The Elements

AN: Only one more chapter after this one. Oh, and did anybody try to guess who
Quintessa is? If you’ve read Hamlet--and it had the footnote thingies--then you might
already know who she is. But no bother, you find out this chapter, anyway.

Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor its characters are mine. They are the property of
their respective owners. Rhys (when he shows up) is not mine. He is the property of
Laurel K. Hamilton. The Sidhe, the way I use them, are Laurel K. Hamilton\'s
interpretation of the faeries from mythology. If I use Hands of Power, which I might, they
are the creation of Laurel K. Hamilton, too.

Pairings: 2x1 (eventually), 6+1, 5+1, implied 3+4, R+H, H+9+H, others to be named
Rating: NC-17, Warnings: AU, OOC, probably lemon, semi Duo- bastardization (don\'t
worry, he gets over it), angst, NICE RELENA Chapter 18, 3x1 lemon, but don\'t worry, it\'s
just sex. Lots of death, too, so maybe I should put DEATH FIC. Sorry I didn’t put it
sooner, but I just kind of got away with me.

//blah// denotes thought
> denotes flashback or Memory

Archived in full at: mediaminer.org, gundam-wing-universe.net, and adult-fanfiction.org,
and fandomination.net,
R version archived at: fanfiction.net

The Elements
Chapter 36

When Oberon arrived back at the castle, he was pleased to find that his brothers had been
busy. The throne room was prepared for the upcoming spell, complete with an almost
full circle made of blood--the human’s blood would be used to finish it--an ornamental
bathtub, and an alter. All of the other *utensils* Oberon would need were also there.
Satisfied that all of his immediate needs were fulfilled, Oberon dismissed the slaves who
were putting out the “finishing touches.” Death was alone with the human.

“Strip,” he commanded and watched as the human did so. His host’s mate had a fantastic
body, and had Oberon not had a use in mind for it, he would not have minded taking it for
a ride. But when he got his Quintessa back, he would have no need for others.

“Climb into the tub and clean yourself,” Oberon said. The spell called for cleanliness, a
soiled body made for soiled blood, and the blood needed to be pure--free of any
impurities. “You don’t take drugs, do you?”

The human shook his head in the negative, and Oberon allowed him to continue
undressing himself. Oberon took off his clothes and entered the bafterfter the human--for
this rite, his blood would also be needed. His blood and the blood of his host with the
blood of his mate and the blood of his host’s mate. The four together would result in two.
He in his host and his mate in his host’s mate. Heero and the human would be forgotten
and Oberon would finally have his Quintessa back.

Oberon fantasized what it would be like to have Quintessa back with him. This time, she
would love him. There would be none of that “I love you as I love all of the All’s
creatures.” She would love him and only him because she would know how much he
went through to get her back. She would realize his love for her and know that he was
the only one who loved her that much. Nobody--not even her piddling brothers--love
Quintessa as much as he did.

As Oberon thought of his wonderful mate, he barely heard the low humming coming
from somewhere nearby.

***

In the Black Room, headphones dropped down beside Heero’s chair. Confused--this had
never happened before--he put them on.

***

Duo’s mind and body slowly came back to him. He was in a castle of some sort, naked in
a bathtub, while the root of all evil prepared for something Not Good. Death--”You can
call me Oberon”--had done something to him. He couldn’t remember how he got here,
didn’t even know where here was. The last thing he remembered was waking up to find
Heero hovering above him. That had probably been whenever it happened--whatever *it*
was.

To comfort himself, Duo started humming Heero’s Song. Over the last few weeks--since
he put a name to the song--Duo had begun humming it whenever he felt upset or angry or
stressed. Which was to say, almost constantly. He had never really figured out the
words, though, they always seemed to slip through his mind whenever he thought he
grapsed them. They seemed to have something to do with creation and love and hate.
Normal tragic romance crap, but he loved it. It was all he had left of his soulmate. That
and the thing over at some sort of table ling cng candles.

Oberon looked over at Duo. There seemed to be some sort of spark in his
eyes--understanding of song, maybe?--but it was probably just the flicker from the lights.
Oberon didn’t know the song. Only Duo and Heero did. Unless...unless maybe Heero
could hear him?

Duo knew it was impossible, Heero himself had told Duo many times--past Duo’s were
pretty slow on the uptake; he was this time around, also, if he wanted to speak the
unadulterated truth--that when he was taken over, for lack of a better word, he could
never hear what was going on in the outside world. He could see, but never hear.

Which meant that Heero could see everything that was going on at the moment. Why
wasn’t he doing anything? He had always said he would protect Duo with his life if he
had to. Well, here Duo was, about to die--or something worse than death--and Heero
wasn’t even *trying* to do anything. Then it his Duo: Heero didn’t know who he was.
As far as Heero knew, Duo was just some former classmate, some unnamed somebody in
the hoards of deaths Heero had thus far been forced to witness (Duo knew that at any
time, Heero could choose not to watch the doings of Oberon, but he also knew tht Heero
would always choose to watch. It was the honor of thi thing.). Duo needed to somehow
let Heero know who he was. But how?

And a plan formed in Duo’s mind. Heero couldn’t hear--so he couldn’t hear Duo’s
humming, which would be a dead giveaway of who he was, as only Heero and Duo knew
that particular song--but he could see. That meant if did something that only *he* would
do--something that only Danyer, possibly would do--then Heero would know it was him.

Duo didn’t know what he expected Heero to do if and when he figured out who Duo was,
Duo only knew that this might be his only oppurtunity to let Heero know he loved him. If
only Oberon would *turn around*.

***

There was humming--Heero knew that. And it sounded familiar--Heero knew that, too.
But where was it coming from, and why could he hear it? Why now, when Death was
about to do something horrible to that boy (was his name Duo? Heero couldn’t quite
remember, but he thought it might be.) would he finally ble tle to hear as well as see
while inside his prison.

Heero had not written the song being hummed. He had merely been the one to put it to
music--for the sake of authenticity. It was a telling of the curse of the Riders--and thus
the Elements--and the circumstances surrounding that curse. But the person--if it was a
person--humming it didn’t seem to know any of the words. Heero knew the words--he
knew them in every language known to man, faery, demon, and beyond. Of course, it
sounded prettier in some languages than in others--Heero was partial to the chants of the
Vanuli Niamos.

“In the beginning, there were none. Then Earth was created, and there was one. He was
the First. Fire, Water, Air, and Spirit followed. One became two, two became three,
three became four, and four became five. They were the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth,
respectively. They were name the Elements. All was right with the five, for a time. They
went forth and procreated, creating species upon species different from them, yet at the
same time, the same.

“Then the bad men came--They Who Rode the Horses. One of them, the First of They
Who Rode, fell in love with the Fifth of the Elements and demanded that she love him
back. She refused him. She loved everyone and everything equally. She could not give
him special treatment This angered the First of They Who Rode--the Riders--and he
begged her to change her mind. The Fifth did not change. Three times he offered, three
times she refused.

“They Who Rode--like the Elements--had powers unimaginable. But unlike the
Elements, The Rider’s powers had a dark tinge to them. The third time the Fifth spurned
the First of They Who Rode, he let loose his power, the power of Death. His horrible,
awful magic killed the Fifth, extinguishing the lives of the other Elements along with her,
all before their twenty-fifth year.

“The All--the combination of the God and Goddess--saw what The First of They Who
Rode had done and was horrified. The All knew that the First’s brothers--while not
directly responsible for the attack--had known of it and could have stopped it. The All, in
Its infinite wisdom, punished the Riders for their actions--or, inactions, as the case may
be.

“The punishment was thus stated: ‘In the time before time, in the place before history,
the world before humanity, a great evil was done. Those who performed the act were
banished, sent away from this world, in order to protect it. Those the act was performed
against would be their keepers, the only beings protecting this world and others from the
great evil of the Riders. Always dying before their twenty-fifth birthday, the Elements
shall travel--a new destination every year and a day--the world, closing the gateway
between our world and theirs.

“Four times, the Riders shall have a chance to redeem themselves. Four times, the
Elements will be reduced to four, the Element Spirit doubling with one of the others.
Each time, the Riders shall inhabit the bodies of the four remaining Elements. Their
actions will determine their fate. Should they choose to atone for their actions, at the end
of one year and one day, the Riders will be given their own bodies and allowed to return
to our world. But should they choose to spread their evil like a contagion, the Element
cohabiting with Spirit shall destroy them.

“The fourth and final time, if they choose to continue in their ways, they will be utterly
annihilated, never to be seen or heard from again.”

Heero stared out of the visor--Oberon had turned around and Heero saw that it was Duo
humming the song, which admittedly, did not a very good song make, at least not when
translated into English. But how did Duo know that song? Even if he was only humming
it, he still obviously knew a little about it. Where did his knowledge come from. Only a
few people knew of it--himself, his brothers, his sister, Rhys, and his soulmate. And Duo
was obviously not any of those people. Was he?

***

Duo scrunched up his face as he thought of how to let Heero know who he was. Oberon
had turned around, so here was his chance. He just didn’t know what to do!

“Get out of the tub and dry off,” Oberon commanded. Not having anything better to
do--and not wanting the Rider to know that he was free of whatever spell he’d put on Duo
earlier--Duo did as he said. Oberon brandished a large knife--it was called an athame,
Rhys had said once. “Step into the circle.”

Duo eyed the circle to which Oberon motioned. It looked to be made of blood. Not a
very comforting picture for Duo. He stepped in anyway.

“Don’t do this,” Duo said, trying to keep the pleading out of his voice, but not succeeding
completely. He didn’t want to die, but he didn’t want to die without Heero knowing who
he was more. Death, he could take. Heero not knowing him, he couldn’t.

“It won’t hurt that much,” Oberon said, raising the athame over his head. “And it’ll all be
over soon, anyway.”

Oberon swung the knife down.

***

“No!” Heero screamed. He didn’t know if Duo was who he thought he was--if Heero
could really be fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to have his soulmate brought right
before him--but he couldn’t stand the thought of Duo dying. There had been too much
death. Something let go in Heero--or maybe something got let *in*--and the walls in the
Black Room splintered. For the first time in months, Heero could see light not provided
by Oberon’s eyes. Inflamed by this, Heero gathered all the strength adn concentration he
could. The he *pushed*.

“I won’t let you hurt him!”

Everything went white. He was back in control of his body. Heero felt the descent of the
knife and halted his arm. Duo was safe.

“Duo?” he asked, trying to audibly confirm this miracle. It worked. The words came out
of his mouth, just as if he had always been in control. Duo looked at him curiously; he
had dropped to the floor when Oberon had swung the athame, and it was weird to look
down at him. “Duo, are you okay?”

Duo nodded once and stood up, towering over Heero. “Heero?” he asked. His voice
sounded small, a sound that should never come from one so small. It was Heero’s time to
nod, so he did.

Duo swept Heero up into a bone-crushing hug. Heero allowed this for a moment before
making Duo let him go. Even after Duo set Heero back on the ground, his hands still
wrapped around Heero’s forearms.

“Prove it to me,” Heero said after Duo had set him down. “Prove to me that you’re who I
think you are. Tell me how you know the song.” Heero desperately hoped that Duo
could--and would.

“You told me the song, after you told me how I was created,” Duo said. Heero’s hopes
rose at the words. “I was created from you--your body, your magic, and your soul.”

Heero’s spirits soared at that. This was Duo. This was Danyer.

“It’s really you,” Heero said, his eyes filling with tears. He brought his hand up to cup
Duo’s cheek, as if he was afraid that Duo might disappear. The truth was, he very well
might. Anything could happen now. “Will you--will you kiss me? Please?”

Heero knew his insecurities were getting the better of him. Everything was all right now.
He had his soulmate, he’d defeated the Riders--quite easily, too--everything was over.
The God and Goddess wouldn’t take it from him now, would they? Surely, they weren’t
that cruel.

Duo bent his head to kiss Heero, and Heero felt a tug in the pit of his stomach. The kiss
was simple--chaste, even--but the tug wasn’t. It felt like his entire stomach had been
ripped out and replaced with Play-Doh. Heero didn’t know exactly what it was, but he
knew that there was no way it could be good. Apparently, the All could be *that* cruel.

“Duo,” Heero said, after Duo had pulled back from the kiss, “I want you to run, now.
Run back to the mirror that brought you here, and jump through. And no matter what,
*don’t look back*.”

“I won’t leave you,” Duo insisted, but before he could stop Heero, he was being pushed
out of the throne room. His clothes were thrust at him, and the door was shut.

Heero turned away from the door, secure in the knowledge--or at least, hopeful--that Duo
would do as he asked. He couldn’t worry about it anymore. Heero’d figured out what the
tug was--Oberon was trying to take control again. Of course, Heero now realized that
when he’d regained control of his body, he hadn’t killed Death, merely pushed him to the
back. Much as Oberon did Heero all those months ago. To get rid of Oberon--and thus
the other Riders--Heero would have to kill his body. Heero would have to die.

Heero didn’t want to die, but if he didn’t, countless innocents would--including Duo. If
Heero didn’t kill Oberon now, and Oberon regained command of his body, then Oberon
would continue whatever spell he had been about to perform.

Enraged by this, Heero stalked to the incomplete circle. It would take Earth to destroy the
Riders. Blood was Earth. Heero still held the athame, so it was a simple matter to finish
it. He cut himself across his hand and smeared the blood across the stone floor.

“In the name of the Mother and the Father, I beseech you,” Heero said. In the name of
Spirit, I beseech you. In the name of Air, I beseech you. In the name of Water, I beseech
you. In the name of Fire, I beseech you. In the name of Earth, I beseech you.” Heero
smeared the blood from his palm across his naked flesh. The stone beneath Heero began
to shake. “I invoke thee, power of myself, seek out those with my immediate blood.
Seek out my brother’s, power of Earth, and destroy them.” Heero’s power converged in
the center of his bloody palm. “I send you, magic. Destroy.”

There was no visible change when Heero said that, but he felt himself weaken. All of his
magic left his body, leaving him as little more than a shell. The ground shook so hard
that the stone dais was--almost--tilting back and forth.

In a few seconds, anyone would looking in the room would not have seen Heero. They
would, however, have seen a pile of ash in the spot Heero had been in. Around the castle,
three more piles of ashld bld be found.

Selune

Just to make sure this is clear, there is *one more chapter*. So, this is

To Be Continued