Author: Soku (stormwindktreva@aol.com)
Summary: After being tortured by Oz, Duo returns to the safe-house... blind. Now, Duo must learn how to use his wings once more so that Shinigami can fly and Heero must fight off respect and blooming love.
Rating: R.
Pairing: 1 x 2 (eventually)
Warning: This does contain some LEMON material in it.
Genre: Yaoi. Romance. AU. Hurt/Comfort. Supreme lack of Relena, Potty-Mouth Duo.
Spoilers: Not too bad. Limited knowledge of the series required.
Author's Note: Thank you to my betas Neptune, DuckinABucket, and IHaventGotOne.
Disclaimer: Not my characters.
Progress: In Progress: 8/?
It was starting to look a little flopping grim. I can admit it. I'm not like Quatre. I know when there's no fucking way you can make it out alive. Now was one of those. Unless I got the divine intervention of Spandex Boy or all the Oz suits short-circuited, I wasn't getting out alive.
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."
One Ozzie took the scythe and blew apart from the midsection. I smiled. The Leo pilot didn't. I could hear the sounds of Quatre's voice screaming into the communicator and then heard Wufei's plea for me to be strong. That was followed by Trowa's, "We're coming," and a "Hn," from space. Was it a worried, "Hn?" I sighed. Too many. I was fighting on too many fronts and I was alone.
I was going to die alone.
"Blessed are thee among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
I screamed as another suit smashed into my side and felt some hot chemical pour onto my hands. Then, it was replaced with anger. "Damage assessment Duo!" Wufei's voice barked out. I turned the communicator off. Why bother? I was outnumbered. A hundred to one.
"Holy Mary, Mother of God."
Who did they think they were messing with? I AM SHINIGAMI! I am fucking death! Who would toy with death? Then, there were those tears. Those stupid fucking things coursing down my cheeks in red marks. What were those? Why would Death cry?
"Pray for us sinners."
Solo... I'm coming. I took out another two with a strike and then I felt the striking blow that almost jarred me from my seat. Thank God for seatbelts. Deathscythe's arms were frozen. I couldn't swing. I was losing power. So, I crossed myself and then prepared for a last stand.
"Now and at the hour of our death..."
Solo I'm coming.
"In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen," I whispered and I crossed myself. I felt another hit jar my side and then watched as the back-up power kicked in and continued waiting. This was the death of a soldier. This was the death of Death.
Then, the intercomm beeped and I stared. In-coming. Not from a Gundam Pilot. I tentatively pressed the button. "Who is it?" I demanded, eyes blazing.
"Pilot 02, this is Captain Thomas Johnson. You are hereby placed under arrest by..."
I didn't bother listening to the rest of it. No one was going to fucking take Shinigami alive. I pressed the self-destruct button. There was no hesitancy like I thought there'd be. Just me and a little button. I winced.
Wait... I shouldn't have time to wince.
"Fuck," I yelled, turning an outgoing frequency to the other pilots. "Guys, I'm totally immobilized. Deathscythe's got near complete loss of power. I'm surrounded by Leo's and am being hooked up for transport. They appear to be waiting to pick me up. I tried self-destruct. Failure."
There was silence on the other end. Then, I heard what I'd hoped I wouldn't hear.
"Duo, do you have a gun?" came Heero's voice over the communicator.
"Roger," I said. "Tell... oh.. screw it. I have no one to tell."
Then, I lifted the gun to my temple. One bullet. That's all I have. For emergencies. These kinds of emergencies. Then, I began to pull myself together for touching that trigger. I stopped.
"The fighting grew very fierce around Saul," I whispered into the microphone. "... and the archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, 'Take your sword and run me through before these pagan Philistines come and humiliate me.' But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it, you see guys. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he killed himself as well. So Saul and his three sons died together, bringing his dynasty to an end. Then, when the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns..." The gun slowly lowered and my finger came off the trigger.
"Pilot 02, pull the trigger," came Heero's voice over the microphone. I took the bullet out of the gun and then tossed it away from me. Then, I laughed maniacally into the communicator. They were already loading my Gundam onto a larger ship and preparing to capture me.
"Shut your pie-hole Heero. I haven't finished my story. Well, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord's command and he even consulted a medium instead of asking for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned his lands over to other people who were more faithful. Do I deserve a quick death Heero? Should that be the consequences of my actions? Millions of deaths are my sins."
"Duo, FIRE THE GUN!" Heero yelled. I hadn't heard Heero that angry in a while. "Omae o korosu!"
"You're too far away to kill me. Now be quiet," I said continuing. "'Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of Life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of,'" I cried out.
"Duo," I could hear Quatre's pleading voice. "I... I don't know which way is better. I don't want you to die... but we... we... can't save you if you..."
"'Life is a gift from God, and that each individual is a steward. Thus, only God can start a life and only God should be allowed to end one. An individual who commits suicide is commutting a sin... I condemn all suicide because it violates one's natural desire to live, harms other people and life is a gift from God, only to be taken by God,'" I intoned. "Thomas Aquinas said that around 1225-1274. Smart dude. 'm sorry Heero. I can't do it. And, Shinigami won't do it."
"You are braver than I, Duo Maxwell," came Wufei's voice. "However... what is about to happen to you... cannot be justified. I..."
And that was when the hatch opened and all communication stopped.