Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / GetBackers Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Consequences of our past ❯ Chapter 20 ( Chapter 21 )

 

 

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Chapter 20

 

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With a disoriented groan, Kazuki forced his eyes to open only to be greeted by the blackest of darks that eliminated any visual details. Swallowing the wave of panic that threatened to overtake him, the Thread Master relied on his other senses to try to determine his surroundings.

 

The bedding that he was laid out on was hard and uncomfortable. It made the stinging pain in his side become more pronounced with each passing minute. Gently, he ran shaking fingers across the papery fabric of, what he determined, was a hospital gown.

 

Just where was he?

 

With a shuddering breath, the thread user closed his eyes once more. `Juubei… what did you do to me?'

 

He hissed painfully as he tried to sit up. The ache in his side spiked, stealing his breath; however, it wasn't enough to drown out the hard yank of his hair being pulled. `Bastards! They undid my hair! This is going to be a pain in the ass to brush out later!' With a pitiful whimper, he slid one hand to rest against his side and raised the other to rub his head.

 

He froze. Chocolate eyes widening in realization and terror.

 

Feeling his heart start to race- and his breathing quicken- Kazuki frantically lifted both hands above him, tracing the contours of an unseen enclosure. “No…” He gasped, ignoring the pain in his abdomen and the pull on his hair, as he twisted to his side to feel the same walls on all sides of him. “NO!” He cried, pushing against them, banging his fists and trying to claw his way out. “NO! JUUBEI! LET ME OUT! PLEASE! JUUBEI! LET ME OUT! JUUUUBEIII!”

 

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Beneath the unusually long bangs, emerald orbs stared blankly out the window. Although he was currently in control of his own body, Trowa wasn't able to leave this room that they kept him in. Not only would he be stopped against his will by the very powerful psychic that toyed with him, but he didn't have anywhere to go now that Quatre was sure to despise him.

 

Lightly, the former pilot used his good hand to massage the throbbing ache in his shoulder. He knew Chang was shocked by what he had seen; otherwise, Trowa would be dead instead of merely wounded. With a resentful sigh, the banged teen wished, not for the first time, that the Chinese Preventer hadn't missed.

 

It was pure torture to be conscious of what your body is doing or saying, but not being in control of it! He would rather have died than hurt Quatre, but these monsters had forced him to do just that. He felt ill at the haunting memory.

 

“Reminiscing of old times?” a solemn voice interrupted.

 

“Don't you ever knock?” The former pilot glared at the new reflection in the glass.

 

He could barely make out the shape of his intruder in the window. This particular new-type was an interesting one, though highly annoying. Seemingly young, the child who went by the name Obake or Ghost, was incredibly bright with wisdom and knowledge that went way beyond his physical years. When his new-type ability was active, he all but disappeared and gained the capability to move through solid objects.

 

“What do you think?” Glowing eyes blinked owlishly at the older teen.

 

“You should know.”

 

“Don't be absurd. I'm a shadow, not a telepath.” The young boy rolled his eyes. “Don't you know anything?”

 

“About this?” Trowa shook his head. “I don't get any of this. I don't understand how I'm being manipulated against my will or why you people are after Quatre.” He turned and gave the new-type a blank glare that seemed cold and condemning despite the lack of emotion displayed. “Telepath or not, know that as soon as I get a chance, you are all dead.” No one messed with his Quatre.

 

The child laughed. “Your Quatre?”

 

Emerald daggers glared at the younger boy, who raised his hands and smirked. “Just because I'm not able to read a mind doesn't mean that your thoughts are safe. You broadcast them louder than if you were to use a loudspeaker. EVERY telepath in this joint is getting a headache from your internal angst and they tend to complain when they're miserable.”

 

The banged boy sighed. He was out of his league and he knew it. In the war, there were certain objectives that had to be accomplished and he could easily discern how to reach those goals. But here… Without a set mission parameters, Quatre or Catherine to direct him, he didn't know which way to turn. He hated feeling so lost.

 

“You really are pathetic.” Obake rolled his unusually gray eyes. “If you don't have a mission plan, then just make one.”

 

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“There.” Quatre pointed to the second landing of a shabby building. “I think that's Gen's place.”

 

“Hn.” Wu Fei nodded, following the smaller teen up the stairs to knock on the door.

 

“Hello?” An elderly man greeted suspiciously. “I'm afraid that, unless you're on death's door, you'll have to come back later. Now isn't a good time.”

 

The empath frowned slightly. The emotions around this man were very stressed. Anxious. Worried. “Gen, what's happened?”

 

“Quatre!?” The Pharmisist gasped in startled recognition. At the blonde's nod, he quickly ushered the two Preventer's inside. “Thank God, your timing couldn't have been better! Makubex is dying. They've taken over Babylon City. New-types have been disappearing Left and Right, including Mr. Kazuki and Juubei. The Get Backers are on the case, but…” The man's sentence died, leaving the heavy implications unsaid.

 

“Looks like your instincts were right.” Wu Fei mused.

 

“Unfortunately.” Quatre agreed. “How is it that Makubex is dying?”

 

“A virus. It's unlike any I've ever seen.” The Pharmacist shook his head. “It's destroying his program algorithm by algorithm.”

 

“Show me?”

 

With renewed hope, the doctor guided his guests to the back room where the still, flickering form of his digital son lay under the watchful eyes of Sakura.

 

The young woman looked so devastated that Quatre's heart broke for her. “Don't make that face, Sakura.” He pleaded, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “There is still hope.”

 

“Master Quatre!” The Cloth Wielder gasped. “What on Earth are you doing here!?”

 

“Helping out a friend.” The blonde replied, ignoring his partner's surprised reaction to the former title. “Wu Fei, if you could speak with Gen and find out what he knows, I'll take a look at Makubex's back-up system.”

 

The Chinese teen frowned at the way his lover was talking. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that Makubex was nothing more than a computer program. But that was impossible… Wasn't it?

 

“Fei… I know you've got questions.” Quatre pressed, “I promise to explain later, but for right now…”

 

“Of course.” He gave his partner a subtle smile before guiding the older man back into the main room.

 

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From the cover of shadows, two trained assassins watched as the blonde Preventer and his partner disappeared into the old, rundown, building.

 

“Those are the same two Preventers that came and talked to me yesterday!” The Weiss kitten exclaimed, surprised.

 

“Ssh.” The German silenced. /“Shut up.”/

 

/“What are we doing here, Schuldig?”/ The smaller killer thought to the telepath.

 

/“They're going to lead us to Nagi.”/

 

Omi's breath caught in his throat. “Hontou ka?”

 

Emerald eyes glimmered at the hopeful thoughts that raced through his young enemy's mind. “Hai.”

 

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“Even if I could come up with a plan, myself…” Trowa pondered, “How could I possibly keep it from being known? You've said it yourself. The Telepaths know what I'm thinking.”

 

“Do you trust Quatre?” Obake asked.

 

“Yes.” The former pilot replied automatically. “With my life.”

 

“What about with his life? Do you trust him with that?”

 

“I-I…” Trowa paused. Did he trust Quatre to that extent? His greatest fear was to lose the little empath.

 

During the war, the banged pilot had allowed the vibrant Arabian where no other had been… Into his heart. Because he let his defenses down, he just about died when that Catalonia bitch stabbed Sandrock's pilot. He didn't think he could stand to see the blonde on death's door again. That's why he had stayed away after the war. Why he had distanced himself from the younger teen, despite the desire to gather the beautiful boy into his arms and hold him forever.

 

He had been scared.

 

Only he had come back, just before his abduction. He had sought Quatre out. Trowa felt a burning yearning, since the moment he had left, to be with his former lover that could not be satisfied except by the blonde's presence. He realized that he needed 04 like he needed air in his lungs. If that meant being hurt, then so be it. He couldn't live without the angelic Arabian.

 

Could he trust Quatre with his own well being? The seemingly frail 04 was a trained pilot, just like he was. More than skilled as a fighter and an efficient killer, the trained business heir and diplomat had a knack of talking his way out of trouble that rivaled Duo's. The younger teen was a brilliant strategist and had the ability to make snap decisions that were somehow always in the best interest of those who followed him.

 

Even so…

The question remained.

 

“They will capture him.” Obake stated. “And they'll probably use you to do it.”

 

“I still don't understand why they would want him.” The former pilot shook his head.

 

The child thought for a moment before answering carefully, “It's not often that a new-type with a passive gift… develops an active ability as well... From what I understand… Quatre's powers have the potential to wipe out anyone that feels a certain way.”

 

“Feels a certain way?” The banged teen repeated, a wave of nauseating dread sweeping through him. “He doesn't know, does he?”

 

“What do you think would happen if the puppeteer that has been controlling you gets a hold of him and his gifts?” The Ghost whispered. “What do you think would happen to Japan? Earth? The colonies? The leaders? The soldiers?”

 

Trowa's face blanched as he leaned against the window, sinking to the floor. “Oh, God… Quat…”

 

“Do you think he could defend himself against that?” The boy pondered. “Do you believe the empath could live with that?”

 

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To be continued…