'...' thoughts
Chordney Manor Part 12
After what only felt like a few minutes of sleep, Wufei once again found himself awake to the sound of a solid thumping coming from the direction of the door to his and Zechs' chambers. Turning in his lover's arms, he burrowed further into Zechs' warmth and tried to simply ignore the sound. However, after only a few more thud, the sound increased until it was impossible to discount and with a low growl, he pulled from the blonde man's arms before slipping from the bed.
"Whoever it is," Zechs mumbled as he rolled over and pulled the covers up over his head. "give them a kick for me."
"I'll give them a kick alright." the black-haired man grumbled as he pulled his nightshirt on over his boxers before heading for the door. "I'll stick my foot so far up their ass; they'll need a shovel to dig it out."
Once at the door, Wufei grasped the handle and forcefully jerked it open just as the knocking started up once again even louder. He was fully prepared to ream the person on the other side out but before he could say one word, he was shoved backwards by an irate looking Heero Yuy.
"Get dressed." the blue-eyed man said as he began picking clothing up off the floor before tossing them in at the Chinese Preventer.
"Yuy, what..." he began only to cut off when his shirt hit him in the face. Pulling it out of the way, he sent the Japanese man a particularly hard glare before continuing, "what are you doing here, we agreed to rest."
"I've rested enough." the man answered as he turned to the man now sitting up in the bed and tossed his clothes at him as well. "It's time to find Duo."
"Yuy--"
"Either get dressed and come with me, or I'm leaving without you." Heero growled and Wufei could see the truth reflected clearly in his eyes. With a sigh of resignation, the black-haired young man reached down to pick up his trousers; the last thing he needed was yet another of his friends lost in the house.
"Fine." he grumbled as he yanked the material up his legs, buttoning them quickly before pulling his nightshirt over his head so he could finish dressing. "But you're waking Quatre." he finished with a hint of smugness in his voice, knowing as well as they all did that the blonde billionaire could be quite difficult when he was first woken up.
"Hn." Heero grunted with a sharp nod of his head before heading for the still open door. "Meet me at their room."
With that said, Heero marched out the door, leaving Wufei and Zechs to finish dressing.
"Dragon--" Zechs started only to be stopped when the man in question raised his hand.
"I won't lose another friend to this house." the man stated in a soft voice as he finished buttoning his shirt. "I don't know what's going on around here but whatever it is, it's not natural. The Ambassador's death, the storm, losing the power, Duo's disappearance, and now this damned fog, something is not right and I'm not letting whatever it is take someone else I care about."
"Duo's fine 'Fei." the blonde man reassured as he came over to place a solid hand on his lover's shoulder.
"I know." Wufei answered, his voice holding all the belief he could muster for that statement. "But I'll feel better when he's back with us."
Giving the shoulder under his hand one more, firm squeeze to show his support, Zechs then turned to dress as well.
********************
Duo held his breath as he listened to Gregory's hurried footsteps moving further and further down the hall and away from the room he was hiding in. There was a moment, just as he pulled the door closed that he was sure the other man had either seen or heard him, but when he did not so much as pause outside the door, the braided man had breathed a silent sigh of relief. Now, with the quiet of the house settling back down around him, he could not help but wander about what his next step would be.
Before he could think too hard on the subject though, a soft whine from behind him drew his attention to the dog once again. The black creature was sitting only a few feet away and was staring across the room into the gloom lit only by the glowing fog that swirled at the windows on the far wall. Since his eyes were not nearly as sensitive, Duo could not make out what the dog was looking at so he felt along the wall beside the door, locating the light switch and flipping in on.
Bright light illuminated the room, blinding the violet-eyed ex-pilot for a moment but when he could finally see again, he turned toward where the dog was looking. The sight that greeted him caused his eyes to widen in surprise. Across the room, hanging above a large, ornate fireplace was a portrait of a woman and a small boy; a small boy, no older than nine, with long, chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail and wide, violet eyes. Dragging his eyes from the boy, he turned his attention to the other person in the portrait and he could tell instantly that she was the boy's mother. The resemblance between the two was remarkable although her hair and eyes were a couple of shades lighter.
Crossing the room to stand in front of the fireplace, he stared up in awe at those two unfamiliar yet familiar faces. Behind him, the dog walked over as well, coming to stand at his side. Once again, he gave a soft whine and when Duo looked down at him, he saw that the creature was staring up at the portrait with such sad and sorrowful eyes.
"Is that your master, boy?" he asked softly, his voice barely more than a whisper but still it seemed to echo in the complete silence of the room. When the dog whined again, he took it as a yes and he once again looked back up at the painting. "Is he somewhere around here? Other than Chordney, I've only seen the servants about the house."
The thought of someone else being hidden in the house, especially a child, had Duo's anger ratcheted up once again. Turning from the portrait, he squared his shoulders and started toward the door. "Come on, boy, let's go find him."
The dog did not have to be told twice as he also turned and headed for the door right on the braided man's heels. Stopping only for a moment to turn off the light then crack the door open to check the hallway, Duo and the dog left the room, making sure the door was closed behind them, leaving the portrait and its silent inhabitants behind. But the braided man did not forget them that easily and while he was dying to know why the little boy looked so much like him, he knew he would not find an answer until he first found the boy.
Once again, as soon as they were in the hall, the dog took the lead, moving them down the hall and around the corner. Duo did not even try to keep track of where they were going or how far they walked but in what seemed like a few minutes, he found himself standing before yet another door as the dog sat down and looked up at him in anticipation.
Reaching forward, the braided man took hold of the doorknob and twisted it until it released and he was able to pull the door toward him. What greeted him on the other side was a wall of white, swirling fog; the door opened to the outside. However, before he could protest, the dog jumped forward, disappearing into the thick mass without a sound.
"Hey, wait!" Duo yelled as he too rushed out the door and into the fog. In an instant, he found himself engulfed in pure white that blocked out everything, even sound, beyond a few feet from him. Turning back around, he thought to re-enter the house. But the fog had already closed around him and he could not even be sure he had turned in the right direction to find the house so instead, he stood still, wondering just what he should do next.
"Fuck." he breathed then nearly jumped out of his skin when something cold and wet touched his hand. Spinning around, he found the dog sitting at his side and for a moment, he could have sworn the animal was smiling at him. "Ha ha, very funny, furball." he groused while deep inside, he was beyond relieved to see the creature again.
Once again, the dog seemed to smile up at him before standing and turning on its heels, throwing a look over its shoulders.
"Ok, ok, I get it now, I follow you." the chestnut-haired man breathed and when the dog started out into the fog, he made sure to follow close so as not to lose sight of it in the swirling damp.
********************
"Heero, how do you know where we're going?" Quatre asked for nearly the tenth time since the dark-haired man had come banging on his and Trowa's door, waking them from a fairly sound sleep.
"I told you, someone told me where Chordney is keeping him." Heero answered with no small amount of exasperation, which the blonde chose to ignore. He had been getting the same answer each time he asked the question and was growing tired of the man's vagueness.
"But who told you?" he asked, letting his own exasperation show through in his voice. "Heero."
"Winner, do you trust me?" the blue-eyed man suddenly stopped and turned to face his friends, his face a blank mask even as his eyes bore into the blonde's.
"Of course." Quatre answered.
"Then trust me in this." the man pleaded in a soft voice, the blank look falling away for only the briefest moment, allowing Quatre to see the true pain hiding beneath. "I just want to bring him back."
"I know, Heero." Quatre sighed before stepping forward to place his hands on his friend's shoulder in support. "I know."
Giving his head a sharp nod as he pulled his emotions back tight under his control, Heero pulled away from the blonde's comforting touch before turning with the intention of continuing down the hallway. But before he could take the first step, he found himself face to ghostly face with the little boy who had appeared to him only a short time earlier, causing him to stumble backwards a step at the child's sudden appearance.
"You must hurry." the boy said in little more than a whisper and the dark-haired man knew the instant the rest of the group noticed him; Quatre's soft gasp and Wufei's whispered curse giving him a sure sign of their thoughts.
"Where is he?" Heero asked, choosing for the moment to ignore their presence and the obvious questions brewing in their heads. "Can you lead us to him?"
"He's managed to escape the house but Christina and my brother will not allow him to be free for long." the boy stated, his eyes daring around as if by just using their names the two would suddenly appear. "Follow me, I'll take you to where he is, but you have to hurry. If they find him before we get there--"
"I won't let them hurt him." Heero growled.
"You are strong." the boy nodded after a moment of studying the man before him. "He will need that strength if he's to win."
Then, before Heero could ask him what he meant by his cryptic statement, the chestnut-haired boy turned and drifted down the hall, only pausing once he had gone a few feet to turn and beckon them to follow. Before he could take the first step though, Quatre's hand grasped his shoulder and from the strength of the grip, he could tell that the man was upset.
"Heero," the blonde man whispered. "he's not even touching the floor and... he's see through."
"I know, Quatre, but he's our only chance of finding Duo."
"How do you even know he's telling the truth?" Wufei asked from where he had come to stand beside the Japanese man. If he felt any unease about the boy's appearance, he did not let it show. "Or if he's even real."
"I don't, we don't," Heero clarified. "But I'm not going to just sit here either."
For one long moment, the two men stared at each other, both sizing each other up until Wufei finally dropped his eyes. Behind the determination that he could clearly see in those deep blue eyes, he recognized the near desperation boiling below the surface and although he would never admit it out loud, he could feel the same desperation brew within himself as well.
"Alright," he said with a nod before turning his attention to the shimmering boy standing a few yards away. "we will trust him. For now."
Relief rushed through Heero at those words and without waiting for the others, he turned and started forward, following carefully as the chestnut-haired boy lead them further and further into the house.
********************
It did not take long for the cold and wet to completely soak Duo's nightshirt and hair all the way through and chill him to the bone. Wrapping his arms as close to his body as he could, he tried to keep as much body heat as he could while following the black animal through the fog. He had no way of knowing where he was on the grounds anymore nor did he even know how long they had been walking but already he could feel his strength draining away from the cold. His bare feet ached from stepping on rocks and sticks and his right ankle felt horribly twisted from where he had fallen only a few moments prior, scrapping his knees and palms in the process. But he kept on, trudging along behind the dog.
Luckily, only a few moments later, the fog began to thin, allowing the chestnut-haired man to see that they had entered the forest he and Hilde had driven through on their way to the manor just a few days prior. Breathing a silent sigh, now that he could see past a foot or two, Duo could feel relief flooding through him; being practically blind and in an unknown situation had been playing serious havoc on his nerves. It also reduced the risk of him losing the dog, something that, at that point, he feared more than being found by Chordney.
"Where are we going, boy?" he asked softly, cringing as the sound of his voice was much louder than he had expected. The dog though merely glanced over its shoulder and kept walking. Sighing softly once again, Duo continued putting one foot in front of the other as they moved deeper and deeper into the forest.
Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately, only a few moments later, Duo found out just where they were going when the entered a small clearing in the woods. The fog had cleared enough that the violet-eyed man had no trouble seeing what was around him and he felt every hair on his body suddenly stand on end.
"Oh fuck, I should've seen this one coming." he breathed as he began to back away from the closest stone. "A fucking cemetery, of all the fucking places you could've brought me, you brought me to a fucking cemetery."
By this time, Duo was way past caring about pleasantries or about the fact that the animal had rescued him from Chordney. He was cold, wet, and tired, and only wanted to be as far away from this place; house, grounds, and cemetery included, as he could that not even the thought of being lost in the woods or fog bothered him anymore. Turning on his heels, he started back the way they had come in with every intention of putting as much distance between himself and the still graves as he could. Unfortunately, before he could reach the edge of the small clearing, he found himself stopped short when he saw a dark figure watching him from just beyond his vision's reach.
"Who's there?" he called, doing his best to keep the fear from him voice.
"It looks like we've come full circle once again." Beth's voice echoed through the still night air, just before the woman stepped forward into the clearing. In all his life, Duo had never thought to find himself so afraid of such a small girl, but at that moment, he simply could not stop the trembling from gripping his entire body. Moving on instinct, he took a step backwards, earning him an eerie smile from the brunette, who continued to advance towards him. "You're not afraid of little old me, are you?" she asked in a simpering voice while putting a little sway in her hips.
Before she could get too close to the longhaired man though, two things happened at once. First, the dog, which had been forgotten as the standoff progressed, suddenly leaped forward, placing himself directly between the woman and Duo, and Gregory Chordney entered the cemetery.
"Not this time, Christina." the platinum-haired man growled, bringing the attention of the three previous occupants in his direction, and Duo could feel his heart sinking lower. He had only just barely managed to escape from the man earlier and now, after the ordeal of the night, he did not know if he had the strength to do so again.
"Not likely, my dear Gregory." the woman laughed. "It was I who found him first and therefore, it is I who will decide his fate."
"Christina--"
"Finders keepers." she said, turning back to where the violet-eyed man had backup until he was nearly in the middle of the small cemetery. "You lose the game and your precious brother yet again and this time, I'll make sure he stays dead."
Duo watched as the woman that had been chosen as his date for a simple party raised her right hand over her head, a dark swirling light beginning to gather around her fingertips, and his only thought was that he wished he had had the chance to tell Heero goodbye.
Everything from there moved in slow motion. Duo watched as Beth-Christina brought her hand down, the swirling light growing brighter and more intense as she did so, just before it practically leaped from her hand and streaked across the distance that separated them. Then, just as the light reached him, he was hit by something hard and solid, knocking him to the ground and driving all the air out of his body. The last things he heard over the sound of his own, thundering heart, just before he blacked out completely was the woman's outraged shriek and the heavy breathing of the person lying on top of him.
TBC...
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