Gundam Wing/AC 1. Part 0

Gundam Wing - Balancing The Scales - Part 0 - by Madamhydra  
Last revised: 05/01/00 

******* WARNING *******   
*** extremely alternate universe  
*** semi-darkfic, yaoi 

This is a slightly revised version of the teaser I posted earlier.  The major changes consist of:  
(1) switching Trowa's and Quatre's prior personas  
(2) changing Quatre's and Wufei's prior names 

------------------------------  
(Earlier header note) 

WAIIII!!!!  pathetic whine  I got assaulted and abducted by another weird muse last night and boy, is this one STRANGE!  I think it got inspired by watching too many episodes of "Record of Lodoss Wars: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight" and someone's idle comment about payment for past sins....   -_-;;   

======================================================================  
BALANCING THE SCALES  
A Gundam Wing ALTERNATE-REALITY fic by Madamhydra  
======================================================================  
Prologue (revised)  
====================================================================== 

Short Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Gundam Wing copyrighted by their respective creators and all distributors of their work. Used without permission. 

====================================================================== 

She stormed into the battered remains of the great hall like a pagan war goddess, still clad in her blood-stained black armor.  On the floor just in front of the empty throne was a large, thirty foot wide circle drawn in blood and decorated with numerous mysterious symbols, also written in blood.  Around the circle, at the cardinal points lay four bodies.  Someone had taken the trouble to cover the bodies of the king, the queen, and her two siblings with some tapestries hastily torn from the walls.   

And in the center of the circle lay one more body, resting facedown in a huge puddle of its own blood. 

She gritted her teeth in suppressed rage and called out, "Wizard!  I grow impatient!" 

A rabbity middle-aged man scuttled out from the shadows and babbled, "General Vincina!  I...." 

She grabbed the front of his robe and hauled him toward her.  Lifting her bloody sword, she hissed, "Well, have you succeed in reopening the gate?" 

He twitched in fear as the tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed warrior glared at him.  "Y-y-yes, General!  That is to say, I've done as much as I can!  The rest... the rest is up to you." 

She threw him to the ground and headed for the circle. 

The wizard cried out, "My lady!  Are you SURE you want to do this!?" 

Vincina glared at the man and snarled, "Do you think I'm going to let those four murdering bastards to escape my vengeance!?  They betrayed their sacred trust to guard our borders from the Dark Lords and see the result!  Look at what they've done!"  She waved a gauntlet-covered hand at the four bodies surrounding the circle.  "They've slain my entire family and destroyed the kingdom with their traitorous schemes!" 

"But my lady... we NEED you to protect and lead the survivors...!" 

"Fool!  What makes you think that there's going to BE any survivors when the Dark Lords get through with us?  The army is gone, most of the kingdom is crawling with darkspawned beasts who are killing, raping, or eating every living thing in sight, and this castle is doomed to fall to their forces within the hour!  I have no time for your doubts, wizard!" 

"And so you intend to follow these four traitors through the gateway to seek vengeance?" croaked an old woman who hobbled into the great hall, dressed in a bloodied white robe. 

Vincina gave her a perfunctory nod of respect.  "Yes." 

The old woman sighed, "General Vincina, I beg you to reconsider.  Sadly I must agree that this land is doomed.  Use the gateway if you must, but do so in hopes of finding a new life, not with rage and hatred in your heart.  The fates have ways of ensuring that all deeds, even the foul crimes committed by the four great traitors, will eventually be balanced in full measure.  Do not fear that they will escape their just reward.  They WILL be punished and atonement WILL be made."  Glancing at the blond general, she added, "That applies equally to you as well." 

"Priestess, after the events of these last few weeks, I have precious little faith in the gods, fate, or even other mortals." 

The old woman turned to look at the bloody corpse lying in the center of the circle.  She closed her eyes in an expression of profound grief, then said softly, "HE would not want you to do this, Lady Vincina." 

The general clenched her fists and shouted back, "Bryon was a gentle soul... too kind-hearted, too trusting, too forgiving...!  And look what all that got him?  His four childhood 'friends' betrayed him, tortured him, and finally gutted him like a pig for their own filthy purposes!" 

Vincina took a few deep breaths to regain her composure, then said evenly, "I've made my decision, priestess.  You will not sway me." 

The old woman sighed.  "So be it.  But Lady Vincina, remember this.  Through this gateway lie the Wylde Ways, where both space and time dance to chaos' whimsy.  Your path may be short and direct as the arrow's flight, while your enemies' path may be a long, winding road which takes them through many lives and reincarnations, but be warned.  No one passes through the Wylde Ways unchanged.   Both the hunter and the quarry can be transformed  beyond recognition, whether for good or ill.  What you find could easily be very different from what you seek or expect." 

When Vincina coldly shrugged aside the warning, the priestess gave Bryon's corpse a last sad look, then wearily retreated back into the ruins of the castle.   

Turning back to the wizard, the general said, "What do I have to do?" 

The wizard barely qualified as such, but all the other wizards were already dead, slain either by the traitors prior to the invasion or later by the enemy.  He bit his lip nervously and said, "You must picture your enemies and focus on your reasons for seeking them." 

"And then?" 

He gulped.  "And then you must plunge your blade into your chest and use your heart's blood to open the gateway."  As Vincina's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, he hastily backed away and babbled, "It has to be YOUR blood!  That's the only way to ensure that you'll be able to track down the traitors!  YOU'RE the one with the burning desire for revenge, not me!" 

"Very well, wizard.  Then leave me." 

Ignoring the patter of the man's retreating footsteps, she took a deep breath and walked into the circle's center.  Now alone except for the dead, Vincina sank to her knees beside Bryon's bloody corpse.  She pulled off her gauntlet and slowly ran her fingers through the long, tangled strands of chestnut brown hair.  It had been Bryon's sole vanity, but now it lay bloodstained and matted. 

She whispered sadly.  "I'm sorry... sorry for being so hard on you... sorry for constantly making fun of your hair... sorry for mocking your peace-loving ways... sorry for not telling you that I loved you when I had the chance...." 

She lifted his head slightly, then froze when she caught a glimpse of the raw, bloody sockets where Bryon's beautiful violet eyes used to be.  She gently placed his head back on the ground, then lifted up the bloody robe he had been dressed in.  When she saw the incredible number of whip and burn marks all over his body, she started to curse. 

"Damn you damn you Damn You DAMN YOU BASTARDS!" she screamed into the empty great hall.  "He LOVED YOU!  ALL OF YOU!  HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM!?" 

Vincina closed her blue eyes and started to concentrate on the monsters responsible for this hell her world had become.  She didn't know what she hated them the most for -- the destruction of the kingdom or the atrocities done to Bryon -- but she knew that she would know no peace until the four traitorous nobles had paid for their sins... and paid many times over.  She pictured them in her mind, etching their names, faces, and crimes indelibly into her memory. 

The first traitor was Perane, the craven.  His dark hair, intense cobalt blue eyes, and swashbuckling manner misled many into thinking him a brave hero, but the flamboyant exterior hid a spineless worm who said or did anything to preserve his own miserable life.  The selfish coward. 

The second traitor was Harrow, the cruel.  A brown-haired, slender youth whose easy laughter and witty words concealed a vicious, jealous, emerald-eyed monster who gloried on others' pain.  The charming sadist. 

The third traitor was Trevi, the callous.  His angelic smile, golden hair, and sweet demeanor distracted one from noticing the empty, uncaring blue eyes of the consummate opportunist who treated all around him as mere pawns.  The cold-hearted schemer. 

The fourth traitor, but certainly not the least was Faylin, the faithless.  His black hair and eyes mirrored the darkness of his traitorous black heart.  The honorless oath-breaker. 

As Vincina's heart burned with hatred, her piercing blue eyes focused on the four bodies lying outside the circle.  Her family also bore much of the blame.  If it weren't for their flaws... their sheer stupidity... the traitors would not have succeeded so easily or so completely. 

Her uncle -- Koranth, the naive.  Ginger hair and cornflower eyes provided him with a majestic demeanor, but his gullibility and foolishness allowed others to manipulate him with ease.  The puppet king. 

Her aunt -- Merielle, the frivolous.  Famed for the beauty of her long brown hair and doe-like eyes, she was consumed with her own pleasures and willfully blind to the schemes of those around her.  The oblivious queen. 

Her brother -- Chastain, the passive.  Strikingly elegant with his platinum blond hair and sky blue eyes, he had been content to hide in his study and allow the world take its own course.  The apathetic scholar. 

Her older sister --  Eleido, the weak.  A blond haired, blue-eyed butterfly of a woman who fluttered aimlessly from lover to lover, who allowed herself to be swayed by the slightest comment from others.  The inconstant lady. 

What of herself?  What of Vincina?  Like most of her siblings, she bore her family's blond hair with blue eyes.  People claimed that she was bloodthirsty and loved war.  Perhaps she was a bit too good at her job.  Did it really matter?  Sometimes the only way to accomplish a necessary task was to shed some blood.... 

And what of poor Bryon?  Bryon, the gentle.  A caring, trusting, light-hearted soul who lived to save the lives of others, but who also had the misfortune to stand in the way of his fellow nobles' dark ambitions and who ended up paying dearly.  The loving healer. 

As the images hung crystal clear in her vision, Vincina pulled out her dagger and without hesitation, plunged the blade into her heart. 

She felt herself fall, but instead of landing on the cold hard stone floor of the hall, she found herself sinking ever deeper into a crimson haze that seemed to go on forever.  Almost infinitely far away, she saw a four flickering specks of darkness racing away from her. 

Vincina smiled.  She had sighted her quarry and would not lose them. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Bound by bloodoath, she relentlessly pursued the traitors, letting nothing stand in her way.  Her journey was long and hard, but her time was not wasted.  Along her way, she picked up new skills, new powers... learning or taking anything that would aid her quest.  And eventually, she began to close the distance.   

A seeming eternity passed before the huntress finally managed to catch up with her prey.  And as she tore through the frail boundary between worlds and plunged into a new universe and a new body, Vincina smiled. 

Now her vengeance would truly commence. 

-------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------- 

In the residential wing of one of Quatre's houses, Duo fell out of bed and hit the cold floor with a thud.  Or to put it more correctly, he was KICKED out of bed.... 

"Oi, Heero!  What the hell did you do that for?" the braided pilot sputtered in outrage as he rubbed his bruised posterior.  He glanced up to see the Wing pilot kneeling on the bed, gun in hand. 

"I... don't know," Heero muttered as he gazed suspiciously around their bedroom. 

Duo frowned as he instinctively reached for his own pistol.  There was a familiar, itchy feeling between his shoulder blades.  That usually meant one thing. 

Somebody was hunting them. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Across the hallway, Trowa and Quatre slept comfortably in each other's arms.  Without warning, they both twitched awake at the exact same moment.  As they stared at each other in consternation, Quatre shivered and whispered, "I just had the weirdest feeling...." 

Trowa nodded in somber silence. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Down the hallway, Wufei found himself sitting bolt upright in bed, drawn sword in hand. 

------------------------------------------------- 

In the middle of sorting through various intelligence reports, Treize Khushrenada stiffened as he felt a faint chill touch the back of his neck.   

Zechs Merquise, dozing lightly on Treize's sofa amid a pile of reports, suddenly sneezed and awoke to give his commanding officer a bleary-eyed look. 

------------------------------------------------- 

At the other end of the OZ base, Lady Une shrugged off her abrupt twinge of unease and continued to terrorize a group of incompetent technicians. 

------------------------------------------------- 

And in a distant city, Relena Peacecraft got out of bed, silently got dressed, and packed a small traveling bag.  She took a quick peek inside Dorothy Catalonia's bedroom and found the other girl twitching restlessly in her sleep. Just before she headed out the door, Relena paused in front of the hallway mirror, smiled coldly at her reflection, then left to start her bloody quest for revenge. 

(end teaser)  
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Keeper of Duo's Dark Side ~~~ Duo no Seishi  
Co-Keeper of Duo's Scythe & Bat Wings (w/ Death)  
Co-Keeper of Little Grim Reaper Duo (w/ Kitsune)  
Keeper of Saitoh's Sex Life ~~~ Saitoh no Koibito  
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madamhydra@aol.com              /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E  
http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/  
------------------------------------------------- 

=====================================================================  
The Full Disclaimer  
All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only.  This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.  
Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.  
=====================================================================  



	2. Part 1

Gundam Wing - Balancing The Scales - Part 1 - by Madamhydra  
Last revised: 05/01/00 

******* WARNING *******   
*** extremely alternate universe  
*** semi-darkfic, yaoi 

Heh.  Another bizarre Alternate Universe GW ficcy from the Hydra.  I think it got inspired by watching too many episodes of "Record of Lodoss Wars: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight" and someone's idle comment about payment for past sins....   -_-;;   

Anyway, this is a very rough draft.  It undoubtably need some more smoothing out, so I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions.  Yes, a shameless plead for C&C.  ^_^; 

======================================================================  
BALANCING THE SCALES  
A Gundam Wing ALTERNATE-REALITY fic by Madamhydra  
======================================================================  
Part 1 (rough draft)  
====================================================================== 

Short Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Gundam Wing copyrighted by their respective creators and all distributors of their work. Used without permission. 

====================================================================== 

It had taken two days and much subterfuge to track down her quarry, but she now knew exactly where that bastard Perane -- or Heero, as he currently chose to call himself -- was located.  Unfortunately, Duo Maxwell was also in the vicinity.  That could complicate matters considerably. 

Relena pulled her truck into an inconspicuous spot on the mountain road, covered it with some branches, and set off through the woods with a purposeful stride.  A good half hour hike up the mountain led her to a well concealed outcrop where she could observe their safehouse without being detected.  She pulled out a pair of binoculars and settled down to watch.    

Only a few minutes after her arrival, Relena's lips curled into an ominous snarl as she saw Heero exit the large mountain lodge and start working on the building's generator.  A quick scan of the area failed to detect any sign of the other three traitors.   

(I can't sense their presence.  Then again, I can't even sense Perane at this range.  He's done a damn good job of camouflaging himself.  So where are the others?  They could be staying at another location or they could be lurking inside the house.  No way to tell at the moment.) 

Her breath caught in her throat as Duo bounded out the back door and casually threw his arm over Heero's shoulder as he tried to see what the Wing pilot was doing.  The dark-haired teenager shrugged off the touch and glared irritably at Duo.  Relena concentrated carefully on their faces in an effort to figure out what they were saying.  She couldn't make out every word, but apparently Duo was planning to drive down into the valley on some errand.  Heero made an exasperated gesture before returning to his task.   

As Duo stuck his tongue out at Heero before disappearing back into the house, Relena thought wistfully, (Bryon....) 

She found his close proximity to Perane profoundly troubling.  Since Perane and the others traitors had used Bryon in their despicable sacrificial rites, it was very possible that Perane had found a way to bind Bryon's soul after death, dragging the healer with him during the long journey through the Wylde Ways. 

(Perane, you greedy bastard.  You couldn't stand the thought of Bryon leaving you back then, so you tortured and murdered him just so no one else could have him.  Does it give you pleasure to keep Bryon around at your beck and call like some damn pet or trophy?) 

Relena came to a sudden decision.   

(Goddess knows that a quick death is too good for Perane, but perhaps it's better if I just take him out now while I still have the advantage of surprise.  If I wait much longer, they're certain to learn that I'm missing and become suspicious.  With Duo -- Bryon -- gone, now's my chance.  There's no telling when I'll be able to catch Perane alone like this.)   

As for the other three traitors, she would just have to take the risk.  The generator was located on the far side of the garage, out of sight from the main part of the lodge.  If she acted quickly enough, she would be long gone before they even realized what happened.    

She could have done the prudent thing and simply unleashed a massive destructive bolt, but two things stopped her.  The first was the very real possibility that the ever-wary Perane would sense the buildup of magical energy and manage to escape at the last moment -- he was notoriously skilled at saving his own neck.  The second was the knowledge that her desire for revenge would not be satisfied by anything less than the feel of her enemy's lifeblood dripping from her hands. 

Relena silently got to her feet, readied her gear, and set off toward the house and her intended victim. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Heero caught the faint rustle of grass behind him and immediately turned, his hand reflexively sliding toward his gun before he realized who was slowly walking up to him. 

"Relena." 

She smiled nervously and said, "Hello, Heero." 

His cobalt eyes narrowed.  "What are you doing up here?  And how did you find us?" 

She shrugged carelessly.  "I have my sources.  And I came up here because I needed to talk to you." 

"About what?" he replied in a discouraging voice. 

"About you... and me."  She took a few tentative steps closer. 

"Relena, there is no 'you and me'." 

"I didn't come up here to argue with you.  I just... wanted to make my feeling for you perfectly clear."   

"Relena, get this through your head.  I'm not interested," Heero said in cold, annoyed tones.  He turned his back to her and attempted to ignore her.   

Perhaps it was the faintest rasp of the steel knife leaving its sheath.  Or perhaps it was purely fighter's instinct.  Whatever the reason, Heero suddenly pivoted and flung himself off to the side just as Relena attempted to plunge a large bowie knife into his lower back with an expert, underhanded thrust.  The razor-sharp blade missed its intended target, leaving a long, shallow gash along the Wing pilot's right side. 

"RELENA!?" 

She immediately recovered and delivered a wicked, backhanded slash as she tried for a quick, disemboweling stroke, but Heero managed to evade that attack with a quick leap backward.  He backed up several yards to give himself fighting room, but just as he reached for his gun, a sudden burning numbness seized his entire body.  His legs buckled and he sagged to his knees, unable to defend himself as Relena started toward him.  Just at that moment, he heard the sound of running footsteps and Duo's cheerful voice. 

"Heero, are you sure you won't come along... WHAT THE HELL!?!?" 

------------------------------------------------- 

As a slim, black-clad figure threw itself between her and her prey, Relena cursed her impatience.  She should have made certain that Bryon was well out of the way before attacking Perane.  The paralysis spell on her blade would only hold the traitor for a few more minutes.  She hadn't dared cast anything stronger for fear that he would sense anything more potent.   

------------------------------------------------- 

"Just what the fuck do you think you're DOING!?" Duo shouted, whipping out his own gun and leveling it at her head.   

"Get out of the way," Relena snarled. 

"Like hell!  Drop the knife.  Now!" the braided pilot retorted furiously.  He had no idea what was wrong with Heero, but from the expert way Relena wielded the knife, he knew he couldn't risk taking his attention off her in order to check on the Wing pilot.   

Or it maybe wasn't Relena.  Maybe it was Relena's evil twin or an impostor.  He didn't particularly care.  All he knew for certain was that the person standing in front of him had tried to kill Heero and he wasn't about to let ANYONE get away with that. 

She stared at the braided pilot for an instant, then shifted her burning blue stare to Heero as he continued to fight his paralysis. 

"You filthy bastard!  What did you DO to him!?" she snarled, her voice shaking in barely controlled fury. 

"Hold it!  That's MY line!" Duo retorted furiously. 

"What did *I* do...!?" Heero retorted back in a tight voice as he struggled to get back to his feet. 

"I'm sure you find it vastly amusing to have HIM fighting to defend your miserable hide!  After all that you and your fellow traitors did to him!" 

Heero gritted his teeth and said sharply, "I don't know WHAT the hell you're talking about, Relena!" 

"Don't try to play innocent with me, Perane!" she hissed furiously. 

"Perane!?  Why are you calling me that?" 

The Deathscythe pilot muttered, "Oh great.  Now I *know* she's gone totally around the bend." 

"Bryon, just shut up and stand aside!" she yelled at him. 

Duo's violet eyes narrowed ominously.  "Relena, if I don't take that shit from Heero, then I sure as hell won't take it from YOU!" 

------------------------------------------------- 

Relena considered her options. 

(Damn my own recklessness!  I should have KNOWN Perane would done something vile and underhanded like this to Bryon!  It suits his twisted sense of humor perfectly...!) 

"Relena, I'm not going to ask you again.  Drop that knife or I'm fucking well going to shoot first and ask questions later!" Duo said angrily.   

She had no doubts that he would carry out his threat.  She didn't know what sort of foul, sorcerous means Perane had used to transform Bryon from a peace-loving healer into a murderous black angel of death and destruction, but it was very unlikely she could reverse the transformation and undo the damage with mere words. 

(I'm not going to be able to convince Bryon of the truth as long as Perane's alive and the only way I'm going to get to Perane is by going THROUGH Bryon.  Nothing I can say will make Bryon back down.  Besides, this body's too weak and too slow to handle both of them at once!)  Heero was already on his feet again, although he looked rather unsteady. 

She had lost the element of surprise.  There was nothing she could really do at the moment except retreat, regroup, and await her next opportunity. 

Relena shrugged and shifted her grip on the knife, as if preparing to toss it aside.  Suddenly, she muttered a few words under her breath and made a flicking gesture with her other hand.  Like a flash grenade, a brilliant light exploded between her and Duo.   

"SHIT!!!" the Deathscythe pilot swore as he squinted and tried to shield his eyes. 

In the brief instant of distraction, she whirled and ran for the cover of the forest. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Duo caught a fleeting glimpse of Relena disappearing into the dense undergrowth and cursed in frustration.  He instinctively took a step after her, then he whirled to check on Heero. 

"Are you all right!?" 

Heero snapped, "I'm fine.  Go after her, but be careful." 

"Yeah yeah."  Duo bellowed, "WUFEI!!! Get your butt out here!", then headed off in hot pursuit of Relena. 

------------------------------------------------- 

After running downhill through the forest at breakneck speed, Relena finally made it to the road, heaving and gasping for breath.   

(This body's in pathetic shape,) she thought angrily as she stumbled toward the pickup truck she had stolen earlier.   

She was just reaching for the door handle when she heard a cold voice say, "Going somewhere, Relena?  Or whoever you really are?" 

"Bryon!"  She looked across the truck's hood to see Duo glaring at her from only a few yards away, his gun pointed unwaveringly at her head. 

(Hell, I forgot how blasted FAST these Gundam pilots are!) 

He bared his teeth slightly and snarled, "It's 'Duo' and I'm not buying the loony toon routine!" 

"Fine... Duo."   

Even as she wondered if she could cast a holding spell on Duo, he said softly, "Don't even think about it." 

"About what?" she said innocently. 

"Don't even think about casting any magical mumbo-jumbo at me.  Try it and you'll be very, very sorry." 

She didn't know whether he could actually detect her spellcasting or whether he was simply bluffing, but she didn't want to antagonize him any further. 

"All right.  You win." 

He gave her a highly suspicious look.  Circling around the car, he said tersely, "Drop the bag and get down on the ground...." 

Before he could finish, a jeep roared up the road and came to a screeching halt.  Noin jumped out of the vehicle and stepped protectively between Relena and Duo.   

"Duo, what are you doing!?" 

"Damn it, Noin, get the fuck out of my way!" Duo snapped. 

"No!  I don't know what's going on, but I won't let you hurt her!" Noin said stubbornly. 

In a terrified voice, Relena blurted, "He's gone crazy!  He's trying to kill me because of Heero!" 

Duo looked momentarily flabbergasted at Relena's playacting, then yelled back, "Now wait a minute!  I'm not the bad guy here!  She is!" 

Relena stifled a sob and retorted, "YOU'RE the one waving around the gun!" 

"She has a point there," Dorothy observed in her usual sardonic tones as she stepped out of the still running Jeep. 

"You damn bitch!  YOU'RE the one who just tried to stick a ten-inch bowie knife into Heero's back!  And now you have the nerve to pretend that YOU'RE the innocent one!?" Duo yelled in outrage. 

Relena scooted closer to Noin, as if seeking reassurance.  In a piteous voice, she babbled, "I just went to talk to Heero!  But Duo went berserk with jealousy and for no reason...." 

Noin glared angrily at Duo.  "I know you and Relena don't get along, but this is totally out of bounds, even for you!  What would Heero say if he knew that you were trying to hurt her!?" 

Duo glared furiously at the older woman and said in an icily even voice, "Noin, I'm going to say this one last time.  GET OUT OF MY WAY." 

"No way, Duo...." 

Without any warning, Relena yanked the gun from Noin's belt and shoved her hard in Duo's direction.  The Peacecraft then whirled around, clubbed the startled Dorothy out of her way with a brutal blow of the pistol butt, and leapt into the still running Jeep.  Dirt flew as she floored the accelerator, jerked the wheel around, and roared down the mountain road.  By the time Duo managed to shove Noin aside, Relena was long gone in a cloud of dust. 

He glared at the stupefied Noin and with a nasty smirk, said, "NOW do you believe me!?" 

------------------------------------------------- 

Ten minutes later, Duo, Noin, and the still dazed Dorothy pulled up to the pilots' safehouse in Relena's truck.  Quatre ran out to met them. 

"Duo, what on earth's going on!?  Heero said something about Relena raving about some sort of betrayal and trying to stab him.  Wufei and Trowa are still out in the woods looking for her." 

"The last time I saw her, she was going full tilt down the mountain in Noin's jeep.  She's probably long gone.  Is Heero okay?" 

"He won't let me take a look at the wound," Quatre said anxiously. 

"That stubborn idiot!  Here, why don't you look after Dorothy and I'll take care of Heero." 

"All right.  But what happened to the two of them?" Quatre asked, eyeing the bloody gash on Dorothy's scalp and the dazed look on Noin's face with concern. 

"Relena stole Noin's gun and whacked Dorothy on the head with it." 

"She did WHAT!?" 

As he marched into the house, Duo waved his hands and yelled in exasperated tones, "The Peacecraft's gone totally wacko.  She kept calling me... Brian... Byron... or something like that, and kept calling Heero... Perane, whoever the hell that is.  God, I don't know!" 

------------------------------------------------- 

Quatre stared after Duo and whispered, "Per...ane?"   

Something about the name made a faint shiver run down the blond pilot's spine.  He hastily shook off the uneasy feeling and turned to help Noin carry the bleeding Dorothy into the living room. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Upstairs, Duo flung open the bedroom door to find Heero sitting on the bed with a distracted frown on his face.  At the sudden commotion, he turned to look at the extremely irate Deathscythe pilot. 

"Duo, what happened to...?" 

"Damn it, Heero.  Not another word until I take a look at that cut." 

"It's not serious." 

"I'll be the judge of that.  Don't you dare budge!" 

Duo soon returned with a basin of water, clean towels, and a medical kit.  As he carefully washed out the wound, the braided pilot said, "She got away.  Noin showed up and Relena pretended that *I* was the bad guy.  Noin believed her, of course," Duo added sourly. 

"Hn." 

"Then she grabbed Noin's gun, shoved her into my line of fire, knocked Dorothy out cold, and stole their jeep." 

"She did what!?" 

Duo rolled his eyes.  "Quatre had the exact same reaction.  And I think Noin is still in shock over what happened." 

"It's... not like Relena at all." 

The Deathscythe pilot muttered, "I know, but hell if I know what's really going on."  He frowned worriedly as he continued to examine the long shallow gash on Heero's side. 

Noting Duo's distraction, Heero said, "What's wrong?" 

"I'm not sure... but something... something just doesn't FEEL right about this wound."  Duo delicately touched the pale flesh just above and below the cut.  Glancing up at Heero, he whispered, "It's like there's something... dirty in it." 

"What?" 

"I know I cleaned it thoroughly, but...." 

Heero remained silent for a long moment, then said quietly, "Drugs?  Poison?" 

Duo's face went pale.  "Poison!?" 

With no particular emotion in his voice, the Wing pilot said, "Just after Relena cut me, I was momentarily paralyzed.  I could barely move.  She would have killed me if you hadn't interfered." 

In a frantic voice, Duo grabbed Heero's shoulders and blurted, "How are you feeling now?" 

"All right.  It was only temporary and wore off in a few minutes.  The cut stings, but that's all." 

Duo turned his gaze back to the wound.  It seemed minor enough, merely a seven-inch long shallow gash along Heero's right side.  But the sense of wrongness continued to haunt Duo even as he carefully placed a few stitches, then bandaged the wound.  When he finished, he said quietly, "Heero, I think you should let Sally look at that wound." 

When Heero started to shake his head, Duo grabbed his face and said, "Please, Heero.  None of your usual stoic crap of yours.  My guts are telling me that something's not right here.  Promise me!" the braided teenager said urgently. 

With a testy sigh, Heero said, "Fine." 

Duo sighed with relief, then patted the bed invitingly.  "Why don't you grab some sleep before dinner?" 

Heero gave him a cold stare, but when confronted by Duo's most beguiling grin, he shrugged and settled down for a brief nap.   

------------------------------------------------- 

When Duo stepped into the living room, the other pilots had already returned and Noin was muttering, "I still can't believe that Relena tried to kill Heero!" 

The braided pilot drawled, "Oh, so it's a lot easier for you to believe that I've suddenly become a raving homicidal maniac instead of Relena.  Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence!" 

Wufei snorted and said, "I always knew that your lunatic behavior would cause problems sooner or later." 

Before Duo could unleash a blistering retort, Trowa quietly said, "How's Heero?" 

"He... seems to be okay, except for a shallow cut on his side." 

"Seems?" 

Duo bit his lip and said, "I don't know.  Something about that wound really bothers me.  I'm taking him to see Sally tomorrow." 

"And he agreed?" Wufei said, raising an eyebrow. 

The Deathscythe pilot scowled stubbornly and said, "He's going, even if I have to tie him up and carry him into her office!" 

"What's wrong with his wound, Duo?" Quatre said with a worried look. 

"I don't know!  That's the problem!  I just have this really bad feeling." Duo said, raking his fingers through his bangs in frustration.  Turning to Noin and Dorothy, he snapped, "And what the hell were you guys doing up here, anyway?" 

Dorothy merely sighed and wearily leaned back against the sofa cushions, leaving the explanations to Noin. 

"Two days ago, I woke up and found Relena gone.  She's just not the sort to run off, especially without leaving a message or note.  At first, I thought that she had been abducted, but there was no signs of a struggle.  And when Dorothy and I checked, we found some of her things missing.  Some clothes, cash...."  Noin shrugged and held up her hands.  "I had no idea where Relena might be, so I took a wild guess that she might have gone to talk to Heero.  Sally told us where to find you.  Please don't blame her for telling us.  I exaggerated the situation in order to convince her to talk." 

As Wufei snorted and muttered something under his breath, Noin continued, "We drove up here.  On the way, we ran into Relena and Duo... well, you know what happened after that." 

"Fine.  Now we don't have any idea where the hell she is.  And from why she sounded, I don't think she's about to give up on trying to kill Heero!" 

"But why?" Noin exclaimed.  "Why is she doing all this?" 

"If I knew that...," Duo said wearily.  "Anyway, since I'm already planning on taking Heero to see Sally first thing tomorrow, you guys can hitch a ride back to the valley.  Besides, it won't hurt to have a doctor take a look at Dorothy's head.  She took a pretty hard knock on the skull.  Noin, you probably want to make sure that Dorothy wakes up every hour or so." 

The older woman nodded.  "I'll do that." 

Wufei said, "I'll stand watch tonight.  If Relena is as insanely determined as you make her sound, she might try to catch us off guard and return for an second attempt immediately." 

Duo nodded, "Okay.  I'll relieve you around midnight." 

------------------------------------------------- 

But by midnight, Duo's fears about Heero's wound had materialized into horrible reality.   The braided pilot stared in disbelief at the swollen, taut flesh and the reddish lines of infection radiating from the cut.  Even as he watched, a foul, bloody yellow discharge began to seep from the blackening edges of the wound.   

"Shit, he's burning up!" Duo hissed in dismay as he placed his hand on Heero's forehead. 

The Wing pilot moaned softly, his head tossing restlessly. 

"Quatre!  Trowa!  Get in here!" 

About a minute later, Trowa was in the bedroom, followed shortly by Quatre, who was still sleepily rubbing his eyes.  The two pilots exchanged grim looks when they saw the change in Heero's injury.   

Duo muttered, "Damn it!  I *knew* something was wrong!  I *knew* it!  I should have taken him to see Sally as soon as he got hurt!" 

Quatre said soothingly, "Duo, don't blame yourself!  You had no reason to suspect that it would worsen so quickly!" 

(But I DID know!  Somehow... I *knew* something like this could... WOULD happen!  But... how did I know?  How could I possibly guess that the slightest cut from Relena's knife could do something like this!?) 

Aloud, the braided pilot said urgently, "We need to get him to Sally right now!" 

Wufei appeared in the doorway and said quietly, "I don't think that's possible." 

"What?  Why not!?" 

The Chinese pilot silently gestured to the window.  Duo ran over and yanked back the curtains, only to be confronted by a seemingly solid wall of white. 

"The blizzard arrived less than fifteen minutes ago and it's already at whiteout conditions.  There's no way that you're going to be able to negotiate the roads in this weather, Duo."  Wufei added, "And our communications are spotty at best.  I just checked." 

"There was nothing in the forecast about blizzards, Wufei!" protested Quatre. 

"I know that.  It seemed to spring out of nowhere.  But if the current predictions are correct, it could last... days."   

"Wufei, we can handle basic medical first aid, but there's no way we can deal with a severe systemic infection like this!  And at the rate it's going, there's no way that Heero's going to last out another 24 hours, much less a couple of days!" Quatre said urgently. 

The Chinese pilot glanced briefly at Duo before returning his attention to Heero.   

"I'm well aware of that." 

The Deathscythe pilot slammed his fist against the wall in utter frustration.  There had to be something he could do... some way to save Heero's life.  He slowly returned to Heero's bedside and sank to his knees, staring blankly at the infected area that seemed to be spreading right before his eyes.   

(No matter how strong Heero is, this... thing will kill him within a few hours.  That's what it was designed to do... to kill quickly, but painfully.  Designed?  How do I know that?  Yes.  There's intent... a pattern... a familiar pattern....) 

Noin appeared in the doorway and said, "What's going on?" 

Trowa gestured to the bed and Heero.  Stepping closer for a better look, Noin involuntarily recoiled at the sight. 

"God!  It looks like... almost like some sort of flesh-eating bacteria!" 

Wufei muttered, "It's hard enough to believe that the Peacecraft would attempt to kill Heero, but to use something as vile as this...." 

"No, it's not," Duo whispered. 

"It's not what?" 

"A bacteria. Or a virus." 

"Then what IS it!?" Wufei snapped angrily. 

"It's a... bane," the braided pilot said with a faint shiver. 

"A what?" 

"A bane... something between a poison and a curse." 

"A curse?" Quatre said in confusion. 

"A curse?" Wufei repeated in incredulous tones.  "You surely don't mean...." 

"Yeah, a curse, as in magic, bad vibes, and all that weird psychic garbage." 

"Duo, are you sure YOU're feeling all right?" 

"I'm not delirious.  And I'm not crazy.  At least, I don't think so." 

While most of the people around him were giving Duo doubtful looks, Trowa said quietly, "He may be right.  After all, Duo sensed that there was something wrong with Heero's injury from the very beginning." 

"Thanks, Trowa." 

Wufei sighed and said, "All right.  Let's assume that you're correct.  What can we do about this... bane, or whatever you call it." 

"I... I think I can... fix it."   

"Fix it?  How, Duo?" Quatre said with a worried look. 

"I'm not sure.  I guess I'll just... follow my feelings." 

Noin said hesitantly, "I don't know about this...." 

"But it's not like we have any choice or any other options.  Whatever's attacking Heero's body is working incredibly fast.  We're running out of time.  Even if this blizzard stopped this very minute, I don't think Heero would survive the trip to a hospital.  I'm not sure what Duo wants to try, but it's better than doing nothing," Quatre said firmly. 

"Agreed," Wufei said crisply. 

Duo glanced at Trowa who nodded silently, then turned to look at Noin. 

With a sigh, she said, "You're probably right.  So what are you planning to do, Duo?" 

"Like I said before... I just going to follow my feelings and my instincts.  They've gotten me this far.  I guess I'll have to see where they take me." 

"Okay.  I need to check on Dorothy.  Call if you need me." 

"Sure,"  Duo muttered distractedly. 

After Noin exited the bedroom, Duo pulled up a stool and sat down beside the bed.  The other pilots moved back to give him room and waited silently.   

(Great.  Now that I've talked everybody into believing me, NOW what do I do?) 

The Deathscythe pilot closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and tried to empty his mind, hoping that the life-saving knowledge he so desperately needed and which hovered tantalizingly just out of reach would come to him. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Several minutes passed.  The quiet of the room was broken only by the sounds of Heero's hoarse, rapid breathing and his faint, delirious moans of pain.   

Quatre bit his lip in disappointment.  It wasn't working.  He glanced anxiously toward Trowa, seeking some comfort, only to find that the Heavyarms pilot was staring at Duo in astonishment.  At that instant, Quatre heard a soft gasp from Wufei.   

The blond turned back to Duo just in time to see him lift and cup his hands.  A soft, rich golden glow appeared between Duo's fingers and steadily grew.  Floating amid that pool of light was a multitude of brilliant amethyst sparkles that reminded Quatre of Duo's own eyes.  The light flowed upward and swirled itself around the braided teenager like so many delicate streamers or ribbons, sweeping the violet lights into the air. 

As the glow enveloped Duo's entire body, his braid stirred, as if touched by a light breeze.  Before Quatre's stunned gaze, the braid slowly unraveled of its own accord and soon strands of Duo's long, flowing hair were gently and freely floating in midair, carried aloft by the golden streamers of light and bejeweled with flecks of glittering purple. 

Duo's eyes remained closed, his face almost exalted in its peaceful serenity, so unlike his usual animated expression. 

(It's almost... sacred,) Quatre thought dazedly.  (No, it IS sacred.) 

Finally, Duo leaned forward and parted his hands as if pouring the golden light onto Heero's body.  The glow seeped into the tainted wound and vanished.  The light continued to flow from Duo's hands and continued to cascade into the raw oozing gash like an endless cleansing stream of liquid.  Heero's breathing steadied and deepened, even as the unmistakable signs of pain left his face. 

And ever so slowly, the swelling and redness began to vanish from the injured flesh, which began to return to its normal healthy color.   

When the wound had returned to its earlier, relatively harmless appearance,  Duo slowly reached out, his eyes still closed, and lightly brushed his finger along the shallow gash.  And where his fingers passed, the cut disappeared as if it had never existed. 

"By the Great Dragon...," Wufei whispered, his dark eyes wide in total disbelief. 

The light continued for an instant longer, washing over Heero's entire body, then disappeared.  Duo abruptly sagged forward, gasping and panting as he rested his head on the edge of the bed. 

Jumping to his feet, Quatre reached out to gently grasp Duo's shoulder.  When the other teenager failed to react to the touch, the Arab pilot glanced worriedly at Trowa before turning back to Duo. 

"You've done it!  Duo?  Are you all right?" Quatre said, now starting to feel almost frantic.  Something inside him twinged painfully, warning him that something was horribly wrong. 

Without warning, Duo sat up.  He huddled there for a moment, shoulders hunched and head bowed, before slowly wrapped his arms tightly around himself.  As Quatre started to brush away the loose hair obscuring Duo's face in an effort to get a better look at him, the other pilot uttered a low moan which trailed off into a shuddering sob.  The quiet, convulsive sobs continued as Quatre pulled the last few chestnut strands away from Duo's face only to find tears trickling from wide, blindly staring violet eyes. 

"Duo?  Duo!" 

"Now what's wrong?" Wufei, moving forward with a worried frown. 

"I don't know!  Duo!  Snap out of it!"  Quatre forced Duo to face him and started to shake him, gently at first, but with increasing insistence. 

Duo abruptly blinked in response to a particularly firm shake, but before Quatre could breath a sigh of relief, the long-haired pilot's look of blank incomprehension transformed first into horrified recognition, then into an expression of pure anguish.  The Sandrock pilot could never recall ever seeing such a look of utter betrayal and unspeakable loss on a person's face, much less on one of his best friends.    

"No.  No more.  Stop it.  Stop it!  Why are all of you doing this to me!?" Duo rambled incoherently as he frantically twisted out of Quatre's loosened grasp.  He continued to back away from the blond until he bumped into Wufei.  Duo spun around and gave the Shenlong pilot the same tormented stare that he had gave Quatre. 

"Duo, calm down," Trowa said with obvious concern.    

The look the Heavyarms pilot received left him totally bereft of words.  In addition to the pain and anguish already on Duo's face, there was also overwhelming sense of fear and dread.  The Deathscythe pilot flinched as Trowa took an involuntary step forward, then without warning, he whirled and ran. 

"Duo!" Quatre cried out.  He lunged, but missed as the other pilot dodged around him and bolted out of the bedroom.  The three pilots immediately gave chase. 

"What the hell's wrong with him!?" Wufei shouted at Quatre, as they both ran down the hall just behind the longer-legged Trowa. 

"I don't know, but we've got to stop him!  If he runs out into the storm...!" 

"Shit!" the Chinese pilot swore as they reached the stair only to see the front door standing wide open and Noin picking herself off the floor. 

"What's going...!?" she demanded. 

Without another word, Wufei and Trowa plunged out into the howling blizzard, leaving Quatre behind to deal with the confused Noin. 

"Quatre!  What the hell happened to Duo!?  He ran past me like hellhounds were on his heels!" 

"I don't have time to explain right now!  We need to find a rope, if we  don't want to lose all three of them in the storm!  Come on!" 

------------------------------------------------- 

Thankfully Duo was wearing his usual black clothes, which made it possible for Trowa to see him even through the blinding snow.  When the Deathscythe pilot became snared in the undergrowth, Trowa seized the opportunity, lunging forward to tackle Duo around the legs and bring both of them crashing into a snow drift.   

He worked his way up Duo's body and finally managed to use his own weight to pin the panic-stricken pilot's torso down even as he felt Wufei struggling to restrain Duo's legs. 

"Duo!  Calm down!  We're not trying to hurt you!" Trowa shouted, but the Deathscythe pilot was beyond the reach of words as he flailed and twisted in a desperate attempt to free himself from the green-eyed pilot's grasp. 

"No!  Harrow, don't!  You're hurting me!  Stop!  Goddess's sake, STOP IT!!!  It hurts!  IT HURTS!!!" Duo screamed wildly, the words half lost in the howling wind. 

As they continued to struggle, Trowa's left hand became snarled in Duo's long hair.  When he tried to disentangle his fingers, a sudden series of images flooded into his mind.... 

{....the same long, chestnut hair wrapped around his hand, but this time he was yanking on it with brutal force... the same struggling body writhed underneath him,  screaming in pain... he could feel flesh tearing and blood flowing as he forced his cock over and over again into his helpless victim's torn anus... and he could feel himself laughing with the sheer joy and pleasure of it all....} 

Trowa instinctively recoiled from the images... the memories that could not possibly be his own.  He flung himself away from Duo, staggered a few steps away, and promptly threw up everything in his stomach. 

As he knelt in the freezing snow, still shaking with dry heaves, Trowa's mind raced. 

(That's impossible... I never... I *couldn't*... not after....)   

And as his stomach continued to churn, the Heavyarms pilot could help but wonder if his own attackers had felt the same sickening, obscene sense of joy and pleasure when they had forced themselves on him all those years ago.... 

------------------------------------------------- 

When Trowa suddenly released his grip, Wufei almost lost his own hold on Duo.  Hearing the Heavyarms pilot as he vomited nearby, Wufei swore profanely at the apparently contagious madness striking his acquaintances.  First Relena, then Duo, and now Trowa. 

A few minutes later, a pale-faced Trowa staggered back to help him restrain Duo.  Although the violet-eyed pilot was too distraught to fight back effectively -- thank heavens for small favors -- he was still almost impossible to control in his terrified frenzy. 

The Chinese pilot turned to Trowa and snapped, "What's wrong with YOU!?" 

A cold, flat, "Nothing," was the only response he received from the Heavyarms pilot. 

"Faylin, why aren't you helping me?  You promised!  You PROMISED!" Duo sobbed desperately as he clutched at Wufei's shoulders. 

The sick chill the Shenlong pilot suddenly felt had nothing to do with the terrible weather or the melted snow running down his back. 

"Trevi, how can you just stand there!?  Don't you feel anything at ALL!?"  The terrible, aching despair in that cry made the Chinese pilot swallow hard. 

Duo suddenly jerked an arm free and flung it out before him, as if to block out something unbearable. 

"No!  Don't!  Please don't!  Perane, please!  Why!  WHY!?  PERANE!!!!" 

With that final tormented scream, Duo's body arched convulsively, then went frighteningly limp. 

"Is he...?" 

Pressing numbing fingers to Duo's throat, Trowa nodded and said, "He's alive."  (...Barely....) 

Wufe heaved a sigh of relief, then shouted over the wind, "Great.  Now we have to find our way back to the house." 

It was easier said than done.  They had caught Duo only fifty yards or so from the house, but with visibility of less than ten feet, returning to the lodge would be no easy task. 

"Trowa!  Wufei!" a faint voice called out. 

"Noin!?" he yelled back.  "Over here, woman!" 

A few more minutes of yelling back and forth took place before Noin stumbled into view, a rope tied around her waist. 

"Come on!  Quatre and Dorothy are waiting for us at the other end!" 

Following the rope, all three of them managed to cart the unconscious Duo through the ever deepening snow back to the warmth and safety of the lodge. 

------------------------------------------------- 

As Noin and Wufei carried Duo upstairs, Dorothy noticed that Trowa remained behind, staring pensively into the roaring fire. 

"Are you all right?" she asked curiously. 

He gave her an inscrutable look, then said quietly, "I think they need you upstairs," before turning back to the fire. 

Dorothy watched him for a long moment, then left him to his own thoughts.   

By the time she reached the bedroom, Noin and Quatre were already busy stripping Duo's soaked clothes and drying him off as Quatre explained what had occurred in Heero's room to the best of his ability.  Wufei appeared a few minutes later, holding some nylon harness straps.  Placing them on a nearby table, the Chinese pilot stolidly began to tear a sheet into strips. 

"Wufei, what are those for?" Quatre asked. 

"They're for Duo." 

Noin frowned.  "Do you think they're really necessary?" 

"Woman, it's not as if I WANT to restrain him like a wild animal!  We were lucky this time.  If Duo manages to run off again, we might lose him for good." 

Quatre nodded soberly and went to help Wufei pad the straps with the torn sheets.   

As the two of them firmly, but carefully secured Duo's arms and legs to the bed, Noin said, "And you say that Heero's completely cured?" 

The Arab pilot nodded.  "His breathing, heartbeat, and temperature is normal.  The cut is completely gone.  As far as I can tell, he's merely in a deep sleep." 

"Fine.  So, who's going to watch Duo?" 

Quatre looked away and whispered, "Considering what just happened, I think... you or Dorothy should." 

Noin placed her hand on Quatre's shoulder and said, "All right.  We'll let you know if anything changes." 

"Thanks." 

"No problem.  I feel somewhat to blame for this whole mess." 

Quatre blinked, then shook his head firmly, "I don't see how.  You didn't have any idea that Relena would do something like this." 

"Maybe, but I can't help wishing that I hadn't jumped to conclusions about Duo.  I suppose I got the wrong sort of impression about him from listening to Relena." 

Wufei glanced at Noin and said sharply, "And what do you mean by THAT?"  Rising to his feet, he added ominously, "Just what has that girl been saying about Duo, anyway?" 

Noin shook her head hastily.  "It's not what you think!  It's just from the way she talked about him, Duo seemed to be rather reckless, impulsive and... well, to be blunt, rather shallow, if you know what I mean."  A bit defensively, she added, "Besides, didn't you make a rather pointed comment about Duo's 'lunatic behavior'?" 

As Wufei merely scowled and looked away, she glanced at Duo and muttered, "I suppose I just didn't realize just how much her cares about Heero." 

Quatre said gently, "Duo can act rather frivolous at times, but in truth, he feels very deeply, especially about Heero.  He just hides it well." 

"Yes, I've realized that."   

Noin shook her head, then said briskly, "Dorothy, can you keep an eye on things until I take a shower and change into some dry clothes?"  She glanced at the other pilots.  "You guys should do the same.  The last thing we need is for you guys to come down with pneumonia or something worse." 

Wufei snapped, "I'm not that weak, woman!" and stalked back to his room, followed by an irate Noin.  The sound of the resulting argument echoed in the hallway. 

Before Quatre could follow them out the door, Dorothy touched his arm and said quietly, "You might want to check on Barton." 

The blond pilot blinked and immediately looked worried.  "Is there something wrong?" 

She shrugged carelessly.  "I don't know.  He just looks extremely withdrawn.  Perhaps I'm wrong and he always acts like that." 

Having a good idea of Dorothy's skills of observation, the Arab pilot had the unhappy feeling that something WAS wrong with Trowa.  Under that cool exterior, Trowa cared a great deal about others and disliked them suffer, so it was strange that he wasn't upstairs helping to take care of Duo. 

"Thanks for letting me know, Dorothy." 

She carelessly waved away his gratitude and shooed Quatre out the door. 

------------------------------------------------- 

Heero found himself standing in a shadowy stone hall, lined with ornately carved stone columns which soared upward and disappeared into the darkness-shrouded ceiling.  The hallway seemed endless, with various side corridors leading off in several places.  And along the walls, between each pair of columns, was a portrait. 

The settings and costumes were all different, but the subject of each picture was the same -- himself.  Sometimes older, sometimes younger... sometimes laughing, sometimes frowning... but always the same dark hair and cobalt blue eyes. 

He slowly walked down the hallway through the thick mist that obscured the floor and occasionally drifted up the walls.  After an undeterminate period of time, he found himself at a dead end.  Facing him the wall hung a large, life-sized portrait of a young man who looked exactly like him, except for being a few years older.  In the picture, the person wore a black and green outfit, fancifully embroidered and trimmed in lace, rather like a movie version of a 17th or 18th century pirate.  It was a bit too flamboyant to be truly tasteful, although Heero had no idea how he knew that.  The label on the portrait simply read 'Perane'. 

Heero absolutely hated the man on sight. 

This older version of himself had a sly, knowing sort of grin and a wicked gleam in his eyes, but there was a dangerous undercurrent of smug malice underneath that supposedly charming smile and an ominous sort of weakness in the set of the chin. 

But even as he scowled at the portrait, the picture suddenly shattered.  Like a broken stained glass window, sharp shards of the portrait hurtled through the air like shrapnel and sliced into his arms as he instinctively flung them in front of his face. 

And as the shards sank deep into his flesh, there came tiny fragments of memories... memories that cut more deeply and painfully than any razor blade or piece of glass could inflict. 

------------------------------------------------- 

With a sharp gasp, Heero opened his eyes and found himself staring at a familiar ceiling.  He sat up, then realized that he was no longer in any pain.  He looked down and saw that his wound was gone without a trace.  Lightly pressing his hand over the spot, he discovered that it wasn't even sore.  A quick glance at his watch confirmed what his internal clock told him -- it was only a few hours past midnight. 

Frowning, he struggled to recall the events of the evening, but all he could remember was taking a nap, then awakening in excuriating agony and barely able to breath.  After that, nothing except hazy recollections of Duo's anxious voice... then came the healing light that seemed to embody Duo's very essence.... 

The door opened and Wufei stood in the doorway, watching him. 

"Where's Duo?" Heero curtly inquired. 

When Wufei did not immediately reply, he knew that something serious had occurred.  As he swung his legs out of bed and started to rise, the Chinese pilot put his hand out to stop him. 

"Heero, you need to know exactly what happened before you see him." 

The Wing pilot frowned, but sat back down.  If Wufei thought it was important, it undoubtably was.  He listened carefully as the Shenlong pilot gave a concise recital of the evening events -- the blizzard, how Duo miraculously managed to heal his injury, followed by Duo's inexplicable panic and the subsesquent chase through the snow.   

When Wufei finished speaking, Heero scowled thoughtfully for a moment, then got up and headed for Duo's room. 

Dorothy raised an eyebrow as Heero stalked into the room, followed by Wufei.  Ignoring her, the Wing pilot stood beside the bed and stared down at Duo, who finally seemed to be sleeping peacefully. 

Wufei murmured to Dorothy, "Wel, he certain looks a lot calmer now.  What happened?" 

"Nothing.  For a while, he kept muttering several names over and over again, but that stopped about an hour ago." 

"Names?  What names?" 

"I think he mentioned... Harrow, Trevi, Faylin, and Perane." 

Heero stiffened at the last name, then said flatly, "You can go." 

"Excuse me?" she said, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'll stay with him." 

She and Wufei exchanged glances.  She shrugged and walked out the door, murmuring, "Fine with me." 

Wufei hesitated and said, "Heero?" 

"I'll keep an eye on him." 

The Chinese pilot nodded curtly and exited the room, closing the door behind him.  Now alone with Duo, Heero gingerly sat down beside Duo and gently brushed the long bangs away from his lover's face.  As he put his hand against Duo's face and lightly brushed his thumb along Duo's cheekbone, Heero suddnely remembered.... 

{....remembered holding that same face in a bruising grip... the sound of his own brittle laughter at the pain and misery in those violet eyes, laughter intended to hide the niggling sense of guilt... he hated those eyes... they saw too much... they KNEW too much... but he couldn't stand the thought of those amethyst eyes looking at someone else in that special sort of way... they were his, damn it... he wouldn't allow it... if they wouldn't look at him with love anymore, they wouldn't look at ANYONE... remembered reaching toward those eyes... pushing... digging... gouging until something popped and a warm gush of fluids spilled over his hands... and all the while, someone was screaming....} 

Shaking in disgust and sick horror, Heero yanked his hand away from Duo's face and stared it in disbelief.  He could still feel the slick wetness on his fingers....   Almost reluctantly, he glanced back at the other teenager's face, then released a deep sigh of relief when he saw it was untouched. 

Heero hesitated, then slowly curled up beside Duo on the bed.  At first, he was careful to avoid touching the unconscious teenager, but whenever he closed his eyes, the nightmarish images returned to haunt him.  He found himself snuggling closer to Duo, seeking reassurance that the other was still alive, if not completely well. 

(Are they just nightmares or are they something more?  No, they feel much too real to be mere dreams.  I know those things really occurred.  Maybe not in this lifetime... but they did happen... to both of us.)   

(Is that what made you run, Duo?  Are you remembering, too?) 

And as he continued to wonder, Heero gradually fell asleep to the sound of Duo's steady heartbeat. 

(end Part 1)  
=====================================================================  
Author's notes: 

Here's the current list of who's who:  ^_^ 

Heero --- Perane  
Duo ----- Bryon  
Trowa --- Harrow  
Quatre -- Trevi  
Wufei --- Faylin  
Treize -- Koranth  
Une ----- Merielle  
Zechs --- Chastain  
Dorothy - Eleido  
Relena -- Vincina 

===================================================================== 

-------------------------------------------------  
Keeper of Duo's Dark Side ~~~ Duo no Seishi  
Co-Keeper of Duo's Scythe & Bat Wings (w/ Death)  
Co-Keeper of Little Grim Reaper Duo (w/ Kitsune)  
Keeper of Saitoh's Sex Life ~~~ Saitoh no Koibito  
-------------------------------------------------  
madamhydra@aol.com              /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E  
http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/  
------------------------------------------------- 

=====================================================================  
The Full Disclaimer  
All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only.  This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.  
Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.  
=====================================================================  



	3. Part 2

Gundam Wing - Balancing The Scales (Part 2) by Madamhydra  
Last revised: 05/04/00  
Last modified: 10/30/00 

******* WARNING *******   
*** extremely alternate universe  
*** semi-darkfic, yaoi 

Heh.  I'm taking a short break from MoC.  hastily dodges rocks, Molotov cocktails, etc.  For those who don't remember, this fic has to do with reincarnation, evil past lives, and revenge.  Oh yeah, it has a kick-ass Relena and plenty of hints of angst/torture for Heero, Quatre, Wufei, and especially Trowa.  Duo gets off easy... for now!  ^_^    

If you don't remember who's who, just check out the handy guide at the end.  The other parts of this fic can be found at: 

http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/GW-DARK.html 

As for the magic system I'm using in this AU, it's a crazy hodge-podge of the elemental magic from Sharon Green's "Blending" series, a touch of Mercedes Lackey's "Vanyel" novels, and various other fantasy novels, so bits and pieces of it might sound familiar.  FYI, elemental powers and sorcery are two separate and distinct types of magic.  sweatdrop   

Anyway, this is a very rough draft.  It undoubtedly need some more smoothing out, so I'd appreciate any comments and suggestions.  Yes, a shameless plead for C&C.  ^_^; 

I apologize beforehand if all the flashbacks to prior lives sprinkled through out the fic makes this part hopelessly confusing.  Let me know and I'll try to correct the problem! 

======================================================================  
BALANCING THE SCALES  
A Gundam Wing ALTERNATE-REALITY fic by Madamhydra  
======================================================================  
Part 2 (rough draft)  
====================================================================== 

Short Disclaimer: (Full Disclaimers at the end) Gundam Wing copyrighted by their respective creators and all distributors of their work. Used without permission. 

~~~~~~~~~ indicates flashbacks 

====================================================================== 

Unsettled by Dorothy's comments, Quatre went looking for Trowa.  After nearly searching the entire lodge, he finally located the other teenager in a small study tucked away in a wing of the building.  He suppressed a sigh of relief as he observed the Heavyarms pilot tending the fire with a poker.  However, Quatre's smile quickly vanished as he watched Trowa crouching perilously close to the blazing logs and prodding at the blazing logs with an obvious air of distraction.  The blond grew even more concerned when the green-eyed teenager abruptly dropped the poker on the stone hearth, then reached up and slowly wrapped his arms around himself, as if trying to fend off an ominous chill. 

He quickly stepped forward and softly called out, "Trowa?"   

The lack of any visible response made the Sandrock pilot's pulse quicken with anxiety.  It was unlike Trowa to be so oblivious to his surroundings. 

"Trowa?  Trowa!" the blond repeated with increasing loudness as he reached out to touch his lover's shoulder. 

------------------------------------ 

Trowa's stomach continued to seethe and churn restlessly as he stared blindly into the fire.  But the sight of yellow-orange flames harmlessly licking at wooden logs suddenly overlaid with fleeting images of a brass brazier and the bright glow of a red-heat poker nestled amid burning coals.  Accompanying those images were sounds -- soft, mewling sobs that served as a constant backdrop to the jangle of steel manacles on stone and the painwracked screams of young and old, male and female.  His nose was flooded with the stench of blood, sweat, vomit, and excrement, along with the unmistakable reek of despair and terror.   

And he could feel his lips curving upward into a cruel smile of enjoyment as he lifted his head to survey his private little kingdom of pain. 

Dropping the poker, he told himself, (No... this isn't REAL.)   

The archaic clothes, that torture chamber of dark stone... they all looked like props and scenery from a second rate horror movie about the Dark Ages or the Inquisition. 

(But why can't I make myself stop thinking about them?  Those scenes... memories... NO!  Not memories... never memories!  I NEVER did anything like this!  This is just some insane nightmare!  I NEVER enjoyed making people suffer like that!  I... I couldn't....) 

His thoughts involuntarily returned to those recent moments in the snow, with Duo writhing underneath him screaming in pain and anguish.  And with a sick sense of certainty, he knew exactly what sort of hallucination had provoked such an extreme reaction from the Deathscythe pilot.  Because for a brief, nauseating moment, he and Duo had shared the very same hallucination, although from opposite sides. 

(Duo thought he was being raped.  He thought that *I* was raping him....) 

Trowa hunched his shoulders and wrapped his arms around himself, in a futile attempt to block out those sickening images. 

(And for an instant, I believed it, too.  I saw it... experienced it.  I was the person hurting him... I was the person tearing him open... And for that instant, I remembered....) 

He closed his eyes, as if in pain.  It had felt so damn real.  The feel of a struggling body under his fingertips... the pathetic screams for mercy... the heat... the slick wetness... and the obscene pleasure that came with it.   

Cringing from that idea, Trowa told himself fiercely, (NO.  NEVER.  It's an obscenity that I wouldn't inflict on my worst enemy, much less someone who's almost a brother to me.  No one should have to endure what I've been through....) 

------------------------------------ 

Quatre gently placed his hand on Trowa's shoulder, just as he had done so many occasions, but this time, he was completely unprepared for his lover's reaction.  As soon as the blond touched Trowa's arm, the Heavyarms pilot recoiled and struck out wildly.  The unmistakable smack of flesh hitting flesh shattered the quietness like a gunshot. 

Quatre simply looked stunned, while Trowa's one visible eye widened in horrified disbelief as the two Gundam pilots stared mutely at each other.    

Trowa retreated a few steps as he watched Quatre slowly touched his own face.  It was just a glancing blow -- more of a backhanded slap than a punch -- but it was more than enough to leave a distinct reddish mark on the blond's left cheek.  Simultaneously, they spoke. 

"Trowa...?"  
"Quatre...?" 

They paused, then tried again. 

"Why did you...?"  
"I didn't mean to...." 

Quatre abruptly held up his hand for silence.  He frowned slightly when he saw Trowa flinch at the sudden gesture.  Taking a deep breath, the Arab pilot said with gentle firmness, "It just stings a bit.  But... why did you do that?" 

Trowa stared down at his hands with an expression of bewilderment and dismay, almost as if he wasn't entirely sure that they truly belonged to him.  Finally, he looked up at the patiently waiting Quatre and whispered, "Duo's... hallucinations triggered some very unpleasant memories for me.  When you suddenly touched me, I just... reacted." 

Quatre knew some details of the other teenager's unhappy past and could make some reasonably guesses about the type of traumatic memories which could leave the Heavyarms pilot so shaken, even now.   

"I didn't realize.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to startle you like that...." 

"It's not your fault, Quatre.  You had no way of knowing." 

As their relationship continued to become closer, Quatre learned to read his lover quite well.  Unfortunately, what he sensed now disturbed the Sandrock pilot greatly.  Instead of the usual cool, detached calmness in Trowa's green eyes, Quatre now saw something very different.  Fear... and mixed with that fear was a distinct sense of guilt. 

(What happened out there in the snow, Trowa?  What is causing both you and Duo so much suffering?) 

Aloud, Quatre said softly, "Perhaps you'll feel better if you got some sleep."   

He reached out to touch Trowa, then hesitated, uncertain of the other teenager's response. 

Just as Quatre started to retreat and let his arm drop, the Heavyarms pilot abruptly stepped forward and took Quatre's outstretched hand.  Fingers lightly intertwined, the two Gundam pilots mutely walked side-by-side in the direction of their bedroom. 

------------------------------------  
------------------------------------ 

After leaving Duo's bedside, Dorothy returned to her room and collapsed wearily onto her bed.  Her head still ached from the nasty blow Relena had given her.  After spending the last several hours keeping an eye on Duo, she was pretty much exhausted.   

(What the hell is going on here!?  What could have possibly made Relena attack her 'prince in shining armor', Heero Yuy, of all people?  For that matter, what could have possibly made Duo Maxwell snap like that?) 

She turned her head and stared out the open window at the opaque whiteness of the snowstorm. 

(What could transform a pacifist into a ruthless killer?  What could frighten a trained terrorist so much that he would prefer to face sure death in a blizzard rather than stay in this house with his friends?) 

And that didn't even begin to scratch the surface of the mystery.  There was still the matter of Heero's apparent poisoning and Duo's sudden healing powers.   

(Damn it.  So many questions and no answers,) she thought with weary irritation as she buried her head in the soft goosedown pillow. 

But Dorothy Catalonia's sleep was anything but restful.... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
She flitted through the royal gardens, giggling softly.  Pausing by a small pond, she leaned over to admire her own reflection and make a few last touches to her long blond hair.  She ran a glittery, long-nailed finger over one of her exotic eyebrows, a trait she shared with her majestic uncle, Koranth.  She smiled in smug satisfaction.  No one could match her beauty, not even her uncle's wife, the famous Queen Merielle.  With a dainty laugh, she blew her reflection a kiss before running for the secluded gazebo where her newest lover awaited.   

Arriving, she threw herself into his strong arms and was rewarded with a hungry passionate kiss.  She shivered with sensual delight and returned the kiss enthusiastically.  She couldn't help gloating as she ran her fingers through his loose silky black hair.  All the ladies in court -- even the Queen herself! -- were absolutely green with envy.  And why shouldn't they be?  His manners were so charming, so sophisticated... his looks so exotically handsome with that gold-touched skin and high cheekbones....  Just one look from his impossibly dark eyes could leave any woman hot and breathless for his touch.... 

Without breaking the kiss, he started to unlace her gown.  Writhing under his skillful hands, she gasped out his name. 

"Oh, Faylin, my love...."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

------------------------------------  
------------------------------------ 

In their bedroom, Trowa stared silently at the ceiling as Quatre slept beside him.  The Heavyarms pilot didn't want to sleep.  He was desperately afraid that the nightmarish images of that hideous torture chamber would return to haunt him as soon as he closed his eyes.  As he lay wide awake, Trowa felt Quatre suddenly twitch in his sleep. 

Usually the blond was snuggled up right beside him, but this time, there was a good two foot between their two bodies.  Trowa missed the comfort of Quatre's body touching to his, but at the moment, the old painful memories were simply too strong.  Sensing his lover's ambivalence, Quatre had given Trowa as much space as the large bed would allow. 

Still fast asleep, Quatre again shifted restlessly and made a soft sound of distress. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
In the heavily shielded tower room, three of the four surviving Guardians of the kingdom watched as Perane, Guardian of the East, Air adept, paced furiously around the chamber and glared at his fellow Guardians. 

"Damn that old man for dying!  We haven't finished weakening the spell wards protecting the kingdom's borders yet!" the dark-haired, cobalt-eyed swordsman complained stridently. 

The black-haired, black-eyed Faylin, Guardian of the South, also known as the Fire Lord, said smoothly, "No use crying about it.  We'll simply have to handle this little problem.  All of us have gone too far to back out now."   

"What do you mean by 'little' problem!?" Perane retorted, flinging himself down into a convenient chair with a sullen expression on his face.  "It took Harrow and Trevi over three months to drive that old man into premature senility so he wouldn't interfere with our plans!" 

Harrow, the Earth adept that served as the Guardian of the North, yawned ostentatiously before saying, "A pity all that effort ended up being wasted.  I didn't expect the old man to scrape up enough willpower to kill himself." 

Perane snapped angrily, "Which now leaves us with a new, healthy and CURIOUS Spirit Guardian to deal with!" 

Elegantly swirling the wine around in his glass, Faylin said, "Maybe we could persuade him to join our little conspiracy." 

"That reminds me.  Do any of you know who's been chosen to become the fifth Guardian?" Harrow inquired, but he only received blank looks from three of his fellow co-conspirators. 

The last of the four surviving Guardians finally spoke.  In a cool, dispassionate voice, he said, "I know who the replacement is."  Glancing at Faylin, he added, "But I seriously doubt we'll be able to bribe or corrupt him into joining us." 

Perane demanded, "Well, who is it, Trevi?  Who's going to be the new Spirit Guardian?" as he glared at the slender blond water adept who held the position of the Guardian of the West. 

Cold blue eyes surveyed the other three nobleman and said simply, "Bryon," as the Water adept gave his fellow Guardians a faint, soulless smile. 

The Guardian of the East stared at Trevi for a moment, then turned to the other two men.  The three Guardians looked at each other for a long moment, then Faylin's lips curved upward into a nasty little smirk while a familiar, predatory gleam burned in Harrow's green eyes.  Perane grinned, then suddenly burst into loud, sinister laughter.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

------------------------------------  
------------------------------------ 

After leaving Heero with Duo, Wufei made another round of the house, checking for anything suspicious.  But with the massive snowstorm howling outside, it seemed physically impossible for anyone -- even someone as insanely determined as Relena -- to reach their location. 

He tried his phone again.  He managed to get a connection, but the transmission was hopelessly garbled with static.  Sighing irritably, he returned to the now deserted great room and threw himself into one of the overstuffed armchairs. 

(Great.  Now what?) 

It didn't help his mood to realize that there wasn't much that any of them could do until the blizzard ended.  Fortunately, the mountain lodge was well stocked with food, firewood, and fuel for the generator.  Even the addition of two unexpected guests wouldn't come close to putting a dent in their supplies.  And with all the snow, water definitely wouldn't be a problem. 

(Cabin fever shouldn't be a problem, either.  This house is large enough to give everyone ample privacy if they want it.) 

With basic human necessities taken care of, that left the problem of Relena and Duo.... 

(So what do we do about Duo?  Do we just wait and hope that he snaps out of his delusional state?  And what happens if he doesn't?) 

Wufei slouched further down into the armchair.  Deep inside, he was somehow certain that Duo's inexplicable ability to heal Heero and his subsequent mental meltdown were intimately connected. 

(Hallucinations?  No, it's much more than that.  Duo's torment is simply too powerful, too REAL to be explained away by simple hallucinations or an overactive imagination!) 

Underneath all that annoying chatter and occasional silliness, Duo Maxwell had a better grasp of cold, hard reality than most people, and that included his fellow Gundam pilots.  So whatever he was experiencing -- or *thought* he was experiencing -- had to be unbelievably traumatic AND realistic to make Duo react so strongly. 

(Damn it.  He sounded absolutely terrified of us, like we were his enemies....  No, that's wrong.  He acted as if we were persecuting or tormenting him, but he didn't seem to think of us as enemies....) 

The distinction was subtle, but it felt oddly important to Wufei.  Simply remembering the sheer grief -- the overwhelming sense of heartbreak and anguish -- in Duo's voice and facial expression was enough to cause a painful tightness in Wufei's throat. 

Why did Duo's pleas make him feel so uncomfortable? 

(And why do I feel so damn guilty!?) 

------------------------------------  
------------------------------------ 

Down in the valley, Vincina paced restlessly around the vacant condo that she had commandeered as her temporary hiding place.  Ever so often, she would stop by the large glass windows to stare suspiciously out at the howling blizzard.   

(Damn those cunning bastards!  They've managed to buy themselves some breathing room with this bloody snowstorm.  There's no way I can get close to them under these conditions!) 

She wondered which of the traitors conjured up the blizzard.  All of them were capable of using sorcery to manipulate the weather, but something like this was probably the work of the Water adept Trevi.  She doubted it was Perane.  He could have managed it with his elemental air powers, but he was probably too busy trying to heal himself.  The bane-tainted cut from her knife would definitely slow him down, but it was unlikely to kill him. 

(I should be so lucky.) 

Vincina finally gave up on the pacing.  It was simply a waste of energy.  The storm could last for days and her time would be better spent on formulating a new plan of attack.  Even taking Trevi's formidable sorcery skills and elemental powers into account, she was still unpleasantly surprised by the sheer intensity of the blizzard. 

(It seems that I'm not the only one who has gained considerably in power during our travels through the Wylde Ways....) 

Frowning, she reluctantly admitted that she needed to know more about the traitors' current reincarnations as possible.  To do that, she needed to immerse herself in Relena Peacecraft's memories.  However, that procedure was not without its own set of hazards.   

The shock of Vincina's awakening had allowed the former Warlord to overwhelm the persona of her present-day incarnation, leaving Vincina in complete control of the girl's body.   

(Absolute pacifism.  How disgusting.  What sort of idiot is this current reincarnation of mine, to think that pacifism is capable of achieving anything except one's own destruction?) 

But while Relena's personality was presently dormant, that condition was certainly not permanent -- the deeper Vincina delved into Relena's memories, the greater the chance that Relena's persona would attempt to reassert itself.  That was why she had only skimmed the bare minimum of information necessary to function in this world and to locate her targets.  However, it was now clear that she needed to gather all the information from Relena's memories that she could, regardless of the risks. 

(The last thing I want was to get into a mental wrestling match with that girl.  She's stupidly naive, but extremely stubborn.  That's some consolation, I suppose, to know that this incarnation of myself is not a weakling like my sister Eleido or my do-nothing brother Chastain.) 

For an instant, Vincina found herself hesitating as the old priestess's warning came back to haunt her... of how the Wylde Ways could make people change profoundly.... 

Even from her superficial skimming of Relena's memories, Vincina knew that Dorothy Catalonia and Milliard Peacecraft were very different from their original selves.  No one could consider Dorothy weak-willed like her sister Eleido and Relena's brother Milliard was anything *except* passive and apathetic.  The stark contrast between the fiercely dedicated Lady Une and the totally self-absorbed Merielle was mind-boggling, to say nothing about Treize....  Relena had heard many conflicting things about the OZ general, but absolutely NO one had ever described Treize Khushrenada as naive and gullible. 

Was it... possible?   Could Perane and the other traitors change, as Eleido, Chastain, Koranth, and Merielle had changed?  Could the Gundam pilots' sacrifices and selfless acts be genuine and heartfelt, instead of merely being part of a carefully constructed mask? 

Vincina abruptly shook her head. 

(No.  That's impossible.  Perhaps my brother and sister, the king and queen have changed.  But to be frank, their faults were relatively minor -- more a matter of sheer incompetence and laziness, rather than deliberate evil.  Perhaps repeated reincarnations have given them the experience and wisdom to act differently.) 

Vincina gritted her teeth angrily.   

(But scum like Perane and the other traitors... that's an entirely different story.  Some deeds are so reprehensible... sometimes the corruption runs so deep that nothing... absolutely NOTHING can eradicate the stains on their souls.  They were monsters and they will always BE monsters, no matter how good they pretend to be.   Their present-day personas are nothing more than a facade.  Regardless of the pretty packaging, their innermost essence remains the same -- vile, wicked, and evil beyond description.)   

As she drifted into a light sleep, Vincina thought, (Perane and his friends are just biding their time, waiting for the right moment to act.  Clever, ambitious bastards... imagine how powerful they would be if they combined their elemental powers and sorcery with those Gundams.  No one from this world could stop them....) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Vincina stood in the castle doorway, displeased with the world and not afraid to let everyone know it. 

"You should be careful, darling.  If you keep scowling like that, your face might get permanently stuck in that expression," a familiar slightly nasal male voice said. 

She turned to see Perane standing beside her. 

"Hn.  What a total waste of time." 

"Oh, come on, my dear general.  It's not that bad.  Once Bryon arrives, the greeting ceremony will only take a few minutes.  Then you can go back to terrorizing... oops, I mean 'training' your troops." 

Glaring at the Air adept, she growled, "It's better than hanging around with  all this pompous, useless fools!" waving her gauntlet-covered hand at the colorfully dressed nobles milling around the courtyard.  "I bet that if you waved a bared sword in their midst, over half of them would faint on the spot!" 

"You're probably right, darling," Perane grinned, his cobalt blue eyes gleaming with wicked humor as he yanked off her gauntlet and kissed her exposed hand. 

"Stop that!  People are watching!" she hissed at him, snatching her hand away. 

"So let them," he retorted, throwing an arm around her shoulders and doing his best to ignore her armor. 

Her expression softened just a bit.  "At least you know what it's like to fight for your life... to shed blood and suffer in order to carry out your sworn duty.  After all, you were the one who single-handedly turned back an entire army of darklings from our eastern border." 

Perane's expression turned somber.  "Yes, I survived... barely... but over a thousand of my men didn't." 

She said curiously, "How did it feel to encounter a Dark Lord?" 

With uncharacteristic curtness, Perane said, "Extremely unpleasant."  In a much lighter tone, he pointed at an approaching group of horses and said, "There he is.  Our new Spirit Guardian." 

"What's his name again?  Bron?  Brennan?  Or something like that?" 

He snickered and said, "Bryon.  His name is Bryon!" 

"Didn't you say that you already know him?" she asked. 

Perane gave her a sly smirk.  "Yes, we were childhood friends.  But unfortunately our ways parted when we were twelve years old.  He got shipped off to the temple to be trained as a healer.  I haven't seen him in... oh, almost eight years." 

"Then he's probably changed a great deal." 

"Perhaps.  Perhaps." 

"If he was chosen as the Spirit Guardian, his healing powers must be extraordinary." 

Without taking his eyes off the approaching horses, Perane said, "Bryon's reputed to be the most powerful healer to appear in the last hundred years." 

They both watched a lone white horse moved forward into the courtyard and its rider dismounted.  From her position, she couldn't quite hear the traditional exchange of words and oaths as King Koranth officially greeted the newly appointed Guardian.  However, what she saw didn't particularly impress her.  When Perane started to move in Bryon's direction, she followed, muttering to herself, "Goddess!  He's got more hair than half the noblewomen at court!" 

As Perane and Vincina approached within a few yards, the newly sworn Guardian turned to greet them. 

She was struck almost speechless.  He was one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen, male OR female, with his stunning violet eyes, exquisite features, and a beguiling, slightly lopsided smile. 

The general continued to stare bemusedly at the healer as he and Perane flung their arms around each other and started chattering nonstop as they tried to make up for over eight years of separation.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Vincina awoke from her brief nap with a start.  Hindsight, it was said, was perfect.  Now it was easy for her to see the beginning of Perane's intensely possessive attitude toward Bryon.   

(How ironic and perverse that the healer sworn to preserve life at all costs can be reincarnated in this life as a deadly terrorist who likes to call himself 'Shinigami', the God of Death....) 

She abruptly sat up on her bed, an odd shiver running down her back. 

(The God of Death...,) she repeated slowly to herself. 

Most of the Dark Lords who had destroyed her homeland had hideous, unpronounceable names.  However, one of the most powerful and most feared of those creatures was known only by its war-name.  In one of the mountain dialects, that war-name translated into 'death god' or.... 

(....the God of Death.  Sheer coincidence?  I bloody well don't think so!) 

Vincina's hands clenched on the sheets as a horrible suspicion dawned on her.  She knew that Perane and the other traitors had sacrificed Bryon's life to the Dark Lords in exchange for power.  But now she was beginning to wonder if much more than Bryon's *life* had been involved in that diabolical bargain. 

------------------------------------ 

Duo slowly awoke to a semi-familiar pressure around his chest.  He lifted his head slightly and found himself staring down at a head of dark, unruly hair.  He didn't need to see a face to know for certain that it was Heero's head which lay nestled just below his chin.  Fast asleep, the Wing pilot had one arm firmly wrapped around Duo's torso, which explained the tightness he felt. 

But more importantly, the steady, soothing rhythm of Heero's heartbeat and breathing told him that the Wing pilot was no longer in any danger of dying from his bane-tainted wound. 

(Thank god, it worked... whatever I did....) 

He tried to lift his hand so he could run his fingers through Heero's hair, but was shocked to realized that his arms were strapped down to the bed.   

His movements, however slight, was more than enough to wake up Heero.  The Wing pilot stiffened, then suddenly raised his head to look at Duo. 

"You feeling okay, Heero?" 

The Deathscythe pilot blinked as the Wing pilot gave him an incredulous stare. 

"Um.. would you mind taking these damn restraints off?" 

When the Wing pilot failed to respond and continued to gaze at the long-haired pilot in astonishment, Duo sighed, then said patiently, "Come on, Heero.  Be nice.  It's not as if I'm going to run away, you know...." 

------------------------------------ 

There was only one thought in Heero's stunned brain as Duo gave him that familiar easy-going smile, his bright violet eyes unshadowed by any ugly memories of a long distant past. 

(He... doesn't... remember.  He doesn't remember a damn thing!) 

------------------------------------  
(end teaser for Part 2) 

=====================================================================  
Author's notes: 

Here's the current list of who's who:  ^_^ 

Heero --- Perane (Guardian of the East, Air adept)  
Duo ----- Bryon (Spirit Guardian), healer  
Trowa --- Harrow (Guardian of the North, Earth adept)  
Quatre -- Trevi (Guardian of the West, Water adept)  
Wufei --- Faylin (Guardian of the South, Fire adept)  
Treize -- Koranth (King)  
Une ----- Merielle (Queen)  
Zechs --- Chastain (scholar)  
Dorothy - Eleido  (noblewoman)  
Relena -- Vincina (Warlord) 

===================================================================== 

-------------------------------------------------  
Keeper of Duo's Dark Side ~~~ Duo no Seishi  
Co-Keeper of Duo's Scythe & Bat Wings (w/ Death)  
Co-Keeper of Little Grim Reaper Duo (w/ Kitsune)  
Keeper of Saitoh's Sex Life ~~~ Saitoh no Koibito  
-------------------------------------------------  
madamhydra@aol.com              /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E  
http://www.geocities.com/madamhydra/  
------------------------------------------------- 

=====================================================================  
The Full Disclaimer  
All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only.  This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.  
Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.  
=====================================================================  



End file.

Gundam Wing/AC, Drama