Author: Lyndaura

Author''s Comments: Well…… I am so sorry Steph. I gave her like five or six chapters at once. I am so SORRY!!! I have unfortunately decided whether or not I will kill Relena or not. I finally have the outer makings of my plot for the sequel that will have nothing to do with Gundam Wing. Sorry…… but I''m thinking of trying to get someone to publish it. Well, that is if I can get my technique and all that crap down. So I''m considering this story a learning phase. Help me…… criticize me.
Special Mention: Steph. She is so good for posting this. Thank you so much! I try hard to make it easy for her. She is just so wonderful and does all this work and barely ever gets any thanks, so everyone e-mail her and tell her how awesome her website is, and how nice she is for changing hosts because of the banner, and how wonderful she is for posting everyone''s works, no matter who they are, and for having such a great layout and design for the website, and doing everything she can to help us! And she actually reads everything she puts up too. Isn''t she sweet? E-mail her and tell her how much you appreciate her work! Being a web host is a thankless job…… and I hate to see such a wonderful person''s hard work go unnoticed. So please…… if you have something nice to say…… say it to her, if you have something to criticize, talk to me…… I need it. ~_~

Chapter 12
Disease

""So…… Hi!"" Terra smiled and looked at the soldiers before her, poised for battle.



""What the hell do you want?"" Emily snapped.



// I''m taking over. //



// I can handle this…… //



// I''m taking over. Now. //



Emily''s head shook for a moment, and the energy around her surged viscously, but as soon as quiet resumed, Katara had control and was more than ready to use whatever means necessary to protect her comrades.



""Well, it was quite easy to find you. You shouldn''t be so careless Katara,"" Terra sneered as she walked towards her, ""You made a mistake when you denied the mission. You could have been third in command if you had taken the opportunity. But silly you, you and your morals. Since when did you have those? They sure came in handy when you were murdering all those people over at the castle, huh? Oh and the time when you destroyed an entire city just because one person had double-crossed you? Didn''t tell Luke that. Oh…… and did you tell him that you were screwing the King too? Must have hurt to know that your lover…… oops, can''t say that word around you…… had died? Hmmm……"" Terra grinned and reached out to stroke Katara''s hair.



""You said I made a mistake…… I didn''t. I knew that you would be able to find me…… and knew where I was since the moment I left the castle. Why haven''t you killed me yet?"" Katara asked, almost aroused by the danger and violence…… the crude, brute power that Terra stood for.



""I haven''t killed you because I knew that poor little Emily was influencing you, if not in total control of you when you made the decision to deny the mission. I came to see if you had come to your senses,"" Terra pulled away from Katara and tapped the hidden dagger, strapped to her side.



""You know what my answer will be,"" Katara responded coldly, though everything in her body was screaming out in need.



""Yes, I do know the answer. You won''t do it because you can''t stand to know that someone else would have the power. The power of the stone that you have been longing for so long.



""No,"" Katara answered easily. Terra turned to her and smiled. Katara broke into laughter and everyone was thrown into confusion.



""I love you sometimes,"" Terra shook her head and hugged Katara. Katara embraced her tightly.



""Don''t get too cocky,"" Katara spoke fondly as she pulled away, ""It has been too long, hasn''t it?""



""We have much to discuss,"" Terra''s eyes danced with magic as the two reunited.



""Luke,"" Katara smiled at Luke, he was shocked at her reaction to Terra as everyone else, and he was startled back into focus.



""Yes,"" he swallowed, unsure of what Katara had meant by any of what she had said.



""I need to talk to Terra for a while, make these men comfortable, and if I find anyone dead when I come back, there is going to be hell to pay, understood?"" Katara swung her arm around Terra, not waiting for an answer.



""I think I speak for everyone when I say, what the HELL?"" Duo watched as the two skipped off towards the forest.



""It''s a long story,"" Luke shook his head, ""I don''t half of it myself, but I''ll tell you what I know. Sit down, this make take a while.""









""Do you remember that time, when we were undercover and we posed as prostitutes, and then those really ugly guys picked us up, and then we robbed them blind! That was awesome!"" Terra laughed as she hung upside down from a tree.



""Yeah, that was hilarious to see their faces when they saw that we even took their clothes! Explain THAT to their wives!"" Katara leaned her weary head against a trunk of a tree.



""I feel like killing something……"" Terra smiled ruthlessly, ""Ever get that? Where you just have to feel the life leave something, you just have to sense the soul passing through you as it leaves the body? The high…… the intensity, the adrenaline, everything…… its like this addictive toxin. After awhile…… it just tears away at you, until every breath is devoted to the stench of death,"" Terra closed her eyes and pulled a cigarette from her belt, ""Want one?""



""You still smoke?"" Katara laughed, accepting the offer.



""Apparently you do too,"" Terra smiled.



""I thought they banned these from both worlds,"" Katara laughed as she sparked a flame from her fingers.



""Does Luke know that you can control both mental and elemental energies yet?"" Terra smiled as Katara shook her head, inhaling deeply, ""Not a clue?"" Terra laughed, honestly laughed, not her psychotic menacing cackle, but a genuine, beautiful, full-hearted laugh.



""I miss you,"" Katara sighed, exhaling.



""I want chocolate,"" Terra groaned. Katara laughed, her cheeks growing redder by the second, and her heart finally resting from the emotional stress and strain that she had been under.



""Do you remember the cravings for chocolate that we used to get after a massacre? I mean…… there was that one time when we raided the specialty shop over in Thieves Town. That was more than awesome…… pure ecstasy!"" Katara could sense the cravings creeping up on her.



""Or imported strawberries from Earth…… I have never tasted anything like them!""



""Papaya……"" Katara grinned and took another drag, ""Do you remember the day it rained papaya?""



""You would have had to be…… what, like six then? I''m surprised you still remember……"" Terra concentrated on the memory that gradually drifted to the surface.



""I got the beating of my life……"" Katara shook her head, ""You never got beat,"" there was a slight hint of resentment in Katara''s voice, which took Terra by surprise.



""Hmm……"" Terra''s thoughts were deep and distant as she swung up and sat on the branch, leaning against the trunk.



""You have no idea how much I used to hate you for who you were. You had it so easy…… one of the strongest energy users from the beginning. You weren''t a half-breed…… you were pure, strong, automatically the second in command. You never got beat, you never had to do training, you never got scolded, and you never even had to make amends for mistakes, or apologize. Have you ever apologized before in your life?"" Katara turned to Terra half dazed, half asleep.



""Yeah,"" Terra answered grimly. Katara turned her head to Terra and cocked it to the side. In one swift movement, she was up in the branch with Terra, starring at her eye to eye, waiting for continuance, ""When I was really young, my father sent me out on a mission to take over a city that was threatening him with military strikes if he didn''t shut down his training facilities. He was so angry, but he was low on money, so he wanted to use them as a secondary source of income. So my mission was to take over the town and bring back everyone alive, so that they could be put in the training camps and used as slaves to be sold in Thieves Town. There was this little girl…… her eyes were such a crystal blue…… I wanted to reach out and touch them. She was so precious…… so young and innocent, I had to do it. I couldn''t help myself. Her neck was just there…… calling to me. I can remember the feel of her jugular right under my fingers…… her windpipe bulging under my hand. I can still feel the blood beneath my palms, rushing out, staining my fingernails. She was so fragile…… just one more second…… she could turn just one more shade darker…… I needed to hear her scream…… and then it was over, all at once, she stopped struggling, and I knew what I had done.



""He hit me, over and over and over. He wouldn''t stop. I don''t even think he was thinking. It was just pure emotion. Frig that guy has a lot of emotion. He hit me. I cried and I said sorry, but he said that I was never to question him again. He told me how well I had it. He told me how much he wanted to kill me for what I did. But he said that I had one more chance. He said that if I ever disobeyed him again, he would strangle me. Then, he brought in the mother of the girl. The pregnant bitch. I saw the pain in her eyes…… I had to do something. He shoved me towards her…… I had broken six ribs, they were jabbing into my lung, and I was coughing up blood. My arm was broken, and my legs were so busted that I would need three fairies to heal them. I wouldn''t walk for three months after that.""



Katara was mesmerized by the story, absolutely captivated by it, but Terra was in another world, telling the tale as the terror of that night replayed itself in her mind over and over again. Terra wanted to stop, but she couldn''t, there was no way to end now.



""The mother…… the old hag was just kneeling their starring at me. My father left the room, and so did everyone else. I can''t remember when…… but it was just so sudden, just like that I was alone with her. Rage and hatred were glinting in her eyes. It was just she and I. There were no rules, no boundaries. It was the only time that I can remember when I was truly scared to die. She wouldn''t take mercy on me, and I would never take mercy on her. I don''t remember much…… but she hit me, she hit me like no one had ever hit me before. Even my father had not been so harsh. Then she pulled the knife on me and I…… I reached out and rammed my fist into her stomach as hard as I could. I could feel the baby''s skull crush on my knuckles. She cried out. She was so stupid……



""I pounded on her stomach over and over again, then…… I just went berserk…… and I…… I rammed my fist through her stomach. I swear…… you don''t know what its like to feel your fist rip skin, and pass through muscles, organs, flesh of a baby, blood…… guts, everything, and then rip out the back. The moment my fist passed through the other side, I knew that I would never be the same. I watched as she suffered under my hand. I was only twelve. Fuck…… eleven even. I was addicted then. There was nothing left but her bleeding corpse and I. It was like…… like even though she was in better shape than I, and she was about to kill me, I killed her. I was the underdog, even after my father had abandoned me, I still killed her. She was my prize. Her and her two daughters were MY prizes. I wouldn''t share them with anyone else. They were mine forever…… just mine."" Terra''s eyes were cold and distant. There was nothing left in her but a serial killing mad woman.



""So even if your father''s orders are to destroy the world…… you would carry them out?"" Katara saw the side of Terra that no one else had seen, except her father.



""I will follow his orders till the day I die,"" Terra answered truthfully. Her conviction was strong, and Katara knew that her father had made it that way. If the mother had killed his daughter on that fateful day, Katara knew, deep down inside she knew…… he would not have given a flying fuck.



""I need a beer,"" Katara answered taking another drag. Her cigarette was almost done.



""Can you grow some strawberries?"" Terra grinned, and Katara shook her head playfully. Terra hadn''t changed at all. Katara took another look at Terra to see if she was actually serious. The glazed look had left Terra''s eyes, and the murderous glint had returned, restoring the glare that had been characterized as ''Terra''. But now Katara''s image of Terra had been shattered. Before Katara thought that Terra was strong, independent and capable of anything. She was invincible, but now Katara knew her kryptonite. She was now vulnerable, and trusting. Katara never trusted anyone with her weaknesses, unless absolutely necessary. Terra had made a fatal flaw and Katara would be damned if she wouldn''t use it to her advantage.



""You are a crazy girl,"" Katara stretched out her hand to the ground below. Slowly the roots sprouted and grew upwards. Redness bloomed from the depths of green. Terra leapt down and picked a few.



""Please be my partner. I don''t want to do this alone,"" Terra looked to Katara, ""You know that I don''t trust people. I kill before I trust, but you are the one person on this frigging planet that I feel I can trust. Can I trust you?""



""No,"" Katara answered plainly. She could never deceive Terra for long.



""I know why you think that, but please, I need someone to help me now. I don''t want to do this alone. You know I will kill you and your friends……"" Terra was cut off swiftly by Katara.



""They are not my friends. You know that. I have no friends. I''m a loner. That was the way I worked since the day I was born,"" Katara snapped.



""What about us? We were the best damn partners there was out there,"" Terra stomped out her cigarette brutally.



""I know, but we didn''t count as partners. I mean, I was the lowest you could get, and you were the second highest you could get,"" Katara shot back bitterly, even after Terra''s confession.



""You did good Katara. I mean, you made it from the bottom to the fourth highest rank,"" Terra smiled, ""I knew you could do it.""



""I knew I would make it too. I mean…… I could always resort to killing everyone above me. Like ''Oops…… did I just accidentally whack you over the head with a hammer 49 times?'' "" Terra laughed and Katara reminded herself that she had to hide her true intentions somehow.



""Listen, I know you think that my father getting the stones is a bad thing, but if he doesn''t get them, you''re dead anyway. Might as well get a promotion and some sense of security. I know the world will change after the transformation, but if you are by his side, he will protect you. You know that…… please Katara, you''re committing suicide by not doing what he says,"" Terra argued.



""You''re confusing you and I. It isn''t suicide for me to disobey his orders. I can take a little beating, that is, if he can catch me. And even if he did catch me, he wouldn''t be able to touch me. I have power beyond your comprehension,"" Katara challenged, she wouldn''t be told what she should and shouldn''t do by anyone who she only considered a superior by rank. She was blowing her cover, but she would be damned if Terra could control her that way. She knew the way Terra acted and thought…… Terra craved control over people; Katara would never let her have that.



""Don''t make this hard on me Katara. I understand your anger, but don''t threaten me. It''s true that I respect you, and I would be pleased to work with you again. Working with you was one of the best times of my life, and I know that we could rule the world together if we felt so inclined. So please Katara…… I won''t ask again,"" Terra bit into a strawberry angrily.



""You mean rule the world through your father. He doesn''t care about you. You are as disposable as the rest of us. That''s why you want me as your partner. You don''t want to fail this mission because it means life or death for you. You live by your father''s approval, and that''s where your weakness lies. Join me, and I might not kill you,"" Katara shot back, juice dripping down her chin.



""You think that you can kill me? Idle threats Katara……"" Terra refused to back down.



""I told you, I have power that you haven''t ever dreamed about,"" Katara smiled ruthlessly, ""Besides…… I don''t make idle threats.""



""Then why did you bring Heero through his soul? Such a dangerous maneuver, you wouldn''t take unnecessary risk, which means that you are in danger or you are at least desperate. Now…… I wonder if that has anything to do with the ghost mark on your chest?"" Terra grinned. She took a deep breath and then touched the small strawberry bush, as soon as contact was established, it turned to ashes.



""You still don''t get it, do you?"" Katara shook her head.



""No, I get it…… you''re dying. I can help you. Come with me, and I can help you. The doctors at the labs know what to do. They have been experimenting with the energy, and they know what to do for you. It''s a cure, but it''s only available for members of the Fallen Angels. If you repent now, I can put in a word for you with my father, and he''ll accept you back in, help you and then we can rule the world,"" Terra tried to negotiate.



""You are such a liar. Why the hell haven''t I heard of it before then? I have been dying for years, and no one has told me about this? How come I''ve never heard of anyone even doing that kind of research?"" Katara shot back.



""Because……"" Terra began but then was sharply cut off by Katara.



""I don''t want to hear anymore of your lies. The best times of my life have been when I was alone, killing whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I will never have that back, I know that now, stop acting as if everything will be okay and forgotten. I know your father, he holds grudges. He has had one against you, his own DAUGHTER for decades, over something you did before puberty. But you know…… it doesn''t matter, because he''s going to kill you as soon as he gets the power. You should know that. He only needs you to help run the organization, I mean…… he''s getting quite old and if you aren''t there to protect him…… then who will? People don''t fear him anymore, they only fear you. But because everyone else is scared of you, and you stand by him, they respect him. Without you he is nothing. As soon as he gets his power, he''ll have no need for you and finally get the revenge that he has been seeking for years. Revenge is a dish best served cold my dear,"" Katara roared then turned to leave when Terra sent a bolt of energy towards Katara.



Katara sensed it and dodged it, quickly returning it with her own energy shot. Terra grabbed it in her hand, and tossed the ball of light up and down for a moment, unimpressed with Katara''s strength. ""Is that all you have? You are growing weaker by the second.""



""Get the hell away from me or I''ll show you what I can really do……"" Katara threatened between clenched teeth.



""Really? Will I finally get to see that unimaginable energy that you claim to possess?"" Terra teased while giggling.



""I''m giving you one more chance. I''ll self-destruct if I have to,"" Katara warned. Terra was taken back at her claim. She knew the devastation that self-destruction could inflict.



""You would hurt your friends,"" Terra quickly covered over her fear.



""I can enter your mind and self-destruct then. That would kill you and only you, precious……"" Katara half-grinned, half frighten of her own resolve.



Terra thought for a moment, and then spared no time in leaping up in the air, casting lightening down around her in a haphazard array.



Katara avoided the strikes as she tensed every muscle in her body. Power swirled around her and the rocks on the ground around her rose shakily. Katara could feel herself ripping…… she was going to suffer for this act, but the anger inside was more than she could control or bear.



The sky around them had grown dark, and clouds drew in as Katara''s energy level started to rise higher than it had ever been before. She was pausing…… waiting.



Terra grew anxious and worried, her life was on the line…… what if Katara had not been joking about the power that she possessed? After a few dreadful seconds of thought, Terra used all her control and aimed a bolt of lightening at Katara, dead on.



Katara could feel the energy passing through her as the heat burned around her. Billions of volts surged through her as the lightening shot through her body in a steady stream. Terra stared in horror as the electricity passed through Katara was transformed into power that she was using. The energy around Katara grew to outrageous heights and circled around her. Her hair whipped around her face, her body involuntarily tensed, as spasms raced through her. A beam of light originating from her chest, and shot straight upward as her head was thrown back. The light grew larger and larger till it consumed all of Katara. Everything it touched was instantly incinerated. Even after it devoured all the vegetation surrounding it, it spread further, towards Terra.



Terra tried to move, but she was frozen. If Katara gained anymore power she was going to kill herself. Terra had been informed this morning that her stability had dropped dramatically and would be dead by the end of the week, and now was the time to strike. But with this news, Terra had thought that Katara had weakened, she didn''t expect such an amazing display of power and control.



But Terra was wrong…… there was no control. Katara let herself drift in the light as energy ripped apart everything around her, including her. She could feel the power trying to pull her fingers off…… trying to boil her blood…… trying to make demolish her brain. At this point Katara did not care though…… she would get her way if it meant that she would kill herself. She would be dead soon anyway. Katara was barely aware of anything happening around her. She could only feel the fear that radiated from Terra, almost within her grasp. Katara saw nothing but glorious light and death. Everything that the light touched died instantly, but Katara could feel it''s sorrow, and its pain as it died and it was addictive. Terra had been right when she said it was like a toxin. It was venom that she needed, and was paying with her life. But Terra was thinking, only tasting the delicious delicacy.



Terra watched, held in her place by the force, unable to move as the light drew her in. She struggled against it, but she slowly gravitated towards it, hoping that at any moment, the power would be too much for Katara and Katara would just die on the spot. The light was within inches of her face……



Katara could feel death approaching. There was nothing left but death…… the all consuming factor in her life.



// Life. //



Katara was drawn back into her senses as the pain overtook her. Katara struggled against the light to see what was there. Something was there…… she needed it as much as she needed death. Something was there that she craved and needed, but the pain was causing her to become confused and disoriented, emotions taking over telling her to look for this new presence.



Heero.



His hair was damp and hung loosely, hiding his eyes. His body was shivering.



The pain.



Heero ground her teeth as the light tore away at him. But he pressed onward towards Katara, he needed to get to her. Like Katara, he no longer thought, the pain had taken care of that, but he felt…… he felt drawn to Katara. He needed to save her. It was the only thing that he could do.



""Stop running away,"" Heero managed to get out before he fell to the ground, his eyes remaining hidden.



""Get out of here…… before you die!"" Katara shouted at him. Her mind began to get control back, but as it did, the numbness faded and the excruciating torment and suffering took over her body. The power was destabilizing and she could feel it reach out for any life now. It would destroy everything in its path if nothing were to stop it.



// So this is what it is like to be a ghost. //



The thought was odd and quickly forgotten, but the general idea stayed. This was what ghosts were like; ruthless, hungry and nearly unstoppable.



Heero was barely aware that he was conscious as the only driving force to survive was diminishing. It took a moment for Heero to answer as the light tore away his breath, ""I won''t let you do this. You can''t die. I won''t let you,"" Heero tried to focus, but his eyes clouded over, and once again he could see her…… that girl…… swinging on a swing in the playground, happy with her friends. His mouth went dry, as he seemed to beg for tears to come. But his eyes refused to grant him relief.



Blood. Everywhere, there was blood. He had caused so much pain. All that was left was Katara. Now she was going to die and leave him helpless once again.



""I need to do this Heero,"" Katara breathed as the power raged in her, begging for Heero''s mind as a sacrifice. He was losing his sanity as everything was ripped away from him. His shirt seemed to melt away as the dragon on his back roared to life. He could feel it ripping at the skin on his back, but his target was in focus, and he would not fail his mission.



""Do what I say,"" Heero commanded, and Katara looked to him with tears in her eyes. Terra had to pay for everything. Everything was her fault……



""I can''t let her get away with this!"" Katara shouted angrily, ""She deceived me from the moment that I met her. She gets everything her spoiled little heart wants, and then she tugs at your heart, trying to get pity. She is weak! Weaklings deserve to die! It''s the way of the world, it is not? Mothers will turn on their own young if need by, and so now I turn on the only mother I ever knew, because she betrayed me. DO YOU HEAR ME TERRA! YOU BETRAYED ME! I WILL NEVER LET YOU LIVE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!""



""Quiet,"" Heero''s voice was calm and quiet as he could feel the rage surrounding him. It seemed as if Heero was not in control anymore. Something else was there…… something else had taken over him and was guiding him, giving him strength and control.



The girl was swinging again. The pain was overwhelming him, his body refused to do what he ordered it to as it collapsed under him. The entity seemed to be struggling to regain control, but Heero naturally tried to resist. Katara went silent. Her heart pounded against her chest as everything around her melted away.



""I won''t let you hurt me anymore……"" Katara''s words were not directed to anyone as she felt the extra intake of energy. Terra was so close…… just a few more seconds……



Heero could feel the end coming as death stole away all his senses. He was done.



Just as death ate away at his last remnants of life, the thing regained control forcefully and provided new power and hope. Heero was shaken back to life. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to find Lazarus, he needed Katara to be with him, he needed to find what he was capable of, he needed to save the world, he needed to push the limits of everything he had, so that he may accomplish the impossible. Everything inside said he needed peace; he would not die without attaining it.



Terra could feel the light press against her, stealing away her power, her thoughts, and her life. Katara could taste Terra in her mouth as Katara cried out for justice. She needed to feel the slickness of blood between her fingers. Her mind was so consumed with death that she could not feel the life being sucked out of her.



Heero''s mind raced as he tried to stop the images of the little girl. Her soul was forever his. There was no way to describe it, but he had killed her, and now she was apart of him, as every other person he had killed was part of his soul, but she was different. She was the first REAL kill. The pain that she caused was more pain that all other deaths put together. Now she was governing his life, as she would forever do. That was the thing about firsts. It is the thing that everything else is compared to. You never forgot firsts. Heero closed his eyes and shook his weary head. He couldn''t let anyone deter him. He could not fail. HE. COULD. NOT. FAIL.



Just as Heero''s life drifted from him once again, the ''thing'' took over him. He freely let himself be used as a puppet as he took a deep breath and drew everything into him. The stench of death with thick in his nostrils, blood ran down his back as the dragon clawed its way from his back. Huge wings spread out from his back as Heero cried out in agony, sweat dripping from his face. His eyes shut firmly. Suddenly he was drawing energy and death into him. He had never felt anything like it as he got a taste of what he could do. He didn''t understand anything that was happening, but as he sat back and let the thing control him, he felt as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Like a third arm he reached out and sucked everything into him, like starting a current that flowed through him.



// If it means peace, I will become death. //



Heero didn''t know where the thought came from, but he saw Duo. It was like Duo was apart of him, almost in the same way that the little girl was apart of him. Did he kill Duo? He knew that he hadn''t but he still didn''t understand why Duo was in his mind.



He was sent back into reality with a fresh wave of pain. He wanted, no, NEEDED the pain. He would take the pain away from someone else if it meant peace. Heero felt the anger, rage, torment and hatred that controlled the power consume him. He struggled against the murderous urges as the addiction surged through his veins. Heero knew that if that person was not in control of him, he would not be able to control himself.



Heero was now saturated with the unholy pain as everything around him collapsed. He stepped onward defying whatever notions about human boundaries and preconceptions he had obtained before. The love of peace, hate and death competed against each other for control as Heero reached out to Katara, she was almost dead, totally consumed with death, the only life that was left in her was feeding off the pain.



Heero took Katara in his arms and drew everything towards him. He didn''t know how he did it, but it was like his soul took a deep breath in and let everything that the light had to offer eat away at him. Heero looked at Katara''s white, unseeing eyes and took her mouth in his under the alien beings order. He seemed to suck everything that was Katara into him. He drew the evil energy away from her incapable soul and put it upon himself. He wouldn''t let her die…… even if it meant drinking in the poison instead of her.



Katara could feel herself being cleansed as lips locked onto hers.



// Stop this Heero. You don''t know what you''re getting yourself into. You don''t want to get yourself involved with me. I''ll kill you. I''ll kill you damn it. I''ll kill you if it''s the last thing I do. I WILL KILL YOU! //



Heero let the thoughts go by unnoticed as the light drew away from Terra and it towards him. The concentration of the light raised, but Heero drew everything into himself. The dragon roared as more scales and wing emerged.



It was feeding.



The light continued to steadily be sucked into Heero. He didn''t know how much his soul could take, it was already wounded, and the death seemed to be eating away at him. Heero didn''t care though. He tuned out the pain and broke the intense kiss with Katara and held her. Heero resumed control as the entity left taking some, but leaving most of the evil that fed on his sanity. She was almost completely out of the light, and Heero was about to explode. He couldn''t take it. His body and soul were not complying with the urgency and determination that his mind was. He needed to do this, but he was too weak. He wasn''t ready, he wasn''t even sure he knew what he was doing. Doubt clouded his mind as his body crumbled beneath him. There was only a tiny sliver of light left…… all he needed was the one last breath……



His pupils were dilated to the point where there was no iris left, his blood pressure was so low that he was on the verge of death, his power was almost non-existent and any ounce of sanity that he had had left was begin ripped away from him. The last bit of light was so drenched with death, Heero knew that if he were to absorb it, he would die instantly. Heero tried to think, but consciousness was slipping away from him as everything around him swirled……



// Stop. //



Heero suddenly was flung back into reality. The thought was not his as everything came back into focus, barely. He was weak, and he ached inside and out, but he now had the strength to go on, whether the strength had come from him or elsewhere, he was unsure. He didn''t know what gave him the extra boost, but he felt his power return to him. His sweat drenched hair clung to his face as he picked Katara up. Terra stood watching him in awe. Why had he done that? Had he saved her life, his own, or Katara''s? Where the hell did he come from? Where did he get all his power if he had just gone through his soul? Questions jumbled within Terra''s head, as she was temporarily stunned.



""Take your men and leave,"" Heero ordered sternly and mono-toned, unaware that he had even spoken. Terra took a deep breath, and knew that everything was going to be okay again. Her father would be disappointed, but not upset. She had done well.



A smile crossed her face.









Wufei was the first one to see Heero coming. Quatre had nearly passed out, and Luke had fainted from the amazing power that had crossed over them. Sage had been awakened from her sleep from the surge of power. Trowa had been vaguely aware of something approaching, something monumental, but due to inexperience, he had ignored it.



Luke was barely recovering from the episode when he saw Duo run to Heero, who was carrying a crying Emily.



""He''s got Katara! She''s crying man!"" Duo called out to the others, ""Doesn''t look like she or Heero are in good shape, I don''t think Katara can walk!""



Trowa hurried to Heero and relieved him of Emily as Quatre felt her forehead. Sage was right by Quatre''s side, trying to see if she was okay. Wufei had already gone to fetch a horse and Duo was left tending to Heero.



""You okay buddy?"" Duo looked at Heero''s still dilated eyes. Heero seemed to be starring off into space and unaware or in control of what he was doing. ""Hello? Anyone home?"" Duo snapped his fingers in front of Heero''s eyes without effect, Heero stood zombie like, unresponsive to anything. ""Heero, you''re creeping me out man. Stop it. Heero, I don''t know what the hell to do……"" Duo was confused, and although he wouldn''t admit it, he was scared.



""Heero…… what the hell is that!?!"" Duo saw the dragon''s head on Heero''s shoulder. Luckily it had returned to its two dimensional appearance, and was not bulging out and roaring as it had been before. He had never seen anything like it before, and Heero''s skin seem to be almost scaly where the dragon was. Duo backed away from it momentarily. He stared it, dazed and confused. The dragon almost smiled and then blinked at Duo. Duo jumped and swore at the top of his lungs. Things just got creepier everyday……



Heero suddenly snapped back into full awareness and looked to Duo questioningly. He was disoriented, and slightly confused, but quickly regained control and his bearings.



""What''s wrong?"" Heero asked in reference to Duo''s pale skin, and his wide eyes.



""The dragon……"" Duo pointed to Heero''s shoulder shakily.



Heero looked down to his shoulder, but saw nothing there. He wasn''t surprised. He could start to feel it shift to his lower back, its wings dragging along the inside of his skin. It was getting larger, roughly twice as big as the night before. Heero sighed inaudibly. He was so tired. Strangely however, he could not feel any of the death that had once consumed all his soul and sanity. Heero ran a hand through his slick wet hair and then looked back to Duo. He needed to explain what Duo had seen. Heero was just too tired to explain it now.



""Stress,"" Heero answered, the excuse would pass for now. He could sense that Duo was buying it, he was grateful to get his power back, but he knew that he would have to explain it to Duo later. Later was okay though…… anything but then. Heero suddenly couldn''t feel his legs beneath him anymore as the ground raced up to meet him.



Duo''s alertness reasserted itself and he caught Heero just before he hit the ground. Heero was thrown back into reality by the sudden adrenaline rush. Frig he needed coffee……



""Whoa, you okay there buddy?"" Duo smiled down on Heero, his wide violet eyes glowing with laughter and amusement. Heero didn''t know why Duo found him collapsing so funny, but he let it pass since Duo saved him the annoyance of the pain of hitting the ground.



// Falling is fun, it''s the sudden impact at the end that''s the doozie. //



Heero laughed inside at both the thought and the fact that he was having it. Heero blinked softly. Duo had such gorgeous eyes sometimes…… he was so kind and……



Duo had to look away from Heero''s annalistic and studying stare. Duo decided that it would be best to look at Heero''s shoes. Nice, interesting…… But then something caught Duo''s attention.



Fear struck into Heero''s heart as Duo spoke, ""How''d ya burn your shoe?

End of Chapter 12 - Disease~

Author''s Tidbits: Well, in case no one got that, Duo was referring to when Heero had been hallucinating at the river and had seen Emily drowning in the water, and then when he tried to save her, the water had been boiling, and the toe of his shoe had kinda melted and went all gooey and weird. So, if it''s a hallucination, then why is his shoe burnt? Hmm…… don''t you just love me? I know…… the light thing was weird. I wasn''t even planning on doing it anything like that, but that''s what you get for not planning out everything on paper before hand. That''s right…… everything I wrote was improvised. But you all don''t care…… do you? No. Didn''t think so. Holy Crappies! 15 friggin'' pages. Okay, I know that chapter was freaky, but if you are still reading by now, then you are getting used to my weirdness. Its also kinda confusing, but everything will be explained…… sometime. And no the entity was not any of the pilots or Relena…… frig not Relena. Well, sorry Steph! I know I was mean and sent you all this work to do at once, but I can''t help it! But I did get a new computer! ^_^

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