Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cult Characteristic ❯ Chapter 3

THREE

Wufei stared at the dark sky. Something was not right. He was always uncomfortable on moon-less nights, but the thought of going in…there…tonight was a little much. Still, he slipped out of the car, slipped into his dark coat and loosened the head of his katana at the base of his neck, making sure it was hidden behind the high collar. It was a last resort, but Une had granted him permission to use it on missions, figuring it was no different to a gun if he used it with the intent of disabling not killing.

He walked to the corner and met the two nervous looking adults, nodding to each in turn.

"I am Chang Wufei. I will protect her with my life." He nodded to Fiona, standing between her two worried parents. She giggled at his formal tone, but the determination and glint of fear in her eyes did not diminish. She knew where they were going, and she knew why.

"We trust you Agent Chang," Fiona's father nodded calmly, his hand tight around his wife's. Wufei didn't say anything else, reaching out a hand and letting Fiona wrap her fingers around his. He wondered if she had any idea that she was grabbing his left hand because his right needed to be free to chop people to pieces…probably not.

Walking back to the cars, Wufei slipped behind Heero and knelt quickly before the small girl, buckling a vest to her small shoulders and pushing a black jumper over her dark blue shirt. Apparently she had tried to dress in dark clothing but had not owned any shirts. This would do. Wufei winced as he looked down at her. That jumper was small, made for a slight frame and it was black. It was Duo's. If only he were here, Fiona could have stayed home. Hell, they all could have probably stayed home.

"Let's move." Milliardo ordered from somewhere off to the side and Wufei was suddenly pulling Fiona after Heero. They had somehow scored the back door. Well, the back window, anyway. Fiona had assured them the fastest way to the lower levels was through a trapdoor they came out in one of the cells. The cell she had been kept in. The hard part was getting out the cell's door into the prison hallway. She had not seen that door open since she was kidnapped.

There was only silence from the small communicator at his belt. Silence from Yuy. Silence from Fiona. There could be no sound if they hoped to reach the bottom level and get the weapon. Get the `prize'. It made Wufei ill just thinking about it. There had been enough violence in the war. Children like Fiona should not have been touched by it. Why couldn't people see that?

Fiona led them through the back window, straight through a small hatch, careful that no one was nearby, and they were suddenly sliding through a makeshift tunnel. How the girl had managed to climb it was beyond Wufei. The landed lightly, reflex keeping their feet from smacking the ground. Fiona looked impressed. For some reason that made Wufei feel proud. The child was getting under his skin.

Heero made a small sign with his fingers. Fiona looked at Wufei, curious as to what it meant, but Wufei was already moving, sliding to the bars, sticking to the shadow, hand reaching over his back, sliding the katana from its sheath but keeping it away from stray shards of light. There could be no runaway glints. There was only the vaguest whisper of steel and then Wufei was watching the corridor, katana in hand, a deadly wraith in the dark.

From the corner of his eye Wufei could see Heero working at the lock, silent and firm. Luckily Duo had taught Heero that much of his skills, even if there had never been time for anything else and Duo probably would have refused anyway.

Fiona stayed against the far wall, the appearance of weapons enough indication that she needed to stay back, but within sight so she was not mistaken for the enemy. Wufei had to admit; the girl had a brain and a half locked up inside her skull.

Heero fingers were moving, the door slipping open, then his figure was gone from the cell, hiding in a shadow on the far wall as he motioned Fiona forward. Wufei saw the girl move, then throw herself against the wall. He was about to indicate she had to move when he heard it too. Voices.

Heero's fingers were moving and Wufei nodded, slipping through the door, sticking to the shadows, moving in unison with Heero on opposite sides of the hallway. The shadows ended ahead and they could easily see the three figures moving toward them but knew the overhead light illuminated only a brief spot rendering the rest of the hallway invisible.

They moved without thought, Wufei letting the katana sweep around in a great arc to come hilt first into the first man's temple, rendering him unconscious as he moved around with a basic side step and thrust his free hand into the second person's stomach before grabbing the neck and pressing the appropriate points. The body slumped to the ground before Wufei had time to register the fact it was a woman.

Heero had disabled the third man with his hands. How Wufei didn't want to know.

Fiona suddenly materialized between them, leapt over the three bodies and hurried down the corridor. Wufei would have held her back, but he remembered she had heard those three before he had and didn't argue. The girl had lived here for two months. Had crept around in here gathering information for two months. She knew what she was doing.

They encountered three move triads on their way down. When they reached the lowest level Heero clicked a pager on his belt, sending the message to those outside that it was time for the police to arrive. Wufei heard the ambulances run the block, heard the police cars squeal to a halt out the front of the building.

Fiona hid them behind a pile of barrels. They watched as teams of men and women raced upstairs to address the threat. Only a few remained behind, but they were easy to avoid. Fiona led them through the maze until they reached a heavy steel door. It was guarded by two men in black robes.

Wufei knew this room. Fiona had never made it inside. She had been too afraid to try. She knew only that the `prize' was within, as well as the Cult's lair. This was where their rituals were held. Wufei recalled the barrels and grabbed Heero, racing back through the hall to the nearest pile. Heero understood immediately.

Prying one open, Wufei almost threw up there and then. Holding a hand before him he could vaguely make out the thick red liquid coating his finger. Blood. He pushed emotion aside and emptied the barrel, motioning for Fiona to get in. She obeyed without question. Even in the dark Wufei could see she was once again impressed. He was beginning to understand Fiona was not your average child. There was something very odd about the way she viewed the world. Something that reminded him of…Duo.

No time to consider that thought further, Wufei turned the barrel onto it's side, felt Fiona curl into a ball and started rolling the barrel, aware of Heero with a second barrel behind him.

The guards took one look at their clothing and assumed they belonged. Wufei barely restrained his snicker of contempt. Apparently all the intelligent people were away fending off the Preventers above.

The door slammed shut behind them and Wufei let his eyes run quickly over the room, immediately seeing where the other barrels were stacked. He headed that way even as his eyes took in the rest of the room. Only two, over by the altar. They seemed to be praying. After each prayer they emptied a bucket of blood onto the altar. Wufei assumed there was a hole of some sort there, because the blood didn't spill. There was a loud splash far below them each time. A pit then.

Wufei placed the barrel on the side of the wall out of sight from the altar. He lifted the lid and pointed behind the barrels, knowing Fiona would get the idea. She would stay out of sight until the other two were taken care of.

Heero was already moving, barrel abandoned, silently slipping from point A to point B. Wufei hurried to catch up, hugging the shadows, pulling his katana loose once more. Wufei didn't hesitate, slamming the flat of the blade across the back of the man's neck. He heard bone break, but when the man slumped over he was still breathing. It didn't phase Wufei that he had probably just made him a quadriplegic. The man should be happy he was alive.

"Wha…" Heero had his fingers around the woman's throat, preventing her from speaking in anything other than a whisper.

"What are you doing here?"

Wufei was stunned. This certainly was not part of the plan! Still, Wufei wanted to know the same thing. All that blood…

"We are paying worship to the devil. In return He will make us immortal."

It made a twisted sort of sense, Wufei guessed. At least they could safely assume what the pit was for, and what was in it. Blood…lots of blood. Wufei shivered and saw Heero do the same when he came to the same conclusion.

"Where is the `prize'?" Wufei hissed and the woman pointed at the pit. Heero didn't hesitate to his the points that render a person unconscious and the woman slumped.

The sounds of fighting reached them through the steel door.

"Fiona, come over here!" Wufei called quietly and the girl emerged from behind the barrels. "Stay here, behind this pillar." She did as was told. Wufei made sure she couldn't be seen from the door and mentally patted himself on the back. He could see Fiona but she was not in danger from stray bullets and the like.

Nodding to one another, Heero and Wufei moved to the pit, one on either side. Taking a deep breath, Wufei looked down. A long way. A very long way. It had to reach into the sewers. Into the very heart of the city. Blood lined the visible parts of the walls, but the end was beyond sight, hidden in the darkness.

"We'll have to go down," Heero said stonily. Wufei nodded in reply. They could wait for the Preventers, but there was no need. The communicators at their belt were indicating the Preventers had the building secure and were cleaning out the last few members of the cult. They would be there soon enough. It was important to find the weapon.

Wufei watched Heero blow the lock on the large grate covering the pit in silence, mind contemplating what weapon could even survive being covered in blood. Wouldn't it rust? Wouldn't is corrode? There was only one thing he could think of that might survive it.

Gundanium.

Wufei found the edge of a ladder and wrenched on the lever that would let it fall. No screech, no wail, the blood had kept it slick as if they had oiled it every day. It slid down but there was no thumb; it had not hit the bottom. Taking a deep breath, Wufei started heading down when a familiar face popped up beside him.

"I'll go between you with a torch…" Fiona whispered. Wufei would have argued if it hadn't meant that she would still be safe, sandwiched between them. Besides, they needed the light and their hands free. They didn't know what was down there.

Nodding, Wufei began to descend. He wanted to warn her to be careful, that the rungs were slippery, but it was obvious and she was not stupid. So he went in silence, aware of her every move. He watched the way her feet wrapped around each rung, ready to catch if she slipped. He was once again reminded of Duo. He was beginning to suspect Fiona was one of `Duo's kind'; a war orphan taken in by her new loving parents but unable to forget the war. It was in her body; in her mind.

Shaking his head at the injustice of life in general, Wufei realised he had reached the bottom of the ladder. Fiona realized it too and held out the torch. Wufei stared at the flaming light and grimaced. Everything here seemed…old.

The surface of the blood was just below them. Taking a deep breath, Wufei stepped down, slipping his foot into the thick liquid. His foot met hard ground. It was only ankle deep. Letting out a breath he had not known he was holding, Wufei stepped down the rest of the way before plucking Fiona off the ladder so she wouldn't have to juggle the flaming stick she called a torch. She smiled gratefully before holding it high.

There was a splash on the far side of the pit, the sound of something hitting metal. Wufei balked. Something was down here; something alive! Heero had heard it too and whipped his gun out, pointing it at the wall.

Then they moved forward a step at a time, wading through blood, eyes fixed on darkness. The light hit something and they stopped with just enough illumination to get a good look.

The first thing Wufei registered was black. Torn, old black trousers. Blood coated cloth. Then through the blood patches of skin. Skin so white it looked like marble. Skin that has not seen light and is dying. Then the long dark hair, coated in dried black blood and dripping with newer red rivulets. And underneath it all somewhere a face.

Wufei couldn't move. Heero didn't seem capable of it either. The first thing Wufei realized was the brand in his hand. Then he noticed Fiona on the floor in front of the figure. The human figure, Wufei reminded himself. The human prize. Then Fiona was lifting the chin, pushing the tendrils of hair away from the face, wiping away some of the blood. And the eyes opened, tearing at the light they had not seen in god only knew how long.

Wufei screamed. Heero fainted. A strangled cry escaped him.

Fiona just smiled and kissed those broken lips.

"Hello Shinigami."