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"So these are your friends?" Anne asked as she stared at the two newcomers.
"Yup. That's Heero, the antisocial, and Quatre, who's.. not."
"Pleased to meet you." Quatre bowed, his hands behind his back. Heero grunted.
"Same." Anne replied. "You may take a seat if you'd like.."
Heero and Quatre sat down at the end of the table. Anne stared at Quatre with an unusual interest. "You know it's rude to keep your hands under the table here."
"Where we come from you're not supposed to keep them in view," Heero countered, his voice completely monotone. Quatre nodded weakly.
"Strange culture." the king mused. "I suppose you're staying the night then."
"If it's not too much trouble.." Quatre shifted in his seat. "I'd rather not bother you.. You do have a country to run."
"There's no trouble, this country is peaceful and appreciates visits from foreigners.. Besides, it's very amusing having him here.." he motioned to Duo. "Much better than any court jester."
"If we leave you can keep him here.." Wu Fei added, a small smirk on his face.
"Ha. Ha." Duo mumbled. "Just because I have a sense of humor.."
Quatre's attention focused completely on where he'd seen Dark. There was something in that gaze which had chilled him to the bone, but he couldn't quite place it. So far his dreams had been insights to something great happening; but he hadn't believed it would be starting so quickly..
Images rushed through his head faster than he could catch them. For just a few seconds, he felt himself be dragged back into a nightmare, watching as things suddenly became encompassed by a black blur..
"Quatre?"
"Huh?" Quatre jerked up momentarily. Trowa stared back at him. Suddenly they were the only ones in the room, and the sun was setting against the horizon through one of the windows.
"Everyone's leaving now."
"Right.. I'm sorry." he whispered softly. "Zoning out again."
"They've assigned you a room, I don't think you want to stay here all night."
"Wait.. I mean," Quatre shuffled nervously. "Trowa would you mind if I stayed in your room tonight?"
Trowa stared at him momentarily then walked towards a large mountain of steps. "It's fine."
Quatre followed him up the steps, feeling the warning in the back of his mind.
Trowa had fallen asleep in the large bed hours ago, but Quatre was still awake in the large chair he'd chosen to sleep in. His small frame fit perfectly against the large piece of furniture, but he didn't feel like drifting off just yet.
Pulling the blanket off, he slowly reached for a small candle, a tiny flicker of light appearing in it on command. Quatre walked out of the room, his face calm. Carefully, he walked through the darkened corridors until he came to it..
The tapestry seemed to dance in the candlelight, the pictures almost becoming living. This was what had haunted him so many nights, those horrible images which wouldn't leave his dreams alone.. slowly he slipped his free hand against the center, feeling the strange pulse through his fingers. The white aura started to swirl around him, making the small flame from the candle seem no more than a speck.
Meanwhile, as Trowa slept peacefully a deep peaceful green surrounded him just as a darkened grey glow radiated from Duo.
And then, Quatre opened his eyes and stared forward. The shadow monster stared back..
Heero, Duo, and Trowa all rose from bed instantly. There was a sudden scream of pain coming from outside, which they all identified as Quatre.
Heero jumped out of bed and grabbed his sword, tugging a shirt on as he ran. He heard Duo's loud footsteps behind him.
In the tapestry room, as they'd all dubbed it, Quatre was laying against the ground trembling, a large gash in his side. The shadow was bending over him, its hands against his throat.
"Wait a second.. that's the thing that attacked the first time!"
"First time?" Heero growled as he slowly unsheathed his sword. He'd never seen anything like it, but the first thing in his mind was that it was an obstruction to a mission.
And Heero knew how to deal with obstructions.
"Yeah.. uh, guess I forgot to mention it. Heero what do you think you're gonna do? You can't handle a sword!!"
Heero glared and ran towards the shadow, ready to slice the thing through the gut. The steel collided with the darkness, making the shadow roar in pain. He felt a large claw swipe into him, sending him straight into the wall.
DON'T!! he felt the faint order in his mind.
Heero growled. Why shouldn't I? he glanced at Quatre's limp form and noticed the blue eyes staring at him.
Don't hurt him.. It's not his fault.. Quatre weakly cringed. It's not his fault..
Trowa ran into the room, his first concern getting Quatre to safety.
Taking one last glance at the blonde, Heero growled and slowly pulled himself up, clutching tighter to the sword. "Keep him busy.."
"You're joking right?!" Duo gulped.
"We have to get Quatre out of here." he glanced at Trowa. "This thing can't be killed."
Duo cursed silently under his breath as the shadow came charging at him. Trowa took the moment to pick Quatre up and run out of the room before the shadow could get rid of his first two attackers.
Heero felt himself be slammed up against the wall again and heard a faint crack of bones. He cringed and growled, bracing himself for another attack. They had to wait just a few minutes for Trowa to transport the blonde to safety, then they could stop..
The shadow stared at them, looking extra menacing. Slowly, a gruff chuckle escaped from it and Heero felt himself glare in response.
There was a few moments of pure tension; each being trying to stare down the other. And then Heero's eyes focused in realization.. there was some other force behind this creature's motivations..
But before he could find out anymore, the shadow disappeared..
Heero stood up, wincing slightly as suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his side. Sliding down against the ground, he waited a few seconds for the aching in his back to stop.
"Duo, find him.. the thing's gone after Quatre again."
"But.."
"Do it. I'll come in a second."
Duo finally nodded and ran down after Trowa. Heero grimaced in pain, then noticed a strange figure sitting near the window.. Before he could get a good look however, everything became hazy..
Quatre let out a soft groan as Trowa ran, but at the moment he believed that the blonde could stand the pain. Not knowing where to go, he simply stopped and looked at the two doorways facing him.
Lost already? That's too bad.. two darkened red eyes manifested in the wall as the shadow began to appear. Give him to me..
Trowa backed up, gripping tighter on the blonde. The shadow's hand suddenly came up, and he felt his grip loosening. His entire body became weak, and he dropped to the ground.
The last thing he saw before blacking out was Quatre being pulled away from him.
Very very slowly, Heero began to come to. He was laying on the ground while one of the servant girls tended to him.
"Don't move too much, you've had some pretty bad bruises.." she warned.
Using most of his strength, Heero somehow managed to stand up. She stared at him scoldingly and then gently examined the cuts on his side. Roughly pushing her away, he stumbled down the hallway.
Staring out the window, he felt the shock run through him. The sun was setting!! Had he really been out for so long?
You'll never get him back that way.. a voice chuckled.
Heero stared around for the source of the voice but there was nothing.
I'm outside..
Limping over to his sword, Heero walked towarsd the small courtyard, green courtyard. Outside, the others minus Quatre were standing with a confused expression. Though Duo had come out mostly unharmed, Trowa had several bruises around his face and he showed definite anger. They were all staring forward quietly.
Then Heero saw their watcher. He was tiny, only up to Heero's waist with light balding brown hair and a calm stare. He was wearing a brown robe and a pair of old boots, looking more like a comical doll than anything else.
Was this the thing that had been controlling the monster last night?
Growling, he reached for his sword.
"Don't." the figure warned, his eyes becoming icy. "Kill me now and your friend will suffer a fate worse than you can imagine...."
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Yes, I got this out in a major hurry and with not much rush of creativity.. but I did get a little bit accomplished. Now in the next chapter I can start explaining stuff.. so I guess it's worth it.
Big thanks to those who have been reading this, it really helps to have a little support! :-)