Title: Between Darkness and Light – Bite of the Dragon
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: Yes, by the wonderful Yume Maxwell-Yuy, Arigatou Yume-chan!
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
The golden rays from the sun shone through the temple windows, across the floor
and filtered through the white drapes, onto the beds single occupant, warming
the crisp air as it passed.
Yawning softly as he rolled over to avoid the light, a single Prussian eye cracked
open slightly to look hazily around the bed chambers.
Hearing the doors to the chambers click open, Heero forced his tired body into a
sitting position, causing the thin white sheet to slide down his thin body as a
slight yawn escaped his lips.
Running a hand through his messy chocolate locks, the blue eyed Jurei stretched his
arms out as he looked at the intruder sleepily and smiled softly "Morning Wufei,
what time is it?"
Bowing his respect, Wufei couldn't stop the smile of relief that spread across his
face as he saw that, yes, he really had found Heero and that he was safely back with
him again "Good morning Yuy, it's still early in the morning. I was just checking
to see if you were awake"
Cocking his head to one side as he took in his friends fully dressed status, a single
brow rose up as Heero inquired "Going somewhere Chang?"
"As a matter of fact I am. I thought it would be best if I went to the docks to see
if any of the captains are willing to take us to Enlizer and I was just about to
leave"
"I will accompany you then" Heero announced as he began to untangle himself from the
bedspread, but when a hand gently pushed him down again, annoyed Prussian eyes locked
with onyx as the Jurei growled out "I'm not staying behind. I don't need to be coddled
Wufei, I may be a year younger than you but that doesn't mean I'm helpless"
Not relenting one bit, Wufei gently cupped Heero's cheek as he seriously said "You've
been through enough already which included the kidnapping, not to mention all the
troubles you went through to get to Sanq. Even you need some rest to regain your
strength Yuy"
Sighing softly as he pulled away from the Shenlong child's touch, Heero's Prussian eyes
darkened slightly as he spoke, barely managing to keep the bitterness out of his voice
"Very well, next time though Chang, I will not sit idly by no matter how much you object"
Though the warning was said with no emotion on the others face, the Shenlong Child didn't
miss the slight darkening of the Jurei's Prussian eyes that's spoke volumes of his
repressed anger "Thankyou Yuy" Wufei earnestly said as his hand dropped back to his side
"I should be back around midday"
Nodding his head, stormy blue eyes calmed once more as Heero spoke "While you're gone
I'll speak with the High Priest, I think it would be best if he's informed about our
currant situation"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Standing out on the balcony overlooking the city spread out right to the edge of the far
off ocean, a few strands of dirty blonde hair swayed gently in the morning breeze as the
Queen of Sanq quietly observed her kingdom.
This was one of the precious few moments where the ruler of the country could take a few
quiet minutes to look over her kingdom, knowing that in the days ahead, time will not be
kind enough to grant her any.
"They're ready for you Queen Relena" A soft voice spoke up from the boundary of the balcony
and the library that lay beyond.
Taking one last look at the city spread out before her, the young queen turned around to
face her advisor "Thankyou Noin" Pulling away from the marbled railing, Relena straightened
out her white gown before stepping past her advisor and through the gold rimmed doors.
From her position draped across the red couch, a pale blonde haired girl gracefully stood
before silently making her was over to the queen's side as Noin took her position on the
other.
Only their footsteps echoed throughout the hall as the trio made their way towards the
meeting chambers.
Red and gold banners decorated the walls with shields and swords situated between each one.
Etched into each shield was a symbol of a phoenix, its wings spread out around it while
in the background a circle was placed directly behind the birds head. In the middle of the
room stood a thin long table in the shape of a semi-circle curving around the area. Right
at the centre of the table with its back facing the wall behind was a grand chair with
delicate carvings all along the tall head piece. The back and seat were both padded with
the same red and gold patterns that were printed on the banners lining the walls. On either
side of the impressive chair were two similar ones, both reserved for the Queens personal
advisors.
Taking her seat, her two advisors following suit, Queen Relena took hold of the small
golden hammer and knocked it twice against the gravel three times to gain every ones
attention "This session has now come to order" She announced as the room respectfully fell
silent "Onto the first order of business, General Septem have you any news concerning
the recent attacks on the neighbouring villages?"
From his position a few chairs clear of the tables end, General Septem focused his
attention on his queen as he answered "Since the first wave of refugee's came to the city,
it has been reported that another three have been attacked since, all of which are villages
surrounding this city. Taking this into account I ask permission to send a tenth of our
army out to the remaining village of Shokien in a hope to stop whoever's attacking"
From over the other side of the table, Duke Noventa stood up to address the council
"Excuse me your majesty but wouldn't it be more beneficial to send a larger force? If
this enemy is as powerful as what's being suggested"
"It is unfortunate these circumstances, but we can not run the risk of sending more troops
to defend Shokien and leave this city with not enough people to defend it if that time
shall arrive. These attacks seem to be too well organised to be mealy coincidence and I
fear that soon whoever's behind these attacks will turn their attention towards this city"
Turning her attention back towards General Septem, the queen inclined her head slightly
before continuing "You have my permission to do so General, although for caution I would
advise taking a runner to accompany the troop"
"Of course your majesty, I will relay your orders as soon as this meeting is adjourned"
Septem answered.
Keeping her attentions on the General, Queen Relena inquired "How are things fairing at our
border? Have there been anymore unusual sightings of late?"
Looking down at the few parchments before him, General Septem quickly looked them over before
answering "There have been reports of unusual Leo sightings close to our border along the
Sai'har desert, but they have only been seen far off in the distance and as of yet not
showing any signs of aggression"
"I would like to be kept informed of the situation, it is not usual for the Leo tribe to be
in the open like this. Is there any other order of business that needs to be discussed?"
Looking around the table to find that there was no more business to attend to, the Queen
knocked the hammer three more times "Then this meeting is then adjourned"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Looking up to see the sun directly above him, Wufei knew that he had already been at the
docks for all of the morning as it was now early afternoon.
All around the Chinese boy people and sailors alike knocked and bumped their way past the
Shenlong child as he attempted to make his way through the busy street. The ocean waves
could barely be heard over the noise the people were making as they made their way through
the busy docks of Sanq.
Feeling slightly claustrophobic in the heavily crowded area, Wufei quickly sighted a
relatively empty side street before quickly making his way over to it.
Moving over to the shadows, the Chinese boy sat heavily on the dust covered ground, well
out of the way of any passers by, in an attempt to rest and collects his thoughts.
'I've asked every captain available with no luck' Absentmindedly watching the crowd, Wufei
sighed in frustration just before his stomach decided to make itself know by growling
angrily.
'Perhaps it would be wise to try again after I have rested' Making up his mind, the Shenlong
Child got to his feet, then began to make his way down the side street back towards the
temple.
Passing a cross intersection between the buildings, his shoulder bumped into that of
another's. Though lost in his own thoughts, the sudden loss of weight on his head didn't
go unnoticed as Wufei quickly spun around to see a short dark haired thief running down
the opposite alley.
Quickly following the same route, the Chinese boy gave chase to the thief as they swerved
in and out of various crates lining the walls.
'If this thief thinks he can get away from me then he's got another thing coming' Wufei
angrily thought as he increased his pace when the thief disappeared around another corner.
Turning down the same street, Wufei skidded to a halt as he came to the brick wall of a
dead end.
Looking all around him, the Chinese boy could see nothing unusual that gave away the
location of a hidden door, but a slight movement from above instantly caught his attention
as Wufei whipped his head up to look.
A soft growl of annoyance escaped his throat as Wufei caught sight of the thief's silhouette
looking back at him from the roof top of the two story building.
Although the thief's facial features were obscured by shadows due to the sun being directly
behind them, the Shenlong Child could almost feel the mocking grin of triumph that was
spread across the others face.
'I vow I will not give up until justice has been served!' When the thief disappeared from
sight, Wufei grabbed the hilt of his weapon and withdrew his katana as he growled out to
himself "You have underestimated your opponent thief if you think you've won!"
Narrowing his dark eyes in determination, Wufei quickly scanned the area to see that it
was clear before bending down to touch the ground with his bare hand.
As the area all around him began to shift and depress, the ground directly beneath the
Shenlong Child began to rise, lifting Wufei higher up.
Once the mound reached halfway between the ground and the building top, Wufei leapt over
to the opposite wall before kicking off as hard as he could, hurling himself upwards
towards his target. Landing gracefully in a crouched position, Wufei smirked in satisfaction
as he briefly glanced back down to see the mound being reabsorbed into the earth.
Onyx eyes quickly darted around the rooftop area in an attempt to locate the thief and his
missing circlet, but neither were anywhere to be seen.
Pushing down the growing irritation welling up within him, Wufei closed his eyes and took
a deep calming breath as he focused the power within him to go in search for his missing
item.
He was hoping that since he had been using the circlets power for some time now, that he
would have a sort of connection between them both, similar to his connection to Nataku.
A faint tugging sensation could be felt at the back of his mind, silently demanding to be
followed. As the Shenlong child focused on that feeling, he continued following the path
it was showing him until it came to a stop a few blocks from where he was stationed.
Opening his eyes once again, a small smirk graced Wufei's lips as he noted that he was
facing the opposite direction to where the temple and Heero was. Breaking into a run, Wufei
easily leapt over the gaps between buildings as he made his way into the poorer section of
Sanq and towards the location of the missing heirloom.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Man you should have seen his face when he looked up and realised that he couldn't go any
further, it was hilarious" Boasted a voice in the alley below him as Wufei silently crept
up towards the edge of the roof top and carefully peered down.
Growling softly in the back of his throat, Wufei's anger flared up as he watched the thief
doing poor impressions of his reactions to the theft.
Biting his tongue to keep from making any comments that would give away his surprise attack,
Wufei's eyes narrowed into angry slits as he watched the thief take out his circlet to show
of to his circle of friends.
"I wonder how much this will get us anyway, looks like real gold to me"
Looking down in interest at the treasure, one of the other three thieves shrugged his
shoulders and answered ""No idea, but it should fetch us a decent price"
"Put it on, I want to see what it looks like" Another thief said eagerly, shortly before
the original thief attempted to place the circlet on top of their head.
Just as the jewelled circlet was positioned over the purple haired thief's head, a painful
yelp echoed throughout the alleyway as they hastily removed it "The bloody thing shocked me!"
Looking their friend over, the first thief asked "You alright there Hilde? What the hell
happened?"
Seeing all of his opponents were momentarily distracted, Wufei smirked as he leapt over the
edge of the building, landing gracefully behind the thief called Hilde.
Smirking inwardly at their shocked expressions as each turned to face him, Wufei calmly stood
up from his crouched position and demanded "Hand back what you stole from me and I'll let you
leave here in one piece"
The three large men standing behind their smaller purple haired companion laughed heartily
at his words as they each took up a position in front of Hilde "And just what do you think
you will do if we refuse pip-squeak?"
Bringing his weapon up before him, Wufei answered "Then I will have to force you to give it
back"
"Oh yeah? Is that so?" The same thief asked as he, along with his other two friends, pulled
out their daggers to the challenge "Well then, show us what you can do then"
Clearly not in the mood to for any types of games, Wufei released one hand from the hilt of
his sword and threw it out quickly to the side, causing the earth beneath the attackers to
tremble violently.
Gripping the hilt of the sword with both hands once again, all that could be seen was a blur
as Wufei rushed into the group of distracted thieves and swiftly knocked them out with the
flat of his sword.
As the three bodies fell lifelessly to the floor, Wufei looked up to find the obviously
shocked thief for the first time.
Onyx eyes widened in surprise as he took in the female form before him before he sputtered
out "I was robbed by an onna!?" As her blue eyes narrowed, Wufei's hands clenched his
weapon tightly as he growled out "Hand it back to me and you won't get hurt"
Taking a step backwards as her hand tightened around the gold circlet, Hilde's eyes
darkened in anger as she spat "Damn you!" before making a run for it in the opposite
direction.
Rolling his eyes, Wufei simply flicked his wrist slightly, causing the earth beneath the
retreating thief to buck up, sending her crashing down to the ground.
Calmly closing the distance between the two, Wufei pointed the tip of his katana to Hilde's
throat as he coldly said "I'm only letting you off easily because you're a woman, steal
from me again though and I wont hold back"
Ignoring the glare being directed at him, Wufei removed his sword shortly before snatching
the circlet from her hands. Sheathing his weapon, Wufei replaced the gold circlet upon his
head, once again covering the Dragon mark upon his brow, before turning around and walking
away from the area.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight, Duo stepped through the doorway
closely followed by Solo. It only took him a few seconds for his eyes to readjust, turning
his gaze back to his friend, Duo asked "Interested in coming to the Barge for a drink with
Tro and me?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Solo stuck his head back through the door as he yelled "Oi! Tell
Howard I'm going out for a bit" Shutting the doors, Solo wrapped and arm around the
braided boy's shoulder pulling him into a one armed hug "To the Barge!" He called out
joyfully as he pointed in the direction of the tavern.
From the shade on the other side of the street, Trowa detached himself from the stone
wall when he saw Duo and Solo emerge from their meeting. Making his way over to the pair
a single brow rode up in curiosity as the quiet archer asked "How did the meeting go?"
Trying unsuccessfully to throw Solo's grip from him, Duo quickly slipped out under the
others hold and darted around to the safety of Trowa's other side. Sticking his tongue
out at the blonde, the braided thief then answered "Fine, we now officially have the quest
to go in search of this treasure everyone's been beating themselves up over. Howard wants
us to find it for him so then he can personally hand it to the Queen and apologize for all
that's happened. He's going to be busy in the meantime though trying to figure out who's
the one going behind his back… I'll tell you one thing though, I don't envy the guy when
Howie finds him"
Turning the corner, the group entered the main street of Sanq, Trowa's gaze automatically
scanning the crowed area as he replied "Very well, any clues as to where this treasure is?"
Locking his hands behind his head as he walked, a grin was sent the archer's way as Duo
spoke "Looks like we're in luck, Howie's guys say there's a lot of activity in and around
the city, activity as in unofficial patrols of unmarked men. My guess is that the treasure
was picked up by some poor schmuck who doesn't know just what or how valuable the thing
really is and judging by all this activity going on, who ever picked it up is or will soon
be in this city. So all we have to do is find the guy before OZ or the rouge's do, simple
really"
Rolling his eyes at his friend's optimism Solo's gaze left the passing fruit stalls as he
stepped in front of Trowa "Simple yeah right! Kid you're a real idiot sometimes, did you
know that? I mean how on earth are you going to find this guy? You don't even know what
this guy looks like even if, and I say if, your theory is correct"
Sticking his bottom lip out in a pout, Duo sulked "Geeze Solo, talk about taking the fun
out of the adventure, who invited you along anyway?"
With a wide grin stretching over his face, the blonde thief replied "I'm afraid you're
the one to blame for that, plus I've got nothing better to do at the moment and from what
I can see, you'll need all the help you can get"
An ox pulled cart filled to the brim with wheat slowly made its way past the trio as they
walked past yet another one of the many side alleys of Sanq.
Sensing it too late, just as they begun to make their way pass the alley, someone else
came running out at the same time crashing right into the braided thief and sending the
pair of them to the ground, Duo pinned beneath the other.
Trowa and Solo were both instantly at their braided friend's side, the archer checking
his friend's state while the blonde thief went to check the other.
Coming out of his daze, the violet eyed thief leant up onto his elbows as he heard the
offender mutter a quiet "Sorry"
Recognising the voice in an instant a smile broke out on Duo's face "Hilde?!"
The others dirty face shot up as their blue eyes locked onto violet, mirroring the smile,
Hilde laughed happily as she threw her arms around the braided thief, hugging him tightly
"Duo! You're back!"
Returning the hug, Duo gave an extra squeeze before releasing his grip and allowing Solo
to help the girl to her feet. Taking Trowa's offered hand, the braided thief pulled
himself up "Yeah I'm back, it's been awhile now hasn't it?"
Thanking Solo for his help, Hilde instantly latched onto Duo's arm, smiling brightly up
at him "Yeah, you've been gone too long if you ask me. It's not the same around here
without you Duo"
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, Duo shrugged casually "Sorry Hil,
but you know how things are" Noticing the light layer of dirt covering her face, Duo
raised his hand to wipe some of it off as he asked "So what's the deal?"
A faint blush spread across Hilde's nose and over her cheeks at the thief's gentle touch
as she continued to stare into the violet pools. The blush soon disappeared as the most
recent events entered her mind, eyes hardening in anger, Hilde growled "Stole some guy's
circlet, I mean he was easy prey, walking through the backstreets of the wharf like he
owned the place. He chased me for a while but I was able to lose him once I got to the
old storage buildings. I ran what? Maybe two blocks from there over the roof tops I might
add, thinking that there was no way that he could find me but no! The stupid asshole
drops out of the sky while I was showing what I got to Robertson and the guys, demanding
that I hand it back to him. The bastard then whips out this huge sword and beats the
crap out of the guys, knocked those losers out in a single hit, bloody good for nothing
weak bastards if you ask me.
Anyway, as I was trying to make my get away, I don't know how to describe it but it felt
like the ground beneath me tripped me if you can believe it, I know it sounds crazy but
that's what it felt like" Shrugging her shoulders, Hilde snorted quietly before she
finished "Next thing I knew I had a sword pointed at my throat and he took his circlet
back. Moral of the story, don't steal from kids who carry around swords"
Sharing a quick glance with the archer, Duo turned his attention back to Hilde as he
asked "Was that sword of his a Katana by any chance?"
Wrinkling up her nose in thought, the dark haired thief was silent for a few moments
before she replied "Not sure, it could have been one"
Wanting to confirm his suspicions Duo pushed "Did he happen to have black hair pulled
back into a tight pony tail and was wearing a blue tunic with a gold dragon insignia on
the front?"
"Yeah he did! And that same dragon symbol was on his forehead, must have been hidden by
his circlet because I didn't see it before I snatched the thing"
"Wufei" Both Duo and Trowa said in union, at that realization the braided thief's heart
almost jumped up into his throat as thoughts of a certain Prussian eyed boy came into
mind, but before he could inquire if Heero was with the disgruntled warrior, something
else caught his attention "Did you just say that there was a dragon symbol on his forehead?"
Nodding her head, Hilde frowned slightly as she said "Yeah it looked like some sort of
tattoo, weird place for one though… Hey! Do you know the guy?"
Too lost in his own thoughts to hear the question, Duo turned his attention to Trowa as
the quiet archer stated "It seems as though more is going on with those two than they let
on"
"Yeah looks like you're right on this one Tro" The braided thief answered as he sighed.
Not happy at being ignored, Hilde tugged on Duo's arm before she whined "Duo, I asked if
you knew him?" As the sudden thought came to the dark haired thief, a smirk crossed her
features as she asked "Let me guess, you got your ass kicked too when you tried to steal
from him?"
Snapping back to the conversation at hand, the beginnings of a blush began to appear as
Duo stammered out "Well no not exactly… you see… umm his friend"
But Duo was quickly cut off by Hilde as she asked "You tried to steal from his friend and
he caught you in the act I bet?"
"Umm… well… I guess you could say that" Duo began to explain but for once in his life it
seemed that he couldn't find any words to answer with.
Getting bored of just standing there, Solo threw an arm each around Duo and Hilde as he
stuck his head between the two and announced "Even though this conversation if oh so
fascinating, can we please just continue on our way to the Barge, the ale is calling my
good fellows" After receiving a jab to the ribs by Hilde's elbow, the blonde thief
hastily added "and women of course"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Walking swiftly through the quiet halls of the temple, Wufei quickly made his way through
the main hall, past the study area and headed towards the inner garden area of the temple.
The air circulating throughout the marbled corridors began to smell sweeter, almost like
the temple gardens back home as he left the salty sea air behind him and ventured further
within.
Wide collum's of light reflected off the white floors as Wufei turned yet another corner
to finally meet with the archway leading to the inner sanctums gardens, the most sacred
place within any temple.
Stopping just before the archway, Wufei turned his attention up towards the detail carved
right into the marble itself.
A small smile flickered across the Chinese boy's features as he took in the intricate
designs of the men, women and children as they lived their lives as they do now. Frozen
in poses of work, some looked to be chatting amongst themselves while the children played
around them. Bordering the tiny sculptured people were delicate vines weaving in and out
of themselves, each of them sprouting leaves and small flowers.
Following the design up along the archway, the small smile softened somewhat when his
gaze came to rest what was sculptured right at it peak. Identical to the crystal statue
out in the main hall, was the carved portrait of the Goddess of Life, Jurei. Her face was
set in a gentle smile as she looked down from her place in the heavens to the people below.
Long delicate robes flowed out around her and the surrounding area as the Jurei's long hair
could be seen cascading down her back. Stone eyes that should have been dull and lifeless
seemed to sparkle with inner life as the sunlight refected of them. Carved around her
forehead was a replica of the same circlet that now rested around Heero's own.
Looking slightly above the sculptured Goddess, onyx eyes rested on the very symbol that
was forever upon his friend's forehead, the symbol of the Holy Blue Flame.
Tearing his vision away from the sacred mark, Wufei took the last remaining steps to the
gardens to stop on the threshold as a stray white butterfly flittered gently past him.
As the delicate insect passed by, Wufei turned his attention to the sun lit garden and
shook his head in amusement as the sight that greeted him.
There sitting silently on the grass bathed in the suns gentle light was Heero Yuy. His soot
coloured eyelashes sitting softly against the top of his cheeks as he sat there with his
eyes closed, calmly inhaling a deep breath.
The multicoloured and somewhat shimmering clothing he was wearing burst to life at Heero's
gentle movement as from all around him, hundreds of butterflies flew up into the air at
once from their resting place on the Jurei, casting multiple flickering shadows over his
features as they sailed higher into the clear blue sky above.
Stunned into silence as he watched the beautiful display, Wufei almost missed the quiet
words that Heero spoke.
"I have to make a note not to sit in one place for too long these days" Dusting himself
off as he stood, Heero brushed the last traces of grass from his black pants before
turning his piercing blue gaze onto his friend.
Mentally shaking himself out of his stupor, a smirk appeared on Wufei's face as he asked
"Just how long were you sitting there Yuy?"
Looking up to the sky momentarily, Heero returned his gaze back to his friend as he
shrugged slightly and responded "Two hours perhaps, I came out here after speaking to G
about our situation"
Gesturing for his friend to follow, Heero began to slowly make his way over to the lifeless
flower bed situated around a stone fountain embedded within the opposite wall to the
entrance. Sitting down once again before the empty patch of dirt, a delicate hand reached
out to hover over the earth as Heero softly spoke "How did your search go? Were you able
to find us a ship?"
Sitting down cross-legged beside his friend, the Shenlong child watched on in admiration
as tiny green buds broke through the soil "Unfortunately no, the port was filled with
nothing but cowards. As soon as I mentioned our destination they scattered like rats"
Although the topic still infuriated the Chinese boy, Wufei found though that watching the
new flowers blooming, relaxed and calmed the anger burning inside.
As the power flowing through his hand faded away, a small smile graced Heero's lips as he
gently touched the new petals with his fingertips "You can not blame them Wufei, the
embargo Enlizer put on itself would be enough to scare off any would be traveller who
did not grow up within its walls. I've found that most people here believe the palace to
be a fairytale, since only a select few outsiders have ever travelled there" Satisfied
that the new plants were strong and healthy, Prussian eyes turned their attention over
to Shenlong Child as Heero continued "What we need to do now is find an alternate rout
to take us back to the palace"
Nodding his heading agreement, Wufei thoughtfully suggested "The High Priest might be
worth asking"
Standing up in a single fluid motion Heero waited for his friend to join him before the
pair silently made their way out of the inner gardens and to the High Priests study
chambers.
Walking ahead of the Jurei, the Shenlong child walked up to the large oak doors and
knocked loudly three times before a slightly muffled "Come in" was heard.
Opening the door the pair entered the room, taking the two empty seats before the large
desk which situated the old mushroom haired priest on the opposite side.
Peering through his hair at his two guests, the High priest G asked "What can I do for
you?"
Sitting up a little straighter in his seat Wufei spoke "As you already know we need to
get back to Enlizer as soon as possible, but with their embargo no ships are willing to
take us there. So we come to you, do you know of any possible way for us to return?"
Leaning back in his seat as his fingertips absentmindedly drummed on the solid wood desk
top, the High priest was quiet for some time before an approval sound was made at the
back of his throat "I may know of a way" Standing up from his chair, the High priest G
made his way over to the overfilled bookcase. Running his fingers along the spines of
each tome, a triumphant "Ah" was heard as the aging priest removed an olive green leather
tome from the shelves before returning to his chair behind the desk.
While scanning through the worn pages G's gaze never left the book as he spoke "There
are no other means of transportation between the mainland and Enlizer apart from the
shipping routs from Sanq and some of the surrounding village's"
A wide grin spread across his aged face as the priest came upon the page he as looking
for. Turning the tome around as he pointed to a particular part on the page, G explained
"This village however may hold the answer to your question. If it had been anyone else
but you two asking me this question, this choice wouldn't even be a possibility"
Leaning forward to look at what the priest was pointing to, both Heero and Wufei were
surprised to find an ancient map spanning across each page.
Turning their attentions to where the priest was pointing, both boys could see a small
village drawn right in the middle of the mountain ranges situated at the top left of
the mainland. Although no name was written for the village, like most of the other
smaller village's, both the Jurei and the Shenlong child felt something was off as
Wufei questioned "How can a village set in the opposite direction to where we want to
go help us get back to Enlizer?"
Amusement showed on the old priests face as he answered "As I said before, if it were
anyone else but the two of you, I would not even bother showing this map to them. If
you would look on any other map besides this one and a few back at the Amara temple
at Enlizer, you would never find this particular village on it.
You might find some experienced traveller who has heard of it but no outsider of the
village has set foot within it for centuries and with only one incident sixteen years
ago, no villager has ever left.
You see, this village is the village of the ancient Dragon Clan that worshiped the
dragon god Shenlong and it resides at the base of what was once called the great Nibel
ranges"
At hearing the name of the village, onyx eyes widened in surprise as Wufei quietly
asked "The Dragon Clan?"
Nodding his head at the question, G's face broke into a smile "Yes Wufei, the Dragon
Clan and before you ask it, yes it is the same village you, Nataku and Master O came
from sixteen years ago"
With his voice filled with rare enthusiasm, Wufei looked directly into the old priests
eyes as he asked "When should we leave?"
Chuckling slightly at the Shenlong child's actions, G slid the tome back before him as
he answered "In two days at the most, that's how long it should take me to copy the
map over to some parchment for your journey. You will need to stock up on supplies as
it is quite a long journey to the Dragon Clan village and the next village is a good
four day hike from Sanq. There's one other village along the way and from there on
horse back, it may take you about a week or more to reach the Dragon Clan village"
Standing up from his seat Heero inclined his head slightly as he asked "Could you also
provide us with mounts for our journey?"
"Of course Jurei" G replied as he too got up from his seat, watching the pair as they
began to leave he then added as an after thought "Heero, you should also see that
child before you leave, your visit might cheer her up somewhat"
A slight smile fell across his lips as thoughts of his young friend entered his mind,
nodding his head once again, the smile never left Heero's face as he along with Wufei
left the room to prepare for the long journey ahead.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"What is the position of our troops Lady Une?" Treize's silky voice asked from the
balcony, his azure eyes calmly watching the raging waves below as they crashed against
the cliff rocks.
Making her way through the study, a single hand came up to brush aside the lose strands
of hair from her face as Lady Une stepped out onto the balcony "All is going well your
Excellency, reports say that the troops are less than two days away from the border.
The Leo tribe are stationed at the border already and are in the process of setting up
the gateway. Once our main forces arrive, they should be ready for transport to the
area just outside of Sanq and ready to advance on the beginning of the second day as
predicted"
Turning his attention away from the roaring ocean, Treize made his way over to the
large black cage hanging in the corner of the balcony. The soft sound of a birds
chirping greeted him as he placed his hand in the cage, idly stroking the soft light
blue feathers, Treize spoke "Good, has Otto reported any sightings of the Jurei since
he entered the capital?"
"Yes my Lord, he reported that not long after the Jurei entered the city, he and his
travelling companion took refuge in the Dasha temple, since then only his travelling
companion has left the temple. Otto has reason to believe that his new companion is
none other than the Shenlong child and wants to know what course of actions should be
taken"
Azure eyes focused solely on the bird before him as without warning, Treize changed
the topic "Beautiful isn't it? This small bird is actually one of the legendary Tsubasa.
Legend tells us that centuries ago the Goddess of Life became depressed, as her
depression deepened the life on the planet began to be effected by it also. The others
gods tried everything in their power to cheer the depressed Goddess up but every one
of them failed. That was until the day the only god who had not attempted the challenge
came forward. That god was none other than Shinigami himself, he came with two small
gems within his hands. Though still depressed, the Goddess of Life became intrigued as
to what the other had planned.
Standing before the Goddess, Shinigami held the stones in one hand while his other went
to pluck a singe white strand of hair from upon the Jurei's head and a single black one
from his own.
Placing one strand upon a blue gem each, Shinigami gently grasped one of the Goddesses
hands and placed it over his own. The God of Death then spoke of his love for the Jurei
and as he spoke their joined hands began to glow softly.
Like the sun appearing from behind a cloud, the Jurei's smile brightened up the whole
room as she too told Shinigami of her love for him.
Opening their hands, the two gods looked down to find two small birds preening themselves
without a care in the world, one male bird and a single female.
Now of course there are thousands of these birds on this planet, all the offspring of
those original two birds. This one though, this one is one of the original two birds, the
male one to be exact. I attempted to find the female years ago but unfortunately found
out that it had perished some time ago. A pity really, would have been nice to have a
matching set"
A smile graced his features as the small blue bird within the cage jumped up onto the
palm of his hand. Watching the bird for a moment, his hand quickly closed around the small
creature, tightening his grip even further as the faint sounds of struggle could be heard.
Once all went silent again, Treize opened his hand and released the lifeless body from
his grasp as he eventually answered the original question "We have no use for the child,
the Jurei is the only one we need. If he intends to impede my plans, Otto has my permission
to dispose of the boy"
Bowing her respect before she began to leave, Lady Une froze on the spot as Treize spoke
again "Oh and Lady Une"
Turning around to face her Lord, Lady Une asked "Yes your Excellency?"
Looking over his shoulder, Treize added "And please tell Otto he has up until the attack
to try and capture the Jurei if the opportunity arises, we can not afford to accidentally
lose him in the up and coming battle"
"I will do as you ask" Bowing one final time Lady Une straightened once more before
leaving Treize alone on the balcony once more.
Turning his attention back to the cage, a single gloved hand reached out and held still
just above the dead animal. A language almost as old as time itself parted quietly from
moving lips as their owner closed their azure eyes in concentration. From beneath the
gloved hand a pale grey mist began to emerge, getting stronger and thicker with each word
the sandy haired man spoke.
Lightly landing on the soft blue feathers below, the grey mist slowly began to disappear
once again as the tiny birds feet began to twitch slightly. The glassed over look within
the birds amber rimmed black eyes began to moisten again before the creatures lids blinked
once, then twice before the dark eyes within began to move rapidly from side to side.
Jumping up to its feet, the bird spread its short wings and few up to perch itself on the
top of Treize's hand, happily chirping away.
Looking down at the cheerfully chirping bird, a smile of satisfaction spread across Treize's
face as his azure eyes landed on a tiny black rose upon the creature's chest. Opening the
cage door fully, Treize allowed the bird to hop off his hand as he withdrew it out of the
cage, taking a step away, his face turned thoughtful as he spoke "Come now"
Preening its feathers once more for show, the small blue bird jumped down to the door of
the cage, took one look around the area before spreading its wings and flying over to
the stone railing.
Closing the door to the cage, Treize turned to face the small bird once again as he
spoke "Otto's reports are thorough enough but there is still much that goes unaccounted
for... With the upcoming attack on Sanq, if we lose sight of the Jurei during it our
plans will be ruined" Taking a few steps towards the bird he then continued "This is
where you come along but you are no use to me in this form" Throwing his arm out to
the side, Treize loudly commanded "Awaken Aries!"
The instant those words left his mouth, the dark mark upon the bird's chest began to
glow a dark red colour as a thick black smoke poured out of the birds mouth, entirely
engulfing its small body and surrounding area. The smoke continued to expand until it
was almost twice the size of a normal human's height. In the mitts of the black cloud
only a pair of blood red eyes could be seen staring out as an unexpectedly soft female
voice spoke "Why have you summoned me Necromancer?"
Through the smoke, a human form could faintly be seen as it faded in and out of sight.
Seeing those blood red eyes focused solely on him, Treize returned the gaze as he
answered "There is someone of great importance that I need you to keep an eye on but
it is vital that they do not see you for if they do, they will go into hiding"
All around the demon, the dark grey smoke had highlights of red as the creature's eyes
blazed with fury "You summoned me to baby sit some human?!"
Nodding his head Treize ignored Aries anger as he calmly replied "Yes but the one you
are suppose to… baby sit as you called it, is none other than the Jurei"
The anger instantly fled the demon as understanding dawned on it "The Jurei? Very well
Necromancer, I will do your bidding"
"Thankyou dear Aries, the Jurei is currently at the capital of Sanq, be warned though,
the Shenlong child is also there protecting you charge"
"The Shenlong Child is of no challenge to me at the moment he is still too weak… I will
heed you warning though" The voice spoke after a moment of silence before the smoke
disappeared to reveal the small blue bird once again.
The instant the tiny bird's feet touched the stone railing a violent shudder ran through
its body. Its bright chirping began to higher in pitch as its body could be seen
twisting and turning in different directions as it began to expand and grow. Large
powerful talons grew where once delicate claws were, the once sky blue feathers turned
black as its inky colour bled its way over the growing birds entire body. Its little
orange beak began to sharpen and elongate as its wings and tail feathers both shuddered
violently both easily doubling the new size of the bird.
As the shudders subsided the bird once more stood up and where once was a small bird,
only large enough to fit in the palm of a human hand, now stood a large bird, the size
of a small child.
Stretching out its powerful wings, the large bird shrilled loudly as the remaining amber
of its eyes along with its beak and talons turned jet black. Folding its large wings
back into its body, the dark bird closed its eyes for a moment and then opened them once
more to reveal one blood red eye and the other a sky blue, almost azure in colour.
Tilting its head to the side, the massive birds blue eye began to brighten in colour as
the dark creature spoke, never once opening its beak "Can you see?" It asked hauntingly
as its single red eye carefully watched the human before it.
Closing his own eyes as they to began to brighten, an image of himself and the study
behind him standing there motionless, appeared in his minds eye. Still with his eyes
closed, Treize lifted his left arm as he watched the image before him did the exact same
motion. Lowering his arm once more, Treize opened his eyes once more "Yes" He confirmed,
his eyes back to their normal azure colour once more "This will be perfect, go now Aries"
Inclining its head slightly, Aries spread out its impressive wingspan before leaping over
the edge of the balcony, hurling itself towards the waves below. Skimming the wave tops
with the tips of its wings, Aries glided smoothly across the water before changing
directions and flying off to the west.
TBC
Tenshi: Wow…this is my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoyed it though and as you can
probably already tell…things will start to get a little more chaotic in this ficcie
soon o_O So what will happen next? Nobody knows….err…well I do but umm…yeah *grins sheepishly*
Also a word of warning, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my ficcies next,
you see not only am I moving house but I'm also going to be moving countries. So I'll be
without any internet or computer access for a while, but dun worry during this time, I'll
be mostly free from any distractions so I'm hoping to write a few chapters for each of
my stories including this one.
I want to give a big thanks to Pink Cherry Blossom, Ashly, Kyra, Konpeitou, CinC,
GoldenRat, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, CuriousDreamWeaver, Star Dragonsong, kanaloas wrath, Ruby Love,
Tsuki Doriimaa, kt, Animegurl14, KittyDawningWWE, MiruSedna, tima, Mite Mite, KuraiMoon
and to DeGrella Carrie *huggles* Thankyou so much for all you're great reviews!
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: Yes, by the wonderful Yume Maxwell-Yuy, Arigatou Yume-chan!
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
The golden rays from the sun shone through the temple windows, across the floor
and filtered through the white drapes, onto the beds single occupant, warming
the crisp air as it passed.
Yawning softly as he rolled over to avoid the light, a single Prussian eye cracked
open slightly to look hazily around the bed chambers.
Hearing the doors to the chambers click open, Heero forced his tired body into a
sitting position, causing the thin white sheet to slide down his thin body as a
slight yawn escaped his lips.
Running a hand through his messy chocolate locks, the blue eyed Jurei stretched his
arms out as he looked at the intruder sleepily and smiled softly "Morning Wufei,
what time is it?"
Bowing his respect, Wufei couldn't stop the smile of relief that spread across his
face as he saw that, yes, he really had found Heero and that he was safely back with
him again "Good morning Yuy, it's still early in the morning. I was just checking
to see if you were awake"
Cocking his head to one side as he took in his friends fully dressed status, a single
brow rose up as Heero inquired "Going somewhere Chang?"
"As a matter of fact I am. I thought it would be best if I went to the docks to see
if any of the captains are willing to take us to Enlizer and I was just about to
leave"
"I will accompany you then" Heero announced as he began to untangle himself from the
bedspread, but when a hand gently pushed him down again, annoyed Prussian eyes locked
with onyx as the Jurei growled out "I'm not staying behind. I don't need to be coddled
Wufei, I may be a year younger than you but that doesn't mean I'm helpless"
Not relenting one bit, Wufei gently cupped Heero's cheek as he seriously said "You've
been through enough already which included the kidnapping, not to mention all the
troubles you went through to get to Sanq. Even you need some rest to regain your
strength Yuy"
Sighing softly as he pulled away from the Shenlong child's touch, Heero's Prussian eyes
darkened slightly as he spoke, barely managing to keep the bitterness out of his voice
"Very well, next time though Chang, I will not sit idly by no matter how much you object"
Though the warning was said with no emotion on the others face, the Shenlong Child didn't
miss the slight darkening of the Jurei's Prussian eyes that's spoke volumes of his
repressed anger "Thankyou Yuy" Wufei earnestly said as his hand dropped back to his side
"I should be back around midday"
Nodding his head, stormy blue eyes calmed once more as Heero spoke "While you're gone
I'll speak with the High Priest, I think it would be best if he's informed about our
currant situation"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Standing out on the balcony overlooking the city spread out right to the edge of the far
off ocean, a few strands of dirty blonde hair swayed gently in the morning breeze as the
Queen of Sanq quietly observed her kingdom.
This was one of the precious few moments where the ruler of the country could take a few
quiet minutes to look over her kingdom, knowing that in the days ahead, time will not be
kind enough to grant her any.
"They're ready for you Queen Relena" A soft voice spoke up from the boundary of the balcony
and the library that lay beyond.
Taking one last look at the city spread out before her, the young queen turned around to
face her advisor "Thankyou Noin" Pulling away from the marbled railing, Relena straightened
out her white gown before stepping past her advisor and through the gold rimmed doors.
From her position draped across the red couch, a pale blonde haired girl gracefully stood
before silently making her was over to the queen's side as Noin took her position on the
other.
Only their footsteps echoed throughout the hall as the trio made their way towards the
meeting chambers.
Red and gold banners decorated the walls with shields and swords situated between each one.
Etched into each shield was a symbol of a phoenix, its wings spread out around it while
in the background a circle was placed directly behind the birds head. In the middle of the
room stood a thin long table in the shape of a semi-circle curving around the area. Right
at the centre of the table with its back facing the wall behind was a grand chair with
delicate carvings all along the tall head piece. The back and seat were both padded with
the same red and gold patterns that were printed on the banners lining the walls. On either
side of the impressive chair were two similar ones, both reserved for the Queens personal
advisors.
Taking her seat, her two advisors following suit, Queen Relena took hold of the small
golden hammer and knocked it twice against the gravel three times to gain every ones
attention "This session has now come to order" She announced as the room respectfully fell
silent "Onto the first order of business, General Septem have you any news concerning
the recent attacks on the neighbouring villages?"
From his position a few chairs clear of the tables end, General Septem focused his
attention on his queen as he answered "Since the first wave of refugee's came to the city,
it has been reported that another three have been attacked since, all of which are villages
surrounding this city. Taking this into account I ask permission to send a tenth of our
army out to the remaining village of Shokien in a hope to stop whoever's attacking"
From over the other side of the table, Duke Noventa stood up to address the council
"Excuse me your majesty but wouldn't it be more beneficial to send a larger force? If
this enemy is as powerful as what's being suggested"
"It is unfortunate these circumstances, but we can not run the risk of sending more troops
to defend Shokien and leave this city with not enough people to defend it if that time
shall arrive. These attacks seem to be too well organised to be mealy coincidence and I
fear that soon whoever's behind these attacks will turn their attention towards this city"
Turning her attention back towards General Septem, the queen inclined her head slightly
before continuing "You have my permission to do so General, although for caution I would
advise taking a runner to accompany the troop"
"Of course your majesty, I will relay your orders as soon as this meeting is adjourned"
Septem answered.
Keeping her attentions on the General, Queen Relena inquired "How are things fairing at our
border? Have there been anymore unusual sightings of late?"
Looking down at the few parchments before him, General Septem quickly looked them over before
answering "There have been reports of unusual Leo sightings close to our border along the
Sai'har desert, but they have only been seen far off in the distance and as of yet not
showing any signs of aggression"
"I would like to be kept informed of the situation, it is not usual for the Leo tribe to be
in the open like this. Is there any other order of business that needs to be discussed?"
Looking around the table to find that there was no more business to attend to, the Queen
knocked the hammer three more times "Then this meeting is then adjourned"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Looking up to see the sun directly above him, Wufei knew that he had already been at the
docks for all of the morning as it was now early afternoon.
All around the Chinese boy people and sailors alike knocked and bumped their way past the
Shenlong child as he attempted to make his way through the busy street. The ocean waves
could barely be heard over the noise the people were making as they made their way through
the busy docks of Sanq.
Feeling slightly claustrophobic in the heavily crowded area, Wufei quickly sighted a
relatively empty side street before quickly making his way over to it.
Moving over to the shadows, the Chinese boy sat heavily on the dust covered ground, well
out of the way of any passers by, in an attempt to rest and collects his thoughts.
'I've asked every captain available with no luck' Absentmindedly watching the crowd, Wufei
sighed in frustration just before his stomach decided to make itself know by growling
angrily.
'Perhaps it would be wise to try again after I have rested' Making up his mind, the Shenlong
Child got to his feet, then began to make his way down the side street back towards the
temple.
Passing a cross intersection between the buildings, his shoulder bumped into that of
another's. Though lost in his own thoughts, the sudden loss of weight on his head didn't
go unnoticed as Wufei quickly spun around to see a short dark haired thief running down
the opposite alley.
Quickly following the same route, the Chinese boy gave chase to the thief as they swerved
in and out of various crates lining the walls.
'If this thief thinks he can get away from me then he's got another thing coming' Wufei
angrily thought as he increased his pace when the thief disappeared around another corner.
Turning down the same street, Wufei skidded to a halt as he came to the brick wall of a
dead end.
Looking all around him, the Chinese boy could see nothing unusual that gave away the
location of a hidden door, but a slight movement from above instantly caught his attention
as Wufei whipped his head up to look.
A soft growl of annoyance escaped his throat as Wufei caught sight of the thief's silhouette
looking back at him from the roof top of the two story building.
Although the thief's facial features were obscured by shadows due to the sun being directly
behind them, the Shenlong Child could almost feel the mocking grin of triumph that was
spread across the others face.
'I vow I will not give up until justice has been served!' When the thief disappeared from
sight, Wufei grabbed the hilt of his weapon and withdrew his katana as he growled out to
himself "You have underestimated your opponent thief if you think you've won!"
Narrowing his dark eyes in determination, Wufei quickly scanned the area to see that it
was clear before bending down to touch the ground with his bare hand.
As the area all around him began to shift and depress, the ground directly beneath the
Shenlong Child began to rise, lifting Wufei higher up.
Once the mound reached halfway between the ground and the building top, Wufei leapt over
to the opposite wall before kicking off as hard as he could, hurling himself upwards
towards his target. Landing gracefully in a crouched position, Wufei smirked in satisfaction
as he briefly glanced back down to see the mound being reabsorbed into the earth.
Onyx eyes quickly darted around the rooftop area in an attempt to locate the thief and his
missing circlet, but neither were anywhere to be seen.
Pushing down the growing irritation welling up within him, Wufei closed his eyes and took
a deep calming breath as he focused the power within him to go in search for his missing
item.
He was hoping that since he had been using the circlets power for some time now, that he
would have a sort of connection between them both, similar to his connection to Nataku.
A faint tugging sensation could be felt at the back of his mind, silently demanding to be
followed. As the Shenlong child focused on that feeling, he continued following the path
it was showing him until it came to a stop a few blocks from where he was stationed.
Opening his eyes once again, a small smirk graced Wufei's lips as he noted that he was
facing the opposite direction to where the temple and Heero was. Breaking into a run, Wufei
easily leapt over the gaps between buildings as he made his way into the poorer section of
Sanq and towards the location of the missing heirloom.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"Man you should have seen his face when he looked up and realised that he couldn't go any
further, it was hilarious" Boasted a voice in the alley below him as Wufei silently crept
up towards the edge of the roof top and carefully peered down.
Growling softly in the back of his throat, Wufei's anger flared up as he watched the thief
doing poor impressions of his reactions to the theft.
Biting his tongue to keep from making any comments that would give away his surprise attack,
Wufei's eyes narrowed into angry slits as he watched the thief take out his circlet to show
of to his circle of friends.
"I wonder how much this will get us anyway, looks like real gold to me"
Looking down in interest at the treasure, one of the other three thieves shrugged his
shoulders and answered ""No idea, but it should fetch us a decent price"
"Put it on, I want to see what it looks like" Another thief said eagerly, shortly before
the original thief attempted to place the circlet on top of their head.
Just as the jewelled circlet was positioned over the purple haired thief's head, a painful
yelp echoed throughout the alleyway as they hastily removed it "The bloody thing shocked me!"
Looking their friend over, the first thief asked "You alright there Hilde? What the hell
happened?"
Seeing all of his opponents were momentarily distracted, Wufei smirked as he leapt over the
edge of the building, landing gracefully behind the thief called Hilde.
Smirking inwardly at their shocked expressions as each turned to face him, Wufei calmly stood
up from his crouched position and demanded "Hand back what you stole from me and I'll let you
leave here in one piece"
The three large men standing behind their smaller purple haired companion laughed heartily
at his words as they each took up a position in front of Hilde "And just what do you think
you will do if we refuse pip-squeak?"
Bringing his weapon up before him, Wufei answered "Then I will have to force you to give it
back"
"Oh yeah? Is that so?" The same thief asked as he, along with his other two friends, pulled
out their daggers to the challenge "Well then, show us what you can do then"
Clearly not in the mood to for any types of games, Wufei released one hand from the hilt of
his sword and threw it out quickly to the side, causing the earth beneath the attackers to
tremble violently.
Gripping the hilt of the sword with both hands once again, all that could be seen was a blur
as Wufei rushed into the group of distracted thieves and swiftly knocked them out with the
flat of his sword.
As the three bodies fell lifelessly to the floor, Wufei looked up to find the obviously
shocked thief for the first time.
Onyx eyes widened in surprise as he took in the female form before him before he sputtered
out "I was robbed by an onna!?" As her blue eyes narrowed, Wufei's hands clenched his
weapon tightly as he growled out "Hand it back to me and you won't get hurt"
Taking a step backwards as her hand tightened around the gold circlet, Hilde's eyes
darkened in anger as she spat "Damn you!" before making a run for it in the opposite
direction.
Rolling his eyes, Wufei simply flicked his wrist slightly, causing the earth beneath the
retreating thief to buck up, sending her crashing down to the ground.
Calmly closing the distance between the two, Wufei pointed the tip of his katana to Hilde's
throat as he coldly said "I'm only letting you off easily because you're a woman, steal
from me again though and I wont hold back"
Ignoring the glare being directed at him, Wufei removed his sword shortly before snatching
the circlet from her hands. Sheathing his weapon, Wufei replaced the gold circlet upon his
head, once again covering the Dragon mark upon his brow, before turning around and walking
away from the area.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight, Duo stepped through the doorway
closely followed by Solo. It only took him a few seconds for his eyes to readjust, turning
his gaze back to his friend, Duo asked "Interested in coming to the Barge for a drink with
Tro and me?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Solo stuck his head back through the door as he yelled "Oi! Tell
Howard I'm going out for a bit" Shutting the doors, Solo wrapped and arm around the
braided boy's shoulder pulling him into a one armed hug "To the Barge!" He called out
joyfully as he pointed in the direction of the tavern.
From the shade on the other side of the street, Trowa detached himself from the stone
wall when he saw Duo and Solo emerge from their meeting. Making his way over to the pair
a single brow rode up in curiosity as the quiet archer asked "How did the meeting go?"
Trying unsuccessfully to throw Solo's grip from him, Duo quickly slipped out under the
others hold and darted around to the safety of Trowa's other side. Sticking his tongue
out at the blonde, the braided thief then answered "Fine, we now officially have the quest
to go in search of this treasure everyone's been beating themselves up over. Howard wants
us to find it for him so then he can personally hand it to the Queen and apologize for all
that's happened. He's going to be busy in the meantime though trying to figure out who's
the one going behind his back… I'll tell you one thing though, I don't envy the guy when
Howie finds him"
Turning the corner, the group entered the main street of Sanq, Trowa's gaze automatically
scanning the crowed area as he replied "Very well, any clues as to where this treasure is?"
Locking his hands behind his head as he walked, a grin was sent the archer's way as Duo
spoke "Looks like we're in luck, Howie's guys say there's a lot of activity in and around
the city, activity as in unofficial patrols of unmarked men. My guess is that the treasure
was picked up by some poor schmuck who doesn't know just what or how valuable the thing
really is and judging by all this activity going on, who ever picked it up is or will soon
be in this city. So all we have to do is find the guy before OZ or the rouge's do, simple
really"
Rolling his eyes at his friend's optimism Solo's gaze left the passing fruit stalls as he
stepped in front of Trowa "Simple yeah right! Kid you're a real idiot sometimes, did you
know that? I mean how on earth are you going to find this guy? You don't even know what
this guy looks like even if, and I say if, your theory is correct"
Sticking his bottom lip out in a pout, Duo sulked "Geeze Solo, talk about taking the fun
out of the adventure, who invited you along anyway?"
With a wide grin stretching over his face, the blonde thief replied "I'm afraid you're
the one to blame for that, plus I've got nothing better to do at the moment and from what
I can see, you'll need all the help you can get"
An ox pulled cart filled to the brim with wheat slowly made its way past the trio as they
walked past yet another one of the many side alleys of Sanq.
Sensing it too late, just as they begun to make their way pass the alley, someone else
came running out at the same time crashing right into the braided thief and sending the
pair of them to the ground, Duo pinned beneath the other.
Trowa and Solo were both instantly at their braided friend's side, the archer checking
his friend's state while the blonde thief went to check the other.
Coming out of his daze, the violet eyed thief leant up onto his elbows as he heard the
offender mutter a quiet "Sorry"
Recognising the voice in an instant a smile broke out on Duo's face "Hilde?!"
The others dirty face shot up as their blue eyes locked onto violet, mirroring the smile,
Hilde laughed happily as she threw her arms around the braided thief, hugging him tightly
"Duo! You're back!"
Returning the hug, Duo gave an extra squeeze before releasing his grip and allowing Solo
to help the girl to her feet. Taking Trowa's offered hand, the braided thief pulled
himself up "Yeah I'm back, it's been awhile now hasn't it?"
Thanking Solo for his help, Hilde instantly latched onto Duo's arm, smiling brightly up
at him "Yeah, you've been gone too long if you ask me. It's not the same around here
without you Duo"
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, Duo shrugged casually "Sorry Hil,
but you know how things are" Noticing the light layer of dirt covering her face, Duo
raised his hand to wipe some of it off as he asked "So what's the deal?"
A faint blush spread across Hilde's nose and over her cheeks at the thief's gentle touch
as she continued to stare into the violet pools. The blush soon disappeared as the most
recent events entered her mind, eyes hardening in anger, Hilde growled "Stole some guy's
circlet, I mean he was easy prey, walking through the backstreets of the wharf like he
owned the place. He chased me for a while but I was able to lose him once I got to the
old storage buildings. I ran what? Maybe two blocks from there over the roof tops I might
add, thinking that there was no way that he could find me but no! The stupid asshole
drops out of the sky while I was showing what I got to Robertson and the guys, demanding
that I hand it back to him. The bastard then whips out this huge sword and beats the
crap out of the guys, knocked those losers out in a single hit, bloody good for nothing
weak bastards if you ask me.
Anyway, as I was trying to make my get away, I don't know how to describe it but it felt
like the ground beneath me tripped me if you can believe it, I know it sounds crazy but
that's what it felt like" Shrugging her shoulders, Hilde snorted quietly before she
finished "Next thing I knew I had a sword pointed at my throat and he took his circlet
back. Moral of the story, don't steal from kids who carry around swords"
Sharing a quick glance with the archer, Duo turned his attention back to Hilde as he
asked "Was that sword of his a Katana by any chance?"
Wrinkling up her nose in thought, the dark haired thief was silent for a few moments
before she replied "Not sure, it could have been one"
Wanting to confirm his suspicions Duo pushed "Did he happen to have black hair pulled
back into a tight pony tail and was wearing a blue tunic with a gold dragon insignia on
the front?"
"Yeah he did! And that same dragon symbol was on his forehead, must have been hidden by
his circlet because I didn't see it before I snatched the thing"
"Wufei" Both Duo and Trowa said in union, at that realization the braided thief's heart
almost jumped up into his throat as thoughts of a certain Prussian eyed boy came into
mind, but before he could inquire if Heero was with the disgruntled warrior, something
else caught his attention "Did you just say that there was a dragon symbol on his forehead?"
Nodding her head, Hilde frowned slightly as she said "Yeah it looked like some sort of
tattoo, weird place for one though… Hey! Do you know the guy?"
Too lost in his own thoughts to hear the question, Duo turned his attention to Trowa as
the quiet archer stated "It seems as though more is going on with those two than they let
on"
"Yeah looks like you're right on this one Tro" The braided thief answered as he sighed.
Not happy at being ignored, Hilde tugged on Duo's arm before she whined "Duo, I asked if
you knew him?" As the sudden thought came to the dark haired thief, a smirk crossed her
features as she asked "Let me guess, you got your ass kicked too when you tried to steal
from him?"
Snapping back to the conversation at hand, the beginnings of a blush began to appear as
Duo stammered out "Well no not exactly… you see… umm his friend"
But Duo was quickly cut off by Hilde as she asked "You tried to steal from his friend and
he caught you in the act I bet?"
"Umm… well… I guess you could say that" Duo began to explain but for once in his life it
seemed that he couldn't find any words to answer with.
Getting bored of just standing there, Solo threw an arm each around Duo and Hilde as he
stuck his head between the two and announced "Even though this conversation if oh so
fascinating, can we please just continue on our way to the Barge, the ale is calling my
good fellows" After receiving a jab to the ribs by Hilde's elbow, the blonde thief
hastily added "and women of course"
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Walking swiftly through the quiet halls of the temple, Wufei quickly made his way through
the main hall, past the study area and headed towards the inner garden area of the temple.
The air circulating throughout the marbled corridors began to smell sweeter, almost like
the temple gardens back home as he left the salty sea air behind him and ventured further
within.
Wide collum's of light reflected off the white floors as Wufei turned yet another corner
to finally meet with the archway leading to the inner sanctums gardens, the most sacred
place within any temple.
Stopping just before the archway, Wufei turned his attention up towards the detail carved
right into the marble itself.
A small smile flickered across the Chinese boy's features as he took in the intricate
designs of the men, women and children as they lived their lives as they do now. Frozen
in poses of work, some looked to be chatting amongst themselves while the children played
around them. Bordering the tiny sculptured people were delicate vines weaving in and out
of themselves, each of them sprouting leaves and small flowers.
Following the design up along the archway, the small smile softened somewhat when his
gaze came to rest what was sculptured right at it peak. Identical to the crystal statue
out in the main hall, was the carved portrait of the Goddess of Life, Jurei. Her face was
set in a gentle smile as she looked down from her place in the heavens to the people below.
Long delicate robes flowed out around her and the surrounding area as the Jurei's long hair
could be seen cascading down her back. Stone eyes that should have been dull and lifeless
seemed to sparkle with inner life as the sunlight refected of them. Carved around her
forehead was a replica of the same circlet that now rested around Heero's own.
Looking slightly above the sculptured Goddess, onyx eyes rested on the very symbol that
was forever upon his friend's forehead, the symbol of the Holy Blue Flame.
Tearing his vision away from the sacred mark, Wufei took the last remaining steps to the
gardens to stop on the threshold as a stray white butterfly flittered gently past him.
As the delicate insect passed by, Wufei turned his attention to the sun lit garden and
shook his head in amusement as the sight that greeted him.
There sitting silently on the grass bathed in the suns gentle light was Heero Yuy. His soot
coloured eyelashes sitting softly against the top of his cheeks as he sat there with his
eyes closed, calmly inhaling a deep breath.
The multicoloured and somewhat shimmering clothing he was wearing burst to life at Heero's
gentle movement as from all around him, hundreds of butterflies flew up into the air at
once from their resting place on the Jurei, casting multiple flickering shadows over his
features as they sailed higher into the clear blue sky above.
Stunned into silence as he watched the beautiful display, Wufei almost missed the quiet
words that Heero spoke.
"I have to make a note not to sit in one place for too long these days" Dusting himself
off as he stood, Heero brushed the last traces of grass from his black pants before
turning his piercing blue gaze onto his friend.
Mentally shaking himself out of his stupor, a smirk appeared on Wufei's face as he asked
"Just how long were you sitting there Yuy?"
Looking up to the sky momentarily, Heero returned his gaze back to his friend as he
shrugged slightly and responded "Two hours perhaps, I came out here after speaking to G
about our situation"
Gesturing for his friend to follow, Heero began to slowly make his way over to the lifeless
flower bed situated around a stone fountain embedded within the opposite wall to the
entrance. Sitting down once again before the empty patch of dirt, a delicate hand reached
out to hover over the earth as Heero softly spoke "How did your search go? Were you able
to find us a ship?"
Sitting down cross-legged beside his friend, the Shenlong child watched on in admiration
as tiny green buds broke through the soil "Unfortunately no, the port was filled with
nothing but cowards. As soon as I mentioned our destination they scattered like rats"
Although the topic still infuriated the Chinese boy, Wufei found though that watching the
new flowers blooming, relaxed and calmed the anger burning inside.
As the power flowing through his hand faded away, a small smile graced Heero's lips as he
gently touched the new petals with his fingertips "You can not blame them Wufei, the
embargo Enlizer put on itself would be enough to scare off any would be traveller who
did not grow up within its walls. I've found that most people here believe the palace to
be a fairytale, since only a select few outsiders have ever travelled there" Satisfied
that the new plants were strong and healthy, Prussian eyes turned their attention over
to Shenlong Child as Heero continued "What we need to do now is find an alternate rout
to take us back to the palace"
Nodding his heading agreement, Wufei thoughtfully suggested "The High Priest might be
worth asking"
Standing up in a single fluid motion Heero waited for his friend to join him before the
pair silently made their way out of the inner gardens and to the High Priests study
chambers.
Walking ahead of the Jurei, the Shenlong child walked up to the large oak doors and
knocked loudly three times before a slightly muffled "Come in" was heard.
Opening the door the pair entered the room, taking the two empty seats before the large
desk which situated the old mushroom haired priest on the opposite side.
Peering through his hair at his two guests, the High priest G asked "What can I do for
you?"
Sitting up a little straighter in his seat Wufei spoke "As you already know we need to
get back to Enlizer as soon as possible, but with their embargo no ships are willing to
take us there. So we come to you, do you know of any possible way for us to return?"
Leaning back in his seat as his fingertips absentmindedly drummed on the solid wood desk
top, the High priest was quiet for some time before an approval sound was made at the
back of his throat "I may know of a way" Standing up from his chair, the High priest G
made his way over to the overfilled bookcase. Running his fingers along the spines of
each tome, a triumphant "Ah" was heard as the aging priest removed an olive green leather
tome from the shelves before returning to his chair behind the desk.
While scanning through the worn pages G's gaze never left the book as he spoke "There
are no other means of transportation between the mainland and Enlizer apart from the
shipping routs from Sanq and some of the surrounding village's"
A wide grin spread across his aged face as the priest came upon the page he as looking
for. Turning the tome around as he pointed to a particular part on the page, G explained
"This village however may hold the answer to your question. If it had been anyone else
but you two asking me this question, this choice wouldn't even be a possibility"
Leaning forward to look at what the priest was pointing to, both Heero and Wufei were
surprised to find an ancient map spanning across each page.
Turning their attentions to where the priest was pointing, both boys could see a small
village drawn right in the middle of the mountain ranges situated at the top left of
the mainland. Although no name was written for the village, like most of the other
smaller village's, both the Jurei and the Shenlong child felt something was off as
Wufei questioned "How can a village set in the opposite direction to where we want to
go help us get back to Enlizer?"
Amusement showed on the old priests face as he answered "As I said before, if it were
anyone else but the two of you, I would not even bother showing this map to them. If
you would look on any other map besides this one and a few back at the Amara temple
at Enlizer, you would never find this particular village on it.
You might find some experienced traveller who has heard of it but no outsider of the
village has set foot within it for centuries and with only one incident sixteen years
ago, no villager has ever left.
You see, this village is the village of the ancient Dragon Clan that worshiped the
dragon god Shenlong and it resides at the base of what was once called the great Nibel
ranges"
At hearing the name of the village, onyx eyes widened in surprise as Wufei quietly
asked "The Dragon Clan?"
Nodding his head at the question, G's face broke into a smile "Yes Wufei, the Dragon
Clan and before you ask it, yes it is the same village you, Nataku and Master O came
from sixteen years ago"
With his voice filled with rare enthusiasm, Wufei looked directly into the old priests
eyes as he asked "When should we leave?"
Chuckling slightly at the Shenlong child's actions, G slid the tome back before him as
he answered "In two days at the most, that's how long it should take me to copy the
map over to some parchment for your journey. You will need to stock up on supplies as
it is quite a long journey to the Dragon Clan village and the next village is a good
four day hike from Sanq. There's one other village along the way and from there on
horse back, it may take you about a week or more to reach the Dragon Clan village"
Standing up from his seat Heero inclined his head slightly as he asked "Could you also
provide us with mounts for our journey?"
"Of course Jurei" G replied as he too got up from his seat, watching the pair as they
began to leave he then added as an after thought "Heero, you should also see that
child before you leave, your visit might cheer her up somewhat"
A slight smile fell across his lips as thoughts of his young friend entered his mind,
nodding his head once again, the smile never left Heero's face as he along with Wufei
left the room to prepare for the long journey ahead.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
"What is the position of our troops Lady Une?" Treize's silky voice asked from the
balcony, his azure eyes calmly watching the raging waves below as they crashed against
the cliff rocks.
Making her way through the study, a single hand came up to brush aside the lose strands
of hair from her face as Lady Une stepped out onto the balcony "All is going well your
Excellency, reports say that the troops are less than two days away from the border.
The Leo tribe are stationed at the border already and are in the process of setting up
the gateway. Once our main forces arrive, they should be ready for transport to the
area just outside of Sanq and ready to advance on the beginning of the second day as
predicted"
Turning his attention away from the roaring ocean, Treize made his way over to the
large black cage hanging in the corner of the balcony. The soft sound of a birds
chirping greeted him as he placed his hand in the cage, idly stroking the soft light
blue feathers, Treize spoke "Good, has Otto reported any sightings of the Jurei since
he entered the capital?"
"Yes my Lord, he reported that not long after the Jurei entered the city, he and his
travelling companion took refuge in the Dasha temple, since then only his travelling
companion has left the temple. Otto has reason to believe that his new companion is
none other than the Shenlong child and wants to know what course of actions should be
taken"
Azure eyes focused solely on the bird before him as without warning, Treize changed
the topic "Beautiful isn't it? This small bird is actually one of the legendary Tsubasa.
Legend tells us that centuries ago the Goddess of Life became depressed, as her
depression deepened the life on the planet began to be effected by it also. The others
gods tried everything in their power to cheer the depressed Goddess up but every one
of them failed. That was until the day the only god who had not attempted the challenge
came forward. That god was none other than Shinigami himself, he came with two small
gems within his hands. Though still depressed, the Goddess of Life became intrigued as
to what the other had planned.
Standing before the Goddess, Shinigami held the stones in one hand while his other went
to pluck a singe white strand of hair from upon the Jurei's head and a single black one
from his own.
Placing one strand upon a blue gem each, Shinigami gently grasped one of the Goddesses
hands and placed it over his own. The God of Death then spoke of his love for the Jurei
and as he spoke their joined hands began to glow softly.
Like the sun appearing from behind a cloud, the Jurei's smile brightened up the whole
room as she too told Shinigami of her love for him.
Opening their hands, the two gods looked down to find two small birds preening themselves
without a care in the world, one male bird and a single female.
Now of course there are thousands of these birds on this planet, all the offspring of
those original two birds. This one though, this one is one of the original two birds, the
male one to be exact. I attempted to find the female years ago but unfortunately found
out that it had perished some time ago. A pity really, would have been nice to have a
matching set"
A smile graced his features as the small blue bird within the cage jumped up onto the
palm of his hand. Watching the bird for a moment, his hand quickly closed around the small
creature, tightening his grip even further as the faint sounds of struggle could be heard.
Once all went silent again, Treize opened his hand and released the lifeless body from
his grasp as he eventually answered the original question "We have no use for the child,
the Jurei is the only one we need. If he intends to impede my plans, Otto has my permission
to dispose of the boy"
Bowing her respect before she began to leave, Lady Une froze on the spot as Treize spoke
again "Oh and Lady Une"
Turning around to face her Lord, Lady Une asked "Yes your Excellency?"
Looking over his shoulder, Treize added "And please tell Otto he has up until the attack
to try and capture the Jurei if the opportunity arises, we can not afford to accidentally
lose him in the up and coming battle"
"I will do as you ask" Bowing one final time Lady Une straightened once more before
leaving Treize alone on the balcony once more.
Turning his attention back to the cage, a single gloved hand reached out and held still
just above the dead animal. A language almost as old as time itself parted quietly from
moving lips as their owner closed their azure eyes in concentration. From beneath the
gloved hand a pale grey mist began to emerge, getting stronger and thicker with each word
the sandy haired man spoke.
Lightly landing on the soft blue feathers below, the grey mist slowly began to disappear
once again as the tiny birds feet began to twitch slightly. The glassed over look within
the birds amber rimmed black eyes began to moisten again before the creatures lids blinked
once, then twice before the dark eyes within began to move rapidly from side to side.
Jumping up to its feet, the bird spread its short wings and few up to perch itself on the
top of Treize's hand, happily chirping away.
Looking down at the cheerfully chirping bird, a smile of satisfaction spread across Treize's
face as his azure eyes landed on a tiny black rose upon the creature's chest. Opening the
cage door fully, Treize allowed the bird to hop off his hand as he withdrew it out of the
cage, taking a step away, his face turned thoughtful as he spoke "Come now"
Preening its feathers once more for show, the small blue bird jumped down to the door of
the cage, took one look around the area before spreading its wings and flying over to
the stone railing.
Closing the door to the cage, Treize turned to face the small bird once again as he
spoke "Otto's reports are thorough enough but there is still much that goes unaccounted
for... With the upcoming attack on Sanq, if we lose sight of the Jurei during it our
plans will be ruined" Taking a few steps towards the bird he then continued "This is
where you come along but you are no use to me in this form" Throwing his arm out to
the side, Treize loudly commanded "Awaken Aries!"
The instant those words left his mouth, the dark mark upon the bird's chest began to
glow a dark red colour as a thick black smoke poured out of the birds mouth, entirely
engulfing its small body and surrounding area. The smoke continued to expand until it
was almost twice the size of a normal human's height. In the mitts of the black cloud
only a pair of blood red eyes could be seen staring out as an unexpectedly soft female
voice spoke "Why have you summoned me Necromancer?"
Through the smoke, a human form could faintly be seen as it faded in and out of sight.
Seeing those blood red eyes focused solely on him, Treize returned the gaze as he
answered "There is someone of great importance that I need you to keep an eye on but
it is vital that they do not see you for if they do, they will go into hiding"
All around the demon, the dark grey smoke had highlights of red as the creature's eyes
blazed with fury "You summoned me to baby sit some human?!"
Nodding his head Treize ignored Aries anger as he calmly replied "Yes but the one you
are suppose to… baby sit as you called it, is none other than the Jurei"
The anger instantly fled the demon as understanding dawned on it "The Jurei? Very well
Necromancer, I will do your bidding"
"Thankyou dear Aries, the Jurei is currently at the capital of Sanq, be warned though,
the Shenlong child is also there protecting you charge"
"The Shenlong Child is of no challenge to me at the moment he is still too weak… I will
heed you warning though" The voice spoke after a moment of silence before the smoke
disappeared to reveal the small blue bird once again.
The instant the tiny bird's feet touched the stone railing a violent shudder ran through
its body. Its bright chirping began to higher in pitch as its body could be seen
twisting and turning in different directions as it began to expand and grow. Large
powerful talons grew where once delicate claws were, the once sky blue feathers turned
black as its inky colour bled its way over the growing birds entire body. Its little
orange beak began to sharpen and elongate as its wings and tail feathers both shuddered
violently both easily doubling the new size of the bird.
As the shudders subsided the bird once more stood up and where once was a small bird,
only large enough to fit in the palm of a human hand, now stood a large bird, the size
of a small child.
Stretching out its powerful wings, the large bird shrilled loudly as the remaining amber
of its eyes along with its beak and talons turned jet black. Folding its large wings
back into its body, the dark bird closed its eyes for a moment and then opened them once
more to reveal one blood red eye and the other a sky blue, almost azure in colour.
Tilting its head to the side, the massive birds blue eye began to brighten in colour as
the dark creature spoke, never once opening its beak "Can you see?" It asked hauntingly
as its single red eye carefully watched the human before it.
Closing his own eyes as they to began to brighten, an image of himself and the study
behind him standing there motionless, appeared in his minds eye. Still with his eyes
closed, Treize lifted his left arm as he watched the image before him did the exact same
motion. Lowering his arm once more, Treize opened his eyes once more "Yes" He confirmed,
his eyes back to their normal azure colour once more "This will be perfect, go now Aries"
Inclining its head slightly, Aries spread out its impressive wingspan before leaping over
the edge of the balcony, hurling itself towards the waves below. Skimming the wave tops
with the tips of its wings, Aries glided smoothly across the water before changing
directions and flying off to the west.
TBC
Tenshi: Wow…this is my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoyed it though and as you can
probably already tell…things will start to get a little more chaotic in this ficcie
soon o_O So what will happen next? Nobody knows….err…well I do but umm…yeah *grins sheepishly*
Also a word of warning, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my ficcies next,
you see not only am I moving house but I'm also going to be moving countries. So I'll be
without any internet or computer access for a while, but dun worry during this time, I'll
be mostly free from any distractions so I'm hoping to write a few chapters for each of
my stories including this one.
I want to give a big thanks to Pink Cherry Blossom, Ashly, Kyra, Konpeitou, CinC,
GoldenRat, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, CuriousDreamWeaver, Star Dragonsong, kanaloas wrath, Ruby Love,
Tsuki Doriimaa, kt, Animegurl14, KittyDawningWWE, MiruSedna, tima, Mite Mite, KuraiMoon
and to DeGrella Carrie *huggles* Thankyou so much for all you're great reviews!