29-Jan-2001

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Wing characters, nor am I making any money from this. The ideas of a Confessor and a Mord-Sith are from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Many of the names of the monsters and locations are from the online game of EverQuest. All of this is done without permission.
Warnings: AU, Fantasy, Angst, Shounen-ai, Dark, and Violence Additional Warning: This part has graphic violence. Don't say you weren't warned!
Pairings: 1+2 3+4
Notes: Special thanks as always go out to Betty, my beta reader. And to Maria, my very enthusiastic sister, who always asks to read the next part, even before its finished!

Mord-Sith! by Annabell

Part Ten

Palace of Light, Erudin

"Hello, Heero Yuy. I'm here to take your confession."

Heero stood in the far corner of the damp dungeon and stared in shock at the person who had just entered. Duo Maxwell, the last Confessor, dressed as one of the Emperor's elite bodyguards, had shut the door behind him and was currently leaning up against it with his arms folded across his chest. Clad in blood-red leather from his boots to his neck, he stood with his chin lowered and one foot crossed behind the other. A leather-wrapped rod dangled from his wrist by a slender chain.

With a casual gesture, Duo tapped the Agiel against a flat panel next to the door. Light flooded the room, making Heero's cobalt eyes water as he blinked rapidly, trying to adjust them. There was no one source for the light; it was diffused throughout the walls. 'Magic' he thought.

"Duo," Heero started to speak then stopped, unsure of what was happening. The lack of response from the Confessor sent a coil of cold unease through his stomach. Heero took a step closer and he could see the normally expressive violet eyes were flat behind the long bangs. A chill permeated through the damp air in the cell.

"I am going to ask you some questions, and you will answer them," Duo stated. He didn't add the prerequisite 'or else'. Nevertheless, it hung in the air between them, adding to the cold aura of menace that clung to the Confessor like a shroud. Duo slowly pulled off his armored gloves and stuck them in his belt, then re-crossed his arms once more.

Heero nodded, his thoughts spinning wildly as he considered options. He could guess at what Duo already knew and suspected what the Confessor didn't. With the gloves off, Heero didn't dare try to overpower the Confessor even if he was inclined to do so. The only way out of this was to talk, and in a way, it would be a relief to get everything out into the open.

Duo smirked, but the humor didn't reach past the stone's set of his violet eyes. "We'll start with an easy question. Why are you here?"

In the silence that followed the question, the dark-haired soldier knew with a flash of insight that Duo must already know the obvious answer to that. But the real answer for Heero was far more complex, and yet infinitely simpler. "Because of you," he hedged, not taking his eyes off the red clad figure in front of him.

"Because of me," Duo repeated and the lack of surprise clearly told Heero that Duo knew everything about the mission. 'Almost everything,' Heero corrected himself. Now he just had to figure out how far Duo was willing to go to get the answers the Confessor thought he was looking for. With a sinking feeling, Heero knew that Duo would go very far indeed.

"I am very flattered, that you came all the way from the Midlands just for me. Or should I say from Oz?" Duo inquired, his voice soft in volume but as harsh as polar winds. The Confessor shifted his feet, and even from across the small room, Heero could feel the tension vibrating through Duo's slender body like a drawn bowstring. "Tell me, how is Treize?" Duo asked as his white knuckles, digging into his own biceps, belied his conversational tone.

Knowing that it was pointless to carry on the charade any longer, Heero answered, "The General is worried."

Duo nodded once, his eyes never leaving the dark-haired soldier at the other side of the stone cell. "As well he should be. Well, that situation will be rectified soon, I assure you. Tell me about your mission," he ordered, and calmer now that the topic had moved away from Trieze, fell back into that deceptively relaxed stance.

Heero thought very carefully about his reply, acutely aware of the scrutiny of those unwavering violet eyes. He knew that if he hesitated too long in his answers, Duo would probably change to more painful tactics. Heero stalled for time and responded with the obvious. "My orders were to come to Erudin and eliminate the threat you pose to the Midlands by working with Odin Lowe."

The Confessor pushed himself away from the door, standing up straight but keeping his arms folded. His eyes, as expressive as granite, never left Heero's. "Why didn't you complete the mission?" he asked softly, polar winds blowing beneath the surface's casual tone.

Of all the questions Duo could have asked, this was not one that Heero had anticipated.

Wing's rider hesitated for a brief moment, but it was a bit too long for Duo. Without warning, he crossed the confining length of the cell in a few quick steps and backhanded Heero across the face. Heero, seeing it coming a split second too late to dodge, faced directly into the blow. Duo followed it up immediately by bracing one leather-encased forearm on the dark-haired soldier's throat and shoving Heero against the cold stone wall behind him. Heero made no move to defend himself as Duo leaned on his neck, cutting off Heero's air supply.

"What part of the question did you not understand?" the Confessor snarled softly, violet eyes boring into cobalt. Unable to breathe, Heero just returned the look, not flinching in the face of the Confessor's all too real threat to him. As the question echoed in his head, the dark-haired soldier realized that he wasn't prepared to answer it. But ready or not, he had to.

"Why did you not complete your mission?" Duo demanded, pressing his forearm into Heero's throat harder. "It would have been so simple for you to do it. Hell, I came to you! You had dozens of opportunities to do it. Missions don't get any simpler than that! Why!" Duo's breath whispered against his face as he punctuated the last question with a shove.

Darkness began to cloud the edges of the soldier's vision. But Heero gritted his teeth and allowed the abuse to continue, never once taking his eyes from the granite gaze a few inches from his own. Duo abruptly dropped his pinioning arm and stepped back, breathing hard; then he quickly regained control. Heero remained leaning against the wall, drawing one long breath after another.

The Confessor shook his head, "I could force you to answer, and you know it. You have no idea how versatile the Agiel can be. I could torture you for hours; make you beg to die as I systematically broke every bone in your body three times over. I've seen it done. Or I could peel the skin off your body; the Agiel can do that too. By the end of the session I could have you begging to tell me anything and everything. Or I could just cut to the chase and Touch you."

As Heero listened, a corner of his mind that was detached from the emotional part noted that Duo still talked too much. But mainly his thoughts were centered on the well being of the slender figure dressed in red standing in front of him. 'What has happened to you, Duo? Whatever it was, it must have been terrible to make you like this. I'm sorry. It's my fault. I promised you that I would be there, and I wasn't.'

Duo, oblivious to Heero's thoughts, went on.

"But in the end, it really doesn't matter why. The fact is you have failed your mission, Heero Yuy. Now you face judgment." Heero didn't move as Duo paused, waiting to see if Heero would react to his statement. The lack of response on the prisoner's part seemed to irritate the Confessor, but Duo had too much self-control to allow Heero to get to him for long. Silence stretched between them once more.

Then Duo, glaring through his long bangs at Heero, began to speak again. "Before I pass judgment, you should know the consequences of your failure. By not completing your mission, you have given Odin Lowe access to a weapon that will enable him to conquer the rest of the world. You have condemned your friends to torture and death. You have condemned the Midlands, as well as Oz and the previously conquered kingdoms, to the brutal reign of a megalomaniac bent on bloodshed. Odin Lowe will go to Oz, and will kill every man, woman and child on his way to Virimonde. And when he reaches his destination, he will order the death of your commander Treize Khushrenada, along with the rest of the population of Oz."

A remnant of a dream flashed through Heero's mind. The eyes of the dead citizens of Virimonde stared at him accusingly as he tried to protect Duo, but it was far too late. Duo had already been hurt. Heero swallowed his rising fear, trying to trust his feeling that what he had done, what he was doing, was the right thing. Silence rained down, broken only by the quiet breathing of the two young men seemingly destined to destroy each other.

Duo continued, his voice low, even as the arctic tone warmed with the heat of his rage. "Now that the Emperor knows what happened in Bitterroot, in all likelihood he will try to have me do it again. But I won't allow that to happen. Do you realize how many people are going to die because of this Heero? I didn't want to be the Bringer of Death anymore, but now thanks to you, I have no choice but to fight him. He will send legions after me, and I'll destroy them; I'll turn them back on their Emperor and there will be war. Is that what you wanted? Well I didn't!" Duo broke eye contact for the first time, turning away and walking to the far side of the small cell. He stopped and clenched his fists, then nodded as if coming to a decision. He abruptly whirled around and came back to stand in front of Heero once more, his violet eyes seeking and finding that cobalt gaze.

"However," Duo paused, "I am willing to give you one last chance to complete your mission."

The breath stopped in Heero's body as his heart skipped a beat. Duo, his expression never wavering, held up the Agiel. He stepped closer to the dark-haired soldier, grasping the rod halfway down its length, pointing its end at his own chest.

"What will that do?" Heero asked with growing unease.

"Press the Agiel here," Duo tapped his finger right above where his heart beat, his violet eyes never leaving Heero's cobalt ones. "Give it a half-turn and your mission will be completed. It seems to be my destiny to be killed by you," he concluded with a rueful half-smile.

Heero's eyes widened in disbelief at what Duo proposed. Seeing Heero's hesitation, Duo smirked cynically and held out his hand, the red rod clenched in his fist.

"Do it. Press it to my chest. Don't touch the Agiel itself; just put your hand over mine," Duo instructed.

Hesitantly, Heero touched Duo's hand that was clenching the Agiel, and instantly winced and jerked back out of reflex at the sharp stinging in his hand and wrist. "Why doesn't it hurt when you to touch it?" he asked, shaking his hand to ease the pain.

"Oh, it hurts when I hold it, believe me it hurts." Duo's hard violet eyes hollowed as he continued to hold the Agiel over his chest.

"Does it hurt you like it did me just now when I touched your hand?" Heero asked, remembering how Sansa, the young Mord-Sith-in-training's arm shook when the child held her Agiel in her hand.

Duo shook his head, his braid swishing over the leather uniform. "No, my hand was shielding you from what it really felt like. Now do it," he repeated almost desperately.

Heero swallowed and held out his hand once more. "I want to know how it feels first" he said.

The Confessor looked at him with an unreadable expression and then shrugged. "Very well. But don't grasp it; you may not be able to let go fast enough. Be careful that you don't bite your tongue and it's best if you clench your stomach muscles," he advised.

Obeying Duo's instructions, Heero reached out and touched the Agiel.

The sensation of a bolt of lightning shot up his arm and exploded in his shoulder. He threw himself back, landing hard against the stone wall behind him as he cradled his agonized arm. The limb felt like the skin had been burned off, his bones splintered and every muscle torn in two. He stared at Duo in shock, trying to comprehend how the Confessor could handle such a terrible weapon with apparent ease.

Duo dropped the Agiel and let it dangle from the chain once more. Heero waited for the pain to subside in his arm. For long minutes they stared at each other. Finally Heero pushed himself away from the wall and took a step toward Duo. The Confessor's violet eyes bored into his cobalt ones.

"Now you know why the Mord-Sith are trained from a very young age," Duo explained. "They have to learn to be able to tolerate the pain of the Agiel. Because it is touch activated, it hurts the Mord-Sith and the victim alike."

"How can you stand it?" Heero asked, as the pain in his arm slowly continued to diminish.

Duo smirked bitterly. "You get used to it. During the first two years I was here, this thing was used on me daily in one form or another. You build up a tolerance to the pain after a while," he shrugged again.

Heero stared at Duo in sympathy and horror. "Why?" he asked.

"It was necessary for me to learn to control pain. Bitterroot damaged me somehow, leaving a constant pain right here," he tapped his temple. "Most days I can ignore it, forget that it is there for a while. But now, the pain seems to be growing and I don't know how much longer I can keep my sanity. Not even the Agiel helps that much anymore." Seeing Heero's expression, Duo shook his head. "Holding the Agiel helps distract me from the pain in my head for a while. And when the pain is more than I can bear, the Agiel can knock me out. But lately, the pain has been coming back worse than ever."

"You mean that the pain in your head hurts worse than this?" Heero asked, his voice rough.

"If it wasn't for what Une had taught me about controlling the pain, I'd probably be unconscious right now," Duo answered, and Heero's heart ached at the acceptance in Duo's voice. The braided boy rubbed his forehead tiredly. "C'mon Heero. I'm giving you the opportunity to complete your mission. You are going to do it, aren't you?" he asked, and Heero's aching heart nearly broke at the slight trace of hope he saw in those softening violet eyes.

Heero shook his head. "No," he said, his resolve firming in the face of what Duo had told him.

Duo's eyes hardened into granite once more. "Why not?" he demanded, clenching the Agiel in a grip so hard, Heero was surprised that the weapon didn't snap in two.

"Because I was taught to trust my feelings," Heero replied steadily, never once breaking eye contact with the Confessor. Duo had come for his confession, now he would get it. "I know that killing you is not the answer, even if I didn't have feelings for you."

For an eternity that lasted maybe five seconds, Duo didn't move; his violet eyes widened at Heero's admission. But years of living in the Palace had taught him never to trust mere words.

Duo shook his head vehemently, not willing to believe Heero. "You're lying! You can't possibly have feelings for me. I'm a monster!" Duo's eyes now blazed, the granite melting into magma with the heat of his rage and self-loathing. "I have done horrible things for which there can be no forgiveness. I do not deserve it. The only thing I deserve is death." And suddenly Duo's hand was around Heero's throat. Not tight enough to cut his air off, but it was enough. Duo leaned closer, his voice lowering with the proximity and the intensity. "And you will give it to me, Heero. You will complete your mission. So now it's your choice, will you complete the mission of your own free will, or of mine?"

With a sickening wrench in his chest, Heero knew what Duo was trying to do. The Confessor was trying to provoke Heero into killing him.

"Are you that anxious to die, Duo?" he asked softly as he raised one hand and gently removed the braided boy's hand from his neck. Duo flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away.

"Not anxious, desperate," Duo answered, and now that Heero was looking for it, he could see the pain and confusion behind the stone walls that the Confessor had built for himself in the past three years.

"Duo, do you know what happened to you?" he asked, keeping his voice soft like he was reassuring a skittish colt.

Duo shied away from Heero's hand, stepping back quickly, his boots clicking against the stone floor. "What do you mean, Heero?" he asked. Heero could almost see those protective walls rising up higher behind the violet eyes.

"You know what the Emperor told you about Bitterroot. But do you know what really happened there?" Heero pressed, still keeping his tone soft.

"I know enough!" Duo snapped, not willing to talk about Bitterroot. "Odin made sure that I heard everything!" The braided boy remembered how he had to stand there and listen as the entire ugly truth was announced in front of the whole court.

"Has Odin Lowe never lied to you?" Heero asked.

Duo sneered, "Of course he has. I don't trust him any further than I can throw him."

"Very wise of you," Heero observed. "Perhaps you should know the whole truth, not just the edited version."

"Like The History of Golgatha, vol. cmxiv?" Duo asked with a quirk of his lips.

Heero nodded, but refused to be sidetracked. "I will tell you what really happened, and I should know, because it was my mission." And starting with receiving his orders from General Treize, the dark- haired soldier began to recount the events that lead up to Bitterroot. He left nothing out, for the first time speaking aloud the intimate moments that passed between the two of them on the journey to Bitterroot. The deserters' camp and its aftermath, the battle in the Gorge, the nightmare spell and how Duo awakened them, the Sank Kingdom, everything.

Duo listened, occasionally interrupting to ask a question. "It was Trowa who broke my wrist?" he asked. It was then that Duo really knew that Heero was telling him the truth. Only someone who had been there would have known about that. He had never been able to find out exactly how it had happened. Now however, he mused with an unholy gleam in his violet eyes, "Hmm, I'll have think of a way to pay him back somehow."

"Duo," Heero warned, and Duo looked faintly abashed.

"Sorry, been hanging around the Mord-Sith too long," Duo grinned, looking suspiciously unrepentant.

When Heero finished speaking, silence once again settled around them. Then the Confessor ran a hand through his messy bangs and walked to the wall opposite of Heero. Leaning back against the cold stone, he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest. Finally, Duo summed up his thoughts in one word. "Shit."

As good a word as any, Heero decided as he followed Duo's actions, walking over and sliding down the wall, ending up next to Duo. For a long time they both sat in the cell and stared at nothing, each lost in his own thoughts. Then Duo drew in a breath and asked, "What now?"

"We should find the others, and then I have to kill Odin Lowe," Heero said, as though he was suggesting that they merely take a walk in the garden.

Duo, not seeing that one coming at all, would have fallen over if he hadn't already been sitting down. "Geez, you don't aim small, do you? Sorry to tell you this my friend, but you just can't kill the Emperor. If that were possible I would have done it a long time ago and spared everyone this misery."

"I can," Heero replied quietly.

Duo shook his head. "No, Heero, you can't. The only person who can do it would be his son, and Odin doesn't have one."

"Yes, he does," Heero contradicted, still staring straight ahead at nothing.

Duo slowly turned his head and looked at the dark-haired soldier sitting beside him. "You?" he whispered in amazement.

Heero nodded once, keeping his eyes forward.

Duo frowned, then cocked his head to one side. With one hand he reached over and grabbed Heero's chin and turned the cobalt-eyed young man's head until he could see Heero's entire face. Studying the fine features carefully, he nodded. "Yeah, I can see the resemblance, mostly through the eyes." He released his grip and turned forward once more.

Heero blinked, and then he faced forward as well.

"Boy, both of us really struck out in the parents' department. But I guess as bad as Odin Lowe is, at least he's human," Duo observed dispassionately as he tapped the Agiel against the tip of his boot.

"That depends on how you define being human," Heero remarked dryly.

"Touché," the Confessor yielded the point. "But what I meant was, oh hell, I don't know what I meant." Duo gripped the red rod in both hands and his knuckles started to turn white, whether it was due to the physical or the emotional pain Heero was unable to determine. "It just sucks to be a monster," he whispered.

"No, you're human," Heero contradicted immediately. He itched to take the Agiel out of Duo's hands, but he left well enough alone.

"So you say," Duo sneered back.

"No, that's what Middie told me," Heero answered calmly.

Surprised, Duo let the Agiel drop and it swung from its chain on his wrist. As he absorbed the information, his expression turned thoughtful. "Middie, huh? When did you meet her?" he asked as he idly twirled the rod.

"This morning," Heero said, relieved that Duo seemed to believe him. "She told me a lot about what's going on around here."

"Yeah, well she would know," Duo replied absently as he started twining the Agiel like a baton through his fingers.

Heero, remembering the pain the rod had given him when he touched it, winced. "Do you know who she is?" he asked.

"At first I thought she was just another personality of Une's." Duo shrugged as he continued to play with the torture device. "I mean, there are so many crazies running around in this nuthouse, who's gonna notice one more? But then I realized that Middie is something else, something to do with the Throne I'm guessing." Seeing Heero's raised eyebrows, Duo smirked. "What? I'm not a complete idiot."

Heero shook his head and forced his thoughts back on track. "She told me the history of Golgatha, and the Throne. She also told me how the first Confessor was just an ordinary person, but a wizard changed her. He was trying to find a way to fight the monsters who were threatening the realm at that time."

"A wizard, huh?" Duo sneered derisively. "Well, that plan backfired big time."

"It didn't work out as planned, that's true." Heero agreed. "But my point is that she was as human as anybody else."

"Hmmm," Duo hmmmed. He didn't look entirely convinced, but he was willing to let the subject drop. Once more silence filled the dungeon, but this time it was almost comfortable. Then Duo stirred again, "So how are you gonna kill Odin?" he asked.

Heero thought about it, and then thought about it some more. Finally he decided to keep it simple. "I'll fight him."

Duo waited for some elaboration, but none was forthcoming. He nodded, "Ok, the direct approach is good. But it would probably be best if you killed Odin first, then worry about the others."

"Fine, but I can't do it if I'm stuck in here though," Heero hinted.

"That's true," Duo agreed pleasantly.

"In order to do it, I have to go to him," Heero mentioned.

"That's true too," Duo said agreeably.

"I don't think he's going to come down here and let me kill him," Heero suggested.

"You're right," said the Confessor amiably.

"Duo!" Heero raised his voice in exasperation.

"Yes, Heero?" was the innocent reply.

Silence, then "Will you help me?"

Duo grinned. "All you had to do was ask." The braided young man rose to his feet and stood over the Heir to the Empire. He reached out a hand.

Heero, seeing the offered hand, and all it implied, reached up and grasped it firmly as he used it for leverage to get to his feet and found himself eye to eye with Duo once more. A different tension passed between them this time, almost an electricity as they stood face to face, still holding each other's hand.

Duo stared deep into Heero's eyes, as if he were trying to read his soul. Unflinching, Heero returned the gaze measure for measure, letting Duo find what he needed in that cobalt regard. After a while, Duo seemed to relax, just the tiniest bit. He nodded once.

"Are you ready to claim your empire?" The Confessor grinned wickedly as he turned, raising his hand to knock on the door. But before he could touch the closed door, Heero reached out and pulled him back around to face him. Surprise flickered through those violet eyes as Duo opened his mouth to ask what Heero wanted.

But before he could make a sound, Heero leaned forward and kissed him soundly on the lips, answering his unspoken question.

Stunned, Duo just stood there not moving for a span of heartbeats, just feeling Heero's warm lips pressingly softly against his own. Without being aware of anything else, Duo's eyes drifted shut as he tentatively returned the kiss. He shivered as the warmth of that intimate touch started to melt the remaining ice that had frozen his soul, leaving a life-renewing wellspring of hope in its wake. He raised his hands and twined them around Heero's neck, careful to keep the Agiel from touching them.

Heero, feeling Duo's lips soften under his, shifted closer until there was no space between them anymore. 'How long?' he wondered. How long had he wanted this? He knew the answer as he pulled the slender, leather-clad figure closer and deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around the Confessor and fingered the soft braid with one hand, knowing that this was where he belonged.

Forever.

Finally, the need for air drove them apart, and they stood in each other's arms, panting as they opened their eyes and looked at each other.

"Now I'm ready," Heero said.

End Part 10

(:./annabell/sith10)