Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow Lands ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

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Chapter Nine

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"What River is this?" Lily asked Zechs as they approached the roaring river. It had been a long three days since their capture. Solo's wound had begun to heal and was looking well.

They had traveled endlessly trying to pass through the borders of the Empire and now they were to succeed. Lily stared at the river, fear in her eyes. The water was not the crystal blue like it was in most, this water was black and murky. Ghost like mists in the forms of humans and animals rose from the water, their cries loud and shrieking.

"Why, milady looks terrified," Zechs mocked. "This is the River of Spirit."

"You can't cross this by swimming," Solo said. "There is no way."

"There, you are wrong," Zechs replied. Zechs turned his head back towards the river. He began chanting a spell underneath his breath. When it had stopped, large stone steps had been brought out from beneath the river's waters. Each step stood at least a foot apart from each other, jutting out in different directions to create a zigzag path. Each step was at least two feet wide and a foot and a half long. Zechs dismounted from his horse, everyone else dismounted.

"Brant," Zechs called to a stout man with brown hair. Brant walked forward holding the reins of his horse. "You first." Brant nodded. Brant tested one foot on the step, then the next, and the next. The horse followed behind him, each two hooves on each step. Soon Brant was across the river, his body now a small a small dot.

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The ship steered itself as close as she could to the river bank. Heero looked at the mouth of the river. The black waves clashing against the crystal blue waters. The creatures of the River of Spirits would never come to swim or habit the clear waters that ran to villages. The horses were being unloaded onto the land. Two extra horses were unloaded for Akeem and Jin. Wufei had been chiding his son since he had been found and had finally agreed after mush persuasion to allow his son to come. Now Akeem and Jin were under the watchful eyes of Rasid and the Maganacs.

"If we don't return in four days," Heero said to the crew that was to be left behind, "Return home and raise the bell." Nods and 'ayes' followed the command. The crew cheered and waved to the departing soldiers as they watched them disappear over the horizon.

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"Be careful with that, Dorothy!" Relena snapped as she saw Dorothy stumble when she picked up the oversized book, nearly dropping that when she did.

"Sorry, miss," Dorothy apologized. She placed the book on a stand. Relena and Dorothy were hidden within the walls of an old castle. Relena's magic had teleported them to the top of the legendary Mountain of Shadows. The Black Castle still stood. It's towering walls visible over the peaks of the mountain.

It was said in the Prophecy of Old, that the greatest God would rise from the Mountain's fiery pits and bring the caller great power that could do great evil if used in the wrong hands.

This is why Relena needed Lily and Solo. The sacrifice of two loves so pure would please the demons that controlled the God, giving Relena complete control of him. It would all be perfect.

Relena thumbed through the pages of the Book that Dorothy had put down. It was a peculiar book. It's dragon hide cover was bloodstained and worn from years of use. The pages were of a burnt parchment, the dark red ink and pictures glistening like blood in the firelight. Relena stopped turning the pages when she had come upon a picture of two dragons encircling a gleaming fire. The fire began to shift, it's flames forming letters. Relena began to read aloud:

"Rise thy weapon to the sky;

Let thy armies fall and fly;

Strike thy weapon upon the ground;

Let loose a terrible cry;

Passing before the sun red sky,

Making no shadow,

There all hope lies,

In the pits of darkness.

Lying behind the stars,

Buried beneath the hills,

Empty space begins to fill.

Thou comes first,

Then follows after,

Ending life,

Killing laughter once so pure.

Alive without breath,

Colder than Death,

The Fires build.

Eternity begins,

Ending Time and Space,

The Beginning of every End takes place,

The End of every Place

Draws near.

At Night thy rises,

Coming without being fetched.

At Day you're lost,

Without being stolen.

Thou never was,

And never will be.

Thou never saw,

And never will.

Thou will live,

And breath on this terrestrial ball.

A-waiting for two so pure,

Their sacrifice so willing.

The longer they stand,

The shorter life grows.

The more there is,

The less is seen.

Day becomes Night as

Tomorrow Ends.

The Comfort of their hearts

Are lost.

Their lives,

Given away

For one so evil,

Or one so pure?

Their Armies become weak,

Helping Demons,

Your Terror rises.

Preying on mortal thoughts,

The roots of your Suffering.

They'll fight

Naught with their hands,

But in their Hearts,

Lies a Beast more frightening.

In the End,

Thou shall rule All…"

"What does it mean, Miss Relena?" Dorothy asked when Relena had finished reading the Prophecy. Relena tsked.

"Don't you see, Dorothy? The sacrifice of Lillian and Solo would bring the greatest Demon to my power. I could control him, the Empire would be mine."

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Solo stopped Lily as she made her way to cross across the stone steps.

"I don't trust them," Solo said as Lily turned. "Let me go first." Lily nodded and allowed Solo to pass her.

Solo clenched the reins of his horse. He stepped upon the first stone. It seemed to support his weight and he continued walking. The horse's hooves made soft clunking noises as they stepped on each stone. After a few minutes, Solo had made it safely to the other side of the river.

"All right, Lily! You can cross!" Solo called to Lily across the river. Lily nodded even though she knew Solo couldn't see her this far. Lily gripped the reins of the cream colored horse.

"Watch your step, milady," Zechs mocked Solo as Lily passed him. Lily glared, mimicking her father's well known death glare. Lily handed the reins of the horse to one of the men that had approached her. Solo handed his hand to Lily, helping her step off the last step that had seemed to grow further from the bank.

Zechs had just stepped off the last stone when a low grumble emitted from the river. The company, Zechs, Solo, and Lily turned to see the river had began to bubble. A leathery hand exposed itself from the murky depths. Its long calloused fingers scratching at the earth's surface. The creature began to ease it's lithe, scaly body out of the water. It's skeletal like head popped from the water, giving a shrieking cry, it's thin mouth wide open. Tuffs of moss green hair framed the bony face as it shrieked again, it's large black eyes staring at the company.

With catlike reflexes, the bony hand clenched the hem of Lily's cloak. It gave a shrill shriek as it realized what it had caught.

"'Tis a woman!" It's voice was high pitched and scratchy. Long, green, pointed fangs smiled at the company. At the sound of the creatures voice, more of them popped out of the water. Soon the river was filled with the leathery brown headed creatures, all of them with large black eyes gazing at the group. Their shrill shrieks rang out as they made their way towards the river bank.

================================================================ < p>"Are you okay, Heero?" Duo brought Shinigami closer to the white mare. Heero had remained quite through the day, only talking when needed. Heero's dark blue eyes wavered on Duo's amethyst eyes. Although Heero's face bore no expression, his eyes showed what he felt. Duo's heart immediately fell. Heero rode out of earshot of the others. Duo urged Shinigami to go faster, soon catching up to Heero.

"You want to talk about it?" Duo asked. There was a moments of silence before Heero finally spoke.

"It's just that I never dreamed this could of happened."

"No one did."

"I always assumed she was safe, in or outside the walls. I guess I was wrong."

"Don't say that," Duo said. "My nephew is out there too and I'm not kicking my own ass. So stop kicking yours." Duo softened as he saw the slight grin cross Heero's face.

"Thank you, Duo."

================================================================ < p>"It'll take days for them to get her," Relena told Dorothy. Relena was bustling around the room, collecting odd bottles of shapes, sizes, colors, and smells. She gathered the ingredients on the table. With a wave of her hand, a green flamed fire lit beneath a black cauldron.

"I want my war quicker than they can get here," Relena said. Dorothy looked at the Book of Shadows. It's pages had been turned to a picture of a horned demon, it's red eyes glistening. Scrawled in loopy writing the spell was written beneath an evil looking satyr. As Dorothy watched the book, the images began to shift, the satyr played his panpipe as the horned demon danced to the eerie tune.

"Dorothy, will you hand me the sandarac?" Dorothy handed Relena a spiky looking root, a small hiss emitted from the cauldron. Relena took a dram full of dark black cobra eggs. The cauldron's contents began to turn red and smoke pink fumes as it shimmered over the green flames.

"Now help me carry this to the dungeons." Relena and Dorothy both took a handle to the cauldron and lifted it. The walked down a winding staircase, each step getting colder and colder. When they reached the last steps, Dorothy had to hold in a gasp. Strewn across the floor were skeletons of those long dead. The stench had grown over the years, making it hard for them to be.

"Now watch closely," Relena said. She began to tip the cauldron onto the floor, the red liquid enveloped the skeletons. The stench ceased and a more pleasant smell of rotten eggs sufficed. The skeletons began to move. Muscles and sinew began to grow across their white bones. Flesh, hair, and eyes began to developed and soon, an army of men and demons had been born. They had turned to Relena and Dorothy, their eyes lifeless. They seemed to rely on smell as they were sniffing heavily.

"Go, wake the others!" Relena commanded to them. "And then, make way for the Imperial Empire and let your terror spread!" Cheers erupted from them as they staggered in different paths.

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"Evil breeds in the mountains," Jia told her mother, Sally. Sally was a tall woman. Her blonde hair pulled in two braided twists. Her soft blue eyes ever seeing as she gazed from the balcony towards the mountains. It was true. The sky over the horizon had begun to darken, its blue skies becoming foreboding and dark.

Jia's dark eyes strained as a dark cloud seemed to be rising. A black cloud had begun to travel closer and closer towards the palace. The sound of wings fluttering echoed across the balcony.

"Get down!" Sally said as the cloud flew through over their heads. As Jia and Sally looked up, dark black and green locus had begun to swarm over the lands, devouring all in it's path. Jia and Sally looked between the railings towards the mountains. A horde of men came sweeping from down the plains, their thick dark armor gleaming in the dawning light. Sally and Jia rose.

"It's true then," Sally whispered to Jia. "The Prophecy is to be fulfilled."

"We've got to raise the alarms!" Jia cried as she disappeared out of the room, her red cloak billowing. Jia ran down corridors, throwing open doors she knew soldiers were housed. Shouts followed her as Jia sprinted up a winding staircase to a tower. A large bowl full of a methane smelling liquid and logs set in the center of the tower's floor. Four torches burned from their places in the wall. Jia grabbed the red flamed burning torch ¾ mortal peril ¾ and threw it in the bowl. Her face lit with the light as Jia looked to the other towers. From the other towers, red flames began to become visible as guards lit them. Soon the palace was bathed in the red light. Soldiers had begun to gather at the court yards, preparing for battle.

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"Solo!" Lily cried as she was dragged to the ground by the river creature. The creature had a firm grip on her cloak and had now had a hold of her ankle. A burning sensation ran through her leg as the creature continued to pull. Lily felt two hands grab on her arms and try to heave her out of the creature's grasp. The shrieking from the creature continued as it's comrades surfaced and began to climb out of the river. Zechs's me had drawn their weapons, prepared to fight whatever evil the River Guardians could bring.

"She's mine! She's mine!" The creature shrieked as it dragged Lily deeper and deeper into from the bank. Zechs and Solo pulled on Lily, wrenching her from the creatures grasp. The creature gave a long, hollow shriek at it's loss.

The fighting seemed to stop as the creature's cry continued. Zechs's men had dropped to the ground, their ears covered. A low growl emitted and from the depths of the water rose a serpent dragon. The dragon's head was arrowed and pointed for quick mobility in the water, it's sleek blue body glistening in the dawning light. The dragon roared its head back and gave a terrible roar echoing across the plains.

"Brant!" Zechs called to a man who had uncovered his ears. The man approached the river bank uneasily. "Take these two and get the hell out of here!" The man nodded and led Lily and Solo away.

As they had rounded behind a grove of trees, a terrifying roar echoed. They turned to see the Serpent Dragon gliding across the land, its long neck bobbing as it snapped at men and the creatures. The three of them watched in horror as Zechs and his men rounded on the dragon swords raised and began to attack the beast. After moments that seemed like eternity, the beast collapsed, dark black blood seeping from its open mouth.

"Are you all right?" Zechs asked Lily as he approached. Sweat and dirt plastered his blonde bangs to his face. His shirt was torn in several places. His men looked in worse shape: four of them lay dead, while the others had the same grungy look Zechs had. They were breathing heavily, sweat poured like rivers from their faces.

"We'll find the horses and ride for till sunset and camp," Zechs said as he went to look to for the fleeing horses. The hadn't walked far when they found the horses grazing in a pasture. They mounted their horses and rode till it was too dark to see, stopping in a clearing. Two men had gathered sticks and began to start a fire left over from an ember carried in a dragon hide pouch that had been brought from the last night's fire and feed during the day. A man approached Lily and Solo a rope in his hands.

"There is no need to tie them up," Zechs said without looking up from his drink. "They won't run. Not after what they saw today." The man shrugged and left. Another man came and gave each of them a loaf of bread and wine. The company ate in silence, each silently morning for their fallen comrades. When the moon had begun to make shadows, Lily and Solo had curled down on the ground to sleep.

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"What is that horrid stench?" Quatre asked as he brought a fold of his turban down to cover his nose and mouth. The small group had followed the river's path upstream during the day, looking for any sign of other human beings. Heero pulled Wing to a halt and dismounted. The others watched as Heero unsheathed his sword, the long white blade glistening in the moonlight.

Heero's eyes constricted as he approached the source of the stench. Stepping over bodies of those fallen, Heero approached the dragon. Heero walked around the dragon. Bending down he touched the dark blood, bringing his stained fingers closer to his eyes, examining it.

"It's still fresh," Heero said as Duo approached with a torch lit. The dim light flickered across the ground. Soon others were lighting their torches and examining the ground. Bodies lay on the ground. Duo had begun to walk around each of the bodies, examining each one thoroughly. Duo stooped over a tan river guardian. Clutched in the grip of its long fingers a dark piece of cloth was held tightly to its body. Duo bent down and eased the cloth out of the creature's grasp. The black cloth looked like it had been torn in a struggle. It's thick material suggested that it was from a traveling cloak.

"Hey Heero!" Duo called to where Heero was still examining the Serpent Dragon. "I think I found something." Heero came over to where Duo was. Duo handed Heero the cloth.

"It's Lily's all right," Heero said as he examining the stitching in the hem of the piece of cloth. A small clicking noise alerted them. A brown hand had disappeared beneath the depths of the black water. Heero and Duo dove for it. Duo caught the river guardian by a tuff of its mossy green hair and pulled it out of the water. Terrified clicking and shrieking came from the guardian. Duo began to click back to it, his tongue mimicking the same movements of the guardian.

"He says that there was a woman and a few young men," Duo said as the thing clicked frantically. "The Water Lord rose when the woman wouldn't enter the depths." Duo indicated the dragon that lay sprawled across the ground. "He says that when the Lord had fallen, the humans disappeared that way," Duo finished 'talking' to the guardian and pointed toward the indicated path the Guardian was pointing too. Heero stood and addressed the others.

"We'll burn the bodies and travel further inland. We can't be far from them and we can risk to rest a few hours time." The company nodded and began to drag the dead bodies towards the dragon. Trowa had produced a fire strong enough to burn the bodies and soon the soft blue lights of the fires were blazing as they set further inland.

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"Quickly, Jia!" Sally called as a wounded soldier was brought into the infirmary. He had a long gash running from his left shoulder to his thigh that had begun to steam. Jia grabbed a skirt full of ingredients and hurried to help her mother and the other Witch Doctors. The infirmary was packed with both soldiers and villagers that had picked up their swords to aid in the fighting.

Spells, incantations, and potions were given to the wounded as people bustled in an out of the infirmary. Sally's white medic tunic was stained with blood, sweat plastered a few stray hairs to her face. Jia hurried to make a cleansing potion, they had been running short since the battle had started.

A loud BANG rang from outside the walls, shaking the beds and floors. Sally frantically grabbed the two closest beds to keep the occupants from falling to the ground.

"Jia!" Sally called. Jia quickly grabbed the cleansing potion and ran to her mother, assisting her with cleaning and bandaging the man's wounds.

"I want you to go tell the Emperor that the palace is under siege!" Sally called over another loud BANG. "Fly upon the back of Pice, he'll take you to the mountains safely!" Jia nodded and quickly left the infirmary. Jia had to grab various objects to prevent from falling as each BANG shook the walls and floors.

Jia hurriedly closed the oak door when she had made it too a dungeon. Jia turned to see Pice, a small gold dragon with long white whiskers bobbing his head at her.

"Hello, Pice," Jia through herself at the dragon, hugging his neck as another BANG sounded. Jia turned the dragon to look into her eyes. Pice's large emerald green eyes twinkled.

"I need you to take me to the Emperor," Jia told Pice as she climbed onto his back and tucked her knees behind Pice's large gold and bronze wings. Pice nodded in understanding and turned to his left where a large opening was in the dungeon's wall. Pice began to run down the tunnel and soon dove out of the tunnel into the brisk November night air and began to fly towards the mountains. Pice flew over the walls of the palace. Jia glanced down to see soldiers and villagers trying to barricade the demons out of the walls. The BANGS of bombs and spells echoed across the lands as Pice flew higher and higher into the cover of the clouds….

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Author's Notes:

Priscel: Thanks for reviewing. Quatre is not a hermaphrodite, it was Trowa's spell that caused him to have Akeem. Thanks for reading and reviewing, if I missed one of your questions, please tell me.

Ink2: Thanks for reviewing, and yes there will be other couples but I can't decide who to pair up with. Have any ideas?

Read & Review!