Title: Kage Riku <The Shadowed Lands>
Author: kc-chan
Disclaimer: not responsible for acts of large dungeon and dragon dice hitting you, and that the Gundam boys ain't mine
Warnings? Yaoi, OOC, AU. Angst... and death and a whole bunch of flashbacks ^__^ Timothy Leary eat your heart out!
Spoilers: for the whole Gwing series.
Pairings: 2x5; Meirenx5; and 13xMeiren. . . Lilith x Trieze; 6x1x9; 3x4; and others that I probably forgot ^__^;;
Archive: You wanna post it on your site? Email me. . .
**NOTE** not all the spells in this piece are fully mine, they have been given to me by a friend Akumu ([email protected] ) as well as a thanks to her for having her roommate do translations from the LDs for me. There are places in here that dialogue was directly altered from the series. My whole goal was to make this a what if...? to the series. I think people are able to distinguish my dialogue and thoughts from those of the series. as to how close they are, they are a mix from me meddling with them, her translations and watching of the dub. The lines borrowed from the series are directly copyright to Bandai and are used without permission. Many of Relena's speeches are changed only slightly, due to the fact that why change the Peacecraft ideals. I snipped and edited the translation, but those are very much not my words.
Notes:
"<<speech in this denotes it isn't in English>>"
//flashback//
*astral speaking*
<<lyrics>>
Special Note of thanks to Cheshire-san ([email protected]) and Sapphire Rose-san!!!! ([email protected]) for beta-ing and proofreading!!

Kage Riku
[The Shadowed Lands... ]

By: Kc-chan

Prologue:

The shadows rustled through the blackness, watching their target with the utmost caution and care. Trained in almost every manner, they could not be detected. Their master would not like that. Not at all. They were serving as his ears... his eyes... watching every graceful movement. He thought he didn't need any one... but then again, not many knew of their kind. The name had long been forgotten... probably last spoke in the darkest tunnels in the sewers of the Dark Ages. Humanity had long forgotten his kind, and that was all the better. The shadows twisted in their master's glee. If the master was happy, they were happy... Humans had little need to know of them... and that was why he was now resurfacing... sixteen years ago something awoke him and pulled him from his darkness... into the womb called the light. It was painful. The light was always painful... he had to live for three years with the inability to do anything, al the while growing with the knowledge that he was in peril in this frail form. The reason he had been ripped from the ancient tombs of shadows into the light was not made clear until approximately seven years ago.

Seven years he learned about the world, training in secret with a man who claimed to own him. As a child he smirked and let the man think as he would, it was fine that the doctor had no clue of what he would eventually unleash upon humanity. Worse than the wars and worse than the famine of ancient Egypt.

He grew up as they say, finding others that were pulled from their sleep. Some were born awaken, some awoke during puberty, and some were still sleeping in their hosts. Some of the strongest were still asleep. And now his forces were born again, in human hosts that were older and younger than his guise. And here lied the problem... they had revolted in their foolishness and lead the humans to wars. His servants were trying to rise above him, turn all his centuries of work and control to theirs. With this knowledge gained he set out to awaken his six advisors. They should have been born again when he had, if not before him. Yet, they seemed untraceable. Then it was seen. He had shot his first encounter with one of his closest advisors. Now called Heero Yuy, he was in every essence the first. By name, by birth, and by finding. Yet, he could see in Heero's eyes, a lack of recognition and a distrust... he had to reawaken them all and start again. Oh, he could damn the gods for this twist of ill fate.

Over many months he located the others... except one. One had seemed to slip from his grasp, it was only a matter of time before his servants and advisors awoke, even if they were not on his side of the war he fought, they would come back. They knew the penalty for betraying their master. They would soon sicken of their righteous forms and come back to him... except he could not locate Apaosa. His lover, friend, and closest advisor. Closer than Asmodeus, or "Heero" as he was called now. He looked everywhere, for humans with the opposite personalities to the people with the same personalities.

Then it had struck him. O fate of course was a divinely wonderful thing. It had brought some of his strongest servants right by him. Now he had to awaken them and gain control of the shadows again. Before things went peaceful...

With a flip of his long auburn braid, a chaotic glow burned from the insides of violent violet eyes. "The time has come my friends... to talk of many things... "<1> and the shadows twisted in what one would assume was laughter. The city's smoke from the chilliness rising around their master, mocking the pits of hell. Tight leathers swirling around him... it was just a matter of time... and then the world would weep with the night...

Notes:
<1> 'Alice in Wonderland' quote from somewhere, don't know nor remember off hand.

~~~~~~'~~@
Chapter One
~~~~~~'~~@

Requiem ad mortis ex gentis... Et mortis decere novus ortus...
(Requiem to the death of a nation... and death is reborn... )

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ma... ma... Wu-kun you are looking tired this morning!" Duo called from the doorjamb, smirking his way into the sunlight that he had insisted poured into his compadres room.

"Go. Away. " A grunt came from below the clusters of sheets. A small curled figure formed a bump near the pillows. Duo assumed that was Wufei, not the pillow but the unmoving lump.

"But Wuuuuuuu-kun! It's morning! Up and at them! The world is waiting for you!! Breakfast is almost ready!!" Duo practically sang and traipsed closer and closer to Wufei's bed. With a final triumphant smirk, Duo ripped the covers and sheets off the bed, entangling Wufei in the process and letting them all fall on to the floor in an unceremoniously misshapen heap.

Sputtering and a few choice curses arose from the crumbled mess of sheets and finally a head emerged and with it two glaring eyes. "Kisama."

Duo chuckled, "of course I am! I would never have you think other wise... Wu-kun." And Duo smirked and moved his face right up next to Wufei's causing the smaller boy to eep with surprise. "And besides I get such an... eyeful this way. Yummy. I maybe full before breakfast begins... " and with that emphasis let his eyes taste Wufei.

"Maxwell! Out! Now!" Wufei hissed, fully aware of the growing blush along his cheeks. And yanking the blankets stalked towards his bathroom. Thank Quatre's houses to have every modern convince.

"Well, it isn't my fault you sleep naked!" Duo chirped and skipped circles around a blushing, glowering, and blanket clutching Wufei. "You sleep naked, you deal with the consequences!" and lunged at the boy.

Wufei yelped as the larger boy tackled him to the floor, pinning the blanketed mass called Wufei easily. Duo didn't have three full size blankets to hold on to.

"Maxwell! I am up!! Let me be!! I will be ready momentarily!!!" Wufei cried out, all dignity aspired for the morning thanks to a certain braided boy, who shall remain nameless.

"Well, you can thank me at breakfast for waking you up! Bye-bye!" and Duo skipped out the door, stopping to turn around and jab, "Although... tell me next time you want bed company, I could learn to sleep naked as well... Wu-kun!" and slammed the door right before Wufei's slipper hit it.

"I hate him... " Wufei sighed and trotted towards the bathroom to get ready and down to breakfast before he had to deal with anymore Maxwell in the morning... "And to think Quatre called him talkative, but calm... pah!" and turned on the water.

Warm water ran down his body. Sure it was the dead of summer, and Quatre even had the air conditioning on, but the dreams Wufei had been having were sending him into the chills... Hence his new nightly habits of sleeping with a handful of blankets.

He brushed his silken bangs back from his eyes and let the water wash the soap from his hair. They had been horrifying, that he remembered... Hell his body remembered that... but no details remained come morning light... for that he was thankful, he didn't need nightmares haunting him more than they usually did. But he seemed to have a nagging urge at the back of his mind...

"I am thinking on it too much... " he muttered and turned off the water and grabbing his towel stepped out and began to dry off. He could hear the thudding steps of Duo down the corridor and he knew that if he wasn't ready by the time those footsteps reached his door, Duo would pull him to breakfast naked if he had too. It wasn't as if the braided baka hadn't tried it before...

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-feiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!" the low alto drifted down the hall and Wufei opened his door right as Duo went to open it.

"Ready?" Duo asked sweetly, a pose and face Wufei didn't fall for.

"If I drop dead asleep during breakfast, it is your fault." Wufei remarked placing strands of hair behind his ears.

"My, my aren't we happy this morning, nightmares?" Duo asked, like he didn't already know the answer.

"No." Wufei remarked, Duo didn't have to know.

"Sure... " Duo remarked with a knowing smirk and continued on ahead of the smaller boy.

Wufei swore he heard the shadows shift and giggle... then again... "I must be going mad... " he muttered but something was nagging the back of his mind... Watching Duo skip ahead and watching the braid tick-tock in motion, something seemed so familiar... almost da ja vu but... He pushed it aside. Whatever it was had to be the work of a tired mind and nothing more. Sure Duo wore a mask, but it wasn't like he was hiding some form of psychotic serial derangement behind it...

"Don't think so hard, Wu-man, you will hurt yourself some day" Duo called and smirked wider. And whispered, "The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things... "

"What did you mutter?" asked Wufei.

"Hmmm? Nothing." Duo responded and went back to humming.

"Aa." came the reply. "But I swore... " Wufei glared hard at Duo. Something was wrong. Something was off. And it was on the brink of exploding, and he didn't want to be around when it had happened...

"Such gloomy thoughts this morning, Wufei... " Duo thought using the shadows to keep watch over the boy behind him. Oh, he knew the other boy was having nightmares, and it was only a matter of time before the others began. He couldn't wait to watch their personalities deal with it either...

Entering the kitchen, he noticed Heero tapping at the laptop, Trowa frying an omelet, and Quatre looking worse than Wufei did, even on a good morning.

"Morning, Quatre! You don't look so good, something wrong?" Duo asked in his sweet voice. He also pretended not to notice the glare he received from Trowa working the stove.

"Didn't sleep well... " Quatre mumbled, looking like a wreck. Duo noticed slightly red eyes, obviously from crying, and the dark bags on the pale skin.

"Oh... sounds like someone else I know." And with that remark Duo earned another patent Wufei glare.

"Who?" Trowa asked dumping an omelet in front of Duo and Quatre.

Duo smirked and smiled sweetly at Wufei, "Guess."

Trowa gave him a cold look and went back to cooking and Wufei poked at the toast on his plate.

Quatre stared at the omelet and his thin fingers held back his hair. Screams and dead children. Every time he closed his eyes the souls of dead children clawed at him. Their blood mingling in his. Their eyes burning into the depths of his gentle soul. Always lurking in the shadows of the recesses of his thoughts.

Trowa carefully placed a strong hand on his little lover's shoulder, causing the boy to jerk. He sighed. Quatre wouldn't even talk about whatever was happening in those dreams. He could see the pain not only in those clear turquoise eyes but the tightness of his lover's body. The only comfort he was able to give was a shoulder for Quatre to sob into...

A glance over to Wufei, showed that the other pilot seemed tired and edgy. Though somehow seeming to handle the nightmare's plaguing himself better than the blonde pilot. He hoped. Judging by the way Wufei had been shifting the position of his toast for the last ten minutes, the ebony eyed pilot was completely gone, lost in thoughts...

"Well, I don't about all of you, but I could soooo use some action, Wufei got the last mission and man that was the first one in weeks! I am gonna go bored soon!" Duo complained tiring to break the uncanny silence that usually befell their breakfast table... and lunch... Well, usually befell the group.

Trowa raised an eyebrow and Heero gave the braided boy a glance as Duo casually leaned back on his chair with his hands lazily resting behind his head.

"Sadist." Wufei muttered. The usual *glee* Duo took in missions was always offsetting, to say the least. He could never understand the enthusiasm the violet-eyed pilot showed in his mass displays of absolute destruction. He would take missions with unbounded happiness claiming to 'blow OZ to the heavens and hell... '

"Duo... " Quatre whispered with a look that was more offsetting than Duo's death smiles.

Duo's smile widened. It looked as if someone was awakening. "Heero, the mission is mine and Quatre's next. I mean the boy needs something to take his mind off the nightmares. Besides some fresh air might do him some good... "

Trowa looked suspiciously at Duo. "I don't think-"

"I'll be fine. I think I just need to freshen my mind... " Quatre interrupted his lover.

Trowa blinked. Quatre was acting very strange... "Asking for a mission?" he pondered. .

Heero looked up, "Then good news to you both, mission came in."

Duo jumped up, quickly scanning the words and smile darkening with every moment, "Sounds... "

"Sick?" Heero asked. He was personally glad the mission was not his, puppies and kids were inevitably his downfall...

"Actually, Hee-chan I was going to say 'oh sounds like fun', but you ruined my moment." Duo replied and moved aside for the others to read.

Wufei scanned quickly, face notably whitening a few shades and moving back.

Trowa got even more of shock from the Arabian, "Not too bad, we leave tonight." And headed to the door to make some plans.

Trowa catch his arm and whispered quietly, "You'll be fine, right?"

Quatre's eyes flickered with some inner strange light, but disappeared in a sincere-like smile and he said, "I'll be fine." and left the room with duo.

Heero and Trowa followed the two boys with worried eyes. Heero's eyes shifted to Wufei who looked lost in thought again staring off into nothing, yet something was happening behind his eyes...

Wufei had drifted off into nothingness, shadows wove into his thoughts and he could see Quatre standing in a field of dead children, their blood... it was smeared across his face and hands. Turquoise eyes flaring and a smile dancing on those lips. Fire and Rage...

Trowa grabbed Wufei's shoulders trying to demand the boy's attention. He was shaking uncontrollably, as if caught in some nightmare... eyes were glazed over in pain...

"Wufei!" Heero called out again, as if his demands would pull him from the state he sat in.

After a few moments, Wufei blinked himself back to reality... Unfocused from the shadows to the light. Words finally reached his ears... "What?" he asked.

"-are okay?" Trowa finished looking at the boy.

"Umm, yeah. Excuse me... " And he scampered out of the room leaving two very confused pilots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duo waited with his gun cocked and ready, and ran one finger along the top edge of his scythe. A slow, dark smile crossed his lips. "Ready Quatre? This is the time to back out." He was leading the boy on. He could see the rebirth awaiting to happen, and what better way than this.

Quatre glared at him. Duo almost squealed with exaltation at that rare expression across the Winner boy's face. "I am fine, Duo. Let's just get this started."

Duo smiled innocently and asked, "What? Well, you want the base or the dorms?"

Quatre seemed off for a moment then hissed, "The dorms are mine."

Duo smirked, "As you say, five minutes. See ya." And flitted off to take out the base.

Quatre let the shadows hide his features from the eyes of possible enemies. He made his way down the maze of corridors, heading towards the center of the structure, what ever didn't kill the cadets the explosion he could kill by hand.

He placed the bomb, and the shaking of the building and the rumble indicated Duo was already commencing with his... festivities. "Thanks Duo, shake them up before they die, this way they can see their deaths. I love this work." And stood up...

"Freeze!" a voice shouted from behind him. He heard the click of the gun aimed at him.

He slowly turned around. "Why, you're only a child... You should be in bed... " he mocked the cadet a few years his younger.

"Move and I shoot." The cadet repeated.

"Move? Like this?" and he shifted a bit.

"I said don't move." The boy repeated aiming at Quatre's heart.

"Well, I guess moving my hand would count as well... " And he opened his hand, releasing the timer on the bomb and as the boy shot, Quatre stood and let the flames surround him catching the soldier who shot at him in an inferno.

Quatre walked up slowly, "See what happened when I move. Maybe I should have listened to you- Shit!"

A bullet grazed his arm and he clutched it and flipped around with a snarl, "Well, well.. reinforcements... Little late boys... "

They trainees took aim, Quatre felt a twitch go through him and with a moment he shrieked and blackness exploded from his back, oozing out in streams and formed jet black wings, razor sharp edges with gleaming onyx talons ready for the strike.

The boys scampered back, trembling in fear as the wings flicked back to reveal the blonde boy they had aimed on a moment ago. "That hurt." Quatre hissed and with a movement faster than the eyes, Quatre leaped at the boys, catching them off guard and striking with his bare hands, that slowly became claws.

Flesh and bones tore around him. Screams of children surrounded him. Fires raged and a gleeful smile crossed his lips and soon became a giggle.

Turning around he noticed a few more boys struck still with fear at the sight they witnessed. Some daemon ripping their comrades to shreds. "Ohh... more children to play with... " Quatre gleefully returned to his work.

Duo finished quickly and faded into the shadows to instantly reappear at the 'meeting place' that was until he saw the inferno and a winged creature slowly killing the mass of the boys' dormitory slowly and skillfully.

"I see Quatre has awoken, wonderful." And with that he hoped off the fence he was standing on and slowly walked over to the massacre, humming a tune lightly for the mood.

"Quatre?" he asked, trying to catch the blonde's attention... and sighed. He waited patiently as Quatre slowly tortured the children of OZ. Offering some suggestions here and there, just for entertainment. Finally the inferno had turned to smoldering coals...

Duo meandered up to Quatre and wrung a arm around the blood drenched boy, "My, my the Semites will be in worship of you tonight. Bring out the first born and start the grill. An ancient barb-e-que with a modern twist, absolutely marvelous!!" And he clapped. <4>

Quatre turned burning turquoise eyes, blonde hair swaying in the flesh-stanched breeze, blood smeared across his face, dripping in chunks from his hands, and most importantly a vicious smile gracing his lips. He nodded to the braided boy, whose hair had tuned red and swayed in the cold golden light of the ashes.

"So the Devil of Death appears and rises again." Quatre seemed at thought for a moment then kneeled before Duo and addressed him, "Sammael, welcome back master... "<5>

Duo smirked, "Rise Moloch. I have been awake from the moment of my rebirth in some human's whom, and now the Canaanite god returns to the mortal world. Intriguing host, I must say... "

Quatre blinked and smiled as he rose, "One can not always pick, master."

Duo smiled and looked to the moon, "Soon we can start again and regain my chaotic rule."

Quatre nodded, "The others, master?"

Duo sighed, "Some have... diverged from me, and will be rectified as I see fit."

"Traitors, sir? Not any of us?" Quatre asked, slight worry about his human lover.

"Not him, I am sure he is one of us. Trowa I mean, you can still keep him." Duo replied with a casual wave of his hand.

"Apaosa, sir?" Quatre asked quietly, watching darkness and shadows shift around his master.

"He will be found. I know who he is, and though I thought he would have awoken first, he might need a shove to awaken." Duo replied the after a moment of silence looked up with a smirk, "But happier news, we must not mention this to the others. Fate has been kind and placed them with us, well, mostly with us. A few positions of change have taken place, but they are minor setbacks. As for my Apaosa... well, his awakening I await. Away." And as Duo finished he wrapped the shadows around them both, transporting them through the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wufei awoke with a start as a knock came from his door. He peered through half awake eyes and looked at the clock... four am. "Comin... " Wufei muttered, not really caring if he even said it in Japanese or not.

He struggled to the door, wrapped in his blankets, hair a mess, and definitely not awake. Opening it Duo smirked at him.

"What the fuck do you want." Wufei asked, not thrilled that Duo was waking him up at this hour.

"May I come in?" Duo asked.

Wufei looked at him, something seemed off, wrong... The air seemed dense and the shadows seemed alive. He opened the door wider letting the American pass.

"Thank you." Duo said and walked over to the bed, setting himself down. Oh his Wufei looked lovely in moonlight, only would, wine and water would improve the situation.

Wufei shut the door, "What is it Maxwell?" he asked shortly. He was pissed that Duo had awoken him.

Duo just smiled and ran fingers over the bedspread standing and taking in the room, a small statue caught his eye. A black horse. He crossed the room and crouched looking at it, "Fascination?"

"That's why you-" Wufei started.

"No. You have a fascination with black horses." Duo stated, cutting off Wufei's question.

Wufei blinked a few moments, "As a child I rode horses, I guess you could call it a memoir. That's all."

Duo nodded and turned back to the statue, "Beautiful creatures. Strong and swift. Rather suiting for you, ne?"

Wufei looked at Maxwell, and as their eyes crossed Wufei's mind flashed violent images of a warrior bringing famine and death. Sword at his side, scythe in hand, and riding a black horse. He shook his head to clear it. "Whatever, you say. Your purpose for coming, Maxwell?"

Duo walked into the moonlight cris-crossing the tiled floor.

"Duo... Why is you hair red... ?" And Wufei looked up and noticed his Duo was smirking quite evilly. He took this moment to follow his instincts and bolted for the door. It may have seemed foolish, but he didn't care.

Duo giggled and shadows ripped from the floor and latched onto the writhing boy, now quite naked and quite scared.

The shadows turned Wufei slowly as fear etched across his features as Duo closed in.

Duo ran his hand down Wufei's arm, stroking it softly, his voice just above whispers, eyes laden with sex and desire, "I wasn't sure, but seeing you like this my Vrita... it brings back my first night with you centuries ago... "

"Who... What in the name of hell are you... " Wufei whispered shuddering in fear and yet a desire to fall into this person who looked like Duo...

"Who and what in hell indeed!" Duo chuckled and wrapped a strong arm around the smaller boys waist drawing him close, lips brushing the other boys, "You use to call me master... But then again in this form of meeting I let you call me... "

"Sammael... " Wufei whispered memories slowly returning like the shadows at dusk.

"You remembered! Well starting to. Perhaps I need to prove my love again... Vrita, my little lover... " Duo whispered and drew the struggling boy against him, loving every gasp and struggle. It would be like their first meeting again, when he helped the fall of this Knight of Virtue. His lips began to catch the screams of his lover. Shadows releasing the boy to their master's arms...

notes:

<1> Veritas latere sub amorum de homoina...(truth <abstract> lies hidden under the affairs <sexual affairs> of my body/person ...)
<2> Masa'a AlKair is Arabic for Good Evening.
<3> na'am is Arabic for yes.
<4> madra beag is Gaelic for little dog.
<5> ta tu breag... you are a lie...
<6> go leor is gaelic for enough.
<7> cad e ta cearr? Ta me tabhair eisean an bas! Gaelic and it means what is the matter? I am giving him death!
<8> deirim stopim = I say to stop.
<9> hehe... remember? Conoidh tu ag an geatabealach an marbh see = you will dwell at the gateway of the dead.
<10> are you...?
<11> Bonum vespertinum, meus Regina de Ulster... Latin means ... Good Evening, my Queen of Ulster.
<12> "Good evening yourself, meua Persian daemonis de furoris..." Latin means: evening yourself, my Persian demon of madness.
<13> that is a secret... take a bow Xellos!