Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / GetBackers Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Consequences of our past ❯ Chapter 35 ( Chapter 36 )

 

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Chapter 35

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Duo watched the taunts flying between his best friend and the strangers out on the lawn. His friend was getting very angry; and an angry Quatre was a very dangerous Quatre. The braided teen was also confused by the repeating references of himself; however, there hadn't been an opportunity to jump in and demand an explanation.

The braided teen glanced back inside the house where the two assassins were concealed. He was startled to see a third had joined them without his knowledge and was whispering furiously to the shorter of the pair.

Biting his lip, Duo elbowed Hiiro in the ribs and gestured to the group inside. The Japanese teen's glare deepened when he saw the newest addition and discretely removed the safety from his gun.

“It's alright.” Quatre whispered, catching his friends' threatened expressions out of his peripheral vision, “That's Nagi. They'll watch our backs.”

“Q, what's going on here?” Duo whispered back. Everything about this situation felt wrong. Everything screamed at him to run and hide. Only his sense of loyalty forced the braided teen to hold his ground. His friends had been through Hell and back, and he wasn't going let them fight alone again. They were a team. “I figure these are the Hunters- I really want to kill them- The ones you're hidin' from… but Why would they be interested in me?”

“Think about it, Duo.” The blonde shook his head, keeping his eyes carefully trained on the Newtypes on his front lawn. Wraith was dangerously bored while Crawford kept checking his watch. “Hiiro can heal himself and he's got superior strength. Wu Fei is a metaphysician. Trowa is an Archival Guardian, and I'm an empath. Don't you think it odd for us all to have newtype abilities and not you?”

“What's an Archival Guardian?” Trowa asked, the same time Duo shook his head, “I thought I may develop something, but I know there's nothing special about me right now.”

“How ironic.” Crawford sneered. “One of the Four Reborn and he doesn't even know it.”

“Shut it, Bradley!” Quatre hissed, shooting the Oracle a scathing glare. “It's not like any of us knew without being told!”

“What is he talking about, Winner?” Hiiro demanded. “What are the Four Reborn?”

“And yet you've been his friend for all these years and haven't told him a thing. Why is that?”

“To protect him.”

“Ah, the way he always protects you.” The older newtype chuckled humorlessly, “Always the emotional sort.”

“Quat…”

The blonde took a deep breath as he spared a quick glance at his braided comrade. “Newtypes develop their powers by puberty or they don't develop them at all. Most are born with their abilities, use them and don't even realize they're doing it.”

“But Q, I don't hav-”

“There are four spirits that are reborn in the same instant that they die: The Heart, the Juggernaut, the Guardian of Archives, and the Guardian of Souls.”

“Creepy.” Duo frowned.

Wraith laughed. “That's funny.”

“He's not the reason you're here, Crawford.” Quatre redirected.

The clairvoyant smirked smugly, “Perhaps, but you have to admit it is awfully convenient to have three of the Four Reborn all in one spot. Especially since Farfarello is already fighting on our side.”

“Jay doesn't take sides.” The blonde snarled, “To take a side requires emotion, a sense of loyalty. Jay doesn't have that capability. The only reason he fights for you is all the drugs Esselte has pumped into his system!”

“At least he's controlled.” Crawford dismissed.

Quatre shook his head, “That control is nothing but an illusion- Fragile and fleeting. It will not last.”

“It'll last long enough.”

“Yeah, just enough time for him to kill every single one of you.” The empath's eyes narrowed. “I'll be there when that happens.”

The clairvoyant laughed haughtily. “Don't be ridiculous! You have maybe two weeks- at most- left to live without the support of your others- and a month with.”

Quatre's glare darkened as he felt Trowa and Wu Fei stiffen with that revelation. Silently, he caught their right hands and squeezed in reassurance. “That's not up to you.”

Bradley smirked, “Of course, of course. That would be up to the Guardian of Souls. But of course you kept his identity and abilities from him, therefore there's no way for him to learn to control his power quickly enough to save you. The Guardian of Archives might have been able to jog his locked memory; but it appears as if he doesn't remember his own abilities. You will die. Farfarello will be unleashed and Esselte will pick up the pieces.”

“Not today- I won't!” Quatre vowed. “You, Jay, Esselte, NWF-You can all go to Hell!”

“Language, Little Heart.” Talia chastised, emerging from a shadow. She lifted her arms, allowing her cloak to billow, revealing the puppet-mistress, X. “Guardians.” She nodded respectively to Trowa and Duo, smirking at their furious expressions. “Other. Bonded.” She acknowledged Wu Fei and Hiiro. “Now that the niceties have concluded, can we please get on to killing each other?”

The empath closed his eyes. With a slow, deep, breath he extended his sixth sense to survey the surrounding area. Relena was cowering to the right of him, hidden from view by the bushes. Crawford and Schuldig stood arrogantly directly in front of him, with Wraith on the left- Talia and X on the right. Their overall bloodlust was barely suppressed by the promise of controlling his power. It made the teenager nauseous.

Rashid's aura emanated from behind the house and was crowded by six or seven other, paler, hearts of his loyal followers. Quatre felt a sense of relief, knowing that the large man was following his orders.

Nagi mentally acknowledged the empath's search with a telepathic word of encouragement. The telekinetic's powers were continuing to grow beyond his mental abilities to move objects and teleport. At the moment, the younger new-type had his growing attributes a carefully guarded secret. How the teen was able to accomplish that was a mystery considering that even non-new-types could feel the energy from him.

Omi smiled in grateful confidence while his team leader stood with stony apathy. The younger assassin fingered the poisoned darts he kept inside his jacket.

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Talia watched the newtype with rapt attention. Crawford's claim of two weeks was a generous estimate. She could see the boy's life hanging by a thin thread attached to each of the empath's destined Others. Without them, it would be unlikely that the child would live to see morning. Especially with the stresses he was currently enduring.

“Little Heart.” The vampire called, disappearing in a wisp of dark smoke.

“QUATRE!” The Gundam pilots cried as their friend vanished in another wisp.

“Bring Him Back!” Wu Fei demanded, his hand grasping the hilt of his sword. “NOW!”

“Temper, temper.” Wraith taunted. “Where Mother takes her prey, only she knows.”

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“Wake, Little Heart.” A Ukrainian accent commanded, while a cold hand gently patted against his pale cheek. “We don't have time for you to sleep.”

Azure eyes fluttered open with a groan, “T-Talia?” the teenager asked, with great effort. “Where…” He looked around his surroundings, “My room?”

“Hush, there isn't a whole lot of time.” The woman shook her head, sitting on the blonde's bed, next to the ill teen. “How long have you been sick?”

“Since before the Limitless Fortress.” The blonde admitted, looking away from the vampire. “Joining myself to Trowa and Fei was enough to stabilize my powers, but it wasn't a complete bind… It ended up draining more of me then I realized… and then NWF… they did something that's made its progress worsen faster.” His thin hand lightly traced the stitches on his side. “I can't do this, Talia. Crawford was wrong… I don't have two weeks, I don't even have two days.”

“You mustn't give up, Little Heart.” The Hunter chastised.

“I'm not… but I've reached a dead end…What can I do?” Quatre swallowed, as his small frame tensed with pain. His fingers twisted in the sheets. “A-Allah… I-I need my Triad… I need a complete bind…”

“Easy.” Talia soothed, brushing back her adversary's bangs from his sweaty forehead. “I may have a solution.”

Quatre blinked up at her, mistrust haunting behind the agony that glimmered in his eyes. “What type of solution?”

“One that may keep you alive long enough for your triad to become complete.”

The blonde teen bit his bottom lip as another wave of pain overtook his body. “W-why is it so bad a-all of a-a s-sudden?”

“The tensions of the pending battle are sure to add to your stress that resulted from the reunion with your friends.” The vampire mused. “We haven't much time.”

“I-I need them…”

“I know, Little Heart.” The woman sighed, brushing back his hair. “Let me help you.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“A few drops from my veins may possibly give you the necessary strength to survive.”

“Possibly?”

The Hunter frowned slightly, as she studied the boy. “Quatre, I will not beat around the bush. It is a very risky thing to share of a vampire's blood. There is always the chance that you could become one yourself.”

If it were at all possible, the blonde's skin paled further than his illness allowed. “How much of a chance?”

“If the offering is given with the sole purpose of transformation, the chance is guaranteed. If the offering is received with the desire to change, then that will be the outcome. However, if the giving and the receiving is completed with clear intentions in mind, ones that conflict the fore-mentioned, then the sharing will have no damning consequences.”

“How can you be sure?”

“It is a knowledge passed down through the ages.” Talia smiled softly, “It's how we survive.”

“And what is your intent?” Quatre whispered. “You, whom have hunted me and have been my enemy for almost a decade?”

“I have been around for centuries, Little Heart. I have seen dynasties rise and fall. In all that time, there has never been prey quite like you. It would be a shameful dishonor for our rivalry to end on such a pathetic note. When I defeat you, I want my victory to be absolute.” The vampire gave the teenager a smirk, “Besides, these bastards are too arrogant. If they succeed in eliminating three of the Four Reborn, a fate worse than death would fall on all of us. This, I cannot allow. I have seen the destruction that such rulers cause and humanity would not survive it.”

“Never knew you cared…” The blonde chuckled before his body twisted in a violent coughing fit. After it passed, the teen lay on his side, gasping for breath, barely conscious. The hand he used to cover his mouth was speckled with blood.

“Oh my…” The vampire breathed, startled. She knew the boy was bad, but this… With a sharp shake of her head, Talia extended her powers to wrap around her prey.

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Duo swore as he aimed and fired into the swelling army of darkness that seemed to surge from every shadow and crevice. It crashed upon Wu Fei and Trowa, swallowing them completely before vanishing as quickly as it had erupted.

“DAMN IT!” The braided God of Death screamed, grabbing onto Hiiro as tightly as he could. “STOP TAKING MY FRIENDS!”

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The shadows faded to reveal two disoriented teenagers. The vampire gave them a brief moment to get their bearings and recognize the situation.

“Quatre!” Wu Fei exclaimed moving as if to go to the unconscious boy's side, only to be stopped by an invisible force. “What the hell!? Quatre!”

“What have you done to him?” Trowa's cool voice was dangerously calm.

“Nothing yet.” Talia fixed her fiercest glares on them. “Tell me. Exactly what does this child mean to you?”

Twin looks of confusion stared at her before the Asian shook his head, “What kind of question is that?”

“He's everything.” Trowa began, his normally passive expression seemed pained. “Quatre is my strength, my heart and my soul… He's the first person to see me as me… not as Nanashi. He's the first person I've trusted completely without an extensive background check. He's the only person I've loved… and he loved me in return… When I forgot who I was…” The banged teen swallowed, “He was always there.”

“He's always there.” Wu Fei agreed, a gentle smile crossing his face as he stared at the still figure on the bed. The blonde was so pale- a mere ghost of himself. “Except when he disappeared… He's a source of strength and inspiration. He has the heart of a poet and the will of a warrior. I used to fight for justice as revenge for my wife's death. Now… I fight for that chance in a million that I might be worthy of him… because with out him… I'm nothing.”

Talia nodded, “And to what lengths would you go to protect him?”

“As far as I have to.” They replied simultaneously.

“Even if it means sharing him?”

Onyx and Emerald leveled their matching glares at the creature of darkness. “We have agreed to do what we must for Quatre's sake.” The banged one stated. “Quatre is the only one who matters.”

“I'm glad to hear you say that.” Talia sighed, glancing at the pale teen laying on the bed. “We don't have much time. Little Heart is dying as we speak because his Triad is incomplete.”

“And who's fault is that?” Wu Fei growled, his fists clenching at his side. “We could have been there for him if you hadn't tricked him into that deal for Makubex!”

“You know so little.” The vampire turned a stern glare at the other two pilots. “Neither of you were prepared for what needed to be done in order to become a true Triad. I will help you become one.”

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To Be Continued…