Ever and always
Always and ever
No one can promise a dream come true
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you
-Lyrics to 'Once You Had Gold' performed by Enya
Elements of Great Design Part 70
"And you are set in your decision?"
Nodding firmly, the Shadow Lord answered, "I have spent the last days to heavily weigh every option laid out to me. Every time I considered which Keeper to slay, I kept returning to the Fighter, who remains the consistent tie that binds them all. I am convinced that the loss of him would cause the whole of their team to fall apart."
Tilting his head, Abaddon's right hand inquired, "What of Shinigami's son? I do not recall hearing you mention him as your potential target."
Without hesitation or regret, the mouth of mist opened to declare, "There are few things that even I do not wish to involve myself. Death would be one of those things. And he has an entire army of his children at the encampment. The bond between those gifted is beyond my comprehension. It is best for me to not take any risks when I will only be able to do this once."
"It will have to happen tonight," the towering spy advised. "I know of their routines. This would be the son of Shinigami's turn to train the night watch, taking him away from the tent that he shares with my prey. All that it would take is for me to wait for the rest of the Alliance to fall asleep to set a blade into Yuy's chest."
Chaos returned the nod in satisfaction to the responses to his questions.
Looking over to the child seated in her throne beside him, the Commander told her, "We only await your order for the deed to be carried out, Mistress. The die will be cast the moment our mercenary is discovered. I expect that the rebels will retaliate immediately following the assassination. Only when you feel ready for what unfolds will we strike."
At her other side, Mariemaia could feet her Uncle's gaze on her as she stared to the floor at her dangling feet. Under no circumstances was she back to her full strength. But that was good. It was exactly what she wanted, actually.
The lack of strength would serve as a decent enough excuse when she did not perform as expected. And she only needed to hold out long enough for the Keepers to reach the castle and finish their work in securing Abaddon's stronghold.
But then there was Heero Yuy. The young man who had been an enigma to the Sorceress from her first glimpse of the Alliance.
In her heart, she had hoped that the Shadow Lord would overlook him as she has also concluded his importance to the Keepers. Only the most valuable of creatures could stand in their midst, so there had to be a reason to why the Creator chose the soldier to bring His elementals together.
Offering a silent prayer for the Fighter that he somehow survive the attempt on his life, Khushrenada leaned forward as she looked upon the shifting beast before her.
Slowly leaning forward, the Queen opted to defend her ploy all the more by demanding, "You are not to return until you have succeeded in your mission. Should anything go wrong, you are not to leave the encampment until one of our greatest enemies is dead... be it Yuy or one of the Keepers. Is that clear?"
"Yesss, Mistress," the tall demon hissed lowly. "You have my solemn promise that one of them will not be walking the world before the next sunrise. I am fully accepting of my own fate in making this so, but I am convinced that the sacrifice will be more than worth it in the end. After you had nearly lost your own life to bring me into the world, this is the least I can do."
It was exactly what Mariemaia had hoped to accomplish by straining herself close to the brink in her last opening of the gates... this unwavering loyalty and trust. Days of recovering had been more than worth the danger in bringing the Shadow Lord into Gaia.
All that she could do now was hope that the alliance was the light in the darkness that they were destined to be. If they could survive the night in tact, she would be able to do her part on a much longer scale in aiding their cause.
"No mere Fighter would ever be able to stand up to me," the ever changing demon chuckled snidely. "Wild card though he may be, there will be no challenge from him when I visit him. He will be pierced by my spear before he ever knew what happened to him."
Nodding, the girl said, "For you sake, your actions had better prove as true as your confidence. If you fail, what Abaddon does to you will be a lighter sentence than what I could ever lay down upon you should we meet in his realm come the end of the war."
The Shadow Lord and Chaos both reeled back at the harshness in her tone as well as the words themselves. Never before had the Sorceress staked her claim in the war. But neither would doubt her conviction in light of the gravity of their situation.
A fist touching his chest, the mercenary lowered himself into a deep bow as he promised, "My certainty is more than boastful words, my Queen. The last creature that would ever let you down is I."
Hands gripping the hand rests of her throne, Mariemaia remained silent to keep up her act of caring over what befell on her orders. "Get along, then," she commanded coldly at last. "Let us put an end to this resistance once and for all."
Both the messenger and the Commander smirked darkly in anticipation.
Dekim remained a blank statue with his arms folded across his chest.
Like it or not, the old man had to accept that the opportunity to expose his niece before this moment had never come. But that did not mean that his chance to rise into her seat would not arrive. This was about to be a grueling battle, after all. Warriors fell every day in the midst of such a struggle.
There would, however, be no room for error. Not a second could be wasted once the time presented itself.
Years of manipulating, corrupting and plotting came down to this. Everything hung in the balance and all of the chess pieces would have to react or be claimed by their enemy to never play a part in the game again.
With that sinister grin still on his wavering lips, the Dark Lord vanished from sight into thin air.
It had begun.
* * * * * *
Anna pulled back from the tight hug that she and Hilde had exchanged upon their greeting. "Thank you so much for working on these, sweetheart," the thief beamed as she took up the ten vials of poison that were held out to her. "These should be more than enough to get us through Paramecia."
Shrugging, the Alchemist smiled, "Only too happy to help out my great great great-" Shoulders sagging, the thief's eyes rolled in exasperation as her descendant fell into a fit of loud laughter.
"I am sorry," Schbeiker giggled when her head straightened itself again, "I could not help that." Gesturing to the cases in the Keeper's hand, she informed, "I also had the glass forged by another gifted so that the vials cannot be shattered should anything happen in the thick of the fight."
"Wise thinking," Wufei praised as he exchanged a one-armed embrace with his kin. Kissing her temple before he stepped back, he said, "Considering what we are going to be up against, it would only be best to not take chances." Anna nodded, carefully stowing the poison in the satchel hanging at her left. The one on her right contained the Fire Stone ready in wait to be used.
Perched on a low branch of the tree behind them, Trowa frowned down on them, "Once we are in Paramecia, how are we going to have the four Elemental Stones working if only one of the two of you will be in your bodies at any given time?"
Grinning, the redhead turned to gaze up at him as she replied, "Howard explained that our weapons only need to be activated when they are on their pedestals. That would only take a shot of our power into them before we switch for the other to return to their true form."
At Barton's side, Quatre sighed, "Well, thankfully that is an easy enough solution. So really, all we have to worry about it getting into the castle."
Tightening his lips, he mumbled sarcastically, "It is only a few hundred miles into the darkness. Nothing to be of any trouble for us." Snorting, the Dragoon nudged him with an encouraging smile.
"Do not forget that we have all kinds of ways to transport ourselves through our powers," Wufei reminded, a lopsided smirk on his face. "Granted, there will be challenges along the way, but I think we have come to be comfortable with our enhanced abilities by now."
Tilting his chin to the Winner, he stated, "And that includes you as the baby of the family, Water." Blinking at that reassurance from the eldest Keeper the White Mage couldn't help but ease and grin back.
Heero and Duo sat along the rocks at the base of the tree, their legs hanging off the edge of the ground dipping down to the frozen shore of the grand lake below them. Shifting to be able to look back at the others, the son of Shinigami commented, "You are all probably going to hate me for saying this, but I almost wish that we could get a move on and put an end to this war one way or the other."
A grunt rose from Yuy as he stared at his partner with a raised eyebrow. "Careful what you wish for, love. The fight will come soon enough. There is just as much to be gained from biding time as there is to make a play."
"Spoken like a true Fighter," the braided teenager huffed, a hint of a humor on his face. "You and your tactical logic. Don't you ever get tired of having to look at everything in life like some kind of strategy?" To the half-hearted glare, he sniggered and placed a quick kiss on the tip of his soul mate's nose.
While the skies overhead began to shift in the early stages of the oncoming sunset, the land around began to take on a faint glow that would build as the world darkened. At that change, Maxwell raised his arms high overhead for a long stretch as he announced, "Well, that would be my cue to get ready for the night watch."
Smirking to Life, he winked and sighed, "Try to not miss me in our bed too much tonight."
"Try to not drive the lookouts insane with your endless prattle, Mage," Heero retorted, hardly holding back the smile before his chuckling lover leaned to meet him half way for a deep and sound kiss meant to last their evening apart.
Despite the smile on his face, Yuy was helpless against the wave of loss that came on when his other half turned away from him. Even if their separation was going to be brief, it was never a good feeling for him whenever Death was not in his presence.
Her arms folded behind her back, Anna stepped up to the Fighter in Duo's place when the son of Shinigami walked off. "Would you care to join me in the fairy field, brother?" she asked. "It will be a good distraction until you have to go to sleep and I could use the company since Wufei is off to wrap up the last of his training with Alex."
Peering up at her, Heero grinned warmly. "I would like that," he nodded firmly, rising to his feet and brushing off the snow from the backs of his legs. He bowed at the waist to her and offered an arm that she accepted with a giggle.
Whatever tension had been between them long buried and far behind them, the warriors headed from the clearing together.
Quatre fell back to rest his head on Trowa's shoulder. "It is such a relief that everyone is playing nice again," he smirked. "Let is just hope that the fight from last week is the worst that ever comes to try and sever our team again."
"Aside from the obvious battle on the horizon," Trowa reluctantly added. Kissing his lover's temple, he grinned and suggested, "For now, I say we take advantage at having our little camp to ourselves-"
That was as far as the Air Keeper was able to get once his beloved Water pulled him down from the branch behind him. Voices snickering, they disappeared into their tent to never reemerge again.
* * * * * *
Darkness had settled several hours before Heero and Anna returned to their private ring. Wufei had emerged to greet his wife with a smile that promised all sorts of wickedness once the Fighter and the Fire Keeper said their good nights to each other.
Sighing to himself, Yuy sank into his pile of blankets. Respectful as his siblings were in keeping their time with their significant others quiet, it was impossible for him to not think about how much he wished he could be that way with Duo.
There was no telling how many potential moments they would have before the deciding fight took place. It was still a mystery to which side would strike first. Firion was wise in seeing the advantages in moving first as well as waiting to be moved into the storm after having every last second afforded to prepare.
About the only known at this point was that whenever the struggle did come, this would be one less night that Heero could have had with the love of his existence.
Pulling the thicker of the blankets around himself, the warrior closed his eyes and willed sleep to come so that he may put those dark thoughts behind him. Morning was not far off. And when it did come, he would wake to find Duo with him again.
Finally, following a difficult battle within himself, Yuy could feel himself drifting off and he welcomed the much needed sleep with open arms...
...but then he felt it. The tiny hairs on his whole body stood on their ends. He was not alone.
And there were only seconds to react.
Spinning himself across the floor with a grunt of effort, Heero felt the downward swipe of the thick blade that narrowly missed the flesh at his back. He could hear the ripping of the covers that were sliced in his place. Jumping to his feet, he spun just in time to catch a glimpse of the tall figure with its shifting edges in the blink before it vanished from sight in the next heartbeat.
"Keepers!" the Fighter shouted, eyes narrowed as he reached into the satchel ever at his side to grip the orb within. "We've been infiltrated!" No sooner had his armor wrapped around him did the elements surge into his tent at full alertness, weapons in hand.
Instantly, their wide eyes fell onto the tattered blankets that had been torn apart where their brother had no doubt just been lying. Gasping in panic, Anna's wide eyes fell on the panting young man as she asked, "Are you alright, Heero?"
Frustrated over the near miss, Yuy gazed around the space. "I'm fine," he gritted through his teeth. "I felt that... thing just before it tried to kill me."
Eyes widening, the redhead and Wufei stared back down to the array of exposed feathers and tattered furs. "Felt it?" the Monk repeated in a whisper of wonder. His wife was already along the same path of thought... this was not the first time that the Fighter had 'felt' something that he could not explain.
His own eyes growing, Yuy cried to the Water Keeper, "Behind you, Quatre!" Gulping, the White Mage literally melted into a wave of water that fell beyond the reach of a materialized spear that came within inches of cleaving his head from his neck.
Beside himself with rage at the attack on his lover, Trowa released a feral scream as he tapped into the strength of his Air Stone. "Where?!" he shouted to the soldier. Following the direction of the finger pointing to the furthest end of the tent, the Dragoon raised his right hand to flash freeze the air at the same time that his soul mate reappeared at his side.
Reading the Air Keeper's intention, Winner was all too happy to aim both of his hands in kind. From his palms surged a tidal wave that took out the tent with it... but also submerged their invisible intruder to encase him in solid ice.
Almost twice their height, the dark demon of now solid rock was in plain view. Wide eyes with beady, red irises looked on in stunned surprise over its capture. That stricken wonder was cut short when Wufei and Anna sprung forward to finish him off.
Removing a long dagger from her boot, the thief jumped up and set it ablaze while the Monk unsheathed the Carver Knife from his belt and flipped over the prisoner to spin towards its hind side. In the same second, their weapons dug through ice and thick skin to penetrate where a heart should have been as well as the back of the head of the Shadow Lord.
Irises rolling back, the monster collapsed and evaporated along with the ice that detained it. And just as quickly as the threat had appeared, it was no more.
Gracefully landing onto their feet, the lovers caught their breath. Together, the team collected themselves just in time to hear Duo's voice in the distance shout frantically, "Hey! We're coming! Is everyone okay?!"
His skin pale and violet eyes nearly watering over with fright for his family, the son of Shinigami ran into the clearing with more than three dozen Fighters that he had been standing by when the bursts of the Keepers' powers came into their vision. "Oh, thank the Creator!" he all but wailed in relief at seeing everyone he loved standing together.,.. alive and seemingly unharmed.
Rushing for Heero, Maxwell wrapped himself around his soul mate in a tight embrace. Reveling in a brief return of thee hold, the braided teenager pulled back enough to cup the soldier's face in his hands and breathed, "What happened?"
Yuy shook his head of the stunned numbness that had settled in and drank in his lover's face as he frowned deeply, "It was an assassin. Damned thing got pretty close to..." He stopped himself with another vehement shake of his head.
Causing any further unnecessary concern over what never came to pass would not serve any good in what needed to happen now. This was not the time to be bothered with anything but responding to the attempt to break the Alliance.
Abaddon's messenger came dangerously close this time. There would only be more attempts for the same to come from that point on..
They could wait no longer.
Slowly gazing over the determined faces of the Keepers, Heero could see their own readiness for what needed to take place. There was not a hint of hesitation in their burning eyes, no waver in the eagerness resonating from their locked jaws or fists clenching their weapons.
Nodding to them, Life rested his hands on Death's shoulders to calm him as he focused on the closest scout standing by and ordered, "Get Commander Firion."
* * * * * *
The White Fang was assembled in less than a few hours.
More than fifteen times its original size, the rebellion was amassed together in lines upon lines of soldiers both Fighter, civilian and gifted. Riding ahead of the front of the army, Firion yelled to his charges, "This is what we have been preparing for since the war began, ladies and gentlemen! Our only true hope, the Alliance, has been personally attacked and we cannot allow that assault to go without reprimand!"
Transmitting the Commander's announcement through the ranks of the rebels to the very end of the line, the gifted at the head looked every bit as ready as their experienced Fighter counterparts to strike back into the heart of the dark forces,
Knuckles whitened around weapons. Shielded heads lifted to cast the rising sunlight to shimmer against their metal. Teeth gritted. Anger that had been reined in was set loose to build into the hot rage that was needed to meet the monsters looming in silent wait for their arrival.
And at the very front of the whole army was none other than the Alliance.
Shoulders taut with keenness, the immortals stood side-by-side as they glared ahead to the blackened world stretched out ahead of them. Months of putting their own existences on the line... tireless sacrifices and risk takings had boiled down to this... the beginning of the end to the world that threatened their world.
"This is it, my friends!" Firion yelled to his soldiers, sword raised overhead as he continued to bring his horse in a charge along the strings of rebels. "This is the moment we have all been waiting for! This... is when we decide the fate of Gaia together as one! Make ready!:
Raising their blades, bows and spear, the White Fang troops raised their voices in a deafening roar. Howard nodded to the Alliance from his place where he was set to bring an end to his temporary counter spell caused by Mariemaia's curse.
Drawing a deep breath, Heero turned towards the Earth and Fire Keepers at his left. "Wufei, Anna," he addressed quietly. When their eyes settled on him, he smirked, "Would you do the honor of leading the charge?"
The couple's lips curled in pleased smiles. Their hands linking between them, they walked ahead of the team towards the darkness.
TBC...
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