"We're almost there, I can make out figures in the window." Trowa said. He looked up at the enormous black castle ahead of them and sighed. Sure they could make it there, but how would they ever get in?
"It won't be easy," Said Heero, as if reading his thoughts. "But the only vampire in there that I'm worried about is the Dark Lord.
"There's another problem." Quatre pointed out, "That castle wall is smooth and goes straight up. How are we ever going to scale it?"
Heero stopped and pondered this for a moment. Then he cursed. "We'll have to use the door and kill anyone who gets in our way..."
"That won't be necessary." A strong voice said from behind them.
The three boys whipped around and saw the rogue wizard, Wufei, riding a sphinx up to them.
"Wufei?" Quatre asked.
Wufei landed next to them and jumped of the sphinx's back.
"What are you doing here, Wufei? I thought you were going to do things on your own." Heero asked.
Wufei glared at him. "There's no time to explain, get on and I'll tell you on the way."
The three didn't hesitate to climb onto the sphinx after Wufei.
"Howard made a mistake," He said as he pulled Quatre up and ordered the sphinx to fly.
"What kind of mistake?"
"That girl you were with is not dead. She can't be."
"What! How do you know?" Quatre cried.
"Because she is the deity I have been searching for!"
They flew up to the castle and circled it. They were searching for the right room.
"There!" Quatre cried, pointing. They saw a flash of white inside one of the towers.
"The windows are too narrow," Said Wufei, "We'll have to land at the base!"
They nodded and circled down to the biggest window they could find.
"What the..." They came across a dark-haired vampire and Heero promptly staked him.
"This way!" Said Trowa, he led them to a narrow staircase and they hurried up. At the top was a heavy wooden door. The sphinx, which had followed them up, slammed its entire weight against it and the door splintered.
They barged in and saw a caped figure leaning over Lee, looking as if he was going to kiss her. At the sound of their entrance, he whipped around and glared at them.
"Quatre! Trowa! Heero!" Lee cried excitedly.
"Miss Lee! Are you alright?" Quatre asked, being careful to keep his distance from the vampire.
"I'm OK, Quatre." Lee looked nervously at the vampire, who was now standing up, ready to face them.
"Step away from her," Heero said, stepping forward, holding some sort of energy ball above his head, "Or I'll throw this at you!"
"Sunlight?" The vampire snickered. "Those amateur toys can't hurt me!"
"Hn, you're the Dark Lord."
"That's right, so I suggest you leave, unless you wanna get hurt."
Heero didn't listen and leapt toward the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord stopped him in mid-air and Heero was lifted off the ground as if someone had him around the neck. Lee shrieked and jumped away from the fighting, causing the Dark Lord to momentarily lose his concentration. Heero fell to the ground and tried to catch his breath.
"You ok, Heero?" Trowa growled. Heero nodded and pulled himself to his feet.
Wufei and his sphinx stepped forward. The Dark Lord eyed them both. "A sphinx? How clever."
"What does he mean?" Quatre asked.
"Vampires don't really have much of an advantage over sphinxes, they're blood is poison to them." Heero answered.
"Hey, you know your stuff," The Dark Lord grinned, "I'm impressed, you must be a slayer."
"Yes,"
"And let me guess, you came all this way just to kill me?"
"Yes, and I won't fail."
"We'll just see about that. No one threatens the Dark Lord and lives!" He raised an arm above his head and got ready to attack when Lee stepped in.
"NO!" She cried, jumping into the way. The Dark Lord's attack faded away and he looked at her.
"Please, don't hurt them," She sobbed and she let herself fall onto her knees in exhaustion from crying. Her eyes were still red and her cheeks were still wet from tears. Quatre, Trowa, Heero and Wufei watched as the Dark Lord's hand fell to his side and he stepped forward slowly.
Heero was quick to react and he jumped forward in front of Lee and took a fighting stance. The Dark Lord merely stepped around him and knelt next to Lee. He grabbed her shoulders lightly and sighed.
"Sorry," He mumbled, "I get a little carried away when people try to kill me."
The other four boys' mouths dropped open.
"What the #&*@ is going on!" Wufei screamed. His face went red with anger when he realized no one was paying attention to him. Everyone else was busy staring at Lee and the vampire.
"They can't stay here," The Dark Lord said to Lee.
"I know," She sighed. She looked behind her at her friends. "But I can't stay either."
"Yeah, I know." He looked at her in the eyes and smiled. "But for every problem there is a solution." He stood up straight and pulled her to her feet.
"You need to go with them."
Lee's eye's widened. "D-Duo?"
"But don't think you'll get rid of me that easily! Since you are the only one who can raise and kill the Dark Dragon, I guess I'll have to protect you!"
"What are you talking about?" Lee sighed, brushing a few strands and dark green hair out of her face.
"Yes, what are you talking about?" Trowa said, stepping forward. He turned to Lee, "Lee, how did you get on a first name basis with the Vampiric Dark Lord?"
"Long story," Lee said simply.
Duo chuckled, "You mean you guys haven't figured it out yet? Lee is the deity!"
"We know that!" Wufei growled, "That's how we knew she wasn't dead. You wouldn't be able to kill her, would you?"
"That's right, I couldn't. Lucky for her."
"What is going on!" Lee shrieked angrily. "Why is it that everyone but me seems to know what's going on with me?"
"How did you figure out she was the deity?" Trowa asked Duo, ignoring Lee.
"Easy," Duo shrugged, "Her dreams of the dagger."
"Dreams? Lee! Why didn't you tell us about these dreams?" Quatre cried.
Lee shrugged, "You never asked. Now tell me more about this deity?"
"You mean about you?" Duo asked. "Sure...later."
"LATER!"
"Yep, later."
"Why is everything always later? I want to know, NOW!"
"It's hard to explain, Miss Lee." Quatre said. "A long time ago, an ancient deity sealed away a Dark Dragon which was created by an evil wizard. She also made a dagger and gave it to a good wizard to guard. She did this because of another deity who was trying to kill her."
"Deities can die?" Lee asked.
"Only by the hand of another deity," Wufei answered." The wizard who received the dagger was an ancestor of Howard, my former instructor. He hid the dagger in a secret spot to await the day the deity would return and kill the Dragon once and for all."
"So who is this dark wizard, and the other deity, and...."
"Hold on," Trowa said. "According to legend, the deity's sister was the one trying to kill her. The sister had schemed against her older sibling because she was more highly favored by the their parents and by the people. She teamed up with the wizard and created the Dragon to destroy the planet that her sister loved so much. Then she vowed to kill her older sister. Because apparently, only a light that is equal to the darkness in the Dark Dragon can destroy it."
Heero took over, "The deity was supposed to have let herself be reborn for the time when the dragon would be awoken and, when the time came, she was supposed to kill the Dragon."
"But how does the Dragon live again?"
"When the deity of light returns, so will the deity of darkness." Duo said in a whisper, "Which means that the evil sister is lurking around on this world as well, ready to awaken the dragon. There's more to the story, too. The Dark Lord is the one who supposed to awaken the deity of light, I think we have some sort of past connection."
"So, to sum it all up, a dark deity and an evil wizard created a dragon that would destroy the planet out of jealousy and because of this the only one who can destroy it went into hiding to be reborn to thwart her sister's evil plans."
"Yeah, basically," Quatre shrugged.
"And you think the deity was reborn into me?"
"We don't think, we know." Duo grinned.
"I don't get it," Wufei rubbed his chin. "Where does the Dark Lord come into this? And another thing, the timing is off."
"What do you mean, the timing is off?" Heero snarled.
"I mean, deities can only hide for a thousand years before they must be reborn again, which puts the deity's rebirth at about four hundred years ago."
"Oh well, you see! That's that! I'm not a deity and no dragon is going to eat the sun!"
"It has to be true though! Otherwise all this weird stuff wouldn't be happening." Duo muttered.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Quatre said.
"Yeah," Agreed Trowa, "We need to find that dagger, and Lee's coming with us!" He glared dangerously at Duo, who only shrugged. "I never said I wouldn't let her go. She's needed, but I'm going with her."
"WHAT!" All four of the other boys cried.
"You're not coming," Heero growled, "Or I'll kill you.
"Sure ya will, buddy," Duo laughed. "You couldn't kill me if you tried!"
"I am a descendent of the one they called Trieze Kushrenada." Heero smirked. "And he's the one that killed the first Dark Lord, wasn't he?"
Duo gulped. "Ok, so maybe I mistook you for an ordinary slayer. Sorry pal, but if you kill me, who will wake up the deity?"
"Why would you want the deity to wake up? She's supposed to kill the Dragon that will give you eternal night!" Quatre pointed out.
"I don't want eternal night," Duo sighed, "When would I get to sleep? I'd have vampires coming here at every time of day! Not to mention that would mean more vampires which means less humans, which means less food. And I'm not one to put up with an empty stomach.
Lee gulped and took a step back from him, Duo hardly noticed. "And another thing, contrary to popular belief, I do not like vampires. In fact, I hate 'em"
This caused Trowa, Heero, Wufei and Quatre to raise an eyebrow.
"I mean, they killed my girlfriend! And then they sired me! I mean, did anybody even bother to ask if wanted to be a Dark Lord? Of course not! I would love to get a chance to get back at the jerks that did this to me, even though the only one who's still alive is Dorothy. And she didn't really do anything...but still!" Duo looked like he wanted to keep ranting, but stopped because he was getting looks.
"How can we trust you?" Quatre asked cautiously.
"I give you my word. I will not bite." He crossed his heart.
Heero growled and glared around the room. "How ironic, a slayer ends up joining forces with the very vampire he wants to kill."
"Thanks Heero buddy! Although, I would have came anyway."
"I know," Heero snorted, "Which is why I'm just going to make this easier for everyone."
"Wait a minute!" Wufei cut in, "How did we end up agreeing to letting the vampire come?"
"We didn't" Quatre sighed, "Heero took over."
"Injustice! The weak should not be given power over the strong! They just end up making stupid decisions!"
"Are you calling me weak?" Heero glared.
Wufei didn't bother to answer.
Lee watched the conversation with fading interest. She sat on the edge of the bed and thought about what was happening. She was going to find out if she was a deity with two weird adventurers/mercenaries, a slayer, a rogue wizard and a vampire. So far that didn't sound too strange. Yeah right! Her friends back home would think she had lost her mind if she told them a story like that! Oh yeah, and by the way, friends, I'm an ancient deity reborn into this body to save a magical parallel world from a sun-swallowing dragon! She laughed at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Duo asked; the conversation had ended.
"Hm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what my friends would say if I told them I was a magical being from beyond.”
Duo laughed as well, "That is a funny thought. I suppose that's why you stopped listening."
"I guess,"
"I was just saying, Miss Lee," Said Quatre, "that we have your clothes, if you want to change."
Lee looked down and saw that she was still wearing the white sacrificial gown. "That's not a bad idea." She stood up and Quatre made his way over to her with her bag. He winced as he crept past Duo, as if afraid that Duo would lash out and bite him. Duo seemed rather amused at this, and Lee could tell he was resisting the temptation to scare him.
Lee however, was almost the same way. Even though she didn't wince, she cringed inwardly as she walked past to the bathroom. She could feel Duo's eyes boring into her back. It felt like he was looking right into her soul. She ducked into the bathroom and changed quickly into the shirt, cape and pants. She carefully pulled out the few flowers that were left in her hair and pulled her hair into a ponytail then twisted it up and secured it with a clip. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. He eyes weren't puffy anymore, but they were red. And as Lee sat there thinking about her hopeless situation, she could feel tears threatening to roll down her face once again. She was a sixteen-year-old girl doomed to marry a vampire, or die by him. And the only reason she wasn't already made a vampire and his wife was because she had to save the world! It was a nice weight to put on her shoulders.
She quickly dipped her hands into the fountain in the wall that served as a sink and splashed her face. She dried off and when she was satisfied, she came out.
"Typical woman," Wufei muttered as she came out, "Always takes so long in the bathroom."
Duo shot him a glare and Wufei shut up. Even the great wizard wasn't brave enough to face a vampire. Lee kept her head bowed as she came out and then said quietly, "Let's go."
Wufei went out first, the sphinx trailing behind him, then Heero and Trowa. Quatre lagged behind and walked next to Lee, trying to talk to her. He was very empathetic and when he noticed that Lee was ready to cry, he put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. Although Lee knew it was only a friendly gesture, Duo didn't and she caught him glaring at Quatre as they left. Lee didn't say anything. Who cares if she made the vampire jealous anyway?
"Are you going somewhere, My Lord?" Dorothy asked as she watched the six of them come down the stairs. She eyed the group suspiciously but made no move for them.
When Wufei saw her, he froze and hate washed over his face.
"You..." He growled.
Dorothy looked at him, apparently confused. "Do I know you?" She asked rudely.
"You're the one who killed my wife!" He screamed. "Justice will be served!" With that, Wufei lunged at her and attacked. Heero quickly moved to stop him, but had no luck.
Wufei pushed Dorothy to the ground and started to strangle her.
Duo just stood there, looking confused, and Quatre and Trowa went to help Heero get Wufei off the vampire.
"I don't think that's a good idea!" Quatre screamed. "She could kill you!"
Dorothy finally managed to throw Wufei off of her and stood up, hissing. Her eyes had turned red with rage, and her fangs lengthened, ready to bite.
"That's enough, Dorothy!" Duo screamed suddenly. Dorothy's fangs disappeared and she turned her hate-filled eyes towards Duo.
"What's wrong, My Lord?" She asked. "He did attack me."
"You know better than to bite guests." Duo warned.
"Yes, sorry, My Lord." Her eyes slowly returned to their normal color.
Heero, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre looked at Duo in shock. Lee wasn't surprised.
Wufei was still angry, he still wanted to kill Dorothy.
"What's going on here?" Duo asked.
"Murderer!" Wufei screamed at Dorothy, who hissed at him to shut him up.
"Dorothy killed Wufei's wife." Lee explained quietly.
"Ah, well, there's no changing the past. She has to eat." Duo shrugged.
"I assure you Sir," Dorothy said bowing, "That I had no idea she was your wife at the time."
Wufei growled at her, but had nothing to say.
"And as My Lord said, I must eat."
"You killed her without a second thought!" Wufei snapped.
"I always think!" Dorothy snapped back, momentarily losing her composure. She quickly regained it and continued. "Do you think twice when you kill an animal to eat?"
Wufei wasn't taking the bait. His rage has still not settled.
"You should leave, Dorothy." Duo said, "I may not be able to stop him next time."
"Yes, My Lord." Dorothy bowed and disappeared out of the castle.
"Think next time." Duo snapped at Wufei. "She could have easily killed you. And she would have if I were not here. Perhaps you should know what you're doing before you go attacking a vampire!"
Wufei looked extremely offended at Duo's words, but he knew it was the truth. He didn't know how to properly destroy a vampire, and in his rage he had made a nearly fatal mistake. The sight of that onna vampire sent him over the edge. And after so long he thought he had gotten over Meiran. Apparently he hadn't.
He shrugged away from the arms of the people holding him back and followed the vampire and the deity out of the castle, the other three following behind them. Wufei was still seething, however, when they were heading down the mountain.
It was much easier going down the mountain than going up it, and they were in Terra Valley before sunrise.
Lee's face was stone cold as they walked through the village.
"I wonder what happened to Catherine," Quatre said quietly. Lee nodded, "She's probably in the prison." She said.
"There's still an hour before sunrise," Duo smirked. "What do ya say we have a little fun?"
Lee only looked at him as he chuckled to himself and dashed off.
"Where's he going?" Trowa wondered out loud. He got no response.
Lee watched Duo's retreating figure and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he was going off for the day to find a place to sleep.
"I wish this place would burn to the ground." Lee said coldly.
"I agree," Quatre said. Heero said nothing but headed for the jail. As they got closer, they heard the sound of an explosion.
They all looked at each other and ran for the source of the explosion. It came from the jailhouse. The wall had been blown in and all the prisoners were released.
"Catherine!" Lee gasped. She ran for the young woman who was stumbling away from the wreckage.
"Hun? What are you doing here!" She cried. "I thought..."
"I know," Lee smiled. "Are you OK?"
"Yes? What are you doing here?" Catherine answered.
"Long story, Catherine." Lee replied with a smile. "You might want to leave this village though."
Catherine nodded, "You're probably right," she looked up and saw the other four boys. "Hello again," She smirked.
"Hello, Catherine," Trowa and Quatre greeted here and Heero simply glared, as did Wufei. Just then, they heard a scream from somewhere above.
"YEEEEEE HAAAAAA!"
They all looked up and saw Duo flying around in circles above them.
"Did you see that!" he cried joyfully. "That was some explosion!"
Catherine looked up and screamed. "A vampire!" She shrieked. She jumped and started to run, but was unable to get up fast enough. Duo landed next to them and gave Catherine a strange look.
"What's wrong with her?" He wondered. Catherine shivered in fear and started at Duo in pure terror.
"Calm down, Miss Catherine," Quatre said gently. He knelt down beside her and smiled. "He won't do anything."
"H-how can you know that?" She stuttered.
"Ouch, I'm insulted. Do you know how hard it is to make friends when everybody's scared of you?" He asked Wufei.
Wufei snorted and ignored him.
"What should we do next?" Duo wondered. "I never really liked this place." Duo admitted.
"I say we burn it to the ground." Lee said.
Duo grinned, "I agree." Then he ran off to go burn something.
Catherine was now shaking uncontrollably.
"Why didn't he...?"
"He won't as long as I'm around." Lee said, trying to sound confident.
"We should get out of here before it bursts into flames." Heero suggested. The rest of them instantly agreed.
Quatre helped Catherine to her feet and held onto her until they were safely out of the village. They could already smell smoke rising from some of the houses.
"What is going on?" Catherine gasped.
"Anyway," Wufei added, "I wouldn't worry about him for now. The sun is about to rise. He's probably on his way to find somewhere to sleep."
Heero nodded his agreement and Catherine was just about to pass out.
"I think I need some sleep," She choked, and then she collapsed.
Quatre was quick to catch her and he gently lay her down on the ground. "We should get her somewhere where she can rest." Trowa said quietly.
"There's a village about ten miles outside of this valley." Wufei said irritably. "We can dispose of the woman there."
Quatre sighed at Wufei's rudeness but agreed that they had to take her someplace safe. Quatre took out a whistle of some sort and placed it to his lips.
"What's that for?" Lee asked.
Quatre smirked and just motioned for her to cover her ears. Lee looked around and saw that everyone else was covering their ears. Lee shrugged and followed suit. Quatre took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. The result was an annoying, shrill sound that, even with your ears covered, was deafeningly loud.
When Quatre was finished he smirked at the annoyed faces of his comrades.
"What was that all about!" Lee shrieked while rubbing her ears.
"To call the stags," Quatre laughed. Lee however, did not find it funny, and proceeded to yell at Quatre. Quatre was mildly surprised that she was taking such a fit; it wasn't like her. But he also knew that it was partly because she needed to vent her frustrations about being sacrificed to a vampire that was now following her everywhere.
"Relax Lee," Trowa said, taking her arm firmly in his hand and staring her down. It was a calming technique usually used on wild children, but it worried on over-stressed teens and adults as well.
Lee sighed and apologized, and turned to face the mountain where a faint trail of dust raising from a path marked the location of the stags. She watched them approach and sighed deeply when they stopped in front of the small group, dirty from running over the mountain and then past the now flaming Terra valley. Lee looked at the small town burning and felt some kind of dim satisfaction. At least they would pay for what she was going through.
She climbed onto one of them, Wufei hopped onto his sphinx, Heero and Trowa took the other two stags and Quatre climbed onto the last one with Catherine in his arms.
"Lead the way, Wufei," Quatre said as he got on the animal. Wufei gave him a curt nod and took off on the sphinx.
