Step Inside the Circle Part 10
Sally and Hilde rushed to their sister's side, their faces still white with fear and anger. Sally, especially, looked upset and worried; Hilde had been unconscious and injured, after all, and it had been her responsibility to rein in Morrigan's darkness. She had failed.
She examined Noin's arm - while it was definitely broken, Sally was relieved to see it was a clean break. She shook her head, grimacing as she set to work trying to splint it. "What the hell was she thinking, pulling a knife on Gwydion?"
Hilde grimaced, her hands shaking slightly as she tried to help. "She's lucky Lord Nuada didn't do worse to her."
"No - she's lucky he did something before I could," Quatre corrected, stepping closer. Both women looked up - he was standing over them - admittedly trembling from the exertion on top of his injuries - his eyes gone deep blue, fists clenching at his sides. "She deserves worse..."
"Enough, Quatre," Relena said in a no-nonsense tone. "This isn't going to help..."
The gloom of the road was suddenly lit as the car exploded, and everyone turned in shock to stare. They could just make out Trowa and Duo's forms through the gloom, backlit by red fire, and then-
Nuada-Duo's ice blue aura split the gloom like a lighthouse beacon.
Relena's lips trembled for a moment. "Goddess, please say Heero is all right," she whispered, but then seemed to come back to herself. "And you," she said, glaring down at Morrigan, still crumbled in her sisters' arms, "you had better pray they all come back alive, or my anger will be the least of your worries."
She turned away and called, "Walker! Otto! Please go back to the groves. We need to have everything prepared for the Sealing for when Gwydion comes back." The two druids bowed and left without a word.
Relena turned back to the others and wordlessly walked to Quatre's side, propping one of his arms over her shoulder to support him. She turned her head - Hilde and Sally had managed to get Morrigan up and cradled between them. "Come on. The rest of the druids will follow when the others come in."
Quatre took one look at her face and didn't bother to protest his reluctance to leave while his lover was still in danger. Wincing as they began to move, he limped alongside Relena as best he could.
~*~
Why was the windshield red?
Heero tried to shake his head, and immediately gave up, groaning. Even the slightest movement made his head ache as though he'd driven a stake through it, and his stomach heaved. He panted for air as he leaned on the broken, red glass...
Red. With his blood.
It came back to him in a flash - the car ride, Hilde and Quatre jumping out to deal with their attackers and being brought down, swerving-
He forced himself onto his hands and knees and crawled out from the smashed automobile. There was no sign of the others. He turned as quickly as he could to look down the road - though his vision was greying out, he could see the Lady and her guards approaching the stones, several druids at their sides. He allowed himself to collapse back to the pavement with relief. "They're okay."
The ground was wet. He brought his hand to his face and smelled it - gasoline! But from what...
He turned and looked at the car again, and cursed as he forced himself to move. It could blow up any minute, now! He had to wonder for a moment - why was he left behind?
It wasn't important. Grimacing as he got to his feet, he began stumbling up the road on his own. His head was clearing as he moved, and as his pain died down, his awareness of his surroundings picked up.
Heero grunted and looked longingly back at the car. He knew he was surrounded, and now he was unarmed, too, having left his weapons behind. A grim smile settled over his face; he'd been in worse situations before.
Or so he thought.
A voice to his right cackled, "Look what we've got here, lads!" and someone tossed a match.
Heero was blown off his feet as the car exploded - he vaguely thought he heard someone calling his name, but it was difficult to be sure of anything beyond the ringing in his ears. He rolled - he didn't think his clothing had caught fire, but he couldn't be sure - and finally came to his feet to the raucous laughter of his assailants.
His eyes glinted dully as he turned to face the Formorii behind him. "Formorii bastards..."
Heero was shocked into silence, though, as he felt a familiar energy coming closer and burning far more strongly than he'd ever felt it before. He felt a rush as he realised it was Duo at his back.
The Formorii were shrieking as Heero, too, allowed his power to explode inside of him, wreathing him in the same blue flames that touched the other man, now standing at his side. Duo had a sword in either hand - he calmly handed one to the other Tuatha De Danaan.
Duo looked deep into the other man's eyes. "We will not leave you or anyone else behind, Greine."
Heero smiled.
The Formorii around them began howling as they circled to close in, and the two young men turned back to back. Feeling Duo coiled and ready at his back, Heero whispered, "Now."
~*~
Trowa was forced to swallow a yelp as he watched the two combatants springing into action. Electric blue seemed to flow off the both of them as they moved preternaturally fast, attacking with complete abandon. Duo's wrists were gleaming silver in the darkness, and he heard more than one Formore shouting the name Nuada in awe and fear.
He smirked and drew his sword in his left hand, trying to avoid having to used his injured right. Good.
He put on a burst of speed and threw himself into the back of the attackers with a yell.
~*~
Duo was amazed as he continued to swing his blade and dance through his attackers so easily. His misgivings from earlier in the day were completely gone - the one thing that seemed off was the sword in his hand. With a jolt, he realised something deep inside of him was longing for the other blade - Fragarach - and using anything else felt like a pale shadow. Though he'd never even touched it, his hands knew Fragarach and longed for it.
He could feel an attacker rushing him from behind, and he spun quickly, bringing the sword up-
The sight of his enemy literally impaling itself on his sword broke the battle trance for him, the blue flames surrounding him dimming almost completely. He couldn't believe what he'd just done! Blinking to clear his vision, he cast around for the others.
Duo watched in equal parts amazement and concern as Heero lifted his empty hand, flames glowing in his palm. With a rush of air, flames leapt and engulfed his opponents-
Duo cried out as something barrelled into him and he was knocked from his feet, sword flying from his grasp. Several of the ugly shits they were fighting were rushing at him at once - it felt a little like the vision he'd re-lived no more than a night before...
His eyes hardened as the blue flames re-ignited fully. Nuada might have fallen for it, but Duo hadn't trained with his good friend, Wufei, for nothing! Rolling up to his knees, he managed to find his balance and quickly struck out at his nearest attacker, a kick connecting with the Formore's knee hard enough that you could hear bones breaking. He swept the legs out from two others before he scrambled to his feet and managed to find the sword again. "You want me? Then come and get me!"
His remaining two attackers dropped their weapons and fled, and he turned again to see how Heero was doing.
The other Tuatha De was clearly flagging (much as Duo was, though he would never have admitted it!), but he was still amazing to watch. Poetry in motion, he'd picked up another blade and was using both as fluidly as could be. Both blades were glowing the same blue of Heero's aura, and enemies howled in fear and agony if they were merely touched by the weapons.
To their left, Trowa was motionless, despite the last few Formorii around him. His eyes closed, the druid was simply chanting, arms down at his sides as several Formorii rushed at him, and Duo cursed as he turned in his direction to help-
Trowa's eyes opened, and green flashed out, shockwaves of power sending both Tuatha De Danaan to their knees as it barrelled into them.
They both blinked hard as the light died down. The remaining Formorii were frozen in stone, eyes perpetually wide with fear and shock. His own eyes wide, Duo remained sitting on the ground, staring up at the druid. "That was way cool, Trowa."
The druid smirked slightly. "You weren't half bad, yourself, Nuada."
Heero was already on his feet and headed in their direction. "You both okay?" He gave Duo a hand to stand.
Trowa nodded. "I'll be fine - the real damage happened when Morrigan mistook me for an enemy," he finished with a growl. His right arm hung at his side, awkwardly.
Duo's face darkened with anger. "Morrigan..."
Heero was looking him over carefully, though, and hands running over his shoulders and back distracted Duo from his dark thoughts as they drifted lower. "Hey, what the..."
The half-breed stopped, staring into the other man's face with a very sudden hint of bashfulness. "I... I'm sorry - I needed to know you were unhurt..."
Heero's hands were still resting at his waist, and Duo was suddenly acutely aware of how close they were standing to one another. He furiously tried to hold back a blush. "It's okay. And I'm fine. I was more worried about you."
Deep blue eyes glinted. "You saved me, Nuada." Heero couldn't help it - he slid one hand up Duo's back to cradle his neck while his other arm tightened around the man's slim waist.
Duo sucked in a deep breath, and his eyes drifted down to a set of disgustingly cute and kissable lips...
"Ahem."
Both men turned to find Trowa watching them with a raised eyebrow. "Can we continue this conversation in a place of relative safety?"
The two sprung apart, and Trowa was hard pressed not to chuckle as he watched them both going slightly red in the face.
"Well, that was subtle." He chuckled in the darkness.
Duo's expression went from chagrined to concerned, though. Looking closer, Trowa realised that the redness of Heero's face was not entirely due to his embarrassment; the half breed was unsteady on his feet, bleeding still from the gash on his forehead he'd received when the car crashed, trying to avoid hitting Hilde and Quatre.
Duo took Heero's shoulders gently and helped the man to sit again, before looking up at Trowa. "If I heal him here, he'll still be pretty out of it. Looks like he's lost a lot of blood."
The druid knelt next to the two. "I'll help carry him, if need be."
"But your arm..."
Trowa snorted. "You worry about him, and I'll worry about that, okay?"
Duo acknowledged him with a firm nod before, face set, he took hold of Heero's shoulders, and the healing began.
~*~
Balor-Treize watched from a safe distance as the two Tuatha De Danaan lords and lone druid stumbled back onto the Lady Relena's grounds. Shortly afterwards, he felt the protective Seals go up; he sat back on his heels, impressed. He'd been dead wrong to go after Trowa, back in America. And extremely lucky the young man hadn't unleashed his full power against him because of the number of innocent bystanders. He knew he was not able to counter that kind of strength.
Not yet, at least. His time was coming, though.
In his mind, Treize played back the fight between his men and Nuada-Duo. The young man had come very far in such a short amount of time yet, unless he was much mistaken, Duo's power hadn't burned to the surface until...
A grin split the Formore's face. It appeared his new enemy was rather... attached to little Greine. How interesting.
Even still, for Duo to have made such progress in only a few days was rather impressive. Treize rubbed at his eyepatch absently. It would feel very good to have an enemy worth defeating again.
Turning back to the mess on the road, he curled his lip. All that effort, and they couldn't even knock off one of Relena's lapdogs. Treize made a mental note to speak with Une about the quality of her teams.
"Sleep well, Mariemeia. Daddy will come back for you." Laughing under his breath, he turned and vanished into the darkness.
Mariemeia nearly jumped as she heard voices in the corridor outside her room, and she shot a look at Wufei, who had stopped speaking, as well. "Do you think that's my uncle?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. It sounds more like... I definitely hear Quatre's voice, and Relena's, but I don't hear..."
"Let's go see!" She darted up and out of her chair like a shot, quickly stepping past Wufei and flinging the door open. "Come on, Wufei!"
He chuckled as she disappeared out the door and, seconds later, called back to him, "Ummm... which way do I go?"
Kids - they really were magnificent creatures! "I'll show you." Finishing the last of his tea, Wufei stood and followed her out.
She grabbed his hand as he stepped out, and he gave her a little smile, though his eyes were still serious. "Mariemeia. You know your father was probably not too happy that you came here to us. The reason everyone has been outside is that some of our friends were down in London and are coming back here. We're expecting your father to attack. In fact, he probably already has."
She nodded her understanding. "You're thinking that people got hurt, right? Da was angry already - he's always upset with me. And Mum. Will your friend be angry, since he probably did this because of me?" She looked down, refusing to meet his eyes.
Wufei reached with his free hand to tilt her chin up until their eyes met. "Just stay close, okay? No one here is angry with you, but if anyone got hurt, things could get pretty busy for a while."
"Okay."
~*~
Heero slowly blinked his eyes open, indulging in a good, long stretch. He felt a bit weak and bone tired, though he was relaxed and comfortable.
Duo's healing ability was astounding, and the most incredible part of it was how quickly the American had picked it up.
He sat up slowly, in deference to his spinning head, and was relieved to find himself clean and comfortable, back in his own room. Outside his window, the sky was a sooty grey, and rain was giving the grounds a good soaking.
Heero leaned back into his pillows, willing his dizziness to go away. He hadn't realised he lost that much blood, but he must have. Then again, everything was a little blurry after he looked up to find Nuada at his side.
After only one full day of encouraging Duo to get more comfortable with that aspect of his personality... It should have taken much longer for the young man to be able to manifest his abilities at that level, and yet all it had taken was the right motivation.
He groaned as he leaned back further and pulled a pillow over his face. What little he did remember after the fight mainly consisted of him making a fool of himself and all-but groping Duo right in front of Trowa... Could he possibly blame it on a concussion?
A knock at the door made him groan again. "It's unlocked."
Perfume - he felt the butterflies in his stomach dying down as he recognised the scent Relena always wore. Her steps were light as she crossed the room and sat at his side.
There was a long moment of silence - Heero was still hiding his red face behind the pillow - before Relena said, "It can't be that bad, Heero."
"Oh, it is. Trust me - I was there."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "If it were really that bad, would he have been here until dawn, looking after you?"
Heero stopped breathing. "Come again?"
Relena was definitely smiling this time. "Duo carried you all the way up here and then sat with you all night. So whatever happened, I'm pretty sure he's not upset with you over it."
Heero tossed the pillow aside and sat up slowly. "I would have thought you'd spoken with him and with Gwydion by now."
"I did," Relena answered sharply. "Gwydion said it was none of his business, and Duo said, and I quote, 'Gimme a break - our lives aren't a spectator sport.'"
Heero snorted.
Relena slid off the bed. "Now let me have a look at you," she said, all business as she checked him over.
Heero submitted to the little check-up, rolling his eyes. There was absolutely nothing physically wrong with him - he was just exhausted, and would be until he got over the blood loss.
She finally backed away, but her serious look told him she was not done. "There's something else, Greine. Something very important."
Heero sat very still as she told him what had transpired the night before - Morrigan's lie, her attempt at Trowa, and the resulting scuffle. If he hadn't already been pale from blood loss, he would have gone paler.
All he could feel was grief and pain, and he looked away from the priestess, unable to bear the compassion in her eyes. It was true, after all - he'd been there and unable to do a thing when Zechs died. Noin had every right to despise him from the depths of her admittedly black heart...
"Oh, Heero!" Relena threw her arms around him, and he abruptly realised there was a suspicious dampness on his face.
His arms came up around her, slowly, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "I would give anything to go back in time and change... what happened. Goddess knows, I miss him every day. Relena, I didn't mean to..."
"Hush, I already know," Relena said soothingly, rubbing a hand along his taut back. "We all know, and no one blames you in the slightest. Except Noin, and that leads us back to the issue at hand."
She sat back and stared directly into his eyes. "For attempting to harm Gwydion in cold blood, she already will have to face discipline. She will be lucky if she doesn't have a run-in with Quatre, to be honest. He is beyond angry. But where you are concerned... She deliberately set out to kill a demi-God. Though Duo has...
disciplined her already in ways she's not likely to soon forget, you are the one who must decide what happens to her."
Heero looked angry for a moment, but it bled from him and left him deflated, looking at anything but the priestess at his side. "I... I deserve everything I get, Relena. Maybe one day it will help me forget what Balor did, what I saw..."
"You were NOT at fault, Greine!" she growled in return. "By the Goddess, you were buried under a rock wall! You nearly died, yourself! There was nothing you could do!"
"Wasn't there?" Heero looked at her. "I have never been helpless before in my life. Never."
"Heero, this is the last time I'm going to say this, so listen very carefully," Relena said, slipping to her knees so she could look up into his face. "Balor managed to take all of us by surprise, Zechs included. He got close and attacked when all of us had our guard down, not just you. What he did to you... was beyond cruel. Even more so because it continues to affect you, these many months later. You have to release that guilt! If you are responsible, than every single one of the rest of us is, too. And regardless of all that, what Noin did to you last night was an absolute abomination. It's as bad as if she'd tried to stab you as she did Trowa.
"Noin must be held accountable for her actions, Heero, and you are the wronged party." Relena sat next to him again and took a hand in hers. "Think of this as your chance to help her recover her balance, and your means of helping her. Come up with something creative! But for the Lady's sake, don't let guilt eat you alive!"
He stared into her eyes. "You really don't blame me, do you?"
Smiling gently, Relena shook her head. "I miss him, too, Heero, but I know what I know. And that's that you would have gladly given your life to save his. But now you are alive, and he is not. And we have another Tuatha De Danaan among us, to protect and learn to care for. The wheel of life does not stop spinning."
"Duo... Relena, what do you think Zechs would have thought of him?"
She threw her head back and laughed. "Good question! But I think... they are very alike in some ways, and completely different in others. He might very well have frightened our Prince to his core, but Zechs would have respected him, undoubtedly. Especially after he ran out into danger for you yesterday. As to whether Zechs would have approved of him, where you are concerned..." she said with a lifted eyebrow, watching amusedly as Heero blushed to the roots of his hair. "Absolutely, he would have. He wanted you to be as happy as he was, Heero. You know that."
The half breed wore a funny, little smile, but it quickly reverted to a pensive frown. "I will consider what to do about Noin. When do you need my answer?"
Relena stood - she'd heard the note of finality in his voice and knew the conversation had ended. "By Noon - we will sit in judgement on her then. Main Room."
"Very well." Heero took her hand and squeezed it for a short moment. "Thanks, my Lady."
She laughed and saw herself out.
Frowning, Heero stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the rain.
~*~
"So let me get this straight. You fight a difficult battle side-by-side, you know he's pretty badly injured, you're still out in the open where a bad guy could get you, and the only thing that comes to mind is to try and KISS HIM?!" Wufei asked in disbelief, staring at his best friend.
Duo had blushed a lovely shade of red. He looked away. "Sounds kinda dumb when you put it that way, Fei. Shit, I don't know what I was thinking."
The two were drinking their coffee, enjoying the fact that they would not be training, at least until the weather let up. Wufei was unable to pass up an opportunity to tease the long-haired man, though; even if the situation scared the crap out of him.
He quirked a half-smile. "Then you spend the whole night in his room - I don't know what to think, Maxwell. You should try playing a little more hard to get."
Duo shot him a glare. "Laugh it up, buddy. I... I was so angry when Morrigan admitted she'd left him behind! I thought... I thought he'd be dead long before I could get to him."
"Well, thank goodness, he wasn't," the teacher said sensibly. "I'm still angry at you, by the way. I can't believe you people actually ordered me indoors."
Duo looked away and said nothing, and Wufei watched him for a short moment. "I might not be... what everyone else here is, Duo, but I'm still here, and I want to help. I want to protect you as much as you seem to want to protect me."
Duo shot him a pointed look. "And if you were hurt? Jesus, Wufei - I've already managed to destroy both our lives back home, dragged you here along with me, ruined your career... Forgive me for not wanting anything else to go wrong!"
Wufei snorted. "It's going to happen, regardless, and you know it. I appreciate your concern and your worries, but you didn't drag me here. I want to be here, and I want to be there when you and the rest of this bunch need me. And I will be royally pissed at you if you pull that shit on me again."
The perfectly calm voice with which Wufei delivered his short speech only drove home how much it meant to him. Duo gulped and, after a long moment, gave his friend a nod. "Agreed. On one condition."
"What's that?" Wufei asked, amused.
Duo gave him a dark, serious look. "You use your common sense and get the hell outta Dodge if it looks like you're in over your damn fool head."
Wufei rolled his eyes. Duo - the same guy who ran away from safety last night alone and not even half-trained - was trying to tell him to be careful?! "Same to you, Maxwell. Same to you."
Duo grinned and took another sip of his coffee. "So... when do I get to meet the kid? Is she doing all right?"
Wufei grinned right back. "Once she wakes up - she had a late night yesterday, with all the noise when you guys came back in, so I'm not expecting her to be up much before Noon. She definitely wants to see you."
"Really?" Duo thought about it pretty hard and couldn't for the life of him figure out why.
Wufei looked like the cat who got the cream. "Oh yeah, all evening, the only people she seemed to really want to see were her uncle or 'the man with blue eyes.' I think you have yet another admirer."
Duo snorted. "Yeah, right. Just what I need!"
~*~
Trowa still looked exhausted as Relena's court pulled together at noon; no one could blame him, though. The sheer amount of power he'd poured into the Seals the night before had been staggering, especially after his injuries and the short battle.
The Three Aspects all sat together; it was a pretty widely accepted fact that all three shared the trials or awards of any one of them. Several faces looked on in sympathy. Badba and Maeve did not deserve what they would go through for their sister's sake. Then again, Morrigan didn't deserve to have her man murdered, either.
Duo and Wufei sat together in one of the corners. They both knew that a place would have been made for them with their other new friends, but neither really wanted to be a part of this. Wufei, as a scholar, was more curious how this little trial would run than anything else.
Duo was another story. He had been - and still was - furious with Morrigan for leaving a man behind. Especially through cold-blooded lies. It was a horrible offence, as far as he was concerned. The fact that she'd left Heero behind, on whom Duo was quickly discovering he still had a major crush (or maybe even more than that), made it that much worse. But still... when he'd grown up in the orphanage, raised by a kind Catholic priest, he'd been taught never to raise his hand in anger and not to fight unless it couldn't be avoided. And even more so - never strike a woman.
He'd broken all those rules the night before, and he felt awful over it.
Everyone looked up as Heero and Relena arrived together. She was again dressed in gleaming white, and the Tuatha De at her side was a direct contrast, dressed head to toe in black. Duo tried not to stare - the clothes made Heero look that much more badass and tough, while giving him an air of detached elegance...
"Close your mouth, Maxwell," Wufei commented on his left. Duo shot the man an embarrassed glare, receiving a smug smile in return, but Relena began speaking before he could reply.
Her voice was crisp and clear across the entire room, though she did not seem to be speaking loudly. "We are here today to judge one of our own. It does not please me to do this; she who must be judged and those who will share in her punishment are dear to me. But the offence committed was grievous and requires justice to be served. Noin - known as Morrigan - do you know for what you stand accused?"
The tall woman stood, eyes downcast with shame at angering her Priestess, though the set of her shoulder spoke volumes about any supposed contrition on her part. She answered, "My Lady, last night I disgraced you and attempted to harm Gwydion. In doing so, I disgraced not just you, but my sisters, as well."
Relena frowned. "And just how did you disgrace me, Noin?"
Several people were whispering in surprise - the Lady had not addressed this woman by her birth name since she became one of the Aspects and accepted to become Morrigan.
Noin frowned. "I misled you, and Lord Greine was made to suffer for it."
"No, Noin," Relena's voice rang out with a hard edge. "You deliberately lied to everyone that Lord Greine was safe, when you knew he was unconscious in a wrecked automobile. You had us leave him there and, as a result, he was quite nearly killed by the Formorii. Even worse, you still show not a shred of remorse for your actions."
More whispering in the crowd. Duo leaned forward to better hear what was being said, noting how uncomfortable Heero seemed in this forum.
Noin's head came up, eyes glinting, and both Maeve and Badba reached at the same time to take hold of her wrists, the physical link helping to keep her inner demons grounded. She darted a look at the silent man at Relena's side. "Lord Greine is a Tuatha De Danaan; I must assume that he is more than capable of taking care of himself."
Heero's poker face slipped ever so slightly. He looked away, sighing deeply, but then looked back at her. "That's not the reason, Morrigan. I charge you in front of this gathering to speak your piece. Tell the gathering where these feelings of resentment and hatred towards me come from."
She visibly shuddered. Even as a half breed, he was a descendant of a royal line. She had no choice but to obey, as much as she didn't want to. She glared at him. "Everyone already knows why I cannot stand the sight of you. It is your fault Prince Zechs is dead. It is as if you murdered him, yourself," she replied, voice dripping with venom.
Several people were on their feet, loudly condemning the statement. Duo's eyes were glued to Heero, though - the man stood, his head bowed in sorrow, remarkable blue eyes glazed over with remembered pain. Concerned, he attempted to stand, but Wufei stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
The Chinese man's eyes were glued to Relena and to Trowa, who had joined her. "No - stay put. Just listen."
Trowa met the angry woman's eyes without flinching. "Morrigan, you and I have lived and worked around each other since we were children, and I know you bear me no ill will. I also know that what happened last night was a clear indicator that more is wrong than just your heartache. You and Zechs loved each other in a way that many of us here only pray we might one day experience, and losing him had hurt you a great deal. But you have allowed your pain and bitterness to outweigh the goodness in your heart. You have allowed the spirit of the Morrigan for whom you are named to take you over. The eyes I looked into last night were not the eyes I see today - they were the eyes of the Morrigan of legend.
"You are hurting yourself, your sisters, and now other people around you," he continued, his voice stern and commanding. "Though your chief offence was against Lord Greine, I also stand affected. You are too powerful to be allowed to remain as you are." Heero nodded his head as he stepped to Trowa's side. "We have been friends in the past, Morrigan, and comrades, depending on each other's strength and support when there was no one else to stand with us. Zechs, too, was my friend. A very dear friend, to whom I owe a great debt. I wish I could change what happened to him, but not even Lord Nuada has the power to do that. He is gone, and we must continue our lives without him. All of us, including you. Zechs would not wish to see you like this - he never wanted this for any of us."
He turned to face Trowa-Gwydion. "I have decided on the punishment to be given, but it is not a normal one. It is something I think is long overdue for all of us to recover and move on, and to do it, I will need your help."
The druid nodded solemnly. He was pretty sure he knew what Greine was about to propose.
Heero continued, "We have among us today some who do not know the full extent of what happened. For their sakes -- it was on the shortest day of last year. We were all preparing for the approaching holiday; we'd had deliveries in and out of the House, people everywhere... the enemy snuck in with them and, as the sun set and his powers were strengthened by the night, he sprung his trap. Many people were killed before we could subdue the Formorii invaders, and then Balor attacked our already injured Prince..."
He choked on his emotions and looked away, clearly trying to compose himself. It took a long moment before he could continue. "I would tell you what happened to us, but my punishment to you, Morrigan, is this. Instead of just telling you, I will show you my memories. I will show all of you - we will all share the punishment. With your leave, Lady Relena, of course."
The entire room was silent, as though no one even dared to draw a breath. Heero had never shared the final moments he shared with Zechs with anyone - not even the Lady Relena. He was making a great sacrifice, and everyone knew it.
Sitting between her sisters, Noin was visibly trembling. Of all the ways to punish her, to make her witness her lover's murder... She glared up at Greine, though she held her silence, as tradition dictated. If she was forced to this, than so be it. Greine's guilt would at least finally be public, for all to see.
Relena reached over and took Heero's hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. "You have my permission."
He turned back to Trowa. "Will that punishment suit you, Gwydion? Will you help me administer it?"
The druid nodded. "Are you ready?"
"I am."
Wordlessly, the taller, green-eyed man stepped behind his friend and reached out with both hands to lightly touch Heero's temples.
He began a low chant and, quite suddenly, the entire room gasped as they found themselves back on that day, trapped in Heero's memory.
TBC... Back to Ashkara's Fanfictions Page