Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Drive ❯ Drive ( Chapter 1 )

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Drive

Rating: NC17 (due to the level of violence and gore)

Warnings: Horror, Violence, Extreme Gore, Death, Yaoi implications, Supernatural, AU of sorts

Pairings: None really, brief 1+2

Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they were, can't change a thing. Enough said.

Summary: Being prepared to complete a mission doesn't necessarily mean you are prepared for the encounter.

Notes/Dedication: I only finished writing this at the insistence of CYT. It's morphed a couple of times and this is what came out. It is definitely horror. *glomps* CYT

Interpretation warnings: stereotypes defied and characters actually determined according to my take on their exhibited merits and not fanon, since my brain doesn't work well when confined.

Inspiration: The song Drive from REM started this idea, don't ask… I have no idea how I got this from that…but these words sum up the feeling I used the best. This is not a song fic.

Smack, crack, bushwhacked.
Tie another one to the racks, baby.

Hey kids, rock and roll.
Nobody tells you where to go, baby.

What if I ride? What if you walk?
What if you rock around the clock?
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
What if you did? What if you walk?
What if you tried to get off, baby?

Hey, kids, where are you?
Nobody tells you what to do, baby.

Hey kids, shake a leg.
Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby.

Drive

**

December 12thAC 195

**

Blood.

Violet eyes were emptied of all emotion as he cleaned his knife against the habitual black garb that he wore. His trade-marked maniacal grin was still plastered all over his face. It gave anyone who looked at him, without actually knowing what they were looking for, the impression that he was slightly insane.

The impression that the killing "got him off".

To a few people, however-people who knew Duo Maxwell-pain was evident. Pain that was being locked behind walls and doors so that it wouldn't interfere with the way that he performed;
the way he completed his objective. It was sealed away and not allowed to come out. But the danger was there and he knew it. The danger of it all breaking down and if it did… there would be hell to pay. Absently he scratched at the recent scar on his hand. Still healing as it was, he failed to notice the scab break.

Duo shook his head and tried to refocus his eyes, not knowing exactly where that thought came from. He wasn't entirely sure if he was hearing things, hallucinating, or if his ghosts were coming back to haunt him.

So many different thoughts ran through his head… so many different ideas, so many different ways he could kill so many different people. And [then] it started… the laughter bubbled from his lips. It began softly at first, before it became an overwhelmingly hollow laugh; it still somehow demonstrated a depth of sorrow, despair, and desperate need that anyone who listened should have been able to hear.

"Duo?" Concern marred Quatre's voice as he came to fetch the long-haired pilot, only to find him laughing in a cold, rather disturbing way.

Brain shutting off that part of him that was threatening to leak out, Duo looked up, eyes bright. "Hey Q-man! What's up?" And as he strode past the blonde, his brain switched into the chatter mode that always seemed to save his arse. "So where have you been? How did your section go? Everything locked down? I was a little sloppy I guess, got a knick on me, He-Man will probably kill me for that, for being a danger to the mission, but maybe I can get away with…"

As his fellow pilot's voice began to fade, Quatre darted to follow him, wondering if what he had fleetingly felt was real or just a figment of his imagination. The blond hugged his arms as he felt a chill run down his back. He was jumpy. The station was eerily deserted, and even though it should have been because they had taken care of the enemy, there was still something not quite right.

Quatre didn't even notice the tiny drops of blood that were marking a trail in the direction that Duo had walked.

Heading down the corridor to where he somehow unerringly knew that the others were, Duo let himself continue to chatter aimlessly. It gave his brain time to think without being interrupted. Though thinking probably wasn't the word; he was more or less brooding. To be honest, brooding didn't really suit the long-haired boy well; in fact, he hated it…and what was worse, he knew that Heero hated it too.

Jaw clenched and set at a stubborn angle, Duo turned into the room he knew he would find the other pilots in.

A pair of dark Prussian eyes glared at him. Defiance in every fibre of his being, Duo simply glared back with a big toothy smile and said the one thing he knew would infuriate Heero even further.

"So Hee-man…how's it hanging?"

Annoyance flickered through Heero's eyes as he gazed at the braided boy. "Being

jovial is hardly called for Maxwell. You took risks… again."

Trying to ignore the strange feeling that was surrounding him, Duo bit back with the only defence he could always rely on; dripping sarcasm. "I did? You don't say, Yuy…"

"Yes, Maxwell! You did. And you're just lucky that the mission parameters were overly cautious. If we had been facing the amount of opponents that had been in those orders, your slip up could have cost us dearly." Heero's glare was penetrating.

Duo resisted the urge to squirm and stick out his tongue… just. "Let's pick out the operative word here, Yuy… IF. You can't build jack shit or win wars with what if's. So get off my fucking case."

Heero didn't get past opening his mouth when Trowa smoothly interjected. "Am I the only one who found that all… a little easy?"

The rest of his comrades blinked.

Trowa sighed. "Our information was accurate, we never fail to triple check it nowadays. So tell me how it managed to be so… inaccurate?"

Wufei shrugged a little impatiently. "We defeated them. Perhaps the specifications were overcautious."

The Heavyarms pilot raised his eyebrow. "Perhaps…"

Quatre shivered again, still hugging himself. "Let's just get the rest of the mission completed and get the hell out of here." He didn't like the space station; it was making his instincts scream.

A clipped nod was Heero's answer and he began giving directions which would see them out of the station as soon as possible. "Quatre, you start disabling the buffers. We need that information pronto."

At the blonde's nod, Heero continued. "Trowa, Wufei - go get the relevant physical research we need from the cargo bays. It should be there… unless that was overcautious as well." The Japanese man frowned as he thought.

He turned to look at Duo and levelled a glare at the American. "Duo and I will locate the central data processor." There was a look on Heero's face which implied a need to talk. His voice was curt and compelling. "Walk with me."

Defiance still evident in his posture, Duo followed… thoughts flowing unwanted through his mind as all of them parted ways.

His mind was screaming at him not to separate from the others. As he followed Heero, Duo's eyes darted around them. If he didn't know better, he would have thought they were being watched.

But they had killed everyone, hadn't they?

He shook his head… or did he? He felt like he was floating, like there was something in himself that he couldn't control. Like he was watching himself and everything that was happening to him. Blood trickled down the back of his hand, unnoticed by him. His heartbeat was palpable, every beat making him quake… like an oversized grandfather clock ticking… counting the seconds down…to…something…

There was a feeling; something…that shouldn't be there, that shouldn't be able to hurt him or any of the people who he had come to depend on. It was as if he was searching for it, instinctively, hands flexing in anticipation, tongue licking his lips as if savouring what would come.

It was as if it was invading him.

"Duo!"

The angry cry momentarily ripped him from his contemplations as he turned a blank stare at Heero. "Yes?"

Arms crossed that beautifully chiselled chest. Wild chocolate hair fell across those deep Prussian eyes, completing the reproachful glare perfectly.

Idly, Duo wondered if Heero knew even a percentage of how sexy he could look, or how peaceful Duo could feel with him somewhere in the vicinity.

He had no idea where his thoughts were coming from. A smirk crossed Duo's lips as rather erotic thoughts of Heero getting off ran through his head, at least until the next words fell from the latter's lips.

"You weren't even listening!" If it had been a Heero-like reaction, Duo swore the man would have thrown his hands up in exasperation. Instead Heero was giving Duo something akin to a death glare.

"You endanger each and every one of us Maxwell. I am trying to decide if you are worth the effort of keeping alive."

And he couldn't help it. Duo laughed. "You keep me alive? I'd like to see you try to kill me Yuy, not even you are that good." His hand still itched, so he scratched it.

"Don't be so cocky, Duo."

Silence settled around the black-clad boy, an ominous blanket of heat and death in an aura of darkness that shimmered briefly. "You cannot kill something that is already dead, Heero." The tone was something unearthly, something that would not have usually poured from Duo's lips.

As Heero opened his mouth to retort, Duo suddenly launched himself forward. At first Heero thought he was going to be attacked and readied himself to counter the long-haired man. But he pulled up short as he realised that Duo was not aiming for him. Instead, he watched, stunned as the scene unravelled before him, not noticing the scratch he'd received as Duo brushed passed him.

There was a shadow that emerged behind Heero, and before Duo could think about anything, something inside him broke. He felt like he was watching himself again. Diving forward, he tackled the shadowed figure to the ground. Straddling it, he began to punch at the creatures face.

Unnoticed by him, the violet-eyed youth tore chunks of flesh out of the thing's face and body. Blood and sinew flew through the air to decorate the walls of the space base they had infiltrated. The cries coming from the thing were inhuman, but they did not seem to bother the long-haired boy. His eyes were focused somewhere else, watching and seeing something else. As the body beneath him began to spasm, his eyes refocused yet again.

Lowering his mouth just over the incision that indicated a like appendage on his victim, Duo opened his own and breathed in. A murky grey stream began to flow from the creature beneath him into his own body as a black shimmer began to glow around him, brighter and brighter, until the thing on the ground was a dry husk and Duo stood looking shakily down at it.

"I…" The blood dripped down his face and his hair, chunks of flesh slowly winding their way down his body. The freshly opened scar on his hand was livid and bruised as bloodied remains covered it.

Raising bloody fingers in front of his face, Duo staggered as he once again became fully aware. "I… um…" He felt as if there was something calling to him as he looked at Heero, face pleading and body so pale it was almost transparent. "Hey, Heero… I don't feel so…good…"

Unknown to the unconscious violet-eyed pilot, Heero caught him before he hit the ground, and with great care, carried him to the sleeping quarters they had commandeered.

~#~

He stood on a crevice overlooking a huge rift; the bottom of which could have been a black hole for all that was visible. Violet eyes blinked as he tore his gaze away long enough to survey his surroundings. Puzzlement crossed his face as he eyes swept the sky and he absently rubbed the now opened wound on the back of his hand.

Something was out of place… the clouds weren't white, or even the green grey of hail clouds. Instead they were a black, tinged with an underlying current of red running through them, giving his entire surroundings an eerie glow.

Falling to one knee he needed to steady himself as tremors ran through the ground beneath him. A hand flew to his cheek as something thick and wet landed on it, only to come away streaked in partially congealing blood. At first his gaze was directed above him, to the large thick drops that started to fall more frequently, soon plastering his face and hair in a thick oozing sheen of blood.

The ground beneath him started to tremble more violently, and morbid curiosity made him look over the edge. Eyes widened in immediate shock as he saw the steadily rising surge of deep red liquid bubbling up the rift.

Barely registering in time, he flung himself back, sliding on the blood slicked ground as a fountain of blood rocketed out of the chasm, showering everything surrounding it with the oozing, sticky substance; blending in with the rain.

The rumbling became louder, like a deep-seated laugh, until Duo realised that it was a laugh. The deep, hollow, almost evil laugh sent shivers down his spine and seeped into his very soul; it grew louder and louder, until it was coming from all directions, surrounding him.

And then it spoke.

"Ahh, Duo Maxwell."

Violet eyes flew open, hands raised to shield them from the blood pouring down from his hair. He tried to focus on a point where the voice came from, but he couldn't determine the direction, and his reply was cautious. "Maybe?"

The laugh was harsh and made Duo's skin want to escape from his body. "I know who you are. That is something you cannot hide from me."

"And who are you?"

When the voice answered, it sounded decidedly offended. "Why Mr. Maxwell…you claim to be a demon of death, I would think you would recognise one of your kin." The tone was faintly mocking.

Duo's eyes opened wider, blinking rapidly to keep the blood out of them. His whole body was slick with the liquid. It was distracting him. He couldn't get his mind around anything that was happening.

"What do you want?" He hadn't meant it to come out that way, but his voice sounded angry and impatient.

"My…my, a mortal with so much fire." Again that laughter reverberated through the landscape. The red rain poured down heavier for the few seconds of chilling noise.

"Better to be mortal, than eternally damned." Damn it. Duo wished he could learn to hold his tongue.

When the voice spoke, it seemed amused more than anything else. "And you think that, after all the atrocities which you have committed, you will be something other than damned?"

Duo struggled to say something, not ready to face the truth of the words as they were spoken.

"I could offer you so much, Mr Maxwell…"

Duo scoffed at the comment. "I seriously doubt it."

A light breeze blew the rain against his body, sending cold shivers down the long-haired boy's spine as the blood cooled briefly on his skin. The voice was tinged with wistfulness when it spoke.

"You couldn't possibly begin to fathom the things which I could offer to you. You would be… immortal." There was a slight hesitance before the voice grew stronger and commanding. " I could force you…"

Despite the mess beginning to congeal all over his body, Duo laughed so hard he cried. Wiping the water away with the back of his hand, he cleared splotches on his face. For a moment he looked like a ghoulish version of himself. " I'd like to see you try."

"You think you are safe?" There was anger lying underneath the voice now.

"I am as safe as I can be…"

The chuckle deepened, cold and heartless and it seared the tender ripped flesh of Duo's hand.

"You are safe for as long as I let you be…"

Out of nowhere, something appeared in front of the long-haired boy. Black wings jutted out from a cape that covered the rest of it, and the hooded creature flexed what looked almost like a hand, allowing Duo to catch a momentary glimpse of something metallic. Caution rose in him and he tried to back away but slid on the blood beneath him…

The metal flashed.

The laugh froze him.

"Your blood is mine…"

Pain tore through his body…

~#~

…And he woke up with a scream.

#*#

Absently, Heeo's fingers wandered to the scratch on his cheek. He idly noted that it was larger than he had at first thought. It wasn't really a scratch anymore; it was a cut. Heero didn't dwell on it for long. He didn't like the base they had taken over; it was giving him the creeps.

Prussian depths focused on the chest before him as it rose and fell with every breath. It fascinated him to watch the boy in front of him. The way his pale face took on an almost ethereal hue in the artificial light. The way his lips were parted, making the air that entered and left his body almost visible. The way the boy's chestnut braid shone, colours merging through browns, reds and golds, finally settling on a deep chestnut. The way his pale eyelids flickered as he dreamed, hiding the amethyst orbs that usually sparkled there.

Everything about the way Duo moved made Heero want him in a way he would never admit. He wasn't sure whether it was a control issue, or whether he just wanted to possess the other boy. But truth be told, Heero didn't give a damn. Heero just wanted his partner…and everything that went with him. Asleep, awake, silent, loud, alive or dead… Duo always fascinated him.

Heero was so caught up in the movements Duo made in his sleep, that he couldn't turn away from the sight of four slashes appearing across the front of the sleeping youth's body. As if in slow motion he heard Duo scream and found that he had already moved to the American's side, trying to calm Duo's shuddering breaths. All the while, Heero couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the wounds on Duo's chest from which blood was now seeping and beginning to soak the surrounding bed linen and clothes.

It wasn't. It couldn't be. He had been watching Duo. And yet he had no idea how his comrade had been attacked. His check itched and he reached up to rub the gash, not noticing Duo's blood all over his hands.

"Damn it, Heero!" Somehow those words seemed so much harsher when coming from the small blonde who uttered them. Quatre pushed himself towards the two pilots, kneeling down next to them. Tearing strips from the sheet hanging at the side of the bed, Quatre cursed softly as he tore his hand on the metal bedframe. He sucked on it to staunch the flow of blood. Looking up,he saw Duo's eyes glazed in pain, while Heero held him loosely. The Japanese boy was blinking owlishly as if he had been woken from a long sleep.

Exasperated, Quatre concentrated on his work, trying to distance himself and not notice that it was a co-pilot he was trying to patch up. It felt strange… the wound felt strange. Quatre couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was unsettling. Just like the whole mission had been. There was something off which had set his senses on alarm, but he had given way to the opinion of the majority. He had hoped he wouldn't regret it, and at that moment, it looked like that hope had been in vain.

Relief flooded through the blond as he felt both Trowa and Wufei enter the room. Considering how little help Heero was being, Quatre was glad of the aid.

"How long?" Trowa's soft voice was soothing and Quatre looked up at him, grateful for the support. As he thought over his answer, his mind only vaguely registered the gash on his finger.

"Perhaps five minutes?" Quatre redirected his voice, addressing the Chinese boy. "… Wufei?"

With a nod, the Chinese boy pushed past to the bathroom, knowing what Quatre needed. He also needed to get away from Heero before he punched the Japanese man in order to bring him to his senses. Wufei couldn't understand how Duo had gotten wounds like that on his chest. It was illogical…eerie. He shook his head and focused on what he was supposed to be doing.

Locating an arm full of white towels, he turned to leave the room and somehow misjudged the doorway.

It was almost as if the doorway had moved, but Wufei knew that wasn't possible. One of the hinges still attached to the door had drawn blood on his upper arm. Wufei frowned at it, thinking he should have left his white over-jacket on. His eyes scanned the room, sure that he had just seen a shadow where there couldn't be one.

They were the only ones left on the space station… weren't they?

He returned to the room in time to see Trowa leave and make his way to where Duo lay on the bed. Wufei tried to assess the situation, watching Quatre's hands grow more and more frantic as he attempted to stem the blood flow. The Chinese boy frowned. There was something very strange going on and he had no idea what it was.

Wufei decided to try and move Duo into a more manageable position and it frustrated him to no end. He finally gave up, stood with his hands on his hips, and glared at Heero, ignoring the blood running down his own arm.

"What in the hell is wrong with you, Yuy?"

For his part, Heero couldn't quite put a finger on it. He felt like he was floating and falling at the same time, in the midst of a black haze. While he floated he could hear voices that were constantly muttering at the edge of his perception. They weren't just voices he knew, but hundreds of voices speaking at once, yet when he tried to listen he could hear nothing specific.

And then there were the shadows. Sometimes he could see them and almost swear that they were solid, and other times they just seemed to fade in and out of his vision. He was starting to think he was delusional, or at least, it's what he would have thought had his mind been able to process things properly at that point in time.

All he could successfully focus on was the blood that was slowly but surely soaking through the white towels Quatre was pressing against Duo's chest. Absently, Heero stroked Duo's perspiring head, fixated. At least, that was until he was bodily hauled away by Trowa and Wufei and deposited in the chair that he had previously occupied.

As he was removed, reality came crashing down on him and he stared at Duo in disbelief, though none of the others seemed to notice his discomfort. The usually emotionless pilot sorted through the things running through his mind.

The vision of Duo falling over that… creature before, played in front of his eyes. He couldn't tear himself away from it. He saw the globs of flesh flying again; he saw the hunger in Duo's eyes. And then it hit him. Duo's eyes had been, no comma feral… not his own. Those violet eyes had been clouded with a desire that Heero had never seen before. It made him shiver just to think about it.

And he had no idea why.

Heero began an involuntary rocking as his mind tried to encompass things that his training had never made an exception for. None of this was logical, from the growing gash in his own face, to the blood flowing from slashes on his partner's chest. He couldn't work with something unfathomable. He needed facts.

He needed the damned whispers in his head to stop.

While Heero was lost in his thoughts, Trowa began unpacking the rather advanced medical kit that he had gone to fetch. His green eyes hidden by the fall of his hair, which also served to disguise his concerned expression. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something very wrong.

He'd been surprised by the joint mission when it came, as much if not more than the others had been. Simple enough. Go and take out a space station where OZ troops were hiding. Kill the people there, render the station inoperable and leave.

The number of troops had been estimated, but the estimation had obviously been wrong. There hadn't been enough of the enemy to warrant sending all five of them…barely even enough to warrant sending one… and they had checked over the information thoroughly. It was habit since the Noventa incident. Things had seemed to be in perfect order…perhaps too perfect.

It made him wary.

A shadow flickered off to the left of him and he swivelled his head to get a better look, not able to see anything at all. Pain laced through his right palm and he looked down in bewilderment. How the hell had he managed to cut himself? Then he saw the scalpel dripping with blood. He was still trying to figure out how he had done it when Quatre's panicked voice spoke softly.

"It's not slowing, Trowa."

A quick glance told him that Wufei had taken a step back, shock on his face as he stood with his bloodied hands crossed, gripping his upper arms. Heero was almost rocking himself back and forth, idly playing with a wound on his cheek. Quatre's large eyes looked up at him, looking for the direction he didn't know how to take. Trowa knew how difficult it would be for the blond to admit he couldn't lead in this area.

He stepped over to the body on the bed. Swallowing hard, he had to separate himself from the swamp of blood soaked material that seemed intent on swallowing his friend's body. Reaching a hand down, he pulled away the sopping towels, revealing the wounds.

Blood erupted into his face, clinging to him with partially congealed consistence. A glance at Duo's face showed his friend was awake, aware.

This was very wrong.

Kneeling down, he inspected the wound, blood still pouring from it freely. "Duo?" He wasn't quite sure if the other boy could hear him, but he hoped so. His palm was itchy, warm, covered in and gushing blood. He didn't notice the mixing of the two. His mind was starting to become vague and he found it difficult to concentrate, so much that he missed whether or not Duo answered.

Duo heard the voice. It broke through the hazy world that his mind had retreated to since the nightmare, and it called to him. But it was still hard to distinguish from all of the others fighting for dominance in his head. There was darkness in there too, vying for control… trying to drown him.

He shook his head, trying to concentrate; he didn't have a clue how much time had passed since Trowa had called to him.

Time was important, but he couldn't remember why. He struggled to right himself in the bed, eyes falling to the gashes profusely leaking blood from his abdomen. How surreal. It was like the dream, and he couldn't help it. He laughed.

And just like in the dream, the blood flowed ... but this time it channelled through him. Duo screamed, indifferent to the plights of the other pilots in the room. All his mind could focus on was the churning mass of partially clotted blood tearing through his system.

It was surreal; it was painful…

It was ripping him apart.

Trowa was covered in the blood pouring from his friend. At the same time he felt the gash in his palm lengthen, adding its own fountain of blood to the mix. Frantically his mind tried to work at the set of circumstances, each time coming up with a complete blank.

Quatre and Wufei in turn gasped in shock as their wounds opened further. It seemed like they were bleeding in sympathy. But they weren't feeling drained…almost as if it wasn't their own blood.

Heero cried out for Duo, hand flying to his cheek as blood began to pour from the gash, his eyes opened in shock. It was a wound, a rancid, burning wound. He tried to focus, tried to remember how the hell it had happened. It hurt so much he wanted to scream, and he tried to clear his mind of the metallic scent of blood, which was cloying him.

Heero finally managed to focus on one. It was one of those things that Duo had torn apart in the walkway before. Its pallid grey skin shone wetly. And it was doing its best to approach unobserved.

Ignoring the blood pouring down his face, coating and clinging to him, Heero stood. It saw him and a screech issued from it, driving all occupants of the room to cover their ears.

And then, as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

All four gazes were drawn to Duo. Violet eyes glowed, not looking at anything in particular, a predatory look on his face.

The long-haired youth pushed himself up into a sitting position. There was only one thought in his mind… his quarry. Slowly, he swung gore-covered legs over the side of the bed and pulled himself into a standing position. His legs were nowhere near as shaky as they should have been, all things considered.

Duo's mind felt like it was about to explode. It was almost like there was a battlefield in his skull and it hurt like hell. He tried to push it away, tried to squelch it. But it was as if the voices were mocking him, laughing at him… taunting him.

Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth as he opened it to speak. His voice was almost a gurgling sound when the words emerged from it.

"It's not ours… it's theirs… all of theirs." And he laughed a laugh that would have risen the dead. The insane cackle made the others cringe, though only momentarily.

Heero raised his eyes to look at the Deathscythe pilot, cocking his bloody head to one side. He pondered the words Duo had spoken, trying to force reason from his stuffy head. Suddenly something clicked in him and it all seemed to make sense. The Wing pilot joined Duo in laughter…the sound mocking and still terrifying.

Heero's eyes lowered to stare at his hands before he brought them up once more to clutch at the gaping wound in his face. Blood still poured from it and he spoke to himself, though loud enough for the others to hear over Duo's insane laughter.

"He is right, he is. Not ours… all of theirs… everyone… everyone ever… even the little puppy…"

Heero's voice peeled off into reams of laughter, his eyes bright and feverish.

Quatre looked between the two of them and back at Trowa and Wufei. "What's going on? This isn't them… it's like they've split!"

Trowa was trying to staunch the blood flow in his hand, and he only answered absently. "I don't know, Quatre, but I would be willing to bet the fact that the reason we're all bleeding profusely is…"

He was cut off as a squeal emerged from the blonde's throat. Following the Sandrock pilot's progression, Trowa watched the blond dive onto what seriously looked like something from another world.

It was shadow-like and didn't have an actual mouth… its eyes were sunken and its form was dark grey, globby flesh. Quatre fell upon the thing, an eagerness to his actions which belied his usual compassionate nature. He tore chunks from its flesh, laughing softly all the while.

Duo pushed his way past to join the blond, blood trailing in his wake. When Quatre was almost done shredding the thing to bits, Duo pushed him out of the way and bent down once more to kiss the grey substance from its lips.

He straightened and snickered softly, wiping the back of a hand across his lips before licking them. "A soul for my own… or where it should be…"

Heero's laughter increased and he came forward and leaned against Duo. Duo's eyes focused on the chocolate haired boy in front of him and the smile that crossed his lips would have put the grim reaper to shame.

Heero's hands rested in Duo's wounds, feeling the flow of blood pour over him, empower him. He groaned as Duo raised one hand to gouge at the gash on his face. Moans escaped both of them as Duo leaned down to claim a kiss from him. Pulling back, they both licked the blood from their lips.

Trowa and Wufei watched the scene, feeling as if they weren't really there. Trowa shook his head and moved towards Wufei as his only lucid ally. But what he saw happening in those onyx eyes made him stop short.

Those eyes went from lucid and sane to completely bereft of rational thought the next, and the blood started pouring freely down the Chinese man's arm. The black gaze was directed a little past Trowa and a feral grin settled over the usually handsome features.

Wufei screamed a battle cry and launched himself at yet another of the slimy grey creatures. He was joined by a gleeful Quatre, who didn't seem to notice the blood sticking to every part of his body, or the gore matted in his hair.

Trowa felt like he was slipping and fought to maintain his control. It was as if something had invaded his mind and was wrestling command from him. He didn't like it one bit. So engrossed was he in the fight, that he only vaguely noticed Duo performing that strange mouth to mouth once more, before claiming Heero in another kiss. The kiss was more heated this time, hands delving into the flesh of the other… both oblivious to pain.

It made Trowa feel sick, and that was when he lost his grip. He could feel himself roughly pushed to the back of his mind as something else took over with an enthusiasm that was frightening.

A voice cackled around them, cold, heartless and commanding. "Ahh, so much sin, so much shame. You fill me with longing… all of you."

All five of their husks laughed, while the fivepart of them imprisoned in their minds tried to rally for control.

"It's useless to try and fight against me. If you do my bidding, I reward you."

It was Duo's husk that first showed signs of losing the battle. Duo could feel that voice; he knew it from his dream. It was a voice that bode no good whatsoever, and Duo fought back, using sheer force of will and hoping that the others would be able to do the same.

When he first spoke, his voice was hoarse, and he gripped Heero's hand tighter. "Reward us? How?"

"Haven't you already received a reward? Hasn't Mr Yuy?" the voice pushed on relentlessly, ignoring the slight blush covering Heero's face. "Didn't you just get to kiss someone you would never have had the courage to kiss otherwise?"

Heero's fists clenched, his jaw set stubbornly.

The voice seemed mildly surprised, but shrugged it off. "You are killers… such fine specimens I have never seen. You will make great pets…"

Quatre was the next to break the hold. Although he couldn't move, he could at least gain his mind back for the time being. "We… kill through necessity! It is the only way to peace."

That voice chuckled again, making the skin of the pilots feel like it was on fire. "Ahhh, but look how the blood of your victims flows from your veins. That is a lot of victims."

The laugh increased when Quatre paled and rallied himself to maintain the tenuous control he had won. "Ahh, Mr. Winner. Yes, you too are a murderer, no matter the high morals you place on your reasons. And now you will continue to kill for me."

"No…" Heero spoke through clenched teeth, trying to get maintain the hold he had won on his own consciousness.

"Was that a no, Mr. Yuy?" The voice had sunk in its level and it made the room feel like an icy tomb… like their tomb.

"That was a no. Are you fucking deaf?" Blue eyes flashed angrily, but his body couldn't move. It was a fight to maintain even that level of control.

Again, a chuckle rang through the room, like the whisper of death on a winters morning. "No, Mr. Yuy. But I can make you deaf if you'd prefer… you can still perform your function with that affliction."

Heero fell to one knee, clutching his head as blood began to pour from his ears. Duo tried to move to go to him, but didn't have sufficient control over his body.

"You bastard!" Violet eyes flashed.

"Very probable, Mr. Maxwell. You may control your minds at this moment, but your bodies are still mine."

Wufei flexed his lips, testing his control. "We belong to no one."

"But I beg to differ, Mr. Chang. You are mine."

Trowa flicked his hair, the movement causing a horrible pain inside him, but it made him claim control of himself. "And what makes you think we will stay yours?"

"Ahhh, Mr. Barton. You will kill for me. That is why I lured you here."

"Lured us here?" Wufei's eyes flashed with unconcealed hatred.

A mocking tone entered the voice, making it no less chilling for the fact. "If I hadn't lured you here, everything I have done would be for naught."

"What have you done?" Duo spat the words out, trying to ignore the blood still spilling out of his body.

"Mr. Maxwell, I would think you would know the best. Death… I feed off death. Call me what you will, but in the end painful, innocent death is what I thrive on the most."

"You want us to kill?" Quatre's voice was incredulous. "Why take control of us then? We kill enough as it is." Self-loathing became apparent in the last sentence the blond uttered.

"Ahhh but, Mr. Winner the war will soon be at an end. My followers have been following you…pardon the pun. You don't seem to get on too well with them."

Shadows slunk into the room. Their glowering was palpable.

It cackled this time; a definitive evil cackle that said it seemed to be enjoying itself immensely. "Of course you do treat them the same way I do…but I digress. As I was about to say… since you will win the war…"

"If you take us out of the equation, the war goes on." Trowa concluded the voice's sentence for it.

And it laughed again, sending shudders up all of their spines, making them wish they were all not there. "But I don't want you out of the equation. I want you to go on killing, in those lovely machines of death you all have, and provide me with as much as I want to feed from."

Duo blinked in disbelief, but he knew the voice was speaking the truth. He didn't even need to hear the next words that it spoke, but they sunk in anyway, even as his mind was working frantically.

"If I control you, the killing will never end…"

Duo fought the control, with everything that he had and everything that he was. He was well aware that the others around him were doing exactly the same thing.

A choked gasp of surprise was wrenched from the Voice as it felt one by one break his control a little, even when he exerted more effort.

Duo moved slowly and painfully, putting one foot in front of the other. Heero followed suit, as did the others, until they were standing in a circle facing each other. All of them wore a deep look of concentration and determination.

The violet-eyed man grinned, blood oozing out of his mouth and down his body to mingle with the rush of it exiting his larger wounds. He coughed once as he truly took in the appearance of the others for the first time. They were all bleeding, a non-stop emptying of blood that was not their own, but had everything to do with them.

Grin still in place, he spoke to the room. "You lured us here to control us. What if we refuse to let you?"

The voice laughed, though this time some of that previous confidence seemed to be lacking. "You can't refuse me… the war will not end, I refuse to let it."

Heero's lips curled in a snarl as he spoke, blood bubbling on his lips. "The war will end, one way or another… you have no choice."

Anger spread through the room like a fire, burning each of them, but they maintained control. "You speak too much, human!"

Heero's head snapped back and he screamed as another wound was opened on his body, blood pouring forth. He started to laugh. "Go ahead and kill me, I've earned death."

Duo's head shot up and he glanced at each of them, praying that they would understand what he was thinking. Hoping that they too had heard the implications of what could be done. Four nods answered the question in his eyes, making a mirthless smile cross his face.

That afternoon seemed so far away. The battle, the argument with Heero, the bloodlust that had overcome him and was still threatening to. The kiss, even though he hadn't been in full possession of himself… it was something he wished he could repeat. At the same time, it was something he was glad to have had, no matter how he got it. He grinned an evil grin and coughed again, blood gurgling through his mouth.

Duo's face was a macabre semblance of what it had once been. His hair hung in gore sodden lumps down his back, braid unravelled. The smile on his face was barely human and there was decided pride in his voice as he spoke.

"Fuck. You."

It was like a wave. In a motion so fluid it was uncanny, each of the pilots reached into their clothes and drew out a gun from the confines. One by one, with liquid synchronicity, the guns were raised to the temple of the comrade on the left.

Eyes closed in unison as five shots rang out, blending as one. Clouds of blood and grey matter shrouded the bodies for the split second before the gravity of the space station took effect.

Five bodies fell to the floor, strangely triumphant expressions on what was left of their faces. The death throes made them twitch.

A howl of fury tore through the abandoned space station, but there were no human ears to hear it.

Hey kids, shake a leg.
Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby.

Ollie, ollie.
Ollie ollie ollie.
Ollie ollie in come free, baby.

~~**~~

The End

~Arith