Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Game ❯ An unexpected conclusion ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Arigatomina 
Minor Pairing: Sensui+Itsuki
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 288 | Status: Work In Progress
Minor Pairing: Sensui+Itsuki
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 288 | Status: Work In Progress
Category: Anime, Gundam Wing, Yaoi, Timeline-What-Timeline, Alternate Universe
Minor Anime: Trigun, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairings: 1x2 main
Warnings: shonen ai
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com
Website: www . geocities . com / arigatomina
The Game
Part 8: “An unexpected conclusion”
A sound-track crept to them as they advanced down the tunnel, moving silently toward the dim yellow glow. There was the rattling of a semi-automatic machine gun, muffled explosions that might have been mortar fire, drowned death cries echoing faintly off the walls, and the heavy leathery sound of tanks treading through a baked jungle. Duo was immediately reminded of the out-dated war movies he’d seen growing up on the colonies, the sort politicians had recycled daily in colony broadcasts a few years ago, back before they realized the rebels had already decided resistance was worth the inevitable casualties. Those movies had always struck Duo as being stale, too far removed from current technology to have any bearing on his own battles. The mobile suit conflicts Relena later put into the broadcasts were much more striking, something everyone could relate to.
That dim glow strengthened as the tunnel opened into a wide chamber that was filled with heavy air and a faint, unpleasant odor of ancient rot unearthed. A television played quietly a few yards away, the slightly fuzzed screen showing images that might well have been taken from any one of a dozen Vietnam movies. A low, dark, couch sat in front of the set, a black-haired man reclining on it with his long arms stretched out to either side of him, and his back facing them. Over to his right, another man was leaning against the wall. Tall and plain-looking, he had dark hair cropped in a short flat-top.
Water glinted beyond the two strangers, a natural lake of murky waves that lapped the sides of a low brown boat. Wolfwood was leaning back in the craft, his bound hands raised to shield him from the gibbering menace overhead. The air above him had opened in a hazy circular portal, the edges of which rippled and widened gradually. Creatures, some humanoid, most not, were writhing at the edge of the portal, squirming and pushing against each other as they struggled to reach the human below them. Claws swiped and strained but their bodies were held at bay by a shimmering golden fence, that appeared to be made of pure energy.
Duo took a sharp step forward, anger blazing off his face. Heero stopped him by placing a strong hand on his shoulder and shaking his head in warning. The man watching the television had been joined by a third stranger. Even though Heero had been staring right at the couch, he hadn’t seen the new person approach. He might as well have appeared out of thin air. Tall and lithe, he had wavy sea green hair that fell to his shoulders and amused eyes that he turned on them a moment after Duo stopped his advance.
Kurama stepped forward to flank Heero, his dark glare warning that these were dangerous enemies. The warning wasn’t needed. The fact that the black-haired man hadn’t so much as glanced in their direction told Heero they weren’t being considered as threats. They didn’t even have their weapons on them. Besides that, Setsuna hadn’t said anything about fighting after defeating the ‘Game Master.’
“We’re here for our comrade,” said Heero, in a calm and clear voice. “Return him.”
In the boat, Wolfwood jolted a little and flashed a very relieved look at them. If it hadn’t been for the smelly monstrosities salivating on him from that portal overhead, he might have even rolled his eyes at Duo’s apologetic expression. Going off on his own adventure in the last realm had been fun, challenging. Being separated this time was anything but fun, and he hadn’t had a chance to meet any challenge. The moment they’d entered the gate, he’d found himself restrained and helpless, with three very confused adversaries, who kept muttering about some large orange-haired moron he must have replaced. They’d moved him onto the boat just a few minutes ago, after a few suspicious tremors to the floor and walls of the cave.
“The demons are here,” the long-haired man murmured, his tone soft and almost disinterested. “But the others are the same as that one. They don’t belong here.”
“How curious,” the black-haired man returned. He finally turned his head to look over at them. His eyes were dark and rather amused.
“Sensui. Where’s Kuwabara?” Kurama demanded, before Heero could say a word.
“I intended to ask you that very question,” said Sensui. “He was here…and then he was here.” He flicked a hand at the boat. “How did you manage that? And where is Urameshi?”
Duo shot a look at Kurama. “Did they capture one of your friends? Wolfwood must have replaced him, like we did. He’ll be back after we go.”
“We’re here for our comrade,” Heero said again, his eyes narrowing. “Everything will revert to normal after we get him back. We have no issue with you.”
The black-haired man stared at Heero for a moment, as if reading him. Then he tilted his head to look at the green-haired man standing quietly beside the couch. “Itsuki.”
The pale man approached them and Duo sent a quick look at Kurama. He could only assume from the way Kurama and Hiei were staring at Sensui that this ‘Itsuki’ wasn’t an immediate threat. The man stopped a few feet away and looked them over with an openly curious expression. His gaze rested especially long on Sasuke, who was standing back with the other ‘imported’ characters.
Itsuki gave a slow smile and shifted his attention back to Heero, who he took to be the speaker for the group. “What realm do you come from? The four of you are clearly human, but that one…he isn’t even a proper hanyou. I can’t tell what he is. What realm do you come from, and how did you come. Answer that and you can have your comrade. We’ve no use for him, anyway.”
Heero frowned and exchanged a suspicious look with Duo. Kurama, who’d been staring coldly at the silent man across the cave from Sensui, shook his head and turned to Yukimura.
“When things revert,” said Kurama, “does everyone who comes into contact with them remember it?”
Heero realized the problem immediately. If they were to tell Kurama’s enemies about the game, it could be used against him later, providing his enemies retained the same double-memory Yukimura had warned of. But Heero didn’t see how knowing about the game could be used as a weapon. The only possible drawback he could think of was that the information could affect future tasks in this particular realm. If that were the case, then the game had probably prompted Kurama to stop them from answering Itsuki’s questions. It would be prudent to have that sort of fail-safe, and it tied in with what Duo had said about ‘characters’ being limited to a predetermined script
Even as Heero tried to rationalize this, he could feel his confidence slipping away. He found himself caught on what they’d been told. ‘The Game’ might be just a game to them, but to the ‘characters’ it was life. It was real. What they did in the realms could have serious consequences for those they came into contact with. Heero didn’t know whether he had trouble believing that because it was farfetched and he was a natural skeptic, or because he didn’t want to believe it, to believe he’d just killed a boy who would live with the memory of dying even after the realm was reset.’
“I think it’s only the people they spend time with,” Yukimura was saying. “None of our enemies had any memories of it. Although…so much was changed due to their presence that there would have been nearly a hundred people affected. It could depend on where they go.”
Duo wasn’t sure what had caused it, but Heero’s expression was very familiar. The boy was staring at the ground, his face closed off in a tense, almost impersonal look of hostility. It was the same mask Heero had worn throughout most of the war to keep people at a distance. Seeing it again, here, invoked an instinctive reaction to counter his partner’s personality. Duo stepped forward and flashed Itsuki a disarming, and somewhat flighty smile.
“I don’t know why they’re so worried,” said Duo, with a careless shrug. “It’s not like we can answer your questions, anyway. I mean, as far as we’re concerned, this is like an interactive dream, some realistic hallucination. It’s like hooking your brain up to a computer in some Matrix remake. What are we supposed to say? We’re not from some ‘realm’, we’re from the real world, real to us, anyway. As for how we got here, well, that’s pretty much the same question we’re trying to answer ourselves. If we knew how it worked, we wouldn’t be experimenting with it, right? That’s not to say I don’t have my own guesses, but if you don’t get the Matrix reference, my guesses won’t be much good to you.”
Kurama had rounded the moment Duo started speaking. Now he was staring at the long-haired boy with a faintly confused expression. Yukimura smirked and put a placating hand on Kurama’s shoulder. He directed the teen’s attention away from Duo and onto Itsuki. Kurama immediately went from confused and a touch furious to surprised and a tad amused. While Duo’s outburst had made him question the boy’s intelligence, it had clearly left Itsuki disturbed. The green-haired demon looked as if he didn’t know whether to ask for Duo to say that again, or to give up before his mind was affected by the incomprehensible chatter.
Heero had glanced up the moment Duo stepped forward. A part of him wondered if Duo really believed what he was saying. His partner made it a mission never to lie outright, so he could only accept that he really did mean what he was saying. Heero was torn, still swept up in the idea of the game being far too real. Despite that, he couldn’t help but be amused and impressed at how easily Duo had reverted to his old way of handling people. Where his own stoic, stubborn, silence would have made Itsuki even more curious, Duo’s open rambling had the green-haired man leaning subtly away.
“Enough,” Sensui called from the couch. He’s ceased watching them and was once more immersed in the video. “Take your friend back. I’ve no interest in fighting you for someone who is of no use to me.”
Itsuki stepped to the side and flashed Duo a slightly disconcerted look. “Your friend’s there. And for your information, the movie you were talking about – a sequel to the Matrix – won’t exist in this realm for at least twenty more years. They haven’t even made the original yet. As a traveler, you should at least make a note of the time you move through.”
“I guess that would make me irresponsible,” Duo said brightly, as if he wasn’t the least bit curious that Itsuki had actually recognized the movie reference. “Never claimed to be anything else, though. Now…”
The green-haired man looked over his shoulder and Duo caught sight of Wolfwood. The boat was still beneath that portal, but it was empty now. His friend was sitting, bound and scowling at them, by the edge of the water. Duo hurried over with Heero a few feet behind. They didn’t notice that Kurama and Hiei remained rooted in place, their attention once more locked on Sensui. Yukimura took a step in their direction, but didn’t make it any further. The moment Duo crouched beside Wolfwood and placed a hand on the man’s restraints, the surroundings faded out.
They found themselves standing in the pillar room, which was now lit by dark golden flames. Like the ‘Samurai’ portal had, the door they’d exited from now had a golden void within. The silver title printed above it read ‘Demons’, and the ‘Random’ portal was now across the chamber, on the other side of that colored fire. Setsuna smiled at them as she congratulated the completion of their second task.
“You have accumulated enough stars for a 'Light Trip' to the location of your choice,” she said. “You can redeem them now or at a later time.”
The 'Import Queue' appeared before them, with four additions for Kurama, Hiei, Sensui, and Itsuki. There were small silver stars next to the pictures of Yukimura, Saizo, and Sasuke. Duo started to ask about that, but Heero spoke up first.
“These realms,” Heero said to Setsuna. “Are they completely reset after a task has been completed? If a game character dies, will he remember that after the realm has been reset?”
“In this case, yes,” said Setsuna, in a pleasant tone. “The character in this particular realm was fated to die, so that he could be revived at a later time. His experience will serve as a lesson to him and guide the way he lives out the rest of his life. If the death is not set in the original timeline, the individual retains no memory of it. It’s noble of you to care.”
Heero blinked and scowled a little, suddenly aware of the fond smile Duo was giving him, and the doubtful look Wolfwood had turned on him. The former slung an arm over his shoulder, while the latter merely shrugged.
“I have no idea what you’re asking about,” said Wolfwood, “but I don’t like the way that realm went. I didn’t get to do anything but be drooled on by some weird looking monsters, and get poked by that creepy tentacle guy.”
Duo raised an eyebrow at that. “Tentacle guy? Which one was he?”
“The one by the wall,” Wolfwood scowled. He rubbed his arms, as if to rid them of a slimy substance. “He was worse than the monsters. Do you know if you guys had gotten there five minutes later than you did, he was planning to eat me? I mean that literally. There was something really wrong with that guy, like his skin was rubber or something. Next time one of you can play the loner. I don’t do the damsel in distress thing.”
“Yeah,” Duo snorted with a grin, “you don’t have that ‘come save me’ look. The way you were cowering in that boat was pretty realistic, but I bet if you hadn’t been gagged you’d have yelled instead of crying for help.”
“Of course I’d have yelled,” said Wolfwood. “Those monsters were drooling on me. I’m telling you, it was just plain nasty…”
“Can you hear me?” Quatre spoke up, from the band on Wolfwood’s wrist.
Wolfwood jerked in surprise and flashed a weak smile down at the band. “Yeah, now. What happened in there?”
“I don’t know,” said Quatre. “Contact was severed the moment you selected the characters to import.”
Heero glanced over at Setsuna before responding to Quatre. “Our weapons were taken at the same time. The game may have seen the band as a weapon and deactivated it for the duration of that task.”
Setsuna called from the fire, her tone a little amused. “Do you wish to use the available Light Trip?”
Duo glanced at the 'Import Queue' still visible against the golden wall of the room. He’d had an idea when he first saw it, that the stars could be some sort of ‘experience’ points. He turned his attention on Wolfwood’s arm, smiling at the fact that he was looking at the wrist-band the same way he’d have looked a person in the eye when speaking to him.
“You know anything about this 'Light Trip' thing, Quatre?” asked Duo.
“No,” said Quatre, his tone clipped. “Unless it’s a task, I’d recommend leaving it for now.”
“I can explain,” said Setsuna. “The Light Trip is a trip acquired after acquiring a certain number of stars. The characters earn a star by being used to successfully complete a task.”
Duo nodded, thinking that it was just like experience points, as he’d guessed. “But what is this Light Trip?”
Setsuna stared at him for a moment before flashing a playful smile. “It’s a Light Trip.”
Duo face-vaulted, his shoulders slumped dramatically. “You’re so helpful…”
“Thank you,” said Setsuna.
“It’s not a task?” asked Quatre.
Setsuna didn’t so much as glance over at the band from which that voice had come. Her smile widened a hair to show she’d heard the question, but her eyes remained on Duo. After a moment of silence, Duo’s lips twitched and he repeated the question. Setsuna answered him immediately, making it clear that she would not respond to Quatre, probably because he was not a player.
“The Light Trip is not a task,” she told Duo, “it’s a Light Trip.”
Duo couldn’t help but smile. Even if she were programmed to say that, the way she said it was so playful he found himself wanting to laugh. Instead, he nodded solemnly and turned to Heero and Wolfwood.
“Not a task,” Duo shrugged. “Let’s go to the next realm, then. No point getting sidetracked, right?”
Heero nodded sharply and headed for the ‘Random’ portal before Quatre could direct them to it. Wolfwood hesitated a moment, still irritated by his role in the previous task. Duo caught his arm and steered him over to Heero, who actually looked a bit amused by the man’s less than enthusiastic expression. Duo grinned.
“Come on, Wolfwood,” Duo taunted. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I’ll actually get eaten this time…”
Heero’s lips twitched and he was careful not to look at Duo when his partner locked arms between him and Wolfwood. He still didn’t like the man the way Duo did, but he didn’t have that jealous annoyance he’d had before. Having gone through two tasks without Wolfwood intruding made him less inclined to snap or glare. And he had to admit, it was amusing to know his ‘competition’ wasn’t exactly enjoying the game.
.-.
TBC
Minor Anime: Trigun, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairings: 1x2 main
Warnings: shonen ai
Author: Arigatomina
Email: arigatoumina (a) hotmail . com
Website: www . geocities . com / arigatomina
The Game
Part 8: “An unexpected conclusion”
A sound-track crept to them as they advanced down the tunnel, moving silently toward the dim yellow glow. There was the rattling of a semi-automatic machine gun, muffled explosions that might have been mortar fire, drowned death cries echoing faintly off the walls, and the heavy leathery sound of tanks treading through a baked jungle. Duo was immediately reminded of the out-dated war movies he’d seen growing up on the colonies, the sort politicians had recycled daily in colony broadcasts a few years ago, back before they realized the rebels had already decided resistance was worth the inevitable casualties. Those movies had always struck Duo as being stale, too far removed from current technology to have any bearing on his own battles. The mobile suit conflicts Relena later put into the broadcasts were much more striking, something everyone could relate to.
That dim glow strengthened as the tunnel opened into a wide chamber that was filled with heavy air and a faint, unpleasant odor of ancient rot unearthed. A television played quietly a few yards away, the slightly fuzzed screen showing images that might well have been taken from any one of a dozen Vietnam movies. A low, dark, couch sat in front of the set, a black-haired man reclining on it with his long arms stretched out to either side of him, and his back facing them. Over to his right, another man was leaning against the wall. Tall and plain-looking, he had dark hair cropped in a short flat-top.
Water glinted beyond the two strangers, a natural lake of murky waves that lapped the sides of a low brown boat. Wolfwood was leaning back in the craft, his bound hands raised to shield him from the gibbering menace overhead. The air above him had opened in a hazy circular portal, the edges of which rippled and widened gradually. Creatures, some humanoid, most not, were writhing at the edge of the portal, squirming and pushing against each other as they struggled to reach the human below them. Claws swiped and strained but their bodies were held at bay by a shimmering golden fence, that appeared to be made of pure energy.
Duo took a sharp step forward, anger blazing off his face. Heero stopped him by placing a strong hand on his shoulder and shaking his head in warning. The man watching the television had been joined by a third stranger. Even though Heero had been staring right at the couch, he hadn’t seen the new person approach. He might as well have appeared out of thin air. Tall and lithe, he had wavy sea green hair that fell to his shoulders and amused eyes that he turned on them a moment after Duo stopped his advance.
Kurama stepped forward to flank Heero, his dark glare warning that these were dangerous enemies. The warning wasn’t needed. The fact that the black-haired man hadn’t so much as glanced in their direction told Heero they weren’t being considered as threats. They didn’t even have their weapons on them. Besides that, Setsuna hadn’t said anything about fighting after defeating the ‘Game Master.’
“We’re here for our comrade,” said Heero, in a calm and clear voice. “Return him.”
In the boat, Wolfwood jolted a little and flashed a very relieved look at them. If it hadn’t been for the smelly monstrosities salivating on him from that portal overhead, he might have even rolled his eyes at Duo’s apologetic expression. Going off on his own adventure in the last realm had been fun, challenging. Being separated this time was anything but fun, and he hadn’t had a chance to meet any challenge. The moment they’d entered the gate, he’d found himself restrained and helpless, with three very confused adversaries, who kept muttering about some large orange-haired moron he must have replaced. They’d moved him onto the boat just a few minutes ago, after a few suspicious tremors to the floor and walls of the cave.
“The demons are here,” the long-haired man murmured, his tone soft and almost disinterested. “But the others are the same as that one. They don’t belong here.”
“How curious,” the black-haired man returned. He finally turned his head to look over at them. His eyes were dark and rather amused.
“Sensui. Where’s Kuwabara?” Kurama demanded, before Heero could say a word.
“I intended to ask you that very question,” said Sensui. “He was here…and then he was here.” He flicked a hand at the boat. “How did you manage that? And where is Urameshi?”
Duo shot a look at Kurama. “Did they capture one of your friends? Wolfwood must have replaced him, like we did. He’ll be back after we go.”
“We’re here for our comrade,” Heero said again, his eyes narrowing. “Everything will revert to normal after we get him back. We have no issue with you.”
The black-haired man stared at Heero for a moment, as if reading him. Then he tilted his head to look at the green-haired man standing quietly beside the couch. “Itsuki.”
The pale man approached them and Duo sent a quick look at Kurama. He could only assume from the way Kurama and Hiei were staring at Sensui that this ‘Itsuki’ wasn’t an immediate threat. The man stopped a few feet away and looked them over with an openly curious expression. His gaze rested especially long on Sasuke, who was standing back with the other ‘imported’ characters.
Itsuki gave a slow smile and shifted his attention back to Heero, who he took to be the speaker for the group. “What realm do you come from? The four of you are clearly human, but that one…he isn’t even a proper hanyou. I can’t tell what he is. What realm do you come from, and how did you come. Answer that and you can have your comrade. We’ve no use for him, anyway.”
Heero frowned and exchanged a suspicious look with Duo. Kurama, who’d been staring coldly at the silent man across the cave from Sensui, shook his head and turned to Yukimura.
“When things revert,” said Kurama, “does everyone who comes into contact with them remember it?”
Heero realized the problem immediately. If they were to tell Kurama’s enemies about the game, it could be used against him later, providing his enemies retained the same double-memory Yukimura had warned of. But Heero didn’t see how knowing about the game could be used as a weapon. The only possible drawback he could think of was that the information could affect future tasks in this particular realm. If that were the case, then the game had probably prompted Kurama to stop them from answering Itsuki’s questions. It would be prudent to have that sort of fail-safe, and it tied in with what Duo had said about ‘characters’ being limited to a predetermined script
Even as Heero tried to rationalize this, he could feel his confidence slipping away. He found himself caught on what they’d been told. ‘The Game’ might be just a game to them, but to the ‘characters’ it was life. It was real. What they did in the realms could have serious consequences for those they came into contact with. Heero didn’t know whether he had trouble believing that because it was farfetched and he was a natural skeptic, or because he didn’t want to believe it, to believe he’d just killed a boy who would live with the memory of dying even after the realm was reset.’
“I think it’s only the people they spend time with,” Yukimura was saying. “None of our enemies had any memories of it. Although…so much was changed due to their presence that there would have been nearly a hundred people affected. It could depend on where they go.”
Duo wasn’t sure what had caused it, but Heero’s expression was very familiar. The boy was staring at the ground, his face closed off in a tense, almost impersonal look of hostility. It was the same mask Heero had worn throughout most of the war to keep people at a distance. Seeing it again, here, invoked an instinctive reaction to counter his partner’s personality. Duo stepped forward and flashed Itsuki a disarming, and somewhat flighty smile.
“I don’t know why they’re so worried,” said Duo, with a careless shrug. “It’s not like we can answer your questions, anyway. I mean, as far as we’re concerned, this is like an interactive dream, some realistic hallucination. It’s like hooking your brain up to a computer in some Matrix remake. What are we supposed to say? We’re not from some ‘realm’, we’re from the real world, real to us, anyway. As for how we got here, well, that’s pretty much the same question we’re trying to answer ourselves. If we knew how it worked, we wouldn’t be experimenting with it, right? That’s not to say I don’t have my own guesses, but if you don’t get the Matrix reference, my guesses won’t be much good to you.”
Kurama had rounded the moment Duo started speaking. Now he was staring at the long-haired boy with a faintly confused expression. Yukimura smirked and put a placating hand on Kurama’s shoulder. He directed the teen’s attention away from Duo and onto Itsuki. Kurama immediately went from confused and a touch furious to surprised and a tad amused. While Duo’s outburst had made him question the boy’s intelligence, it had clearly left Itsuki disturbed. The green-haired demon looked as if he didn’t know whether to ask for Duo to say that again, or to give up before his mind was affected by the incomprehensible chatter.
Heero had glanced up the moment Duo stepped forward. A part of him wondered if Duo really believed what he was saying. His partner made it a mission never to lie outright, so he could only accept that he really did mean what he was saying. Heero was torn, still swept up in the idea of the game being far too real. Despite that, he couldn’t help but be amused and impressed at how easily Duo had reverted to his old way of handling people. Where his own stoic, stubborn, silence would have made Itsuki even more curious, Duo’s open rambling had the green-haired man leaning subtly away.
“Enough,” Sensui called from the couch. He’s ceased watching them and was once more immersed in the video. “Take your friend back. I’ve no interest in fighting you for someone who is of no use to me.”
Itsuki stepped to the side and flashed Duo a slightly disconcerted look. “Your friend’s there. And for your information, the movie you were talking about – a sequel to the Matrix – won’t exist in this realm for at least twenty more years. They haven’t even made the original yet. As a traveler, you should at least make a note of the time you move through.”
“I guess that would make me irresponsible,” Duo said brightly, as if he wasn’t the least bit curious that Itsuki had actually recognized the movie reference. “Never claimed to be anything else, though. Now…”
The green-haired man looked over his shoulder and Duo caught sight of Wolfwood. The boat was still beneath that portal, but it was empty now. His friend was sitting, bound and scowling at them, by the edge of the water. Duo hurried over with Heero a few feet behind. They didn’t notice that Kurama and Hiei remained rooted in place, their attention once more locked on Sensui. Yukimura took a step in their direction, but didn’t make it any further. The moment Duo crouched beside Wolfwood and placed a hand on the man’s restraints, the surroundings faded out.
They found themselves standing in the pillar room, which was now lit by dark golden flames. Like the ‘Samurai’ portal had, the door they’d exited from now had a golden void within. The silver title printed above it read ‘Demons’, and the ‘Random’ portal was now across the chamber, on the other side of that colored fire. Setsuna smiled at them as she congratulated the completion of their second task.
“You have accumulated enough stars for a 'Light Trip' to the location of your choice,” she said. “You can redeem them now or at a later time.”
The 'Import Queue' appeared before them, with four additions for Kurama, Hiei, Sensui, and Itsuki. There were small silver stars next to the pictures of Yukimura, Saizo, and Sasuke. Duo started to ask about that, but Heero spoke up first.
“These realms,” Heero said to Setsuna. “Are they completely reset after a task has been completed? If a game character dies, will he remember that after the realm has been reset?”
“In this case, yes,” said Setsuna, in a pleasant tone. “The character in this particular realm was fated to die, so that he could be revived at a later time. His experience will serve as a lesson to him and guide the way he lives out the rest of his life. If the death is not set in the original timeline, the individual retains no memory of it. It’s noble of you to care.”
Heero blinked and scowled a little, suddenly aware of the fond smile Duo was giving him, and the doubtful look Wolfwood had turned on him. The former slung an arm over his shoulder, while the latter merely shrugged.
“I have no idea what you’re asking about,” said Wolfwood, “but I don’t like the way that realm went. I didn’t get to do anything but be drooled on by some weird looking monsters, and get poked by that creepy tentacle guy.”
Duo raised an eyebrow at that. “Tentacle guy? Which one was he?”
“The one by the wall,” Wolfwood scowled. He rubbed his arms, as if to rid them of a slimy substance. “He was worse than the monsters. Do you know if you guys had gotten there five minutes later than you did, he was planning to eat me? I mean that literally. There was something really wrong with that guy, like his skin was rubber or something. Next time one of you can play the loner. I don’t do the damsel in distress thing.”
“Yeah,” Duo snorted with a grin, “you don’t have that ‘come save me’ look. The way you were cowering in that boat was pretty realistic, but I bet if you hadn’t been gagged you’d have yelled instead of crying for help.”
“Of course I’d have yelled,” said Wolfwood. “Those monsters were drooling on me. I’m telling you, it was just plain nasty…”
“Can you hear me?” Quatre spoke up, from the band on Wolfwood’s wrist.
Wolfwood jerked in surprise and flashed a weak smile down at the band. “Yeah, now. What happened in there?”
“I don’t know,” said Quatre. “Contact was severed the moment you selected the characters to import.”
Heero glanced over at Setsuna before responding to Quatre. “Our weapons were taken at the same time. The game may have seen the band as a weapon and deactivated it for the duration of that task.”
Setsuna called from the fire, her tone a little amused. “Do you wish to use the available Light Trip?”
Duo glanced at the 'Import Queue' still visible against the golden wall of the room. He’d had an idea when he first saw it, that the stars could be some sort of ‘experience’ points. He turned his attention on Wolfwood’s arm, smiling at the fact that he was looking at the wrist-band the same way he’d have looked a person in the eye when speaking to him.
“You know anything about this 'Light Trip' thing, Quatre?” asked Duo.
“No,” said Quatre, his tone clipped. “Unless it’s a task, I’d recommend leaving it for now.”
“I can explain,” said Setsuna. “The Light Trip is a trip acquired after acquiring a certain number of stars. The characters earn a star by being used to successfully complete a task.”
Duo nodded, thinking that it was just like experience points, as he’d guessed. “But what is this Light Trip?”
Setsuna stared at him for a moment before flashing a playful smile. “It’s a Light Trip.”
Duo face-vaulted, his shoulders slumped dramatically. “You’re so helpful…”
“Thank you,” said Setsuna.
“It’s not a task?” asked Quatre.
Setsuna didn’t so much as glance over at the band from which that voice had come. Her smile widened a hair to show she’d heard the question, but her eyes remained on Duo. After a moment of silence, Duo’s lips twitched and he repeated the question. Setsuna answered him immediately, making it clear that she would not respond to Quatre, probably because he was not a player.
“The Light Trip is not a task,” she told Duo, “it’s a Light Trip.”
Duo couldn’t help but smile. Even if she were programmed to say that, the way she said it was so playful he found himself wanting to laugh. Instead, he nodded solemnly and turned to Heero and Wolfwood.
“Not a task,” Duo shrugged. “Let’s go to the next realm, then. No point getting sidetracked, right?”
Heero nodded sharply and headed for the ‘Random’ portal before Quatre could direct them to it. Wolfwood hesitated a moment, still irritated by his role in the previous task. Duo caught his arm and steered him over to Heero, who actually looked a bit amused by the man’s less than enthusiastic expression. Duo grinned.
“Come on, Wolfwood,” Duo taunted. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I’ll actually get eaten this time…”
Heero’s lips twitched and he was careful not to look at Duo when his partner locked arms between him and Wolfwood. He still didn’t like the man the way Duo did, but he didn’t have that jealous annoyance he’d had before. Having gone through two tasks without Wolfwood intruding made him less inclined to snap or glare. And he had to admit, it was amusing to know his ‘competition’ wasn’t exactly enjoying the game.
.-.
TBC