Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chupacabras Synchronicity ❯ Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Hey guys! I have to say, my most incredible thanks go to Arithkenshin for her constant responses to this fic and its predecessor the Psionic Saga. Your excitement is my muse! Also, to Sumere, who has been kind enough to help tackle the beta'ing of this fic. If there are mistakes in this part though, don't blame her coz she hasn't seen it yet. Lol. Thanks all! Finally getting to some action! WOOHOO!

Chapter Eight

Heero stared at the dark ceiling in surprise. It had not been what he expected to see. It should have been daylight. He should have heard birds through the open window. Instead all was quiet with only the soft rustling of the velvet night.

Heat radiated from his side and Heero gently drew Duo firmer against him, noting the soft sigh that escaped the smaller boy's lips, and knowing Duo was far from awake. So why was Heero awake?

Focussing completely on his surroundings, Heero reached out a tentative tendril of psionic power, tasting the room. Nothing was amiss. Heero almost sighed and gave up, but he was too awake to easily forget and he became quickly stubborn. Stubborn and so determined he would use all means available.

Of course, Heero was the Genesis of the Psionic gene, which meant `all means available' was a wide range indeed. Reaching out with the full spectrum of kinetic gifts encompassed by the Psionic, Heero felt a too familiar tug and sat straight up in bed, hauling Duo bodily over himself toward the wall, putting himself between Duo and danger.

"Heero?" Duo whispered sleepily. The husky, half-awake voice went straight to Heero's groin and he groaned, trying desperately to maintain concentration.

"Shh Baka!" Heero snapped, knowing his sharp tone would wake Duo faster and keep him quiet a little longer.

Heero pressed the room with his powers and it tugged. He followed, led on the most elaborate goose chase of his life, senses running over every random inch of space between himself and the locked door.

Locked door.

Heero's eyes narrowed.

"Heero, there inside!" Duo's slightly panicked voice hissed in his ear and Heero nodded to let Duo know he knew. The question was how? The screen on the window was undamaged and had not moved since Heero fastened it before going to bed. The single dorm door was still locked, the soft yellow light from the hallway light filtering through the bottom, allowing minimal sight.

Under the door, Heero decided, wondering how small the creatures could make themselves to fit through such a space. His sense were still tracking, searching and failing to find the source of the odd bio-electricity thrumming through the room. Every time he thought he had it the creature threw him away and made him start again, as if it were a game. Heero couldn't understand why he was so weak. He was the most powerful Psionicist in the world; the very life force of kinetic energy! Yet he could not reach the Chupacabra.

Duo was quiet, but Heero felt one slender arm wrap around his waist and felt Duo's soft breath on the back of his neck. The other boy was eerily calm. Too calm.

Reaching out further, pressing himself to the limits, Heero sensed yet another presence in the room, yet again familiar. Filling the negative energy within his own positive energy was Duo; his antithesis. Duo was moving as Heero had moved, seeking the creature out, but while Heero almost made contact several times Duo was tossed aside completely, thrown around the room mentally like a basketball. It made Heero sick to watch so he withdrew his sense back to simply plotting the progress of the Chupacabra.

It was moving. Heero could tell by the way he was being pulled forward rather than around. His search seemed now to have direction, even if he didn't know what it was. It was annoying, to be so close yet so far away, knowing always that it could strike at any moment. Heero almost wished it would. All he needed was a split second.

The tugging stopped, abruptly and completely. Heero blinked, growled low in his throat and then realised a worse sound was coming from Duo. Looking back over his shoulder, Heero noticed Duo had one hand over the wound in his neck, the other outstretched before him, ready to use his Psionic abilities if the small creature perched on the end of the bed decided to move.

Heero forced himself to look away from Duo, his mind finally registering that there was indeed a creature on the bed. Correction, Heero's brain noted; a Chupacabra.

"You have got to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen…" Duo sneered.

The Chupacabra seemed to blink, large reddish-orange eyes sealing closed for a mere moment before it was staring at them once again. Some kind of recognition of the words was in those eyes as the Chupacabra's rounded snout-like mouth growled, a low whine escaping the lips. A small trickle of pinkish drool dripped from the long grey tongue and sunk into the doona. Heero grimaced at the colour, disgusted. The creature saw his disgust and its nostrils flared, small white flakes floating in the air as it breathed out heavily.

"Heero, we're washing the doona. Soon!" Duo snapped, his voice sounding annoyed and disgusted. Heero wished there was even the slightest hint of fear. When Duo didn't fear things he became reckless and the last thing Heero wanted right now was a reckless Duo.

The low whine grew to a high pitched squeal and Heero only kept his hands in his lap and away from his ears by forcing a weak sound wall between himself and the creature. Duo did not seem affected by the sound, which Heero found curious.

The creature's legs were sinking into the bed, the body leaning forward, ready to strike. Heero saw a slight change in the creature's eyes colour and forced himself into action. Drawing on the full reserves of his powers he used telekinesis to blast the screen from the open window and threw Duo at it, hoping for all he was worth Duo would know to catch the rail outside before he plummeted to the ground below. Heero was right behind Duo, his body weighing nothing in the throws of his powers. He grabbed the outside rail, aware of Duo at his side, swinging with practiced ease, falling, grabbing the rail below, then falling again, grabbing, falling, grabbing in quick succession until his feet touched the ground.

It was an old routine. They had escaped the dorms in the same manner for years. This time, however, Heero felt something snag on his ankle and from the corner of his eye he saw the flash of fluorescent green that was the Chupacabra's power-filed eyes and the wide mouth clamped on his flesh. Numbing cold followed, spreading up his leg, into his knee…

Poison! Heero's mind was screaming, forcing his free limbs to move through the old routine until he was on the ground, shaking his leg in the hopes of throwing it off. He felt teeth digging their way into his skin and growled. The damn thing hurt!

The Chupacabra let out a wild scream and released its hold. Heero stared at it in confusion until he saw a sharp stick protruding from the creatures side. It had slipped between the ribs, aimed for the heart through its side. It was a calculated hit, and Heero quickly met Duo's hate-filled eyes. The cobalt eyes were shining with a strange inner light, dark and menacing, filled with only one promise; death. Complete annihilation. This was the nothing that was Duo Maxwell; the nothing Heero both loved and hated. This was what he could not live without, what he would take with him when he perished.

Shinigami, Heero mentally acknowledged. The boy who never would have broken his chains. The one who would have destroyed Duo just to stop Heero. This was the one who did not fear death, and as such delivered it mercilessly.

Wanting Duo to smile, to laugh, to do anything but stand there with that almost blank expression, Heero forced himself to his feet, dragging the poisoned leg as he shuffled toward Wufei's dorm. He felt a supportive arm wrap around his waist and let a small smile of thanks grace his face for Duo's benefit. His mind, however, was not on Duo, or the pain. It was on the waveform that was a Chupacabra, and the multiple versions of if plaguing the school grounds. As he opened himself to them Heero realised there was a small army of the beasts surrounding them and it only made him go faster. This was one battle that could be fought with swords, and Heero just happened to know two very good swordsmen.

Wufei's window was, thankfully, open. Heero once again used his telekinesis to haul the screen from its place, tossing it on the ground as Duo pushed him through first. Heero reached an arm back to help his partner, but Duo waved him off, already halfway through.

"Wufei, get up!"

It was not exactly needed. The moment the screen crashed to the ground both Treize and Wufei were ram-rod stright in their bed, eyes sharp, completely awake as they stared at the intruders.

"Yuy, why are you in my room?" Wufei looked from Heero to Duo, whose feet finally reached the floor, eyes scanning the outside for signs of small attackers.

"This is Maxwell's fault, isn't it?" Wufei ased flatly. It was almost enough to make Heero laugh. Almost. Wufei would blame Duo for his own conception if he was given the chance.

"A Chupacabra got into our room. There are thousands outside."

And that, it seemed, was all it took. Wufei and Treize were grabbing swords off their bedroom wall (Heero wasn't sure he liked the idea of having swords on a bedroom wall) and heading for the living room. By the time Heero had hopped his way through the bedroom door Treize was on the phone and Wufei was shoving a towel under the front door to seal off the room. When he finished, Wufei finally turned his attention to Heero.

"You're hurt."

"It's only the first bite."

Wufei nodded, going to the cupboard and grabbing a needle. Heero quirked an eyebrow as Wufei injected the antidote into his arm.

"I figured we would need it," Wufei explained quickly. "So I had the nurse make up a whole bunch so that I could `administer it on the scene'. She thought it was a good idea."

Apparently, Heero thought dryly, feeling the strange numbing feeling ebb to be replaced with a hot, solid ball of pain centred in his ankle.

"I'm fine!"

Heero turned to see Wufei threatening Duo with a needle, Duo holding both hands defensively before him, eyes wide. Heero smirked. Duo had never liked needles.

"See Fei, no chunks out of this piece of flesh!" Duo finished, diving protectively behind Treize, who had just hung up the phone.

"Sally is on her way," he explained quickly. "She's bringing Iria. Apparently you aren't the only ones who have had an unexpected visitor. They'll pass on the word as they work their way through the dorm."

"Call Trowa," Duo interrupted, voice firm, eyes slightly clouded. Something about those eyes caught everyone's attention. They weren't really human. More like…a ghost…as if Duo were not there. Even Heero was stumped. This was not Shinigami, it was Duo, but…it was also nothing at all. As if no one was home…

"Duo?" Heero asked cautiously.

"NOW!" Duo screamed, jumping at the phone and dialing the number, fingers dancing with a speed only he could have achieved. Heero heard the phone pick up on the other end.

"Under Quatre's bed," Duo said before the person on the other side could say anything. "Kill it with the knife in your top drawer."

Heero glared hard at the phone, hearing a vicious growl, followed by a loud thunk and a shocked gasp. There was static and murmuring before Heero clearly heard Trowa's voice.

"Where are you?"

"Wufei's," Duo replied, voice flat, devoid of personality. It was like he was…asleep. It frightened Heero, who slipped forward, wanting to touch Duo just to prove to himself the boy was real.

"On you way," Trowa's voice replied through the phone and Duo hung up.

Heero reached out tentatively, fingers brushing across the smooth cheek. Duo started, his eyes blinking several times before they finally focussed on Heero, the cloudy look dissipating, replaced by a sort of clear fever, as if Duo were highly excited and full of energy.

Heero saw the moment Duo realised everyone was staring at him, felt the hot blush flush Duo's cheeks where he still had his fingers against the white cheek.

"Heero?" Duo asked nervously.

"Nani?" Heero asked, reverting unknowingly to his native tongue in his distress. What was going on? What had just happened?

"Was I just on the phone?" Duo asked, looking at the hand that was still touching the receiver. He seemed completely confused, utterly perplexed. It was not a familiar look for Duo, and even Wufei was starting to worry. Heero could tell by the way the katana in the Chinaman's hands was wavering slightly.

"Yes…" Heero replied, worried.

Duo's eyes went wide, a startled hand covering the small `o' his mouth formed as those eyes shimmered with fear.

"But…I don't remember…"

It had only just happened! Heero grabbed Duo and held him tightly against his chest, frightened. He had no idea what the strange look in Duo's eyes had been, but he didn't like it. Didn't like that Duo could not remember what he had done, and most importantly what he had said! How had he known there was a Chupacabra under Quatre's bed? And that Trowa's knife was in the top drawer? How had he known it would be Trowa who would answer the phone? Something was certainly off and Heero needed to know what.

"It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong," Heero whispered, rubbing soothing fingers gently up and down Duo's spine.

He wanted to do more, much more, but at that moment Trowa stumbled through the door, an unconscious Quatre in his arms.