A few minutes after they left the wolf-boy and his pack, the braided boy awoke. His wide eyes were bright amethyst and the two quiet boys soon began to wish he hadn't waken.

"Hey, Mr. Tall-dark-and-gloomy, where are we?" he chirped happily, still too weak for him to walk. Trowa had put the excitable boy on the horse and continued to walk.

"The woods, " Trowa sourly stated, guesturing the trees around them. As he moved his hand, a farmiliar rattling was heard echoing throughout the trees.

"What the hell is that?!" the boy shrieked as a ghostly white creature appeared next to him. It rattled cheerfully and Trowa chuckled softly. The creature spun its head upside down and it slung back around, rattling like mad.

"It's a sign of good fortune. It means the forest is in good health, " Trowa replied. "It's nothing to worry about-"

"Duo, " the braided boy replied a bit fearfully. The creature next to him rattled its head merrily and he shrank away from it. "I don't care. It's some pretty weird shit."

Wufei grinned at the ghostly thing and it rattled its head at him in response. Around them, more creatures appeared, one by one until their numbers were in the thousands. Duo cowered and Trowa seemed to be envigored.

He bent down to the first creature and spoke quietly to it. "Excuse me, but will you help us get out of the forest?" The creature nodded, and its head went off like maracas.

The hoard of rattlers began to troupe off into the woods. Trowa picked up the pace and the four people followed the apparitions. Eventually, they came to a clearing in the wood.

The clearing had a magical air, and swarms of dragonflies fluttered around in the fairy columns that pierced the dense canopy. A lake stood amidst the entire thing. Footprints covered the bottom of the lake and Trowa glanced up into the shadows of the enchanted wood. A procession of deer was passing by the light, sending long shadows into the glen, when a creature with an impossible amount of antlers walked by. It seemed to watch him and Trowa's arm began to burn. He plunged it into the cool, sweet water and held it, but the burn did not fade. He could feel his hand aching to kill the beast.

Slowly, the beast turned away and Trowa's hand stopped hurting. He drew it from the water and looked down at it. The purple cursed part of his arm had grown. Now almost his entirearm was purple.

"Are you OK?" Duo asked, looking at him with worry.

"This place is cursed, " Wufei stated. Trowa rolled his eyes. They continued with their rest before going on withtheir trip.

"I know this place!" Duo giggled frantically and pointed. "See? There's the boat, going back to Gundaniumtown!"

"Gundaniumtown?" Trowa asked. Wufei shrugged.

"It's where I live. We're the richest villiage in all of Asia!" Duo grinned. "Yo! Guys! I'm right here!"

The two men carrying the boat looked up at Duo's voice. "Duo!" they simultaneously cried, setting down the boat and running to greet them.

Duo and the men chattered all the way to Irontown, which was in the middle of a lake on an island. Trowa and Wufei both sat quietly and didn't speak. When they arrived at the island, Duo began to yell up over the tall fortress walls.

"Hey! I'm back! Everyone!" Duo cheered loudly. A few ladies appeared over the wall and tittered at him.

"Duo's back!"

"It's been all too quiet without him!"

"Hilde's had no one to yell at!"

All of the ladies of the villiage poured out of the gate when it was lifted. A few men came out, too, to keep an eye on the silent boys. When the injured had been carried inside, one of the men cornered the two silent boys.

"Something about the two of you is off. I'm going to watch you very carefully, " he growled.

Inside Gundaniumtown was a very advanced city. Talliers sat on the stoop of the bank and added up the expenses of the city. Miners carried barrows full of gundanium ore through the city to the bellows, whose smoke never seemed to stop and reached into theheavens.

Trowa and Wufei followed Duo and the other men into the city. They instantly ran into Zechs and Trieze, in the midst of yet another arguement. The two soldiers grinned lecherously at the newcomers and guided them into the main office.

As they walked through the dark halls, they could make out the glow of a lamp in the farthest room. "Miss Dorothy is rechecking the books, " Zechs confided to an indifferent Trowa. The blonde man frowned at the lack of response and scowled at Trieze who was talking to the Chinese boy.

They walked into the room and saw a young blonde girl their own age sitting at a desk. She was comparing two stacks of tallies, one brown and one red. When she heard them enter, she looked up irritably. "What do you wa-" she trailed off, blushing. "Gomen, " she muttered. "What can I do for you?"

"This is their first time to Gundaniumtown, " Trieze said. Dorothy nodded slowly.

"Well then, we'll have to get you acquainted with it. What brought you to our lovely city? Tales of wealth? Stories of innumeral women? Adventure?" she smiled warmly.

"No, " Trowa flatly said. "We were brought here by a man named Duo. We brought him home."

Dorothy seemed disappointed for a minute before smiling again. "Oh, Mr. Maxwell! I'm so glad you did! It's never the same around here without him, " she gushed. "Oh, while you're here, you'll have to visit the bellows. The ladies here work so hard at them, and they'll be delighted to have visitors."

Trowa nodded mutely and Wufei grunted. "Visiting women while they are supposed to be working. Only a woman would think of that." Dorothy served him a pointed glare and Zechs and Trieze both grinned delightedly.

Dorothy clapped her hands briskly and a couple of servants raced out. "Show these two-"

"Trowa and Wufei, " Trowa supplied.

"Show Trowa and Wufei to the dining hall. They can eat after what surely has been a long journey, and then they can visit the bellows, " she finished.

Miss Sally Po was in charge of the bellows that night as the boys were led in by one of Miss Dorothy's servants. She guided the two boys around the dangerous workplace and introduced certainladies to them.

Hilde Shbeiker, Duo's friend, had followed them from early on in the tour. She kept looking at them strangely before glancing away. Finally Wufei exploded.

"Onna! Why do you keep staring at us?" he flailed hisarms a bit and shouted.

"Well, if you must know, I was wondering if you were Duo's type, " she mischeviously smirked at them. Wufei's face turned almost purple as he blushed.

"He's gay?" Trowa coolly stated. Hilde shook her headin denial and smiled.

"Bi. And you?" she retorted. Trowa snorted and Wufei purpled again, blood streaking from beneath his nose.

"And you *carried* him up the mountain?" he gaped at Trowa. The stoic boy merely grunted and followed Miss Po around the site silently.

Later on, they ran into Miss Relena Peacecraft, the ruler of the town, just outside the building. She smiled at them cordially and shook their hands. "I'm so glad you rescued Mr. Maxwell. Gundaniumtown is never the same when he's not home."

"I fear he'll be home too much, what with his injuries. He claims to have been hurled down the mountain, " Hilde saiddryly.

"He was, " Trowa nodded. "Moro the wolf goddess attacked the trail and shoved many people off the cliff."

Hilde covered her mouth with one hand and Miss Relena shook her head. "Miss Dorothy should never have angered the beasts of the forest. They should have left them alone, " the blonde girl said. She hung her head and fidgeted with a few of the jewels on her hands. "I don't know if it's a mixed blessing or what. I mean, we're richer than we've ever imagined, and certainly a force to be reckoned with. The people that used to attack us are all afraid to now, and we're safe from earthlyenemies.

"However, the gods and goddesses of the wood are angry with us. We took up arms against them, and it's all because Dotty-um, Miss Dorothy, believes she can conquer the world! Gods and men are the same thing to her, and neither is more powerful than she, " Miss Relena frowned and her wide blue eyes showed apprehension. "I don't know what is to come for my Gundaniumtown, but it is certain that this attack by Moro is only a prelude to the danger and horrors awaiting us."

"Why would Moro and her wolf cubs attack the villiage?"Wufei asked.

"Because Miss Dorothy insists on clear-cutting their forest, looking for gundanium. We have long since run out of all gundanium here on the island, " Miss Relena replied. "And Moro and her wolf cubs are not the only ones attacking us!"

"What do you mean?" Trowa's brows knit in consternation.

"I mean they've stolen the soul of Mononoke-Kou, and are using him against us, as well!" Miss Relena looked severelyfrightened.

"Mononoke-Kou?!" Hilde gasped. She wrung her hands in despair. "Oh! The angry prince of ghosts!"

"Stolen his soul?" Wufei skeptically looked at the two women. "Old onna's tale."

Hilde managed to look almost convincingly innocent as she smaked Wufei firmly upside the head with her kerchief. Miss Relena hid her smile behind a hand and Trowa tried not to smirk.

"We need to get you boys settled in at the inn. Follow me and I'll take you there, " Miss Relena changed the subject. The impromptu tour slowly moved about the town, arriving at the inn just as the first rays of moonlight appeared over the high walls of Gundaniumtown.

Trowa and Wufei were roused from a light doze by the sound of the copper warning bells clanging noisily. People were yelling snippets of conversations, and the boys deduced that Moro was attacking the villiage, with help from the spectre, Mononoke-Kou.

They dressed quickly and efficiently, arming themselves for any mishap. Trowa carefully pulled the medallion Katherine gave him off of a nearby black laquered table and slid it around his neck. Wufei gathered his few things together, and fetchedTrowa's for him.

The Chinese boy then took their belongings out to the horse and gazelle while Trowa tied on his arm coverings. Sensing an increase in the already fevered pitch of yells and screams, Trowa leaned out of the window to see what was happening. He spotted Duo on a nearby porch, watching the other people race by. The braided boy was injured, and could not get up.

As Trowa turned his eyes to the rest of the city, he noticed a white creature crawling over the tops of roofs. Mononoke-Kou was scaling the fence and headed to Miss Dorothy's house. Trowa's eyes widened and he climbed out the window. He heard Wufei behind him, calling him a madman, but he followed the boy anyway.

The limber boy leapt up into the rafters of the porch of the bellows hall. He deftly climbed onto the roof and raced after the spectre. His long lock of hair hung in his eyes and he kept pushing it out of his eyes in order to see as they darted along on the roof. Mononoke-Kou encountered the edge of a roof and dove just as smoothly as he ran, landing neatly on the next one. Trowa stretched from one pagoda-styled corner to the next, bounding across so easily it was as if he were still walking. The wolf-boy turned back and growled at him, but Trowa continued to follow.

By now, they were only one house away from Miss Dorothy's. She peered out the window from her second story house and slammed the shutters as she went back in. Seconds later, she was outside in her yukata and a loose pair of pants, with a blouse. Her long, white blonde hair swirled in the night breeze and Mononoke-Kou stopped where he stood.

"You! Come down here, and fight me like a man!" Miss Dorothy challenged the stock-still boy. Trowa was close enough to see the war paint on the other boy's face, red and gray smudges adorning his cheeks. In one fluid motion, Mononoke-Kou dove from the upturned rooftop and landed in a crouch on the ground. He slowly stood and turned to Miss Dorothy, his wooden mask pushed up to reveal wild midnight eyes, tinged with desperation.

"Aiiiiiii!!!!" he shrieked as he charged at her, flint knife raised above his head. The surged forward, all hoping to save the young lady. Trieze and Zechs each raised a gun to any hoping to help and frowned at the crowd.

"This is between the two of them, " Trieze said calmly, glaring at the crowd. Zechs instead glared up to Trowa, who was still atop the roof.

Mononoke-Kou dashed over to Miss Dorothy, who withdrew a dueling sword. She returned his uneducated vigor with her own thoughtful training, and they returned each parry for parry, thrust for thrust. The sparks from his flint dagger striking her sword danced around them, flickering dangerously close to Miss Dorothy'slong hair.

Mononoke-Kou drew first blood. He slashed wildly with his little knife, and left a long, thin, red line on her cheek. Miss Dorothy paused, shocked by this, and the crowd violently protested. Then Miss Dorothy set her mind back into the fight, and decided to stop playing with him.

Miss Dorothy was undoubtably the better of the two, Mononoke-Kou's emotions blinding him as he charged again and again, growing a bit slower as he tired. She smiled a bitter smirk as she sidestepped one of his attacks and thrust firmly into the boy's side.

Mononoke-Kou's eyes widened and he slumped forward, fainting. Trowa watched the villiagers once again rise up, this time to slay the wild boy. He leapt down and covered the boy with himself. Mononoke-Kou lay on the dirt, a dark pool of rich, red blood pouring out around him. Trowa hefted the boy over his shoulder, finding him surprisingly light. He headed to the gate, guesturing to Wufei to follow.

As he began to leave the tight cirlce of onlookers, Hilde raised a gun to Trowa. The stoic boy looked her evenly and she blushed. "He tried to kill Miss Dorothy. She means so much to me, " the girl blushed. "She rescued me from life as a personal servant. My boss was hitting on me, and she brought me away from him. I'm not going to let that boy go."

"And I was a brothel girl!" one woman in the crowdyelled out.

"I was a prostitute!"

"I was a slave!" Trowa turned and faced them all. "She's still alive. Go help her, and let us go."

"I'm not letting you go, not even if you brought Duo back, " Hilde stepped forward, still brandishing the gun. Trowa turned his back on her and began to walk to the main gate. With shaking hands, Hilde loaded the gun. Trowa heard the catch click back, exposing the fuse. "I-I mean it!" the girl said, fear evident. He continued on, walking away under the brunt of the wild boy. A tearing pain seared through him and the crowd gasped. Trowa didn't even stop, walking with the same deliberate step he had before. He finally came to the gate. The man from the beach was standing at the wheel, and held itfirmly.

"I'm not letting you through. I'm not letting the assasin of Miss Dorothy escape, " he said before he glanced down to Trowa's chest. "Kami-sama! What . . . ?!" he pondered as the boy began to firmly push the gate. "Hey, you've been shot! How can you . . . ? I mean . . . Hey, this gate takes the strength of ten men to open! You'd better go back and get that gunshot taken care of. You, are you listening to me? You're going to kill yourself, man! Oh . . . "

he gasped as the door began to give. Trowa invariably pushed and the gate swung open far enough for the horse and gazelle to leave. They followed him, guided by Wufei, out to the boat. The animals swam alongside the boat, which held Wufei and the injured boy. Trowa rode his faithful gazelle in the icy water of the lake, a crimson streak trailing after him.

Finally, they banked on the opposite shore. Trowa and Wufei lifted the unconscious boy onto the gazelle, in front of Trowa. The tall boy's blood covered the back of Mononoke-Kou's white fur cape. They walked on the path up the mountain and Trowa could feel his eyes growing weak. He could barely hold them open anymore. Mononoke-Kou turned around to look at him as he fell off of the back of the gazelle. Instantly, two wolves jumped out of the bushes and pounced on the dying boy.

"No!" Mononoke-Kou snapped, waving them away. Theygrowled but obeyed.

"He saved your life back there, " Wufei scowled atthe boy.

"I'm well aware of that. I don't want to be endebted to any of your kind, " he replied snippishly. He sniffed his fur and scowled. "I smell like a *human*, " he said bitterly.

"You say it like it's a bad thing, " Wufei remarked dryly. Mononoke-Kou scowled back. "So what are we going to call you? I mean, it's hard to choke out Mononoke-Kou every single time we talk to you."

"Your kind calls me Mononoke-Kou?" he asked, looking every bit a puffed penguin. Wufei glared.

"I don't feel like calling you the prince of anything, except ungrateful little beasts!" Wufei sneered.

"They call me Three, as I'm Moro's third cub, but Quatre calls me Hiiro, " the other boy shrugged.

"Quatre?" Wufei asked. Hiiro frowned.

"He's the only one of *you* I can stand!" Hiirovehemently declared.

"One of *us*?" Wufei demanded. "What do you mean bythat?"

"You humans! I hate you! Always cutting down more of my home just so you can dig up our ground and curse us with your evil!" Hiiro retorted.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're *not* a wolf!" Wufei yelled back. "You're as human as me, or that boy you know, or Trowa, who's dying on the ground because you got your stupid ass into a fight you couldn't handle!"

Hiiro's cobalt eyes flashed and he growled, a dangerous sound low in his throat. "You'd better take that back. Quatre and I are different. The forest doesn't hate us like it does you and your friend." A timid voice spoke up. "Regardless, we'd better do something about him, " a little blonde boy sneaked out of a nearby bush, riding on the back of a large animal. It had a large hump and the boy gently patted it as he slipped over its side. "Stay there, Rasid."

"Quatre, " Hiiro introduced the other boy almost wordlessly. The little blonde nodded absently, leaning over Trowa to inspect his wounds.

"He's going to die, " he announced softly. "We'd better take him to the Forest Spirit."