I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standing on the edge of something much too deep
Its funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we cant be heard
-Lyrics to 'I Will Remember You' performed by Sarah McLachlan
Crimson Ties Part 70
Trowa rose from the couch of his cousins' living room when his wife returned from her visit with Josh along with Zechs and Noin. A sad smile on his face at the worried expression on Midi's face, the tall Latin Infected wrapped her up in a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.
"He's just so lost," the 'little mother' frowned deeply as she burrowed the side of her face into Barton's shoulder and enfolded her arms around him. "Even if he was a part of the attack on the Maxwell Church, the poor dear was only doing what he was forced to believe was right."
Resting his chin atop her head, Trowa reassured, "And I'm sure that your generosity is going to help Josh realize that we're not the monsters we've been portrayed to be. Anthony will be here shortly and we can still hope that his presence will be enough to spare his Other."
Midi sighed and nodded as she pulled back. A grin brightening her face, she stretched up onto her toes to press a soft kiss against her husband's lips.
The moment was broken when Treize and Lady Une entered the crowded room, their anxiousness palpable as they scanned the room to take in the souls present. As everyone turned to face him, the Councilman asked urgently, "Where are Quatre and Catherine?"
Pushing their chairs at the table back to get to their feet, Heero and Duo exchanged worried expressions. "They're sleeping," Yuy shrugged to his Commanders. "Shall I wake them?"
Only then noting the late hour ticking away on the grandfather clock, Khushrenada winced. "No, they need their rest," she replied, silently chastising herself for forgetting how their mortal friends required sleep. "We can fill them in later with whatever it is that Wufei insisted we be present for when he called us a moment ago."
Silver-and-violet eyes growing, Duo stammered, "D-does that mean he found Dorothy?"
"I found a lot more than your friend's sister," the scaly Infected responded as he and Anna entered the room at a brisk pace. Removing his laptop from under his arm, Chang set up a temporary station at the tall table when his brothers moved away. Their curiosity piqued, the others congregated to the couches facing the wall that his opened monitor aimed for.
Typing a few commands in, Wufei brought the small camera to life and the glowing image of a mug shot appeared for all to see. Captured with a friendly smile on her face was a beautiful girl with golden blonde hair that fell below the bottom of the picture. Her eyes a haunting pale blue, they held a spark of life to them.
Chang straightened himself from his bend over his laptop to face his audience. "Everyone, meet Dorothy Catalonia, the older sister and only sibling of Trent Catalonia," he announced.
"Trent... Catalonia?" Duo repeated, a deep frown etching across his face as he met his brother-in-law's golden eyes. "You mean to tell me that he's been going by an alias this whole time?" It was baffling to think that his friend had managed to exist for so long under such a deep cover of secrets and lies.
With a firm nod, the scaly Vampire answered, "It turns out that he and his sister come from a very wealthy upbringing, born and raised in Los Angeles until their parents were killed in a tragic car accident. Part of their substantial inheritance went to the courts so that Trent could legally have his identity changed to take on their mother's maiden name."
Lowering his head a bit, Chang cleared his throat and continued quietly, "Being a legal adult at the age of nineteen when they lost their parents, Dorothy bought a new home here in Virginia to be closer to some of their aunts and uncles. She and Trent lived in that estate together until her disappearance almost two years ago."
Slowly lowering himself to sit on the couch behind him, Maxwell blinked widely as he took all of the information in. What prior bit of rage he'd held onto for the young Hunter was soon replaced by a sincere sadness over the profound series of losses that he'd suffered. "Holy shit," he breathed.
With a shallow nod, Wufei typed a couple keystrokes as he said quietly, "It gets even better." At his command, the glowing image of a field was portrayed on the wall.
The summery shot of lush grass and flowers surrounded by a backdrop of leafy trees was almost a shock to behold considering the wintery land that was just outside. Through the grounds, a peaceful stream ran while flanked by banks of rock and sand. It was an euphoric shot.
Stepping around his station to stand beside the projected picture, the scaly Infected informed, "When his sister went missing, Trent insisted that the officers of the area take pictures of the sights that Dorothy frequently visited for any signs of foul play."
He raised a hand towards the projection, stating, "This was one of her favorite places to go to between her college courses. The shot was taken days after she vanished."
At that, Noin's eyes widened with a sharp gasp. "Son of a bitch," she whispered, her skin paling as she slowly approached the glowing frame as Anna moved to stand on the other side of the projection. "It's just like the others," the Councilwoman murmured so softly that Duo nearly missed it.
"I thought that you would see it," the redhead smirked to her fellow Tracker. Reaching up to run the end of her finger along the bank at the bottom of the image to cast a shadow there, she stated, "This is what I think to be the first site of the struggle."
Nodding, Lucrezia kept her eyes on the picture while replying, "That's what I'm thinking, too. The indentations in the sand and rock are the heaviest there, so she was caught off guard by his full weight before she managed to free herself."
Anna reached up to draw an invisible circle in the nearest hill a few feet from their first point of interest as she stated, "Then she was caught here and drug back to the water this way so that her attacker could control her." Slowly bringing her finger along the said course that her golden eyes saw, she stopped a few feet into the stream.
Finally blinking, Noin responded, "Yea. I can see the shift in the mud and rocks at the bottom of the waterbed. As much as she struggled, the bastard would have had to nearly drown her before he managed to subdue her."
Mesmerized in watching the Trackers in their work, seeing what his eyes failed to pick up in what looked to be an unscathed stretch of terrain, Duo listened and followed them intently. Even with the things that they were pointing out, he remained completely lost in envisioning what they picked up. But he was not about to question their skilled vision.
"He was alone when he did this," Noin growled through her teeth. "There are no other changes in the weight distribution to be found."
Gold-and-blue eyes narrowing, Anna hissed, "And he was sloppy. The bastard could have killed her, considering how long he'd held her under just to get the upper hand. And though he was able to fool the mortals working the case, his cleanup was nowhere near as thorough as it is now." In complete agreement, Lucrezia hummed and nodded.
Taking a step towards the Vampires, Treize inquired, "You both believe this to be Solo, then? It's likely that Dorothy was a victim of his as well?"
Suddenly reminded of the group around them, the Trackers blinked widely and looked on their Commander. Taking a deep breath, the redhead answered, "She was most likely his first, and if not, close to it then. His tactic for taking her was rushed, manic. It's very likely that he'd stumbled on her unexpectedly and acted without knowing the best way of handling her."
Heero chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. "The fact that this happened two years ago would further suggest that this was his first hit," he muttered. "But then we never have pinpointed exactly how long disappearances like this have been going on. It wasn't until the last few months when more and more were surfacing that we began to think Rogues were involved."
Further sinking in the sofa that he remained the only one to occupy, Duo's violet-and-silver eyes grew. There really was no telling how long his brother had been doing this to innocents... or how many minions he actually had. 'Fuck,' he thought to himself.
'My sentiments exactly,' Noin's voice replied through his mind. Sitting up, he snapped his head to look on the grinning Councilwoman. 'Sorry,' her kind timbre chuckled, 'I've been reading you to make sure that somehow you don't go blaming yourself for this somehow, the way that you almost always seem to do whenever something unpleasant comes up.'
A blush burning his cheeks as he ducked his head with a sheepish smile, Maxwell snorted mentally, "Um... thanks, I guess.' Their private conversation completely missed by the rest of the lot, their focus returned to the room just in time to catch the end of the discussion that had been taking place without them.
To put an end to the suggestions that had been thrown, Zechs smirked at his wife, "Well, we do have one way of finding whether or not Dorothy is working with Solo now." Wide-eyed realization spreading throughout the room, the immortals' gazes fell on Lucrezia.
Quickly catching up on the subject at hand, the mind-reader smirked, "As anxious as I am to use my ability on Josh to find that out, I think he's been through enough for the time being. I might have not had a lot of love for him before, but I can't help feeling bad for him now that I've had a chance to know the real him through his thoughts."
Midi was quick to throw in, "I agree. The poor dear's scared and alone. Pushing him before he's reunited with his Chosen might undo all of the progress that he's made so far."
"Yes. And speaking of which, we need to be off for the airport to collect our friends," Lady Une announced, turning towards her husband. "We could use the extra time we make up to ensure that their arrival is as discrete as possible."
Treize took her hand into his own for a tight squeeze as he grinned, "Right you are, love." Bowing his head to the scaly Infected, he praised, "Excellent work, as always, Chang. Your efforts might have just given us another edge in this war." Throughout the room, the other immortals nodded.
His chest swelling at the accolade, Wufei's lips curled into a wide smile and he bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you, sir," he all but whispered, straightening himself to meet his Commander's golden eyes. Chuckling softly when his wife seemingly appeared from thin air to wrap her arms around his neck, he leaned into the touch of her lips against his temple.
As he turned to his cousins, Khushrenada told them, "We'll inform you when we're nearly home. We might need help moving Anthony inside considering the bad shape he's already in." Zechs and Noin winced at that detail to their fellow Vampire's state and they exchanged concerned frowns.
Scanning all of the eyes around the room, he added, "The more of you that can be there the better. This union that we're bringing on will give us further knowledge to how deep Solo's influence in his Others actually runs." The anticipation that was already running rampant continued to surge as the Preventers nodded once again.
Duo bit his lip as he rose to his feet and laced his fingers through Heero's. Staring back on the glowing projection that was displayed on the wall across from them as the Infected turned to kiss his forehead, he mulled over Treize's words.
Fully knowing how profound and indescribably strong the bond was that he and his Vampire shared, the Reformer simply had to believe that even his brother couldn't undo that tie. Time and time again, the strength of that connection had been proven just by the examples present in that living room.
Besides, there was a time when few people existed that hated Infected more than Maxwell had when he was still a living. But there was no denying his feelings for Yuy, even before he came to fully understand that they were destined to be together.
More than wanting to have the war finished and won, the Companion held onto the faith that the tie would hold for the sake of the souls involved. The existences of countless Vampires and Others were held in the balance.
The meeting officially ended, Lady Une gently tugged on her husband's hand and led them from the room. Their pace swift and shoulders rigid with urgency, the Council figures disappeared beyond the door frame.
In hearing the front door to the estate close, Anna rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous gesture as she thought aloud, "I'll be sure to have some bags of blood from our storage available to Anthony in case things don't go as we hope. Every little bit can only help."
"Very good idea, Rose," Chang replied softly with a special smile only for her.
Squeezing Heero's arm against his chest before he released him, Duo slowly walked towards the image of the peaceful terrain where Dorothy Catalonia had spent her last living moments. Whether or not the lovely girl was lucky enough to not be killed in the attack, she was nothing like the creature she had been before Solo crossed her path.
A hand running through his bangs, the Reformer sighed deeply, "I really feel for Trent. Bad enough that he lost his parents, but to lose his sister as well..." Shaking his braided head, he muttered, "It must have killed him."
Rather than have his little brother further plagued by any more nightmares of Solo than he already was, Wufei quickly typed at his laptop to turn the projector off.
Drawing a deep breath when silver-and-violet fell on him, the scaly Vampire informed, "He did everything that he could to find Dorothy and or the person responsible for taking her, the last of his parents' inheritance used so that she wasn't forgotten."
Shoulders shrugging, he frowned deeply, "But there was nothing that the investigators could do without evidence or witnesses. Exhausting every angle they could, the search was called off and the case went cold. Of course, it's unknown to how he found the Hunter pack that he's a part of now, but he must have run into someone that was sympathetic to his situation."
"And who could blame him for wanting to find answers, whether they were the right ones or not?" Trowa commented quietly. "More than giving Trent a possible source to blame, namely our kind, the team that he came into no doubt provided him a sense of family that he's been missing. He was like a moth being drawn to a flame."
Clearing away the lump that had formed in his throat, Duo looked back to his family as he said, "Trent was still underage when his parents died, so he would still be a ward of the state of Virginia just like I was. That explains how he's able to live and attend school through his government grants until he can provide for himself."
Pained by that, his body sagged as the braided Companion sighed, "Shit, but we have way more in common than I thought. It makes me feel bad that I was ever as pissed at him the way that I was."
Heero approached to pull his lover against his side, reassuring, "You had no idea any more than we did, Duo. At least now we might actually have something that we can use to talk to him. If it turns out that Josh has seen Dorothy while he was with Solo, we could use that to not only give him what he's wanted all these years in finding his sister but we might even gain a few unlikely allies in the Hunters."
"I've already been thinking along those lines myself, Yuy," Zechs smirked. "Much as they despise out kind, believing us to be nothing more than monsters, the sole purpose of Hunters is to protect humanity against anything that threatens them. In this case, we have a common enemy."
Shivering, Midi rubbed her bare arms. "The thought of any one of you conversing with a Hunter pack is pretty... nerve-wracking to me," she mumbled while her husband draped an arm around her shoulders.
With a shrug, Relena admitted, "I'm no more thrilled by the notion; however, I do see the potential good that could come out of it."
Noin waved a hand in the air as she suggested, "All things to consider when the time comes." Facing her husband and sister-in-law, she grinned, "For now, let's focus on getting ready for our guests from across the pond." Merquise and Peacecraft chuckled softly before the trio of Vampires became blurs of themselves in the race back to their cluster of estates.
Left with his own family, Heero turned to gently brush a hand through the fall of bangs that shielded Maxwell's violet-and-silver eyes. When their gazes locked, the Infected asked in little more than a whisper, "How are you holding up?"
"Fine," Duo answered honestly, a small smile finally appearing on his face. "It's a lot to have to take in, but I'm kinda getting used to that by now." Snickering, his Vampire leaned in to hold a kiss against his forehead.
When the rest of their family approached, the Reformer focused on his sister. "So how is it that you and Noin managed to become such good trackers?" he inquired, content to remain in the loose hold of his lover.
Giggling, Anna replied, "Ah. That would be thanks to our experiences when we were livings. Noin was an escort for royal families traveling through the wooded areas and more dangerous of terrains while I had to live off the land of the Isle. We had to be good at seeing the signs of danger as well as hints to the wildlife that they'd left behind."
She tilted her head and shrugged, "Over the centuries, we only got better at reading our surroundings." Glancing to where the image of the peaceful stream had been displayed, she frowned, "Really, it's a blessing and a curse considering how there are some things I would rather not see."
"I get that," Maxwell murmured. Shaking his head to clear his head of the darker thoughts, he moved to jump onto his surprised lover's back by hooking his legs around the Vampire's waist and his arms around Yuy's neck.
An amused grin tugging his lips, the Companion snickered, "We better get to Treize and Lady Une's house if we want to meet the new arrivals." Heero wrapped his arms around Duo's legs with a wide, loving smile and a firm nod.
Perfectly happy to stay behind to keep an eye on Quatre and Catherine, Midi waved her family of Preventers off as they vanished in blurs of themselves.
* * * * * *
"Josh Morgan was a promising college student, a native of South Carolina visiting friends and family, when he vanished weeks ago," Doctor J informed his pupils. Standing at his pulpit beside the screen that displayed the image of the latest victim, he continued, "We received word from the Hunters stationed nearby that there was a suspicious familiarity to this case in ties to the other missing that we've looked into..."
These meetings never sat well with Trent. Seated a few rows back from the front, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Eyes dark-circled from the lack of sleep that he was suffering from, he fought the urge to outright groan.
Only partially paying attention to the details being passed on from his mentor, the junior did his best to not think of how this was just another in a long line of attacks similar to the one that befell his sister.
Dorothy might be gone, but the young Hunter was not about to let her memory fade away. The frustration over the lack of efforts that had gone into her disappearance still ran deep. And even if he only had this band of soldiers to fall back on and see that there were not others like her, then that was better than nothing.
At least she'd live on in some way.
"What has me the most worried is that we have no idea just how many other livings are falling at the hands of our enemies that have been allowed to walk amongst us," Doctor J went on, his teeth clenching and his face reddening with the rage that he allowed to come on.
Slamming his claw of a fist against the top of his pedestal with a crash that echoed through the spacious room, he shouted, "These Infected are nothing more than an abomination! Every one of them should have been destroyed before they'd had the chance to fester as they have! Now they share seats in our government!"
Throughout the room, heads nodded and voices muttered their own disgust. For her part, Hilde was the only one with a proud smile on her face as she watched her grandfather. This was, after all, the same preaching that her own family had spilled off onto her... to hate that which they couldn't understand.
In fact, most of the Hunters present were cut from the same hateful cloth of their own families. There was no reasoning with them to make them see any differently than they had all their lives. Infected were a disease in and of themselves and that was that.
'But not every Vampire deserves to be exterminated,' Trent thought to himself. Complete silence fell on the room and his head snapped up to find that Doctor J and everyone around him was staring at him.
Quickly realizing that he had actually voiced his sentiment, the junior's eyes widened and his skin paled. Without glancing over to Hilde, he knew that she was glaring at him. He could feel her stare burning into him.
Clearing his throat at a sudden thought, Greyson straightened himself in his seat and declared, "That's exactly what most mortals believe and that's the problem with out society. This whole 'live and let live' bullshit is going to be the demise of our own kind."
In an instant, the tension faded and those faces in his line of sight smirked. Nodding in agreement, other Hunters murmured amongst themselves to back the statement. Hilde eased, but she shot her classmate a warning glare when their eyes met.
His lips curling in a pleased smile, Doctor J replied, "How right you are, my boy. There needs to be a change in our fellow mortals' way of thinking. The only creatures that should live and be allowed to live are those of us who actually have beating hearts and lungs that need the air to breathe!" Fists rose into the air as the Hunters before him cried and shouted.
Nearly sagging in his chair, Trent reached up with the back of his hand to brush away the sweat that had formed on his forehead. As the yells and applause continued, Hilde leaned close to whisper harshly, "That was close. Make a mistake like that again and you won't be nearly as lucky since I won't be coming to help you."
Swallowing roughly, Greyson gave her a soft grunt that he understood. And he did. From that point on, he was going to be even more careful about what he said in the present company.
This was the front that he had to keep up for his survival. No matter how badly he wanted to scream out what he was slowly coming to see as the truth, he would have to keep that voice of reason silent.
Where before he felt as if her were home with these Hunters, Trent felt even more alone than ever before... even in their midst.
Using all of his willpower, he buried the true sense of himself to get through the next few hours.
* * * * * *
The winter was dragging on longer than usual for Dorothy. And yet, she almost dreaded to see it end as it would in a matter of weeks.
Only a couple short years ago, she so loved the spring and summer... the warmth... the extended daylight... the beautiful flowers and grass. Now, those things only brought her pained memories of how life had been for her once.
Staring out of the large hole in her Master's nearly empty throne room to look out to the frigid ocean, the Seer took a deep breath and released it in a sigh. "Why are you so sad?" a concerned, little voice asked. Blinking her silvered eyes, the Other turned to see the two children watching her from their toys.
A small grin spreading across her face, Dorothy focused on the young empath. "I'm just missing someone, TJ," she replied. "But I'll be fine, sweetheart." Content by that, Rachel and her 'brother' returned to playing with their dolls and miniature cars.
With another deep breath, Catalonia stared back out to the ocean. Try as she might to not think of her dear brother, Trent was ever present on her mind. But there would be no good in returning home to him now... not in light of the creature that she was forced become ever since that lone Vampire nearly drowned her.
More than coming an Other, Dorothy had a responsibility to carry out with her ability. That was so much more important than anything. Were it not for the hybrid, she wouldn't have survived her brutal assault. Solo ran through every strand of her being and she loved him as all the Others loved him.
Trent would have to go on believing that his sister was gone... no matter how it pained her to think of him in grief over her loss. Her brother was strong. He would find a way to survive without her.
'It's for the best,' she told herself.
...it's for the best.
* * * * * *
Less than an hour later...
Tilly was beside herself with worry over her frail friend lying across the bank of seats that she and her partner had made into a bed for him. Her body only slightly jostled by the very so slight bout of turbulence, she reached across from where she sat facing Anthony to run her hand over his sweat-coated brow.
Unconscious and wrapped tightly under a pile of blankets, Anthony sighed at the feel of her cool touch before his head turned away when a series of rasping coughs came on. Biting his lip, Perry unlatched his seatbelt to kneel beside the prone Infected and carefully held his wracking shoulders down so that he remained braced in his 'bed.'
"Gods, 'e's gettin' worse by the minute," the lovely, blonde Vampire breathed with a catch in her voice. Wringing her cold hands together she frowned deeply, "I hope that the Commenders have a way to help 'im"
Just then, the voice of the pilot announced through the private jet's PA system. "Honored guests, we are now approaching our destination. Please take to your seats and buckle in for our descent and landing."
Blinking his blue-and-gold eyes, Perry shifted to peer out through the window. Through the thin layer of clouds and darkness, he could make out the glow of thousands of lights lining the quickly approaching coast of the United States. "Well," he sighed, "we're gonna find out what dey have planned shortly."
TBC...
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