Do I really want to know myself
Do I want to see
Why I'm wonderin' every morning
Who's it gonna be today?
-Lyrics to 'The Other Side of Me' performed by Anouk
Crimson Ties Part 80
Midi fought the whimper of loss that came on when her husband's fangs retracted from the side of her neck that they had plunged into. The wave of euphoria that came from his drinking of her was quickly replaced by her growing concern when that haunted look in his gold-and-emerald eyes remained as he righted himself.
Shoulders sagging, Trowa rested their foreheads together and sighed to her, "Thank you, my love." Wiping the droplet of blood from his bottom lip with the back of his hand, he muttered, "I needed that."
Happy for their bit of privacy that they had been granted in Treize and Lady Une's kitchen, he pulled his wife into a fierce embrace and buried his head in her shoulder.
It was so rare that Barton's resolve ever crumbled like this and so it only scared Midi all the more as she rubbed his back reassuringly. "Is it... really that bad?" she asked in a breath, her voice dripping with the same fear that was wracking her lover.
Finally pulling himself together at that, the tall Latin drew a deep breath and straightened himself again. "It's not very reassuring," he admitted, a deep frown marring his handsome face.
Running a hand through the hair at the top of his head, he stated, "Going off of what's left of the base, we're up against one hell of a force in Solo. It's a very good thing that Treize insisted that we learn as much as we can from what made him the way he is before launching our offensive against him."
The 'little mother' bit her lip and gave a shallow nod, too caught up in her growing concern to find her voice.
She was already at her wits end for her family as they prepared to take on the hybrid and his Others as it was. Now seeing through her husband's eyes and hearing in his voice more to what they were working against, her heart would have been racing if it were still beating.
Slowly turning her head, Midi looked at the pad of paper that was sitting on the table across from where they stood. Already, she had pages of notes jotted down for Heero and Duo's wedding.
For just one terrible moment, she wondered if there would even be a wedding... if her efforts would all be for naught should anything happen to one or both of them.
If either the Vampire or the Companion die in this face-off, the other would soon follow as one could not go on existing without the other... just as she could never live without Trowa should the worst come of him... the same as it would be for Wufei and Anna.
Pushing those dark thoughts away as she shook her head vehemently, the slight Infected swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. Nothing good would come out of obsessing over such dark thoughts. Whatever it took, she had to keep her wits about her, had to remain hopeful that all would end well.
Instantly recognizing his wife's change in demeanor, Trowa whispered, "Oh, Midi, I'm so sorry." Pulling her tight against his chest once more, he berated himself as he growled softly, "I should have been more mindful of how this is effecting you before I went on like that. You know whatever happens, we'll all go into this with the utmost caution so that we come out of it together."
With a deep breath, the other Vampire turned her head to rest her cheek on his shoulder. "I do know that," she smiled sadly. "But I can't deny my fretting forever when something like this is in the works. I just look anxiously to when this nightmare will finally be over so that there wouldn't be a need for the concern as I sit back while the rest of you go off fighting." She felt a soft kiss press against the top of her head in response.
"Not much longer, if I had to guess," Barton reassured quietly. "The closer we get to understanding Solo, the sooner we'll be able to pinpoint his location now that Josh's memory of it has been erased since his turning into a Companion. Once we have that, we'll be able to close in on him and end the threat that he's brought down."
Sensing the approach of the end as well, Midi nodded against his shoulder and took what comfort she could from that. All that she would focus on was sitting with her loved ones and any talk about this being the talk of a thing of the past. She would take her strength in that happy thought... no matter how far it was even in how close it may have been nearing.
Gently pulling back so that she could grin up at her husband, she giggled, "Well, there is happy news that you missed while you were off traveling. You were so quick to see me that you haven't been updated on what's happened."
Taking his hand in a firm hold, she pulled him after her with a smiled, "Come and have a word with our cousins." Trowa blinked his gold-flecked eyes in confusion, but willingly followed after his bride without a word until they reached the living room where the rest of their immediate family was waiting.
Duo was pacing anxiously back and forth over the floor as he had been from the time that Trowa appeared with news of finding the base where he had been born.
Patient and kind as he was in giving the Latin Vampire a moment alone with Midi, the braided Companion looked about ready to jump out of his skin from the anxiety that was building up on further word. Freeing in his steps, his silver-and-violet eyes fell on Barton.
And in that turning of his body, the silver band on his left ring finger caught the sunlight that was pouring into the room just right to glimmer at the movement at the same time that Heero appeared at his other side.
His gaze fixed on the band, realization flooded Trowa's growing eyes as he gasped sharply. "So, it's official, then?" he asked with a wide, hopeful smile. His cousins grinned and nodded their heads firmly.
Closing the distance between them, the tall Infected chuckled deeply, "Took you two long enough. Congratulations."
Arms opening, he exchanged a tight embrace with his fellow Original before gripping Maxwell's shoulders and stating, "I would say 'welcome to the family,' but you have already been a part of it since the night we first met you. That said, I am honored that you are one of us."
Truly moved by those words, Duo's face threatened to be split by the smile that spread across it. "Thanks, Tro. Coming from you, that means a lot," he replied as he shared a tight, one-armed embrace with the Latin immortal.
Sighing as he just managed to keep his tears back, he beamed, "I'm the one who is really glad to be accepted by all of you the way I have been." Heero beamed in pride as he gently pulled his lover against his side. Leaning into his Vampire, the braided Companion rested his head on a strong shoulder.
Barton peered over to his wife, smirking, "And how far along are you in the big day's details? Knowing you, I'm sure you already have the plans set to make it be the envy of a royal wedding." When Heero and Duo shared a wide-eyed look at Midi's smug grin, Wufei and Anna snickered quietly.
"Well, this is the matrimony between an Original and his long-lost existence mate who both happen to be related to us," the 'little mother' defended with a nonchalant shrug.
Her smile brightened into what could only be described a the same expression of a child that had just woken to Christmas morning. "Actually, I've only just begun the ground work as I was granted free rein on the planning," she giggled excitedly. "I'm going to be busy for months on end with the set-up alone."
Eyes filling with understanding, Trowa gazed back on his cousins. Smiling warmly, he mouthed a sincere, 'Thank you.'
Fighting their snickers, Yuy and Maxwell returned his grin and nodded once more. If anyone could see through their offer as a means of occupying the little fretter of the family, it would be her husband. Knowing that Midi would have her hands full and mind on something other than the struggle to come, the Latin Original could have that peace of mind.
Loathe as he was to put a rift in the pleasant feelings that were running rampant, Duo's frayed nerves refused to keep him silent any longer from finding out everything that he could about his twin brother and the brief past that they had shared.
"So... you found the base?" he asked softly, his smile slipping away. Recalling that pale, haunted expression on his cousins' face when he'd reunited with them moments ago, he swallowed roughly as Heero's arms around his shoulders tightened their hold.
Wufei sent out an announcement through his thoughts to the Khushrenada and Merquise clans that they were about to discuss his cousin's findings. One at a time, the Council members filtered into the room. Even Relena had emerged from her self-confinement with Quatre at her side so that they could also hear first-hand what their friend had to share.
Drawing a deep breath, Trowa managed to suppress the shiver that wanted to course through him. "Yea. Our hunch was right that your mother's journal would help in narrowing down the location," he replied, straightening his back and focusing on the matter at hand.
Slowly reaching back behind himself, he removed the thick little book from his back pocket before he held it out to the Companion, a measure of respect and honor in the gesture as he stated, "And I thank you for trusting me with something so important to you. Isabel was quite the remarkable creature."
Maxwell bit his lip as he carefully accepted the journal back into both of his hands. Though his mother may never have known it, she may have very well spared not only them but every being in the world with the words that she had written down. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he bowed his head at the compliment and hugged the book to his chest.
"Turns out the scientists' base was stationed deep in one of Antarctica's most barren stretches," the tall Vampire informed everyone. Shaking his head, he added, "I was pretty amazed to find that it was only a full day's worth of walking away from the Infected prison."
Unable to contain his surprise, Treize blinked his widened eyes. "That... would make a great deal of sense for them to make their camp there," the handsome Vampire thought aloud, "no one would think to look anywhere near there for suspicious activity from Infecteds and livings alike." Trowa nodded earnestly in agreement.
Zechs rubbed his chin, grumbling, "Right under our damn noses the whole time. If there had ever been notice of a missing Vampire, there would have been a search for Isabel, but the yearly count in is only to confirm that there are no new Vampires being created. There's never a concern if the number of our own decreases."
That was a very sad reality... one that never sat well with the Infected. If their bloodline was to die off, not a single human would so much as raise an eyebrow in concern. However, if a living were to vanish as the intended Companions were, searches were raised up and there would be an outreach to the public for help in finding the lost.
Of course the scientists that had taken Isabel knew that. And so they had used that to their advantage at the fullest extent.
Rather than dwell over that unhappy thought, Noin chewed on the inside of her cheek before commenting to the Latin Original, "You used the word 'was' in describing the base... that it 'was' stationed close to the prison." Tilting her head, she asked, "Am I correct in taking it, then, that it is no longer being used at this present time?"
Against his best defenses, Trowa could not contain his visible shudder when it came on this time. That distant, troubled cloud returned to his eyes as he responded in a near whisper, "N-no... it doesn't look to have been used anytime in the last decade at my best guess."
Though he was aware that neither Lucrezia nor Chang were the type to pry into thoughts without announcing, he still purposely kept his mind blank of the images that had troubled him for all of their sakes. With a deep breath, he suggested softly, "I think it'd be best if you all saw it for yourselves."
Subconsciously, Duo took a step forward at the comment. Little did he know until then that he actually had hoped to see the base for himself.
The few days that he'd spent there were not even a passing memory and the thought of being in the facility was not exactly a welcoming thought before. But now, he actually hoped to see where he'd spent his only times with his mother and father... with the brother that he had yet to know other than through his terrible acts.
His enlarged eyes blinking, Quatre was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he raised his hand in the air. "Can I come along?" Shifting his weight back and forth to sway as a child would, he outright begged, "Please?" he requested anxiously. Giggling, Relena looked on the young scientist fondly as she shook her head in amusement while the rest of their friends snickered.
Lady Une's warm smile faded as she looked on the braided Companion once everyone began to come down from their laughter. "I believe that should be up to Duo," she declared. Biting her lip, she frowned, "After all, this is a very personal matter to him, seeing how this involves his natural family. I already feel a bit strange, myself, invading such a private thing even if it is to help learn more about what we may be up against in Solo."
"O-oh," the hybrid stammered, blinking widely in surprise. Grinning, he reassured the Councilwoman, "It means a lot to me that you would consider my feelings that way. But I don't mind the company, and I don't think of all of your being there as an invasion at all."
Looking on his college roommate, he smirked, "You're more than welcome to come along if you want, Quat. I know that if anyone would appreciate whatever it is we may find there it's you."
Who knew what the genealogist would find at the base that others in his field would kill to get their hands on? This was a chance to learn what the first men and women who worked with a pair of hybrids came to discover through their research.
Unable to hide his excitement, Winner thrust a punch through the air as he cheered, "Yes!" Blushing when the Infected and Companion alike laughed anew, he smiled sheepishly to his classmate, "I mean, thank you, Duo!"
Relena let out another soft giggle and took a firm hold on the living's arm. "Come along, Quatre," she urged. "If you're going to be touring in Antarctica with us, I want to make sure that you're dressed appropriately. Unlike the rest of us, you'll actually feel the cold and I don't want you falling ill because you forgot to bundle up."
Ducking his head, the scientist's face blushed an even deeper shade of red in having to admit to himself that it would have been like him to let that slip his mind. Without protest, he followed the lovely Infected from the room. Just before they disappeared around the corner, Peacecraft peered over her shoulder to the others and promised, "We'll be back shortly."
"Actually, it might not be a bad idea for us all to dress warmly for this little venture," Anna commented softly.
When confused gazes settled on her, she locked onto her little brother and explained, "You're still pretty new in your change. Even if you wouldn't physically be affected by the cold, your mind may not be as prepared to accept that when we're all surrounded by snow and ice."
Heero hummed thoughtfully, before he nodded to his sister, "Good thinking. It would be quite the shock to the system and the mind can have quite the influence over the body."
'Makes sense,' Duo thought to himself. Simply the thought of being in the frozen arctic had him shivering.
His own head nodding, Treize told his agents, "Those of you that are in on this venture get ready now and be back here in the next twenty minutes so that we can be straight off. It would be best to have as much daylight as we can have when we're at the base." All in agreement, the group parted as the Vampires present bolted off in blurs of themselves until only Maxwell and Yuy remained.
The Original shifted to stand before his lover. "Shall we?" he asked, smirking back at his Companion. Chuckling, Duo climbed onto his Vampire's back and hooked his arms around Heero's neck at the same time that his legs were held up in strong arms the brief heartbeat before they were off in a rush.
Were he needing air in his lungs, Maxwell knew that it would have escaped him at the lightning speed that he and his partner traveled out of the estate and through the woods behind it. Now that he was used to the whirl of the world when he traveled with his partner, he silently enjoyed the dizzying passage of their surroundings.
Closing his violet-and-silver eyes, he did his best to will his churning dark thoughts away but was losing that battle.
Once they were back in their own home, Heero carefully lowered his Companion back onto his feet. Watching Duo closely as he moved to the closet to open it without so much as word or a glance back at him, the Infected chewed on the inside of his cheek with a deep frown of concern. Silently walking up to the hybrid, he wrapped his arms tightly around his lithe waist and rested his head on a shoulder.
"Something has you troubled, love," Yuy stated more than asked in little more than a whisper by his partner's ear. "I know that you want to get to the bottom of your upbringing, but there's something that's fighting it."
Having frozen when his Vampire hooked onto him, the Reformer relaxed with a soft sigh and melded back against the strong body behind him. "Never could get anything past you," he chuckled humorlessly as he shook his braided head. "Sometimes, I think you're the mind reader of the family."
A small, sad smile curling his lips at that, Heero gently gripped his Companion's shoulders and turned him so that their eyes could meet. "Out with it," he urged gently.
Groaning, Duo shrugged, "You saw Trowa's face when he returned from the base... it was like he saw a ghost. Granted, I hadn't stayed behind there long enough to be experimented on, but Solo did." Rubbing his crossed arms, he frowned, "What if we find something out about him that I might not want to know about myself? We are twins of the same parents. What if I'm capable of becoming what he is now?"
The hybrid straightened himself and spun to free himself so that he could pace the floor. Running a hand through his long bangs, he muttered, "I'm already enough of a freak of nature as it is. Hybrid, Reformer... what else might we be missing, if anything? I really don't know how many more surprises I can take before I go insane."
Heero stayed back to remain an observer and listener, even though he was tensing a bit with his concern for his lover. Completely understanding where Maxwell was coming from, he knew that there was little reassurance he could properly offer as he was not in his Companion's shoes to truly grasp how to best help him.
Never losing a step in his pacing, Duo threw his hands in the air, adding in a huff, "Then there's the little detail that we're probably going to have a better picture of Solo and what made him this monster."
Coming to a halt when he stood before his Vampire, he bit his lip and breathed, "What if I end up sympathizing with him? Supposedly I'm the only one who's suited for stopping him, but-" He had to break to swallow past the lump that formed in his throat before he managed to croak out, "what if I can't?"
"Oh, Duo," the Infected breathed, rushing to pull his Other close in a fierce embrace. As the Reformer buried his face in his shoulder, Yuy told him softly, "Not one of us expects you to do anything that you don't want to do. If there is a way that we can somehow bring Solo down without destroying him, that's the ideal situation that we all want to have happen."
Tuning his head so that he could press a kiss against his Companion's neck, Heero stated, "I truly hope that you don't believe there is a one amongst us that does not appreciate how hard this is for you. Whatever he's done, Solo is still your brother... your true bloodline. This kills me as well as the rest of our family to think that you have to stand against him."
And Duo did know that. He had always known that. it was just... nice to actually hear it now that he was finally having to come face-to-face with the feelings surrounding his brother that he had been able to suppress up to that moment.
It had been so easy for him to hate Solo, to write his twin off after the death that he had gladly brought down on his loved ones. But now that there was about to be a large piece of the missing puzzle that made up his other half, Maxwell was not sure that he would have the same intense disgust and rage.
Like Heero had said, they were of the same bloodline. And that made their connection one of those things could never be broken or easily brushed aside and forgotten.
Another soft kiss fell against Duo's cheek and his Vampire said softly, "As for your being afraid to discover what you may or may not be capable of, I have to argue with you that there's nothing to fear there. You've come to accept and handle everything that you've been surprised with wonderfully all this time."
The Reformer raised his head at that and Heero rested their foreheads together. "Nothing could ever make you a monster, Duo," he reassured with a small smile. "You're far too good a creature to ever have any special ability granted to you be used for anything wrong. And all power is only as good or evil as the person wielding it."
Snorting softly, Maxwell felt the small grin that was spreading across his face as he admitted, "I guess that you do make a point there." His Infected chuckled and pressed a firm kiss against his forehead that he leaned into while his violet-and-silver eyes closed. "Love you," he whispered in a sigh.
Yuy replied in kind, "Truly and deeply." Stepping back, the Original sifted through the choices of coats in the closet and picked out a thick, hooded red coat that he slipped onto his fianc¨¦'s shoulders. "Now, we best get ready here so that we don't make the others wait on us," he suggested.
All too glad to have something to actually do so that he could focus on the task at hand in a more methodical way, Duo nodded and began to slip his arms into the coat's sleeves. Well aware that his friends and family were every bit as anxious to go as he was to get this over with, the last thing he wanted to do was stall them all because of a few silly fears that he might have.
There was still a very good chance that there was not a damned thing to be worried about in the first place. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that he'd assumed the worst only to learn that he'd worried himself sick for nothing.
Yea... that had to be the same case with this.
* * * * * *
Lacing the ties of her faux fur-trimmed hood tight, Anna grinned to the lot that began to form a ring in the center of the room. "Everyone ready?" she cheered, purposely keeping her mood cheerful as to ease the tension that was building in the lot around her.
All eyes fell on Duo as he finished pulling his black gloves on. "Ready as I'll ever be," he snickered as he took Heero's hand into one of his own and his sister's in the other. Glancing around to the familiar faces, he couldn't help but be amused at how giddy Quatre remained as he set his protective eye goggles in place.
From the doorway, Midi remained back with Lady Une as the ones to greet the newly recruited Hunters that were due to arrive to the estate throughout the day. Waving, the 'little mother' called, "Please be careful, everyone." Trowa winked over his shoulder at her and mouthed an 'I love you' before checking to see that all of the travelers were in place with linked hands or arms.
Once the ring was complete, the Teleporter closed his eyes and gripped the hands at either side of him. Thinking back to the images of the base that he had left, he released a long breath and willed himself back there.
Gasping at the world of light and color that filled his vision, Duo eyes grew. And just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.
Disoriented by the stark change in his surroundings, he blinked rapidly to clear his vision. He could hear the sound of the bitter wind, could see the endless stretches of white and silver that lay out before him as far as the eye could see... but it still was a bit of an adjustment to actually place himself when he had just left the warmth and safety of the Khushrenada living room.
Clarity came on relatively quickly as the hands that he had been gripping fell away to the sound of sharp gasps. Turning his head in the same direction that the others in the ring were facing. Instantly, the air rushed from his lungs with a strangled sound.
"M-my God..."
He wasn't overreacting as he had hoped he was.
In fact, it was worse than he'd feared... so much worse.
TBC...
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