Labyrinth - Gundam Wing Style Part 8
Heero's eyes snapped open and the world around him seemed to swirl. Without showing his discomfort he raised a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, waiting for the world to stop spinning. To be thrown out of his own illusion so quickly was disorienting and it took him a moment to regain his composer enough to trust himself. After a long moment and a couple deep breaths he opened his eyes again and glanced around the room.
All was quiet around him, the majority of the goblins having fallen into a light sleep in small clumps and piles. Heero's well trained eyes easily picked out Solo from the crowd, his body curled into a small yet comfortable ball, with goblins curled up next to him like children to a mother for warmth. The human boy was definitely far on his way with the transformation. Heero stood up and stalked over to the boy, his boots clicking lightly on the stone floor. For a long moment he stood over the boy, glaring down at the peacefully sleeping form, then he snorted and turned away, walking to the window.
Seating himself on the windowsill he gazed out over the intricate network of walls. He tapped a gloved hand impatiently on the sill, glaring at the small moving forms below. "What makes him so important?" The Goblin King tossed a short look back at the boy then back out the window. "I watched him. All he ever did was patronize you, tease you about who you were. So why are you going to such great lengths to save him?"
A shiver moved through his body and the Goblin King tentatively hugged his own knees, his face taking on a more wistful expression. Blue eyes that seemed to lose their iciness watched the twists and turns below. Where was Duo now that the illusion had shattered? Where had the boy landed? And would he make it to the castle in the small amount of time he had left?
Heero leaned back against the edge of the windowsill and closed his eyes.
What was wrong with him?
For some strange reason he didn't want to play this game anymore.
What had that human done to him?
~*~
Everything ached around him. He felt as if he was laying in a bed of needles and he couldn't move. The needles just kept stabbing into his skin and he couldn't brush them off or move away, just lie there as they stabbed him. He couldn't even open his mouth to cry out. His mind would have panicked if it hadn't been for the pain.
Amazingly, through all the aches and pain he felt something furry brush against his cheek. That sensation was followed by warmth touching both his shoulders and shaking him, but that didn't scare away the needles. He wanted to open his mouth. He wanted to urge them to keep trying, anything to distract him from the pain-
Ice cold covered his entire body, washing all the needles away and causing him to yelp in surprise. His body broke out of the strange spell and he rolled away, covering his face with his arms, attempting to shield. He rolled into a small ball and shivered, water dripping from his body as he spat it out of his mouth. That's when he realized someone was saying his name.
"Duo? Duo? Can you hear us?"
Duo sputtered a bit more and blinked his eyes open, brushing away the water from his eyes with the back of his hands. He hissed as pain laced through his body, it felt worse then the needles. Duo could only groan in response and he still didn't recognize the voice.
"Where did those come from?" the voices continued.
"I think I can fix them."
Duo felt something gently take one of his hands, a warm and fur covered touch. He blinked his eyes more, willing them to see again but he couldn't make out the fuzzy shapes. What was going on? Why couldn't he see anything?
Then it was strange, he felt something wet and textured move over his hand, rubbing against the torn skin. He tried to jerk his hand back but the grip was too tight. Instead he whimpered quietly as the textured thing worked its way all over his hand, moving over each cut. After each touch the wound began to tingle lightly, a strange tickling sensation moving over his skin. And it wasn't long before the strange texture moved to other parts of his body, sliding slowly up his face.
His sight started to fade back into focus, treating him to a semi-lit world with different shades of green overhead. He blinked rapidly until he could make it out... leaves? Duo coughed and flailed out his arms, knocking away the strange thing, which was now moving down his neck. He turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw the three kneeling beside him. Quatre and Trowa were sitting next to each other while Wufei was practically in Duo's lap, licking the cuts, which had somehow appeared all over his body. Gently he pushed Wufei away and winced as he saw the condition of his clothes. They were torn everywhere.
"Duo?" Quatre whispered quietly.
"Wh-what happened?" His voice came out scratchy and it was painful to speak.
Trowa turned his face away, his long bangs covering his face so Duo couldn't see his eyes. His body seemed to slump in guilt and his voice came out as just barley a whisper.
"You were sucked into Heero-sama's gem-"
The fire demon's eyes narrowed. "Trowa, if you dare say its your fault I swear I'll slap you again, no matter how much it hurts!"
The merboy shut his mouth and stiffened.
Duo blinked in confusion and forced himself to sit up, his body crying out in protest. "I remember I think... one minute I was standing with you guys and the next thing I knew I was in this strange ball room filled with people. And Heero he..." Duo paused as his cheeks went warm. His mind supplied a perfect vision of the large bed and the drop dead sexy goblin king. He shook his head and banished the vision, swallowing hard.
"How did you get out?" Wufei asked, tilting his head up at Duo in kitten-like curiosity.
"I said something and he snapped... I said... I said that reality was more important then fantasy." Duo's voice trailed off quietly as the others stared at him. "He cried out in pain and then turned into an owl, but it looked like it hurt. Like it really really hurt."
Quatre glanced around for a moment then met Duo's eyes, pursing his lips. "Umm, Duo, there is something you should know about him."
All three pairs of eyes settled on the little fire demon. He ran a hand through his blond curls and sighed. "Heero's like the rest of us, an orphan of sorts. We were all outcasts in our world and so was he, so he came here like the rest of us. But... even here he's an outcast. When he arrived in this world he didn't change. He hasn't aged a single day, instead he's always retained the appearance that he despised.
"At first all of us that were here thought he was unique, but in a good way. We listened to everything he said and tried to make him feel at home. We took care of him, tried to make him feel welcome, but every day he grew more and more distant. He hated being different and he just grew more cold and distant."
The fire demon's face fell. "I'm not sure how it all happened but he ended up in that castle. He's always collecting more children who feel like they don't belong. I guess he's trying to find someone else like him, someone else who won't change... someone who will make it so he's not the only one."
Quatre's face fell and he shrugged, looking young and helpless. Duo responded with a frown.
"That makes sense," he said softly. "Do you know why he didn't change?"
Quatre shook his head. "We couldn't explain it."
Duo closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, surprised to find it had come completely unraveled. Sighing softly he struggled to his feet, using the tree trunk as an anchor for his balance. The other two stood up after him, Wufei stayed crouched on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Trowa asked, offering a hand to Duo to help him steady.
Duo shook his head and frowned. "As much as I may feel sorry for him Solo comes first. I can't leave me brother here, I won't leave my brother here. Solo is my first priority..." His shoulders sagged. "No matter how much I may want to try and help Heero."
Trowa nodded.
"Can you walk all right?" Wufei asked, crawling up next to Duo's feet.
"I think so, I'm still a little light headed from falling out of that... vision. But I'll get used to walking again."
The neko-boy lifted his head and rested it under Duo's hand, smiling up at him. "I'll help."
Duo nodded and glanced to Trowa and Quatre. "Thanks Quatre, I think I kind of understand now." He smiled. "So, which way is the castle?"
The three set off, Trowa taking the lead with Quatre a step behind, constantly glancing over his shoulder to make sure Duo was ok. Duo, on the other hand, walked at a fairly normal pace, only occasionally using Wufei as a support if his balance faltered. It wasn't long before he completely recovered and didn't need to keep his hand hovering over Wufei's head. In response the neko-boy mewed quietly and bound up into the trees, following them the rest of the way by jumping from branch to branch overhead.
Despite the tattered condition of his clothes and the small cuts which still covered his body Duo felt little pain. What little pain he felt was ignored in favor of his goal. No matter what he had to get Solo back. He felt sorry for the Goblin King but that didn't excuse him stealing children from their homes just because at one point in their lives they felt like they didn't belong. He wouldn't let Solo meet the same fate as the other children, he'd bring Solo home no matter what it took.
The grassy path before them grew wider, the trees becoming thinner and thinner. Eventually Wufei was forced to jumped back to the ground and prowl silently behind the small group, eyeing their surroundings cautiously. The path before them made a sharp curve and they suddenly found themselves at a tall sandstone brick wall.
Duo's eyes widened as he looked up above the wall.
"Are we...?"
A smile crossed Trowa's face and soon Quatre echoed the expression.
"Yes, we've reached the caste at the center of the Labyrinth."
~*~
"Heero-sama! Heero-sama! Wake up!"
Heero stirred from his place on the windowsill and turned his head, glaring angrily at the goblin who raced into the room, tripping over his snoozing brothers and sisters.
"Yell at me one more time and I'll throw you out the window," Heero hissed angrily. He hated being jarred out of sleep.
The goblin froze and immediately dropped into a bow, his eyes wide with fear. "I apologize my lord, but the boy... he's reached the walls! The human boy and the three traitors, they are here!"
Heero jumped up from his seat in a rage, his eyes burning. "Stop them!" Walking around the room he angrily kicked the goblins until they woke up. "Stop them! Don't let them in!"
The goblins all jumped to their feet and raced out of the room, all running to the areas below to follow their orders. Moments later only two were left in the room, Heero and a small goblin with long red hair pulled back in a messy braid. The goblin-boy sat up and looked around in confusion, his eyes holding a blank look.
"What's going on?"
Heero just snarled at the boy. "Be quiet and follow me." Turning he waved his hand at a stone wall, the brick twisting and turning, moving out of the way to create a door and a stairway beyond.
The red haired goblin shrugged and stood to his feet, scurrying after Heero up the stairs. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't know what else to do. So he just followed quietly, hoping all would eventually be explained.
TBC...
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