Chapter 26 / 37
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
"I hardly think that will be necessary," Treize said calmly, ignoring the blade practically brushing his skin and looking into Wufei's onyx eyes.
Wufei squinted at him distrustfully before backing off a step and lowering his blade - but not his guard.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Treize inquired in his typically smooth, cultured voice. He was infernally curious what could have brought this boy here like this. Obviously it was no assassination attempt, and considering Wufei had not issued a challenge, it was no rematch of their previously duel.
"I need..." Wufei swallowed thickly and then sheathed his katana. His eyes closed and his brow furrowed as he struggled with what he was about to say. When it finally came out, his fists were clenched and his voice tight with frustration and humility. "I need your help."
Treize blinked, a bit taken aback. A smile spread wider across his lips. He could see how hard it was for Wufei to swallow his pride and allow this admission. // Though what would bring him to ME, of all people? // "Do sit down, my dear boy. And we can ... chat."
Wufei eyed Treize warily, though he was grateful that the man hadn't chosen to make any number of comments to further bruise his pride. "I need information."
"Aren't you something of the enemy?" Treize asked with a smile, sipping at his tea. "Although I must applaud your boldness."
"This has...damn it..." Wufei grit his teeth in anger. "This has nothing to do with the war! This has to do with my..." Here Wufei paused. // My ... friends. Yes, I suppose they do mean that much to me. // "My friends. And one of YOURS."
Treize blinked and then arched one eyebrow. "Milliardo?"
Wufei scowled and recounted the events he had seen just a few hours earlier. "And when it was finished, there was nothing left save a black scar in the air, just as there was at your facility here after the attack on Zechs. Dammit, what do you have to do with all of this, Khushrenada?!"
Treize frowned. "I assure you, this is not one of my machinations. Indeed, had I been in the right place at the right time, perhaps I could have sent the dragon-boy back home before his demise."
Wufei stared incredulously. "You're still going on about this boy actually being a dragon?"
"Come over here." So saying, Treize turned to a nearby computer and pulled up some security feeds. Wufei edged around the desk, treating Treize as if he were a coiled viper looking for an opportunity to strike. However, the Chinese boy eventually was in position to see the videos. They rapidly consumed his entire attention and he was soon leaning forward intently, fascinated.
Treize, too, was rather fascinated...although it had far less to do with the security tapes and much more to do with the exquisite youth next to him, practically leaning right over him.
~ * ^ * ~
"So...er, where are we?" Duo finally asked. The three Gundam pilots felt much better now that the chill had been chased from their bones, though none of them had discerned why, exactly, the cave was as comfortably warm as it was.
Ayrchad flushed and looked down sheepishly. "I...don't have a good answer for that."
"You don't?" Zechs asked, arching an eyebrow.
Chad shook his head and gave them a slightly helpless smile. "I've...had no real contact with society. Only Shaiyra and our sister, Carlin. The names the other races give this world was never important. It just...it is. It's the world. That's always been enough."
Duo huffed a bit and blew at his bangs before nonchalantly slipping closer to Zechs, his fingers walking across the floor to slowly thread through the other man's. Zechs turned and gave him an affectionate smile. "Eh. I guess a name wouldn't do us much good anyways."
Quatre looked at Ayrchad, musing. "So this Shaiyra, your brother...he's a dragon. That makes you a dragon too?"
Chad blinked large sapphire eyes before nodding. "Yes, of course. It's just...easier...and more comfortable for me to stay in this form."
Duo paused for a moment. "I wanna see."
"See what?" Chad blinked. "My dragon form?"
"Yeah." Duo acknowledged with a grin.
"Oh...well, alright, I suppose. Can..." Chad paused and blushed viciously. "Can someone help me up, please? I...left my stick on the other side of the cave.
Quatre stood and headed over, taking the boy's hand. He blinked in surprise - Chad's body was radiating a good deal of heat. He crushed the thought and repressed the wild surge of emotions that suddenly tried to flood his body at the contact. With a slight noise of effort he helped Chad stand up.
The boy hadn't lied about being crippled. While he wasn't terribly disfigured, there were a few odd angles to his left hip, and his left leg seemed entirely useless. Chad couldn't move it at all and it wouldn't support his weight in any fashion. Quatre helped him gain his feet and lean against the wall. // Allah, he hardly weighs a thing... he really IS starving... //
"Step back, please," Ayrchad requested politely. Quatre complied and the three Gundam pilots watched the boy in rapt attention.
Chad smiled and then...changed. The shadows in the room seemed to gather around him, becoming part of him. Even as they watched in surprised disbelief, the boy's body melted and twisted into a formless black mass which rapidly took shape, growing much larger. When the transformation was complete, none of them could look away.
Ayrchad was a creature of deadly beauty. Scales that seemed to absorb the light, blacker than the deepest night, covered his body. They were such a shade of dark that they almost seemed to shimmer in a rainbow of dark colors. The dragon's body was the size of a horse, with a long sinuous neck and a whip-like tail. A pair of elegantly curved horns swept back from the wedge-shaped head. Pupil-less crimson eyes glowed as they regarded the three humans. Razor sharp talons graced each of the dragon's toes, and they caught a glimpse of curved ivory teeth, more than they could possibly hope to count.
The dragon's fierce and primal beauty was marred only by its shattered rear left leg and the destroyed skeletal structure of his left wing, which was hanging near the ground. The other wing was folded tightly against Ayrchad's side, not having near enough room to unfurl. He looked too thin as well, the scales hanging somewhat oddly over too-visible ribs.
Duo let out a noise resembling a squeak, the first of them to make a sound. His throat had gone dry and he was entirely speechless. After all, it was one thing to hear about and even casually accept the possibility of a dragon...but to come face to face with one? Duo stared wide-eyed at the beast in front of him, his mind refusing to accept the sight.
Zechs was the first that managed to speak. "I...thought dragons were bigger."
Chad let out a low, growling rumble. It took them a moment to recognize that the noise was one of amusement. "If I had taken my full size, I wouldn't have fit in the cave." The three humans gave a start as the dragon spoke - they hadn't really assumed that the reptilian jaws would be able to form words so articulately.
"H...Holy shit, you're a DRAGON!" Duo finally managed, pointing almost accusingly with his jaw unhinged. Chad blinked a few times.
"Err...yes," Chad responded. His figure suddenly dropped into a reverse of the previous transformation, reducing him to his human form. He gave a little hop and sank back down into the thick pile of furs he had been laying in, offering them a shy smile. "You've...never seen a dragon before?"
Three heads shook in negation.
Chad paused. "Hmm. Actually, I've never seen a real human up close before, so I guess we're even."
Quatre offered the boy a shy grin. "Heh...we need to find a way to get you something to eat. Is there a town around here somewhere or...um...something to hunt or gather?"
Chad considered this for a long moment. "Well...the easkii herds tend to pass through the west. There's a grove of snowpeaches that they like to eat. As for town...there's one a few days journey to the north. There's also a castle somewhat to the northwest a ways from the town. I...have no idea what your best option would be. I'm not fast enough to hunt an easkii and I'd be killed in town, or likely the castle."
Quatre looked at his companions questioningly. Zechs was the first to speak. "I could head towards town and bring something back. Perhaps even get some information that may help to get us home."
Duo immediately spoke up. "No way, man. You can't go alone, it's too dangerous. I'll go with you."
Quatre nodded a bit and picked up the handgun they had found, checking the clip. "Well, I suppose I could go try hunting one of these...ah, what did you call them?" He looked at Chad.
"Easkiis."
"These...er...easkii things...and wait here until you two come back."
Duo nodded. "Good deal. Get some food for that poor kid. And if it's only a few days travel, we should be back in like...a week or so. Though we're gonna have to do a little preparation before we go. That cold would kill us in a day."
"I can help with that. There is a small chamber over on the left wall...here, take the lamp. Shaiyra is very practical...he's saved and cured a great many furs and hides, and there are also a great many bones and other things you could find useful."
"Awesome!" Duo exclaimed, excited at the prospect of action and feeling like he might be doing something to further their seemingly hopeless situation.
"I...wish you all the best of luck...and cannot thank you enough. I'll owe you my life." Chad said quietly, looking at his hands folded in his lap, tears pricking the edges of his eyes.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Quatre said with a smile. "We owe you. You let us come in and saved us from freezing. Consider it the least we can do for a new friend."
"Friends." Chad brightened, flashing them a wide smile and then yawning a bit. "I like that. Friends." It wasn't long before the dragon-turned-human was sound asleep, leaving the Gundam pilots to their preparations.