Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Shade Darker ❯ Chapter 10

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.

Author's Notes: Thanks to Poka Dot, who's fan art is really cool. Thanks and I love your stuff. To Katrina and Marce, the best friend that a hyper writer like me could have. To Sarah (Trio), Misty, and Sam, you three have really hung in there for me. To everyone who's read and reviewed. Thank you, you guys are the ones who keep me inspired. And to Shinny-Chan, who's MSTs crack me up.

A Shade Darker Part 10

Duo wasn't fond of Black Magic. In fact, it pissed him off. At least a vampire or a werewolf he could take on toe-to-toe, with some hard ware, but magic, that mystical shit, was something beyond him. That's one of the reasons he had made Aurora come with them. If she had any training what so ever, then she had an upper hand over both him and Heero.

She understood theories, the blood circle had proved that, and who knew what else she knew. Duo had used physics, healers, Elemental Powers, and White Magic a time or two, but that was in the case of Black Magic and when he could piss off Father Kincad. Besides, most magic users were female. Magic was an emotional type of thing and women could handle it better than men. Duo hated his empathic abilities and had worked hard to build walls to shield himself from the emotions of all the people around him.

Now, he was being drug, magically of all things, to, a vampire, not just any vampire, the Ghoul Queen's lair. Heero's back was against his and Aurora was pressed to them at the side in a strange triangle almost. All of their hands were bound above their heads in the spell as Kelly, no, Faye, drug them to God only knew here.

He had a spell casted on him. She was in his head, fucking his mind. If Aurora hadn't of been there . . . Hell, he didn't want to know what she could have done to him at that moment. But, that brought up another problem. Aurora.

They had been tied together for that moment when she had shed her blood. They were sorta bonded then. He had felt her power and she had sensed him. All he could think about after he had woken from the trance was how badly he wanted her. He also felt that she wanted him too.

That was just peachy. Now, if they could only get out of this mess and they could have a whole couple thing set up. First, they would have to save their asses.

******

Minerva glared at the witch as she layed out her Tarot deck. Noin sat patently as Minerva was propped up against the wall. She wasn't hungry now, but her mind was still spinning from the poison that Dorothy had used. Well, a potion anyway.

Dorothy tossed back her shimmering, pale hair as she layed the first card down. Minerva looked at it. It was a drawing of the Grim Reaper. She said, "Change, right?" She knew some of what the cards meant, and that was the Death card. Death meant change. Death itself wasn't exactly evil or good. It was neutral, it was the force that brought on Death that was a whole other story. It was both an ending and a beginning, a change in its purest form.

Dorothy shook her head and said, "Not this time, it means a person."

"Who?" Noin asked, starting at the card.

Dorothy's hand fluttered over the card and her pale violet eyes shut for a moment. She opened them and looked directly at Minerva. Minerva glared as Dorothy answered, "The God of Death."

Minerva's expression wavered. The Called One, Duo Maxwell's name among the underworld was the God of Death. Everyone that was around the boy eventually died of the Maxwell's Church Massacre to whoever he went up against in his Gundam. He was also sort of a wild card as well. He had shunned the Church a couple of times, as well as leaving to be a Gundam pilot.

'So, we find Duo Maxwell?" Noin asked.

Dorothy turned up another card. This one was of the Hangman. The Loner. Noin asked, "Is this one a person as well?"

Dorothy nodded. Minerva walked over to the table in a few, quick strides. She asked, "Who?"

Noin's dark violet eyes narrowed as she answered, "Heero Yuy. Why are they all involved?"

Dorothy shrugged and answered, "I'm not sure Miss Noin, but I'm not done yet with the reading." She turned over two more cards. The Virgin and the Lovers. She placed them beside the Death card. She tapped on them and said, "Death needs to take innocence."

Minerva grinned slightly as she knew what that meant. Noin looked at her in question. She answered, "Maxwell needs to sleep with a girl that's a virgin."

"Why?" Noin asked.

Dorothy pulled up the Queen of Swords and the Queen of Cups. She said, "To disrupt a dark pattern and ruin the Dark Queen's plans."

"Lilith," Minerva breathed, just a little afraid. She knew Lilith's plan now. Any vampire who had been schooled properly would know that one. The Cycle of Darkness was almost ended. Lilith was going to bring about the end of the human world. To protect all the other vampires and dark forces, she was going to offer a virgin necromancer to one of Hell's demons.

The thing of it was that a virgin, natural born necromancer was damn near impossible to find. Most necromancers lost their innocence as soon as they could to save themselves from this sort of thing. If what Dorothy's reading was true, then Duo Maxwell had already met the chick and there was something happening.

Dorothy said, "I'm not done yet. There is a focal point for all of this." She turned down the King of Swords. She tapped on it and said, "Treize Kushrenada."

Noin looked at Minerva and asked, "I thought he died."

Minerva chuckled. It had been a while since she had seen Treize. Treize and Forest were comrades and ex-lovers. Treize had been one of her greatest teachers. Besides, he was cool. She said, "Treize is a vampire. He use to be a prince before he was changed. He's really old."

"How old?" Noin asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Minerva smiled as she answered, "He was sired around 900 AD."

Noin's mouth dropped open. Minerva said, "Witch, thanks for the info." She knew exactly where they had to go now. She lifted Noin up and ushered her out of the boarding house.

******

Quinn walked strait into Forest Anderson's office building. One of her vampires came at her. He walked past him. The vampire shouted, "Hey, dude, you can't go there! Forest is gonna be pissed!" Quinn slammed his fist into the vampire's face without breaking stride.

He calmly replied, "I can." He could sense the dark magic that had just suddenly faired here. Someone had cast a few dark spells very recently. He had a feeling that it had something to do with his son and Duo Maxwell. He got on the elevator, with Forest's witches and vampires watching him, not trying to stop him.

He hit the button to the penthouse floor and calmly waited as the elevator lurched to life. In a few moments, the elevator stopped and the silvery doors opened. Quinn walked out and walked down the hall to the office with the ornate black marble doors with the gleaming steel doors. He threw open the doors to see Forest Anderson sitting at her desk, typing at her computer.

She looked up at him with her huge, dark indigo eyes. She stood up, her golden hair swaying gracefully around her lovely body. He looked at the portrait of his long dead son, Liam. Liam's sad, brooding eyes caught his from the end of the room. Another regret in Quinn's long history. Her eyes narrowed in anger.

She asked, "What the hell do you want, Quinn?"

"I want my son," Quinn simply answered.

Forest's laugh was bitter as she replied, "Sorry, Quinn, but he's been dead for quite a while now. But you really didn't do anything to stop it." Her look turned preditory as her eyes glinted with a dark light. She said, "The price on your head is high enough for me to kill you myself. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

"I want to see Heero Yuy," Quinn told her, sweeping over to the desk in one fluid motion. Forest took a stance, but Quinn was ready for her. He grabbed her and held her. He shook her and said, "I'm going to do something right for once in my life."

Forest laughed bitterly, her indigo eyes flashing as she said, "Oh, Quinn, Quinn, Quinn. Your guilt getting up on you? Why don't you just take a nice walk through the sunshine? I'd enjoy that. You wouldn't save Liam, but you're gonna save Heero. That's damn stupid logic."

Quinn flinched and looked strait into his dead son's eyes. He looked back at Forest and said, "You know of everything that goes on here."

Forest smiled and said, "I gave Duo Maxwell the information to beat Lilith and Heero Yuy is with him."

"I need weapons," Quinn told her as he dropped her. She landed gracefully and slapped him, hard. Quinn flinched and looked her back in the eyes. She had loved his son with every fiber of her being. She still loved him despite all the years he had been dead. Quinn had loved many women in his years, but he could always find someone else. Forest hadn't. Liam was her one and only, and for that, he pitted her.

Forest snorted and said, "Fine. I'll set you up. I hope Duo Maxwell kills you on sight."

Quinn let a brief grin light up his features. He said, "That would be an interesting means to an end."

******

Heero, Duo, and Aurora were drug into some old factory. The logo Dievo Paint, with the P crossed out with black spray paint, was still visible after all these years. Heero asked, "Where are we?"

Illiana looked at him with her huge, violet eyes in her child face. It made Heero sick to look at her. She smiled as she walked over to him, one of the ghouls following her like a puppy would a child. She reached out and petted it before she turned back to Heero. Heero swallowed in revolution as she looked at him.

She walked over to him and pressed her face on his chest. His skin crawled under his tank top as she breathed him in. He wanted to kill her with a hot hatred that was almost touchable. She wrapped her arms around his waist in an adoring hug. She looked up at him, still holding him.

She looked up at him with those unholy violet eyes. Duo said, "Hey, little freak, get the fuck off of him."

Illiana looked at Faye and said, "Do something with him, he's bothering me." She sounded upset, like a little child about to cry for her mother. Heero shivered in revolution as Faye walked around to Duo.

She cradled Duo's face in her slender hands. Duo grunted as he tried to jerk away from Faye. She chuckled as she held him tightly in her talon like fingers and pressed her forehead against his. Heero twisted in the unseen manicals that held him all. If he could get to his gun or his sword . . . He could save them all.

Duo squeezed his eyes shut and Faye told him, "Look at me, young God of Death. Look at me."

"Leave him alone!" Aurora screamed as she wiggled hard against both pilots.

Illiana let go of Heero and walked over to the girl. Aurora stared the girl down and said, "I could do things to you that you wouldn't dream of. I could control you and . . ."

Faye reached out and slapped her. Duo's eyes snapped open as he hissed, "Don't do that to her."

Heero only watched as they were brought deeper into the factory. Saying anything would be useless. Now was the time for him to watch and form a plan. Faye chuckled as she looked Duo in the eyes.

Duo's eyes widened in fear. Heero could feel his friend's heartbeat pick up as Duo writhed in fear and pain. Duo shouted, "No! I didn't mean too! I didn't! Please, stop it!"

"What are you doing to him?" Heero asked her in his monotone. Keep himself as distant as he could. He had to stay cool, keep his head. Faye was doing something to Duo that he couldn't fight against.

Illiana reached up and stroked Heero's cheek with her cold hand. Heero couldn't help it, he jerked away and gave the girl his Death Glare. She chuckled and said in her girlish voice, "Come on, Heero, play with me."

Heero looked over at Duo. He was frozen. Faye had stepped away from him, smiling. Heero asked, "What did you do to him?"

Aurora asked, "A mind lock spell, isn't it?"

Faye chuckled and reached out and touched Aurora's cheek. Aurora's eyes flashed silver as she looked at Faye. Faye's eyes widened in horror and jerked back, holding her hand. She asked, "What the hell did you to do me, bitch?"

Aurora said nothing. She just hung there, her eyes glowing with that uncanny silver light. Heero looked over at Duo. His eyes were wide with terror, unseeing. Fine tremors were running through the other pilot's body as he hung there.

Faye snapped, "What the hell did you fucking do to me, you little bitch?" Aurora said nothing, she only looked at the witch with her glowing silver eyes. Faye reached out and slapped her. Aurora's head snapped back, blood formed at her mouth, but she looked back at Faye with that same silver stare.

"Fine," Faye snapped, whipping her hand. Aurora was flung into a wall, where shackles where already waiting. They attached themselves to the girl's wrist as she just stared at Faye. Faye walked over to the girl, grabbed her face and hissed, "You think you're so tough, little necromancer. Well, I'm going to be there when Baltor rips you apart. He's gonna fuck you little girl, and there's nothing you can do about it. And its gonna hurt more than you can imagine."

"Try me," Heero said, breaking the witch's babble. Illiana looked up at him with her wide eyes and backed up. She sat down on the ground, pulling her knees under her pointed chin.

She asked, "What do you mean, Heero?"

"Death hurts like hell," Heero told her in his monotone.

"Yeah, it did," Illiana said in her childish, singsong voice.

Faye slapped Aurora once more. Aurora said nothing, only continued to look at the witch with her glowing eyes. The ghouls were backing away from the girl. Faye said, "You stop whatever the hell you're doing, or I'll turn your little God of Death's mind into mush."

Heero looked over at Aurora. Duo was still frozen in terror. Faye walked over to Duo, laying her head on his chest. She said, "There's a lot of pain here. I'm surprised that he hasn't gone suicidal yet."

"No," Aurora whispered as her eyes stoped glowing.

The ghouls started to move around again, one of them laying beside Illiana. Illiana reached out and petted the ghoul. The ghoul rubbed into her hand with a contented whine. Heero looked at them, sickened, but trying to form a plan though.

******

The little boy stood there, amidst the pain of death. People were dropping like flies. Blood bubbled from their eyes, noses, mouths, ears, or another place that they could bleed. Their flesh was covered with thick yellow pustules as they fought for their life. The little boy was fine, hungry, but fine.

Physically at least.

He looked around, wide-eyed. He was afraid. Everyone around him was dying. "Key," a horse voice whispered to him. He turned around to see a boy with golden hair and eyes looking up at him. He was infected too.

"Solo, I'm scared," the little boy known as Key said as he sat down by the older boy. Solo reached up and pushed strands of chestnut hair out of violet eyes. He smiled brightly, despite his face was covered in pustules and his nose was bleeding.

"You're tough, Key, you know that. Ya know, you can save everybody," Solo told him in a thready voice. Key knew what was going on. Solo was dying.

"How?" Key asked in a small voice.

Solo smiled as he ruffled his hair. He said, "You're a good little thief, Key. You're my Key, ya know. Well, any way, break into the hospital."

"And get the good stuff," Key said, taking his dying friend's hand.

Solo coughed and said, "Good kid. Now, go on, ya little bastard."

"I'll be back, Solo, I will," Key told him as he planted a quick kiss on his dearest friend's forehead. With that, he ran off into the night.

******

Trowa went out into the night. Lilith had just disappeared, but he was planning to find her and kill her. He had a machine gun loaded with silver ammunition across his back and a silver knife tucked into his boot. He had learned that much from Treize. Silver killed almost anything supernatural.

He walked out, quiet as a shadow into the dark. He opened up his senses, finding nothing. Narrowing his eyes, he walked into the street, his senses opened as fully as he was able. There wasn't really anyone out, but, he made no effort to hide the submachine gun strapped on his back.

He was going to fight Lilith the best way he knew how and on his own terms. She had threatened Quatre and was going to end the world. So, it was logical that she must be killed. Besides, it was personal as well. He wanted her dead, so he was going to kill her. Like she killed him only to jerk him back into a life he could not lead.

He walked in the night, his head held high, ready to fight, to strike. He sensed something near the warehouse district. Quatre had Heavyarms stored here. After the war, no one was going to steel their Gundams. No human anyway.

He took the submachine gun off of his back and held it ready. He walked over to the door and pressed his ear up against it. He heard soft scuffling in the room. He heard Hawk's voice say, "Lets trash the Gundam. Quatre Winner's gonna be nothing without it except a pawn in our Queen's dark game."

Trowa bared his fangs in a silent snarl as he backed away from the door. With one kick it shattered off the hinges and crashed to the ground. He walked into the warehouse, the gun ready. Ten pairs of glowing eyes met his in the darkness.

He recognized Hawk's gleaming redhead in the dark. He aimed his gun and asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hawk's golden eyes found his in the darkness. He said, "We've gotta take him alive, guys. Lilith will be majorly pissed if we don't."

"Lilith afraid to come after me herself?" Trowa asked in a quiet tone, seeing if Hawk will give away the vampire queen's plan.

Hawk chuckled and shook his head. He answered, "No way, kid, she had this planned. She had a feeling that you would find us here. So, we bring her back to you."

Trowa just glared at him. He wasn't one for witty banter. His method was dealing with the problem as cleanly and efficiently as possible. He aimed his machine gun and took fire.

The problem with machine guns was that they jerked upward when they were shot because the person didn't have any control over them. Well, with his newfound strength, Trowa had no problem with it.

The silver bullets cut through six of the vampires, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake. The other four were harder. They used Sandrock as a cover, ducking behind the sickles and shield. Hawk was hidden behind Sandrock's head.

Trowa rolled to the ground, taking aim and firing at one vampire who had suddenly exposed herself. With a scream, the girl turned into ash, sifting down on the Gundam's white armor. He balanced himself in a pivot, his right leg extended with his left bent.

Suddenly, gunshots that weren't his own exploded through the silence. It was too late. Trowa felt a burning pain in his hand as blood squirted out of the wound. His sub machine gun clattered to the ground as he cradled his injured hand.

He hissed, his dark green eyes bleeding to red as fangs lengthened in his mouth. He pivoted forward in a graceful arch to reach his gun. Another vampire sprang out from no where, grabbed the gun, and rolled gracefully behind a crate. Trowa briefly noted that the crate had "Winner Enterprises" written on it.

The vampire chuckled as he took aim. Trowa rolled as gunfire was hailed on him. He hissed when his left shoulder was grazed by a bullet, the silver burning into the skin. The vampire laughed louder as he kept firing, failing to notice that Trowa was moving closer to him.

Hawk shouted, "You damn idiot! Fucking watch it!"

The vampire looked up to see Trowa right at his feet, in the crouch. He placed his hands on the ground, swung his legs up and caught the vampire directly under the chin. The vampire began to fall, but Trowa grabbed him and thrust him into the crate. He had the silver knife in his hand from his boot. With a quick thrust, he shoved the knife into the vampire's heart.

The vampire smiled and grabbed Trowa's wrist. Trowa grunted as he began to pivot his body for another kick, but Hawk was down beside them in a moment. He reached out and grabbed Trowa's hair, jerking the boy back with a sharp tug to his scalp.

Hawk gestured to the gunshot wounds and snapped, "You damn fucking idiot, you know how pissed Lilith's gonna be?"

The vampire smiled, flashing fangs. He replied, "He's alive."

"But injured. Listen. You don't know The Queen. I do, she'll castrate you and make you eat your own balls. I've seen her do it before," Hawk told him.

Trowa hissed as he began to twist again. The other two vampires walked over, holding glittering chains in their hands. They began to wrap the chains around his ankles, binding them together. Trowa tugged. He had always been strong, not as strong as Heero who could bend steel bars, but strong. These chains held him powerless.

His wrists were jerked behind his back and bound, then his arms bound to his body. He felt his strength slowly sap from his muscles. He took a breath and looked up at Hawk. He said, "Kill me. I'd rather be dead than with that bitch."

"My sentiments exactly," a familiar voice said as a tall man with long platinum blond hair walked into the room, a sword drawn in his hands.

******

Quinn studied the drops of blood on the carpet. He bent down and wiped them on his fingers. He brought them up to his lips and licked them. Young, female, virgin, and the cold blur of power that was a necromancer. A very powerful, if inexspereneced, necromancer. The feel of magic was still strong in the building.

He walked past the broken glass and ghoul corpses scattered everywhere to where the feeling of magic was the strongest and to flee the pull of the necromancer's energy. He walked into the basement and knew, from being in enough witches' lairs in his long lifetime, that he was in a witch's lair.

There was a book case filled with ancient, leather bound tombs. Shelves filled with different potions and spell ingredients. There was a table with a spell book on it, opened to some page with a black unlit candle beside it. He sniffed the air. The smell of sex was still heavy, and singular. One witch.

He noticed the pentagram drawn on the floor with candles all around it. He walked over to the pentagram and a wave of power passed over the vampire. Quinn froze, shook his head, and proceeded to walk into the circle.

It was evil. He could sense it. And it frightened him. Why would a vampire fear evil? Simple, if he had been a good knight in life. A paladin, and a damn good one from the Church's standpoint as well. Then he had been changed and the lines were blurred. He had found out that he could make others fight the evil of his kind. Dampiers. He only wished that he could have spent more time with them.

That was why he was so eager to meet Heero. Heero had been planed. Serphina, Heero's mother, was a very intelegent person, as well as very caring. Quinn had been fond of her, but he hadn't loved her. He wanted a Dampier to help stop the End of the Cycle of Darkness with her and his traits. Zechs wasn't. Quinn actually loved Zechs mother with her long, pale platinum hair and wide, electric blue eyes.

And Zechs went rogue. Quinn wanted to make sure that Heero didn't and to kill the girl if he had to. First, he had to find where Illiana had taken them.

He looked at the spell. It was a mental torture spell. The witch would bring back painful memories for the poor person to relive over and over again like some private Hell. From what he knew about Duo Maxwell that Hell was going to be a long time.

He read over the spell. The witch had obviously sold her soul to some demon to been able to preform it. He hissed. There was nothing worse than that sort of witch because they were almost godlike in their powers. Such as the Golden Witch, Jason, who could shoot fireballs at a person and laugh at you without blinking. He read that the only way to stop the spell was for the witch to stop it personally, or for the witch to die. He planned to kill that witch.

He walked out of the basement. The trail of blood that the young necromancer left was actually helpful. He could find them. He would find them, even if it killed him.

******

Trowa watched as Zechs walked into the room, with the sword naked in his hands. It was like a katana except that the blade was strait, not curved. He was surprised to see the former soldier alive and apparently well as he walked into the room.

Hawk hissed, "Oh, shit." With that, he began to run out of the room. Trowa only looked up at him, feeling weak and not able to move because of the silver. The other three vampires, including the one that Trowa had stabbed, rushed Zechs. The first two didn't even have a chance.

Zechs moved swiftly, like water, and with one clean stroke, chopped off their heads, sending them to their deaths in a puff of ash. The last vampire drew back, watching Zechs thoughtfully. He smiled as he launched a roundhouse kick to Zechs' hands, trying to disarm him.

Zechs ducked and swung the blade, but the vampire was fast as he ducked, avoiding the decapitating blow. The vampire flipped up, catching Zechs in the chin, causing him to stumble back, but not fall.

Trowa struggled in the silver, as the metal began to burn into his flesh. Zechs took the sword and thrust strait into the vampire's heart as he fell. The vampire hissed in pain but didn't die. He thrust the sword up then to the side, taking the vampire's head. Trowa watched as it disintegrated into ash.

Then Zechs walked over to Trowa, breathing lightly. Trowa blinked and tried to focus on the pilot, but could not. He may have been hallucinating, but Trowa swore that Zechs had fangs. Zechs angled the sword against Trowa's neck.

Trowa hissed as the metal kicked his skin and made it burn like someone had just poured acid on it. Zechs studied him and asked, "Trowa Barton?"

Trowa looked up at him, the image of platinum blond hair blurring in his vision as well as icy blue eyes. He answered, "Go ahead and kill me Zechs."

"Don't, Milliardo," Trieze's voice came from the entrance.

******

Duo's tortured screams echoed the abandoned factory. Heero looked over to see Faye standing in front of Duo with a cattish smile on his face. He looked over at the necromancer. Aurora's silver eyes were alight with anger and hate. She shifted in her chains. Heero tugged on them.

He had been trying to break them for an hour. They weren't steel or he would have broken them by now. He looked down at Illiana who was petting a ghoul, watching him with her endless violet eyes. She looked up at him from under a fall of silver hair.

He asked her, "What are these chains made of?"

"Gundainum," Illiana said in her sing song voice as she stood up, shaking her hair from her face.

"You're well prepared," Heero told her in his empty tone.

Illiana grinned, as if that pleased her. She said, "Thank you." She leaned up to him, placing one of her icy hands on his chest. His skin shuttered under the dark-green tank top, but none of his repulsion showed up on his face.

She said, in a quicaly innocent tone, "You're afraid of me. You don't like me. Why?"

Heero just looked down at her. Through the mass of ghouls he could feel the presence of someone familiar to him. Someone with a lot of power that he had met and left an impression. Aurora froze, probably sensing the same thing too. She started to rattle harder in her chains.

Heero watched as the brown haired French vampire made his way through the ghouls. His face had distaste etched into the angelic features. He said, "Ma Chere, why must you deal with all of these filthy creatures?"

Illiana looked at Heero wistfully for a moment before she sighed and turned around. She placed her hands on her small waist and said, "Hello Damon. How are you?"

Damon ignored her and walked right up to Aurora. He answered, "I'm here for Lilith, and I'm checking the girl."

"She hasn't been with them that long," Illiana protested as Damon placed a hand on each side of Aurora. The tiny, elfin blond gave a tiny cry as he peered into her wide eyes.

Damon told her, "One only needs a few moments to loose their innocence, Ghoul Queen. But I guess that you never felt that, did you ma chere?"

Illiana hissed and faced Heero with angry violet eyes. She said, "Do whatever you wish to the little bitch. I don't care." She didn't sound like the precious child that she had played. Now she sounded like a scorned woman. Heero almost felt sorry for her, but that was deadly, so any feelings he would have had for her froze up into nothing.

Damon bent his knees so he was eye level with Aurora. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at him. Heero shifted uselessly in the Gundanium chains again.

******

Aurora was frozen like a rabbit under Damon's glance. He was the Seducer. Any girl he wanted, he had. He had tried with her, but her necromancy powers automatically told him what he was and what he could do. His brown eyes glinted with tiny gold flames as he looked her over.

He whispered, "So, ma petite, are you still whole?"

"Go to Hell," Aurora spat as he smirked at her. He placed his hands at her hips. Her skin crawled and she looked away. He ran his face down her body, sniffing as he did. When she opened her eyes again, the tip of his head was at her waist. He inhaled deeply with a smile.

He rose up with a smirk on his perfect features. He leaned into her and whispered, "So, still intact, ma petite?"

She hissed at him, "You were close enough to find out."

His laughter was rich and lilting. It crept along Aurora's spine like prickles of ice. He whispered to her, "You could have saved yourself if you just said yes."

"No," she hissed, "I'm not fucking a damn corpse." She looked over at Duo. He had stopped screaming now and was just starting blankly with his violet eyes. She could feel the hum of Faye's spell around her, as well as the ghouls around her. She scraped her hand against her chains.

Illiana leaned against Heero, looking at them. She said, "Someone you couldn't charm, Damon?"

Damon pulled away and Aurora took a deep breath. Her pounding heart calmed down a little. She looked over at Duo, scraping her injured hand to make it bleed. She felt the sharp pain of the metal as it scraped on her wounded flesh. She concentrated on it, building her power up.

Faye walked over and slapped her. The blow was fresh and stinging. She glared at the witch as Faye walked back from her, by her project again. She reached out and lightly stroked Duo's gamine features. Aurora gritted her teeth. That bitch was touching Duo, hurting him.

She hissed, "Get the hell away from him."

"Little Necromancer, there is nothing you can do," Damon stated.

Illiana rocked on her heels, her finger lightly tracing Heero's features. She said, "You're trapped, like a bug in a jar."

Faye laughed, "Both of you are helpless while I'm turning the God of Death's mind into mush!"

Then, the ghouls started to scream.

******

Heero looked around as the ghouls started to wail, a high pitched, hopeless sound. A bright, orange light filled the corridor as the ghouls' cries grew louder and more desperate. Heero recognized the smell of burning flesh. There was another flash, but actual yellow, red, and orange flames accompanied it as ghouls stumbled around, caught on fire. They burst into ashes immediately.

A figure stepped into the light.

Heero froze, his eyes wide.

It was an older version of him. Same unruly dark brown hair, same dark, intense blue eyes, same emotionless expression, same slender, wiry, toned build, and the same grace and power that Heero carried with him. Just around ten years older than him and dressed in black jeans, a black turtleneck, and a flame thrower strapped on his back.

"Quinn," Damon hissed.

The one called Quinn ignored him and moved in one swift motion to where Heero was chained. Heero looked up at the older version of him, this vampire, he could sense that now, and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving you," he replied in Heero's monotone. Heero felt a rush of cold power as the chains fell off of his wrist, unharmed, just unlocked. A pistol was placed in his hands by Quinn. Quinn said only one word, "Silver."

Heero nodded as he kept the gun pointed as he walked to where Duo was chained. The Deathscythe pilot had passed out, his head loling limply as he hung from the manicals. "No!" Illiana shouted as she rushed at him.

Heero calmly aimed his gun and fired two rounds into Illiana's heart. She stumbled back. He expected her to explode into ash. She looked up at him and hissed, "That hurt, mortal!" Quinn stepped in front of him and sprayed more fire at the witch and two vampires.

Damon sneered, "Damn you, you're dead."

Quinn looked him in the eye and replied, "Yeah, so are you."

"No, I still have a while yet," Damon spat as he ran down the corridor.

Heero ignored that while he worked on Duo's manicals. The braided boy slumped to the ground. Heero caught him, noticing the pale color of his face. Faye shouted, "Stop, or I'll kill him or make him not worth keeping alive."

Quinn swooped, actually swooped, behind Faye. He wrapped his arms around her and tilted her head back. Heero saw fangs lengthen from a mouth that was startlingly enough like his and those dark blue eyes bleed to a rich crimson. Then, suddenly, Quinn thrust his fangs into her neck.

Illiana screamed, "No! Faye!"

Duo's eyes opened up, their violet depths clear, but not sparkling with the life that was Duo Maxwell. That inane cheerfulness and spirit, that spark of life, that always shown in Duo's eyes was gone. It was replaced by a weary cynism. He stood to his full height and said, "Aurora, we've gotta get her down."

Faye's body crumbled to the ground as Duo reached Aurora's shackles and picked the locks. She stood on the ground and wrapped her arms around Duo to steady herself. Heero watched as they looked into each other's eyes for a moment, saying nothing, just looking. Finally, Heero snapped, "Come on, lets get out of here."

Aurora looked at the ghouls and whispered, "They'll stop us."

"You're not gonna leave here!" Illiana screamed. Heero felt a rush of cold power build then crash among them like a tidal wave. Aurora was knocked to the wall, Duo was slammed into the ground, and Heero stumbled back, sliding on the damp pavement that still smelled like paint chemicals. She stood over them. Her eyes glowing a demonic red in her tiny face and her fangs bared in a savage hiss.

Quinn strode up with his flame thrower and shot a blast at the tiny vampire. Heero covered his eyes at the bright blaze as Duo shielded Aurora from the fire. As Heero looked again, Quinn was jerking Duo up. Heero stood up on his own power. Duo snapped back, holding his cross out in front of him.

He said, "I don't know who the hell you are, pally, but you just don't come in and start fires."

Quinn looked Aurora over. She had a cross out as well, the same one she stabbed the werewolf with. Quinn was looking away from the crosses as he said, "We need to get the hell out of here. Now."

Heero noticed Illiana, burned and charred, her flesh an ugly shade of red with black charred spots, standing up, some of her ghouls behind her. Duo sneered, "Dammit." He grabbed Aurora's hand as Quinn began to run. The two pilots managed to keep up with the vampire while Aurora was being drug by Duo.

******

Duo looked at the vampire as he ran, dragging Aurora along with him. The girl looked about ready to drop. Her skin was paler than before and her eyes had lost some of their luster and had a glassy appearance to them.

He could bearly think at all. Everything had been turned upside down for him. He was going to die. He knew that, but was the human race worth dying for? He was only 16, too young to die. He hadn't lived yet. Everything died or left him alone.

He was the God of Death. Everything he touched withered and died, and he was about to die himself. He was the Reaper of Souls, lost or given freely. Was he any better than the vampires he fought?

Then he looked at the vampire who had saved him from the Hell that Faye was putting him through. Quinn, the leader of the Holy Blood Crisis, father of Liam O'Rourke, the most powerful Called ever seen. And he looked like an older version of Heero Yuy.

Same unruly dark hair, same fathomless, intense, dark blue eyes, same emotionless expression, and same cold, emotionless monotone. They moved the same way. They fought with that same recklessness that he had come to know in his friend.

Duo looked around. They were out of the factory. Aurora was gasping for air. Their SUV was parked and waiting for them. Quinn said, "Get in."

They did.

******

Damon made it out of the inferno and had his communicator out. He punched in a number and waited. On the screen an image of a sharp featured man in his late twenties showed up. He was handsome with dark red hair and icy silvery-blue eyes.

He was one of the most dangerous vampires that ever lived. He was known as the Hunter. He fought and killed things that were a threat to the vampiric community. His name was Joshua Hunters, apt for him, Damon had always thought.

Hunters spoke in a quiet, cultured voice with a hint of a British accent. He said, "Can I help you?"

"I found Quinn," Damon told him.

Hunters' eyes sparked for a moment before returning to their emotionless mask. He asked, "Where?"

"Louisville, you can catch him. I have a feeling that he spoke with Anderson," Damon told him as he got into his sports car.

Hunters said, "Forest and I have an understanding. We don't hunt each other."

Damon sighed. It would be so much easier if Forest Anderson and Quinn were dead. Still, Hunters knew what he was doing. He had killed eleven Dampiers and thirty Called in his time. Hunters was what his name suggested, a born hunter and killer. Except that he had a list of rules that he would not break. Damon thought it was his downfall.

Damon asked, "What about Quinn?"

Hunters smiled briefly as he answered, "He will be dealt with." With that, the communication shut down.

Now, Damon just had to talk to Lilith. He prayed that she didn't kill him.

******

Quinn stopped the SUV. Duo knew who he was, but wondered why the hell he was helping. They all got out of the SUV. Quinn had brought them to some hotel. One that Duo had never heard of before.

Quinn opened the back door and started to unload their gear. Duo picked up a bag as Heero watched him. Heero asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Quinn, Odin," Quinn said in a soft tone.

Odin, who the hell is Odin, other than Thor's father? Duo wondered as Heero's eyes widened in surprise. Odin, Heero's Odin. Well, if my name was Odin, I'd keep Heero as my name too, Duo thought as he watched Heero.

Heero sneered, "No one knows my real name except for Dr. J and my mother, who's dead."

"Serphina," Quinn said as he picked up a couple of bags.

"How do you know her name?" Heero hissed at him, moving closer.

Quinn faced him. Heero stared into the eyes that were identical to his. Duo thought it was a bit creepy. Then, suddenly, Heero, using all of his strength from what Duo could tell, reached out and punched Quinn.

To Be Continued!