Eclipse of Dusk
By: Hseru
Warnings: Shounen ai later on 1x2 3x4 5xM (Hey look...he's got someone now ^_^)
Disclaimer: I own not Gundam Wing, but I do own the world the G-boys traverse. Fear my god power
Chapter 21
Duo and Heero were not the only ones alerted by the sudden noise emanating from downstairs, a mixture of screams, and lower, more animalistic howls. Wufei rushed from the second room, shirtless, even as Heero opened the door to his own, black blade in hand. Exchanging a glance, the two moved at once without words, Wufei not surprisingly holding his twin blades already. With a backwards glance to Duo that said volumes of Stay there, they proceeded to move down the stairs, ignoring the fact that both wore only their pants.
Even as they did so, Quatre and Trowa came out of their room, the necessity of clothes having taken a moment more of their time.
"What is that?" Quatre asked as another long, guttural growl drifted up the stairs, the screams having died, and replaced with yells of surprise and pain.
"I don't know, but Heero and Wufei went down already." Duo said pointedly, as if he wished them to hurry down as well.
With a sharp nod, Trowa drew his long dagger as his alternate weapon to the bow and arrow, and made down the stairs with elven grace, albeit hurried.
Glancing at each other, both Duo and Quatre came to an unspoken agreement, and paced down the stairs after the tall elf.
Heero was gonna kill him, Duo thought for only a moment, then all other thoughts were washed away at the scene that revealed itself to them as they reached the bottom of the stairs and got an open view of the main room.
Blood was everywhere, a noticeably thick and red viscous liquid that made everything slick with gore. Two of the three men whom they'd seen earlier were unmoving on the ground, whether dead or unconscious, it was hard to tell, though one of them was now missing his internal organs, the steaming mass of entrails clawed out by what was attacking.
Quatre didn't know the creatures that attacked, but Duo did. His bits of memory afforded him this knowledge, now the only good point he'd found to it so far.
Gnolls. Standing seven feet tell, the creatures looked like a mix of hyena and man, covered in a coarse gray-brown fur, with knees that turned backwards, and clawed paws for feet. They grasped cudgels and crude knives in furry misshapen hands, and barred inch long fangs in a short, powerful muzzle centered between vicious yellow eyes. Even though awkward in shape and appearance, they were surprisingly agile, and fleet, with the combined mentality of man and beast. They also wore makeshift clothes and small bit of armor that afforded some small protection, though most of what they would need came from their tough hides.
Five of these hulking Gnolls were inside the inn, and trying hard to kill anything and everything within reach. Fortunately for those still alive, Heero and Wufei had turned the tide of what Duo assumed to be an unexpected attack, slicing into their opponents with the ease of experience.
The man and woman from earlier were cornered by two of the Gnolls, both, surprisingly enough, brandishing curved sabers with a good deal of skill. Stepping forward, the man sliced through the arm coming in for an attack, the Gnoll howling in pain and anger. Its other viciously clawed arm came up in response, knocking the man aside with a powerful slicing blow he could not counter in time.
With a cry of anger, the woman now faced the two, determination on her slim features as she moved forward, ripping her saber across the first Gnoll's chest, exposing bone and no small amount of blood as she pulled back, then sent the saber home into the mortally wounded Gnoll's belly, viscera flying as she pulled the weapon free with a jerk.
It collapsed at her feet, jerking convulsions wracking its body, but she was already moving to the next one, sparing a worried glance at the unmoving man, who was bleeding very badly from the wound he'd received from that last hit.
Fierce as a mother tiger protecting its young, the woman faced the second Gnoll with fire in her eyes, blocking its first attack with an upwards parry. Herself about to attack , the tip of a sword suddenly blossomed from the center of its chest accompanied by a fountain of blood, making her pause as the Gnoll gave a gurgled keen, and slumped to the ground, its spine cut completely through with the single powerful sword thrust.
Wufei now met her gaze as the owner of that sword, slight surprise evident on his face as he took in the scene in a glance. A look over his shoulder proved that the other Gnolls were being taken care of, so the woman abruptly turned, her attention now only on the man that lay wounded on the ground.
Heero and Trowa each held a Gnoll, but Heero was limited to the use of his sword, as he really had no mind to burn the place to the ground. His sword, however, was as deadly as any single attack Wufei made, hacking and chopping with a grace beyond the common soldier, yet still far below the magic the dark warrior could weave with those twin blades. The Gnoll before him was down and out in a few strokes, and he turned in time to see the last tall beast going after two figures on the stairwell, which he realized with a clenching fear were their last two companions.
With a feral cry, the beast took a running leap, slammed to a stop by Quatre's quickly summoned magic shield. This, however, didn't last long, as with a cry of pain, the little mage fell to his knees, the spell dissolving around him as the collar's drag on his mind increased to beyond his control.
Duo frantically reached for his grasp upon the blonde's magic, and was abruptly caught up in the bristled arms of the advancing Gnoll, none to gently one might add.
With a shout, Duo's concentration broke, and Quatre clasped small hands to his head with a gasp as the full drain on his magic was suddenly restored.
The braided youth kicked and writhed frantically, scoring a lucky hit on the beast's muzzle, which abruptly dropped him to the hard ground, knocking the wind from him.
The Gnoll bent down to scoop him up with a growl and fierce grimace, but was halted by the sword that sliced across its unprotected back. It turned to face an almost burning soldier, eyes flaming with cool anger, and found itself impaled on a black diamond sword to the hilt. The crystalline ebony tip exploded out the back, such was the force used by the cobalt eyed soldier.
Especially determined though, the Gnoll grabbed the hilt of the sword impaling it, thereby trapping and hindering Heero's ability to move back. With a last burst of energy, the mortally wounded beast slashed out with clawed hands, ripping across Heero's bare chest and leaving several deep lines of red that began bleeding profusely. Not even giving shout to his pain, Heero viciously twisted the sword out of the creature's hold, ripping a large hole in the beast and opening a fountain of ichor which poured onto the floor as the Gnoll fell to the ground with a thud.
Duo finally found his breath, and caught sight of poor Quatre, prone on the floor. Gritting his teeth, he again took hold of the mage's magic, slowing then stopping the extreme drain, glad to feel that it had not started to take his life force again. As the flow stopped, Quatre raised his head from the floor, a weak smile in his lips.
"...T..Thanks" He whispered, and Duo moved over to help him up.
"No problem..."
Despite the fact that those Gnolls within the inn were now dead, as Trowa had successfully finished his off, the sounds of fighting now came from outside, and the three able warriors hurried to help.
It was a rather large group of Gnolls which had ended up attacking the village, but the villagers were successful in beating them off. Wufei Heero and Trowa were in the fray for some time, each scoring his share of the beasts, which were not so dangerous compared to some of the things Wufei and Heero had encountered before. Several ran off into the still early night, many wounded. Even more lay dead in the village streets.
The toll of human life was high, at ten men and two women killed, but they were taken by surprise. If not for the company's being there, many more would have died.
Consternate talking reached Heero's ears as he helped clean up the Gnoll corpses.
"...haven't seen a pack like this in years..."
"...never attacked the village before..."
"...something provoked them..."
It was then he realized, if they'd not come, then the Gnolls would not have attacked. He remembered how that single creature had seized Duo, instead of attacking him. This had to be Sarkan's doing. He must be wanting Duo back as the only real opposition to his plans, and he'd sent the Gnolls after them. Heero wouldn't be surprised if the Vlarg had been sent by that bastard too.
Damn it.
This was getting out of hand. Innocent people were being dragged into this, and that was something they couldn't allow. They would leave at first light tomorrow after buying the supplies they needed.
...
Inside the inn, Duo had Quatre propped up against the side of the bar, sipping a cup of mulled wine, and he moved over to help those still living when the little mage assured him he was ok.
The woman who'd taken out almost two of the beasts was cradling the injured man to her. He was deathly pale, and it was evident how much blood he'd lost. His wounds had already been bandaged, but it was doubtful if the guy would live through the night. Plus there was no telling what kinds of disease were carried by the Gnolls. He could already be infected past care.
Kneeling next to the two of them, Duo felt for a pulse. The woman eyed him as he did this.
"He's lost a lot of blood..." He said needlessly.
"He's going to make it..." She said with a determined voice, convulsively clutching him tighter.
"Look...miss..." He paused.
"Meiran. Meiran Nataku." She supplied. "My brother...my brother is Kiran" She added softly with a glance down to the man she held. Duo could see the tears she held back as she said this.
"He's going to make it..." She whispered again, with less conviction. A slight frown coming to his face, Duo took the situation into his own hands.
"Here...help me get him to a bed. He can't lay here like this." He moved to take hold of Kiran, pausing as he noticed the woman didn't move.
"Meiran...Meiran!" He said, grabbing her attention. With a sharp nod, she snapped back to her senses, and moved to help Duo hoist her brother slowly up.
The both of them, moving as gently as possible, shifted Kiran to one of the down stairs rooms, placing him softly on one of the beds within, heedless of the blood seeping from his bandages.
They moved without words, fetching bandages and water to cleanse his wounds. There was still hope, small as it might be, that he would survive, but as Duo worked, the hideous gash that ran from shoulder to hip looked less and less survivable, especially so late in the game. Perhaps if he had gotten attention sooner, but the 'what if's' were useless at this point, merely something for the mind to dwell and fester on.
Finishing shortly, Duo left Meiran at the bedside of her brother to go and see the others. He fervently hoped that none of them had been hurt in the fray.
He found Quatre were he had left him, now with the welcome but silent figure of Trowa giving him a check over. The elf glanced up as Duo approached, and the braided youth saw a hurtful flash of blame in that emerald eye that was gone as fast as it had come.
"Where are the others?" He asked, masking his feelings with indifference.
"They are working with the carcasses." Trowa answered quietly, nodding his head to the door leading outside.
Turning, Duo felt his stomach rise to his throat as the desiccated bodies of the two unfortunate men met his gaze, the heavy metallic stench of blood thick on the air. Quickly passing the two, for they would be properly consecrated and buried or burned later, he walked outside, fervently glad for the fresh, chill air that met him.
Taking a deep breath, his violet eyes were drawn to the bonfire that suddenly appeared in the large village square.
The flames were tinged with gold and crimson, and a look about revealed the figure of Heero not to far distant from the blaze, his concentration on the pile of burning Gnoll bodies. Someone had given him a shirt at some point in time.
Wufei stood close to him, also now fully clothed, flipping the blood off of his blades, and giving each a thorough wipe down with a piece of cloth. Their sheaths had been left inside in the hurry, so Wufei held both his blades after he was done, and spared a moment to quickly clean Heero's diamond blade as well.
The good thing about the fire, because it was enchanted to begin with, the smell of burning flesh did not rest upon the air, but was burned cleanly away, as was everything else tossed into the blaze in a short time. Even bones burned to black ash that drifted on the slight breeze.
After the fire died to nothing, a process that took about half a candlemark, Heero finally turned his back on the pile of ash, taking hold of the ebony blade Wufei offered him. Glancing around, his cobalt gaze landed on the figure of Duo some distance away, the youth sitting with his back to a cold building, legs drawn up before him and arms wrapped about them.
A heat rose within him, not of passion, but of anger this time. Duo had gone expressly against his order. If he had to be honest, he had not truly said anything, but Duo knew, he knew how important he was to this mission. To the fate of the world. To Heero.
Stride purposeful, Heero walked over to the braided youth, Duo pushing against the wall to regain his feet and face what seemed to be a very angry Heero - though it was bloody hard to tell any emotion when concerning this guy - face to face. He felt worry worm itself into his heart at a clear sight of the way the shirt clung wetly to the cobalt eyed soldier's chest, looking virulently dark.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Were the first words out of Heero's mouth, cold and aloof, and it washed all Duo's previous worry away.
"Why yes, I am ok. Thank you for asking." Was his sharply sarcastic retort. "Nice to see someone cares."
It almost got through Heero's calm outer shell.
"You were almost killed because you did not stay out of harm's way." Despite the fact that Heero knew now that the Gnoll would not have killed the youth, he had to drive the point home. Duo could very well not be so lucky next time.
"You honestly think I'm going to stay where I can't see what's happening?" The braided youth demanded. "What if you guys had needed help?"
"Which we didn't. And exactly what kind of help would you have been able to provide?" The soldier asked sharply.
Duo was about to answer again when he abruptly closed his mouth as Heero's words sunk in. What the hell could he have done? He couldn't fight, not with any human weapon anyway, and he had no magic currently at his disposal. He was freaking useless.
That hurt more than anything.
Seeing that his words had a somewhat eschewed effect than that which was intended, Heero decided to keep going.
"You could have been hurt, is all I'm saying. Gnolls are not beasts to be trifled with."
"But-"
"No buts." Heero interrupted. "I will not put you, and thereby our mission in jeopardy."
Duo's head shot up at that. So that was it. Heero didn't care about him. All he cared about was the mission.
Saving the world was a noble ambition; what was one solitary boy lost for the sake of everyone else?
Feeling like he'd been sucker punched, Duo numbly shook his head.
"And here I thought there might be someone who could understand, but you're just like the rest. To you I'm only a tool; a means to an end." He was ashamed to feel his eyes sting with tears. "It seems that's all I've ever been...and all I'll ever be..."
Duo turned his back on Heero; he did not want this soldier to see him cry. He wasn't too surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning him around, or even when Heero's other hand came up, cupping his chin.
No. The surprise came when that cobalt eyed beauty leaned forward, and planted a short, chaste kiss upon his lips.
Pulling back, Heero's eyes held something...something warmer than they'd ever held before.
"No...Duo. You are not a means to an end." He said quietly while Duo stared up at him in shocked amazement.
"You are yourself, a cheeky, charming person who somehow or another still manages to go on being cheeky and charming when you have so much pressuring you. Anyone else wouldn't be able to bear the load you do. I admire your courage...and your fortitude."
The surprisingly long string of words slowly unwound about Duo's lax mind, and he knew, and understood.
"Then...you're not mad anymore?" He asked.
Heero actually cracked a smirk on that marble solid face.
"No, I'm still mad. I just get to hold you now..."
Duo smiled, a true, honest smile, and this time, it was aimed at Heero, and not his beloved Illian.
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Lookit! This chapter is longer!
They are so kawaii when they try and muddle through such confusing feelings ^_^
Ah…Christmas break. Which means much time for writing and the such. (Which I might add is the only reason this chapter is both longer, and earlier than I expected.)
Hope you enjoy!
Review, Review!!