Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Innocence Lost ( Chapter 14 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
The devestation of a proud clan.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.17.2003 | Updated On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 9.5K | Visits: 503 | Status: Work In Progress
The devestation of a proud clan.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.17.2003 | Updated On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 9.5K | Visits: 503 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 14: INNOCENCE LOST
Wufei (Just after landing on A0206, two days before the attack by OZ)-
A knock at the bathroom door and Kwan's little voice shouted, "Mama? Is Wufei ready? Xiu says the people outside are getting impatient."
"Almost. Give me three minutes, Kwan." Auntie Fan straightened the new robes she'd gotten for Wufei and looked at him appraisingly. "Very nice." She approved, stepping back with her hands on her big hips. After Wufei’s moment of jitters which had resulted in his vomiting, she'd sent Xiu out to hold Meiran and the others from the Long clan at bay while Wufei got a hold of himself. It was shaming that he'd fallen apart so easily, and in front of Xiu, no less.
"Auntie?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"This might be a silly question, but why did you have a spare set of formal robes in your luggage?" Wufei thought it more than a little odd that she'd packed a second set that were exactly his size.
Auntie Fan laughed, a deep booming sound. "Your father had exactly the same problem when he married your mother. Your uncle, my husband, got incredibly sick, but that was at the altar, in front of everyone. I'm also told that your grandfather threw up before passing out just minutes before the wedding, luckily the ceremony hadn't started, yet, so no one saw him. I had an idea this might happen, so I planned ahead."
Wufei stared at her, horrified, as he realized the implications of what she was saying. "I'm from a line of weak men."
Auntie Fan slapped Wufei on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot, boy." She scowled at him. "Weakness would be running away while your betrothed is waiting out there waiting for you. Get my point?"
Wufei did and took a deep breath. He would be strong and face Meiran, even though he probably still smelled rather badly. Wordlessly, Auntie Fan held out a small box of Tic Tacs and Wufei made a mental note to pick the nicest rose he could find for her in the gardens. They both turned and found Kwan peeking in through the door.
Wufei had to smile. He’d grown found of his younger cousins while he’d lived with them and Kwan, he’d found out, is a very clever, sweet girl. "What do you think?" Wufei held his arms out and modeled the robes for her, feeling rather silly. Well, no one was looking except Auntie Fan and she wouldn't tell anyone. It made Wufei happy to please Kwan and the other children. Strange, he’d never thought of himself as a children sort of person.
Kwan giggled and threw the door open so she could run in and hugged Wufei. "You're beautiful, Wufei!"
Wufei’s eye twitched, but he managed to keep smiling and hugged her back. Beautiful?
Auntie Fan laughed. "He's not beautiful, darling. Wufei is handsome."
Kwan stubbornly shook her head. "Nope. He's very beautiful. Can we go see Meiran, now?" She grabbed Wufei hand and starts pulling him to the door of the shuttle. It was quite the scene when they did arrive. “Let me meet her!” Kwan begged when they were close enough to peek out the door without being seen. “I want to meet her.”
“She’s the one all in black.” Wufei said. He ran his hands down the front of his robes again and stood up straight, trying to make himself taller. He really hated being short. Outside, poor Xiu had his own problems with trying to keep all his brothers and sisters under control alone while keeping Meiran from hunting Wufei down at the same time. By the time Wufei emerged with auntie Fan at his side and little Kwan holding his hand Wufei thought Xiu was going to have a conniption fit.
Meiran was even more beautiful than Wufei had remembered. She, too, was dressed in finery, with an ornamental hat set precariously on her head. How on Earth did they get her to wear that thing? Wufei almost fell down laughing when he saw her like that, glaring and obviously unhappy at the way she looked. Darling Meiran had always been far more comfortable in her fighting gi and in the family dojo, rather than in elegant robes she was expected to wear as she was supposed to learn dancing and music and sewing, skills that bored her to tears.
She looked at Wufei and his heart started thundering. Her eyes were the same fiery eyes he remembered when they'd been together last. "So," Meiran smirked. "The clever brat is back?" Her tone was mocking and Wufei easily recognized the game they'd played since childhood.
"You are disappointed?" Wufei asked, making his voice sound as acid as hers.
She sniffed and Wufei could see Xiu watching them out of the corner of his eye. He looked very confused and Wufei suppose that it would have been kinder if he’d told Wufei about the game before they‘d arrived. Xiu looked worried for them.
"You don't deserve me, Chang Wufei. You don't deserve our clan!"
‘I am impressed!’ She managed to make that one sound almost real and Wufei might have believed her if he hadn't seen the gleam in her eyes. Her grandmother, as always, started to panic at our very public argument. She waved her hands, desperately trying to stop them from making a scene.
Now, for the big finale. "Go to Hell!" Wufei snarled, turning his back on them all and letting the robes fall away, leaving only his simpler white clothes.
Everyone from the Long Clan was horrified, buzzing about this strange turn of events. Xiu looked very puzzled, still holding baby Lai, but auntie Faun was smiling. Wufei started to walk past her and she whispered, barely moving her mouth, "That was childish, sweetie."
"That's half the fun. Meiran and I will be in the fields in the garden." Wufei whispered back and continued walking.
Meiran, as Wufei had known she would, followed, pretending to be furious. Well, it was an excellent way to irritate the people who'd been trying to control them their entire lives and for them to find some private time.
In the garden, the place where they'd played as children Wufei and Meiran had a proper reunion. She had gotten rid of the stifling robes her family had forced onto her and let her hair down out of the painful looking style someone had forced onto her. Meiran wore her more comfortable dark trousers and shirt and had her hair in short pig tails that she preferred. She pulled out a chain from around her neck and Wufei saw the silver dragon charm he'd given her before he’d left.
Wufei smiled and brought out the golden dragon she'd given him.
They kissed and Wufei knew it was right. That was where he wanted to be for the rest of his life.
The next day -
The wedding went about as planned. Many, many people from the Long clan attended while only the Fan family from Wufei’s family. All the children, for once, were on their best behavior. Xiu was dressed in formal Chinese robes, similar to what Wufei wore but dark reds and oranges instead of plain white. Wufei didn't get sick again and for that, he was eternally grateful. Xiu sat with his mother, smiling proudly and when the ceremony was over, he was the first one to congratulate Wufei, with a friendly pat on the back.
"Dude, you're married!!"
"That was the plan." Wufei reminded him as they walked to the garden where the party had just begun.
Xiu smiled at Meiran and teasingly said, "Welcome to the family, cousin. Don't let this pain in the butt bore you to death, okay? Come to Earth for a good meal, or mama won't forgive you."
Auntie stopped Meiran with a tight hug then looking at Wufei. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!" Suddenly, at her feet, her younger six children appeared and started running around in circles. "So," Auntie continued with a pleased smile. "How many children are you planning on having, my dear?" She put an arm around Meiran and led her away from slightly. The children followed and Meiran shot an almost frightened look back at Wufei. She had no more experience with children than Wufei had had when he’d first moved in with his auntie.
"Well, are you happy?" Xiu asked, seriously for once.
Wufei thought before he answered. He looked at Meiran, then around at the Long family. He looked at auntie Fan, his little cousins, and then finally back at Xiu. "Yes, I am. This is almost perfect."
“Almost?”
“If my parents could have been here, I think then…then I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Xiu smiled, but it didn't last long before he frowned and seemed to look inward again.
Wufei shook his arm. "Are you alright?" When his cousin didn’t answer right away, Wufei persisted. "Xiu? Can you hear me?”
"Uh? Yeah, I can hear you." He didn't sound happy.
"May I presume that this is about that link between you and your friends?" Wufei wished that Xiu had never developed the link and he was absolutely certain that it's going to cause Xiu nothing but trouble. It just doesn't seem natural to be joined to other people like that. Wufei certainly didn't think he could handle it as well as Xiu did. As far as Wufei could see, Xiu acted as if nothing were wrong. Like it had been that way his whole life instead of just a few days.
Xiu nodded and told Wufei that Touma was angry. Then Shin had gotten suddenly angry. "I thought I heard music." Xiu said, confused. "Honestly, I heard music and they both got a lot happier and...I know it sounds silly, but they were kissing all of a sudden."
Wufei raised his eyebrows, surprised. "They were kissing? Touma doesn't even like to shake hands!"
"I know and he practically hates Shin. I wonder what's going on."
Wufei gestured back to the house. "There's a computer in there you can contact them, just call Quatre's house and ask what's happening." Xiu didn't move for a minute. "Unless, you really don't want to know." It was no secret to anyone that Xiu had a crush on Shin and that he and Touma were closer than friends. If something had happened between Shin and Touma, Xiu might not be very happy. It would be very confusing to say the least.
The party was, by then, in full swing with loud music and lots of dancing. Food, mainly supplied by auntie Fan, was everywhere on heavily laden tables. Xiu, standing so somber in the middle of all the happiness seemed out of place. "Maybe I should." Still frowning, Xiu walked slowly back inside.
"Where's he going?" Meiran asked, watching Xiu walk away. She'd managed to escape Wufei’s younger cousins and auntie Fan had apparently let her off the hook without too much teasing. "He looks like he just lost his best friend." She put her arm around Wufei.
"He might have."
Xiu-
It was easy enough to find the communicator and a just little harder to get up the courage to dial up Quatre's number. Xiu waited for someone to answer, nervous that maybe he should have lived in blissful ignorance. A few minutes went by and Xiu could feel great happiness from Touma and Shin. It had been going on for a little while and they didn't seem like they wanted to stop. They weren't even sure what they were feeling at first, just a slow build up of happiness and then they were kissing.
It was strange. If Xiu closed his eyes he could almost see them in his head. Two blue balls of mist, one slightly darker than the other, swirling around each other, almost touching. A short distance away, there were two other balls of mist, one bright green and one red, also touched each other, and occasionally moved closer to the other two and Xiu.
Xiu didn't understand what was happening. He did know that the two blue mists were Touma and Shin, but he wasn’t sure how he knew. Just like Xiu knew the other two were important, but he wasn’t sure who they were, yet. Xiu thought that the green one might be Seiji, the guy who had saved Shin's life.
‘I'll have to track him down when I get back to Earth and thank him properly. He just walked away before Shin could even talk to him.’
The red ball of mist is more of a mystery, but Seiji knows him. They seem to be very connected.
Xiu swallowed hard and opened his eyes to stare at the phone, still no one picked it up and there was no image on the screen. It shouldn't matter if they liked each other, right? After all, Xiu had never said anything to either of them. Never even mentioned that he liked either one of them. It was his own fault if he’d waited too long. Could Xiu really expect them to wait for him? With the link that had tied them all together, Xiu even saw that they both loved him, they could see that he did, and Xiu had still said nothing. Now, was that arrogant or just plain stupid?
‘I can't help being jealous, though. I'm not even sure whom I'm jealous of. I love them both. Oh, crap. I hate my life.’
Before Xiu had met Touma, he had been so sure it was Shin he was in love with. Over the past few months, when Shin had been away with the circus touring the space colonies, Xiu had been feeling closer to Touma, also. Yes, it was selfish, but Xiu couldn’t help wanting both of them. Now that's unfair, isn't it?
Just as Xiu was about to hang up, Touma's face appeared on the screen, looking flushed and breathing hard. Jeeze, that was either SOME kiss or Xiu had interrupted more than a kiss! Touma's shirt was half-unbuttoned.
"Xiu?" He said, sounding surprised and blinked at Xiu.
"Um, hi, Touma. I was just wondering what you were up to." Xiu licked his lips and decided that he should just tell all of it. "I felt you and Shin were very happy though this thing." Xiu pointed to the glass orb still hanging around his neck. "So, what's going on?" He hoped he sounded casual and not like a peeping tom idiot.
Touma was silent. He didn't say a word and just stared at Xiu, the color draining from his face.
"Touma, who's calling?" That was Shin's voice and Xiu felt his heart sink as Shin walked in view, completely bare-chested and his hair all messed up. His eyes widened at the sight of Xiu and he bit his lip. "Xiu..."
Xiu hit the off button and stared at the blank screen. He didn't want to cry, it would ruin Wufei's wedding party if people saw him crying and he really should be thinking about Wufei and Meiran. But...Shin and Touma were...they...
Xiu could feel them both trying to touch his mind through their bond, but he didn't want to feel them, right now. Xiu didn't want to feel how happy they were together. It wasn't hard, once he tried, to build a wall like Seiji’s around himself. Xiu made the thickest, hardest stone wall around his mind that he could and everyone was shut out for the first time since this thing had started days ago and Xiu was alone.
It was almost frightening to be so alone, but Xiu didn't want them to know he was crying.
"Oniisan?"
Xiu turned, surprised that anyone was in the room with him, and saw little Kwan looking up at him.
"Xiu, what's wrong?" She looked worried and was frowning at Xiu. Despite how small she was, Kwan is like a little mama. She's grown up into the kind of child who always wants to play little mother and fusses about everyone.
Xiu wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and tried to smile. "Nothing, angel."
Kwan scowled at Xiu, just like mama did. "Don't lie, Xiu. You were crying and I saw it! Who made you sad?"
Xiu sat down on the floor and brought his little sister onto his lap. She still hadn't reached that age where she thought she was too big for his lap and Xiu hoped she never did. "I just found something out about my friends that made me so happy I started to cry."
She didn't seem to understand that. "You were crying because you were happy?"
"Sure," Xiu lied. "You remember my friends, Shin and Touma, right?" He'd brought them over to the house often enough that she knew them like parts of the family. She even knew Shin, though he was often away from Earth.
Kwan nodded. "Yeah. What about them?"
"Well, I found out they really, really like each other. I'm happy that they're going to be happy. So happy that I started to cry."
"Oh. Like mama cried when Wufei and Meiran got married?"
"Yeah. Just like that."
Kwan leaned up and kissed Xiu’s cheek. "I'm glad you're happy, Xiu, but please don't cry. You make me sad to look at you." With that she stood up and held out a hand to Xiu. "Come back to the party, Xiu. I want you to help me steal some food when mama isn't looking."
Xiu laughed, but it didn't sound quite right, even to him. "I don't feel too good right now, Kwan. I think I'm gonna go home and lay down."
"Do you want me to get mama?" She was back to being worried again.
"Naw." Xiu stood and ruffled her hair. "We'll let mama enjoy the party, she doesn't gets to go to many. It's just a stomachache. Tell Wufei I'm sorry, but I had to go. I'll talk to him tomorrow, okay?"
Kwan nodded went off to give Wufei the message.
‘My stomach hurts. My head hurts, too. I think I'm going to cry again or maybe throw up. Why should I be sad, really? Shin and Touma will be happy now, and I love them both, so I should be happy for them. I should, right?’
Earth-
Byakuen-
Byakuen had followed Ryou when he’d brought the injured male, Seiji, back to his den. It was safer and smarter to remain a shadow and just watch what was happening for a while. However, once Byakuen was certain that neither Seiji's den sister, called Luc, nor the strange male, called Zechs, would harm either Ryou or Seiji, he began to get more curious. Byakuen explored the area before making his way back to the silent, dark house.
Creeping in, Byakuen found Seiji and Ryou asleep in each others arms and he was pleased. It seemed most fitting, as if they belong together, and it was high time Ryou found a mate. As he didn’t want to disturb them, Byakuen wandered a bit more and found Luc alone in a large bed. As she had been using only half of it, Byakuen was certain she wouldn't mind sharing.
Byakuen woke to the den sister of his cub's mate screaming. It is a wonderfully loud scream and he thought she would have a great battle cry if she tried hard enough. Byakuen stretched, even as Luc, for some reason, rolled onto the floor with a hard thud. My, but that must have hurt. Still, humans always had the strange customs.
Seiji couldn't get out of bed that morning, not because he was unable to, but because his den sister would howl at him until he went to lay down again. He and Ryou had come running, still smelling of each other, when she’d screamed at seeing Byakuen on her bed. After that, she'd told Seiji to get back to bed. She was very sensible Byakuen supported her decision with a nudge to the back of Seiji’s knees.
Luc looked at Byakuen, rather surprised. "Good boy. You're smarter than you look."
‘Of course I am! Silly female, thinking I'm stupid.’ Byakuen snorted and wandered off. Ryou seemed determined to stay with Seiji so Byakuen was relatively sure that they would be safe together. After all, Ryou has found one of the power orbs, giving him the right to wear the yoroi of Rekka. Seiji wore another, the orb of Korin. They would be fine alone for a bit.
Luc walked away, too, after giving Seiji a tray of food and Byakuen decided to follow her. Byakuen was disappointed to find that she simply went to the room with the metal and glass box. She seemed fond of it and spent much of the morning tapping on it and even then seems unhappy by what she found there.
Byakuen yawned. There was no game to hunt in the area and he was not willing to go so far from Ryou, yet, so he stayed with Luc. She barely noticed him except for the occasional pat on the head or rubbing his fur if he went closer enough. Byakuen definitely liked Luc.
"Damn, another dead end." She muttered to herself.
Byakuen believed that Luc needed a mate, also. She was spending too much time alone and was talking to herself. As Byakuen understood human nature, not that he understood it well, talking to oneself was not good for humans.
Again, Luc sighed and started tapping on her box of metal and glass. "I'll find you, bastard." Luc muttered. "Just wait and see, I'll get you, yet."
Perhaps it was far past time for her to mate. This is verging on obsession, it seems seemed.
There was a sharp knock from the door of the house and Byakuen was immediately up and ready to defend the den. Old instincts were hard to suppress. It was not where he permanently intended to live, but it was where his cub was and these people obviously needed protection. Who better than Byakuen?
Luc called out, "Who's there?"
It was Zech's voice, now familiar, that answered, "Is this a bad knock-knock joke or are you going to let me in, Noin?"
Luc, for the first time in several hours stood up and walked out to answer the door followed by Byakuen, just to be sure everything was safe. Zechs came in, wearing the metal mask, but he took it off almost as soon as he crossed the threshold. Then he saw Byakuen, but there was little fear in his scent. Curious, most humans feared Byakuen at first sight.
"Is this a new friend?" Zechs asked, not taking his eyes off Byakuen.
‘Very good, little human.’ Byakuen thought. The man certainly had wisdom if he was wise enough to know Byakuen was dangerous. Byakuen went to Zechs to examine him more closely as the last time Byakuen had seen him, it had been from a distance when the man had been helping Seiji. He was a tall man with long white, straight fur, much like Rajura had, but not so curly. This one smelled, and seemed to act like, a beta male.
Byakuen believed that Zechs was a power within his family group and, so, decided to allow him to stay. As long as Zechs did not overstep his bounds and attempt to take Byakuen’s family group or harm them, he would be welcome.
"He's Ryou's friend." Luc answered. "Ryou calls him Byakuen. He seems quite friendly, really. He showed up this morning."
Luc led Zechs back to the room where she'd been working and they spoke together in friendly tones about Seiji and finding someone that had hurt him. Listening to them, Byakuen thought that perhaps he would help find the person who‘d hurt Seiji so terribly. Byakuen wondered if Zechs wants to take Luc as his mate and why he called her Noin. Perhaps it was a term of affection for humans. Still, he would have to pass inspection if he wanted to take Luc to his family group and away from Byakuen’s - it was only proper.
Another knock at the door and Zechs rose to answer it, leaving Luc to tap on her box. "Noin, Trieze is here." Zechs came back with a male Byakuen had not smelled before.
Cautiously, Byakuen stood and walked over to him, knowing that he was a male to be weary of. This Trieze was an alpha, a leader with sharp eyes. Byakuen sniffed him up and down, but though he could find nothing wrong with him decided to keep and eye on him. Just to be sure.
Trieze looked down at Byakuen with one raised eyebrow and they stared at each other.
‘Yes, definitely a male that might be dangerous to my family group.’ Byakuen decided that Trieze had better watch his place. Trieze didn't ask any questions about Byakuen, as Zechs had. He just accepted Byakuen’s presence and moved on.
Zechs, as Byakuen watched, kept a close eye on Trieze. He gave off a mating scent. Well, at least now Byakuen knew it wasn’t Luc that Zechs was courting. Trieze and Zechs virtually reek of each other.
Trieze and Zechs stayed for a long while, Byakuen kept a close eye on them, especially when Ryou walked in suddenly and found everyone staring at him. It was times like that in which Byakuen wished he were able to speak the human language. He would be able to tell them, 'Ryou is my cub. You will not touch!' But actions will have to speak. Byakuen stood and walked over to him, putting himself between Ryou and the new males.
Trieze, as was his place as an alpha male, spoke first. "Hello, Lieutenant Noin was just telling me all about you. You must be Ryou, right?" He held out a hand to Ryou.
"Um," Ryou just looked at the hand for a minute. "Yeah. I'm Ryou." He slowly reached out with his hand and let Trieze shake it. This is a new human custom Byakuen had not seen before and he was, naturally, suspicious.
"You can call me Trieze."
Worried, Ryou looked at Luc who said, "Don't worry. They're friends of mine and they're just visiting."
"Actually, I really can't stay long." Trieze picked up his cloak even as he spoke. "Duty calls and I must answer. Will you consider my invitation, Noin?" He held out a white card of paper with some kind of gold writing on it.
She smiled and took it. "Thanks, but I really don't want to leave Seiji alone, yet."
"So, bring him."
"Are you sure?"
"Why not. In fact, I've invited a couple of other young men to the part and they might like someone their own age to talk to."
Noin gave him a suspicious look. "Now, why would you invite a teenagers to your party and please don't tell me anything perverted."
Trieze laughed slightly. "Nothing perverted. One of them applied for a job, but he's only fifteen and I want to see how he interacts with my staff. I wouldn't hire him until he gets a little older, but I want him to have a good opinion of us when he gets old enough."
Noin and Zechs both looked surprised. "He's that good?" Zechs asked.
Trieze nodded. "He could win the war for us, Zechs. I don't think even he realizes the potential he has with that intelligence of his."
"What war?" Ryou asked and everyone looked back to him, as if they'd forgotten he was in the room.
Most people probably would have just told the boy to mind his own business, but Trieze answered. "We are expecting a war very soon, young man. When it breaks out, I would like to have the best people on my side and that includes this young man in particular."
Ryou was frowning now. "War? War?" He whispered to himself and Byakuen could see his face twisted up, trying to remember something. Ryou looked at the adult humans. "Who are you going to fight?"
"It's probably better that you don't know." Luc answered, brushing a piece of her short hair behind one ear. "The less you know now, the safer you'll be later."
Still, Ryou knelt next to Byakuen and ran his fingers through Byakuen’s fur. "What am I forgetting, Yaku-chan? It's something about a war, I'm sure of it."
Byakuen knew Ryou was thinking about the war that he's been raised to fight in, the war that will be waged against this world. Byakuen looked up, away from Ryou, and saw the three adult humans giving Ryou strange looks.
It was Trieze who spoke. "What do you mean, you remember something about a war?"
Byakuen didn't like his tone, as if he was hiding something. He has become a predator and he's looking at my cub. Byakuen stood, baring his teeth and hoped that Trieze would gets the idea to back off.
Trieze stepped back, but didn't take his eyes off Ryou. "Do you know something, Ryou?"
Ryou, not aware that Trieze was dangerous, just shrugged. "I'm not sure. My memory has been playing tricks on me lately."
Trieze suddenly smiled, and Byakuen growled, not liking Trieze suddenly, but Trieze managed to ignore him and just spoke to Ryou. "Let Noin know if you remember anything, won't you?" Trieze asked, still smiling. "I would love to know what you know about a war."
Ryou, puzzled, nodded agreeably and Trieze left.
"I don't think Byakuen likes Trieze much." Zechs said. "Something about that 'war' comment."
Ryou patted Byakuen’s back until he started relaxing - Ryou had always known just the right spots to touch. "He doesn't. I'm not sure why, Yaku-chan usually likes everyone."
"He won't hurt Trieze, will he?" Zechs asked.
Ryou shook his head. "Probably not."
After Trieze left, Byakuen found himself feeling much more comfortable. When it started to get dark, Zechs also left and Byakuen was free to go about his other search now that the males had left his new home. The other search was just as important as the search for Ryou and Byakuen could only hope that it would end as well. Duo was still missing and Kokuen-Oh wouldn't forgive Byakuen if he didn't find the cub. Duo should be easy enough to find, once Byakuen picked up his scent.
Outer Space-
Major Sally Po-
Major Sally Po stared at the large monitor in front of her and narrowed her eyes at the order she'd just been given. General Septem, her commander, was known to be quite ruthless but this... "You want me to murder the people on A0206?!" Sally Po leaned forward in disbelief. "How can you ask me to do such a thing?"
"I didn't say that. But that colony is old and useless. So I'm telling you to disinfect it before we scrap it."
Sally Po shook her head, not wanting to believe the heartless orders she'd just been given. "I'll admit that A0206 is decrepit. However, in that case, we should offer the inhabitants another colony, or at least renew the support systems. YO-448 is a biological weapon. As a doctor, no as a human being, I can not condone such an inhumane act!" She slammed her fist down on the computer console to make her point. There was no way she would do this!
"There are dangerous elements at colony A0206." General Septem continued, as if he didn't even hear her. "This is a necessary measure to preserve the peace of earth sphere."
"But, sir…!"
"That's all I have to say. Disinfect these rebellious germs! Do I make myself clear, sanitation squad commander?"
Sally Po was speechless at both the monstrous command and the insult. Sanitation? She was a respected doctor for God's sakes! With a growl of rage, Sally Po glared straight ahead. "This is insane! There's no was such a massacre could be justified!"
"The OZ advance team is going in!"
Sally Po turned to look at her subordinate who'd shouted out. Indeed, on the monitor in front of them, they could see a dozen or so MS flying down with their huge guns ready for action.
"How very unlike Trieze." Sally Po muttered to herself. She didn't know him well, but from what she did know Trieze was not the sort to rush into an attack like this. He seemed to prefer to act behind the scenes and manipulate in order to get his way. A direct attack was too obvious for his taste.
"Should we attack?" One of the soldiers asked Sally Po.
She answered quickly. "No."
"What? But General Septem said..."
"I know what he said, soldier. I want to see what Trieze is up to." If he went through with this massacre then she might have to rethink her opinion of him.
A single, decrepit MS flew up from the colony, ready, if not quite able, to defend the people below. "Now there's a real warrior." Sally Po said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Someone to be proud of.”
Colony A0206-
Wufei-
Kwan said Xiu would talk to Wufei today, but he can't find his cousin anywhere. Xiu had vanished in the middle of Wufei’s wedding party, so he knew there was probably something wrong, something more than a stomachache as he'd apparently told Kwan. Xiu wouldn't leave for so little a reason. Auntie was ready to kill him, though, for running off like that.
He wasn't at the apartment where his family was staying during their visit, which meant that Wufei had to search for him. Luckily, Meiran had gone away earlier to the family dojo to get some work done, so Wufei didn't have to feel badly about leaving her alone on the day after their wedding.
Wufei finally managed to find Xiu, but not in the places he'd expected. Wufei had gone to all the restaurants and the dojos, then to the places where most teenagers like to hang out. There was no sign of him anywhere. Out of frustration and lack of ideas, Wufei went to the field of wild flowers where he’d always liked reading. It was quiet there and no one but Wufei ever went there. So, of course, that's where Xiu was.
Xiu was laying on his back in the flowers, his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky. It seemed very out of character for Xiu.
Wufei went and sat next to him. "How's your stomach?"
He didn't look at Wufei. "Fine."
"Kwan was worried, you know."
Xiu nodded, but still didn't look at Wufei.
‘I'm no good at this sort of thing! I don't understand this whole emotional thing that Xiu seems to need right now and I can't do anything if he doesn't want to talk about whatever's wrong. I know if I didn't want to talk about a problem, I certainly wouldn't want Xiu butting his nose in, so maybe I should just walk away and let him sort out his own problem.’
"I found out what they were so happy about." Xiu said suddenly.
"What? They who?"
"Touma and Shin. I called them last night, like you said I should. They were...they..." He closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep breath. "They're in love and I think they were, well, more than kissing when I interrupted them."
Wufei didn't know what to say to that, so the two of them just sat together in silence for a minute.
"I think I really am as dumb as everyone says I am." Xiu continued.
"What?" If there was one thing Wufei couldn't stand, it was when people would hint that Xiu was dumb. He's really very smart, he just doesn't show it off.
"I fell in love with them both and I never did anything about it. Now, it's too late." A tear slid down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away. "Never even said anything. How stupid can I get?"
"Maybe you should talk to them first." It was the only thing Wufei could advise him to do. He’d never had this problem as it had been decided who he would marry. Wufei considered himself lucky that he'd fallen for Meiran and she for him- there were many marriages that didn’t work out so well - but Xiu had to find whom he wanted to love. "You don't know for sure that they were...well, doing anything, do you?" That was the most delicate way Wufei could think to say it. If Xiu had been able to feel that they were kissing, would he have felt it if they were...um...
"No, I don't." Xiu opened his eyes, but Wufei could see that he still didn't have much hope. Either that or he didn‘t want to raise his hopes. "But they were so happy. I can't explain it, Wufei. I know they're in love."
Wufei opened his mouth to say something when the whole colony shook violently. Xiu sat up instantly, putting his problem to the side. "What's going on?" He looked around in confusion, even as the colony started shaking again.
Wufei’s eyes narrowed and he looked up. "We're under attack."
"Who would want to attack this place?" Xiu asked, baffled. He knew how peaceful they, as a colony, were. Unfortunately, he didn't know that they’d been working on a plan to break away from Earth along with the other colonies. The Alliance must have gotten information about the building rebellion and they've come to stop them.
Wufei shouted at Xiu over the noise of the battle. "We have to get back to the city! I have to find Meiran!" As soon as Wufei knew she was safe, he would find a way to help in the battle. Meiran come first, though.
Xiu started running with Wufei, but he yelled. "Mama's visiting the head of the Long clan, so she'll be safe enough in her place. I gotta find the kids!"
They separated as soon as they reached the main part of the colony where everyone lived. Meiran wasn't in the home she and Wufei had been given as part of their wedding gift from the head of the Long Clan and she wasn't at the dojo. Wufei couldn't find her anywhere. Then, he looked up. There, in the blackness of space, a full-fledged battle, his mouth dropped in utter horror. In the center of the battle was Meiran's Mobil Suit, alone.
No.
Nataku, the name Meiran used in battle, fired at the attacking forces, but only managing to destroy one while another crippled her left arm.
Wufei screamed, "Get out of there, Meiran!" She was alone up there surrounded by six enemies. Wufei shook his fists at the battle. "Run away! Meiran, you idiot! Get away!" Of course she couldn't hear and there was only one thing Wufei could think to do. He had to get to Shen Long! Past the streets mobbed with panicked people, past the house Xiu and his family were using, Wufei ran until he came to the lab where Professor O was building Shen Long, supposedly nearing completion. He was in the lab, working on it and Wufei ran straight passed him, jumping into Shen Long's cockpit. Shen Long was the Gundam Wufei’s colony had been working so hard to create for so long. It was meant as a defense against the Alliance and now it would be tried out for the first time.
"Stop!" Professor O shouted. "Shen Long has no weapons!"
"Doesn't matter!" Wufei knew how to use the Gundam. It had been apart of his training for several years before he’d been sent away from the colony and even after he’d arrived on Earth, Professor O sent Wufei training materials. It was meant to be Wufei who faced the Alliance in battle, not Meiran!
Wufei took off to save his wife.
The battle went badly, though Wufei managed to fight off the attackers and get one name from the transmissions of the enemies: Treize.
Wufei ended up carrying Meiran's MS back to the colony, landing as easily as he could so as to not jar her. Wufei didn't know what kind of condition she was in or if she was even alive. Her MS had been an older one, not the best, as the attackers had been, and she'd taken quite the beating.
Meiran wouldn't speak to Wufei over the communicator and once he saw her, Wufei understood why. Wufei had climbed out of the Gundam and climbed directly across Shenlong's arm to reach Meiran as quickly as possible. Her cockpit opened easily enough to reveal...blood.
That was all Wufei could see, at first. Blood seemed to be everywhere, splattered all over the cockpit, coming from Meiran's still, broken face. He touched her face, rubbing her cheek gently. "Meiran, Meiran, wake up, please." Don't die.
Slowly, her eyes opened and she smiled painfully at Wufei. "My Wufei. You came to fight with me."
Wufei didn't even try to smile back, but leaned in and unfastened her safety harness. "I wish you'd waited for me."
"No time. I didn't even know where you were." She took a deep, rasping breath. "I love you, Wufei."
"I love you, too." Wufei knew what was happening. She was losing too much blood, too quickly. She's so terribly pale. "We have to get you to the medical..."
"No."
"Don't be foolish, you'll die."
"I'll die anyway. Take me to your field, Wufei. I want to see the flowers again."
In the field-
"I wasn't strong enough to save you." Wufei whispered while he set her gently down in the flowers. ‘I'm a failure and she’s dying for it!’ Wufei sat with her and Meiran leaned her head against his shoulder.
"You are the strongest person I've ever met, don't ever let anyone tell you that you're weak. I saved your meadow, Wufei." She looked out at the flowers with a soft smile. "I want to stay here, where there's no battle, just the flowers."
"Yes."
She died on Wufei’s shoulder, still smiling and looking more at peace that he'd ever seen her before.
Wufei lay her down and squeezed his eyes tightly before he started to cry. Wufei believed that he would never love after Meiran. His heart and his soul, his reason for living, was gone. She had been an innocent woman who never should have been in battle. It never should have happened!
I will avenge Meiran, if it takes the rest of my life, I will see her murderers receive justice!
Xiu-
Xiu starting running, but not to the safe, strong palace where he knew his mother would be. His brothers and sisters had been sent to the crèche, a daycare, where they could play with other children for the day and he knew that would be the more vulnerable place. As fast as he ran, Xiu had to struggle couldn’t seem to go as fast as he wanted to. The ground was shaking, worse than any earthquake he had ever heard of. Buildings were collapsing left and right and people were screaming, trying to find their families.
Xiu stopped and stared in horror when he came to the crèche, the spot where it had been, rather. The whole building had crumbled, leaving nothing but a massive pile of rubble. "No." Desperately, Xiu ran into the mess and started to dig with his bare hands, trying to ignore the fear that was eating him alive. "Come on. Come on." He mumbled, pulling debris out of the way. His family was in here, somewhere. Damn it, I'm not strong enough!
Xiu reached a long timber that he couldn't budge. Even as he strained to move it so he could dig deeper, Xiu froze when it appeared in front of him. Like something emerging from a deep mist, it appeared slowly in front of him. All of his life, Xiu had dreamed of the orange armor. When it had solidified, Xiu set his jaw. “What do you want?” He had no time for nightmares.
“ACCEPT ME. I WILL GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH.”
Xiu's eyes narrowed, not questioning it. He would give anything to save his family. "Yes." He said out loud. Best to think about the implications later, after his family was safe.
“CALL TO ME. BUSSO KONGO.”
Xiu screamed, at the top of his lungs. "Busso Kongo!" The orange armor moved, walking stiffly toward him and Xiu waited for something to happen. Just as it reached Xiu, the armor faded, almost turning misty, and then reformed around him. Suddenly, Xiu had all the strength he needed.
The timber was feather light, with Kongo’s help. Under several more feet of rubble, Xiu found the first, Kwan. He stared at her twisted body, pale and bloody. Her hair was matted with wet blood and her eyes stared back at him.
Kwan blinked slowly and said, in a voice hardly more than a whisper, "Xiu?"
Xiu patted the hair out of her face. "I'm here, Kwan. Just rest, I...I'll get mama and a doctor. Oh…man! You're hurt pretty bad." Xiu looked around at the still frightened people of L5. "Please, someone help me!" But no one stopped to help him as he cradled his sister's body. "She's only seven, someone help me!" Still, no one was listening. No one stopped their panicked dash to their own loved ones and Xiu was alone with Kwan still bleeding and getting paler as the seconds ticked by.
"Don't be afraid, Xiu." Kwan put her head against his shoulder. "I love you." And she died.
"Kwan?" Xiu shook her gently, desperately hoping that she would wake again. "Please, Kwan, don't die." She, of course, didn't wake up. No miracle happened and Xiu was left with the body of his sister in his arms, an innocent child who should never have been involved in a war.
Xiu threw his head back and screamed with all his might, no words, just an angry howl at the world and the wall around his mind shattered, falling like dust and letting his friends see and feel his pain.
He felt the minds of his friends, suddenly rushing into his, turning and jumbled, afraid of whatever had upset him. Clumsily, they tried to reach out to him, tried to comfort him. Xiu pushed them all away. He didn't want comfort. He ignored them as best as he could.
Slowly, he climbed down the demolished building and set Kwan down a safe distance away. Xiu closed Kwan's eyes before climbing back up, his face set in a hard mask, even as he cried for his sister. One at a time, Xiu pulled them out. Wing and Chung, the twins, then Fai, the second oldest brother, and tiny Mei-Lin, still with her pacifier in her mouth and dressed only in her diaper.
All dead. Xiu ran out of tears by the time he'd laid out his three brothers and two sisters on the ground. He wanted to lay down and die with them. He wasn't even strong enough to save them! Xiu wiped his face with one gauntlet hand, trying to keep going. He had to find Lai. The baby, he just had to find her body. It was the least he could do. He couldn't leave Lai’s spirit suffering alone.
Digging through the stuff, Xiu was tired, so terribly tired, he wanted to give up and just sit down.
Then, a cry.
Xiu's eyes flew open and he listened carefully.
A baby screamed and Xiu dove back into digging out with gusto. Even if it wasn't Lai, even if it was someone else's baby, he had to save them. He had to get them out! Parts of walls and doors went flying until Xiu found an overturned crib. It had turned upside-down and miraculously protected the baby from the falling building. Xiu grabbed the legs of the crib and tossed it over his shoulder then looked down at the baby.
Lai! She was alive! Scraped and bruised, but alive! Xiu scooped her up and he started to cry again, this time, so happy to have her. She was dirty and bleeding, her voice failing from so much screaming, but she was alive! Xiu fell to his knees, as he held her as closely as he could without hurting her, not caring that she was crying so loudly, she was alive!
Wufei-
Wufei left Meiran in the field, respecting her wishes, and went to look for Xiu, to see if any of his other family had survived. Auntie Fan and Wufei met in the city, where she was frantically searching amongst survivors for her children. She saw Wufei and her eyes lit up. "Wufei, sweetie!" She pulled him for a hug tightly. "Thank God you're safe!”
Wufei didn't say anything, he wanted to cry again, but thought that he had to find everyone else first.
"Where's Meiran? Is she all right?" Auntie Fan asked quickly. When Wufei didn't answer she must have seen something in his face. "Oh, no..."
"We have to find the others." Wufei told her briskly, sharper than he'd meant to. "Xiu said he was going to find the kids." If Wufei were to think of Meiran, he knew he would cry again.
Auntie Fan probably understood as she nodded and they made their way to the crèche together.
They found Xiu, kneeling on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest and five small bodies in front of him. "No, please..." Auntie Fan started forward and Wufei could see she was trembling. Xiu wasn't moving, his head lowered, chin almost touching his chest. They got close enough for Wufei to see his cousins, his sweet little cousins, dead at Xiu's feet.
Auntie Fan screamed and ran to her children, falling down next to Xiu, touching and patting their hair as if she could somehow wake them. "My babies!" She cried. "My babies!" With tears streaming down her face she collapsed, burying her face in her hands over Mei-Lin. It was the first time Wufei had ever seen her cry.
Xiu, for the first time since Wufei and auntie Fan had gotten there, looked up, his eyes red and puffy from crying. "Mama." Xiu opened his arms and revealed his treasure. Lai.
The tiny baby was fussing and auntie Fan looked up, her face showing relief and joy that her youngest had lived. She hugged Lai tightly and kissed her soundly, before putting her arm around Xiu. "Thank you, baby."
"For what?" Xiu asked bitterly. "I couldn't save them." He looked down at the ones that had been lost.
"You saved Lai." Auntie Fan told him. "And you lived. What would I do without my babies?" Auntie Fan pulled Xiu into a hug and he wrapped his arms around his mother and sister, the little family just holding onto each other. Wufei watched from a distance, content to let them have privacy right now.
I will have justice. For Meiran. For Kwan and for Mei-Lin. For Chung and Wing, for Fai and for all the other innocents who'd died today. For auntie Fan and for Xiu, who would have to go on living without the children. For Lai, who would never know her brothers and sisters. I will have revenge! Just you wait and see, Trieze, whoever you are! I'm coming for you!
To be continues...
Wufei (Just after landing on A0206, two days before the attack by OZ)-
A knock at the bathroom door and Kwan's little voice shouted, "Mama? Is Wufei ready? Xiu says the people outside are getting impatient."
"Almost. Give me three minutes, Kwan." Auntie Fan straightened the new robes she'd gotten for Wufei and looked at him appraisingly. "Very nice." She approved, stepping back with her hands on her big hips. After Wufei’s moment of jitters which had resulted in his vomiting, she'd sent Xiu out to hold Meiran and the others from the Long clan at bay while Wufei got a hold of himself. It was shaming that he'd fallen apart so easily, and in front of Xiu, no less.
"Auntie?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"This might be a silly question, but why did you have a spare set of formal robes in your luggage?" Wufei thought it more than a little odd that she'd packed a second set that were exactly his size.
Auntie Fan laughed, a deep booming sound. "Your father had exactly the same problem when he married your mother. Your uncle, my husband, got incredibly sick, but that was at the altar, in front of everyone. I'm also told that your grandfather threw up before passing out just minutes before the wedding, luckily the ceremony hadn't started, yet, so no one saw him. I had an idea this might happen, so I planned ahead."
Wufei stared at her, horrified, as he realized the implications of what she was saying. "I'm from a line of weak men."
Auntie Fan slapped Wufei on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot, boy." She scowled at him. "Weakness would be running away while your betrothed is waiting out there waiting for you. Get my point?"
Wufei did and took a deep breath. He would be strong and face Meiran, even though he probably still smelled rather badly. Wordlessly, Auntie Fan held out a small box of Tic Tacs and Wufei made a mental note to pick the nicest rose he could find for her in the gardens. They both turned and found Kwan peeking in through the door.
Wufei had to smile. He’d grown found of his younger cousins while he’d lived with them and Kwan, he’d found out, is a very clever, sweet girl. "What do you think?" Wufei held his arms out and modeled the robes for her, feeling rather silly. Well, no one was looking except Auntie Fan and she wouldn't tell anyone. It made Wufei happy to please Kwan and the other children. Strange, he’d never thought of himself as a children sort of person.
Kwan giggled and threw the door open so she could run in and hugged Wufei. "You're beautiful, Wufei!"
Wufei’s eye twitched, but he managed to keep smiling and hugged her back. Beautiful?
Auntie Fan laughed. "He's not beautiful, darling. Wufei is handsome."
Kwan stubbornly shook her head. "Nope. He's very beautiful. Can we go see Meiran, now?" She grabbed Wufei hand and starts pulling him to the door of the shuttle. It was quite the scene when they did arrive. “Let me meet her!” Kwan begged when they were close enough to peek out the door without being seen. “I want to meet her.”
“She’s the one all in black.” Wufei said. He ran his hands down the front of his robes again and stood up straight, trying to make himself taller. He really hated being short. Outside, poor Xiu had his own problems with trying to keep all his brothers and sisters under control alone while keeping Meiran from hunting Wufei down at the same time. By the time Wufei emerged with auntie Fan at his side and little Kwan holding his hand Wufei thought Xiu was going to have a conniption fit.
Meiran was even more beautiful than Wufei had remembered. She, too, was dressed in finery, with an ornamental hat set precariously on her head. How on Earth did they get her to wear that thing? Wufei almost fell down laughing when he saw her like that, glaring and obviously unhappy at the way she looked. Darling Meiran had always been far more comfortable in her fighting gi and in the family dojo, rather than in elegant robes she was expected to wear as she was supposed to learn dancing and music and sewing, skills that bored her to tears.
She looked at Wufei and his heart started thundering. Her eyes were the same fiery eyes he remembered when they'd been together last. "So," Meiran smirked. "The clever brat is back?" Her tone was mocking and Wufei easily recognized the game they'd played since childhood.
"You are disappointed?" Wufei asked, making his voice sound as acid as hers.
She sniffed and Wufei could see Xiu watching them out of the corner of his eye. He looked very confused and Wufei suppose that it would have been kinder if he’d told Wufei about the game before they‘d arrived. Xiu looked worried for them.
"You don't deserve me, Chang Wufei. You don't deserve our clan!"
‘I am impressed!’ She managed to make that one sound almost real and Wufei might have believed her if he hadn't seen the gleam in her eyes. Her grandmother, as always, started to panic at our very public argument. She waved her hands, desperately trying to stop them from making a scene.
Now, for the big finale. "Go to Hell!" Wufei snarled, turning his back on them all and letting the robes fall away, leaving only his simpler white clothes.
Everyone from the Long Clan was horrified, buzzing about this strange turn of events. Xiu looked very puzzled, still holding baby Lai, but auntie Faun was smiling. Wufei started to walk past her and she whispered, barely moving her mouth, "That was childish, sweetie."
"That's half the fun. Meiran and I will be in the fields in the garden." Wufei whispered back and continued walking.
Meiran, as Wufei had known she would, followed, pretending to be furious. Well, it was an excellent way to irritate the people who'd been trying to control them their entire lives and for them to find some private time.
In the garden, the place where they'd played as children Wufei and Meiran had a proper reunion. She had gotten rid of the stifling robes her family had forced onto her and let her hair down out of the painful looking style someone had forced onto her. Meiran wore her more comfortable dark trousers and shirt and had her hair in short pig tails that she preferred. She pulled out a chain from around her neck and Wufei saw the silver dragon charm he'd given her before he’d left.
Wufei smiled and brought out the golden dragon she'd given him.
They kissed and Wufei knew it was right. That was where he wanted to be for the rest of his life.
The next day -
The wedding went about as planned. Many, many people from the Long clan attended while only the Fan family from Wufei’s family. All the children, for once, were on their best behavior. Xiu was dressed in formal Chinese robes, similar to what Wufei wore but dark reds and oranges instead of plain white. Wufei didn't get sick again and for that, he was eternally grateful. Xiu sat with his mother, smiling proudly and when the ceremony was over, he was the first one to congratulate Wufei, with a friendly pat on the back.
"Dude, you're married!!"
"That was the plan." Wufei reminded him as they walked to the garden where the party had just begun.
Xiu smiled at Meiran and teasingly said, "Welcome to the family, cousin. Don't let this pain in the butt bore you to death, okay? Come to Earth for a good meal, or mama won't forgive you."
Auntie stopped Meiran with a tight hug then looking at Wufei. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!" Suddenly, at her feet, her younger six children appeared and started running around in circles. "So," Auntie continued with a pleased smile. "How many children are you planning on having, my dear?" She put an arm around Meiran and led her away from slightly. The children followed and Meiran shot an almost frightened look back at Wufei. She had no more experience with children than Wufei had had when he’d first moved in with his auntie.
"Well, are you happy?" Xiu asked, seriously for once.
Wufei thought before he answered. He looked at Meiran, then around at the Long family. He looked at auntie Fan, his little cousins, and then finally back at Xiu. "Yes, I am. This is almost perfect."
“Almost?”
“If my parents could have been here, I think then…then I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Xiu smiled, but it didn't last long before he frowned and seemed to look inward again.
Wufei shook his arm. "Are you alright?" When his cousin didn’t answer right away, Wufei persisted. "Xiu? Can you hear me?”
"Uh? Yeah, I can hear you." He didn't sound happy.
"May I presume that this is about that link between you and your friends?" Wufei wished that Xiu had never developed the link and he was absolutely certain that it's going to cause Xiu nothing but trouble. It just doesn't seem natural to be joined to other people like that. Wufei certainly didn't think he could handle it as well as Xiu did. As far as Wufei could see, Xiu acted as if nothing were wrong. Like it had been that way his whole life instead of just a few days.
Xiu nodded and told Wufei that Touma was angry. Then Shin had gotten suddenly angry. "I thought I heard music." Xiu said, confused. "Honestly, I heard music and they both got a lot happier and...I know it sounds silly, but they were kissing all of a sudden."
Wufei raised his eyebrows, surprised. "They were kissing? Touma doesn't even like to shake hands!"
"I know and he practically hates Shin. I wonder what's going on."
Wufei gestured back to the house. "There's a computer in there you can contact them, just call Quatre's house and ask what's happening." Xiu didn't move for a minute. "Unless, you really don't want to know." It was no secret to anyone that Xiu had a crush on Shin and that he and Touma were closer than friends. If something had happened between Shin and Touma, Xiu might not be very happy. It would be very confusing to say the least.
The party was, by then, in full swing with loud music and lots of dancing. Food, mainly supplied by auntie Fan, was everywhere on heavily laden tables. Xiu, standing so somber in the middle of all the happiness seemed out of place. "Maybe I should." Still frowning, Xiu walked slowly back inside.
"Where's he going?" Meiran asked, watching Xiu walk away. She'd managed to escape Wufei’s younger cousins and auntie Fan had apparently let her off the hook without too much teasing. "He looks like he just lost his best friend." She put her arm around Wufei.
"He might have."
Xiu-
It was easy enough to find the communicator and a just little harder to get up the courage to dial up Quatre's number. Xiu waited for someone to answer, nervous that maybe he should have lived in blissful ignorance. A few minutes went by and Xiu could feel great happiness from Touma and Shin. It had been going on for a little while and they didn't seem like they wanted to stop. They weren't even sure what they were feeling at first, just a slow build up of happiness and then they were kissing.
It was strange. If Xiu closed his eyes he could almost see them in his head. Two blue balls of mist, one slightly darker than the other, swirling around each other, almost touching. A short distance away, there were two other balls of mist, one bright green and one red, also touched each other, and occasionally moved closer to the other two and Xiu.
Xiu didn't understand what was happening. He did know that the two blue mists were Touma and Shin, but he wasn’t sure how he knew. Just like Xiu knew the other two were important, but he wasn’t sure who they were, yet. Xiu thought that the green one might be Seiji, the guy who had saved Shin's life.
‘I'll have to track him down when I get back to Earth and thank him properly. He just walked away before Shin could even talk to him.’
The red ball of mist is more of a mystery, but Seiji knows him. They seem to be very connected.
Xiu swallowed hard and opened his eyes to stare at the phone, still no one picked it up and there was no image on the screen. It shouldn't matter if they liked each other, right? After all, Xiu had never said anything to either of them. Never even mentioned that he liked either one of them. It was his own fault if he’d waited too long. Could Xiu really expect them to wait for him? With the link that had tied them all together, Xiu even saw that they both loved him, they could see that he did, and Xiu had still said nothing. Now, was that arrogant or just plain stupid?
‘I can't help being jealous, though. I'm not even sure whom I'm jealous of. I love them both. Oh, crap. I hate my life.’
Before Xiu had met Touma, he had been so sure it was Shin he was in love with. Over the past few months, when Shin had been away with the circus touring the space colonies, Xiu had been feeling closer to Touma, also. Yes, it was selfish, but Xiu couldn’t help wanting both of them. Now that's unfair, isn't it?
Just as Xiu was about to hang up, Touma's face appeared on the screen, looking flushed and breathing hard. Jeeze, that was either SOME kiss or Xiu had interrupted more than a kiss! Touma's shirt was half-unbuttoned.
"Xiu?" He said, sounding surprised and blinked at Xiu.
"Um, hi, Touma. I was just wondering what you were up to." Xiu licked his lips and decided that he should just tell all of it. "I felt you and Shin were very happy though this thing." Xiu pointed to the glass orb still hanging around his neck. "So, what's going on?" He hoped he sounded casual and not like a peeping tom idiot.
Touma was silent. He didn't say a word and just stared at Xiu, the color draining from his face.
"Touma, who's calling?" That was Shin's voice and Xiu felt his heart sink as Shin walked in view, completely bare-chested and his hair all messed up. His eyes widened at the sight of Xiu and he bit his lip. "Xiu..."
Xiu hit the off button and stared at the blank screen. He didn't want to cry, it would ruin Wufei's wedding party if people saw him crying and he really should be thinking about Wufei and Meiran. But...Shin and Touma were...they...
Xiu could feel them both trying to touch his mind through their bond, but he didn't want to feel them, right now. Xiu didn't want to feel how happy they were together. It wasn't hard, once he tried, to build a wall like Seiji’s around himself. Xiu made the thickest, hardest stone wall around his mind that he could and everyone was shut out for the first time since this thing had started days ago and Xiu was alone.
It was almost frightening to be so alone, but Xiu didn't want them to know he was crying.
"Oniisan?"
Xiu turned, surprised that anyone was in the room with him, and saw little Kwan looking up at him.
"Xiu, what's wrong?" She looked worried and was frowning at Xiu. Despite how small she was, Kwan is like a little mama. She's grown up into the kind of child who always wants to play little mother and fusses about everyone.
Xiu wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and tried to smile. "Nothing, angel."
Kwan scowled at Xiu, just like mama did. "Don't lie, Xiu. You were crying and I saw it! Who made you sad?"
Xiu sat down on the floor and brought his little sister onto his lap. She still hadn't reached that age where she thought she was too big for his lap and Xiu hoped she never did. "I just found something out about my friends that made me so happy I started to cry."
She didn't seem to understand that. "You were crying because you were happy?"
"Sure," Xiu lied. "You remember my friends, Shin and Touma, right?" He'd brought them over to the house often enough that she knew them like parts of the family. She even knew Shin, though he was often away from Earth.
Kwan nodded. "Yeah. What about them?"
"Well, I found out they really, really like each other. I'm happy that they're going to be happy. So happy that I started to cry."
"Oh. Like mama cried when Wufei and Meiran got married?"
"Yeah. Just like that."
Kwan leaned up and kissed Xiu’s cheek. "I'm glad you're happy, Xiu, but please don't cry. You make me sad to look at you." With that she stood up and held out a hand to Xiu. "Come back to the party, Xiu. I want you to help me steal some food when mama isn't looking."
Xiu laughed, but it didn't sound quite right, even to him. "I don't feel too good right now, Kwan. I think I'm gonna go home and lay down."
"Do you want me to get mama?" She was back to being worried again.
"Naw." Xiu stood and ruffled her hair. "We'll let mama enjoy the party, she doesn't gets to go to many. It's just a stomachache. Tell Wufei I'm sorry, but I had to go. I'll talk to him tomorrow, okay?"
Kwan nodded went off to give Wufei the message.
‘My stomach hurts. My head hurts, too. I think I'm going to cry again or maybe throw up. Why should I be sad, really? Shin and Touma will be happy now, and I love them both, so I should be happy for them. I should, right?’
Earth-
Byakuen-
Byakuen had followed Ryou when he’d brought the injured male, Seiji, back to his den. It was safer and smarter to remain a shadow and just watch what was happening for a while. However, once Byakuen was certain that neither Seiji's den sister, called Luc, nor the strange male, called Zechs, would harm either Ryou or Seiji, he began to get more curious. Byakuen explored the area before making his way back to the silent, dark house.
Creeping in, Byakuen found Seiji and Ryou asleep in each others arms and he was pleased. It seemed most fitting, as if they belong together, and it was high time Ryou found a mate. As he didn’t want to disturb them, Byakuen wandered a bit more and found Luc alone in a large bed. As she had been using only half of it, Byakuen was certain she wouldn't mind sharing.
Byakuen woke to the den sister of his cub's mate screaming. It is a wonderfully loud scream and he thought she would have a great battle cry if she tried hard enough. Byakuen stretched, even as Luc, for some reason, rolled onto the floor with a hard thud. My, but that must have hurt. Still, humans always had the strange customs.
Seiji couldn't get out of bed that morning, not because he was unable to, but because his den sister would howl at him until he went to lay down again. He and Ryou had come running, still smelling of each other, when she’d screamed at seeing Byakuen on her bed. After that, she'd told Seiji to get back to bed. She was very sensible Byakuen supported her decision with a nudge to the back of Seiji’s knees.
Luc looked at Byakuen, rather surprised. "Good boy. You're smarter than you look."
‘Of course I am! Silly female, thinking I'm stupid.’ Byakuen snorted and wandered off. Ryou seemed determined to stay with Seiji so Byakuen was relatively sure that they would be safe together. After all, Ryou has found one of the power orbs, giving him the right to wear the yoroi of Rekka. Seiji wore another, the orb of Korin. They would be fine alone for a bit.
Luc walked away, too, after giving Seiji a tray of food and Byakuen decided to follow her. Byakuen was disappointed to find that she simply went to the room with the metal and glass box. She seemed fond of it and spent much of the morning tapping on it and even then seems unhappy by what she found there.
Byakuen yawned. There was no game to hunt in the area and he was not willing to go so far from Ryou, yet, so he stayed with Luc. She barely noticed him except for the occasional pat on the head or rubbing his fur if he went closer enough. Byakuen definitely liked Luc.
"Damn, another dead end." She muttered to herself.
Byakuen believed that Luc needed a mate, also. She was spending too much time alone and was talking to herself. As Byakuen understood human nature, not that he understood it well, talking to oneself was not good for humans.
Again, Luc sighed and started tapping on her box of metal and glass. "I'll find you, bastard." Luc muttered. "Just wait and see, I'll get you, yet."
Perhaps it was far past time for her to mate. This is verging on obsession, it seems seemed.
There was a sharp knock from the door of the house and Byakuen was immediately up and ready to defend the den. Old instincts were hard to suppress. It was not where he permanently intended to live, but it was where his cub was and these people obviously needed protection. Who better than Byakuen?
Luc called out, "Who's there?"
It was Zech's voice, now familiar, that answered, "Is this a bad knock-knock joke or are you going to let me in, Noin?"
Luc, for the first time in several hours stood up and walked out to answer the door followed by Byakuen, just to be sure everything was safe. Zechs came in, wearing the metal mask, but he took it off almost as soon as he crossed the threshold. Then he saw Byakuen, but there was little fear in his scent. Curious, most humans feared Byakuen at first sight.
"Is this a new friend?" Zechs asked, not taking his eyes off Byakuen.
‘Very good, little human.’ Byakuen thought. The man certainly had wisdom if he was wise enough to know Byakuen was dangerous. Byakuen went to Zechs to examine him more closely as the last time Byakuen had seen him, it had been from a distance when the man had been helping Seiji. He was a tall man with long white, straight fur, much like Rajura had, but not so curly. This one smelled, and seemed to act like, a beta male.
Byakuen believed that Zechs was a power within his family group and, so, decided to allow him to stay. As long as Zechs did not overstep his bounds and attempt to take Byakuen’s family group or harm them, he would be welcome.
"He's Ryou's friend." Luc answered. "Ryou calls him Byakuen. He seems quite friendly, really. He showed up this morning."
Luc led Zechs back to the room where she'd been working and they spoke together in friendly tones about Seiji and finding someone that had hurt him. Listening to them, Byakuen thought that perhaps he would help find the person who‘d hurt Seiji so terribly. Byakuen wondered if Zechs wants to take Luc as his mate and why he called her Noin. Perhaps it was a term of affection for humans. Still, he would have to pass inspection if he wanted to take Luc to his family group and away from Byakuen’s - it was only proper.
Another knock at the door and Zechs rose to answer it, leaving Luc to tap on her box. "Noin, Trieze is here." Zechs came back with a male Byakuen had not smelled before.
Cautiously, Byakuen stood and walked over to him, knowing that he was a male to be weary of. This Trieze was an alpha, a leader with sharp eyes. Byakuen sniffed him up and down, but though he could find nothing wrong with him decided to keep and eye on him. Just to be sure.
Trieze looked down at Byakuen with one raised eyebrow and they stared at each other.
‘Yes, definitely a male that might be dangerous to my family group.’ Byakuen decided that Trieze had better watch his place. Trieze didn't ask any questions about Byakuen, as Zechs had. He just accepted Byakuen’s presence and moved on.
Zechs, as Byakuen watched, kept a close eye on Trieze. He gave off a mating scent. Well, at least now Byakuen knew it wasn’t Luc that Zechs was courting. Trieze and Zechs virtually reek of each other.
Trieze and Zechs stayed for a long while, Byakuen kept a close eye on them, especially when Ryou walked in suddenly and found everyone staring at him. It was times like that in which Byakuen wished he were able to speak the human language. He would be able to tell them, 'Ryou is my cub. You will not touch!' But actions will have to speak. Byakuen stood and walked over to him, putting himself between Ryou and the new males.
Trieze, as was his place as an alpha male, spoke first. "Hello, Lieutenant Noin was just telling me all about you. You must be Ryou, right?" He held out a hand to Ryou.
"Um," Ryou just looked at the hand for a minute. "Yeah. I'm Ryou." He slowly reached out with his hand and let Trieze shake it. This is a new human custom Byakuen had not seen before and he was, naturally, suspicious.
"You can call me Trieze."
Worried, Ryou looked at Luc who said, "Don't worry. They're friends of mine and they're just visiting."
"Actually, I really can't stay long." Trieze picked up his cloak even as he spoke. "Duty calls and I must answer. Will you consider my invitation, Noin?" He held out a white card of paper with some kind of gold writing on it.
She smiled and took it. "Thanks, but I really don't want to leave Seiji alone, yet."
"So, bring him."
"Are you sure?"
"Why not. In fact, I've invited a couple of other young men to the part and they might like someone their own age to talk to."
Noin gave him a suspicious look. "Now, why would you invite a teenagers to your party and please don't tell me anything perverted."
Trieze laughed slightly. "Nothing perverted. One of them applied for a job, but he's only fifteen and I want to see how he interacts with my staff. I wouldn't hire him until he gets a little older, but I want him to have a good opinion of us when he gets old enough."
Noin and Zechs both looked surprised. "He's that good?" Zechs asked.
Trieze nodded. "He could win the war for us, Zechs. I don't think even he realizes the potential he has with that intelligence of his."
"What war?" Ryou asked and everyone looked back to him, as if they'd forgotten he was in the room.
Most people probably would have just told the boy to mind his own business, but Trieze answered. "We are expecting a war very soon, young man. When it breaks out, I would like to have the best people on my side and that includes this young man in particular."
Ryou was frowning now. "War? War?" He whispered to himself and Byakuen could see his face twisted up, trying to remember something. Ryou looked at the adult humans. "Who are you going to fight?"
"It's probably better that you don't know." Luc answered, brushing a piece of her short hair behind one ear. "The less you know now, the safer you'll be later."
Still, Ryou knelt next to Byakuen and ran his fingers through Byakuen’s fur. "What am I forgetting, Yaku-chan? It's something about a war, I'm sure of it."
Byakuen knew Ryou was thinking about the war that he's been raised to fight in, the war that will be waged against this world. Byakuen looked up, away from Ryou, and saw the three adult humans giving Ryou strange looks.
It was Trieze who spoke. "What do you mean, you remember something about a war?"
Byakuen didn't like his tone, as if he was hiding something. He has become a predator and he's looking at my cub. Byakuen stood, baring his teeth and hoped that Trieze would gets the idea to back off.
Trieze stepped back, but didn't take his eyes off Ryou. "Do you know something, Ryou?"
Ryou, not aware that Trieze was dangerous, just shrugged. "I'm not sure. My memory has been playing tricks on me lately."
Trieze suddenly smiled, and Byakuen growled, not liking Trieze suddenly, but Trieze managed to ignore him and just spoke to Ryou. "Let Noin know if you remember anything, won't you?" Trieze asked, still smiling. "I would love to know what you know about a war."
Ryou, puzzled, nodded agreeably and Trieze left.
"I don't think Byakuen likes Trieze much." Zechs said. "Something about that 'war' comment."
Ryou patted Byakuen’s back until he started relaxing - Ryou had always known just the right spots to touch. "He doesn't. I'm not sure why, Yaku-chan usually likes everyone."
"He won't hurt Trieze, will he?" Zechs asked.
Ryou shook his head. "Probably not."
After Trieze left, Byakuen found himself feeling much more comfortable. When it started to get dark, Zechs also left and Byakuen was free to go about his other search now that the males had left his new home. The other search was just as important as the search for Ryou and Byakuen could only hope that it would end as well. Duo was still missing and Kokuen-Oh wouldn't forgive Byakuen if he didn't find the cub. Duo should be easy enough to find, once Byakuen picked up his scent.
Outer Space-
Major Sally Po-
Major Sally Po stared at the large monitor in front of her and narrowed her eyes at the order she'd just been given. General Septem, her commander, was known to be quite ruthless but this... "You want me to murder the people on A0206?!" Sally Po leaned forward in disbelief. "How can you ask me to do such a thing?"
"I didn't say that. But that colony is old and useless. So I'm telling you to disinfect it before we scrap it."
Sally Po shook her head, not wanting to believe the heartless orders she'd just been given. "I'll admit that A0206 is decrepit. However, in that case, we should offer the inhabitants another colony, or at least renew the support systems. YO-448 is a biological weapon. As a doctor, no as a human being, I can not condone such an inhumane act!" She slammed her fist down on the computer console to make her point. There was no way she would do this!
"There are dangerous elements at colony A0206." General Septem continued, as if he didn't even hear her. "This is a necessary measure to preserve the peace of earth sphere."
"But, sir…!"
"That's all I have to say. Disinfect these rebellious germs! Do I make myself clear, sanitation squad commander?"
Sally Po was speechless at both the monstrous command and the insult. Sanitation? She was a respected doctor for God's sakes! With a growl of rage, Sally Po glared straight ahead. "This is insane! There's no was such a massacre could be justified!"
"The OZ advance team is going in!"
Sally Po turned to look at her subordinate who'd shouted out. Indeed, on the monitor in front of them, they could see a dozen or so MS flying down with their huge guns ready for action.
"How very unlike Trieze." Sally Po muttered to herself. She didn't know him well, but from what she did know Trieze was not the sort to rush into an attack like this. He seemed to prefer to act behind the scenes and manipulate in order to get his way. A direct attack was too obvious for his taste.
"Should we attack?" One of the soldiers asked Sally Po.
She answered quickly. "No."
"What? But General Septem said..."
"I know what he said, soldier. I want to see what Trieze is up to." If he went through with this massacre then she might have to rethink her opinion of him.
A single, decrepit MS flew up from the colony, ready, if not quite able, to defend the people below. "Now there's a real warrior." Sally Po said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Someone to be proud of.”
Colony A0206-
Wufei-
Kwan said Xiu would talk to Wufei today, but he can't find his cousin anywhere. Xiu had vanished in the middle of Wufei’s wedding party, so he knew there was probably something wrong, something more than a stomachache as he'd apparently told Kwan. Xiu wouldn't leave for so little a reason. Auntie was ready to kill him, though, for running off like that.
He wasn't at the apartment where his family was staying during their visit, which meant that Wufei had to search for him. Luckily, Meiran had gone away earlier to the family dojo to get some work done, so Wufei didn't have to feel badly about leaving her alone on the day after their wedding.
Wufei finally managed to find Xiu, but not in the places he'd expected. Wufei had gone to all the restaurants and the dojos, then to the places where most teenagers like to hang out. There was no sign of him anywhere. Out of frustration and lack of ideas, Wufei went to the field of wild flowers where he’d always liked reading. It was quiet there and no one but Wufei ever went there. So, of course, that's where Xiu was.
Xiu was laying on his back in the flowers, his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky. It seemed very out of character for Xiu.
Wufei went and sat next to him. "How's your stomach?"
He didn't look at Wufei. "Fine."
"Kwan was worried, you know."
Xiu nodded, but still didn't look at Wufei.
‘I'm no good at this sort of thing! I don't understand this whole emotional thing that Xiu seems to need right now and I can't do anything if he doesn't want to talk about whatever's wrong. I know if I didn't want to talk about a problem, I certainly wouldn't want Xiu butting his nose in, so maybe I should just walk away and let him sort out his own problem.’
"I found out what they were so happy about." Xiu said suddenly.
"What? They who?"
"Touma and Shin. I called them last night, like you said I should. They were...they..." He closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep breath. "They're in love and I think they were, well, more than kissing when I interrupted them."
Wufei didn't know what to say to that, so the two of them just sat together in silence for a minute.
"I think I really am as dumb as everyone says I am." Xiu continued.
"What?" If there was one thing Wufei couldn't stand, it was when people would hint that Xiu was dumb. He's really very smart, he just doesn't show it off.
"I fell in love with them both and I never did anything about it. Now, it's too late." A tear slid down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away. "Never even said anything. How stupid can I get?"
"Maybe you should talk to them first." It was the only thing Wufei could advise him to do. He’d never had this problem as it had been decided who he would marry. Wufei considered himself lucky that he'd fallen for Meiran and she for him- there were many marriages that didn’t work out so well - but Xiu had to find whom he wanted to love. "You don't know for sure that they were...well, doing anything, do you?" That was the most delicate way Wufei could think to say it. If Xiu had been able to feel that they were kissing, would he have felt it if they were...um...
"No, I don't." Xiu opened his eyes, but Wufei could see that he still didn't have much hope. Either that or he didn‘t want to raise his hopes. "But they were so happy. I can't explain it, Wufei. I know they're in love."
Wufei opened his mouth to say something when the whole colony shook violently. Xiu sat up instantly, putting his problem to the side. "What's going on?" He looked around in confusion, even as the colony started shaking again.
Wufei’s eyes narrowed and he looked up. "We're under attack."
"Who would want to attack this place?" Xiu asked, baffled. He knew how peaceful they, as a colony, were. Unfortunately, he didn't know that they’d been working on a plan to break away from Earth along with the other colonies. The Alliance must have gotten information about the building rebellion and they've come to stop them.
Wufei shouted at Xiu over the noise of the battle. "We have to get back to the city! I have to find Meiran!" As soon as Wufei knew she was safe, he would find a way to help in the battle. Meiran come first, though.
Xiu started running with Wufei, but he yelled. "Mama's visiting the head of the Long clan, so she'll be safe enough in her place. I gotta find the kids!"
They separated as soon as they reached the main part of the colony where everyone lived. Meiran wasn't in the home she and Wufei had been given as part of their wedding gift from the head of the Long Clan and she wasn't at the dojo. Wufei couldn't find her anywhere. Then, he looked up. There, in the blackness of space, a full-fledged battle, his mouth dropped in utter horror. In the center of the battle was Meiran's Mobil Suit, alone.
No.
Nataku, the name Meiran used in battle, fired at the attacking forces, but only managing to destroy one while another crippled her left arm.
Wufei screamed, "Get out of there, Meiran!" She was alone up there surrounded by six enemies. Wufei shook his fists at the battle. "Run away! Meiran, you idiot! Get away!" Of course she couldn't hear and there was only one thing Wufei could think to do. He had to get to Shen Long! Past the streets mobbed with panicked people, past the house Xiu and his family were using, Wufei ran until he came to the lab where Professor O was building Shen Long, supposedly nearing completion. He was in the lab, working on it and Wufei ran straight passed him, jumping into Shen Long's cockpit. Shen Long was the Gundam Wufei’s colony had been working so hard to create for so long. It was meant as a defense against the Alliance and now it would be tried out for the first time.
"Stop!" Professor O shouted. "Shen Long has no weapons!"
"Doesn't matter!" Wufei knew how to use the Gundam. It had been apart of his training for several years before he’d been sent away from the colony and even after he’d arrived on Earth, Professor O sent Wufei training materials. It was meant to be Wufei who faced the Alliance in battle, not Meiran!
Wufei took off to save his wife.
The battle went badly, though Wufei managed to fight off the attackers and get one name from the transmissions of the enemies: Treize.
Wufei ended up carrying Meiran's MS back to the colony, landing as easily as he could so as to not jar her. Wufei didn't know what kind of condition she was in or if she was even alive. Her MS had been an older one, not the best, as the attackers had been, and she'd taken quite the beating.
Meiran wouldn't speak to Wufei over the communicator and once he saw her, Wufei understood why. Wufei had climbed out of the Gundam and climbed directly across Shenlong's arm to reach Meiran as quickly as possible. Her cockpit opened easily enough to reveal...blood.
That was all Wufei could see, at first. Blood seemed to be everywhere, splattered all over the cockpit, coming from Meiran's still, broken face. He touched her face, rubbing her cheek gently. "Meiran, Meiran, wake up, please." Don't die.
Slowly, her eyes opened and she smiled painfully at Wufei. "My Wufei. You came to fight with me."
Wufei didn't even try to smile back, but leaned in and unfastened her safety harness. "I wish you'd waited for me."
"No time. I didn't even know where you were." She took a deep, rasping breath. "I love you, Wufei."
"I love you, too." Wufei knew what was happening. She was losing too much blood, too quickly. She's so terribly pale. "We have to get you to the medical..."
"No."
"Don't be foolish, you'll die."
"I'll die anyway. Take me to your field, Wufei. I want to see the flowers again."
In the field-
"I wasn't strong enough to save you." Wufei whispered while he set her gently down in the flowers. ‘I'm a failure and she’s dying for it!’ Wufei sat with her and Meiran leaned her head against his shoulder.
"You are the strongest person I've ever met, don't ever let anyone tell you that you're weak. I saved your meadow, Wufei." She looked out at the flowers with a soft smile. "I want to stay here, where there's no battle, just the flowers."
"Yes."
She died on Wufei’s shoulder, still smiling and looking more at peace that he'd ever seen her before.
Wufei lay her down and squeezed his eyes tightly before he started to cry. Wufei believed that he would never love after Meiran. His heart and his soul, his reason for living, was gone. She had been an innocent woman who never should have been in battle. It never should have happened!
I will avenge Meiran, if it takes the rest of my life, I will see her murderers receive justice!
Xiu-
Xiu starting running, but not to the safe, strong palace where he knew his mother would be. His brothers and sisters had been sent to the crèche, a daycare, where they could play with other children for the day and he knew that would be the more vulnerable place. As fast as he ran, Xiu had to struggle couldn’t seem to go as fast as he wanted to. The ground was shaking, worse than any earthquake he had ever heard of. Buildings were collapsing left and right and people were screaming, trying to find their families.
Xiu stopped and stared in horror when he came to the crèche, the spot where it had been, rather. The whole building had crumbled, leaving nothing but a massive pile of rubble. "No." Desperately, Xiu ran into the mess and started to dig with his bare hands, trying to ignore the fear that was eating him alive. "Come on. Come on." He mumbled, pulling debris out of the way. His family was in here, somewhere. Damn it, I'm not strong enough!
Xiu reached a long timber that he couldn't budge. Even as he strained to move it so he could dig deeper, Xiu froze when it appeared in front of him. Like something emerging from a deep mist, it appeared slowly in front of him. All of his life, Xiu had dreamed of the orange armor. When it had solidified, Xiu set his jaw. “What do you want?” He had no time for nightmares.
“ACCEPT ME. I WILL GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH.”
Xiu's eyes narrowed, not questioning it. He would give anything to save his family. "Yes." He said out loud. Best to think about the implications later, after his family was safe.
“CALL TO ME. BUSSO KONGO.”
Xiu screamed, at the top of his lungs. "Busso Kongo!" The orange armor moved, walking stiffly toward him and Xiu waited for something to happen. Just as it reached Xiu, the armor faded, almost turning misty, and then reformed around him. Suddenly, Xiu had all the strength he needed.
The timber was feather light, with Kongo’s help. Under several more feet of rubble, Xiu found the first, Kwan. He stared at her twisted body, pale and bloody. Her hair was matted with wet blood and her eyes stared back at him.
Kwan blinked slowly and said, in a voice hardly more than a whisper, "Xiu?"
Xiu patted the hair out of her face. "I'm here, Kwan. Just rest, I...I'll get mama and a doctor. Oh…man! You're hurt pretty bad." Xiu looked around at the still frightened people of L5. "Please, someone help me!" But no one stopped to help him as he cradled his sister's body. "She's only seven, someone help me!" Still, no one was listening. No one stopped their panicked dash to their own loved ones and Xiu was alone with Kwan still bleeding and getting paler as the seconds ticked by.
"Don't be afraid, Xiu." Kwan put her head against his shoulder. "I love you." And she died.
"Kwan?" Xiu shook her gently, desperately hoping that she would wake again. "Please, Kwan, don't die." She, of course, didn't wake up. No miracle happened and Xiu was left with the body of his sister in his arms, an innocent child who should never have been involved in a war.
Xiu threw his head back and screamed with all his might, no words, just an angry howl at the world and the wall around his mind shattered, falling like dust and letting his friends see and feel his pain.
He felt the minds of his friends, suddenly rushing into his, turning and jumbled, afraid of whatever had upset him. Clumsily, they tried to reach out to him, tried to comfort him. Xiu pushed them all away. He didn't want comfort. He ignored them as best as he could.
Slowly, he climbed down the demolished building and set Kwan down a safe distance away. Xiu closed Kwan's eyes before climbing back up, his face set in a hard mask, even as he cried for his sister. One at a time, Xiu pulled them out. Wing and Chung, the twins, then Fai, the second oldest brother, and tiny Mei-Lin, still with her pacifier in her mouth and dressed only in her diaper.
All dead. Xiu ran out of tears by the time he'd laid out his three brothers and two sisters on the ground. He wanted to lay down and die with them. He wasn't even strong enough to save them! Xiu wiped his face with one gauntlet hand, trying to keep going. He had to find Lai. The baby, he just had to find her body. It was the least he could do. He couldn't leave Lai’s spirit suffering alone.
Digging through the stuff, Xiu was tired, so terribly tired, he wanted to give up and just sit down.
Then, a cry.
Xiu's eyes flew open and he listened carefully.
A baby screamed and Xiu dove back into digging out with gusto. Even if it wasn't Lai, even if it was someone else's baby, he had to save them. He had to get them out! Parts of walls and doors went flying until Xiu found an overturned crib. It had turned upside-down and miraculously protected the baby from the falling building. Xiu grabbed the legs of the crib and tossed it over his shoulder then looked down at the baby.
Lai! She was alive! Scraped and bruised, but alive! Xiu scooped her up and he started to cry again, this time, so happy to have her. She was dirty and bleeding, her voice failing from so much screaming, but she was alive! Xiu fell to his knees, as he held her as closely as he could without hurting her, not caring that she was crying so loudly, she was alive!
Wufei-
Wufei left Meiran in the field, respecting her wishes, and went to look for Xiu, to see if any of his other family had survived. Auntie Fan and Wufei met in the city, where she was frantically searching amongst survivors for her children. She saw Wufei and her eyes lit up. "Wufei, sweetie!" She pulled him for a hug tightly. "Thank God you're safe!”
Wufei didn't say anything, he wanted to cry again, but thought that he had to find everyone else first.
"Where's Meiran? Is she all right?" Auntie Fan asked quickly. When Wufei didn't answer she must have seen something in his face. "Oh, no..."
"We have to find the others." Wufei told her briskly, sharper than he'd meant to. "Xiu said he was going to find the kids." If Wufei were to think of Meiran, he knew he would cry again.
Auntie Fan probably understood as she nodded and they made their way to the crèche together.
They found Xiu, kneeling on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest and five small bodies in front of him. "No, please..." Auntie Fan started forward and Wufei could see she was trembling. Xiu wasn't moving, his head lowered, chin almost touching his chest. They got close enough for Wufei to see his cousins, his sweet little cousins, dead at Xiu's feet.
Auntie Fan screamed and ran to her children, falling down next to Xiu, touching and patting their hair as if she could somehow wake them. "My babies!" She cried. "My babies!" With tears streaming down her face she collapsed, burying her face in her hands over Mei-Lin. It was the first time Wufei had ever seen her cry.
Xiu, for the first time since Wufei and auntie Fan had gotten there, looked up, his eyes red and puffy from crying. "Mama." Xiu opened his arms and revealed his treasure. Lai.
The tiny baby was fussing and auntie Fan looked up, her face showing relief and joy that her youngest had lived. She hugged Lai tightly and kissed her soundly, before putting her arm around Xiu. "Thank you, baby."
"For what?" Xiu asked bitterly. "I couldn't save them." He looked down at the ones that had been lost.
"You saved Lai." Auntie Fan told him. "And you lived. What would I do without my babies?" Auntie Fan pulled Xiu into a hug and he wrapped his arms around his mother and sister, the little family just holding onto each other. Wufei watched from a distance, content to let them have privacy right now.
I will have justice. For Meiran. For Kwan and for Mei-Lin. For Chung and Wing, for Fai and for all the other innocents who'd died today. For auntie Fan and for Xiu, who would have to go on living without the children. For Lai, who would never know her brothers and sisters. I will have revenge! Just you wait and see, Trieze, whoever you are! I'm coming for you!
To be continues...