Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chupacabras Synchronicity ❯ Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Heero was annoyed, to put it mildly. The Chupacabra were only a small piece of his annoyance. He was ready to splatter them from one end of the school to the other to destroy them. He was annoyed at Duo for going into this mess without him to begin with. He was annoyed at Wufei for not telling him what he knew about Duo's whereabouts, because Heero knew there was something Wufei wasn't telling him. He was annoyed with the professors, who he was sure had had something to do with the whole mess they were in. Heero was annoyed at himself, for not being able to find Duo.

And the core of that annoyance was fear. Heero needed to find Duo.

Opening the bedroom door, Heero shifted his vision to and watched the small critters flitting about, laying a trap as they had done on the stairwell. He had not been expecting it then, had not believed the creatures possessed enough of a brain to do such a thing, but done it they had. Heero was not going to underestimate the Chupacabra to that extent again.

They were everywhere, crawling up the walls, over the roof, like a mutated form of spider. Shivers ran down Heero's spine as he watched a moment more before pulling his head back inside and slamming the door shut.

"We have to get out of here," Trowa said softly, his senses picking up every scrape of nail and flesh against floor, wall, ceiling. There was something in his eyes. Heero almost thought it was fear. But Trowa feared nothing, not even death, right?

Heero didn't know what to do. He could attack the Chupacabra, but he had already seen Quatre's reaction to that kind of power and he didn't want to see it again. He did not want his friends to fear him. He certainly didn't want them thinking about it too hard. If that was what Heero could do, what was Duo capable of? Only Heero truly understood.

Duo. Determination flared and Heero grabbed hold of the door handle but a light hand rested on his elbow and he looked aside into pale blue eyes. Like Quatre's but not. Iria.

"Wait," was all she said and when he turned Heero saw that Quatre had his head cocked to the side, his mouth a small `o' eyes blank as if he was seeing something other than the room. His brows were down, as if he couldn't quite grasp something. Heero had seen that look before.

"Quatre, let him go!" Heero snapped, lunging forward to shake the small blonde. Quatre let him come, oblivious.

Heero saw the moment when Quatre released his hold of the ether and returned to the material world about him, saw that moment when a struggle between wills ended and Quatre released his captive. He also saw the fear.

"Where is he?" Heero pleaded. Where is Duo?

"With Milliard. He's drugged. I had to take over, to use his eyes, but just for a moment. I think…the library maybe…"

Heero didn't hesitate. He grabbed the door, flung it open and flicked the switch on the Psion-Bands. The bands Duo had made for him. Power roared through his veins and he flung his arms forward, opening every sense to the Chupacabra's.

They froze, small flashing eyes focussed on their target but aware something had changed. They were unsure and Heero stole the moment from them. The creatures began to shake, hardly noticeable at first but then more and more until they lost their perch on the walls and roof and fell to the floor, twitching and squirming. Cries and mewling outbursts escaped them as they struggled and failed to find their feet. Then they were flying growing, life being pumped into their veins at a rate the physical form could not tolerate. Heero saw the moment when it was too much and a cyclonic gust of wind exploded through the hall, picking up the creatures as they exploded, throwing them in every direction. Blood washed the walls as it had before, only this time he was stronger and it spread further, thicker. As the ice fileld the wind and froze it in place like paint, Heero felt cold hatred flood through him and twisted the power, changing it. The blood pooled from the walls, slid back down to the ground, leaving only the frozen skin on the walls like a second layer of plaster. The blood on the floor began to boil, then steam rose from it, thick and black. It continued, despite the gasps in the background and the startled cries. Heero forced it onwards until no blood remained and only that heavy black mist dared rise before him. Heero instilled it with a will and sent it out, down the hallway, down the stairs, through the school.

It was his child, his creation. It was his weapon, his hammer. Heero smiled and their was no joy in it. The mist was his hunter, to track and kill the Chupacabra.

"Remind me not to piss you off, ne?" Wufei was so calm as his hand rested on the firm shoulder and Heero was grateful. Of course, he should have known Wufei would approve. Even if he didn't understand exactly what had just happened, Heero was his friend and that would always come before all else.

"Let's move," Sally hissed from behind them, heading off in the opposite direction to the mist. Heero took one last look at the mess on the walls and followed. The library was waiting.

*

Duo tried to stand again, but his legs wouldn't hold him up. The drug Milliard had given him was stronger than the original one, but it needed to be. The Chupacabra's poison had gone straight through his spinal chord and while it wasn't doing it any permanent damage, Duo couldn't see himself running a marathon any time soon. Hell, he was flat out making it past the first row of books.

Milliard was on one of the computer's, trying to hack into the school system. Apparently he wasn't too good at computers. He kept mumbling about actually wanting Heero nearby for once, which made Duo's back hurt when he chuckled.

Finally reaching the shelf of books he needed, Duo began thumbing through the titles, once again looking for the strange bright pink dictionary of superstitions. It was not hard to locate. There are very few pink books in the sci-fi section of a library. Grimacing at the colour and thoughts of the one person it reminded him of, Duo tossed it on the floor and lay down. He didn't think he could stand the thought of actually sitting in a chair, even one of the padded library chairs.

He hoped Quatre reached them soon. He hadn't been able to get across a sense of where they were going, but he knew Quatre had taken over for a while there and while he wasn't happy with the thought of someone else having control over his body, Duo wasn't about to complain if it meant Heero found them sooner. Besides, the damn Chupacabra were still out there, looking for them.

Still, Duo was not about to lie down and wait for them to come. No, he had questions that needed answers before he went out there again. The first of which was who the hell was that old lady? She kept popping up at the weirdest times, and that voice! Scratchy, full of something that made your guts twist in knots. She looked harmless, but…There was something not right about her. Not to mention the fact no one but Duo himself ever seemed to see her.

Do not comply. What was that supposed to mean? If you comply for too long you'll disappear….Comply with what?

Flicking through the dictionary, Duo skimmed the pages for any hint of the word `comply' but there was nothing.

`The line has ended, but you're still here…And the stars are aligned…What could it mean, do you think?' Duo had no idea what it could mean, but he was beginning to think it was important. The lady kept showing up for no reason, invisible for the most part and disappearing as quickly and easily as she came. What was it, who was she? What was she trying to tell him?

He reached over and grabbed a star book from the shelf at random, flicking through the pages. A phrase caught his attention and he read the page more slowly.

`…and the alignment is perfect, a sort of synchronicity occurring…'

Synchronicity. That word had been in the pink dictionary of superstitions. Flicking through the pages, Duo searched frantically through the S section until he was staring at the thick, bold black letters. Synchronicity.

Skimming through the long explanation, Duo held his breath until he reached the last paragraph, letting the air go in a rush, shock humming through his numb nervous system.

Sperry concluded that when Sperry concluded that when the bridge of nerves - called the corpus callosum - which connects the two halves is servered to prevent epilepsy, the patient turns into two people. One split brain person tried to hit his wife with one hand while the other hand held it back. The person I call "me" lives in the left hemisphere; and the person who lives in here is the `intuitive self'; the stranger. The `stranger' can at times take over.

Duo was sufficiently spooked. He slammed the book closed and his body jumped on the hard carpet as the library door smashed open. Duo sighed in relief as Treize stalked into the room, caught sight of Milliard and went straight to the computer to help. Wufei and Trowa were hanging off Quatre as the stumbled into the room, each evidently suffering the effects of poisoning. Duo breathed a little easier seeing Sally walk hauled through the door between Une and Iria. He had been worrying about her for hours!

Then all thoughts of others left his mind as Heero brought up the rear and their eyes locked. Duo pushed himself up, struggling to regain his feet as Heero ran across the space between them. There was so much worry in the usually smooth panes of Heero's face Duo felt heavy with guilt.

He felt Heero's arms tight around him, lifting him off the floor and he heard the yelp of pain escape his throat that instantly had Heero releasing him and searching him for injury.

"Quatre said you were drugged!"

"I am. Chupacabra bite, on my spine…" Duo's words ended mid sentence as he felt Heero's fingers slip under his shirt and find the bite, swollen but clean. He tangled his hands in Heero's hair and forced him to meet his eyes.

"I'll be fine Heero. Milliard got to me in time. Are you alright?"

"Fine. Now." Duo smiled and buried his face in the crook of Heero's neck, breathing in the scent. His hand ran down Heero's arm, intending to catch the other boy's hand when he met something cold. His smile widened as he chuckled.

"Now, these are familiar!" Duo cheekily traced the wings design with a lazy finger, delighted Heero was finally wearing them. Delighted Heero had taken the time to get them so there was no way he would be hurt. And guilty once again that he himself had not given Heero the same courtesy. Not that he really thought the bands could have done anything against the damn doctors.

"AHA!" They both glared at Milliard and Treize as they cried out in unison, something dark in their eyes.

"You found them?" Heero asked coldly, eyes drilling jealously into Milliard. Duo huffed, wondering if Heero would have preferred that he had dies rather than have Milliard save the day.

"They're in the labs. Relena is with them."

Duo idly wondered why Milliard suddenly seemed nervous.