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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 " The Tale of A Demon Duo almost couldn't swallow when Heero finally brought him some water two days later. His throat ached and burned, his lips were so dry they cracked and bled. He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he was actually glad to see the Prince of Heaven. "What . . . took you so long?" he managed to croak out when his throat was a little more moist. "I'm sorry," Heero said softly, producing a cloth from somewhere and wiping the blood and perspiration from Duo's face. It was damp with cool water, which felt nice. "I couldn't get past Oraia. I'm still trying to get my father to listen to me." "Why?" Duo said, coughing. "Because I really would like Oraia to have no reason to go to war with Hell again," Heero replied, dragging the cloth down over Duo's neck and chest. "I know we weren't exactly at peace before, but at least the battles had ceased." Duo saw him grimace. "I wish I knew what Oraia was thinking. I can't begin to fathom what she wants. This is . . . this is just plain insanity." "Then . . . obviously she's not thinking," Duo said, biting out a grin. Heero lightly gripped his chin again, tilting his head just enough so he could drink some more water. This time it went down even better, and Duo closed his eyes in relief. It felt good. "Can you talk easier now?" Heero asked. Licking his lips, Duo looked at him with a little frown. "Yeah. Why?" For a moment the Prince of Heaven hesitated. "I would like to hear about you," he said. He looked unsure. "I want to hear about Hell. I can no longer trust Oraia, and it is her who so often tells us demons are evil and Hell a place of wicked debauchery and sin." Well. Heero flat couldn't have surprised Duo more. For several moments he just stared at the angel, trying to get his mouth to work, his throat to produce sound. Finally he cleared his throat. "Umm . . . sure." "I don't mean to pry," Heero said quickly. Duo shook his head, eager not to discourage him. "No, you just startled me. You'll be the first angel in . . . oh, a few thousand years to want to hear about us from our perspective." Now Heero looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure why I want to know," he admitted quietly. "Most of me is thinking I'm insane for asking this, that you wouldn't give me the truth anyway. But . . . I used to think Oraia was the pinnacle of virtue and truth. Now . . ." "Now you see that's she's a lying, devious, conniving bitch?" Duo supplied hopefully. Those incredibly blue eyes met his, surprised. Then Heero barked a somewhat bitter-sounding laugh. "Something alarmingly close to that, actually. Here, let me give you some more water. If you need more during your story, just let me know." Duo gratefully accepted more water, then closed his eyes. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. Please just listen. I have no reason to lie, do I?" "I suppose not." o0o 0o0 "God's idea of a perfect world and yours are vastly different, Kysaan." "We are not perfect beings," the angel said, "so how can we be expected to perfectly run this world?" "It is not our place to run anything," retorted the younger angel. Kysaan's younger sister, Bryna. "We are not gods ourselves. God left this for us to watch over and protect, not control." "I agree with Bryna. We have no place denying any soul access to Heaven. It is not our place to punish even those we perceive as having committed evil deeds. We are here to guide them." "And those who have refused our guidance?" demanded another angel. "Kysaan is right. How do we deal with those? They are beyond saving." "No soul is beyond saving!" Bryna shot back. "They need only be reminded of the wonderful warmth and comfort of God's love." "They obviously wish not to be reminded," Kysaan said. "They have turned their backs on him." "And so we must turn our backs on them?" Bryna countered. "It is not our place." "Then whose? God has charged us with stewardship of Candora." "We are guardians. Protectors! Not rulers or governors. That was not what God wished of us!" "Can we know that for sure? Humans are weak and fallible." "And so are we!" "So are you. You are the ones who have forgotten God's will." o0o 0o0 Heero gave Duo some more water. "There were six-hundred and sixty-six angels that day who believed the rest of the angels were acting against God's ultimate vision," the demon said in a raspy voice. "Six-hundred and sixty-six angels who were banished from Heaven and branded as 'evil.' They were cast to the realm that eventually became known as Hell. We became known as demons, and our wings turned black." For a long time Heero simply looked at him. That could not be more different and opposite to what Oraia had preached over the millennia. Demons had not sympathized with the lost souls, they had wanted to be like them. To rule and destroy everything they touched. Were angels really the intolerant ones? "Heero," Duo said in a failing voice, "I can see you don't want to believe that. But there were many, many angels who never knew about that meeting. They were told lies about the reason the demons left Heaven. That was a long, long time ago. Tens of thousands of years. The only reason I know that story is because demons pass it on to their children. We want never to forget. It has been our wish for all this time to return to Heaven and continue what we left off then. Guiding the lost and wounded back to God." Heero took a deep, deep breath. "I don't want to believe that," he said finally, "but only because I cannot believe we've allowed ourselves to fall so far. I . . . I want to believe you're not lying to me, Duo. So, I promise I will try to find the truth. I'm sure Oraia knows. I will find out." Duo's eyes on him were weary. "Okay," the demon prince murmured, eyes drifting shut. "Don't take too long, kay?" Managing a sort-of smile, Heero nodded. "I'll try." o0o 0o0 Duo felt the Prince of Heaven leave the ward. A ripple of pain shivered up his body. At least the burn in his throat was gone, now. That look in Heero's eyes was easy to read. He was an angel who wanted to keep believing the comfortable lies he'd been fed his whole life. Though it somewhat irked him, neither did Duo really blame him. He let his head fall to his chest with a sigh. It was many hours later when the ward shifted and opened. Duo's entire body stiffened and tensed; she was back. It took a great deal of effort to lift his head and meet that icy gaze of hers. Her lips parted as she prepared to deliver her same spiel. "Save your breath," Duo forestalled her. "I'm not going to repent my evil ways, Oraia. Why don't you just do like all other good little angels and consider me a lost cause?" A hint of heat flared beneath the ice, though not nearly as much as Duo would have liked. It kept him sane, goading her to reveal emotion. Otherwise her glacial calm and chill bored into him like knives of ice. Many, many knives. It was unbearable. "That is fine, then," she said in that arctic tone of hers. "We will simply begin again, and perhaps next time you will be ready and willing to repent." And so she did begin again. The threads of power began shifting, spiraling around his body as the spikes lengthened. They pierced through him, catching and grinding against the cross to which he remained pinned. That hurt, causing the splintering wood to burrow into his already aggravated flesh. Duo felt his control rapidly spinning away, so his mind desperately sought something on which to focus. He made himself really concentrate on the sensation of blood sliding down his body in hot, thick rivulets. A human would have bled to death a thousand times over by now. His body continued to compensate, though even he was beginning to suffer the strain. He was weak, and growing weaker all the time. At least her torture had yet to make him cry out. Frequent groans and sometimes whimpers escaped him, but that was all. Oftentimes after her sessions with him his jaw would be locked shut with the effort, only relaxing after a few hours. "Your resistance is a waste of time, Duo," Oraia chided mildly. "You needn't suffer like this. Admit to your evil, and repent. God is forgiving, and so am I." At that, at that absurd lie, Duo spat a laugh. "So are you. Ha! What a joke. I'm glad you feel it's your responsibility to keep me entertained while you keep torturing me, Oraia. Makes the time fly by so much quicker." There! Another bright flash and the ice cracked. Every individual spike suddenly spawned a thousand more, these branching off in every direction. The suddenness broke Duo's fragmenting control and he cried out, blood streaming from his mouth. Abruptly Oraia was very close, a bright nimbus surrounding her. She placed her hand over Duo's back, right above the shoulder blades. He realized what she was trying to do a split-second before it happened, too late to do anything about it. His wings burst free, a few black feathers drifting to the ground. And what she did after that . . . Duo would never have
guessed anyone could be so cruel. Or inventive. After that, he could
not stop screaming.
tbc |
