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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 "
Breaking Point "I want the truth." Four relatively innocuous words. Once, Heero had never questioned the validity of the lessons, the history fed to young angels. Once, he wouldn't have thought to ask for truth because he accepted what he knew as truth. Now, his whole world had been upended. Because Oraia had lied. To demons. And even they did not deserve deception, least of all from the loving, tolerant angels. But that line of thinking was wrong, too, wasn't it? Heero was beginning to see it wasn't the angels who had been so terribly wronged. What if Duo was telling the truth? What if so-called demons were actually angels who had been banished from Heaven for wanting to do what angels were supposed to be doing, anyway? It was God's plan to save everyone. To bring even those who had turned their backs on Him back to His light and love. Because God did not judge, condemn, or discriminate. And therefore, neither should angels. Least of all should angels! God had charged them with guarding Candora in His absence. Yet, try as he might, Heero could find no records of the time when the demons willfully left Heaven. There were vague references to it here and there, but that was all. It was like it had been erased. Blocked. Hidden away. Forgotten. Easy to perpetuate a lie when no one knew the truth. It made Heero sick. "Prince?" Heero blinked when he heard Quince's voice. The young angel, just a little older than Heero himself, was Oraia's most avid and zealous follower. It was his dream to one day follow in her footsteps and descend to Candora to preach to the righteous, guide them to Heaven. "What?" he said, aware he sounded snappish. Not really caring. "Your father and mother request your presence somewhat urgently," Quince said, giving Heero a respectful bow. Annoyed, Heero rose from his seat in the dusty corners of Heaven's library and followed Quince to the only place in Heaven that could see into Hell. Heero started. Then his parents had either contacted or were contacted by the demons. His heart skipped a beat. And what, exactly, did that mean? His mother beckoned and slid an arm around his shoulders. "We wanted you to be here, to witness their impossible conduct, so that perhaps you may finally see we had no other alternative than the one we ultimately chose." Heero looked at her, wishing she would just see the unbelievable hypocrisy of her own words. For now he held his peace, waiting to see what this audience would bring. He recognized the face of the demon that appeared. This was the Queen of Hell, sometimes called Tovala the Cruel. On Candora she'd become known as the Black Mother, though no angel actually knew why. It was generally assumed a negative thing. "I'm a little surprised you have the courage to face me yourselves," she said in a voice dripping with scorn. Her tone and pitch were both higher and lighter than Heero's mother's. "It was not cowardice that drove our actions," she said, sounding unwavering in her conviction. "Whether you see it or not, we did the right thing. Your son has not been mistreated during his stay with us, and that way it will remain." Heero twitched as though she'd buried a knife between his shoulder-blades. Either his mother had turned into a bald-faced liar, or she truly did not know to what lengths Oraia was willing to go. Tovala, apparently, didn't buy it either. Her eyes, nearly red in hue, darkened visibly. "Hear me, you narrow-minded, lying bigots. For thirty-eight thousand years we have quietly bore the lies and slander, simply living our own way apart from you. You have pushed us past the point of no return. I know very well that my son has been hurt, and I will not allow it to continue! From this day forward, consider yourselves at war with us. I will have my son back, and when he is safely here where he belongs, I will not rest until Heaven is broken and destroyed!" The demon's face was awful and beautiful in anger, her eyes crimson flashes of light. Heero felt his chest tighten. I knew this would happen, he thought grimly. I knew your rash actions would drive Hell to equally desperate measures. This is your fault. And yet, this effectively tied his hands even more. What would happen if he did manage to free Duo? If he returned the demon Prince to Hell, they would begin in earnest their campaign to destroy Heaven. Heero was no longer sure he would lift a finger to stop it, either. But Candora would suffer greatly because of it, and as the Prince of Heaven he had a responsibility to those innocent souls, each just continuing on his or her endless journey. Wrenching away from his mother, hating her for putting him in this position, he stalked back to his room.
Pain, it seemed, was something strong enough to take on dimensions of its own. There were places in his body Duo had not even been aware could feel at all, let alone such intense, unbearable agony. It was like white-hot flame had taken up residence just under the surface of his skin, rippling across muscle and bone and sinew, burrowing into him like a sliver determined to fester and rot him from the inside. He had no strength left. He couldn't keep his eyes open, could not lift his head. It put tremendous strain on his arms and shoulders that they now supported his entire limp weight — slight though it might be. His throat burned a raging fire itself, raw and torn from screaming. So raw he was still swallowing blood — or, rather, it continued to drip from his mouth. He couldn't swallow anymore. He couldn't scream anymore, either. "Demons are wicked, deplorable creatures living in the darkest places where God's love no longer reaches. You are evil beings long lost to His light. Admit to your evil, demon. Admit it, repent, and be saved. Only by repenting can you find your way back to His grace." Over and over, Oraia had repeated these words in a toneless litany. They ran around and around in Duo's mind, a heartless mantra that tormented him. I am evil, I deserve to be tortured. Ha. You really expect me to buy that? You're the evil one, God would never condone this. The ward opened. He felt it, and it hurt. The ripple of power caused the threads still holding him up to shift in response, digging into wounds that could bear no more negative stimulation. All Duo's nerves were raw and shrieking their protest, a clamor in Duo's brain that left little room for anything else. "You are stubborn without cause," came that hated voice. So calm, so cold. A voice that so believed in its own message it sickened Duo. "I don't understand why you are resistant to salvation. Do you truly have no wish to be saved? Have demons sunk so far in the space of a few millennia?" No, Duo wanted to say, you have just sunken farther. Your ideas of 'salvation' are warped beyond all sense and reasoning. You are not trying to save me, you are trying to break me. I'll die first. "No matter," Oraia said. He could imagine her shrugging. "We will simply begin again. I have all the time I need, Duo. An eternity, if that's what it takes." The threads began moving. Began their ever-tightening spiral dance around his body, the spikes tearing into his flesh. Duo was way past the point where this was bearable. Part of him was perversely glad he had no voice to scream. Something rippled across the ward. The threads froze in their motion. Had Duo the energy to stiffen from the pain when it began, he would have fallen limp. For a moment there was a pause, then he felt Oraia leave the ward. Duo hoped whatever had captured her attention would keep it . . . forever. That would be nice. The ward shifted again, but this time it didn't open upon request so much as be pushed aside. It took every ounce of will-power and strength Duo still possessed to lift his head, because only one angel entered Oraia's ward like that. Heero. He caught that cobalt-eyed gaze just in time to see those eyes widen in shock and horror. "Dear God," Heero whispered, sounding sickened. "What did she do to you?" It took Duo a moment to realize what the young angel must have meant. Then he remembered his wings, falling broken and bleeding down his back. Black feathers liberally littered the floor below him. He wished he had the strength to offer some sarcastic comment, but it deserted him moments later. Just as Oraia entered back through her ward. Before his head fell back to his chest, Duo saw a brilliant silvery-white nimbus surround the Prince of Heaven. o0o 0o0 Heero whirled to face Oraia, filled with an anger the likes of which he had never, ever experienced in his entire life. It burned hot and terrible inside him, demanding he act. Act now. And had he been able to ignore it, he would have chosen not to. His wings burst free of his back, glimmering and bright. He embraced as much power as he could safely hold. "You," he hissed, sure his face must be contorted into the most awful expression. "How could you . . . and you claim to understand so much! He's right, you are a hypocrite! Of the pair of you, if God reserved judgment at all it would be you who is undeserving of His love!" And he struck, not giving her the chance to respond or defend herself. There was no defense. Her actions were inexcusable, unforgivable. o0o 0o0 Even behind his closed eyelids Duo still saw the blinding flash of light. Oraia's ward literally buckled under the sheer force of Heero's blow, and he wished he had the energy to look up, to fully appreciate it. So the Prince of Heaven was defending him, huh? Imagine that. Miracles happened, after all. The next instant, the flow of power to her threads was cut. Duo really wished Heero would have caught him as he hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud that nearly took his consciousness with it. Levering his eyelids open, he managed from this position to see a little of the battle. Or, at least the tail end of it. He could only see Oraia's face, and the ice had cracked to be replaced by real fear. Not that Duo could blame her. That level of power running
bright and hot through Heero? She was no match. As the last of his
awareness trickled away, Duo hoped he would turn her into a lump of
celestial rock.
tbc |
