Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ On a Pale Horse ❯ Drums Keep Pounding a Rhythm to the Brain ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Date: June 12, 2007

Disclaimer: As far as Mobile Suit Gundam Wing goes: Bandai has rights. Sunrise has rights. Sotsu Agency has rights. Rally does not have rights; she just likes to play with the characters. It's so much fun. As far as the world of Valdemar and Velgarth go: Mercedes Lackey has rights. DAW books have rights. Rally (again) does not have rights; she just loves dropping confused bishies in and waiting to see how long it'll take them to swim. (Again) it's just so much fun!

A/N: "Italics" is Duo speaking in Standard. "No italics" mean he's speaking Valdemaren. :Colons and Italics: indicate Mindspeech.

On A Pale Horse
-Drums Keep Pounding a Rhythm to the Brain-

"But you will. It's what you do. I've Seen it~"

A sudden wave of sickness passed through Duo and for just a second or two his vision went black. And then, the fires of Hell rose up around him, engulfing him from every direction. Even above, the night sky burned orange as cinders and smoldering ash rained down like a demonic version of snow, each creating new hellfires upon contact. He fell back on his heels as a cinder landed on his pristine white sleeve. He padded out the tiny puff of flame and realized several things at once: the boy he'd pinned—and everyone else for that matter—had disappeared, it was nighttime, when it had just moments before been late morning and he was wearing one of those damned white—WHITE—uniforms. Duo doesn't wear white. White was for virgins and brides. And virginal brides. Okay, maybe he didn't want to analyze that thought too thoroughly.

He shook his head and then climbed to his feet, making a quick glance around. There really wasn't much of anything in the vicinity, other than flames and smoke, but if he squinted through the wavering heat, above the heights of the inferno he could make out a tower of the Palace. He was still in Haven.

He took a step forward not entirely sure what he was going to do, but knowing that he had to keep moving. Ahead, in the center of the inferno there was something that felt really familiar. Ten steps brought him to the scorching edge of the fires but he still couldn't make out the figure. His hand instinctively reached up and into the fire.

The flames instantly parted revealing the shadow. Duo looked up, way up, into the face of Death. It was the DeathScythe. The Gundam held out its beam scythe and then casually set about reaping more of the Palace buildings.

Duo couldn't say anything. He could only watch as his partner—his buddy—systematically destroyed the place. The 'Scythe turned to start in on the House of Healing. Duo buckled under an onslaught of fear emanating from the direction of the building. Someone inside knew they were about to die. "Stop it!" Duo meant to yell but it came out as a gruff whisper. The Gundam paused, turning to face its Pilot. Duo let out a breath, choked off the waves of emotion still battering his mind, and then gave his partner his biggest grin. "Whattya think yer doin', man? You nearly gave me a heart attack." He reached out to give the 'Scythe a pat and was forced to dodge a swipe of the 'Scythe's beam scythe. The DeathScythe had tried to kill him. He dodged again and again but it was man against mobile suit. The odds were against him.

"Stop it!" Duo screamed. He blinked against a sudden intrusion of sunlight and then attempted to bat away the images by squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head vigorously. That proved to be a mistake as it sparked an explosion in his brain. The pain, pounding in time with his heartbeat, helped beat the crap out of the last tendrils of the hallucination. With each dull thud the world around him became clearer. Around thump number four, reality was exposed. The first thing Duo saw was that the kid below him was nearly comatose with either fear or lack of oxygen since Duo was still sitting on top of him. The second thing he saw was that he was nose to pissed off nose with a strange man.

The man was dressed in a white outfit that seemed to be a fancier version of the uniform Ayden and Anndreth wore. He was close to six feet tall with a long tail of dark blond hair and eyes a shining blue. He didn't look silly with his six-foot frame crunched down attempting to get eye level with Duo. Instead, he was a mass of concentrated intimidation. A boot stomped down a mere centimeter from Duo's kneecap. The impact grazed the edge of the fabric of Duo's pants landing with the sound of a sledgehammer hitting stone and felt as if it would have shattered Duo's knee had it connected. What the hell? Did he line the bottom of those suckers with metal? "You stop it," the man growled. "Let go of him!" He raised his boot for another strike. "I won't miss again."

In a normal situation, Duo wouldn't have so much as considered the man's proposal. A little bullet in the head, a little knife blade in the eye and BOOM! Problem solved. But aside from the fact that Duo was weaponless, he honestly wasn't out to make enemies with these people. He released the boy's arm and found his feet, raising his hands above his head for the second time that day. He nodded toward the guy's feet. "Metal on bottom of boots?" It didn't sound as intelligent as he'd hoped. Man, how he missed the ability to shoot off a good quip.

The man gave him a look of miscomprehension but still managed to order, "Back away."

Duo complied, stepping back until he hit the stone wall of the hospital. The man nudged the kid a couple of times with his boot and then squatted down, never taking his eyes off of Duo. "Alaen, you need to get up." The kid blinked a couple of times, focused and then threw himself into the arms of the older man. "Are you all right?" It was only then that it occurred to Duo that he'd understood everything the man had said. He was speaking Standard.

"How do you know my language?"

:I've already explained this, Duo.: That was Onette. She shouldered her way past Simaree and took a stand next to her Chosen. :He's using Mindspeech.: The Companion's tone was light as if there was a chuckle tacked on but it hardened as soon as she addressed the man. :Let up, Jayte! Duo's not about to go around slaughtering the innocent or carrying off untrained Chosen.:

Duo waved a hand toward Onette. "Relax, babe. I got this." The Companion snickered at the "babe" comment after reading his exact meaning and then nodded for him to continue. "I am not here to harm anyone. I am in a place I do not know. I do not know how I got here. I will go home when I learn how." But, until then— "We are all in this place together. This can not be changed now. Understand?"

"Of course we understand," came the gentle voice of Dean Ayden. He'd just arrived via Onette's path and he'd brought an army of onlookers with him. "By the way, 'In a place I do not know' is 'lost,' Duo." The Dean smiled at Duo's nod. "No one here intends young Duo any harm. Do we, Jayte?"

The man remained aggressive, snarling, :As long as he stays away from my Chosen.:

"He hit me. I stop him. Nothing more."

"That was a brilliant move," stated the man standing immediately to Ayden's right. This man was several inches shorter than the Dean, with a shock of space-black hair and had a body that was clearly sculpted by extensive training in some form of martial arts. It wasn't as if he was muscle bound, the guy had more of a grace-through-power-and-control look to him. As if he could deliver a killing blow with one hand and juggle two raw eggs and a sleeping infant with the other without waking the baby or cracking the eggs. "But it was a bit extreme considering the circumstances."

It was true, but Duo Maxwell never did things half-assed. Duo shrugged, agreeing with the man. Concealing a grin, he pointed to the boy. "He will not hit me again." He tapped his temple. "He will remember."

"And sitting on him for a full five minutes was part of your mental discipline, how exactly?"

Ooh. Good question. That hallucination must have lasted longer than he thought. What was that dream anyway? And now that he thought of the dream, his throbbing headache made a glorious reappearance. He ignored it. "That was—" Pound. Pound. He attempted to ignore it. "That was—" Throb. Throb. Bile began its short journey up his esophagus but Duo continued trying to ignore it. "That was—" Thump. Thump. The bile had stopped rising, but the world gave way to blackness.

:Duo!: he heard Onette shout, before he fell against her soft shoulder. :Somebody fetch a Healer!:

---

"Backlash." The word fell through the cracks of the quaking surface of Duo's brain. He cautiously opened his eyes.

It was his doctor, Learen. Leaning back on her heels, she issued a set of muffled orders to a girl on her left. The girl nodded and then sprinted off toward the Hospital. "Just what exactly did you do to him? I was going to release him under restrictions." Her hands trembled in anger, but she kept her tone soothing. The trembling ceased as she noticed that he was awake. "Your head's going to hurt for quite some time, yet. We call it backlash shock. Tavi's gone to make some tea that will dull some of the pain." She patted him on the shoulder before addressing the Dean again. "I'm waiting."

"I'm fine," Duo replied, too out of it to bother trying to translate it into Valdemaren. "A little spit and I'll be good as new."

Learen looked concerned until Onette broadcast an interpretation for him. :He said he's fine. Some small drool and he'll be brand new. I'm not really sure what that last part means but it came with the image of an arm flexing.:

The doctor laughed. "That's good enough for me. But, do take it easy. Herald Trainee or not, you're still just a boy. All right?"

Take it easy? No such possibility. And you're just a boy? Boy, do these people have a thing or two to learn. And what was a Herald Trainee? "I will try."

Her smile transformed into a knowing grin. "Try hard is all I ask." Duo nodded. "Now, what happened?"

"I think it was my fault." The small voice came from Mr. Menace's—that is, Jayte's—general direction. It must have been Alaen. "When he knocked me to the ground I had another dream, but before I got too far into it, it vanished. I think he got stuck in my dream."

"Is that even possible?" Duo's head still hurt too much for him to bother trying to figure out where that question had come from.

"Yes, quite," responded Ayden. "Is this true, young Duo. Did you have a dream?"

Did he have a dream? Did he ever! "Yes."

"Would you like to tell us about it?"

:If I say "no," do I get a spanking?: That was for Onette alone. He needed his sense of humor and right now Onette was the only one who could comprehend his jokes.

:I'll give you a spanking.: she mock scolded him. :Now, answer the Dean's question.:

:Party pooper.: "No."

The Dean conceded with a nod. "Very well, then. How about we get you settled in to your new room? And Trainee Alaen, come by my office tomorrow before your first class. We'll rearrange your schedule to accommodate your new Gifts class. Projection is a serious matter."