Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Deceptions Revised ❯ Dark Deceptions Revised 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Summary: Male Carpathians struggle against the engulfing darkness as they search for their lifemates. Heero Yuy, son of the legendary Gregory and a powerful Carpathian in his own rite believes to have discovered his own lifemate when he stumbles across Relena Peacecraft. But is it really her that causes him to experience such dark and dangerous emotions . . . or is it her mischievous and mysterious bodyguard . . .

Disclaimer: Honestly people, if I owned Gundam Wing, do you think Relena Peacecraft would have had such a nice cozy little fate that she did? If I owned the series, I would have paired her off with Dekim . . . mwa ha ha ha . . . Nor do I own the Carpathian Series. Christine Feehan has that honor. Fusion of the two leads to characters being a little OOC.

Author's Notes: This is a revision of the original. Ten chapters into the story, I realized I was completely unsatisfied with the whole damn thing. With some much needed advice and a really good review, here's another go at the plot. Oh, and for those who had read the original, no worries! There still will be the possessive Heero around. ^.^

Pairings: 1x2 . . . duh

Thinking == > ~I'm thinking, whee!~

Talking == > "I'm talking, whee!"

Emphasizing == > I'm emphasizing, whee!

Scene Change == > ~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Dark Deceptions

By: Lady Silverwings

The night whispered soothingly throughout the countryside, singing its crooning lullaby into the sky as it cradled the land in its gentle embrace. Stars blazed from deep within the universe, twinkling lights that sparkled and danced for all those who took a worldly delight in the joys of creation.

Too bad Heero Yuy couldn't feel it.

Heero gazed out despairingly over the lush rolling hills covered in a deep dense forest of trees. Where once the sounds of the night had soothed him, now he felt nothing. Nothing but the deep dark emptiness aching to be filled. His soul, so battered and bruised from centuries of killings, cried out for salvation. For the one who would put a purpose to his life. His light in the seemingly endless abyss. His lifemate.

With a disgusted grunt at his thoughts he turned away, blending into the shadows that shrouded him. He needed to feed. His last kill had taken its toll, eating away his strength, his reserves, and what was left of his blackened soul.

"You're unwell."

Heero neither flinched nor broke his stride. Another shadow shifted and soon a figure matched his steps to Heero's.

"I am well aware of this fact," Heero answered. "Why do you think I am walking to my next meal?"

Trowa was able to smirk at his caustic remark before that small trace of emotion was wiped away, leaving his face devoid of anything. "I offer my blood to you," he replied.

Heero shook his head. "No need, Trowa. The city is near and with it replenishment. I can make it."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I joined you?"

Heero cast a disgruntled look at his friend, not bothering to reply.

The two hunters moved swiftly and stealthily in the night. Heero Yuy, the son of Gregory, the legendary Dark One and his lifemate Savannah. Trowa Barton, the son of Jacques, brother to their prince and his lifemate Shea. They were the children of powerful Carpathians. Gregory was Prince Mikhail's trusted right hand man and one of the oldest Carpathian alive. Master of everything, his skill was unsurpassed. Jacques was Mikhail's younger brother. Driven to insanity, his mind forever damaged regardless of the healing bond with Shea. Danger and power emanated from their very being. Deadly and lethal, the two had grown up together amid the Carpathian Mountains, learning the ways of the hunters so that they could protect their loved ones. As they grew, their body count rose as well until they rivaled even that of the greatest Carpathian hunters of all time. Lucian and Gabriel. Whispers of their prowess abounded as they tracked down and hunted the evilest of evil. Carpathians who chose to side with the dark and forfeit their souls to evil. The vampire.

The very thing that Heero Yuy was fighting not to become.

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"Hey Relena! There's a carnival down at the pier. Let's go check it out!"

Relena Peacecraft laughed softly as she fixed her gaze on the bubbling mass of energy bearing down at her. "Honestly Duo," she chided. "One would think that you're just begging for something to happen to me. Aren't you suppose to keep me out of dangerous situations?"

Duo Maxwell grinned cheekily. "What's so dangerous about a carnival?" he answered back, rocking back on his heels. "As long as you stick by my side, what could go wrong? Besides, you have an entire army of personal who watch you're back. I'm just the front man. Anyway, you and Quatre have been stuck in this boring hotel suite all day. Time to liven things up a bit!"

"The last time we "livened things up a bit" you set the curtains on fire," drawled an amused voice. "Allah knows what damage you can do at a carnival and in public!"

"Aw, come on Kat! Don't deny you didn't enjoy that spectacle either, because we all know you were laughing your ass off!"

"And I have the privilege to know you instigated the entire thing and egged Duo on throughout that spectacle as well, dear little brother," Relena put in with a smirk.

Quatre Raberba Winner shot Relena a glare, but the corners of his lips twitched with suppressed laughter. "All right, all right. I yield. Duo's right, Lena. We have been cooped up in this hotel room for far too long. Just because our father chooses to drag us around during his peace meetings doesn't mean we have to sit back and suffer. Besides, Duo's bored and we both know what that entails."

Duo chuckled darkly as Relena gasped. "Good Lord, why didn't you just say so? Let me change my clothes and grab my purse."

"You owe me," Quatre remarked dryly as he crossed his arms over his chest after Relena rushed out the adjoining door to her suite.

Duo glanced at his friend of the past decade. They had been first introduced when they were merely eight years old. Duo's father was, back then, Quatre's mother's bodyguard. One look and the boys instantly took to each other and became inseparable. Where one went so did the other. Duo and Quatre grew up together and it was due to his father's chosen profession that Duo learned in the ins and outs of the trade and quickly followed in his father's footsteps. Insanely intelligent to the point of genius, Duo graduated high school and college courses with flying colors and was the youngest security personal every employed at the grand age of eighteen. It came to no surprise when Quatre hired him to protect his stepsister Relena and himself while accompanying his stepfather on his peace meetings.

"I can't wait to get out of this place!" Duo stated enthusiastically. "It's going to be great, Q-ball. Tonight's going to be one hell of a night."

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"I am not comfortable with this situation," Heero growled under his breath, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Neither am I but you and I both felt the taint of a vampire here," Trowa replied, his eyes scanning the sea of mortals. "We must destroy him before he attacks and innocent."

Heero grunted in agreement. He opened his senses as he walked beside of Trowa, searching for the taint of the undead. Recently fed, his powers were at their peak as the two young men sought the evil one. The crowd of people parted as they made their way around the carnival. A primal instinct as old as time triggered inside weaker animals of the presence of hunters. And Heero and Trowa were deadly hunters. They seemed to glide throughout the mass, an air of menace surrounding them as people sought to get away from such imposing figures.

Just then, another presence made itself known. Grinding to a halt, Heero and Trowa stared silently. Once, they might have felt shock at such a sudden appearance. Today, they felt nothing. Not even open curiosity.

"What brings you here?" Heero called out.

"These are my hunting grounds, Yuy. What brings you here?"

"We felt the existence of a vampire in this area," Trowa answered. "We can do nothing but bring justice to it. As you should know, Chang Wufei."

Wufei nodded, his onyx eyes glittering in the carnival's lights. "I've been plagued by this vampire for some time. He's crafty for the undead. Possibly an ancient."

Heero and Trowa's eyebrows raise. An ancient. A vampire that had survived and slipped past Carpathian detection to live for centuries killing humans.

"I propose an alliance. Shall we fight this creature together?" asked Wufei.

Heero almost snorted. ~Who would of thought . . . Chang is asking for our assistance,~ he mused silently, his thoughts sent on a private mental path he had established with Trowa centuries ago.

~Never look a gift lion in the mouth, Yuy,~ Trowa replied.

~Gift lion? Isn't it supposed to be a gift horse?~

Trowa glanced incredulously at Heero. ~I prefer lion.~

"Agreed," Heero declared, walking forward. "It's been a while, Wufei. I miss our hunts together."

Wufei nodded, inclining his head to Heero and Trowa. "As I do. How are the Prince and our people fairing?"

"Well. Father and Shea were able to produce a binary component that when added with a liquid is able to sustain and nourish newborn infants."

"That is good news, Yuy. Very good news indeed."

It was a well-known fact amongst the Carpathians that the survival of children was essential. For almost a millennia, the offspring of Carpathians rarely lived beyond a year after birth. If they even developed to full term. What was worse was the fact that the females of the powerful race were few and far between. Every female, every child, was guarded, protected, and cherished beyond a measure of a doubt. Such instincts were ingrained into each Carpathian since birth.

Heero nodded as he glanced around. There was something in the back of his mind that was troubling him. A gut feeling that wouldn't go away. He frowned, unsure of the cause. He came to the conclusion it was due to the upcoming battle he would be facing and brushed it aside. He had more important matters to attend to then such trivial matters.

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Duo licked in lips in eager anticipation as he watched the cotton candy being created right before his eyes. He could feel his teeth ache. Probably from all the cavities he has due to his insatiable earning for anything and everything sweet.

He paid the vendor, grinning wickedly as a large bag a freshly made cotton candy was handed to him. He hugged it to his body, careful not to crush the delicate treat, as he turned away.

And crashed into an immovable object, thereby flattening his cotton candy.

"Ah man!" Duo whined. "Don't you watch where you're going, pal?!"

Duo glared up at the individual and almost lost his lunch. The figure was deathly pale, skin gaunt and clinging to bones. Eyes hollow and lifeless, with teeth that seemed rotted. There was an air of decay surrounding the man, as well as the stench of evil. Instincts that served Duo well kicked in and he backed away.

"Lifemate," the man groaned, a reed thin arm reaching out to him.

Hissing, Duo jumped away. "Stay away from me, you freak!" He darted away, weaving in and out of the crowd, just in case the idiot decided to follow.

~Duo, are you okay?~ Quatre whispered in his mind.

It was a guarded secret between the two boys, not even shared with Relena. Since their first meeting ten years ago, they had been able to speak to each other using telepathy. Another secret was that Quatre could feel someone else's emotions. Usually it was no big deal, until the pressure became too much. It was at the age of 14 when, after a violate fight between Quatre's mother and stepfather with Quatre fainting afterwards, did Duo convince the boy to put up shields to protect himself and buffer the intense emotions that sometimes threatened to consume him.

~I'm fine, Kat,~ Duo reassured. ~Some freak decided to get fresh with me, that's all.~

~Hurry back, Duo. I . . . I don't feel right in this place. Something evil is here.~

Startled, Duo ran faster. He sprinted around a vendor.

And crashed into another immovable object.

"Jesus!" Duo shrieked as his butt made contact with the hard concrete. "What the hell is with me crashing into everything today!?"

"Hn."

Duo peered up from beneath his chestnut bangs at the stranger. ~At least this one doesn't look like the walking dead,~ he mused as he scrambled to his feet, brushing nonexistent dirt from his jeans.

"Sorry, buddy," he apologized, skirting around the individual. "I'll be sure to watch where I'm going next time. Bye!"

Emotionless cobalt eyes followed the darting figure as it disappeared into the crowd. As he stepped away, his foot collided with a crumpled back of cotton candy. For some unknown reason, an urge overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn't ignore it. Stooping down, he lifted the bag in his hands and followed.

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As he passed through the energetic crowd, Duo had a sick feeling in his gut that something bad was going to happen soon. Something straight out of a nightmare. He reached into his shirt, pulling out a thin cord that was attached to his belt. He pressed a small button has he looped the earpiece around his ear and activated the comlink.

"Akuma, Kuragari, Janen, Tsuku, Byouki state your position, over," he ordered, all traces of the bubbly youth vanishing from his demeanor.

"Twenty feet from the tenshi one, Kuragari out."

"Thirty feet from tenshi two, two vendors over, Tsuku out."

"Scoping out the perimeters, Akuma out."

"Five feet behind tenshi one and two, Byouki out."

Silence met Duo as he waited for the final response. ~Shit.~ "Has anyone heard from or seen Janen?"

Four negatives was not something Duo wanted to hear. "This is a Code Kitai. I say again, Code Kitai. Everyone standby and await orders!"

Duo ripped off the comlink from his ear and sprinted through the crowd.

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Relena hugged the large, overly stuffed and overly pink teddy bear to her chest. "Thanks, Quatre!" she crowed to her stepbrother after he won her the prize she drooled over.

A soft smile was her reply. Quatre's eyes were filled with worry. He had tried to reach Duo mentally, but his friend had blocked him off completely. Duo only did such a thing when something terrible was happening. The last time Duo had put up shields to Quatre's mental touch was when, two years ago, a lone assassin had tried to earn his money by killing Relena. Duo was the closest to the enemy and only after he completely blocked Quatre did he succumb to the killing frenzy that dwelled within him. He wasn't called Shinigami for nothing.

Another unsettling fact was the tension that emanated from the security guards posted around them. Quatre new there was five total, not counting Duo, but for the most part they stayed in the background. The one that was posted to stand guard next to them kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, his eyes darted back and forth in the crowd as waiting for something. He caught the man talking into his earpiece, but couldn't hear the conversation. Something was up. The evilness that Quatre had felt only seemed to grow.

Quatre opened his mouth to suggest to his sister they should move when an ear piercing shriek echoed into the air. People scattered like a panicked herd, tripping over each other to escape from whatever danger was looming. In the center of chaos stood the epitome of every child's worst nightmare. Five figures, like statues at a graveyard, stood unmoving. Four line up in the front while one was stationed in the back. Quatre choked back a scream and took a step backwards, recognizing one of the figures. It was Janen, one of the security staff employed under Duo. Were once was a handsome, carefree man now stood a gaunt, pale figure with a wicked wound that spanned his neck, dried blood caked on skin that hung in ragged clumps. His eyes were flat and lifeless, their stare blank, matted hair clinging to his forehead. The other three individuals lined up next to him were in much the same condition. A horrid stench filled their air as they stood still.

The figure in the back cackled hideously. Clothes tattered and ragged hung off his skeletal frame. An aura of death and darkness hung over him as he flashed his elongated fangs when he smiled. "Lifemate!" he shrieked, pointing in front of him. "Get me my lifemate!"

Relena clutched Quatre's arm in fright. It had pointed at them! Good Lord, it was after them! As one, the line of monsters stumbled and stalked towards Quatre and Relena, bits of pieces of their skin and flesh breaking off as they moved forward. Gunfire erupted as one of the bodyguards, Byouki, shoved Quatre and Relena to the ground, crouching before them as he opened fire.

" - under attack!" Quatre heard Byouki shout in an earpiece. "Request backup! Where the hell are you guys?!"

Bullets peppered the approaching figures. Their bodies jerked back and forth under the barrage. One went down, another lost its arm. As the smoke from the assault cleared, the people that had stayed gasped in horror.

Riddled with bullets, blackened blood oozing from wounds, the creatures kept advancing. Even the one that had fallen was dragging itself across the ground.

"Open fire!" Byouki ordered. Another hail of bullets pelted the zombies, this time from four different directions. Yet they kept coming. One lunged forward, wrapping his hand out Byouki's throat, crushing his larynx. Relena screamed as she watched the body collapse before her very eyes. With a sickening grin, the creature reached out to grab Quatre.

From out of nowhere was a flash of silver. Quatre jerked back as a blur buried itself in the cavity chest of the monster.

"Get away from my friends."

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Trowa and Wufei heard the screams echo into the night. Their images blurred as they used their powers and speed to rush to the scene. With a barely contained snarl, Trowa saw the line of zombies the vampire had at his command lurching forward to the individuals, two of which were crouching on the ground and behind a third. He wanted to scoff as the humans tried to stop the monsters with their primitive guns, knowing the only way to kill the creatures was by killing their master. Wufei lurched forward as he witnessed one of the vampire's minions ruthless crush the life out of the man protecting the two individuals only to halt as the fiend was thrown to the side by sheer force. Trowa's eyes widened when he saw some sort of throwing knife protruding from the beast's chest.

"Get away from my friends."

Heads swiveled towards the direction of the voice. Standing apart from the gathered mass stood a lithesome figure clad all in black. Black pants fit snugly to tall, muscular legs, a half unbuttoned black jacket with the sleeves rolled up clung to a slender chest, a red shirt peeking out from underneath. A ridiculously long chestnut braid hung to the individual's waist as pale, ivory satin skin gleamed in the harsh lights of the carnival.

The creature continued to howl as it jerked back and forth, trying to pry out the blade. It took a step closer to the cowering figures only to freeze when a rumble reverberated through the air.

"I said get away from my friends!" the person growled, reaching behind his back and withdrawing a short, slender metal rod half the size of his body. He prowled forward, twirling the rod around his body, a fierce scowl on his face.

Trowa's eyebrows shot up as Wufei hissed.

"That weakling doesn't stand a change against such opponents!" Wufei snarled. "And where the hell is Yuy?"

"Right here."

The two Carpathians spun around as Heero stepped forward.

"We have to do something," Trowa intoned. "We have to save them."

"Hn."

Scoffing, Wufei turned away. "It's an injustice," he sneered. "I won't stand for it." He took a step forward, only to stop and stare in astonishment.

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Duo was seething in fury. How dare these . . . weirdoes think they can come up, kill not one, but two of his men, harm his friends, and think they can get away with it! Fuck that shit! It was time to pay Shinigami his due!

With one last flourish, Duo released a hidden catch in the rod. It lengthened into a staff, an arched blade emerging at one end. Twirling it above his head with both hands, Duo crouched low, his scythe poised and held steady as he waited for an attack.

He didn't have to wait for long. Two monsters lunged forward, arms held out and seeking. Duo swept low, lashing out with his scythe and slicing off three limbs. Spinning as he rose to his feet, Duo slammed his elbow into someone's nose. He ducked a punch then flipped backwards and over a kick aimed for his gut. He spun in one complete rotation, the scythe a blur of movement as it dipped and rose effortlessly in the hands of a master.

The God of Death, the Grim Reaper had come out tonight to play.

. . . TBC . . .