Title: The Forsaken
Author: Link Worshiper
Pairings: 1=2, 3=4, maybe some others if I feel like it
Rating: PG-13
Stuff: Fantasy AU, fluff, sap, language, adventure, squick?, WoW nerdiness
Disclaimer: I own Gundam Wing action figures? Warcraft and its lore belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. Both things are being played with out of fangirl love.

Thanks to danse and Natea for the once over. Despite the fact this is part of Natea's birthday present, I still needed her to fill me in on the Alliance history they don't teach us on Horde, so thanks for that also =P

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Part II
Strange Bargains

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Elsewhere in the forest, a lone blood elf hunter by the name of Trowa Sunbender was creeping between the trees, a bow slung over one shoulder and a quiver at his hip. His traveling companion, a huge lion he called Heavypaw, padded silently alongside him. They were patrolling the area half out of duty, half in search of dinner, though so far, both things had proven fruitless. There had been a report in Undercity that there were Allies lurking in Silverpine, and as one of the best trackers found in Eversong, Trowa had been the one dispatched to see to the search and disposal of the pests. However, the scent of some strong magics lingering in the air was teasing at his senses and heavily distracting him from his mission. Inevitably, he found himself more drawn to the source of the magic than his task, though the deviation was something that might almost be expected of the magic-starved Sin'dorei.

Before long, Trowa and Heavypaw came across a ruined encampment in a small clearing of the wood. The fire that had decimated it still burned low, but when Trowa stooped to inspect it more closely, it didn't take him long to discern that the source of the destruction was more than just a simple campfire gone awry. With his keen senses and his taste for the arcane, it was easy for him to tell that what had happened here had been caused by some sort of dark magic. It stank of the kind of malice that he associated with the Burning Legion, he noted with a wrinkle of his nose. He wondered if that meant that it hadn't been Alliance intruders in Silverpine, but rather a band of Burning Legion loyalists wandering about instead. Idly running his hand through Heavypaw's mane, Trowa couldn't decide which one left a worse taste in his mouth.

Still, Trowa knew that the source of this unnatural fire was no longer in that encampment, and on the pretense of following through on his mission, he continued into the wood in hopes of finding the source. In actuality, he was hoping he'd be able to drink of whatever power he would find at the end of his hunt; it had been a long time since he had last fed on a magic that truly quelled his constant lust for it. The smell of the fire's magic had left a trail through the trees, which Trowa stalked with the ferocity of a starved man left to die in the desert.

When the magic's presence became its strongest, Trowa had to support himself on a nearby tree as a dizzy spell overtook him. From where he stood, he scouted the area, and it didn't take him long to catch sight of the one that was probably carrying whatever was driving his magic lust wild. He was relieved to note that it was a human Ally, who not only appeared to be unarmed, but also alone. He was thankful for that, since he wasn't sure he was in quite the condition to fend off an entire raiding party. With a nod at Heavypaw, he armed his bow and took aim at the unwary Ally, who was sitting atop a large boulder with his back towards the place where Trowa hid. As Heavypaw stalked towards the Ally, Trowa took aim and let his first arrow fly.

Despite the fall of red hair that swept over one of his eyes, his aim was true, and the unsuspected Ally roared in shock when he suddenly found Trowa's arrow buried in the back of his shoulder. At that moment, Heavypaw leapt from the underbrush and tackled the Ally from behind, pinning him to the ground as Trowa came stumbling out of hiding. He fell into a crouch next to the Ally, gripping the arrow and staring down at his captive with desperate craving. "Where is it," he gasped, now certain that the magical item was somewhere on this Ally's person. "Give it to me, and I might let you live."

"Give what?" the Ally growled angrily, not at all phased by the fact that he had a deep wound in his back and giant lion pinning him to the ground. His cheek was pressed against the dirt, but his eyes were still blue and sharp with ferocity.

"The magic - you have it, I know it!" Trowa snapped with equal impatience. He pushed down on the arrow in hopes of causing the human more pain. "An idiot human has no need for such things. Deliver it to me immediately!"

The Ally grit his teeth at the pain caused by the arrow, but he didn't relent as easily as Trowa had hoped. "I'm not so stupid that I don't know about the sick addiction you blood elves have," he spat uncordially. "I have heard that most of your kind falls to insanity in your quest for such fel magics."

The comment greatly angered Trowa, and it made him want to rip the arrow out of the Ally's back and drive it right between his eyes. "Don't speak of things you know naught of. You could never understand what kinds of trials my people face on a daily basis," Trowa said flatly, barely resisting the urge to follow through on that whim. Forcing himself to calm down, he said, "If you won't give whatever it is you carry of your own will, then I will take you prisoner and have my allies beat it out of you."

Already rummaging through his pack for a thong with which to bind his captive's hands, Trowa was imagining that the magic item would be his reward for bringing an Ally hostage to Undercity alive. Once he had tied the Ally's hands viciously behind his back, he nodded to Heavypaw, who backed off hesitantly. Trowa forced the Ally to his feet, keeping control over his prisoner with a nocked arrow at his back. "Walk," he commanded, pressing the tip of the arrow into the Ally's back and causing him to stumble forward a few steps. With a grunt, the captive grudgingly complied.

Being all the way back in Tirisfall, Undercity was a bit too far to guide a prisoner like this, Trowa decided, so he elected to bring the Ally to the Sepulcher, which was the nearest friendly town to where they were. Besides, he had a comrade there who would know what to do about this better than anyone, he reasoned as they continued on their way through the haunted trees. Trowa grinned at the thought of introducing this Ally to him, for his ruthlessness was famous amongst both the Forsaken and the Sin'dorei, and Trowa was honoured to consider him a close friend.

When the odd trio finally reached the edge of the Sepulcher, a few of the undead guards who had managed to survive the earlier onslaught on the town came running to Trowa to help secure the Ally captive. Most of them seemed to recognize him as the one who had just killed a good number of their friends, and they were shameless in their uncouth taunting now that the killer had been put in his proper place. Trowa was oblivious to all of this undercurrent, however, and he was quick to call for the company of the friend he had come to see. "Summon Duo Blackscythe," he demanded of the nearest Forsaken.

Moments later, the group had brought the Ally to the village inn and lashed him hand and foot to one of the chairs inside the derelict building. A few of the Forsaken guards remained to help Trowa keep an eye on the captive while they waited for Duo Blackscythe to receive the message that he had come to call. But when an all-to-familiar warlock stepped through the front door of the inn, Trowa was hardly able to greet his friend properly, for the Ally let out an unexpected hiss of anger at the mere sight of him. Trowa glared over his shoulder at the prisoner, just short of telling him to be quiet, but Duo's reaction to the sight of the Ally was probably just as strange. "You!" the warlock cried, striding right by Trowa and up to the captive with blazing eyes. "I thought I told you I would kill you if I found you in these parts again!"

"Take your chance, then," the Ally spat with a familiarity that confused Trowa greatly. He hung back with Heavypaw and observed, electing potential entertainment over his need for that magical item, which he was certain would come to him as an eventuality.

"Trowa, where did you find this filth?" Duo asked of the blood elf, his brow crinkled unhappily. He turned back to glare at the Ally prisoner, grumbling mostly to himself, "This is what I deserve for showing such a wretch forgiveness. Let it be a lesson."

"You showed forgiveness? To an Ally?" Trowa commented incredulously. He was now sitting on the nearby dining table, idly feeding Heavypaw scraps out of his supply pack. "When, and why hasn't the world stopped?"

"Shut up," Duo snapped, crossing his skeletal arm over his fleshy one as he continued to glare down at the Ally, who continued to glare right back. There was a pause, and then Duo said, "You know, getting caught twice in one day, you're probably the worst rogue in all of Azeroth."

At this, Trowa burst into laughter, careless of what the other two thought. Blood elves tended to do as they pleased, and most people didn't intervene with them - much. Scratching behind one of Heavypaw's ears, he turned towards Duo and the Ally and finally said, "He was asking for it. He has something that stinks of high magic, and I want it."

"Does he now?" Duo mused, still eying the Ally incredulously, though it was clear he was now even more intrigued than before. "I wonder why I didn't notice it the first time?" There was a certain tone in his voice that suggested that he already knew the answer to such a rhetorical question, but no one raised any comments about it. Instead, he flicked both his hands, shuffling his huge, indigo sleeves back down over his palms and asked, "You, human: where do you hail from? Stormwind? Theramore? Southshore, perhaps?"

"Why should I tell you?" the Ally sneered, obviously looking to rile his enemies up.

Duo's skeletal hand suddenly snapped forward, clawing a handful of the Ally's jerkin and impatiently yanking him as close to his face as the bonds would allow: "Because if you don't, I won't hesitate to let the elf tear you limb from limb in search of whatever trinket you happened to slither across," he threatened icily, his empty, yellowed eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't cross me again, human. You are under my control now."

The Ally frowned, obviously calculating that this wasn't the fight to pursue. Grudgingly, he muttered, "Dalar - ...Stormwind."

Duo arched his eyebrows at the slipup, but chose not to press the matter. Instead, he asked another question, his tone rather idle: "And your name?"

"Heero Yuy," the Ally mumbled almost too grumpily to be heard properly.

Stroking his chin, Duo looked rather thoughtful for a moment. Heero shuffled in his bonds and Trowa continued to wait impatiently, his finger drumming incessantly against the table he was perched upon. Each beat of his fingertips against the wood counted another second of the otherwise barren silence until, at long last, Duo spoke. "Very well, then. Heero Yuy, is it? Will you now confess what you have been lurking in Silverpine for?" he asked, eying him carefully before his tone took another sharp change in tone. "Because I'm no fool: there is no way a haphazard rogue that has been aimlessly wandering would be able to singlehandedly sweep through one of our rests. You are not without great skill and likely in the close service of that worm, Milliardo. Am I correct?" His voice was drenched in honeyed sarcasm at the mention of Stormwind's ruler.

Heero snorted tritely: "You seem to know the answer well enough without consulting me, warlock."

Duo smirked at his captive as he pulled one of the extra chairs away from the table and sat down upon it, leaning heavily on the elbow he bent over his knee. "And nary, I am aware of it. You are far too suspicious," the warlock grinned, knowing he had Heero pinned. "What is it you would ask of me?"

At this, Heero found a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, impressed that he had been so easily found out. Allowing the blood elf to capture him had been the surest way he would be brought to a place that might find him audience with this Duo Blackscythe. Between his conversation with Quatre earlier and all the events that had transpired that day, Heero had been fairly certain he would be able to convince Duo in particular to teach him about the sigil. So, to answer Duo's question, he replied tartly, "I am in need of someone well versed in the arcane. I am willing to overlook faction loyalties in order to barter such services from you, warlock."

At this, Duo's face lit up in the way a person's might when introduced to a new and amusing game. "Intriguing," said Duo, stroking his chin again before brushing his thumb over his lips and chomping down on the tip of it. "Tell me what you require, and I shall name you your price."

Heero's heart was thumping in anticipation, extremely overwhelmed by his good luck. But then he glanced over at the table, where he found Trowa staring back at him like he was the wrapping covering a delicious treat. Jerking his head in Trowa's direction, he quickly said, "Make the blood elf scarce, and we will discuss it. My business is not with him."

Duo frowned but was still complacent of Heero's terms. He turned to Trowa and gave him a dismissive nod of his head, which sent the blood elf moodily towards the door, his pet lion not far behind. "I assume whatever it is you need me for has to do with the thing Trowa smelt on you," Duo surmised as the door closed behind the hunter.

Privately, Heero was impressed by how quickly Duo seemed to latch onto ideas that might have otherwise drifted beyond the average person's head. However, he confessed none of that to Duo and instead cut straight to business. "Yes," he said, "and I would it that you will honour whatever deal we strike up by keeping him far away from it."

"I will make no promises on his behalf," Duo said with frank sincerity, though the way his wide, yellowed eyes were flickering suggested that he was eager to hear what Heero had to say about his magical dilemma. "Now speak."

So Heero took a deep breath and began to tell Duo about the quest his king had sent him on, careful to edit out the details that might compromise any of Stormwind's future tactics against the Horde. "I will assume you are aware of a runed sigil that was divided amongst the five tribes of the Horde," Heero began, all the while being sure to meet Duo's eyes straight on so that it was clear he did not fear him.

By the way Duo's eyes narrowed at the mention of such a thing, it was clear that he was all too familiar with the item that Heero spoke of. With his bony fist clenched and a frown creasing his rotten face, Duo interjected tightly, "The Warchief Thrall saw that the Epyon Sigil was destroyed so that its demonic magics would not rend Azeroth asunder. It would figure that Milliardo Wrynn would orchestrate a scheme to bind a power he knows nothing of." There was a pause as Duo took a moment to think, idly pulling at his tattered braid of hair as he did so. "Tell me, did you see the demon?"

"It killed my comrades and then vanished into the night," said Heero, unsure of what this could mean.

Duo let out a raspy sigh of relief, almost seeming to wilt in his chair at the thought of what other things Heero might have said concerning it. "Then it has not yet found a master, thankfully," he said, pulling at his braid with both hands now. "This means we still have time to destroy the sigil and banish it."

"What am I to do?" asked Heero.

"In a moment," Duo said, suddenly switching gears and waving his hand dismissively at Heero. "Now that I know what your problem is, I will demand my required price of you. If you are able to deliver me the item I seek, then I will tell you how to undo the disaster you have wrought." He added with a note of what might have been teasing playfulness, "And perhaps, if you are fortunate, I will help you."

Heero simply stared back, waiting for Duo to tell him what he wanted. At this point, he was willing to do just about anything to remedy this situation, for if what Duo said was true, then many more people than just his tiny guild would potentially die at the hands of the sigil's demon.

"It is fitting you hail from Stormwind," Duo went on at length. "I am told that deep within Stormwind Keep, there is a vial of a certain elixir that can remedy even the curse of death. I want that elixir, Heero Yuy. I want to be freed of this decayed flesh so that I might live amongst men once more."

"I will bring it to you," said Heero stoutly, even though he had no idea if such a thing truly existed within Stormwind's vaults. "Give me but a fortnight and I will return to you with the elixir."

At this, Duo let out a throaty laugh that wheezed in his throat. "You must think I'm completely stupid to let you travel all the way to Elwynn by yourself," he said, leaning forward in his chair so he could leer deridingly at Heero. "I do not care what you say about honour: I still would never trust an Ally to come back, and I most certainly do not trust you."

"I cannot say I trust you either," Heero rejoined with equal acidity. "But I still need you for your knowledge of this demon, so I will steal it for you - for the good of Azeroth, I will."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Your nobility makes me retch, human," he bemoaned. He stood up and lurched towards the window, peering through the cracked pane as if he were worried someone might have been watching them and then hastily drew the tattered curtain over it. Turning around to face Heero once more, he said in a low whisper, "But we can leave immediately, if you so wish. I can move you easily through Horde territory if only you pretend to be under my control."

Heero straightened up as best as he could while lashed to the chair, a look of pride riddling his expression. "I will do no such thing," he spat contemptuously with clear offense.

Duo was upon Heero so quickly, it was as if he had used some kind of magic to transport himself from one end of the room to the other. Slamming his hands down on the arms of the chair, Duo shoved his face up close to Heero's, growling, "Then we shall leave when you are killed and made Forsaken yourself."

Heero stared back at Duo belligerently, locking his gaze with the empty eye sockets that glowed with the magics that kept Duo's soul bound to his animated corpse. He had never been afraid of the undead, but there was something truly intimidating about Duo's presence - a mischievous unpredictability that put Heero on edge.

Just then, as the intensity of their stare down was starting to climax and Heero was wavering on giving in to Duo's demand, a strange look crossed Duo's face, almost like he might gag. He pulled back and lifted a hand to the side of his face, just beneath the fleshy hole in his cheek, from which a cockroach crawled out and skittered across his bony knuckles. Heero watched, horrified, as Duo carried the roach up to eyelevel and teased its antennae with the fingers of his other hand. "That is revolting," he grimaced as Duo continued to coo affectionately at the insect.

Duo glanced back at Heero with an arched eyebrow. As if he were insulted, he said, "You mean you don't want to pet my cock-?"

"Certainly not!" Heero interjected, definitely insulted now.

"...roach?" Duo finished, holding his hand out towards Heero as the insect ran in circles atop his palm. There was a definite smirk on his face, though, and it was in that expression that distinguished Duo as someone that Heero would have to tread carefully around. The dangerous smirk was gone almost instantaneously, however, quickly replaced with a frown of feigned upset: "You've insulted poor Asahi," he said, pushing the roach closer to Heero's face, clearly reveling in the way Heero was straining to stay as far away from the cockroach as his bonds would allow. "That simply will not do."

"You are intentionally inflicting this torture upon me," Heero accused with a glare that was blue and sharp.

"And you are being intentionally confrontational," Duo said casually as he allowed Asahi the roach a bridge from his hand to his shoulder. "I do not have to help you, you realize."

Cornered in more ways than one, Heero fell silent and hung his head, glowering angrily at the worn floorboards beneath his boots. More than anything, he hated the thought of having to sacrifice his pride, but he knew that if he was going to court this warlock's help, he would have to compromise himself, even if it meant having to become the his plaything. He growled under his breath, ruing the very thought of it, and at long last, looked up and said, "Very well; I will see to your terms. But I will warn you not to abuse such an arrangement, or I will be quick to forget our treaty."

Duo merely shrugged at the threat and replied, "It is you who suffers then, not me." With a click of his flesh-fattened fingers, the thongs that had kept Heero lashed to the chair fell to the floor. "Well, then, we'll be on our way to Undercity to prepare for this task of ours," he said, turning his back on Heero, already striding towards the door. "Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and follow me."

Hesitantly, Heero trod after the warlock, through the inn and back outside, where Trowa was loitering against an old mailbox. His posture suggested that he was indifferent to their presence, but that was hardly enough to fool either Heero or Duo. Heero took extra care to make his face look as blank as possible, figuring that if he could trick Trowa into thinking he was under Duo's control, then it would be suitable for slipping by other members of the Horde. He half listened as Duo briefly explained what was happening, though he did notice that the details regarding their deal were conveniently edited out of the version Duo told the blood elf. It was then that Heero finally paused to think if Duo had any ulterior motives of his own: the Forsaken warlock seemed to have agreed to this little romp almost too easily.

Meanwhile, Trowa seemed a little riled for no reason. It seemed that was just the sort of individual he was. "If he's your mind slave, then why haven't you ordered him to give me that magical thing yet?" Trowa demanded to know, obviously focused on only one thing.

"Because it's bound to him," Duo wrote off easily, though the answer wasn't entirely a lie. "However, part of the reason I am escorting him to Stormwind so he can infiltrate and steal me something that will separate it from him." His explanations continued to remain completely true while still telling Trowa absolutely nothing about the real nature of things.

"Is that what business he had with you?" Trowa asked, still not entirely convinced.

Duo shrugged, idly offering his pet roach a finger to climb onto. "He said he wanted to be rid of the magic's curse," Duo said as Asahi scuttled down the length of his finger and up his forearm. "He never specified how I should go about it."

Trowa smirked, clearly approving of this. "Enjoy hell," he said in a way that was meant to be complimentary.

"I already am," Duo rejoined with similar amusement. Again, he lifted a hand and snapped his fingers, though this time, he summoned no magic to his side, but instead, only Heero. "Come on, then, slave," he said in a way that clearly denoted how much he was enjoying this ruse; "We have much to attend to before our journey."

They had barely gotten to the edge of town, Duo leading the way and Heero following closely behind, when they realized that Trowa and Heavypaw were still attached to their heels. Duo held up a hand to indicate that they were stopping and turned around, crossing his arms as he looked Trowa up and down with trepidation. "Do you have nothing better to do for Silvermoon City than to follow us?"

Trowa's mail jerkin rattled as he reslung his bow over his other shoulder and scoffed, "You are my friend, and I know you well, Duo Blackscythe. Do you think I'm stupid enough to allow you to take that magic all the way to Elwynn without me? You would have it for yourself in an instant if I wasn't there to supervise!" He tucked a loose strand of red hair back into place and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he added, "You made me a promise, and I will see it through."

At this, Duo simply laughed uproariously in Trowa's face, an unsettling cackle. "Then don't fall behind, elf," Duo said, turning on his heel and beckoning for Heero to follow him once more. "I'm not backtracking only to pick up your corpse."

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