Well then... Yeah. Here's the next part. Man, I'm pumping out parts like a rabbit pumps out babies...

WARNINGS: There is some violence, strong language and it has the yaoi pairings of Duo+Heero, and Quatre+Trowa, and the yuri pairings of Dorothy+Relena and Catherine+Iria. So if you don't like yaoi or yuri pairings, then don't read this! This also has a completely new and original character, so don't take him, he's mine! ^_~

Ties to Forever

Part 3
By: Top Ace

The three dark angels landed on the tower before us and stood side by side, wielding their weapons.

"Why?" Quatre was looking at them with the eyes of one who didn't want to see anymore bloodshed. In fact, I believe we all felt that way. "Why do you want to destroy us? We've done you no harm!"

"This experiment is over," Remiel said. With that said, the three of them raised their weapons. Lightning began to come forth and strike the water beside the bridge. Clouds began to form, and thunder roared through the air. The people below were now panicking, and running away in terror. I would too, if I could just get rid of my tendency to help the others.

"What experiment?" I yelled over the thundering of the skies.

"This experiment," Saraqael said. He spread his arms, a gesture that meant everything. "This was our little experiment."

"You mean, this world? This world was your 'little' experiment?!" Duo was really ticked off now. Gee, I wonder why.

"Yes, and we wish to terminate it. So begone!" Saraqael lifted his arm, and a waterspout flew out of the bay and came upon us, smashing into the tower and sending waves of water outwards over the bridge. The faster people got out of the way, but one of us wasn't so lucky.

"Catherine!"

Both Trowa and Iria called for her and rushed for the poor fairy, who was trapped in the swirling water. I wanted to help, but a second whirlpool kept me and the others from reaching them.

More water funnels appeared, crashing into the bridge. It shook with the impact, and I knew that all the cars here would end up under 37 million pounds of steel. As yet another waterspout came to crash upon me, I leaped out of the way to the cable running between the towers. I looked down, and had a quick instant of vertigo before I regained my composure. It would be a 520 feet drop if I slipped and fell here. Not fun. [1]

The others were leaping and bounding out of the way as quick as they could. None of us could really get close enough to attack the three "angels" and cause some damage. I decided to try. I gave a quick glance to Trowa, Iria and Catherine. Catherine was dripping wet, but she was okay. I guess the others had fished her out of the whirlpool.

There was no time to think of a plan. I just took a leap of faith.

"Lady Hilde!"

Rasial pushed me out of the way just as a bolt of lightning came down on the spot where I was about to land. We fell a hundred feet before Rasial used his power to slow our descent. I looked at him; he wasn't even breaking a sweat. I didn't say anything, but I had my suspicions. Rasial didn't feel like a super powerful vampire...

Once we landed on the bridge, he looked for any wounds. "Are you okay, lady Hilde?"
"Yes. What's with the 'lady' Hilde stuff?"
"You said I couldn't call you 'milady', so this is the next best thing."
"Ah."

I got right back up and jumped back up to the top of the tower. Rasial followed me, and we leaped towards the triumvirate. Rasial summoned a sword of glowing gold, with a golden eagle on the hand guard. [2]

I realized that I didn't have a weapon of my own. Bummer for me. I just did what any good supernatural being would do in a situation like this.

I summoned two energy balls in my palms and closed my hands around them, spreading the energy through my fingers until I had gloves of energy swirling around my fists. We looked at each other, and after giving each other a quick nod, we leapt at the angels. Something on their backs caught my attention. "Another wing...?"

We must have caught them by surprise, or the others were doing a damn good job of being diversions, because I nicked Remiel, the one with the crane sword, in the arm. Red blood flowed from the wound, and I was surprised. Maybe I was expecting blue blood.

"Vile creature!", he screamed as he turned around and slashed at me as I fell away from him. A golden beam of energy came from his sword, and I felt it strike me with all the power of the gods. It felt like being immersed into a volcano for a split second, then being pounded into the rocks like a battering ram.

Before I was hit, I had enough power and concentration to land on the bridge with no harm. After I was hit, I barely had enough energy to keep my eyes open. I was going to fall that 520 feet to the ice cold water below, and probably die from the shock of hitting the water and the temperature change. Damn, and I was beginning to enjoy being a vampire.

I only heard a whooshing sound before I found myself floating again. I opened one eye, and saw Rasial holding me in his arms.

"Why... why do you always come to save me? Don't you have better things to do?", I said with a cough.
"You're my mistress now. It's my duty to protect you, Lady Hilde." He pecked me on the cheek.
"You're quite the smoothie, aren't you?" I said with a little cynicism in my voice.

He shruged. "Eh."

A flash caught my eye and I looked behind him. "Rasial, look out!"

He turned around just in time to see the blue shot of energy pummel into us. He wrapped himself around me tightly, and took the blow, sending us spiraling towards the ice cold water. I passed out before I could find out whether we hit the water or not.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hilde... Hilde... HILDE!"

I felt someone slap me on the cheek. I looked up and saw Duo, his indigo eyes filled with worry. He had a few cuts and scrapes on his face, and his black shirt had been ripped nearly to shreds. I slowly sat up and looked around. We were on the side of the bridge we had started from. Everything looked the same... except for the fact that the Bay Bridge was gone.

I stood up suddenly and ran to the edge of the water. The bridge had collapsed. Bits of the steel towers were sticking up out of the water, and the pillars that once supported the great bridge were towering over the wreckage, solemn in the morning sun. I must have been out ice cold to have missed that.

"Duo, what happened?"
"After you and Rasial took the big plunge, the three angels let loose some weird earthquake, and the bridge went totally under. We were so worried about you two, until Rasial hauled you onto the shore nearby and passed out. He nearly fell back into the water again. He's over there being healed by Quatre."

I looked over at the group huddled around Rasial. I walked towards them, and they all turned back to look at me.

"Feeling better, Hilde?", Quatre asked in a shaky voice. He looked drained and tired, but he kept on healing Rasial. I looked at Rasial's motionless body. His skin was nearly a shade of blue, and the cuts in his outfit were a sign of what kind of damage he had recieved. I looked at my own shirt and jeans. They were relatively undamaged, even though I had taken that strange sword beam attack from Remiel.

I looked over at Trowa, Catherine and Iria. Iria was holding a tired and cold Catherine in her arms, rubbing warmth into her slender shoulders. Trowa was behind Quatre, his arms around his shoulders as Quatre healed Rasial. I looked around for Heero.

Heero was with Duo, of course. They were just holding each other on the bank, looking out at the wreckage.

Wufei and Sally were gone. I supposed they went back home to check on Liu Po. I'm surprised that they would leave their child alone for so long. I asked Duo if anyone was left at home to take care of Liu Po while we were out.

"Now that I think about it, we did kinda leave the little kid there to fend for himself... jeez, you'd think Wufei and Sally would be more responsible."

I just shook my head. "Yeah." Then I noticed that Dorothy and Relena were gone too. I asked Heero and Duo where they went, and Heero said, "They went home early to check on Liu Po while we were fighting."
Duo looked at him. "How come you know?"
"Because I noticed that she was leaving with Dorothy, so I read her mind real quick."
"And she LETS you?"
"She's got nothing to hide. We're like you and Hilde. Siblings."

I just laughed. "Siblings? That would explain a few things," I joked. I was talking about the time we had gone into a mall and came out with nearly the same type of items. I walked back to Rasial, who had been healed completely by Quatre. Trowa was holding Quatre gently, since poor blondie had passed out from exhaustion. I bent down to pull Rasial into my lap.

"Hey. Wake up, man."
"Hm? Lady Hilde?"
"Quit with the 'lady' crap. It makes me uncomfortable."
"Now you know how Lord Duo feels. But he got used to it, I'm sure you can."
"Eh."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We drove back to Duo's house. Quatre was sleeping in Trowa's arms as he drove, Catherine and Iria were cuddling, and Rasial and I were sitting in the back of Duo's car, enjoying the wind in our hair and the freshness of the air.

Now would be a good time to talk about Catherine. Yes, she's a fairy. But only half-fairy. Apparently, her mother was tricked into sleeping with a fairy who looked like Catherine's father. Fairies have an ability called "glamor," which can make a person feel, well, horny. And they especially feel attracted to the one who glamored them. And that's how Catherine was conceived.

So Catherine has a fairy's powers and strength with a human's body. Most people think fairies are tiny and can be crushed under a thumb. The truth is far from it. Fairies are just like people, except with translucent wings that can retract, and they have beauty, strength and powers beyond a normal human's. So people will look at her and think "weak," but when they see her punch, wow. She's one tough cookie. I always had a lot of respect for her. Or maybe I had a crush on her once. I don't know, but it doesn't matter now. I still like her for who she is; a strong and straightforward woman.

Iria is like Quatre; a houri. In Islamic myths, a houri is one of the beautiful virgins of the Koranic paradise. Iria certainly is pretty, with blond hair and blue eyes like her brother. As for the virgin part... I'm not so sure. Iria looks a lot like her brother, compared to her other sisters. I've seen a few of them in pictures. Quatre tells me he has 29 sisters. I have yet to see all of them at once. I always thought Quatre was kind of feminine looking, but Trowa would rip me to shreds if I said anything.

Sally... I don't know what the hell Sally is. She says she's got Nordic blood in her. But she also says she has Chinese blood in her. Looking at her face, I can tell that she's telling the truth, as unlikely as it may seem. Maybe one day I'll ask her what she is... because being able to fly and teleport certainly isn't a regular human trait.

We arrived at Duo's house right when the sun was coming up. Oh goody, I get to sleep some more.

We piled into the house one by one. Dorothy and Relena were already on one of the sofas, fast asleep. Wufei, Sally and Liu Po were gone; Duo found a note from Wufei saying that they had gone back home to recuperate, and to take care of Liu Po.

The boys went into their respective rooms; Iria and Catherine slumped down on the other sofa, and they fell asleep quickly too.

"Damn, no more sofas," I whispered. I looked at Rasial. He just smiled and held out his hand. I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Let's go," he said.
"Where?"
"Back home."

I nodded. I wrote a quick note to Duo saying where we had gone, and then I stepped outside, shutting the door quietly. Rasial extended his hand to me once more, and I looked at it for a few moments before ignoring it.

"Well excuse me for being a gentleman," he said with a dejected tone. I laughed my ass off.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you sound like that."
"Sound like what?"
"A spurned lover."

He just nodded. "I'm not your lover... yet." He winked before he disappeared.

"Why you little...!" I chased after him, all the way back to the Shadow Lands.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I chased him all the way to my master bedroom in the mansion in the Shadow Lands. I walked into the room, expecting to pounce him and to give him a good lesson on who was the master, but apparently my eyes deceived me.

"Rasial?"
"RAAAAAAAAAH!"

He leapt from the rafters of my pitched ceiling. I didn't even think of him hiding up there. He tackled me and we flew onto the bed, him on top of me and laughing like there was nothing funnier in the world.

"Haha... and you... your face... haha... so scared...," he said while laughing with a maniacal tone.

I just sighed and gave in to defeat. "Alright, you win. Now get off me."

He was still laughing. I thought he was my loyal servant...

"You were so shocked," he said after taking a few breaths. "You're still so human," he whispered, and he stroked my face lightly with his hands. "So beautiful..."

He began to lean in for a kiss, but I pushed him away. "Uh-uh, not now, buddy. We've got things to do. And I want to sleep."

He pouted; I can't believe he did that. When you think you know a guy...

"Can I sleep with you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him; that's twice in one day. "Excuse me?"
"I said—"
"I heard you. You mean, just sleep? No funny stuff?"
"Yes. I wouldn't dare take advantage of you, Lady Hilde."
"Riiiight..."
"I won't. I promise." He raised his hand in a mock boy scout promise.

I just laughed. He was annoying me and making me laugh. What an odd man.

"Fine, you can stay. Just, don't touch me where you shouldn't. Alright?"

He nodded, and I crawled into the covers. He crawled in after me, and after I felt his arm wrap around my waist, I fell into a deep sleep, covered with warmth and other such fuzzy feelings.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~It's that dream again...~

~The lady with the pigtails...~

~It looks like she's saying something...~

~But she's not saying it to me...~

I woke up feeling like a pile of steel fell on me. Wait, a pile of steel probaby DID fall on me. I didn't know the side effects of being healed quickly by Quatre, but I think that feeling the pain afterwards is one of them. I turned over in my bed and looked right into a pair of emerald green eyes.

"GAH! Don't DO that!"
"Don't do what?", he said innocently with a smile. I just wanted to smack that grin off his face.
"Christ, you're just like a cat, with those green eyes of yours... sheesh."
"Heh heh. 'Sheesh.' How cute."
"Shut up."

I pulled myself out of his arms and out of bed. I had no idea what time it was, and I was too lazy to boot up my laptop to find out. My last wristwatch had broke and I never got around to buying another one. I walked into the bathroom and took a bath. There were no showers in the Shadow Lands. It really pissed me off the first time I realized that, but after a while, you get used to it. In fact, I was starting to enjoy it. I filled the tub and heated the water using my power. When it was the right temperature, I crawled in.

It was so soothing and relaxing just to lie in a nice warm bath...

"Peekaboo!"

I threw my soap bar at him.

He caught it in one hand, and tossed it back to me. I tried to cover myself, but it was pretty pointless. He had already seen me naked before (he walked in on me once while I was changing) and I didn't have any bath bubbles to cover myself with. Nonetheless, I put a hand over my chest and another over my crotch.

"The hell is your problem? Can't a girl get some privacy?"
"No problem here," he said with a surrepitious grin. "I'm here to serve you, remember? Let me wash your back for you."
"Uh... how about no?"
"Come on. I can reach those hard-to-reach places."
"Do the words 'no', 'uh-uh' and 'no way' mean anything to you?"
"Fine, fine. I'll get your clothes ready, MADAM."

He turned around, lifted his chin and left, slamming the door. I laughed out loud, and made sure he heard it. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought we were having some sort of marital scuffle.

Nah.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I got out of the bath and dried myself, then wrapping the towel around me I walked back to me room. Rasial was standing right in front of the door, a pile of clothes in his arms. He tossed them at me. I caught them, but at the same time my towel fell off. Goddammit.

"Flashing me is no way to apologize," he said with a smirk.

I just sighed, shook my head, bent down to grab my towel, and walked back into the bathroom.

When I had dressed, I walked back outside to thank Rasial. He had picked out a nice navy blue polo shirt, black jeans and light white jacket. I liked the outfit; it fit me nicely. I didn't know he knew my favorite color scheme: Blue, black, and white. I wanted to thank him, and to yell at him for walking in on me. But mostly to thank him.

However, Rasial was gone.

I didn't think about it; he had probably gone off to do some work. I was about to leave the room to go take care of some business when I felt the mansion shake. I ran downstairs to the main hall. Rasial was already there with my coat.

"Back to the Upper Grounds, Lady Hilde?" All signs of joking were gone from his face as he handed me my coat. I nodded. We left in a flash for Duo's house once more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 4

Back to:Part 2

[1]: Yes, from the towers it's a 526 feet drop to the water below. So I figured that since she's on the cable, she'd be about 6 feet below the top of the tower.

[2]: Ack, I'm not sure for names of the sword parts... the part I mention is the part between the blade and hilt on a knight's sword... I'll draw that someday too, just for fun.

Yeah. Feel free to e-mail me your rants and raves, just don't cuss me out, okay?

Copyright reserved 2001 Top Ace 1