Watching every motion In my foolish lover's game
On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame
Turning and returning to some secret place inside
Watching in slow motion as you turn around and say
My love... Take my breath away
-Lyrics to 'Take My Breath Away' performed by Berlin

Crimson Ties Part 87

"Are you sure you're up for this, love?" Anthony asked his Companion as they descended the stairs into the massive basement of Zechs and Noin's home.

In hearing the continuous, frightening sound of explosive bangs and protesting metal that refused to give even under the intense pressure that filled the air, the British immortal frowned deeply and tightened his fingers around the hand that they were holding.

Smiling sadly when they stopped after taking the last step, Josh met his Vampire's worried gaze and nodded, "I'm sure and I'm not worried at all. They're just scared." He leaned in to place a soft kiss against a cool cheek and winked. "Everything will be fine," he smirked.

Completely reassured by that, Anthony gave a relieved grin before they fell in step and walked around the corner to move for the holding cells where Heero, Duo and Anna were already standing by.

His head shaking in amusement at the sight of the weapons that the family had on them, Morgan snickered, "There's no need for those. Even if there was a little force needed to protect me, you could easily take down a restrained other on your sheer strength alone." The Yuy clan exchanged sheepish expressions before they hid their favored tools away.

Duo frowned to his fellow Companion, "Sorry, Josh. We didn't mean to offend, or anything." Nervously playing with the end of his braid, he shrugged, "It's just that... well..." Wincing, he tried to find the right words only to find himself coming up short.

"Some of your old friends scare the shit out of us," Anna supplied matter-of-factly, her brothers snorting at her brashness but neither one about to argue against the sentiment.

As she gestured to the two doors that blocked off the only noise makers of the prisoners, she commented, "Those two Wilds are particularly unsettling. Restrained or not, they're not exactly the easiest people to deal with." She shuddered, rubbing her arms against a cold that she did not actually feel and ducked her head with an apologetic smile.

Laughing, Josh replied, "Oh, I completely understand that. But they're more afraid of us than we are of them." He jumped when a thunderous crash from the door behind him vibrated the very air around them from its veracity. And just like that, the brief silence that had fallen was no longer as the onslaught on the barricades picked back up.

"Oh, I think I'll have to agree to disagree on that one," the redhead chuckled nervously.

Peering from door to door as they occasionally jumped from the harsh impact of a full on charge from the beasts within, Josh sighed, "Hopefully Zechs' theory on those Vampires that are now permanently without Chosen is right. If the Vampires that he, Noin and Trowa bring back can undo Solo's hold on them, it'll be nice to know that the other Wilds like them stand a chance of having some kind of normal existence."

"Wufei and Lady Une should be returning any moment from their recovery mission since they've been away the longest," Heero stated. "You would probably want to start in getting Sharon ready for Jacob's arrival first."

Morgan muttered, "Good. We have a bit of luck in dealing with her before the rest."

To the frowns of confusion that his sentiment brought on, he explained, "I got to know Sharon pretty well while we were under Solo's thumb. More than of his turned, she had the hardest time accepting how Vampires could ever bring on an attack like the one she faced. So, I think there's already a bit of a crack in her there that I can try to pry open even wider."

Resolved in what he needed to do, the blonde Companion rolled his shoulders back to make it known that he was ready. Nodding firmly, the Original led his friend to the last of the cells in the line of five while Anthony stayed right on his heels in every step.

Easily lifting the heavy beam that blockaded the door with one hand with not so much as a grunt of effort, Heero used his free hand to push his way inside to make sure that there would not be any immediate trouble from the Other inside. Finding a very disgruntled Sharon sitting on her bench at the far end of the space, the Infected waved the Companion inside.

The moment her eyes laid on the young man that entered, the Other's silver-ringed eyes grew with a sharp gasp. "Josh," she breathed. Rising to her feet to walk towards him, she muttered, "God, we were so worried about-" Her words stopped mid-sentence when she took in how his brown irises no longer had the silver bands around them.

And when a second Vampire quickly stepped in to stand close to her former ally, her eyes were filled with a pain that shifted in the next blink when she shot him a fiery glare. "You... traitor," she hissed sharply between her teeth.

Raising his hands, Josh frowned deeply, "Sharon, we were all tricked by Solo into believing everything he told us. You know that you never would have done the things that you've done... hurting people to bring them into his ranks...attacking innocent Infected... you questioned all of it like I did and with good reason."

Berber scrambled back away from him until she collided against the corner of wall behind her. Collapsing to the floor, she shrieked, "You son of a bitch! We were doing what we had to so these... these..." Scanning the Infected in her room, she screamed, "These monsters can't go on using and threatening the living!"

Unable to stay back any longer, Duo entered the room to flank his lover. Practically vibrating with his anger over those harsh words, it took all of the hybrid's power to not get involved in the argument. Even if they never showed it, he knew that the Vampires around him were hurt by those accusations.

After everything that their kind had been through in defending themselves and their rights to exist amongst the mortals over the centuries, of course they would be affected by such beliefs shared by Hunters and those humans that remained scared of what they refused to understand. In the end, there would always be individuals who refused to see the good that was in the immortal beings that shared their world.

Josh approached Sharon slowly, lowering himself in a crouch before her. "I know that you want to believe that everything we fought for was the right thing. But we were fed lies and forced to follow because we were scared shitless over what happened to us. We were preyed on and tormented to become weapons because of our ties with the Vampires that we're bonded to."

Silver-and-green eyes widening, Berber raised her head to stare up in disbelief at her former ally. "You're lying," she breathed. Clenching her teeth, she snapped, "I could never be connected to one of those vile-"

"Not even Jacob?!" Morgan shouted, cutting the Other off, fixing her with a glare of his own. "Do you really believe that the one being who's been your anchor through your whole life is vile or a monster?!"

A loud rush of air escaped the restrained creature's parting lips as though she had been punched in the gut. Eyes wide in disbelief, she whispered so softly that her voice was nearly lost, "Jacob?"

The thick curls of her dark brown hair bounced as she shook her head, asking, "W-what do you know about Jacob?" Suddenly, her whole body was tense for a whole new reason that didn't include rage. In that moment, her own position no longer mattered... she wanted to defend the bearer of that name.

Relieved at the change in her, Josh smiled sadly, "I know he's protected your mind all this time. You've never told anyone, not even Solo, but you've thought of Jacob every chance you had since you were turned. That's the reason you've never lost your mind to shift into a Wild."

"I swear to God if you or any of your friends hurt him," Sharon whimpered, keeping the bite in her tone at the word 'friends.' Large tears filled her silvered eyes and her slight frame began to shudder. "He's all I have!" she managed in a wail.

Swallowing roughly, the blonde Companion was quick to hold his hands up as he reassured, "We'd never hurt either of you." He peered over his shoulder to give Heero a firm nod. The Original shifted to stand close beside him, one hand at the pistol in his holster and the other placing a key in the palm that reached out to him.

At the sound of the soft jingle from the exchange, Anna appeared in the doorway with her crossbow in plain sight at her side as she watched the captive with calm readiness for anything that might happen. Duo's hand slipped to take hold of his staff that was strapped against his back, widening his stance so that he could strike quickly if he needed to act.

Morgan quickly descended on the prisoner before she had the time to react or struggle. He took hold of the forearm-length cuffs that held the Other's wrists together at her back and slid the key inside their lock.

"Don't fight us," he urged softly, making it known in his tone how their audience wouldn't hesitate to subdue her. That warning was not really necessary, shared more for Anthony's sake as he spotted his lover fidgeting anxiously at how close he was to potential danger.

However, Josh knew the moment Jacob was brought up that Sharon would be nothing but cooperative from here out. And it was with that certainty that he removed the cuffs, taking hold of them and passing them over to Yuy when they slipped away from the Other.

Sniffling, Berber moved her arms around to hug her legs close against her chest as she wept silently. With a soft sigh, the blonde Companion sat beside her and ran a hand over her hunched back in soothing circles. Releasing the unnecessary breath that he had been holding, Anthony physically relaxed while a small smile tugged his lips.

The Yuy clan began to settle a bit as well, though they held themselves taut enough to act if the need should arise. Caught up by the emotional swing that had consumed the girl, Duo bit his lip and laced his fingers together with Heero's. His hand was given a firm squeeze that was not about to let go any time soon.

"H-he's real, then?" the prisoner stammered quietly, completely giving up the hope that her heart held over the possibility. As she turned her head towards her former ally, tears continued to roll down her face. "This whole time, he wasn't someone that I just made up?" she breathed, a hitch crackling her voice.

Grinning sadly, Josh nudged her with his shoulder and replied, "He's as real as Anthony had been for me." At that, he raised his head to gesture to the handsome being that he had been standing beside and his partner gave the stunned Other a friendly wave.

An unintelligible sound rose from Sharon and her growing eyes sought the Companion's once more. Drawing a deep breath, Morgan explained, "Every one of us had been targeted by Solo because we're tied to Vampires. Apparently, there is something unique in our make-up that he can bring out to his advantage. The only way to convince us to hate their kind was to make us fear and hate them by making us think ourselves as their victims."

Skin paling, Berber stared ahead at the floor with a new dawn breaking through her sliver-and-green eyes. "O-oh my God," she whispered, bringing her hands up to bury her fingers into the roots of her thick hair.

There was so much to process, so many things to sort out, but there was no doubt in her that Josh had spoken the truth. She had loved the Infected all her life before she had been attacked. They were good, kind creatures... it had been so hard to believe that they would bring the kind of harm that had been inflicted upon her.

Horrified at the memories of her last time at the estates of her then sworn enemies, the Other's stomach retched. Lifting her sheet-white face, her vision shimmered anew when she settled her gaze on the redhead in the doorway.

Flooded by visions of how she had bound the Vampire to be stripped and tormented as brutally as she had been, Sharon came undone. Now thinking back to how the Irish immortal had fought to live for no other reason than to spare her cousin the same fate or worse, her frame shook violently.

In no sane world would she had ever done anything like that to another creature. But then, she had not only enjoyed it, but she laughed at the pain that she brought on.

With a sharp gasp, Berber moaned, "Oh dear God... I am so... so sorry for what I did to you-" Despite how she wanted was to go on with her apology to make it known how truly she hated herself for her actions, her strained voice could no longer make it past her constricting throat as she sobbed.

Taken aback by the heartfelt apology, Anna's shoulders sagged heavily as she blinked away the tears that began to form in her own eyes. In a blur of herself, she sailed across the room to materialize on her knees before the Other.

Pulling her into a tight embrace, the Infected gently rocked the shaken creature as she reassured softly, "It's alright, Sharon. All of that's behind us now. You didn't mean any of those things since you were tricked into doing them in the first place."

Even as the words came out of her, the Irish Vampire could feel her still heart letting go to give way to real forgiveness for her attackers.

Devastating as that night had been, everyone involved that night had been a casualty. And now they had the chance to forge together and bring down those that held the real responsibility for what took place.

Their eyes watering over, Heero and Duo looped an arm around their lover's waist to hold onto them fast as he watched the gut-wrenching scene. Ever haunted by that fateful evening of the attacks, they took their sister's lead in releasing their misplaced blame and wish for revenge.

Well aware of the events by the recanting that Josh had shared with him, Anthony swallowed roughly and bowed his head deeply when he felt his eyes prickling.

Hugging the Vampire back, Berber collected herself as best she could. The open understanding and acceptance extended to her only served to solidify Josh's claims that Solo was the real villain in all of this. Burning with a new rage for her creator, she pulled away from Anna and reached up to dry her face with trembling hands.

A sad grin curling her lips, the redhead rubbed the back of the captive's head as she told her, "There's nothing you did that requires forgiveness on my part. I'm just relieved that you're safe and here with us so that you can finally be united with your Chosen."

The clouds of her misery dissipating, Sharon blinked widely with a sharp gasp. "Jacob... he's here?" she managed hoarsely.

"He just arrived," a deep voice announced beyond the cell. To the surprised gazes that had turned to look on the doorway, Wufei entered with a weary, but anxious Vampire in his arms. Wet as his golden eyes were, there was nothing but elation and love to be found in the young Infected's expression and stare when he locked onto his Other.

Anna took hold of Josh's arm to help him fast to his feet so that they could clear a way to Berber. Stricken still, the brunette's wide eyes refused to blink as they took the Grecian immortal in. In little more than a breath, she whimpered, "Jacob..."

When his arms opened to her, she was on her feet before she even knew that she commanded her body to move. Throwing herself into him, she clung on with all her strength and sobbed into his shoulder and reveled in having him hold her as close as he could manage.

Carefully setting his new friend to lie down on the bench, Chang stepped back a few paces along with his family. Entering the room, Lady Une released a deep sigh of relief at the sight of the reunion taking place.

Josh and Anthony stepped up to the Commander as she looked on the Yuy clan and smiled, "We'll keep an eye on things here. Heero and Duo, we have two other guests that are settling into the guests rooms at my estate at the moment. If you would be good enough to see that Amara and Kristy are brought up to speed so that they can manage the preparations for Trowa, Zechs and Noin, that would be most appreciated." The pair grinned and nodded before they headed off.

There was a flash of profound gratitude on the scaly Infected's face when he met her gaze. Winking, Une gripped his arm in a tight squeeze and told him softly, "Thank you, Wufei... for everything."

Her voice was so thick from her emotions of recalling his earlier encouragement to Jacob that she had to clear her throat. Bowing his head, Chang refrained from trying to actually speak. Squeezing his elated charge's shoulder, he turned on his heels and took a hold of his wife's hand to lead her from the cell.

Anna blinked in confusion, but remained silent as she willingly followed her Chosen out into the empty hallway. The second they were alone, the redhead smiled, "Nice work bringing Jacob back, lo-"

That was far as she managed to praise before Wufei let out a low growl of need and pushed the redhead back against the wall behind her to claim her lips in a heated kiss that left her gasping from the intensity. Only just getting her wits together enough to return the passionate exchange, she groaned and latched onto him as roughly as he had gripped her against himself.

Frantic in their need, the Infecteds' hands roamed and latched on as their kiss only blazed all the hotter the longer they stood there. Gasping and moaning softly, their teeth nipped their partner's mouths and their tongues roamed with such abandon that their toes curled.

Panting heavily when he reluctantly broke away when he stopped himself just short of tearing away the clothes that separated their bodies, the scaly Vampire pressed their foreheads together as their heavy-lidded eyes locked. "Our bedroom. Now," he ordered huskily. A wicked smirk tugging the corner of her lips, his bride was off in a blur of herself to lead the way. Chuckling to himself, Chang hurled himself after her.

*   *   *   *   *   *

A few hours later...

Catherine peeked her head into the campus laboratory during the normal lunch period and smiled in finding the only student inside that chose to make use of the privacy to be a certain blonde genealogist.

Stepping into the room and closing the door silently, she slipped her access card back into her pocket and made sure to pull the door closed behind her. At the sound of the security lock latching in place, Quatre jumped from his stool, slammed the notepad he had on the table before him closed and spun around to peer on his unexpected company with horrified eyes that blinked behind thick goggles all in two seconds.

"By Allah, Cat!" Winner exclaimed, a hand coming up to rest over his hammering heart with a slam. Pulling his protective eyewear away, he sighed, "You made me lose about three of my lives just now!"

The redhead ducked her head with a sheepish grin. Raising her hands, she said sincerely, "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. You weren't in the cafeteria for lunch, so I figured I'd find you here."

She shrugged, "I thought I'd come and see what you were up to." Removing her back pack and walking towards her relaxing friend, she noted that also at his station the vile spinner was closed, already operating as it agitated whatever specimen was secured inside.

Of course that completely explained the blonde's jumpiness. The last thing that any of them needed was for someone who was not already deeply involved with the Vampires and the war that they were engaged in to stumble on a few samples of glowing blood by accident.

Whistling through her teeth, Bloom met her friend's gaze and commented, "You're taking a pretty big risk bringing your homework to school like this. Treize supplied you with all of the equipment that you could possibly need to dissect what's in those vials back at the estates."

"I know, I know," Quatre frowned as he looked back on the machine. "It's just been... bothering me that I don't have enough hours in the day to get to the bottom of all of this. I'm getting so close to breaking down the structure of whatever..." Waving his hands in the air at his lack of the right words, he finally pointed at the spinner and exclaimed, "That is!"

Catherine snickered and slipped onto the stool beside the one that he had been occupying. "Well, let's see if I can help," she smirked. "I do have quite a bit of knowledge in DNA since it's such a big part in my creating weapons to stand against Rogues and Others." Raising an eyebrow to her surprised classmate, she added, "Besides, two heads might be better than one in cracking this case."

Unable to argue the logic of that, Winner grinned widely at the offer and slipped back into his chair. "I have been anxious for the chance to work with you," he admitted excitedly, his mouth working so quickly that his words were almost blurred together into one. "And it would be nice to get to the bottom of this sooner than if I did this all on my own."

Shaking her head in amusement, the weapons specialist took a notepad and from her back pack to prepare herself for what she was certain would be an interesting partnership... to say the very least.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Even with his incredible strength, Heero couldn't subdue either of the two Wilds on his own. It took the addition of Duo, Anthony and Amara to hold them down. Pinning the second of the two maddened creatures to the floor, the Original shouted from where he lay with his arms locked around the thrashing beast's head, "Hurry, Sally!"

Syringe in hand, the doctor rushed into the room and plunged the needle into the exposed arm that Maxwell grunted in his pulling back of it for her easy access. Screaming and wailing, the crazed Other's eyes widened as the heavy sedative was pumped into his veins. In spite of the fatigue that was coming on fast, he still managed to nearly kick his legs free of Amara while Anthony fought to hold onto his torso.

Finally, after a minute that may as well have been an hour for his captors, the Wild slowed and sagged heavily when sleep claimed him. Stumbling back, Sally caught her balance and reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow. "There," she sighed deeply. "Now that we know that drugs work on them, we can keep these two subdued until Trowa, Noin and Zechs return with their potential Chosen."

"Thank God for that," Duo huffed as he clawed back to his feet. Staring down at the slumbering Wild, he murmured, "I'm not exactly looking forward to having to wrestle them like that again when it comes time to try and bond them."

It was yet another helpful discovery, one that would literally bring peace back to the estate to the relief of the lot staying there.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Panting heavily, Anna fell back against the mattress beneath her. "My... God," she breathed between sharp gasps of air even if it wasn't necessary. The high from the mind-blowing orgasm that had wracked her whole being was slow in its ebbing. Winded, she giggled, "Not that I'm complaining by any means, but what brought that marathon on?"

Wufei retracted his fangs from her neck and licked the bit of blood that dripped from the mark he'd left. The bite mark in his own neck was closing up as he extracted his wilting member from his wife and shifted to prop himself on his side against her equally naked body. Smiling lovingly, his gold-and-onyx eyes shone with all of the adoration any existing creature could muster.

It was enough to make the air in Anna's lungs rush out of her.

Gently running a hand along the line of her jaw, the Chinese Vampire said softly, "I just needed to show you how absolutely in love I am with you. It's been far too long since we've been able to connect like this and I wanted to be with you."

A radiant grin lighting her face, the Irish Infected replied, "You'll hear no argument from me on that. Nearly a week is excruciatingly long between the times when I get to truly indulge in you." Cupping his face in her hands, she pulled him down for a deep and sweet kiss that he was all too happy to return in kind.

When their lips pulled away just enough so that they brushed when she spoke, she whispered, "And I love you too, husband-mine. With every ounce of my being."

Basking in the glow that remained from their intense rounds of lovemaking, the pair tightly entangled themselves together and closed their eyes to enjoy every peaceful second that remained of their rare moment alone.

So absorbed in their joy, they had completely forgotten one very important detail to their joining... overlooked by their need and desire that had consumed them until those flames had been sated.

Further down the hallway, there was a soft and steady beeping that pulsed inside Wufei's office. And on the monitor of his main computer, bold letters in yellow text flashed, 'Data Retrieval Complete.'

TBC...

 

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