Labyrinth - Gundam Wing Style Part 7
Duo cried out, his arms flailing for anything to grab as he lost his balance. Quatre and Trowa jumped on the other side of the shore but couldn't do anything in time; there was no way they could catch him! Duo watched in a strange type of slow motion as the world around him flew and he stumbled down toward the boiling acid. He closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the splash, but it never came.
Instead he felt some thing yank his arm, harshly. Duo yelped as he was jerked back up, his feet settling back on the rock. He opened his eyes quickly and found Wufei holding onto his arm, his face set in a worried glare. The neko-boy was hanging from his toes and tail from the branch above as both hands were clamped around Duo's arm. Duo flashed him a grateful little smile and regained his balance on the rock; meanwhile Quatre bound across the rocks to where he was.
"Are you ok?"
Duo nodded wordlessly and quickly followed Quatre to the other side of the shore, dropping to the ground and taking a deep breath. Wufei pulled himself back onto the branches and sauntered across them, dropping to the ground by the trio. Glancing at them for a moment with an annoyed look he began to clean his tail with his tongue.
"You ok?" The little fire demon repeated.
Duo nodded. "Yep, I've had my heart attack for the night." He turned toward Wufei. "Thanks a lot, you really saved my life there."
Wufei stopped cleaning his tail and shrugged. "Fine, just don't tell anyone." He murmured.
"Fair enough." Duo closed his eyes and sighed.
Trowa frowned at him. "It was a good thing he caught you." The merboy's face lit up for a second and he held out the strange crystal for Duo to see.
Duo's eyes opened and he perked up, sitting up straight and looking up at the boy. "What's that?"
"I ran into Heero-sama while you were in the other section of the maze. He said to give you this."
Duo frowned and stood up to see it, but didn't touch it.
"What is it?" Quatre asked, moving closer. His small pointed tail swaying in the air.
"A crystal. He said he wanted to apologize for threatening us and taking his anger out on me. He said he couldn't give you back your brother but that this would allow you to see he wasn't being harmed."
Duo reached for the crystal timidly, jerking his hand back just before he touched it. He couldn't decide, he knew he didn't trust Heero but at the same time... He wrapped his fingers around the cold crystal and lifted it into his own hand. Turning it over in his hands he gazed into the clear center.
The crystal was strange, and just as Duo began to gaze into it a mist grew in the center. Duo watched in mute amazement as the mist swirled around in the crystal and created forms... shapes. He blinked as the image of Solo appeared, of his brother sitting in a large and airy room surrounded by little goblins. They were engaged in some strange sort of game and Solo was taking his turn, tossing a few triangular shaped dice onto the floor. Duo's eyes widened as the boy paused and looked up, almost as if he knew he was being watched.
"Solo?"
The red haired boy looked around the room for a minute then shrugged and went back to the game, the picture fading away.
"Did you see him?" Quatre asked as Duo lowered the crystal.
Duo smiled. "Yeah, he's ok. We should keep moving. I still don't completely trust Heero, and I want my brother back."
The group got to their feet, brushing themselves off and started down the path, but Duo paused and glanced back at Wufei.
"You're welcome to come along if you want. The more the merrier."
The cat-boy just snorted and shook his head, going back to cleaning his fur. But, not to their surprise, he jumped into the trees above their heads a minute later and proceeded to follow them at a distance.
~*~
As the group walked on Duo held the crystal clutched in his hand, content to feel the cool material against his skin. It struck him as strange that Heero would give him such a talisman without much notice. He was really starting to doubt his first impressions of the moody Goblin King. At first the boy had just seemed to be a spoiled brat who couldn't mind his own business, but now that he knew a small amount about the history of this labyrinth he couldn't help but rethink everything.
From what the others had told him the labyrinth was a place for people to go when they felt they no longer belonged in their normal world. Quatre, Trowa and probably even Wufei had felt alone at one time and they'd been given a place to live in the labyrinth, a place where they wouldn't have to worry about not fitting in. Duo paused in his thoughts and leaned back against a tree, holding the crystal in his hand.
Had he made Solo feel the same way? He knew he felt that way at times, but not enough to actually ever leave for real. So did the others ever regret that they had come here?
The two stopped in front of him and Quatre glanced back over his shoulder.
"Duo?"
Duo shrugged and turned the crystal over in his hands. "Just thinking."
The little fire demon twirled around on his feet so he was completely facing Duo. "About what?" He asked with a small smile.
"Stuff I guess, do you guys ever miss your homes?"
Quatre's smile wilted just slightly. "I guess..."
"Doesn't everyone?" Trowa said softly.
Duo nodded. "Yeah, we all miss our homes."
Quatre frowned and fidgeted. "Even if you want to forget about it all, you still remember and miss it."
Duo's eyes settled on the crystal. "Forget?" He whispered softly.
Above them in the trees they heard a soft mew as Wufei jumped down. He eyed the crystal warily, as they all did; it had begun to glow.
Duo's eyes widened. "What's going on?"
"Duo, drop the crystal!" Trowa said quickly, racing toward the human boy. Duo turned his hand to drop the crystal but it stayed attached to his hand, glowing brighter with every second. Duo shook his hand in a panic to try and make the crystal let go.
"What's going on!?" Duo froze and shivered as he realized that the world around him was becoming fuzzy around the edges. Quatre moved forward to grab on to him but his hands flowed right through Duo as if he were a ghost. Duo swallowed hard as the world around him grew cold and faded to darkness. "Help..."
"Duo!" Trowa jumped at the crystal, trying to catch it in his scaled hands as it floated up into the sky, but he missed and it flew up into the sky, disappearing in the direction of the castle. Trowa's shoulders slumped and he cursed softly.
Wufei stood up on his back legs and walked over to them. "It went toward the castle," he said softly.
Quatre nodded mutely, watching the merboy turn and slam his fist into a nearby tree, closing his eyes in frustration.
"I should have known," Trowa hissed as he continued to pound his fist into the tree trunk. "I should have known I couldn't trust Heero-sama."
"Trowa..."
"It's my fault."
Quatre frowned and tried again to get Trowa's attention, but the merboy was too caught up in blaming himself for what had just happened. The small fire demon sighed loudly and pursed his lips. Walking with a determined step he moved to stand right in front of Trowa and slapped him hard across the face.
Both boys hissed in pain from the contact, their opposing elements reacting to harm the other. Trowa blinked in shock and tentatively touched his burned cheek while Quatre cradled his hand.
"Get a hold of yourself," the fire demon hissed.
Trowa took a deep breath and started to protest but decided against it at the last moment.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. The point is Duo disappeared and we have to find him now. We'll worry about who is responsible when we get him back."
It took a moment of thought but finally the merboy nodded. Sighing he turned and glanced at Wufei. "Your kind are supposed to be good at tracking..."
The neko-boy nodded slowly. "This way, if you want me to keep track of it we have to hurry."
And the three rushed off down the path.
~*~
The large marble painted doors before him slid open to reveal a bright and colorful world. Sound danced all around, circling and twirling around those moving on the dance floor. Feathers and fabric whispered against each other as the people danced, gliding over the floor like ethereal spirits, their faces lit with smiles of delight and glee beneath the ornate masks. No one seemed to notice Duo at first, as he stood in the doorway watching the scene before him. Yet, one by one, the dancing came to a stop and all eyes set on the boy.
Duo stood in the doorway, wearing clothes that were foreign, and yet fit him so well. A richly embroidered tunic wrapped around his body, stopped just short of mid-thigh, the black fabric glistening in the surreal light. Black and purple patchwork leggings covered his legs, tucked into knee high black boot polished to a perfect shine. His long chestnut colored hair hung loosely around his head, cascading down around his body in light waves and brushed to a shine. He stared back at the others with wide violet eyes, trying to regain his mental footing.
Where was he? How had he gotten here? And perhaps more importantly what had happened to his real clothes? Their stares were flattering but very unnerving at the same time and all he wanted to do was back into the shadows, hiding from sight. He could feel them all watching him, the tension in the room rising. He felt as if they were mentally undressing him, though actually he knew they probably were. That thought brought a small shiver down his back.
Before him there was a soft murmured word and the crowd took light steps back, the sea of people parting away. They moved to reveal a boy much the same age as Duo lounging on a magnificent blood red throne made of twisted vines and roots. The boy's eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of Duo and he eased out of his chair, moving as smoothly as a summer's breeze.
This strange boy, who Duo could have sworn he recognized from some unknown memory, was breathtaking. He wore an old-fashioned poet's shirt, made of a light silvery fabric that was practically see-through. Midnight blue tailored pants hugged his long legs, ending in short boots of soft white leather. A small chain of silver hung from one ear while icy blue eyes watched Duo, the face surrounded by short and messy brown hair. The boy moved toward Duo, licking his lips lightly as the distance between them disappeared.
Duo found he was holding his breath, entranced by the strange boy before him. He drew in a shuttering breath as the boy moved his hand up, caressing the side of Duo's cheek.
"Magnificent," the boy breathed.
Duo blushed lightly and tried to take a step back to calm himself down but the next thing he knew the strange boy was right up against him, brushing his soft lips across Duo's neck. Duo shuddered at the touch and leaned his head back, completely forgetting his confusion at the situation. Instead he drew in a shaky breath as the boy lightly kissed him.
"Amazing," the boy breathed against his neck.
Duo blinked and suddenly the thick atmosphere was gone. He found himself lying across a bed of cool silk, the room lit by fireflies dancing around the ceiling. He turned his head and found the spellbinding boy leaning over him, a hungry look in his eyes.
"Do you know how beautiful you are?" the boy whispered. Once again he reached forward and caressed Duo's cheek, but this time his hand didn't stop, it slid down Duo's neck and began to undo the ties on his tunic.
"What's going on?" Duo whispered, blinking rapidly as his sight grew hazy with desire. What had come over him? He was enraptured with the boy above him and couldn't understand it at all.
"Shh, don't ask questions. Just enjoy." The boy knelt his head down and gently licked a hot line down Duo's chest. Duo moaned softly as the tunic was completely opened and pushed back, strangely trapping his arms against the bed, though he didn't really care.
Teeth nibbled lightly at his skin, stopping to tease his nipples as he whimpered, wiggling in the strange boy's grasp. What was happening? He tried to keep his mind clear, to remember how he'd gotten to this room and on to this bed but everything was disappearing rapidly. All he could think about was the delicious sensations dancing across his body.
Duo gasped as the boy breathed through the leggings, hot air surrounding his aching groin. He heard the boy chuckle softly and then he felt the leggings being pulled away.
Duo shook his head, trying to clear it as the hands danced over his skin. No, this wasn't right, he wasn't supposed to be here. This wasn't right! He struggled against the pleasure, trying to pull his arms out from where they were trapped against the bed under his tunic.
"Stop..." he choked out quietly.
"You're not enjoying yourself?" The boy whispered, licking a wet line up Duo's cock. Duo moaned but managed to keep a straight mind, just barely.
"This isn't right..."
"Yes it is."
"No!" Duo bolted up in the bed and knocked the boy backward, causing him to shake his head in surprise. Both boys stared at each other and Duo took a large breath.
"Tell me what's wrong," the boy whispered quietly. "Were you in pain?"
"No, that wasn't it." Duo pulled the tunic tightly around his shoulders and shivered. "There's something... something I'm supposed to remember."
The boy's face fell and he turned away, causing guilt to fill Duo. "You don't like men," the boy murmured softly.
Duo blinked in surprise. "No, that isn't it. I just... I..." He frowned and his eyes flew around the room, trying to find something, anything to stir his memory. "Something I have to remember..."
"Mmm, don't worry about it." The boy leaned in toward Duo. "We're alone now, that's all that matters." The boy leaned in and brushed his lips against Duo's.
Duo's eyes slid shut as the boy's tongue danced over his lips. His mind fuzzed out again as he enjoyed the sweet taste. Yes, they were alone and there wasn't anything else that mattered at the moment. Nothing else. Nothing else except...
Except...
Duo's eyes snapped open and he shoved the boy away, scrambling backwards. His mind felt like it was on fire, but the memories flooded in at an alarming speed. Solo! He was supposed to remember Solo!
A clock... he needed a clock...
His violet eyes settled on the boy before him and he froze, suddenly realizing who he was alone with. And then it all clicked into place. The boy crouched before him in the ruffled shirt which hung half open was Heero, the Goblin King and ruler of this labyrinth. Some how he'd been transported to this place and now this? His eyes narrowed.
"Where's my brother?"
Heero's eyes narrowed lightly, but not in an angry way. It was more of that they lost their innocent look only to reveal his truer nature. Heero straightened himself and cocked his head as he gazed at Duo. "Tell me you weren't actually enjoying yourself."
"That's not what I asked. Where is my brother?"
"Safe, I wouldn't hurt him. You need not be concerned." Heero reached out for Duo but Duo slapped his hand away harshly and jumped off the bed, standing to his feet and backing away.
"Stop fucking playing games! I want my brother back!"
The Goblin King slid off the bed and stalked toward Duo, much the way a tiger would stalk its prey. Duo backed away from the young king until his back hit a mirrored wall. Freezing he just watched as the young boy approached him, a sad look crossing his face.
"Why must you humans always be like this? You used to have no problem letting go of the real world when you were younger, why must you lose this talent as you age?"
"Sometimes reality is more important then fantasy," Duo spat out.
Something clicked and Heero flew into a rage, his eyes practically glowing with anger. "No! No!" Turning away from Duo the Goblin King hugged himself, his body shifting quickly to that of a large white owl. But this transformation wasn't smooth like the others, this transformation looked painful. Duo watched in amazement as the snowy owl screeched and flapped around the room, its wings angrily beating the air.
That was when the entire fantasy shattered. Duo let out a cry as the world around him shattered like glass, falling away in pieces to reveal only darkness. Suddenly he was falling and all he could hear was the angry flapping of Heero's wings, and then there was nothing.
TBC...
Back to Snow Tigra's Fanfictions Page