"Crimson Bonds"

Written By: SkyLark

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 5xOC, 3xOC, 4xR, 6x9, 13xU

Warnings for Overall Series: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes, AU

Summary: Sequel to Vamp fic Crimson Ties

Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html

Betaed by ShenLong *hugs*

"Crimson Bonds"

[We go out on our own
It's a big, bad world outside
Carryin' our dreams and all that they mean
Trying to make it all worth while
-Lyrics to 'Big Bad World' performed by Kodaline]

Chapter 71

[Flashback]

Halina stared down at the passport tied to the handle of a carry on bag with her photo and forged paperwork required for a smooth transport into the United States. Just as she had been promised, the living friends and neighbors of the Barton-Yuy Clan had established a way out of the country to start new lives of their free choosing.

Come the following morning, her freshly cleaned and dressed loved ones would be boarding the next train to the coastline to make the last stretch of their journey to the place that they would call home until they felt safe and ready enough to return.

Whether or not any of them would feel comfortable enough for that remained to be seen... at the moment, traveling into the unknown was a more comforting prospect than ever coming back to what had once been their familiar surroundings.

Suitcases packed with donated new clothes and necessities lined the wall leading to the front door of the Swedish home where the child and her family had been taken in to rest, eat and ready themselves for a couple of weeks.

Restless over what lay ahead, Halina walked past that string of luggage in the hallway towards the living room when she heard the husband and wife responsible for the refugees' shelter and transports speaking.

"The Behr family will be off in the morning as the last ones to go," Oscar began quietly, speaking in a tongue that the girl had just enough knowledge of to understand. "How many more are coming in this next bunch and when can we expect them?"

And the voice that followed was a welcomed surprise to Halina when it answered, "Thirty-four this time. I expect that there will be more every time as we find more effective ways in and out of the camps. They're only a few hours behind us with my brother and cousins looking after them. We just wanted to give you enough notice of what's coming."

Heero Yuy. The lone Vampire of his family Clan.

With her brownish green eyes widening, the child's heart raced in excitement and she peeked her head to take in another presence she had thought she wouldn't see again. Standing beside her brother, Anna was as tattered and dirty as he was from their most recent journey from Poland.

If ever it was possible for a Vampire to look tired... the Infected siblings were the perfect image of that. Their gazes haunted and bodies slouched, all that they needed were bags under their eyes to look more like weary humans.

Elsa, the matriarch of the household, vowed, "We'll take them all in... every one of us involved." Hands folded over her heart, she shook her head of blonde hair. "Our homeland may not be involved in the war, but no one will turn away from helping these poor souls. Word is spreading and more volunteers are coming forward. There will always be residences to bring them in and people willing to offer whatever they can." Resting an arm around her waist, Oscar nodded firmly to their neighbors.

A small smile curling his lips, Heero bowed his head and replied sincerely, "Thank you." Turning to his sister, he suggested, "We getter get to our own home to clean up and start packing for the next trip before Wufei, Trowa and Midi get here."

"Right," Anna muttered under her breath. Turning on her heels, she stopped short at the sight of someone ducking their head back from the doorway. Head tilting, she moved out into the hallway just in time to catch the little girl about to climb the main staircase and called, "Halina?"

The child stepped down to the floor and approached the redheaded Infected. "I'm sorry," she frowned. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her long pajamas, she shrugged, "I didn't mean to listen in, I just couldn't sleep and started walking around when I heard..."

Grinning, the Irish immortal lowered herself down to a knee so that they were eye-to-eye. "You did nothing wrong, sweetheart," she reassured, the smudges of dirt on her face all the more prominent to her tiny charge. "Actually, I'm glad I got to see you one more time before you leave. How are you doing?"

Halina raised her head and answered, "I'm not hungry or cold... but I'm still scared. It's bad..." Gesturing to the front door, she all but whispered, "...out there."

"Ah," Anna nodded, her smile slipping a bit. "I know. But it will get better. You and your family are going to be safe and far away from all of this soon. Eventually, all of the fighting and killing will be over. Until then, you just need to stay the strong, brave little girl you've been all this time."

Shifting her toes side-to-side, the child asked, "There are others coming? More like us?"

Her friend smirked, "Yea. Even more than your bunch. And there will be even more than that the next round. You'll all be the ones to make sure that something like this never happens again. You'll be the first to survive, move on from all of this all the while making a new place in the world for yourselves. That big, scary world out there is already all the better because people like you are in it."

Tears filling her eyes, Halina threw herself forward with a sob and hugged the Vampire's neck tight. Holding back her own emotions, Anna held onto her just as firmly.

In Polish, the immortal whispered, "Now off to bed with you, little one. You have a long trek home tomorrow, so you need your rest." Kissing the girl's head, she rose and gently patted her back towards the stairs.

As she wiped her face dry, the girl smiled up at the Infected in such a way that all of her gratitude that she couldn't voice came through. Scaling the steps, she looked back in time to watch as Heero stepped out into the living room to hug Anna against his side and kiss her temple. "Come on, sis," he urged softly, taking her hand in his then leading the way out.

Even then, Halina knew that they weren't saying goodbye. She would see the Yuys and Bartons again. After everything that they had done for her.. after making the world a little less cold and frightening, the very least that she could do was make the best out of life for herself and have them see that their sacrifices and selflessness had been worth it.

[End Flashback]

* * * *

Angela tilted her head as she read over the printed off reports in her hand. The pages and pages of Professor H's branched out family ties were detailed with everything from his relatives' career paths to if anyone so much as received a parking ticket. Considering how the scientist was one of nine children, all of whom had multiple children of their own and so on, the extensive search for the right Millers was not an easy one.

Peering over to John as he went through his own stack of background histories at the other end of the couch that they shared, the law student frowned deeply, "There are so many of them."

She bit her lip and gazed over to the next room where Heero and Wufei were going page-by-page displayed on their laptops as they sat across from one another at the table. Lowering her voice, she commented, "We could be looking for anything that stands out as possible flags for days, even with the five of us devoting all of our time to this."

From the only recliner in the small living area, Charles lifted his head to meet his sister's gaze and replied, "All we can do is work as fast as we can, eliminate the wrong candidates before passing the more potential ones onto Dad and Uncle Heero for further research. Everybody that we pass over is another potential lead in the right direction."

"I know it's frustrating," John offered, resting a hand on his Companion's leg for a reassuring squeeze, "but he's right. We can only do what we can here until we have M's real identity. A lot of time's passed since Instructor H was alive, so there are a lot of people to go through. Eventually, we'll have a list of everyone still living today and narrow it down from there."

Under her breath, McAdams sighed, "It's just a shame we don't have laws that force every living to be followed with trackers same as the Vampires." Her partner and brother flashed her sympathetic smiles before they went back to the papers they were going through.

The lot jumped from their seats when the front door to the shambled residence crashed open and Trowa entered with an enthusiastic, "Honeys, we're home!"

Already on their own feet in ready-to-strike crouches, Heero and Wufei relaxed and rolled their eyes. "Thanks for scaring the shit out of us, cousin," the Original huffed, failing to stop the smirk that tugged his lips. "You're lucky we're a little slower than usual or you would have been on your ass before you got a word out."

Coming up from behind her husband with a large pack slung over her shoulder, Midi slapped the backside of his head. "Really," she scolded with a glare as he gave her a sheepish smile and rubbed where she struck him. "It's a good thing that I already have practice raising one child. I'll need all the experience I can get with the one on the way."

Gasps and wide eyes spreading through the room, the pair took in their shocked loved ones. "Oh yea," the little mother giggled. Rubbing her flat abdomen, she beamed, "We have a bit of an announcement to make-"

That was as far as she was able to get when Wufei closed the distance between them for a tight embrace, at the same time an equally elated Heero was exchanging a one-armed embrace with Trowa. Charles and John were laughing as they rushed into the space to offer their own congratulations.

Wiping away the shimmer from her eyes when she had her chance to reunite with everyone, Midi noticed the nervous living standing in the doorway.

A wide smile returning to her face, she approached the intern and held her at arm's length by the shoulders to appraise her closely from head-to-toe. "I've been hearing a great deal about you from Wufei and John, dear," she greeted. "I'm so very happy to finally meet you."

At the firm hug that she received, the lovely blonde fell at ease instantly and gladly returned the gesture with a sincere, "Nice to meet you, too, Midi." The Vampire pulled away so that she could reveal the raise of the eyebrow over her right brown-and-gold eye along with the curl of the corner of her mouth.

The Latin Original stepped in to the frowning mortal's rescue, clearing his throat. "That's Aunt Midi and Uncle Trowa, Angela," he snickered. "Neither of us will go by any other title now that we're family."

"Oh!" McAdams exclaimed. "Right," she giggled, "that won't happen again." Chuckling, the tall Infected moved up to embrace her, sealing her entry into the Barton-Yuy Clan.

Midi took a good look around to the shambles of their current safe house. From the holes in the walls, the raised planks of wood in the floor and the drab, barren rooms, her skin paled a couple shades as she took everything in. "Sweet Jesus!" she shrieked, a hand falling over her chest as though her still heart were about to pound. "No, no, no! This will never do!"

Tossing the pack she was carrying onto the floor, she announced, "It's a good thing that I came prepared. I've been beside myself thinking of how you loves have been existing, moving from one abandoned shack to the next. And I see I've had good reason to worry! I won't have you spending another day like this!"

Although John had forewarned her of their Aunt Midi's ability, Angela still gaped when the little mother split to three mirror images of herself. Each entity of her taking up colorful decor and cleaning supplies, she spoke in her host body to vow, "I'll have this place fixed up in no time and I'll be able to help pick up where you've all left off in your investigation through the Millers' history."

Before they could insist that she take it easy on herself and not bother, her cousins saw her versions disappear in blurs of themselves. "Leave her to it," Barton smirked as he shook his head in amusement. "I'm already finding that her hormones leave little room for argument when she gets her mind set on something."

Frowning, Wufei told the Transporter, "I wish that there was time and a way to celebrate the news properly. It doesn't seem right to have you both come in to work after learning that you're going to be parents."

Trowa waved a hand with a snort. "Plenty of time for that once the whole family is together again," he reassured. "What wouldn't be right is celebrating without everyone to enjoy it." Yuy and Chang smiled in appreciation of the sentiment. Gesturing to the stacks of files and spare laptops, the tall Vampire pressed, "Now. Where can I pick up in the hunt for our Mister M?"

* * * *

Duo sat in the corner of his cell beside his bed, furthest from his fellow prisoners. Legs pulled against his chest and arms folded atop his knees, he had his head burrowed in them as though huddling himself from some terrifying creature. Since being roughly forced back into his cage almost an hour up to that moment, he hadn't moved from that position.

Her legs dangling over the edge of her bed, Celeste was the first to finally break the thick silence when she peered up to watch her lover. "You knew that we weren't going to make it," she all but whispered.

Gold-and-violet eyes staring at the empty cell linked to his, Solo stood leaning back against the opposite wall. Unable to tear his gaze away, wishing beyond reason that he would be waking from a dream to find a certain redheaded Vampire sleeping on her cot, he bit his lip.

Drawing a breath, he nodded and replied softly, "Yeah. Whatever gift I gave Emma, Shinigami wouldn't have anything to do with it unless he had a shot at those Hunters. And even if we were able to teleport our way out, it's not like we would have been able to get far with that tracker on An-"

He shook his head at the sudden hitch in his voice that kept him from finishing his sister's name. Clearing his throat, he murmured, "I had to think of a permanent end game to this. That'll only come if we were rescued and everyone involved is handled properly."

Slowly turning his head to reveal his pained expression, he shrugged, "I would have given you the same ability to escape but-"

"But you knew I would never leave you behind," his Companion smiled warmly. Winking, she murmured, "You were right to make that call, love."

The blonde Hybrid smirked, the first hint of any real smile he'd had on his face for days. The burden of the choice he had to make wore heavily on him. After having experienced a glimpse of what his own darker half was capable of, he knew that Shinigami would take over to seek out the vengeance he desired.

No one and nothing else mattered... including the fact that there would be severe actions taken by Septum for their failed escape.

Anna and Broderick were going to be fair game. And there was no telling what would become of them.

But having that spark of hope in Emma gave all of them something to cling onto. It was a big, bad world that she had been forced into to fend for herself. However, the half-breed had seen her courage and believed that he made the right choice in her gift to keep her safe until she could find help.

His eyes reddened from fatigue and tears that came to a stop at last, Duo looked out to his twin. "Solo," he managed in a crackling voice, "...why was Anna bleeding?"

Celeste's eyes grew with a gasp as her head snapped towards him. She never heard that whispered inquiry before. Now realizing that her brother had been completely unaware of what had happened while Shinigami had control over their shared body, her skin paled a few shades. That shock mixed with heart-wrenching pain for the fear displayed on the braided Hybrid's face.

Not nearly as moved by his counterpart's worry, Solo shot him a heated glare. "She was trying to stop Shinigami, as you still insist on calling what you have, from getting you and the rest of us killed," he growled. "She took a hard punch to the face from the bastard for her trouble."

A sharp sob catching in his throat, Duo brought a hand that was coated with dried blood up to cover his mouth as a new wave of tears filled his eyes.

Of all creatures in existence, Anna was one of the very last that he would ever harm. Even though he wasn't the one to strike his sister, he'd failed to protect her all the same by thinking that his alter ego would hold her in the same regard at all times.

If he had managed to hurt his babies in any way... the guilt that he was already coping with would have been unbearable.

Swallowing roughly, Maxwell held his red hands out to stare at the crimson remains of his victims. "How many people did he manage to kill?" he asked quietly.

"Oh a couple dozen from what I could count," his brother answered. "If I wasn't able to keep the reins on my other half, there would have been a hell of a lot more." Folding his arms across his chest, he dropped his gaze to the floor and muttered, "I never wanted to have to tap into him... but I didn't have much of a choice when I saw Anna injured like that."

The ordeal had been every bit as terrifying as Solo had expected it to be... peering through the eyes of the real monster that he could be. It wasn't another personality, as Duo had claimed to make himself feel better about what he was capable of. That darkness belonged solely to him and him alone. Except he was the only one willing to admit it. His twin just found a convenient way of coping with what he was not able to accept.

Approaching the separating wall of their cells, Celeste chewed on the inside of her cheek as she studied the braided half-breed. "I think you need to have a stern discussion with Shinigami after what he's done," she offered, glancing over to her lover from the corner of her eye. The tension in her shoulders and the concern she flashed her lover spoke of her own conclusion that Maxwell's other entity never really existed. But their brother needed to he handled gently now that he was on the cusp of madness.

"I tried," Duo breathed, timbre dripping in terror as he stared out at nothing. "But he's just... laughing."

* * * *

Septum's face reddened the moment he set foot into the patient room at the sight of the source of his outrage. His hand coming up fast, he sent a powerful smack across the Vampire's cleaned face that sent it reeling to the side.

That was Anna's only reaction. Expression blank and resilient as ever, she made it a point to slowly turn her head back and matched the stern gaze locked on her. The gold collar around her neck gleamed in the light while she remained sitting on the edge of the table beneath her.

Gasping, Doctor Adodera ignored the guard assigned to keep her in line and shouted from the corner that she had been working in, "Mister Millers! She can only handle so much!"

"Not another word from you, or I'll see to it that you get far worse than that!" the researcher barked back over his shoulder at her. Shaking, the living gulped and set back to typing the last details of her examination report into her electronic tablet when her glaring escort standing by the door brandished the gun at his hip.

A finger raising before the Infected's nose, Septum growled, "I don't know how you managed to win over one of my best Hunters," he hissed, "but I'll make sure you suffer pain like you have never known when your time is up to pay you back." The red-and-bluish bruise that had begun to set into the cheek that he had struck faded away from sight as he spoke... and the prisoner remained defiantly quiet while not giving him so much as a blink of her gold-ringed eyes.

Screaming in frustration, the scientist spun towards the blonde conspirator. "What did you determine from the ultrasound?" he snapped.

Gloria straightened herself, answering listlessly, "The babies are perfectly fine. No sign of trauma to be concerned with. But it would be my highest recommendation that she be allowed to rest with a monitor to track their movements for the next few hours to ensure that there are not signs of early induced labor from stress."

"Fine," Millers conceded, waving a hand in annoyance. "Get everything you need in order. As soon as she's put away, you can enjoy time in your own cell. I can't very well lose your expertise this late in the game since there is a very real chance you'll be taking those... things out before they're due if we're going to have to deal with unwanted company." Adodera lowered her head to cover up the watery shine in her eyes.

Hands balling back into fists at his sides, the Boss stalked back to his captive and told her, "As for Broderick, he can thank your meddling for what's about to happen to him. He won't be of this world much longer and before he dies, he'll be cursing your kind again. Keep those happy thoughts as you stare at the walls of your new home."

Just the mention of the Hunter was nearly enough to break Anna. Over the months, she and Dawson had come to be close friends. He had risked everything to help her family escape... now he was going to pay the ultimate price for that. The pain and guilt that brought was killing her inside.

But she wouldn't allow it to show. That was the last thing Broderick would have wanted. He would have made her stay strong in the face of their enemy. And that was exactly what she did.

Against his best defenses, Miller's face burned with frustration. "I've had all I can stand of you for today," he hissed. Looking to her new guards standing at either side of the table, he ordered, "Put her away." Pointing at the doctor, he added, "You stay put and get that monitor ready before you're locked in your own room."

Head held high, Anna was on her feet and heading for the door with the wide-eyed Hunters all but jogging to flank her before she made it out into the hallway. Paying no mind to either of them, she took a bit of joy in hearing the scientist sigh at her back as the door slid closed behind her again.

There were no words exchanged between the Vampire and the armed young men as they took her to her new cell. Stepping inside of the small, steel cage, she walked towards the simple bed that nearly filled the space and sat up in it when she was sealed away from the rest of the world. Hands folded in her lap, she stared ahead at the walls for a long while with her thoughts her only company.

A whimper filled the air. Hands rose to cover her face just as the tears began to flow.

So this was how she was going to die... alone and without the chance to say her goodbyes.

Controlling her sobs after a brief release, Anna shifted back onto the bed until her back was propped up on the wall that stopped her. Gently running a hand over her growing belly to take what comfort she could from the squirming beneath her touch, she began to sing, "Good night, my angel, time to close your eyes... and save these questions for another day..." [1]


TBC

[1] The start to Billy Joel's 'Lullaby.' Very sweet song.

Chapter 72

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