Ok, this chapter might be a little dark. If you can't handle it, don't read it, it's the reason for the upped rating.

**Warning-rape

Ok, this might be a little confusing. If you don't understand something, just email me or ask in your review. If you want me to email you when the next chapter's posted (I'm hoping it's the last one) please also write that in a review. All signed reviews receive emails notifying you when next chapters are posted.

Um, I was gonna say something else.

Maybe I'll think of it as I type.

Oh yeah, thank you to all those that have reviewed!!! You've kept me writing.and I hope to have this finished ASAP. Hopefully before summer vacation starts. I think there are only one or two more chapters. 25 would be a nice number to stop at.

Disclaimer-I don't own it so don't sue.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 24

When Duo and Heero reached the second story of the castle, a guard met them at the top of the stairs.

"You had better hurry, something's gone wrong."

Duo nodded, and quickened his step, Heero following behind. They arrived to find Trowa and Sally discussing something in one area of the hallway.

Duo asked one of the guards what was going on, and the soldier simply pointed towards Wufei's window.

Duo gasped. Where the sun should have been rising, an endless blackness was creeping over the sky, covering even the brightest of stars.

"Duo, thank heaven's you've arrived." Sally said, hurrying over to the two who had just arrived.

Trowa joined her and took a deep breath. They might still stand a chance.

"Aria's scream woke us up. Wufei tried to open the door, but he was thrown back. His skull is cracked, and he's losing blood quickly. No one has entered Aria's room, even though Quatre opened it somehow. The light won't even enter."

Duo nodded, his brain quickly processing this information. "Aria is dead, or almost dead. I can feel it. I will tend to her first. Since she's part spirit mage, her spirit hasn't totally left yet. Heero take these." Duo handed Heero the leaves from the violets. "I need them crushed and boiled. I'll help Wufei after, then Quatre."

Heero nodded. He knew duo was tired, and he was worried about the angel, but what must be done must be done, and if the attack of the shadows was going to happen soon, they didn't have much time left.

Duo then turned and stepped into Aria's room. The door slammed shut behind him as soon as he had entered, and the shadows pounced, suffocating him, taking away his very breath.

Exhausted as he was, Duo brought his hands into a prayer position, and he started to glow a light purple. The shadows cried out in surprise, their voices screeching at the light as they skitted away from the glowing angel.

Duo headed over to the bed, where he could sense Aria's body. She was lying there, arms tied above her head, the metal chains cutting into her skin and binding her to the piece of furniture. Her skin was black. Pitch black. A shade so dark that it made Duo cringe. And the blackness was swirling.as if the shadows had become one with her skin.

Looking around, Duo noticed Aria's belongings were strewn across the room, and the furniture was in disarray.

Upon closer inspection of the mage's condition, Duo soon found that her black skin was covered in red welts.

.probably from a spelled whip.that would certainly explain the screams.

Placing his hands gently on her scarred stomach, Duo reached out with his healing powers. If the spirit could be coaxed back into the body, it would need to be in perfect condition.

When his hands came into contact with the dark skin, Duo's eyes flew open and he screamed out in pain. All of Aria's hurts were being transferred to him.along with her memories.

*~*

Heero waited impatiently for the guard who had left to find a pot. He had already ground the leaves, possibly more so than was needed. Now he just had to boil them. And having Duo locked in a room full of shadows was definitely not his idea of "helping". He could sense the angel's magic, along with his exhaustion.

*~*

Duo cringed as he continued healing. Aria had been through too much in his opinion. Treize had gone too far.

******

//."You will be mine!" the man snarled, brandishing his whip. He had just entered the room, shutting and spelling the door. The shadows followed him, obeying his every word. He took in every detail of the girl on the bed.his cold blue eyes judging, and filled with an evil that would chill anyone's spine.

The girl on the bed's breathing was laboured, her green shirt and white pants glowing in the dim light from the moon that was streaming through the open window.the entrance which Treize had used.

He set the whip down on the bedside table, ushering his shadow minions into the room.

Gently brushing a strand of hair from her face, he lifted Aria into a sitting position, and placed a small vial at her lips. Tipping it upwards, he emptied its contents into her mouth.

Aria coughed, choking slightly on the liquid as it burned her throat. Her eyes fluttered open, and focused slowly.

A confused look appeared on her face as Trieze came into focus. "My lord."

"Hush." He whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead.

Aria cringed away in disgust.

"I came here for a reason, love."

Aria's eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that."

"I believe you're in no position to talk back to me. I'm already upset with you."

Aria glanced around the room. She could feel the spell on the door, and Treize was standing in the way of the window. Not to mention that the room was climbing with shadows.they soaked in the light, darkening the room beyond any darkness, and blocking out all warmth. Aria shivered.

"Now, we must talk of your task."

Aria shook her head. "I have a few days left."

Treize's eyes glinted evilly. "I've had news reported to me that you have gone against your orders, and are not planning to carry them through. I'm sorry, but you won't live past tonight." //

******

Slowly but surely, the darkness started to leave Aria's skin. Duo was now gasping for breath as he ordered her heart to start beating, trying to block out the images flooding his mind, and the coldness burning his fingers.

Suddenly, an icy evil threw itself through those very fingers and up Duo's arms, chilling him to the bone. The angel struggled to maintain the connection between himself and Aria.

"I'm not.strong enough!" he gasped, as the fight continued.

*~*

Heero paced Wufei's room. Duo's cried of pain were starting to get to him. He needed something to do besides watch a pot of water come to a boil. A roar from the dragon *flying* outside gave the animal mage an idea. Aria's window had to be the only possible entrance to her room, since the door was obviously out of the question.

Within moments, a falcon replaced the human form of Heero Yuy, and with a screech, it flew out of Wufei's window and circled the air outside a few times.

*~*

// Aria's eyes widened at these last words. She knew that she could die. After all, even a bi-magical mage was a mortal. However, her work was done. Quatre had been trained. Her eyes then noticed the whip on the table.

Treize followed her gaze. "Oh yes, we're going to have fun tonight."

Aria tried to break free of his grasp, but he was too strong, and she was still weak from the day before. "How did you wake me up?"

Treize motioned towards the vial beside the whip. "Nothing too strong, but it should keep you weak enough. I'm not in the mood for someone who's going to struggle. I do hope you won't be too much of a problem. Oh, and another small detail. It prevents you from using any magic for the next couple of hours."

Aria snarled at him, and resumed trying to escape. "WUFEI!!!"

"Ah, ah, ah, now we can't have that can we?" Treize growled, snapping his fingers. The spell was immediately in place, preventing Aria from speaking another word. Screaming, however, he had not accounted for, and he was about to find that out soon enough.

Aria shook her head rapidly, hair falling into her face. Treize brushed it out and pressed his forehead against hers, his strong hands holding her in place. "You will be mine, whether you like it or not. Why not make this easier on yourself and obey me? You could enjoy this."

Aria, however, couldn't respond.

"Mmm.I've been waiting a while for this.you're so beautiful.and I bet you taste nice as well." with these words, and to Aria's disgust, Treize pressed his lips against hers. He tried to deepen the kiss, forcing her mouth open and slipping his tongue inside.

Summoning some magic with the rest of her strength, Aria managed to overcome the spell and she sent a jolt of raw energy through Treize.

He cried out in pain, and withdrew from the girl. However, you shouldn't make someone who has a power over you mad. His hand reached for the whip. "I am not pleased. You trained the fire mage, the one person that could have the power to overcome me. You have been unfaithful to your dark mage vows, and you will be punished." He snarled, brandishing the whip in one hand, and holding Aria in place with the other. "Oh, I almost forgot." Replacing the whip on the table, Treize left Aria on the bed and returned to where he had left his shirt. Rummaging around for a while, he found what he was looking for and turned around. "This should suit you quite nicely."

In his hands was a slender silver chain, and Aria could sense an evil spell embedded in the metal.

"You will be mine." Treize hissed once again, bringing Aria's arms above her head and securing them to the bed frame.

~*~

A few moments later, Aria's eyes were screwed shut in pain.

_CRACK_

The whip was raised and lowered forcefully again.

I will not cry.I will not cry. Aria repeated to herself in her head. She didn't want to show Treize that she was weak. //

*~*

Duo gasped and opened his eyes. The pain was overwhelming. He could feel the tears burning the corners of his eyes. How could she have survived?

Then once again, the coldness was thrown at him. The fight continued, with the evil pushing against the angel, forcing him to give up.

*~*

Heero opened his eyes slowly. His wings and feathers were gone, and he was inside Aria's room.

"I'm not strong enough." He just barely heard Duo mutter.

The other youth looked like he was struggling with something. His eyes were firmly closed; a grimace was etched in his angelic features. And with a cry, his back arched in pain, and something in Heero's mind broke.

Duo was in pain, and there wasn't anything he could do.

Or was there? What about how he had shared his power with Duo in the dungeons.He grunted to himself, knowing that he should have remembered that right away. Being what he was and all.

He stepped towards the braided angel, noticing that the darkness had left. The room was a dark grey, as the sunlight from outside was still blocked, struggling to get free of the shadows.

Aria was on the bed, her body scarred, although no longer bleeding. Her head was thrown back, and her lips parted in what must have been her last cry of pain. Her dead eyes wide open, staring yet not seeing. The sheets were covered and blood, the room stank of the thick substance.

Another cry jerked Heero back to the urgentness of the predicament. Positioning himself behind Duo, he reached under the wings and pulled the angel to lean back against him.

Duo's eyes focused at the touch, almost forgetting what he was doing. Heero then brought his hands over to the bed and placed them on top of Duo's.

"Use my power." Heero murmured in the angel's ear. "And we can do this."

"It's gonna hurt."

"Just do it."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Heero nodded.

Duo calmed himself, leaning heavily on Heero. He needed to get this done, Wufei and Quatre's lives were also at stake, and they weren't spirit mages. Once they were dead, they were dead for good. Refocusing his power, Duo lost himself again in the spell.

Heero's teeth clenched as Duo pulled from his power. The mage wondered for a split second what Duo was trying to do before it hit him.

A wave of knives, stabbing him from the inside, and a darkness so cold that it numbed his mind to any thoughts but pain. He wouldn't survive.There was no way that anyone could survive this amount of torture.

Duo's eyes rolled back into his head, leaving only the whites to be seen. Feeding off of Heero's fresh power, he channelled it into his spell, enhancing the body, and preparing it for Aria's spirit.

Heero grimaced, eyes tightly closed. The pain was so unbearable that he felt like he was being split in two.but the images.it was the images from Aria's death that were starting to get to him.

*****

// Tears slid down Aria's face as she wept from the pain. Treize's hands were raking over her body, drawing blood with his fingernails. His whip had been lost in the confusion, but a small dagger had replaced it, tracing patterns of bloody marks over Aria's creamy skin.

"You will pay for trying to betray me." he hissed as he forced his lips on hers.

Aria was still wordless, unable to speak a word. Her screams, however, sounded occasionally. The metal chains holding her wrists to the bed frame were starting to cut into her skin, and her wounds were stinging mercilessly.

Just let me die.please..just let me die. Aria pleaded silently as she screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the man who was torturing her.

Her wishes were soon to come true, however, as Treize brought forth his new toy. "This." He said, providing another vile. "Will be your finishing." He lifted the glassware to her lips, and forced her to swallow the liquid.

Her scream came a few moments after she had swallowed it as the shadows came rushing forth, forcing themselves through her skin and into her very soul.

*****

Within a few moments of pure torture, Heero felt the pain subsiding slightly. He opened his eyes and realized how tense he was. His skin was scratched, and Duo had collapsed completely in his arms. Aria was on the bed, her skin pale, the rise and fall of her chest slow and laboured, but she was breathing.

Heero gently lowered Duo to the floor. The angel was unconscious, but he was still alive. His wings had reclined, and a sheet of sweat covered his skin. Heero checked his pulse. It was just barely there.

Sighing, he decided to leave the two for Sally. Finding a relatively clean sheet, he covered Aria, who seemed to be improving by the second. She was already breathing more easily, and the scars that marked her pale skin were beginning to fade away.

Heero headed over and opened the door.only to be pushed back into the room as Sally and Trowa shoved him aside, followed by 2 guards who were carrying Wufei and Quatre. A third had a pot and Duo's herbs.

"What's going on?" Heero demanded.

"The shadows have entered the castle walls, and the city has been destroyed." Trowa explained.

Heero froze. Duo's vision.

"I'm not sure how long we have, but I do know that however long it is shan't be very long at all."

Sally headed over to look after Duo, but she would have to work quickly if any of them were going to get out of this alive. They needed Duo to heal Wufei and Quatre.without him.all hope would be lost.and time was ticking away rather quickly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Well, that's it for now!! Please leave a review...it's not against the law...hinthinthint....

~ Duo's Only Chick