Dragons on the Doorstep
~*~ L
Part of those preparations, it seemed, involved Duo distributing the gifts he had bought. Somehow he had managed to get purchases done and tucked away without Quatre seeing any of them. There were the books he purchased for Quatre, of course, but also a turquoise wool hooded cloak with a white fur lining and a pair of totally impractical, but stunningly beautiful turquoise boots. Also hidden in the bag of all-holding were some kitchen items that Quatre had been putting off buying; a new skillet and a very nice wok along with a new turner and a large ladle. To Trowa’s surprise, Duo had also shopped for him. He received a new fur-lined wool cloak to replace the one he’d loaned Wufei, which was beginning to show its age, and a new leather bag to replace his worn canvas one. As well, Duo had arranged a gift certificate from the bookstore for whatever materials he might need for the rest of the year. Trowa was almost speechless; his family wasn’t poor by any means, but neither were they wealthy, and Trowa had to watch his spending. His monthly allowance covered rent, food and books, but not much else. The certificate was a welcome gift and he was effusive in his thanks.
~*~
They had no problems catching the express train early the next morning. Trowa asked why they didn’t just fly, and Wufei explained that they would prefer not to be seen by a majority of the country. Dragons were not currently living in England and people tended to get… upset seeing them in flight. The journey lasted about three hours on the fast train. Heero bought breakfast for everyone and by the time they reached their station, they were fired up and eager to get on with it.
The dragons shifted and the others climbed onto their backs after a few minutes spent sorting out positions. The flight took only a few minutes - dragons were amazingly fast in the air.
They landed in the town square, to the consternation of the people already in the square. A woman called out, recognising Trowa as he dismounted from Wufei’s back. He took a moment to greet her, and said he would try to come back to her tea shop when his business was finished.
“If she doesn’t slam the door in my face,” he muttered and they formed up their group with Duo in the center.
Several people stopped to stare at the Kewpie, but quickly went about their business when Heero fixed them with a glare.
“Why staring? Kewpies visit here,” murmured Duo.
“Yes,” said Trowa softly, “But not usually in the company of humans and dragons.”
“Will they try to stop us finding Derek Filofield?” asked Heero.
“I don’t know. No one’s ever pissed off a Kewpie like this before. That I know of, anyway.”
Heero rumbled, but didn’t comment. He would deal with any interference.
They found their way to the address given to Wufei by the bank official. It was a tidy cottage in a decent neighborhood; not ostentatious, but clearly well taken care of. Wufei stepped up and knocked on the door. It was opened a few moments later by a woman with a disgruntled demeanor.
“Can I help you?” clearly expecting him to just slink away in the face of her imperious attitude.
Of course it didn’t faze Wufei in the least. “Derek Filofield, please.”
“Why do you want him?”
“That’s between me and Mr Filofield, madam.”
“Well, he’s not here.” She went to close the door.
“Where can he be found?” said Wufei, stopping the door from closing.
“That’s none of your business, and get your hand off my door!”
“When you tell me where Mr Filofield can be found.”
“I’m not telling you anything! Get out before I fetch a cop!”
“Excellent. Do fetch law enforcement; I’ll wait.”
She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“Well?” he asked after a minute. “Go fetch the enforcement officers. We’ll wait.”
She fled back into the house and Wufei shared a smirk with his friends.
She must have used the back door and run the whole way because she was back in five minutes with two law enforcement officers, haranguing them with her grievances.
“All right, m’am,” said the female officer, cutting off her tirade. “We’ll handle it from here.”
The woman threw them a triumphant look and planted herself in the doorway, confident in her position now and eager to see the visitors sent away.
Wufei didn’t wait. “I am Chang Wufei, enforcement officer for the Dragon Collective. I am here to take Derek Filofield into custody on the charges of kidnapping and murder.”
Both officers blinked. The woman in the doorway made a sound like a chicken.
Duo stepped forward then. “Name of Duo. Is Kewpie. Was kidnapped by portal 12 days ago. Brought to Willowmarsh, beaten, left for dead in alley. Was pregnant, lost baby. Demand retribution. Will see and Speak with Derek Filofield.”
“The portal was traced to a Sorcerer, who gave us information that led to Derek Filofield,” said Wufei. “Being the person who paid for the portal to be opened, Mr Filofield has questions to answer.”
The officers looked startled. “Um. Do you have any identification, sir?”
Wufei produced an ornately carved Teak badge, as well as a metal disk. The officers took notes.
“Now, sir, what makes you think Derek Filofield is the responsible party?”
Duo answered before Wufei could. “Can smell him,” he spat out. “Has personal scent on him. Does not wash off.”
They eyed Duo warily. “And you’re from the settlement?”
“No. From Tokyo. Was taken from Tokyo to Willowmarsh. Left to die in alley. Voice taken, could not defend.”
The officers looked at each other. “Where did you say you’re from?” one of them asked Wufei.
“Mr Yuy, his Chosen the Kewpie Duo and I are from the Dragon Collective in Tokyo, Japan.”
“And you say Mr Filofield paid for this portal?”
“The payment came from his bank account. That we know. And Mr Filofield fits the description we got from the Sorcerer involved. Duo’s scent is in this house. I can’t see any other way for it to get here other than to be carried by Mr Filofield. We also have Mr Filofield’s scent on an article of Duo’s clothing that was pawned in Willowmarsh. Now, if you cannot or will not assist us, we will find Mr Filofield on our own. As dragons, we are well able to track him.”
“As dragons?” Suddenly, the officers looked more than a little wide-eyed. “You’re dragons?”
Heero and Wufei sighed as one and shifted. The two officers and the lady of the house - who was still in the doorway and listening avidly - reared back as if clouted. Duo laid a hand on his Chosen’s sinuous neck and said softly, “Father of baby lost. Will have Derek Filofield, with or without help.” He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the officers. “Will Speak now?”
“No! No! We’ll take care of it!” cried the female officer. “Jenkins, go get the sergeant. She needs to know that there’s a Kewpie situation.”
The male officer took off at a run. The dragons made themselves comfortable, eyeing the recalcitrant woman in the cottage doorway. Wufei looked her up and down and licked his lips.
“You know, Heero,” he said idly, “that was a very good breakfast, but I’m feeling a need for a snack.” He looked at the woman again, sniffing in her direction.
“Not yet, Wufei,” said Heero, playing along. “Perhaps after we’ve spoken with and dealt with Mr Filofield.” He inhaled in the general direction of the now-confused woman. She shrank back behind the door, but didn’t close it. Gossip was more important than personal safety, it seemed.
The female officer cleared her throat nervously. “Why would Mr Filofield kidnap a Kewpie from Tokyo? That’s in Japan, isn’t it?”
“Because he wouldn’t dare kidnap a Kewpie from the settlement. That would mean immediate destruction. Mr Filofield may be an idiot, but I doubt he’s stupid. He was probably attending a convention and saw Duo on the street. As far as is known, Duo is the only Kewpie in Japan. Mr Filofield had plenty of time to consider taking a Kewpie from a place far removed from his home.” Wufei waggled a paw at her. “You are familiar with Kewpie culture?” She nodded tightly. “Then you know the punishment for injuring a Kewpie.” Again, the tight nod.
The male officer was back then, with a second female officer. She introduced herself as Sgt Walker and pulled out a small notebook. “Now, can I get the whole story, from the beginning.”
“Certainly,” said Heero politely, and shifted back to his human form, and laid his arm around Duo’s shoulders.
Duo huffed and began. “Was in Tokyo. Early morning, shopping for breakfast buns. Walked into street. Light flash, then darkness. Nothing more until wake up in alley in Willowmarsh. Beaten almost to death. Freezing. Pain. Fear. Fear for baby-” The sergeant started, eyes widening. “-Couldn’t feel. Found by Trowa and Quatre. Helped. Took in, healed, treated injuries. Miscarriage. Lost baby.” Duo considered. “No. Not lost, stolen. Baby taken by violence. Voice gone. Helpless. Could not contact Chosen in Tokyo. Trowa and Quatre helped, healed. Trowa Mage, Quatre Healer. Healed in seven days, but voice still gone. Trowa worked hard to find spell to reverse. Quatre sent seeking for Heero Yuy. Trowa did seeking for Chang Wufei. Worked. Dragons found. Trowa found spell to reverse. Voice returned. Want justice. Demand retribution.”
Wufei took up the story from there. “Once Duo had his voice back, he called for Heero and Heero flew from Japan to Willowmarsh. In the meantime, the rest of us began brainstorming ideas for how to find the attacker. Trowa suggested we try Sorcerers to see if one had recently created a long-distance portal. We did and found a Sorcerer in Greenland who admitted to taking a commission to make a two-person portal from Tokyo to Willowmarsh. He had the bank information from the client's payment and a general description. I called the Bank of Rive Bartonn and threatened them until they gave me the information attached to the account.”
“Wait. You threatened them?! You can’t do that!” from the female officer.
“Of course I can. On behalf of a Kewpie I can lay waste to this whole town, if I choose.” He looked at the Sergeant. “Can’t I.”
“Actually,” she said slowly, “He can, but we hope to avoid that.”
“Yes we do,” said Heero. “It’s looking very much like my Chosen and my child were taken by Derek Filofield. My Chosen was nearly killed, my child is dead. I will have Derek Filofield.”
“I’ve sent a couple of officers to Mr Filofield’s place of business to take him into custody. We must get to the bottom of this.”
“We will wait here until he is found.” Wufei cast another look at the woman in the doorway. This time she stepped back and slammed the door. Wufei snorted a laugh. Heero raised an eyebrow. “Really, Wufei?”
“You know I like my petty amusements,” he smirked.
“We really need to find you someone.”
“You keep saying that, and yet…” Wufei laughed.
A man came running toward them, calling to the Sergeant. “Sgt Walker! Come quick! Filofield refused to come with us and threw a chair at Peterson; almost took his head off! Thresome and Baker went after him and Breton is with Peterson!”
The dragons exchanged a look. “We'll get him.” In their dragon forms they leaped into the air. The humans and Kewpie ran after them.
In the business district they passed a group of people huddled around someone on the ground. The enforcement officer waved them on, pointing in the direction of their quarry. They ran on.
Around a curve, they suddenly came upon the two dragons standing on a screaming man. One dragon breathed fire at the man, while the other suggested calmly that he stop screaming.
“Derek Filofield,” intoned Wufei, “you are charged with the kidnapping of Duo, a Kewpie, and the murder of his child. Do you have anything to say?”
“It’s not my fault!” he screamed, trying to wriggle away. “It wasn’t my idea!”
Heero huffed out a fireball, just missing Filofield’s nose. “Then whose fault is it? Whose idea was it? You kidnapped and injured a Kewpie. You knew what would happen when you started this. You beat my Chosen nearly to death, caused a miscarriage and then had the audacity to pawn his belongings! Why should I not incinerate you right now?”
“It wasn’t my idea! She made me do it!”
“She? She who?”
He suddenly stopped screaming and shut up, shaking his head.
“Very well then. Wufei, stand him up. I do enjoy towering torches.”
“No! No! It wasn’t my idea, I tell you!”
“Then whose idea was it? Speak now or be incinerated,” said Heero calmly.
“My… my sister… Her boyfriend left her for a Kewpie… She said… they deserved to die for that… They humiliated her… She’s my sister! What else was I supposed to do?! She’s my sister!”
Wufei looked up at the enforcement officers. “Bring her here.” He looked at Filofield. “What is her name?”
Filofield began to weep. “C-Clarissa… Clarissa Filofield.”
“And what was her idea?”
“Told her about seeing a Kewpie at the convention… She said… she said no one would ever connect it to us… She said we could kill it and be avenged. It was her idea!”
“And you are too stupid to say ‘no’, I see.”
“I am not! But she’s my sister! She bought the curse to remove its voice, so I could do it… I thought… I thought… it wouldn’t matter. No one would ever know…”
Duo shook his head. “Is idiot. Kewpie scent on Filofield, in home. Filofield scent on clothing pawned. Is idiot. Thought wrong. Was found by Mage and Healer. Healed. Didn’t die. Unlucky for Filofield. Deserve whatever punishment. Too stupid to live.” The Kewpie leaned closed. “Stole baby,” he hissed. “Murdered child of Kewpie and dragon. Deserve death.” He turned his back on the weeping man.
A moment later one of the enforcement officers came up, dragging a young woman with him. She was tugging against his grip and screeching.
“Clarissa Filofield,” he declared, and dropped her on the ground. She tried to run and he grabbed her again.
“Aaah…” breathed Wufei. “The person with the ideas. Welcome to our little chat. Would you like to explain yourself?”
“I didn’t do anything! Derek did it! You can’t blame me for what Derek did!”
“Oh, but can blame sister…” breathed Duo eyeing her angrily. “Sister’s plan, sister’s grudge. Lost in deal; take revenge against innocent party. Sister is evil, will suffer same fate.”
Clarissa lunged at Duo. “You filthy animal! You can’t talk to me that way! I’m a human being!”
“No,” said Wufei. “You are the murderer of a Kewpie. The sentence is death.” He stepped off of Derek and away from Clarissa. “Bad blood,” he muttered. “Just badly wired.”
Heero looked at the Sergeant. “Well? You’ve heard the confession.”
“I never confessed to anything!” shrieked Clarissa. “It was him who did it!”
“Clarissa!” cried Derek. “You told me I had to! You told me it was for your honor!”
Duo sighed and stepped next to Quatre and Trowa, who both looked slightly sick. “Badly wired. Bad humans. Evil.” He glared at the pair. “Killed baby. Evil. Will Speak now.”
“No!” they shouted together.
The Sergeant shook her head at them. “You know what you did. You are both guilty by your own words and actions.”
Duo took a deep breath and let it out, then faced them, head held high. “Destroy,” he pronounced firmly, cutting through their cries. The sister and brother both vanished instantly. As Wufei said, there was nothing left. Not a scrap of clothing, not a hint of ash; just… gone.
Quatre gasped, not expecting it, in spite of being warned. “Oh…! Oh…”
Trowa bit his lip. Gone. Just like that. Just like in the tales. A Kewpie’s revenge and retribution. Deserved, but still shocking.
Into the silence, a new voice spoke. “Heard about Kewpie near death, lost baby. Sorry for Kewpie. Glad for retribution. Name of Solo. From settlement. Bear witness on behalf of settlement Kewpie threatened by sister Clarissa Filofield. Evil woman. Threatened Kewpie with death by stoning. Kewpie young, frightened. Mate human, does not know how to help. Asked for help from enforcement; rebuffed,” he said angrily. “Could have avoided if help had been given. Fault is on town.” He turned to Duo and bowed. ”Sorry for injuries, sorry for baby. Fault is on town and evil siblings. Should have done something when asked. Leads to this.” The Kewpie pushed his hood back, revealing his blond hair. He looked older than Duo, perhaps an Elder of the settlement. “Tried to work with town,” he said softly. “Town failed, said nothing to do. Sister allowed to have ideas, regardless how evil. Brother idiot. Led around like idiot bull by nose. Consequences on them.”
The Sergeant cleared her throat nervously. “We tried to get the council to do something, we told them this would happen. They dismissed us as hysterical.”
The Kewpie looked at the place where the siblings had been. “Then on council. Affair finished. Will retire to advise Elders of conclusion.”
Duo bowed. “Thanks to settlement Kewpie for accommodation. Greatly appreciate words. Will return home now.”
The settlement Kewpie - Solo - nodded. “Be well, and heal.” Then he turned and strode down the hill.
“Is that it?” said Quatre in a small voice. “We don’t need to do anything else?”
“No,” said Heero, gathering Duo close to him. “It’s finished. Now we all go home. I’m sorry,” he paused, looking at the young Mage. “Trowa, are you all right? I am sorry you were forced to witness this in your hometown.”
“I… I just didn’t expect it to be like that…” Trowa said hesitantly. “I always thought there would be more… more… something. Not just… gone. They weren’t friends of mine, but I knew them… I can’t imagine that I knew someone so… so… vile. So evil as to hurt one person because they reminded you of another. To transfer their anger so easily to someone innocent of all involvement… If they did it to a Kewpie, they would do it to anyone… a human, a child, an animal. It’s been years, though, since there was such an interaction between the settlement and the town. I have no idea how the humans will react… I think that scares me more. I’m not sure I know these people anymore.”
“They were sick individuals, Trowa,” said Quatre. “They did something sick and twisted for a paltry reason. Not your fault at all.” He paused then. “If you have trouble reconciling this behavior… Maybe you should come to Japan with me. At least for a while.”
A runner appeared for the Sergeant. “Sgt Walker, Peterson is gravely injured! The infirmary asks that you attend.”
“I’m sorry,” she said to Wufei. “I have to go; we may lose another person to those two fools.”
Quatre looked up. “I’m a Healer; maybe I can help.”
“Come along, then; we’ll take all the help we can get.”
Quatre followed the Sergeant and everyone else followed him.
Quatre shed his cloak and jacket as soon as he walked into the infirmary, and immediately began scanning the officer for injuries. What he found almost made him despair. The man had a deep skull fracture, a broken arm and a broken shoulder, with the end of the broken bone being driven into a nerve cluster.
“Sgt Walker,” he called. “I can tell you right now that I can most likely save his life, but I can give no guarantee that he’ll be able to return to work as an enforcement officer. Just so you know. Nerves are delicate and tricky things to heal, and the brain is still a somewhat mysterious organ, but I will do my best. Sir,” he said to the elderly Healer who stood aside wringing his hands anxiously. “Can you find me some splints? I’ll need you to apply them once I have everything aligned again.”
“Of course, Healer. And thank you. I know my way around breaks and sprains and illness, but this is beyond my capabilities.” He scurried off to assemble the supplies needed. The Sergeant and Quatre’s friends stood against the walls of the treatment room watching him work.
“Will be good,” whispered Duo to the Sergeant. “Quatre has magic hands, empathy. Will do best to succeed.”
“Thank you,” whispered Sgt Walker. “He’s my nephew; my sister will never forgive me if he dies.” Duo patted her arm in encouragement.
Minutes stretched by, becoming ten minutes, then twenty, then thirty, an hour. Quatre worked to pull the bones back into alignment, and the pieces of skull out of the brain matter. He touched the brain itself and encouraged it to realign its functions and smiled when he felt the pathways opening again. He was good at delicate work; his empathy helped greatly with that sort of thing. This time was no different. Within two hours what had been a ruin of blood, bone and tissue, was now a closed skull with the scalp slowly knitting itself back together.
The bones were set and wrapped or splinted and the head was bandaged. Nerves were slowly reestablishing their usual pathways when Quatre looked up and stepped back from the table.
“I think he’ll do,” he said slowly. “But what on earth led to these injuries? I thought Derek just threw a chair. That couldn’t possibly cause all of this.”
“He didn’t just throw it, Sir,” said the officer who had told them about the altercation. “He hit Peterson three times with a heavy office chair and then threw it at the rest of us. It was like he was deliberately trying to cave his skull in.”
Quatre said something in his native language, and Wufei nodded. “You're not wrong,” he murmured.
The Elder Healer came over and shook Quatre’s hand. “I haven’t seen anything that neat and tidy since the last war, and that patient survived and lived a full life afterward. Good job, young Sir. Good job.”
“How long will full healing take?” asked the Sergeant hoarsely.
“That depends on how much damage occurred before I got to him, but the superficial damage should be healed in three to seven days. He should be evaluated by a neurologist, as that is not my speciality.” He laid his hand on the young officer’s shoulder. “Looking at everything now, I think he will be fully recovered in nine days. However, that doesn’t mean he can return to work in less than three weeks. Repairs have to settle for at least that long. The nerve cluster will be especially touchy for several days yet.”
All at once, Quatre found himself with an armful of Sergeant. “Thank you,” she whispered. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
“You’re more than welcome, Sgt Walker. I’m a Healer; I cannot walk away from someone who needs me.”
The room gave a collective gasp and Quatre looked down at the young officer. His eyes were open and tracking. “What happened..?” he said in a wobbly voice.
“You got hit in the head with a chair, I’m afraid,” said Quatre. “You had a skull fracture and some broken bones, but everything’s been healed and set and you just have to take it easy for a few weeks to let everything settle.”
“Aunt Frida… I think I remember… It was Derek Filofield. Do you have him in custody?”
“No, dear,” said his aunt kindly. “Don’t worry. It’s been handled.”
He sighed and his eyes closed sleepily. “Good. What an ass.”
She straightened and regarded the five visitors. “He has indeed been handled. And thank you.” She shook hands with all five. “Thank you very much.”
“Do you need us to stay for statements or for anything else?” asked Heero.
“No. Derek spun the wheel and came up pits.” She looked at Trowa. “Do you need to visit your family?”
“Not this time,” he explained. “We need to get back. Quatre and I have classes tomorrow morning.”
“Safe journey, then.”
They filed out.
“How are we going to get home?” asked Quatre. “There isn’t another train until early tomorrow.”
“We can fly. To hell with the observers. Let them see dragons,” said Wufei. “Once we get out of the center of town, we’ll shift and take off. You and Trowa can ride with me. We’ll be back in Willowmarsh by four-ish. Just in time for dinner.”
Quatre blinked. “That fast? Amazing!”
~*~
They were indeed back in time for dinner and once again the dragons treated everyone to dinner out.
Afterward, the dragons determined to order a portal and get, as they put it ‘out of everyone's hair’. The Sorcerer in Greenland was contacted and, as promised, brought up to date on the events. He was shocked at the sheer stupidity of the siblings, but upon reflection declared that ‘badly wired’ was a good way of putting it. He and Heero conferred on the matter of coordinates, but Wufei insisted on paying. It was, he said, his pleasure for having been able to help his friends and for having met the young humans who had helped Duo when he most needed it.
And then they were gone. The apartment seemed strangely empty with just the two of them in it. It was hard to believe they'd spent less than two weeks with Duo, he seemed such a large part of their lives. The young men sat at the table, drinking tea and talking about their adventure with Duo. By unspoken agreement, they did not talk about the Filofields.
In the morning they went off to class, returning to their lives.