Disclaimer: Though all the GW characters from the series aren't mine, the story is, and so are the other characters. I'll send Heero after anyone who steals them!

Warnings: eventual shounen ai, swearing, magic

Notes: Thanks to all those who reviewed, and especially to those ultra-nice people who told me to get well soon. Believe me, I'm trying - stupid hands won't listen, that's all!

Landlady of the Universe: Hi! Yup, Maguanacs are here, and Father Maxwell and co will be more than inserts. I mean, someone's life was affected deeply by them... I'm not about to change that, right?

AyanamiChan: Thanks, and I will! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Shin'sTwin: I'm glad you think so. Please keep reading and reviewing!

Stephanie Yuy: I'm glad Heero talked to Suri too... he doesn't talk enough. Thanks for reviewing, and hope you enjoy!

shadowofdragons: Hehe... here's the next chapter. Does that count?

Heather: Thanks! And I do write in my head... problem is, getting it down anywhere is the problem. Oh well, here's a chappie!

Emcron: Hi Emcron! Thanks for reviewing, and in answer to your question... here goes!





Part XVII: Loyalties


"Elder!"

The aging man turned, raising a hand to calm the person before him. "Calm down. What is it?"

"She has run off, and took a group of men have followed her. Should we send some fighters after them?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Run off, you say?"

"Yes, to the northeast, if the trials are correct. I suspect she may be following the Windriders."

There was a thoughtful pause, then a slight smile. "Pretend nothing has happened."

"Huh... I mean, I beg your pardon, Elder?"

The man gave him a shrewd look. "I mean what I said. Do you and the others think I have not noticed our situation? How there have been more and more so-called accidents and disappearances lately? I'm not going to give Oz an excuse to attack, not until they have declared themselves against us. But I cannot stop anything I do not know about, can I?" With that, Luiordo of the gypsies turned and strode back into his tent.

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

"Wufei, what are you doing here? And are the others with you? Heero?" The blonde half rose, her expression hopeful. [1]

The boy resisted the urge to gape. How could she be so cheerful, unless... "No and no. Relena..." He took a deep breath. "Don't you know what happened?"

"What?" Disappointed, the girl had sat down, the tone of her question disinterested.

Wufei swallowed deeply. Can I break this easily? She's an onna... she might break on me...

Seeing his hesitation, Relena looked up again. "Wufei, what is it?"

"Relena..." A deep breath. "Your parents are dead."

The blue eyes widened, and a pale hand rose to her lips in a smooth movement born from years of practice. Opening and closing her mouth a few times, she finally managed, "Huh?"

I might as well finish telling her; she deserves that much, and I should respect her parents' memories... "The palace was invaded on Zolt'é. All the people at the celebration were killed in the fire. I myself am supposed to be dead. I thought you were."

Relena sat in silence, her mouth opened in an expression of shock that warred with the disbelief in her eyes. After an eternity, she whispered, "Excuse me." Before he could react, she had run out the door. Wufei considered going after her, but decided against it - she had to deal with it herself. With a deep sigh, he turned back to his soup, but for some reason, it seemed to have lost its taste.

¡@

Outside, at the edge of the steep mountain path, a blonde head was tilted upwards, the rays of the setting sun glinting off the wetness on her cheeks. "Heeeeerooo! I'm right over here, so why don't you come and kill me?" [2]

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

They don't know who we really are. Heero's mindvoice was tight but controlled.

Do you have any idea who they are?

The prince stole a glance at Suri, and realised that the girl had no idea of the danger they were in. Gods, this is getting worse... They're mercenaries called the Maguanacs. There are forty of them. Rumours say they cost a fortune to hire, but everything we know confirms they're worth it. They're everything you could ask for - ruthless, experienced and utterly determined.

And they've never, ever failed. Even Duo's voice was grave.

Suri bit her lip but said nothing, digesting the information in silence. Meanwhile, Zechs answered grimly, "If you want us, you'll have to kill us first."

All of them agreed silently, but after a second, Quatre sent softly, Zechs, you know that we don't stand a chance, right?

Zechs' blue eyes were calm. If that's the case, we'll go out together. But no battle is lost before it is fought.

Right.

Suri felt a sudden burst of comradeship lift her spirits. We'll survive, somehow. After all, we've made it this far... But she didn't have any more time to ponder - it was as though Zech's word had been an invisible signal. In a swift, practiced movement, the Maguanacs pressed in on them, attacking their shields with both magic and weaponry. Seeing Heero fire a 'bolt' of magical energy, she sent her gift lashing out, but it bounced off the men, leaving them unharmed. For a moment, she froze in shock - how could anybody have energy for such a large shield?

Beside her, Zechs was wielding his sword with unfeigned expertise, but the magic obscured his vision and made him stumble. His mindvoice was edged with worry as he sent, Heero, can you teleport us?

The Mage sent a negative but didn't bother replying; he, too, was beseiged on all sides. His message was clear - there was nowhere near enough time. And although his gift allowed him to see through the energy, the sheer numbers were wearing him down. Suri frowned suddenly. How am I remaining alive? I'm nowhere near as good with weapons as they are. Then, in a flash of realisation, she understood. Quickly guaging her supply of energy, she yelled, Quat, they're not shielded against Empathy! Even as she spoke, she was reaching out to the blonde.

The aquamarine eyes widened as Quatre realised what she wanted, and without hesitation, he merged his gift with hers. Swiftly, they projected a surge of fear at those closest to them, and Suri nodded in satisfaction as the seasoned men hesitated. Just then, there was a whizzing sound and a volley of arrows buried themselves in the shoulders of the men on the outer ring of fighters, some of whom froze in shock for a milisecond. Suri just managed to stop herself from whirling around, but as another set flew past and found their targets, again at unholy speeds, she couldn't help but gasp. Beside her, Heero barked, Don't lose your concentration!

She almost nodded, but realised the Mage would not see it, and mentally shook herself. Quatre, again?

The blonde waited a second, then responded, Now! They merged and attacked once more, and just as before, the brief hesitation on the Maguanacs' part was enough for a third lot of arrows. With a start, Suri saw that only three men of the forty were left standing. One, the leader, was fighting with Zechs - the pair moved so quickly that a shot would probably have been too risky. Another man had three broken arrows beside him, and was parrying with Heero. A Mage, she realised suddenly. But they are usually worse at fighting...

Without thinking, she whipped her own dagger around and attacked the mercenary's jagular. The man's eyes widened and he raised his sword to block her, giving Heero the opportunity he needed - before she knew it, the Maguanac was down, with the hilt of another dagger in his shoulder and Heero's sword at his neck. From behind her, there was a low groan, and she spun to see the leader fall. She frowned slightly, noticing no sign of injury, then Duo turned and gave her a brief, grim smile, and she realised he had been waiting for the Mage to fall - and with him, the shields - before launching a quick light-bolt of his own.

Quickly, she turned to where Trowa was fighting the third and last Maguanac. The man must have registered the fall of his companions, because his moves were rough and held an edge of panic. Suddenly, he darted to the side to avoid an attack and called, "I surrender!"

Trowa paused slightly, and the man dropped his sword, lifting both arms in a guesture of surrender. Suri felt a surge of anger from behind, and turned to look at the leader, whose lips were tight with fury - or was it pain? He needn't have worried; Trowa's sword was at the last man's throat as he said contemptously, "I despise cowards." With that, his arm tensed in preparation of the killing blow, and the man swallowed.

In that instant, Quatre shouted unexpectedly, "Stop!" The other boy turned to him with a mild frown, but he said firmly, "It is dishonourable to kill anyone who surrenders. And I want to see who our rescuers are, first."

A familiar figure emerged from the bushes, followed by several others dressed in traditional gypsy fighting attire.

"Hilde!" Suri ran and embraced the other girl tightly, then pulled back slightly. "How'd you know we were here?"

The gypsy's grin held an edge of seriousness to it. "We found out that Oz had hired the Maguanacs soon after you left, but father didn't want to break our peace contract. Somehow, he doesn't realise that Oz will move onto the free people once he conquers Sanq." She gestured to her followers. "These people agree with me - we can't let Oz win, and we will do whatever we can to stop them from winning."

Suri gave Hilde's hand a squeeze, feeling slightly overwhelmed, and Zechs gave her the official bow normally reserved for elders. Nobody missed the implications of his action. In disobeying the gypsy laws, Hilde had declared herself a gypsy traitor and the leader of a rebel group. The fact that the prince accorded her with the respect due to a gypsy Elder spoke more than words could.

"Hey, nice to see you all," Duo's voice broke the silence. "but what are we gonna do about these guys here?"

"The arrows were dipped in a sleeping drug, nothing fatal."

"Hmm..." Zechs looked at the leader. "What do you want us to do with the traitor?"

The leader looked surprised for a moment, but answered without hesitation, "Kill him."

"No!" The man made as if to move, but froze when Trowa's knife pressed against his throat. "Rashid, we couldn't beat them... I had to do something..."

The leader looked at him. "What is the one standing rule in our party?"

The man's voice was subdued. "Never betray one another."

Rashid nodded, then glanced at Zechs. "Quickly will do; we don't abide torture. Or if you wish, I will do it. I cannot escape, anyhow."

The prince paused, thoughtfully, then let him up. Rashid took one look at the cowering man and in one swift movement, the head fell to the ground. He handed the knife to Zechs hilt first. The prince took it. "Now, I don't suppose you will tell us who hired you?"

A blunt shake of head. Zechs sighed softly. "You know I will have to kill you."

There was a nod.

Besides Zechs, Quatre looked slightly shaken, but took the knife from his brother and offered it once more. "Would you prefer to do it yourself?"

For a moment, gratitude shone in the eyes of the leader as he took the weapon and tensed for the penetration.

"Wait!" The blonde suddenly looked thoughtful. "Can we find some way to spare your men? And if we do, would they feel any obligation to kill us?"

"The contract was made out to me." A brief burst of hope flickered in the man's face.

"How much can you reveal?"

"We either kill the Windriders, bring you to our employer alive or die in the process."

"I see." A thoughtful pause. "It is specifically your... employer?"

"Yes."

"And is there a time limit?"

"No."

"Do you feel any need, aside from that stated on your contract, to complete this task?"

"Not particularly."

"Then what if you... delay the task until we kill your employer and thus void your contract?"

A silence. "I don't see why that isn't possible... although it isn't particularly honourable."

Quatre gave him a sad smile. "Life rarely is black and white. I wish it was."

Rashid looked as though he wished to ask a question, but said instead, "Why do you want to save us?"

"I don't like death. And you don't either, not really." A brief smile. "Did the contract specify the Windriders?"

"Yes."

"Are there any other specifications?"

"The Windriders were described as a terrorist group causing dissent and disruption in Sanq."

Zechs' face tightened, but Quatre asked softly, "And if we can prove otherwise?"

Rashid paused, then said slowly, "The contract can be deemed as void."

The Healer looked at Zechs, who closed his eyes. Well, I was going to tell Hilde, and these gypsies are probably trustworthy since they risked their deaths in helping her. But these Maguanacs...

Quatre looked at Rashid, and asked simply, "Can we trust you?"

The man stared back. "At the moment, no. I am bound to the contract."

The prince nodded, apparently satisfied. He's a good man. I trust his word. Outwardly, he said, "And your people?"

A cough drew their attention to the fallen Mage. "We go where Rashid leads. All of us. Even if he dies." He was bleeding profusely from the wound, but his voice was firm. Wordlessly, Quatre walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping the bleeding.

"Abdul..."

"It's the truth, and you know it."

The two men stared at one another for a long moment, then Rashid bowed his head. "It is as he says."

Suri sent, They meant every word of that.

Yes. Zechs stood straighter. Does anyone have any other comment? No? Here goes nothing, then... Quatre, wake the men.

The Healer moved among the mercenaries, reviving them one by one with a brief touch. They woke, bewildered, but Rashid must have been giving out an unspoken signal, because they sat up and waited.

When Zechs finally spoke, his voice carried easily, borne from years of practice. "I think introductions are in order, then. Contrary to popular belief, we are not simply a group formed to oppose the Oz invasion. We were forced out of our homes Oz. We saw our lives taken away, our families killed, our friends burnt to death by the fire Oz set. So we fled and swore to do everything in our power to prevent Oz from controlling Sanq. Some of you may have heard of me." He paused for effect. "My name is Milliardo Peacecraft."

A stunned murmur passed through the small crowd. Zechs waited for it to pass, then continued, "And, in order, these are Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy, Elementalist Suriku and Duo Maxwell." He turned to Rashid. "Your contract is void."

The leader nodded, stood, then bowed to the prince. "Prince Milliardo, I offer you my unconditional allegience, and that of the Maguanacs. We thank you for sparing our lives."

"Your allegience is gratefully accepted." Zechs offered his hand, and the man shook it. Then, the prince smiled at Quatre. "But it is he who you thank for your life."

"And indeed I do." Rashid turned to the blonde. "I do not have an offer of allegience for you, Prince Quatre, but for what it is worth, you have my loyalty." He paused. "I will never forget what you did."

Quatre smiled softly, taking his hand. "I thank you, Rashid. And for what it is worth, you have my friendship."






Notes:

[1] - No, I'm not bitchifying or idiotising her, but you have to admit she was rather... *beep* at the beginning. But she should mature... someday...

[2] - That *had* to go in somewhere... lol...

The title for this chapter is appropriate, ne? Loyalty between Suri and the guys, Hilde's shift in loyalty, the Maguanac's newfound loyalty, and the other more subtle bits floating around. And btw, I *loved* Quatre in that section! It parallels Episode Zero, in some ways. O_O I've sorta done sections starring most of the guys since the war started. Only Mili's left... and Duo... *cackles evilly*

As always, I don't know how long the next chapter will take - who knows, a dose of reviews might help! ^.^

¡@