Disclaimer: I do not the Gundam Wing characters, nor am I making any money from this. A Confessor and a Mord-Sith are borrowed without permission from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. Many of the names of the locations are taken from the online game of Everquest, again without permission. Warnings: AU, dark, violence, shounen-ai, angst Pairings: 1+2 3+4 Special thanks as always go out to Betty, my beta reader, and Kitsune and Maria for their feedback. Mord-Sith! A continuation of the Confessor Series Part 2 Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left it's seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence --The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon Duo sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. His slender body shone with sweat and his thick braid was soggy. He brought a trembling hand up to his forehead, pushing his damp messy bangs out of his violet eyes. As the reality of his surroundings washed over him, some of the tension eased from his body and left him with a weak shaky feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was only the dream again. The dream was always the same. He was trying frantically to reach someone. Who it was, he didn't know, but strong arms had held him back. The need to get to that person was overwhelming, and the sheer frustration of not being able to get there nearly drove him wild. But that wasn't what caused him to wake up in a panic, clawing blindly for consciousness. No, that was something else. A sound. He didn't know what the sound was or what caused it, but it stirred a terror so deep inside of him that his conscious mind utterly rejected it. It remained deep in his subconscious; buried there behind the thick locked doors created by his mind to protect him. Somehow, he knew if he were to ever hear that sound, he would go insane. `Go insane?' he thought, `hell, I'm already halfway there.' That was the worst thing about losing his mind, he decided. It was the fact that he knew it was happening and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. With a rueful chuckle and shake of his head, he climbed out of the large bed in the quarters that had been assigned to him since he had completed his `training'. He still couldn't believe that the most influential human being in the world, Emperor Odin Lowe, would invest so much in him. He had been alone all his life, hunted by people who hated and feared him for his power. On hindsight, he supposed they did have a point. But here in Erudin, he could be himself without fear of persecution. The Emperor accepted him as a Confessor. He even went so far as to ask Duo to be a personal guard and stay as a resident of the Palace. Duo, having nowhere else to go, accepted the invitation gladly. All the Palace staff treated him with respect. Even the Mord-Sith tolerated him, though that was probably by the Emperor's orders. He had accidentally killed one of the Mord-Sith when he first was brought here, but the other members of Odin Lowe's elite bodyguard seemed to think that she deserved it. He didn't understand their attitude, but wasn't going to question it. He was now rich, respected and walked among the most powerful people in the world. Not too bad for a poor orphan boy. He should be the most content Confessor in the world, never mind that he was the only Confessor left in the world, thanks to Treize. And yet and yet he couldn't help but feel that things weren't right. It wasn't anything specific he could lay his finger on. When Odin Lowe had ordered Duo to join him at the Kunark border and capture the King, the action seemed justified. After all, Kunark had attacked Golgatha first; Odin was just defending his empire. And this way, the lives of the Golgathan soldiers were spared. Duo understood the Emperor's reasoning and willingly carried out his orders. But right before the Confessor and Une, disguised as guards, had slipped into the King's tent, Duo overheard a discussion in which the King announced his intention that he was going to contact Treize and ask for an alliance. The King knew of the devastation that happened at Bitterroot, and thought Treize must have a powerful new weapon with which to fight the Emperor. Duo had read the reports about Bitterroot. More than 75000 people had died there, and no one could figure out how it had happened. That bothered Duo, almost as much as the fact that Odin's army had been on its way to the Sank Kingdom in the first place. The Sank Kingdom didn't have an army, so it was no threat to the Empire. Duo couldn't understand why Odin Lowe would feel so threatened by an unarmed country. When the braided Confessor had questioned him about it, Odin said it was necessary to send part of his army there to guard the border. When Duo had tried to pursue it further, the Emperor had warned the violet-eyed youth in no uncertain terms that Duo was not to further question his decisions. The only explanation that made sense to Duo was that Odin Lowe was planning to conquer the Sank Kingdom. So the Emperor had lied to the Confessor, but why? Why did he care what Duo thought? The sun-on-steel cobalt gaze was enough to make Duo drop the subject, at least for a time. And there was something about those uncompromising eyes that reminded Duo of something. Duo decided to investigate further. He knew that Dorothy had found him at Bitterroot, lying unconscious amongst the ruins, though he himself had no idea how he got there. His memories were fragmented, some were crystal clear; like Hilde, others were hazy; like running through a long canyon, being pursued by Trieze's soldiers, and there were some that were just plain nonexistent, like Bitterroot and how he ended up there. Nobody could figure out what had happened at Bitterroot. The Emperor concluded it must have been a new weapon from Oz. But how had Treize managed to get hold of such a powerful weapon? Would he use it again? And what had Duo been doing in the middle of it all? The braided Confessor had no answers to those questions. Duo felt a need to find the answers because he had a sense of time running out. At one point, he had gone to Dorothy to ask her if she knew anything more than what he had been told. He had knocked on the door to her chamber and breezed on in without waiting for a reply, just to annoy her. He found her naked on her bed, straddling a half-clothed guard; she had her Agiel between her teeth like a dog with a bone. "Dorothy, got a minute? I have a question " he trailed off as he took in the scene. Dorothy looked up at the sound of his voice, her eyes dilated with lust and fury. "Maxwell! What the hell do you think you're doing! Can't you see I'm busy? Get out of here now!" she practically shrieked with outrage, the red rod dropping from her jaws. She caught the Agiel deftly in one hand, much to the pinned guard's relief. Duo just grinned annoyingly and replied, "This will just take a minute Dorothy. I'm sure he won't mind." Duo indicated the helpless man on the bed; the guard's eyes were wide and pleading. "All right, what!" she snapped, hopping off the bed and standing glaring at Duo, with her hands on her bare hips. "When you found me at Bitterroot, was my wrist already broken, or did you do it?" he asked. He didn't remember breaking it, but he did remember having the splint removed after it was healed. "No, I did not break your wrist, nor significantly damage you in any other way. You were pretty much dead to the world the whole trip back to Erudin. So I had no cause to do anything to you, unlike now," she growled, stalking closer to him. He held up his hand, pointing at her warningly, making her stop in her tracks. With her whole attention on Duo, she didn't see the hapless guard slowly slide down to the foot of the bed, his eyes never leaving Dorothy's bare back. Duo also kept his eyes on Dorothy. He thought she wouldn't be so stupid as to try anything with him; but a person could never be sure with the temperamental Mord-Sith. "And you found me in the fortress itself?" he questioned. The guard was quietly sneaking to the door, his shirt grasped in one hand. "No, on the plateau above the fortress," she corrected impatiently. Duo should have found her nakedness distracting, but for some reason he wasn't interested. It wasn't that she wasn't beautiful. With her large blue eyes and incredibly long golden hair, she was striking. There was not an ounce of fat on her. But Duo wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot barge pole even if he had been able to enjoy sex like regular human beings. The Mord-Sith were too violent in their lust. Instead it was all he could do to keep his eyes on her and not watch her victim slip out the door. He ruthless bit down on the urge to laugh. "And I was wearing an officer's uniform?" he knew all this already but wanted to give the poor guard a head start. "Yes, what else do you want to know? I want to get back to what I was doing." She twirled her Agiel around her wrist from its chain. "What was Odin Lowe doing at the border between Sank and Golgotha?" Dorothy bit her lip, her irritation momentarily forgotten at his question. The Emperor made sure to keep certain truths hidden from Maxwell. "Did you ask the Emperor?" she countered. "I tried," he admitted. Odin's manner discouraged Duo from questioning him too much, and Duo wasn't sure just how far he could push his luck where the Emperor's temper was concerned. "Then don't ask me. I'd get in trouble for revealing information that doesn't concern you. You don't have to worry about the Emperor taking over your mind." For a moment, she almost sounded wistful; then she caught herself and her eyes hardened again. "Was that everything?" `What was I doing at Bitterroot in the first place?' was what he truly wanted to find out but dared not ask. `And why was I left behind? The last question was the one that he really agonized over. Was he supposed to have died with the others? Dammit, he wished he could remember. Dorothy impatiently waited a moment to see if Duo would ask any other question. Then she just shrugged, not really caring. Thinking that enough time had passed to give the guard a good running start, he grinned at the irritated Mord-Sith. She glared back at him. "Are you finished?" she asked pointedly. He nodded. "I guess so, thanks anyway Dorothy." She ushered him to the door and all but shoved him out into the corridor, slamming the door behind her. He counted to three, and then a shriek of pure fury echoed into the quiet corridor. He took off running, laughing to himself. The guards treated him with utmost courtesy after that. And with something that bordered on respect. After that incident, Duo tried to keep an eye on the Mord-Sith's activities with the guards. He made it a point to quietly intervene whenever possible, as he had a few days ago when Dorothy had all but climbed inside the brown-haired guard's clothes. Clad only in his sleeping shorts, he padded over to the tall open window that looked out over the Palace gardens, and placed his hands against the sill and leaned out. The twin silver moons cast a pale light on his upturned face. A cool breeze dried the sweat on his bare chest and stirred his damp bangs as he inhaled the perfumed air. Insects quietly chirped in the gardens below, competing with the bubbling fountains. The tall willow tree right outside his window rustled quietly in the breeze, as if greeting him. Climbing onto the sill, he leaned his back against the side of the opening and drew his knees up to his chin. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he studied the night sky as he often did after waking from the dream. It was coming more often again, almost twice a week now. It usually happened after he had used his power too much as he had in Kelethin. Sleep wasn't attractive when all it held was terror. Duo knew the dreams heralded another unwelcome facet of his current mental condition. He'd soon have to ask Une for help again. In a twisted sort of way, Une's training had already helped him. Ever since he had regained consciousness in Dorothy's tender care, Duo would intermittently suffer intense headaches in addition to the regular constant ache that now permanently lived behind his eyes. He didn't know the pain's source and, being impervious to healer's magic, couldn't be healed. White agony would flare behind his eyes and build until he thought he would literally go mad from the pain. Une, using her Agiel, taught him to tolerate the pain. He could push it out of the way; ignore it while he went about his business. And when the pain got too bad, she could send him into oblivion. The icy Mord-Sith who worked with him was still a mystery to Duo. After his retaliation against Sylvia Noventia, Une had taken over. She was different. While Sylvia had viciously enjoyed tormenting him, Une never once acted as though she enjoyed inflicting pain. Actually, Une never showed any emotion whatsoever. She always exhibited the same icy calm in every situation. In a way, that calm reassured Duo. Even when she had him screaming in agony, her demeanor wouldn't change a whit. Shivering slightly, the braided Confessor rubbed the back of his neck under his braid. Using his power against Sylvia had been an instinctive reaction; he had lashed out blindly at the source of his torment. He didn't discover until later that Sylvia had been deliberately trying to get him to use his power against her. When Duo's Wild magic ripped into her, she started screaming. She collapsed and lay in a shrieking, boneless heap, stopping just long enough to draw a breath to scream again. By the time the guards had located Une and brought her down to the cell, Duo was almost catatonic. Physically, the power expenditure for him had been negligible; but, in his fragile mental state, her screams had resonated through his mind until he withdrew into himself, unwilling to respond to anything. Une entered the cell and took in the whole situation at glance. Ignoring the shaking boy in the corner, she stood over Sylvia's screaming figure, a look of icy contempt on her delicate features. "You were warned what he could do to you, Sylvia but you chose to ignore the warning." She stared at Sylvia's writhing body for another minute. Then she snapped her Agiel up to her hand from where it had dangled from her wrist on its chain, and pressed it against Sylvia's chest. With a twist of the red rod, the Mord- Sith's racing heart stopped beating. Silence filled the cell. Then Une signaled to the guards to drag the corpse away. They never looked in Duo's direction as they filed out the door. It closed it behind them with a solid clang, leaving him lying there, shivering on the stone floor. Pulling himself back from the past, Duo raised his head and inhaled, trying to get rid of the tension that pervaded his slender body. There was so much he couldn't remember. Why he had been at Bitterroot, what had happened there and why was he the only one to survive? The Emperor himself had asked him those questions, but there was just a black void where there should have been memories. A sudden quiet in the night caught his attention. Even the bubbling fountains were oddly hushed. Then the wandering breeze carried a sound to him. It sounded like crying. Still clad only in his shorts, Duo agilely hopped down from the window into the willow tree. Its bark was smooth under his bare feet as he climbed down to the cool dew-dampened grass. He silently made his way across the lawn and into the hushed moonlit gardens. On the other side of the gardens was the north wing of the Palace. He stole over to the wing, trying to locate the source of the crying. It almost sounded like a little girl. When he was about to try to sneak into the wing without attracting the guards' notice, a slight movement caught his eye. He froze, studying the still figure. With a thrill of recognition, he saw it was Middie. She was standing under one of the spreading oak trees, the shadow- dappled moonlight playing across her skin and soft blue dress. A happy grin stretched across his lips as he stealthily made his way to her side. He knew that she had seen him, but she didn't look at him; she kept staring at the wing in the moonlight, a small frown marring her delicate features. "Middie, what brings you out here?" he asked in a low voice as he stood by her side, while also looking up at that the Palace. Her waist-length hair was loose and the slight breeze played with her tresses. Her large, clear eyes held a hint of sadness. "Hello Duo," she greeted him, her voice soft and musical. She turned and looked at him, raising an eyebrow at his undressed state. He caught the look and grinned unashamedly back, his violet eyes sparkling cheerfully under his long bangs. She turned back to study the Palace again. "What are you doing out here this late at night?" she asked. Middie was always interested in his activities. "I couldn't sleep," he shrugged. Seeing her skeptical glance he crossed his arms across his bare chest. "I heard a noise," he admitted. She nodded. He listened intently, and heard it again, louder now. "It sounds like someone's crying," he commented. "The girls are crying," Middie answered. "They have been bringing them to the Palace for about two months now. Soon, they will start their training." "Training?" he asked, puzzled. "To be Mord-Sith," she answered, a hint of anguish in her voice. Duo frowned. He liked Middie and didn't want to see her hurt. There was something about the tall woman that had always affected the young Confessor. Middie carried an aura of peace and calm; a subtle power burned steadily beneath her quiet exterior. Whenever Duo was near her, he felt his fears and worries easing. Middie's presence was like a sanctuary from the madness that pervaded his life. She was the one person in the Palace who he could truly call a friend. Middie seemed to understand his every thought and feeling. She was the first person he could remember that showed him kindness, in a lifetime of running and hiding. She was the only person he could recall who truly cared about him since he woke up in the Palace of Light. And, because of her; he had agreed to subject himself to daily torture. Having fallen into a light sleep, he had been lying on his stomach in the cell where Une and the guards had left him, forehead pillowed on his arm. The clang of the door being unlocked brought him to semi- consciousness, but not enough to make him move. At the sound of footsteps approaching, he tensed up; Duo knew that he was going to be punished for what he had done to the Mord-Sith. He prepared to strike at the first sign of abuse. He couldn't stop himself from flinching as he felt a hand on his back. But the hand did not punish, it stroked his braid and gently massaged the bruised muscles. Finally, convinced that he wasn't going to be hurt by this person, he raised his head and opened his eyes. He looked up into Middie's large eyes. They were wet, though why she was crying he couldn't fathom. She must have seen the puzzlement in his violet eyes, and smiled. "Do not fear me, child. I will not harm you," she told him, and somehow he believed her. "Who are you?" he whispered, his voice hoarse. A half-grin tugged at her lips. "I am Middie, a friend." She helped him sit up, bracing his back against the cold stonewall of the cell. They studied each other for a long moment. Duo studied her large, clear eyes and something told him he could believe her. He nodded, accepting her word. "Why I am here?" he asked, wincing at his sore, dry throat. "Do you remember what you are?" she asked in return. She reached behind her and produced a blanket to wrap around him, which he took gratefully. He took a deep breath and exhaled, without thinking he said "The bringer of death." At her surprised look, he knew that was wrong. It was, but it wasn't. He knew that he had been called that, but from Middie's reaction it wasn't what she had meant. He searched through his broken memories and a word surfaced. "I'm a Confessor." That was what his kind was called if he remembered correctly. She smiled and nodded. "Yes, you are. Do you remember what happened to you?" she prodded gently. His violet eyes wandered off to the left as he sought the memories in vain. He shook his head, wincing at the pain that flared with the movement. Seeing the pain in his eyes, her smile faded and a worried expression replaced it. "It hurts, doesn't it?" she asked in a soft voice, brushing the bangs out of his eyes. "Yeah, but only if I think too hard," he joked, grinning his familiar roguish grin, trying to charm the young woman in front of him. She saw right through him though. "Because of what you are, a healer can't help you. No one can make the pain go away. You have to learn to bear it. Can you do that?" Her clear eyes bored into his violet ones. He knew she was trying to get him to agree to something, but he wasn't really sure what. "I guess so, if there's no choice," he shrugged. The prospect of going through life with a raging headache didn't seem all that appealing; but it was better than the alternative. "Duo, I am serious. Can you learn to bear the pain and go on living?" her face was very earnest as she leaned forward, studying his eyes in the detached manner of a professional. "Umm, Middie could you just spell it out, because I'm not thinking real clear here," he said plaintively as another twinge caused his vision to blur. "You have to learn to bear the pain, because what's wrong with you won't go away. Une can help if you let her." "Une? The Mord-Sith?" he felt like he was lost in a thick mist, unable to follow where she was going. "Yes, she can teach you how to tolerate the pain. Will you let her, without striking back?" Duo thought about it. "Will she do to me what Sylvia did?" He studied the tall woman's eyes, unease coiling in his stomach. Middie didn't beat around the bush. "Yes, and more. Duo, you can't be healed, but if you don't let Une teach you to bear the pain, it will continue to grow until you go mad." The braided Confessor shuddered, from the cold or the dire implications he couldn't tell. It never once occurred to him that she could be lying. He knew with rock-solid certainty that she wasn't. "Is that my choice? Torture or madness?" He bit his lip, trying to find the courage to give her the answer she clearly wanted. He took refuge in a feeble joke, "Gives new meaning to saying between a rock and a hard place." He drew in a shaky breath. She didn't say anything, just sat there on her heels, brushing his hair with her soft fingertips. Her lips quirked in a sympathetic smile at his black humor. She waited patiently for him to make up his mind; the boy had a hard decision to make. Finally, with a seriousness that was totally out of character for him, he asked in a wistful voice "Will you be there?" He wanted to add `with me?' She sensed it anyway. "Of course, young one. You had the courage to make difficult decisions in the past. You still have that courage. You know the way you must go. Trust your feelings." The warm hand on his forehead was soothing. He started to drift off again. It wasn't until later that he realized that she had known his name. Which was odd, because he hadn't remembered it himself until after his training with Une had started. Une knew about pain. She understood how to give it. As she taught Duo how to bear it, it never occurred to Duo to wonder how she knew so much about it. Duo frowned. "How will they be trained?" he asked the tall woman standing next to him in the quiet garden. He had no idea how these fierce, violently psychopathic women came to work for Odin Lowe. "Every couple of years, all of Golgatha is searched for a specific type of young girl. They look for the most gentle, kind and compassionate girls they can find. Do you know why?" she asked him and he shook his head in a negative reply, his braid swishing down his bare back. "Because from the deepest caring comes the deepest cruelty. To this end they are trained. During their training, they are broken three times." "Three times?" he echoed in disbelief, still staring at the Palace. She smiled bitterly. "Yes, three times. The first time is to break their spirit. That was what Sylvia was trying to do to you. The Mord-Sith teaches a girl in training that she is entirely dependent on her trainer. If the girl does something wrong, she is disciplined by the Agiel. You yourself know how much pain the Agiel can give." Duo nodded. He knew very well what that innocent-looking red rod could do. "The second breaking is to break their empathy. The child must watch her trainer break her mother. The trainer tortures the mother until she dies. Then the girl is broken a third time. While under the trainer's guidance she must break her father. She must keep hurting him until she kills him. This is to get the girl over her fear of hurting others, to make her enjoy giving pain." Duo was stunned and sickened. Never in his life could he imagine such cruelty. Middie sensed his revulsion. "Everything that was done to you was nothing compared to what will be done to these girls. It was done to Une, Dorothy, Mariemiea and even to Sylvia. You could defend yourself, they can't." "We have to get them out of there," he decided, keeping his voice low. "How?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "I know the layout of the north wing. I know how to avoid the guards, but even if they give us trouble, well then, I can always Touch them." He wasn't too thrilled with that possibility though. He would do it if he had to, but only if he had to. Some time ago, he had explored the North wing. But it had been like all the other wings except for a series of small, cell-like rooms in the basement. At the time he had no idea of their purpose. Then the Emperor had commanded his presence at Kunark and Duo had forgotten about the whole thing. "What would you do with the girls, Duo? Do you think the Emperor would just let you go with his new Mord-Sith? Not to mention yourself. As long as you are of use to him, you stay alive. But if you willfully disobey him, or go against his wishes, he would in all likelihood have you destroyed," she said, playing the devil's advocate. "Screw Odin Lowe," he declared. "I'm not afraid of him and I can defend myself just fine. Even though he's an Emperor, he's just a human being." "That's the point, he is The Emperor. He can do this, and he has done it before and will do it again. Duo, please, think about what you are proposing. Even if you were successful in taking the children away from here, where would you go?" she pointed out. He thought about it. Where would he go? To the south, both Kunark and Faydwer were both under Odin Lowe's rule. Obviously, staying in Golgatha was out. That left the Midlands and Oz. And that meant Treize. To the east was the Desert of Ro, and to the west was the black ocean, Timorous Deep. Middie was right, there was no place to go. "Dammit," he swore softly. There had to be a way to save these children. Middie looked at him sympathetically. "They are not lost yet, Duo. If we keep alert, there may be some way of saving them. But we can't do that if we just jump in without a plan. We must think things through." Duo nodded in agreement, rubbing absently at his forehead. "Another thing, never again mention using your power against the Emperor. There is a delicate balance between the power of the Throne, the Emperor and the people. If you were to disrupt that balance, the whole of Golgotha would be thrown into chaos." "I don't understand," he complained irritably, missing the concerned look she gave him. "Its complicated, child." She always called him that, even though she didn't look much older than him. "It has to do with an ancient bond between the Emperor and the people of Golgatha. The Throne of the Empire draws magic from the people. The Emperor wields that magic to defend the people from harm. If you eliminate the Emperor with your power, the people are left unprotected." "Can't someone else be Emperor?" Duo asked, massaging his temples. "Only the direct male descendants of the first Emperor can wield the power of the Throne. Only a son of Odin Lowe could replace him." Duo closed his eyes, trying to think. "And the Emperor doesn't have a son, does he?" Middie didn't answer, instead she was staring at him, worry now very evident in her eyes. Duo felt the warning tingle behind his eyes. `Oh, please, not now,' he silently begged. Middie, sensing that he was about to have another episode, grasped his arm. "Come on, I'll take you back to your room." She tugged him back in the direction of his quarters. "Can you please get Une?" He gritted his teeth as the pain began to spread from behind his eyes throughout his skull. By the time they reached the foot of the willow tree, he was desperately fighting the nausea that heralded another episode. "Can you reach your room?" Middie asked, concern in her voice. He gave her a wan smile and said in a cocky, albeit weak voice. "Yeah, no problem. I can handle this. Une trained me well." One of the first lessons Une had taught him was never, but never, show weakness. Not even to Middie would he admit how scared he was of what was happening to him. Gingerly, he grasped the lowest limb and pulled himself up. He steadied himself on the branch, and then started climbing. Experience told him that if he didn't hurry, soon he would be unable to continue. Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to hurry. Finally he was level with his window. With a burst of determination, he jumped the gap to the window ledge. Falling into the room, he lay there, breathing heavily as the pain continued to grow. Scrambling to his hands and knees, he crawled to the small pot in the corner and emptied his stomach of dinner. After he had thrown up everything, he staggered to his bed and collapsed. The door opened, allowing a sliver of light to illuminate the room. He hastily scrunched his eyes shut; the light caused white streaks of pain in his skull. "Une?" he rasped, clutching his temples. The tall Mord-Sith stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. She was dressed in brown leather instead of her red, indicating she was not expecting to spill blood that night. The ever-present Agiel dangled from the wrist of her armored glove. "Maxwell, I was told you need me," she stated unemotionally. They had been through this before. Any of the other Mord-Sith could have done this, but Duo allowed only Une to do it. He trusted only her. "Une, help me," he begged, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. "Very well, get ready," she ordered, flipping her Agiel into her fist. He felt around on the night stand. Taking a strip of cloth he opened his jaws and bit down on it, tying the ends around the back of his head to form a gag. He didn't want to wake the Palace with what was coming. Shaking, he knelt on the bed with his back to the Mord-Sith. He felt her armored glove grasp his braid to steady his head. He braced himself as she touched the Agiel to the base of his skull. No matter how many times he had done this, no matter how much he thought he was prepared for the pain, it never failed to take him by surprise. There was an explosion through the pain in his head. Une's grip on the braid held him upright as the shock consumed him in a mixture of fire and ice. For a brief moment, he couldn't move, breathe or cry out. Then his mind was flooded with red, now he could scream. The gag caught the shriek, muffling it. Arching his back, with Une's hand steadying him, he screamed until he could no longer utter a sound. He screamed until there was nothing left to scream with. He screamed his heart out. Then blackness boiled up through the red and Duo fell limp on the bed. Une removed the Agiel, letting it dangle once more from the chain at her wrist. With surprisingly gentle hands, she untied the gag, brushing the stray wisps of hair from his face. Then she drew the covers up over his still-trembling body. For a brief moment she studied the unconscious boy. Then, with one last look around the room, she turned and exited, leaving the moonlight to watch over the still figure on the bed. As Une shut the door to the young Confessor's quarters, she `received' Odin's summons. Walking with her usual determined stride, her boot heels striking the marble tiles like mallets, she made her way to the Emperor's private quarters. Dorothy was on duty, she noted. As she entered, she noted that Odin was dressed in his night robe and slippers, sitting at his large desk. A rustle in the bedchamber alerted her to two guards dragging a battered corpse out of the room. Une recognized one of the princesses from Kunark. "Une, good to see you. I want you to answer some questions." Odin Lowe smiled at her. As always that smile made her want to take a step back. There was something wrong with it. Maybe it was that he showed too many teeth, or maybe it was the fact that the smile never reached that sun-on-steel cobalt gaze. But she never let her feelings show. They remained buried under a thick layer of ice and years of training. "Yes, my lord," she replied automatically. "When will the Confessor be ready to go to Oz?" His piercing gaze never left her face. He was studying her every reaction. If Une was surprised by the question she never showed it. She never showed any emotion. Instead she replied in those same icy monotones. "My lord, he had another episode tonight. That's five in the past three months. Physically he's fine; mentally it's just a matter of time before his mind collapses completely. If you want him to take Oz, it will have to be quickly," she finished. Odin Lowe nodded, turning away from her. "I thought that was the case. The army is still in Faydwer, however. And as much as I would like it to, armies just can't move fast." He sounded annoyed. He drew in a breath, and huffed it out, running a hand through his thick silvering hair. Then he was struck with a thought. "Did you have any luck finding out what he knows about what happened at Bitterroot?" "No, my lord. I think those memories are locked away in Maxwell's mind. There's no way to get them out without destroying him completely." "Ok," the Emperor accepted Une's word. He knew that if she were lying, he would find out about it eventually; she understood that too. Une wondered what Odin Lowe was now plotting. She was usually privy to his plans, but he was playing this one close to the vest. She knew better than to pry, she had been whipped before for less. "I want to take over Oz and the Midlands soon, Une." He straightened up, stretching his muscular frame. He was still in excellent physical condition. Odin believed in keeping his mind and body in top shape. He practiced daily with his sword to keep his reflexes sharp; and to keep his mind equally sharp he worked to conquer his enemies. "What if Treize uses that weapon against you again?" Une asked in a carefully neutral tone. Odin Lowe looked thoughtful. His cobalt eyes studied the map on the table in front of him. "That's why we have to find out what that Confessor knows. It would be so much easier if I could just get into his mind." Odin had tried several times to enter the braided young man's mind, but had yet to even scratch the surface, let alone penetrate the thick, white barriers of Wild Magic that protected the Confessor. "I'll give you a little more time to get the information out of him. I don't have to remind you what will happen if you fail, do I?" he finished with a smile that reminded Une of a direwolf when it was getting ready to tear apart a fawn. "No, my lord," she saluted and turned at his nod of dismissal. As she strode out, she passed a new set of guards escorting in another one of Kunark's daughters. Seeing her already weeping in fear, Une gave her about a month. The Emperor preferred his toys to struggle, delighting in breaking their spirits as well as their bodies. She would be nothing more than a source of release to him, that's all. It wasn't like the princess had a chance anyway. As soon as she became pregnant, she was dead. Odin Lowe was very thorough in making sure that he didn't sire a child. Une made her way back to her quarters and began striping off her leather uniform. She changed into a night shift, making sure her leather was at her fingertips if she got called to the Emperor again. As she unbraided her long brown hair, she considered her orders. Maxwell was remembering slowly, but he was remembering. However, it didn't appear that it would be fast enough to save either of them though. Odin Lowe did not look favorably on those who failed him. Une understood: if she didn't get the information from Maxwell, she would pay dearly. But the more he remembered, the stronger his headaches became. She wondered what would happen if he remembered everything. Une had been speaking the truth when she told Odin that she feared Duo's mind would collapse. For the first time in a long while, Une was worried about the future. She knew time was running out for both of them.