Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or the characters :*( But I love them like I did lol
Note: Sorry this was late, I was busy with the holiday! Happy belated 4th! Also warning: Character Death.
Sphere of Death
"Hey Hilde, I'm back!" Called Duo as he entered his house, Azrin's hand linked in his.
"Good, we need to talk-" Hilde was cut off by the sight before her standing in front of the door, as she looked down at the boy linked to Duo. "What's that?"
"It's a kid." Duo said, rolling his eyes.
She glared at him. "I know what he is, what I mean is, who is he and why is he with you?"
Duo was prepared for this. Well, as prepared as he was going to be. He hadn't exactly left on good terms with her, and he made sure to let Azrin know not to bring up anything about "death" in the car, if they didn't want to sleep in it. "Okay, it's kind of a long story."
Hilde plastered on a smile, which made Duo extremely nervous, and she turned to the kid, kneeling down to his level. "So what's your name?"
"Azrin." He said, shying behind Duo.
"That's a very unique name, Azrin. Would you mind if Duo and I talked for a minute? I promise it won't take long, and you can go watch TV." The little boy nodded, not without giving her a suspicious look, and walked over to the living room, plopping down on the couch with the back facing the kitchen and a 45 inch television in front of him. The strange look was not lost on Hilde, but she ignored it and turned to Duo, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Duo knew what was coming. "Okay, explain away."
Duo sighed, then spewed out everything he could remember from the time he met Azrin, to leaving him in a church, to finding out he had no one. It wasn't very hard to explain, and he made sure to omit anything having to do with "death" knowing that was a sensitive subject already. Though, stopping to think about it, the coincidences of his realization and finding a kid who seemed to believe the same thing was not lost on him.
When he finished, he knew he was probably going to be sleeping on the couch. "So you thought you could take care of him? Duo, you're 17, are you even allowed to adopt?" Hilde was doing everything she could to keep her anger in check, only so she didn't blow up with Azrin in the other room. Hm, maybe there were perks to keeping him around.
"I know it was a rash decision," He started, trying to build up as much bullshit he could to make his decision sound legitimate. "And I can understand your frustration." She didn't look convinced. "I just felt that since I am the only person who understands him, I should be the one to take care of him."
"Duo there are plenty of people that can understand him!" She whispered furiously. "A war happened! You are not that special in the orphan department!"
Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from blowing up. He took a deep breath, trying to think rationally and explain logically enough so she wouldn't have a rebuttal. He lowered his voice to make sure Azrin couldn't hear him. "He has these delusions about how his family died, and he clings to believing in only a god of death. It's more similar to me than anyone else."
"Then he needs help! You aren't a therapist! You can't solve all his problems!"
"I can at least try!"
"You're not even legally able to adopt him, Duo! You're not even an adult! How can you expect to raise a child if you yourself are a child!?"
"I'm an adult!" He yelled back, offended. It wasn't the most convincing argument, but it did deflate her anger.
Only it rounded back to bitterness. "You're right. You're an adult." She said, grabbing her keys and jacket. "You can handle anything." She opened the door, Duo's eyes widening as she stood there, giving him a condescending shake of her head. "Have fun adulting." She slammed the door behind her.
"Is everything okay?" Duo looked over to see Azrin peeking up from the couch, the television on some History channel about Ancient Egypt.
"Did you hear the whole thing?" Azrin nodded solemnly. Duo sighed. "Well, there's a spare bedroom over there. Are you hungry?" Azrin shook his head. Duo checked his watch. "It's pretty late. I'm tired, I'm sure you're tired. Why don't we call it a night?"
Azrin nodded and jumped down from the couch, turning the TV off and heading over to Duo. Duo held out his hand, letting the boy take it. Maybe she was right, maybe she wasn't. But even with that fight still rolling around in his mind, he couldn't let Azrin see how it affected him. Azrin didn't need to see the pain going through him right now.
Azrin woke with a start at the sound of a large thump somewhere in his room. He looked around, the darkness surrounding him as the shadows etched themselves in the corners. He spotted something in the far upper corner of his room, something pale and white. He slowly moved out of his bed to take a closer look, his feet lightly touching the ground.
He stopped, his eyes widening at the stark pale face hanging in the corner. Black strands of hair hung in its face, obscuring the features as large brown eyes stared lifeless at him. He shivered, taking a step back, when suddenly its mouth dropped open and a loud gurgling noise filtered the room.
Azrin ran out of the door and straight to Duo's room, bursting in and jumping on the bed beside him, nearly scaring Duo to death.
"What the hell?!" Screamed Duo, sitting up and staring at the bundle in the sheets, shivering. "Azrin, what the hell are you doing?! Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Azrin peeked out from under the sheets, looking around with horrified deep blue eyes. "T-There was s-someone in my r-room…" He mumbled out.
Duo lifted an eyebrow. "There was someone in your room?" He asked, getting out of bed and walking to the room Azrin had been sleeping in. He opened the door and turned the lights on, the room completely still and empty. "I don't see anyone."
"She was there, in the corner." He said, pointing up to where he saw the face.
Duo stifled a laugh. "Uh, I don't think anyone can cling to the ceiling unless they're a ninja."
"But I saw her!" He said, giving Duo a serious look.
Duo sighed, figuring the poor kid had had a nightmare. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you can sleep with me tonight."
Azrin nodded and followed him into the other room, where they stumbled into the full size bed and covered themselves in the sheets, lying back to back. Duo turned off the lamp and yawned. "Night."
"Goodnight…" Mumbled Azrin. He stared at the open closet, the darkness engulfing the inside. He tensed, seeing the face appear again. However, it didn't move, and Azrin stared at it for the rest of the night.
Duo rolled over as the sun shinned in through the large window, and almost squished Azrin in the process. "Oh, you're awake…" He said, noticing the bags under the kid's eyes as he continued to stare at the closet. The door was shut, which Duo didn't remember doing. "Did you close the closet?"
Azrin shook his head, shivering slightly.
"Oh… Another nightmare?"
He shook his head again. "Okay… want something to eat?"
The boy nodded and got out of bed, heading into the kitchen and sitting on one of the bar stools. Duo followed shortly behind, grabbing milk and eggs from the fridge and turning on the stove. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Sunny side up…" He said, staring at the countertop. "Has anyone died here?" He asked suddenly.
Duo paused. "Uh, not that I know of…"
"Oh…"
Duo stared at him. "Why?"
Azrin shook his head. "Nothing." He paused. "How long have you lived here?"
"Um, about two years." He lifted an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Just asking."
"Okay…" He continued making the eggs.
"Have you ever seen a ghost?"
Duo nearly dropped the spatula, then turned to face the kid. "Does this have to do with the nightmare you had last night?"
"It wasn't a nightmare. I know what I saw! She followed me into your room!"
"Let me guess, you can see ghosts too." Azrin frowned. "Is that why you closed the closet?"
"I didn't close the closet! It was her!"
Duo sighed. "Right, the ghost." His cell phone started blaring, and he looked at it hoping it would be Hilde, but saw Wufei's number instead. "Hello?" He answered, wondering if it was another mission, already.
"We need to talk." Said the voice on the other line.
"Okay, what about?" Asked Duo. Azrin eyed him.
"About the kid."
Duo paused. "Did you find something out?"
"I don't know, but we need to talk."
Duo leaned away, trying to cover his voice so Azrin wouldn't hear. "We can't do it around him."
"I know. Quatre's in town. He's staying at the Holloway Hotel. I'm sure he wouldn't mind watching him for a couple hours."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to just drop him in his lap."
"He'll understand. Meet me there in an hour."
"Wait, I…" He was met with dial tone. He looked at Azrin with a cheesy grin, which the boy didn't buy. "Looks like we're going to visit a friend, that sound okay?"
"Okay..."
"Yes, I'm sure that would be helpful. Thank you." Said Quatre as him and a group of men in suits entered the lobby of their hotel. They stopped, seeing an Asian Preventer waiting for them. "Oh, Wufei. What brings you here?" He asked, walking over to him.
Wufei eyed the men following the Arabian, and they quickly headed out the door to their limo. "I have a favor to ask."
"Uh, sure, what is it?"
"Duo and I have to talk, but he has a kid with him that will get in the way."
Quatre frowned. He hadn't expected this. He thought he would be asking about a mission or something. "A kid? When did Duo get a kid?"
"He met him yesterday, and he's looking after him."
"Why doesn't he just take him home?"
"It's a long story. Anyway, I was wondering if you could watch him for a couple hours."
This was really unexpected, and why was he being asked to babysit? Did he seem like the type to handle kids well? Okay, maybe. "Well, I have a couple meetings to go to… I guess it can wait if it's important."
"Thank you."
The two looked up when they saw someone enter through the rotating doors. Duo was holding a child's hand, who didn't look any older that seven or eight. The boy had the darkest black hair Quatre had ever seen, and large deep blue eyes. They were talking about something, arguing underneath their breath, and stopped when they made it over to the fellow former Gundam Pilots.
"Hey Quatre! Long time no see!"
"Same to you." Quatre looked at the boy, sensing something odd about him, and scowled. "There's something off about him…" He mumbled, though neither Duo nor Azrin heard. Wufei looked at him, slightly surprised by the comment but kept to himself. "So what's your name?" He asked, smiling.
The boy shied away and hid behind Duo, peeking out slightly. "Azrin…"
"Wow, that's a very unique name. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. It's nice to meet you Azrin."
Azrin nodded, but didn't say anything else.
"Wufei and I have to have a discussion." Said Duo. "Quatre's going to watch you for a while."
Azrin gave him a determined look. "I told you, I have to stay with you!"
Wufei and Duo rolled their eyes, and Quatre stood there confused. "It's just for a couple of hours. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Yeah and I'll get attacked like last night!"
Duo frowned and gave him a warning look. "It was a nightmare, there was nothing there." He said between gritted teeth.
"No it wasn't, she would have gotten me if I hadn't run into your room!"
"Who are they talking about?" Asked Quatre, watching the two argue like siblings.
Wufei shrugged. "Got me."
Seriously, this again? "None of that stuff is real! You're just imagining things!" Argued Duo.
"You don't believe me? How can you not believe me? You're just like me!"
"No I'm not!" Duo had had enough, and his patience was wearing thin. It didn't help having a fight with Hilde last night. "I'm normal! And so are you!"
"How can I show you I'm telling the truth?" He paused, realization washing over his face, making Duo go pale. "Wait! I know how!" He said, running off and out the hotel door.
"Wait! Azrin!" Yelled Duo, chasing after him.
Quatre and Wufei stood there in confusion. "He's a little troublemaker." Said Wufei. Quatre gave a nervous laugh.
"Azrin!" Yelled Duo, following the kid passed the parking lot and towards the street. "Get back here!"
"I have to show you I'm telling the truth!" He yelled, stopping at the crosswalk. Once the light turned green, he waited for the cars to pass. Duo headed for him, and just as he was about to grab him, Azrin jumped out into traffic and in front of a speeding car.
Duo's heart seemed to skip a beat as he watched in terror, his legs moving outside his control as he slammed into the small body and barely flew passed the on coming vehicle. They hit the concrete and rolled to the other side, out of harms way.
Wufei and Quatre exited the hotel just in time to see the display in front of them. Quatre went stark white as he ran after them to make sure they were alright, and Wufei followed, a worn look on his face.
"Duo!" Yelled Quatre, bringing the young pilot back to reality.
Duo sat up, holding Azrin as people began to gather and ask if they were alright. "Azrin?"
The boy looked up at him, and immediately pushed away. "Why did you save me?"
Duo became furious. "Because you were gonna die! I can't let anything happen to you!"
"I can heal! I wouldn't have died!"
"What do you mean you can heal?! You can't heal from death!"
"I can! I can't die!"
"Yes you can!"
"No I can't!"
People started to back away, realizing they were just fine as they stood up and started arguing back and forth. Wufei and Quatre stood at the other side of the street watching the display with worry.
"How can I prove it to you if you won't let me?!"
"I'm not willing to risk your life on the asinine ideal that you can escape death!"
"I never said I can escape it! I said I'm apart of it!"
"Stop saying that! You're normal! You can't heal yourself!"
"You saw me do it yesterday! When I cut myself!"
"That was a fluke."
"You can't heal on a fluke!"
"And you can't go trying to kill yourself either!"
Azrin looked down in anger, trying to figure out a way he could prove to Duo he was right, when he saw a shiny object inside his jacket. His eyes widened, and he quickly reached in and pulled out the gun.
Duo's eyes widened when he saw what the boy had grabbed, and immediately took hold of the weapon and tried to pull it back. "What the hell?! Give it back!"
"No! I can show you!"
"Guns aren't toys Azrin! This is serious! Give it back!"
"Not until I prove to you I can't die!"
"Yes you ca-"
Duo was cut off by a shot ringing through the air, making everyone around them jump. Azrin finally pulled the gun free, but dropped it when he saw the horrified look on Duo's face. Duo started to stumble, then looked down. Azrin followed his gaze, and his eyes widened in fear.
Blood covered his white shirt and black jacket around his abdomen, as his hands pulled away drenched in the crimson liquid. Azrin backed up, realizing what he did, as Duo fell to his knees and people started screaming around them.
Azrin's eyes widened as he mumbled apologies, people gathering and calling 911. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Wufei and Quatre stared in fright, running over to their comrade and catching him as he fell backwards. "Duo? Duo!" yelled Quatre, but the shocked look on Duo's face told them he couldn't hear them.
"Duo, hold on!" Yelled Wufei, frantically dialing emergency.
"I'm sorry…" Said Azrin, backing away. Wufei sent a glare towards him, making the boy shudder.
"Get away from him!" He roared, pushing the child away.
Tears formed in Azrin's eyes, and he turned and ran off, disappearing into the crowd.
Duo stared up at the artificial sky of the colony, his vision becoming blurry as he felt dizzy and weak. Pain racked through his body as blood poured from his wound and distant voices filled his ears. He saw a blonde orb above him, but he couldn't make out the words the person was saying. His mind was blank, his thoughts escaping him as he wallowed in the fuzzy visions before him.
He saw Hilde, when they first met, then when he saved her from getting hit by her own men. He remembered the talk they had when he was held captive, but the words were mumbled and incoherent. He remembered her finding him in the hanger before he blasted the door out. He remembered her saving him from the mobile dolls.
He remembered finding her after he escaped the Lunar Base. The time they spent together, the laughs they had. He remembered the circus when he found Trowa, and later when the White Fang tried getting him to join them.
He felt his body shutter as his temperature dropped. He felt himself being picked up off the ground and set into an enclosed room. Everything was spinning, as his vision went in an out of focus. He saw two figures, both unrecognizable and fuzzy. He felt everything around him spinning and moving, as a man in a white mask tried talking to him, but he couldn't understand what he was saying.
Duo closed his eyes, wanting to go back to the visions of the girl he remembered. He shuddered, another wave of pain washing over him. He tried to remember the times he spent with her, when she escaped from Libra, and when he first went back to her after the war. She had run and hugged him, the first time anyone had done so since Sister Helen.
He wanted to stay in that place, where she was, with her warm smile. He wanted to stay with her. He wanted her. He wanted her there with him. He needed her.
"Duo, everything's going to be okay…" Said Quatre, his face pale as his voice and body shook with anxiety. "Everything will be okay."
Wufei was silent, staring at the convulsing figure of his friend as the Paramedics tried covering the shot wound and stopping the blood. The doctor was screaming at the drivers to go faster, the ambulance sirens blaring around them. Duo was stark white, with large bags under his eyes and sweat drenching his face. Quatre held his friend's hand, trying to comfort him with words knowing he couldn't hear, but more trying to sooth his own beating heart.
After what felt like hours, they finally reached the hospital, a team of paramedics rushing to the ambulance and pulling out the stretcher that held Duo. Quatre and Wufei watched as they ran him into the hospital, following shortly behind.
Duo could see lights flashing above him, and more unrecognizable figures yelling to each other and saying something to him. He pictured Hilde standing there, but he knew he couldn't reach her. He tried calling out her name, but he couldn't hear his own voice. Everything was getting darker, his vision becoming fuzzier and the voices sounding more distant. He saw what looked like a sphere of light encircling him, the surface shiny like glass. He tried reaching out to touch it, but he couldn't move. He felt a bolt of electricity firing through him, and the sphere cracked. He saw the electricity surrounding the sphere and shattering it to pieces.
He felt the air leave his lungs, and everything faded to darkness.
To be continued
Ahhh! Well, lemme know what you think :)
