Title: Tainted Conviction – Part Twelve

Author: Sita Seraph

Genre: Angst, Religious relatings

Pairing: 1x2 eventually.

Rated: R

Warning: Gruesome treatment, stigmata, sixth sense, and a whole lot of shit.

Note: The story is almost done!  And then – a sequel!  Joy!  This whole story is being remodeled/revised with Ais-san's help, so if you have this on your favorites, when the REVISED is up in the summary, please read the better version!  Arigato, and now enjoy!

Summary: Duo has never been afraid of Death. But once he's tasted it, he finds that he doesn't enjoy it very much. So he is given a choice. Die and rot between heaven and hell. Or live and face the punishments of a non-believer. Yaoi.

The wailing of the sirens echoed across the neighborhoods as the ambulance buzzed down the street.  Like loyal peasants, cars moved to the side of the road, giving freedom to the wailing wagon.  Inside the ambulance was just as busy; a nurse and a doctor leaned heavily over the failing form on the bed.  Four other men were shoved to the front, where they wouldn't get in the way.  They watched, eyes sullen in their heads, as the saviors tried to work in the small space they were given.  Over and over, they barked orders to each other, dominating the sound of the loud beeping noise that was once pumping wildly for life, was slowly descending for death

"Get me that needle!"

"Hurry up!  Warm those up!"

"I need more bandages!"

"The bleeding has started again, sir!"

"Jesus Christ!  Why isn't the medication working!?"

He's going to die.  He's going to die before he gets to the hospital.  Heero stared at Duo's closed eyes, his head bobbing from side to side from the vehicle's quick turns and the bumps they encountered on the road.  His body was strapped down for his own safety but it didn't help the medics any as they tried to stop the bleeding that oozed out without fail.  The white sheets on the bottom of the nearly dead form were soaked with crimson and the pale flesh of the dying man was splattered in garnet.  Each passing moment, Heero kept noticing the contrast from Duo's skin to the blood he had underneath it all, which bubbled to the surface.  So dark and ugly, while his skin continued to get white, whiter than snow.  His lips were colorless, dry, broken to the part they were turning blue with the bruises that surrounded the sunken mouth.  His hair was loose, torn up into nothing but clumps by the dry blood that had soaked the chestnut strands.  Near his skull, next to all the needlepoints across his forehead, was a long and deep wound where his hair began.  Except the hair that accompanied that position on his head was gone, pulled out and left behind on the floor where Quatre had dropped them.  Heero was sickened by the mere glance, not even able to imagine the strength of the being who that could grab a chunk of hair and literally rip it out.  Nor could he imagine the horror Duo went through when he saw those limp brown strands in the monster's grip, licked with his very own blood, and no longer attached to the loyal part of his skull.

At least, Heero hoped it was a person.  The perfect boy would never be able to stand up to the thought that Duo would do this to himself.  It was simply impossible if he could.  How could he…could he…stake himself to the wall?

Better yet…what had hit Heero?  The door was closed and all of a sudden, there was this large, blinding light.  Funny…it was beautiful but so strong.  So hot, the warmth burning up his very blood yet comforting in the oddest way.  The power of the light was like something from a beam cannon.  He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet.  He couldn't feel anything; just floating, weightless…until he the hit the wall and saw nothing.

Everything was so…unanswered for.  Duo, being staked to the wall.  A wall that burned the mark of a cross in Duo's blood, as soon as they removed the ex-pilot from the room barrier, and to see it rest where Duo's body once was.  Quatre, who screamed until his voice gave out on him, and that horrible ringing that followed soon after.  The aftermath of Quatre's own horror, that still hummed in Heero's ears, still ran deep into his blood.  Wufei went berserk, running around the room in outmost fury, throwing everything aside to find the murderer, to kill him with his very own hands, to find the man who could have done this.  He ripped off the doors to the closet, threw every shred of clothing out onto the floor, flipped the bed over; screamed for the coward to come out that was no where to be found.  And then just collapse in the middle of the room and place a hand over his eyes, silently shedding tears inwardly with a shaky palm his only sign of weakness.  Trowa had ran out of the room, blood slipping down his hand the whole way from the wound in his shoulder, and down the stairs to call the ambulance.  But, mostly, he did it to get out of the suffocating room. Quatre had hidden himself in a corner, hands over his face but eyes dry.  And Heero, who had just stood there in his heavy awareness, staring at his secret crush, his hidden desire as he slowly slipped away from them.  Just standing there, watching the red pool grow and grow under his first love till there couldn't possibility be anything left.  He only moved when he could hear the sirens screeching down the neighborhood and Trowa appeared again with a hasty shirt wrapped around his shoulder.  Heero moved to Duo and slowly took out the first stake trapping his hand and watching it fall immediately to his side without a sound.  Heero had stared at that abused hand, the nails nothing but red and the bandage almost black as it was ripped open to accept the stake that ran through the wrist once more.  Heero had taken that hand, held it so tight that the red digits actually began to change to another color.  He had hoped to feel Duo squeeze back.

He didn't.

"We're almost there, sir!"

"Faster!  We're losing him!"

"You kids have a lot to answer for!"

Heero said nothing, continuing to stare at that lifeless, beautiful face.  He didn't even react as the beep ran loud and long nor when Quatre shed his first tears.

*****

Someone was crying.  Duo wondered who it was.  It sounded like a little girl.  Duo opened his eyes, seeing nothing but a dark white.  He blinked at the sheet covering him, eyelashes being dragged against the fabric.  He wondered, for a moment, where he was.  Back in bed perhaps-?

…Bed…

Duo squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily against the suffocating sheet.  He finally came.  He finally came for me, Duo thought.  He didn't want to stay at the house; he knew the anger would get him.  He knew that something horrible would nearly kill him.  And so it happened.  When he was alone…and only because he could see him…he came.  Came after him.  Came to wreck his revenge…to the living.

"God…" The little girl whispered as Duo cried silently himself.  "Why…?  Why punish good people?"

Duo tilted his head towards the girl's voice, tears trekking down his cheeks.  Who was this, with him?

"I don't want to die, God," the girl sobbed quietly.  "Why don't You answer me?"

Because God isn't real, Duo thought bitterly, cupping a hand to his cheek and wiping away the tears there.  The girl continued to cry, only harder.

"Have You forgotten us?"

He hates us.  He wants us to suffer.

"Why do You condemn us?"

Because we are toys…things he likes to break every day.

"Where are You, God?"

Nowhere.  Everywhere.  In my wounds.  In my head.

"Please…save me…"

He won't.  He won't, he won't, he won't, hewon'thewon'thewon'the-.

~He will.~

Duo gasped and arched his head, suffocating under the white sheet.  He tried to lift his hand to tear down the bed sheet, when suddenly desperate cold fingers curled around his wrist.  He tried to cry out, but as soon as his lips parted, it felt like he had sucked in the winter wind.  It squeezed his lungs shut, froze over his vocal chords.  All he could do was cough desperately for air, screaming inside his head for someone to just hear him, to save him.

~He will always hear you.~

No!  Not you again!

~You still don't believe, Duo?~

I can't breathe! I can't breathe! Oh, God!

~You call out for something you don't believe in?~

Stop it!  Get out of my head!  Please!  Please!

~He's always in your head.  We're always here, Duo.  Even if you can't hear or see us.~

I…can't…breathe…can't…brrree…athe…

~But that's going to change now.~

…can't…

~You'll always see us now, Duo.  You'll always hear us, now.~

…breathe…

~We're waiting, Duo!  Come back home.~

*****

"We did an extensive body search at Mr. Winner's request," the doctor spoke softly to the four young teenagers.  "I'm sorry for your loss."

The young students didn't look up from staring at the floor.

"Uh, before I tell you what has happened to your friend," the doctor continued, uncomfortable with the blank stares that looked off impassively at the world, "a police officer would like to ask you a few questions."

"We'll file a full report tomorrow," Heero replied, his voice lax of true emotion.  "We're Preventers." A soft sigh.

"As much as this is comforting, sir," the doctor rambled.  "I'm afraid its mandatory."

"Whatever then," the short-haired boy replied and fell back into the waiting chair, his arms heavy at his sides.  None of them glanced up as the officer took a stance in front of them.

"I'm sure you are all in shock at the moment," the officer said, "but questions must be asked while everything is still clear.  Now-."

"He didn't believe in God," Quatre spoke up, hugging himself from his tight, upright position.  "We didn't listen to him."

"What did he say?" The detective asked, opening his note pad and taking out a pencil from his pocket.

"Something bad was in the house," Quatre whispered, eyes narrowing at the tiled floors.

"What bad thing?" The older man asked.  "A person?"

"I couldn't see it," the boy answered.  "A bad thing."

"Mmm, hmm," the officer said, jotting something down.  "And what did this…thing…do?"

Finally, Quatre's mask broke and he shook his head slowly, eyes closing to hold back the tears and eyebrows falling desperately to help.  His spine seemed to have broke and he fell apart, closing in on himself, falling close to his knees.

"I can't…" Quatre choked out, mouth flattened and spread in torment.

"What happened?" the officer demanded, more intrigued by the way the boy broke down then the agony he felt inside.

"Don't make me say it…" Quatre whispered, biting his lower lip tight and hard.

"What did it do?"

Quatre's voice trembled as he tried to find the words to answer the question when a doctor ran by, talking quickly with a nurse beside him.

"What do you mean, the body disappeared!?"

"Not disappear, sir!  He's alive!"

The officer stared down the hall at the hurriedly talking couple, Heero burning a stare right along with him.

"Excuse me," the officer said a moment later and shut his note pad, quickly following the two hurried attendants.  Moments passed in complete silence, besides Quatre's quiet sobs that he took a while to get under control again.  The hall they were in was empty, besides the shuffle of a patient or a surgeon passing by or the uncomfortable shift of the four friends.

Then suddenly, there was hell.

"Get back!  Get back!"

"This isn't possible!"

"Stay right where you are, sir!"

"Can't you see them…?"

Four heads jerked up at the last voice and turned to look down at the once empty hall.  Doctors and nurses were running out of the way as the police officer that was just questioning the ex-pilots pulled out his gun and pointed it at a long-haired patient.

"Duo!?"

The patient was walking very slowly forward, seeming to dismiss the gun pointed at his chest completely.  Instead he was looking around wildly, staring at everything and nothing at the same time – as if he didn't know where he was.

"Duo!"

The boys rushed up together and started moving forward when the officer turned his head and waved them away.

"Stay back!" He ordered. "I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but all of you are in deep trouble!"

"Can you see them?" Duo asked, voice choking this time as small tears appeared at the bottom of his eyes.  Everyone's attention returned to Duo, a scared and mumbling patient in a hospital uniform.  He glanced beyond the detective and at his friends, eyebrows curled desperately up. Then he was looking from side to side, staring with fixated horror, his breath came in desperate pants, sucking and pushing out air as if he was going into shock.  It was quivering as well as his tears began to fall with each step that he took back.

"I can see all of them now!" Duo screamed, hands trembling up to grasp onto his hospital uniform.  He was sniffling, crying, panicking, panting.  He was stumbling, screaming, staring at things that weren't there.  He was losing his mind.

"No…" He sobbed desperately, a futile prayer, maybe even hoping that he has lost it.

"Duo, its okay," Wufei pleaded, stepping forward.

"Stay back!" The officer ordered furiously, cocking the gun in warning.

"Shut the fuck up!" Heero growled back and stepped up to the officer, ripping the gun angrily from the older man's hand.  He was in the detective's face, ordering him to stand down as he threw the gun aside.

"What do you think you're doing!?" The officer screamed.  Quatre rushed past to Duo before he got too far away.  Heero fisted the black uniform and brought the man dangerously close, his fury apparent.

"I over rank you," Heero spat.  "I said stand down or you'll be begging that I killed you when Lady Une hears about this."

The man visibly paled and Heero scuffed, pushing the officer away from him.  He found Duo huddled in a hospital chair, covering his eyes and keeping them there, even against Quatre's persistent tugs.  He kept shaking his head, his breath coming in hallow, trembling intakes.

"Don't make me see them anymore, Quatre…" the long-haired teenager whispered.  "Please…"

"Duo…there's no one here…" Quatre tried to reassure and Duo tossed his head to and fro to shake off his friend's hands.

"They're there!  They're always there!" Duo screamed, his voice cracking as he tried to get them to understand.  He stilled for a moment and just before Quatre touched him again, he revolted side-ways like he was ducking a bullet.  He fell from the chair, hands flying from his eyes to catch his fall.

"No! No!  I can't help you!  Leave me alone!  Leave me alone!"

"Duo!  It's just us!"

"And them! Them, them, them, them, them, them, them-!"

Heero roughly picked Duo up by his hands.  The hysterical boy cried out, fighting weakly but only in reaction.  Then he slumped against Heero completely, his eyes dry but his heavy breathing tickling Heero's neck.  The ex-soldier clutched onto the thin, bleeding wrists before jerking his hands away in afterthought and cupping his arms around the abused and shaking form.  He let his head roll forward, pressing his forehead against the bony shoulder that rose and fell with every desperate breath.

"I…we…thought you were dead…" he whispered, holding his love desperately as sudden, choking emotion rushed forward and into his veins, into his heart.  Suddenly, he also couldn't catch his breath.  He was scared, relieved, and heart broken all at the same time.  He was everything at once and the only thing keeping him from crumbling was the form he held, the body that would also fall if he didn't hold onto Heero.  Two pillars supporting the other desperately, their strength gone as time stretched by.

"My mind won't let me die," Duo whispered, his chest suddenly convulsing as he gave into the coughs breaking apart his consciousness.  "And I won't know why…until I go home…"

11 <--- Previous Chapter - Next Chapter ---> NONE

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