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"Targets"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 : An overall NC-17 for violence and language and some mature subjects Warnings : okay, to serious stuff. Pairings : Pay attention people, it's complicated
! Summary : When Mr Winner's charity programs threaten the interests of some crime lords, a criminal syndicate hires Heero Yuy, the best killer of the galaxy, to take care of the problem by eliminating the man's son, Quatre Raberba Winner. But soon, the killer finds himself trapped by his not-so-innocent target into a strange seduction game, in which he does not know if he's the hunter or the prey. Author's note : This story takes place in the GW universe with space colonies and AC calendar, except that there are no Gundams, no Earth Sphere Alliance and no Oz. The boys are just not Gundam pilots. Oh, and for you to understand better, Relena, Duo and Quatre are all around 18, and the three others are 2 or 3 years older. Dedicated to Laurence-sama, my dear best friend and beta-reader and the Japanese gal around!
"Targets"
Epilogue AC 198, September 15th, L5 Colony Cluster, L5-A0206 A strange procession was walking along the streets of the main town of the colony. Wufei was leading the way with Sally. Behind him, Heero and Quatre were walking, looking around and talking in whispers. Heero was helping Quatre along. Duo and Trowa were bringing up the rear. Heero, Quatre, Duo, and Trowa were wearing plain simple clothes, jeans, sweaters, and light jackets, but Wufei was wearing a brand new Chinese outfit. This one was flaming red, and a golden dragon was embroidered on the back of the vest. At his side, Sally had put on a Chinese dress with a high collar, also red and embroidered with white flowers. People on the streets were shooting strange looks to the small group, before some of them started to whisper excitedly once they recognized Wufei. Wufei led them to a very big house in the center of the town. The servant at the door jumped when he saw him. The only thing the others understood was “Master Chang”, before the man started to talk excitedly in Mandarin, bowing deeply. It took a good five minutes for Wufei to calm him down and ask to be led to the master of the house. “Where are we, Wufei ?”, Sally asked in a whisper. “This is where I grew up, the house of Master Long. It would be rude of me to come here and not pay homage to my elders.” The servant let them in a great reception room. Several minutes later, an old man came in, clad in great black and purple robes. He looked at all the young people in here, before he spoke in impeccable English. “Welcome, Chang Wufei.” Wufei came forward and bowed deeply to his master. “Have you come back home, Wufei ?”, Master Long asked. “No, Master. I’ve come to say goodbye, properly this time.” Master Long raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t intend to assume your role as Master of our Clan when the time comes ?” “Meiran was supposed to be Master of the Clan, Master. But she is dead. I have come to say goodbye to her, and I don’t intend to stay here afterwards.” “I understand.” A short pause, as Master Long shot a circular look to the other young people in the room. His gaze paused briefly on Quatre and Sally, then went back to the young man in front of him. “Very well. I bid you farewell, Chang Wufei. May you find what you are looking for on the path you chose. Just know that you will always be welcome and honored here.” “Thank you, Master. This is more than I deserve.” Master Long held out his hand. “This is exactly what you deserve. Go in peace.” Wufei bowed again, and Master Long left the room. “Whoah!”, Duo finally said, whispering like an excited teenager in a forbidden place. “You really grew up here, Wu-man ?” “Yes. That’s where I was taught everything I knew. I married Meiran in that very room.” “Oh.” “It’s okay, Maxwell, I really don’t mind talking about it now, you should know. Come with me, now.” Wufei made them leave the house through a back door, and they suddenly found themselves in a great field of wild flowers. There was a single ornate stone in the middle of it, engraved with three characters. Wufei went to kneel in front of the stone, tracing the characters with a finger. Sally kneeled besides him. “That’s where ?”, she asked quietly. “Yes. That was the place where I liked to read. She asked me to bring her back here, but she died before I could. So I asked for her to be buried here.” Quatre came forward, and kneeled also, putting a trembling hand on the stone. “I have many things in my life to be grateful for, and it’s all thanks to her. I know it’s not much, but …” The young Arabian held out a white rose he had been carrying. “You think she’ll like it ?”, he asked Wufei. “I’m sure she will. Thank you, Quatre.” Quatre laid the rose on top of the stone and stepped back. Heero was next. He didn’t say anything, but took out his Glock from his shoulder holster. He had not cleaned it nor used it again since that night on L4. He just put it near the rose, the metal glinting strangely blue under the artificial lights. He crossed the jet-black gaze of the Chinese. Wufei just nodded to him with a quiet sad smile. Heero considered the stone for a moment, then bowed in front of it, and went to join Quatre. Trowa and Duo came together. Trowa was carrying his clown mask, that strange half-face that he wore during shows. He put it on the stone too. Duo unfastened the chain that supported his golden cross and put it on top of the mask. “Guys, you don’t have to …”, Wufei started, but Trowa interrupted. “No we don’t, but we want to. If we met, it’s thanks to her. In a way, she started all this. What better way to say thank you than leaving our masks behind and start living for real. We owe her that at least.” “Yeah, Wu, Tro is right”, Duo added. “I never knew her but … I know she’s the one who drove you to Cat, and then to me, and then me to Tro and so on. So I have to say thanks. I wish I could have known her but like this … it’s like she’ll stay alive in our hearts forever.” “Thank you”, Wufei answered, his voice a bit choked by emotions. The four young men began to make their way back to the house, leaving only Wufei and Sally behind. “Do you want me to leave you alone for a moment ?”, the blond woman asked. “No, no. Please stay. I … I would have wanted you to meet her, you would have liked her, you know.” “I am sure of it. And I’m sorry, I didn’t bring anything to say thank you to her.” “It’s enough that you’re here. She’ll understand. As for me … well it’s time to say goodbye.” He looked at his left hand, where his ring was still bright. It was a simple gold band. Wufei remembered very well the solemn day during which he and Meiran had exchanged those rings. For years, they had worn them on chains around their necks, until they were grown enough to wear them for real. When Meiran had died, she had been buried with her ring. Wufei had never even thought of removing his, too lost in his grief. But now the time had come. He slowly took off the golden ring, and put it on an empty space on the engraved stone. Then he remained silent a long moment, watching the characters depicting Meiran’s name as if trying to engrave them in his mind. Then, he slowly straightened up, and offered his hand to Sally. She took it and got up too, slightly leaning on him. “Are you okay, Wufei ?” “Yes. Yes I’m okay now. I’m sure.” He turned to look at his friends waiting for them at the edge of the field. Quatre had his arm around Heero’s waist. He was still a bit pale from his stay in hospital, but the lights were happily dancing on his hair, and Heero had his arm around his shoulders and was speaking to him. Duo was hanging all over Trowa, stealing a kiss every now and then and happily asking a hundred questions at the same time. The young American was bouncing around, and he waved at Sally and Wufei from afar. They were appeased. No longer on the hunt, no longer running to escape. Free. “We are going to be alright now”, Wufei whispered. “All of us.” **** Everyday brings change, and the world puts on a new
face Secretly I been tailing you What's this whole world comin' to I had to lay such a tender trap What's this whole world comin' to Ah yeah, yeah yeah ~OWARI~ Song Credits : The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game
by Massive Attack, Lyrics by Tracey Thorn (Batman Forever Soundtrack). I'd like to give the greatest thanks to my muse and beta-reader Laurence-sama for finding the ending theme for Targets. I was in the process of writing when she brought it to me, and it was just perfect, like a summary of the story, and she couldn't believe I had never heard the song before I started writing. I owe her the greatest thanks for having the patience to spend long afternoons beta-reading this story, smacking me when lyricism had somehow found a way into the story, laughing in all the good places, and most of all, translating in Japanese everything I needed on top of all the work she's doing. You are the best! A glomp to Lisou-chan, muse #2 and lil' sis ! You evil thing, you made me come out of that monstrous writer block I had when you started reading this in the middle and I had to explain all the beginning to you! Now it's finished, hope you'll read it from the beginning! *GLOMP*
Karina, Amejusito, Misanagi, from GWFF ML : you guys were the ones encouraging me to go ahead day after day, and if this finally turned out the way it did, it's thanks to your constant encouragement and support. I love you guys, and I know Targets wouldn't have been the same without you! The people from gw-fan : Press, Jen, Twisted Shadow and Cozzy Bob. You guys gave me a new insight on the story, giving me your thoughts and new perspectives. That’s so funny for once to see a story that took four months of my life, cost me many sleepless nights and that I practically know by heart seen through other eyes. All the people who read it on MediaMiner : MissyIrene, Devil1, Fire of Phoenix, Tyr-Synni, R Winner, TabiWolf. Thanks a lot for taking the time to leave reviews to show your appreciation. It means the world to a writer. I'm so glad you enjoyed, and I hope you like the end. Thanks so much for encouraging me and asking the right questions that made me think and twist things in my head. Challenging feedback is the greatest and you were there for that! Thank you!
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