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/
-BEGIN FIC-
It was far past the fall of the sun when the small party of adventurers finally arrived in town. Heero sighed in relief as they approached the town tavern, boosting the small blonde that he carried a bit higher on his back. "We're almost there," he grunted, receiving a quiet moan and a nod from the young man he carried.
"We'll be out of money once we get rooms for the night," Wufei said with a soft grunt, digging through the pouch that held the party's funds.
"I'll go out working tonight, then," Trowa said with a sigh.
Wufei sighed. "I don't approve, but there's truly no choice. Very well."
Following quietly, Duo simply frowned. "You sure you don't want me to take over the rest of the while, Heero? It's not that far now."
"You can't carry him."
"But..."
"I know you feel you owe him for your life, Duo," Heero began quietly, "but the best thing you can do for him is watch over him once we get into the tavern. Wufei and I will need to tend to our weapons. Trowa will need to acquire funds for our next bout of expenses. You, while you need to study your spells, could perhaps aid him best by staying with him...?"
Duo sighed and nodded. "Alright."
All under silent agreement over Heero's directives, they entered the town, and found the closest tavern they could.
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Wufei came downstairs early to find Duo speaking to Quatre, still seated at the table they'd claimed for their evening meal. Selecting a chair near the fireplace, he arched a brow as he found the small pseudodragon that had decided to tag along with him already occupying the seat. "Do you mind if I move you?" he whispered, a smirk taking his lips.
The dragonette simply yawned before rolling over.
Rolling his eyes, he lifted the lizard and plopped down in the chair. Laying it on his lap, he lightly patted its back, listening to the conversation behind him.
"And can you believe it? Mystra's clergy is all in an uproar because rumors have been flyin' that she and Kelemvor still have their little 'fling' goin' on. Everyone knows that the Goddess of Magic and the God of Death have been hot on each other since before the Times of Troubles, but Mystra's followers just don't wanna accept that."
"Of course not," Quatre quietly replied, staring blankly into space. "It was during the Times when they came to odds with one another over their beliefs. And when Kelemvor stole the Portfolio of Death from Cyric after the insane man used Mask, disguised as a sword, to defeat Bane, it only served to widen the rift between the two former lovers."
"Mask the sword...?"
"Read Volo's History of the Times of Troubles. It's recorded there."
"Oh..."
"But as I was attempting to say, there truly is nothing between them anymore. There hasn't been since the conclusion of that battle."
"How can you claim that?" Duo asked.
"Because I saw it. If you'd seen the anger in Mystra's eyes when Kelemvor betrayed her by claiming that portfolio, you'd know as well that there is nothing short of Ao's divine intervention that could bring those two back into the bounds of love with one another. While they will always be great allies, they can no longer reclaim that which they held when they were mortals."
"Wait a second. You SAW it? But that's not possible!"
"Yes, it is," Quatre softly said. "I saw it, as I saw the battles at Waterdeep, as I saw Torm's battle in the north, as I saw Tempus riding through the Shining Plains, as I saw Lathander settle in peace near the Starmantle Bay, as I saw Ao direct Helm to guard the escape from the Prime Material."
"But..."
"No more questions for tonight, please. I'm tired..."
"Oh Gods, I'm sorry Quatre! You want me to help you to your room?"
"It's quite alright. I believe I can make it."
"Oh... alright..."
Wufei turned and watched as Quatre rose from his seat. Arching a brow, he frowned. "You certain you can make it?"
Turning to the warrior, the blonde slowly nodded. "Aye. Don't worry about me. Despite popular belief, I can take care of myself."
That said, he staggered up the stairs towards the room he would be calling 'home' for the night.
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Wufei calmly watched the flickering oranges and reds of the tavern's merrily roaring and invitingly warm fire intertwine and dance over the logs set in the fireplace, slowly consuming them. Onyx eyes reflected the flashes of subdued colors periodically laced by streams of yellows and blues and greens entirely unblinking as he leaned back in the plush chair situated before the tavern's source of warmth. Slowly letting a hand fall from an armrest, he laid that hand upon the warm, purring pseudodragon that lounged there absorbing the warmth of both flame and human companion. Scratching the tiny dragonette's head, Wufei smiled as its purr deepened before returning his attention to the fire. Leaning back further into the cushy softness of his chair's cushions, he let his eyes drift closed and the problems and mysteries that had been hounding his mind come forward for further thought and pondering.
'That boy...'
He frowned as his brain drew upon a conjured image of Quatre, his pale face blank and large aquamarine eyes empty as they were when he saw him last before the boy had turned in for the night.
'He can't be human. Not with the aura I saw when his defenses dropped. No human being has an aura that flawless, that perfect...'
'And no human aura is feathered.'
'What is he, really?'
Reflecting on the time he spent with Quatre, Wufei drew upon everything he'd discerned about him.
'He's too psionically powerful to be a human. His power, his aura of strength, is too huge. There's no mortal creature I know of with a power pool that incredibly vast.'
'He's far older than we thought him to be. When he was speaking of the Times of Troubles with Duo, he spoke of that bygone time as if it were yesterday and he'd had insight on the battles and events that had occurred that is recorded nowhere in history. I've read the text he's referred to, and nowhere does it state the obscure data he knows. And those facts only he knows can't be false - they're all that explain some of the mysteries of the Gods' War and the occurrences that have taken place afterwards.'
'His attitude is far beyond the haughty supremacist attitudes displayed by nobility. It's more like that of a race that truly IS superior to us humans, and like he's so angered at being confused for one of us that he must constantly lash out against such.'
'And those armbands...'
Scratching his chin, he scowled.
'The spells that Duo said were woven into their construction suggests shackles rather than magical protection. The ability to absorb magic may not be a defensive measure, but rather something to keep an innately magical being bound to mediocrity. And Alter Self is very likely giving him his current form if that is truth rather than giving him the ability to change his form if desired. Psionic shielding isn't a shield against others who'd potentially attack him - rather, it's probably inhibitation. Inhibitation can't hold a psionisist of his abilities in check forever - he probably defeated a spell that was meant to hold him down. And the way they're attached, piercing his arms through muscle and bone and enchanted so that his touch will electrocute him...'
'Definitely shackles. Whoever put those on him did not want them removed, which not only suggest that he's inhuman but that he's a volatile being who's likely to cause either human casualty or mass destruction if free to do as he would and not bound like a prisoner.'
'However, his attitude of late suggests that he is not evil. Maybe bitter and angry at the world, but not truly evil.'
Carefully lifting the pseudodragon from his lap, he cradled the beast in his arms and rose from his chair. Walking as quietly as he could as to not disturb the dragonette's slumber, he made his way to his room and laid it upon his bed's soft pillow. Then, just as quietly as he'd entered, he left. Staring at the door of the room across the hall from his own he concentrated.
'Only Quatre is there. Trowa's more than likely gone out to amass wealth like the sneak thief he is.'
'Perfect. I can finally question this 'boy' alone.'
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Quatre's eyes slowly closed once more. He'd communed with home, Trowa had left, and he was so very thoroughly bored that he was once again making a vain attempt to fall asleep. His last three tries had been inhibited by the sound of the water clock dripping and clicking happily in its desolate corner and the laughter and carousing from downstairs.
He opened his eyes once more after naught but a few moments had passed and sat up on his bed. Crossing his legs and drawing his blanket to his waist to hide his nakedness, he sighed. "Enter, Wufei."
The door creaked quietly as the raven-haired man did as bade. Quatre stared at him blankly as he was greeted.
"Good evening, Quatre."
"Nm. What do you want?"
"I think you well know the answer to that question," Wufei said with a slight smirk claiming his lips.
"I don't. I've yet to recover from healing Duo."
"That would explain why your barriers are so pathetic at this moment."
Quatre glared. "... Gee. Thanks."
"Anyway, I came here to ask you a few questions," Wufei stated as he walked to the edge of Quatre's bed, arms crossed over his chest and the beginnings of a frown upon his face.
"About what?" the blond asked, arching a brow as Wufei seated himself next to him.
"What are you, really?"
Quatre frowned. "I am what you see."
"No more lies, Quatre. Answer my questions."
"Or else?"
"Or else I strip the information I seek straight from your mind."
With a mocking laugh, the boy glowered at Wufei. "Don't be so arrogant as to believe that you can defeat me, child. Even in this weakened state I could crush you in psionic combat."
"I see. In that case, I shall tell Trowa what I've already deduced about you before you have the opportunity to reveal your lies to him yourself."
Blinking, Quatre gulped. "You wouldn't."
"I would. So, are you going to play along nicely or not?"
Bowing his head, Quatre gritted his teeth together. "Fine."
"What are you, really?"
"I am as you expect. I am not human."
Nodding, Wufei nudged him. "Clarify that. Are you dragon? Lycanthrope? Undead?"
"I... am not from these Realms, nor even this world, this crystal sphere, this plane. I am not a being of the Prime Material. I was created in the Outer Planes, specifically that known as Nirvana, or Mechanus in today's studies and references. My original and true form would identify me in your tongue as..."
"As?"
Quatre sighed softly, shrugging his thin shoulders. "A Solar."
Wufei's jaw dropped as his eyes popped wide open. 'A... a Solar! A Solar...'
Quatre nodded. "Highest of the Celestials, reigning over the Archons, direct servants of the deities of the Outer Planes. I myself was in the service of Oghma, Greater God of Knowledge and Wisdom."
'Above the angels humans revere, the very incarnations of the wills of the Gods with power so great it's unimaginable to the mortal mind! This boy... this child...'
Quatre blinked. "Is that all?"
Staring for a few moments, attempting to regain control of his wildly roving train of though, Wufei shook his head before asking, "If you're a Solar, where are your..."
"Wings? The armbands cast /Alter Self/ upon me. They're about a fingerwidth long, laying over my shoulder blades."
"May I...?"
Quatre shrugged. "Sure. I trust you not to harm me."
Nodding, the warrior delicately laid his callused hands on the slender boy's back and gently prodded with his thumbs. With a startled gasp, he let his eyes widen in surprise once more. 'There. Right where he'd said they'd be. Projections that shouldn't be there. Those are wings?' he thought as he dug his fingers into the pale flesh for a better feel.
He jerked his hands away as Quatre hissed in pain. "Sorry," Wufei quickly said.
"It's no problem. What else do you wish to ask?"
"Who placed those armbands on you and why?"
Closing his eyes, the blonde let his head droop. "The man you know as Vincent VonWinner, twenty years ago, was fighting a Pit Fiend he could not defeat that had been summoned by an enemy of his to this Prime Material world. He attempted to summon aid for himself to battle the beast and managed by some miracle to ensnare me in that summoning spell's web. He drew me to this world; because he had already attempted to use /Banishment/ on the demon, he had no spell remaining to release me. As long as he lived for that spell's duration, I was caught - I'd decided to remedy that problem. However, he'd had some spells remaining in his repertoire and managed to capture me completely with one - /Sleep/. When I'd awakened, I'd done so to a world of horrible agony; he'd locked me in a cage designed to inhibit my abilities, then he 'gifted' me with these 'marvelous' bands. And when I'd tried to retaliate against him..."
Wufei's eyes softened as he watched the glimmer of a tear shine upon the blonde's cheek. "You could do nothing?"
Quatre nodded before quietly continuing. "He claimed that he'd done this out of self defense, knowing that I'd want nothing more than to destroy him when I awakened. He claimed that he was doing it for the welfare of all humanity, as I'd 'be irrational as rage overtook me' and thus would be a threat to the entirety of the Realms. All I'd wanted was to go home - rather, he made me a prisoner. And so, after years of being his specimen, his subject for research, after torture and mental and physical torment used to 'see just how far a Solar's limits lay as compared with other known creatures,' after being nothing more than a humiliated scientific curiosity for all of you sick mortals who's intrigue drives you to gawk and poke at the supposed 'monster' who's crying desperately for help..."
As the boy's shoulders shook, he harshly swallowed before finishing.
"All he did was create my hatred for you mortals and deepen my rage against him. It's his influence that's destroyed any appreciation I'd ever held for your kind!"
"And what about us? What about Trowa?" Wufei calmly asked, scratching his chin.
Quatre blinked, then stared at the warrior. "I..."
"You?"
"I don't really know. I should hate you, but I can't do it. Especially not..."
"Trowa."
"Yeah."
Wufei frowned. "You know he loves you, Quatre."
"I know."
"And how do you feel about him?"
Sitting up straight, his face screaming of defensive determination, Quatre snapped, "I care for him! I really do! I... I just..."
"You don't feel the same."
Quatre bowed his head once more, sniffling quietly as tears dripped from his eyes. "I wish I could. I truly do."
"But you don't."
"No. I can't. Celestials can't feel love as mortals do. We can feel intense loyalty and desire and longing so far as serving the deity who created us is concerned, but nothing close to that magnitude of emotion and direction is ever reflected to one of your kind."
Narrowing his eyes, Wufei scowled. "Then for this entire time you've been leading poor Trowa on the false hope that one day he'd be able to earn your love. How could you?"
Quatre slumped. "I... don't mean..."
"All you're going to do is cause him heartache. How could you? Solars are supposed to be benevolent souls, not cruel tormenters."
The blonde nodded.
"Your failure to tell him that truth, that he has absolutely no chance to win your love, places you at Vincent VonWinner's same level."
"What?"
"He tortured you by keeping you here, locking you down, doing what he's done to you in the name of science and magic. You are torturing Trowa by letting him love you and letting him hope that you'll love him in return."
Paling, the blonde leaned away from the Eastern man, shivering. "No," he whispered, his voice thick as it slid past the lump that had formed in his throat.
"Tell him yourself. Don't torture him any longer. Don't kill his heart."
"But he'll hate me."
"If he's going to hate you now, he'll hate you more the longer you take. You know it has to be done. You've simply been procrastinating."
Quatre nodded miserably.
"I leave it in your hands, then," Wufei sighed, laying a hand tenderly upon Quatre's thin shoulder.
Quatre grabbed his hand and roughly wrenched it away before rising from the bed, putting on a pair of breeches and a thin tunic and storming out the door.
"I'm sorry," Wufei whispered to the silent, empty room, "but this is to save Trowa from more heartache than he needs."
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Trowa smiled as he slinked into the tavern and saw the delicate blonde sitting at a small and lonely table. Walking over, he seated himself swiftly before reaching for one of the small, pale hands upon the dark oak platform they rested on. Taking that cold hand, he encased it in his own and lifted it to his lips. "Good evening, Quatre."
Quatre stared at Trowa with empty, bloodshot blue eyes. "Trowa," he muttered.
"Yes, love?"
Trowa arched a brow as the blonde flinched at his words. The acrobat then frowned as Quatre quietly whispered, "We have to talk."
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Trowa blinked as he sat down upon the bed. "What do we need to talk about, Quatre? What's got you so down?"
"Trowa. You really love me, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Trowa said with a smile. "I think I've loved you since I met you, to tell you the truth."
"Why? I've been nothing but a cold, callous jerk."
"But underneath that facade is a beautiful soul, longing to be freed."
Quatre stared at the acrobat. "Trowa..."
"And I'll be here for you, for as long as it takes-"
"I don't love you."
"fo...r... Wha...what?" Trowa stammered.
Hanging his head, Quatre took a deep breath. "I don't love you. I won't love you. And I never will love you. You need to abandon this childish fantasy you have about you and me and the mythical 'happily ever after' you long for, because it will never happen."
"B...but... why? Why, Quatre?" Trowa whispered, staring at the blonde.
"Because I can't. Because I'm what I am, and you're human. Because even I don't have the power to bend the mandates of the Heavens and allow a Solar, even a freak like myself, to love."
"... Solar...?"
"That's right. So maybe now you can understand why I can never return your love."
Turning away, Trowa closed his eyes in a desperate yet futile effort to keep his tears at bay.
'Gods, I've shattered him! What have I done?'
"Quatre..."
"Gomen nasai!"
Trowa turned to face the suddenly empty bedroom.
"Please, don't run..."
"Don't run away from me."
"Because, no matter what, I'll love you."
"Even if you'll never love me in return."
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Quatre ran blindly through the night, his tears obscuring his vision as he raced over the grassy plain just beyond the city's walls.
'Trowa, I'm so sorry, my dear acrobat! How could I be so cruel!'
'Forgive me!'
tbc...
