The cold, winter snow fell soundless onto the cold ground. Seline Fonga sat by the window on a chair, watching the snowfall. Her head rested on her hands and she stared out the window, not really watching what was going on outside. The room was warm and cozy but a little dirty. The house hadn’t been used in years, since no one ever went there. Seline’s parents had been very overprotective, never letting Seline or her sisters or brother out into the world. After the colony was invaded, Seline’s parents and her sisters were killed. Her brother remained alive but he went into the final battle and was killed. The old house was the Fonga family’s summerhouse, since they family was gone, Seline had inherited the house. She hadn’t been to the house since she was two years old, thirteen years ago. She invited the gang, which consisted of Heero, Relena, Duo, Hilde, Quatre, Dorothy, Trowa, Catherine, Wufei and herself, to the house for a few weeks during the winter.
Seline sat against the window, watching everyone outside. They were having girls vs. boys snowball fight. Naturally the boys were winning. Seline just sat by the window...watching. Deep in thought, she barely heard the knock on her door. She turned and faced the door and saw Wufei standing the doorway, leaning against the frame. “How come your out there with everyone? The girls properly need your help... really bad.”
“I was about to ask you the same question, how come your not out there?” she replied. “I feel out of place with them I guess. I like them all and such but I guess...I just don’t feel like I belong with them.”
“I know how you feel. How did you get out of going out? I know Duo was giving me tons crap because I wasn’t coming.”
“I told them I wasn’t feeling well...from the trip.”
“And he believed you?”
“Yup, how did you get out of it?”
“I just told them I wasn’t in the mood. Everyone but Duo excepted that.” Wufei nodded and walked over to the window and looked out at everyone playing. Seline looked back at the snowball fight. Then she stood up, stretched, and walked over to the door. “I’m heading downstairs to start making some hot chocolate for when they decide to come in. Care to join me?” Seline asked. Wufei shook his head and he started out of the room and down the hall to his room. Seline watched him go and then went to the stairs and went down the stairs.
+++
Quatre had been watching the window glancing up at Seline staring into space. She looked lost and...he didn’t dare think helpless but she looked almost empty. Getting back to what he was doing which was fighting a snowball war; he started making more ammo. Behind a bush and crouched low to the ground were Heero and Trowa. Behind the bush next to them sat Duo. The battle wasn’t terribly hard even by Quatre’s standers. It didn’t take very long to take down Relena, Catherine and Dorothy but Hilde was giving the ex-Gundam pilots a run for their money. Heero and Trowa seemed to have a plan. When Hilde peeked over a bush to throw a snowball, Trowa and Heero hucked two snowballs and nailed her in the shoulder. She stood up and surrendered. Quatre looked over at the window again but Seline wasn’t there anymore.
“Quatre!” Dorothy yelled running up to him. She took one look at his face and she knew something was bothering him. “Quatre, what’s wrong?” she asked.
“I guess, I’m just worried about Seline that’s all. She seems really...depressed.” He replied
“Quatre, this place must bring back a lot of bad memories. She has no family left and this was her family’s summerhouse. The only thing we can do for her is be a good friend.” Dorothy replied, “Come on, everyone is going inside, let’s join them.”
“Sure.” He said looking at the window again. He started walking towards the door, Dorothy watched him walk and she looked at the window. She made her eyes narrow, jealousy ran in her family’s blood and it was kicking up again. She closed her eyes and ran to catch up with Quatre.
+++
The group came pilling into the house but Seline was ready for them. She leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen watching everyone take off their coats and such. As soon as she made eye contact with Quatre she spoke up. "You guys must be freezing. I made some hot chocolate, you want some?"
"You bet I do!" Duo yelled, "Did you happen to put marshmallows in it?"
"Yes Duo I put marshmallows in them just for you." She replied a hint of frustration in voice. Everyone glanced her way with a hint of worry.
"Thanks Seline." Catherine said with a sincere smile, "You really should have come out with us, we needed you."
"Yeah, they beat us pretty bad." Relena said with a pout.
"Not too surprising." Seline said with a flat tone. Relena raised an eyebrow and looked at Seline. She put her hands on her hips and stared at her.
"How come we can get Heero and Trowa out there but we can't get you or Wufei?" she asked shaking a finger at her.
I must admit, it was quite amusing watching you attempting to beat us." Trowa said with his normal flat tone.
"Really? Next time we won't go so easy on you!" Catherine said punching Trowa's arm. Everyone started laughing except for Heero, Trowa and Seline. They all just raised an eyebrow and shook their heads. They all grabbed their mugs and started for the library. While walking, Dorothy met Seline's eyes and tried to hold her gaze but couldn't. Seline's green eyes were too cold and they pierced right through Dorothy's heart. Everyone found a seat in the library and started doing what they all did best. Relena, Dorothy, Catherine and Hilde started talking, Trowa and Heero started playing chess with Duo watching, and Quatre and Seline both found a book to read and got caught up in the story.
About an hour passed and everyone, especially Duo, was dropping hints about being hungry. Without having to be asked, Seline got up and headed for the kitchen. Quatre volunteered to help, as he walked from the room, Dorothy eyed him but he didn't even glance her way. When Quatre entered the kitchen Seline was cutting turkey and ham for sandwiches. Quatre walked over and started putting mustard on them and making them into sandwiches. They worked in silence until it was interrupted by Seline cursing. "Ouch damn it! I cut my freckin finger." She was holding her index finger and blood was starting the drip out. A drop fell to the ground. Quatre handed her a paper towel when...the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Quatre said heading for the door.
"No, I've got it." Seline said pushing Quatre out of the way. Passing the library, that was right by the front door, everyone's faces looked up to see who it was. Seline opened the door and as soon as she saw who it was, she froze. No one could see who made Seline get that look of surprise and disbelief. But what they did see was two large wrap around Seline in a tight embrace.
"Seline! Goodness gracious how long has it been! Eleven years if I stand correct. Look at you, all grown up!" a loud voice said. Seline mumbled something the group couldn't hear and then let the stranger in. She stood in the library and said,
""Everyone, this is my Aunt Claudia. The only living relative I have left. I thought my entire family but my Aunt here seemed to have survived." Aunt Claudia stood about five-five with the same strawberry blond and deep green eyes as Seline. Although he hair was longer and much redder, there was still a string family resemblance.
"My goodness Seline, I didn't even think twice that you would have friends here!" Aunt Claudia exclaimed clapping her hands together. She was much more animated than Seline ever was. Seline nodded,
"Aunt Claudia, this is Relena, Hilde, Dorothy, Catherine, Trowa, Heero, Duo, Quatre and..." Seline was cut off by the sound of footsteps on the stirs and Wufei appeared. "Wufei. Everyone meet Claudia Fonga." Everyone nodded or waved. Wufei walked in the library and found a spot on a couch and sat down. Aunt Claudia was smiling from ear to ear until she saw Seline's finger. Her eyes went wide and got a wild look that Seline didn't notice.
"Dear, you injured...let's take care of that." She shoved Seline into the kitchen and everyone in the library looked at each other. The girls went back to talking, Heero and Trowa went back to their chess game, Duo went back to complaining and Quatre walked down the hall to the kitchen. He could hear Seline and Aunt Claudia talking. Although he felt guilty about eavesdropping, something in his gut told him too. He looked around the corner and saw Aunt Claudia working in stitching up Seline's finger. They were talking about Seline's past over the past eleven years.
"How does your finger feel?" Aunt Claudia asked.
"Fine." Seline replied flatly.
"Can I asked you something?"
"Go right ahead."
"What did you mean by 'I'm the only living relative left'? What about Jason?"
"Jason was...was killed in a mobile suit battle. Mom, Dad, Shannon and Marie--"
"I know, all the boys in the library are ex-Gundam pilots right?"
"Yeah."
And that's Relena Darlin or better know as Relena Peacecraft and Quatre Winner from the pacifist Winner family right?"
"Yes that's them."
"Those are the last people I would expect to hang around ex-Gundam pilots.
Quatre came from a peace crazy family and he's the last person I would think to be a soldiers."
"...I guess." There was moment of silence, Aunt Claudia continued to work on Seline's finger. Quatre didn't see anything that could numb and he could see the needle going in and out of her skin. Seline watched without even flinching. Quatre shifted positions and continued to listen, guilt starting to grow in his throat. He wasn't used to doing things like this; it was a whole new world for him. A few moments later Aunt Claudia clipped the string and put her tools down she a grin.
"There! I knew being a nurse for three years would have its advantages. You're done, I hope that wasn't too painful dear." She said.
"Not at all. When you have to fight a mobile suit battle with a bullet in your back, that's pain." Seline replied.
"Oh my goodness, when--"
"Don't even ask." Seline interrupted. Aunt Claudia shut her mouth that seemed to be a good enough answer for her. Quatre figured that this was the perfect time to step into the kitchen. He backed up a little to make it look like he came from the library.
"Hey." He said leaning against the doorframe. Aunt Claudia and Seline lifted up their heads and looked at him. Seline gave him a slight smile but Aunt Claudia looked very irritated. Her eyes were cold and hateful, just that look in her eyes sent a chill down Quatre's spine. She looked away from him and then at Seline. She bared a toothy grin and patted Seline on the head; Seline looked like she didn't like that too much.
"Go back to your friends dear, I'll clean up in here and finish the sandwiches." She said.
"Thanks." Seline said with no emotion. She got up from the table and brushed pass Quatre not saying a word. Quatre glanced at Aunt Claudia and silently followed.
+++
Aunt Claudia leaned over and looked down the hall to make sure no one was listening or watching. She smiled, this was perfect, and no one would suspect a thing! She picked up the bloody paper towel and held it in front of her face...she started grinning. She reached into her purse and pulled out a zip lock bag and she put the paper towel in the bag. There was plenty of blood this was too good! She was one step closer to her dream.
+++
Duo was bouncing up and down with excitement; these chess games between
Heero and Trowa were always so nerve wrecking. They were both so good; the competition was so great. Heero moved one piece but Trowa moved another. Heero took down one piece but Trowa knocked tow of Heero's but Heero hit another of Trowa's. "No! Trowa put that one there! No, no no! Heero put that piece of there! No, you guys are doing everything wrong! Why aren't you listening to me?!" Duo yelled. Heero and Trowa glanced at each other and then at Duo. They both shook their heads and rolled their eyes. Duo looked confused and hurt. "What? You didn't answer my question, what aren't you listening to me?"
"Believe me Duo, you don't want us to answer that." Hilde let out a small chuckle while Catherine, Dorothy and Relena started laughing. Seline, Wufei, Trowa and Heero all exchanged looks that read, "What the hell are they laughing at?" Quatre shook his head with a grin on his face, and Duo just sat there looking a little hurt and still confused.
"What's so funny?" Aunt Claudia asked as she walked into the library.
"Nothing, we're just dissing Duo, not biggie." Relena answered.
"Well okay, I was wondering if you guys want to come shopping with me?" Aunt Claudia asked. Duo crinkled his nose in disgust.
"Why in the world would I want to go shopping?!" he cried. Aunt Claudia started to laugh, she smiled at Duo and said,
"I meant the girls."
"Oh I get it. Go ahead...have tons of fun." Duo said with sarcasm dripping from the words.
"We will!" Hilde cried jumping up. They other girls also got up and they all started upstairs to get coats and money. Aunt Claudia watched them go and then turned back to the library, she was then saw that Seline hadn't gone upstairs. None of the boys seemed too surprised but Aunt Claudia did.
"Aren't you coming?' she asked Seline.
"I'm not a...shopper." She 'shopper' like it tasted bitter in her mouth.
"How come?" as soon as she asked that it hit her. "With all your training I guess it sometimes makes it hard to be an ordinary teenager." The boys turned and looked at Aunt Claudia, she glanced at them and they all went back to what they were doing. Seline raised an eyebrow and said in cold voice,
"Somewhere along that line." Aunt Claudia nodded and got up from her seat and left the room. Everyone sat quiet, not saying a word or even flinching. Quatre stared at Seline, looking at the faraway look in her eyes. Quatre glanced at Duo; he looked concerned about the look as well. The girls came running down the stairs and Aunt Claudia came out of the kitchen. Relena stopped in mid step and gasped.
"I just realized! Where are you going to sleep Aunt Claudia? All the bedrooms are full upstairs." She cried.
"Don't worry, there is an extra room on this floor." She said smiling, "We'll be back later boys...and Seline." They all piled out the door and into the car. They stepped on the gas and they were gone.
"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Trowa asked.
"Hours, if we're lucky, days." Seline said flatly.
"I guess that go by the motto 'shop till you drop'!" Duo exclaimed. Everyone sighed and rolled their eyes. Wufei got up from his chair and started to walk from the room. When he passed Duo, he grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, "He's just a barrel of laughs." He walked out of the library and up the stairs. A moment later, a door closed. Duo sat on the ground pouting, when he bored he too went up to his room, with his nose in the air. Heero and Trowa played for a little while longer but eventually Heero beat Trowa. Not saying a word, they got up and left the room. Quatre saw this as an opportunity to see what was bugging Seline. He got up from his chair and sat next to her on the couch, she didn't seem to notice or care.
"Seline, is something bugging you? You want to talk about it?" he asked. She turned to him and stared at him, fixing her forest green eyes on his and not letting go. Then Quatre saw her eyes become glassy she looked away.
"Quatre, I know I can tell you anything but...I'm too strong to cry." She said.
"You're never too strong to cry. Go ahead and cry...and tell me what's wrong."
"Alright, I guess I feel...really...mixed up inside. My brother who was my world from the moment he was born died recently and I'm the house where I used to spend my summers...with my family. I'm back here with all the memories and...I'm with an Aunt who hates because I'm not like other girls..."
"Your Aunt doesn't hate you."
"Yes...she does...I can see it in her eyes." Seline paused and took a deep breath and looked him, "Quatre...I miss my family." She looked into his eyes and the tears fell. Quatre put an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried.
"I know how you...I feel the same way when I go back home...I miss my Dad." He said quietly. She didn't answer...she just cried on his shoulder and Quatre continued to embrace her.
+++
Dorothy stared out the car window, every now then looking back at the house until it disappeared out of sight. Catherine and Relena looked at each other but Aunt Claudia and Hilde were deep in conversation and didn't seem to notice. Dorothy seemed very antsy and worried and Relena and Catherine watched her squirm and fiddle with her hair for over ten minutes. They looked at each other and nodded, Catherine spoke up.
"Dorothy, is something bugging you? You've been acting really bizarre since we left the house."
"Yeah, you know you can tell us anything. Right...Hilde?" Relena said reaching forward and giving Hilde's arm a little smack. Hilde turned around looked very irritated. "Right Hilde?" Relena repeated eyeing her.
"What? Oh...sure, you bet." She said putting on a fake smile. Dorothy smiled for only a moment but then it faded. She looked away again. When she looked back again, she didn't look too happy. Her face had the sadness that Quatre got on a bad day and the wild look in her eyes that Heero got on a really bad day. She took a deep breath and spoke, "Alright I'll tell you what's wrong if you can promise that everything said will not leave this car."
"Of course, we all promise not to say a word, right everybody?" Everyone nodded and Aunt Claudia pulled the car over to the side of the road. She turned off the engine and waited for Dorothy to start. Dorothy took a deep breath and spoke,
"You can't say anything to them...I wish I could tell them how I feel myself." She paused, "I've been feeling really...afraid lately. Afraid that I'm going to loose Quatre, he seems to care more about Seline than me. He seems like he always wants to be alone with her. I don't think she's trying to take him from me but...I think she is in a way."
"Dorothy, you don't need to worry too much. Quatre and Seline became friends before any of the other pilots. When Heero and Duo first met Seline and Quatre had already fought a battle together and gained each other's trust. If you didn't know, they were all very cautious about trusting each other. I bet he loves her like a sister, of course he cares about her. But I'm sure he doesn't love her in that way." Relena replied.
"Yes but--"
"Not buts, take the weight off your shoulders and relax." Hilde said.
"Let's shop late into the night, ease your worry." Catherine said brightly.
"Come on girls, let's spend money!" Aunt Claudia said cheerfully. Dorothy smiled slightly and let out a small chuckle. She put on a big fake smile to please everyone and the car pulled back into traffic. Through her smile she was sneering and playing with idea's on how to let Seline have a "accident".
+++
After ten minutes of sharing a good cry together, Seline pulled away from Quatre. His shoulder was wet with her tears. She sat on the couch whipping her eyes; she sniffed and said,
"I need something to preoccupy me, but what?" she sat thinking for only a moment, then it hit her. Her eyes got bright and a small smile spread across her face. "I've got it, this is perfect! Quatre, I'm going to teach you how to fist fight!" she said getting up.
"Whoa, what? How--?" Quatre tried to ask but Seline grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. She garbbed his coat and chucked at his head, he barely caught it. She had her coat on now and she was digging through an old box, "Are you sure about this?" he asked.
"Found them!" she said, ignoring his question, holding up two old baseball mitts.
"What are--" he didn't have time to finish his question, Seline had his hand again and she was dragging him outside. The door slammed behind them. When they were pretty far into the front yard she dropped his hand and stopped.
"Let's get started." She said.
"Now wait, are you sure about, I mean won't the snow make it hard to balance?" he asked hoping it would change her mind. Fat chance.
"Nah, the snow will teach you to have good balance. Look Quatre this isn't hard, trust me. I specialize in hacking and fist combat, I know what I'm doing."
"Okay but...I'm going to warn you, I'm going to suck."
"No biggie." She picked up the baseball mitts and put them on. "Now show me a fist." He did, "No, put your thumb on the outside and down. That way you don't break it...much better. Okay punch the mitts." She said putting them up, Quatre punched the mitts. "Harder." He punched harder. "No harder! You won't hurt me, punch me as hard as you can." Quatre put all his strength into the punch. Seline smiled, "Now your getting it."
+++
Heero and Trowa sat at the kitchen table in silence sipping their hot mugs of coffee. They heard a door slamming and before that they heard Quatre protesting about something. Whatever it was, neither of the boys wanted anything to do with it. Then they heard feet pounding down the stairs, within minutes Duo popped his head in the kitchen door.
"Now I know that can't be the girls getting home from shopping, it hasn't even been an hour yet...so who went outside?" he quipped.
"Seline and Quatre." Heero replied.
"...why?"
"I don't know...let's find out." Trowa said standing up. The three boys garbbed their coats and headed for the front door.
+++
Although he was deeply involved with his reading, Wufei still heard the door slam downstairs. He sighed, "Someone must be pissed at Duo again." He thought. Sighing yet again, he dragged himself to look out the window. What he saw nearly knocked him off his feet. Seline and Quatre were standing in the front yard, Seline was holding two baseball mitts and telling Quatre something. Quatre nodded and he...punched the mitt?! Wufei nearly slapped himself in the face.
"No way! I can't be this right! Is she...?" he started and he didn't even finish his thought. He garbbed his coat and bolted down the stairs.
+++
"Spin kick! Punch! Punch! C'mon Quatre move faster!" Seline nearly screamed. She looked back at the house and saw Heero, Trowa and Duo coming from the house and Wufei running to catch up. When they saw what was going on...they froze, mouths hanging open. "Stop." Quatre stopped punching and looked at the boys, then at Seline. She raised an eyebrow; "Catching flies?"
"Are you...teaching him how to fight?!" Duo asked.
"You have a problem with that?"
"No."
"Good, Quatre that should be enough for this hour. Ten minute break." Quatre nodded and sat down, sinking into the snow. "Hey guys, I just thought of this idea. We all have our own special moves and tips. So I was wondering, we can each spend an hour with Quatre and give him tips. How about it?"
"Sure." Duo said,
"Why not?" Trowa said.
"Doesn't matter to me." Wufei said.
"I guess." Heero said shrugging.
"Great, we only have so much time until the 'girls' get back." Seline said. Each boy took a turn with Quatre showing him special moves and tips. They would spend this hour showing him how to do a certain punch or how to make a kick more powerful. While Trowa was having his hour with Quatre, Seline turned to Wufei and said,
"He seems to be a fast learner, how long do you give him?"
"Two, maybe three days." Wufei replied.
"How can you tell?"
"Because I'm the best."
"Tsh! Up yours Wufei! I could beat you, no problem."
"Is that a challenge?"
"You bet your ass it is."
"Fine, right here...right now."
"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you. Quatre, that's enough for today." Trowa and Quatre came in puzzled looks.
"What's going on?" Trowa asked.
"No biggie, Wufei and Seline are just battling." Duo replied.
"Oh that's it? Okay, I'll watch." Trowa said.
"Me too." Heero said sitting down in the snow.
"Whose got the popcorn?" Duo asked.
"Well...I don't know..." Quatre said with an unsure ton in his voice.
"Quatre!" The boys said in unison.
"Fine! Fine, I'll watch." Quatre replied. The boys sat in a line in the snow; Seline and Wufei stood about five yards apart with stern looks on their faces or better know as a "fighting face".
"Get us started Trowa." Seline said flatly.
"First person either unconscious or pinned down loses, no cheap fighting. You may begin...now." Trowa said sitting back down. Seline cracked her knuckles and smiled. Everyone knew that Seline's favorite thing in the world was fist-to-fist combat and she was damn good at it.
The battle began, Seline raised her fists and threw the first punch but Wufei ducked. She missed but she came back with a solid kick to the stomach. When Wufei leaned over, she kneed him in the face. Wufei stumbled backwards but he charged forward and did a spin kick, Seline blocked it but the force knocked her down. She flipped onto her back and Wufei was about to deliver the finishing blow when Seline rolled out of the way and Wufei was forced to punch the ground. He yelped he had punch too hard and that's when Seline brought her leg around buckling Wufei's legs. He fell backwards and Seline backed up, did a rolling front flip and brought her leg down on Wufei's stomach. He grunted and didn't move. He raised his hand to imply that it was over, Seline won. She walked up to Wufei and put a hand out, he accepted the hand and she pulled him to his feet. The ex-Gundam pilots looked around the yard to see little drops of blood everywhere. Wufei reached up and touched his face; he had a deep cut above his right eye. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and pressed it against the cut.
"Something tells me we better cover up that blood, the girls may freak out or something." Quatre said standing up. No one listened; they all went to congratulate both fighters on a great match. Quatre sighed and began to throw snow on top of the blood specks. "That was some fight you guys, you were going at it like you were sworn enemies or something. Your faces even looked like you hated each other." Duo said patting Wufei on the back, Wufei sneered at Duo and he backed off.
"When you're in a match, you do hate the person you're against even if you like them in real life. There's the real world and the fighting world." Seline replied. Quatre took in the information while everyone else nodded in agreement. In was then that they heard a car approaching and they all looked in the direction it was coming, the girls were back.
Aunt Claudia and the rest of the girls piled out of the car, they were all carrying four or more bags. They smiled at the ex-Gundam pilots but the smiles faded when they saw blood on the snow, Seline had a bruise already forming on her right arm and Wufei had a cut on his head and a bruise on his forehead. Their mouths hung open when they all realized how much blood was everywhere; they all dropped their bags.
"What...in the happened? Are you all right? Is anyone hurt? What were you doing? Who attack?" Relena said all at once in a fast tone. Seline sighed and folded her arms
"A fist match, yes, no, already answered that one, and no none did. Does that answer all your questions?" Seline replied looking from horrified face to another.
"A fist match...? Who...?" Catherine managed to spit out.
"A fight between Wufei and I." Seline said. Aunt Claudia put a hand over her mouth and stared at Seline, her eyes full of a strange emotion Seline couldn't even think of words. Seline looked at the rest of the girls; they were all staring at her. Seline turned her back to them and pushed her way through the boys and she started walking towards the house. The boys and all turned and followed her into the house but the girls just stood thunderstruck.
"One question dears, is that what Gundam pilots do for fun...?" Aunt Claudia asked. No one answered; they just stood in their own worlds. Before long, they all picked up their bags and went inside, completely silent.
+++
Seline paced around the garage thinking about a moron she was. "This was the dumbest idea, inviting them all here." Seline thought. She turned and kicked the punching bag as hard as she could. "I should come here alone and mellowed in my misery in peace." She punched the bag again with all her strength. "Then maybe I wouldn't have to worry about what they think of me, how I'm different..." She did a spin kick and then a hard punch. She punched it again and again. She kept on punching it until her fists hurt and her knuckles were white with anger. She kicked it again and again. "I can't deal with all this crap, that's what it is, crap." A roundhouse kick and followed by an elbow to the middle. "My damn, frickin, so-called friends think I'm a blood thirsty freak of nature. Maybe I am, get the hell over it, I am the way I am and I can't change that." She did a sharp sidekick, "Even if you want me to." She turned and did another roundhouse kick, only harder. "I am going to have a mental breakdown before these weeks are over." Another hard punch, "No seems to give a crap about me? Why should they, I don't even give a crap about myself then why should they?" The punches and kicks were stronger as her anger boiled up to the top. "No one ever understood me...except for Jason. But he was taken by God or maybe Satan threw him up to Heaven just so he could bring hell into my life." A punch followed by a kick and another punch, "Damn you...damn you all." She punched the bag and her anger boiled over, "Damn you all to hell!" Her head screamed as she brought a very strong roundhouse kick around and kicking the bag off the hinges. It fell to the ground with a loud crash and Seline stood over it breathing hard. Everyone in the house ran to garage to see what the crash was. What they saw was a sweating Seline standing over the bag, her face and ears burned with a deadly red anger.
+++
Aunt Claudia smiled when she saw the punching bag lying on the floor on the garage. Seline had more inner strength than she could have ever imagined. She reached in her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the plastic bag that held the cloth that Wufei had against his head. She tightened her grip; this was going better than she hoped. She looked at Seline with her burning face and tight hands with white knuckles and thought, "Hello, hell's angel."
+++
No one said a word; they all just stood in complete awe unable to find words to calm Seline down. She looked at each of them holding each gaze for only a second but when she looked at Quatre they held each other's eyes for a long time. He tried to talk to her through his eyes but she looked away. She walked towards the door, "Move." She grumbled. No one flinched, she started to shake with anger, "I said MOVE." She said louder raising her voice. Her voice was cold and shrill and it echoed throughout the house. Everyone moved aside making a path for her, Seline walked through and went upstairs. Everyone exchanged glances and without a word, went in the kitchen to eat dinner. "Should I go up and get Seline?" Duo asked.
"No...we should let her cool off." Relena answered. They all sat down to dinner in silence and without much more than a "Good Night" to each other; they all went upstairs to their rooms.
+++
Duo got up stretched; it had been a night full of strange dreams and nightmares. He heard people moving around downstairs and someone talking. He yawned, got dressed and went downstairs. Everyone was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast and drinking coffee. He noticed that Seline wasn't there.
"Hey Duo, since you're the last one up, you go get Seline." Catherine said pointing back at the stairs.
"I don't wanna!" Duo whined. Everyone turned and gave him a "look". He sighed and went back upstairs. He knocked on her door and called, "Hey Seline, time to get up!" There was no reply, no stirring of blankets, just silence. Duo banged on the door and yelled again, still no response. He opened the door and he saw a bed with the covers not even stirred, no dirty clothes anywhere and most importantly...no Seline. Duo ran the stairs and into the kitchen, everyone looked at him standing there alone and worried.
"What's wrong Duo?" Hilde asked.
"She's not there, it looks like she never went to bed." Duo replied.
"Seline's gone?" Aunt Claudia asked.
"Yeah, now we have to find her." Duo said.
"But where could she have gone, the car is still here." Aunt Claudia said looking out the window. "Where could she have walked too?"
"It's obvious." Quatre said. Everyone turned and looked at with strange expressions on their faces.
"It is?!" everyone asked.
"She must have walked to cemetery that dedicated to everyone that fought in the war. She went there to visit her brother's grave." Quatre replied. They all looked at each other and bolted for the door. Aunt Claudia stopped at the door and looked at them,
"I'll stay here in case she comes back." Aunt Claudia called. They all nodded and she went back into the house. Dorothy turned and looked at the house, she felt something, something told her to stay.
"Come on Dorothy! Get in the car!" Wufei called. Dorothy turned and looked at the car and then at the house. She shook her head,
"No, I want to stay here with Aunt Claudia...keep her company." Dorothy said. Everyone turned and gave her a strange look but they didn't take the time to ask why. The car turned on and before the door has closed, it was driving down the road. Dorothy watched the car go she then turned and walked back into the house. It was silent, like everything in it was dead. "Claudia?" she called...no answer. "Claudia?" she called louder, still no response. Dorothy felt a hint of worry rise in her throat, and a million of 'what if?' questions ran through her head. She walked down the hall until she came to Aunt Claudia's door she knocked. The roomed echoed with a deathly silence that sent a chill down Dorothy's spine.
She pushed the door open and looked around the room, a bed sat against the right wall with a dresser next to it. A bookcase stood on the far wall and a dresser on the left wall. Dorothy sighed and walked into the middle of the room and looked around, everything seemed to be order, no blood or a sign of a struggle. Dorothy turned and was about to leave when she heard something behind her. She turned very slowly and saw nothing there. She felt like she was in some horror movie, so she decided to go along with it. She walked to the bookcase and put ear to it, she heard someone laughing and the clinging of glass. She skimmed the bookcase until she found the book that looked different from the other books. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the book. A loud click came and the bookcase slid to the side revealing a secret stairway. Closing her eyes, she walked down the stairs lit by torches on the wall. Her shoes made a tapping sound as she walked down the dim hallway. She came to a large wooden door, a light shinning from under it. "Now I know I'm in a movie." She thought. Dorothy gathered all her courage and pushed the door, and what she saw inside made her gasp in fear and surprise...
+++
"How much farther do we have to go?" Duo asked getting nervous.
"About a mile, calm down Duo, we'll find her don't worry." Quatre said keeping his hands firmly on the wheel. The scenery flew by but no one was spaying attention, they were only looking for someone walking down the street. The next thirty seconds seemed like hours to everyone in the car but finally the graveyard came into view. They pulled into the F section and jumped out of the car.
"Quatre, do you know where her brother's grave is?" Relena asked. Quatre looked around and sighed,
"Yes...it's in those bushes." He said pointing to a clump of bushes to the left. The group walked quietly to the left, pushing the bushes aside. A large maple tree hovered over a single tombstone and leaning against the tombstone was a sleeping Seline. Quatre ran towards her and put a hand on her shoulder trying to shake her awake. She opened her eyes very slowly; she blinked and looked around.
"Quatre...? What in the name of God are you doing here?!" she asked him. He smiled, "We're all here...except for Dorothy and Aunt Claudia, they wanted to stay behind in case you came home. But...we all came. We would never abandon you, no matter what you do. We're friends and...a team. " He replied.
"W...why? I was such a mesdinu yesterday, why would you come back better yet...why did you come all this way just to find me?" Seline said quietly. Relena came over and put a hand on Seline's other shoulder, Seline looked down at the hand and then at Relena.
"Because we care about you. Plain and simple." Relena said smiling. Duo came over and put a hand out to help her up. She looked at it with a weird look and Duo grinned. "Come on...let's go home." Duo said. She took his hand ad he pulled her to her feet. The group patted her back adding in some comforting words but she wasn't listening...she was staring at the tombstone. She pulled away from the group and knelt down by the tomb and touched the inscription. She closed her eyes and walked away from the grave...without a word to anyone.
+++
The car pulled up the driveway after a long and uncomfortable silent ride. They were all relieved that Seline was back but they all knew that it would be a long time until the emotional wounds would heal. That's just the way life is and no matter how they wanted to protect her from it, they couldn't, she would feel the pain whether they loved her or not. The car rumbled along the county side, no one said much, no one really knew what to say. The very world around them seemed to be falling apart and there wasn't anything any of them could do about it. The car finally pulled up to the house and the group piled out in silence. Dorothy and Aunt Claudia came out of the house and stood by the door side by side. They smiled when they saw Seline coming up the stairs to the house but the smiles quickly faded when Seline brushed bye them with a word. Dorothy looked at Quatre with worry in her eyes but all Quatre could do was shake his head, and all Dorothy could do was hide her smile behind her fake worry. The rest of the group filed into the house in silence, without any words, they all parked themselves in the library in random places. Duo in an arm chair staring into space, Quatre on the couch next to Dorothy both picking random books and reading. Heero started making a fire, Trowa leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, Wufei pulled out his switchblade and started to sharpen it and Relena Hilde, Catherine and Aunt Claudia started chatting away.
All the while, Seline sat in silence, watching Heero start the fire. He piled up the logs, put a little liter fluid in and pulled out a lighter. Flicking it a few times a flame appeared but to Heero's dismay as he moved the lighter to the logs the tiny flame went out. Heero sighed and tried again but the flame was just too small to withstand the move, Heero finally gave up and stuck the lighter under the logs to just light it. One spark, then another, then another but finally the flame lit and...the fire exploding. Heero hadn't put that much lighter fluid but something must have gone wrong. The flames engulfed Heero's hand and arm up to his elbow, he grunted in pain but the girls screamed.
"Holy crap! Heero?! Are you okay?" Relena exclaimed. Heero just stared at his parched arm eyes wide. The skin scratched and hissed and opened, dripping with blood. Aunt Claudia jumped to her feet and ran into the kitchen, within a second she was back with a towel and her first aid kit. She sat down next to Heero and put a hand on his good arm.
"Heero, you should put this towel on you arm very gently to stop the bleeding, I'll get a bandage reading." She said quickly and handed him a towel; he wasn't even fazed by the cloth coming in contact with the burn. Aunt Claudia worked like lightning, putting ointments and such on a bandage and spreading them evenly through the cloth. Heero stared into space, as if he was in shock but maybe he was feeling a thing called pain. Something that no one ever thought he would feel or express. "Okay Heero, take off the bloody towel and I'll put this bandage in it, you won't have use of your hand for days. Maybe even weeks, that's one hell of a burn, you should keep it wrapped and don't use it...unless you HAVE to." She stopped and Heero was about to say something but Claudia interrupted him, "I use to be a doctor, and this is doctor's orders." Heero nodded and Claudia smiled. She picked up her tools and the towel, looking at it with a disgusted face, she grunted, "This thing is unsalvageable, I'll just throw it away." She looked at Seline for confirmation and all Seline did was give her a tiny nod. Claudia grinned and skipped away, Relena looked at Heero with open eyes, she jumped from her and ran to next to Heero.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked with concern in her voice. Heero shook off his wide-eyed looked and nodded very slowly,
"Yeah...I'll be fine." He paused, "Just fine." Everyone shrugged it off and the incident was forgotten and everyone went back to whatever they were doing.
+++
Aunt Claudia smiled as she carried the bloody towel into the kitchen. Pulling out a zip lock bag she held the towel in front of her face and grinned widely, this was going better than she ever could have imagined. Things were almost ready, just a few more days.
+++
Duo lay in bed, the morning sun just starting to pour in the window and he was awake. There was something wrong with this. He just had a bad feeling about what had been going on in this house. It was too weird for him, things just didn't seem right. All of these accidents and the way Seline was acting, on top of that the girls (minus Seline) all thought that they were all crazy. They all thought that they still had their war instincts, which was true but they would never use them, there was no need. Duo sighed; this trip was not going as well as he had hoped. Things just kept going from bad to worse and now Dorothy was acting all cold to everyone she laid eyes on. It was then that his watch made it's annoying beeping a Duo realized that it was seven and footsteps could be heard moving downstairs, everyone was getting up. Scratching his head, Duo sat up and a swung his feet over the side of his and jumped out. He should have looked down for it was then that the flesh of his foot entered a nail sticking up from the floor. Duo's eyes opened side in pain and he stumbled over.
"Ow, dammit that hurt!" he lifted up his foot and saw the hole that the nail had made, he sighed, it hurt but he would live. He picked up a tissue and pressed it against his foot and grimaced as the reality of the pain sank it. He pressed the tissue on the wound and hobbled down the hall to the stairs and went down them on his butt. To everyone amusement they all got a good laugh from the scene but the laughter deceased when the blood was noticed.
"Oh god Duo what did you do now?" Hilde asked with blunt sarcasm in her voice. They all were thinking the same, Duo was a moron and fell or tripped or what not.
"It's not funny you guys! There was nail sticking up from my floor and I stepped on it, it hurts like hell!" Duo replied defensively. His voice had a hint of hurt in it. Claudia came over and sat down next to Duo, taking a bandage out of her pocket and sighing,
"You Gundam pilots seem to get hurt a lot, you all better watch it or your going to really hurt yourselves one of these days. I am only a family doctor, I can't do stitches in a second and this place is far away from a hospital." She said as took Duo's tissue and put a bandage on the wound. At the top of the stairs the girls shook their head and the pilots shrugged and walked away. Hilde kept her hand on Duo's shoulder and helped him down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen. Catherine and Relena brushed past Aunt Claudia but Dorothy stopped and stairs and the tissue. Both women grinned from ear to ear, they were loving every moment of this.
+++
Quatre sat in the kitchen sipping his coffee and thinking. He hated this trip, everyone was acting so weird and they still had a month to go. He was miserable, Dorothy was pissed at him and Seline was acting really dark and gloomy. This made Quatre feel like he was worthless like he couldn't those he loved, and that's what he wanted most of all. He chugged down the last of his coffee and went upstairs to get dressed and freshen up. He passed Dorothy on the way but she took no notice of him and that broke his heart. He sighed and walked up the stairs not noticing Dorothy's eyes followed his every move. The rest of the girls descended and no one was upstairs but Quatre. Dorothy grinned even wider.
Quatre buttoned up his white shirt and pulled on his vest. Tying his shoes and running a hand through his blond hair, Quatre shut the door behind him. He looked down the hall and listened, either the rest of the gang was sleeping or everyone was downstairs already. He guessed that everyone was downstairs and started down the old stairs, he slid his hand down the railing. It was so smooth so perfect, for a house so old it was in such great condition. More than halfway down the stairs, the step was glazed with some sort of oil and Quatre didn't see it. His right foot slipped and he started to fall back but he grabbed the railing to stop his fall but a piece of peeling wood dug into his hand. Ignoring the giant splinter in his hand, Quatre managed to pull himself to his feet. He walked down the rest of the stairs looking at his hand. He walked in picking at the splinter, and Claudia saw him. She smiled.
"What the hell are you going?" Seline demanded her voice was cold. She wasn't in a good mood again. The tone made him cringe.
"Someone spilled something on the stairs and I fell, when I grabbed the railing a piece of wood got caught in my hand." Quatre replied. Claudia laughed and shook her head.
"Also called a splinter." She sighed and got up, "I'll be my tweeters and a Band- Aid." Claudia opened her first aid kit and pulled out tweeters and a Band-Aid. She walked over to Quatre and started poking at the splinter, without a wince from Quatre; Claudia pulled out a long piece of wood. He didn't wince at she placed the napkin over and let the small dot of red sink in the cloth. She smiled at him as she placed the Band- Aid over the tiny wound; she threw the napkin into her bag and walked away mumbling,
"Soldier's...they just can't stop getting themselves hurt." Dorothy looked at Quatre and followed her out of the room. Duo wondered out of the room his mind wondering to the past events of the week. It seemed that everyone was getting hurt in a way that shed blood and Aunt Claudia was the one always there to clean up the mess. "What does that mean?" Duo thought to himself. He didn't have a clue, he knew he wasn't the brightest light on the string or the sharpest tool in the shed. But that didn't mean he couldn't put this mystery together. Duo shook it off the mean time and went up to his room to take some notes on some key things that had happened since Aunt Claudia had arrived. When Quatre saw him heading up he followed Duo up the stairs, they were both thinking the same thing: time to get things straight.
"What do you think is going on here, something just doesn't right." Duo declared, "Or is it just me being a freak?" Quatre shook his head; they were both in the same boat. They both could sense that something strange was going on.
"Not at all, I can feel it too. Kind of like a sixth sense, I think the others...minus the girls and plus Seline can feel it too. We should all meet when the girls leave again, they were talking about going shopping tomorrow." Quatre said heaving a huge sigh,
"Yeah, we'll call a ex-Gundam pilot meeting type thing." Quatre gave Duo a look a got up. They both got up and went downstairs where everyone was getting ready to eat a late breakfast. Aunt Claudia and Dorothy stole glances at each other and grinned from ear to ear.
+++
The most of the day went by without any flaws, no one got hurt and no one got into any fights. Quatre sat in the library for most of the day thinking about what he could do and who was left. "Let's see," he thought, "Seline cut her finger, Wufei bled from the fight, Heero got burned, I stepped on a nail and I got a splinter. That leaves Trowa." Quatre shivered, he didn't even want to know what would happen next. It was then that Trowa entered the room and saw Quatre sitting there, they nodded at each other and Trowa went to find the book that he was reading. Quatre looked at Trowa trying to figure out how Trowa could possible hurt himself; it just didn't seem like Trowa to just get hurt for no reason. It was then that Dorothy came into the room, she made brief eye contact with Quatre before she sat down on the far side of the couch. She picked up a piece of paper that was on the floor and looked at it, she seemed to skim the contents of the page and made a face. Her eyebrows hit her hairline and she folded the paper in half. She glared at Quatre and stood up and walked over to Trowa.
"Trowa...?" Dorothy said in a quiet voice. Trowa looked up from his book and made eye contact with her, she took that as he was saying 'yes...?' "Trowa...could you hold onto the paper for me, don't read it and don't give it to anyone." Trowa nodded and took the paper from her. Dorothy smiled and walked away. Trowa looked at the paper for a moment, he could see writing through it and the writing looked hard and angry. He could see words spread across that he didn't even want to mention. He glanced at Quatre and unfolded the paper; he started to read the first line. He made a face of surprise when the first line said Dear Diary. Quatre watched Trowa's facial expressions as he continued to read down the letter. Dorothy froze when she saw Trowa reading the page from her diary. She burned with anger and ran forward and snatched it from his hand. He was holding it so tight that the paper slid through his palms making painful paper cuts. Dorothy hugged the paper and glared at Trowa.
"How dare you!" she screamed, she turned and stomped away from them. Trowa looked at his hands and grabbed a tissue and pressed them against the thin wounds, crimson liquid sinking through the white tissue. He tossed the slightly bloody tissue away and walked out of the library, Quatre got up and followed him out of the room. Dorothy came down from the stairs she was waiting on and went into the library, glancing at the garbage can she snatched the bloody tissue and smiled at it. They were finally ready; Dorothy turned and saw Claudia waiting for the tissue. They both grinned.
+++
For the next few days, Dorothy and Aunt Claudia would disappear for hours on end every day. No one seemed to notice too much except for Quatre and Duo. They both saw that something was going on here that wasn't good. It wasn't until a week later that Seline started to get suspicious and she didn't start to look into it until she heard Dorothy heading downstairs at three in the morning.
Seline lay on her back late that night deep in thought, she was barely hearing her music that came through her headphones. Her mind wasn't with her, she was there but she wasn't. It wasn't until her keen hearing picked up the sound of a door opening and footsteps down the hall. Seline sat up and threw her legs over the bed and silently walked over to the door. Opening the door with no sound, Seline stuck her nose out and saw Dorothy walking down the stairs. Seline made a face and opened the door all the way, staying as silent as she could, followed Dorothy down the stairs, down the hall and to Aunt Claudia's door. Without knocking, Dorothy walked in the room and closed the door behind her. Seline waited a moment before she cracked her wrists and opened the door ready to fight. No one was there, the room was empty, and Dorothy and Aunt
Claudia had disappeared into thin air. Seline stood in the door completely baffled and confused. She closed her eyes and thought back to when she was a kid with her Dad at the house, “Remember...” he once said, “This is a very old house and there might be some secret passages lying around...” Seline opened her eyes and glanced around the room looking for something that could be a door. The most practical thing would be the bookcase but that seemed to “movish” to her. But then again you never know. She walked over to the bookcase and scanned them looking for something that would catch her eye. An old book did, it looked odd and it was called The Key. Making her eyes narrow slits, Seline pulled the book out and heard a quiet click. The bookcase slid to the slide revealing a dark passage.
“Now this is new.” Seline said to the night. Torches burned along the walls of the staircase that winded around in a circle. Seline could hear voices coming from the bottom of the hall and laughing. The laughter sounded like Dorothy. Seline gathered her courage and started down the stairs, the voices and laughter getting louder as she descended. When she finally came around the corner she saw them: Aunt Claudia and Dorothy talking and laughing. There were large glass containers around the room, six of them, a table with all sorts of lab instruments. Aunt Claudia stopped talking when she saw Seline standing there and Dorothy turned around and looked at her.
“What are you doing here?” Dorothy snapped. Seline glared back at her and at her Aunt. What was going on down here?
“Good question I was about to ask you the same thing.” Seline replied flatly. Aunt Claudia started to laugh again, hitting her fist on the table. Seline shot her Aunt an icy glare and Claudia chose to ignore it. “What is so funny Claudia?” Seline snapped, Claudia took a deep breath and looked into Seline’s eyes.
“Turn around.” She replied. Seline turned around and a fist smashed into her face such a force that Seline felt her feet leave the ground. The force was so powerful that the world started to spin and go black but as she started to slip into unconsciousness, she heard Claudia’s voice whisper into her ear. “It begins now.” Seline felt her eyes roll back and she slipped into blackness.
+++
Quatre woke up staring at the ceiling and breathing hard. The nightmare had scared him, and it would scare any normal human being. He shook his head trying to clear his burry vision and looked around his room. He sighed and lay back down and closed his eyes. He needed to talk to someone but it could wait until the morning.
+++
Wufei woke to the sound of his alarm going off, it was three-thirty in the morning, time for him to go and exercise. He hated more than anything to be around other people when he worked out, he laughed to himself. He hated people in general, but that wasn’t important right now, now he had to get outside before the sun rose in an hour and a half. Wufei pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt. That was all he needed eve though it was only about fifteen degrees outside but he wouldn’t even notice it once he started moving. Wufei silently opened his door and trotted down the stairs without making a sound. Turning, Wufei unlocked and went out the front door and quietly shut it behind him. Pulling on his boots that he was holding, Wufei went out into the snow and started to work on his kicking and punching. Ever since he lost the match to Seline Wufei had made it a personal goal to get better.
“Okay...I can make myself better.” Wufei told the night.
“Not if you’re dead.” Came a deep voice from behind him. Wufei turned around and ducked, narrowly missing a fast punch. Wufei jumped back and raised his fists.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked the figure. They stood tall in the night, surrounded by the shadows of the moon. The figure didn’t reply, just charged forward with a fist raised. Wufei ducked and took a swing at the figures but missed. They were fast. Wufei got down into snow and brought a foot around to knock them down but they jumped and missed. The figure did a back slip and kicked Wufei in the stomach. Wufei fell back into the snow and the figure stood over him grinning from ear to ear. Wufei could only see their teeth in the moonlight, there was something about the way this person fightted that seemed very familiar.
“It seems I have won.” The figure said flatly looking down on Wufei. “My prize is your life.” Wufei opened his mouth to say something when the person kicked him hard in the ribcage. Wufei felt some of ribs crack and the wind leave his lungs. The blow was painful and Wufei struggled to stay conscious but the stars weren’t just in the sky but dancing in front of his eyes. Wufei tried to breathe but the figure now had his neck, prevented air to his body. Now black spots joined the stars and Wufei felt himself start to blackout. The figure started to laugh as Wufei sank into oblivion.
+++
Heero rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. It was six o'clock in the morning, the time he always got up. He liked having that hour of peace and quiet to himself before everyone else got up. Pulling on a pair of shoes, Heero crept down the stairs as quietly as he could so woke no one up. Heero glanced out the window looking out onto the lawn, something just didn't feel right. Heero managed to shake it off enough to walk into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on. He was waiting for the coffee to finish when Trowa came into the kitchen. Heero's shot up when Trowa sat down across the table from him. Neither man said a word to each other; there wasn't a need for words and there never would be in Heero and Trowa's case. They both thought along the same line, they are both in the same boat. They both liked to be left alone. Heero finally struck up a conversation,
"What are you doing up so early?" he asked, Trowa shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"I couldn't sleep, something isn't right here." He replied, Heero nodded,
"I know, I can feel it too. Just something...I don't know what but something is very wrong in this house." Both men nodded and went to get coffee mugs and get their cups. They sat and drank in silence both thinking the same thing: what's not right? Neither of them had any idea, but some voice in the back of their heads told them someone they cared about was in trouble and that lives were at stake. Could it be their war instincts? They couldn't be sure; maybe it was their sixth sense to know if something big was going to happen. And something was.
+++
Relena sat up straight in bed. She was so scared, like a child, she wanted someone to hold her at that very moment. She didn't care how old one would get; a nightmare could ruin a perfectly good nights sleep. Deciding against going back to bed, Relena through her feet over the side of the bed and started to change into the clothes she would wear for the day.
+++
Duo rolled over and tried to fight the instincts inside of him. They all told him to go to the backyard, why, he didn't know. But all he knew was that he was fighting these emotions, these feelings, this...something. Duo finally gave in and rolled out of bed, pulling on some clothes, Duo headed for his balcony door. He knew that Heero and Trowa would be up and the last thing he wanted was the "super humans" following him around the yard. Duo opened the doors and shut them behind him. He was only on the second floor, the snow was deep and plus he could hang from the ledge. Duo did just that, throwing his legs over the edge and working his way down the very edge. Looking down one last time, Duo let go and fell to the ground. As he suspected, he sunk down in well over four feet of snow. Th front yard got all the sun so the snow had melted some but not back here, it was deep. Duo sighed and yanked himself out of the snow and walked gently along the upper layers staying a good two feet higher than he was. He glanced around the yard, nothing was there, no one was waiting for him, he was alone in the early morning. Duo sighed and silently cursed his own instincts. Duo was about to go back to the house when he heard something move from behind him. Duo whirled around ready to jump whoever it was. Nothing was there.
"Gosh, I must be loosing it." Duo said into the twilight. Duo sighed again and turned around to go back to the house. As he was walking he heard footsteps behind him; Duo glanced over his shoulder but couldn't see whoever...or whatever it was. Duo flexed his fists and just as he was about to turn around a force knocked him in the back of the head. So hard Duo was sure he had been shot. But all he heard was a ringing in his ears as his face went numb from the snow. He looked to he side as his vision started to double and saw little drops of blood in the snow. Duo didn't know what to think all he knew what the world was spinning and the next thing Duo knew he was out.
+++
The morning sun came pouring into the bedroom windows. Hilde sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes while also squinting to block to all too bright sun. Glancing at the clock on the dresser, she saw that it was still pretty early in the morning, six thirty to be exact. She jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes and walked out the door. Hilde grinned, she planned on waking Duo up bright and early, and this was her chance. Hilde pushed the door open silently so she wouldn't wake him up, ready to pounce Hilde burst through the door to find an empty bed. Hilde froze; it wasn't like Duo to be awake before nine let alone seven. A hand clasped around her shoulder and she whipped around to come face to face with Dorothy. "Is something wrong Hilde?" she asked, "Yeah, do you know where Duo is, I can't find him and it not like him to be up before seven." Hilde declared. Dorothy smiled,
"No need to worry, Duo, Wufei and Seline left early this morning to do something's, they'll be back later." Dorothy said glaring at Hilde, Hilde turned her eyes away from Dorothy's piercing eyes and started down the stairs to get some breakfast. But she couldn't shake off the feeling that something just wasn't right, just wasn't right...
+++
Catherine stretched as she pulled on the last of her clothing for the morning breakfast and then shopping afterwards. She could hardly wait to get out of the house and into a store. Pulling on her shoes and running a quick brush through her brown hair, Catherine started downstairs to where she could hear movement. Taking a right, Catherine passed the library and waltzed into the kitchen. Hilde was pouring herself a cup of coffee while Trowa and Heero seemed more interested in staring it rather than drinking it. Catherine grinned and walked over to Trowa and put her hands on his shoulders, he didn't even comprehend that she was there. Catherine sighed, that was like Trowa not to react to anything. Catherine glanced at Hilde and she just shook her head, Catherine nodded and poured herself some coffee. She sighed and started to drink the hot liquid. The rest of the group started to file down and to Catherine's surprise, Wufei, Duo and Seline were not among the still have sleeping bodies.
"Hey uh...where's Duo, Wufei and Seline?" Catherine asked. Dorothy looked up and made eye contact with Catherine, there was a strange look in her eyes, a look that Catherine couldn't put her finger on.
"They went out for the day." Dorothy declared. Everyone looked around and gave each other looks. An uncomfortable silence passed as the coffee was passed around the room. Aunt Claudia looked from one person to another.
"Are we still going to go shopping girls?" she asked.
"Yes," Relena replied taking another sip of her mug, "When do you think we should leave?" Catherine and Hilde exchanged looks and then glanced at Aunt Claudia. She smiled at them,
"It's Saturday, so it is going to be very crazy. We should leave as soon as possible." Aunt Claudia explained. The rest of the girls nodded and smiled at each other. Quatre rolled his eyes, he almost glad that the girls were leaving; it would nice to not have Dorothy's glaring eyes on him all the time. Finishing their coffee mugs the girls set them all in the sink and ran up the stairs. But to Quatre’s dismay, Dorothy didn’t go upstairs to get ready.
This fic was written on and off over the course of 2001 and was dropped around 2003 after no progress.