Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox ❯ Chapter 1

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

flames will be used to rid my upstairs of the smell of my cat's kitty litter, since I'm too lazy to change it. ^.^

Title: Paradox
Disclaimer: don't own, not claiming to, not making money off this! so don't sue!
Pairings: OC¹x2, 1x4, 3x5xOC², VxT, OC¹x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, 5xOC²
Genre: fantasy, supernatural, angst, action?
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, OC, yaoi, yuri, lemon, lime, dark, angst, violence, language, gore, vampirism, TWT, supernatural stuff, MAYBE occasional mild humor
Notes: Okay! A few things. From this chapter on, there will be a LOT of supernatural things going on. Any notes of characters and their characteristics can be found at the bottom of the chapter. And I've changed the symbol for thoughts, because they anything in the sideways carrot things I had signifying thoughts BEFORE wasn't showing up. ::grimace:: ::sigh:: Oh well...
Symbols: *emphasis* |thoughts| :mindspeech/telepathy:
Randomness: ^.^ Yes, this chapter will have randomness before the start of the story. Actually.. ::appears to think:: Maybe every chapter will... But anyway. This chapter's is some MP3's I recommend! ^.^ Fun, ne? OKAY!! Hiroko Anzai - Necessary, Move - Gamble Rumble, Globe - Try This Shoot, Chihiro Yonekura - Birth of Light, Hamasaki Ayumi - And Then (Future Disk Mix), Luna Sea - Gravity


Chapter 1


"Master Duo?"

He looked up, eyes brimming with curiosity, and towards the intercom on the wall. "Hm. Yes, Quatre?" he asked, voice pleasant.

There was a slightly pause. "We've...found another vampire, sir, but..." The semi-feminine voice trailed off nervously.

"But...?" he prompted, eyebrows raising.

"We're not exactly sure he's willing," was the reply.

"Hm. Send him in." He paused, considering. "Reading room, please, Quatre."

"Yes, sir."

With a sigh, he stood up and walked through the hallways. He was purposely going slower than necessary; he wanted them in the room before him so he could study the vampire unknown.

When he reached it, Quatre was standing patiently outside the door for him. "He refuses to speak to anyone but you, and I've come to the conclusion that he can only talk mind-to-mind," the blonde whispered. "And judging from his coloring, he's also a Pyrokinetic."

Duo nodded his thanks. "Aa. Thank you, Quatre. You may go if you wish."

The blonde smiled, nodded, and walked away, heading in the direction of the indoor swimming pool this mansion sported. He moved silently in the doorway and stood there for a moment, studying the vampire sitting stiffly on the black velvet couch.

He blinked, however, when the vampire turned and met his violet gaze with frozen, slitted gold eyes. He hadn't expected him to know he was there; none of the other vampires had.

|Well, he knows I'm here. Oh well.|

Carefully, he stepped into the room, eyeing the vampire warily. This one Felt more dangerous than the others had, and it was making him kind of nervous. Casually, he hopped up onto the desk in the center of the room, never taking his eyes of the form in front of him.

"Well," he began. "I'm Duo. And you are...?"

The vampire just stared at him blankly, not an expression on his face, and those icy eyes sent a shiver down his spine.

So he took the time to study him. His skin was pure white, pale as fresh fallen snow, almost transparent, yet it still somehow managed to shine. It was stretched tightly over muscles that rippled whenever he shifted slightly. A long, thick neck let to a strong, stubborn chin. His lips were thin, so colorless they were not even white, and pulled into a tight, thin line. His cheekbones were high and prominent, and set above them were those slitted, icy gold eyes; they appeared metallic, and Duo noticed they were not completely sane. Above them, thick, blood red eyebrows swept upwards to his hairline. And to top it off was fiery scarlet hair, pulled back into a shoulder-length ponytail, with bangs hanging appealingly over his face, framing the oval structure to perfection.

He was wearing a skin tight, gold, sleeveless shirt with a low collar line; it appeared to be made of leather. Encasing his long, powerful legs was a pair of blood red, leather breeches and gold leather boots reaching half-way up his shins. Both were, again, skin tight.

He also had a jagged scar reaching from the left side of his hair line, crossed his left eye, and reached to his bottom jaw. In the center of his forehead, partly between his eyes, were three more jagged scars, all roughly two inches long. And on his right shoulder were four more jagged scars, the second from the top shorter than the others.

He was absolutely gorgeous. Duo swallowed slightly. Oh God, he seriously hoped this one was willing...

:Kess.:

He blinked at the voice in his head. "Pardon?"

The vampire frowned at him. :Kess. My name is Kess,: he repeated. He didn't sound really happy about having to repeat himself.

He blinked again. "Oh. Heh. Thank you," he stammered, then snapped his mouth shut. Why the *hell* was he stammering?

Kess raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

"Anyway. Can you talk?" he asked curiously.

The thick eyebrow inched further up that flawless skin. :I just did,: was the suspicious reply.

Duo sighed. "I meant vocally," he replied. "Like I am."

Kess seemed to be consider something. :Well, yes, I can,: he said slowly. :But it's extremely difficult.: He must have seen him open his mouth to ask why, because his eyes flashed with rage. :I got in a fight with a changeling, if you must know, and it sliced my throat open,: he snapped.

Duo blinked. "Oh. Did it..." He swallowed, finding it surprisingly hard to ask this question. "Did it scar?"

:Yes. And I've barely been able to talk since.:

"Oh." He cleared his throat, trying hard not to look at the vampire's throat; he wasn't sure he wanted to see how grotesque it was. "Well. On to other things. So you're a Pyrokinetic vampire."

Kess nodded. If he was in any way startled that Duo knew that, he hid it well.

"And are you willing to help me find the Pendant of Life?" he asked calmly. |God, I hope he says yes...|

Another nod.

He blinked, startled. "Really?" he asked, staring at the vampire in front of him.

Another, tighter nod.

"Oh." He cleared his throat again. "Okay. How old are you?"

Kess's eyes narrowed suspiciously. :Four hundred,: he said after a moment. :Or about there.:

"Aa. Anything else I should know about you?" he asked, crisp and business-like.

Kess thought for a minute. :Hm. Half-blind in left eye, can regenerate within seconds of injury.: He paused before shrugging. :That's all.:

"Hm. Any living relatives?" he questioned, mentally noting and storing information.

:Seven hundred year old sister name Thlayber,: he replied. :No living parents, as far as I'm aware of.:

Duo raised an eyebrow. |Hm. He's more like me than I'd expect,| he mused absently. "Hn. Grudges?"

Kess's expression darkened considerably. :Changelings.:

Duo stiffened. |Shit. Heero's a changeling, and there's no way he's not coming with us. This isn't good.| "*All* changelings, or just a specific group?" he asked slowly.

His face darkened further. :All.:

|Crap. This is *not* good...| "Hoookaaay... Enemies?"

Kess eyed him oddly for a minute. :Everyone has enemies,: he finally said.

Duo frowned. "Yes, but who *are* they?" he pressed; he needed to know this.

:Changelings,: was the harsh, frost-tinted reply.

|Shitshitshitshit...|

"...Oh." He frowned. "Would..." |...You be able to put up with one?| he finished mentally. He paused; that was a dumb question. "Never mind. Any weaknesses I should be aware of?"

Kess's eyes narrowed as if he didn't like admitting weaknesses. |Hm. He's like Heero and Wufei.| :I get really sick in the sunlight,: he said after a moment. :It's hard to see out of my left eyes, so my entire left side is vulnerable.: He shrugged. :That's all.:

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Hm." :Heero?: he called mentally, making sure only Heero could hear him. There was an instant, wordless acknowledgment. :Can you come here? I need your opinion of someone.:

Within an instant, Heero was in the room, smashing through the glass pane of the window in the form of a bird, before transforming into his natural, human-appearing form in mid air.

He winced. "Oops. Guess I should have warned you *not* to change..," he muttered. Kess had stiffened further, eyes growing a little less sane in rage as he saw Heero.

:Heero, I'd like to warn you of a few things,: he Sent. A mental nod was his only response; he fought down the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation. :He has a *very* strong grudge against changelings, he's not completely sane, and he can only talk mind-to-mind. *Don't* ask him why; he'll probably attack you.:

Sharp, slitted, ice-blue eyes shifted to his face, and frowned at him, eyes narrowing. :Is he coming with us?:

:Well, now that he knows there's a changeling with us, I'm not sure,: he replied after a moment. :But if he's still willing, then yes, he will come.:

The changeling's frown deepened. :Wouldn't he be a liability, then? He'd constantly be at my throat.:

His violet eyes shifted to Kess again. "Are you still willing to come with us? Because Heero *is* coming."

|Please say yes, please say yes, please say-|

:I heard that.:

He blushed slightly, glaring sideways at Heero as he mentally blew a raspberry at him.

There was a mental snort. :Hn. Baka,: tinged with the scent of a bubbling brook; Heero was amused.

He decided not to comment, instead focusing on Kess. The vampire was frowning at Heero, eyes unfocused. Then they refocused, and met his, the ice in them sending another shiver down his spine. Then slowly, very deliberately, that red-crowned head lifted and lowered in a nod.

He blinked, startled. For a moment, he couldn't think of anything to say. And then he caught scent of the amusement rolling off Heero in waves the size of tsunamis, and turned and whacked him in the back of the head.

Or *tried* to, anyway. Heero's hand flashed out and grabbed his arm, faster than his eye could see.

He couldn't help but be impressed by Heero's speed. No matter how many times he saw him move like that, he *had* to admire him. "Jesus, Heero, I will *never* figure out how you do that," he muttered, and began attempting to pry the changeling's fingers from his wrist-"attempting" being the correct term.

His fingers wouldn't budge. "Dammit, Heero!" he erupted, exasperated, after a moment. "Let go!"

Heero had apparently decided to ignore him.

He frowned, before smirking. "Heero. You're *mission*-" ice-blue eyes met his sharply at that, "-is to let me go."

Immediately, the long fingers disappeared from his wrist. "Ninmu ryoukai."

Duo sweatdropped slightly, rolling his eyes as he sighed and shook his head. "Heero, you need a life," he muttered, rubbing his wrist tenderly.

He turned to Kess, smiling brightly. "Well, now that that's settled, Quatre will show you to your rooms," he informed him, grinning ear-to-ear. :Quatre!:

Immediately the blonde elf practically pranced through the doorway, all smiles and charm. "Hello, I'm Quatre, you're Kess, and you're going to follow me!" He beamed at the vampire, blatantly ignoring Duo's exasperated amusement, though the Guardian knew he Felt it.

Kess raised an eyebrow, but stood up and almost literally *flowed* over to the blonde; that could *not* be called walking. It didn't look like his muscles were actually propelling him.

And he followed Quatre, gliding along behind him.

Duo collapsed in the nearest chair.

|Shit.|



Duo yawned, stretching, before bolting upright. Apparently Trowa - his resident gorgon[1] - was cooking breakfast.

He sniffed slightly. |Hm. Waffles, pancakes, ...bacon, hash...| He sniffed again. |Toast...| Sniff. |Bagles and English muffins...| He sniffed yet again, before blinking. Was that...sausage?

Slowly, he slid out of the bed and opened the door to his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of black leather pants and a thick black long-sleeve turtleneck.

It took him a couple minutes to pull the pants on; they were getting too small. Grimacing, he yanked the turtleneck over his head, and after he'd gotten his arms through the sleeves, he looked in the mirror.

|Crap. My braid's undone...| With a sigh, he undid his meter-long braid, before re-braiding it.

|There. All done.|

With that finished, he strode out the door and down the stairs, and then proceeded to bounce into the dining room. When he entered, he stopped in his tracks.

Kess was already there, standing next to the table, looking over the food already laid out with a critical and suspicious eye.

But that wasn't what surprised him. He was dressed in a shirt that, had it not been laced up the middle, could have been a vest. It was blood red, sleeveless, skin-tight, and the collar was open and folded down over the rest of the fabric. It also only reached half-way down his stomach, leaving a lot of tantalizing creamy white flesh on display. He also wore a pair of loose gold trousers, so low on his narrow hips Duo could see his hipbones. He wore a pair of red-black, ankle-high boots.

And his eyes now looked like they were actually made of pure gold.

|Shitshitshitshit...|

Kess looked up and met his stunned gaze with an impassive one, and Duo could *swear* he saw a clear, crystalline membrane slide over the gold eyes. Then a thick red eyebrow lifted.

He coughed, embarrassed at having been caught staring. "Uh, good morning," he said, before grinning. "You look good this morning." Then *he* raised an eyebrow. "How can you *wear* that? It's *freezing*!"

:Vampires aren't affected by the cold,: was the reply.

"Aa. That's useful to know," he murmured absently, moving to sit at the end of the table. He piled food onto his plate until it resembled a buffet itself, before digging in.

He ignored Kess's look.

"Help yourself," he said around a mouthful of breakfast sausage.

"Just make sure to get some before Maxwell has another helping."

"Wu*fei*!" he whined, pouting.

The mage dodged a well-aimed butcher knife easily, not looking fazed in the least that it had been aimed for the juncture of his thighs. Duo glowered at him, but returned to inhaling his food without a second thought.

Trowa chose that moment to enter, and Duo looked up, grinned, stood, and glomped him.

"Maxwell...," Wufei growled threateningly, eyeing his tall, green-eyed love possessively.

Duo blinked wide, innocent eyes at him, but backed off, returning to is seat at the dining room table.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at him.

"For the sausage," he answered the obvious, but unspoken question.

The gorgon nodded silently, moving to sit at his spot on the table.

Duo again began to inhale his food, and all the while babbled about random things.



Kess watched everything closely, noting interactions and body language between people and storing them in the back of his mind for later use. The blonde - Quatre, he told himself - had joined them about the time Duo finished his third helping of a mountain of breakfast food.

When Quatre had entered, he'd eyed Duo for a minute, before grinning and asking what helping he was on. Duo had glared half-heartedly and told him his third. And then, with another wide grin, Quatre had replied, "Only your third?"

Duo had rolled his eyes and proceeded to ignore him.

Then he'd begun ogling Kess, obviously trying with all his might *not* to make it noticeable. And it *was,* to everyone else at the table. But Kess was very talented when it came to analyzing the reasons behind people's distractions, and noticing where and how long their stares lasted.

Duo's eyes had rarely left him throughout the entire meal.

So the Guardian, as Kess assumed he must be, was attracted to him. This could prove either good or bad for their mission. |Probably mostly bad, but on occasion... It could be useful,| he mused as he shifted his gaze from Duo to Quatre.

That one was *definitely* attracted to both the changeling and the gorgon; mostly the gorgon, but he had a feeling that since Wufei was quite obviously *not* sharing Trowa with anyone, he had turned his attentions to Heero. |Hm. This should end up being interesting, spending time with this group,| he reflected, frowning invisibly, thoughtfully. |Especially with the jealousy factor Quatre has towards Wufei because of his relationship with Trowa.|

He shifted his eyes to the green-eyed gorgon, but didn't meet his eyes, knowing full well that the chance he get caught in the icy gaze and turn to stone was very slim. But it was still possible, and he couldn't afford to take that chance. *That* one was cold as ice, he observed. His emotions were well blocked, probably so much that even Quatre - who he'd noticed was an empath, and a powerful one at that - wouldn't be able to sense them.

But Kess's Soul-Searching ability was based on a deeper level of observation than just the first ten or twenty layers of walls and blockage the gorgon sported, which was the problem with Quatre's Empathy. The gorgon seemed to have had a very dark past, with many horrible things happening to him. Kess could relate to that; he'd lost his entire family with the sole exception of Thlayber, and had himself had a share of horrible things happen to him; losing his voice not included.

And it had obviously been enough to make him that cold, silent, aloof, unreachable type. Kess realized then just how withdrawn from others the gorgon was. |Hm. Another thing I can relate to.|

Again, he shifted his gaze, this time to Wufei. The mage appeared to be from the Dodlawk islands, with his almond-shaped, coal-black eyes, glossy, ebony hair and golden flesh. And Wufei was definitely a Dodlawkish name. He also seemed to have a rather dark past, not as dark as Trowa's, maybe, but still dark enough to make him slightly jaded. |Probably death of his family,| he concluded. |And maybe... Rape?| He frowned, looking closer. |No. His father, or some other powerful male in his family was abusive. And...| His frown deepened, and he gently, inconspicuously prodded a little more at Wufei's farthest back memories. |He *had* been raped! And by this same male!| Forcefully, he suppressed a shudder. |Maybe his past *is* as dark as Trowa's...|

So he shifted his gaze to Heero. *That* one was an enigma, almost for him, even. His mental and emotional barriers were so deeply buried and ingrained in his soul that Kess could barely get past them. But what he saw when he did almost made him begin to shudder uncontrollably. Rape, verbal abuse, murder, physical and child abuse... It was a wonder the man wasn't insane, from what he'd gone through. And that was just a brief brush against the surface of his most forgotten memories. He began to grow a grudging respect for the changeling. And he found something that surprised him. Heero was completely smitten with Duo. He obviously knew he was attracted to the Guardian, but for some odd reason, probably the fact the Duo *was* the Guardian, he hadn't made a move. |He seems to think that the braided baka is unreachable. Hm. Interesting.| And because of this, he had apparently turned to Quatre.

Kess had no doubts that the changeling was only sleeping with Quatre because there was no one else who was available; even though Duo, technically, was. And, from what Kess could glean from Quatre, the blonde didn't notice it.

Speaking of which...

He turned his gaze to the blonde, noticing first off that he was an elf. |One hell of an interesting party... Guardian, changeling, elf, gorgon, golem[2]... And now a vampire to add to the list.| He smirked slightly, unnoticeably. And then he glanced again at Heero, and his entire body darkened considerably, eyes narrowing and freezing over completely, and he reached up to his throat, unconsciously fingering the hideous scar located where his shredded vocal chords were.

But then he pulled himself out of his hatred-filled trance and returned to scrutinizing the elf. At first glance, he appeared to be innocent and sweet, charming and happy as anyone could possibly be without getting sick... But Kess sensed something darker hidden behind the outer, cheerful exterior. Delving a little deeper, all the while making sure no one noticed his doings, and shielding himself from Quatre, he nodded mentally to himself. |Father killed by the Elven King, I think I heard about that. Huh. Maybe I should start believing more in gossip...| But he was getting off track. Gently, delicately, he sifted through memories of that time, and soon discovered the elf had gone slightly insane after that. |Hm. Justified,| he mused, before removing himself from the elf's memories.

He didn't have the right to go any deeper.

So he stood up, ignoring the way everyone turned eyes full of different degrees of surprise on him, and impassively moved away from the table. However dark as any of their pasts were, they were *nothing* compared to his.



"So what do you think of him?"

Duo waited patiently for the reply, eyebrows lifted expectantly as his companions turned to gaze at him.

"I like him," Quatre said immediately.

Duo made a small sound of amusement. "Surprise, surprise," he murmured.

The blonde elf playfully stuck his tongue out at him, earning a small glare from his lover. |Lover... Gods, how I envy Quatre..,| he thought wistfully.

But he shook the wistfullness off; it wouldn't do to act like that. |Gods, now I'm starting to *act* like Heero,| he groaned mentally.

He turned to Heero, forcefully pushing any erotic thoughts to the back of his head. "And? What do you think?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The changeling shrugged impassively, not seeming to have any reaction. "He'll do."

Duo grimaced, snorting and rolling his eyes at the ..."eloquent" reply. "Why do I bother?" he wondered to himself, before turning his attention to Wufei. "And? I'm *dying* to know what you think, Wuffers," he said, smirking slightly.

The man merely ignored the pet name for once. "I don't trust him," the golem replied, shrugging shoulders that creaked as the pure gold they were made from shifted.[3] "He seemed, to me anyway, to have a hidden agenda. But it might not be anything that will endanger you or anyone else, so I'll put up with him."

Duo blinked. "Oh."

"I don't think we should bring him."

Everyone, including Heero, turned startled eyes to the gorgon in front of them; he rarely ever spoke.

"I agree with Wufei that he can't be trusted. He's too cold and distant, and I don't like him one bit. And he *does* have a secret agenda, I'm sure of it, one that will put us *all* in jeopardy," he continued, monotone voice void of any motion what-so-ever. "And he's unlike any vampire I've ever seen before, in a bad way."

Duo's face was slack with surprise, most of it from the fact that Trowa had talked without being prompted; but the other part of him, the part that liked Kess and, for some unknown reason, would trust him with his life, bristled at the things the gorgon was saying. He clenched his jaw, glaring for all his worth at Trowa. "Hmph. Well, I like him, and I'm the leader of the group. And I say he's coming," he snapped flatly.

Heero frowned at him then, looking somewhat concerned for his welfare. "Don't let your attraction cloud your judgment, Guardian," he warned. "You may not like what Trowa is saying, but *be careful.* It may just be the truth."

Duo stared blankly at Heero for a moment, somewhat surprised.

But Wufei glared blackly at him. "You're *ATTRACTED* to him?!" he almost hollered, surprised and fury raging in his eyes.

"Attracted to who?" a tired, half-yawning voice asked blearily from the doorway.

"You just missed our newest addition," Quatre replied calmly, smiling brightly at the gog[4] in front of him.

Griffin blinked, still rubbing bleary eyes of their sleepiness, and stared at him in confusion. "Our what?" he asked, and then another jaw-splitting yawn forced its way out of his mouth.

Quatre rolled his eyes, grinning ear-to-ear. "We've got a vampire."

All the tiredness disappeared from Griffin's face immediately as he stared at them, surprised to no end. "*What*?" he exclaimed indignantly. "And you didn't wake me *up*?!"

"Maxwell's attracted to him," Wufei all but snarled, his disgust plain for everyone to see.

And of course, Duo was offended to no end. But before he could mouth anything, Griffin beat him to the point.

"And thatsssssssssssssssss... baaaad?" he asked dubiously, eyebrows raised in doubt.[5]

Wufei threw his hands up in further disgust, before turning and storming out of the room, leaving some very unsurprised, yet sighing people behind in his wake.

Griffin blinked, staring after his lover for a moment, before shrugging and turning to the rest of the group. "So. What's he like? He can't be *that* bad if Duo's already smitten with him."

Duo growled low in his throat, but subsided when he realized it wasn't having the intended effect on his friends. "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that," he muttered darkly, arms crossed over his chest as he fought not to pout.

"Cold and distant," Quatre replied instantly, pleasant expression permanently ingrained on his face. "He's worse than Trowa, almost more so than Trowa and Heero put together."

The gog raised an eyebrow at him, looking amused. "Are you *always* drawn to the cold, distant, silent and aloof type?" he asked curiously, a small smirk playing at his lips.

"Hmph," he muttered. "I'm not going to grace that with an answer."

Quatre blinked at him, looking bemused. "But...you just did," he pointed, confused.

He let out a frustrated growl and stormed off, leaving the others to stare after him, bemused.



"No, sir."

"So they don't know your intentions?"

A frown. "No, sir. I already told you that."

The other frowned now, looking displeased. "Are you back talking me?" he snarled.

A proud lift of a strong chin. "Is there a problem with that?" A coolly raised eyebrow.

"Hell yes, there is! I could beat you for insubordination, boy!"

Pale, artificially colorless eyes narrowed and darkened slightly. "You're welcome to try," was snarled back. "But if you did, you *know* there's no one else who could pull this mission off without a hitch. I'm too valuable for you to beat."

There was a contemptful snort. "I said beat, not kill, boy."

Cold, oddly icy eyes stared impassively at the figure illuminated in front of them, and a thin, transparent, crystalline membrane slid from the outside of each eye towards the inner corner, before returning to where they originally were. "For you, beating and killing are the same thing," was all he said in reply, voice monotonous and void of any emotion.

There was a small sigh. "Perhaps they are..." But then the other shook his head. "But we're off topic. You *will* be able to kill the Guardian before he finds the Pendant of Life, I presume?"

A snort. "*That* will not be a problem."

The other frowned again. "Don't let overconfidence overcome your judgment, boy. You really can't afford to fail this mission," was the warning.

Another frown. "I never get overconfident," was the cold reply.

And then the light vanished, and in the darkness, a figure shoved a silver mirror under a mattress.



______
1. Gorgon- n. Any of the three sisters Stheno, Euryale, and the mortal Medusa who had snakes for hair, and eyes which, if looked into, turned to beholder into stone. :|: Or at least, that's the dictionary definition of a gorgon. In the case of Trowa and my series, it's a race that could turn people into stone if they looked them in the eye. No being hideous or having snakes for hair, fortunately for Trowa. ^.^
2. golem- n. In Jewish folklore, an artificially created human being endowed with life by supernatural means. :|: Meaning, pretty much, that Wufei is not human, but was created by the hands of a man.
3. So? He's made of gold! He's a gold golem! (shameless reference to a computer game called Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Armageddon's Blade that the author loves to play) And his body creaks and groans and whines when he moves. ...Well? Wouldn't YOU if you were made out of gold? ::blink::
4. Gog or Magog- n. In Biblical mythology, the heathen nations to be led by Satan in war against the Kingdom of God. Revelation 20:7-8 :|: ::sigh:: hm. well... I was looking at the monster units in HoMM3AB (see above ^.^) for something Griffin could possibly be, and I found Gog and Magog (weakest unit under the Inferno Town, for anyone who's familiar (or not) with the game). so I looked them up in the dictionary, and said... why the hell not? ::shrug::
5. ::grin:: stole that from "The Emporer's New Groove" ^.^

so. ::innocent, pleading stare:: how did you like it? I'm trying, unlike most of my stories, to have a LOT of character depth and development in this one. and I'm sorry, for all who are waiting for the next chapters in the stories I've got posted, but I'll probably be spending most of my time on this one for now. it's my favorite at this time. there will definitely be updates for the others, but this one will be paid the most attention to. ::sheepish shrug:: what can I say?

Ethri: ::rolls eyes:: I'm not even *responding* to that.

::ignores her muse:: now, if you would be willing to send me feedback... ::nudge nudge:: I'd happily accept it. ::grin::

Hemdra: ::gag::