I'm getting close to the end...
Enjoy!
~*~ Chapter 10 ~*~
"Hey guys! I found the ninth question!!" Duo yelled out to the others.
Soon the other three pilots were standing next to Duo, and looking up at the question.
After a moment, Heero looked down at the doors, not even bothering to look at the answers, and saw the middle door had a large red smear going across it. "Come on, we're wasting time!" he shouted out as he grabbed for the handle.
Nearly busting the door down before he even got it all the way open, Heero ran as fast as he could, all the way following the red hand prints where ever they would lead him.
Trowa was able to keep up with the Japanese boy easily, but Wufei and Duo were a few strides behind.
Turning every corner at speeds that would cause a normal person to fall and injure themselves, the four boys were pressed for time, and couldn't afford to be cautious now.
The white walls were finally getting to them, and every path looked the same to them. If it wasn't for Quatre's quick thinking, and kind soul, they would still be lost at the beginning of the giant maze. And his helping them could very well have cost him his life.
But they couldn't think of that.
Now all that was on their minds was saving the blonde boy before it was too late.
Suddenly Heero and Trowa skid to a stop when something horrible caught their attention. When Wufei and Duo stopped, and caught their breath, they too were disheartened at what they saw.
A giant smear of blood that started at the middle of the floor, and went all the way to the left wall. There several red hand prints went up the wall, and continued along until they finally stopped.
"My God... He must have fallen, and dragged himself across the floor.... Then used the wall to help himself up..." Wufei whispered, unable to imagine the pain the blonde boy must be in now.
After looking on at the red mass of the blonde boy's blood, Heero gritted his teeth in anger. Not at Quatre, but in anger toward the man who forced Quatre into this. ~How could he put Quatre through this torture.... If what I saw in the interrogation room was real, then how the hell could this man do this to him?! He should know that Quatre was sincere!~ Having never felt this much anger in such a long time, Heero desperately tried to calm down before he did something rash.
Once he had it under control once more, the normally stoic pilot turned to the others. "Come on, we need to find him as quickly as possible!"
Before the others had a chance to do anything, Heero turned on his heel, and sprinted down the path.
Trowa wanted to move as fast as Heero, but he knew the other two couldn't keep up with that speed.
Before he had to think of it too long, Duo spoke out. "Tro, dude, you catch up with Hee. We'll be right behind ya." the braided American told him with a reassuring wink.
With a small smile, and a nod, Trowa sprinted off as well, leaving Duo and Wufei to run after them as best as they could.
"Come on, Wu. It doesn't matter who gets to Q first, just as long as someone's there for him." Duo said to the Chinese boy to comfort him somewhat.
Wufei didn't give a reply as they ran.
He didn't know what to say.
~I'm not entirely sure that Quatre would want me there for him....~
~*~
Running so fast that all someone could really see were two blurs going by, Heero and Trowa weren't about to stop for anything.
And they had a good reason not to.
Quatre meant a great deal to both of them.
Sure, Duo and Quatre were best friends, but Quatre had connected with the silent pair in a way that no one else had done before.
The blonde was the first person to actually care about them. Quatre was always kind to them, no matter what, and did everything to help them.
Even when they didn't want him to.
Even now Quatre was helping them, and watching out for them. Being on a team, people would expect them to help one another, but...
Using his own life's blood to act as a guide for them was far beyond the call of duty.
And Trowa and Heero weren't about to let Quatre leave them. They weren't there to help him when his father had died, and that resulted in his use of the zero system, but this time....
This time they would be damned if they weren't going to be there for him now.
Further and further, the hand prints led them through the maze. Occasionally they noticed spots where Quatre must have fallen due to the large blood stains on the ground and the wall....
But they pushed it from their minds, and ordered their feet to move faster.
After they ran down another path and came to a fork in the maze, they moved for the left path that was marked. Once they made it to the end of the path, they turned the corner and froze dead in their tracks.
Laid out on the ground in a pool of his own blood was the gentle Arabian boy.
Tears nearly blinding them, Heero and Trowa raced to him, and fell to their knees once they reached him.
Trowa lifted his head into his lap, and gently felt for a pulse. At first he felt nothing, and that terrified him deeply, but then he felt it. It was extremely faint, but it was there all the same. He was able to smile through his tears, and nodded over to a worried Heero.
The stoic boy sighed deeply, then Heero leaned down over the fallen blonde to check his breathing. "He's breathing, but just barely..." He sat up straight, but had a frown on his face. "But he needs medical attention now... What are we suppo-"
Before he could finish, Duo's voice cut through the silence. "Hey, Heero! Trowa! You down there?!"
"Yeah! Hurry up you two! We found him!!" Trowa shouted back before he returned to gently stroking back the silky blonde hair.
In no time the American and the Chinese were skidding to a hault in front of the three in the floor, both in a state of silent shock at what they saw.
His voice coming out in a choked whisper, Duo finally spoke. "I-is.. Is h- he..." His violet eyes were wide in fear and terror as the thought he couldn't say flashed in his mind.
"No, he's still alive, Duo, but we need to get him help as soon as possible, or he will die." Heero stated as calmly as he could.
Duo's mouth was parted slightly in shock, and his eyes zoomed in on the dark red wound in his best friend's pale chest.
~The chances of him surviving a wound like that plus the excessive blood loss are next to none...~ the soldier in his mind quietly told him.
He bit his lip, and the braided boy held in a cry. ~So what am I supposed to do? Give up on him?! Like hell I will!!!~ Duo frowned deeply in determination, and started to take off his black over shirt, and his white undershirt. Now bare chested, he un rolled one of the sleeves of the white shirt and ripped it off the garment.
He then knelt down next to the unmoving body while ripping the sleeve down the middle. "Let's stop the bleeding before he loses any more." he said firmly. His words were punctuated when he ripped off the other sleeve as well.
After they all agreeed to it, the four boys worked as quickly, and as gently, as they could to patch the wound in Quatre's chest. As they knelt around the blonde boy, the four pilots made quick work of using Duo's shirt sleeves and the rest of his shirt as a crude badange to stop the bleeding. They knew it was all that they could do for him at the moment.
Once the bandage was snuggly fitted around the slim chest, Duo carefully wrapped the thicker black over shirt around Quatre's small frame to keep him warm. "There, pal.. That should keep you warm..." Duo ran his fingers through the soft blonde hair, and bit his lip to keep his tears at bay.
Quatre's form stirred at the touch, and hazed aqua eyes fluttered open. Tiredly, he looked around at the faces that were so close to him, and gave a weak smile. "Hey, guys... *cough* I see that found my little signs... How are you? You weren't hurt in that... *cough cough* Explosion, were you?" he asked, worry showing through his pain filled eyes.
The four pilots froze and looked at one another.
Quatre wasn't even thinking of his own well being, but was concerned about his four friends......
And that tore through them like a dull blade.
"Yeah, we're all fine, Q...." Duo tried to smile as best he could. "H-how are you, man? You look kinda rough..." he chuckled half heartedly.
The blonde smiled once more. "Not too bad... I've been patched up with worse than this...." His voice trailed off and his dull aqua eyes sluggishly move to the last question that was still looming overhead. "So we made it to the last question.... Come on..." Quatre tried to help himself up, but the others were quick to stop him.
"Quatre, no, you shouldn't move around when you're injured this badly..." Trowa stated as he tried to gently hold him down where the blonde was propped up on his lap.
Quatre frowned deeply at them. "I know that I shouldn't.... But I have to if we're going to make it out of here together.... Now, please, let me up so I can read the last set of answes...." he asked politely, and hoped they would do it.
Trowa bit his lip at the pleading look in his eyes, so he looked to the others for an answer.
In their minds, all of them knew that Quatre was the only one that could get them out of this, and they would have to move the blonde anyway in order to get him to proper medical attention.
Knowing that it was the only way, they all nodded in agreement, and Trowa looked back down at his awaiting partner. "Okay, Quatre, but please don't over do it... You're too weak from the amount of blood you lost to do much of anything... And let one of us carry you." he lightly ordered the boy.
The Arabian nodded. "That's fine.. Now please help me up.. We're too close to just stop now. "
Slowly, Heero, obviously being the strongest out of all of them, gently gathered the blonde boy in his arms, trying to cause as little discomfort to him as possible. Once Quatre was in the protective care of the silent Japanese pilot, they all moved towards the last three doors.
Quatre's aqua eyes look out on to the last question. He knew that he had already read it, but wanted to be sure of what it was asking. He tried as best as he could, but his blured vision wouldn't allow him to see the last piece of the puzzle. "Someone read the question to me... I can't see it clearly..." he asked softly, in attempts to conserve as much energy as he could.
His voice sounding weaker, they knew that he was fading fast.
Duo tried not to look at him as he read the last question alloud. "During the American civil war in 1861-1865 A.D. the states were divided, and even families separated to join opposite sides... What was said by both sides that made it one of the most horrible in America's history?" The American's eye blinked curiously. "Hey.. I've heard that somewhere before..." he said suddenly, he knew it to be his own country's history.
The other three standing looked towards him in hopes that maybe Quatre could rest a bit more.
"Do you know the answer, Duo?" Trowa asked almost eagerly.
His nervous hand scratched his head. Duo glanced at each one of the doors with a bit of anxiety nagging him. "I think I do... I'm not sure...." His violet eyes went over each question, starting with the one on the left. "I will let no man take my property ..." He read the middle one. "We are men, not aninmals, and we will fight to prove it...." Finally he looked to the last door. "There is no family in war, and I would not hesitate to strike down my own brother...." Duo froze after he read it. After turning sharply, he looked at the broken form of his best friend. "Quatre, is it this one?" he asked hopefully.
He smiled weakly, and Quatre was able to give a slight nod. "That's right, Duo.... Open the last door...." he said in a tired voice.
Duo nodded, and causiously turned the handle of the door. The other three took a step back, and Heero clutched the blonde boy closer to him.
He would not let Quatre be hurt any more.
Slowly, Duo opened the door. Once it was open, Duo's eyes grew in shock, but then narrowed down in a glare at what he found. When the others looked inside as well, their eyes flared in anger when they saw.
There in a room that was pitch black other than one over head light, sitting in a golden throne with a gold bull's head mounted at the top, was Calrton. He looked as if he had been waiting on them.
His brown eyes fixed on them with a cold gaze as they slowly entered the room, and his lips curled into an amused smirk.
"Hello... I see you've made it through my little maze... But now the final test is at hand..." After looking at the helpless boy in Heero's arms, his own eyes flared in anger. "I hope you're ready Quatre. Your answer will decide your friends fates." he growled out, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Before the four pilots could do anything, the door that they had entered slammed shut, and the sounds of weapons taking aim could be heard in the darkness that surrounded the Sergeant.
Alarm struck the trapped pilots, and the four of them moved closer. Duo Wufei and Trowa stood in front of Heero and Quatre without hesitation.
They were going to protect Quatre...
No matter the cost.
~*~ TBC
Ba da da!
Later!
Enjoy!
~*~ Chapter 10 ~*~
"Hey guys! I found the ninth question!!" Duo yelled out to the others.
Soon the other three pilots were standing next to Duo, and looking up at the question.
After a moment, Heero looked down at the doors, not even bothering to look at the answers, and saw the middle door had a large red smear going across it. "Come on, we're wasting time!" he shouted out as he grabbed for the handle.
Nearly busting the door down before he even got it all the way open, Heero ran as fast as he could, all the way following the red hand prints where ever they would lead him.
Trowa was able to keep up with the Japanese boy easily, but Wufei and Duo were a few strides behind.
Turning every corner at speeds that would cause a normal person to fall and injure themselves, the four boys were pressed for time, and couldn't afford to be cautious now.
The white walls were finally getting to them, and every path looked the same to them. If it wasn't for Quatre's quick thinking, and kind soul, they would still be lost at the beginning of the giant maze. And his helping them could very well have cost him his life.
But they couldn't think of that.
Now all that was on their minds was saving the blonde boy before it was too late.
Suddenly Heero and Trowa skid to a stop when something horrible caught their attention. When Wufei and Duo stopped, and caught their breath, they too were disheartened at what they saw.
A giant smear of blood that started at the middle of the floor, and went all the way to the left wall. There several red hand prints went up the wall, and continued along until they finally stopped.
"My God... He must have fallen, and dragged himself across the floor.... Then used the wall to help himself up..." Wufei whispered, unable to imagine the pain the blonde boy must be in now.
After looking on at the red mass of the blonde boy's blood, Heero gritted his teeth in anger. Not at Quatre, but in anger toward the man who forced Quatre into this. ~How could he put Quatre through this torture.... If what I saw in the interrogation room was real, then how the hell could this man do this to him?! He should know that Quatre was sincere!~ Having never felt this much anger in such a long time, Heero desperately tried to calm down before he did something rash.
Once he had it under control once more, the normally stoic pilot turned to the others. "Come on, we need to find him as quickly as possible!"
Before the others had a chance to do anything, Heero turned on his heel, and sprinted down the path.
Trowa wanted to move as fast as Heero, but he knew the other two couldn't keep up with that speed.
Before he had to think of it too long, Duo spoke out. "Tro, dude, you catch up with Hee. We'll be right behind ya." the braided American told him with a reassuring wink.
With a small smile, and a nod, Trowa sprinted off as well, leaving Duo and Wufei to run after them as best as they could.
"Come on, Wu. It doesn't matter who gets to Q first, just as long as someone's there for him." Duo said to the Chinese boy to comfort him somewhat.
Wufei didn't give a reply as they ran.
He didn't know what to say.
~I'm not entirely sure that Quatre would want me there for him....~
~*~
Running so fast that all someone could really see were two blurs going by, Heero and Trowa weren't about to stop for anything.
And they had a good reason not to.
Quatre meant a great deal to both of them.
Sure, Duo and Quatre were best friends, but Quatre had connected with the silent pair in a way that no one else had done before.
The blonde was the first person to actually care about them. Quatre was always kind to them, no matter what, and did everything to help them.
Even when they didn't want him to.
Even now Quatre was helping them, and watching out for them. Being on a team, people would expect them to help one another, but...
Using his own life's blood to act as a guide for them was far beyond the call of duty.
And Trowa and Heero weren't about to let Quatre leave them. They weren't there to help him when his father had died, and that resulted in his use of the zero system, but this time....
This time they would be damned if they weren't going to be there for him now.
Further and further, the hand prints led them through the maze. Occasionally they noticed spots where Quatre must have fallen due to the large blood stains on the ground and the wall....
But they pushed it from their minds, and ordered their feet to move faster.
After they ran down another path and came to a fork in the maze, they moved for the left path that was marked. Once they made it to the end of the path, they turned the corner and froze dead in their tracks.
Laid out on the ground in a pool of his own blood was the gentle Arabian boy.
Tears nearly blinding them, Heero and Trowa raced to him, and fell to their knees once they reached him.
Trowa lifted his head into his lap, and gently felt for a pulse. At first he felt nothing, and that terrified him deeply, but then he felt it. It was extremely faint, but it was there all the same. He was able to smile through his tears, and nodded over to a worried Heero.
The stoic boy sighed deeply, then Heero leaned down over the fallen blonde to check his breathing. "He's breathing, but just barely..." He sat up straight, but had a frown on his face. "But he needs medical attention now... What are we suppo-"
Before he could finish, Duo's voice cut through the silence. "Hey, Heero! Trowa! You down there?!"
"Yeah! Hurry up you two! We found him!!" Trowa shouted back before he returned to gently stroking back the silky blonde hair.
In no time the American and the Chinese were skidding to a hault in front of the three in the floor, both in a state of silent shock at what they saw.
His voice coming out in a choked whisper, Duo finally spoke. "I-is.. Is h- he..." His violet eyes were wide in fear and terror as the thought he couldn't say flashed in his mind.
"No, he's still alive, Duo, but we need to get him help as soon as possible, or he will die." Heero stated as calmly as he could.
Duo's mouth was parted slightly in shock, and his eyes zoomed in on the dark red wound in his best friend's pale chest.
~The chances of him surviving a wound like that plus the excessive blood loss are next to none...~ the soldier in his mind quietly told him.
He bit his lip, and the braided boy held in a cry. ~So what am I supposed to do? Give up on him?! Like hell I will!!!~ Duo frowned deeply in determination, and started to take off his black over shirt, and his white undershirt. Now bare chested, he un rolled one of the sleeves of the white shirt and ripped it off the garment.
He then knelt down next to the unmoving body while ripping the sleeve down the middle. "Let's stop the bleeding before he loses any more." he said firmly. His words were punctuated when he ripped off the other sleeve as well.
After they all agreeed to it, the four boys worked as quickly, and as gently, as they could to patch the wound in Quatre's chest. As they knelt around the blonde boy, the four pilots made quick work of using Duo's shirt sleeves and the rest of his shirt as a crude badange to stop the bleeding. They knew it was all that they could do for him at the moment.
Once the bandage was snuggly fitted around the slim chest, Duo carefully wrapped the thicker black over shirt around Quatre's small frame to keep him warm. "There, pal.. That should keep you warm..." Duo ran his fingers through the soft blonde hair, and bit his lip to keep his tears at bay.
Quatre's form stirred at the touch, and hazed aqua eyes fluttered open. Tiredly, he looked around at the faces that were so close to him, and gave a weak smile. "Hey, guys... *cough* I see that found my little signs... How are you? You weren't hurt in that... *cough cough* Explosion, were you?" he asked, worry showing through his pain filled eyes.
The four pilots froze and looked at one another.
Quatre wasn't even thinking of his own well being, but was concerned about his four friends......
And that tore through them like a dull blade.
"Yeah, we're all fine, Q...." Duo tried to smile as best he could. "H-how are you, man? You look kinda rough..." he chuckled half heartedly.
The blonde smiled once more. "Not too bad... I've been patched up with worse than this...." His voice trailed off and his dull aqua eyes sluggishly move to the last question that was still looming overhead. "So we made it to the last question.... Come on..." Quatre tried to help himself up, but the others were quick to stop him.
"Quatre, no, you shouldn't move around when you're injured this badly..." Trowa stated as he tried to gently hold him down where the blonde was propped up on his lap.
Quatre frowned deeply at them. "I know that I shouldn't.... But I have to if we're going to make it out of here together.... Now, please, let me up so I can read the last set of answes...." he asked politely, and hoped they would do it.
Trowa bit his lip at the pleading look in his eyes, so he looked to the others for an answer.
In their minds, all of them knew that Quatre was the only one that could get them out of this, and they would have to move the blonde anyway in order to get him to proper medical attention.
Knowing that it was the only way, they all nodded in agreement, and Trowa looked back down at his awaiting partner. "Okay, Quatre, but please don't over do it... You're too weak from the amount of blood you lost to do much of anything... And let one of us carry you." he lightly ordered the boy.
The Arabian nodded. "That's fine.. Now please help me up.. We're too close to just stop now. "
Slowly, Heero, obviously being the strongest out of all of them, gently gathered the blonde boy in his arms, trying to cause as little discomfort to him as possible. Once Quatre was in the protective care of the silent Japanese pilot, they all moved towards the last three doors.
Quatre's aqua eyes look out on to the last question. He knew that he had already read it, but wanted to be sure of what it was asking. He tried as best as he could, but his blured vision wouldn't allow him to see the last piece of the puzzle. "Someone read the question to me... I can't see it clearly..." he asked softly, in attempts to conserve as much energy as he could.
His voice sounding weaker, they knew that he was fading fast.
Duo tried not to look at him as he read the last question alloud. "During the American civil war in 1861-1865 A.D. the states were divided, and even families separated to join opposite sides... What was said by both sides that made it one of the most horrible in America's history?" The American's eye blinked curiously. "Hey.. I've heard that somewhere before..." he said suddenly, he knew it to be his own country's history.
The other three standing looked towards him in hopes that maybe Quatre could rest a bit more.
"Do you know the answer, Duo?" Trowa asked almost eagerly.
His nervous hand scratched his head. Duo glanced at each one of the doors with a bit of anxiety nagging him. "I think I do... I'm not sure...." His violet eyes went over each question, starting with the one on the left. "I will let no man take my property ..." He read the middle one. "We are men, not aninmals, and we will fight to prove it...." Finally he looked to the last door. "There is no family in war, and I would not hesitate to strike down my own brother...." Duo froze after he read it. After turning sharply, he looked at the broken form of his best friend. "Quatre, is it this one?" he asked hopefully.
He smiled weakly, and Quatre was able to give a slight nod. "That's right, Duo.... Open the last door...." he said in a tired voice.
Duo nodded, and causiously turned the handle of the door. The other three took a step back, and Heero clutched the blonde boy closer to him.
He would not let Quatre be hurt any more.
Slowly, Duo opened the door. Once it was open, Duo's eyes grew in shock, but then narrowed down in a glare at what he found. When the others looked inside as well, their eyes flared in anger when they saw.
There in a room that was pitch black other than one over head light, sitting in a golden throne with a gold bull's head mounted at the top, was Calrton. He looked as if he had been waiting on them.
His brown eyes fixed on them with a cold gaze as they slowly entered the room, and his lips curled into an amused smirk.
"Hello... I see you've made it through my little maze... But now the final test is at hand..." After looking at the helpless boy in Heero's arms, his own eyes flared in anger. "I hope you're ready Quatre. Your answer will decide your friends fates." he growled out, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Before the four pilots could do anything, the door that they had entered slammed shut, and the sounds of weapons taking aim could be heard in the darkness that surrounded the Sergeant.
Alarm struck the trapped pilots, and the four of them moved closer. Duo Wufei and Trowa stood in front of Heero and Quatre without hesitation.
They were going to protect Quatre...
No matter the cost.
~*~ TBC
Ba da da!
Later!