From Far Away
Part 15
"Heero!!" Duo yelled worriedly as he heard Heero's cries of pain. He
couldn't see his lover from the way he was placed on the horse. His
abductors shouted and Duo yelled louder as he was brought away from
the safe house.
Wufei and the others arrived at the scene and gasped at what they saw.
Heero was kneeling, holding his bleeding shoulder while his right arm
was sprawled lifelessly on the floor.
"Heero!" Quatre shouted in horror as Otto gathered the bleeding boy
with his ribbons, pulling the boy closer to him.
"Don't... bother with me...... help Duo..." Heero hissed in pain. He
tried to struggle around the ribbons that held him but to no avail.
With his yearly sickness, he was as powerless as a ragged doll. The
blood dripped rapidly from where his right arm used to be, weakening
him even further.
"Move and this boy's head will join his arm on the floor." Otto
sneered when he saw Wufei and Trowa move to attack him. As they paused
at the threat, Otto wasted no time to move his ribbons, restraining
all of them.
"No.." Heero choked out as he saw all his friends restrained. They
would all be killed if he didn't do something. But what could he do
with this weak body? He needed more Power.... to save Wufei and the
others.... to save ...Duo.
"It's so easy! Lady Une is really a great prophetess. After Lord
Tsubarov sacrificed the boy, Aquarius will grant us more power with
that boy's blood." Otto laughed arrogantly, unaware his words had
triggered something in the one handed boy.
Heero felt his heart stop beating when he heard what would happen to
Duo. Sacrifice? Duo ... would be killed?? Heero growled loudly. They
would have to step over his dead body first!
"Wha...what?" Otto stammered as he saw Heero glowing in blue light. An
animal growl was heard from the boy and. Suddenly the light became too
bright and Otto had to cover his eyes.
Trowa and the others had to close their eyes from the blinding light
also. After some seconds passed, Trowa opened his eyes, followed by
the others. Opening her eyes, Hilde saw all the ribbons that had
restrained them were now torn and scattered on the floor. She looked
at Heero in disbelief, wondering how strong the boy really was. But
what she saw turned her blood cold.
There, near Otto, Heero was standing, growling and glaring at the man.
Hilde heard some gasps from her friends and knew they also saw what
she saw. The Heero in front of them looked nothing like the Heero they
knew. The once blue eyes had narrowed like a cat and his hair had
turned silver.
Otto was shaking as he watched the silver haired boy bend and grab his
lifeless arm. And to everyone's horror, Heero let out a primal roar
and pasted his cut arm back to where it used to be. A strong wind
began to blow near them, originating from the stoic boy
//Power... I need more Power...// Heero roared loudly as the wind got
stronger. The wind was the result of his Power. The dark Power he had
called willingly from the deepest part of him was now unstoppable as
it flooded his body. In his mind, Duo's image flashed rapidly. The way
he smiled, the way he talked, the way he hugged him. And now someone
wanted to make him a sacrifice? Heero would not let that happen. Duo
was everything to him! Heero yelled as he felt the dark power
completely fill him.
"Look... his hair..." Sally stammered as they all saw Heero's hair
grew longer, reaching his hip. Otto stumbled backward as transparent
scales appeared on Heero's skin. Fear was clearly shown on that once
arrogant face.
"His.. hand.." Noin paled as the once lifeless hand was now twitching.
Heero yelled one last time and the wind suddenly stopped. He swung and
clenched his now healed right arm, testing it and smiled in
satisfaction as it functioned normally. But his hands were no longer
human-looking. The nails on both hands had grown longer and had turned
red, making his hands look like talons.
"Mo...monster!!!" Otto suddenly shouted and ran away.
Heero let out a loud snarl, showing his sharp fangs, and ran after the
man, leaving his stunned friends behind. They were too shocked by his
appearance to do anything.
Hilde looked at the direction where Heero and Otto had disappeared. "
What the... What was that? Was that Heero? It was Heero, right? But...
silver hair... sharp fangs... and his hand... it was severed........."
Hilde spoke up hysterically, "What kind of creature he was???"
Silence was her answer. No one answered her questions for they also
had the same questions in their minds.
Heero hopped from one roof to another, following the panicked Otto to
the place where Duo was taken to. //Duo..... Duo..... //
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So this is Duo Maxwell?" Tsubarov looked at the boy his men held in
front of him.
"Yes, it's him." Une spoke out.
"No wonder Aquarius wanted him. He is young and beautiful. should be
grateful to have been chosen to be his sacrifice, boy. And to think,
you get to meet me, Tsubarov, the ruler of the strongest city in OZ
territory." Tsubarov frowned when the boy didn't react to what he
said. " My pervert of a brother, Romefeller, will be willing to pay me
big money to taste you, boy. But oh well, you are destined to be
sacrificed. Are you afraid, boy?" Still the boy didn't react, making
Tsubarov fume. "Are you listening to what I'm saying?"
Tsubarov grinned as the boy looked up but then he yelped loudly as Duo
spat on him. "Why you, brat! I'll kill you!!!" Tsubarov bellowed,
wanting to strangle Duo, but was quickly restrained by his guards.
"My Lord, he is an important sacrifice, please maintain a hold over
yourself. Aquarius doesn't want his prey to be bruised." Une spoke up,
making Tsubarov curse.
"You'll be sorry, boy." Tsubarov growled. "Prepare the sacrifice,
now!"
Duo, however, didn't care and ignored his surrounding. His mind was
too occupied with another matter. The image of a broken Heero flashed
in his mind and the grieved tone in Heero's voice as he spoke to Hilde
echoed in his mind. "He loves you.......... He won't use me
anymore...... "
Duo let out a growl. How could Heero think of him like that? Using his
body? Oh Heero...... Duo felt tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
Who ever thought Heero would think like that? What made Heero think
like that? Wasn't it clear Duo wanted him as his koi? Duo felt like he
was missing something, some reasons he wasn't aware of. Very important
reasons... //Heero no baka... you should've told me...//
<<Duo...>>
Duo jerked in surprised. <<Heero?>>
<<Duo...>>
<<Heero! Are you okay??>>
<<Duo...>>
Duo became worried. <<Heero! What happened? Answer me!!>>
<<Duo... Duo...>>
<<Heero!!! Snap out of it! I'm here! Can't you hear me??>>
<<Duo.....Duo...>>
Duo was really worried. Heero never answered him, instead all he could
hear was his name being said over and over by the stoic boy. What had
happened to Heero? Suddenly Duo was snapped from his thoughts as the
building quaked. He became aware of his surroundings and noticed he
was in a basement. The men were dragging him to the pond at the corner
of the room when a soldier burst in.
"My Lord!"
"What happened?" Tsubarov bellowed.
" Someone followed Otto back here and is making chaos in the main room
of the castle, my Lord." The soldier reported. "He is too strong for
us! Even Otto can't handle him."
"Tell my ten special bodyguards to take care of him. They are stronger
than Otto." Tsubarov barked. "I want that man dead!!! How dare he
disturb this ceremony."
The soldier trembled, "My Lord..... I have informed them of the
intruder.... And they are losing right now..."
"What?" Tsubarov shouted in disbelief. "There's no way a normal man
can defeat my special bodyguards! They have received Power from
Aquarius!!" Another quake erupted and Duo could see the ceiling begin
to crack.
"Forgive me, My Lord. But the intruder is anything but normal. He has
silver hair, cat eyes, and his body is covered with scales." The
soldier trembled violently. "He is a monster!"
Duo widened his eyes as he recognized the description. Monster? Heero!
Heero had changed?? What happened to him? Duo tried to struggle but
the soldiers held his arm tightly.
"Lady Une, what should I do??" Tsubarov turned to Une who was staring
into the pond. The water in the pond swirled and erupted, spiraling
then calming down.
"Don't worry My Lord." Une turned to Tsubarov. "Aquarius said he would
lend his Power to your special bodyguards to defeat the intruder. He
wants the man killed for disturbing his ceremony."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Up in the main room of the castle, Heero was facing eleven men. The
rest of the soldiers had been knocked out by his Power when he broke
in through the door. The eleven men who survived the initial attacks
of his Power were Otto and Tsubarov's ten special guards.
"Kill him!" Otto shrieked in fear from behind the guards.
"He is not human..." One of the guards muttered, looking at Heero's
figure.
"Monster..." The other guard shook visibly.
Heero growled loudly at the men. How dare they blocked his way to Duo.
"Hey, I feel my Power increase!!" Another guard shouted.
"Yes, me too!!!"
"Lord Tsubarov must have sacrificed the boy!"
The guards shouted in joy while their words settled in Heero's mind.
Duo had been sacrificed? Heero didn't want to believe it. He growled
louder as the guards attacked him with renewed Power. Like Otto, every
guard had special weapons and they used it to attack Heero. Heero
looked at the guards while evading their attacks. They were the ones
who had separated him from Duo. Duo who had hugged him... kissed
him... cared for him....
"Duo..." Heero muttered and stood still. With this opening, one of the
guards managed to restrain Heero with his special whip.
"I got him! Attack him now!" the guard shouted.
As the other guards charged toward him, Heero looked up and glared at
them. "OMAERA O KOROSU!" As he yelled, a crack appeared on his
forehead. His Power was unleashed in all directions, hitting every
guard and sending them to collide with the wall. The wind erupted
around Heero and spread havoc like a hurricane, throwing the guards
around. Unable to withstand the force of Heero's power any longer,
parts of the castle started to crumple down.
//Duo!// Heero jumped forward, evading the debris and leaving Otto
and the guards buried under the ruined building. A horn had appeared
on his forehead and his skin started becoming darker. //Duo!! //
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"My Lord! Your guards have been defeated. The intruder is heading
towards us now." Another soldier reported to Tsubarov, making him
pale. But before he could say something, an angry roar was heard from
the pond.
Duo watched with wide eyes as the water erupted once more, left the
pond, and headed towards the door.
"Aquarius will take care of the intruder." As Une told Tsubarov this,
Duo realized the water in the pond was not like any normal water. The
water itself was Aquarius. A water monster!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
//Duo....// He was all Heero could think about as he ran aimlessly
from one room to another, searching for him. Suddenly his path was
blocked by a wall of water. Heero growled and fell into a fighting
position. Enemy..... All who stopped him from finding Duo was his
enemy...
<<Heero! Answer me!>> Duo tried to contact Heero but instead of
getting an answer, Duo felt sadness, grief, and anger attack him.
Heero's feelings.... <<HEERO!!>>
Heero jumped, trying to break through the transparent wall, but it
pushed him backward.
"The boy is mine." If Heero was surprised when the wall spoke, he
didn't show it. He gathered his Power and unleashed an energy ball,
scattering the wall. "Kuso, I won't give him back." The water
regrouped and changed shape, making a pointed edge like a cone.
"You'll die!" The water attacked Heero, aiming its pointed edge to
Heero's chest.
//Korosu....// Heero growled and unleashed another energy ball, but
the water evaded it and struck Heero's chest, sending the boy slam
against the wall. "I'll make a hole in your body." The water suddenly
twirled its cone shaped edge, making a drilling motion on Heero's
chest. But too its surprised, it couldn't break the boy's skin. "What
the..."
"Korosu!" Heero roared and jerked up, unleashing his full Power to all
directions. Everyone who prevented him from finding Duo would be
killed!
"NO! Impossible!" Heero's Power destroyed the water monster's form,
leaving puddles of water everywhere. "NOOOOOOO" The monster's voice
faded as Heero's Power swept the water away, scattering it into
tiniest droplets.
//Korosu!// Heero panted and dropped onto his hands and knees.
//Korosu!!// The scales, covering all over his body, turned into dark
blue. His boots were torn, revealing the talons, which once were his
feet. His face had turned dark blue and his eyes had changed into
pools of water. //KOROSU!!// Heero didn't realize he was unleashing
his Power in all directions while he changed. The castle could not
withstand the forces battering its walls anymore and started
crumbling.
In the basement, Tsubarov and the soldiers began to panic. The
soldiers were too preoccupied in evading the crumbling ceiling that
they loosened their holds on the braided boy. Duo saw the chance and
wrenched his arms free from them. Not wasting his time, Duo ran as
fast as he could, heading towards the door, following and using his
feelings to find Heero. He didn't care about the crumbling ceiling
though he knew how dangerous it was. All he wanted at that moment was
to find Heero and comfort the boy.
"The boy! After him!" Tsubarov bellowed in anger.
"But my Lord..... the area he headed towards is very dangerous. We
don't know when the roof will fall down. It will be suicide to go
there!" The soldiers answered.
Another part of the roof landed next to Tsubarov. "My castle!! Lady
Une! What should we do?"
Une ignored him. She looked up and trembled, "This strong Power.....
it couldn't be....." The prophetess suddenly jerked up and ran to the
same direction as Duo.
On the upper floor, Heero gasped and panted. "Ah.... Uh..." He felt
more Power flooding inside his body and it seemed to rip him apart.
"AAAHHHHHH" Suddenly Heero shrieked in pain and arched his back. As he
unleashed another waves of Power around him, a pair of giant bat wings
emerged from his back, ripping his tank top.
"The roof... run!!! AHHHHHHHH" The basement finally collapsed, burying
Tsubarov and his soldiers, who were too scared to move.
Duo had arrived onto the upper floor when the basement collapsed. He
looked up and saw the ceiling will fall down at any second. The
braided boy ran as fast as his feet could take him to the nearest
exit.
//Duo...// Heero was still kneeling and panting heavily. //It
hurts........// A part of the ceiling fell onto him, but it had no
effect on his now monster form. //.... Duo..... // Heero arched his
back and shouted in grief, flapping his wings and unleashing another
wave of Power.
"Hey, look!" Wufei shouted to his friends and pointed to the castle,
which was collapsing. After being silent for some moments, they all
had decided to save Duo and set Heero's strange features aside. It was
not too hard to find out where the men had taken Duo to since Otto had
shouted Tsubarov's name. They all knew him as the ruler of the
strongest city in OZ, which happened to be located near their safe
house.
Now that they arrived at the castle, all they could do was watch in
disbelief as the castle collapsed before their eyes. For a moment, all
they could hear was the sound of the castle collapsing and then they
were forced to close their eyes as the dust erupted heavily from the
ruined castle.
After the dust subsided, Wufei opened his eyes, only to gasp in
surprise and horror. His friends who had opened their eyes also had
the same reaction as him. All of them watched in horror at the black
creature kneeling on its fours in the middle of the ruin.. It was a
horned monster with giant bat wings and silver hair.
The creature slowly raised his bowed head and looked at them, pinning
them with his bright aqua eyes. Sally, Hilde, Relena, and Noin took a
step backward as the creature unfolded its giant wings, which were
twice its body's height.
Heero opened his light blue eyes; he had passed out when the pain had
reached its peak. He shook his head, trying to shake away the images
in his dream, and realized he was not alone. Heero looked up in alarm
and saw some people watching him, but he felt no threat from them.
//Not enemy....// He turned his head and saw Duo lying on the ground.
It seemed the braided boy had managed to get out of the castle in
time.
//Duo...// Heero crawled to the unconscious boy. Duo was still alive.
His Duo.... His beloved.... He was alive....
"I won't give him to you." A growl was heard from beneath Heero and
suddenly he was engulfed by a giant sphere of water. It appeared
Aquarius had managed to regroup his parts and was now trying to drown
Heero.
Heero growled and struggled, but the water enveloped him still.
Through the water, he could see some familiar persons pulling Duo
away, far from him. //Duo!!// Heero roared and used his fire Power.
"AHHHHH" Aquarius shouted in panic. The monster felt its body boiling
and starting to evaporate. "Noo.......stop it!!"
But Heero didn't stop. He gritted his teeth and spread his wings,
increasing and transferring the heat to the water around him.
"NOOOOOOOoo....." Aquarius turned into steam and disappeared, never to
be seen again.
Heero folded his wings back and heard voices around him. He looked at
the voices' direction and saw Duo sitting up. "Du...o..." He crawled
toward the boy, not noticing the alarm looks on the faces of the
people around the braided boy. All he wanted was to hold Duo and to be
held by the braided boy. Duo was his home.... Duo was his everything.
"Du..o.." He extended his arm, wanting to reach the boy. But before
he managed to touch the boy, his extended arm was slashed by a sword.
Heero cried out, rather in surprise than pain. Reflexively, he pulled
his arm back and stopped in his track. His light aqua eyes looked at
the girl standing between him and Duo.
Duo's girl...... Duo loved her.... Duo didn' t love him..... The words
echoed in his hazed mind. Heero looked at his hands, which had turned
into talons. He was a monster. No one would love a monster ......
Heero whimpered. He loved Duo, but Duo loved someone else... No matter
how much he loved the boy, a monster would not have any chance to be
loved.....
~*~*~*~*~*~
Children's laughter made Duo open his eyes, just to see the darkness.
Dream again... He stood up and looked around, finding a group of
children playing happily. Not far from the children, Duo saw a
four-year-old Heero looking at the children longingly.
The small Heero approached the children slowly. His expression told
Duo that he also wanted to play with them. But before Heero managed to
get near them, some adults came and grabbed their respective children.
They looked at the small Heero in fear. The small boy whimpered and
stepped backward into the darkness.
"Heero!" Duo chased the small ,boy but he found himself falling into
the darkness... into endless bottom... "HEEROOOO!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Duo, are you okay??"
Hilde's voice. Duo groaned and opened his eyes to see blue sky.
Someone was helping him to sit. Duo touched his head, trying to clear
his his mind from the fog that resulted from his jump out of the
window to evade the collapsing castle. However, a cry of pain snapped
him from his hazy condition. He looked up and saw a midnight blue
monster holding its injured arm. //Heero!!// But before he managed to
react, his vision was blocked by Hilde, who stood between him and
Heero.
"Hilde!!" Duo shouted in surprise. He stood up and saw Heero
whimpering and starting to retreat. An image of a whimpering small
Heero flashed before him. Heero would disappear! "NO!!" Duo jumped
forward, but was quickly restrained by Wufei and blocked by Hilde.
"Duo, stop! That monster is dangerous!" Hilde tried to push Duo back
while Trowa and Quatre stepped forward, holding their swords before
the said monster.
Duo let out an angry howl as he saw Heero retreating further back. He
grabbed Hilde's blocking hands and shoved her aside. "Monster?? You
fool! It's Heero!"
"What?" Wufei and the others were stunned. Not wasting his chance, Duo
leapt forward and chased after Heero.
"Heero! Stop!" Duo cried out in fear as he saw Heero didn't stop.
"Heero! Don't leave me!!"
Heero stopped in his track. Don't leave me? Duo didn't want him to
leave him? The crawling boy looked up at Duo, who approached him and
knelt in front of him. Heero gasped in surprise when Duo hoisted him
up and hugged him tightly. "Heero...... don't you ever leave me......"
"Du..o.." Heero felt warmth enveloping him and rested his head on
Duo's shoulder. Home.. he was home..... No matter what had happened,
Duo still wanted him.... Still wanted to be with him..... Duo was his
home... his life....
Wufei and the others gasped as they saw the dark blue creature in
Duo's arms transform. The wings disappeared and the once blue skin
turned to peach again. Long gone the talons, long silver hair, sharp
fangs, and horn. Now all they could see was a normal boy with messy
brown hair. The boy they knew as Heero Yuy.
From behind the tree not far from the ruins, Une watched what
happened. The prophetess trembled and stood shakily. "It's him....
Perfect Soldier..... and that braided boy must be Shinigami..... I
have to tell Lord Treize." The woman then silently left the place,
heading towards the capital of OZ.
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