This is Part 5 of this fic. Anyway... This is my first GW fic, there is some violence, strong language and it has the usual yaoi pairings of Heero & Duo (Ack, they're equal partners, so I guess I would say 2x1/1x2, right?) and QuatrexTrowa. So if you don't like male/male pairings, then don't read this, or pretend that Quatre and Duo are chicks. Okay?
We came home around noon, tired and beat. Wufei ran into the house, immediately calling Sally to check on Liu Po.
"Is he okay? That's good. Okay. I'll be home soon. Love you too. Bye."
I had never seen Wufei so emotional in my life. He hung up the phone and picked up his jacket. "I'll be back tomorrow to train Quatre and Trowa." Then he left, leaving the rest of us to wonder what he was talking about.
"Where were you guys?" Quatre asked. I looked at Heero. He wasn't going to say anything any time soon, so I guess it was up to me, as usual. Yay.
I explained as much as I could of what had happened in the past three weeks. I didn't mention any dreams. Trowa and Quatre were speechless for a while, trying to swallow all I had said. I quietly wondered if either of them could feel supernatural power. I decided to let loose some energy into the room.
Heero felt it immediately. He looked at me, worried. I smiled. Don't worry, I thought. He relaxed. He didn't question me, just like a good little servant.
Quatre shuddered. "What's that wind?" he asked. Heero and I looked at each other, a thought crossing our minds. He smirked.
"I think you may have supernatural powers," I said. Quatre's eyes bugged out.
"You're kidding."
"Nope. There was no wind. I let loose some energy. If you felt that, then you must have some magic power." I wondered if the special abilities we had could be called "magic." I sort of felt good and bad for Trowa. He didn't have any preternatural power. He was a 'normal'. God, I wish I were a normal too.
Trowa's calm voice broke the silence. "So that's what that was."
My eyes widened. "What? You too? Jeez, now the only one left is Wufei."
So Trowa and Quatre have some link with the supernatural. I don't know what that link is yet. We'll just have to find out.
That night I dreamed. Shinigami appeared to me, once again in a field.
"Shinigami?"
"Yes?"
"Is there something you need to tell me?"
"There is a disturbance."
"Whoa." This was like a scene from Star Wars.
"The enemy is gathering its troops. You must be prepared."
That left me a lot of options. "And what do you expect me to do about it?"
"Get your troops ready."
"I don't HAVE troops."
"You have that servant of yours. And your friends. I think that's enough for now."
"For now?"
"Eventually, I'll have to help you. But for now, just keep the enemy at bay until I can get my own troops in order."
"Oh. 'Eventually.' Yeah, sure, thanks for your help."
"No problem." He either didn't get my sarcasm or he chose to ignore it. "I'll let you sleep now. Just be careful, alright?"
I nodded. "Don't worry. I always am."
"Right," he snorted before he left, taking the scenery with him. I plunged back into the benevolent grasp of unconsciousness.
Damn dreams. They always left me groggy in the morning, more so than usual. I got out of my bed, washed up, got dressed, and went downstairs. The doorbell rang as I headed to the kitchen. I walked over and opened it; Wufei stood there with two duffel bags. I don't think I want to know.
"Don't just stand there like a lump of fat, Maxwell. Help me move this stuff." He gestured towards his motorcycle. There was a box attached to the back. I grumbled something about not being a morning person and went to get the box. Wufei smirked as I walked past him.
I walked down the driveway to Wufei's Kawasaki. Heero and Wufei owned motorcycles, I owned a jeep, Quatre had a mustang and Trowa had a convertible. I smiled at how we had all sneaked our way into getting the cars we wanted. I never would have guessed that Trowa liked red convertibles.
Wufei had parked all the way on the curb. There was plenty of space on the driveway; why couldn't he have parked there? Must be one of those Chinese courtesy things. Always thank your host, always bring a gift, never park on a friend's driveway...
I untied the box from the bike and lifted it up. Or at least I tried to. The box was really heavy, almost heavier than Heero's weight collection. I closed my eyes to channel some energy into my muscles. I have supernatural powers, why not use them? I tried picking up the box again. It was still too heavy. Maybe I'm just a weakling.
"Let me." Trowa walked over to the box. I stepped out of his way and let him try to pick it up. He's scrawny, I didn't think he could lift it.
Surprises happen everyday. His muscles flexed in that tight shirt of his, as he picked up the box and steadied it on one shoulder. "Come on, Wufei's waiting." I closed my jaw and followed him inside.
Wufei was polishing his sword. No, not THAT sword; I meant his special demon hunter sword inlaid with silver.[1] I called it a demon hunter sword. It even looked like one, except without the axe-like hilt. Yeah, I've been watching too much Devil Hunter Yohko. The funny thing is that my life it turning out like hers. Fighting demons day and night, sacrificing my sanity, yep, just like Yohko.
"There you are. Put the box over on the table." Trowa put the box down in front of Wufei and sat down on the couch next to Quatre. Heero was no where in sight.
"What's this all about?" I asked.
Wufei smiled. "I'm going to train Trowa and Quatre. They need to learn some martial arts and sword handling skills. They already know how to use a gun." It seemed like a good idea. But Wufei was missing a piece of information.
"Wufei, you don't have any supernatural power. Trowa and Quatre have some, but not a whole lot."
Wufei smirked. I knew he was up to something. "Can you feel this?" he asked before I felt a small breeze. It was Wufei's energy.
"What... what the..? You've got powers too?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. I was part of the Dragon clan, remember? They didn't call us the dragon clan for nothing."
I couldn't believe it. The rumors were true. A long time ago, I had heard that the members of the Dragon Clan on Colony L5 had mystical powers. Some were fighters, some were healers, and some a combination of the two. I didn't believe that they had actually gained their powers from a dragon. "So you mean to say that the rumor of the clan getting their powers from a dragon are true?"
Wufei shook his head. "You got it all wrong. The legend goes like this. In Chinese mythology, dragons can also take human form. One day, the son of the Dragon of the East Ocean fell in love with one of the princesses of the moon. They couldn't be together in the ocean, since the princess would drown. So the dragon prince sacrificed his dragon form to be with her in the sky. He still had his powers, he just couldn't change into a dragon anymore.
"Now the real part of this myth is that the girl was born in the colonies, and had visited the Earth. The dragon prince, masquerading as a human, fell in love with her. He wanted to be with her, but she lived in the colonies. So he left the Dragon Palace, flew up in a shuttle with her and they got married. They formed the Dragon Clan in Colony L5.
"And that's how the Dragon Clan was established," Wufei finished. I couldn't believe it for a moment, but then again, I live in a world where the monsters under the bed were real. Why not? I decided to accept this as truth. So now all five of us had supernatural powers of some sort. I just had to figure out what Quatre's and Trowa's powers were.
Wufei shouted a loud a loud "Hey!" to get our attention. We all looked at him, wondering why he had to yell like that. He looked at each of us in the eye, trying to see into our minds. For all I knew, he could have been doing that. He cleared his throat, then began speaking.
"Trowa, Quatre, and you too, Maxwell. You all must begin training in the martial arts. I'll teach you what I can. I know this might seem pointless, considering we're facing creatures that can bench press a Toyota. However, when our guns don't work, we must be prepared. As Maxwell said, we all have supernatural abilities. So the ability to perform martial arts will increase your agility and speed."
We all nodded dumbly. Wufei was going to train us. I remember when he was training me to use a staff in the Shadow Lands. We were in for a good beating.
Wufei pulled out three throwing knives and handed one to each of us. "You're going to learn how to use these first," he said. "Try and hit me." He took a few steps back away from us and gestured with his hands. We stood up and stood in a line, facing him. We were about ten feet away from him. Not much, if you ask me. He then made the 'pushing back' gesture. We stepped back until he told us to stop. We were now about twenty feet away. Much better.
"I couldn't do that," Quatre said.
Wufei just shook his head. "You're going to have to. I didn't bring the dummy."
I was about to ask who was the dummy, but I don't think now was a good time for a joke. Trowa quietly raised his arm gracefully like a cat, and flung his knife. Wufei caught it, right in front of his heart. "Catherine taught me a couple of things," he said. Quatre threw his knife too. Wufei stepped to the right and caught it with his right hand. "If I have to move towards the knife to catch it, then either you aren't trying hard enough, or you have very bad aim."
Quatre's shoulders slumped. Trowa put a hand on his shoulder, then both of them looked at me. They were all waiting for me. "Any year now, Maxwell." I usually don't mind it when he calls me by my last name, but this time bugged me. I hurled the knife at his face.
"Whoa!" Wufei dodged out of the way, and the knife flew into the window, smashing it into pieces. It was like in slow motion, the glass flying into pieces and the cut on Wufei's face slowly beginning to bleed. "Where did that come from?" I asked to myself.
A wind blew into the window. It wasn't a real wind. It was the wind generated by someone's power. Heero stepped inside from the window, holding a knife. "Is this yours?" He tossed the knife towards me, and I caught it with one hand.
"Sorry about that... I'll pay for the window Quatre. Guess I don't know my own strength..." I said sheepishly.
Quatre shook his head. "No, it's alright. I can get it replaced." He looked at Trowa. "Trowa, I felt something from you... Is that your power?" Trowa just smiled faintly. If it hadn't been Trowa, it wouldn't have been a smile, it would have been more like a smirk. "We'll see."
It was about time Heero got back from where ever he went to. He always disappears in the morning. I don't know what he does, but I guess I trust him enough to let him go. I could always question him later. Wufei told Quatre and Trowa to follow him outside. Then he told me to keep an eye on Heero. Wufei said he was unstable. Sure, tell me something I don't already know.
"Heero, where do you go in the mornings?" He didn't say anything, just stared at the floor. We were in my room, our room, sitting on the bed. Wufei had told me to watch him. So I did. He was hot. I wanted him right now. He lifted his head to look at me. "I was outside."
"Where outside?"
"Out there." He pointed towards the forest near the edge of the road. I wanted to throttle him for being so damn vague.
"Why?"
"Because I feel at peace out there."
That was the last thing I expected him to say. Maybe because of all the war that has been going on in our lives, he needs to experience some peace. I smiled and pulled him into my arms. "You know, you're really sexy." I gasped the minute I said that. He looked up into my eyes, and I felt his pull. His eyes had that lost look in them, as if he was looking for something within me. I kissed his forehead gently, breathing in his scent. He smelled of sweet pine with an underlying aroma of blood and burnt metal. [2]
He tilted my head so he had better access to my neck. I let him. He leaned forward, his lips caressing my skin. He licked the nape of my neck, tasting me. Then his fangs sank in. I held on to him, like he was a lifeline. I could feel his arms encircle me in a tight embrace, his hands roaming over my body. The experience was like making love over and over again. The amount of pleasure pulsing through my veins threatened to make me pass out. But I held on.
Heero finally released me after what seemed like forever. His eyes returned to normal. "Heero..," I sighed. I reached up to caress him. His cheek was soft and warm. I smiled. He was gorgeous. No vampire mind tricks, he really was beautiful, like a fallen angel. My mind hazed over, and the last thing I saw was a flash of worry in Heero's eyes before I passed out.
I woke up in my bed, Heero sitting on the edge. He had one arm over me protectively, watching me. I smiled tiredly.
"Duo, I'm sorry..."
"Don't mention it."
"But Master—"
I raised a hand to quiet him. "I love you."
He looked at me, his eyes sliding close. Then he fell into my arms. I cuddled him. He remained silent. I thought he had passed out. His breathing went into a steady rhythm. I lay there for a while, enjoying his warmth and weight pressed against me. When I thought he had fallen asleep, he whispered into my ear, "Ai shiteru, Duo-sama."
A tear slid down my cheek as I closed my eyes and fell into a world of happy dreams.
In the middle of the night, I was awakened to a roar and a scream. The roar sounded like a wild cat, and the scream sounded like...
"Quatre!"
I rushed out of bed, grabbed my Browning and Firestar, and ran to his room, Heero following me. We bashed into Quatre's room, knocking the door out in the process. What I saw shocked the wits out of me.
Quatre was huddled into a corner, staring at the creature with wide eyes. The creature; I can only explain it as being half man, half lion. No words could have described its true form. It roared into the night, sending its glare at Heero and I. Even in the dark, I could that its eyes were shimmering green emeralds.
I turned on the light switch. The white light bathed the room and we all blinked the spots out of our eyes. The lion-man roared again, leaping towards Quatre, its jaw open wide. Heero rammed into it, knocking it into the far wall. I ran over to Quatre. "Are you okay?" Quatre shook in my arms. God, he was trembling. "Shit, what the hell happened? Where's Trowa?" Quatre pointed a shaky finger at the thing that was trying to tear open my Heero. My eyes widened. "Holy mother of Shinigami..."
Trowa-lion and Heero-vamp were fighting dirty. Heero was bleeding in various places; so was Trowa. "Stop Heero! Don't kill him! That thing is Trowa!" Heero leaped off him and did a backwards flip, landing on his feet. Trowa looked at him for a few more minutes, then looked at me. "Trowa, you have to listen to me. Just stay calm." He didn't listen to me. He just roared and leaped out the window.
I looked at Heero. "Heero," I ordered, "Get me one of the books that Anita lent me. The one labeled 'Lycanthropes'." He blinked away and appeared a few moments later, holding the book. He handed it to me, and I flipped through to the page that said, "How to calm a newly transformed." I quickly read through the page. The surprise must have shown on my face because Quatre asked, "What is it, Duo?"
I shut the book. "We're going to follow him. Quatre, you stay here and take this gun." I handed him my Firestar with its silver bullets. "But I can't shoot Trowa..." The pain was evident on his face. He had already shot Trowa once when he was being controlled by the Zero System. He didn't want to do it again.
"I'll protect him. You two go and get Trowa." I turned behind me. Wufei stood there dressed in his tank top and pants, but this time he had a sword in a sheath attached to his belt. My bet was that he had his demon hunter sword with him.
I smiled, even with the current problem breathing down our necks. Smiling always made me feel better. It also cleared my head a bit. I nodded and turned to Heero. "Alright. Let's go."
"Wait."
I turned to look at Quatre. He was staring out the window where Trowa had made his exit. "Watch out. I think he's hungry." I didn't ask how he knew that; I just accepted it and leapt out the window with Heero.
We went into the forest behind Quatre's house. There isn't much forest left in San Francisco, but Quatre had managed to find a bit of wilderness to build his mansion. Which was a good thing. I wouldn't want Tro-lion to be eating any denizens.
"Over here." Heero's voice was barely audible, but I heard him more through my mind than through my ears. I walked over to where he was standing. The leaves and dirt showed the signs of a struggle. There were splotches of blood here and there. "He's nearby," Heero said. I closed my eyes. I could feel Trowa's presence. It would have been really helpful if Heero could too, but he could only follow energy trails.
I heard a rustling in the trees. A figure leaped down in front of us, one hand clutching a deer. Or part of a deer, anyway.
"Trowa?" I asked.
A low rumbling sound came from the figure. It threw the carcass of the deer onto the ground in front of us. I could see that it was half-eaten. I nearly choked before I spewed my dinner on the floor beside me. Heero waited patiently until I had tossed my cookies.
"Alright, I'm done," I managed to say before pulling out my gun. "I don't wanna shoot ya, so just come out into the moonlight so we can get a good look at ya."
A familiar calm voice broke the silence. "It's alright. I just needed some fresh meat. I'm normal... or as normal as I'll ever be." Trowa stepped out into the light. He was still the lion-man.
"Trowa, how long has this been happening?" I asked. He shrugged, sort of. I just saw a movement in his shoulders.
"Ever since the vampire attack when I was a mechanic... There was a were-lion there too. And he gave me a rather nasty scar."
Oh. So he had been a lycanthrope for at least six years. We were all about 20 years old, and since this had happened before the war...
"Hey Trowa? Can you change back now? Six years as a lycanthrope must have given you a lot of power."
He nodded. He changed back to human, but then quickly changed back. "Hey, why did you change back?" I asked.
"I don't have any clothes."
Whoops! "Well, can you change to full lion form?" I asked. He nodded and changed, a clear liquid spilling from his back. It wasn't a lot of liquid, it sorta oozed and glistened in the moonlight. It was an interesting sight.
After Trowa had changed, he walked over to me. He nuzzled my leg. I smiled and patted his head. "I guess you wanna go back to Quatre, ne?" He nodded and gestured for us to get on his back. Heero and I hopped on. Trowa was big for a lion, at least a foot or more larger than the average lion. He must be strong too, considering that normal lions can barely hold up a young man, much less two full grown men.
Trowa is very fast. Especially considering that Heero and I were on his back. He ran all the way back home.
We hopped back into the window, all three of us. Wufei found it odd that we came back with a lion, but soon understood when he looked into the lion's eyes. Quatre made an 'eep' sound, but was soothed when Tro-lion nuzzled his leg. I watched as Quatre understood, and patted the huge lion's head. I could hear purring from across the room.
"Trowa must turn into a were-lion every full moon, and get some fresh meat. Then he will become tame. He can even change back right after the meal. But... uh.. Heero? Could you pass me the book?" He gave me the book and I flipped to the page I had marked. "Ah, yes. As an animal, he will be practically the same as his natural nature. Which, in Trowa's case, is gentle and calm." Tro-lion was curled up, a cat grin on his face as Quatre rubbed his belly.
Wufei was petting Trowa's mane. "Heh. It's like having a big kitty in the house," Wufei commented. Then he got up and headed for his room. "Good night. Oh, and I'll be here tomorrow too, to train a bit more, but after that I have to go home. Sally needs me." We all nodded, even Trowa in his lion form. It was kinda weird, seeing a lion nod to a conversation. I knew he understood what Wufei had said, but it was still kinda surreal.
"Uh, I'll go to bed too. See ya guys in the morning," I said. I yawned and headed towards my room. I nearly ran into the door frame as I headed out, Heero tailing after me as usual.
I fell asleep listening to Heero's quiet breathing, Trowa's purring, and the occasional giggle from Quatre. What would you do if you had a tame lion as a pet?
I woke up at seven. Very odd for me. I got out of my bed and did my stuff. Heero was already gone, probably out in the woods enjoying the sun rise. I walked by Quatre and Trowa's room. Trowa was still in lion form. He had curled up into that cat sleeping position, and Quatre was snuggled up in the curve of Trowa's body, using his mane as a pillow. It was like a boy with his dog... er, cat. You get the picture. It was very heart warming. Something I needed after all the carnage I had seen these past few months.
I went downstairs to get some coffee. Wufei was already there, making some tea. The air smelled faintly of jasmine flowers. He silently handed me a cup. "Here, it's good for your chi."
I took then cup and raised an eyebrow. "Is this part of all that Chinese energy mumbo jumbo, like acupuncture and Yin-Yang?"
"It's NOT mumbo jumbo! Chi is your inner strength and vitality. If you can control it, you can do amazing things."
I listened and tried not to faze out while Wufei continued to talk about the various legend and feats of people who had mastered their chi. But one thing got my attention.
"... I've even heard of people who can fly..."
I grabbed Wufei's shirt collar. "What did you say? Is it true?"
Wufei tore his shirt out of my hands and brushed it back into place. "I wouldn't know, I just heard about it. I can only control my chi enough to slow down my descent if I'm falling, but that's about it."
That's good enough for me. If I could slow down my falling, it would be a great help just in case I was thrown from a balcony and Heero wasn't there to catch me. "Wu-man? Could you teach me? Pretty please?"
Wufei sighed. "Maybe you should learn from Heero. He just watched me and soon he was doing it too. Unless he knew how already..."
I shook my head. "Nah, he probably knew already. He can levitate for God's sake. I don't think slowing down a fall is something he had to learn."
Wufei smiled. "He's a fast learner. Look outside, you can see him." I looked outside. I could barely make out a dark blur leaping from tree to tree. "He saw me doing my morning exercises this morning and asked me how I was able to do all the leaping and gliding that I was doing without supernatural power. It's very odd that he can't actually sense power..." He paused thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, I told him about me being descended from a dragon. Pretty soon he was imitating some of my moves. I don't know if he was copying me or if that was what he normally does. He was jumping up and bounding over the trees too, like Superman."
I figured that since Heero knew how to levitate, he could probably slow down any falling that he might be doing. I just didn't know that he could "leap over buildings in a single bound." I guess if he could levitate, he could probably jump really high too.
I stayed inside, while Wufei was training Trowa and Quatre in using weapons and performing martial arts. I didn't feel like going outside today; maybe it was too cold. I shivered, suddenly feeling the weight of my words as an Alaskan wind blew in from the window. Stupid wind coming from up north. The sun was out, but it was as cold as a freezer outside. I was freezing my tail off. Well, actually, only Trowa could really freeze his tail off, but you know what I mean.
I sensed someone coming into the kitchen. Without turning around, I said, "Hey Heero. Done with your exercises?" I sensed him nodding. I could hear, no, feel him pouring a cup of tea and leaning against the counter. It was like I was inside his mind for a couple of seconds. I guess that's a side effect of sharing blood. I turned my chair to look at him. He looked vaguely normal, with his usual green tank top with black sweat pants. His hair was ruffled, probably from the wind and twigs brushing through his hair while he was running through the trees. I think there was even some leaves in his hair. "Heero..."
"I know," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair and coming up with a few pine needles. I laughed, and he smiled. I turned back to my tea cup on the table.
"You know," Heero said slowly as he walked towards me. "The others are outside right now..." He slid his hand around my neck, tracing the contours of my collarbone. His hand went under my shirt and down my chest. He teased a nipple, gently squeezing it, sending burning sensations through me. "Oh... Heero..."
Wufei walked in on us while we were getting dressed. "People eat on that table, you know," he said rather calmly as he walked towards the counter to get himself some more tea. "Good thing I don't live here." He poured the tea into his mug and left. Heero and I looked at each other for a few heartbeats, then we laughed.
Back to: Part 4
[1]: One day when I was DMing a quest, I had said that the party saw in the barracks a bunch of men polishing their swords. Well, let's just say that my friends took it TOTALLY the wrong way...
[2]: I figured the gunpowder scent had been overdone, so I decided to make it burnt metal instead...
Ack... I hope I didn't offend anyone with my Chinese courtesy remark. I'm Chinese, so I think I have the right to poke fun at my own culture..
Anyway, feel free to e-mail me your rants and raves, just don't cuss me out, okay?
Copyright reserved 2000 Top Ace