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: eventual shounen ai, swearing, some OOC, heaps of magic

Notes: Thanks Shadow Dragon for reviewing! This part, in its way, is a turning point - you'll see what I mean.

Part V: Shattered Dreams

"Duo?"

The braided boy gave the blonde a tight smile from his position on the couch, asking, "Do you know how he's doing?"

Quatre sent him a sympathetic look - in spite of their constant bickering, the cousins were close; seeing Heero in pain and being unable to do anything about it must have felt terrible. "He's still unconscious. Most of the channels are healing well, so non-Elemental energies should pass through okay. But his gift..." He trailed off, unsure how his friend would take it.

"Spit it out, Kat." Duo's face was grim.

The Arabian glanced at him, then nodded. "Nobody could do anything about it - the Adepts had been thorough with the termination. The gift will take at least a year to heal, and... and even then, it will never be the same."

"So in other words, he'll have lost the thing he cared most about - the bastards planned this well, didn't they?" The concern in Duo's voice turned quickly into anger. "Dammit, why did they choose him, of all people?"

Quatre shook his head; they all knew why Heero had been the target. [1] "I'm more worried about how Heero will change - he always had his sights on becoming an Elementalist. Now..."

Duo clenched his teeth. "He'll pull through - he's Magical gift is as strong as his Elemental one is... or had been. He just preferred the elements. And once he gets trained up in that..." He stopped as another figure peered through the doorway. "Come in, Mili."

The prince stepped through and perched on the edge of the couch. "Hey Duo, hey bro... how's he doing?"

Quatre repeated what he had told Duo, and Mili sighed. "I talked to Master Tumi earlier - he thinks Anokiv did it. The other Adept mages from Oz are accounted for, and they were nowhere near Sanq at the time; at least, that's what he told me."

"Anokiv Ronterdo? It's definitely Oz then." A frown crept into Quatre's face. "Isn't his father the chief Mage of Oz?"

Milliardo nodded. "That's right - the name is Bocherik Ronterdo, if I remember correctly. Who just happens to have a personal grudge against Sanq Elementalists."

For the first time that day, Duo looked interested. "What's that about?"

The prince smirked, hiding his relief at knowing that the braided youth had not sank into depression. "You were sleeping during lessons again, weren't you?"

Duo scowled back, regaining some of his usual vigour. "You should try having Master Birchen as a politics teacher - even Kat was drifting off."

The blonde blushed beet red as his half-brother sent him a reproving frown. "It was only that once! And besides, I was up half the night at that meeting with father..."

Mili narrowed his eyes, then smirked again. "Don't worry - believe it or not, I've had him before, when Master Gormiak was on leave. He's boring enough to send the books to sleep. Anyway, I'll cut it down a bit - do you remember when Sanq was allied with Oz against the Baltors? I'm talking about the period when arguments were starting to break out because of moral differences." At their nod, he continued, "Well, Borcherik and Master Tumi were around forty, and both thought the other was weaker. Somehow, they got permission to hold a duel, but instead of fighting Bocherik himself, Tumi sent his apprentice - that's Master Loda, if you can believe it - in his place. Bocherik thought Tumi was mocking him, and basically lost control of his anger, so Loda didn't have much of a hard time defeating him. Afterwards, Bocherik was convinced that Tumi tricked him, and that Sanq Elementalists had no honour whatsoever. He swore he'd pay us back for shaming him publicly."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "I take it that Bocherik was one of those who didn't train in emotion-control?"

The prince shrugged. "Probably - it's strange how the Oz Mages seem to like ignoring the basics so much."

A low voice offered, "Maybe not. One of their advantages, magically speaking, is when their Mages go berserk - the unexpected power increase has killed quite a few of our own Mages." The youth at the doorway entered, nodding at the three of them. "I've just spoken to the healers - Heero's woken up. Tumi has spoken to him already, and Wufei is with him right now."

Duo's face brightened. "Is he... is he alright?"

The boy's emerald eyes remained expressionless, making Quatre frown, in spite of the reply, "As well as can be expected - go see for yourself."

Duo nodded and left, with the prince following closely. Trowa turned to the blonde. "Aren't you going?"

Quatre stared straight at him, then sent privately, You aren't telling us everything. What's wrong with Heero?

Trowa returned the look, before replying, Come, I'll tell you as we go. He walked off, and when the blonde followed, he replied, Physically, Heero is stable, but he's shut everyone out. He spoke about thirty words in all the ten minutes I was there, and not one of them really came from *him* - if I didn't know better, I'd say he was drugged.

Quatre's frown deepened - Trowa would have to be really worried to say that much at once. What *did* he say?

Trowa raised an eyebrow slightly. Aside from the 'hn's? Not much, really. Basically, he said that he felt fine, and that we should stop worrying.

And about his gift? The blonde persisted.

He said he'd manage - I have a feeling that's all he'll say. Maybe Duo will get through to him.

The Arabian's bit his lips, and they walked to the Healers' Collegium in silence. I sure hope so.

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

Heero kept his face expressionless as he answered his companions' questions, most of which were variations of, "Are you alright?" He knew they weren't asking about his physical injuries as much as how he was feeling, but his reply remained the same. "Hn. I'm fine; stop worrying." The concern showed clearly in their faces, but he couldn't afford to waste time on emotions - not if he was to get revenge. That's all I have left - those Oz bastards have taken away everything I've worked for. And I *will* pay them back... no matter what.

*** flashback ***

"Heero, are you alright?" The greying man peered over him, nothing in his attire suggesting that he was one of the most powerful Adept Elementalists in Sanq.

"I'm fine, Master Tumi - you don't need to worry." Ignoring the dull ache within his body, Heero sat up, determined not to show any sign of weakness.

Though unconvinced, the Adept nodded, taking a seat by the bed. "Heero, I won't make you uncomfortable by fussing over you, but I need to know whether you know anything we don't, about the... incident."

Heero's eyes darkened, but his voice was impassive as he asked, "From when I felt my control slip?"

Tumi nodded, betraying nothing of his worry - he is too calm; it's unnatural. It's as though he has shut himself off... this is what I was afraid of.

"There was one minute left before the second task was due to finish. I felt an explosion outside, and sensed power flowing into my energy channels, so I reassumed control of the paths. Filtering the energy worked for a while, but it was too strong. If the Masters hadn't terminated my gift, I would have died, and the power would have destroyed the section of the grounds unguarded by shields."

The Adept became even more worried, though he was careful to hide it. Dammit, he sounds like he's reciting history, not something that totally changed his life barely a day ago. Outwardly, he merely asked, "So we were right to evacuate?"

The boy kept his voice monotonous. "It was a good security measure, but unnecessary - Master Loda and Master Simera would have done what they did before the situation got out of hand."

"Done what they did"... hellsfire, we destroyed his dreams! "Could you sense where the extra power came from?"

"An external source. I didn't have time to trace it, but that amount of power was unnatural."

The Adept nodded soberly. "We - Master Yurino and I - did trace it, and you are right. One of the main energy sources had been uprooted - we suspect Anokiv Ronterdo. The power... it was only attracted to strong, unguarded energy paths."

"I know - but it was more than that." For the first time, Heero allowed anger creep into his voice. "The power was being fed - and not purely from natural sources. And it was not simply attracted to me, but directed at me."

Despite all his training, Master Tumi could not hide his shock. Raw elemental energy, by nature, flowed everywhere - Elementalists simply harnessed power from the infinite lines of energy around them. At most, the power could be charged, and thus become attracted to certain channels, but to actually *control* raw power... I would get burned up. Raw power is only raw before it touches energy channels; to handle it, I would have to work on the Elemental planes themselves. Which means I wouldn't be able to control the amount of power I touch. And if that's the case... hellfires, nobody's gift can be that strong! It's impossible! Even the strongest Adept would burn up almost instantly. So how did Anokiv manage... "Heero, are you absolutely sure?"

The boy looked straight at the Adept. "Yes."

The Adept almost flinched from the utter certainty in the cobalt eyes. He knows what it means. But the boy still wants vengeance... I can tell. Outwardly, the Elementalist asked one more question, though he knew the answer already. "Then what are you going to do?"

Again, the reply was simple. "I'll defeat him."

Or die in the process - I know you, young pupil. Better than you think. And the most we can do is help you, because we won't be able to change your mind. I only hope that you won't give up your humanity for the sake of that... vengeance. "Then good luck, Heero. If you need our help, you need only to ask."

The youth nodded in acknowledgement, and the Adept left, trying to shake himself clear of the chill he felt when looking into those icy, inhuman eyes.

*** end flashback ***

"Mili."

The prince tried to hide his surprise as he turned to his friend; Heero hadn't spoken directly to any of them since they arrived. "Heero?"

"The Healers say I'll be totally stable by next Monday. I need somebody to re-enrol me for lessons at the Mages' Collegium before that day - I had passed the Journeyman exam before I quit, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Mili blinked. Why ask me? Duo would have been willing to do it for you - and you know you'll hurt him by asking me instead. What's with you, Heero - how much have you changed? "Heero... you've only just awoken. Are you sure you'll be able to..." He was cut off as the other boy spoke.

"Don't worry about me. I've already sent a messenger to confirm my resumation of other lessons, but I need someone to charge the fees for Magic lessons to my parents' account." Heero's voice was monotonous but firm, leaving the prince no choice but to nod. After his companions left, Heero let his mask drop, but his thoughts remained the same. I'll pay you back, Anokiv Ronterdo. No matter what. You'll regret the day you messed with me. That's my goal; that's my mission. And I never fail my missions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** Five days later *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suri was becoming impatient; it had been almost a week since she arrived at the hospital, and in all that time, Mili hadn't come to "explain" things to her. I know he's the prince, but if he's too busy, why doesn't he just let me leave? Not that I've got anywhere to go to... At that moment, a knock came from the door. "Come in." Now who would come visit me? Unless...

"Hi, Suri - how do you feel?" The prince entered, shutting the door behind him. "I'm sorry for taking so long - it's been rather... hectic."

"Um... that's okay. And I'm fine. Uh... sorry for yelling at you last time." Suri fought to control the blush rising to her cheeks. Dammit, I'm getting flustered again! I mean, he's only the *prince*, after all - wait. *Only* the prince? I must be going crazy...

Mili grinned, and sat down beside her. "I thought that was my fault? My apologies for it anyway - hiding my identity, I mean."

"Uh - well, we'll call it quits then." He's right - I can imagine how differently people act when they know he's the prince. That's what happened with me! But he should have given me the benefit of the doubt - now I'll just have to prove him wrong, won't I? With that, she made a conscious effort at relaxing. "So... do you know what happened? Delia wasn't sure about most of it, so she just explained what channels were, and how they needed to be guarded."

The prince obliged, saying, "Do you remember when we were walking towards the forest?" At her nod, he continued, "Well, you see, energy can be sensed everywhere by people with the Elemental gift, but in reality, all the energy lines are joined to a certain place on the Elemental Plane. When many of these lines are combined, they form an energy source, and these sources contain a *lot* of power. What happened was that one of the sources had been disconnected from the plane, or uprooted, resulting in a lot of rogue power. That power was basically attracted to unguarded energy channels - in other words, it was attracted to you." He cocked his head, watching her reaction.

Suri frowned. "And I couldn't handle that much at once. But one thing I don't understand - Delia mentioned something about raw power. What is that?"

"Well, energy that hasn't entered anybody's channels is referred to as raw power. As far as I know, you can't control that power - you need to harness it, or draw it into your energy channels first."

"Ah. So the energy basically went berserk, and chased after anybody with unguarded energy channels." She hesitated, wondering whether or not her next question would be appropriate. "Um... if you don't mind me asking, what happened to the boy - Heero? Is he okay?"

The prince paused, considering how much information he should tell her, before opting for the truth, if only an abbreviated version of it. "He was hurt - worse than you, actually, because the energy was attracted mainly to him, and was rushing in too quickly for him to shield himself. The Masters... they had to terminate his gift to stop him from blowing apart."

Suri didn't bother hiding her wince. "That sounds bad, even to me. I mean, he would have cared a lot about his gift to get through to the Master exam, right?"

Mili's reply was simple. "It was his life."

The girl's face softened, sensing the pain that the prince hid beneath his easy-going tarade. "I'm sorry. That sounds dumb, I know, but..."

The prince shook his head. "No, it's alright - thank you. He'll pull through, his other gifts are as strong as his Elemental one. I'm more worried about..." Mili cut himself off abruptly. He could still see the anguish in Duo's eyes as he tried, time and time again, to reach his cousin - and was rebuffed, each time. He could remember Heero's reply - both the impassive, monotonous words and the accompanying stare. I'm more worried about what you've become, the way you are cutting yourself off. And the way all your attention is focussed on becoming perfect, at mastering your gifts, and leaving you no time to be human...

Suri watched silently as the prince withdrew into his thoughts, knowing better than to ask about what he left unsaid. When he sent her an apologetic glance, she simply pretended nothing happened, instead asking a question that had been on her mind since he said "primarily" at their first meeting. "Was this the other reason the shields were placed on the grounds?"

Mili shook himself clear of his reverie, rather startled that she had noticed his slip of tongue that morning. There's no point hiding it now, is there? "Yes. Enemies of the examinee or their families, or of the Sanq kingdom, would be able to attack freely if the shields did not exist. We have yet to find out what happened, this time, but once we do, we'll be able to stop that as well."

She nodded. "Did you say something about Elementalist training being free?" I'll have to learn, now, won't I? At least next time, I might not get knocked out without knowing what the hell happened.

The prince smiled, secretly relieved that she had agreed to be trained - any type of gift was dangerous, when uncontrolled. "Sure. Are you feeling well enough to walk for a while?"

Suri rolled her eyes. "I've been lying there for the past five days. Where are we going?"

Mili slipped on a grin. "Elementalists' Collegium. Prepare for training, girl - the teachers there are tough. Especially if you get the Master I think you're going to get."

She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing - all in good time. And besides, it doesn't seem *that* hard to act normal around him, does it?

Notes:

[1] Did I get this point through? I think I dropped a couple of hints, the most prominent of which can be found at the end of Chapter III (in the conversation between Master Tumi and Master Yurino. And Heero is referred to as the "most potentially powerful" Elementalist in Sanq, so...

So, Heero's turned into the Perfect Soldier, and Suri's started training. The story has finally begun. ^_^ To clarify some points: Mili and Quatre are half-brothers (they're 14 and 12, respectively). They're last names will be explained, and there will be more information about everyone's parents later, but I'm the type who lets bits of info drop as the story goes. Sowie :P. The fic already gives Suri, Duo and Heero's ages (12, 12 and 13), and there are small hints that Wufei is 12, and Trowa is 13. By the way, I know that the speech is a bit too civilised, but it will probably loosen up when the war starts, since there won't be any nobles or parents around to check their etiquette :).

Anyway, please keep the reviews coming in... hmm, what should I do this time? Oh yeah - *holds gun up*. If I don't get a review, omae o korosu! (Just kidding! O_o )