God POV

The group converged in the hall, all exiting their rooms at the same. Treize took charge immediately, as was his duty.

"Wufei, take Relena and Chase with you and go to the tower. You take orders from Master O. Relena and Chase should be safe in the tower, since it has the best defenses in the castle. Protect them until you get to the tower, take out as many enemy soldiers as you can without endangering your charges."

"As if you need to tell me that," Wufei muttered with a small smirk. Treize ignored him.

"Heero and Duo, I want you two to head to the front of the forces with Une and see how much damage you can do to the enemy. Quatre, we need you right in the middle of the battle to lower their moral. Trowa, you only need to keep him safe, which I'm sure you're more than capable of," Treize commented, which Trowa replied to with a small smile and a nod. "Sally... Sally has apparently decided that she knows where she is best suited. I'll assume she's gone to get her medical supplies?" Treize asked to Une, since Sally was obviously absent. Une nodded her assent. "Then everybody grab a weapon and head out!"

Treize paused as the others hurried to their given destinations, feeling something was amiss. His eyes settled on Dorothy and Relena. Dorothy was holding Relena's hands in her own, talking to her in low, serious tones. Treize realized, suddenly, that he wasn't sure where Dorothy was going to go or what she was going to do. He wasn't really sure what he wanted her to do. Could he trust her?

"...with me. I don't want you to fight!"

"I have to go, Lena, I could help them. You'll be safe in the tower with Wufei and Master O. It would be cowardly of me to run away from this battle. These people mean a lot to you."

"But not to you?"

"I... I don't know them. I don't think they trust me. But they're important to you, and that's enough for me."

Treize decided that it would be a good idea to interrupt.

"Dorothy, get suited up. If you can pry yourself away from your lover, I think you'd be a big help on the front, with Heero, Duo, and Une. You'll be Une's back-up, so stay close to her."

She gave him a look, signaling that she realized he had placed her near Une not as backup, but as a way to make sure she didn't try to switch sides. Une wouldn't hesitate to kill the girl if she thought Dorothy was betraying them. Then she gave him a small smile, signaling that she appreciated the gesture none the less. After giving a quick hug to her lover, she hurried to suit up with the rest of the soldiers.

Chase looked around in fear as Wufei led them quickly through the crowded halls. Most civilians in the castle were rushing for the tower. Though they were not permitted in the upper rooms of the tower, safety was offered in the many lower rooms of the tower, so long as no one entered the top room and disturbed Master O's magic.

Chase hadn't felt that amount of fear in a long time, maybe not ever. He'd just got his family back, he didn't want to lose it again, and he feared that he was about to. Seeing his bright new world crumbling around him, he reached out and snatched Wufei's hand as it swung in his direction. Wufei looked back at him then, seeing Chase's fear, pulled him forward and swung him into his arms.

"It's going to be alright," he assured. Giving Chase a small smile. Blinking tears from his eyes, Chase threw his arms around Wufei's neck and hugged him tight.

"I don't want to lose my family again," he whispered harshly, "Why do they have to attack now?"

"You're not losing anyone," Wufei assured steadily, still hurrying toward the tower with Chase in his arms, small hands clasped behind Wufei's head, as Wufei glanced back to make sure Relena hadn't fallen behind.

"I'm scared," Chase whispered into Wufei's ear.

"Don't be. I'll protect you."

"But who's going to protect you? And Treize? And Heero and Duo and..."

"Shh. They're capable warriors. You have to trust them. You have to be strong."

"... I'll try."

And then they were at the tower. Wufei glanced behind him and, using one hand to hold Chase, grabbed Relena by the hand and pulled her up the stairs with them, cursing in Chinese when she stumbled on the stairs.

"I should have carried her," Wufei complained quietly to Chase. Chase laughed softly, but Wufei made no move to put him down or lift Relena, so he took it for only a joke and not a hint of some kind.

Wufei pushed the door of the tower open and deposited Chase onto the floor, pointing to a bench to where the he could sit. It was still very early in the morning and if the boy could sleep there was no reason for him not to. Wufei had a feeling it would be a long time before he got to sleep again.

At the front, Duo and Heero stood side by side, watching a large door that led out into the forest bend as the oncoming forces slammed against it. It would only be minutes before the doors gave and all those waiting felt the anxiety of the moment. Unobtrusively, Heero reached out and took Duo's hand, sending his love across their link. Duo smiled as he looked into his love's eyes and took in Heero's love, sending his own back in reply.

Then the doors gave and soldiers poured in. Heero and Duo were swept apart by the massive sea of bodies that flowed through the doors, crashed over the defending army, and swept onward into the castle. Une was screaming orders while taking down soldiers left and right. There was another set of doors maybe sixty feet down the hall.

"Don't let then get past those doors!" she screamed. "We can't let them get past us! We'll stop these bastards right here!" she screamed. She knew the soldiers needed to be pumped up like that, to believe that they were all that stood between the castle and destruction, though they really weren't. Une wasn't overly optimistic about her soldiers. The last time her scouts had sent a number of opposing soldiers to her, they had outnumbered her current troops three to one. Beyond those doors was another set of troops and another set of doors. Beyond them was another set of troops, the real last line of defense.

Quatre and Trowa were somewhere in past the first set of doors. If they could defeat the troops, it was better not to use Quatre and tire him out. Quatre was a bit of a surprise attack, one that Une didn't want to use too soon. Beyond that, battles tended to badly upset the boy, and Une would rather spare him if she could. She didn't think they would be able to spare him, though, because of how strong the opposing forces were. They'd need everything they had, and maybe more.

Une glanced over her shoulder as she took down a soldier dressed in an odd pirate outfit. Une sniffed haughtily, disgusted by someone that would allow their troops to dress however they wanted. Une was harsh about order in her ranks, since disorderly soldiers often meant mistakes. She was well aware that this was not always the case, which was why Treize had created the Night Force to be able to use Duo without putting him in her ranks and, possibly losing one or the other to death or insanity as they would certainly drive each other into the ground.

Une spotted Dorothy quickly and was relieved to see her take down a warrior in some kind of Viking uniform, then turn on one dressed like an Indian. Une didn't trust the girl, but she also didn't want to kill the one person who seemed to bring out the human side of Relena. She planned to watch Dorothy closely, but it would be impossible to keep an eye on her through the entire battle. She had to hope Relena's instincts were right. Une didn't think the princess could take a betrayal by the one person she had learned to love.

Duo cut down a soldier dressed all in blue. It looked like some kind of old British outfit, but that couldn't be right. Russia didn't have any quarrel with Brittan, nor did the British have anything to gain from attacking them. Beyond that, it would take far too long to get British troops there than would be realistic. It would just cost too much. Even if they magically transported them, it would take far too much magic out of the sorcerer to get any sizeable army across that distance.

Duo checked on Heero, who was taking down a large soldier with his sword. A small, rat-like soldier snuck up behind him as Heero fought with the large man. Duo shifted his favorite weapon, a scythe, from one hand to the other, then brought it down across the small man's neck. His head rolled a few feet, then came to rest at the wall. The man's eyes were open but unseeing, his mouth open in a silent scream. Across his forehead there was some kind of odd tattoo. As Duo glanced around, he saw the same tattoos on every other enemy soldier. Duo decided these guy's were seriously dedicated to their leader, to get their faces tattooed as a sign of allegiance.

Duo shifted his dark blue soldier uniform, standard for all soldiers. Usually he didn't wear one, but he didn't want someone cutting him down because they thought he was from the other forces. In the chaos of battle, it wouldn't be a hard thing to do. Now, seeing all the odd uniforms of the other forces, he decided he had made the right decision. The menagerie of uniforms was probably some kind of scare tactic, but it would have made it hard to tell friend from foe had their forces not all been in the same uniform.

Heero finished up with the enemy he was fighting, then glanced at where his link told him Duo would be. He knew, because of the link, that Duo was fine, but it still made him feel better to see that Duo was alright. Duo had sustained a long scratch to his arm, but was otherwise unharmed. Duo was still fighting, completely ignoring his injury. Heero had expect nothing less. Duo could have to broken legs and a missing arm and still fight like nothing was wrong, Heero thought with a small, enduring smile. Heero glanced around and saw that the rest of the troops were beginning to tire. If they enemy didn't break through the doors soon, Une would have to throw them open, simply to keep the troops on this side from being slaughtered before the troops on the other could come to their aid.

As Heero was realizing this, Une was already yelling to her men on the other side to open the doors. Two hours of intense battle was all her soldiers could handle; better to let the wounded and tired soldiers fall back than to sentence them to death.

The enemy pushed passed the defenders as soon as the doors opened, ignoring the weakened defending soldiers to get deeper into the castle. They ran into a wall of fire, courtesy of Master O, but soon pushed passed it, the soldiers in the back pushing the soldiers in the front into the wall until the strain was too much and it broke.

Beyond the second wall, with the last line of defense, Treize listened to the sounds of battle coming closer. If the enemy got as far as the third line of defense, Treize would battle with his troops. If his armies fell, he was better off dead, for he would never allow Noventa to take his thrown. Master O was under orders to orb Relena and Chase directly to Zechs if the castle fell. Once there, Zechs would flee with his wife, daughter, sister, and Chase back to the Sanq kingdom. He wouldn't allow him to think of what might happen to Wufei; the thought would make him run back to his beloved and hold him close, to keep him safe. For once in his life, he wished he wasn't a leader, a king. He wished he could do what his heart told him and forget everything else.

Trowa leaped over a fallen soldier in his dog form and locked his jaws around a man's throat, killing him only seconds before he would have caved Quatre's head in. Quatre was distracted, Trowa could easily tell. Quatre wasn't an excellent fighter because he didn't like violence, but he was a lot better than allowing someone to sneak up behind him.

"Quatre," Trowa called once he had shifted back into his human form, but Quatre didn't seem to hear him.

"Quatre!" he called again, louder than before, "What's wrong?"

"I can't feel anything..." Quatre replied, his eyes looking around him hollowly.

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked, leading him away from the battle, his eyes constantly scanning for danger. Trowa found a small corner and pushed Quatre into it and shielding him with his body.

"I can't feel anyone's emotions. I... can't feel it."

Trowa knew that Quatre had a sort of bond with everyone, and that part of the reason they had never been able to fully link; Quatre was afraid Trowa wouldn't be able to handle that kind of link. Trowa also knew that, while Quatre did his best to block out as many of the extra emotions as he could, he was never completely without them.

"Is someone blocking you?" Trowa asked.

"I-I don't know. I can still feel our troops, just not theirs. So it can't be... I don't think... I don't understand, even plants and animals have emotions. I can't understand..." he trailed off, his eyes finally coming to rest on Trowa. "It's like their not even human."

A second later, his eyes filled with understand and horror.

"We have to get to Master O!"

Treize listened to the sounds of battle on the others side of the of the door. Even as the sounds of battle still raged on the other side, pounding of men trying to force the door down began. It was like they were getting anxious, impatient even.

The second door fell more quickly than the first. The first troop of soldiers had just finished getting their wounded to the medical wing when they were called back to help fight with the final defense. The medics were sent to fetch the wounded from the battlefield themselves, of which Sally was one of the first on the field.

In all the chaos, no one noticed one dark figure, a long dagger hidden under its cape, sneaking passed the clashing forces and into the center of the castle.

Wufei waited at the bottom of the tower. He was to guard the tower from any stray soldiers that got passed the soldiers. If the castle's forces were overcome... but he wouldn't let himself think of that. So far he had only used his magic to toast two stray soldiers, but he feared there would be many more before the night was over.

Which was why he was not surprised when a lone figure rounded the corner. Wufei smiled, glad to have an opponent if only to distract him from his worry. Wufei jumped at his opponent, intending to use physical battle instead of his magic skills as he had on the other two.

Wufei was greatly surprised to be frozen midair. Instantly, he attempted to free himself by casting a spell, but nothing he did could free him.

"My, my, my, what have we here?"

Wufei gasped and looked at the figure as it pushed back its hood.

"Noventa!"

"Who did you expect? Though I must say, I never expected to see you here. Imagine my surprise, after going through all the trouble of killing you family and setting you up to be accused of sorcery, that you really are a sorcerer. You could have saved me a lot of trouble had you simply confessed."

"I'll kill you!" Wufei screamed, trying to tear free of the spell.

"Not unless you can get free," Noventa said, smiling maliciously while taking out a small paintbrush. "This seal should hold you while I complete my business with your master."

Quickly, Noventa painted a circle around the place where Wufei hovered, then painted several small symbols inside the circle. Wufei could tell that Noventa planned to attack Master O, since he never would have bothered with a spell to seal him if he hadn't needed all his power for a battle.

With a cackle, Noventa finished his spell and left, moving quickly up the stairs. Wufei lowered his head in sorrow and shame. He had allowed an enemy to pass him, anything that happened because of that would be all his fault. If Master O died...

Wufei pulled as hard as he could, trying to move just an inch and break the spell. The veins in his arms and neck came out and the muscles in his arms and legs pulled as hard as they could. Tears ran down his face from pain, but he wouldn't let go. He pulled until his vision wavered, then he blacked out.

Te next thing Wufei heard was the sound of approaching footsteps. Groggily, Wufei lifted his head just in time to see Quatre and Trowa round the corner.

"Wufei!" Quatre cried, running toward his friend, then seemed to change his mind as he ran passed him. "Trowa, help Wufei!" he called to his lover.

Quatre ran for the stairs, but suddenly ran into some kind of invisible wall and was knocked backward.

"Quatre!" Trowa cried.

"I'm fine!" Quatre said harshly. "We have to get up there!"

"Quatre, quickly, erase the symbols on the floor!" Wufei yelled. "I can undo the spell, if I can just get free!" Quatre nodded, then crawled to the circle and began rubbing at the symbols. Trowa, after a moment of hesitation because of concern for Quatre, also knelt and began to help.

"Where's Master O?" Quatre asked.

"In the tower..." Wufei said, about to explain that he was desperate to get down to help him fight against Noventa.

"We have to get to him!" Quatre cried, "We need him to kill Noventa, he's the only one strong enough to do it! Once Noventa's dead, this whole battle will be over."

"Quatre," Trowa interrupted, "I trust you, but I don't think I understand. How does killing Noventa end that battle? The soldiers will still be here, even without a leader."

"That's it," Quatre replied, a fanatical light coming into his eyes, "They aren't real soldiers. They're dead. Don't you get it? Noventa's a necromancer. If Master O can just kill him, this whole nightmare will be over."

"But," Wufei interrupted, "Noventa just went to battle Master O. He's the one that put me here. Why would he go to do battle with the only person that could destroy him?"

"He means to burn us all!" Quatre cried, becoming distraught, "He means to break the spell and cover all of Haven in lava!"

In the tower, Chase paced from the window, to Relena, to the table, and back to the window restlessly. He was worried about Wufei and Treize. He was scared that he would lose his two new parents so soon after he had just gained them and he wanted to go help them. He tried once, but didn't get as far as the door.

"Stop pacing," Master O admonished for the fifth time, "Sit down."

Chase, obedient by nature, promptly did as he was told.

"Do you think Wufei is alright?" he asked.

"For the twenty-third time, yes, Wufei is..." Master O stopped, looking toward the door anxiously. "Both of you, behind the books, quickly!" Master O ordered.

The two just had enough time to duck behind a stack of books when the door exploded inward. Noventa entered regally, his head held high in proud snobbery.

"Master O, so good to see you again."

"And you. I thought I had seen the last of you when we parted in the mountains. I was sure someone would put a stop to your evil ways."

"And yet I am, still alive and stronger than ever. Stronger than you even, my former teacher."

"You always were full of yourself, especially when you learned to harness the dead."

"Ah yes, the one thing that you could never do. It was very poor form of you to leave me in the mountains to die, buried under a mountain of rocks, simply because of your own jealousy."

"The dead should not be tampered with! Have you no respect for you ancestors? If you wish to fight a battle, fight it yourself, don't hide behind the bodies of the dead!"

"Still so naive. Here I am, about to become the strongest sorcerer in the world, and you still try to argue ethics. You haven't changed a bit."

"I suppose it was too much for me to hope that you had. You were always so full of yourself, o hungry for power. You're still the same conceited brat I met all those years ago."

"Yes, and thanks to you I had to wait years to gain the power I would need for this attack. But now all that hard work has paid off."

"Why now? Why here? This country is just recovering from the last war, another will devistate it."

"I didn't want to start here. As a matter of fact, I was expecting that once I had the east conquered that this country would surrender, but, unfortunately, you have something I need. I can't control the dragons without my warriors, and my warriors are here."

"Dorothy..."

"And a male warrior. Dorothy was supposed to capture him, but she failed. No matter, once I take over this country I'll take my warriors and use them to harness the power of the dragons, then I'll be unbeatable."

"You will never rule this country!"

"Oh, I don't just want this country. I want the world!"

Noventa smiled viciously and bowed, keeping his eyes on Master O. After a small sigh, Master O mirrored his opponent's move. Noventa's smile widened just a fraction, but O saw it and managed to dodge as Noventa cast a spell at him.

And the battle had begun.

At the bottom of the tower, the last symbol finally disappeared from the floor. Sounds of explosions and battle had been raging for several minutes. Wufei was getting more and more afraid for the safety not only of Master O but also for Chase and Relena.

Wufei hit the floor at a run, already muttering the chant and making symbols with his hands to bring down the invisible wall. When he hit the steps, there was only the smallest amount of resistance before the wall crumbled and allowed Wufei to dash up the stairs, followed by Trowa and Quatre.

They opened the door just in time for Wufei to catch Master O as he crumbled to the floor, a dagger in his chest. The room around them was completely destroyed. Any furniture O had used was splintered into a thousand pieces. Most of the books were completely burned, and two of the walls had gaping holes in them. It looked like a battleground as Wufei gently lowered his teacher to the floor, then looked at Noventa.

Noventa was holding Relena by the throat, dangling her in the air.

"Move and the girl dies!" Noventa threatened.

"Coward!" Master O rasped from the floor, "To hide behind a girl. You are weak. You shame yourself."

"Quiet, old man, or have you forgotten that you're about to die? I've defeated you, the strongest sorcerer in the world, and now there is nothing to stop me from taking over the entire world!"

"That's where you're wrong," the dying man continued, "The strong will fight you with everything they have. Magic or not, demon or human, there is no difference. You magic makes you weak as much as Wufei's makes him strong. The strength lies within."

"Ah, your prized new pupil. You think he can save you? You are truly foolish! He's a boy, a mere child. He's a weakling; he couldn't even break my holding spell."

"He's right, Master," Wufei said, his head lowered in shame. "I couldn't even break free of a simple spell like that. I'm weak."

"You are stronger than you think, my boy. You will show your strength when you need to," he said, then closed his eyes. Gently, Wufei lowered him to the floor.

"I will not let you get away with this!" Wufei screamed, calling up a fireball. He hurled it at Noventa, by Noventa easily deflected it back at him. Wufei ducked out of the way, then prepared to attack again. He leaped at Noventa, flames circled around his fists, but again Noventa halted him in the air, causing the fire around his fists to go out.

"You never learn, do you?" Noventa asked, advancing on Wufei's prone form. "Weaklings shouldn't fight battles."

With a wave of his hand, Noventa threw Wufei into a wall, causing Wufei to hit his head hard enough for him to see spots. He felt a trickle of blood run down his neck as he tried to stand. Noventa didn't give him a chance. Once Wufei was on his knees, Noventa kicked him in the stomach, rolling him onto his back where the sorcerer proceeded to kick Wufei in the stomach, face, and legs. Trowa, though he knew that he was outclassed, couldn't stand to see his friend beaten any more. Quickly he shifted into wolf form, then leaped at Noventa.

But Noventa disappeared just before he would have sunk his teeth into his back. Confused, Trowa sniffed the ground, then Wufei, unaware of what was happening behind him.

Quatre, however, could clearly see the fog rising behind Trowa as it condensed into the form of a man. Noventa raised his dagger, impatient to be finished with the battle, and prepared to bring it down on the unsuspecting wolf's back. Quatre realized that even if he yelled to warn Trowa, it would be too late before Trowa realized what was happening and leaped to safety. But what could he do?

In a moment of clarity, Quatre realized what he had to do. He threw open his link with Trowa, knowing that his love would be dead if he didn't. In the space of a heartbeat the two became one as their hearts and minds were finally linked fully together, sharing everything, hiding nothing. The pain of a thousand people hit Trowa and, he being one that wasn't overly emotional, overpowered him. Trowa threw back his head and screamed in pain as Quatre pushed the image of Noventa behind him into his mind and closed the link. The pain gone, Trowa forced himself to turn his attention back to the fight, and leave the repercussions of what had just happened until later.

Trowa saw the image of himself and Noventa in Quatre's mind just a second before Noventa brought the knife down. Luckily, Trowa managed to dodge out of the way, leaving Noventa to bring his knife down through nothing but air. In rage, Noventa stepped back and, throwing the still squirming Relena to the ground, threw a ball of electricity at Quatre. Trowa tried to push him out of the way, but only managed to get hit himself. The two fell to the ground together, unconscious.

Noventa turned his attention back to the still struggling Wufei, who was once again getting to his knees, be it more labored than the last.

"I've had all I can take of you!" Noventa growled, calling a ball of electricity to his raised hand.

A small shape darted out of the darkness and leaped at Noventa, biting and tearing at him.

"Don't hurt my dad!"

In the main hall, Duo and Heero were still fighting the enemy soldiers. Both had minor injuries, but were fine save for utter exhaustion. Both could see that they were getting tired, lethargic, and were watching each other all the more because of it. One mistake, one reaction too late, could cost one of them his life.

The enemy didn't seem to be tiring in the least. It was like they were invulnerable, one would fall just as another would pop up from no where to take his place, fully rested and ready to fight.

"Hey Treize!" Duo called as he fought an enemy with his scythe. The enemy managed to get the scythe out of Duo's hands and threw it across the floor, but Duo impaled him on his own sword then turned to retrieve his weapon. "Where're all these guy's comin' from?"

"I don't know!" Treize yelled back, doing battle with a hulk of a man, "There shouldn't be this many! I'm going to see if Master O knows anything!"

"You do tha..." Duo stopped. Behind Heero was a large man with a sword, in front was a large man with a club. Duo sent out a warning over their link, but he knew there was nothing Heero could do. If he turned from one opponent, the other would strike. Weaponless and running short on time, Duo defended Heero with only thing he had left; his own body. Jumping in front of Heero, he put his chest between Heero and the enemy's sword. The last thing Duo felt was the cold blade biting into the skin of his chest.

"Duo! No!"

In the tower, Noventa finally got a good grip on the thing that was biting him and held it in front of his face. In his fist was a small, squirming boy trying his best to tear the sorcerer to pieces.

"Well, what have we here? A little street-rat, eh? I think you'd make a nice bird, my pet."

"Don't you touch him!" Wufei growled, managing to get to his feet, though he had to use the wall for support.

"Ah, so the annoyance can stand. And how do you think you're going to stop me from doing whatever I want? You're barely on your feet as it is."

"I won't let you hurt him!" Wufei snarled, ignoring the pain in his body.

Chase, meanwhile, saw his opening and whipped around to but Noventa's wrist, causing him to drop the boy. Chase hit the ground and rolled toward Wufei, jumping to his feet to run toward his protector.

"Oh no you don't, you little rat!" Noventa hissed, using a spell in the form of a snake to try to grab the boy. Wufei was faster, though, and managed to get in front of Chase, pushing him out of the way.

"You will not harm my son!" Wufei screamed. Noventa threw back his head and laughed.

"You think you can stop me? Well go ahead! Let's see you try!"

Noventa stood there, arms at his sides, a superior smirk on his face. Wufei felt the power inside him boil like he had never felt before, knowing that if he let this man live he would kill his lover and his son, destroy everything that had become precious to him along with everything that had been precious to him.

In a second all that power spilled from his hands and surrounded Noventa in a mass of power and anger. Never had Wufei felt a power that strong and it both awed and frightened him that he would contain such power. It seemed to surprise Noventa, too, and in a moment he was nothing but dust. Wufei collapsed to the floor, utterly exhausted.

In the great hall, Heero disposed of the enemy in front of him. He turned just in time to see a large, brutish man stab him in the chest.

"No! Duo!" he screamed, seeing his world collapse as the sword entered Duo's chest, driving toward his heart.

And then the man was gone. Simply vanished into thin air. Heero leaped forward and caught Duo as he fell to the floor, pulling the sword out of his chest. Blood gushed out of the wound as Heero laid love's limp body on the floor. Holding his breath in fear, Heero pressed his cheek against Duo's chest to listen for a heartbeat.

There was still a strong beat in Duo's chest. Heero sat back, cradling Duo's limp form against him and thanking the stars that he was still alive. It was during this time that the wall began to shake.

"Wufei," Treize called softly, shaking his unconscious lover, "Wufei, wake up."

"Treize?" Wufei asked, groggily sitting up.

"That's right, love, how do you feel?"

"Where's Chase? Is he alright? And Relena? Trowa! And Quatre! Are they hurt?"

"Slow down, love. Everyone's fine. Except maybe you and..."

"Master O!"

Wufei tried to jump up, but only managed to make it to his knees before falling over into Treize.

"Please," Wufei asked, "I need to get to him. I may be able to save him." Treize nodded and lifted his lover, carrying him to where Master O laid. O smiled as he saw Wufei set down on his knees beside him.

"Master!"

"Wufei, you're looking well," O said with a smile, "I'm sure you feel about as good as you look."

"Be quiet! Save your strength, you'll need it after I heal you," Wufei hissed as he readied for the spell.

"Ah, but you won't be doing that." Wufei stilled.

"What?"

"You won't be healing me. There's no use in it, that knife was poisoned. Besides, you're going to need all your strength. You have to take over my ultimate spell, the one that contains the volcano under Haven. The spell should start to crumble... now."

Under Haven, the sleeping volcano woke and began to stretch its limbs toward the surface, shaking the castle and everyone inside. The spell that had held it for so many years was gone, and the thin layer of rocks would only hold it so long. Without mercy, the volcano shook the castle above it.

"I can't do it! You have to let me heal you, so that you can contain the volcano! I'm too weak! I..."

"Wufei, do you think I would ask you to do this if there was any other option open? I can't be saved, but the castle can. You are stronger than you think. This is what I've been training you for; not as my apprentice, but as my replacement. You can do this."

"I can't!"

"You can!"

"I can't!"

"You must!"

Wufei looked around, at Relena, watching anxiously for Dorothy's approach, at Trowa and Quatre, curled unconscious together on the floor, at Chase, looking expectantly at him from Treize's lap, and at Treize, his eyes shining with trust and pride. Everyone was putting their faith in him, and he would not disappoint them.

Wufei allowed his head to fall back, focusing all his power on the spell that he had to cast. He allowed the spell to flow through him, as he had in training, let himself feel the power of the volcano. Then, roping it with his power, he harnessed it, let its anger flow into him, let it empower him. The volcano was not simply a spectator in this. It fought, tried to escape, but Wufei held tight. After a moment the volcano stopped and seemed to judge Wufei. Whatever it found, it must have been pleased, because it suddenly let all of its power flow out of the mountain and into the boy.

When it was all over, the castle was still and Wufei was exhausted. Physically, since he could feel that his magical power was now multiplied tenfold.

"So now you know," Master O said quietly, "The volcano empowers you, instead of draining your power. However, only the strongest sorcerers can harness that power without being killed."

"Master, is there anything I can do for you?" Wufei asked, guilt welling up inside him at the knowledge that he would not be able to save his beloved master. O was quiet for a moment.

"I'm old, my time has come. Not even magic can save a life when it is truly time for them to go. But, if you could, I would like to see my family one last time before I die. I've stopped the bleeding, I have until sunrise at most. I would ask only one thing of you."

"Anything, master."

"Orb me to my home. If nothing else, I wish to reconcile with my brother before I go. I've missed him so. And, and let my owl go, I always told him he'd be free again one day."

"Of course, master."

With his new found strength, Wufei orbed Master O back to his home in China and his brother. With a sparkle of light and a content smile, Master O was gone. Wufei, tired from the day's trials, toppled forward into Treize's waiting arms, asleep.