Disclaimer: This fic is for entertainment only and is not used for profitable benefits. I don't own the characters
in this story and most likely never will. The characters are the property of the creators of Gundam Wing, etc. If
you wish to contact me with flames, suggestions for another fic, constructive criticism, comments, or ridicule,
email me at angelofdeath_gw@yahoo.com. Thank you.
The clown
Note: This fic ignores Endless Waltz completely and I will tell you now that if you are a fan of Heero and
Relena relationships, you shouldn't read this fic. Heero actually shot Relena after the long tortures of her
crying out Heero's name in that howling voice of hers. If you are fans of Heero and Trowa relationships, then
read this fic! I must have written it especially for all of you!
A Match Made with Magic
Heero's feet rushed with adrenaline and the wind whipped through his hair as he ran past the trees of the
forest around Relena Peacecraft's mansion. His gun came loose and showed that it was missing a single bullet.
The bullet that was gone had been carefully lodged in a sleeping princess' head. Heero forced himself to go
faster as he heard the sound of panting hounds and the yelling of security guards that were searching for him.
He secretly thanked Dr. J for training him so well as a soldier, especially since he was given superior skills like
long distance running.
The forest stopped and right at the end was a high cliff. Before Heero could halt, he flew over the edge
and fell to the bottom where a river waited to take him away to what he hoped was certain death. The ground
came toward him at a blinding speed and Heero closed his eyes awaiting the darkness that would come. The
darkness did come, but he wasn't dead . . . yet.
Heero heard small bubbles escape him and the loud barking of the dogs that had been close to finding
him drained away as he fell deeper into the rivers wet sanctuary. He felt the cool liquid of the river run around
his shoulders and he shivered, feeling it start to run over his taunt, muscular stomach. His eyes jerked open and
he found himself staring at unfamiliar skies. He sat up quickly to look around and saw a waterfall close to him
pounding into the river that he was in at the moment. Heero cringed slightly as the pain, which was from one of
the wounds that he got in his fall, slashed up his back when he stood up.
The cliffs that stood around him were devoid of any of the new technology that could be found near
Relena's mansion and the sounds of the hounds that had been chasing him were completely gone. Heero took a
deep breath of air before hearing a loud pounding that was followed by the shaking of the ground beneath him.
He looked around for the sight of a mobile suit of any kind, which was the only thing that he could think of at
the moment that could make the ground shake without any trouble, but there wasn't a single sign that one was
close.
Another pound came and it too was followed by the shaking earth. Heero turned his back to the
waterfall and looked at the sky to see if there were any aircrafts in the sky. Suddenly the pounding got fast and
the shaking got harder to stand on. Heero kneeled slightly and turned his head toward the waterfall just as a
huge looming monster burst from behind the water.
The monster was scaly and was at least twice his height. He roared as if were angry at Heero and his red
scales glowed with the heat in his neck. Then he thought better as he got a better look at Heero. He lowered his
head to the ground and Heero saw large wings flutter to keep the beast balanced on its two hind feet. His eyes
blinked in confusion at Heero and he spoke softly in his booming voice, “You don't look like a knight.” The
voice was deep and filled with confusion. The giant and looming monster started to circle around Heero and
Heero kept his gaze locked on the monster's eyes.
Heero, who was taken aback by what he said, gave him a confused look and said, “I'm not sure I
understand what you just said.”
“Read my lips, boy. You don't look like a knight. You have no armor, no horse, no other knights to
back you up, no sword even. What kind of knight goes out to fight a dragon like that?” the beast said as if he
were annoyed.
“I'm sorry if I'm not a knight and that I didn't come here to fight a dragon. Is that what you wanted?”
Heero asked as the beast lifted his head back up. He gave no answer to his question.
The monster curled his tail so that it wrapped itself behind Heero. “That what did you come here to do, if
it wasn't to fight me? I am a dragon and everyone knows that I am here. What could a boy your age be if you're
not a knight?”
Heero decided that if he was going to play Twenty Questions with this dragon that he was going to
answer him truthfully. Besides, who would want to lie to a huge bulking mass like a dragon. “I'm a pilot and I
don't know what I'm doing here.”
“A pilot? Strange sort of sounding job you have there. Come with me and tell me all about what you do
and where you come from,” the dragon turned and walked through the water, being sure to guard the pilot with
his large tail so the water wouldn't hit him.
Heero was stunned at the size of the cave that the dragon lived in and how many other dragons were
around. The dragons looked up as they passed and eyed Heero with the small slits that made up their eyes. The
cave's walls were made of hard red soil that was held up by large rocks that were almost as large as the smallest
dragon Heero could see.
The dragon led Heero through a series of tunnels until they reached a small area that was empty of any
other dragons. He curled up lazily in a section of a room and waited for Heero to tell him about where he lived
and his job. Heero did so and the dragon listened intently to him and made small comments on how annoying
princesses could be. Heero laughed at that.
The dragon's yellow eyes flashed when he heard Heero laugh. “Why do you laugh, boy? I don't think
that you would have a princess where you live.”
“There's a princess where I live and I'm happy to say that she's gone now,” Heero replied and laughed
again. The dragon raised his scaley brows and pressed his snout in closer to Heero.
“Gone? Do you mean as in gone, dead, six feet under?” the dragon asked looked revolted at the idea of
a princess being dead and Heero nodded. “You killed a princess?” Heero nodded again his eyes dancing.
“Everyone hated her. She was positively annoying. She chased me around wherever I went, messing up
my missions and screwing things up . . .” Heero's voice faded as he thought more about his world.
“She was that bad, huh? I would eat a princess if she was that bad, but not if it wasn't for anything. I
think that humans taste awful. You have such bad cholesterol and all that is getting my veins. Do you know
how bad humans are for my health?” Heero laughed again, but softer that time.
The dragon, whose name was Fafnoth, lifted his head when he heard a scream and beating feet. The
areas outside the cave were filled with the sound of beating wings and war cries that belonged to the dragons.
Fafnoth took a small look outside just as a dragon, not much younger than he, flew up to him.
“There are humans nearing the waterfall!” she screeched in her urgency.
Fafnoth growled. “How many can you see?” he asked.
The female puffed a cloud of smoke. “It's hard to tell, but there are too many for only you to handle. At
least one of us must help you.”
“NO!” Fafnoth boomed and steeped further out of the cave. “I will not have any of you seen by any of
the humans.”
“You let that human in. How is he any different?”
“He is not a knight. In his world he protected people from the wrongs that some of the humans created.
I believe him to be different. You will lead the dragons out the back way to the secondary caves and the human
and I will ward off the other humans. Go, Sarnoth, now before I decided to kill you with utmost care.”
She nodded to Fafnoth, not wanting to die at his claw, and flew away. Fafnoth flipped an ear at Heero
and motioned to him with one of his sharp claws. He obediently went to the dragon's side.
“The humans outside are a dangerous lot and I'll need your help to keep them away from the cave until
the rest of the dragons are gone. Is that understood?” Fafnoth asked.
Heero paused, considering his options, and finally nodded. “Mission accepted.”
Fafnoth dipped his tail into one of the shallow pools that was nearby. “I believe that you'll recognize this
odd looking bag. I hope that you do at least.”
He dropped a large gym bag in front of Heero. He recognized the bag instantly as the one that he'd been
carrying when he was at Relena's house. He quickly unzipped the bag and found all that he needed to use for his
new mission. He brought out the gun that was in the back of his jeans and twirled it around his finger as he
thought out a plan.
“Is there an opening next to the waterfall?” he asked the dragon.
Fafnoth lowered his head close to the ground to look at the pilot. “As a matter of fact, yes, there is. It's
small enough for you to fit in, but I certainly can't go through it.”
“I'll go through that and you watch from behind the waterfall. I'll be setting up something in the dirt
outside the cave and whatever you do, don't go onto the ground there, okay?” Heero spoke in a manner like that
of a general and the dragon nodded, figuring that the boy knew what he was doing.
Heero pulled out around five pieces of C-4 and walked steadily though the small opening beside the
waterfall to the sunlight outside. He heard the loud hoof beats of the oncoming people that were most likely the
knights Sarnoth had been speaking of. He dug five shallow holes and buried the C-4 in each of them. Then he
ducked back inside the dragon's caves to watch for the humans.
They came in less than five minutes and were lead by a tall blonde man on a white horse. Heero nearly
gagged at their attempt at dragon slaying and pulled out his detonator. Fafnoth hovered just behind the water in
the fall and waited for Heero's signal to show himself. Heero nodded to the dragon when the humans were right
above the buried C-4. Fafnoth shoved his head slowly through the water and blinked his eyes at the humans.
The horses reared back in surprise, but their riders held them in place. “We don't fear you, Dragon!”
shouted one of the knights, who was on a light brown horse. Heero chose to walk between the dragon's legs and
the knights gasped in surprise.
“You chose to side with the dragons?” another knight asked, sounding angry.
“I don't choose sides,” Heero replied and pressed the button on the detonator. The C-4 blew up sand and
rocks, putting the people and horses on their sides and backs. The ones that hadn't been hit by the explosion ran
in fear of a human that could make thunder.
“You're a traitor!” a voice said from a distance and in reply the dragon blew a spout of fire into the air.
The person who had yelled that Heero was a traitor ran off without another word.
“Come, boy, and I'll take you to the caves with me,” Fafnoth said gently; it was a dragon's way of saying
thanks. The dragon lowered his head to the ground and one of his wings fluttered again to keep balance. One of
Fafnoth's ears flipped and Heero climbed carefully onto the base of the dragon's neck. Luckily there was a small
flap of bare, think skin that had no scales on it. It was warm and allowed Heero to ride the dragon without
having to worry about getting scars from the scales or being blown away from the wind that the dragon created
with his wings.
Heero watched the ground rush by as he flew and caught sight of some of the slower dragons below
them. The forest grew more lush and dense with every flap of Fafnoth's wings. There were some parts of the
forest that seemed to glow and glitter and when he blinked and looked at the place again the shine was gone.
Strange, he thought as he pulled his gym bag that was beside him into his lap.
He zipped it open again and took a look at what was inside it. He found some things other than the
weapons and other destructive things. There were extra sets of clothes, a pair of shoes, a few bits of food, a
cellular phone (that still worked too!), and something that he figured Duo had put in there because he couldn't
tell what it was. He even found a sword tucked in a part of a section and it had been carefully wrapped in a
black silk wrap. That, he was sure, had been because of Wufei. Duo wouldn't have kept it in the satchel even if
it were for Wufei.
Heero sighed as he thought of the way Duo and Wufei fought every time he came back from a mission.
Then he remembered how Trowa silence would always somehow help him work out his problems, which
usually consisted of a princess that had a pink limousine. Quatre's blonde hair floated into the picture too and
Heero remembered how the blonde's innocence would always seem so refreshing after a long battle. All the
memories came flooding into his mind and with them came small tears that he hoped the dragon wouldn't hear
or see. Heero found that he would actually miss all of them, even Duo, who always found ways to interrupt his
sleep.
Fafnoth turned his head slightly back to look at the pilot that was riding on him. He had felt the tears on
his skin, no matter how small they had seemed, and they worried him. He wondered what had caused him so
much grief. From the way that he'd talked about the princess, it couldn't be because of her. Suddenly he
remembered that the pilot had never spoken about the friends that he'd had in his world and Fafnoth wondered
what they were like.
The dragon did a quick, small dive that made him level with the tops of the trees in the forest below. He
roared slightly in greeting as he neared the caves that the other dragons were in and they answered back happily.
Fafnoth pulled his head back and flapped his wings to slow his body down. The movement very nearly sent
Heero flying off of his back.
Sarnoth, the female dragon who had shown her dislike for Heero earlier, growled at Heero as he climbed
down from Fafnoth's back. “What are you still doing with us?” she asked as she lowered her head to look into
his eyes, blowing a bit of smoke from her nostrils into his face. Heero coughed slightly, but otherwise remained
silent. “You have no answer? Are you going to betray us human?”
“I don't betray those who don't betray me first,” Heero replied at last. Sarnoth pulled back her lips,
giving Heero a view of her sharp, toothy smile.
“That is good, human. Now come inside and meet our other humans,” Sarnoth said, pulling her head
back up and turning into the cave behind her. Heero and Fafnoth followed after her.
Heero was awed by the fact that the secondary caves were even larger than the caves that he'd originally
seen. It wasn't hard to imagine now what other caves could possibly be anywhere else in the world. Sarnoth led
him to a smaller section where he was just the right size to fit, but a dragon seemed like a giant compared to the
doorway. Somehow he saw her manage to fit just right through the opening, but all the while saw her changing
into something else. Sarnoth wasn't looking like a dragon anymore, but more like a . . .
“Human,” Heero whispered as he saw her finished changing. “She is still a dragon, right?” He looked at
Fafnoth, who had also changed into a human form, and he nodded.
Sarnoth was now a red-haired woman who had scales that covered portions of her legs, arms, and face.
She was wearing a dark-blue tunic that was wrapped tightly around her and on her fingers was a small ring that
had a small black jewel that signified that she was really a dragon. Fafnoth had short blonde hair and yellow
eyes that had narrow slits that could barely be seen in his now small eyes. He too was wearing a tunic, but his
was red with a purple sash used to serve as a belt. On his hand was also a small ring and it too had a small black
rock on it. Fafnoth held aside the cloth that blocked the doorway so that Heero and the human Sarnoth could
step inside.
In the small human sections of the caves, there were humans that were all close to Heero's age and none
were older. Some of them looked up as Sarnoth and Fafnoth walked in with Heero taking in the rear. Heero
took note that there was almost as many humans here as there were dragons outside. There was also one aspect
of the human group that he didn't like very much: they were all girls, and he'd had enough trouble with girls as it
was.
“We've gotten a new addition to the group,” Sarnoth said loudly so that all of them could hear. “We
expect you to treat him with respect and kindness since he is the human belonging to his Majesty Fafnoth, the
King of the Dragons.” Heero looked at Fafnoth out of the corner of his eye and he could swear that the dragon
was smiling in amusement. He simply nodded to the dragon next to him and Fafnoth smiled even wider before
stepping forward.
“I would like you all to meet Heero Yuy,” Fafnoth said as Sarnoth pushed Heero roughly to Fafnoth's
side. “I don't want you to irritate him at all. From what he tells me, he can be deadly to some.” Heero heard a
small gasp coming from one of the girls in the crowd of humans and smiled mentally. “I bid you good day. Do
you have any questions?”
One older girl raised her hand. “I want to know why you would choose a human who claims to be so
deadly.”
“That is easy my child. They're harder to break that way and besides, you get some interesting stories
out of them.” Fafnoth looked around the room and saw that there were no other questions so he waved a hand to
the group and nodded to Heero.
As the dragon changed back into his dragon form, he spoke with confidence, “Why don't you tell them a
story, Heero? I'm sure that they'll enjoy it.”
Heero merely nodded, sure that he'd been tricked into becoming a dragon's human. He wasn't exactly
sure how this came about and decided he'd ask Fafnoth when he could. He looked back at the people behind
him and they were all looking at him in interest. It was clear that they were awaiting a story. So he told them
one about the battles that he'd fought and some chuckled afterward, not believing that a human could fly without
dragon or bird's wings. Heero glared at the girls and they went into silence.
“Mr. Yuy, are you really deadly like his Majesty said?” a girl his age asked him.
Heero fidgeted slightly because he wasn't used to being called 'Mr. Yuy' and nodded. “Sometimes I am,
but it depends on the situation.” Heero looked over to where his bag was a saw one of the girls peeking inside.
“Hey!” he shouted and ran over to the bag. “Don't touch my things, okay?” He said it softly so she wouldn't be
scared, but his height above her must have scared her enough and she scurried away.
“What is in there?” asked the girl who had asked him questions frequently. She tried to pull open the
bag, but Heero pulled it out of her reach.
“I'll show you, but none of you can touch them unless you ask me first. Is that clear?” all the girls
nodded.
Heero pulled out his gun and one asked him what it did. He told all of them to stand back and he aimed
it at a large rock. It only took one bullet to shatter the boulder into pieces. He'd heard a few of the girls scream
and the one who'd asked questions, and was also the oldest too, seemed barely surprised.
“Mr. Yuy controls thunder and lightning!” one of the younger ones yelled at the girl. “Charina, did you
see that? He shattered the rock with thunder and lightning without moving at all! Isn't that amazing?”
Charina nodded slightly as she watched Heero put the weapon back into his bag and leaned against the
rock wall behind him. She couldn't understand him at all. Why would a boy of his age want to be the property
of a dragon? Especially one that controlled lightning and thunder like Heero did. She thought that perhaps Heero
had no choice to become a dragon's human or maybe he'd been kidnaped by his Majesty, though Fafnoth wasn't
known to do such things. Heero might have also been sacrificed by his village, even though women were usually
used to sacrifice. Either way, whichever was really true, she'd find out eventually. Charina was determined to
do so.
Later that night, long after all the other girls were asleep, Charina crept over to where Heero appeared to
be sleeping. She watched his chest rise and fall in a steady beat and thinking that the pilot was asleep, she
reached over him to the bag. She didn't notice him move until his hand was around her wrist. Charina tried to
resist his grip, but his hand held on tight.
“Let me go!” she whispered loudly at him.
Heero looked up at Charina from under his messy hair. “Tell me why you were going to take my stuff
first.”
“How? I'll tell you nothing!” she replied, not noticing that some of the other girls were starting to wake
up. “Let me go!”
Heero released her after pulling onto a rock next to him. “Why were you after my bag?” his monotone
voice asked her. “I don't want to have to ask you again.”
“Too bad then because you will have to do just that,” she snapped, getting off the rock, “because I'm not
telling you anything!”
Heero looked at the girl and started to smile. Her face was red with anger and she looked as if she were
ready to blow up. Then he started to laugh, although he did try to muffle it slightly. The laugh he mustered up
was what he usually saved for when he killed something, but this was just too hilarious. Charina looked at him
in shock, as if she were surprised that he could laugh.
Sarnoth came into the room, in human form of course, and Heero's laugh faded into silence. She led
them all to the area where they could get breakfast and food was already laid out for them. The girls had things
that filled their trays totally and walked outside to eat. Heero was able to choose what he wanted and he got a
hard-boiled egg that looked like an ostrich egg. He too walked outside and raised himself into a tree that
overlooked a deep valley.
He cracked open the egg with a few hard hits to a rock and stirred the contents with a finger. He poured
the yolk into his mouth and savored the surprisingly sweet taste. The clear juice around the yolk tasted sweet
also, only on a much higher level and it rolled down his throat slowly leaving a spicy sensation as it fell.
Heero looked over the ledge as he heard Charina approach. “I bet that you couldn't survive if you
jumped off,” she said as if she were daring herself to push him off the side of the cliff.
Heero looked at a cliff that was equal in height to the cliff that he stood on. It looked only about six
stories high and he knew that the Perfect soldier had survived worse (like the self-destruction of Wing Gundam,
the jump from the military's hospital floor, etc.).
“I could live,” he replied confidently as he looked at the dragons below him.
“Really? Then jump, Heero,” she told him.
He looked at the tree that grew from the ground beneath him. It hung over the edge just enough that if
he jumped from that, he would hit the ground at a smooth angle. Heero stood up and climbed into the branches
that hung over the ledge. He dropped the two halves of the egg shell into the air below him and watched as they
fell. When he was finally satisfied with his starting point, he turned around and jumped over the ledge head
first, smiling as he heard Charina gasp in terror since she hadn't expected him to actually jump.
“Heero, you weren't supposed to jump off of the cliff!” she yelled at him.
When Heero saw that the ground was coming at him fast, he did a quick flip that angled him so that his
feet could slide down the side of the cliff. His sharp ears caught the sound of Charina calling all the girls to
watch him. Heero then did something that he had seen Trowa do once in a while and it caught the eye of some
of the dragons that were flying around above him. Heero changed his course and headed straight toward the
side of another cliff and he jumped off of his own. He hit the side hard and he pushed off with all his might,
sending him back up the cliff to where the girls were watching.
Heero landed safely back onto the surface of the cliff he'd originally started on and he kneeled to the
ground as he tried to settle his racing beat of his heart. When it finally went back to its normal pace, he stood
up, brushing back his spiky backs to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his forehead from all the strain
that had been caused when he'd tried that move.
Clapping started from the back of the crowd and Heero peeked back there to see a young dragon
watching them. Heero recognized it as one of the first dragons he'd seen other than Fafnoth. “Oh, Mr. Yuy, that
was a wonderful performance you put on for us dragons. You should have seen our faces when you started to
fly through the air! You couldn't have done better if you had wings to help you,” the male youngster cried out as
he pushed his way through the humans toward Heero.
“Well, actually I wouldn't have had to try as hard if I had wings to use, but I didn't so . . .” Heero replied
and his voice trailed off in the end when he saw the human Fafnoth walk up to him. “Your Majesty.”
“Oh, you're not going to start calling me that name, are you?” Fafnoth said as he grabbed Heero's hand.
“Tell me, Heero, are you having any trouble with the ladies?” Fafnoth laughed as he started to lead Heero away
from the rest of the others.
Heero's eyes caught Charina's as she shook her head in the crowd. He nodded his understanding of her
message. “There aren't any that are really bothering me, but hey, you never know when it comes to women.”
Fafnoth laughed again and looked at Heero out of the corner of his eye. “Which one's bothering you so
much? I know that you wouldn't jump off of anything unless the situation made it inevitable. You told me so
yourself that it depended on the situation.”
Heero looked around and saw that they were out hearing range of the other humans before deciding to
answer the dragon that owned him. “It's Charina. She irritates me too much.”
Fafnoth stayed silent as if he were analyzing what Heero had just said. The silence made Heero think
that the dragon reminded him of Trowa. Fafnoth nodded his head finally as he looked at Heero. “Is there
anything else that you'd like me to know about?” the dragon asked.
“I want to know how I suddenly became your human. How did I get to be your property?” Heero asked.
“You will learn in all good time, but first, I want you to focus your mind at the present situation: the
female,” Fafnoth laughed as he waltzed away.
Heero understood what Fafnoth had meant perfectly, even though a dragon's perspective of the situation
was crude and it was very crude. He grunted his discontentment with the idea. What the dragon wanted him to
do was something that Heero could, yet couldn't, imagine easily. Heero shook his head as he walked back into
the room where the humans were meant to stay and grabbed a piece of fruit that was in a basket that hung from a
rope from the ceiling. He munched on the fruit a while, wondering what he was supposed to do next.
He slumped into a cozy section of the rocks and took a peek into the bag he usually had with him now.
Suddenly he heard a soft shuffle of sand from a darker corner and he looked at the shadow through his bangs.
He heard the sound again and permitted his head to look up. It was expected that he saw Charina looking at
him.
“What do you want?” he asked her without looking up at her when she came out.
She was hushed for a moment. Heero finally looked up at her again and found that she was pressing
closer to him. She sat down on the sand next to Heero's feet and asked, “Why are you here with the dragons?”
“I don't understand what you're asking me,” he replied plainly.
Charina edged in closer to him. “I mean like how did you get here. Why?” she asked.
“Fafnoth brought me here. I don't know why.”
“So you were a sacrifice to his Majesty?” she asked.
“No, I found the caves where Fafnoth and the other dragons used to live.”
“So you wanted to become a dragon's human!”
“NO!” Heero yelled in his frustration. “I came to the caves on accident and Fafnoth attacked me
thinking that I was a knight. It turned out that I wasn't. Then real knights attacked and Fafnoth brought me
here. This is where I found out that I was Fafnoth's human, however that happened.”
“So you don't want to be a dragon's human, but you hadn't any choice when the decision was made that
you would become one. You weren't kidnaped by his Majesty and you weren't sacrificed by anyone. Am I
correct in all of those?” Charina asked.
Heero sighed as she finally understood and nodded. She sighed and laid down on the ground, the outline
of her figure showing under her tunic. Heero let his eyes run along her body for an instant before turning away
uncomfortably. He closed his eyes and let his confusion wander in his mind at bit. His thoughts were always
getting cluttered along with the memories that had happened to him since his arrival in his world of fantasy.
Was Fafnoth right in telling him to focus on a situation such as that? Heero couldn't figure it out. This
place was so new to him and having to be a dragon's human was new as well. Maybe he shouldn't be so cruel to
the girls. They belonged to dragons too, but . . . should he follow what Fafnoth had told him to do? It just didn't
seem right to do that.
Charina saw him tap his fingers on the side of a rock as if he was deep in his thoughts. She tapped him
lightly on the shoulder and he didn't respond to her. She caught sight of the bag, but it was partially hidden by
Heero's leg and the rock that he was rapping his fingers on. She tapped him harder on the shoulder and still he
did not respond to her. She tried to stop him from tapping his fingers on the rock and when she touched his
hand, she pulled it back instantly. Heero's hand was deathly cold.
“Heero,” she whispered, trying to get him awake again. “Heero!” She said it louder this time, drawing in
both humans and dragons to the room. “Heero, wake up!” she cried again. She rubbed his hands with hers and
she felt the blood in his hand start to circulate again.
“I want to go back . . .” he muttered, unconsciously pulling his hand away from Charina. Charina saw
him start to fade, literally and she pulled back his hand to blow on it.
No! I can't lose him now that I've found out so much about him. Gods, let him live for at least a
moment longer so that I can see him open his eyes, Charina prayed as she continued to blow on his hand. His
blood started to run again and his fingers got warmer with each second. She noticed the crowd behind her start
to move as his Majesty came in. Fafnoth watched as Charina tried her hardest to keep him alive and he snapped
his human fingers to draw a few dragons to his side.
“She wants him here, in this world. Help her do that,” he ordered them and they quickly went to
Charina's side.
“What are you up to, Fafnoth?” Sarnoth asked him as he came out of the room.
Fafnoth cleared his throat as he passed a few young dragons and replied slowly and quietly. “Sarnoth, it
is clear that we need more humans here. We can't afford to lose any more dragons. With Heero's strength and
Charina's loyalty to the dragons, we will have the perfect humans to serve us, . . . that is if both of them stay
alive.”
One of the dragons put a hand on Heero's forehead and let some of his magic flow into Heero's body to
keep his body temperature up. Charina smiled mentally when she felt his body warming up. Another dragon
did the same and even more heat went into Heero. The boy's color returned, but he still wasn't responding to
anything. Finally the third dragon picked up Heero's body and bag and carried him to another room, Charina
following him closely despite his irritated pleas. She followed him all the way to a room on the other side of the
caves. Even though Heero wouldn't wake, Charina didn't give up on him.
Every time she found an opportunity to look into the bag that she desperately wanted to look in, she
couldn't bring herself to do it. Somehow looking into the belongings of someone that was as bad off as Heero
was at this time didn't it right with her.
On the third day that she came by to see if he was okay, she found him jerking awake as he heard her
come into the room. As soon as Heero realized that it was Charina, he looked away. He sat up as soon
remembering the suggestion or order that Fafnoth had given him.
As soon as he thought about it, he felt her arms around his neck. “I thought you were going to die!” she
whispered into his ear. “Don't you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?” He nodded and chuckled for the
second time since he met her. Charina pulled away and looked at him in an odd manner as if she remembered
something.
“Where did you live before you came here?” she asked him, remembering what he'd said before lapsing
into unconsciousness.
Heero considered telling her about Earth and did so. He didn't expect her to believe him, but she nodded
without contradiction, which seemed odd to him. “What happened while I was here?” he asked her and she
shook her head and turned away from him as she started to walk out of the room. She felt his eyes boring into
her back.
She didn't want to tell him anything about the fights that had been happening between the dragons and
especially the fights that she'd chosen to pick with his Majesty. During those fights that she'd mistakenly chosen
to pick, she'd learned what orders his Majesty had given to Heero. She remembered the smirks that his Majesty
had held on his face as he told her about it. She remembered every second of the shock that the dragon, even the
King of Dragons, could order a human to do such things as those.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and she almost jumped. “Are you okay?” Heero asked. “You look
pale.”
Charina brushed off his hand and he let her as if he'd expected her to do so. She looked back and he was
leaning against the warm wall of the main cave. His unkempt hair fell over his eyes, even as he blew them away
with his breath.
“Do you plan to accept the order?” she asked as she turned back away from him again.
Heero was quiet for a moment. “No,” he replied before going back into the room he'd been in for the
last few days.
When she peeked back in, she saw him pulling off his green tank top and grabbing his blue shirt from his
bag. She admired his muscles as they flexed to each of his movements. Charina caught herself before he turned
around and reluctantly pushed herself back to the wall. In less than a few seconds, Heero was back outside
wearing a button-up blue shirt that was tucked carefully into his jeans and his gym bag was hanging from his
hand. They heard a loud crash from outside the cave door and Heero instinctively went to investigate. Charina
grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Don't go out there, Heero,” she said and she felt a small whine escape with her voice. “The dragons
don't like it when their battles are interrupted by a human, no matter who's human it is.”
Heero looked into her red eyes for a second and in that second he noticed her worry so he nodded. “I
won't go, okay?” he said and it was her turn to nod. She relaxed, but still held firmly onto his arm. Heero
turned to go into the room again and he felt her grip tighten.
“I'm only going into the room,” he said as he looked back at her.
She replied, “I know, but you should look at this.”
Charina pointed up to the highest point in the cave and Heero looked up in the direction she indicated.
Above were Fafnoth and another male dragon competing for the right of the throne. The one other than Fafnoth
was a brilliantly colored dragon that was a child in age compared to Fafnoth. The dragon's name was Jesnoth
and had golden colored scales that turned silver as it reached the tip of the dragon's tail. Fafnoth's red scales
were dull in comparison, but even though Jesnoth had the shine, speed, and skill that Fafnoth seemed to be
lacking, his Majesty had the brains that Jesnoth was without.
Jesnoth shot a wave of flames at Fafnoth and the older dragon dodged it easily, sending it into a stalactite
at the last second. It burned in the dragon's fire for a moment before breaking and falling into the water below.
The water released a cloud of steam and some of the humans escaped the oncoming dust that would be created
when the dragons swooped down for the final round.
Heero found himself running to the cave's entrance with Charina not far behind. Outside the cave the
scene was hardly what you'd call peaceful. Scorching from the dragon's flames marked every possible place in
the area. Small trees that had been once growing outside the cave were burnt to the ground. Heero narrowed his
eyes to see through the crowd of human that were around him. Most of them were the girls that were under the
King of the Dragons, Fafnoth, but there were also many that were under the Prince of the Dragons, Jesnoth, and
they were mostly boys. He scanned the crowd out of habit and caught the eyes of someone that he'd not spoken
to for months.
“Trowa . . .” he whispered as he pulled himself out of Charina's hard grip. He approached the unibanged boy cautiously, almost afraid that what he was seeing was a dream. “Is it really you? I thought that you
were in the hospital unconscious.”
Trowa looked at Heero as if he were wondering himself how the Perfect Soldier had gotten here himself.
“I only remember being hit by one of the asteroids and then waking up here. I have no explanation for what
happened to me. How did you get here?”
“I was jumping off of a cliff outside Relena's mansion and then I ended up here,” Heero replied, feeling
the slight tug that Charina had on his shirt.
“Who's this interesting young lady?” Trowa asked, but he looked up in time to see a large gold dragon
come up to them. “Daknoth, how are you today?”
“Trowa,” said the large dragon who loomed over them all. “Why are you talking to these humans?
They are of Fafnoth's faction.”
“Forgive me, Daknoth. I had no idea that it was so. Forgive my foolishness, General,” Trowa kneeled
to Daknoth in hope that the dragon wouldn't hit him like he'd done so many times.
Daknoth growled at Trowa and picked up the tall pilot by the neck with his claws. “You had better not
have any idea that these were humans that belonged to Fafnoth or you will not get any food for a week! Either
that or I'll get permission to kill you since you are a parasite under my scales. I'm sure that when Jesnoth wins
the throne he'll give me permission to do just that!”
The gold dragon dropped Trowa to the ground that was ten feet below him and the pilot landed with a
loud thump. Trowa wheezed at the impact and curled himself into a tight ball to hide the pain that he
experienced at the moment. Heero went to the side of his fellow pilot and touched him on the arm. He just saw
him wince before he went expressionless again.
Trowa, I need you to tell me what's happened to you. You used to be so open with me when it came to
your problems. This must be bigger than anything that you've ever experienced, Heero thought as he pulled
up the long sleeve of Trowa's shirt to reveal scars, cuts, scabs, and bruises that he knew his friend had never had
before.
Meanwhile, Trowa was thinking, Heero, I want to tell you, but I don't want you to think me weak like
I know you will. I take your opinion above all others and I don't need you to think me weak along with all
this happening to me. I can't have that at all! I want to be stronger so I can face up to that jackass of a
dragon!
As Trowa wished himself to get stronger, Heero had pulled out an aid kit to heal some of the wounds
that he could. He was about to apply some aloe vera gel to a long cut that ran down Trowa's arm, but before he
could, Trowa swung his arm out and tried to get away from Heero and Charina.
“I will not be healed by my superior or by one of Fafnoth's humans!” Trowa whispered loudly as he
stood up. He backed up a few steps and fell into the soft grass. He breathed in the soothing smell of the dew
and felt strength running though his body. Then blackness overtook his eyes.
Heero held his breath when he saw Trowa's body start to glow in a soft blue. He backed up a pace or
two when an image that looked like a ghost stood up, as if he were climbing out of Trowa's body. He was small
as if he were only a child and his eyes held the innocence of a child as well. He looked at Heero and smiled as
he held out his hand to the Wing Gundam pilot. His hand had a small ring on it that enclosed itself around a
shining red jewel. It obviously symbolized something other than being a dragon.
Heero cautiously took the hand gingerly in his own and was surprised when the hand felt solid beneath
his skin. For a long moment, Heero was consumed in darkness, but under his hand was still the small one that
belonged to Trowa's soul. The darkness shied away and Heero was left staring at Trowa's soul in his older form.
His eyes glistened in amusement at Heero's surprise.
“I want to live, Heero,” he spoke in Heero's mind and his lips never moved. “Trowa wants me to live,
but the only way that I can, is if all the barriers that surround me are broken. He feels that you are the only one
that can make that happen.”
“What barriers?” Heero asked, forming his question in his mind and sending to Trowa's soul.
“The barriers are in layers. They guard the soul like an army guards a fort. They prevent anyone from
seeing the real picture of the soul. I'll start with the outermost layer and go further toward the soul. The first
barrier is the weakest of all the shields since it was only recently developed within the last few months. It is the
discipline that he acquired under the dragon, Daknoth. It won't be easy to break this one even though it is the
weakest. So be strong with him,” the image explained. “The second barrier is his strongest and most
trustworthy. It is reenforced by the training that Trowa underwent in the process of becoming a Gundam pilot.
It will take a long time for this shield to break, but we are both sure that you will be successful in this.”
“Are you sure that I can do this?” Heero interrupted the soul once again.
“You are the only one that can, Heero! You are the only one he will allow himself to listen to! He takes
your opinion higher than even his own. Why do you think he listens so intently when you speak to him? You
are like his role model. You are the only one he's recognized since his arrival here and he will depend on your
support from now on. Heero, you are his pillar, the one who holds him up during his times of crisis. THIS is a
time of crisis for him and you must rise to the challenge!”
Heero shook his head, not believing that Trowa had an image to represent his soul. “What if I can't do
this? What if I can't break the barriers?”
The brown-haired young man turned away from Heero and walked into the shadows of a small tree that
was blossoming where his uni-bang was more visible. “I'm going to ignore those questions because they are
useless. You WILL be able to do anything I say that you can because I am Trowa's soul. You will break the
barriers because you are the only one that will be willing to do this for him. The only one.”
He looked at Heero and smiled, glad that for once the pilot had no questions. “I'm going to continue to
tell you about the barriers. The third shield is the second strongest and is known as his mask because it is the
barrier that most people see. This shield blocks his emotions from everyone, but only once has it failed to work.
It was when he was having problems and he let his anger out just once. You were able to do something that no
other has. You saw him starting to cry and didn't stop him. He considered that as a sign of friendship in you
and has kept the memory in him forever.”
Trowa's soul saw Heero start to look away having the memory tucked carefully in his mind as well. He
nodded and continued. “Heero, even though there are only three shields, they will all be terribly hard to destroy
and they might even come back. We can't have that happen and I'm sure that you'll know what to do when the
time comes for you to make the most important decision of this entire quest.”
“When will I know that I've completed the quest?” Heero asked as his friend's soul reached out his hand
to him.
“You will know because then your own barriers will have broken,” he explained and smiled at Heero
again. The smiled seemed to contain a bit of knowledge that the soul knew, but neither the real Trowa nor
Heero knew. “I will see you again, Heero . . .” Heero faded from the link and went back into his own mind
again, “. . . my love.”
Charina clapped her hands together when she saw the two boys groan and get up. She noticed that the
two were still holding hands like the ghost and Heero had done and her eyes narrowed slightly. When their
hands separated, her eyes brightened and she wrapped her arms around Heero's neck.
“Are you okay?” she cried out to Heero. “You just passed out when that little freak touched your hand!
If I ever see him again, I'll beat the living daylights out of him!”
“Charina . . .” Heero said, giving Trowa an apologetic look, “will you please . . . shut the hell up!”
Charina looked a bit taken aback by Heero's sudden order for her to be quiet, but still kept her strong hold on his
neck.
“But you said . . .” she started, but realized that she'd only dreamed of Heero saying that and clammed
her mouth shut.
Heero walked over to put up the contents of his bag when Jesnoth stormed out of the caves. It was
obvious that he'd just lost the final match in the competition for the throne and that he was looking for someone
that he thought would be easily killed . . . like a human. Jesnoth caught sight of Heero and smiled, knowing that
he was Fafnoth's favorite human out of all the ones that he controlled.
Trowa's eyes went wide when he realized what Jesnoth was going to do and ran over to help Heero just
as Jesnoth's tail was swinging around to hit Heero. Heero shouted for Trowa to stop, but the brown-haired pilot
would do no such thing. Trowa continued to run toward Heero.
“Stop, Trowa!” Heero yelled as he picked up his bag and threw it toward Charina, who didn't see it
coming. “I'm telling you to stop!”
Don't tell him to stop, Heero! You're lucky that this shield is weak enough that he can destroy it
himself. Just be sure that Trowa doesn't get badly injured in the process!
Heero nodded, knowing that the voice in his mind was the link that he had with Trowa's soul, and started
to run toward Trowa, who was just about to be hit by Jesnoth's giant tail. Jesnoth saw that Trowa was in the way
of his swing and made his tail go faster. Trowa breathing lengthened as he ran harder than ever and out of the
corner of his eye, he could see the golden scales of Jesnoth's tail getting closer to him. He saw Heero and he
crashed into the pilot, knocking him out of the range of the tail.
“Dare you protect one of Fafnoth's humans, Trowa?” Jesnoth yelled in his rage of losing both to Fafnoth
and to a human.
Heero felt a slight burning in his chest and pressed his hand to it to find that his skin felt warm. He
glanced over at Trowa and he too had his hand to his chest. Trowa looked over at Heero and they stared at each
other for a moment, before both of them crouched over as if in pain. Their hands clutched at the grass that they
were sitting on and the blue light that had been around Trowa appeared around both of them. Child images of
Heero and Trowa appeared behind them and then seemed to grow a few years older in mere seconds. The
dragons scrutinized the images and caught sight of the red jeweled rings that were on both of their hands. When
the light and the images disappeared, they looked up at Jesnoth, who had backed away from them.
“You have magic!” Jesnoth cried angrily. “No human is allowed to have magic and be under the control
of a dragon!”
“That's right!” Fafnoth said loudly as he neared them in human form.
He stood before Heero and Trowa and motioned for them to stand. They did so and he jabbed his hands
into each of their bodies. Their hands clutched at Fafnoth's arms and tried to pull his hands out, but it came to
no avail. Their younger images appeared again and shoved their own hands into Fafnoth's chest.
“You will not prevent our awakening!” the images spoke as one. “From now on you and your dragons
will leave us alone until our awakening comes forth to take us back home. Now we order you, King of all
Dragons, to leave!”
Fafnoth flew backwards and two strips of blood marked the place where the images had their hands, but
on Heero and Trowa, there was no sign that Fafnoth had even hurt them. Fafnoth's heart beat wildly from his
shock and his breathing was quite irregular, even for a dragon. He shook his head angrily at the two humans
and he turned back into his dragon form.
“Never have I seen such a power or strength in a human before,” Fafnoth whispered to Jesnoth and he
nodded his agreement with the King.
“We will make a compromise with you, humans,” Jesnoth said. “If you give us your powers, then we
will let you live with the dragons as if you were a dragon yourself. If you refuse the former proposal, then we
will give you a day's head start before we come and hunt you down. Which do you decide on?”
“We have a better idea,” the two images spoke as one again, their smiles looking incredible innocent.
“We'll kill you two dragons before leaving the entire group of dragons and humans to their end. Or you could
just let us go off on our own without any of your kind dying by our hands. Of course if you choose the latter,
then you will have to let us keep our powers, and not hunt us down or kill us.”
The dragons hesitated to answer and the two images raised their hands with lightning racing across their
skin. The dragons finally agreed to the latter and then were forced to let Charina to come with them. They had
said that they would need another to see what would happen. Even though the dragons were bewildered by what
that really meant, they didn't question it. Both images disappeared and Heero and Trowa were left standing
before the King and Prince of the Dragons.
“Heero,” Fafnoth said as he saw the pilot go to get his bag, “I hope you and Trowa have made a wise
decision. I wouldn't expect us to follow every demand that you've made.”
“I wouldn't expect you to, Fafnoth,” Heero replied as he swung his bag over his shoulder, “but it would
be sensible for you to do so.”
With those words finally spoken, the three of them, Heero, Trowa, and Charina, walked away from a life
that they never really understood. Fafnoth looked after them with disgust in his yellow eyes. He turned away
from the three as they left and motioned for the dragons to follow him.
“We will hunt for them at dawn,” Fafnoth ordered all of them when they reached his quarters. “I want
you all to be prepared to use as much magic as you have. I'm certain that those two humans don't have enough
power to resist the entire army of dragons!” The King of the Dragons laughed in his anger and envy and the rest
of the dragons under him laughed as well.
Heero, Trowa, and Charina walked until the darkness overtook the entire sky and Charina was
wondering how either of them could see when it was as dark as the darkest cave that she'd ever seen. Lucky for
them the pilot's souls were always watching out for them and they'd made a perfect campsite before the three of
them hade gone to bed. The fire that Heero somehow managed to create stayed lit for a good part of the night
and kept them warm.
It was late in the night before they heard the soft flapping of dragons' wings in the distance and the sun
hadn't even risen yet. Charina stuttered her warning to the boys as she saw the glittering of the dragons' armory
and the hard light that came from their fires.
“I should have known that they wouldn't truly agree to the arrangement,” Heero scolded himself for
being so foolish.
“Let's get out of here before they get to close,” Trowa suggested, but he knew that they would never be
able to outrun the dragons on foot. In the moment that they decided to leave, the whole campsite disappeared,
thanks to the soul's magic and the darkness of the night overtook the place once again.
“Where are they?” Fafnoth whispered, teasing himself as he laughed silently.
One of his troops spotted the smoke that was from the human's campfire and he flew to his commander,
Sarnoth. She nodded to him and quickly went to tell Fafnoth and Jesnoth, who were leading the attack on the
three humans. Fafnoth led the dragon army down into the forest that the humans had camped in and they all
landed in a circle around the campsite. Even though there was only the black firewood that Heero had used to
start a fire, the dragon's could tell that the three had been there. They could smell a human's stench.
Heero saw the dragons land from a distance and could barely feel the blast of wind that they made when
they did. He caught sight of Fafnoth and scowled. He should have known that bastard of a dragon would be in
charge of finding them. Now that he and Trowa could use the magic without their other selves' help, they could
attack the dragons together and possibly win, but even that was impossible. Behind him Charina was shivering
and clinging to his jacket. Trowa was standing close to him and was watching the dragons as well.
“Do you recognize anyone?” Trowa asked him.
Heero shook his head. “I only see Fafnoth's face and he isn't one that we really need to worry about. He
prefers me alive, but I don't think that he cares about you or Charina. You two are just another pair of humans
to him.”
Trowa smiled a little at the reply and Heero looked up at him for an explanation. “You sound like a
dragon that I met before I became Daknoth's human,” Trowa spoke quietly so the dragons that were nearby
wouldn't hear him. “He never told me his name, but he sounded as if he were against having humans to serve
him. I think that he preferred to do his own work.”
“Let's fly above and walk below so we can search the surrounding areas totally. They couldn't have
gotten too far!” Jesnoth ordered with a nod by Fafnoth to his half of the troops.
Jesnoth's dragons all unfurled their wings and lifted themselves into the air with a few strong flaps of
their wings. While Jesnoth's dragons did the flying, Fafnoth ordered his dragons to walk along the ground. He
secretly thought that his troops would have a better chance of finding the three humans than Jesnoth's did.
Heero turned around to find that Trowa was already getting Charina ready to move out. It was like
Trowa had read his mind. Heero motioned for both of them to follow and he led them through the woods at a
steady pace. Charina followed him second and Trowa pulled up the end to watch if the dragon were gaining on
them. The dragons had a habit of doing just that. Every time that they knew that they were at least a few square
meters in front of the dragons, they would look back and find that they were now only two.
Only once did they have to use magic to get away. They had teleported to a cave that was above the
forest, but low enough that Jesnoth's dragon army wouldn't see them. Charina found herself getting more and
more tired of running from the dragons day after day, with them always getting closer and closer with each
passing minute. She almost asked the pilots to leave her in the cave, but knew that she couldn't bring herself to
have Heero do that.
To her surprise Heero and Trowa were spending most of the time that they were in the cave creating a
plan of action against the dragon army. They both knew that they would need the help by possibly some other
dragons or other stronger beings that had magic. They looked to her when they came to that decision.
“What?” she asked when they looked at her.
“We need to know more about the things here,” Trowa said as if it explained everything that they
wanted. Of course it told Charina nothing.
Heero sighed, privately wondering if Relena's brain was in Charina's body. He explained, “We need to
find out if there is anything more powerful than the army of dragons out there. Do you know of anything that
can help us fight them?”
Charina thought for a moment, her mind searching carefully through all the things that she learned from
the tutors she'd had as a blacksmith's daughter. She finally nodded when she found what she was looking for.
“I know what can help you! Across a wide river that's near to here, there is a mage that has tremendous powers.
I hear that he's very hard to get along with and only if he meets the people worthy, does he help them.”
The pilots looked at each other and nodded, feeling the excitement of the new challenge that awaited all
of them. Heero peeked outside just as a golden dragon swooped down into the forest and he ducked back in,
scared of being caught by them. Just as Charina had described to them, there was a wide river that could be
seen from the mouth of the cave. His ears tuned to the sound of the running water and felt the tightness of
Charina's hold of his arm.
“How are we going to get down there, Heero?” she asked.
Heero wondered what had really changed her from the irritating woman that she used to be to the
weakened female that she was at the moment. Had the three days that he'd been unconscious been so hard on
her? Could she actually be lost without him? Heero grunted at the thought since it reminded him too much of
Relena, but he let her hold his arm nonetheless.
Trowa was the first to go out this time and he lead them down a partially level side of a cliff. The trees
that held the side together blocked the dragons' view and they were grateful for that. Trowa had gone down the
path earlier that morning without any of them seeing him, but he knew that Heero would notice that he'd left
marks on the trees so that he would know where to go.
Only once did a dragon get dangerously close to seeing them before flying off and the dragons that were
searching on the ground were looking in the less dense area where they would be able to fit through the trees.
During a break time that Heero took advantage of, he saw a few of the more expandable dragons change into his
or her human form and start searching the dense areas, but they only went as far as a few meters into the trees.
Heero asked Charina more about the mage that they were going to visit and she said all that she could.
The mage's name was Mahou and he held more magic than all the dragon armies put together. The mage was
like a hermit and he preferred to have it stay that way. He had lived for a millennium without letting anyone
know about him, but the dragons sensed his power building up greater than even their King's and decided to do
something about it. He guarded himself without taking offence to the dragons. He swore that he would never
attack the dragons unless they first tried to kill one of his people, the mages.
“So I was thinking that since you could now be considered a mage that you could ask him for help,”
Charina finished.
“Yes, but remember that you told us that we had to be worthy to deserve his help,” Heero said as he
turned his eyes toward the sky. He had just caught the sight of a dragon's wing before he heard the dragon
himself crashing though the thick forest trees.
“So this is where you little pests are hiding!” said a familiar voice. It was the dragon general, Daknoth.
The dragon sneered as he saw Trowa standing the farthest away from him. He pushed past Heero and Charina
and headed toward Trowa.
“Did you think that you could stay away from me forever? You're like a little dog. You always come
back for your food.” Daknoth laughed and they all wondered why he wasn't calling to tell Jesnoth that he'd
found them. Daknoth pulled back his largest claw and took a swipe at Trowa. The pilot jumped back just far
enough to not receive the full blow. Instead he got a long gash on his chest that could be seen easily through his
torn shirt.
“Trowa!” Heero shouted when he saw his friend land heavily on the ground. He saw Trowa roll a few
times before stopping completely. “Let him go, Daknoth!” The dragon turned, his sneer greater than ever. He
looked at Heero and lowered his head to blow a cloud of smoke into the boy's face, but a painful tug at his scales
brought his attention back to Trowa.
“You should leave my friend be, Daknoth . . .” Trowa whispered harshly as he held his hand up to him.
Blue smoke erupted at his feet and it in whirled around his body and the dragon peered at the boy carefully.
“You will go away and leave us be . . .” His breathing became short, raspy breaths.
The blue smoke filled his lungs and they burned like fire. Daknoth stepped back, barely missing Heero
and Charina. The smoke turned into fire and blazed in anger. Trowa pulled his hand back and then thrust it
forward making the fire follow it. The fire sped along the hard ground to Trowa's quiet command. When it
reached Daknoth, who was already lifting himself off the ground, it jumped and wrapped itself around the large
golden dragon, making it impossible for him to escape.
Heero heard the dragon roar in anguish and the fire wrapped itself even tighter as the dragon tried using
his magic to fight the fire. The flames still ran around Trowa and his eyes looked intent on his hands. Between
his hands was a ball of fire that shook in the exact manner that Daknoth did. Trowa closed his hands over the
shaking flame and squeezed it, making Daknoth scream loudly. His scream was cut short when the fire and the
dragon blinked into ash.
Charina reluctantly pulled her eyes away from where Daknoth used to be and glanced at Trowa. There
was no longer any fire or smoke around him, but she could see him pouring a pile of ashes out of his hand. She
noticed that the gash on his chest pulsing with his red blood and felt Heero leave her side. Her eyes narrowed
her eyes when she saw Heero just catch Trowa as he fell in pain. The gash widened as Trowa's blood pulsed
evenly with his heart.
Heero almost smiled as he noticed found that Trowa's heart was beating faster at his presence, but chose
not to show it. Trowa groaned and tried to put his hand over his large cut before Heero could heal it, but he had
already unbuttoned the rest of the shirt to reveal a wide array of even more scars from injuries that he'd not seen
before.
Heero quickly finished healing the wounds that he could and soon Trowa was as good as new. Trowa
put his hand to his head as he sat up, the effects of the healing still going through his head. Heero put a hand on
his shoulder to steady him and asked, “What happened to you while you were here?”
Trowa lowered his eyes and the Wing Gundam pilot got the distinct impression that Trowa was showing
sadness. Charina came over when Trowa tried to stand up and failed. She also steadied him with her hand and
she put a small leaf into his hand.
“Here, you go,” she said as she handed him a herb that she'd held in her pocket. “This will help stop the
spinning. You had better eat it before another dragon comes because of Daknoth's wretched roaring.”
Trowa accepted it gratefully and ate it quickly before its bitter taste could reach his senses. He looked at
Heero, who still asked the questions through his eyes. The spinning had stopped suddenly and Trowa slowly
began to shake his head.
“I'll tell you when I'm ready, Heero, but this is not the time,” Trowa finally said as he walked in the
direction that they had originally been going in.
Heero quickly followed and whispered as he passed Charina, “His silence is deafening!” She looked in
wonder as she caught up with the two pilots and nodded her head to Heero in agreement.
The two followed Trowa to the river that Charina had mentioned while talking about Mahou and Heero
looked back over to see a few dragons hovering over the place where Daknoth had been destroyed. His honed
eyes scanned the area between the trees and saw the flash of brown that could be either an animal or the tunic of
a dragon in human form. He wondered which it really was. He quickly nudged Trowa, but found that the pilot
was already looking in the same direction.
Trowa nodded and whispered something into Heero's ear. “It's a dragon and not an animal like you
think.” Heero glanced at Trowa briefly, wondering exactly how long Trowa had been able to read his mind, but
he gave no sign of giving another answer.
The three of them were soon over the water and out of the dragons' reach, though neither of them made a
single movement to conjure magic. On the other side, they were met by a large white wolf that gazed at them
with two blood red eyes. The wolf turned from them and looked back as if to ask if they were coming with him.
Trowa, being the type to like animals, was the first to start to follow and the others were quick to do the same.
The wolf led them to a small cottage that was in a slightly bigger clearing. Around the house were the
rest of the wolves and they surrounded the house in a circle as if they were guardians of it. The wolf that had
led them to the house snarled lightly and the wolves parted for their passage. They walked quietly into the
house, afraid to break the image of it. There was a large fire going on under a nicely decorated mantle. A
wooden staircase led to bedrooms most likely and there were doorways that led to the kitchen, diningroom, and
outside. It was as if the mage, Mahou, was really a woman and not a man.
The wolf howled, making Charina jump into Heero's arms. They heard a loud thump and the wolf
whined as if it were worried. A slam of a door upstairs seemed to make him feel better and the wolf left. Trowa
and Heero watched the stairs for a person and weren't quite startled to find that the person that the wolf had
howled to was a woman.
She had long brown hair that fell past her knees even though most of it was tied in a tight bun. She
rushed down the stairs as she pushed up her thin glasses. She was wearing a long dress made of cotton and was
colored blue and purple. When she saw them, she stopped suddenly and looked at them.
She whistled sharply and apologized to them, “I'm sorry, but I really need to teach that wolf how to give
the details when he tells me that there are visitors.” The wolf strolled into the house as if it were innocent of
anything and the woman gave it a shrewd look, causing its tail to go between the wolf's legs. She waved it away
and turned to her visitors once more.
“So I hear that he brought you from across the river. I'm Mahou, the mage. What do you want?” she
asked bluntly and crossed her arms.
Charina was the first to respond and she said, “We were hoping that you” Heero quickly slapped a hand
over her mouth.
“We have a problem that concerns dragons, especially the King of the Dragons, Fafnoth,” Heero
explained.
“You must have done something big to get him all mad and prissy. What did you do?” she asked them
as she pulled up chairs for them with a wave of her hand.
“We got more powerful than he did,” Trowa replied and the woman gave him a skeptical look. “I
promise! It was an accident, too. We didn't mean to be more powerful than he. It just happened to be.”
Mahou waved for them to stand and the two boys did as they were told. The mage placed her hands
carefully on their chests and the two images of their souls appeared. She nodded her head approvingly and
touched to the images' chests. Their eyes opened and they smiled.
“You two are still alive and well, I see,” Mahou said and the images smiled again.
“You know us, I mean, them?” Trowa asked and the mage nodded. “How?”
“These two were in the same class that I was when we were learning magic,” Mahou started to explain to
them. “They disappeared for an unknown reason and were never seen or heard from again. They were the best
mages around and could destroy an entire race of dragons with a blink of an eye, but it seems that they've lost
most of the abilities that they had when they were away and got trapped into your bodies. I only recently felt
their magic when you,” she pointed at Trowa, “destroyed that dragon.”
Trowa put his hand to the place that Mahou had touched his chest. His skin felt warm like the time that
he had first went against Daknoth. He held his breath as he thought, Another shield is breaking. I want to stop
it from breaking, yet I also want it to shatter into millions of pieces. Why am I in so much confusion!?
Trowa's soul looked at him and smiled as it laid a hand on the shoulder of his other self. You are in
confusion because of me. I want to be free so much that my thoughts are mingling with yours. Sort out the
thoughts and memories that we have and you will understand what you want to happen.
I want you to be free, but I also want to be able to keep the barriers in place so no one will see my
bare soul. Especially a certain someone that only you know about, Trowa thought to his soul.
“You will understand in time,” Mahou broke into their conversation and smiled at Trowa and his soul
that was also her friend. “Your friend is going through the same thing and he thinks the same as you do. He too
will come to an understanding in time.”
“An understanding? He thinks like I do?” Trowa asked softly as if he were thinking what that meant.
He suddenly looked up at Mahou and his eyes were wide. “You can't mean that he does, do you?”
“There are always possibilities, Trowa. I wouldn't lose hope if I were you. You should never lose your
hope for what you want so badly,” she had grabbed his hands tightly in her own and they were comforting.
Charina watched the boys talk to the mage and felt jealous of them. She didn't know what they were
talking about and didn't want to, but she wanted to talk to Mahou herself. It was insane that she would only
speak to the ones that had magic. It wasn't fair of her!
One top of that, Heero was spending more time with Trowa than he was with her. How could he? She
had to admit that she was jealous of the brown-haired boy, but Heero and Trowa didn't make the couple scales
from her perspective. Heero would be better off with her! She decided to go outside and didn't notice the two
boys watch her slam the door behind her.
Mahou shook her head, having heard every thought that had gone through the girl's head. “Heero, did
you know that she loves you?” Mahou asked the spiky-haired pilot. Heero looked at Mahou blankly.
“Apparently you didn't. You had better clear things up with her.” She motioned to the door and Heero nodded
his head as he went for the door.
“You shouldn't expect to hear silence when I come back in,” Heero warned. “I hear that she's got an
extremely short temper.” Heero went outside and expected to see Charina somewhere nearby, but instead found
the wolves howling to the sky. He looked up to see a large red dragon that looked like it was Fafnoth flying
away from the house. In the dragon's claws, Heero could just see the shape of Charina's body.
“Go get Mahou and Trowa!” Heero yelled to one of the wolves and he ran off in the direction that the
dragon was in.
“I can't believe that I didn't hear that dragon land!” Mahou cursed herself as she and Trowa ran to the
dragons' caves along the side of the wolves, who were leading them. The wolves were impressed by the amount
of speed that humans could produce under pressure and sped beside the mage and pilot. They were close to
Heero, so Mahou had said, and were nearing the caves. When they reached the caves, everything was bare.
There were none of the trees that usually surrounded the cave's entrance. The hard ground was without grass
and plants and there were black scorch marks on every possible surface.
Trowa ran into the clearing and he felt his anger and worry grow with each second that he was there. “I
can feel it. Heero's been here,” he murmured and he motioned for the wolves and Mahou to start running again.
The wolves followed Heero's scent and lead the two magic users to yet another clearing that held a lake
and rocks. Mahou gasped when she saw the clearing and her eyes narrowed when two things were noticed by
her eyes. In the middle of the lake were two large crosses and one held Heero to it while the other held Charina.
She scowled and a rustle of leaves behind her made her jump back just as a large dragon landed in the place
that she'd last been.
“Damn! I missed the little female!” shouted a young dragon that was too ambitious for his own good.
Mahou felt magic working its way into her fingertips and she shouted, “No one ever tries to take my life
away from me!”
She pointed a finger at the red dragon and it disappeared without a trace. A few more small dragons
flew at her and landed in a circle around her. They must have thought that she wouldn't do as well against a
whole lot of them. Mahou made her magic rise around her and the sands at her feet swirled with the effort that
she made. Fire and water wound themselves around her and then they shot out at the dragons' necks, wrapping
themselves tightly around them. The dragons puffed fire into the sky while they tried to release themselves
from the water and fire ropes.
“You,” Fafnoth pointed to a group of his troops, “get the other human. I want him dead.”
Trowa closed his eyes when he heard the order ring in his ears. The dragons that Fafnoth had pointed to
were already flying over to block his path and view of Heero. The dragons laughed spitefully at him and their
smoke and fire puffed in his direction. Their red scales glistened till they were crimson in color and their shine
make Trowa close his eyes even tighter. The dragons grabbed his arms and lurched it behind his back, making
his body tilt to the side. A few of the dragons snickered at him as they allowed him to see the open water.
Heero looked up and saw Trowa struggling to get out of the dragon's claws. They've got him now. He
was only coming to rescue me and now he's been captured as well. Trowa . . .
The Wing Gundam pilot felt the smooth breeze come over his shoulders and he saw a bit of blue smoke
escape his hands. The smoke curled around the threads that bound his body to the cross. They slowly turned to
ice and shattered as if they were nothing. Heero fell into the water with a loud splash and Charina fell near to
him. Red smoke waved away from the girl's body and went back into Mahou's hands just as another dragon
around her burst into ash. The dragons snickered louder as Heero ran toward them at a fast pace. Heero felt his
magic churning in his blood and his hands were hot with the fire that flared at his fingertips.
“Leave Trowa alone,” Heero said with confidence, which caused the dragons that were holding Trowa to
laugh harder. The fire on Heero's hands grew larger and he held it up to them. The water at his feet was pushed
away by an invisible force and it splashed and shook with resistence. The force of Heero's magic splashed away
the water with his anger and soon the ground at Heero's feet was bone-dry. The dragons back up, but kept their
hold on Trowa's arm.
Fafnoth looked disapprovingly at the dragons. “Do you want your little friend, Heero Yuy?” Fafnoth
asked teasingly when the young dragons that had Trowa were backed up against his freshly-made throne.
“Well, I'm not going to give him to you . . . alive, that is.”
“You . . . you . . . aren't going to kill him, Fafnoth.” Heero took a short breath. “I won't let you kill him!”
Heero yelled and suddenly the dragons that held Trowa burst into ashes with parts of their bodies still flaming as
they hit the ground.
“Humans are impressive little animals, aren't they, Heero? You are not an exception,” Fafnoth sneered
at the two boys as he rose. Jesnoth was soon to rise after him. The two royal dragons jumped into the air and
aimed at the spot that Heero and Trowa were. The dust rose around them as the dragons landed. Their feet had
just missed them and the dragons' bodies loomed above the two young men.
Heero quickly grabbed Trowa's hand and pulled from beneath Fafnoth. Trowa smiled gratefully at him
and ran along with the other pilot to the trees behind the dragons. Charina and Mahou were already waiting for
them there and the mage agreed that they should combine their powers to attack the dragons. Heero nodded his
consent with the idea and suddenly he started to fade like he had in the dragons' caves. Charina gasped and
grabbed his arm.
“What's happening to you?” Mahou asked Heero, who had no answer. They all looked toward Trowa,
who was silent. Trowa looked up at all of them and wanted to answer the question that was on every one of
their minds. He looked solemnly toward the fading Heero and he looked back at the uni-banged pilot.
“He's going back to the other world. They're bringing you back, Heero.”
“I can't leave yet!” Heero whispered loudly in protest. “I still have to help you fight the dragons, and
Trowa . . . I can't . . .”
Trowa grabbed Heero's hand as the pilot started to fade again. “You should give me your magic before
you go. I could use it. I'll see you again, okay?” Heero shook his head, but felt his magic forming into the blue
smoke once again. He made it flow over to Trowa and seep into the young man's own powers.
“No, Heero!” Charina whispered louder. “I can't let you go yet!”
Heero turned to the brown-haired girl and slapped her harshly across the face. “Charina, get a hold of
yourself. I'm going back and there is nothing that you can do to stop it this time. It doesn't matter what you do
anyway. I want to go home,” Heero explained as he watched the girl put a hand to the red mark on her face.
Heero saw himself fade further into his other world and he heard other voices reach his ears.
“. . . We've gotten another steady beat, doctor . . .”
“. . . I think that he's coming around, Duo . . .”
“. . . Guys, get in here!”
Heero sat up in a military hospital bed and saw the rest of the pilots crowded around his bed.
“Trowa . . .” he groaned as he put a hand to his hand.
Quatre put a comforting hand on the spiky-haired pilot's shoulder. “He's still the same, Heero. I'm sorry,
but the doctor thinks that it will be a long time before he comes around. He isn't the Perfect Soldier, you
know?” The blonde pilot laughed and Heero seemed shocked at the news.
“I saw him . . .” Heero whispered as he stared at the uni-banged pilot in a hospital bed near to him. “He
looked fine, but he was . . . Gods, no.”
“Heero?” Duo asked, making sure that the pilot was still the same. “Are you okay? You seem kind of
emotional.”
Heero laughed slightly at the braided pilot's question. “I'm fine, Duo. I just hope that Trowa wakes up
soon. I hope that he at least lives through it as well.”
Trowa watched Heero blink out of existence and turned to face the dragons for what he hoped what was
the last time after a long line. The sand swirled around his ankles wildly as he stepped out of the forest. Mahou
walked out after him and the soft beach sand did the same to her. The two mages stood back to back and felt
their magic mingling with each others as they closed their eyes.
Trowa's blue smoke and Mahou's red smoke spun around them and their combined powers, along with
Heero's magic, forced the dragons to back up a few steps. Their magic made ropes of fire that appeared around
the dragons necks. Even the strongest of the dragons were struggling to get out of the choking collars when
Trowa started to vanish out of sight.
The Heavyarms pilot sat up suddenly in his hospital bed to find his hand being held tightly within
someone else's. He looked down to see Heero gripping his hand with all his might. The blue smoke that
belonged to Heero's magic flowed carefully over their hands to its rightful owner's palm and seeped into the
skin.
Heero's eyes tightened at the feeling of movement in his hand and looked up at Trowa. “You're awake,”
he said softly and Trowa nodded. He felt his chest burned hot as if it were full of fire. Trowa pressed his hand
to his chest and felt the same hot sensation that Heero did. Trowa's other hand squeezed Heero's hand and he
smiled.
“Thanks for being there when you could,” he said gratefully.
He clasped Heero's hand once more before the door to the hospital room swung open. Duo almost
gasped at the scene. It had only been the only day that Heero had come to see Trowa in the hospital and now
suddenly he uni-banged pilot was awake. The doctor had predicted that Trowa wouldn't make it through the
night yesterday, but all of the pilots had agreed not to tell Heero because of the closeness that the two had shared
together.
“Trowa, you're awake,” Duo said with a wide smile on his face that hid his real worry. “I know someone
who would really be glad to see you right about now.” He stepped aside and Catherine zoomed past him.
“Trowa!” she shouted. “You're awake! I thought that I'd never see you up and about again.” Trowa
smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.
“Hey, Catherine, how are things back home?” he asked her and she told him all about the new people
that were working there. “I guess hearing that an ex-Gundam pilot worked there made them scurry in.” He
quieted down and looked at his hand. It was the one that he usually used for magic and now it was throbbing.
Heero tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up at him.
“Do you feel it too?” Heero asked and he nodded. They grabbed each other's hands and the images that
represented their souls appeared at the foot of the bed. They were now at their full ages and looked exactly like
their counterparts. They were wearing long robes that matched the colors of their magic and their feet were bare
on the cold floor of the hospital.
Heero nodded his head to them and said, “So they were real. It wasn't a dream.”
“My name is Yusen,” replied the one that looked like Heero as his body solidified completely, “and now
that we have our own bodies, we will take our leave of you.”
The one that looked like Trowa finished making his body whole before speaking. “My name is Akan.
We thank you for your help and in return we are allowing you to keep a small token of our gratitude.” Yusen
looked at Catherine and Duo and motioned for them to turn around. They looked at Trowa and Heero to be
assured that it was okay to do so. The two pilots simply did the same as Yusen had done.
After the other two had done as they were told, the two mages held up their hands to the ones that had
kept them safe in the world of magic. Glittering magic flowed toward Heero and Trowa and they felt it soak
into their bodies. It warmed their bodies and the place where their souls had been was hot and reassuring. The
two mages kneeled before them.
Duo decided to take a chance and look back at what was happening. He saw that the two other pilots'
bodies were shining and bright. Their light faded and the mages kneeled before his fellow comrades. He turned
his head back around, but kept listening to their voices.
“Again we thank you for keeping us,” the mages spoke as one. “We grant you admittance to the magical
realm anytime that you wish. Inside of you there are now the same stars that allowed us to have magic and you
have the ability to use magic again.”
Yusen stood first and thought to Heero. I personally would like to thank you for allowing me
admittance to your thoughts. I must first say that my thoughts were the same for Akan. You should allow
them to show. Trust me when I say that he most likely thinks the same way as you.
Akan grabbed Trowa hand and smiled as he spoke mentally to him. I would encourage you to show
your feelings to Heero. I believe that he has the same thoughts about you. The two of you are the same and
will soon be like Yusen and I are. Believe me when I say this.
The mages stepped away from their human counterparts and vanished before saying goodbye. Trowa
picked up Heero hand in his and found what he was looking for. “You have the ring of magery like I do. We've
become mages.”
“I could get used to that,” Heero replied as he smiled while looking at Trowa's hands as they held his
own.
The two rings glowed and the blue smoke, which they used for magic, escaped out of them. A string of
lightning shot its way through the smoke. Almost instantly Heero's smoke turned a crimson red and Trowa's
smoke turned into a darker blue. The magical smoke wound around their owners' bodies and their clothes
changed from their regular outfits to the loose-fitting robes that the mages had worn.
“Can we turn around yet?” Catherine whined as she turned without waiting for permission. “My God!
What happened to you!?”
“I was about to ask the same thing and what happened to those boys that looked exactly like you?” Duo
asked. “And what the hell were they talking to you about?”
“Duo!” Catherine warmed him about his foul mouth and he put his hands up in defense. She crossed her
arms and looked expectantly at her little brother. “What did they talk to you about?”
Trowa smiled mysteriously at his sister and she smiled back at him, though she was still awaiting a reply
from him. “Catherine, you can wait for that answer, but for now, can we just get out of here?”
“Yeah, and get into something that is less bathrobe-like?” Heero continued as he raised a brow at Trowa
and smiled crookedly.
“That's only because you don't want to be the only one caught wearing it in the city,” Trowa counter
acted. He watched Heero walk over to the window and press his hand against it.
“Heero, this is the military's hospital! You can't possibly think of escaping the room without going
through at least one door!” Duo half yelled, but soon backed away when he saw electricity start to zap itself
around the thick glass.
Heero said nothing to reply to Duo's comment, but instead pushed his hand through the glass and it
waved away like it was water. Soon the window was completely gone. “Shall we?” he asked as he spread his
arms to his sides.
He turned and fell out of the window head first and he felt his clothes changing back into his usual
button-up shirt and jeans. As he neared the ground, like he'd done so many times before, he flipped around
slightly and created wings to sprout from his back. The wings were feathery and large like that of his latest
Gundam and they lifted him away from the ground easily. He looked above him and flapped away as another
body passed him. He recognized the body as Trowa.
Trowa extended his arms and his wings came with them. They too were large and held long white
feathers. They spread out gracefully and he made a soft landing on the ground. Instantly he felt the eyes of
people on him. He looked up as Heero too landed with Catherine and Duo in his arms. A car screeched to a
halt next to them and the driver looked at them in shock.
A young girl came up to Heero and tugged lightly on his jeans. Heero peered down at her closely. “Are
you an angel, mister?” she asked him. He glanced up at Trowa because he wasn't sure how to answer that
question. Trowa shrugged and kneeled next to the girl.
“Why do you want to know?” Trowa asked her. She held up a teddy bear to his face and he accepted it
gingerly. Its shoulder's threading had just begun to tear open and the stuffing was coming out in soft lumps. “I
think that we can take care of this.” Trowa handed the bear to Heero, who looked dumbfounded. “You can heal
it.”
“Are you sure about this?” he asked the uni-banged pilot. He nodded and motioned for him to wave a
hand over it. Heero did so and the threading stitched back into place. He handed the bear back to the girl.
“That wasn't so hard, I guess. It was a first try after all.”
“You really need to get used to working magic, Heero,” Trowa said as he stood up again.
“Are you saying that I'm the amateur and you're the expert in magic?” Heero asked and before he got an
answer, he continued on angrily. “Let me tell you that I can handle magic just as well as you can!” Heero
crossed his arms and glared at the other pilot.
Trowa was stunned when Heero glared at him. He looked down at the girl, who had turned away from
them and was running toward her parents with the good news. He saw that Duo had stepped between them and
that his lips were moving fast as if he were yelling, but he heard no words. There was only a feeling of freezing
cold where the hot star that Akan had given him used to be. His hand was clutching the portion of the shirt that
was at his chest and he felt his body turn icy cold. He held his breath as he looked at the ground at his feet. The
earth was turning to ice! It was because of him. It could only be because of him.
“Earth . . . Ice . . . It's because of me,” Trowa managed to stutter before he fell to the ground himself. He
thought, He doesn't feel the same way . . . His breath became long and slow as if time were closing to a stop.
The ice spread further along the ground, and the people that stood upon it did as well, except for Heero and
some of those which were slow to freeze. The hot air that came from his mouth created small clouds in the air
and he glanced up at Heero and the others, unable to see the shock that had formed on their faces through the ice
that had formed over them.
“Trowa!” Heero shouted in his ear, but he heard nothing. Everything was empty to him now and no
sound would reach his ears. They watched as his skin became cold and ice seemed to form over his body in thin
layers. Heero saw his friend's wing stretch outward, breaking the ice that had formed around it as it did so.
They suddenly collapsed upon themselves and retreated withing Trowa's body again.
Trowa, can you hear me? Heero asked him mentally. Trowa's eyes looked up as Heero kneeled next to
him and held out his hand. Trowa moved slightly as if trying to touch his hand desperately. Heero grabbed
Trowa's hand and held it for a long time. Come with me, okay?
They felt their minds seem meld together suddenly and they became one. They could feel each others
feelings, think the others thoughts, and know the other's knowledge at the same time. Heero kept himself
attached to Trowa despite the feeling of cold and loneliness that had totally taken control of his friend. He
forced his own warmth to spread into Trowa and he felt the solidness of Trowa's hand under his own like he had
with Akan. He squeezed Trowa's hand and he felt its small movement in reply.
Heero, where are you? I can't see anyone!
Heero heard Trowa's small cry in his mind and his essence flowed toward the source of the cry. He
found himself holding Trowa's cold body in his arms and his warmth surrounded both of them in a soothing,
calm aura.
I'm here and you don't have to be alone any longer, Heero's comforting voice cooed into Trowa's
mind. I won't let you be by yourself ever again.
Trowa's loneliness clouded Heero's sight of the other pilot and he only heard the soft voice of his friend
that he'd thought that was gone for good. I thought that I lost you forever, Heero. I don't want that to happen
to me . . . Promise that you'll never leave me, Heero. I don't want you to.
Heero pushed away Trowa's sadness and smiled when he saw the young man's face again. Trowa started
to speak again, but Heero silenced him.
You will be quiet, my friend, Heero shushed him as he drew closer to Trowa.
Trowa said nothing as he felt the cold of his worry, sadness, fear, loneliness, and tears fall away and the
shield that had somehow rebuilt itself crumbled into nothingness once again. He only felt the movement of
something over his lips and his eyes opened slightly at the soft sensation. The world that was once icy and cold
was slowly melting back to its normal temperature. His eyes opened wider as he realized that someone was
kissing him.
Heero!
Suddenly the lips that had been held over his mouth for so long were gone and Trowa opened his eyes
completely. Heero was sitting before him and his wings guarded most of his body from the cold ice that was
melting around him. Trowa felt his wings grow back all at once and they flexed, shedding away some of the ice
that had stayed on when they had gone back into Trowa's body. The small pieces of thin ice that had frozen on
his body flaked off and flew away in a small breeze.
“You said that you would be quiet,” Heero teased.
Trowa looked at him mysteriously, “You never promised yet.”
“Fine then I promise that I'll never leave you,” Heero said as his wings extended toward the sky. He saw
that Catherine and Duo were almost done 'thawing' and pulled on Trowa's shirt. “Let's get out of here before
they are completely unfrozen.”
The two 'angels' flapped once and were instantly into air, gliding over the buildings that made up Tokyo.
They flew together once or twice and hugged each other as they kissed lightly to show their love and need for
each other, though they needn't have. The winds carried them up further than they had ever been and they
chased each other into the setting sun.