Title: Fear's Folly
Character: O'Brien||Pair: N/A
Word Count: 1,010/1,010||Chapters: 1/1
Genre: Drama||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing: canon: D7: 1-shot
Notes: Set post Jim's death in season three.
Summary: O'Brien thought he was brave. He thought he could handle any battlefield. He thought wrong.

He needed to run. He needed to run as fast as he could, for as long as he could, until either there wasn't anywhere left to run or he felt himself safe.

I'll never be safe! Haou knew who he was. Knew what he looked like, knew how he dueled. He could tell this to any of his servants. They were strong, too. They could kill him as easily as Haou could.

And even if he somehow defeated them, Haou would still find him. Haou would still kill him.

O'Brien ducked himself into a small copse of trees and tries to catch his breath. He wasn't doing a very good job of it, not with the way his heart pounded, cold sweat trickled down his spine to pool in the small of his pack, his eyes jerked this way and that, terrified at the smallest of noises, let alone movements.

I'm not far enough away. How long had he run? How far had he run?

He didn't know. There wasn't any way to find out. This world marked time only by the strength of the comet, and even after what had to be days or weeks or even months here, he hadn't yet learned how to judge it.

Too much time, he knew that much. Too much time and not enough of everything else. Not enough food or water or rest.

Not enough calm, not enough time to rest and think for more than a few seconds about anything that wasn't the heart-stopping terror of Haou.

Once again he could see those ice-cold eyes staring at him, hear that voice that had once brought hope to so many people, now with a single question that shattered everything O'Brien ever knew about himself.

Are you next?

He'd left Jim's Duel Disk and backpack there. Before, some part of him believed if the situation arose, then he would at least be able to grab those items, carry them to safety. They were almost as valuable as the Eye of Orichalcum itself.

And yet he'd fled. He'd fled with nothing more than the Eye in his hand, and he found himself continually surprised that he hadn't dropped that.

Jim wanted him to save Juudai. He wanted to save Juudai.

But I can't. Haou is too strong. Too terrifying. The moves that he'd used once before wouldn't work now. O'Brien believed that. He'd come close once to defeating Juudai, only losing by his own decision.

This is different. He's different.

Juudai was a killer now. A warlord who struck down any who opposed him. Flickers of memory surged through: Jim. Burgundy. Claret. Nero. Nero's grandfather. Everyone in the village that had given them help.

I should go somewhere. He didn't move. He could hear noises and he refused to move.

Either refused to move or couldn't bring himself to move. Even O'Brien didn't know which one it was. Only that if he were seen, it would mean his death in one way or another.

"I told you, I saw someone coming this way!"

It wasn't a voice that he recognized. A tiny part of him – an extremely tiny part of him – relaxed at that. Not Haou. Not one of those duelists who served him, at least not those top five rankers.

"You're seeing things. There's no tracks." Another voice that he didn't recognize. O'Brien could feel the tension easing away, just a breath or two and no more.

It all came back a heartbeat later with a third voice. "You only want there to be someone so you can prove yourself to Haou-sama. You think if you can find one of the rebels, you'll get promoted."

The first voice laughed, a cruel and heartless sound. "What's wrong with being ambitious? And if there is a rebel around here somewhere, then I can take them back as well as anyone else could."

O'Brien ground his teeth together and closed his eyes, fighting off a full body shudder. He didn't dare move, didn't dare think about moving. They might try to kill him right away if they saw him. They might take him back to Haou.

That second option terrified him more than the first did. If he were dead, he wouldn't need to fear anymore. Perhaps someone else, someone less cowardly, less terrified of Haou's very shadow, could do the job. Could find Juudai's heart buried in all the darkness of Haou and bring it back to life. He didn't know who might be able to, but it wasn't him.

But if he were taken back to Haou… O'Brien didn't even want to think about what could happen then. Burgundy's villagers told stories about what happened to those who came before Haou. No one came back alive from there, true: at least not in the way that they'd been. No one there knew if the stories were more than just stories, but three or four villagers spoke of seeing old friends, kindred, who'd fought hard against Haou and had been seen now serving him. What changed them, no one knew.

I can't let him do that to me. Whatever it is. Which meant he had to avoid being captured. Had to avoid everyone and find safety and shelter far away from here.

"Let's try this way," the first voice said again. "I think there's a village there. I bet a rebel would hide there."

O'Brien didn't hear the response, if there was one. He did hear a few laughs and then footsteps that faded away. Slowly he leaned his head against the tree and breathed. He knew what way not to go now. His heart ached for all those people in that village when those three arrived.

If he were a true soldier, he would help them. Save them. He would do something instead of what he knew that he was going to do.

With what pieces of resolution he could dredge up, he turned away and chose a path that he hoped would lead him far from Haou and the nightmares he couldn't face.

The End

Notes: I've been watching season 3 of GX and I just love it more every time.