08-Apr-01
Title: T'ien Lung Ge (Celestial Dragon Song)
Authors: Laekin and bonnejeanne
Category: Action, Adventure, Romance, ANGST
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4x5 (Combinations there of)
Rating: R (Adult Situations)
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made or sought here.
WARNINGS: LEMON. Angst. A very young Original Character and at least one heartrending scene with dying children.
NOTES: What is being posted here was written by myself and Laekin together, just as everything else in the Companions of Fate series. The plot is hers, with a few small contributions by moi; she writes for Quatre, Trowa, Duo and T'ien. My contributions are confined to Wufei and Heero and some brainstorming. The writing sessions for this were between October 19 and December 6, 2000.
Quatre followed close but not close enough to disturb Wufei. He recognized that his main offensive means would most likely be lethal and he had no desire to employ such unless he or Wufei were in immediate danger. As they closed on the door to the control room, Quatre quickly skirted around Wufei, as the Chinese boy cleared out the small alcove, and he began to work the lock pad.
It was only a matter of a few starts and stops before the combination gave way to quick little fingers and Quatre was ducking into the room, training his gun on the first large shape that moved and politely asking it to, "Don't... Don't move, don't reach for that alarm your finger is approaching. I don't want to have to shoot you. You have no back up, please it's not worth your life."
Wufei stepped in behind Quatre a moment later, looking around to assess the threat.
The large merc and Quatre were engaged in a staring contest. As Wufei stepped in behind the small Arabian, the mercs quick eyes took in the presence of the young dragon. Something in his face startled and he blinked, his arms dropped to his sides and he took a confused step away from the control panel.
Quatre's brows furrowed for a moment, then he looked over his shoulder at Wufei, speaking under his breath. "Your cousin must have really done a number here."
Wufei's eyes flickered with something only a shade darker than 'no shit'.
He stepped up beside Quatre and his expression became cold, imperious and forbidding as he pinned the man with a look. "I'm glad you recognize me," he said. "Surrender the station or die."
The merc's eyes flickered from Quatre, back to Wufei. He seemed to suck on his tongue for a moment, then he shrugged. He had no idea who this young Chinese man was but the resemblance was way too close to be coincidence and the merc and his fellows had learned the hard way not to mess with Kuang Chang. Turning to the control panel he pointed towards a set of buttons sitting just over number readouts.
"The command code is 007. Means the base has been infiltrated and to get out... if you left anybody awake."
Wufei glanced at Quatre, letting him take it as he continued to keep a close eye on the merc.
Quatre slowly flipped the safety onto his gun and tucked it into the waistband at the small of his back. He stepped up to the consol, carefully keeping an eye on the merc as he approached. Standing there, Quatre studied the consol closely as he mentally pondered the situation. The base was built for hiding, not for fighting. Mercs were notoriously unreliable in the loyalty department, the connections from this particular part of the consol didn't appear to be running to any hidden booby traps.
Clearing out any and all obvious risks, Quatre took a breath and took a gamble, taking the merc at his word as he keyed in the code and released it out across the communication wavelengths.
Pausing for a moment, Quatre stood there, tense, waiting to feel the satellite start to explode, listening for the thunder of approaching back up troops, anything that would spell that they had been duped. Hearing and *feeling* nothing untoward, he turned towards Wufei and gave a deferential nod of his head.
Wufei's mouth twitched ever so slightly at the 'deferential' nod. He let a bored expression slide over his features. "Handle it," he said. He knew how much Quatre squirmed when he or the other guys played "employee to Master Winner" in public so he figured the Arabian was getting a little fun out of this.
Not that Wufei wouldn't need bamboo shoots to pry the truth out of the Arabian but the situation did seem to call for it. Giving another obedient little nod of his head, Quatre turned smartly back to the consol and began to work on getting control of it. Once he had all the systems figured out, it really was almost distressingly easy for an ex-Gundam pilot sometimes, he began to redirect the satellite's observation cameras to help get a fix on people's locations.
Quatre shifted his slender form so that he blocked the view screen as he blipped through the camera views, waiting for Wufei to either knock out the merc or tie him up before he began to relate information back to the quiet young dragon.
Wufei moved towards the merc and said, "Turn around."
Fear flashed in the man's eyes, pure unadulterated terror. Lifting his chin in a show of bravado he said in a quick tumble of words. "If you're going to kill me, do it to my face."
Wufei scowled. "If I was, I would. Turn around or I will."
The merc still looked hesitant but he turned in a jerky pattern till his back faced Wufei.
Wufei pulled out a strip of plastic used by the Preventers for quick handcuffs and bound the man's hands behind him. Then he turned him around and pushed him against a wall. "Sit and keep quiet."
Surprised to find himself still alive, the man did just that, sliding down along the wall till his back was braced against it. At the consol, Quatre typed up the camera angles that were of interest to himself and Wufei. Keeping his voice very low and soft, Quatre began to link together the images.
"Heero, Duo, Trowa and T'ien are here... they're about two clicks shy of the main labs. There are what look to be hospice type rooms, about 6 clicks beyond the labs, the rooms are dark so I can't see anything but there looks to be about 3 thermal sources in the rooms. Here... about 8 clicks beyond the labs, is a large dorm-like room. The lights are on in this room." The last sentence was spoken in a tone that showed that Quatre wished the lights were off.
Calling up the image, Quatre stepped aside so that Wufei could see it. In a large brightly lit room, where floor to ceiling bunk beds, five beds stacked. The room was long and wide and the beds ran the whole length of it, numbering 75. Sitting, perched perfectly on the edge of the side of the bed, backs ramrod straight, hands in laps, no movement at all, were the clones.
Wufei moved closer, his eyes focused on the image. His own posture seemed to become stiffer, hiding the tiny shudder that threatened to move through him.
The Chinese boy felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was filled with intense, conflicting emotions and that fact caused the mask to ice thicker on his face. He felt the same unease that Quatre seemed to, at the unnatural stillness. He felt an almost overpowering sense of guilt and responsibility - this was Kuang's work, therefore it was his duty to deal with it. And he felt a tearing desire to scream, to smash the console, to whirl out a kick and kill the merc simply for being there.
He held these things down, pushing them into confinement. The only other outward sign was a tightening of his jaw.
"I'm going there," he said, his voice devoid of inflection.
Quatre was studying his lover intently. He could feel the emotions coming from Wufei, feel the conflict. When Wufei finally spoke, Quatre simply nodded and turned back to the consol. His quick fingers flew across the keys and suddenly a satellite schematics map popped up. His fingers danced a couple more times and the quickest path from the room they were in, to the room on the view screen was produced.
Though he knew what the answer would be, and understood the reasoning behind the answer, Quatre still couldn't keep himself from turning and looking Wufei directly in the eye as he soft inquired. "Do you wish back-up?"
Wufei met Quatre's look. Then he stepped closer to the blond. "Can this control room be secured? I want you to come with me."
Aware of their audience, Quatre kept his face calm, though his eyes softened just a touch. Turning back towards the consol he quickly did a couple of calculations then he nodded. "I can over-ride the lock on the door and key it directly into a hand-held communicator. No one will be able to trigger the locking mechanism without the hand-held."
Without looking up, Quatre pulled a communicator down out of a storage rack and got to work. Skills he had thought buried over a year ago, came back to him quickly and the job was done in a short amount of time. Closing up the little communicator, he turned back and held it out to Wufei.
Wufei accepted the comm and tucked it into his belt. He turned and looked at the merc. Then he looked around, grabbed the man by the collar, and pulled him over to a panel that looked like it might be a storage area. He shoved the man into it. Before closing the door, he looked down and said, "If you get loose, don't make trouble, make tracks."
The merc gave a little nod of his head, then plunked down on his butt in the closet, resigning himself to some time in the dark. Quatre stood, taking the gun out of the waistband at the small of his back and once again settling it into his right palm. He looked over to Wufei, waiting for the Chinese boy to indicate his readiness to proceed.
Wufei looked at Quatre. "When we get to that room, put the weapon away," he said softly.
Quatre looked thoughtful for a moment, then he clicked on the safety and stowed the weapon into the pocket of his long coat. It didn't really take much to encourage Quatre Winner to put down a gun, he didn't like to carry the things. He then looked up at Wufei, his turquoise eyes thoughtful as he studied his lover's face.
"I'll follow your lead on this, Wufei, unless I perceive you're in imminent danger."
Wufei reached out and took Quatre's hands. "You see them? They would take out a threat without thinking. We're good, but not that good. No one is that good. I need you for something besides backup." He looked into Quatre's eyes, and hesitated fractionally, a bit out of character but this was something Wufei wasn't entirely certain of.
"I need you to... feel them. I need to know... we need to know... if... if there is anything human in them," he said quietly.
Quatre's head tilted, very slightly, to the side. For a moment, his eyes shuttered. Back, before the Gundams had descended to Earth, Doctor H had taken steps to coax Quatre into using his empathy in a more proactive way. The Doctor had thought that heightened emotional awareness of an enemy would assist the pilot in giving them a psychological advantage. Doctor H had gotten the surprise of his life when his normally affable, gentle, kind, pilot had blown up in his face.
However, this was Wufei asking him to do this. Quatre took a slow breath, then nodded. "Of course. I'll do what I can."
Wufei nodded, his dark eyes trying to communicate his gratitude silently. He stopped short of telling Quatre that if something went wrong, he was to escape so he could warn the others. Wufei knew this would be one favor too many. It would be his job to make sure Quatre got out alive.
Wufei gave Quatre's hands a brief tightening of his grip, and then he released them, and moved for the door.
Quatre let his fingers stroke through Wufei's hands as they parted grips, then he clenched his hands into fists for a moment, before he dropped into position on Wufei's flank. It was his turn to play body and soul guard... and it was a task Quatre took into his heart with a fierceness he hadn't felt since his commitment to the colonies.
Wufei moved through the station, taking a route, thanks to Quatre's showing of the layout, that would take them around other possible occupied areas. He moved as quickly and as silently as possible, knowing they were racing against time. If Heero and his group made their move, an alarm could be thrown, and he felt in his soul that those still figures would be the first to respond.
Quatre moved like a small ghost behind Wufei. In fact, unless the Chinese boy ever turned with the intention of *looking* for the blond, he probably didn't even see the slight form out of the corner of his eye. As Quatre moved behind Wufei, his mind roamed. With everything they were facing, it was funny that Quatre found himself centering on the thoughts about how well the team as a whole still did this work. Quatre knew that his own moves, though minor perhaps when compared to what Wufei, Heero, Trowa or Duo could accomplish, had in fact been flawless.
Quatre frowned inwardly. How was it he could feel so... so very tired of it all... and yet still be so good at it? Making a quick sidestep on pure automatic reflexes, Quatre quickly gave his head a shake and kenneled the thoughts, making himself focus on the spot just between his lover's shoulder blades, reading the flex and stretch of muscles so as to better anticipate his partner's needs.
Reaching the entryway to the dorm room, Wufei stopped, examining the door for locks, sensors, etc.
A thorough exam showed Wufei that if there were any locks they were designed to keep the clones from leaving the room, not to keep people from entering the room. The mercs stayed as far away from this room as possible and any scientist on the satellite had access to the clones.
Wufei paused for a moment, closing his eyes briefly. He reached as far down into his soul as he could for calm. He found himself thinking of two things. A very brief prayer to his ancestors, and Meiran. Asking her silently to watch over Quatre, he opened the door and stepped inside.
Quatre remained one step behind Wufei. He kept his hands down by his sides, palms turned slightly outwards so that he looked as harmless as possible. He fought to keep his face impassive, though he knew that unlike Trowa, his breathing and heart rate would not listen to his mind's desperate plea for normality. It felt like his heart was beating right in his throat. Quatre took a slow, careful breath and then forced himself to look past Wufei's shoulders to the clones sitting on their beds.
The whole scene had a sort of otherworldliness to it. When the door had opened, the clones, as if one creature, had all rotated their dark eyes towards the doorway. Their penetrating gaze felt like it could look right through Quatre, and the Arabian had to physically halt to keep from jumping behind Wufei's protective form. The clones never moved except for the roll of their eyes as they studied first one young man, then the other.
Finally, those unblinking gazes settled on Wufei and again, in one solitary movement, their heads cocked almost curiously to the side as they studied Wufei's face, form, stance... every little detail about him.
Wufei was clothed in the armor of his dignity. He returned the scrutiny with just as much intensity, and a touch of arrogance.
"One of you will speak with me," he said, and it was a command. "Identify yourselves."
Though Wufei had commanded that one would speak, it was actually about five young voices that answered his question. No one overlapped anyone, they simply... shared the words.
We.Are.Experiment.WK157839."
Wufei showed no reaction to the inhuman tone. He quickly spotted each of the five who had spoken.
He pointed at each of the five. "You are Fu," he said to the first, "Ti," to the second, "Shen," the third, "Wang," the fourth and, "Chih," the fifth.
The penetrating gazes never broke from Wufei's face but a sort of almost childlike curiosity flickered in the dark depths. There was silence in the room, complete silence, no sound of fidgeting young bodies.
"If.You.So.Choose.It.To.Be.Then.It.Is."
But even as the words were spoken a flash of confusion seemed to run through the whole room, causing Quatre to give the smallest gasp and this time he could not quite stop himself from scooting one step behind Wufei.
"I have chosen it because you five spoke, showing leadership," Wufei said, keeping his voice controlled and forceful. "When I address you, only the one I have addressed will answer. At another time, others may have an opportunity to earn a name. Fu, who is Chang Kuang?"
Again the room lapsed into complete silence but now the silence was charged with something, a sense of confusion, bewilderment. Once again, as one, the five children answered.
"You.Command.Contradicts.Original.Do.You.Desire.To.Override.Original.Command.And.Replace.With.This.New.Directive?"
"Yes," Wufei said firmly.
Again, silence reigned.
When the silence was finally broken, it was not by Fu but by Shen. "Chang Kuang was the Master."
"You speak in past tense, Shen. Why?" Wufei asked, with a tone of simple clinical interest.
"Chang Kuang is eliminated." Shen answered in a bland, matter of fact tone.
"How did this occur?" Wufei asked in the same tone.
"Specified parameter unknown at this time."
"I killed him," Wufei said. This was a dangerous move but he waited as if it meant nothing.
"Then you were the stronger." This time it was Chih who answered.
"I will identify myself," Wufei said, without confirming or denying the statement, but he turned to address Chih as if rewarding his initiative. "I am Chang Wufei."
As one unit, the clones nodded their heads. One nod. "This.Is.Known."
"What is known about Chang Wufei?" Wufei asked. "One of you, answer."
"Chang Wufei is heir apparent to Chang Kuang." Again it was Chih who answered.
Wufei looked at Chih. "This is incorrect," he said. "Chang Wufei is not heir to Kuang. Chang Wufei is heir to the Long Clan. Chang Kuang was a coward who disobeyed."
Again, silence fell in the room. Again the room became charged with the feelings of confusion, bewilderment, puzzlement. Finally... it became obvious that the clones were not able to speak through the confusing statement Wufei had set before them.
Wufei waited, giving time for thoughts to occur.
"From whom do you take instructions, Wang?" he said after a moment.
Wang's dark eyes fixed on Wufei's face with an intense stare but again it was Chih who answered the question. "By command chain... we now take instruction from Chang Wufei."
Never had Wufei needed his impassive mask more than at that moment.
"You are a leader, Chih," he said calmly. "And you, Shen."
"Such.Is.Improbable."
"Why?"
"Such a reference in regards to ourselves is not in the original programming," Chih answered.
"Therefore such is improbable," Shen continued but it was not the same sort of patterning as before.
"Such is the case," Wufei said dryly. "If you are as intelligent as you were... programmed to be, you can analyze the evidence for yourselves."
Again the room settled into silence. Again the heavy air of *thought* fell between the four walls. During this time, Quatre forced himself to step out from behind Wufei. Really he could not remain hiding back there forever. As the little Arabian moved, he drew the attention of multiple sets of eyes.
This time it was the quiet Ti who's voice broke the silence. "Prototype."
"Ti, explain," Wufei said, frowning very slightly.
Ti lifted his arm and indicated Quatre. "The prototype. For us."
"One of." Chih added with a single nod.
Wufei raised an eyebrow and glanced at Quatre.
Quatre was standing there with an expression of bemused horror on his face. He looked quickly towards Wufei and shrugged his shoulders very delicately. He had no idea.
"What is his designation?" Wufei asked.
"WQ30," answered Shen.
"Incorrect. His designation is Quatre Raberba Winner," Wufei said. He was winging it through this whole conversation but so far it had not seemed to backfire too badly.
Shen just continued to look at Wufei. If that's what Wufei wanted to call the blond, it did not alter any command directives and therefore was Chang Wufei's decision to do such. For *them* the blond was WQ30.
Wufei exchanged a look with Quatre, allowing the Arabian to see his feelings. If he'd shown it with anything but his eyes, it would have been a shrug.
Quatre was looking equally confused. "Maybe they mean because I was a test tube baby?" he asked very softly.
Though he spoke softly, the hypersensitive ears of the clones picked it up and again Shen spoke up.
"Incorrect. WQ30 was the single existing successful product of the original experiment."
"Until us," added Chih.
Wufei had a mild epiphany. WQ30. At the same moment, he had a very strong urge to do something to protect Quatre but had no idea what that something could be.
For the moment, Wufei was lucking out because what the clones were saying was going over Quatre's head. Sometimes it was amazing how *blocked* the brain could be to the obvious when it hit close to home. He still looked confused as his turquoise eyes moved from the clones to Wufei and back.
The clones had lapsed into silence once more. Supplying information was not really in their programming, unless you knew the questions to draw out the specific answers. Since they were no longer getting questions, they were once again still.
Wufei decided to start asking questions again. "What is your purpose?"
Now he got an answer from about 50 mouths. "To serve the glory of the House of Chang."
Wufei looked around, mentally marking those who spoke and those who hadn't.
"How will that be accomplished?"
Again, all the voices answered. "By the Master's Will."
"Am I now the Master?" Wufei asked, though internally he did not want to hear the answer.
There was silence once again for a moment. Fifty minds clicked through the information they had been given, the directives and the base commands. Then fifty voices answered. "Yes."
It shook him to his core, but he did not show any reaction.
"It is my will that you become individuals."
Quatre took a step closer to Wufei, though this time it was to offer the silent comfort of his presence rather then seeking comfort from Wufei. He watched the clones' faces. Watched their dark eyes... blink... for what seemed to be the first time.
"That... is counter to primary command." It was Chih who spoke.
"What is the primary command, and Chih, only, answer," Wufei asked, feeling Quatre's aura move nearer.
"To serve and to function solely for the good of the whole."
"I do not detect a contradiction," Wufei said. "It is possible for individuals to work together for the good of the whole."
"The command is to think for the whole. To react as the whole. Not as one." Again, Chih answered, this time actually looking confused.
"That is where the prototype failed." Ti soft voice added.
Wufei's eyes flashed but he banked it. "Your information is incomplete and therefore incorrect," he said quietly.
He looked around. "You are already acting in accordance with my will," he said. "Ti, you seem to have a special interest in the... prototype. Chih, you have answered when others did not. I am pleased."
Now, they went back to sitting and looking confused. As the clones sat there, Quatre gently touched Wufei's sleeve.
"Koi," he whispered. "Do you think... maybe you should ease up a little?"
Wufei took a deep breath and released it silently. "If you advise it," he said softly. "I don't know how much time we have."
"We don't know all that we're dealing with. Maybe we should wait till Heero and Duo have the files on what's been done with these clones. It sounds like they're programmed to now obey your commands... maybe we shouldn't do anything to over-ride that just yet?"
Wufei looked at Quatre, but did not reply. He understood the comment and there was logic in it. But deep inside he did not want to have these... beings obeying him. He already felt like he was operating under Kuang's cloak. It wasn't a sensation he liked.
End Part 7
Laekin and bonnejeanne
Please send comments to: seregill@aol.com or bonnejeanne@yahoo.com