Genre: Fantasy

Pairings: 1x2, other

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words

Warnings: Gratuitous violence, abuse, torture, yaoi, lemon, angels, demons, bigotry, hypocrisy, blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege, and general religion-bashing. THIS IS NOT A STORY FOR THE CLOSED-MINDED.

A/N: I lied. This will probably go on for another 100 chapters. I keep getting new ideas. Skean Dhu, you are officially my muse. YOU KEEP GIVING ME ALL THESE AWESOME IDEAS!

Ending A War, Ending an Era

"Finding a solution to this war may be more difficult than we think."

Treize, sitting nearest the dragon, nodded slowly. "You may be right about that."

Almost directly opposite Treize, the beautiful angel Heero stirred. "I don't understand."

For long moments, Treize indulged and simply studied the Prince of Heaven. Every inch of him, he looked the part. Tall, regal of bearing, graceful, poised, and with eyes that managed to convey both a cool alertness and a gentle warmth. The benevolence of his kind. Those piercing blue eyes of his would not be easily deceived. Treize found himself longing to see his wings, to watch the true transformation of a divine being, such as was spoken of in holy texts.

Of course, who could even be certain those were true? Right now, aside from his stunning beauty, Heero looked almost human. "The war between Heaven and Hell has gone on so long, it is part of daily life on Candora. It is deeply ingrained in our lives, especially humans."

Heero mulled this over for awhile. Then he shifted. "What is religion like on Candora, now?"

Treize blinked, a little surprised. "Have you never been here before?"

"Until recently, not much," Heero said with a shrug. "I am still young for an angel."

"Very young," Wufei added, causing Heero to give him a Look.

Treize chuckled. "Never mind. Religion is much the same as it ever was, but it does seem there is a rise in fanaticism. Churches and temples preach the only way to salvation is by worshiping God, and in the last several decades there has been a dramatic rise in those who consider angels God's voice on Candora. In fact, they have been elevated nearly to the status of God Himself."

The human did not miss the sudden trepidation that crossed Heero's face, and the slight tension of his shoulders. "Is there any angel in particular humans follow?"

Expecting the answer already. And expecting not to like it. Treize wondered what that meant. "Yes, Oraia. Bright Lady of Heaven."

o0o 0o0

Heero felt like someone had hit him in the gut with an elephant. It figured. The most frightening mask for evil to hide behind was virtue, and Oraia claimed to be the most virtuous of all angels. He realized he was shaking. Anger? Worry? Fear? Something of all three? Wufei abruptly rose and nudged Heero toward the entrance of the cavern.

"Forgive us, Treize," he said, herding Heero out and effectively blocking the angel from the human's view. "We'll be back momentarily."

Feeling like a machine, Heero walked down the halls until he felt the first cold breath of outside air. The stars broke into view, and sharp claws carefully wrapped around his middle. Blinking, he realized he'd just about walked off the ledge.

"Why don't you sit down for a minute?" Wufei said softly. "You look completely shell-shocked. I didn't know how much you want a human to know at this juncture."

Heero obeyed and sat, mind spinning. What was her plan? Power? Or something far more sinister? Heero knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the King and Queen of Heaven would back Oraia, probably no matter what. They had ridiculous amounts of faith in her, as evidenced by the fact they went along with her harebrained scheme to abduct Duo. Was she trying to incite a war?

"Damn it, Wufei," he ground out. "What the hell is she doing?"

Wufei gently nuzzled Heero. "I really wish I could say for sure," he said softly. "This is a terribly unfair burden to place on such young shoulders, and it seems she is quite at the root of it."

Heero snorted. "Right where she likes to be. It's ironic, in a way. Oraia was always saying change was needed. I just wish I knew exactly what change she had in mind."

"All that time you were in Hell, how did you come to feel about the King and Queen?" Wufei asked after a moment.

Leaning against the great dragon, Heero shrugged a little. "Actually, I don't know."

A longer pause. "What I meant is, can we trust them?"

Closing his eyes, Heero pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. I don't think they want war, and maybe that's enough." He heaved a sigh. "Damn it, Wufei, I . . . I should have killed Oraia when I had the chance."

He felt his backrest shift and cracked open an eye to see a very surprised look on Wufei's face. "What an un-angelic thing to say."

Raking fingers through his hair, Heero laughed dully. It was a mirthless sound. "Tell me about it. Fuck, I hate this."

"Blasphemy followed right by profanity. How far you have fallen, Prince." Amused.

After what felt like a long time but could only have been a few minutes, Heero rose. "Don't tell the human about me and Duo. Or the siren, for that matter. It's none of their business, and . . . well . . . an angel loving a demon could inspire a fanatical uprising. I don't think people are ready for that, yet."

"If I actually had lips they would be sealed," Wufei promised, "though I would not have said a word without your express permission."

"Thanks," Heero murmured, leaning his forehead against Wufei's.

The dragon's eyes slitted to half mast, and he uttered a rumbling purr. "Like I said, I have been alive a long, long time. I will help in any way I can."

o0o 0o0

Treize, not quite sure what to make of the silent elf, was relieved to see Wufei return with a tired-looking Heero in tow. Unlike Zechs, who could keep up a smooth and stimulation conversation, Trowa barely gave two words in response to anything and seemed content with the silence. Treize didn't particularly need chatter, but he had become used to it.

"I apologize if anything I said -" he began.

Heero didn't let him finish, holding up a hand. "No, you were not at fault. I apologize for my reaction to that news. I have not often come to Candora, so I had not expected things to be so . . . to have progressed the way they have."

Treize nodded thoughtfully. "You may find this a question to which I am owed no answer, but I feel I must ask. Every major religion on the planet teaches that demons are deplorable beings cast from Heaven for their miscreant, amoral ways. Having met the Prince of Hell himself, I find that somewhat difficult to believe. What is the truth of this?"

Heero hesitated. He was an angel, and old loyalties were hard to sever. "The truth," he said quietly, almost to himself. "The truth is that the grudge between Heaven and Hell is based on miscommunication and a difference of opinion."

The cryptic answer made all three of his companions give him odd looks. He sighed.

"It would be better to hear it from the lips of a demon. Duo knows the story with far more accuracy than I. But the truth has been buried so long there are few left in Heaven who know it."

"Then you bear this grude no longer," Treize surmised. "You are a strong, wise angel, Heero, and I am honored to be chosen in aiding you end the misunderstanding."

His smile took a wry twist on his lips. "Thank you, but I'm not wise. Just determined."

"Which is," Trowa murmured, "as Quatre would say, all you need."

o0o 0o0

"I want to hear the story of you and Treize," Quatre said, climbing onto the river's bank and transforming into his primary shape. He shook his wings to dispel some of the droplets of water now clinging to feathers instead of skin.

Zechs paused his idle humming - even this was exquisite to hear. "I'd be glad to tell it. Duo, are you interested as well my Prince?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Zechs snorted. "Perhaps not. Very well. I am from far, far south of here, though these mountains eventually drop into my seas. You, Quatre may know it. The Mystic Sea?" At the gryphon's nod, he continued. "I habituate many of the dark coves. There used to be a great many sirens there, but as with all immortal beings, our numbers are dwindling. Few ships pass close to the cliffs, but one night a great hulking ship sailed right through one of my coves. I was irritated by the disturance of the peace, so I lured it into a particularly deadly maze of great, jagged rocks. It sank in about five minutes."

Chuckling at the memory, Zechs flicked his tail. "I suppose most of the crew made it to safety, though a few may have been lost in the waves. The captain proved far more resourceful than his men. He sought me out. I do believe he meant to slay me on the spot, if you can imagine anything so foolish."

Both gryphon and demon burst into laughter. "Imagine!" Duo chortled. "A human, taking on a siren? Go on, what did you do then? Tell him to go home to his yard to play with the puppies?"

"I considered it," Zechs said, examining his claws. He gave a toothy grin. "I was amused, so I didn't dash him immediately to his death. Perhaps I should have. He has stayed close to my side ever since, following me wherever I go. He vowed revenge, but I fail to see how he could ever achieve it."

"Humans," Quatre sniffed. "Who knows how they think. I would not keep one if all the other pet choices ran out. Why don't you just abandon him somewhere?"

Zechs shrugged, his tail making lazy sweeps in the water. "I find him entertaining enough. And he has a remarkably clever wit. And he is something to look at, don't you agree?"

Quatre nodded slowly. "True enough. He is pleasing to the eye." He looked at Zechs again. "And it would have been hard on you to make this journey by yourself. At the very least, Treize was useful?"

"As beasts of burden go," Zechs confirmed.

All three of them shared unkind laughter.

Back in the caves, Treize sneezed.

o0o 0o0

There were many, many different kinds of dragons. From the great Imperial dragons, oldest of all dragons, to the tiny fire dragons, barely bigger than a house cat. From sun dragons who derived healing power from the sun, to wind dragons, fastest of all dragons. Relena raced through the night, little more than a golden gleam in the sky as she winged toward her destination. Dragons, magical beings tied intimately to all power on Candora, were the most powerful of immortal beings.

As such, Relena carried with her the memories of her former life. She'd been a high-ranking angel, one of the commanders of King Odin's great armies of Heaven. A fierce champion of the cause of good. She had been one of the most vocal advocates of Oraia, blessed Bright Lady of Heaven. During one of the bloodiest battles in history, Relena had been confronted by none other than Tovala, Queen of Hell. At the time she'd had no title. She had engaged Relena and shot her through the heart with an Unsummoning arrow.

She could remember the savage, icy cold as it burrowed into her flesh and consumed her. There had been no one around to carry her back to Heaven where she might have been saved. It was that incident that had branded the Queen Tovala the Cruel, some ten thousand years before she met Anzuei, her husband. Relena still burned at the memory. She had sincerely hoped Tovala's son would die at Oraia's hands.

Smiling to herself, she winged out of the sky when she saw her destination: an enormous camp that looked run by mercenaries. All of them wore gleaming white armor emblazoned with a golden symbol of the sun surrounding white wings. She landed just outside the camp and approached the two humans on watch closest her.

"I wish to speak with the Bright Lady," she said.

They recognized her at once and escorted her into the camp. There, discussing plans with several human generals, was Oraia. Resplendent in her gleaming white robes, she saw Relena and smiled.

"Ah, welcome back. Please, follow me to some place more private."

She led Relena to her enormous pavilion, and for once Relena was glad of her relatively small size so she could fit inside. Once the flap was closed, she immediately transformed into her second shape. Now she looked like a young woman with dark blonde hair. Exactly as she had looked as an angel. Oraia smiled and embraced her.

"I'm happy to see you again, Commander Raestha. Sit, and tell me what you've learned."

Feeling a twinge of pain at her name as an angel, Relena sat. "The demon brat survived, somehow," she said, practically spitting out the words. "He and Heero returned to Candora just a few days ago. They are now discussing ways to 'end the war' with that fool Wufei."

"So the Prince survived?" Oraia mused, not looking terribly distressed. "No matter. I am finally ready to implement the final stages of my plan, and with you by my side once more, I believe everything will fall into place with no struggle. A pity I must disgrace Heero. I had such hopes for him."

Relena folded her hands and settled in to listen to the Bright Lady. She could not help but smirk when Oraia told her of Anzuei the fool's order that no angels were to enter Candora. What a pity for him he had neglected to check that there were no angels on Candora at the time.