Shadows (Series 1/6) [R- Fut.NC-17]

[Lady Casper]

<center>Shadows (Shadows of the Night)
Author: Lady Casper
Rating: Pg- R (Future NC-17)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Wing. I only own the plot to this story.

Special Thanks: Thanks to my beta reader Leia Avenrose. *glomps Leia* lub ya. And my flist, you know you who you are. The ones who helped me keep it going even though they had no idea what I was writing.

A.N: This is a series. I have been writing this for a while as this stands, this is the longest fic I have written and I am quite proud of it. This does have mentions of religion and maybe upsetting to someone who is very sensitive of the matter and if so, do not read this. Although I feel it doesn?t attack any religion.

Enjoy.</center>

<center>Chapter One-Shadows of the Night</center>


?You can run if you want to but you can?t hide,? a hard voice whispered in her ear.

Letting his calloused hand slide off her fragile wrist from his grasp, he backed away putting his arms up in the air to prove he was not going to try anything. Her breathing raged, as she fell from the wall he had pushed her up against. Turning her back to the dark alley, she kept backing up slowly, not sure if he would come after her if she moved faster than he anticipated.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her ears felt the pounding as she started to become farther away from the man dressed in black. She had to get as far away as possible if she were to make it out of this alive. The motive was cat and mouse; obviously he liked to make his prey scared and threatened; making them run until their last ounce of air spills through their lips with a shriveling scream of desperation as he pounces on them.

The cold night?s wind slashed at her clothing. The business suit was something made for an office and not for running from a mad man with the intention of using your life as a sign of peace being destroyed.

Turning the corner, her hand caught on the corner of an old construction company building, scraping her fingers. The blood started to rush up to her palm, tears threatened to sting her eyes but she brushed them off with the other hand.

No time for emotions, Relena. You need to get away from him. Far away from him. Air started to become precious as it started to slip away with each hard hit from her body slammed against the gravel on the alley?s floor.

The moon kept a small portion of light to guide her way through the mist that had formed around her surroundings. Turning another corner she could feel him starting to make his approach. She needed to move it.

Sweat started to slither down her pale skin; she could feel her breath becoming caught up in her throat, her lungs working over time. She knew she should have worked out more and not slacked a bit in the exercise, but she could tell something in the air and the fear of being pulled down yet again would bring its raspy fingers around her throat, making her plummet to the ground.

Finally, noticing the streetlights ahead, a smile of hope crossed her lips. If she could just get to the light in time, she would be much safer. Letting that small but powerful goal become her motivation, she pushed her legs harder, making her thighs burn; her feet slammed into the cement. Closer and closer she became, almost coming to a closure between the sidewalk and the light. The light around her became darker, more mist stirred about her.

She let herself side-glance, trying to get a feel of what was happening.

Forget it, Relena. You have to get to that damn light pole. He hates the light. Whatever he is. Relena kept up her pace, pushing herself as fast as could possibly take her body, her mind chanting, Just keep going.

Swarming shadows kept playing her with her mind, making her eyes dart to their figures. She almost let out a gasp as a shadowy figure started to follow her keeping in time with her footsteps. He was after her. Coming to claim her life, so she may never open her eyes on the world again.

?No way in hell am I letting you get me.? She sped faster. It felt like a century trying to get across the narrow stretched alley path to the street.

A few more steps she fell to the black iron pole, hugging it with gratitude. She was safe for now. Catching her breath a bit, she turned around to see nothing coming after her. Was she truly safe? Or was this just some sick twisted game he liked to play with his victims. Letting them feel safe and secure and then coming in for the blow while they were off guard.

Letting her body fall to the sidewalk, she put her knees up to her chest. She was safe for now. That ?thing? did despise the light, that?s why he didn?t come after her. The large clock tower that was built in the structure of an ancient looking church rang quarter after. The sun would be rising. That is why he didn?t follow.

?You can run?? She turned around to find she was sitting alone. ?But you can?t hide.? Menacing laughter rang through the street, bouncing off the walls and windows of the houses that sat taking residence in the village.

Chills ran up her back, she could feel shivers take a hold of her body in terror. You can?t hide, echoed inside her mind, scaring her further in the hellish nightmare that conspired that night.

Gasoline intoxicated the frosty air, fumes continued to pour in her sinuses, making her eyes water. The smoke seemed to take a hold of her neck, strangling her little by little. Taking away the last of her strength to move from the cold-cemented spot. She could feel exhaustion taking over her body, her legs started to go numb from the cold cement?s chill rising through her skin. Eyes drooping, her hands started to collapse against her chest, the small body going limp against the pole.

Heero?

The sight of the street slowly drifting away from her, visions of blackness loamed over her closed lids.

~

The rain had come from nowhere; clouds had begun to pile in one big mass of storm clouds and were now pouring out a river of salt water. Smashing droplets hit windshields, wipers swishing back and forth tried in vain to rid the glass of the substance only to have more poured from the sky like lightening clashed on the sand to make glass.

Heero sighed, flipping on the radio in the car; it was going to be awhile for him to get out of this traffic jam. Turning the knob until he could hear a woman?s voice through the speakers report of the sudden downpour, Heero dropped his hand back down on the gear and let his head fall to the back pillow on the seat.

?Just what I need,? he grunted sarcastically, his eyelids closed.

The weather reporter?s sweet calmed voice started to sound like a robot repeating lines off the cue cards given to her. He could picture it in the back of his head, her sitting there with white index cards, flipping through them without trying to screw up a word. ?The sudden rainstorm has been knocked into this district from the cold fronts that have shifted into the northeast. We have no word yet on how long this storm will be. If you are commuting, please be advised that many of the highways and intersections have been flooded. Pets and children should be taken inside until a report of a break in the storm has been issued. We will keep you updated?? Heero turned the knob off.

This was too much patience for his liking.

Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he started to glare over the dashboard at the long line of cars in front of him. Honking, screeching tires, colorful words flying back from passenger to driver was the only thing being heard. He should have left earlier, and then this wouldn?t have happened. Reaching for his sleek silver laptop that had been placed on the passenger seat, he grabbed it with one masculine hand and pulled it back to him.

Opening it up, a small sound emitted from the machine and then purred as it opened windows.

Starting to let his fingers fly across the keys, words started to pour out from his head. His fingers letting the story be told in the document. A smile started to cross his lips when a certain politician?s name popped out onto the plot. Paragraph after paragraph of measured description of the princess took over his prerogative. Blonde streaks of light, her impeccable pale skin, her glossy lips, he could feel himself grow hotter.

A small ring started to echo from his coat that laid right beside where the laptop had been, reaching for it, he flipped open and placed the receiver over his ear and spoke through the small device.

?What!?

?Heero, buddy, it?s me?listen I was wondering if you can come over my place for a bit. There is something important I need to show you.? The usually cheery man was speaking in an almost hushed tone.

?Unless it has something to do with the Preventers or?? Heero was tired of getting prank calls from Duo asking if he could come over and look at something. Something usually meant his rock collection, his old classic cds, and his collection of stories with the heated nights with Hilde. But before he could say another word, Duo cut him off.

?Relena?that?s what I?m saying.? Heero suddenly felt compelled to listen in.

?What about her??

?Look I can?t really say what it is. Zechs and Une put me on probation for my last few prank calls almost causing that assassination attempt on the U.E.S.N. Vice President.?

Heero rolled his eyes. ?Yes, fine. I remember. So ? because you almost had Quatre? killed, they can hear almost all your conversations. Let me guess you hacked a cell phone.?

Snapping his fingers on the other line, Duo chuckled. ?Yep. You?re good. But I really think you should know before anyone freaks.?

?Duo.? Heero?s voice started to get deeper; a sudden urge to strangle the American took over him as an uncomfortable anxiety placed aggravation.

A loud obnoxious honking sound started to come from behind the black Jag Heero was sitting in. Looking up from his legs he hadn?t realized he was staring holes in, Heero glanced in rearview mirror. A man about 30 years of age, slammed on his horn yet again, causing another shriek to come out of his engine. The cars started to move in front of him, Heero moved up just enough so he wasn?t bumper to bumper, only getting another sign of anger from the driver behind him. Shaking his head at the stupidity, Heero realized he still hadn?t gotten an answer from Duo.

?Tell me what is going on? What happened to Relena? Where is she??

Silence persisted through the phone until another whisper from Duo came through. ?Listen to me, it?s best if you just come to my place. MY PLACE.? Duo hit hard on the last few words with a long slurred reply.

?Hn.?

?Got to go, I?m being followed. Later.? Duo hung up the phone, but Heero caught a sound of a woman yelling at him from behind. Most likely a very pissed off Une or a high-pitched scream from ? Zechs. Smirking at his own dry humor, Heero was about to glance back up to road when he felt a slam from behind hit his bumper.

Glaring, Heero could see a look that pushed his buttons even more plastered on the driver?s face.

?That?s it.? Giving a good look at his surroundings, Heero let a small smirk play across his lips as he put the laptop and cellular phone down and shifted gears.

A deer in headlights look became the inpatient man?s look as he saw Heero?s back bumpers slam into his front. Heero pushed down on the gas some more making screeching sounds and smoke come out of his tires. Slamming his brake on, the driver tried to keep himself from being pushed off the road and onto the air in which the bridge rested above. Sweat started to pour down his face as his car neared the edge.

?Stop you crazy lunatic!? The voice?s reply to Heero?s actions only made Heero hit the gas even more.

The front of the car started to dip lower, water became the man?s new view at life.

Whimpering, the man started to plead, making the bulky, weight lift seem like a mama?s boy whiner. Heero flipped his finger and changed gears, driving off on the shoulder of the road, until he saw a clearing.

He had to get to Duo?s fast. If he knew Duo well enough, something was definitely up for him to keep it a secret between the two and not blab out a new piece of information like he usually did.

Instincts taking over, he could feel his heart sink as every passing moment put a deeper sting in his soul. The rain continued to pour making an ocean form on the fronts of windshields and his was doing no better.

~

Heat surfaced, a burning sensation taking hold of her forehead, as she tossed and turned. Blonde tresses meshed to her face from the cold sweat that poured down from her brow. Her usual pale face was reddened, burning from the high fever that intensified her condition.

Groaning from pain in her chest and head, blue sapphire eyes opened up, squinting as light hit the orbs stinging her already painful headache. Clenching a fist full of sheets, Relena pulled her body up to a sitting position. Finally able to open her eyes after rubbing some of the sleep that had made its way over her vision, she saw she wasn?t in her room or any part of her house. Frowning, she moved her legs off the four-poster bed and proceeded to investigate her location?s whereabouts. For all she knew she was held hostage ? again.

Making her way through the room, her foot caught a thick textbook that had been forgotten on the ground. Rubbing her foot from the sudden pain, she glanced down, turning her head slightly to read the title.

?101 Corny Jokes that will have them rolling for ? dummies?? Relena read the title over once more before realizing just by the book whose place this was. ?Wonder how I got here?? Walking into the kitchen, happy to know she remembered where it was, she reached and opened the refrigerator.

Relena was a little stunned to see actual food in there and not sitting in the belly of the God of Death. ?Go figure, Duo actually has food.?

Grabbing an apple and a bottle of water, she closed the door and walked to the sink. Turning on the faucet she put the apple under the water, letting the cool liquid purify the fruit. Watching as the water continued to pour, Relena started to daze out, her eyes followed down to the sink, the water spinning down through the drain.

Red started to come from the faucet, pouring a river of crimson. Relena jumped, and pulled her hands from the now blooded water.

?What the hell?? Stammering, Relena grabbed the hand towel that sat on the counter. She rubbed hard onto her fingers, trying to get the queasy feeling in her stomach to fade away.

Just as the blood started to dissipate from the water the blood droplets that covered her fingers, dripping down her hand, vanished from her fingers. Maybe she had cleaned it off well. Relena dropped the rag on the counter where it had been placed, not noticing there wasn?t a single trace of blood stains on its cotton cloth.

Feeling the sudden rush of nausea, Relena thought it?d be best to lie down and eat later, now that she knew where she was. Putting the bottle and fruit beside on a small dark chestnut nightstand, she didn?t give a second thought to the blood and fell back into the linen sheets, her eyes closing without hesitating to look around.

The world felt like it was spinning, turning blackness from the fuzzy vision of the room, the cold eyes started to form behind her closed ones. They burned her sight with a malevolence feeling that tried to gnaw and tear at her soul, she felt herself become bare.
Light. I need light. It is the only thing that keeps IT at bay in the night

~

Sighing with relief, Duo let a hand run through his brown locks. It had taken him more than an hour to get the firey temper of Hilde off his case. She was literally putting a fire under his ass and he had nowhere to run.

Closing his eyes he smirked. He remembered how she puckered her lips in fit of frustration trying to figure out where he had disappeared late in the night from their warm cozy bed. Hilde knew something was the matter just by the way he averted his eyes from her stare and laughed. Usually he?d look straight into someone?s eyes and laugh; hiding not a bit of emotion. A complete opposite of Yuy, she?d always say.

The dark solitude kept him from worrying. He?d always done this in space, never finding enough time to himself without the doctor pushing him to train. The cockpit of his gundam kept out any light he wanted besides the usual quiet lights mixing with the humming of a machine brought to life.

Blonde hair splashed against a pale face surfaced from his mind. She had been in a pile of feathers; black crow feathers. Her clothes were somewhat torn but not enough to think of rape or anything that heinous. Still, why would Relena be there?

Had someone taken her there; making some sick joke out of her? His fist clenched.

Running his hand through his hair again, he could only think of one person who capable of figuring this mess up and comfort the disturbed Minister.

Wonder if he made it to my place? Grabbing his paper work that was stuffed in a small hole, he pulled himself out the seat; opening the cockpit?s shuttle door.

Duo grabbed for the wire cord?s handle when he noticed a woman standing at the base of Deathsythe, clothed in black velvet robes. Her eyes seemed cold; trained on Duo?s, he could feel the shiver run up his back.

?Yo. Can I help ya?? Duo made his way down. The handle pulled down and his feet met the metal floor.

Putting on his Maxwell smile, he pushed back a hand on his head. ?Sorry, but you?ll have to wait for the God of Death?s autograph.? Her face seemed in passive. Frowning, he scratched his head in confusion. I thought it was funny at least.

Her pale blonde hair curved around her heart shaped face; making her look even more wicked. Her eyes seemed to have been her most powerful feature; Duo felt pain in them.

Reaching a gestured hand out in manners, Duo was met with cold air as she neared him.

?Maxwell, I presume then. It seems you have a sense of humor,? was her only cold reply to him; completely ignoring the boundaries of personal space.

?Yeah. Your point?? He felt like creatures were crawling on him the closer she was to him.

?I feel the need to persuade you to acknowledge a sense of fear.? Her lips curved upward; her long pale finger trailing up his chest.

Her finger was cold when he grabbed it in his hand. ?And who the hell are you exactly??

Confidence and supremacy seemed to ooze out of her when he mentioned about her identity. ?Just a black hawk telling her next prey of their doom.?

?Listen, lady, I don?t know who the hell you think you are coming in here and telling me to watch myself but?? His words trailed off as her body started to become translucent. He could see the other side of the floor base; the only thing still solid was her face and hair.

?You have been warned. My master will take his prize of the Fallen Seraph.?

Without another word, her face dissolute; only her menacing laughter still existed in the corridor. The ex-pilot could feel his skin shake inside and out.

~

Mother Nature seemed to give him mercy as the clouds started to pull apart letting a little sunlight come out. He knew it would only last for a small amount of time. The weather report and his calculations scaled the storm was only letting up for a brief moment as the eye of the tempest passed over.

Relena was probably injured and here he was still sitting in a car and not beside her. Gritting his teeth, he made a hard turn on the right exit. A few horns blasted from behind him.

Just hang in there, Relena. I?ll be there?I swear I?ll be there. He hit the gas making it feel like he kicked a hole from the inside of his car with the pedal.

~

The moonlight domed upon her small frame, showing the dark night sky that lit the night. Relena fidgeted; watching as every shadow passed made her jump a feet. It was dark; extremely dark for a moon to be out. She could feel the chill of the night start to grow meeker causing chills to ride up her back.

Rubbing her palms up and down the goose bumps that rose on her skin, Relena started to walk around on the narrow path. Trees stood naked, showing no signs of life for quite sometime. Everything around her seemed dead, except for the night. Grass, no longer green, crunched under her feet as she continued down the path. Glancing up, she could make out an iron fence tracing around with a long rusty gate that had dead vines still tangled in their gaps.

?Maybe someone is inside.? Relena breathed as a white puff of air formed around her words. She walked over toward where the small path made a turn; the dark soil almost looking intoxicated with venom. The dark onyx pebbles seemed to dig into her soles; Relena had to hop off one and then lift her feet more making bigger steps.

The brass doors of the gates seemed rusty; almost ancient. Chains swam through the doors but no lock was in the links to keep the place secured.

?Must be abandoned.? Glancing inside through the slits; Relena could only make out figures silhouetted by the moonlight. Someone is here.

Pushing against the gate the creaking noise sounded through the sky; making her ears bleed for redemption of their hearing.

?Excuse me! Hello? I?m lost and I was hoping you could?? Relena ran up to the figure only to have her hopes dashed into the wind when all but a stalagmite human with wings stood in front of her. Her breath seemed to be dragged from her lungs; she felt she couldn?t breath.

She couldn?t help but sigh of disappointment but never took her gaze from the statue. It towered over her more than a few feet. Wings spread out; about to take flight. But the eyes on the statue were the most exquisite feature about the creature. It was a woman draped in robes, only covering the skin that would immodest without covering.

Relena felt an impulse to back away but let her fingers trail down the fine carved fabric. The friction between stone and skin caused a burning sensation on her finger but she continued to finger the cloth curious of the texture.

?So I guess your not going to be much help.? Letting her hand fall down to slap against her thigh, Relena looked around.

Stones. Pillars. All having a graving of a name.

?Great, Relena, you have just made this situation even more eerie by placing yourself in none other than a cemetery.? She scolded herself while walking up to one of the tombstones.

?Please don?t get up.? Relena had to smack herself in the forehead. I?m starting to sound more and more like Duo. But she couldn?t resist the smile tugging at her lips.

God; if she could only see his face again, and all the others as well it was too lonely here. Not stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Kicking a piece of dirt, Relena thought about all the fun times Duo and herself would play tricks on Wufei and Millardo. Millardo would be so steamed about getting has-ed by an ex-gundam pilot like Duo and his younger sister who didn?t even have an ounce of pilot skills to plot against her older brother.

The blush rose on her cheeks as she thought about the pilot with unruly hair and wicked smirk that made her heart skip an unnatural amount of beats. She wished he were standing right beside her; knight in shinning armor, protecting her from the shadows.

A small soft light glistened catching the corner of her eye. Relena moved over to where the light had come from; by the statue with glistening wings. Nothing seemed to have caused it but she was sure it had come from this general spot.

?Hmm, I wonder what that was.? Fishing her fingers through the dead greenery, Relena huffed when she didn?t find anything. Shifting her weight she squatted from exhaustion taking a hold of her body. Her arms supporting her upper body; her bottom sitting down as her legs carved up.

?Alright, so you tell me what I?m doing here,? the blonde asked the cement. I must be going insane.

The statue?s eyes glowed. Wrenching up, Relena stunned, tried to comprehend what she just saw.

Words that weren?t noticed before started to glow in its carving. Relena had to squint to understand them.

?The Fallen Angel lay graceful under starry sky. She shall watch and protect you from above."

Relena frowned. What the hell?

The earth?s steady stillness started to shake, folds in the earth started to pull and volt upward. The ground began to crack in half.

?An earthquake?? Relena squeaked; grabbing onto a dead oak tree.

The statue, with the wings started to descend into the ground. The words still glowing. Relena shuttered against the tree, her fingernails digging into the hard bark.

Just as the sculpture had been in the light, it still was silhouetted in the light of the moon, showing off a mysterious nature that had Relena guessing its purpose as she clung to the tree for dear life.

Swirling words that were scripted now started to swarm about making a new tale of its time.

Peacecraft?s Halo.

Her eyes widened. ?Peacecraft.?

Heero?

Dark feathers floated from the sky landing on the ground as it continued to rumble and twist.

?Feathers ?Wings.? Relena?s eyes began to droop. The sudden shock, along with exhaustion, knocked her unconscious.

Heero?

~

?Fallen Seraph? black hawk?? Duo ran it over and over in his head while running inside the Preventer?s building. He needed to find someone who could put the puzzle of insanity and apocalypse before he gave himself a migraine.

A black feather.

Something must be missing in that crazed woman?s puzzle.

"How could I have meddled in something I didn't even plan or scheme?" Exhausted, Duo sighed and scratched his head. Not really paying attention were he was going, he walked straight into Trowa who stumbled a little into Quatre' and Wufei.

"Watch it, you baka! Can't you see someone other than yourself is trying to walk down the hall without falling on their faces??" Wufei pulled his fist up to Duo. But Duo to busy contemplating over the mysterious puzzle of mishaps, brushed him off saying an apology.

Wufei was stunned. Maxwell never said an apology. At least not one on his own will.

?Duo,? Quatre placed a warm caring hand on the pilot?s shoulder, ?is something wrong??

Glancing up from his glare at the floor that probably had a hole in it by now, Duo?s face had the look that only could be called confusion in an understatement. Wufei?s sudden anger wavered and finally had died. Never had he seen Maxwell like this.

"Alright, baka. What's the matter with you? This isn't some kind of trick is it?" Wufei motioned, looking around for any buckets of water or cameras to catch the stunt on video.

Not even a smile crossed his lips.

?Duo?? Quatre worried, grabbed his hold on Duo?s shoulder tighter.

"No. Listen. Do any of you know of the Fallen Seraph?" Trowa still standing behind both men dropped a pile of folders that were clinging in his hand tightly when Duo had bumped into him.

All three men looked dead at Trowa, a man who hardly ever showed his battle of emotions on the inside out on his features, now bore the face of confusion.

"Duo, are you positive about that name?" Trowa sternly asked. ?You?re sure of that it?s not a mix up.?

Stuttering under the glare of the clown, Duo provisioned what was said in his head. "Yeah, man. The woman said it clear as day." Duo seemed to have gotten a sudden dread sink in the pit of his stomach when Trowa starred off.

Wufei, completely out of the loop like Quatre narrowed his eyes. Were they on something?

"A woman, eh. What did she look like? A reincarnation of your favorite cartoon?" Wufei snorted sarcastically.

Trowa glared at the comment.

?Never mind.? Wufei scouted back, he never seen Trowa?s bad side, and he liked to keep it that way.

?Can somebody fill us in please?? A taller man had been standing behind Quatre?. His voice lifted to the other?s ears making their heads shift to form.

There stood Heero. Drenched head to foot in rain.

?Heero!? Duo squealed. ?What the hell are you doing here? I told you to go to my place?? Duo trailed off when Heero?s hand came out.

Opening his palm, a small metal object glistened. ?It seems your place was broken into. She?s no longer there.?

Duo stared hard at the object and then up at Heero?s face. The damp hair coating his face covered his blue Prussian eyes.

Before Duo could say his apology, Heero was already passed him. Darting forward, Heero grabbed Trowa?s collar and pulled up. ?What is the Fallen Seraph??

At the mention of Fallen Seraph something dawned on Duo. ?Black feathers ? covered. She was covered in them.? His eyes started to glaze over.

?Duo?? Heero let go of Trowa, and grabbed Duo this time. ?Duo?snap out of it.? Shaking the man till his eyes became clear and his focus now directed on his, Heero let go. ?What are you talking about? What black feathers??

?She is?? From behind Wufei puffed out a tenet response. ?Fallen Seraph. The princess is ? she.? Wufei doubled over before collapsing onto the floor. His whole body shook with tremors. His skin was cold to the touch.

?Wufei!?

~

Soft caresses touching her face. Black inanimate objects touching her lovely pale skin.

Her lips were swollen from the tears that spilled down, causing salt to seep in and take the nourishment away. Light started to pour into her closed lids, causing her to squint in discomfort. Blue irises opened wide as the sudden realization came crashing back; flashing a small old movie picture.

Bending all the pain her body, she sat upright. The sudden rush of blood made a splintering pain shoot up her neck. Her head began to spin the room around, lights starting to twirl into one big mass; lightheaded.

She no longer wore the business suit. Nor any garment that looked familiar. It was a small long robe, cut at the thighs. She pushed down the robe as far as it could go, trying to cover as much exposed skin as possible.

Her eyes darted from the clothing that hung on her body to the black sheets that lay under her. Where was she?

The light in the room wasn?t as much as she thought. Just a row of candles on every nook and cranny available to put a wax stick seemed to keep the room aglow.

She shivered.

When had she left the apartment?

Placing her feet off the side, her toes touching the ground; experimentally letting the solid floor touch her feet she waited to see if her foot would falter. Sliding her bottom off as well, she put all of her weight as she stood. The robes having been pushed up higher, she creased out the wrinkles and pulled the fabric back to the rightful position; if there was a real modest position that is.

I remember being in Duo?s apartment and then in that cemetery. A sudden rush of memories came flooding back to Relena. Her head started to pound. Fingers dug into her robes, falling to the ground as she tried to stifle the cry that wanted to come out of her throat.

The cemetery. That awful feeling of malevolence. Creeping up your skin as you tried to breath and stealing that last ounce of breath away.

Relena ran her fingers through her golden locks; trying to calm her breathing down. The last thing she needed was a breakdown in a place she wasn?t sure of. Taking a deep breath, she heaved herself up off the cold floor. Pushing her hair out of her face, Relena moved closer to a corner that she suspected would be a way out by the adjacent angle it made.

Her fingers grazed the black painted walls that seemed to match the color of the bed sheets and also the feel of the room period. Her palm and fingertips ran across the paint, feeling some of it chip off the more she ran her fingers across.

Finally she felt something hallow and hard.

She tapped it and sure enough it was made of wood. A door. Reaching out of instinct she went toward where any door handle would be and was rewarded when she felt a cold metal touch her skin.

?Thank God.? Turning the knob, Relena pushed the door open to find yet another room almost pitch black but this time there was something oddly familiar about it.

Feeling her fingers across the wall as she did before, she came across a light switch and flipped it on to find it didn?t have any power to it. The room seemed huge, spaciously huge. She found herself standing only in the outer part of the room and walked to the center where she noticed a small fireplace starting to brim to life. Someone must have been there. Fireplaces don?t start on their own.

Relena decided to investigate the room some more but only after she put that fire into gear as the goose bumps that grew on her skin in the other room started to form ones of their own.

Spotting the pile of wood near the brick built in hearth; she reached over and started to throw them into the flames, keeping the heat alive in the stack.

?Alright, so I know I?m not dreaming. Or at least I don?t think I am.? Glancing down at her wardrobe she guessed she wasn?t. ?Even in my nightmare I wouldn?t be caught dead in this,? she muttered to herself as she threw another log of firewood in.

When she reached for another piece of wood, a small tiny black feather fell from out of her robe.

?Where did that come from, I wonder??

Statue. Cemetery. Feathers. Wings. Black Feathers. Robe. Black Feathers.

All the elements started to swarm and invade her mind yet again. ?Was that really a dream I had? If it was why am I here now??

What was so special about that cemetery anyway? Relena could only recall the look in those eyes of the statue. A few words crossed her mind but she couldn?t think clearly on it; a warm fuzzy feeling kept clouding her memory every time she tried to recall it.

Sweat broke out on her skin. She felt cold. She was freezing and burning at the same time.

?Why am I here?? She asked to the fire again. A silver tear danced around the rim of her eye as her hands came to cup her chin. All she wanted was to be home. With her friends and family.

With Heero.

?Heero??

A solemn laugh collided into each wall of the room. Relena jumped to her feet. Her breath caught in her throat; nails digging into her skin.

?Who is there?? Another black feather fell, only this time straight into her hair. Perfectly aligned in her locks as if she put it there herself.

?Welcome, my princess?? That voice. Not that voice. The light. Where was the light?

A sudden harsh gust of wind blew out the fire. Darkness took a hold of the room.

No. The light. The light. I need the light.

A scream echoed through the corridors followed by a menacing laughter.



TBC...

[Morrighan]

Whoa there..... This is intense, like no other!

Can't wait to see more!!

[Mellie]

Ooo, what an intriguing premise. I cannot wait to discover more. I am verily intrigued

[AnShino]

Ee! Wowie Cassy. I want more now. That's something I haven't read yet. More soon? *puppy eyes-ness no one can resist puppy eyes. come on i can't do this forever! *

[Kari]

All I have to say is UPDATE SOON!!!!!
Dark and mysterious . I like it hehe

[lilac310]

whoa...you're getting better and better...seems like you're ready to take over the world!...Keep it up and keep it coming!!!

..Cheers!...

[perfectpeach]

the descriptions were wonderful! so dark and oozing and blackness!

I think I'll wear black tommorow....

Update soon honey bunch!

[epyon]

... blackness... wow, now i'm kinda wierded out :-? , idk if i'm gonna put the blanket in my window tonight or not...

reaaaalllllllly goooood, can't wait for mooooore

[star fighter]

I'm very curious. I need more!!!

[Lady Casper]

thanks for the reviews. The second chapter should be out sometime soon. As for the mystery, it continues to unravel all the way through ^.^ *snicker*