put two more shots into the assassin before the man could raise his gun.
The man went still, slumping against a wall and dropping to the floor.
Duo cautiously approached, keeping his gun out and projecting enough pain and fear that the assassin would be crippled if he were even still alive.
He crouched down beside the body and felt for a pulse. There was none.
Digging through his pockets revealed nothing more than spare ammo, a knife, and another gun. He had no identification of any kind, nor a phone. Even his appearance was bland and generic enough that Duo never would have been able to pick him out of a crowd.
It felt very wrong to just leave the body there, but Duo wanted to get back to Heero and Quatre in case this had simply been a diversion. He stood up and backed away from the body, keeping his gun drawn.
When he made it back to the lobby the distant wail of sirens filled the air and there was a crowd of people obscuring the front doors where Duo had left the others. He pushed his way through the crowd and then froze.
Quatre was kneeling on the floor, and Heero's head was cradled in his lap. A pool of blood stained the floor under them.
"Duo –"
Whatever Relena said was completely lost to Duo as he dropped to his knees and reached for Heero. His skin had gone pale, and his eyes were vacant and distant.
The world seemed to stop moving as Duo felt for a pulse.
Next Up: Now we have another Council visit.
Definitions:
Council: the body that presides over magical creatures and users in the US. The Old Council refers to the European Council.
Dryad: A nature spirit, like a Sprite. Another Old One. Usually associated with a tree, and different 'families' of Dryads are associated with different trees.
Ephemeral: a human who can use magic. Used interchangeably with witch.
Jinn: alternately Djinn or Genie. They are spirits, supposedly created by God (if you're Muslim), and can be good or bad.
Old Ones: the powerful magical races. Vampires, Shape shifters, Faeries, and a few more to be named later!
Old Ways: reference to the way that the European Council ran things or the way things were before magic was legal. Sally Po refers to the old ways – a reference to the practices of Native American Shamans, and NOT the Council.
Null: a human without magical ability.
Shaman: A Native American mystic or holy person. Used in this context to mean an Ephemeral.