Surfacing (11/?)
Rating: T
Warnings: boy/boy love, some sexual innuendo and nakedness, violence, no empathy, and gratuitous abuse of our G-boys.
Pairings: 3x4, 1x2, 5xS
Summary: Based loosely off of "The Little Mermaid." A prince below the sea, who longs for freedom and choice in his life, and another on land who shuts out the world…when feelings surface, more than one life will be changed.
Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because the thought of a merman Quatre appeals to me and Dorothy is Ursula without a doubt in my mind.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by Sotsu Agency, Bandai, and Sunrise...I have no legal hold over them. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I am a mere college girl with no money attempting to entertain herself.
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Chapter Eleven: And the Storm Hit,
It took a few seconds for Trowa's mind to catch up with what he had witnessed, leaving him to stand motionless as the sky grew darker with each passing moment. He could hear the guests on the ship still screaming and crying out in voices that were shocked and shaken, and he could vaguely comprehend another voice shouting out in denial as well…a voice that he recognized as his own. His body was sore, and he was sure that he had more than a few bruised ribs from the force that tentacle had knocked into him with. The stunned shock wore off though, replaced with the burning fact that after finding who had saved him from the storm, and subsequently given up nearly everything to be with him, had just been taken from him. Again. Wiping away the small trickle of blood from his spilt lip, Trowa bent down and picked up his sword and made his way over to the opposite of the ship.
He wasn't going to lose Quatre again and he didn't care if that meant fighting the sea thing that had taken him.
Trowa looked over the edge of the ship for some sort of clue to where Quatre had gone, but all that was left were a few ripples on the surface. He swore loudly before he began to hoist himself over the edge, only to be pulled back by two pairs of arms. Trowa turned around to meet the collected blue eyes of his arms master and those of his sister, looking at him in worry and dread. He felt anger rise in his throat and struggled to break free but another pair of arms joined in and he was forced to listen to their words.
"Trowa, you can't try to go after Quatre," his sister said frantically. "That, that Witch will just drown you if you get to close!"
"Your sister is right," a voice said grimly. Trowa looked up into dark purple eyes framed with a chestnut braid…Quatre's friend Duo's face. "Dorothy isn't someone to be trifled with and I guarantee you that a human can't stand up to her."
"So you propose letting her get away with Quatre?" Trowa asked icily. His voice was quiet but what it lacked in volume it made up for with menace…he didn't care if this boy was Quatre's friend or not. He wasn't going to just sit here while the person he loved was in danger.
"He's not suggesting that, Trowa," Heero's calm baritone broke through. "But if you rush in without a plan, do you really think you'll help Quatre at all?"
Trowa didn't answer Heero's question, knowing that it was posed as more of a way to calm him down than as a query. The anger was still there but it stayed focused on him, and quickly the cold pit of despair wormed its way into the bottom of Trowa's stomach. This was his fault, as usual, and now he couldn't even do anything to help! His fists curled and his nails bit into his skin in his frustration and helplessness at the situation, and Trowa looked back up at the three with clouded eyes. His voice came out even quieter than before, nothing more than a whisper and as fleeting as the wind. "Then what do we do? I can't leave him…not again. I won't!"
"And we won't," Duo responded after sharing a look with Heero that was full of resignation. "More than your happiness is at stake now, Trowa Barton, and we don't have a lot of time to try and stay with the Witch. The sea's going to be at war within the hour and I don't even want to think about what will happen if Dorothy gets her tentacles on the Scimitar! It'll be best for everyone on this ship to get back to port and stay there and, if you want to help, you and Heero follow me out after Quatre."
'Are…are you--?"
"A merman like Quat? Yeah, I am," Duo completed for Trowa with a smirk. "But I don't have time to tell the story again; you'll have to get Heero to do it while you follow me. So, are you in or not?"
Trowa gave a curt nod to Duo after nodding briefly towards Heero. The meaning of the nod wasn't lost on his arms master who quickly rose and started to head off towards the small skiff he had sailed to the ship with the two mermens earlier. Trowa looked back at his sister and S who had joined her at her side. "S, I need you to get this ship back to Bartona and Cathy, you need to help him get everyone safe in the town. If things are as dangerous as Duo is suggesting, everyone is at risk tonight, but I can't be there to protect them."
S gave a small bow before disappearing into the throng of still panicked guests, leaving Trowa with his still worried looking sister. She grasped his hand and gave it a hard squeeze before wrapping him into a hug. "You promise me you'll be as careful as you can be?" she asked with a shaky voice. "No unnecessary risks or anything?"
"I'll try," Trowa murmured back.
"Good," Cathy said as she pulled back. Her eyes, although glassy with unshed tears, fixed on Trowa's and she brushed a stray piece of hair away from his face. "Get him back, baby brother; for both of your sakes."
He gave her a small smile, one barely perceptible to anyone who didn't know where to look for it, before stepping away from her and heading where Heero had gone to. He could hear her barking out orders for the guests to calm down and head inside until a voice from behind him called for him to stop. Trowa turned around to find Duo hurrying behind, his braid swing back and forth behind him. "Why didn't you explain what was happening when you first showed up at the castle?" The question sounded silly as soon as it was voiced, but Trowa could only wince at it, not take it back when Duo's gaze turned skeptical.
"Well," Duo began with a small frown. "Seeing as Quatre couldn't really speak to verify my story, it didn't seem like a good idea. Merfolk work very hard to stay legends to humans, so it made sense that if I said we were mermen that would have earned us both a ticket to the nearest dungeon. Honestly Trowa, would you have believed us if we told you the truth?"
Trowa didn't answer…mainly because he knew Duo was right. He had been to busy in finding the person who saved him, he had ignored everything else…including his rescuer. Not to mention, he had suspected the two as possible assassins as soon as the two declared they knew each other! He smirked cruelly at his own foolishness, wondering what on Earth Quatre had ever seen in his cold, hard, and unyielding manner to risk his freedom. Or, he guessed his freedom, he didn't know the specifics of what had happened, but the octopus-woman had hinted that much. He gave Duo a terse nod of understanding and began to head toward Heero once more. A slight touch on his elbow gave him pause though and he turned back to face Duo's face once more.
"We never lied," Duo began with quiet firmness, his voice radiating sincerity. "We just never told you everything. And most of all, nothing concerning how Quat felt was exaggerated…that was entirely real. I'm not to sure about the why or how still, but ever since we were little, Quatre's been an excellent judge of character. Sure, he's had his slip-ups, like this whole deal with the Sea-Witch, but for the most part, he's right. Just because you can't see why he loves you doesn't mean it's not real…it just means you have to learn to see it."
Duo flashed Trowa a smile before climbing over the edge of the ship and shimmying down to where Heero waited with the skiff. Trowa nodded his head to no one other than himself as he allowed Duo's words to replace his own self-deprecating whisper. He couldn't afford to be distracted or full of doubt; Quatre couldn't afford it. He hefted his weight over the edge and dropped down to the skiff, landing like a cat would on the deck. He pushed himself upright and gave a nod to Heero, who responded with a grunt as he shoved the skiff off. Trowa looked back over at Duo and gave him a small, thankful nod. "Thank you."
"No prob, Tro!" Duo responded. His grin was wide and his eyes twinkled with a mischievous quality that made them appear an even deeper violet. "I'm pretty good with advice from time to time! Now, if you boys don't mind, I need you to sail this boat a few more paces away from the ship…and then stop."
"Why?" Heero asked, throwing a glance behind him at the braided boy as he did as instructed. "I thought we had to follow the Witch."
"We do," Duo responded, unlacing his shoes and tossing them aside. He continued to shed the rest of his clothing as he spoke, ignoring completely the widening gazes fixed upon him. "But, I can't do it from in here…I need to follow her trail in the ocean and I don't want to jump out of a moving boat."
"So, you're turning back as well?" Trowa heard Heero ask, surprised at the cloaked but still present emotion in his usually emotionless arms master's voice. Trowa turned back to Duo, making sure to keep his gaze only on the now very naked youth's face. There was a sad sort of resignation there, a look that Trowa could recognize all too well. It was the expression of someone giving up something important for a good that was more important than their own happiness. It didn't take a genius to figure out what kind of happiness Duo was sacrificing; Trowa cursed inwardly as he saw Heero's body tense up further at Duo's response.
"I have to, Heero. My home is about to be attacked, Quatre was just kidnapped by Dorothy, and Wufei can't track him down. I wish with everything I am that I didn't have to but…but there isn't anything—anyone else to stop her. I mean, why would I…why would I--?"
"I know," Heero interrupted with a softness Trowa could never remember hearing before.
Heero guided the skiff to a stop before giving a small nod to Duo, never turning from the sea to face the braided merman. Duo turned to the side of the boat and lifted his foot as if to jump off, but stopped and whirled around. He bounded up past Trowa and turned a slightly surprised looking Heero around before pressing his lips soundly to the blue-eyed warrior's. Trowa smiled softly as Heero's arms wrapped around the merman, turning away to give the two their good-bye with a little privacy. He glanced back briefly after a few moments to see the two had broken apart and Duo was whispering something against Heero's cheek, pausing only to press one last kiss before looking up into his eyes.
"Don't forget," Duo said softly before he turned and dove off the skiff. Trowa didn't question Heero on what Duo whispered to him, or what the stoic arms master had murmured to himself at the violet-eyed merman's last words; it wasn't his place. He did, however, let out a gasp right alongside Heero as a blur of purple dove out of the water and made its way over toward them. His alarm melted away when he saw Duo's face emerge from the water, the beginnings of his purple and scaled fins showing as he pulled part of his body out the ocean. He hooked his arms on the side of the skiff and gave the two a sheepish grin.
"So…uh…so, this is what I really look like I guess."
"Hn…you look the same, baka, just with tail."
"Well I know that! You just looked a little…startled."
"You have scales and fins, what did you expect?"
"So, you know how to find Quatre?" Trowa interjected. He didn't mind the playful, well half-playful, banter between the two, but they really needed to find Quatre.
"Oh yeah," Duo said, the mock sever look fading off his face, eyes going hard and serious while the pout on his lips thinned into a line. "Just follow me. I'll jump out the water so you can see which way to go…I don't know how close we'll be able to get though…I'm expecting some kind of showdown between Quat's dad and Dorothy."
"Why?" Trowa asked, still aware that he was out of the loop due to being under this 'Dorothy's' spell.
"Heero will tell you about it on the way," Duo answered shortly. "Follow me!" And with that, he dove back under and swam ahead, resurfacing some distance ahead. Heero and Trowa shared a look before heading off after the merman, Heero's low and monotonous voice the only thing punctuating the silence as they followed.
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Quatre struggled against the tentacles wrapped around his body, trying everything and anything he could think of the free himself from their suctioning hold. But, nothing seemed to work, and with every thrash and wriggle, the tentacles only gripped him tighter, causing him to gasp out in pain. His gaze drifted back up the ever growing distant surface…back up to where he had been dragged away from a horrified looking Trowa. Anger began to override his discomfort and pain, his mind ordering his limbs to ignore the pain as he began to try and get free again.
In the middle of his renewed struggles, Quatre was jerked forward violently and brought directly in front of an annoyed looking Dorothy. Her tentacles adjusted their hold on him, wrapping around each of his arms, one holding his fin still and another hooking around his waist. Quatre's lips pulled back in a snarl as he looked into Dorothy's now smug looking face. He swore at her in his native tongue, his eyes glaring into hers as if hoping to burst her entire frame into flames. Her tentacles tightened around him painfully in response, eliciting a groan from the blonde merman prince. He felt another tentacle grip his chin, forcing his face back up. His head jerked back in an effort to avoid the clammy and revolting feel of the underside of the tentacles, but it did no use.
"My dear," Dorothy started in an icy tone. "It's not in your best interest to anger me, and you constant, pathetic struggling is beginning to annoy more than amuse me. I understand your anger at losing our agreement, but a deal is a deal."
"He loves me!" Quatre responded harshly. His body, where it was not gripped by a tentacle, was shaking in barely suppressed rage and his eyes had darkened as they continued to stare into the Witch's face. "And I don't care about your deal! You used me and did everything you could to prevent us from being together to try and gain leverage over my father!"
"My deal?" Dorothy asked with a laugh as she reached back and pulled out a golden piece of parchment. She unfurled it and held in front of Quatre so he could clearly see his own signature. "I do believe you signed this agreement as much as I created it which makes it our deal, darling. And, I frankly don't see his loving you of any relevance. The rule was that he had to kiss you by sunset on the tenth day, which he clearly didn't. Don't blame me for his timidity, Quatre dear!"
She rolled back up the parchment with a laugh as she jerked him back behind her and began swimming again. Quatre gazed back upwards as the anger melted away into bitter sadness. She was right, and he in his ignorance and stupidity hadn't even realized what the deal was really about until it was much too late. He let out a shaky breath that sounded much too similar to a sob for his liking and closed his eyes, letting only a few tears fall from his eyes and drift into the ocean. He didn't know how much longer he was dragged away for, his mind desperately trying to block out most of Dorothy's taunting and her lackeys', Alex and Mueller, cruel snickering.
"Does being a slave upset you, little prince?" Dorothy asked lightly, her direct question dragging Quatre out of his safe pocket of silence. "I'm sure it does, and I can't say as I blame you. But, maybe I'll ensure you're placed with Ozralean nobility, or maybe I'll even keep you myself. I do admit I've grown rather attached to you these past ten days, darling. How does that sound?"
"I'd rather die," Quatre responded with quiet conviction.
"Is that so? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I just don't see that happening, darling! But don't worry about it too much right now; I've got much greater prey than yourself in mi--"
"Dorothy! Stop!"
Quatre jerked to an abrupt stop, his head whipping forward and back painfully, but none of that registered with him as his eyes widened in recognition of that commanding voice. He turned his head to see the powerful figure of his father, dark eyes glaring wrathfully down at his captor and his grip on the giant Scimitar so tight his knuckles were white. Quatre looked behind to see Wufei and Sally floating with his father; both were dressed for battle and wearing identical grim expressions and hands linked together. Quatre heard both Alex and Mueller ready their own weapons beside Dorothy but that didn't concern him as much as the rumbling laugh coming from Dorothy a few moments later.
"Well, well, what a surprise," Dorothy said in a light tone as she looked at his father. "King Rabban, how nice to see you again! I'm sure by now you're aware of all that is in effect and I trust you're ready to begin, ah, negotiations, with myself."
"I will negotiate nothing with you," Rabban answered coldly. He hefted up the Scimitar and pointed it at Dorothy's head, the blade sparking blue in warning to not try him. "You will release my son and retreat from Araaban lands or else face me."
"Now, now, Rabban, let's not make rash decisions." Dorothy snapped her fingers and handed the gold parchment to Mueller while dragging Quatre in front of her, her other hand wrapping around the blonde's throat in a warning of her own. "We don't want anything unfortunate to happen to your only son, now do we? Now, take a look at that piece of parchment and see that your son is no longer in your possession, but rather in mine."
"Father, I'm so sorry," Quatre began before Dorothy's other hand wrapped around his mouth, effectively stopping any other words from escaping his lips. Quatre's teal eyes closed as he watched his father's face drain of color as he read the parchment, opening them to lock eyes with him sadly. He could say he didn't know what he had been doing, that he had been tricked, but that wouldn't have made any difference in the pain in his father's eyes. There had been no confusion in deciding to leave his father behind…none at all.
"Ah, so you see it too, King Rabban," Dorothy said aloud with a cruel grin. "The contract between your son and me is legal, binding and completely unbreakable…he chose of his own free will after all!" She let the grip on Quatre's mouth loose and summoned the parchment back to her. She smiled against the back of Quatre's neck before losing him of her tentacles, but he didn't have a chance to get over his surprise at being let go before the parchment faded into a golden light and swirled around him. He looked at the golden maelstrom surrounding him for a moment in confusion before a white, hot pain spread through his fin, gluing them to the ocean floor and causing a pained cry from Quatre.
"He's mine to do with what I will…even create a new addition to me garden if I want!" Quatre watched Dorothy lock eyes with his father just as the pain spread into his abdomen and then the rest of his body, his entire body shaking in pain as he felt his insides warped and shifted harshly. He could barely think coherently and he was also vaguely aware that the noises he heard in his ear were in fact his own cries, but he tried to listen to what was going on between his father and Dorothy.
"But, I've always been a girl whose had an eye for a bargain," Dorothy said huskily. "And I think I'd be willing to trade your son for someone even better…so really, it's up to you, Rabban. I rest his fate in your hands…but I suggest you decide quickly because he doesn't look very comfortable, does he?"
Quatre's cries faded into silent whimpers as his awareness began to shut down…he couldn't even feel his body anymore. He glanced down and saw a skinny, ugly form that he could only guess was him, his fins and tail transformed into a stumpy looking base and his torso and arms all spindly-looking. He could only imagine what his head must have looked like. He tried to shake his head at his father, tried to let him know that this was his fault and he deserved the punishment, but he couldn't move…he could only watch in horror as his father nodded solemnly and aimed his Scimitar at the gold piece of parchment. Quatre could see both Wufei and Sally try and stop him, but both were blocked by one of Dorothy's lackeys. His father's name replaced his and as quickly as the golden swirl surrounded him, it reversed and Quatre changed back, painfully, into his normal self.
Quatre felt exhausted but he forced his eyes to open, watching in mute horror as his father was surrounded by the swirl and changed into a hideous looking plant-creature before his eyes. It didn't take nearly as long for his father's transformation to complete and with a final flash of light, all that was left of King Rabban was a sad looking plant surrounded by a crown. Quatre shook his head wordlessly as he weakly swam his way over, ignoring Dorothy's cackles of glee as she placed the crown on her head and picked up the Scimitar. His father fixed his eyes on Quatre, eyes as brown and deep as ever, and Quatre looked down in shame at the guilt he found there. His father felt as if this was his fault…and he was looking at Quatre for forgiveness. He looked back up and reached out a hand, lightly petting his plant-like father on the head and gave him a small, sad smile.
"No, Abu," Quatre said softly. "I'm the one who caused this mess…not you. You have nothing to apologize to me for. This is my fault…"
"Finally!" Dorothy's voice interrupted. Quatre looked over and felt his blood boil at the sight of the Sea-Witch wearing a crown that didn't belong to her and wielding the Scimitar of the Ocean with no purpose other than her own. "It's mine, and Oz will finally rule the oceans!"
"And I'm going to fix it!" Quatre whispered fiercely to his father before swimming up and launching himself at Dorothy, exhaustion and pain forgotten. He didn't have any weapons, and logically he knew he wasn't making the best decision, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting that Scimitar away from the Witch. He managed a few good hits against Dorothy before the fact she was a Witch and had eight tentacles kicked in, knocking him against a stone wall soundly. He found the Scimitar pointing at him after he cleared his vision, a smirking Dorothy behind it and looking at him with a sort of manic fever.
"You know, I'm half tempted to keep you around, darling," Dorothy drawled as her tentacles pinned down his arms and fin, another wrapping around his throat. "I think you'd make a fabulous prize of war…and I'm sure having you will keep your many sisters in line…considering they survive the attack my kind are likely waging on them right now. Not to mention, think of how much more that would break your father's heart! To think, his only and precious baby boy a permanent slave of the Oz Empire, forced to do whatever his mistress wishes for the rest of his life! Why, I'd say that would just about crush him, don't you?"
Quatre didn't answer, at least not verbally, and hid is disgust as one of her hands trailed down his arm suggestively.. Instead, he decided to show his thoughts towards her idea by angling his head down and biting as hard as he could into the tentacle around his neck. He felt a grim satisfaction in the pit of his stomach at her agonized scream as he broke through flesh and tore a good chunk out of her tentacle, not caring about the rancid and slimy sludge that was smeared across his face or in his mouth. He spat his mouth clean and looked back up at a shocked Dorothy. "I wouldn't recommend it if you want to keep the rest of your tentacles in tact."
She hissed in fury and slammed him back against the rock, glaring at him through narrowed slits of ice. "You insolent little brat! I'll teach you not to—Ah!"
Whatever she was planning on saying was interrupted as a barb shot across her arms, spilling black blood into the water. Quatre looked up, following her gaze and he let out a half-surprised and half-ecstatic cry when he saw both Duo and…and Trowa in the water above! How they had found him, he could only guess, but Duo was helping Trowa aim a thin, shooting device in the water, his purple fins working hard to support the human's weight. They got off another shot, this one slicing across Dorothy's side, before Duo helped Trowa swim back up to the surface.
"After him, you imbeciles!" Dorothy screeched at Alex and Mueller, who were still engaged in combat with Sally and Wufei. After shooting a dart at Sally, hitting her deeply in the arm, Wufei abandoned his fight and rushed to her aid as she began to fall victim to whatever was laced on the dart. Both swam after Duo and the prince, cruel smiles on their faces and Quatre shook his head in denial.
"No! Trowa, Duo, look out!"
His warning came too late, Mueller tackling Duo just as Trowa reached the surface and Alex wrapping his tentacles around Trowa's arms and legs, dragging him back into the water. Quatre wriggled loose of the tentacles holding his arms down, glancing up to see Duo slapping a fin in Mueller's face before heading off to do the same to Alex. Duo had a hold of Trowa's body, which seemed to be growing weaker due to lack of oxygen, and Quatre looked on in fear as Dorothy aimed the Scimitar at his best friend and the human he loved.
"Say good-bye to your prince, darling," Dorothy said in a false-sweet voice, loosening her hold on Quatre enough for him to move in her concentration. He knew he couldn't stop her from shooting, so he did the only thing he could do; he pulled her hair down hard and forced her to shoot high. And she did shoot…high enough to zap dazed looking Alex and Mueller with the electric blue light and burst them into a hundred little pieces. Quatre heard Dorothy's gasp and watched her reach out and cradle some of the pieces in her hands for a moment before he swam up towards Duo and Trowa. He hooked his hands under Trowa's arms and helped haul him the rest of the way to the surface with Duo.
Duo gave Quatre a quick look over before he hugged him, allowing Heero to help pull a gasping Trowa into the small boat, placing his hands on either side of his face and studying his eyes closely. "You okay, Quatre?"
"As fine as I can be, considering," Quatre responded with a weak laugh. "Duo, she has the Scimitar!"
"Yeah, I noticed when she shot the damn thing at me and Tro!"
"And the Ozraleans are attacking Araaba!"
"Yep, knew that too."
"And my father was turned into one of those plant things!"
"That I missed," Duo said with an ashen expression. "So, pretty much, we're screwed until we get that Scimitar back…which means she's going to go after you once she's done mourning Dumb and Dumber's bits and pieces."
Quatre nodded, wondering what was going on in his friend's head as he looked back and forth between the boat and the ocean. He didn't wonder any more when Duo gave a short nod to Heero and Trowa, who both grabbed an arm and hauled an alarmed Quatre out of the water and into the boat. "Duo?! What are they--?!"
"They are going to get you far enough away from Dorothy while Fei, Sal, and I try to secure a path to Araaba's capitol for you. With the King out of commission, and all your sisters busy with defending the city, the only one left to face Dorothy is you, Quat."
"I know that, but why d--?"
"We'll be fine, Q," Duo interjected with a big grin. "You just wait a bit before doing your thing and we'll all do ours. Heero, get this boat as far away form here as you can. Trowa…keep him safe, all right?"
"I don't need to be kept safe!" Quatre began to yell back at his friend futilely, but Duo dived below the surface and disappeared from view. He felt one set of arms let go of him and Quatre instinctively curled his arms around the ones left holding him as the boat began to speed up and head towards the faraway shore. It felt so nice to just be held by Trowa after everything….so nice to just be able to smell his skin and touch his skin. He didn't like this plan of Duo's but he knew it was the only thing to do right now. He wouldn't be any good to anyone dead so it made sense for Duo to want to get him away but still…it felt like running away.
Quatre turned his thoughts away from everything that was happening when Trowa moved to crouch in front of him, one hand wrapped around his own and the other tracing the side of the blonde merman's face. Quatre squeezed the hand around his and reached up to brush a stray lock of auburn brown hair out of Trowa's face so he could see both brilliantly verdant eyes. The blonde merman heaved a heavy sigh as he reached down and wrapped his hands around Trowa's slightly larger ones. "I'm so sorry, Trowa," Quatre whispered softly.
One of Trowa's hands wriggled free of Quatre's and reached up to cup the blonde's cheek. Quatre could see the confusion in the green eyes, could see that Trowa somehow thought everything that had happened was his own fault, and plowed one before he could say anything. "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this whole mess! I didn't…none of this was supposed to happen and look what has! Your life and kingdom are in danger, Duo and Heero were forced apart, and now a deranged mad-witch has the most powerful talisman in the ocean…all because of me!"
"You were fooled," Trowa's steady voice replied. Quatre assumed either Duo or Heero had informed the prince what the specifics of everything were, but that didn't make him feel any better. "Dorothy manipulated you and your feelings, you can't hold yourself accountable for her actions."
"Yes I can," Quatre responded quietly, dropping his gaze from Trowa's eyes to his fins. "I should have known better than to trust her. I shouldn't have let myself…I just should have thought everything through without my feelings blinding me!"
"Well," an amused sounding Heero spoke up from ahead. "Considering it was those misguided feelings that led you and Duo to Trowa and me, I can't begrudge you too much, Quatre."
Quatre looked over at the serious looking arms master at the helm in surprise, twisting his body as much as his tail and fins would allow. "What do you mean?"
"If you didn't notice, both Trowa and I were cold and detached before you two showed up. I can only guess for Trowa, but meeting Duo changed me in ways that can't be mimicked or reversed. He showed me things about me and him, and that not all emotions are distracting and unnecessary. Perhaps the circumstances you chose to come to Trowa were wrong, but the emotions that led you were not." Heero gave Quatre a quick look before he glanced back ahead, following the wake Duo was leaving for them.
"He's right," Trowa's voice continued softly. Quatre turned back to face the human prince, staring into those smiling green eyes as fingers laced with his own. One hand returned to his cheek, stroking the soft skin there gently as Trowa leaned in close. "Meeting you, both when you rescued me and when you came back, as changed me for the better. For so long, I've wrapped myself in the need to never be hurt by emotions again, I began to act like I didn't have any. I was so concentrated on making sure I never felt the pain I felt when mine and Cathy's parents were killed, I didn't allow myself to feel anything else.
"But then you came and changed everything. You resurfaced feelings in me I long thought gone, and you did it not because I was a prince, but because you cared about me, a human you barely even knew. You loved me…and you let me learn how to love you in return. If everything else that happened is because you came to me…well, then I'll share that blame with you."
Quatre couldn't respond; he was half shocked that Trowa had spoken so much and half shocked over the words he said. He felt a flicker of a smile cross his lips before he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to Trowa's softly for the first time. It wasn't hurried or terribly passionate, but that didn't make the kiss any less mind blowing to the blonde merman. He could taste the sea on Trowa's lips, he could feel home there. His head was light and dizzy as Trowa's hand traveled down his neck to wrap around his back, his own arms wrapping around Trowa's neck loosely. He couldn't erase his guilt over everything going on, but he could feel redemption in this kiss…that even though he had made terrible mistakes the man he loved still loved him.
Trowa pulled away slowly, placing one last kiss on Quatre's lips before smiling softly at him and brushing the blonde's bangs out of his teal eyes. Quatre searched Trowa's eyes before whispering "I love you" against his mouth, smiling despite the calamity going on around them. Their moment surrounded and shielded them from everything going on, wrapped up in each other's arms, Quatre's face buried in Trowa's neck, smiling at the whispered nothings Trowa was pressing into his hair. For that instant, only themselves existed, and the nasty fact that Trowa was a human and Quatre a merman didn't seem to matter.
Their moment didn't last though, the sudden jolt of the boat stopping knocking both out of their reverie and shifting their gazes from one another to Heero. Trowa rose up from beside Quatre and crossed the small skiff to where Heero was talking with, Quatre assumed, a surfaced Duo. Quatre couldn't move, his tail and fins much too heavy on the ship to cross even that short distance, but he did lean over the edge of the boat and looked down. Already, the sea was beginning to churn angrily, the sky blackening and the wind picking up speed. He knew it was only a matter of time before Dorothy found them…found him.
He knew why she was after him now. With his father incapacitated, he was the only one who the Scimitar would obey properly. Like his sisters, Dorothy would only be able to fully unlock the full power of the Scimitar if either he was dead, or he freely gave it to them. Sure, Dorothy would be able to do plenty of damage with the power she wielded now but…but if she got Quatre to give her the rest of the power, or she killed him and solved that problem, she could enslave the entire ocean to her will! That was the ultimate power of the Scimitar, the power to bend the sea, and all her inhabitants, to the wielder's utter will. It had been entrusted to the Winner house long ago by the Sea Gods of old, and now it was Quatre's responsibility as the Crown Prince of that house and the sea to get it back!
He looked over his shoulder and saw the worried looks one Heero's and Trowa's face, imagining the dire situation Duo was explaining to them. He couldn't explain why, but he just had a feeling that Araaba was already under siege…which meant that there was no safe passage for blonde to get to the palace. Quatre's teal eyes narrowed in determination and he splashed the water with his hand to get Duo's attention. He would not involve Trowa or Heero anymore than he already had…he would not allow either to be hurt if Dorothy targeted them to try and get him to relinquish control of the Scimitar to her. Duo popped his head out of the water several seconds later, a confused look on his face.
"What's up, Quat?"
Quatre looked back over and saw that Heero and Trowa were still talking to each other and another entity…maybe it was Wufei and Sally they were talking to. He looked back at Duo with a dangerous look in his ocean-colored eyes and with a small smirk. "Want to try and breach the palace with me?"
Duo looked back up at Heero and Trowa quickly and then grinned back, the smile, if possible, even more dangerous than the blonde's. "Ready when you are, buddy!"
Quatre nodded and hauled his body off the ship's floor, perching on the edge of the railing so he could slip into the water easily. He looked back over at Trowa, who had just looked back and was gazing at Quatre with something akin to horror. He looked like he was about to protest, drawing Heero's attention as well when he saw Duo, but he didn't get a chance.
"Whatever happens, I love you Trowa, don't ever forget that…or me," Quatre said with a small smile. He didn't wait to hear the response before he fell back into the water, surfacing one last time to look into those beautiful green eyes before diving below with Duo. He could hear Trowa's call for him to stay, and he could hear both Wufei's and Sally's yell for him to stop, but and Duo didn't listen. They swam further and further down, fins cutting through the water like quicksilver, ready to try and get to the palace.
As Duo and Quatre swam closer to the besieged city of Araaba, the blonde could see the sparks of war sprinkled all over the city, the cries of battle and merfolk civilians floating into his ears. He felt a weight in his stomach as he heard those cries, knowing that they were being made because of his own selfishness. Instead of letting that guilt overwhelm him, however, Quatre let their power flow through him, giving him strength and conviction to put things right. He knew in his soul that the likeability he would succeed against Dorothy and the Scimitar were slim, and even less likely he would survive, but he focused on those cries. He let them drown out his fears and his regrets. He would do whatever it took to make things right again, for both merfolk and humans.
He and Duo slowed as they drew nearer to the city, they needed to sneak into the capitol without being spotted. Dorothy couldn't know that Quatre was here already, and neither he nor Duo had weapons on them. The two mermen crouched behind a large bolder on the outer limits of the city, as far away from the battle as they could get. Duo looked over with calculating violet eyes at his blonde companion, and silently motioned where to go. Quatre thought for a moment, trying to remember a path into the city that most didn't know about…one that was hidden. The answer came to him as he focused his gaze down, focusing on some scrap of humankind that was settled in the seaweed.
"The grotto!" Quatre whispered excitedly. "Duo, our grotto leads into the palace and no one knows about it! If we can just get there, we can get straight into the palace!"
Duo nodded excitedly, grabbing Quatre's wrist and started to lead him, stealthily, through the winding rocks that surrounded Araaba. Quatre didn't argue, trusting Duo's uncanny sense of direction unquestionably, but he did keep a look out for a rogue soldier, merman or Ozralean. It didn't take them as long as they thought it would to get to the destroyed grotto, most of the battles going on the east and north sides of the city. Their little grotto was silent, and the two started the long swim back to the palace. They were careful to avoid gaps on the path that exposed them to the city when they could, and swimming as soft as they could to avoid making ripples and bubbles. Before they knew it, Quatre was quietly unlocking the back gates of the palace and both were swimming inside. Duo swam off to the armory while Quatre swam to the throne room, hoping his father's other scimitar was there…it wasn't the same as the Scimitar Dorothy was using, but Quatre hoped it would at least hold its own.
He swam into the empty throne room, trying to ignore the absolute feeling of dread and fear well up in his stomach as he looked at his father's empty throne. He swam to the weapons stand beside the throne and breathed a sigh of relief as he hefted the scimitar by its jeweled pommel. Looking at the large blade, Quatre felt a pang of inadequacy holding it. He had been taught how to use the scimitar, and he wasn't that bad, but holding his father's weapon, he couldn't help feeling small. It was true he was small for a merman, but it had never bothered him before, his speed and strategy usually making up what he lacked in size. But this time…Dorothy was just as fast and cunning as he was, and she was at least as tall as his father. Not to mention she had eight damn tentacles to boot! Quatre took a deep breath and pushed the negative thoughts out of his head as much as he could. They wouldn't help him, he told himself, even if they were true, they wouldn't help him.
Quatre didn't bother swimming after Duo in the armory, hoping his friend, his brother, didn't get to mad at him when he found Quatre went off to face Dorothy on his own. He hoped not, but Duo was as stubborn as he was sometimes. Quatre held the scimitar in his hand as he swam out of the palace, ignoring the gasps and screams of amazement from below him. He couldn't blame them; he had been missing for over a week. He swam until he was skimming the surface, heedless of how stormy the sea was on the surface, swam as fast as his tired and weary body could take him.
It didn't take long before he found what he was looking for, the malevolent black cloud surrounding Dorothy's powerful form as a storm cloud surrounds a bolt of lightning. He gripped the scimitar with both hands and waited for her to spot him, glaring balefully at her when her ice blue eyes locked with his teal ones.
"Why hello there, darling."
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Um…I'm really, REALLY sorry for the delay in update! I have no real excuse, but I hope the length of this chapter kind of makes up for it! Up next (which WILL be soon) we get the big showdown between our favorite blonde and Dorothy! Thank you all for the reviews! Over a hundred….just thank you! Please do me the favor and review! My muses live off them and have been starving for months because of my abysmal updating! Until next time!
Osco
