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
by Honor A De'Mandoren

"Just once, will you ask for help! Geez! It won't kill you!"

"I can do it on my own," was the hard response, spoken in the softest of tones.

"Yeah, and get killed trying! Look, I know you feel responsible, and maybe you are in a way, but you didn't know, okay?! It wasn't your responsibility in the first place, and in your case you weren't even told much about it, so it can hardly be your fault that Terandl has it!"

There was no reply to this, and Duo sighed. "Look, I have to get Heero back on his feet first. He got hit pretty hard, it's gonna take a while. Are you willing to wait?"

"No."

"Yeah, didn't think so." Staring up at the ceiling, the young clairvoyant thought it through. "Tell you what, why don't I do a mirror reading? Maybe that way I can at least tell you where he's heading."

"...fine."

It wasn't easy to do a mirror reading. It had taken years of practice for Duo to get really comfortable with it. And even after all that practice, half the time he had no idea why he got the results that he did.

He glanced at his friend, still brooding in the shadows. The demon was just as closed off as usual, but moodier. Having Vox stolen from his family holdings was making him anxious.

Hell, having that kind of thing in the hands of a bad guy was making Duo rather anxious.

Clearing all of his thoughts from his head, he placed his hands just above the surface of the mirror in front of him. The thing was large -- a present from his lover, actually. It took up a whole corner of their house, not that Duo cared. He took in a breath, and exhaled it.

The mirror started to glow, ever so slightly, and the surface became like liquid. The glow was yellow -- odd, it was usually pure white. Duo focused more, the same line being said steadily under his breath. "The location of Terandl, give me the direction of Terandl." He felt a tug against his power and flinched. Ow! That hurt!

Another tug, harder than the last. Duo had to wrench himself backwards, or be sucked into his mirror. "Tell me where Terandl is!"

The mirror shimmered, then solidified into an image.

A boy.

He was Duo's height, clear blue eyes and fair hair. He was staring at Duo in fascination, and bewilderment. Duo blinked. Okay, he was rather used to his readings being a little vague, but how was this supposed to help? "Tell me the location of Terandl."

The boy stepped out of the mirror.

Part 1

The first thing that really penetrated in Quatre's mind was when he tripped over the edge of the mirror and landed on his knees. The wooden floor under him was not very forgiving. Wincing, he looked up again at the man standing in front of him.

He was very attractive, and the amethyst eyes were especially eye catching. Quatre wasn't sure if it was because of their color or because of the soft glow in them. His sense, usually erratic, was much stronger today for some reason and was telling him that this person was a powerhouse of energy. Strange.

The stranger extended a hand, which he took, and climbed onto his feet. He stretched his sense out, hoping it would last a little longer. There were two other people here -- even stronger than the person in front of him. One was to his side, in the corner. Another was muted, probably hurt, located in the back of the house. He rubbed at his forehead absently, feeling it ache a little. Using power like this was strange to him. "Who are you?"

"Duo. Why did you come through the mirror?"

Quatre opened his mouth to respond, and closed it again. "I'm not sure. I just glanced at it, and saw you. It was so strange to see someone else instead of my reflection, I touched it to see if it was a picture or something."

Duo's confusion eased. "Ah. You touched it. Well, that explains how you came through. You used my power to get here. I'm not quite sure why my search gave me you, though...what power do you have?"

"Eh?"

"Power, power! You must have some kind of ability; otherwise I wouldn't have found you."

Quatre was becoming more confused, not less. "Well, uh, I can feel people."

"Just people?"

"What do you mean, 'just people'? I can't feel animals very well, if that's what you mean."

"No! I mean, how do you fair with demons?"

Quatre shook his head. "Demons don't exist."

Duo abruptly started laughing. Turning to the person in the corner he grinned. "Hey, you don't exist!"

"This was a waste of time," the figure in the corner grumbled.

Duo stopped laughing. "Naw, I don't think so. The kid's got enough power to light the house up. Tell you what, blondie, why don't you sit down and I'll explain the situation. Then maybe we can figure out why you're here."

That sounded like an excellent idea to him.

Quatre had one hand on his forehead to keep his head from splitting apart, and the other one was up to forestall the rest of Duo's faster-than-light explanation. "Wait. Let me get this straight. I've been pulled into a parallel world, that doesn't necessarily follow the same rules as my world, and whatever natural ability I have is enhanced here. Demons do exist -- so do dragons, ogres, and evil sorcerers and one of these demons is a friend of yours and you called me to help him."

"Well, I didn't mean to call you. I was just trying to figure out where Terandl went so I could tell him where to start looking."

Quatre blew out a breath. "Okay. Why is he looking for this person?"

"Terandl stole something -- a rather destructive family heirloom. Now, it's been gone for a while, but he was told that it was being kept safe by someone, so he didn't worry about it. It wasn't until Terandl did some damage with it that he realized he was lied to. So now he wants to hunt it down."

"Ah." /And why should I involve myself in this?/ Granted, his life at home wasn't all sunshine and daisies, but it was better than being in an unknown land, surrounded by strangers, with the possibility of running into dangerous creatures...wasn't it? "How destructive is this thing?"

"Depends on the wielder. Terandl took out a village with it."

Quatre stood up, pacing the length of the room, in deep thought. As Duo had explained it, when he did a mirror reading, it told him what he wanted to know or it gave him a means to find out the information for himself. Duo had asked a question...and the reading gave him Quatre. Why...? "Duo. On my world, I had the talent of feeling people. Not necessarily their emotions, although it was that to a degree, but just knowing they were there even if I wasn't in the same room with them. It was erratic, there. It's much stronger here."

"That's gotta be it," Duo agreed, snapping his fingers. "That's gotta be why the mirror showed me you. If you can just sense where Terandl is, then it doesn't matter where he goes, you'll know."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Quatre grumbled. What were the facts, really? He had the ability to save lives, here, or at least help save lives. And on his world...he went to school. Right now, getting an education did not balance out to human life in his mind. Besides, this wasn't a long term deal anyway. Once he was done helping them, he could go back... "Duo, I can go back, right?"

"Yeah, anytime."

No problem, then. /I must be insane for agreeing to this./ "Okay, I'll help."

"Cool." Duo turned expectantly to the very silent spectator leaning on the wall. "He's all yours. Try to be nice to the kid, he is helping you out."

"Hn." There was a brief beckoning motion to Quatre. "Follow."

The blond gave Duo an uncertain glance. Duo shooed him out the door. "It'll be fine. He's not much on talking, that's all. Actually, his people skills suck. But you'll be safe with him. I'll catch up with you guys in a week, when Heero is feeling better."

There wasn't any other option. Quatre had already said he would help, he was committed now. He hurried out the door and down the path, catching up with the tall figure walking without apparent hurry.

/What have I gotten myself into?/

Now, on a normal basis, Quatre was rather fond of quiet. With a family full of sisters, he rather craved it at times. However, there were instances when quiet was just a little too...absolute.

Like now.

After two hours of walking behind the demon, Quatre was more than ready for conversation, especially since he knew nothing of this world. He'd been polite at first just because this person was in a Bad Mood and he didn't want to ruffle feathers, but enough was enough. Quickening his stride, he caught up to the demon's side.

It was hard to tell he was a demon, from the outside. His ears were slightly pointed, and there was a mark of power on his cheeks, but other than that he could have been human. Delectably human. "Um...what's your name?"

Without looking at him, the demon replied flatly, "Nanashi."

He really wasn't in the mood to talk...tough. "Where are we going?"

"..."

Growling, he spun in front of him. "Look, I don't read minds! Is it too much to ask where we're going?"

Nanashi almost seemed to look through him. "Terandl struck near here not long ago."

"Oh. You think we can pick up the trail from there?" He turned so that he was walking alongside the demon again.

"Yes."

Seeing that he had probably used up Nanashi's allotment of words for the day, Quatre went back to thinking. It was a beautiful day, and beautiful countryside. Rolling green hills, fluffy white clouds, trees along the road...it was a shame the person next to him was spoiling the scenery. An hour later, there was a change in the air. Quatre was ready to crawl out of his skin, the feeling was so uncomfortable. He stopped abruptly, looking around in alarm.

Nanashi stopped and looked at him.

"It's...revolting," Quatre offered, briskly rubbing his arms. "This feeling...what is it?"

"Terandl."

Quatre swallowed hard. "We're chasing something this evil?"

"Yes."

"Gods help us," the blond breathed. "I would know this feeling anywhere, Nanashi. We don't have to get closer to where ever he had been. Can we move on?"

Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Quatre didn't breathe until they were a good distance away. Then he relaxed with a sigh. He still felt like taking a bath, and scrubbing off a layer of skin, but at least he could breathe now without having the urge to vomit. Bringing his sense to the fore, he probed the area to see if he could find that feeling and aura again. There was a unique red tinge to the area Terandl had touched, almost like footprints but not quite. "Nanashi? We're heading in the wrong direction."

The demon stopped, looking at him. "I chased him this way."

Quatre spread his hands in a shrug. "Maybe it was a decoy or something, I can't explain that. All I know is that the evil aura goes toward the left." He sighed when the demon simply changed directions and followed where Quatre had pointed.

This was going to be a very long journey.

They traveled all day, stopping late in the evening. Nanashi took care of dinner -- in other words, he caught a raw fish with a simple swipe of his hand from the small brook next to their 'campsite' and tossed it at Quatre.

With a mutter about home cooked meals, the blond called upon all of his expertise as a Boy Scout and started up a fire. He didn't have any fancy equipment, but he remembered the rudiments well enough. After a day of walking, even the no-salt, no-ketchup fish tasted divine.

He huddled into his blue jean jacket, thanking his lucky stars that he'd been something of a bum today when he was dressing. It was a Saturday, so he'd forgone his usual method of dress and chosen a pair of army fatigues, long sleeved black shirt, and a blue jean jacket. Maybe a little mismatched, but at least it was warm. Curling into a tight ball, he closed his eyes.

The fire burned down some, and Quatre started awake with a violent shiver. Couldn't they have stayed in an inn or something? Or was that against demon policy? He shifted around, a little closer to the fire. When that didn't work, he scrunched up tighter into a ball. Ah screw it, he'd have to build up the fire again. Of course, that meant he'd have to go find some more firewood -- in the dark. Maybe he should just forgo sleeping.

Nanashi was resting with his back against a tree, eyes closed. When Quatre rose to his feet he asked quietly, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Because I'm freezing!" Quatre's usually even temper snapped. "Maybe you don't feel the cold, but if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly covered in excess weight so I feel it when it gets cold! I don't have anything to sleep with to keep me warm, and I'm tired and irritable from putting up with your surly company all day, doing something that I don't have to do in the first place!"

Nanashi's eyes opened and looked at him calmly. "Come here."

"Why? So you can cold-clock me and put me out of your misery?"

"Come here."

Giving up, Quatre walked to him. The demon caught his wrist when he was close and pulled him down. Quatre squawked as he landed on the demon's lap, about to protest the manhandling. The dark cloak that had been covering Nanashi's body flipped over the both of them. Quatre twisted to stare at the demon with wide eyes.

"Go to sleep." Nanashi's eyes were already closed again.

Sleep? Up close Quatre realized with absolute embarrassment that Nanashi was gorgeous -- in a really supernatural, kinda dangerous don't-touch-me-and-live way, but gorgeous nonetheless. He was curled up to that body, and next to a person he wasn't entirely sure he could ever trust, and the demon wanted him to sleep?! Was he kidding?

Quatre yawned and let his head rest against that very firm chest. Granted, he was much warmer, but the idea that he could ever -- geez, why was he yawning like this? -- be comfortable enough to...actually sleep...damn, he smelt good...

A pair of green eyes studied the young human curled up in his arms, sleeping so peacefully. There might have been a slight softening to them before they closed again, but if so, no one witnessed it.

If Quatre had possessed any aspirations that the demon would treat him better because they'd slept next to each other the night before, the hope was immediately dashed upon waking.

They started walking without breakfast, early when the sun had risen. Animals had better sense than to be up at that time of the morning. Quatre's stomach started rumbling after an hour of travel, which Nanashi ignored. Fortunately for the blond, there was an apple orchard alongside the road. He turned toward it without a word to his silent companion.

"Quatre?"

"If you won't feed me, I'll have to feed myself." The lowest branches had enough fruit on them so that he didn't have to hop up and down to get something. Three apples in hand, he strode back to the road, munching as he went.

Nanashi watched him, then walked on without saying a word.

Once he had a little food in his stomach, Quatre's disposition improved drastically. He matched his pace with his companion's. "So tell me more about Terandl."

"You know what you need to."

Frowning at him, the blond shook his head stubbornly. "No, I don't. What does he look like? Is he a mind player? Does he like to set traps or does he face his opponents face to face? Does he have lots of henchmen we have to keep an eye out for? Is he after the world, or is he just a power hungry loon? How did he steal your family heirloom without you knowing about it? Why --"

Nanashi growled slightly. "Enough. You've made your point."

"I still want all of those questions answered," Quatre stated with a stubborn light in his eyes.

The demon gave a soft sigh. "Terandl has many faces -- I have only seen him once. We cannot go by appearance."

"I doubt we have to worry about it," Quatre reflected thoughtfully. "I'll know instantly if it's him or not. Okay, so maybe that first question wasn't necessary."

Nanashi snorted. "As for the other questions, I know little of him. From what I've seen, he discards people easily. I doubt anyone is loyal to him."

"And the weapon you're trying to get back?"

"Trivoxor. Most know it as Vox. It was sealed -- he broke the seal and stole it."

"Who lied to you about it? Duo said you thought it was in a safe place."

Nanashi remained silent.

"Okay, fine, I won't ask about that. So is Terandl a sneaky enemy or does he like confrontations?"

"Both."

"An unpredictable enemy," Quatre sighed. "Great." Inwardly, he was delighted to see that the demon was actually talking to him. He wasn't giving him irritated glances anymore, either. Maybe he was getting used to an inquisitive blond as his traveling companion. "Can I ask a more personal question?" When there was no response, he decided to forge ahead regardless. "Can you change forms?"

"Yes."

"Ah. You've got to be a really big cat when you do switch."

Nanashi stopped, tilting his head to search his face intently. "No one told you what I am."

"That you were a cat demon? Well, no but your spirit looks like a cat, so I kinda jumped to conclusions."

"It is an unusual Sight you have."

"I didn't used to," Quatre grumbled. "Like I said, my ability has really enhanced ever since I came here."

Accepting this, he moved forward again. Quatre, resigned to the fact that the demon would be quiet for a while, followed without another word.

Part 2

Quatre was so grateful to see signs of civilization, however limited, that he could have cheered. He'd noticed just from seeing Duo's house that he appeared to be in a different time than his own. This world was apparently more in a Renaissance era, judging by how things looked. At least it wasn't something like the Dark Ages.

The village they went through was mostly comprised of wooden huts. People in loose shirts and pants went around on their own business, talking to each other as they went. Or they did, until they caught sight of Nanashi. Then they quieted, and shrunk away in fear.

Moving closer, Quatre whispered, "Are they afraid because it's you, or because you're a demon?"

"Both."

Well that certainly answered the question. "You've been here before, then?"

"I fought someone here."

"Ah." Nanashi fighting someone must be a fearsome sight, if the watching faces were anything to go by.

Someone that was probably the head speaker for the village, and another man that was undoubtedly a priest, in that kind of a black robe, approached them. Nanashi hesitated, eyes narrowing as they approached.

"What business do you have here, demon?"

Quatre hid an internal wince -- the priest's voice was really annoying to listen to. Stepping in front of Nanashi, he held up his hands placatingly. "We're just passing through. We have no intention to harm anyone."

The priest scooted closer, peering at Quatre's face. "You look human."

"I am human."

"You'd best stay away from this demon, boy. He's dangerous."

And about as communicative as a brick, and gorgeous, and...he really needed to focus on the immediate situation. "Most demons are. It's their nature. Regardless, we will not harm you. Please let us pass."

The priest turned his staff in his hand, leveling it at them. "Move away from him, boy."

"Now just a minute --"

Nanashi put a restraining hand on Quatre's shoulder, halting the rant. "Leave it alone."

"But --" Quatre jumped in surprise when the demon put an arm around his waist. Slowly his feet left the ground, a shimmering cloud of soft grey circling around their feet. Quatre threw both arms around Nanashi's waist as they rose into the air. There was no way he was going to fall, and if he did, the demon was coming down with him. The outraged yells of the priest faded as they went over his head and away from the village. Quatre looked around in wonder. He had no idea Nanashi could do something like this. "Why were we walking if you can fly like this?"

No response.

Just because he didn't answer that question, didn't mean that he wouldn't answer any question, Quatre reminded himself. "Are we going to get that kind of response wherever we go?"

"Possibly."

Ah ha! An answer! Quatre was starting to keep a mental tally of how often he could get Nanashi to say something. "Hm. They're probably not going to believe any declaration of innocence on our part either, judging from the last guy."

This comment was ignored. Nanashi's eyes were completely trained ahead, not even glancing at the person in his arms. "Why did you defend me?"

Quatre's eyes nearly fell out of his head. He'd actually been asked a question?! Miracles never ceased. "Well, I didn't want a confrontation if I could avoid it. And you didn't have any intention of going on a rampage, right?"

"No."

"There you go. I'd hate for you to be hurt just because they're paranoid."

Nanashi didn't offer a response to this. Quatre hadn't really expected one. It was something of a divine occurrence that he'd even asked a question. His eyes went back to the scenery passing beneath them -- beautiful country. Much better than living in a city like he did.

"Why are you helping me?"

/Well knock me down with a feather, I get two questions in a day?/ "I've always believed that problems should be solved by the people who have the power to do so. And, well, it's not like my life is more important than other people's. If I can help prevent more deaths, then I should."

"Most would not agree with you."

"Most people are selfish," Quatre parried with a shrug.

"Yes." The response was so soft Quatre wasn't sure if he heard him.

"Nanashi, does flying like this take power? I mean I don't --" His head jerked around. "This...it looks so odd..."

"What is it?"

"It's something like Terandl...but at the same time, it's different. Put us down." Quatre's feet were still a foot off the ground when he pulled away and dropped the rest of the way. They were near another village, this one a little older than the last one. What he was detecting was very weird -- it was definitely Terandl's signature, and yet it was mixed up with something very pure.

He fell into a jog, weaving his way forward. He could almost see it in front of him, like a red light. Nanashi was right behind him as they stopped in front of a hut near the local shrine. Quatre knocked slightly on the door frame, then moved past the blanket in front of him and stepped inside.

An older man looked up as he came in. "Who are you?"

"My name is Quatre," the blond replied absently. There was a child lying on a straw mattress, obviously burning with fever. And he was beginning to see why. Her soul was tangled up with some kind of life force of Terandl's, at least, that's what it looked like. Turning to his silent companion, he scowled. "He's been here. That little girl's soul is tangled up with some of his life energy."

Nanashi's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you people?!"

Quatre ignored the question. "Are you a doctor or a priest?"

The man hesitantly answered, eyes narrowed. "A priest and the local healer. My name is Cloun."

"Alright, Cloun, can you see the trace of red light in this child?"

"No. I can sense that something is wrong, but...what is this Terandl that you speak of?"

Quatre groaned. This...wasn't going to be easy. He wasn't sure how to fix this problem. If he could somehow remove Terandl's energy from her, she'd be fine, but how was he supposed to do that? He could only see the problem!

"Quatre. Let's go."

Quatre spun to his feet, and his hand cut the idea in two. "No! I told you, didn't I? Problems should be solved by those who have the ability to do so."

Nanashi cocked an eyebrow, an nth degree. "You don't."

Quatre's jaw set stubbornly. "Cloun, is there any way you know of to purify that evil energy?"

"...yes, but it would take years."

Growling under his breath, he looked back to the little girl. They didn't have that kind of time. Well, his power had changed so radically in the past two days, maybe it was possible for him to draw it out of her. He wouldn't know until he tried. Dropping to his knees, he put his hands on her chest and pulled. "Come."

The girl shook, hard tremors that made her rise off the pallet. But the energy within her had split, part of it heeding Quatre's call. Seeing the progress, Quatre gritted his teeth and put more strength behind the order. "Come!"

She wrenched upwards with a cry, and the red light rose to hover in the air above them. Quatre took hold of it, sweat starting to bead his forehead at the strain this was taking. Spiritual matter was not easy to hold onto. "Cloun, I need to put this somewhere."

The priest was watching him with wide eyes. When his request penetrated, he nodded vigorously and scrambled across the room. After a bit of routing in a wicker basket, he brought a wooden figurine forward. "Will this do?"

Quatre had no idea. Would it? "Put it on the floor." He was rasping for breath by this point. Once Cloun was clear, he wrangled the light toward the figurine and pushed. It fought him, wriggling about like a snake, making it even more difficult to hold onto it.

Nanashi watched silently as the seemingly frail human held onto an energy that was so evil it made his hair stand on end. He hadn't expected Quatre to be able to do anything, but he was...at great cost. The blond was shaking in strain, teeth clenched tightly. With excruciating slowness, he fought the light into the statue.

The demon stepped forward and put a hand over the figurine, spelling a seal on it.

Quatre flashed him a smile of gratitude, tinted with exhaustion. He slumped forward, catching himself on his hands. "The girl?"

"She's well," Cloun assured him in a reverent tone.

Effortlessly, the demon lifted Quatre into his arms, arranging it so that the blond was supported completely on one arm before standing. Quatre was so tired that he let him, closing his eyes and nearly falling asleep.

"W-wait! He should stay here, and rest."

The demon went back out of the building, not heeding the man. Quatre wouldn't get any rest near that sealed figurine. His eyes went to the teen in his arms, and he frowned. Why had he done that? How had he done that? Quatre had no training in his abilities, he'd said so himself. So how had he known what to do?

"Nanashi?"

His eyes weren't even open. "What?"

"Thank you for letting me help her."

Snorting, the demon decided to ignore such a ridiculous statement.

When Quatre woke, it was twilight. He could barely see the sky from his position inside the cave. It took a second before he realized he was wrapped up in Nanashi's dark cloak, so warm and comfortable that even thinking about moving was a sin.

"Quatre."

Darn, he couldn't just lay there. Sighing, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I'm awake."

Nanashi was leaning casually near the entrance. He reached inside his coat and pulled free a kerchief bundle, which he tossed at Quatre. "Eat."

With understandable suspicion, he unwrapped the bundle. Warm bread, a huge hunk of cheese, and a slab of something that smelled like beef. This was a VAST improvement over his dinner last night. He scarfed it down without hesitation. When he was done he looked up with a genuine smile. "Thank you."

There was no response, as usual. Quatre was almost used to it by now. He stood up, taking the very warm cloak with him. Had they wandered off course while he was sleeping? Cautiously he extended his sense -- it was still weird to have control over it, and be able to use it at will -- and 'looked'. "We're still on course. Terandl's presence is becoming...sharper."

Dark green eyes cut over in his direction. "He was here recently."

"Well, 'recently' probably isn't the right word. I'm not really used to discerning age when it comes to this kind of thing, but I'm guessing it's been a few days."

"Hn."

"Is Heero a demon?" That had been bothering him a while.

Nanashi's brow arched slightly. "Yes."

"Ah. He must have been the wounded person in the back of Duo's house. How badly was he hurt?"

"Badly."

"Well, that was informative." Was that a smile on the demon's face? No...trick of the dying sunlight, surely. "What do you plan to do once you catch up with Terandl?"

"Kill him."

"...I was hoping for a more elaborate plan of attack."

"No battle plan survives contact with your enemy."

Quatre blinked at him. "Have you ever heard of Sun Tzu?"

The demon gave him a blank look.

"Never mind," Quatre sighed. "Let's get some sleep, alright?"

It was downright awkward and embarrassing curling up next to Nanashi in order to go to sleep, but Quatre was not going to sleep without that cloak. He'd freeze without it, and he wasn't about to steal it when it was the only covering. Nanashi needed it too. He laid facing away from the demon, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the body behind his. The very warm body behind his. The very warm, appealing body behind his.

/Why am I always attracted to the tall, silent types?/

His eyes flew open when an arm was settled around his waist, tucking him into Nanashi's body. He was about to protest this, after all it wasn't necessary for them to be this close just to stay warm...he really did smell good and he felt marvelous, all of that hard muscle and male strength pressed up against his back. Screw it, if it didn't bother the demon, then he wasn't going to make a fuss about it.

Closing his eyes again, he tried to put himself into the right mindset for sleep.

And went out like a light.

Footnote: For those of you not familiar with The Art of War, written by General Sun Tzu, what Quatre is referring to is this; "According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans." Wellington also made a reference to this idea. On the eve of the battle of Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge, commanding the cavalry, went to the Duke of Wellington in order to learn what his plans and calculations were for the morrow, because, as he explained, he might suddenly find himself Commander-in-chief and would be unable to frame new plans in a critical moment. The Duke listened quietly and then said: "Who will attack the first tomorrow -- I or Bonaparte?" "Bonaparte," replied Lord Uxbridge. "Well," continued the Duke, "Bonaparte has not given me any idea of his projects; and as my plans will depend upon his, how can you expect me to tell you what mine are?" There, that's your history lesson for the day. Going back to the story now...

Part 3

Quatre couldn't even get an acknowledgement from Nanashi the next morning. /We're back to not talking, it looks like./ Why was he putting up with this? Normally, he wouldn't associate with someone so...snobbish. Well, okay, maybe that wasn't the right word. Maybe Nanashi was just...disconnected. Whatever it was, Quatre was fast coming to the point of boxing the demon's ears, he didn't care how hot he was.

By mid-morning, he just couldn't handle the oppressive silence anymore. Spinning around, he caught Nanashi's face between his hands and glared as darkly as he knew how. "Look! I can't take this every morning! You won't even look at me, never mind speaking! Are you not a morning person, or is it that you are embarrassed by sleeping next to me? What?!"

Nanashi blinked, then scowled as he lifted his head free of Quatre's hold. "It's not your concern."

"The hell it isn't! Usually I'm even tempered, but this is driving me up the wall. If you're upset with me for some reason, just say so!"

Their eyes locked, but Quatre couldn't read what was going on in Nanashi's mind. The demon's eyes lifted toward the sky, something like a sigh coming from his mouth. "When we find Terandl, hide."

Quatre blinked. Hide? Is that what he had been thinking about all morning? "You're worrying about me?"

The look in those green eyes when they cut back to Quatre was quite expressive: I am a scary demon and I don't worry about anyone.

Quatre beamed back at him and went right back to following Terandl's tracks, almost skipping. Hell, if Nanashi was quiet just because he was worrying about him -- he could handle that.

"Out of curiosity, why are we walking when you can fly?"

Nanashi gave him a resigned glance as he answered. "It takes energy to fly. I don't wish to use up such power when I am in pursuit of an enemy."

"Oh. That certainly makes sense." Thinking that through, he remembered that Nanashi had carried him once he had collapsed yesterday. Memory said that he had flown, at least in the beginning. "Sorry. I must have been a burden to you yesterday."

"Separating power is a useful ability."

/Um...is it safe to translate that as 'no problem' or 'don't worry about it'?/ "Yeah, I suppose it is. I didn't really think I could do it but...it looked so real to me that I thought maybe I could grab it. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Spiritual power is...slippery."

"Hn."

/Okay, that wasn't exactly a response, but at least it was an acknowledgement that I said something. And why is he probing at this anyway?/ "Is it odd that I have such an ability?"

"Yes."

"How odd?"

"I did not think it was possible."

"In other words, you've never heard of anyone doing anything like that before."

"Yes."

"Weird," Quatre muttered. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of being the one and only in anything. There were too many pitfalls, and no one to warn him about them. His head snapped up as the energy residue abruptly flared. He flinched from it without thinking, nose wrinkling. "I'm not sure what he did here, but it's..."

"I smell it," Nanashi murmured with eerie calm. "Demons were slayed here."

Every hair on Quatre's body was standing on end. Turning toward the demon, he looked up pleadingly. "I know it drains you a little, but can you fly us over just this part? It's giving me a migraine."

Nanashi's eyes flared a little. Quatre was...touching him, without any sign of discomfort. He'd never had a human trust him like the little blond did. Slowly he inclined his head in agreement, wrapping an arm around Quatre's waist and lifting into the sky. Quatre slid his arms around the demon in return, holding on tightly as they rose over the site of the battle and moving past it. When Nanashi could no longer smell blood, he settled back onto the ground.

"Thank you," Quatre gave him another blinding smile. "We need to go more west, now. He changed directions."

"Quatre."

"Yes?"

"It isn't that draining."

Quatre blinked. /Oh. I think he means it's alright to go around such places instead of through them, that he doesn't mind flying me around or over them. Geez, I need a translator for this guy./ "Okay."

Satisfied, Nanashi moved in the direction Quatre had indicated.

Quatre was watching the sunlight fade over a small river, eyes heavy. He was so tired...gods, he was worn out. In between using his power all day to track Terandl, and walking all over the place, he was about ready to collapse. Only problem was he hadn't eaten yet, and he didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night hungry. He just couldn't rustle up the energy to care right at that moment, but he was working on it.

The water shifted, slowly forming into the image of a lithe man with chestnut hair and brilliant violet eyes. [Testing, testing. Hey Q, you hear me?]

Either Quatre was so tired he was hallucinating, or... "Duo?"

[Ah, he can hear me! Hey, blondie. How's it going?]

"How are you doing this?"

[Well, I'm a clairvoyant, you know. My specialty is Reflections -- be it mirrors, water, or shiny surfaces. Mirrors work best, I have to admit. Is our favorite demon treating you alright? Or have you given into temptation and strangled him yet?]

Quatre rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'm not sure how to answer. Sometimes he's so considerate it's almost sweet, then there are times I can't even get him to look at me."

[Huh. That sounds like him. Look, Quatre, you're going to have to just deal with him. Long as I've known the guy, he's hated having to depend on anyone for any reason. Right now he's completely depending on you, and that's gotta grate on his nerves. Just smack him if he's being too obnoxious.]

"Right." He dredged up a smile for the other man.

[You look worn out, blondie. What's going on?]

"I'm not used to this, frankly. Using my ability all day is draining. And well...a few other things happened."

[Like what?]

"Duo...can anyone eavesdrop on this conversation?"

[Uh...you know, I'm not sure. It's possible, I guess.]

"Then I'll wait and tell you in person."

Duo's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. [Okay. Hopefully that will be soon. 'Ro's a lot better now. I think he'll be ready to rumble in a day or so. That's part of the reason why I called. Where can we meet up with you?]

"Um...I don't know the area well enough to give you directions. Let me call Nanashi." Quatre turned to call him over, completely missing the surprise on Duo's face. "Nanashi! Duo needs to talk to you."

The demon turned from his position near the fire and came forward, kneeling at the bank.

[You didn't tell him your real name?]

"Leave it, Duo."

[Now that's just wrong, man. He trusts you -- only enemies and other scraggly demons call you Nanashi. It's an insult.]

"Duo."

[Fine, be that way. Tell me where you're heading, and 'Ro and I will meet up with you.]

"That is not necessary."

[Not necessary. Right.] Duo glared at him. [Tell you what, I'll call Ro in and you can explain to him why helping his best friend from getting killed is 'not necessary'.]

Growling in the back of his throat, Nanashi returned the glare. "Terandl almost killed him."

[Yeah, and he's pipin' mad about it too. So am I. We want to get even with the bastard. Location, Tro. NOW.]

With another feral growl, the demon gave in. "We're at the base of Mount Heresy, heading west."

[Good. We'll meet you in a few days. Q, remember what I said. If he gets to be too much of a pain in the ass, just smack him.]

The image faded into the depths of the water, out of sight. Quatre was acutely aware of the silence between them, and sighed. "If you do not wish to tell me your name, it's alright."

"It's Trowa."

Quatre's head snapped around, eyes wide. Nan-Trowa returned his stare with a calm gaze, giving the blond no answers to the myriad of questions going in circles around his mind. "Why...is that name so important to you?"

"My name is an old one. If they knew of it, they would be able to trace my origins."

"...and you don't want your family involved?" Quatre hazarded.

"Yes."

Thinking this through, Quatre just couldn't feel that insulted. They barely knew each other, after all. "I can't blame you for keeping your name a secret. Is that why Duo called you by a nickname?"

"Duo gives everyone a nickname."

Quatre laughed softly when he thought over that last conversation. "Even me, apparently. So what's for dinner?"

The little blond was ready and waiting. If Trowa even thought about ignoring him this morning, he was prepared to smack him right in the back of the head.

Didn't happen.

Trowa didn't move until Quatre pointed the direction to go in. He was even considerate enough to stop briefly at a village so that Quatre could dart in and buy something for breakfast. Maybe hearing that his friend was nearly well again had improved his temperament. His human traveling companion certainly hoped so.

Quatre was enjoying the bright sunlight on his face, reveling in the sense of being warm and fed. It was such a beautiful day and...he frowned and stopped, turning to the right. "Something's approaching."

"Human?"

"I'm not sure. Something...like you. Only it looks wrong, off somehow."

Trowa growled, a feral sound that made Quatre jump in surprise. "Go near that tree and stay there."

"Trouble?"

"Demons are rarely friendly."

And that summed up the situation quite well, in Quatre's mind. He went to the tree, a fair distance from the road, and stayed put. He was unarmed, and human: his chance of surviving against a demon's attack wasn't very good.

Trowa stood still in the center of the road, cloak stirring softly around his legs. He could smell it now -- the scent of demon's blood. He didn't recognize the scent, but it hardly mattered. He could catch the hint of bloodlust. This demon was hunting something -- and demons in that mood usually destroyed whatever was in their path.

His eyes glanced off to the side, double checking that Quatre was where he was supposed to be. He couldn't risk the little human. Good, he was staying put. At least he had that much sense.

It wasn't a demon that appeared -- it was two. A juvenile oni with green skin and red eyes blazing with barely contained violence, and another smaller demon that shifted appearances so fast even Trowa's eyes could barely follow one face to the next. It was the smaller one that made Trowa's hackles rise -- geryon. He hated geryons. They were always hard to kill.

As expected, they stopped three feet away from him, grinning evilly. "We are Sashin and Deklar. You have a human with you --" the geryon's eyes shifted to Quatre, and a blue tongue flicked over his lips "-- yes?"

The oni's eyes were focusing entirely on Quatre. He was nearly shivering in excitement. "Sweet skin, soft flesh...Sashin! Want!"

Trowa raised a fist, his knuckles cracking loudly as he flexed them.

"Ooh! He wants to fight over it." Sashin spun in the air, long hair flying. "What is your name?"

"Nanashi."

"I'll have them put it on your grave!" Sashin launched himself at Trowa, then skidded to a stop when he realized that between one blink of the eye and the next, Trowa had moved.

Trowa spun on his back leg, aiming a claw of Shards at the demon.

Sashin jumped, hissing a little when one of those blades of burning power nicked his thigh. "Mmm, a challenge!" Laughing manically he darted forward again.

The oni wasn't going to wait for Nanashi to be defeated. He stalked forward, grinning evilly as he saw the human retreat a step in fear. Sweet human, defenseless, nowhere to run. Drool started to run down his chin as he imagined the taste of such meat.

Quatre could see that Trowa was very busy fighting that other weird demon, but he was in a bit of a pickle. He had an oni staring at him like he was an all you can eat buffet, and there wasn't anything on him that he could fight with. /This was really poor planning on my part. And I'm starting to regret being such an air head./ Thinking frantically, his mind flashed to when he had manipulated that ball of power four days ago. The Oni's power didn't look much different -- he could use that. Somehow?

/And do what with it? Just drain him so that he doesn't have the power to attack me?/

Okay, so it was a really rough plan and he didn't have a clue on what to do, but call for help -- no, that might distract Trowa and it was a bad idea to distract him just at that moment. He was on his own, gods help him.

The choice was taken out of his hands. Quatre tried to spin out of the demon's grasp, but the oni was faster than he looked and grabbed him. Quatre landed hard on his back, jarring his shoulder and knocking air out of his lungs. Gasping, he blocked that massive head from lowering with his forearm. Okay, so maybe he didn't have a better plan, but any plan was better than being eaten by this guy!

Trowa caught the predicament his human was in out of the corner of his eye and snarled. Swiping his claws at the geryon, he tried to jump free to help Quatre.

Sashin twisted around enough to shoot a hot arrow of power through Trowa's shoulder.

Stumbling slightly, the cat demon spun back around, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder.

"You don't have time to worry about him! He's Deklar's lunch by now."

Roaring in rage, Trowa threw himself forward, hand extended. Sashin gasped in surprise as that hand went through his throat. Gurgling, he slowly slumped to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Trowa lost no time in jumping over the corpse toward Quatre.

His aid wasn't necessary.

Quatre grasped the power boiling inside the oni with mental hands and pulled. The demon over him cried out in pain, hands tightening reflexively. Gritting his teeth, Quatre yanked harder until his physical hands touched that power. Then he threw it back into the demon's body so hard that it went right through him.

The oni shook like he was electrocuted, eyes rolling up into his head. Quatre pushed him off as soon as he felt the soul leave the body, then wrenched himself to his feet. Stumbling a little, he ran to Trowa. "Trowa! Are you alright?"

He...what did he do? The stink of death was evident over the oni's frame. Trowa nodded numbly, a little shocked that the frail human had found a way of protecting himself. "Fine."

Quatre caught sight of the blood slowly seeping through the dark clothing. "You're bleeding! That doesn't equal fine!" He pushed the heavy coat and white shirt aside, studying the round hole in Trowa's shoulder with a pinched face. It was black around the edges, and bleeding heavily. "We have to clean this out, and put a bandage on it. I wish I had a first aid kit..."

Trowa shrugged off the concern and turned back to the road. "Unnecessary. It will be healed by tomorrow morning."

"What do you mean 'unnecessary? You've got a freakin' hole in your chest the size of a tennis ball! Even if you do heal that fast, we need to clean it out."

"It's unnecessary," Trowa repeated with a little more force.

Quatre planted himself firmly in the demon's way. "Trowa, you've got two choices. You'll let me clean that out and put something on it to stop the blood, or I'll knock you unconscious and do it. Either way is fine by me."

Seeing that the 'frail' human was deadly serious, Trowa grudgingly nodded. It wasn't just that Quatre was probably capable of carrying out his threats...the obvious concern in those light blue eyes was a factor as well. He...liked Quatre worrying about him.

It was a bit of a walk before he found a well. Dragging a bucket of water up, he tore off his sleeves and did the best job he could with just water. Quatre wouldn't let Trowa get up until he'd washed the area thoroughly, and bandaged it somewhat crudely with the sleeves of his shirt. It wasn't a pretty job, but it would hold. As he tightened the last knot, Trowa's hand came up to brush against his knuckles. "Thank you."

Quatre's head snapped up to look at him. Was the demon feverish? Maybe that weird demon he'd fought had poison in its claws or something...no, Trowa's eyes were clear and steady as they looked back at him. Maybe he was just unthawing a little, finally getting used to the blond's presence. "Ah...you're welcome." Jerking himself roughly back into the present, he sat back on his heels. "Don't be too rough with it, I'm not sure if it'll hold. I really wish I had a first aid kit."

"What is a first aid kit?"

"Um...a convenient thing that's made on my world. It holds bandages, and antiseptics, and medicines."

Trowa nodded and stood. That was enough information for him. And he rather agreed with Quatre...it would be a nice thing to have, but it hardly mattered in his case whether they had it or not. He would be well by the next morning. "Let's go."

Quatre stood, toppling slightly as all of the blood in his head rushed southward. Trowa caught him with his good arm, steadying the human against his body. "Quatre? Quatre!"

"...sorry." Quatre kept his eyes closed so that the very nice landscape would stop spinning in mad circles. "I used...too much energy with that demon."

"Dammit, you shouldn't push yourself like this. I know that drains you."

"Had to make sure you were alright," Quatre gasped. Darkness was eating at his vision. An analytical part of his mind informed him that overusing his ability was very similar to significant blood loss. Oh, and he was going to faint.

"Idiot! I told you I'll be fine." Trowa didn't like this at all. Quatre was sheet white, and trembling against him. He was kicking himself for not noticing sooner. Quatre must have been running on adrenaline alone to see to him.

"Trowa --"

"What?"

"Going to pass out – sorry --"

Trowa hissed angrily when Quatre abruptly went lax in his arms. They were out in the open, with no cover. He couldn't ensure Quatre's safety like this. Carefully he gathered him up in his good arm, draping him carefully so that he was secure. He was growling as he lifted into the air and looked for a safe place to hide until they were both on their feet again.

Quatre was going to hear about this -- at length -- when he woke up.

Part 4

There was no need to look behind him -- the dark cloud hanging over Trowa's head was large enough that it was easily visible to Quatre. It had been visible ever since he woke up and had stayed that way throughout the morning. The blond's shoulders slumped. "Trowa, can't we drop this already? I said I was sorry."

"..."

Okay, enough was enough. Spinning around, he folded his arms over his chest and glared right back at the unhappy cat demon. "I can't help it if I blacked out! Or that I used up too much energy when fighting that demon! Stop being mad at me!"

"That isn't what I'm upset about."

"Then what?!"

"Caring for me is not necessary. You will cease to do so."

"Yeah, keep dreaming!" Quatre snapped back. "Even if I didn't like you, I'd still make sure your hide stayed intact. You're my only real means of protection out here. I wouldn't make it in this place -- I'm too much of a stranger to it. And -- why do you have that funny look on your face? Trowa?"

"You...like me?"

/What, hasn't anyone said that to him before?/ "Sure I like you. Sometimes I want to hit you for being an idiot, but the urge always goes away. Uh...Trowa? You look like a strong wind could knock you over."

The demon pulled a scowl back onto his face to cover that sudden surge of elation. Ridiculous. He shouldn't be happy that a human liked him. The blond was talking nonsense anyway. "Let's go."

Quatre threw up his hands in exasperation. "You can't just ignore everything because you don't feel comfortable with it."

Trowa glared at him.

Quatre glared back. "And while we're on the subject, how is your shoulder this morning?"

"I told you to stop worrying about me."

"And I told you to keep dreaming, I'll worry if I want to. Show me the shoulder."

"No."

"Don't make me hit you." Quatre darted in close to the demon and yanked the clothing out of the way. Unmarred skin met his eyes and he blinked in surprise. "Wow. You can't see even a hint of any injury. When you said demons healed fast, you weren't kidding were you?"

Resigned for the moment, Trowa just looked at him.

Righting the clothes, he stepped away and continued walking. "Let's go, we're burning daylight."

And now it was Quatre that was in a bad mood. As long as he lived, Trowa would never understand humans.

/The jerk. He's upset because I was worrying about him. What, is it a crime or something? Why am I even worrying about him in the first place? It's obvious that it isn't necessary, he apparently is Superman's twin brother or something. I'm not even sure why I like him, he's usually a complete pain in the neck./ His eyes were staring into the flames blindly. For once, he wasn't thinking of what to eat for dinner, or how tired he was or how close they were to Terandl.

He was more worried about the sleeping arrangements.

He'd slept next to Trowa every night that he had been on this world. It now felt natural to roll up next to that very attractive body and sleep. Tonight, however, he did not want to even look at Trowa, much less sleep next to him.

Quatre started as a large piece of heavy material landed over his head. Yanking it off, he realized it was Trowa's cloak. He twisted around so that he could look up at the demon in question.

"Sleep." Trowa turned away, heading toward the other edge of the clearing.

For some reason, the gesture made Quatre feel like the biggest heel on earth. After watching the demon lean against the tree, closing his eyes as if to sleep, he felt even worse. Standing, he hesitantly approached, kneeling beside the demon. He kept silent for a long moment, wondering just what to say. Nothing brilliant came to mind, unfortunately. "Why does it make you so uncomfortable? The idea of being my friend."

"Friend?"

Quatre gave him a half-smile. "Well, you're certainly not my enemy, Trowa."

"Hn."

"Why were you really upset with me?"

A pair of green eyes slowly opened and fastened on the blond. "...don't risk yourself for my sake."

Quatre blinked in confusion. /What does that mean? Surely he wasn't upset because I...waitaminute! He was worried about me? Is that what this is all about?/ "I can't promise that, Trowa. You put yourself at risk for me -- I'm allowed to do the same for you."

Trowa growled low in his throat. "I am not as easily damaged as a human."

/He WAS worrying!/ Smiling from ear to ear, Quatre clambered onto his lap and draped the cloak around them. Wriggling around until he was comfortable, he snuggled his head under Trowa's chin and let his eyes fall closed. "Good night, Trowa."

Quatre's sudden delight was confusing to Trowa, and his immediate snuggling even more so. Five seconds ago, the blond would have gladly strangled him...now he was cuddled up to him, sound asleep with a smile on his face.

He would NEVER understand humans.

Trowa was still just as confused the next morning, but he wasn't about to question the return of Quatre's good mood. The little human had been right, when he'd described himself as 'fairly even tempered'. It was pleasant traveling with him, for the most part. The only time he was truly upset was when he lost his temper with the demon. And Trowa's habitual silence didn't usually bother him, as long as the blond was sure that he wasn't being completely ignored. In the past week, Trowa had actually said more than he had in the past year, so maybe the blond's conversational ways were rubbing off a little.

There was something like a fleeting sense of regret, when they rounded the bend and saw Heero and Duo waiting for them. He wouldn't have minded having Quatre to himself for a little while longer. Duo must have cheated and Transported them here. Trowa sniffed carefully, but there was no hint of blood on either one of them -- Heero was completely healed, then. Good.

"Hey, it's about friggin' time!" Duo grinned in delight, jumping down from the boulder he had been sitting on.

Quatre lengthened his stride, waving slightly. "Hi."

"Hey. He's still alive, so Tro must have stopped being an idiot."

Quatre's grin was rueful. "Mostly." He winked at the demon beside him to take the sting out of the word.

Trowa just glared back, huffed, and gave up. Teasing, apparently, was a part of Quatre's personality and he was just going to have to get used to it. He noticed that Quatre was now staring at Heero in bafflement. In fact, his eyes were nearly crossed. "Quatre?"

He blinked rapidly as he came back to the real world. "Sorry. Uh, sorry if I'm being rude, but...Heero what kind of a demon are you?"

"Earth."

"Oh! Okay, now it makes sense."

Duo perked up, intrigued. "What makes sense?"

"His soul looks...weird. With you or Trowa, it's obvious what you are just by looking at your souls, but Heero's...um. It's like seeing mountains and water and air all jumbled together. It's strange to try and see all of that at once."

Duo nearly pounced on him. "Wait, are you telling me that you can see souls? Not just the energy signatures that people leave behind, but souls?"

"Oh, uh, we haven't talked about this yet have we?"

"Talk while walking," Heero and Trowa ordered.

The Look Duo gave them was torn between amusement and exasperation. "You've been around each other too long. Com'n Q, I want to hear more about this. And I really want to know what you did the other day that wore you out so bad."

While they talked of power, souls, energy, manipulation of said power, and how grumpy their respective demons could be, the two demons followed and had a conversation of their own.

"Can he fight?"

Trowa shrugged. "Yes and no. I didn't think he could -- but he killed an oni two days ago."

This obviously confused Heero, considering that he couldn't see any weapons on the little blond. "How?"

"He can manipulate souls -- I'll try to explain it the same way he did. He took the jyaki and soul of the oni, and threw it out of his body."

"...that would kill, yes."

Trowa clenched his teeth, eyes grim. "What I don't like is that he was very close to that demon before he managed to kill him. Someone wanting to kill him instead of eating him would have managed it before he could react."

Heero studied him carefully, weighing the tone and expression on his friend's face. Trowa was rarely attached to anything -- he was probably closer to Heero and Duo than anyone else. Even his own family was more a novelty to him than a source of affection. Heero could still vividly remember when he'd first met Duo, and how being near that charming human had finally softened his own heart. He'd fallen for him hard and fast, and years later he still couldn't regret it. Was Trowa following the same path -- falling in love with a human? That he was already protective of the blond spoke volumes. "Duo will train him. He'll know how."

Accepting this as the best course, Trowa nodded and looked ahead. Heero, also satisfied, went back to searching the surrounding countryside and keeping an eye on his braided lover.

Quatre had talked until his throat was dry then talked some more. Duo had been a fount of information and ideas and theories. Some of them were interesting, some of them were a little scary, and some of them were the stuff of fables...and he supposedly could do them all.

According to Duo, Quatre was a type of clairvoyant. A very rare type, that is. Duo claimed that no one like Quatre had existed for a few hundred years now. Lots of history had been written down, of course, but some of the records of those clairvoyants were...questionable. Quatre translated this as: we'll see what's true and what's legend. Great.

One of the things that he was supposed to be capable of was stealing other demon's energy in order to create weapons. This...almost sounded plausible. Of course, the only way of testing it was to ask a demon... Quatre approached Trowa when they stopped for the night, smiling gamely. They had settled into a half-moon cavity near a mountain stream, and he rather hoped it would shield them from unfriendly eyes in case his experimentations were bright and visible. "Um, Trowa?"

Trowa looked up, a little suspiciously. He had been contemplating taking a cat nap, since Heero was here to take first watch. "Yes?"

"Can I borrow you?"

"...for what?"

"Er...practice?"

Trowa's suspicions went into overdrive. Yup, the blond was definitely up to something. "Explain."

"Right...okay, the quick and dirty version of this is that I'm not the first kind of clairvoyant with these abilities. Duo's read a little about them, and apparently it should be possible for me to borrow a demon's energy and form a weapon to fight with."

"And you wish to test it?"

Quatre gave him a hopeful smile, eyebrows raised a little.

Well, he had hoped that Duo would find a way for Quatre to defend himself, using his strange abilities. He could only blame himself if he hadn't considered the full ramifications of that wish... "Fine. What do you need me to do?"

"Okay, in theory I need you to do something that exerts more power than you usually do." Humming slightly in thought, he re-ran the battle they'd had with the two demons. "That thing you did where your claws shot out pieces of power might do the trick."

"Shards," Trowa corrected as he stood.

"Huh?"

"It's called Shards. Ready?"

Quatre had no idea. Was he ready? He nodded anyway. Trowa's hand lifted, the knuckles cracking slightly, and Quatre could literally see the buildup of power in his hand right before it was released. Discs of raw power about the size of his fist shot out from Trowa's hand. He extended both hands and pulled, calling that power to him.

As Trowa watched, wide-eyed, Quatre took his power and melded it into an odd type of sword. It arched, narrow at the hilt and spreading into a broader shape at the edge. He could see it was just made of power -- the whole thing glowed. "How effective is it?"

"No idea," Quatre admitted softly. He couldn't seem to take his eyes from the blade in his hand. After a moment he shook himself and went to a nearby rock. With one hand he swung at it -- the rock hissed, and melted to either side.

Trowa swallowed. Damn, that was impressive. "...rather effective."

"It's surprisingly easy to hold, too," Quatre offered. He looked a little shaken at the damage he was capable of. "Usually it's difficult to hold onto energy of any sort. I wonder why this is different."

"You're using it -- not holding it."

The blond blinked at the simplicity of the explanation. Of course! Energy would be harder to store or hold, and easy to use. That followed the laws of physics to a tee. His smile at Trowa was delighted, and pleased. "I guess I'm not defenseless anymore. You won't have to worry about me."

Trowa snorted, dismissing that notion immediately.

"Ah? What was that?" Quatre let the power dissipate in his hands so that he could turn his full attention to teasing Trowa. "Are you suggesting that you're going to continue worrying about me even when it isn't necessary?"

"Go to sleep, Quatre."

"That's hardly fair you know," the blond wasn't about to be derailed now. Trowa was looking suspiciously pink, and that sort of reaction just couldn't be ignored. "If you get to worry about me for no good reason, then I get to worry about you."

"Quatre."

He beamed innocently. "Yes?"

"Go to sleep."

"Nope. It's more fun to tease you."

"..."

Part 5

It was early in the morning -- very early. Dew was still on the leaves and grass, and a fine mist hovered over the land. Duo rolled over, still half-asleep, trying to find a more comfortable position on the ground. As he turned, his braid caught underneath him. "Dammit," Duo grumbled as he winced, pulling himself up to pull the braid free and tossing it out again. Grumbling, he settled back down to sleep some more.

In the complete silence of the morning, the softest of sounds could be heard. At first, Duo was sure that it was his imagination. He was, after all, still mostly asleep. Cracking open an eye, he turned to look in the direction of that sound.

Trowa was on his side, one arm folded under his head and the other around Quatre's waist. The little blond was completely tucked against the demon, only his hair visible. They were so cute snuggling like that...there was that sound again. If Duo didn't know better he could swear that it was -- "Heero!" he hissed, poking his lover in the side.

"Baka," Heero grumbled, smacking the hand aside. "I'm sleeping."

"Listen," Duo ordered him while completely ignoring the protest.

"For what?"

"Just listen!"

Heero gave in, and tuned his ears into their surroundings. There was the usual quiet of dawn, nothing unusual...in...what was that? Opening his eyes, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked at the slumbering duo across the fire. "Is Trowa purring?"

"So I wasn't hallucinating!" Duo whispered in triumph.

The purring abruptly stopped. One green eye slitted open so that it could glare at the two lovers. "What are you two whispering about?"

Duo beamed at him, and snuggled back into Heero's arms. "I'm still sleepy."

Trowa grumbled something about nosy humans and demons, shifted Quatre closer to him, and went right back to sleep.

Duo had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter when soft purring once again rumbled in the air.

Quatre had given up trying to find the reasoning behind Duo's smirks all morning. Even Heero was amused about something, and whatever it was made Trowa glare at them both. No one would explain the why of it, so he settled for ignorance and getting Duo drunk later.

The truly interesting part of his morning was when they had started out. Duo had climbed onto Heero's back, much like a piggy-back ride, and looked at him in expectation. After a bit of hemming and hawing, Trowa had motioned for him to curtly climb onto his back. It had been a little embarrassing, but that had lessened over the course of the day. Actually, riding like this was fun. He simply could not believe how fast Trowa could run. Heero was keeping up with him easily, too. Were all demons like this?

Quatre stopped them as the crested the top of the mountain. "Wait. Duo, how hard is it for you to transport?"

"Er...not very. It's a bit draining, but I'm as good as new the next morning. You scheming something?"

Quatre nodded to the small stream running next to them. "You said your ability is reflections -- do you need a mirror, or will any reflection do?"

"Mirror's the best, but anything works," Duo said slowly. He was beginning to see the blond's plan. There was the stream next to them, and on the horizon there was a lake sparkling in the noon sun. "You thinkin' about cutting down on some of the travel time?"

"Terandl went in that direction," Quatre confirmed. "It'll take us at least a day to cross that country -- unless we can find a way to cut that time out. I think we're already catching up with him, but if we do this we'll be that much closer."

"Let's do it," Heero agreed as he set Duo down.

Duo went over to the water, palms flat over the surface. Quatre could see white power flowing over him, and then building in the water. It was incredible to watch. "Duo, how does this work?"

"Er...it's really complicated and really simple and really hard to explain."

"...that was so informative, thank you for sharing."

Duo grinned back at him. "I'll try later. For now, just hop in."

Quatre approached, prayed fervently that he would land easier than he had the first time he'd been transported like this, and jumped in.

His wish was NOT granted.

When he came out, it was like an explosion. He shot up in the air, twisted, and landed on his hip on the bank. A rocky bank. One rock in particular dug right into his hip. "Owww."

He'd barely rolled out of the way before Trowa was thrown in the same direction -- the cat demon had better reflexes, however, and managed to land semi-on his feet. Quatre didn't think that was fair at all.

Trowa sighed. Transporting was never an easy prospect with Duo in control. Bending, he picked up Quatre and set him back on his feet. "Well?"

"Much closer," Quatre informed him after a moment. "I think I'm getting the hang of this -- we're probably about three days behind Terandl at this point."

Trowa let out a soft sigh of relief. Finally, he could see some visible progress. Heero flew out, but landed better than either of them had. He'd had more practice, after all. He turned and caught Duo neatly as he exploded out of the water.

Trowa went down on one knee, motioning for Quatre to get back on. Blushing a little, the human wrapped his arms around him, settling comfortably. Trowa wrapped both arms under Quatre, supporting him.

Heero did the same with Duo, catching Trowa's eye and nodding when he was ready.

Running at half speed, they took off again, Quatre's soft voice guiding Trowa as they raced to catch up with the enemy.

Night was stealing over the land when Quatre caught that sense of wrongness again. It was remarkably similar to the little girl -- and it was right off their path. "Trowa! Go right."

He did so, feet flying over the ground. "What is it?"

"Terandl's been doing something again. Someone else has a bit of his power tangled with their soul."

Heero caught up to ride beside them, nose twitching in distaste. "More than that."

Quatre turned to look at him. "Eh?"

"There's blood ahead," Trowa growled in agreement. "Lots of it."

That really didn't sound promising. They picked up their pace, heading through thick woods. Trowa skid to a halt inside a village running mad in chaos -- people were screaming, running in every possible direction, humans already dead or wounded on the ground. He dropped Quatre carefully to his feet, but made him stay close. This whole situation was unpredictable, and he didn't like what his nose was telling him.

Quatre hissed, and pointed to the other end of the square. "Up there."

Without a word Trowa ran alongside him as they dodged people, horses, and corpses. Heero and Duo were right behind them, eyes peeled for an attack from the rear.

A man stood, liberally splashed with blood, sword in hands. Even Trowa could see the red power in his eyes. "Jyaki."

"What?" Quatre risked a quick glance at the cat demon.

"He's full of jyaki."

"I don't know that word."

"Jyaki is evil energy, but it also means demonic power."

"Oh. In this case, you're right in both senses of the word. But...his soul was already corrupt, Trowa. It's nearly black, it's so bad. Adding Terandl's evil to it was like adding fuel to the fire."

Trowa's eyes cut to his. "Are you saying you won't try to save him?"

"I can't." Quatre's eyes were hard, and unforgiving. "He's beyond help."

"Then it's my turn." Trowa darted forward, claws crackling with energy. With no effort at all he threw Shards at the man.

The human dodged them, grinning evilly. "What's this? A demon? Well, it should be more fun than killing humans! They're no challenge at all." Slashing his katana once in the air, he charged forward with a yell.

Trowa dodged the swing easily, his hand smoothly slicing through the air and right through the man's neck. Gurgling, his opponent dropped to its knees, then fell over completely. "Pathetic."

Quatre's eyes widened. "Trowa, move away, now!"

Trowa leapt backwards, confused. Why had Quatre -- before his eyes the corpse twitched, then stumbled back up to its feet.

"Shit," Duo hissed. "Terandl's energy is healing him. He's a damn zombie."

Quatre grabbed Heero's arm. "Help him hold that man down. The only way to kill him is to remove Terandl's energy -- it won't take me long to separate it from his body."

Heero nodded once. Catching Trowa's eye he said, "Low."

Trowa returned the nod. "High."

"Heh." The human was grinning at Quatre, the gesture taut with sick pleasure. "You can see it, eh? Well, you can't do much about it. I think I'll kill you last -- it's been a while since I had a boy. You're a pretty little blond, and I've always liked blondes."

Trowa snarled at the implication and attacked, slamming the human to the ground so hard that bones broke at the impact. Heero was right behind him, putting all of his weight on the man's legs.

Quatre shook off the threat -- it was meaningless, Trowa would never allow for that to happen -- and sprinted the remaining distance. He forced himself to touch the man's back, calming so that he could focus. "Come."

The energy flinched, but stayed put. Damn, this wasn't going to be as easy as it had been with the little girl. Terandl's power was running in harmony with this soul. The only way to do this quickly was to take the man's soul out as well as the power. /So be it./ Readjusting his focus, he ignored the struggles and curses of the man and put more force behind his call. "COME!"

With a wrench, the soul flew into Quatre's hands. The body it had inhabited immediately stilled, and the two demons gratefully got off of it. Duo came around to see if he could help, wincing when he saw the blond's face. "Quatre?"

The blond was shaking with effort, teeth gritted. "It's...too...strong." Breathing hard, he looked at Trowa. "Anything! Give me anything I can put it into!"

They looked around frantically, but there were only corpses near them. Trowa tore out of the immediate area and looked frantically around him. People, houses, carts -- bucket? Grabbing it, he sped back to Quatre's side. "Will this do?"

Quatre nodded thankfully, and begin the difficult process of putting the jyaki and soul into the wood. It fought him viciously, and he nearly lost his hold on it several times, but he refused to give up. If this thing got loose, who knows who it would inhabit next and what damage it could do?

Heero was ready and waiting for the moment that Quatre had that thing in place. As soon as that happened he slapped a shield over it.

Quatre collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut. Trowa caught him, lifting him into his arms and frantically checking to make sure his heart was still beating. "Quatre?"

Duo leaned in closer, checking with his Sense. "He's okay, Tro. Worn out, but okay. Hell, I would be too after doing something like that. Blondie's tougher than he looks."

Trowa only allowed himself a nod of acknowledgement, but he wanted to do more than that. This time, Quatre had been in over his head and that wasn't something that he liked to think about. He couldn't have protected him if anything had gone wrong -- and that was something else that he didn't want to admit.

"Excuse me...sirs?" An elderly gentlemen stepped forward, dressed in priest robes. "Is he...dead?"

"Very dead," Duo announced cheerfully. "Nothing to worry about. Although...we do need to talk about the bucket."

The priest turned old eyes onto the bucket in question and nodded. "Yes. I can see the evil in it -- the young man who put it there is quite powerful. Come, I have places for you to sleep tonight. We can talk more comfortably there."

Duo gingerly picked up the bucket and followed him. Heero waited until Trowa was on his feet with Quatre in his arms before following along. Trowa barely noticed the neat wooden house that they entered -- he was torn between being irritated that Quatre had put himself recklessly in danger again and worry that he had collapsed so suddenly. Last time this had happened, he'd been able to stay awake for a while longer.

"Here," the priest murmured as he motioned to pallet near the wall.

Very gently he laid his burden down, covering him with a blanket. Left without anything more constructive to do, he knelt there and continued to worry.

Duo dropped the bucket as soon as he could and looked around. The unusual sight of seeing Trowa worrying over someone had Duo nearly falling over in a giggling fit, but he managed to restrain himself after being jabbed in the stomach by Heero. "Tro, he's fine. Tomorrow morning he'll be up and rummaging for food."

Trowa glared at him, and went right back to staring anxiously at Quatre's face.

Giving up, Duo turned back to the priest. "Thank you for the hospitality. I'm Duo, and this is Heero, Quatre, and Tro."

The priest nodded politely, perhaps a bit hesitant to welcome demons into his abode. Well, the man could hardly be blamed for being a little wary. "I am Aral, the priest for this village. I saw what Master Quatre did...I've only read of such ability."

"Yeah, Quat's really unusual," Duo agreed blithely. "It's kinda interesting seeing which parts of the records are true, and what was exaggerated. Which reminds me -- about that bucket. Heero put a seal on it, but if I were you, I'd put some kind of a shrine around that thing and make sure it gets purified."

"Purified?" Aral blinked, processing this. "But I thought it was a soul."

"It is...and isn't. I can't give you details, 'cause I couldn't really see everything that was going on. Q just mentioned pieces as he was trying to fix it. There was a source of jyaki tangled up with that soul -- granted, the soul was corrupt to begin with, but it was the jyaki that made him nearly indestructible. Anyway, if that jyaki gets loose again, it'll do some serious damage."

"I understand," Aral said slowly. "I'll see to it myself."

"Good. Trowa, cut it out!"

"He's never passed out cold like this," Trowa snapped back. "I don't like it."

Duo rubbed his temples. "Let me see if I can explain this so that you can understand. What Quatre just did was equivalent to you picking up a mountain. It's extremely difficult to manipulate a soul, especially if it's tangled up with jyaki. He did it twice in a row, first by taking it out of that guy and then putting it somewhere else. If I had tried to do something like that, I would have keeled over and stayed dead for three days."

"Duo," Heero muttered in exasperation, "that just makes us worry more."

"Look, my point is, he's a lot stronger than he looks. Let him sleep, he'll be fine in the morning."

Trowa still didn't like it, but he couldn't think of a way to help either. Grumbling, he took off his boots and daggers, then curled in around Quatre's side.

"Um, Master Trowa, I do have other beds --"

Trowa glared at him flatly.

Aral gulped audibly, backing up a pace.

"Tro, stop that. Sorry, Aral." Duo gave his own dark glare at his friend. "He's just really protective of Quatre. Let him sleep there, it'll be fine."

"...right. Um, I'll see to your beds then."

Trowa didn't care what they did. He brought Quatre up into his arms, smoothing both hands over his back. Even after the world had settled down, and the silence of the night had filtered into the house, he didn't go to sleep.

Footnotes: Jyaki: Sorry, I couldn't resist! 'Evil energy' just sounds so lame and redundant after a while... The Bucket: As I was writing this, I was trying to think of something that any village would have that's wood -- and that was the first thing my mind thought of. I blame it entirely on my absent muse.

"-- 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
Everybody hates me
Guess I'll eat some worms!
Little bitty skinny ones,
Great big juicy ones,
Itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms!

I'll bite off their heads
And suck out the middle
Itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms!
Little bitty skinny ones,
Great big juicy ones,
Itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms!

Nobody hates me
Everybody likes me
Why'd I eat those worms?"

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.

Part 7

It took four days before they were healed enough to travel. Quatre slept for nearly two days straight. Fortunately, Trowa slept most of that time as well, so Duo didn't have to put up with his worrying tendencies. It was on the fourth day that Quatre mentioned Terandl's power signature was moving. All of them had hoped that the demon was too badly injured to really fight again -- the sign of his mobility wasn't met with enthusiasm. Gathering themselves up, they left the shrine and started to follow.

A day into traveling, Heero looked up at the sky with a frown. "It'll rain soon."

Duo was used to these predictions and looked over his shoulder to see his face. "How soon is 'soon'?"

"An hour or two."

"How long is it going to last?"

"A day...maybe more."

Trowa mewled in distaste. "We'll have to find shelter."

Heero inclined his head toward the mountain on their right. "I'm feeling several caves up near the top."

"That should work," Quatre agreed. "Lead the way."

Even inside the cave, the sounds of rain and lightning could be clearly heard. Quatre looked around him, turning a thought around in his mind. Heero was fast asleep, Trowa nearly so -- Duo was bored, and trying to wake up Heero by tickling him. Judging from the lack of reaction, Heero wasn't ticklish, but that apparently wasn't going to deter Duo... They had a small pool of water near the back of the cave, and time on their hands. Hm.

That last battle with Terandl had nearly done them all in, in one way or another. He'd felt the loss of his world's medicines very keenly. They hadn't had time to think about such things once they were on their feet again -- they'd moved out to chase after Terandl. But now they had the time. All day, to be precise. "Duo?"

Distracted from his fruitless efforts, Duo looked up. "Yeah?"

"How difficult would it be to send me back to my world?"

Trowa's eyes snapped open.

Duo's hand wavered a back and forth. "Not very. A good night's sleep and I'd be as good as ever. Why? You wanna go back?"

"No," Trowa growled immediately.

Quatre held up a hand to forestall the rest of the protest. "Wait. Just listen. Now, if that last battle was anything to judge by, we're going to get fairly banged up. I'd like to have some medicines from my world so that I can treat everyone better. And it would be nice to have another change of clothes, and a few other things. We've got the time now -- we can't go anywhere until that storm lets up. Why not let me take a quick trip back?"

"No," Trowa repeated with more force. "You have family there -- they'll stop you from coming back."

"No, they won't."

"Yes, they will."

"I'll sneak around," Quatre promised in exasperation. "Iria is the only one that was really around the house to begin with. Everyone else lives in different cities. It'll be easy to get what we need and then come back."

Trowa still didn't like it. There were too many factors that could go wrong, too many things he didn't understand about Quatre's world for him to fully feel comfortable with it. But he did trust Quatre -- and that left him with only one choice. "Fine. Five hours, no more."

Quatre smiled, and nodded firmly. "Five hours should be more than enough time."

His return to the other world was just as dramatically clumsy as every other time -- only this time he landed on all fours. "Damn, isn't this supposed to be easier with practice?"

Grumbling, he got up and snuck over to his bedroom door and paused, listening carefully. No sounds were evident. Good, maybe no one was home. He eased the door open and poked his head out. The house felt empty -- wait a minute. Focusing, he brought his second sight to bear and realized that his powers were still fully functional. Odd. They'd never worked on this world. Maybe practice had made perfect in this case.

At any rate, he was free to wander around and get into everything. He immediately went up into the attic and dug out a sturdy backpack he used for campouts and the like, as well as a sleeping bag. Then he went into Iria's room and grabbed as many first aid kits as he could find. Since she was studying medicine, there was quite the assortment. For some reason, she collected gauze and bandages the same way most girls collected fingernail polish.

He dumped armloads onto his bed and started sorting out what he needed and what he didn't. When she found how he'd ransacked her room, she would be pissed -- actually she'd just be confused. Iria had no idea where he was, after all. Hm. Pausing, he looked at his computer. There was a small camera attached to the monitor. He could record a message for her, explaining things -- well, at least some things -- while he was packing.

Darting over, he turned the machine on and went to his chest of drawers, digging out a few shirts, pants, underwear, socks and a better pair of shoes. After he had rolled all of that and scrunched it tightly in the bottom of the bag, he went back to the computer and booted up the program -- Audacity. His lips twitched at the name, he couldn't help it. He'd always found the name amusing. It was nice to see computer programmers with a sense of humor.

He started the program up, and hit the record button. "Okay, is this working properly -- yes it is. Hi, Iria. And whoever you show this to. Um...normally I'd just sit down and talk to you about where I've been and everything, but I'm really pushed for time right now so I'm going to be multi-tasking."

Spinning around, he went back to the bed and started cramming bandages, antiseptics, medicines, a small sewing kit, a few hygienic necessities and the like inside. "As you've no doubt noticed by now, Iria, yes I went through your room. Sorry, it was just the fastest way to get the supplies I need. I'll make up for it later -- I hope. Um...geez, Iria, don't you have more gauze than this? I hope this bottle of alcohol doesn't spill and ruin everything...Erk, getting sidetracked. Right, um...you're probably not going to believe this but I've been in another world and..." While his mouth ran, a part of Quatre's mind hoped that everything he was saying actually was semi-coherent, and not just babbling. He had a tendency to babble sometimes.

He had the bag packed, and the sleeping bag rolled up and ready to go. He went out of the camera's view to change clothes. It would be nice to have a hot shower, but he was getting dangerously close to being here for five hours already, and if he didn't come back on the dot Trowa was going to pitch a fit. Coming back into view he shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could tell you in person, but...anyway. Sorry, Iria. Love you. I'll try to come back when all this is done. You'll love Trowa -- and Duo and Heero. I might get them to come back to visit, or maybe bring you there. Anyway, I have to go. Trowa only let me come back for five hours and if I don't show up in the next five minutes I'll never hear the end of it."

He stopped the program, saved it, and then sent it to her email address before shutting down the computer. It was the only sure way he had of making certain that she saw it. He was just about to touch the mirror and call for Duo when his door burst open.

"QUATRE!"

Spinning around, he choked, "I-Iria?"

Sobbing, his sister fell against him and hugged him tightly. "You idiot! Where have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

And he had just spent the last two hours explaining everything, too. Hugging her back, he tried to find a way of explaining. "Iria -- I'm sorry I worried you so badly."

[Yo Q~! Lover boy over here is getting anxious, you ready to go -- oh crap.]

Quatre twisted around to see that Duo was in his standing mirror. Iria was only a second behind him, her eyes comically wide in her face. "H-he's in -- how is he -- Quatre, what by all that is holy is going on here?!"

Quatre gave her a big smile, which was only slightly strained. "I just recorded a two hour file telling you all about it."

"Well, you get to tell me about it now! And you can start by telling me who that is and how he's in your mirror!"

...he should have listened to Trowa. Apparently, the demon had a better idea of the laws of Murphy than he did. "Um...Iria, this is Duo. He's a clairvoyant -- he specializes in reflections. He's kinda using my mirror as a portal to communicate with me."

Iria glared at the mirror -- Duo was wincing -- then at her brother. "You have never in your life lied to me."

"And I'm not now!" Quatre resisted the urge to rub at his forehead. "Duo, can you call back later?"

[Sure, man, but I wasn't kidding about Tro. He's been pacing for three hours now, and Heero's about ready to strangle him or something. And that's only if he beats me to it.]

From somewhere in the background there was an irritable growl. [Why isn't he HERE yet?!]

Quatre gave Duo a sympathetic glance. "Sorry. Tell him to give me another hour."

[Q.]

"Yes?"

[You know that ain't gonna fly.]

"...you're right. Okay, let me talk to him."

While Duo called him over, Quatre tried to give Iria a quick explanation. "I've been on another world, Iria."

"...come again?"

"A world somewhat parallel to this one," he continued quickly. "It's hard to explain how and everything, but I stayed for a very good reason. There are people there that need my help. Lives -- a lot of lives -- are at stake. I'm the only one that can do it, and...er, hi Trowa."

Trowa glared at him. [You said five hours.]

"I'm all ready to go," Quatre protested a touch impatiently. "I didn't expect for Iria to show up. Look, give me an hour to explain everything to her."

[No. She won't let you go easily.]

"Damn right I'm not!" Iria inserted firmly.

Quatre turned the glare to her. "Sis, that isn't helping."

"He can't do much from where he's sitting," she shot back.

"Actually --"

Trowa growled in the back of his throat. [Duo. Is this completely open?]

[Uh, yeah.]

[Good.] Trowa's form disappeared, and the mirror started to glow a bright white. Recognizing the sign, Quatre shoved his sister out of the way and opened his arms. Trowa slammed into him a second later, and they both toppled to the floor.

"Quatre!" Trowa scrambled to his knees quickly. "Are you alright?"

"Ow." The blond cracked open an eye, but the room wasn't spinning in circles so he hadn't really injured himself, despite what his head was telling him. "Fine."

Trowa lifted him up easily, tilting his head to look at the back of Quatre's head. "Let me see."

"I'm fine! Stop fussing!"

He didn't, of course, and ran insistent fingers through blond hair. Quatre suffered this indignity and talked to Duo instead of acknowledging the demon who was, really, a worry-wart in disguise. "I have the feeling this might take longer than hour."

[More like three,] Duo agreed with a smirk. [Just call when you're ready.]

"Okay. Thanks, Duo."

[No prob, man. I can always play with Heero while I'm waiting.]

Poor Heero. Duo vanished, letting the mirror go back to normal. The silence hovering in the room was rather impressive, really. Trowa, satisfied that Quatre was fine, was standing right behind him and frowning slightly at the blonde woman trying to keep his Quatre. Iria, not at all satisfied by all of the things she couldn't explain, was outright scowling back at him.

"Quatre. I want that explanation." NOW her tone added.

Quatre waved her to his computer chair, and settled Trowa on the bed. As soon as the demon sat down, he pulled the blond into his lap. Quatre was close enough to get something of a reading on his emotions -- Trowa was highly irritated, a mass of confusion and doubt with something like anxiety mixed in. Great. Iria had an eyebrow raised at seeing her little brother wrapped up in another boy's arms, but she didn't say anything -- vocally.

This left Quatre smack in the middle of the two of them. This wasn't going to take an hour -- it was going to take Duo's predicted three. At least. "Okay, from the top."

The process of explaining was hampered a little by Iria. She kept stopping to ask questions. What her brother was telling her was fantastic, and she wouldn't have believed him if it weren't for that trick with the mirror or for the boy sitting there on the bed, holding him. Iria just knew by looking at him that he wasn't human. His ears were slanted, hands too similar to claws to belong to a human, and there were strange marks along his cheeks and arms -- there was just something about him that was otherworldly. Iria had never possessed the same sense with people that Quatre did, but she was sensitive enough and right now intuition told her that her brother was in over his head. When Quatre finally stopped, she felt like her head was splitting. "And you plan to go back? Despite how dangerous it is, and how badly you were all injured in this last fight with what's his name?"

"Terandl. Yes, I'm going back. We have to stop him, Iria. We're the only ones who have a prayer of doing it."

"Forgive me, but I don't like the idea of you going back into a world filled with demons, mad sorcerers, and evil dudes with powerful weapons."

"He'll be safe," the weird boy assured her quietly.

"Maybe. Things aren't always in our control. I don't think you can really guarantee that. And what, precisely, are you? During this whole thing, my brother has been very careful to not mention how his friends are fighting the bad guy. And frankly, you don't look human."

Quatre wondered how his sister was going to take the explanation to that question. Then he wondered if he could make it to the mirror and have Duo grab him before she could stop him...probably not. "He's a cat demon."

"...cat demon." Iria repeated neutrally. "You're telling me that he's a demon, and that you trust this guy? More than trust, apparently, because you're sitting in his lap and he's been acting possessively toward you the entire time."

How could he diplomatically explain the complex relationship that he and Trowa shared? They weren't really boyfriends, weren't anywhere close to being lovers, in fact they hadn't even admitted that they liked each other, it had taken weeks worth of work on Quatre's part before Trowa showed any kind of affection at all, but he knew without a doubt that Trowa would always be there for him, and that he'd do anything to keep him safe -- no, there was no way to explain any of that without making it sound weird. "Yes, he's a demon, but not in the evil way that you're thinking. In his world, it means that his body is made differently -- that's all. Demons are rather like people, some are good, some are bad." And some were REALLY bad...he wasn't going to mention that last part.

"And I'm acting possessively," Trowa added acidly, "because Quatre is vital to me. I have no guarantees that you won't try to keep him here."

"Don't kid yourself, demon-boy. I am keeping him here," Iria growled back.

"The hell you will. He's mine."

"I'm going to hit both of you if you don't stop fighting over me," Quatre snapped at them. "I think I should decide which place I want to be."

"Quatre, you just told me that you're staying with these guys to hunt down someone so evil that they took out a village of people just to experiment with their new toy! There's no way I'm letting you go back there!"

"Iria," Quatre replied gently, "you don't have a choice. You cannot keep me here. For one thing, Trowa won't let you."

"I want you safe," she whispered brokenly.

"Safety doesn't exist. What I've found with Trowa, and Duo and Heero -- is hard to describe. But I'll risk everything for it. I love them, Iria. And I'll fight for that, to see them alive and happy. That is my right -- respect it, please."

"Keeping him here won't make him safe," Trowa said softly. His eyes were softened a little in compassion. He understood her desire to safeguard Quatre -- he felt the same way. "It will just cage him. I've learned the hard way that you can't do that."

Iria sank into her hands, feeling helpless. She'd dreamed about finding Quatre again, but this wasn't what she had envisioned. She knew her brother well enough to know that she couldn't hold him against his will. He'd find a way out, and back to them.

Quatre pulled free of her and touched her hands gently. "I'm sorry, sis. I must do this."

"I know." Standing, she pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. "I know. At least keep me posted, alright? Let me know you're still alive."

"I can do that," he whispered into her shoulder. Pulling free, he grinned. "And maybe when this is all over, you can come over yourself and see what its like."

"I think I will." Iria finally let him go.

Satisfied that things were settled, Trowa went to the mirror and touched the surface. "Duo."

...

"Duo!"

Quatre started laughing, a hint of pink on his cheeks. "Um, you don't think they got distracted...do you?"

"Lecherous human," Trowa grumbled under his breath. "DUO!"

[Whoa, hold your horses, I'm here!] Duo did appear slightly flushed, however, and his clothing was a little rumpled. [Okay, we're ready to go now, right?]

"Right," Quatre agreed cheerfully. "Here, catch." He tossed the backpack through the mirror. Iria was grumbling about 'that not being possible, dammit', but Quatre didn't bother trying to explain how the whole transportation thing worked. For one thing, it still didn't entirely make sense to him. Duo's explanations had a tendency to leave one confused. He bent to scoop up the sleeping bag next.

"Quatre, what is that?"

Quatre blinked at the navy blue roll in his hands. "Uh, it's a sleeping bag."

Trowa frowned, eyes narrowing. "We don't need it."

Why was Trowa hurt because of the sleeping bag? Quatre cocked a perplexed eyebrow at him. "Well, it's getting colder. I thought another layer between us and the ground would be a good thing. Think of it as padding."

Abruptly the hurt vanished, but the frown was still there. "It's bulky."

Now that was something Quatre hadn't considered. "Damn, you're right. I don't really have a good way of carrying it."

[I do!]

Quatre canted his head. "You do?"

[Yup. I can shrink things, so we'll just put it in that bag you threw at my head.]

"I told you to catch. I didn't know you could shrink things."

[Well, it's not something I really use that often. I don't have a need for it, most of the time. Anyway, it's really easy to do. Toss it through -- actually, if you have another one for me and 'Ro that would be really great.]

Quatre thought on that. Wasn't there another one upstairs...? "I think we do. Hold on a minute." He dashed back to the attic, grabbed the green bag, and then sprinted back downstairs. "Yup. Okay, catch." Quatre turned to give his sister another fierce hug. "I'll try to contact you once a week, alright?"

"Okay. I'll keep a mirror handy. Stay safe."

"Sure you betcha." With a wink, he dove into the mirror.

Trowa nodded to her before following the blond through. He was rather hoping for an easier landing than the last time, but as usual with Duo in control of the mirror, he landed hard. At least he didn't land on top of Quatre this time. Rolling to his feet, he gathered Quatre up off the floor.

"Ow." Quatre rubbed at his elbows gingerly. "Duo, is there a trick to this that I don't know?"

"Uh...roll with the landing?"

"In other words, there is no trick."

Duo shrugged sheepishly. "Pretty much, yeah. How does this sleeping bag thing work?"

"In a minute, I need to talk to Trowa first." Taking the demon by the arm, he dragged him toward the mouth of the cave. Satisfied that they couldn't be overheard, he turned to face him. "Why were you upset about the sleeping bag?"

Trowa's eyes lowered to the floor.

Quatre could only think of one reason, but it didn't mean it was the right one. When Trowa didn't say anything, he prodded him with it. "Was it because you thought I didn't want to sleep with you anymore?"

"...you only sleep with me because it's necessary."

"That was the original reason," Quatre admitted softly. Lifting his hand, he tilted Trowa's head up so that he could look in his eyes. "Now, it's mostly because I just like touching you. Trowa...you always look so uncertain and confused when I say something like that. Why is it so hard for you to believe that I want to be with you?"

Trowa wrapped both arms around the blond and pressed his face against his hair, caught without an answer. Resigned, Quatre hugged him back and let the matter drop. Apparently, he still had a lot of work to do where Trowa was concerned.

Part 8

It was still pouring rain when Trowa woke up the next morning. His eyes went to the person in his arms, softening as they took in the sleepy radiance of the face pressed against his chest. Quatre was so very beautiful -- in sunlight, by firelight, tired and dirty or sleeping, it didn't matter what the circumstance was, the blond could always take his breath away.

He still didn't understand why Quatre wanted to stay with him. He knew he'd hurt Quatre last night by doubting him, but that wasn't really the case -- it was himself he doubted. So often he was moody, withdrawn or silent; polar opposite of Quatre's own sunnier disposition. Surely someone more open would suit him, but Quatre certainly didn't seem to feel that way.

Why?

"Trowa?" A pair of sleepy blue eyes opened. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Quatre grumbled irritably. "I can practically see you worrying. You're tense, too. So what is it?"

In spite of his attempts, the question seemed to drag its way free of his mouth. "...why do you stay?"

"Oh, Trowa," Quatre sighed. "You really don't understand, do you?"

Trowa held his eyes, silently urging him to explain, to give him a reason. /Please. Tell me.../

"Trowa. You're everything to me. You are what makes it all worthwhile. I can't explain why -- if I could explain it, I think it would lose its magic. It just simply is." Seeing that the confusion had gotten worse instead of better, Quatre took in a deep breath and clenched his courage firmly. "I love you. That's why."

Trowa's heart skipped a beat, and his body forgot how to breathe. He... /He's in love with me?/ He shouldn't love him -- there was nothing about Trowa to love. There was nothing in him to offer, but... "I love you, too."

Quatre lit up, a brilliant smile exploding over his face. He threw his hands up and around Trowa's neck, hugging him tightly. "I was so afraid you didn't --"

Trowa was at a loss at how to explain that he had fallen hard for the blond only days after meeting him. He just hugged him back instead, holding on fiercely. He still didn't understand why Quatre loved him -- but he did understand that the blond in his arms was his, and that was good enough. Better than that. Shyly he pressed a kiss against Quatre's temple.

Quatre grinned at the gesture, and pulled back enough to press a kiss against a soft and willing mouth. Trowa hesitantly returned it, eyes slowly closing as Quatre took his face in both hands and gently taught him how to kiss. Wrapping both arms around the human's back, he settled comfortably and just enjoyed the feel and taste of the person pressed against him.

It took a couple of seconds for the sound and slight vibration to penetrate, but when it did Quatre broke the kiss, fighting down a burst of laughter. "Excuse me, but...are you purring?"

Trowa blinked at the loss of contact then scowled. "I am not."

"I think you were."

"I wasn't."

"It's cute."

"..."

Smiling mischievously, he tugged Trowa back down again. "Let's see, shall we?"

"I wasn't -- mmph. Mmm."

On the other side of the cave, Duo cracked open an eye. He was delighted to see that Trowa was wrapped around his blond counterpart, apparently having a very...ah, in-depth discussion. "Heero."

Heero turned fuzzily to see what his lover was up to. "Hn?"

"Look."

It took a second, but Heero finally managed to get one eye to stay open long enough to see Trowa making out with Quatre. He also noticed something else. "Is he purring again?"

"Sounds like it."

They exchanged smirks before snuggling back in with each other, eyes closed. They'd tease Trowa about it later -- right now, the new couple needed a little time to themselves.

It might have been a little difficult confessing what he felt to Quatre, but Trowa quickly came to the realization that those moments of high-level stress were more than compensated. Quatre apparently felt authorized to act on every whim that crossed his mind -- be it hugging, kissing, a simple stroke along the cat demon's side, or a quick nibble along one ear whenever he was within range. Trowa was more than pleased with all of the attention, and sought to return it in equal measure.

The only downside was that Duo was teasing them mercilessly. Ah well. There had to be at least one bad thing to balance all the good ones.

Later that day they were walking down the mountain, occasionally sliding because of all the mud from the recent downpour. Quatre's head jerked around as they reached the base, upsetting his precarious balance on the trail. His feet slid out from underneath him, arms wind milling slightly to try and keep him from falling, but it wasn't working -- oh crap --

Trowa caught him deftly, lifting him up in his arms.

Giving him a quick smile, Quatre went right back to studying that really strange aura that had caught his attention. "I'm not sure, but I think there's some kind of a demon traveling in the same direction that Terandl went."

They all exchanged looks. "Bad demon or good demon?" Duo inquired.

"Um...good, I think. It's hard to tell at this distance, his soul has a really weird shape to it -- but it's glowing white."

Trowa inhaled deeply. "I've never smelt someone like this before. Heero?"

Heero mirrored Trowa's actions, then frowned. Where had he encountered this scent before? "It's familiar, but I can't remember where I've run across it before."

"So..." Quatre's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Does that mean he won't attack us for no good reason?"

"Probably," Trowa allowed. "Regardless, we can't just sit here and wait for him to pass."

Within short order they had reached the bottom of the mountain. Quatre kept his eye on that demon, trying to figure out just what he was almost seeing. He was so focused on figuring it out, that it took a few minutes before he realized that the demon wasn't moving. "Um, guys? He's not moving."

Trowa halted abruptly and looked at him. "He's not moving?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if he's waiting for us or what, but...he's not moving."

That spelled trouble to Trowa, and he made sure Quatre stayed behind him as they walked around the last bend. If this demon did want to fight, for whatever reason, he didn't want his blond hurt.

Sitting on a boulder near the road was a slender demon with midnight hair and eyes. To Quatre, he looked Chinese, even though intellectually he knew that Chinese people didn't exist in this world. What really caught his attention, however, was the demon's soul.

It was a dragon.

A very complex, beautiful dragon. The form was slender, arched in powerful lines and folded up inside the human form the demon was presently in, in such a way that it held its form without looking cramped.

"Quatre," Trowa murmured. "You're staring."

"Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. It's just -- I've never seen a dragon before." He smiled by way of apology to the dragon in question.

The dragon arched an eyebrow. "You see souls?"

"Yes," Quatre confirmed softly. Aside, he murmured to Trowa, "I think we can trust him."

The dragon lightly leaped to his feet, offering a slight bow. "I am Chang Wufei, of the Dragon Clan. I have been hunting Terandl for many moons now -- and have come across your scent in doing so. I wish to know what attack you used when you fought him."

Quatre exchanged uncertain glances with Trowa. He didn't sense any nefarious intentions with the dragon -- Wufei. But he wasn't sure if it was wise broadcasting his abilities all over the place either. "It's not something I'm comfortable sharing with strangers. We don't even know why you're following Terandl."

Wufei snorted, jaw clenching. "I have no love for Terandl. Revenge is my motivation."

Quatre moved forward, fascinated by the brief flare of red in Wufei's soul. A deep hatred was there -- he could guess for whom. But why? "What did he do?" Quatre breathed.

Wufei's eyes locked with his, and all of the pain and anger in him was bared for the blond to see. "I am the last of my clan, human. That should be answer enough."

Quatre's eyes flared wide -- Duo had said that Terandl had wiped out a village to test Trivoxor's powers. "It was your village, wasn't it? It was that village that Terandl used as an experiment."

Wufei nodded curtly.

"Great Guardians." Quatre closed his eyes in pain. "I'm so sorry."

"I do not want pity, human. But aid. I've fought the damn demon several times, but can't get the better of him because of that thrice-cursed sword! So how did you manage to hurt him so badly?!"

Trowa growled as Wufei made an angry advance on Quatre. He closed in behind his blond's back and wrapped a protective arm around him. Wufei stopped abruptly, eyeing him, then the two of them.

Duo came closer to nudge at Quatre. "Dragon boy is more than just looks if he's faced off with our favorite bad guy and walked away breathing."

"Terandl is weak," Wufei snapped back. "It's the bloody sword that's the problem! As I'm sure you well know."

"The sword is Trivoxor," Trowa finally stated. "It belongs to my family."

"Then -- you are of the Barton clan?" Wufei absorbed the man's confirming nod and eyed the group thoughtfully. He wasn't blind -- there were two very powerful clairvoyants in front of him, and two demons that he wouldn't have voluntarily fought even on a good day. One of them knew the sword, and apparently its weakness -- he couldn't think of any other reason for Terandl's defeat in the last battle. "Will you tell me the weakness?"

"So that you can avenge your clan?" Duo asked shrewdly. "Or just for personal gratification in finally beating the bastard?"

Wufei's smile was feral and not at all nice. "Oh it's both, human, I assure you."

"Join us," Heero invited quietly.

Wufei's head snapped around to stare at him, eyes weighing. "Why?"

"We have fought Terandl -- and lost. The four of us cannot achieve victory, just as you could not alone."

"But the five of us," Trowa continued in that same quiet tone, "will be strong enough to destroy him."

"You are so certain you can trust me?" Wufei queried, almost hesitantly.

"He is." Trowa inclined his head to indicate Quatre. "And I trust his judgment."

The tension in Wufei's frame relaxed. "Then tell me -- how did you hurt Terandl so badly?"

Wufei, Quatre was beginning to suspect, was more scholar than warrior. When Quatre had explained how he had managed to hurt Terandl, the demon had immediately understood what type of clairvoyant he was. He had then proceeded to ask him a slew of questions about his abilities, obviously comparing with something he had read and taking mental notes on the answers he was given.

All of the questions had been a little distracting, and Quatre had unwittingly veered a little off course. But it was easily fixed, so there was no need to mention that to anyone...right? As he sat before the evening fire, plotting a way to slowly get them back on course without being obvious about it, he saw a glimpse on the horizon of something...bad.

It winked into sight again, and this time he caught a clearer view of it. Correction: Really Bad.

Trowa sank down next to him. "Quatre?"

"Terandl just joined up with something," Quatre reported morosely. "Something as powerful as Vox -- only evil."

Wufei abruptly started swearing. "Are you sure?"

"I can see it, vaguely. It's hard to get a good reading at this kind of distance, but as powerful as that thing is -- yes, I'm sure."

"Thing?" Heero repeated. "Are you saying it's a weapon?"

Quatre turned to look at him briefly before his eyes settled on that dark red pulse in the distance. "Yes. I'm not sure how to explain this, but...living energy and harnessed energy looks different."

"That's enough for us," Duo told him as he joined the group. "It really doesn't make sense to us anyway. So the question is, why did our favorite enemy get a new toy?"

"Because Vox isn't obeying him," Trowa responded quietly. He pulled Quatre into his arms, letting the warmth and weight of his love's body give him comfort. Quatre settled into the embrace with a sigh, placing his arms over Trowa's. "When I struck Trivoxor before, it shouldn't have lost its power that long -- maybe a few seconds, but nothing more. And he's only had it in that one form."

Wufei cocked his head slightly. "It changes forms?"

"Yes. To whatever the wielder desires. Trivoxor, in and of itself, is not evil. It was originally created to protect someone in our family, and it does not respond well to people who seek to use it for something other than protection."

"Which is what Terandl is doing," Quatre murmured thoughtfully. "He must have become frustrated after the last fight."

Duo shifted closer to Heero, not liking the turn of the conversation one bit. He smiled slightly when an arm was wrapped around his waist and settled comfortably against his lover's side. "Q, I know jyaki is harder for you to handle than other types of energy. Can you reflect a direct hit from that new sword?"

"...no. I probably can't. I could barely handle Vox's attack -- and its energy is relatively pure."

"Which means," Wufei's voice was distinctly troubled, "that our one advantage is null and void."

Part 9

Quatre took one look at the cave carved into the mountainside and thought one thing: "It's a trap."

"Oh yeah," Duo agreed sourly.

Heero tried to look beyond the entrance of the cave with his other sense and grimaced. "I can't even tell if there is a mountain beyond that entrance."

"Which means he's tampered with it," Wufei grumbled darkly. "I've run into this before. So? Are we going in, or do we wait him out?"

They exchanged glances. It would take days before Quatre could pick up the trail again, and they all knew it. It would put them that much further behind Terandl, and that was something that they weren't willing to do. Terandl was in there now -- they couldn't wait him out and then try to attack. Odds were, the whole scenario would repeat itself a few weeks later. "I can't believe I'm saying this," Quatre muttered, "but I think we should go in. If we stick together, we can handle whatever he throws at us."

"You do realize that he made this trap specifically to slow us down?" Wufei looked distinctly unhappy.

"And wandering around the mountain until we can pick up his trail is going to be faster?" Duo shot back sarcastically.

"Less painful," Heero sighed. "But slower."

Trowa looked at the mountain, jaw setting stubbornly. "Then we go in."

No one moved.

Quatre groaned. "Fine, I'll go in first. Wimps."

"Are you questioning my courage?" Wufei glared at his back as the blond walked forward.

"I still don't see you moving!" Quatre called back.

Trowa reluctantly started to follow, more unwilling to have Quatre go in alone than to walk into a trap. Wufei was right at his shoulder, muttering unintelligibly as he went.

Duo gave his lover a courteous bow. "After you."

Rolling his eyes, Heero started forward, grabbing a certain braid as he went.

"Hey, I'm coming!"

Ignoring the protest, Heero kept a good hold. He was not going in there by himself.

Quatre passed from the morning sunshine into cool darkness. Blinking, he waited for his eyes to adjust and looked around. There was a large opening, some twenty feet by forty feet in a very rough oval, a single light source hovering just over the center of the ceiling -- and a door. Quatre stared suspiciously at that door. Plain oak, no elaborate carvings or warnings of doom on it, but the fact that it was there at all was odd.

Trowa came to stand at his side. "A door."

"Yes," Quatre agreed. He really didn't like how this whole thing felt. "There's a lot of energy in this room, Trowa. It's really weird, too -- I can't get a firm fix on what it's doing. But part of it revolves around that door."

"We must go through it." Wufei looked at the door in question with acute distaste. "I hate giving my enemy the satisfaction of doing what they expect."

"You wanna carve a new door, go right ahead." Duo's smile was a little forced. "As for me, I like doors. They're more cooperative than stone."

"We're wasting time." Without a glance at the others, Heero went to the door he could see.

In another, more remote part of the mountain, Terandl watched the five enter through his scrying pool. He had a healthy suspicion about what their strengths were -- and he had to wonder, if he took that strength away, what would they do?

He laughed softly to himself as they unconsciously separated, heading for the door that only they could see. Each door was tailor-made for them, and only visible to their eyes.

As they passed through, the door shut behind them -- and disappeared.

"Let the games begin."

Quatre jumped when the door slammed behind him, spinning around to see -- nothing but rock. "Guys? Trowa?"

Whirling completely around, he was dismayed to see that no one had followed him. "Oh now this isn't funny! Trowa? Trowa!"

No answer.

Groaning, he let his head flop forward. "Why did I suggest that we do this? That was so stupid of me...gah." Well, he couldn't go back...the only way was forward.

"Trowa, when I get my hands on you, we're going to have a long talk about letting me wander around alone in creepy places..."

Trowa jumped and spun when the door slammed shut behind him. That, of course, was the moment that he noticed no one was with him. "Quatre?"

Of course, his blond didn't answer. Snarling under his breath, Trowa looked around. The door had disappeared after it had closed, and now of course there was only one way to go.

Hurling mental curses in Terandl's direction, he started walking.

If anything happened to his Quatre, he would kill Terandl!

And then smack Quatre for not staying with him as he was supposed to!

At first it didn't register with Duo that no one was with him. He was rather pre-occupied with his welcoming party.

Zombies.

Wrinkling his nose against the smell of decay and rotting flesh, the clairvoyant started retreating, hoping to go back out of the door and let Wufei or Heero or somebody but him take care of the shambling zombies.

The zombies, of course, didn't want him to retreat and started to advance. That was about the time that Duo's hand hit the wall -- not the door like he had expected, but hard stone. Glancing behind him frantically, he groaned. "They let me go in alone?! Aw, geez, guys, thanks! I don't want to play with the icky dead guys! Can't I have a door number two?"

The leader zombie grunted in true zombie fashion, swinging a meaty paw at him.

Duo ducked, rolled, and grabbed the scythe from its sheathe on his back as he moved clear. "Heero, you are so NOT getting any nookie for a week! I hate squishy things like this!" Duo slashed at the hand as it came to grab him again, chopping it clear off.

This, of course, did not deter the zombie in the slightest because when zombies are revived, little things like nerves and pain receptors aren't revived with the rest of the body.

Duo slashed his legs off, hoping that would at least buy him the time to run. The zombie crashed with a grunt, and started dragging his way forward with his remaining arm. As Duo absently cut that arm off as well, he noticed a few things.

Actually, it was a few dozen zombies.

"Okay, this is serious over-kill!"

"...can't believe they didn't follow me in. That bastard Terandl probably has something to do with it." Wufei glared at the walls around him. He barely had enough room for his shoulders to pass through the hallway. There was no way in hell that he could transform in this narrow place. Right now he was just focusing on finding a way out, then he would worry about finding everyone else.

There was a dim light in sight, and he picked up his pace slightly, hoping it was something other than a passageway to another really long tunnel.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Before Wufei's eyes were a series of sheer cliffs, all beginning several feet above his head, and all ending out of his sight. There were places where the cliffs intersected with the next layer, but he couldn't see any way across them but to climb down one until he could run across one of those intersections, and then climb up the next one and so forth.

And across those layers of heaped stone and dirt, barely discernible even to his eyes, was another doorway.

Well, he was a dragon. He didn't have to obey Terandl's rules and spend the rest of the day climbing. Closing his eyes he extended his power --

-- nothing. A pair of furious black eyes slitted back open. "He's shielding the damn place against transformations, isn't he?" Once again he studied the cliffs, and that door on the other side. Going back wasn't an option -- there was no way out that direction.

"I'm going to have to climb these bloody things like a weak human. Terandl, when I get my hands on you -- death will be preferable!"

It was metal.

Heero looked at the tunnel walls, then behind him once again -- no, there was no doorway there. Just walls of metal. He hated metal, it was the one natural ore of the earth that he couldn't really manipulate.

What was worse, Duo wasn't in sight. "That baka. I told him to stay right with me." Grumbling, he started walking. The mountain was large, but not that large -- surely he would run across someone eventually.

Quatre hated running around aimlessly as much as he hated walking into traps. He especially hated running around aimlessly on strange planets with bad guys around without Trowa there to protect him.

And he really, really, hated walking around aimlessly without knowing where everybody else went!

There was no real way of keeping track of time in the belly of a mountain, of course, but Quatre was fairly sure that at least five centuries had passed before the long tunnel ended and branched out. Quatre turned his head one way -- tunnel with no end in sight. He turned it the other way -- oh goodie, another tunnel with no end in sight. "I feel like I should do eenie meanie minie moe..."

"I have a fifty-fifty chance of getting this right," he observed to himself aloud. "And a ninety percent probability of getting it wrong. Well, since that's all decided..." For lack of a better idea, he went right. He was, after all, right handed. That should be enough of a rational for anyone.

Five feet later, he stopped. "But Terandl probably knows I'm right handed because of our last fight, and so planned for me to go right...I'm going left." He abruptly turned and went ten feet the other direction before another thought occurred to him. "But what if he realized that I would guess his intentions? Then I would go left...I really hate it when I start second guessing myself like this."

Sighing, he stared at the unending tunnel in front of him. "What am I thinking? The whole thing is a trap, there are no good options." Hitching the back pack straps into a more comfortable position, he started walking again. "Trowa, I changed my mind. Now I'm going to smack you for leaving me alone, not just lecture you."

When Trowa finally reached the end of that very long hallway, he was not pleased with what was in front of him.

There were thick walls standing in front of him -- strangely enough, he could almost see through those walls. Coming forward, he tapped a finger against it. No, it wasn't glass. It felt and acted oddly like metal. The whole set up didn't make any sense. Why was Terandl leading him into this place? Why bother setting up a labyrinth that he could see through?

A bright flash caught his attention and he turned to see it more clearly.

Trivoxor.

The green eyes widened as he stared at it incredulously. That was Trivoxor! The sword appeared to be floating in mid air somewhere in the center of the maze. Why on earth would Terandl leave it there?

It was obviously a trap, but for what purpose? What did Terandl hope to accomplish with such elaborate preparations? Snorting, Trowa started walking toward the weapon. "Nothing will be solved by simply standing here...let's see what he's planned."

Quatre didn't need Heero's earth sense to tell him that the mountain was riddled with literally miles of tunnels and caves. Any sound he made echoed and disappeared. The place just felt vast. As he walked, he probed the area with his senses, trying to find anyone.

At times he felt he was close, but there was no concrete evidence to support that hope. He switched from one tunnel to another, and then to a different one after that, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. He was probably heading deeper into the mountain than out of it.

Ahead of him, the tunnel he was in branched out again into three different paths. Sighing, he stopped and just stared at it. Which way...wait a minute, wasn't that...?

Running closer, he peered into the middle path. It was! That looked like Duo's energy signature. "Duo?"

There was no reply, but Quatre wasn't going to just let the matter drop. The energy looked like it was at least an hour old, Duo probably couldn't hear him. Picking up his pace to a fast lope, he followed that bright light. Every few minutes he would call Duo's name, but there was no response.

The energy was starting to look fresh, more recent, and then the path split again. Quatre barely paid any attention as he picked up his pace. "Duo! DUO!"

"Q?"

Rounding a final bend, Quatre nearly tackled Duo in relief. "Duo! Finally!"

Duo hugged him back, blowing out a breath. "I'm so glad to see somebody!"

"That's my line! I thought you guys were right behind me!"

Blinking, Duo shook his head. "No...you guys were following me..."

"Eh? But...there was only one door and I went through it first."

Pulling apart, they stared at each other. Quatre canted his head slightly in thought. "You know, the energy around that door was really weird. Maybe...maybe Terandl tampered with it so that it would separate us."

"...maybe. Anyway, how did you find me?"

"Energy signature."

Duo's face lit up. "Then you can find everybody else, right?"

"Er...probably? I have to get close enough to see their energy, that's the only problem. It means a lot of walking."

"So? You got something better to do?"

Quatre sighed, mentally congratulated himself for getting his most comfortable pair of tennis shoes when he went home, and started walking. "So, have you just been wandering around too?"

"Don't ask..."

In another part of the mountain, Terandl steepled his hands together as he watched through his scrying pool. "You're the key, aren't you? You are the one that holds everything and everyone together. How very...interesting."

Part 10

Somehow, it wasn't as creepy with Duo along. Quatre changed his mind once again concerning Trowa. It probably wasn't the cat demon's fault he was wandering around by himself, so he probably shouldn't smack him. Or lecture him. But they were going to talk about walking into known traps. It was a bad idea, and somebody should have stopped him.

They walked from one branch to the next without any hint of the other three. Quatre was starting to get really worried. Duo had been faced with Zombies, and had barely gotten away. What would the other three be faced with?

"Q? Anything?"

Quatre shook his head. "No."

"This isn't good." Duo looked ahead, mouth tightening. "I'm worried about them."

"I know. This place is just so huge, we could probably spend months wandering around in here."

"I don't want to hear that!"

"Sorry, I --" He froze mid-step, turning slightly to look down a smaller branch to his left. "That's...odd."

"What is?"

"It...it's so faint, I'm probably imagining it but it kinda looks like Wufei."

"Let's check it out," Duo suggested as he went for the narrow opening. "Nothing to lose, right?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah, you're right."

They fell into an easy lope, approaching an area that was lighter than the tunnels they had been stumbling around in. When Quatre could clearly see it was a doorway, he called out "Wufei?"

Duo looked worried, slowing down a little. "Maybe you're wrong, Q--"

"Quatre!"

They're heads snapped up. "That was Wufei!" Now running full out, they slid to a stop just inside the doorway.

Duo took in the view of cliff after cliff with confused eyes. "Ye gods! What's up with this?"

Quatre shook himself and focused more on finding Wufei. The dragon was halfway down the cliff-face right in front of him, glaring up at them with fury in his dark eyes. "You'd better have something to help me with!"

Duo blinked down at him. "Ah...Wuffers? Why didn't you just go into dragon-mode and fly over?"

"Because I can't transform!" Wufei snapped back. "The whole damn place is shielded against it!"

Quatre shared a look with Duo. "Um...we don't have anything, Wufei."

Wufei's reply wasn't really audible. Quatre was just as glad he couldn't discern what the dragon was saying. Tone was enough. "I can't believe I have to climb this thing like some kind of weak, puny human!"

"Hey!" Duo shook a fist at him. "Watch who you're calling weak!"

Quatre settled down, crossing his legs, setting the back pack aside, and getting comfortable. "We're just going to have to wait until he can get up here."

"Yeah." Duo sank down next to him, leaning up against the wall. "After all, if we leave now, we'd probably never find him again." Leaning over the edge, Duo called down. "Come on, Wufei! We're cheering you on!"

"Like that helps any!"

"Sure it does!"

"Duo," Quatre offered mildly, "he's really pissed right now. If you keep doing that, he's going to pound you when he gets up here."

"I know. It's motivation. He'll climb faster just so he can smack me."

"...do you have a death wish?"

"Heero asks me that all the time..."

Twenty minutes of cursing, grunts of effort, more cursing, and labored breathing, and Wufei finally managed to make it to the top. Both Quatre and Duo were there to give him a final hand up, pulling him over the ledge.

Wufei collapsed on his back, sucking in air, eyes closed. "When we find Terandl...I'm going to strangle him! And then find a way to revive him so I can strangle him again!"

"You'll have first dibs," Duo assured him. Grabbing one arm, he hauled the dragon up to his feet. "Now, come on. We have to find the guys."

The three spent a few more centuries wandering around aimlessly. Quatre was designated leader of the group by simple default -- he was the only one that could gain an inkling on where their demons were. This was not necessarily reassuring to the blond. He had a very limited way of defending himself, after all.

When they finally did run across someone else, it had nothing to do with Quatre's ability and everything to do with dumb luck.

"HEERO!" Duo almost plowed into Quatre when he spotted the grouchy earth demon, running for him at top speeds.

Heero barely braced himself for the expected tackle-hug before Duo slammed into him. "Baka."

"Ah, now I know you're okay," Duo teased. He pulled away to grin at his partner in relief. "So? What did the devious and evil Terandl do to you?"

"Collapsing walls."

"...but they're made of earth, you can control that." Duo frowned in obvious puzzlement.

"No," Heero corrected grimly. "My walls were made of metal."

"Oh."

"Precisely."

"And you're still in one piece?"

"I'm not going to lose against a bunch of bloody walls."

Duo grinned at him, and hugged him tightly again. "You're so cute when you're growling, Hee-chan."

"Duo, if you call me that one more time, I'm cutting off your braid."

"And lose your leash? Never."

Wufei cleared his throat pointedly. "If you two are quite through...? We still need to find Trowa."

Terandl was almost amused as he watched them. "Incredible. He's only been loose for three hours, and yet he's managed to find everyone except Nanashi. I am quite impressed, human. I wonder, with your power, what will it take to bind you to me?"

Trowa stopped, heaving air into his lungs. No matter how fast he ran, Vox was always in the same position. He was beginning to doubt anything was really in the center of the maze -- or that there was a center to the maze! Now, of course, when he was more than prepared to give up, he couldn't seem to find a way back out.

If this was all to trap and just delay him from finding Quatre, Terandl was going to pay.

"TROWA!"

Spinning around, Trowa saw through the clear walls and nearly melted in relief. It wasn't just Quatre standing there, but everyone else as well. Even from this distance he could see that the blond was fine. He was very curious as to why Heero was looking a little tattered, and why Wufei was covered in dust, but he figured that could wait. He smiled slightly and opened his hand in a half wave. "I can't get out!"

"The walls move with you!" Quatre called back. "Their energy is connected to you."

"...that could explain why I can't get out," Trowa muttered darkly under his breath. "Can you stop that?"

"Do I look like Superman to you?" Quatre shot back in exasperation.

"...who?"

"Never mind. Hold on a second." Quatre turned back to everyone else. "Any ideas?"

"Go through the walls," Heero replied flatly. He was really irritated with everything at the moment.

Duo puzzled over that for a moment. "You know, that might actually work. If we could figure out how to do that."

Wufei drew the war sword at his back, his face stretched into a smile that was a little scary even to his allies. "If you're wise, you'll stand behind me."

Three people instantly scampered behind him.

"Ah, Wufei?" Quatre smiled wanly. "Just try not to hurt Trowa?"

"Hn. TROWA!" Wufei bellowed. "You'd better put some shields up or something!"

Trowa nodded in acknowledgement, drawing both daggers and forming the best shield he could out of his power. Most of his power was focused on offensive ability. It made him pray that whatever Wufei was going to do wasn't too destructive.

Wufei fell into a sideways stance, breathing evenly and deliberately. The sword in his hands started to glow slightly. Quatre sucked in a breath at the power suddenly surging through the metal. Ye gods, since when did Wufei carry around that kind of raw power?! He barely had time to ogle it before Wufei swung the sword sharply over his head and pointed it straight at Trowa with a sharp "HA!"

Blazing power shot from the sword and hit the walls, melting them like so much sugar sitting on a hot stove. In seconds the main wave hit Trowa, and scattered over his shield.

An impressive silence descended once the attack dissipated, broken only by a reverent whistle from Duo.

Wufei eyed the damage critically. "I didn't use my full power on the swing...he should be alright."

"That wasn't your full power?!" Duo choked. "Cripes, man, just that kind of power is scary!"

Quatre shook his paralysis off and ran towards Trowa. "Are you alright?"

Trowa smiled slightly, re-sheathing his daggers so he could catch both of Quatre's hands. "Fine. You?"

"Really mad at myself for dragging us in here, but okay."

"That's hardly your fault," Trowa reminded him firmly. "We all agreed to it. Now, answer me something. Is that really Vox over there?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the still floating sword.

Quatre took one look and shook his head. "No. Illusion only."

"Figures. Let's go, then."

Quatre quirked a brow at that. "Go where? I still can't see any way of getting out of here."

"We don't need to. Wufei?"

Wufei smirked as he closed in on their position. "No problem. I didn't do it before because I didn't want to hit anyone by accident. Heero? Are you still blinded or can you give me a direction to start carving a new entrance?"

Heero frowned slightly. "I think Terandl's spells are a little shaken by that blast of yours. I can sense a little now." He turned thoughtful eyes in every direction before pointing dead ahead. "There, I think."

"Right. Stand back." Wufei braced himself and focused as much power into the sword as possible. /Let's see if I can break free with just one swing./

"One swing!" Duo was still exclaiming fifteen minutes later. "I can't believe it! He got us out of there in just one swing!"

"We know, Duo," Heero growled at his lover. "You've been saying that ever since we got out. Shut up already."

Duo stuck his tongue out at him, refusing to comment verbally.

Quatre eyed the mountain at their back with mixed feelings. "It bothers me that even after all of that, we still have no idea where Terandl is."

"Or what the purpose of those elaborate traps were," Trowa added quietly. "They seemed more like tests than anything else."

"Hm." The trail narrowed as they climbed down the mountain, and Quatre abruptly decided that he should keep his eyes on the path in front of him if he didn't want to fall over the edge. "Maybe you're right. He took our strengths away from us in there -- and then put us against a challenge, almost as if he were seeing how we would react."

"I'd certainly like to know what conclusions he drew," Wufei growled from behind them.

"You're not the only one," Heero answered in a similar tone.

"What I don't get is why he didn't do anything with me," Quatre muttered thoughtfully.

"He did," Duo disagreed. Quickening his pace slightly, he looked over Heero's shoulder as he continued. "Think about it. He knows you can manipulate power, you've done it a couple of times now. But if you take all power away, what can you do?"

"Nothing," Quatre sighed desolately.

"Wrong," Wufei corrected sharply. "You found us, didn't you?"

Quatre opened his mouth to protest, then slowly closed it again as he realized they were right. Heero was the only person that he hadn't 'found'.

"More than that." Trowa glanced at him in thoughtful consideration, automatically walking closer to the mountainside to give Quatre more room. He didn't like how close his human was to the edge of the trail. "You can tell us when something is a trap, or when there is a spell, sometimes how it works. You give us the information we need."

"Terandl is surely going to realize that now," Heero pointed out grimly. "And he'll probably do something about it."

"Jeez, Heero, did you have to put it that way?" Duo rolled his eyes.

"He's right." Quatre grimaced. Great, so now he was wearing a very large target on his back. That was comforting. "But really, he would have figured it out sooner or later, right?"

"Probably." Trowa really didn't like the thought, but was forced to acknowledge it.

Heero frowned as he eyed the ground underneath them. It had rained heavily just recently, and the earth was showing small cracks in it from the stress. Not something normal eyes would see, but he could see them clearly. "Everyone, stay far away from the ledge. The ground is fragi--"

The area beneath Quatre's feet abruptly crumbled. Before anyone could react he toppled with a cry.

"Quatre!" Trowa threw himself forward, racing through the air to try and catch him.

The blond flailed, trying to reach the cat demon, but missed and fell the rest of the way into a churning river. His world abruptly became that of cold water and no air. Kicking sharply, he fought his way back to the surface and took a deep breath before he was towed back under.

The backpack...his backpack was weighing him down. With a pang of regret, he slipped it free from his shoulders, as well as his heavy jacket and let them fall where they would. Kicking, he managed to get his head above the water again.

The water tugged him in different directions, spinning him crazily until he had no idea which bank he was supposed to land on. When the water shoved him toward a very large boulder near solid ground, he started swimming toward it with strong strokes.

Quatre caught the edge of a rock, hauling himself out of the main stream and onto the flat surface. Gasping in lungfuls of air, he scrambled out of the river's path and onto the grassy bank, where he thankfully collapsed. When he had his breathing semi under control he muttered, "Note to self: walking near the ledge is a bad idea."

"Hmmm...what have we here?"

Jerking up to his feet, he spun about to see the speaker. A rather pretty woman with red hair and green eyes stood only feet from him. No...not a woman. A demon. She was a cat demon, like Trowa, but somehow...different. He couldn't quite put his finger on the difference, but she seemed to be more refined in shape. Trowa was bulkier and somehow rougher than her. "Who are you?"

"Catherine." She breathed in deeply, then smiled. Quatre went cold at that smile. It wasn't a pleasant thing to see. "My brother is nearby. I've caught his scent before...in the past few weeks, your scent has overlapped with his. I find this interesting. Who are you, human?"

"QUATRE!"

Trowa! Spinning about Quatre called back, "HERE!"

There were the sounds of something moving through leaves and grass, then Trowa came into view. The cat demon looked a little ragged but his eyes softened in relief as they landed on Quatre. "You idiot! Don't do that!"

Quatre rolled his eyes. "I did not fall into that river on purpose, Trowa."

"So you two do know each other."

Trowa's eyes cut to the redhead. "Catherine. What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you, little brother."

Trowa went directly to the blond's side, taking his cloak off as he went. Completely ignoring his sister, he draped the heavy garment around Quatre's shoulders, leaning in close to whisper, "Stay behind me."

Quatre didn't need to be told that twice. There was nothing in particular wrong with Catherine's soul -- it was something else entirely that told him he couldn't trust her. Nodding, he fell into Trowa's shadow as his demon turned to face the woman again. "Checking up on me? Don't make me laugh. What's the real reason?"

"Stay away from Terandl." Catherine's eyes flashed dangerously. "He's my prey."

"Oh?"

Paying no heed to Trowa's disbelieving stare, she studied Quatre with excruciating slowness. "He's quite pretty, little brother. I should have guessed that you would fall for a human. It's in your blood, after all."

"Catherine. I have no desire to stand here and listen to you babble. Let's go, Quatre." Trowa put a hand on the blond's back and urged him back towards Heero and Duo.

"Where is Terandl?"

Trowa stopped, his back to his sister. "So that is the real reason you're here."

"I know you're tracking him somehow. It isn't by smell that disappears on a regular basis. So how are you doing it?"

Trowa turned his head an nth degree. "I am under no obligation to answer you."

"Trivoxor is mine, Trowa!"

Dismissing her, he led Quatre away and out of sight. Quatre barely had time to wonder what Catherine had meant with that 'blood' comment when Heero seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Ah. There you are." With a brief look to see that Quatre was alright, he turned and went back the way he had come.

Quatre blew out a breath. "I'm assuming that he's going to get Duo and Wufei."

"Hn."

"Er...Trowa?" He knew the subject would be a touchy one, but he rather wanted to talk to Trowa when no one else was around. "Are you and Catherine...um..."

"She despises me," Trowa stated neutrally. "We're enemies."

"Oh. Can I ask why?"

Trowa's head tilted to look at him, face unreadable. "I'm not pure demon. My mother was a hanyou. Catherine hates humans above all else."

Ah. That explained why Trowa's spirit didn't look as refined as Catherine's -- it wasn't, being in part human. Wait a minute...did he say 'was'? "Is she...dead?"

"Yes."

Quatre winced a little at the tone. Trowa was silently telling him to leave it alone. /Not a problem. I can leave this alone for now. He'll tell me when he feels that he can./ Reaching out, he tangled his fingers with the demon's and squeezed slightly. "Sorry if I worried you."

Trowa's fingers tightened slightly. He hadn't wanted to admit what Quatre's disappearance had done to him. It had scared him to death, and running across Catherine immediately after finding him hadn't done anything to reassure his still racing heart. "Next time, I'll walk along the edge."

"How about we both avoid the edge?"

"Hn."

Looking down at his still sopping clothes he sighed. "It's a good thing it's a hot day..." And that no one was in immediate need of the first aid kit...

Footnote: Hanyou -- half demon, for those of you who don't watch Inuyasha

"No."

Quatre sighed, a very put upon 'why me' sigh. "Trowa--"

"No."

"Haven't we already been through this once?"

"And I was right."

"That was then. This is now. Iria knows that she can't keep me, you don't have to worry on that score. And I have to replace all of the supplies I lost in the river."

"It's still no."

Wufei cleared his throat mildly. "Would someone mind explaining what this argument is about?"

They had found a small abandoned temple just north of the mountain to settle in for the time being. Judging from the relatively dusty but intact condition of the single room, it had only been deserted recently. The only real problem was that of the door -- it was literally on its last hinges.

Since Terandl still hadn't moved from wherever it was he was hiding, they had no choice but to wait until he appeared again. Quatre was once more faced with the opportunity to go back home, the need for supplies, and a stubborn Trowa who didn't want him out of his sight.

With a sideways glare at Trowa (who glared right back) Quatre tried to explain succinctly. "I'm from another world. Duo kind of brought me here. Shortly before we met you, I had gone back to my world for a few hours to pick up supplies and things that I thought were necessary. I had to argue with Trowa to let me go, and once I was there -- well, my sister stumbled upon me and was refusing to let me come back. Trowa and she argued, but in the end she let me go. I don't understand why he's arguing about this all over again."

Wufei looked a little pole-axed. "You're from another world?" He blinked several times processing this. "It would explain your odd clothing...and that 'first aid kit' thing."

"The handy first aid kit thing," Quatre muttered with a pointed look at Trowa.

"She's rethought her decision since then," Trowa pointed out. A flash of unease went through his eyes. "She won't let you come back a second time."

Grabbing his cat demon by the elbow, Quatre pulled him to his feet and out the door to the miniscule front porch. When he was fairly sure the others would stay put and let them have some privacy he caught Trowa's face with both hands and looked at him sternly. "Do you believe me when I say that I love you?"

Trowa let out a pent up breath. "Yes. I don't understand why, but...yes."

"Then you must believe me, love, when I tell you that I will come back to you. Nothing can stop me from doing that."

Trowa stared at him helplessly. "...that's not fair, Quatre."

Quatre arched an eyebrow, a bit of evil in his smile, but he didn't retract his words.

"...okay. Can --" he wet his mouth with a nervous flick of the tongue "-- can I come with you?"

The blond translated this as 'I trust you, I just don't trust her'. Quatre tilted up to press a smiling kiss to his mouth. "Sure. Actually, why don't we just take everyone? You can truly relax on my world, there's nothing there that can harm you." Not like demons and oni and all-powerful magic weapons, at any rate.

Trowa didn't care who they took as long as he could go with Quatre. "Fine."

"Excellent." Towing his cat demon back inside, Quatre sang out cheerfully "Oh Duoooo~!"

Once again, they landed hard. Trowa went first, and managed to mostly catch Quatre as he shot out of the standing mirror. Then he quickly set the blond aside so he could catch whoever came next -- which turned out to be Wufei.

Wufei landed in Trowa's arms with a thud. He looked a little discomfited but thankful. "Guardians! Is landing always like this?"

"No," Quatre informed him dryly. "It's usually worse."

Wufei considered this thoughtfully as Heero shot out and was caught by Trowa. "You are brave people to do this on a regular basis."

Trowa grinned at him for the comment, letting Heero catch Duo as he shot through.

Once they were all in place, Quatre rubbed his hands. "Now, I need to call Iria and warn her that we're here. I do not want her to freak a second time, and we'll need to replace the lost sleeping bags anyway." Blinking at the thought, he turned to Wufei thoughtfully. "You saw what they were like. Do you want one as well?"

Wufei frowned slightly. "They did look useful -- hm. If it is no trouble, yes."

"Okay, make that three sleeping bags. In the meantime, what do you guys want to do?"

Duo laughed aloud as Jerry once again eluded Tom, zipping into his mouse hole. Tom, of course, didn't slow down and ran smack into it. By the time he pulled his nose free of the hole, it was misshapen. That only made Duo laugh harder, clutching his stomach with both hands and rolling helplessly on the floor.

Wufei, despite himself, was finding amusement in it too. Leaning toward Trowa he muttered, "Why am I still watching this?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing," Trowa muttered.

Quatre wandered back into the living room, smiling in obvious amusement. Duo was glued to the television set, Heero seemed torn between watching his lover and watching the TV, Trowa and Wufei kept shifting like they were going to get up and do something else -- but they never quite made it, somehow. Considering his taste in entertainment, Quatre was very curious as to how Duo would respond to music.

Iria had been shopping in the next town when he'd called her cell. She had been delighted to hear that he was back in this world, and promised to get everything he wanted if he swore to stay at least overnight. Seeing no problem with making such a promise -- that's what he planned on doing anyway, after all -- he'd solemnly sworn to stay put and hung up.

There was one thing that he wanted, however, that was not on that list he'd given Iria. He would have been the first case of human combustion if he'd tried to request it. But he really wanted it, regardless. If he were going to be home, where there were separate beds and bedrooms -- with locks on certain bedroom doors -- then he was certainly going to take advantage of it! Very quietly he snuck back out of the living room and up the stairs.

No one knew it of course, but about a year before Quatre had finally admitted to himself that he liked guys a lot better than he did girls. And since he was sixteen at that point, he figured that doing some research would be a very good idea. In between the internet and some very creative ordering methods, he managed to get his hands on enough material and, um, other things to do some reading and a little experimentation. Right now, he was after a certain tube. A large tube which was hidden underneath his bed.

Upstairs, he oonched and scroonched his way under the bed and dug around for the box full of his incriminating sex stuff. He'd just put his hands on it and managed a firm grip before someone's hands clasped his ankles and dragged him back out again. Quatre barely had the good sense to let go of the box before it came out with him. When he was free, he twisted about until he could look up. "Uh...hi Trowa."

Trowa arched an eyebrow at him. "What are you looking for?"

"Um..."

Trowa watched in amusement as his blond went bright red. "Um?"

"Er..." Quatre elaborated helpfully.

Trowa just watched him flounder, head canted as he patiently waited for him to stop blushing like mad.

Quatre shot a look at him, then his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. "I was...looking for something."

"And why is that making you blush like mad?"

"Um...cause it's um...something for us to use," Quatre offered weakly.

Trowa was getting a strange sense of enjoyment from the situation. So often it was he that was uncertain in their relationship, or at a loss of what to say, or blushing because he was caught in a situation a little out of his depth. Seeing Quatre in that position (finally!) was rather amusing. Still, he had pity on him and sank down next to him, pulling him upright. "Use how?"

Quatre snuggled in against Trowa, a very subtle manner of hiding his face as he tried to get his voice to work long enough to explain. "Well, since we'll be here overnight, and everyone will have their own rooms and everything I thought we could...um...we'll finally have some privacy you see and...ah..."

The light dawned. A slow predatory smile crept over Trowa's face. So, Quatre wanted to take things past kissing and cuddling, hmmmm? Oh that was not a problem! Whatever Quatre had been searching for must be meant to make their joining easier. Bending slightly he started pressing kisses against pale blond hair, and soft skin. Quatre shivered in delight under his lips and fingertips, arching upwards to get more of the attention. "I see. If that's the case," Trowa damn near purred the words against Quatre's parted mouth, "then I'm looking forward to tonight."

Quatre gazed back up at him, drawing air a bit more quickly than was normally necessary. With the way Trowa was looking at him, he was wondering if he could just lock the door now. Twining his hands behind Trowa's neck, he tugged him down insistently and claimed his mouth in a fierce mating of lips and tongues.

Trowa groaned, sinking into the kiss, fighting to return the same amount of pleasure and touch that he received. Suddenly he wasn't willing to wait for darkness to fall. That would be hours from now, and he wasn't feeling patient enough to wait minutes, much less hours!

"Oh it figures you two would be doing that!" Duo exclaimed from the doorway, highly amused. When the two drew apart (he was interested to note that they were giving him almost identical glares) he grinned. "The rest of us are starving. Q? You wanna show us how you cook food in this wanky world of yours?"

Training in playing a proper host kicked in and Quatre untangled himself with a sigh. "Sure. Although it will be a lot easier to just order take-out."

"What's take-out?"

Quatre explained as he left the room, an animated Duo trailing along behind him. Trowa stared at him thoughtfully, then to the box that Quatre had been dragging with him -- he could just make out the corner from his angle on the floor. Just what had his boyfriend been looking for, anyway?

Quatre finally chose to order a slew of different meals from different restaurants, since he was unsure of what his guests would like. For Duo he ordered pizza with every topping he could think of (which was a phenomenal success, Duo refused to share the pizza with anyone even his lover) and Chinese take-out for Wufei and Heero (also a success, they wouldn't share with Duo either). He'd been a bit stumped on what to get for he and Trowa, and had finally settled on Roast Beef with all the trimmings. He'd rarely seen his lover eat -- Trowa had once explained that his body rarely needed fuel gained from food -- but the few times he had, Trowa had almost invariably eaten beef of some sort. When it arrived, however, Trowa was nowhere to be found.

Curious, he wandered back upstairs to see where his demon had gotten off to. When he poked his head into his bedroom, he saw Trowa on the floor with books and...the tube of lubrication...Quatre's eyes went wide in mingled horror and embarrassment...and the handcuffs....and the cock ring...and "Trowa!"

Trowa blinked and looked up at the beet red blond standing just inside the doorway. "I can see why you wanted this box. It holds very interesting things."

"I...you..."

"Especially the books," Trowa continued, subduing a smile. "They were very informative, although I can't read your language. Still, the pictures told me quite a bit." He stood enough to catch Quatre's wrist and tugged him sharply forward.

Quatre squawked and landed in a heap of limbs on Trowa's lap, a little stunned when he realized that there was a very hard erection pressing up against his thighs. "T-Trowa --"

"And now," Trowa purred with a dangerous half-smile, "I want to try them all out."

"Quatre~!" Iria's voice rang out from below. "I'm home!"

Quatre whimpered. It wasn't fair! He had lube, a very hot lover who was in an amorous mood, and his sister had to show up!

"Tonight," Trowa promised darkly into his hair.

"Tonight," Quatre replied fervently.

There was no way he was going to wait any longer than he had to, either.

Part 12

"...whoa, wait, let me get this straight. He's an earth demon, he's a clairvoyant like you, and he's a dragon?"

Wufei gave Iria a very evil smile. "I can transform and prove it, if you wish."

"Don't you dare." Quatre glared at him in warning. "I like my house intact, thank you very much."

Wufei's smile became even more evil at that.

Quatre was beginning to rethink the whole idea of bringing two demons and a dragon with him to this world. Unfortunately, it was too late. They were already there. Turning back to his sister, he sought to change the subject. "You got everything?"

"Three sleeping bags, a super-duper first aid kit and a heavy duty flashlight. Actually, I got two flashlights, the wind-up kind so you don't have to worry about batteries."

"Thanks," he told her sincerely. One less thing for him to worry about.

"And now that I have you overnight," Iria glared at him meaningfully, "I want the FULL story."

"...right."

They settled into the living room, with a bit of arranging first. Quatre distracted Duo with a cd player and a stack of discs. It was an easy matter to teach him how to work the machine, and he was happily rocking to Linkin Park in no time. Wufei was fascinated by the library. He couldn't read the language, since it was very different from his own, but the pictures and maps in there easily captivated his full attention. Quatre was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with Heero until he remembered the mini shooting range in the basement of the house. It took a few minutes to teach him how to use the gun, and give a basic run down of safety, then he turned him loose. Something that could have been giggling came from the demon when Quatre left the room. The blond wisely decided NOT to investigate.

He tried to convince Trowa to find something to do as well, since he knew that once Iria had her hands on him he wouldn't be going anywhere for several hours. Trowa, however, refused to leave his side. He didn't quite trust Iria and he wasn't willing to let Quatre out of his sight.

Quatre sat on the couch with Iria, turned so that he was sitting sideways to face her. Trowa curled up at his feet, head and arm propped on his thigh. Quatre gave him a glance, bemused by the position since Trowa was very rarely submissive in anything but let it lie without a word. "Alright, Iria, what do you want to know?"

Iria gave him an exasperated Look. "Everything! All of you look very tired. Have you been chasing Terandl again? Did you fight? And when did Dragon boy join up with you? I don't remember you mentioning him last time, or in that message of yours."

"Well, we didn't meet Wufei until the morning after I was here last time." Quatre fell into the rhythm of answering questions and filling his sister in on what had happened since he had last spoken with her. As he spoke, he absently started to stroke along the back of Trowa's head and down the nape of his neck. The cat demon arched into the touch, eyes falling to half mast in enjoyment. It was so warm and comfortable, the nuance and tone of Quatre's voice soothing on his ears. He stretched slightly to rest more completely on the blond, and his eyes fell completely shut.

Trowa's obvious enjoyment of touch did not go unnoticed. Iria paused at one point and watched him, brow quirked. Carefully she mouthed 'Is he purring?'

Quatre nodded, eyes sparkling.

"Ah. Out of curiosity, how can you understand them? It's obvious that they can't read English because it isn't their native language. So how is that they speak our language?"

"As Duo explained it to me, going through a mirror from one world to the next has certain...quirks. No one can quite explain why, but they're given an automatic translation ability somehow. Really, they're speaking their own language but because they've come through the mirror, we can understand them." Quatre shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could explain it better, but magic doesn't always follow designs it usually follows intents."

"I think if you could explain it in detail, I'd get a headache," Iria returned. She already felt like she had a headache. Of course, that could be from speaking for three hours plus. "It's late. You'd probably want to get some sleep."

Quatre nodded. "Yes. We really can't stay here long. We only came here because Terandl had holed up somewhere and we couldn't track him down. I really want to figure out how he did that." Quatre leaned over Trowa and studied his sleeping face. "He's really zonked. Come on, sweetheart, let's get you to bed."

Trowa stirred slightly when his pillow moved, blinking sleepily. He gained his feet under Quatre's prodding and yawned, wanting to sleep and not understanding why Quatre wasn't letting him alone.

Quatre smiled at him a little ruefully. He knew from experience that once Trowa felt he was 'safe' and had fallen asleep, it almost took a miracle to move him. He carefully lifted the cat demon into his arms, surprised at just how light he was. Trowa nuzzled into him agreeably, going right back to sleep.

"Don't worry about the others," Iria instructed him softly. "I'll settle them in. You're just as tired as they are. Go get some sleep."

"Thanks, sis." Cradling his lover in his arms, he made his way upstairs and to bed. Iria was right, he was tired. He did little more than strip them both of bothersome clothing and shoes before rolling in next to Trowa and sinking deeply into sleep.

Mmm.

Something warm and soft was playing over his neck. Quatre arched into it, body shifting unconsciously to find the source of that nice feeling. There was naked skin pressed to his, and heated sheets at his back. The nibbling at his neck shifted until it pressed against his mouth, and he returned the caresses eagerly.

"Are you awake yet?"

Quatre blinked fuzzily. He wasn't being kissed anymore. Why was that? He focused and saw green eyes staring down at him. Quatre beamed at him sleepily. "You're so cute and sexy."

"...that doesn't really answer my question, but I guess it works." Trowa's head dipped down again, and he resumed kissing his lover senseless. Quatre quite happily wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Fingers brushed along his chest, pausing a moment to tease his nipples into hard points. Quatre squirmed a little in enjoyment, letting one hand trail down a muscular back as he sought to return touch. Trowa arched into his touch, purring softly. Quatre broke the kiss, laughing quietly. "I love touching you." He let his hands trail over firm buttocks, grinning when the purring increased in volume. The nice thing about having a cat demon as a lover was that you always knew when you were doing the right thing.

Trowa's hands kept meandering down Quatre's body, learning which places made his lover giggle, or moan, or give a little mewl of pleasure. His mouth traveled down over a rounded jaw, and he rasped the rough side of his tongue against Quatre's neck.

Quatre melted into putty -- he really liked that -- and his hips gave an involuntary thrust up against Trowa. Long fingers wrapped around his erection and pumped experimentally. Quatre twisted and groaned, hips lifting. Trowa grinned as he kept a steady rhythm, the other hand searching for the lube he'd stashed under the pillow. Scrunching down further on the bed, he traded hand for mouth, sucking with gentle persistence. His tongue stroked and teased while Quatre arched into his mouth and whispered demands for more.

It took a moment for Quatre to really register the lubed fingers at his entrance. The feeling of those slim fingers stroking and stretching was a sensation he'd never felt before. It was warm and intimate and, coupled with the firm brushes against his sweet spot, thoroughly enjoyable. He relaxed into the prep, hands alternately tightening and stroking through thick brown hair.

His head dipped lower until Quatre was almost swallowed whole, fingers sliding in and out in an increasing rhythm. Quatre's whole body throbbed in time with it, something spiraling tightly in between his legs and becoming so tight it was nearly painful. The pace became faster and faster, Quatre nearly insane with pleasure so intense he felt as if he would explode with it. "Trowa!"

Trowa increased the pressure, looking up through his bangs to watch as his lover arched and came. One of the books had illustrated swallowing, so he stayed put, willing to see if he would like it. The taste was a little bitter, and somewhat salty -- but not bad, really. He licked the blond clean, darkly pleased when Quatre shuddered as too-sensitive skin protested the rough rasp of his tongue.

He slowly let him slide free from his mouth, searching for the discarded tube of lube by feel alone. He had three fingers in Quatre, and thought he was stretched enough. His own erection was so painful right then that he wasn't sure just how much longer he could last without finding his own release. Very gingerly he lubed himself up and settled between Quatre's spread legs.

Quatre roused enough brain cells to look up and watch as Trowa slowly started to press into him. The sensation was acute. His hands latched onto Trowa's arms, fingers digging in as Trowa pushed inside. It was too much...Trowa was too big, he'd never fit, Quatre felt like he was being ripped apart. "Trowa, stop, I can't --"

Trowa paused, half-way in, watching Quatre in worry. He took a deep breath, fighting with his body to stay still. Quatre was biting his bottom lip so hard he was surprised he hadn't broken the skin. Obviously, there was some major adjusting being done and he needed to wait until his lover was ready.

Quatre very carefully shifted his hips, his hands flexing on Trowa's arms. Okay...this was different. He wasn't quite sure if it was a good different or just different. Trowa hissed out a breath and he looked up. "Trowa?"

"You...are so damn hot and tight..." Trowa's eyes slitted open, dark with hunger. "Don't move again unless you're ready for me."

Maybe it wasn't exactly comfortable for Quatre, but it was obvious that Trowa was enjoying this. And hadn't one of those books mentioned that it would feel uncomfortable at first, but that would change once they started moving? Cautiously he hooked a leg around Trowa's hips and took him in a little deeper.

Trowa was nearly shaking at the effort to hold back. "Quatre..." he gritted between clenched teeth.

"Move," Quatre breathed tenderly.

Trowa drew out a little, and pushed in. That thrust inside changed everything. He brushed a spot in Quatre that jolted hot pleasure all through his body. He jerked in response, a startled cry erupting from his mouth. "Holy Mary and all the saints!"

Trowa drew back, and with his next thrust pushed in a little further than before, still hitting that same spot. Quatre's hips thrust up to meet him of their own accord. "Dear gods, is that all of you?"

"A little more," Trowa panted, thrusting in again. "You feel so good --" His hands clamped around Quatre's hips as he slammed all the way in, letting out a groan that sounded like it came from his soul. "Please tell me you're with me, that this feels good."

"This is fantastic." Quatre fell into Trowa's rhythm, urging him faster, harder. His head fell back, eyes closed as sensation took over and rational thought shut down.

Trowa's lungs were working like a blacksmith's bellows, back arching as his fingers dug into his lover's hips, pulling him forward as he slammed into the blond over and over again. Quatre's other leg came up to wrap around his hips, and his blunted nails dragged over Trowa's back as he sought for some kind of purchase, some way to ground him against the ecstasy flooding his system. It was so intense that Quatre was sure he was going to black out.

Then Trowa's head snapped back as he throbbed and pulsated his heat deep within the tight confines of his lover's body, crying out a roar of conquest that mingled with Quatre's sobs of pleasure.

Trowa collapsed on his smaller lover, both of them covered in sweat, hearts beating wildly. Quatre pressed soft kisses against his damp hair, smiling like an absolute loon. He almost shook his head at himself -- to think that minutes ago, he'd doubted on whether he actually wanted to do this again. Laying here in afterglow, his body humming happily, he felt like an idiot for even thinking such a thing. If he weren't absolutely -- and happily -- exhausted, he'd roll them over and start another round of lovemaking with Trowa.

"Am I crushing you?" Trowa managed some moments later, voice slightly muffled against Quatre's shoulder.

Quatre lazily explored the wonders of Trowa's behind as he responded dreamily, "Yes. But it's a good kind of crushing. Don't move."

"Hn. Let me know when I get too heavy for you, although I honestly don't have the strength to move just yet."

*knock*

Quatre peered at the door suspiciously. "Who is it?"

"Wufei. It's daylight, get up already."

Quatre groaned. "So much for wallowing in afterglow."

"We're up," Trowa called back, a little grumpily.

The blond flopped back onto the bed. "Remind me. Why did I think it was a good idea to bring them along?"

Trowa propped himself up on his elbows so that he was braced over his lover's prone form. "When this is all over, we're going to hole up somewhere and just make love for a week straight."

Quatre's smile was predatory and just a little bit naughty. "What a good idea."

"I don't hear you two moving in there!"

Trowa turned a full glare onto the door. "I'm going to swat him."

"Only if you beat me to it."

After breakfast, and showers (Trowa's and Quatre's took over an hour, for some reason) they were ready to go. Quatre shouldered his new backpack and exchanged a quick hug with his sister.

"Be careful," Iria murmured.

"I'll do my best. Don't be alarmed if it's a while before I talk to you. I don't want to drain Duo much while we're so close to Terandl."

"Okay."

The standing mirror in Quatre's room started glowing pure white. Duo gave them a mock bow. "Who's first?"

"Trowa." Wufei gave him a dry look. "You've proven to be quite adept at catching us. Why don't you go first?"

Duo pouted. "You're mean, 'Fei."

"I second that idea," Heero put in drolly.

Duo glared at him, pout still in place. "See if you get lucky tonight."

Trowa rolled his eyes, but went through. Quatre waited a few seconds for him to get his footing. He thought twice about jumping through with the back pack and tossed it in separately. After counting to five, he flashed his sister a last smile before stepping through.

Wufei grumbled, gave the mirror a dark look, and went through. Heero was only a few seconds behind him. Duo gave Iria a formal bow and an impish grin. "Thanks for the hospitality, pretty lady. And despite what Q says, expect a call in a week or so, okay?"

"Thank you, Duo." She watched as he disappeared and the mirror returned to normal. "That really does defy the laws of physics."

Part 13

Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong moment to come back. Quatre lifted his eyes to the clouds and scowled. It figured that they would be in a relatively empty area with a thunderstorm lurking above their heads. "Well? I can't get a fix on Terandl right now, and I don't want to get rained on. Any ideas?"

Duo looked at Trowa expectantly.

"No," Trowa snapped.

"Come on, Tro, you know it's the only option."

"No."

Quatre shared a confused look with Wufei. What were they talking about?

Unexpectedly, Heero joined in. "Odds are no one is in residence. He's focused on that Eastern clan, remember?"

Trowa shifted uneasily, glaring at the black clouds in the sky, then blew out an irritated breath. "Alright."

"Alright what?" Quatre demanded. "What are you three talking about?"

"My home is near here," Trowa responded flatly. "If we hurry, we should make it within a half an hour or so."

Things clicked into place at that point, at least for Quatre. He'd gleaned a few ideas about Trowa's childhood, just from a few statements that the cat demon had made. It wasn't a comfortable place for him. "There isn't any other option?"

Trowa shook his head grimly. "None."

"Then let's go," Wufei urged.

Quatre and Duo quickly climbed onto their respective lover's backs, hanging on as the three demons ran at full speed. Quatre leaned close, putting his mouth to Trowa's ear. "I'm sorry, Trowa."

"It's alright," Trowa assured him quietly. "The past few months, my father has been fighting a clan of demons. They're from the Eastern lands, and trying to invade and take over. He's been out there on the borders fighting with them. With luck, he's probably not in residence."

Quatre pressed a kiss against his temple. "Let's hope so." /For your sake./

Trowa's home wasn't at all what Quatre was expecting. Situated between two rolling hills there was a sprawling house that shamed many a mansion on Earth. It was only one story, but Quatre felt a sensation of depth when he looked at the house. It went much deeper than the front view let on. They made it under the covered porch just as the sky let go.

Trowa pushed open the front door -- a very wide door of thick oak and a strange engraving on it -- and stepped inside. Quatre stayed close to him, staring around in wonder. The floors gleamed with a golden tone, as did the walls. There were elaborate tapestries here and there, hints of ornate furniture in other rooms that Quatre could just catch a glimpse of from where he was standing. /He never mentioned that he came from such wealth./

"Master Trowa!" A wizened human hurried out of a hallway, faded blue eyes wide. "We had not expected you!"

"I gave no warning, Tittles. The fault is mine."

Quatre gave him a glance askance. That had been said with strange formality. His curiosity really went up when he saw Tittles relax slightly.

"We'll have rooms prepared at once."

"Very well," Trowa responded softly. "Is my father in residence?"

"No, Master Trowa. We do expect him in a day or two."

Trowa let out a soft breath, and tension fled from his shoulders. "I see. We'll be in my room. Call when dinner is ready."

Tittles bobbed his head and scurried off again, calling out orders as he went. Trowa silently led them to the right. Quatre could see he truly wasn't comfortable in his own home. He bit his lip slightly, debating on whether to try something now to relax him or wait until they were in the privacy of Trowa's room. Finally he tentatively reached out a hand and took Trowa's in his own.

Trowa glanced down sharply, not expecting the touch. He was wrapped up in memories of this place, and becoming more and more uneasy. Quatre's touch...helped. He shifted their hands until his fingers were tangled in between Quatre's. Quatre squeezed back, smiling up at him, and Trowa just had to smile back.

"Aw, aren't they cute?" Duo cooed from behind. He started snickering at the dual glares he got for that comment.

Seeing those three behind him put Trowa rather firmly in the present and this time he led the way without any fissures of anxiety playing merry havoc with his nerves. He saw servants taking peeks of him from other rooms and hallways as he passed but paid them little heed. He'd never brought anyone here before -- Duo and Heero only knew this place because he'd pointed it out to them in passing.

His room was just as he had left it, years ago. His books were still in place, the furniture in the same arrangement. There was no dust, so obviously someone had come in and cleaned on a regular basis, but care had been taken to leave things as they were. He almost wished that everything had been changed -- it felt odd to be in this space again.

"Excuse me, Master Trowa. I've had four bedrooms prepared, if your guests will follow me."

Trowa turned to see Tittles hovering in his doorway. "We only need two, Tittles."

The old man blinked at him in confusion.

Quatre cleared his throat slightly, giving Trowa a pointed look. "Perhaps a bit of an introduction is in order?"

"Mm." Trowa's mouth twisted into a wry smile. He just wasn't used to Tittles not knowing everything. The man had seemed like a fount of wisdom when he was a child. "Tittles, this is Quatre Winner, my lover and a clairvoyant." He saw the old man's eyes flare wide and waited a beat for him to recover from the shock. "To my left is Chang Wufei of the Dragon Clan, then Duo Maxwell, also a clairvoyant, and his lover Heero Yuy, of the Terran Clan."

Tittles recovered his manners enough to give them each a bow. "It is a pleasure, my lords. Lord Heero, Lord Duo, Lord Wufei, if you will follow me I will show you to your rooms."

They filed out, leaving an amused Quatre in their wake. "I thought your butler was going to faint when you said I was your lover."

"He wasn't far from it," Trowa agreed. He brought Quatre into the circle of his arms and kissed him lightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"So am I."

It was late at night, the storm still raging in all its natural fury outside. Trowa settled in beside Quatre, spooned up against his back. They'd taken advantage of having privacy again, and made love slowly, relishing every touch and breath of sound. Trowa was entirely sated and more than ready for sleep when his ears caught the faint hint of the front door opening and closing -- and a deep voice that carried easily down the halls. He knew that voice.

His father was home.

Swearing mentally, he lay there and debated on what to do. Tittles was sure to mention that he was home -- but he doubted the butler would mention anything else. Kisuru Barton was a very authoritive person, and tended to issue commands before thinking that he should listen. If he just knew why his father was home, and how long he'd be there, then he would just ignore him and go back to sleep. But he didn't -- and he didn't want a confrontation in front of everyone else either.

As quietly as possible he slid out of bed, covered his lover up with a blanket, and shrugged on a robe. He stole out of the room, letting his ears determine where his father was. Finally he tracked him down to the study. Tittles was coming out, looking a little worried and tired. "Tittles."

"Master Trowa, I told him you were here. He sent me to wake you."

"I thought so. Go to bed, Tittles. I'll deal with my father."

"Yes, Master Trowa," Tittles responded gratefully.

Trowa nodded to him, squared his shoulders, and went in.

Kisuru Barton hadn't aged a day since the last time Trowa had seen him, nearly fifteen years ago. He was still a physically imposing figure, unlike his son, his hair a dark chestnut and eyes more grey than blue. Trowa had never figured out if he was disappointed that his only son had taken after his wife than him...and had never dared to ask. It probably would have added yet another issue on a long list of complaints.

The older cat demon stretched out in a chair, regarding his son with grave eyes. "I was told you were here."

Trowa simply shrugged, closing the door behind him and finding his own seat. This would take a while. He might as well get comfortable.

"Why are you here?"

"I was in the area. There was a storm hanging over my head."

"Simple shelter, is that it?" Kisuru snorted angrily. "This is your home, Trowa."

"It was never that, even when I lived here."

"You really think that, don't you?" he whispered. "Dammit, Trowa. I don't understand you at all. I've asked that you fight with me -- and you won't. I can accept that if you were doing something with your life, but you aren't. You just wander from place to place. Don't you want a home? If this isn't it, then don't you want to make one for yourself?"

Trowa had heard this a hundred times before, but this time he actually thought about it...and realized that no place really came to mind. Only a person. Where ever Quatre was, that was his home. He had no doubts that eventually they would settle into a place together, but he could wait for that to come about. He offered none of this to his father -- he wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything at all to him.

"Can you at least say that you've made friends? Allies? By your age I'd already met your mother and married her. I want the same for you. At the very least I want to hear that you've come to some kind of terms with your sister."

It was Trowa's turn to snort. "Catherine will never accept me. Not so long as I have one drop of human blood in me."

Kisuru nodded sadly. He knew that Trowa had tried to be closer to his sister when they were still children...he couldn't lay the fault at Trowa's door. And he couldn't blame his son for not trying any longer to bridge the gap. It just pained him to see that his children couldn't even get along. "I'm sorry she still thinks that way. Trowa...just tell me that you're doing something."

Quatre woke up when the bedroom door clicked shut. He looked around, but Trowa was not in the room. After waiting for a few minutes, he realized that whatever had called his lover away was keeping him from returning.

This Would Not Do.

Grumbling, he shrugged into a pair of pants and threw on a loose shirt. Since it was Trowa's shirt, it was much too large, but he didn't care. He left it unbuttoned and went in search of his wandering lover.

He finally stumbled across a door with light underneath it. Hm. That looked promising. Knocking softly he stuck his head in. "Excuse the interruption, I'm looking for -- there you are!"

Trowa stood and went to him immediately, debating on what to do. Should he introduce Quatre? He wasn't ashamed of their relationship by any means...he just wasn't sure how his father would take it, either. "Come in, Quatre."

Kisuru stood as the blond entered, eyes narrowed slightly. He could sense a large amount of power in the slender human. He sniffed the air delicately and it was only then that he realized what he had smelled for the past fifteen minutes.

The scent of the human was all over his son...and vice versa.

"Father, this is Quatre Winner, my lover. Quatre, this is Kisuru Barton, my father and daiyoukai of this region."

Quatre beamed at the older demon, offering a polite nod. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

This...this beautiful young man was his son's lover? Blinking a little to clear his head he returned, "And you."

"I am sorry to intrude," Quatre continued easily. "I just came looking for Trowa. It's impossible for me to sleep without him, now."

"It's...quite alright. Join us, please." He sank back into his seat, watching in surprise when the human did so...by sitting in his son's lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His surprise went up when Trowa accepted this easily, putting both arms around his lover's waist. "Tell me, if you would, how you two met."

"Ah...that's quite the story." Quatre was trying to get a good emotional reading from Trowa, but the only thing he could read was anticipation...and smugness. He wished he knew why. His lover wasn't giving him any cues for this conversation. "It started because Trowa was trying to find Terandl --"

Kisuru held up a hand. "Not the demon Terandl?"

"The very same," Quatre confirmed.

"But why?"

Quatre blinked at him, then slowly tilted his head so he could look at Trowa. "He doesn't know?"

"No."

"Doesn't know what?" Kisuru demanded impatiently.

"Trivoxor is in Terandl's hands," Trowa told his father softly.

"...what? But Catherine has it!"

"Catherine did have it," Trowa corrected. "Terandl stole it from her several months ago."

Kisuru burned. His daughter hadn't mentioned a word about this! If he had known about such a thing, he would have left the war to his allies until he could have found Trivoxor. Having such a weapon in the hand of his enemy was a dangerous thing. "Continue."

When Trowa didn't, Quatre felt it was up to him to continue the story. "Trowa lost Terandl's scent at one point -- it's very difficult to track him that way, for some reason. Anyway, he asked Duo for help." When there was a blank look at this name, Quatre elaborated. "Duo Maxwell. He's a clairvoyant, like me, only his specialization is mirrors and reflections. Trowa asked him to do a reading to see if he could at least gain some hint as to where Terandl was going. The reading answered with...me. I was pulled from my home world into this one and have been traveling with your son ever since."

He was from a different world?! Odd, he looked like a normal human. Kisuru shook this off and focused on the more immediate concerns. "How are you able to find Terandl?"

"I can see and sense energy. Terandl has a very...obvious energy signature. He's recently become better at hiding it. There are times when I'll lose it but he can't seem to do it for long and we always find him again."

"Then why haven't you defeated him?" Kisuru demanded.

"Because he has Trivoxor," Trowa snapped back. "Have you ever tried fighting against that weapon? It nearly killed us all the last time we fought for it. This time we stand a better chance."

"Why now?" Kisuru was beginning to get very agitated by not knowing the full and complete picture.

"We've recently made a new ally," Quatre explained. "Chang Wufei, of the Dragon Clan. He's faced Trivoxor alone before and walked away...not victorious, but he was strong enough to face it and live. We believe that all five of us fighting together will be the key to defeating Terandl."

"Wait." Kisuru held up a hand, feeling a headache brewing. "Five of you?"

Quatre paused and looked at Trowa again. "You really don't talk to your father, do you?"

Trowa just shrugged.

"Hm." Quatre turned back to the daiyoukai and made a mental note to really talk to Trowa about this later. "Yes, all five of us. Besides Wufei, there is Duo and Heero Yuy, an earth demon."

"In other words," Kisuru sighed, giving his son a very perplexed stare, "not only have you found someone to love, but you have made strong friends and allied yourself with them. Why didn't you say something?"

"When have you ever bothered to listen?" Trowa returned quietly. "It's true -- before, I really was just wandering around. But I didn't want to be condemned for it. I just wanted time to sort things out. I can't make my life happen by sheer will power. It takes time and patience too."

Quatre realized that he was really a third wheel from this point on. These two seriously needed to talk, and they wouldn't be able to do that with him there and listening in. He stood and pressed a kiss against Trowa's forehead. "I'm going back to bed. Talk this out with him, okay?"

Trowa smiled up at him, nodding. "Okay."

Quatre grinned back before bidding a polite good night to the other cat demon and retreating from the room.

Kisuru watched him go, smiling slightly. "Trowa...he seems to be a very good man."

"He is."

"Will you tell me...the whole story, from the beginning?"

Trowa smiled faintly. Maybe his father was impossible to deal with...but maybe they stood a chance at really understanding each other now. "Certainly...father."

By following the wafting scents of food, Quatre managed to find the dining room the next morning. Trowa was still asleep, which was understandable. He'd stayed up most of the night talking with his father. When he'd finally come to bed Quatre had been pleased to see how at ease he was. Apparently, father and son had managed to bridge some of the gap.

Hiding a yawn behind his hand he walked in -- and paused. Kisuru Barton was already at the table, eating steadily. He looked up at Quatre's entrance, and smiled slightly. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Quatre returned. Well, the demon was in a good mood. It was probably safe to eat. He continued all the way in and settled into a chair, filling up his plate with all manner of food, none of which was remotely familiar.

"Is Trowa still asleep?"

"Yes. You two were up quite late talking." /I really shouldn't pry...but I'm really curious too./

"Yes," Kisuru agreed with a satisfied smile.

"The first time I met Trowa, I had the hardest time trying to get him to talk to me." Quatre shrugged, sipping something light and spicy from his glass. It almost tasted like apple cider...there was just a bit of zest to it. "I discovered that if I was persistent enough, he would actually talk. It was a matter of developing the habit."

"Last night...he spoke mostly of you."

Quatre's hand paused halfway to his mouth as he stared at the other in surprise. "Me?"

"I'm not sure if you realize, Quatre Winner, just how much you've changed my son. I've never heard him say more than a dozen words at a time. He was never good at showing other people kindness -- usually he was just indifferent. That's changed. Last night, when he spoke of you, he...glowed." His face and voice softened slightly. "It reminded me of that time I first met his mother. I felt that way with her."

Quatre felt a pang of sympathy for him. /You still love her, don't you?/ "Trowa has never told me much about her. I think it's too painful for him."

"She was a very beautiful woman. Half-cat demon. She was torn between two worlds, and rarely accepted because of her mixed blood. It was part of the reason why I married her -- I wanted to protect her from that. She was so young when she died. Trowa was barely five years old when we lost her." Kisuru shook his head sadly. "You're right. I don't think he ever really accepted her passing." He threw off the subject with a deliberate smile. "I never expected him to fall for someone like you. I always pictured someone...quieter."

"I think he did too," Quatre admitted with a quiet chuckle. "But he's stuck with me now."

"Ah ha! I knew I smelled food." Duo strolled into the room, smiling sleepily. "Hey Q."

"Good morning, Duo. May I introduce you to Kisuru Barton, Trowa's father."

Duo blinked slightly and recovered a bit of manners to bow politely. "A pleasure. Sorry, we were told you weren't at home."

"I came in late last night." Kisuru watched this admittedly stunning young man as he came all the way in and sat at the table. His mental picture of Duo wasn't matching up with reality. "I'm glad now that I did, if only to meet all of Trowa's friends."

Duo glanced at Quatre, searching for a way to respond to the daiyoukai. Was it alright he was here?

"Trowa's still asleep from talking with his father all night," Quatre volunteered.

"Ah." Well, apparently it was alright. "Probably not for long. He always wakes up if you leave. And he's damn grouchy about it too."

Quatre flushed slightly and sought to change the subject. "Where's Heero and Wufei?"

"Outside trying to brain each other, where else?"

Quatre sighed. "You'd think they'd stop sparring at some point. They've proven that they're completely equal in skill."

"That's part of the fun," Kisuru inputted drolly.

Quatre and Duo exchanged looks. "Maybe it's a demon thing."

"Maybe," Duo agreed.

Trowa stumbled in, rubbing at one eye blearily and scowling. When his eyes fell on a certain blond the scowl eased...just a little. Quatre looked up with a smile, tilting his head up a little to exchange a chaste good morning kiss with his grouchy lover. Trowa nodded a good morning to everyone else as he sank in next to Quatre.

"Told you," Duo whispered loudly. "Grouchy."

Trowa glared at him fuzzily. "I am not."

"Tro, you look like you fell out of the bed or something. And the death glare you're giving me is a dead give-away."

"Hn."

"Leave him be, Duo." Quatre rolled his eyes. "He's not awake yet. Tease him later."

"But half the fun is teasing him when he can't string a complete sentence together."

"..." Trowa made a mental note to do something nasty to Duo later and started piling food up on his plate.

Kisuru smiled at the three, absolutely pleased at how they interacted, how close they obviously were. "Trowa."

Trowa glanced up in question.

"I'll leave Trivoxor in your hands -- I cannot desert the battle at this moment. The timing it too critical. Can you handle Terandl on your own? I can enlist allies if you need them."

Trowa shook his head slightly, mouth quirked in some semblance of a smile. "I have my own allies. I'll handle it."

Kisuru nodded firmly in response. Yes...he could finally leave Trowa's life alone in peace. He was where he needed to be and he could trust him to manage the rest.

Footnote: Daiyoukai -- great demon, or maybe demon lord is a better term

Part 14

It was very early in the morning, not even birds were awake at this hour. They had been traveling now for nearly two days, and getting very close to Terandl. Quatre had picked up the trail a few hours after leaving Trowa's home, and they had been racing against time to catch up with their enemy. Everyone was bone weary and taking the chance to sleep while they could.

All except one.

Wufei had been the butt of one too many pranks and jibes, and he had decided to pay Duo back for them while the opportunity presented itself. Very slowly and quietly he shifted into Dragon form, making sure that no one woke up during this process. He took up most of the small clearing in this larger body, so it was a simple matter to simply stretch his neck a little and reach where Duo and Heero were sleeping so peacefully.

Grinning to himself he lowered his head until it was a scant inch away from Duo's relaxed face, lining things up until he was staring directly into Duo's closed eyes.

Then he snorted.

Duo's eyes sleepily opened to see what the noise was, then shot wide.

"AAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone jolted awake and onto their feet. Duo scrambled across the clearing completely in a blind panic.

Wufei collapsed on his side, laughing and slowly changing back to human form.

"Wufei," Duo growled menacingly. "That was not funny, man!"

"Priceless," Wufei disagreed, trying to control his laughter.

"It's going to be one of those days, isn't it?" Quatre asked no one in particular.

Heero and Trowa nodded in wry agreement.

The sun was just sinking towards the horizon when Quatre went tense. "Guys -- we're close."

"How close?" Wufei demanded, picking up speed a little so that he was running next to Trowa.

"Very close," Quatre returned grimly. "Just over this rise, I think."

"Down!" Heero shouted.

Everyone dropped instantly to the ground, raw discs of wind whistling over their heads and barely missing them.

They fell into a circle, guarding each other's backs. Quatre quickly drew in a bit of Trowa's power to form his own weapon, barely getting a grip on it before their opponents melted from the trees.

"Hey Duo," Quatre said tautly.

"Yeah?"

"I think we can guess now what Terandl was doing with all that power."

"Oh yeah," Duo agreed, hands flexing on his scythe's handle.

"Minions," Wufei spat.

Twenty demons of various shapes, sizes and kinds were around them and closing in. To Quatre's eyes it was obvious that Terandl's power resided in them and was the controlling influence.

"I'll handle this," Heero murmured darkly. With a sharp gesture he pulled all the earth around them up into a wall. It hovered there for a moment, then curved like a wave and went crashing back down, burying their opponents alive.

"Yuy." Wufei's voice was unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

"Yes?"

"Remind me not to piss you off."

"Hn." Heero grinned at him.

"Let's go," Trowa urged.

Quatre led the way at a run toward Terandl, this time widening his Sight so he could see if there was anyone else waiting for them. Unfortunately, there was. "More minions up ahead!" he called over his shoulder.

"How many?" Duo demanded.

"A lot," Quatre bit off.

A lot didn't really cover it. 'Too many' was more accurate. When they topped the rise and were able to get a good look at what lay ahead, everyone groaned. It was like a sea of demons, too many to be counted.

"You know, this is almost flattering," Wufei observed bitterly. "He obviously went through a lot of trouble to make all these things."

"Which means he's scared of us," Quatre confirmed.

"Heero," Trowa looked at his friend, feeling blood lust building up in his body. "Go right."

Heero nodded and took off. Duo rolled his eyes ( the grin on Heero's face had been quite obvious) and ran after him. "Heero! I wanna play too!"

"Then hurry up!" Heero called back.

Trowa gave Quatre a worried look. "I don't suppose you'd stay here and let us handle this?"

Quatre just Looked at him.

"...didn't think so. Okay, stay close."

Wufei caught Trowa's eyes and passed along a silent message. Don't worry -- I'll watch after him too. Trowa nodded in grateful acknowledgement before turning and facing the waiting horde. "Ready?"

Quatre gripped the twin kamis in his hand and grinned with wolfish anticipation. "Ready."

Wufei pulled the doa off his back and charged it up with only a thought. "I'll carve us a way down."

"Wufei?"

"Yes, Quatre."

"Just don't hit Heero and Duo."

"..."

Sweat was pouring off his temples, stinging his eyes. Quatre risked a second to wipe it away before spinning and hacking into a charging demon. They had been fighting for what felt like hours, and he was beginning to feel the strain. He couldn't even accurately pinpoint Terandl's location anymore. He was surrounded by demons carrying his enemy's signature, and making out the original owner of that energy was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Trowa was close, guarding his back, with Wufei not much further away. They'd lost Heero and Duo at some point, but Quatre could still see their life forces burning brightly among all the red, and wasn't worried about them. They were moving through the enemy too quickly to be injured.

Quatre stepped forward, a battle cry bursting from his lips as he cut and slashed his way through. He felt another burst of raw power shoot from Wufei's sword, and another dozen or so demons fell to the ground in smoking heaps.

It took awhile for the idea to dawn, as focused as he was to live from one moment to another. But slowly the realization sank in that they were winning -- the sea of demons they had faced before had dwindled down to a more manageable fifty.

"We're winning!" Quatre called in elation even as he ducked a clumsy swing at his head.

There was no verbal acknowledgement, but Quatre could feel his friends' fierce exaltation.

Two hands grabbed him suddenly and yanked.

Quatre swore viciously and tried to get his swords into play to get out of that fierce grip. Both of his hands were caught fast, and he was pulled sharply off balance.

"Quatre!" Trowa spun toward him, ready to take down whomever it was that had grabbed his lover.

"Ah-ah," Terandl tsked. He tightened his grip, tugging until Quatre was flush against his body. "Temper, temper Trowa."

Trowa froze in place, eyes narrowed in anger and fear for his lover.

Quatre struggled to get free, twisting to glare up at the demon that had captured him. "And what's the use of grabbing me?"

Terandl grinned down at him. "You're their focus. They can't do anything without you. My little test at the mountain proved that quite adequately."

Mentally Quatre started swearing. He hated it when he was right.

The battle slowed to a grudging halt as demons backed away and huddled away from the confrontation with their master. Heero and Duo were freed from their concentration only to realize that while they had been fighting their enemy, Quatre had been captured by Terandl.

Terandl faced the four, holding on to the wriggling blond and gloating. Their concern for their friend was obvious. He smiled at them, feeling a fissure of pure pleasure race through his system. He had out-thought them...he had won! "I'm sure you're wondering why I captured him instead of killing him." He pulled the blond more snuggling into his body, watching in delight as Trowa Barton's expression became murderous. Hm. That was interesting, and added even more excitement to the whole thing. "The truth of the matter is, I thought it a shame to destroy the first real clairvoyant in hundreds of years. How much more useful it will be," his head lowered until he could say the words right into his captive's ear, "to simply make you my own."

"Never happen," Quatre gritted out.

"Oh? And why is that?"

Quatre twisted so he could give Terandl a victorious smile. "Checkmate."

Terandl didn't have time to be confused. Quatre grabbed hold of Terandl's power and soul with mental hands, digging in until the demon couldn't squirm free.

Terandl shook as his soul was wrenched from its moorings, staring at Quatre in horror.

"You shouldn't have touched me, Terandl," Quatre hissed. "That was your mistake."

With one tremendous yank, Quatre called with every ounce of power he possessed. "COME!"

Terandl screamed as his soul was ripped from his body, all of his power going with it. Like a puppet he collapsed on the grass as his soul left its shell, eyes glassing over in death.

Quatre held that power in his hands, fine tremors shaking his body. If he thought holding only a part of Terandl's power before was difficult, this was nothing compared to that. It felt like every fiber of his being was on fire. "T-Trowa...I c-can't hold it."

Trowa snatched up a wooden club lying nearby and placed it on the ground before him. Quatre sank to his knees and started the arduous process of pushing that energy into the wood. He was crying from the effort by the time it was all shoved inside.

Wufei dropped down to his side and slapped a seal on it as soon as Quatre was done. "Did that contain it?"

Without waiting for an answer, Heero knelt and put another seal on it...just in case.

Trowa caught Quatre up in his arms as the blond slowly toppled forward. "Quatre?"

The blond smiled up at his lover in exhaustion, eyes already sliding shut. "We won."

Trowa smiled down at him, pressing a kiss against his forehead. "Yes, we won."

"And what about them?" Heero jerked a thumb at the waiting demons.

"Without Terandl's life force, they should go back to normal," Duo shrugged. "What do you say we go back to Quatre's world? I want some pizza and a really soft bed."

Quatre fuzzily nodded. "Okay."

It was the last response he gave before going out like a light.

"Duo, before we gorge your incredible appetite, I think we should do something about that club." Wufei was eyeing it distrustfully.

"Well, whatever we do with it, it can't be destroyed. Any suggestions?"

"A temple?" Heero murmured thoughtfully. "They would know how to purify it."

"Any objections?" Duo asked cheerfully. "No? Cool. Somebody bag that thing, and let's get going. I'm starving."

Epilogue

Trowa shifted Trivoxor until it lay more comfortably against his back. Even after a week, he just wasn't used to wearing the sword. He wasn't about to just leave it sealed somewhere, however. Not after what they went through with Terandl. "Are you sure that Duo can do it?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. I might have to guide the process a little, but it should work." Quatre grinned up at his lover. They had spent three days on his home world before returning to Trowa's. Duo and Heero had returned to their home at that point with the understanding that the other couple would show up in a week or so to visit, and hopefully to find a home nearby to live in. Wufei had returned to his home briefly in order to 'reclaim certain valuable possessions', but he had also promised to meet them at Heero and Duo's home once he was done. Quatre privately hoped they could convince Wufei to live nearby as well. He didn't want to get separated from his friends.

He and Trowa were only now returning from a week long seclusion in a remote cabin. It had been a fulfillment of a promise, that promise being a week of nookie with no distractions. Quatre's body was still tingling and a little sore from all the attention he received. Trowa had been insatiable. Not that he was complaining...

There had been a side effect of that continuous contact. Quatre had discovered completely by accident that he could tie his life force into Trowa's. After thinking it through, he had realized that by doing so, he would extend his life to match Trowa's. Since the demon would be able to live for at least a few hundred years more, that was quite the feat. It hadn't really been until then that Quatre had considered the full ramifications of his relationship with Trowa. Trowa must have known that he would eventually lose his lover, since his life span was so much shorter than his own. When Quatre had told him of his discovery, Trowa had just stared at him with stunned hope in his eyes, a single tear streaking down his cheek.

Quatre's body was especially tingling remembering what happened after that conversation.

Now, of course, Quatre wanted to tell Duo and Heero of his discovery. If he could do it, then he was certain that Duo could.

"There is a side effect, of course," Quatre continued mischievously. "We'll have Duo pulling pranks on us for the next few hundred years."

"That's better than Heero moping around without Duo," Trowa parried as they rounded the last bend in the road before arriving at their destination.

"...good point."

"MAXWELL! CUT IT OUT!"

"Apparently Wufei is already here," Trowa observed with a muted twinkle in his eyes.

"But Wooffee, it's so cute! Look, you're blushing! EEEP! HEERO!!"

Trowa led the way into the house, taking in the interesting scene of Wufei chasing Duo around the table with his sword out. Heero was sitting safely out of the way, enjoying the show.

Quatre quirked a brow at Heero. "So what started this?"

"Wufei has a girlfriend," Heero stated calmly.

Wufei paused in his need to punish Duo to snap, "She's not my girlfriend, Yuy!"

"Her name's Sally," Duo added cheerfully. "She's the local healer here. Really pretty, and she thinks Wuffers is just too cute for words."

Wufei went beet red. "That's it, you're dead!"

Quatre rolled his eyes as they went back to chasing each other around the table. Apparently, his break through was going to have to wait.

He pulled up a chair next to Heero and sat down. He might as well kick back and relax. This was going to take a while.