"Elements of Great Design"

Written By: SkyLark

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.

Pairings: Future 1x2x1, 5xOC, thinking out the others

Warnings for Overall Series: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes AU- Fusion of elements of Final Fantasy and Gundam Wing

Betaed by ShenLong *hugs*

Rating: NC 17

Inspired By This Pic: http://sharona1x2.com/lj_pics/GWweek2/November/44-3.jpg

Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html

Summary: In cities in a world used to living in peace, an unknown darkness is approaching and slaughtering all in its path. It is up to Heero and five others he's never met to stop the relentless charge. But just who are these five and what is their relationship to the elements?

"Elements of Great Design"

Chapter 5

Duo Maxwell enjoyed talking... a lot.

It was something that Heero came to know quite well by the time the road leading them to Onrac became too dark for Wing to navigate safely.

Much to his chagrin, the Fighter had little choice but to stomach a night outdoors with the black mage where they would be out in the open as opposed to in separate rooms in a warm, comfortable inn. He would have been able to avoid the constant chatter that seemed to flow without pause for little more than air every now and then.
 
Really, there was no one else for Yuy to blame but himself. He was the one to mention Dorothy's visions of both Mariemaia's army and his quest to find the Keepers of the Elemental Stones.

Once the soldier had finished his explanation to what brought him out into the unknown to cross paths with the first of his five teammates, Maxwell had become an excitable chatterbox for the next four hours of daylight...
 
...And now with the sun nearly faded away to the stars and high moon overhead, he was still talking.
 
"I wonder how many guys to girls there might be in Keepers, because there's no way I'm one of them since no child of Shinigami can be tied to a Elemental Stone," the braided gifted rambled on as he placed a short pile of kindling onto the fire that he had made.

Wiping his hands together to brush away the dirt and wood dust from them, he grinned, "But then I would be the fifth person that Dorothy mentioned, since she had such a prominent image of Death in her meditation room. There's only one reason why she would have drawn the cognition in violet."
 
Heero had assumed as much as well ever since he first looked into his unlikely ally's striking eyes of the same shade. Lying flat on his back atop his bedroll, he threw a hand over his own closing eyes and grumbled, "Do you ever shut up? We've been through this before with what Catalonia told me about the Keepers.” He raised a hand, lifting a finger for each of the following points, “One bathed in light, one silent killer of beasts, one with hair and a spirit that burns and one who is far more than what he seems."
 
Tilting his head, Duo peered through the flames from the other side of the fire pit as he asked, "What makes you so sure that I'm the one shrouded in darkness, since you never mentioned that one?"

The Fighter kept his arm over his eyes as he snapped, "Because no other person in this world has ever been a darker mark in my life."
 
Maxwell howled with laughter, braided head falling back and tears of mirth filling his violet eyes. "Well played, 'Ro," he snickered when he finally caught his breath.

No matter how hard he tried, Yuy simply couldn't help smiling and chuckling along with the infectious sound. Even the sound of that damned nickname that the mage had given him was slowly becoming more tolerable. No matter how hard a time the two had given each other over the course of the short time that they’d known one another, there was still a level of respect there as well that they both appreciated.
 
Wiping away the shimmer in his vision, Maxwell sighed, "Well, it would stand to reason that I would be the first one that Dorothy mentioned. Aside from my obvious connections to darkness thanks to my birthright, I know to never question the word of an Oracle. What their talent sees is from the good Creator Himself."
 
His arm falling away, Heero turned his head towards the mage and frowned, "You believe in the Creator? I always assumed that anyone born with Shinigami's Death magic chose to not to follow any sort of faith, that involved Him or Abaddon." Duo crossed his legs as he sat back into the grass just behind him, smirking, "That's because like so many from this world, you fall back on stereotypes and fear when it comes to understanding any Stranger." Reaching into the collar of his black shirt, he revealed a silver necklace that bore an ornate cross pendant.

The cross of the Creator. 

"Not every child born under the blood red moon chooses to discount the great dueling rules of good and evil. If you took the time to actually get to know someone outside of your walls, you'll likely be surprised by what you come to learn about them."
 
Folding his arms beneath his head, the Fighter challenged with a smugly grinned, "What of the consistent reports that all mages fall back on magic because they cannot hold their own in a physical encounter? That one sounds about right since we soldiers are the ones counted on for hand-to-hand combat." 

Cobalt eyes widening, he blinked in wonder when his smiling counterpart reached into the folds of his deep purple cape to remove a long, black staff hidden there.
 
With a flick of his wrist, Duo brought forth a wide blade from the side of the rod. Its sharp tip and the impressive length of the metal rising and falling in a dramatic curve glistened in the flickering flames before him. His braided head tilting once more, he pointed at his scythe with his free hand and asked, "You were saying?"
 
There was no response that Heero could make other than the soft, unintelligible sounds of his surprise that came from his opening and closing mouth. "Yea. Thought so," Maxwell snickered. "Normally speaking, mages prefer to use their magic over other means in warding off threats, but I'm not the only exception to the rule when it comes to that."
 
Another flick of his wrist had the blade of his weapon retracting with a bright swish. Replacing the rod back into his cape, he stated, "That is one stereotype of my kind that works to my advantage. If those villagers had thought that I was capable to fend for myself without magic and checked my person, I would have lost my trusty friend that's helped me out of a lot of sticky situations."
 
' I've had enough knives held against my throat that my instincts might outweigh my reason.' Yuy recalled those words from his fellow traveler hours before when he had woken to move in on the unprepared gifted before he was completely out of his spelled trance.
 
Swallowing roughly, the Fighter propped himself up on his elbows without breaking their gazes. "Have you ever used your power to kill, Duo?" he heard himself inquire in a breath. Of course, there was the understood subtext that he was asking whether or not what was being killed were other people and not animal game for food.
 
"Yes," Maxwell replied with a firm nod. The tone was easy enough, but there was also an air that he did not wish to have to go into the matter any more than that.
 
And being honest with himself, Heero really did not want to press the issue any further either. He was not exactly sure what unsettled him more- the confirmation or the fact that there was no hesitation or regret from the mage in speaking it.

The tense silence that had fallen on the clearing was deafening. Even the crackle from the campfire had dulled down as if holding its own breath for what may be said or done next.

Shoulders rigid, the son of Shinigami waited in readiness to react to whatever reaction his new friend might have to his admission. For the first time since they had met, there was a glimmer of vulnerability in the normally confident teenager that let on to how uncomfortable he was over sharing such a personal thing.

It was Yuy to break the stillness after choosing his words carefully. "Then you've certainly experienced more excitement than I have," he commented, a small smile that he hoped was reassuring curling his lips. "Our charge out of Midgar was the most action I've ever seen."
 
Duo's shoulders sagged with a soft sigh just before he chuckled deeply, "Then we're in lot of trouble."
 
Another fitful laugh broke from Heero at that.
 
      *            *               *                *

"You cannot be serious in your suggestion that we have our people leave the only home that they have ever known when we have a agreement of peace between our land and Paramecia!" King Noventa exclaimed. Exasperated, he lowered his gold chalice that was filled to the brim with red wine back to the table surface. "Going out into the unknown is madness when we have nothing to fear within these walls!"
 
Seated across from him, Zechs shook his head, "After what we have seen with our own eyes, I am convinced that Mariemaia never had an interest in keeping her end of the treaty that she had sent out to the kingdoms. An army the likes of which she has brought into Gaia is the creation of our worst nightmares. No such monsters would have been summoned if she was content with controlling a handful of lands. This is going to be a complete take over of our world."
 
At the Cornea King's right, Noin nodded firmly, "I am in complete agreement with that as well. Mariemaia is playing a game, seeing where the chess pieces will fall before she makes a move. She knows who might put up the most resistance to her and who will be knocked over with a simple breath from her. And what better situation could she ask for than for the setup we have allowed by never organizing our kingdoms to work together before?"
 
When her husband's face began to redden as he opened his mouth to protest, Queen Sophia reached over to rest a hand on his arm. Squeezing it to keep him still, she frowned kindly to their friends, "You have both been through so much these last couple of days. Some sense of normalcy and a good night's rest in a comfortable bed will work wonders for your logic.

Her arms spreading open, she decreed, “We simply have nothing to worry about from the child. I would call her lucky for being able to overtake Coneria and Paramecia but no mere girl of any magic could possibly have the power to take over the world."
 
Biting back his frustration, King Merquise took a deep breath and clenched his fists in his lap beneath the table surface. "We had thought the same, but our home is now reduced to rubble and ash. Thousands lost their lives, the fortunate ones facing a swift end while the others suffered at the hands of beasts that toyed with them in every terrible manner that they could. We simply must have everyone in this city either fleeing for their lives or joining the brave few armies that have mounted against our adversaries."
 
Calmly Noventa replied, "You must have heard of how successful those forces are, have you not? They are cut down mercilessly every day, never gaining an inch of ground based on the reports that have been coming back. In fact, they have lost what ground they had by being pushed back by the progression of Mariemaia's troops."
 
"It would all change if we could just find a way of working together!" Lucrezia shouted, her own patience wearing out. "Our kind need to find whatever it is we need to work together, Strangers or not! If we had enough support, enough will to fight against what will be our inevitable annihilation otherwise, we might have a chance!"

Sophia blinked her widening eyes. "You speak of something that cannot be," she breathed. "Walls surrounding every kingdom only grow taller every so many years. And with what is taking place now, you will be more than hard pressed to find any willing to go into the belly of the beast when they have no means of saving themselves. One look at the monsters you have described and they would run off wishing that they had acted as we did by simply waiting the torrent out until it passes."
 
Drawing a deep breath through his nose, her husband gritted through his teeth, "I am not going to punish our people just because you were too foolhardy proud to put your names on a scroll drawn up by a little girl."
 
The King and Queen across from him both reeled back as though physically struck. Wide-eyed, their jaws opened in surprise while the air rushed from their lungs. Her skin paling in her stricken state, Sophia took hold of her husband's arm again as she urged softly, "Charles, please. What happened in Coneria was not their fault."
 
While her sentiments were meant to be supportive of Zechs and Noin, they also picked up on her timbre of accusation as well. So that was what their long-time neighbors and supposed friends thought of them... that they were responsible for the destruction of their homeland and the lives that were taken there.
 
Lucrezia fought hard to swallow the whimper that nearly bubbled from her. Keeping their eyes from filling with the tears that were on the brink of blurring their vision, the couple trembled subtly as they did all they could to keep from responding in a most unpleasant way. It would not have been prudent of them to lash out against the hospitality that had been shown to them and their survivors while they were still within Babil's stronghold.
 
Finally coming out of his ire, Noventa released a huff of air. Removing his crown, he ran a hand through his short, white hair that was damp with sweat. "Forgive me," he sighed as sincerely as he could muster to his fellow Sovereigns, but his gaze was on his wife. Another display of how he truly felt towards the pair across from him.

Slowly looking back on his guests, he said, "To be kind I must be cruel in having the reality of your situation set in. We were wise in our choice to sign the treaty. And we will be protected because of it."
 
Waving his hand in the air, he went on, "Once she has had her fun and extended her amusement as far as it will take her, Mariemaia will be of no worry at all." The corner of his lip curling up, he snickered, "Now, should you be right in your interesting little theory of the treaty being a farce, I am right in assuming that your Fighters will align with ours to defend Babil?"
 
A bark of a stunned laugh exploded from Zechs at that as he folded forward at the waist. "You have the nerve to insult us and then ask for our help?!" he shouted. resting his white-knuckled fists against the edge of the table, he rose to his feet as his wife stood beside him with a fury in her own glare that bore down on their friends. "Strangers would have more sense and kindness than what you have shown us!"
 
It was the Noventas' turn to reel back in the shock of the blow delivered by those words. "We will inform our people that we leave tomorrow," Noin gritted through her teeth. Allowing the tears to at last sting her eyes, she added without any warmth, "Thank you so much for your graciousness. It has been quite... enlightening."
 
Their hands linking, the Coneria Sovereigns turned on their heels and stormed from the grand banquet hall. "You run for no reason!" Charles bellowed after them, face reddening as his whole frame shook with anger. "We will still be standing when the dust clears from this mess!"
 
"Now who is the proud fool?" Merquise shot back over his shoulder before he and his wife disappeared beyond the tall doors that the guards opened to them. Sagging heavily in their tall-backed chairs, the residing King and Queen bit their lips and sat in thick silence.
 
Out in the abandoned hallway, Lucrezia stopped in her rushed steps to lean back against the wall closest to her. Gasping, she raised a hand to her mouth to muffle the sharp sob to follow as tears rolled freely down her face. "Dear Creator," she whispered brokenly. "We really are on our own." She was pulled into a fierce embrace and a kiss was pressed against her cheek.
 
Zechs promised by her ear, "We will find others. There will be more who will listen. It will take the fall of more lands to open the other Sovereigns to the thought of fleeing or uniting and fighting, but they will see that it is the only way."Nodding against his shoulder, Lucrezia pulled back and wiped her cheeks dry. She met her husband's gaze and frowned, "We have to get word out to the people here of our intent to leave. If anyone wishes to join us, they need to know that they have the opportunity while there is still time.""Of course," Merquise nodded back. Lowering a hand on the small of his bride's back, he led the way down the hall as he said softly, "We will go and inform our soldiers to spread the information along."Unbeknownst to them, a thick curtain of red felt several feet behind them shifted without a breeze to move it.
 
    *          *           *           *

Duo Maxwell snored.

Not loudly and not thoroughly the whole time he slept, but occasional little purrs of sound that broke from him, especially after turning in the bedroll that he and Heero had spent different halves of the night in.

With it being his time to be on watch, Yuy sat a on a small pile of rocks on the opposite side of the campfire. Though not in his full armor, the soldier had his long blade out and lying across his legs should he need to spring into action on a moment’s notice.

However, for the last few hours there was only the sound of cicadas, the pop and sizzle of the fire, the rustle of the leaves overhead whenever the wind picked up… and Maxwell’s occasional snoring.

More often than not, Heero caught himself staring at the black mage. Thinking back to their earlier conversations, he couldn’t help but linger on Duo’s admission to killing others with his magic. It was something that should have troubled the Fighter who had never dealt with Strangers capable of such things, but he was not…

…in fact, it was oddly comforting to know that he was with someone who could protect them in such a way.

Yuy decided that at some point he would find the courage to ask the braided teenager the situations around those instances. Already, Duo had had a much more intense life than anything the soldier had experienced and he was nothing like what any black mage had been described as.

Knowledge was power, especially when it came to understanding who one was working with. And in that case, Heero was going to find out everything that there was to know about his counterpart….

…His interest had nothing to do with the fact that Maxwell was one of the most captivating people that he had ever come across… or how he couldn’t take his eyes from the strikingly alluring gifted.

Shaking off that thought, the Fighter noted the brightening of the sky above them, Wing had awoken to resume his grazing on the long grass of the clearing. And Duo soon followed with a deep sigh and a hand reaching up to rub against his closed eyes before blinking them to reveal his mesmerizing violet irises.

“Morning,” the mage smiled when he turned his head to gaze on his quest partner. He slipped from the bedroll to rise to his feet, which only gave Heero the full view of his shirtless frame. Lean and fit with muscle from shoulder down, the old scars from battles past were now plainly seen in the daylight as opposed to a fire glow.

Some long and others darker to reveal how deep they had cut, those marring lines had a story to be told, all of them screaming of a challenged life and the will of survival. Then, they were covered away once more with the black, long-sleeved shirt that was pulled back on.

Blinking, Yuy turned his head away before he was caught staring. “So, breakfast and back on the road for Onrac?” he heard his companion ask in that cheerful tone of his.

“Yep,” the Fighter nodded as he reached behind himself for his pack to retrieve their rations. Taking a mental tally of what remained, he was silently thankful that they would be in another city to replenish their supplies. With any luck there would be more mouths to feed sooner than later.

When he met his travel mate’s haunting eyes, Heero took in the unblemished, handsome face that grinned at him. Not even a trace of the nasty bruise that he’d earned from his ambush the night prior remained. A helpful advantage from the magic flowing through his veins, no doubt.

Yuy made sure to keep his gaze from lingering the way he wished it would as he tossed Maxwell his helping of barley bread and fruit. Knowing how poorly nourished the mage was, he willingly sacrificed some of his own allotted amount.

Duo Maxwell had a much healthier appetite, after all.

* * * *

It was mid-day when Wing was brought to a stop at the crest of a tall hill that he had been climbing. Wuffling, he shook his large head and waited for his charges to push him on. Their eyes wide, the Fighter and the Black Mage stared ahead of them to take in the white marble and sands that rose to impressive towers overlooking and protecting the land they surrounded.

“Wow,” was all Maxwell could breathe, not at all his chatty self in gazing on the realm that was famed for housing the wealthiest in all of Gaia.

From their distance of a mile away, the pair could easily make out the gold-trimmed residences that were more like miniature castles shimmering in the sunlight. The only structure that both dwarfed and outshone those expensive looking estates was the massive palace itself with more fine metal and crystalline sparkle than anything that the travelers had beheld before.

If ever there were to be a kingdom at which they would stand out the most, Heero and Duo were looking upon it.

Biting his lip after a long silence, the gifted asked from behind his friend, “Should we move on and find a more… fitting place for us to stay?”“The next closest town is three days from here,” Yuy reminded as he peered over his shoulder, pausing to frown in concern when he took in the out of place nervous expression on his companion’s face. All too quickly he understood the reason for that worry, for the bite of his bottom lip….

…Duo Maxwell did not have a place in Gaia where he belonged aside from his kind’s homeland. And he was a long ways from Doma.

A wave of pity that he was careful to keep his ally from picking up on washed over the soldier. Then a thought came over him. “Remember how you said some stereotypes work to your advantage?” he grinned.

Snapping from his anxious daze, the braided teenager locked onto the cobalt eyes watching him and nodded, “Yea. What of it?”

With a sly smirk, Heero shrugged, “No one in his world would ever believe that a self-respecting Fighter would befriend a Black Mage. Just make sure that no one sees those eyes of yours and we shouldn’t have trouble.

Instantly easing at that, Duo pulled the hood of his cape over his head as he laughed, “You know, it just might work. Maybe you Fighters do have brains instead of just brawn.”

Yuy snorted, rolled his eyes and shook his head in before focusing back ahead of them. “Let’s go, Wing.”

At his name, the white stallion moved forward at a brisk trot to carry them into the sparkling city.

TBC

Chapter 6

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