All my life I've been searching for something
Something never comes never leads to nothing
Nothing satisfies but I'm getting close
Closer to the prize at the end of the rope
-Lyrics to 'All My Life' performed by 'Foo Fighters'
Crimson Ties Part 47
Waking particularly tired the following morning at the sound of his alarm clock, Duo rubbed his heavy-lidded eyes and worked at cleaning up his disheveled braid. Mentally groaning at how his lack of sleep was going to make him suffer during his workout today, he dragged himself out of bed and changed into his workout clothes.
A hand falling over his mouth when it opened wide to yawn, the living shuffled down the stairs to move for the kitchen. There, he found Midi working away at the stove and Wufei seated at the small table just beyond the doorway as he polished a long blade.
Peering over her shoulder, the 'little mother' gasped, "Duo. You look like death warmed over." Quickly setting the spatula that was in her hand down onto the counter, she hurried to her cousin and ushered him to the table in a silent command for him to sit.
Wufei's head rose from his task when his little brother was across from him and he winced at the sight of the teenager's dark-circled eyes. 'Damn,' Maxwell thought to himself, 'I really must look like shit.'
"Rough night?" Chang asked gently, his lips curling up at the question with a pretty obvious answer as he set his curved sworn into its ornate sheath of onyx and carved, colorful details.
Her eyes rolling high, Midi gave the scaly Infected's shoulder a light slap. "Of course it was a rough night," she chided with a snort. "It was his first night without Heero since your brother's last hunt." Wufei just grunted and flashed the braided living an apologetic grin that he knew was not necessary.
Duo just chuckled and shook his head in amusement, making it known that no harm was done. Silently thankful for the excuse of Heero's absence being the reason for his sleep-deprived state, which actually was a big reason for his late night, he thought back to the story surrounding his brother and sister.
At the thought of the lively redhead, he reached for the cup of tea that Midi handed over to him, asking, "Where's Anna this morning?"
"She started a straight fifty-two-hour shift at the hospital about an hour ago to fill in for a couple sick nurses," Chang answered. Smirking, he commented, "I was going to go off with you for your morning run. But, considering the shape you're in, it'll probably be best to skip that for the next two days."
Breathing a deep sigh of relief as Midi set down his plate of carbohydrates and proteins, Maxwell grinned back. That bit of happiness was secretly replaced by concern for his sister.
No doubt reliving her painful beginning to her relationship with Wufei had affected Anna more than she'd allowed it to let on. Her volunteering to spend the next couple days straight at work was proof enough of that. Clearly, she still had fears surrounding her relationship with the scaly Vampire that she loved more than anything in her world.
If she were to ever lose Chang now... she would be destroyed.
Shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth, Duo forced his concern back lest he let on to them. There was a time and place for everything. And when it came to Wufei, he knew that right now his brother was not ready to be confronted on that particular matter.
Today was another day of training. Today, Chang needed to be the mentor and Maxwell the student. If there was any chance of him reaching his goal, the living knew that he couldn't allow anything to get in his way now.
Finished with his breakfast, Duo followed Wufei into the large back shed that had become the weight and training room. Inside, the warm interior smelled of the cedar wood that made the shelter. Colored in the same reds and browns of the logs, the high-ceiling room had a rugged and rough feel to it.
Much to their pleasant surprise, Midi followed her cousins into the space. Considering how quickly she worked, there was little doubt to the teenager that she must have cleaned every nook and cranny in her home by now. At least this was giving her a distraction from missing Trowa.
Shedding his layers down to his black sweatpants and gray T-shirt, Duo moved to the first of the weight machines when Wufei announced, "Actually, we're going to be doing something different today."
Violet eyes blinking as he turned his braided head, the living found his smirking 'brother-in-law' standing at the wrestling mat in the middle of the spacious room. Gasping sharply at what that meant, he beamed, "You mean..."
"You're ready to start training in more hand-to-hand combat," Chang nodded firmly. Holding up a scaly hand, he gestured for his student to join him. Midi groaned quietly, sitting atop one of the benches around to look on with a worried expression.
All but running into the 'ring,' Duo couldn't help the wide smile on his face. This was everything that he'd been working towards, building endurance and strength to be able to start going toe-to-toe with a Vampire. Already bulking up and capable of lasting in his exercises longer than he ever would have before, he knew that he was ready for this next stage in his preparations.
Turning his body, spreading his legs and raising his toned arms up in a defiant stance, the teenager's eyes narrowed on the scaly Infected before him.
His head falling back, Wufei laughed, "What do you think you're doing?" Containing himself to chuckles, he shook his head, "If you were engaged in a struggle against a Vampire, you wouldn't have time to prepare yourself like that. You would be dead."
"Oh," Maxwell mumbled, his cheeks blushing a deep red as he relaxed his body.
Another groan rose from Midi. Rising to her feet, she sighed, "Wufei, before you get started, wait just a moment please." Vanishing in a blur that blew the door open, she returned through the entrance before it even finished closing." Returning to her bench, she lowered the first-aid kit that she'd brought back with her.
Huffing a disgruntled snort, Duo rolled his eyes as his brother-in-law snickered. "From the looks of things already, it looks like we'll need this," the 'little mother' shrugged to her braided cousin. "Better safe than sorry."
Under his breath, Maxwell muttered, "Thanks for the vote of confidence." Able to hear that loud and clear with her enhanced hearing, Midi giggled in that sweet way of hers that had him forgiving her instantly with a small grin of appreciation. Undignified as he was, even the teenager couldn't help but admit that the kit was probably a good idea.
Turning to face the scaly Infected, the living was handed over his staff. Taking the steel rod in both his hands, Duo counter-turned the halves to bring the blade to life.
Wufei took a couple steps back as he took hold of the black hilt of his sword at his hip. Removing the long, curved blade from its sheath with a bright ring that filled the air, he lowered himself at his knees and gripped his weapon with two hands to hold the steel upright.
"Now," he smirked, "Come at me and strike the way that you were taught."
Holding the scythe upright, Maxwell's eyes narrowed on his target. Crying out, he charged forward and brought the glowing blade down in a swift blow. Wufei was there to block the attack before it came anywhere near him.
And then the dance began. Moving as quickly as he could, Duo spun and leapt through the wide space to either shield himself or to try another go at the blur of a Vampire that whirled around him.
For a time, it was only the living who was receiving a hit or kick here and there through the struggle. But then... something very strange happened. Focusing on Wufei's swift movements, he was able to not only following the Infected but he could also see the gaps in which he could move in to finally deliver a blow.
With that new 'sight,' Maxwell turned swiftly when his 'brother-in-law' ran around him to strike behind. Just as he noticed the flash of Chang's blade surge towards him, the teenager knocked the sword away with his scythe and spun his own weapon to send its rounded end into the scaly Vampire's right side.
Knocked back by both surprise and pain at having one of his few weaker spots delivered such a hit, Wufei stumbled backwards... only to be stopped when a certain glowing green laser wrapped around the back of his neck to steady him upright.
Had it not been for Wufei's scales, the Infected would have been easily decapitated by the humming blade that encircled his neck. Frozen, Midi stared in wide-eyed disbelief.
Panting heavily, Duo smirked through the sweat that drenched his face. Noting the expressions on his family's faces, he figured that it was safe to say that it was far from common for anyone to get the better of the scaly Infected... ever.
The side of his face lit by the tip of the scythe hook, Chang stammered, "H-how did you...?" Cutting himself off, he shook his head to cheer in the form of a sharp laugh, "Excellent work! You even remembered where to strike to render me useless for a heartbeat!"
Every bit as stunned as his family, Duo swallowed roughly when he finally caught his breath. Counter-turning the halves of his staff, he pulled it back and relaxed with a deep sigh. Violet eyes staring at his still weapon, he admitted softly, "I... I have no idea how the hell I just did that."
Quickly appraising himself, he noted the couple dozen of vertical and horizontal holes that had been cut into his shirt and pants. The slices made against him were not deep enough to have cut his skin, but they were placed to remind him how easily he could have been taken out a few times over.
It was beyond surreal to think that he'd managed to hold his own against the creature that had torn at him so.
Slowly approaching his pupil, Wufei sheathed his blade once more. "I'm not really concerned with how you pulled that off," he chuckled deeply. "What matters is that you did... when I had my doubts that you would ever land such a hit against me, let alone in our first real skirmish."
Reaching forward, he poked a scaly finger into the center of the teenager's chest. With a hiss, Maxwell retreated back to place a hand over the agitated skin that he could already feel bruising from the kick that it had received earlier. Waving over to the brunette, Chang requested, "Ice and bandages, please, Midi."
Not needing to be told twice, the motherly Infected was off again to get the ice from her estate. "You're a little sloppy in a few areas that we need to work on," the teacher told his student. The corner of his mouth curling up, he stated, "However, I think that you just might become a real force for Vampires to reckon with."
Blinking widely, Duo's mouth stretched into a brilliant grin. As he was opening his mouth to respond, he heard the door open and close again just before Midi appeared before him with a plastic bag filled with ice in one hand and a large roll of medical tape in the other.
"Shirt off," the brunette Infected commanded gently. Bemused, the teenager obliged by pulling the sweat-soaked cotton away. With a yelp when the cold pack was pressed against his already sore bruising, he bit his lip and suffered the tight winding of the bandages around his bare chest to hold it in place.
Her work finished, Midi appraised the smaller, bluish-black marks that were coming into view. "It's a good thing that Heero wasn't here to see this," she frowned deeply. Peering over to her scaly cousin, she said, "Whether or not he agreed to this, he would have found a way to have your head."
Chang voiced no argument to the sentiment, but he also did not seem the least bit apologetic. "I was told to train him as I would any other Preventer," he replied flatly, still set in his role as a mentor in the ways of battle. "If I hold back, all that would do is potentially welcome something worse to happen."
Nodding, Duo piped up, "He's right, Midi. I wanted this. 'Fei's only looking out for me." He pressed a quick kiss on the 'mother's' cheek when she still didn't seem very thrilled. Winking, he reassured, "No need to worry about me, ok?"
Reluctantly, the brunette smiled back and nodded, "Very well, then. I won't interfere unless called on again." Squeezing the boy's shoulder as she walked past him, she returned to her bench and actually seemed at more ease.
Wufei returned to his half of the 'ring,' removing his blade from its sheath again. His onyx-and-gold eyes narrowing on his cousin as he gripped the hilt in both hands, he smirked, "Again."
* * * * * *
Later that evening...
"No sign of the bastards yet, but no sign of another attack yet, either," Lady Une stated as she stared into the camp fire that she and her team sat around. "If anything, there is a great deal of relief in that." At either side of her, Heero and Trowa nodded their heads in agreement to that sentiment.
Of course they did not want another human to befall a terrible end at the hands of the Rogues. But there was still the overwhelming frustration for the Preventers that they were no closer to finding their enemies. Yet again, there was neither hide nor hair that could clue them to where they could hunt the monsters down.
Seeing the height of the flames lessen, Yuy rose as he announced, "I'll go get some more firewood."
In a flash, he disappeared into the dark, thick forest around them. Moments later, his teammates jumped at the sound of a very loud crack. Reappearing at the fire's edge with a massive tree trunk, the unruly-haired Infected set his huge bearing down and easily shaved it down with his bare hands.
"H-Heero," Trowa stuttered, wide-eyed and paler than normal as he looked from across the dancing flames in disbelief. "You actually tore a tree apart without any tools?"
Carefully shoveling shards of the trunk into the pit, his cousin shrugged, "Well, it was about to collapse from the weight of the snow on it. I just had to separate it from its roots and remove the branches."
Lady Une breathed, "Without any tools."
Finally catching onto their wonder, Heero straightened himself upright and focused on their faces. Shrugging, he frowned, "Well, I drank a medical bag of Duo's blood before we left for the hunt. I'm stronger than ever from it... I've been growing stronger every time I feed now."
When the golden, wide eyes watching him only grew, his shoulders slumped heavily at his sides. Shaking his head, he frowned, "Then... even though he is my Chosen, this strength that I'm finding is out of the ordinary?"
Biting her lip, the Commander nodded firmly, "Very out of the ordinary. Even though we still are learning more and more things when it comes to the bonds between our kind and livings, I've certainly never encountered anything like this."
"Quatre's going to have a field day when he hears about this," Barton smirked. "No doubt he'll want a sample of your blood to find out what's happening to you." In hearing how that sounded, he raised a hand as he reassured, "Not that it's a bad thing, at all. Having you capable of that kind of power could only be helpful to you and all of us."
A hand rubbing the back of his neck, Yuy stared into the fire as his thoughts wandered. Being the only Vampire of the two clans that was connected to a mortal, that had to be one explanation for the changes in him. And as Trowa said, there was nothing wrong with him becoming stronger as he was.
Still...
Taking a deep breath, Heero said quietly, "As soon as we can get a hold of him, we should inform Winner about this."
* * * * * *
Raw pain... everywhere.
It was the only thing resonating through Duo's mind as he lay on his back in his bed three nights later.
Stripped down to only his boxers, he couldn't even have the covers over him lest they agitate the dark bruises that spotted his body. In a couple places, bandages covered healing cuts. Too afraid to move and shift his aching joints, he stared up at his darkened ceiling as still as a stone.
But as sore as he was, the braided living couldn't recall many other moments in his life when he was as happy as he was then. Recalling his intense days of training with Wufei... of how he was only improving as quickly as he was in keeping up with the Vampire, he smiled to himself.
With a soft sigh, Maxwell reached up to take hold of the pendants resting against his bare chest. Lifting them up so that they were before his violet eyes, the multicolored lights flashing from the bulb of blood as it caught the moonlight reflected off his face.
As striking as the beautiful crystal was, Duo had his gaze settled on the gold coin beside it. Heero was going to be so proud of him when he came back home to learn how his Chosen was performing at his lessons. Whatever concerns the Original might harbor, he might second-guess those worries when he had a chance to actually see how the braided living was able to go toe-to-toe with as formidable a warrior as Wufei.
His heart breaking at the thought of his Other, the mortal lowered the pendants again, but held onto the coin. Rubbing it between his fingers, he silently said another prayer for his bonded to remain safe on his hunt and a return home soon.
There was a lot that Duo needed to say when he was with Heero again... things that he should have said for some time now.
Along with his excitement over that discussion, the living couldn't help his growing anticipation over what was happening to him now. More than ever, by experiencing whatever it was that was inside of him that was making him capable of doing the things he was doing in his skirmishes with Chang, he was finally coming to appreciate who he was.
For as long as he could remember, Duo always felt different. And then there was his mother's last words to him, pleading with him to never forget that he was special. Maybe even now he still had no idea what she meant by that, he now might actually be seeing for once what it was that made him so unique.
If the bonded ties between Vampires and their Chosen humans were as much fate as they were an even more profound and sincere connection than most people were ever lucky enough to find, perhaps there were more to Maxwell as well. What if all of the suffering he'd endured through the loss of his parents was for a deeper reason than their simply throwing their lives away?
The answers seemed to be closer and closer to seeing the light... just beyond Duo's reach now. And instead of that frightening him, possibly showing him something that he didn't want to see, it was an exhilarating feeling to think that he was about to unravel the biggest mystery in his life.
When the door opened and closed before a weight settled on the bed beside him the teenager never so much as flinched from the movement. He'd expected this presence to show up this evening. His violet eyes closing as a cold kiss was pressed against his forehead, he chuckled softly, "Welcome back, sis. How was the hospital?"
Giggling, Anna stretched out onto her side beside him, shrugging, "A typical few days in an ER in the middle of winter."
Duo opened his eyes to take in the redhead, noting the fresh bite marks in the pale skin of her neck left from Wufei in what was surely a fitting reunion between them. Though there was a pleased smile on the Irish Infected's face, the living now noticed the clouds floating deep within her golden eyes that he'd never caught before.
Once again, he made a mental note to have a word with Chang to discuss the fears and doubts that continued to plague his sister... when there was an appropriate time for that. He just hated thinking of Anna being anything but perfectly secure and happy in their relationship, which was the most important thing in her existence.
"Another gift?" Maxwell smirked as he reached over to tug on the small beaded bracelet on the Vampire's wrist. "You really do have a way with kids, sis."
Were she able to blush, the Infected's cheeks would have matched the red of her fiery hair. Ducking her head out of embarrassment, she grinned, "I just sat and talked with a little girl for a while in the waiting room until her mother was released when she gave me this. Children are so quick to accept and want to know my kind."
Her wistfulness fading, Anna waved a hand in the air to change the subject. Really taking a moment to appraise the bruises on her 'little brother,' she whistled through her teeth. "It's a damned good thing that Heero's not here. With any luck, those will be healed before he's back home," she commented.
Shifting to prop the side of her head on a bent arm, she smirked, "However, I see those marks as something to be respected since they're battle wounds of sorts. And Wufei tells me that he's beyond impressed with your performance these last few days." Gently running a hand through the living's bangs, she said, "Now, before I sing you to sleep, I want to hear all about what I've missed."
The corner of his mouth tugging up, Duo nodded and proceeded to go into the details of everything his sister wanted to know.
* * * * * *
Weeks later...
Patience truly was a virtue. Even the wicked, Meiran came to learn.
After weeks of sitting perched in the trees surround a certain clearing that she had staked out since the start of her 'holiday,' she finally sensed something moving through the woods that was not part of the wildlife roaming around.
Silently and carefully hopping from branch to branch of the thick pine trees, the Vampire took deep sniffs of the tainted blood in the air.
Rogue. There was no question that she was in the presence of one of those freaks that the Preventers had been hunting down.
Finally, Meiran would meet the creatures that could very well help her destroy her enemies- starting with Duo Maxwell.
Upon reaching the edge of the trees, the raven-haired immortal peered from her tall perch into the opening where a black-clad figure materialized in the darkness at the center of the opening. Standing before the dip in the snow where the last victim to fall to their kind's clutches had died, the hooded being stared downward.
"Back to the scene of the crime," the Infected whispered to herself with a smirk. Not allowing herself a moment's hesitation, she bolted forward in breakneck speed even for her heightened speed. Appearing just before the Rogue, her fangs grew in as she slowly stalked the last couple of feet between them in preparation to subdue the potential threat to herself.
With a waning growl, she greeted, "Now, we can go about this the easy way or the hard way. Whichever option you choose, you and I are going to have a little talk until we have an agreement between us. Do you understand?"
To her surprise, if was a young girl's giggle that responded. Very slowly, the Rogue turned around to face the Vampire as they said in a sing-song sweet voice, "We've been expecting you, Meiran."
Gasping sharply, the dark-haired vixen fell back a few steps. She knew that face watching her from one of the images she'd studied from the reports in her cousins' files. The shoulder-length, curly brown hair and smile were the same. However, her green eyes were encircled by a ring of silver.
But there was no question in Meiran's mind that she was staring at none other than Sharon Berber.
TBC...
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