---------------- Kyuuketsuki Duo Sanguis Draconis Part XIII ---------------- The bleached bones that surrounded them gave them no trouble at first. There had been a few worries that Epyon might have done something to them, laid some curses upon the remains of his enemies, that they might rise up and defend their new master's territory, but they lay dormant. Dormant, but not silent. Duo ran a finger down the pitted surface of a large femur, somehow lying in lonely exile from the rest of its brethren. It spoke to him, and it was almost audible enough to make the others turn to watch the exchange. "What do you see?" Quatre asked him in a hushed tone. He could feel the edges of it flickering around him, but had not the ability to tap into it completely. Still, the scent of violence and sorrow hung heavily in the air around them. The guardian's eyes unfocused as they fed him images from a time not here and now. "I see blood." He saw dragons, graceful, sinuous coils twisted in the throes of pain. He saw Epyon, standing dark and menacing in the background as his minions rushed forth with claw and tooth to prepare their display. He saw Lei Fang, sanguine lips twisted into a satisfied sneer as she witnessed the proceedings near her master's side. And he saw blood, flowing forth from deep wounds, trickles merging with streams as he saw the whole spectacle with beginning overlaid upon the end, compressing events together until it seemed there was a flood of crimson lifeblood washing over all his senses. He lifted his hand from the weathered bone. "Let's keep going." They continued. The dragon remains had marked a boundary, and beyond it the landscape was no longer quite so featureless. It started with scraggly weeds and half-buried pebbles, but soon enough those gave way to frail shrubs and stones large enough to rest upon. A smudge hovered over the horizon, obscuring what lay before them, and they were left to have it revealed to them one step at a time. They travelled in silence, for the most part, perhaps sensing that something different was finally about to happen. The Shinma guardian strolled along in that strangely dangerous saunter of his, his succubus friend at his side. Wufei and Trowa walked with their eyes trained forward upon their path, showing no sign of any possible disquietude, while Quatre and Meiran stayed close, their attention constantly shifting about their surroundings. The air around them tingled with some mysterious anticipation that they just couldn't pin down. A suspicious sound cut through the heavy quiet, a shower of dead needles jarred loose from their place among the dry, crackling branches of a bush. The party stopped, and when all eyes had turned towards the disturbance, a little creature poked its head out through its formerly concealing cover. Both sides regarded each other with caution for a long minute, and then the demon disappeared into its tumbleweed of a bush. The skeletal boughs shook, and then the creature was at its base and slithering across the earth to crawl its way up a rock. It seated itself there as majestically as if it -owned- that rock, the slow swishing of its tail the only sign that it was alive and responsive. Wufei eyed the others, and then returned his gaze to the demon. He fancied he would know what to do when confronted with an actual dragon, but he had expected it to be a huge, divine sort of being, not this little lizard no longer than his forearm. It caught him at something of a loss. Quite fortunately for them, the demon spoke first. "What do you do here?" he said imperiously, the human language somehow coming out clearly from his toothy snout. His voice was subject to his size, if not his draconian anatomy, and it was merely middling, and failed to intimidate. The Chinese man had no answer ready, but he had been silently elected the group's spokesperson, so had to forge ahead. "I am Chang Wufei," he introduced himself formally, with a small bow of respect. He thought the chances were miniscule that the name of his family might somehow carry some weight here, but still, it couldn't hurt. "I come bearing the spirit of Shenlong to its homeland." "Shenlong is dead, human," he hissed at them. "Take your lies and leave this place." It was conceivably a positive response. At least the dragon's name was still known, and possibly held in high regard. "Shenlong is sleeping, dragon," Wufei corrected respectfully. "We wish to return him to his people." When the little dragon eyed him suspiciously, he slowly reached over his shoulder and withdrew his family's sword to present for judgment. The demon slinked forward and sniffed at it cautiously, then pulled back as if burnt. "What trickery is this?" he demanded, baring his sharp little teeth at them. "No tricks," Wufei answered levelly. "What remains of Shenlong lies within this blade." Dark faceted eyes fixed him with a glare. "How came you by such a relic?" "With the bulk of his power set into the wards imposed upon his ancient nemesis, Shenlong chose to bind what remained to this sword, that he might continue to stand guard over the seal, with the help of the mortal that had helped him in that endeavor. That man was my ancestor." "The wards are broken." It was not a statement of fact so much as an accusation. "They are," Wufei responded gravely. "I wish to rectify the situation." Laughter came forth from between sharp, bared teeth. "You? Go home, human. Leave the sword and go home." The tiny frown that appeared on his face indicated his annoyance at being so summarily dismissed, but he said nothing on the matter. "Epyon runs free. You would allow him to continue to wreak his havoc unchecked?" "And what would you do?" the dragon sneered. "What could you do that we have not?" "An excellent question," he admitted confidently. "I crave the opportunity to find out." The dragon stared motionlessly at him, then abruptly barked out a rough laugh. "Ha! What do you seek here, human?" He appeared to be in good humor, and Wufei allowed himself to breathe a little more easily. "I seek to wake a sleeping dragon. There must be a way to do so here." The demon turned his head first one way, then the other as he examined Wufei and his motley crew before snorting in amusement. "Very well. I shall lead you within. If nothing else, you will amuse us before we kill you for your impudence." He hopped off his perch upon the rock and strode forward. A few steps later, he blurred and disappeared. The rest of them looked at each other in question. "Well?" a voice spoke from nowhere. "Are you coming or not?" Duo was the first to step forward, Hilde following in his wake. He, too, seemed to dissolve into thin air as he proceeded. With a few philosophical shrugs, the others moved forward as well, and with each step they took, the smudge that once obscured the horizon became very much clearer, and with a dozen steps, what once was on the horizon was now quite suddenly in front of them. Loosely speaking, it was a city, based on what they could see from its outskirts. No doubt the scenery would change as they approached it. There was the hint of a great mountain in the distance, yet somehow its foothills were scattered nearby. Vegetation was more lively than it had been outside, but far from lush and verdant. Broken stone columns and half-crumbled walls traced out the remains of a few structures that seemed once grand. Several of the humans silently wondered where all the dragons were, and as if they managed to jinx themselves, they soon felt a deep vibration run through the earth as something massive landed behind them with no clearly audible sound. They turned, and caught sight of their first dragon that resembled those of Eastern legend. It glared at their guide with glittering golden eyes. Their guide glared back. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he retorted to some unheard demand, followed soon enough by an exasperated sigh. "No, I'm bringing them in to see our brothers," he snapped waspishly. Another brief silence, and then he scurried around the humans' feet to leap up upon his brother's shoulder. There he whispered furiously at him of what he had found out about the their goal. All the time, the larger dragon fixed them with his steady, unnerving gaze. He reminded Quatre faintly of Trowa, and suddenly the demon that could snap them in half with his jaws no longer seemed quite so frightening. After a minute or two, a faint roar sounded in the distance, and the little dragon lifted his head. "Come," he announced simply. "Jiaotu will bring us the rest of the way." Acting on the assumption that the larger of the two demons was the aforementioned Jiaotu, they followed, and between one step and the next found themselves in front of the mouth of a cave, with only a brief moment of disorientation to mark their passage. "This place is really starting to get on my nerves," Quatre muttered quietly to himself. Trowa, standing beside him, patted his arm in consolation, only a smidge of amusement showing in his expression. Trailing after the two dragons, they entered the passageway. The lighting somehow stayed even, despite the flickering torches set into the wall. After a short distance, the entrance opened up into a cavern, one huge enough to accommodate the seven large dragons that waited within. They entered cautiously, drawing together into a loose defensive formation without thought. It hadn't been made entirely clear what the dragons' intent was. Soon they were standing in the middle of a circle of large, toothy demons, none of which looked particularly friendly. "What is the meaning of this, Haoxian?" one of them demanded of their guides. The little dragon jumped off of his ride, allowing Jiaotu to take his place in the circle. There was one last empty space in their ring, presumably for Haoxian, but he stood by his 'guests' to discuss their cause. "Now, brother. These people seek to bring an end to Epyon's reign." It was uncertain whether the mocking tone he used in stating their purpose was intended to poke fun at them or the impatient dragon. Shock delayed the dragons' reactions, but only by a second. Some laughed. Some stayed silent. And some let loose a menacing growl. "Are you mad?" the first dragon demanded. "You will bring his wrath down upon us all!" A second dragon bared his teeth. "We should kill them now, before they cause us trouble." "Where's your sense of adventure?" Haoxian chided them cheerfully. One of the quiet ones spoke up. "What could they possibly hope to achieve?" Wufei stepped forth, prepared to make his own case. He greeted them with a bow. "Honored dragons. We believe that Shenlong, Epyon's old rival, may be able to--" "Shenlong has long since passed from this world!" the first dragon snarled. Wufei nodded agreeably. "Passed from this world and into ours." He pulled his family's sword from its sheath once more, taking care not to make the action a threatening one. "Shenlong did not perish in the battle that sealed his nemesis away. Though greatly weakened, he chose to bind what was left of himself to this sword in order to maintain a presence in our world and watch over his dormant foe." "You remember Shenlong's little pet, don't you?" Haoxian interjected. "Chang something-or-another. This is his descendant." When faced with their curious scrutiny, Wufei bit down on any irritation he might have felt having his honored ancestor referred to in such a manner. On the whole, he had expected the dragons to be somewhat more... dignified. "That is correct." The second dragon, proving himself to be perhaps the most belligerent of the group, cried out. "Then it is *your* fault that Shenlong is gone and Epyon again walks this world!" The dragon next to him laid a heavy foot upon his back. "Calmly, Yazi. It was Shenlong's decision. You know that." Yazi growled at him. "That does not account for how Epyon was freed!" "It was Lei Fang," Wufei offered, a hint of his own growl tinging the name. "One of Epyon's lieutenants. She entered our house and corrupted one of our own." It pained him to have to admit that Jahn Li had been one of them, but he was. The confession only increased Yazi's ire. "He admits to the guilt. He should pay the price for that failure!" "My cousin made a mistake," Wufei said quietly. A very, very large mistake. "And we have all paid the price." "Now, now, Yazi," a new dragon spoke up. "Killing him will not fix the situation." "Nothing can 'fix' this situation, Chiwen," the first dragon hissed. "Epyon is back, and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop him." Chiwen faced his claims with a placid air. "One would assume that these people had something in mind when they came here. Let us at least hear them out." Wufei was quick to jump back into the fray before any others could object. "Shenlong only sleeps. We plan to awaken him." "And then what?" Well, they hadn't really worked out the specifics of that part of the plan yet, but he could hardly admit to that. "Shenlong defeated Epyon once before. He can do so again." The dragon beside Yazi, having removed his foot from his brother's back, contributed his say to the matter. "Even if you somehow manage this marvelous resurrection, it is doubtful that Shenlong would emerge at full strength. Even Epyon needed time to recover from his imprisonment, and since doing so, he has gathered even more strength." "Perhaps," Wufei was forced to concede. "We will not know for sure until we wake him. But whatever the ultimate plan, this must surely be a good first step." "Your plan will be worth nothing if you cannot accomplish even the first step, human. How do you intend to wake our brother?" He had hoped that the dragons would provide them with a way, but it sounded as if they had none. He supposed it would have been too much to ask that they have a convenient ceremony of awakening, or some such. Meiran stepped forth tentatively before her old friend was forced to admit ignorance, but couldn't bring herself to step any farther forward than Wufei's side. "Um, actually, we think we might know how to do that. Well, more like what we have to do, rather, but not quite how." She turned briefly to Wufei to explain. "Quatre and I were discussing this." He blinked, but nodded for her to continue since the dragons appeared to be listening, and she did so. "Shenlong sleeps right now because basically, he tied up most of his power in the wards, right? Not to mention the fight with Epyon that preceded the binding. So it stands to reason that to wake, Shenlong would just need enough strength to do so, right?" Quatre stepped forth and took up the explanation, since he had been the one to convince Meiran of the technical feasibility of it all. "We believe that Shenlong's power was released from the wards when they were broken." Well, 'believe' was perhaps too strong of a word. 'Really hoped' would have been more accurate. There was research to substantiate their claim, however. "Normally, when this happens, the power returns to its origin, but in order to do that, it needs a connection of some sort. This is typically present, but when Shenlong poured himself into the sword, the connection was broken. The link can be reformed, but since Shenlong is sleeping right now, he can't do it. So all we have to do is find some way to re-establish the link between Shenlong and his power." "You believe his power has not dissipated?" Darn. He had been hoping they wouldn't ask that. Their theory had some optimistic assumptions in it. "Not with this sort of ward. A good deal of his personal power, and his very being, went into the making of it. It's very likely that the power would retain that sense of identity, even after all these years. Without the link back to the rest of Shenlong, the power would probably find somewhere else it 'belonged'. His homeland seemed to be the most likely place for it to gather." "'Seemed'. 'Probably'. 'Likely'," the first dragon sneered. "Your plan is full of holes. It will never work." Haoxian finally spoke on their behalf once more. "We'll never know if we don't try, now will we, Pulao?" "Risk your own life if you must, Haoxian, but do not cause trouble for the rest of us! We should be rid of these creatures before Epyon catches wind of them." "Doesn't that imply that Epyon would find them to be a threat?" the little dragon asked shrewdly. "You must believe their plan has merit, then." "Epyon would jump upon the least offense as an excuse to destroy us all!" Haoxian snorted in disgust. "Epyon is no longer concerned with us! He has long since moved on to bigger and better things. When was the last time he sent one of his lieutenants to check up on us?" "He could do so at any time!" "Then we'll just have to work quietly, won't we?" If Wufei had been expecting to find some sort of organized rebellion against Epyon's tyranny, he was disappointed. "All we ask is that you allow us to try." He'd appreciate a little bit of their help, too, but he'd take what he could get. It seemed at least one dragon here would be willing to volunteer his assistance, though, and he might yet have time to win over the rest. Four of the dragons had yet to voice their opinions; he had no idea where they stood on the issue. "How do we know we can trust them?" Yazi demanded. "Humans? And a Shinma?" Hilde waited patiently to be sneered at, but apparently a succubus was beneath their notice. How annoying. She didn't even have Trowa's neat invisibility trick going for her. Wufei offered only the sword as proof. "You can sense for yourself that Shenlong resides within this blade, and that traces of his power run through the blood of my family." "That would work," Meiran murmured to herself. She caught Quatre's eye and cast him an inquiring look. He pursed his lips in thought, and gave a slow nod. "I am who I say I am," Wufei continued, unmindful of their little exchange. "I am Chang Wufei, and I have sworn to continue the work my ancestor began with Shenlong's aid and see that Epyon no longer troubles this world." The dragon at Yazi's side laughed softly, and it was a strangely musical sound. "The human certainly seems as willful as a dragon. I don't believe their quaint plan will work, but I also believe that we have nothing to lose by allowing them to try. Humans can sometimes accomplish the oddest things." Pulao begged to differ. "Even if they manage to bring Shenlong back, what will they do then? Epyon would only crush him." "One would think you were on Epyon's side," Haoxian spit out, and Pulao roared in angered protest. "Quiet," Chiwen said, and somehow the one soft word managed to cut through the dragon's roar and silence him. "There is no need to act immediately. We shall discuss this plan of theirs, and in the meantime, there should be no harm in their presence, so long as they keep to themselves." Wufei moved to treat the dragon's declaration as a proclamation. Perhaps through sheer momentum could he get the others to capitulate to the idea. "We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss our plans with you, honored one, and shall follow whatever guidelines you might choose to impose." He thought it would be too much to flatter the dragon's wisdom, so he quit while he was ahead. Pulao stormed out of the cavern, and Yazi once more suffered his companion's foot on his back, but otherwise the plan was accepted. So far so good. -------- i needed some dragon names, so i filched some off the net at www.chinapage.com/dragson.html. the dragons don't all have to be chinese, i suppose, but it was convenient. i did proclaim at some point that the dragon demons were of the eastern dragon variety. so why is lei fang the only one who gets a space in her name? *shrug* _________________________________________ This piece of fiction is the intellectual property of the little turnip that could. The basis for this fic, i.e. Gundam Wing, Kyuuketsuki Miyu, et al., is the property of someone else. The author can be con- tacted at jchew@myrealbox.com. This has been an entirely automated message. http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~jchew/misc/gw.html last modified : 4/27/2003 02:33:34 PST