Chapter 29/ 37
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
"There!" Wufei exclaimed, pointing at the computer screen. "What is THAT part of the system for?"
"I don't know," Treize murmured. Wufei's eyebrows hiked practically to his hairline and he whirled to face Treize.
"What do you mean, you don't know? You built the damn thing."
"Just because I built the Epyon does not mean I know every aspect of it, my dear little dragon. I was rather...guided...in its creation. It was not something I planned out in such great detail. I merely crafted as I felt inclined to."
Wufei leaped to his feet and insinuated himself between the computer screen and Treize, scowling darkly at the man. "You can't possibly tell me you had no idea what you were doing! Stop looking at the damn screen and look at me!"
"I haven't much choice," Treize said with a slight chuckle, his eyes raking over Wufei's body. Wufei suddenly had the distinct impression it might not have been such a good idea to put himself between Treize's desk and Treize himself and he swallowed thickly, trying to maintain his tenuous grip on his rage.
"We have to figure out what the hell happened. Zechs was in Epyon the first time and wasn't the second...so Epyon is the common factor."
"So it would seem."
"So the answer has to be here SOMEWHERE, and...why are you LOOKING at me like that?!"
Treize smirked and then stood abruptly. Wufei blanched and stumbled back half a step, almost tripping when he bumped into the desk. His eyes widened significantly. // Damn, he's tall... //
Treize smirked and leaned forward, enjoying Wufei's discomfort immensely. // Ah, I shouldn't tease him so...but it is such fun. // "I assure you, my dear dragon, I'm paying very close attention to you..."
Wufei attempted to start an angry rant to get Treize to back off, but he was horrified at the tremor in his voice. "G...get back or I...I'll..."
"What will you do to me, exactly? It's not like you to hold your tongue, my dear dragon."
Wufei barely restrained an undignified squeak and leaned further back, eyes wide. "I...I'm not your dear anything!"
"Is it not for me to decide what I hold dear?" Treize murmured, leaning in further and brushing a wayward strand of hair from Wufei's face. The boy stuttered over a response, completely unnerved. Treize smirked and let his hand drop back to his side before retaking his seat. "In looking at the files which I have, as well as transmissions and signals sent from Epyon, there seems to be some sort of strange transmission that went out. Its destination is unknown, but the time seems to coincide with right before M--...before Zechs was assaulted."
Wufei released his death grip on the edge of Treize's desk - he had been about half a thudding heartbeat from clambering over it and running across the room. It took him several long moments to compose himself enough to respond. // Damn it, Chang, you fool... why are you letting him get to you? You're only here because you need his help, don't give in to his petty torments...Torments?...I...what the bloody hell is this man trying to do, drive me mad? If he has some nefarious plan, I wish he'd just get on with it instead of making me wait and try to figure out when he's going to spring it at me! // "O...Oh...so this signal went out...we need to find out where it went and what sort of signal it was then. Did Zechs send it?"
"No. It seems to be some sort of...anomaly...that occurred in the programming itself. A ghost in the machine, if you will."
"Well, I'm not as good as some of my...allies...in the matter of computers, but I have some skills. May I?"
"By all means," Treize responded, relinquishing his chair with a slight flourishing gesture. Wufei edged past him as if Treize were a serpent intending to strike. However, his issues with the General were rapidly forgotten as he began to type, losing himself in the flow of data flashing before his eyes as his fingers flew over the keyboard.
~ * ^ * ~
Duo yawned hugely as he stretched, re-shouldering his pack. The sun had 'risen', reappearing in the sky as abruptly as it had vanished the night before. "Well, guess it's time for us to be off."
Quatre nodded, and then slid over to give his friend a hug. "Take care of yourself. Both of you. Are you sure you want to leave me the gun, Duo?"
Duo nodded and flashed Quatre a grin. "Yeah. You'll need it to hunt yourself more food and stuff, Chad put quite a dent in that deer-thing. Zechs and I will get plenty of supplies whenever we hit this town...and if it really comes down to it, I've got a knife. We should be alright."
Quatre smiled and gave his friend another tight hug. He could easily feel that Duo's bravado was mostly a show - the braided boy was more than a little nervous about the impending trek, though he was also anxious to spend some more time alone with Zechs. The latter emotion caused Quatre to blush faintly.
Zechs nodded when they finished their goodbyes. "We shall return as soon as we are able. I would assume four or five days, if it's a two day journey."
Chad nodded solemnly. "I cannot thank you all enough for this. I owe you my life."
"No worries," Duo responded with a grin. "Well, see ya soon!" With a wave, Duo flounced out of the cave, braid flailing behind him. Zechs smiled and followed.
It wasn't long before the two of them had put the cave far behind them. The snow was deep, but the snowshoes Zechs had made proved surprisingly effective and the ground was mostly level, so travel wasn't as difficult as they had feared. Chad had told them that both a city and a castle lay to the north, though he couldn't give them more specific directions. However, the two figured if they found one or the other, they'd accomplish their goal just the same.
"Next time we go to get sucked up in a tornado and dumped into the middle of an arctic wasteland, remind me to bring a snowmobile. Or Deathscythe." Duo said after a while, his exuberance and anticipation of the journey beginning to wane a bit as hours of flat whiteness stretched out in any given direction.
Zechs smirked. "Of course. Although I must say I'd rather welcome another whirlwind if it deposited us back home."
"That's true..." Duo said, sobering a great deal and stopping, turning troubled violet eyes to Zechs. "Do you think we're going to make it back home?"
Zechs frowned and wrapped his arms around Duo, leaning in to give him a soft and reassuring kiss. "I don't know. But even if we don't...I have what is most important to me with me. I can learn to adapt to the rest, but I would have been lost without you."
Duo blushed and felt himself melt, hugging Zechs as tightly as he could manage amidst all the thick furs they wore. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Yeah...as long as we're together, we'll be alright. Even if I have to live here forever...I've got you."
"Well, we can't very well abandon Quatre, either. We'll have to at least let him visit." Zechs smirked.
Duo snickered in response. "Mm, did you see the eyes he was throwin' at that dragon? It was lust at first sight."
"Duo, what are you implying? He's a dragon."
"Well, yeah, but he's cute...er...in the form we saw him in..." Duo paused to consider for a moment. "Hm. Does it count as bestiality if he's a human at the time? Or...looks human?"
Zechs blinked, and then chuckled. "I...don't have a good answer for that."
Duo shrugged and then squirmed free of his lover's embrace. "Well, we better press on anyhow. I want to get as far as we can before dark, and hopefully find a nice place to set up camp for the night."
Zechs smiled and snagged Duo's hand in his own, and the two of them resumed their trek across the snowy plain.