02-Sep-2003
Title: MDL: Climbing out of Hell
Author: Christine
Email: Devilkitty@speakeasy.net
Pairing: Howardx2, 6x13, 6x2
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Language, violence, NCS.
Heero entered the cellar warily, since he had no idea what he had to deal with. That bastard Cosimo had been sketchy about details towards the end. It was a good thing that the bastard had given them the frequency for the collar that was around Duo's neck so that they could track him by that. The signal that he had been tracking from Duo's collar put him down here, near one of the outside walls. The first thing that hit him was the heat and he felt that he was stepping into a dry sauna. The second thing that he noticed was the smells in that room. Blood was the overwhelming one, followed by semen and other less wholesome smells. The place was pitch black and he had to shine his small flashlight around for about a minute before he saw anything in that dark, bare room. He had finally managed to see Duo kneeling in the corner and went to help him up. Heero wondered what those bastards had done to him, because he hadn't noticed that he was in the room with him. Duo hadn't moved even with all the bumbling about that he had been doing looking for him. He slipped the gun that he held into his waistband on his back and went over to see what was wrong with Duo.
Heero walked over and gently tipped Duo's head back, frightened suddenly that they hadn't been in time to rescue them and that he and T-chan were both dead. Duo stared back at him, his eyes unblinking and blank, even as his pupils reacted to the light. Heero was suddenly reminded of the last time they were on the PeaceMillion, after Duo had been in space and alone for all that time. Duo had that look in his eyes for the second before Quatre had hugged him and then the mask went up. He had thought that Duo's eyes were sad then, but now they looked like there was nothing left of him. That there was nothing left of the person that he had been. Shit this was worse than then he thought, because he knew with all that he had gone through, Duo had been half crazy to begin with, so now he might be too far gone to ever get better. Maria would be seeing him only on visiting days in an insane asylum.
"Duo?" he asked quietly, holding his breath waiting for his answer. #Please be sane, please be okay, please, please, let us have found you before it was too late! Please, we don't want to have failed you a third time!#
"I'm Angel," Heero was told by the man kneeling at his feet.
Duo then let out a high pitched giggle after he said that and that sound showing Heero how close he was to madness more then anything else could have, and then continued to talk in a breathy whisper through his dry and cracked lips. "Duo was bad... Duo talked back... Duo didn't like being touched... Howard didn't like him... so I'm Angel. Angel does whatever Howard wants... wants to be fucked by him...wants too fuck him. Does he want me to get fucked by you? Or suck you? Anything he wants... I do. Duo's... gone." #The whisperer said that Duo had to hide to be safe and that Angel could be the way that Duo could hide. It worked for a while, except for that one time, the time that we were out of here. Duo came back then, because he was needed. I don't know if Duo can come out of hiding again... he's been hidden so long. I don't even dream about him anymore... #
Heero swallowed hard, wondering what Howard had done to Duo this time to make him sound like this. As he flashed the light over him, he noticed that Duo why couldn't get up, because his bracelets were fastened to the anklets that were on opposite sides. His collar had a chain attached to it that was passing through a ring on the floor, though some of the rings on his penis and then the other end connected to either his bracelets or the anklets. Tilting his head back had stretched the chain to its limit. Heero realized with a shudder that Duo must have spent hours awkwardly crouched in this corner, waiting for someone to visit him and release him. Heero changed his estimate from hours to days from the stains that he saw beneath Duo. Apparently no one let him go to the bathroom so he was forced squat in his own waste. The slight movement that Duo had made set off the bells that were hanging off of all his rings and as the cheery sound echoed around the small room, it made Heero want to throw up. He involuntarily gagged when it dawned on him that Duo's hair was coated with what looked to be dried blood, his own or someone else's he couldn't tell. He realized that Duo was filthy, covered with his own waste, blood and things that he wouldn't try to identify. The smell of him was enough to cause him to want to vomit and he flashed back suddenly to the time that he and Duo had fished out DeathScythe from that lake and opened it, because they had to fight again. Duo smelled like that rotting interior and Heero tried not to throw up as the horror of that memory caused his stomach to do a slow roll. He was going to kill Howard slowly for doing this to Duo.
"T-chan?" Heero whispered, hoping that it wasn't Treize's blood that stained Duo's hair and body. He'd kill Duo now just to put him out of his misery. He knew that Duo couldn't live without Treize; he had seen that when he visited him in that lonely cabin. Killing him would be a blessing.
Duo's eyes clouded over when he heard that name, and then he shook his head, telling him in a sing-song voice, "Mustn't touch... bad to touch... hurts... the bad man hurts us for that... "
"Where is he?" Heero asked, trying not to give into the panic that he was feeling. Duo was a mess and he didn't know if he could free him for this set up to get him out of here. Where had all that blood come from?
Duo was silent for a moment, before saying hoarsely, "The bad man took him to his kennel." Duo giggled again, "He doesn't know."
"Know what?" Heero asked patiently. He couldn't push Duo for any information, as much as his nerves screamed to get them both out of there as fast as possible. He had no idea where Mirialdo was and he was hoping that they managed to get Duo and T-chan out of here without the older man ever knowing that they had been in the house.
Duo looked at him, thinking for a moment before he answered him. "That day... we touched... he hurt him... was so mad at us... but he never... he still talks... not broken like Duo," Duo frowned at Heero, confused about for a moment and looking like he was listening to something that only he could hear, before asking him. "Do I know you?"
"Where's his kennel?" Heero asked softly. #He's almost gone, but maybe if he receives some help now, some time with his lover and knowing that he's loved, Duo will get better. He's sane enough to know T-chan, I don't care if he remembers me, so long as I can get him out of here without him getting hurt again.#
Duo shivered, "The bad place, with the bad man. He hurt us there because we weren't Angel then. He made us Angel for Howard." #There was so much pain... I gave into the whisperer, specially since he said that it was going to keep happening until Duo was really gone. He lied though... the pain lasted a long time after that... Duo's gone now... he hid because off all the pain, because of the bad man, because of something that Angel can't remember, because of the whisperer."
Heero controlled the sudden impulse that he had to punch a hole through the wall when he heard that. Howard wasn't happy with just messing with Duo's body. He had to torture Duo because he loved someone else. Treize might be useful in getting Duo out of here if Duo could be convinced that he could touch him and that they were safe. There was no reason that Duo should trust him because of his past fuckups and he would trust Treize. Shit he didn't even know him, apparently, what had Howard done to him?
"First target found. Second one in another location, find a small room or closet that he is being kept in. It might be in one of the bedrooms." Heero muttered into his collar mike, the rest of the team should know that he made his target. He decided that he had to warn them now that Duo was in worse shape then they thought he would be and he didn't want the rest of them to be as surprised as he was at the damage that had been done to Duo. "It's going take about five minutes to get Duo out of here. He's going to need a lot more help then we thought," Heero paused and added, "I didn't think that it could be this bad."
"Roger that," Trowa and Wufei replied to the information.
In kinder voice he told Duo, "I'm Heero, I'm a friend."
Quatre was playing back up for them, since he was waiting outside the walls with a few of the Manganacs covering the logistics of getting them all out of here. They'd notify the authorities about this after they got the two of them as far away as possible. They wanted a clean escape from this mess for T-chan and Duo and then the authorities never had to know that they had been here. Cosimo had given them enough information to make sure that Howard and Mirialdo could be put away without anyone else getting involved.
Duo shook his head, "It hurts to leave. Angel has to stay."
"How does it hurt you?" Heero asked softly as he felt around for the latch for the chain. He was glad that Duo was willing to tell him this.
"Hurts... " Duo thought for a second and then recited in a deeper voice. "I also installed something that if you wander too far away, you will be shocked. Too far is beyond the backyard or the walkway to the house and the side garden. The further away, the more juice you get, until you pass out or come back. Pain stops when you come back into a safe zone. The transmitters are all over the outside of the house. You wouldn't get far before you dropped from the pain and then you will have to deal with whatever I want to punish you with, once you come to again."
Heero shivered, he didn't know who had told Duo that, but he was willing to bet that it was something that Howard had set up. That would be the only way that he could have kept Duo all this time, since he knew that Duo would have escaped from anything else. No wonder the bastard had collared him, because that was the only way that he could make sure that he kept track of his prisoner. He must have been so angry that Duo had fled to the colonies with his lover, there was no way that he could track the two of them then, whatever electronics he used in that damned collar wouldn't help him when he was trying to cover all that territory.
Heero found the latch and unhooked Duo from the chain, cursing when he realized that he couldn't unhook Duo from the set up that had him bent like a pretzel. What had that old pervert been thinking of when he designed this whole restraint system? Had he known that Duo was not going to give in easily, so he had him trapped in all sorts of ways? K'so if Duo didn't want him, why couldn't the asshole accept that? He didn't know why the bracelets had been built like this, but it freaked him out to no end.
Actually, this whole setup was beginning to wig him out, why was Duo being held in this place? What had he done that he had been chained like an animal in this dark place, had Howard decided to cut his losses and just let Duo starve to death after he had driven him insane? Or did the old man get bored with his toy once he realized that he had broken it once too often and stopped playing with Duo, leaving him to die in the dark, alone. Or was there another problem that he didn't know about?
"Fuck!" he cursed softly, trying to figure out what was going on and bit his tongue in shock when Duo leaned forward and wiggled a bit to get his ass up further in the air, offering himself to Heero suddenly.
Heero wondered how much that must of hurt him to make that move and why had he done it when he heard Duo begging hoarsely, "Do me... do me... please. I want you to fuck me."
Heero crawled around to the front of Duo and tried to lift him up into a more comfortable position. He lost his balance when he slipped in something nasty. His tumbling backward onto his butt, shifted Duo and his face landed on his groin. He wasn't too surprised that Duo started to mouth his crotch, since he must have thought that this was just some weird foreplay for Heero before he raped him. He'd go along with that thought if it got Duo free faster. He dragged Duo up his body and was glad that he had managed to control himself so that he hadn't even twitched when he felt Duo's mouth there. He had had more then a few odd thoughts about Duo doing him like that over the years, but now was horrified that Duo was even trying to do that with him.
"How do I get you unhooked?" Heero asked hoarsely. Oh God. Duo looked like a skeleton and he was ready to shoot Mirialdo and Howard and to hell with that due process crap that Wufei had been pushing for. Wufei was going to chop the two of them into little pieces for this and even Quatre was going to cheer him on for that!
"Don't know... " Duo replied looking confused. He'd always had those things on him, since they were what made him Angel. They had been on him when Duo went away to hide, because the whisperer told him to. They were what Howard and the Bad man used to control and hurt him. They, like the bits of metal that were in him, were the things that separated Duo and Angel. He tried to think, even though it was hard, about what was going on here. Something was happening, something important, but he had to figure out what it was. This man wanted to get him away from Howard and the bad man, but why?
What was this Heero guy doing with him? Didn't Howard send him down here to fuck him? Heero sounded familiar to him. He had heard him along with all the voices that he heard in his dreams. The other faint voices that had talked to Heero were familiar too, were they also people that he knew? Heero must be someone that Duo had known, since Angel didn't remember him. He didn't care, because Heero was going to get T-chan away from the bad man. He just hoped that he didn't tell someone that liked the bad man about T-chan. It had just felt so good to see someone and to talk to them, so he told him anything that he wanted to know so he wouldn't go away. Most of the people that he saw didn't talk to him, they just stared at him. Heero felt... trustworthy was the only word that he could think of, not that Heero actually liked him or that he really knew Heero, but they trusted each other. He wondered why and decided that Heero must have been part of all the stuff that he had to forget about when he became Angel for Howard. Maybe the whisperer would tell him who Heero was eventually. He heard that voice a lot now, since he was alone in the dark. Whoever was whispering to him kept him company and told him that T-chan was fine when he worried about him. It was nice to know that there was someone else that was real, besides him and the Bad Man. The whisperer told him a lot of things when he was alone, mostly about getting rid of the Bad Man. But the whisperer had kept him company in the dark, so he listened to all the things that it told him even though he didn't think that he could ever do anything like that to the bad man, even after... The voice told him that he had talked to Duo a lot also when he was alone in the dark, so he trusted the voice and hoped that Duo would hear it also, no matter where he had gone to hide.
"I'm carrying you out of here. You're going home," Heero promised him.
"Hurts... " Duo whispered, "... it hurts. Howard gets mad...sends me to the bad man... "
"They aren't going near you again!" Heero growled.
"He hurts me and I don't like that. Don't like being Angel," Duo cried. "I can't... he'll hurt T-chan."
"I have some other people with me, they're looking for T-chan right now. They don't want him hurt either," Heero explained to him.
Duo looked up at him, eyes wide and tears streaming down his face, "Get him out of here!"
This one was safe because he was worried about getting T-chan away from the bad man. He was going to make sure that T-chan was away from the bad man. He'd worry about everything else later. With T-chan safe, he might even start thinking about doing some of the things that that whisperer told him. Things that he had been told, about how to get rid of the bad man by the whisperer, when he was sitting here in the dark and waiting for the bad man to find him again.
"We're getting both of you out of here," Heero explained patiently. "I...we want you to be safe. To be Duo or Angel or whoever you want to be."
Duo shook his head and shuddered when he heard the door open again and the light came on. Heero was blinded for a second and when he could focus his eyes again, he saw that Mirialdo had entered the room and that he automatically slid into a fighting stance, surprised to see Heero in the room, even in his position. Heero continued to blink owlishly at him and flat on his back, unable to do anything to protect Duo and trapped on the floor because his body half on top of his. Some rescue this turned out to be Heero hurriedly brushed the headset off his ear, because he wanted Mirialdo to think that he was alone in this operation.
"Heero Yuy," Mirialdo drawled after he got over his initial surprise of finding Heero in his cellar. How did the brat find him? "Come to rescue the little slut? A bit late as you can see, I trained him well. That kuja? Duo Maxwell no longer exists, thanks to me. Howard sniffed too much of his own product and fell into lust with this thing. Too bad this whore didn't return his obsession, but I soon trained him to keep his hands to himself mostly and be the slut that Howard wanted. Enough pain and even a Gundam pilot will give into a superior force, namely me. But by then, his precious T-chan was gone too. He's a dog now for me, a bitch that howls when I fuck him hard enough. I call him Spot."
"Howard?" Heero asked, wondering how insane Relena's brother was now. His time in Epyon must have destroyed any instinct that he had for right and wrong it seemed and Heero was thankful that he never touched that system. He felt Duo as he was sprawled between his legs, trembling uncontrollably and insane. Heero also thought about Treize and wondered how many of their mental problems were caused by the damned Gundam and why in the name of Space had Treize build the thing and then let Duo use it!
"Howard outlived his usefulness to me," Mirialdo explained, smiling dementedly. "I slit his throat while he was doing his little kurva? before he could double cross me."
Heero stared at him in growing horror. "That's were all the blood came from," he whispered. Psychopathic was the only word that he knew to describe Mirialdo right now. #Fuckl Duo must have freaked at that. With all the other shit that had been going on, losing the one person that might protect him from this psycho must have sent him over the edge.#
Mirialdo nodded, "You should have heard the screams when Angel figured out I that owned his and his precious T-chan's ass, that there was no one that gave a damn to stop me. Not that Howard really did, I found that out when I destroyed that slut Duo so that he would be the 'Angel' that the old fool was panting after. The family didn't care what I did after I gave them the rest Howard's contacts and businesses when they asked for them and that was it They will occasionally use me for the odd job, which I like. I found out from Epyon that someone else's pain was a wonderful thing."
Heero was disturbed that Mirialdo thought that Epyon was human or at least something that had a personality and had talked to him.
Mirialdo leaned over the cowering Duo to unhook his restraints, holding his collar tightly. "You do something stupid and I will snap his neck." he told Heero casually.
Heero nodded and then laced his fingers together behind his neck, as he awkwardly moved to kneel on the floor, wondering what the hell he was kneeling in and then deciding that he really didn't want to know. He could wait and if Mirialdo was here with him, it meant that he wasn't going to surprise Wufei and Trowa and they would be able to get T-chan out, like Duo wanted. Getting Duo and himself out would be another matter.
Duo shifted a little when he felt his ankles being freed. Mirialdo shook him roughly. "Don't move slut. What the hell were you doing? Why is he here?"
Duo cowered and whimpered, "Howard sent him to fuck me." That was a safe answer, the bad man would believe that, Howard didn't visit him, so he didn't want him anymore and he'd give him to someone else. What else could he do but get fucked by men, because that's all he knew how to do since... since the whisperer told him that was a way to keep Howard happy and T-chan safe, by just letting Howard or anyone Howard gave him to, use his body and act like he wanted them. He forgot if he could do anything useful besides that.
"Howard's dead, you idiot!" Mirialdo snarled at him, "I own your scarred hide. I will do anything I want to it, because you never learnt not to touch other people's property."
"No touch... no touch him... don't hurt him... please...please... " Duo begged faintly He knew that it was futile to beg the bad man, because he did whatever he wanted to the two of them. He just didn't want T-chan to be hurt at all. He didn't deserve that, even if Angel did because he was bad and acting like Duo. Acting like he was free and able to do anything that he wanted.
"Then tell me what Heero was doing here!" he ordered him, shaking him roughly.
Duo started sobbing helplessly, "I don't know... I don't know him... he came here and I thought that I was supposed to let him fuck me. I don't know him!"
"Zechs," Heero said quietly, trying not to let the anger that he felt be heard in his voice.He decided that referring to Mirialdo as Zechs might remind him of the times that he was sane and he might be able to deal with him better. "Duo's insane. He's not a threat to you now, so just let me get him out of here. I don't care what the hell you do here for kinks or in your spare time. If I've learned that much from the ZERO System, it's that humans can do anything that they want and it doesn't matter."
"And do what with him?" Mirialdo snarled. #Yuy can't want this filthy slut too! What is it about him that it makes a man want to shove his cock up his ass? Even looking... smelling...like this and Yuy lusts after him? Or was Yuy as bad as Howard and only saw what he wanted to see? That he actually thought that Maxwell was still attractive after I worked him over?#
"Get him someplace quiet and then drug the shit out of him before starting anything with him." Heero said carelessly, wanting to keep Mirialdo with him and let the other two do their job and get T-chan out of here without having to worry about this man going after them. Cosimo had said that there had been only the two older men, him and the 'pets'. It took Heero a second to figure out who Cosimo had been referring to when he told them that and when he did understand what he had been talking about, he almost punched the man out. How could someone be so callous as to think of another human being as a pet? That he watched all the shit that he had told them about go down and not stop it? Heero had thought that he had a fucked up value system until he met that asshole.
"Like I believe that!" Mirialdo laughed at him. #As bad as Howard. Fucking Maxwell is only fun if he's afraid of you and not some drugged out zombie.#
Heero shrugged, "I found out after I slipped my leash that I'm a bit of a kink. What you did to Duo... well you wouldn't believe my reaction." #Horror that he survived that torture and when I found out how much he loved Treize, it scared me. I was so glad when he got in touch with me... with us for that vacation... I wanted to show him that he could love again. We fucked it up and that is why I'm here. I owe Duo.#
"We would all love Duo to join in the fun and games between us," Heero continued in the same easy tone. "A bath, some down time and a few meals... well he was a whore and I don't think that he would forget anything that he knew about that part of his life, insane or not." #Not one word is a lie, Quatre will mother the crap out of him and Treize and Une knows where he is, she's barely waiting to get us out of here to get your ass in jail. We only told her in case something went wrong, like now.#
Mirialdo smiled, "London?" #A good story Yuy, but then a terrorist should be able to think up any cover story on the spur of the moment when he gets caught. I can almost believe that you want a go round with the slut, but something doesn't seem right. If that was the case, why didn't you stop him from running in London or keep him when he went to you for help? Or did you have to talk the rest of them into this? More importantly, how did you find him? We've covered our tracks since we left England and Howard got protection from that idiot's family. No one should have been able to find us, not even you.#
Heero shrugged, glad that Mirialdo was being talkative, but he was worried that he'd snap Duo's neck because Heero wanted him, just because he was crazy. "You sort of beat us to the punch," Heero lied. "Wufei and I tried for a tumble... he was a bit skittish about things in the beginning, which was why he ran, but that would have changed once had a few sessions between the sheets with him. He wouldn't have gone back home once we nailed him good and proper, when we reminded him that he was the most useful for the cause during the war with someone's cock up his ass or down his throat and we wanted a piece of that from him now."
"And you think that he's going to roll over for you now?" Mirialdo asked slyly. #Something is wrong. Or maybe Yuy is working on his own on this one, a bit on the side from his uptight lover? That is an amusing thought... Or maybe he wants to play a few games with Duo that Chang will not put up with. He did mention something about kinks... #
Heero shrugged again, trying to control his anger. "To tell you the truth, I am under the impression he'd let a rapid wolverine do him so long as you didn't touch him again. Or is there another 'bad man' around here?" #Buy it Peacecraft and you get to live to see your trial. You don't and I take you out as soon as I can get Duo out of the way.#
Mirialdo laughed heartily and let go of Duo's collar. "Little whore was slow to figure it out, but the lesson did stick that I was the nastiest thing in the Universe during the week that I had him." #Watching his eyes go dead during that first night was wonderful. The night before he had been breathtaking, but watching his soul shrivel a beautiful sight. His screams were music to my ears and heart. He still was a defiant little thing on the Libra but not after that night in the garden, not after he knew what I would do to Treize to punish him. Now I'm bored with two of them, so I will let Yuy have the little kurva?, I can always take him back later. Yuy has never bothered to hide where he was.#
Heero let out a breath that he didn't know that he had been holding when Duo slumped to the floor. He was still in danger, but now he didn't have to worry about Mirialdo killing him on a whim. Duo was just so fragile looking now that he imagined that it wouldn't take much effort to kill him and Mirialdo was enough of a bastard to do it in front of him just because he wanted the other man.
Angel slumped down, since now all he had to do now was to wait for them to stop talking and then he could do something to protect T-chan. The whisperer had gotten really excited to see the bad man here with this Heero person, he had started talking to him once the bad man had shown up. He didn't care, Howard wouldn't be angry if T-chan left, so now he just had to keep the bad man here until the other voices told Heero that they had left. He idly wondered why Howard didn't visit him any more. He hoped that Howard wasn't hurting T-chan like he had hurt him.
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other. They had the first part of the mission had been taken care of, locate and rescue Duo. The second part might be a bit tricky, since Heero's mission plan covered a lot of territory. Cosimo had mentioned that the 'kennel' might be in the Master Bedroom, but the map that he had drawn them was vague, mainly because Cosimo avoided the bedroom areas as much as possible. Wufei remembered the conversation that they had had with the man to get the information that they wanted. Cosimo hadn't been too helpful in the beginning until Quatre had dropped the genial host act.
"If that loon figures out that I was the one that told you where he was... I ain't that stupid, Mirialdo is a bad man to cross," Cosimo had whined at them when they had pressed him for the information.
"If something goes wrong and any of my friends get hurt because you were not helpful as you could be," Quatre said quietly. "He will be the least of your problems."
Wufei almost smiled at that memory, because Cosimo had shivered at the change in Quatre and suddenly became very helpful. It was slightly disconcerting to see the change happen, when Quatre acted like the pilot that had run their operations during the war. That part of his personality always upset people for some reason.
Treize looked up when he heard strange footsteps in the bedroom. He retreated so that he was deeper in his closet so that he could study whoever was coming in a little bit before they got to him. They were a pair of footsteps and neither of them sounded like they belonged to Miri. What was going on? He was relieved to see that it was Trowa and Wufei. They looked shocked to see him chained to the closet and muzzled. After hesitating for a second, Wufei walked over to get him out of his shackles while Trowa stood guard, since they hadn't managed to locate Mirialdo while they were heading to the bedroom. Wufei cursed in three languages as he fumbled with the lock that was on the collar fastened to the chain embedded in the floor and then the one that was on the muzzle. Miri had started fastening him more securely in his kennel all of a sudden. Treize wondered why Miri had thought that he was no longer going to be the docile pet that he had been in the past, but it had been quite recent. He had thought in the beginning that it might be because Miri had realized that he wasn't as bad off as the younger man believed. It had taken him a couple of days to find out the terrible truth of why Miri had gotten more paranoid. Killing Howard had sent him over the edge. Treize was terrified about what Miri had been doing to Duo when he wasn't with him. The sudden static and then silence from Heero's radio worried the pilots when it happened and Wufei worked faster to get Treize out of there. Trowa and Wufei had guessed that something went wrong and they thought that it was that Mirialdo Peacecraft had discovered Heero in his basement.
Treize got to his feet slowly, unsure of his balance and still sore after the last beating that he got. He knew that he looked like hell, since his face felt swollen and he couldn't remember a time that he hadn't been hurt and bruised. Miri had become even more abusive when his paranoia had increased. All he wanted was for Duo to get out of here before it was too late and he felt his stomach drop to his feet when he saw the worried look on Wufei's face. Something had just blown up on them in this operation and he thought that he knew what it was. Something had gone wrong when they were rescuing Duo. Miri had found out that they were in the house and trying to rescue Duo.
"I know where he is and I am getting him out of there," Treize snarled softly at them.
"But... " Wufei protested. Treize was in no condition to walk in on a fight between Heero and Mirialdo. He was barely standing and it looked like Mirialdo had taken a quirt to him in the last couple hours from the welts and dried blood that he saw on the man. Naked, beaten and bloody, but some how Wufei could see why men were willing to follow Treize Khushrenada into battle. He was half way believing that he could rescue Duo even looking like he did.
"I am getting him out of here, if you aren't going to help me, then get the hell out of my way," Treize told them.
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other for a moment before looking back at him and nodding that they agreed with him. They knew that it would be difficult trying to stop him. Treize looked like he had been worked over pretty thoroughly for a long time, but there was a look in his eye that told them that he would go through them to get to Duo. If they had any chance of it working, then they would have to cooperate with him. Besides, Wufei didn't think that Duo would trust them, not with the way that Heero had sounded over the radio. Treize... T-chan was their best bet in getting Duo out of there.
"You know that he isn't in the best of shape... " Trowa started to tell him. He hoped that Treize wasn't foolish enough to believe that Duo was unharmed still.
Treize whirled around and snarled at them, "Mirialdo has had him in that place for the last week. I didn't know that Howard was dead until recently. I know how bad it's going to be. I've lived with that knowledge for a long time, once I knew that I needed help getting Duo out of here. I know what it's going to be like. From the looks on your faces, you had no idea that someone could be that abusive even after all the evidence that you saw, from when we stayed with you before."
"I... " Wufei started.
"Just don't get in my way," Treize snarled at him as he stalked out the door.
Trowa shrugged and followed him, since he knew that Treize, no matter how badly he was hurt would go after Duo to protect him. He just had to be there to make sure that this silly knight rescued the damsel in distress. It didn't look like Duo would even trust them to help get him out of this hellhole, so Treize was going to be the one that had to get Duo out of there. Wufei just followed the two of them, more to check on Heero then Duo He did not want the man that had been abusing T-chan and Duo any where near his lover.
Duo stared at the floor and waited for his chance. He knew that there were more people in the house and they were going to get T-chan out of there. He just hoped that the people that Heero had talked to were real like Heero was. If he failed and he couldn't protect T-chan because the bad man finally killed him, then it would be bad because there would be no one to protect T-chan when he finally escaped. Heero he trusted, no matter what he just said about doing stuff to him. If the price of T-chan's safety was the use of his body, then he would let Heero use him, he didn't care. He was confused about why all these people wanted him, because he was just a dirty kid from L2. He wasn't anything special.
It wasn't like he could actually leave this place also, not with the collar around his neck. That collar kept him here, but he knew that T-chan could get his collar off because it was different from his collar. It was just that T-chan just never had gotten that chance to try to take it off so that he could run. Besides, T-chan stayed to protect him even though he should have run from the bad man when he had the chance. He didn't know what Heero would do with the bad man though, because he didn't know why he knew Heero. The bad man was strong and easily beat him up. He had done so several times when he had fought him, before he learned his place as Angel and learned to behave.
Duo's eyes rested briefly on the gun that had fallen out of Heero's pants when he landed on the floor trying to help him get out of his chains and a plan formed in his mind. He knew how to use a gun and Howard had liked the fact that he could kill people. Howard wanted Duo to do that as well as fucking him, he remembered that vaguely. Howard had sent Duo out of here once to kill a man. He just had to be able to get the gun and shoot the bad man, before Heero could stop him from doing that to the bad man He couldn't kill the bad man for some reason, but he could hurt him so that T-chan could get away from him. Heero would be able to get away also. It didn't matter what happened to him so long as the others got away. Someone a long time ago told him that he had to protect them and he would, no matter what the cost to himself. That's how it worked; he protected the others because that's what Solo wanted. Duo frowned, because he didn't remember who Solo had been in his life, just that he had been important to him.
Angel shifted slightly, thankful that the two of them were ignoring him as they continued to argue about him. Mirialdo saw him move and snarled at him slightly, before kicking him in the ribs. Duo cried out in pain, but was pleased that he landed closer to the gun and it was worth feeling his ribs crack under that kick. He could still move and that was the only thing that was important to him.
Heero unconsciously winced when he saw the kick that Duo took to the ribs. It was miracle that his lungs just didn't shoot out of his mouth with that blow. "I would like him to be able to walk out of here," Heero told Mirialdo dryly.
"He's a stubborn little slut," Mirialdo said indifferently. "He's tough enough or stupid enough to keep moving long after he should stop, you'll be able to fuck him after you two to leave, no problem."
Duo inched towards the gun while he was listening to the two men talk, trying to be alert to any change in the tone of their conversation. He really didn't want either one of them to figure out what he was trying to do.
"I don't really believe that you came all this way just to nab that pathetic slut," Mirialdo said suspiciously. "You better not want Spot." #Not that he is much better then Duo is, but I wonder. There is something about him that I don't trust. He doesn't seem as docile as he should be. Not that he ever does anything that I can think of as suspicious, which is suspicious on its own.#
Heero shrugged, "I like them pretty and small. Duo'll make a wonderful girl from what I've seen, but he isn't fragile like they are."
"Had a bit of a problem in that direction Yuy?" Mirialdo taunted him.
"Well... " Heero started, trying to sound embarrassed. #I grabbed Relena's arm by accident once and I bruised her badly. I keep forgetting how strong that I am because I didn't touch anyone except other Gundam pilots for a while. I've gotten better, especially with the children, but I do have to think before I touch anyone, that wasn't a pilot. Hell Duo looks like I could break him in two right now."
Mirialdo laughed again and Duo sighed with relief when he managed to reach the gun without the bad man noticing. All he had to do now was shoot the bad man so that he was hurt, but not too hurt so that he would die. He vaguely remembered that there was some reason that the bad man couldn't be killed by him no matter how much he wanted to do that. No matter how many times the whisperer told him to do that, something else told him that he couldn't kill the bad man. Duo slowly moved his arm so that it was drifting closer to the gun as the other two ignored him because they were talking. When he managed to get his fingers around the stock of the gun, he took a deep breath and tried to roll over smoothly so that he could shoot the bad man without having to aim too much. Duo ignored how much it hurt to roll as he snatched the gun in one hand and rolled over from his stomach to his back, tracking his target using the sound of his voice. He was surprised how calm and cold about this he felt as he rolled onto his back, ignoring the pain and taking a split-second to aim before he pulled the trigger and shot the bad man in the head. Time slowed down for him and there was a second of savage joy inside of him from the look of panic that was in the bad man's eyes before he was blown back by the force of the bullet as it ripped along the side of his head, causing a furrow in his skull as it narrowly missed entering his brain and killing him. Duo dropped the gun when the bad man crumbled in front of him after spraying him and Heero with bits of blood, hair and skull.
"Duo... " Heero started to say as Duo dropped the gun and stared at Mirialdo. #K'su. I didn't think that Duo was in good enough shape to move, never mind shoot someone.#
"It took a long time but he lost... " Duo whispered
Its over, Duo heard the whisperer tell him. Duo can come out now...
Would it ever be over? Could he get out of this place and go back to being Duo? He was so tired and disorientated, it had been dark for so long, like before. The light had come back, but that was bad because it always brought him. Heero... he wanted to protect him he thought, but he didn't know why. Who were the others and would they let him be with T-chan finally? Or would they be like the bad man and separate them because they loved each other and no one seemed to like that.
"Duo?" Heero asked again, still wondering what had happened. One minute he was trying to figure out how to get Duo out of here and the next thing that he knew was that Duo had shot Mirialdo with his gun. "I really didn't mean anything that I told him, you know that."
Duo looked up at him. "You have to get T-chan out of here. I can't leave here, it hurts."
"We're going to find away around that," Heero reassured him, while he retrieved his gun. There was no way that he was going to let Duo touch it again. From the cold look in his eyes, he was nervous that Duo would turn it on him, until that look just melted away and Duo was back to being confused again. He wondered if Duo had looked like that whenever he had shot someone. Cold and distant, like there was nothing that was human inside him because he was shooting you... how many people had seen that expression before he killed them? How many people had he had to kill that made him look like that? Heero wouldn't blame him if he shot him, but he really didn't want to get shot by Duo again, especially not in this open cesspool.
They both looked up as Treize staggered down the stairs, followed by Trowa and Wufei.
"T-chan?" Duo asked/breathed. "You got to get away from the bad man."
He got up met Treize as he was running to get to him. Duo just hugged T-chan tightly as they both half supported each other in the middle of the room, not willing to do anything yet but hold each other. Treize gently stroked the tangled mess that was Duo's hair and didn't care that Duo was holding him so tightly that he could barely breathe. He was horrified that Duo seemed to be more bones then anything else under the filth that was smeared on his skin. He prayed that there weren't any open wounds or they'd have a hell of a time cleaning up the infection.
"We both are leaving here," Treize told him.
Duo reached up and fumbled with the collar that was around his neck. Treize was amazed that the shaking fingers managed to undo the buckle and carefully remove it from his neck before Duo hurled it across the room.
"You can go. Get away from the bad man. They... they... I think that they won't hurt you," Duo whispered to him. "I trust them."
"Shh... " Treize soothed him. "I'm not leaving without you. They can turn off the things that hurt you."
Treize started to lead Duo out of the room, ignoring the crumpled heap that had been his lover/torturer. Duo followed him, reluctant to stop touching T-chan because he didn't know when he was going to be able to hold him again. He had done what he needed to do to keep T-chan safe, which was to stop, but not kill the bad man, even if the whisperer kept telling him to kill him. He was so tired now and he just wanted to be held.
"What happened?" Trowa asked as Wufei made his way over to hug Heero and check to see that he was all right. For a split second he had thought that worst when he had heard that gun shot and he was so relieved that it hadn't happened that he was shaking. He would worry about everything else after he had seen that Heero was unhurt.
"The gun must have fallen out of my pants when I slipped in something that was on the floor," Heero said. He hugged Wufei back and kissed him deeply. Explanations could wait for the moment. Mirialdo was out cold and Treize had taken charge of Duo. All that remained was getting them all out of there before the Preventers were called in. "Duo found it and used it on Mirialdo while we were both distracted by our argument over him. I was spinning him a tale that I wanted Duo for something less then nice. Duo got to the gun after getting a kick in the ribs that I thought was going to kill him, and then shot Mirialdo. I was surprised that he managed to hit him at all."
"Duo was always an excellent shot," Trowa said quietly as he examined Mirialdo carefully. With the wound that he saw, he thought that the older man would be out for a while. He frowned at the amount of damage that he saw and knew that someone was going to have to get in here to take care of the man or Duo's careful shot would be wasted because the wound would kill him if they left him here too long. To say nothing of the crap that he was lying in and the danger if infection from that.
"We got to get them out of here. Duo... shit you heard him. He doesn't know any of us. I don't think that he remembers anything really, because of the things that he said. If we hadn't come in when we had, he would have been dead within the next day or two. As it is, he's going to need weeks in the hospital or someplace because he's in such poor shape." Heero told them.
"I can't figure out how to get the power off so that Duo can leave," Trowa told them after they all had frantically searching the house for some sort of control/power panel. They couldn't find anything. Heero had searched for the transmitters that were outside the house but he couldn't find them. He didn't know what the range for them were, so he wasn't going to be taking a chance by just dragging Duo out of the house and hoping that he could get out of range before he was too badly hurt. From the savage look in Treize's eyes, he wasn't even going to suggest it because the man did look like he was ready to kill at the slightest provocation. He was not going to suggest that to the group because Duo would go along with anything right now that would keep T-chan safe. Treize wouldn't agree to that though and so they had wasted valuable time trying to find whatever power source there was for those damned things. With the condition that Duo was in right now, it wouldn't take much to kill him and he didn't know how much Duo's heart could take before the electrical shocks stopped it.
"Then leave us here and get the authorities in here to rescue us," Treize told them. He continued to hug Duo after he had settled him in the living room, wrapped in a blanket and letting him have sips of water to slowly re-hydrate him. He wanted to do more, but he also knew that they both needed professional help and that too much water right now might not be good for Duo. He had no idea what condition Duo was in except bad. A week alone in the dark, combined with his already fragile mental state could have caused permanent damage to his psyche and he might never see the Duo that he had fallen in love with all over again on L3.
"But... " Wufei protested.
"Duo and I are going to need hospitalization. You can't honestly think that having us show up out of the blue at one is not going to cause questions? It will be better if you all just disappear and have someone else get us out of here. The Preventers might be able to keep this incident out of the news," Treize told all of them.
He knew the danger that if anyone found out who he really was, and he didn't think that he would be able to avoid all the trouble his rediscovery would cause. The fact that he didn't remember who he had been during the war and had been a captive of Miri for the last two years, wouldn't stop people from trying to use him for their own purposes, no matter what he wanted. No one would believe that he just wanted to live quietly with his family.
"He's right," Trowa said after a few minutes of silence. "They will be better off if the Preventers find them."
"And how are you going to explain Mirialdo?" Heero asked sarcastically.
"We don't," Treize said shortly, cuddling Duo close to him. "After they find us, I don't think that they are going to care what happened to cause all this. Get rid of the gun and any evidence that you were here and this will go down as a mystery. They aren't going to care as soon as they find out what was happening here."
"Then let's get your collar out of the cellar and then we'll leave," Trowa said. He wanted to leave so badly it hurt. Duo looked like some of the victims that he had seen when he had been with the mercs. Kids that had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and had paid for it, but at least Duo was somewhat coherent, most of those kids had been catatonic afterwards.
"I'll grab it," Heero offered. "You might want to... " He stopped when he saw Duo glaring at him and hurried into the cellar.
"You got to go," Duo told T-chan. He didn't want him to, but it would be bad if the authorities knew that he was here. He couldn't remember why it would be bad though.
"I refuse to leave you again," Treize said. "We are getting out of here together."
Heero came back and dropped the collar on Duo's lap. "You can throw it again," he told him.
Duo hurled it across the room without a second thought.
"Mirialdo is still breathing and still down there," Heero told the rest of them. "I suggest that we get out of here and notify Une that she should get in here to rescue the two of them."
"You and Quatre watched too many of those old horror movies if you think that a guy with a head wound that bad was going to move and then disappear into thin air." Wufei told him.
"Mirialdo Peacecraft is crazy enough to be one of those people," Heero told them. He stopped at the edge of the room and looked back at Treize and Duo. "I'm sorry... "
"There is nothing to say, except that we'll see you later," Treize told him firmly.
God, none of these people should feel responsible for the actions of those two madmen. It was something that had happened and he was just grateful that they had found them. He supposed that the anger would come later, but for now he was just happy that Duo was alive and that the end of their ordeal was in sight.
As he watched the other three leave, he hugged Duo. They were alive and that was all that mattered right now. He was still uneasy about being in the house with Miri in the basement and he wanted room to run just in case there was trouble.
"Duo, my sweet," Treize started to asked him. "Why don't we go outside with the roses?"
There were still a few left out there, even this late in the season. It was a warm day and he wanted Duo to get some sunlight before he was confined to a hospital again.
"The roses... " Duo repeated, nuzzling his chest.
"Don't you want to see the roses again?" Treize asked in a worried tone. He knew that Duo had been tortured out there and that he had been beaten badly by Miri the last time that they were out there together, but he wanted to get out of this house. There really wasn't any other place that they could go with the electrical security in place.
"He won't be out there, will he?" Duo asked.
"Who Duo?" Treize asked gently. Who was he afraid of? G? Howard? Cosimo?
"Howard... he lied and we got hurt. This isn't another lie is it?" Duo asked, starting to shake.
"I don't know where Howard is," Treize told him. It wasn't a lie, really. He had no idea what happened to that bastard's body after Miri killed him. He didn't think that it was out in the garden though. "Outside in the sunshine," Treize cajoled Duo. "We can just lie there. It'll be warm for you and I think that you might like it."
"But... " Duo protested.
"Just lying near each other if you want, not touching... " Treize offered.
Duo shook his head, "Touching... it's worth the punishment." #If I am touching you... I know that you are really here and not one of those other people. The ones that stared at me and said nothing. Then I might not hear the whisperer again if I'm with T-chan... #
"Then we can be out by the roses, waiting for someone to rescue us."
Duo slowly got up and started to shuffle to door, carefully carrying the cup with the water in it. Treize was relieved that it had been so easy to talk Duo into getting out of this place. Treize helped support him as they made their way slowly though Mirialdo's bedroom into the garden beyond it. Treize stopped to grab a shirt to wrap around Duo and smiled slightly at the thought of what a sight the two of them must be. Filthy, bruised and neither of them to really able walk, carrying a blanket and a cup like they were going on a picnic, because it was either smile or cry at that mental image. They both managed to make their way out there without falling or dropping anything. Treize carefully spread out the blanket and sighed in relief when Duo settled down next to him.
"Duo, why don't I put this over you," Treize told him.
He knew that Duo would be more comfortable wrapped in something once the Preventers arrived here. No matter how long he had been naked around Howard and Miri, he knew that Duo would appreciate wearing something that covered his scars and piercings. Besides he was shivering a little, since it was cooler out here then in the house. Now all they had to do was to wait for someone to show up and Treize hoped that help showed up while it was still warm out and they weren't forced to go in the house again. Duo smiled and curled up next to him, slowly getting closer as he realized that he was able to.
Une jumped slightly when she heard the radio crackle. She picked it up to answer it, "Une here."
"Mission was slightly successfully," Wufei told her. "We couldn't get Duo out off there. He's got some sort of electronics in that collar that won't let him leave. We couldn't afford to waste time, because... you'll find out when you go in. Bring a couple of medics, both Duo and Treize are in bad shape. There will be no resistance, so don't worry about that. And... someone is badly hurt there, but not Duo or T-chan."
"Roger," Une replied shortly before turned to face the rest of the team that was sitting in the van with here. "We have a green light. Let's get in there fast people, there are wounded to take care of."
"Yes, Lady Une," her team chorused. She smiled. They were the same people that were in on the raid in Northern England. She knew that they could handle what they saw in this place. She just hoped that she could, because from what Wufei had just told her, she didn't think that it was going to be good.
Une bit her tongue to stop from screaming. Wufei had vastly understated the condition of Duo and Treize. Duo... there was nothing there of him. He didn't say anything, but there was a look in his eyes that scared her. He knew Treize though and that was all that mattered right now. She had found the two of them in the backyard, sitting among the roses. Duo was curled up on a blanket, with his head pillowed on Treize's lap and covered by an oversized shirt that she guessed was Mirialdo's. Treize was naked and apparently comfortable about being naked around strangers. She was shocked that Treize-sama was so thin and the scars on his body made her want to do something to Miri. She had people taking care of him down on that hell hole and as soon as he taken to a prison hospital, she was going to arrange for transportation to the nearest hospital for these two. She had one of her people making the arrangements to get them their own room and to get Sally privileges at the hospital. She wanted someone that she could trust on this one and Sally was the only one. She was waiting to have things settle down a bit more before she got in touch with Relena about her brother.
"Une... relax," Treize told her. "You standing there and glaring at the roses are going to make the blooms fall off."
"How can you act... ?" Une exclaimed.
"Pastries," Duo said suddenly. "She and me ate all the pastries." His voice was hoarse and Treize gave him another sip of water.
"When was that Duo?" Treize gently asked him.
"Boston. We had fun and... and... it's hard to remember." Duo explained.
"You told me that before and I understand," Treize reassured him.
"I had to... you know... I had to be Angel and then the pain would stop... " Duo started crying when he said that; slow, silent tears making tracks down his filthy face. "That's what the whisperer told me... "
"I became Spot for the same reason," Treize told him carefully wiping his tears away. "I know that it had to be done and I don't mind." He had an idea who the whisperer was, but he was not going to discuss that with Duo in his frame of mind and certainly not in front of Une. She was frantic enough as it was without talking Gundams being added to the mix.
Une didn't even know that she had made a noise until she noticed that both of them were looking at her.
"Would it be better for you if you left?" Treize asked her quietly.
"I'm sorry... " Une started to apologize.
"You are upset," Treize said. "And I understand if you don't want to know about what had happened here. I understand... "
"I'm here to help you. I trust my people or else they wouldn't be here, but I also think that you both need a friendly face and that's me." Une told them, getting her temper under control with great difficultly. She continued in a much calmer tone. "I have arranged for Sally Po to take care of both of you at the local hospital. She's about the only one that I would trust to understand Duo's problems. She has access to your records and I know that she is discreet."
"And?" Treize asked her.
Une smiled, "You two had known each other from before... "
"And you can trust her not to talk about how much Trevor Solo and Treize Khushrenada resemble each other." Treize finished with a smile.
Treize frowned when another one of the Preventers wandered into the garden. What was it that they all had to come in here and check out Duo? Or were they staring at him? At least they had given him something to wear. It was only ratty sweatpants and an old t-shirt but he was damn glad to have it. After the third Preventer had come by to 'check' on them he was feeling very naked, for the first time in ages he was uncomfortable about the fact that he wasn't wearing anything.
How long was it going to them to figure out how to get that damned collar to stop shocking Duo so he could take him to out of this hell. He was pulled out of those thoughts by a shouted "Eureka!" outside the garden fence. The shouter sounded young and upper class British.
Une looked up and smiled, "Sounds like Deveroux."
"I've gotten the power or whatever off Lady Une," Deveroux yelled over the wall. "The collar that I have hadn't stopped buzzing even when I got it out to the Hummer. So I guessed that we were looking in the wrong place for the power supply for the collar. I think that we can take them out of here. The box was out in the woods."
"I wouldn't have thought of that," Une murmured.
"He sounds enthusiastic," Treize told her.
"He would have mucked out stables to stay out of the house and do the forensics for the scene here. The place gives him the creeps." Une told Treize. It was true. Deveroux was uneasy being in the house, more so then he was in the mansion that was in England.
"I can't blame him," Treize told her as he gathered Duo up in his arms.
"Which way is it to the Hummer or whatever is taking Duo to the hospital. He's getting cold and I want someone to look at him." Une told him. "We're going to radio ahead so that you are going to be taken to your room and that you do not have to go through the Emergency Room. Unfortunately, Relena's brother is in the same hospital. He was too unstable to move to the prison hospital in the area, since it was too far away for a safe transport. He's unconscious, heavily guarded and no one has figured out who he was. I am going to turn his care over to Sally while she's here too. I think that the good doctor will not argue with me about my orders to keep the prisoner heavily sedated."
"I think that is a good idea," Treize said carefully. He didn't want to be in the same damn city as his captor and they both were in the same hospital?
Une saw the look on his face and explained quietly, "This place is isolated. This is the only medical center within a hundred miles. We're lucky that it's only a thirty minute drive or I would be flying you in. But I don't want to upset Duo too much and flying might do that."
"Don't want too," Duo told her quietly.
The bad man was still too close to T-chan. He didn't know who all these people were, but they seemed to know Duo. He was glad that none of them seemed to expect him to answer them. He had had a hard enough time trying to remember Une. Actually, it was the whisperer that knew her. It had told him her name and that he called her 'Neesan', whatever that meant.
End Part 31
I have no idea when part the next part is coming out, just want to warn you. A lot more hurt/comfort the two of them getting back to sanity. J
Christine
Comments? Email Devilkitty@speakeasy.net