18-May-2003
Title: Crocodile Pool
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2/3+4
Warnings: slight OOC, language, creepiness, yaoi, angst, sci-fi.
Spoilers: none
Rating: PG
Duo squinted in the direction that the gypsy's ghost had indicated that whoever it was they were waiting for; would be coming from. The branches above his head creaked as they swayed in the slight evening breeze, cooling his adrenaline heated skin as he listened to the harsh beat of his heart thumping in his ears. He crouched as still as a stone next to the shadowy figure of the young woman and tried not to think about all the places he would rather be than where he was now.
Then just when he thought the tension in the air couldn't get any worse; he saw the tall, dark form of a man approaching from the far side of the cemetery. In his arms he held the slumped form of a woman wrapped in a blanket and dressed in a long, white nightgown that billowed in the slight breeze. Her arms hung limply down and swung back and forth with each step the man took. Duo strained to see the man's face and almost yelled out when the figure got close enough for him to see that the man had no face at all. Just a black, faceless mask where one should have been.
"W-what is that?" Duo whispered harshly to the spirit beside him.
"He is a wraith. A shadowy echo of a soul that still lives."
"An echo?"
"Not quite dead, but not really alive either."
"Do you mean to say that your killer is still alive? But how is that possible?"
Pale amethyst eyes regarded Duo carefully. "The young woman he carries isn't me. She was just a poor girl who had trifled with the affections of a madman. It was she who I had witnessed being killed and dumped into the pool that night."
"I remember." Duo shut his eyes to try to block out the memory of seeing the girl being ripped apart by the crocodiles.
The girl turned and gave him a level gaze and smiled. "We're been brought together through those visions and despite their horror, the truth will finally come from sharing them." As the man stalked through the grassy part of the cemetery towards the iron gate that would lead down the path and past the stones and grave markers, he felt the cool hand of the ghost touch his arm. "We will follow him and you will see what no-one has known for many, many years. You will finally know the truth."
"But how? How is this all happening? And what happens if he... it... sees us?"
"The wraith walks on a different plain than you." She looked at him sadly before turning her gaze to slowly moving figure. "But you will understand my intentions soon enough."
"I don't know if I like the sounds of that." He muttered to himself as he resigned himself to seeing it all though to it's conclusion.
They followed the wraith as he began to walk down the sandy path towards the main part of the cemetery. At the iron gate it stopped and cocked it's head to one side as if to listen to Duo's quiet steps behind him. Duo froze instantly and waited; holding his breath until the silent figure finally moved on again. Following the shadow through the gate and past where Duo had encountered the little girl, her laughter still echoing in his head from earlier that evening. There was no sign of her or the gravedigger as they walked silently past the mausoleums, and even the spirit of the gypsy girl seemed to grow faint the closer they came to the main gate that lead them out of the cemetery and into the city streets. At its edge they paused. "Where are we going now?" Duo asked quietly as they he turned onto the cobblestone street.
"He is going to the crocodile pool. You need to follow it there."
"Why?"
"To witness."
A sudden shock of images rushed through his mind sending him to the ground on his knees. Images of terrified eyes and horrific muffled screams flooded his senses. He clutched at his chest to find comfort in his cross, but wrapped his slender fingers around the smooth silver charm squeezing it tightly instead. With his eyes tightly shut and taking a few deep breaths, he concentrated on any sparks of reality he could grab on to. The stone under his knees gave him something to focus on as his vision swam and swayed before him once he reopened his eyes.
"Please, Duo. Get up. You must continue this path for me. If you fail in this no one will ever know what truly happened to me or the ones I loved. I will wander this world forever if you don't end it tonight." Duo glanced up and into the tormented eyes of Angelina. "Please. You were strong enough to hear me and see my message in the painting. Be strong now for me and end it tonight. You're my only hope."
"What do I have to do?" He whispered hoarsely back up at her.
"Follow. Witness. Tell them. Tell them all."
"But how will they know it's true and not just me going crazy? Don't you understand? They all think I'm losing my mind... they won't listen... "
"They will believe. I swear to you, they will."
He searched her eyes for along while. He had to do this. He had been chosen to do this for a reason. He wouldn't, couldn't fail in this task. He rose up from his knees and searched the street ahead of him for the dark figure. It was moving in the direction of the estate and he had to jog the half block to catch up with it.
The wraith had made its way up the long drive to towards the main house just as he turned the corner. He figured he would have to cut back through the gardens to gain any ground or get close enough to witness anything. He begun to cut through the grounds, when it turned off the main of drive and wandered past the fieldhouse where the cars were stored and towards the place he knew would be his final destination that night. He glanced back to the road where he had come from to find no sign of Angelina and figured that he was once again on his own. With a steadying breath, he trotted after the specter and wished again that he hadn't run off without letting the rest of the guys know what was going on. He shook his head and made for the pool where he was sure to learn of the demise of Angelina wondering if Heero would ever understand any of what he was doing.
Heero raced to the path that would lead him to the crocodile pool. If Duo was anywhere he was sure that's where he'd be. He couldn't even process half the things that clouded his logic right then as the image of Duo hanging from the tree blocked out all chance of rational thought. Duo was trying to tell him, trying so hard to explain what was going on, but he hadn't listened. He didn't want to believe that any of it could be true. It was so much easier to think that Duo was just experiencing some kind of stress disorder than to face the knowledge that ghosts really did exist. The very idea of it threatened to send him screaming into the night himself.
When he finally arrived at the pool all was calm. The low light from the bloodless moon above him sparkled off the crimson remains of the stained glass window from the chapel's broken frame. He scoured the trees all around the water for any sign that Duo was there but found nothing. There was not even the slightest trace that there had even been a skirmish.
"Duo! Where are you?" Heero called out stilling all sounds of chirping bugs and frogs. "Please, please where are you?" Mumbling to himself he ran shaking fingers through his hair and turned back to the path he had come from in time to see Renaldo running towards him from the estate.
"Mr. Yuy, I barely caught up with you."
Heero's eyes narrowed as he gave the man a cool look. "Where are Trowa and Quatre? They were right behind us."
"We decided to split up. I came to find you and they went towards the cemetery near the parade grounds where my friends had seen Duo last."
Heero caught the tenseness in Renaldo's frame and the way his eyes were darting around. It made his hackles rise and internal bells to go off in his head. Something was very wrong here, but he couldn't seem to put his finger on it. All he knew was that he didn't trust the man before him any more than he trusted Oz during the wars. "Duo's not here."
Renaldo looked at the calm water of the pool and shrugged stiffly. "Have you checked the water yet?"
Heero stalked closer to him with his defenses screaming. "Why would I?"
Renaldo gazed back at him with cool, gray eyes and frowned. "In case he fell in. Quatre had mentioned that it had happened the last time they were here. When Duo found the charm."
Heero turned to face the direction of the pool and was about to take a step towards it when he felt a shiver go up his spine like lightning. As he turned to face Renaldo again, he felt a blow connect with his head and staggered backwards to the ground. He grabbed his head and felt the slickness there and rolled to a crouching position to see Renaldo standing over him with a hunk of wood in his shaking hand. "You're behind all this, aren't you?" Heero growled out as he tried to focus on the man in front of him and not the graying of his vision as it crept up on him. He swung out with his leg in a broad sweep hoping to connect with Renaldo's leg enough to get him off balance, but it only served to make his head rush with dizziness instead. Then in that moment of distraction, there was a sharp stab of pain near his temple where Renaldo managed to hit him again, causing him to fall backwards in a sprawl.
"It didn't need to be this way, Mr. Yuy." Renaldo stood just out of Heero's reach and watched him as he swayed where was. "If only your friend had led me to it sooner."
"Lead you to what?"
"That damn charm is the only remaining piece of evidence that the girl was murdered here. That my brother's little money grubbing whore didn't elope as it had been rumored. Your friend has it and I want it."
Heero gritted his teeth and made a move to spring forward and tackle Renaldo, but a wave of dizziness sent him quickly to his knees. "W-where is Duo?" He snarled, but only received a smirk for his answer before succumbing to blackness from the blows.
Renaldo dropped the wood and nudged Heero with his foot before grabbing his legs and dragging him to the nearest bit of shubbery. Then he tried as best he could to cover all the sign that the struggle occurred. He didn't have a lot of time before either Heero woke or the rest of the boys' friends came this way so he had to find Duo quickly. He had just begun to walk towards the path that would lead him back towards the estate when he heard the distinct sound of a tree branch snap.
He spun in the direction of the noise and searched for any sign that someone was there, but found nothing. The blood was still pounding in his ears from the fight and all he could hear was his own ragged breaths as he stood waiting for any movement or sound. Then from the direction of the fieldhouse, he saw the form of a young man creeping along in the shadows as if he was following something towards the very spot he was. He quickly moved to hide behind the remains of the nearby chapel to wait for him when he felt a sudden rush of force; like getting hit by a strong gust of wind. It sent him sprawling to the ground and he tried to regain his stunned senses, the only thing he could see was the figure of a faceless man dressed in black standing before he was thrown into darkness.
Duo made his way quietly through the shadows keeping the wraith in his line of sight the entire time. The gentle sway of the girl's white dress as they moved distracted him from noticing how far away from the road and cemetery they had got in such a short amount of time. He ducked under a low hanging branch and brushed an errand leaf from his face taking his eyes from the specter for a split second only. But in that instant it had melted into the trees that surrounded the clearing that the crocodile pool was nestled in. "Shit. What the hell? Where'd you go?" He cursed a few times under his breath and quickened his pace to get to it, unsure of what to expect now that he was within yards of the chapel and nearby pool.
He stalked along the low stone wall and ran a hand over the rough stone of the nearest wall of the chapel, careful not to prick his fingers on the tiny shards of glass from the broken window frame. He stepped over the tall tuffs of grass and paused to look at the still dark waters of the pool. "Angelina? Where are you?"
A slight breeze pushed the sweeping coverings of moss back and forth in the magnolia tree shifting his focus to it instead of the pool. There was no sign of her or the wraith he had been following causing the trembling he had been experiencing for most of the night to become even more pronounced. Something was out of place; he could feel it in his very bones as he glanced towards the path that would lead back to the estate, but nothing stirred from that direction either. There was an electricity in the air that made his arms flush with goosebumps as he waited for any sign of what he was to do next. "Angelina?" He whispered again and took a step towards the pool.
He felt a blow like he had been hit with a blast of air and flew backwards over the stone wall and onto the ground. When he blinked his eyes open and rolled over to catch his breath he felt like the whole world had been tilted off it's axis. He got up from his hands and knees, hissing as shards of glass stung his open palms. When he brought them up to inspect them closer he nearly yelped as strong hands gripped him from behind.
"Shh, my pretty one, hush."
He heard a low voice growl against the skin of his neck and he froze where he stood. A hand snaked up his arm to wrap around his throat from behind as the other held his waist firmly. His knees almost went out from underneath him as he felt the soft touch of lips graze his ear. When he tried to speak no sound other came out than a tiny gasp as he felt himself being dragged into the frame of the chapel.
"If you make another sound I'll kill you. Do you understand?"
As the remnants of the once beautiful stained glass window came into his line of sight he realized what was happening to him like getting hit full force by a beam cannon. He struggled; not about to let himself go through what Angelina had that night. She had been that powerful blow that hit him earlier and he was now reliving the moments of that night with her possessing his body. Only he was stronger than she had been and he had to know who the killer was to end it.
He managed to turn himself enough to come face to face with the cold gray eyes of Renaldo and grinned; taking him off guard and causing the smirk that Renaldo had been wearing to turn into a look of pure surprise. "You grin at me when I'm about to kill you? What a very foolish a thing to do."
"I saw you. I saw you kill her. I watched as you shoved her into the pool. I watched as they ripped her apart." Renaldo said nothing but yanked him closer to the chapel. "But why? Why?"
Renaldo looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before hissing his reply. "You wanton whores are all alike. You never even looked once in my direction, any of you... even when I gave you the world you betrayed me. You mocked my love for you... like she did. You all did."
"You're insane." Duo shuttered as he watched the madness build behind the man's eyes.
"But we can be together, Angel. Forever. Don't you see?"
Duo stood shocked as he realized the wraith that he had been following from the graveyard was the in fact the wandering, tormented soul of Renaldo. "But you... killed them... "
"I don't want to hurt you. Could never hurt you."
Duo felt Renaldo's lips crush against his and pushed against him for all he was worth. "You don't know what love is. You're a monster!" He yelled and thrashed against Renaldo's firm hold, twisting and turning to try to get enough leverage to throw him off.
Renaldo shoved him backward against the short stone wall of the chapel knocking his head against the frame of the old window. Then he began tugging at the linen shirt from his costume trying to pull it off and away.
Duo had experienced what Angelina had gone through in his nightmares and knew she'd been raped that night before she was killed and he'd be damned if he was about to let Renaldo do the same thing to him. He brought his knee up hard and sent Renaldo to the ground with the blow to the groin and staggered back bracing himself against the nearest wall as he tried to catch his breath. Renaldo was groaning on the ground where he had dropped giving Duo a moment to get away, but as he stepped over him, he felt Renaldo grip his ankle and pull hard. He lost his balance and stumbled to his knees more shards of glass digging into them. He twisted around and kicked out but Renaldo dodged it and tackled him hard to the ground.
He felt something sharp stab him in the back as Renaldo's weight pushed him back down and yelled out in pain. Renaldo then grabbed him by his collar, snapping the silver chain from his neck in the process and slammed his head against the ground stunning him momentarily as he saw stars in his vision. Renaldo pulled the sash away from Duo's waist and yanked him harshly to his feet. Dragging him to the magnolia tree, he wrapped the sash around Duo's neck and began to loop it over the nearest branch.
Even his stunned state Duo realized what was happening and began to panic. The throbbing in his back was made worse as he tried to push and shove his way away from Renaldo's grasp, but Renaldo grabbed a fist full of Duo's hair and shoved his head back hard against the tree trunk causing Duo to lose his sight for a moment. He grabbed onto Renaldo's hand feeling the charm slide against his knuckle as the sash tightened around his neck cutting off his air.
Then the pressure on his throat was suddenly lessened and his eyes flew open to find Renaldo pale as milk and staggering backwards away from him with his hands up in defense and screaming. "You're dead! I killed you! You're dead!"
He felt the world tilt again and then Angelina suddenly stood in front of him with her skirts billowing and her black hair swirling around her. She was walking towards Renaldo and for each step she took forward he took one step back. Renaldo moved closer to the edge of the nearby pool screaming and trying to wave her off but she still kept moving edging him closer and closer to still dark waters. His foot finally hit the waters' edge and he quickly turned towards it; dropping her charm on the bank.
"No... no don't do this to me... I'm sorry... I should have never... please... please don't... "
Duo watched from where he was as Angelina continued to herd him into the water. When he stopped in the ankle deep water, she reached out and wrapped slender hands around his neck. He reached up to grab at them but his own hands passed through hers and he sunk to his knees sputtering and struggling as she slowly squeezed away his screams.
His own breath was coming in gasps as he watched the scene unfold before him. He had been standing on his tiptoes to keep himself from getting strangled to death when Renaldo had been near and now found himself losing the strength to stay on them. The pain in his back from where he had fallen on a shard of the stained glass window during the struggle was seeping away his strength as his blood ran warm against his side and dripped along the bark of the tree to the ground below him. He heard the muffled screams from the water where Renaldo was drowning and shut his eyes to try to concentrate on his own plight. His legs were beginning to shake from the exhursion and he knew he slipped it would tighten the sash and he would hang himself.
He thought of Heero and hot tears escaped his eyes. He never had the chance to explain, or to prove to Heero that he wasn't crazy. He would die with Heero never knowing the truth. He could feel his strength slipping and fought giving in to the shaking of his limbs. All he wanted was to be in Heero's arms again and to apologize for everything he had put him though. They had struggled through so much together to let it all end with Heero having nothing more to tell everyone they knew but that he was crazy and hanged himself.
He squeezed his eyes shut letting the tears roll down his face as he thought of the times they had shared in recent months. Heero had stood by him though all the upsets, though the rumors and speculations of his mental stability. He had sheltered him from the harsh reality that people would never understand any of what he had been going through, any more than they could accept he was once an infamous pilot of a soul stealing Gundam. "Oh god, Heero please... it can't end this way... "
"Heero. Wake up."
Heero blinked eyes open to a soft voice above him. His head was thumping with the pain from the blows during his fight with Renaldo and it took him a moment to remember just where he was. He focused on the face in front of him seeing the soft pair of violet eyes and reached out to them. "D-duo?"
"No, but he needs you, Heero." She said softly and pulled him to his feet.
He swayed slightly and grabbed at his head as he looked at the young woman in front of him. "Who are you?"
She smiled a brilliant smile and held out her hand. In it was Duo's cross which she placed in his palm before she spoke again. "A very old friend of Duo's who let me borrow his hope for a while."
"W-where is he?" The woman raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the pool. On the other side among the gently swaying swags of moss in the magnolia tree was Duo hanging from a bright colored sash a stream of blood oozing from behind him and down the front of the tree. "Oh gods! Duo!" He raced past the pool ignoring the floating body of Renaldo, and grabbed Duo around the waist screaming his name and trying to keep the sash from tightening any more around his neck. "Please no... Duo please... "
He reached up and yanked at the sash until he could rip it from the limb. Duo instantly slumped forward into his arms, the slick wet blood soaking covering his hand where he held him. He eased them to the ground and carefully pulled the shard of glass from his back and sat rocking him gently back and forth. "Duo... please wake up, love. Don't leave me."
He ignored the rapidly approaching steps as they flew up the gravel path towards him and only vaguely recognized Trowa's yell.
"Heero, what happened?"
"Duo! Sweet Allah what going on?" Quatre was desperate for answers but all Heero could do was concentrate on Duo's shallow breaths and the angry red marks around his neck from the sash as he continued to bleed from the wound in his back.
"Heero... you're bleeding." Trowa's fingers gently lifted his hair and checked the gash there. "Where else are you hurt?" Heero just shook his head again and kept speaking to Duo in soft, hushed tones. "Heero?"
"It's not my blood. I'm losing him... "
Duo struggled to find a way out of the dark place he was in. He hurt and tried to focus on the pain to keep him grounded, but was so very tired. It was so tempting to just let go of al the fear and pain. But he could only think of Heero and struggled to stay focused enough to open his eyes. When he did, he found Angelina standing beside him, holding the hand of a young man with dark hair and warm, gentle eyes.
"Duo, you need to listen to me very carefully." She said quietly.
"W-what happened?"
"You brought me to my killer and he has paid for the lives of those he took. For me, his brother, and my sister."
"Sister?"
"Yes. The woman in white was my little sister."
"So where am I now?"
She stepped away from Manuel and took his hand in hers. "You're crossing over Duo. But it isn't your time yet. You need to go back. There are so many souls who need your help still. And someone who loves you very much."
"H-how do I get back?"
"Close your eyes and focus on the sound of the voice that is keeping you grounded in life. Focus on that and it will lead you back."
"It's over then?"
"Yes." Angelina ran a finger lovingly down the side of Duo's face and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you, Duo. Thank you for hearing me and helping me. I would have been lost without you."
Before he could speak they were gone and he found himself listening to the muffled sounds of Heero speaking softly to him. It was soothing and he grabbed onto the tones and pulled his mind out of the dark place that it had been in. He blinked his eyes slowly open to find Heero's worried, tear stained face before him and Trowa and Quatre hovering nearby.
"Don't move Duo. Heero says you've been stabbed." Quatre was holding onto his hand as Trowa paced the gravel path.
"And nearly choked to death too." Trowa snapped. "But help is on the way. Try not to talk too much. I knew that snake was lying to us, I just didn't... "
Duo reached out and snagged Trowa's pant leg and tugged. "Not your fault." He rasped out.
Trowa kneeled and took his hand and nodded. "You always say that when you almost get killed."
"Renaldo?"
"Dead. Drowned, but... " Trowa paused an flashed a look to Quatre.
"It's as if he aged. He was nothing more than a shell, like his very life had been sucked away." Quatre ran a hand though his hair and blew a breath out. "It's hard to explain, exactly."
Duo rolled his eyes and nodded. They didn't know the half of it.
"But Duo... w-hat happened here? H-how did you... ?" Heero was struggling so badly for words that Duo took pity on him and tried to explain despite his aching throat.
"It's a long story, love. Tell you. At. Home."
"Home?"
"Take me home. Please? This vacation is going... to be... the death of me."
Heero gave a relieved snort and tightened his hold on him as the sounds of approaching people finally could be heard. They could hear the distinct sound of Grace as she barked orders to people as they raced along the path from the estate.
Once Duo was secured by the local paramedics and settled on a stretcher, Heero took the time to notice the things he hadn't before. He had been clutching Duo's cross the entire time and could now gently clasp it around his neck, lifting his frazzled braid of hair out of the way and being careful not to irritate his wounds. Duo was beginning to drift off to sleep with the medication they had given him and the blood he had lost, but Heero still felt compelled to return to the pool one last time before he followed everyone to the estate and the waiting ambulance.
Quatre turned to Heero as Trowa and two other men lifted Duo's stretcher and began to walk up the path. "Heero?"
Heero glanced from Quatre to the pool. "I'll be right behind you."
"All right, don't be long, Duo is still pretty shaky and without you there Grace is sure to smother him." He trotted up the path to catch up with them leaving Heero alone by the pool.
He stepped towards the waters edge and found the glinting object that had caught his eye on the bank. He picked up the locket with its broken chain fingering the smooth metal for a moment as he watched the small ripples on the water's surface. Giving it a tiny kiss, he gently tossed it into the pool and watched it until it sunk completely out of sight. "Thank you Angelina. Sleep well." Then he turned away from the crocodile pool and jogged up the gravel path, knowing that it was over, for now.
Fini
(:./ebony/pool14)
