Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.
A/N; /magical spell/ (prays that QuickEdit actually works and doesn't make a stinky mess out of her formatting)
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"The greatest force of destruction..."
"To have walked the Realms..."
"Since the Times of Troubles..."
"Is Quatre?"
Duo, Heero, Wufei and Trowa each looked at the blond seated calmly behind Trowa upon his tall quarter horse with wide eyes.
The blond simply blinked innocently at all of them.
Duo began sniggering quietly under his breath. "There's got to be a mistake here, gentlemen. I'm sorry, but our little Lord VonWinner here has yet to display any vicious tendencies and extraordinary powers that would make me even begin to believe your claims that he's the single most deadly and destructive person to exist during these times right now. Sure, shit blows up when he's pissed. Sure, he can kill people with his mere will and thoughts. But any psionisist with enough training can do that. There ain't nothin' that I've seen that marks him as being so extraordinarily different than the highly experienced mercenaries and vagabonds we've encountered over the course of our own travels that he'd be a risk that would draw your attentions away from your precious Shadow Dale."
Heero nodded in agreement. "We've seen nothing out of the ordinary. As far as we've been witness to, he's an ordinary boy. One with an extraordinary talent for mind-magics, but an ordinary boy none the less."
Wufei snorted, opting to remain silent and observe those who surrounded them.
Trowa did the same, keeping one hand soothingly touching Quatre's leg and the other on the reins of the horse.
"You will not heed my warning?" the elderly mage breathed with a sigh.
"Of course not," Duo blurted. "No disrespect meant to you, sir, but you're full of shit."
Otto scowled. "We aren't going to be talking sense into these people any time soon, Elminster. We will have to forcibly remove Lord VonWinner from their care."
"I fear you're right."
On cue, the warriors who'd accompanied the ancient mage and the VonWinner house guard drew their weapons.
"Last chance, honorable mercenaries! Give us the boy, or die protecting that which will destroy us all!" Otto called out as he drew his sword from its scabbard.
"Hmph. May Death have mercy on your souls for having given them up in vain," Heero murmured with a smirk as he drew his enchanted sword and slid around his horse to stand before Otto, sword's deadly sharp point leveled at the other man's throat as Otto's sword repeated the gesture, doing the same.
Duo, already off his horse, held up a slender hand as he crouched into a defensive stance. "Even if I go down right now, if this is my great day for answerin' the call to go home, I'm going down fighting. You're not getting him without a fight. He fought for his freedom, and by the Gods both above and below, we're going to help him keep it!"
Glancing over to Trowa, Wufei simply nodded. "We'll do our best to protect both of you. Get to the shadows if you can, thief. Take him with you." With that said, the black-haired man lightly hopped off the back of his horse, drawing his katana in mid air and coming down on his toes, ready to attack as soon as stricken against.
Quatre slid off the horse as Trowa did the same and stood by him, his hand vanishing into the billowing folds of his cloak to draw forth a plain, undecorated scimitar.
"Very well. You have all sealed your fates. ATTACK!"
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Wufei grunted as he blocked both swords chopping for his neck with a swiftly raised katana, ducking simultaneously to pull his sword from the lock he had with his enemies and send them toppling off-balance behind him. Turning sharply, he sent the sword screaming through the air and slicing noisily though flesh and bone, severing both men's heads clean from their necks.
'How many more? How many more needlessly wasted lives are going to be ended before they call off this ridiculous battle?'
Stepping once more to his left, he dodged another swiftly coming attack and let his sword slice through the bright sunlight, sparkling and whistling shrilly, once more.
Heero snarled, noting Wufei's predicament and noting that there was no way his friend would be able to assist the others in their own fights. Duo was up to his eyeballs in trouble (which wasn't far from the norm for him), not having time to finish a single incantation before having to dodge to save his life. Trowa was defending himself as well as he could with his daggers, having no way to escape the tight circle of foes that had befallen them. Quatre apparently was holding his own quite well, his scimitar bloodied and sweeping with ease, rending a cry from a throat with every pass it made.
And Heero himself was facing their leader, a man who seemed as adept with the sword as he.
Once again, they brought their blades crashing into one another, Otto's splintering even as one of the cracks in Heero's beaten Flametongue ate further into the metal than it did before. Thrusting against one another's might, they flung each other away and charged again, battle cries upon snarling lips.
Raising his bracer, Heero attempted to bat the longsword Otto wielded away, earning a deep slice in his arm for the effort.
Still, the risk had been well worth it. Without his weapon ready or on the correct side of his opponent, Otto could in no way defend himself from the longsword that raced to meet his abdomen.
The man decided to attempt to back away.
It was far to late for him to realize that his back had been maneuvered to be nearly flush with the trunk of a tree. Gasping in recognition of the plan utilized against him even as the sword plunged through his body and embedded itself into the mighty trunk behind him, Otto dropped his own weapon and clutched the hilt that protruded from his stomach.
"How... could you?"
Heero looked blankly at the man. "Because you have threatened the safety of one of our companions. And no matter how little I like him, he is dear to Trowa and Duo, so therefore he warrants my protection."
"You have brought... death... upon us all..."
"If I have, then it will ride on my shoulders. So be it. I care not." Nodding, his lips turned in a callous sneer, he yanked his sword back out of the tree and the bloodied body it had held so firmly to that wooden post.
Turning towards the battle, Heero's eyes nearly rolled out of his head.
Elminster was casting.
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The ancient man had his hands calmly raised into the air, one holding a vial that glowed black with the dark liquid it held in its crystalline depths, the other empty, fingers waving as if gathering the very strands of the Weave, the delicate energies that surrounded the world and gave it its magic, into the spell he desired to craft. His thumb popped the cork off of the small crystal vessel he held and he slowly overturned it, letting the poisonous liquid known to those of the Priestly spheres as Unholy Water dribble from the vial and drip onto the soil at the elderly mage's feet, instantly slaying the hints of plant life that had existed there. And, as his semantic gestures flew from his hands, Elminster's lips formed the words of the arcane art that would bring the energies of the Weave to life.
"What is he doing!" Trowa growled, leaning back to back with the blond VonWinner heir, emerald eyes narrowed.
"He's attempting the /Banishment/ spell."
"Why?"
"He's trying to send me home."
Before Trowa could open his lips once more, Elminster brought both hands down, fingers splayed and pointed towards Quatre, black tendrils of energy shooting like shadowy lightning bolts towards the blond.
Quatre stood perfectly still.
Both Elminster and Duo felt their eyes widen as the wind created by the hurtling bolts crafted of the /Banishment/ spell blew the boy's thick cloak back, exposing the armbands permanently attached to his forearms and as those very bolts broke into hundreds of pieces, each being absorbed into the bands even as they attempted to wrap themselves around their intended target.
Duo tried to close his gaping mouth as he murmured, "Those things absorb magic?"
"Yep," Quatre softly whispered, his eyes narrowed, crackling lightning running along their irises. "Completely and thoroughly. It matters not how powerful or precise the spell is. Now you understand why I've nothing to fear from you magi..."
Elminster nodded, scratching his chin. "A very interesting turn in events. VonWinner himself has ensured that there is no way to defeat you and bring you before him, even though I doubt that he was aware of the full consequences of imbuing this upon you. I am quite certain this was not his intention, but it apparently is its result."
The two stared each other down.
"I see no need to continue this battle, seeing as how it is utterly futile. Go about your business. You men," Elminster called, waving to the warriors who still remained standing, "retreat if you value your lives. I shall be leaving you now." And, with a polite nod, he bowed and vanished.
The adventurers simply stood in the miniature battlefield, four with expressions of confusion upon their faces, one with grim satisfaction.
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Duo frowned as he knelt beside Quatre, one slim arm held in his grip. "This is most interesting," the mage quietly grumbled as he stared at the bands that graced the boy's forearms. "Mind telling me what all this is about?"
"Yes, I do mind."
"Should've expected that," Duo huffed in resignation. "Guess I have to figure it all out on my own, now, don't I?"
"Certainly looks that way."
"Gee, thanks."
Duo's eyes narrowed a bit further as he stared at the runes along the bands. "Hmmmm..."
"What have you deduced, mage?" Wufei calmly asked as he sat down beside Duo.
Nearly jumping out of his skin at the shock of being interrupted, Duo glowered at Wufei. "Nothing as of yet. Gah! Don't sneak up on people like that. It's rude."
"I didn't sneak up on you. Now, what are you discerning?"
"Pshah. 'Duo, discern this! Cook that! Warm my footsies with a /Burning Hands/ spell!'"
"It's not that terrible," Wufei said with a quiet chuckle.
Winking, Duo shrugged. "Nah. But give me a few more moments."
Nodding, Wufei let him get back to work. Soon enough, Duo was babbling away, pointing at the inscriptions on the armbands Quatre wore.
"Aha! This is what absorbed that spell. Magical Absorption is granted through the use of this rune, which is bordering this one. Hmmm. Used for Alter Self. Very odd, neh?"
"Indeed," Wufei concurred, scratching his chin.
"And here we have Psionic Inhibitation. Neh, if that's on these bands, why is he still able to use his abilities?"
"Because any decent psionisist can defeat that spell, given the time to do so. Correct, Lord VonWinner?"
The blonde nodded his agreement as Duo continued.
"Hrm. And here we have a bit of a Contingency spell. Don't know why that's there."
"Could it have something to do with removing the bands, Duo? They're scribed right over the bolt that's holding each of those devices in place."
"Maybe you're right there, 'Fei. Hmmmm. But what's throwing me is this bit here."
"What does it read?"
Glancing over, violet eyes wide, the mage frowned. "It activates only upon contact between the outer surface of the bands and the flesh of an Outer."
"Outer?" Wufei questioned softly.
"Native of the Outer Planes of Existence. The Abyss, Ysgard, Limbo, Arborea, Baator-"
"I know of the Outter Planes, Duo."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry."
"Anything else?"
Shaking his head, Duo scowled. "That's all I can read. Sorry."
Nodding, Wufei simply crossed his arms and rose from his station beside Duo.
'More mysteries, more questions.'
'I wonder what's truly going on.'
tbc...
