Chapter 4: Dark and lonely
Against the rules...
"Shut up."
This is strictly forbidden.
"For the love of hell, Sei, Shut up."
We never even remotely considered this possibility.
"I have heard enough, Sei. More than enough." Katrina's voice was harsh and troubled. She left to make some food while casually ignoring Sei.
For now.
************
Quatre was padding around in the kitchen trying to make some kind of breakfast. And not doing a go job about it either.
"Morning, love. Making a mess?" Katrina yawned as she greeted Quatre, sleepily sock sliding across the tiled floor in. "How many times have I told you, get out of my kitchen."
"I feel so at home." Quatre murmured good-naturedly and departed for the living room and his cartoons.
"Glad I could help." Yawning once
more, Katrina lifted the coffee maker lid and bustled around her warm kitchen,
the makings of the world's best pick-me-up brewing on the counter. Inhaling
deep, she gazed at her reflection in the glass window. Her face was a bit pale
and her eyes shadowed. No wonder, she
thought scathingly. I had a little voice
in my head whispering to me all night.
Your anger is wasted. The voice in her head was remote and distant, unlike the normal warmth Sei usually held for her.
"Goddammit, Sei," Katrina hissed. "There are ways around this."
Not from Shinigami himself! Sei cried inside her mind. That silly boy he posses may be the strongest host Shinigami has so far acquired, but no one can resist Death.
"Is it the same with Life?"
Katrina poured herself a cup of coffee and headed to the sliding glass door, and stopping at it for a second. "Thank god. Silence." She smiled and opened the door.
Katrina stopped at the window of Duo's room when she heard a bang and some shouting. She gently put her ear against the slightly thin wall listing to what was going on, taking sips of coffee when needed.
*************
To the ignorant eye, it appeared Duo Maxwell was suffering from a bizarre form of schizophrenia, and destroying his room in the process.
Sei will be mine, the bodiless words echoed in his head. I will have her. Her pathetic host body is not of importance. Duo roared and hurled his fist into the wall. Wood splintered and slivers embedded his skin, but the pain was secondary.
"You'll 'have' no one," Duo growled. "You are only a spirit! I will not be controlled by your damn words!" He clenched his fists in anger and then in agony as pain rippled once throughout his entire being. He picked up the iron-wrought chair and pounded it into the floor.
Words, Duo? The voice was amused. I hardly need words for my task. The lilting tone vanished. I will have what I want. Nothing stands in my way. And if you dare stay in my way, I will destroy you, as well.
"I won't let you hurt her, you know that." Duo grinned and started to look for something in a black bag.
Duo laughed as he brought out a revolver (and no, I am not promoting suicide.) and laughed. "I'm going to make sure you won't kill her."
By killing yourself!? No matter, I will just resurrect you again.
"I thought that you might." He put the gun to his head. "But no matter how almighty you might be, there is no way you could bring me back with my brains splattered on the wall." He heard a soft yelp from outside but ignored it.
Do you think I will just watch,
little one? You won't go through with it.
Duo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Just you see."
His finger pressed slightly before stopping. He snapped his eyes open in fear. "D-d-damn y-you, Shinigami."
The voice just laughed at him, Now lets see how you like it when you don't control your death.
His finger started to press against the trigger again, but instead of his arm shaking, it was perfectly still.
"Don't! Stop it Shinigami. You proved your point!" Duo's voice had a bit of terror in it.
Now do you see how it feels to have someone else take control of your life, hmm? Now you see how easily I can make you do my will?
**************
(I will now promote……….suspense. ooooooh. Will Duo be killed? Will his brains decorate the wall? Will Shinigami posses Heero? Heh. I'll stop now. And to let every one know, I am desperately in love with Duo, so all the things up there are no….except for maybe the first two.)
Katrina broke the door down right before the trigger was pulled, making it to Duo to point the gun to the ceiling. And it left a good-sized hole in the ceiling and killed a passing by bird.
"What the hell do you think you were doing Duo? You scared me half to death!"
Duo collapsed to the ground lifelessly a few seconds after her comment, almost like he was first learning to stand after being paralyzed.
"Duo?" Katrina kneeled down and placed a hand on his shoulder. Duo was curled up in a fetal position and was breathing heavily into his knees. She moved some loose strands of hair away from his face, noticing that his eyes were closed halfway. "Duo." She gently wrapped her arms around him and pulled him up to her.
Obviously exhausted from the past experience, he leaned his head against her and surrendered to unconsciousness. He hardly noticed when Katrina called for Quatre. When they moved him to her room and placed him on her bed. And he never knew that Katrina had given him a feather kiss on his forehead.
**************
Where am I? Why is so dark in here? Duo was surrounded by an endless black void. As he was looking around he noticed that he was standing on, nothing. "What the…"
A laugh echoed off of everything and nothing at all. A light mist floated around Duo then vanished. Another person emerged from the mist, although Duo could not tell who it was, he just knew that the person had somewhat long hair.
"Katrina?" Duo walked closer to the figure, but stopped when the figure started to laugh at him. "Wait I know that laugh…"
The figure stopped laughing and grinned, harsh blood red eyes staring at Duo behind midnight black bangs. "I thought you would have by now." The voice sounded cold and hard, mocking and biting. The figure stepped closer to Duo, showing black leather like cape/robe covering his slight frame and accenting his marble colored skin. His black hair fell down to just below his shoulders. He took his arm and motioned to the void around them, "So how do you like my home?"
"It's…. nice, but just get to the point, Shinigami, why am I here?" A small smirk from Shinigami made Duo feel like hightailing it in the opposite direction.
Shinigami smiled and sat down on the air, his cape draping down, "What, you don't want to talk a bit?" The sarcasm in his voice was heavy. His eyes grew cold as he stood up again. "Or are you too tired from defying me to talk!"
This caught Duo by surprise, "What?"
"You think I didn't know what that stunt was up there? For all the things I gave you, this is how you repay me. Trying to kill me." Shinigami started to walk towards Duo, his black robe flowing behind him like air.
Duo just laughed, "What do you mean, 'all the things I gave you'? What the hell have you given me that I should be thankful for?"
Shinigami stopped a foot from him and glared, "I gave you life."
Duo just stared at him with coldness reflecting in his eyes, sneering at Shinigami, "I don't remember you giving me life, I thought my mother did that?"
"You fool!" Shinigami snapped, the leather cape unfastened and spread back into open bat wings. The wings shook, showing his anger. "I was the one who found your lifeless corpse huddled up to you dead friend in an alley of the L2 colony all those years ago. Your soul was begging to be spared to have revenge, so I had mercy on it. If I hadn't wanted to give your lifeless soul its wish you would be a skeleton resting beside you friend, Solo."
Bitter tears fell from Duo's eyes, "Don't you talk about Solo like that! You could have saved him too! Who knows I might have wanted to stay behind!"
Shinigami grabbed Duo's chin in his cold hand, bringing his face inches from Duo's. Shinigami's wings encased them both in the darkness of death, "Let's face it Duo, I need you, and you need me. I know you still want to destroy OZ for ruining you life and taking the life of you friend. I know this because here, in this place, I can hear all of you're desires and wishes. But instead of only one wish for revenge screaming in the night, I hear your desire for that girl. "
Not being able to see anything but soft red glows, Duo tore his face from Shinigami's hand, "All I'm living for now is Katrina and to make sure that no one hurts her. That's all; I have no wish to destroy OZ for revenge. It is only for my mission that I must destroy it."
Duo began to feel weightless as he started to come into consciousness, You keep on thinking that Duo, but I know the truth of your soul, and it may run and hide from me…but it will never tell me lies…
**************
Duo heard a
soft singing enter through his darkness, Wha?
"Ave verum corpus…"
The darkness around his soul started to lift as the soprano voice continued it's foreign song.
"Natum de Maria Virgine vere passum imolatum in cruce pro
homine…"
Pain flashed through him as reality came back to him.
"Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine sanguine…"
What's happening…am I dead? That thought left at a wave of pain hit his head.
"Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine…"
Relishing in the darkness that filled his eyes, Duo just listened to the ethereal song as it made his pain disappear.
"O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu Fili Mariae…"
Is this heaven…it sounds like an
angel singing next to me…
"Miserere mei…"
"Miserere mei, mei…"
"O dulcis, O pie,
O Jesu Fili Mariae…"
In his eyes he saw a small light, a figure beckoning to him. Angelic wings comforting him.
"Miserere mei…"
The angel wraps her wings around
him and all he can see is its silver eyes turn violet… 'Come back to me
Duo…'.
"Miserere mei, mei, Am-…"
His eyes open to see Katrina looking at him from above, causing to end her singing. The only thing that disturbed him about his angel was her eyes, half violet and the other half as silver as the angel's were…
"Duo, what are you staring at?"…
Author's notes: Wow! A new record…two posts in one weekend. Very cool. And I want to give out a personal thank you to two sets of people…one: the people who reviewed my new story 'Fatal Depression'. Thank you very much, just cause I got all of those reviews in a short time…I will try to get it completed as soon as possible. two: to the forum I go to often…thank you guys so much for letting me vent and complain about everything. And to KatherineTheMage who is listening to my babble as I finished this chapter…please be nice and read her stories. Thank you every one who read all of this long author's note. It's over now…go! Leave me alone…must write more stories!
Chaio! Alora Maxwell
English translation of 'Ave Verum Corpus' by William Byrd.
Ave verum corpus
O lord, great creator
Natum de Maria Virgine vere passum imolatum in cruce pro
homine
Thou who comfortest in all our need, O forgive us our transgressions, and show us. Thy law to heed,
Cujus latus
perforatum unda fluxit sanguine sanguine
Nations sing her song of praises for the Son from Heav'n above, Heav'n above,
Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine
Lord, we sing Thy praise and glory, so thankful for Thy great love.
O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu Fili Mariae
O tender, O loving, O Jesus Son of Mary;
Miserere mei
Show on me Thy mercy,
Miserere mei, mei
Show on me Thy mercy, mercy,
O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu Fili Mariae
O tender, O loving, O Jesus Son of Mary;
Miserere mei
Show on me Thy mercy on me,
Miserere mei, mei, Amen
Show on me Thy mercy on me, on me, Amen