Hey-o, and welcome to my Lil' World of Weirdness!!
I state for the record that I don't own Gundam Wing, or the wonderful characters that will be gracing this story. . . I do however lay claim to Ensign Saratone *again*, and I use him here purely as a replacement for your average Nameless OZ Minion. Other Characters I lay claim to are Faye Bloom, the wizened old man, Chang Xiao Fao Lan, and the Angels.
Let's just say . . . when my writer's block breaks, it's like a dam breaking . . . [shakes head slowly and winces]
Parings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3 . . .. Eh, heh, not that anyone reads up here, but I realised I'm giving away certain parts of my story with these!!
Okay, that's the legal stuff out the way!!
Please ENJOY AND PLEASE R&R!!! THANK YOU!!
Also, thanks to my beloved Bluegoo for her ever wonderful betareading, I thank her for the many hours that she has put in with me on this one, be it correcting my terrible grammar and spelling, or listening to me mumbling large chunks of it down the phone to her . . . You're great, Blue!! Even if you are Commander and Chief of the Apostrophe Gestapo . . . [ducks and runs off, screaming over shoulder] GO READ AND REVIEW HER STORIES!!
Thank you to Two-Mix for the lyrics, I don't own Just Communication!!
//Thinking//
"Speaking"
*Stress/Emphasis*
Writing/Dream sequence
Telepathic thoughts
:: Lyrics ::
~*~
For The Grace Of Knights And Angels
By Doctor Megalomania
Part Fifteen: Knights' Gateway
Note: just a quick note about the use of other languages in this story, I dislike putting the translation after the phrase, and numbers are distracting. Also, if I'm going to use it because there are other characters that don't understand the same language, then I'm using it for an effect. Confusion of the reader, my beta-reader hates me for it, but I think it's more effective if you don't know what's being said but if you have a burning desire to know what's being said, or to correct me [because English is my only fluent language, and anything I construct here is through a limited grasp of grammar, and a dictionary] please feel free to email me, dr_megalomania@hotmail.com . Thank you!!
Part Fifteen: Knights' Gateway
The gate stood about twenty feet high, by twenty feet.
It was made of two stone, dark grey pillars and a tradition Chinese shrine top. It had heavy cast iron on the top, with a bell hanging in a small opening in the centre of an intricate design. The paving stones at the base were placed so that they bent around the gateway, rather than suggesting that the gateway was added later. It seemed that the gate was built first, and the village built around it. There was nothing particularly awe inspiring about it, except for the cool air of importance and prestige the gate, itself, seemed to impose on the area around it.
Heero noted all of this absently as he walked around it, he didn't know why, but he didn't want to go through it just yet. Blinking, he also noted that the path that was visible through the gate wasn't there on the other side of the gate.
"What the . . .?" Duo frowned as he walked around the gate a second time. He frowned and walked around to the front, "There's a section missing for the road . . ." He pointed up, and there plain enough was the rest of the path. It seemed that just the section immediately after the gate was missing. Quatre blinked as he started to pace back beside Trowa, "Duo . . . walk back past the gate again."
Duo back trailed and walked behind the gate again. Quatre blinked and glanced at Wufei, who nodded in confirmation. Duo wasn't visible behind the gate. "This is so strange . . ." Quatre murmured, as he reached up. Like the others, he had a profound sense that there was something odd about the gate's aperture. As his fingers breached the archway, a bright gold ripple appeared, like he was dipping his fingers in water. The ripples spread out until they hit the gate's cold stone . . .
. . . Her eyes snapped open.
She smiled slightly, encompassed within her soul's harbour. Her gift to her knight, a weapon for only him to use. Her only thought for all to hear.
//he's here . . .//
Quatre stepped back.
The sight through the gate began to clear again, coming back into focus. "Such a response and still you doubt the authenticity of the Knights . . .?" Master Fao murmured with reverence, "You all must pass through, to get to the Temple of the Angels . . ."
Quatre felt his friends, their apprehension as the reality of the situation began to sink in. They were capable of something they had never been trained to handle. Another step back, and he felt Trowa slip his hand into Quatre's. Duo rounded the gate once more, and he, and Heero stood on one side of them, with Wufei, Meirin and Master Fao on the other. Master Fao tapped his staff on the ground, and nodded. "Now we will see the truth . . ." He nodded towards Wufei and Meirin, "We shall see it."
Trowa lifted his arm a little higher as the dove shifted. The bird took flight and went to fly through the gate. The small group hardly flinched as the bird was thrown back with a loud crack of energy.
Trowa went over to it, and picked it up, gasping as the burnt dove shook itself and, with a flutter of feathers, became a white hawk.
The hawk lifted into the air again, and sailed straight through the gate, hovering and landing on the other side with a tilt to its small head. "I guess so . . ." Trowa murmured, he straightened and looked at the small group behind him.
"Only the knights can go." He sighed, and glanced back as the hawk sailed through, became the dove and show the rejection again. Duo winced as the burnt dove became the hawk once more, "How does it do that?"
"Magic, I guess . . ." Quatre murmured, unable to keep the awe out of his voice. He glanced over at Trowa as the taller boy came back and stood between himself and Duo. Meirin swallowed, and glanced at the five others, "Well . . ." She held her head up, "We shall know nothing until we try . . ."
Wufei was passive as Meirin stepped forward. He smiled as he watched her; utterly convinced she was better capable, and remained convinced that he would continue to support her in her new destined fight. "Wufei . . .?" Quatre asked quietly, and the Chinese officer glanced at him.
"She was always meant for ShenLong . . ." He shook his head, "I'm not a Knight of the Earth, my friend."
Meirin stood before the gate's horizon, and stared forward. She breathed for a few moments. She could feel the magic of the boundary scorching her cheek. Smiling gently, she motioned to Wufei. He blinked uncomprehendingly at her hand.
"Please Wufei . . ." She smiled, "We are wife and husband . . . I will not cross without you . . ."
Wufei nodded gracefully, and took her hand. She smiled at him brilliantly, but with something in her eyes. She knew something.
They stood side by side with each other, and still, even as she started forward, and their motion took them closer, she glanced back, with the same light in her eye. Meirin knew . . .
Wufei allowed his eyes to slid close, and let his momentum take him closer. He pondered briefly if she was afraid, if that was why she was slowing down.
Meirin stopped.
Wufei continued.
The small gathering felt their faces warm as they were lit up, bathed in a deep red glow of energy.
Wufei opened his eyes, as Meirin let go, letting her hand fall back to her side. She stood on the other side of the gateway, Master Fao by her side, and a sad smile on her face. "It's you, Wufei . . ." she admitted with defeat in her voice, "It has always been you."
The fifth's eyes slid open, the air around the stone room warming with the rush of energy.
"Almost, almost here . . ."
Wufei stared at her and slowly shook his head.
Meirin laughed, a tragic laugh, "Wufei!" She breathed deeply, "Do not doubt your wife . . . and stop doubting yourself!" She folded her arms, the very embodiment of fierceness. "You will face this!"
The young woman stood back, and glanced over at the four other former pilots, Master Fao glanced at them, "Well?" He motioned with his staff, he sounded impatient, eager to see what was to come. Quatre swallowed, and breathed out slowly. His heart was hammering in his chest. He closed his eyes; feeling briefly for his mother and his friends, back at the camp. They had elected reluctantly to let the boys face this themselves, while they set up their homes. His mother sent back a pulse of pure encouragement, a whisper in his heart, to always try his best. Quatre opened his eyes and began to walk toward the gate, his hand leaving Trowa's, but the feel of the other boy's calloused hand a ghost over his fingers.
He glanced at Wufei, who inclined his head slightly.
Quatre closed his eyes as he touched the barrier, feeling a warmth he had only felt in the desert. There was a quiet sound, like a distant roaring in his ears as he breached the magic in the old gate. Something that took his breathe away as he came out the other side . . .
She smiled to herself, warmth filling her room.
"Welcome . . ."
"Quatre?" Wufei's calm voice startled his eyes open. "You're through . . ."
Quatre turned, and watched as the last of the golden ripples faded. He could see the other side undulate back into focus, and Trowa raise his arm. The white hawk landed on his arms, and again, with a flutter of white feathers, became the dove. He nodded, and easily followed Quatre through.
The third saw no reason to greet his Knight, preferring to stay silent. His messenger had already greeted the Knight once.
Trowa stepped through, and raised his arm, the dove flying to hover above him. He nodded to it; "The temples are not far from here." He turned and looked up the mountain path, "It's just a little further."
Quatre nodded, silently slipping his hand into Trowa's once more, feeling a little foolish but needing the comfort. Heero glanced at Duo, as the jade green ripples of energy faded. "We'll go through together."
Duo blinked, he had looked worried, his thumb rubbing over his small gold cross. "What?"
"You and I shall go together." Heero nodded gravely, "We won't touch but we will step over the threshold together."
Duo swallowed imperceptivity, "Why?"
"Because . . ." Heero glanced at the gate, "I don't trust it . . ." He looked at Duo again, "You are coming with me."
Duo thought about it for a moment, his eyes dropping from Heero's, "Are you afraid it will stop letting us through . . .?"
Heero didn't answer. He continued to stare at Duo, until the other had thought it over. Duo nodded once, and turned to face the gate. Without warning to the other, both started to pace toward it. In sync as always, the two former pilots approached the gate.
They took a deep breath, and continued to step through it, not a single hesitant step on their way. The gate crackled slightly as arcs of vibrant cerulean, and brilliant amethyst swirled together.
Duo opened his eyes and glanced back. Sister Helen was on the outskirts of their little encampment, her body half concealed behind a building, a hand curled the corner as she watched them worriedly. Duo waved at her, trying to make her see that he was fine. Helen smiled and stepped out a little further, Odin Lowe not far behind her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, much in the same way he would wrap his arm around Heero, and waved at the boys.
The first and the second angels breathed a contented sigh, and turned in their sleep. Soon . . . they knew it, soon their knights would be with them.
Duo complained the whole way up the mountainside.
At first, the others told him to be quiet, but as the steps got steeper and steeper, Wufei afforded himself a little grumble. He glanced around as they came to a stop for Quatre's sake. The smaller boy hadn't had much practice with mountains and was having trouble regulating his breathing to the thinner air. Quatre sat on a small boulder, with his head in his knees, and mumbled, "This makes me feel so embarrassed, Allah . . ." The smaller boy kneaded his temples, the beginnings of a serious headache coming on, "Please nobody tell Sally!"
As Heero and Trowa peeled off their jackets, Duo clutched his side and fell to the heavily moss covered ground beside Quatre's rock and groaned, "And I thought G's training was unforgiving . . ." he grumbled and rolled on to his back and stared at the sky, the night was beginning to fall again, reds dashing the blue with streaks of purple clouds. "Will we make it before nightfall?"
Trowa nodded, "Yes. They won't let us stay beyond it."
"Who won't?" Asked Wufei needlessly - he could already guess. The angels had been providing them with little gifts, and supplies as they journeyed. A small orchard of fruit always seemed to hang temptingly within sight when one of them complained of hunger; a stream's babble could be heard a little further ahead when they felt thirst. Little things, like this comfortable grove to sit, always seem to pop up to keep them happy, and prepared to continue the journey.
They stayed at the small grove for a little longer, before they came to the final set of stairs. Trowa's hawk took off again, and floated above them as they clambered over the rim of the extinct volcano and stared down at the six-chambered temple of the Angels.
They climbed down slowly, taking in the finely built structure as they clambered carefully. The structure was that of a traditional Chinese worship shrine; each small building seemed to stand on its own, but the roofs were attached by small ornate gangways, the red tiles of the delicately constructed roofs glinting with the dampness of the early evening condensation. They paused outside the entrance gate, as the hawk landed on the ground and picked at some meat left on a small plate.
"I guess we go on alone . . ." Trowa murmured as he knelt and petted the bird. It looked up at him, and fluttered its wings. He straightened and looked up as Heero brushed past him, the click of Heero's gun, closely followed by four others echoing in the under used hall. The floor was a complex mosaic with swirling patterns in muted reds and creams; the walls were less complicated, dark wooden panels occasionally showing off cool ocean blue tiling. They stepped forward, silently fanning out. The entrance hall's cold stone seemed to echo with their every movement. Heero tensed at the silence, broken only by the sound of water, and wind. The antechamber was only a passageway, with two tables either side, and a hardy stone archway leading out into the courtyard. Heero frowned, he couldn't hear anything, but he could *feel* the presence other than the five new knights. He growled mentally at the foreign being, as Duo called out.
"Hello?"
They raised their guns as a cloaked figure stepped in through the archway . . . seemingly appearing from nowhere. It wasn't a trick of light, Heero blinked once, momentarily caught by the effect . . . the small figure actually materialised in front of them. The cloak was finely made, and shushed quietly as the boy walked in, he was small, almost the size of a four or five year old child. There were whispers all around them, as the boy came to a stop, his white robes neatly brushing the ground with their dark blue trim.
"Hn." The boy hummed quietly, "Hajime mashite."
Helen sighed as she folded sheets. She wondered how Duo was doing, and how they were faring against the mountain. She looked over at her living companion as he made the other bed. She'd never slept with a man in the same room before, but the three other houses were full, and this being the smallest as it only had two beds in a single bedroom, it had to be used. Odin's dark blonde hair fell over his eyes as he carefully made his bed. She hummed quietly, smoothing out her sheets, and sat down to fold her pillows into their cases. The rooms were traditional, very oriental. She'd never seen one quite like it, but she had certainly read a lot about them when she had been younger. The bed in front of her was low to the ground, but soft and comfortable. The futon was springy to the touch, and the pillows provided both softness and sturdy support. She glanced over at Odin again, as he turned to his shoulder bag. Like everyone else, he had only a few changes of outfits, the boys having been kind enough to buy them new clothes. She smiled slightly at the thought, and continued her ministrations.
"If you are worried . . ." Odin's voice snapped her out of her easy task, and she looked over at him. He smiled gently and held up his hands, "I assure you, while I may have been a soldier; I am also a gentleman . . ."
Helen nodded, blushing slightly at his gallant words, "Thank you . . . not that I—"
"It's alright . . ." He murmured, walking over on socked feet, and kneeling beside her bed, "I'd worry if I was alone with a man who looked like me . . ." He touched his chin, the stubble rasping quietly under his hand, "Not exactly a gentlemanly appearance . . ."
"I've dealt with worse . . ." Helen murmured quietly, "I lived on L2 . . ."
Helen gasped quietly as Odin touched her hand, "I went there once . . . A long time ago . . ." He murmured, understanding in his voice, "I know how it was there . . ."
She sighed, and turned her hand, grasping his. "Thank you."
"So . . ." He smiled at her strength, "So . . . your boy, Duo is it?" She nodded, as he continued, "How'd he stumble into your life?"
Sister Helen chuckled delicately, "It's not a very long story . . . but . . ." She got to her feet, "I would much rather we exchanged stories over some tea . . ." He stood with her, nodding. "I'd love to hear about Heero as well . . ." Helen smiled as he led her out the room.
"It's not a particularly exciting story, but Heero was just a small boy . . . just coming up to the top of my knee . . ."
He estimated the boy came to just above the top of his knee.
Heero frowned down at the small, cloaked boy, "Who are you?"
The boy chuckled, a sound not unlike wind through the trees. "I am Nasake no Tenshi, but you may call me what you wish . . . for now, Katana will suffice . . ." He tilted his head, a lock of dark brown hair poking from under the heavy hood, "I am the Angel of Mercy . . ." The child looked up, his face still hidden under the shadow of the heavy hood, and by a cloth mask over his chin, "You are the Kishi no Hane, a knight of wings, ne?"
Heero frowned, "You're Japanese?"
Katana turned away and looked up at each of the others, "we will reflect the nationalities of our Knight to ease communication . . ." he chuckled again, "It will make it easier if we can speak the same language, ne?"
"Hai." Heero murmured, he glanced around, "Where are the other angels?"
"Oh . . . they are around . . ." Katana looked up at him again, "Kishi no Hane . . . Shitsurei desu ga, o-namae wa nan desu ka?"
"Watashi?" Heero blinked, "Watashi no namae wa Yuy Heero desu."
"Sugoi desu," Katana laughed again, "Heero-san nazekeru yoroshii desu ka? Daijobu desu ka?"
Heero glanced at his confused friends, out of all of them only Wufei and maybe Trowa followed. He sighed, "Hai . . . demo ne?" He frowned, "Can we speak in English?"
"You wish that your friends all understand what is going on?" Katana nodded, "Wise move."
"When will we be introduced to the other angels?" Trowa asked quietly, his eye caught on the white hawk as it landed nearby. Katana glanced around, "I do not know." He tilted his head, "It depends on them . . . I am merely a friend of theirs, I do not control their actions . . . nor do they control mine."
"Really?" Quatre questioned gently, "How is it you came to be here?"
"We came to be." Katana tilted his head to the other side, "There is nothing before us . . . there will be nothing after us . . . we came to be, and so it is."
Quatre nodded, "Really?" He looked around, "It's beautiful here . . . did you always exist in this place?"
"No. Hmm . . ." Katana hummed, and looked down, "We have existed in other places . . . it just happens that the last Knight of Time was a Japanese-Chinese half-bred."
"What does that mean?" Wufei questioned, he too glanced about, taking in the impressive, if not archaic structure.
"All must obey Time." Katana sounded slightly amused by this, "The Beasts, the Warriors . . . Mercy, and even Death, a most powerful force, must obey Time . . . no matter what, time can always continue . . ." Katana motioned around the room, "She is unaffected by the meddling of man, by Chi and by even we, the Angels."
"She?" Duo murmured, he gasped as a movement in the shadows caught his eye, "Who's there?!"
Katana looked over, and held out his arm. Another, black cloaked child shuffled out of the shadow. "Ogama?" Katana nodded, and pointed to the five former pilots, their guns still at the ready. "These are the Knights," He motioned Heero, "Heero-san . . . Kishi No Hane . . . Kishi no Nasake . . ."
"Really?" The voice was lighter than Katana, and Ogama raised his hand to his chest, touching his throat, "Male?" He murmured, and then sighed in exasperation, "This will be very strange."
"What do you mean?" Heero glanced at the smaller being, the black-cloaked child looked up at him.
Ogama chuckled sardonically, "I am by choice female . . ." He chuckled again, "It will be strange for me, because I have materialised as a male."
"What does that mean?" Duo frowned again.
Katana and Ogama exchanged a look, "This must be the first time we have had an all male set of knights . . . Usually there is at least a few females . . ." Ogama made a sweeping motion with his hand, "Therefore our spirits are divided into two females and two males, with one abstaining from choice."
"Meaning whoever it is has no gender?" Wufei turned full circle, and made the decision to put away his gun. He glanced at the window again, and stared at Trowa's hawk, the bird was watching with a detached air around it. Ogama chuckled again, "This is as it is."
"Why do you have Japanese names?" Heero asked quietly, as he slipped his gun back into his holster.
Katana shrugged, "We prefer them, the others have different names, different ways of addressing themselves. Besides . . ." He motioned Ogama and himself, "We are the closer linked . . . Nasake no Tenshi . . . no Shi no Tenshi desu."
"Shi no Tenshi?" Heero stared at the smaller figure, "The angel of death?"
"Mmm . . ." Ogama hummed quietly, and nodded at Duo, "And you are Shinigami, aren't you?"
Duo's shoulders drooped slightly, "You mean I can't even escape it here?"
Ogama shook his head, "No. You have always been fated to be Shinigami; Death will always be your constant companion . . ."
The braided Preventer sighed, and glanced at Heero, "Does that mean Heero's the angel of mercy?"
Ogama chuckled as Katana nodded, "Heero-san is the Kishi no Nasake."
Duo shrugged, "Never struck me as the merciful type, our Heero." He glanced at Heero, and finally slipped his own gun back into the holster, which hung at the small of his back. He raised a critical eyebrow, "Angel of mercy . . . Heero Yuy . . . angel of mercy . . . Heero . . . mercy . . . Heero . . ." He closed one eye, and tilted his head to the side, "Maybe if I drank a hellva lotta vodka, stood on my head, and looked in a funhouse mirror . . ."
"Baka . . ." Heero murmured, glad Duo was breaking the intense feeling. He looked around as a shiver wracked his bones, "Where're the others . . ." He glared suddenly, as he looked around, "Where are you hiding?"
Katana and Ogama glanced at each other before laughing quietly, "You've been found . . ." Ogama called out, "You may as well appear, Jikan, Armbrust! You've been found!"
Trowa blinked as his hawk flew around the room, and turned into a white dove once more. The sunlight flooded the room briefly as another one of the angels materialised. The tiny form was covered with a deep gold brown cloak with various signs sewn into the fabric. The child was tiny, a head with white blonde hair, and pointed elfin ears. He turned and smiled, his large blue eyes missing the black pupil. Trowa frowned, "You look like . . ."
"Your friend here?" The elfin child motioned to Quatre and murmured knowingly, he smiled and nodded silently. Turning, he faced the doorway, as another child walked in. This one was taller than the others, and moved slowly with long graceful strides, his heavy dark green clock brushing the ground softly. Behind him, in his footsteps, small flowers and grass grew, and died as it left the influence of his magic. He lifted an arm with a thick glove, and the white dove landed easily. The elfin child smiled happily, and walked over to him. Running a pale finger over the bird's head, the child smiled, and murmured, "Now all we need Ryu-Senshi and then we may begin with proper introductions . . ."
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And Now It's Time to LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!
DrM: Yo~~!! [holds up 'v' sign] How are you doin'? I know it's been a while since I last updated but . . . piles, and piles of uni work decided to attack me all at once . . . with sharp pointy things and disturbingly large amounts of corn . . . very close thing . . .
Zechs: So? Fanfiction is the meaning of your life you should be apoligiseing to the patient readers!!
DrM: [falls to knees and begs forgiveness] I'M SORRY!! I'M REALLY SORRY! I FEEL SO GUILTY THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN POSTING EVERY FRIDAY LIKE I PROMISED!!
Zechs: better . . . [grins at readers] Well, aren't you gonna review? It hurts DrM when nobody does . . . plus it's only a few seconds outta your time!
DrM: [bows to readers] THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!! [holds up banner] Also, all those interested . . .
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"For Every Story Must Begin . . . With What Hope There Lies Within . . . In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . ."
Cardcaptor Sakura, In This Tainted Soul fanfiction NOW UP!!
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Zechs: Have you no shame?
DrM: Hey, if I didn't have shame, I would have plugged all the other stories that I have up . . . [strokes chin] wait, that's not half a bad idea . . .
Zechs: [boots DrM in the head]