Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Götterdämmerung ❯ Unterwelt ( Chapter 2 )

Unterwelt

 

Rating: PG-15 to R for mushy scenes, sparks between Heero and Duo

 

AU: Duo Maxwell wanted to live a semi normal life after his parents died. However, after finding out he may be the Key to breaking the curse of the werewolves and vampires, he is drawn into the dark fight for survival. Will he survive to learn more about the Key?

 

~*~

 

Go now if you want it

An otherworld awaits you

Don't you give up on it

You bite the hand that feeds you

 

All alone cold fields you wander

Memories of it cloud your sight

Fills your dreams, disturbs your slumber

Lost your way a fallen knight

 

Hold now aim is steady

An otherworld awaits you

One thousand years- you ready?

The otherworld it takes you

 

Go now into the sand and the dust and the sky

Go now with no better plan than to do or to die

Free me pray to the faith in the face of the light

Feed me fill me with sin now get ready to fight

 

You know you will

You know you will

You know you know you know you know that you will

You know you know you know you know that you will

You know you will

Fight fight fight

Fight fight fight

Fight fight fight

Fight fight fight

 

Hope dies and you wonder

The otherworld it makes you

Dreams they rip asunder

The otherworld it hates you

Free now ride up on it

Up to the heights it takes you

Go now if you want it

An otherworld awaits you

 

-Otherworld, Nobuo Uematsu and Alexander O. Smith

Final Fantasy X

 

~*~

 

Unterwelt

(Underworld)

 

PART TWO

 

Duo didn't know he slept entirely through the day until Sally shook him awake. “What?” he mumbled sleepily as he looked up at her through the suffocating darkness.

 

“Time to get up. Sorry if your not used to it,” Sally smiled slightly. Duo sat up, looking around. “Its nighttime?” he asked. Sally nodded. “That way, Trowa and Cloud can walk freely,” she said. “I left some of Heero's clothes on your bed. They might be a bit big, but their more your style, I hear. We're going to get your stuff tonight,” she called back to him as she left the room.

 

Duo looked at the pile of black clothing on his bed. “All black. Is he another goth or something?” he snorted.

 

Duo came down shortly after Sally wearing a loose t-shirt and pants that hung very low. He was greeted by Quatre, who wore a dark red button up t-shirt and black jeans.

 

“Did you rest well?” The blonde asked cheerily. “Yeah,” Duo mumbled. “Gotta get my 18 hours of sleep, you know?” he quipped half-heartedly. Quatre laughed delightedly, but Duo, who was getting quick to reading him, could hear an undertone of forced laughter. “The others are in the parlor. Come on, some of them didn't really have time to say hello last night,” he said, pulling Duo into the living room they'd been in last night, or parlor, whatever.

 

Trowa sat in the solitary chair Quatre had sat in the night before. Wufei, Sally, and Sekra were crowded onto the couch, and Cloud was sitting on the arm next to Sekra. Heero was leaning against the wall next to the fireplace that Duo hadn't noticed was there until he'd looked.

 

“I'm sure you all noticed Hilde's absence,” Quatre said as he led Duo to a couch opposite the first, sitting both of them down. “She died…last night, when we rescued Duo here. She thought- and I think so too- that he may be the Key.”

 

Again, as everyone looked at him, Duo felt like the proverbial slide under the microscope, or a piece of meat, to be more apt to what they were. He tried to smile, but looked down after the effort failed.

 

“He's not feeling to well right now…” Quatre said after a moment. Various noises like “Ah” or “Hn” responded.

 

~*~

 

“I'm sorry Quatre, I have to report back to the boss,” Sally said apologetically, rising from the couch. Duo looked at her, startled. “ I know, I know. `Unsuccessful in tracking, need more time,'” Sally smiled, waving slightly.

 

“Thanks, Sally,” Quatre and Sekra called. “Seeya later FeiFei!” Sally called.

 

“Do not mutilate my name!” Wufei yelled after her as she laughed and the door closed. Sekra snickered loudly.

 

“Quatre, who's she reporting to?” Duo whispered into the blonde's ear. As Sekra and Cloud teased a fuming Wufei, Quatre responded, “The government knows about vampires and werewolves. They have a police division called the Specials unit that is strictly for hunting down and destroying them. Sally's on our side but she has to report to that unit.”

 

“They don't care about the Key?” Duo asked. Quatre shook his head. “No. If they found you I'm sure they'd find a way to use you to destroy us all. There's a way to do that…”

 

“You still haven't told me what the conditions are for breaking the curse or eternal darkness,” Duo said. Quatre got a distant look in his eyes. “Yes. I'll tell you later,” he said, “Right now lets figure out how to get some of your stuff back. The Specials will have most likely quarantined your room,” he said as he looked at the others.

 

“I'm going to go with Duo to get his things from the apartment,” Quatre announced.

 

“You can't go alone. I'll go with you,” Trowa said. “But… your injured,” Quatre protested.

 

“It doesn't matter,” Trowa said firmly, and Quatre smiled.

 

“I'll go too. I'm not injured.” Heero had spoken more that two words for the first time Duo had met him.

 

“We don't need werewolves running around…”

 

“I won't turn,” Heero said. Quatre smiled. “All right. Duo, Trowa, Heero and I will go,” he said, standing up and the other three followed.

 

“Good luck!” Sekra called. “Wait.” Duo said, stopping the other three. “Isn't their anything I can use to defend myself?”

 

“You want to fight?” Heero questioned, and when Duo nodded, Quatre protested “But if you get injured…” Duo cut him off with a wave of his and a fierce scowl. “Quatre, Its all nice having you guys scrambling to protect me, but I hate being helpless. I have a feeling fisticuffs aren't any good against these guys, and right now, I really am indebted to you,” he said, his violet eyes pleading.

 

“Quatre, if he wants to fight its fine. Let him use Hilde's weapons. You told me he can apparently shoot a gun, anyway,” Trowa interrupted what was about to be Quatre's protest.

 

Quatre sighed defeatedly, and then perked up. “All right. Come on, Duo, I'll show you the way.”

 

~*~

 

`I feel like the spy out of the Mission Impossible movies,' Duo thought later as they crouched outside his former home. They were by his bedroom window, because there were two policemen in front of the house entrance. There were apparently more inside Duo's room. He mentally hummed the M:I theme as Trowa peered around the corner and whispered, “they're still there” to Quatre, referring to the guards in the front.

 

“All right. Heero, Trowa, can you take care of the Specials inside?” Quatre asked the unibanged vampire and werewolf, who both nodded. Both were suddenly gone, and Duo looked up just in time to see them crawl through his bedroom window.

 

“No wonder…” Duo said softly, remembering the night before. “They shouldn't be long,” Quatre whispered. Duo acknowledged him but still, his hand wandered to his hip where the gun- Hilde's gun- was.

 

“Ok, lets go, their done,” Quatre said, and both teens scaled the wall- it took them a bit longer than it had Trowa and Heero- and went through the window. Trowa and Heero helped them inside, and three policemen's bodies lay on the floor.

 

“Are they…” Duo began to ask but the two shook their heads. Immediately, he began rummaging through his drawers to put some of his clothes in the knapsack on his back. Quatre came over to help him, but Duo specifically told him “no purple.”

 

They were almost done when they heard far off howls. Duo froze. So did the other three.

 

`Ohshitohshitohshit,' Duo panicked, shoving a last few items into the bag before slamming the dresser drawers shut. Wordlessly the four launched out of the window, landing on the grassy lawn below. They stumbled up together and had made it halfway out of the premises before they heard screams.

 

“Run!” Quatre ordered and all three obeyed. Trowa and Heero were naturally faster so they grabbed Quatre and Duo, respectively, and sped up. Unfortunately, the werewolves were catching up. There were five of them.

 

“Quatre! We're going to get caught!” Duo yelled, wiggling around until his chest rested against Heero's shoulder. “What are you doing?!” he heard Heero yell.

 

“Saving your ass!” Duo retorted, pulling out his gun. Quatre had seen what he was planning and had positioned himself similarly. “Not until you see the whites of their eyes, Quat!” Duo shouted, and Quatre gave him an odd look, at the metaphor or the nickname, he didn't know.

 

One was almost on them. Duo mentally drew an X from its ears to its muzzle. His grandfather had been a butcher, and had to kill animals on more than one occasion. That X was the killing spot. He fired twice, and the werewolf yelped and fell down. Duo didn't wait to see if it was dead, just waited for the next.

 

Quatre had shot the werewolf gaining on him and Trowa, though it took him four shots. Duo X'ed the next, a silver, burly would the size of Sekra, and it took four shots to knock down this one. Only two left.

 

He didn't realize actually how fast they were running or how close the safe house was to his house actually until a large red wolf and a smaller silk black one tackled the remaining two. They stopped, and Duo watched in morbid fascination as Sekra and Wufei- the only other werewolf it was possible it was- tore into the other werewolves. Heero and Trowa set Duo and Quatre down.

 

“That was a good idea, Duo,” Quatre told the teen. The light haired man was refusing to look directly at the scene. “Yeah. I guess it was,” Duo said, tearing his eyes away from the sight. Why was he so fascinated? Must be the desensitizing from all the horror movies.

 

“Lets go inside, Quat,” Duo said, taking pity on the blonde, and the four walked inside.

 

~*~

 

“Zechs must be keeping his ear close to the ground. I thought maybe the attack on you was random, but now I'm convinced that isn't true,” Sekra said after she and Wufei had gotten redressed.

 

“You think?” Duo muttered darkly. He was curled on the couch, Quatre and then Trowa sitting next to him. Heero was leaning against the back of the couch, closer to the three than he had been before. Maybe he wasn't that apprehensive anymore… though he had yet to say a full sentence since returning.

 

“He has been collecting all the Keys we've discovered already,” Quatre said sadly.

 

“There are more people like me?” Duo asked, looking at the couple next to him. “Where are they? What happened?”

 

Trowa and Sekra winced, Duo barely catching the face. “He… tried to simulate the conditions. It ended up killing them,” Quatre said quietly. “You still haven't told me what the conditions are,” Duo pointed out, “So I can't protect myself from them.”

 

The occupants of the room got quiet. Wufei snorted. “It actually might be better if we don't tell you…” Trowa said finally. “What? Why?!” Duo shouted.

 

“Duo, please calm down! We're trying to do what's best for you!” Quatre pleaded. “Yeah right!” Duo growled, fleeing the room and running into his own shared room.

 

~*~

 

Sekra came up some time later. Duo was sprawled on his bed, scratching furiously across a notepad. “What do you want?” he asked sourly. Sekra gave a long suffering, sad sigh, waling over to the braided teen and sitting next to him. “You really want to know? You want to know what the conditions are for awakening the key?”

 

“Of course I do!” Duo said loudly, flipping over to peer at Sekra with identical violet eyes. She gave him sad, puppy dog eyes. “Its love.”

 

“What?” Duo looked confused.

 

“Its… this is what Hilde and Quatre told us. The prospective Key will fall in love with a vampire or a werewolf. As soon as they both admit their love to each other, something will happen. It might be in a life or death situation, we're not sure. We do know that if one of the lovers doesn't actually love his or her mate, it will result in death and possibly some more kind of curse on top of the one we already have,” Sekra said. “Like?” Duo asked.

 

“The thirst for blood in a vampire wasn't always as strong as it used to be, Duo. Werewolves didn't used to have to turn and run rampant under a full moon. Zechs might truly love the other Keys, but they didn't love him, and they died.”

 

“And… what about the eternal darkness thing?” Duo asked. Sekra looked thoughtful. “That depends on the werewolf or vampire. If they just want to be free, that would be the `light' side. If they hate humans, and want to destroy or enslave them- the `dark' side, - that would presumably plunge the world into darkness, forever,” She said.

 

“So… there's never actually been a `working' Key?” Duo asked. Sekra nodded. “Gee, that sure fills me with hope,” Duo said sarcastically. “Why did Hilde believe I was the Key so badly then?”

 

“I guess its kind of like The Matrix. You're Neo to her Morpheus- she really believed you were the one. The Key, I mean,” Sekra said. “That's so philosophical,” Duo said dryly, trying to bring humor to his situation.

 

Sekra smiled, and then there was a knock at their door. “Come in,” Sekra yelled, and it opened to reveal Quatre. “Duo…” he began.

 

“Sekra told me,” Duo cut him off. Quatre had a startled look on his face, slightly glaring at Sekra. Glares did not look good on Quatre. “Look, Quat, I'm not going to be going around falling in love with bad guys! Like Dorothy said- well, used to say, - `I'm too young to be falling in love,'” Duo smiled fondly at the memory.

 

“Wait, Dorothy? Was your guardian Dorothy Catalonia?” Quatre asked, both he and Sekra looking at Duo with wide, disbelieving eyes.

 

“Huh? Yeah…why? What is it?” Duo asked as Quatre and Sekra exchanged looks. Sekra answered him. “Dorothy Catalonia was Zechs' cousin. She was a swan-lycan- kind of like a werewolf, except not with the wolf part…”

 

“She was a were-swan? And the bad guys cousin?” Duo asked, surprised. “Yeah. It shows how desperate Zechs was to capture you,” Quatre said. “He killed his own cousin!”

 

“Your surprised?” Sekra asked archly. Quatre shook his head. “Not that much, but still…” He said, turning. “I'm going to talk to Trowa and Heero about this,” he left Sekra and Duo alone.

 

“This is like a bad soap opera. Next thing you know, Trowa will be found in a passionate embrace with a bad dude,” Duo muttered. Sekra laughed morosely. “If only it were just a TV show, kid.”

 

~*~

 

“Are you hungry? I realized you both haven't eaten in a long time,” Quatre asked after he returned. Sekra and Duo we're playing with a pack of cards they'd found in the room.

“Yeah,” they both said at the same time, and Quatre laughed. Duo grinned lopsidedly, feeling a bit better, and followed Sekra and Quatre downstairs. Trowa, Wufei and Heero were absent from the parlor, and Quatre lead them into a kitchen.

 

“By the way Sekra, where's Cloud?” Quatre asked as he rummaged around the fridge. Sekra got a disgruntled look on her face. “Dinner,” she said simply. Wordlessly, Quatre and Duo understood.

 

“He's not actually going to… kill someone, is he?” Duo asked suddenly. Sekra looked at him and chuckled. “No, Duo. He'll just use a blood kiss or aura-leech. He does this sometimes,” she said, looking at her hands. He heard the unspoken words.

 

It's usually me.

 

“Ah, well, Trowa's gone off to try and see what Zechs knows about you,” Quatre said to Duo, turning on the stove. “That reminds me. Wufei and Heero haven't eaten yet either…”

 

“I'll go get them,” Sekra began to get up but Duo shot up like a lightning bolt before she could. “No, I will. Besides, they have to get used to me sometimes, right?” he asked, trying to smile. Sekra gave him an `oh all right' look and Quatre smiled before Duo ran upstairs to get the two lone werewolves.

 

~*~

 

Duo banged along the first doorway he came too. “Anyone in there?!” he yelled loudly.

 

“What do you want?” a muffled voice Duo identified as Wufei growled. “Dinner- err, breakfast… food's cooking, Wuffers!” Duo snickered. The door ripped open, revealing an angry, scowling, shirtless Wufei.

 

“Why must you and Sally destroy my name? Its WUFEI,” he shouted. Duo giggled- laughed. “Whatever, WUFEI, Quatre's cookin',” he said lightheartedly, practically skipping down to the next doorway. He heard Wufei mutter about injustice and `stupid women and women-like men' before the door slammed shut again.

 

Duo knocked on the second door, got no answer and looked inside. No one was there, so he guessed it was Quatre and Trowa's room. Which meant the room next to Sekra's and his must house the other, blue eyed silent werewolf.

 

“Heero?” he yelled, banging lightly on the door. When there was no response he frowned and tried the doorknob; locked.

 

Normally he would've left then, but he was worried maybe something had happened- was there some even more horrible side effect affecting werewolves because of Zechs? - so he pulled out the pin holding his braid closed and fiddled with the lock.

 

It took a few minutes and some audible cursing before the lock was picked. Duo smirked triumphantly and fixed his hair- the braid had unraveled a bit- and opened the door. He yelped as something flew towards him and he ducked, and the thing buried into the doorframe.

 

He looked up to see an irate Heero. “What are you trying to do, kill me?!” Duo said in a high nervous voice. Heero had developed claws, which he pulled from the doorframe. “I though you were the enemy,” Heero stated blandly.

 

“You'd let the enemy pick your lock?!”

 

Heero nodded. “If it would help the element of surprise.” Duo huffed, blowing bangs out of his face. His mouth moved before his brain did. “Do I even smell like an enemy?” he grumbled, getting up.

 

Heero frowned. “What?”

 

“Nothing-Just, you know, werewolf…” he trailed off. “Wolves have a good sense of smell. I think,” Duo's eyes scrunched up in thought.

 

Heero made the `hn' noise, then said, “You do not smell like the enemy. You smell like Duo.”

 

`Well. That was awkward', Duo thought. He found himself blushing lightly. Heero looked at him as if he said this sort of thing all the time. Maybe he did. “Y-yeah. Quatre sent me to tell you he's making something to eat, so if you're hungry…yeah.” And with that, the enigmatic Duo Maxwell beat a hasty retreat into the hallway.

 

Heero frowned.

 

~*~

 

Duo had regained what dignity he ever had by the time he was back downstairs. Dinner/breakfast was on the table, courtesy of Quatre. Sekra and Wufei were already plowing through it but Quatre was politely waiting.

 

“You didn't have to wait for me,” Duo murmured as he sat down. “Pass the pancakes.”

 

“I'm still not too clear on whether this is dinner or breakfast, Winner,” Wufei said around a mouthful as Sekra passed the requested item.

 

“Maybe its breaker. Or dinfast?” Sekra suggested unhelpfully as Heero came downstairs. He sat silently at the table and merely began gathering his food.

 

“Its all Greek to me,” Duo muttered as he began to eat.

 

~*~(That entire scene was very pointless)

 

Quatre was delighted when Trowa returned later that evening-morning? - without any injuries. “Half the time you go out you get shot, Trowa,” he said worriedly as he helped him out of his coat.

 

“I guess I'm not very discreet about my methods,” The vampire said more words to him than he had spoken the entire day, had anybody else been there to witness it.

 

“Compared to Sekra, Heero or Wufei you're the perfect epitome of stealth,” Quatre said, leading his lover towards the bed. The bed was draped in heavy black sheets, as were the windows, to keep out light during the day.

 

“What about Duo? He's been very quiet.”

 

Quatre froze in the midst of lying down next to Trowa. “Hilde said he was a chatterbox…” he said quietly. “But he's in so much pain right now, and filled with so much sorrow…”

 

Trowa could feel the mental pain rolling off of the blonde, and he wrapped his arms around him. “Its ok,” He whispered with a tenderness no one but Quatre knew he possessed. Quatre calmed after a moment, looking at Trowa in the darkness. “What did you find out?” he asked after a heavy, comfortable silence.

 

“Catherine hasn't heard a peep out of Zechs or Relena since the night Duo was attacked,” Trowa said. “The night before she said Zechs sent a message out. He needed able warriors for a very important mission.”

 

“So they know about Duo too,” Quatre's voice was soft, heavy with the edge of sleep. Trowa hugged his angel to him tighter. “Relena's still going on about Heero, too. She's trying to get Zechs to send out a taskforce after him since he was spotted a week ago during the moon.”

 

“That vampire wench is still hung up on him?!” Quatre's waves changed to that of surprise and anger. Trowa didn't like her either. “That was twenty years ago! She captured her and he threatened to kill her, and she's making moony eyes?!?”

 

“Shh,” Trowa said as he felt the dawn draw closer through instinct, blackness flickering around his vision. “Sleep now…get angry tomorrow…” Quatre sighed, resting his head on Trowa's chest.

 

I love you.

 

I love you too, little angel.

 

~*~

 

That X butcher thing I read out of an Robert Zelany Amber novel, “Trumps of Doom”, Seems logical to me.

Poor, poor Dorothy. I killed her. Or not. Hmm… I don't know! This plot is rabid! It was kind of more lighthearted here though

I've heard of vampire's using blood kisses. Aura-leeching is where you make someone laugh and when they do you sap some of their aura. Sekra and Cloud are lovers, so she's kind of jealous.

Wolves, smell, Duo made assumptions. I liked that scene though :D

Is it breakfast or dinner or breaker or dinfast…? @.@

Aww, 3x4 mush. I'm such a sap.