Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Falls the Shadow ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

C H A P T E R 1

Quatre Winner sat in the hospital bed, fiddling idly with the morphine button but not pressing it. He figured he'd abused the painkillers enough in the past 36 hours, and didn't want to push his limits. Sighing, he tossed the button aside and fell back into the pillow. Pain screamed in his neck from the blow, and he slowly rolled onto his right side to relieve pressure from his left. For a wound that he didn't remember getting, it hurt like hell.

Defeated and in a great deal of pain, Quatre's hand fumbled for the button that he had just thrown. Instead, Quatre felt another hand resting on the small table beside the bed. His gaze flew up to find a figure dressed in black, completely covered from head to toe. The person wore so many layers that Quatre couldn't tell the gender beneath the dark folds of clothing.

The dark stranger, having gotten Quatre's attention, leaned over and handed the stunned blond a letter. Then the silhouette pressed its lips to Quatre's forehead, and the shadows from the mysterious being spread into Quatre's mind…

Azure eyes shot open as Quatre realized that he had been knocked out. The first thing he did was check his body over for more mysterious wounds. After a few frantic seconds of search, he was relieved to find none. Instead, he found a handwritten note in his hands, the ink a reddish-brown color that reminded Quatre of drying blood. Dismissing the thought, he read the note softly to himself.

" `To the One Tainted with Death…' "

Quatre put the letter down. He'd read enough.

* * * * * * * * * *

Diana leaned back in her chair, teeter-tottering on the back two legs. She had stayed past her shift to review this one case that had been bothering her since she was placed in charge of it. Not that lounging in her office staring at the information in front of her was going to make the facts clear, but it sure beat waking up in a cold sweat at all hours of the night.

"47649," she muttered, reading the files over. "How the hell does someone slit his own throat and not remember?" Papers rustled as she turned the pages. "It could be a really… no, extremely well-planned murder and cover-up that didn't go through, but that doesn't add up. The clues point to suicide, but that doesn't seem to add up, either. No cause, no forewarning, no note… that's the major one right there… and those dreams-"

"Do you always sit in your office talking to yourself after your shift?"

Diana's eyes slowly came up from the file and its contents, meeting the Chinese man in front of her. "Hello to you, too, Wu Fei."

Chang Wu Fei looked down at Diana, his near-black eyes giving a hint of contempt over her posture, causing her to lean forward so her chair fell back onto all four legs. Satisfied, Wu Fei continued. "What case requires so much of your time?"

"Aren't we filled with questions today? For your information, it doesn't require my time. It's just… got me thinking, that's all," Diana grumbled, glaring slightly at her fellow Preventer. The two of them didn't get along well. "Aren't you on shift? Shouldn't you be out stopping some mess or another?"

"No. I just got off. Now answer my question." Wu Fei chose to ignore the stab at his position, especially since the two held equal positions in their respective departments.

Diana sighed. Wu Fei wasn't leaving without an answer. "Fine, fine. 47649… you know, the one involving your fellow Former-Gundam-Pilot. You were questioned about it, weren't you?"

"Winner? Yes, I was."

"You know, he has a first name." Wu Fei didn't acknowledge her statement, leaving Diana no choice but to continue. "Officially, it's attempted suicide. It would be case-closed, but Quatre's testimony leaves a hole…"

"And that would be?"

"You are asking a lot of questions today, Wu Fei, especially for you. And, since 47649 hasn't left this department, I'm not authorized to tell you." She paused a minute to absorb Wu Fei's glare. "However, since he's your comrade and all, I'll tell you.

"Officially, it's attempted suicide. Like I said, it would be case-closed, but…" Diana took another pause to guarantee Wu Fei's complete attention. "Quatre doesn't remember a thing."

"He remembers nothing at all?"

"What did I just say?" Diana snapped. "Sometimes, Wu Fei, you can be…"

"I'm not looking for a fight. Continue."

"That's a first… anyway, even though I should just write his 'I don't remember story' up as him not wanting to admit what he did, I believe him. I mean, I've heard the story before, but he seemed to really not know what was going on… This is going to sound nuts, but I… I don't think he had control of himself. I do believe that he stabbed himself, there's very little doubt about that, but I think that something… I don't know, had its hold on him, like hypnosis or something. It's out there, and I'd be lying if I told you that I was completely comfortable with the idea, but-"

"I agree."

"-it's the only one I can-you what?"

"Learn to pay attention and react faster." Wu Fei took a seat across from Diana. "If Winner was going to commit suicide, he would have done it long ago. And if by some chance his life has gotten worse and he'd attempt it, he wouldn't lie about it. Something's definitely not right."

Pleasantly surprised, Diana's eyes leveled with Wu Fei's. "Exactly. You wouldn't happen to have any leads, would you?"

Her Chinese coworker stood. "No. I haven't really talked with Winner in ages. If I find anything, I'll let you know. Just remember, investigation is your area of expertise, not mine." With that, Wu Fei exited the office.

Diana watched him go, then shook her head. "At least someone agrees with me." Her superiors sure hadn't; they called her theory `ludicrous' and `far-fetched.' She had expected a reaction of the same sort from Wu Fei.

Diana slumped back into her original posture. "Investigation's my area of expertise," she mumbled to herself, contemplating her next move. "Then I guess I'd better hop to it. I have a few more things I want Quatre to tell me. I'll do that tomorrow morning." She stood and stretched. "Tonight, I shower and sleep."

Diana left her office behind her, making sure the light was off and the door locked. She didn't like to take chances.