Author's Note: Wow! My fastest update ever! So, how have things changed between Heero and Duo? Keep reading to find out! Also, at this time I would like to remind you all that my story is rated M for a reason. And part of that reason starts here. Wow, you're still reading. I thought you would have started scrolling down like mad by now...
"Fractured Souls"
(¯·.¸.•´¯•.¸ The Tree of the Dead.•´¯•. ,.:¯)
"I know you don't care about yourself, but please, Heero, for the love of God, think about Duo." Quatre's eyes shifted nervously to Duo, who looked as if he had just narrowly missed getting shot in the head with a bullet.
"You think I believe you, do you?" Heero said in a bored voice.
"You think I'm lying at a time like this?!" Quatre yelled angrily, sounding more insulted than anything.
Heero's voice was low and harsh. "I know you're lying. You and I both know there's only one way to see if two people are soulmates - and neither you nor I can do it. It would seemed that you're just saying what you feel you have to to stop Duo from coming with me. You'd do well to worry less about Duo and more about yourself."
Quatre looked anxiously over at Trowa, his eyes pleading for some kind of help, but Trowa wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Duo instead. The clan leader felt like a lawyer being demanded to present key evidence to a jury, when he had none. He didn't like revealing why he could feel other's emotions. In fact, there were only one person outside his sisters that knew the truth: Trowa. And he wasn't about to add these two to the list, at least not if he could help it.
Heero turned towards Duo and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go."
"Heero you can't!" Quatre repeated more desperately. "You must listen to me. He is your soulmate! How I know this isn't important. The important thing is what happens next. If you go through with this tomorrow, you know good and well what will happen to his soul." Quatre snapped around and looked at Duo, who was still standing there quietly with the same look of contained shock on his face, his eyes somewhat unfocused, staring at Heero. "I've told you what he's done. Do you understand what's going to happen to you if you let him go?"
The question hung dead in the air as both Duo and Heero turned to look at Quatre in equal states of confusion. Duo opened his mouth to speak, but Heero beat him to the punch. "Nevermind that," Heero said quickly, "Tell me, Quatre. Just what is it you think will happen to him tomorrow?"
Quatre expression remained unfaltered. He looked more serious than Duo had ever seen before. All the times Quatre had yelled at him after he did something wrong paled in comparison to this. "I know what you've done. You've sold your soul."
"You think I sold my soul?" Heero said with a slight mockery to the words. "That's what this is all about?" Heero expression darken as he looked upon Quatre, frowning hatefully. "How dumb do you think I am?"
Duo could see the color rising in Quatre's cheeks. "But I thought-"
"What?" Heero demanded, "You thought I would sell my soul just to view his? And what if he's not the one we're all looking for? I would just be out my soul with absolutely nothing to show for it? I thought you were smarter than that, Quatre. And now you've risked your life and his," he inclined his head towards Trowa, "for nothing."
The mention of his and Quatre's imminent deaths once again sent Trowa's stomach in a twisting knot. He looked around woods with the disturbing feeling they were being watched. His green eyes shifted cautiously through the moonlit darkness while Heero and Quatre continued to argue.
"You can't trust her, Heero," Quatre said, recovering his tone, "She is evil, pure evil. The only thing she believes in is pain and suffering and you are playing right into her hands. I hate to tell you, but you've already sold your soul whether you meant to or not."
Heero let out a snorted laughter that did nothing to suit him. "You know what I think?" he mused, "That you-"
Trowa let out a heavy sigh and shook his head at the bickering boys. The pointlessness of this conversation could wait. "That's enough," he said loudly, "Now, both of you stop it! None of this changes anything. We all are in the same boat here - go tomorrow and see the witch or die. There it is, plain and simple. Quatre, you heard what Heero said. There's no point in trying to convince him not to go. He has to go. We all do. Now, let's just go with them back to their camp. We could use the sleep."
Duo turned slowly to follow Heero, who immediately took off into the woods without a single look back, leaving Quatre and Trowa to themselves. Quatre folded his hands in front of him, closed his eyes sadly and slowly shook his head, his pale hair falling over his face.
"Quatre," Trowa said, putting a hand lightly on his shoulder, "it's the only way."
"No, it's not," Quatre said blankly, a tinge of anguish evident in his soft voice, "Trowa, I thought you of all people would understand what I was trying to do. You could have tried to help me out. I trust you understand what will happen to Duo now." He looked up sadly at Duo's back as he disappeared with Heero into the darkness. "Death is nothing compared to what happens to those two tomorrow."
,.•´)•(•.¸
Heero lead the way back to their campsite in silence. The whole way there Duo walked quietly behind him, staring at his back, as he walked through the jungle in his boots and boxers, Heero's cloak hanging like a thick blanket over his thin body. Heero could have at least waited until he was fully dressed before he stormed off. He pulled the heavily worn cloak tightly around his body, clutching his damp clothes in his arm while his mind raced to catch up to everything that just happened. Could Quatre had really been telling the truth? Was Heero really his soulmate? Duo's body gave an inward shudder as a vivid image of the two of them naked, covered in sweat and wrapped in bedsheets blissfully settled into his mind.
'Why else would I feel this way about him?'
When they arrived at camp, Duo settled himself into one of caverns with a wide hole, where he would still have a good view of the jungle - if anything else wanted to pay them a visit he at least wanted to see it coming. He watched as moments later Trowa and Quatre entered the clearing and sat down beside one another. Heero wordlessly passed them and dropped the canteen in Quatre's lap, then wandered somewhere out of view. Trowa and Quatre immediately started engaging in hushed tones, quietly disagreeing about something. Duo had a vague idea what. Trowa shook his head and removed his uniform jacket and bundled it up, then offered it to Quatre. "For the last time, it's not your fault," he said, finally loud enough for Duo to hear, "Drop it, Quatre. Get some sleep."
Giving up, Quatre reluctantly curled on the ground where he was sitting, tucking Trowa's jacket under his head. Trowa bent down beside him and threw a dark look over in Duo's direction. A sudden feeling of guilt stabbed at his insides and Duo quickly looked away. They had came here for him, to save him and now they were the ones who needed saving. Trowa was probably hating him right now.
Duo didn't think he could get to sleep if he tried right now. Too many thoughts were running rampant through his brain. What was going to happen tomorrow? Would the witch let Trowa and Quatre live? If Heero didn't give the witch his soul, then what did he give her? Something valuable, no doubt. What was as valuable as your soul?
Several possible answers slid into his deliberations, but Duo couldn't focus on any of them, a more pressing question kept invading his thoughts. Why was she helping Heero at all? Heero said it himself.
(¯·.¸.•´¯•.¸¸.•´¯•. ,.:¯)
"If she can create magic, then can't she release the lost souls?"
"Don't be stupid! Why do you think she would want to do that? Their curse operates in her favor. The lost souls can't leave the Divide until their shells are destroyed, at which time they go straight to Hell, plus they end up taking their soulmates with them! Her job is to gather souls for Hell, not to make it to where they can get into Heaven."
(¯·.¸.•´¯•.¸¸.•´¯•. ,.:¯)
Heero was definitely hiding something. But what? And more importantly, why? Despite any uncertainty Duo had about Heero, he could not ignore how he felt about him. The elusive feeling slipped into everything he did, clouding his judgment.
All this was complicated and Duo didn't know how to feel about any of it. He was excited, nervous and terrified about tomorrow, all at the same time. He was certain of only one thing: nothing was ever going to be the same.
Duo let out a loud sigh, drew his legs close to his chest, putting his arms around them. He tiredly closed his eyes and buried his face in Heero's cloak. He nuzzled the garment slightly with his cheek and slowly inhaled its unique smell - Heero's smell, letting all thoughts drift away until there was nothing left but the sweet memory of Heero's lips on his.
"I'm going to need that back." Heero's voice called out from the modest entryway.
Duo looked up with a startle. Heero was leaning against the cave's opening, the moonlight casting his skin in an earthly glow.
'Beautiful.' Duo thought, admiring the fact that even though it was dark, he could still tell Heero had blue eyes. "Duo?" Heero said, frowning, "Are you okay?"
Duo shook his head out of his reverie. "What? I mean, yes. I'm fine," Duo said, letting out an unnecessary cough, then stood up and shrugged the large black garment off, completely forgetting he had on nothing but his underwear. "Er, thanks for letting me borrow it."
"I didn't think you would have wanted to walk out naked," Heero said in a plain voice.
Duo gave a small smirk. "No."
Duo caught Heero's eyes starting to drift down his bare front before he quickly turned his head and looked away. "Well, you better put your clothes on and try to get some sleep," he said, as he started to walk away, "We need to leave by dawn."
Heero was almost out of the cave when Duo called out to him. "Wait!" he said, only loud enough for Heero to hear. Heero turned on his spot and stopped. "What did you give her?"
Heero looked at Duo evenly. "Does it matter?"
"What about what Quatre said about us?" Duo paused uncertainly, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer to what he was about to ask.
'No. I have to know.'
"Do you," he began, "Do you think-"
"It was a mistake." Heero said at once, before Duo could finish. "Duo," he started, a certain amount of reluctance in his voice, "just because we kissed doesn't make us soulmates. It didn't mean anything." Duo looked away, suddenly filled with...what? Embarrassment? Relief? Disappointment? Heero paid his reaction no attention as he continued about his explanation. "Quatre doesn't always know what he's talking about. Here's the cold hard fact: the only way to tell if two people are soulmates is to extract their souls and view their bond and Quatre doesn't know how to do that. He should've never said what he did. He had no right."
Duo looked into Heero's cobalt eyes once more. "How do you know he can't?" he asked vaguely, not really sure why he did.
Heero smiled faintly at him. "If he did, we wouldn't be here right now," he stated grimly.
Duo's stomach did a sudden nervous jump. He tried to give a little smile, but instead succeeded in looking like he had a toothache.
"Now you really should get some sleep." Heero said quietly, before adding, "and forget about what Quatre said."
"I don't think I can." Duo said in a weary voice. Heero rose an eyebrow and surveyed him quietly. Duo realized what it sounded like he was saying and solemnly added, "Go to sleep, I mean. You know, with the vampires roaming about and all..." He trailed off, looking tiredly past Heero at the woods.
"Don't worry. I'll be keeping watch. It's not like I'm not use to being awake at night surrounded by vampires anyway," he said meekly as he stepped into the wide open.
As he once again disappeared from view, Duo quickly walked over and grabbed his damp clothes and pulled them on. He didn't know what he had expected Heero to say to him, but he couldn't deny that his words had hurt.
't didn't mean anything.
Maybe Heero wasn't saying that them kissing was the mistake. He just said that it was a mistake. He could have just been talking about what Quatre said. Right? The thought made Duo feel somewhat better as he laid down and rolled over on his side, his eyelids drooping as he watched Heero pass by the entranceway like a slide show, going from right to left, only to disappear from view and show up on the right minutes later.
The tiring events of the day seemed to hit him all at once and before he knew it, Duo had fallen asleep.
(¯·.¸.•´¯•.¸¸.•´¯•. ,.:¯)
Naked, Duo entered the dark candlelit room and slowly walked towards the sheer curtains in the middle of the chamber, savoring the sweet anticipation that hung thick in the air. Tonight he would claim what was rightfully his. He reached out and carefully slipped his hand through the crack of the fabric and slowly pulled it back. Waiting on him, there, in the middle, wrapped loosely in a thin sheet, was Heero. He sat up, loosely clutching the sheet to his chest as he looked upon Duo with a impatient gleam in his deep blue eyes. Duo felt his body burn with wild, uncontrollable desire as he leaned forward and predatorally crawled across the mattress, his long unbound hair falling loosely around his sides.
Heero slowly laid back against the bed as Duo seductively straddled his thin body between his legs, intertwining their hands together and pinning them above Heero's head. Duo brushed his lips against Heero's, as the boy's well toned body tightened beneath him. Duo smiled down at the vision beneath him. Heero's messy chocolate hair was sticking out in all the right places, his deep blue eyes laden with desire - for him.
Duo pressed his body into Heero's, crushing his lips against his in a fiery kiss. Heero parted his lips and Duo eagerly slid his tongue in, savoring the taste of him. He wanted to touch him, to feel his soft, smooth skin slide between his fingers. The thin fabric between them strained as the two moved roughly against one another.
Heero broke away from Duo and began kissing his neck, nipping here and there with his teeth, as Duo closed his eyes, letting the feeling of Heero's lips on his skin block out all other thought. Duo leaned his nose into Heero's hair and inhaled the intoxicating scent, smiling victoriously. How long had he waited for this?
An eternity...
He wanted to savor this moment, to remember what it was like, forever. Duo ran his fingers through Heero's wild hair, pulling him into another heated kiss. Duo let out a lustful moan and ripped away the sheet that seperated them. Heero pulled away and looked up at Duo with fire in his eyes. Duo bent down over him, capturing his mouth once again, wordlessly telling him all the things he wanted to do, all the things he was about to do. Duo heard Heero moan and felt his hardness brush against his stomach as he broke their kiss and whispered in his ear, "I claim what is rightfully mine."
Heero smiled against his neck, his breathing hard, his voice thick with lust as he whispered in Duo's ear, "I am yours to be claimed."
Duo lips curved into a slow, ravenous smile as he scraped his teeth across Heero's neck, licking the creamy flesh beneath. He slowly traced his tongue around Heero's jaw and slid it into his parted mouth as his willing body rose beneath him, trembling under his power. "Why are you afraid?" he asked tauntingly.
Heero shifted underneath him, but his handsome face betrayed no hint of such an emotion. "They will try and stop us."
Duo laughed a rich, drawn out laugh. "They have no power over us. This is destiny. What is meant to be will not be undone." Duo leaned bent closer over him, his voice barely above a whisper. "I want you to do something for me..."
Heero looked mesmerizingly at him. "Anything," he breathed.
Duo ran his hand down Heero's stomach, smiling wickedly at him. He grazed his fingers lightly over Heero's hot length, then grasped him firmly. Heero gasped and his body gave a pleasurable shudder. Duo pressed his body against him and whispered seductively in his ear, "Scream my name."
(¯·.¸.•´¯•.¸¸.•´¯•. ,.:¯)
"Duo! DUO! Wake up!"
"What, What! Leave me alone!" Duo grumbled irritably, rolling over and covering his face in a feeble attempt to go back to sleep. He had just gotten to the good part...
"Heero's gone!"
Immediately, Duo came to his senses and shot bolt upright on the ground. Quatre took a step back at the sudden jerk. "He's gone? Where is he?" Duo demanded.
"I don't know. When we woke up he was just gone. Listen, he wouldn't have left us here because he needs you to go with him. I'm afraid something's happened to him." Quatre said, his voice sounding hollow.
"Quatre, I think you're just overreacting. He probably just went to get us some more water." Trowa suggested lightly.
"No." Quatre stressed, keeping his jaw shut and looking bright eyed at Trowa, as if he was trying to get some other point across. "I already told you I can't find him."
"Well, none of us are going to find him sitting around here talking about it." Duo stood up, pushing hard past Quatre and Trowa. "Where have you guys already looked? Maybe we should -" He stopped dead in his tracks.
"What are you doing?" Heero asked, standing in the middle of the campsite. The question sounded like more of a demand than polite conversation.
"Coming to look for you." Duo replied avidly. "Where have you been?"
"Getting us some more water." Heero scowled, looking over his shoulder. The sky was a burnt orange, the sun peeking through the far end of the dark woods. Heero's eyes fell resolutely back on Duo. "Dawn," he stated shortly, turning around. "It's time to go."
,.•´)•(•.¸
Hours passed without incident as the four young men made their way through the vast jungle, moving without hesitation to whatever fate lay beyond the under-traveled path. Heero led the way, seeing as he was the only one out of the four of them who actually knew where he was going. Duo followed close behind him, a fair amount of distance separating them from Quatre and Trowa, who had been whispering among themselves for the entire duration of the trip.
"Not long now." Heero announced unexpectedly as he quickly slowed down and looked around. "We should stop here and rest a moment."
Duo stopped behind him as Quatre protested from behind, "We're on a time limit here. How much further?"
"Not long." Heero said simply.
Quatre crossed his arms and sat down, looking very anxious as Trowa sat down beside him, giving him a equally uneasy look. Another guilty pain stabbed at Duo's stomach as he tried not to look at them.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Heero asked, keeping his voice low as he looked over at Quatre and Trowa. "Alone?"
Duo's stomach did a nervous twist at the added question. "Um, sure," he replied nervously.
Heero inclined his head and Duo followed him a little ways away from Trowa and Quatre. He walked around a large tree out of view. Duo swallowed the lump in his throat, unsure of what Heero was about to tell him. He walked behind the tree and found Heero leaning against it, his head cocked over his shoulder, looking like he wanted to kill something. When Duo came into view Heero turned to look at him, but his gaze did not soften. "Do you remember what I told you?"
"About what?" Duo asked, fidgeting absentmindedly in his pockets.
"About trusting me. Duo, I need to know that you trust me. No matter what I ask you, no matter what you see, you must do as I ask, and without hesitation. I need to hear you say it." Heero pushed himself off the trunk of the tree, looking at Duo with an unyielding determination in his deep blue eyes.
Duo glared at Heero uncertainly. "Can't you tell me what's about to happen?"
"I wish I could, but I can't," he said solemnly, as he looked at Duo with the hope that he would try and understand. "The witch -" he broke off, looking around, "she's not one to be easily fooled. She always knows when she's being lied to. If I tell you anything, she'll see."
Duo looked perplexed as he ran a hand through his bangs, holding them off his face. "She'll see what? Heero," he pressed," you've got to tell me what's going on."
Heero closed his eyes and softly shook his head. "I can't." he said earnestly, as he took a step closer to Duo. "You're just going to have to trust me."
"Trust you?" the hunter snorted. "I barely even know you. You've poisoned me," Duo said, counting off the offenses on his fingers, "drug me off in the middle of nowhere, kiss me, won't tell me what's the hell is going on, and now you stand there and actually expect me to believe you aren't just going to hand me over to her and walk away."
"Why would I-"
"I'm not stupid you know," Duo cut across him angrily. "I know exactly what you are doing..." Duo stepped around and tilted his head, looking down at Heero's boots. His violet eyes traveled slowly up Heero's body in a curious way. Duo smirked and looked away, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "At first I couldn't figure it out - why she would help you. But on the way here it came to me," he said, smiling faintly, "she's not helping you. You're the one helping her. You didn't make a deal with her. She's the one who made the deal with you - to help her find Death and reclaim him for her. There is one thing I don't understand though," he paused and surveyed Heero's cold expression, "Why does she need your help?"
"You think I would do that to you?" Heero asked, keeping his voice low so that Quatre and Trowa wouldn't hear. "The fantastic story you've so cleverly pieced together is as far from the truth as it gets. If I really wanted her to have your soul, then you would no longer have it." Heero said, his voice suddenly sinister, as he turned on the hunter and back him against the tree. Heero pulled out a knife and pressed the sharp blade against Duo's exposed throat, pressing his body against him. Duo gasped as he traced the edge of the knife across his skin. "Don't you think it would have been much easier for me to have simply slit your throat while you slept at night and then taken it from you? I think we'll both agree I've had plenty of opportunities to do so." Duo swallowed the lump in his throat as Heero dug the blade closer against his skin. Then, just as quickly, Heero pushed himself off Duo and withdrew the blade, shoving it back in its sheath behind his back, his voice like stone. "If I haven't killed you by now, you should know I'm not going to."
Duo didn't know what to say, but everything Heero said was true. He could have easily killed him at any time and then trapped his soul in a bottle like the one Quatre had and took it to the witch that way, saving himself quite a bit of trouble, but for some reason, he hadn't.
"I would have listened to what you had to say without you having to pull a knife on me." Duo grumbled, rubbing the side of his neck Heero had just threatened.
"You needed to get the point."
Duo chuckled despite himself and said, "Oh, I got the point alright."
Heero didn't laugh. He took a tentative step closer to Duo and crossed his arms, looking very serious. "So, do I have your trust?" he asked, staring wistfully at him, as if hearing him say it was the most important thing in the world right now.
Duo quietly stared at him for a moment, their eyes locked in a quiet fix of uncertainty, as the insects and birds chirped brightly around them. "Yes," he breathed, "I trust you."
Heero gave the slightest of nods and said, "Thank you." He uncrossed his arms and leaned back, looking behind the tree appraisingly at Quatre and Trowa. "I think now we should get going."
"Heero?" Duo said bracingly, his mind rolling over the image of Heero pinning him against the tree just now. "What if Quatre's right?"
"Right about what?"
Duo throat suddenly felt very dry. He darted his tongue to moisten his dry lips. "You know," he whispered softly, "us..."
Heero only looked at him. Duo felt his ears starting to burn, trying to get his feelings out without looking away. "When I'm around you, I feel, I don't know...different. And before, when I kissed you, I was weird."
Heero scowled and opened his mouth to speak. "Not bad weird," Duo said quickly, sure he had just offended him, "It's kinda like the feeling you get when you can't remember something important you're suppose to do. You know it's there, somewhere in your head, but you can't find it. It was like...I had to kiss you...like I couldn't stop myself..." Duo trailed off, feeling like he was sounding like a fool.
Heero looked down at Duo's mouth as he spoke. "Duo..." he sighed, "It's possible that-"
"Wait, where are they?!" Trowa's voice rang out loudly from behind the tree. "Quatre, did you see them leave?! I swear, if those two left us here, I'm gonna kill them."
Duo looked at Heero's face and knew he would never hear what he was about to say. He bowed his head in defeat as he waved a hand from behind the tree at them. "We're over here, you guys."
The two tag-alongs strode angrily over to Duo's outstretched hand. "What are you two doing?" the blonde demanded.
"Just talking." Duo said casually, catching Heero's eye.
"How about trying a little walking instead. We've wasted enough time already. You two can talk on the way there!" he said hotly.
"We're already here, Quatre" said Heero dully. "It's just there," he said, pointing to somewhere behind Duo.
The cold feeling of foreboding wrapped its icy hands around Duo's chest as he turned and laid eyes on the enormous tree, towering in the distance, leafless and black as death. Its dark spider-like branches twisted and knarled in painful contortions. The ground around it was withered and brown, shrouded in a black misty fog that hovered above its massive uncovered roots like a nasty visible odor. Duo squinted his eyes. They had to be playing tricks on him, because he could have sworn the tree just moved. Duo's stomach did a nervous jump, something in his head screaming out, 'Run away...'
Then, Duo heard what sounded an awful lot like music from a jewelry box. Slow and sinister, the tiny melodic sound tinkled ominously in the hot air.
"What is that?" Trowa said, looking confused.
"The Tree of the Dead." Heero said unenthusiastically.
"No, that music." Trowa said, looking around.
Quatre twisted his head around, looking at Trowa. "I hear it too, but where's it coming from?"
"From her," explained Heero, as if commenting to a passerby about the morning weather, "The witch knows we're here."
Duo did a staggered sway to the sleepy song. It filled his head, beckoning him closer. He took a sluggish step forward, his mind and body fighting for control. Heero reached out and grabbed his arm. "The song lures in those who make it all the way her, seeking her magics, but do not know the way - or," he said, turning to Duo, "are starting to change their mind." Then, he looked over at Trowa. "Like this one here."
Trowa looked at Heero incredously. "Of course I want to change my mind. You really think I want to see her?"
"No," said Heero, walking towards the tree, "but it doesn't really matter what you want, does it? Duo, come on."
Duo gave his comrades a reluctant smile of reassurance, then wordlessly turned to follow Heero. Quatre grasped Trowa's shoulder firmly. "You don't have to do this, Trowa. If you let the poison take you, your soul can be reborn again, but once you see the witch, there's no telling what she could do to you. If you leave now, you can still save yourself."
Trowa looked at him bitterly, "I've already told you I won't do that. Quatre, I won't leave you."
"It's too late to save me, Trowa" Quatre said faintly, "Hell will claim my soul soon. It isn't strong enough to go on much longer. Whether she takes me now or later, there's no escaping my fate."
"Don't say that!" Trowa hissed, "I'll fight for you. I won't let her take you."
"Yes, you will."
"No - I - won't!" Trowa said firmly.
Quatre's eyes welled up in tears, his lips twisted and trembled. "Why are you doing this, Trowa?"
Trowa ran his hand through Quatre's pale hair, "Because," he said softly, "You don't deserve this. You deserve to be happy. And loved, by someone who cares for you...like the way I care for you." The hunter leaned closer towards the clan leader as several hundred feet in front of them, Duo and Heero reached the tree.
Duo carefully looked upon the tree in disgust, a faint decaying metallic smell engulfing the cold air around it, a familiar smell - the smell of blood - and death. The large black truck excreted a gooey dark substance that slid down its charred length, staining the ground. "Is that blood? Is it -?" Duo paused, snarling in disgust, "bleeding?"
Heero looked at him meekly, "Yes." He pulled out his knife, held out his hand and deliberately nicked his index finger.
"What are you doing?" Duo demanded in a harsh whisper.
"Blood is the key that unlocks the door," Heero extended his other hand towards the hunter, "Give me your hand, Duo," he said quietly.
Duo held out his palm. Heero grasped it and pricked his finger with the tip of the blade. "What about Quatre and Trowa? Where are they?"
"Right here," Quatre said behind him. Duo turned around. Quatre's face was covered in patches of red and he looked like he was going to fall over dead at any moment. "Are you okay?" Duo asked him.
"As well as can be expected," he said tiredly, looking at Trowa out of the corner of his eye, "Pass me the knife, Heero."
The other two took turns pricking their fingers, each huddling uncertainly around the tree, waiting for something to happen. "Give it your blood, but don't touch it." Heero cupped his bleeding finger in his other hand and squeezed it with his thumb, letting the red liquid pool. Then he took his finger like a whip and sprayed the tree's trunk with a small splat of red. The tree let out a low deep growl and the ground beneath it trembled. Duo struggled to keep his balance. "Hurry!" said Heero, "Or you can not enter."
The other three pinched their cut fingers and sprayed the tree much like Heero did, then all of them took a step back as the tree's long dead branches arched forward and began clawing at its truck. Tiny bits of bark flew everywhere as the branches stabbed through the truck savagely and ripped it open in a sickening crack. Horrified by what he was seeing, Duo gaped as the thick branches tore away at the trunk, covering the ground in blood and wood. Moments later, they slowly moved upward, revealing an empty chasm in the trunk . The tree let out a low groan, still twisting some of its smaller branches.
Duo's heart pounded wildly in his chest. This was it. No more talking about it. They were here. 'No turning back now.'
Heero stepped forward and put his foot over the threshold, then turned to Duo, "This way."
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I thought this would be the chapter where they finally got to the witch, but it didn't really happen that way. I could have kept going, but decided I better split it up. There's one more long chapter, then you can probably expect slower chapter so that I can get updates out faster. I promise they'll get to the witch in the next chapter and when they do, Duo quickly realizes that everything is not as it seems. (How's that for dramatic?)
Thanks for reading and remember to review! -Points to review button- Thank ye!
