**OHHH I AM SOOO SORRY! I just can't seem to get my chapters updated when I say I am going to I am going through a really rough time right now. I had to have a MRI today to check my hip, since my left hip has been in intense pain since September. My orthopedic sent me to get checked for Avascular Necrosis of the Hips, which has me paranoid cause I don't want a bone graft or hip replacement surgery Ohh but with good news, a puppy has found her home here with us ^^ He name is Molly and she is sweet! She will never take the place of Toby, but she is sweet and unique in her own way ^_^ Hope everyone is doing alright and figured I would go ahead and say that this story will be coming to an end very shortly ^^ I have loved all the comments on it and can't wait to read more ^_^ Hope you all take care and be safe ! **

Chapter Ten: The Bumpy Road Through Hell

Several days had passed with no signs of waking for the injured Duo. Each day he did not wake, Heero grew more frantic and agitated, even though Quatre had told him it was normal considering the amount of damage Duo had taken. The only good new Heero received was that several of the injuries were already healing, which increased the chances of Duo waking. Since they had done all they could, there was nothing left to do but to wait and bite off their fingernails with worry.

One late night, towards the end of the week, life would be seen stirring within Duo. A soft groan would be heard from the bedroom as violet blue eyes slowly fluttered opened and closed. After a few moments, the pair of eyes would open and close a few more times before Duo found himself peering around a room that he knew was Heero's. He felt a gently sigh fall from his lips as a calmed look washed over his features at how amazing the bed felt... how... free he felt! Duo allowed his eyes to open once more as he glanced around the room and smiled. He knew he was home and he knew he was safe.

Before Duo was able to get fully awake, he heard the door creaking opened and turned to let his bright eyes fall upon the door. His mind did not have long to comprehend anything before Heero was standing in the doorway and took a couple long strides until the usually stoic man fell to his knees beside the bed and scooped Duo up carefully. Duo could not help the smile that fell upon his features as he felt Heero's face buried against his neck, holding him as though he were scared the braided one would disappear once again. As Heero held onto Duo with all he had, the braided boy gently wrapped his arms around the other and held him just as close, letting Heero know he was there and he would not be going anywhere. They held each other for what seemed like an eternity, Tears leaking from the corners of Duo's eyes as he burrowed against Heero tightly.

"My beautiful Duo… I am so sorry" Heero whispered tenderly.

"It's okay Heero… you came for me and it's all that matters…" Duo choked out.

Heero knew Duo would have a very long road ahead of him to try and get back to a semi-normal life after being held captive and abused like he had been. Heero knew it would be quite some time before even he forgave the man responsible. Heero had already begun to assemble his followers… and had informed some demons of just what would be going down within a few nights to pass. He needed to teach the man a lesson, and the city needed to know he was here and he was furious about what had been going on. He knew he needed to strike hard and strike fast to wipe out any further threat his kind would have from the mad scientist. For right now though, all the planning could wait, since he felt and knew Duo needed him now more than ever, and he would stay true and loyal and stay by his side.

Meanwhile, across the city in the building, Zechs had been beyond furious. He had already killed countless creatures and humans in his fit of rage. He knew the king of the demons would be a smart creature, but he never thought h the monster would break into his facility this easily and take back what had been stolen. If he had not loved Treize as much as he did, even his top in command would have felt his wrath, but with the man being injured, he knew his love had fought to keep Duo here. It was the only thought that kept Treize alive, and he well knew it. He also knew that Zechs could never find out he had help during the breakout, or he would be the new test subject, and the mere thought alone sent shivers up his spine.

Zechs was currently in his office; his body leaned over his desk as his hands were curled up into tight fists. He was biting his lower lip to the point of blood being drawn to glide down along his chin. On the desk before him were various papers and reports, just black scribbled upon white paper. To Zechs he could care less about the paperwork on his desk; his only concern was trying to figure out how to recapture the trash that had escaped. He knew that Duo Maxwell would be more heavily guarded and more than likely never left alone again, so he was growing more pissed the longer he found himself thinking upon the whole idea in general. Taking all he could take, he pushed himself from the desk and stalked to the door to fling it open. Once leaving the room, the door slammed behind him as he took off down the many hallways, his mind a blur as he threw himself into his work.

The people who worked under Zechs had made sure to give him a wide girth, being able to tell he was nearing his mental breaking point. None of them wished to make it any worse, since it would come back to slap them within the face. Zechs had continued on his way, moving down into the darkest levels of his complex before he moved into his laboratory. He needed to design something… ANYTHING that could be used against the precious King of demons, and he had an idea just what to do. Many hours slipped by with Zechs furiously at work on his project testing blood against DNA. He worked, trying to reprogram the basic chemical structures and trying to make a top of the line bio-weapon.

While Zechs slaved away in his lab, Heero slaved away at his own thoughts of revenge. It had taken several hours, but finally duo had fallen back asleep which left Heero time to consult with the others over the matters at hand. Stepping from the bedroom, he made his way into the kitchen where he noticed everyone else happened to be. He took a seat and leaned back in it, showing the others a more vulnerable side to him. He was worried still for Duo and they all knew Duo would take a long time to recover from such an ordeal. He finally cleared his throat as he straightened within his chair, the air around him changing to one of pure authority.

"I have sent out word to the demon guard to come here within the next few hours. I am going to go ahead and wipe out the threat of Zechs and his facility before he tries to do something stupid. I need to know what you all think about this."

"We are by you on anything you choose. From what I could gather, Zechs is a great issue and the sooner he is dead the safer for all our kind." Quatre spoke honestly.

"My sister and I will also stand on your choice. After all, they harmed my sister, so I will be seeking my own justice rewards from what they have done…" Myst commented sternly.

"Then it is settled…. Tomorrow night we launch an attack and destroy the entire facility. Unfortunately from what I witnessed, the creatures there are far too gone to be saved, so it's best to put them to rest."

With that Heero nodded and stood, moving to get himself a nice large mug of coffee before he leaned against the counter. So many thoughts swirled around his head and he felt he would never get them sorted out for as long as he lived. As he sipped his caffeinated beverage, he moved from the kitchen to head back to his bedroom to keep watch over his little one. As he kept watch, he stared into the blackness of his mug, watching how the steam swirled about above the mug to disappear like a far off distant dream. He was pulled from his thoughts as duo screamed from the bed he was sleeping on. His body turned, rolling over suddenly as he curled up into a tight ball before he cried, screaming again.

Heero set his mug down and moved to crawl onto the bed as he pulled duo up against his body into a secure hold. He ran his fingers gently through the braided hair as he gently whispered such soft, caring words into the ear closest to him. His other hand ran soothing circles upon the back that trembled violently. Duo had been having a horrible nightmare, reliving his stay with the crazy doctor, and once waking to having Heero chasing away the dream, he found himself curling up against Heero more fully. Duo wanted Heero to stay with him and keep the bad dreams far away from him. His fingers curled within Heero's shirt as he held onto him very tightly, a small sniffle leaving his nose. Heero leaned back slightly and looked down at Duo softly before placing his lips to Duo's forehead for a gentle kiss. Duo let his eyes slide close as he leaned into the lips that were pressed against his skin and allowed it to further relax and soothe his soul.

"This is going to be a long road… isn't it Heero?" Duo asked in a soft whisper.

"Yes my Duo… a long bumpy road filled with many potholes and bumps, but I'll always be here to walk every step of the way with you."

"I love you Heero."

"I love you as well my little fox."

Duo smiled at the pet name from Heero. He always enjoyed it when Heero would pick at him about his fox form and gently shook his head before chuckling lightly. Soon he looked up to Heero slowly and leaned up to press his lips softly to Heero's, kissing him for a brief time. After the kiss, Duo settled himself down, his body leaning against Heero as he wiggled until he was the most comfortable. Once he was cozy, he settled back, allowing his eyes to slowly flutter closed as he drifted off to the land of sleep, no more dark dreams interrupting him since he had Heero to sit and keep them at bay. Come the morning light, the city would be struck in a time of chaos and panic as a war long foretold would begin.

~END CHAPTER TEN~

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than my others, but I have a lot going on currently and I didn't want to put too much since the next chapter is going to be a BIG climax type thing with the battle starting and everything crazy, so this was just a bit of something to get to that point. I had a bit of trouble getting inspired for this chapter…. Just because of the holidays and everything going on with my life, but hopefully this chapter turned out okay and you stick with me for the next chapter which will be up in a couple days.