Notes: #...# indicates thoughts/thinking.
Interlude X Final Act
Duo walked up to walk he thought was Relena's cabin and calmly started to break in. He quick jaunt through the computer system had told him where she was. After Zechs announced that he was punishing the Earth for its arrogance with the colonies, the scrabble in the PeaceMillion started. The announcement and the destruction of the island had been broadcast over every channel from the Libra. Duo had caught it while he was in Quatre's room, sick of looking at his own four walls. Quatre had gone pale and had almost thrown up. Duo had panicked when he caught a glimpse of Relena in the background, looking horrified at what her brother was doing. Duo could tell that the only thing that was keeping her on the bridge was the fact that Dorothy Catalonia had her arm in a deathgrip. Allies do not usually twist your arm around your back like that. From the reactions that he heard outside the room, most of the crew was horrified at what had happened. Quatre collapsed and Duo went to find Trowa to deal with him. Duo had to go rescue Relena. He owed it to Une to do that. Trowa he found and managed to send him back to Quatre without the other boy worrying about what he was doing. Duo just had to figure out how he was getting to the Libra. Shinigami, for once actually would stick out too much. But there was the freighter that was crashed in the same bay from the Libra. He could sneak aboard that way and save Relena. Getting out he'd have to get creative, but that was what they weren't paying him for.
It worked. He had managed to get away, after leaving a small note for Quatre, explaining to him what he had to do. Quatre would understand, he always did. He crashed into the Libra's bay and had been sent by someone to warn the others about the terrorist that had snuck aboard. That left him with time to figure out a plan and get to Relena. He just hoped that he wouldn't run into any more trouble. God owed him, surely he wouldn't fuck up this good deed?
Duo ghosted into the room, finding Relena curled up and asleep on her bunk. He gently placed a hand over her mouth and woke her up. He was prepared that she would be startled, he didn't think that she would try to take his head off before she recognized who it was. What the had scared her so that she woke up like that? He'd examine that question later, right now they had to beat feet from this place.
"Relena," he whispered, "It's me Duo. I'm here to rescue you. I don't think that Zechs is going to listen to sweet reason anymore, not after he had Dorothy practically breaking your arm to keep you on the bridge."
Relena nodded slowly, her eyes focusing on him. "Sorry. I'm jumpy. I didn't think that he would do that."
"He's nuts. Not playing with a full deck. A few short of a six pack and I am getting you the hell out of here. You can't preach Total Peace if you're floating in Space, reduced to a smear."Duo said, letting her get up. "I have a little plan to get out of here, but its rough and you are going to have to listen to me. Okay."
"Okay. Duo I will, but why are you doing this?"Relan asked as she pulled on her shoes.
"Because Une didn't shoot me when she caught me in bed with T-chan the first time. That was fun."Duo said smiling slightly. "Two of us ready to shoot each other over the same guy. A story for the grandkids."
"Okay. I believe that one."Relena said. #You do like her. I thought that she was kidding about that. The small stories that she told about when the three of you were together sounded nice. And it was. I just hope that it can be that way for you again. #
Duo opened the door and peered out into the hallway, looking for hostiles. The coast was clear and he grabbed her hand and leaped/ran to the next corner to repeat the action. They continued this until they had reached the bay level and Duo hoped that he could relax a little. The hostiles were busy looking for the terrorist that was trying to sneak in. They weren't looking for two kids trying to sneak out. All he had to do was go to one of the other bays and get the two of them out in a half repaired suit. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it would get them out of there and on the PeaceMiIlion. Noin could take care of Relena and the rest of them would kick butt and take names. And hopefully, by destroying this monster spaceship, they could get the Earth and Colonies to decide to stop the fighting, since White Fang's power would be broken. They just had a few more levels to go.
He was starting to breathe easier when he spotted something or someone trailing behind them. He wasn't sure but he thought that it was that nut case Dorothy. What had tweaked her buttons to make her the way she was, he didn't want to know. They just had to lose her and get off this place. He wasn't prepared for the aggressiveness that she showed in following them. He should have figured it out though, she knew this place better then they did and would call Zechs to corner them before they reached their goal.
Duo and Relena hit the last corridor and Duo could just see a Mobile Suit, when Dorothy dropped out of no where and kicked him into a wall. He steadied himself and dived back, trying to knock her out before she got help. He managed to drive her back a bit, when she changed tactics and dove for Relena, who had sensibly gotten out of the way and was scanning the hallway for more soldiers. She noticed Dorothy's move at the last minute, but wasn't fast enough getting out of the way. Dorothy grabbed her hair and pulled Relena against her, pointing a knife underneath her chin.
"Give up or I slit her throat and tell Mirialdo that you did it."she threatened. Relena's eyes widened and she was about to say something when Duo felt a very large hand grab the back of his head and slam him into a wall. Duo saw stars for a moment and when his vision cleared, he was looking into the ice blue eyes of T-chan's ex-lover. Mirialdo Peacecraft. The words 'Oh Shit' slowly formed in his mind, but before he could get them out, he hit the wall again and passed out. The sight that he had was of a furious and scared Relena wrestling with Dorothy, who had prudently dropped the knife when Mirialdo showed up.
When Duo came to again, he had this strange feeling of dejavu. He had just hit another wall hard. He couldn't save himself from the impact, his hands had been cuffed behind his back. He groaned when he hit the wall and hoped that Relena was alright. Zechs grabbed his head and felt through his hair, finding the lock picks that he kept there. Zechs chuckled lowly and pocketed them, searching the rest of his body roughly, relieving him of his back up pistol and the knife he had hidden in his clothes.
"You did come equipped,"he growled into Duo's ear. "Thank you for giving me something to use on you."
Duo didn't answer. It wouldn't be worth it. Zechs had him trapped and Duo hoped that the bigger man would just kill him quickly, but he didn't think so. He was too angry with him and Duo thought that he had kissed sanity good bye ages ago.
"You kept me from Treize." he hissed lowly.
"You left."Duo replied before he could stop himself. That earned him a punch in the kidneys. Duo gasped, he knew that Zechs was strong, but that really hurt. And it slammed him into the wall again. They only thing that kept him from smashing his face into the wall was the painful grip that Zechs had on his hair.
"What were your plans with my sister?"
Duo was silent, earning him another punch and smash. When he could breath again he replied, "To get her the hell out of this place."
"Why? Why were you taking her away from me? You took Treize, wasn't that enough?"Zechs growled again.
Duo sighed, then moaned when Zechs pulled his hair tighter. Man that hurt! "You left and I was told to take your place. Do you think that I would have thought up that stupidity on my own? You caused me jumping into his bed. No one else. You left him wide open for a stunt like that. Relena's needed for peace. And it's not going to happen if she gets reduced to her component atoms when this place is blown by the Romafellers. And they will fight back. Because that stunt you just pulled will force them to."
Zechs answer was a knee to the middle of back He let go of his hair and started tearing at his clothes. After a while the tough material refused to tear and Zechs started cutting at it with the knife that Duo had been carrying. He wasn't too careful about Duo and after his top was cut off of him, he was bleeding from number of cuts, mostly shallow but some were deep. Zechs wasn't being too careful with him. Zechs flipped him around and punched him in the stomach to keep him from fighting back when he was stripping him of his pants and boots. Duo stared up at him, shivering slightly from the cold.
"Feeling better?"he asked sarcastically, when he could speak. He couldn't help himself. This was just too dumb and too scary and if he wasn't sarcastic he was going to start screaming because it was bad. Zechs was bigger and crazier then he was and he was going to be in world of hurt if he got his way. Really bad because he was hoping that Dorothy or Khan was going to be saving him from this boogie man.
"No," was Zechs's answer as he stood over him, panting slightly, looking down at him. This little kurva had ruined Treize's plans. Had ruined his relationship with Treize. He had to be punished. He'd ridden in Epyon, his machine before he did. Duo Maxwell was a whore and he would treat him as such. Duo gotten this far in his life by spreading his legs to the highest bidder, he would see why that was not a good thing. The little whore had to be punished. Then he would be used like he should be.
Zechs leaned down and grabbed Duo's bangs, forcing the boy to stand up or lose hair. He slammed him against the wall again, gratified at his groan of pain. He ran his fingers through the thick hair, it had been worked into a complicated design different from his usual braid. Even he realized that waving his meter long braid on the Libra was not a good idea. This helped disguise him fractionally, but not enough. Zechs had memorized the face and figure of his hated stand-in the one time that he had met him and he knew he was here, even before Dorothy had spotted him dragging his sister away from him. It would be interesting to unravel it later and then hear him cry as he shaved his head. A fitting punishment for one that had betrayed his allies for something as fleeting as physical pleasure.
Zechs kneed Duo in the stomach again, gratified at hearing the 'woosh' of air leaving his lungs. He straightened him up and causally backhanded him into the corner, not giving him time to recover. The combination of low gravity and the lightness of his victim made it rather like playing a volley ball as he continued to hit Duo around the small room that they were in. After while he tired of this game, noting that Duo seemed unconscious from the endless slams into the wall that he made. It was a pity that he had passed out so fast, but then the boy couldn't absorb the impact of landing with his hands and protect himself that way, because of the cuffs. Zechs wasn't sure, but he thought that he had heard something crack during the last few minutes. Duo laid in a small heap, not moving. Zechs wasn't sure if he was breathing, but he would check and wake up the little one, he had something that would make him respond. The sight of him lying there like a broken doll was very stimulating.
Zechs leaned over and picked up Duo again, lifting him by his shoulder. He hung limply in his grasp, not responding to Zechs until he kissed him hard, driving his tongue into his mouth and hurting his already bruised lips. Duo choked and tried to cough, coming out of his stupor a bit with this new attack. He instinctively tried to bite the tongue that was choking him, earning him a hard slap across the face after Zechs stopped kissing him.
"Thought that would get you going, even though I usually don't kiss whores."
"Don't do me any favors,"Duo mumbled mushily back at him. Talking was difficult, he felt that his face had caught most of the punishment and he felt the bruises coming out on it. He was glad that he hadn't lost any teeth, yet.
Zechs backhanded him again, annoyed at his pertness. He really did need to be taught a lesson, Whatever possessed Treize to lower himself with this creature. He understood that a man had needs, but a continuing arrangement with this thing? That was too much. "Shut up."
"Yeah, I know the line, if you wanted my opinion, you'd beat it out of me." Duo wisecracked.
"What did Treize see in you?"Zech's tone was a mixture of fury, puzzlement and disgust.
Duo coughed hoarsely, too sore to laugh, trying to ignore the pain in his side and the blood that came up with his cough. Something broke, probably a rib and it might have punctured something else. "Fuck if I know, that's one of the great mysteries, like why bread always lands butter side down. Just one of those things, I guess. I could never figure it out."
"He's not going to want you after I'm though with you."Zechs promised.
Duo closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Zechs was nuts and Duo was alone with him. That he had twisted what had happened between him and Treize into being Duo's fault rather then his own, meant that he was going to get hurt a lot. He was no stranger to being roughed up in an interrogation or on the street, but Zechs had a personal interest in hurting him, which meant that anything could happen. The frightened him more then he wanted to admit to himself. So Zechs was going to get creative and given the fact that he was under a time limit, he was going to go for the major damage first. Duo just hoped that he crawled away with his sanity intact.
"So long as he's around not to want me, I could live with it." Duo rasped, coughing up more blood.
Zechs stared down at his captive, his low voiced comment breaking some barrier of sanity in his brain. Duo's indifferent comment about his own fate, bounced through Zechs mind for a moment before he lifted him up again and threw him into a corner. Duo hadn't hit the floor before Zechs was over him, unzipping his trousers and thrusting himself into Duo. Duo was barely conscious and had almost faded into oblivion when this new pain struck him, jerking him out of his stupor. He felt that someone had stuck an iron rod up his ass and choked a little after Zechs thrust past his entrance. He felt tearing after a few stokes as the tender muscles gave up under Zech's onslaught. Duo heard Zech's low cry of completion like it was happening in another room, another universe. He was still huddled, barely feeling the blood and semen trickling down his thighs when Zechs lifted up his head and shook him into consciousness.
"I'm surprised that you didn't starve to death, that was pitiful. You should pay me for that. God, you were as worthless as a whore as you are a Gundam pilot."
Duo blinked, the pain that he was feeling making it hard to focus on Zech's words. He couldn't fight back physically and mentally he was wiped. He was used up. It had been too long a fight, even before he was a Gundam pilot. The words just were buzzing in his head for a while before he could translate them into something that he could understand.
He'd been raped before, it wasn't the traumatizing experience that Zechs had hoped it would be. And he knew his worth, right now as a pilot, he had saved those OZ soldiers outside Luxembourg, so his words didn't hurt him that way, but all he could think of was that Zechs had done this to T-chan, who'd loved him. And he couldn't stop the words that were popping out of his mouth.
"You shit. You only feel better when you hurt someone? Did it feel this good when you raped T-chan? He loved you. He trusted you and you did this to him. And then you were so stupid as to think that he'd forgive you for it? Noin still likes you so mustn't have gotten this far..."
Duo's voice trailed off as Zech smashed his head against the wall again silencing him. He left him lying there as he zipped up his pants and walked out the door, Maxwell had a few more lessons before Zechs was through with him. But now he had business to attend to, then he could go back and teach Maxwell that a silent whore was the best kind.
Duo woke up to Zechs nudging him with the toe of his boot. Duo groaned, the abused muscles in his body protesting the fact that he was moving. His hands had fallen asleep and he had a pounding headache from Zechs using his head as a racket ball. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but it must have been a few hours if he felt this cramped and cold.
"Whore, get up."Zech growled.
Duo ignored him, even after he'd started kicking his ribs. It was a test, to see who broke first, Zechs or Duo. Zechs did. Duo was perversely proud that he had, even though it earned him another broken rib and a host of new bruises. Zechs lifted him up and slammed him against the wall again, before allowing him to slide down it to rest in a crouch. Duo stared up at him, eyes glazed and said nothing, concentrating on breathing, because his ribs were beginning to bother him and it was getting a little painful to breath.
"You are pretty. Do you think that Treize, no T-chan, how cute,"Zech's comment dripped sarcasm, "would like or even want you as much if I took away your prettiness. It's not like you are his intellectual equal. Or that you talked. He fucked you because you were convenient, cheap and pretty."
Duo bent over and coughed, specks of blood landing at his feet. He couldn't breath so answering Zechs was out of the question. Zechs stooped down and gently put his finger under Duo's chin, tilting it up so that he could meet his eyes. Duo stared back, not bothering to hide the tiredness and fear in them. He was too hurt to play whatever game Zechs was into. And by not playing he was aggravating the bigger man, so may be he was winning this too.
"No answer. I'm surprised G said you usually at a comment on everything. No comment on me carving you up?"he inquired gently.
"You got the knife,"Duo stated breathily. " And you're the one that not sitting here naked and bound, so why you asking me questions?"
"Ah, a comment. Where should I start? Your hair? Your face? Or should I start someplace else, so that you still look good, until the clothes come off. The look of disgust that he'll have when he realizes that perfect, soft, satiny skin is marred? Flawed like you. What should I do?"Zech's voice was soft and he'd leaned over so that he could whisper his threats into Duo's ear, like a lover's endearments.
Duo stared straight ahead, not commenting, afraid that he'd say the wrong thing. He was too tired to figure out which would be the best answer if any of them. He had a sneaking sensation that Zechs would start on his hair no matter what he said, so he kept quiet.
"Nothing? Or don't you care anymore. What were you going to do after the war? Hope that you were still attractive enough to peddle yourself again? Or did you think that you could have a normal life?"
Duo coughed again, a thin thread of laughter forced out of him. "I don't expect to survive. None of us do. That's the difference between us Gundam pilots and you. You weren't willing to throw it all away. Not like Heero. Or Quatre. [Or me, but the damn thing never worked!] You never have hadthe balls to self-destruct. That's what made us the pilots we are. That's why you will die. Hasn't Epyon told you that? You have no future."
Zechs grasped Duo's face and neck in his hand and looked deeply into his eyes. "What did Epyon tell you?"
Duo choked and attempted swallow, happy when Zechs relaxed his grip enough so that he could. "That you are a dead man. Your cause is futile. That cleansing the Earth is wrong. It's our life, the colonies life and you have no right to destroy it. Even if you think that you have won...your victory is illusionary."
"What else?"Zechs demanded, softly stroking Duo's cheek with his thumb. He leaned down so that their foreheads were touching and that he could stare deeply into those endless depths of shadows, their color drained by the low light, the pupil all that seemed to be showing. They pulled him so far in, he felt like he was petitioning an ancient oracle, rather then interrogating a prisoner.
"That I am Death. Shinigami. And all those that touch me die."Duo replied huskily, unable to look way, even if he could. His eyes reflected the pain that he was in, but they also promised Zechs that he was telling the truth. Zechs ignored the cold chill that ran down his spine at that look and those words. He fought off his uneasiness by attacking Duo.
"A empty threat. You are here at my mercy. And I'll show you how helpless you are."Zechs promised as he flipped Duo back onto his knees and forced his head down to the floor, Duo tensed and then forced himself to relax as he heard Zechs slowly unzipped his pants and pull out his stiffened member. Duo thought that he must be really getting off on the threats he had made. Duo choked out a small scream when he felt Zechs tear past his opening again, the dried blood cracking off the torn muscles and fresh blood lubricating his passage. Duo forced himself not to react to the slow, heavy punishing strokes that wore him down and provided more blood for lubrication. He had to relax, tensing up just made thing worse.
He flinched when he felt Zechs reach around and start stroking him, getting him hard. Duo moaned involuntarily when Zechs hit his prostate. Zechs paused and then started aiming for that spot again, forcing Duo to enjoy what he was doing to him. As he got closer to his own climax, he was harsher on Duo, roughly stoking his balls and penis, digging his nails into his flesh, leaving scratches on his tender thighs and groin.
Duo was panting and mentally cursing himself when Zechs started to shudder, ignoring any attempt at making Duo enjoy him, scratching and bruising any part of him that he could feel. He buried his shout of triumph in Duo's shoulder, biting it to the bone. Duo shuddered and fell under Zechs weight as he bonelessly collapsed on Duo, forcing him onto the floor. Zechs refused to let go of his hold on Duo's penis until he roughly brought him off, enjoying the pained cries that he wrung from him. Duo was ashamed that he felt himself spill into Zechs's hand and the floor.
"That was nice,"Zechs murmured, enjoying the choked hiccups that Duo was making. He wasn't quite crying, but Zechs was enjoying the fight that Duo was having with himself not to cry more then if he had broken down. "After a good fuck, I like a smoke. While that was only passable, it will do."he murmured, fumbling in his pocket for a cigarette and a match. He lit up his with a small smile and took a drag. He watched the tip get nice red color, blew out the smoke and then rested the tip on Duo's back. He did this several times, admiring the precise line on burn marks that he was laying down Duo's spine. The hiccups had faded to whimpers as Duo's mind registered a new source on pain on his body. Zechs was contemplating where else he could burn when his communicator chirped. He thumbed it on, not bothering to answer.
"Commander, Oz forces are starting to gather, they will be within strike range within twelve hours. PeaceMillion is still staying neutral on this matter."came the tinny voice from the other end. Duo thought he recognized it as Khan, the White Fang leader on the Libra.
"Call me in ten hours,"Zechs instructed, "until then I will be busy with the Gundam pilot and do not want to be disturbed."Zechs didn't wait for an answer but shut off his communicator and leered down at Duo.
"Ten hours. What can I do in that time?" Zechs mused, taking another drag on the cigarette.
Duo whimpered when he then ground it out in his neck, smelling flesh and a bit of hair burning. He promised himself that he could cry later, when Zechs was gone if he could get through these next hours. He was hoping that he could keep that promise when he heard the 'rasp' of Zechs drawing the knife he had taken off him and the burning sensation along his skin that informed him that Zechs was starting to try and peel it off his legs and thighs. His vision blacked out and Duo was absurdly relieved that he had passed out before he had cried. He just wondered what he'd be waking up to.
Duo came too again, the raw spot on his legs, back and arms bringing him out of unconsciousness. His ribs protested the fact that he was laying on the floor and Zechs was attempting to pound him though the deck. He must have been out of it for a while, because as soon as he stirred Zechs gave one last snap of his hips and shouted. Duo shuddered as he withdrew wondering if he was going to burn him some more or something else. He whimpered when he heard the scratch of a match head and smell of smoke.
"Wondering when you'd come back. You know you're more enjoyable lying there like a lump then when I was getting you off. Or should I try that experiment again to see if it was true?"Zechs asked, all the while repeating the drag and burn that he did with his first smoke. Duo felt the tears gathering in his eyes as he felt the line of burns continue down his back, one for each vertebra. He tried feebly to wiggle away, but stopped when Zechs casually dislocated his arm to make him stop moving. Duo screamed, his vision going grey/red when Zechs put pressure on a large raw spot on his back to do it.
"I've hurt you. You're not going to be pretty anymore. But I don't think that that's going to be enough. You haven't been out that long. And we do have few more hours before the attack comes, so I decided that, as an incentive to them, you get to entertain most of the flight crew before they leave. I told them that they could do almost anything to you. That there was a bonus to whomever made you cry. That they only thing that was off limits was your hair. And they are waiting outside now, all of them. So you won't be lonely while I go off and plan the attack."
Duo whimpered at Zech's words, horror filling his soul. #Not again# his mind cried. #Your defenses are gone. Zechs you can barely handle, but T-chan spoiled you.# Duo continued to whimper frantically as he heard the heavy boots tramp into the room and hands begin to grab and grope at him. He lost count of the number of penises that were thrust into him or he had to suck off. It became a blur to him as his inner walls slowly came up, trying to block out what was happening. It didn't work very well, but Duo was glad that all he was remembering was the pain, the foul taste and his endless inner screams for T-chan. He didn't know when the last one left, when he was able to collapse in a puddle of semen and blood, coughing up more blood and the contents of his stomach from his abused body. He shuddered as Zechs entered the room again, looking at him with blurry eyes.
"They'll be back in an hour or so. You can rest until then. But I do want one last go at you before I go out and slaughter your compatriots. If you're lucky I might be able to drag one back here to help with the load. But you are a professional, so this shouldn't be too hard on you."Zechs taunted as he unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock and thrust it into the Duo's aching body. Duo screamed, tears finally rolling down his face. Raw, he felt so raw like all the skin had been stripped off his body. He barely heard Zechs as he was talking.
"I taped it. Should I broadcast that T-chan? Do you think that he'd want to touch you again? You're filthy. You're garbage and you're going to be spreading your legs for my men for the rest of your short life. You looked so helpless. It was intoxicating. I almost came several times just watching."Zechs groaned and pulled out, coming in Duo's face, mixing his seed with his tears. He lit another cigarette, smoking it all the way though this time, not bothering to burn Duo anymore until he had to put it out. He then casually ground it out on Duo's balls, jerking him back into awareness, finally making him cry.
Duo sobbed, not really perceiving what Zechs had just done. The pain had been so excruciating that it didn't register in his mind. It just hurt, like his head, his throat, and mostly his ass. He curled up as best as he could, letting the tears run into his hair. Why couldn't he just die? It was so hard being able to survive everything. He didn't notice Zechs leaving or the lights finally going out, letting him hide in the dark. He managed to stop sobbing after a while and tried to figure out how to escape Or if it would be easier to kill himself because he was in no shape to go through that again. Duo was still trying to figure out what he could do when he passed out from exhaustion and blood loss.
Duo woke with a start, scared that the battle was over and they would be coming back again. That's if any of them survived against playing with a Gundam. But he had to get out of here. And his bangs were sticking to his face and driving him insane. It was dark, so he couldn't understand why he wanted his hair out of his eyes. It wasn't like he could see anything. Zechs kept it dark when he was alone, not that he had been awake much of that time before now and the lights low when he was playing with him. He didn't know how bad the damage was, but he felt like he'd been swimming in glass. The smell of blood, semen and sweat was making him sick, but there was nothing left in his stomach.
He was listlessly trying to get his bangs out of his face again when he was jolted forward by the ship being hit by something. Duo couldn't figure out what, but it had been big and hit the Libra at high speed. It damaged the vessel enough so that the alarms were going off. And he was stuck in the brig. Great, killed be either his own side, if the rest of the pilots could be called that or by OZ forces. But it was better then what had just happened. Duo heard the door opening again and cringed. Now was not the time that he thought the leader of this nut house to be visiting him. But then these people were insane.
"Duo?" a voice called out softly. Duo nearly cried with relief. It was Relena.
"Yes," he whispered. He didn't trust his voice to talk any louder.
"Good. I found you. Now would be a good time to get out of here."she said.
"I'm going to need some clothes and help getting out of here. How strong is your stomach?"Duo asked desperately. #Please, please, please keep busy Zechs, do not decide this is a good time to torture me again.#
Relena walked into the room and gasped a little at the smell. "What..." #Blood, all I can smell is blood, what has been happening here? Why did I think that Zechs would not harm Duo because they were both pilots? But something else bad happened in here or Duo wouldn't sound like he was going to cry.#
"Relena I need you to do something. Actually a couple of somethings. But it' s going to be icky. And I'm going to scream and curse a lot. But it's got to be done."
"What?"Relena asked with dread in her voice.
"Push my shoulder back into place and try and do something about my ribs." Duo said. Relena could hear the pain in his voice. She couldn't see anything yet because the lights wouldn't go above a certain setting. But it smelled bad in here, smells that she couldn't or didn't want to identify besides blood, but she could guess what had caused them. #Zechs how could you. He was following orders. It blossomed into something wonderful. But only because you left.#
"I'll try but I can't guarantee anything." she said cautiously.
" S'kay Relena. I nearly threw up when psycho spandex boy decided to set his own leg in front of me. You just have ta shove one of my arms back into the socket. And do you have the keys to my cuffs?"
"I think so. I got something off Dorothy after I clocked her one."Relena admitted. #Jokes to make me feel better, Duo you must be hurt really bad if your that far into your mask.#
"What happened to Total Peace?"Duo asked laughter warring with pain in his voice. That he would have liked to see. Relena punching someone out. Pity he couldn't have captured it on film.
"Doesn't help you get you out of here. Peace I knew was never going to be handed to me, you do have to work for it. Besides the bitch dropped her guard with me. I'm just sorry it took so long."Relena said was satisfaction in her voice.
"Mad she used you, eh?"Duo asked.
"Furious."Relena admitted, undoing his arms and back, trying to rub the circulation into them.
"Ignore that"Duo half screamed. Relena was jarring his arm and she hadn't realized that her brother had decided to use his spine as an ashtray. He had neat line of burn marks down it. He was happy that Zechs had stopped before he decided to burn anything below his waist besides the second or was it the third cigarette, that he had ground out on his balls. He'd nearly passed out during that experience. Unfortunately he hadn't. But time had gone all fuzzy and when he'd gotten his thoughts together, the pilots had been there. She had torn most of them open in her attempt to help him. And she might ask why he was all sticky. He gave her terse instructions on how to fix his arm and hoped that she wouldn't stop or throw up halfway through popping it back into place. He knew that she was tough, he just hoped that her stomach was.
Relena took a deep breath and shoved Duo's arm in the manner that he told her. She recoiled at his scream and took another very deep breath when her last several meals threatened to come back up on her. Duo also was breathing deeply and trying not to throw up. He didn't want to add to the general mess of fluids suspended around the room in low gravity. After a few minutes, they both got their rebellious bodied under control and Relena started binding Duo's ribs with the remains of his shirt, hoping that would keep them in place long enough to get real help.
"This should last until you get to some medical help. God knows where though. I think that was PeaceMillion that rammed us."
"Only way to stop the cannon. And you saw what your brother did to an island with it. After he declared war on the Earth, Howard and the rest of them had to do something. Just give me those clothes, I'll escort you to the PeaceMillion's escape craft and I'll go off in Shinigami. I'm not sitting out the last battle. I gave enough of my fucking life to this thing. I am seeing it to the end."Duo said grimly.
"You're in rotten shape, what can you do?"Relana asked as she helped him wiggle into a coverall. He'd have to soak the damn thing off him if he was going to get it off himself later.
"Try and save lives."Duo said. #I have to do something and the other option is screaming and pounding my head against the wall. Very counterproductive to the few working brain cells that I have left.#
Relena shrugged and put her shoulder under his uninjured arm, supporting him out of his cell, hoping that they didn't meet anyone. They were lucky. Due the confusion of the ramming, no one was paying any attention to them. They managed to get to the dock, suited up and into a transport before anyone caught them. Duo was warming up the engines when he spotted Zechs skulking in the area, around Epyon. Relena saw him at the same time and ran out to the dock, ignoring his screamed "Get your idiot butt in here!" She looked up at the monster Gundam in front of her, her eyes hard.
"Brother. I Disown You. You have acted in a manner not befitting a human being, never mind a Peacecraft."She announced in cold voice. She finally realized that he wasn't worth saving, that he was too broken from either OZ, White Fang or Epyon to ever be human again. Duo's tore up body showed her that.
"And why do you say that?"Zechs voice was amused and relaxed.
"Check to see if Duo Maxwell is in his cell. And Brother, I talked to Treize. It was an enlightening conversation."Relena loftily added. #On both sides. I realized that he wasn't the devil incarnate. He found out that I had my own demons to fight. If we both survive this, we might get to be friends.#
She dashed into the transport and was strapping herself in as Duo hit the accelerator to get them the hell out of there before Zechs realized who was aiding his sister's getaway. They were halfway to their destination when Zech's scream of outrage filled their radio. He was so angry that he was reduced to sputtering incoherently. The only thing that saved them was that the intervening Maganacs forces protected them from him as they hit the PeaceMillon while Sally and Howard were evacuating. Duo shoved Relena into Sally's arms before either woman could say anything and headed for his Gundam.
Duo reached Shinigami, running more on adrenaline then anything else. He climbed to his Gundam, managing to get out of the PeaceMiIlion before Sally found out from Relena how hurt he was. After that it was just a matter of keeping the comm to them closed until after the battle. It hurt to sit, but not doing anything would hurt more. It wasn't like he'd never been hurt before, he could get through this. He had to get thrugh this because if he didn't Zechs would have won.
Not that he remembered much of it. Zechs and Heero trying to kill each other, yet again. The Docs doing something useful and blowing up PeaceMillion and Libra with them on it, before it crashed into the Earth and caused a disaster. Wufie, Quatre, Trowa, the Maganacs and him tearing apart the section of Libra that had broken off from the main body and might actually hit the Earth, to minimize the damage. And Heero, getting to shoot the damn thing with his whopping big gun. Made him almost jealous. But he'd get to see T-chan soon. They could run away and hide and live almost happily ever after. If T-chan wanted him. Zechs was right, the outside was now matching the inside, the rotten street kid that did anything to survive. The assassin that killed on orders, no questions asked.
Duo landed Shinigami with the rest of them, trying to ignore the small feelings of disquiet that he got. He'd shut him off from the main comm lines, had used the private Gundam channels exclusively, kept down the distraction of Sally and Relena screaming at him when they had gotten back to OZ's Earth Headquarters. Even Sally wouldn't interrupt a battle for something a minor as a threat. She knew that she'd get her hands on him sooner or later. She probably was making a list about what to bitch at him about. Relena however, had no sense, she'd say anything in public at times. He did not want the whole world to find out what had happened to him. He'd heard in the back of his mind that the Earth had surrendered to the colonies, but hadn't heard who had made the offer, just that they had accepted it.
Duo sat and shifted a little as the battle high that he had been working on started to fade. Everything was hurting again. He was surprised to hear the seat go squish from all the fluids that had soaked into it. The blood and other stuff that he had been leaking. He didn't think that it had leaked through the coverall, but if he was sitting in it, he must have. He knew had torn it off his skin where he clothes had stuck to him several times during the battle from moving his arms and legs.
The rest of the group landed near him and he watched as Trowa rushed from HeavyArms to Sandrock to help Quatre out of him. Quatre looked like he felt, wrung out and stepped on. Trowa was muttering about Dorothy and foils and how she should learn to cry. If it didn't hurt so much, Duo would laugh. The was the most that Trowa had said in ages.
He didn't want to get up. He wasn't sure if his legs would hold him. Cancel that, his legs wouldn't support him long enough to get away from everyone else. Then they'd know. He couldn't have that, not another stupid thing for them to pity him for. Natuku and Wing landed near each other and Wufei and Heero got out. Neither boy said anything, just held each other tight. Duo noticed that Wufei looked like he had been crying. That was odd. Wufei never cried, not even when he was telling Duo about the death of his colony. After a while the four of them were looking at Shinigami, glancing back and forth at one another, nervous about why Duo hadn't gotten out yet.
"Duo?"Wufei said softly. "I'm sorry."#Duo, he rushed me. Treize courted Death and it wasn't you who answered.#
Duo frowned, forgetting that they couldn't see him. It was getting hard to think clearly. Duo was guessing that he might be going into shock. Sounded like a good idea. But what was Wufei sorry about, Relena couldn't have told him or anyone what had happened.
"He attacked and instinct took over. There was nothing I could do."Wufei said softly.
What was Wufei talking about? Who attacked him? Duo thought muzzily. It was getting cold. Definitely shock. He figured he had a few more minutes before he passed out. Might as well use them to figure out what the hell Wufei was apologizing for.
"He died a noble death in combat. That might have been what he wanted." Wufei said, wondering why Duo was so silent. Was he even in there? Was he alive?
Duo was trying to piece together the conversation. He thinking was getting a little disjointed. Someone was dead. Duh, they had been in a battle. It was getting a lot disjointed if he couldn't think beyond that. And he couldn't. he was tired, he hurt and he wanted T-chan to tell him that it was okay and he was still a good kid. That he still loved him. That he would take care of him and have this nightmare go away too.
He flipped the private comm channel on trying to figure out who out of the hundreds that had died Wufei was talking about. Some one else was trying to get in touch with him. Une's face came on the screen as she frantically repeated his name. "Duo. You okay? Relena's with me. Duo? Duo, talk to me. I know it hurts."
"Lady Une."Duo said softly, he was too tired to tease her. Did Relena blab everything?
"Duo. I'm sorry. He's dead. I made the surrender offer to the colonies."Une said softly, blinking tears out of her eyes.
"That's what Wufei's talking about."Duo said slowly, his words starting to slur. It dawned on him a heartbeat later. Wufei killed Treize. Finally. After all this fucking time. Epyon had the last laugh after all. That bastard machine and Zechs. They both died at the same time. T-chan was going to have to put up with the asshole in the afterlife too. Poor T-chan. "Okay."
"Duo?"Lady Une asked worriedly. He sounded so calm. So hurt. So dazed. What had happened to him?
"Bye. Lady Une. Don't be sad. He'd told you it was inelegant."
"Duo!"Une sounded frantic as he shut off his radio.
Duo didn't say anything as he slowly brought up Shinigami's engines. He wondered if this was how Heero had felt before meeting Wufei. That there was a big wall between him and the rest of the world. The guys started to step back, wondering what the blazes he was doing now. Quatre and Wufei were screaming something at him, which he ignored, taking off as soon as he could. They all watched in amazement as he left with out a word. He'd land eventually. He wasn't suicidal, just so tired.
It wasn't worth it anymore. T-chan was dead. He wasn't going to ever make it better again for him. The war was over and he needed to get away from everyone. It was just too much. He thought he could make it back to their cabin before he passed out. He could hide Shinigami in the lake and figure out what to do next after he healed. He was too something, he didn't know what to do about anything now. Too drained to even figure out what he was feeling.
End...
Christine
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