T.D.K- I don't own the boys, just the plot and Megan. On a side note, Megan and Heero are mixed in this fic, about half Japanese and the other half European/American. They also don't live in Japan. Just wanted to clear that up.
Relena growled as she gazed into her scrying bowl. How had Heero managed to return to Underground? He wasn't supposed to have any magic or abilities aside from what Duo had granted him. That was the dominion over the goblins and their king's heart. Had it been Heero's wish, that to know what was going on?
What if the Labyrinth itself had granted the human magic abilities? Could it even do that? She shook her head. Heero was hers now, magic entrapment or no. The king just had to deal with it. Who was she kidding? Relena knew she couldn't win against Duo. Duo was Heero's true destined lover and she wasn't.
She'd been told enough stories by Sally and Catherine to know nothing would stop the king from winning the human back. "I can help you, young Fiery. After all, our purposes are not so very different, are they? I want that human out of the Labyrinth and the king all to myself and you want that very same human, no?"
Relena slowly nodded. She knew who the woman before her was. No one disobeyed or passed up on an offer from the Queen of Cups. She was old, even older than the Labyrinth Relena had once called home. Appearance wise, she wasn't much older than the Fiery. Her hair was spun gold, her eyes a clear watery blue. Her robes were the same blue of her eyes, bringing to mind the element she controlled. She held a clear glass challis in one hand, filled with water.
"Yes, Majesty. You would help one as lowly as I?"
"Of course! In the end, our intentions are beneficial to the other, are they not?" She nodded, agreeing with the queen. "Then it is a deal. As we are now partners, please call me Sei."
"I am Relena, Sei." The pair glanced at Relena's bowl, before Sei transported them back to her realm.
Heero ran his hand along the rock walls of the outer Labyrinth as he walked along. Glitter covered everything within the walls, making objects sparkle as he walked. The man stopped when he realized that there was an opening close to where he was. A memory came to him, one of Duo and he. Duo had told him about the opening. He sighed ruefully, wishing he knew what had happened to the cloak.
At least I'm better dressed if the temperature drops again. He thought, looking down at his comfortable jeans, simple tee, and light jean jacket. A chuckle escaped his lips. He remembered how he had accused Duo of dropping it on purpose. How right he had been! He and the king had acted as two kids with crushes, that didn't know how to tell the other. Heero stopped to rest for a moment, knowing the opening was across from his seat.
Looking down at him from the top of the wall was Duo. He was covered in concealment magic, undiscoverable to the naked eye. He remembers my hint from a century ago. The king shook his head, causing the ribbon binding his braid to jingle. He stopped, knowing the man below had heard it. When did I place bells on my ribbon? The king thought, knowing that he hadn't. Megan must have done it. She re-braided my hair for me.
"My love?" Heero asked uncertainly. "My love, where are you? Are you going to make me run again? Why can't we just talk? I need to see you, to feel you. Zero said that I was under Fiery magic. I stopped being able to remember. I don't know when, but it happened. We're going to deal with it, right? You said we were, if this happened. I never even kissed her. All I did was hold her hand."
Duo leapt from the wall, still covered in his magic. The only object that made noise was the bells attached to his ribbon. They chimed prettily, sending out a soothing noise. The king groaned inwardly. Heero turned to face the opening, instinctly knowing Duo had landed there. They were silent for a time, and neither knew how long, nor did they care. After all, this time there was no time limit.
"You can hide yourself from me all you want, Duo. I will know where you are, whether I can physically see you or not. I'm telling the truth. I may have consciously forgotten my promise, but that doesn't mean my subconscious did. For five years your face haunted me every moment of every day. I dreamed over and over about a decade ago. Even when Relena finally took that away from me, your voice was there to remind me who I truly loved."
"Relena?! Relena bewitched you? You, who is mine!?" Duo's voice came out in a hard cold tone. Heero wasn't afraid, but he flinched. He had caused his love's voice to harden. The Goblin King's coldness was his fault. He felt Duo grip his shoulders. "You're just looking for an excuse to get back into my good graces."
"No! I am not! Ask Meg! She knows me better than our family! After all, you took her away from me again!" Duo halted. Heero's words hit a spot inside him. Yes, he had taken the young teen away again. She was sleeping peacefully in one of the rooms in his castle. "Duo, were you telling me false truths all those years ago?" Heero asked the empty space before him.
"I have never told a lie. I run and I hide, but I do not tell a lie. That is how I have ruled my Labyrinth since I came of age."
"Duo, it's not just your Labyrinth. It's mine too. It did something to me, placed a part of it inside of me, or awoke a part of me that always belonged here. I can feel the life of this land beneath my feet, feel it like my own heartbeat."
The Goblin King looked at his paramour. Heero was older, but nothing about him was different. "It did nothing to you." He said, preparing to turn away. Heero reached out, knowing where his wrist was, when it happened. A strong gust of wind ripped through Duo's magic, leaving him visible to the world.
He whipped around, checking to see if Heero had been harmed. Heero stood there, save his Aboveground clothes were gone. Duo's old dark blue cloak flew out behind him in the wind. A white tunic was overlaid by a dark blue short vest. Dark leggings covered Heero's legs and were tucked into black hunting boots. The king looked into the man's eyes, gasping at the glow within them.
"I told you." Was all he said in reply. Duo was shocked. Was he not king of the Labyrinth? Did the Labyrinth not refigure itself at his whim? Why did Heero have a seemingly stronger connection to what was an extension of Duo? "Duo?"
"How can you command the Labyrinth?"
"I beat you and became the champion, remember?" How he remembered. He willingly let Heero return home, knowing it would pain him every moment. Can it be? This is what happens when a champion comes forward? Could the Labyrinth be sharing itself with Heero?
"I remember. I need to seek more answers. You know the way to the castle, don't you?"
"I remember. Wish I didn't have to go back that way."
"I cannot carry passengers of your size in my owl form." Duo said, quickly transforming. Heero huffed, slightly annoyed at the elder being's cold shoulder. The man straightened his back, then walked through the opening. He wondered how his friends were doing, if he would see them again.
Megan wondered about the garden, Howard an ever present black shadow. Where were her other brothers? They should be at the castle with Duo, but they were nowhere to be found. She hiked up the skirt of her dress, looking back at the black furred goblin. He was looking away, obviously willing to go along with what she was planning.
The young teen climbed up a nearby tree, escaping from the castle. She landed standing straight, much as her older brother had a decade ago. A hiss could be heard escaping from her grimacing face. She looked around quickly, before running out blindly into the city. She had to find her other brothers, if her and Zero's plan was to work properly.
Sei looked at the newest three additions to her growing collection. Relena smiled devilishly as she too looked at the three men held in suspended animation. In a neat little row leading to the queen's throne were Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Each was contained within a pod of magical water, all in the grips of a deep magical sleep. As soon as the Goblin King had left his castle, Sei's servants had taken the three.
"Now, let us see what that silly princess will do. After all, the key players in her and that gundam's plans are under our control." Relena nodded. Maybe she did have the power to overcome true love, at least with the queen's help she did. "Relena, it is time for you to play your part."
"Yes. I'll go get ready." With that, Relena rose and went into a deeper part of the castle. Sei's lips lifted into a feral possessive smile. If things went the way she intended, then she would have the Goblin King right where she wanted him; at her side and in her bed.
Duo sat in his bedroom, willing his Escher room to keep it secluded. He knew there was something going on in his kingdom. His brothers were missing. His heir was missing. He wasn't the only one with control over his labyrinth anymore. The king didn't know how and why his kingdom was slowly slipping out of his control.
'I allowed my other half to leave. I threw myself into chaos and in turn my kingdom. I have ignored my kingdom in my heartache. I need to fix this!' He leapt from his bed, cloak flowing around him in a cloud of black. His eyes glowed with power, one pure violet and the other cobalt blue. He snatched his crystals, turning them to his heir. She wondered about just outside of the official boundaries of the labyrinth.
He willed himself to her side. Megan turned to him, a sheepish look on her face. Duo wrapped her in his arms, tucking her head under his head. "Something is wrong within my labyrinth. You must take temporary control, become the Goblin Queen. I need the obscurity to figure out what is going on with my kingdom. Tonight there will be a ball welcoming you back to Underground. Every ruler will be there, along with the Queen of Cups, Sei.
"She's dangerous, Doll. More dangerous than Relena and my labyrinth. She's wanted the labyrinth and myself, since we first met." He pushed her hair out of her face. "I will do whatever it takes to ensure that I and my labyrinth are free. I will gladly bind myself to your brother, but that's because he is mine and I am his."
Megan nodded. "I'll do it, Duo. I'll do whatever it takes to help you. My other brothers, they're missing, aren't they?"
"Yes. I've never lied, and I won't start with you. I don't know where they are, but I'll find them."
"Take Heero with you. Howard and the other goblins will be just fine as my protectors. You can call Sally and her girls back, forgive them, and let them also be my guards. If you like, let's go ahead and transfer control to me. That way you can leave as soon as you can get away." Duo nodded, exercising his magic and whisking them away to the true heart of the labyrinth.
Heero wondered the Labyrinth, testing his re-forged bond to it. It was incredibly easy to maneuver than it had been all those years ago. He looked up as he heard male voice from ahead. His mind whirled. He didn't know those voices. They didn't sound like the gundams he'd met a decade ago. Wait, I remember the switching doors, but I don't remember what the gundams looked like. Do I even remember their names? One was Freedom and the other was Justice.
The two voices belonged to men who looked the same age as Heero. One had unusual dark blue hair, and mossy green eyes. He wore a red uniform and stood about the same height as the other male. Both seemed to be only a few inches taller than Heero. He realized that was only true because of the boots the pair was wearing.
The other male had messy brunette hair, much the same color as Heero's. His eyes were a gemstone violet. He wore a mostly white and blue uniform. He noticed Heero first, smiling kindly at him. "Hello." He said. "I'm Kira, and you are?"
"I'm Heero. I always wondered who you were. I met Freedom and Justice years ago. And if you're Freedom's pilot, then you must be Justice's pilot, Athrun." Heero grinned at the surprised look on the blue haired man's face. Kira chuckled, finding amusement in the moment.
"Freedom said you were quite smart. You're headed through the Labyrinth to get to the castle? I thought the king would've taken you there with his gundam."
"Duo and I are having a slightly one-sided lover's spat. That may be the reason I'm walking through the Labyrinth. It's not as scary as it was when I was 15. I know the deal. Pick a door and hope I don't end up in the hole again."
"Again?" Athrun asked, over his surprise. He wore a wry smirk on his face. "Let me guess, you picked Freedom's door because my Justice went off on one of his infamous rants." Heero grinned sheepishly in reply. "To each his own, I suppose. Anyway, good luck this time. You're going to need it."
Heero nodded, reaching for the door by Kira. As he opened the door, he supposed it was karma coming to bite him in the ass. He fell down the hole again. "The hell, Duo?!"
T.D.K- R& R, and we shall meet in the next chapter.
