Mysterious Waltz
Part 5

"Quatre! You can't fight him!" Duo raced forward as Quatre stepped out of the cage but the door swung back in her face, responding to the man in armor simply waving his hand. Quatre swallowed hard at the sound of metal crashing against metal but he did not look back toward Duo. Instead he focused all his attention on the armored man and tried to calm his fear, or at least hide it behind a mask of courage.

"This isn't a fair fight and you know it!" Duo growled as she clutched the bars.

The man ignored her and turned his attention to Quatre. Reaching to his belt he pulled out his other sword and tossed it to the ground at Quatre's feet. Quatre eyed the blade timidly, then slowly reached down and picked it up, struggling with its weight. He'd never held a sword before and now all he could do was wish he had taken up the chance to be in the fencing club at school, but it was a little late for that now. Gripping the sword's hilt with both hands he raised it in defense and watched the man silently, his brows knit with determination.

"Show me the power of Suzaku and you shall live, that is all you need to know." The man unsheathed his own sword and raced forward, swinging in long but precise arcs.

Quatre brought up his sword to block and the two lengths of metal slammed into each other with such force he almost dropped his sword. Quatre stumbled backward and gripped the sword until his knuckles went white, trying with all his might to keep hold of the sword despite the protest of his aching arms. Taking a deep breath he crouched to the ground and scurried along the floor, away from the man and his blade, to the other side of the room, near Hilde's cell. Quickly he stood back up again and whirled around to face the armored man.

Not a moment too soon since the man was already moving and charging for him, sword headed straight for Quatre's chest. Biting his lip Quatre swung his own sword upward and once again the two blades met with a loud clang.

Duo stood silently in the cell, her hands gripping the bars as she watched. For a young kid who obviously had never picked up a sword or started a fight before in his life Quatre was actually doing a pretty good job. Granted every single move he made was in defense but still, that was better then being impaled on the nameless man's sword. Much better. But why wasn't the power of Suzaku aiding him?

She'd heard from Heero that the power of Suzaku had flared up when he'd attacked the boy… and it had also appeared in the alley when he was in danger. So that would lead one to believe that the power only appeared when Quatre's life was in danger. Well it was certainly in danger now so why wasn't anything happening? Was this danger not threatening enough?! Duo growled quietly in frustration. Why was it that magical powers always acted like a being of their own? They were never there to help when you needed them!

Beyond Duo Quatre was still holding his own, barely. His arms now shuddered every time the blades met and it was obvious he was having trouble holding onto his sword. Sweat beaded down his face and his movements were slow, not to mention that his bangs had become soaked with sweat and were now hanging down over his eyes, obscuring his view. But he couldn't afford to let go of the sword and brush them away.

The armored man swung his blade forward, moving it swiftly under Quatre's block and connecting the blade with the hilt just above Quatre's fingers. The blade soared into the air with a loud clang and sailed straight into Duo's cell, imbedding itself in the wall. Duo's eyes widened in fear as the blade swept past her face but she didn't move. Quatre had lost his weapon, and still the power of Suzaku hadn't appeared.

"Oh man…" Duo whispered in fear. She knew what was coming next!

Quatre stumbled backward and landed on the ground, his eyes locking with his attacker. He'd lost his sword, not that he would have been able to hold on to it much longer anyway, but he felt surprisingly naked without it. Mostly it was because he knew what was going to happen next. That strange red light hadn't appeared, which meant that he and Duo were dead. All this man had to do was swing his blade and…

"It appears that you are not the Priest of Suzaku after all," the man murmured quietly. Was that a look of disappointment on his face? "I have no further need of you." The man raised his sword and swung it straight for Quatre's neck.

Quatre gave a small cry and cringed on the floor, wrapping his arms around himself in a feeble attempt to block the sword. The blade swung in near his body then, suddenly, the world around him flared red. The man's sword was ripped right out of his grasp and thrown against the back wall near the door to the cell room, where it shattered into millions of small glittering pieces. Quatre sat up in surprise, his mouth hanging open, as the flames danced around his body for a moment more and then dropped away into nothing.

"Yes!" Duo shouted in relief.

The man glanced from Quatre to the shattered sword behind him, his expression guarded. Wasting no time he moved forward and punched Quatre hard in the stomach, knocking the air from his chest. Grabbing Quatre's shoulder, he pulled the boy to his feet and stalked over to a new cell. Yanking the door open he tossed Quatre in. Quatre landed against the wall with a cry as he slammed the door shut. Without another word he headed for the door to leave.

"Hey! Wait a minute! You said if he was the Priest of Suzaku you'd let us go!"

The man turned a devious smile on Duo, the kind that would make a person's skin crawl with disgust. "I recall saying I would let you live, not that I would let you go. You still have some use to me, it seems. After all, even if he is the Priest of Suzaku he did not win the fight nor did he earn your freedom."

"You bastard," Duo hissed.

The man merely shrugged off the insult and exited the room, locking the door securely behind him.

After spitting in the man's general direction Duo moved to the side of her cell and peered across the way to Quatre's new cell, which was next to Hilde's. Quatre lay in the corner, coughing and holding his chest as he struggled to breathe again.

"Quatre… are you all right?"

Quatre coughed loudly once more and groaned, wrapping his arms around his body and his face contorting in pain. But he gave a slow nod and offered a very small smile in Duo's direction before dropping into a fit of coughs again.

From in her cell Hilde moved out of the shadows and reached through the bars, placing a comforting hand on Quatre's sweat-covered forehead. Quatre offered her a small smile of thanks and just laid there on the cold floor, resting his aching body and throbbing arms.

"We're going to get out of here," Duo muttered angrily as she walked over and grasped the sword lodged into the wall of her cell. Emitting a cry she pulled with all her might, yet the blade didn't give way. "I'm still working on the 'how' part, but don't worry, I'm sure I'll come up with something… uhhh… within the hour." Duo dropped back to the ground and rested her head on her fist as she thought.

"Thanks… Duo…" Quatre whispered quietly.

Hilde leaned up against the bars of her cell. "Am I… included in this escape plan?" She asked quietly.

Quatre nodded, and then grabbed his head, wishing he hadn't, though he recovered quickly. "Yeah, I'm not leaving you here with that man."

"What?" Duo sat up and looked at the two. "Wait one second, Quatre, we don't even know her! We don't even know if we can trust her!"

Quatre fixed his eyes on Duo and he frowned. "You want to leave her in here?" He asked. "I don't."

"But we… but she…" Duo gave a sigh of frustration. "All right fine, but at least tell us why you're in here, ojo-san."

Hilde shrugged. "I'm not sure, they never told me. The Kuto warriors just charged into my house one day and threw me in here, without any explanation."

"They had to have locked you away for something." Quatre moaned softly as he forced himself into a sitting position and looked at Hilde. "I don't know, maybe something about your family or a rumor…"

"Well," Hilde paused and glanced away.

"Well what?" Duo prompted, less then politely. "You steal something? Knock someone off? Insult that bastard's mother?"

"Not really…" Hilde sighed and hugged her knees. "There was a rumor. One about me having a symbol on my body."

Quatre's eyes went wide and he moved toward the bars separating their two cells. "A symbol?"

Hilde shook her head. "It's not my fault! I have no idea what the thing is, it just… appears! And I can't get rid of it when it does!"

"What does it look like?"

Hilde frowned deeply and closed her eyes tightly in concentration. For a moment nothing happened then a small red light appeared on her forehead. It faded in and out for a second then suddenly blazed brightly, lighting up the room with an eerie red light. Quatre leaned forward. He frowned.

"I don't recognize it… no wait. It's Virgo, the maiden."

Hilde exhaled and the symbol faded away as she opened her eyes. "It sometimes appears when I want it to and always when I get angry. Otherwise I can't control it. It never disappears when I tell it to… what are you smiling at?" She frowned in Quatre's direction as she noticed the large smile forming on his face.

"You're one of the Suzaku warriors!" Quatre said happily. He turned to Duo. "How many warriors are there supposed to be, Duo?"

Duo thought for a moment. "Five, I think. Five warriors for each god…" She trailed off and glanced back at Hilde in wonder.

"Then that means we're only missing one! She's one of the Suzaku warriors and there's only one more for me to find and then I can-"

"Whoa! Take it easy, Q-man! But yeah, if she has the symbol she's one of us."

"Now we just have to find a way out of here." Quatre declared with a grin.

"Perhaps I can help with that."

All three heads turned toward the door to find it open and the Emperor of Konan watching them, dressed in dark robes. In his hand he held a large ring of keys.

"Heero-sama!" Duo cried with a bright grin.

"Shut up, baka. You'll get us caught." Heero glared toward Duo and moved into the room silently, unlocking the doors to both Duo's and Quatre's cells. Duo immediately moved toward Quatre's cell and helped the boy to his feet, letting him lean on her shoulder.

"Um, Heero, let her out too." Quatre nodded toward Hilde who watched them quietly from her cell.

Heero raised an eyebrow in question, but doesn't comment. Instead he moved forward and unlocked her cell, figuring there would be time for questions later when they were safely back in Konan.

"Let's get out of here," Duo murmured and they all followed Heero toward the door.

Heero led them through the halls of the palace with complete silence, his eyes traveling the halls and on the watch for any sign of movement. He hadn't attacked any of the guards on the way in, knowing it would clue them in to intruders, and as a result they had to be extra careful not to be seen. Yet they didn't have far to go and there was a set of horses waiting for them in an empty alley just beside the Kuto palace walls so they shouldn't have much of a trouble getting away. Granted Hilde would have to share a horse with someone, and that might slow them down, but not enough to be worried about.

As they moved silently Quatre eventually let go of Duo, electing to walk on his own so they could move faster. Rounding a corner he happened to notice a door which was slightly ajar. They passed by and he glanced in, and stopped cold. Blinking he looked again, not believing his eyes.

"Quatre!" Duo hissed harshly as she noticed him stop at the door.

Quatre just ignored her and continued to watch the two figures in the room. "Trowa?" he whispered under his breath.

By now Heero and Hilde had stopped as well. Duo moved toward Quatre and seized his arm, meaning to pull him away from the door. But Quatre yanked his arm away and, as a result, lost his balance. Tumbling forward he hit the door and caused it to slide wide open, revealing the room beyond.

It was a barren room of worship; all the walls painted in dark blues with no decorations or sources of light save for a single candle lit at the table where the two men sat. One was the man Quatre had fought against, and lost against, before dressed in his deep blue-scaled armor. The other was Trowa, dressed in a simple set of blue and green robes. As the door swung open Trowa jumped to his feet in surprise and whirled around.

"Quatre?" He asked in surprise.

"K'so!" Duo swore, her eyes meeting with the armored man from before, who was thankfully too stunned to react. Racing forward she grabbed Quatre and shoved him back toward Heero and Hilde, moving forward to protect him.

The man's eyes narrowed. "It appears I was unwise to have left him alone."

Heero glared. "Duo!" He shouted then, grabbing Quatre, he raced down the hall as fast as he could, Hilde following close behind. Duo took the hint and raced after them, pushing away her anger and urge for revenge for another time. Quatre struggled against Heero's tight grip on his hand the whole time, looking back over his shoulder toward Trowa.

"Trowa!" Quatre cried out in protest.

"Forget him," Heero snarled as they stopped near a window and he pulled the Priest of Suzaku with him on to the ledge. Not giving Quatre a chance to protest again he pulled him out the window. Hilde jumped out behind them and was soon followed by Duo.

Trowa and the armored man raced to the window and made it there just in time to see them jump onto their horses and take off into he night. The armored man immediately called out to guards, ordering them to follow in pursuit.

Trowa just stood at the window, confused, watching the place where they'd disappeared.

"Quatre," he whispered quietly.

**

Quatre - the Priest of Suzaku
Trowa - a boy sucked into the book with Quatre, he is staying in Kuto
Heero - Emperor of Konan, a Suzaku warrior
Duo - a female in Heero's harem, also a Suzaku warrior
Relena - another female in Heero's harem, also a Suzaku warrior
Zechs - the mysterious man who saved Trowa from slave traders
Catherine - Trowa's twin sister, she is reading the Universe of the Four Gods
Hilde - a Suzaku warrior who was trapped in the Kuto palace, but escaped with the others