Quatre stared out and down into the valley beneath him at the lights of the town of Gilagamore. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and pushed his messy blond bangs from his face. He could not wait to just close his eyes and surrender to oblivion.

He dropped his pack onto the ground beside him and stretched, covering a wide yawn. His whole body ached from his days travelling. He half hoped Sandrock had finally managed to make Valtrose throw Lieutenant Barton into the river. He quickly squashed that thought and rubbed his eyes. As much as he disliked his comrades, he did not want them being thrown into the river.

He caught himself smiling at the image of a soaking wet Trowa which presented itself and mentally smacked his forehead. Stop it! He hissed to his mind in anger. This is not right! He is my commanding officer!

But you admit you feel something for him... Not for the first time Quatre cursed that voice in his mind.

"I hate this." He whispered to the world at large. "I hate that this is so hard. I hate that I feel this!"

He had begged Relena to place him with another group, to get him away from Trowa but she had refused, maintaining that he deserved, no, needed the best training he could get. Were the Fates plotting against him? Definitely.

He was jerked from his thoughts when he caught sight of a blur in the corner of his eye. He wheeled around, scanning the undergrowth around him. There was something out there, something big and fast.

"Tanoi." Quatre jumped at the sound of a voice behind him, spinning around to face it. There was nothing but darkness there.

"Tanoi." This time to his left, he spun again but still there was nothing but charcoal shadows.

The blur tore across the edge of his vision again but this time he did not turn, instead, he crouched beside his pack and drew his crossbow as quietly as he could, eyes still glued to the forest. His fingers sought his quiver of arrows, bypassing them and pulling a crossbow bolt from the bottom of the pile. He clicked it easily into place, eyes never once ceasing their search of the trees.

His whole body was tense, all thoughts bar those of his new prey pushed from his mind. He wondered if this was the creature they had been tracking, ready to take out the hunting party as quickly as it could. His breath was coming in deep, shallow gasps, his whole body vibrating with the taught power of the hunt. Adrenaline surged through him like a tidal wave, lifting him up, increasing his speed, strength and stamina.

He could run, flee to the town and find his fellows, bring them back and complete their mission. He knew he should, he knew he should not face this beast alone. His eyes darted back to the lights of the town. He could make it, he knew he could.

But he could just see Captain Yuy now as he tore into their lodgings proclaiming to have seen the beast and fled. He would be on his way back to the Palace before dawn.

His grip on the bow tightened. He would not be disgraced, he would fight this beast and the best would win. If he died tonight, he was going out fighting.

*****

Heero Yuy regared the Oracle on the edge of the well in silence, staring down at the silver collar and leash she had just this minute pressed into his hands. Her tale still rang in his ears like the chiming of some giant bell, his whole being screaming disbelief.

What was he supposed to do now?

He had been sent to catch a beast, not a man cursed from lost love. He had been sent to destroy this creature, to tie it down and cage it like a lion in a zoo. How could he cage a man, guilty only of loving?

The answer was simple. Treat the man, like a beast.

*****

"Tanoi." There it was again, the haunting melody of a whispering voice, calling to him over and over. What was a ‘Tanoi’? What did it mean?

The blur was moving faster now, like whatever it was was circling him faster and faster, trying to dizzy him.

"Tanoi. Tanoi. Tanoi." Quatre’s eyes darted left then right, his body totally still, his mind reaching out, searching for that trace of magic which would tell him what he faced. The forest seemed to glow as he reached out, a dark blue aura lifting from the trees and plants like smoke.

There! To his left!

He twisted suddenly, his eyes following the fast moving figure of the creature, its aura a bright red and green cloud. It was running around him in a circle. Each time it completed a circuit it moved in. It was moving in on him. A demon.

His eyes followed the fast moving cloud, his whole body alive and singing with suppressed excitement.

Faster faster it ran.

Once round. Moving closer.

A form of black.

Faster faster it ran.

Once round. Moving closer.

No being.

Faster, faster it ran.

Once round. Moving closer

No soul.

Faster faster it ran.

Once round. Moving closer.

No inhibitions.

Faster faster.

Once round. Moving closer.

A blur, no shape.

Faster faster.

Moving closer.

Indistinct.

Faster Faster.

Moving closer.

Danger.

Faster.

Closer.

Death.

Faster.

Closer.

Die.

It tore from the undergrowth so fast Quatre was not aware of its movement until it was almost upon him. He let lose the bolt in the demon’s general direction and dove out of the way, rolling on the ground. He heard its enraged scream as great talons clawed at the bolt in its eye and slash at him.

He leapt to his feet, loading another bolt into his bow before the huge creature could recover. He saw its aura changing, becoming totally red. It was too powerful, he was going to fail.

A mouthful of deadly teeth flashed at him and he let go another bolt, this time slamming into the great beasts leg. It roared in anger but did not fall, still advancing on him with terrifying speed.

Another bolt, locked into place. The bow raising even as the hell beast bore down on him.

Time running low.

Death hanging close.

Pull the trigger.

End the fear.

The bolt had jammed! The mechanism had failed him.

Death smiled on him, rancid breath on his skin.

The whir of a blade through the air, a scream of startled pain, a hand extended to him. The face of death stared down on him.

"Get up now if you want to live!" He grabbed the hand, feeling himself leaving the ground as he was hauled onto the back of a horse. The steed took off, hoofs churning up the turf beneath them as the horse speed through the forest like a bat out of hell.

A braid whipped Quatre’s face.

"Duo! What was that!?"

"That is a Dredger demon and it’s still coming!" The horse turned suddenly to the side and sped deeper into the forest cover. Quatre noticed that the horse had no reigns.

"Where are we going!?"

"The river! We have to drown it!" Quatre ducked his head, clinging onto Duo as the horse ran at an impossible speed. Branches tore the flesh of his face and arms and he could feel the warm blood on his skin. He ignored it.

"We have to destroy the heart!" Duo yelled above the roaring wind. "Then we have to destroy the body! Do you have a sword!?"

"Yes!"

The horse drew to a stop at the rivers edge so hard that Quatre’s teeth jarred angrily. Duo leapt down from the steeds bare back, pulling a small dagger from his boot. "Get ready!"

There was a sudden silence. All around them, nothing moved in stark contrast to the noise of just a moment ago. Quatre could hear the blood rushing through his veins and see his sharp breaths fogging in the cold air before him.

"Now!" Duo yelled an instant before the beast tore from the cover of trees with a triumphant roar. "Cut the limbs off! Do it now!" Quatre drew his sword and with a yell so loud it sounded like a disembodied banshee, he charged.

The blade became nothing more than a silver blur through the air, moonlight glinting off of it. He hacked haphazardly at the beast, driving the blade into every available piece of flesh. The demon was huge, towering over the two humans at a good ten feet. The creatures claws and teeth dug into Quatre’s skin but he ignored the pain, his whole body numb in the face of the battle. He heard the creature scream as though from a distance as an arm went flying through the air, splashing into the fast flowing river.

He heard Duo’s victorious yell and saw him hanging from the creatures back, bending forward over its shoulder, his dagger raised. He plunged forward into the beasts chest, tearing it apart like paper. Blood poured forth, coating the two in a fountain. But Quatre did not stop, even as the creature went down his blade cut through the skin and bone, cutting it into a dozen pieces.

Finally the beast ceased its movement and there was no sound above the sickening noise of Quatre’s blade in the beasts body.

*****