The night had been restless. Heero didn't have any nightmares, but felt too uncomfortable to sleep and spend the eerily silent hours awake and patrolling around, checking up on every one of the group. Relena was all bundled up in the blankets, not far from Quatre and Trowa, mage's staff, bow and arrows between them. Wufei had made an accommodation for himself away from the group; far enough to be on his own, close enough to come to their aid if need be. Heero slightly panicked when he couldn't find Duo, but relaxed when he saw him close to a large birch tree, rolled up in a blanket, fast asleep.
Morning couldn't come fast enough for him, especially because the stench of the decomposing skeef cadavers was getting horrible and drenching them and their belongings. When the sun finally rose and everybody stirred in their blankets, he had to refrain forcefully from not urging them to get up and hurry. Fortunately, nobody felt exactly comfortable staying around here, so they improvised breakfast from the leftover bread and some fruit which was edible thanks to Quatre's Nature magic. Not a single one of them dallied while breaking up camp, and they were on their way sooner than Heero thought.
He ended up walking next to Relena, Wufei taking his turn to lead and scout for the group. Quatre was on Mercurius' back, talking to Duo -- Heero was glad to see him in good spirits again. Vayeate followed the other horse's trail, slightly peeved they weren't galloping and he bristled every now and then.
"Relena," he called her name softly. She looked up, showing him a warm, yet... changed smile. He couldn't make out what exactly was changed in her smile, but it was definitely different.
"Heero," she replied, and he was relieved to hear the same, genuine warmth in her voice -- that hadn't changed.
"How are you?"
She didn't hesitate. "I'm all right," she said. "A little shaken from all the... events. I thought... I hoped we would never have to live through such a slaughter again. It's horrible."
Heero took it one of the others had told her about the spitting wrouvens -- it had been his first massacre, and he didn't feel a thing for strangely manipulated animals serving Khushrenada's cause. They were simply sent to slaughter them, and he didn't care for their death.
"I'm sorry," he said. "If I could make it that you wouldn't see it, I..."
"No, Heero." Relena heaved a sigh. She pulled her dark red vest tighter around her, the morning chilly. Esshava Bloom had thought to put at least one practical dress into the lot she bestowed upon Relena; this one was matching the vest, reaching mid-calf and pleated in the front. It didn't show any embroidery or other frills; even her matching boots were simple and sturdy. "I know you would do so if it was in your power, but it's time that I don't hide behind... that I don't hide behind the person that I'm not."
"What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"What if this is a test, Heero?" she said, her voice hitching. She looked stealthily at the mages in front of her, afraid they had overheard her. Quatre was laughing amiably and Duo was talking, flailing his arms around, wildly gesticulating. "What if the Twelve are testing me, what if I'm really a 'Princess'... how am I supposed to be a ruler, the head of a Kingdom, when I don't even know where to begin? When I don't even know who I am? What if I'm not this 'Princess' Duo believes me to me?"
"You are Relena Darlian," Heero answered. "That by some... legend you're supposed to be a Peacecraft now, doesn't change who you are. You've been raised by esshan Darlian, and maybe he didn't have enough time to prepare you, but you're intelligent and wise enough to make it work."
Her features softened, but were quickly replaced by a frown. "That's sweet of you, Heero. Still... I've been thinking. I wanted to return to Romefeller to help Sylvia, to help the people there. Maybe I'm adequate to do this, but a whole Kingdom, not to mention this high... this high regard Duo has of me, even without knowing me!"
"Do you believe in the Kingdom of Sanq and the Legends?"
"Do you?"
"I believe it," Heero answered, and wanted to add "for his sake" but found himself oddly unable to do so. "I believe it. It's quite the story, maybe even too fantastic to be true, but there has to be some truth to it. The things he has said and shown us..."
"You always only believed something when presented with undeniable, irrefutable proof," Relena teased him lightly. "You must really love him if you believe it so much." She averted her head, immediately blushing. "I'm sorry, that was out of line."
"No, it wasn't." He hesitated for a second before putting his hand on her shoulder. The look in her eyes was one of surprise, but also one of gratitude.
"I'm happy for you, Heero, I really am."
He nodded. Relena would never lie to him, and she was too caring to even think of lying into his face.
Withdrawing his hand from her shoulder, her smile turned a little wry.
"You always know what to say. Maybe you should be the ruler instead of me."
"That's not true, and you know that. You were the one discussing politics with me, remember? I'm just a servant."
She laughed abruptly. "You've long surpassed that stage, Heero." She eyed the sollevar in his right hand, almost hissing at it. "Ever since you picked up... that thing, you stopped being a servant and became a warrior."
He didn't know what to say to that. Relena despised every use of a weapon, and she had a lot of trouble accepting the necessary violence -- if they hadn't killed all the skeefs, the group would have ended up as dinner, it was as simple as that; enraged animals didn't listen to reason. It was sad to realize that it had drifted them apart, in some way; Heero had accepted, all but embraced the need of violence, while Relena was ironically fighting against it. Anything involving weapons and fighting had her disapproval; only the future would know if she would ever change that point of view or not.
The roads were changing again. There was barely any pavement, and the horses trudged through the thick mud as the continuous dreary rain turned sand into a massive sludge, slowing down their pace considerably. Wufei seemed to know where the Tallgeese estate was, and grumbled about the delay. Heero didn't expect Khushrenada to travel all that fast either, especially if he brought his army along. No one could make any progress on these roads-turned-mud pools, and he was getting quite fed up with the weather. The steadily rain soaked him, but apparently didn't bother Duo or Quatre in the least -- both mages kept their pace steady, the water pouring off their robes without actually touching them. Grumbling himself, Heero wished that the mages would apply their magic trick to the rest of the group as well; he could really do without the rain.
Duo didn't know much of Tallgeese estate. He thought it was just a mansion with a few barns and some acres of wood. For all that was known about Khushrenada, his family origins were quite prominent.
"The only reason he can afford an estate is that his family has become rich from exploiting the population," the Fire mage explained. "Barge country doesn't know any authorities, no government, nothing -- mostly because nobody ever tried to. There isn't even a capital, the people live throughout the land and do whatever needs to be done to get through the day: cooking, building, breaking, mending... the country doesn't have many natural resources, and actual good arable land is scarce."
"Let me guess, Khushrenada and his family were the closest things to an authority, and the people listened to them?"
"He owns the lands, Heero," Duo said and shrugged. Strangely enough, the rain had affected his hair and his face; he blinked a few times. "He enforced certain contracts on them, and the people signed; they couldn't read it anyway, and Khushrenada promised them good, profitable lands in exchange for a small percentage of the harvests for him."
"A percentage that increased every year," Trowa added. The archer had joined them without Heero noticing. He should really ask him how he managed to do that. "He had both the lands and people working cheap for him -- no wonder he could afford himself an estate."
"Well, this is Khushrenada senior you're talking about," Duo said, a little too airy. "I don't know what happened to his parents, though. The Khushrenada we know is the only son and heir of the family."
Relena looked pensive. "How strange that nothing is known about his family. Does he even have a wife? Children? How would they feel about their father's actions?"
"I don't even know if the people around here know what happened, and they probably don't care," the Fire mage said. "They're too busy rebuilding the country; they could well do without a usurper starting the depletion anew."
"Agreed," Relena said. She pulled her vest closer around her body. The roads were changing, but the landscape wasn't -- every tree, every bush looked as if it was in its last stage of life, showing brown leaves and dried branches. There was no color to be found here, no wild flowers, no intense green grass. It made everyone feel uncomfortable, and Duo seemed to be the most unnerved of all. Not much was said, though; they tried to keep resting to a minimum, as to make good speed on their travel. Trowa took care of the horses, and Heero trusted him, recalling Quatre's words about the archer's uncanny ability with animals. As it was, Vayeate seemed to accept Trowa, the tall stallion obeying him as well as he did Relena.
At night, Heero heard strange birds crowing, and strange animals slithering over the forest floor. By day, they struggled on and on through the mud, the everlasting rain soaking them to their bones with exception of the mages, and they ran out of provisions -- the berries on the thorny bushes they encountered all over the place were poisonous, despite their appetizing appearance. No one complained, and the more they closed in on Khushrenada's estate, the more determined and high-strung Wufei seemed to become. His hand was on the hilt of his katana, itchy to pull the sword and skewer anything, anyone with it. Heero noticed his own grip on his sollevar was ridiculously strong and tight; he forced himself to relax, but found himself impossible to do so. This country affected every one of them; Relena had fallen silent days ago, staring gloomily in front of her, her hand always at her vest to keep it as closed as possible; the wind was becoming chillier with every passing day.
The Tallgeese estate wasn't as depressing and looming as Catalonia Castle had been -- on the contrary, the mansion was painted in brightly yellow colors that mismatched completely with the gray natural environment. Even the roof tiles were a broken white, while the shudders bore light brown colors; they were all closed, a dark, almost black vine crawling between the cracks.
"It looks abandoned," was the first thing Heero mentioned. Wufei shot him a dark glare.
"We made it before Khushrenada himself," Quatre said and his voice sounded so hesitant that Heero lifted his sollevar again, ready to attack if need be. Trowa helped Relena off of Vayeate's back before rearranging his quiver, filled to the rim with sharp arrows. The bow in his hand was steadfast as ever; nothing much seemed to disturb Trowa.
"There have been people, many people here," Wufei said out loud. "Recently." The rain was busy washing away the tracks, but even Heero could make out the imprints of boots.
"If there has been an army, where did it go to?" Quatre asked. He looked at Duo, who remained silent, a scowl on his face. His lips mouthed the word 'coward', but no sound was coming out of him. Heero wished for the umpteenth time for the blasted rain to stop. If they were here, at the gates of a mansion, they might a well just go inside and find a fireplace.
Relena shivered from the cold and her hand trembled a little. "What's going to happen now?" she asked, voice drowned out by the howling wind.
"I don't know, Princess," Quatre answered absent-mindedly. Wufei was ranting incoherently, but the word 'coward' appeared often, with much disdain. The two horses scooted closer to each other, searching for some warmth. Heero was feeling quite hungry, and he wanted to be somewhere dry for a change -- and so he stepped towards the large stairs leading up to the massive entrance doors of the mansion.
"No, stop! Heero!"
Duo's voice had never sounded so imperative before. Heero stopped, turning half-way around.
"What?" He was grumpy from the cold, the rain, and the lack of food. As long as they were here, they could wait inside if Khushrenada decided to show up, and who knows, maybe the kitchen still had some stock. He was prepared to even eat that filthy grease-and-bread dinner again they had in the town at the border.
"There is..." Duo spoke, and the next moment the doors flew open with a force that slammed the panels off of their hinges. A large monster rammed through the opening; as large as the door panels were, they were still too small for this being, its massively thick and muscular arms destroying rock and bricks as if it was wet paper.
Heero was frozen to the spot; only his instincts made him lift up the sollevar, pointing it menacingly at the monstrous huge animal. He had known fear in his life before -- and now, now he was terrified. Only one look told him how heavy and how strong this beast was, and his rapid mind told him that if he were to fight it, he had better come up with a plan, and fast. It walked on its hind legs, using its arms to swing, right in Heero's direction.
"Heero!" Duo barked, the others calling out his name as well, but he just couldn't move. His eyes were focused on the mouth, foam spattering into every direction, eyes narrowed in pure bloodlust, baring sharp, large, yellow teeth as it roared for the attack.
"It's a dekka-zod! Heero! Get out of the way!"
"Heero!"
Its eyes were red, a hypnotizing red. They mirrored its rage, its lust for blood, and it had found a new victim, standing on the stairs. The sollevar was nothing but a wooden match compared to the hairy arm of the beast, but still Heero lifted it up, his body obeying instincts he didn't know he possessed in an attempt to fend off the inevitable.
The dekka-zod howled all of the sudden, a dark red ray piercing its upper body, but not killing it; dark purple spots circled around the entry wound. It howled again, almost pitifully, and it batted at the magic unleashed at it, as if not understanding what was going on. Heero noticed the scaled skin on the dekka-zod's ears, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hind legs. The rest of its body was covered with fur; when he saw an amount of arrows bungling from the matted hairs, he figured that this... being was going to be very hard to deal with. He only had time for one look over his shoulder, looking at Duo who had conjured the magic -- one look, and then the dekka-zod lunged forward on all fours, rampaging towards the one that was hurting him.
"Duo!"
Quatre swung his staff, wielding his magic through it, and the animal was encased in a thick layer of ice, freezing it mid-way through its jump.
"Almighty Twelve," the Nature mage muttered, panting from the exertion. Encasing such a large being took a lot out of him. "What are we going to do now?"
Relena had hidden herself behind the two horses while Vayeate was stamping with impatience to take on the monster himself. Mercurius half-heartedly blocked his way, though, keeping both horses in front of the girl. Wufei had drawn his katana, swearing briefly. Normal weapons were too small to accomplish anything with a beast this size. Forcing himself to take the few steps down, Heero approached the two mages, trying to convince himself that the fight was over. Shivering from the cold when he passed the iceberg encasing the dekka-zod, he glanced at Duo.
"I tried to leech its life," he said, shaking his head. "It's an extremely strong beast, and I figured that if I could leech its life, I could weaken it... but I only managed to enrage it."
This time Heero didn't shiver from the cold. This was his first taste of Death magic, and even Quatre seemed to have distanced himself from Duo, literally -- he stood a few steps away from him, and Heero could have sworn the two mages had stood next to each other when the whole ordeal had begun. Trowa was inspecting his quiver, and though Wufei had stopped talking, his shifty eyes spoke volumes. Knowing that one was in the presence of a Death mage was one thing, seeing him wielding it was a whole another thing. Heero refrained from shivering again. Duo had told him about it, and he shouldn't be afraid of the one he... loved. Really? Did he really love...?
"Can we just go inside?" Relena's voice was nothing short of a little singing bird, and he didn't blame her for being scared. Quatre had encased the dekka-zod in ice, but it still oozed danger, and those teeth and eyes would scare anyone. Nobody moved, however -- only a silence fell, interrupted by a creaking sound. And again. And again.
"Get away from there," Quatre hissed, gesticulating at Heero. He stepped to the side as Quatre positioned himself in front of the huge chunk of ice, raising his staff again. Heero assumed that the mage was going to strengthen his spell to keep the dekka-zod in its cold tomb, and took a few more steps to the side to allow him to work freely. Just as he did, he caught a large crack from the corner of his eyes.
"Quatre! Over here!" he warned, but it was too late. The dekka-zod freed itself, the ice not strong enough to imprison it, and with another deep howl, it continued to jump forward, straight at Quatre. Huge pieces of ice scattered around, the thick encasement breaking apart, and Heero was thrown to the ground when a particular large lump hit him in the stomach. He tried to get back up on his feet immediately, his voice having died in his throat -- was he going to witness Quatre being torn to pieces by the animal, or...?
It was Duo who pushed Quatre out of the way, rolling with him over the ground and was barely missed by the dekka-zod's jaw snapping shut as it finished its jump. Relena screamed, seeing the beast coming straight at her, but the dekka-zod turned around, snorting and growling, movements sluggish. Heero crawled through the mud to Quatre who had been pushed to the ground, Duo on top of him.
"Get up, get up!"
Trowa hopped around the animal, darting like a faun, unperturbed by the rain, cold, or the mud. He faced the dekka-zod head on, aiming his arrow and shooting it with a disturbing calm composure right into its eye. Howling in pain, the beast straightened itself on its hind legs again, mowing around with its huge forearms. Its deafening cry of pain pierced the sky; Trowa quickly moved away from where he had been standing as the dekka-zod blindly stampeded forward... to where both mages were lying in the mud, with only Heero standing upright to defend them.
Duo cursed wildly as he tried to get up, the weight of his heavy robes almost pulling him down, and he used Quatre unceremoniously for support to get up and straighten himself.
Heero gritted his teeth and braced himself for the impact. He had no doubt one hit of the animal's arm would wipe him out; but he would rather die protecting Duo, Relena, the rest of the group, then running for his life. Duo was a little quicker than him -- rapidly, the mage cast his leeching spell again, and this time in short bursts instead of one concentrated beam of magic. The dekka-zod stopped its oncoming charge, howling again as it tried to fight off the pain.
Duo slowly stepped forward, approaching the beast. The magic was becoming more intense, concentrating on leeching all its life force. It growled and howled; Relena clamped her hands over her ears. The noise was horrifying, but as it was fighting off the magic, it still tried to attack -- flailing wildly with its arms, it finally managed to hit Duo, who flew through the air like a discarded sheet of paper.
Heero was sure he screamed his name. He screamed, but it was drowned out by the triumphing, boasting roar of the dekka-zod, who simply picked out its next target despite being weakened by the Death magic. In its hesitation to decide on either Quatre or Heero to be the next, Wufei charged forward, plunging his katana into the beast's fur, scraping its skin. It served nothing but to enrage the animal further, distracted for only a mere second -- but enough for Quatre to roll away and stand up, collecting his bearings again.
"Heero," he said. "Heero! Focus!"
He didn't care. He couldn't care. Focus on what? Duo was lying in the mud, in the rain, his face turned away from him, and Heero couldn't see if he was breathing or not. He can't be dead. He's immortal as long as he hasn't found life, remember? Strangely, it didn't calm him; it only made him more anxious.
"Focus!"
He couldn't help Duo if he didn't manage to defeat this beast. It was growling, preparing itself for another charge -- it was sluggish, but so extremely strong that, even though Duo had leeched some of its life force, there was still plenty left to make it dangerous and unpredictable. His grip on his sollevar tightened, his knuckles turning white. He was one of the Five, just like Quatre, Wufei, Trowa and Duo. They couldn't die here. They had come too far to die here on the lands of the usurper, after seeking him out to fight him on his own turf. Heero refused to die -- he was strong, he wasn't feeling tired. If he ignored his hunger, if he ignored his worries about Duo, and concentrated on taking on the beast, he could defeat it, together with the others.
The dekka-zod roared again, resuming its charge. Heero counted the number of steps it was taking, assessing its rhythm. One, two...Quatre's hands were covered with a thin layer of ice, and a pale blue light surrounded his fingers.
"No," Heero said. Three, four...
"What?" Quatre didn't look back. The light intensified -- whatever spell he was preparing, maybe his own dortang, it was going to be strong.
"No," Heero repeated. One, two...He shifted the sollevar, the trident-head pointing upwards, the shaft over his shoulder. The beast roared.
"You're kidding..." Quatre's voice was drowned out, but he didn't complete his spell. I'll ask him later why he trusted me. Three... four!
It jumped, arms forward, stubby nails visible. Its teeth made up for the sharpness its nails missed -- its mouth was open wide enough to drive a whole carriage through. Please! Heero threw the sollevar with all his strength, praying as it went, flying through the air, a perfect arc as it landed into the dekka-zod's mouth, the razor sharp trident splintering bone and rupturing tissue, penetrating the skull. Spitting out blood, the beast fell to the ground, and only because both Wufei and Quatre pulled him aside, it didn't land on top of Heero.
He didn't hear what they were saying, ears deaf to anything that didn't carry Duo's voice. Duo... his eyes sought out the Fire mage, still lifelessly on the ground, and his feet were walking towards him, breaking out into a jog, accelerating to a fast-paced run until he reached him, dropping to his knees, hands grabbing Duo at the shoulders.
"Duo! Duo...!" He shook him a few times. "Duo! This can't be!"
"Easy," Duo coughed, tilting his head, his face covered with mud, eyes half-lidded, blood dripping into them.
"You're injured," Heero said, keeping the worried tone out of his voice. "Quatre! Come over here!"
"I'm okay," Duo groaned, coughing again. "I might be a Death mage, but I'm not indestructible. I should have known that that beast could knock me over like anyone else."
"Quatre!" Heero hollered again, trying to get the mud off of Duo's face, his fingers moving gently, but unable to wipe the caked blood away.
"I'm okay," Duo repeated, immediately followed by a grunt. "Help me up."
"You'll lie down until Quatre has taken a good look at you," Heero said and all but pushed Duo back into the mud when he tried to get up on his own. Duo grunted again, but obediently lied down. In the background, Heero could hear the dying snorts and groans of the dekka-zod, but the animal was the last thing on his mind to worry about.
Heero unabashedly brushed wet strands of hair out of Duo's face, gritting his teeth when some of them were matted with blood, and he cursed the rain once more. Finally, he noticed Quatre standing next to him, the midnight blue robes flowing around him, untouched by any of nature's antics.
"Let's get him inside," he suggested. "Wufei and Trowa are scouting if there are more of... these surprises in the mansion, but we would be at least sheltered from the rain."
"Best idea I've ever heard," Heero grumbled and wrapped his arms around Duo, who groaned once more, Heero being none too careful in his haste to get him into the mansion.
He didn't pay any attention to the demolished furniture and damaged decorations when they were inside; his eyes darted around in search for the best place to lie Duo down. The Fire mage was leaning on him, but not lifelessly; he moved his arms to rub over his bruised chest, still groaning every now and then, more in irritation than from real pain.
"Over there," Quatre pointed to a sofa who had miraculously survived the destructive nature of the dekka-zod. Heero moved towards it and helped Duo to lie down on the abundantly embroidered cushions, outlined with pompous tassels in every corner. Its sandy-yellow color clashed with the intense pitch black of Duo's robes, and as soon as the fabric washed over the sofa, its colors seemed to pale and wash out. Nobody paid attention; Quatre pushed Heero gently to the side to check Duo's injuries.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked as Quatre just... stood there.
"Shh," Duo shushed him, coughing a little. Heero frowned.
"Duo, you need..."
"Patience, Heero, patience," Quatre said, his eyes never leaving Duo. "I can't Heal him before I know what injuries he has sustained. If I apply Healing just like that, the patient wouldn't really benefit from it, now would he? Not every injury is the same, and sometimes it's more difficult to assess one's condition... ah, at least you don't have any internal injuries, Duo."
Duo muttered something that had to be a sarcastic remark, but it was muffled by the large sleeve of his robe as he held up his arm, hand pressed against his forehead. There was still some blood on his face, but it seemed to be a superficial cut, much to Heero's relief. Quatre just nodded and lifted his hands, palms up, pressing them together as if cupping something. A white-ish, pale orb was formed, slowly spinning around as the mage chanted his Healing spell. Heero almost took a step back when he saw something flowing out of the orb, some kind of semi-transparent tendril, coiling as it descended down on Duo.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked again. It almost looked like the magic was attacking Duo instead of healing him; the tendril stretched itself along Duo's body, curling around his limbs. Quatre shook his head in annoyance, too busy with the spell to give an answer. Duo didn't say a word either, only heaving a deep sigh. Heero couldn't see what was happening, only that Duo looked pale and his eyes slid close, lips slightly parted. The blood and the cut on his face disappeared, a bruise on his cheek was gone as well, and the healing spell even removed the caked blood from his hair.
"Amazing," Heero said in awe, though he knew how good of a Healer Quatre was. This was the first time he actually witnessed a Healing. Quatre nodded again and both the tendril and orb disappeared. He wiggled with his fingers a little before dropping his hands next to his sides. Duo seemed to be asleep; his eyes were still closed, and his chest rose and fell in a steady, healthy rhythm.
"Healing is intense, especially when you have already given so much of yourself." Quatre said. He didn't look as tired as Duo, yet his face was a little pale. "Magic is hard work, and it has to come all from your inner self. He's exhausted, Heero. We can let him rest for a while, for as long as it takes for the others to sweep the house for other, uninvited guests."
"Quatre," Heero said before the other could walk away.
"Yes?"
"How does... how does one live with magic?"
"Live with magic?" Quatre looked confused. "You don't have a choice, Heero. Either you have those powers or you don't -- and when you have them, you just live with them. At Libra, we taught people how to deal with it; how it affected one's life. Others learned from experience, I guess."
"True, but Duo chose to wield these powers..."
"Only the Death magic," Quatre corrected him. "He's a Fire mage by birth, but he chose to wield Death magic, yes. I take it he told you about it himself. He might be the only and last one to walk these grounds, completely schooled in Death magic. He opened himself for it, he sought the knowledge out. That's the difference. He takes the risks for all of us, so others don't have to fight. He saw his home and his church burn down, he saw the people he loved, die."
"Like so many of us."
Quatre sighed, a frown of sadness marring his face. "Like so many of us. It's terrible, but that is the way it goes. I'm not all-powerful, I'm not a visionary, and nature magic is just what it is... nature magic. I'm a Healer, not a fighter, Heero. I do know how to fight, and I will fight by using my magic, using the power and forces of nature to defend myself and protect those around me. Death magic or Fire magic like Duo's is much more offensive and deals a lot more damage -- but as you saw yourself out there, Death magic takes a lot of concentration and leaves you open for an attack. Furthermore, anyone wielding Death magic is unable to heal himself."
He waited until the mage continued, but Quatre remained silent, apparently lost in thoughts. When he looked up and spoke, his voice was calm and composed.
"Keep guard around him, Heero. I'm going to see how the Princess is doing."
Heero acknowledged Quatre's order and sat down on the floor as there was no other furniture, be it severely damaged, around to sit on. Whoever had left the dekka'zod in the mansion, had done it on purpose. Heero had already seen the dust and deteriorating state of the walls. No one had been here in quite a while; it made him wonder about the fate of the rest of the Khushrenada family, be it for Treize. If anything, he would pay, Heero vowed to himself. Anger flowed through him, fueling his desire to end Khushrenada's life himself. His moment would be when his sollevar would pierce the man's neck, and he would gurgle and die in his own blood. Which reminded him that his weapon was still in the dekka'zod's mouth if none of the others had pulled it out yet. Grumbling, he remained with Duo and calmed himself by focusing on his breathing; chest rising and falling, rising and falling. His braid had slipped over his shoulder and dangled from the sofa, close to Heero's foot. As his anger calmed down, a feeling of guilt took over; he hadn't even asked how Relena was doing and where the horses were.
He didn't realize how much time he spent next to Duo, legs crossed, mulling over Quatre's words and pondering the recent events. His stomach was growling, hunger pains plaguing him. Heero wished they could leave here already; how long was it going to take for the others to search through the mansion? If he had paid attention, he would have known how large it was, and Wufei and Trowa were only the two of them. If there were any other beasts to deal with, they needed his help... but he didn't hear any commotion, and he didn't even know where Quatre and Relena were.
A sound to his left startled him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Relena next to him, placing a silver tray beside him on the floor.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He shook his head. She apparently thought she had disturbed him, presuming that he had dozed off. "It's okay."
"I brought you something to eat," she said. "There weren't any provisions in the kitchen left, but the garden was full of wild fruit, and we still had some flour and sugar from our own stash. Quatre checked the fruit, it's all right -- I baked you a pie."
He couldn't suppress a laugh; the fact that they were on enemy's turf after having defeated a gigantic beast, contrasting with something as sweet and simple as a pie was actually quite funny. She didn't get it, and tilted her head curiously.
"You'll make a good wife someday, Relena," he said and she laughed softly; this joke she understood.
"I'll try," she answered and sat down, carefully wiping away some of the dirt and dust first. She glanced at Duo. "How is he?"
"Just tired," Heero said and removed the silver lid from the tray. The pie was golden brown and smelled heavenly. He didn't know what kind of fruit she had used, but it was mouthwatering. Using the utensils on the tray, he cut off a piece for himself.
"That was Death magic outside, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was," he answered. "I've never seen something like it before."
"It was horrible," Relena said. "That...animal was horrible. Who creates such beasts?"
"Not the Twelve, if that's what you think," Duo said, voice raspy. Heero almost forgot to chew on his pie, but the Fire mage looked at him amusedly, eyes tired but glimmering.
Relena shook her head. "I wouldn't even consider thinking that they would create such monsters. I... even when they die, it's awful, but...they're so horrible..."
"Don't worry, Princess," Duo said and tried to sit up straight. "These monsters don't have any feelings, and I mean they really don't -- not a feeling at all. They were bred, cultivated with only one goal: kill."
"Horrible," Relena repeated and her hands went to the tray, cutting off another piece. For a moment Heero thought she was going to eat it herself, but she handed the plate over to Duo.
"It's not as nutritious as regular dinner," she muttered. "But Trowa says the woods around here don't have any wildlife worth hunting, and skinning that dekka'zod thing..."
"It isn't edible anyway," Duo soothed her, accepting the plate gracefully and using his hands instead of the accompanying fork to eat the pie. Soon, his mouth was covered with crumbs and fruit stains, and Relena wordlessly handed him a napkin.
Heero took another slice of the pie, savoring its taste. His stomach wasn't satisfied at all, but it was a beginning, it was at least something. It didn't surprise him that the kitchen had been empty; only a fool wouldn't notice that this estate was just ripe for demolition. Duo moved his legs and sat upright, enjoying his food.
"You're eating already," Quatre's voice resonating through the hall. "Good, I thought you were going to be out for longer."
"Are you kidding?" Duo boasted, but ruined it by coughing rather violently. He used the napkin to hide his face, pretending he just choked on his bite of the pie.
"There is no one in the building," Wufei said, words clipped as usual. "We found Khushrenada's study; it is locked, and there is a presence in it."
"A presence?" Relena parroted.
"We saw the shadow over the threshold," Trowa clarified. "There's someone in the study, but there was no answer when we knocked."
"Did you try to break open the door?" Heero suggested, almost annoyed.
"That is why we are here for you," Wufei shot back. "We need your brute strength to open it."
"Such a delicious pie," Quatre said a little too lightly, and served himself. Wufei glared at Heero before sitting down, his own hunger keeping him from refusing to share the meal.
After they had devoured the pie, Heero asked where the horses where. Trowa answered him that Vayeate and Mercurius were in the garden, enjoying their own dinner. The stables belonging to the estate were in deplorable condition; they had found a barrel with water in the garden, along with the abundance of fruit. While Duo got up from the sofa and stretched, Heero went outside to retrieve his sollevar, yanking it out of the dekka'zod's open mouth, the lingering stench of its breath almost causing him to throw up.
With his weapon safely back into his hands, Heero joined the rest of the group. Wufei had his hand on his katana, and Trowa also had his bow and arrows ready; despite no other animal being around, they were clearly not at ease. The eerily empty mansion was grating on his nerves as well, and Heero allowed the two to lead the way to wherever Khushrenada's study was. All the doors in the long hallways were open, and Heero understood why it had taken them so long; they had searched through all the rooms, examining them meticulously. It had bought Duo some time to rest, and even though Heero himself hadn't felt tired at all, his short nap hadn't been unwelcome.
Relena followed in the back, with Quatre closing the line as they went upstairs to the study. Her hand went past the beautiful wallpaper, showing an intricate pattern of flowers and plants, faded and torn. A few of the paintings still on the wall showed wonderful landscapes. The Khushrenada family had come a long way, in the negative sense; all this beauty and grandeur was hard to reconcile with the all-out war, the horrible monsters and the coveting nature of the family, extorting their own people.
"Here it is," Trowa announced when he halted in front of a large, dark red painted door. Heero knocked on the wood to determine its origin, but he couldn't make anything of the dark, low sound.
Duo frowned when he saw the door. "Very shrewd," he said, and he didn't take the effort to keep the irritation out of his voice. "This door has been sealed for any magic; if I were to use any Fire to try to burn it down, it would simply repel it."
"I thought so," Quatre sighed. "Well, force is all that we have left, then. Heero?"
He growled. This was going to take several tries, he was sure of it; the wood was thick and sturdy. He put his shoulder against it and pushed, then he pulled back and tried it again, this time with all his weight. The door creaked, but didn't budge.
Soon, they all lost count of how many times he tried; slowly but surely, the door was getting off of its hinges. Heero alternated between pushing with his shoulder and kicking with his foot. Finally, a final kick broke the door's resistance, and it flew open.
The first thing that stood out was that the study was completely unaffected. Lavishly decorated with the most expensive wooden furniture, all sporting delicately carved patterns, there wasn't even a speck of dust to be found. Tall bookcases, filled to the brim with books and several statuettes of a material that Heero didn't recognize, covered the wall-papered walls with the same design as in the hallway.
The second thing was Treize Khushrenada himself, standing in front of a massive wooden desk, ink and quills laid out next to a small stack of hand-crafted sheets of paper.
"What a delightful surprise," the man spoke. "Duo of Maxwell Church, you honor me. Quatre of the Maganac Deserts. Trowa of the Oz forests. Wufei of the Nataku clans. Heero of the Romefeller warriors. Bravo. You managed to find them all."
"That's enough," Duo said, voice dangerously low. "How is this possible? You can't have hidden yourself all the time here."
"Who knows?" Khushrenada snorted. "You are not a hero, Duo. You are just fulfilling some kind of legend you stumbled upon in your libraries."
"Libraries you would kill to get your hands on," Duo reminded him dryly. He took a step forward, but Heero immediately grabbed him by the arm. The Fire mage shot him a glare.
"Maybe, but you resigned Libra to me the moment you refused to show me the gate and open it for me. I do not forget things lightly. It is all upon your shoulders -- the fire, the destruction, the death."
Heero looked aghast at Duo, but he shook his head, just like Quatre. What they meant, was for another time; Heero swung his sollevar around and pointed it at Khushrenada.
"Don't you dare put the blame on any of us," he spoke out loud. His shoulder hurt from the ordeal with the door, but he ignored the pain, numbing it with his willpower. "You have caused more death and destruction than any one of us, anyone before us. You'll pay for all the pain and all the deaths!"
"No Heero, wait!" It was Duo who grabbed his arm. "It's not worth it."
"Not worth it? What do you mean? We have the chance to finish him, for good!"
"This isn't him," Duo said, gritting his teeth. "Where are you, Tubarov? You and your dolls won't fool me again, you know!"
Khushrenada threw his head into his neck and laughed wildly. It wasn't his voice anymore, and his body shook wildly for a brief moment. "Magnificent! Marvelous!"
"What is going on?" Wufei demanded. He had unsheathed his katana, and his whole position was catlike -- ready to jump forward and attack.
Heero recalled the dungeon under Catalonia Castle; the mage-in-training Trent, with the Relena doll, trying to manipulate him. This wasn't Khushrenada; he was deluding all of them.
"This can't be true!"
Khushrenada shrugged. "You are all a nuisance," he said. "Nuisances need to be dealt with. It is frustrating though, that you still manage to defeat every creature I sent for you."
"Because we are the Five," Duo answered. "We are those who not defeat only your creatures, but you in the end as well."
"Brave talk," Khushrenada sneered. "I do not know how you managed to get every one of them to follow you, but you manipulated them perfectly into your plans, based upon an ancient legend almost no one knows the true origin of. You are a smooth talker, Duo, and you have tricked all of these fine young men and one beautiful girl into giving up their lives and trot behind you all over the world for your own glory."
"Nonsense," Duo said crudely. "Stop talking nonsense!"
"I know better," Khushrenada continued. "I know something much better. You can all come to me, join me, work for me. There is much more I can offer than what he can."
"No one will even consider your 'offer'," Duo snarled.
"Coward," Wufei spoke, but he wasn't talking about Duo. With one supple movement, he unsheathed his katana, the metal reflecting some of the last daylight filtered through the windows. "Doll or not, you will suffer as long as you refuse to take responsibility for your actions!"
"I could use a swordsman of your caliber," Khushrenada said, unaffected by Wufei's words. "I could use a Nature mage with incredible Healing powers. An archer with unsurpassed aim, a warrior whose strength is almost legendary."
"What, you don't want any Death magic thrown into the mix?" Duo asked. He flexed his fingers, and he wasn't the only one aching to attack. Heero had his sollevar still pointed at Khushrenada, only noticing now that his eyes weren't really following anyone; it was true, it was just a doll. If so, where was the real Khushrenada?
"If we are just following Duo for his so-called legend, why are you so eager to enlist us in your mighty army?" Trowa was aiming his bow. Khushrenada didn't even blink.
"I would be a fool to keep myself deprived of such power," he replied simply. "I know your potential, I acknowledge your talents. You can develop yourself in my service, and I..."
"Enough!" Wufei hollered as he lunged forward and decapitated the doll. Relena, not having anticipated this, gasped, only able to hide a scream by putting her hands over her mouth.
The head of the doll bounced off the floor, rolling around until it finally came to a halt in front of Duo's feet. The Fire mage grabbed the head at its hair and held it up.
"Put that away!" Relena said, though she was unable to keep her eyes off of it. It was a perfect duplicate, life-like and deceptively real; Heero could see the details on the face. He shuddered.
Quatre looked pointedly the other way, as if he was studying the books in one of the tall cupboards. Trowa simply grinned before schooling his face into its well-known neutral expression again, and Wufei looked angry as he sheathed the katana again.
"We cannot afford to waste our time here," he said, "and if Khushrenada is not here, I would like to know where he went to!"
"I don't know where to go from here," Duo suddenly said. Everyone turned their heads.
"What?"
"What, Duo?"
"I don't know where to go from here," Duo repeated and dropped the head rather unceremoniously. "I expected Khushrenada and his army to be here, and was prepared to take them on, with just the five of us -- because that's what we are, the Five of us."
"Shh," Trowa interrupted him. Heero shifted his stance immediately -- he had heard it too. When the head of the doll had hit the ground, another bump had followed. Wufei narrowed his eyes; he had missed out on the sound, but was ready to battle if anything would happen. His hand crept back to his katana again.
"What's going on?" Quatre whispered. Relena scooted closer to Heero.
"There's someone here," Trowa whispered in return. "Someone real."
"Where?" Duo lowered his voice as well, his fingers clenching itself into a fist, an ominous red glow enveloping him.
"Behind the bookcases," the archer answered. Duo didn't hesitate for a second and unleashed his Fire, engulfing the wall in vicious flames, giving off a heat that made everyone shrink back. The heat was gone as soon as Duo called off his flames, the massive bookcases reduced to mere ashes. Trowa had been right; a tight space was revealed, and a body was lying on the floor, motionless. It was charred beyond recognition, but Quatre didn't need facial features to know who he was.
"Tubarov," he said. "Apparently, decapitating the doll was too much for him."
"He's tied to every doll he makes," Duo said, and Heero wasn't sure if there was a kind of grief in his voice; he certainly spoke with some regret. "I have never understood exactly how his magic worked, but there was an unmistakable connection between him and any of his dolls, no matter the distance. His work literally killed him."
"I will not mourn for the death of a cowardly manipulator," Wufei said.
As Quatre looked around to see if there was anything important or worthwhile to them in Tubarov's space, Duo walked over to the large window behind the desk and stared outside. The sun was setting; pretty soon, it would be night. Heero came to stand next to him, staring outside as well -- there was not much to see but an impenetrable wall of mountains in the distance. Everything looked grim and dark, and they had nowhere to go.
"Duo..."
"I don't know, Heero, I really don't."
He ignored the defensive tone of the Fire mage and turned his head to look at him. Duo looked pointedly outside, face bland.
"Khushrenada told nothing but lies."
That seemed to take him by surprise. Duo arched his eyebrows, but he didn't look at Heero.
"I didn't manipulate anyone into following me. I don't ever tell a lie, Heero."
"You never asked me to follow you."
"You never walked away from me."
"You never told me to go."
"You never left."
It brought a smile to Heero's lips. "No, I never left. Do you want me to?"
"Never."
"I thought so."
Finally, Duo turned his head to look at him, a similar smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I appreciate it. Still, I don't know where to go from here. It's not like any legend lays out exact, detailed plans of how things are supposed to go, you know."
"Legends, legends," Heero shrugged. "We're not living in the time of those legends."
"No, but we are legends. Legends of the Five."
Heero put his hand on Duo's shoulder. "Maybe it's time that we let go of that Legends talk and just focus on the here and now. At best, we resemble those warriors of ages ago, but we aren't them, Duo."
He crossed his arms in front of his chest, the embroidered flames on his sleeves deceptively real. Duo pursed his lips.
"We are the only ones able to stop Khushrenada."
"Really?" Wufei snorted from the west corner of the study, kicking at a pile of books. "If we cannot even find him, there is not much stopping we can do, is there?"
Trowa turned around to look at Duo, and Quatre stood up as well, briskly dusting off his hands. Relena had been browsing the books on the other wall, and turned around as well.
"We're not at an end here," the archer spoke. "There must be a way to find him."
"Tubarov was only here in a last ditch effort to sweet-talk us into joining him," Quatre said. "The doll was nothing but a decoy, however you want to name it. Khushrenada was on his way to Barge country, and he must be around here somewhere."
"What makes you so sure?" Wufei asked.
"The skeefs, the dekka'zod," Quatre immediately shot back. "All these creatures on our path are nothing but Khushrenada's, and he's the one sending them after us. How can he send them after us if he isn't around, somewhere close by? I thought you would know that by now, Wufei."
The Nataku warrior glared at Quatre, which resulted in a warning cough from Trowa, who stepped closer to the Nature mage. Duo moved away from the window, arms still crossed in front of his chest, his eyes visibly darker.
"It was of my own volition that I chose to follow you around," Wufei said, his voice clipped. "I realized soon enough that, on my own, I would not stand a chance against Khushrenada. Still, that doesn't mean that I feel obliged to follow you any longer around then necessary -- I will do anything that it takes to find him, Legend or not, and see to it that justice is served."
"We all have a reason why we followed each other." Quatre's blue eyes were friendly, yet careful. He sensed the tension just as anyone else, and didn't want the situation to escalate. Duo, however, proved to dispose over less than subtle diplomatic skills.
"You're free to leave whenever you want," he said, voice just as clipped. "I have never forced anyone to follow me, or to serve me -- what I could only offer was shreds of a legend, believing that any of you fitted it, and drawing hope and strength from it to bring peace back to this world, submerged in war and violence. Legend or not, this world needs people who can and will stand up to tyranny."
"No one is going anywhere."
It was Relena who spoke, and Heero wasn't the only one whose eyes widened. Relena was determined in her own beliefs, and seldom had he heard her speak with such conviction before.
"No one is going anywhere," she repeated, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She spoke softer, almost as if embarrassed for raising her voice. She looked at the book in her hands, surprised to find it there, and put it behind her on a shelf. Clearing her throat, she looked from one to another. "We have to stay strong as a group, together. There's nothing we can't accomplish as long as we're together. Breaking up and following our roads separately won't help us."
Quatre nodded. "We should come up with a plan instead of arguing."
Trowa shoved his bow onto his back, next to his quiver. His sudden movement reminded Heero that he had a tense grip on his sollevar himself, and that Wufei's hand on his katana twitched. The mages didn't show any sign of having conjured a spell, but Heero had no doubt they could have done some serious damage when feeling cornered.
"I can't believe you were willing to fight each other," Relena said. "In the spirit of the Legend, we should be a tight-knit group, willing to die for each other instead of fighting each other to the death."
"Are you willing to die for me, Princess?" Duo suddenly asked. His facial expression was hard to see now that the night had fallen; there wasn't any light in the room. Heero all but wished he would conjure one of those light orbs, like he had done in the dungeons before.
"Yes." Not a second of hesitation.
"I am willing to die for you too, Princess."
"Are you willing to die for me, Princess?" Quatre's voice.
"Yes." Relena didn't hesitate again.
"I am willing to die for you too, Princess."
Trowa chose to go next, and Heero waited a few heartbeats when they were finished to speak his words; he didn't know if it was his imagination or that Relena's "Yes" was truly a bit warmer than with any of the others.
Chapter 11 | Chapter 13 |