Warnings: R, 3x4, 1+R, 2+H, 5+S, 13+11, 6+9 – Adventure, Angst, AU, Lime, Sap

Disclaimer: As always I make no claim to Gundam Wing or any of its characters!

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it's been such a long time since I last updated this! Christmas and exams has meant I'm a little slow with getting new chapters out.

Thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter…I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!

Not anything major to report on the next chapter.

A big thank you to Anne for beta reading this for me! *hugs*

I have uploaded a map for this story on my website. It's mot very good I'm afraid as I'm not very good at that sort of thing…but it will give an idea as to what is going on where. A friend of mine is doing me a better one at the moment and I'll upload that as soon as she's done.

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Falcon's Revenge

Part Ten – A Brigand's Honour

'Quatre! Quatre! Over here, my darling.'

Quatre swung around quickly to greet the familiar voice. He recognised the place; it was his mother's rose garden. The sweet smell of the flowers washed over him as his gaze came to rest on the woman who was in it.

She sat on the edge of a grand fountain; water gushed from the mouths of the two stone dragons that reared majestically from the centre of the pool. It cascaded down their marble wings and fell gracefully into the water below.

The woman herself was, by no means, over-shadowed by the splendour of the fountain. Her slender frame was wrapped in deep blue satin and her silver blonde hair fell softly around her shoulders. Deep sapphire eyes and chiselled features gave the illusion that she was fey, or some such mystical creature. However, the dark circles beneath her eyes and the chalk pallor of her skin betrayed her only too human mortality and frailty.

'Mother?' Quatre called out, running to where the woman sat and kneeling before her, his head bowed.

'My dear Quatre, how I have missed you,' she said softly, placing her hands on either side of his face and kissing him gently on the forehead.

'How is this possible?' Quatre whispered as tears formed in his eyes. 'You're dead…'

Suddenly a terrible realisation tore through him and he felt the cold grip of panic begin to steal through his body. 'Am I dead?' He shook his head in denial. 'Did they kill me? No, it can't be! I still have too much to do.'

The blonde woman laughed softly and ran one of her hands through the young man's hair. 'No my sweet Quatre, you merely dream. Fret thee not for death doth not come upon you yet.'

Quatre frowned. 'I remember being attacked; I fought for a while, but then another caught me from behind.' He shook his head in disgust. 'Careless…' he hissed. 'After that, though, I remember nothing,' he added, looking back up at his mother. 'What is going on? How is it that we can speak like this?'

The woman stood and motioned for Quatre to follow suit. 'As I said before, Quatre, you dream. I have been sent to give you a message. Now look into the water.' Gazing into the pool, she drew her hand across the water and, as it calmed, Quatre could make out the image of a young man looking up at him.

A cheerful smile lit up the youth's features, but his mauve eyes seemed to hold the weight of much sadness in them. Quatre leant forward, and placing his hand on the stone rim of the fountain, he looked deeply into the pool. 'He is so very sad,' the blond whispered as pity surged through him.

'Indeed he is,' Quatre's mother replied. 'He has seen much hardship in his few years. He is desperately lost, Quatre. You must help him to find his way. Help him to become the man he is destined to be.'

Quatre nodded. 'But how can I do that? I don't know who he is, and as I am not dead, I can only assume that I am being held captive. How am I to find and help him?'

The woman before him smiled, and for the first time Quatre noticed that she was becoming increasing opaque as their conversation progressed. 'My time grows short, Quatre. I have little power left. You will know this boy when you meet. He needs guidance, and in return he will be a great asset to you. You will not succeed in your quest without him. Do you understand?'

'Yes, I understand,' Quatre replied.

'Goodbye then my sweet Quatre. Know that your father and I are so very proud of what you have done. Though it grieves us terribly that we may see you so soon in the after life.' Little more then a shadow now, the woman held her hand out and Quatre laid his own hand against it. The touch was cool and unearthly and the blond had to fight from shivering from the contact.

'I love you,' the blonde woman whispered.

'Goodbye, Mother' Quatre answered as the spectre faded into nothing. For a time the young duke continued to stare at the space that his mother had previously occupied and slowly, the garden around him also began to fade. As darkness closed around him Quatre closed his eyes and let it claim him, knowing that when he awoke again, yet another trial would begin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'Solo yer great dolt! 'How in Laos' [1] name could yer not recognise 'em?' The high-pitched voice echoed around the small, dark room, and the thief winced.

'For the god's sakes, woman, keep your voice down!' he snarled. 'How the hell was I supposed to know who he was? As far as I knew he was just another spoilt son of some fat aristocrat.'

Serean shook her head and rolled her eyes skywards. She was rather pretty, with long chestnut coloured hair and deep green eyes. They were standing in the cellar of the Hunter's Bar – her husband was the owner. 'If yer paid any attention t'what was going on 'round yer rather then moping 'round feeling sorry for yerself you'd know just who 'e was! Visited 'is sister 'ere only two moons ago. The king paraded him 'round the city like a prize stallion, surely yer remember?'

Solo snorted. 'I don't have time to take interest in the petty comings and goings of spoilt court brats.'

Sighing heavily, Serean poked a finger at the thief's chest. 'Ha! Spoilt court brats! Well, if yer paid more notice t'what went on outside yer ale cup, per'aps yer wouldn't be in this mess huh? Even you musta 'eard 'bout what happened over Rebalion. The kid's father is dead…and even you know what that means! You've gone and caught yerself a duke yer great moron, you'll 'ang for this I've no doubt and I'll 'ave no part of it. Now get 'im and yer nasty bunch o' thugs outta my bar!'

Solo's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards the woman in front of him. 'Your husband owes us much, Serean, and just because he's out of the city, it doesn't mean that you can conveniently forget all about it. It's only though friendship I don't collect, but don't think for a moment that I haven't been keeping count. Now, you either help us, and let me keep him here until I've figured out what to do with him, or…well, you know the rest.'

The woman's ruddy skin paled and she stepped backwards. 'Yer wouldn't…' she whispered.

'Don't tempt me,' Solo replied.

Laughing nervously, Serean turned from him and walked to the far end of the room. She looked silently at the slight figure lying unconscious on the floor. Shadows from the barrels hastily stacked around his body, to obscure him from view, fell across the blond's figure, and something about the way the darkness flickered across his face made the young woman fear him. A darkness seemed to simmer just below the surface, an unmistakable power that chilled her to the core. Shivering slightly, she moved back to stand next to the thief. 'Fine, keep 'im 'ere. By the goddess' grace though, Solo, get rid of 'im soon. I 'ave a child to care for, and if the king's men find 'im 'ere…'

Solo nodded and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. 'We won't be here for long,' he promised.

After bowing her head for a moment, Serean turned to face the thief. 'Yer wont kill 'im though…will yer?'

'I don't know if I have much of a choice.' Solo frowned. 'I can't very well just let him go. If the king gets wind of this, it's just the excuse he needs to send his men here to burn us to the ground; you know that!'

Serean shook here head stubbornly. 'He's but a kid, Solo, please promise me yer won't kill 'im! The poor lad's seen so much sufferin' already, and 'is poor sister…even you can't hate 'er?'

Sighing, Solo shook his head. 'No, for the aristocracy she's not a bad sort. Alright then, I promise you that I wont kill him unless I have to, that's the best I can do.'

Nodding sadly, the bar owner's wife moved towards the steps leading up from the cellar. 'Yer know what to do if yer want out. I'll bring yer down some food when I've closed.'

'Thanks,' Solo said.

'Oh, Solo, one more thing…' she called from the top of the stairs.

'What?' came the reply.

'If yer 'ave to kill 'im…don't do it 'ere. I won't 'ave a noble killed in my bar.' The woman's voice was firm and Solo knew better than to push the matter.

'Alright, Serean, if I have to do it, I won't do it here.'

Nodding in approval, the woman disappeared through the doorway and closed the heavy wooden door behind her. A soft click reassured the thief that they were now safely locked in and free from interruption.

'Will you really kill him?'

Solo jumped at the sound of the other voice. 'For the love of the gods, Duo, how many times have I told you not to do that!' he scolded the young thief.

Duo had improved his technique of going unnoticed into practically an art form. So much so that Solo often forgot that the boy was in the room with him until Duo chose to remind him.

'Will you really kill him?' the youth repeated his question.

'What else would you have me do, Duo? Solo demanded. 'If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.'

A heavy silence answered his question and, snarling in frustration, Solo stalked over to where the blond duke lay motionless on the floor. Serean was right; he really was still only a child and, barely older then Duo. That thought cut deeply as the thief continued to stare at the youth on the floor beside him.

News of the destruction of Rebalion had reached Levas four days ago. The temple bells had rung non-stop for two days to mourn the death of the city and it's ruler. Even Solo, who usually had many unsavoury things to say concerning the elaborate funerals the nobility received, had said nothing as the city mourned. For he knew that not only had the duke and his son died in the attack, but also thousands of ordinary people, just like himself.

Therefore, the cynical thief had done something he never thought he would see himself do, he had taken Duo to the temple of Eaxis [2], and prayed for the souls of those who had died.

Both the duke and his son had been presumed dead. However the boy lying unmoving at Solo's feet had proved this information to be vastly incorrect, and that was the problem. The king, by and large, tolerated the kidnapping of minor nobles and their kin.

His intelligence network was already stretched to breaking point as tensions in surrounding countries intensified. King Treize had sent many intelligence officers to the courts of these countries to ensure that he was kept up to date with any new developments.

This, however, left little of the network at home to police the city and therefore the king did not possess the manpower needed to cleanse Levas of its more unscrupulous characters. As a result, Treize had decided that to ignore the problems at the lower end of the city's population was the lesser of two evils, and Solo and his fellows were left alone, as long as they didn't step too far over the unspoken boundaries.

To kidnap a duke however… Solo moaned and sank down onto one of the crates beside him. Burying his face in his hands, he shook his head slowly and sighed. He could see no alternative; he would have to kill the boy and dispose of the body before anyone else caught wind of what had happened.

He was fairly confident that only Serean and the other members of the band knew what had happened. However, all it took was for one loud-mouthed whore to be looking out of her window and their cover would be blown. There was also the boy's honour guard - they must have contacted the city guard by now.

The situation was beginning to look hopeless. If he killed the boy, and was caught, he would hang for killing a noble. If he didn't, it was more than likely that the boy would take the king's council and demand the life of the man who had abducted him, and once again, he would hang. Solo didn't like the look of his options.

Duo came over to join him and sat down on the floor next to the duke. 'You can't kill him,' he said softly. 'He's the only one who can inherit his father's title. Until he has a child of his own or names his sister as his heir, the leadership of the duchy is unstable. If you kill him now, fighting over the city and the duke's title will tear apart what scraps of Rebalion are left.'

Solo looked down at the boy beside him. Duo looked uncharacteristically serious, and the sadness, which had been simmering just under the surface for the last few months, was bared for all to see. Seeing such pain in the usually cheerful and charismatic young man wrenched at Solo's heart. He leant down and swung an arm around the youth's shoulder. 'I know that, Duo; we'll just have to see what he has to say for himself when he wakes up.'

Nodding, Duo leant against the crate Solo was sitting on, and fixed his gaze on the aristocrat in front of him. And together the two men waited for their ill-fated captive to wake.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quatre came into consciousness slowly. His head spun and a constant throbbing at the back of his skull made him loath to open his eyes to determine his surroundings. Wherever he was, he didn't seem to be restrained, Quatre reflected, as he flexed his muscles experimentally. He was also not alone.

As far as Quatre could tell two people were in the room with him. Their fear and confusion swept over him to the point that it was beginning to make him feel nauseous. Then again…it could have been the blow to the head. Deciding that putting things off was just making the situation worse, and making himself feel increasingly ill, Quatre steeled himself and opened his eyes.

If he had been expecting a violent reaction to his awakening, he was severely mistaken. When the blond opened his eyes the room was engulfed in darkness; however, as his vision began to adjust to the poor lighting Quatre could make out the shadowed outlines of two figures beside him.

One sat on a wooden crate, his eyes fixed on the young duke. The other seemed younger and he sat on the floor, his head resting on the edge of the box and his breathing deep as he slept.

'So you're awake.' The first man spoke softly, his eyes never leaving the blond on the floor.

'So it would seem,' Quatre replied, wincing as he moved to sit up.

The man on the crate held his hand up. 'No sudden movements, boy,' he warned.

Quatre sighed and nodded., 'I'm well aware of that,' he said. 'I'm not going to cause you any trouble at the moment, but I really would suggest that you let me go…this is going to end very badly for you if you don't. You already know that though, don't you?'

The man stood, and moved to shake the second individual continuing to sleep soundly on the floor beside him. As his eyesight adjusted further, Quatre could see that the man's eyes were narrowed, yet the tightness of his face betrayed that he knew only too well what Quatre meant.

Shocked into wakefulness, the youth on the floor sprang to his feet, a dagger entering his hand with such speed that Quatre had no idea where it had come from. 'It's all right, Duo,' the other man soothed. 'Our guest is awake and, I thought you'd want me to wake you. Now run along upstairs and get us some light.'

The youth nodded, slipping the dagger back into the folds of his clothing, before heading up the staircase and knocking three times at the heavy wooden door at the top. Quatre watched, gauging whether or not he would be able to make it past the man before him, and up the stairs, before the boy had closed the door. Probably not, he conceded. He knew from their previous fight that the man in front of him was fast, and if the boy was the same one who had caught him from behind, he was even faster.

'Do you have anything to drink?' he asked instead.

'Duo!' the man called up the stairs.

'Yeah?' came the reply.

'Bring some water down with you.'

'Sure' the boy called back, before closing the door, and locking it after him.

Turning his attention back to the man in front of him, Quatre sized him up. He was dangerous in the state he was in, of that Quatre was certain. Worried not only for himself, but for the welfare of his whole band, Quatre knew that the thief was as likely to kill him as to let him go. The man needed reassuring first of all.

Quatre had no intention of turning him or his men in to Treize. He knew that life at the bottom end of society was harsh and he could see how the stark poverty these people lived in could drive them to such actions. The main reason, however, was that he simply did not have time to go through the lengthy procedure of demanding compensation.

With this in mind, Quatre knew that he would have to persuade the man that he had no intention of turning him in, if only he would let him go. Convincing him was going to be difficult though. Quatre was under no illusions that the thief could not have attained his position of leader of the band without being intelligent, cunning and resourceful. Men in such authority were almost always untrusting; however if he really was as desperate as Quatre sensed, he would be willing at least to listen.

'What is it that you want?' Quatre asked. 'If it is money, I'm afraid the only person able to give it to you is the king. There is no one else who would be able to do it now.' He looked at the floor before continuing. 'I think that perhaps you have found yourself in over your head this time. I really do suggest that you let me go; I promise you that I will not take the matter any further.'

'How can I believe that?' the man demanded. 'As far as I know, the second I let you go you'll be running to the king and demanding our heads on pikes!'

Quatre stood up angrily. 'I would have thought that my word would be enough, but if you must have more, then know that I will take this no further because I do not have the time to deal with it! It is my hope to get in and out of the castle without even having to see the king., I don't want to deal with this because I have important things to do and I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be. You really have two choices - you can either let me go now, on your own free will, or I can make you. I don't have time to be diplomatic about this!'

The felon stared at the duke open mouthed for a second before folding his arms across his chest and beginning to laugh. 'Make me…and how exactly do you intend to do that, boy?'

Quatre stared at the man indignantly - he had never been spoken to before in such a manner. Shoving his inbred outrage aside, Quatre resisted the urge to strike the brigand, and took a calming breath. He was just about to deliver a retort when the door at the top of the stairs slammed open.

Duo appeared in the gap, the light from the bar illuminating him for a moment, before he shoved the door shut again and locked it behind him. The young thief ran down the stairway towards the two men at the bottom, the lantern he held swinging haphazardly in his left hand. Jumping the last few stairs Duo hurried over, wide eyed, to stand beside them.

'Solo! There's three armed men coming down the street, they're the same ones from before, you know…with him!' He pointed at Quatre with the hand that held the lantern; light suddenly bathed the youth's features and Quatre's eyes widened as he looked into his face.

'You…' he breathed. Moving towards the boy.

Duo tensed as the duke moved forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Solo started forward but Duo held his hand up to stop him. 'It's all right' he murmured as he continued to stare into deep teal eyes.

'You feel so much pain…' Quatre whispered as he moved his hand so that it covered the young thief's heart. 'You know that you are not the person you should be. Inside you, your true self screams to be released…it torments you, does it not?'

Duo nodded dumbly. He couldn't think or speak, all he could do was look into those bottomless eyes and listen to the soft, soothing voice that filled his head and stilled his fears. Suddenly before he had even realised, Duo had made a decision. This youth in front of him, this person radiating power, yet compassion, would help him. The despair that had slowly been taking over his every waking moment was beginning to fade, and he knew that if he followed this young noble, it would disappear forever.

Solo would not understand, Duo knew this. The older thief, who Duo had come to think of as the father he had never had, could not feel the warmth and compassion that filled every fibre of his body. He couldn't feel the conviction that this person would save his soul, but Duo didn't care, he would go with the duke if he asked…he knew it deep in his heart.

'I can help you become what you are destined to be…if you come with me.' Quatre said, never letting his eyes break contact with the young thief's gaze.

Duo nodded again. 'Yes. I will come with you' he said.

The blond smiled and took a step back before breaking eye contact and holding his arms out to catch the other boy as he fell.

'What sorcery is this?' Solo gasped, but any further comment was cut off as a crash at the top of the stairs reminded him of what Duo had told him only moments before. Reaching out to grab the blond, Solo's eyes widened as Duo freed himself from the duke's hold and put himself between Quatre and his leader.

'I won't let you hurt him.' The soft statement left no doubt that he was serious.

'Duo! What in all the gods' names…'

Another crash and the door gave way. A fierce looking man with dark hair and striking blue eyes stood at the top of the stairway. Two other men stood behind him, the shorter of which was holding Serean's arm behind her back.

As the first man caught sight of the duke at the bottom of the stairway relief briefly flickered across his face. 'Quatre!' he called down and the blond raised his arm in acknowledgment.

'Hold on for a moment, Heero, we'll join you in a minute.' If the duke's orders confused or shocked any of the men they hid their surprise perfectly.

Turning to Solo, and placing his hand on Duo's shoulder, Quatre sighed. 'I know this may be hard to understand, but Duo really needs to come with us., If he doesn't he will fade. He doesn't belong here. We will leave now; do not fear though, I will take care of Duo and I won't take this matter any further.'

Not knowing what else to do, Solo nodded. 'This is really what you want?' he asked Duo.

The boy nodded his head and Solo could see the conviction in his eyes. 'Yes' he replied simply. 'Goodbye Solo, and…thanks.'

Sighing, Solo decided that there wasn't much he could do about the situation now. For some reason he trusted the noble's word, and he knew that Duo would be better off with him and away from Levas. The city had been slowly draining the boy's life, and if the blond was going to take him away from it…then Solo wouldn't get in his way.

'Take care, kid' he said.

Quatre caught his eye and nodded in thanks. For a moment Solo thought that he could almost feel the gratitude that radiated from the duke.

Quatre turned his attention back to Duo. 'Are you ready' he asked gently. The boy nodded and began to make his way up the stairs, Quatre following him.

Seeing the puzzled looks on his companion's faces as they came to the top of the stairs, Quatre grinned at them. 'I'll explain later…first let's leave this part of the city and find somewhere to spend the rest of the night. There is no point in trying to see my sister until morning.'

'We have a room in an inn on the edge of the merchant's sector. I needed somewhere quiet so that I could find you,' Wufei said as they made their way past a stunned Serean and several of Solo's men. A few looked at Duo curiously as he walked next to Quatre but none made any movement to stop them from leaving the bar.

'That's fine,' Quatre answered before turning to Trowa and laying his hand on the ranger's arm. 'You're not hurt are you?' he asked.

Trowa shook his head and chuckled. 'No I'm not. I was about to ask you the same thing.'

'I'm not hurt,' Quatre said. 'A bit of a headache…' he shot Duo a knowing look, '…but other than that I'm fine.'

Trowa nodded, seemingly satisfied for now. Sighing, Quatre leant slightly against his lover, comforted by his presence. He knew that he should be putting the events of the past few hours into order in preparation for his inevitable explanation to the others.

However, right now, he was too tired, and too glad to be back with his companions to worry about it. He would deal with it when they arrived back at the inn, he decided, as they continued to walk though the darkened and peaceful streets of Levas.

TBC…

[1] Laos is the goddess of wisdom and knowledge.

[2] Eaxis is the guardian goddess of the dead. She protects the souls of the deceased as they journey from life to death and wait for entrance to the afterlife.

Once they reach the gates of the great halls it is decided through the person's deeds whether they will pass into the halls of Silvanna, the goddess of eternal bliss, or if they will be sent to the halls of Kantas, dark god of misery.

It is typical for the families and friends of people who have recently died to pray to Eaxis to ensure safe passed for their loved ones to the halls of Silvanna.

** Laos, Eaxis, Silvanna and Kantas are deities of the people of the Triallion continent, which includes the Kingdoms of Levas and Tylith as well as the Yumilindon Arpeggio.