-1Wufei ran, darting past the under shrub, scratching himself on long prickly thorns and razor sharp greenery as he ran through the Eastern country side.

"This-this, it can't be!"

His breath came in puffs, but he could not, would not, slow down. He had to prove that Zechs was wrong, had to prove it for him and Meiran and Treize.

Something in his heart told him Zechs would not lie to him.

"Your parents are dead."

"NO!"

"There was never an engagement to Meiran. The story was meant to trick you, distract you from more important issues."

"NO!"

"Meiran is a pretty girl though. I fear for her life when Treize decides that she's no longer of any use."

"No…" Wufei collapsed on the ground, tears pouring from his eyes, like a pathetic woman.

"I am weak…" His hands clenched the soil, tearing through the grass and soil and scratching the hard rock beneath it.

"I do not deserve my dragon. I do not deserve to ride her."

"What will you do with this knowledge Wufei. Can you serve him knowing that her life is sliding away?"

Like an hourglass, her life was slipping through his fingers. He tried to grasp the sand, but the more he closed his palm around it, the faster it fell from his grasp. He pushed himself to his feet, filled with a new determination.

Finally, he came upon it. The village was burnt beyond recognition. The wood was black and twisted, termite infested and fallen from age. Metal swords lay incased in warriors. Many were not the sharp, Eastern style katanas of Wufei or Meiran's clan. These blades were thicker and blunter, the work of an Easterner.

Treize had lied. The entire time, he had sworn that he would keep them safe from danger, when he was the largest threat to them.

'Wufei…'

His Dragon beckoned to him, reaching into the scattered, unprotected barrens of his mind.

"I will kill him for this."

'I will char him to death…'

"Do you hear me Dragon? I swear upon my honor as a warrior… He will meet his end at my hands!"

'And my Claws!'

Picking up a fallen, rusty katana, Wufei thrust it into the air. The rust seemed to fall away, leaving gleaming, deadly steel. Wufei's face filled with an almost maniacal determination. His dragon rode above him, howling in bloodlust. Revenge would be theirs. Treize would pay.

Unknown to them, Meiran hid in the shadows, watching and knowing, and formulating her own plan for revenge.

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"We have lost the Changs, sir."

"Interesting, Lady Une. Certainly, they couldn't have found out on their own. Do you have any idea who was dishonorable enough to leak information?'

"I believe it was Mr. Zechs Marquise Sir."

"Zechs huh? Well, I guess it is to be expected. Pity, though, old friend, that we must come to this."

"Punishment sir?"

"None."

"Sir?"

"I will deal with Milliardo myself in due time. For now, bring me some tea, will you? All this betrayal is giving me a headache."

"Yes sir!"

"Alone at last, aren't I? Lady Une, my dearest puppet, I fear even you are loosing your usefulness. I only hope that in the end, the darkness you sought is worth an eternity spent in hell."

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"Trowa, do you see now?"

Trowa traced the childish carvings on the walls of a childish room, princess Relena's childish room. Noin had told him of the past, and Treize's betrayal. It was a touching story, but he'd heard worst. Treize had done worst.

"I see that you've spent hundred of years infiltrating a badly run operation."

"Does that mean you'll help us, Trowa?"

Trowa closed his eyes, deep in thought. Noin wished she could see his eyes, if only to get the slightest hint of the thoughts running through his mind.

"I'm not on anyone's side but the riders."

Noin frowned, but didn't disagree with him. It was his choice after all. What made them different from Treize was that they didn't need to trick anyone into joining their side. Still, it was a shame. The time was nearly perfect. Four of the five legendary riders had been found. It was almost the time to act.

It was almost the time for everything to end.

And then, from the ashes, for everything to rise again. A cycle, a circle, a waltz to last all of eternity.

"I guess it's your choice."

She was answered by the slamming of a door.

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Quatre stared out the window in the main entry way. Once again, he wondered what his father would think of him. He was still the same boy from when Duo found him, but yet, he wasn't. He still had white blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and pale skin. He still appeared small and rather delicate, but he was also different.

The Quatre from before wasn't only delicate looking, but actually delicate. He could fight, but he didn't know why he should. He cried, almost every night, and blamed himself by day. He was a vagabond, a traveler, with no ties. Now he had Duo and Trowa.

Before it had been him and his violin. He had been utterly alone.

Still somehow, he had never felt as alone as he did in that moment. He had cried again, after he swore not to. Crying was for the weak. If he were stronger, then he wouldn't cry.

If he were stronger, papa and Iria and the rest of his sisters and the Maguanacs would still be here.

Slowly, he got down onto his hands and knees, reciting a prayer to Allah he hadn't made for weeks. And during it, tears flooded from his eyes, trailing down his cheeks. His chest hurt so badly he thought his heart might explode. He huddled into a small ball, clutching his chest at the pain of this moment, at the pain of living.

For Duo, who had lost Hilde and the church, who lost his faith and his friends.

For Hilde who lost her life and Trowa who lost his will.

He cried for them, because he was still weak enough to do so.

And that was how Trowa found him.

And seeing the blonde there, crying for his own pain, for the pain of the lost and the weary, made him seem so old. And seeing Quatre with puffy red eyes and salty tears crusted along his face, Trowa decided he had never seen anything so beautiful.

After all, he had never been strong enough to cry.

Standing there, he didn't even know what to say to the person he had known for only a week or so. He didn't want to say, it will be ok, because he couldn't see the future. He didn't want to say, cheer up, because the blonde's misery was appropriate for this stormy day of mutiny and rage and desperation.

Instead, he stood in the door frame, watching Quatre weep, a hand unconsciously raised to his lips. The memory of soft lips and wide aqua eyes badgered him, refusing to leave his mind. Frustrated, he shut the door. The noise echoed around him, temporarily covering the tears.

Then, when they cleared, he could hear them again, even louder.

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Heero watched as Duo sat by a river on the outskirts of the village. Solo's giant head hovered above his shoulder, acting as if he wanted to lean on the boy but was afraid the weight might be too much. Heero couldn't blame him. The braided brunette had the world on his shoulders right now, and even if he acted nonchalant about it, Heero new that even a single blade of grass might send him tumbling over the edge.

As it was, Heero enjoyed watching Duo when the other didn't know he was there. When Duo looked at him, he smiled, whether he was happy or not, probably a survival instinct.

"I wonder where Quatre is right now?" Duo questioned, looking up at the gray sky. Winter was always a time for thunderstorms in this place, with the cold winds from the North and the desert to the South. Being on the ocean didn't help either, but of course, the ocean was too beautiful to run from for just a few petty squalls.

Everything beautiful has its thorns, even if they are hidden.

Solo must have replied, but of course, Heero couldn't hear the dragon unless it wanted to be heard. Obviously, this was a sensitive situation. Solo didn't want to be heard.

"I'll find you Cat, I know I will."

Iria wobbled up to Heero, her long neck stretching just above his head when she kneeled. Despite their initial animosity towards each other, he and Iria now agreed on most anything. They both wanted to find Quatre, and they both admired Duo, and right now, that was really all that mattered.

Suddenly, the dragon screeched in pain, her massive neck swinging back and forth as if she were trying to toss the pain away from her.

Duo turned, startled, and muttered a curse at Iria's discomfort. After all, Iria was still connected to Quatre, even though the strong magic on his side weakened it tremendously. When he was in pain, she was in pain. Iria trashed around, knocking Heero off his feet with her powerful tail, the spines barely missing him.

"Iria!" Duo looked at her, eyes wide, but the dragon didn't seem to recognize him. Snarling, she revealed dangerously sharp fangs. Heero realized three things at once. One, Iria was going to attack Duo. Two, the area was too small for either Duo or Solo to have an effective escape plan. Three, he didn't want Duo to die.

There was a flash of Duo's long braid, long white teeth, and then pain in his arm. Heero passed out, falling into the cold, fast moving river. Duo stood behind him, safe from Iria, who had snapped out of her rampage as soon as she tasted Heero's blood.

"That stupid oath! Heero! I can't believe you did that!" Recklessly jumping into river, Duo dived after him, knowing that Heero couldn't take the cold.

'Duo!'

Solo roared, but Duo ignored him. Most of him wanted to save Heero because he couldn't just let the other boy die, but a smaller, more selfish part of Duo wanted to make sure that Heero's couldn't repay the debt.

Somewhere along this crazy path, Duo had gotten used to being with Heero, talking to him, teasing him, and being watched by him when Heero didn't think he noticed.

Shivering and soaked to the bone, Duo grabbed hold of the other boy's wrist with his hand. Their signs brushed, and the flames on Duo's hand seemed to roar to life scalding his skin and heating the water around them.

Heero!

The other boy's limp, cold fingers started to slip from his grasp.

"I won't let go!"

The current was driving the two boys forward, towards, sharp, jagged rocks. Heero's hand was dead weight, and though Duo was clinging to those fingers, they were slipping away just as quickly.

"No!" And suddenly, Duo dragged Heero through the current, pulling the fire spirit to his chest and wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy.

"I won't let you get hurt."

And there was Heero, smirking at him, carrying him inside, clutching to him, bathing with him, and living with him.

"I-I,"

The pattern on Duo's hand grew red hot, feeling to Duo like he had dipped his hand in the sun.

"Heero…"

And he lost consciousness, still clinging on to Heero. Because, for the first time, he hadn't been thinking about how much it had hurt to lose Hilde, Sister Helen, or Father Maxwell. He wasn't remembering the days before the church found him, wondering around the streets, dirty and forgotten. He wasn't hoping for mom or dad, or losing sight of finding Quatre. He was sure, for once in his life. And clutching Heero to him as tightly as possible, he felt happy.

Even as his body floated towards the rocks, a small smile flittered across his features.

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Wufei stalked towards the giant castle that held, that man…

That thing.

"I will win."

Racing up the path, Wufei ran through the open doors.

"Treize Khushrenada! Come out and face me, you coward!" His voice echoed through the once calm halls, bouncing off the walls and through the halls, spreading his message through the temple.

"Now now Wufei, is there really a need for such racket? I'm right here."

Treize descended the stairs mockingly, his sword tracing the rail with a scraping sound.

"I'll kill you!" Wufei roared, racing towards him, his sword raised. His dragon rose with him, an angry flame spouting from her mouth.

With a clang, the two warrior's blades clashed as a red dragon circled them, eyeing the battle. Wufei's arm shook from the force of the other warrior, but he ignored it, focusing on avenging his family.

Wufei leapt backwards, breaking their deadlock, before he shot forward, only to have his blade caught by Treize.

"You bastard!" Wufei roared, swinging his blade at his old leader recklessly. There was a clash, and Wufei's sword was driven from his hand, clattering against the wall.

"If you had served me, Wufei, you would have lived. Please understand that it is with the deepest honor for your memory that I kill you." Wufei closed his eyes as the blade swung towards him, only to hear the sick sound of metal cutting through flesh.

Blood trickled onto his face, but it wasn't his blood.

"How noble of you, to leap in front of him," Treize pulled the blade back, frowning as Meiran fell to the ground.

"I pity you," he continued, grimacing at the blood on his blade. Wufei's dragon lunged at him with vigor, but there was a loud snap, and the man was gone.

"Meiran," Wufei's voice shook as he reached for his beloved.

"Wufei, you weakling, always needing my help…" Meiran trailed off, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as a wave of unbearable pain hit her.

"Don't worry about me…" She continued with a gasp. "The-the others. Riders. They need you…"

Wufei ignored her, bringing her slender body closer to his, tears sprouting from his eyes at the amount of blood she'd lost.

"Cura," a wave of pain shot through him as he remembered the anti spell cuffs he wore.

"Let me go, Wufei," Meiran whispered, her breaths ragged and uneven.

"No," Wufei answered, shaking his head. She couldn't die, not now, when he realized what she meant to him. She couldn't die, not when he knew that he loved her.

"I love you," she whispered, her body going limp in his arms.

"Meiran, Meiran, MEIRAN!"