May the spirit never die
Though a troubled heart feels pain
When this long winter is over
It will blossom once again
Lyrics to 'Breaking the Silence' performed by Loreena Mckennitt
Elements of Great Design Part 75
"Wufei!!!" Anna screamed, releasing Mariemaia and crawling to the fallen animal. Pulling his bloody body off of the Sorcerer's and half into her lap, she gripped the sides of his head, begging, "Nonono. Stay with me, Wufei. Please!? Don't go!"
A large tear ran from each onyx eye before they closed with one last, deep sigh and his whole body fell limp in her arms. "NNOOO!!!" the thief keened, hugging the wolf tightly and sobbing into his fur.
Down on the floor f the spell room, Duo, Trowa and Quatre all but fell over as they cried in the knowing of what their sister's wails meant. Burying his chin into his chest, the son of Shinigami whispered between his hitched breaths, "Father.. why? Not after everything they have been through to get here."
His maker was very much with him. But he had no answer. Only that sadness just beneath the surface that only his favorite child could sense. For anyone else they would have mistaken the hooded being as being cold and empty.
Still, the sounds of the dark army drew closer to the gates... and the Earth Stone had not been touched with Wufei's essence before he was killed. Very much alive, it was missing the same glow of the others that had been touched by their wielders.
The mission had failed. The Alliance had failed. And all of Gaia was doomed.
Blazing her way back down to her family the same way that her lover had scaled the damaged walls with its cracks and 'steps.' A distraught Anna fell to a knee for Mariemaia to slide off her back as she reverently lowered her soul mate's warped body along the floor. Covering her face with her hands, she lost herself to her grief.
The Sorceress watched in her own profound sorrow. The very Keepers that she had cursed had been the ones to band together to save her life. Yet there was nothing that she could do to repay them in return for such a sacrifice.
Quinze entered the space timidly, lowering his bow. Off by the gates, Chaos's body lay lifeless with the end of the arrow that he had fired sticking out from his chest... where a heart should have been. The Commander had prepared himself for every possible attack from the Keepers... but not a single shot from a mortal. That had been his grave downfall.
Flanked by Trowa and Quatre as they wrapped her up in their arms, biting their lips to contain their sobs, they rested their heads close to hers. Chang turned to Duo. Eyes red and still leaking tears, she whimpered, "Is there anything... anything you can do?"
With a shaky breath, the shaken Mage whispered, "I... I am so sorry, Anna..." Unable to finish, he could only shake his braided head. Try as he might, and he had tried, Wufei was far beyond any help or bargaining with his father... he couldn't even feel the Earth Keeper's soul.
The renewed army was only feet away from spilling through the gates. "This is it," Quatre breathed. "We can't stop them now."
"I can't close the gates," Mariemaia sniffled when some eyes turned to her. "Abaddon took control of my gift to hold them open."
Barton sighed, "Then there is nothing more that we can do."
Lightly touching the closest paw to her, the Fire Keeper vowed solemnly, "I will be with you again soon, love." If there was any grim relief to her pain, it was that at least their separation would not be a long one when there was no longer hope of survival.
But after so many years of doing everything in their power to be together again, this was the last way that either of them wanted it to happen. Years of devotion... blood, sweat and tears to come within reach of never being parted in this world again... and they had nothing to show for it but a crushed spirit and the end of Gaia just on the horizon.
In her mind, she could still hear the last howl when the wolf leapt in to protect her. The last song of his love for her. Closing her eyes, she willed it to be the last sound in her mind when the demons came to overrun her family and wipe her from this realm.
At his families' backs, Heero commented softly, "Perhaps that reunion will be sooner than you think..."
There was something in the way that the Fighter spoke the words that was different.. something that was not entirely the Yuy that they all knew. Whatever it was, Anna was the first to recognize it and she slowly rose back to her feet to face her brother.
When their eyes met, Life smirked. But it was not Heero's smirk. It was another that left the thief gasping just before she was pulled in for a fierce kiss. Duo, Trowa and Quatre shot to their feet as they blinked widely with slackened jaws.
Only all the more stunned when their lips parted, Anna stared deep into Heero's cobalt eyes to see for herself the glimmer of what her heart had told her was there. Paling and her hands drifting from the Fighter's shoulders, she stammered softly, "W-Wufei?"
Again, that smirk. The one that was so uniquely her husband's. There was no way to explain it, but there was no question in her mind that she was staring right at him. Cupping the side of her brother's face, she breathed, "How...?"
Her partner only pressed a kiss to her forehead and released her to walk towards the Earth Stone. Resting his hands against it, Yuy sent Wufei's essence into the weapon and peered over to the other Keepers. Nodding firmly, Anna's eyes narrowed as she shouted over the growing thunder, "Right! Let's finish this!"
Not needing to be told twice, Quatre and Trowa scrambled to their Elemental Stones and held onto their edges. Heero and the three true bearers touched their gems, Duo had just enough time to hold onto Mariemaia and run from the room with her. Carefully shoving Trent out of the way, he yelled, "Hang onto something!"
There was all kinds of debris strewn about, but most of the foundation pillars were still raised and solid enough for them all to grab onto, the Black Mage keeping the little Sorceress hanging from his neck, pressed snugly between himself and their anchor. Casting strings of black magic that knotted together to take on the form of thick ropes, he tied them all down.
Unaffected by the use of their weapons, the Keepers looked over their shoulders at the haunting and demonic scream beyond the gates. Well aware that they were hearing the voice of Abaddon, the elements glared at his would be doorway into their world.
"Yell all you want, you son of a bitch," Trowa gritted through his teeth behind the mouthpiece of his mask, forcing more of his energy into the Air Stone. Following suit, his family brought on a brighter electric beam that linked their emeralds together.
Overhead, the clouds churned and swirled until they became a perfect, great spiral that ended in a funnel that stretched into the gateway while everything that was not nailed down was pulled into the abyss that was the realm of the damned. In only a few seconds, the entire castle and soon all of Paramecia was covered by the mystic whirlwind.
Firion fought to catch his breath as he lay stretched out on his back, helmet knocked away from his bloodied head as he stared up at the ogre preparing to slam a large mallet onto his head.
"Good luck, Keepers," the Commander muttered as he closed his eyes. Suddenly feeling a strong gust, he blinked widely up at the howling demon to watch it be lifted from its feet and yanked towards the highest peak of the fortress.
Every monster in sight was likewise whisked away in a violent stream while the rebels stared at the sight in awe.
From as far back as the Macalania Woods, the dark clouds blanketing the captured stretches of Gaia were wrapping around themselves. Those beasts threatened by mortal and dragon were lifted as though dragged by invisible hands to be gathered by their thousands upon millions from every corner they inhabited.
Inside of the castle, Mariemaia buried her head in Duo's shoulder to shield the floating debris from her eyes. Safe as he was held down to his pillar, Trent risked the occasional dust spurts to gaze wide-eyed on the snarling demons being sucked in by the vortex.
Then, the last of the monsters disappeared through the gates. Once the last one was taken from the realm of the living, the massive doors slammed closed and vanished with them to reveal a solid floor once again.
Releasing their holds on the Elemental Stones, the Keepers opened their eyes to the brilliant sunlight flooding the room. With sharp gasps, they raised their heads to see the skies above them cleared for the first time in nearly a year.
And all was a serene quiet until a new explosion of sound came from the White Fang survivors on the ground. Their cheers and whistles were enough to bring the Elements the reassurance they needed to know that the war was in fact over.
Outside, King Zechs threw his arms around his wife as they exchanged a deep kiss. Laughing as they separated, the couple smiled widely and rested their foreheads together before they turned to the brave Fighter standing by.
Noin closed the distance between them and pecked a cheek raising in a grin. "Thank you, Alex," she sighed as she stepped back, "we are in you debt for keeping us alive." Over her shoulder, her husband could be seen nodding fervently.
"There is nothing owed," the Peacemillion soldier beamed. Opening and closing his marbled hand, he stared down at it in pride.
Firion shook his head in disbelief over being spared, staying stretched out on the dirt as he stared up at the blue span of heavens. "Are you just going to lay there all day?" a voice giggled. Gloria stepped up with an amused smirk. Like everyone involved in the fight, she had taken her own cuts and bruises but paid no mind to them all in the wake of their victory. Snickering, the Commander accepted her hand lowered to him to get onto his feet.
Against his best defenses, the silver-haired man felt his eyes tear up as he scanned over his homeland.
Nearly everything had been reduced to rubble by Abaddon's forces... but none of that mattered. It was the sea of people of every walk of life embracing and laughing together as they celebrated. Fighters dressed in all assortments of colored armor patted each other's backs with a familiarity that no former Strangers would have ever had for each other in the past.
Yes, there would be a time to rebuild and to mourn all that had been lost when the final counts were in. But most importantly, there was going to be a future that allowed those things as well as a time to move on.
When Duo, Mariemaia and Trent ran into the spell room, they found the Keepers inside locked in a round of their own hugs, kisses and elation. Spotting the son of Shinigami, the Elements pulled him into their midst where he belonged as the Cornerian Fighter dropped his focus to the girl at his side.
Their gazes locking, he smiled.
Having seen the same events unfold as the Fire Keeper, even Quinze had softened towards the child. And if the thief could forgive her grievances enough to have protected her, he could as well.
Slowly making her way to the body of the black wolf in the middle of the space, Anna's heart sank and her smile faded. Lowering herself to a knee, she ran a hand through the thick fur at the top of his head while on the verge of coming undone.
Heero suddenly gripped his chest, wincing with a pained wail as his cobalt eyes squeezed closed. "Q-Quatre... heal Wufei quick," he managed in his own words, voice strained from discomfort. "I am losing my hold..."
With a surprised yelp, the White Mage hurried to occupy the thief's space after she rolled away and leapt to her feet to give him space. Hovering his hand over the wide hole in the wolf's chest, Winner sent his magic inside to mend what had been damaged, stitching everything closed until the last layer of skin and fur were returned to their unharmed form.
Needing his help to reach the beast's side, Yuy sagged heavily in Duo and Trowa's arms as they escorted him over. All but collapsing to the floor, the Fighter placed his own hand over the mended place where a heart lay still. From his fingers, strands of glowing gold beads ran their course through every fiber of the fallen until blood flowed, a steady pulse returned and the furry chest rose and fell with breath.
Her own lungs catching, Mariemaia grinned widely. Biting her lip, she lowered her head as she placed a fist against her chest and closed her eyes. She murmured a quiet connotation, pulsing the spell forth to cut through the invisible black strands of magic that had held their forms apart for the long years since they were all together last. At the destruction of the last bind, the curse was broken.
Already sniffling in relief at the sight of her husband breathing, Anna gasped when the wolf's body glowed. At that, Quatre removed the Monk's robe from her quiver and draped it over his brother's shifting shape.
Midnight fur turned into a gold-kissed hue before it retracted back into smooth skin of the same color that glowed in the light of the campfire. Every inch contorted, shifted, starting with the long muzzle that shortened against the head that rounded out more.
The back legs took on the toned shape of their natural form as the paws became toed feet. Arms and hands took form where the front legs were extended out past the lowered cranium to bury their fingers in the loose earth.
Finally, the wild grunts and snarls became human in the last seconds of the transformation. And with a deep sigh, the naked young man that remained collapsed in a sweat-covered, panting heap. All that remained anything akin to the animal that he had been was the loose, black hair on his head that was so similar to the fur that until recently had covered him.
Sluggish in pushing himself up after everything that his body had endured, the Monk pushed himself back onto his heels and stood on wobbly legs. Just before the others could rush in and keep him upright, he found his balance.
Onyx eyes wide, Wufei stared down at his body while testing the opening and closing of his hands. Laughing softly, the sound grew from him as tears rolled down his face.
Not bothering with anything else at the moment, he did the one thing that he wanted more than anything in the world by approaching Anna and pulling her into his arms for a fiery kiss that she was elated to return with just as much fervor.
When they pulled back enough to rest their foreheads together, the Chang whispered to his wife a broken, "Thank you."
His emotion behind those words filled in every blank to what he was thankful for- her years of loyalty, the pain of their separation that she took on while never losing hope that they would be together, every tear, smile, laugh and devout love shown to him. Wiping way a trail of tears from his face, the redhead nodded moved in for another kiss.
Shaking his head as he reached his soul mate's side, Duo commented softly, "I always knew that you were something pretty amazing." The corners of his mouth curling up, Heero leaned heavily against the son of Shinigami as their arms wrapped around each other's waists.
In the doorway, two figures appeared to have the lot inside turn to spot the King and Queen of Paramecia. Their eyes flooding with relieved tears as they took in their daughter, Lady Une cried, "Marie!" Spinning on her heels, the child whimpered and unconsciously moved to duck behind the Fire Keeper's leg.
The worries over how her parents might react to being with her once more was answered when her tearful father knelt down and opened his arms to her. "M-Mama... Papa," the Sorceress wailed, charging across the room to be enfolded by her guardians.
Granting the Sovereigns some time with their daughter, the Keepers and their brothers stepped to the opened walls so that they could watch the ongoing clamor on the grounds far below... taking a moment at last to appreciate everything that they had endured to see through to the end of a very long nightmare.
* * * * * *
Light, bouncing music was played well into the evening hours later. The wounded healed and the reunions between friends and families seen to, the rebellion set to a feast and social party in the most northern empire. Meats, cheeses and wine were passed along from supplies that had been meant as rations, but were now shared amongst everyone in the White Fang.
Sid chirped in content as he rested against his Mistresses' side. Tonberries were already creatures of Gaia before Abaddon took over the minds of those beasts who could bring on death and dark magic. Now that hold between the Dark Lord and those beings was severed, leaving those beings free to do as they would in the world... most of them finding their happiness in secluding themselves in the forests once more with the exception of the Sorceress's friend.
Off in the distance, the Alliance was seated in a ring along with Howard and Queen Iria as they watched the child laugh and hug her parents as they caught up amidst the celebration. "Do you think that she will ever be able to move past her part in the war?" Heero asked quietly, peering back at the old man on the other side of the fire at the center of their circle.
"It will not be an easy thing," the Elder answered. Tilting his head, he smirked, "Luckily for her she will have myself and a few of my own kind staying here to help her along. There are ways that dark magic can do the world a great deal of good. I look forward to mentoring her in the years to come. I have a lot of faith in that little one."
Queen Iria frowned, "Must you all really leave first thing in the morning? It would be nice if we could have more time together."
Nodding, Trowa replied, "We have a lot of work ahead of us in helping rebuild much of what was lost." He smirked at his brother on his left, he patted him on the arm as he commented, "We all agreed that restoring Eblan would be a pretty good start."
Wufei smiled widely, the anticipation of bringing his homeland back to its former glory sparking in his onyx eyes. Ever close by his side Anna tightened her hand linked in his own and beamed when their gazes locked.
Playing with a frozen bit of ice between his fingers, Quatre stated, "It is going to be a very different world compared to the one that we had lived in before the war." He shrugged, grinning, "All changes for the best, of course. It should be a long time before anyone is called a Stranger after everyone was so affected by this."
Duo smiled, "And the world knows that we children of Shinigami aren't all that bad after all." Folding his arms behind his head, he said, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm along for whatever ride you all come up with. There was a time when I would have considered myself lucky to have one person I could call a friend. Never would have dreamed I'd have a whole family."
His violet eyes focused on Heero specifically. Chucking deeply, the Fighter draped their arms together and kissed the Mage's temple.
"And now, Life, have you finally figured out your link to this unique group?" Howard smiled to Yuy. Straightening himself, the soldiers blinked in confusion. "Ah," the Elder snickered. "Realizing what you can do is only part of it. You are the preserver of the Keepers... the one entity that not only holds the elements and death together, but the one who sustains them in the Creator's world."
Throwing his arms in the air after a long silence to take the startling information in, Heero all but shouted, "You could not have just told me that?! This whole time I have been going out of my mind trying to find out why I have been so important!" His family laughed along with the gifted.
Howard wiggled a finger in the air with a wink. "Through watching how Duo collected Anna's spark and going with what came naturally, you were able to keep the Alliance in tact. If you had known you would have over thought how to protect Wufei's soul," he explained. Snorting, he added, "And we all know how Fighters over think everything."
Maxwell's braided head fell back with a howl of laughter joined by the rest of the ring while Heero rolled his eyes.
Despite the bit of a joke made at his expense, Life had a small smile on his face as he took in the faces of the Keepers and his eternal partner... his home, wherever their lives traveled so long as they were together...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The walls of Eblan were raised with little effort on Wufei's part with the aid of the Earth Stone. Before long, the land within the round barrier of rock was returned to its pristine glory. Quatre brought the tide of the dried up waterways to the canals beyond the land so that lakes, rivers and steams filled with fresh water. Clean air wiped away the chard debris from the attacks long past to rejuvenate the green fields.
Perched at the top ledge of the entrance walls, the Alliance stared down at their new home for the next few years with their horses standing closely by.
"All that the place needs now is people to fill it," Duo grinned. "There are going to be a lot of survivors who will need a new land to live in, so it should not be long before we will be bringing people in. A few years from now with some training Gaia will have trained Monks again."
Smirking, Heero gestured to the Fire and Earth Keepers as he said, "Well, there is already a good start to that with the little one on the way."
Gasping, the couple turned their wide eyes onto their brother before staring at Anna's flat stomach as she covered it with her hands. "Really?" she breathed. Yuy hummed an affirmative with a small nod before he blinked in surprise at having the redhead wrap her arms around his neck. Her voice thick with emotion, she whispered by his ear, "Thank you... so damned much. This would not have been possible if you hadn't saved Wufei."
Taken aback, the Fighter bit his lip and held her just as tightly. He did fine to keep himself in check until he saw the shimmer in the Monk's eyes and heard the soft, "Love you," from the thief. Clearing his throat, Heero returned the sentiment in kind and lightly hit his sister's rump as they snickered in their stepping apart.
An excited little squeak coming from Fire, she rushed to her husband so that he could rest his hand lovingly over her abdomen where the new life that their love had created was just beginning. Brimming over with joy, they stared down at their laced fingers in awe.
"Just when I think I'm finished crying," Quatre sniffled, a wide grin on his face as he waved a hand towards the skies to clear the rain clouds that had started to form. Chuckling, Trowa hugged his lover from behind and kissed the top of his veiled head.
Moments later, the team was mounted in their saddles as they urged their steeds to descend the turning road along the walls. "You know," Trowa began reluctantly, "there is going to come a time when we are going to leave this existence to be born again into new lives. I hope that it does not take us nearly as long for us to find each other as it did this time around."
Sharing ShenLong's perch with her husband, Anna leaned back against him as she shrugged, "Whatever form we take on and whatever state of the world, you know that I'll find a way to sniff all of you out whether you want me to or not." Her brothers snickered, nodding their heads to second the sentiment.
"Here, here," Duo smiled, nudging his partner while their horses strode comfortably side-by-side.
For Heero, there was no doubt in his mind that there would be plenty more adventures ahead.
Before, the unknown and Strangers were the most frightening of prospects. Now, he looked forward to whatever the Creator had in store behind every mystery and adventure that came with simply experiencing all that there was to take in.
Sighing to himself, he stared up at the skies as Scarlet and her children flew overhead and grinned, "To whatever adventures await, then..."
...And whatever remarkable people he met along the way.
TBC...
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