Anytime you need a friend I will be here
You'll never be alone again So don't you fear
Even if you're miles away I'm by your side
So don't you ever be lonely Love will make it alright
-Lyrics to 'Anytime You Need a Friend' performed by Mariah Carey
Crimson Ties Part 79
Lying back with his head in Heero's lap as they occupied one of the couches in Treize's living room, Duo held his left hand up before his violet-and-silver eyes so that he could continue to stare at the silver band on his ring finger. Still shocked over his engagement even now after all of their friends and family had had the chance to wish their congratulations before seeing to the Hunters, he commented softly, "I don't think that this really hit me yet."
His cold fingers gently running through his Companion's bangs, Yuy snickered, "I know what you mean." Peering down at Maxwell, he smirked, "If it's still a little hard for you to believe, imagine being in my shoes after having to wait as many centuries for this as I have. For a long time, I doubted that I would ever find my Other, let alone have a marriage to look forward to."
Seated on the opposite couch, Anna lifted her head from Wufei's shoulder at the distant sound of a cheerful tune being hummed down the hallway. The smile that was already on her face growing, she giggled, "Oh, not to worry. It's all about to get real in just a moment here." Biting his lip as their brothers frowned in confusion, Wufei chuckled under his breath in amusement.
Propping himself up by his arms, Duo had just opened his mouth to ask what the redhead meant when Midi walked briskly into the room. Notepad and pen in hand, the 'little mother' moved with purposeful steps for the couch where the newly engaged pair were stretched out.
Taking a seat on the armrest closest to Heero, her sweet grin bore an air of determination that matched her fixed, golden gaze as she prepared to jot down notes. "Now," she began in a singsong while turning to face her cousins, "we have a lot of ground to cover in the planning for your big day, so I suggest we get started on some of the details straight away."
Anna's head fell back with a loud, full round of laughter. Checking the antique grandfather clock in the corner, she nudged her scaly husband and winked, "Not even fifteen minutes since the announcement. I told you that she would be at this before a half-hour passed."
Chang nodded with a half-hearted sigh as he reached into the pocket of his jeans to produce a ten dollar bill from his wallet that he passed over to his smirking bride when she held her hand out him. Where Heero and Duo were only just on the verge of laughter up to then, they fell apart at that exchange.
Humphing, Midi propped her fists on her hips and raised her nose in the air to the pair across from her. "Wufei," she chided, "you really should have known me better. There are few things that I take more seriously than weddings. That's especially the case when the event surrounds anyone in my family."
"I know," the scaly Infected replied with a roll of his eyes with a small smile on his face that gave away the humor behind it. "How could I have forgotten considering what you went through for us?"
Pointing the point of her pen at him, the slight Latin Vampire grinned, "And we still haven't finished discussing the finer points of your vow renewals, so we will have to have a talk about that as well. Don't think for a second that you're going to get away with a just small service." Both Anna and Wufei ducked their heads at the warning, mentally noting to make sure that their 'mother's' good nature did not turn into frustration.
Midi shifted to look back on her cousins beside her, smiling, "Seeing as how we are starting from scratch with the two of you, there is a lot more work to be done." Setting the pen to paper once again, she asked, "Have either of you decided on a time of year when you'd like to get married since that will likely dictate the location?"
Wide-eyed, Heero and Duo exchanged surprised blinks as the braided hybrid completely pushed himself to sit upright. "Actually, no we haven't," he admitted on both their behalves.
Folding his arms in his lap, he leaned forward to meet the brunette Vampire's brown-and-gold eyes as he shrugged, "With everything else that's going on, I just assumed we would wait until the war with Solo and the Others is over before we get that all sorted out."
"How much could really be involved in planning a wedding, anyway?" the Original inquired.
Their cousin's jaw fell open as her eyes grew in disbelief. "Seriously?" she all but shrieked in a panic. Pressing the pen to each finger, representing the details, she rattled off, "There's the color arrangement, the food to be prepared for the living guests, the music, the type of flowers, the theme if you have one, the guest list, the invitations, the suits, the first dance song, the ceremony denomination and vows, the-"
As she went on and on, Wufei bit his bottom lip to contain his laughter as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back as his brothers physically reeled over the list. Shaking her head, Anna giggled to her husband, "That's our Mom."
Waving his hands in the air, Duo called over his cousin, "Whoa, Midi! Okay, we got it!" Once the Latin Infected stopped and smirked at him in waiting, the braided Companion met his fianc¨¦'s gaze and asked, "You okay with handing those details over to her expert care since she has more experience in this stuff?"
Too overwhelmed to even think of where to begin with that long list, Heero all but sighed in relief, "Yes." Grinning to their cousin, he declared, "We trust your call on all of those things. Of course we'll look over the guest list, location and date later. But color, flowers, theme and everything else is all yours. Whatever you come up with it'll be perfect and we'll love it."
"Great!" Midi cheered, a brilliant smile spreading across her face. Hoping to her feet, she embraced the engaged couple as she promised, "You won't be disappointed." Her free hand brushing down the front of her apron, she sighed, "Now I have something to keep me occupied until this nightmare is over." That said, she slipped from the room as she made her own notes on the pad of paper to where she could start in her project.
Wrapping an arm around his fianc¨¦'s shoulders, Yuy chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Good of you to notice that she just wanted something to make her feel useful while the rest of us are engaged in stopping Solo," he complimented. Duo smiled knowingly with a bow of his head.
It was very typical of their 'little mother' that she needed to have her mind on a task that she would be able to handle down to the finest of details. At least planning the wedding would ebb her need to clean all of the mansions from top-to-bottom before any dust had built up since the last time she tidied every nook and cranny.
Since it wouldn't be long before the offensive against Solo was taken, the timing for keeping Midi busy for the sake of her sanity couldn't have been better.
Duo's nerves were beginning to creep back on him as he asked his scaly brother, "Still nothing on where Trowa is?" Since setting foot in Treize and Lady Une's estate, the hybrid and his Chosen had been informed on their Latin cousin's disappearance. Any call made to his cell phone went right to voicemail in a sign that wherever the Vampire was he was beyond the reach of service.
But most troubling of all was that Wufei was unable to see Barton even with the gift that he'd acquired from a certain Councilwoman. Shaking his head, Chang frowned deeply, "No. Just when I think I'm starting to get a fix on him, he phases back out through his teleportation. Relena's having the same problem."
Raising a finger to tap it a few times against his right temple, the Infected informed, "I've been communicating with her through our thoughts while she's locked away studying her power. I'm only as good at seeing with it as she is, but Trowa's constant location hopping isn't helping the situation."
As he chewed on the inside of his cheek, Maxwell nodded shallowly as his thoughts ran over that information.
If his cousin was moving around that much, there was a good chance that he had a pretty strong feeling to where the scientists' base was thanks to Isabel's journal. Barton never was one to act simply on blind impulse. Were he to do that with his gift, he might as well span the whole globe in the hopes of getting lucky enough to find that needle in a haystack.
No. Trowa had homed in on where he needed to look. Duo was certain of that. All that they could do now was wait for the Original's return to see if his hunch had pointed him in the right direction.
Set on edge by just sitting around, the Companion set the excitement over his engagement aside and rose to his feet. "I'm going to check on Treize and the others to see if there's anything I can do," he announced. Shrugging, he mumbled, "If not, I could always talk more with Josh to see what more he might be able to tell us about Solo and the others. I just... hate not doing... something."
Arms flailing overhead, he snorted, "Hell, if I have to, I'll take Midi's place in cleaning the houses while she's off wedding planning." Understanding smiles and deep chuckles responded as the rest of his family stood up.
Just as they were about to move from the living room, Heero bit his lip and said, "Actually, I'd like to have a moment with my sister alone if I may." Anna blinked in surprise at that, but she locked herself in place where she stood at attention for whatever it was he wished to see her about. With a knowing grin, Duo nodded firmly and went with Wufei to disappear beyond the doorway.
Smiling, the redheaded Infected approached her creator as she questioned in a sweet and ready, "Yes, brother?"
When she was caught up in a pair of tight arms as Yuy buried his head in her shoulder, she froze in surprise. Quickly recovering, her grin returned as she closed her eyes and held him back with just as much force.
"I never would have made it to see this day if you hadn't kept me alive all these years, Anna," Heero whispered thickly when he pulled back enough to rest his chin on the top of her head. "And I don't only mean because you allowed me to feed from you, but for being everything to me... my best friend and my saving grace."
When she opened her shimmering, gold-flecked eyes, the Irish Vampire whimpered, "Heero... don't. It's not as if you haven't been there for me as well. You know that I never expected recognition for any of that. I'm all too happy to help you any way I can."
Snickering, Yuy kissed her forehead and held her more loosely as their gazes met. "I know," he replied softly as a stray tear rolled down his own face. "All the more reason why I love you, sister. The smile on his face spreading all the more, he stated, "Which is why I would be most honored if you be my Maid of Honor. There is no other creature I would want more to stand up with me at the altar when Duo and I are wed."
"O-oh, Heero," Anna breathed, the tears spilling from her widened eyes. Beaming, she launched herself at him to throw her arms around his neck as she cheered, "Of course! Forever, yes, I'll be thrilled to do that! I love you, too." She rained kissed on the Original's face before he pressed their lips together in a long peck.
Resting their foreheads together, the Japanese Infected whispered sincerely, "Thank you." He reached up to dry his face, chuckling, "That was the only detail that I had worked out in my head that I wanted to see to. Now I know everything about that day will be perfect." With a soft laugh, he added, "Especially now that Midi is taking the reins."
The redhead giggled, "Of course it'll be perfect. I'll even allow Midi to get me in the frilliest, girliest dress that she cam muster if you want." Wincing, she thought aloud, "Of course, we'll have to think of a way to word that so that she doesn't go too over the top there. If I could make it through the day without looking like a parade float, that'd be nice."
His head falling back with a loud round of laughter, Yuy shook his head when he recovered. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen," he promised, snickering anew at the relieved sigh that escaped his sister as her shoulders relaxed.
Nudging her creator when she brushed away the last of her tears, the Irish immortal grinned, "My deepest thanks for that."
Suddenly overcome by a certain memory, she tilted her head and asked, "Do you remember our conversation at the Shannon River on my wedding night? I told you that your Other was going to be special. Duo's easily one of the most amazing creatures I've ever known, even setting his hybrid status aside. I'm so excited that he's a member of our family."
Heero nodded, "I remember that talk vividly. You couldn't have been more right. I also happen to know first-hand that Duo is just as appreciative to be welcomed in the way with the kindness that you, Wufei, Trowa and Midi have shown him."
Clearing his throat of the lump that had begun to form there, he extended an arm out to her, smirking, "Now, we get emotional again and have to explain why we're red-eyed to our Others, shall we rejoin them?"
Gracefully slipping her arm through his with a brilliant grin, Anna responded cheerfully, "Lead the way, dear brother."
* * * * * *
"So what is this big surprise that you've been hinting about?" Catherine inquired as she began to descend the stairs that led down into the Khushrenada's basement. Before her, Treize and Lady Une exchanged conspiring smirks and deep chuckles without looking back at their mortal charge.
Try as she might, the young scientist had not been very successful in keeping the excitement from her voice. Her new 'adoptive parents' had already done so much for her by taking her in when she had no one else to turn to and nowhere else to go.
It almost didn't seem right to be as anxious as she was over their recent announcement that they had a gift for her on top of it all.
Peering over her shoulder, Une smiled, "Well, we are no where near finished with this project, mind you. However, I believe that what we have arranged here so far will be a very good start for what you need to begin your future career."
Catherine blinked widely at that. Career? Then that meant...
Quickly descending the last few stairs after the Vampires, the living turned the corner at the bottom to freeze with a sharp gasp and wide eyes. An excited cry bubbling from her, she slapped her hands over her mouth when her jaw dropped away. Pleased grins spread across her guardians' faces as they stepped back so that she could slowly walk the floor to take everything in.
Everything about the whole of the basement had been changed. Walls had been knocked out where they could to open the space into one large area. Even the holding cell had been cleared away, likely moved to one of the other estates so that even more room could be spared. On the walls, large shelving units rounded the space as many of the weapons that had been spared from Howard's base were set up to be displayed there.
A computer station had been set up in the far end, already decked out with come of the redhead's personals to give it come color and personality. Close by, glass cases waiting to be filled with her creations were spread out, glistening under the bright overhead lights. And nearly every manufacturing tool that a weapons creator could hope to possess were sitting on the other half of the room- brand new and from the top of the line in quality.
Lowering her hands from her mouth, Catherine breathed, "This is... the best room ever." Releasing a howl of a laugh, she sprang for the snickering Vampires to hug them tightly with an elated, "Thank you so much! This is incredible!"
As soon as she released the immortals, she ran to look over the metal cutters, mechanical bolt screws, blade dicers and all of her new 'toys.' Shaking her head, she continued to scan the equipment, grinning softly, "Pop would have been so jealous if he saw some of this gear."
Treize's grin saddened a bit at that. "Well fortunately, Lady Une and I had spent as much time in his base as we did to have a good idea to the machines he used," he stated. "Your list was helpful, but we wanted to make sure that you had the finest of everything that we could provide you. If you're going to be working for the Preventers, these should help you make some incredible weapons."
"Oh, they will do that," Bloom muttered under her breath. Her determination to follow in her grandfather's footsteps was unwavering.
Now that she had such a start in being able to see her dream to fruition, nothing was going to hold her back. Only just starting with some of her own designs, the sky would be the limit over the next years that she would have these devices at her disposal.
Already, the redheaded living was thinking of how to begin production on her first invention. The mental image of the tool that her grandfather had only set to paper as a pet project filled her mind along with the best ways of bringing it to life.
Relieved to see the young scientist smiling a true smile again for the first time since coming into their care, Treize grinned, "This is only the start of what we plan on bringing in. But since we're well aware of how anxious you've been to pick up where Howard left off, we knew that this would be enough to get you started. As distracted as you've been between your semester staring back up and moving your things in, it was pretty easy to keep this a secret from you with the help of Zechs, Noin and Relena."
Biting her lip, Catherine focused back on the Council figureheads and frowned, "There's no way I could possibly thank you enough for all of this."
"Well, there is no thanks needed," Une reassured kindly. "Truth be told, as much as this was for your happiness, we also need your expertise to help the Preventers. I have no doubt that you will create magnificent weapons that will continue to make our responsibility of protecting the peace between livings and Vampires much easier."
Shoulders setting back with the task presented to her, Bloom's face broke out a wide smile. This was exactly what she had wanted, to fill in her grandfather's shoes when he was gone to be the one helping the fight against any threat to mortals and Infected alike- be that threat Rogues, Others or whatever else should ever rise up from here out. This was her moment to shine... her chance to make her mark in the world.
Not needing to hear Catherine's acceptance when it was clear she could not find her voice, Khushrenada was able to understand her resolve through the stern look in her eyes. Chuckling deeply he nodded, "Very good, dear. We'll leave you to get yourself set up." gently looping an arm around his wife's shoulders, he led them back up the stairs.
As soon as she was alone once more, the redhead beamed and rubbed her hands together. "So awesome," she whispered to herself softly while gazing around her new lab before she crossed the room to her personal station where her grandfather's notebooks were waiting.
Turning the desk lamps on and taking up her chair, she gripped the first pad, already well aware of what was inside. "Now," she smirked as she began to page through, "time to really get acquainted with this beauty."
* * * * * *
Noin shook her head in amusement when she entered the grand meeting room where Doctor J remained the only Hunter still awake and typing away at his laptop as her friends quietly conversed with Anthony and Josh at the further end of the long table. "Nice try, love," she smirked at the old man, "but your thoughts betray you."
His shoulders drooping with a deep sigh, the image of the scientist melted away to reveal a very disappointed, pouting Zechs as others laughed and snickered. "I forgot about that," he sighed as he closed the laptop before him. Grinning to his wife, he declared, "I'll be sure to remember not to think anything the next time I try to trick you."
Lucrezia snorted and rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. "I've been so wrapped up, fascinated in the things that I've been picking up through Relena's thoughts as she works out her new sight that I completely lost track of the time," she commented. Tilting her head, she asked her husband, "Any word on the Hunters' progress before they called it a night?"
"As it turns out, there are dozens of packs across the States like the one that J started here that the old man was aware of," Merquise answered, a layer of awe in his voice. Blinking widely, Noin started at that. The wonder in her partner's voice was understandable considering how unnerving the reality of so many going undetected for as long as they had set in.
It was a remarkable feat on one hand, and a very worrisome matter on the other.
Shrugging, Zechs continued, "Word is spreading quickly thanks to the doctor and his followers. Already, there have been responses of interest to help stop the Others. Several Hunters are about to embark on a trip here to speak with us one-on-one. So, it's safe to say that the recruitment is going well."
From the other half of the room, Josh frowned deeply, "I know that there's a lot of concern from them over having to hurt or even kill their own in the Others. And I know that it's everyone's intent to not have our stand against them resort to that, but I personally can't see how there won't be losses on both sides."
All eyes turned to fall on the blonde Companion. Swallowing roughly, Josh met his lover's eyes. With a sad smile, Anthony shifted their chairs closer together and reached a hand on his partner's arm to squeeze it. "Go on," the Infected urged gently. "I know it's painful to think back to your time under Solo's control, but anything you can share may be of a great assistance to us."
With a deep breath, Josh gazed back on his friends and explained, "There are many Others who have no regard for their own well-being. They're almost crazed for killing Vampires, it's their every thought. Even Solo can't trust them to have enough of a mind to carry out anything but attacking the Infected when the time comes."
Memories of the dark night that he had been sent out plagued the Companion as he all but whispered, "Only a handful were allowed to partake in the attacks that happened weeks ago, and even then they were only allowed to join in. They were allowed to run wild with their need to destroy any and everything in their way."
Blinking, Wufei muttered, "I was able to tell a difference between them and the Others like yourself when Trowa and I were in Howard's base. The ones that seemed to have their wits more retreated before we could harm them while the rest came at us headlong.... there was a certain spark that lacked in their eyes... that madness that you're speaking of."
Happy and relieved that he was understood, Josh sat up and nodded enthusiastically, "Yea. You definitely could see that just by looking at them. They just... don't care about anything."
In the nearest corner behind the Companion, Perry pushed himself up from the wall that he had been leaning against, his gold-ringed eyes widening in realization.
"My God," he breathed in his thick, English accent. "Der have been Vampires dying out since this whole uprising began. You 'spose dat maybe those Others have lost their intended Chosen and so have lost der desire to even live?" Gripping horror ran rampant throughout the room as the possibility took hold of the lot present. Their eyes growing and skin paling, they looked on each other in panic.
For Duo, he already knew that the British Infected had it right. Having spent weeks without Heero after sending him away, he knew the impact of being without his Chosen. There was no sense of direction without the Original in his life... only emptiness and despair.
With their intended mates falling under Solo's influence, help and knowledge had come too late for many of those Vampires that had been walking the earth in search of them. Their tie severed, those poor creatures faded away only to leave behind the livings that had been destined to become their Companions.
And now those Others were without their guiding forces to keep them together. They would gladly lose their own lives if it meant taking out the creatures that they believed were responsible for what had happened to them. Hating the Vampires as they did, vengeance was the only thing giving them a sense of purpose now.
Suddenly, the gravity of just how big a threat Solo's army was set it.
Josh was right. There would be losses on both sides. And many of them.
Before anyone could dwell long over that horrifying notion, everyone in the room jumped when a presence materialized from the blur that it had been in its race to the doorway. Leaning against the frame, Barton panted heavily as he looked over the lot inside with a haunted look in his gold-and-emerald eyes when hey rested on Duo.
"Trowa?" Duo frowned, slowly rising to his feet.
Swallowing roughly as he caught his breath, the Latin Vampire informed in a ghost of a whisper, "I found the base where you and Solo were born."
TBC...
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