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"Magic, Mischief, and Miracles"Written By: Honor Disclaimers: I've contracted some guy named Doctor
Draken to steal the boys. It's part of his mad scheme to take over
the world. Nifty, huh? Pairings: 3x4, 1x2 already established Warnings: AU, violence, language, supernaturalness,
LEMON, yaoi, etc. Spoilers: nada Author's Insane Ramblings: Okay, this is the result
of watching too much Inuyasha. I was sick, and to keep myself entertained,
I bounced back and forth between watching Inuyasha and writing GW
fanfiction. This...is the result.
" Magic, Mischief, and Miracles" Part 6 "-- you can't tell me what to do!" "What I'm saying is common sense! You can't exhaust yourself helping everyone in the countryside when we're going after someone as powerful as Terandl!" "So you want me to just ignore it when mass murderers are loose?!" Duo sighed, watching the two arguing. Trowa had been moody and silent all day, and ridiculously hovering over Quatre. Eventually, of course, it became too much and the blond had lost his temper. They had managed to scoot the quarreling duo off of the road, but that was about all they could manage. "How long have they been going at it?" Heero thought a moment. "About three hours, now." "And you thought I was bad." "I've never argued with you for three hours." "It's hard arguing with you," Duo agreed with a smirk. "You just look too damn sexy when you're glaring at me. It's distracting." Heero smirked back. "I know." "You know what?! This entire conversation is ridiculous! I'm not talking about this anymore!" Quatre threw his hands in the air, eyes shooting daggers. Spinning on one heel, he stormed away. "Quatre! Get back here, dammit!" Heero choked. "Trowa actually cussed?" Duo let out a soft whistle. "Whoa, never heard him do that before. Actually, I've never heard him raise his voice before either." "Or lecture someone," Heero agreed thoughtfully. "Or say more than a sentence a year, period." "Quatre's really been good for him." Trowa snarled at them. "If you two aren't going to help, then either shut up or go away!" Duo met his lover's eyes, brow cocked. Heero glanced at Trowa, shrugged, and sighed. Nodding in understanding, he went after the blond and left Trowa to Heero. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quatre went straight to the banks of the peaceful river and dropped down onto the grass. He knew he was being a little childish, and that sulking made him look five years younger, but he didn't care. Trowa was being a jerk, and had completely ignored anything Quatre had to say. Fine, if he wasn't going to listen, then Quatre would remove himself from the idiot demon's presence. The last time he'd pouted like this, he'd been twelve and Iria had just informed him that he couldn't go visit anyone as long as he was sick. What had that song been that he'd sung until he'd driven her crazy...? Ah yes. Softly, very softly so that he wouldn't be heard, he started singing under his breath. "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll eat some worms. Little bitty skinny ones, great big juicy ones, itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms." "Weird song," Duo noted from his position behind the blond. Quatre blew out his breath. Okay, he hadn't been quiet enough. "Yeah, I know." Duo dropped down beside him, expelling a noisy sigh. "So how does the rest of it go?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trowa groaned, eyes raised to the heavens as the song was repeated once again, at the top of Quatre's and Duo's voices. "Nobody likes me I'll bite off their heads Nobody hates me Heero gave his best friend a pointed Look. "I think you'd better go talk to him." Trowa looked at the two on the riverbank and made a noise somewhere between a mewl and a growl. "Now, Trowa. I'm going to have that stupid song stuck in my head as it is." "He won't listen to me," Trowa snapped. "You weren't listening to him," Heero shot back. "He's putting himself in danger!" "So are you." "I'm supposed to do things that are dangerous! I'm resilient, I can handle it if something goes wrong, he can't." Heero blew out a breath. "Trowa -- you aren't going to win this. I had the same arguments with Duo, when we first became lovers. I was worried sick about him, and he kept doing these rash stunts that made me age a hundred years. You're feeling the same way toward Quatre, but I can tell you right now that the best thing you can do is just to keep as close to him as possible and let him do what he needs to. It's the only way." "I can't protect him from something I can't even see," Trowa snarled quietly. "I know." Trowa finally looked, really looked, at his friend. There had been so much helplessness in those two words. Even now, apparently, Heero worried about Duo. Both humans were tangled up in things that the demons could barely sense, much less do anything about. "Does...it get any easier?" "Somewhat. I've learned to trust his judgment." Trowa thought about that for a while. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a brilliant way to convince Quatre the error of his thinking. In fact, he couldn't even think of a way to compromise. Sighing, he gave in and walked to the banks. Apparently the worm song was getting old, because Quatre was in the process of teaching Duo something else. He decided that it might be wise to step in now. "Quatre." The blond glanced up at him, then turned away, jaw setting stubbornly. Aw hell, it would be really hard to talk to him in this kind of mood. Trowa jerked a thumb at Duo, and the braided human left with a knowing smile. At a loss, he just stood there for a long moment. What could he say? Quatre finally snapped under the heavy silence. "Well?" "...just don't be reckless." Quatre twisted and stared at him in stupefaction. "You aren't going to argue about this anymore?" Trowa shrugged unhappily. "It won't do any good." He really did feel a pang of regret that he had worried Trowa so badly. Standing, he went to him and hugged him tightly. "Okay. I'll try to be cautious." Slowly the cat demon's arms came up and folded the human against him. Trowa buried his face into soft blond hair and he inhaled deeply. He didn't really understand what was happening to him -- two weeks ago, he couldn't have cared less about most humans. Now, it physically hurt to see Quatre in any danger, like someone had a fist around his heart. Why did he care so much if Quatre was happy, and alive? "Trowa --" "What," he whispered softly. "You have to promise me the same thing. Don't be reckless." "I won't." He couldn't -- if he was hurt, or killed, then who would protect Quatre? The blond must be kept safe, at all costs. "I'm sorry I fought with you." Trowa hugged him harder, the best apology that he could make. He hated fighting with him, too. "Aren't you two in the make-up stage yet?" Duo called plaintively. "I'm hungry!" Laughing ruefully, Quatre pulled free. "Actually, so am I. Let's find a place to eat, and sleep." Content, Trowa followed him away from the river. He'd just have to take one day at a time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Now that we're all in a rational mood," Duo started merrily as they continued traveling the next morning, "let's talk about something. Why is Terandl storing his energy in people?" Quatre opened his mouth to comment, re-considered, and closed it again thoughtfully. "Actually, I'm not sure if that's what he's doing." "So what is he doing?" "Trowa, you said that he discards people easily, right?" "Yes." Quatre hummed, blue eyes narrowed. "I wonder...if he's trying to create minions or something." Duo thought this through. "You know, that's a scarily possible idea." Heero grunted. "He knows that we're after him -- he'd have to be stupid not to have noticed us. It's possible he's making more players for us to go against so he doesn't have to worry about us." "They aren't very good distractions," Duo noted. "We've handled the ones we saw fairly easily." "He's getting better at it," Trowa disagreed shortly. "The first one we saw was easy -- this last one was more challenging." "It could just be an experiment," Quatre offered. "An experiment for what?" "Who knows? I'm just saying, we can't figure out his real purpose right now." Duo growled. "Lovely. I just love that idea." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It started as a steady pressure -- like a pot of water heating up, slowly increasing in temperature until it was boiling. Quatre was able to ignore the jyaki for the first few hours, but it steadily increased in power until the very ground itself was saturated with it. This wasn't missed by Trowa -- he kept an eye on the blond as they ran. He was paler than normal, and kept his eyes closed most of the time. Usually he was talking as they ran, comments here and there or a thought that he wanted to discuss. But he wasn't talking now. He kept swallowing convulsively, as if he were nauseated by something. "Quatre?" "We're very close," Quatre murmured hoarsely. "It's so strong I can't block it out right now." "Shut down your ability," Trowa ordered softly. "I can smell him now -- we don't have to depend on your sense." "Okay." Quatre slammed mental blocks on it and sighed in relief. His queasiness abruptly abated, and his stomach forgave him his stubbornness and decided to stop pitching a fit. Trowa turned to look at the demon running alongside him. "Heero?" "I smell him," Heero acknowledged grimly. They burst into a clearing and skidded to a stop. A tall man with raven black hair, wrapped in a shroud of white stood beside a gentle waterfall. He looked around at their entrance, revealing a beautifully crafted face set in cold lines. "You are?" Trowa put Quatre down slowly, eyes never leaving his opponent. So this was his current appearance, eh? "Nanashi." "Heh. I remember now -- we fought before, over Trivoxor. And the little earth demon too, with his blathering lover. I don't recognize the other human -- a new ally? Are you going to try again? How amusing." "More than try," Heero growled back. Duo grabbed Quatre's arm and they retreated to the edge of the clearing. This wasn't their fight -- their role was support, and it was time to stay out of the way. It sat ill with Quatre, he wanted to fight as well and guard Trowa's back but he was honest enough to recognize that he would be more hindrance than help. On some silent signal, the two demons charges forward. Terandl smirked slightly, unsheathing the sword at his side. A blazing light of pure energy burst around the blade. Quatre sucked in a breath at the sheer power of that weapon. He could almost see the path it would follow -- and his heart stopped when he realized it was aimed directly at Trowa. "TROWA! GET DOWN!" The cat demon dropped to all fours without hesitation. He'd barely done so when a disc of raw power whizzed over his head. Heero dove sideways to avoid the edge of it, a wall of earth exploding upwards to protect him. Terandl turned and studied the little blond in interest. "You can see it, eh? The path Trivoxor's power will take. Hm. A clairvoyant with such ability is...intriguing." Every fiber of Trowa's being was revolted with the greed in Terandl's eyes as he looked at Quatre. Snarling softly he shot back up to his feet, his own long daggers in his hands. Heero swore as Trowa charged forward. He threw his powers into the wind, calling up dust and hitting Terandl with it, hoping to blind him to his friend's position. It was a futile attempt -- Terandl sliced the small tornado in half with Trivoxor, and it faded as if it had never been. "That won't work!" The blade in his hands lit up again, and he struck out at both of them. Heero threw up another shield of earth. It almost protected him from the attack, only a piece of the power cutting through and slicing along his ribs. Grunting in pain, he rolled and ran to his enemy's back before he could attack again. Trowa didn't fare as well. With his own power imbued in the daggers, he cut Trivoxor's attack. A piece of it still grazed his shoulders, slicing along the top on each side. Grimacing, he sank to one knee as pain nearly overwhelmed him, his hands shaking as he fought the urge to drop the daggers. Quatre started praying as he saw blood liberally run from Trowa's arms. "Duo, they can't do this alone -- they're already seriously hurt and they haven't managed to get anywhere near Terandl." The braided clairvoyant nodded grimly. "We're going to have to find a different way -- if they survive this." Everything in Quatre told him to stop the fight now -- but he couldn't. Terandl wouldn't just let them go. They had to escape but how...? Terandl wasn't bothering with surgical strikes anymore -- he was tossing his power around carelessly, letting his sword slice wherever it landed. During one of these swings, he decided to test a legend of the weapon in his hands. It was said that in the right hands, it could cleave souls...that earth demon was being a pain, why not test it on him? Heero saw the massive power growing in the sword. Hearing Quatre's cry of warning, he threw up every shield he could and ducked as the full fury of the sword's power was unleashed. It wasn't enough. Trivoxor cut through those shields like they were paper and slammed into his body. Heero jerked upright, eyes widening as he felt his body start to fade. Quatre had seen what the sword would do -- and reacted without thinking. He sprinted to where Heero was, yelling over his shoulder. "Duo, open up a Portal!" Duo wrenched himself toward the lake, fighting every instinct to go to his lover. He was silently crying as he fell to his knees near the bank, slamming his hands into the water and opening a path at random. He spared little of his attention on what he was doing -- his eyes were on Heero. The blond slid to a stop on his knees, gulping in air. Heero's soul was slowly leaving his body, although he was obviously fighting to stay in. "Oh no you don't!" Quatre took hold of the soul and shoved it back inside. Trowa placed himself in between friends and enemy, daggers crossed in front of his chest in blatant challenge. "Quatre. Get him out of here." Terandl shook his head, mockingly. "Like I'll let you!" Leveling the blade out to his side he ran forward. Snarling, Trowa's daggers burst into flame as he rushed to meet the enemy. He wouldn't let Terandl near Quatre or Heero. Quatre forced himself to focus on Heero, ignoring the part of his heart that screamed in terror for Trowa's sake. Gathering up the unconscious earth demon he ran forward and transferred him quickly to Duo's arms. "Go through!" Duo turned and jumped into the portal without hesitation. Quatre whirled around to see Trowa crumple to his knees a few feet from Terandl. Swearing in panic, he rushed toward him. Terandl was frowning slightly -- the sword in his hands was flickering, the power not quite stable. Apparently it did have a weakness. He shouldn't have been too surprised that Trowa knew the weakness, he was after all from the family that held Vox for generations. The bleeding gash in his chest he ignored. The cat demon might have managed to hurt him, but it would heal later. Quatre risked a glance at Trowa as he placed himself as a living shield between him and Terandl. The cat demon was nearly comatose in pain, breathing ragged and strained. "Trowa, can you move?" "Yes." "Then move. Duo's holding it open." "...can't...not without...you..." "I'll be right behind you," Quatre assured him softly. He was getting anxious to get Trowa out of the vicinity -- who knew how long Terandl would take to get Vox back to its full power? Grunting, he made it to his feet, swaying only slightly. Quatre backed up, matching Trowa's slow progress toward the portal. They were nearly there when Vox sprang back into life. Cursing their luck, Quatre pushed Trowa forward roughly. Trowa stumbled slightly, losing his precarious balance and falling into the portal, disappearing from sight. "Ah, now that was stupid." Terandl walked forward, eyes narrowed slightly. "You should have jumped first and left the cat demon. You would have survived that way." Quatre gauged the remaining distance. Could he make it...? Maybe. But Vox was aiming at him, now, and whatever attack launched at Quatre would follow him through the portal. He didn't know what kind of effect that might have, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good one. "I'll survive regardless." "Hmph." Vox flared, and Quatre braced himself. /I hope I can do this --/ His hands came up as a beam of fierce power tore through the air at him. Using every ounce of ability, he called. The power slowed and formed into a globe right in front of his hands. Quatre was nearly panting at the effort to hold that much power, but it was worth it to see the stunned amazement on his enemy's face. With a deep breath, he reflected that power right back at Terandl. The demon screamed in rage and pain when the globe hit him full in the face. Quatre barely noticed as he dove for the portal. He only hoped that it had killed the demon, or at least hurt him badly enough that they would have the time they needed to heal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He landed just outside a small wooden shrine, fetching up hard against the side. Duo pounced on him as soon as he came to a landing. "You okay?" Quatre raised tired eyes up to his friend's worried visage. "I'm okay. Heero? Trowa?" "Banged up, but...whatever it is you did worked. He'll live. Trowa's in pretty bad shape too. I cleaned him up and bandaged the worst of it. You better get in there quick, he was threatening to go back and get you." Quatre groaned and pushed himself to his feet, Duo catching his elbow and helping him up the rest of the way. They stumbled inside, Duo stopping at the door and turning back to put one final spell into place. The shrine was almost completely surrounded by water -- it should work well enough if he put a barrier up. It drained him quite a bit, but it was worth the effort. This way, they would be safe while everyone recuperated. Trowa was indeed on his feet, ready to go back and get Quatre when the blond entered. He grabbed him by both shoulders, eyes scanning frantically over his body, but there was no sign of injury. Quatre closed in the remaining distance to wrap an arm around Trowa's waist and back as a support. "I'm fine! Lay back down before you fall down." "Terandl?" "Injured," Quatre answered as he helped Trowa to lie back down. "I'm not sure how badly. I reflected Vox's attack back on him, so he's probably crippled." Trowa turned wide eyes on him as he sank back to the ground. "You...reflected the attack?" "It's harder than it sounds," Quatre admitted. He was feeling light headed, and a little woozy. The symptoms were so familiar by this point that he knew he had only a few minutes before he passed out. "Which side isn't hurt?" "Right." Pulling the cloak free, he draped it over them before
settling his head on Trowa's chest -- he wasn't about to put any weight
on that injured shoulder -- and went out like a light. ~ * ~
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