Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Sea in I ❯ XVI ( Chapter 16 )

Unbeta'd
Italics ~ thoughts
Warnings: Angst, MXM goodiness, death, NCS and Mpreg in later chapters, just thought I'd bring up now so all will be prepared when it happens
Pairings: 1x2/2x1, and the pen dabbles around a bit

 

Thank you guys for reading ^_^ Input/feedback is much appreciated

 

Here some art work I commissioned from mayracs. Thank you again! http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php/198381

 

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the sexies in Gundam Wing AC, I just love to help them live a little.
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XVI

 

The feeling of being watched roused Heero without any change in his outward appearance. He inhaled, his arm instantly tightening around the weight on top of him while he retrieved a dagger from the inside of his jerkin with his free hand. Duo's scent was strong, unlike earlier when he saw him standing in the shadows. He remembered the sharp panic he'd felt when he entered and couldn't see or smell Duo. He'd inhaled, lashes fluttering at the remembered action, and only then had his panic subsided when he picked up Duo's scent, faint in comparison to another, foreign one. The foreign scent lingered with a stagnant feel like the feeling that still clung to the dead village. It was tinted with worry and fear, radiating from a shadowy figure in the corner. He had heard muttered words that he recognized as Duo's voice with a higher pitch. He forced himself out of his befuddlement and into action when Duo had nearly fallen out the window.

 

This place! He growled mentally frustrated, the sound spilling into his throat as a low rumble. Heero peered through his lashes when the quiet voices increased in number.

 

“Da?” He saw Hilde sit up, short hair sticking up in various directions as she sent bewilder glances toward the low flames of the fire.

 

“How long has it been like that?” Hidden cerulean shifted to Relena.

 

“You aren't doing this?” It was so quiet that Ethan's timid query, dripping of disbelief, was heard clearly by all. Ethan shifted in place, staring down at the blonde laying against Tamien.

 

“And what purpose would that serve?” Quatre countered in a bored and tired tone before he sat up fully, sending a discouraging look over his shoulder when Tamien tried to keep him from moving.

 

“I dunno. You could be possessed again. Or it never real-”

 

“And scare us to an early grave with a floating stone?” Narrowed golden slivers focused on Ethan with a cynical smirk, cutting the skittish man off and effectively stopping the half panicked whine creeping into his voice.

 

Ethan shrugged one shoulder, animosity flaring in his eyes as he regarded Wu Fei. “Anything's possible. He could attack us. When he was possessed-”

 

Wu Fei snorted, pulling on his tunic. Thick, patterned golden fur still sheathing his skin, “With one stone!”

 

Heero could practically hear Ethan's teeth grind when the young man whipped around, reaching for his sword.

 

“Ethan!” Heero opened his eyes fully at Fraix's curt admonishment. “He done no harm then and none now.”

 

“Then explain that?!” Ethan pointed at the stone hovering over the fire.

 

Heero's brows furrowed as he stared at it and pushed himself up to a sitting position. His brows shot up into the cover of his bangs the same time Quatre gasped at the stone disappearing from the fire to reappear in front of him. It hovered nearly an arm's length away, lined up with his nose.

 

“Heero?!” He heard Relena's stricken whisper as Ethan moved toward him. The stoned did the same. Heero raised a hand to halt him and the stone stopped moving forward. It returned to its previous position, swirling in place and the eerie feeling of being watched returned. “What is this?” Heero frowned, studying it. It looked vaguely familiar.

 

“Don't know.” He glanced at Relena, who was on her knees near the fire's edge and staring fretfully at him. “I woke up because I was cold and I thought the fire had gone out.” She looked at the roaring fire, “But now its fine and the stone never moved before now.”

 

Heero leaned left and right, the stone moving with him but not trying to get closer. He hadn't realized he was squeezing Duo to him until her heard a groan.

 

“Don' meh, `ro…” Duo groaned out groggily, rubbing his face into Heero's stomach. “You crushin' meh.”

 

He eased up immediately, trying to push Duo off of him without waking him further but his bonded held onto him tighter.

 

Heero let his arm go slack, body becoming rigid beneath Duo's own, “Duo, go over to Fraix.”

 

Duo frowned, rubbing at his eyes then shaking his head in the negative against Heero's stomach.

 

“Duo. Go. To. Fraix.” Duo's sprawled form tensed and lifted his head. Anger laden blue violets, set in a too pale face and ringed by sleep mussed hair, glared up at Heero. Much to his dismay, Duo sat up, putting his head in the direct path of the stone.

 

“Not this shit again!”

 

Heero gasped, managing to glimpse the stone still swirling but following his movement slowly this time. “Go!” Heero snapped. He pushed down the panicked thought of the stone deciding Duo's head was an obstacle to punch through.

 

“No!” Duo growled back, the faint shadows under his eyes became more visible in the firelight. “Damn you! I'm tired of you being hot one moment then cold the next!”

 

Heero had both of his hands on Duo's face the next moment, his thumbs smoothing across his cheeks in frantic little twitches. He felt the faint traces of stubble just below his full lips. “Please,” Heero's eyes flicked to the stone then back to doubt filled blue violets and he let his unease and fear show, “Please do as I say.”

 

The anger drained from Duo's face, replaced by wary concern. “Heero, wh-”

 

“Not now,” he said with an aborted shake of his head when the stone mimicked the movement. Heero licked his suddenly dry lips, “Duo, please go to Fraix and he'll explain.”

 

Duo looked at him for a long moment then nodded stiffly. Duo glared at him from under his lashes, taking his hands in his with a squeeze. “If he doesn't explain, I expect you to.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I mean it! I'll be back over here so fast-”

 

Heero freed his hands from Duo's, placing a finger to chapped lips to still their rapid movement. He let a small smile curve his own and brought Duo close enough to kiss him.

 

“Ay. Go.”

 

Duo narrowed his eyes at him and started to move away from him, but Heero made him move in a sideways direction. Duo frowned at him, shaking him off and whipped around to see nothing.

 

“Duo!”

 

“What is it?! If you think I'm gonna-!?” Duo stopped, a queasy tickle in the back of his throat making him close his mouth and swallow. He glared at everyone as a hush filled the dwelling except for the sounds from the crackling fire. Duo arched a brow in confusion at their surprised and shocked faces. He searched the dwelling, finding no one other than them present. No one was hurt, that he could see at least.

 

No danger.

 

Quatre was looking at him with a bit of anxiousness and then there was this dark blue glint of light, flashing in his eye. Duo's eyes crossed at the rigid round stone swirling and floating less than a finger's length away between his eyes. He recognized it as the stone that had been in his satchel.

 

He raised his hand to it, his face scrunched up in a curious wonder. “What-?”

 

“Duo-!”

 

“Don't-!”

 

It dropped into his hand. A chill went up his arm and he twitched at the brief sting of pain from his side. The ticklish feeling at the back of his mind became a fluttering pressure and his fingers twitched, half curling over the stone. A feeling of belonging pushed to the forefront and he shivered, still holding it in the palm of his hand. Duo rubbed at his arm and frowned.

 

“That was weird.” Duo commented absently. The nausea was gone and so was the thirst. He blinked up at the feel of eyes on him. Everyone was staring at him like they expected him to catch fire or something.

 

“What?!” Quatre eased over to him on hands and knees. He looked like he was in pain. “Quatre?”

 

Quatre sat on his knees in front of him and smiled. “I'm fine Duo. Tamien's seen to that. Give me the stone?”

 

Duo frowned at how tense Heero was behind him. Heero's hands switched between squeezing and rubbing his shoulders. The action itself was more revealing than Heero's silence. There was no disguising the jerkiness in the nervous movement. He felt Heero's head press against the back of his neck with shuddering breaths.

 

He's shaking. Without a second thought, Duo dropped the stone in Quatre's hands and turned to Heero.

 

Quatre watched the soft glow from the stone pulse rhythmically in his hand then wink out. He watched it but nothing else happened. It was back to appearing to be a coarse, inert stone. He glanced around. No one seemed to have seen what he had or seemed to be using their sight. Quatre's ears twitched involuntarily, making him wince as he rolled the stone across his palm. It was heavier than it looked and cold. Colder than it should have been considering it had been floating in the center of fire pit and in Duo's hand.

 

It was time. He felt it was, the silent mountain thrummed with muted expectation.

 

“We should do this now.” Aquamarine eyes lifted to them, pupils pinpricks in a sea of color.

 

Hilde shifted on her knees by Relena and eyed the blind wielder with skepticism. “Now? We don't even know what it is we're supposed to do!”

 

“The prophecy never said anything about a stone.” Relena added with a nod, patting Hilde's arm in understanding.

 

Quatre shook his head at Relena, “You forget there are many versions of the prophecy and Nana's song mentions a stone while Nartob's version does not.”

 

“Why would it react to Heero?” Hilde glanced at the once again expressionless man and Duo sitting beside him with his lips pressed in a thin line.

 

“I do not have all the answers.”

 

“Then why are you saying we do this now?” Ethan piped up in challenge, “Why can't we leave this place?”

 

Quatre glanced down at the stone, brow twitching.

 

“What is it?”

 

He didn't look up at Tamien's query, an intense look of concentration directed at the stone's surface, “It's glowing…” Aquamarines flicked pinprick pupils over them before holding the stone up for their view, “There must be some reason it reacted now. We can't just leave when we're so close.” Quatre shrugged a shoulder, “Obviously, this is the place we're supposed to be if it reacted to us being here or just chose to reveal itself to us.”

 

“At the cost of what? Our sanity? Our lives?”

 

“We knew the risks.” Quatre looked haggard, aquamarines glared coldly at Hilde. “It's preferable than returning to living a lie. Our people deserve to live like everyone else. They shouldn't have to live in worry whenever they step outside Acai that they risk alerting Nartob. Fear them finding out - seeking them out and hunting them down. You talk about the cost and our lives? What about the rest of our people? Who else can do what we are trying to do right now?”

 

Hilde's bottom lip trembled, mouth pressed in a pouty moue of upset.

 

“Can you do better?” Quatre licked his dry lips and let his shoulders sag with the weight of responsibility he'd been bearing over the years. “Can you live each day knowing that the only thing you can give as protection, as shelter, to our people is by hiding them away from the world? Is that truly any way to live?”

 

Hilde opened her mouth to speak again, but at the gentle urging from the big hands on her shoulders had her rising up on her knees. She looked back at her father, pouty grimace firmly in place. “Da?”

 

Fraix chuckled with a shake of his head and leaned forward to kiss the side of her head, “Stubborn as ye be always, go on me girl ye know what we came here t'do. Best be gettings on with it.”

 

She nodded, grimace melting into a sad smile as she glanced to Relena, who looked just as humbled if not haunted by Quatre's questions.

 

They took turns holding the stone, even had Duo hold it longer then the rest of them and Heero's steely gaze tried to burn holes through Quatre at his suggestion, but there was no reaction. They kept working at it until late in the morning. Duo plopped down on his ass by Quatre, ignoring the twinge in his side, sliding his hands across the cool stone floor and dropping his head back to hang off his shoulders.

 

“This is stupid! How long are we going to keep at this? I'm hungry.” Duo whined into the air.

 

“Duo's right. I'm not going to starve myself for this.”

 

“Hilde!” Relena admonished, giving the stone to Quatre who made it float above his hand.

 

Hilde shrugged, “I know you're tired too! C'mon Rel! You had to heal Duo and Quatre twice because I couldn't burn the damn thing right. It's a stupid stone! It's not like the fire rocks. It's like it's repelling me some how. Maybe it's just a hallucination from fatigue and what happened in that village. What we saw-” She cut off mumbled words in favor of not bringing back the memory of what they'd seen, so she wouldn't lose her appetite. She snagged a piece of jerky from her father and chewed happily. “Duo,” she broke the long strip in half and held it out to him.

 

Duo glanced at her, his pale face looking a little green at the flutter in his stomach. He shook his head, rolling it to rest on one shoulder. “Nah. Not hungry anymore.”

 

“Brat.” Hilde muttered with a curious glance and fond smile.

 

“That's it!”

 

“You're agreeing that I'm a brat?” Duo frowned, resting his head on his other shoulder at Quatre's exclaim and looking to the small blonde wielder. Quatre shook his head. Hilde ignored him, peeling the jerky strip into smaller pieces and continued to munch away.

 

Quatre looked at all of them before his eyes settled on Hilde, “Maybe you should try to slowly increase the heat along its surface.”

 

Hilde glared and muttered, “Easier said than done. The stone's not even holding the heat of our hands from when we've held it for long periods of time.”

 

Relena nodded, arching a brow at Hilde and held her hands over the stone Quatre kept suspended with a swirl of wind in the open space between them. Hilde sighed exaggeratedly, threw the rest of her jerky to the fire and followed. She glared at the rock, focusing on the stone and working at heating its surface while trying not to burn Quatre or Relena.

 

“You know, you said Nana's song mentioned something about four hands?” Tamien queried, at the nod from Quatre he continued, “Why don't you each put a hand near it in someway since all of you have to be a near it?”

 

Duo's eyes rolled as his body copied the motion to get to his knees. “I'm pretty sure we tried that already.” He placed his hand over the stone, their hands circling the stone as they sat in almost a semicircle. “It's probably not working because I can't do anything.”

 

“Duo, it can't be that. I can't do anything with the stone either.”

 

“Yea... Sure, Rel, if you can call being able to change the morphology of stone nothing.”

 

Relena gave him a quizzical look. “No... I can't. Millardo's always been the earth mover and manipulator.”

 

Duo shrugged, “You used to be able to do that when we were little. Anyway, nothing's happening.”

 

“Because you're talking to damn much! I'm trying to concentrate here.” Hilde glared and the air around the stone shifted, little waves of heat licking at their hands. Hilde exhaled, reeling the swirls of heat back toward the stone as sweat beading on her brow from the effort. Her eyes narrowed at Duo briefly as if saying in a twitch of her brow, `if I have to take this seriously, then you have to do it too.' “Try clearing your mind and just focus on it.”

 

Duo rolled his eyes at the short haired woman, who gave him a lingering glare before closing her own. Duo spared a glance at Heero before his eyes skipped back to the stone. He knew this was eating away at his bonded, but they had to do it. He wanted to do what he could to make it work. His brows furrowed, lips pursed a bit as he squinted at the stone with that one thought going through his mind; We have to do this. The tenseness eased from his face when he saw first the waves of heat radiating from the stone's surface then, as he continued to watch, he saw little flickers of flame curl out from its surface and back again. The rough ridges that made up the stones oval shape collapsed onto itself to form smoother sides and give it a more spherical in shape. Duo bit his lip, the heat was getting worse but Relena was undoing the damage by healing their hands. He felt it then as the healing tingle made its way across his palm from where his fingers touched Quatre's.

 

His eyes grew heavier, the stone reflected tiny flicks of blue light that grew brighter as he stared at the spinning spear. He was the only one who still had his eyes open but there was this pull that made his breath hitch and the pressure in the back of his mind grow. Then he heard it, that inaudible call that only Heero's presence seemed to subdue completely. He tried to turn to Heero but his eyes fell shut before he could start the motion.

 

* * *

 

“Me be not likin' the looks of this.” Fraix said lowly, staring at the four sitting in a half circle in front of the fire. The older man stood, moving closer to his daughter but left a good distance between them. Tamien had taken a similar stance, directly behind the unmoving blonde and looking conflicted.

 

Heero watched his friend, who was revealing more of himself than he willingly let others beside himself or Fraix see. Heero's wild bangs covered his eyes as he chewed on his thumbnail and found they were all tense. He flexed the fingers and fisted his hand at his mouth, his elbows resting on the bent sides of his knees as he sat cross-legged in the same spot where he and Duo had slept by the fire. He watched his bonded, letting the weight of his torso cause his elbows to dig into his knees. He ignored the sting. Duo hadn't moved for some time. None of them had and Duo's scent was wavering like it had when he found him near the window. The only thing that kept them from calling to them or moving them was the steady rise and fall of their chests. Then their breaths synced up. He had little doubt that the others hadn't noticed it and weren't similarly disturbed. The stone didn't look to be that anymore. It was a sphere of grayish black hovering in the center of the circle their hands created.

 

Heero's breath hitched when Duo's scent disappeared. He jumped to his feet, “Fra-”

 

“Another.”

 

Heero frowned, tense at the sound of Relena's voice but none of them had moved and he hadn't seen her speak. He glanced at Fraix, Tamien, Ethan and Wu Fei, nodding to each of them as they moved slowly toward the four in the semicircle.

 

“Another is needed.” Relena's eyes opened to reveal solid cornflower blue orbs that looked onto them with an accessing glint. The movement of her eyes only noticeable by the shift of her lashes, “He is dying.”

 

They stopped moving.

 

“Who?” Heero bit out, glancing at Tamien who was closer and looking decidedly pale.

 

“Another.” Quatre jerked in place, pale lashes opening to blue-green slivers of uniform color.

 

The sight of Quatre's eyes had him glancing at Duo then scowling back at Relena. “There isn't anyone else.”

 

“I could try.” Tamien said stepping closer, his bottom lip escaping from the worry of his teeth.

 

“You are not-”

 

Tamien's eyes cut to Ethan and the skittish man's mouth quickly closed. Heero clenched his fists at his sides.

 

“Is that wise?”

 

“He's needed. I am not… so important. I can act as his adjunct,” Tamien glanced at Wu Fei, “just take him and leave.”

 

Wu Fei's nose flared at the command but he nodded in a stiff jerk of his head. Heero could feel his nails cut into the palm of his hand as he met Tamien's eyes and nodded to him as well. He knew that if Quatre was out of reach - whatever they had called would have no choice but to use Tamien. But he also knew that Tamien could barely wield the air that aided some of his deadliest, silent moves and once whatever was controlling the other four knew the extent of Tamien's ability, it would probably kill him.

 

“Náhrada* come.” Heero swallowed and watched Tamien walk calmly toward Relena and Wu Fei crouch down in preparation of grabbing Quatre. There was movement to his left and Heero's eyes slid to Duo, his brows knitting when an absent smile turned up the corner of his bonded's mouth. His view of Duo was suddenly blocked by Fraix's broad back.

 

… From four, two…

 

“Fraix, what are you doing?” He tried to move but his body refused to respond. “Fraix?!”

 

Quatre and Hilde collapsed backwards, groaning as their lashes fluttered before they arched and writhed on the dwelling's stone floor. In turn, Duo and Relena rose up until their feet no longer touched the ground. Relena's eyes were open, her face expressionless while Duo's eyes remained closed and that odd smile stretched across his face.

 

“Da…” Heero glanced down to Hilde's sickly looking face. She forced her eyes open as they tried to close on her again, tears escaping out the corners of her eyes. “No… Da, No!” She raised her hand shakily, reaching for her Father. Heero saw Fraix's hand make an abortive move toward her then shake in place, his head dropping back on his shoulders. Heero strained to move forward but nothing happen. He saw his frustration echoed in the others when he looked to them.

 

Then two step One…

 

Heero's eyes went wide as the last part of the prophecy came to him, but it didn't explain why his uncle was being pulled into it. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he watched his cousin cry. He hadn't seen her cry in years.

 

“He's not the one!” He glanced at Tamien, whose face was curiously blank. Heero gritted his teeth, feeling ashamed of the decision he was making. He offered to do it. He volunteered. Why is he…he shoved away his thoughts.He couldn't doubt himself at a time like this. “He can't wield! Fraix?!” Heero caught a glimpse of a cornflower blue eye and one dark blue violet eye before Fraix screamed.

 

“Sto-!” He couldn't breathe. In that same instant, the light of the fire flared. Whatever had been holding them let them go and Tamien dove toward Quatre. Heero felt the bite of the stone floor through his pants as the familiar yet strange, shockwave swept through him and everyone else in the dwelling. This time, he couldn't make his eyes stay open or force himself back to his feet or even move. The light of the fire dulled. He suddenly had the urge to yawn. He was drained and knew something was causing it. Something important but it sucked away his will to do anything but fall into the dark eyes staring back at him. Then he wasn't seeing anything anymore as a tortured scream followed him into oblivion.

 

 

Tbc…

 

(Czech) *Náhrada = surrogate, substitute