"Sir,
the Teraphim haven't even shown their faces. Even my most simple strategies
would get us a head in this war. And with J, O, G, H, and S spreading plagues
and pestilence over the Earth, our power will be growing immensely. I can use
this to my advantage with my strategies."
Duo nodded as Dorothy, Demon of
Chaos and his battle strategist, laid out her ideas before him. He continued to listen to the words
and strategies that flowed from Dorothy's lips. But something was putting him
in a feeling of unease. There was some reason why Heaven was holding back. He
knew it, or rather felt it and when it came somehow he knew it wouldn't be good
or rather bad. A dark chuckle escaped his lips.
"Something funny, Shinigami?" Dorothy
quipped at him.
"No, I was just trying to think of why the
Heavens are holding back." Duo stood and stretched his wings to their
great length, the sounds of tormented souls and the shrieks of his Hellspawn
like music to his ears. He saw in the distance a flying being coming towards
him, her dark hair waving as viciously as her leathery, hellish wings beat, carrying
her quickly towards him. She landed a few feet away, her dark eyes narrowed
with hatred.
"Ah, Hilde…what have you discovered?" he asked, his
tone fairly triumphant. He smirked evilly as she neared him, yet her brow
remained creased.
"It's the Teraphim. They've breached our front line.
Heero and Zechs are regrouping, while Treize and his faction are fighting them
at our second line. Their general was able to break through both barriers
though…he's coming for you."
Duo crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "So they
are here…let that Angel of Light come. I'll dispose of him easily…" He then
spread his wings and took to the blood red sky while Hilde took off in the
opposite direction. The awesome Shinigami watched the smoky horizon for his
adversary as he landed on a jagged rock and stood, his arms crossed and an
arrogant grin on his face. "Foolish angel…coming to meet your damnation…"
A beacon of light quickly appeared on the horizon,
brighter than anything the God of Death had seen before. It was a juggernaut of
power and purity, and as it grew nearer to Duo, he saw that it was indeed that
fabled Angel of Light. His ivory wings were proud and erect as they moved,
propelling the blessed being closer. The brilliant aura of light that
surrounded his golden hair flared magnificently, and his pale snowy pants, his
only attire, whipped viciously as he flew. Keen marine eyes glared angrily at
Shinigami, and Duo chose to meet his enemy halfway and engage him in the air.
He again leapt into the air, his amethyst eyes sparkling with malice and
premature triumph. "Come to me, angel. You shall soon meet your end at my
hand."
"I have found him…so this is the Shinigami that
reigns over the morbid realm of flames…"
Ahead, Quatre could see his adversary, lean and tall,
his long hair pulled back in a braid that waved as maliciously as the darkness
that surrounded him. His ebony pants whipped viciously back and forth as his
black, hellish wings beat. He bore a deadly, gleaming scythe in one hand; it
glittered with otherworldly power as he brandished it. Quickly, the Angel of
Light heightened his speed, his halo flaring intensely with supreme
determination.
"So, you have come to meet your demise…I truly
appreciate the thought…with your death, my armies will have enough strength to
overtake the heavens and cast your kinds down to the torment that I have had to
endure since time began!" cried Shinigami, his voice dripping with arrogance
and cruelty.
"I will stop you, God of Death…no matter what it
takes. You will not succeed in your attempt at dominance; I won't let you."
Quatre's voice came levelly and serious, his marine eyes narrowed. Shinigami
let out a quite humored laugh, full of pitiless spite.
"Angel, I aim to disagree…with every second we stand
here, my armies are gaining me more and more power…by the deaths of those who
fear us the most. Men, women, children, infirmed, healthy, wounded, homeless,
it doesn't matter. All will be
sacrificed for my soldiers and I. I will spare no living creature on this
deplorable lump of molten rock and soil, and soon, it will be you who will bow
to me!"
At these last words, the braided god closed his eyes
and let his scythe liquidate into his surroundings; letting his strong hands
fall to his sides, balled in fists. He opened his eyes, revealing their eerie,
possessed blood-red glow and grinned assuredly.
Suddenly, it felt as though two invisible hands had
taken hold of Quatre's ivory white wings and attempted to rip them relentlessly
from his back. He cried out in pain; pain that he had never before felt before;
and grimaced in anger at he who had attacked him and his evil, haughty laugh.
Those eyes had held such evil in them…it chilled Quatre to look into them.
"I…will never bow to a being as evil and corrupt as
you…I will not!" Quatre cried as he brought himself up from his inflictions and
flew forward, hands outstretched towards his foe. Duo quickly noticed this and
darted agilely out of the way. However, he did not account for the Angel of
Light's own speed, as he felt a searing pain wash over him as the angel's quick
and nimble hands pressed against his back. He felt their cleansing power lash
at his being, draining his power. He quickly maneuvered his injured body from
the angel's painful touch and stared into his opponent's glimmering, serious
aqua eyes. He saw no trace of triumph in the seraph's eyes, but pity and divine
strength. Had Duo been any lesser demon or Hellspawn, he would have cowered at
this archangel's awesome might. But he would not cower; he refused to be
intimidated by this bearer of good; this being that considered himself the
better.
" I was hoping to spare you of a horrendous death,
Angel…but I see that you wish to fight me to your full extent…very well…I will
not relent!"
The battlefield raged where the two deities clashed,
flashes of light and strikes of darkness ripping across the blood-red crimson
sky. All that could be heard over the shrieks of the tormented were the battle
cries of the archangel of radiance and the deity of bereavement for days on
end. Neither would relent nor win, and they were each growing weaker from each
other's strength. Also unbeknownst to them, the influence of the other's powers
and energy was gaining each a tolerance…Darkness was growing to endure Light's
dazzling aura, and Light was beginning to resist Darkness' evil pull. Although,
in the heat of battle, neither noticed this growing tolerance, which was why
perhaps that neither gained nor lost anything in their confrontation. For days
their combined fury tore at the land as well as each other, a combination of
two of the most powerful forces in the celestial dominion.
But the final blow was to come soon, although the
hand that at first perceived that he had delivered it, was in fact, upon the
receiving end of it.
"Shinigami!! You will not leave this arena
victorious. You will be beaten, as all evil beings are in the end…" Quatre said
seriously, arms crossed over his bare chest and his ivory wings untainted by
the deathly blackness of hatred. Through the fading smoke that wafted into the
sky, an evil, dreadful chortle punctuated the death-scented wind, and through
the black air, the angel could see the powerful Shinigami ahead, surrounded by
the flames of his empire of wrought iron and pain. His grin was pure
malevolence, and his eyes were smoldering like the fire that encompassed him.
"I think not."
Before the magnificent angel could react to these
three strong words, he felt the force of a dark army a thousand strong
thrusting their demonic weapons of devastation into his holy body. He felt all
the heat and destruction of the flames of Perdition flare up against his body,
as though he himself were being cast down into the Pit himself. His wings were
immobile and unable to hold him aloft any longer; his body was thrown backwards
to the earth, propelled by the wickedness of all that was unholy. He felt the
true incurred wrath of Shinigami; a merciless and swift opponent. As he struck
the ground, the fallen archangel opened his eyes and gazed up at the triumphant
incarnation of hell as he smirked knowingly down at him.
"The mighty and renown Angel of Light; possibly the
most powerful and strong of the archangels…if I was able to defeat you, I can
only laugh at your so called army that you've sent to annihilate me…"
"It's not over…yet…" Slowly, Quatre pulled up on
weak arm and grimaced, focusing his remaining strength. What he was about to do
was possibly his last resort; the blond could only speculate as to what kind of
effect this would have on the very embodiment of death.
"Thou…of darkness overwhelmed, thou who has wandered
aimlessly in sin, come forth into…the light and see the works of thy hand…no
longer in wickedness shall thee tread!" Quatre said firmly, his hand still
outstretched towards the sky. He could
feel the unseen forces flowing from his palm; he only prayed that it worked.
Duo surveyed his acts triumphantly as he gazed down
upon his fallen challenger; but stopped as he heard the soft blessing fall from
the angel's fair lips. It was almost instantaneously after these words were
spoken that he felt something enter his blackened soul. He saw the pestilence
his demons had created; all the devastation…he saw humans calling out for the
mercy that they never received…and he saw the fallen yet conquering form of the
Angel of Light, his brilliance faded and his body broken and bruised, yet
smiling tiredly. He felt all this cruelty and anguish melt away from him, and
he saw his wrongs. The once cruel god sank to the earth, staring at his hands
in shock. The red, evil gleam vanished from his eyes, leaving them a cool
amethyst full of disbelief. He raised his face to look at the devastation that
he and his men had caused, and fell to his knees in the dust.
"Sir!" cried
Dorothy; she stood a few yards behind him, confusion in her blue eyes. "What
has that wretched angel done to you?" Her voice dripped with acidic hatred.
"Nothing, Dorothy…he's done nothing." Duo raised his
face to meet his strategist, and she was surprised to find that it was firm and
serious, void of any spite, evil, or malice. His clear violet eyes stared at
her firmly. "Call off the army…we've lost this war. Tell the Teraphim that I
will return their leader as soon as he is well…"
This left Dorothy very confused. Why was Shinigami
offering compassion towards his enemy? Nonetheless, she nodded and rose into
the air; headed for the battlefront.
Duo watched as his messenger departed, then reverted
his attention back to the archangel that lay upon the hard, worn earth. "Why
did you let yourself lose, Angel? Both you and I know that you could've easily
defeated me…yes, even though I boasted, I knew and almost feared your power…"
Duo paused and smiled coyly. "Almost…"
The seraph smiled back weakly; this fatigue that he
was so unaccustomed to tearing at his consciousness. "I'm not sure…but in a
way…we both lost…"
"Perhaps…" the God of Death paused for a moment.
"Angel…what do your friends call you in those heavens that I shall never lay
eyes upon?"
Near unconsciousness, the weakened angel took a
shaky breath.
"Quatre…they call me Quatre…"
As the angel closed his eyes and fell into blessed
sleep, he saw the awesome Shinigami step towards him, a strange gleam in his
amethyst eyes.
"So…you are Quatre, the blessed Angel of Light…you
stopped my corrupt ways…thank you."
The quiet Shinigami watched that slumbering, injured
angel from across the room, slightly awestruck. He didn't know why he had brought Quatre here, to the tainted
world of fire and brimstone, but he had. The gentle glow that radiated from the
seraph cast a pure, divine glisten over the gnarled bronze and granite walls of
Duo's chambers. After a few hours of watching and contemplating his own
motives, Duo noticed that the aura surrounding the angel was brightening.
"He must've healed himself…he should be awakening
soon…"
"My men call me Duo…"came a familiar voice through
the ebony waves of darkness. Quatre could feel an unnatural heat around him,
and as he opened his aqua eyes, he was met with a dim, dark room. Fiery torches
of mangled bronze cast an eerie glimmer across the room, and in the shadows
stood a tall, lean figure.
"What? Where am I?" Quatre demanded, sitting up. As
he realized that he had been laying in an unfamiliar bed, the figure stepped
forward, silent.
"After you blacked out, I felt indebted to you…and I
couldn't very well leave you; our armies were still fighting. So, I brought you
to my home…my name is Duo…"
Quatre watched the ominous Shinigami melt from the
darkness, awestricken. In his former opponent's eyes, he suddenly recognized
that strange gleam. It was something quite foreign to those borne of Death's
eternal flames, and yet it was there, mingled with compassion that was as true
as any being in the skies. 'It can't be…could it?'
"These are my chambers, Quatre. I'm afraid that they hardly do you any justice; I feel as though, by bringing you here, I've committed sacrilege."
Quatre smiled a bit as he regarded that alien glisten in the God of Death's eyes, understanding that the braided god had no knowledge of the love that he bore. "Duo, do not worry about sacrilege. I won't."
Duo nodded as Quatre stood and fluttered out his renewed wings; quickly discovering that he found the archangel a beautiful spectacle. Never before had he seen glory and beauty in anything but death and corruption…
"I want to thank you for your kindness, Angel…I stand amazed at your valor. Many of your kind have come against me and fallen victim to my dark power. And yet, you sent me, an unworthy bring, a blessing…"
As Quatre listened to the god's smooth tenor voice, he heard no trace of his previous arrogance and hatred. His clear violet eyes glittered with conviction; the firelight danced across his graceful yet powerful body as he stepped towards the archangel. The blond found himself enraptured by the humbled god's movements.
"No, I should be the one thanking you, Do. My men would have attacked you anew had they found me in that state. You did the right thing in bringing me here."
Silence reigned for a few moments as the brilliant Angel of Light and the portentous God of Death regarded one another. Calm marine eyes met gleaming amethyst ones for a brief moment before another word was spoken.
"I must return to the heavens…soon, they will start to get anxious for my return…"
Quatre saw a glimmer of sadness waft over that glisten of love in Duo's eyes as he began to walk towards the door; and something compelled him to make a bold move.
"I understand," Duo said softly, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, he felt a gentle touch upon his cheek, like a feather gracing his skin. He opened his eyes slowly to find Quatre standing a few inches from him; the angel's radiant hand caressing his face. Duo looked at the seraph's gentle expression and met his loving gaze with one of apprehensive confusion and wonder. But the silent Shinigami was so lost so much in Quatre's tender touch that he almost didn't hear the blond's soft reservation.
"Duo…have you ever been kissed?"
Duo looked at him searchingly. "I…I don't understand…what is a…kiss?"
A thought struck Quatre as these words escaped the deity's lips. He was the embodiment of death; immersed in hatred since time began. A kiss was as unknown to him as love was, although ironically, he bore it. Quatre shook his head gently and smiled softly as he continued to trace Duo's face with his hand, gracing his lips with his fingertips.
"Allow me to show you…what a kiss is, Shinigami…"
Then, slowly and carefully, the Angel of Light leaned forward and pressed his lips tenderly to the God of Death's own, dropping his hands lightly to Duo's warm shoulders.
A sharp breath escaped Duo as he felt the angel's mouth against his own. The seraph's warmth was soothing and sweet; and as he felt Quatre's lips dance smoothly across his, he found himself slowly returning the sweet gesture. He closed his eyes and let himself be swept up into the angel's arms, his mind singing in this new experience. He could feel the gentle brush of feathers against his skin; it was a cool and refreshing sensation to his fevered body. He laced his arms around Quatre's trim waist, the soft, snowy cloth rustling underneath his fingertips.
As the two parted, Quatre slowly opened his eyes and looked upon the features of the Shinigami in his arms. His eyes were barely open, his face calm, yet saddened.
"You, of all the creatures of Hell, are unique. Only you know of remorse, pain…and love…because of this, you will never truly be the same…"
Duo smiled a bit, his long chestnut bangs mingling with Quatre's own blond hair. "And for this, I thank you also…"
Quatre looked back towards the silent Shinigami as he stepped through the gnarled and scorched gates of Hell; preparing to leave for his skyward home. Behind Duo, the flames of his home leapt up viciously; the cries of the damned increasing in intensity with each flare.
"Farewell," Quatre said softly, unfurling his wide majestic wings. But before he took to the air, a strong yet placid hand caressed the soft feathers over his shoulders.
"Quatre…promise me that you'll return…" came the tender, pleading voice.
Quatre turned to face Duo, his eyes filled with remorse. "Duo…there's a law…you and I both know that…"
"I don't care about that damn taboo…" Duo said sternly. He paused briefly and gently put his fingertips on the seraph's chin up to bring his marine gaze to meet his own. Quatre looked at him, and Duo noticed a tear fall from his eyes.
"Angels…do not cry…" Duo said firmly in a soft voice.
"Death isn't supposed to love either…"
"Promise me, Quatre…both Hell…and myself…need a little light…return to me again someday…"
Quatre smiled as Duo wiped the tear away and sighed a bit,
"I promise…"
~*Owari*~