07-May-2001

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Wing characters, nor am I making any money from this. The ideas of a Confessor and a Mord-Sith are from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Many of the names of the monsters and locations are from the online game of EverQuest. All of this is done without permission.
Warnings: AU, Fantasy, Dark, Angst, Shounen-ai, and (of course) Violence
Pairings: 1+2 3+4
Archive: Ask and you shall receive

Mord-Sith! by Annabell

Part Thirteen

Palace of Light, Erudin

Quatre pounded down one of the Palace's long corridors, ignoring his weary body's protests as he tried to keep up with Heero's blistering pace. It was easier for Trowa with his longer legs, but even the tall archer was hard pressed to keep up with the newly crowned Emperor. But for all the pangs Quatre was feeling, he knew the one who was suffering the most was Wufei. The blond mage could hear him panting just behind him, but the stubborn blademaster never once called for them to slow down.

As they skidded around a corner and bolted down yet another long hall, Quatre considered that it was a miracle that Wufei was there at all. When he had watched Wufei crumple to the Throne room floor in a pool of blood, he had known with a sick certainty that the black- haired young man was dying. The fact that just a few hours later, Wufei walked back into the same Throne room unaided was downright astounding. There were so many astonishing things that had happened the past two days that Quatre decided to give up being surprised and start just accepting. He wondered if there was a tolerance threshold for shock. If there was, he figured he probably exceeded it a long time ago. But he vowed that once things had settled down, he was going to lock all of them in a room and not let anyone leave until he knew once and for all what was happening.

Pulling his mind from the recent past, Quatre forced himself to pay attention to the present situation. Heero had ordered Quatre, Trowa and Wufei to help defend the city while he himself took care of the monster known as Borxx. Une had insisted on coming along, and Heero put her in charge of helping the survivors of the lethal magic attacks raining down on Erudin get to the dubious safety of the Palace. The Mord-Sith wasn't very happy with her orders, she had felt it was her job to guard Heero. But Une knew better than to disobey an order from the Emperor. The young woman Meiran, who had accompanied Wufei, had stayed behind to help the Steward organize the Palace for refugees.

As he tried to breathe through the stabbing pain of a stitch in his side, Quatre wondered how to go about destroying an army of goblins. The filthy creatures were basically cowards, usually preferring to ambush their victims only when they were sure of their overwhelming numbers. But from Heero's report, they were now attacking a very large city, which was completely out of character for them. Quatre considered tactics as he pelted down a marble staircase, his feet flying to prevent him from tumbling head over heels.

'You don't have to destroy them all, just keep them away from the city until I can get to Borxx. She is the one controlling them. Once I kill her, the goblins will revert to their true nature and run away,' Heero's calm voice sounded in his head. Quatre was startled that Heero read his mind so easily, but then he remembered that he had given up being surprised and forced his thoughts to move on.

'Heero, which direction is the attack coming from?' Quatre was grateful for the telepathic speech; he was too out of breath for any vocal speaking at the time.

'The north side' was the succinct reply. Quatre noticed that the Palace's inhabitants were running in various directions as well, but they didn't appear to be panicking. That's a good sign, Quatre decided. The Golgathans were very good at obeying orders. No doubt a legacy left from the late, unlamented Odin Lowe.

'Trowa, we need to contact the Captain of the Guard and send as many archers as possible to the north side of the city,' Quatre thought at the green-eyed archer running a little ahead of him, a tentative plan forming in his mind as he considered what spells would be most effective.

'I'll do it.' Heero responded instead. 'Good plan,' he approved as they finally reached the main corridor and, still running all out, raced to the vast courtyard in the front of the Palace. Grooms were standing at the foot of the huge stone steps with their horses saddled and bridled. With no small wonder, Quatre realized that Heero must have been orchestrating the entire mobilization of the Palace. He wondered what had happened to Heero when he sat on the Throne, but there was no time for questions now. He ground his teeth but forced himself to wait patiently for the answers.

Heero reaching the horses first, vaulting into Wing's saddle and setting the moons' shade colt off at a dead run through the main gates. The others were hot on his heels and the whole group was galloping up the cobblestone-paved streets through crowds of people heading to the Palace when a burst of Wild magic arced through the sky and exploded a few miles away in another part of the city. Even at that distance they could hear the thunder of collapsing buildings and the screams of the panicked citizens.

Furious, Heero urged Wing even faster. As Emperor, he was supposed to protect these people from the monsters. They were dying, which meant he was failing his mission. He must do better. He had to protect Erudin.

He had to protect Duo.

'Is there any way to stop that?' Heero demanded to the Throne as Wing twisted under him, avoiding a child that stumbled into their path, crying for its mother.

'Shield the city' was the prompt reply.

'How?' Heero was getting frustrated. He was finding out that the Throne rarely volunteered information on its own, preferring to respond to direct questions.

"Like this.' The knowledge formed in his mind, and Heero immediately acted upon it. Trusting Wing to keep them going while he concentrated on his task, the young Emperor closed his eyes and reached for the power of the Throne. Drawing in a breath, he slowly let it out as he formed the power into a huge magical shield around Erudin. He opened his eyes and looked around.

The sky was shimmering slightly, like haze on a hot day, but other than that there was no physical change. When he concentrated though, he could feel the energy surging around him and knew the shield was there. It would block the strikes of Wild magic as long as Heero held the shield. Nodding in satisfaction, he urged Wing to go even faster.

As they approached the north side of Erudin, the damage began to become apparent. Fires were burning steadily throughout various areas, and marble buildings were now rubble. There were fewer people moving now. With a grim scowl, Heero dispassionately noted the high number of bodies littering the rubble-strewn streets. The attack obviously caught the entire population completely off guard. Above, the shield flared white as it absorbed another blast of magic.

Finally, they were on the outskirts of Erudin. The buildings thinned out and rolling fields began to take their place. In the distance, a dark mass like thousands of ants running around the hills could be seen. Beyond them, there was a roiling darkness. Feeling the hair at the back of his neck stand up, the young Emperor knew that the darkness was Borxx. Pulling Wing to a halt, Heero waited for the others to catch up. A clatter of hooves announced their arrival and without turning, he addressed them.

"Quatre, you're in charge. Make your stand here. Do not let anything get by you." He turned and looked at them. He could see the hundreds of unasked questions in their eyes. But there was also trust that he knew what he was doing. Right now there was just no time to answer their questions, however. Nodding curtly, he dug his heels into Wing's sides and the colt leapt into a gallop, leaving the others behind.

Still sitting on Sandrock, Quatre turned to Trowa and Wufei, who were dismounting. "Here's the plan. As they come at us, I will set a magic snare. Snaring takes less magic from me so I can hold it longer than if I blasted them with offensive magic. Anyway, there are too many of them for any offensive magic to have much of an impact without putting us at risk. Snaring will slow them down long enough for the archers to kill as many as possible." With the Golgathan archers as highly trained as they were, there was little chance that they'd miss any target in battle.

But there were too many goblins for this slow them down and shoot them strategy to work for very long. Quatre had modified his Snare spell, converting it from a single target to an area effect. Under ordinary circumstances, if they killed enough goblins, the rest would run. But with Borxx out there controlling them, that wasn't going to happen. But the defenders had to hold them off as long as possible. They had to give Heero time to act. If the goblin horde got too close, Quatre knew they would have to fight hand to hand, which reminded him of something else to warn his troops about. "Don't let them bite you, because they are riddled with diseases." Their only real chance was for Heero to eliminate the controlling monster out there. Wind blew Quatre's blond hair out of his eyes and dried the sweat on his brow as he caught Trowa's emerald gaze for a brief minute.

Wufei might have rolled his eyes at the subtle display of affection, but he was too caught up in stringing his bow. He wasn't nearly as skilled an archer as Trowa, but he figured with so many targets, even he should be able to hit something.

Before Quatre had started speaking, the squads of archers had arrived and their commanders had been issued their orders. The blond mage fired a final thin-lipped smile at his lover before turning back to the oncoming swarm of monsters. Gathering his will, Quatre cast his spell.

Green mist seemed to spread over the ground in front of them, expanding forward and out to the sides. The progress of the snarling creatures was noticeably slowed. At Trowa's signal, the archers aimed their bows and fired. Arrows rained down upon the snared goblins, and they fell like wheat before a scythe. But there were more to take their place. The air was filled with howls of rage as the creatures fought the snare. Trowa signaled again, and again, and again. The bodies of the dead and wounded goblins began to pile up and Quatre was finding it more and more difficult to keep the snare spell active.

'C'mon Heero. Hurry,' he mentally urged as step by grudging step, the Golgathan troops began to retreat back to the city. Soon, they would have to make a stand. But Quatre doubted they would last very long against the solid wave of the sickly green beasts, snarling like rabid dogs. Though the creatures barely came up to his chest, they were ferocious fighters, using tooth and claw against their prey. Their sheer numbers were overwhelming. The blond mage swallowed hard when he saw their eyes. Each yellow eye had the same expression of mindless rage. With a chill, Quatre realized that the thing that was controlling them was looking at him through their eyes.

Abruptly, the first few goblins broke free of the snare and were quickly cut down by several arrows. But Quatre knew it was only the beginning. Many, many more would follow.

He bit his lip and recast the spell, praying for Heero to hurry.

Heero bent low over Wing's neck and refrained from kicking the colt to go faster. With its ears flat against its skull, the colt was galloping at a steady pace, moving unseen through the mass of goblins. It was a special magical property inherited from its dam. The colt could move undetected, except for the breeze that marked their passage.

Squinting his cobalt eyes, Heero looked ahead of them. The blackness the cloaked Borxx was drawing nearer. He tried to discern the heart of the darkness, but the void turned away his gaze with contemptuous ease. Finally, they were right on the edge, and Heero pulled Wing down to a stop. He studied the mass, but was still unable to see inside. He hated going in blind, but there was no choice. Taking a deep breath, he nudged the colt with his heels and they entered the darkness.

As he maneuvered Wing into the black mass, he could feel an oppressive presence within. It was dark and malevolent, filled with a power that was ancient and strange. As they moved deeper into the darkness, he became aware of a rhythmic sound, like a giant heartbeat that pulsed with a near physical tangibility. A thick, vile grunt shook the air like some unimaginably huge hog at its trough.

Beneath him, Wing glowed purest silver, driving back the darkness. Heero smiled grimly at the colt's defiance. Then he looked ahead into the heart of the darkness, and beheld madness.

Black that was not a color, but a complete absence of anything, swirled there in patterns that defied logic. It was broken by sheets of white Wild magic that flickered through it like lightning. There was a smell of carrion and the grave; it reminded Heero of things that should have been securely buried a long time ago. A thin white slit formed horizontally ahead of him and the middle seemed to be growing fatter. Heero felt his mouth go dry when he recognized the shape. It was single eye opening in the center of the maelstrom. The bottomless black pupil was vertical, like a cat's eye, surrounded by an iris of shimmering gold fire. It stared right at Heero. He could feel immeasurable disdain in the look.

Heero couldn't seem to draw his gaze away from that eye. He felt his will begin to ebb, as if a thick sodden blanket had been placed over him. He struggled to breathe and stay upright; his limbs felt filled with wet sand. Then calmness eased his being. All the fear and anger that had driven him forward seemed to just drift away. Nothing mattered except the compulsion to obey. And if he obeyed, he would be safe and happy. He would never have another care in the world. All he had to do was give up his mission.

Mission. The thought of his mission jarred him. It was his mission to protect Duo and the rest of the people of Erudin. The knowledge that he had to protect Duo sent a spear of determination through his being and the compulsion faded slightly. Heero gasped for breath and he slumped forward until his chin rested on the silver mane of the colt. He closed his eyes and shuddered. He had been very close to losing his mind and soul and he knew it.

'She was trying to enthrall you,' the emotionless Voice sounded in his head. 'You fought her well.'

'What?' Heero thought back, striving to shake off the lethargy. Under him Wing was trembling but standing its ground and still glowing, though the blackness swirled closer despite the colt's efforts.

'You used your will. You did not let her win,' was the answer.

Heero could feel Borxx trying again. Abruptly, Heero was mad, more furious then he had been in a long time. He had gone through too much the past three years to be defeated by a stupid eye. Bringing his anger, fear and hate to bear, he pushed back against the compulsion harder. All the pain he had felt when he believed Duo had died was channeled as well. Miraculously there was a chance for them to be together now. Dammit, he would not lose the chance! He forced himself to sit upright and glared at the opened eye. With the indomitable will that carried him successfully through every mission, he focused on the monster in front of him. He noted she was much nearer now, undoubtedly coming to kill him while he was entranced under her power.

Going on instinct alone, he drew his sword and pointed it straight out in front of him. He called on the Throne's power and with the roar of a mighty waterfall, the power burst forth. The force of the backlash knocked Heero right off Wing's back and he landed in an undignified heap. He looked up to see if his attack had done any damage.

The iridescent beam of light had hit Borxx dead center. A psionic scream reverberated in Heero's mind and he knew he had scored a direct hit. Scrambling to his feet, Heero noticed the blackness seemed less tangible and he found he could discern features in the dark. Taking that as a good sign, he looked for Borxx. Though she wasn't within view, he could still hear that heartbeat and knew she remained alive, and was even more dangerous.

'Where is she?' he asked the Throne.

'Behind you,' was the reply.

Spinning around, Heero was nearly knocked to the ground once more by a blast of Wild magic. But as it came within a hairsbreadth of the young Emperor, a shield of pure energy deflected the magic.

'What did you do?' he demanded of the Voice as he flailed to regain his balance.

'It is my job to protect your life,' answered the Voice and if it were in his nature, Heero would have rolled his eyes. As it was, he now thought he understood how the others felt when dealing with him. He was chilled though, as another thought sped through his mind. The Throne may protect his life, but his mind and soul were still up for grabs.

Dismissing those random thoughts, Heero once again focused the High magic at his disposal. Gripping his sword with both hands, he pointed it at her again and let loose another blast of magic. He doubled the intensity this time. A white aura glowed around the monster briefly as she tried to block, but she was soon overwhelmed by the force of the magic. Heero sensed her staggering and knew that Borxx was not up to a battle of this magnitude. At best she was only a mid level caster, and unable to fight on the physical battlefield. That was why she needed the goblins. By forcing her to use up most of her magic she would soon be vulnerable to his sword.

An idea sprouted in his mind and he immediately acted on it. He studied the weakened monster in front of him and let loose another blast of magic, not as powerful as the first two, but just enough to weaken her further. After a few more blistering attacks by Heero, the steady heartbeat started to falter. He smiled grimly as he fought to catch his breath. Unused to wielding the intense power, his already tired body was barely able to stand up to the strain. He could sense fear emanating from her now along with hate, and knew she was going to try to run.

'Quatre, come here, quick. Bring Trowa and Wufei as well,' he sent to the blond mage.

'On our way,' Quatre replied. When the goblins had started hesitating and backing away, Quatre had known that Heero had been successful. Going on the offensive, Quatre called down his fire spells, engulfing the monsters with wizard's fire. Terrified, the green beasts turned and ran, spreading the clinging fire to others as they clawed their way over each other to get away. Since the goblins were running back to the north, Quatre figured that the city wouldn't be in danger.

Turning Sandrock, the blond mage yelled to Trowa and Wufei, who waved their replies and remounted. They galloped through the panicked throngs of goblins, who ignored them in their desperation to get away from the arrows still raining down. Quatre formed a hasty magical barrier over the three of them. The Golgathan archers were very good, but Quatre wasn't about to take any chances.

In a matter of minutes they approached the dark mass, which was now more of a slate gray. They could see Wing glowing brightly ahead of them and, without hesitation, plunged into the surging murk. A sound filled their ears that reminded Quatre of a diseased heart, laboring and arrhythmic. The smell was appalling, like charnel pits. They stopped right behind Wing and saw Heero standing beside the colt, holding its reins.

"Heero, what's going on?" Quatre called, his voice queerly muffled in the grayness.

"Did you kill it?" Wufei asked as Altron pawed the ground.

"No," Heero answered, staring off into the distance. They followed his gaze and their eyes widened when they saw Borxx hovering a short distance away.

"What is that thing?" Trowa asked as he nocked an arrow and pointed it.

"A casting monster," Heero replied. "Don't kill it," he ordered Trowa, who was ready to release the arrow.

"Why not?" Wufei demanded, staring with revulsion at the monster.

"We have to follow it. I want to know where she came from," Heero explained patiently.

Quatre, who was normally quick on the uptake, was getting exasperated about not knowing what was going on. He wanted answers. "Why?"

"You'll see," Heero returned, and then stiffened. They could all feel Borxx gathering the remains of her power. "Get ready," he warned.

Wufei drew his sword, Trowa readied his bow and Quatre prepared himself to launch a spell. Then Borxx faded away.

"Where did she go?" Wufei demanded, looking around as if he half expected the creepy monster to jump out at him from the fading shadows.

"Hopefully, back to where she came from." Heero turned his mind inward. 'Where is she?' he asked the Throne.

'She has gated to the Barrier,' replied the Throne.

Yes! He had guessed right. Turning to the others, he said, "Lets go."

"Where?" they chorused, exasperation now tingeing all their voices.

Heero didn't answer. Instead, he tossed Wing's reins over the saddle so the colt wouldn't trip on them and stepped away, looking expectantly at his friends. They in turned looked at each other, shrugged and dismounted. Copying Heero, they turned their horses loose to find their own way back to the Palace.

"Ready?" Heero asked and, without waiting for a reply, ordered the Throne to take them to where Borxx had gone. The now visible rolling hills faded out as the Throne gathered them up and took them away from the corpse-strewn battlefield.

It deposited them into darkness.

Or at least that was Quatre's first impression. Then he turned around and his blue eyes widened in awe. Beside him, he felt Trowa take his hand and heard Wufei swearing quietly and reverently.

In front of them was a huge moving wall of shimmering light. It rose and fell like the aurora borealis. Quatre heard the roar and swish as it moved, like he had imagined the ocean would sound. "What is that?" Quatre wanted to know as he gazed up at the Barrier, awe making his soft voice even quieter. He tried to see the top, but it rose out of sight.

"The Barrier between the Planes of Existence," Heero answered absently, his cobalt eyes scanning for the monster and narrowing when he spotted her. Borxx was moving towards the flowing rainbow wall. "C'mon," he ordered as he started jogging after the mortally wounded beast. Wufei, Quatre and Trowa followed on his heels.

Borxx sensed their approach and increased her pace, trailing strange clear fluid that may have been blood in her wake. Drained of her magic, she knew they were coming to kill her. But the breach was near, she could sense it, it was as familiar to her as a part of her own being. She was almost there.

Heero increased his pace. Finally, after seeing where she was fleeing, Heero knew it was time to finish her off. He stopped and, spreading his legs to brace himself so he wouldn't get knocked off his feet, he gripped his sword in both hands. Using the sword as a focus again, he pointed it at her and called down the High Magic once more.

With the thunderous roar of a mighty waterfall, the iridescent magic slammed across space and struck Borxx squarely in the back. Her psionic shriek of agony nearly burst their skulls. Heero gritted his teeth, and called on the magic yet again. It responded with ruthless eagerness, launching its powerful attack on the monster from the Plane of Sky. Borxx, unable to escape the onslaught, crashed down to the ground, writhing in agony. Yet again Heero called on the magic, his own scream of rage drowned out by the roar of magic.

Heero lowered his sword, breathing heavily as he studied the huge mass of pulped flesh in front of him for any sign of life. Seeing no movement, he approached it cautiously and prodded the gory mess with the toe of his boot. There was no response. Borxx was dead.

"Wow, I don't think I could ever get used to that," Quatre commented quietly. Then his eyes were drawn irresistibly to the Barrier once more. Like the aurora borealis, it rose and fell in never ending motion, almost hypnotic. But then his attention was drawn back to Heero, who had looked up from the dead monster and approached the great wall.

The portion of the wall in front of them was different. Where the rest of the Barrier was iridescent and shimmering with all colors of the rainbow, this section was muted by a thick layer of white that seemed to be growing into it, like ivy growing up a brick wall. It stretched high above their heads in an irregular pattern.

"What is it?" Trowa asked quietly, his green eyes peering through his hair at the anomaly.

"Wild magic, tangled in the Barrier when it was broken during Bitterroot." Heero's voice was flat. His suspicions were finally confirmed, but it gave him no joy.

Quatre frowned. What did Bitterroot have to do with a break in the Barrier? Heero had said it was Wild magic. The only Wild magic used that day had been Duo's. Quatre gasped and looked over at Heero, his blue eyes wide with sudden understanding. "Duo's magic got tangled in the High magic of the Barrier, like it did with mine that time in the gorge?" the blond mage asked, though he knew the answer already. Quatre closed the distance between himself and the Barrier. He tentatively reached out and touched the light of the Wild magic. It pulsed under his fingertips. It felt warm.

In fact, it felt alive.

The white light seemed to shiver under his touch. He thought he could almost feel a sense of personality, strong and determined, with a touch of cheerfulness. Curious, the blond mage closed his eyes and reached out with his mind.

Chaos. Death. Old men. Death. Determination. Death. Heero. So much death. Anguish. Bringer of death.

Quatre's eyes widened with shock, despite his resolve that nothing was going to surprise him again. He jerked his hand away, as if the magic had burned him.

Unaware of Quatre's discovery, Heero nodded grimly. "If I am correct, under that layer of Wild magic lies a fissure in the Barrier, which is allowing monsters like that one over there" he indicated the pile of putrid flesh "to invade our own Plane of existence. Because that magic is covering the break, the Throne of Golgatha was unable to detect it and seal it. The Throne can only detect active Wild magic apparently."

"How can we get rid of it?" Wufei asked.

Heero was wondering the same thing. 'Can the Throne's magic eliminate it?' Heero asked the semi-sentient power.

'I will try,' answered the Voice. The High magic rapidly began to build intensity around him. Heero felt it and shouted to his friends to get back.

Quatre spun around at Heero's shout and with a burst of horror, knew what Heero was going to do. Without a second thought he threw himself in front of Heero with his arms outstretched to the sides in a pathetic attempt to block Heero's attack.

"Quatre, get away from there," Heero ordered, barely able to restrain the Throne's magic from tearing right through the blond mage.

"Heero, don't! You'll hurt Duo!" he shouted, still standing protectively between Heero and the trapped Wild magic.

What do you mean?" Heero snapped.

"That magic is Duo's! It is his Confessor's magic. Yes, it is tangled with the Barrier, but it is also still part of him! He is still connected with his power. If you try to destroy it, you will hurt him, maybe even kill him!" Quatre explained urgently. Duo had told him once that the only way a Confessor could be separated from its power was for it to die, or be killed. Duo was still alive; therefore he was still connected to that magic.

Heero paled. He quashed the magic building up around him and stared in horror at Quatre, then at the Barrier. The thought at what he had nearly done shook him to his core. He approached the trapped magic and hesitantly reached out, but didn't touch it. "He can feel it?" he asked softly.

'Yes," Quatre nodded. "I am pretty sure he can. And another thing, I think I know where his memories of Bitterroot are as well." He explained what he had sensed when he touched the trapped Confessor magic.

"So that's why he doesn't remember us," Wufei commented.

Heero dropped his outstretched hand as another thought struck him. "This is why he is in so much pain," he thought out loud.

"What?" Trowa asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Duo told me he is in constant pain, and sometimes he can't stay conscious because it hurts him so much," Heero said.

"Is that why he passed out in the Throne room?" Wufei wanted to know.

"Yes, because something crossed the Barrier, and on its way through, it must cross through Duo's magic as well." Heero turned back to face them.

"Borxx?" Quatre guessed.

"So he can feel it when monsters cross the Barrier?" Trowa looked thoughtful. "I'll bet when he uses his power it's like sending up a beacon to them."

"Of course! Duo had just used his power on you," Wufei nodded to Heero, "and immediately Borxx crosses the Barrier. He feels her coming, but doesn't know what it means."

Heero nodded. "Something that powerful would tear him up pretty badly."

"How strong was she?" Quatre asked curiously. A part of him itched to test his own ability against a casting class monster of her caliber.

Heero shrugged, "Fairly strong," he started, and then he stopped as a chilling thought occurred to him. Borxx was strong, but Middie had indicated that there were other monsters that were more powerful yet. The three she had mentioned for instance, Lord Nagafen, Lady Vox and what was the third one? Cazic Thule. What would happen to Duo if one of those tried to cross the Barrier?

"We have to get back to the Palace," Heero said and the other three nodded in agreement. They had found the location of the breach, but there was nothing they could do about it at this time. Calling on the Throne's power, he began to take them back to Erudin. As they faded out, he looked back at the Barrier one more time, seeing the layer of white light and praying that there was something he could do.

It was late evening when they got back to the Palace. The sun was setting on what had been another hot, humid day. Thick smoke hung on the still air. Parts of the city were still burning, but the fires were mostly under control, thanks to the various low level mages inhabiting the city.

Hero cursed under his breath. He had forgotten about the time differential. Seeing the others' look of confusion, Heero sighed and explained that time moved more slowly at the Barrier.

As they entered the Palace, Une, Dorothy, the Steward and the Captain of the Guard all converged on them. Seeing this, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei all bowed mockingly at their former commander and made their way to their rooms. Exhaustion was setting in, and they really wanted to get some sleep while things were relatively quiet. Glaring at their retreating backs, Heero didn't blame them. He could feel his body's demand for some rest as well, but he still had one more thing to do.

All four new subjects started talking at once. Heero waved for them to be silent.

"One at a time," he ordered as he kept walking, forcing them to try to keep up with him. The young Emperor listened to their reports as he made his way to the West Wing of the Palace. Finally, after they were all finished speaking, he gave them their orders and dismissed them. That action earned him dark looks from the Mord-Sith, but the black look he returned to them was enough for Une to take Dorothy's arm and steer her away from the short-tempered Heero.

Finally, he was alone.

Taking a deep breath, he approached the closed door with two guards standing attention on either side.

"You may leave now," Heero dismissed them.

"Yes, sir. No one has been in or out since we have been here," the guard named Mueller reported. Heero nodded tiredly and waited for them to leave. The guard's words sank in slowly. No one had been in or out all day?

With growing unease, Heero knocked at the door. There was no answer. He knocked once again, louder this time. There was still no answer. Heero was really getting worried. "Duo?" he called, but there was no answer. He tried the handle and it opened easily.

The only light in the room came from the glowing sunset streaming through the west facing windows, but it was enough to show him that the room was empty. He could hear the insects and bird song filtering in through the open windows. A slight breeze rustled the willow boughs, but there was no other noise in the rooms. The bed sheets were rumpled, and on the floor, he could make out a crumpled heap of red leather. Heero's jaw tightened as he clamped down on the alarm growing inside him. He quickly moved to the bathing area, but it too was silent and still...

Heero could feel panic rising in his chest but ignored it as he realized what had happened.

Duo had run.

End Part 13

  Author's Note: I don't know if any of you remember way back in Confessor part 11 that I wrote how a Confessor could only be separated from his or her own power if they died or were killed. My beta reader kindly pointed out to me that not everyone could remember all these minute details especially with such large gaps between parts. Sorry if this causes confusion.
This part was originally outlined to be the second half of part 12, but got way too long. Do you realize when I first sat down way back in October and outlined MS, I figured it was only going to be about 8 parts?! Boy was I wrong. ^_^

(:./annabell/sith13)