Note: I think I am past making technical screw-ups. This chapter will be reviewable. Again, I am sorry for messing around with the chapters and tampering with forces I should not have.

As always, dentelle-noir deserves all the praise in the world for sticking with me and for writing memorable 3x4 stories. Extra thanks go to letters, whose volunteered help saved me a lot of heartache. I love my support.

oOo

After finally reaching the cavern that would lead us north, I thought the journey would be a little easier. Fate seemed to delight in proving me wrong.I stared up at the beast that would be our next obstacle, and my mind instantly rejected this new development. "A rat!" I said in shock. A giant rat terrorized us! Granted, this rat had alarmingly large and sharp teeth. His paws looked like withered, crooked, sharp branches, and his body size was the equivalence of a small cottage. However, it was still a rat, a very lethal rat, but a RAT!

"It's a shrew," Wufei corrected. His voice was strained, his mind likely not fully comprehending the idea of being threatened by a rodent. I know I didn't.

The thing sniffed the air with a twitchy nose. His glossy eyes searched out Trowa. He regarded the snake as a bird regards a worm. Comparably, the snake was a thick noodle to him. It salivated, globs of spit splashing on the ground. A musky scent filled the atrium like fog. If I was not so terrified, I would have been disgusted. Why in the world did such a creature exist?

"A summons, how tacky," Sally sneered. She backed into the wall, glaring at the thing with a mixed expression of fear and contempt. The tremble in her voice worried me.

"Wait! I thought magic couldn't be used in this place?" I blurted out. Maybe it was a bad time to bring that up.

"Oh, so you found out?" She looked from me to Trowa. I could not read her expression then. "However, now may not be a good time, Quatre."

No one moved. We barely dared to breathe. The rat – shrew – watched us, twitching every now and then. It was maddening. The thing's tiny brain could not fully comprehend prey that would not run away, and I feared to make a move that might entice it to chase me. I wished for nothing more than instant transportation then.

"Run," Trowa said calmly. His form was raised slightly, with his claws flexed and body tensed.

I argued, "You're not planning on," …distracting the shrew by racing off recklessly, leaving me in mid-sentence! That was exactly what he did! His long form slid across the ground as fast as a racehorse. The shrew, a gray blur in my vision, bulldozed him into the wall.

My throat felt like I had swallowed nails. I could not yell or even breathe. The only thing I saw was Trowa twisting, coils wrapping around the shrew. The needle claws gripped into vivid green scales, teeth snapping inches from his face. The beast screeched like a whole flock of birds put together.

Before I could run after Trowa, Sally grabbed my arm. "What do you think you're doing?" I must have looked mental because she gave me the most pitying, fearful expression.

"I-I…help," I pleaded. I forgot all boundaries, forgot that Sally lied to us. I needed her then. I needed someone to pull Trowa out of the fight and find a magical way out of this mess. If nobody was able to, I would - I don't know – throw a rock at it!

She spoke softly and evenly, "You can't do anything now." She turned to Wufei. I had forgotten about him. "Take him please."

I expected him to protest, throw a fit, or call Sally a name. What I did not expect was for him to grab my arm firmly and haul me to the Northern exit. As the cavern drew nearer, I pulled. What was wrong with everyone? Trowa was still in the middle of the fight, and they expected me to leave calmly? I twisted from his grip, but he grabbed my other shoulder and pushed me. I relaxed for a few steps before I snapped around towards the fight. I froze as I caught another glimpse; they were not locked in a struggle anymore. The shrew clawed at Trowa while he pulled out of its reach. An agonized hiss reached me as a claw sunk into his flesh. Then, Wufei hurled me around and forced me into the passage. Desperation saturated my whole being, as I tried to escape from his imprisoning grip again.

"Quatre! Calm down!" Meiran demanded with her face in mine. She shocked me out of my anxiety. The one person I thought would not want to come anywhere close to me was in my face. Granted, she was yelling, but she did not look angry, just frightened.

The muscles in my face relaxed, but I did not feel any less tense. My mind was clearer, which was not a good thing, as a logical mind could properly analyze the situation. It was clear now that I was foolish to think I could help.

"Sorry," I told them, "I guess I just…,"

"Didn't want to feel helpless, is that it?" Wufei finished. That was partly the truth, except in a more demanding tone than I would have used. The Easterner continued, "I feel the same way. However, you're more useless to him when you're in danger." He crossed his arms. Never in my life had I met someone who could insult so casually.

"I wish I could help," I clarified for those determined to believe I was a coward.

Tao spoke up in a shaky voice, "I know we all wish we could, but that thing out there could kill us easily. Well, except maybe Wufei, because he's stubborn like that."

"I'm probably the only one who could stand a chance," he responded.

I only partially listened. Too intently focused was I on the battle to pay much attention to their banter. Every time the beast narrowly missed Trowa, I winced. My fingernails dug into the palm of my hand whenever I heard a hiss of pain. Occasionally, my heart would jump to my throat when Trowa swiped at the shrew. I was so keen on every detail of the battle that it felt like it was in slow motion.

"You know," Wufei said as he brushed my shoulder. It was such a light touch I almost thought I imagined it. "We are in debt to Trowa. Imagine if he wasn't here." Something clicked in my mind then. If Trowa was not here, I imagined the beast might not have been summoned. Something as big as that almost seemed specially designed to kill a giant snake. Trowa had to have triggered the shrew, a spell or something that was specifically designed to identify him.

However, he did say that one hieroglyph was supposed to suppress magic, and Sally all but confirmed it. What about magic that was already in place? Hundreds of delicate glyphs decorated the wall. They must have had some meaning. If that was the case, was there an inscription that had any connection to the monster? I reluctantly took my eyes off the battle to look for Sally; she darted from one huge block of text to another, skimming the glyphs.

"Hey!" This time Wufei bumped my shoulder harder. I turned to find him glaring at me as if I had been ignoring him for the past couple of minutes. "I said, 'If you want to help so badly, why don't you?'"

"Because you would drag me back," I answered unenthusiastically.

"Right because you're no help at all," he said, and I was about to yell at him for bringing it up in the first place, except he continued, "So ask me to help him." He lost me.

"What?" This was the guy who only last night swore not to involve himself.

"I already told you, 'No one does anything for free'. That thing might have killed us if it not for Trowa. I do not want to be in your debt. You don't want to see him fight alone, so tell me to fight him, and we'll be even," he explained.

"Yes! Please help him," I answered. I was still trying to grasp the situation when he smirked and ran out of the passage.

"He's crazy," Tao said.

Or he was just a person who had a difficult time accepting or giving help to others…at least openly. He still was a rude, stoic jerk, but I could not help admiring his bravery.

Meiran spoke up, "Wufei's just…Wufei. He can't stay on the sidelines." She watched the lithe warrior, while I gazed at the snake.

My attention was divided between Sally and Trowa (and Wufei). The tension in the battle was rising to an unnerving , Wufei darted in and out, distracting the shrew, but he was no more cumbersome to the shrew than a wasp. For some reason, the creature unnaturally focused on Trowa, so much so that even when Trowa swiped at it, and he did land a few good hard swipes, it did not even flinch. Something was not right.

Twisting around, I asked Tao, "Can I borrow your sword?"

"What?" He put his hand on the hilt, reflexively.

"Your sword," I repeated.

"You honestly don't think you can fight that thing?"

"No," I said, taking a step closer to him, "but it would be better if I was armed. I need to talk to Sally."

"Can't this wait?" he groaned.

"No."

"Just give him the damn sword already!" Meiran intervened on my behalf. Before I entertained any ideas that she was being an understanding person, she added, "I don't want to listen to you two go back and forth, okay?"

Still a little dubious, Tao released his hand off the hilt. "Thanks," I added as I snatched the weapon and bolted out of my safe hiding hole.

"Sally," I greeted breathlessly. I held the sword to my side, and she looked at it with a peculiarly raised eyebrow.

"Quatre, you-," Sally started

"You're looking for a way to beat the umm…monster, right?" I asked, trying to discern what she was doing.

"Well, that's the short end of it, yes. Mostly, I am looking for a way to revert my suppressed magic. I could have this thing flame-broiled in a minute, but I don't think that's going to be possible. What I should look for is a weakness," she informed. She ran her fingers over the signs as she spoke.

"Why don't you just break the things?" I asked, while looking at the glyphs on the cracked wall.

"It can't be undone like that. Magic runs deeper than mere physical appearances. These marks mean nothing. They're just markers. However, the knowledge could help. Here! This explains a lot. It figures, a man like Tubarov!" She laughed a hollow sound that did nothing to lift my spirits. She tapped a finger against a complicated mark with a satisfied, yet forlorn, look on her face, as if she had found a great treasure but lost the key.

"What is it?"

With an airy voice, she responded, "I know what this beast is. It's a spirit summons…meaning it can't be hurt by physical attacks. A manifestation of will created from Tubarov's ambition - the shrew. They really thought of everything, Dekim and Tubarov. The summoning was in place before the Glyph. The Glyph doesn't prohibit magic that already is but prevents magic from manifesting. There is no physical or magical way to defeat the beast." She rasped her knuckles against the wall in contemplative thought. The sounds of the battle reached us, but it was distorted as if it was part of a different reality.

"So, that's it?" I questioned while gripping Tao's sword. "There's nothing you can do? After leading Trowa here, there's nothing you can do to save him? Why did you lead us on like that?" My emotions flared. Every feeling of betrayal gushed out, a torrent of accusations. "I trusted you, and you lied! You don't even care that you led us into a trap! You gave both of us hope, damn it! I thought everything would be okay! Well, I don't care! I don't care if Trowa becomes human, or about Dekim, or magic. I just want him to be safe! If no one is going to help us then that's fine, but don't pretend to care! It hurts too much!" When she didn't respond, I turned towards the battle. A small part of me hoped that Sally would deny my accusations, but we both knew that she had led us around. She could not pretend anymore. I had the suspicion that she realized that ages ago.

"I didn't count on you trusting me," she revealed. She gave me another smile, though it was not genuine. What was there to be happy about?

The sounds of the battle drew nearer. The beast pushed Trowa against the wall. He strained just to keep those nasty teeth away from him. Though I was still grateful for Wufei's help, nothing could harm the thing. The thought of losing Trowa so soon, the reality of the situation, crushed any hope I might have had. But I just could not stand there and count down the moments. Even if I had no chance, even if I did not know how to wield a sword, I wanted to fight.

"Wait." Sally covered the hilt of the sword as if to take it from me. "I don't think this weapon will do."

"I can't exactly fight with my bare hands," I argued, bitterly. She could not possibly expect me to stay one more minute. This time, Wufei was not around to drag me away.

"Let me give you a better weapon." She gave me another forlorn smile, as if she found the key to that treasure, but did not like what was inside. "I can imbue the blade with my power."

"But you can't use magic."

"That foolish sorcerer," she said as the sword glowed, "there are things more powerful than magic." I did not quite understand what she meant, but I gasped as her skin color dulled and her hair turned white. The moment was so surreal that all other thoughts were pushed aside, even the thought of stopping her. I somehow could feel her energy flow into the cold metal of the sword. The blade glowed with that energy. Though I had recently witnessed several immense feats of magic, nothing had impressed me more than the sight of Sally's determination. She literally gave her all, leaving herself barely any life to stand with, and I still had no idea what her motivation was. However, it was powerful, even more so than that oversized rat.

"Don't worry, I will be fine. Without my magic, my body has a more difficult time with the stress." Her voice wheezed, but I was too shocked to stop her. The sword continued to glow as it absorbed her light. "This is my will to live, most of it. Combined with your will, I don't think that pitiful beast of Tubarov's stands a chance." She slumped to her knees, and I felt the urge to comfort her, despite the urgency of our situation. My will combined with hers? She actually trusted me to show the same level of strength when I had not ever fought before in my life.

"Sally, I…"

"Don't stand there. I'll be fine, I think. Just leave me." Still confused, I obeyed the sorceress. I saw Tao and Meiran run towards her and hoped they could help. Without any more hesitation, I sprinted into battle, the sword held awkwardly in my hands and growing heavier with each step. As the form of the gray beast grew larger, I wondered where the hell to even stick the blade.

"Quatre?" Wufei called. He stared at my glowing blade questionably. Regardless of the size, or who wielded it, a glowing blade was still impressive. I remembered both Sally and Trowa and what was at stake. Momentarily, I thought of giving the sword to a more practiced warrior. However, what Sally said about our combined wills repeated in my head like a mantra. Something linked us that had nothing to do with magic. Maybe I imagined it, but I felt her will to save Trowa, as the sword radiated in my hands.

Leaping over the giant worm-tail, I raced towards the beast's body. However, perhaps sensing a threat to itself, the shrew released the snake and twisted around. Bloodshot eyes stared at the enhanced blade. Trowa shouted my name before the shrew lunged. With my heart racing, I slipped under the jaws and tumbled on the floor. Directly under the beast, I realized what a horrible position it was. Its huge mass thrashed and shook like an unstable roof. I imagined how I would look squished. Crawling from underneath the shrew, I suddenly noticed the sword missing. I twisted around, almost being trampled by its gnarled feet.

"No, no, no, no, no," I repeated. Why didn't I give the sword to somebody who would not drop it!

Coils snapped around the furry body and knocked it over. The impact reverberated with a loud thud. Trowa wrestled with it, attempting to drag the form away from me. However, the shrew was determined to attack me. It's nails scraped against the rock, trying to claw, away from the snake's grip.

"Run!" Trowa pleaded. I was too busy looking for the sword to acknowledge him. He was probably worried sick, but it was hard to explain the situation at that time. I looked from Wufei's crouched form to the end of the shrew's tail. How hard could it be to find a glowing sword? The key to winning the battle was that sword, and I lost it!

Poking out from underneath the shrew's belly was the hilt. The beast fought to get up, and I saw the snake strain to hold it. Despite his efforts, his body slackened from fatigue. The only thing that kept Trowa holding on was his desire to protect me. I could see it in his face; his body would wear out before his determination. I ran towards the sword, ignoring Trowa's protests.

My vision tunneled until I only saw the hilt.

Fingers closed around the warm handle, and I yanked it out. However, my confidence disappeared the moment I turned and saw machete sized teeth snapping at me. This time, I gripped my blade securely when I ducked. Its jaw, dripping with spit, hovered above me. With more strength than I believed I had, I plunged the sword up until I could not force it anymore. I only prayed that it would work.

The room was immeasurably quiet. Fear and uncertainty crept upon me as I gaped at the fresh wound on the giant beast. The blade did not move, the shrew did not move, and I did not move. I might have been a novice slayer; however, weren't living things supposed to bleed when you cut into them? The beast quivered, vibrating the metal. It collapsed to its side; a sound like crumbling brick followed. It disintegrated into gray ash, like last night's firewood. The magical blade dropped to the ground, no longer glowing. Before I could sigh in relief, Trowa grasped me, fingers shaking, as he held my shoulders. Or was it my shoulders that were shaking?

"How?" He questioned, and I could not answer him. Sally enchanted the sword and I used it to slay the beast. That I comprehended. However, how I did it still amazed me. I stared at the ashes of the creature, expecting it to resurrect at any moment.

"Nicely done," Sally said. She rode on Tao's back, her chin resting on his shoulder. "You had me worried for a second, though." Her hair was still white, and her skin dull. Even though I wanted to demand answers from her, she looked as if she would break any moment or turn to dust, like the shrew.

"What the hell happened?" demanded Wufei. He skirted around the beast's remains; I didn't blame him. Having a rodent almost kill him, he was not taking any looked as if he wanted to get as far away from that thing as possible. He rounded on Sally, eyes widening in disbelief as he saw her brittle form, but his anger did not abate. "For some reason, I have the feeling that you have everything to do with that thing!" He pointed at Sally.

"Oh?" she retorted, feigning interest. "So, you think I summoned it?"

"That's not the point I was trying to make," he continued to argue. However, he did soften his voice, perhaps realizing how unreasonable he was acting, especially when Sally looked like she would collapse any moment. "Still, you're keeping something from us."

She gave a long, drawn out sigh, much like a mother with a petulant child. "I think I do owe an explanation. Trowa, Quatre, I'm sure you've realized by now that I have mislead you," she spoke to us in the softest voice that did not match her confession. Tao and Meiran looked at her with mixed expressions of confusion and worry.

Trowa was the one to speak up, "But why?"

Tao asked, "What in the world is everyone talking about… Do I want to know?" He shifted, uncomfortable with Sally on his back. He gave the expression of a man who did not have a clue, and preferred it that way. Ignorance had to be bliss.

"This won't take too long," she assured. Finally, we were going to get an answer, and killing a bloodthirsty rodent was all it took.

oOo

I originally planned to extend this chapter. However, since it is a decent length, and I am having a little trouble with some expository parts, I decided to post this now and work a little more on the other half, which just needs some more careful editing. I predict that it will take about a week for the next chapter, but don't quote me on that. This arrangement works out just fine, thankfully.

I have an affliction for dangerous and ridiculous monsters. That is why my beast is a shrew. Besides, as Sally points out, it is indicative of Tubarov's character. Mostly, though, I just like dangerously deceptive obstacles. Hey, I bet in real life, it would be scary. Ever see a shrew? They're nasty little creatures, and the only reason you don't cower from fear is because they are an hundredth your size.