Ag- *sits in a large red chair and blows bubbles from a pipe* Greetings, dear readers. Welcome to the next chapter of this Gundam Wing Fanfiction entitled Phoenix.

Bright- You watched Cookie Monster introduce Monster theater one to many times as a little tyke didn't you?

Ag- No.

Bright- Where is your plate of cookies and smoking jacket?

Ag- Don't have any. Though I would like some cookies.

Minako- *sneaks up behind chair and tips it over. Ag falls off* As your muse I demand you do the intro with more sugar! *pulls cord and the three are buried in sugar*

Ag- *head pops out of the sugar pile* MINAKO!!!!

Minako- *pops up* What? *blinks innocent*

Bright- *pop* Great. Now I've got sugar in my hair. You didn't see a plate of cookies anywhere? I think Ag is holding out on us.

Minako- All I found was sugar.... *puppy dog eyes*

Ag- Quit it. You're punishment is you have to do the disclaimer.

Minako- NO!!!! I already have to say that for my fics. Don't make me. *receives glares* Fine. Neither Bright nor Anime Girl owns Gundam Wing. And *sniff* neither do I. *cries*

Bright- On with the chap. Hey! Can we get a little flavoring for this sugar? Might as well turn this into the stuff in pixie sticks.

Phoenix

Chap 4

The group arrived at the cottage where Howard lived within an hour. Duo skipped up to the door, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HOWARD!!! YA HOME!?!?"

There was a crash from inside followed by some cursing before the door opened.

"WHAT KIND OF- Oh, Duo. How've you been?" The man that had answered the door was tall. He was partially bald with gray hair. He had a gray mustache and beard. He wore a magenta colored button-up shirt with palm trees on it. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes.

"The usual. You won't believe this though. You know that Phoenix legend?" Howard nodded. "Well, I'm one of the guardians." Duo's tail wagged back and forth.

"You're the mischievous imp? I should've known. I hope the other guardians can keep you in line."

"Hey! I'm not that bad! I may run and hide but I never tell a lie," Duo stated proudly.

"True. Come on in and introduce me to your friends."

While they followed Howard inside, Duo kept on talking. "This here is Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and my buddy Quatre. As you can see, Kat here is the Phoenix."

"Hello, sir," greeted Quatre. The other boys just nodded their heads.

"Now, now, don't call me 'sir'. Makes me feel old. Just call me Howard."

Duo did most of the talking, explaining how he ended up as a guardian and how he knew the werewolf. It amazed Quatre that someone could talk so much and tell two different stories at once.

It turned out that Duo was an orphan. One day, when he was about 10, some people had found out about a group of kids living in an abandoned barn. The kids were taken to a nearby church where they were all adopted. That is, all except Duo. He stayed at the church, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen became like his family.

This happy time was not to last for the imp. Soldiers came to the church seeking refuge. They threatened Father Maxwell, believing he was a spy of some sort when he tended to wounded prisoners. In desperation to get the strangers out of his home, Duo ran off to steal them supplies so they could leave.

When Duo returned with the outrageous items the soldiers had demanded, the church was destroyed. It was mearly a pile of burnt wood. Burnt bodies littered the ground. Duo could not find the Father, but he did find Sister Helen. She wished him well and told him that she was glad he was safe. Then she said goodbye and died.

That day Duo had truly given up on God. He knew of only one god he could trust. The God of Death. That was the name Duo took for himself. He would decide who would live and die, since God didn't see fit to interfere.

Three years later, Duo had met Howard, though he was in his werewolf form and had tried to eat him. Once it was dawn, Howard had returned to his normal form and invited Duo in his house. Duo stayed with Howard for a while before going off on his own again. He traveled a lot, becoming a thief since he was too lazy to earn money the honest way. He was relatively good when it came to thieving. He only took from those he knew had a lot of money. Often times he would give the money he collected to the children of poor families or the orphans.

It grew late with the story telling, and they were allowed to stay the night. Of course it took a lot of convincing by Duo and Quatre that they should stay. Trowa didn't really care what they did. Heero and Wufei on the other hand, wanted to get going right away.

It was here that Quatre learned of his greatest weapon, thanks to Duo. It was the puppy-dog eyes. The two serious boys broke at the sight, though Heero hid it well. Trowa had watched the "negotiation" transpire, glad to have not been on the receiving end of those eyes. It was almost as bad as Heero's glare!

Now the sun was setting and Quatre was outside playing with some woodland creatures. The others sat on Howard's porch.

"So this kid's the Phoenix, eh?" stated Howard.

Duo nodded. "Yep. Still needs to work on the landings though."

Wufei snorted. (Ag- *laughs* Sorry. Keep reading.) "Some Phoenix. He's a nice kid but needs to learn about the world."

"We'll teach him combat when we can get him a weapon," said Heero.

Trowa watched as Quatre rubbed a rabbit's belly. "Maybe this is the Legendary Phoenix's personality."

Duo turned to look at the silent elf. "What do you mean, Tro?"

"The legend states that the Phoenix was a kind yet powerful beast. Maybe, when the time is right, Quatre will unleash his power."

"Hn. We can't rely on 'what ifs'."

"I don't know if it's a good idea to let Quatre's power awaken in battle. I think you should train him." Howard's voice was serious and quiet, afraid Quatre might hear what he had to say. "There's a darker part about the legend of the Phoenix. After one great battle, the Phoenix lost control and began attacking anything and everything: good Protectors Beasts, fallen foes, animals, or men. It was like he was lost inside himself. He destroyed stuff and declared it was for the good of humanity. He got a hold of himself when his people were attacked and he saved them.

"No one knows what happened to make him crazy. But during that time all the Beasts and Protectors realized that the Phoenix was the strongest of them all. For the Beasts to win, they either had to kill the Phoenix, or get him to join them."

"Soooo… the Beasts could either try to kill Kat or capture him?" questioned Duo.

"We'll have to keep and eye on him then," said Wufei.

Unknown to the group, they were being watched. Alec, a panther beast, was crouched in the bushes. He watched the Phoenix play with disgust.

"This is the kid we want? I don't believe it. At the rate this group's going, it will take forever before this kid's strong enough to become a Beast. I'll just take his training in my own hands and kill those guardians while I'm at it."

Alec got ready to pounce, changing into a panther in one easy motion. He jumped… only to be knocked to the side.

Quatre looked up, startled, when a black and gray blur jumped from the bushes. The animals scattered around him as Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Duo ran up to the blonde. A sleek black panther stood growling at a gray shaggy wolf.

"Fang!" cried Quatre. The wolf stopped it's growling before walking to Quatre.

"It's not Howard?" asked Duo confused for a moment before realizing Howard looked much different.

Quatre nodded. "This is Fang. I healed him once and he's stayed with me ever since." Quatre petted Fang.

"That cat is a Beast," stated Heero. They all turned to the Panther that stood before them.

"Very good," said the panther, "You could tell I wasn't an ordinary panther."

Duo stepped forward. "Duh. There are no panthers in this area."

"Why you insolent fool! I will kill you before I take the Phoenix back to the Haven!" He charged.

Trowa grabbed Quatre by his arm and pulled him out of harms way, Fang following. Wufei and Heero also jumped away. Duo waited, smirking as the Beast came closer. Then, he took to the air. Alec slammed into the tree behind the imp.

"I always wanted to do that to someone," said Duo, arms crossed while he hovered in the air.

"Stop playing around, Maxwell," said Wufei.

Duo just stuck out his tongue in response.

Alec stood again, melting into his humanoid form. He wore black armor and his hair was the same midnight color. Yellow eyes burned with fire as he glared at Duo. A slender black tail bristled in anger. "You will pay dearly for that!" He jumped at Duo, using the tree to gain height, and reached out towards the imp.

Duo "eeped" when he felt a tug on his braid and was pulled to the ground.

"Hey man! Don't touch the hair. Do you have any idea how long it takes to braid it?"


A sword swung down at Alec. He jumped away, releasing Duo's beloved braid.

"If you cut your hair then you wouldn't have to worry about it getting grabbed," said Wufei.

Duo pouted. "But I like my hair the way it is."

"Stop your talking you two. This fight could have been over a long time ago," said Heero. His glare shut the two up.

"Don't worry, Quatre," said Trowa, "They may seem silly but they will protect you."

Quatre just nodded. He hadn't really been thinking that, but something close to it. Trowa and Heero seemed like they could be guardians, but Wufei and Duo seemed too normal. It was like him being the Phoenix. He really was, but it seemed like he shouldn't be.

If Alec was angry before then now he was burning with rage. How dare they act as if he was nothing? Okay, so he wasn't exactly a high-leveled Beast, but he was certain that he could take on a few children. This just seemed impossible. A Beast was being beaten by a human, dragon, elf, and an imp. Thinking quickly as he dodged some of Trowa's arrows, he decided that his best chance was to grab the Phoenix and high tail it out of there. With a burst of speed, he leapt toward Quatre.

"You're coming with me," he said, grabbing Quatre's arm.

"Get away!" Quatre screamed. He pushed at Alec. A bright light came from his hand and Alec flew back. The blonde boy's eyes were wide in shock before they drifted shut and he fell to the ground.

"Did he just faint?" asked Wufei, not believing that a man had fainted.

Heero walked over to Quatre and checked his pulse. "It wasn't fear, he's low on energy. Must have been the first time he used that attack."

"What did he do?" wondered Duo. He walked over to Alec who lay unconscious as well. His armor was melted in the center and there was a burn on his chest. "Cool. I wanna learn to do that."

"You are not a fire elemental, baka," said Wufei.

"Phttt!" was Duo's reply.

"He's finished. Let's go back inside." Heero lifted Quatre in his arms and headed towards the house. Fang followed Heero, concerned for his master.

"Yeah, I'm starving." The group went back inside, ready to call it a night.

A short time later, Alec sat up. The moon was out, nice and bright. Alec hissed in pain when he felt his wound.

"That brat. I'll kill him."

"No you won't," came a cold feminine voice.

Alec turned. Hidden in the shadows was another beast. He could only see the snaky tail that gleamed in the moonlight.

"What do you want?"

"Massster Treize thankssss you for giving him the idea to battle with the Phoenix to get him ssstonger. But his plan includes actually capturing or even trapping the Phoenix and his friends. You're sssacrifice will be honored."

"What do you mean sacrifi-" Alec never got to finish. The snake woman struck. Her fangs buried deep in his neck. The poison killed him before she let go.

"Time to return to the Haven and report my sssuccessss to Master Trieze." With that, she disappeared back into the shadows.

At Howard's house, Heero looked out the window. He has sensed something had happened. He knew Alec was dead, he needn't worry about that. It was something else. A dark force that they would soon encounter.

Ag- And I am done! ^_^

Bright- Yeah! *happy tap dance*

AG- I feel so proud of myself. I got really into it when I was writing the fight part. Not much but it's a start. I leave the next adventure to you, Bright. Mess with their lives.

Bright- *victory sign* Sir, Yes sir!

Minako- Can I mess with their lives?

Ag- You already do in your fics.

Bright- R&R