Dark Shadows Arc
Part Four

Across the ring Wufei could see a few of the Werewolves shifting from foot to foot as they sensed the abrupt change in the other pilot.  He noted with some approval that Shang-Da did not seem at all concerned.  It was going to be an interesting fight no matter the outcome but he wished that Maxwell had stuck to the original rules instead of improving them as he had.  When the fight was over he wasn’t going to let Duo go without a very long chat.

    He edged closer to Anita, not daring to take his eyes off the two in the center of the Lupanar.  The Chinese werewolf outweighed Duo by at least a hundred pounds and was a good four inches taller than the American.

    He watched as the two circled each other and than Duo darted forward, faster than Wufei had thought he could move.  The black-clad boy darted underneath Shang-Da’s arm and landed a punch to the other’s ribcage.  The Werewolf didn’t seem too troubled by it and retaliated by sweeping a foot out in an attempt to pull Duo’s feet from out from under him.

    The foot connected with Duo’s ankle and should have sent him sprawling but somehow the braided boy managed to get his hands under him as he fell and pulled off a decent handspring that left him facing his opponent, smiling coldly.   “Not bad wolvie.  What other tricks do you know?  Can you play dead?”

    As he spoke he swayed forward in a movement that could only be called stalking.  He circled Shang-Da, seemingly without any worries and the werewolf didn’t take his eyes off the boy he was fighting.  Than Duo moved forward.  Wufei thought he was going to try and hit Shang-Da again, instead he flipped over his head, twisted as he landed and delivered three swift sidekicks to the werewolf’s back.  As Shang-Da fell forward, Duo didn’t stop, he shifted his weight and stance and brought a roundhouse kick arching towards the other’s head.

    Surprisingly Shang-Da recovered quickly and grabbed the leg just before it landed but Maxwell seemed to have been prepared for that as he bounced into the air and twisted his body, bringing his other foot around to connect with Shang-Da’s head.  When Shang-Da hit the ground Duo backed off slightly and watched as the other got to his feet and eyed him with more respect.  It was obvious that Shang-Da hadn’t been planning on using his full skill at first, possibly fearing to injure the boy beyond healing capabilities.  That idea was forfeited as he discovered that Duo was just a typical kid.  The fight was about to become more difficult and Wufei was convinced that more than just a little blood was about to be spilled.

    Shang-Da moved forward with a series of punches and kicks and managed to land one across Duo’s face that sent his head around slightly but Duo didn’t even seem to acknowledge it as once more he used the momentum to swing around, Wufei could tell by Shang-Da’s stance that he’d been expecting such a move but any fear he might have felt for Duo vanished as in mid-motion Duo switched around turning the opposite way with his foot, hitting the exact area that he’d hit with his fist earlier.  He didn’t stop there as he followed through with three punches to the same spot, having caught the werewolf off-guard.

    Shang-Da recovered quickly and threw a back kick at Duo that the boy managed to block, grabbing the leg and going into a hold applying pressure to the knee closest to him while sending his foot into the knee still supporting the werewolf.  Duo caught the joint just right, not from behind but from the side and there was an audible pop as it came out of joint.  As Shang-Da fell Maxwell didn’t release the leg in his hands, instead he slide his hands down to the ankle and turned it around in a move to quick to be countered.  There was no doubt in Wufei’s mind that it was broken.

    Next to him Anita winced in sympathy as Shang-Da tried to get back to his feet, but Duo was on him before he had a chance.  Using a knife-hand strike he hit the ribs again and than aimed another strike at Shang-Da’s neck, directly on the collarbone.  With movements as graceful as a dancer Duo slide in behind the werewolf locking the head in a chock hold and effectively cutting off the oxygen supply.

    It was then that Shang-Da came back to himself and sent his still functioning arm’s elbow into Duo’s mid-section.  Despite the pain Duo must have been experiencing Wufei knew it was over because there was no mercy in Duo’s face.  He was falling back on his training and Wufei knew that if Shang-Da was going to live he was going to have to interfere as soon as he was sure the werewolf would NOT be getting back to his feet.

    It had been so quick, even with Duo’s supposed wish to have it last longer than his fight with Jason it still had gone quite quickly and the amazement was evident on the rest of the pack’s faces.  After all Duo was just a human boy or at least that’s all they saw.  They had no idea the sort of things the two of them alone were capable of, and if they had known they probably wouldn’t have believed it.  None of OZ did, even when they were caught red-handed.  It was as if the fact that they were young was reason enough to believe that they were easy targets and therefore not threatening.

    When Wufei saw that Shang-Da had stopped moving and his lips had begun to turn blue he took a step forward and spoke sternly to his friend, “THAT’S ENOUGH MAXWELL!  YOU GAVE YOUR WORD NOT TO KILL HIM, YOU AGREED TO THE RULES!  WERE YOU LYING?!”

    It seemed to take a moment before it sunk into Duo, but he released Shang-Da however reluctantly and moved away from him waiting to see as everyone else was, whether or not the werewolf would somehow get back to his feet to continue the fight.  But Shang-Da didn’t get up.
    Without a word Wufei moved across the ring, past Duo, and kneeled by the fallen warriors side, lightly pressing his fingers against his neck in search of a pulse.  He relaxed slightly when he found it but quickly steeled himself as he stood and face Duo.

    “He’s alive, no thanks to you.  What on Earth were you thinking Maxwell?  Our fight isn’t with these people.  This was only to be a friendly fight, not a fight to the death.  And I don’t give a shit about your fucking training.  Yuy would have had more control than you in fact he would have picked someone less important to fight against.  Were you trying to make an example of him, was that what you were doing?”

    Wufei waited for Duo to say something, his arms folded over his chest as he stared hard at his friend’s hidden face.  He wasn’t expecting an answer so when Duo finally did speak it knocked him for a loop.

    “No, I wasn’t trying to… I… He… He was supposed to win!”  Duo hugged himself tightly, looking suddenly lost.  “I thought he could win.  I thought it would work out okay, I didn’t think that he’d… that it… that it would turn out this way.”

    Wufei didn’t like having this particular chat in front of Richard’s pack but it needed to come out and Duo might not open up again.  Besides, in the end it might have the effect of calming any further hostilities towards them as least for the time being.  “Why would you want him to win?  That’s a ridiculous reason to fight.  Did you want to lose?”

    Somehow Wufei was already sure he had the answer to that particular question.  If only he’d realized it sooner though, the whole mess they were now involved in could have been at least partially avoided with a little luck.

    “I didn’t deserve to win.  I don’t deserve…”

    “Don't deserve what Maxwell?”

    “I don’t deserve to live.”

    The despair and self-hatred in his voice caused a lump to rise in his throat and he had to swallow hard before he got his voice to work normally.  “And why do you think that Maxwell?  Are you too cowardly to deal with your own life?”

  Wufei hated having to say that but he had to get Duo to fight back somehow, to get defensive and prove him wrong.
    Duo still didn’t look up, he remained staring down at his feet.  “We’re supposed to protect the innocents Wufei.  We’re not supposed to hurt them.  It’s why we were willing to take on the entire OZ military force by ourselves, if we did it than no one else had to do it and suffer like we were.”
    Wufei frowned slightly not bothering to hide his confusion.  “And when did you hurt an innocent Maxwell?  I don’t recall any situation that you purposely went out of your way to harm anyone who was not involved in the war.”
    That seemed to cause Duo to hesitate and he glanced up at Wufei, the look on his face was enough to make Wufei want to hold him close and tell him that everything was going to be just fine, that it was all a bad dream and that when Duo woke up it would be all over with.  Of course, that wasn’t true, it wasn’t a dream it was reality and whether they liked it or not, it was their life.  “When I crashed here I hit a church Wu… It should have been deserted.  It was so rickety that it wouldn’t have stood much longer on it’s own but as I was coming in a spotted movement inside.  I tried to gain control over the computers but they were completely frozen up and no matter what I did they wouldn’t budge…”
    “Then it wasn’t your fault Maxwell.  It was an accident.”

    Duo shook his head vehemently, “He was just a kid Wu.  He was only maybe six years old… just a kid.”  Any strength he seemed to have were gone in that second and he was on his knees holding himself but not crying, Duo Maxwell never cried.

    At this point Wufei felt totally out of his depth.  He just wasn’t very good without comforting someone.  “I know Duo.  You aren’t the only one who made a mistake like that.  Heero did something similar himself to a young girl and her dog, Quatre nearly killed Trowa when he was under the influence of the zero system, Trowa is probably sorry for a few things he’s done in the past and me… there is much that I’ve done that I wish I could erase but that is something I can not do.  If I were to let myself think about it I would probably loose my sanity and that would make me useless to everybody.  Our jobs aren’t enviable Duo but we are the only ones who can do them and survive with our minds in take.  It’s something we gave everything up to do and it would only make our lives and everything we’ve done to gain peace worthless if we start to question every decision we’ve made.”

    He moved forward and knelt next to the braided boy, gently pulling him into an embrace.  He rubbed Duo’s back softly.  “Ours is not an easy path Duo, but you said yourself that you wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through it.  I’ve seen how strong you can be, and I’ve seen what you can do.  Not just in a combat situation but in day-to-day life for the others and myself.  It may not mean anything but we wouldn’t half as stable as we are right now if it hadn’t been for you forcing us to realize that there is more to life than the war.”

    He felt some of the tenseness leave the boy he was holding and hoped he was saying the right things.  He’d have given almost anything to have Quatre there to help him figure out what he should do, instead he was forced to try and use instincts that he’d all but thought had disappeared when Meiran died.

    “Do you really think I’ve done enough to make my life worth it?”

    Wufei didn’t like that question one bit.  “It was you who got me to join the others.  It was you who got us to work together in the end.  It was you who kept trying to get by Heero’s cold armor.  It was you who took the time to get to know the scholar behind the warrior in me.  It was you who were there to let Quatre get a break from worrying too much.  It was you who took the time to figure Trowa out and help him understand what the rest of us were about.  Duo you’ve saved countless lives.  Risked yourself for more people than I can name.  Hilde for one, Relena for another.  Trust me your life is most definitely worth it.”

    “And you think I’m hot too.”

    “And I think you’re…”  His cheeks went bright red when he realized what he’d been about to say.  And he glowered down at the ducked head in his arms.  “Maxwell!  That’s not funny.”

    Before he was able to fully react the head came up and a pair of soft lips grazed his as twinkling violet eyes hovered inches away from his.  He felt his body act in betrayal at the combination of the two stimuli.

    Duo winked, “But you love me anyway.  Thanks Wu.  You’re almost as good at a pep-talk as Q.”

    Maxwell danced away from him and turned to face Anita with a smile on his face.  “I think we should get Shang-Da to a hospital or something.  Not to mention the laughing-boy and Wufei.  Don’t you agree?”

    “Of course.  Richard?”
  Wufei turned slightly to see Richard nodding slowly, he looked slightly confused and that could only mean questions later.  He didn’t bother to see what the rest of the pack was thinking.  It didn’t really matter, they’d proven themselves and because of that they were insured the help of the werewolves in searching for the others and that was all that was really important.
    He suddenly found himself staring into two violet orbs again and he felt his breath stick in his throat.
    “Wu-man.  What are you still sitting there for?  We got work to do.”  Than he smiled in a seductively suggesting way that would have made his knees weak if he had been standing.  “Or did you want me to carry you?”
    Wufei was suddenly beyond tired.  Besides the emotional roller-coaster Duo had him on his injuries weren’t easy to ignore anymore and if you hadn’t been sure that Duo was far worse then himself he would have possibly said yes to his question.  “No Duo.  I can walk.”
    He hadn’t meant it to sound as tired as he felt but it did and before he had time to think he found himself in a pair of surprisingly strong arms.  “Maxwell, KISAMA.  What do you think you are doing?!”
    Duo just smirked though his jaw was set stubbornly.  “Enjoy it Wufei, you might not get this chance again.”
    Looking up at the boy he had the sudden thought that maybe this was as important to Duo as it would be to him under different circumstances.  If he wasn’t surrounded by people he didn’t know, if they were in private, he couldn’t deny that he wouldn’t have been thrilled by the idea of Duo carry him to a soft bed…  He forced the idea from his mind it wasn’t honorable to think of his comrade-in-arms like that.  Instead he forced himself to relax, allowing himself to feel his fatigue.  “Very well Maxwell.  If you must.”
    Duo looked surprised but Wufei could see a slight spark of happiness in his face that almost made all of his discomfort and embarrassment worthwhile.
    He’d just have to hurt anyone who chose to comment on this particular situation.  Making sure not to do it near Duo, so as not to hurt the boy’s feelings.  That settled he decided to enjoy his current position and buried his head in Duo’s chest, content to let the other do what he felt he had to do.
…………………………
    Anita wasn’t sure what to make out of the situation as she pulled her jeep away from where she’d parked it and headed back to Richard’s place where Dr. Lillian and Cherry were waiting.  The two young men were nothing they seemed to be.  And she wasn’t sure what to make of their relationship.  At first she would have said they were just friends but now she was leaning towards would-be-lovers.  The fact that the Chinese boy had actually allowed himself to relax in an attempt to make to other feel better was something she never would have thought Wufei capable of.
    Besides that there was all the stuff that had been said in the Lupanar.  What kind of place did the two of them come from that it would let its children fight a war by themselves?
    She’d thought her heart was going to burst when Duo had sagged to the ground, and that was right after she’d made sure her gun was still were she had put it just seconds before while he had fought Shang-Da.  She had no clue what to make of either of them.  They were two teenagers and yet they were so more and the pain that she’d seen in both of their eyes was just something that couldn’t be imitated or acted.  Both of them had lived through hell and somehow made it back.  And there were still three others out there that they had to find.
    She was a little curious about what Richard thought about the whole fight.  She was also a little anxious about what Jean-Paul was doing in helping them, it didn’t really make much sense.  What could he possibly want from them?