Notes: My big thank you goes to my wonderful beta - Lucid Nightmare.
Due South Part 13
"But, Heero..." Duo protested as his mate pushed him into Treize and Mil's cabin. They still looked rather disheveled, as Trowa had abruptly entered their room and found them in a more than intimate position.
Milliardo, who had been until now pacing the cabin nervously, turned to them. "What's going on?" he asked, stepping closer to them.
Heero spared him a look before turning back to his distressed lover. "Pirates," he explained the problem at hand with one sharp word. Then he released Duo's shoulders and shoved the silver knives Trowa brought into his hands. "Here, take these. Just in case. And don't leave this cabin until I or someone else you know comes for you, understood?"
Duo frowned. "But, Heero..."
The former Enforcer sighed then took Duo's face in his hands. "Listen to me very carefully. You are not weak and you are no coward," he assured his mate but seeing Duo's doubtful look, he continued: "That's not why I'm leaving you here. In the last couple of days you learned a lot, but you are not good enough to face a horde of pirates. Be reasonable, love. I don't want to see you killed. If you were out there, I would be too worried about you to take care of myself. The danger you would face would distract me too much." Nothing like a little emotional blackmail, Heero thought.
Duo sighed and lowered his eyes, his shoulders slumping in misery.
"Thank you," Heero said softly and kissed his mate on the tip of his nose. The he released Duo and took a step back, looking down at Shinigami who was standing next to Duo, watching them curiously. "And you stay. Protect them." He turned around to head for the door when Mil's voice stopped him.
"Heero..." The blond man's tone was hesitant.
Heero forced a smile on his worried face. "I will do what I can to protect Treize," he promised. "If he could, he would have..."
Milliardo waved his hand. "I know that he has no time to comfort his mate right now. His place is on deck now, with his men. It's just..."
"He won't die," Heero assured him. "He is too arrogant to give the pirates the satisfaction of killing the First General." Not believing that he actually managed to crack a joke for the blond man's peace of mind, the Enforcer gifted Duo with a last glance, hastily stepped out the door and closed it firmly.
For a moment the Enforcer just stood in the narrow corridor with his forehead laid against the unyielding wood of the cabin's door. Hearing the bar being shoved in place, he pulled himself together and headed up on deck.
~*~
"They are going to ram us!" one of the sailors yelled in fear as the black shape of The Revenge changed its course slightly with the intention to push them off course too. "Their captain must be crazy!"
They were headed for a group of islands, intent on hiding in the safe shallow waters of the coral reef where the black ship with a deeper draft wouldn't be able to reach them. But the captain of the pirate ship obviously guessed what they were trying to accomplish.
The ships were now mere yards apart. It was obvious that if the Peacemillion wouldn't change its course, the ships really would crash together. The ship's captain pushed the man at the wheel aside, taking the rudder in his own hands. He tore the helm sharply to the right, the wheel spinning wildly, the Peacemillion taking a sharp turn off course. Thanks to the fast response of the captain, The Revenge didn't ram them directly, but instead it hit them with its side. Both ships groaned and shook, bobbing on the waves as they scraped against each other.
The sailors on the Peacemillion regained their balance quickly but still didn't manage to stop the pirates from hooking the ships together tightly. Before the King's men could gather their wits, the black-clad pirates jumped with loud yells of triumph and unsheathed weapons on board.
The fight promised to be a violent one.
~*~
Rufus stabbed one of the pirates in the gut and hit another in the jaw with a balled fist, sending him flying over the railing and into the sea. Then he quickly risked a glance around. Treize was engaged in a sword fight on his right, while Heero's knives were flashing in the sunlight on his left. Somewhere above him Trowa was fighting with another two black-clad men on the stern. From what Rufus could hear, he was holding his own pretty well for a healer.
The pirates were still streaming onto the deck of the Peacemillion and it was obvious that they had an advantage in numbers. The Emperor's men had better training and the personal guard of the Count of Khushrenada belonged to the best fighters in the Empire, but that still wouldn't help them much when it was five to one and they were in the middle of the sea, hooked to the fastest ship in all the oceans.
Another group of pirates tried to slip around him and enter below, but Rufus promised Treize he would guard the door as best as he could. His sword at the ready, he threw himself on them with the intention of stopping them but cried out in surprise when he felt a burning pain in the back of his thigh. Snapping around he blinked in surprise, seeing the sneaky bastard that attacked him from behind.
There, by the railing, a young boy of fifteen or sixteen years stood. He was of middle height and lean stature, holding the sword with expert grace. There was a determined look on his handsome face.
"Not fighting fair, huh, boy?" Rufus snapped at him, raising his sword.
The boy sneered. "As my Bearer says: 'Everything is fair when fighting against your enemy.'" With that the boy threw himself at Rufus.
The big captain frowned as the young attacker forced him to retreat a couple of steps, the hard blows raining down on him in a hard stream. Something in the boy's fighting skills tickled his memory but he wasn't sure what.
Rufus took another step back, leaving himself purposely open to lure the boy to attack. And as he did, the captain raised his fist and hit him directly in the jaw. The boy cried out in pain, flying backwards. He hit the deck with a loud thump that left him breathless, his sword flying out of his hand. Rufus quickly stepped toward him, caught him by the front of his black shirt and raised him off the floor. Then he pushed him against the wall next to the steps leading up onto the stern and lifted his feet from the ground. The boy blinked at him dazedly for a second, then started to kick his legs, trying to get free but with no avail.
But as the boy was struggling fiercely, his face drawn in anger, his black shirt ripped at his neck and a shining silver necklace with beautiful elaborate pendant in the shape of a leaf slipped out. Rufus lowered his eyes to the object that was shining brightly in the afternoon sun.
At the first glimpse of the pendant he gasped, his face growing pale. Heedless of the fierce fighting that surrounded them, he betrayed his own training and dropped the sword. He then raised the now free but shaking hand to the pendant and took it in the fingers that felt cold and numb.
"Let it go!" the boy screamed, trashing wildly and trying to push the taller man's hands away, but Rufus simply pushed him against the wooden wall roughly, banging the boy's head and dazing him again.
"Where did you get this from?" he rasped, fingers caressing the gentle pattern of the leaf.
The boy blinked a couple of times, then sneered. "Not your business!" he spat out.
Rufus' face reddened in rage. He released the boy's shirt, letting him touch the ground with his feet, then clamped his hand around the other's neck tightly, cutting his air supply. "You will tell me where you got it from," he hissed hatefully, "or I swear I will break your neck!"
~*~
Although Duo tried to put on a brave facade for Heero, he was scared to death. His heart was thumping in his throat and his palms were sweaty. He was desperately gripping the silver knives Heero gave him, trying to calm down his ragged breathing. He could hear the shouts from above, the fighting. Never before had he been so close to a real fight. He feared for his mate and their friends and wished it was all over already.
When Mil put a hand on his shoulder, Duo jumped. "Milliardo!"
The blond man smiled. "Don't worry. I'm scared too," he admitted and for the first time Duo noticed the paleness of Mil's skin. "I don't like wars or fighting, even though I'm good with a sword." There was no pride or arrogance in his voice. He was simply stating the facts. No wonder, from what Duo heard the blond man was the only one who managed to beat the Count in a sword fight.
Suddenly Duo frowned, remembering. "Your eyes... Can you see well enough to fight?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes." Milliardo unsheathed his sword and swung it a couple of times to get a better feel of it. "Actually, I wanted to tell Treize tonight, to celebrate it with him. He already knows that my eyes are better, I couldn't keep it from him - he is too observant for that - but I wanted to surprise him with the news that I'm as good as new again. Well, obviously, we will have to postpone the celebration."
Somewhere on the ship a door crashed open, then the sound of many feet running down the ladder from the deck reached their ears. Shinigami jumped to his feet, a rumble rising from his chest.
Mil raised his sword. "They got in," he said softly, throwing a look over his shoulder to where Zechs lay bundled up in a nest of blankets on the bunk, relatively safe and out of harms way. For now.
Duo didn't need to ask what he meant. He gripped his knives tightly and when the first blow hit the door of their cabin and the wood shook and groaned under the pressure, he was ready. Or so he thought...
~*~
Rufus squeezed the lad's throat with one hand, in the other he held the pendant reverently. The moment his eyes fell on the object, he recognized it and painful memories, buried deep under the surface returned.
He remembered the day he bought it at the jewelry shop at the market... he remembered Nariem's face when he asked the beautiful Southerner to bond with him... and he remembered how it shone on his mate's neck while they made love in the temple of Nataku...
This was Nariem's bonding necklace... and even if he had to squeeze the life out of the youngster, he would get the boy to tell him where Nariem was.
"Tell me!" Rufus growled, smashing the boy against the wooden wall again, choking him.
The lad's face turned red as he desperately tried to pull air into his starving lungs. When Rufus finally eased the pressure a little, the boy gasped: "My... my Bearer gave it to me," he stammered, tearing at his captor's muscled arms.
Rufus looked shocked for a moment. "Your... Bearer?" he whispered. Could it be that this boy...? "Who? Who is your Bearer? Tell me his name!"
But before the lad could answer, the sound of a horn, sharp and loud, echoed from the pirate ship. And again. And for the third time.
Suddenly, something heavy hit Rufus in the head from behind. His head snapped backwards and a small cry rang from his lips. A sharp pain blossomed in his head and as his knees gave out, the silver chain that held the pendant he was gripping so tightly snapped. The tall soldier tumbled to the ground, releasing the boy, but still holding the silver piece in his fist.
The dark-haired boy coughed, his knees buckling as he landed on his feet again. From the corner of his eye Rufus noticed a tanned muscled arm that sneaked around the lad's shoulders, lifting him up and pulling him towards the black ship.
"Come on!" shouted the other pirate, as Rufus caught a glimpse of sun bleached blond hair.
"But Bearer's necklace!" protested the young man, fighting his rescuer.
But the other man didn't let him go. "Forget the necklace, Darius! The King's fleet! They must've been hiding among the islands! If they catch us here, we are dead!" With that the pirate pushed aside one of Treize's soldiers, then threw the fighting boy over his shoulder and disappeared in the mass of fighting bodies.
Rufus groaned and tried to scramble to his feet, but the world swam in front of his eyes. Darius... his Sire's name... Could this boy... be his own son? Then everything went black.
~*~
The ships groaned and buckled as the pirates cut the Peacemillion loose from The Revenge, some of the men losing their footing on the wet wood. The pirates scrambled onto their ship, the last ones jumping over a gap between the ships that was growing larger by the second as The Revenge caught wind in its sails.
It was obvious what they were running from. From behind the islands, groups of mighty ships appeared, all of them carrying the Emperor's flag on the mast. The fleet must have been lying at anchor in the protected bays and when they noticed the two ships fighting, they came to the Peace million's rescue.
"Stop, you fools!" shouted the captain of the Peacemillion when some of the sailors started to climb on the railing, showing every intent to jump on the deck of the quickly departing ship. "What do you think will happen to your sore hides when you get there and The Revenge escapes?! By Shinigami, be reasonable!"
The sailors and soldiers stopped, growling in helpless anger, but knowing that the captain was right.
Reassuring themselves that the pirates were really gone and that the Emperor's fleet was closing fast on the Peacemillion, Treize and Heero both turned and ran for the door leading under the deck. Their only concern now lay with their mates.
Treize was the first one to arrive at the broken door. His sword in hand, he stepped into the cabin and surveyed the dead bodies lying on the floor. Then he raised his eyes and met those of his lover's. Milliardo stood armed by the bunk, protecting their son. He was pale and breathing hard, droplets of sweat running down his face. Realizing it was Treize standing in the doorway, he relaxed, his sword arm sinking to his side.
"You can see..." Treize said softly, amazed, as he stepped closer, sheathing his sword. Then he engulfed Milliardo in a tight hug, almost crushing him in his arms.
The thumping of feet in the narrow corridor announced another man. A second later Heero burst into the room, his wild eyes taking in the damaged cabin, searching for his mate. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the braided young man standing by the window. The lifebearer was ghostly pale, his hands that were still gripping the silver knives tightly were now covered in blood, the red fluid dripping from the pointed blades to the pools on the floor. Duo was trembling visibly, breathing ragged. His eyes were wide open, a hollow, shell-shocked look in them.
"Duo?" Heero called his mate's name quietly, not wanting to startle him, as he started to inch closer, patting the heavily breathing Shinigami on the head as he passed by. He could feel the tension radiating from the tightly coiled body of his lover.
The long-haired young man lifted his head slowly, his eyes locking with Heero's. But no hint of recognition appeared in them. It was as if Duo wasn't really there.
"Duo, love?" the Enforcer called again as he laid his blade on the table he was passing, then reached for his mate. Slowly, carefully, he took Duo's hands in his and released his lover's grip on the sharp blades, then laid them next to his blood smeared sword.
While the other two occupants of the room watched and Shinigami whined softly, unhappily, Duo lowered his eyes to where their hands linked together. The moment Heero removed the weapons, the tension left Duo's body and his legs started to fold under him. Heero caught him quickly in his arms and sank to the floor with him.
"I killed them, Heero," Duo whispered brokenly. "I did as you showed me and killed them. Oh gods, Heero..."
The Enforcer raised his hand and laid it on Duo's hair, then pressed his mate's head to his own shoulder, engulfing him in a hug. "Shh, it's okay. Not your fault. Shh... Not your fault... Shh..."
And while Heero whispered kind, calming words to his mate, Duo started to shake hard, the shock setting in and the cabin was filled with harsh, broken cries...
TBC...
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