"Revenant"

Written By: Clara Barton

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said, these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask before reprinting.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: AU, Angst, Violence, Torture, Language, Angst, Sex - yaoi and het. Original characters – which you kind of knew was coming, since all of the Gundam folks exist in the present…

Pairings: None

Thanks as always to the always fabulous Cuzo for being my beta!

Summary: A prequel to Umbra. Fifty years after Solo's execution by theCouncil, Duo Maxwell struggles to find meaning in a life of darkness and pain.

A/N: There was a request – well, there were a FEW requests – for a prequel of sorts, about Duo and Jason. This will be fairly brief – three parts – and then we'll go back to the future for Penumbra.

"Revenant"

Part II of III

1680

London, England

"That actor - he was in love with her." Etienne spoke the words with such conviction that Duo felt a little guilty when he shook his head.

"No, Eti, that was acting. That's the whole point - to make the audience think they feel one way. It's not real."

But Etienne shook his head vigorously. He had taken to wearing his hair longer these days, not quite in imitation of the popular, curled wigs they had seen in the English court, but in a long, loose tail of dark hair that gave him a rakish look. Too often these days Duo found his gaze straying to that dark hair, to the way it flicked back and forth above Etienne's tight, round backside.

"I know what acting is, Duo," Etienne said with a sigh, as though he pitied Duo. "I'm saying that Thomas Betterton is in love with Mrs. Barry. I'm sure they are at this very moment in the process of ravishing each other back in their dressing rooms."

"And I'm sure that at this very moment the both of you sound idiotic," Sophie spoke up, her first words since they had left the theatre.

Going to see The Orphan had been her idea, taking both Duo and Etienne by surprise since Sophie normally preferred to avoid large crowds of people. Throughout the entire play she had seemed enraptured, following the action onstage avidly, while both Duo and Etienne had struggled to remain interested. Etienne, no doubt, had amused himself by rifling through the thoughts and memories of those around them, but Duo had only been able to think about the last time he had seen a play. It had been A Midsummer Night's Dream and the venue had been the Globe Theatre - nothing as grand as the Dorset Garden - but his memories of the day were some of the last happy memories he had.

They had been haunting the London theatres for years. Solo had been obsessed with theatre - especially with the works of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe - and Duo had given in to his constant wheedling to see a play whenever they could. Considering that he was almost always rewarded by an evening of Solo making love to him while quoting his favorite lines from the play they had just seen, Duo felt it was a more than even exchange.

Of course, eighty years later, Solo was dead and Duo's theatre companions were not the kind that he planned to take home and undress.

No matter how tempted he was to do so with Etienne.

As the trio made their way back to the tavern where Duo had rented rooms for them, he couldn't help but feel like a lecher. Thirty years ago he had saved Etienne and Sophie from an auto de fete and soon after made them his human servants. So, while they were both approaching their fifties, neither looked more than twenty. The two Ephemerals would remain young for much of their lives, as the magic from the bond to Duo would sustain them until their very old age.

Just as his magic protected them, Duo had sworn to himself to protect them - and that was getting harder and harder to do every damn year.

In the past, he had always managed to convince Sophie and Etienne to stay with Relena when he was sent away from the Court to complete his duties as the Executioner, but this time, as soon as she had heard he was going to England, Sophie had invited herself and her brother along. Normally Duo would have simply told her no, but Relena was also leaving Court for the next several months - a trip to visit the Light Faery Court far to the North - and Duo absolutely did not want to leave the children alone at Court. Especially not after Treize volunteered to watch over them.

They had landed on the coast of England just a week ago, and Duo had agreed to stop over in London for a few days for the amusement of the children before they continued on their journey north, to the wilds of Scotland, to investigate the rumors of Necromancers raising the dead and preparing to march an army south to invade London and take over the kingdom.

Necromancers were one of the greatest fears of any vampire, and if the rumors about these Necromancers were to be believed, then Jason was completely justified in sending Duo to slaughter all of them. Necromancers with an army of corpses were not just a danger to vampires, but to humans, and that was enough to make Duo care.

This was their final night in London before they rode out of the city and began their long journey north, and as they returned to the tavern, Duo decided to enjoy the comforts of civilization just a few moments longer and sat down at one of the battered tables and ordered ale for himself, Etienne and Sophie.

They sat drinking for awhile, Etienne entertaining them with secrets he had learned from the minds of other audience members at the theatre, until a lute player struck up a merry tune and a few of the tavern patrons started to dance.

It wasn't long before Etienne decided to join in, and not very long after that before a large, red haired women claimed Etienne for her dance partner.

Duo laughed at the sight of Etienne squashed against the woman's abundant bosom. The look of anxiety on the young man's face made it very clear that he would rather be anywhere than his present location.

Instead of sharing in Duo's mirth over her brother's discomfort, Sophie let out a disgusted snort.

"It's disgusting. Everyone is so obsessed with sex - it's filthy."

Duo arched one eyebrow at her but refrained from arguing the point. Sophie had very strong opinions about sex, formed from her traumatic childhood experiences and emphasized by the lifestyle of most of the Council members.

"They're human - they've precious little joy in their lives and sex is one of their few pleasures," he said mildly.

Sophie sneered.

"At the expense of others," she growled and slammed down her small palm. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "I'm going to bed. Please make sure he doesn't do anything foolish," she added with a look in her brother's direction.

"Good night," Duo told her.

He watched her climb the stairs that led to their rented rooms above the tavern. Despite the fact that she was easily the most beautiful woman in the tavern, her journey from their table to the stairs was uninterrupted - no one dared to approach her because of the scowl on her face or the fierce set of her shoulders. She projected about as much sexual appeal as an executioner in full black regalia, and the humans picked up on it and gave her a wide berth.

Duo sighed.

He knew what it felt like to host a burning hatred for the world around you and he knew that as hot as that hatred burned, it never kept you warm. Sophie had had a hard life, and as much as he tried to protect her and Etienne, as much as he tried to provide them with luxury and comfort, there was no way he could erase her pain and anger.

They would haunt her forever, just as his own demons plagued him.

Etienne finally managed to free himself from the buxom red head and rejoined Duo at their table.

"Soph?" He asked after taking a large gulp of his ale.

"Went to bed," Duo told him. He took in Etienne's flushed face. "And you, young sir, should probably do the same. You're not used to ale like this." He tapped the rim of Etienne's near empty goblet.

"I like it," Etienne said and took another sip. "It makes me feel very... I don't know. Like dandelion seeds. Floating." Etienne's eyes swept across the people in the tavern and then met Duo's again. "I wish you could float like this. You're just too heavy."

"You've definitely had enough," Duo decided.

He stood and pulled Etienne up to his feet.

"I could make you float," Etienne mumbled as Duo led him up the stairs and to their room.

"Your sister could," Duo corrected quietly, referring to Sophie's powers.

"No, no. I could make you float."

Duo shook his head. Most of the time, Etienne seemed to exist in his own world and speak his own language. The words were the same that Duo and Sophie spoke, but the meaning behind them was complicated by the fact that Etienne could experience thought and emotion on a level that neither of them did.

"I could," Etienne insisted as Duo opened the door to their room.

"I'm sure you -" Duo's patronizing answer was cut short when Etienne pushed him back against the door, closing it and slamming Duo's body against the hard surface in one motion. "Ouch," Duo complained.

Etienne frowned but kept his hands on Duo's shoulders, holding him firmly in place.

"You don't want to float."

Duo rolled his eyes.

"Eti, I have no idea what you are talking about. Are we talking swimming? Or -"

Etienne leaned close to Duo and very lightly brushed his lips over Duo's. The touch was so light that Duo barely felt the physical sensation, but he certainly felt the magical aftershock of the contact.

It had been eighty years since Duo had felt that shiver of energy that came from intimate contact between a servant and a master. But Etienne wasn't Solo.

Duo gently pushed him away.

"Eti, no."

"Yes," the Ephemeral insisted. He kissed Duo again, this time with more force and for longer.

Duo could resist the physical effects of having the other man pressed so closely, but he found it nearly impossible to ignore Etienne's magic. The other man was using his power to pull all of Duo's good memories to the surface, overwhelming him with remembered pleasure and happiness.

"Float with me," Etienne coaxed, his words hot against Duo's lips.

"Your sister made me promise to keep you from doing anything foolish," Duo argued.

"And you still haven't learned not to make promises you can't keep," Etienne responded with a crooked grin. "I know what you think when you look at me, Duo. I know how I make you feel." Etienne ran his hands under Duo's shirt and around to his back before pulling Duo's hips against his own.

Duo could feel Etienne's erection pressed against his own and he swallowed against the surge of arousal he felt.

"Etienne." He cradled the other man's head in his hands. "If we do this it will only force you closer to me - your bond as my servant will grow stronger."

Etienne kissed him again.

"Show me how much closer we can be, then," he said, a challenge in his brown eyes.

"Eti, you don't know what -"

"I do know, Duo," Etienne interrupted him. "I've lived at Court for thirty years. I've been your servant for just as long. I know what you think - I know what they do. Don't make me beg someone else to give me the only thing I want from you."

Duo had to snort at that.

"The only thing you want from me now," he muttered. Etienne was a genuinely good person, but he ruthlessly took advantage of both Duo and Sophie to get his way, playing on their protective natures and his status as the youngest.

Etienne grinned crookedly again, clearly following Duo's thoughts.

"I've wanted this from you for a long, long time, Duo. I'm not my sister and I'm not a child, no matter how much you want me to be."

Etienne kissed him yet again, teasing Duo's lips with his tongue while he brushed his magic against Duo like a caress.

It took a monumental effort for Duo to resist, but he firmly and gently pushed Etienne away from him.

"No," Duo said and shook his head. "You know I can't do that to you, Eti. You've lived inside my head long enough to know I won't hurt you that way."

"It will only hurt for a moment and then -"

"That's not what I'm talking about." He brushed a lock of hair off Etienne's forehead, unsurprised when Etienne cupped his hand and kissed the palm. "You know how many enemies I have, you know how happy they would be to hurt you just to hurt me. I can't - I can't put you in a position like that."

"Aren't I already?" Etienne asked, his brow knit in confusion.

"No. Everyone knows I think of you and Sophie as wards - as children - and they will respect that because of Jason. But if I took you as a lover... Etienne, Jason would hurt you - and I cannot protect you from him."

Etienne's brown eyes turned fierce.

"We should leave. We should run from them and never go back."

Duo smiled sadly.

"You should. You can - you and Sophie. But I have to stay."

"Why?"

Duo sighed. Sophie and Etienne had known about Solo for years, but neither understood the depth of Duo's anger and depression over his death.

"If Treize killed you tomorrow, what would Sophie to do him?"

Etienne scowled but he saw the seriousness of Duo's expression and sighed.

"She would kill him - no, she would take away the thing he loved the most. She would learn his weaknesses and wait for the exact moment to destroy him."

Duo nodded. He had always known that he and Sophie were alike, and he knew that Sophie recognized their similarities as well. It was good that Etienne finally realized it as well.

"I'm waiting for that moment, Eti, so that I can destroy Jason's life the same way he destroyed mine. I can't run away - I will never be happy while Jason and the Council stand."

Etienne stared at him for a long moment, his brown gaze searching for something in Duo.

"But you want me," he finally said, a note of youthful petulance in his voice.

Duo had to laugh.

"Yes, I'd be crazy not to." He gently took his hand back from Etienne. "And you would be crazy to encourage this. You need someone better than me, Eti, much better than me."

-o-

The next few days of travel were tense. Etienne had the pinched look on his face that meant he wanted to speak to no one, and Sophie loved him enough to leave him alone - but she clearly knew that something had happened between the two of them and she glared at Duo, her dark eyes condemning him.

There was no way to win in this situation, Duo knew. Etienne was furious and humiliated because Duo wouldn't sleep with him. Sophie was angry because Duo had hurt her brother - but the hurt Duo had caused him now was so much better than the pain he would have experienced in the long run. Not that Duo could say that to either one of them.

So instead they rode for days in silence, wrapping in fur lined cloaks against the chill wind of fall, over terrain that Duo hadn't seen since his childhood, when Solo and Father Maxwell had brought him to that crumbled church in Scotland to raise the orphan from the Holy Land. Nearly five hundred years had passed since then, and Duo felt just as powerless now as he had as a child.

They were a week into their journey when they were invited to share an evening camp with a band of Roma.

Duo had always been wary of Gypsies - he had been cursed by one a few hundred years ago and it had taken decades to find a cure - but he could sense no ill will from this band and Etienne immediately took a liking to a long haired boy who played the violin and danced with a wicked grin on his face.

Duo wondered if he should caution Etienne - the Roma were not, in his experience, very open to the idea of two men sleeping together - but by the time he made up his mind to say something Etienne and the violinist had wandered off together.

He settled onto his sleep palette beside Sophie and hoped that Etienne was enjoying himself, prayed that he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with a knife at his throat and a naked Etienne tied up and executed for sullying a Gypsy boy.

Instead, he woke up to the feeling of intense sexual pleasure. It was not his own, he realized after a moment of struggling to breath. It was Etienne and his Gypsy boy.

Duo closed his eyes and tried to block it out, tried not to feel the currents of arousal and pleasure coursing through him, but Etienne pushed against him, using his magic to force his way into Duo's head and his body and Duo was forced to ride it out.

When Etienne came with a cry of awe Duo came as well, biting down on his right arm to keep from crying out at the intensity of Etienne's orgasm. Duo lay in his palette, alone and panting, feeling the fading glow of release.

It wasn't long before Etienne returned to his own palette, between Duo and Sophie, and he didn't meet Duo's eyes as he stretched and bundled up.

The next morning Duo bathed in the stream near the camp, Sophie with him. She had been wanting a bath for days now, but the taverns they had stopped at along the way had been filled with lecherous men and filthy water.

Duo kept an eye on her, a few dozen feet upstream of him, but he took the time to clean himself thoroughly. He'd grown accustomed to hygiene over the years of working for the Council and he resented a week's worth of travel grime just as much as Sophie did.

Etienne joined Duo when he finally woke up, and there was an uneasy expression on his face as he stripped and wading into the cold water.

Duo sighed. and pulled him close, hugging him tightly and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"I love you, Eti," he told the boy and pushed him back to arms length so he could look at him.

"Then why -"

"Because I love you," Duo cut him off. "Never think that I don't. Never think that I don't want you to be happy - that I don't want you to know the pleasure of release - but I can't give you that."

Etienne stared at him with troubled eyes and Duo felt the caress of his magic.

"Last night," Etienne mumbled, "it didn't mean anything. I -"

"Of course it meant something," Duo interrupted. "It was your first time."

Etienne sighed and shrugged one shoulder. He tried to look away but Duo held his jaw and forced him to maintain eye contact.

"Please, Etienne. Don't torture me like that again. I know I disappointed you, but I never want to hurt you."

Etienne's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have done that to you."

Duo nodded and hugged him again.

-o-

The next two weeks passed in relative peace. Sophie had clearly lost any interest in this adventure and her complaints about their lodgings and surroundings only served as amusement for Duo. Etienne shared his sister's lack of enthusiasm after they rode for three days in unrelenting rain, but neither dared ask to return to London.

Duo knew they were close when Etienne woke up one night, gasping for breath, asking why it was so cold.

It was cold, but Etienne hadn't been asking about the physical temperature - he had been speaking about magic.

Duo hadn't felt it himself until Etienne pointed it out.

The entire world, every living thing, gave off a faint magical signature, and different things, different places had a different flavor to their magic.

Here, in the Scottish Highlands, the magic felt like a sharp, icy wind. The night air seemed alive with the frozen magic. It was powerful and dark and dead.

They started to look at graveyards, started to ask questions about the recently deceased and spoke to priests and peasants about mysterious events. Everyone was vague - bodies had gone missing, strange cries had filled the night air, to the north an entire village had vanished, even farther north an entire castle, once manned by a fine army, was now visited by no one.

It was to the castle that Duo led them, and it was at the castle they found Marlowe.

Christopher Marlowe, the same playwright Duo and Solo had seen perform on stage of The Globe almost one hundred years before. He was a necromancer, and a damned powerful one judging by the small army of corpses he had manning the castle, corpses who were alive and functioning in daylight - a feat few necromancers could ever accomplish, and certainly not on this scale.

Duo found himself wishing he had left Etienne and Sophie alone in London. Surely whatever trouble they would have gotten up to would be nothing in comparison to this.

But, as rotted hands took away his weapons and shoved him into the great hall of the castle, Duo knew the time for those wishes had long passed.

He shared a look with Sophie, willing her to understand what he planned to do, but her dark eyes were wide and fearful.

So Duo turned to Etienne, projecting his memory of the night when the Maxwell Church had gone up in flames and everyone within had been consumed.

Etienne stumbled, forcing the corpses dragging him forward to pick him up, but he looked at Duo and nodded in understanding.

A moment later he heard Sophie draw in a sharp breath and he knew Etienne had shared the vision with her as well.

Which was as much of a plan as Duo was able to formulate before the three of them were shoved down to their knees in front of a carved wooden throne and met Christopher Marlowe.

"Ah, guests." He was handsome, with shoulder length, curling dark hair and a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. He looked the same now as he had the day Duo had last seen him on the stage.

"If this is how you treat guests it's no wonder you aren't known for your hospitality," Duo muttered.

Marlowe arched an eyebrow.

"And if that is how you politely address your hosts it's no wonder you are even still alive, Duo Maxwell."

Duo's eyes narrowed. How had Marlowe known who he was?

Marlowe chuckled at his expression.

"Of course I know who the God of Death is," he spat. "But I've also seen you before." His eyes flickered over Sophie and Etienne. "You had a different companion, then. A blonde man - the most powerful Ephemeral I've ever felt. Whatever did you do with him?"

"He died," Duo admitted.

Marlowe made a tsking sound.

"Shame. Well, tell me where his body is? I can bring him back for you if you promise to serve me as I wipe out the stain of vampires on this earth."

It was a damned tempting off.

Considering the sheer number of dead men at the edges of the great hall, it was clear that Marlowe might just be powerful enough to make good on his threat.

"Controlling dead humans is nothing compared to Ephemerals and Vampires," Duo pointed out.

Marlowe shrugged negligently.

"Of course it is. Humans have so very many thoughts and emotions clouding their tiny brains. The others... well, we both know the only thing Vampires ever think about is death. Easy to control someone who only thinks of the one thing I control. Now. Tell me. Do you want to be caressed by your lover again? Or shall he rot away to nothing?"

Duo looked towards the nearest corpse and arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I want a caress from that," he said.

Marlowe chuckled and summoned the corpse with a gesture.

He touched his palm to the chest of the corpse and after a moment it began to transform, flesh growing across the darkened bones, until a living, breathing man stood before them.

Duo felt his breath catch.

"And if I could bring him back like this?"

Duo would have gladly traded an eternity in hell to be held by Solo again, but Marlowe couldn't give him that. Not really. A corpse controlled by him, body restored by him - it still wasn't Solo, wasn't the man who had died cursing Duo.

Still, the temptation was great, and it was only Sophie's action that saved him from going down a very dark path.

Using her magic, she pulled at the fire in the hearth, spreading it around the room in a whirlwind of flames that caught the corpses.

"Stop her!" Marlowe shouted, and the corpses lurched forward.

"Protect your sister!" Duo yelled at Etienne before throwing himself onto Marlowe.

He tackled the necromancer to the ground, but Marlowe fought back, rolling them and punching and kicking and stabbing.

Duo felt his side, the wet slick of blood on his clothes, and stared at the silver dagger in Marlowe's hand.

"It's going to take more than a little prick to kill me," Duo assured him.

Marlowe swore when Duo wrested the dagger from his grip, but he managed to dodge Duo's swings of the small blade.

A cry from behind him drew his attention away, and he saw Etienne wrestling with two corpses while Sophie pushed more fire at the army slowly closing in on them.

When he turned back to Marlowe the necromancer had a sword in hand and rushed Duo.

He parried with the dagger, using the weight of the sword to throw Marlowe off balance and he kicked away the blade and threw himself on top of Marlowe, dagger at his throat.

"Let them die," he commanded.

Marlowe sneered at him.

"Never."

Duo stabbed him in the left leg, high on fleshy part of his thigh and Marlowe cried out.

"Let them die," Duo repeated. "Or she will burn all of us."

"Why not just kill me?" Marlowe hissed.

"My orders are to take you before the Council for justice."

Marlowe stared at him, eyes wide with pain and surprise.

"Really?" Marlowe's face split into a grin. "Well, who am I to refuse such an invitation?"

He made a sweeping gesture with his hand and the corpses around them fell, lifeless once again.

Duo hauled Marlowe up to his feet and surveyed Etienne and Sophie.

Both were bleeding, breathing heavily and surveying the carnage with queasy expressions, but they were alive.

"Bind him," Duo instructed Etienne and shoved Marlowe in his direction.

Duo looked over at Sophie, watched her expression clear and a triumphant smirk spread across her face as she walked over to help Etienne tie up Marlowe.

The siblings grinned at each other, and Duo didn't like that at all.

-o-

"Is it like that every time?" Sophie asked him, her curiosity finally getting the better of her when they boarded the ship to cross the Channel and return to the Council in France.

"Well, I haven't had to face a Necromancer in... two hundred years?"

Sophie rolled her eyes.

"No. I mean, is it that dangerous every time?"

Duo shrugged.

He cast a glance at Marlowe and Etienne. Marlowe still had his wrists tied behind his back - Duo had explained it to the captain as a matter of reclaiming family honor and given Sophie a significant look. The captain had sneered at Marlowe and allowed Duo to tie him to the ship's rail, where Duo, Sophie and Etienne took turns standing watch over him.

Marlowe had been curiously quiet during his captivity, which only made Duo even more suspicious about him. Going before the Council should have filled him with terror - not joy.

"Then we're going with you again."

Sophie's declaration drew Duo's attention to her.

"What?"

"Etienne and I - we aren't going to let you go out alone again. You need us."

"I do not need you," Duo argued. "Besides, it's dangerous - you could be hurt or killed. It's my job to protect you and -"

Sophie heaved an angry sigh.

"Really? Describe to me how you didn't need us back there to help you defeat all of those corpses. Tell me how you didn't need me to control the fire and -"

"Yes, you were helpful," Duo snapped. "But that doesn't mean -"

"Every time you leave us behind you come back with new injuries. Every time you come back almost dead."

"Not every time," Duo muttered.

Sophie glared.

"But this time," she continued. "The one time we come with you - you barely have a scratch!"

Duo rolled his eyes.

"I -"

"Don't bother arguing. Etienne and I already agreed. We need to protect you."

She crossed her arms, the matter clearly settled, and Duo stormed off. It was fruitless to argue with her, idiotic even.

He relieved Etienne from his watch over Marlowe.

Marlowe arched an eyebrow at him and then looked towards the siblings, who were conferring a few feet away, smug expressions on their faces.

"How did you find them?" Marlowe asked.

"They were about to be burned at an auto de fete," Duo said with a sigh. "Saving them was the dumbest thing I've done in a while."

Marlowe snorted a laugh.

"From what I've heard of you, it's not even close to the dumbest thing you've done."

Duo glared at him.

"How did he die?" Marlowe asked Duo, changing the subject unexpectedly, his tone soft.

Duo swallowed hard and looked out over the ocean.

"In a very painful way," Duo told him.

"Have you avenged him?"

"Not yet," Duo sighed. "I'm still trying to figure out how to avenge him when I've sworn an oath to serve and protect the monster that killed him."

Marlowe held his gaze.

"I can help with that," he offered.

Duo sneered.

"You can? How? By summoning an army of corpses? By robbing innocent humans of the afterlife? You desecrated their bodies - you used them to kill innocent people."

Marlowe snorted.

"No one is innocent. You surely know that by now. And desecration? What do you think your masters do to innocent humans? At least I gave them a power and a purpose. Things that you, Duo Maxwell, clearly lack."

-o-

Standing before the Council was the horror Duo had long become accustomed to. A handful of Council members were dining as Duo addressed Jason, and the whimpers of pain from those humans assaulted his ears, but he cleared his throat and presented Marlowe.

"As ordered, the Necromancer Christopher Marlowe."

Marlowe stepped forward, his hands still bound, and he stared straight ahead, eyes locked with Jason's.

Jason smiled, a slow, languid expression of delight.

Marlowe started to speak Latin, murmuring words of power and Duo felt a chill run down his spine.

Jason only laughed.

"You dare try to control me?" He laughed again and shook his head. "Pathetic. And the rumors implied you were a threat to me."

Duo looked at the other Council members, noticing that they were not sharing in Jason's laughter.

Treize's eyes had turned a solid black, and Duo looked between the vampire and Marlowe, still speaking Latin in a low, mesmerizing voice.

Treize dove towards Jason, still seated on his throne, and took the Greek by surprise.

The two vampires crashed to the floor and the rest of the Council jumped away from them.

Noin, Noventa, and Urshanabi all started towards the fray, but Marlowe held up a hand and the three vampires stopped, their eyes draining of color and becoming the same solid, endless black of Treize and Marlowe's eyes.

The other three vampires started towards Treize and Jason, and Duo knew that it didn't matter how powerful Jason was - when faced with those four as foes he would lose.

Duo lashed out with his magic, catching Marlowe completely unaware and breaking his concentration.

The four vampires momentarily hesitated, and Jason threw Treize across the room, hard enough that his impact caused cracks in the wall mortar.

"So much for your oath of vengeance," Marlowe hissed before directing the remaining three vampires towards Duo.

The words made Duo hesitate. Marlowe was right, after all - if he saved Jason now then he was turning his back on sixty years of planning to kill the vampire who had taken Solo from him.

Duo found himself quickly overwhelmed by Noin, Urshanabi, and Noventa and had to focus all of his energy on keeping himself alive. He had never fought the three vampires before, and he had to quickly revise his opinions of all three - they were fast and damned powerful.

He had to draw both his sword and his dagger eventually, just to try to keep them at bay.

"Perhaps," Marlowe suggested with a wide smile, "you are just as much a monster as the rest of them. I had great plans for you, but instead you will -" his words were lost in a scream of pain as Jason's fangs ripped out his throat.

Duo hadn't even seen the vampire attack, he had been so quick. Jason certainly didn't make Marlowe's death quick, however - he took his time feeding from him before using his supernatural strength to rip his heart from his chest.

Slowly, Treize, Noin, Urshanabi, and Noventa regained their senses. The three who had attacked Duo backed away, and he allowed himself to breathe deeply in relief.

"Burn him," Jason ordered Zechs, blood coating his lips and chin. His gray eyes landed on Duo and there was a wild, unfocused look in them that unsettled him. "Executioner, put away your weapons."

Duo reluctantly did as instructed, and as he did so he noticed blood on the blades of both weapons. He looked at the vampires and saw that Urshanabi was clutching his side and the left side of Noventa's face had a long, jagged wound that crossed over his nose and down his right cheek. Both of Duo's weapons were silver, and the wounds were certainly leave scars.

"Follow me," Jason ordered and swept from the room.

-0-

As many times as Duo had been to Jason's quarters, and as much as he loathed having to go there, this was the first time he felt genuinely ill at ease.

Duo had broken Council law countless times, but this - scarring two of the oldest and most powerful Council members - was one of his worst infractions.

Duo felt both Etienne reaching out to him through their connection and he gently pushed him away. If he was about to be executed he certainly didn't want either Etienne or Sophie to experience it.

Jason immediately stripped out of his clothes and took a few moments to clean himself up before he turned back to Duo.

"Yet again you have broken Council law," Jason said with an aggravated sigh. He hadn't bothered to put new clothes on, and Duo kept his eyes on Jason's face, trying to ignore the golden perfection of his body.

"Yes," Duo agreed.

"And you saved my life," Jason added. He shook his head. "I'm surprised you didn't try to aid Marlowe in killing me."

Duo was as well, but he decided to keep that to himself.

"You remind me of someone I once loved very dearly."

"Who? Medea?" Duo sneered before he could help himself.

"No. You aren't a sociopath. Your master, however... he reminds me of Medea."

"Reminded," Duo corrected, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Hm." Jason sat down behind him. "No, I meant Absyrtus. Medea's brother." He said the name like a caress, and Duo couldn't help but shiver at the depth of emotion in his voice.

Jason ran a hand down the column of Duo's throat and lifted his hair to one side.

"See? I am human. Or I was."

"Didn't she cut him into pieces? Throw him overboard?"

"Yes," Jason growled.

"To help you."

"To help her. I wanted him to come with me - she promised that he could, that she would keep us both safe if I married her."

Jason ran his hand down Duo's spine and then back up. He splayed his fingers wide and traced over the web of scars that covered Duo's back.

"After that - losing the first, the only man I ever loved... I promised myself that I would never care again. After all, I lived, didn't I? I gained my inheritance. Love - what did it ever get me but heartache?" Jason sighed. "And then I met my children. Alcimenes and Thessalus. They were perfect. By the Gods, I'd never seen anything so perfect as they were."

"She killed them too," Duo remembered.

"Yes." Jason placed a single kiss on Duo's spine. "So I know, Duo. I know what it feels like to lose part of your heart. I know what it feels like to wake up, alone, reaching out for someone who will never be with you again."

Duo swallowed hard. That was exactly what happened to him, almost every night, every time he closed his eyes. It had been eighty years, but it still felt like yesterday when Solo had last kissed him, last smiled at him, last held him.

"What's the point of it, without them?" Duo asked, turning his head to look back at Jason. "Without your lover, your children - power gets you nothing. Life means nothing."

"And yet still I live," Jason murmured. He leaned forward and captured Duo's lips, surprising the other man.

Jason's lips were firm and cool. Even now, after he had fed, his body was still cooler than a human's, or Duo's.

As much as just that mere touch of flesh aroused Duo, he was able to use that coldness to fight against his desire and his urge to respond to the kiss.

He eased away, and Jason let him.

"I don't," Duo assured him. "I died with Solo - you just won't let my body join my soul."

Jason's dark gaze lost some of the heat of arousal and became tinged with resignation once again.

"You will live again, you will love again," Jason mused. "You are nearly immortal. In a few hundred years, perhaps, you will wake up from this dream and find that dawn has risen.

Duo shook his head.

"Look at your Council. How many of them understand love? How many even crave it? Immortality does nothing but stretch out time and pale emotions. Can you honestly tell me that you still believe you can find someone - another love like Abystrus? After all this time? Or would you rather have died with him? You've lived thousands of years without him. Tell me it's been worth it. Tell me you don't still miss him, every night when you rise."

Jason's face froze and he seemed to barely breathe for a moment.

Duo nodded, knowing he had made his point.

"If you were planning on feeding on me tonight, would you mind going ahead? I haven't slept in four days."

Jason's eyes narrowed and he reached out, drawing his hand along Duo's neck, tracing the spot just near his jugular.

Abruptly he withdrew his hand and stood.

"No. Leave me."

Duo didn't need to be told twice.

-o-

Chapter 3

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