Heaven Sent
by: Hidden Secrets
“Did you hear something?” Raphael stopped and turned, confusion registering on his face.
“Raphael?”
“I don’t like these alleys. C’mon, Gabriel. Let’s hurry.” Raphael took his wife by the arm, leading her quickly through the small back alley.
“Raphael… Gabriel…” The couple stopped, searching for the unknown voice. Gabriel held her child closer, panic rising in her heart.
“Who’s there?”
“You know who’s there,” the voice answered mockingly. “And if you don’t, I’m surprised. You know me better than that.” A figure materialized before the couple, a beautiful creature, with delicate, masculine features.
“Lucifer…”
“Hello Gabriel, Raphael. Have you missed me?”
“Lucifer, what are you doing here? If Abba finds you…”
“What can he do?” Lucifer asked, spite in his voice. “Kick me out of hell?”
“Why are you here, Lucifer?” Gabriel’s voice was calm, but there was a hint of sadness and fear.
“I’m here to ‘tempt’ you, as Abba would say. I want you to join me.”
“We can’t do that.” Her answer was soft but firm.
“Why not? You always did before that…incident.”
“Lucifer, things have changed! Besides that, we are Mortal, and will be for a time. We have a son to raise!”
“You have a son...” Lucifer glanced down at the bundle in Gabriel’s arms, then shrugged. “So, you have a son. We’ll be a quartet instead of a trio.”
“We are not young Angels frolicking in Heaven anymore,” Raphael cut him off sharply. “Lucifer, we used to be friends, the three of us. We used to cause honest mischief. But when you challenged Abba…”
“Yes, we know the story. But was it not you said that Abba would never kick out one of his Angels? Did you not say that Abba would forgive all mistakes?”
“I did say that, but…”
“Then why am I in Hell? Why was I not forgiven?”
“I said Abba would forgive mistakes, not that He would forgive one for challenging His authority. You’re in your fiery pit because you challenged His authority.” Lucifer glanced down at the sleeping child in Gabriel’s arms again.
“So, you have a child,” he mused. “But is the child yours? Or is it His?”
“What do you mean? Abba wouldn’t send His Son down!”
“Oh, wouldn’t He? The world has once again grown ‘sinful.’ Why wouldn’t He? I mean, after all, your son was born of two Angels made Mortal. That in itself was not supposed to happen, you know.” Gabriel looked down at the child as well, this time in questioning.
“I don’t care,” Raphael said. “This is my son, regardless of what other Hands were involved. I intend to raise him as such.” Lucifer looked on at the Angels’ defiance, bemused.
“Well,” he answered at last, “I guess since you won’t join me willingly, I’ll have to return you both to your Angelic forms.
“You can’t do that! You don’t have that power!”
“Oh, but I do. As for your son, if he’s really yours, he’ll just be another young soul lost in Limbo.”
“No!” Gabriel held the bundle protectively, her eyes pleading. “Lucifer, this child hasn’t even begun to live! You can’t just take his life!” Lucifer looked at her, his eyes cold. After a moment of consideration, he spoke again.
“Fine. I won’t take his life.” A wave of relief flashed in the couple’s eyes, but it was short lived. A cruel smile of anticipation crawled its way across the former Angel’s face. “However, my second will live…’with’ him. You son will grow to be strong. He’ll have to be strong if he plans to keep Shinigami dormant.” At the wave of his hand, a shadow appeared beside Lucifer and partially solidified. After looking at the small family for a short time, the shadow dived at the small child in Gabriel’s arms. She cried out in surprise and fear as he began to age and grow. When he stopped growing, he was a skinny five-year-old with shoulder-length, chestnut brown hair. The stunned parents had only a few seconds to marvel at their son before they were no longer looking through Mortal eyes. Both were swept away on a light breeze, looking on in dismay as the young boy slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. Lucifer had vanished from sight, his quiet, malicious laughter drifting with them on the breeze.
***
“Hey kid. What’re ya doin’ out ‘ere?” Violet eyes looked up with defiance at the boy looking down on him.
“I ain’t doin’ nothin’. Lemme alone.”
“Hey, I was just askin’. ‘Sides, you looked confused.”
“I am. Mom n’ Dad won’t wake up.” The older boy looked down at the two adults on the ground. It looked like a street gang found them in the wrong alley.
“I don’t think yer mom n’ dad’re gonna wake up ever again, kid,” he said as gently as he could.”
“Whaddya’ mean?”
“I mean Shinigami got ‘em. They been touched by th’ hand o’ death. They ain’t wakin’ up anymore.” The smaller boy looked down at his parents, tears coming to his eyes.
“Mommy…”
“Hey, now,” the older knelt in front of him, lifting his chin so he could look him in the eyes. “Boys don’t cry. That’s th’ first thing ya’ gotta learn ‘bout street livin’. You can stay with me n’ my ‘band’ if ya’ want. Name’s Solo.”
“I ain’t got a name,” came the sniffled answer.
“Well then, until ya’ get a name, you’ll be Kid.” The boy now dubbed “Kid” nodded and stood to follow Solo. Solo smiled slightly, leading the way to his “hideout.” When they reached their destination, he slammed the door open.
“Hey guys! We got a new member!”
***
“Solo, you okay?” Kid looked down at his leader and friend, worry visible in his intense violet eyes. Solo smiled sadly.
“Naw, Kid. Shinigami’s comin’ fer me, just like he came fer all th’ other guys. Yer th’ only one left.” Kid’s eyes began to water slightly, and a sob threatened escape. He had lived with Solo and his band for two years, and Solo had become a brother to him.
“Solo, don’t leave.”
“I told ya’, Kid,” he said quietly as the disease delivered its final blow, “Boys don’t cry…” Kid nodded slightly, wiping his eyes. Then Solo closed his eyes, a final breath escaping from him.
“I’ve chosen a name, Solo,” Kid whispered softly. “It’s perfect, cuz’ I won’t forget you. I choose Duo. I’ll live fer both of us.”
***
About a year after the epidemic, Duo was taken in by Father Maxwell of the Maxwell Catholic Church. Sister Helen, one of the nuns stationed at the church, tied Duo’s hair back in a braid, as he refused to let her cut it. It had grown down to his shoulder blades by that time. Father Maxwell dressed the boy in the collar of a priest. The Catholic Church had a large shortage of priests that became greater with each month. Duo didn’t seem to mind the religious training; in fact, he seemed to be a natural at sermoning and analyzing the Gospel.
***
Duo glared hard at the guerilla leader.
“A mobile
suit? Is that what you want?” He ran from the church at top speed, heading for
an
***
Duo stared at the carnage in horror. The church was destroyed. Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, everyone was dead, even the soldiers. He couldn’t shake the nun’s dying words:
“Abba, forgive him and bless him. Please
keep him safe. He does not realize…”
***
The
destruction was blamed on the
“An interesting name… Why Shinigami?”
“It’s my curse. Everyone I love or care about dies. Then I must have the Touch of Death.”
***
Quatre smiled brightly as the other four Gundam pilots entered the front room.
“Hey guys!”
“Hey Quatre!” Duo ran to embrace his friend. “Been a while, ne?”
“Yeah. I’m so glad you were all able to come!”
“Hey, Quatre, I don’t wanna sound rude, but can I go to bed? I just finished a battle and haven’t slept in a decent bed in days!”
“Sure,” the blonde answered. “Rashid?”
“How can I be of service, Master Quatre?”
“Please show Duo to his room.”
“Yes,
Master Quatre. This way please, Mister Maxwell.”
“Thank, Quatre,” Duo called as
he followed Rashid to one of Quatre’s many guest rooms. Quatre watched him
leave, a smile on his face, but as soon as Duo was out of earshot, he shivered
visibly. Trowa raised an eyebrow.
“Something wrong?” Quatre looked uncertainly at his three other companions, then sighed.
“Actually, I was hoping we could…talk about Duo.”
“What about Duo?” Wufei asked, an edge to his voice. Heero glared slightly at the Arabian pilot, who shrank back visibly.
“Well… Have any of you observed him in battle recently?”
“Affirmative,” Heero answered. “We had a battle during our last mission.”
“Have you noticed anything…strange about him?” When he was answered with blank stares, he continued. “Well, which of us seems to hate this war most?”
“Duo,” the Japanese pilot answered immediately. “He’s lost the most to the war and wants it to end.”
“Right,” Quatre said. “But who seems to enjoy the battles most?”
“Maxwell,” Wufei said bluntly. “Listening to him, you’d think he was a kid at a theme park.” He shivered slightly.
“That’s my point. Why is it that he hates the war with a passion, but enjoys every minute of every battle? When I fight beside him, I’m tempted to leave the battlefield just to get away from him.” The room fell silent as the four boys contemplated this.
***
“Here you are, Mister Maxwell,” Rashid said as he opened a door. The room almost seemed to be the master bedroom of the house, but then, it was one of Quatre’s safe houses.
“Thanks, Rashid,” Duo said as he entered the room, letting out a dramatic yawn. Rashid nodded once, then closed the door. Duo eyed the door for a few moments, waiting until he was sure the Maganac had gone.
“All right,” he said quietly, looking around the room. “Where are you? I know you’re here.” Silence and stillness were given in answer. “Come out, Satan!”
“My, my, such cruel names.” Duo turned and glared at the figure that materialized behind him. He started at the beauty of the figure, marveling at the feministic softness to the masculine features. Beautiful black feather wings were folded behind him.
“Tell me, Lucifer,” Duo said coolly, “Do you enjoy thoroughly screwing me over or is it just part of your job description?”
“Whatever do you mean, Duo? I’ve shown nothing but honesty and truth to you.”
“Yeah, well, you’re obviously not telling me something.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, Abba is not happy,” the violet-eyed teen said ruefully, “and when Abba isn’t happy, He lets you know.”
“I don’t understand,” Lucifer responded, seemingly uninterested.
“Let me put it this way: It is extremely hard to concentrate on a mission when a gold cross flashes in your face every time you begin to concentrate on a battle.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.” Duo pointed to a small gold cross on a chain around his neck.
“Remember Maxwell Catholic church? Father Maxwell gave this to me when he started training me for priesthood. When it kept glowing and going out at different times during the last battle, I figured the reason was one of two things: there were Vampires among the ranks of soldiers or there was something wrong with me. Well, since it was highly unlikely that there were vamps posing as soldiers…”
“Vamps?”
“I figured it was me. And as soon as I landed, I suspected you had a part of it.”
“Interesting deductive reasoning…”
“Yeah, priest training comes in handy,” Duo answered venomously. “So, what did you do to me?”
“I didn’t do…”
“Yes you did! Do NOT deny it!”
“Fine, I did something. That doesn’t mean I’ll tell you what.”
“I guess I’ll have to guess then,” Duo answered, smiling incredulously. “And I think it has something to do with Shinigami.”
***
Quatre’s eyes widened as he listened to the exchange. He had come up to see if Duo wanted to come down for dinner, but the sound of an unknown voice stopped him from knocking.
“By Allah,” he whispered inaudibly, fear filling him.
***
“Lucifer glanced at the door, then sighed.
“Is that blonde a friend of yours?”
***
Quatre stiffened in his place.
“Quatre?”
“Y-yes Duo?” Quatre smiled guiltily as the door opened. “Um… Do you want dinner?”
“Come in, Quatre,” Duo said, sighing. “Welcome to my religious nightmare.” The Arabian pilot walked cautiously into the room, starting as Duo closed the door.
“Welcome, young Quatre,” Lucifer said mockingly. “How is the young master of the house?”
“Shut up, Lucifer,” Duo said offhandedly. “You’re scaring him.” Lucifer glared balefully at him, then shrugged in submission. Quatre sat quietly on the bed, eyes still wide with fear.
“I’d say he was already scared,” Lucifer muttered, winning him a warning glance from Duo. The former Angel shrugged, unfazed.
“How much did you hear?” the braided boy asked gently, trying to calm his blonde friend down.
“I heard you mention Maxwell Church,” Quatre answered, his fear giving way to guilt. “I didn’t mean to be eavesdropping…”
“Its okay, Quatre,” Duo said, laughing. “I feel a bit relieved now that someone else knows, but…” He sighed. “Sorry you’ve been dragged into it.”
“It’s all right,” the Arabian boy assured him. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell the others.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Are you two quite finished?” Lucifer asked impatiently. He stood off to one side, comically tapping his foot. Duo glanced at Lucifer, his annoyance obvious.
“Yeah, we’re done,” he said spitefully. “Now, about Shinigami…”
“Ah, yes. He’s one of my top… ‘Demons,’ as they’re called.” Lucifer snapped his fingers, and Duo’s eyes widened as his chest seemed to cave in on itself. He fell to his knees, clutching at his heart, eyes tightly shut. It only lasted a few seconds, and when the pain was gone, Duo stood glaring. And for the first time, he caught a glimpse of the real Shinigami. Unfortunately, apparently so did his cross, as it suddenly filled the room with blinding golden light. Lucifer shielded his face to keep from being dazzled, his annoyance unmasked. Duo covered his eyes with his hand, shaking his head in exasperation. Quatre had been surprised by the sudden blinding flash and was now carefully looking over the edge of the bed, feeling foolish as he realized what had caused the light.
“Yeah, yeah,” Duo said in a teen-to-parent tone of voice. “Look out, there’s a Demon. Thanks for the warning. You can turn it off now.” The light faded, almost grudgingly, winning and amused smile from Lucifer.
“So, you can control that light?”
“I have to or I’ll go blind,” the braided boy responded as he glanced at the sky in annoyance. The former Angel chuckled quietly.
“Just like an overprotective parent,” he mused. Then he seemed to remember Shinigami was still in the room. Duo sighed audibly.
“How can I get rid of ‘im?” Lucifer smiled.
“Not one to beat around the Burning Bush, I see,” he said. “Very well. As you are most obviously aware, there is a war going on here on Earth.”
“No foolin’? I never woulda’ guessed. Thank you, Mr. Obvious.”
“Well, this war is not supposed to have happened. However, Mortals will be Mortals. If this ‘OZ’ organization comes out victorious, they will take the free will of Earth and Space.”
“And you care because…”
“Because they will not allow religious worship, meaning an end to any and all religious figures.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“I do,” Quatre said, his expression slightly annoyed. “If people don’t learn about religion, specifically religions that read from the Old Testament of the Bible, they don’t learn about Allah, or Abba as you called him, nor do they learn about Lucifer.”
“Very good Quatre,” Lucifer commented. Quatre rolled his eyes disdainfully. Duo shook his head.
“So, if we win the war, the shadow-thing is gone?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the catch?” Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
“I get your soul?”
“Ha, ha.” The former Angel chuckled in amusement. He snapped his fingers, and Shinigami reentered Duo’s chest, causing the braided boy to wince. Quatre looked at him, slightly concerned. He sighed as Lucifer disappeared, leaving them alone.
“So…” The Arabian boy looked at his friend, bemused. “That’s Satan?”
“No, that’s Lucifer,” Duo said, laughing slightly. “Satan isn’t so…real. Calling Lucifer ‘Satan’ is really more like…” he fished around for a comparison. “It would be like calling Heero a ‘Jap.’ It’s more of a rude slang term that isn’t used much anymore.” He shrugged at Quatre’s surprised look.”
“Huh. Who would have thought…”
“Yeah, well, don’t use it when you’re talkin’ to him. He’ll blow up in your face. Literally.”
***
“Hey Quatre! How’s it going?”
“Pretty good, Duo. How ‘bout you?”
“I’ve been better. Left!” The pilots moved their Gundams out of the way just as laser fire struck the spot they had been standing on. Duo shook his head slightly. “You okay, Quatre?”
“Yeah, fine. Are we done here?”
“Yep. Just need to get ourselves outta’ here!” The two large machines rocketed into the sky and away from the base, too fast for a troupe to follow them. They landed in a wood some distance away. Duo hopped down out of Deathscythe, laughing childishly as he walked over to Sandrock. Quatre jumped down from his Gundam, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
“What’s that?”
“What, this? Aw, it’s just some loose information that a certain infiltrating Ozzie left out for me to find. Man, Trowa’s a good actor.”
“Yeah… Hey Duo?”
“Hm?”
“How’s your…uh…Demon-thing doing?”
“Eh? Oh, that. Yeah, it’s annoying, as always.”
“Just out of curiosity, how do you know Lucifer? You two spoke as though you were old acquaintances…”
“Well, for a while, he was a major unknown source of information. One day, he revealed himself. He hadn’t really given me any reason to suspect him of anything, so I just took the information gratefully.” Quatre blinked, surprise once again crossing his face. Duo laughed slightly. “Yeah, my sentiments exactly.”
***
Duo glared at the shadows.
“LUCIFER! GET OUT HERE!”
“No need to yell…”
“Why isn’t he gone yet?!” Lucifer blinked slightly at the blonde boy by Duo’s side. He almost never said anything when Duo met with him.
“Why isn’t who gone yet?”
“Shinigami! Why isn’t Shinigami gone yet? The war is over! Or have you failed to notice?”
“No, I’ve been keeping track. But it’s not over yet.”
“What?! Hey, come back here!” Duo cursed the former Angel under his breath. Quatre shook his head slightly.
“Here’s the catch,” he stated calmly. “It’s not over yet. There’s more that we don’t know about, and he won’t give us a head’s up.”
“Damn you, Lucifer,” the American pilot whispered softly. Quatre laughed bitterly.
“Too late for that, my friend.”
***
“I have killed Marimea. I won’t kill anyone ever again. I don’t…have to anymore…” Duo smiled slightly as Heero’s words echoed through his cockpit. Visual may have been cut off, but sound was still in tact.
“Geez, Heero,” he said quietly, “Why do you always have to make such a production?” He sniggered quietly as he joined his companions on the ground. Trowa was talking to Zechs and Noin, giving the braided pilot time to speak to Quatre.
“Is that the end of the war?”
“Man, I sure hope so. I’m surprised I’m not blind after all that.” He laughed slightly, but his laughter died down quickly as Lucifer appeared beside him.
“Well done, boys,” he said curtly, then briskly waved his hand. Duo winced slightly and gasped as Shinigami once again left him. “Here’s the catch: You get some unwelcome knowledge.” He left, smiling coyly. Duo and Quatre blinked in confusion.
***
“Wait, wait. I’m what?!”
“According to this,” Heero said, pointing to his computer screen, “You are already dead. And have been for a while. You’re parents were killed by muggers, you survived the plague, and a church took you in. The church was destroyed, burned to the ground. No one escaped, and everyone was at home. A young boy was found in an area of the church that didn’t suffer fire damage. He had died of suffocation from all the smoke. He was described as having braided chestnut hair and violet eyes.”
“How did they know what color his eyes were?!” Heero brought up the article. Duo cringed at the image of a younger him with eyes wide open in fear. “Oh man, I’m gonna be sick…”
“Well, apparently someone thought it was worth trying to revive you. You were only barely alive, though. So you were put into a cryogenic tank until you healed. Professor G found you on his ship when you woke up. He thought you were a stowaway, as did you.”
“I’ll be damned…”
“There’s a report here from one of the doctors who were working on the project. Apparently, if you don’t get back to a cryogenic lab soon, you’re going to die.”
“What?! Why?!”
“I don’t know. The article doesn’t give anymore information.”
***
“Sorry about your bad luck.”
“Shut up, Lucifer.” The former Angel shrugged indifferently.
“In case you’re wondering, the only reason you lasted as long as you did is because Shinigami was inside of you. If you want to live, you’ll have to accept him back.”
“No way in Hell.”
“Okay, then how about on Earth.”
“Duo?” The American pilot looked up as Quatre came into the room. He nodded a short greeting to Lucifer, then turned to his friend. “Duo, what is Heero talking about?”
“He told you guys already?”
“Yeah. Duo, when were you born?”
“Before the colonies,” he responded with a sigh after a long pause. “I remember the fire at the Maxwell church, but the next thing I knew, I was a stowaway on Professor G’s ship. I just figured I had run blindly to the docking bay after the incident.”
“But, you were heading to space! To a colony, no less!”
“Yeah, but the colonies were in the process of being built. So I knew about them, I just didn’t know they were complete. Earth’s Sphere was there. It was partially their fault everyone died. They wouldn’t let anyone leave, but everything else… Everything else was Shinigami’s work…”
“Yes, well. Back to business. As I was saying…”
“No.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“No. I refuse to let you put that Demon back in me.”
“I was just offering you a favor.” Quatre glared at Lucifer.
“How is replacing that monster doing Duo a favor?”
“It was keeping him alive.” The blonde pilot blinked in surprise. Duo rolled his eyes, annoyed.
“I don’t care. I don’t want to be involved with any of your tricks anymore.”
“I’m not doing it for me! I’m making the offer for the sake of some old friends of mine…”
“Oh? And who might that be? Hades and Ares?”
“No, Raphael and Gabriel, your parents.”
“Wh-wha…?”
***
Duo stared at the ground, amazement in his eyes. Born of two Angels… And two Arc Angels, nonetheless. Quatre smiled slightly.
“How ironic. You make deals with the Devil and your parents are Angels.”
“You’re not helping, Quatre.”
“Sorry.” Lucifer smirked, his figure slowly fading.
“You have until Christmas to think about my offer. There’s no catch to it, I promise. I’m just returning a favor to a couple of old friends.” He left the two pilots to their silent wonderings, chuckling lightly. “See you at New Year’s.”
***
Quatre sat beside the American pilot, his eyes concerned.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. I’ve made up my mind.” The blonde boy nodded, sighing quietly. He and Duo both looked up as Lucifer entered the room.
“So,” he said with a smug smile, “Have you decided?”
“Yes, I have.”
~ 端 ~