Warnings: violence, blood drinking, language

Chapter 7

The small OZ outpost was pretty lacking in security. It was merely a communications hub, routing and boosting OZ communications between space and the Earth. It never held more than two or three personnel at a time and since they considered themselves as doing nothing more than secretary work, they were lax in their guard. I simply walked right in.

There were only two men on duty at this hour. I made it all the way to the center of the room before they even noticed my presence. Both pulled a gun on me and the nearest asked for identification. I simply glamoured them both and told them to take a nice long nap.

While the OZ men may have only been dealing with communications, the thing they seemed to forget was that their small outpost was still directly linked to the OZ database. I quickly used their computer console to look up information about Lunar Base.

I found that OZ had the Gundam scientists working on designing two new suits for them. I would have to try to destroy the new suits along with the scientists.

I performed a quick hack into Lunar Base's security camera feed and set a particular one to loop.

I ignored the camera above the door as I made my way into one of Lunar Base's air scrubber stations. I quickly shed the suit I had used for the moon surface walk while the airlock cycled. Once the light on the inner door turned green, I hit the button to cause the door to slide open and entered the room.

The hum of the machinery echoed in the small metal room. I circled one of the O2 recyclers until I found the small maintenance hatch. I gripped the metal loop and pulled until the heavy panel slid clear of the opening. I then dropped into the now open ventilation duct and prepared myself for a long crawl.

I tied my shoelaces to the vent grate before kicking it free. The screws would fall to the floor but they were small enough to probably not be noticed over the noise of the life support and the shoelaces caught the grate before it could impact against anything and give away my location. I carefully pulled it into the ventilation duct and untied myself from it.

A quick scan of the room showed me I was more lucky than I could ever hope. Both of the new model of suits were in this hangar, and I could see the scientists bunched around a computer display talking with a small troop of OZ. I could take out all mission objectives at one time.

I slowly lowered myself from the vent. Hanging from my hands, I started to rock back and forth to build momentum before letting go and swinging to one of the cables supporting the mobile suit below me. I slid down the cable to land softly on the suit's shoulder.

As I scrambled to the cockpit, I was glad to note the large gun the suit held. It seemed I had come out of the ventilation above OZ's offensive suit, the Vayeate. I rushed through the startup sequence.

I flipped the switch to activate the Vayeate's weapon systems and manoeuvred the joystick to aim the weapon. I pressed the button to fire but unfortunately I underestimated the weapon's warm up speed, or lack there of. In the seconds I waited for the gun to fire, someone was able to force the defensive suit, the Mercurius, to activate it's shield, blocking my attack.

The only partially constructed suit that I was using broke free of its supports and crashed into the floor. I slammed the hatch release button with my fist and hurried out to prepare for retaliation. One of the OZ men was quick to respond, flipping over the blockade of the suit's gun to aim a handgun at me. I drew my Beretta to take him out but paused when I saw his face. Trowa? I quickly figured out the situation and decided to surrender myself. I would see what Trowa had planned for OZ.

OZ put me to work test piloting their new suits along with Trowa. I had to seriously question the sanity of the person in charge. Was the flight data worth simply handing over such a powerful suit to a known Gundam pilot? Even if they didn't suspect Trowa, it was still a pretty questionable tactic. But since it allowed me to familiarize myself with their new models, I had no problem with playing along.

After yet another test flight I was returned to my cell only to find it already occupied. There was a young Asian man resting against the wall of the cell. I recognised him as Pilot 05 but that was as far as my knowledge about him went. As I got closer, I nearly stumbled in surprise. He was no young man. He was a vampire. An extremely old vampire. I couldn't think of any vampire I had ever met that felt this old before.

Not sure what to say, or if there even was anything to say, I simply sat down on the tiered floor. I had barely sat when I heard the other pilot begin to speak and shifted myself to face him.

"Since there is no one here to perform a formal introduction I fear I must perform the task myself. I am Chang Wufei of the Dragon Clan. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty."

He gave a short bow and I tilted my head in acknowledgment. Chang Wufei of the Dragon Clan? I had certainly heard of him but had never met him. He was one of the oldest vampires known to exist. He was rumored to be nearly 5,000 years old but no one but he knows for sure. What makes someone like him decide to pilot a Gundam?

The next few days was spent in relative silence. Neither Wufei nor I were the talkative sort. Our silence was interrupted by the opening of the cell door. Someone was practically tossed into the room, stumbling down the tiered floor and falling flat on their face.

I felt my blood freeze when I recognised who it was. Duo ignored my command to stay put. He got himself hurt again! I was angry at the situation and confused about why I was so angry. I ended up taking out my frustration on Duo himself. "Botched your mission? You couldn't destroy the base and you didn't kill Dr. J and the others."

"How 'bout a little sympathy? In any case, I'm still glad I decided to come here. I've got good news." Duo opened his eyes and looked towards Wufei. "Your Gundam and mine are being rebuilt as we speak, ya know. I can hardly wait until they're done."

"Looks like OZ will be keeping us alive for awhile. It's a good chance. So don't die yet." You can't die yet. I won't allow it!

"Don't worry about me, pal. I have no intention of dying that easily. There's the colonies to fight for. Just watch me. I'll become the God of Death once again! But right now… I need some sleep."

Fear gripped me as Duo went quiet and still. I rushed over to him. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt his pulse. Only passed out. Not dead. I very carefully checked Duo's body to catalogue his injuries. I could feel Wufei eyeing me with curiosity but I just ignored him. There were more important things to deal with. I gently rolled Duo over onto his back to continue my observations. I ran my hands down his side, lightly pressing each rib. Even unconscious he gave a small groan when I pressed on one from his right side. It didn't feel broken, but it could be cracked. Unfortunately I didn't have anything to wrap it.

I shifted Duo so that I could get my legs under him, letting him use my lap as a pillow as he rested. I brushed aside a few stray strands of hair that had escaped his braid and prepared myself for a long wait.

Some hours later Duo awoke. When he became aware of his position he quickly sat up and scooted a few feet away. I was relatively untrained in certain facial reactions, but I was pretty sure he was blushing.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by the cell door opening. Five guards entered the room. I eyed them suspiciously. I could sense the one in the front was a vampire, and the glassy eyed looks on the four others implied a glamour.

The vampire guard smirked at Duo. "I think it's time to play, human." He jerked his head and two of the guards trained a gun on Wufei and I and the remaining two headed for Duo. Duo quickly scrambled to his feet and backed up but the cell was only so big and he got stopped by the wall. I could see in his eyes the will to fight but then his eyes flicked to the two guards holding us at gunpoint. He simply stood there as the guards grabbed him by the upper arms and dragged him back to the center of the room.

I assessed the guard who had his gun trained on me. The general sluggish actions of a person under glamour could be counteracted by a carefully worded command. A simple "Shoot them quickly if they move" could cause this guard to be a valid threat. And I had no idea what command they had been given.

The vampire stalked toward Duo while addressing Wufei and I. "You two shouldn't interfere. You don't want me to play too rough now, do you?" He gripped his hand onto Duo's chin.

"Leave me alone you sick pervert!" He tried to jerk himself free, but the guards had too strong a hold on him.

The lead guard ignored him and leaned close. I couldn't help the growl that escaped my throat. I should have Claimed Duo when I had the chance! Then no one else would be able to touch him! You could hear the large inhale. "You smell exquisite."

"What the fuck!"

The guard pulled back just enough so that Duo could get a clear view of his fangs as he opened his mouth wide, before plunging toward his neck. Just before his fangs landed he jerked back as if burned, releasing Duo. He glared at Duo and Duo glared right back. The guard pulled back his hand, preparing to backhand Duo, but before the blow could even land the vampire let out a yelp and cradled his hand to his chest as if injured.

The vampire fumed while glaring at Duo. He barked a curt "Out!" to the glamoured guards. The two holding Duo let go at once. Duo fell to his rump at the suddenness of the action but quickly scrambled back to a standing position. The lead guard then stormed out of the cell, locking the door behind him.

"Holy fucking shit! What the fuck was that!? Did you guys see that!?" Duo held up his hands in a 'stop' gesture. "Don't answer that. I don't know if it would be better to hear confirmation of what I saw or confirmation I've gone batshit crazy but seriously, what the holy fuck!? Dude had fangs! FANGS! Holy fucking shit! And he tried to bite me! Like a fucking vampire!" Duo's eyes grew comically large. "Holy shit! He WAS a vampire! Dude was a goddamn motherfucking vampire!" Duo started pacing and his shouting diminished to a litany of quiet 'Holy shit's.

I thought over what had just happened. It made no sense to me. I turned to Wufei; perhaps he had come across this phenomenon before. "Can someone have the traits of a Claimed but not feel like a Claimed?"

Instead of responding to me, he yelled to Duo. "Idiot, shut up for a moment."

Duo spun to face him, eyes still practically bulging from his face. "How can you be so calm!? That was a fucking vampire! A fucking vampire tried to bite me! Fucking vampires actually exist! What if he comes back!?" His eyes shot to the door and he took a half step away from it.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "You've been locked in a cell with two vampires for hours now and you're worried about the one out there?" Wufei gave an open-mouthed grin, putting his fangs on full display.

Duo stared at him, mouth agape. He took a few steps to stand next to me. "Ro, you seein' this too?"

I glared at Wufei. This wasn't how I wanted to tell Duo, if I ever told him at all. "It's ok, Duo. I won't hurt you and I will do my best to prevent any of the others from hurting you."

His eyes didn't leave Wufei as he addressed me. "Wait… you won't hurt me? Why would I think you would hurt me?"

"Duo, look at me." His eyes darted to me. I opened my mouth to let him see my fangs clearly. It seemed that was the last straw. Duo's legs gave out and he fell to his rump once again.

Wufei chose this moment to cut in. "Do you have a talisman that you keep on you at all times? Such as a ring or other article of jewelry?"

Duo's wide eyes turned back to Wufei. "I have my cross Father Maxwell gave me. That what you talkin' about?"

"Could be. Could you do me a favor and remove it for a moment?"

"Why?" He continued to stare wide-eyed at Wufei.

Wufei rolled his eyes again. "Idiot, I promise to not drink from you without your permission. I consider it an injustice to treat an ally with such disrespect. I merely want to test a theory."

With the cuffs binding his wrists, Duo had to work the chain around until the clasp was in the front before he could unlatch it. "Now what?"

"Can you place it on the floor and step a few feet away from it please?"

Duo thought about it for a moment but seemed to come to the decision that it couldn't really make the situation worse so he did what Wufei asked.

It almost felt like a punch to the face, it hit me so hard. My own eyes went wide when I sensed the spell. Duo was Claimed. But he wasn't just any Claimed. He was my Claimed.

Duo was mine.

I couldn't help but simply stare. I could hear Wufei's voice addressing me, tone full of incredulity. "You didn't recognise your own Claimed?" His words turned condescending. "And why would you want to Claim a Hunter of all things."

That broke me out of my shock. "Duo's not a Hunter."

"He has to be. The Claim Suppression spell is Hunter magic. It was bound to the cross." He turned to Duo. "You can put it back on now by the way."

I watched as Duo picked up the cross. The moment his fingers touched the metal I could no longer sense my Claim spell. He made sure the cross was securely around his neck again and then tucked it under his shirt. He looked back and forth between Wufei and I. "Why's Wufei calling me a hunter? And what's he mean by being claimed?"

I was glad that Duo had started to calm down. Wufei just looked speculatively at him so I decided to answer his questions. "Hunters are humans who are trained to hunt and kill our kind."

"He thinks I'm a vamp killer?" He turned to Wufei. "What the fuck? I didn't even know vampires existed 'til like 5 minutes ago. Why would you think I was a Hunter?"

Wufei continued his speculative assessment. "You have a valid point. I believe even you wouldn't be able to fake a reaction like that. So you truly did not know of our existence until now. But that does not explain the spell. That is definitely Hunter magic."

Duo pulled his cross out from his shirt again and stared at it. Then suddenly yelled, "Holy shit!" He pointed at Wufei. "You're the 'monsters' Mikhael always talked about!"

"Mikhael?" I had to ask.

"Part of the group at the church where I use to live. Father Maxwell had this sorta secret club where people trained with weapons and stuff. He had them teach me all sorts of stuff, but when they'd go out they wouldn't let me go with them. They were Hunters weren't they?"

"You were raised by Hunters?" Well, that would explain the silver bullets, but… "Why aren't you a Hunter?"

Duo shrugged. "Guess he never had a chance to get around to the big reveal." He continued in a quieter tone. "I didn't get to live with him for that long before the Alliance killed 'im." He gripped the chain above his cross between his thumb and forefinger and started to roll his fingers back and forth causing it to twirl. He got a pensive look on his face. He mumbled, "But, Mikhael useta always call Solo a monster too…"

I felt a jolt pass through me. "You knew Solo?"

He stared at me, surprised. "You knew Solo!? He was the leader of the gang I useta run with when I was a kid. If that's the same Solo, how the hell do you know him? And was what Mikhael said true? Was he a vamp as well?"

"Solo was the leader of the L2 vampire clan."

Wufei startled us both by suddenly bursting out into laughter. He turned his mirth-filled eyes to me. "You have the most unique Claimed I have ever met. How did you ever find a human that was raised by both vampires and Hunters and somehow knew about neither?"

"Hey! You never did answer! What the hell does claimed mean? And why do you keep talking like Heero owns me or somethin'?"

Wufei decided to field that question. "It's vampire magic. It uses a vampire's blood to bind a spell to a human. The spell protects the human from harm from any vampire who is unable to overpower the spell, and it lets all other vampires know who that humans belongs to. You happen to be Claimed by Prince Yuy here."

"WHAT!?" Duo stood up quickly and stalked over to punch me on the arm. "You did the vamp equivalent of a dog pissing on a tree!? When the fuck did you do that? And please tell me it doesn't fucking include pissing!"

I couldn't help but smile. Duo was acting normal around me again. "I did not urinate on you. I Claimed you when you were around 5 or 6 years of age. I'm assuming you do not remember the incident, but you had just saved my life. I decided to place a Claim to help try to protect you from other vampires. L2 was always a popular feeding ground and the homeless were especially at risk."

"So you did this not-pissing thing to me to keep other vamps from having a Duo snack?"

"Essentially."

His cheeks turned slightly pink. "Oh, well... umm... thanks I guess." He then held both his hands up, palms facing forward. "And please, please tell me I didn't just hear Fei call you Prince Yuy."

"It's Wufei and yes. You're talking to the fourth generation of the Yuy line and heir to the throne."

"No shit!" He looked to me for confirmation, I simply nodded. "Wow, I've been sharin' dinky ass dorm rooms with a fuckin' prince! A vampire prince no less! They didn't beat my head in too hard did they?"

I gave him a light thwap on the head. "Idiot. You're not imagining things. Your skull's too thick for them to hit you that hard anyways."

He gaped at me again. "A joke! Now I know I've lost it!"

I smiled at him. I was glad Duo finally knew and seemed fine with me being a vampire. I'd still have to wrap my head around Duo being mine though.

It was nearly a week later when the cell door opened and two guards walked in. One gruffly commanded, "Get out, 01."

Duo complained, "Come on. How come him again? I'm a better pilot than 01 is, ya know? Let me take care of the next battle."

Trowa stepped forward from behind the two guards. He explained that Duo wouldn't be able to handle this mission since he was still recovering and we'd be facing a new Gundam model this time. Of course, the moment Trowa mentioned a new Gundam model, my interest was peaked.

Duo just had to be his usual self though. He started to shit-talk but then Trowa promptly turned and punched him in the gut. "You guys just better keep quiet. You'll get your turn eventually." I calmly exited the cell while boiling inside. Trowa followed behind me. Once we were in the hallway I slowed to walk next to him and said just loud enough that he could hear but the other two guards couldn't, "You hurt Duo again and I'll kill you."

His expressive eyes widened slightly and he muttered, "Understood."

I had to trust Wufei to protect Duo as I set my thoughts to the new suit.

Trowa and I set out in the Vayeate and Mercurius as planned. Whoever was piloting the new Gundam had already destroyed two colonies and had just threatened a third.

When we arrived, one of the Leo pilots questioned how quiet the colony seemed. "Do you really think he's here? Couldn't he have already gone to a different area?" Trowa assured him and ordered three of the Leo pilots to search the colony interior.

It wasn't long before we heard them radio back, "It's here! The Gundam is here! It's inside the colony!" But they were quickly silenced in a burst of static. The new model left the colony and headed our way. I ran my hand swiftly across the Mercurius' equipment panel to force the screens to zoom in on the target. It looks so much like Wing…

The new Gundam dispatched all the rest of our Leo escort without even a problem. Trowa opened a comm channel. "Quatre! This is Trowa. Can you hear me, Quatre?"

"I can hear you, Trowa. Don't come any closer, Trowa." Quatre's tone sounded off. My suspicions something was wrong grew but Trowa didn't deviate his flight toward the new Gundam. "What did I just say!? DON'T GET ANY CLOSER TO ME!" I could only watch as Quatre raised the double beam cannon and fired on Trowa's Vayeate.

Half his suit was instantly disintegrated. I zoomed the cameras in and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like the cockpit was still mostly intact. It was likely Trowa was fine. My hopes were confirmed when I heard Trowa speak over our shared comm channel. "Hey, Quatre, what's going on here?"

"Trowa, outer space has gone crazy! I'm gonna use this Gundam to destroy it ALL! I have no choice but to destroy all the weapons that have accumulated out here. The colonies are becoming armed, right? That's why the colonies must be destroyed!"

Something was very much wrong with Quatre. It was becoming increasingly obvious to me, but Trowa continued trying to talk sense into him. I could tell that wasn't going to work so I took action.

I charged Quatre's Gundam, using the Mercurius' shield to block beam cannon fire and attacked with my beam saber. He dropped the gun for his own beam saber. I held my own for awhile but he slowly destroyed the shield generator discs one by one, weakening my shield. The Mercurius just simply lacked the firepower to deal with the new Gundam.

Quatre fired once again with the double beam cannon and dealt the final blow to my shield. He aimed to make the killing blow, but just as he fired, the Vayeate intercepted the beam. Trowa continued to try to talk sense to Quatre, but I quickly used the distraction to grab the Vayeate's gun, firing on the new Gundam.

The Vayeate was sparking dangerously. "Trowa, the Vayeate's about to explode. Get out now!" But instead of exiting the suit, Trowa calmly accepted his fate and started to fly the suit a safe distance from the colony.

He kept his comm channel open, not giving up his effort to talk sense into Quatre the whole time. He argued with Quatre that the colonies teaming up with OZ was the end of a war, even if it wasn't the end we were fighting for, and that we should consider the fact that we were no longer needed. He pleaded with Quatre. "Turn back into the nice guy I once knew. I just hope that something triggers your mind and calms you down. Something-" He was cut off by the blinding explosion of the Vayeate.

I heard Quatre scream his name over the comm channel, but I had to use the opening Trowa provided. I ramped output on the engines and slammed into Quatre's Gundam. I had to stop him at all cost. The Mercurius was failing around me and a black haze snuck in around the edges of my vision. The beam saber overheated, destroying the suit's arm and slamming the suit and myself backwards. I fought to stay focused but the black haze overtook me.

-x-

-Author's Note-

Sally has "Gundam radar" Newtype powers. That's the only thing that makes sense.

In case you skipped the wall-o-text at the end of the first chapter (I certainly don't blame you :P), I defined 3000AD as when the Earth switched to the AC system. So to give you an idea of how old Wufei is, he's about as old as China itself.

I have to credit Seithr-Kairy for the idea of binding the Claim Suppression spell to Duo's cross. I had just planned on making it a permanent cast on himself and the cross was to simply be a test for how Duo reacted to silver, but I liked that idea better. :) (And here we are, some 20k words later, and you finally get the answer to your question. :P)

Timeline: Episodes 20-25