A/N: Chappie 12! Oooh joy! All right, all right, it's not the Heero Special like you probably wanted, but it's coming, I swear. I just felt kinda bad leaving the last chapter with a cliffhanger. See? Aren't I nice? Well, I'll just say right now that we'll be entering the Colossal Plot. And you thought Uber-Plot was bad. HA! Just wait. You guys are gonna hate me! I'm so excited. :D
And if anyone could possibly think up a description for my story, I'll...umm, well, I guess I could give you guys my magical Quatre picture I drew a while ago (not in the hat). I just have to scan the darn thing...And, I'll tell you right now, I took "artistic liscense"...his hair's really wrong, and he looks rather surfery. Just what I like! Yay.
Non-Standard Warnings: Extreme Confusion, Tear-Jerkiness.
Sea of Silence
Chapter 12
The Mist
x---x
She was shaking. God, was she shaking. Every inch of her quivered. She'd seen people have seizures, mostly from her own doing, but she'd never felt like she was having one before.
She was running, too. Cursing her dress, cursing her shoes, cursing the fact she was close to crying, she darted across Rayth Castle's manicured lawns, past the sleeping Guard, past everything. She ignored the sound of footsteps behind her, and closed her eyes, willing her feet to go where they wanted.
When she opened her eyes, she was looking at the sea, covered with a low, downy blanket of mist. Her hair was coming loose from the bun. There was something so familiar about the water, something that called for her to know the salty oceans like she knew herself.
Atropos laughed harshly. Knew herself? Shit, she didn't know a damn thing about her life. She knew her sister, yes, and Zechs, and even Lady Une a bit. She knew Dorothy. But herself?
She was just a shadow.
The footsteps that had been following her for so long finally caught up with her, and a genuinely pissed-off Dorothy stopped, shaking, in front of the other girl. Her once beautiful burgundy dress was torn; she'd obviously fallen down. But, Atropos knew the bodyguard would never admit it. The blonde girl stepped forward, blue eyes burning.
"Who are you," Dorothy demanded, shoving Atropos' shoulder. "Who are you? Hilde? Atropos? A boy or a girl? What are you?" Her blonde hair was no longer the platinum cascade Atropos admired, and almost grown to love. It was like golden straw now, frazzled and stepped on.
"I don't know," she snapped, and slapped Dorothy, hard, on the cheek. The other girl didn't even flinch. "I'm all of it! I'm none of it! God, why don't you choose and just let me die?" Her best friend grabbed onto Atropos' quivering jaw, and looked forcefully into her eyes. For the first time, she admitted the blonde was taller than she was.
"Those boys know you, and I know you. You can be either. Or..." she drawled, and pulled her hand away. "Or, you can be none. I could kill you. You could kill yourself. We could both die. Neither of us could die. A freaking asteroid could come and hit us right now, and I wouldn't give a shit!" Atropos gaped at her friend. It was the first time she'd ever heard the aristocrat curse.
"Whoa, Dorothy, never knew you for one to start spouting profanities," she laughed. "Reminds me of this one time, when Duo..." The dark-haired girl slumped to the ground, hand shooting straight up to her head without a care for her dress' well being. "I'm so confused. I have all these memories, but...at the same time, I don't. It's like chasing a ripple."
"You'll get past it," Dorothy said with a shrug. "I have to get back to Relena. She's probably annoyed the Castle to suicide by now. You're welcome to join me." She shook her head mutely, and rose from the shore.
"I'm going to go home, and sleep. My brain feels like it just got smashed apart," she muttered, and Dorothy gave her a quick, yet heartfelt, hug.
"I'll come by in the morning," Dorothy assured, and began the long trek home.
The other girl stood at the shore for another moment, watching the waves run in and out, in and out. Slowly, she willed herself to calmness. Slowly, her dark blue eyes, so dark they were almost black, took on the same mist as the sea.
It had hurt too much. There had been happiness, yes, but pain as well. Pain that seemed to far outweigh the happiness. Atropos didn't have to delve into the surfacing memories to tell that.
She turned her back on the waves, and made her way back to Rayth.
Slowly, she willed herself to forget.
x---x
"Remind me to mutilate that guy's corpse," Duo whispered, and Heero's hands froze. Although his violet eyes remained tightly locked, the boy's hand immediately clutched Heero's white-clad body closer to himself.
"I'll be joining you," Heero growled back, and returned to cleaning the small but deep wound in his side.
"I didn't even see him," Duo muttered angrily, even though his face was twisted in pitiful pain as the alcohol touched his skin once more. "One minute I was yelling at Relena for hitting on you, and the next thing I know, the window shatters and I've got a knife in my side." Heero nodded, although the prince couldn't see it. "Shit, I must be getting soft."
"It's the nobility," Heero muttered, and Duo's mouth clenched tighter as he began on where the blade had grazed him. "But, if it makes you feel good, he's still twitching on the marble." Duo grinned sinisterly.
"That makes me feel VERY good-AHMF," his eyes flew open as he cut himself off to stop from screaming when Heero began to stitch the wound back together. "Fuck, Heero! I thought you were waiting for the doctor!" The bodyguard shook his head.
"No. I don't trust the palace physician," he confided. "He was missing at the party when you were attacked, right along with Treize and Lady Une." Duo sighed in relief when Heero was done.
"Great. I just had to get a conspiracy, too," he grumbled, and Heero tied off his work. Duo appraised it. "That's actually not bad." The blue-eyed boy smirked.
"I kill at needlework," he joked, and Duo laughed.
"You made a joke! You DO love me," he yelled, and threw his bloody arms around the equally bloody boy. Duo then proceeded to kiss the logic out of shocked Heero Yuy. "We need to have a party! A big coming out party, you and me!"
"Out of what, the closet," Heero snorted, leaving a once-more ecstatic (and possibly delusional, from loss of blood) Duo to giggle insanely. "You're still engaged." For the first time, Duo looked around. They were in their (He smiled. THEIR!) bedroom, Duo lying on Heero's lap and subsequently ridiculously bloody, once-white pants. He smirked.
"Not for long, lover mine! One whack to her empty head, and we're home free," Duo said faintly. Heero frowned.
"You can't just kill someone to get out of an obligation, even if it is get out of a marriage with Princess Relena," he said, and Duo's eyes rolled into the back of his head, leaving white in place of the familiar violet. "...Duo?" His smile was still on, as always. "DUO! Wake up!"
As he attempted to reposition the other boy's body, Heero's hand touched a very damp patch of skin. He didn't even need to move his hand to know he'd missed another bloody gash. Swearing loudly and fluently, he turned Duo over quickly but gently. A gash, about four inches long, was happily gushing Duo's life out from itself.
As Heero went to work, Duo began to mumble. "...That hurts," he whispered, so faintly it was barely audible. Heero was too busy saving his life to respond. "You know, one of these days we gotta go sailing. Just you and me. We can go out and get drunk and come back and go out and come back and go out again. It'd be great. Like what me'n Solo did a few years back. 'Cept with alcohol and kissin'..." With another groan, Duo was fading again.
"Duo, I'll have that party for you," Heero said sharply, trying to keep the boy awake. He'd fallen hard onto the marble floor; if he fell asleep, he might not wake up again. A whimper responded, and Heero just kept talking. "A big party. With lots of cake, and alcohol, and costumes. And Wufei and Meiran and Trowa and Quatre will be there-"
"-'n Solo..." Duo whispered, and Heero nodded, started to sew his flesh together again.
"And Solo. And we'll go find Hilde again, and everyone will be there, and It'll...It'll," Heero's voice began to falter, when he realized a piece of glass from the shattered window was inside the wound.
"...on a boat..." Duo whispered. "With balloons..." Heero's hands stopped, once he realized he was shaking too badly to be of any use any more.
His mind blanked. Logic told him Duo would die, while his heart screamed out there was still hope. He'd never known how lonely he was until the braided pirate had invaded his life and taken over his soul, revealing things he'd never even dreamed of feeling. And now, he was dying.
What can I do, Heero thought to himself, exploring every option. He could stop time, race down to Sally's room on the ship...but she wouldn't be there, since she obviously lived onshore. He could go find the doctor, but the doctor would probably poison Duo. He could go get the other boys to say their last goodbyes...No.
Finally his mind rested on one option.
A long time ago, his teacher had told him two things that truly stuck out in his mind at that moment. The first was that blood bonded everything, and that was why Heero's blood could stop everything. The second was that there was no time in death.
Heero grabbed Duo's dagger from nearby, holding it firmly.
"This is going to hurt," Heero said, voice shaking. He didn't even know if Duo could hear him anymore; the boy had stopped whispering. "I love you, and you can't get away from me that easily." He slit his right wrist cleanly across a vein, stopping it momentarily with a cloth he'd been using for Duo. He then grabbed Duo's wrist. "This will either kill us both, or save you." With a moment of hesitation, the tender white skin sliced beneath Duo's knife, and Heero pressed his wrist to the dying, if not already dead, boy's hand.
The red hit him like a wall.
x---x
The first thing Heero noticed was the ballgame. Children scampered along the vista, giggling as they avoided the ball, clustering along different roped-off areas. A man and a woman, both in the church from their outfits, supervised leniently, more enjoying the sound of laughter and the smiles than really making sure things got out of hand.
The second thing he noticed was the excited six-year-old Duo laughing and screaming as he tossed the ball and whacked another kid straight in the forehead.
"HA! Got ya, Tom," Duo yelled, and Tom, a seven-year-old with angry gold hair, pouted as he separated himself from the game. "Who's next? Who DARES to stand up against the Mighty Duo?" The kids all giggled, and Heero strode forward. Absentmindedly, he realized he was the same age as before, wearing the same white-and-gold absurdity Duo had chosen, save clean.
"I do," Heero stated, and violet eyes widened at the site of him. Duo grinned.
"HEE-BABE! Didn't expect to see you here," he yelled, and ran forward to jump into Heero's arms. "Whatcha doin' here? Huh? Huh? Wanna play?" Heero frowned.
"Duo...where are we?" Duo cocked his head to the right.
"Maxwell Church and Orphanage," he shrugged, and his face brightened. "OH! Come meet the family! I always wanted to bring you home." The six-year-old giggled, and he dropped out of Heero's arm, tugging his hand towards the man and woman. Heero pulled him back, though.
"Duo, we need to get back," Heero said, and the child pouted at him.
"What, you don't like my folks? I'm sure they'll love you, Mr. Sexy Glare," Duo giggled. Heero found it somewhat scary that his lover was a six-year-old, but still seventeen at the same time. Before Heero could protest further, Duo was dragging him over to the couple.
"Sister Helen, Father Maxwell, meet Heero! I love him to death," Duo said excitedly, and Heero paled at the metaphor. He noticed the children had frozen in place. The two smiled warmly at him. "I'm gonna love him forever and ever, and we'll live together, and do everything together until we DIE! It'll be great!" Heero shuddered, and the woman gave him a warm hug.
"It's an honor to meet you," she said kindly. "I'm so glad Duo's found someone in his life. I'm not sure you're supposed to be here, though." Father Maxwell nodded as well.
"Can't say I approve of the sword, but welcome to the...well, family, I guess," he said jovially, and Duo jumped up to hug him, and then scampered over to hug Sister Helen.
"Thanks guys! I'm so glad you like him," Duo beamed, hands clasped around Heero's wrist.
"I'm glad to have met you," Heero said as kindly as he could, with the knowledge that Duo was dying right along with him right at that moment. "However, Duo and I must be going." The adults nodded, unsurprised.
"He wasn't supposed to show up for quite some time; we'd figured you had misplaced him," Father Maxwell smiled. "Now, all he has to do is leave. You're free to go, of course, even though you'd only end up in your own world. Not the real one, mind you, but the one you'd probably call Heaven. Duo's still got two more to go, so as soon as you convince him he's not six anymore, you'll be slipping out." Heero nodded, and looked at Duo, who shrugged, pouting.
"I know I'm not six," he grumbled. "It's just fun to be every now and then."
The red hit again.
Now, the first thing he noticed was that Duo was still standing next to him, their hands in hand. They were on a ship, and from the flag a pirate ship as well. Duo looked about eleven, and for the first time was wearing the same thing as in the real world.
"DUO!" A voice yelled out, and Duo sprinted away from Heero to tackle a blonde-haired young man. He looked to be in his early twenties. They wrestled on the deck, laughing. "God! What are you doing back here?" The blonde, sitting on the braided boy, pulled him up and gave him a fierce hug that probably would have killed six-year-old Duo.
"I'm temporarily dead! Come meet Heero," Duo said happily, and actually climbed onto the other boy's shoulders, as in literally climbed like a mountain climber scaling a peak. Heero couldn't help but be intrigued by the fact there was nobody else onboard the ship.
The blonde gave Heero an appraising look, then finally shook his hand passionately. "I'm so glad to meet you! I'm Solo, Little Death's big bro," he grinned, and Duo gave him a playful smack on the head.
"Adopted sibling. He's dead, by the way," Duo whispered to Heero playfully, and Solo frowned.
"I heard that."
"I'm glad to have met you too, Solo. Duo mutters about you in his sleep," Heero said hurriedly, and the older brother's eyebrows shot up.
"Oho...so you're sleeping with him, then," he asked, and with a quick backwards move Duo flipped the man to the deck.
"Play nice," the younger boy grinned, and Solo rubbed the back of his head.
"Can't say I approve, but I like you, even though I have no idea what you'd see in the brat," Solo grumbled, and then shrugged with a sigh. "Duo, Heero, feel free to come back when you're, you know, really supposed to be dead." Duo grinned, and hugged him again.
"Sorry I can't stay longer, So," he sighed. "Got a usurper to kill, an assassin's body to mutilate, and a Heero to-"
"GAAAH! Don't say it! Dear lord, don't say it," Solo yelled, covering his ears. "My little BROTHER! Yeeugh! That's just wrong." Chuckling, Duo hugged Heero tightly.
"I'll miss you, Solo," he said, smiling bittersweetly. Solo smiled, and ruffled his hair.
"Get going, you crazy pirate."
Again, red whacked Heero like a bathtub off a building.
Heero blinked. He remembered this. He remembered the deck of Deathscythe, the Nataku lashed onto its side, and...
He could feel Duo gaping too. They were staring at themselves, both looking out to sea and talking in hushed tones. Immediately, Duo's head went up to the stars, quickly calculating what the date had been. Heero was too busy looking fixedly at themselves.
"It's the day you decked me," Duo said, amusement clearly shining through. "Well, I'll be damned." Other-Duo laughed.
"No kidding, if you're looking at yourself," he chuckled, slinging an arm around Other-Heero. "Sorry to break it to you two, but if you can see yourself, you're dead. Think about it. All the people you've seen...any of 'em living? I sure can't remember seeing Wuffles come tackle you with Solo." Duo shrugged at himself.
"This is kind of freaky," he said, slipping away from Heero to look at the other two.
"Hn," both Heeros said at the same time, and the two Duos fell to the floor laughing.
"I have a feeling this one will take a while to get out of," Heero said, and Other-Heero nodded pensively.
"You've got to get him out of here fast," Other-Heero stated. "Your idea worked, but it's pulling both of you out at the same time. If one dies, both die. If one's alive, both are alive." Heero frowned, and Other-Heero nodded. "The paradox. It makes you share everything, but mostly pain." Finally, Other-Heero smirked. "Nice outfit." Heero glared.
"Shut up."
"They're so CUTE," Duo giggled, and Other-Duo nodded, quickly tackling Other-Heero.
"Duo. We HAVE to leave," Heero said, getting desperate. "If we don't leave soon, we'll be dead for good." Sighing, Duo nodded, looking somehow defeated.
"Alright. But, you owe me that kick-ass party."
This time, it was white.
x---x
A/N: OOO! Look how early this one's up! Don't you love me? Huh? Huh? Alright, I'm done being annoying. Now, here's your choice: Either Chapter 13, or Heero Special next. You choose. Hence "choice". And you may be asking yourself, why is this up so early? Well, I've got things to do, and had some free time, so I figured, hey, why not just write 12 and put it up? So, here it is. Yay.
READER RESPONSES (YAY!):
Windy River: Cute smiley face. I did! Be proud.
Vashs-daughter: Thank you! I agree; I hate cliffhangers, but sometimes (shrugs) it happens. Thanks for reading!
Mlaine: HA! So true, so true...My family has a habit of snooping, though, so I have my computer firewalled and all types of passwords and security stuff. Just on this. It's scary to think what I'd do if I actually had something illegal on my computer.
TrenchcoatMan: Yes, yes Atropos was hired to kill Duo. And yes, the action will be upon us. The next chapter's...different...than this one. In a good way? I like to think so. I don't mean to neglect 3x4...it's just...DUO and HEERO! GAH! Love 'em to death.
LilShinni: OOO! New fan! Free help? Hmmm...I've always wanted a bookie. Could you be a bookie? I can wager...pencils. High-class, huh? I'm glad you like my story! Makes me feel special.
Myca: YAY! Hat next chapter! HAT NEXT CHAPTER!!! (Jumps around giddily and lands on her face.) Sorry. Very exciting. (Eats cookies.) The wait for 3x4 will be worth it, though. :D Oh yes. Definitely worth it.
priscel: YAAY! I'm loved!
TO ALL: You people ROCK! I'm in such a good mood right now, that if you wanted a freakin' TREIZE special I'd give it to you. Just for being so freakin' cool. You people made my day. Thanks. So...to all you non-reviewers? I like you too. And I know who you are...(looks straight at you, then smiles). Feel free to review.
And yet again, PLEASE give me a description for this story. It's so far away from the beginning I can't think of a short summary that doesn't give everything away!
(HAT NEXT CHAPTER!!! WOOO! )