20 May 2000
Acknowledgements: This really got started when I first read ‘Double Vision’ by Madam Hydra. I’ve always adored the concept of parallel worlds ever since I saw the ‘Mirror, Mirror’ episode of Star Trek the Original Generation. And when Excalibur went cruising through their variant universes, I was well and truly hooked, and now, with the assistance of Widget (a very special guest star), it’s finally my turn to ‘play’. ^_^
Rating: PG 13
Pairing: Various
I guess I’d call this ‘AU’ and ‘OOC’ but otherwise, all bets are off. I don’t intend this to be as serious as the Minuet arc but it’s also not in the ‘nyuck nyuck’ category either. Hmmm…. Anyone have any suggestions? Oh yes, the story starts AFTER the OVA series, ‘Endless Waltz’.
Rating: PG-13
A knight in shining armour was cantering down the road, riding on a pure white steed. The knight was accompanied by a man with shoulder length red hair, wearing a black band that held the hair off his face, riding on a brown horse. The two men were arguing as they rode, their voices rising slightly as they continued on. After a while, the two riders turned a corner and stopped when they saw a unicorn peering from behind a tree, and saw that it was staring at five young men, two of them sprawled lazily around the nearby creek. One of the young men, even though he had a long brown braid, it was obvious that he was a man, since he was bare-chested, had rolled up his pants and were splashing futilely in the water, squealing loudly. Another, a dark haired man wearing a skimpy green top, was playing idly with a silver round ball in his hands, as he talked to his companion, a man with short red hair and unusually long fringe, who was trying to get a fire started.
The knight looked at the red haired man on the ground with narrowed eyes, feeling puzzled by a sense of familiarity. Then he spurred his horse into movement when one of the lounging figures sat up and stared at him with his own face.
‘Hey Quatre, look! It´s a knight. On a white horse no less.´ Duo called out excitedly as he splashed out of the creek. Then he stopped, his jaw slacking open as the knight got closer and they saw that the bare headed blond man looked exactly like Quatre. ‘I don´t believe this.´ Duo gasped loudly, as he stared at his friend, who had gotten to his feet and were now face to face with his duplicate image in the armour. ‘He´s you. I mean, you´re him. I mean. You are like, exactly identical. This is just too unbelievable.´
Quatre blinked confused, as he looked hard at the other man, who was also giving him an incredulous stare. Then as the knight´s companion, who was wearing a black and silver tunic approached closer, he started and wheeled around to Trowa who had approached quietly and were now standing next to him.
‘I like your new hairdo, Trowa.´ Said the irrepressible Duo, who started laughing when the four faces, two of them identical, glared at him. ‘And you are a knight. I don´t know why but for some reason, that´s really funny! Heeeeeey!´ He rubbed his hands with glee, his eyes lighting up with excitement. ‘Do you think I´m here too? Um, excuse me guys but do you recognise me by any chance?´ He smiled happily at the Quatre and Trowa clones who stared a puzzled glance and shook their heads. ‘Oh well.´ He preened, ‘I guess, it was a little too much to ask for me to be copied. I mean,´ he elaborated as Quatre gave him a dirty look, ‘why spoil perfection with a lesser copy, right?´
Wufei stepped forward and wordlessly kicked Duo in the heels. He had gotten a little too much of Maxwell since this all started. He then held out his hand to greet the newcomers who stared at him wide eyed before edging back nervously. Wufei looked at Quatre, who shrugged his own puzzlement and then frowned blackly when the copy Quatre fingered his sword. ‘What did I do?´ Wufei fumed silently as he glowered at the duplicates who were looking at him with half frightened, half defiant faces.
‘Hi, I´m Heero.´ Came a quiet voice from behind Wufei, as Heero stepped forward with a cool nod. ‘This is Quatre and Trowa. That´s Duo,´ he indicated Duo who had stopped jumping around and was now glaring at Wufei, ‘and he´s Wufei. You are..?´ He paused politely.
The copy Quatre looked at him for a minute before beaming and giving a graceful bow, that started Duo giggling again. ‘I, sirrah, am Lord Rudolfus ap Myerdin. And this,´ he introduced the copy Trowa, ‘is my cousin, the Bard Treillian who is visiting my home. I apologize for our rude interruption but we couldn´t help noticing the remarkable similarity in appearance between myself, my cousin and your companions. And pray tell me,´ he gave Duo a pained glance as the brown haired man was now clutching his stomach and rolling in the grass, muffled giggles continuing, ‘why are you travelling with the Firelord?´ He gave Wufei a nervous look, as he spoke.
‘Firelord?´ Heero blinked, feeling confused. ‘What Firelord?´
‘The black haired sorcerer, standing to next you.´ Treillian spoke abruptly.
Wufei started forward indignantly, only to stop when both Myerdin and Trellian drew their swords and backed away from hi. ‘What the hell are you talking about?´ He yelled, ‘I´m not a Firelord. I just got here, with my friends. And what do you mean, sorcerer? There´s no such thing as magic.´
Treillian brew his breath sharply, swallowing his protest and pointed his finger at the sky behind Wufei, where two flying shapes were approaching. ‘And what do you call that? Firelord? I know that you summoned your minions. But realize that I and my noble will sell our lives dearly.´ He brandished his sharp, very sharp sword at Wufei who flinched reflexively.
‘That´s that flying horse we saw earlier.´ Quatre observed quietly, ‘but look, the other one. It´s a person. A guy, I think.´ He ended dubiously, noticing as they got closer that the human had long dark hair. He squinted, trying to make out the person´s face and gasped as he suddenly realized who it was. ‘Heero.´ Quatre choked, ‘It´s you. You´re flying. With big white wings.´
Heero was speechless as he stared hard at the man who was wearing his face.
Treillian and Myerdin shrank back as they recognized the staff in the flying stranger´s hand. ‘The Lightbearer.´ They whispered hoarsely and stumbled back, knowing that it was futile to try to escape the herald of the dread Shadowlord. Myerdin dropped his sword on the ground and told a reluctant Treillian to follow suit. Then he bent down to one knee and bowed his head, waiting for the Lightbearer to make his choice.
The Lightbearer descended gracefully, his white wings furled out behind him, his dark hair streaming out and reached out his hands towards Heero, his piercing blue eyes never leaving the identical eyes staring at him in amazement.
‘My lord will be pleased to see you.´ He spoke softly, his voice reaching the unicorn who shied nervously as it started forward. ‘When Cumulous told us that he had seen you, my lord sent me to bring you to him.´ He smiled gently at the unicorn who shivered involuntarily, ‘And thanks to Crystal, we knew exactly where you were at all times. My lord gives you his thanks.´ The unicorn dropped his head guiltily when Wufei glared at him. The Lightbearer wrapped his arms around Heero, who stood unresistingly, and leaped upwards, the flying horse joining him as they flew away.
Duo jumped to his feet and shrieked ‘No!´ He started to chase after the disappearing couple, only to be stopped by the unicorn who had lowered his horn threateningly and was standing in his path. ‘Get out of my way, you stupid horse.´ He growled menacingly.
‘I can´t,´ the unicorn answered unhappily. ‘I can´t let you follow them. Orders.´ He muttered defensively.
‘The horse just talked.´ Duo stared at Quatre, whose mouth had dropped open. ‘Did you just hear that? That horse just talked. My god. Heeros flying around, horses that talk. What kind of a place is this?´
‘I had no idea that he was the Lightbearer.´ Myerdin talked reverently as he finally got off his knee. ‘And to think, that I didn´t recognise him.´
‘Neither did I cousin.´ Treillian answered tartly, ‘as I sing songs about him. Well, that explains why the Firelord was here anyway. Strange that the Lightbearer didn´t react to his presence.´
Wufei folded his arms menacingly and stood directly in front of Treillian, glaring at the man who flinched involuntarily. ‘I want to know what´s going on around here. And why do you keep calling me Firelord?´
Heero closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what had happened. The last thing he saw had been a man with his own face flying towards him, his blue eyes burning into him, then nothing. He opened his eyes again and looked at the icy splendour of the room with confusion. Someone, he decided, must really like black, a lot. Everything was in black marble, the ceiling, the walls, and even the tables and chairs. Heero sighed mournfully as he clambered off the big, cold table that he had found himself lying on. He wished that whoever had designed the room had believed in cushions. Then he looked down at himself and sighed further when he realized that he was also wearing black. Heero rubbed his bare back ruefully, wishing that the designer hadn´t taken out the back of his top, or that he hadn´t been left lying on hard cold marble, on his bare flesh. He walked around the large room, trying to find an exit, and groaned when he realized that he was in a eyrie of some kind, the room wasn´t actually enclosed, it was only cunningly designed so that it would look like that, but in reality, whenever he walked around a column, he found himself standing at the edge of a precipice, looking down at a black castle, the view was identical no matter where he went. Heero walked back to his table and tried to decide whether he preferred remaining standing or was willing to try sitting on the hard surface. He tucked the long sides of his tunic around his waist and plonked down on the table, folding his legs together and rested his chin on his hands. ‘Next time Quatre calls me,´ Heero decided, ‘I´m going to have a prior engagement.´
‘How´s our guest?´
The Lightbearer smiled sweetly, as he leaned forward to receive his lord´s kiss. ‘He´s in the tower, my lord.´ He replied softly.
The Shadowlord rested his hand on his herald´s bared back, caressing the crevice between the white feathers lightly. His violet eyes glimmered with desire as he pulled the herald closer, twisting his hand in the long dark hair as he pushed his face towards him. ‘And is he ready?´
Lightbearer sighed softly as his lips were finally released, slowly, reluctantly. He lifted his large blue eyes at his dread lord and whispered a pliant ‘yes´, before he parted his lips for yet another kiss, long and lingering. He had been just as intrigued by his doppleganger as his lord and he was eager to have a companion on his travels. His lord had sworn that when the stranger was properly modified, that they would serve him as one.
‘Who´s bright idea was this again?´ Duo panted as he grabbed for another foothold. He blinked another sweatdrop from his eyes and wished fervently for the ability to stick to walls.
Wufei glared at the foot in front of him, and as soon as it moved, he too started to move upwards. His muscles were protesting loudly from the abuse and he was also beginning to feel very hungry. ‘This is all your fault, Maxwell. If you only had the sense to leave things alone.´ He growled, as he inched his way up the sheer cliff surface, ‘and it was you who threatened that poor unicorn until he told us where the Shadowlord´s castle was, remember? That´s cruelty to extinct and mythical creatures, Maxwell. I´m sure that SPCA would have a lot to say about that.´
Duo snorted loudly, as he reached for the cliff´s edge, ‘yeah, right. Like the fact that you promised Crystal that you´d barbecue it alive if it didn´t talk wasn´t a threat. Ohhhh no.´ He sniffed disdainfully as he managed to clamber over to safety at last. ‘What´s taking you so long anyway? Hurry up,´ he commanded impatiently, ‘if I can do it. You can.´
‘I hate you Maxwell.´ Wufei snarled, as he forced himself to inch forward slowly and carefully. ‘And when I get up there, I´m going to strangle you with my bare hands. So don´t distract me right now.´
Duo set down and started to toy with his braid. ‘Yeah, yeah. Sure. Like I´m totally impressed. Not.´ He stretched luxuriously as he stared at the beautiful landscape below him. ‘Do you think that this Treillian and Quatre is at the castle yet?´ He yawned idly as he saw Wufei´s flushed face appear from beneath the edge, ‘and I´m kind of worried about Myerdin actually. I don´t know about you but I thought he sounded kind of sissy. I can´t really believe that he´s going to get the Firelord, after all that whining he did when he first met you. Still,´ Duo brightened, ‘he did take Crystal with him, so it wasn´t a total loss. I can´t believe that unicorn. What a mouth. And where is Trowa anyway? He got up here before we did, but I don´t see him anywhere.´
Wufei panted exhaustedly as he pulled himself away from the edge and glared at the grinning man. ‘Didn´t you hear him call down that he was going ahead of us? Man, I can´t believe that you are the so called Shadowlord.´ He sniffed in disgust as Duo started giggling again. ‘I thought that unicorn was going to wet itself when he got a good look at your face. And I thought Yuy having wings was weird. Will you cut that out?´ Wufei snapped, irritated by the continuing snickers, ‘ever since you found out that you were the Shadowlord, you´ve been impossible.´
Duo stopped laughing and looked at Wufei with dancing eyes. ‘Come on Wufei. Let´s face it. It´s kind of cool to find out that you are a powerful sorcerer. Admit it. It´s the same for you. And poor old Quatre.´ Duo started laughing again, as Wufei groaned loudly. ‘I thought he was going to explode when that silly Myerdin started kneeling to me! Oh, that was so good. And anyway, look this guy´s me, right? And it was Heero who took him, Heero I mean. You know. So, Heero can´t be in too much trouble right?´ Duo ended happily as he and Wufei got up on their feet. ‘We´ll just find me and explain that there´s been a mistake, get Heero back and… um…´ he looked at Widget who still had its eyes closed in its sling, and shrugged. ‘We´ll go home. I think.´
Wufei rolled his eyes and wished that he could find some wax to block the inane chatter as they continued tiredly on their path. He swore that next time, he wasn´t going to be partnered with Maxwell, no matter how much Quatre argued. According to their blond genius, anyone in this world was going to take one look at him and Maxwell and fall on their knees in awe and fear, at the sight of the mighty Firelord and Shadowlord together. Yeah right. Wufei wiped his grimy hands on his dirtied pants and reminded himself to try to look more impressive. He looked at the giggling chatterbox next to him and sighed heavily. Doomed. We´re doomed.
Trowa stared hard at the imposing black castle that suddenly loomed in front of him. He had been startled when he had walked through the waterfall and found a small valley hiding inside, just as Crystal had described. He had to admit that the sight was indeed impressive. He sat down on a nearby rock and waited silently for Duo and Wufei to join him, as he examined the implacable black marble walls that surrounded the castle carefully, noticing that there was no visible signs of an entrance. Since Crystal had never been inside the Shadowlord´s Keep, he hadn´t been able to help them any further. The unicorn had been pretty upset at having told them the way as it was, when it realized that Duo hadn´t really been the dread Shadowlord. Trowa had to stifle a grin as he remembered how the unicorn had collapsed into a shivering heap when Duo had grabbed his horn and stared hard into the iridescent eyes. Wufei had looked rather annoyed by the effect that Duo had, when his attempts to cajole the rude animal had failed dismally, even when he threatened to use his fire, Crystal had merely snorted scornfully and had dared him to.
He looked at the gleaming walls of the castle and wondered where Heero was. He still didn´t understand why his friend had been so uncharacteristically docile when the Lightbearer took him. He was also rather worried about the prospect of having to deal with this Shadowlord who everyone in this world seemed to find so frightening. Trowa guessed that he wasn´t going to be too similar to the Duo that they were used to dealing with.
‘There you are. Ooooooh. That´s so cooool.´
Trowa exchanged speaking glances with Wufei, as the excited brunette sped past them and gazed on the black castle with open mouthed awe.
‘Wow. That´s my place.´ Duo tossed his braid behind his back as he placed his hands on his hips and admired the imposing building. ‘So, where do we knock?´ He looked back at Trowa with a happy smile.
‘There is no door.´ Trowa answered calmly, secretly amused by the way Duo´s face fell. ‘Unless you know how to fly, for the moment, we´re stuck out here.´
‘Awwww.´ Duo tugged at his braid, as he started nibbling on the end.
‘That´s disgusting, Maxwell. Didn´t anyone tell you not to chew on your hair?´ Wufei glared at Duo who simply ignored him and continued to nibble on his hair as he started walking forward. ‘And where do you think you´re going?´
‘Well, this is my place right?´ Duo grinned back as he strode confidently forward. ‘So, I figure if I got closer, something will happen.´ He smirked, as he reached out and stroked the smooth surface of the wall. ‘Nice.´ He mused, as he continued to walk around the wall. ‘Now, if we could just get to a…. hmmmmmmm……. Yes!´ He crowed and waved frantically at Trowa and Wufei who were standing and staring at him in bemusement. ‘Look, here.´ He pointed to the nearly invisible fracture in the wall. ‘See? Door.´ Duo giggled at the chagrin evident in Trowa´s face. ‘You just didn´t look hard enough.´ He spoke smugly and started to feel around the wall, trying to figure out how the door worked.
Wufei patted Trowa on the shoulder reassuringly. ‘Like he said. He´s this Shadowlord. So they think in the same twisted way. Don´t worry about it.´ He shook his head as Duo managed to activate a hidden switch and the wall slowly opened, allowing the three to slip through easily. ‘I´m beginning to seriously worry about this Shadowlord.´ He muttered to himself as he followed Duo and Trowa inside, noticing that everything in sight was carved out of black marble. ‘This guy has a serious complex about black.´
Heero stared wide eyed at the tall man who entered silently, his long chestnut hair flowing freely behind him. He couldn´t help stumbling backwards as the imposing man walked closer, wondering why his heart was hammering wildly against his chest. He saw the way those familiar, yet strange violet eyes raked over his body and felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Heero gasped as his retreat was suddenly blocked by a pair of arms that reached around his shoulders and held him, he twisted his neck and felt a strange sense of dread as he saw his own face smile back at him.
‘What´s your name?´
Heero blinked, surprised by the unfamiliar depth in Duo´s voice. ‘Heero Yuy.´ He answered shortly, as he tried to struggle against the steel like fingers clamped around his arms. He felt a flash of fear as Duo´s lookalike reached out a steel encased hand and lightly tipped up his chin, forcing him to meet the cold violet eyes, glittering like gems.
‘My lord.´ The Shadowlord corrected softly, as he looked tenderly into the defiant blue eyes of the man. He cupped Heero´s cheek, stroking the pale flesh lightly as he spoke, ‘you will address me as my lord. Heero. My new Lightbearer.´ He laughed softly, as Heero pulled his face away from his hand with a snarl. ‘He´s very spirited Vailyn. I like him. And when I´m finished with him, no one will be able to tell the two of you apart.´ He smiled at the dark haired man who continued to hold the struggling likeness of himself. ‘Now that you are wearing the same clothing, its just a matter of adjusting his hair length,´ the Shadowlord ran his fingers through Heero´s short hair, then reached behind him to feel the bare flesh on his back. ‘and growing a set of wings for him, then,´ he stroked the soft mouth with his metal gloved finger, forcing it to part slightly, as Heero glared at him, ‘we can all live happily ever after.´
‘The hell we will.´ Heero spat at the icy man, in his black armour. ‘I have no intention of joining you, whatever you do. I want you to release me. Now…´ He stopped suddenly, frozen into immobility as the Shadowlord raised his hand and almost lazily drew a shape in the air.
‘You can let him go now Vailyn.´ The Shadowlord smiled coldly as he stared at the beautiful man standing silently before him. ‘I do so hate wasting my time on idle chatter when I have work to do. It would be a pity to break such a strong will though. I wonder if there´s any way I can persuade him to work for me, without having to force him to. Hmmmm….´ He stroked the dark hair of his obedient servant as he sat down on the marble chair and admired the living statue. ‘You did say that he had friends with him, didn´t you? Do you think that you might be able to get me one of his friends? Oh, not now.´ He added quickly as Vailyn began to move away, ‘I want you with me until I finish my modifications on Heero. But later.´ He smiled cruelly, as he began his first spell. ‘When we´re finished. Then.´
‘We´re lost.´
‘Oh come on. How do you know that?´
‘Fine. Do you know where we are?´
‘Ummm….´
‘We´re lost.´
‘Oh, knock that off. Everything looks the same around here. We aren´t really lost. We are just, you know.´
‘Just what?´
‘Just keep on going till we get to Heero. That´s all we have to do. Or was there a place in particular that you had to visit in this castle?´
‘…I´m hungry.´
‘What?´
‘I´m hungry. I´ve been hungry for hours now. When are we going to get anything to eat?´ Wufei grumbled crossly as he followed Duo up the long staircase.
‘I´m hungry too.´ Duo admitted as he determinedly led his friend up the stairs. ‘But you know that we don´t have any food with us. I think that Trowa had some but he´s gone off on his own. Again. Do you know, I think that guy just doesn´t like hanging around other people?´
Wufei closed his eyes and counted up to a ten, slowly then continued trudging after the chattering man. He had been furious when they first realized that the quiet man had slipped away but unfortunately, Duo had stuck too closely for him to try disappearing as well. ‘Why are we going up anyway?´ He growled at last, trying to stop Duo from describing any more food that he would like to eat before he drove him crazy.
‘Well that Lightbearer guy had wings, right? So I figure that he probably likes high places. So,´ Duo sighed heavily as they finally reached the top and found yet another set of staircase. ‘We go up.´
Trowa grunted softly as he reached for the next handhold. He had suspected that the stairways weren´t really leading anywhere and had decided to try a more direct approach. However, the marble had turned out to be a lot slippier than he thought and he was having a very difficult time in his attempt to scale the tall tower.
‘Would you like to keep climbing or would you like me to give you a hand?´
Trowa carefully turned his head, and saw Heero, or rather his copy, hovering next to him. He sighed and took the hand that was held out to him. He was getting kind of tired of all that climbing anyway, he decided, as he found himself being lifted easily by the smaller man. Vailyn released Trowa´s hands as soon as they reached the tower and noticed how gracefully the tall man dropped to his feet.
Trowa stared at the blue light surrounding Heero, who was dressed in the same black outfit as Vailyn, and writhing in agony as Duo, or rather, he corrected himself again, the Shadowlord, stood behind him. He felt his mouth drop open as he saw Heero´s hair lengthen until it matched that of the Lightbearer standing beside him, then a pair of white wings sprouting out of Heero´s back. He had been told that the Shadowlord was a sorcerer but he never expected anything like this. Trowa dashed forward as the blue crackling energy holding Heero finally dissipated and his friend slumped forward, the white wings shrouding him.
‘Heero.´ Trowa cradled him in his arms and glared at the tall man wearing his friend´s face with hatred. ‘What the hell did you do to him?´
The Shadowlord looked at the red haired man with amusement. ‘Only what you´ve seen. I made him perfect. Like my Vailyn. And now, Heero will serve me. If you like, I´ll let you stay here as well. What´s your name?´
Trowa tightened his hold around Heero, who trembled in his arms. ‘Trowa Barton.´ He replied coolly. ‘And you are the so called Shadowlord, I assume. Do you have a name or am I expected to call you, my lord?´ He finished scathingly.
‘Resyn.´ The Shadowlord answered mildly, his eyes never wavering from the angry man who glared at him. ‘Once upon a time, some people called me Resyn. And did anyone ever tell you Trowa Barton that it was foolish to give your true name to a sorcerer?´ He spoke idly as his hands started glowing with a blue energy that crackled angrily.
Trowa shrugged and shifted his hold on Heero, as he stood up and pulled his shocked friend to his feet. ‘No. But when you are nameless does it really matter?´
Resyn´s eyes widened slightly and he looked at the tall red head searchingly, then at Heero who was still panting softly, though his eyes were blazing with outraged fury as he stared at him from Trowa´s arms. After a moment, Resyn spoke again, his voice thoughtful. ‘You are right, I can´t hold either of you through your names. This was unexpected.´ He looked at Vailyn who stepped forward respectfully and held out a staff with a glowing gem on top. ‘No, thank you Vailyn.´ He smiled thinly, ‘but I think that I´d rather avoid any final measures for now. It´s not as though Heero or Trowa can actually pose any threats to me.´
‘Excuse me.´
Resyn turned around, surprise evident in his eyes as he too was met by the sight of a man with his own face.
Duo glared at the elegant man in the black armour and wished that he had his Gundam. He had been listening to Resyn from the doorway ever since Trowa first dropped in so unexpectedly and he was feeling definitely annoyed by discovering that his twin was a cold hearted manipulative bastard. Wufei had managed to restrain him from barging in the moment they had found Resyn casting a spell on Heero but his stomach had roiled as he heard Resyn gloat about owning Heero and he decided that he wasn´t going to listen to any more garbage being spewed by his copy.
‘I think that it´s time for Heero and the rest of us to leave your charming home.´ Duo glared at Resyn who had recovered his balance and was studying him with a condescending smirk. He wondered what would happen if he kicked a sorcerer. ‘Yo, Firelord.´ Duo called out imperiously, smugly noticing a sudden frown on Resyn´s face, ‘come out here.´
Wufei reluctantly edged out of the column, feeling very much out of place and wishing that he had a sword, or a gun. Definitely a gun, he decided as he saw the blue energy fire up around Resyn. ‘Um, hi.´ He said weakly, as he held up his hands and walked forward.
‘Great, Wufei. Terrific entrance.´ Duo remarked sarcastically, as Wufei carefully stood behind him. ‘I´m sure that you have the Shadowlord quaking in his boots now.´
‘Shut up Maxwell.´ Wufei hissed, as he noticed the way Vailyn was eyeing him as he unfurled his wings. ‘I´m not the Firelord and I´m not interested in trying to impersonate someone I´ve never seen. Especially when I don´t have any special powers to back me up. Lets just take Heero and get out of here while we can. Oh shit.´ He groaned as Resyn raised his hands and blue fire started to crackle around the chamber. ‘I´m going to die. And it´s all your fault. And what´s worse, I´m going to be killed by you. I really hate you Maxwell.´
‘Try to get a new backbone Wufei. I think you just redefined spineless.´ Duo snapped crossly, as he and Wufei started to edge away from Resyn who was sparkling wildly with power. They started to inch toward Trowa and Heero then stopped as a blue energy spiked from Resyn´s hand and spat furiously in their path. ‘Okay, so maybe we´re going to die.´ Duo sweated nervously, finally realizing why Crystal had been so scared of him. ‘I think I hate me too, actually. But it´s not my fault.´ He couldn´t help resisting adding as he and Wufei started to huddle together. ‘How was I to know that I was a total creep? And don´t say it.´ He snapped quickly as Wufei gave him a dirty look.
Even as Resyn slowly walked towards them, a smile on his face telling them how much he was enjoying their discomfit, one of the columns slowly cracked and a red flame suddenly sprang out, spitting wildly whenever they met the blue energy, neither giving way.
Duo stared at the black haired man standing on the red dragon that flew through the large hole and felt a hysterical laugh tickle his throat. ‘Don´t look now Wufei but I think we just got our butts saved by the mighty Firelord. I don´t believe it. Myerdin actually came through. I can´t believe how cool you look with your hair loose like that, and falling forward. You should try that.´
Wufei ignored the crazy chatter beside him as he dashed forward to give Trowa a hand with Heero, whose wings were trailing limply behind him. He gave Heero a concerned look as he saw how the long hair was matted with sweat, and pulled his arm over his shoulder, taking some of the weight from Trowa. ‘How is he?´ He asked.
‘He… is just fine thank you.´ Heero answered stiffly as he tried to figure out how to control the heavy weight dragging behind him. ‘All I have to do is figure out how to make the stupid wings disappear, like Vailyn can. And´ he frowned at the long strand that fell from his shoulder, ‘make an appointment for a haircut as soon as we return home, and I´ll be back to normal.´
‘Hn,´ Wufei grunted as he and Trowa carefully manoeuvred around the blue and red energy blazing around them. ‘And lose a couple of kilos. I think you´ve put on weight since the last time I had to carry you, Yuy.´
Duo dashed towards them, then halted as Vailyn ran in front of him, a staff with a glowing stick in his hands. ‘Look, Lightbearer, or whatever you are. Get out of my way. Remember, I´m your boss.´
Vailyn looked at the flushed man with the messy braid and smiled coldly. ‘You are not my lord. Just an inferior copy. It is my duty to eliminate such imperfection from this world.´ He raised his staff and pointed at Duo, whose face had purpled with rage. Then his eyes widened as he crumpled wordlessly as a knight´s helmet struck his head.
‘Unfortunately, we´re stuck with him. And so are you.´ Quatre glared at the unconscious Vailyn, as he stepped forward, his sword still in the scabbard. ‘I can´t believe that mess you got us into.´ Quatre held up a hand as Duo started to protest indignantly. ‘Duo, you´re just going to have to get used to accepting responsibility. Do you have any idea, how uncomfortable this damned armour is? And I´ve wearing it for hours now. I want to go home. I want a hot bubble bath and I want a nice steak. Now. So do you have any idea how we´re going to go home?´ He stabbed an accusatory finger at Duo´s chest.
Duo shrugged and pulled out Widget from his bag, not noticing that its eyes had opened and were surveying the burning energy with interest. ‘I´m not sure how he got activated in the first place and in case you hadn´t noticed, there aren´t any beam rifles around here, so… Ouch.´ Duo yelped and dropped Widget as the little machine suddenly burned hot in his hands. He looked at Widget who started drinking in the raging energy surrounding the room, expanding rapidly into the same arch that they had seen before. He stared at the sorcerers who were totally absorbed in battling each other, then at Vailyn, who had started to stir and pushed Quatre hurriedly towards the finished archway, even as Heero, Trowa and Wufei suddenly broke into a run.
‘Lets get out of here. Now.´
Vailyn moaned as he felt the large lump behind his head. Someone was going to die for this indignity, he thought grimly, as he struggled to his feet. Then his eyes widened as he saw the five men disappearing into the wall, framed by a metallic white archway. He hesitated between his desire to pursue the fugitives and to aid his lord, who was furious at the Firelord´s unprovoked attack then it was too late. The little round object glowed and vanished, leaving no trace of its existence. Vailyn picked up the object that had smashed into his head, noticing that it was a helmet belonging to a knight bearing the crest of the Myerdin family, and promised himself that he was going to personally make sure that its owner would pay, and pay dearly for the devastation of his home.
Part III - teaser
‘Loooook out!´
Wufei screamed and frailed his arms wildly as he felt himself falling. He groaned painfully as he landed heavily on a pile of straw, then scrambled out of the way as the others started to fall beside him. Wufei felt his arms and legs and glared bitterly at Heero, who looked at the moaning heap below him with calm disinterest, as he redirected his attention to the wings that allowed him to float down comfortably.
‘I just figured out how to use them.´ Heero said, a touch of smug superiority in his voice as the wings suddenly melted away. ‘So, where do you think we are?´ He said, as he surveyed the rich cornfields with curiosity.
Katana: Whew. That´s all for Parts I and II folks. A couple of comments. Firstly, the ‘Shadows and Reflections´ story arc is really all about the GW pilots wondering through different universes and finding various parallel selves. The idea of this series is for them to understand who they are, by seeing all the possible choices (not to mention a few impossible ones) that can shape their lives. I will be working on worlds where the similarity is more stronger as well as a few others, that are even more wackier. I hope you liked it. You noticed that Lightbearer and Shadowlord was VERY yaoi. I have no idea if the main guys are yaoi yet, though I kind of suspect they are. ^_^ By the way, the picture that inspired the concept of Lightbearer and Shadowlord was at this site. http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/5768/l2main.html
Check out the link for Heero. Look how cool Heero and Duo are. (I know that Heero isn´t exactly the way I described him but hey, I can make a few alterations.)