26-Sep-2000
27-Sep-2000
Disclaimer: I don't own GW. I'm poor and have insane Muses. Isn't that punishment enough? This story is for entertainment only. It has violence, yaoi, and is nice to Relena. This whole thing was inspired by Dena who told me she was going to write a Crying Freeman/GW fic. She has such great ideas! I wish I had half her talent! Dena! You're fantastic! Now for more boring stuff: If you can't deal, don't read.
Zechs Marquise looked the room over. A large number of very important people were gathered for a ceremony to honor Relena Peacecraft, a young woman who almost single-handedly had brought peace to the warring nations of Europe and formed the European Alliance. If Zechs could have felt anything, it might have been pride; yet, the man born as Millardo Peacecraft felt nothing.
The Peacecraft family was always lead by the first-born daughter. Sons were taken from the family and placed in the care of retainers; this was the dark secret of the Peacecraft family. All male children were trained to become "protectors" which is just a fancy word for assassins. Zechs was the latest of these "protectors" and had undergone a new procedure. The technique called for the child to be placed in a sensory deprivation chamber while electrodes connected the subject's brain to a computer. The machine, Epyon, feed date directly into the child and essentially programmed him.
As first, it seemed like a great success. Millardo was re-named Zechs Marquise. The youngster was an expert at martial arts, armed and unarmed combat, with all weapons, and had no problem killing. Over time, however, it became obvious the only thing Zechs lived for was killing. He felt nothing. Not pain. Not hope. Not even love. He protected Relena because he was ordered to and only for that. If they told him to kill her, he would without reservation.
Realizing their mistake, the retainers tried to reawaken the killer's emotions. They gave him pets; all of which were neglected. The young man acted as if they weren't even there. Next, other children were sent to play with the former noble. He ignored them as well. When Zechs grew older, women were sent to see if they could "arouse" the young man's interest; he broke the first prostitute's neck scaring the others away. Male prostitutes were tried with the same kind of success. After this disaster, the retainers gave up.
Epyon was dismantled and Zechs was isolated from everyone. He was far too effective a killer to risk anyone gaining control over him. Relena was never told of her brother and Pargan became the one to give the platinum blond his missions. Today's mission was to kill the ruler of a country opposing Relena's plan.
Blue eyes once more scanned the crowed and finally located the target. Duke Dermail and his granddaughter Dorothy had just entered the ballroom. Drawing his gun, Zechs zeroed in on his target. The room was very crowded and he ended up bumping many people who simply ignored what they saw as the rudeness of the young. Only one took offence. A young man with a long chestnut braid yelled after the assassin and gave chase when Zechs didn't even slow down.
"Jerk," the guest was grumbling under his breath. "You'd think rich people could afford manners."
Zechs reached his target and in one smooth move put a bullet through the man's forehead before the Duke even knew he was in danger. Shrieks filled the air as he turned the gun on Dorothy. People ran over each other trying to get away from the killer, so it came as a shock when a slender arm grabbed his arm, ruining his shot and allowing the young woman to flee.
The assailant then tried to flip Zechs over his shoulder, but the man was far too well trained for the tactic to work. Instead the man twisted, landing on his feet and swinging his fist around in a vicious backhand. He saw a flash of chestnut as his opponent ducked and tried to sweep his feet. Zechs leapt over the leg attempting to destroy his balance and backflipped over the crouched man. He allowed himself to fall to his knees and lashed out with his right leg. The blow connected with his attacker's back and sent him sprawling. Quickly recovering his dropped gun, the assassin took a look around.
The entire fight had taken less than thirty seconds and all around the pair, people were still shrieking, running, and causing general chaos. Most people had heard the shot, but had no idea where it came from so everyone was running in different directions at the same time and causing a huge mass that just seemed to thrash about. Zechs could see about seven different people struggling to reach him and knew it was time to leave. Turning back to the man who'd ruined a simple mission, his raised the gun and paused.
Never in his entire life had he seen anything like the sight before him. The young man lay on the ground, his braid undone by the fight and his hair spread out like a shining, stain blanket. He was frozen in the middle of trying to rise and so his legs were still tangled even as he supported his upper body with his arms. Wide violet eyes stared at the gun and grim acceptance slid over his heartshaped face. Zechs found himself unable to look away from those eyes.
"Duo!" a voice cut through the crowd's screams.
Zechs turned to find a young Japanese man literally throwing people out of his way in an effort to reach the fallen fighter. The assassin recognized the speaker as Relena's bodyguard. The Asian man would be hard to defeat. A retreat was immediately called for.
He turned back to Duo to find the young man using his momentary distraction to run. A sudden, intense feeling filled him. Raising the gun, Zechs fired. The second shot panicked the guests even further. All those trying to stop the blond killer found themselves swept off their feet and in serious danger of being trampled; cuss words from several different languages rang out over the frightened cries of the guests. Heero's attempts to keep people from stepping on him only made matters worse and he disappeared under a huge pile of well-dressed industrialists and nobles. The killer cared for none of it; he had eyes only for the writhing figure of Duo.
The bullet had gone through the fleshy part of his upper leg; for some reason, the thought of killing this longhaired beauty was abhorrent. The feeling from before returned. This time, Zechs recognized it as a combination of anger and possessiveness. Anger that he could not take this young man with him and the wish to keep him for all time. Seldom did he feel emotions, but his instincts were always good. Whatever was happening to him came from deep within his soul and should be trusted. Still giving over to such new experiences was not in his nature. He'd been raised to only follow orders, not to feel and new thins could lead to danger.
Growling at the unfamiliar feelings, the deadly man stalked toward his helpless quarry and using one hand, gripped the bleeding victim by the neck, lifting him off his feet. Surprisingly strong arms tired to dislodge his grip, but Zechs just squeezed harder.
"Why are you different?" Zechs whispered to the almost unconscious prisoner. Who was this youth to inspire such feelings in him? Why did he feel that he knew him from long ago? Staring at the desperate, violet eyes, the killer felt an overwhelming urge and followed it. Drawing the heartshaped face closer, he slowly claimed Duo's mouth. The younger man thrashed wildly at the touch, but could not stop the stronger man from taking what he wanted.
He could feel the warmth emanating from the body he held. The ice Epyon placed over his mind cracked at the sudden heat. The darkness he had always lived in began fade with each passing moment; yet he felt no pain at this death. It was the sweetest bliss the killer had ever experienced and he never wanted it to stop. Millardo Peacecraft once again joined the human race.
The moment was shattered by an angry howl. Zechs dropped his prisoner and ran. He knew Heero would be hard to beat and had no wish to be captured. If he was free, he might be able to find Duo again. Might be able to find a way to get this strange young man alone long enough to figure out what was going on.
Pargan watched the entire debacle from the security room. The only good thing about this mess was the boy. What was he called? Duo. Yes, Duo. The single thing Zechs had reacted to in the entire time he'd been under the retainer's care. They were going to have to make sure Zechs and the pretty young man met again. This time on a more permanent basis.
End Part 1
So how did I do guys?
Phoenix
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