Beyond All Doubt Part 12
The air was cut as an arrow soared out, flying just over their heads and embedding itself in one of the trees behind them. Instantly alert, the pair quickly swam back to the shore, looking about to see any signs of the archer. Finding that all was still, Duo walked over to the arrow where it stuck out from the thick tree trunk.
Removing the rolled letter attached to the arrow shaft, he unrolled the paper and read quietly. Heero approached with a concerned, "Duo?"
His violet eyes narrowing, Duo growled deeply, "It's Zechs. He wants to meet with me." Looking up to the boy's eyes, he announced quietly, "Alone."
"When?" Heero asked quietly, his cobalt eyes widened.
In a curt voice, his love answered simply, "This afternoon." Walking over to his clothes waiting by the lake's edge, he opened his wings. They fanned back and forth, drying their bodies quickly. Once all of the water was off of him, he retracted his wings and threw his loose, deep purple shirt over his chest and stated, "I have to head out now."
Frowning in concern, the boy walked up to him and protested, "I don't like the thought of you going after him alone. Besides, you're unarmed." When the fey turned to meet his gaze, he said softly, "I want to go with you."
Matching the same concern that he found in those eyes before him with his own, Duo shook his head and replied, "Zechs is one who expects his orders followed. I don't even want to think of what would happen to you if he saw you with me."
Heero quickly took up his own clothing, putting on his deep green shirt on as he sighed deeply. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed at last. Looking to his partner, he assured him, "I won't follow you, even if I don't like this." He bit his lip before asking, "But you will be careful?"
Duo smiled sadly at him as he nodded. Leaning in, he gently brushed his lips against Heero's in a soft kiss before speaking faintly, "I swear I'll be careful." He pulled back enough to look into his eyes again as he grinned, "I'll be back by dawn. You'll hardly know I'm away to really miss me."
Stepping close again, he pulled his love tightly against him in a firm embrace. With his lips next to the boy's ear, he whispered, "Thank you. Your safety means far more to me than my own."
The Japanese youth hugged him back just as tightly before forcing himself to pull away. "You will come back," he stated more than asked. "You'll be back by first light."
With a firm nod, Duo answered, "By first light, on my word." Forcing a smile on his face again, he began climbing the tall tree behind him as he told the boy, "Start heading back to the camp. I'll watch from up here to make sure you get back in safely before I leave."
At that, Heero nodded and quickly began making his way back to the encampment. As promised, Duo watched from the tall limb of the tree that he climbed, sighing softly in relief when he saw Heero enter the open field. "I'll see you soon, love," he whispered into the air before turning to look up to the sky. With his wings expanding, he took to the air.
Gazing up to the sky in the direction of the lake, Heero watched with a heavy heart as the fey flew high into the air, flying off quickly. He watched even as the creature disappeared from his sight as he said quietly, "Take care, Duo."
* * * * * *
In the largest of the infirmary tents, Sally sighed deeply as she closed the dead eyes of the young man she had been looking over, making him as comfortable as possible by the time death finally claimed him. His case was one of the worst. The injuries were just bad enough to be beyond the help of any aid, yet not so terrible that they would allow him to die quickly. The healer stayed with him late into the night before he fell asleep at last before she went to look over the other cases.
When morning came and he woke, the soldier was in a great deal of pain. Sally stayed beside him, knowing that he needed a hand to hold and someone to talk to quietly. In the end, he finally went with a quiet sigh in his last breath. The tight hold from his hand went limp as she released it gently, resting it over his chest.
As out of character as it was for her, tears filled her tired eyes. It had been a long twenty-four hours since the start of the attack the morning before. Wiping the stray trails of moisture on her cheeks, she blamed the lack of sleep and fatigue in her overworked body.
It wasn't the fact that she sat by too many of these young men, watching the light in their eyes fade. It wasn't all the voices of those injured that would have to go on without an arm or leg pleading for her to kill them rather than deal with the pain that would eventually pass for them to live. It wasn't the fact that this fallen boy was only seventeen. God... only seventeen.
Shaking her head to vanish those thoughts from her for the countless time that morning, Sally rose onto unsteady legs before straightening herself. Taking a deep breath, she willed the tears from her eyes until they subsided. With a small sniffle, she wiped at her nose with her handkerchief before deeming herself ready to step from the small, closed off room.
As she walked down one of the many lines of small rooms closed off by curtains, Sally spotted one of the other healers washing some of the blood-covered cloths in a large basin as the water in it quickly became red. With a sad smile, Sally placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder as she said gently, "Catherine, get some sleep. You've been going non-stop as long as I have. The next staff coming in will cover us until tomorrow morning."
The teenager looked up at her, brushing back some of her curly red hair as she forced a smile. "I can make it a little longer," she said as cheerfully as she could, considering. "After this, I just have a couple soldiers I want to check on before I leave."
Sally nodded and replied, "All right, but be sure to get some sleep after that. You're one of our most reliable healers here so make sure you take care of yourself as much as these soldiers." She stifled a yawn. At the mock glare from her fellow healer, she chuckled deeply, "Yes, I know, I'm on my way to bed, too."
"I'll see you in the morning, then" Catherine smiled with a wave before returning to her task at hand. As Sally walked off, she picked up the next cloth that had once been white. Opening the cloth, she cringed at the large, deep blood stains that were splattered all over it.
Frowning deeply, she sighed to herself, "Maybe I'm already asleep and I'll wake from this nightmare soon." Her hands dunked the cloth into the reddening water.
For the first time in many hours, Sally stepped out into the fresh air outside. Not paying any mind to the blood on the front of her white blouse, she closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath. Under the light of the sun, the circles under her eyes darkened all the more. As she turned to make her way to her open tent, she froze in her steps when she noticed Wufei walking up swiftly with concern on his face.
Steeling himself from asking how the young woman was fairing, the Captain asked her, "How is MacDonald?"
With a deep frown at the memory of the soldiers gruesome end early that morning, she replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Dead... Same as over a hundred others from our camp."
Under his breath, Wufei swore harshly while the braided healer rubber her eyes. "MacDonald was the only General in the North flank of the encampment."
Biting her lip in hesitation, Sally stated quietly, "We lost General Dobson from the south flank, as well." She looked up to meet his eyes with a grim look on her own face as she commented, "Hope is fading quickly around here."
The Captain's eyes narrowed at that and he shook his head, "No, we must not let that happen. Not when so many people are counting on us." Stepping closely to her, he said sternly, "Wipe that frown off your face."
Something finally snapped in her at that moment. All the frustration and exhaustion imploded with the loss that she felt at the sight of the dead and injured under her care. Glaring fiercely at her once mate, she snapped, "You forget that I am not one of your men to order. You have no idea what I've seen these last twenty-four hours."
Quickly, the sternness in Wufei's eyes and on his face dissipated, replaced by surprise and concern combined. Sally continued, "You don't know the numbers of young men and boys I had to lie to, telling them they would be all right, knowing fully well that there was no way of saving them."
Raising his hands slightly, the Captain frowned and sighed deeply in defeat, "Sally... I know what you've seen. But you-" he shook his head and tried again, in an even gentler voice "-we cannot allow everyone else to see that. I am not ordering you to but on a brave face, I am asking you... please."
Mentally cursing herself for falling out of her character as the brave one, Sally bit her lip as the dam suddenly threatened to break. Tears filled her eyes and she lowered her head, whimpering, "God, I'm trying, Wufei... I am doing the best I can... It's just..."
Wufei slowly gathered her into his arms and at once, he wondered why he allowed this to slip through his fingers as she leaned into the embrace. Hugging her tightly, he whispered, "I know. I know." Carefully, he eased them to sit on the ground, still in their embrace, to allow her to rest a moment.
Finally, Sally raised her head again, wiping the tears from her eyes as she managed to calm herself. "Are you all right?" When she nodded, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief before he began looking about again. "I can't stay here long," he told her with what almost sounded like regret in his voice. "I have to report back to the North and South flanks to announce the new Generals there."
Pulling himself up into a crouch beside the braided healer, he asked, "Is there anything that I can do to help before I go?"
Never having known Wufei to be one to show open concern the way he was in this moment, Sally blinked up at him in surprise. "Actually, you already did." A slight blush colored her cheeks as she smiled, "Thank you."
At that, even Wufei gave a small smile. Rising to his feet, he folded his arms and spoke in a mock-authoritarian voice, "Well then, Po, be sure to get some rest. I hope that I don't see you out of your tent anytime soon."
Chuckling deeply, Sally gave a firm nod and replied, "Captain." With a quick wink at her, he turned and walked off quickly. As she watched him, Sally smiled to herself before standing on her own feet.
The wind picked up in a gusty breeze for a moment and she looked up. In the far distance, there was a stretch of dark clouds slowly painting over the tapestry of the sky. With a small frown of concern, Sally said to herself, "Storm's coming in."
* * * * * *
After flying for several miles and the remainder of the morning, Duo finally located the clearing described to him in the letter that Zechs sent him. His eyes narrowing slightly, he found the tall fey leaning up against a tall tree near one of the edges of the field. Zechs was watching the opposite tree line as he waited when his gazed looked up to find the Blade. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as Duo descended.
Landing a few feet ahead of the blonde fey, Duo glared at him fiercely as he began, "I am surprised that you called to meet with me. But, I am certain that this is not to discuss any change of heart you may have had."
"Obviously not," Zechs replied with a slight frown directed at the younger creature. "If I had a change of heart, I would be back on our side of the fence."
Folding his arms, the Blade asked, "Then what is this about? I don't wish to stand here if you only intend to waste my time."
The last light of the sun overhead disappeared behind the thick cover of clouds that was now moving quickly to blanket over the sky. Neither fey affected by the threatening look in those clouds, Zechs inquired, "And what would it take for you to allow me to stay here?"
Duo's eyes narrowed all the more and he answered in a deep growl, "You know as well as I do the dangers of our being here. There is no sense in arguing over that any further. The Boundary exists for a reason."
Zechs snorted back, "One fey crossing over could not possibly make that great of a difference." Raising an eyebrow, he smirked, "And aren't you making the situation worse by also crossing over to find me? Didn't you, in effect, make the hole larger? And if you knew that I was not returning, why did you not have the hole sealed after I left?"
His violet eyes refusing to move from his target, the Blade retorted, "A hole the size of a pinpoint would be enough to endanger our world. What you left behind was considerably larger than that. We have no magic to repair such damage once it is done. Only the Boundary can heal itself. It won't be able to do that until we return where we belong."
With a frustrated sigh, Duo rand a hand through his long bangs and shook his head, snapping, "Zechs, you really can be a fool sometimes. Your own selfishness has cause a ripple that may or may not be able to be undone." His eyes glaring anew in determination, he stated firmly, "If I have to take you back by force, I'll do so."
At that, he began to approach the reason he was thrown into the human world. With an amused smirk back on his face, Zechs asked suddenly, "And what of him? Your little human pet? I'm sure he would be hurt."
Gasping sharply with wide eyes, Duo froze in his tracks, stiffening straight. His skin paled greatly as he stared in fear and shock at the blonde fey. Breaking from his state, his glare became deadly as he growled deeply, "You stay the hell away from him."
Zechs only chuckled deeply in response. Without warning, Duo lunged forward, narrowing the gap between then in the blink of an eye, grasping onto the tall fey's neck tightly as he shouted in rage, "You hear me!? You leave him alone!?"
Caught completely off guard by the sudden attack and outburst, Zechs gasped for air for a moment before gathering his bearings rather quickly. Shoving Duo off of him after freeing his neck, he rubbed the reddened skin and glared dangerously at him. "As if I need to do anything," he responded. "I take it that you have told him what you are? Certainly he knows you have wings, but does he know what the Blade is? You know you'll hurt the little pet more than I ever could."
Duo hissed, "Yes, Zechs, he knows what I am. We don't have any secrets between us. He is aware that I will not be able to stay here, and that my duty comes above all else, even my feelings."
Rubbing his chin in thought, the blonde fey sneered, "I wonder. And yet you still allow him to follow you around like some puppy... Humans get attached. You're going to hurt him in the end."
No matter how hard he tried, the braided soldier couldn't prevent the saddened frown on his face. "You're not telling me anything that I don't already know. It's been his choice to still want to be with me. I am incapable of denying him anything."
"And since there has never been a Blade to fall in love," Zechs continued, "how are you so certain that you will be able to see that your duty to Queen Dorothy and our world will remain your priority? Seems to me that you're already losing your senses by showing how determined you are to protect that boy and his friends."
Slowly, dark smirk returned on his face as he shrugged, "You really should think of switching sides if you want to win. Not only will I be staying here, but I will be partaking in all of the wealth and lands that I will help win with Treize's combined forces."
His anger renewed at that, Duo's eyes narrowed thinly as he shot, "The humans that I have become close to have been like a family to me. I do not have your greed or selfishness. I will not abandon them."
With a sharp, loud laugh, Zechs shouted, "Then you are losing your sense of duty as the Blade if you have forgotten your one and only mission that you were sent here to accomplish! I had a funny feeling that you would choose your confused emotions over your honor and responsibility when I saw you with that boy- I just wanted to see it for myself."
Quickly, he lunged forward, landing a swift punch into the gut of the smaller fey. Duo doubled over with a sharp intake of air. Panting heavily, he looked up with narrowed eyes as he hissed, "For any fey to strike the Blade is a sentence of death. You know that."
Glaring back at him, Zechs replied thinly, "I would rather die than return to our world. I know very well what I have done."
"Then live with the consequences," Duo snapped at his wings fanned out and he quickly rose to his feet.
The tall, blonde creature raised his right hand quickly at it glowed. From out of the sky, thick metal chains rained down, wrapping tightly around the lithe body of the unsuspecting Blade. Duo cried out in shock and pain as he was trapped within the confines of the chains, only making the hold tighter as he struggled as he was lifted off the ground. When he calmed himself enough to still his body that had been covered up to his neck, he glared down at his enemy and growled, "Zechs."
Shaking his head, the other fey grinned up at him with his hands on his hips and chuckled deeply, "This whole time, you could have taken me and forced me back to our world, yet all that you are concerned with is the human that you fell in love with and his friends. You have strayed from your role as the Queen's most trusted warrior."
Shell-shocked at the realization of truth in those words, Duo remained still within his confines, his eyes wide. "My God," was all he could manage to whisper. The whole time that he was discussing matters with Zechs, he really could have taken him. Had he never needed to deal with the foreign emotions that were coursing through him since meeting Heero and the others, he would have accomplished his mission and been back in his world, the successful warrior once again.
"The Queen's prized Blade, wrapped in chains," Zechs snickered, the amusement all the more present on his face as he walked towards his prisoner. "I could kill you now, if I really wanted. It would certainly same me a great deal of trouble."
Duo smirked wickedly, "You really think it so simple? You may have proven a point with your demonstration, Zechs, but that still does not change what I am."
He reached down to his chest once he slowly managed to free his arm. Finding the center of his chest, his hand gave off a golden glow and the shimmering hilt to the Blade appeared into his palm. Duo pulled back on the hilt as the long, lightning bold-shaped neck of the sword was removed from his chest.
When the tip of the magnificent weapon was retracted, the fey's violet eyes glowed brightly as they glared fiercely on Zechs. With ease, Duo sliced away the chains confining him with a couple strokes, the metal having begun to melt at the intense heat radiating from the Blade.
Landing on his feet, Duo continued to watch Zechs who did not seem to be disturbed at the fact that his prisoner escaped. Chuckling deeply, the tall creature took his time stepping back into the trees.
The deep, bleeding cuts left on him from the chains during his struggle within them went unnoticed by the Blade as he held the weapon forward, pointing it at his enemy. "You have sentenced yourself, Zechs," he spoke in a voice that echoed. "The next time we meet, it will be the last."
"For one of us, at least," Zechs smirked. His voice became low and quiet as he commented, "I won't die alone. I can guarantee you that."
The Blade's eyes widened as he gasped quietly. "What have you done?" his echoing voice asked quietly. Glaring dangerously at the other fey, he called, "Enjoy your last days in this world. We finish this later." His wings expanding, he quickly took to the air.
Looking to the sky to watch him leave as the first drops of rain began to fall, Zechs' smirk never faded as he said after him, "Only if you live that long." Stepping back once, he disappeared into the trees.
* * * * * *
Heero had been pacing in the tent that he and Duo shared late into the night. His concern had only grown with every passing hour that his partner was gone. The storm outside continued to brew with downpours joined by lightning and thunder.
The gusts of wind did little to stir any of the tents with how well they had been secured. Suddenly, as the wind picked up again, the front to the tent was abruptly thrown open. Running towards it, he managed to catch Duo as he fell forward, landing limply in his arms.
The drenched fey was covered in blood from deep wounds on his arms and across his chest. His eyes widening, Heero shouted, "Duo! No!" Quickly, yet as carefully as he could manage, he laid his love on their bed and brushed back the wet bangs. The panic in him only grew when Duo didn't respond, his eyes closed and his head falling back. "Hang on. I'm going to get Kumi," he soothed in a soft voice, surprised that he sounded as calm as he did.
After disappearing for a moment, the Japanese soldier returned with his sister, both very wet from even the short run they had to make. Heero went about lighting candles as the young woman walked quickly to the bed to examine her friend. Placing a hand on his forehead, Kumi asked quietly, "Duo, can you hear me?" He moaned and nodded without opening his eyes.
Heero placed some candles on the table beside his sister as he began cleaning a rag. Opening the large pouch that she carried in with her, Kumi looked through the many plants that she had collected during her journey to the encampment.
Finally spotting the pale blue flowers with its petals tipped in white, she removed them from the bag. Taking the three frail-looking flowers, she placed them in a large bowl and took a hand mixer to grind them.
Gently placing the wet rag over the fey's forehead, Heero carefully lifted him up, bringing another bowl to his mouth. "Here's some water," he told him in a low tone. Opening his eyes slightly, Duo gratefully drank from the bowl. After several large gulps, Heero breathed a sigh of relief before lowering his love back down again.
"I need more light," Kumi spoke up, both of her hands still full at their task. At that, Heero quickly moved the table with candles closer so that she could have a good look at the many cuts. Wincing slightly at the sight, she took a deep breath before saying gently, "Okay, Duo, get ready."
Duo bit his lip and closed his eyes again as he nodded, Heero walking over to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gathering the clear serum left from the flowers, Kumi went to smoothing the medicine onto the hot wounds.
There was a quiet hiss from the fey at the initial contact, but he relaxed as the gel began to work quickly in taking the pain away. Along with Heero wiping away the sweat and rain from his brow and his whispered reassurances, his body eased peacefully. Kumi continued to push against the wounds harder, making sure that the serum coated them.
When she covered all of the wounds, she brushed the wet, silver bangs from her face with the back of her hand as she asked, "Do you need more?"
Heero ran a hand through Duo's bangs to reveal his eyes as he shook his head and sat up a bit. Smiling warmly at the young woman, he answered, "A little bit of that Snow Tulip goes a long way. It helped; I don't feel anything now." He reached down to squeeze her shoulder with a quiet, sincere, "Thank you." The girl heaved a sigh of relief and grinned up at him, squeezing the hand on her shoulder.
Glaring down at the wounds on his chest, he explained, "When one fey is injured by another, the wounds take a bit longer to heal. Now that I am not in any pain, I'll be able to heal them faster."
"You scared me," Heero said in a near whisper as he watched the fey with a concerned frown. Duo blinked up at him, then gave a sweet smile and winks of reassurance.
Suddenly, his eyes widened with a sharp gasp as he sat up abruptly. "We have to get Trowa!" he all but shouted. "The army needs to be moved before sunrise! Zechs knows where the encampment is. He'll have this place swarming with Treize's men!"
Both Kumi and Heero looked wide-eyed to each other. They looked back to the injured soldier and with a deep frown, Kumi told him quietly, "Duo... Trowa is missing."
TBC...
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