Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Strange Fellowship ❯ Part two ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

This is a story from Duo's POV. Duo is a Kitco - a race of cat-people that are viewed as 'lesser people' and trouble-makers. Following his Sixth Sense (something all Kitcos possess) he finds himself foiling a kidnapping of a young noble. Little does he know that that was only the beginning, the encounter is going to change his life forever and lead him in a direction he NEVER expected.

Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Fantasy | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Work In Progress

A Strange Fellowship: Part Two
by Kai

Giftfic: for Enna (because she deserves it!)

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Gundam Wing and I get absolutely NO money for doing this.

Ratings: NC-17 (sexual content and language) this will likely be happening in the future so it'll be the rating for the entire fic

Warnings : AU, fantasy, action, yaoi, violence and language, etc.

Pairings : 2x5x6 (main pairing) and maybe a side order of 1x3x4 (not sure yet, we'll see...)

Summary: This is a story from Duo's POV. Duo is a Kitco - a race of cat-people that are viewed as 'lesser people' and trouble-makers. Following his Sixth Sense (something all Kitcos possess) he finds himself foiling a kidnapping of a young noble. Little does he know that that was only the beginning, the encounter is going to change his life forever and lead him in a direction he NEVER expected.

A Strange Fellowship: Part Two
by Kai

Duo's POV

The walls were quickly starting to close in on me, but I pushed my panic back as well as I could. I had far too much to deal with and having a panic attack wasn't going to help me figure anything out. Deciding to ignore all the others for a moment, I focused on Quatre. "You saw me, and you still you spoke for all of them when they don't know the truth. You said that if anyone wanted to harm me, that they would have to go through you first; so what are you planning to do when the five of them attack me?" I waved my hand in the direction of the others, senses fully trained on them despite my focus being on Prince Quatre. A Prince, A Lord, two Captains, a General... and a thief, even though my Sixth Sense was screaming at me that it was right, it still seemed absurd to me. Who would believe it that a Kitco was a Guardian, one of the six Great Lords of the Alliance... and the Guardian of Truth - at that. That wasn't going to go over well.

Quatre blinked at me in shock, as the other Lords shifted - almost as if they weren't certain if they'd been insulted or not, they seemed to be willing to let Quatre take charge of the situation. "Duo, they won't care about that. You're a Guardian and you helped me without even knowing who I was, that's all that's really important."

Anger flashed inside me, clawing to get out. Of course a Prince would think that that's all that would matter to his friends. But I knew better. No one ever thought that their friends could be just as bad as everyone else, they didn't even think they could be as bad as everyone else - until a situation arose that proved them wrong. I found myself glaring at Quatre as a sneer twisted my lips. "Oh really?" Reaching up I yanked my hat from my head and waited as my ears sprang free from their confinement.

I wasn't disappointed. They weren't just surprised or startled by the action, they were shocked and all of them automatically reached for the swords at their sides. I ruthlessly used the image of Lord Merquise and General Change reaching for their weapons to beat the tiny fountain of hope that either of them were attracted to me as I was to them back into oblivion.

The walls were closing in and it was getting harder to think. All I knew was that I needed to get out. I looked at all of them and found myself laughing in a way that sounded almost hysterical but I couldn't help myself. "I may be a Guardian but you don't want me... well, you want me dead. But that's to be expected; I'm a Kitco after all."

I didn't bother to wait for them to try and kill me. Instead I jumped through the glass window, ignoring the pain as the shards cut into my skin. As I landed on the roof of the building next to the Inn, I rolled coming back to my feet as I jammed the hat back on my head. Then I was running across the rooftops towards the city gate, knowing it was only a small window of time before the guards found out that something was wrong and forcefully stopped anyone who tried to leave. Each City Guard had a mage alert. The moment something happened inside the city that required a lock down, all a Guard had to do was twist a button on the medallion around his or her neck and moments later the city would be secure, no one in or out.

I was fast, just not quite fast enough. I arrived to see the large bolts slide heavily into place over the door as I leapt to the ground from the rooftop. Unfortunately, in my haste to get to the gate, I hadn't been as careful as I normally would have been and the Guards knew suspicious behavior when they saw it. Almost before my feet touched the ground, I was surrounded, swords and crossbows pointing at me.

One of the Guards moved to grab my arm, but I jerked away. They were yelling at me and I could see their lips move, but I couldn't make out their words. All I knew was that they were going to lock me in a cell... a cage... no escape, no air... trapped, unless I could get them to kill me first, or unless I could somehow get away. I fought and I was vaguely aware of pain and of angry voices but in the end, none of it matter because I found myself in a room, locked in the dark.

I clawed at the stone walls until my hands were raw. I threw myself at the walls and door until I could barely move because of the bruising. In the end I found myself rocking in the corner of the dark room, trying to get air into my lungs, though why that was important I couldn't remember.

So absorbed was I, in trying to breathe that it took me a while to realize that I was no longer alone. How long had I been in the room? Minutes, hours, days, months, years... I didn't know, I couldn't remember... couldn't think.

"Duo..."

The voice was gentle and sweet and I clung to it because outside of the walls it was all I had. The person the voice came from, though he was squatting directly in front of me, didn't even register - just the voice.

"Duo, I'm going to take you out of here but in order to do so I need you to promise me that you'll listen to me, that you won't fight us." If the voice would take me away he could skin me alive and I'd smile for him as he did. So I nodded my head frantically, though it felt mechanical as I did, like my head wasn't really attached to my neck. "I need to hear you say it, Duo."

It took me forever to remember how to talk and even when I did, it didn't work very well. "I - I... I - I - I.... p - p... p - p - pro... p - p - prom - m - m-mise."

A small hand gripped mine and gently, but painfully, pulled me to my feet. I just stared at the hand as it tugged me slowly forward - not quite sure it was real. Slowly I followed after him until I felt sunlight on my face and a breeze against my skin. Gasping, I gulped in air desperately; my body was shaking so hard that my teeth were clinking together.

"It's alright Duo, you're outside now. You're outside."

The voice I was hearing finally began to register as I started to finally think clearly again. In front of me, impossibly large, blue eyes watched me with what seemed far too much concern. Slowly the rest of the face registered; a boyish face that was almost too cute for words and short blond hair feathered around it. "Q - Q - Quat- Quat..."

He smiled and cocked his head to the side, watching me. "Cat is fine. Feeling better?"

My muscles were slowly unclenching and I was definitely beginning to feel some of the pain that would eventually hit me like a stampede of really pissed off bulls, but pain I could deal with... I didn't bother trying to talk, just nodded jerkily. Now that my fear was residing I was able to 'hear' my Sixth Sense clearly again and since it was telling me I was safe, I began to relax a bit more.

Quatre's smile grew as he patted my shoulder lightly, turning slightly to look behind him. "Trowa? Think you can do something about his injuries?"

The green-eyed Elf with the hair that defied description, nodded slightly as he took Quatre's place in front of me. As if sensing that my legs were protesting my weight on them, Quatre slid in behind me, pulling me against his surprisingly well-muscled chest and helping me stay on my feet by wrapping his arms around my chest carefully. When Quatre had finished, Trowa looked me in the eye, close enough to touch me - though he didn't. "I need to touch you."

Though it didn't sound like a question, he waited until I nodded slightly before gently setting the palms of his hands on my shoulders. They were musician's hands - long, nimble and strong fingers - and they were warm. The warmth in them spread out into my body and where it went the pain vanished. Startled, I blinked up at him. I'd seen it done to others before but no one would have done it for me and I never would have asked anyone to. Because the moment the person touched me they would know what I was. "H - H - Healer?"

Trowa smiled in a distracted way, nodding a bit later than was appropriate because his concentration was elsewhere. So I closed my mouth and tried not to fidget. Kitcos were notoriously hyper-active and I was no different, but I could stay still for about fifteen minutes or so before I had to do something, like tap my foot, play with my braid, or something. Luckily, he finished before the fifteen minutes were up.

Looking a bit worn out he stepped away from me and... Heero came up to put a hand at his back and steady him. Behind me I felt Quatre stiffen ever so slightly and my Sixth Sense flared. It took every bit of energy I had left not to gap in surprise because what it indicated was a connection - a strong one - between Quatre, the Sunrise Elf and the Earth Sprite... one that was unrecognized and causing all three of them unnecessary pain. I didn't know why it was unrecognized but I was pretty sure that if my Sixth Sense was telling me about it, I was supposed to do something about it. Considering what had happened the one time I'd tried to ignore it, I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time meddling in their, er, not-yet love life. Delightful.

Quatre's voice came from next to me ear, though, now that I was beginning to think clearly again - I could have heard him if he were a few blocks away. "We should go back to the Inn..."

My heart shuddered in my chest and my breath wheezed out of my lungs shortly after my abrupt shout. "NO!"

"No, not inside Duo! NOT inside, the roof. We'll go to the roof! We just need to go somewhere we can talk and rest... not inside. I swear."

It was more my Sixth Sense telling me he wasn't lying, than Quatre's words, that helped me calm slowly back down. In front of me the other five were twitching, reaching for their weapons and I suddenly realized that it was a nervous gesture. That they'd only done it back at the Inn because my actions, as a Guardian, had shocked them. They'd expected a friend and my movements had seemed hostile to them. Some days I could be incredibly stupid.

"Quatre?" Both Quatre and I turned our heads slightly so we could look at Zechs as he spoke. Once he was sure he had Quatre's attention he continued. "I could 'port us there. It won't take much power since it's so close, even with six of us."

I could hear Quatre chew on his bottom lip a moment before nodding. "I think that would be best Zechs. Thank you."

Zechs smiled and my traitorous heart sped up. "No thanks necessary." Then there was a shimmer across my vision before I suddenly found myself on the roof of the Inn. Just like that. One second outside a jailhouse and the next I was on top of the Inn about twenty blocks away. Teleportation was a very rare Numina; very rare.

Quatre pulled away from me slightly. "Wufei, can you bring a chair up here? I think it'd be a good idea for Duo to sit down."

I shook my head and forced myself away from Quatre, my legs shook but I could stand for the 'talk' that I knew was coming, as long as it didn't last for too long. I was nothing if I wasn't stubborn. "I'm f - fine."

Wufei paused, dark eyes roaming over me, making my cheeks heat up slightly. Then he shrugged. "You may not wish to be comfortable, but I do and since I'm bringing a chair for each of us, it would be rude if I did not also bring one for you as well." With that he smirked and moved to the door leading inside.

"Won't y - you need h - help?"

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me, looking far too amused and smug. "No." With that he continued walking, leaving me to frown after him. Unfortunately, my Sixth Sense wasn't being very helpful at that moment. How could he possibly manage six chairs on his own? True, they weren't heavy but six would be awfully awkward at one shot. Still, he was a General - so he'd probably just get some servants to help him... but somehow that just didn't feel like the right answer.

"Duo?" Carefully I turned to face Quatre and wondered for a brief moment if that look of concern was permanently pasted on his face. It only lasted a moment though because I sort of liked the idea that he cared about me. I knew better but for some reason I couldn't help it. "Why did you run?"

I fell back on my usual defenses, as I was already off-balance by everything that had happened. I mean, I wasn't dead, they all knew what I was and it didn't seem to matter to them. In all my seventeen years I'd never had that happen outside Lady Helen and Lord Maxwell. "I - I run, I - I hide b - but I never l - lie." My face had twisted itself into my familiar hard grin without any conscious effort on my part.

Zechs frowned, and somehow he made the expression look sexy. "That isn't an answer."

I shrugged, "Most people don't like the truth because the t - truth usually h - hurts."

Next to Trowa, Heero snorted but his face remained smooth and blank. "We aren't like most people." It came out in such a bland and dry tone that I couldn't help but laugh though not a laugh like my earlier one - this laugh was genuine. It'd been a while since any of my reactions had been real.

"Well, I - I can't deny that. The - the five of y - you are unique in - in a lot of ways." I shrugged as my Sixth Sense sent a compulsion through me to tell them. Since I was probably going to be stuck with them for a while, telling them why I'd run might be a good idea. After all, my Sixth Sense wouldn't let me deny that I was sixth Guardian and I might not know much about the Guardians or their duties, but I did know that they were important for everyone in the Allianc: from poor people to Royalty; children as well as adults. I might not care much about the rich or adults in general but children and the poor... well, if being a Guardian enabled me to help them in some way than I would put up with a lot of stuff I might not like or want. "I - I saw you reach for your weapons and since I'd e - expected th - that I didn't look at it closely enough to see it was just reflex. It's m - my own fault, not y - yours. I got angry and o - over-reacted. Th - though in my defense, this really i - is the first time I - I've over-reacted. U - usually I'm right about how people will react." I added the rest of it because they all looked as if they felt guilty about what had happened. Though I wasn't sure how I could tell what Trowa and Heero felt when their facial expressions stayed the same.

"It is as much our fault as yours. If we cannot trust each other and the Gods who chose us to be Guardians, who can we trust?" I cast a quick glance over my shoulder towards the doorway to see Wufei standing elegantly - much like a Prince, himself - surrounded by six chairs floating around him. Without a word or gesture, each chair flew over to one of us. He must have caught my wide-eyed stare because he smirked again. "Telekinesis." And something invisible tugged my braid gently before pulling my hat from my head to his hand, as he took a seat between Trowa and Zechs.

Smiling, I shook my head as I gratefully sat down and waited for someone to start. I wasn't surprised when Quatre took the lead. It seemed that he was both the official and unofficial leader of the group. "Wufei is right... we didn't go about this in the right way..."

I couldn't help it, I laughed at that. "Cat, I hate to burst your bubble but there's rarely a right way to do anything. Besides, i - in this case th - that's already in the past and there's n - no changing it. What's done is done. We all made mistakes but we've g - got a second chance so let's use it, kay?"

He seemed a bit surprised at my words but nodded. "Alright. Then let's start with what you know and don't know. What do you know about us, the Guardians of the Alliance, and why we are born into the world?"

Well, that was a quick way to establish my ignorance. "The Guardians are born to protect the people of th - the Alliance."

All of them seemed to be waiting for a longer speech and when they realized they weren't going to get it they seemed to get a simultaneous headache. Quatre sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well... not entirely. I'll start from the beginning and give you the general explanation and if you have questions or concerns we can address those afterwards. Is that alright?" I nodded and he launched into his explanation. "The Alliance formed over a thousand years ago, after each of the six Kingdoms had been ravaged by war, death, and sickness. They were on the verge of being over-run by the Fe Meroller Empire. So they joined together but knew that even together they wouldn't be strong enough to keep the Empire at bay so they prayed to the Gods and asked for their aid. Six Gods answered their call. Each God and Goddess chose a person they thought worthy and gave them gifts unique to their powers. United with their new powers, the Guardians were able to push the Empire back. However, the Alliance and the Gods all knew that the Empire would never stop their attempts to gain the Lands of the Alliance so the Gods swore that in each lifetime, six new Guardians would be born. Ordinary people could know them through the strange phenomena at their births and by taking such children to the Seer of Mount Magdum for confirmation, but the Gods also chose one of the Guardians to 'know' the others on first sight so their positions couldn't be questioned."

I'd already known some of the despite what I'd said earlier but the last I hadn't. "So you're the Guardian who will 'know' the others?"

Quatre blushed slightly, but met my gaze steadily as he nodded. "Yes. My Numina are telepathy and empathy, as well as being able to see people's auras - and therefore also see the God-touched. The six Gods that answered the call were ILya - Goddess of healing and medicine; Shinigami - God of death, destruction, and rebirth; Nataku - God of war and justice; Esherm - God of travellers and the Messenger of the Gods; Nido - God of the weather and elements; and Airi - Goddess of light, love, and knowledge. I am Airi's chosen. You've already seen Zechs' Numina and it isn't a stretch to figure out that Esherm chose him. Wufei was picked by Nataku and Trowa is Ilya's Champion."

"L - let me guess. Nido chose Heero which means two things - his Numina is elemental in nature and I'm Shinigami's ch - chosen, right?"

Quatre nodded, wearing the air of a proud teacher. "Yes. Heero has elemental magic and you are Shinigami's gift to the Alliance."

I tilted my head to the side and watched them carefully as I spoke to see if they had any doubts about Quatre's claim that I was their Sixth Guardian. They didn't. "But outside of what Kitcos can naturally do, I don't have any Numina."

Zechs smiled at me and I had to squash the urge to run over to him and rub against his body. "You haven't been tested yet. If you pass the test, you prove yourself worthy and then Shinigami will activate your Numina."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Test?"

Quatre got to his feet and stretched and I would have laughed at the way Trowa's and Heero's eyes followed the line of his body as he did, if it weren't so damn sad. "On Mount Magdum there's a joint temple of the six Gods. Each test is different because it's tailored specifically to the God or Goddess and their Chosen. We can't tell you more because we don't know any more."

Slowly I followed Quatre's example by getting up and carefully stretching out tired muscles. "So what now?"

Quatre grinned, "Tomorrow morning we travel to Mount Magdum."

I frowned as he moved towards the door to the inside of the Inn. "I'm not going in there."

He stopped and turned back to me. "So it's not just jails or cages that you're afraid of."

I couldn't quite look at him. "I'm not fond of any enclosed spaces."

"That's why you were uneasy with us earlier. It wasn't us, it was the room." He looked like he'd just figured out a particularly difficult part of a puzzle as he said that.

I nodded stiffly and waited for the barrage of questions but it didn't come. Instead Quatre nodded and turned to Trowa and Heero. "Could the two of you help me bring our stuff up here?"

"What?!" I swear the blond was going out of his way to be unpredictable.

He smiled again, he sure did that a lot. He was one of the most cheerful people I'd ever met. "We're Guardians Duo. We stick together." With that the three of them went inside, leaving me to gap dumb-foundedly after them. If it wasn't for my Sixth Sense viciously weilding it's mallet, I would have thought I was dreaming.