So, yes, I admit it – there is a quote in here that comes directly from a recent and AWESOME movie. I couldn't help it. Oh well.
Enjoy!
The dire trees and spiny undergrowth receded all at once, as though the Fire Swamp were bordered by a fence beyond which the forest was green and lush and benign. From the boundary, the river that became an inlet to the sea shone in the setting sunlight, a sparkling ray of hope. Birdsong was in the air again, and the gurgling sound of the ground preparing to spit fire seemed very far away as the trio finally felt the first vestiges of relief.
But Quatre tensed as his heart felt a wave of something sinister too. His two companions noticed his sudden intake of breath and stopped, looking at him.
"Duo," Quatre said quietly, "disappear. Something's wrong. And if it goes really wrong, you know what to do." He stared at Duo intensely before making a particular sign with his fingers. The pirate let out a gusty sigh before nodding and taking to the trees agilely.
"What will he do?" Heero asked.
"Let's hope you don't have to find out," Quatre answered. Then, "Come on. I think your betrothed has found us."
"I'll simply explain things," Heero said as the pair of them began to head towards the water. "The Peacecraft family has never been unreasonable. Even if he is a prince, he probably won't want me once he knows I belong to you."
Quatre said nothing, but tipped his head as though listening. Then he asked, "Did Zechs bring guards back with him from wherever he was all these years? Guards you wouldn't know?"
"Yes," Heero added slowly. "He has his own men, and they've never mingled with the Royal Guard at all. But how did you know that?"
"Because these aren't any friends of yours."
Quatre tightened his hand in Heero's before bringing up his sword and handing Heero one of Duo's daggers. A moment later, a number of mounted soldiers appeared, quickly surrounding them. A few raised crossbows and aimed them at the pair. Prince Zechs sat in the center, his whole bearing regal and powerful as he looked down at them. To his right sat a man with brown hair and piercing eyes. When those eyes fell on Quatre, his face twisted in a strange smile.
"Surrender!" Prince Zechs ordered.
"Your Highness," Heero spoke from beside Quatre, "there is a misunderstanding. This man rescued me from those who intended to murder me. I am in no danger."
"You're wrong, Heero," Quatre said from behind grit teeth. "You are in more danger now than you were before."
"He's quite clever, this one," the man to Zech's right said, inclining his head. "And talented as well."
There was an instant of tension in the air and then Quatre recoiled as if struck. He gasped and glared at the stranger before his whole face twisted in anger and concentration. A moment later, the man flinched violently enough that his horse shied before he could bring it back under control. He threw his head back and laughed.
"This should be an interesting challenge," he said to the prince. "I shall handle the blond. Explain things to your soldier. I sensed he might have been amenable to what you will propose at the tournament. Let us see if that still holds true."
"Quatre?" Heero looked to his side, but the green-blue eyes did not turn to him.
"He's like me, and very strong. His mind is a weapon," he said. "I'll keep him out of your mind, but that may be all I can do about this."
And Quatre moved a few paces off, his eyes fixed on his opponent, and they entered into a silent battle.
Heero turned back to Prince Zechs, waiting.
"Captain Heero Yuy," Zechs smiled slightly, "your companion is correct that you are in danger. For, you see, it is up to you whether you walk out of this forest today. You have a choice to make."
"Hn."
"You were abducted on my orders," Zechs said simply. "I want a war with Oz, and as you are so popular, your murder would certainly have accomplished that. The kingdom would have been outraged, not to mention my darling little sister. But, if what Treize says is correct about you, perhaps that is unnecessary. You could, in fact, join me."
To the side, Quatre twitched badly, the sword falling from his nerveless fingers. But the man Zechs had called Treize flinched as well, and appeared to be sweating. Heero privately thanked Quatre – by keeping the other man occupied, he could deal with Zechs without his heart's disgust being read and announced to all.
"Why should I?" Heero asked neutrally.
"War will show the people the reality of humanity, the horror we cause and the danger of the world. War is a deadly and wonderful teacher of truth. And there are material gains as well," he smiled not at all nicely. "We could do with a few more coastal cities under our control, and the warships are just sitting idle in Sanc Channel. There is so much that would come to us by war. But I cannot declare it without reason or it will never be accepted by the people."
"So you wanted me killed," Heero responded flatly.
"But if you wish to continue our betrothal, we can wage this war together. You need only describe the horrors perpetrated against you by Oz, or how you witnessed Ozians slaughtering their own people or some such thing. The populace will believe you, Heero Yuy of the guard, and so will my sister. The fire of your warrior spirit would greatly enhance my planning and my enjoyment of the outcome. Join me on the seat of power and be my sword to bring glory and triumph to Sanc against our mortal enemies!"
"And what of him?" Heero asked, turning to where Quatre had dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. His opponent did not look so tired, and somehow the wounds in Quatre's shoulders appeared to have reopened from their swift bandaging and blood ran down his chest.
Zechs looked across to Treize, who broke the stare for a moment. "He's too dangerous to be considered an ally. I'd like to keep him for my own, though."
"Well, he is a demon by the laws of the church of Sanc," Zechs said with a shrug. "It is your right to deal with such monstrosities as you see fit, Count Khushrenada."
"Wait," Heero felt the word slip from him before he could call it back. He straightened his shoulders. "If we surrender and I return with you, will you promise not to hurt this man?"
"Has he come to mean something to you, then, Perfect Soldier?" Zech's mouth turned up in amusement.
"No," Heero's eyes narrowed. "Love is for children. I owe him a debt."
At the same instant, he was aware of Quatre's head snapping up and Treize shuddering. As their battle resumed, Zechs stared steadily at Heero, who forced his face to stay in its blank mask, cold and unemotional. His feelings would not save Quatre now, but his apathy might.
"I can see how you might take something like that quite seriously and I find that to be admirable," Zechs returned at last. "Honestly, I'd rather have you at my side than in my path."
"Then strike this bargain with me," Heero said.
"Don't," Quatre's voice was weak, but he tried to get to his feet. "Don't do this. There's another way, Heero."
As Quatre began to rise, one of the guards with a crossbow let fly a bolt, which embedded itself in the ground at his feet. Quatre snarled and lashed his head to one side, and the soldier who had shot gave a scream of pain and clutched his head, his horse rearing and falling over on them both. At once the other soldiers began to advance.
Heero took two swift steps to Quatre's side and picked up his fallen sword, holding it out. But it's curved blade was turned inward and he held it out laterally before himself, the sharpened edge even with his throat. "Call them back," he said to the prince, "or you will not have my willing cooperation."
"You may not have it anyway," Treize remarked. "He's impossible to read with the blond interfering so much. If you want him, capture him by force and we can determine his true desires later. Otherwise let him go ahead and slit his own throat. Either way you'll get something that will serve our plans."
In the trees, Duo bit his lip, holding perfectly still. He hadn't missed that Treize hadn't so much as glanced upwards – protection from Quatre as well as his own little skill was hiding him from the empath as surely as his practice disappearing into the shadows hid him from all eyes. The situation was rapidly going to pieces, and he couldn't see a way out of it. They were badly outnumbered and they could never outrun the mounted guards at this point, even if they went back into the Fire Swamp. And if somebody didn't do something fast, Heero would stupidly slit his own throat before anybody else could do it for him.
"What should I do, Cat?" he thought as hard as he could. Sometimes Quatre could almost hear him when he was thinking that clearly.
Sure enough, though he was as shaky on his feet as a newborn horse, Quatre's fingers flashed in a familiar signal. Duo was tempted to rage at him.
It reminded him of when they had approached the Cliffs of Insanity only that morning:
"We're too late!" Duo said, swearing in his native language as they rounded the last granite rock formation. "They're already moving up the cliff, and fast!"
"Doesn't matter," Quatre said, his eyes never leaving what he could see of Heero. "If they can get up there, so can I."
"Cat, you're good, but you're no born climber."
"You told me once that I took to the rigging better than anyone you'd ever seen," Quatre pointed out.
"Yeah, but this isn't that. You go up there, you fall, you die." Duo pulled at his friend's shoulders and forced him to face him.
"No. I won't die. I have something to protect."
The fierceness of Quatre's face, the sincerity of his eyes, reminded Duo why Shinigami had never found the heart to kill the guy. He shook his head and ruffled the golden hair fondly.
"All right, Cat. All right. But if you're going up that thing after them, I'm going with you."
"No, Duo," Quatre put out a hand and caught one of Duo's shoulders in return. "They haven't seen us yet. If they think there's only one person following them, we'll have the advantage. One of us should hide until they are gone."
"It should be me that goes ahead, then. That way, if I screw up, you'll still be there to rescue that guy."
"I appreciate that, Duo, but this is my fight. That's my true love up there, and it should be me taking the risks. If I fail, you're the only person in the world I can trust to save him. I need you to do that. I need you to promise you'll save Heero, you'll watch over him, no matter what happens to me. Do you promise?"
"You know I will, Cat."
Quatre smiled at him a little sadly. "Thanks. I really shouldn't ask, but I can't help it. I already owe you so much, I cannot ask you to do more than you already have for me, even if..."
Duo actually shook him.
"If you finish that sentence, I really am going to kill you this time, Quatre," he snarled. "You're my friend, the best friend I've ever really had. You ask me to die for you, I'll do it with a smile. I'd rather kill, but I'm not picky. This is your fight," he held up a hand as Quatre began to argue, "and I get that. I'll do things your way, but I'm not letting you go off alone. I'll tail you the whole way, even up this dumb cliff. You want me to step in at any time, you know what to do."
"I know, Duo."
"Good. I'll never be far behind. You might not see me, but I'll be there."
"Duo," and here Quatre actually pulled the braided man into a hug while he spoke softly, "I'll always see you."
And all at once Duo understood Quatre's plan. Well, in Duo's opinion, it was less a "plan" and more "the worst possible way out of this scenario," but that was how Cat's mind tended to get when he was thinking about Heero Yuy. Sometimes true love seemed to make Cat smarter, but more often it made him a lot dumber. Otherwise he never would have taken his little tumble down a ravine earlier that day.
Duo drew something from his pocket silently, watching the proceedings below carefully. He could almost see the pieces connect as Quatre sensed him readying.
Zechs flicked a gesture at one of the guards who was nearest, and the man raised an arm, holding a bola weapon, the kind that would wrap a person in ropes with a set of stones at the end. Heero tensed visibly, saying something low under his breath. The man prepared to let fly with the bola and Duo took aim and fired.
He hit Heero with the dart just before the man released the bola, its stones spinning so fast they could hardly be seen. But the concoction on that dart worked like lightning, and Heero's reflexes were dulled by the time the ropes hit him. His body was wrapped up in the rough cord and he dropped hard and fast, as though one of the stones had knocked him out rather than the prick of the dart.
So he'd never had the chance to make good on his threat. He was captured, but totally unharmed, as Quatre had wanted.
"I'll take him back," Duo heard Zechs say. The guards closed on where Quatre had again dropped to one knee beside Heero's body. They extricated the sword from the soldier before hanging him over Zech's horse's saddle like a sack of grain and the prince turned to ride off. The blond never moved as they did so, seemingly exhausted and, of course, still bleeding quite a lot.
"Never been sorrier for keeping a promise," Duo grumbled under his breath as he began to follow Zechs. "Don't you make me regret it, Cat."
But he had given his word, and Quatre had signaled for him to protect Heero, to stay with him, and if that was the last thing his friend would ever ask him to do, he would not let him down.
On the ground below, Quatre looked up into the faces of the guards, as well as Treize who loomed above from horseback. He knew Duo couldn't feel his rush of gratitude as he sensed the pirate moving off. But it was for the best. He had a fair certainty he was not about to be murdered or it would have happened the instant Heero was unconscious. If they wanted him alive – and he could feel how dearly Treize did want him, even if he didn't know why – then he was far safer than Heero for now. And with another empath with whom to contend, Heero would quickly need Duo's help if he was to keep his heart his own.
Quatre looked appraisingly at Treize, wondering how strong the man would be against an enraged Heero and Duo combined. His curiosity attracted the man's attention, and he smiled an aristocratic smile full of condescension and poise.
"Such suspicion! I did promise no harm would come to you."
"No you didn't," Quatre returned, shaking his head and not letting himself wince at the pain of it. "Not even Prince Zechs promised that. Heero just proposed it."
"I suppose that's true. You're fairly clever, and more than a little skilled for a dirty pirate. I shall be very interested to see what I may learn from you."
Quatre said nothing to that, but did not resist as his hands were pulled behind him roughly and bound. His gaze focused on his true opponent, and his eyes widened. "You have six fingers on your right hand."
Treize's face went white with anger. Quatre smiled at him sweetly.
"Someone was looking for you."
This time Treize lashed at his mind with unbridled power and fury, and Quatre collapsed.
-==OOO==-
"...'Wait,' Heero felt the word slip from him before he could call it back. He straightened his shoulders. 'If we surrender and I return with you, will you promise not to hurt this man?'..."
"That's a stupid plan! Why is Heero being stupid?!"
"Isn't he usually?"
"What?"
"Nothing. You were saying...?"
"Giving up is stupid. This is the wrong time to surrender."
"Yes, Heero seems to have that problem in general."
"Really?"
"No. Never mind. Anyway, moving on..."