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: Thanks to my awesome beta, Cuzosu! She is more than a beta, and no less than a friend. You definitely helped me keep this story together, and you've already done such wonders in discussing Deviant and Corner with me. You are truly an anchor.
A/N #3: And a very special thanks to SnowdragonCT. you started reading my earlier work, but I really treasure our interaction since I started writing this. You are amazingly supportive and a wonderful PM pen pal. Thank you so very much.
Umbra
Chapter Twenty
It was times like this that Duo regretted ever opening his mouth.
When he had initially given Wufei and Hilde a list of equipment, tools, and devices they should invest in for capturing and neutralizing magic users he had never thought they would use them on him.
Now, however, he found himself in a silver coffin, awaiting his own execution. The bottom of the coffin was lined in velvet, so if Duo were very still and avoided touching the sides and top, he wasn't harmed. But any movement in any direction generally resulted in burning himself.
He had no idea how long he had been in the coffin – or even what was happening outside of it.
When Wufei had arrested him, he had also arrested Solo, Trowa, and Heero. As the four men had been led back through the penthouse and towards the elevator, Duo had tried to see through the sea of federal officers and learn which shape shifter had died. He hadn't thought he had done enough damage to Catharine to kill her, but maybe he had.
He wasn't able to see who the corpse on the floor was, and the other shape shifters had cleared the area. So the knowledge that he might have killed Trowa's sister haunted him as he lay in the coffin.
Along with the knowledge that Solo could very well be executed while he was trapped in the coffin and he would be unable to do anything about it – or even feel it.
That was the brilliant thing about a silver coffin. It completely contained a magic user physically and magically. Duo was cut off from Trowa, Hilde, and Solo just as surely as he had always been unable to magically connect with Heero.
It was beyond frustrating.
Finally, after what might have been a few hours or even a few years, the coffin lid was pulled back and a flood of harsh, fluorescent light streamed in.
"We have some questions for you," Wufei said, and the scowl on his face as he looked down at Duo was unreadable. "Hold out your hands so I can cuff them."
Duo instinctively jerked his hands back.
"Where is Solo? Heero and Trowa – are they okay? What –"
"We have questions, Maxwell," Wufei growled. "You don't get to ask anything."
"Then you can go to hell and just leave me in here." He settled back on the velvet.
Wufei arched an eyebrow, but when Duo crossed his arms he sighed.
"Answer our questions and then I will answer yours."
Duo knew it was the best offer he was likely to get from the null, so he cautiously climbed out of the coffin and was inordinately pleased with himself for not burning his skin on the sides.
He reached out with his magic, trying to feel Solo and Trowa. The shape shifter's magic instantly reached back towards him, and Duo was almost overwhelmed by the feeling of warmth it aroused in him. Solo, however, was unreachable. Duo tried not to think about all of the reasons for why he couldn't feel his master.
Wufei waved the cuffs in front of him and Duo reluctantly held out his wrists. He winced as Wufei snapped them on and they touched his skin, but he refused to give Wufei the satisfaction of complaining about it.
The FBI agent led the way to the conference room, and Duo was surprised to see Hilde, Sylvia, Relena, and Quatre already seated in the room.
Wufei shoved him into a chair before taking a seat beside him.
"Please describe the events of last night, Mr. Maxwell," Wufei began.
"Well –"
"Please, Agent Chang, you and I have already thoroughly discussed those events," Sylvia interjected. She shot Duo an icy look. "Duo and Solo Maxwell arrived during an argument between Zechs Merquise and Treize Khushrenada. They attempted to intervene, but Zechs and Treize, sadly, killed each other in the struggle."
Duo stared at her.
"Ms. Noventa, I would like to hear Mr. Maxwell's side of events, please," Wufei ground out. "Maxwell, please pay attention."
Duo couldn't take his eyes off of Sylvia. He was trying to figure out just what the vampire was up to. He looked over at Relena, and very suddenly realized that her brother was dead.
"Relena, I'm so sorry about –"
"Maxwell! Pay attention!" Wufei snapped.
Relena offered him a tearful smile.
"Just cooperate with him, Duo," she instructed.
Duo looked back at Sylvia, who arched an eyebrow in amusement.
"Well," he drawled, turning to Wufei, "I think that Sylvia summed it up pretty well. Solo and I arrived at the penthouse and –"
"What about the vampires? The dead ones?" Wufei jumped in.
Duo frowned. "They were already dead when we arrived?" He guessed, and was relieved when Sylvia inclined her head.
"Very well."
"So we sort of… stepped over the bodies and went to the Council hall."
"Why were you there in the first place?" Hilde asked, frowning slightly.
"Um," he looked to Sylvia for clues, but her face was blank. "Well, I'm sort of bonded to Trowa Barton, who was being tortured and Solo and I decided to and rescue him."
"Tortured by who?" Wufei asked. "Treize or Zechs?"
"Your wife, actually. She's the one who does that sort of thing."
A muscle in Wufei's jaw jumped.
"So… we freed him, restrained Noin and Meilin, and by that point Zechs and Treize had managed to kill each other."
"You're telling me that Treize managed to cut out Zechs heart and cut off his head while at the same time Zechs shot Treize full of so much silver we couldn't even find his heart, and cut off his head?"
Duo shrugged.
"Magic."
Wufei looked ready to kill him.
"So, now that I've answered your questions – where is Solo?"
"You haven't finished answering my questions, Maxwell."
"I have if you don't tell me where he is," Duo argued.
"He's safe," Hilde jumped in when Wufei looked ready to start yelling. "He's safe and he's in our custody and that's all you need to know for now. Please, Duo, just answer our questions."
He sighed. It wasn't enough information, but it was better than nothing.
"Fine, next question?"
Wufei scowled.
"The shape shifter you killed?"
"Is that the question? I don't even remember killing a shape shifter."
"Then perhaps it was your partner, Solo? The shape shifter in question had all of her magic and blood drained from her body."
Duo paled. That, at least, explained how Solo had gone from nearly dead to alive again.
"I – can't answer that question."
"And it is irrelevant, I have already answered that question," Sylvia snapped. "Honestly, Arbiter, if this is how your law enforcement insists on conducting investigations then perhaps the Council needs to revisit our initial idea to continue on with our own, completely independent justice system."
Quatre sighed. "It certainly feels as though you already are," he pointed out.
Duo frowned at the bitter tone of the Ephemeral's voice.
Quatre looked over at him.
"The Head of the Council and one of the most powerful Council members are dead," he began. "Since the two men killed each other, there is no successor to either of their seats. Meaning there is no Head of the North American Council. At present," he amended, when Sylvia glared at him, "Ms. Noventa is acting as the Head of the Council until arrangements can be made."
"Arrangements?" Duo echoed.
"Travel arrangements," Relena said, "for Jason."
Duo's jaw dropped.
"Jason – is coming here?"
She nodded.
"He feels that this entire situation was dealt with poorly and the circumstances merit his presence. Additionally, a new Head must be chosen, and it is his privilege to do so."
"Wow." Duo sat back in his seat. His mind was having trouble figuring everything out. "So…about me and the whole arresting me thing… I'm clear, right?"
"Yes," Wufei growled. "Both Ms. Noventa and Ms. Darlian have provided evidence that you have committed no crimes, and that whatever charges were brought against you by Mr. Khushrenada were false or exaggerated and that your position as Executioner for the Council exonerates you from any wrongdoing while completing your duties."
"Ah… thanks," he said to the two of them.
"There's more," Sylvia said, giving Wufei a meaningful look.
His scowl became so pronounced it looked painful.
"Your partner, Solo Maxwell, is similarly cleared of any wrongdoing. Ms. Noventa and several of her associates have given testimony that he, like you, was acting on Council orders, and that while his… executions might have resembled victims of a serial killer they were, in fact, sanctioned executions."
Duo couldn't help the look of shock on his face as he regarded Sylvia.
"What –"
"It's merely the truth, isn't it?" She interrupted him.
"I highly doubt that," Wufei growled. "And it certainly isn't justice. Those women –"
"Paid for their crimes, as we all must do," Sylvia interrupted him. "Your Arbiter has spent nearly a day trying to counter my arguments and has been unable to do so. Simply admit that you have NO case against either Duo or Solo Maxwell and release them. Of course, when Jason arrives, you are more than welcome to bring your arguments to him." She smiled sweetly. "After all, I'm only the temporary Head of the Council. None of my decisions are binding."
"Can I get these off, in that case?" Duo asked and held up his wrists.
Wufei slammed his fist on the table.
"This is madness! I know you've manipulated evidence and innocent people are dead and you expect me to release two men who have dozens if not hundreds of deaths on their hands? You can damn well bet I'll be taking it up with Jason when he arrives. And in the meantime," he turned a furious look on Duo, "if you or your partner do anything to break the law I will lock you back in your coffins and keep you there."
"But in the meantime…" Duo held his hands out again.
Wufei threw the keys to the cuffs at him.
"Do it yourself. You can use magic, can't you?" He spat before storming out of the room.
With a sigh and an apologetic look to Duo, Hilde followed him.
Very carefully Duo freed himself from the cuffs.
"What the hell is going on?" He asked the three magic users left in the office.
"He might not see it as justice, but I'm sure you and I can agree that this telling of events is the most profitable for all involved?" Sylvia suggested.
"Profitable for me and Solo, sure. But for you?"
"Arbiter, you recently became a Council member. How did you inherit your seat?" Sylvia turned to Quatre.
"By defeating Alexios," the blonde responded with a frown.
"Hm. I earned my seat similarly, Relena did you not as well?"
"Of course."
"Yes, well, while we can all agree that it is highly unlikely that Treize and Zechs managed to kill each other, we can all agree that it is impossible to think that a null and a psychotic serial killer would have done so and therefore inherited their Council seats."
Duo blinked. Now it made sense.
"So you're spreading this… version of the truth so that Solo won't be the new Head of the North American Council."
"Partly."
"Partly?" He echoed.
"Jason has always appreciated you more than any of us found reasonable," Sylvia said with a slight grimace. "When he arrives to fill the empty Council seats and promote a new Head I expect your full support. You owe it to me, for killing my father, and for this favor. I've kept you and your master alive, and in return I want your devoted service."
Duo felt like laughing, and was barely able to restrain himself from doing so.
Sylvia had always been on the periphery of Council politics. She had supported her father, but otherwise kept clear of any entanglements and power struggles. Duo never would have thought she was interested in ruling a Council, and certainly never would have expected her to so tidily orchestrate events to suit her desires.
"Your father would be so damned proud of you right now," he couldn't help saying. "Christ, I'll bet he's laughing his ass off right now at this turn of events." He shook his head.
"Well?" Sylvia prompted. "Do I have your support or shall I call in Agent Chang and tell him that I was mistaken, under your spell, or some other nonsense?"
"Oh you have it, but I just want to say that I think you're overestimating my influence with Jason."
"She isn't," Relena insisted with a scowl.
It was then that Duo realized that, as upset as Relena looked, she wasn't that upset about her brother's death. If anything, she seemed frustrated with Sylvia. Duo shook his head – he had always known that Relena wanted to be the Head of a Council, and no doubt she wanted that position every bit as much as Sylvia.
"Well, if you've got your Council politics sufficiently sorted out," Quatre interrupted, "I'd like to point out that all of this was achieved by the sacrifice of innocent, human life. And this little bargain isn't likely to keep that from happening again, is it?" He turned to Duo with a fierce gaze. "You and I both know how dangerous Solo is, and we know that his murders were not Council sanctioned executions. I know he's your lover and your master, but I also know who you are, Duo, and I know that you care enough about protecting innocent humans to know that this is wrong."
Duo swallowed hard, because Quatre had summed up his feeling son the matter perfectly. That didn't mean he had any idea what he should do.
Quatre stood.
"I have paperwork to orchestrate," he said as an excuse and left the room without another word.
"What happens to Trowa?" Duo asked Sylvia.
"Your pet?" She teased.
Duo glared at her.
"Honestly, you know that I've never had an interest in shape shifter politics. Do what you want with him." She shrugged. "And your null, for that matter." She sat up straighter and her next words chilled Duo. "But if he sets foot on Council property again I will order his execution, and I will force you to carry it out. He has no place in our world and the next time he interferes will be his last, do you understand?"
Duo reluctantly nodded.
"Good." Sylvia smiled and stood. "Then I think we are done here. Relena, come, there is a delightful show I wanted to take you to tonight. It's called Chippendales and I think you will love it."
The two women walked out and Duo, after a moment, followed them.
He found Heero, Trowa, Solo, Wufei, and Hilde waiting for him in the front of the building. Solo was in a new shirt, and both Heero and Trowa were in fresh clothes.
Duo brushed his magic against Hilde's, silently thanking her.
"Why did you even call us?" Wufei demanded angrily.
Duo shrugged. "I'm a law abiding citizen. A crime was being committed and I reported it."
"Apparently there were no crimes to report," Wufei spat, "or were you not in the same room as I was ten minutes ago?"
"Maybe I was in a different room," Duo said, "because I seem to remember it being reported that a shape shifter was being tortured for nothing more than existing. Which, whaddya know, you humans think is a crime. So do something about that, will you?"
Wufei looked ready to attack him, but Hilde put a hand on his arm. He shook her off and stalked away.
"Duo, why did you call me?" She asked softly.
"Honestly?" He grinned ruefully. "I wanted you to know that Treize had killed me. I wanted someone to know that I'd died at his hands."
Her dark eyes went wide and she hugged him.
"I don't want to be the person you call so that someone knows you died, Duo. I want to be the person you call to fight by your side." She whispered the words in his ear and he hugged her back before stepping away.
"I'll keep that in mind," he promised her.
She walked away and he was left alone with three very angry looking men.
"Let's get out of here, huh?" He suggested.
When he stepped outside he let out a breath of relief. The night air was cold and crisp, and he found it to be practically soothing after the time spent in the silver coffin.
He drew in a deep breath and then turned around to face the others. He looked directly at Solo first.
"Who did you kill? Which shape shifter?"
"The woman," Solo said with a frown and a shrug. "I needed –"
"Which woman?" Duo interrupted him.
"Martha," Trowa growled. "He killed Martha."
Duo knew he should be relieved that it hadn't been Catharine, but the knowledge that Solo had killed Martha filled him with rage. The woman had lived through so much torture and had been filled with such rage and desire for revenge. To die like that, at Solo's hands, in that way, was not what he would have wanted for her.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. Martha had also been his last living link to Anthony, and it was because of Duo that she was now dead.
"It wasn't your sister, was it?" Solo pointed out with a growl of his own.
"She was a member of my pack," Trowa insisted. "If you harm any of my pack again I will -"
"You'll do nothing," Solo interrupted Trowa, "and you and I both –"
"You killed an innocent woman!" Duo shouted, silencing both men. "Not just one, but a dozen!"
Solo arched an eyebrow.
"So you'd rather I be dead? Would you have preferred me to bleed to death – forgotten, once again, by you?"
"No, and damn my soul to hell for it, but I'm glad that you're alive." Duo groaned. "I –"
"Could we move the shouting about murders away from the FBI headquarters?" Heero suddenly suggested.
Duo looked over at him and noticed that, unlike Solo, Trowa, and Duo, he seemed remarkably calm and collected. Then again, Heero always appeared like that, especially when he was an internal mess.
Duo sighed at the realization.
"Yes," he said. "I'd like some dinner."
"You want to shout about murder inside a restaurant?" Trowa asked, and the tone of his voice, while still angry, held the faintest hint of humor in it.
Duo smirked at him.
"Only over appetizers," he assured the shape shifter.
"Let's go to Firefly, it's loud enough that if we do shout about murder we won't be overheard," Trowa suggested.
"Also loud enough we won't be able to hear ourselves," Duo muttered. He remembered his date with Trowa and what a struggle it had been to hear the man. Still, it had been worth it.
"Firefly?" Solo asked.
"It's good food. Tapas – mostly Mediterranean things, so you should like it," Duo assured him.
"Also where we had our first date," Trowa added with a smirk and Heero chuckled.
Solo glared at him.
"For fuck's sake," Duo muttered. "Can we just go eat?" He waved down a cab and got into it as soon as it stopped, hardly caring if the others joined him.
They did, with Solo very reluctantly taking the front seat, and Heero and Trowa sitting on either side of Duo in the back, their possessiveness almost overwhelming him.
"Firefly," Duo told the driver.
The cab ride was completely, painfully silent.
The meal that followed was even more painful, and Duo was on the brink of calling Wufei and confessing to murdering ANYONE just to escape the torture that was Heero and Trowa glaring at Solo, with him glaring back just as strongly.
"Where is your car?" Duo asked Trowa after dinner, as they waited for a cab.
"At Mandalay," Trowa said. He cast a suspicious look at Solo.
"Fine. Let's go back there and talk."
"In his car?" Solo asked. "I have a car, we can talk in my car."
"You hate cars," Heero and Trowa pointed out at the same time.
"Yeah, but not as much as I hate other things at the moment. We just need to be able to talk in private and, hell, do any you have any better suggestions?"
"A hotel room?" Solo said. "You like to pace when you shout at people." He gave Trowa and Heero a superior look, as though there was some unspoken contest to see who knew Duo better.
"Fine," Duo snapped before anyone else could say anything. "The Westin is across the street."
He led the sullen group to the hotel and unhesitatingly paid the ridiculously high price for a room at the last minute.
Once all of them were inside the hotel suite, Duo locked the door.
The room was long, with a king sized bed at one end, and a living room area complete with a couch and loveseat separated it from the bathroom.
Trowa and Heero sat on the couch, leaving the spot between them conspicuously wide, and Solo sat on one side of the loveseat.
With a groan of frustration Duo walked past all of them and sat on the bed.
It was hard to look angry and imposing while sitting cross-legged on the unbelievably and distractingly soft mattress, but it was better than sitting with any of the other men at the moment.
"We have a problem," Duo started.
"You think?" Solo echoed. He glared at Trowa and Heero.
"Not – yes, obviously we have a problem, but there's more. Jason is coming here, to clean up the mess after Treize's and Zech's double murder."
Solo paled a little.
"Why? Why does he need to clean it up? Seems pretty well handled already."
Duo sighed.
"Sylvia told the Feds that Zechs and Treize killed each other."
"Why?" Heero asked.
"So that you and Solo wouldn't get Council seats," Trowa answered for Duo, his voice a mixture of amusement and respect. "Her worst nightmare would be for Solo to be the Head of the Council, and it's not possible for a null to inherit a seat."
Duo nodded.
"Yeah, and in return for Sylvia's… creative memory, I have to support her bid for Council Head when Jason arrives."
"Sylvia is… intelligent and certainly more mentally balanced than most of the Council members," Trowa said.
"I agree. But it looks like Relena wants that seat as well – I guess she's tired of being Jason's lapdog after all this time."
"I'm not sure why this is a problem, for us," Heero interjected.
"Relena and Sylvia are less of an issue – except for the fact that I owe both of them life debts – than Jason is."
"I'm not letting that bastard take me prisoner again," Solo growled. "I will not spend another four hundred years in a coffin because of him."
"You mean because of ME," Duo corrected him. "It's my fault he put you in there in the first place."
"It's not just your fault," Solo said with a sigh. "We both –"
"No, actually it is my fault." Duo drew in a deep breath. "Jason's a vampire, and he's been around for a long, long time, and he's had the power and appetite to taste a lot of Old Ones and Ephemerals over the years. When we were first taken prisoner, Solo, he… sampled me, let's say, to decide if I was worth keeping alive or not."
"I remember," Solo bit out. "You were nearly dead when he was finished with you."
"That's because he really, really likes the way I taste."
Heero frowned.
"You taste different from other faeries?"
"Yeah. I mean, if we're talking tastiest race – Light Court Faeries are hands down the winners, but something about me being half Dark Court and half djinn, I guess, makes me even better."
"So you're concerned that when Jason visits he'll want to… indulge?" Trowa suggested.
"Well, yeah, that's a given. But it's not just the blood."
"You slept with him," Solo suggested with a sneer.
"Yes, I did. I was his lover for over a hundred years."
He sighed and tried to think of the best way to tell them his real concern, and decided to simply be blunt about it.
"Jason let me leave him under two conditions – the first was that I continue to serve him, the second was that the next time we met I wouldn't leave him. Ever again."
Up Next: Penumbra
End Notes:
Thank you so very much to everyone who read this. I am constantly amazed that anyone bothers with reading my work, and very honored that you take the time to read not only a few thousand words – but an entire story!
And then I punish you by drawing it out to two stories, and ending the first on, well, I think I have to call it a cliff hanger.
Originally, I conceived Umbra as a three part arc – the first being a bit of a prequel with a fair amount of overlap into what Umbra became; the second part would have been a fair amount of Umbra and Penumbra; and the third would have been Penumbra and a little bit past where that story will actually go. I changed it, obviously, and dropped off the parts that would have occurred before Umbra. I think that the story reads better this way, and I think there was only so much time readers would have invested with just Duo and a fair number of OCs.
Umbra has been a really wonderful experience for me, both because of the support and reviews from so many readers, but also because it made me come to terms with Heero. Before this story, I really, really didn't care much for him. That may or may not be easy to pick up from A Little Less Normal, but I have struggled with him since I first watched the series ten years ago and continue to do so. Until now! I've truly grown to like him, and I'm looking forward to writing more with him in the future.
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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.