Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Gundam Wing or, for those of you who have read them, the books Sabriel, Lirael, or Abhorsen. Those are by one of the greatest authors in the world: Garth Nix! Anyway, sueing me wouldn't get you much so I wouldn't recommend it. Cheers! Hope you like!

Ch.2 The Chill of Death
by: Little_Firefly

As soon as Duo was inside Relena's room the door slammed shut and became electrified once more. The bell's spell was broken but all the guys waited outside her door for the return of the braided boy.

Inside of Relena's room Duo noticed that the mist was the thickest in the center of the room where he assumed Relena would be. Duo once again heard the sound of Kibeth and his legs moved through the mist, against his better judgment. An ice covered hand slowly reached out towards Duo's face. He squinched his eyes shut and willed the hand to go away, to no avail. Two of the frozen fingers touched his forehead and felt surprisingly warm. Duo opened his eyes and was surprised to see an ice covered face inches from his own. He really wanted to run away now and began to pee his pants.

Then he noticed that something on his forehead was glowing where the fingers were touching him. Duo's futile attempt to look cross-eyed at his own forehead gained a giggle from the frozen face. His eyes snapped back towards the now feminine looking face. On Duo's forehead was a mark in the shape of the scythe that he wielded while in his Gundam. But he no longer cared about his own forehead. All of his concentration was on the crown shaped mark that had appeared on the feminine Relena-like face. Wait a sec! It was Relena's face.

He hadn't noticed before because her crown mark hadn't been illuminated. The hand that had been touching his panic-stricken face slid down his trembling arm and clasped his shaking hand. Relena stepped forward and her new apparel surprised Duo. She had a bandolier strapped across her chest and a sword resting on her hip. It seemed there was a lot more to Relena then the boys really knew. Duo even tried to lean away when Relena pressed her forehead against his because he didn't know if this was really Relena or an odd imposter. All Duo felt before being plunged into the freezing cold river of death was an electric surge of energy.

Duo's sputtering and screaming was probably heard by all the creatures that were inside the first gate. Relena's running was slowed by the fact that you had to very careful where you placed your feet in the river of death because it almost had a mind of its own. Silently cursing herself for not keeping a better hold on Duo, Relena quickly withdrew Kibeth from her bandolier and rang it as loud as she could over the roar of the first gate. All of a sudden Duo's soul rose up against the river and struggled towards Relena. When he was within arm length, Relena wrapped her left arm around Duo's waist and slid it into the clapper of the bell. Being careful so as not to jar the bell into ringing freely she slid it back into its case.

Once again, Relena placed her mark against Duo's and the young pilot's body shivered with a ripple of color. His bright violet eyes fluttered open and he stared at Relena for a good ten seconds before squeezing her around the waist and burying his face in her chest.

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you, thank yoooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuu so much Relena. I never dreamed I would see this day. Never in a million years!"

"That's nice Duo, but I'm having a little trouble breathing with you this tight around me."

"Is this better?"

Duo had straightened up and kissed Relena right on the lips. Relena frankly was shocked by Duo's sudden change of attitude. All she did was stare at his glistening violet eyes for the whole five seconds he deprived her of oxygen. When he let her go all he did was look innocently at her as if it had never happened. Relena just glared at him like a reprimanding parent would at its naughty child.

"Oh, all right. I won't tell Heero."

A giant grin spread across Duo's face and he bent down and scooped her right up out of the water.

"Which way is home, my mistress of death?"

"Towards the light Duo. And I am NOT your mistress. And another thing, why did you kiss me?"

"The great Shinigami had to repay you somehow. Now, what does this mark on my forehead do?"

"It allows you to pass into death, create a defense shield, and generate your trademark weapon," said Relena, holding up three fingers, each in turn.

Duo stared cross-eyed at the place where his mark was for a moment.

"So you mean I get to call forth a scythe? Cool!"

"Yes, but it has disadvantages. The first time you generate it, you'll most likely pass out because immense energy is used in calling it forth. Once the technique of concentrating your energy is mastered you must be very careful with your weapon. It contains unfathomable power as long as you supply it. And it can do much more than merely destroy an enemy. It can even destroy you."

"What is your weapon? What does it do?"

"Duo put me down for a second. I have to make sure nothing is blocking the gate."

Relena drew her sword, which, to Duo, looked like someone had doodled all over it. She closed her eyes and held the sword out in front of her. All of a sudden, the marks that looked like doodles began to glow.

"Hurry Duo! We don't have much time to get through!"

Relena grabbed Duo's wrist and practically threw him through the gate and then dove through herself.

*I know there are plenty of Relena haters out there but for once I wanted to see a quality fic where she wasn't put down and there just aren't that many of them. This was fun to write, as always. Keep reviewing and I'll keep churning out the chapters. It's a very simple trade and I hope I get plenty. I hope any Garth Nix fans are satisfied that I didn't tamper too much with his ideas.