Hell Is For Children
"Hell is for Children"
By Pat Benatar
Transcribed by Rich Kulawiec
Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or this song, so don't sue me. I have no money and live in a fantasy world.
Okay...I think this is a really good fic. It's my first serious one, so you'd better enjoy it! Just kidding. Somehow, despite my favoritism for Wufei, Duo ended up being the main character in all this. Go figure. Well, enjoy the fic!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
/They cry in the dark, so you can't see their tears.
They hide in the light, so you can't see their fears. /
Roughly, the guards tossed Duo into the cell, causing him to hit his head on the hard wall. With a groan, he slumped to the floor. It hurt. God, it hurt. His ribs were fractured, and cuts and bruises littered his body from the battle.
OZ had managed to disable his gundam during an ambush that had been planned after he, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei had attacked an OZ base. Damn OZ! He'd send them all to Hell next chance he got! It wasn't fair!
"Duo?" came a tentative voice.
Duo caught a flash of blonde hair in the dark cell. "Quatre?" he gasped.
The Arabian pilot was at his side in a flash. "What happened?" he asked. "Where are Heero and the others?"
At the sound of Heero's name, Duo's throat seemed to close up, and tears began to sting his eyes as he remembered.
"Heero?"
"Hn."
"I...I love you."
Silence.
"Do you love me?"
"A soldier cannot love."
"But do you?"
"No."
Quatre frowned worriedly as he gazed at the American pilot. "Duo?" he asked gently.
Duo turned his face toward the wall and into the shadows as the first tear slid down his cheek.
"I'm fine, Quatre," he said with a cheerful voice...his mask. "Just lemme sleep it off."
Quatre gave a smiling nod before leaving Duo to his corner of the cell.
/Forgive and forget,
All the while...
Love and pain become one and the same,
In the eyes of a wounded child./
A sudden, sharp pain in his side.
"Get up, pretty boy!" a voice ordered. "Time to answer a few questions!"
Duo slowly got to his feet under the concerned gaze of Quatre, doing his best not to slump or show weakness. He gave Quatre a wry smirk before the soldier shoved him out the door.
/Because--hell, hell is for children!
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess.
Hell--hell is for children,
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh.../
"Where are the other gundam pilots?" the soldier growled.
Duo was handcuffed to a chair that was bolted firmly to the floor. The room was bright...too damn bright after the darkness of the prison cell, and Duo had to squint to see that two more armed soldiers guarded the door...the only way out.
No, not the only way, he reminded himself. There was still the tiny capsule sewn into the hem of his priest's jacket. A last release.
The soldier dealt him a backhanded blow across the face, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. Obviously, he hadn't answered fast enough to please the man.
"Let's try something a little simpler," sneered the soldier. "How about pilot 01? Where is he?"
No. Not Heero. Duo would never betray Heero. He'd eat that capsule first.
"He's near the Lake Victoria base," Duo lied. "He was planning on attacking it and I was supposed to back him up. Until you got in the way."
"You don't lie very well," the soldier said smugly.
A blow to the stomach knocked the air and confidence out of Duo, and he gasped for breath. Another fist slammed into his already fractured ribs, breaking two with a nauseating crack and a sharp stab of pain. Duo doubled over, wheezing and coughing up blood.
"Where is the pilot of gundam 01?!" roared the soldier.
Duo didn't answer. He couldn't betray Heero.
He braced himself as another blow was aimed toward his face.
/It's all so confusing, this brutal abusing…
They blacken your eyes, and then apologize…
"Be daddy's good girl, and don't tell mommy a thing…"
"Be a good little boy, and you'll get a new toy—tell grandma you fell off the swing./
Useless. Duo couldn't move…could just barely speak. His lip was cracked and swollen, the coppery taste of blood still fresh in his mouth. Bones were broken throughout his body, and the pain made it useless to even think of getting up from the damp, prison floor.
They had kept him there for hours, always asking the same question: "Where is the pilot of 01?" All track of time had been lost in the endless stream of pain, but he had won. OZ would never know where Heero was…his love. Never. His love who didn't love him.
Duo had nothing. Nothing at all to live for. Life was pain, right? Maybe that's what had made him become Shinigami…god of death. Well, he was sick of pain. The last comfort…last hope in his life had been Heero, and now even that had been taken from him. There was nothing for him.
Quatre had been watching over Duo for over an hour before he heard it, faint and strangled.
"Quatre…"
The blonde Arabian leapt to his feet, rushing to the American pilot's side.
"Duo!" he cried, relieved, though he was afraid to move his friend.
Duo's face was contorted with pain. One eye was black and swollen shut, and Quatre could see it even in the dark cell.
"What did they do to you?" he asked worriedly.
A low, harsh laugh escaped Duo's lips.
"Wanted…to know…where Heero is," he wheezed through damaged lungs. "Going…to ask again…later."
Quatre's eyes filled with tears to see his friend this way. "Quiet," he told Duo. "Just rest now."
"No…Quatre?" Duo gasped. "In the hem of my jacket…capsule…get it out for me."
Quatre's eyes widened to round, teary saucers. There was only one thing that could be in that capsule.
"No, Duo!" Quatre nearly yelled. "I won't! The others will come and rescue us soon! You'll see!"
A wry shade of Duo's old smirk passed his lips for only an instant.
"They'll…question me again…I won't…be able to…hold out long…I'll tell…which is more important…one pilot or four?"
"Duo…" Quatre murmured, tears flowing freely, but Duo was right. OZ couldn't get its hands on four more gundam pilots. The gentle pilot reluctantly did as he was told, searching for a bump in the hem of Duo's jacket and tearing it open when he found it. A small, white, gel capsule fell into his hand. Poison.
"Y-you're sure, Duo?" asked Quatre through his tears.
"Put it in my mouth," the braided pilot murmured. "I can't…do it myself. It'll…take a few minutes…to work."
Hesitantly, Quatre slid the white capsule between Duo's cracked lips and winced as he watched his comrade swallow it.
"Quatre?"
"Yes, Duo?"
"Take my cross…give it to Heero…tell him…I'm sorry." A tear fell silently from his eye to drip onto the cold floor.
Quatre nodded numbly and quietly slid the chain from around Duo's slender neck. It was heavy in his hands and even heavier as he slid it into the pocket of his khakis.
"Anything else?" Quatre asked gently.
Duo's usual, sarcastic smirk appeared on his face, though softer somehow.
"Yeah…See ya in hell, buddy."
/Because—hell, hell is for children!
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess. /
Quatre sat quietly in the corner next to Duo's cold body. His tears had long since dried up, and his eyes were red and puffy. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. It was a guess of hours or days.
Ka-BOOM!
An explosion rang out.
"We're under attack!"
"Where's the enemy?!"
"AAHHH!"
One more explosion, and the cell door fell from its hinges, clattering to the ground. Quatre didn't even look up as Heero peered into the gloom.
"Quatre, how's Duo?" he asked in his monotone. There was something wrong. Quatre wasn't moving…wasn't looking up. He should be running for the shuttles that Trowa, Wufei, and Sally Po were loading the captured gundams onto.
Duo was obviously hurt badly. His limbs stuck out at strange angles, and dried blood had collected about his mouth.
"Quatre?" he asked a little more sharply.
"He's gone, Heero," the Arabian pilot said, standing up. He took something out of his pocket and pressed it into Heero's hand.
"H-he wanted you to have this," he said, beginning to cry anew. "He said to tell you that he was sorry."
Heero looked at the small cross in his hand, remembering the white capsule Duo had told him about. The American's injuries weren't bad enough to kill him. He must have taken the capsule.
"Why?" he asked aloud.
"They were questioning him. About you. And he wouldn't tell them. He didn't think he could hold out long, so he had me give him the poison."
"Duo…" Heero whispered. He had wanted so much to tell him yes, that he felt the same way, but he hadn't wanted Duo to be hurt if Heero was killed. Heero was a soldier. First and foremost. He had hoped that when the war was over…
But now it was too late. Duo had died to protect Heero and the others. No one could ask more than that.
"Get to the shuttle," Heero ordered Quatre in a strained voice.
In a teary daze, Quatre bolted for the hangar.
Alone, Heero slowly turned the cross over in his hands, feeling the cool texture of the metal before fastening it around his neck. Heero's heart had been torn in two, but maybe he could, at least, keep part of his love with him.
Gently, he lifted Duo's limp, cold form into his arms, smoothing back the chestnut hair.
"Don't be sorry," he whispered. "We'll see each other again…in hell."
/Hell—hell is for children,
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh…/
"Hell is for Children"
By Pat Benatar
Transcribed by Rich Kulawiec
Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or this song, so don't sue me. I have no money and live in a fantasy world.
Okay...I think this is a really good fic. It's my first serious one, so you'd better enjoy it! Just kidding. Somehow, despite my favoritism for Wufei, Duo ended up being the main character in all this. Go figure. Well, enjoy the fic!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------
/They cry in the dark, so you can't see their tears.
They hide in the light, so you can't see their fears. /
Roughly, the guards tossed Duo into the cell, causing him to hit his head on the hard wall. With a groan, he slumped to the floor. It hurt. God, it hurt. His ribs were fractured, and cuts and bruises littered his body from the battle.
OZ had managed to disable his gundam during an ambush that had been planned after he, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei had attacked an OZ base. Damn OZ! He'd send them all to Hell next chance he got! It wasn't fair!
"Duo?" came a tentative voice.
Duo caught a flash of blonde hair in the dark cell. "Quatre?" he gasped.
The Arabian pilot was at his side in a flash. "What happened?" he asked. "Where are Heero and the others?"
At the sound of Heero's name, Duo's throat seemed to close up, and tears began to sting his eyes as he remembered.
"Heero?"
"Hn."
"I...I love you."
Silence.
"Do you love me?"
"A soldier cannot love."
"But do you?"
"No."
Quatre frowned worriedly as he gazed at the American pilot. "Duo?" he asked gently.
Duo turned his face toward the wall and into the shadows as the first tear slid down his cheek.
"I'm fine, Quatre," he said with a cheerful voice...his mask. "Just lemme sleep it off."
Quatre gave a smiling nod before leaving Duo to his corner of the cell.
/Forgive and forget,
All the while...
Love and pain become one and the same,
In the eyes of a wounded child./
A sudden, sharp pain in his side.
"Get up, pretty boy!" a voice ordered. "Time to answer a few questions!"
Duo slowly got to his feet under the concerned gaze of Quatre, doing his best not to slump or show weakness. He gave Quatre a wry smirk before the soldier shoved him out the door.
/Because--hell, hell is for children!
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess.
Hell--hell is for children,
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh.../
"Where are the other gundam pilots?" the soldier growled.
Duo was handcuffed to a chair that was bolted firmly to the floor. The room was bright...too damn bright after the darkness of the prison cell, and Duo had to squint to see that two more armed soldiers guarded the door...the only way out.
No, not the only way, he reminded himself. There was still the tiny capsule sewn into the hem of his priest's jacket. A last release.
The soldier dealt him a backhanded blow across the face, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. Obviously, he hadn't answered fast enough to please the man.
"Let's try something a little simpler," sneered the soldier. "How about pilot 01? Where is he?"
No. Not Heero. Duo would never betray Heero. He'd eat that capsule first.
"He's near the Lake Victoria base," Duo lied. "He was planning on attacking it and I was supposed to back him up. Until you got in the way."
"You don't lie very well," the soldier said smugly.
A blow to the stomach knocked the air and confidence out of Duo, and he gasped for breath. Another fist slammed into his already fractured ribs, breaking two with a nauseating crack and a sharp stab of pain. Duo doubled over, wheezing and coughing up blood.
"Where is the pilot of gundam 01?!" roared the soldier.
Duo didn't answer. He couldn't betray Heero.
He braced himself as another blow was aimed toward his face.
/It's all so confusing, this brutal abusing…
They blacken your eyes, and then apologize…
"Be daddy's good girl, and don't tell mommy a thing…"
"Be a good little boy, and you'll get a new toy—tell grandma you fell off the swing./
Useless. Duo couldn't move…could just barely speak. His lip was cracked and swollen, the coppery taste of blood still fresh in his mouth. Bones were broken throughout his body, and the pain made it useless to even think of getting up from the damp, prison floor.
They had kept him there for hours, always asking the same question: "Where is the pilot of 01?" All track of time had been lost in the endless stream of pain, but he had won. OZ would never know where Heero was…his love. Never. His love who didn't love him.
Duo had nothing. Nothing at all to live for. Life was pain, right? Maybe that's what had made him become Shinigami…god of death. Well, he was sick of pain. The last comfort…last hope in his life had been Heero, and now even that had been taken from him. There was nothing for him.
Quatre had been watching over Duo for over an hour before he heard it, faint and strangled.
"Quatre…"
The blonde Arabian leapt to his feet, rushing to the American pilot's side.
"Duo!" he cried, relieved, though he was afraid to move his friend.
Duo's face was contorted with pain. One eye was black and swollen shut, and Quatre could see it even in the dark cell.
"What did they do to you?" he asked worriedly.
A low, harsh laugh escaped Duo's lips.
"Wanted…to know…where Heero is," he wheezed through damaged lungs. "Going…to ask again…later."
Quatre's eyes filled with tears to see his friend this way. "Quiet," he told Duo. "Just rest now."
"No…Quatre?" Duo gasped. "In the hem of my jacket…capsule…get it out for me."
Quatre's eyes widened to round, teary saucers. There was only one thing that could be in that capsule.
"No, Duo!" Quatre nearly yelled. "I won't! The others will come and rescue us soon! You'll see!"
A wry shade of Duo's old smirk passed his lips for only an instant.
"They'll…question me again…I won't…be able to…hold out long…I'll tell…which is more important…one pilot or four?"
"Duo…" Quatre murmured, tears flowing freely, but Duo was right. OZ couldn't get its hands on four more gundam pilots. The gentle pilot reluctantly did as he was told, searching for a bump in the hem of Duo's jacket and tearing it open when he found it. A small, white, gel capsule fell into his hand. Poison.
"Y-you're sure, Duo?" asked Quatre through his tears.
"Put it in my mouth," the braided pilot murmured. "I can't…do it myself. It'll…take a few minutes…to work."
Hesitantly, Quatre slid the white capsule between Duo's cracked lips and winced as he watched his comrade swallow it.
"Quatre?"
"Yes, Duo?"
"Take my cross…give it to Heero…tell him…I'm sorry." A tear fell silently from his eye to drip onto the cold floor.
Quatre nodded numbly and quietly slid the chain from around Duo's slender neck. It was heavy in his hands and even heavier as he slid it into the pocket of his khakis.
"Anything else?" Quatre asked gently.
Duo's usual, sarcastic smirk appeared on his face, though softer somehow.
"Yeah…See ya in hell, buddy."
/Because—hell, hell is for children!
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess. /
Quatre sat quietly in the corner next to Duo's cold body. His tears had long since dried up, and his eyes were red and puffy. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. It was a guess of hours or days.
Ka-BOOM!
An explosion rang out.
"We're under attack!"
"Where's the enemy?!"
"AAHHH!"
One more explosion, and the cell door fell from its hinges, clattering to the ground. Quatre didn't even look up as Heero peered into the gloom.
"Quatre, how's Duo?" he asked in his monotone. There was something wrong. Quatre wasn't moving…wasn't looking up. He should be running for the shuttles that Trowa, Wufei, and Sally Po were loading the captured gundams onto.
Duo was obviously hurt badly. His limbs stuck out at strange angles, and dried blood had collected about his mouth.
"Quatre?" he asked a little more sharply.
"He's gone, Heero," the Arabian pilot said, standing up. He took something out of his pocket and pressed it into Heero's hand.
"H-he wanted you to have this," he said, beginning to cry anew. "He said to tell you that he was sorry."
Heero looked at the small cross in his hand, remembering the white capsule Duo had told him about. The American's injuries weren't bad enough to kill him. He must have taken the capsule.
"Why?" he asked aloud.
"They were questioning him. About you. And he wouldn't tell them. He didn't think he could hold out long, so he had me give him the poison."
"Duo…" Heero whispered. He had wanted so much to tell him yes, that he felt the same way, but he hadn't wanted Duo to be hurt if Heero was killed. Heero was a soldier. First and foremost. He had hoped that when the war was over…
But now it was too late. Duo had died to protect Heero and the others. No one could ask more than that.
"Get to the shuttle," Heero ordered Quatre in a strained voice.
In a teary daze, Quatre bolted for the hangar.
Alone, Heero slowly turned the cross over in his hands, feeling the cool texture of the metal before fastening it around his neck. Heero's heart had been torn in two, but maybe he could, at least, keep part of his love with him.
Gently, he lifted Duo's limp, cold form into his arms, smoothing back the chestnut hair.
"Don't be sorry," he whispered. "We'll see each other again…in hell."
/Hell—hell is for children,
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh…/