Setting: Just after the AC-195 war. Possibly AU, but it’s worked in so it doesn’t warp the TV storyline.

Pairings: 3x4, 1+2, Kreigan+5, 13x6

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Violence, possible OOC? lemon, angst. No NCS - you’ll see why I had to point that out. Several OCs but they don’t necessarily play a big part.

Disclaimers: The only characters here that I own are any alter egos, Kazimiriel, Machiavel, Sarrow and Malvad and a few other characters that’ll pop up. Characters I don’t own include: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Zechs, Treize and any other good ones in fact.

Also, I would like to note that I am not Christian - anybody that wants to know why can pick one of two courses of action, either accept the fact that I’m a Mahayanist or email me and prepare for a very complex credo - and I’d like to add that this is just a story. If anything in it offends anyone, I apologize very sincerely.

Rough Peace - Part 12

“Ughnn… Heero? You alright?” Trowa croaked out as he reawaked in the cell. “Heero?” He sat up slowly and fought off the nausea rising in his throat and the stabbing pain in his face.

He got to his feet and looked around at his room before catching sight of the Wing Zero pilot across the hall in a separate cell.

“Hey Trowa,” Heero said bitterly. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Trowa replied, stepping up behind the bars and casting his gaze down the darkened hallway. He was a little unfamiliar with the idea of being locked in a prison cell in heaven. But Quatre had made it perfectly clear that this place *wasn’t* heaven. From what he’d seen of it so far, he could tell it was a brutal place to live. *Quatre must be even stronger than I thought* Trowa mused *He’s been through so much he hasn’t told me… hasn’t told anyone. Unless Duo knows something I don’t. I’m sure Quatre wouldn’t keep secrets from me like that. But it’s still unsettling that Duo was the first one he went to.*

Heero leant back casually against the wall and folded his arms. “I gotta say, I never imagined there’d be a place like this in Niravaana. Did you?”

Trowa shook his head. “Seems like this realm’s quite overrated,” he remarked, pushing his head up against the bars to see the end of the corridor.

“Don’t bother,” Heero said offhandedly. “I managed to get out of my cell a few hours ago. Apparently, there’s only an end to the hallway if one of those so-called angels is around to guard it. I walked for about an hour and the passage just kept going. Past a certain point it’s just an illusion but it’s so well done that it’s impossible to tell.”

Trowa looked at the subtly perturbed expression on the Wing pilot’s face and mirrored his concern. “You’re worried about him.”

Heero simply stared at the floor. The anxiety he was feeling was completely foreign to him. Whenever he’d been on Preventer missions, he’d always been with Duo except for a few times when he’d been on solitary missions. But on those occasions Duo had been safe at home and he’d had nothing to worry about.

Now, Duo was alone in an alien world and there was no way he could stop him from being hurt. Anything could be happening to him right now and the thought of it was enough to make the bile rise in his throat. He nodded in reply, not trusting his voice to come out as anything other than an incoherent squeak.

“He’ll be okay you know,” Trowa said confidently.

Heero raised an eyebrow at the Heavyarms pilot’s oddly positive expression. “What makes you so sure?”

Trowa shrugged. “I have faith in Quatre. He’s proven time and time again to be an incredible person and there’s a kind of unconditional love and trust between us. We’ve been separated on missions before and Quatre knows this dimension better than he knows the Earth.”

“Are you suggesting I don’t trust Duo?”

“Not at all,” Trowa replied defensively. “I’m just saying that the year and a half we’ve been together has deepened the feelings we already had for each other. It’s quite bizarre really, I’m not worried at all and worried sick all at the same time.”

Heero laughed. “So relationships get more complicated with time?”

“Oh definitely. And with a guy like Duo, don’t expect it to make sense for too much longer.”

Wufei bit his lip as he woke up the next morning. He wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or dismayed by the fact that he was wrapped up in Kreigan’s arms and lain across his chest.

He decided that he liked the situation as the demon woke up and gave him a good morning kiss on his forehead, running his hands through Wufei’s unbound hair and nuzzling his cheek. “How do you feel?” he asked anxiously, wondering if Wufei was feeling alienated by this display of intimate affection.

“I’ve got mixed feelings,” Wufei answered honestly. “On the one hand, I’ve just woken up in bed with someone I’m desperately in love with… on the other hand, I’ve just woken up with someone I’m disgusted at for attacking one of my best friends.”

Kreigan gulped at that last remark and shook his head. “Wufei I… I don’t know how to put things right,” he whispered sadly. “But what I did, I did because it was an obligation. I didn’t enjoy hurting him, although, I’m supposed to make it look as though I did. I’m glad you brought it up, though. I need to speak with Renfredriel about that.”

Wufei frowned. “Speak to *who*?”

“Your friend, Quatre,” Kreigan explained. “His real name is Renfredriel.”

“Oh…” Wufei said quietly. “Look, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I really need to find Maxwell and Wi- Renfredriel. Have you got any idea where they might be?”

Kreigan sighed, “Possibly. I’m not sure you’re going to like it, but I think I know where they are.”

“Malvad, let go of me!” Quatre shrieked as the demon dragged him down the corridor to a dungeon. “I can walk by myself! There’s no need to haul me and Duo along like this!”

Malvad rolled his eyes and twisted Quatre’s arms behind his back before pushing him headlong into the dungeon cell. “Just sit there, be quiet and Machiavel will see you in a moment.”

Duo stumbled in and knocked his head on the wall as Sarrow sent him after his friend. The braided boy went to rub his head but couldn’t move his arms the way they were tied.

Quatre looked up through tired eyes at the brown-haired demon who’d practically thrown Duo into their cell. “Sarrow, how could you?” he asked weakly.

“Ever heard of responsibility?” the demon snapped, sheathing the gun in it’s holster. “Kreigan might have neglected his duties but I still believe in loyalty to my Prince. Zechs was right, you angels are all alike. Smug, naive weaklings. I can’t believe I ever thought I could love one of *you*,” he spat, shooting one last glare at the two helpless friends before following the other demons out.

Quatre got to his feet and immediately untied Duo’s restraints, rubbing his hands over the marks where they’d cut into his skin. “Thanks Quatre,” he said, stifling a yawn. The tiredness of the ordeal was finally catching up with him. “Listen… this might not be a great time to ask, but did that guy just mention Zechs?”

The angel nodded, “Zechs is Prince Machiavel’s right hand man. Not to mention his lover,” he replied to the Deathscythe pilot’s incredulous expression. “It’s the same Zechs Merquise as the Tallgeese pilot you knew on Earth. He has an alter-ego, just like I do.”

Duo frowned. “Why did he use his real name?” he asked curiously. “Wasn’t he worried that he’d get found out?”

“Well, that’s just the thing. I *did* find out,” Quatre said, sitting down next to Duo on the bench. “But because of the size of OZ’s forces I couldn’t do anything. Then when he was leading the White Fang, I had all of you to help me but I could hardly go around telling you all of this, could I?”

“I know there’s this whole celestial thing,” Duo began, putting a comforting arm around Quatre. “But you coulda told me. Even if you weren’t s’pposed to. I would’ve understood, and I wouldn’t have said a word to anybody.”

Quatre shook his head. “Are you honestly telling me that you would have believed me back then?”

Duo smiled and shrugged. “Maybe it’s a personal failing of mine, but I like to believe in people’s honesty. I trusted you with my life, even when we’d only just met. I could tell you were special.”

“I don’t think that’s a failing, Duo, I think that’s beautiful,” Quatre replied coyly. “Thank you, Duo. You know… from the time when I met you, I knew you were going to be so important to me. Other than Trowa, I’ve never had these kinds of feelings for anybody. You’ve been closer than a brother to me ever since we first spoke. I don’t have that relationship with anyone.”

Duo’s smile broadened and he hugged Quatre closely. “I’m glad you feel the same way. It’s weird, I mean, you know when we were at that town linked to the underground base in the desert? We really connected then. I honestly thought I was falling in love with you… then I got to know Heero and I really understood what it was to love someone. I knew I loved you but just in a different way. I still can’t imagine life without you.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Quatre heard the door at the end of the corridor swing open. “Oh Duo, something you might want to know about Prince Machiavel,” he began quickly as the footsteps got closer. But didn’t quite fit the explanation in before the two most powerful demons in the entire universe showed up in front of the cell.

“Treize!?” Duo exclaimed at their captors. Even with the gray skin and muscular black wings, he’d recognize that face anywhere.

The prince seemed very amused as he opened the door. “It looks cramped in there, would you like to come and have a word with us?” he suggested, smiling at a fuming Quatre and very bemused Duo.

They were lead out of the dungeon and into a nicely decorated lounge-style room, a thick peach colored carpet and deep red curtains framing windows that lead out onto the lush green, sunny gardens only added to the warmth of the place.

“Why are you doing this!?” Quatre demanded the minute they were all seated in armchairs set around a small coffee table. “You’re hurting thousands of innocent angels and for what, exactly?”

Zechs shook his head. “We’re not *hurting* anyone, little light.”

Quatre glared furiously. Duo had never seen the otherwise genial Sandrock pilot this angry. “First of all, yes you are. Secondly, I would really appreciate it if you’d drop the nickname for two minutes.”

Treize smiled understandingly. “I’m sorry, that was quite inconsiderate. But hurting people is certainly not our intention.”

“Back up a step, Khushrenada,” Duo interjected dramatically. “We all went to Niravaana with Quatre and I saw what was going on. It’s total chaos. People are terrified.”

“Terrified, yes. Injured, no,” Treize said stubbornly. “We’re only trying to give you a taste of the kinds of things that could take place if you maintain ignoring us the way you have been,” he continued, addressing Quatre again.

Quatre shook his head. “Ignoring you? When have we ever overlooked you? You’re all extremely important to us, just as we are to you.”

“Isn’t that sad?” Zechs began again. “The Sanhedrin have even been keeping secrets from their own people. I’d hate to think what Lady Mary would think if she found out.”

“Ave Maria. Lady Mary knows everything,” Quatre insisted. “The Sanhedrin work *for* her, not *against* her.”

Duo frowned. “Lady Mary? As in the Virgin Mary? That’s a real person!? Man, was I wrong… so what’s her role in all of this?”

“Despite the amount that Renfredriel thinks he knows,” Treize continued, this time addressing Duo. “The Sanhedrin have been slowly diminishing her role in Niravaana’s government. She and her son used to have a pivotal role in the decisions that would affect all the realms, but once they made the mistake of instating Emmanuel as leader of a political regime, they were no longer needed.”

Quatre shook his head and got to his feet. “I’m not listening to this!” he shouted. “You can’t say things like this when you don’t even understand our judicial system! And you certainly can’t criticize when you’re running a place like *this*!”

Duo stood up and put his arm on Quatre’s shoulder. “Look, I don’t know who to believe here. But do you think, maybe you should just hear them out?”

The angel’s eyes blazed with ferocity before he settled on the fact that Duo didn’t understand and he would have to be patient.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Enter,” Treize spoke up.

The door creaked open and a blond demon stepped forwards, escorting a slightly disheveled Altron pilot.

TBC…

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