Title: Between Darkness and Light – Echoes from the Past
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are
mine though.
Betaed: Nope, this chappies not betaed *pouts* so please excuse any mistakes there might be in here.
Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's
18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene
~……..~ = Nataku's speech
'………' = Thoughts
Feeling the body go limp within his arms, Heero quickly checked for any signs of life and sighed in relief
when he found the child to be sleeping.
Carefully cradling Elly in his arms, Heero handed the small blonde girl over to one of the villagers before
sharply demanding "What happened? And what is this red demon she was talking about?"
"We do not know its name, only what the abomination looks like…that, and what that demon did to our people
and our village" Said an elderly man as he stepped out from within the crowd.
Turning his attention away from the villager in front of him, Heero locked his piercing blue gaze with the
aging man. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the Prussian eyed boy simply said "Explain"
Sighing wearily, the old man roamed aging eyes over his fellow villagers before resting back on the stormy
blue eyes of the boy standing in front of him. Taking a deep breath, the old man began.
"There is not much I can say really, it wasn't long until after you and your two absent companion's left
when a few more outsiders entered the village, not that that's anything new. Being were we are our village
tends to get a lot of travellers stopping by before they head out on the final stretch to Sanq.
Didn't get a good look at them myself and I doubt that any of the others would be able to tell you anything
either. The only thing that stuck in my memory about them was that one of strangers had some type of metal
mask covering most of his head and long platinum blonde hair. His hair wasn't as long as your friends mind
you, now that was a rope of hair if I've ever saw one.
The next thing anyone knew, right smack in the middle of our little village that demon appeared out of
nowhere and started tearing the place up. That's when young Elly there lost her parents and most of the
other villagers who managed to escape lost their family members as well.
I never saw the demons full height, but crouched down like it was, it easily towered over the village
buildings. It was blood red in colour and had a pair of leathery wings twice the size of its body sticking
out the back of it. But it was its eyes that really chilled me to the bone, they were bright green and
glowing but there was nothing but pure evil lurking behind their depths"
The shiver that ran through not only the old mans body, but most of all the other villagers didn't go
unnoticed by either Heero or Wufei as the elderly man finished his tale
Sharing a glance quickly with the Chinese boy, Heero turned his attention towards the Hight priest G "Are
there any other temples or churches within the city that can take these people in?"
Nodding his head, the old priest answered "This is the only temple allowed within the city, but there are
numerous churches available that could easily house these villagers"
With that problem solved, Heero turned his attention to the villager holding the sleeping blonde and coolly
stated "Take care of that child"
A small smile graced the villager's lips as he caught the hint of worry in Heero's voice and tightened his
hold on Elly's sleeping form "We will…. it would make her happy if you could visit her sometimes"
Regarding the man before him silently for a few moments, the blue eyed boy smiled slightly and gave a brief
nod before walking back over to where Wufei stood.
Taking that as a sign that things were done, the High priest herded the villages out of the temple while
saying "I will show you to the nearest church if you would all please follow me"
Calm onyx eyes watched as the last few villagers exited the temple before turning his attentions towards the
boy at his side "What do you make of all this?"
"I don't think this has anything to do with the prophecy if that's what you mean, but the appearance of the
demon does trouble me. From the descriptions that the villagers gave, did it mean anything to you?" The
blue eyed boy asked as he looked at his friend.
"I'm not sure, I would have to see this demon for myself but from what we've heard, it does match the
descriptions of a dragon demon from one of the stories Master O use to tell me as a child"
Getting Heero's unwavering attention, the blue eyed boy raised a delicate eyebrow at his friend as he
curiously asked "And what story might that be?"
"It is a story set in the times when the ancient Gods still walked upon the Earth, back in a time where
dragons filled the sky and demons filled the land. The story itself is about one of Shenlong's most
powerful dragons, the gold dragon Epyon. Epyon was favoured by Shenlong above all the other dragons and
was gifted with great power. Over time the gold dragon became jealous of all the power and respect the
dragon god got from the other clan members and longed for that same power and respect himself.
It is said that Epyon abandoned the Dragon clan to join up with a great evil and after swearing loyalty
to this evil, the golden scales turned a dark red and his sky blue eyes now burned a bright green from
jealousy.
After being bestowed with unimaginable power by this great evil, a great battle took place between Shenlong
and Epyon as the now dragon demon flew back to his clan in order to challenge the dragon god for his title.
The battle lasted for months and many of the dragons within the clan were killed in the epic battle.
Eventually Shenlong was able to defeat Epyon but he too was gravely injured in the battle. After a triumphant
battle cry heard all throughout the world, the injured Shenlong flew up to the highest peak of what is now
called the Nibel Mountain's for his eternal slumber.
Let us just hope that the demon described in the attack on their village isn't the dragon demon Epyon,
or all we know will be lost because there is no known power strong enough to defeat him"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"I thought we finally got rid of your sorry ass" Mocked a tall lean figure leaning casually against the
wall over the other side of the room.
Sighing dramatically while resting the back of his hand against his forehead, Duo replied "Ahhh the
pleasures of returning home after a long and dangerous journey out into the world…You always make me feel
so loved Solo"
Chuckling lightly, the blonde figure pushed himself off from the wall and made his way over to trap Duo
in a tight embrace "It's good to have you back kid"
Returning the embrace, Duo answered "It's good to be back"
Releasing each other at the same time, Solo took a step back and gazed approvingly at his friend "Looks
like you've grown a bit since the last time I saw you, won't be long and you'll be taller than me"
Grinning mischievously, Duo retorted "Then I will finally be able to call you kid" Before poking his tongue
out and dodging the playful punch aimed in his direction
"Ah you will have to do better than that to defeat the great Shinigami" Stated the braided boy arrogantly.
"Challenge accepted"
Before Duo's mind could register what the other had said, Solo leapt forward trapping the braided boy's
head under his arm, then proceeded to rub his knuckles repeatedly into Duo's thick chestnut mane.
"Oww Solo let me go will ya" Duo whined pathetically as he attempted to squirm out of the others tight
grasp.
Grinning madly, Solo's blue eyes sparkled with mirth "No way Death-boy! Not until you give up and declare
the great Shinigami's defeat to this lowly mortal"
Stopping his struggle, Duo took in a deep breath as he focused his energy while he warned "Solo, I'll ask
only one more time…let me go"
When no leniencies were made, Duo finally said "Don't say I didn't warn you" Before he quickly brought
a leg out in front of Solo's and tripped the blonde.
Bracing himself for what he knew was coming next, the braided boy let out a small "eep" As both boys went
crashing to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs.
"You could have just given in you know…it would have saved us both a trip to the floor" The blonde stated as
he attempted to get his bearings back.
Panting heavily from the previous abuse to his poor innocent head, Duo said "Well if you would have let me
go when I asked you to, I wouldn't of have to trip you…plus Shinigami never gives in"
"That damn pride of yours will get you into trouble one of these days kid" Solo warned seriously as he sat
up, holding one hand to the back of his head aching head.
Shrugging his shoulders as he stood, Duo stretched lazily before changing the subject "The old man in?
I need to speak to him"
Use to the abrupt subject changes, Solo nodded his head "Yeah, but not for long. He's got a meeting
scheduled in an hour so you better make it quick"
Mock saluting his friend, Duo's grin turned into a smile as he said "Take care and we'll have to catch up
sometime before we leave again"
Inclining his head, Solo returned the smile "Sure thing and don't forget to say hi to Tro for me"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
The market place seemed unusually busy to Trowa as he left the main street and silently entered one of the
smaller inns that littered the main street of Sanq.
Walking up to where the innkeeper stood behind the bar, the quiet archer placed a pouch full of coins upon
the wooden surface and waited patiently for the man to acknowledge him. He didn't have to wait long as
the sounds of coins rattling instantly got the man's attention.
Throwing the cleaning rag over his shoulder, the innkeeper placed a well used mug onto the surface closest
to him before asking "What can I do for you?"
Doing a quick scan of the room before settling his emerald gaze upon the innkeeper, Trowa asked "Have you
two rooms available?"
An oily smile appeared on the mans face as he answered "Sure do, ten gold per night they are"
Emerald green eyes unwaveringly gazed into the other mans as Trowa calmly said "Six gold, you are not
dealing with a tourist here"
Seeing that he'd been caught out, the innkeeper reluctantly agreed to the price before handing over the
keys to the rooms.
Taking the offered keys, Trowa never broke his gaze from the innkeeper as he added "I have two mounts out
front that need to be taken to the stables and cared for, I expect them to still be there when my companion
and I decide to leave" Before turning around and leaving the inn.
Making his way back out into the crowded street, the quiet archer was deciding to use this time to stock
up on their supplies before heading over to the Barge to meet Duo when he bumped into someone.
Murmuring a quiet apology, the banged boy was about to continue on his way when a familiar voice spoke up.
"Hey Trowa, is that you?"
Raising an eyebrow in question, Trowa turned his attention back to the person he bumped into and smiled
slightly in surprise as he greeted them "Sally, what are you doing out of the palace?"
Returning her friends smile, Sally's voice had a hint of sadness in it as she answered "One of the village's
nearby was attacked recently and the refugees have been sent to some of the churches here in Sanq. Queen
Relena asked me to tend to the wounded and to try and find out exactly what happened in the attack, so
here I am, I'm on my way over to see them now"Interested in what had happened, the archer asked "Mind if I
join you? I still have a few hours to kill before I have to meet up with Duo and I too would like to know
what happened"
Still smiling, the sadness from before was gone as she happily replied "Sure, I could use all the help I
can get" And with a playful wink she added "And the company would be nice too"
Laughing softly, Trowa put off his supply shopping for the time being and followed Sally through the
crowded market place.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Duo my boy, how have you been?" A cheerful voice called out as the braided boy entered the brightly
lit room.
With laughter in his voice, Duo answered "Yeah same old Howie, how have things been with you?"
The joyous tone faded somewhat as Howard replied "Not too bad with all things considered"
Sensing the trouble in the other mans tone, Duo asked in concerned "How so?"
Sighing heavily, Howard gestured to the chair opposite him and said "I think you might want to take a
seat, a lot's happened since you left"
Taking the offered seat, the braided boy sat down heavily into the chair as he wearily replied "I know
what you mean"
Picking up the pitcher on the table before him, Howard began to pour two goblets of wine before handing
one over to the braided boy "Anything you want to talk about?"
Sipping at the wine to taste the flavour, Duo swallowed his mouthful before speaking "Oh you know the
usual, following leads as to what OZ might be up to, fighting our way out of impossible and dangerous
situations" Chuckling quietly to himself the braided boy then added "Rescuing damsels in distress..although
take out the damsel part and replace it with mysterious handsome text translators"
Laughing slightly to himself, Howard lowered his goblet "I heard about that boy you picked up a few days
ago, he must be something if he caught the attention of the great Shinigami so quickly"
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, Duo replied good naturedly "Yeah
those times were interesting to say the least, but we parted ways half a day ago after we ran into one of
his friends"
Seeing the bright violet eyes dull slightly, Howard sympathetically stated "That boy really did a number on
you didn't he?"
The grin faded into a small sad smile as Duo shrugged slightly and solemnly replied "Well it's not like
anything would have come of it anyway. He works in the temple at Enlizer palace and I'm just a thief who's
stuck in the past and hell bent on revenge. Not that it matters anymore anyway, its not like we're ever
going to see each other again….so tell me what's been happening here since I left?"
Noticing how pale the other man had become, concern entered Duo's voice as he asked "Howie? What's wrong?"
Watching the swirling patterns of the wine within the goblet, Howard turned his attention away from the
red liquid and to the worried boy before him as he said "There's been a lot of trouble here in Sanq of
late. Word on the street is that the royal family of Enlizer were greatly angered by Duke Noventa on his
last visit there as unknown to him some of his crew broke into the palace and stole some sacred treasure
before making off with the Dukes ship leaving the poor bastard stranded there.
They eventually released Noventa and allowed him to travel back here just before the king placed an embargo
on the palace to all ingoing and outgoing traffic.
The worst of it is that we now have the entire of the Sanq army out there looking for us because it was
said that it was the Sweepers who broke into the palace and stole the treasure"
Violet eyes widened in surprise as Duo asked "You didn't though, did you?"
Shaking his head in a negative, Howard sighed softly before replying "No, I never authorised any attack to
be done on the palace, you would have to be completely suicidal to even think about stealing from that place"
Duo's body relaxed in relief as he said "That's a relief, I would have seriously began to question your
sanity if you ordered something like that"
"There is still more you need to know before you think about relaxing Duo" Howard seriously said.
Instantly on alert, Duo raised an eyebrow as he asked "Yeah, and what might that be?"
Placing the barely touched goblet on the wooden table before him, Howard continued "Right after I head about
the incidents involving Enlizer, I went out myself to see if all my men were accounted for and ended up
finding that quite a number of them were in fact missing.
I began asking all the higher ups in the Sweepers if they had anything to do with the whole mess but they
were just as clueless about the whole damn thing as I was. It's obvious that one of them is lying but I've
got no proof as to which one of them it could be. So it's now looking as though I've got at least one
person within the group that's ordering high profile jobs behind my back."
Sighing wearily, Howard began to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration as he continued "What's worse
is that I've heard of similar things happening in the other smaller thieving groups in the city, they've
mentioned that some of their members have been disappearing over the past few days.
And just to top things off, it seems as though that what ever was stolen has apparently been lost by the ones
who stole it in the first place, so now you've got ever thief and his dog out there looking for the lost
treasure.
Oh but wait, this is the part that will probably interest you the most, I also found out that OZ is also out
there busy looking for this treasure"
"What?!" Duo yelled out as he automatically stood up from his chair and slammed his hands down on the table
before him "Just what the hell kind of treasure is it if it's caught their attention?"
Shaking his head, Howard replied "That's the thing, no one even knows what the treasure looks like, absolutely
nothing is know about it"
"You know, it would royally piss those OZ bastards off if we managed to get to the treasure first, don't you
think?" The braided boy suggested with a smirk firmly planted on his face.
A knock at the door drew their attention away from their conversation as the door opened and in walked one
of the Sweeper messengers.
Casting a brief glance at Duo, the messenger then turned toward Howard and said "I've been sent to inform
you that the others are ready" And after receiving a nod from Howard, the messenger left just as quickly
as he came.
Throwing Duo an apologetic look, Howard grinned as he said "This is an idea we will have to discuss more
later, come by again tomorrow and I'll be sure to leave the afternoon free so we will have enough time to
discuss things properly"
Before the older man left the room, a sudden thought entered the braided boys mind as he curiously asked
"Hey Howie before you go, have you ever heard of the term Jurei?"
A look of confusion passed over Howard's face before he said "Can't say that I have, where did you hear
it?"
Shrugging his shoulders, the braided boy easily replied "No where important, just heard it when we were
travelling"
Nodding his head, Howard waved a brief farewell before heading out the door.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Please take a seat, both of you….we're going to be here for a while" G said as he gestured to the chairs
adjacent to his own.
Taking the offered seats, Heero's gaze quickly met that of Wufei's before returning their attention back
to the old priest before them. Ignoring the weariness he felt form the long day's journey, Heero narrowed
his Prussian eyes as he got straight to the point "How do you know me?"
"I know you because I too was born in the Amara temple, not only that but I watched the first few years of
your life Heero before I had to leave to come here. I suppose you would like me to tell in more detail
though?" The old priest asked.
Simultaneously, Heero and Wufei nodded their agreement to the question asked as they both sat in silence
waiting for the story to start.
Leaning back in the large chair, G took the opportunity to study the two boys before him. Wufei, he thought
to himself, was identical to Master O. Not only with the way the boy carried himself around others, but
the whole justice and honour principles had obviously been inter-grained into his thinking since a young
age…not that that was a bad thing of course.
Turning his gaze over to Heero, the character that he had witnessed from the boy earlier was defiantly
the spitting image to the Jurei's guardian and mentor. The cool, calculating look the boy gave when finding
himself in an unforeseen situation along with the effective way to rectify the problem were tell tails
signs of J's tutoring…but there had been an unexpected but welcomed warmth in the Jurei's blue eyes as he
comforted the grief stricken child even though his voice remained virtually emotionless the entire time.
Deciding to focus on the situation at hand, G closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before
opening them and starting his story.
"I was born in the temple a few years after the currant High Priest J. As for one born within the temple,
I was brought up studying all about the Gods and the history of not only our temple and palace, but of
the entire world also which was ordinary training for a priest as you both should know.
Over the years J and I became good friends. I guess you could say it was due to our friendship that I am in
the position I am in today. Once it was know to the previous High Priest that his successor and I were such
close friends, on top of my normal study he allowed me to sit in on some of J's personal tutoring.
Of course I was not allowed to sit in on every session, only the ones that the previous High Priest deemed
appropriate for one not baring the sacred mark.
Things progressed this way for quite a number of years, until J became the High Priest at the early age of
twenty seven and took over the duties of running the temple and all those who worshiped there.
Everything was going well and the temple was thriving under J's care but there was one major problem that
not even the High Priest could fix, there was still no heir born to succeed J. That wouldn't have been too
much of a problem except for one thing, while in his early forties J mysteriously fell ill. Things at
that time were not looking well and for the first time in history it looked like the temple would fall to
ruin without an heir should J had pass on before one was born.
With my earlier sessions with J during my childhood, it was decided by the other priests that I should
take over the position of High Priest should J pass before an heir was born.
Accepting the honour, I devoted much over the next three years to studying as much as possible from the
ill priest and was allowed access to the ancient tomes and scrolls within his chambers.
It was during my third year of study that a stranger entered the temple and for the first time in history,
the temple priests allowed one not born of the temple a place to stay. You see the one who entered the
temple at that time was none other than Master O and the little bundle that he held protectively within
his grasp"
Pausing in his story, the High Priest G looked over at Wufei as he stated "And before you ask no, I will
not give you anymore information. If you want to find out, you will have to ask Master O himself when
both you and Heero return to the temple" With that said, G turned his attention back to Heero and continued
on with the story, never once allowing the Chinese boy the time to utter a single word.
"We took the three of you into the temple after preforming the appropriate ceremonies and allowed you to
stay with us until a proper shrine could be built for the Shenlong child to worship in.
J was still ill a year later and we were no closer to finding a cure for the mysterious illness that struck
the proper High Priest down. It was when it looked like J would pass on into the next realm that you,
Heero was finally born.
At once we took you into J's chamber so then he could accept and bless you as the next High Priest. As soon
as we handed you over to the priest though, his mysterious illness was cured the instant his body came into
contact with yours.
To this day we still have no idea how that was even possible and J himself would never tell us the reason
as to why that happened.
Now with the High Priest at full health once again and a new heir for the temple, everything thankfully
went back to normal. J returned to his position as High Priest and took on the roll of caring for and
raising the next heir. And I was one of the few privileged enough to see both you and Wufei grow up.
It wasn't until after your fifth birthday and Wufei's sixth birthday when representatives from the kingdom
of Sanq arrived at the palace and proposed the building of a temple within their own kingdom. The King
approved the proposal in hope of strengthening ties between our two kingdoms and left the decision up to
J as to which priests would be sent.
As you both can probably tell, J was not in the least bit pleased at losing any of the priests under him
but reluctantly had to choose a selection of them. Out of the 30 priests and acolytes within the temple,
J chose five of each to go to the new one.
It was after those ten were chosen that J had turned to me and offered the position of High Priest.
I accepted his offer of course and when the representatives left to go back to Sanq a few days later, I
left with them. And as you can obviously see, this is where I have been ever since. Now I'm sure you're
both very tired from your journey, we can discuss the rest tomorrow and I'll answer any questions you
have to the best of my abilities, but right now I want nothing more than the two of you to get some rest"
Standing up from his seat, the High priest made his way over to the door and held it open.
Knowing that they would not get any more information out of the old priest that night, Heero and Wufei
stood at the same time. Just before leaving the room, Heero turned towards G and quietly said "Until
tomorrow then" Then continued his way out of the room.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Duo came bouncing into the crowed pub and headed straight over to the dark corner where he could see
his friend sitting all alone nursing a full mug of beer before him.
Seating himself across from his friend, the braided boy waved at the barmaid to bring a drink over as
he casually said "Howard had some pretty interesting things to tell me today"
When all he was answered with was silence, Duo turned his attention away from the young barmaid handing
over his drink and to his silent friend.
Waving a hand in front of Trowa's face, the braided boy asked "Hey Tro, you alright?"
Blinking back into awareness at the fast motion before his eyes, the archer looked in surprise at his
friend as he said "Duo! You're here"
Now generally concerned about his friend's odd behaviour, Duo asked "What's going on man? What's got
you so spooked?"
Trowa broke his gaze with Duo as he glanced down to the warm beverage before him and quietly said "I
found out something today that you're not going to like one bit"
Removing the mug from his lips, Duo placed it on the table as he asked "And what's that?"
Still keeping his eyes averted from the braided boy, Trowa softly spoke "The village we left the other
day was destroyed"
Violet eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger "Who attacked it?"
Finally returning his gaze to that of Duo's, the archer quietly answered "The villagers say it was a
red demon that attacked"
Abruptly standing from his seat while at the same time drawing a few questioning stares from some of
the other customers, burning pools of violet fire stared down into troubled emerald as Duo said "Please
tell me that this is some sort of bad joke Tro, because I'm not finding it funny if it is"
Never once breaking his gaze, the banged boy answered "I'm afraid it isn't Duo"
"Damn it!" Duo cursed harshly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm the rage that
was building up inside.
Opening up his eyes after a few moments, Duo calmly stated "It's been too long a day, I think I'm going
to turn in for the night…keys?"
Silently throwing the room key to his friend, Trowa watched with worried green eyes as Duo made his way
out of the pub.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
The sky was a deep blue and crystal clear, allowing the bright rays of sunlight to shine down on the
busy village below. Emerald green fields of grass stretched for miles over the hilly terrain
surrounding the valley the village was built between.
Uneven rows of wooden houses with straw roof tops littered the valley as the people of the village went
on with their daily business.
In the middle of the village where it seemed the sun shone the brightest stood an old church surrounded
by multicoloured flower beds and a single large tree planted out front.
A childish giggle emanated from within the flowers as a child with long braided chestnut hair and
vibrant violet eyes popped out from with the multicoloured plants. In a voice full of excitement, the
child called out "Sister Helen, Sister Helen come and look"
From under the cool shade of the lone tree, a young woman with long light brown hair and kind hazel
eyes took her attention away from the thin tome she was reading. A gentle smile graced her lips as
she placed the old looking tome onto the ground before walking over to where the child sat deep within
the flower bed. Kneeling down at the edge of the garden, Sister Helen continued smiling as she asked
"What would you like to show me Duo?"
Laughing violet eyes met kind hazel before Duo stood up and ran over to where the young woman knelt
presenting what was held within his small hands.
Looking at the various coloured flowers held within Duo's hands, she found they were interwoven together
to create a circlet. A slight look of surprise passed over her face before another warm smile replaced
it. Reaching a delicate hand out, Sister Helen took the offered item and carefully placed it upon her
head. Leaning forward, Helen placed a soft kiss on Duo's cheek "Thankyou very much Duo, it's beautiful"
A large smile broke out on the braided child's face before he leapt forward and tightly hugged the
young woman.
The sound of rushed footsteps could be heard behind the pair. Still hugging the child within her arms,
Sister Helen turned her head around to find a very concerned looking Father Maxwell hastily making his
way towards them.
Trying to keep the worry from her voice, Sister Helen gently asked "Is something the matter Father
Maxwell?"
Hearing the father's name, Duo broke free from Sister Helen's embrace and raced over to envelop the
elderly man into a tight hug.
The cheery smile planted on the priests face could not hide the worry hidden within his eyes from
Sister Helen as he looked at the child as he spoke "Hello to you too Duo, I hope you've been keeping
yourself out of trouble while I've been gone?"
Releasing the aging priest, Duo smiled brightly "Sure I have Father Maxwell" The smile instantly
faded from the child's face as he stuck out his bottom lip and allowed his violet eyes to brim with
tears as he asked "Don't you trust me anymore?" Before adding a slight sniffle to his little act.
Laughing heartily at the display, Father Maxwell placed a hand on top of Duo's head "Of course I trust
you Duo, I just know that you have a knack for getting yourself into trouble"
A grin instantly replaced the pout as Duo cheekily added "And getting out of it too"
Ruffling the boy's hair lovingly, Father Maxwell turned his attention away from Duo and to the quiet
woman still kneeling on the ground. Though the smile never left his face, Father Maxwell's voice was
serious as he said "I think it's time you should take Duo inside Sister"
Brushing herself off as she stood, Sister Helen walked over to where Father Maxwell stood looking the
elderly priest in the eye.
Lowering his voice so then Duo couldn't hear him, Father Maxwell then added "There are strangers in
the village that look like they could cause trouble"
Nodding her head, Sister Helen took one of Duo's hands into her own as she started to lead the boy back
towards the church "Come on Duo, lets go inside for a bit"
Curious violet eyes looked up towards Sister Helen as he was lead inside, before entering the building
though Duo caught a quick glimpse of a long blonde hair boy a few years older than himself standing in
the middle of the village but before he could see anything else, the large wooden doors of the church
closed.
As they made their way to the front of the altar, Duo was jerked back as Sister Helen suddenly stopped
"What's wrong Sister Helen?"
Looking into the child's violet eyes, Sister Helen just smiled slightly before kneeling down on the
wooden floorboards before the rug. Picking up the corner of the floor rug, Sister Helen lifted it up to
reveal a hidden trap door beneath it.
Eyes widening in surprise, Duo looked on in surprise and confusion as he asked "What's going on? I
never knew that was there"
Before she could reassure the child that everything would be fine, the village was filled with terrified
screams before they were muted by an ear piercing roar that bellowed shortly after.
Inside the church both patrons jumped at the loud sound before Sister Helen hastily opened the trap
door and none to gently shoved Duo through it. In as calm a voice as possible, the woman said "What ever
you do Duo, DO NOT come out of here. Do you understand me?"
Worried violet eyes brimming with tears looked into stern hazel as the braided child pleaded "Don't go,
don't leave m…"
But was cut off as Sister Helen sharply asked again "Do you understand Duo?"
Sniffing as he rubbed his red-rimmed violet eyes, Duo shakily replied "Yes Sister Helen"
Smiling reassuringly, Sister Helen looked lovingly down at the frightened child as she said "Do not
worry Duo, the God's will not let any harm come to you and neither will I" Before closing the trap door
and covering it back over with the rug.
Duo watched through the cracks in the floorboards as Sister Helen began to make her way towards the
church doors. A loud bang was heard as the entire church shook with such force it sent both Sister Helen
and Duo crashing to the ground.
The terrified woman looked towards the splintering wooden doors as something rammed against the door
again, splintering the wood even further and causing the building to shake.
Another ear piercing roar was heard as Sister Helen attempted to get to her feet but fell to the ground
once again as the church trembled violently after another hard hit to the door.
Sharp pieces of wood flew forward as something collided with the door once again cutting the terrified
woman in various places over her body as she watched on, frozen in shock.
Throwing his hands over his mouth to forcibly stop the scream that threatened to spill, Duo watched on
in growing horror as the door crumbled and he caught brief glimpses of a blood red winged creature as
it enter the building.
The stench of death filled the small church as the demon slowly began to advance on the terrified woman.
Eerie bright green eyes intelligently observed the situation before it as the blood red demon watched
its prey for the slightest bit of movement.
The walls of the church crumbled suddenly as the demon spread its powerful wings out sending them
crashing through them while letting out another ear piercing roar before lunging forwards and capturing
the frightened woman between its powerful jaws.
Tears of fear and hopelessness spilt from violet eyes as a pained filled scream echoed throughout the
silent church before once again falling quiet.
Seeing the winged demon turned to leave with the body still tightly held within its jaws, the child
couldn't help the tiny sob of relief from escaping his lips. Violet eyes widened impossible large in
horror though as the demon stopped dead in its tracks and dropped the limp body held within its jaws.
Piercing green eyes roamed all over the ruined church as it began to make its way back into the
building sniffing the air as it went.
Every muscle froze within the child's body as he watched in growing terror as the large head of the demon
descending from above to sniff at the floorboards right above his hiding place. Large drops of saliva
fell from the creature's jaws as it growled lowly in the back of its throat and began clawing the wood.
It felt as if the blazing green eyes fixed on the floorboards were staring directly into terrified violet
as another low growl was emitted from the demons throat.
A calm voice from the other end of the room stopped the demon in its tracks as it called out "It's time
to leave Epyon"
Fiery green eyes turned their attentions away from its hidden prey and to the unknown speaker. Thin
strands of grey smoke rose up from between the demons clenched teeth, before it lowered its head and
followed the other out of the ruined church.
A solitary figure in the dark room, bolted up from bed breathing heavily. The moonlight sparkled off the
thin layer of sweat covering the braided boy's body as a single word was whispered in the dead of the
night.
"Epyon"
TBC
Notes: I want to give a big huggle to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Ashly, kt, Konpeitou,
Nekocin, Kyra2, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, Daughter of Night§, Ruby Love, japanese blader girl, Star Dragonsong,
Selune, kurokioku, Water-Soter, Cherrii, EVIL, "...", MoonEnvoy, Soon to be world renown Gracie,
Kanaloas Wrath and to Tsuki Doriimaa and thank you for all of your great reviews *sniffs* I'm so
happy to hear that you're all enjoying this ficcie so much.
I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out *grins sheepishly* there was a lot of info put
into this chapter and I didn't want to post it until I was sure I put everything in there that I wanted
to.
So there you go, finally managed to get some of Duo's past into the story line, yay *dances around
happily* AND you all found out just what the red demon was, points go out for GoldenRat for figuring
it out. Though there was heaps of info in this chapter it probably doesn't even answer most of the
question you guys have about the story line ne? *giggles* Well you will have to be patient but dun
you guys worry, in time all will be revealed *winks*
Oh and CinC, you don't have to worry about a thing, this fic is no where near finished *winks* to
tell you the truth…its not even close to be halfway through it yet @_@
Hopefully it won't take me as long to get the next chappie out…it shouldn't since it won't have as
much info in the next chapter as this one did. For those of you reading it, the next chapter for
Severed Dreams will probably be out before the next chapter for this fic. So until next chapter
*huggles* Ja mina-chan.
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are
mine though.
Betaed: Nope, this chappies not betaed *pouts* so please excuse any mistakes there might be in here.
Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's
18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene
~……..~ = Nataku's speech
'………' = Thoughts
Feeling the body go limp within his arms, Heero quickly checked for any signs of life and sighed in relief
when he found the child to be sleeping.
Carefully cradling Elly in his arms, Heero handed the small blonde girl over to one of the villagers before
sharply demanding "What happened? And what is this red demon she was talking about?"
"We do not know its name, only what the abomination looks like…that, and what that demon did to our people
and our village" Said an elderly man as he stepped out from within the crowd.
Turning his attention away from the villager in front of him, Heero locked his piercing blue gaze with the
aging man. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the Prussian eyed boy simply said "Explain"
Sighing wearily, the old man roamed aging eyes over his fellow villagers before resting back on the stormy
blue eyes of the boy standing in front of him. Taking a deep breath, the old man began.
"There is not much I can say really, it wasn't long until after you and your two absent companion's left
when a few more outsiders entered the village, not that that's anything new. Being were we are our village
tends to get a lot of travellers stopping by before they head out on the final stretch to Sanq.
Didn't get a good look at them myself and I doubt that any of the others would be able to tell you anything
either. The only thing that stuck in my memory about them was that one of strangers had some type of metal
mask covering most of his head and long platinum blonde hair. His hair wasn't as long as your friends mind
you, now that was a rope of hair if I've ever saw one.
The next thing anyone knew, right smack in the middle of our little village that demon appeared out of
nowhere and started tearing the place up. That's when young Elly there lost her parents and most of the
other villagers who managed to escape lost their family members as well.
I never saw the demons full height, but crouched down like it was, it easily towered over the village
buildings. It was blood red in colour and had a pair of leathery wings twice the size of its body sticking
out the back of it. But it was its eyes that really chilled me to the bone, they were bright green and
glowing but there was nothing but pure evil lurking behind their depths"
The shiver that ran through not only the old mans body, but most of all the other villagers didn't go
unnoticed by either Heero or Wufei as the elderly man finished his tale
Sharing a glance quickly with the Chinese boy, Heero turned his attention towards the Hight priest G "Are
there any other temples or churches within the city that can take these people in?"
Nodding his head, the old priest answered "This is the only temple allowed within the city, but there are
numerous churches available that could easily house these villagers"
With that problem solved, Heero turned his attention to the villager holding the sleeping blonde and coolly
stated "Take care of that child"
A small smile graced the villager's lips as he caught the hint of worry in Heero's voice and tightened his
hold on Elly's sleeping form "We will…. it would make her happy if you could visit her sometimes"
Regarding the man before him silently for a few moments, the blue eyed boy smiled slightly and gave a brief
nod before walking back over to where Wufei stood.
Taking that as a sign that things were done, the High priest herded the villages out of the temple while
saying "I will show you to the nearest church if you would all please follow me"
Calm onyx eyes watched as the last few villagers exited the temple before turning his attentions towards the
boy at his side "What do you make of all this?"
"I don't think this has anything to do with the prophecy if that's what you mean, but the appearance of the
demon does trouble me. From the descriptions that the villagers gave, did it mean anything to you?" The
blue eyed boy asked as he looked at his friend.
"I'm not sure, I would have to see this demon for myself but from what we've heard, it does match the
descriptions of a dragon demon from one of the stories Master O use to tell me as a child"
Getting Heero's unwavering attention, the blue eyed boy raised a delicate eyebrow at his friend as he
curiously asked "And what story might that be?"
"It is a story set in the times when the ancient Gods still walked upon the Earth, back in a time where
dragons filled the sky and demons filled the land. The story itself is about one of Shenlong's most
powerful dragons, the gold dragon Epyon. Epyon was favoured by Shenlong above all the other dragons and
was gifted with great power. Over time the gold dragon became jealous of all the power and respect the
dragon god got from the other clan members and longed for that same power and respect himself.
It is said that Epyon abandoned the Dragon clan to join up with a great evil and after swearing loyalty
to this evil, the golden scales turned a dark red and his sky blue eyes now burned a bright green from
jealousy.
After being bestowed with unimaginable power by this great evil, a great battle took place between Shenlong
and Epyon as the now dragon demon flew back to his clan in order to challenge the dragon god for his title.
The battle lasted for months and many of the dragons within the clan were killed in the epic battle.
Eventually Shenlong was able to defeat Epyon but he too was gravely injured in the battle. After a triumphant
battle cry heard all throughout the world, the injured Shenlong flew up to the highest peak of what is now
called the Nibel Mountain's for his eternal slumber.
Let us just hope that the demon described in the attack on their village isn't the dragon demon Epyon,
or all we know will be lost because there is no known power strong enough to defeat him"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"I thought we finally got rid of your sorry ass" Mocked a tall lean figure leaning casually against the
wall over the other side of the room.
Sighing dramatically while resting the back of his hand against his forehead, Duo replied "Ahhh the
pleasures of returning home after a long and dangerous journey out into the world…You always make me feel
so loved Solo"
Chuckling lightly, the blonde figure pushed himself off from the wall and made his way over to trap Duo
in a tight embrace "It's good to have you back kid"
Returning the embrace, Duo answered "It's good to be back"
Releasing each other at the same time, Solo took a step back and gazed approvingly at his friend "Looks
like you've grown a bit since the last time I saw you, won't be long and you'll be taller than me"
Grinning mischievously, Duo retorted "Then I will finally be able to call you kid" Before poking his tongue
out and dodging the playful punch aimed in his direction
"Ah you will have to do better than that to defeat the great Shinigami" Stated the braided boy arrogantly.
"Challenge accepted"
Before Duo's mind could register what the other had said, Solo leapt forward trapping the braided boy's
head under his arm, then proceeded to rub his knuckles repeatedly into Duo's thick chestnut mane.
"Oww Solo let me go will ya" Duo whined pathetically as he attempted to squirm out of the others tight
grasp.
Grinning madly, Solo's blue eyes sparkled with mirth "No way Death-boy! Not until you give up and declare
the great Shinigami's defeat to this lowly mortal"
Stopping his struggle, Duo took in a deep breath as he focused his energy while he warned "Solo, I'll ask
only one more time…let me go"
When no leniencies were made, Duo finally said "Don't say I didn't warn you" Before he quickly brought
a leg out in front of Solo's and tripped the blonde.
Bracing himself for what he knew was coming next, the braided boy let out a small "eep" As both boys went
crashing to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs.
"You could have just given in you know…it would have saved us both a trip to the floor" The blonde stated as
he attempted to get his bearings back.
Panting heavily from the previous abuse to his poor innocent head, Duo said "Well if you would have let me
go when I asked you to, I wouldn't of have to trip you…plus Shinigami never gives in"
"That damn pride of yours will get you into trouble one of these days kid" Solo warned seriously as he sat
up, holding one hand to the back of his head aching head.
Shrugging his shoulders as he stood, Duo stretched lazily before changing the subject "The old man in?
I need to speak to him"
Use to the abrupt subject changes, Solo nodded his head "Yeah, but not for long. He's got a meeting
scheduled in an hour so you better make it quick"
Mock saluting his friend, Duo's grin turned into a smile as he said "Take care and we'll have to catch up
sometime before we leave again"
Inclining his head, Solo returned the smile "Sure thing and don't forget to say hi to Tro for me"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
The market place seemed unusually busy to Trowa as he left the main street and silently entered one of the
smaller inns that littered the main street of Sanq.
Walking up to where the innkeeper stood behind the bar, the quiet archer placed a pouch full of coins upon
the wooden surface and waited patiently for the man to acknowledge him. He didn't have to wait long as
the sounds of coins rattling instantly got the man's attention.
Throwing the cleaning rag over his shoulder, the innkeeper placed a well used mug onto the surface closest
to him before asking "What can I do for you?"
Doing a quick scan of the room before settling his emerald gaze upon the innkeeper, Trowa asked "Have you
two rooms available?"
An oily smile appeared on the mans face as he answered "Sure do, ten gold per night they are"
Emerald green eyes unwaveringly gazed into the other mans as Trowa calmly said "Six gold, you are not
dealing with a tourist here"
Seeing that he'd been caught out, the innkeeper reluctantly agreed to the price before handing over the
keys to the rooms.
Taking the offered keys, Trowa never broke his gaze from the innkeeper as he added "I have two mounts out
front that need to be taken to the stables and cared for, I expect them to still be there when my companion
and I decide to leave" Before turning around and leaving the inn.
Making his way back out into the crowded street, the quiet archer was deciding to use this time to stock
up on their supplies before heading over to the Barge to meet Duo when he bumped into someone.
Murmuring a quiet apology, the banged boy was about to continue on his way when a familiar voice spoke up.
"Hey Trowa, is that you?"
Raising an eyebrow in question, Trowa turned his attention back to the person he bumped into and smiled
slightly in surprise as he greeted them "Sally, what are you doing out of the palace?"
Returning her friends smile, Sally's voice had a hint of sadness in it as she answered "One of the village's
nearby was attacked recently and the refugees have been sent to some of the churches here in Sanq. Queen
Relena asked me to tend to the wounded and to try and find out exactly what happened in the attack, so
here I am, I'm on my way over to see them now"Interested in what had happened, the archer asked "Mind if I
join you? I still have a few hours to kill before I have to meet up with Duo and I too would like to know
what happened"
Still smiling, the sadness from before was gone as she happily replied "Sure, I could use all the help I
can get" And with a playful wink she added "And the company would be nice too"
Laughing softly, Trowa put off his supply shopping for the time being and followed Sally through the
crowded market place.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Duo my boy, how have you been?" A cheerful voice called out as the braided boy entered the brightly
lit room.
With laughter in his voice, Duo answered "Yeah same old Howie, how have things been with you?"
The joyous tone faded somewhat as Howard replied "Not too bad with all things considered"
Sensing the trouble in the other mans tone, Duo asked in concerned "How so?"
Sighing heavily, Howard gestured to the chair opposite him and said "I think you might want to take a
seat, a lot's happened since you left"
Taking the offered seat, the braided boy sat down heavily into the chair as he wearily replied "I know
what you mean"
Picking up the pitcher on the table before him, Howard began to pour two goblets of wine before handing
one over to the braided boy "Anything you want to talk about?"
Sipping at the wine to taste the flavour, Duo swallowed his mouthful before speaking "Oh you know the
usual, following leads as to what OZ might be up to, fighting our way out of impossible and dangerous
situations" Chuckling quietly to himself the braided boy then added "Rescuing damsels in distress..although
take out the damsel part and replace it with mysterious handsome text translators"
Laughing slightly to himself, Howard lowered his goblet "I heard about that boy you picked up a few days
ago, he must be something if he caught the attention of the great Shinigami so quickly"
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, Duo replied good naturedly "Yeah
those times were interesting to say the least, but we parted ways half a day ago after we ran into one of
his friends"
Seeing the bright violet eyes dull slightly, Howard sympathetically stated "That boy really did a number on
you didn't he?"
The grin faded into a small sad smile as Duo shrugged slightly and solemnly replied "Well it's not like
anything would have come of it anyway. He works in the temple at Enlizer palace and I'm just a thief who's
stuck in the past and hell bent on revenge. Not that it matters anymore anyway, its not like we're ever
going to see each other again….so tell me what's been happening here since I left?"
Noticing how pale the other man had become, concern entered Duo's voice as he asked "Howie? What's wrong?"
Watching the swirling patterns of the wine within the goblet, Howard turned his attention away from the
red liquid and to the worried boy before him as he said "There's been a lot of trouble here in Sanq of
late. Word on the street is that the royal family of Enlizer were greatly angered by Duke Noventa on his
last visit there as unknown to him some of his crew broke into the palace and stole some sacred treasure
before making off with the Dukes ship leaving the poor bastard stranded there.
They eventually released Noventa and allowed him to travel back here just before the king placed an embargo
on the palace to all ingoing and outgoing traffic.
The worst of it is that we now have the entire of the Sanq army out there looking for us because it was
said that it was the Sweepers who broke into the palace and stole the treasure"
Violet eyes widened in surprise as Duo asked "You didn't though, did you?"
Shaking his head in a negative, Howard sighed softly before replying "No, I never authorised any attack to
be done on the palace, you would have to be completely suicidal to even think about stealing from that place"
Duo's body relaxed in relief as he said "That's a relief, I would have seriously began to question your
sanity if you ordered something like that"
"There is still more you need to know before you think about relaxing Duo" Howard seriously said.
Instantly on alert, Duo raised an eyebrow as he asked "Yeah, and what might that be?"
Placing the barely touched goblet on the wooden table before him, Howard continued "Right after I head about
the incidents involving Enlizer, I went out myself to see if all my men were accounted for and ended up
finding that quite a number of them were in fact missing.
I began asking all the higher ups in the Sweepers if they had anything to do with the whole mess but they
were just as clueless about the whole damn thing as I was. It's obvious that one of them is lying but I've
got no proof as to which one of them it could be. So it's now looking as though I've got at least one
person within the group that's ordering high profile jobs behind my back."
Sighing wearily, Howard began to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration as he continued "What's worse
is that I've heard of similar things happening in the other smaller thieving groups in the city, they've
mentioned that some of their members have been disappearing over the past few days.
And just to top things off, it seems as though that what ever was stolen has apparently been lost by the ones
who stole it in the first place, so now you've got ever thief and his dog out there looking for the lost
treasure.
Oh but wait, this is the part that will probably interest you the most, I also found out that OZ is also out
there busy looking for this treasure"
"What?!" Duo yelled out as he automatically stood up from his chair and slammed his hands down on the table
before him "Just what the hell kind of treasure is it if it's caught their attention?"
Shaking his head, Howard replied "That's the thing, no one even knows what the treasure looks like, absolutely
nothing is know about it"
"You know, it would royally piss those OZ bastards off if we managed to get to the treasure first, don't you
think?" The braided boy suggested with a smirk firmly planted on his face.
A knock at the door drew their attention away from their conversation as the door opened and in walked one
of the Sweeper messengers.
Casting a brief glance at Duo, the messenger then turned toward Howard and said "I've been sent to inform
you that the others are ready" And after receiving a nod from Howard, the messenger left just as quickly
as he came.
Throwing Duo an apologetic look, Howard grinned as he said "This is an idea we will have to discuss more
later, come by again tomorrow and I'll be sure to leave the afternoon free so we will have enough time to
discuss things properly"
Before the older man left the room, a sudden thought entered the braided boys mind as he curiously asked
"Hey Howie before you go, have you ever heard of the term Jurei?"
A look of confusion passed over Howard's face before he said "Can't say that I have, where did you hear
it?"
Shrugging his shoulders, the braided boy easily replied "No where important, just heard it when we were
travelling"
Nodding his head, Howard waved a brief farewell before heading out the door.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Please take a seat, both of you….we're going to be here for a while" G said as he gestured to the chairs
adjacent to his own.
Taking the offered seats, Heero's gaze quickly met that of Wufei's before returning their attention back
to the old priest before them. Ignoring the weariness he felt form the long day's journey, Heero narrowed
his Prussian eyes as he got straight to the point "How do you know me?"
"I know you because I too was born in the Amara temple, not only that but I watched the first few years of
your life Heero before I had to leave to come here. I suppose you would like me to tell in more detail
though?" The old priest asked.
Simultaneously, Heero and Wufei nodded their agreement to the question asked as they both sat in silence
waiting for the story to start.
Leaning back in the large chair, G took the opportunity to study the two boys before him. Wufei, he thought
to himself, was identical to Master O. Not only with the way the boy carried himself around others, but
the whole justice and honour principles had obviously been inter-grained into his thinking since a young
age…not that that was a bad thing of course.
Turning his gaze over to Heero, the character that he had witnessed from the boy earlier was defiantly
the spitting image to the Jurei's guardian and mentor. The cool, calculating look the boy gave when finding
himself in an unforeseen situation along with the effective way to rectify the problem were tell tails
signs of J's tutoring…but there had been an unexpected but welcomed warmth in the Jurei's blue eyes as he
comforted the grief stricken child even though his voice remained virtually emotionless the entire time.
Deciding to focus on the situation at hand, G closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before
opening them and starting his story.
"I was born in the temple a few years after the currant High Priest J. As for one born within the temple,
I was brought up studying all about the Gods and the history of not only our temple and palace, but of
the entire world also which was ordinary training for a priest as you both should know.
Over the years J and I became good friends. I guess you could say it was due to our friendship that I am in
the position I am in today. Once it was know to the previous High Priest that his successor and I were such
close friends, on top of my normal study he allowed me to sit in on some of J's personal tutoring.
Of course I was not allowed to sit in on every session, only the ones that the previous High Priest deemed
appropriate for one not baring the sacred mark.
Things progressed this way for quite a number of years, until J became the High Priest at the early age of
twenty seven and took over the duties of running the temple and all those who worshiped there.
Everything was going well and the temple was thriving under J's care but there was one major problem that
not even the High Priest could fix, there was still no heir born to succeed J. That wouldn't have been too
much of a problem except for one thing, while in his early forties J mysteriously fell ill. Things at
that time were not looking well and for the first time in history it looked like the temple would fall to
ruin without an heir should J had pass on before one was born.
With my earlier sessions with J during my childhood, it was decided by the other priests that I should
take over the position of High Priest should J pass before an heir was born.
Accepting the honour, I devoted much over the next three years to studying as much as possible from the
ill priest and was allowed access to the ancient tomes and scrolls within his chambers.
It was during my third year of study that a stranger entered the temple and for the first time in history,
the temple priests allowed one not born of the temple a place to stay. You see the one who entered the
temple at that time was none other than Master O and the little bundle that he held protectively within
his grasp"
Pausing in his story, the High Priest G looked over at Wufei as he stated "And before you ask no, I will
not give you anymore information. If you want to find out, you will have to ask Master O himself when
both you and Heero return to the temple" With that said, G turned his attention back to Heero and continued
on with the story, never once allowing the Chinese boy the time to utter a single word.
"We took the three of you into the temple after preforming the appropriate ceremonies and allowed you to
stay with us until a proper shrine could be built for the Shenlong child to worship in.
J was still ill a year later and we were no closer to finding a cure for the mysterious illness that struck
the proper High Priest down. It was when it looked like J would pass on into the next realm that you,
Heero was finally born.
At once we took you into J's chamber so then he could accept and bless you as the next High Priest. As soon
as we handed you over to the priest though, his mysterious illness was cured the instant his body came into
contact with yours.
To this day we still have no idea how that was even possible and J himself would never tell us the reason
as to why that happened.
Now with the High Priest at full health once again and a new heir for the temple, everything thankfully
went back to normal. J returned to his position as High Priest and took on the roll of caring for and
raising the next heir. And I was one of the few privileged enough to see both you and Wufei grow up.
It wasn't until after your fifth birthday and Wufei's sixth birthday when representatives from the kingdom
of Sanq arrived at the palace and proposed the building of a temple within their own kingdom. The King
approved the proposal in hope of strengthening ties between our two kingdoms and left the decision up to
J as to which priests would be sent.
As you both can probably tell, J was not in the least bit pleased at losing any of the priests under him
but reluctantly had to choose a selection of them. Out of the 30 priests and acolytes within the temple,
J chose five of each to go to the new one.
It was after those ten were chosen that J had turned to me and offered the position of High Priest.
I accepted his offer of course and when the representatives left to go back to Sanq a few days later, I
left with them. And as you can obviously see, this is where I have been ever since. Now I'm sure you're
both very tired from your journey, we can discuss the rest tomorrow and I'll answer any questions you
have to the best of my abilities, but right now I want nothing more than the two of you to get some rest"
Standing up from his seat, the High priest made his way over to the door and held it open.
Knowing that they would not get any more information out of the old priest that night, Heero and Wufei
stood at the same time. Just before leaving the room, Heero turned towards G and quietly said "Until
tomorrow then" Then continued his way out of the room.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Duo came bouncing into the crowed pub and headed straight over to the dark corner where he could see
his friend sitting all alone nursing a full mug of beer before him.
Seating himself across from his friend, the braided boy waved at the barmaid to bring a drink over as
he casually said "Howard had some pretty interesting things to tell me today"
When all he was answered with was silence, Duo turned his attention away from the young barmaid handing
over his drink and to his silent friend.
Waving a hand in front of Trowa's face, the braided boy asked "Hey Tro, you alright?"
Blinking back into awareness at the fast motion before his eyes, the archer looked in surprise at his
friend as he said "Duo! You're here"
Now generally concerned about his friend's odd behaviour, Duo asked "What's going on man? What's got
you so spooked?"
Trowa broke his gaze with Duo as he glanced down to the warm beverage before him and quietly said "I
found out something today that you're not going to like one bit"
Removing the mug from his lips, Duo placed it on the table as he asked "And what's that?"
Still keeping his eyes averted from the braided boy, Trowa softly spoke "The village we left the other
day was destroyed"
Violet eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger "Who attacked it?"
Finally returning his gaze to that of Duo's, the archer quietly answered "The villagers say it was a
red demon that attacked"
Abruptly standing from his seat while at the same time drawing a few questioning stares from some of
the other customers, burning pools of violet fire stared down into troubled emerald as Duo said "Please
tell me that this is some sort of bad joke Tro, because I'm not finding it funny if it is"
Never once breaking his gaze, the banged boy answered "I'm afraid it isn't Duo"
"Damn it!" Duo cursed harshly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm the rage that
was building up inside.
Opening up his eyes after a few moments, Duo calmly stated "It's been too long a day, I think I'm going
to turn in for the night…keys?"
Silently throwing the room key to his friend, Trowa watched with worried green eyes as Duo made his way
out of the pub.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
The sky was a deep blue and crystal clear, allowing the bright rays of sunlight to shine down on the
busy village below. Emerald green fields of grass stretched for miles over the hilly terrain
surrounding the valley the village was built between.
Uneven rows of wooden houses with straw roof tops littered the valley as the people of the village went
on with their daily business.
In the middle of the village where it seemed the sun shone the brightest stood an old church surrounded
by multicoloured flower beds and a single large tree planted out front.
A childish giggle emanated from within the flowers as a child with long braided chestnut hair and
vibrant violet eyes popped out from with the multicoloured plants. In a voice full of excitement, the
child called out "Sister Helen, Sister Helen come and look"
From under the cool shade of the lone tree, a young woman with long light brown hair and kind hazel
eyes took her attention away from the thin tome she was reading. A gentle smile graced her lips as
she placed the old looking tome onto the ground before walking over to where the child sat deep within
the flower bed. Kneeling down at the edge of the garden, Sister Helen continued smiling as she asked
"What would you like to show me Duo?"
Laughing violet eyes met kind hazel before Duo stood up and ran over to where the young woman knelt
presenting what was held within his small hands.
Looking at the various coloured flowers held within Duo's hands, she found they were interwoven together
to create a circlet. A slight look of surprise passed over her face before another warm smile replaced
it. Reaching a delicate hand out, Sister Helen took the offered item and carefully placed it upon her
head. Leaning forward, Helen placed a soft kiss on Duo's cheek "Thankyou very much Duo, it's beautiful"
A large smile broke out on the braided child's face before he leapt forward and tightly hugged the
young woman.
The sound of rushed footsteps could be heard behind the pair. Still hugging the child within her arms,
Sister Helen turned her head around to find a very concerned looking Father Maxwell hastily making his
way towards them.
Trying to keep the worry from her voice, Sister Helen gently asked "Is something the matter Father
Maxwell?"
Hearing the father's name, Duo broke free from Sister Helen's embrace and raced over to envelop the
elderly man into a tight hug.
The cheery smile planted on the priests face could not hide the worry hidden within his eyes from
Sister Helen as he looked at the child as he spoke "Hello to you too Duo, I hope you've been keeping
yourself out of trouble while I've been gone?"
Releasing the aging priest, Duo smiled brightly "Sure I have Father Maxwell" The smile instantly
faded from the child's face as he stuck out his bottom lip and allowed his violet eyes to brim with
tears as he asked "Don't you trust me anymore?" Before adding a slight sniffle to his little act.
Laughing heartily at the display, Father Maxwell placed a hand on top of Duo's head "Of course I trust
you Duo, I just know that you have a knack for getting yourself into trouble"
A grin instantly replaced the pout as Duo cheekily added "And getting out of it too"
Ruffling the boy's hair lovingly, Father Maxwell turned his attention away from Duo and to the quiet
woman still kneeling on the ground. Though the smile never left his face, Father Maxwell's voice was
serious as he said "I think it's time you should take Duo inside Sister"
Brushing herself off as she stood, Sister Helen walked over to where Father Maxwell stood looking the
elderly priest in the eye.
Lowering his voice so then Duo couldn't hear him, Father Maxwell then added "There are strangers in
the village that look like they could cause trouble"
Nodding her head, Sister Helen took one of Duo's hands into her own as she started to lead the boy back
towards the church "Come on Duo, lets go inside for a bit"
Curious violet eyes looked up towards Sister Helen as he was lead inside, before entering the building
though Duo caught a quick glimpse of a long blonde hair boy a few years older than himself standing in
the middle of the village but before he could see anything else, the large wooden doors of the church
closed.
As they made their way to the front of the altar, Duo was jerked back as Sister Helen suddenly stopped
"What's wrong Sister Helen?"
Looking into the child's violet eyes, Sister Helen just smiled slightly before kneeling down on the
wooden floorboards before the rug. Picking up the corner of the floor rug, Sister Helen lifted it up to
reveal a hidden trap door beneath it.
Eyes widening in surprise, Duo looked on in surprise and confusion as he asked "What's going on? I
never knew that was there"
Before she could reassure the child that everything would be fine, the village was filled with terrified
screams before they were muted by an ear piercing roar that bellowed shortly after.
Inside the church both patrons jumped at the loud sound before Sister Helen hastily opened the trap
door and none to gently shoved Duo through it. In as calm a voice as possible, the woman said "What ever
you do Duo, DO NOT come out of here. Do you understand me?"
Worried violet eyes brimming with tears looked into stern hazel as the braided child pleaded "Don't go,
don't leave m…"
But was cut off as Sister Helen sharply asked again "Do you understand Duo?"
Sniffing as he rubbed his red-rimmed violet eyes, Duo shakily replied "Yes Sister Helen"
Smiling reassuringly, Sister Helen looked lovingly down at the frightened child as she said "Do not
worry Duo, the God's will not let any harm come to you and neither will I" Before closing the trap door
and covering it back over with the rug.
Duo watched through the cracks in the floorboards as Sister Helen began to make her way towards the
church doors. A loud bang was heard as the entire church shook with such force it sent both Sister Helen
and Duo crashing to the ground.
The terrified woman looked towards the splintering wooden doors as something rammed against the door
again, splintering the wood even further and causing the building to shake.
Another ear piercing roar was heard as Sister Helen attempted to get to her feet but fell to the ground
once again as the church trembled violently after another hard hit to the door.
Sharp pieces of wood flew forward as something collided with the door once again cutting the terrified
woman in various places over her body as she watched on, frozen in shock.
Throwing his hands over his mouth to forcibly stop the scream that threatened to spill, Duo watched on
in growing horror as the door crumbled and he caught brief glimpses of a blood red winged creature as
it enter the building.
The stench of death filled the small church as the demon slowly began to advance on the terrified woman.
Eerie bright green eyes intelligently observed the situation before it as the blood red demon watched
its prey for the slightest bit of movement.
The walls of the church crumbled suddenly as the demon spread its powerful wings out sending them
crashing through them while letting out another ear piercing roar before lunging forwards and capturing
the frightened woman between its powerful jaws.
Tears of fear and hopelessness spilt from violet eyes as a pained filled scream echoed throughout the
silent church before once again falling quiet.
Seeing the winged demon turned to leave with the body still tightly held within its jaws, the child
couldn't help the tiny sob of relief from escaping his lips. Violet eyes widened impossible large in
horror though as the demon stopped dead in its tracks and dropped the limp body held within its jaws.
Piercing green eyes roamed all over the ruined church as it began to make its way back into the
building sniffing the air as it went.
Every muscle froze within the child's body as he watched in growing terror as the large head of the demon
descending from above to sniff at the floorboards right above his hiding place. Large drops of saliva
fell from the creature's jaws as it growled lowly in the back of its throat and began clawing the wood.
It felt as if the blazing green eyes fixed on the floorboards were staring directly into terrified violet
as another low growl was emitted from the demons throat.
A calm voice from the other end of the room stopped the demon in its tracks as it called out "It's time
to leave Epyon"
Fiery green eyes turned their attentions away from its hidden prey and to the unknown speaker. Thin
strands of grey smoke rose up from between the demons clenched teeth, before it lowered its head and
followed the other out of the ruined church.
A solitary figure in the dark room, bolted up from bed breathing heavily. The moonlight sparkled off the
thin layer of sweat covering the braided boy's body as a single word was whispered in the dead of the
night.
"Epyon"
TBC
Notes: I want to give a big huggle to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Ashly, kt, Konpeitou,
Nekocin, Kyra2, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, Daughter of Night§, Ruby Love, japanese blader girl, Star Dragonsong,
Selune, kurokioku, Water-Soter, Cherrii, EVIL, "...", MoonEnvoy, Soon to be world renown Gracie,
Kanaloas Wrath and to Tsuki Doriimaa and thank you for all of your great reviews *sniffs* I'm so
happy to hear that you're all enjoying this ficcie so much.
I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out *grins sheepishly* there was a lot of info put
into this chapter and I didn't want to post it until I was sure I put everything in there that I wanted
to.
So there you go, finally managed to get some of Duo's past into the story line, yay *dances around
happily* AND you all found out just what the red demon was, points go out for GoldenRat for figuring
it out. Though there was heaps of info in this chapter it probably doesn't even answer most of the
question you guys have about the story line ne? *giggles* Well you will have to be patient but dun
you guys worry, in time all will be revealed *winks*
Oh and CinC, you don't have to worry about a thing, this fic is no where near finished *winks* to
tell you the truth…its not even close to be halfway through it yet @_@
Hopefully it won't take me as long to get the next chappie out…it shouldn't since it won't have as
much info in the next chapter as this one did. For those of you reading it, the next chapter for
Severed Dreams will probably be out before the next chapter for this fic. So until next chapter
*huggles* Ja mina-chan.