Title: Two Worlds

Author: Lyndaura

Author's Comments: I can't believe I made it this far... yeah! BTW, Pyro George loves this one!

Two Worlds

Chapter 20 - War

Part A - Hostile Nature

"Hello," Dusk approached him, her nervousness apparent by her shaking.

"What do you want?" the man growled. Luke expanded his chest by taking a deep breath in, although the elder seemed unfazed by Luke's intimidation tactics.

"We need to see the scrolls so that we may find the stone to destroy it. There are those who wish to..." Dusk was interrupted by a swift dismissing wave of the man.

"You needn't be involved in these matters, they have already been dealt with," the elder glared at Dusk.

"Has the stone already been destroyed?" A spark of hope ignited Dusk's face.

"Of course not, but it is well hidden and protected, now you must leave," the priest ordered sternly.

"We have to destroy the stone!" Katara joined in the conversation.

Heero felt Peace tighten her grip on his leg, she he felt something warm and wet soak into his pants. She was crying. Heero felt distant from himself, like he was watching a movie, nothing seemed real. He was tuning out as the energy flowed around him. He was beginning to think of Relena again. He cursed himself for it, but as soon as one memory was recalled, the rest flooded over him. Pain filled his eyes and soul as his body felt the now familiar fatigue. He was just so tired of fighting a losing battle. He was tired of the frustration and pain that seemed to rule his life. He never got a break from it all. War was all he knew, he was fighting for something that seemed so foreign. He knew that he was no one amidst peace, but he wanted it so desperately, if only to ensure the cease of pain. If his life were to end, he would not care, as long as he were to stop fighting. Peace was more of an escape from life then anything else. It was closure and end for Heero. Now that he was so tired and fed up with fighting, he wanted it more than anything else.

Heero felt something hurt his leg, which slowly brought him out of the trance. Peace starring into his eyes when he finally focused on her. Her face was red, and her eyes scared, yet determined. Heero wondered what she had to be thinking. She was only eight, and she was seeing and facing things that she did not yet comprehend. Heero could only imagine her confusion, but there was something else there. She had been with him when Relena died, and she had been supporting him, and even guiding him. How was she so young, and yet so knowledgeable? It was rather stupid to think that, considering the fact that she never spoke, so Heero had no real evidence of her intelligence, but he knew that she was hiding something. His gut feeling made him think that she was closer to eight hundred years old than eight.

"You may not come, I do not care if you are part Ancient, you may not enter," the elder hollered in protest against Katara, Wufei, Luke and Dusk's advances into the cave.

Heero knew almost as well as Wufei that the stone had to be destroyed. Heero looked down at Peace, and he knew that he couldn't do anything due to his lack of diplomatic skills. Quatre had now joined the argument, but the Ancient showed no sign of backing down.

//: What are we going to do? ://

Peace suddenly stood back from Heero, wiped her eyes and brushed her hair from her face. With grace and deliberate steps she turned and walked towards the Ancient. The determination on her face grew with every step, as the fear dissipated.

Pushing the others aside, she stood in front of the Head Priest who towered over her. She didn't say anything, but the Ancient only looked at her, confused for a moment.

"Is she yours?" The Ancient asked smiling. He bent down and stroked a long finger over her cheek, you could barely even see her breathing, she was like a machine.

"She travels with us," Heero confirmed, taking responsibility.

"She is gorgeous," the man smiled softly, a complete change considering his earlier sternness, "You may come in," the man nodded and giggled softly when he saw the child's face soften, and a small smirk cross her face. Everyone took a quick glance at each other, but then quickly followed the Ancient's lead.

No one ever questioned the actions after that moment.

The cave grew deeper and deeper, but the light never faded, though it still appeared without source. The surrounding became softer as the group proceeded. Grass and plants littered the sides, and the harsh stone ground turned to soft red dirt. It took only minutes for the twisting pathway to narrow, leaving behind the entrance.

No one spoke, in fear that the Ancient would turn and change his mind. Peace still clung to Heero's side, entwining her hand in his. Heero let her, he knew that at least she might find some comfort, but strangely, he felt more at peace with Relena's death despite the aching pain inside. He just seemed to accept it and understand that the world would go on without her, and that there was still hope, and with hope, all was not lost.

The Ancient led them to a door in the wall, it was then that he turned to face them and speak to them for the first time since the entrance, "This is where the Ancients live, no outsider has seen this for centuries. The other Ancients may be disturbed and frightened that there are outsiders here. Please do not talk to them and ignore anyone who tries to talk to you, right now you have a mission that you must complete."

It was eerie the way that he was so concise and the way that he stated that they had a mission to complete. It made them all think before the entered. What had taken place when he had seen Peace?

As the elder opened the door, they were hit by an entire civilization. The door opened onto a small balcony that had a winding staircase downward. It was made of wood, but everything else was made of stone. The houses were tall stone buildings, each with at least four stories. In the distance, they could see a grand palace, that seemed so out of place within the depths of a cave. The roads were sparkling with metallic highlights, and the people were busy buying and selling exotic foods along the street side. Beautiful birds graced the top of the cave, which was a glorious blue crystal. The Ancient began descending the stairs with speed and ease as the others followed. A sense of vertigo overtook Dusk as she was one of the first to follow the elder. The others followed, and crept down the high stairway. Nearly fifty feet below bustled the endless crowds of people.

"I never knew there were so many Ancients left," Dusk gasped as she saw just how far the city spread.

"There are approximately one hundred thousand of us here," the Ancient smiled, "the only reason that we have grown so large is because we have been very careful about protecting the secrecy of our location."

"Are you their ruler?" Dusk asked, fascinated.

"Yes, I am, I am the Head Priest Ancient, Tusk," Tusk finally revealed his name.

They finally reached the bottom, and Dusk was glad that she had finally reached solid ground. Katara and Luke were soon to follow, and the rest of the group proceeded to gather at the base of the stairway. Heero and Peace were the last to set their feet on solid ground, and then the Ancient began escorting them to where they hoped the scrolls were kept.

Before them stood a large wall, blocking out any view of the city from where they stood, although they could hear the restless chatter of Ancients in their native tongue, and the commotion of busy buyers. As the approached the stone doors the Ancient gracefully place his left hand on the doors, and it lit up like fire. The travelers had to shield their eyes from the bright glow of the stone, but after the initial shock had passed, the doors began to slowly open on their own while the Head Priest waited patiently.

As soon as the doors were completely opened, Tusk led the companions inside the city gates. It was a glorious and vast array of people and buildings. Sculptures littered the sideways, and the houses were adorned with bright murals. The Ancients clothes were exotic and creative, especially compared to the simple clothes of Tusk. The colours were full of vibrancy and Heero could even swear that he saw a woman walking whose clothes were painted on. The Ancients also wore expensive and elaborate jewelry, including many rings and piercings. It was difficult to spot someone who didn't have some sort of tatoo or marking somewhere on their body. Hair also seemed to hold very heavy fashion influence. Everyone seemed to have a different style. Although everyone had white hair, the presence of dyes and decorative jewels was overwhelming. You could see woman walking with fortunes worth of stones and gems woven into their hair. Men had designs and even pictures dyed into their hair. One man's hair was cut so that when it fell over his back it roughly resembled a sword.

"This place is amazing..." Quatre gasped as he saw the creative importance in the society.

"We are a peaceful people that pride ourselves in our intelligence and in our art," Tusk explained thoughtfully.

The further they walked into the city, the more fear and panic seemed to spread through the people. At first the Ancients had only whispered and stared at them, taking time from their busy schedules to observe the trespassers, but now, they were running into houses, and one child had even thrown a stone at them. The fear and hostility among the people was very apparent, and the group could now see why the elder was so reluctant to grant them entrance into this hidden world. Fear spread like a forerunning dark shadow to the crowds before them, so when they passed the people, they were already hiding their children and escaping into houses.

"Strangers are seen as a threat," the Ancient elder explained, but offered no apologies.

"No shit," Duo echoed as he saw a woman chuck a rock at his head. Luckily his catlike reflexes saved him from a bruise, but the impression left was read loud and clear. They were not welcome here.

"Tusk," A booming voice startled all of them, Peace squeezed Heero's hand in an iron grip that surprised even Heero.

Before them stood a shorter male, he was also dressed in the same white robes that didn't reflect the community's creative and expressive nature. He was older than Tusk, and he seemed angered. There was no question why.

"What do you think you are doing!" The man shouted at Tusk, but Tusk seemed rather uninterested.

"What do you think you are doing? I am the High Priest, you have no authority over me, and no voice in the decisions that I make Gloe," Tusk was very stern, yet gave no hint of anger or irritation in his tone.

"These are outsiders, the people are in an uproar! You are going to start a riot!" Gloe protested, but Tusk gave a dismissing wave.

"This is none of your concern, attend to your duties, you will be notified with the necessary information after these people have completed their mission," Tusk ordered.

"I will not stand for this," Gloe warned harshly, but Tusk gave no hint of care or distress.

"After this is over, I will summon the high council, you may make your appeal to them, but for now you are powerless, and that is the way it will stay," Tusk pushed Gloe to the side and led the group toward the large castle in the distance.

"The high council is already assembling, they are talking about overruling you," Gloe growled dangerously.

"The high council is not allow to assemble without my written decree," Tusk snapped back, showing the first sign of frustration since Gloe had appeared.

"I called the meeting," the statement caused Tusk to stop for a split second, but he was already continuing on his way a moment later.

"You are overstepping your authority," Tusk growled softly, Gloe starting to jog to catch up to Tusk.

"And you are causing everyone to question your leadership abilities," Gloe countered, but Tusk ignored him, "And I am going to ask the council to demand that you step down from the throne, and leave the head council permanently."

"You're insane," Tusk retorted, "You are just looking for an excuse to take my place brother, you always have, but I can guarantee you that you will not succeed," Tusk quicken his pace, and the group adjusted their speed as well.

"You never deserved the throne, and now you are proving that you are incompetent, you are endangering the whole city, and throwing the public into a panic! And for what?" Gloe demanded.

Tusk stopped and turned to Gloe, "These people are trying to save the world Gloe, I can't explain now, and you are slowing us down, if they wait any longer, it will be too late, and we will all die, now if you have any more pressing matters than the fate of the world please, tell me!" Tusk yelled at Gloe, who had to take a step back because of the immense power emanating from within Tusk.

Gloe was speechless, but it was then that there was a loud thundering crash that came from the ceiling. All the birds had disappeared and Heero could see a dark figure at the top of the stair case.

Terra.

"Fuck, she's here," Katara looked around not knowing what to do, "Luke, can you use your magic to hit her from this far away? Or maybe knock down the staircase so they can't get in here," Katara suggested thinking quickly.

"Impossible," Tusk began, "The stones here are enriched with Ancient magic to produce light for us, they protect us from detection against foreign magic as well. Ancient energy and inter-dimensional energy are non-compatible, using you magic in here would rip this place apart!"

"Does Terra know that?" Dusk asked, implying the destruction that Terra could inflict.

"She shouldn't be able to use it, but she is very powerful, I don't know if our defenses can handle her," Tusk explained.

"What do we do?" Wufei asked, knowing that they had to kill Terra.

"Please, take this away from the city, I don't want our city or people to be hurt," Tusk asked. The others nodded, and they all started running toward the gates. Heero had to pry Peace away from him and hand her off to Tusk.

"Keep her here," Heero ordered and then took off after the others without waiting for a response. Tusk took Peace in his arms and watched as Heero caught up to the others.

As soon as they reached the gates, Dusk had to use her magic to open the doors. But as soon as they opened, Terra was waiting for them with her maniacal grin and an endless supply of soldiers, some still making their way down the stairs.

"Long time no see," Terra smiled, her men waiting for her command to beat the crap out of the group.

"You can't harm us here, you have no power here," Katara warned.

"Neither do you," Terra snapped back.

"We have the whole city of Ancients on our side and Dusk," Luke growled.

"But are you not mistaken? Ancients don't take the lives of others," Terra smiled, "They will not harm us."

"These are not the Ancients of the past, they have changed with the world," Wufei stated.

"Fools, you think that I don't know that? But it doesn't matter, because soon you will be dead anyway, and the stone will be mine," Terra laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katara stepped out in front of the group and went mere inches from Terra's face.

"That is supposed to mean that I already knew that I would not be able to use my magic here. I have made previous arrangements so that I would not have to use my power," Terra laughed.

As soon as Terra had finished her sentence, all hell broke loose. Katara drew back her fist and tried to punch Terra, but her reflexes were too fast, and she dodged it easily, even taking the time to knee Katara in the stomach. While that was happening, the guards were in the process of getting out their guns to kill everyone.

Heero was instantly into the battle, taking the liberty of relieving one of the guards of his semi-automatic weapon. With precision, Heero was shooting down the endless sea of guards, but they kept fighting. Luke was being barraged by men, and weaponless he had to resort to physical attacks, but they were no match for the men's guns and knives.

Wufei had rushed in as well, trying to keep the soldiers off of him. They were no match in skill, but the endless supply allowed them to overwhelm and overcome the pilots. Since Dusk was the only one with useable powers she was forced to try to help the pilots from afar. She attempted to force drowsiness and confusion and the soldiers, and different spells to slow the fighters, but there were so many of them that it seemed impossible. At the same time as trying to assist her comrades, she was trying to fend off the soldiers from attacking her and invading the city. They kept pushing through to her, but she continually held up shields to keep them away.

Although she felt the power grow within her, the continual use of her abilities was proving straining and difficult to maintain. She was not used to such intense battles, and she couldn't keep up the rigorous rate.

Heero found himself no longer on the offensive but the defensive. His gun had run out of ammo a long time ago, and he was struggling to find new weapons. Heero was busy kicking an enemy in the face when he heard something fall behind him, he wouldn't have been that concerned except that the sound was familiar. The soft thud sounded like...

Grenade.

Heero was quick to turn and pick up the ball, but he could feel the power of it already. It was going to blow in less than a second. Heero couldn't take time to have a strong windup, he just tossed it without thinking. It exploded a few feet from him, sending him and the others around him sprawling to the ground. Terra was nearby and Heero could hear her swear over the explosion. As the soldier inside Heero kicked in, Heero quickly regained his composure and was back to killing as many people as he could, but the fatigue was coming back.

He had been so tired before, and he had nothing left now. He was fighting on willpower alone, which was weak already. He wanted it to end, he hated killing, he hated the fighting, he was so sick, tired and frustrated with war. Heero screamed again and let out his frustrations on the enemy around him, barely thinking, though flashes of Relena's death filled his mind. Heero could feel the beast in his back hissing. He knew that he was feeding it, and everyone else was too, but he didn't care, at this point, having a little help from your own friendly symbiotic creature wasn't a bad thing.

Heero felt the skin on his back rip and tear under the wings. Heero nearly feel down to the ground in agony as the beast burst out of his back, this time there was more though. Along with the two gigantic wings, which happened to startle Heero's attackers into shock, which only proved a fatal mistake, two large scaly arms also pried themselves free of the muscle and skin. Heero felt his knees get weak as the clawed hands slid themselves out in front of Heero.

As the soldiers finally started to attack Heero again, Heero was already back into Soldier mode, and the claws worked as if they were his own. The ripped apart attackers in seconds, and at amazing speeds. As the men shot at Heero, Heero was spared by the wings. They encircled him and shielded him from projectiles of all sorts.

Somewhere in the back of Heero's mind, all he could think about was Relena. The ache in his heart was tearing him apart, and the sight of Relena being eaten alive was torturous. Heero could feel his legs falling out from underneath him.

Someone had tripped him, but Heero barely cared, not registering the pain. He only knew that he had to kill. He had to stop fighting. The conflict inside him was only silenced by a loud scream. It was coming from Katara. Heero pushed himself up, as the claws were already tearing apart the man that had tripped him. Heero was pushing past attackers, who were only killed seconds later by the claws and arms that extended from his back. Tripping over dead bodies, Heero tried to find Katara.

It took only moments to locate her, but it seemed like hours to get to her. The sea of people had left a small circle unobstructed for Katara and Terra to carry out their personal vendettas. Katara was on the ground, bruised and bleeding. Her eye was swollen, and it was more than obvious that one of her ribs had been snapped, although Terra wasn't much better off.

Heero charged into the circle, and it took a moment for Terra to understand what she was seeing. Heero had huge wings that had been growing nearly by the second as the death spread out throughout the endless waves of people. Heero's chest was heaving as he panted, his skin glistening with sweat, and below his arms, another pair of scaly green arms extended, with three huge claws. Heero had the worst of his glares glued to his face. He was not going to let anyone hurt Katara.

"Heero," Katara screamed as Heero charged at Terra. Terra was immediate to react as she ducked his right handed punch, and instead brought her body down and swept his feet from beneath him. Heero landed harshly, but was quick to jump back up, without the use of his hands, but as soon as he was up, Terra was already punching him in the stomach, Heero felt the wind knocked out of him, but the claws grabbed Terra, and blood spurted from her sides. Terra screamed. Wufei was now in the circle that was growing larger by the second as the soldiers stayed away from Terra.

Dusk was crying from the gates as the enemy was now focusing on her, shooting whatever they could at her, and throwing grenades over the gates. It was taking on toll on Dusk, and she didn't know how long she could hold the soldiers back. Quatre and Trowa were there within seconds, trying to help lighten the load, but there were so many guards that it seemed hopeless.

Duo was shouting about Shinigami as he was cornered far from the others. There were fifty guards all trying to attack him at the same time. Duo had all but given up when Luke arrived, throwing men off of him mercilessly, but even Luke could barely handle the onslaught. At least Luke had weapons that he had stolen from the dead bodies, and he was using them to distract the men from Duo. Duo was near death he was so beaten. His collarbone was broken in two places, his jaw had a hairline fracture, and blood was everywhere. His shin had been badly crushed, and no one would expect him to walk again.

"I'm coming Duo," Luke tried to scream over the chaos, but Duo was barely conscious.

Back over to where Terra, Katara, Wufei and Heero were fighting, Terra had her hands full. Heero was starting to lose his sight from the pain and exhaustion. Katara was barely able to stand, but she still tried to do her best to fight. Wufei was the only one who was at his prime. He was slightly beaten, but he had only bruises and no broken bones to speak of.

Terra struggled viscously and relentlessly against the aggressors. Constantly fighting off Heero and Wufei was tiring, and by attacking at the same time, they were able to hit her more than a few times.

Terra let out a furious scream as she turned and kicked Heero in the stomach with such force that he was sent flying several feet away. Turning back to Wufei, Terra shot a hard right punch. Wufei dodged it successfully and brought his right hand up into her ribs. Terra let out a muffled yelp as blood poured out of her mouth, a broken rib slashing her lungs open.

Terra fell to the ground, clutching her sides coughing violently. Wufei stood strong waiting for her to get up. He was exhausted, and he knew that he had to kill her, but he was not going to kill her when she was like that. It would be sinking to her level.

Heero got up several feet away and saw Katara lying on the ground unconscious. He didn't know when Terra had knocked her out, but he could barely see, the pain was so great. Terra was doubled over, coughing up blood. It made the most sickening sound, but Heero had no sympathy for her. Just the sound of her coughing brought memories of Relena dying back. Heero scowled as he caught his breath. He could even feel the dragon inside of him tiring. Heero looked frantically around for the others. Dead bodies littered the once tranquil and peaceful surroundings.

The only person that Heero could locate was Dusk. She was crying and kneeling down on the ground because she could no longer hold herself up. Dusk was struggling to keep the onslaught of warriors away from the gates. She was screaming in pain, every second using up precious energy and resources. Heero staggered upwards, he tried to focus, but his world was swirling with pain. Stumbling forward, he saw Terra push herself off the ground. Heero could barely make out the odd sound coming from her lips.

She was laughing.

Wufei glared at her before he began attacking again. A swift kick to her stomach left her leaning forward. Wufei gave her a swift upper cut to her lower jaw, and she was left sprawled on the ground once again. Wufei took his time to get his breath as Terra got up again. He could see Heero struggling to stay conscious, as he swayed from side to side dangerously. The wings and claws that extended from his back were limp and motionless.

When Terra got up, she took a weak swing at Wufei, but he easily ducked, bringing his left hand in for a solid hit. But before he could make impact, Terra caught his hand, and squeezed his fist tightly. Wufei winced, but then Terra brought her knee up to make a short hard impact to Wufei's groin. It knocked the wind out of Wufei, and he was left in shock for a moment. Terra followed with two other hard knees to the groin. Taking advantage of Wufei, she threw all of her weight and force into one final punch into Wufei's cheek. Wufei was sent flying face first into the ground. Terra panted heavily as blood curdled up her throat.

Heero stumbled toward Terra, using what little strength he had left, he wrapped his arm around Terra's neck and tightened his grip. Wufei looked up from the ground just in time to see Terra's eyes bulge out of her head. The eeriest thing was when Terra closed her eyes and the smallest smile spread across her face.

"If you kill me, you will die for sure," Terra whispered so that only Heero could hear. Heero paid no attention to her, but she continued, "But, if you do survive, which is impossible, do me one favour Heero," Terra pried Heero's weak arms off of her neck for a split second getting another gulp of air, blood spilling out of her mouth, "Promise me something Heero," Heero could feel Terra's jaw tremble against his arm, "Promise me you will kill Katara."

Heero felt so disgusted and furious that he found new strength and tightened his grip around her neck, "Promise me," Terra barely breathed out. A moment later the asphyxiation took over and she went limp in Heero's arms.

Heero dropped her lifeless body to the ground and then collapsed to the ground himself. The soldiers around them stopped fighting and stared at each other for a matter of seconds.

Dusk who was almost passed out, looked around at the confusion and realized what had happened. Strong arms wrapped around her gentle frame reassuringly. Dusk smiled and began laughing in relief as she looked up at Tusk, "Terra is dead, we're safe." Peace stroked Dusk's sweat soaked hair. She had shown up with Tusk, but somehow, she seemed smaller and more scared than ever.

~End Chapter 20 - Part A - Hostile Nature~

Author's Notes: That was weird, but I have an entire other chapter to explain what is going on. Just remember that whatever Wufei says is true, okay? It will come in handy in the next chapter. ^_^

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