Hell's Angel
Chapter 9 (Maybe....)
By: Kiana Darkk
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon or any characters, settings, and ideas taken from these shows. The chant used later also does not belong to me. That was borrowed from Cate Tiernan's Sweep series.
"I would walk a thousand miles, just to be with you..." Hotaru sang softly as she rang the buzzer to Duo's apartment.
She waited a moment until Duo's droused voice came over the speaker. "Who is it?"
"It's me," She called into the little box.
"Just a sec," Duo replied. A moment later a loud buzzing sound could be heard as the door signalled it was okay for opening. Hotaru yanked on the handle and walked up the flights of stairs to Duo's place.
Suddenly the air around her changed and wavered. Without a doubt Hotaru knew that someone was coming. It could've been a monster, a demon, or one of her own people. Just to be safe Hotaru set down her things on a step, and drew a knife from thin air.
"Mistress," She heard the half-materialized form say. Hotaru barely suppressed a sigh of relief.
"Yes Setsuna?"
"You have found a home for the hounds?" Setsuna replied as she finished materializing. Instead of the normal attire she wore a pastel dress shirt, and a violet skirt with high heels.
"I'm keeping Loki. Gaea is being given to our Lord," Hotaru informed her.
Setsuna let small smile cross her face. "Good idea. I wish I'd have thought of that," She said almost wistfully. Hotaru knew the tone in her voice. She recognized it as one she often had. The longing, the need to see their creator. She knew it was an almost palpable ache within Setsuna, as it was in her.
"Setsuna, do you wish to come with me?" Hotaru asked with a smile.
Setsuna looked up, startled. She hadn't expected Hotaru to offer. "If it pleases you, Mistress, yes, I would be greatly honored."
"Okay, pick up this bag of dog food," She ordered, while grabbing a box full of various things. Setsuna carefully bent and picked up the mid-sized bag of dog food.
While the two climbed up the steps Hotaru noted Setsuna's expression. It was a combination of anxiousness, worry, and happiness. Almost the same expression she'd worn when she'd first met Duo.
They finally arrived at the dark wood door to the apartment. Hotaru shooed Setsuna back a bit, and knocked. The door opened almost immediately, and there stood Duo, clean and dressed. The apartment had been picked up too.
"Hey, Duo. I hope you don't mind," Hotaru began, "But I brought a friend of mine, since I needed a little help carrying Gaea's things." It was a plausible lie, one that should pass. Hotaru noticed Setsuna's amused expression.
"No, no, not at all. Please come in," Duo said, and held open the door like a true gentleman.
Hotaru walked in with Setsuna in toe. "Where should we put Gaea's stuff?"
At the mention of her name the hyperactive puppy bounded out of the hallway. She gave Hotaru a doggy smile, then looked at Setsuna curiously. Gaea padded over to Setsuna almost reverently, lay down at her feet and snuffled her in recognition.
"Um, just set them down outside the kitchen," Duo said.
Setsuna stepped over the dog, and set down the food where she was told to, and watched as Hotaru set down a cardboard box full of stuff.
"Duo," Hotaru began, "This is Setsuna, my friend. Setsuna, this is Duo, my other friend." The two shook hands. Setsuna's expression had changed from anticipation to somewhere between shock and joy, however, she kept it hidden, glossed over with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you," She said in a normal tone of voice.
"You too," Duo said.
Setsuna, Hotaru said in telepathy, I want to speak with him alone, please.
Of course, Mistress, Setsuna said.
Out loud she said, "Duo, it was lovely meeting you, but I really must be going. I have a meeting in thirty minutes."
"Oh, alright. I wish you could stay a bit longer," Duo said.
"But I cannot," Setsuna said with a smile, then she turned to Hotaru, "It was nice spending time with you today. Some other day we'll go shopping."
"Okay," Hotaru answered. The two stepped up and gave each other a brief hug. "Bye." Hotaru called out as Setsuna left. Duo closed the door behind her. "Well, it was nice meeting your friend," He said.
Hotaru smiled. "She's my best friend, really."
"I could tell. You two locked eyes, and it was like you were talking without uttering a word." Duo said with a smile.
Hotaru walked over and sat on the couch, crossing her legs. Lady-like even after a million years, she thought wryly. Duo sat in a matching armchair.
"How are you Duo?" She asked suddenly, a tiny frown appearing on her face.
"I'm.... better than I was. I want to thank you for being there for me. That meant a lot," He said softly.
H
otaru ·¶ smiled sadly. "That's what friends are for."
"Yeah...." Duo trailed off.
"Look, Duo, if you need anything, anything at all, call me. Okay? I will be here in a flash." She said into the silence.
"Alright."
"I have to get going," She began, "I'll talk to you later."
"Jeez, Camille. You don't have to check up on me, you know. I'm not a little kid," Duo said with a bright smile.
Here I thought I was being subtle....
"Duo, I'm worried. Can you blame me?" Hotaru asked.
"No, not really. Besides I'm grateful to have someone to talk to," Duo said, "Here, I'll show you to the door."
The two got up, and Duo showed Hotaru out, closing the door behind her. God, Duo, she thought sadly, Please remember who you were, who you are.
Hotaru closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall in the hallway. A portal opened a moment later, and a second later she materialized in Hell.
"Setsuna," she barked out, suddenly in a bad mood. Hotaru stamped her heel impatiently, while weaving a spell. Her clothes faded away and were replaced with knee-high boots, a short skirt, and light armor. Over all this was thrown a black cape. A sword was strapped onto her left side, while on her right hung a short metal stick. Hotaru knew that once she uttered a few specific words that stick would be transformed into her planet's legendary weapon, the Silence Glaive.
Setsuna herself stepped from the shadows, also dressed in battle garb. Her long emerald hair had been pulled back into a tight bun, something Hotaru had first done to her during the first war. "Mistress."
"How are preparations going?" Hotaru asked, her violet eyes sharp and trained on her second-in-command. "The archers are in position, the scouts have returned, the foot army is near ready, and the generals await your signal." Hotaru nodded, her ponytail bobbing with the movement. "Good," Hotaru began, "See to it that they're all in place when the time comes. I will be expecting a report."
"Mistress, where will you be so I may present the report?" Setsuna asked, her garnet eyes quizzical. Hotaru thought for a moment, then decided to go with gut instinct. "You shall find me atop the World's Eye," she stated. Setsuna nodded her acceptance, then left, vanishing into the shadows once more.
Hotaru sighed wearily and held her head in her hands. Today was the day they retook Fort Volcania. It wasn't war yet. Not exactly. It wasn't war unless both sides declared it so, and since Heaven made the mistake of taking their fort it was within Hell's rights to retake it if they could. They could do that without making it a war. However, she wished there were another way.
Hotaru flashed on the violently butchered bodies of the battlefield all those years ago, and shuddered almost imperceptibly. So much wasted...so much lost. So much bloodshed which accomplished virtually nothing, except to prolong the moment. Hotaru shook her head to clear it of the images it withheld and focused on here and now. She had to get to the World's Eye.
As Hotaru walked through the doorway, she paused, sending out a silent prayer to any God that would listen. Please, she begged, please don't let it be like before.
*Duo's POV*
I couldn't help but feel like I'm missing some really important, momentus event. I've felt that way ever since Camille left. I couldn't help feeling worried. What was I even worried about? Camille, I realized with a shock, I'm worried about Camille. Was something going to happen to Camille? I prayed to whomever was up there that nothing would. I couldn't bear to lose a friend and a lover in the same month.
Gaea, the little oaf, padded out into the living room, probably to check up on me, I thought with dry humor. Camille's worry was touching, but a bit strange. Strange because not all that many people had worried about me in my lifetime. Except Quatre, and maybe Trowa because the two of them were 'involved.' Their words, not mine.
I laid down on the couch, my stomach still twisted in sickening knots, and let my thoughts drift. They wandered to places from Hilde, a still wonderfully sore spot in my heart, to my friends, to Camille, and then finally to my dream from earlier today.
After Camille had left earlier today, I'd fallen back asleep, lulled into a peaceful dreamland surrounded by the scent of exotic flowers. The dream, I remembered, held a certain poignant beauty to it that spoke volumes and reverberated in my soul. I remember something inside me crying out to be... to be a part of it.
*Flashback*
"An di allaigh an di aigh,
an di allaigh an di ne ullah,
an di ullah be nith rah,
ciar di na ulla nith rah,
ciar feal ti theo nith rah,
an di allaigh an di aigh."
The chant was repeated several times, over and over, until I could feel the energy rising, burning around me, pulsating against my skin. It tingled strongly, almost like an itch, along every part of my body, making me wish I could take off this stupid robe.
Behind my closed eyelids I could see something descending, summoned by the endless calling. Shinigami's spirit, I realized with no small amount of shock. It hovered there, anxious, but waiting for the right moment. Just as the priests sung their last note, uttered their last syllable it came crashing down, writhing inside, making room for itself.
It melded with me, sinking deep into my marrow, my pores, saturating me with its power, its essence. It was becoming one with me. Finally, an excruciating pain tore through me, like a sword, and then it was over. The power that had taken so long to build suddenly dispersed. The priests, men that I had known almost my whole life, were completely silent, observing me like a canary in a cage. As strength returned to my limbs, I sat up slowly.
"You have absorbed our God's soul," Came a hushed voice. I looked around at the hooded faces. "Yeah, so?" I asked with my usual devil-may-care attitude. "You are Shinigami," Another said.
A
ll of the sudden the implications of that came crashing down on me. I was the God of Death. I was a God. It seemed too ironic, too huge for just lil' old me. I felt an overwhelming fear stir in my gut, and before I knew it I was up and running. Running away from the temple and from my own responsibilities. Before I knew it I was hopping over a wall and sneaking from shadow to shadow unti·¶ l I found myself at a particular balcony.
"Psst!" I whispered into the dark room with its closed doors. "Hotaru!" I could hear a shuffling in the room, and a few muttered curses, then the balcony doors opened, and out stepped my very best friend.
Her hair hung in a tangled rope the color of a raven's wing, and a soft-looking robe covered a nightgown. Her violet eyes held curiosity and confusion, but an endearing welcomness in them too. "Duo," she asked, her eyes very wide, "What are you doing here? My father will kill you if he finds you here." I saw her take in my appearance, knew she knew where I'd been. "Did something go wrong?"
"No. No, no. Everything went fine. That's the problem," I found myself spurting out. "Oh, Duo," Hotaru said softly. I could hear the sympathy in her voice, the worry. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes. No. I don't know," I ended with a sigh. She came a step closer to me, and wrapped her arms around my frame. I immediately sank into the comforting, warm embrace. It was familiar, normal, like coming home. I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to stay there, forever, until the world faded away. "Can I stay here tonight?" I was shocked that I'd actually asked. It wouldn't be as though it were the first time, but still..... "Of course, Duo." Her reassuring tone calmed my frazzled nerves. Slowly we parted, and Hotaru led me inside her room, closing the doors behind us.
Her room was dark, as it usually was, lit only by the glow of the fire-lamps she had placed strategically. I lay down in the huge, soft bed, and felt Hotaru lay down near me. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in snugly. The last thing I remember is the scent of exotic flowers before sleep claimed me.
*End Flashback-End Duo's POV*
*Hotaru's POV*
I stared down around me, awaiting my advisor, high above on the World's Eye. The tower was made entirely of obsidian blocks, and gleamed brightly in the little light that we receive. The last time I had been up here was with my Lord, again, awaiting our advisor.
The advisor back then had been a man by the name of Falcon. He was a good man, perhaps a bit too cold for my tastes, but Shinigami approved of him and that was all I needed to know. During the Purge he had been brutally slaughtered and hung upside down upon a cross, left inside the Holarians' battlements as an 'example.' Barbarians.
"Mistress...Hotaru?"
"Uh, yes. Of course. Right then. Are we ready?" I asked, turning to face Setsuna. "Of course, Mistress. We await only your signal," she told me. I paused, thinking, "Then you have it. Charge the attack." I turned back to watch the battlefield. The hundreds of soldiers prepared to die, simply because I say they must. Setsuna accepts her dismissal, and leaves to give the signal.
A horn sounds over the land, foot soldiers run into battle, horses rear and charge, and the mass destruction begins. Such a waste... I think to myself. Already I can see bodies getting run through with weapons, people trampling over them in order to have more die. I want to be down there, I think with a sudden ferocity. Why should these people risk their lives for me when I am not prepared to risk my own?
As if caught in a whirlwind I fly into the door and down the stairwell. At the bottom are two guards. They bow to me, as if this was any other day, and leave me be. Outside of the keep it is calm and peaceful, the animals graze normally, but I can still hear the sounds of battle resounding through the walls. My ghosthorse, Scythe, is already saddled up and prepared to leave. It appears Setsuna had anticipated my urge to go charging into battle.
A ghosthorse is a horse, obviously, but not like one of your horses. It has a magickal reservoir of power, which I can tap in to when I exhaust mine out. It also has the ability to go...invisible, basically. When a rider sits atop it the rider too goes invisible. Scythe has been my horse since I was about one-thousand. Shinigami had bought him for me.
I swing myself on top of Scythe, and spur him to life. Using the reins, I direct him at the drawbridge, and send him careening towards, through, and out of it. Immediately my hand finds its way to my sword hilt, and pulls it out. An enemy comes running at me, but seated on my horse I easily cut him down first. The endless slaughter continued forever it seemed.
I sliced down another enemy with my sword. It was now drenched with blood from previous kills. Bodies littered the very ground that we were still fighting on, more white uniforms than black. We were gaining ground, we almost had them retreating. Just a little more ground, then they would have no choice.
I caught sight of the Holarians' general, Rei. Instantly I fought my way towards her, cutting down three more Holarians in the process. She saw me coming, killed the two men she'd been fighting with, then turned her attention towards me. She nodded, acknowledging me as an equal, if not a superior. I dipped my head slightly, indicating that I respected her, but still thought of her as lesser than me. I kept my eyes on her the entire time. The anger flared in her eyes, and she charged at me. I managed to block it, still somewhat disbelieving.
I was fighting someone who had once been my ally, even my friend. Yes, Rei and I had fought side by side. Often in the Silver Millennium, and again in the times before Crystal Tokyo, as Sailor Senshi. Hard to believe that I would fight with a Holarian at my side, much less protect one. But at that time I had a mission to fulfill. I had to bring Michi-mama over to our side to be with Haruka, Setsuna, and I.
Finally I managed to get past her guard and impaled her on my sword. I uttered a few words in ancient Saturnian and her body disintigrated into dust, her power absorbed into my body. I leaned on my sword, catching my breath, then pulled the nearest demon soldier to me. "Go tell them that it is over," I began, "The Holarians' general is dead, and we have won." He nodded, frightened and somewhat shocked, then took off at full speed to spread the word.
It was over. We had won back that which was rightfully ours. We had slaughtered hundreds. All to what purpose? Only to postpone another battle.
AN: So what did you think? Was it good? I thought I did a good job..... Sorry it took me a long time to get this up. I've been just.... exhausted. Anyway, hope you like it. Don't forget to review!