Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Wing boys, nor am I making nay money from this. The idea of a Confessor is from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. I am using them without permission. Warnings: AU, violence, shounen-ai Pairing: 1+2 3+4 The Confessor Series Part 10 Duo Maxwell, the last living confessor, with the ability to destroy any human being with a single touch, was going out his mind. He had gone obediently with the fat sergeant and his goons to a dark cell that was devoid of distraction to keep his hyperactive mind occupied. At first he tried to sit patiently. But the eerie suspicion that the walls were slowly creeping in on him started growing until he could no longer ignore it. To combat the feeling, he started pacing back and forth, counting the steps just to make sure that they weren't. To his dismay, after a while there were less steps across the cell, but did had he just inadvertently lengthened his stride? Finally to distract himself from moving walls, he started heckling the guards. That went on for about an hour, until the guards got tired of listening to him. They complained to the sergeant, who had just received word about the prisoner's fate. In less than ten minutes, Duo was sitting bound and gagged in the far corner of his cell glaring at said guards, his face was sweat covered and his long braid was starting to fray. The sergeant had ordered his goons to rope him and was careful to make sure that they wore gloves so they would not touch the confessor with bare skin. Duo, seeing the ropes had tried to put up a fight, but he was outnumbered and forced to stay back away from the drawn swords. After the confessor was fully restrained, the sergeant dismissed the guards who were grateful for the peace. The sergeant stayed behind, smirking at Duo's helplessness. He then walked over and shut the door; only the glow of a torch cast any light. Turning back to the braided captive, he slowly pulled on a pair of thin leather gloves and walked over to where Duo sat with his arms tied painfully tight behind his back. "Treize has given the order for your death, but I decided that I'm going to have some fun first. It's too bad you can't be touched. You are so pretty, even if you are a boy." He ran a pudgy leather-encased hand over Duo's cheek. Duo glared and made muffled sounds, unable to talk clearly through the gag, but his tone made it clear he was NOT happy with the situation. The sergeant chuckled wickedly and bent closer to the captive confessor. His rancid breath was hot on Duo's face as his hands stroked down the young man's throat and chest. Duo tried to squirm away from that unwelcome touch, rage flaring in his violet eyes turning them almost black. He yelled through the gag again. "I can't understand you." The sergeant leered mockingly as he reached up to grasp Duo's braid and yanked hard, forcing the confessor's head painfully back against the wall. He started ripping open the collar of Duo's shirt. Duo tried to writhe away but the grip on his hair held him fast. Duo's feet came up hard between the sergeant's legs and the fat man groaned as agony flared below his belt, but he didn't lose the hold he had on the braid. "You little brat, you'll pay for that!" He snarled and making a fist with his free hand he slugged Duo across the jaw and followed it up with another right in the gut. The confessor seemed dazed as he desperately tried to suck air past his locked stomach muscles. He curled into a ball trying to protect his vulnerable middle, unable to cradle his injured solar plexus with his arms. Pulling in the braid once more he forced Duo's head back so he was once again staring into those violet eyes. He took a moment to enjoy the pain he saw filling them. Once again the confessor tried to force words past the gag. "What was that? Still trying to talk? Why, I can't understand anything you say." The sergeant raised his hand once again to deliver another blow. Suddenly one of Duo's hands flew out and attached itself to the fat throat. With his other hand he reached up and ripped the gag from his mouth. "I said, get your fucking hands off me!" He snarled in a low tone, still a bit breathless from the punch to his gut. The sergeant's eyes were bugging out of his head as Duo dug his fingers into his jowls. Without removing his hand from the throat, Duo untied his feet with his free hand and slowly stood up, forcing the sergeant to stand with him. "You shouldn't have done that, sergeant." He purred, his violet eyes narrowed like a cat stalking a mouse. "I will not put up with that shit. You made a mistake by thinking I was helpless. It will be your last." With that, Duo relaxed the restraint on the magic that was so much a part of him. Silent thunder impacted the air. The guards nearby looked up and shrugged at each other. There were no clouds in the sky. Must be those maniacs over at the magicians' academy again The sergeant's blank gaze filled with reverence. "Master?" He whispered. Duo scowled. He didn't think Treize would be pleased about what he had done. But Duo decided he didn't really care. He owed Treize some payback anyway for what had been done to his kind. He shrugged to himself and turned to leave, there was no point in sticking around waiting for someone else to try and carry out the orders to execute him. A voice made him hesitate. "Master, how can I please you?" Duo stopped and considered. Then he smirked just a little. He turned back to the mindless slave with his eyes gleaming. Some hours later.. "I'm not sure what happened, sir. The sergeant had ordered us to tie him up then we left. We didn't see anything coming or going since." The guard finished up his report to the scowling Major Yuy. The guard looked decidedly nervous about letting such a dangerous prisoner escape, as well he should, but Heero knew from experience that tying Duo up was a poor choice of tactics when dealing with the confessor. He could untie himself almost immediately. Heero looked at the catatonic sergeant once more. Drool was running in a steady stream down the corner of his mouth as he rocked slightly back and forth humming to himself. One hands squirmed in his lap and Heero realized that he was masturbating. He shook his head and turned away. "We don't know what happened to the sergeant sir, he was just sitting there looking at nothing when we found him." The guard had followed his sight and shook his head in confusion. Heero knew well enough what had happened, having seen it before, but decided that the guards didn't need to know. He turned to the others who were standing there silently watching the proceedings. "Any ideas?" Wufei considered. "If I were Maxwell, I'd go someplace where I wouldn't stand out. Probably where there were a lot of people to blend in with." Quatre's eyes lit up. "The market!" Heero nodded. It was as good a place as any to start looking. Duo wandered happily through the market square. The first thing he had done was relieve some wealthy-looking gentlemen of their purses. After that, he bounced from stall to stall, sampling various exotic foodstuffs, indulging in a new outfit complete with boots and purchasing a new hairbrush. He bought a new brace of knives and a warm woolen cloak. He tucked his braid down the front of his jacket to remain inconspicuous. Feeling like a real person, he sauntered through the crowds. He was looking for an inn to spend the night when something caught his eye. Two young children, a boy and a girl not much over ten and seven years respectively, were begging for handouts. They were grubby and their clothes were mere rags. Duo felt pity wring his heart and he walked over to them. He crouched down in front of them and smiled. "Hi there. What are your names?" The brother and sister looked warily at him, then at each other. Standing slightly in front of his sister, the boy said, "My name is Rand, and her name is Sherris." "Well, Rand and Sherris, where are your parents?" Duo asked. He knew they would probably be dead, but he had to ask. "Daddy died. He was a soldier and he was killed fighting in a battle. Mommy left." Rand answered, still looking wary but now an element of sadness was added to his small dirty features. "Now it's just you and your sister? You're a very brave kid. Here, I've got something for you, hold out your hand." Duo kept his voice warm and friendly but inside his heart was aching for these little lost souls. Rand looked doubtful but did as he was told, his body tensed ready to run at the slightest hint of trouble. Duo put the entire contents of his remaining purse in his hand. "Here, go get something to eat and some good warm clothes. And be sure that your sister gets some too ok?" The boy nodded and Duo stood up. He was turning to walk away when he felt something feather light brush his side and with the speed of a striking snake gently grabbed the little girl's arm. Without losing his kind expression he relieved her of his knife and said, " That was pretty good, but I felt that. You must be able to do it without touching the person, understand?" The girl nodded, and the boy glared at her. Duo chuckled. "Don't be mad. She is actually very good; it's just that I'm an expert. Besides, I need my knives." He ruffled the boy's hair affectionately and grinned at the girl again. "Just don't get caught, ok?" Obeying an impulse, he took off his new cloak and draped it over the boy's skinny shoulders. It hung way too big on him, but Rand reached out and drew his sister into it with him. "There, will that you both warm tonight?" The two imps nodded with identical grins, and Duo grinned back. He wished he could do more to help them. He hated the fact that soldiers who died in battle often left family behind to suffer through no fault of their own. Then Sherris with a shy smile held out her small hand to Duo who crouched back down to take what she offered. He inspected it and saw it was a small bit of purple silk ribbon, no more than nine inches long, probably taken from some tailor's scrap heap. With his eyes a bit misty, Duo nodded his thanks and pulled out his long braid and tied the ribbon around the end of it. Sherris smiled at him again, still safely ensconced in her brother's protective arms. "Take care of each other and you will be ok, alright?" He said, his voice husky. They nodded solemnly and faded into the dying sunlight, both of them still wrapped snugly in the woolen cloak. Duo stared after them for a few beats, a smile softening his features then he stood up and without turning, he said to the silent figures behind him. "C'mon out guys." Heero stepped out of the shadows, followed by Quatre, Trowa and Wufei where they had been observing the confessor and the two street urchins. "General Treize would like to meet you." The major stated simply. He saw the swelling bruise on the confessor's jaw. Duo grinned. His long braid swished around his waist as he shook his head. " Meet me? I thought he was going to execute me. What did I do to earn the reprieve? Not that I'm complaining mind you." He hastily added. When Duo had first seen the soldiers following him, he thought that they were there to finish carrying out Treize's orders. He hadn't wanted to die by the hands of people whom he almost considered friends. But he didn't know if he could use his power to defend himself from them either. "Hn" Heero replied. He motioned for Duo to follow them back to the palace. As they waited for Heero's squad to find the missing confessor, Treize, Sally Po and Howard adjourned to the War room, where they discussed details of the upcoming conflict. It was a room with a long rectangle shaped oak table surrounded with high-backed wooden chairs. A large detailed map of the continent dominated the wall on one side of the room. The wall opposite of the map was painted with the details of the Oz flag. The wall opposite the door had a huge picture window, showing off a wonderful view of the city. It was obvious that none of them had their minds on the discussion, however. Soon, the gaps in the conversation became more and more pronounced until the conversation ceased altogether. Silence fell over the room, as each was lost in their own thoughts. Howard eventually broke the silence. "Even if they do find it, what makes you think that it will want to help us?" Treize didn't answer; he just stared at the map in front of him like it held the secrets of the universe. "I mean, what do we have to offer it?" Sally looked troubled. She shook her head and sighed. "Howard is right, sir. The circumstances are different. We can't just threaten it and expect it to cooperate. We need it to help on its own free will." "How? Sally, how do we convince it to help us?" Treize finally asked, frustration echoing in this voice. "I don't know." She answered softly. She could feel the General's fear and frustration. She felt it too. They had worked so hard to prepare to defend themselves and now it was coming down to a desperation act. A quiet knock on the door announced the presence of new arrivals. A guard ushered in Major Yuy and his men, along with a slender young man with a long braid dressed in black. Heero's men arranged themselves behind the black clad figure, while the Major himself stood at ease off to his left where he could observe everything that went on. Silence fell across the room as they all waited for Treize to start the conversational ball rolling. But Treize was content to let the confessor stand awhile and maybe force it off balance. He studied Duo Maxwell intently. Duo was not what he expected. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but it certainly wasn't the fact that the confessor was beautiful. Those eyes and that hair along with a slim build would attract anyone, male or female. No wonder Heero had been upset when Treize had told him Duo was to be executed. But the braided boy was the ultimate in look but don't touch. Still it was a shame. He could tell the confessor was impressed and was trying not to show it. Wide violet eyes swept around the room as Duo inspected every person and object. Finally they rested on the General and he saw them narrow. Treize was good at reading expressions, and this one did not give him much hope that convincing the confessor to help them would be easy. "So, you must be the confessor Duo Maxwell." "I must be." His voice was clear and cold. Now Treize could see that the braided boy was scared but covering it well. *Well I've not given him any reason to trust me. * He thought. Treize stood up and walked up to the braided confessor. The others in the room tensed. If Duo wanted vengeance, now was the perfect opportunity to take it. All he had to do was reach out his hand and touch him. The two individuals stared at each other, taking the measure. Then Treize smiled and offered his hand. Duo looked at Treize uncertainly. Of all the things Treize could have done, this was not one that he had expected. Hesitantly he took the hand offered to him and shook it. "I am General Khushranada, please call me Treize." The elegant man with strange eyebrows did not take his eyes from Duo's, nor did he release Duo's hand. "I am told you wanted to see me." Duo's voice was flat, but his body was tense. He really didn't want to touch the general. Treize let go of his hand and took a step back. "Yes, please sit down." He gestured to a chair near Sally Po. Duo looked at her then Howard then back to Treize. Duo then looked over at Heero for some indication of what he should do, but Heero was expressionless. Mentally shrugging to himself, he took the offered chair. Treize sat back down in his own chair. Heero and his men continued to stand. Treize clasped his hands in front of him and never took his eyes from Duo's. "I'm not going to lie to you, Duo Maxwell. I had given the order to have you terminated. But now circumstances have changed and I have rescinded the order. It seems that you may be of some use to use after all." "How very kind of you, General." Duo said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Have you heard of Golgatha?" Treize asked, ignoring Duo's comment. "Sure, who hasn't?" He asked, impatient for Treize to get to the point. "Golgatha is preparing to invade the midlands. We figure that in less than two months they will start sending their army over the borders to conquer us. Of course I cannot allow that to happen without a fight. As of now the entire midlands are united with Oz to fight this menace to our respective countries. However the Golgathan army outnumbers us several times over. We have no choice to fight, and we will probably suffer heavy losses. However, if it were just a war between soldiers, maybe we could fight them and win. But we have recently received some disturbing information and as of now, we don't stand a chance." "I'm wondering why I should care, General? It seems to me that someone is doing to you what you have done to the midlands." Duo yawned. He felt absolutely no sympathy for Treize's predicament. "I needed the magical creatures, including the confessors, out of the way in order the conquer the midlands. The confessors especially because their power was too great to overcome if they had banded together to prevent my uniting all the kingdoms under my rule. It was necessary." Treize didn't like having to justify his actions but he needed Duo's cooperation. He knew the confessor was trying to provoke him and he refused to rise to Duo's bait. "However, it seems fate has a sense of humor. We have learned that the emperor of Golgatha, Odin Lowe has use of several first rank wizards. We cannot stand against their power, even if we banded all our magic-users together. They will decimate all of us." "So what has all this to do with me?" Now Duo didn't even bother to hide his irritation. "We have found out that wizards are vulnerable to confessor magic." Treize kept his face absolutely neutral. Duo stared in shock, and then started laughing. It was a hard sound with no amusement in it whatsoever. "Ha! Too bad you didn't know that before you had them all killed!" He choked out. "Not all of them are dead." Treize looked directly at Duo. Duo stopped laughing. He glared at Treize with undisguised hatred. "No way am I going to help you! First you kill all of my kind, order my own death, and then expect me to help? Uh-uh, no way." He stood up to leave. Sally started to say something but Treize stopped her with a hand on her arm. "As I understand it, if the confessors were still alive, you would have been killed at birth. Actually you owe me your life twice now." Treize's voice was glacial. Duo stared at Treize in shock and sat back down in his chair. It took a few seconds to sink in. He owed his existence to Treize, that must was true. He had said as much to Heero and the others himself. But he had never expected that Treize would want anything in return. Frantically his mind sped through options to get himself out of this situation. He shook his head. "Alright, fine. I owe you my life. But it isn't that great of life anyway. It isn't enough to make me want to go take on a bunch of wizards. I may be crazy but anybody doing that would have to have all the practicality and self-preservation instincts of a depressed lemming." He snorted. He saw Howard's lips twitch with smothered amusement. Sally put her hand up to her mouth to cover her own smirk. "What do you want, Duo Maxwell? What can I do to convince you to help me? Help the preserve the midlands and Oz? Help save the soldiers in our armies from being pointlessly slaughtered by an enemy they can't possibly defeat? What do you want from me?" Treize's voice was calm, but Duo could sense the urgency and desperation behind it. He stood up and Sally touched his arm. "Please, Duo Maxwell. We need you. The soldiers need you." Her face was calm but her eyes pleaded. Howard too was looking at Duo with hope and pleading. It made him uncomfortable that the most powerful people in the midlands would be reduced to begging for help. It seemed almost undignified. Duo turned away. He wanted nothing more to do with General Treize and the rest. He walked over to the window and looked out, not seeing the view but seeing the picture in his minds eye of dead soldiers and an invasion. Unconsciously he fingered the tip of his braid. An unfamiliar silkiness drew his attention from his own dark thoughts. He looked down and saw the strand of purple ribbon. "Daddy died. He was a soldier and he was killed fighting in a battle." The words haunted him. Daddy was a soldier. How many of Oz's soldiers had families? How many would leave their families to the brutal streets if they died? If he did as they asked, if he could eliminate the wizards employed by the Golgathan emperor, the soldiers would have a better opportunity of surviving the war. Then fewer children would end up like Rand and Sherris. Duo knew what he must do. What did he have to live for anyway? He sighed in quiet defeat. "Alright, I'll do it." Treize looked pleasantly surprised. Howard and Sally Po looked relieved, but Duo didn't care. Let them think what they wanted to. He wasn't doing it for them. "Ok, then. All our information concludes that the Golgathan invasion will begin their invasion in the Sank kingdom." He pointed to the map. The Sank kingdom was in the south, on the other side of Chaska, across the Korona Plains. Howard took over the briefing. "The Sank kingdom is devoted to peace. They surrendered without a fight because they believe in pacifism. But now that will work against us. They do not have a standing army, so it will be up to the rest of the midlands to defend their border." "Major Yuy and his group will accompany Duo Maxwell to the Sank kingdom. It would probably be best if Duo Maxwell were disguised as a soldier so he wouldn't stand out. Once you have reached the Sank kingdom, you will enjoy the hospitality of Queen Relena Peacecraft, while you will wait for the intelligence network to make a final verification on the location on the wizards. After that you can make your way into Golgatha and eliminate the wizards. We will have some more detailed briefings in the next few days before you make your final preparations. Any questions?" "Yeah, if I am going to be an Oz soldier, I want to have a rank." Duo stated, his annoying smirk back on his face. Treize looked amused. "What rank do you want?" "I want to be a general." Heero thought he heard someone snicker behind him, probably Wufei. Treize looked a bit stunned but quickly recovered. "I think not. A general would attract too much attention. I think you would be better off as a lieutenant." Duo pretended to think about it. Actually he didn't really care about a rank, but it was fun just to see Treize trying not to react to him. "Hmm, lieutenant. Is that higher than major?" "No," Heero said shortly. Duo smirked at Heero briefly, and then turned back to Treize. He nodded. "Ok, lieutenant Duo Maxwell it is." Duo considered it for a moment. "I like the sound of that." "That means you have to obey Heero's every command, can you do that?" Treize was looking at Duo with thinly disguised amusement. He had noticed to look the confessor had given Heero and didn't envy Heero trying to deal with the mischievous Duo. He suspected Duo might be even better than himself at getting a reaction out of the taciturn Major. Duo looked at Heero again. "Yeah, I think so. "Is that everything? Ok then. Dismissed." Treize returned the salute of the four-now- five soldiers. Duo 's wasn't as smooth as the others but he snapped if off with a cocky air that would have gotten him slapped silly from any drill sergeant. After the soldiers and the confessor exited the room nobody said anything each lost in his or her own thoughts. Finally Sally turned toward Treize. "That went better than I had hoped." "It isn't everyday you get to see the Overlord of the midlands humble himself like that." Howard added with a half-grin. Treize grinned briefly then sobered. "I would have gotten down on my knees if that was what it would have taken. Luckily it didn't come to that. I hate to wrinkle my uniform right after it has been pressed." "I wonder why he agreed to help. I don't think we were really that convincing do you?" Howard said thoughtfully. He had seen Treize pull off some great acting in the course of his career, but he knew Treize hadn't even begun before the confessor acquiesced. "No, I suspect he has own his reasons for doing it, but just to be sure I am giving Heero Yuy orders to kill the confessor if it appears that he may be backing out." The others nodded with no surprise. It made sense. "I see you promoted Heero to major. Isn't he a little young?" "Heero Yuy young? Never. He has been the most serious soldier I have ever met. He deserves every promotion he gets." Treize responded staring at the closed door. "Are you going to tell him about his father?" This was from Howard, who was back to studying the latest reports. "Odin Lowe? It's not my place to tell. His mother swore me to secrecy when she asked me for sanctuary. For his own safety and the safety of Oz, I had to keep the secret and so do the two of you. If Odin Lowe ever found out he had a son, he would not stop until he found him, even if that meant destroying every living thing that stood between Heero and himself." "I wonder how Odin Lowe would react if he found out that his son is leading the fight against his army?" Sally murmured softly. "He would do everything he could to destroy Heero, that much I know. His mother was emphatic that Odin would kill him if he found out that his son existed. Why, I don't know." Treize shrugged. "Alright, lets get busy, we have a war to prepare for." Treize stood up with Sally and Howard following suit. They left the War room and separated to prepare for war.