It had taken a long time, but finally, Heero Yuy glanced in at the first of his victims. The sun was setting over the quaint little town, and it shone like fire in the assassin's cold, Prussian blue eyes. The mission objective had been simple, assassinate the two new Dragon Riders and their Dragons.

Slowly and silently, Heero pulled his dagger from it's leather sheath. With an almost feline grace known only to his species, he clung to the brick wall of the house. Peeking in the window, he saw the blonde laying in bed, his eyelids fluttering as he dreamt. Opening the window without so much as a creak, the lithe fire spirit made his way into the room, hopping onto the wooden floor.

Creak…

Heero paused, mid-step, but the small blonde just turned in his sleep, muttering innocent nothings to his pillow. As silently as possible, Heero tip-toed towards the blonde. With each footfall he paused, glancing at his victim to make sure he wasn't awake. It was always harder when they struggled.

He was closer now, and he could hear the blonde's shallow breaths, loud, but not quite snoring. Finally, he reached the foot of his bed, and raising his dagger over his head, he prepared to strike.

The blonde looked so innocent in his slumber, and so young, and Heero wondered what the boy would miss in this life time. Had he ever loved? Had he ever gotten drunk and stumbled home, only to wish he was dead the next morning? Had he ever lost someone dear to him, or had his heartbroken?

If he died, would anyone miss him?

Heero forced his thoughts away from those topics. It was not good to think of your victim as a living, breathing, sentient being. Besides, this was a mission, and Heero Yuy never failed a mission. The muscled tensed in his arms as he prepared to end his victim's life. Trembling slightly, as he did before all his kills, he whispered words far too familiar.

"Mission accomplished!"

Quick as lightening, he brought the blade down into his victims heart. Milliseconds from contact, the boy opened stunned baby blue eyes. Heero hated it when he saw their eyes; those sad, lifeless eyes, overflowing with fading terror and shock as they whispered farewell to life.

He closed his eyes as his dagger hit, and it plunged through with less resistance than expected from a human's body. A scream, not his, sounded, and Heero sent a fleeting look down at his victim, only to see a torn feather mattress, stained with a small amount of blood.

Never close your eyes to the victim.

Turning, he focused on the blonde, who was clutching his arm, a testament to his close encounter with death. Before he could completely refocus, the blonde kicked the dagger from his hand, flinging it out the window.

With reflexes honed to perfection through years of study, Heero caught the leg, twisting it, and sending it's owner to the ground. With an impersonal efficiency that only a killer should know, he tackled his victim, pinning his arms above his head with one arm and reaching for his hidden dagger with the other.

The blonde's eyes were filled with determination, and Heero could tell he wasn't going to give up on life so easily. It was always harder when they struggled. A sudden knee to the gut forced Heero off the blonde, but he resisted the instinct to clutch his abdomen. Rising to his feet, he saw that the blonde was already racing towards the door.

Acting on instinct, Heero flung the dagger at his victim's back, hearing the sickening sound of steel cutting its way through flesh.

The blonde gasped, falling to the ground. Slender fingers reached towards his back, attempting fruitlessly to remove the weapon from it's resting place.

Heero walked forward and pulled the blade from the blonde's back, ignoring the blonde's scream of pain, grimacing as the warm blood slid down its handle onto his hands. Turning the blonde over, he stared stoically into pained, frightened eyes.

Heero Yuy never failed a mission. Whether it was a small child or an eighty year old man, they never escaped Heero Yuy, even if each one of them took a piece of his soul with them.

The blonde didn't plead for his life, only gasped his fading last breaths. Heero lifted the dagger, gazing down at his victim. It was time to end this.

"Goodbye, Dragon Rider."

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Duo hummed on his way back from work, sweaty and tired, but happy. In his right hand was a small sack of candy for Quatre, his blonde brother. Even after his time spent in the village, the boy was far too skinny, and that was a situation Duo planned to remedy as quickly as possible.

Since he had arrived at the village, he had completely revamped his wardrobe. His old black pants, which were torn and bloody from his arrow wound, had been replaced with baggy leather pants which were held up by a sturdy belt, tucked into thigh-high boots that bent with his feet to accommodate running and fighting. A skin tight, black cotton shirt tucked into his pants, and over that was his black priest's jacket, left unbuttoned.

Quatre often complained that his entire ensemble was black, and that all of the garments were identical. Duo allowed a brief frown to mar his usually happy features. Black was the color of mourning, wasn't it?

'The little one was right, Duo. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. There was nothing either one of us could have done.'

Duo blushed slightly, ignoring Solo for the moment. Sometimes he forgot the dragon could hear his every thought.

'Still, in these few weeks, I've become close to Quatre. He's just like the little brother I never had. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him as well.'

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Duo looked towards his house. He would see Quatre in just a few moments, and he knew his brother would love the candies.

As he neared the house, something seemed out of place. Everything was where it was supposed to be, but the silence in the house was deafening. Usually, Quatre met Duo at the door, since school got out much earlier. With the two of them together, there was never silence.

'Be on your guard. Something is not right here.'

Forgetting that he couldn't see it,Duo noddedat Solo's advice, tip-toeing up the stairs, avoiding the squeaky ones, and edging along the wall where their was less noise.

Come on Quatre, please, just be napping or something!

"Goodbye, Dragon Rider."

That voice wasn't Quatre's, and it wasn't his! Without thinking, Duo unsheathed his daggers, racing for Quatre's door.

"Quatre!"

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"Quatre!"

Quatre's eyes came into focus as he heard Duo's voice. The assassin above him looked startled, obviously taken aback by the fact that there was a witness to his dirty crimes. Quatre's back hurt more and more with every breath he took, and his arm burned with a passion. It was so easy to just give up and die. He could just end it all and join his family.

Quatre fell limp underneath his murderer, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see the bloody dagger in the other boy's hands.

'NO!'

Suddenly, like a lance, Iria shot though the window, attacking the other boy. Raising his hands in self defense, he lunged out with the dagger, attempting to strike the dragon.

"NO!" This time it was Quatre who spoke. This boy, whoever he was, could do whatever he wanted to him, but the assassin would not toy with those people most precious to him.

Quatre caught the boy's arm in his hands, using every once of strength in his body to push the assassin backwards.

By some miracle, Quatre managed to flip the assassin, and now, he was on top. At that moment, Duo burst through the door, and Quatre gave him a watery smile. Heaving, Quatre looked from Duo to Iria, making sure that both of them were alive. Seeing that both of them were fine, Quatre allowed himself to relax, finally succumbing to the dreadful pain all over his body by passing out on his opponent.

"Cura."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, that voice floated around, spoken in a deep, silky smooth voice that Quatre couldn't place.

Suddenly the pain and soreness in his body floated away, and peace settled in like a summer's breeze for what seemed like an eternity. In his mind, several people cried out his name, but he could only recognize two voices.

Duo and Iria were calling him.

Slowly lifting a heavy eyelid, glazed blue-green eyes stared at the world. There were two very blurry shapes above him. One was humanoid, but the other appeared to be some sort of animal. There was also something warm clutching his hand.

"Quatre, little brother, come on! You have to wake up!"

'Quatre, please, do not give up now.'

"Duo, Iria?" Another blue eye opened itself for the world, and Quatre watched as everything came into focus, and two pairs of eyes, one violet, and the other pink, stared at him with relief.

"You gave us quite a scare, little one." Quatre turned his head and saw another person in the corner, with brilliant green eyes.

"Trowa?" He questioned. The elf nodded, and Quatre turned his eyes to the only remaining person in the room. It was that man, the assassin. He was tied and gagged, but even that couldn't deter his glaring dark blue eyes, and Quatre knew that those eyes would haunt him for years to come.

Duo tightened his grip on Quatre's hand, and Quatre sank farther into the bed.

"I wanted to kill the bastard, but Mr. Eerily-silent-elf over there decided that we should bring him back to his little elfin leader people to see what his punishment should be."

Quatre nodded, finding himself unable to break contact with those eyes.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Quatre asked, still staring at the assassin.

"Two days," Duo replied, and when Quatre finally turned to his brother, he could see deep circles underneath Duo's eyes.

"I bet you haven't slept once in those two days, have you Duo!" Quatre accused. He expected a sheepish smile, but instead he saw Duo's eyes harden.

"I couldn't leave you alone in here with that thing!" Duo pointed in said 'thing's' direction.

"Yes, well, I'm not alone anymore, so you can go to sleep," Quatre insisted. He could see that Duo was going to refuse, so gently tugging on Duo's long braid, he pulled the taller boy into bed with him. Letting out a huge yawn, Duo crawled beneath the covers, an arm aroundQuatre's waist pullinghim up against the braided boy. Soft snores followed, and Quatre rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you tired as well, Iria?" Quatre asked. Iria bent her long neck, which Quatre had started to take as a yes, and curled up against Quatre's middle, immediately resting. Quatre yawned, about to go to sleep, when he remembered the assassin in the room.

Staring up at him with tired eyes, Quatre fought the weariness in his body in order to stay awake. "It's okay, little one, I will watch over your sleep." Quatre glanced up at the elf. He had only known him one day, and it was most likely pure folly to trust him, but somewhere deep inside of him, Quatre knew that Trowa wouldn't hurt him.

"Sleep," the soothing voice commanded, and Quatre obeyed, falling into a deep, dreamless slumber.

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'That looks like some sort of bestial orgy,' Middie, Trowa's dragon, snorted.

'Middie?' Trowa asked. Inside, he was filled with happiness over the fact that his sarcastic dragon was back, but he was also surprised. She was earlier than he had expected.

Turning, Trowa saw her peeking her giant cinnamon colored head in through the window.

Reaching out a hand, he pet the deadly creature, allowing his hand to take in the comforting feel of her scales.

Turning away from his beloved dragon, Trowa followed her gaze to said 'bestial orgy.' To him, it looked like Quatre was clutching a rather reptilian teddy bear, but there was no mistaking Duo's protective arm around the smaller blonde.

A lover's embrace…

Trowa felt slightly disgusted, as the thought of two men together never did seem totally logical to him, and surprisingly, slightly jealous. Shaking away the possibility of him lusting over either of the two, he attributed it to the fact that he was nearing one hundred, and hestill had no mate to show for it.

'Hmm… None of them are good enough for you!' Middie spoke up in his mind. Trowa graced her with a mental smile, remembering all the times that elfin females, interested in him, had been singed or chased away by Middie. The only woman she approved of was Catherine, but Trowa gagged at the possibility. Incest was even more illogical to him than homosexuality.

'It's that closed mindedness that will keep you from happiness,' Middie warned, mentally frowning at him. Ignoring her for the moment, Trowa instead focused on the assassin in front of him.

After a brief period of silence, where it was made painfully obvious that the tied and gagged man wasn't in any position to begin a conversation, Trowa leaned forward and undid the gag.

"Tell me your name," Trowa demanded, his voice cold and emotionless. The assassin just glared at him, keeping silent.

'Maybe the direct approach isn't the best one.' Middie commented, in one of her rare, serious moods. Trowa had to agree with her on that. Stoically, he raised an arm which was wrapped by white magic. There was always an easy way and a hard way.

"I thought elves were above torture," the assassin smirked. Trowa rested his glowing hand gently on Heero's face. Slowly, his eyes shut in preparation for what he was about to do.

'A man's last haven is his mind,' Middie reminded him. 'Do this, and it will be worst than if you violated his body.' Middie seemed unsure, even though she herself had proposed this option in the first place. After all, what Trowa was going to do was not something that could be taken lightly.

Opening his eyes, the elf locked gazes with the fire spirit. "You know that I could find out any information I wanted to without your consent. It will be easier if you surrender."

The assassin seemed to contemplate this for a moment before letting out a barely perceivable sigh. "Heero Yuy, of Talon del Diablo."

'Talon del Diablo… The Devil's Claw. They must be pretty arrogant to call themselves that. He who speaks of the devil shall meet him in the next world.' Middie contemplated this while Trowa narrowed his eyes. He recognized the name. They were a group of assassins who originated from the Sanq Kingdom. Their leaders, the Peacecrafts, had sought to destroy them, and in response, they had destroyed the family. The organization was supposedly lead by Treize Khushrenada.

For Heero to say that he was sent by them meant that they knew Quatre and Duo were Riders, and they wanted to prevent any troubles the two might cause.

"Why were you sent to kill them?" Trowa asked. Heero glared at him, his eyes full of blue fire.

"I only do as they ask. You don't question the hand that feeds you." Middie snorted and Heero glared at her.

They needed to leave this village as quickly as possible. If The Devil's Claw was out for the Rider's blood, noamount of innocent liveswould get in their way.

Walking over to the bed, he roughly shook Duo awake. While Quatre had been unconcious, Trowa had explained everything to the talkative boy, who had more questions than there were stars in the sky.

"What is it?" Duo muttered groggily.

"Pack your stuff, as well as Quatre's. We leave immediately." Duo looked confused, but rushed to do as the elf said, tangling himself in his bed sheets and braid in his haste. Trowa fought back a smile. Turning to the blonde, he moved to wake him as well when Middie stopped him.

'Let the child rest. He needs it.' Middie suggested. Turning his back on the blonde, Trowa turned his attention to Heero. To release him from his bindings was risky at best, and to leave him in the room, unsupervised, with the sleeping boy was idiotic.

"Levantese," Trowa whispered, and to Duo's obvious amazement, the chair lifted off the ground and followed Trowa out the door, the assassin still in it.

"I gotta learn how to do that!"

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After witnessing the chair spectacle, Duo rushed into his room, tripping over the blanket. Packing up his pants, shirts, socks, and undergarments, he dumped his money, as well as the book Hilde gave him, into a carrying bag. He paused, not quite understanding why he brought the book, except for the fact that it felt important to him. He could still see a small amount of Hilde's blood on the cover, and as gory as it was, that was the only piece of her that he had left.

'Am I forgetting anything?' Duo asked Solo.

'You might want to pack some food. Elves don't have to eat often, and they usually forget that other species need nourishment.'

Duo nodded and dumped the candies he had gotten for Quatre into a separate container. Running downstairs, he rammed straight into Sally. He wobbled backwards, his braid smacking against the wall before he fell backwards onto the hard wooden floor. Rubbing his abused backside, he glared angrily up at Sally.

"You're leaving, aren't you." It was a statement, not a question, and Duo nodded.

"Why are you here? How do you know?" He asked, and Sally smiled.

"I have my…Ways," She replied. A large cat purred, nuzzling her legs.

"Here, it's on me." Duo caught the massive water container before it hit him in the head, ignoring the other package as it fell onto his lap. Suprisingly, the container was much lighter than it should have been.

'It's enchanted,' Solo supplied. Duo shrugged. That in itself made sense. Turning to the other package, he could see that it was filled with a plentiful amount of dried fruit and salted meats.

"It doesn't make up for knocking me over, but thanks Sal." Sally nodded, giving another one of her smug, mysterious smiles and a short laugh before walking away.

'I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we'll see that woman,' Solo decided. Duo didn't answer, heading back to his room. Throwing the food into his newly created, 'food compartment,' Duo turned towards Quatre's room, surprised to see the blonde already there and packing his clothes, Iria at his side.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Duo asked the blonde.

Quatre smiled at him, his eyes glinting almost mischievously in the warm light. "As if I'd let you pack for me."

'He's got you there,' Solo teased.

"Hungry?" Duo asked, tossing a piece of dried fruit to Quatre. He ate quickly, still focused on packing.

After both boys were packed and had their weapons at the ready lest something attack them again, Quatre wrote a short note to the kind widow who had housed them, thanking her for all she had done.

The two raced out their door into the bright afternoon, and Duo could see Solo and another, slightly larger dragon, waiting for them.

"Solo!" Even though Solo was always connected to him, without seeing the dragon Duo felt as if a part of him were missing. A dragon and it's rider were meant to be together.

Hopping onto his dragon, Duo reached an arm down to help Quatre on in front of him. They secured their supplies behind Duo, and Iria sat off to the side. Quatre had told Duo that she meant to fly on her own, and Duo could see determination seeping off of the smaller dragon in waves.

"Ready, Mr. Pointy-ears?" He called over to Trowa. The silent elf chose not to dignify that with a response. The assassin was once again tied, bound to the brown dragon's long neck. His blue eyes glared at Duo, searing his soul, and Duo childishly stuck his tongue out at the monster who almost killed his little brother. For one instant though, those blue eyes seemed beautiful, and Duo nearly flushed.

He shook his head, a bad habit he had developed, and it hit Quatre in the head. "Hey!" Quatre chastised him. Playfully, he ruffled Quatre's blonde hair.

Without warning, both Trowa's dragon and Solo took to the air, Iria following, flapping her wings quickly to keep up. Both the older dragons seemed to see this and slowed down slightly, though he doubted that Quatre or Iria noticed, and when he saw the nearly tangible pride radiating from them, he hadn't the heart to tell them.

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Trowa sighed when he finally landed. They had been flying for hours, and their dragons, especially Iria, were tiring quickly. Hopping down from his dragon with inhuman grace, Trowa landed without any sounds.

Turning towards his captive, he untied the bonds that held him to Middie, and watched with a cruel satisfaction as Heero dropped to the ground.

'You can rest now Middie,'Trowa assured her. With a quick goodnight, Middie curled up and fell asleep.

He heard a rustling in the grass and turned to see Duo stretching as he walked towards him, Quatre following behind, also yawning. Both Iria and Solo were already snoring, and Trowa allowed himself a moment to stare at his new allies. His moment of distraction was all Heero needed.

Trowa didn't realize what was happening until he hit the ground. Heero took off at a fast run, heading away from the clearing into the forest.

"Oh no you don't!" Duo leapt over his fallen form, chasing after the retreating fire spirit. Despite the spirit's fast pace, Duo was faster, running at such speeds that for a moment Trowa forgot he was human.

Trowa suddenly found himself being tugged off the ground by an insistent blonde. Getting to his feet, Trowa burst into movement, slowly catching up with Heero and Duo, Quatre trailing behind him.

Suddenly, Duo tackled Heero, sending them both sprawling to the ground. For one hopeful second, Trowa thought that Duo had won and Heero's flight was over, but Heero flipped the young man, forcing him onto his hands and knees and using his braid as a garrote.

Trowa watched in horror as the man he insisted live choked one of his allies. Duo scrambled to grab his braid, but Heero's grip on it was firm. Then in a blonde streak, Quatre dashed past him, screaming the other boy's name.

"Duo! You murderer, get off of Duo!" Then to his amazement, powerful magic gathered around the blonde as he shouted one of the words of magic.

"AGUA!"

In a powerful flash of white, water was dumped all over the fire spirit and his prey. Heero, being especially weak against water attacks, fell to the ground, shaking violently.

Duo scrambled away, soaked to the bone but alive, and twisted on top of the assassin, securely pinning him to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Trowa watched as Quatre sunk to his knees, breathing heavily. His face was flushed a light pink, and his eyes were half lidded as he fell onto his back, arms spread above his head. He looked…Beautiful.

Trowa swiftly redirected his view to Duo and Heero, quickly repressing his thoughts about the blonde. After realizing that Heero was unconscious, he ran towards the pair, lifting Duo off of the man, and carried the lifeless assassin back into the main part of the clearing. Duo met him there, extra rope in his arms. They bound Heero securely, lying him by the fire. Already, the fire in his veins was drying him, and turning to Duo, he found that he was already stripping off his clothing. His lips were an unhealthy blue.

"You will get warmer faster if you sleep with Heero, the assassin," Trowa informed him, remembering that Duo didn't know Heero's name. It was true. Fire spirits were even warmer than dragons. Duo looked revolted, but as another shiver wracked his body, he snuggled against Heero, clad only in his boxers. He had the temperament of someone who was being lowered into a pit of snakes, not that Trowa could blame him.

Resting a hand on the assassin's forehead, he decided on a spell that would keep the boy from waking until Trowa decided it was necessary.

"Duermas."

With their threat unconscious and Duo warm, Trowa focused his attention on Quatre. The blonde was still where he collapsed, but that was understandable. For a Rider to draw his first magic was extremely stressful to the body, and it had probably exhausted the new Rider.

Strolling over to the blonde, Trowa was surprised when Quatre spoke. "Isn't the night sky beautiful?" He asked, gazing at the stars.

Quatre's voice was a soft, light tenor, slightly feminine, with a pristine accent. Trowa turned to him, not answering. The starlight sparkled in his eyes, making him look like a small child.

Trowa turned away from him, wondering why he gazed at the stars. To Trowa, stars represented wishes that were too far away to grasp, and foolish desires that took away from living.

"They're just stars," he replied, still averting his gaze from the blonde.

"And isn't that what makes them so beautiful?" Quatre asked. To him, stars were just dots of light in the sky, but to this boy, they were obviously something magical.

"…" Trowa didn't really have any response to that.