By the Red Moon Part 58
"Dear spirits!" Howard cried when Wing was lowered onto the bed of straw in the middle of what remained of the Aries stables. Running up to the prone beast's head, the Head Squire ran a hand over the muzzle where there were still white scales to be found beyond the blood. Groaning, the steed's agony-filled eyes stared sadly back at him.
His eyes narrowing in focus, the old man turned to his team that was hurrying into the scene and shouted, "Fill the buckets with water and bring sponges! We need to wash him off so that we know exactly how bad off he is! I want every scale suture that we have and a full test run on how much blood he has lost so that we can perform a transfusion if needed!"
Not needing to be told twice, the younger squires all ran through the facility to gather their tools and set themselves to their work. Just beyond the stable doors, a small crowd was gathering to look on with pale faces and wide eyes.
For the soldiers peering inside, it took a moment to recognize the Commander's steed. When they did, they all instantly went numb and whispered amongst themselves.
Shaking his head, Howard turned to Juan and Daniel as they ran up to ask, "What happened? Where is Heero?" Wing let out a small whimper when several squires were setting to the chore to cleaning him as carefully as they could, but still could not avoid agitating a few of the long, deep cuts. A sad grin on his face, the Head Squire told his charge gently, "Shh. There, there, now. We are going to take good care of you, lad. Just hang in there."
With a deep breath, the old man turned his attention back to the riders as they shared a deeply troubled look. Finally, Daniel was the one to meet the eyes on them and answered, "We don't know the answer to either of those questions. We were in the middle of our watches, Heero was making his rounds when we heard Wing crying out and found him like this without a clue to where Heero went."
Muttering a curse under his breath, Howard ran a hand through his hair as beads of sweat were beginning to form on his brow. "You best get word to Duo before it gets to him through the grapevine," he suggested with a gesture to the growing mass at the entrance of the stable. "Best he hears it from his own knights."
Hesitant as they were to have to be the ones to break the terrible information to their prince, neither rider could deny their duty to do so. Nodding, the two rushed back to Tiny and Lion to take up their saddles. In the meantime, the old man had taken up a large, sterilized needle threaded with a thick twine as he moved to a gaping wound in Wing's neck.
The crowd in the entrance parted as the Sanq knights flew from the building to move to where they were both certain they could find Duo... in the residence that his family had taken for their stay in the city.
* * * * * *
Falling into the chair that he had been urged to sit in and refused, Duo stared up at Juan and Daniel with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "G-gone?" he breathed. Not ready to believe what he had been told, he shook his head, "That can't be right. Heero can't just be gone."
Gathered around, the prince's family and friends all reeled and reacted to the news in their own troubled ways. Swallowing roughly, the Latin knight bowed his head and replied, "I am sorry, but we could not exactly stay and find out what happened with the state that Wing was in. We could not risk his loss knowing that Heero would never have left him the way that he was."
"Wing?" Maxwell whispered, his violet eyes flooding with panic. Rising to his feet as Scythe's head slipped inside the space through the opening in the wall behind him, he insisted, "How bad?"
Daniel answered simply, "Bad. I have not seen a dragon as tattered as he was survive for long, but he was still fighting when we left him in the care of Howard and his team at the stables." The black steed's eyes grew with worry as she let out a tiny and very uncharacteristic whine.
Wufei and Anna were already walking up to the prince as the swordsman told his friends, "Take us where you found him so that we can make up a search party to look further for Heero." Their backs straightening, the fellow Sanq knights nodded firmly in a clear relief that they were not going to sit back while their friend and Commander was still somewhere out in the world.
Instantly on his feet, Trowa announced, "I'm going, too." He looked up to see Hilde biting her lip in worry. When their eyes met and she mouthed 'Be careful' to him, he gave her a warm smile and winked with that calm confidence of his.
"As are we," Alex quickly offered as Adodera and Gloria nodded from their places at either side of him.
Squeezing the braided teenager's shoulder, Anna brought his attention back to her and reassured quietly, "If Heero is still out there, we'll find him. You have my word on that."
Though he appreciated their consideration and efforts more than words could have expressed, there was a horrible dread setting into Maxwell that they were not going to be able to find his partner.
Still, they had to try. If for nothing else, for their peace of mind. Swallowing roughly, he told her in a ghost of a whisper, "Thank you."
On that note, the team headed out of the residence through the holes in the side of the residence.
Quatre took up the void left by the 'Sword and Shield' to rest a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder while Noin knelt before her nephew to squeeze his hands in her own. Locking their gazes, she asked, "How can we help you now? Tell us whatever it is that you need to keep your head about you."
It was the choice of words that his aunt used that brought Duo to the heart of her concern. By now, everyone knew that should he lose control of his emotions, there was a chance his gifts would react to manifest themselves how they saw fit... just as they had in Pisces when he'd killed thousands of Dekim's men in an instant.
Roughly forcing a deep breath, he fought himself to collect the overwhelming sensations of fear and anger that were drowning him. There was a reluctance within himself to handle those feelings, but he managed without the need for the empath beside him to intervene. When he did, his face was drenched by the time his eyes blinked to regain his focus.
Breathing a sigh, Noin smiled kindly up at him when the cloud over his gaze subsided. She reached up to gently cup his cheek and questioned, "What do you need?"
There was not a moment's thought needed on Duo's part as he responded, "I need to see Wing."
* * * * * *
"Oh, oh this is far too good to be true," Dekim laughed as he sat perched on his throne with his newest servant kneeling on the floor before him with his head pressed to the ground in a deep bow. Looking to the girl at his right, he smirked, "You, my dear, have outdone yourself immensely with this. I am most proud to have you working alongside me."
Dorothy beamed and lowered her head to feign humility. "You honor me with such a compliment, my lord. It is my greatest joy to serve you and the Keeper to the best of my ability."
At the dark sorcerer's left stood Treize, who at that moment was doing his best to not roll his eyes. He knew all too well how insincere the young woman was. He could see the drive behind her haunting eyes, the longing for more than what she had.
But he held his tongue lest her dark abilities be unleashed upon him. And seeing the empty state of the Sanq knight still bowing on the floor, he swallowed roughly in knowing that he could very well be shown the same barren existence.
"You may rise now, Heero," Dekim said with a cruel smile.
Pushing himself up and onto his feet, the teenage Commander stared at his audience with glowing eyes. "Thank you, Master," he replied, his tone flat and as stripped of emotion as he was.
How one so young had successfully led an attack against an army of monsters produced by the Keeper was an absolute wonder to Treize. If he had not laid his eyes on Yuy himself, he would never have believed it possible. But this was once a young man deserving of respect. Those thoughts were broken when the old man faced Khushrenada and inquired, "What news do you have from the reinforcements that had been sent to Cancer?"
The dark army Commander straightened himself and responded, "They have been making great time and should be arriving at the city within the next few days. I imagine that it will take time before Prince Duo would be up to making such a bold move as to strike any time sooner, if he does not have the Alliance pull back into the south all together."
More than pleased with that, Dekim grinned, "Excellent." His gray eyes falling back onto the boy standing at the foot of his raised throne, he chuckled, "It will only be a matter of time before we will rid this world of them all now."
* * * * * *
"Oh my God," Duo breathed when Howard led him into the giant, make-shift stall where Wing was lying on his stomach. Covered in stitched wounds from his head, through his wings and to the tip of his tail, the white steed was almost unrecognizable... until he opened his crystalline blue eyes when the prince neared him.
Biting his lip, Maxwell's own eyes finally began to sting with tears when the steed attempted to wag his tail only to wince in pain with a whimper. As quickly as he could, Duo closed the distance between them with Scythe and his family right behind. Gently resting a hand over the tip of Wing's nose, he looked back to Howard and asked, "He can recover from this... right?"
With a deep breath, the squire answered, "Between the blood transfusion that his body was given and his healing abilities, he will make a full, physical recovery." Clearing his throat, he frowned deeply, "It's the emotional toll that he has suffered with losing Heero that I am worried about."
Lightly running one of his own hands over the smooth neck of his patient, the old man stated, "The fact that he fought to make it through the more trying procedures on his body tells me that he knows his rider is alive. If Yuy was not, he would know it and would have given up on himself. However, their separation is still devastating to his spirit."
Quatre stepped up, eyes shimmering as he felt the intense sense of grief that ran deeply within his scaly friend. "There was a brief struggle," he informed as the steed's recollection of what had occurred ran through him. "Dark magic was in play and it took Heero in. Wing had done what he could, but was no match for what had been sent for him."
"Dear spirits, this is what my gift was warning me would happen," Relena whispered, her hands reaching up to cover her mouth. "What I had seen was a true vision of what was to come. Dekim found a way to the one thing that would get to his greatest opponent in the war. Heero did not willingly turn sides, he was forced into doing so in order for the sorcerer to have what he really wants."
Meeting the violet eyes on her, she breathed, "You."
Duo swallowed roughly and lowered his head. That had been the very thing that he had assumed before the seer even voiced her realization.
* * * * * *
Sniffing against the cool ground, the silver pack leader came to a stop where the Sanq knights and the scout were standing by the tracks in the sandy beach along with their steeds.
With a grunt, the furry creature shifted back into his human form. Shaking his head, Alex glared at the two long furrows that revealed where Heero had been dragged before the tracks ended well before the water of the lake. "This is incredibly frustrating," he growled. "There is not a hint of a scent of him anywhere around these woods. How could a person simply vanish into thin air the way that it appears the Commander had?"
Holding up the torch in her hand, Anna looked back to the massive impressions in the sand that revealed where Wing had fallen after the attack, she sighed, "I have come to learn that there is little that is not possible when it comes to magic. For something of this nature, it had to come from Dekim's camp."
"More specifically, Dorothy," Trowa hissed along with the flame from his own torch. "She may not have both sides of the gift to accomplish the things that Duo can, and most likely cannot capture him with her abilities for it, but she is tenacious. It's my guess that she and Dekim thought Heero to be the next best target."
Gloria and Adodera ran into the clearing as they took on their human shapes. "Normally I would never shy away in the sight of magic," the petite blonde began. Peering around the forest wearily, she rubbed her arms and frowned, "But I suggest that we cross the border for the rest of the night lest there be anything lingering around in wait for us."
Her sister voiced, "Anything that could successfully take Commander Yuy is certainly not anything that I would like to come across."
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Alex's own eyes scanned the darkness around them and he muttered, "I would have to agree with that suggestion." He focused his clear blue eyes on his friends and told them sincerely, "I am sorry for what has happened, but I do not believe that we will find any more answers here than what we already have."
Reluctant as he was to admit it, Wufei sighed and nodded, "You're right. We should head back."
Juan bit his lip and told the swordsman, "Yes, Commander."
Chang's eyes widened at the term since he had never considered his own change in position in Heero's absence. However, when everyone around him lowered their heads to him before they climbed into their saddles, the reality of the situation hit him hard.
... and then he was truly worried for both his 'brother' as well as the fate of the Alliance.
As Heavy Arms, Tiny and Lion soared back through the clearing and the werewolves turned to charge back through the forest, Anna doused the torch in her hand and walked to her husband to wrap her arms around him tightly. Blinking his widened onyx eyes, Wufei returned the embrace to soak up all of the comfort that he could. "I did not want this," he heard himself say in little more than a whisper. "Especially not this way."
Smiling sadly as she pulled back, the archer met his gaze and replied, "Odin taught us that it is not what life deals us, but how we deal with it that matters. And I know that right now, there is no one better suited for Commander than you. Until we find Heero, I know that the Alliance is in good hands." His shoulders easing, her husband smiled in appreciation and kissed her soundly.
When they came back up for air, Anna smirked, "So, what would be our first order of business when we return to Aries?"
Taking a deep breath and straightening himself, Wufei responded, "We need to get the men together to get the official word on what has happened to them. But before that, I want to find Duo and see how he is faring. Whatever our next move will be, I want to gage where his head is since we need him."
In the moonlight that poured down on them and reflected from the lake, the Captain grinned, "Spoken like a wise Commander." Turning her head, she whistled to Ingier. While the blue-purple steed lowered himself beside her, Nataku returned to her rider to bow respectfully before he climbed back into his own saddle.
Together they took back to the skies and sailed through the border.
* * * * * *
Painful as it was to see what had happened to his friends through Wing's thoughts, Quatre was able to have a clear picture of exactly what had transpired. But as taxing as that experience had been for the empath, sharing the details of what he had gathered with Duo and their friends was even more difficult.
Sitting on the straw-covered floor close by Wing's massive head so that he could lightly run a hand over the steed's snout, the prince felt a stray tear roll down his face.
Of course there was grief in knowing beyond doubt that Heero had been taken by their enemy. But even more than that sense of loss was the growing rage deep within that kept him from falling too deeply into his sadness.
There was a sense of purpose now. So long as the Commander was still alive, there was hope of his return where he belonged. Dekim and his minion may have attempted to crush Duo with this blow when instead, it only managed to strengthen his resolve to bring their demise. And so, he came to a clear consciousness of what he needed to do.
Pandora's box had opened to release its hells.
Within himself, the prince could hear the black dragon of the dark side of his gift growling deeply and he smelled the black smoke rising through its clenched mouth. He felt the white unicorn of his light side kicking at the ground as it let out a shrill cry and tossed its head.
Lost to their urge to be released, Duo made a solemn promise for those siding with the Keeper...
He would be merciless. He would be unwavering. He would be Death to every one of them.
But at this particular moment, Maxwell needed to support a certain grieving dragon. Turning to face the injured beast, he continued to pat the end of his muzzle and said matter-of-factly, "We're going to get Heero back, Wing. Until then, you need to stay strong. You were brave when you carried me to the portal and so many more times since then; you be strong now."
Wing blinked his large, shimmering eyes and raised his head a bit as though coming to a startling revelation. Finally, a wide grin tugged his lips and he forgot the pain that came with flapping his patched tail as he nuzzled the prince. When he pulled back, his eyes narrowed with determination. Letting out a plume of white smoke through his nostrils, he nodded firmly.
Content to lay close to her rider's other side up until that moment as he offered his reassurances to Wing, Scythe raised her own head and snorted in response. Nataku and Ingier clawed at the straw beneath where they stood only a few feet away, their necks stretched so that their heads could be near.
Meeting the eyes of his knights, Duo's own eyes narrowed as he declared, "You wanted my suggestion to what we should do and I've decided. We leave for Cygnus in the morning, as planned. I am not going to be happy until we personally send every one of those monsters back to the Keeper."
Smirks promising all things terrible for their enemies tugged Wufei and Anna's lips as they both nodded.
Dekim wanted a reaction from his move of capturing the knight in their game of chess. Well, for what little he had gained with that play, he further endangered his own king and queen.
Now, every remaining piece that they had failed to pick off up to that moment was coming after them.
TBC...
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