Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the comp I'm using right now - if I did, I'd have killed certain characters I don't like. As it is, I'll try not to let my bias get in the way. :)

Warnings: One original character, eventual shounen ai, swearing, some OOC

Notes: Thanks to Duo's ONLY Chick for the review - sorry about the cliffhanger :). It just turned out that way. And I have a thing with magic - there's going to be heaps of it. Whether that's good or bad... you decide. But please, someone write another review!

Part III: Discoveries

"What's happening?" Suri tried to make herself heard over the din that suddenly erupted over the stands.

Mili ignored her as he stood and made for the stop of the stands and faced the crowd. "Calm down! Nothing can happen - there are *shields* around this place! They won't break!"

Within moments, several men were by his side. "Your Majesty, should we evacuate?"

The fourteen-year-old hesitated slightly, but nodded, turning back to the people gathered in front of him, raising his voice. "Now listen to me. We are evacuating, *not* because the shields might break, but because there may be a fight here if the Masters discover who was behind this... outbreak. People in area one, follow Master Tumi. Area two, go with Duke Barton. Master Yurino, take area three. Area four, come with me."

The three men obeyed instantly, heralding the crowd through the various exits. Mili grabbed Suri's arm and led his own group to the nearest door, adding to his friends, "Guys, check that nobody is left in here. Meet me in the fields afterwards." Sending the people home with warnings to stay away from the area, Mili leaned against a tree, waiting for his friends to exit.

Suri, however, had her attention fixed solely on her companion. "Mili... Milliardo. Milliardo Peacecraft, heir to the Sanq thrown... oh my God. Y-you're the prince, aren't you? Wh... why on earth didn't you tell me - was it fun, lying to someone who didn't know you? A *commoner*?" She practically spat the last word.

The prince shook his head firmly. "Suri... Suri, listen to me! Yes, I'm the prince, the heir to the crown and all the rest of it, but I'm also a normal fourteen-year-old. I was at that inn, wasn't I? I don't make a habit of telling people who I am simply because I don't like people acting like I would sentence them to their deaths at any moment! Can you understand that?"

She snatched her hand away from his, scowling in anger. "So the prince gets bored because he doesn't have to struggle to survive, and decides to go out and act 'normal' for a while, then tricks stupid idiots into believing him, right? Then he gets tired of not having servants, and goes back to the palace for a good laugh with his mates."

Mili bit his lips, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince her to change her mind about him - not at the moment, anyway. "What about your powers then? The man you burnt? Can you deny those?"

"So I'm an Elementalist - probably a weak one, at that. There's no law that says I have to get training, is there? Or are you going to *force* me, your Highness?" She didn't bother keeping the sarcasm out of her voice - he deserved it, for raising her hopes the way he did...

Again, the prince shook his head. "No, no and no again - especially not about the first part. Suri, you don't have to believe me, but you're *not* weak - you're the strongest untrained Fire-worker I've seen. If you don't learn to control the energy... something will happen. And I really don't want to see you blown apart."

Suri was about to retort, but suddenly sensed something. Confusion. Concern... and malice. Lot's of it. But where is it coming from... Frowning, she looked at the prince - their argument would have to wait. "Do you sense that?"

Mili was startled by the sudden change, but did not comment. Instead, he asked, "That?"

She concentrated, trying to feel the same things she felt before. "Um... from over there." She pointed in the direction of some forests to the east of the grounds. "I-I'm not sure what it is... just a sense of something cruel - evil. Maybe it's nothing, but..."

The prince's face hardened. "I doubt it. Come, lead the way." He looked over at Suri, who hesitated slightly, then nodded and walked eastward. Privately, he sent to his friends, Hurry - Suri's picked up something, and I'll be damned if it hasn't anything to do with what happened. Get Master Yurino and Master Tumi.

Can you trust her, Mili? A mental voice asked.

I'm pretty sure... if it wasn't serious, she wouldn't have stopped argu- nothing. And yes, I trust her, Wufei. Mili received a mental nod of acknowledgement, and fell into step beside his companion, who was pointedly ignoring him. He sighed - after this, he had a lot of explaining to do. Maybe I should have...

"Arrghhh!!!"

He was interrupted by a scream, and spun to look at Suri - who had fallen to the ground, convulsing, eyes wide with terror. About to reach for her arm, he suddenly pulled back, sensing the waves of heat radiating from her body. Paling, he summoned his gift, then whitened even further at what it told him: the girl was burning up from an overdose of power - elemental power. Raw, unfiltered energy that no Elementalists other than Adepts could control. Where the hell is she getting it all from... shit. That's what's happened with Heero, during the exam - somehow, they're attracting the power...at least Heero knows how to distribute it... but why would Suri be...

"Mili - what's happening?" The voice of an Adept brought his panicked thoughts to a halt.

"Master Tumi, Master Yurino... Suri - that's the girl - she's attracting the power... just like Heero... but she's untrained; she can't even filter them!" Under other circumstances, the prince would have flushed at making such an undignified speech, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. This amount of power, uncontrolled, could easily...

"Mili - get a grip, boy. And get your damned shields up!" The last command, barked out by the other Adept, was instantly obeyed, by the four youths who had just arrived as well as the prince. Having a sense of what the two men were about to do, the youths kept as still as possible, concentrating instead on their own defences. The Adepts glanced at each other, then closed their eyes, linking their powers in a mind bond and following the threads of power flowing through the fainted girl's body, trying to determine its source.

Yurino, over there...

Aye, I see it - the energy's being uprooted, that's why it's out of control... but who would be stupid enough to uproot this kind of power?

No, look - not entirely out of control. It's only latching on to unguarded energy paths - strong, unguarded energy paths... holy shit.

The two men reached the conclusion at the same time - there were less than ten circumstances in which energy channels would be left totally open, and only one person would have been in such a situation today...

Heero.

Aye - the most potentially powerful Elementalist in Sanq... this doesn't look good.

Oz?

More than likely. I was beginning to wonder why they weren't making a move on him...

What about this girl - Suri? She's strong, no doubt - she would have to be, to get touched by that kind of power and still be alive. But she has no control whatsoever... Master Tumi switched back to normal speech. "Mili, just how did you end up with this girl?"

"I met her this morning, outside an inn. Caught her scorching a would-be assaulter."

"Did you sense any Oz mages around?"

"No - I checked. They may have been shielded, of course, but there were no unexpected energy traces either."

"There wouldn't have been." Master Yurino muttered. "Any mages would have been over here, doing the actual uprooting."

Both Trowa and Wufei frowned, and the Arabian blanched. "You mean, they were..."

"Uprooting the elemental channels in such a way that the energy would go after a certain young mage, who just happened to be due to take an exam this morning." The Adept said bluntly. "And somehow, this girl was strong enough to attract the energy as well." And not die - she will need to be trained, and soon.

Duo clenched his fist, visibly keeping his anger in check. There *will* be revenge for this, cousin, I swear it. But not now - not yet. Outwardly, he asked, "Do you know how Heero is doing?"

Master Tumi reached out mentally, and after a moment's pause, gave him a small smile. "He is fine - Masters Simera and Loda are with him, and they're both Adepts. His condition should be stable."

"And Suri?" Mili glanced down at the girl. If I hadn't brought her here...

"She'll be fine as well - the energy was only attracted to open channels, and I'm shielding hers. It won't work forever, but the Collegium will be sending people here to reharness the power. It wasn't seriously attracted to her anyway - she was more like a bridge. Go back to the palace, all of you. Take the girl with you, and get a healer onto her - Delia, preferably; she's had experiences with damaged energy channels."

The boys nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and moved to obey. After they left, the Adepts exchanged grim glances - somehow, they were going to get to the bottom of this. Attacking an enemy in war was one thing; taking advantage of an unguarded boy... that was another matter altogether.

Tumi, there's another thing - how on earth did they manage to get pass the shielding? The Adept switched back to telepathy; it was safer.

There are but two possibilities - the first one I'd rather not think of... besides, it *is* rather unlikely that there could be a traitor among us, when all the judges are from our generation - Simera and Loda are definitely loyal. The others would not have access to the shield-key.

After a moment of thought, Master Yurino nodded. I'll agree with that - besides, there are not many who would want to face the consequences of oath-breaking. But the other possibility...

Leave it for the Collegium halls - this area doesn't feel safe, somehow. I can't sense anyone nearby, but if a person was able to pull this off...

Aye, better safe than sorry. I'll see whether the others need my help.

Go - I'll run in a primary report at the Collegium.

They rose, going their separate ways, but both knew that another political struggle was starting - such things always did, after a period of peace. They only hoped that when more attacks occurred, they would be better prepared...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they had gone, a man emerged from the shadows of the bushes, frowning grimly. His face darkened even further as his thoughts turned to the raven-haired girl. I'll have to find out about you - it's not every day that an unknown factor is strong enough to disturb my plans. And it's not every day that someone can handle such a flood of energy without being torn apart either. Oh yes, girl, I'll *definitely* have to find out more...

Knowing nobody was around, he prepared a portal back to his headquarters, making use of the unharnessed energy. You won't be let off that easily, you fools - not if I have a say in the matter. I swore vengeance, and I always keep my promises...

Notes:

So, what do you think? The real plot has yet to begin - I'll try to get the next bit out by Sunday. And I'll let everybody know what happened to Suri and Heero... but don't expect many answers for a while yet.

Please, please R&R! Even one word will be good... *puppy dog eyes*