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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 "
Winging silently through skies blackened by night, Quatre closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of wind through his feathers. This high there was no fear of running into obstructions, so why watch where he was going? He'd been flying for three days straight, and he was nearing his destination. The nearest town outside of the kingdom. The outlying countries, few though they were now, did not know their way of life was about to be threatened. Quatre was supposed to be determining their numbers. That was not his intent. Opening his eyes, he saw the first lights winking at him far below and began a lazy dive. He was days and days ahead of the Army of Light, so he felt no great hurry. Soon he was low enough to estimate the size. Probably a population of five-hundred, maybe six. A small town. As he dropped low enough to be seen, grateful for the large moon to reflect off his golden body, he unleashed a powerful scream. It would be too loud for an eagle. It took a matter of minutes for people to gather under him, gaping and pointing. He waited until a fair number had arrived before making his landing. The people made a circle for him, but as soon as he touched ground they clamored around him. It somewhat startled him, feeling their hands grasping at him, smoothing over his feathers and fur. They were gentle, so he allowed the attention and purred under it. He was half great cat, after all. Eventually, though, a large man shoved his way to the fore and began pushing people back. "Make room, you silly fools!" he rumbled. "Give the poor creature some space!" Judging by the sooty stains on his clothes, he was a blacksmith. Those large arms of his certainly supported the theory. Quatre let the excitement die down a little. "Thank you," he said to the man, clicking his beak. To his surprise, the blacksmith offered him a deep bow. "It is us who should be doing the thanking here," he said. "We have never been graced by the presence of a messenger of the Goddess." At the words, for the first time in his life Quatre found himself speechless. It was true he'd never been this far north, but he would never have expected to find humans here who did not pay homage to God, but instead his equal and counterpart, the Mother of the Universe. The patron deity of all immortals and mystics. ". . ." "Grave must be your tidings to have come to us at this hour," the blacksmith continued. "Please, allow me to act as spokesperson for the town. I am Tomar Acrosoman, blacksmith and counsel to the mayor." Managing to marshal himself, Quatre sat back on his haunches, folding his wings. "I have traveled from the city Endina," he began. At the words, dark murmurs ran through the gathered. So they knew something of the Way, then. "Why have you traveled from that evil place?" said an older woman. "I am in the companionship of individuals who wish to learn about the Way of Light under the command of Oraia, archangel of Heaven." A discontented rumbling rippled through the crowd. He could hear them talking of the arrogance of 'Heaven's witch.' "Again, why?" the same woman demanded. "Why could you possibly want to learn of the so-called Way?" "To destroy it, of course," Quatre answered, preening his breast feathers. Shocked silence. This time, it was an absolute outburst that followed. If Quatre was any judge of expressions, a joyous one. "Finally those tyrants will be brought to their knees!" "Truly the Goddess continues to smile on us!" "We will no longer live in constant fear!" Quatre rose and let out a short growl. "You will have to wait to discard your fear," he said. "Oraia plans to send her army north to start imposing her religion on the outlying countries. I am acting as spy and scout to let her know how many people are here, but I'm issuing a warning, instead. You are desperately outnumbered, and I recommend fleeing north. If you all gathered, perhaps you could make a stand." They were quiet for a time. Then the blacksmith stirred. "You said you are in a companionship. May we know with whom?" Quatre nodded once. "An elf, a human General, a siren, an Imperial dragon, an angel, and a demon." More shocked expressions. "An angel and a demon?" "Surely we are coming to the end of this dark age if such a partnership can exist." "Perhaps, but only if the demon and angel are of some importance to Heaven and Hell." Quatre smirked. "You can rest assured of that. They are of relative importance, Princes that they are." For a moment, he thought the entire congregation might faint. It was satisfying to his mischievous side. "The Princes of Heaven and Hell have allied?" the blacksmith finally choked out. "Yes," Quatre said, "and they are not pleased by Oraia's meddling. They mean to end the war between Heaven and Hell once and for all." For a moment no one spoke or moved. Then they were pressing forward again, and this time even the blacksmith's bulk could not keep them from touching and petting Quatre, tears in their eyes and laughter on their lips. Smiling to himself, Quatre allowed it. It was not in him to deny these folk their symbol of hope. Hope at long last. After several days of careful digging, Wufei uncovered and interesting tidbit. The church had supposedly put together an extremist group of fanatics. They called themselves the Guardians of Light. He readily discovered they were far more dangerous than the general pious enthusiast. They actively sought out any they did not believe strictly adhered to the Way and arrested them on the authority of the church. These individuals were rarely seen again. But upon discovering the existence of the Guardians, the dragon ran into the proverbial brick wall. He could not locate any members, nor where they took their prisoners, nor even what they did with them. He suspected, of course, but he could not find a single trace of them other than the rumors of their watchful presences. It was irksome. Finally he sent out a request along the web to Treize, asking about it. "You are in a position of power," he said to the General. "Have you ever heard of them? Can you tell me about them at all?" Treize did not seem surprised. "I have heard of them, but I have never been able to gather proof of their existence. There are occasionally public executions, and it is whispered that it is a Guardian who whips the crowd into a frenzy and so they kill the 'evil-doer.' These are people who secretly worship demons or commune with them or any minor blasphemer. There have been many of these, the number grows every day. I'm surprised it hasn't happened in Endina yet." And of course, having said that, it did. She was seventeen. A pretty girl with ebony hair and pale gray eyes. Someone broke into her home because it was whispered she was a witch. Whoever it was found a pendant of a pentacle on a silver chain. A symbol of evil. She was arrested by the church. The fat bishop spent hours and hours trying to force her to confess to her evil, desperate to save her soul. When she refused, telling them she was not evil, they brought in a tall man with icy eyes. The Guardian tortured her. Starved and beat her. Implemented methods that would have had even the coldest heart quavering. When she held out, she was dragged into the streets, followed by thousands of chanting individuals to "Burn the witch!" She was pale, eyes afraid, but she did not cower. She was tied to a stake and kindling was laid out at her feet. Duo made his way through the throng from the marketplace, wondering why people were clamoring around like milling cattle. He could hear a great commotion, so his natural curiosity kicked in. Soon he could make out the chanting, and he blinked. Witch? What the hell? He hurried forward, elbowing his way to the fore of the angry crowd to find a young girl tied to a stake, a tall man standing in front of her with a torch as he addressed the people. "This witch has refused to confess to her evil sins," he intoned in a completely emotionless voice. "She was found with a symbol of evil in her possession and repudiates our attempts to save her. For her crimes, she will be put to death." Outraged, Duo snapped, "On who's authority?" "The church," the man said, "and Oraia, Bright Lady of Heaven and orator of the Way of Light." "For being in possession of a trinket?" Duo growled. "You need to reevaluate your justice system!" "Be silent boy, unless you mean to join her," the man said in that flat, cold voice. "You should take her place!" Duo snarled, leaping at him and grabbing the torch. He flung it out at the crowd, which parted with a shriek. "What kind of religion condones burning an innocent girl because she owns a piece of silver? God never, ever approves senseless violence!" The tall man's blank face could give Oraia a run for her money for icy chill. "You speak utter blasphemy," he said. "I'm placing you under arrest by the authority of the church and Oraia, Bright-" Duo didn't let him finish. Rage filming his vision red, he viciously kicked the man right in the gut. He let out a satisfying 'oomph!' and collapsed to his knees, gasping and wheezing. Turning back to the girl, Duo set about releasing her. Her gray eyes were resigned, disbelieving, and grateful. He'd barely touched the heavy ropes, however, when the startled crowd rallied and suddenly swarmed the erected pyre. Hands clawed at his arms, angry shouting and yelling filling his ears. "Blasphemer!" "He must be in league with the witch!" "If he wants to join her, let him!" "Burn him, too!" Duo whirled and knocked their hands away, knowing his eyes had gone red. He clawed at them, fangs bared, and he felt his ebony wings burst free and spill down his back. They raised aggressively, effectively shielding the girl. The quick transformation sent a dark wave of power out over them, forcing them back several paces. It didn't take them long to recover. "DEMON!" "FILTH!" "Kill it!" "KILL IT!" Lips splitting into an awful parody of a smile, Duo ran his tongue over his fangs. "Try it, weaklings." A dry, faint, "Look out!" was his only warning before something struck him hard across the back. A shock of burning, electric pain crackled through him and his wings vanished. Eyes wide in surprise, he toppled over to find the tall man in his white and gold robes standing over him with a long staff. The only way it could affect him like that was if it was a cursed weapon. Shit. "Today is a wonderful day, devoted. You have helped in the apprehension of a demon. I will send word at once to Oraia, Bright Lady of Heaven, and you shall witness this evil creature's execution. You will see with your own eyes her tremendous power, and know that in her truly lies our salvation." Duo glared up at him, and the man looked down at him. "As for trying to save your foul servant," he said, still utterly without emotion, "your pitiful attempts have counted for naught." He drew a long knife from his belt and drove it into her breast. She gave only a sharp intake of air. Her pale eyes met Duo's, and he was surprised to see relief in them. She mouthed, 'thank you,' and went limp against her bindings. Duo felt a peculiar combination of hate, anger, and despair twist through his heart. The man raised the staff again. Duo's last thought was, Great. I get to see that
bitch again.
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