Title: Between Darkness and Light – A Shadow of Things to Come
Pairings: 2-1-2, 5-1, 3-4, H-2, R-1, M-5, 13-6, past 6-9
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.
Betaed: Yes! But the kawaii Ashly-chan -glomps and huggles- arigatou Ashly-chan!
-........- Nataku's speech
'........' Thoughts
Not long after getting into the pub, they ordered their drinks then moved to sit at the table in the corner. Moving across the bench first, Duo slid across, the space he previously occupied quickly being taken by Hilde as she sat down beside him. Taking a drink of his ale 'Man it feels good to be back' the braided thief thought to himself as the cool liquid trailed down his throat, it had been far too long since he'd last been back to Sanq that he didn't even care if he had to work while he was back.
Solo brushed aside a few stray blonde locks from his face as he sat down beside Trowa, his eyes scanning the pubs insides "The Barge seems kind of dead today"
"All the more lucky for us" Duo said, placing the mug onto the wooden table before him. Glancing at the girl beside him, the braided thief grinned as he asked "So Hilde babe, wanna help us out with a little mission we're on?"
A light blush spread across her cheeks at his words before a look of interest passed over before turning into one of suspicion "Mission? What kind of mission? Forgive me Duo if I seem a little hesitant but the last time you got me involved into one of your 'missions' I was stuck down in the sewers all night waiting for something that never happened in the end anyway" Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her attention away from Duo, deliberately ignoring the braided boy.
"Aww come now Hilde, how was I supposed to know they changed their meeting place at the last minute. You know there wasn't enough time to tell you of the change, if we did we would have missed the whole thing" Duo whined, violet eyes shimmering in the dull light 'Trust Hilde to still hold that against him, it happened 3 years ago for crying out loud!' his mind screamed.
Glancing sideways, Hilde felt her resolve lessen as she caught sight of his puppy-dog look. Sighing in defeat, she uncrossed her arms and turned back to face him "Fine, but I'll tell you this now, I'm not going back down into the sewers no matter how much you plead and beg."
Grinning from ear to ear, Duo's eyes lit up as he excitedly yelped "Great!" Turning back to face Trowa and Solo Duo leaned forward slightly, Hilde mirroring his actions, as he quietly spoke, his gaze locked with Solo's "Now what I need for you and Hilde to do is to use your contacts around the city to try and sniff out any information you can about the unmarked patrols moving around the city, who they might work for and how much they exactly know and if at all possible, without causing too much suspicion, try to find out if your contacts know anything at all about the jewel. One of them is bound to have heard something by now, especially with all the commotion going around now to find it"
Absolutely confused over what was being said between the three males, Hilde blinked a few times as she listened to Duo before butting in "Whoa wait up a second, extra patrols? And what's this about a jewel?"
"No time to explain fully now, Solo can fill you in along the way. Incase you haven't noticed we're on a time limit here. We need to find the jewel before any of those patrols do" Duo replied, his violet eyes glancing to the side at Hilde before returning to Solo, a challenging glint shining in his eyes "Think you can handle it?"
Bringing the mug up to his lips, Solo downed the entire contents in one gulp before slamming the mug down onto the table "Of course I can handle this, but the question isn't if I can handle it or not, its what are the two of you up to while we're off working our butts off?"
"We're going to be checking out another possibility, it's a long shot but I figure it's worth a try. The thing is they're not likely to take kindly if more than just Tro and I go which is why I want the two of you to nose around for some information incase my hunch turns out to be a bust" Duo loosely explained.
"Fine fine have it your way" standing up from his seat, Solo offered his hand to Hilde "We should head off"
Looking to Solo, to his hand then finally to Duo, a shy smile appeared on her lips as a light blush crept across her cheeks "Once this is done I want to have a talk about us, okay?"
Blinking in confusion, the braided boy just nodded his head automatically as he responded "Yeah sure Hilde"
Leaning forward she placed a light kiss on his cheek before taking Solo's hand and almost jumping out of her seat "Excellent, then I'll see you when this jobs done"
Staring off into space as Solo and Hilde left the pub, Duo blinked a few more times before focusing his attention on Trowa "Have any idea what on earth she was going on about? Cause I sure as hell don't"
Shrugging his shoulders, the quiet archer simply sipped at his drink before quietly replying "No idea, in any case what was this idea of yours?" He asked, although he had a fairly good idea of what it was going to be.
"Hey you don't think that either Heero or Wufei has the jewel do you?" Duo asked as he leant back carefully on the bench, sipping the cool ale.Staring into his drink, Trowa turned his attention back towards his friend "it is a possibility, it seems too much of a coincidence that there are two people from Enlizer roaming around"
Though his bangs covered his violet eyes, Duo's vision never left that of the quiet archer as he added "And don't forget the fact that Heero had been attacked before we found him out on that beach. Perhaps he was traveling with his friends when the thieves attacked, kidnapping Heero thinking that he was the one who had the jewel but then dumped him after finding out he didn't have it"
Taking a sip as he thought over what was being said the quiet archer replied "That would make sense, are you thinking they kidnapped the wrong one and that Wufei actually has the jewel on him?"
Leaning out of the shadows, the grin spreading over Duo's face confirmed his suspicions even before the braided thief spoke up "I'm almost positive of it, remember Hilde said she stole a gold circlet from Wufei.... And if my memory serves me correctly, that same circlet had a pretty impressive stone embedded in it"
Placing his mug back on the table top, Duo's face scrunched up slightly in thought as he mentioned "What bothers me though are the markings on their foreheads, I think Heero was partly telling the truth about it symbolizing their status within his temple but I think it means more than he's letting on. There's also this Jurei business that Mr Stick-up-the-ass referred Heero as"
"That's correct" Trowa agreed as he added his own thoughts to their discussion "Let us not forget how Wufei is one of the Dragon Clan also"
"I think" Duo said, taking hold of the rim of his mug as he twirled the base on the hard wood table "that we need to do a little investigation on the matter... perhaps even get an up-close and personal look if at all possible, they couldn't of left the city yet at least not through the ports anyway since all shipping's been canceled to Enlizer"
Finishing off his drink, Trowa stood up, his emerald gaze locked onto his friends "Then we better get to work, just be careful Duo, you do remember the last encounter you had with that Wufei, it wouldn't be good for the mission if either of you got yourself injured"
"Ahh Tro you worry too much, besides I'm sure he's long over it by now anyway" Duo said before silently adding to himself as he got up from his seat 'Or at least I hope so'
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
The street was alive with trade as two cloaked figures made their way through the crowd. Merchants called out from behind their stalls in an attempt to lure potential shoppers to their products and away from their rivals.
From beneath the hood of one of the two cloaked figures, brilliant Prussian orbs drank in the atmosphere as their owner followed silently behind his companion.
"Stick close Yuy, the church should be around the next intersection" Wufei stated, absentmindedly reaching back and grasping his friend's hand as they continued their way through the crowd.
Turning his attention to the Shenlong child, Heero sighed softly before speaking, annoyance lightly coloring his voice "I don't need to be babysat Chang, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself" Looking around at all the shoppers surrounding them, Heero's gaze eventually returned to his friend as his free hand moved up to remove the hood of his cloak. Chocolate bangs fell over his deep blue eyes, obscuring most of the jewel embedded within the gold circlet upon his brow "Besides, don't you think we stand out underneath these cloaks? I mean look around, we're the only ones wearing them"
Stopping his movements, Wufei released his hold on the Jurei's hand as he followed Heero's actions and removed his hood. The brilliant green stone glittering alongside the gold in the sun "We wouldn't have had to bother at all if you stayed within the safety of the temple Yuy, it's for your own safety"
Adjusting the sleeve of his cloak, Heero retorted "And if one remembers what was said earlier today then we shouldn't even be having this conversation. Now let's move on, I do not want to be out in this crowd any longer than I have to"
Wufei was beaten, he'd hoped that the Jurei hadn't remembered the conversation they had prior to him leaving in search of a vessel to take them back to the temple. He hated it when his friend's memory was so good. Sighing in defeat, the Shenlong child lowered his head slightly in respect, not wanting to draw any more attention to them than they were already getting and almost whispered "Your will Jurei"
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
Opening the bar door, sunlight poured into the pub, momentarily blinding those seated near the entrance and the pair leaving, A round of 'Close the door!' sounded from within as the pub's natural inhabitants, squinted and covered their eyes at the unexpected light.
Shielding his eyes as best as he could from the light, Duo swung his braid over his shoulder, internally wincing slightly as he heard the muffled "Duo!" from Trowa as the end of his braid smacked the quiet archer in the face. Turning around, the braided boy grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head "Sorry about that Tro, force of habit."
Seeing the annoyed gleam in his friends emerald eyes, Duo picked up his braid and held it protectively as he made his hasty retreat from the bar.
Skillfully evading the first three people, the braided thief forgot to put small children into his escape plan. Stumbling over the child, Duo lost his balance and did what any self-respecting person would do in that situation; he reached out for something to stabilize himself with. Tightly grabbing hold of his victim's clothing, the braided boy stumbled right into the person's surprised embrace.
"Duo?!" The braided thief heard being yelled again but this time in a more surprised gasp than that of someone who's just been smacked in the gob (1) with his mane. Blinking a few times in confusion, violet eyes met with startled blue "Hee-chan!"
Grinning from ear to ear, Duo threw his arms around the neck of the startled Jurei. The hug only lasted 0.5 of a second before his grip was prematurely removed from around Heero and he found himself meeting the ground in the end anyway.
Feeling the cool touch of metal against the skin of his neck, the second time in only a few days, Duo wiped the dust from his eyes as he stared up coldly at the figure hovering above him "And it's such a pleasure to see you again Wu-man"
Pressing the edge of his katana more firmly into the braided thief's neck, a thin trickle of blood pooled around the blade before running down the skin. Ignoring the slight wince in the violet eyes, his grip around the weapons hilt tightened as Wufei almost growled out "Did I not, the last time we met, say to you 'pray that we do not meet again'?"
Grasping Wufei's arm, Heero, with his other hand, gently covered Wufei's with his own, moving the weapon away from the Duo's neck "Enough Wufei, Maxwell meant no harm."
Glaring at the braided boy beneath him, the Shenlong child was silent for a moment before he sheathed his sword "Count yourself lucky that we are in a public area." Turning his back on Duo, he reached for the back of Heero's hood and placed it back over the Jurei's head before taking Heero's hand "Come now Yuy, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."
Another circlet! Duo's mind registered as he caught a brief glimpse of the gold metal and blue jewel around Heero's head before Wufei had covered it once more with the cloak's hood. 'What exactly is going on?' His thoughts raced, he was certain the jewel that was in Wufei's circlet was the one everyone was searching for but now that he's been faced with the knowledge that there are in fact two, he wasn't quite certain any longer that his assumption was correct.
Something kept nagging him in the back of his mind though, he knew he had to be right in at least the sense that both Heero and Wufei's appearance and all the talk about this missing jewel had to be connected somehow but he wasn't exactly sure just how that was. 'Damn it!' He inwardly cursed, he hated mysteries because no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he had to solve them.... He couldn't help it, it was just second nature to him. And the mystery surrounding one Heero Yuy seemed to be getting more complex since they met only a few days back and oh how he loved to solve them.
"Hey wait!" Duo called out as he jumped up from the ground, ignoring the blood he ran to block Heero and Wufei's retreat as Trowa pushed his way through the gathering crowd "So.... Have you guys found a way to get back to Enlizer yet? Cause from what I've heard the shipping routs there have been barred until further notice"
'Does he not think us capable enough to find out such information on our own? And why does he continue to look at Yuy like that?!' The Shenlong child thought, narrowing his eyes as a flash of jealously sparked up within, Wufei had to fight the urge to grab his weapon and wipe the smirk from the other's face as he side stepped the braided thief "As a matter of fact we have, not that its any of your concern Maxwell."
Clutching his chest in a mock display, Duo finally took his attention of the blue eyed boy and looked at Wufei "I'm hurt Wu-man and here I was thinking we were becoming the best of buddies. So where are you and Hee-chan off to then, the docks in the other direction if you were planning on stealing a boat to get back."
"Stealing?" Wufei uncharacteristically spluttered out, the nerve of this annoyance! To even suggest that not only he but the Jurei steal something as well was unforgivable! His mouth opened, ready to give that braided thief a piece of his mind when, from out of the background, Heero stepped forward, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. That touch alone was enough to put a stop to his anger as he watched the Jurei step forward, smirking inwardly at the icy edge his Prussian eyes had gained.Seeing the vein in his friend's neck pulsating, a very bad sign for Wufei's barely suppressed anger, Heero inwardly winced at Duo's choice of words. Anything unjust and Wufei were never a good combination, not that he approved of stealing himself, not with the childhood they both grew up with. He had to do something or Wufei's mood would shift into ranting mode. Placing his hand on Wufei's shoulder as the Shenlong child was about to speak, Heero's eyes hardened as he tonelessly spoke "Thank you for your suggestion Duo but there are other ways that don't involve stealing."
He didn't expect that kind of reaction from the pair of them, besides he'd mostly been joking about the whole stealing thing 'Geesh, don't either of them know how to take a joke?' Looking between one icy glare to another, Duo let out a slight sigh 'I guess not' Plastering on a grin, the braided thief waved his hand "I was only joking, man you two need to lighten up. So what have you guy's got planned anyway?" He hoped that quick subject change would calm the situation and almost sighed in relief as the iciness slowly melted from Heero's Prussian eyes and the vein, though still throbbing, subsided somewhat along Wufei's neck.
"We would be happy to help you if you need it." Trowa's calm voice broke through the silence, gaining everyone's focus on the quiet archer "The city can be unforgiving for those new to it."
Inclining his head slightly in thanks, a slight smile appeared on Heero's lips as he replied "Thank you for the offer but we are not in need of any help, the only task that needs to be done is gathering supplies."
"You're in luck then!" Duo said beaming brightly at the two younger boys before him. Slinging an arm around Trowa's shoulder, the braided thief continued, "Tro here knows where to get all the best deals in the city"
Taking a quick glance to Heero, the Shenlong child looked back to the pair and inwardly growled 'they have been nothing but a bad influence on Yuy' Usually he would have rejected such an offer and he was just about too really, Wufei wanted nothing more to do with the troublesome pair. But... the gold they had for gaining the supplies was the temple's and not their own to spend and no matter how much he'd rather not be doing it, if there was anyway to cut the costs of what they had to buy, he'd do it since he owe it to G and the temple "Fine, I accept your offer."
Heero blinked in surprise, had he just heard Wufei correctly? He thought for sure his friend would knock back the offer. Looking between Duo and Wufei though, the Jurei inwardly winced as he caught sight of the looks being given between the two, he couldn't for the life of it figure out just why those two couldn't seem to get along. He couldn't let the two be together for too long though, what happened just previously was any indicator to how the two would get along "Then it's settled, Wufei will go with Trowa while Duo will accompany me" Seeing the confident smirk on Duo's lips and the deadly glare Wufei sent the braided boy, Heero began to wonder if he'd made the right decision after all.
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
Well before they stepped foot within the town they knew that they had arrived too late as they saw the clear blue sky tainted with the thick dark clouds of smoke. The thick smokes shadow casting the village into darkness as it rose up from what remained of a peaceful little farming town not far from the capitol of Sanq.
Hazy smog had settled over the small town as the troops were met with faint green flames as they licked the chard wooden skeletons of destroyed carts and homes. Many soldiers covered their mouths and noses as the smell of burnt flesh assaulted their senses, telling all that some if not all of the villagers did not escape whatever attacked the town.
Only the crackling of the flames and the creaking of the building remains were the only sounds that could be heard over the slight clanking of amour as the troop made their way deeper into the village. Falling to the ground as a charred beam finally gave way sending dirt and ash into the air surrounding the soldiers, one of the less experienced within the ranks jumped slightly as the obtrusive sound tore through the nervous silence of the town.
"Get a hold of yourself." One of the other soldiers quietly growled out as he sighted the unprofessional display.
Clutching at his chest as he spun around to meet his comrade, the pale soldier apologized "Sorry sir, it's just that this place is giving me the creeps, something's just not right"
Rolling his eyes sarcastically at the younger soldier, the graying man said "Oh you mean besides the fact that the entire town and its population were burnt to a crisp?" Turning his attention away from his younger comrade, his dark hazel eyes scanned the smoldering remains of the village as he added "But I think you are right about something not being right."
"Shut up back there, there might still be some more enemies around you fool!" The patrol leader harshly whispered from further up the formation, effectively silencing the two talking soldiers.
Before anyone knew what was happening, the remaining wall beside them exploded in pieces of burnt wood and straw as a red blur sped out from within and disappeared into the opposite building.
As the building fell in around the creature, it let out an ear-piercing shriek as it stood up in its hind legs, stretching its wings out on either side of its body. Its red scales glittered the colour of blood as what little sunlight penetrated the thick smoke shone down upon them. Falling back down onto all four of its legs, glowing green eyes burned with an unholy light as the creature turned and faced the soldiers.
In response, the soldiers automatically took a step back as each went for their swords and shields, holding them at the ready towards this unknown creature before them.
Folding its large wings back against its body, the creature stood there unmoving within the rubble almost as it were stone, watching them silently.
The soldiers all jumped slightly in union as the creature suddenly cocked its head to one side, absentmindedly snapping its jaws as it studied the men before it.
There was an almost serene atmosphere within the village as all living stood in absolute silence, that was soon broken though as the massive creature suddenly leapt forward, closing its powerful jaws around the closest human. Acting on instinct the remaining soldiers all rushed in with their weapons held high, ready to sink their blades through its scales and into the soft flesh within.
The scream emitting from the caught soldier was soon silenced as his now dead body dropped from the creature's jaws and fell lifelessly to the ground below.
Watching the demon tower over their troops, the squad leader barked out his order to attack before turning his attention to the runner standing out of harms way at the back of the group "Get the hell out of here! You need to get to Sanq and warn them of the demon!"
Knowing that the runner had already departed as he turned back to the battle, the commander swore loudly "Damn it!" as he caught sight of the ever-growing number of fatalities before rushing in to aid his comrades.
Dodging the deadly swipe of the creature's front claws as they past a mere millimeter over his head, the squad leader held his sword before him as he lunged towards the massive demon. The weapon though instead of sinking into the soft flesh, the blade hit the scales and slid off the hard surface without even so much as a scratch.
Another roar was emitted from the demon as it stood up on its hind legs, swinging not only its body but also its long spiked tail in the process. Those too slow to jump over the appendage as it sped by were knocked off their feet and thrown from battle.
Picking himself off the ground, the commander shook his head to clear his vision before reaching for his weapon once more. The sound of clanking amour from behind informed him of the secondary patrol's arrival as the group ran in to attack the creature.
Furious green eyes darted around the chaos wildly before sighting a lone figure, the runner, trying to escape the town unnoticed.
Knocking the soldiers on either side of it back a few meters, the creature spread its large wings, the demon let out another ear piercing screech as the fleshy insides of its mouth began to almost glow with a green light. Inhaling a deep breath, the demon fell back down onto all fours as it exhaled a brilliant green scorching flame from its mouth. Burning everything in its wake as it hurled down the street, the green flame diminished into nothing as it reached the village border.
Quickly disposing of the remaining soldiers surrounding it, the creature spread its large wings and took off into the sky.
Watching carefully as the ground sped past underneath, the red demon's mouth seemed to curve up into a vicious grin as it spotted its prey running below. Folding its wings against its body, the dragon demon fell from the sky rapidly towards its target.
Cursing his luck of there being nothing but open plains as far as the eye could see, the kingdom's runner prayed to any god listening for his safety as the large shadow covering his own continued to grow at an alarming speed.
Catching the runner between its hind claws as it swooped down, the demon snarled viciously as it crushed the human into the ground beneath it. Moving its head down to inspect the body, wisps of dirt puffed up as the dragon inhaled the humans scent. Satisfied that his kill was indeed dead, the demon stretched out its wings out once again and dropped the body held in its claws as it took off into the sky and headed towards the desert.
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
"Onii-chan!" The young girl squealed in delight as Elly ran up and threw her small arms around Heero's leg, hugging him tightly. "I've missed you!"
Looking down in amusement at the child, Heero couldn't help the slight smile appear on his lips "I've missed you also Elly, you remember Duo?"
Turning her attention up to the braided boy, Elly cheekily stuck her tongue out at him "Yeah I remember him," then grinned widely up at the Jurei "I want to show you something Onii-chan." Taking hold of Heero's hand, the little blonde ran through the church dragging Heero behind her.
Clenching his fist and shaking it angrily "Such a charming little girl, wish I have 3 just like her." Duo lightly growled as he watched her drag Heero to what ever the brat wanted to show him before following the pair.
Leading Heero outside, Elly took him over to where a box sat under a large tree. Reaching into the box, she pulled out a young kitten and beamed brightly "Look Onii-chan, isn't she cute! The priests found her yesterday and asked me to look after her for them, you can hold Hee-chan if you like"
Taking the offered kitten, the Jurei blinked a few times, absentmindedly patting the kitten's soft fur as he enquired "Hee-chan?"
Giggling behind her hand, Elly eye's lighting up with happiness as she explained "I named her after you Onii-chan"
"I think it's an adorable name" Duo said sitting beside Heero after finally catching up to the pair. Reaching out he gently ruffled the black and white kitten's fur before slinging an arm around the Jurei's shoulder, grinning widely "Isn't that right Hee-chan?"
Ignoring the braided boy, Heero handed the kitten back to Elly "I like the name, thank you... Elly, I have to leave the city tomorrow so this will be the last time we'll see each other." Short and too the point, that's what was needed in these situations, Heero only hoped that Elly wouldn't make too much of a fuss around it.
Gasping, the little blonde's voice trembled slightly "Leaving? Do you have to?"
Nodding his head, Heero reached out and gently patted her head "Yes I do, there is somewhere I need to be."
"I see." Elly knew she shouldn't be as upset as she was but couldn't help it, her onii-chan had helped her when she was injured and now that her parents were gone she had no one left.
The trio was silent for a moment before Elly's soft voice broke it, eyes sparkling as she clasped her hands in front of her "Ne onii-chan? Can I sleep with you tonight? Please?"
Blushing at Elly's choice of words, Heero ignored Duo's splutter next to him as he smiled softly "If the others allow it, I have no problem. I'm sure there is an extra room within the temple you could rest the night." Watching as the blonde child's face lit up at his answer, Heero watched her dash off in search of the church priests in amusement.
"So you going to tell me how you're planning on getting back to Enilzer?" Duo asked as he watched the blonde run off to tell the priests. He hadn't had time to question Heero on the way over to the church and since their arrival had been waiting for the little terror to leave the two in peace.
Lying down on the grass, looking up into the sky above, Heero watched the clouds slowly float past before his Prussian eyes drifted shut. It didn't surprise him in the least that Duo asked the question and somewhere inside he knew it would be asked. Why was it that the braided boy kept coming back into his life? He thought for sure he'd seen the last of Duo when he and Wufei left the forest and had to admit that a small part of him was glad that the braided boy was next to him. But even as he realized that thought, the reason for him wanting nothing to do with Duo came flooding back as the image of Shinigami flashed through his mind. Eye's flying open, he directed his gaze up to Duo and quietly replied "No."
Joining Heero on the grass, the braided boy lay down on his side, facing the Jurei. The light softly played across his pale skin, illuminating his beautiful Prussian eyes. The way his chocolate bangs gently blew across Heero's face from the wind, everything about the boy could be summed up in one single word... Perfect. His violet gaze roamed down then back up Heero's form, taking in ever detail it passed over "Care to tell me why not?"
"Because it is something you don't need to know." Was all Heero answered with, his heart beat increasing with speed as he felt Duo's gaze move over his body before he felt more than saw the figure next to him half sit up.
Placing one arm over the other side of Heero's body to stabilize himself, Duo gaze never wavered from Heero's as he leant down, softly brushing his lips over the Jurei's and spoke "Why are you always so cold to me?"
Heero was frozen to the spot, his heart raced and a shiver ran down his spine at the feel of Duo's lips lightly brushing against his own. He was trapped, wanting to move away even the slightest bit but he couldn't for the ground was directly under his head and Duo's lips were on his. Another shiver racked his body as he felt one of Duo's hands lightly caressing his sides, this was too much! He tried to speak, to tell the braided boy to get off but the feel of Duo's lips on his and the light caresses stopped any word even before they started.
A distant call of "Onii-chan" broke them apart as Duo jerked back and abruptly moved off of Heero, cursing certain children and their horrible timing as the braided thief watched Heero quickly scamper to his feet and almost jog over to where the blonde child came running around the corner.
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
The sky was a pale blue, dulled from the usual vivid colours of the grassy plains of the Sanq Kingdom as the sun shone down un-relentlessly upon the scorching desert below.
Heat waves rising up from the endless sand dunes caused the horizon to shimmer and waver in all directions. Far off in one distance, barely visible, was the outline of a large rock formation. Apart from that single feature, everything else was just an endless amount of sand dune after sand dune with the odd small rock formation here and there, nothing truly distinguishable.
From behind one of these said rock formations, a man covered from head to toe in cloth stuck his head out from beyond his hiding position, peering down to the flat area on the other side. Wiping the beads of sweat trickling down his brow, the man's sharp brown eyes scanned the area.
Sounds of chatter swarmed around the usually silent desert as from below his position, the man watched the thousands of armed soldiers as they sat in their own little groups speaking among themselves.
Leaning out a little further, he adjusted the light brown headpiece in an effort to get some fresh air to cool him down with. As he was doing so his brown eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of more soldiers over the other side, these ones though were not human like the others though.
Standing on four legs these creatures half human, half feline, had the body like that of a Juda'kur, a large feline predator from the plains of the Sanq Kingdom. Instead of having the black fur like the Juda'kus, these creatures had a light brown coat for them to blend in with their surrounding desert environment. Their tail was long and slender with a slight puff of fur at the tip, the more fur at the tip, the older the creature was.
The front of the creature was like that of a human, it had a well defined chest with a fine layer of fur covering the skin to protect it from the harsh desert sun. Along with two powerful arms, the creature's hands were human like apart from the razor sharp claws where the fingernails should have been. Two eyes, amber in colour, were embedded within the creature's face which curved into a short snout and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its large ears adorned either side of the creature's skull, both almost completely hidden by the long shaggy brown main the fell down past its shoulder blades until it touched the tip of its back.
This creature was known to mankind as a Leo, the tribal race that inhabited the deserts between Sanq Kingdom and the Romafella Kingdom. Strong and powerful, the people of the Leo tribe were also fast and known to be extremely cunning in battle. Though they had the physical strength and the claws to aid them in battle, the Leo's were known to use double bladed weapons in a fight so expertly, that it was almost like an extension of their bodies.
'This isn't good if these rouges are powerful enough to enlist the help of the Leo's, there's no telling what they're capable of'
Pulling back into his hiding position, the scout reached into his front picket and pulled fess a small blank parchment and a single feather. From the pocket on the other side he produced a small vial filled with a thin black substance.
Before retreating back behind the rock, unusual movement on the far side of the encampment caught the scout's attention 'What on earth?'
Lowering himself further to the ground, the scout peered out from his hiding place once more as on the other side of the encampment he caught sight of two rows of Leo's pulling a long rope. Curiosity getting the better of him, the scout's gaze followed the line until it disappeared back down the other side of the dune but the back tip of something peaking out was enough to inform him that they were obviously dragging something closer to the encampment.
So engrossed in what he was watching, the scout failed to notice two figures approaching him from behind. Just as what looked like the beginnings of a large hoop began to show itself, the scout was harshly pulled from his position and thrown, face first, into the hot sand.
Coughing and spitting out the mouth full of sand, a sudden chill swept through his body as realization finally came to him 'Oh god'
As he was roughly pulled around to face his attackers, the scout had no time to even scream as he caught a glimpse of two silhouettes, each with long hair swaying in the breeze as the both simultaneously swung their double bladed weapons.
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
The moonlight reflected of the metal helm he wore as Zechs stood on the sand dune above the large army grouped below. Human soldiers and Leo's alike huddling together in squad formations as the final preparations were being made.
Sighting the sheer number of men at the Romafella's disposal, the blonde knew that the Sanq kingdom held no chance in surviving the coming invasion.
Movement to his side drew Zechs' attention away from the army below and to the approaching General Tsubaru. Hiding his dislike for the man, Zechs smiled pleasantly "Nice evening for an invasion wouldn't you say general?"
"Lord Treize has ordered for you to stay behind while we assault the Sanq kingdom to coordinate the troops from this position" Tsubaru sneered distastefully as he eyed the blonde man before him "and do try and not mess up the squad formations while you're at it, remember this is the Romafella Empire that's leading the attack"
Foreseeing the soldiers before him, Zechs ignored the rude remark as he replied "Very well, you will find that there will be nothing wrong at this end while I'm in command. Is the gate secure?"
Glaring at the blonde, Tsubaru turned his attention to the large black stone structure towering above the troops gathering near "The gate is ready for when it's needed"
"Good" Was the only response the blonde gave as his pale blue eyes took in the large structure and thought 'Not much longer now....'
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
Lush emerald green grass swayed gently in the breeze as a soft wind blew over the tall stone walls, across the garden then continued its way throughout the long hallways within the palace. The shadows caused by the tree branches, danced across the features of a young child with messy brown hair and Prussian eyes as he lay there quietly on the grass.His companion, a boy slightly older than himself, lay next to him. His raven black hair was out of its usually tightly drawn ponytail and fanned out around his head almost like a halo as they both lay there staring up to the blue sky above.
Upon each child's brow was a mark, though identical in placement; both were different to the other's. The one upon the forehead of the brown haired child was of a flame, coloured the same shade of blue as his eyes. While on the other child's brow was the design of a dragon, etched in black.
"Yuy-san, what do you think that one looks like?" The raven-haired child asked as he pointed to one of the few white clouds floating in the sky.
Following the line of direction the other was pointing in, Heero was quiet for a while until he finally answered "It looks like some sort of crab I think."
Onyx eyes tore themselves away from the sky and locked onto the boy next to him as Wufei challenged "Not it doesn't, it's quite obviously one of the mighty dragons of old."
Though his younger friend never replied, the slight smile and certain sparkle in the others Prussian eyes were enough to make the Shenlong child realize that he had obviously fallen into his friends trap. Huffing indignantly, Wufei turned his head stubbornly away from his friend as he growled out "Really Yuy, you would think that 'you' of all people would be above that sort of deceit"
"Gomen ne Wufei" Heero apologized with a smile on his face that, before a comfortable silence settled over the pair as they once again turned their attention to the sky.
Another soft breeze made its way over the top of the stone walls, making its way through the palace gardens. Causing a few leaves to detach from their branches, carrying them across the gardens, dancing in perfect union with the wind before safely falling to the ground.
Sliding his eyelids shut as the warm sunlight caressed his features, Heero took a deep breath of air before reopening his eyes as some faint sound drifted with the breeze.
Sitting up from his position, Heero turned his head all directions in an attempt to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.
Sensing the movement beside him, Wufei lazily opened one eye to find his friend looking around as if in search of something "What is it Yuy?"
"Not sure" Heero replied almost absentmindedly, his attention still focused on finding where the sound, that he now recognized as screaming, was coming from "I think I hear someone screaming" He quietly announced.
Openly alarm at the comment, Wufei leapt up from his position and crouched protectively in front of Heero as he concentrated only on hearing what his friend heard.
"Do you hear it?" Heero asked quietly as he stood up from the ground and took a few steps in front of Wufei, his child body had been replaced by his older self.
When no answer was forthcoming, the Jurei spun on his heels, ready to ask the question again, but the Shenlong child, along with the gardens had disappeared.
Where once lush grass and tall trees grew, now stood what looked to be the ruins of a great city. Buildings had almost completely crumbled to the ground, fires burnt out of control, eating their way throughout the cities remains. What could been seen of the paved road beneath all the fallen debris, was transformed into a river of blood, though no single body could be found.
Arrows stuck out of the wooden frame works of burnt out carts littering the road, as the Jurei slowly began to make his way further into the destroyed city. Blinking a few times as he took it all in, Heero was stunned into silence as his body acted on autopilot and began making its way deeper into the dead city.
Turning a corner, the young Jurei was met with a large square, totally devoid of any life, even the plants that once surrounded the cities central square had withered and died. Right in the middle of the square stood an unknown structure, its height easily matching the three story buildings, which lined the square.
Four pillars were situated at each corner of the structure, writing written in an almost glowing red substance ran down along each of the dark grey stone pillars, the language for once in his life was undecipherable and unknown to the Jurei. Hovering just above each pillar was a large diamond shaped crystal, slowly turning as a soft hum came from each one.
In between each pillar, on all four sides, dark stoned steps made their way up to the main focal point of the entire structure, a large grey stone hoop.
The writing along each pillar began to glow a bright red shortly before each crystal began to emit an almost blinding white light.
Robed figures faded in from out of no where all around the tall structure, all bent down on the ground chanting softly at the area within the dark grey hoop began to waver then ripple as the image behind began to distort. The grey, browns and red's of the buildings and fire behind all swirled around each other, mixing together until slowly what use to be a horrible kaleidoscope of colours, transformed into soft purples and blue's.
Like looking into a still pond after dropping a pebble into its very centre, the blue, purplish liquid substance continually rippled out from the centre right to the stone circles edge in an endless cycle.
The robed men parted from their positions in union, leaving a trail right up to the portal free from any objects as the faint sounds of sobbing caught the young Jurei's attention.
Heero pushed down the feeling of dread that began filling him as he slowly turned away from the portal and back to the street he'd just emerged from. The sobs continued to grow louder, slowly draining out the chanting that was still going on around him.
Unbeknownst to the Jurei, a single tear trailed down his cheek as from out of the shadows, line after line, emerged invisible figures, each draped from head to toe in a white cloth. Upon each face was the mask of tenbinza the damned. This mask was white and oval in shape, the only mark upon the mask were black lips painted open and curving down, representing the suffering of those who are damned.
Apart from the occasional sob, the clothed figures silently made their way towards the portal, unmindful of anything else going on around them.
"Beautiful isn't it?" A voice whispered from behind "Their suffering, their despair, the hopelessness of the fate of those who are condemned to die"
Slowly turning around, the young Jurei was met with intense amber eyes, embedded within .......
Taking a step back, Heero narrowed his eyes in hatred as he asked "You're the Akujin?"
The creature before him grinned devilishly, displaying the razor sharp teeth within as he replied "I may have been called that once or twice in the past, but that is not my name dear Jurei"
"Then what is it?" The Jurei demanded as he took yet another step away from the demon before him.
Leaning down the Akujin brushed its thin lips lightly over the Jurei's ear lob as it huskily whispered "You already know it" Smirking inwardly as it felt the shudder pass through Heero's body.
With lightning fast reflexes, the demon's claws sped out and clasped its fingers around Heero's torso, pulling the Jurei possessively back towards him as the demon hissed "You will not escape me this time my dear Jurei, you're mine!"
Heero struggled against the Akujin's tight grip "No!" The Prussian eyed boy cried out, pushing his hands against the creature's chest in a desperate measure. Hissing in pain, a bright white light engulfed the demon as the dead city surrounding the Jurei and the Akujin shattered into a million pieces.
Wild flowers swayed softly in the breeze as a group of children played a friendly game of tag between themselves.
Ducking low in the long grass the smallest boy, one with messy chocolate hair and deep Prussian eyes, covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to stop the giggle that threatened to escape.
At the sound of a light thud followed by a whiny "Ow" the Prussian eyes child's head popped up above the tall grass to see what had happened.
All enjoyment of the game vanished as the boy found one of his playmates on the ground, sobbing quietly as he nursed his bleeding arm.
Walking over to his fallen friend, the Prussian eyed boy knelt down and smiled softly at the other as he carefully took the injured arm into his grasp and quietly spoke "Don't cry, I'll make it better" The only reply from the raven haired child was the pitiful nod of his head.
The wound healed quickly under Prussian eyed child's grasp as a white glow emanated from his hand. Seeing that his work was done, the chocolate haired child smiled brightly as he stood up with his friend and together they went back to playing the game of tag.
Movement on the horizon though caught the Prussian eyed child's attention as he stopped dead in his tracks in order to see what it was.
"What's wrong Hee-chan?" A boy a few years older than himself asked in concern as he came running over to stand beside his smaller friend.
Keeping his eyes on the figure gradually getting larger, Heero pointed at the dark silhouette as he replied "Look"
Just as that word left his mouth, the shadowed figure disappeared from sight only to reappear before the pair.
Laughing loudly enough to gain the attention of all the others, the figure's amber eyes blazed angrily as darkness shot out, physically knocking the longhaired boy out of the way "You can not escape me Jurei, you belong to ME!"
"No" The chocolate haired boy whispered before crying out in pain as flashbacks of the dead city came flooding back to him.
The shadowy like claws extended from the darkness consuming the figure as the creature caught the boy's falling body, bringing the Jurei back into its own as it's other clawed hand softly caressed the boy's soft cheek Leaning down so then they were face to face, the creature whispered "You can never escape me my dear Jurei"
Just as the creature closed the gap between them, a silver sword with writing etched in pure gold came between the two.
Bright amber eyes looked up at the intruder and darkened in rage as the darkness faded away to reveal the vile creature beneath "Shinigami!"
Pointing his weapon at his opponent's neck, Shinigami calmly demanded "Release the Jurei"
Pained Prussian eyes fluttered open and looked up at his dark armored savior as his whole body trembled with fear as the cold arms firmly around him, slackened slightly then released their hold.
Not turning his attention away from the enemy, Shinigami spoke once again "Come to me my little Jurei"
Almost tripping over himself in his haste, the young child quickly dashed behind his protector then carefully peered out to see how this would unfold.
Staring at the God of Death in complete loathing, the dark creature hissed in anger "You dare to come between us once again?!" Trembling violently in anger, the Akujin shrilled loudly as it threw both of its hands out to the side.
Instantly on one side an angry red flame shot up from the soil, while on the demon's other side a large ball of water appeared out of thin air. Both elements somehow seemed to cry out in anger before hurling themselves at Shinigami.
Feeling his protectors arms wrap around his waist, Heero only had a moment to register the feeling before he was pulled in close to the amour-clad body and a black light surrounded the pair.
Reappearing a few meters away from where they were, small hands flew up to cover his ears as a loud explosion was heard. Once the noise faded away, a single Prussian eye cracked open to see nothing but ash where they were once standing.
As the breeze began flowing again, the young Jurei's eyes darted around to see if he's friends were safe. Gasping in surprise, Heero's eyes widened as instead of finding his friends he found four featureless figures fighting against each element. Feeling Shinigami's presence leave him, the young child looked around fearfully before finding his amour clad protector engaged in a battle against the Akujin.
The ground beneath them trembled randomly as each group battled their opponents; feeling overwhelmed by the situation the boy fell to his knees, tears brimming in his Prussian eyes as he saw one of the figures getting knocked down by the fire element.
Suddenly the remaining figure battling against the red flame flared up in flames of purple as it lunged towards the element, slicing the red flame in two as it easily flew through. The fire element screamed out in pain, causing the water element to halt its assault and race over to the other's position, both crashing into the other in a bright display of blue and red before melding together into a light green color.
The new green element had the same shape as the water element but wavered and flickered like that of the flame one. The green ball seemed to rush around the area excitedly before spinning around on the spot and resuming its battle with the four featureless figures.
A loud screeching noise drew the boy's attention away from that battle and to the one still going on between Shinigami and the amber eyed Akujin.
The dark creature was kneeling on the ground clutching at its stomach as a black substance oozed over and between its claws. Shrieking in anger once again, the dark creature shot off a blinding yellow light towards Shinigami before disappearing from sight.
The light made contact with the black amour, sending the God of Death hurling back through the air, his weapon flying out of his grasp along the way.
A scream tore itself from the young Jurei's throat as he watched Shinigami's body collide into that of a far away tree before the world around him exploded in a brilliant white light.
"No!" Heero yelled as he instantly sat up in his bed. Panting heavily the slight gold glow fading rapidly from his body went unnoticed as he covered his face with his hand and closed his eyes, attempting to calm his racing heart and get his breathing under control.
It only took a few seconds after that before the Jurei got the feeling he was being watched. Grabbing the dagger hidden beneath his pillow, Heero jumped into a crouched position on the bed, holding the weapon out before him as he demanded "Who's there? Show yourself!"
A tall figure materialized from the shadows not a moment later, amour clanking quietly as he stepped out "You were dreaming." The figure stated.
It only took a second for Heero to recognize the voice. Relaxing his guard, the Jurei lowered his weapon and placed it back underneath the pillow.
"Shinigami." Heero greeted as he sat down cross-legged on the mattress, watching as the armored God of Death walked over to the bed's edge.
Removing the red horned helm, Shinigami's long blonde hair fell down around his shoulders and along his back as he regarded the Jurei carefully, his eyes closed the entire time "Time grows short and danger nears dear Jurei, you need to leave this city before you too are damned right alongside its people."
"Damned?! What's going to happen?" Heero asked in open alarm as his Prussian eyes widened in surprise. When Shinigami remained silent, anger replaced alarm as Heero growled out "Tell me!"
Instead of answering though, Shinigami cryptically warned "By the night of the new moon, death will come to claim this city. You must leave before it arrives little Jurei."
Thinking over what was said, Heero's face paled when realization finally hit him "By the new moon! But that's tomorrow night!"
"You have been warned, I can do no more than that." Replacing the helm back upon his head, Shinigami disappeared within a black light. But his exit went unnoticed by the room's single occupant as he sat there silently, thinking over what had just been said.
-#-#-#-#-#-#-
The waning crescent moon was well on its way down for the night, giving way to the new day as the horizon over the opposite side began to turn pink.
Night creatures were finishing up their hunting and were beginning to return to their homes as the first of the morning birds began to sing.
There on the vast ocean's edge a city slept in peace, the torches lit within the guard posts at each gate and each corner of the expansive wall giving off less light as the sun began to peek above the horizon.
Shifting the lance over to his other hand as he repositioned himself, one of the guards yawned softly as he said "Only an hour more to go until shift change, I can't wait my feet are killing me."
Looking over his shoulder at his partner, the other replied "I know what you mean, night watch bores the hell out of me." Turning his attention back out to the plains, he emitted a sigh before quietly adding "Nothing exciting ever happens."
Wondering about the sudden silence of his friend, the guard turned around just in time to see his partner drop lifeless to the floor, shortly before a black figure leapt towards him and a pain erupted within his chest.
The lance dropped to the floor with a clatter as it hit the stone. Bringing his hands up to inspect his chest, looking down, a trail of blood dribbled down his chin as he caught sight of his armored uniform rapidly turning red before all went back and he slumped to the floor lifeless.
Straightening himself up from his position, a figure dressed entirely in black walked over to the burning torches. Pulling a water canister free from his belt, the unknown figure unscrewed the cap before pouring its contents over the flames, dousing the fire.
Looking towards the other outposts, the corner of the figure's eyes crinkled up in a silent joy as he watched the other flames, one by one also being put out. Pulling out a small rose etched pendant from his pocket, the figure quietly muttered a few words while making small hand gestures in the air before him. The area before the man shifted and distorted as a small rift appeared, the dark silhouette of another appearing on the rifts other side. Bowing his head in respect he spoke to the other "Preparations complete Lord Treize, the last of the sentries have been taken out"
From beyond the rift, Trieze leaned forward, his calm blue eyes regarding the scout "I will inform our forces of your success, they should be ready to move within the hour."
TBC
Gob is another word used for Jaw for any of you who didn't know what it meant
A/N: Sorry I took so long to get this chapter out, I was aiming at writing around 5000 words but as you can see..... I kind of went over that limit -grins sheepishly- but long chapters are always good ne? -giggles then sighs sadly- I got the dreaded writer's block while I was writing most of this chapter which is one of the reasons why it took so long. Gomen nasai minna-chan.
Going to be working on the next MoT chapter now, already typed up the beginning of it so that's something ne? hehe so who will win the battle there? Nobody knows well... I know and maybe Ashly-chan and Yume-chan do... but even then I'm thinking of changing my mind so even they won't know, and now I'm just rambling on, cause I'm good at that –snickers-
Mehehe and a big thank you to Ashly, CuriousDreamWeaver, Pink Cherry Blossom, Star Dragonsong, NightHawk, Kyra, Maxine, Kitsunes Shinigami, Skeren Dreamera, The Chaotic Ones (Duo and Heero will eventually become a couple, but it wont be for a few more chapters yet -winks-) , kt, venom, and to kuraimoon (you will have to wait to see what happens with Duo but you don't have to worry I've got plans for the braided baka) for your reviews and gomen nasai mina-san that it's taken me this long to get this chapter out, I hope its length makes up for the delay...