"Shinigami's Curse"
By: Avalon Merquise
DramaQueen572@hotmail.com

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PART ONE

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"You're a stupid fool!"

Duo's words rang in his ears as he carried the Taurus Cruiser back to Peacemillion. Why did he yell at her? She'd risked her life to help them. To help their cause. He could've at least said thanks before he yelled at her.

God though, she'd scared the crap out of him. Hearing Hilde's terrified voice over the comms as she was being thrashed. Watching her scream in terror still trying to defend herself from the Mercurius and Vayeate mobile dolls. Then he saw her weak, lacerated body. She looked so fragile. Duo wanted to cry.

"Hold on, Hilde, we're almost there," he whispered. His comm link was open, but he wasn't sure if she could hear him.

He reached the massive ship belonging to his old friend Howard and docked his Gundam. He jumped out of the hatch.

Hilde sat back, unable to move. She felt blood trickle down her forehead and down her cheek. She felt blood going down her arms. So much pain. It was worth it though. She'd gotten the disk to Duo. She'd succeeded; her mission was completed. She was in a lot of pain, but she was convinced she'd be fine. After fighting those two mobile dolls on her own, she thought she was a goner. But as she sat there, she felt better. She hurt too much to move, but it wasn't that bad. She'd get better. She was going to be okay. Wouldn't she?

Hilde almost screamed out loud when she felt the slight jolt as they landed. Then she calmed down and opened the hatch. She fumbled around with the latch of her straps, unable to get her bloody fingers to cooperate, when she saw Duo coming up her to her. He jumped up onto the ledge.

"Sit back," he commanded her. She stopped moving and Duo got her out of the straps and picked her up. He carried her out of the severely damaged Taurus cruiser and yelled for someone to go and get Sally Po. Quatre ran to go get her.

Duo held Hilde gently but firmly in his strong arms, careful not to hurt her. He stroked her short blue hair with his right hand and brushed her bangs away from her face. She looked terrible.

Hilde slowly reached into her right pocket and pulled out the disk with a shaky hand. She held it up to Duo. "Here," she whispered. "I hope it helps you guys."

Duo forced a smile. "Let's hope so, babe. You wouldn't wanna have gone through all that for nothin."

"I'm sorry," Hilde whispered, leaning her head against him.

Those two words broke Duo's heart. He choked on trying to find the right words to say to her, but before he figured them out, Hilde opened her mouth again.

"Duo. I met Relena Peacecraft on Libra," Hilde whispered. She coughed and doubled over in pain.

Duo panicked and reached down to help her up. There was blood streaming from her mouth. Duo starting shaking. He prayed silently for Sally Po to hurry up.

Hilde composed herself. "I met Relena Peacecraft," she said hoarsely. "We talked for a long time. She knows one of the Gundam pilots."

"Heero," Duo whispered.

Hilde latched her hands onto Duo's arms, just in case she fainted. Things were getting fuzzy and everyone was starting to rock and sway and spin. She felt like she was on an amusement park ride. And the pain was unbearable.

Suddenly the door opened and Sally rushed in, wheeling a stretcher. She rushed up to Duo. He set Hilde gingerly onto the it.

"I'll be okay, Duo," Hilde said quietly and weakly before she passed out. Duo squeezed her hand and tried to convince himself she'd be okay. He watched in disdain as Sally wheeled her away, with him and the other Gundam pilots watching.

An hour later Duo was waiting anxiously outside of Peacemillion's infirmary. Sally came out.

"How is she?" Duo asked.

Sally bit her bottom lip. Part of the reason she gave up being a military doctor was she hated breaking bad news to people. But, at least this time there was still hope.

"She has a lot of internal injuries and internal bleeding. THere was a concussion and... she just slipped into a coma," Sally reported sorrowfully.

Duo gulped and closed his eyes. He'd been afraid of this. He clenched his hands into fists and tried to keep from murdering Sally. It couldn't be true. Hilde, his sweet Hilde, was in this terrible shape. It had to be another nightmare.

But it wasn't a nightmare. It was horrifyingly real. And it wasn't Sally's fault. He tried to keep his voice calm as he asked, "Will she be okay?"

Sally shrugged. "There's a lot of hope. We're prepping for surgery now. We may have to remove her spleen, but that'll hopefully stop the bleeding. The hard part's going to be getting her out of the coma. She doesn't seem to have any brain damage from the concussion, either, which is good. She's a strong girl."

Duo nodded. "How long will surgery take?"

"Maybe a couple of hours."

"Can I see her after you're done?"

"Of course."

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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So, what do you think? If I get a lot of reviews, I'll post the next part. But if I don't get many, than obviously not enough people are interested, so I won't post the rest.