~ What? ~ Duo asked in complete bewilderment.
~ I don't have time to explain right now. I must hurry. Just please, be ready. I will contact you. ~ Duo sensed the mental connection sever.
// Well hell. How...I mean... Quatre's...well. ..male, for one....and.. . // Still baffled, Duo made his way back to the room. His odd expression must have been apparent, because both Zechs and Quatre looked at him expectantly.
"Er...Q, I don't know how to tell you this..."
"Did you find anything out? Is it that bad?" Quatre's worry was evident.
"Um...well. It's like this. I just contacted our buddy Rook, ok..."
"How?" Quatre blinked. Zechs also looked fairly curious, but didn't feel the need to repeat Quatre's question.
"Er. When he saved me, we developed a sort of low-key mental connection. I can talk to him if I work hard enough at it. Anyhow. He said you need to eat a lot of solid food. And we need to pack up; we have to go over to his world because he knows someone that he thinks can help you."
"Duo, what's wrong with me? You must know."
"Um...Rook says you're...ah. ..pregnant. "
Quatre stared at Duo as if he had just grown an extra head. "You and I both know that's entirely impossible."
Duo shrugged helplessly. "That's what I said! But he wouldn't explain. He...er... asked me about Chad and your...involvement. "
Quatre blushed brightly. "But ... I mean...Duo, you don't know how many levels of impossible this is. I mean, he didn't even... I was... its not possible!"
Duo shrugged helplessly as Zechs stood up. "I suppose we'll find out more when we get there."
The wait seemed dreadfully long. The three of them had developed dozens of questions by the time Rook got back with Duo.
~ Duo...use the amulet and will yourself to me directly. Make sure you're all in contact with what you want to bring. ~
"Finally. Everyone hold on to your stuff and we'll go get us some answers, I guess," Duo said, standing up and fingering the amulet. When everyone was ready, Duo closed his eyes and mentally willed himself to be with Rook.
The air shifted subtly around him. When he opened his eyes the three of them, luggage and all, were standing in Rook's castle. The vampire himself was standing there. He nodded distractedly. "Ah. Good, you all made it." His sapphire gaze fixed on Quatre. "I know you have questions. I don't have time to answer them right now, nor can I answer them well. I'm going to be bringing you three to a man I believe can help you."
"Hey, nice to see you again...why you lookin so edgy?" Duo asked, arching one eyebrow.
Rook frowned slightly. "Suffice it to say that I am worried as to how this will go. You all must pay very close attention to what I am going to tell you. I'm taking you to meet a man named Chion. You will address him as Ashir, or Ar'Chion. Please, do not test his patience. If I get him to help us at all, he will not be pleased about it. He may well throw me out. If he...gets it into his head to harm me, stay out of his way and don't try to interfere."
Duo squinted. "This guy sounds like a real ass...you expect me to trust him with my best friend?"
Rook smiled faintly. "Social skills he lacks, but Ar'Chion is...a genius. The only reason he may help us is that he'll have a...personal stake in the matter."
"What sort of personal stake?" Quatre asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Ah..." Rook was silent for a moment as if deciding whether or not to tell them. "Chion is...well. You're carrying his grandchildren. Shaiyra and Ayrchad are his sons."
The three pilots stared at Rook in surprise. Duo was the first to speak, as usual. "Whoa, wait, what? He's a dragon like them?"
"No. He's much, much more powerful than them." Rook eyed them very seriously. "The title of 'Ashir' is the honorific for a god. Ar'Chion is the shadowgod, lord of darkness."
"So...we're taking my buddy Q to some cracked evil deity and sayin'...'Here he is, fix him!'?"
Rook eyed Duo. "Please...do you think I would truly visit harm upon you? Your time is short. If Quatre is already spitting blood, the wyrmlings are big enough that they will soon attempt to eat their way out." At this, Quatre suddenly looked very ill.
"Alright, I get it, I get it. Let's just...hurry it up then. THEN we can get some answers...like how the fuck this happened in the first place."
Rook nodded gratefully and then cast a portal on the wall. "Let me do the talking," he begged, eyes focusing on Duo. Duo shrugged and nodded.
The four of them stepped through the portal.
They stood in the midst of a vast stone entryway. The walls and floor were crafted of some heavy, dark stone. The ceiling was high and arched, vanishing up into the gloom. A few torches flickered faintly, providing dim illumination. A massive set of double doors stood before them. Rook rapped on them forcefully, nervously smoothing back a few strands of his long black hair.
Whatever they had been expecting, the creature that answered the door was NOT it. She was a dragon, but nothing like the others they had seen. She had skin instead of scales, and it was colored a bright cerulean blue. Her belly, wings, and other accentuating features were a vibrant lightning yellow. She was sitting back on her back feet, and wasn't much taller than they were. But perhaps the most jarring features of this dragon were the apron tied around her waist or the feather duster clutched delicately in her jaws. She blinked wide, stormy gray eyes at them before sticking the duster in her apron.
"Oh, my...we don't often have guests! Do come in, dears!" she clucked, throwing the door wider and ushering them inside. "You can have a seat right in here in the parlor. I'll bring you something to drink and inform the master you're here." After hurrying them into the parlor, she dropped to all fours and scurried off down the hall.
Duo stared behind her before exchanging a long glance with Zechs and Quatre. All three of them looked at Rook who chuckled helplessly. "That's Tempest...Ar' Chion's maid."
As if on cue, Tempest's wedge-shaped head peeked back in the door. "Ah, he's been expecting you. I'll be back in a moment with refreshments. "
Duo chuckled a bit at the dragon's fussy, motherly tone. "I think I like her."
Rook nodded. "She's very sweet. Ah..." Duo blinked as Rook abruptly stood up, his expression wiped neutral. He bowed deeply.
Duo turned to regard the figure that had just strode into the room. He blinked several times and was vaguely aware that his mouth had dropped open.
He had had some expectations regarding a god of all things evil. His mind had formed an image of twisted, warped and hideously deformed flesh, cloaked in shadows and cackling madly. Chion was none of those things. Duo could see the family resemblance between Chion and his children, especially Ayrchad.
Chion was tall and slender, but not overly so. He was dressed smartly in a pristine white silk suit. The shirt buttoned up the front with small black and gold buttons, and a gold-trimmed black collar graced his throat. He wore a dark and shimmering black cloak attached at his collarbone. A pair of gold crescent-moons with the points facing downward dangled from his ears, each on a small chain of black diamonds. His hair was a dark honey-blonde and fell nearly to his knees, although it was bound roughly halfway down into a loose tail.
Chion's features were high-boned and elegant and he carried himself with a stiff, regal bearing. Duo felt a chill go through him, however, when he looked over the shadowgod's undeniably beautiful features and got a look at his eyes. Chion's eyes were a steely blue-gray. They were flat and dead, completely devoid of any spark of life or shimmer of interest in his surroundings.
The god's voice was smooth and cultured, although it betrayed no more emotion than his eyes. His cold gaze was riveted on Rook, as if the three Gundam pilots weren't even in the room. "You play a very dangerous game, son of Reoryx. Speak."