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"Chosen Ones"Written By: Dùlin
Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission. Disclaimer : I don't own them. Life is not fair. Rating : R to NC-17 for violence Warnings : Crossover GW/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
which means, AU and OOC-ness for the GW characters (since they're
not humans, niark niark !) Pairings : 1x2, 3x4, 6x5, explicit references to past 13x5 Author's note : You need to know quite a bit about
the Buffy universe to understand this fic. If you don’t know
what Buffy is or stopped watching after season two, just take a browse
on the official UPN site to see what the heck this is all about. The greatest thanks to the ever faithful Karina, to Amejisuto and the best beta-reader of the world, Laurence-sama ! Please do not take or reproduce without permission.
"Chosen Ones" Part 7 - If Fire burns out … “What do we know for sure ?”, Buffy asked. Zechs shot a look to Heero. “Une is in town, and she’s having her little fun”, the Warrior Spirit said. “Which means that Treize is probably there too, he just hasn’t shown himself yet.” “Which also means”, Duo kept on, “that Wu-man shouldn’t be walking alone in the streets with his signals blocked. Hell knows I don’t want him to be my next source of power ! What was he thinking of ?!” “There’s also Dorothy”, Trowa interrupted. Everyone looked at him. “We haven’t been able to detect her, but it doesn’t mean she’s not there.” “How could this be ?”, Tara asked. “If she has shifted, as you say, then Duo should be able to feel her, shouldn’t he ?” “Yeah, well, my radar seems a bit broken right now, when I’m not even able to tell that three spirits are not really dead !”, Duo snickered. “There could be another explanation”, Zechs said. “Since she’s the one who actually performed the transfer spell, she may have found a way to keep some of her former powers. Meaning that the only one able to locate her would actually be Quatre.” “But, basically”, Buffy said, “the big bad is not there yet ? He has sent his lil’ friends to check if you guys are here and to try and weaken you before he comes ? Am I getting it right ?” Zechs nodded. Giles seemed impressed. “Giles, I do have a head, and I do happen to use it sometimes”, Buffy said with an exasperated sigh when she saw the look on her Watcher’s face. “Oh, I didn’t imply in any way that …”, Giles started. “You thought it so loud even I heard it. Ask them”, she said with a wave of her hand towards the spirits. Actually, Trowa was frankly grinning, Duo was fighting back a laugh, and the little glimmering light in Heero’s eyes could have been interpreted as amusement. Even Tara was smiling. Giles coughed. “Well, let’s go back to the point”, he said. “What should our next step be ?” “The best thing for us would be to eliminate Treize, Une and Dorothy before Morgoth arrives”, Zechs explained. “But that will be difficult.” “Maybe not”, Duo cut in. “Whatever they did, they’re new Dark Spirits. You know how much time it takes for a Spirit to truly develop his powers. Unless they kept some of their old powers, they should be harmless.” Duo stopped. “Except that the lil’ message Une left was mauled into pieces”, he added. “They definitely kept some of their old powers. Did I already say that we were in deep shit ?” “You did”, Trowa said, “and as much as it grieves me to admit it, I think you’re right.” “Our first priority must be to find Wufei”, Zechs said. “And I don’t want any of you, human or not, to wander alone. No casualties.” “On our side, you mean ?”, Duo asked. “Of course, Duo.” That’s when Willow burst into the living-room. “Quatre is gone !”, she said. **** Quatre knew he shouldn’t have tried to locate Wufei with empathy. He had promised Trowa he would rest. But something was about to happen, and Quatre’s foresight told him that if it actually happened, all would be lost. And he was the only one to be able to prevent it. His mind located Wufei, but also someone else. Quatre felt the mixed feelings Wufei was experiencing : hatred, longing, regret, doubt … he felt that his companion was ready to give in, and he couldn’t let that happen, not now. Before Willow could make a move, the Dream Spirit had vanished in a puff of golden light. “Happy to see me again ?” Wufei did his best to look Treize straight into the eyes. Those blue eyes he remembered so well. Treize was smiling invitingly. “I missed you, Wufei”, he said. “All those years without you were just torture.” Wufei smirked. “I didn’t make you leave me. You chose to go.” “You could have come with me, Wufei. You could have taken my choice and made it yours, and we would still be together.” A part of Wufei’s mind was screaming, aching at the memory of Treize’s treason. ‘Remember, that’s why you wanted to kill him. That’s why you did kill him. He is a traitor. He has never been true to his word. If you go with him again, he’ll betray you once more.’ None of this showed up on the Chinese Spirit’s face. Wufei felt paralyzed by the intense blue gaze and the tender smile. But when Treize held out a long hand to caress his cheek, Wufei took a step back almost automatically, avoiding contact. “It’s not too late, Wufei”, Treize kept on. “You can still come with me. Can you imagine what it would be, to be united again ?” Wufei tried to yell that he didn’t want to, but the words never reached his mouth. The Fire Spirit was in a kind of trance, trapped in a body that didn’t answer to him anymore. Wufei’s combativeness was fighting inside of him, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t detach his eyes from Treize’s. Be united again. Yes, Wufei remembered what it had been like. Two pure flames united in one, meddling their essences. Two souls in one body. “Don’t you love me anymore ?”, Treize asked. He held out his hand. “Come with me, Wufei. Join me. I will never leave you again, just come.” Wufei began to advance hesitantly, but his trance was suddenly broken by a small popping sound behind him. Before he knew exactly what had happened, Quatre stepped in front of him and faced Treize. “Stop that now, or I’ll make you”, the Dream Spirit said menacingly. Treize hesitated. “You can’t stop me !”, he said. Quatre cocked his head on one side and unleashed his power. Suddenly, Wufei could feel his body again. His eyes flashed red when he realized that he had almost given in again. Two more seconds and he would have taken Treize’s hand. Treize stumbled back when the wave of power hit him. “Don’t try to mess with forces you don’t understand and will never master, Treize”, Quatre said coldly. “You won’t take him away from me again.” Quatre smiled ironically. “But we didn’t take him from you, Treize. You left him. And you arrogantly supposed that Wufei would follow you just because you had decided he should. You’ve been very blind. As a Fire Spirit, you should have known your own kind better. Honestly, how would you have reacted if Wufei had done just what you did ?” This left Treize speechless for a while. Quatre turned hastily to Wufei. “Unlock your signals, Wufei. Now !” The Fire Spirit obeyed, still shaking from the things he had just been through. He was mad at himself, disgusted by his own weakness. “Can you feel him ?”, Zechs asked Trowa. “He’s not far from here, but … Wait ! I can feel Wufei now ! Can you ?” The other spirits nodded and looked at each other. “Let’s go”, Zechs said. “What about us ?”, Buffy asked. “You can’t come with us, it’s too dangerous. This is our fight. We must protect one of us.” “You’re not coming either, Zechs”, Heero said abruptly. The Light Spirit turned to him. “I beg your pardon ?” “I said you’re not coming with us”, Heero repeated. “They don’t know you’re here. As the Chosen One, you have enough protection for neither Treize, nor Une, nor even Dorothy to detect you. They know we can be here without you, and we need to call you for you to come. It’s best if they believe you’re not there yet. You stay here with Buffy.” Zechs pulled on an exaggerated hurt face. “So what, I am supposed to just sit here and watch TV and wait for you to come back so I can scowl on how late you kids are ?” Duo let out a snort of laughter. “OK, now I know this is the end of the world, Zechs is actually trying to make jokes !!!” “Trying ?”, Zechs asked, apparently a bit disappointed. “Yeah, man, trying. Good start, but you need to improve your funny bone before you’re up to my level. Why don’t you train while we go kick ass ?” With that last sentence, Duo disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Heero’s body glowed blue and the Warrior Spirit vanished, quickly followed by Trowa. Quatre felt the presence of his three friends before he saw them. Three loud popping noises echoed in the night. Duo came forward. “Treize”, he said jauntily. “How not nice to see ya again ! No need to tell you that, but your little trick got me quite on my nerves. Next time someone kills you, I’ll dig you up myself to make sure you’re really dead !” Treize smirked. “Duo, my brother …” “Don’t call me that !”, Duo snapped. “I am not the brother of a fuckin’ traitor who abandoned his own essence, not to mention his lover, just to get some more power ! You may belong to my people now, but you’ll never be half of me ! Don’t forget who ya’re talking to !” Treize just smiled. He looked at the other Spirits. “Heero, Trowa … Where is Zechs ? Could it be that he’s not there yet ?” No one answered. “Well, well, what a joyful reunion ! I am sorry to have to end it so quickly”, Treize kept on. He held out his hands in front of him, and a whirlwind of dark smoke appeared between them. Treize’s eyes flashed briefly black as he unleashed the smoke on his opponents. His triumphant smirk faded when the dark wisps of cloud suddenly stopped in mid-air before they reached the five Spirits standing in front of him. Duo had held out his right hand, and the darkness came towards him obediently, covering him like a cloak. It disappeared when Duo waved his hands dismissively. Treize gaped. “Come on, now, that’s all ya can do ??”, Duo said lightly. “Transfer really isn’t a good option, apparently. You need practice, kid ! And don’t play with daddy’s toys !” Treize began to advance threateningly, but a blue glow suddenly appeared in Heero’s hand, and seconds later, he was holding his long Japanese saber again, the point of it directed on Treize’s throat. “Enough !”, Heero said. “Go away.” “Why don’t you just try to kill me ?”, Treize asked. “You are not my enemy.” Treize bowed his head. He gave a long searching look to each of the spirit, and vanished suddenly. Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre turned to Wufei, who was looking down. **** “Do you think they will be long ?”, Buffy asked. “They’re coming back already”, Zechs answered. The humans gave a start as the five spirits appeared in the middle of meddled lights. Zechs shot a look at Wufei, but didn’t move, and didn’t say anything. Duo was scowling furiously. “Wu-man, what the fuck happened ? Why did you do that ?”, the Darkness Spirit started. Then things happened to quick for anyone to react. Quatre advanced on Wufei and slapped him so violently that the Chinese spirit stumbled backwards. “What the hell do you think you’re doing ?”, Quatre yelled. “Going out with your signals blocked when you know perfectly well that they’re out there waiting for you ! You’re off-balance, you’re disturbed, you know it’s dangerous and you go straight ahead and put yourself into shit !” “Quatre …”, Trowa tried to interrupt, but Quatre was far too angry to care. “You are doing just what they want ! You’re sending out waves of doubt and confusion ! Get a grip on yourself, and do it soon ! I can’t spend my time saving your ass because I am the only one able to locate you when you’ve decided to isolate yourself ! With any luck, you’ve just shown them your greatest weakness !” Wufei’s eyes flashed red. “I am not weak”, he said very low and almost threateningly. “Then prove it !”, Quatre screamed. His eyes had turned to gold again and were even sending sparks, warning everyone about the state of rage the Dream Spirit was into. “Quatre is right, Wufei”, Heero cut in. “That’s nice for you to say you’re not weak, but maybe it’s time for you to show it.” “ENOUGH!” Zechs’ cry made the room fall silent instantly. The Light Spirit got up, his eyes flashing white with anger. “I think we had enough yells in this room for tonight”, Zechs said more quietly. “Your brother does not need your anger, he needs your support.” “Leave it”, Wufei said dejectedly. “They’re right. I have been weak. If Quatre hadn’t arrived, God only knows what would have happened. I put you all in danger.” For once, Zechs didn’t find anything to answer. Trowa came forward and put his arms around Wufei’s shoulders. Without a word, he led the Chinese boy out of the living-room and upstairs. Zechs shot a look to Heero and Duo, and both of them vanished, leaving only Quatre here. The blond spirit’s face was still flushed with anger, but he was beginning to calm down. He looked up at Zechs, ready to apologize, but the tall man held his hand up. “It’s okay, Quatre. Even if you needed to apologize to someone, it would not be me. And maybe you were right to do this anyway.” “I would have preferred not doing it at all”, Quatre grumbled, his eyes slowly turning back to their usual green-blue shade. “I know. But Wufei needs us.” Quatre nodded. Willow raised a timid hand. “Excuse me, but what was this all about exactly ?” Zechs hesitated, but Quatre let out a sigh. “You should tell them, Zechs. They will find out, sooner or later.” Zechs shrugged. “Wufei and Treize were involved. It was a long time ago, before Treize moved to the other side.” “So what, the bad guy is playing the jealous act ??”, Buffy asked. “Wants his boyfriend back ?” “That’s pretty much it”, Quatre admitted. “If there is one thing that didn’t change about Treize, that’s it. He’s still arrogant, over-satisfied with his own little person, and his head has not deflated since we last saw him. You should have seen him trying to play with the Forces of Darkness, it was so ridiculous it almost made us laugh.” “What does it have to do with Wufei ?”, Willow asked. Zechs turned to Quatre, but the blond spirit shook his head. “You explain”, he said. “I am too tired for this.” “Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed that we’re all involved with spirits that come from a different people than our own.” “I noticed”, Tara said. “I just … Well I thought it was rude to ask.” “Please feel free to ask us any questions you want”, Zechs said with a smile. “If we cannot answer them, then we’ll just tell you. Anyway”, he kept on, “it has been this way for thousands of years. When two spirits bind and start a relationship, it is best for them if they are from different people. It’s still a question of balance, you see. There are natural alliances that just happen to be. For example, Quatre could tell you that Spirits of the Dream often bond with Healers. The thing between Heero and Duo is a bit more unusual, but it still works out fine.” “But for Wufei and Treize, things were different because they were both Fire Spirits, right ?”, Tara said. “You have a sharp mind”, Zechs said. “It is not exactly exceptional for two Spirits who come from the same people to bond, but it creates a special link. The relationship is very intense, but it can become self-destructive for one of the spirits or for both. It is even more true with Fire Spirits, who wield a considerable amount of power. They were almost consuming each other. And then, Treize turned to the dark side.” “Darth Vader syndrom”, Xander said under his breath. Everyone turned to him. “Did I say that out loud ??”, Xander asked. “Just forget I am here okay ?? I don’t exist !” Zechs kept on with the tale. “I think in time, Wufei would have accepted that Treize could leave him. What did hurt him actually, was that he left him because he was eager to gain more power. Treize has always been greedy. But he made a fatal mistake. He asked Wufei to come with him, in the name of their love.” “And what happened ?”, Buffy asked eagerly. “There are different kind of fires, miss Summers. Which means there are different kinds of Fire Spirits too. Wufei is the Fire of Justice. Treize could be seen as the greedy fire that devours everything it touches. Wufei could not accept to forget his ideals, his pride and his dignity. His sense of honor forbade him to abandon his people and his duty. That simple suggestion hurt him in a way Treize did not imagine. I suppose Treize was so sure Wufei would do anything he asked that he didn’t think. Wufei was enraged to see that his lover could even think of asking him to betray everything he believed in. This was the final blow. From that moment on, Wufei has done nothing else but hunt Treize down to kill him. He thought he had done it. He thought it was over.” “That must be terrible for him to see him again”, Willow said thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through that kind of thing.” “Can’t you ? What about Oz ?”, Quatre asked very quietly. Willow turned very red. Quatre got up. “I’ll go see if he’s better now”, he said. “If Trowa tells me he can go with you, I’ll just send him downstairs.” “Thanks, Quatre”, Zechs said. **** “Sit, Wufei”, Trowa said. The Chinese boy did not object. If he was completely honest with himself, he felt a bit sick. He swallowed back a twinge of nausea. “What is happening to me ?” “You’re reacting bad to hypnosis”, Trowa said. “Your mind is too strong to be fully controlled with that kind of thing. And obviously, Treize doesn’t master it very well. Duo was right, in the field of Darkness, he is an amateur.” Wufei smiled weakly, but had to close his mouth again in order not to throw up. He suddenly felt a cool hand on his forehead and leant back on the wall as his uneasiness was driven away from him. “I am not sure I would have told it in the same way than Quatre”, Trowa said, “but he is right, Wufei. You can’t allow yourself to be that vulnerable fighting Treize. Because you will have to fight him again and kill him again. You know that ?” “I know.” The voice was set, determined. Trowa smiled. Wufei was fully back. The door suddenly creaked open, and Quatre slid his head in the opening. “Can I come in ?” Wufei just nodded. Quatre came in, closed the door behind him and went to sit on the bed beside Wufei. “How are you feeling ?” “Stupid”, Wufei answered. “But I think I will survive.” “Good. Zechs is waiting for you.” “I’ll go. Thanks, Trowa.” Trowa just smiled. Wufei got up and prepared to leave, but Quatre’s voice stopped him. “Wufei … Take care of you. And take care of him. He does care about you, you know. And he won’t betray you.” Wufei looked away from the green-blue eyes. “I know, I … I am just not sure I am ready for this.” “Treize is dead, Wufei. If you have decided to kill him, then it’s like he’s already dead. It’s time for you to move on.” “I’ll try.” “No, you won’t ‘try’ ! You will do it.” “Yes, sir !”, Wufei smirked. But then, his black eyes softened, and a timid smile appeared on his lips. “Thanks for kicking my ass today, Quatre. I think I needed it.” “You sure did. Now get away from here before I throw you out.” Wufei got out, and Trowa and Quatre heard him get downstairs. Trowa turned to face Quatre and brushed his lips against his. “You remember that talk we had about you meddling in people’s love lives, don’t you, love ?” he said, affectionately nipping Quatre’s earlobe. “Yeah, that was about thousands of years ago”, Quatre said between short gasps. “What did I tell you then ?” “To mind my own business ?” Trowa stopped his teasing. Quatre looked at him with a bright smile, somehow managing to put all the innocence of the universe in his eyes. “Care to mind my business, Trowa ?”, he asked with a tempting smile.
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