Disclaimer: As per usual, I do not own Gundam Wing, but I own the AU, I made it, and I would prefer if no one else attempts to use it :) :) Not that they would want to :)
A.N.: Well, sure as my promise, here is the next installment of my story. I would say that yes, the other pilots will be in the story, and that y'all'll just have to be patient until I get to them. But they are coming. :D And one other thing, I'm changing their heights just a little bit. Trowa is that tallest still, but Heero and Wufei come in second, then Duo, and finally Quatre. Hopefully that doesn't bother anyone.
Woodcutter.
Kasi-kun.
Chapter 4 - Trowa.
However I did the 'glowy-thing' as Duo so eloquently called it, it stopped. He took it upon himself to inform me at randomly spaced intervals that it hadn't come back either. Maybe the ability had something to do with me being angry after the whip incident, and furiously helpless about the hopeless situation so many children found themselves in here in this pit of dread. Then again, maybe not, whatever it was I was just glad it was gone. I was a good, strong, honest mountain boy, not one of the Over-the-Mountain not-quite-human creatures that are always in stories. I didn't wanted to be in stories, I didn't want to be anything but out of here and back in my mountains.
Be that as it may, that day passed more slowly than a slug in frozen molasses. I stretched my newly healed limbs and worked the kinks out of unused muscles as best I could tied at both feet as I was. I have to say, for all the pain, and the terrible risk to it, Fast Healing did do just as good a job in the end as the normal slower version.
During that endless afternoon I watched as groups of chained kids were taken out of the pen, the gangs were always headed in the same direction. Duo seemed determined to the point of stupidity not to watch where they were headed, but when I strained my ears, and I was pretty sure that over the rattle of chains, crying and basic sounds of misery all around me, I did hear the sound of a crier. Just like the merchants that would visit my village and shout out their sale items. So that was what it would be like? Forever, forced to stand before a crowd of people like a piece of cloth or bite of food to be ogled at and dissected with the eyes? It made me sick. No wonder Duo didn't want to think about it.
The night passed without incident and the next day dawned just as miserably hot as the previous one had been. I had tried everything I knew to get those chains off while listening to long muttered dialogues by Duo directed at whoever was supposed to have taken care if the chains. He claimed that if that person had done their job he could have gotten us out easily, but instead our manacles were rusted shut and nothing within reach of us was strong enough to withstand the pressure needed to break the coating and get at the locking mechanism inside. I didn't know something could rust shut like that over night. Forever, but that's just my luck right now.
My newly healed body let me know just after dawn that day that it hadn't been fed properly in weeks, and it didn't let up it's complaints for hours. I was actually glad for the frustration of trying to open those locks, because at least they hauled my attention away from the gnawing knot of fury that was my belly, at least it did for a little while.
The sun had passed its zenith when the guards flung some food into the pen followed by buckets of grungy water. I use the term guard very loosely since all they really do is slouch around the perimeter and look tough and smell worse, they have opportunity to bathe, you would think they would take mercy on us and use it. Now, as to the way they pass out food; I have to comment on the utter cruelty of this method of feeding. Children or adult, in this situation I have found that it doesn't really matter, everyone acts just the same. The people on the outer edge of the pen hoarded all of lunch for themselves. If those blasted chains had opened I think I would have been inclined to waste my chance for freedom just to give some of the babies a bit of the water. Forever, but when I saw little ones of no more than five going with out water for another day, and who know how may days they had missed already, I was ready and willing to kill something. Anything.
"Sha! You selfish worm-gutted slim! Pass that along to the kiddies!" Obviously Duo agreed with me and as he glared around at the people about three feet from us who were gulping down all the water in one bucket, I nearly lost it. If my eyes had looked anything like his did right now, no wonder that guard scuttled away from me like he did. Don't get me wrong. His eyes didn't change color or anything, the pupils were still there, and the white part, but the iris, the ring around the dark spot that is in the center of your eye, it shone with the most vibrant version of his eye color that you can possibly imagine. The lunged forward as best he could, and for someone that short, someone who just the day before couldn't even budge me, wow! Reeve, the guy chained on the other side of Duo, and I found ourselves being dragged across the dirt at the greedy bastards. Said bastards thrust the water bucket on to someone else and coward away from my demonic friend, huddling at the farthest reach of their chains from Duo.
A moment later Duo got distracted, and in that second the light in his eyes vanished, and his eyes were just the normal deep violet shade, or the shade that is as normal as purple eyes can get. What distracted Brown Braid was the last of the 'guards' throwing his armful of moldy bread over the fence. Than wouldn't be such a big deal accept that the bread was thrown up and over the fence, but it never hit the ground, and no, it wasn't that people snatched them out of the air before they could land. Forever, but it was creepy. They floated midair. Just hung there, and didn't come down, then the hunks of bread seemed to take a mind of their own and gently drifted over to the uplifted hands of wonder filled little ones. If it hadn't all been so bazarre, I would have cheered. Others of the greedy ones at the fence saw what happened and unnerved, decided to be safe and passed a fair share of the food and water on down the line, forever, but Duo and I even got a bit.
One thing that has an important effect on what happened next is something that I never found out until much later. This auction that I was being sold at was a special one. For the first time in decades a pair of the Streeta, more commonly known in tales and legends as the Shadows, had come out from the Deep Wilds beyond the mountains to see what kind of children where being bred in these parts and to see if any were worth anything. Or in other words, to see if any of us were worth buying and training. Okay, having explained that, on with the story.
Running around the corner of a building, coming from the direction that the kids were all taken to get auctioned came a girl and a boy. The girl was pretty in a stubborn kind of way with large hazel eyes, but a chin that was a bit too square for most people's tastes, she looked to be about nineteen or twenty. The boy was a rather large specimen, muscular and rather brutal looking and bore a remarkable resemblance to the girl, if appearing a year or two younger than her. He was only a stride behind her when they reached the fence. The 'masters' had been about ten strides behind them when they rounded the corner into my view and in those few steps they lost a remarkable amount of ground to the leading couple. I'd never seen anyone run that fast, or jump a fence so easily. Neither of them even broke stride.
Duo, my friend who came from over the mountains, must have noticed something about them, because he was the first one of any of us to react to them. He flung himself backwards, wrenching my and Reeve's legs terribly, an expression of desperate unease and growing fear twisted his features. That swift motion must have been what caught the boy's eye, because he broke off following his sister and picked his way over to us. Catching Duo by the throat he hauled him into the air, and I found myself wrenched around, facing away from the braided boy, with my leg pulled upward by the manacle that attached me to my friend. "Long way from home street brat."
In that position, I was unable to see what was happening to my friend, but I witnessed the girl pick another boy off the ground in a similar fashion to Duo's treatment. This boy, if it was possible, was even smaller than Duo, and yet seemed to still be our age. He was slight, blonde and looked utterly terrified, not that I blame him, I would have been just as scared in the same situation.
"You made something happen. What?" The girl's voice could have been a siren call, it was sweet and completely deadly. She shook him, and his chain mates with him. "Answer me!"
"They were starving, the little ones. I had to! I had to." The blonde's voice cracked and his fear was evident to all, tremors of fear racked his body, but his fingers tore at the hand that held him by the throat.
"I see. So you made them food?" Her hand gripped tighter, but I struggled to twist myself over, I needed to see what was happening to Duo! I could hear nothing from him.
"N-no! Just passed them some! By my life! Naught more!"
"You know the penalty for such unnatural acts, don't you, honey?" His eyes, which he had closed when she squeezed harder, snapped open, and huge turquoise eyes stared at her in horror.
"How did you..."
"I know everything, honey-child, and do not forget it, but I'm willing to do something for you. I will teach you to use that power of yours. How would that be? So you could help those babies escape, not just give them a bit of food now and then. I can make you one of the most powerful fighters in the known world. Sound good?" Obviously Blondie agreed with me, it sounded way too good to be true. The masters arrived at the fence, and stopped, too unnerved to do anything to stop the pair.
"What be in it for you? I may be helpless, miss, but I am not stupid."
Then Duo's tormentor spoke for the first time. "It's simple really. You just have to win a game. We train you, you play, you win, we all get rich, and you get your freedom. How about you street-brat. In? You have the potential physically, and for all your fear, you seem to have the mental potential too. I'm Brac-Stana. I will be your master."
"How good are the odds of winning?" Brac-Stana and his sister exchanged looks.
"What are the chances? Sha! I'm not stupid either!" I was jerked, my leg twisted farther upwards as Duo struck at his would be master, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh followed, then Duo was dropped limp to the ground, and I was able to turn about to see a bruise already swelling on his temple. Brac-Stana reached for the chain that connected the two of us, and faster than thought snapped it in half, repeating it just as quickly in the manacle that connected Reese to Duo.
"The odds?" The boy, no, the man laughed as he bent and picked my friend up, and slung him over his shoulder. "They aren't too good. See, not too may have actually won this game. Oh, wait. No one has. Ever."
"I'm Pride, honey, and I'll be your master, and you... you will be a legend. You'll be the first." Blondie glanced at the unmoving Duo and didn't argue as Pride bent to break his chains. Then auction masters seemed to realize that they were loosing two seemingly valuable slaves for no profit and hurried after the retreating backs of the pair. Just that fast I was left friendless, with an auction to look forward to. I didn't want to know what awaited me to fill out this trio of troubles. I really didn't. Maybe good luck will shine on me, and this was just last of a set of three troubles. Who knew, but I sure didn't hope for it. Blondie stared at me sadly as Pride carried him away. Forever but I wanted to do something. Anything. In a moment of inspiration I mouthed 'I'm Trowa!' and I watched as he mouthed back 'I am Quatre.'
tbc.
Nikkler: eehee! you'll get to find out eventually why they glow! Do you think that this update was fast enough?? :) :D
Taylor Mercury: Thank you thank you thank you! I really appreciated that you took time to tell me what you like about this. If you see something I should change, let me know, kay? I'll get back to the mother angle later, as well as Trowa development in general! I hope you like this chapter!!!
koriaena: You wondered what Duo was yelling about at the end of chap 2, I'm not sure Trowa ever find out.
bluepixie13: falls on knees, I'm sooooo sorry about the delay in updating last time! and after you actually took the time to request me updating sooner, and I take way longer... -sigh-
lax4fun23: I'm glad you like it. Let me know if you have any think you don't like about the story, won't you?
A.N.: Well, sure as my promise, here is the next installment of my story. I would say that yes, the other pilots will be in the story, and that y'all'll just have to be patient until I get to them. But they are coming. :D And one other thing, I'm changing their heights just a little bit. Trowa is that tallest still, but Heero and Wufei come in second, then Duo, and finally Quatre. Hopefully that doesn't bother anyone.
Woodcutter.
Kasi-kun.
Chapter 4 - Trowa.
However I did the 'glowy-thing' as Duo so eloquently called it, it stopped. He took it upon himself to inform me at randomly spaced intervals that it hadn't come back either. Maybe the ability had something to do with me being angry after the whip incident, and furiously helpless about the hopeless situation so many children found themselves in here in this pit of dread. Then again, maybe not, whatever it was I was just glad it was gone. I was a good, strong, honest mountain boy, not one of the Over-the-Mountain not-quite-human creatures that are always in stories. I didn't wanted to be in stories, I didn't want to be anything but out of here and back in my mountains.
Be that as it may, that day passed more slowly than a slug in frozen molasses. I stretched my newly healed limbs and worked the kinks out of unused muscles as best I could tied at both feet as I was. I have to say, for all the pain, and the terrible risk to it, Fast Healing did do just as good a job in the end as the normal slower version.
During that endless afternoon I watched as groups of chained kids were taken out of the pen, the gangs were always headed in the same direction. Duo seemed determined to the point of stupidity not to watch where they were headed, but when I strained my ears, and I was pretty sure that over the rattle of chains, crying and basic sounds of misery all around me, I did hear the sound of a crier. Just like the merchants that would visit my village and shout out their sale items. So that was what it would be like? Forever, forced to stand before a crowd of people like a piece of cloth or bite of food to be ogled at and dissected with the eyes? It made me sick. No wonder Duo didn't want to think about it.
The night passed without incident and the next day dawned just as miserably hot as the previous one had been. I had tried everything I knew to get those chains off while listening to long muttered dialogues by Duo directed at whoever was supposed to have taken care if the chains. He claimed that if that person had done their job he could have gotten us out easily, but instead our manacles were rusted shut and nothing within reach of us was strong enough to withstand the pressure needed to break the coating and get at the locking mechanism inside. I didn't know something could rust shut like that over night. Forever, but that's just my luck right now.
My newly healed body let me know just after dawn that day that it hadn't been fed properly in weeks, and it didn't let up it's complaints for hours. I was actually glad for the frustration of trying to open those locks, because at least they hauled my attention away from the gnawing knot of fury that was my belly, at least it did for a little while.
The sun had passed its zenith when the guards flung some food into the pen followed by buckets of grungy water. I use the term guard very loosely since all they really do is slouch around the perimeter and look tough and smell worse, they have opportunity to bathe, you would think they would take mercy on us and use it. Now, as to the way they pass out food; I have to comment on the utter cruelty of this method of feeding. Children or adult, in this situation I have found that it doesn't really matter, everyone acts just the same. The people on the outer edge of the pen hoarded all of lunch for themselves. If those blasted chains had opened I think I would have been inclined to waste my chance for freedom just to give some of the babies a bit of the water. Forever, but when I saw little ones of no more than five going with out water for another day, and who know how may days they had missed already, I was ready and willing to kill something. Anything.
"Sha! You selfish worm-gutted slim! Pass that along to the kiddies!" Obviously Duo agreed with me and as he glared around at the people about three feet from us who were gulping down all the water in one bucket, I nearly lost it. If my eyes had looked anything like his did right now, no wonder that guard scuttled away from me like he did. Don't get me wrong. His eyes didn't change color or anything, the pupils were still there, and the white part, but the iris, the ring around the dark spot that is in the center of your eye, it shone with the most vibrant version of his eye color that you can possibly imagine. The lunged forward as best he could, and for someone that short, someone who just the day before couldn't even budge me, wow! Reeve, the guy chained on the other side of Duo, and I found ourselves being dragged across the dirt at the greedy bastards. Said bastards thrust the water bucket on to someone else and coward away from my demonic friend, huddling at the farthest reach of their chains from Duo.
A moment later Duo got distracted, and in that second the light in his eyes vanished, and his eyes were just the normal deep violet shade, or the shade that is as normal as purple eyes can get. What distracted Brown Braid was the last of the 'guards' throwing his armful of moldy bread over the fence. Than wouldn't be such a big deal accept that the bread was thrown up and over the fence, but it never hit the ground, and no, it wasn't that people snatched them out of the air before they could land. Forever, but it was creepy. They floated midair. Just hung there, and didn't come down, then the hunks of bread seemed to take a mind of their own and gently drifted over to the uplifted hands of wonder filled little ones. If it hadn't all been so bazarre, I would have cheered. Others of the greedy ones at the fence saw what happened and unnerved, decided to be safe and passed a fair share of the food and water on down the line, forever, but Duo and I even got a bit.
One thing that has an important effect on what happened next is something that I never found out until much later. This auction that I was being sold at was a special one. For the first time in decades a pair of the Streeta, more commonly known in tales and legends as the Shadows, had come out from the Deep Wilds beyond the mountains to see what kind of children where being bred in these parts and to see if any were worth anything. Or in other words, to see if any of us were worth buying and training. Okay, having explained that, on with the story.
Running around the corner of a building, coming from the direction that the kids were all taken to get auctioned came a girl and a boy. The girl was pretty in a stubborn kind of way with large hazel eyes, but a chin that was a bit too square for most people's tastes, she looked to be about nineteen or twenty. The boy was a rather large specimen, muscular and rather brutal looking and bore a remarkable resemblance to the girl, if appearing a year or two younger than her. He was only a stride behind her when they reached the fence. The 'masters' had been about ten strides behind them when they rounded the corner into my view and in those few steps they lost a remarkable amount of ground to the leading couple. I'd never seen anyone run that fast, or jump a fence so easily. Neither of them even broke stride.
Duo, my friend who came from over the mountains, must have noticed something about them, because he was the first one of any of us to react to them. He flung himself backwards, wrenching my and Reeve's legs terribly, an expression of desperate unease and growing fear twisted his features. That swift motion must have been what caught the boy's eye, because he broke off following his sister and picked his way over to us. Catching Duo by the throat he hauled him into the air, and I found myself wrenched around, facing away from the braided boy, with my leg pulled upward by the manacle that attached me to my friend. "Long way from home street brat."
In that position, I was unable to see what was happening to my friend, but I witnessed the girl pick another boy off the ground in a similar fashion to Duo's treatment. This boy, if it was possible, was even smaller than Duo, and yet seemed to still be our age. He was slight, blonde and looked utterly terrified, not that I blame him, I would have been just as scared in the same situation.
"You made something happen. What?" The girl's voice could have been a siren call, it was sweet and completely deadly. She shook him, and his chain mates with him. "Answer me!"
"They were starving, the little ones. I had to! I had to." The blonde's voice cracked and his fear was evident to all, tremors of fear racked his body, but his fingers tore at the hand that held him by the throat.
"I see. So you made them food?" Her hand gripped tighter, but I struggled to twist myself over, I needed to see what was happening to Duo! I could hear nothing from him.
"N-no! Just passed them some! By my life! Naught more!"
"You know the penalty for such unnatural acts, don't you, honey?" His eyes, which he had closed when she squeezed harder, snapped open, and huge turquoise eyes stared at her in horror.
"How did you..."
"I know everything, honey-child, and do not forget it, but I'm willing to do something for you. I will teach you to use that power of yours. How would that be? So you could help those babies escape, not just give them a bit of food now and then. I can make you one of the most powerful fighters in the known world. Sound good?" Obviously Blondie agreed with me, it sounded way too good to be true. The masters arrived at the fence, and stopped, too unnerved to do anything to stop the pair.
"What be in it for you? I may be helpless, miss, but I am not stupid."
Then Duo's tormentor spoke for the first time. "It's simple really. You just have to win a game. We train you, you play, you win, we all get rich, and you get your freedom. How about you street-brat. In? You have the potential physically, and for all your fear, you seem to have the mental potential too. I'm Brac-Stana. I will be your master."
"How good are the odds of winning?" Brac-Stana and his sister exchanged looks.
"What are the chances? Sha! I'm not stupid either!" I was jerked, my leg twisted farther upwards as Duo struck at his would be master, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh followed, then Duo was dropped limp to the ground, and I was able to turn about to see a bruise already swelling on his temple. Brac-Stana reached for the chain that connected the two of us, and faster than thought snapped it in half, repeating it just as quickly in the manacle that connected Reese to Duo.
"The odds?" The boy, no, the man laughed as he bent and picked my friend up, and slung him over his shoulder. "They aren't too good. See, not too may have actually won this game. Oh, wait. No one has. Ever."
"I'm Pride, honey, and I'll be your master, and you... you will be a legend. You'll be the first." Blondie glanced at the unmoving Duo and didn't argue as Pride bent to break his chains. Then auction masters seemed to realize that they were loosing two seemingly valuable slaves for no profit and hurried after the retreating backs of the pair. Just that fast I was left friendless, with an auction to look forward to. I didn't want to know what awaited me to fill out this trio of troubles. I really didn't. Maybe good luck will shine on me, and this was just last of a set of three troubles. Who knew, but I sure didn't hope for it. Blondie stared at me sadly as Pride carried him away. Forever but I wanted to do something. Anything. In a moment of inspiration I mouthed 'I'm Trowa!' and I watched as he mouthed back 'I am Quatre.'
tbc.
Nikkler: eehee! you'll get to find out eventually why they glow! Do you think that this update was fast enough?? :) :D
Taylor Mercury: Thank you thank you thank you! I really appreciated that you took time to tell me what you like about this. If you see something I should change, let me know, kay? I'll get back to the mother angle later, as well as Trowa development in general! I hope you like this chapter!!!
koriaena: You wondered what Duo was yelling about at the end of chap 2, I'm not sure Trowa ever find out.
bluepixie13: falls on knees, I'm sooooo sorry about the delay in updating last time! and after you actually took the time to request me updating sooner, and I take way longer... -sigh-
lax4fun23: I'm glad you like it. Let me know if you have any think you don't like about the story, won't you?