Ok, I don't know when this fic is going to get finished. I'm sorry for the long waits, and I hope all of you will bear with me if it takes a while. I was hoping to have it done before summer…but I don't know if that's going to happen. Guess we'll have to wait and see…

Anyway, on a happier note…I FINALLY GOT OVER 100 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all those that left one, I am forever grateful and in your debt. Ok, thank you also to those of you that are reading this and don't leave a review….but hopefully you'll leave one to humour me…right?

Oh yeah, and to Blackwind…It was happening in her soul…sort of. Duo felt what had happened to her through the healing process. He saw through her eyes what happened to cause the wounds he was healing. Make sense? I hope so…

Disclaimer-I don't own anything so don't sue!!

Ever notice how stupid spell check can be? But that's beside the point…on with the fic. Chapter 25…this is getting really long.

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Chapter 25



Sally headed over to look after Duo, but she would have to work quickly if any of them were going to get out of this alive. They needed Duo to heal Wufei and Quatre…without him…all hope would be lost…and time was ticking away rather quickly…

*~*

Duo opened his eyes slowly. "Where am I and why do I hurt so much?" he grumbled, struggling to sit up. Once his eyes focused, he saw three worried expressions looking down at him. "And since when did you all get so tall?"

Heero, one of the worried expressions, growled and offered him a hand up. "This is not the time for jokes baka. Zahra's leading the shadows, and she has entered the castle walls. Your vision came true. The city has been destroyed."

Duo nodded. "Then Wufei was next, I believe."

Heading over to where Wufei had been lain, Duo knelt at the end of his head and placed a hand over each ear. His head was still pounding, and his whole body was begging for rest, but he knew he had a job to do, and it needed to be done quickly. Closing his eyes, he focused his healing powers on the wound in Wufei's skull.

Heero watched as Duo commenced the healing magic that he had been born with. White feathers that were tinted with purple showed themselves once again before Wufei's breathing became regular and unlaboured.

Duo stood and sighed. "Much easier than trying to tempt a soul." He muttered, before taking the offered pot from the third guard.

Placing it on the ground, he cleared his throat and shook Wufei's shoulder.

"C'mon Wuffles, time to wake up. You can have a nap later." He said tiredly as Wufei's eyes opened and he sat up instantly.

"What did you do to me Maxwell?"

Duo rolled his eyes. "It wasn't me. Do you remember what happened?"

Wufei thought about this for a moment before his eyes widened. "Gomen Duo, I'd forgotten."

"I know. Now, we need a fire."

Wufei nodded, and touched his finger to the floor beneath the pot that was hovering a few centimeters above it. Within moments,  fiery blue flames formed on the ground, though they didn't burn anything, simply licking the bottom of the pot, heating the liquid inside.

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "I thought you were weather."

"I am." Wufei replied, a confused expression in his eyes. "Nataku taught me a few simple fire spells. I can't do much more than that." He explained, motioning towards the fire beneath the pot.

Heero nodded, satisfied with this explanation.

Everyone was then silent, watching the mixture in the pot, and waiting for it to come to a boil.

Thump…thump…

Everyone's gazes shifted to the door.

Thump…thump…

"Footsteps." Duo muttered, erecting a shield at the door.

The contents of the pot boiled on, unnoticed by the group of people in the room.

Aria groaned and opened her eyes to see Wufei sitting on the bed beside her. Pulling the sheet tighter around herself she groaned again as she remembered what happened.

"You ok?" Duo asked quietly, still staring at the door.

Aria nodded, afraid to ask why everyone was so quiet. Seeing Quatre still unconscious, and the pot on the ground that was now boiling furiously, she was confused for a full second before she heard it.

Thump…thump…

They were getting closer.

Closing her eyes, Aria called to the clothes in her closet. Imagining the white pants and the silky green shirt, she murmured something before she was clothed once again. She sighed as she felt a part of her returning with the clothing.

Thump…thump…

Aria then lowered herself to the ground beside Duo. He turned to look at her and their eyes locked.

"Thank you." Aria muttered, before turning to the pot on the ground.

Thump…thump…

The pot started to glow a steady yellow, the light mingling with the fire to create a covering of green on the flickering blue flames.

Aria closed her eyes and let her head fall forward, brown hair falling in her face, her hands were on either side of the pot, barely touching the sides and bathed in the yellow glow.

Thump…thump…

"Now Duo."

The angel responded to Aria's words, moving himself to the other side of the pot and placing his hands over hers. The purple glow was mixing with the yellow, and creating streaks in the light.

Silence.

The footsteps had stopped.

Aria's eyes snapped open. She mouthed a "no more time" To Duo, and soundlessly brought the pot over to where the fire mage lay, breathing away happily, unaware of the urgency of the situation.

"Shields on the door." Aria muttered to the other magics in the room.

Trowa's expression remained neutral, keeping his gaze on the door and Aria, who was now muttering something under her breath, and sprinkling the concoction over Quatre's sleeping body.

The fire mage's eyes opened a crack, and he shuddered, cringing away from Aria. "It's ok Quatre." The bi-mage whispered.

But this tiny sound set off whatever was outside.

The tension in the room broke as the thing threw all its weight at the door. The wooden doorframe creaked, and splintering could be heard before it broke open, shattering under the immense pressure.

when the dust had cleared, a creature much like the one that had threatened Heero on the way to the mountains stepped into the room.

Heero fell to his knees, unable to move or avert his gaze. And being the one closest to the door, it seemed that he would be the first to go.

"Good job Fluffy." An all to familiar voice said from outside. "I see you've found them. Why don't you finish off the non-magics first…they'll put up less of a fight."

The shadow's lips curled in an evil smile before it jumped Heero, and landed in front of Trowa.

Aria's hands came together, tips of her fingers touching. A small ball of light formed in the middle, lighting up the dimness of the room.

The shadow turned away from what seemed like an unaffected Trowa, though anyone that knew the king well could tell he was shaken up. The immense creature stood, unmoving, staring at the mage with the light.

Was he supposed to obey her?

Aria glared at the beast, her eyes a deadly shade of black. "You will not harm the people in this room."

The shadow nodded, and turned to leave, his shape ever-changing. But Zahra appeared in the doorway. "I beg to differ."

Aria's eyes narrowed, and she stepped towards the other mage. "I will deal with you. Quatre, I want you to find Treize. The shadows won't stop coming until he is destroyed.

"You are going to destroy both of us, by yourself?" Zahra asked, glancing warily at the blue light in Aria's hands.

"Both of you?" Duo asked, gently helping Heero to his feet.

"Yes, both I and Dorothy. I'm sure you all remember her."

Heero growled deep in his throat, and Duo could tell his patience wasn't going to last much longer.

"Ok, everyone, follow me." Duo said, also lending a strand of his power to Quatre.

The blond nodded and stood, having decided he was still unconscious…though he could feel a new power boiling in his veins. The last thing he remembered was Zahra with her whip…

"I don't think you'll be leaving just yet." Dorothy said from behind Zahra. The shadow still stood in the doorway, waiting for its next orders. The two dark mages stepped into the room, a wicked grin was on Zahra's face, while Dorothy appeared calm and collected. "Why don't we take this somewhere a little more spacious."

Wufei shifted his weight. He could tell that they were about to use a teleportation spell, and he just happened to know a counter spell…but should he set bait? Should he send Aria with them so that they would be safe, and the two dark mages wouldn't come looking for them? Working his powers quickly, he placed an unseen shield of sorts over everyone except Aria and the two dark mages. Now only they would be taken away with Zahra's spell. Wufei just hoped that the bi-mage would be able to take care of herself.

"Yes, let's ditch this smelly old room." Dorothy said, and in the next instant, the three mages had disappeared, taking the shadow-creature with them.

Before she had disappeared, Aria had turned her head and smiled at Wufei.

*~*

Trowa blinked. "We're not…"

Wufei shook his head. "Aria's the only one that went with them. Now, Quatre, do you know who this "Treize" is?"

The blond nodded his head. "I can feel him in the throne room. He thinks you're dead Trowa. He doesn't seem to be very magical, but the room is also swimming with shadows."

Wufei nodded. "I'll explain to you what happened on the way there. You've been unconscious for the past week. Now, let's get going, before someone decides to try to kill us again."

*~*

Zahra ended her teleportation spell, and with one glance she knew something had gone wrong. Very wrong. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the weather/spirit mage, whose green eyes were glaring right back.

"Treize said you were dead."

A wicked grin crossed Aria's features. "I was. You underestimated the powers of the angel. I thought you weren't supposed to attack for another two days."

Aria glanced around to find herself in the training room. Shadows roamed in circles around the three mages. There were at least 20 of them. There had to be an easy way out of this. She was still weak from her near-death experience, so she stood no chance against 2 dark mages, even if they attacked her one at a time.

"Kearney…" Zahra called out. A tiny kitten emerged from the shadows. Aria recognized it at once. The tiny little animal seemed quite harmless.

"This is how I knew you were going to betray us. Quite fittingly, Kearney means warrior." The mage snapped her fingers, and the "tiny kitten' began its transformation.

Within moments, the wildcat for of Zahra's pet  stood in place of the kitten. It bared its teeth and growled at Aria, before lunging for the mage's throat.

*~*

"And then Aria woke you up, and you know the rest."

Quatre nodded slowly, quickening his pace as they neared the throne room. He didn't notice Duo's cry of pain as he slumped over, Heero just barely catching the angel. Trowa and Wufei followed Quatre, leaving the other two behind.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, throwing the three that were ahead off their feet. The castle walls that should have held collapsed, and rocks fell from the ceiling. They fell in between the two groups, cutting them off from each other.

"How convenient." Treize said, standing in the doorframe of the throne room, looking down at Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. A few shadows stood by his side. "I couldn't have planned it better myself."

*~*

Aria ducked, but not quite fast enough. The cat turned its body and sunk its claws into Aria's back, snarling as it bared its teeth. Aria was knocked to the ground with the force and weight of the creature. She was pinned beneath the animal, and she could feel its breath on her neck. The pain from the claws was terrifying, as they sunk deeper in her skin with each passing moment.

"That's pretty bad Zahra…having a cat do your dirty work." Aria managed to growl, before Zahra's face appeared beside her own.

"Not just any cat, my dear, dear friend." Zahra hissed in Aria's ear as she placed on of her hands on Aria's shoulder. "This cat has some…special qualities"

From Zahra's hand flowed an evil magic, a reverse spell…All of Duo's healing was being undone.

Aria hissed in pain as she tried to get away from the touch, but the cat held her firmly in place. Deciding there was only one thing left to do, the bi-mage put her magic to work…placing a trap for the dark mage. Aria's magic flowed through Zahra's hand, unfelt by the dark-eyed girl. The bi- mage searched her soul, trying to find out what two powers Zahra had.

// A dark mage is formed when they develop two colours, and they are not in balance… //

Aria smiled slightly as she felt the last of her energy being drained from her body. She had found that Zahra had been part fire mage, and part animal mage, with animal being the minor power. Once this had been found out, she had easily been able to remove this magic from the mage's blood, though it had used the last of her energy.

Zahra's eyes snapped open just as Aria's slid shut for the very last time.

"What have I done…"

*~*

Duo groaned and sat up slowly. He found himself in Heero's arms, but he didn't know how he got there, or what was happening. He looked up into the Prussian blue eyes, and opened his mouth to ask what had happened. But he never got to ask his question.

"You had another vision." Heero explained in a quiet voice, never breaking his gaze with Duo. "And while you were out, there was a tremor of some sort. We've been cut off from Quatre and the others.

Duo nodded. "And the vision…"

"You said something about Aria being in danger."

Then it came back to him…Duo's eyes widened in fear. "We've got to help her." He said, struggling to get to his feet. "I don't know what Zahra was doing to her, but it certainly wasn't any tea party."

Heero nodded, and helped Duo up. "Do you remember where they were?"

Duo concentrated for a moment, trying to remember… "There were no windows in the room."

"Then it must have been the training area." Heero said, letting Duo lean on him as they headed down the hall.

When they reached the training room, they found the door sealed shut.

"Don't touch it." Duo said, pushing himself away from Heero. "Until I say it's ok."

Heero nodded, glaring at the door. He could feel life forms beyond the piece of wood, but there were also a lot of things that were definitely not alive.

Duo worked his magic quickly, kneeling in front of the door. It soon swung open, revealing many of the shadow creatures, still circling the three mages in the centre of the circle.

Duo noticed two main differences about the two mages. One, Aria was on the ground, just lying there. The scars had returned, marking her once again dark skin. He couldn't feel any life coming from the mage, and her spirit was nowhere to be found. The other difference was Zahra…her shirt and eyes were no longer black, but instead, they were red. She was discussing something with Dorothy, who was still black.

Then, Dorothy turned around. Duo had gotten up off the ground, and Heero was standing behind him.

Dorothy glared at the two, and Zahra regarded them calmly. "Well, we weren't expecting you here." The strangely-eyebrowed mage stated, her eyes expressing a mixture of confusion and amusement. "However, now that you've joined us…" She snapped her fingers, and the shadows stopped circling, turning to face the two mages.

"Uh oh." Duo muttered, standing up straighter, and placing his hands in a prayer position. He tilted his chin backwards, and a light formed around him as his wings unfolded from beneath his violet shirt.

Heero went to stand beside Duo, glaring menacingly at the many creatures that were ever so slowly advancing upon them…

Zahra saw Dorothy's plan, and turned her gaze on the dark mage. "I don't know what you think you're doing." She said.

Dorothy glanced at Zahra for one moment before she returned her attention to Duo and Heero, who were watching the slowly advancing shadows with unease. "Simply getting rid of some obstacles."

Zahra shook her head. "You don't seem to understand…" She held out her hand, and a ball of fire appeared, glowing brightly, its heat flowing through the fire mage. Zahra turned her hand so that her palm was facing Dorothy, the ball of fire hovering just beside her hand. "Call them off Dorothy." Zahra said.

Dorothy could feel the heat and light coming from the fire. She knew that Zahra meant business, however, being the kind of person that always thought herself better than others, Dorothy chose not to take heed of the fire mage's warning.

Duo opened his eyes in time to see Zahra flick her wrist, the ball of fire crashing into the dark mage with a strong flash of light. Dorothy cried out in pain, and the shadows took to the corners of the room, trying to escape the brightness.

Duo and Heero took this advantage to get into the room, and stand beside Zahra. The fire mage's eyes looked tired, and sad. She fell to her knees, and the tears started to slide down her face.

"I'm so sorry…" She muttered, unable to say anything else.

Duo looked confused for a moment, before he understood. She felt bad…about being dark, when she'd really had no choice. It hadn't been her fault that she'd developed two colours.

He knelt down to comfort her, but a grunt from Heero warned him not to do so. Dorothy was still standing, and she needed to be taken care of.

*~*

Merian was on Shadowswift, galloping through the woods. She could feel the shadows approaching, closing in on her. Trowa's brown horse had been lost in the confusion, but she felt certain that it would make its way back to the castle unharmed. The shadows had no interest in the horses…they wanted her.

Urging Shadowswift on, she chanced a glance behind her to see how close the shadows really were. What she saw was not a comforting sight.

There were probably ten shadows chasing her, and their screeches were most likely calling out to more of the awful creatures.

And, within a few moments, Shadowswift reared, his two front feet leaving the ground as a shadow swooped in his path.

Merian was thrown off the back of the horse, landing on her right arm. Shadowswift's feet touched the ground, and the horse was off again, leaving Merian alone in the woods…well, as alone as you can be while surrounded by 15 shadow creatures.

Merian struggled to sit, to do anything to protect herself. Her right arm had been rendered useless, bones being broken under her own weight, and the pressure from the fall. She managed to sit, and when reaching up to brush a stray piece of hair from her eyes, her hand came into contact with something dangling from her neck.

Duo's wooden cross.

Merian clutched the object in her left hand, trying to decide what to do. This was definitely an emergency situation…the shadows were closing in, and there was no escape route. Mind made up, Merian snapped the cross in half, and waited for something to happen.

Nothing.

The shadows got closer, and closer…she could hear their harsh breathing, feel their coldness. Their evil intentions were clear to her.

A whisper sounded in the winds.

"Have faith…"

Merian was puzzled. Have faith? In what? In God? Her clan did not believe in God…and yet, she had snapped a *cross* and wanted something to happen. Did she need to believe? When she had never believed before in her life?

It was worth a shot. After all, anything was better than being eaten by shadow creatures.

She knelt on the ground, and clutched the broken pieces of the cross to her chest, closed her eyes, and worded her prayer. "Please…I believe that you will help me, in the name of Duo Maxwell, who entrusted me with this cross…I beg of you…"

Wondering vaguely if she should have added an "amen" at the end, Merian opened her eyes to see the shadows not 2 feet away from her. "Please…" She asked again, cross held tightly in her fingers.

Then it happened.

The small piece of wood started to glow…

The darkness in the sky parted, and seven streams of light descended, forming a circle around the girl.

The shadows backed away in agony…they couldn't stand the light. Merian gazed on in wonder…was it possible? Was there really a God? She stood, still holding the cross tightly. To her utter amazement, a white horse stepped out of the light. Merian stared at it for a moment. It's coat was pure white, it's hooves and mane were silver. But the most amazing thing about this horse was it's silver wings…wings. This was no ordinary horse…this was a Pegasus…a gift from the heavens.

And all because she had believed.

"Thank you…" The girl whispered as the light faded, and the shadows ruled the skies once more. She approached the horse slowly. It was stamping its hoof impatiently.

She reached out a hand, and ran it along his nose. The creature was amazing…simply amazing…and Merian was fascinated.

Her hand traced its neck, brushing back the silky strands of its mane from its eyes.

The creature bent down on its front knees, allowing the daughter of the dragon clan to climb up on its back.

Merian did so, with extreme caution. But as soon as she was securely on, The magnificent creature took a few steps, then flapped its immense wings and took to the air.

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

Well, I think that's long enough for now. There's I think one more chapter before the plot is finished, and to finish things up and tie up some ends I might add an epilogue or something. Hope you liked it!!! Thank you again to those who reviewed!!

~Duo's Only Chick