Born in Chaos Part 23
Saron stood back with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the young woman he'd chosen to travel with inspect the sheer rock face. Finally with a sigh she stepped back and looked up at its edge.
"I'm positive that they came this way," Sally turned blue eyes on the somber elven man. "There are even signs of a fight, but it's like they disappeared into the rocks."
"Don't your people have any earth shapers?" Saron snorted.
"What?"
"People that can alter the physical structure of anything related to the earth?" He raised an eyebrow at her puzzled expression. "No, I guess not. I forget that very few of your people were blessed with the power that we use on a daily basis." He shook his head and looked up at the rocks. "Essylt, one of ours that travels with them, is such a person. She probably created a way for them to climb up and then removed it to prevent them from being followed."
Sally eyed him warily. "Well..." she gestured at the cliff.
"I suggest you either find a way around or figure out how to climb it," Came the short reply.
At that moment Sally swore that if the sullen elf could have twitched his ears in irritation, he would have. "Just like a cat," She grumbled and she started to search around the area.
"What?"
"I SAID you're just like a cat!" She spun around and glared at him. "Offering help that is no help at all... providing information that is no good to any one... telling half truths!"
"I can't help with something that I don't have the power for! My powers don't lie in that area."
"Just what area do your powers lie in?"
Grey eyes snapped at the woman as Saron walked by her, refusing to answer her.
"A cat!" She snapped under her breath as she started back to looking for a path around the cliff.
"I heard that!"
"With really good hearing!" Sally added angrily.
~*~
Trowa's breath came in harsh gasps as he set his feet against the ground and held his sword in front of him. His green eyes narrowed as the creature in front of him smiled coldly and spread his arms wide, as if daring him to strike.
At this point he knew better. Repeated attempts to cut the thing down had resulted in him getting injured and nothing more. He couldn't even get near his opponent, never mind striking him with his sword.
"What's wrong, Trowa?" It spoke in his beloved's sweet voice. "Why do you hesitate?" With a low laugh the creature gestured in the brunette's direction.
Trowa saw the movement almost before it happened and braced his heel against the base of the tree and steeled himself for the attack mere seconds before it hit. His face showed the strain of remaining upright in the face of the force that tore at his body, ripping his clothes and slicing his skin underneath.
All he needed was one chance. The fraction of a second that he knew the creature would be vulnerable. If he could just stay on his feet long enough, then maybe he could find that one chance. Pain sank into his very being as his blood flowed freely from the various cuts inflicted by the mental attack of the creature, but he just ground his teeth and braced himself even more.
There! His green eyes glittered as he felt a wavering in the force of the attack. It was starting to die out. This would be his only chance. He knew that he could not take another such attack.
As the force of the creature's power drew back, Trowa let out a yell and surged forward, swinging his blade over his head. Something flickered in the creature's shadowed eyes at the brunette's approach, something fundamentally familiar to Trowa. At the very last moment, he flipped his sword around, grasping the blade in his hands as he brought the hilt down on the creature's head, stunning it and knocking it from its feet.
Damn! What is wrong with me! Trowa mentally cursed himself. Heedless of the blood flowing from his hands, he followed the creature downwards, landing with one knee in its chest. Grasping the hilt of his sword once again he raised it high over his head, ready to strike. Something flickered in the creature's eyes and Trowa hesitated again.
"Trowa, please..." It whispered in a voice hauntingly like Quatre's. "Don't you recognize me?" Soft blue eyes pleaded with him. "Help me, Trowa..."
The brunette flinched at the sound of the voice and then drove the blade downwards.
~*~
Duo wasn't sure when the barrier gave way. Everything around him was a blur, fatigue crept into his bones and his hands trembled as he struggled to maintain his hold on Heero's. One moment they were fighting to get through and then the next Heero was leaping to his feet and dragging Duo with him.
"Go!" The cobalt eyed fighter yelled as he pushed Duo forward.
Then he saw it. The break that they had created, glowing soft and white against the black of the shadows. And fading away rapidly. With the last of his strength he sprinted for the clearing right on Heero's heels.
~*~
Wincing, Quatre slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. What had happened? He frowned as he tried to think. The last thing he remembered was picking the mushrooms he had found and then someone had grabbed him...
"Trowa!" The blonde cried bolting upright.
"Shhh. You'll do yourself more injury," A gentle voice reached him as he felt someone sit on the bed and lay a hand on his shoulder.
"What? Who?"
A movement in the dark, the sound of a flint striking and Quatre blinked rapidly at the sudden light that flared before him. As his vision cleared he saw a young man, probably close to his own age, lean over and light a lantern by the bed. He adjusted the light and turned back to Quatre, a smile lighting his face, causing his bright blue eyes to shimmer.
"I found you in the forest. You had a nasty bump on your head from what looked like a fall."
Quatre shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "I don't remember falling,"
The young man saw the blonde grow pale and pushed him back onto the bed. "You need more rest."
"I'm fine," Quatre murmured. "I need to get back to my friends." He pushed the man's hands away and started to get out of bed, but the look on the other's face stopped him. "What is it? Has something happened to the others?" He asked warily.
"I don't know how to tell you this,"
"What? What has happened??" The healer demanded. "Tell me!"
"They've already moved on," He looked away from Quatre. "I overheard them say something about not wishing to continue on any longer with someone who was so weak he couldn't even look out for himself."
"That can't be right," Quatre felt his body go cold.
"You are welcome to search the forest; I'll even take you to where they were camped. I assure you, I did not hear wrong. I'm sorry."
Quatre fought the dead cold that was creeping through him. Weak! You'll never amount to anything!! You're no better than a girl! He closed his eyes and tried to close out the memories. Useless! Monster! Leave this house; you are no child of mine!
Opening his eyes, he spoke softly. "Then I guess I should head on without them."
"You should stay until you get your strength back. You are welcome here."
"Thank-you, maybe for a day, but no longer. I'll be fine by then, I heal quickly." The healer said silently as he watched the light from the lantern play on the highlights in the man's ginger colored hair.
~*~
"It's so dark," Duo murmured as he followed Heero. "We're in, but how will we get out?"
Heero turned and glared at the thief, his scowl almost eerie in the glow from Duo's light. "We'll get out."
Duo stayed silent as Heero turned back around and listened carefully. For a scant moment, he had thought maybe the other boy had put differences behind them. As soon as they broke through the barrier, Heero seemed to have reverted back to his usual curt self... refusing to speak more than was necessary to the thief.
He started to speak again and Heero held up a hand, cocking his head sideways. "That way," He said pointing to their left and then heading in that direction.
Duo increased his light, but he knew that it didn't matter to Heero, the warrior was moving on instinct alone. He didn't need the light to know where he was going. Suddenly ahead of them, the dark broke to dim and they could see a figure kneeling in the center of the bright spot.
"Trowa!" Duo gasped and broke into a run.
Reaching the green-eyed boy the pair stopped suddenly, Duo's voice catching in his throat and Heero's face falling into a stony mask.
Trowa knelt with one knee in Quatre's chest. Blood flowed from wounds all over his body as he hung limply from the hilt of his sword. The blade of which was drove deep into the blonde's chest.
"What did you do," Duo breathed taking a step forward.
The brunette raised anguished green eyes to the pair. "I lost him," He rasped. "I don't know where he is, I can't sense him."
Duo looked at the body below his friend, "But that..."
"Is not Quatre," Heero stated as Trowa staggered to his feet and jerked his blade from the still form.
Trowa nodded as he leaned over to clean the blood from his sword in the grass before sliding it back in its sheath. "We have to find him,"
"You need your wounds tended," Duo insisted.
"Not until I know he's safe."
Heero nodded and took off his cloth belt, tearing it quickly into long strips. He then used them to bind Trowa's slashed hands and the worst of his wounds, to help slow the flow of blood. "Then we better move quickly."
After they had disappeared back into the deep dark, shadows surged forward into the clearing. Whispering softly they twined themselves around the limp form on the ground, lifting and covering. Within mere seconds, all signs of the body had disappeared, merging back into the shadows from which it had been born.
TBC...
Back to Lady Nagisa's Fanfictions Page