The rhythm of my heart is beating like a drum
with the words "I Love you" rolling off my tongue.
No never will I roam, for I know my place is home.
Where the ocean meets the sky, I'll be sailing
-Lyrics to Rhythm of My Heart' performed by Rod Stewart
Crimson Bonds Part 65
"DADDY!" eight voices chorused in a loud cheer.
Laughing when he was suddenly assaulted by the youngest bunch of his brood the second he materialized in Rosshe and Dorothy's main living space, Wufei only just managed to stay upright as he hugged onto the little ones clinging onto his legs and torso.
"Hey, kids," he greeted warmly as he fought to keep the sting of tears at bay. Quickly bending down on a knee, he gave each of his little ones a proper hug and kiss on the head while Isabel and Carol closed in on their twin brothers.
Smirking, the eldest Chang daughter told her redheaded counterpart, "Good to see you're still alive and haven't screwed up the mission." Her head was locked under an arm as she laughed and wrestled Charles off.
John was taken into a fierce embrace by his pixie-haired sister, which he gladly reciprocated with a relieved sigh. "Hey, brat," he grinned as they pulled away.
"You know, I didn't realize how much I'd miss you until you took off months ago," Carol admitted. "I didn't have anyone to pick on."
Snorting, her brother nudged her with a sincere, "Missed you, too."
Heero found himself surrounded in the next blink. Hurting as he was over Duo and Anna not being with them for the holidays, it was impossible for the Original to not find joy in the excitement of his nephews and nieces in having him with them. Chuckling deeply, he gladly accepted and returned every warm hug and peck to a cheek in their reunion.
Dorothy, Rosshe, Trent, Sylvia, Mueller, Alex, Kristy and their whole family stood by in the doorway with wide grins until all of the children had their time to reunite before they descended upon the Preventers.
At the end of their one-armed embrace, the Clan patriarch informed Wufei quietly, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Santa Clause made an early delivery for us to put under the tree for the kids tonight."
Sighing, the scaly Infected muttered sincerely, "I honestly don't know how to thank you and your family enough for everything. It's been a relief to know that my kids have been in such good hands while I've been away for so long."
"No need for thanks, my friend," the Egyptian Vampire reassured with a pat to Chang's back. "They've been nothing but easy to look after and it's been an honor to be of any sort of help in this situation."
Trent approached, adding, "We just wish that there was more we could do to help with the case." The corner of his mouth curling up, he said, "As soon as we have word on when and where we're striking to bring Duo and Anna home, we'll be there before you can end the call." Just behind him, Alex and Mueller nodded their seconding of the sentiment.
At that, Yuy nodded firmly, "Hopefully that call will be coming soon. I don't want to get the kids' hopes up, but what the Khushrenadas are planning might be the tipping point to shift things in our favor for a change."
Rubbing her hands together, Sylvia commented, "We were informed about that plan, too. Trowa and Midi are incredibly brave for taking such a risk, considering we have no idea how a publicly announced Vampire pregnancy will go over."
"Yes, but the practice sessions leading up have been enjoyable- OW!" Barton began to brag, only to be cut off by a sharp slap to the arm from his wife as they appeared. Wincing, he gave Midi a sheepish smile and shrugged while their friends and loved ones laughed.
Clearing her throat, the 'little mother' of her Clan grinned, "And if it does pan out, we'll have a child of our own to enjoy. Expanding the family would only be a wonderful blessing, regardless of the outcome in the Senate."
Wufei hummed an affirmative and concurred quietly, "That it would be." Frowning a bit when he saw the anxiousness on Mao's face as she walked up with Isabel, he gave her his full attention and took a knee again. "Is something wrong, sweetheart?" he asked as he ran a hand over her wavy dark hair.
Her hands being worried together, the child announced quietly, "Um... we all had something we've been waiting to tell you, Daddy." Biting her lip, she looked up at her oldest sister.
Giggling, Isabel urged, "I think it would be better if you just showed him, dear."
"Okay," the seven-year-old agreed, her confidence restored. Opening her hands and holding them up so that they were facing each other, brilliant balls of electricity sparked and danced in the gap between them.
With onyx eyes widening, the scaly Infected gasped sharply when he felt a weight settle on the back of his neck. All but jumping out of is skin at the startling sensation, he was about to fight off whatever it was when Ian's face appeared out of thin air beside his own, a splitting grin of mischievousness displayed on his son's lips.
Spanning his shocked gaze across the younglings, all of whom were now watching him intently for his reaction, Wufei held onto the little intruder that had clung onto him. "You all have powers?" he breathed. To the nods that went through the lot, he beamed in pride to their relief and joy.
From a few feet away, John and Charles exchanged glances before they looked back to their father. Smirking, they raised their hands along with their twin sisters. "You, too?!" the Mimic laughed in disbelief.
Of course, he realized. It would only make sense that being of their bloodline, he and Anna would pass on Duo's Hybrid strain to give their babies enhanced abilities of their own.
Completely forgetting everything else for that exciting revelation, Wufei carried Ian to the nearest couch and sat down. Lowering his precious bundle onto his lap, he leaned towards his children and requested, "Show me everything."
* * * * * *
"I want to see more," Senator Dobson insisted, trained on the monitors of the Hybrids that had been given a pause to catch their breaths. Drenched in sweat and panting for breath, the half-breeds had been through easily the most excruciating eight straight hours of treatment since their capture.
Every passing hour, the intensity of the shocks had been increased significantly. But not once had Solo or Duo slipped into the dark recesses of their minds to escape the pain. While Maxwell had been able to do so in the past with whatever Celeste had called Shinigami, he had not reached into that side of him again since Septum had confronted him about it.
Meanwhile, his brother had as of yet to find that ability... that alternate side within himself.
As much as he wanted to see his prisoners give in and reveal that inherent strength, Millers was not comfortable with the prolonged treatment that they had already endured. "I think that's enough for now," he declared as he rose from his seat at the center of the observation tower.
Meeting his disappointed guest's eyes, he smiled, "While it is still Christmas in this part of the world, I suggest that we take some time and enjoy our success. There are several fine resorts and restaurants that Lucie and I would be more than happy to take you to for some seasonal festivities this evening."
Eric eyed the screens once more, fighting the urge to actually pout. The whole experience of Doctor Berg's tests had been captivating... reviving to behold. While he had expected the Hybrids to be incredible with the potential of their strength, he was absolutely blown away by what he had just witnessed.
Though he wanted more, the politician was not about to argue when it was the old man who had stated, "Septum is right. At some point, we have to say enough is enough for now. It wouldn't be of any good to us if we overextended our pets before the bidders start naming their prices on them."
"Well, I can't argue against that logic, Doctor. I appreciate the demonstration and your time," Dobson resigned. Hefting his weight up and out of his seat by the control panel, he turned to the Boss and smirked, "Besides that, I would not be a gracious guest if I were to turn down your kind offer. Some fresh air, food and drink would be most welcome right about now."
Snickering, Septum nudged his friend's arm as they headed for the door, commenting, "Who would have known you to be such a sadist? I have to admit that I like it." On their way through the door, the pair laughed while Doctor Berg set himself to task on saving the data he had collected from the day's experiments.
Down on the lab's main level, Duo and Solo had the recording equipment removed from their trembling bodies and their restraints were removed following the old man's order to return them to the holding area... followed with a polite 'Merry Christmas' to the staff that was on duty.
Unceremoniously hauling the half-naked prisoners from their beds, dragging them down the hall and dropping them off in the changing room, the guards chuckled and left them to gather themselves as the door closed for some measure of privacy.
Slow to move even an inch, the brothers lay sprawled out across the floor for a good while before Maxwell was finally able to get his nerves and muscles working in any fashion enough to push his torso up. "Sh-Shit," he managed. "I thought that was never going to end."
And much to his surprise, he heard a weak voice from the opposite corner whisper, "I don't know how much more of this I can take." Blinking widely, the braided Hybrid snapped his head up to see his blonde twin staring blankly up at the ceiling.
Frowning deeply, Duo muttered, "Solo? You okay?"
Violet-and-silver eyes narrowing on his counterpart in frustration, the other half-breed snorted, "How the hell could I possibly be okay? I can hardly feel my body right now!"
But there was more to what had affected him so profoundly besides that. It was plain as day for his brother to see. After all, Solo had been exposed to nothing but the existence that they were experiencing all his life. Yes, they faced their worst time in the lab. Still, he had faced a lot worse in the past.
"What happened back there?" Maxwell pressed, something that he wouldn't have cared to do on account of how cold his sibling tended to be... or at least he had been until recently. It was that notable change that brought on the concern and inquiry in the first place.
Swallowing roughly, Solo shook his head and pushed himself to sit up. "I felt it," he murmured, a ghost of a shadow to his usual voice. His skin a couple shades paler than usual, he continued to gaze out at nothing but whatever it was that had haunted him so.
Well aware of what 'it' was, a bolt shot down Duo's spine as he tightened into a rigid and wide-eyed statue. "Your other side," he replied just as softly in more of a statement than a question that needed to be confirmed.
Though there was more than enough reason to have assumed that his brother had an alter half to himself, the lack of any acknowledgment up to that moment had begun to make the braided hybrid question if he was the only one with such a gift.
His whole body shuddering, the blonde half-breed cursed under his breath and staggered to his feet. Try as he might to reach the pile of his clothes as fast as he could, his spent muscles failed him and so he fumbled a couple of times in pulling his black shirt on while completely avoiding a response.
Blinking widely, Maxwell had found his second wind. Climbing to stand, he ignored the fact that he remained only in his boxers and neared his twin. "This is great," he smiled widely, "Between the two of us, we'll be able to being this place down without any trouble once we tap into our other sides-"
"I don't want it!" Solo shouted, eyes squeezed closed tight in his protest. Recovering as his stricken brother fell back a few paces, he met the violet-and-silver gaze that mirrored his own as he repeated, "I don't want anything to do with... whatever that is! I had a good enough look at it and it scares the shit out of me!"
That... was easily the most earth-shattering thing that Duo had ever heard, given who it came from.
Briefly taken aback, the braided immortal's enlarged eyes narrowed in a fiery glare. "You can't be serious... you of all people are scared of what you're capable of?! After what you pulled off with Celeste when you were trapped and tested on by Instructor H, now you decide that you don't want something we can use to get out of this place!?"
Finished pulling his clothes on, Solo matched the steel stare and closed the distance separating them until there were only a couple of inches between them. "What little bit I saw... felt, it's too powerful if it gets the better of us. Ann I don't have a handle on it enough to trust it." Huffing, he added, "Hell, even you're losing control."
"You fucking hypocrite," Duo snarled, a hint of something animalistic in the gravel of his timbre. "How is what we're dealing with any different than what you went through when you leveled the base that you were prisoner in? And you think I'm the one who's losing control? We're more than in the right to make everyone who isn't sided with us burn!"
Gripping his brother's shoulders, the blonde Hybrid shouted, "Would you listen to yourself?! I'm trying to keep you from becoming like me, you idiot! I didn't give a shit about the people, some of them kids, that I'm responsible for killing back then! Just like I didn't care about the lives and existences I ruined by building an army of Companions at my bidding! Now it's all I think about!"
Practically shaking, he pointed at his own chest, yelling, "I have to deal with that guilt and it damn near killed me until Celeste helped me through it. You weren't hardened the way I was and you're sure as shit not strong enough to deal with the repercussions of what I did."
Solo leaned in so close that their noses almost touched as he warned in a low rumble, "There's a right and a wrong way to us getting out of here. Don't blow our shot at getting it right when we're this close just because you have a hard on for getting revenge in the process."
All that Maxwell saw was red when in the next moment he blinked to see himself holding his twin off his feet against the wall with a hand gripping his throat in an iron grip.
The knowing, cocky smirk on the prone half-breed's face was enough to make Duo so mad with rage that he considered snapping the neck in his grasp. Shinigami was urging him on to do it. He was wailing with anger at not being unleashed to carry out the deed himself.
"Yea, I thought so," Solo chuckled, his strained voice thick and gravely as the hold on him tightened. "Go ahead and kill me. Show yourself how much of a rein you have on your other side."
Grunting in the intense restraint he had to use in sealing Shinigami away, Maxwell was covered in sweat by the time he succeeded.
His breath coming and in out in ragged pants, he lowered his counterpart back to the floor. Opening his quaking hand, he pulled it back with a smug grin. "There," he sighed at the last of his effort to put his alter ego out of his mind. "I'm totally in control."
Stunned, Solo's jaw fell open. "You really have yourself convinced of that, don't you?" he all but whispered, as frightened by that as he was flabbergasted. "You really are an idiot. One snap and you'll flip into Shinigami. Try and fool yourself if it makes you feel better, but there'll be a time when you won't be able to stop him."
"I've had it with your preaching, brother," Duo bit out. Spinning on his heels, he went for his discarded clothes and began to dress without looking back at the other Hybrid.
Not about to be ignored, he heard his twin snort, "Why am I so surprised that you don't see what's right in front of you? For as close as you and Anna are, you're the one who hasn't even noticed that our sister's dying."
Instantly freezing where he began seal the front button and zipper of his jean pants, the braided half-breed shot a dark glare from across the room. "What are you talking about?" he ordered. Turning himself so that he was fully facing his brother, he pressed, "There's nothing wrong with Anna."
Shaking his head, Solo replied with a deep frown, "She's giving up. That son of a bitch Millers got into her head... hit her where he knew it would hit her hardest. I don't know what he told her to take the fight out of her, but you've been too wrapped up in what Shinigami wants to take any notice."
Pained deeply at the thought of having neglected the well-being of his sister, Duo took serious pause. From the moment they first met, he'd loved Anna beyond measure. If what he was being told was true... after all of the sacrifices that she'd made for him... he never would forgive himself.
But Shinigami was not won over.
With a short bark of a laugh, Maxwell smirked, "You're just saying that to throw me off of what I have to do. It's not like you ever gave a damn about Anna."
"I love Anna!" Solo cried out, stopping himself short to blink in shock at his admission.
Swallowing roughly, he held his ground and rolled his shoulders back as he went on, "Besides Celeste, she's the only creature who ever accepted me with open arms... even knowing what I did not only to those scientists, but my acts against her own kind."
Arms flailing into the air, he laughed, exasperated, "Do you have any idea what that means to someone like me... to see you who had that all along taking it for granted by not being there for her?"
Fists clenched at his sides, Duo screamed, "That's enough! I'm the one looking out for Anna and my babies' best interests. Whatever it takes and however much blood I have to spill, I'll get us out of here. I'll be able to exist with the consequences for them, because anyone who gets in my way isn't worth saving."
If there was anything more to be said, neither Hybrid was about to have the chance when the armed guards returned to collect them. However, the icy stares that they continued to exchange expressed enough between them.
Thinking back to how the two had started out, Solo was particularly thrown back over how drastically the tides had shifted for them. As he was led out of the room to finally break their gazes, he sighed deeply and frowned with his head lowering.
He had gotten soft. But that was still better compared to what his little brother was becoming.
* * * * * *
The Yuy-Bartons had set to the task of laying out the beautifully wrapped gifts gathered by 'Santa' in the form of Preventers and their Chosens alike from all around the world who wanted to offer some token of assistance to the famed Clan.
Several packages were labeled by Rachel and TJ- now grown up and turned into immortal Companions to the Vampires that Solo had stolen them away from when the former humans were just children. Others came from the Khushrenada Clan. Then there were more still from Crystal, Perry and countless others that had come to know the family linked to stopping the Hybrid's attempt to rule over their kind.
His head shaking in awe as he straightened himself onto his feet, Wufei took in the huge display beneath the main living room's Christmas tree. "This is... pretty incredible," he muttered in sincere gratitude for the generosity shown.
"Yes, it is," Heero smiled, coming to stand beside his brother-in-law. "Of course it's not the same without Duo and Anna to see this... but I'm happy the kids will have some kind of Christmas to enjoy. It's already been a nice reprieve for a little while."
Midi bit her lip as she leaned against her husband's side. "Hopefully this is the last holiday season that we won't all be together to celebrate. It's killing me to not have the family whole."
Nodding, Trowa wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "We're doing everything we can to fix that. Something's going to have to give soon here." The corner of his lip curling up, he shrugged, "Maybe we'll have a bit of a miracle this season to help out."
On that happy thought, the family stepped from the room to wait for the little ones to greet the new morning...
...Little did anyone know how the wish that they were all making was in the works of coming to fruition. Already, that spark of hope was growing.
TBC...
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