Chapter Two

After school. Joys and laughter.  Simply heavenly. Don't you just love after school hours? " Stupid. I still got homework to do," grumbled Duo.

" We all have homework to do," Quatre reminded him. All five of them are in the same class. No wonder Heero looked so moody.

" But I'm not interested in healing magic," said Duo. " What I want to learn is black magic."

Quatre Raberba Winner shook his head. Quatre was a sensitive and gentle person. He loved animals and he cared very much for his friends. Wufei was muttering something about sending Duo to the North Pole with black magic. Do not get the wrong idea about our Wufei. He is not a grumpy boy, just impatient and moody at times. Let me remind all again, it is the Monday blues. Trowa Barton tried not to laugh. Of the five, he was the tallest and has a very supple body. He once worked in a circus as an entertainer before arriving at the Magic School. He does not laugh often and is as aloof as Heero.

As they turned at a corner, a stranger sitting on a wall caught their eyes. He was a charming man with long flowing hair. Unlike Duo, his hair was loose. There was an air of mystique around him. He picked himself up in slow motion as the boys approached. The five stopped as he floated down in front of them. He did not land down but hovered just a little above the ground level. It was most alarming.

" I have been waiting for you," he greeted them.

" I'm sorry but we do not know you," Duo answered politely, sure that it was a case of mistaken identities. Heero was more wary. So was Trowa. The others were casual.

" But I know you. Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner and Chang Wufei. Am I right?"

" How do you know our names?" exclaimed Duo. Now all five were worried.

" I just ask around for names that fit your description. You are quite conspicuous because no one can figure out why five different people with five different personalities can be best friends," the other informed them.

Duo shrugged. " Unlike poles attract," he replied brusquely. They grinned.

" Sir, can we be of any assistance?" Quatre asked.

" Yes. I just need to give you a small magic test."

Without another word, he raised both hands as if he were going to pray to heaven. " Dark Shadows!"

A powerful ray of black magic came rolling in their direction. The five barely have time to dodge. " Hey we don't know you!" Duo repeated once more. " Why are you attacking us?"

" Dark Shadows!" This was his answer.

" Forces of Yin!" Wufei retaliated.

" Elements of Nature – Fire!" Heero joined in.

Both magical forces were an equal. They realized their opponent was strong. " Stop!" Quatre demanded. " I repeat, we don't  know you and I'm sure none of us here have offended you."

He smiled. " You have not offended me but you have offended our leader. You will have to die." He pointed at the ground they were standing on. It began to shake violently. They tottered and fell as the vibration increased.

" Thunder-Ball Vibration!" He threw an electrifying blue ball of magic at them.

" Shield!" Heero called up his protective magic and a round defensive force surrounded the five. The Thunder-Ball rebounded on the shield back to the stranger. He effortlessly guided the ball out of his way onto a tree with a wave of his hand. The five were amazed.

" Who are you?" demanded Heero.

" My name is Zechs Merquise. And they don't call me the Lightning Count for nothing," he said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he flew at top speed towards them with his arms outstretched. He touched the shield Heero had built. The other four were on standby to help Heero. But what they saw shocked them all. The shield grew thinner the moment this Merquise man touched it and vanished. Next, he promptly punched and kicked them all when at a terrifying speed. Not one of them could even touch him. It was as if he was a ghost.

Heero picked himself up from the ground, wiping away the blood that was trickling down his chin. Quatre suffered a bruise on his smooth cheek. Duo was sure his bones were broken. Trowa's jaw felt funny while Wufei's stomach hurt terribly. Zechs Merquise smiled maliciously. " Still can stand? Is it not enough for all of you?"

" We have no feud against you," Heero told him quietly.

" Neither have I but I cannot defy my master's will."

" Who is your master?"

" You need not know. I'm only here to inform you of your deaths."

" That's enough!" Duo interrupted. " Don't think we are pushovers!"

" Oh?" A flicker of interest. " Shall we see?"

Duo frowned. " Get ready to hold Heero, Quatre," he whispered.

" Pardon?" Quatre asked, confused.

" When I give the signal, just grab him and run. That blockhead might want to stay and fight."

Quatre nodded.

Duo took a deep breath as he began to absorb the energies around him, transforming them into a thick white smoke in his hands. " Smokescreen!" he yelled as he directed the smoke to Zechs, enveloping him.

" Is that all you can do?" Zechs asked.

" Ha! We can do more. Run!" Duo turned and pushed Trowa and Wufei to start running. Quatre griped Heero's hand and all five fled. The smoke cleared and they were nowhere to be seen. Zechs had already seen through Duo's trick and deliberately let them off. After all he was being unfair, catching them unaware. That was not the doing of a honourable warrior or for this matter, an esteemed magician. He would give them some time, a few days or so to prepare themselves.

 ****************************************************************************

" Who are you?" Relena asked, a little frightened. Zechs' partner was hovering above the girls. The girls, Relena Peacecraft, Hilde Schbeiker and Catherine Bloom were walking home when he confronted them.

" Let me introduce myself." He believed in being gentle with the girls for he was a gentleman. " My name is Treize Khushrenada. By order, I am here to send you on your way to hell. But before I do that ladies, I want to see what is it that fears my master so in the dream."

" What nonsense is this?" Hilde asked heatedly. " Is this a prank?"

" Does this looks like a prank?" he asked them back as he aimed a spell at them. The three girls ducked down, fearful of their lives. " I do not wish to hurt you just yet."

" We'll scream for help," threatened Catherine.

" You won't dare," Treize Khushrenada said.

" Try us," Hilde said.

" Then I'll just put a sleeping spell all over Magic Town and everyone will just go on sleeping forever, wasting their lives away until they turn to bones."

" You can't do that!" Relena gasped. This kind of sleeping spell, called the Interminable Doze, is the most powerful sleeping spell that a magician can cast to a person. This person, though still alive, will sleep forever and forever, never to wake up again. As he sleeps, his flesh starts to rot, just like a dead person. He will suffer; because the worst part of the entire spell is that the person can still feel and think even though he can no longer moves. He will only die after his brain and heart and all his internal organs are gone. This kind of torture is long and painful, more terrifying than hell.

" Try me."

" We really don't know you or your master. You could be mistaken," Relena told him. Her friends nodded in agreement. " I am certain we have offended no one. However, if we had offended your master unknowingly, we sincerely apologize to him. Please, let us go."

He laughed. " You speak well. You must be an excellent student. A pity though because an order is an order."

" You maniac! Vile rat! Relena has told you already that this must be a mistake!" Hilde shouted. " We are sorry if we have offended whoever that big bully is so just let us go!" Catherine placed a hold on Hilde's shoulder, trying to calm her down. To her surprise, Hilde winked at her. " Shout sorry, attract attention," she ordered her friends in a low volume.

As if someone had turned on the lights in a dark room, they nodded at her brilliant idea. Instead of shouting for help and endangering the whole town, they will approach a different method to attract attention. " We are sorry!" Relena and Catherine yelled in unison. They were no longer scared.

" Let us go, we beg you!" Relena shouted at him, as if about to cry.

" I do not like girls crying," Treize warned them. The problem with him is that he gets nervous when girls cry, although his face remains placid.

" We are sorry!" all three spoke out once more.

Do we call Hilde a genius or the whole situation a coincidence? The boys, now panting from their escape were resting nearby, feeling secured by the distance. Heero still had his fighting spirit intact.

" That was close," Trowa commented.

" That guy was a weirdo," Duo panted. " What was his name? Zechs Merquise? Did anyone check the wanted list? Hey Heero, loosen up. He can't catch up with us. He's new here and doesn't know the town layout as well as we do."

" I have a bad feeling," Heero replied simply.

" We are sorry!" faint voices cried out. The five boys tensed.

" Relena Peacecraft," Heero said suddenly, recognizing her voice. " And – " He struggled to make out the other two voices.

" Hilde Schbeiker!" Duo said.

" Sister," Trowa realised. Without another word, all five boys began rushing towards the source of the cries.

" It's no use," Treize said once more. " I'm only acting under an order." He raised an arm at them. The three girls cuddled close together. When he had released a spell at them just now, they knew instantly that they were no match for him. None of them in the group could wield such a powerful force yet.

But before he could do anything, a new voice shouted from his back. " Stop!" It was Heero and his friends.

" It's them." Hilde whispered, widening her eyes.

" Ah, so Zechs finished with his experiment?" Treize asked.

" Weirdos," Duo said through clenched teeth. Treize merely grinned as all five boys stood in battle formation. " Looks like I'm outnumbered," he said mockingly. " A gentleman does not take advantage of someone weaker than him. We'll give you a little time to improve yourselves. Frankly, it is the first time that my mission requires me to deal with kids. I'm looking forward to it."

" We are not weaklings," Wufei remarked, trying to contain his rage.

Treize ignored him and with a snap of his finger, disappeared right before their bewildered eyes. What is this all about? They could not make sense of it. Even Duo, with all his guts, would be sensible enough to consider making an enemy of them. They were not to be trifle with.

" You okay?" Trowa ran forward to help them up, or rather, help his sister up. Catherine is Trowa's sister. No, they are not blood siblings but have grown so close to each other that they now treated each other as brother and sister. Catherine used to be a performer at a circus too. In fact, both of them came from the same circus. How did they end up in the Magic School? It's a long story actually, not only for them, but also for the rest of the group.

Relena thanked them. " Thanks for coming to our aid."

" You guys know him?" Hilde asked.

Quatre shook his head, an answer on behalf of his pals. " We have never even met him before. Actually, there are two of them. One is called Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Count, and the other is his partner, the one you encountered."

" Treize Khushrenada," Catherine said.

" What do they want with us?" Relena pondered.

" Apparently, they are under orders to eliminate us," explained Quatre. " They might be from some kind of cult…"

" Maybe but that Treize man mentioned about a dream that their leader has dreamt of. He said we are a threat to them," Relena said. " But it seems ludicrous."

" It could be a prophetic dream. There have been cases like this."

Duo shook his head. " I still find it hard to believe. I mean, we don't even know them. What can we possibly do to them?"

All were silent. " Are you sure none of us here have offended anyone lately?" Heero broke the silent. Everyone shook their heads firmly.

Relena bit her lower lip, a sign that she was in deep concentration. Her violet eyes were serious. " Could they be mistaken?"

" We have already consider that," Heero said. " But he even found out our names by asking people so I don't think it is a mistake."

Trowa said, " I suggest we just wait for the time being. And be very careful. They know who we are but not vice versa. Unless we are absolutely sure, there's nothing we can do except wait. For all you know, it might be a prank."

They nodded but deep in their hearts, they knew it was not a prank. No matter how hard they tried to reassure themselves, they can feel that their lives will be changing.