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; :psionic power: Telepathic (Mind) Speech , /magical spell/

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"How much loooooooonger?"

"Still two days travel, Duo. Just like this morning, when you asked."

"You sure, Heero?"

"Yes."

"How can you be sure?"

Groan. "Because I've been in this region before, and thus I know that it's two days travel by this road to reach the next township."

"What if we cut through those hills?"

"There is no path to cut through those hills."

"Yes there is! Look!"

Heero looked, and frowned. "That path hasn't been maintained for the last century or two. I'll not risk our party on it."

"But it'd cut down our time."

"So?"

"Let's take it!"

Wufei's voice soon cut in, "Maxwell, it's dangerous. Best that we stay upon our path and make it to town safely rather than risk ourselves on that abandoned road. Think about it - it must have been left to decay for a reason, otherwise the lordship that controls this region would maintain it."

Duo whimpered, "But I want a hot cup of cider and a warm bed."

Heero sighed quietly. "We all want that, Duo. But it will have to wait."

"Let's take the path."

Wufei and Heero both turned, eyes set on the petulant blond who wearily laid his head on Trowa's back and glared at them.

Heero arched a brow. "Did you not hear what we just told Duo?"

"Do you think I care?"

"Please, be rational about this, Lord VonWinner."

"Hmph. I am being rational. And I say we take the shortcut."

"You'd put us all at risk."

"There's probably no danger. And I want to rest. Don't feel so good." With a quiet sigh, he laid his head back on Trowa's back and closed his eyes.

Heero drew up on his horse's reins and frowned. As the party slowly came to a halt, the warrior dismounted and walked to Trowa's steed. "What's wrong with him?"

Trowa shrugged slowly. "I don't know. He's been like this since this morning."

"Lord VonWinner?" Heero quietly called, brow arched.

"Nm. Just been away from home for so long... haven't felt its touch for awhile. Kind of draining."

Wufei frowned. 'I thought so...' Sighing, he shook his head. "Vincent provided such for you before, didn't he?"

The boy slowly nodded.

"Will rest help?"

"Just need to be in a secure place. Can commune on my own... provided I have the right atmosphere."

"I see." Turning to Heero, he sighed. "The boy will be of no use to us until we reach a town. If he can't concentrate on his own situation, his abilities cannot be channeled. If we are attacked, he will be nothing more than added weight which we will be forced to defend."

"Then you are suggesting that we take the mountain pass."

"Against my better judgment, yes. We cannot risk the dangers of the woods ahead without him at least being aware of his surroundings. We can not take the initiative to defend him as well as ourselves."

With a sigh, Heero nodded. "Very well. Duo, you've gotten your wish."

Duo cheered happily before spurring his horse towards the looming mountains ahead.

"WAIT, BAKA!"

The horses galloped after the braided mage and his steed as quickly as they could.

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The small party made its way slowly yet steadily up the side of the mountain.

"See, Heero? Told you that this way would be much faster."

Heero grunted quietly to acknowledge the fact that Duo was speaking to him, his eyes never adverting their attention from the path before them. He was carefully guiding his horse along the crumbling road, watching their surroundings carefully.

Something about this abandoned road had him on edge.

"What is wrong, my friend?" Wufei quietly asked, urging his horse up along side that of the party leader, one dark eyebrow arched over an onyx eye.

"Something's not right. This is too easy."

"You're worried of attack?"

Heero frowned. "There's no reason for this path to have been abandoned. It is not dangerous. There are no cliffs, no blind turns, no avalanche risks, no place for bandits to easily hide. It's an ideal path. Yet, the lordship of this regent demanded that it not be traveled. I am wondering why..."

"And it has you worried."

"Yes."

Wufei nodded, turning his gaze to look up the path. "I see. Maybe it has something to do with this...?"

Heero brought his horse to a halt as Wufei did the same. "What in the names of the Gods...?"

Both warriors stared at the burned and charred surroundings.

"I understand now why you don't have a good feeling about this path, Heero."

"Why is that, Wufei?"

"Because the beast hidden in this region that's currently thinking very loudly about whether or not it's going to charge us and devour us can likely destroy us all."

"What is it?"

"Dracolich."

Heero paled. "You've got to be kidding."

"Look straight ahead and you'll see that I'm not."

Both warriors simply stared as the huge monstrosity made its way towards them, jaws parted, the hiss of hot air leaking from its throat.

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Duo and Trowa quickly brought their horses to a stop, staring.

"What is that thing?" Trowa mouthed.

"Dracolich," Duo breathed quietly, his eyes huge with fright.

The great beast, nearly 400 feet in length, loomed before them, skeletal wings spread to either side of its skeletal body. Giant white skull swinging down towards the earth, the great dragon's skeleton focused with bright, red lights in empty eye-sockets on the small party before it. Jaws parting, it leered as it lifted its massive wings and flapped them once, the loose red skin that hung between its bones flapping and straining with the motion.

Duo gulped, slowly trying to lead his completely stunned horse back by tugging on its reins. "It's an undead dragon, Tro... a red one at that. You can tell by the size, and the color of the flesh that's still clingin' to its bones, an' the way its skull is shaped... and I think it wants to rip us apart. Maybe we can just bribe it and convince it to let us go."

Trowa nodded, slowly slipping off his horse and laying Quatre against its neck, seating him in the saddle and attempting vainly to get his limp, cold hands to grip the reins. "Ride from here, Quatre... we'll distract it."

"LIKE HELL!" Duo shouted, staring at the acrobat as if he were completely and utterly insane.

"Duo," Trowa said, looking over at the mage with sorrow in his eyes, "he's ill. He can't face it. And I doubt that it will take to bribing. We've got to distract it so he can escape."

"What about us?" the mage whined, nearly bouncing up and down on his horse.

"We do what we must. We fight it until he escapes, then escape ourselves."

"How, you crazy moron?"

"You're the supposed genius, Duo. You think of something." And, with a grim smile, the acrobat made his way towards Heero and Wufei, approaching the undead beast that took the entire landscape before them with courage unmatched by even the most astute or crazed of paladins and berserkers.

Duo just held his head, staring. "Oh gracious Shinigami, help us... we're gonna need it. TRO! YOU FUCKER! IF I DIE, I'M GONNA HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!" Growling curse after curse, he hopped of his own steed and bolted up the path, staff in one hand and the other clenched into a fist he waved above his head.

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Wufei and Heero slid from their horses as one, staring at the giant beast before them. Their mounts swiftly fled the scene, terrified and whinying.

The dracolich ignored them, focusing its attentions on the warriors before it. Parting its jaws, it hissed softly, "You have intruded in my territory. Pay me for the privilege of retreating back in the direction from whence you have traveled, or I shall destroy you."

Heero nodded, glancing over at Wufei. "Give it everything."

"Of course," the Easterner replied as he began to dig through his pouches.

"The price is 100 rubies of 10,000 gold piece worth each," the giant undead lizard said with a sneer turning the flesh that remained upon its skull near its gaping jaws.

Both adventurers paled.

"Crap."

"You have not the money?"

They stared remorsefully.

"Then you die."

Trowa stopped his approach and Duo screeched to a halt from his run, both staring with wide eyes, as their friends screamed.

"HEERO!" Duo cried, tears leaping to his eyes.

The pair could do nothing but watch as their friends were bathed in the huge jet of fire that poured from the undead dragon's enormous jaws.

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Wufei slowly lifted his hand, reaching with shaking fingers to pinch the tip of his smoldering ponytail and put out the single flicker of flame that dared to remain after the dragon's breath had come to an end. "Heero... you alive?" he muttered into the dirt his face had been pressed into.

"Aa."

"Can you fight?"

"Aa."

"Can you move?"

"... Give me five minutes."

"We don't have five minutes. There's something dancing all over my back."

"Nm?"

"OW!"

Wufei bolted upright, rubbing the back of his neck, glaring behind himself.

The tiny dragonette hissed at him, its multicolored, pupilless eyes narrowed coldly. You have dared oppose the one who summoned me. Prepare to die. Opening its little jaws, baring its needle-sharp fangs, it growled and hunkered down, little clawed feet digging into the ground, leathery wings spreading, sunlight dancing off its reddish- brown scales. Its tail lashed back and forth behind it, scorpion-like stinger on its tip primed and ready to strike.

Arching a brow, the warrior stared at the little lizard. "Oh really." Then, turning to the dracolich, he stared in amazement.

Heero was facing the thing on his own, grimace on his face and sword in hand. And Trowa was slipping behind it, unseen against the dingy stone that made up the mountain they were upon, daggers in hand. Duo was to its left, hands upraised, changing the beginnings to a spell.

Coward! Face me!

"You can't be serious."

The tiny dragon puffed out its chest proudly. I will take you while the Master takes your party. They will not be a challenge for him, as you will not be a challenge for me.

"You're a pseudodragon."

And?

Smirking, the warrior crossed his arms. And you're under the control of that dracolich's spell.

The dragonette reeled as its telepathic line was reversed upon itself and staggered, its tiny clawed forepaws gripping its skull. How...!

Psionisist.

The dragonette blinked.

Why fight one of your own, little dragon?

Because... he told me to.

Who is he to direct the actions of one mighty enough to master the arts of the mind?

The dragon's little lips turned up in a grin.

Wufei mentally chuckled. 'Nothing like the ego of a dragon to make it so easy to manipulate.'

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Heero cried out as the dragon's huge foot sent him flying.

The dragon turned with nearly blinding speed, its jaws snapping shut on the acrobat even as he charged with every intent to backstab the beast. With a casual flick of its head, it sent him crashing into the mage, fully interrupting his spell.

The glowing red lights in the empty eye-sockets that served as the dracolich's eyes crossed as it stared at the tiny pseudodragon that had alighted onto its nose.

The little dragonnette hissed as it flicked its tail down, burying its needle-tipped stinger into the bone of the giant dracolich's skull.

With bland disinterest, the dracolich snorted before turning its attention back to the warrior who was trying to regain his footing. Its jaws parted, the glow of fire starting to form once more behind its massive breastplate and snaking up its skeletal neck.

"NO!"

Turning its head, it glowered at the mage, who snarled right back at it.

"You've messed with the wrong fucking party. Now taste the might of Duo Maxwell!"

Flinging his hands forward, the mage cried the final command word to his spell as loudly as he could.

"/FIREBALL/"

The small wad of guano and sulfur landed at the giant skeletal dragon's feet and exploded into a huge ball of searing flame.

Duo stared as the dracolich grinned at him.

"Fool," the undead beast laughed at him, "did you not realize that we red dragons retain our immunity to all fires, magically created or not, even after the onset of undeath?"

And Duo screamed as the dragon's deadly blast of firey breath enveloped him.

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Heero stared as his lover fell, the incredible heat of the fire easily overwhelming him.

'Duo...'

He stared as the mage failed to move again, laying perfectly still as the flickers of fire pouring from the dragon's gaping jaws finally came to a halt.

'Duo...!'

He watched as the fire dancing over the mage's prone body slowly oozed out of existence, leaving him lying still without movement, even the rise and fall of his chest having stopped.

'Duo!'

Turning towards the dragon, tears of rage and hatred in his eyes, Heero tightened his grip on his Flametongue sword.

'Worry not, Duo.'

Slowly walking forward, his eyes narrowed with grim determination, the warrior scowled.

'I'll avenge you.'

His walk became a steady jog.

'And if I fail...'

Bursting into a run, a scream of fury upon his lips, Heero's eyes met those of the dracolich.

'I'll join you in death!'

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Duo's fingers twitched slightly, the pain of that small movement overwhelming him. 'Fucking hell...'

'Everything hurts. And I'm bleeding.'

'I'm fucked.'

'I'm going to bleed to death, aren't I?'

'Hell, I can't even see anymore... feel almost like my eyes got burned out of my sockets. Blood... feel it comin' from everywhere... must've been burned to a crisp. Skin's crackin', bleedin' all over the place.'

'Oh Gods, Heero, I'm dying...'

He tried his damnedest to whimper as he felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder, failing to produce even one small sound.

"Duo..."

'That's Quatre's voice,' Duo's brain cried out.

"Don't worry. I'll help you. But only after I've helped the others. Try to hang on."

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With a wild scream, Heero charged even as the dracolich opened its jaws and lunged forward.

Steel clanged and grated harshly against huge fangs, roar overpowering the human's war cry.

The great fang snapped.

Drawing its huge skull back and shaking it, dislodging the tiny pseudodragon that was still vainly trying to sting it to death from its nose, the mighty skeletal dragon snarled at Heero, even as he brought his cracked sword before him once more.

The dragon lashed forward with its massive jaws, even as it screamed "/CLOUDKILL/", creating a massive hazy fog centered on itself.

Heero growled, ignoring the stinging effects of the cloud as it settled over him, lifting his sword to ward off the snapping fangs once more, bringing his weapon down with a loud crunch on top of the beast's skull.

Trowa staggered out of the massive magical cloud, coughing loudly even as Wufei charged in, katana held at ready.

The raven-haired warrior was sent sprawling to the ground as the dragon whipped its skull away from Heero and sent it crashing into him. Its wing swinging as well, it aimed for Heero.

Heero swiftly ducked, jutting up with his sword to spear at the red leathery flesh that hung between the dracolich's huge wing-bones.

And Heero stared as the small blonde head of Quatre appeared at his side, eyes wide and staring at the massive form that was attacking them. "What are you doing!" the warrior hissed, even as the dracolich swung its massive head back in his direction and launched towards him, foot hovering above him with the obvious intent of smashing him into the ground.

Suddenly, they were both standing beside Duo.

"Saving you," Quatre replied softly, his eyes tired, his stance weary and weak. "Stay back. Bind him. Make certain he isn't dead by the time I get back."

Heero dumbly nodded as the boy vanished again.

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Trowa watched as the cloud of the dracolich's spell vanished, and charged in with the intent on reaching the fallen warrior and retrieving him before the dracolich had time to turn its attention back towards them.

Reaching Wufei's side, he quickly checked for a pulse. 'Damn, what does it take to kill you?' he reflected with a smile.

That smile instantly vanished.

"/Hold/ ."

Trowa shivered, unable to blink as sweat beaded upon his forehead and trickled into his eyes.

The warrior at his side stirred.

"'Fei..."

Wufei blinked, sitting upright, staring at the frozen acrobat.

"Run...!"

Facing the dragon, the warrior slowly staggered to his feet, holding his katana before him. And, a smirk coming to his lips, he shook his head. "I think not."

The dragon lunged.

Wufei stood perfectly at ease, face calm and weapon firmly gripped, closing his eyes and focusing not on the battle, but instead on the latent power that rested in the recesses of his mind...

The dracolich's skull suddenly exploded, showering both of them with sharp shards of bone fragments.

Trowa, having been released from the spell that held him in place, cried out and shielded his eyes even as Wufei staggered, falling to one knee, panting quietly for breath.

"Impressive..."

Wufei turned his head, cracking one eye open.

The blond stared, completely stunned, the small battered pseudodragon resting in his arms. "I was wondering how long it would take you to discover that power of yours."

A faint smile upon his lips, the warrior regained his footing and slowly pulled Trowa to his feet as well.

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The small group made their way quickly to Heero and Duo.

Trowa and Wufei simply stared at the mangled mess that was the mage lying upon the ground in a steadily spreading pool of his own blood.

"My god..." Wufei softly breathed, his eyes wide. "He's not going to make it..."

"Do we have anymore potions, Trowa?" Heero asked quietly, turning hope-filled eyes to the acrobat.

"No. Duo used the last of our potions when we faced the Green."

"Then we've no way to save him..."

Trowa crossed his arms. "If we find the beast's lair, we may be able to find something."

"Damn it, Trowa, he won't live that long! He's dying now, as we speak!"

Quatre slowly nodded. "Heero's right. The best you could do raiding that beast's lair, provided you even find it, is gather enough money to pay for his resurrection. However, without horses as they've all run off, you won't be able to carry the sum needed to buy a priest's services. Especially not for the resurrection of someone who doesn't carry their same faith."

Bowing his head, Heero gritted his teeth, trying to calm his steadily increasingly panicked breathing.

Resting a hand on the warrior's shaking shoulder, Quatre sighed quietly. "Think you'll be able to carry me to town?"

Glancing over, Heero frowned, his eyes wet with tears. "Why?" he quietly choked out, his hand gripping Duo's and caressing it gently.

Faintly smiling, the blond nodded once before kneeling beside the mage's bloodied body. Laying his hands upon it, he closed his eyes and sighed.

And both Wufei and the pseudodragon stared, eyes wide with shock.

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Auras.

They were what crafted the world of the psionisist.

The natural world swam with them, each object that held life bearing its own trademark coloration suitable to its spirit.

To Wufei, everything had always existed in dual tones, one being that seen by all fellow mortals around him, the other being that which was present only for the eyes of those who shared the ability to utilize the powers of the mind to their fullest abilities.

Duo had always been represented by a chaotic swarm of billowing black which swirled madly around his frame, reflective of the unbound chaos that was the working of his mind, its smooth curves and gentle touch being that of the relative goodness that was in his heart.

Heero, the dark Prussian Blue, was the smooth, steady rock of the group, his aura never moving towards either the solid outlining lines of belief in the ways of law or the constantly moving swirl of chaos. His was the slowly moving, slowly curling whisps of neutrality, smooth and curved with good as Duo's was.

Trowa, the emerald cloud, was just as chaotic and jumbled as Duo. The green billowed smoothly at most times, 'less the acrobat's mind was turned to the ways of greed for gold, at which times it spiked sharply and curled roughly, its tendrils thorny and deadly with the edges of evil. But at most times, it remained as smooth as those auras held by Heero and Duo - really, such was the only thing that made certain Wufei could stand him.

Wufei's own, a crystalline white cloud, remained rigidly in place, never moving nor swirling as his companions' did, its edges nearly nonexistent.

And Quatre, the enigma - the cloud that was constantly changing, its tender pastel blue form billowing and stopping, slowly oozing and flicking itself about the blonde's form with maddening swiftness, spiked yet smooth, caressing all around it with power and confidence before retreating into itself timidly with fright.

It was that pastel blue aura that had his attention.

It flickered with power - massive power, who's likes he'd never seen before - pulsing and flowing around the small blond, sending tendrils of itself into the fading black and reinforcing it.

'He's using :Lend Health:'

Would seem that way.

Startled, he glanced down at the small billowing cloud of reddish brown. The pseudodragon looked up at him with swirling eyes, before its mindlinked voice whispered What is he?

I'm not certain.

Glancing back, steadily scooting to sit by Wufei's feet, the small dragon huffed. One thing I know for certain - he's no human.

Nodding, Wufei watched.

He stared as the two auras slowly changed intensities - Duo's becoming darker and more stable, as that which surrounded Quatre began to fade.

'He's killing himself...!'

Taking a few steps forward, the warrior scowled, every intention swimming through his mind to grab the blond and wrench him away from the mage, ready to tell the foolish noble that he'd done enough.

It was then that he stopped, completely stunned.

The pastel blue aura had errupted over the boy.

'... Wings...?'

The giant feathered limbs slowly faded, the feathers dropping from them as they vanished to swirl with the blue cloud that was the boy's aura, remaining firmly in existence before Wufei's wide eyes.

He could only stare at the swirling, feathered aura as the boy collapsed.

tbc...