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Warnings: Relatively few this part. Actually, things are going to calm down a whole hell of a lot from what they were going at. Things are going to be tranquil for a part or two. As always there's the shonen ai warnings, but that's a given. I think that's about it. Meep, there's a lil Trowa and Quat fluffiness at the beginning tho ^-^ and then some Heero/ Duo fluffiness as well ^-^

< > - be etherial beings speaking or thoughts that are open to the general public (IE: unguarded, Heero's thoughts would be that way...et cetera )

~ ~ - be private thoughts that only the thinker can access ^-^

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

Back, forth, sideways, backward. Dorthy danced with the Griffin, playing in the deadly game that she had been beguiled and teased into. She was into this fight now, so she wouldn't let herself get killed. The demon had experience, prior knowledge, and muscle mass all to its advantage and still she clung tenaciously to life's precious threads, weaving them about her fingertips and fighting on for the slim chance that she wouldn't be cut down in the prime of her life.

It was mocking her, with every motion, and the sadistic gleam in its soulless eyes. It fought dirty, however, the object of her salvation was that she was aware that it would choose that fighting tactic. It grabbed at her long hair and she dodged out of the way, using her motion to bring the sword up and slice at the paw witch had been swatting at her. The unearthly squeal that the beast gave off and the flash of righteous anger that wove through her mind was enough to inform her that she had scored her mark.

The last rays of the sun mocked her, embodying symbolically her chances of surviving this encounter; they slipped slowly down past the horizon, slowly fading and dying.

"I won't yield! Quatre is too important for this!"

Once again those icy and spectral tones ran through her mind. <Why not give up child? Why must you struggle on?>

Dorthy smiled, letting a chilling laugh fly, her blue eyes dancing in their morbid hilarity. "Because you, as all other things, can DIE!" She lunged forward once again for another round of dodge, strike, and parry.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Quatre looked up at Trowa, shivering slightly against the chill of the room. The furnace had decided that it didn't want to light. It was cold upstairs, the chill of the winds blowing about seeping through the very walls. Trowa pulled the small boy closer, cradling him.

"What is it little one?"

Quatre's somber eyes lightened slightly as his pet name sent a warm sensation through him. "I'm worried."

Trowa stared forward, stroking his fingers absently down Quatre's forearm, not looking at anything in particular save the wall which was directly in front of him.

"Why so?"

Quatre sighed. "I'm worried for you all, for Duo, for Heero, for Wufei, and Dorthy." He paused and looked up at Trowa, his liquid blue eyes the absolute definition of sorrow held at bay. "I'm worried for you; for us. I don't know what we're becoming, I'm loosing myself and I hate it. Trowa...I can't even remember my mother anymore."

Trowa leaned down and kissed the crown of Quatre's head, rubbing his cheek slightly against the golden hair he encountered.

"It will come back to you, you're just stressed out."

Quatre shook his head, his eyes becoming ever more doleful. "No," he said quietly, "I'm not inclined to believe that."

One of the tears that had been lurking in his eyes earlier that evening now slid down his cheek, its solitary motion leaving a wet trail to tell of its presence. Quatre hated to cry. He hated the way that it made him feel weak and helpless. He hated the fact that his entire soul shone on his face when tears fell down his cheeks. He wanted to be stronger than that and yet he could not be.

The Heavyarms pilot wouldn't leave his little lover at a moment like that. In an easy moment he drew Quatre completely into his lap and his arms.

"My little one..." he paused, unsure of what it was that he was trying to say. He was never sure what it was that he wanted to say in any occasion, silence was a much better means of communication. Actions spoke much better than words ever could, and yet this situation called for words, and not action.

"What ever it is we'll come through it. I love you." Those few words were enough to convey the meaning behind Trowa's intentions more clearly than a long and verbose speech might ever. He was a simple person, straight to the point, that was what he wanted to say and that's what he had said.

He stared down at the roof of gold that covered Quatre's eyes and his heart began to sink slowly. His words had failed him when he needed them the most. Then Quatre looked up, his eyes still liquid but now rid of the haunting sadness that almost constantly filled them as of late.

"I love you too Trowa...and you're right, we will come through."

He leaned up and caught Trowa's mouth with his own, wishing for reassurance, comfort and something beyond the cold that had settled inside of him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Heero woke slowly, light filtering back into the edges of his consciousness. He couldn't understand why there was a sharp and persistent ache in his shoulders. When a feather brushed by his face and tickled his nose he understood. Rolling out of the chair he had been curled up in he unfurled his wings and heard a couple of things snap lightly, relieving the tension within them. He smiled and flapped the gossamer things once or twice, causing a warm breeze to rush down toward the floor and Duo's bangs to stir across his face, rearranging the chestnut strands.

He looked over to Duo and smiled once. The boy seemed to be resting comfortably and didn't appear to be in pain. He smiled at the sight and rose to his feet, pushing his wings behind him. He nodded to Alex who sat staring at the room in general and then turned to the window, looking to the daylight that was starting to filter in. Fusei was there as well, sitting calmly in the window, the light outlining her delicate features, making her seem like something that would be portrayed in a stained glass window.

He smiled at the sight, and had to admit that he had always had a thing for people with long hair. Fusei was a possessor of long hair as well as his sleeping beau; she had silken ebony strands that trailed down her back and flowed out around her, catching the rays of sunlight. Once more he looked over to his sleeping love, and frowned as a wave of discontentment flashed through his mind.

<Things are not the way that they should be.>

The voice whispering in the back of his mind; the slightly angry boy that was hidden there, now watching from where he had once been was not pleased at all. He didn't like being confined back there, for it rightfully was his body and mind. He knew that the other Heero was right, and that the Duo that laid there before him wasn't the boy that they both loved so dearly, and yet a stubborn and tenacious part of him wouldn't let the fragile surface of lies that still held that illusion there shatter. He wouldn't let himself believe that Duo had turned into something sadistic and demented. That wasn't the way that Duo was supposed to be.

The sleeping boy opened his eyes and the angel found himself drowning in twin seas of violet. They were drowsy eyes, free of shadows and mirth alike. A smile touched Heero's pale lips as he watched Duo wake up and revel silently in his continuing existence. The small boy stretched out and yawned once, still unaware of Heero's presence, or so he thought. And then he sat up and looked to Heero and pleasant surprise worked across his features. Heero smiled and sat at the edge of the bed, not sure what to do with himself.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Duo thought about it, observed the needles in his arm and frowned. "I've felt better."

Heero nodded, understanding. "Ah."

Duo smiled at him, a sweet and innocent smile in his opinion. The longhaired boy sat there, unsure of what to do, or how close he could get. It was a vague confusion shared by them both. Only recently had they entered this arena of love and emotion and they weren't sure where the barriers stood anymore. When they had been friends and co-pilots there had always been a stopping ground, but now all of that had been metaphorically dissolved and the only barriers that would stand between them were the ones that they would erect for themselves.

Heero was the first to move on this occasion, wrapping his arms about the slim boy's waist and pulling him into his lap. The wires and tubing followed their owner, dodging around the obstacle that was Heero to follow their owner. With a whisper of air he wrapped his wings around Duo and himself, enfolding them in their gentle white. Duo sighed and leaned against Heero's chest, something inside of him quelling the mysterious urge to hurt the boy that held him close. Instead he wrapped his arms loosely about Heero's waist as well and sat like that.

"A shiteru Duo." Heero breathed, his head resting lightly against Duo's frail shoulder. It was only until recently that he discovered just how close he had come to loosing the precious boy that was sitting in his lap.

Duo blinked back his surprise and a blush and smiled, snuggling closer to the warm and comforting presence that was Heero.

"Well I love you too...what made the soldier get so emotional all of a sudden?"

Heero shook his head ever so slightly, his dark bangs jiggling slightly before his face, moving the shadows around. "I'm not a soldier anymore, I'm not fighting anyone beside myself."

Duo's smile widened fractionally. "Wow, that's an 'I love you' and a philosophical statement all in a few breaths, are you feeling all right Heero?"

The Japanese boy snorted. "What would make you think otherwise?"

Duo smiled, some of the light that had been dormant in his eyes earlier once again returning. "Just the fact that you seem to be more..." he paused, looking for the word.

"You seem more alive this morning than you've been in months."

Heero smiled. "I think it's just being around you that makes me feel so alive."

Duo blushed at the compliment. He wasn't aware that he had until he felt the dull heat on his cheeks. "You say that to all the young men you date."

Heero shook his head, completely resolute in what he was saying. "No one but you koibito."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dorthy lay on the lawn, sprawled out and completely triumphant. She couldn't believe that she had come out of that alive. Blood trickled slowly down her face, seeking out every contour that it could find, and leaving crimson trails wherever they moved. Her brow was shining with sweat and her entire body ached. And yet she was triumphant, the thing had left, growling at her and limping. She hadn't killed it, heavens no, but she had tried. And it had gone away bleeding just as much as she.

One of the only things that she even regretted was the fact that she had lost a part of her pants in the skirmish. A swipe to her leg had ripped most of the pant-leg clean off of her. She was glad that it had been the piece of cloth and not her leg and yet still, she would have preferred to have come out of it in slightly less of a tattered condition.

With a sigh and a small whimper she pushed her aching muscles to move her upward and came into a sitting position. Her long blonde hair was strewn behind her, a bloody, knotted mess. With another long-suffering sigh she pushed herself upward again, feeling like an infant reaching toward the standing position of it's elders. When she had attained her feet again she smiled.

~ Right, so I've made it into a standing position. If I go inside through the front door there's a slim chance that Quatre might see me as I came in. Hmmmm... ~

She paused in her thoughts, trying to figure out a way to get in without being seen. She was so tired that it almost made sense to go straight into the door. She'd been fighting on and off all night and she was about ready to drop. Being smack in the middle of a period didn't help either, she was so low on energy in that moment that she knew, if she didn't move soon then she wouldn't be moving at all. With a resigned air she walked in the front door, she couldn't go around the back, the gate was locked and she wasn't up to hopping it, and that left her the option of walking in the front entryway.

When she walked in, the hallway and downstairs were deserted. Wufei was nowhere to be seen. Dorthy supposed that he had gone off to his cubicle of a room and was sleeping off whatever demons, ~ or angels ~ she thought with a smile, that were hovering about him. Quatre and Trowa she sensed upstairs as well as Stephanie, who was lounging about leisurely up there, half-asleep and still watching them. Dorthy sent a mildly warning thought up in their general direction.

<Get some sleep you two! It's two o' clock in the morning!>

She got sheepish acceptance from her boss and smiled. After that was taken care of, the job of taking care of herself was next on the list. She pouted, wishing for a small moment that she did have a guardian of sorts to relive the sting while she bandaged herself up. At that thought she paused, her hands stopping mid-way through their task; something had sparked in the back of her brain at that thought, but she couldn't catch it. And then the concept was hers. If she were her own guardian, then she would be able to help herself.

~ Now how to go about tapping those powers? ~

It couldn't be any more difficult than levitating "War and Peace". That book had been heavy. It took a trained mind to make matter bend to one's will and wishes. She could fix herself as well; in time of course.

~ So my dear subconscious, what do you suggest I do? ~

Another wave of sleepiness washed over her and she smiled. "Then if that's what's necessary, I shall comply."

All of the major cuts and abrasions were bandaged and not bleeding heavily anymore. She could sleep some of this off. She fell onto one of several black leather couches that decorated the downstairs. She was positive that she wasn’t bleeding on the upholstery, otherwise she wouldn’t choose to lay there. Cleaning bills for black leather were not something that she wanted to face in the near future. Her income was fairly small as it was, it got her by, but she didn’t want to spend her money on cleaning some faceless person’s sofa.

~I'm going to feel horribly stiff later this morning though... ~ She winced at the thought and let her eyes fall closed, tuning herself out of the conscious realms of reality for a while to succumb to the blissful black abyss of sleep.

Quatre stared into the darkness of his room. The only sound in the air was that of Trowa's deep breathing. He was glad that his koibito was able to sleep so easily. He knew that the other would spring to his feet in an instant if he perceived a threat to himself or Quatre, and yet he looked serene and peaceful all the same. He smiled slightly as he shifted, the cotton sheets whispering in the chill air, they all slept like that, it was the sleep of the righteous.

~ Or perhaps it's the sleep of the damned ~ he mused silently.

Trowa moved next to him, pulling himself closer and burying his face in Quatre's shoulder. The little Arabian smiled and leaned down, brushing a feather-light kiss on Trowa's forehead before moving once again into a position of repose. Strands of shadowed gold blocked his view. He'd often thought of trimming his bangs, but he knew that Trowa liked them the length that they were and so they stayed.

This was the first night in a long time that he hadn't shielded anyone's dreams. Everyone, if they were sleeping, was feeling exactly what their heritage was. The past refused to be denied anymore. Had he held the repressed dreams off much longer, it very well might have killed him. He sighed, slowly reaching out through the dark spaces that separated their fragile souls to touch the others, to peek in and see how they fared. Heero slept peacefully; the Japanese boy was so peaceful that for a moment Quatre wondered if he had entered a coma and would never wake again. He amended his thoughts as he checked what had happened recently. He and Duo had talked a bit and then decided that it was best to let the sun rise of its own accord without their prying eyes watching its ascent. After that decision had been made they'd fallen asleep together.

Duo was also calm, in a very cold sort of a way. Quatre didn't linger long in his mind, and through the visit stayed on the outer vestiges of the boys consciousness. He didn't want to touch the dark personality that resided there, and he was too tired to try and sneak around it to talk and reassure the Duo that was suppressed under him.

Trowa, as always, was in a neutral state of mind. His tall lover was much more open to him as of late, and yet his mindscape remained in shades of gray. Quatre had the idea that it probably had something to do with Trowa's general psychological makeup and left it at that. As he got to know his lover better and better over the years they grays might melt away into brighter and more merry colors. Or at least that was his sincere hope.

Wufei slept soundly, blanketed by the presence of Sakura. Even through the angelic haze, Quatre could feel the fire burning in Wufei, slowly mounting into a pulsing blaze. Yet Sakura held him back, holding it in, and hiding it from him.

~ Tsk, tsk Saki, that's going to lead to nothing but heartache for both of you.~

Quatre kept his thoughts to himself, for thinking loudly was the same as speaking loudly around the angels. He knew that Sakura was more than affectionate of his comrade, but he knew where things were going and that affection would cause much more hurt than it was worth. He didn't even give a thought to Dorthy until a flash of something odd happening downstairs caught his attention. He hadn't even been thinking of what was going on around him; over the last month or so he'd become completely at ease with the buffer presences of Trowa and Dorthy around him. Also in the mix was the Griffin, silently stalking just outside of harm's reach, watching things.

Now that he focused on things he could feel something different. It took a little doing, pushing through Trowa, who had quite a massive presence, but he felt it. It was Dorthy, and yet it wasn't... He frowned, pushing through the house to touch Dorthy’s mind. The girl was sleeping, he could feel the shifting fibers of her dreams mixing and interweaving even as she slept. He dived into the melting miasma of sensation and sensory perception and lingered a moment, to see what it was that Dorthy dreamed about.

He saw the desert. It was a cold place despite the burning heat of the sun. She stood there alone, staring at all of the bodies around her, and down into the crimson sands that had once been platinum. Her long blonde hair flowed through the air, catching the light. The silken strands shimmered as if they were gold woven into thread, glittering in the sun. Her eyes were downcast and Quatre couldn’t catch her expression.

~I’m so sorry that you had to see all of this again Dorthy. I’m sure that it’s not something pleasant for you. ~

He couldn’t communicate with her or effect the events of the dream. He was but a ghost in the walls, looking at the events unfolding in his household without being able to touch those that moved within it. She walked out into the shimmering dunes, disappearing into the very heat waves themselves, flowing into another part of her dream. He slipped quietly out once again. This was her dream to dream and he would leave her to it. He had learned what he needed to from watching her. Her dreamscape was just the same as the others. She was stuck being reminded of things that happened long ago, things that she didn’t want to remember.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Wufei let the dream lead him as it might. It was the most erotic sort of a feeling. It felt as he were being bathed in fingers of flame. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t speak, but he could feel the waves of heat rolling over him, through him, defining him in what he was.

~ These flames, this fire, this is what I am. ~

He couldn’t hide from it any longer, no more then Maxwell could hide the wings on his back. Wufei didn’t have to see them there to realize that they existed. It just was a fact that he had come to accept as inevitable. He still lusted over the brown haired beauty sometimes, thinking of his deep violet eyes late at night, and feeling an intense ache to hold the boy. And yet there was something else in his mind now as well as Maxwell, another sort of an angel.

"Saki-chan..."

He whispered her name softly into her hair, knowing that he wouldn’t wake her. She shifted in his arms, her wings moving to cover him more completely, blocking away the invisible nothings that haunted the early morning hours. He smiled and moved closer to the woman, for once pulling closer to something female. He hadn’t gotten this close to a woman since Merian. Sally had wanted to be close with him. Had he given her a chance then she very well might have been. He hadn’t seen her in a while though, and felt no burning desire to go rushing back to her either.

He could see vividly in his minds’ eye, a picture of complete and utter injustice. The bodies of the fallen littered the pure desert sands, and nothing alive stirred. He could see what had happened, he could see himself. He was lying there; facedown in the sand. He didn’t turn the body over, he was sure that it was he that laid there. He remembered it very clearly, a demon had ripped off his face. Someone had been nice enough to turn him over so that one would be spared the sight of the musculature of his face as it freely bled. The aching agony of dying like that was etched into his mind intricately, every searing moment of it. The sun had bitten into his muscles and burned. Oh how it had hurt...he shook his head in mild disgust and turned from the sight of his own dead body. In the distance there was something moving.

He half expected there to be birds moving about the spectral figure, fading in and out of the heat waves. Yet as it came closer he identified it as Dorthy Catalonia. He started to walk forward, mindful of limbs and bodies as he made his way toward her. When they met they stood just on the outskirts of the massacre. Dorthy looked on the scene passively and then to Wufei.

<<I don’t suppose you know why you’re in my dream do you?>>

Wufei shook his head, his onyx eyes glittering in the light of the bright sun flying above them. It seemed to be one eternal, burning day that they were trapped in.

<< We have things to discuss Catalonia...while we all still remain as we are.>>

Dorthy sighed, slowly nodding. <<I almost feel bad about going behind Quatre’s back like this, but we have to do something. Do you suppose the others will be joining us? >>

Wufei looked off into the distance and spotted two slowly moving figures, coming from opposite sides of the dunes. One sported a pair of divine wings, two beautiful pinions that arched from his shoulders and almost down to the sand underfoot. The other was the owner of a pair made of gossamer and tendon. The joints that interconnected the pieces of the bat-like wings seemed to give off a dull purple sheen, something that fluctuated in the light into a hue that was blood-red.

<< I’m sure of it. >>

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The Griffin limped slowly back through the shadows, growling at several mocking jeers and taunts that came from various directions.

< I refuse to let them get to me. They didn’t see the heaven-spawn that lived inside for her. >

A slightly amused voice sounded high above him, speaking in tones composed of the very material of shadows. It was a chilling voice meant to stop a man in his tracks and make him fall to his knees and beg for whatever it was that his poor soul was worth.

-- < How goes it ? > --

The Griffin bowed its head down in shame, aware that no matter how it might try, it was in no shape to escape the punishment that was going to be swiftly dealt for it’s failure.

<Not well m’lord, not well at all. The pathetic, human thing injured me...I was unable to win the day over her. >

A booming chuckle filled the air. Several colonies of bats flew away for quieter repose and a few lesser demons scuttled away in fear at the very sound of the speech ringing through the air. The Griffin tensed, waiting for the blow. It never came to it; it was not such a stupid beast that it would look onto the holy face of the master of shadows itself, yet it was curious as to why in continued to exist.

<M’lord?>

The shadows shifted and something screamed in the background; and all the while the Master smiled.

--<You did as I expected you to…that is all that I require. Now go and heal and wait until I summon you again. Your pathetic excuse for a life is going to be needed again. >--

<Thank you m’lord!>

--<hmmm>--

The amused chuckle of the Lord of Nightmares was all the cue that the Griffin needed to exit at stage left. It limped off hurriedly, wondering why it had not been killed for its transgression. It wasn’t going to sweat small favors. Once it could walk straight again it would once again go hunting.

<I wait and savor the moment when I can crunch that Catalonia woman’s head in my jaws. >

With a final swish of it’s tail the Griffin faded into the darkness, stealthily finding somewhere to lie low until it was healed enough to rise once again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The five people stood in a loose semi-circle, looking at each other. It was the oddest sight that one would ever behold. They seemed to be dressed in such a way as to represent what they were, inside.

Duo stood impassively, one hand resting on his hip and the other trailing downward limply. He faced the South and his face was half-shadowed from the light above. His gorgeous wings fell about him as a gargoyle’s might, shadowing him further from the burning sun. He was clad in black leather pants that were so tight that they might be a second skin. His torso was covered by a loose black tank top with a dipping back to accommodate his wings. A small smirk rested on his normally smiling mouth.

Heero was looking divine, standing in loose white clothing, a flowing white silk, shirt and a matching set of pants trimmed in silver. Every now and then the trim caught the light and added a sparkle to the aura that seemed to be glowing brightly around him when one looked out of the corner of their eyes. His face was passive, and peaceful, completely unlike what his usual expression was. Every now and then his wings would shed a milky white feather which would float with serene grace down toward the ground, only to disappear at the last minute. He stood toward the North, a wind blowing at his errant hair.

`

Trowa stood quietly as well, his face half hidden by an ornate mask, smiling even while a shining tear worked it’s way down the porcelain mask. It was painted with such meticulous care and detail that one might see it as a sin to drop and shatter it. Pine and black ribbons trailed down from a side, and his one visible green eye sparkled in the blistering light. He was dressed as a harlequin, standing with the natural grace of a performer. He stood toward the East, staring at the path where the sun would eventually travel on its way back downward to sleep.

Dorthy held the position to the NorthEast, standing between Heero and Trowa in a silk dress that would have made Cleopatra and all of her riches jealous. An ornate and very nasty looking sword rested in one of her palms, held loosely at her right. Her golden hair caught the light and shimmered vibrantly. She glanced suspiciously at Heero and Duo, her gaze openly mistrusting.

Finally Wufei stood in the West, his long sable hair tumbling about his shoulders. His onyx eyes were hard and cold, glittering in the light of a dying sun. Traditional Chinese robes flowed with fluid grace around his slim form as he stood there, something in his eyes reminding them all of a dragon, standing ready to strike. His katana was on a sheath at his back and he was the first to speak.

<What are we going to do?>

Trowa blinked once and then spoke up, his voice sounding ethereal in the dreamy haze they had all fallen into, where reality and fantasy crashed together, melding, tumbling and rolling, confusing each for the other.

<Whatever it is that we do, we have to keep Quatre safe. >

Duo was the next to speak, his voice sounding cynical and dark. < Is that the practical Trowa speaking? Or perhaps the lover? I think it’s just that you don’t want to loose what it is that you treasure so dearly.>

Trowa was about to respond when Heero cut in, a sharp edge in his passive voice. < He’s right Duo, Quatre’s given up so much for us in the past, I think this time he should be the one to live.>

Duo’s eyes narrowed and a wispy purple glow filled the shadowy realm that was his face.

<But what about the rest of us. I for one do not want to die. I have something to live for. >

He swept a hand around the circle, pointing to each in turn. <They all have something to live for, even yourself. Everyone stands to loose the one they love. Why not Dorthy?>

Heero shook his head. < You know they won’t take it as an equal sacrifice. Neither she nor Trowa would be enough…>

Wufei cut in before Heero was done talking. <It has to be one of us three, the three main powers, myself, the balance, Duo the dark or Heero the light. That is what it comes down to.>

Heero spoke once again, not visibly ruffled by being interrupted. <I’ll do it.>

Duo’s cold voice broke through the desert heat once again, but this time it held a small edge of fear. <Why you? Why are you trying to be so good and noble, it won’t accomplish anything…>

Heero smiled his gentle eyes glittering. <Heaven has enough angels…>

<AS HELL DOES DEVILS! > Duo’s voice was a mournful keening wail. He didn’t leave his place at the South, but spoke, his tremulous voice ringing through the air.

< I’m so tired of loosing the ones that I care about. I almost had to kill you last time Heero…I don’t want to do that. This feeling that’s working over me, it hurts. I don’t want to, but I’m stuck in the motion. Perhaps Quatre will find a way to work it all out, as it was last time! >

Dorthy, who had been silent up until then, spoke, her clear and sharp voice cutting across the sand and sadness.

< ENOUGH! >

In that instant she had everyone’s attention, and she was damn sure that she would use it well. Her eyes were almost smoldering as she searched Duo’s form, a demon and a man, conflicted and torn up from the inside, loving and hating an angel all in the same time. Yet she would not let that pain become his excuse.

<How can you just go and say that Quatre will do everything. My master gave up half of his soul for you God-forsaken people last time around! Do you know what he went through? Have you any idea what it is like to have one’s soul ripped apart? >

Dorthy’s mental voice was slowly rising in octaves as her anger and frustration mounted. < Chronos took the payment for keeping you all alive out of his LIFE’S FORCE! AND YOU DARE TO THINK THAT HE CAN JUST DO THAT AGAIN?! DO YOU WANT QUATRE TO DIE? ARE YOUR PASSIONS WORTH THAT MUCH THAT YOU COULD SACRIFICE HIM FOR THAT? >

Duo stepped back, his wings folding about him as he shook his head, quietly. Heero folded his wings, once, twice, showing that he was nervous and uncomfortable with the conversation. It was obvious that they would reach no consensus. No one wanted to pay the price to save them all this time. It was too high.

Two other forms appeared next to Duo and Heero respectively. Alex appeared next to Duo, fading in out of the shadows themselves, her mental presence strong and almost intimidating as she glared at Dorthy.

Fusei stared with equal animosity toward Catalonia from close to Heero. Then she spoke, directing her attention to the group.

<I don’t think you understand dear ones…even if you wanted to pay the toll for the young master’s transgression all those years ago you could not. Chronos will not accept payment, and the powers that be will not allow it either. This hateful drama must be played out to it’s conclusion. >

Duo looked at his demon and something occurred to him. <Alex-chan there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about. >

Alex turned to Duo and with a slight incline of her head she invited him to ask whatever he would like of her. He took a moment to think and then spoke, his words changing tones as unconsciously a part of him still struggled to be the same. He turned to her and his wings stretched out behind him quietly and spoke.

<Alex, tell me about the swords. >

- K u r i y a m i m i z u -
Keeper of Duo's Bloody Nightmares
Keeper of Duo's really bad migraines
Another occupant of the happy hentai house
Proud Member of the SDDI
Madam Hydra’s Sadistic Pet (mew ^-^)

Computer Caretaker of the Shinigami organization.
The Shinigami Organization
www.ShinigamiOrg.homestead.com/index.html
The only mob dedicated to Shinigami

ICQ me at #82315185
contact @: darksideduo@yahoo.com

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White Reflection (my yaoi nook)
http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/tripcock/835/index.html
(Heero will show you in)

"The lights are on, but nobody's home.."-some really spiffy movie I saw
"Everything you want is not necessarily everything you need. Every second counts" -Vertical Horizon Music Vid.
"Fuck you no da!" -things chiri chiri will never say
"Every revolution begins with a single act of defiance"

Possessor of a mighty set of Two muses:
Chibi Kuri: little blue haired sayajin with quite a temper
Griffin: The little Duo-esque muse with a dark black braid and a kawaii set of batwings (not to mention a cute .. *BEEP*..)