Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow Lands ❯ Chapter Thirteen ( Chapter 13 )

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Chapter Thirteen

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"Let's stop here," Duo said as he and Lily had entered a slight clearing. Large evergreen trees and oaks towered above them, casting shadows in the midday light. The birds sang their song as the crickets chirped along. Duo slid down an oak tree as Lily flopped down against another one. They were both tired. Hey couldn't of traveled more than a mile, however with Duo having to hop on one foot and Lily carrying the extra weight, the walks were trying. Duo dug around in a drawstring bag from his belt and offered a strip of dried beef to Lily.

"Here."

"Thank you," Lily said as she took the strip of meat and bit into it. They remained quiet as they sat.

"You're Duo Maxwell aren't you?" Lily asked as she gazed through the thick branches of the trees' intertwining canopy.

"Yeah," Duo replied, cracking an eye open. "How'd you know?"

"Your eyes," Lily stated. "There's an old paining of the Maxwell Dynasty in Father's chambers. You have the eyes of the youngest son."

================================================================ < p>The demon's yellow eyes glinted like the burning sun as he towered over Solo. He stood on crouched legs that resembled the hind legs of a horse and his red skinned torso and arms were like a man's as he held the menacing mace. His face was long and pointed with a sharp profile and when the demon smiled, his white fangs glinted.

Solo held on tight to the sword that had been given to him. A long gash ran from his right eyebrow down to the middle of his cheek. His left arm seeped blood from an open wound as he dodged the mace again as it came slamming down into the marble floors. The black marble tiles upturned as the mace came crashing down again once the dust had dispersed and it was easier to see. Solo brought his sword against the iron chains of the mace as the demon struggled to pull the mace free of the floor. Red and yellow sparks flew from the two irons as clashed against each other. The demon only smiled at Solo's act and quickly slung the mace at Solo. Solo ducked as the mace flew above a few inches of his hair.

The demon rose the mace again, preparing to strike. That's when Solo say it: if Solo had gathered enough strength, he could run right between the legs and strike true.

Solo gathered enough courage that when the demon rose his weapon high above his head, Solo slid, raising his sword and thrusting it threw the back of the demon when he had rounded safely on the other side of him, just as the demon's weapon came clashing down. Black blood gushed out from around the wound in the demon's spine. The demon gave an earsplitting scream as he stumbled out of the room, leaving a tired and bloody Solo.

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"I see you proved your strength," Relena said. Solo's hands had been clasped in iron cuffs that attached to the cold, slimily wall of the dungeon. Solo glared at her through his dark blood crusted bangs. The gash on his face had stopped bleeding and had finally scabbed over. His arm had been carelessly been wrapped in a tourniquet, but nonetheless, it still hurt like hell as he strained himself to break free of the chains. The door of the dungeon opened and slammed. Dorothy scrambled through the door, a bundle of blankets folded in her hands.

"Miss Relena!" Dorothy cried. "We've found it!"

Relena smiled at this wonderful news and turned her back to Solo. "Good! Be careful with that!" Relena began as Dorothy tripped ungracefully over the trap step in the staircase leading to the main floor of the dungeon. As Dorothy's hands hit the dusty floor, the bundle of blankets through open as an orb rolled out, stopping at Relena's feet.

Relena stooped to pick up the purple orb. When she did, long streaks of orange lighting flashed inside of the orb. Relena carefully examined the orb, making sure no damage was done. Dorothy stood, looking sheepish for forgetting that the trick step was there.

"Brilliant," Relena said as she held the orb closer to her bosom. "Heero thought he could take this away from me. Thought he could stop my powers from growing…now we shall see." Relena's cackling laughter filled the dungeon.

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"Did you hear that?" Duo asked as he and Lily struggled through the thick brush.

"No," Lily replied as she pulled a thorny branch from her dress.

"Must have been my imagination," Duo said as he hopped over a protruding root. They continued on, finally coming from the thick brush and into a grove of trees. The moon was barely visible between the intertwining branches of the trees, but nonetheless, it was a full moon that glowed a deep red.

"Let's rest there," Duo said, indicating a tree not far ahead. The evergreen tree's branches sagged down, creating a type of shelter around it. They found a way through the branches and curled up against the tree. The dead needles created a soft bed for them as they nestled down. The branches tangled themselves in a netting that blocked the harsh wind from them and provided a false sense of security of wondering predators. It wasn't long before exhaustion made them fall into a deep slumber.

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"What?" Duo asked as Lily began shaking him from his slumber and a very pleasant dream. The moon's light flickered across Lily's face and Duo could see that she was terrified.

"Something's out there," Lily whispered. Duo peered out of the branches. Indeed something was out there. Whatever it was stood well over seven feet tall and hunched when it walked, often times walking on two legs, then four. Its body was covered in bushy, brown fur as it wondered around the trees, sniffing at their trail. Suddenly it turned it's great bushy, dog-like head, and that's when Duo saw it's red eyes glint.

"Werewolf," Duo whispered to Lily as he began to edge her around the tree.

"Try not to scream," Duo warned as he parted the branches and held them for Lily and crawled out himself. Lily nodded as the two began to crawl out and away from the evergreen. Glancing over his shoulder, Duo saw that the werewolf was now sniffing the branches. Duo pulled Lily quickly behind a bush as he saw the werewolf's head protrude from the branches of the tree that they had slept under. The werewolf's lanky form crept closer and closer to where they were hiding. Lily began to breathe harshly. Duo made to clamp a hand over her mouth while fingering the hilt of his sword.

The sniffing grew louder as the head of the werewolf became visible over the bush. The two held their breaths as the beast sniffed one more time and began to wonder back to where it had come from. They sighed in disbelief and waited awhile before they finally stood and began to walk. The decided that it wouldn't be safe to venture back beneath the tree for the werewolf might come back.

The sounds of the crickets, frogs, and locos had stopped as they walked. They tried their hardest not to make noises as they treaded across sticks that snapped under their weight. They stopped for a moment as a loud SNAP echoed from behind. Duo turned to see the werewolf charging at him. In a moments decision, Duo forgot about his broken ankle and bared all weight on it as he grabbed Lily and ran.

Branches grabbed at them as they ran pell-mell. The beast snarled as it ran on all fours. It gave a howl as a branch snapped back in his face. It's long dog-like face glowered in the moonlight as it ran at his prey. He howled in glee as he got closer and closer to the two. Suddenly, they dropped out of site.

Duo and Lily rolled as the fell down the steep hill. Rocks jutted out of the ground bruising them as they fell. Small animals scattered as they flew past them. The werewolf took no heed to the small animals as he gracefully treaded down the hill, using the rocks as a type of stair. Duo felt a pain in his side as he rolled over the rock he landed on, spitting out blood. Lily groaned as she sat up, frantically trying to pull Duo with her.

"Run," Duo said. Lily made no intention to run as she hastily pulled Duo to his feet.

"Damn it, run!" Duo said as he tried to shove Lily away as the werewolf strode closer and closer.

"No!" Lily replied as Duo drew his sword, preparing to fight. Soon, the beast was level with them. White fangs glistened in the moonlight, foam seeping out of his mouth. It snarled and it bristled its hair as Duo and Lily edged away backwards trying to but as most distance between the beast as possible.

The beast threw it's head back and howled manically. It's red eyes glinted as it lunged forward, preparing to make a kill…

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