Standard disclaimers apply—none of this belongs to me, except for the plot and idea. All characters, except for ones of my own creation, belong to the wonderful and life-saving people who created the show.
Warnings—Swearing, AU, some OOC, homosexuality, supernatural elements
Note: Hai, hai, I KNOW it's been a long time! I'm so sorry for the wait, too. I'm almost done Nightmares and Dreamscapes/Where Shadows Lie (now under my Sadistic Cow pen name), but I've got writer's block on it at the moment. And, after reading the reviews (and drinking half my bottle of Fireball, ooohhh boy, am I plastered O_o) I got some inspiration for this story. I'm typing like a damn maniac right now guys, it's incredible. It's like, flowing out of me! Haha! Well anyway, I might have lost the mood or whatever for this fic but since a few of you really seemed to like it, after all this time I'm writing another chapter. I can't quite remember where I was going with it in the first place, but oh well. I'll just…go with the flow, or whatever comes to me. Hehe.
Oh, this chapter is dedicated partly to that dude who reviewed and basically said how I wrote Wufei sucked. Yo, I KNOW how complicated he is, but if YOU had been woken up at what, 1 in the morning? You'd be pretty pissy too. So there. I get pissy when I've been woken up, so I think Wufei would too. 'Sides, he's got a lot on his mind, what with the war and all. He's cranky. ^_^
Okay, umm…well that's it for now. Hope y'all like this new chapter.
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"The Magic is in me—the Magic is in me. It's in every one of us."
The Secret Garden; Frances Hodgson Burnett
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The city that's born of nerve and steam,
The city that queens the inland sea,
Lay under the sky with a flash and a gleam—
A something wonderful fair to see;
And guests come in by lake and stream
To see another Midsummer Dream.
Colours flashed in the glowing light,
And colour ran on each brilliant street,
And music thrilled through each beaming night
And lightened the fall of ten thousand feet;
And voices ran in a flood-tide strong
That sounded afar like a charmed song.
The hill was proud of the light-lit bay,
And the bay was proud of the lordly hill,
And both were proud of the town that lay
Locked in their embrace fond and still;
And Venice was never as fair as she,
That glowed on the shores of the summer sea.
Her sons come home from far-off lands,
And, beaming, looked on her splendid face;
She welcomed them back as she took their hands
With a mother's love and queenly grace
They felt as they saw her beauty there
None other was half so fond and fair.
—The Khan
A poetic tribute to Hamilton, circa 1890
Falling Into Hell
Part III
Written by Azreal
pippin_elf@yahoo.com
There was a deep rumbling under the surface of the earth, a trembling that was barely discernable due to the thundering hoofs of thousands of horses charging across the fields and marching through the city. Flames roared, adding to the chaotic sound of the screaming townsmen as women and children rushed inside their homes to avoid being trampled by the army passing through. However, their rush to escape was in vain: the soldiers followed them into their homes, slaughtering them without second thought.
Laughing and screaming blended together to create a maelstrom of horrific sound, and that was what Wufei found himself surrounded by when he fell from the sky. He fell fast and furiously toward the earth, his bedclothes flapping wildly as he plummeted down, down into the flames of what looked to be hell. Perhaps it was dumb luck that caused him to fall into a thick haystack that, as of yet, had not been burnt, or perhaps it was destiny. The Chinese boy didn't know, but for whatever reason he fell into it, he was eternally grateful.
Rolling into the very center of the haystack, feeling little bits of hay stabbing at him and itching, Wufei shook his head violently, clearing it from the terror he had felt moments before. He shook and he shuddered, his eyes as wide as saucers as he lay still for a moment in the middle of the soft substance that saved him from an untimely death. He gasped for breath and lay on his back, staring at the gold-brown hay that covered him in a thick layer, his heart thudding almost painfully in his chest.
"What…what…" He didn't seem to notice that no one was there to listen to him. "What the…what in the hell was that?"
Slowly, still in shock, he looked around him. Noticing that he was surrounded by hay, the young pilot of Shenlong began to crawl out from the middle of the haystack, his eyes still bulging and large, his hands still trembling like reeds in the wind. Dimly, he felt the earth vibrating as though in time with his thundering heart, and as he emerged from the layers of hay he came upon a horrible sight.
Bodies, everywhere…corpses strewn this way and that, bloodied and mutilated. Townsmen, women and children unjustly slaughtered, their bodies laying broken in the streets of stone and grain, as buildings burned to ash and lightning licked across the sky. He saw people hung from lampposts, their necks broken and tongues lolling out; he saw children with their insides ripped out and tossed across the pavement; he saw animals, women and young ones trampled to pulps by larger creatures, hoof prints left in their soft flesh and bloodying the streets.
Bile rose in his throat as Wufei's nose picked up the scent of burnt flesh and dead, rotting bodies. He nearly gagged as the stench, and the horror that he saw before him; he covered his mouth with one hand and turned away, his mind screaming at him. 'What is going on? What's happened? Where am I? Where are the others?'
He didn't see when a young boy, red-haired and thinner than a tree-frog, ran up behind him. He only felt when the boy grabbed his shoulder, causing him to spin around in surprise. Wufei's hand sprung to his sword reflexively, but he froze when the boy's eyes widened and he stepped back.
"Who…who are you?" Wufei demanded, his voice tight and clipped, fearful.
The boy swallowed. "You…you look like you need some help, sir," he said, almost timidly. "There are soldiers in the streets and it's not safe for any of us!"
Wufei's eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "Soldiers?" he asked, his voice low. The boy nodded.
"Aye, soldiers," he replied, rubbing his arms as though he were cold. "Soldiers of Helfast, land to the West of us. They're trying to take us over…well they have already, but some of us managed to escape and we've got a bit of a resistance going on and…" Voices caught the boy's attention, and his eyes grew even wider. Turning back to Wufei, he gave the older boy a terrified look. "If we stay here we're as good as dead!" he whispered. "Please, don't ask questions!" he added as Wufei opened his mouth. "Trust me!"
Wufei's eyes narrowed for a moment, but he nodded. "Very well," he said. "I will trust you."
The boy smiled. "Thank you."
The Chinese pilot scowled a bit. "No time for thanks, boy. Just get us out of here!"
Grabbing Wufei's hand tightly, the boy pulled him into an alleyway and began to run down it, with Wufei at his heels. They dashed away as fast as they could, and as far as Wufei knew they weren't being followed.
Flames created dancing shadows on the walls, and if he had looked he would have seen many more dark shadows following them, flickering in and out of existence.
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Trowa jumped back as a sword smashed into the ground, right where he would have been if he hadn't sensed the attack in time. His green eyes widened as he saw a ten-foot tall, ugly brute that reminded him of an ogre raise the sword again; growling at him as it took a lumbering step forward.
The pilot of Heavyarms opened his mouth to let out a shattering scream, but it was frozen by the sound of a gunshot roaring in the night. His eyes widened as he turned, spotting Heero standing a few feet away, his dark blue eyes as wide as Trowa's as they stared at each other. The ogre creature fell to the ground with a moaning grunt, dropping the sword at Trowa's feet and letting it clatter as it slid toward the tall boy.
Trowa and Heero both shared a look of distress and fear. "What happened?" Heero demanded, almost running toward the Heavyarms pilot in his haste to be close to something familiar.
"I don't know." Trowa took in a deep, shuddering breath. "All I remember…is falling, and grabbing onto a tree branch. The branch broke…and I fell to the ground…but I landed in a pile of leaves. And then this…this THING attacked me."
Heero also shuddered. "I fell on top of a creature like this," he replied. "I think I might have broken its neck when I landed on it." Trowa snorted.
"Lucky for you, it didn't have time to try and eat you," he replied blandly. "I believe this one wanted to take a chunk out of my entrails."
"Lucky for YOU, I came in time to stop it," the Japanese pilot retorted.
There was a long pause for a moment as the two boys looked at their surroundings. It appeared they were in a dark forest; dead trees with crooked, sharp-looking branches surrounded them in a thick cluster. There didn't seem to be any sign of real life; all the plants were dead, the ground was gray and cracked, the trees looked like hungry beasts reaching out to grasp at them with clawed fingers, the everywhere they looked were shadows.
"Where do you think we are?" Trowa whispered, fear showing through his voice.
"I'm not sure," Heero replied, his voice as soft as Trowa's. "But it's definitely not where we were ten minutes ago."
"I…where are the others?!" The shout nearly made Heero jump, and he turned to look at the green-eyed boy as a wave of panic washed over his features, concern for his friends taking over the fear for his own life.
The Japanese boy's eyes narrowed. "I don't know that either," he replied softly. "But I'm going to find out."
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"This is the one, Master."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Look at him!"
"Many have shared his looks…but none have been the one."
"But he has the power. Can you not feel it?"
"Of course I can feel it, fool! Do not mock me!"
"I am sorry, Master. Forgive me."
"Very well. This once, you are forgiven."
"Thank you, Master. You are most generous."
"Of course I am, slave."
His eyes fluttered open as a low groan escaped his throat, catching the speaker's attentions. He could see, dimly, through his thick lashes two dark, shadowy figures looming above him, gazing down at him with glowing yellow eyes.
"You are right, my slave," the one said. "I believe he is the one. Look at those eyes…they are filled with magick!"
"What shall I do with him, Master?"
"Take him to the Pits. Tonight, we will have The Ceremony. There is no time to waste, as we are already late."
"Yes, Master."
Duo's head fell back weakly as he felt arms encircle his waist and begin to pull him and drag him across hard earth. Dimly, he knew that something was seriously wrong, but he was too weak to fight it.
'Heero…help me…please…'
To be continued…
Gaaahhh, I know it's way too short, but I can't help it! I just got hit by a 'I don't wanna do anything' demon! It's terrible, truly. Anyway…next chapter will hopefully come sooner, since I have a feeling I'll be staying up kinda late tonight. -_- Yay…working on a Yu-Gi-Oh fic, another Gundam Wing one, a Gargoyles fic AND a Lord of the Rings one is really tiring me out. BLAH! This is all I can come up with right now for this story, so please forgive me for its blah-ness. R and R please! ^_^