The Blood of Peace
Third Movement, the Fourteenth Part: Idea of a Melody
Quatre staggered from the immense amount of pain that radiated through his heart and mind. He pitched forward slightly and had Trowa not been there, he might have been skewered by the enemy soldier. As soon as he had dispatched of the danger, Trowa gently touched Quatre's shoulder and gave him a look of concern. Quatre managed to sputter out a sentence as he gasped for air.
"WuFei is hurting."
Then more soldiers came and Trowa was once again engaged in battle. Quatre staggered away from Trowa, knowing that in his condition he would only hinder him. He stumbled through the battlefield not seeing the men or the deaths. All he could feel was the pain in his heart, a pain so sharp that it disabled his motor coordination. Clutching his heart, Quatre lurched like a drunken man, not knowing where he was headed. Finally, Quatre regained control of his feelings and felt the tears flow from his eyes. Something terrible had happened to WuFei. So terrible that his soul was emanating pain throughout the entire continent. He had to go find WuFei. Gripping Sandrock tighter, Quatre looked around. He could not see where Trowa was; he had wandered too far from his lover, but at the moment that was not his main concern. He had to find WuFei, try to help his brother. His eyes then focused on a pair of boots standing before him. They were brown and knee high. They belonged on no man.
"Quatre Winner. We meet again."
A cold and lightly amused feminine voice called to him. Quatre looked up and found himself staring into the glacial blue eyes of Dorothy Catalonia. She was standing with her feet slightly apart, holding her sword in an expert grip. As he watched, she tapped her sword steadily onto her leather clad thigh. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Dorothy. What are you doing here?"
She laughed delightedly before obliging him with an answer.
"My dear Quatre, I'm doing the same thing you are! Fighting for the glory of peace. Fighting for the leader I believe in. You fight for Heero and peace. I am here to represent Relena and her ideals. Also, I'm here to challenge you."
Utterly dumbfounded, Quatre could only stare. Why would she challenge him?
"I see that you're a bit confused, my dear Quatre. How about if I told you we are destined to fight each other? The destiny of war demands that we fight. Just as Heero and Zechs are destined; and just as Treize and WuFei. Do you see why?"
"There is no destiny in war. We don't have to fight. We're not enemies."
Dorothy shook her head at Quatre's ignorance. An empath who could not understand destiny was not of any use to her. He had to understand, or all this would be for nothing. Without any warning, Dorothy lunged at Quatre with her sword. Quatre just barely dodged the unexpected strike and got into position.
"What are you doing, Dorothy? Relena doesn't believe in war!"
"Foolish boy!" Dorothy yelled as she launched into a complicated series of sword play, "Relena does believe in peace! That's why I'm here. So that she won't have to suffer! I will feel the pain for her. I will be her scapegoat. She's too pure for this place!"
Quatre desperately parried her blade as he tried to understand what she was saying. Dorothy was here to take part in the war in place of Relena, to serve her queen. But why did the two of them have to fight in a duel?
"Dorothy, I understand you, but why must you fight me?"
"I must fight the most pure hearted to fully comprehend the ugliness of war. You, my dear Quatre, are my pure heart. I must destroy you to learn. Don't you get it? Only by becoming the monster itself can one finally understand the nature of angels. My angel, won't you die for me?"
Quatre fought against Dorothy without fully engaging his spirit. He could not bring himself to harm Dorothy. She believed that what she was doing was for Relena's sake, the one person that she would do anything to protect. He could not kill someone with a pure heart like that.
"Dorothy, I'm not the pure one. It's you. You love peace more than anyone I've ever met. Don't do this! Don't do this to yourself!"
Desperation made his voice edgy and rough. He could not continue parrying much longer for she was too good a swordsman. She had to stop. But she ignored him and kept coming at him with her sword. With each thrust, she yelled at him.
"Quatre Winner, die for the greater cause! Die in the name of peace! Teach me the ugliness of war! Be my angel! Let me understand!"
Quatre felt his arms become like jelly from the constant parrying. He had yet to launch an attack of his own and he would not do so; he could not bring himself to attack her. She believed in her cause and queen so deeply that she would become their antithesis. Words of his father from so long ago wafted through his mind. No one can understand the nature of something without knowing the nature of its polar opposite. To only know one side of the coin was to ignore half of what was its whole being. Dorothy did not want Relena to suffer because of the war, so she would learn about this ugliness to spare her. It was something only the pure hearted could do. It was a tremendous sacrifice.
"What are you doing, my dear Quatre? Fight with me. Show me. Learn with me."
Dorothy did not lessen her efforts to kill him. Quatre felt himself tire more and more until there was a sharp pain in his shoulder. He turned his head to see Dorothy's slim sword in his right shoulder before she whipped it back. The pain was enormous. Quatre fell to his knees, supporting himself by planting his Sandrock into the ground. Gripping the handle like his life depended on it, Quatre looked up at Dorothy. Her eyes were filled with compassion, but the determination to kill him overwhelmed it. Quatre had only one thought.
'The last thing I will see before I die will be her eyes. Her blue, blue eyes.'
Quatre saw Dorothy raise her sword to strike off his head. Motion slowed as he saw the sword descend towards him. Quatre mouthed the most precious word in the world to him as his death approached.
"Trowa."
Closing his aqua eyes, Quatre accepted his fate. He knelt on the ground waiting for the strike that never came. Then he heard a voice.
"You don't have to debase yourself for the cause. I know how you feel. I once did what you are doing now. I gave up my soul for duty. Believe me, it is not worth it."
The gentle, flowing voice belonged to Trowa. Startled, Quatre opened his eyes and saw Trowa standing over Dorothy who was sitting on the ground without her sword. Heavyarms glinted like fire in Trowa's hands and Dorothy looked at them with fascination. They were so beautiful, those weapons of mass destruction. So beautiful.
"Go back to your queen, Dorothy Catalonia of Sanque. Go back to your duty. Go back to the one you love."
Dorothy jerked her head up to see this strange boy, Trowa, turn his back to her to pick up Quatre from the ground. Supporting the injured blond empath, Trowa once again turned his head to a stunned Dorothy who had yet to recover and stand.
"Go back to the one you love, Dorothy. She is not a child. She must learn for herself. You can't protect her forever. Go back to her and support her. Fulfil your greatest duty."
Trowa then walked off with Quatre leaning onto him. Dorothy sat in the midst of the battle and felt tears form in her eyes for the first time. Had she believed wrongly the entire time? Was she protecting Relena from something she needed to know?
"Thank you Trowa. I will go back to my queen. I will return to the one I love, just as you did."
Slowly, Dorothy stood and picked up her sword. Then she started her walk towards the Oz camp where Relena would be. She would tell her everything. She would beg for forgiveness. She would wish for love.
Heero and Duo watched WuFei carry his forever-silent wife away from the battlefield. The soon to set sun covered WuFei and Meiran in an orange glow as they disappeared down the crest of the hill. Solemnly, Heero and Duo raised their weapons into the sky in salute; they would honor Meiran as a warrior. Duo looked around. They seemed to be alone in this particular part of the field.
"Heero, I think WuFei should not fight anymore. He might try to follow Meiran."
Nodding, Heero silently agreed. In his current state, WuFei might become suicidal. They would have to somehow send word to Sally Po and ask her to keep him under keen observation. Then Heero saw something glinting silver off in the horizon. Silver. Narrowing his eyes, Heero concentrated on the silver in the distance. Soon, it materialized into a man with a silver mask and lengthy platinum blond hair. It was him. It was Zechs Marquise.
"I have to go, Duo. You will be okay by yourself."
Snorting, Duo rolled his eyes.
"Of course I'll be okay. I'm not a kid, you know? Where you going?"
With a voice that lacked emotion, Heero replied.
"Zechs. He's waiting for me."
Duo then saw the silver masked man making his way towards them. The bloody red sword Epyon glinted maliciously in the setting sun while Heero's pure white blade reflected a gentler color.
"Damn it, Heero, he had you shot with a crossbow last time. I'm not leaving your side."
Shaking his head, Heero turned to Duo. His eyes shone with love and other emotions, but his voice was still dead.
"Zechs was not responsible for that. He and I need to finish this. Duo, let me go. I promise I will see you again."
"You're damn right you'll see me again. If you get yourself killed, I WILL follow you to hell and fucking kill you, do you understand me?"
Duo felt his hands shake from the sheer emotional strain. If anything happened to Heero, then.. then.. It wasn't even worth a thought.
"I know, Duo. I will return to you. I love you."
Duo enveloped Heero in a fierce hug. He whispered gentle words into Heero's ear, knowing that he could not stop his lover from going up against Zechs. But he would not go into that duel without knowing that he loved him. Letting go of Heero, Duo shoved him lightly towards the approaching figure of Zechs Marquise.
"Go on and fight, Heero. I'll be waiting for you. Return to me."
"I will."
Then Heero walked away from Duo. Duo watched Heero's form as it became smaller in the distance.
"Return to me, Heero."
Sighing, Duo turned and went to look for a fight. He had to keep himself occupied, or else he would drive his already fractured mind into complete insanity. Baring his teeth and exposing Deathscythe, Duo let out a psychotic laugh as he plunged head first into the thick of battle once more.
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