Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Ivory Tower ❯ Chapter 2

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: Ivory Tower, 2/?
Author: Quirk othe Trade
Series: Gundam Wing
Pairings: 2+5 for NOW, other pairings to follow as they pop up.
Archive: Yes, please! Just tell me where. This was originally posted at wufeiduo.net, makotosagara.net, Under the Couch, now MediaMiner.
Commentary: Yes, please. ^_^ quirkothetrade@yahoo.com
Category: Alternate Universe/ Fantasy
Ratings: For now; PG. That will probably change as the story progresses, especially as I can't seem to help the lemon seasoning.
Warnings: There is major o-o-c here, folks. My mind's always a little off, and I think it wandered a little further than usual... also; my own messed up characters which have been invented for pure plot device-edness. There'll probably eventually be violence in some form, uncomfortable themes or ideas, gender confusion, miscommunication, etc. For sure this time, a bit of cursing and rudeness.
Disclaimers: All standard disclaimers apply; I only own Gundam Wing in my dreams, and besides: I've already spent all my money on the merchandise. ^_^
A/N: I have majorly screwed with various deities at my leisure. This is a total work of fiction, though I have used J.E. Zimmerman's 'Dictionary of Classical Mythology' as a basic reference. Please keep an eye on the pairings, ratings and warnings: these *will* change as the story progresses. If anything's a bit confusing, tell me and I'll start leaving foot notes; sometimes I wished I came with foot notes... ^_^;; For everyone who reviewed, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Beta-ed by: Mako-Chan and my Sissy. Thanks, ladies! Love ya; you, too, Duo-Chan!!

+++


Duo halted as soon as he felt no eyes on him and frowned, pondering the strange pounding of his heart and the dizziness. Turning, he glanced back at the Ivory Tower where Fate sat weaving and caught sight of his Sweetheart flying up the one thousand and one steps on light nimble feet, the robes seeming to pose no problem whatsoever. The veil was back in place; he thought that a pity.
Fingertips brushed absently over his lips, and he realized his mouth felt hot still, even though his Sweetheart's flesh had been chilled- which should have been impossible. When any of the Archetypes took an apprentice, they drained them of their mortal blood and filled them with the liquid light that ran in their own veins. Depending on the apprentice, it took between days and months. Had Dorothy yet to finish the transfer? Did his Sweetheart still carry mortal blood inside- wait. Perhaps he should have asked his Sweetheart what gender they bore. WuFei's features moved him with their beauty, yet the sheer strength of that one hand as it had crushed his, preventing him from touching them… Still, even Relena had extra ordinary strength. She could tear men in half and not break a sweat.
"WuFei." The still air seemed to shiver at his soft whisper. He watched the white clad form disappear into the clouds that surrounded the upper half of the tower and sighed. Chestnut red lashes closed over lavender blue eyes in a moment of uncharacteristic melancholy. Turning, he made his way back to where he'd entered the garden. Five guilty faces were there to greet him.
"Where were you?" he demanded, glaring and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Relena cast 'Invisibility'," answered Hilde. "She usually does. It's how she manages to not get caught."
"Thanks for the heads up," he snorted.
"Sorry, Duo," said Relena sheepishly, levitating off the ground a few inches in agitation.
"But, we did get to see Dorothy's apprentice," put in Trowa. He cocked his auburn head questioningly, emerald eyes gleaming in mischief. "Why don't you call any of us Sweetheart?"
"Huh?"
"Why don't you call us Sweetheart?" demanded Heero, taking up the slack. A smile threatened to beak out from his eyes. "You've known WuFei five seconds and you're calling-" He paused. Thoughts flickered for a moment, then he resumed. "-Calling her Sweetheart. You've known us for over two thousand years and we don't get pet names?"
Quatre snickered and a titter went through the entire group, but Duo's face remained earnest.
"I don't know. But- it's what my heart tells me to do."
"Duo…" Relena tilted her head just so, and bounced up upon her toes to sit, floating, on thin air with her legs crossed. "You feel an attachment to WuFei?"
"Aah."
"Magda Therese will be… displeased," said Relena. "She's rather possessive of you."
Duo smiled at her somber tone. "Magda Therese will have a conniption fit. But leave her to me; it's more like a … mother, rather than a lover, the affection she holds for me."
The others stared at him wordlessly until Quatre smiled, almost bitterly. "I wish Treize would behold us so."
"…" Trowa glanced sideways at him. "Perhaps… you could petition one of the other Archetypes to challenge Treize for you."
"No!" exclaimed Quatre, swinging around to stare at him. "Treize would choose Heero as his champion rather that fight himself. I couldn't bear it… if Heero were hurt." Pale lids dusted with white-gold lashes lowered over turquoise eyes. "I couldn't bear it if any of you were hurt."
"Nothing's going to happen, Quat." Hilde stooped a little to peer up into his face when he turned his face down. "We wouldn't do anything to upset you, okay? But … will you be all right like this?"
He nodded. "I can live with this. It's just… I've been having the feeling that something bad is going to happen."
Duo slung an arm over his shoulders, centuries of practice insuring he didn't smack the sensitive wings. "No worries, Quatre. Don't go borrowing frogs, as Magda Therese says."
"Frogs?" Quatre looked at him, puzzled as only those lucky enough to not spend more than five minutes a century in her presence were. "I thought it was trouble you don't borrow?"
"Well, you know Magda Therese. It's one of her weird issues that I stopped asking about long ago. I sleep better that way."

*****

WuFei stared for a long minute after Duo disappeared, then raised a tentative hand to lie against one particular cheek and blushed. (He-kissed me!)
"WuFei?"
"I'm sorry. Coming, Mistress." Hastily fixing the half veil back in place, WuFei made for the one thousand and one steps that lead to the top of the Ivory Tower. Truthfully, there were more than one thousand and one steps, but someone had decided that the number one thousand and one sounded good and it had stuck. Though, WuFei COULD have just thought of the mirror room and been there. But-well, time was needed to cool off.
(He kissed me, but he doesn't know anything about me. And-how did he get here? Mistress said this is a mystical castle and only the Archetypes and theirs can--oh. I wonder what Duo is, then?) The steps disappeared under fleeting feet, until the doorway came into view, and WuFei passed through it still breathing easily.
"There you are, WuFei." Dorothy stood there at the end of the short hall that led to the mirror room, and watched as the other approached.
"I'm sorry, Mistress. I met someone--"
"I know. Duo, apprentice of Magda Therese, the throne of the Archetype of Death." She smiled. "What do you think of him?"
WuFei stared wordlessly for a moment. "I don't know."
"Most of the apprentices are friends, and very loyal friends at that. If you wish, you may cultivate relationships with them. In fact, I encourage it. I… am hardly adequate companionship for you." Her shoulders bowed, as though under extreme pressure-the weight of billions, for a moment.
"I still have much to learn first, Mistress. And-I am hardly fit companionship for anyone at all," WuFei whispered, reaching up and removing the veil, his face down cast.
"WuFei," Dorothy scolded. "You have such a bad self image! I would not have picked you as my apprentice if there was not that certain something in you. Besides, you've proven yourself already. You sacrificed yourself for your friend, and exchanged her life for yours. Only a selfless person would shoulder the burdens of another. Your past is nothing; what you were before-it's nothing, or only as much as you will allow it to be. You are a good man, WuFei. Don't forget that." She laid a hand on his shoulder and tried to change the subject. After all, she was Fate- comforting people wasn't exactly her forte. "Do you trust me, WuFei?"
He remained silent, face still down cast. Then he spoke softly. "But, I enjoyed my life… enjoyed being a courtesan. Despite all the pain it caused me, I enjoyed being a thing of leisure, until she came along. Meilan came along, and I found myself questioning myself. I compared myself to her, and I found myself wanting-and I hated her for it."
"But you still saved her. You were still friends."
"Yes, we were still friends. All my training, money, status, knowledge-it meant nothing to her. She didn't care if I could discuss the latest literary works or dance elegantly or pleasure several partners at once. She cared about ME. And I - h-hated her for it. Saving her-it was the only worthy thing I ever did in my entire miserable life; the only thing I could do to make amends."
"But you haven't made peace with yourself over it. Unfortunately, I can't help you there." How strange, this soft feeling touching her insides like feathers… "I can only distract you. Do you trust me, WuFei?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Silly little one! You're not supposed to trust Fate. I'm a fickle bitch, remember?" She grinned at him, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Still, I trust you. You're my Mistress."
"I have one surprise I wish to keep from you 'til the ball. No-one else may know, either, if that helps."
She held up one finger, and shook it back and forth. "May I?"
"Of course, Mistress."
"You must make no complaint and agree to it on every point," she warned.
At that, WuFei paused to reflect. She was Fate, after all-a fickle bitch, indeed. "Do you mean me harm, Mistress?"
"No."
"Do you mean it as a trick?"
"Yes."
"On me?"
"Not really."
"Why?"
"To make things interesting, WuFei. Why else?"
At that, WuFei drooped a little, eyes falling to the floor. Dorothy eyed the miniature storm clouds gathering around his head with some trepidation. "Will I suffer?"
"Hopefully, no. The end result of this trick - is to make you happy!"
He gasped and jerked upright, storm clouds disappearing in a puff. She laughed at him then, a loud hearty laugh. "I AM a fickle bitch, my dear apprentice, but I've always rather favored Magda Therese's approach with her apprentice than any other. Despite their tendency to snipe at each other, they are loving in their own way, and very loyal to each other. Magda Therese once trounced the crap out of Ker for a snide remark about his braid."
"I'm sorry, Mistress… who is Ker again?"
"The goddess of violent death, dear." Turning, she began to make her way further into the mirror room. "She rides under the banner of Death, and thus is subservient to Magda Therese, who occupies the throne of Death itself. Really, WuFei, you must study the manuscripts I gave you. It explains most of the Archetypes."
"Yes, Mistress." He trailed after her, as silent as she on slippered feet.
"And please, don't say that. You make me out to be some sex-depraved dominatrix girl in tight black latex when you say that."
They both snickered at the mental image.

*****

"That's it?" exclaimed Magda Therese. They both stood in a parlor room on the first floor somewhere near the front entry. Almost all the mystical castles were creatures of chaos, and thus had a horrible tendency to change their layout over time. One day you knew where the water closet was, the next day it was the broom closet. Ugh.
"Aah." Duo nodded. "Perhaps you should just wait until you meet WuFei at the ball to decide how you like her?"
"Moron! That's not why I sent you, Duo!" She marched past him, hooking his elbow and dragging him with her out of the parlor.
(For such a harmless looking piece of fluff, she's so-)
"Finish that thought and I'll boil you in oil!" she snapped as she dragged him down the hallway. "And stop broadcasting! Or do I need to retrain you?! By the nosehairs of Treize, do I scream my personal business out like that?"
"No, you actually use your voice." He snickered at her growl of disapproval and added, "Have I ever told you that you look like a demonic school teacher in that outfit?"
She stopped and turned just long enough to kick him in the shin. A satisfied smirk spread across her face at his pained yelp and she jerked on his elbow again. With him balanced only on one foot, clutching his injured shin, it was much easier to drag him down the halls to the storage room.
"Where are we going, Mistress?"
"The store rooms."
"Have you forgotten you can just think us there?"
"No, I derive satisfaction from hauling your ass around bodily."
Duo sighed and thought them there.
"Damn it, Duo! I hate it when you do that!" Dropping his elbow, she swung around, hands on hips, and glared.
"We're only in the main hall; I wasn't sure which room you wanted," he said mildly, firmly suppressing the urge to smirk. His mistress had a tendency to throw things when irritated. She'd once thrown her scythe at him. Not seriously, of course; it had just been the nearest thing at hand. Still…
"Down here." Hands still on hips, she pivoted, skirts swishing, and began stomping her way down the hall. He followed, once again wondering how she managed to keep from falling on her backside in shoes that high. Once they'd bypassed most of the doors, his eyes widened. There was only one door left…
"Magda Therese?"
"Shhhh." She halted at the door set in the very end of the hallway and looked back at him, dropping her hands. "Be quiet, and keep your weapon ready."
Duo nodded and reached for the long chain under his shirt. He clutched the black stone that hung at the end in his hand, and felt it respond to his touch. Heat spilled from his palm, and he wasn't holding a pendant any more, but a scythe as tall as himself.
Magda Therese smiled and rolled her eyes as she generated her own weapon from the palm of her left hand. "Every time, your blade is healer green." Affection rolled through her tone. Her scythe had a silvery opalescent blade, shining through with every color. She and Duo only had the black handles in common.
Duo merely grinned. "I can't help it. It's in my heart."
Remember…?
She smiled as the word whispered around them. "Aah."
"What are we going in there for anyway?"
"Gifts."
"Gifts?"
"For Doro and WuFei."
"What?!"
"Shhhhhhhh! Noise draws them, remember? And we don't need them merging into something bigger."
Rolling his eyes, Duo watched her unlock the door with the scythe. The opalescent blade paled into pure translucent light, and she inserted it at an angle into the hole. They both felt the energy disperse, and watched it light up the door. It glowed in a starburst pattern, and she retrieved her weapon. The pressure locks hissed loudly in the silence, causing both of them to wince. The doors themselves opened slowly and quietly. They both muttered a curse and a prayer, and then slipped inside the opening of the door. They waited for the door to hiss shut behind them on the top of the broad stairs. Dim lights flickered in rows down the shallow, mammoth length of stairs, and stretched few and far between down the gloomy passageway.
Keeping just enough space between them for the swing of their weapons, they started down the center of the stairway cautiously, one careful step at a time. One step… three… six… nine… they safely made it down the stairs and began the trek down the walk.
THEY appeared. They crept along the walls, avoiding the dim spots of light. Some were long and creepy like spiders, others were short and choppy. The primitive fear of every mortal that remembered the first days of man knew it-every child who lay awake sleepless in their bed knew it…
They looked at each other and chorused, "No good, freaking monkey bastard oogie boogies."
Screaming, they rushed forward into the dark mass, scythes slashing. Two minutes of intense battle, and suddenly the hall was no longer enshrouded in shadow. It burst like a water balloon and fled away from them down the hall to a vast, nearly empty antechamber to huddle in the far corners, shivering.
"Why do the oogie bogies hang around our castle?" demanded Duo with an exasperated snort. "Why don't they hang around Tartarus Manor? It's dark, it's gloomy, there are people to torture…"
"They're afraid of Pluto, Persephone and Adez," said Magda Therese. "Especially Persephone. Can you say 'jealous little cow'? There's going to be trouble with her, mark my words; she's never really liked Adez, though she works her like her own, and she's not. And no matter all Adez' loyalty to him, Pluto loves Persephone more than he treasures his apprentice."
Duo turned to glance at her, startled. She was leaning on her scythe; her face was down cast, the long strands of hair hiding her expression. "I thought you didn't like Adez?"
Her face turned toward him slowly, as though heavily weighted. "I'm the one who lead Pluto to Adez." It was whispered softly, quietly. "She's never been the same person she used to be since."
"Magda Therese…"
She straightened abruptly, a mask sliding into place. "I always forget that this part of the castle is white."
He looked at her, and then smiled, letting the subject drop. He glanced around. "So do I, and I've only been down here a handful of times."
With the oogie bogies hiding in the corners, most of the corridor was revealed before them as white stone. It lead down to the antechamber; it had an empty pedestal in the center of the room and a huge door directly behind it, draped in a midnight blue velvet door treatment and studded with seed pearls. They slid past the thick folds into what could best be termed a treasure vault.
Various treasure chests and long vast tables were scattered through the entire behemoth vault. The tables displayed smaller chests filled with various jewels, racks displayed metal works and jewelry, and carven wood stands elaborate scrolls and manuscripts. Most of the chests on the floor were huge and sealed with a pressure lock.
"Some days I wish I were STILL a thief." Duo followed Magda Therese' example and kept his weapon out.
"Aah. You find something for the new apprentice, since you actually spoke with her. I'll hunt up something for Dorothy. Holler if you aren't sure about something."
They began moving through the tables and chests, eyes peeled for the occasional oogie bogie that might have found its way in.
"Mistress?"
"Aah."
"I also kissed WuFei. On the cheek."
"And?"
"I think I like her. I call her Sweetheart." There was a snort, and he swung around with a retort that died on his lips. She had her back to him, shoulders and back held tensely.
"Just be careful." It was ground out. "Dorothy's a bitch to begin with. I don't know how she is with her apprentice, but either way is tricky; and while I'm Death, Dorothy's Fate, and she can battle me to a standstill almost every time."
He paced back toward her, feeling a thrill of amazement run through him. "Are you saying you would duel on my behalf? That you'd battle the other Archetypes on my behalf?"
There was a tiny sound from the floor. He looked down in time to observe a tiny, pea-like diamond roll away from her feet. Kneeling, he picked it up and rose, gazing at it. It had a brilliant fire that danced in his hand. He heard another one hit the floor, and tucking the scythe in the crook of an elbow, gently touched her shoulder.
She wretched her head around to face him, glaring, night sky eyes filled with tears. "Find a gift for WuFei!"
Duo blinked. He'd never felt his mistress was off balance despite all her oddities and quirks, but there was a first time for everything. "Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm a girl and I can if I want to!" More diamonds hit the floor. "Because-just find a damn gift!" Whirling, she stalked away, leaving her apprentice gazing after her.
Stooping to gather every diamond he could find, he tucked them in a pocket. Then he quietly resumed browsing through the tables, occasionally checking the labels on the chests. If it was going to WuFei, he wanted it to be special.

TBC…

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