Beta written by Tsuki
Dedicated and with Special Thanks to Leslie - with high hopes that things start looking up, sweetie.
Beyond All Doubt Part 6
Seeing the slight fear that his comrade was trying so hard to conceal, Duo said reassuringly, "You don't have to worry, Heero. I meant what I said about not leaving your side if anything should happen."
Glancing back at him, Heero blinked. At the sincerity in those violet eyes, he gave a small smile and replied softly, "Thanks." At that, he turned back again to scan their surroundings.
The silence lasted for another couple hours, nothing stirring. Suddenly, a loud cry pierced through the quiet from the east side of the camp as it shouted in a shrill voice, "Ambush!"
Their eyes widening at the scream, both soldiers quickly got their bearings with hissed curses under their breaths as they quickly unsheathed their swords. Duo was the first to run towards the other end of the camp, where the cry came from. Heero froze behind him at the sound of movement from the trees behind him.
Under the moonlight, he caught the faintest glimmer of a metal tip. Sprinting forward, he shoved Duo to the ground with him, just in time to miss the arrow aimed for his friend, embedding itself into the ground beside him.
Pushing himself to his feet, with a quiet but sincere, "Thanks," he helped Heero up. With a nod, Heero turned to the woods behind them where the archer had hidden himself. While there was no movement, Duo's eyes narrowed as he growled deeply, "They're all around."
At that, dozens of screaming, armed soldiers ran through the cover of the trees towards them. At the sound of the cry, Shay soldiers that had been stirred from their sleep came to their aid. Everything was a blur in that moment. Sword met sword as the two sides met with great force. Still managing to stay at each other's sides, Heero and Duo battled their opponents as they came to meet them.
The cries of those injured and dying became deafening and it became hard to tell if the blood on their armor was their own or their challengers'. In the midst of their struggle, Duo spotted some further movement back in the woods. Arrows rained down from where the movement came, taking out several troops from the Shay army as they fell with shrill screams of pain.
After killing another of Treize's men, Duo shouted, "Archers, get to your arrows if you can to take them out! We can't move about so we're easy targets for them! Everyone else, defend them as they prepare to fire!" At that, those with bows and quivers slung over their shoulders stepped back as those swordsmen closest to them moved forward to protect that.
Duo moved much the same as Heero took up the bows and arrow of a man he killed. With his friend keeping any harm from him, the Japanese soldier began knocking the bow. Raising it to the trees, his eyes narrowed on a tall shadow as he pulled back and released the arrow. At the small thud made at its impact, the tall shadow slumped to the ground with one last grunt. More arrows flew into the trees as those archers hidden began to fall.
Moving quickly, Heero continued to knock arrows, firing that at the first sign of movement as Duo fought those soldiers approaching them. The battle continued as such with arrows flying from both directions and deafening cries of battle and the dying for several minutes that felt like an eternity.
As another wave of Shay soldiers came to give aid, Heero ran forward to provide cover for them with his arrows. Stepping forward, he moved to quickly to realize that he was running into an open space.
The instant he realized his mistake, an arrow pierced through his right calf. Collapsing to the ground with a cry of agony, he reached to cover the wound as blood began to seep through his dark trousers.
Turning to his friend at the sound of his scream, Duo's eyes widened in horror when they found him with an arrow through his leg as he shouted, "Heero!" Running to his side, he fell to his knees to examine the injury as cautiously as he could. Clenching his fists for a moment, he quickly reached over and snapped off most of the wooden shaft so that only a small stump was left.
As he continued to assess the damage, a loud cry from someone in the wood gave the order of retreat just as the first, thin golden rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon. And just when it seemed that the attack would never come to and end, the soldiers from Gragon and Treize's clans began running back into the cover of the thick trees.
Those soldiers from the Shay kingdom that were still standing quickly got their bearings before aiding their fallen comrades or taking out some of the remaining troops of their enemy as they scattered for their retreat.
Hissing in pain as he sat up, Heero looked up to his friend and grunted through his pain, "We're still in the open... need help to move..." Nodding, Duo carefully lifted him in his arms and hurried back towards the tents that were still standing.
Making his way past the closed off sections in the largest tent, he closed off the sounds of cried and moans of agony from the soldiers being looked after behind the closed curtains at either side of him.
Duo found a small section that was not in use at last, entered it, and carefully lowered Heero onto the bed there. His friend's eyes were squeezed shut as he lied back, straining to take slow and deep breaths to get past the pain.
Quickly, two healers entered, closing the only opening to the room with its curtain. The taller male of the two looked to Duo with questioning eyes. Straightening himself, the young fey stated firmly, "I'm staying."
The older man nodded firmly, "That's fine, just step back." Without needing to be told again, Duo stepped back from the bed as the man and woman looked over their patient. Heero gritted out a sharp hiss as the tall healer took to what remained of the arrow shaft.
Frowning deeply at examining the wound, the gray-haired man waited as his assistant placed lit the candles on the small setting beside the bed. When she was at the opposite side of the table, the older healer looked down to the injured soldier as he said flatly but calmly, "Brace yourself."
Gripping the sides of the bed tightly, Heero nodded up to him as sweat began to drip from his forehead again. Biting his lip, Duo watched with concerned, saddened eyes as the woman took hold of his friend's right ankle while the tall man pulled back on the remains of the arrow. His head falling back, Heero cried out in pain as the blood-covered arrow emerged from his calf.
Moving with precision and skilled speed, the two healers moved to stitch the open wound, covering the work with clean rags wrapped around the injured leg. Heero had fallen silent as he laid with his eyes closed, panting as sweat began to bead anew across his face.
Seeing that his patient was able to rest, the tall healer walked towards Duo with a grim expression as he said quietly, "The arrow tip was poisoned."
With a small gasp, the fey's violet eyes widened as the man continued, "We've done all that we can for him since the poison is running its course. Hopefully, we got the arrow out in time that it won't be fatal. We'll know by the morning."
Walking up behind her assistant after lying a blanket over their patient, the young woman frowned to the braided soldier sadly, "We are needed in the other tents. We'll be closing off this room, so you can stay with your friend as long as you like."
Nodding to them, Duo replied quietly and sincerely, "Thank you, both, for your help." With small nods of their own, the two healers turned to slip past the curtain entry, closing it off behind them.
Pulling up the only chair in the small space, Duo moved to sit beside his friend. Gazing down on him with tears in his eyes, he held his hand tightly and whispered brokenly, "Heero... I'm so sorry."
Giving his hand a small squeeze of reassurance, Heero opened his pain-filled cobalt eyes to look up to his comrade and murmured softly, "My fault for not watching."
Running a hand through the other boy's damp hair, the braided fey told him softly, "I swear you're going to be all right." Almost believing him, Heero nodded weakly as he relaxed a bit more, sighing softly at the gentle touch.
In the haze of pain, it almost felt to him as though his friend's fingers were growing warm. With a small smile, Duo continued to stroke his hair as he whispered, "Sleep, Heero. I'll be right here when you wake up."
Unable to fight the warm, soothing feeling that began to flood him, Heero's eyes slowly drifted shut. His breathing evened out and his body relaxed fully as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Satisfied that his small spell worked, Duo watched his sleeping friend for a moment before turning to his injured leg.
Carefully unwrapping the bandages, he exposed the line of stitches etched to seal the wound. Gently placing his hands over the angry scar, he closed his eyes with a deep breath. As he breathed out slowly, his hands began to give a soft, warm glow. The golden light moved up to glow under the leg as it began cleaning the blood.
Heero stirred only slightly in his sleep, but otherwise, did not react. After only a moment, Duo could feel that the poison had been removed and his attention went to sealing the wound. When the spell was complete, the glow around his hands faded away.
Removing his hands from Heero's leg, Duo looked over his work. All that remained from the injury was a thin scar where the arrow entered. The stitches had fallen away onto the bed to leave a perfectly healed calf.
Smiling in relief, the braided fey took the bandages and wrapped them around the leg again. When he was finished replacing the blanket, he gazed up to his friend to gently run his hand through his hair.
"He's lucky you were able to do that," a voice spoke quietly behind him after a long pause. Duo's eyes widened as far as they would allow as his skin paled. Frozen in his seat, he was unable to look back as Trowa entered the small space, letting the curtain flap close so they were left alone in private. The tall Commander folded his arms and frowned, "Duo."
Lowering his head, the fey remained frozen in his seat otherwise as he sighed softly, "So now you know." With his head still lowered, two bulges, one on either side of his back, began to grow. Finally, they tore through his loose brown shirt, revealing a pair of large, fanned out, angel-like wings. Slowly, he turned in his seat to face Trowa.
The other young man simply watched him quietly, his arms still crossed and his face expressionless. In his silent observation, Trowa noticed the tips of Duo's wings moving to wrap around either side of Heero protectively. "What you do with me now?" he asked sadly.
With a small snort, the Commander replied, "What will I do? For starters, I'm going to order you to hide those things again, then I am going to get you a new shirt that isn't torn.
His violet eyes widening anew as he was certain that he misunderstood him, Duo stuttered, "B-but-"
"But nothing," Trowa interrupted in a stern voice. "We just had a second ambush and right now, we need the help. If you want me to kick you out of the camp or threaten you, forget it."
As his arms fell to his side, his face softened as he smirked, "I've know you long enough to know you're not going to stab any of us in the back. So while you're here, I'm not going to throw away another soldier." Gesturing to the wounded boy, he concluded, "Especially not one who seems to care for Kumi's brother so much."
Shaking his head, Duo protested, "But I betrayed your confidence."
To his surprise, he watched as what looked to be amusement fill the other soldier's green eyes as he refolded his arms and questioned, "And how exactly did you do that?"
Rising to his feet, the fey turned to face him fully with an exasperated look on his face as he fought to keep his voice from rising and answered, "Trowa, all this time, I've been hiding something that could put all of you in danger if anyone found out what I really am."
At that, Trowa nodded, "Which is exactly why you're going to hide those wings of yours before anyone else does find out about you." Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said flatly, "Now I gave you an order."
Duo blinked at him for a moment, his head tilted slightly as he watched the tall Commander. Finally, he smiled warmly as his wings retracted into his back again as he replied, "Yes, sir."
"Is there anything else that you need to tell me now?" Trowa asked. "Anything else that might be important later on?"
Raising an eyebrow, the braided soldier snorted, "Other than the fact that I'm a fey in search of another fey who decided to take a trip into your world, threatening the safety of ours...?" He gazed up to the top of the tent in thought before looking back to his friend and grinning with a shrug, "No. Nothing else."
Chuckling at that, Trowa nodded. "Just making sure," he smirked. "While I am generally accepting at times, any other secrets and you will wear out your welcome."
Nodding in response, Duo replied simply, "Understood."
Observing him for a moment, the tall young man stated, "However... I believe you when you say that you are not hiding anything else from me." Looking over to Heero, he inquired, "I take it that you are staying with him for the night?"
"I gave my word," the fey answered with no room for argument.
Satisfied in seeing his dedication, Trowa smirked, "Take care of him, then. I'll be back to check on the two of you in the morning. I'll be sure to return with a fresh shirt to replace that one."
As the other soldier turned towards the curtain door, Duo called quietly, "Trowa?" The Commander stopped to glance back over his shoulder in question. With a slight smirk, Duo commented, "You're really not a bad guy, you know."
Giving him a small smile, Trowa replied, "Well, just don't let it get around. I have an army to take care of."
The young fey chuckled deeply, "Don't worry, it'll be our secret... and Kumi's." His friend's smile grew a bit at that. Taking a deep breath, Duo sighed quietly, "...And thank you."
"No need for thanks," Trowa said sincerely. Having said that, he walked though the curtain door, closing it behind him.
* * * * * *
The next morning found Duo asleep in his chair, his head lying on his folded arms at the edge of the table Heero laid on as he snored softly. As the sunlight outside brightened the small room, Heero began to stir. His cobalt eyes slowly blinked open as he regained focus.
Opening his eyes fully in confusion, he sat up, noticing his friend. Watching him sleep for a moment, he turned his attention to pulling back the covers to look at his leg. Placing a hand tenderly on the wrappings, his eyes widened when he did not feel any pain.
Removing the bandages, his eyes widened at his nearly perfect leg. All that remained was a long, thin scar from where he had been hit. Blinking in shock, he stared at his leg before looking back to the sleeping, braided soldier in confusion.
Duo just continued to sleep, snoring quietly and oblivious to everything. Lying back in his bed, Heero continued to watch him out of the corner of his eye as he muttered very softly, "How in the world..."
Slowly waking up as he murmured something, Duo's own eyes began to blink open. When he was fully awake, he smiled warmly at Heero then turned to his leg. With a wide gasp, he all but jumped from his chair with wide eyes as he shouted, "Look at that! Your leg's completely healed! That's amazing!"
Staring down at the scar, Heero nodded, "It's really strange..." Turning to his friend, he rubbed his once wounded leg and asked, "Who helped heal it? It shouldn't have worked this fast. It feels perfectly fine."
Duo simply shrugged and frowned, "I fell asleep not long after you did. So long as it's healed, I guess it doesn't matter."
Still sounding a bit distracted, his comrade replied, "Yeah..."
Quickly changing the subject, the fey said quietly, "You really gave me a scare last night." At Heero's deepening frown, he reassured him with a small smile, "But for your first night in a real battle, you handled yourself very well."
Sitting up, the other boy's eyes seemed to brighten as he smirked, "You really think so?"
"Of course," Duo winked. "You're proving to be quite a valuable soldier here." With a small smile of thanks, Heero moved to the edge of the bed and tried standing. Finding no problem when he rose to his feet, he looked at his friend and gave a small shrug.
With a bright smile, the braided soldier walked up behind him and suggested, "I guess we better check on the rest of the camp." Nodding his agreement to that, Heero led the way out of the small room as they made their way from the infirmary tent.
* * * * * *
That evening passed without another attack, much to the relief and surprise of all at the camp. It also made it very clear that the opposing army was not looking to wipe them all out. They wanted prey alive to come for when they wanted, knowing that no one would dare travel through the woods out of fear of where the enemy was waiting for them.
The next morning, Duo went back to the infirmary tents. While there were healers staffed throughout the area, he managed on occasion to heal some of the injured with his magic when there was no one near, or conscious to see what he was doing. For those beyond his help, he saw that they went peacefully. Satisfied that those he could help had been looked after, the braided fey walked just beyond the boundary of the open field to where there was a running stream.
Kneeling on the damp rocks over it, he placed his blood-covered hands into the stream, sighing deeply in relief at the feel of the cool water. When his hands were cleaned, he cupped his hands together to splash his face, washing it with his hands. With another soft sigh, he lowered his hands and looked back to the camp.
Across the other side of the stream, there came the soft sound of rusting leaves. Straightening instantly at the sound, Duo moved only to snap his head back in the direction where the sound came from. There was another sound, this one a twig snapping as the rustling of leaves stopped by a tall tree.
Knowing that whoever was out there had seen him and was hiding from him, the young soldier's eyes narrowed on the shadow behind the tree. Slowly, he began stalking towards it, walking through the cold water as he reached and took hold of the dagger at his belt.
Quickly, he leapt forward and lunged for his target. Finding the other side of the tree vacant, his fierce eyes began scanning the forest surrounding him. Suddenly, a deep voice began to chuckle softly, filling the air around him.
At the sound, Duo's eyes widened with a gasp before they narrowed thinly again. Looking up to the treetops, he shouted, "Zechs! Show your face, you coward!"
Stepping from the cover of another tall tree a few yards ahead, Zechs looked with amusement as he watched the smaller creature. Leaning against the tree, the tall blonde fey placed a finger on his chin and smirked, "So she sent you to hunt after me. How sweet."
Replacing his knife, Duo kept his heated gaze on him as he growled, "Do you know the kind of danger you've put onto our world?" His voice raised as he yelled, "All just for an adventure!?" Controlling himself, he took a deep breath and said firmly, "You're coming back with me."
Zechs frowned, lowering his hand from his face as he replied, "Even you can't enjoy being locked up forever. We can travel; why shouldn't we?"
Duo shook his head, "Not outside our realm, Zechs. The border is weakening. When it falls away, our kind will perish."
Shrugging, the blonde fey commented, "All the more reason to explore and find out more. Then, when it does fall, we will know how to live in this world." Pushing off the tree, Zechs walked slowly around him as he continued, "Even you can't fault the logic there."
With their eyes continuously locked as the other boy watched him, he snorted, "Old myths and tales. If we can't cross over, then why does the boundary act more as a bridge than a wall? It should be used."
With the frustration clear in his violet eyes, Duo frowned, "You don't get it, Zechs. The boundary can't sustain without all of us on the side where we belong. Our kind cannot survive without the boundary."
Seeing that he was not being taken seriously as the tall fey continued to stalk around him, he shouted at last, "We're dying out here! I know that you've felt it yourself! It's not a pain, but a slow change that grown with each passing day."
At those words, Zechs came to a sudden stop in his steps, straight and with his back to the braided fey. Duo's eyes widened as the silence between them became deafening. With a gentle breeze blowing his long bangs, Duo finally breathed, "I'm right, you have felt it, too."
Turning back to him with a dark glare, Zechs hissed, "This is nonsense. Go home, dear Blade. I am staying here."
The corner of his mouth tugged up into a small smirk as he chuckled deeply, "Being the Blade only means that you're her puppet... Just because she wants me to return to our world does not mean that you have the power to enforce her will."
He then turned away as his large, brown, hawk-like wings broke through his shirt. Taking to the air, he quickly soared on ahead, deeper into the woods.
His eyes wide, Duo shouted, "Zechs!" His own wings freed themselves as he went on to pursue him. Beyond his knowledge, someone had been watching the exchange as he quickly followed the chase behind him.
Miles passed and it was becoming dark as the light was thinning through the thick coverage of trees. Zechs looked back over his shoulder to the other fey at last and smirked at him. Duo's eyes widened as he watched his target fly into a tree, phasing into it and disappearing.
"No!" Duo cried as he stopped himself in midair. Lowering himself to the ground, he ran to the tree and placed his hand on it. Feeling that Zechs's force was no longer in the tree, he stepped back from it.
"He can pass undetected through any one of these trees," he told himself quietly through his panting breath. Gazing around the unfamiliar territory covered with foliage, he frowned deeply.
Even in those couple minutes, Zechs would have been able to transport himself a half a mile in any direction by now with all the trees surrounding them. He lured the braided fey away from the other camp to have him lost in the woods for days, even weeks to throw him off course from finding him again.
Closing his eyes, Duo sighed deeply and collapsed to his knees at his realizations. His large, white wings lowered to wrap around him like a supportive blanket, hugging him. Lowering his head, he fought the small tears that began to fill his eyes.
He had failed. He walked right into Zechs's trap without using his head. Duo's wings hugged him tighter as he bit his bottom lip, silently cursing himself for his foolishness. After coming so far and getting so close to accomplishing his mission, he forgot one of the most important lessons he had been taught. He forgot to think of the motive in Zechs's hasty flight. Had he thought of that, he would have had the upper hand and might have been able to take him. There was a very good chance he would never see him again after this opportunity.
So much was at stake and so many were counting on him. Not only that, but he had left behind the only people he could consider his friends in this world. Now he was truly alone. And now he was also uncertain of how to begin to get back to correct his mistake.
Behind him, the sound of a dry twig snapping pierced the stillness with the same effectiveness as though it was a scream. Straightening at the sound with wide, terrified eyes, Duo paled with the realization that he was not alone. Someone had followed him. Someone had seen his wings.
What the worst of it was, as he knelt frozen on the tall grass... he knew who that someone was. Closing his eyes, his voice shook as be breathed out, whispering, "Oh... no."
TBC...
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