Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Night's Redemption ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 5 )

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"blah" speaking

/blah/ thoughts

`blah' telepathy

-

"So let me get this straight, Sal; you're saying that Duet is some sort of a half-breed?" Duo shook his head in amazement. They had all filed back into the living room to eat and continue going over their plans. "Like I said before, this is getting too weird. It's almost something the Fearsome Five would have dreamed of." Everyone looked at Heero.

"No," Heero reluctantly forced out. "They weren't into crossbreeding humans and animals. Pure manipulation of DNA and technology, yes. But what Sally is implying, no."

Trowa leaned forward and tapped one of the sheets of paper strewn across the floor. "Quatre, wasn't this one of the places we investigated?" Quatre looked at where Trowa was pointing.

"I think you're right." He looked at the others. "Two years ago, right after the Mariemaia incident, in fact, Trowa and I were tracking down one of the few remaining OZ factions. We had followed them to New York when we lost sight of them. Only a few days after that did we learn of the fire at the Berkley Orphanage. We caught them a few weeks later, but it's possible that OZ had learned of Duet and were on their way to collect her for their own use. When was that blood sample taken, Sally?"

Sally flipped back to that sheet. "It was taken two and a half years ago. So it fits with the time frame we're setting up. This report has some more interesting facts. It seems that about fifteen years ago, one Father David Mendelssohn was called to identify a woman's body. He id'ed it as having been a woman that just recently left a baby girl in his care. They were able to get some blood from the corpse, but something or someone had beaten them to most of it." Sally looked down at the paper. "Seems most of her blood had been drained away and the coroner reports that while there were multiple cuts all over her body, there were no sever, life threatening wounds. And shortly after the good Father identified the body, the lights went out. When the backup power kicked in a few seconds later, the body had vanished. Nothing was found when the security tapes were examined. And the enzymes found in the blood from the woman's body matches some of the ones found in Duets." The boys sat back, trying to digest this latest revelation. Sally placed the paper she was holding back into her folder, gathering up the others as she did so. "What's the plan once we reach New York?"

"Near the center of the area is a hotel; I've gotten us rooms there. We can plan out the areas we'll search from there. Is there anything else?" Heero looked at all of them. Duo was eating his fourth slice of pizza, staring at the photo of Duet, Wufei was looking off into the distance, as was Trowa. "Quatre?"

Quatre looked up, frowning. "I don't know, but I just remembered. When Trowa and I went to the wreckage of the orphanage, I," he paused, eyes moving back and forth, searching for the proper word. "I felt a scream."

Duo swallowed convulsively. "You mean you picked up something with your space heart?"

Quatre nodded, one hand rising to massage the area over his heart. "Yes, but it was faint, like whatever had caused it was moving away from me. And there were the feelings of the people around me to drown it out. Like trying to listen to one person whose running from you in a crowded room." Quatre stopped and looked at Heero. "I'm sure that if I got close enough that I'd be able to recognize that person again. Let's just hope that it was Duet I sensed back then."

-

It had been a week since his meeting with the council, but Sean had finally tracked down the last herb he would need for the spell to transport him to the human realm. As he finished the preparations, Sebastian, the chancellor, walked into his room. "Come to see me off, chancellor?"

Sebastian pulled a chair over and collapsed into it, running a hand through his untamed black locks, the exact same hue of black as Sean's. "Must you be so formal even when we're alone? We are from the same clan, you could at least give me that greeting."

Sean ruefully grinned. "Apologies, kinsman; it's easy to get intimidated by that title you now have. Even if you've only had it for the last fifty years." He walked over and, grabbing Sebastian's right hand, bowed over it. "Life to you, kinsman," ha said, lightly kissing the back of Sebastian's hand.

Sebastian placed his other hand atop Sean's bent head. "May life fill you always," he completed the ritual. Sean stepped back, looking at his lounging kinsman.

"So why are you here?"

Sebastian sat up straight in the chair. "Would you believe because I was worried?" Sean snorted his disbelief. Sebastian's lips quirked in a smile. "No, didn't think so. Actually, it's because of a dream I had last day; about your daughter." Sean grew still, his attention now firmly upon the chancellor. "Her powers are starting to emerge and when you meet her, she is going to use some of them. I couldn't see which ones or the consequences, but I do know it will be proportional to the strength of her emotions. Please kinsman, whatever you do, do not make her fear you. That emotion in her will cause a catastrophe the likes of which our world has only seen once before. And that one almost destroyed everything." Sean rocked back on his heels as he digested this information.

"So I'm supposed to approach her without getting her to fear me when my ultimate goal is," his voice became acidic, "to kill her." His eyes held self-loathing and hatred at the thought. "Pierre was the one to think of that little twist, wasn't he?" Sebastian said nothing, but that silence spoke volumes. Sean sighed, releasing his emotions. "At least you got them to leave a loophole, thank you."

Sebastian waved a hand, brushing off the thanks. "She's your daughter, that makes her kin, no matter who, or what, her mother was. I just wanted to warn you before you left." Sebastian stood up, once more running a hand through his hair. "I'd suggest your next report to the council be made by image, rather than in person. At least that way you have a ready excuse for leaving before all of the questions are asked." Sebastian nodded to his kinsman and left. Sean stood there for a while before shaking himself. He still had that spell to cast.

-

Duet was carefully walking down the street, trying not to burst into a run; she had felt eyes watching her for the last few blocks, eyes that had not left her despite her efforts to dodge them. What was worse was the feeling that there were more than one sets of eyes watching her and she couldn't pinpoint where they were! She shrugged her shoulders in an effort to relieve the itch that was developing between them and stretched her stride out a little farther. In the past week, her friends had told her of a group of people looking for her, people in uniform. They couldn't tell her more than that but she thanked them for even that little bit of news. It had actually fit with the mood she was now sensing from the crowds; something big was going to happen and soon. Seeing a likely alleyway up ahead, Duet grinned. /I'll be able to loose them in there./ Relief flooded through her at that comforting thought.

-

"Yes, Duo, we've found her. She's done something to hide her hair." Quatre paused as he listened to Duo's reply. "Trowa is down on the ground tailing her while I'm on the top of a roof. You can see our positions, yes?" He paused again. "Right, we'll meet you in a bit. Wufei, Sally, did you copy?"

"We copy, we're on our way over. Wufei out."

Quatre frowned as a surge of emotions came from the mission objective. "Trowa, she's going to be trying something," he warned the tall green-eyed man.

"Understood." Trowa quicken his pace, setting it to match Duets. It had taken them a week of searching, but they had finally managed to track down the elusive girl. Duo had passed along the statements he and Heero had gotten from the local gangs; Trowa knew that Duet would be capable of disappearing in a matter of minutes. He wasn't going to allow her that time.

-

Duet let out a quiet, triumphant chuckle as she rounded the corner to the alley; they would lose track of her in here for sure. As soon as she was out of sight of the road, she broke into a full run, then launched herself into the air, easily jumping the two-story height to land on the bottom landing of the fire escape.

-

"By Allah!" Quatre swore as he witnessed what Duet had just accomplished with ease. "Trowa, she's on the fire escape!"

Trowa rounded the corner only half a minute after Duet and looked down the alley, slight shock running through him as he caught sight of Duet running up the fire escape that ran along the side of one of the buildings. The structure was an easy 100 feet away and she was now halfway up the ten-story building. "Quatre, there is no way I'll be able to catch up to her this way, can you see the top of the building from where you are?"

"Yes; I'll let you know which way she's going." Trowa nodded and ducked out of the alleyway, giving Duet the impression that she had lost them.

-

Duet vaulted onto the top of the building and looked down into the alley she had recently vacated. One of the pairs of eyes had left, but that other set… She looked around, trying to spot where her other pursuer was. The pigeons that were roosting up here started to flock around her, blocking her vision.

`Bright Star! Bright Star!' they cooed at her. `Bright Star has come to visit with us!'

`I'm sorry, but I need to see! There are people after me!' She tried to force the excited birds back down to no avail. `Please little flyers! Please land! I promise to visit with you, just land!' The early relief she had felt at spotting the alley was quickly turning into frustration. After a few minutes, the birds did finally settle down, allowing Duet a clear view.

`What people are after you, we can help!' they cooed, all of them speaking simultaneously.

Duet smiled when they said this; she had just found out where the other pairs of eyes were. `Let me visit with you first, then you can help me to escape from the bad people.' Duet sat down on the roof, mentally chatting with the pigeons as a plan took shape in her mind.