Chapter Eight: The Key
"Gharial, awaken."
Pain. Darkness. For a flickering of a second he remembered feeling something like this before, when he had been utterly alone. But the memory fluttered off on transparent wings and he realized that this time was different. Someone was calling him. The voice...it was familiar. Groaning, he strained against the darkness, and was rewarded as his eyes slowly opened, squinting in the unexpected light. A cool hand brushed his forehead.
"Gharial."
He blinked, disoriented and looked towards the voice. His mother sat next to his bed, her dark green hair framing her glittering face, her emerald eyes watching him with a grim look. It was then that he remembered what had happened and he sat bolt upright, clutching his head as a flash of pain struck behind his eyes.
"What happened? Where's Relena?" He asked, trying to look around through the headache. He was in his own chambers.
Ritara grimaced, folding her hands in her lap. "She's being held elsewhere." She said, shortly, a note of anger in her voice. "She is not what you should be worrying about."
He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off with a sharp motion of her hand.
"Don't speak again until I am finished." She said, curtly, glaring at him. "This evening I was quietly relaxing in my chambers when I was suddenly summoned by the empress. When I got there, she pacing the room like a caged animal and she was very angry. Can you imagine why, Gharial?" She didn't let him answer. "She was angry because one of her own Mages had been caught dancing with the enemy!" She abruptly bounded to her feet, her voice rough with anger and stress. "Well, since I knew nothing of all this I did what I could to control it. I told her that it was all part of your plan. That you had been trying to get close to this Rena Bladeheart with the intent of eliminating her. Luckily, she believed me, though you can bet that Takuya is ready to send a stray energy blast your way and claim it was an accident. I don't have to tell you that I am disappointed in you, Gharial, and now I have aligned myself with you. If you fall, so will I." She sank back into her chair, anger replaced with defeat. She looked down at the floor. "I don't pretend to understand what is going on here, Gharial, and I can't protect you forever. I may have deterred her for now, but the empress isn't stupid, and Takuya does not like being made a fool of." She paused, and he leaned forward to touch her hand.
"Something else is bothering you."
She gave a funny little laugh. "Like I don't have enough to worry about." She took a deep breath. "Kagetsu has...taken an interest...in all this."
He frowned, his mind slipping into Perfect Soldier mode. Why would the the last of the Mages be interested in what he was doing? And why did he have the feeling his mother still wasn't telling him everything?
"Gharial," She said, learning towards him earnestly. "Please tell me what is going on. You are my son and I care about you." She touched his temple gently, her magic instantly easing the pain in his head. "You may be human but I was the first thing you saw when you awakened. Can you tell me, please?"
He offered her a half-smile, feeling a strange warmness in his heart at her caring about him. "I trust you, mother." His smile faded. "Mother, when you found me you said that I was barely alive and that, to save my life, you altered my genetic code with that of yours. You did it because you are the most brillant of the Mages and you had promised the empress you would make a weapon for her. As it turned out, you did. I awakened with all the powers of an A'rateken Battle Mage, the ability to tap into a planet's energy for myself, but I also had the heart and soul of a human. Mother, my memories have come back. From the moment I first met Rena Bladeheart on the battlefield I knew that we were connected. As fate would have it, she is my love from my past life. I remember her, and my past with her. She was my reason for living, and still is. So you see, I can't destroy her. I know it was my mission. But I can't, I won't destroy the only thing that means anything to me."
Mission: Denied.
Ritara took a shuddering breath. "Gharial, I realize now that I was foolish to believe that the A'rateken blood in you would shape you into a weapon for the empress. Yes it made you stronger, more powerful, but your human feelings will always keep you from becoming what the empress." She attempted a small smile. "For that, I am grateful for your human flaws. They will be your protection."
He stayed silent, waiting for her to spill what she was keeping from him. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her gaze to her lap again.
"Gharial, at the festival, you protected Rena and yourself enough that you were only affected by the backlash of your shield shattering." She continued, slowly. "Takuya had the both of you brought back here, and then there was the meeting I told you about. I managed to keep you safe but Takuya has imprisoned Rena in the newly finished dungeons beneath the castle."
Heero growled low in his throat and stood quickly, the bedsheets quickly falling away. Ritara stood with him, standing up on tiptoe to place urgent hands on his shoulders. He looked down at her, not bothering to leash the anger in his eyes. She didn't flinch away, knowing it wasn't directed at her.
"Gharial, you must listen to me. Takuya will kill you if you try and save her. He has the advantage of being a Mage for more than a hundred years. He knows his strengths, and his weaknesses. And if you even appear to be sympathic towards this Bladeheart rebel...well, you will not be able to escape being branded a traitor."
"Have faith in your creation. I am not so easy to kill."
"But--"
"I must go." He pulled away from her grip and grabbed the twin swords from their place on the wall. He hefted the strap over his shoulder, letting the familiar weight calm his soul. With these he would live up to his name. Gharial. Double-edged.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hilde? Wake up, babe. Come on, open your eyes."
Hilde shifted away from the voice. Why couldn't she just lie still and feel sorry for herself? Her whole body felt bruised and battered and her head pounded where she had hit it when she fell.
"Hilde, please, I know you can hear me."
Groaning, her eyes fluttered open in spite of herself. She blinked wearily as she focused on Duo's drawn face. He gave her a bright smile and squeezed her hand.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty."
She tried to smile but found she hurt too much. "What happened?" She asked, raising herself up on one elbow, Duo's hand on her back to steady her. She remembered a scream and then a flare of pain has something hard had connected with her lower back. She must have hit her head when she fell, causing her to slip into unconsiscousness.
Duo grimaced. "We were attacked. The A'rateken must have been just waiting for us to gather together like this." He hesitated and she gripped his hand.
"Duo, what's wrong?"
"Rena was taken, as well as Heero."
Hilde tried to rise, fear for her friend and leader giving her strength, but Duo pulled her back down to him. She looked to him, confused.
"Duo, we have to--"
"I know, but first we need to get everyone back to hideout. We need a plan."
She nodded, and for the first time, looked at the destruction around them. The festival had been obliterated and she noticed that there had many casualities. She put a hand over her mouth in shock, realizing that not all of those bodies were adults. Grief welled up in her along with the burning hatred that had spurred her interest in the rebellion. She would not let them get away with this. They would pay for what they had done, to her friends, and to the people that had depended on them for hope. The A'rateken would regret this night.
Duo watched her quietly before pulling her gently to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her standing.
"The others are alive, slightly worse for wear, but alive." He said, gazing around the battlefield. "Sally was the one who gave the alarm and she has a couple of cracked ribs. Wufei is with her but she won't rest until she gives medical attention to the survivors. He may have a couple of bruises but not one of the A'rateken swords touched him. Quatre wasn't here tonight and neither was Trowa." He managed one of his old grins. "Looks like you and me are the worst."
Hilde leaned back to look at him. He was disheveled, dirty, and his braid was coming undone. He had some minor scrapes but he was mostly favoring his right leg, the one he had taken a bullet in three years ago. She clutched his shirt, worry etched across her face.
"Are you all right? Do you need Sally?"
He laughed and tightened his arm around her. "Don't worry about me, babe, the God of Death can take much more than this."
"Bring it on." She supplied for him, and he smiled.
"Exactly."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rena sat quietly in the middle of her cell, ignoring the damp darkness and the cold stone floor beneath her. She breathed quietly, trying not to agravate the whip lashes down her back. Her summer dress had been shredded by the heated laser of her own weapon, wielded expertly in the hands of Takuya who had seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. She hadn't been able to keep herself from crying out and it rankled in her that she had been unable to deny him that pleasure. She wondered what had happened to Heero. Surely they wouldn't kill him, would they? After all, he was still a Battle Mage, they wouldn't hurt one of their own, would they?
Stiflying a cry of pain, she shifted her weight slightly, trying to keep her legs from falling asleep. She worried about Heero but she worried more for the others at the festival. Heero could handle anything, he was, after all, half A'rateken, but the others had no such powers, and she knew the brutality of the A'rateken soldiers, especially if they had been spurred on by Takuya. She just hoped the others were alright.
"Contemplating your death, Rena Bladeheart?"
Rena jumped, immediantly wishing she hadn't as it pulled hurt muscles in her back. In front of her cell stood a man, an A'rateken, with long dark blue hair and slanted eyes the color of washed out sky. He wore a strange version of the A'rateken armor that was swirled with gold gilt. His face bore an unaffected expression and he was holding a crystal pendant out in front of him by the end of its chain with two fingers. She glowered at him.
"Kagetsu." She spat. Of the three Mages he would be the one to come for her. Takuya was bloodthirsty and jealous of his place with the empress. He did anything to get more power. Ritara was the most intelligent of the three, and she did little actual fighting, preferring her lab over the blood soaked battle grounds. But Kagetsu...he was different. Worse. He was cold, calculating, never distracted by what little emotions A'rateken were capable of feeling. She could see a little of Heero in him...and that frightened her. In battle, he would be the hardest to beat.
"What do you want?" She asked, her voice low, her eyes flashing silver, heralding the awakening of Bladeheart. Kagetsu gave a one shoulder shrug, swinging the pendant a little.
"I wanted to show you something." He said, and abruptly threw the necklace to her. She caught it by reflex and the minute it touched her skin, the transparent crystal swirled with colors. She blinked in the bright light emitting from it, and bent closer to examing the pendant. There was something...in it...
There.
Inside the crystal, a tiny blue green earth revolved in silence, the beauty of the planet reflected in the silver glow. Her eyes grew wide at this tiny marvel and she felt herself...changing. The silver left her eyes and became the dark blue of Relena Peacecraft. Her skin tingled and she felt a light breeze whisper through her hair, and...
With a violent cry she threw the crystal away from her. The crystal died as soon as it left her and rolled to a deceptively innocent stop at Kagetsu's feet. She was breathing heavily, realizing that something had almost happened. Something had almost...
Shaking, she drew her knees to her chest, gazing at the crystal with fear. Kagetsu laughed lightly and reached down to pick it up, holding it loosely in his fist. He looked at her with something close to humor.
"Who would have thought?" He asked, almost to himself, a faint smile on his lips. "Who would have thought that the very thing we were looking for was the one thing we wanted to destroy?" He smirked. "You can feel it, can't you? The power of this planet. The power...and pain." He laughed again. "It is you. You are the one."
She drew in on herself at the look in his eye. "What do you mean?" Her voice was the whisper of a child.
He replied only with more mystery.
"Who ever posesses the key, can control the planet."
And he looked almost hungrily at her. She closed her eyes.
~Heero, please hurry.~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Duo, general of the rebellion, ex gundam pilot, and the Shinigami, locked gazes with each of his fellow rebels, judging their reactions to his proposal. Everyone of them met his gaze and there was no fear in their eyes. They were ready, ready to fight again, for themselves, and for the entire earth sphere. For Rena. Hilde nodded once to him and he nodded back. This was it.
He stood, his chair scraping back, and proceed to announce the very thing that would save them, or kill them all.
"Then it is decided. Tomorrow we bring war to the A'rateken. Tomorrow, we begin the seige of the Sank palace."
tbc...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, how was it? Answer any questions? I'm slowly getting around to explaining everything so don't lose faith! Hey, Blue Angel, how did you like it? You've got pretty good instincts! A BIG thank you to everyone who reviews, I take everything you say to heart and I love it when you tell me what you like, that way I can write more of it! Another thankyou to Jason M. Lee who's reviews always crack me up! *smiles* Anyways, the fic will be getting more AU-ish, I guess, in relation to the A'rateken magic and the key, not too much, but some. I'm also going to start wrapping it up but the last battle will last several chapters so don't worry!
Stay tuned for: First Sparks (be prepared for some good fight scenes)
please review! *hugs*
"Gharial, awaken."
Pain. Darkness. For a flickering of a second he remembered feeling something like this before, when he had been utterly alone. But the memory fluttered off on transparent wings and he realized that this time was different. Someone was calling him. The voice...it was familiar. Groaning, he strained against the darkness, and was rewarded as his eyes slowly opened, squinting in the unexpected light. A cool hand brushed his forehead.
"Gharial."
He blinked, disoriented and looked towards the voice. His mother sat next to his bed, her dark green hair framing her glittering face, her emerald eyes watching him with a grim look. It was then that he remembered what had happened and he sat bolt upright, clutching his head as a flash of pain struck behind his eyes.
"What happened? Where's Relena?" He asked, trying to look around through the headache. He was in his own chambers.
Ritara grimaced, folding her hands in her lap. "She's being held elsewhere." She said, shortly, a note of anger in her voice. "She is not what you should be worrying about."
He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off with a sharp motion of her hand.
"Don't speak again until I am finished." She said, curtly, glaring at him. "This evening I was quietly relaxing in my chambers when I was suddenly summoned by the empress. When I got there, she pacing the room like a caged animal and she was very angry. Can you imagine why, Gharial?" She didn't let him answer. "She was angry because one of her own Mages had been caught dancing with the enemy!" She abruptly bounded to her feet, her voice rough with anger and stress. "Well, since I knew nothing of all this I did what I could to control it. I told her that it was all part of your plan. That you had been trying to get close to this Rena Bladeheart with the intent of eliminating her. Luckily, she believed me, though you can bet that Takuya is ready to send a stray energy blast your way and claim it was an accident. I don't have to tell you that I am disappointed in you, Gharial, and now I have aligned myself with you. If you fall, so will I." She sank back into her chair, anger replaced with defeat. She looked down at the floor. "I don't pretend to understand what is going on here, Gharial, and I can't protect you forever. I may have deterred her for now, but the empress isn't stupid, and Takuya does not like being made a fool of." She paused, and he leaned forward to touch her hand.
"Something else is bothering you."
She gave a funny little laugh. "Like I don't have enough to worry about." She took a deep breath. "Kagetsu has...taken an interest...in all this."
He frowned, his mind slipping into Perfect Soldier mode. Why would the the last of the Mages be interested in what he was doing? And why did he have the feeling his mother still wasn't telling him everything?
"Gharial," She said, learning towards him earnestly. "Please tell me what is going on. You are my son and I care about you." She touched his temple gently, her magic instantly easing the pain in his head. "You may be human but I was the first thing you saw when you awakened. Can you tell me, please?"
He offered her a half-smile, feeling a strange warmness in his heart at her caring about him. "I trust you, mother." His smile faded. "Mother, when you found me you said that I was barely alive and that, to save my life, you altered my genetic code with that of yours. You did it because you are the most brillant of the Mages and you had promised the empress you would make a weapon for her. As it turned out, you did. I awakened with all the powers of an A'rateken Battle Mage, the ability to tap into a planet's energy for myself, but I also had the heart and soul of a human. Mother, my memories have come back. From the moment I first met Rena Bladeheart on the battlefield I knew that we were connected. As fate would have it, she is my love from my past life. I remember her, and my past with her. She was my reason for living, and still is. So you see, I can't destroy her. I know it was my mission. But I can't, I won't destroy the only thing that means anything to me."
Mission: Denied.
Ritara took a shuddering breath. "Gharial, I realize now that I was foolish to believe that the A'rateken blood in you would shape you into a weapon for the empress. Yes it made you stronger, more powerful, but your human feelings will always keep you from becoming what the empress." She attempted a small smile. "For that, I am grateful for your human flaws. They will be your protection."
He stayed silent, waiting for her to spill what she was keeping from him. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her gaze to her lap again.
"Gharial, at the festival, you protected Rena and yourself enough that you were only affected by the backlash of your shield shattering." She continued, slowly. "Takuya had the both of you brought back here, and then there was the meeting I told you about. I managed to keep you safe but Takuya has imprisoned Rena in the newly finished dungeons beneath the castle."
Heero growled low in his throat and stood quickly, the bedsheets quickly falling away. Ritara stood with him, standing up on tiptoe to place urgent hands on his shoulders. He looked down at her, not bothering to leash the anger in his eyes. She didn't flinch away, knowing it wasn't directed at her.
"Gharial, you must listen to me. Takuya will kill you if you try and save her. He has the advantage of being a Mage for more than a hundred years. He knows his strengths, and his weaknesses. And if you even appear to be sympathic towards this Bladeheart rebel...well, you will not be able to escape being branded a traitor."
"Have faith in your creation. I am not so easy to kill."
"But--"
"I must go." He pulled away from her grip and grabbed the twin swords from their place on the wall. He hefted the strap over his shoulder, letting the familiar weight calm his soul. With these he would live up to his name. Gharial. Double-edged.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hilde? Wake up, babe. Come on, open your eyes."
Hilde shifted away from the voice. Why couldn't she just lie still and feel sorry for herself? Her whole body felt bruised and battered and her head pounded where she had hit it when she fell.
"Hilde, please, I know you can hear me."
Groaning, her eyes fluttered open in spite of herself. She blinked wearily as she focused on Duo's drawn face. He gave her a bright smile and squeezed her hand.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty."
She tried to smile but found she hurt too much. "What happened?" She asked, raising herself up on one elbow, Duo's hand on her back to steady her. She remembered a scream and then a flare of pain has something hard had connected with her lower back. She must have hit her head when she fell, causing her to slip into unconsiscousness.
Duo grimaced. "We were attacked. The A'rateken must have been just waiting for us to gather together like this." He hesitated and she gripped his hand.
"Duo, what's wrong?"
"Rena was taken, as well as Heero."
Hilde tried to rise, fear for her friend and leader giving her strength, but Duo pulled her back down to him. She looked to him, confused.
"Duo, we have to--"
"I know, but first we need to get everyone back to hideout. We need a plan."
She nodded, and for the first time, looked at the destruction around them. The festival had been obliterated and she noticed that there had many casualities. She put a hand over her mouth in shock, realizing that not all of those bodies were adults. Grief welled up in her along with the burning hatred that had spurred her interest in the rebellion. She would not let them get away with this. They would pay for what they had done, to her friends, and to the people that had depended on them for hope. The A'rateken would regret this night.
Duo watched her quietly before pulling her gently to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her standing.
"The others are alive, slightly worse for wear, but alive." He said, gazing around the battlefield. "Sally was the one who gave the alarm and she has a couple of cracked ribs. Wufei is with her but she won't rest until she gives medical attention to the survivors. He may have a couple of bruises but not one of the A'rateken swords touched him. Quatre wasn't here tonight and neither was Trowa." He managed one of his old grins. "Looks like you and me are the worst."
Hilde leaned back to look at him. He was disheveled, dirty, and his braid was coming undone. He had some minor scrapes but he was mostly favoring his right leg, the one he had taken a bullet in three years ago. She clutched his shirt, worry etched across her face.
"Are you all right? Do you need Sally?"
He laughed and tightened his arm around her. "Don't worry about me, babe, the God of Death can take much more than this."
"Bring it on." She supplied for him, and he smiled.
"Exactly."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rena sat quietly in the middle of her cell, ignoring the damp darkness and the cold stone floor beneath her. She breathed quietly, trying not to agravate the whip lashes down her back. Her summer dress had been shredded by the heated laser of her own weapon, wielded expertly in the hands of Takuya who had seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. She hadn't been able to keep herself from crying out and it rankled in her that she had been unable to deny him that pleasure. She wondered what had happened to Heero. Surely they wouldn't kill him, would they? After all, he was still a Battle Mage, they wouldn't hurt one of their own, would they?
Stiflying a cry of pain, she shifted her weight slightly, trying to keep her legs from falling asleep. She worried about Heero but she worried more for the others at the festival. Heero could handle anything, he was, after all, half A'rateken, but the others had no such powers, and she knew the brutality of the A'rateken soldiers, especially if they had been spurred on by Takuya. She just hoped the others were alright.
"Contemplating your death, Rena Bladeheart?"
Rena jumped, immediantly wishing she hadn't as it pulled hurt muscles in her back. In front of her cell stood a man, an A'rateken, with long dark blue hair and slanted eyes the color of washed out sky. He wore a strange version of the A'rateken armor that was swirled with gold gilt. His face bore an unaffected expression and he was holding a crystal pendant out in front of him by the end of its chain with two fingers. She glowered at him.
"Kagetsu." She spat. Of the three Mages he would be the one to come for her. Takuya was bloodthirsty and jealous of his place with the empress. He did anything to get more power. Ritara was the most intelligent of the three, and she did little actual fighting, preferring her lab over the blood soaked battle grounds. But Kagetsu...he was different. Worse. He was cold, calculating, never distracted by what little emotions A'rateken were capable of feeling. She could see a little of Heero in him...and that frightened her. In battle, he would be the hardest to beat.
"What do you want?" She asked, her voice low, her eyes flashing silver, heralding the awakening of Bladeheart. Kagetsu gave a one shoulder shrug, swinging the pendant a little.
"I wanted to show you something." He said, and abruptly threw the necklace to her. She caught it by reflex and the minute it touched her skin, the transparent crystal swirled with colors. She blinked in the bright light emitting from it, and bent closer to examing the pendant. There was something...in it...
There.
Inside the crystal, a tiny blue green earth revolved in silence, the beauty of the planet reflected in the silver glow. Her eyes grew wide at this tiny marvel and she felt herself...changing. The silver left her eyes and became the dark blue of Relena Peacecraft. Her skin tingled and she felt a light breeze whisper through her hair, and...
With a violent cry she threw the crystal away from her. The crystal died as soon as it left her and rolled to a deceptively innocent stop at Kagetsu's feet. She was breathing heavily, realizing that something had almost happened. Something had almost...
Shaking, she drew her knees to her chest, gazing at the crystal with fear. Kagetsu laughed lightly and reached down to pick it up, holding it loosely in his fist. He looked at her with something close to humor.
"Who would have thought?" He asked, almost to himself, a faint smile on his lips. "Who would have thought that the very thing we were looking for was the one thing we wanted to destroy?" He smirked. "You can feel it, can't you? The power of this planet. The power...and pain." He laughed again. "It is you. You are the one."
She drew in on herself at the look in his eye. "What do you mean?" Her voice was the whisper of a child.
He replied only with more mystery.
"Who ever posesses the key, can control the planet."
And he looked almost hungrily at her. She closed her eyes.
~Heero, please hurry.~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Duo, general of the rebellion, ex gundam pilot, and the Shinigami, locked gazes with each of his fellow rebels, judging their reactions to his proposal. Everyone of them met his gaze and there was no fear in their eyes. They were ready, ready to fight again, for themselves, and for the entire earth sphere. For Rena. Hilde nodded once to him and he nodded back. This was it.
He stood, his chair scraping back, and proceed to announce the very thing that would save them, or kill them all.
"Then it is decided. Tomorrow we bring war to the A'rateken. Tomorrow, we begin the seige of the Sank palace."
tbc...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, how was it? Answer any questions? I'm slowly getting around to explaining everything so don't lose faith! Hey, Blue Angel, how did you like it? You've got pretty good instincts! A BIG thank you to everyone who reviews, I take everything you say to heart and I love it when you tell me what you like, that way I can write more of it! Another thankyou to Jason M. Lee who's reviews always crack me up! *smiles* Anyways, the fic will be getting more AU-ish, I guess, in relation to the A'rateken magic and the key, not too much, but some. I'm also going to start wrapping it up but the last battle will last several chapters so don't worry!
Stay tuned for: First Sparks (be prepared for some good fight scenes)
please review! *hugs*