Hi-hi, minna ^_^ Here's the next part--enjoy! And I blame everything on 0083 ^_^
Sword of the Stars Part 2
Hunted
High in the towers of the Imperial Palace of Triantia, Emperor Grantis Irongrip knelt gracefully before the shadow-cloaked figure seated on a throne.
"You summoned me, my Dark Lord?" he asked, putting a great deal of respect in his voice.
YES, MY SERVANT. The voice of the Dark Lord was strange, sounding like two voices speaking at once. One a deep sounding man, the other a delicate female. I HAVE NEWS FROM TALPA AND LING.
"Have they succeeded, my Lord Master?" Grantis asked with hope.
YOUR EMPIRE HAS NOW EXPANDED TO INCLUDE NORANA AND REDWOOD.
Grantis smiled and bowed. "Oh, thank you, my Lord Master, for sparing me your precious generals for my cause!" Regretting his sudden outburst, Grantis' eyes filled with concern. "But what about your needs, my Lord?"
...NOT AS OF YET. I GROW IMPATIENT! I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
"Do not fret, my Lord Master. I am sure Talpa and Ling will succeed After all, they have done so before, haven't they?"
...THEY WILL NOT FAIL ME. THEY KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE. THEY WISH FOR YOU TO SEND FOUR THOUSAND MORE MEN TO REDWOOD. THEY LOST A FAIR NUMBER OF THEIR FORCES IN NORANA.
"I will, my Lord Master. It will be as you say."
AND GRANTIS, REMEMBER THE REWARDS FOR GOOD SERVICE. ALL YOU SHALL DESIRE SHALL BE YOURS, IF YOU SERVE ME.
"I serve you to the death, my Lord Master! To the death!"
GO, THEN. I WILL SUMMON YOU SOON.
Grantis stood and bowed. "By your leave, my Lord." Emperor Grantis turned and left the tower, closing the door as he went. He made his way down the spiraling staircase, laughing in delight. All he desired: the world, riches, women, and power; all of these would be his, and all he had to do was serve the Dark Lord.
~*~
It was well into the morning when Heero's eyes opened. It took him a moment to remember where he was. The memories of the previous night crept into his mind, and he felt the feeling of utter loss. His parents and his little sister...all of them were gone. Even Duo's father, Master Zendrick, had died.
Pushing the thoughts of sorrow away, Heero forced himself to think of what to do next. He glanced beside him, and gasped when he saw Duo wasn't there. Slowly, he crept out of the bushes they had sheltered in and looked around for his friend. There was no sign of Duo anywhere. Fear gripped Heero's heart. Duo was the closest thing to family Heero had left. If anything had happened to him...
"About time you woke up!" Duo's voice said from behind him.
Heero spun around and felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I thought you were..."
"Thought I was what? Gone, too?" Duo shook his head fiercely. "Never! At least, not before I make the Imperials pay for what they did to Redwood."
Heero narrowed his eyes. "I want revenge, too...blood revenge." He lowered his head. Duo put his hand on Heero's shoulder. "Let's think of that later. Right now, we have to concentrate on staying alive ourselves."
Heero looked up at his friend with shock. "How can you be so...casual about this? You lost your father, too!"
Duo nodded. "I know...but my father would not want me to waste my life feeling sad. I know your family, and I don't think they'd want you to, either."
Heero lowered his head again. "...You know, I envied the way you were raised, Duo. Your father made sure you could be hard when you needed to be..."
"As I recall, my friend, Father also trained you."
"Yes, but...I didn't live with him. I can't seem to...to deal with this the way I should."
Duo slammed his fist against a tree branch. "Listen to yourself, Heero! When did you become such a weakling? What happened to the strong-willed fighter who always beat me in training? The one who cut those soldiers to pieces last night? Get a hold of yourself! If Father heard you talking like this, he'd make you do at least five hundred push-ups!"
Despite the circumstances, Heero laughed a little. "He would, wouldn't he? You're right, Duo. I'm shocked myself at my behavior. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Are you all right now?"
Heero smiled. "Better than all right. You?"
Duo closed his eyes and nodded. "Better than I was last night, at any rate." He opened his eyes and grinned. "Now let's go. I found a river so we can wash up." He glanced at Heero and laughed. "And if I look as dirty as you, I suggest we hurry."
Heero followed Duo through the woods and soon came to a riverbank. Clear, clean water rushed by them. Heero knelt at the edge of the bank and began to wash his face while Duo did the same. When they were through, Heero pointed to the south. "If we follow the river, it has to lead to Garrania."
Duo nodded. "Agreed. Let's go."
After drinking from the rushing river, Heero and Duo began their journey south.
~*~
Heero sighed wearily and stared at the sky. In an hour or so, it would be sunset, and they had not yet reached Garrania. How much further could it be? Redwood's Clearing was fairly close to the border, so it shouldn't be taking this long, should it?
Suddenly, Duo cried out in pain and clutched his shoulder. Heero spun and caught his friend as Duo fell forward. A dart was lodged in his right shoulder. Heero held him up while searching for the source of the attack.
"What on--?"
Out of the trees burst five soldiers, all armed with their swords. "There they are!" one of them shouted. "You eluded us yesterday, but this time you will not escape!"
"Imperials!" Heero shook Duo roughly. "Duo, snap out of it! They're Imperials!"
Duo struggled to stand upright, and barely succeeded. "They...followed us?"
The soldiers advanced on the two boys. Heero unsheathed the blades on his back and twisted them together, forming his deadly twin-bladed staff. He twirled it once and held it firmly, assuming a fighting stance. "Duo, start running!"
His friend nearly fell down again. "What?! Not a chance!" He unsheathed his katana. "We fight together!"
"Don't be foolish! You can hardly stand!"
"You can't beat them all on your own!"
"I don't intend to! Run to Garrania, Duo! I'm right behind you!"
With a heated glare, Duo shoved his katana in its scabbard and started running. As well as he could, at any rate. Heero remained perfectly still as the men came toward him. When they were almost right in front of him, he twirled his twin-blade quickly and knocked all of their swords out of their hands. [1] While they stood frozen in shock, Heero turned and followed Duo.
He caught up to his friend in no time. They ran on together, aware of the soldiers chasing them and shouting curses their way. Heero shot a look of concern at his friend. "Will you be all right?"
Duo shook his head. "I'm not sure... They tipped the dart with some kind of poison, I think."
"We must be close to the border by n--" Heero stopped short when they came to a cliff. The river became a waterfall at that point, falling twenty feet to a lake that branched into another river further down. And only a little ways from the bank of the lake was the border to Garrania.
"Wonderful!" Duo cried, gasping for breath. "Running down the steep hill is too dangerous."
Heero glanced at the lake. "Then we jump!"
"Jump?!" Duo exclaimed. "Are you insane?"
Heero sheathed his twin blades and nodded toward the pursuing Imperials. "Would you prefer to wait and see what they have planned for us?" Before Duo could respond, Heero pointed to the border. "If we can just make it there, the border-guards will help us handle the Imperials."
Glancing from the Imperials to Heero, Duo nodded. "All right...but I don't know how well I'll be able to swim in this condition..."
"Do your best. You go first so I can see where you fall and help."
"All right." Duo took a deep breath and leapt off the cliff, plunging into the water below. Heero glanced at the Imperials one more time and prepared to leap off, when three of the poisonous darts struck him simultaneously in the shoulder, arm, and thigh. Heero's body jolted as the poison from all three entered it at once. He lost his footing and nearly fell off the cliff. His vision blurred, and his muscles began to ache. He searched for Duo in the lake, but he couldn't focus on anything.
The soldiers' footsteps came closer. With no other choice, Heero threw himself off the cliff. The fall to the lake seemed to take forever, but soon, he struck the water and went under. The strong current immediately swept him downstream. Water rushed into his mouth, behind his eyes, and into his lungs. He reached out blindly for something to steady him, and tried to force his head above water. He reached up and his hand grasped the soil of the riverbank. He seized it tightly with both hands and pulled himself up.
He pulled in vain against the current and rolled onto the bank of the river. He tried to breathe, but water clogged his throat and he began to choke. He turned on his side and coughed out water while trying to inhale. When at last the water was gone, air filled his lungs and he almost collapsed from the feel of it. He struggled to his knees, coughing and taking short, gasping breaths. His vision was still blurry. He looked around to see where he was. Almost right next to the border. But Duo... Where was Duo? Heero looked for him, but there was no sign. Then, someone caught Heero's eye. A boy was walking toward him. Or, rather, from his point of view, he looked like three or four boys. He had short, platinum blond hair and was carrying a long, intricately designed staff that looked like a deadly weapon.
Heero gasped and forced himself to his feet. He reached for his blades and attached his weapon together. The young man was unaffected by the sight of his unusual weapon. He didn't slow his stride toward him. Heero braced himself for battle, despite his condition. However, when the boy was nearly upon him, his knees gave away and he collapsed. As he fell to the ground, the other boy rushed toward him, surprise on his face.
"No!" Heero heard the boy cry before he lost consciousness. "Send for Wufei! Quickly!" Soon, a curtain of darkness fell over him, and he knew no more.
TBC...
[1] I've had this done to me by my sensei--it's a really neat trick, provided you're not on the receiving end ^^;
Back to Mina Lightstar's Fanfictions Page