It happened so fast....
One moment everything was normal; a normal day, a normal case. Just routine.
Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
We answered a request for a referee between a Mundane Human and a Were-Tiger. We get these calls every so often. It usually involves nothing more than a lack of communication between the parties. We try to sort things out and make everyone happy. It usually works out fine.
This time Inazuma and I went with Wufei. Since Zuma and I are the "kids" of the office, we still need a babysitter on some things. Annoyed? Not at all. I've been out with everyone except Estaban, and that's only because he and Enrique usually take the cases that involve Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Humans, and I don't speak either.
I like the opportunity to learn from the pros, and you don't get much more professional than Tiffany, Heero, Wufei and Trowa. And Moira; can't forget her. She's closer to our age, though, and a little more... um... fun-loving; not so much like a teacher as the others. Enrique is a little disconcerting sometimes; Tiffany says he has a uniquely Elvish way of looking at the world, but he's always been patient with me.
At the moment in question, the female Were-Tiger (Ovalia was her name) and I were standing next to the stone wall that divided her property from that of her neighbor. Inazuma was talking with the Mundane Human male; he seemed to be making progress. The guy was still stiff and angry-looking, but he was nodding and looked as if he might finally be willing to bend a little.
The problem was that Ovalia kept chickens and pigs, partly for her table and partly to sell to the local natural foods market. The neighbor happened to see her in her animal form with a chicken in her jaws a while back, and apparently couldn't get past that image. She doesn't eat raw meat, in spite of it being more natural for her tiger form; she was just transporting the bird. It wasn't dead, wasn't even injured.
Since that time, though, the neighbor had taken to harassing her at random and making complaints to the county authorities. She has all her permits; the relevant agencies were quite aware of what she is and what she does. It finally came to a head when the guy threw a dead chicken at her and called her some nasty names a few days ago while she was in her animal phase. She called the sheriff and us, so here we were, trying to explain to someone who really didn't want to hear, just what Weres are.
The Were-Tiger – don't ever refer to a female Were as an 'ess', as in Tigeress; you'll probably get disemboweled – still had her long tail and delicately swiveling ears, as well as a slightly elongated face and the faintest of tiger markings. She looked like an anime character.
"I hope this works," she sighed quietly to me as she watched Wufei watching the Human from a few meters away. If Wufei wasn't so unrepentantly homosexual in his tastes, he could probably have a whole harem of females, of all stripes and origins. Then again, he gets the same scrutiny from gay males as well. It must be the Dragon thing again. "I love this area," she continued, "and everyone else has been very nice to me. Even he never bothered me or seemed to pay any attention to me until he saw me with the chicken. I just don't know what his problem is."
"Well," I began, not because she expected an answer, but just to pass the time; "Maybe he's one of those 'if I don't look, it isn't there' types. Some Humans just don't mind us, but others don't want to know, and if they have to know, they get mad for some reason." We had already established that I am a Banshee.
"I don't see why he's suddenly going out of his way to be nasty," she fretted. "It's been almost five years—"
Suddenly Inazuma yelled "*Gun!*"
Ovalia screamed and hit the dirt behind the wall like a pro. Inazuma dived for a tree as a rifle shot whined past his head. The sheriff's deputy yelled something and ducked behind his car, drawing his weapon.
Me? Oh, I was just standing there, frozen solid, watching the barrel of the rifle – a bloody *huge* barrel – swinging in my direction in slow motion. My heart was pounding so loud in my ears, I couldn't hear anything else, and I couldn't move. I could *not* fucking move!
I watched him sight in on me. I watched his finger slowly squeezing the trigger.
And I wished with all my heart that I was home in bed with a cup of hot chocolate and an armful of hot Wyvern...
Then Wufei was in front of me, his mouth moving, his black eyes snapping dangerously, and there was a feeling... An impact. And another. He stumbled and clutched at my shoulders. I staggered under his weight, clinging to him.
Everything snapped back into realtime.
A single shot still echoed, and the angry neighbor with the rifle was falling.
I looked down at Wufei. His eyes glared at me still, but... he wasn't behind them...
"Wufei!" I grabbed onto his jacket and got a handful of wet, sticky.... "*Wufei*!!"
I don't know what happened. One moment I was holding a bleeding body; the next I was sitting on the floor of the Castle infirmary, screaming for help with Wufei a dead weight in my lap.
People don't generally scream in my infirmary. It's unnecessary and annoying
and I won't put up with that nonsense. When I heard that wailing shriek, though,
I knew it wasn't just some over-dramatic teenager with a hangnail.
Finding Wufei clutched tightly in Duo's arms, bleeding from several gunshot wounds, with the Banshee screaming at the top of his lungs, nearly gave me a heart attack.
I didn't stop to think. I grabbed Wufei, hauling him onto the nearest bed and hit the 'emergency' signal. Duo didn't move, though he did stop screaming. He folded into himself on the floor whimpering. I couldn't take the time to worry about him; I had about four minutes to make major quick and dirty repairs if I wanted the Were-Dragon to live long enough for the fine work.
I grabbed a bottle out of my otherspace and dumped the whole thing over Wufei's back; then I pressed both hands to the center-most wound, began muttering words, and *willed* the potion to work. Right *now*. Within seconds, nerves, tissue, bone and vessels began to repair and realign. Never let it be said that I don't mix a mean potion. A handful of heartbeats and another pair of hands joined mine, pressing over a second wound. And a moment later a third pair covered both our hands.
Q is a healer of extraordinary power; for all that he does not use that magic except in emergencies. The pressure on me eased, giving me a bit of breathing room and allowing me to summon my finer potions and begin picking and choosing for the more delicate repairs.
The faint angry rumble at my side let me know that the third pair of hands belonged to Heero. He is not a healer, but he is a Dragon and that means power walking; that power went a long way toward forcing life through Wufei's body while Q and I worked. Q found his bullet first; mine was a bit deeper. As we eased them out, I felt the shimmer of the magic working on the damage they had caused. That balance slowly righted itself; tipping Wufei back into the land of the living as we cleaned up the mess those lead pellets had left behind.
And then I knew that he was ours once again. His chest heaved, sucking in air, and he began to struggle.
"Stop it, you idiot!" snarled Heero with a sharp poke. Wufei subsided only to crack one eyelid and glare back at him feebly. "Just save it till we're done!" Heero snapped.
Wufei made a snorting sound, but obeyed, muttering brokenly, "F'ckin' imp'r'ous Wyvern..." His dark eyes slid closed, but snapped open again a moment later. "Duo!"
"Is fine," growled Heero, moving around to display the Banshee, now clinging fearfully to Heero's cloak. Duo hung onto Heero as if he were a life raft in the middle of an ocean. Those bright purple eyes looked almost crazed, a short step away from madness. He would calm down and relax eventually – I might even offer a little help, but for now he was wired tighter than a generator. "I have him, Fei."
Now, that startled me; Heero's use of that pet name for the ever-pissy Were-Dragon. I didn't expect that level of tenderness from the Wyvern toward anyone but his Chosen.
Wufei relaxed then, sinking down with a sigh. "Good. Stu'id fuck tried t' *shoot* us... Go skin 'im, 'eero," he muttered before trailing off into unconsciousness.
Q was at my elbow, checking the gross work and pointing out fine repairs that I might have missed. He looked up at Heero. "Yes, Heero; go and skin that sonuvabitch," he directed evenly.
Heero grinned. Not a pretty sight; not when it meant that someone was going to be very messily dead if the Wyvern got his hands on them. That remark from Q was essentially an order, and permission for Heero to do whatever he felt necessary to finish that mission gone wrong. He drew Duo closer to him, lowering his head to murmur in his ear.
Duo suddenly stirred; his head snapped up with a gasp. "Zuma! I left Zuma! Heero!"
The Wyvern turned him around, steering him away from where Q and I were still working to clean up the last vestiges of Wufei's close encounter with Human weapons. Wufei gave a soft snort and sighed. Hopefully, he wouldn't have a nightmare.
"Duo, look at me angel," Heero murmured in my ear gathering me close.
"It's all right; Wufei will be fine. You brought him here; he'll be okay.
Angel?"
I flinched, as if someone had slapped me. I blinked at my surroundings. Infirmary... Wufei... The Were-Tiger. The gun!
Voices around me, Heero and Wufei and... and... Q. But no...
Zuma! Ohmigod!
"Zuma! I left Zuma! Heero!"
He turned me around, dragging me away from Wufei.
"Shh. Inazuma is fine; Tiffany and Enrique went immediately. Everything is under control."
That wasn't good enough. I'd left a teammate under fire.
"I need to see!" I grabbed at his sleeve. "I have to go!"
"All right," he soothed. "I'll call a porter and we'll go."
He might have meant it as a placating gesture, but I was punching the number for the port room into my phone before he even finished.
Bloody blast! I'd left Inazuma behind with that crazed lunatic! Gods, Wufei would... would... I shuddered and Heero took the phone from my hand.
"Jirad? Yes; I need a porter in the infirmary immediately. Thank you." He closed the phone and tucked it back into my bag, which was, oddly enough, still hanging across my shoulder.
~*~d
The porter dropped us at the site and returned; we would either call when ready
to leave or catch a hop with Tiffany. I had regained a lot of my shattered poise
in the few minutes it took for the porter to pick us up; Mistress Loquinn insisted
on doing some laying-on of hands for me, which helped a lot on its own, and
there may have been something besides water in the water she insisted I drink.
Knowing that Wufei was going to be okay helped too, of course. I was no longer
shaking, and didn't feel like throwing up, although I was still a little light-headed.
But Wufei was going to be okay.
Inazuma was sitting on the stone wall, arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees, very obviously not looking at the dark stains on the ground; Enrique was right beside him, one arm around his shoulders. Neither of them looked happy, but at least Inazuma was undamaged. He was quietly going over what happened.
Tiffany had the Were-Tiger and the sheriff's deputy answering questions. Several other Mundane types were roaming the area, stopping here and there to examine something on the ground. Little flags poked up from various points and yellow tape surrounded Wufei's bloodstain.
Heero growled from beside me. "Where is he?" he demanded. Enrique, Tiffany and Inazuma all pointed to an indistinct lump under a plastic tarp. "Dead?" Heero snapped.
"As a doornail," replied Tiffany. "With a bloody great hole in him. Sorry, Heero."
He rumbled angrily and let go of me to stalk across to where the corpse lay. Knowing Heero, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he ripped the corpse to shreds and then incinerated the shreds. I turned to the Elves.
"Zuma, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to leave you," I began, but he waved it away and then reached out with a firm hug.
"It's not your fault, and anyway, the deputy shot him just as he shot Wufei." He didn't look too upset... "Stupid fuck," he muttered, resuming his huddled position and resting his head on his knees. "Is Wufei okay?"
"Yeah. Mistress Loquinn says he'll be fine once he wakes up. He tried to growl at Heero."
"Heh," snorted Enrique. "That tells me he is fine now. Zuma says the idiot was aiming at you..."
"I think so... I remember seeing that gun pointed at me, and then Wufei..." I looked over to where Heero was walking a circle around the now-uncovered body. "He saved my life, I think. If I'd been shot..."
"You might have died right here," said Enrique matter-of-factly. "Because neither of them have the right kind of magic to heal something like that and neither of them would have been able to port you to Mistress Loquinn, and it would have taken several minutes to get her here." He smirked at me. "I think we will all be extra nice to that obnoxious dragon for a while."
No shit... I wondered if any of that had occurred to Heero yet. If it had... No wonder he was so pissed.
He had squatted down to get a closer look at the body; I felt no desire whatsoever to join him in his examination. At least I hadn't done this one; that was some consolation.
One of the Mundane investigators approached Heero and warned him not to disturb the crime scene. I half expected him to give the guy instructions on what he could do with his crime scene, but Heero straightened up with a snort.
"I wouldn't, if it was really a crime scene," he growled.
The investigator stared at him. "Um... Dead body?" he said sarcastically, pointing.
"Not even close," Heero sneered. He hauled back his foot and kicked the corpse. "Get up, you simple spawn of extra-dimensional trailer trash! I know what you are! Get *up* before I cut your damn head off!"
The investigator was reaching for Heero; my jaw was somewhere near my feet; the other Mundanes were converging; Tiffany looked as startled as I felt and the Elves were bug-eyed.
"Heero!" cried Tiffany. "Are you nuts?!"
And then the "corpse" twitched.
Heero kicked the corpse again, this time pointing a finger at it. "Do you want to be Named in front of all these people?!" he snarled.
The dead body rolled over and scrambled to its feet, looking a lot more animated than any corpse ought to. It shrank back from Heero, looking around wildly, as if for an escape route.
Two of the Human investigators passed out. The rest goggled.
"No, you don't!" Heero snapped, keeping his finger pointed at it. "You are not going anywhere until I'm finished with you! You tried to kill my Chosen!" he roared.
The corpse gasped, looking horrified. "No! No; wait, I didn't know! I swear!"
"You meant to kill someone else, then? One of my *friends*?!"
"I-I-I," the thing stammered. "I wasn't... I didn't... I-I..." All at once it collapsed onto its knees. "Please don't destroy me! Please! I'm sorry! I don't know what happened... I lost my mind! Please Lord Dragon... Heero..." It actually *crawled* toward my Wyvern, making a noise that sounded like whimpering.
Not one of the rest of us had moved. I don't know about any of them, but I am not accustomed to seeing dead bodies get up and beg for their lives. Seems a little... um... out of order? Shouldn't the begging come *before* one gets dead?
"Show yourself," Heero growled.
It looked around warily. "But –"
Heero narrowed his eyes. "Far-"
"All right! All right!" shrieked the thing. Its form began to melt and flow, reforming into something entirely different. Beside me, Enrique hissed, "Demon!"
I guess it was... The only demons I've ever seen – that I know of – are Zephyrus and the toad demon; this looked nothing like either of them. It was short and... lumpy. It looked a little like the textbook drawings of prehistoric Humans, but sort of scaly. And a really repulsive brownish-grayish-greenish color. Too many teeth, it seemed, in its rather pointy face, and its eyes kind of bulged, like they should have been on stalks, but weren't. It had claws, but nothing like Heero's talons, and a thin rat-like tail covered in short gray fur. Hm... It could have been a bad cross between a prehistoric Human and a large, scaly rodent. It was pretty gross looking, especially with a big hole in its midsection.
It knelt there in front of Heero, kind of hunched over, wringing its... paws... together anxiously, with its head pulled down between what passed for shoulders. It smelled pretty rank, I noticed, as the pong drifted our way.
"I want the truth and I want it now," Heero snarled. "Or you are nothing but a fading stink on the wind."
"Okay! Okay!" The demon screwed its face up miserably with a faint whimpering. Heero's glare sharpened. "I'm not... I'm not sure what happened," it whined.
Aside from trying to shoot us? Right. Enrique growled and tightened his arm around Inazuma.
Heero morphed then, and the Humans who had fainted, and were beginning to come around, passed out again. He crooked one massive talon at the demon and it scrambled immediately to its feet and followed meekly, shuffling along with its tail dragging a line in the dirt behind it.
I drew back and folded my legs up against my chest when I realized that he was bringing it to *me*. Yuck! It stank.
"This," Heero rumbled ominously, "is my Chosen. You aimed a weapon at him, intending to kill him. Instead, you shot one of my friends. You will start with an apology to my Chosen. Now."
Without even a second's hesitation, the demon fell on its knees, whining out a disjointed apology. It was obvious very quickly that it was upwind of me; my eyes began to water. I tried holding my breath, but that didn't even make a dent in it.
"All right, all right!" I choked when it looped into its mea culpa for the third time. "Just... just move over there," I gasped, wiping at my eyes. "Fuck! Heero! Why did you bring it right here?!" The Elves had sensibly scooted far away on the wall and were watching with a horrified amusement. Tiffany and the uniformed deputy had moved closer, staring at the thing in fascination, with the still-shaking Ovalia hiding behind them. They were all upwind of it, I noticed.
"You see how kind, how forgiving my Chosen is?" Heero rumbled. "I do not expect Chang to feel so kindly toward you."
The demon actually paled, going a sickly shade of moldy green-grey. "Ch-Chang? Lord Dragon Chang...?" It whimpered, then began to wail. "I didn't know! I couldn't help it! It wasn't me!" it shrieked. "It wasn't my doing!"
That 'not my fault' bullshit just infuriated me; do not pull that apology of convenience crap on me! I literally saw red. "The hell it wasn't!" I exploded. "You shot Wufei right in front of me, you sonuvabitch! Don't give me that 'not my fault' crap!" I yelled. "You were going to shoot me, you piece of shit!" I was off the wall, I realized, and standing over the demon. It looked like it was trying to melt into the dirt, arms wrapped over its head protectively. "Goddammit, you motherfucking, scum-sucking, extra-dimensional trailer trash! You almost killed my friend! You tried to kill me! You aimed right at me! You better come up with something better than 'it wasn't me!' or—"
My hands were... tingling, I suddenly noticed. *Really* tingling. Major pins and needles. Oh crap... Oh, *no*... Crap! I caught my breath in a gasp and spun away from all of them, trying to... to stop it, hold it in, find a safe target; something!
I flung one hand out automatically and a very large chunk of open ground just... vaporized.
Jaws hit the ground behind me like falling pigeons. *thunk! thunk! thunk!*
I'm pretty sure mine hit first.
The silence lasted... forever, until I managed to clear my throat and remember how to breathe again.
"Heero...?" I said faintly. "I... I think the training is... working...?" Talons wrapping around my upper arms kept me from falling over. Then a smooth cheek nuzzled mine.
"Chosen? Are you all right?" Heero asked softly.
I nodded, still staring at the humongous hole in the ground. "Um... I think so... Holy shit..."
Behind me, the demon sobbed.
And Tiffany said clearly, "Perfect place for the swimming pool, yes?"
At some point, Tiffany and Heero managed to convince the Human authorities that this was a Magical problem and that it would be handled Magically. I think there was some argument, although I can't imagine why. If I were Human, I'd be burning asphalt getting away from this carnival.
I was again sitting on the wall. Ovalia had very kindly produced drinks for everyone, including the demon, and we were down to just staring at each other. And trying not to stare at my excavation. Heero muttered into his cellphone a few meters away from the rest of us. I think he was talking to Q.
Enrique set his glass of ice tea aside and glared at the demon. "Enough of this; explain yourself," he ordered.
The demon cringed. It was sitting on the ground, down-wind of all of us this time, and certainly didn't seem very demonish. It set its glass down carefully, and nodded thanks to the Were-Tiger.
"I don't intend anyone any harm..." it whispered. "Really."
I couldn't help rolling my eyes at that. It wouldn't look at me; I guess my demolition demonstration scared it pretty well.
"You claim it wasn't you; who was it, then?"
"I don't know..." it whispered. "I've been feeling... odd for a while... Odd ideas... strange thoughts... Like I was picking up on... on someone else's thoughts..." It twisted its hands (paws?) together. "I don't even know if my kind can... can... go insane, but I thought... maybe... I don't know why I got upset with her." It nodded to the Were-Tiger. "I never cared what she is; I mean, like I could talk?"
Enrique snorted. Heero closed his phone and came to lean at my side. He still looked angry, but thoughtful, too; like he was willing to give the demon the benefit of the doubt, at least a little.
"But the voices didn't like her. And sometimes they made me do things..." It shook its head slowly. "I don't know why... and when I tried to figure it out, it just got away from me. Like grabbing at water. And then the voices started making me... go away... go to sleep... And I'd wake up and discover I'd done something. Like today..."
"So you expect us to believe that 'voices' made you do this? That a demon was possessed by demons?" That from Tiffany.
"I'm just saying that's how I felt! I wouldn't shoot anyone! I for sure wouldn't shoot Lord Dragon Chang! He'll come here and kill me!"
"Quite probably." Q appeared next to Heero, his hand on Trowa's shoulder.
The demon jumped as if poked with a pitchfork.
Trowa broke away from Q and threw his arms around me. "Duo! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Trowa," I gasped. "Turn loose, man; you're gonna break something!"
"Sorry... sorry.... I'm just a little... you know." He looked embarrassed; rather a new look for Trowa. He hugged me again, more gently. "Thanks for getting him back, Duo," he whispered in my ear. "Mistress Loquinn said you saved his life."
Now I was embarrassed, not at all a new look for me. "I was on auto-pilot the whole way," I muttered. "How's he doing?"
"Pissy. He wanted to come with us, but Q said no."
"Yeah, well, things are kind of weird here."
No kidding. Q had moved up to stand near the demon – upwind, of course – and looked more exasperated than angry.
"I'm disappointed," he said sadly. "I thought you understood our terms. And here you are; involved in yet another brouhaha."
The demon scrunched down even further. "Sorry, Lord Wizard... I didn't mean to..."
"'It just happened'; yes, I know," Q sighed. Heero flexed his wings and actually cracked his knuckles like a B-movie enforcer. "Heero?"
"Get up," he growled at the demon.
It whimpered faintly. "Can't I just promise..." it began.
"Demons don't keep promises," said Q matter-of-factly, and then his wand was in his hand.
Q wields his wand with more flourish than any Wizard I've ever seen. Instantly, that graceful wand was pointed at the demon. From the opposite side, Heero pointed a long-taloned finger at the demon.
"Get up," he commanded again, and you could see the demon was being magically compelled to rise.
I've never seen Wizards do this, although I've heard of it. It's just weird to see it happening, like the demon was a puppet and they were pulling its strings. It... bothered me. The thing had nearly killed Wufei; had tried to kill me. I'd even yelled at it and nearly made demon dust out of it, but this was just... weird.
"What the fuck?!" I muttered. "What are they doing?" I asked Enrique. "They aren't going to... to..."
The Elf gave a lazy shrug. "It nearly killed someone; that's not allowed, Duo. The Wizards won't allow demons to get away with such things and then to claim no responsibility. It'll be all right."
But...
I seemed to be the only one being creeped out by the whole thing. Tiffany stood by, wand in hand, as if backing up Heero and Q. The Elves seemed perfectly relaxed about it. Trowa leaned against my side, his hand brushing mine reassuringly, but it wasn't because of what was going on now. The Were-Tiger watched intently, like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen.
The demon shuddered and squirmed and whined like an injured animal. Its limbs flapped disconcertingly and the puppet analogy seemed horribly apt. They were hurting it; it wasn't fear or anger making it twitch and whine; it was pure pain.
I've never thought of my friends as being cruel, but this was just... cruel. It was mean, what they were doing to the demon. If they were going to kill it, why didn't they just get it over with? Why torment it like this?
I tried to hold my tongue; really I did, but when the demon began to weep, I couldn't stand it. I jumped off the wall and ran to Heero.
"Heero! Stop!" I grabbed his arm, but it was like tugging on a steel girder.
"Duo, get back," he growled at me.
"No! Stop it! Don't hurt it!"
"Duo!" snapped Q. "Back off!"
That just pissed me off. So, of course, I did something stupid. I let go of Heero and cut between him and the demon. If I couldn't stop him by force, I'd put myself in the way.
Like I said, something stupid. A lot of things happened all at once, then...
Heero snatched his arm up with a sharp curse, but not before I'd entered the field of his magic. It lifted me right off my feet and I felt like I was being turned inside out for a brief moment. Then it all vanished and I hit the ground hard enough to rattle what little brains I had.
The demon dropped to the ground also, howling in pain. Q yelled "Got it!" Enrique yelled "I've got it!" Heero yelled "Dammit Duo!" Inazuma said something in his bastard Japanese-Hawaiian dialect. Tiffany said "Oh, for pity's sake; *give* me that!"
And the bright sunny day dimmed alarmingly. I thought I'd passed out for a moment, but I could still hear all manner of shouting and swearing, so probably not. Heero picked me up and set me on my feet, gripping my arms painfully tight.
"Don't you ever do anything like that again!" he snarled at me. "I could have killed you!"
"But I didn't want you to kill it!" I yelled back. He blinked at me in confusion.
"I wasn't going to kill it! Q was probing for a control spell. Why would you –"
There was a sharp crack and a strong blast of brimstone, and Zephyrus appeared.
"What is going on here?!" he demanded furiously. "How dare you –" He stopped, staring at the demon. "Dammit, Farquahar, what've you done *this* time?!"
The demon gasped and wailed "NOOOOO!!!"
Q, Tiffany, Trowa and Heero looked at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. Enrique snickered, then doubled over, howling right along with them, leaving Inazuma, Ovalia and I open-mouthed in confusion. Especially as Zephyrus was slowly turning the most apoplectic shade of purple I've ever seen on a living being.
"Zephyrus!" howled the demon in anguish. "You told them my *name*! Even the Lord Wyvern didn't use my *name*!"
I was wobbling quite a bit, but I still recognized that Zephyrus had spoken the demon's true name aloud, supposedly giving anyone who now knew it power over the demon.
Zephyrus turned on the demon. "You *idiot*! I should let them destroy you, you damned jackass!" he snarled.
The demon – Farquahar – huddled on the ground, rocking and whimpering miserably.
"Zephyrus." Q stepped between the elegant fox-demon and the quivering lump on the ground. "We have no intention of destroying your charge." He seemed to give that last word a bit of a twist; at least Zephyrus flinched at the term. "In fact-" He waved a scrap of paper at the demon "-I found what I expected. Farquahar has been bewitched with a control spell."
Heero rumbled and pulled me into a hard embrace. Control? Someone *made* the demon shoot at us? What the fuck?! Now, I was getting mad, but before I had a chance to explode in righteous indignation, Heero called to Tiffany.
"Take Duo and Inazuma home; this may get ugly."
She nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Heero and over to Inazuma. She grabbed his hand as well. Just as I opened my mouth to protest, our surroundings vanished in a whirl of sparkles and we reappeared in the Magical Investigations office.
"Tiffany!" I yelled. "Take me back! I'm not leaving them!"
"No," she said bluntly. "Heero wanted you both out of there for a reason. He and Q can deal with Zephyrus, especially with Enrique and Trowa to help. The two of you being there would only complicate things. No!" she snapped as I reached for my phone. It vanished from my hand and reappeared in hers. "You are not to go back there. Don't make me sit on you," she threatened, "Because I will."
I glared at her furiously, but there was no way I could go against her and win. I spun away and slammed my fist down on a desk.
"I want to be there!" I snarled. "I'm supposed to be with him! I'm supposed to-to protect him..." Dammit, he Chose me... That *meant* something. I should be there, backing him up. Instead... Instead, I was here; sent home with a nanny, like a temperamental child... I folded into a chair and dropped my head into my arms on the desktop.
A moment later, hands touched my shoulders.
"I know," whispered Inazuma. "It's not fair that they make us wait here; worrying."
And I felt bad then, because Zuma really likes Enrique and he was as scared as I was.
He slid his arms around my shoulders and rested his cheek against my hair for a few minutes.
"They'll be okay; they know how to deal with Zephyrus. And I've been here longer than you, and they still sent me back." He sounded vaguely... indignant.
I sat up and looked up at him. "He can't hurt them, can he?"
"All four of them? Not likely," he snorted. "But he's a demon; if he got really angry, he might take a shot at you or me, out of frustration. And then Heero really would have to destroy him."
"Which is exactly why he wanted the two of you out of there," called Tiffany from her desk.
If Zephyrus hurt Heero or one of my other friends.... Well, my control might still suck, but there was nothing wrong with my raw power.
+*+
Tiffany suggested rather strongly - actually, she said do it or else - that
we use our time to write up our reports of the incident. A report had to be
written, but I could barely concentrate enough to get a single short paragraph
written. I kept glancing at the clock on the wall or the time on my computer
screen. For a while I would have sworn both had stopped dead.
I typed, checked the clock. I twitched, checked the screen. I sighed, checked the clock. I sniffed, checked the screen. At some point a bottle of soda appeared in front of me with Tiffany's hand attached.
"Duo, I'm sorry; I know you want to be there, but demons are problematic creatures, even at the best of times. Heero has dealt with both Zephyrus and Farquahar before; he knows just which buttons to push and how hard to push them." She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"I should be there..." I said. Okay, I whined; I couldn't help it. "He Chose me; I should be there to watch his back."
Above me, Tiffany sighed. "Yes, Heero Chose you. But you have not Chosen him. Until then, you do not have the... standing to make that decision."
I looked up at her. "You mean, if I had Chosen him back, I would've been able to stay with him?" My brain cells all started screaming at once.
"Duo... Don't. You'll make yourself crazy," she said quietly, not really answering me. "It will be fine. They will handle Zephyrus and deal with Farquahar. Finding a demon under a control spell is a serious thing, Duo. That is so against magical law, it isn't even debatable."
I just sat there, sipping at my soda, thinking of all the things I've screwed up in my life. Hoping like crazy that my relationship with Heero wasn't going to join the list. Wishing I'd thought to ask just what all came with that "Choosing".
I do... care about him; a lot. I just can't... say it. But if Choosing him would give me the right to stay with him in a situation like this, I would do it in a heartbeat. I don't see any point in trying to deny that.
The soda settled my stomach some; I was able to take another stab at writing my report. It'd been almost two hours since we left them there... I managed another few words; the whole report consisted of "We talked to the complainent, the antagonist shot Wufei, I teleported him to the infirmary. Heero and I went back, the antagonist turned out to be a demon, Zephyrus arrived and Heero sent me home." Not what you'd call detailed, but I was having a hard time not picturing things in my head. Things like Zephyrus standing over a bunch of bodies; like blood and guts and scales strewn over the field; like my life sucking itself inside out.
Where the hell were they?! How long did it take to resolve something like this?
"Tiffany," I asked finally. "What's taking so long?"
"Zephyrus is a pain in the butt; he's probably still arguing that a demon can't be controlled that way."
"But if Q found the spell..."
"I said Zephyrus was a pain in the butt. I doubt if anyone could control him, but Farquahar is only third level, second at best; a Wizard with a decent amount of power and the ability to acquire more could probably enspell him, at least for a while. Q will figure it out."
I did not feel especially comforted. I closed my file with a sigh. "I can't think straight enough to finish this," I muttered.
"That's all right," Tiffany said. "You can finish tomorrow. Why don't you go on to dinner and then back to your room. Heero will probably come there first when he gets back."
I kind of doubted that, but I was tired of sitting at my desk, wishing I had my blanket. I might just as well worry in comfort.
"Duo." Inazuma waited at my side. "Come to dinner with me? We'll stop and see Wufei, if Mistress will allow it."
I did want to see him; I wanted to make sure everything was still okay. I didn't feel much like eating, but I agreed because it wouldn't be kind to let Zuma eat alone.
I may have been on autopilot for a while. I wasn't really thinking in any active way, just letting Inazuma lead me around and trying to respond in some way to his efforts at conversation. I don't remember much; just random flashes of other people.
Mistress Loquinn barely looked up from her parchments; just waved us on into the ward. I think I was encouraged by that; the healer is fiercely protective of her patients and won't even let parents in, if she thinks it would disturb one of her charges.
Wufei was sleeping; curled up in a tight ball as he usually is, with a plush toy wrapped in his arms. We didn't try to wake him. Inazuma patted his shoulder and whispered something in his Hawaiian-Japanese dialect. I dared to touch his glossy hair and kiss his cheek. He snorted and twitched his nose, and for an instant I thought of getting a picture of him. My good sense reasserted itself, fortunately. He would kill me if I did that. And I had a chilling moment of seeing life without the crusty Were-Dragon. But no; he wasn't gone, we wouldn't have to learn to live without him. For once, my talent did something right...
And then I wondered when Heero would be home; if he would come back to me or to one of these beds...
In the dining hall, people stopped to ask about our incident. I know Mistress Loquinn would never mention anything about a patient, so I assumed it got around through the porters. It's a known fact that if you want a rumor spread from one end of the Magical world to the other within three hours, tell a porter.
We collected a bunch of 'oooh's and 'aaah's for our adventure, and almost everyone offered good thoughts for Wufei, even though he is considered a pain in the ass by a lot of Wizards.
Inazuma can eat anywhere, anytime, anything. The River Elf is practically a vacuum cleaner. So can I, most of the time. When I get really upset, though, my stomach winds itself into knots and almost everything makes me nauseous. Especially when I'm worrying over Heero.
Silly, I know. He's a Dragon, a Wyvern; practically indestructable, or so everyone says. But he's my Dragon and I have a proprietary interest in keeping him healthy and functioning.
I mostly sat at the table, I think, watching Zuma demolish a plate of food, while my mind wandered. One of the sprite servers brought a glass of milk and a piece of cornbread slathered in sweet butter, and my stomach promptly unknotted itself to sit up and beg. Yeah, one of my weaknesses is fresh, hot cornbread. Chula set the plate in front of me, smirked at my wide-eyed look and danced away, back to her station, before I could even thank her. In the back of my mind, she went on the "scarf, hat, gloves" list, with the other people who have been kind to me.
I must have zoned out while eating; the next thing I knew, we were crossing
the park to the residence blocks. It took me a full minute to realise that Inazuma
was walking me home. And that his room was in the other direction.
"Zuma..."
"Hush," he said firmly. "I just don't want you wandering around in a daze when you should be at home." He tucked my arm through his and flashed me a bright smile. "Someone would kill me."
"'Someone'?"
"Sure. Heero, Tiffany, Wufei, Q, Trowa; probably even Enrique. Think Duo! You could wind up in the lake!" He paused for thoughtful effect. "Although... the moat monster would probably keep you safe. She likes you."
That was true enough, and sometimes downright embarrassing. I appreciated what Zuma was trying to do, but I really didn't want my mind taken off Heero. My damn Dragon was off doing save-the-world stuff without me, and I was rapidly approaching a 50-50 mix of scared and highly pissed.
If that stinking Wyvern got himself hurt, I'd kill him. Over four hours...!
At my door, Inazuma gave me a hug and told me again not to worry. I sighed and said I'd try, and he said trying was good enough, and reiterated that Heero and Q could more than handle Zephyrus. I nodded like I believed it and bid him good night.
I thought about finding something to do while I waited, but it just wasn't going to work. I curled up in my knitting spot, an enormous dog cushion tucked into the corner with the best light, and tried to pick up a piece I'd been working on for a while. I couldn't remember the pattern, though, and finally had to put it down. I just huddled in on myself and waited.
Heero let himself into his room with a grumpy sigh. He so wanted to have made
sushi out of that obnoxious demon, but Q insisted on being diplomatic. Sometimes
Humans were almost as big a pain in the butt as demons.
And then Tiffany yelled at him for being in the office instead of at Duo's side. He had to write his report, didn't he? And Duo was safe at home, so the Witch was being a pain in the butt too. There were days when he could not believe that his entire species was hardwired to protect Humans. Seemed an appalling waste of resources.
It *was* late, though, and much as he might have liked to drag Zephyrus out and beat him bloody, he much preferred bedding down with his safe and sound Banshee and just forgetting that this entire day ever happened. Of course, there were matters still to be decided, but that could wait until tomorrow. That part was mostly Q's purvue anyway. Likely he would be calling some of the other High Wizards to discuss the whole thing. Finding a spell-controlled demon was not a Good Thing for any of the Magical World.
And who knows; maybe he would have another chance to slice and dice the arrogant demon. The anticipation of such a possibility made him smile to himself.
He stripped off his jacket and boots and padded through the bathroom into Duo's room, expecting to find the Banshee in bed.
The bed was empty, though. Heero rumbled in annoyance. He turned toward the french doors, thinking Duo might be sitting out, but the shades were closed.
Well, what the fuck?!
And then he saw his Banshee sitting in the dark on the cushion in his 'craft corner'. He sighed in relief and crossed the room.
"Duo, why are you still up," he began, going down on one knee before the huddled figure.
Duo's head came up, eyes lasering Heero in place, even as a hand shot out, fingers tangling in Heero's dark hair. Heero started to flinch at the abruptness, but Duo yanked him foreward roughly. Heero caught himself with him hands on Duo's drawn-up knees and froze at the enraged glare in those gleaming purple eyes.
Duo hissed at him, words tumbling out so fast - a garbled mixture of English and Banshee - and so angry that he couldn't immediately make sense of them.
"...ever do that again..." "...fucking attitude..." "...kick your goddamn ass..." "...leaving you there..." "...not a fucking child...!"
Ah. The Banshee was upset at being sent home. He stared into the furious purple eyes and realised that he had once again erred on the side of over-protective assholeness.
Oh, you're going to pay for this one...
Or... maybe not...
Duo didn't get cold, hissing *furious* very often; Heero had forgotten just how... attractive a pissed-off Banshee could be. How *very* attractive...
Fingers tightened in his hair; just shy of hurting. "Angel," he breathed contritely, "I'm sorry!" And well aware of the immediate danger, he leaned in and kissed his gorgeous Banshee.
For a moment, Duo froze. Heero pressed his advantage, reaching his arms around Duo and tugging gently, hoping that the furious Banshee would cooperate rather than explode. Literally. Gradually, to Heero's intense relief, Duo relaxed. He yielded to the kiss, returning it hesitantly. His fingers unclenched and threaded into Heero's hair, drawing him even closer. He didn't fight when Heero's knees touched the floor and the Wyvern pulled him up to straddle his legs.
"I'm sorry, angel; I didn't mean to make you angry, but I didn't want you there," he whispered in Duo's ear even as he nibbled his way around the lobe, doing his best to sound chastised. Duo sighed automatically.
"Almost eight hours, Heero!" he growled softly. "What the fuck kind of negotiations take eight fucking hours!" He smacked Heero's shoulder sharply. "I was scared, you asshole! You sent me home like a little kid, dammit!"
"Zephyrus..." Heero began, and Duo cut him off.
"Everyone keeps saying you can handle Zephyrus! But you said things could get ugly! What the fuck does that mean, Heero? 'Get ugly'?! You sonuvabitch; I was afraid Zephyrus would kill you!" He punched Heero's arm again. "I thought we were partners! I thought you trusted me!"
"Duo... angel..." he tried again. Well, yes; of course he trusted his Banshee, but that didn't mean he would allow his Chosen to be in danger... His mate-protecting hardwiring was older than his Human-protecting hardwiring, after all.
"No! NO, goddammit! You don't send your partner home with a damn babysitter!" he snarled.
Heero didn't need to hear the rising frustration in Duo's voice; he felt it in every quivering breath he took. He clung even tighter to the Banshee, sharply aware of Duo's wild porting ability.
No way was he turning loose - Duo would wind up in California or Manhatten or even Japan as upset as he was right now.
"Tiffany said if I Chose you, you wouldn't be able to send me away like this, dammit! If that's what it takes, you stubborn, over-protective, anal-retentive damn Dragon, then I -"
Effectively mesmerised by Duo's tirade, Heero almost missed the direction the rant was heading. He caught up just in time.
Heero slapped his free hand over Duo's mouth with a strangled yelp.
"No!" he cried, wide-eyed. "No, Duo!"
The Banshee froze, staring at him, his expression wobbling between anger and betrayal.
"No, angel; I don't want you Choosing because... because you feel you have to..." Heero explained shakily. He hadn't anticipated this! "I only want you to Choose me when you are *ready*; when you are sure that I am the one you want... Not because you feel threatened or coerced... Not like this..." he whispered, leaning in to caress his Banshee's cheek. "Please, angel... Tiffany had no business telling you that..."
"But I don't want to be left behind or sent away again!" Duo wailed, tears in his voice, if not in his eyes. "I'm not weak; I'm not helpless! I won't get in your way again!"
"Angel, I don't think you're weak or helpless! I just... You stepped into my magic; I was afraid I'd hurt you... And then Zephyrus... You're friends with him... I didn't want you there... if he... if I had to..." Heero shook his head helplessly; of course, having to explain himself like this, all of his perfectly logical reasoning sounded silly and patriarchal. He didn't want Duo there because he didn't want Duo stepping between him and Zephyrus, if it came to that. The demon might lust after his Banshee, but he wouldn't pull his magic the way Heero would.
"Zephyrus?!" yelled Duo. "Did you think I'd care if you had to hurt Zephyrus? Is that what that was?!"
Not entirely, but Heero felt it was better to admit to that than to mention the "P" word again. Duo didn't like the "P" word... "Um... Yes...?"
"You-you... irritating horse's ass of a damn Dragon! If you needed to kick Zeph's ass, I would've helped, dammit!" He punched Heero's arm again.
Heero rubbed at the spot; the Banshee had rather sharp knuckles.
"He is your friend..." he muttered a bit petulantly.
"He is an *acquaintance*," Duo snapped. "Wufei is my friend; Trowa is my friend, Q, Tiffany, Inazuma, Enrique, Moira and you, you big jerk - *you're* my *friends*! Damn it, Heero! You sent me away because you were worried about what Zeph might do?! Tell me you weren't; please!"
"No, of course I wasn't worried about that damn kusatteiru kazi!" Heero snapped back. "I just... didn't want you to be angry with me if I had to... to... do something to him..." Duo's head flopped forward onto his shoulder with a huge sigh.
"And people have the nerve to call me an idiot sometimes..." he murmured.
Heero hugged him close again, stroking at his hair, winding the braid around his hand, just in case. "Well... I was worried about you being there... and Inazuma too... And Zeph isn't the most stable rock on the mountain..."
Duo smacked him again, lightly this time. "Geez... you idiot. Just... next time, warn me, okay? Don't just toss me into the damn nursery with no explanation... I'll rip your damn ears off if you do that to me again."
Heero blinked at him. Could it really be this easy? It couldn't be; Duo was just tired and anxious right now. It would come up again; Heero was sure of that.
For the moment, though....
"I will do my best to see that you have all the relevant information in the future," he replied carefully, stroking the Banshee's back.
Duo sighed and rested his head against his shoulder again. "Over-protective damn dragon," he muttered. "That wasn't a promise; that was a creative evasion."
"Um..."
"Never mind," he sighed again. "I know - you're hardwired for this and I need to understand and just deal with it, right?"
"I wouldn't put it quite that way..." Heero protested.
"But that's what it comes down to, right?" Duo insisted. "No matter how mad I get or how much I yell, you're going to continue to be over-protective."
"Well... Probably," Heero admitted reluctantly, nuzzling the Banshee's neck. There was nothing in the world softer than the Banshee's skin... or more delicious. He swiped his tongue along Duo's jawline. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want anything to ever happen to you."
"So I should sit here alone and worry myself to death over you instead? I don't think so, big, blue and scaly. The next time you confront a demon; I'll be right beside you, or I won't be here when you get back." He leaned back to look into the Wyvern's eyes. "You got that? Are we clear on this now?"
Heero swallowed. He had a feeling things would get a lot more complicated before they got simple again. If they ever did.
"Yes, angel. We are clear on this now," he agreed with a sigh. "As long as you understand that I may react instinctively on occasion..."
Duo smirked at him. "Oh, I understand that; don't worry. Just don't send me away and we'll be fine. You can do whatever you need to do as long as I've got your back."
He could probably live with that, Heero decided. "Agreed." He stood up with the Banshee in his arms. "I feel like a hot soak to unwind; care to accompany me?"
"Fuck yes! I need to check for injuries, since I know you'll never tell me," Duo snorted. "Just don't unwind too much; I think I need to establish my territory again...."
"Looking forward to it," Heero grinned. Clothing vanished a piece at a time as they headed for the bathroom.