I don't own the GW guys. I'm poor. This story is for entertainment only.
Chang Wufei stood before a fire, his voice filling the night air with strange sounds that might be a language, but Duo couldn't tell. He couldn't really focus on much of anything. Whatever the guys had drugged him with, it was strong. The only things he was sure of were Heero and Trowa holding him, Wufei's chant, and Quatre's laying on a stone alter. And they were somewhere deep in the forest near their most recent safehouse.
Duo was also sure the drug had been in his food. There was no other time they could have done it. Right after dinner, Duo began to feel weak and stumbled; seeing his dizziness, the guys had grabbed him and dragged him out here. Much of journey was fuzzy and the young pilot felt sure the drug had hallucinogenic properties as when he looked up, he saw three moons.
Wufei's chant stopped suddenly and Duo brought his thoughts back to the present. The Chinese man motioned for Heero and Trowa to bring their captive forward. As they approached the fire, Duo could see what looked like a small cauldron hovering over the flames; a bluish mixture swirled in the pot.
"Time for the last ingredient." Wufei proclaimed.
As Wufei drew a knife from his belt, Trowa and Heero pulled Duo's wrists over the cauldron. The American tried to fight, but the drug had turned his muscles to water; the best he could do was plead with them not to hurt him and he refused to do that.
"Let me go," Duo demanded weakly. "I don't care what kind of twisted shit you two are into, but leave me out of it."
"You almost got killed on your last mission, Duo." Trowa informed him calmly.
"And we are not going to lose you." Heero declared.
Unable to understand how any of that was related to cutting him open, Duo hissed in pain as Wufei slit both of his wrists. The red liquid fell into the mixture and it became black; so black it seemed like a moving shadow was in the cauldron. Turning from the fire, Wufei approached Quatre and began a second chant over the still blond.
The longhaired pilot tried to focus on the words, but they were so guttural and harsh he couldn't grasp how the human tongue produced them.
The words faded and the darkness seemed to swirl around the Arabian. Duo shook his head; when he looked again, the small pilot was walking toward him with eyes like empty holes. The fire was high enough Duo could see everyone's face and Quatre's blue eyes were gone. Instead, it was as if a film of moving shadow covered them.
Wufei followed Quatre and the pair stopped in front of the fire. The Asian man placed a ladle in the cauldron and drew out some of the strange liquid. With a smile, he handed it to Quatre and the blond drank deeply.
"Oh, GOD," Duo swore loudly, trying to get away from his partners. What the hell was going on?
The American's swearing and struggling got worse as the Arabian turned and approached him. Quatre smiled softly and reached out to touch the center of Duo's forehead. As his flesh made contact with Duo's, the struggling captive found himself unable to move. Trowa and Heero backed away, secure in the knowledge that their friend wasn't going anywhere.
The thing before him studied Duo carefully. The darkness of its eyes seemed to caress the frightened man's soul causing him to shiver uncontrollably.
"He will need to forget this, even as Quatre did," the thing said after a while. "He will not be able to handle all I will give him as he is now. Perhaps in a few years he will accept my gift wholeheartedly, but then again, the need for him to know may never
arise.""Very well," Heero said.
Duo wanted to shriek. Didn't he get a say in this?
"Open your mouth, young one." Quatre who wasn't Quatre commanded and Duo did. "You are about to receive power beyond your wildest dreams. We will become one and that will change you. What you will become is entirely up to you. It is your soul, your dreams, your innermost desires that will shape your change. All who are here now have taken my gift. You are the last, but you are not the least. Take now my gift, surrender your humanity, and embrace eternity." With that the thing opened its mouth wide and Duo's scream cut the night. Something was moving in Quatre's mouth; writhing like a living thing and the American knew where it was going to end up.
His desperate scream was dampened when the blond seized Duo's mouth, but after a moment it increased in desperation and volume. The violet eyed pilot could feel the something enter his body; he could feel it start to change him. It worked everywhere. Somethings it tore apart while others it simply improved. However, what horrified the young pilot the most was that it was changing him on a level so basic he knew it was changing who he was fundamentally. After all the years he had fought to retain his sense of self, it was now being remade.
New knowledge about new abilities flooded his mind; an entirely knew way of looking at the world was forced on him. For the first time in years, tears poured from Duo's eyes as his consciousness slipped away.
With a scream, Duo shot out of bed, his body covered with sweat. A quick, frantic look around showed he was still in his room and no cuts on his arms. Heero and Trowa were sitting up in bed. Trowa looked mildly concerned; Heero just looked pissed at being woken up.
"Duo, what is your problem?" Heero demanded angrily. "We have a mission in the morning. Sleep is important."
Unable to help himself, Duo broke out laughing as relief flooded his system. It was all just a dream.
"I'm sorry," he gasped out. "It was a nightmare. So real though." The American collapsed on the floor. Just a dream. Thank God.
With a long-suffering sigh, Trowa got out of bed and guided the near hysterical pilot back to it.
"Must have been some dream," the tall pilot muttered.
"You have no idea," Duo said, calming down at last.
Heero and Trowa snuggled up to Duo, one on either side of him, and gently rocked him to sleep. As the American's breathing evened out and he slipped into sleep, moonlight filtered through the window lighting up the entire room. Heero and Trowa looked at each other and shared a smile.
"We aren't going to lose you, Duo," Heero said. "Not ever." And their eyes met, neither green nor blue, but moving, liquid darkness.
Duo walked along the street, his mind lost in thought. It had been three years since the end of the war and all the changes sometimes amazed him. Although Heero, Trowa, and he started sharing a bed long before the war ended, nothing ever happened. The night after peace was officially declared was another matter. A blush crept along the young man's cheeks. Who knew those two would have that much experience?
Duo entered a bank, lost in thought. He loved both of them so much. They owned a small house about thirty minutes from the city. It was near a beautiful forest, but for some reason, Duo couldn't stand the thought of visiting the forest. Quatre and Zechs lived about fifteen minutes away and Wufei and Treize lived at the center of the forest. Everyone made it through and it seemed like happily ever after was in reach. Except that Shinigami didn't believe in such a thing.
The young man was so lost in thought, he never saw the bank robbers until it was too late. Four men burst into the bank, guns held at the ready. Duo felt his blood run cold; none of the terrorists wore masks.
"No witnesses," the tallest yelled and all the men opened fire. The former pilot launched himself at the killers. His target smiled. Time seemed to slow for Duo. He saw the man point the gun at him; saw him pull the trigger, and for a second, he swore he saw the bullet moving toward him. Then there was a terrible pain in his chest and he was falling. Time returned to normal.
The men finished killing everyone; with happy cries, they began to empty the vault, ignoring the dead and one not quite dead. Duo lay listening to his heart slow; he was dying. That wasn't what upset him, though. All around him lay innocents; men, women, and children. People who never did anything wrong and didn't deserve this kind of end. Even as his heart stopped, Duo silently screamed his anguish to the heavens.
'You will not die, my child,' a voice whispered to him as darkness claimed his sight. 'We are one. We are strong. We are FOREVER.'
Sudden strength flooded Duo. The wound in his chest closed. With agonizing slowness, the longhaired body rose to float in the air. The killers, so obsessed with clearing out the vault, didn't notice the strange transformation behind them.
Long chestnut hair worked its way free of the imprisoning braid becoming darker with each passing moment. Very soon the silken locks were the color of the deepest shadow. Violet eyes became liquid black. Even as the thieves finished clearing out the money, Duo's feet once more touched the ground. Every shadow in the room moved to cloak the changed figure.
The men ran out of the vault laden with bags of money, huge smiles covering their faces and laughter echoing from them. All noise stopped as they took in the sight before them. A figure stood within a circle of writhing darkness. Only two glowing violet pinpoints showed it might be human in any respect.
The men dropped the money and drew their guns as it stretched forth a clawed hand, but nothing would deny this new Duo his revenge. Streams of dark surrounded the men, hiding them from sight. The bank was filled with shrieks of soul-deep pain. When the hand dropped, the shadows disappeared as if they had never been leaving only a large bloodstain and one confused young man behind.
Duo stared at the stain. He knew what had happened to the men and he knew he'd done it. But how? The forgotten nightmare returned to his memory with a vengeance. All the events of that night once again encircled his mind.
"What did you do to me?" Duo whispered as he sank to his knees. He wasn't human; hadn't been for a long time and his friends were the ones who did it to him. Kneeling before a pool of blood, Duo felt everything he loved and trusted slip away from him.
All of those chosen by Wufei felt the bullet rip through Duo's chest. They felt his heart stop and his Awakening begin. Each had a unique reaction. Wufei cursed. He had hoped the American would not have to change for many years to come; long after Wufei and the others worked to make him ready. The Chinese man began a chant to take everyone to their injured friend.
Heero felt panic claw at his heart. Trowa felt intense loss. Neither believed Duo would take his change well. Quatre stood up in the middle of meeting and proclaimed he did not feel well. When he was away from everyone, his eyes became pits of darkness and he vanished. Zechs and Treize merely looked up and waited. The former pilot felt a kind of pity that Duo should have to go through this alone, while the General felt a thrill at the thought of what Shinigami would become. Finally, Lady Une shivered in dread. Something was wrong with this change. Very wrong. Then the teleportation spell enveloped them all.
They materialized inside the bank, not five feet from Duo who was still on his knees rocking silently. Everyone could see what happened, but the only sign of any attackers was the congealing pool of blood in front of the longhaired man. Wufei knew there was little time before people began to arrive.
"Trowa, Heero, Quatre." Wufei began. "Find the security equipment and wipe it. Make sure to get everything. Zechs, Une, Treize. Take care of this blood. There must be no unexplained messes." The Asian watched as the others obeyed his orders. He left the job of searching for any of Duo's belongings to himself. Nothing could be left behind to show the pilot of Deathscythe'd been here when the murders took place.
Finally everyone completed their jobs and gathered once more at the entrance. It was then they noticed a missing member. Duo was gone. None of them had imagined the young man would have the strength or will to move after going through a change unassisted. Wufei growled his frustration. They could not have the loudmouth running around the city; especially when no one knew what his change had done to him. He could have become a true monster.
"Heero. Trowa. You two are in Preventer uniforms. Go find him. Arrest him if you have to. He cannot be allowed to wander around alone right now. It's far too dangerous. Bring him to me when he is found." Wufei ordered before teleporting everyone back to his house. While Duo's lovers searched from him, the rest would try a Summoning Ceremony and see if they could force the young man to seek them out. Duo had to be found before anything bad could happen to him or those around him.
End Part 3
Phoenix
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