Chapter 4
The pilots stopped at the doorway to the lower level. The floor gave way to a large, strangely hewn stone stairway that looked like it had been made for bigger and much less human legs. Everyone else just continued on like it was normal, so after their moment of hesitation, the pilots followed.
Their feeling of discontent deepened the further down they went. There were just too many sharp turns that could be perfect ambush spots for the paranoid soldiers' liking. Of course, it was made even worse when they got to the bottom and were met with a huge, antiquated metal door that belonged to the medieval era.
"Why the fuck did OZ build a dungeon under a mobile suit factory?" Duo muttered to no one in particular.
Anita glanced back at him with an amused smile. "They didn't, this was here long before they were." She laughed at Duo's bewildered look.
Jean-Claude opened the heavy metal door with ease; a glossy silk curtain shrouded the room from view. Once inside, the silk curtain was just one of several that lined the expansive stone chamber, giving the illusion of white and gold painted walls. Couches and armchairs smothered in pillows continued the color scheme, forming a rough semi-circle around a gold gilded, glass covered table that sat low to the ground. At the open end of the circle was a massive white marble fireplace infused with glittering gold veins, but what really caught the eye was the painting mounted above the hearth. It was beautiful and startling life-like with Anita on a giant bed of golden pillows surrounded by Jean-Claude and the other men who had come in with her, along with a couple of men whom the pilots didn't recognize.
After a few words with Anita, Nathaniel walked off to a door concealed on the other side of the room, taking Zander and the supposed murder victims with him. Jean-Claude and the honey-haired man sat on the far couch, with space enough between for Anita to sit after she spoke with Nathaniel. The other two men sat in armchairs on either end of the couch.
Heero, Duo, and Wufei took the other couch while Trowa and Quatre curled up on a love seat to the left of them, closest to the impressive fireplace.
"Are those the only two entrances to the room or are there others hidden behind all this cloth?" Heero asked, clearly uneasy about not being able to properly scope out everything.
"Yes, they're the only ones," Anita replied with a knowing look. "And you don't have to watch your back. No one is going to sneak up on you."
Ever the diplomat, Quatre attempted to make up for Heero's abruptness. "I'm sorry, old habits die hard and it's our soldier instinct that rears its ugly head when we're thrown in new situations like this," he smiled his brilliant, megawatt smile that he knew charmed everyone he directed it at. "We've been incredibly rude and haven't even properly introduced ourselves."
"We know who you are, at least by name and reputation," Anita replied. "I just didn't expect you all to be so..."
"Young?" Duo snorted. "Yeah, we get that a lot."
"None of you have ever been young," the red haired man said thoughtfully, as if he were reading into their very souls with just his intense emerald gaze. It sounded like he spoke from battle-hardened experience, earning him a few judging glances from the pilots.
"No," Quatre shook his head. "No, we haven't."
"Such pain and despair. It makes my heart bleed," the angelic blonde said softly, his voice doing the same trick Jean-Claude's did, except it rained down sadness like cool tears instead of provoking sensuality.
It seemed an almost unconscious response as Jean-Claude laid a lace covered hand on the other man's arm in a comforting gesture. "I am afraid we have also been rude. You already have come to know myself and ma petite, however, we have been woefully forgetful of the others," he said, looking at each man as he introduced them. "Our so eloquent Asher, ma petite's Damien, and dear Richard."
"Right. So now that all the niceties have been observed, just what the hell is going on here?" Wufei demanded, ignoring Quatre's frown.
Anita gave him a hard stare. "We were actually out looking for those two," she indicated Quatre and Trowa. "If we had known two of you were here in our own city, then we would have approached you instead. Your government agency hides you guys pretty damn well, so it was much easier locating his summer home in the Mediterranean."
Now Quatre had dropped all pretenses and was openly cautious. "What do you need people like us for?"
"We want to be legal citizens again, and who better to champion our cause than the very people who are symbols of freedom to this society?" Jean-Claude replied smoothly.
"But everyone is a legal citizen, now that peace and a truly united Earth Sphere exists," Quatre said, confused.
"Non, ma petit ange, non," he laughed, a rich, thick sound that coated the air like chocolate. "We have not existed in the world for a very long time, though now we wish to return to the world in your era of peace."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Already your mind has rationalized and dismissed everything that just occurred upstairs," Asher remarked, his expression unreadable.
"Everyone does in the beginning," Richard added, sighing.
"None of you are completely human."
The other pilots stared at Duo as he spoke carefully, watching the reactions of the people across from them. Jean-Claude, Asher, and Damien had gone very still, so still that Duo thought they would vanish if he blinked. Anita and Richard shared glances.
"It depends on your definition of completely human," Anita answered.
"You said you would tell us everything," Harry said flatly.
"You do not ask the right questions," Jean-Claude smiled.
"Fine, so what are you then?" Wufei scoffed, extremely irritated. They were thisclose to being on his shit list.
"I am a vampire, as is Damien and Asher. And occasionally, so is ma petite."
If Wufei thought he was joking, he tactfully didn't let it show. "Occasionally?"
"I'm more of a walking, talking metaphysical impossibility," Anita replied with a noncommittal shrug. "Necromancer, succubus, lycanthrope, pick a flavor."
"So Nathaniel would be a lycanthrope?" Trowa asked, for the first time showing his interest. "Are leopards the only ones?"
"No, there are several different types," Richard folded his muscular arms across his broad chest. "I'm a werewolf. There are leopards, wolves, lions, tigers, bears, swans, serpents, hyenas, rats... most all animal species really."
"That doesn't include some of the other creatures that haven't become extinct. Merpeople, the Naga, we manage to keep our lamia safe, the fey, demons-"
"Wait. Vampires and werewolves are one thing, but you expect us to believe faeries and things out of Greek and Hindu legends are living among us?" Wufei asked incredulously.
Jean-Claude gave him an infuriating shrug that meant everything and nothing. "Most legends and faerie tales are based on something real. Is it so hard to believe? Or must we show you the proof just as we sit here before you?"
"Yes," Heero frowned. "None of this makes logical sense."
"And when your friend here, monsieur Duo, changes at the full moon, will you still refuse to believe?" Jean-Claude inquired delicately. "I assure you what happened to Nathaniel and ma petite's Zander was no theatrical act. You will still find them in their cat forms and quite real if you went to them now."
Again the pilots felt like their very souls had been laid bare for anyone to read. Or at least Heero and Wufei felt that way, because they were the only ones who were struggling to wrap their logical minds around the situation.
"You know I speak the truth, do you not, ma petit ange?" Jean-Claude turned his heavy sapphire gaze to Quatre. "Your heart feels for others."
"You're right. I agree with Duo, I had a suspicion back at the apartment," Quatre sighed. "Remember when you thought Duo's eyes had changed color, Wufei? I felt it then, for a moment, and then later when he purred at you."
Wufei looked at him warily. "What do you mean? What did you feel?"
"Something not human. Somehow, it was still Duo, but not human. Just as all the people we've met since entering this building are not human," Quatre said with a hand over his chest.
Wufei glanced at Heero, who nodded. "All right, so we have vampires, wereanimals, and mythical creatures."
"Just like that, you let it go?" Richard asked, clearly dubious. His expression was full of a past discontentment.
"Yes, Quatre's feelings have never led us wrong before, so if he says you're telling the truth, then we'll believe you," Heero replied shortly.
The pain on Richard's face deepened like emotional scars taking physical shape. "Wufei, right? You agree just as blindly to the empath's word?" he questioned, though his gaze was all for Duo.
"I do."
"So what will you do when you finally witness it, not with Nathaniel, but when your own lover loses it in front of you and shifts?" Richard pressed. "I don't know how many of my wolves, or Anita's cats, have been heartbroken when their partners refuse to be with monsters."
The anger was instant, among all the pilots.
"I would never do that, nor would the rest of us," Wufei said darkly. This guy was definitely on his shit list.
Duo smiled grimly. "Before you guys showed up, we were the monsters. Turning into a big black cat is an improvement over being the God of Death any day."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to piss you off," Richard apologized. "You just need to be prepared for some of the reactions you're going to get."
Duo shrugged. "Been there, done that. Got the scars to prove it. Trust me, buddy, no one's gonna hurt my feelings in any way they haven't been pummeled before."
"If people treated you all this way, how did you become legal citizens before?" Quatre asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Anita said dryly. "People may be scared shitless of the preternatural, but at the same time they are completely fascinated by the sex, mystery, and glamour appeal."
"So you traded in the big scary image for a 'come hither' approach," Duo replied, equally sarcastic. "Scaring them made them kill you, but if you made them want you, they'd be lined up to the watch the show."
"Exactement," Jean-Claude said, his voice pouring like warm, liquid pleasure over their skin.
"Okay, seriously, you've made your point. It anyone else as bothered by the sex-inducing voice trick as I am?"
"Are you so bothered, mon chat?" Jean-Claude asked amusedly, making Duo shake himself like a wet dog trying to get rid of the sensation.
"Yeah, that whole 'get me off with words' thing is really distracting," Duo said shortly. "Though I could see how a trick like that would be handy, especially when trying to win people over."
"Is this why you're opening a club in this part of the city?" Quatre inquired, picking his words carefully.
"That's putting it nicely," Nathaniel remarked, reemerging from the hidden doorway on the other side of the room. He dropped gracefully to the floor at Anita's feet, laying his head in her lap and stretching languorously so that the front of his furry, and entirely nude, body was displayed for all to see. He looked more comfortable furry and naked then he had earlier when still human and fully clothed. And he clearly enjoyed the heightened discomfort and attention he was getting from the pilots. "I was one of Jean-Claude's best strippers when he ran Guilty Pleasures. And Damien over there charmed the crowds at Danse Macabre, though I have to admit that he, Jean-Claude, and Asher have centuries of seducing experience over me."
"Centuries? None of you look old enough to be even thirty," Heero said, frowning again. 'Just how long have you been hiding from the public? Is that why I wasn't able to find any information on you?"
It was Anita's turn to smile grimly. "We've been underground for over two hundred years, though many of us are a lot older than that. When we were forced into hiding, we had several people in the government, or with the right connections, who were able to destroy all information on the preternatural community. Eventually, we were just forgotten."
"And there you were all pissed because you thought your god-like hacking skills had failed you," Duo joked, earning himself a glare.
"What made you go into seclusion?" Trowa asked, curious.
"A few crazy, high placed politicians had the bright idea to use vampires and lycanthropes as tools for war. Why waste human lives and money on weapons when you have people that can bench press a truck like it's nothing, heal themselves, and can fuck with the minds of the enemy?" Anita said, anger warming in her tone. "Or better yet, people like me that raised the dead for a living. A whole army of zombies. They're already dead, so it's not like they could be killed. It was a load of fucking bullshit, when they granted citizenship; everyone was given the basics of preternatural politics. There are strict rules, no matter what type of being you are, and to be used for war on others broke several of the strictest, most heavily punished laws."
"When we refused... Well, you can imagine the response we got," Nathaniel sighed, rubbing his cheek against Anita's thigh and she unconsciously began stroking the top of his head.
"Now that we do understand, all too well," Wufei muttered, the others nodding in agreement.
Duo watched Nathaniel and Anita, looking pensive. "I'm... we're going to have to learn these rules, if we're going to present your case to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation Council and..."
"... and because you're now one of us," Nathaniel finished for him, managing to convey his sympathy even with his kitty cat features.
"If we could fix it, we would," Anita added. "Zander shouldn't have taken things into his own hands, no matter what his excuse. All I can offer to make up for it is the fact that he will be suitably punished for stepping way the fuck out of line, and helping you through the transition so it'll be easier."
"Is it really so difficult?"
"Almost all new lycanthropes don't remember their first few full moons because their beast takes over so completely," Richard answered, mirroring Nathaniel's sympathetic look. "Once you're able to retain more of yourself, you'll regain more control over what you do and be able to think consciously and remember. Though for the first year, even after you gain control, you have to be careful about being too emotional, or being in intense situations around the full moon."
"And being hungry," Asher said idly. "Especially if you are prone to, I believe you call it, 'cuddling'. Being so close to your lover's throat, the sight and scent of the thin flesh over the jugular vein seems very... tempting."
Duo went pale, staring from Asher to Wufei with distress. "I would never do something like that."
Asher's expression showed nothing. "You do not sound very certain."
"I wouldn't."
"I think you already almost have," Quatre said softly, comprehension dawning with a tough of horror. "Remember what we just talked about? What were you doing when Wufei thought your eyes changed colors?"
"I was nuzzling his neck," Duo bit his lower lip, looking anxious.
Wufei was silent, regarding Duo guardedly. After a moment, he gave a slight shrug as if he came to some sort of mental agreement with himself. "Maybe you should have."
"What?!"
"Not kill me and eat me, but like that Zander did. Contaminate me, or infect me, whatever the hell it is he did to you," Wufei clarified, his attitude resolute. "You shouldn't have to go through this alone."
"Are you serious?" Richard asked, genuinely shocked.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Wufei glared at him as if daring the much larger man to contradict his logic.
"No, it's just... extremely rare," Richard replied, still thrown for a loop.
"I think it is one of the most beautiful displays of selfless devotion I have ever seen," Damien remarked, breaking his long silence since his first soul baring observation. "Aside from all of Anita's overtures of course."
"Indeed," Jean-Claude agreed genially.
"You don't have to," Duo mumbled modestly.
"But I want to."
"There is a much less violent way to do it, right?" Quatre asked, worried.
"Oh yeah, normally we only take in the willing, those who have no families or homes, or those with natural psychic gifts like your empathy who end up finding us by sensing our powers," Anita answered. "Though some lycanthrope and vampire groups with weak leaders and dominants can lose control of the newly turned."
"Resulting in the appearance of the attacks we're investigating, right?"
"Unfortunately," she sighed. "We're able to save most lycanthrope victims, as Duo can verify with how fast his own injuries healed. It makes it easier to save their life if they're unable to bleed all over the place as much. The vampire victims aren't so lucky, because it's a lot more complicated when you're turning a person into a vamp."
"With your wars ended, it was much harder to hide the fact," Jean-Claude said. "Which was why we were trying to approach you, before the situation became ugly."
"Honestly, all we really need to do is convince Relena," Duo shrugged. "Even though the Earth Sphere has no true leader, everyone listens to her and she always gets her way with issues." Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo's flippant tone. "What? You know I'm right, Heero."
"We can all fly over to the Council headquarters and speak with her, we're going to need Duo for proof," Quatre paused. "And Wufei."
"It's going to have to wait," Wufei disagreed, looking over at the group of vampires and shapeshifters. "I understand why you asked for Duo to stay here now. We're both going to have to stay and receive your guidance."
"You're really serious about sacrificing your human life, aren't you?" Anita stated.
"We're together in everything, and this is certainly no exception," he replied firmly.
"All right, so we'll use this week to learn as much as possible of this... community. I'll arrange a flight over for a day or two after the full moon. We're going to need some of you to travel with us, you said yourself that the newly changed are unpredictable, so we're going to need your assistance in providing the proof," Quatre said calculatingly, plans solidifying in his cerulean eyes as clearly as the note of authority that threaded through his gentle voice. "I'll call first thing in the morning."
"It is already near morning," Asher said, glancing up towards the ceiling.
Duo pulled back the sleeve of his leather jacket. "Well, shit. It's four a.m. We've talked the night away and haven't even skimmed the surface of all this crap yet."
"We have plenty of rooms here, you can rest and then retrieve your belongings from your home later today," Jean-Claude offered, standing up. "When you return, we shall handle monsieur Wufei's dilemma and discuss our situation further."
"That would be very nice, thank you," Quatre replied.
They stood and followed everyone to the other door. A long hallway opened up behind the door, with several other doorways and a few other corridors branching off of it. It was like walking through an underground castle with all the stone and torches lighting the walkway.
"Our rooms are in this corridor," Anita said, motioning down the first off-shoot of hallway. "Most of the rooms on this main path are occupied with some of my pard and pride, along with Richard's pack. The next hall if where all the guest rooms are."
A chunk of their group broke off to go to their rooms, leaving only Anita and Jean-Claude with the pilots. They stopped when they reached the corridor for the guest rooms.
'What's down the other two hallways?" Duo asked.
"To the left will be the coffin room, our medical area, and the feeding area. The other way leads to cells and a back exit."
Duo raised an eyebrow, giving Jean-Claude an odd look. "Well, I guess that answers my question," he remarked dryly, shaking his head. "Coffin room. Coffin room... weird."
"Oh, trust me, you haven't seen weird yet," Anita laughed.
"All of these rooms are empty for the moments, so please feel free to pick whichever room suits your taste," Jean-Claude said, giving them a small, flourishing bow. "If you need anything, let us know." They left before anyone had the chance to ask how they would communicate with them.
"Free dinner to whoever has the balls to knock on their bedroom door," Duo cracked.
"No, thanks. I'm afraid of what we might walk in on," Trowa said amusedly, taking Quatre by the hand and starting down the hall. They ended up picking the first room they saw, it had a huge king-sized, four poster bed and another one of the faux fireplaces with a comfy looking leather couch in front of it. Everything was done in shades of turquoise and cream, even the carpet thick enough to sleep on was the blue gemstone color. Heero went across the hall to a similar bedroom in all black and white. Duo and Wufei decided on the one next door to Heero, almost melodramatically black with violent splashes of bright, crimson red.
Duo immediately kicked off his shoes at the foot of the massive bed, taking off his jacket and shirt and tossing them over onto the couch. He flopped onto the bed, wriggling a little on the silk sheets. "Come on, 'Fei, it's comfy as hell."
Duo undid his belt, taking his gun out of its holster before throwing it down to join his shoes on the floor and putting the gun under his pillow. Wufei followed suit, putting his clothes with Duo's, except he draped his gun holster on the top of the headboard with the gun facing in front for a quick draw. He also had ankle sheathes slid down snugly in his boots, so he pulled the long knives out and tucked them between the mattress and the bed frame for easy access as well.
It was nothing against their hosts, they had a set up similar in their own bedroom at their apartment out of pure, deeply ingrained habit.
"You never know how tired you are until you're comfy in bed and thinking about it," Duo said, letting out a yawn as he snuggled up to Wufei. He made painfully sure his face was turned completely away from his throat, to keep a repeat performance from occurring, but still managed to fall asleep almost instantly.
And next time... Duo can't keep his mouth shut, like always, causing him and Wufei to get a taste of the ardeur. Hehe.
Let the bed swapping begin.
Reviews are lovely. :)