Disclaimer: The Sorcerer Hunters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own entertainment. Again, if any of the SH characters are OOC, it's because it suited the story. Ari and Reven are mine, by the way.

All hail Sweetgrass for beta-reading this for me. I'd bow down and praise you, but I'll hit my head on the keyboard. ^_^ You have my eternal gratitude.

Wrong Turns

Part Two: Gateau

Gateau shifted restlessly on the soft bed. He wondered idly what time it was, but then decided it didn't matter since it was probably well past midnight by now. Tira's healing magic had done wonders for his burns, but he could still feel the residual heat trapped beneath his skin, and he ached so badly all over that he hadn't been able to sleep.

Thoughts of Tira inevitably lead to thoughts of how Marron was doing. The big man sincerely hoped that the mage was asleep and dreaming peacefully of anything but what had happened a few days ago, but he figured that the effort was wasted. Marron had not taken it very well. Not that Gateau blamed him.

Carrot. That stupid, unbeautiful dolt. It still hurt to think about it, and he felt a strong pang of sympathy for Marron, who had lost his beloved older brother right before his eyes. And all Gateau had been able to do for Marron was to pull him out of the burning castle, even though he knew that the mage would have preferred to die there.

Damn that stupid girl! If only she hadn't popped out from wherever she'd been hiding, this wouldn't have happened. If only he had been paying more attention to Marron instead of Tira and Chocolate, who could take care of themselves. If only he'd been faster when he heard Marron cry out, maybe he could have done something.

But he'd been across the room, assuming that Marron could handle anything that Peach threw at him. After all, every time that Carrot was in danger, Marron would go berserk and flatten the unlucky idiot threatening his brother. Gateau knew how deep the bonds between the two brothers were, and he had had personal experience with the agony of failing a sibling when she needed him the most. He'd gone through the same thing the day his parents had died and his sister Éclair had been kidnapped by Zaha Torte. He knew all too well the pain and despair that Marron was feeling.

If only that idiot – what's her name? Ari, that was it – hadn't shown up, Carrot would be alive. Marron wouldn't be pushing everyone away and wanting to die, Tira and Chocolate wouldn't look so empty and sad, and that girl-chasing dimwit would still be plaguing them all. Privately, Gateau decided that he would take Carrot's stupidity over the loss of light in everyone's eyes any day. Of course he'd never admit it, especially to Carrot. Well, he'd never get the chance now.

He'd wanted to kill Ari when he found out that she was the one who had prevented Marron from saving Carrot. He'd wanted to squeeze her scrawny neck and pound her body into dust, and he would have, if Mille Feuille hadn't stopped him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"She's just a woman!" the Haz Knight snapped, stepping in front of the wide-eyed girl protectively. "Leave her alone!"

"What the hell is your problem, Mille?" Gateau hissed back, his fists clenched. "Carrot is dead because of her!" He couldn't look at Marron, who had collapsed in an untidy heap, staring soullessly at the burning castle where what was left of his brother's body lay. It was beyond hope of retrieval now. Nor could he look at Tira, kneeling beside Marron, with her hands glowing as she healed the mage's physical wounds. And he definitely couldn't look at Chocolate, who stood with her back to them, her thin shoulders rigid with tension and her arms wrapped around her middle protectively. All three of them were still in shock, and none of them seemed to have heard his outburst.

Mille's amber eyes narrowed dangerously. "It wasn't her fault, Gateau."

"She fell on Marron. How can it not be her fault?" Tears were streaming down the girl's cheeks as she silently watched Gateau from over Mille's shoulder. His mind cried out in glee at that miserable expression, rejoicing in being able to hurt her after she had caused them all so much pain.

"You don't know her story. Don't be so quick to judge."

"Oh, and I suppose that you know it?" The big man was trembling from barely suppressed rage and the need to kill, so that Carrot's death could be avenged. A part of him knew this would never make Marron, himself or the others feel any less grief, but a larger part simply did not care.

Mille arched a slender eyebrow. "I'm hardly a mind reader, Gateau," he said gently. "I was going to ask, before you tried to attack her."

Snarling, Gateau turned away. His eyes automatically sought out Chocolate, and his lips thinned in a disapproving frown when he saw how badly she was shaking. She was always so strong; she never showed any amount of fear or weakness to her enemies, but the loss of the man she'd loved since childhood had left her vulnerable, exposed, and deeply, deeply wounded. Tira had been hit just as hard as her sister, and all she could do was sit near the nearly catatonic Marron, shivering.

"It's been a long time, Lady Ariyana," Mille said quietly, and Gateau winced at the mild tone he used with the foolish chit. "I wish this was under better circumstances."

Gateau stiffened. Wait a minute – how did Mille know this girl? He turned around again to watch them suspiciously. The girl – he could hardly think of her as a lady – was on her knees before the Haz Knight, crumpled in on herself in despair. Mille had knelt beside her and was tucking a stray strand of long brown hair behind her ear.

"Reven-sensei isn't here. Please don't call me that, Mille Feuille-san," the girl whispered miserably. "Not even Solano calls me that, and he gave me that name." Her small hands were fisted in her tunic, stretching and pulling at the fabric nervously.

A sad, tender smile curved Mille's lips. "Of course, Ari. Will you tell me what happened?"

Ari swallowed audibly. Tears continued in an unheeded stream down her pale, pale cheeks. "I got lost," she said at last, lowering her eyes. "I was traveling with Reven-sensei on the Paths, and we crossed an unstable part, and … "

"You were thrown off the Path?" Mille asked.

She nodded mutely, biting her lip.

"What path?" Gateau demanded, unable to keep silent any longer. "What are you talking about, and what does this have to do with … " His voice trailed off when Tira looked up at him wearily, and his throat closed at the utter exhaustion in the poor girl's expression.

Mille's amber eyes followed his gaze, and he sighed softly. "We can discuss this later, when we get to Mount Saint Hordic," he said, rising to his feet.

"No," Gateau said firmly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "We will discuss this now."

"I agree," Chocolate said coldly, finally turning around to face them. Her blue eyes were so very empty that it frightened Gateau. "I would like to hear this, if you don't mind." She turned to Ari, her expression still carefully blank. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you for taking my Darling away from me."

Gateau nodded in approval even though a cold shiver went up and down his spine at the elder Misu's words. Chocolate hadn't even sounded human. Her voice neither wavered nor broke. Her eyes remained dry, and her mouth pressed into a firm line of tension. She would do whatever she deemed necessary to allow Carrot's soul to rest in peace, and she was making damn sure that this girl knew it.

Ari got up on her knees, her face a mask of desperation and sorrow. "I can fix it," she gasped, reaching out to Chocolate with one hand in a silent plea. "If I can just get back to the Gate I came through, I can loop time, and make it so that this never happened!"

Chocolate stared at her in surprise. A little bit of the normal Chocolate crept back into her blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"No, Ari, it's too dangerous," Mille cut in. "The Paths are probably still unstable, the Gate is buried under the gods know how much wreckage, and the castle is still on fire. It has probably been destroyed by now."

"Please, Mille, I have to try," Ari whispered, slumping back to the ground. "This is all my fault, and I can't just – "

"No. The best thing you can do right now is to wait for Reven to find you." Mille held out a hand to Ari and helped her up. "And not one more word about it, Ari."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gateau frowned and settled his head against the pillow again. He'd retrieved it yet again from the floor, having decided for the second time that he really was more comfortable with it than without it. At the very least, it allowed him a brief respite from the uncomfortable thoughts he'd been having all night long.

Thinking about Ari and Carrot's death only made his insomnia worse. There was nothing that he could do about it anyway, nothing that he could say or do to make Marron or the girls feel better. Hell, there was nothing he could really do to make himself feel better, especially since Mille had taken Ari under his wing.

Then again, killing Ari wouldn't bring Carrot back. It wouldn't make Tira smile, or Chocolate laugh. Nor would it give Marron a reason to go on living.

And she'd said that it was possible to change the past so that it would never happen. If he killed her, he would never find out why she had said that, or even if it was true. He wondered why Mille was so against trying to find the door or gate or whatever the hell Ari had fallen through. It didn't sound that difficult, other than sifting through tons of rubble. Maybe she had some kind of magic seeking device that would help her find the door and tell them where to dig. That would make it a lot easier.

Gateau shifted again, rolling onto his side to face the wall. Maybe he'd have to ask her about it. It might be just the thing to bring Marron out of his catatonic state, maybe give him a little hope. Tira was getting very worried about the mage. She'd told Gateau that afternoon that Marron hadn't eaten much of anything for two days, and that she might need his help to make him eat.

It was time to face the facts: he was not going to get any sleep tonight. As long as he was up and brooding over what to do with his friend, he might as well go check on him. Just to make sure that he didn't need anything, that he was sleeping all right – if at all.

Sighing, he threw the covers off and stood up, ignoring the protests of damaged muscles. He pulled on the shirt and loose pants he'd left lying on the floor and padded on bare feet into the hallway.

Surprisingly, he saw the gleam of candlelight underneath Marron's door. As he drew closer he could hear the mage's voice, speaking in a hushed, intense tone. A woman's voice answered him after a moment. Gateau paused just outside the door, listening intently. He assumed that Tira had had the same idea and had gone to check on Marron too. Perhaps he had felt like talking, which was a good sign.

"Tell me about these Paths," Marron was saying.

It wasn't Tira. It was Ari. Gateau's fists clenched, and he took one step toward the door, a thin red haze clouding his vision. Couldn't she leave well enough alone? Why was she bothering poor Marron in the middle of the night? And why was he talking to her when he wouldn't speak to his friends, damn it!

"They're like silver spider webs," Ari replied quietly. "They connect the worlds so that Reven-sensei and the others like him can travel between them. They are labyrinths, with many twists and turns and Gates into the worlds. Since there are an infinite number of worlds, there are an infinite number of Paths, which makes finding your way quite impossible without a map."

In spite of himself, Gateau was intrigued by her answer. He paused to listen with his hand inches from the doorknob.

"Why are the worlds connected? I don't understand."

"Reven-sensei said that the gods who made the worlds wanted to be able to visit them freely, so they made the Paths," Ari said shyly. "And then they chose powerful Guardians to watch over them so that those who accidentally wander onto the Paths do not become lost forever."

"Then your sensei is one of these Guardians?" Marron asked. There was a brief silence in which she might have nodded. The mage continued: "How can you use the Paths to change the past?"

Trust Marron to ask the right questions. Gateau smiled to himself and leaned forward to catch Ari's next words.

"It's not the Paths themselves; it's actually the Gate I came through that I will use," she corrected. "You see, the Gates allow travelers to enter into any time period that they wish to visit, but only if the traveler knows how to use a Gate. There are certain colors and patterns in the flow of the Gate that indicate where in time one will end up if one walks through it. Usually it's random, but Reven-sensei taught me how to arrange them into the right patterns."

"So if you go through the Gate into this world before my brother was killed … " Marron's voice trailed off. "Since you can't be in two places at once, you won't fall through the Gate, and Niisan won't die."

"Yes," Ari said wearily. "And then I can go home."

"I thought you said you were lost," Gateau spoke up, opening the door.

Ari jumped, startled by the big man's sudden appearance, but Marron just turned to look at him with that annoyingly blank expression he always got whenever Gateau stripped to show off his muscles. It was amazing how much that could hurt, coming from Marron.

"I have a map," Ari was saying, but Gateau wasn't looking at her. "I've been studying it, and I think I can find my way back home now."

Now Gateau managed to tear his eyes away from the worn out mage to the girl kneeling in front of him. "It's late," he said brusquely. "You should be in bed."

"It's all right, Gateau," Marron murmured, placing a slim hand on Ari's as she started to stand up. "I want her here."

Gateau flinched, but couldn't think of anything to say to that. The most horrible thing imaginable had happened to Marron, and he had sought this … this girl's presence instead of one of his oldest friends. That cut more deeply than any harsh words from the mage's lips.

To make matters worse, Ari seemed to notice Gateau's discomfort, for she placed her other hand on top of Marron's to get his attention. "He's right. We should get some sleep. I can tell you more of what you wish to know tomorrow."

Damn it, he didn't need her pity! "When are you leaving?" Gateau asked as if his heart had not just been torn out of his chest.

Marron turned to him, but his golden eyes weren't completely focused, and that, more than anything else, truly weirded Gateau out. "We will rest tomorrow, and then set out the day after that," he said.

This was more than just simple exhaustion. There was something seriously wrong with the beautiful black-haired mage. Ari evidently saw it too: she was frowning at him. She even glanced at Gateau as if she wanted to say something, but luckily, she kept her mouth shut.

"Fine," Gateau heard himself saying. "I'm going with you. And that's final."

Marron opened his mouth to make the expected protest, but then abruptly shut it again. "As you wish," he replied with a slight shrug. His tone implied that Gateau was being a spoiled brat, wanting to tag along on an ordinary errand because he couldn't bear to be separated from Marron for even a moment. "Good night, Gateau."

"Good night, Marron. Ari," he nodded at the girl. He knew a dismissal when he heard one, and wasted little time in exiting the room. At least he could take pride in the fact that he hadn't broken down in front of them, and his hand barely shook as he closed the door softly behind him.

Gateau stood for a few minutes in the hallway, furiously blinking back traitor tears and breathing deeply to regain control over his emotions. Then, knowing that sleep would be utterly impossible now, he turned and walked away from Marron's door. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well go sit out in the garden for a while. He needed the fresh air anyway.

To be continued …

Author's Notes: I know, I know, I was very brutal to poor Gateau. That's probably why this took me so long. I'm not going to be nice to anyone in here for a while. There is a reason for it, however, which I will be getting to shortly. Marron's part wrote itself, practically, but I had more trouble with this one, so any feedback with suggestions would be highly appreciated, even if you think I'm doing okay so far.

And if you happen to see an error, whether in the plot, grammar, spelling, or whatever, please, please, please, PLEASE point it out! Feedback is highly appreciated, especially if it'll help me improve my writing.

Anyway, I apologize to those of you who dislike it when authors individually thank their reviewers, but I'm going to do it anyway. You don't have to read this part, of course. ^_^

BluePard: Thank you for all of your glowing praise! ^_^ I shall try my best to live up to your expectations. I like this story a lot more than I ever liked Fox Hunt, which gives me more of an incentive to do better on this one. I just liked the image of demented ballerinas (graceful, yet deadly), and, ah, the Carrot-unicorn thing … well, let's just say that it sounded better than a plain old horse. ^_^ Even a rabid plain old horse.

Sweetgrass: Thank you again for letting me take advantage of your editorial skills! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. ^_^

Mothra: Thank you! Aren't you glad I took your advice? ^_^ Sorry I made you wait so long for this.

Fala: Thank you! I'm so glad you like it so far. ^_^ I have read volume six of the SH manga (the Kengyu Kiba chapter is one of my absolute favorites), and I agree: Marron is very good at death-glares. As I'm sure that you noticed in this chapter (and you'll see where I'm going with it in future chapters), Marron is not exactly himself, which is why he's acting this way. I don't want to give too much away, so just stick with me on this one. ^_^ Don't worry, more is on the way.

Amanda: Thank you! Brotherly angst makes this series so much fun to play with. ^_^

Thanks to everyone for reading!

~ Lady Cianyin ~