Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Night's Redemption ❯ Chapter 20 ( Chapter 21 )

Disclaimer: I do not own either Gundam Wing or Weiß Kreuz

“blah” speaking

/blah/ thoughts

`blah' telepathy

 

—

 

Star Dancer looked up with interest as a young girl with long braided golden-brown hair entered the room, a black ame-neko perched on her shoulder. /Kali and her bondmate. Now, where's the cousin?/ He watched intently as the girl picked her way across the room. /Ah, human name is Duet; interesting choice. Perhaps this Duo is her cousin./

 

`Looks like she's a half-breed.'

 

Star Dancer kept his eyes on the girl as she disappeared down the back hallway. `What makes you say that, Sun Dreamer?'

 

`The way she moves; she is deliberately keeping slow. And we both know that hanbun don't need to worry about that.' Sun Dreamer stretched his arms straight out before resuming. `And she had enough raw ability to partially See us despite my putting up a block.'

 

`One thing I find very interesting,' Sun Dreamer continued, `is that we both felt the pull to our bondmates at the same time; exactly when Kali and Salman disappeared. Now we find them along with our bondmates with a bunch of humans and two hanbun. People that seem to know our bondmates.'

 

`What do you think it means?'

 

`I think,' Sun Dreamer carefully spaced his words, `that they came through the barrier.'

 

Star Dancer momentarily stilled, the only sign betraying his shock. `You realize what you're saying.'

 

`Yes.' A trace of fear and hope colored Sun Dreamers mental voice. `And there is only one possibility to who actually broke through.'

 

`Duet.' Star Dancer surreptitiously looked at everyone in the room once more. `But you said she had raw, untrained power. So if she did come through the barrier, in that untrained state, then what has happened to the barrier?' Sun Dreamer's reply couldn't be heard over Sally's shout.

 

“Just what do you think you're doing!?” Sally yelled, exploding to her feet as Duet and Nagi appeared in the doorway. Trowa quickly moved, supporting Nagi's other side as they staggered into the room.

 

“Don't yell at me,” Duet snapped back. “He's the one that wanted to be out here. Would you rather he tried on his own and really made himself worse?”

 

Sally threw her hands in the air, surrendering. “Fine! I'm only a doctor; what do I know, right?” Her intense gaze pinned Nagi. “You relapse and I'll make sure you can't get out of that bed until I'm satisfied you're completely healed.”

 

Nagi opened his mouth to reply just as Johan, Duo and Heero raced into the room from the front hallway.

 

Star Dancer flinched when he saw who entered. /Please, don't let him say …/

 

“Your Highness!” Johan blurted out, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

 

Star Dancer groaned, hiding his head in his hands. “Johan,” he muttered from behind his fingers, “this is why you should stick with your research.”

 

“Eh?” Johan looked around at the startled faces. “Oh, they, uh, didn't know. Uh, sorry,” he grimaced. /I'm almost two thousand years old, you'd think by now I'd stop putting my foot in my mouth!/

 

Duo looked around the crowded living room, reaching a decision. Catching Heero's eye, he made an obscure gesture, hands forming an odd pattern. Heero considered the unspoken question before inclining his head. Duo grinned, anticipating the surprise. “Okay everyone!” He raised his voice, cutting above the chatter, grin widening once he had their attention. “This shindig's gotten a mite too large so we'll be relocating it. Downstairs. `Fei, you're closest. If you'd do the honors?”

 

Heero nodded slightly when Wufei glanced in his direction. Shrugging slightly, Wufei went to the wall by the entertainment stand. Swinging the faceplate to the lights out, he quickly punched in a code, body blocking everyone from seeing which keys were hit. The sound of bolts sliding came from behind the wall as Wufei closed the faceplate. He then gently pushed against the wall, a section sliding in. Pushing it to one side, the top of a staircase was slowly revealed, lights flickering on as the impromptu door opened.

 

Omi's jaw dropped as the hidden entrance opened. “That's where…”

 

“…we were standing,” Ken finished, equally shocked. “How did we miss that? When…?”

 

Duo looked at the youngest members of Weiß, eyes twinkling. “Oh, that was there when we got the house. The stairwell I mean. We modified the door a little and the basement a lot. Come on, we've only been here for two weeks with minimal supplies. We haven't had time yet to do any major changes.”

 

Yohji looked at the boy. “Just what do you consider major?” He waved a hand at the door. “That seemed fairly major to me; you completely hid another level!”

 

“Naw, trust me. That only took a day to do. Wait `til we add another sub-level.” Duo started to chortle at the expressions the members of Weiß.

 

“Duo,” Quatre cautioned the braided agent, about to say more when a series of chimes sounded through the house. “Alright, everyone downstairs. Trowa, you help Nagi down; Duet, you and Kali go with them. Wufei, you and Heero help me rearrange the furniture then go down. As soon as they're gone I'll join you. Duo, toss me one of the earpieces.”

 

Duo threw a small devise over. “It's set to receive; volume should be low enough to not interfere with normal conversations.”

 

Quatre nodded, putting the small gizmo in his ear. It blended perfectly, becoming almost invisible. “Move people.” His tone of voice left no room for argument.

 

In a surprisingly short amount of time everyone, minus Quatre, found themselves in a spacious basement. Yohji had noticed the old hinges for a door as he walked through the hidden entrance. /But still! To have the skills they've demonstrated at their age isn't right./ His gaze fell on Omi as the youngest member walked in front of him, another that was too young for the skills he had. Another that had his childhood stolen.

 

Once in the basement the groups carefully arranged themselves, each staying close to a wall. Ken noted the room was set up like a dojo, training mats already on the floor. Noticing a distinct lack of chairs he leaned against the wall, thumbs hooked in his pockets. Everyone else adopted similar stances except Nagi, who slumped to the floor, Thoth curled in his lap, Duet, who crouched down, balancing on the balls of her feet, Kali back in feline form sitting between Duet's knees, and Johan, who paced the center of the room.

 

The muffled clink of the bolts sliding shut echoed from the stairwell, quickly followed by two sets of footsteps. Heero and Wufei strode across the room to join their fellow agents. Duo looked around and once more got the conversation going.

 

“Since the majority of us here know squat about the barrier, Johan here has graciously volunteered to explain it.” He smirked as Johan stared at him with disbelief.

 

/Volunteered, huh?/ Sun Dreamer mentally shook his head. /Why do I get the feeling Johan wasn't given a choice?/

 

“Erm, right. The barrier.” Johan coughed, trying to collect his scattered thoughts, still pacing.

 

“As I'm sure you're aware,” he began, “the Silven and their ame-neko, and the Night Walkers aren't … native to this world. We traveled here through the Gates, fleeing from someone or something. The records aren't very clear on that point.” His voice gained confidence as he continued, warming to the subject. “When we arrived on this world, whatever we were fleeing from sent a pulse of pure energy through the Gate. It was too powerful and the Gate was destroyed. Whether that was the intent or not is moot. The unfortunate side effect of all that displaced energy was a ripple. A ripple that tore at the fabric of the world, rapidly destroying everything in its path. The two most powerful of us, working independently, quickly wove a spell to both halt the destruction and contain that energy. They succeeded but lost their lives in the process.”

 

Johan paused before resuming his narrative. “Since the energy used in that spell originally came from a Gate, it tried to follow its old path. But, since the structure of the Gate had been completely demolished, it had nothing to anchor to. The form it ultimately `chose' was to mirror the world, one side a reflection of the other, both sides linked and yet held apart at the same time. When this mirror, barrier, whichever you wish to call it, formed, it took with it members from all races.

 

“We are on that mirrored side. We are the reflection.”

 

Johan halted, hands loosely clasped behind him, brow furrowed as he considered what to say next. “I said this side is linked yet separate at the same time. This is because until recently, only thirty years ago, the barrier still wasn't stable. It has fluctuated, allowing ideas to cross. Hence why you,” he gestured at the Preventer agents, “are finding many things nearly identical. Now that it has stabilized, we can finally bring it safely down and reunite all our peoples.”

 

He sighed and began to pace once more. “As with everything, though, there are complications. Because the two who saved us worked independently of eachother, it is impossible to duplicate exactly what they did. To compound that, the power signature needs to be a near match as well. Whoever finally brings the barrier down has to be a descendant of the two that cast the initial spells.”

 

Duet felt a growing dread as Johan spoke, knowing where he was going. /No, no, no. I can't. I can't be responsible for everyone. No./

 

Heero and Duo stilled as they realized what Johan was implying, both privately wishing such a heavy burden hadn't been placed on one person.

 

“So who cast the spell?” Omi asked as the pause stretched out.

 

“One was a Night Walker, a member of clan Klamert, my clan. He was from the core family, the ones that actually founded the clan. His name, regretfully, has been lost, but we know he was survived by two sons. Neither of them lived on this side of the barrier.

 

“The other was a Silven, the head of the Bright family. She was also survived by two children, both daughters. The younger lived on this side and had children of her own, passing down the proper blood. Her name was Bright Singer.”

 

Wufei coughed into his fist. “Hypothetically speaking, what if the descendant was untrained and attempted to cross?”

 

“Then the barrier would begin to fracture and the stored energy would release, beginning the destruction of everything.” Johan stumbled as Wufei's question registered. He turned, moving through molasses, a look of horror on his face. “Night preserve us. You haven't been trained.” Duet drew further in, huddling into a smaller ball, Kali beginning to rumble in a loud purr.

 

“Johan!” Star Dancer snapped, startling the Night Walker out of his funk. “Check the barrier. Find out how much time we have.” Johan hurriedly scanned the room, searching for a suitable surface.

 

Star Dancer whirled to face the Preventer agents. “You were contacted to protect Duet, am I correct?”

 

“The assignment was given to Yuy and Maxwell,” Wufei answered. “Winner and Sally's presence was requested by them.” In the background Johan began to chant, causing everyone except Star Dancer and Sun Dreamer to twitch.

 

Ken recovered fast and tilted his head to one side, puzzled. “Then why did Trowa and yourself come along?”

 

“Preventer field agents always work in pairs and they are our partners,” Quatre spoke up from the doorway, smiling gently to ease the startled faces. “The police have left,” he informed the four members of Weiß, “and if you wish to leave we won't stop you. We simply wished to reassure you that we meant you no harm. As Duo already stated, and Star Dancer surmised, our goal is to protect Miss Mendelssohn. Since communication with our commander has been severed, we cannot be assigned new missions. Nor will we interfere with any you might be assigned. If you wish further information then please ask us. If it's something we are free to discuss then we will.”

 

Aya studied the blond before inclining his head just as Johan finished chanting.

 

“Dark Lady have mercy on Your children,” the Night Walker whispered, voice filled with terror. “It's cracking. The barrier is cracking.”

 

“How much time!” Star Dancer snapped, forcing the Night Walker back onto his task.

 

“Maybe a week. Maybe a month. I don't know; I'd have to watch it and see how fast the cracks grow.” Shaking, Johan turned to stare at Duet. “How? Any child is taught the basics. How…?”

 

Duet barked a harsh laugh as her gaze stayed fixed on the stairwell, body thrumming with the need to run. “You assume I was raised by either Silven or Night Walkers. You are wrong.” With agonizing listlessness she turned her head, haunted eyes locking on horror-filled ones. “I spent the first ten years of my life thinking I was human.” Her voice remained low as she spoke without any inflections. “For the last five years I have known I am half Silven. And only three months ago did I realize that I wasn't half human.” She surged up from her crouch, gaze swinging towards Duo and Heero. “I need to get out.”

 

Duo started forward, held back by Heero's hand on his arm. “'Ro?” he looked back, puzzled.

 

“I'll go.” He inclined his head at Johan. “You should learn what you can.” Duo reluctantly agreed.

 

“Heero, here.” Quatre took out the small earpiece, tossing it to Heero who easily caught it. Putting the small device on he nodded once to Duet.

 

“Follow me.” They left the basement silently, Kali following after her bondmate.

 

Star Dancer waited for the footsteps to fade before confronting Shiva. “Bondmate, I'd like that explanation now.”

 

“Before you do,” Quatre interrupted, turning back to the flummoxed florists/assassins. “If you wish to leave now we will inform you about whatever we can at a later date.”

 

Aya measured them with steady eyes. “Kritiker will have some questions for you, of that I'm certain. Just one question before we leave. What are you planning to do with Prodigy?”

 

“He can stay here,” Duo and Quatre spoke simultaneously.

 

Sheepishly grinning at Quatre, Duo continued. “We've got a spare room he can use, if you want to that is.” He arched an eyebrow as he peeked over, the question unvoiced.

 

“You … want me to stay here?” Nagi stared at the braided teen, unable to believe what he was hearing. “Why?”

 

Duo shrugged. “Do we need a reason? I suppose the best answer is that we understand.”

 

Nagi rocked back as Duets words were repeated. “I…”

 

Quatre took pity on the flustered youth. “Duo's right, we do understand. In many regards we're similar to Weiß and Kritiker. But we easily could have become just like Schwarz.” His face darkened. “We easily could have become worse than Schwarz.” Johan shivered as the icy voice came from the innocent-looking young man.

 

Aya pushed off the wall. “Then we'll be back later with more questions.” He walked up the stairs, not checking to see if the others followed.

 

Yohji pushed up his sunglasses, smirking. “And there goes our fearless leader. A pleasure to meet all of you, especially such a lovely lady,” he bowed at Sally, not missing the sharp look Wufei shot him. “I do hope he doesn't make us re-open the shop; this late we're not going to get many customers. Coming Ken?”

 

“In a moment,” the brunette turned to face Johan and Duo. “You used the shadows to move between places. And that's something only the `Night Walkers' can do, right?” Johan nodded. “So why was he,” Ken pointed at Duo, “able to?”

 

“It has to do with my clan,” Johan clarified. “We occasionally have humans born into the clan; they have the ability to manipulate the shadows but that's all. And they pay the same price we do for that ability.”

 

“You mean drink blood.” Ken's face closed, revealing nothing.

 

“No. The human descendants are unable to, um, process blood. Instead they have to rely on blüt to refresh themselves.” Johan grinned apologetically as he faced Duo. “I'm sure you found that out.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Duo grumbled. “Had lots of fun finding that out.”

 

Ken took a breath before asking his next question. “Was Kohana Yasunori one of your descendants?”

 

“Yes, but she died nearly thirty years ago.” Johan sighed. “She couldn't accept that she needed to drink artificial blood.” He frowned, casting a sharp look at Duo. “Are you going to have that problem?”

 

Duo laughed darkly. “No, I won't have a problem with it.” He grinned, his eyes glinting eerily. “I've done far worse things in order to survive.”

 

Johan blinked. “I … see.” He turned back to Ken. “How did you know her?”

 

“My mother knew her.” Ken looked at Duo. “When I saw your eyes switch color on the security tape, I knew there was something about it that I should know. And when the shadows covered you and your cousin I remembered what it was.” Ken stretched as he strode over to the stairs. “At least that won't bug me anymore. Catch ya back at the shop Omi.” He waved as he disappeared up the stairs.

 

Omi shook his head as he watched his last teammate vanish. “And they leave me to do all the work again.” He sighed before following Ken. “I guess I'll see you later.”

 

“Actually,” Quatre smiled, “we'll see you at school tomorrow.” His smile widened as Duo started to sputter. “We don't want to blow our cover, now do we, Duo?”

 

Heartily laughing, Omi left the house, knowing that life just became a lot more interesting.

 

—

 

A/N

Well, some more explanations. Thanks to all that have reviewed; your comments are greatly appreciated! I'm trying to keep the WK boys in character; I still think I should watch it again. At least the first fifteen. Anyways, enough of my rambling. As always, please review, critiques welcome, all flames will be used to make smores!

 

And a special THANK YOU to Calic0cat; she's archived both Night's Redemption and The Mystery of DM on her site http : // calic 0 cat . freeservers . com/ (just remove the spaces) under the Guest Fics page.