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"Duo's Salvation "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Gratuitous violence, abuse, torture, language, yaoi, lemon, angels, demons, bigotry, hypocrisy, blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege, and general religion-bashing. THIS IS NOT A STORY FOR THE CLOSE-MINDED. Pairings: 1x2, others Summary: When the Prince of Hell is captured and taken to Heaven, it is up to the Prince of Heaven to save him. But what if he believes Duo is already being saved? "Duo's Salvation "
Return to Hell He could not let the demon Prince die. He would have to take him back to Hell. Taking a deep breath, Heero gently slid his arms under Duo's body. Those great black wings of his were awkward and in the way, but Heero didn't dare ask the demon to make them disappear. Expending any energy at all - even such a small amount as that - would probably cost Duo his life. Once standing, he paused. Shit. Now what? How could he get all the way to that gateway with Oraia so close? She would probably attack him the instant the barrier dropped. He could still feel her trying to break it. Duo was getting paler and weaker in his arms. He didn't have time to deal with that stupid bitch. The strength of his anger might have surprised him, once. Now, only one thing mattered, and it sure as hell wasn't her. "Hang on, Duo," he whispered in his lover's ear, squeezing as gently as he could. Nothing left but to go for it. Heero concentrated all the power he could muster - which on Candora wasn't much. He was still stronger than her, though. Pouring it all into his barrier, he shoved out with all his might. He had the dark pleasure of hearing Oraia squawk like a frightened bird, and saw her out of the corner of his eye go tumbling away from him. That wouldn't kill her - certainly not. It wouldn't do much more than bruise her up. But it got her away from him as he burst into flight, not bothering to look back to see if she followed. The gateway wasn't as far as he'd thought, but it still seemed so far. He could feel Oraia closing on him, but then he hit the gateway. Hell swallowed him in instant darkness. For a second Heero floundered with his burden, senses temporarily disoriented. Then he landed, and the heat slightly surprised him. It wasn't hot, but it was a great deal warmer than Candora. Having never before been in Hell, he had no idea where to find anyone. Every second that he wasted trying to find someone was a second death crept closer to Duo. So he sent out a surge of power. It could be compared to a beacon similar to a lighthouse beckoning for ships. Any demons anywhere nearby should be able to feel it. And since demonic power could never be mistaken for angelic power, they should know it meant an angel was in Hell. If that didn't bring them running, nothing would. It worked. Nine demons converged on him, all male but for one extremely tall female. Their eyes were all glowing bright red, black wings extended. Heero's wings quickly disappeared, eager to be as non-threatening as possible. He didn't want to waste any time with a confrontation. "What the hell are you doing here?" the tall female demanded, and Heero could see her white fangs. Turning so they could easily see Duo, Heero looked pointedly at the still-glowing arrow. "He was shot with an Unsummoning arrow. This is Duo your missing -" "Prince!" she cut him off. "So you cowardly angels shot him and brought his dead body back to us -!" "He's not dead!" Heero snapped, "though he will become so if you don't hurry your asses up!" At the female's nod, two of the males all but grabbed Duo out of Heero's arms. Heero resisted the urge to cling to him, reminding himself all the while it would slow things down. Nothing was more important than making sure Duo did not die. As soon as Duo was safely in their arms, they broke into flight. Midway in the air, a doorway of shimmering red appeared and they disappeared through it. Now the female looked at Heero. Her eyes were colder than ice - or perhaps hotter than molten lead. "You, come with me." A command, not a request. Well, Duo had suffered greatly at the hands of the angels. Turnabout was fair play. o0o 0o0 Tovala the Cruel. An ironic title for a demon who was not known for her cruelty. It could be said she had a cruel sense of humor, but Tovala was known more for her mothering nature than her cruelty. She'd been Queen of Hell for a long, long time. About three times as long as her husband had been King of Hell. Anzuei the Destroyer lived up to his name in a big way - he'd been an avid supporter of war with Heaven for as long as he'd lived. Tovala loved the fire in his eyes, she loved his deep voice, she loved his powerful hands, and she loved the way he loved their son. Duo was her pride and joy. Tovala had wanted to be a mother for centuries before finally meeting Anzuei. And at the time, there'd been no time for children. Too much turmoil, too much war. But an uneasy truce stopped the fighting, and shortly after that Tovala gave birth. Her pregnancy was a mere eyeblink, and then she had Duo. The precious child she'd always wanted, the Prince of Hell was beautiful, sharp, clever, funny as hell, and sarcastic. She loved his razor wit. She loved him fiercely. So when Heaven had tricked her and Anzuei just to take him from her, she'd been absolutely livid. She didn't know exactly how she knew they were mistreating him. It wasn't like she could feel his pain. But somehow, she was aware of it. For the first time in her long existence, she wanted to completely annihilate Heaven. Her attitude hadn't improved much when two of her sentries along one of Hell's gateways brought her son to her, shot through the heart with an Unsummoning arrow. The only thing in the world that could kill a demon. An angel had brought him, they told her - which dimly surprised her - but another sentry had taken him to a holding cell in the palace dungeons. Ironically, it was the Prince of Heaven. My, how karma came around to bite the wicked in the ass! Smiling to herself, Tovala drifted down the luxurious halls of the palace. It had taken almost four days before they knew Duo would survive, the longest eternity of her life. Never would she ever have imagined fearing losing her son. Even angels had never been so vicious against demons. Using an Unsummoning arrow on him! Her eyes narrowed and glinted at the mere thought. No one had so much as spoken to the angel Prince since throwing him in the dungeons, but she intended to wring it out of him who had shot her son. He looked a little haggard, but none the worse for wear. Her husband had told the demons to stay away from him, so he'd not been mistreated in any way. Tovala entered looking every inch the demon with her long flowing black wings, glowing red eyes, molten red gown, and sharp fangs. She was angry - but not yet ready to kill. "So . . ." she said in a low, sultry voice. "The Prince of Heaven. In Hell. Tell me, angel. Do you find it ironic that you are now in my hands, when once my son was in your mother's hands? Because I find it unbelievably ironic." The Prince of Heaven had amazingly intense cobalt blue eyes. Like pools of molten glass. He didn't answer her question. Instead he asked his own. "How is Duo?" Well, she'd not been expecting that. "An angel, concerned for the well-being of a demon?" she mused. "I find that ironic too, since you're the ones who shot him." The words were harsh and cold, meant to cut deep. The Prince of Heaven flinched, those brilliant eyes of his lowering. "It was my fault," he murmured. Tovala blinked. She'd not been expecting a confession, and she'd certainly not been expecting such a contrite tone. "Your fault because you shot him?" "No . . . but I saw Oraia draw her bow. I distracted Duo at the last minute, and she . . ." his voice trailed away, eyes closing against what Tovala could only guess was genuine remorse. Or something. But as much as she might have cared, nothing made it past her icy, white-hot fury. So the Bright Lady of Heaven had shot her son? "How . . . how is he?" the Prince almost whispered. Tovala looked back at him, and this time her anger was shocked into momentary stillness. The young angel had tears in his eyes. He was crying. For her son? "He lived," she replied shortly. Turning on her heel, she stalked from the cell. It was spartan, but not cruel. As soon as she was back in the palace proper, she stormed into her husband's study. He jokingly called it his war council room. That didn't seem so funny anymore. There were several demons gathered around the huge round table. "Anzuei!" she snapped, eyes blazing. The powerful King of Hell looked up at his wife, nodding to his gathered companions. They scattered with one smoldering look from the Queen - no one liked to be around an angry Tovala. Anzuei straightened. "What is it?" "I just spoke with that angel brat," she spat. "Come with me. We're going to have a little talk with Heaven." Looking both mystified and happy to oblige, her husband followed her to a room empty but for a wide pool of water. It was the only place in Hell where they could see into Heaven, connected at the other end by a great mirror. Tovala looked into the pool, Anzuei strong and solid at her side. The water rippled, turning opaque then black. In less than a minute the King of Heaven responded, face looking a little gray. Tovala broke into a smile. "Well," she said. "We seem to find ourselves on the same footing as before. One of us has the other's son. Only this time, it is I who has the upper hand. Irony's a funny thing, isn't it?" The King of Heaven blanched. "Please don't harm my son, Tovala," he said quietly. "Why should I make a promise you yourselves not only wouldn't make, but didn't? When my son was returned to me, he had been shot through the heart with an Unsummoning arrow." The angel winced. "Oraia did not act at my behest," he said. "Please believe me, Tovala. I never would have ordered her to kill your son." "Just torture him," Tovala countered with enough venom to kill a hundred mortals. This time the King of Heaven actually flinched. "We didn't know what she was doing," he tried in a pathetic voice. "You mean you didn't bother to find out what she was doing because you had your backs turned," Tovala retorted coldly. "Duo is home now, remember? I know everything that happened to him. Did you know your precious Bright Lady broke both his wings? Was that another thing you didn't know about, King?" As she spoke, the King of Heaven looked more and more desperate. "Tovala -" "Well, we will never be so careless as to trust angels again," Tovala cut him off ruthlessly. "You are lucky, Odin. Heero falling into our hands will stave off the war you angels seem so eager to start." "If you even attempt to enter Candora," Anzuei added smoothly, "I will shoot your son with an Unsummoning arrow. And he will not be so fortunate as Duo to find a doorway to Heaven so close." Tovala gave her husband a sideways smile. Odin looked utterly defeated. "We will do as you say," he said. "Will you . . . may I have your promise not to harm my son?" Tovala gave that cold, cruel smile for which she'd been named. "I suppose that just depends on my mood at the time," she said. Anzuei burst into laughter, and she slapped her hand onto the surface of the water. The image vanished. "Tovala the Cruel, indeed!" the King of Hell chortled. "I believe I will see our son, my Queen. Wish to come with me?" Allowing him to kiss her cheek, she shook her head. "I'm going to tell our sentries to watch the doorways to Heaven on Candora. That threat you made - I have no intention of allowing it to be an idle one. Tell Duo I'll be along to see him shortly, though." "Will do, my Queen," he said with a low chuckle, leaving the viewing room. Tovala allowed a tiny, vindictive smile. Yes, irony was a funny thing. o0o 0o0 Duo sat up when his father entered his room. The King of Hell was an incredibly imposing demon, almost seven feet tall. Broad and strong, he reminded Duo of a tree trunk. Like if an elephant rammed into him, it would fall down and Anzuei would laugh at its attempt to try. Like Tovala he had red eyes, but his hair was fiery red like molten lava. Duo looked more like Tovala, slight of build. But everyone said he had Anzuei's eyes. He smiled. "Father." "Welcome back to the land of the living, son!" Anzuei boomed out, clapping his son on the back. Much softer than he normally did. For which Duo was grateful. He was still incredibly sore. The wound from the arrow was gone, not even a scar left behind. But he could still feel it, and the bruise on his chest was . . . quite a sight. "It's good to be back, Father. I haven't ever had this many visitors all in one day." "Well, I suppose you're the first demon in history ever to be shot with an Unsummoning arrow and live to tell of it. Stubborn son of a bitch!" He laughed. "That's my boy." "Don't call Mother a bitch," Duo quipped. Anzuei snorted. "She wouldn't mind." "No . . . Father, where is the angel who brought me here?" "Oh, we had him thrown in the dungeons. He's just been down there, cooling his heels." "Has . . . has anyone hurt him?" "No. Much as I would have liked to, your mother thought it might not be wise," the King of Hell said with a little frown. "Actually, she said we ought not to be like them. Can't say as I disagree, but it would have been satisfying just the same. Damn hypocritical, self-righteous angels." Duo couldn't help the rush of relief. Heero was all right for now. Probably unhappy and maybe even lonely, but all right. He closed his eyes. "What are you going to do with him?" he asked. "I believe I'll let your mother decide," Anzuei replied. "How're you feeling, anyway? Why don't you open your robe and let me see." Duo obeyed, wincing when the action had him moving muscles not yet ready for movement. His father's large, cool hands gently ran over the extremely colorful bruise. The demon gave a chuckle that managed to sound sympathetic. "Bet that's painful," he mused. "It doesn't feel great," Duo admitted. Then he grinned at his father. "But I survived being shot with an Unsummoning arrow. That makes me the first, doesn't it?" Anzuei burst into laughter. "That it does! That's my boy. Well, you've got several thousand cousins all clamoring through the palace demanding to know how you are and demanding that angel's blood. I think I'll go let some of the calmer ones come see you, then I'll go try to calm the rest down and remind them you're still recovering. Your mother said she'd be by in a bit, too." "Thanks, Father," Duo said. Then, softer, "I'm glad to be home." Anzuei gave him an uncharacteristically gentle smile. "We're glad you're home, too." And he left his son alone. Though he didn't stay that way for long, Duo used the time to try and figure out what to do now. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. But he was genuinely worried for Heero's well being. He trusted his parents not to do anything rash, but demons were . . . vengeful creatures. He had a lot of first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth . . . and so on . . . cousins who might try to exact a little revenge for Duo's appalling treatment in Heaven. He didn't want that. He still loved Heero with all his heart. The emotion was sadder than it had been before, because who knew if Heero would ever really return it? He sighed. That was about all the time he got to himself before several of his less rowdy cousins came in - that is, all girls. After that, there wasn't much time to think at all. o0o 0o0 For about the hundredth time in only a handful of days, Heero found himself close to tears. Duo was alive. But was he all right? He hadn't been separated from Duo for any great length since he'd rescued him from Oraia. He couldn't stand it. He'd not been mistreated-just completely ignored-since being thrown in this cell. It had a cot and nothing else, but it wasn't anything like Duo's captivity had been. Duo. Duo. The Prince of Hell was the only thing he could think about. The vision of Duo's beautiful eyes widening as the Unsummoning arrow pierced his flesh would not leave his mind. The pained, labored breathing. The fading heartbeat. The whispered words, "I think I'm dyin', H'ro . . ." God. Duo . . . if you're well, if you're healed, please come see me. I have to see you, I have to know you're all right . . .
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