Chapter One—Chinmoku no Senshi (Soldier of Silence)
Written by Azreal (aka Blight)
pippin_elf@yahoo.com
or
horde_king@yahoo.ca
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Blah, blah, blah, they aren't mine BLAH!!!
Warnings: Same as last, just look at the first fic.
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"The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."
—Shakespeare's "King Lear"
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"The Magic is in me—the Magic is in me. It's in every one of us."
—The Secret Garden
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Chapter One—Chinmoku no Senshi (Soldier of Silence)
"My little one, the time has come for you to leave the safety of the Temple. You have learned enough, trained enough, and know enough now to take on the mission you were assigned all those years ago."
The boy nodded, bowing deeply. "Yes, Milord," was the reply.
"Find the Prince, ally yourself with him. Protect him throughout his journey, as you were told to do. Help him find your spirit-brothers, and set the Seal of Shindoshi."
"Yes, Milord."
"There is not much time. Already the great warrior's body and spirit have been separated, and he wreaks havoc on the mortal world. He must be stopped."
"Yes, Milord." The boy bowed once more and turned to leave.
"Triton."
The boy stopped. "Yes, Milord?"
"Be careful."
"Of course, father."
"Goodbye, son."
"Goodbye."
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Grabbing up his cloak, Heero stormed out of his castle with fear in his eyes and determination on his usually stoic features. He carried a sword at his hip, and his chocolate brown hair blew back in the wind as he ran to the stables, vaguely aware of the dragging footsteps behind him. He crashed through the stable doors and was met with the scent of decay and rotting flesh. Holding his nose against the horrid smell, he made his way to the far end of the stable, to where a private stall stood.
He opened the door to the stall, and was greeted by the sight of two bright black eyes and a long, white face with flaring nostrils. Heero let a real smile touch his face for a moment as he reached out and stroked the muzzle of his Pegasus, Wing. The pure white, large, winged stallion nuzzled the boy's neck, fluttering his powerful wings and lashing his plumed tail about, flicking away the flies that had infested his home and were attracted by the dead bodies of Wing's stable-mates.
The winged horse whinnied impatiently as the Prince threw his golden bridle and saddle upon the stallion's back and head, strapping it all quickly as the shuffling he had heard before got closer. He cinched the saddle, and checked to make sure the bit wasn't too tight. Wing stamped his feet, snorting at Heero, who immediately leaped upon his back.
"Now, Wing!" he shouted, as the Pegasus let out a shrill scream, rearing up and flaring wide his wings as he burst forth from the stall, toppling the dead corpses of Heero's personal guard as they reached for the Prince with rotting fingers. Wing screamed again as he flapped his wings, hurtling himself forward towards the stable door, and freedom. They zoomed past more zombies, Heero's unruly hair wildly whipping about in the gusts of wind created by his Pegasus' wings and speed. They took to the air as soon as they passed the stable door, swooping higher and higher, until they were at least a thousand feet above Heero's city.
The Prince looked down, and he felt a strange tightening in his chest at the sight he saw far beneath him.
Human corpses littered the stone streets, the rivers and all water sources turned to blood, gnats, and bugs infested everything, eating away at the buildings and wooden structures until they began to crumble. Animal corpses were strewn everywhere, their insides ripped out from their comrades ate what was left of them. All the food in the fields had rotted, the animals were all dead and diseased, so no one could eat them. The water had turned to blood. The people respectively died silently and in their sleep, slowly rotting away, going insane, or became zombies, half-living creatures only interested in stopping their own suffering and reduced to wandering about, clawing at the healthy in slow, jealous wrath, moaning in agony. Feces and other disgusting bodily fluids flowed in the rivers, along with the blood. The sky was, and had been, pitch black for three days now, yet there were very few left to notice or care. Those who were still in good health were hidden somewhere, and though Heero would have rejoiced to see at least a few of his people well, he knew it was too dangerous to search for them in the dead city below him.
'That is what it is now,' he thought sadly as Wing took him away from his home, towards the Western Lands. 'The City of the Dead…'
Turning away from his ruined home, Heero buried his face into Wing's neck, hugging the large animal tightly as he drifted off into uneasy sleep, filled with death and destruction.
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Fire…blood…so much blood…dead bodies everywhere, corpses rising up from the ground, reaching for him…
Heero shuddered and flinched away from their rotting fingers, the wormy feel of their hands brushing across his flesh sending chills up and down his spine. He closed his eyes, shuddering as their low, groaning voices drifted across a thick space to reach his ears.
"Help usss…"
"Master…"
"My Prince, it hurrtsss…"
Thick, oozing blood hit the floor in loud, echoing drops, shattering the semi-silence of the strange world where Heero found himself. He let out a tiny whimper as he withdrew from their groping hands, curling up and into himself to get away, he didn't want them touching him, he could do nothing for them…
Their voices faded, and the horrible, wormy feeling of their hands vanished as well, leaving him in a warm cocoon of silence and solitude. He lay there for an amount of time he wasn't even sure of, until something broke into his little world.
"Heero." A disembodied voice called.
The Prince furrowed his brow, his eyes remaining squeezed shut. He curled up tighter into the ball he had made of himself, arms wrapped around his knees, which were tucked into his chest.
"Heero." The voice called again.
Heero rolled over, covering his ears. He was so warm, so comfortable, and now this voice was trying to pull him out of the nice feeling. He would not have it!
"G'way," he mumbled. "'M sleepinnnn…"
The voice chuckled. "Heero, you need to look at me."
The Prince growled slightly, covering his eyes with one arm. "Why?" Heero whined in a childish manner. The voice snorted.
"Because when you wake up, I'm going to be right there," the voice replied.
"HUH??" Heero demanded, pulling his arm away and snapping open his eyes. He forgot the warmth and comfort he had felt just moments before, replaced by a cool breeze and one large, emerald green eye staring at him from the darkness. Heero gasped. "Who—what are you?" he asked, putting his hand to his chest and clutching the cloth over his heart.
The eye sparkled, seemingly pleased. "I have been sent from the God of Pestilence to aid you in your journey," the voice replied gently, in a low, pleasant tone. "I am the Chinmoku no Senshi, and I am here to guard you in your quest for the Seal of Shindoshi."
"The Soldier of Silence," Heero whispered, eyes wide as he stared at the green eye of the faceless creature before him. "But—who are you really? I can't just call you…THAT, can I?"
The voice chuckled gently. "Very few people know my true name," it replied, a smile in its voice as the eye watched Heero intensely. "But you may call me Trowa."
"Trowa?" Heero repeated, his eyes becoming heavy and closing of their own will, although he tried to keep them open. "Trowa…" he whispered, before everything went dark.
"I'll see you when you awaken, Heero Yuy," the Chinmoku no Senshi whispered, closing the green eye.
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Wing's snufflings and low snorts brought Heero out of his dreams. Yawning slightly, the young Prince covered his mouth as he rolled over. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with…
Heero leaped to his feet, cloak thrown back as he put his hand on the hilt of his sword. His eyes narrowed as he tensed up, glaring at the person sitting in front of him. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, snarling angrily. Wing snorted from a few feet away, standing behind Heero with his head bowed and ears laid flat.
The boy dressed in a dark green vest and light gray pants that laced up the sides smiled. His light brown hair, that fell over half of his face and effectively hiding his eye swayed a little in the wind, while his emerald green eyes sparkled with amusement. 'You don't remember?'
Heero blinked. That sounded like it came from his mind…
Low laughter filtered in his head, and Heero looked around, frowning. The boy before him smirked, a twitch of the lips that the cobalt-eyed boy nearly missed when he looked back at the youth. 'Heero, I told you that I would be here when you woke up.'
The Prince gasped. "You!" he exclaimed. "You were the one in my dream!" The boy nodded as Heero shuddered slightly. "The Chinmoku no Senshi…" he whispered.
'Soldier of Silence,' Trowa agreed. Heero frowned even more.
"You…you're talking in my head, aren't you?" he asked, and Trowa nodded again.
'It is the only way I can speak,' he replied.
"Why?"
'Long ago, when I was but a child, a man came into my village,' the youth said, his mental voice dropping as he remembered. 'He wished to have his way with my mother one night, since my father had died before I was born. He slipped into her room that night, and silenced her with a gag. In those days I used to sleep beside her in the bed. I awoke to their struggling, and began to scream in fear, for help, for someone to save her.' His eyes clouded over and his hands shook ever so slightly. 'I screamed for the neighbors, but before they could reach us, the man had knocked my mother unconscious, and then he cut out my vocal chords.'
Heero winced. "Oh…that must have…hurt," he finally said, not sure what to say. Trowa smiled wryly at him and shrugged.
'Oh yes, it hurt. But not as much as the healing,' he replied darkly, his face twisting into a mix of rage, sorrow, pain and hate. Heero took a step back, surprised at the change. 'For ten long years I was under the care of the Healers of my village. They beseeched the Gods to heal me, but at a price.' He rubbed his throat absently. 'I endured the agonizing pain for ten years, and I survived. The Gods had told me that if I were to live a good life, I would have to suffer for those years. My throat would never be healed, but they gave me the power to speak with my mind, using the latent abilities I had within myself and strengthening them.' He sighed deeply. 'This gift comes in handy sometimes, when I am forced to go into people's dreams. Although, it is also a curse to me in some ways.'
"Why is that?" Heero asked, curious.
'For those who are not able to handle being spoken to like this, they cannot hear me. Very few can, and you are one of the…shall we say…lucky ones?' Trowa smirked at him and Heero found himself smiling at the boy across from him. He liked him.
Abruptly, the Prince shook his head. "But—I don't understand. Why have you come to me?" he demanded, confusion overruling any other feeling he had, as well as wariness. Who was this boy before him, really? WHAT was he?
Trowa smiled. 'You have a journey to complete, and I am here to help you,' he said. Staring at Heero intensely, Trowa's smile vanished. 'Your country is in danger, your people die of plagues and diseases, your land is wasting into nothing. It is all a part of a prophecy given long ago, that states that a great scourge will come upon all the lands, starting with the centermost country on the continent. It was foretold that a great leader would arise from that land, and he would journey forth into the North, West, East and South to search for the magical weapons and senshi that will carry them. A great wizard shall challenge the ruler of that country by breaking the Seal of Shindoshi, the greatest warrior to have ever lived. Once the Seal is broken, Shindoshi shall wreak havoc upon the land, as he has nothing to guide him. His body moves without a soul, killing wantonly while his spirit wanders, searching for his physical form. The journeyer must gather together his four companions, and together they must do battle with Shindoshi, and set the Seals they gathered, creating a new one to bind the warrior's body with his spirit.'
Heero blinked. "I have to do all that?" he asked, shocked. Trowa threw back his head and laughed.
'No, not all by yourself,' was the reply. 'You are going to have four companions to help you, the ones who must wield the weapons you are to acquire.'
Heero frowned. "And how do I find these 'companions'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "The riddle my mirror told me I had to call upon the Gods and all, but it never said HOW I was to find the warriors that would help me."
Trowa's smirk widened. 'The Gods have taken pity on you, and have sent me to tell you what you must do,' he said. 'There are four who have the power to wield the weapons, and are the ones who should, but that power will be transferred to another, if you so choose.'
"Huh?"
Trowa rolled his eyes. 'There are four who currently have the ability to wield the weapons. They are the ones who are supposed to, anyway. However, if you find that you are absolutely unable to work with them, then you have the ability to take the power of one warrior, and transfer it to another of your choosing. The mission is all that matters, to save the world from death and destruction. If you and your warriors cannot cooperate, then you must choose others, for without unity between you there can be no success.'
Heero frowned. "I still don't understand."
'At the moment, you really don't have to. You must begin your journey, and travel to the East, which is where you will find your second warrior.'
"Who is the first warrior?" Heero asked, confused. "I mean, you keep telling me that I have to find these four, but…what are YOU doing here?"
Trowa smiled. 'I am the first warrior, Heero Yuy. I am the Soldier of Silence, servant of Silas, the God of Pestilence in the South.' He stood up, smiling in a knowing way at Heero. 'Come. We have a journey to begin.'
The young Prince frowned again, then sighed, whistling at Wing, who snorted and trotted over, nuzzling the boy's neck. Petting the Pegasus' muzzle for a moment, Heero then turned and looked at Trowa. "Very well then," he said, nodding. "Let us go."
The other boy nodded, and suddenly, a very large, heavyset, black unicorn came clomping through the entrance to the cave they were in. The unicorn snorted and tossed his head, bumping his muzzle against the taller boy's shoulder. Trowa smiled at Heero's questioning look.
'This is Heavyarms.' Trowa stated fondly. Heero shrugged, leaping up onto Wing's back as the Pegasus stamped impatiently. Trowa did the same for Heavyarms, and moments later the two stallions leaped into the air, one flapping it's wings wildly while the other ran with sparks flying from his hoofs into the night sky.
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Mask in place, eyes glowing and hand on the hilt of his sword, Shindoshi took a staggering step towards the large city that lay before him, lights twinkling in the darkness and flickering brightly, as though they were calling him.
Moaning low in his throat, the body of the great warrior stumbled forward, platinum blonde hair flying out behind him in a wave of silk. Fingers curled into claws and soldier's uniform rustling in the gusts of wind, Shindoshi's eyes were locked on the city, nostrils smelling fresh blood and flesh.
To be continued…
Questions, comments, flames, praise or anything else send to pippin_elf@yahoo.com.
Yes, I know that Trowa's gundam is supposed to be red, not black. BUT, for this story, I am changing some things around. So live with it!