Title: Two Worlds

Author: Lyndaura

Two Worlds Chapter 18

Descent of Death

"Heero!" The ear piercing shriek came forth. Heero's eyes shot open and he looked around the small cell that he was in. The air was thick with the salty metallic taste of blood, and Relena's voice was raw and forced. Her shaking form was on the ground pleading with Terra who was wearing a dark black tank top and long black pants.

Relena's hair was matted with blood and dirt, and her frail frame had on the shredded remains of a dress, now stained red. Her whole body was so beaten and broken that Heero could barely recognize it as Relena. They had pulled out sections of her hair, and it had been cut short. There were cuts over her neck that made Heero cringe, the memories still to vivid to think about.

"Why do you call for him? Do you not understand that he has already been killed?" Terra shouted at her and she kicked her. In the room there was only one light that shone on the blood splattered floor, the rest of the room outside of the circle was cast into darkness. Heero and the girl were hidden securely in the darkness. It disturbingly reminded Heero of a layer in his soul that he had tried not to think about. The layer he had nearly killed himself.

"He's not dead!" Relena cried and Terra picked Relena up and threw her across the room, leaving her sprawled half in and half out of the light.

Heero shook himself out of the shock and he started charging at Terra. He would kill the bitch. He could already feel the demon inside of him itching to get out, the wings, already sliding out of the holes in his back that had not fully healed yet. Heero felt his heart beat faster and faster as he imagined the horrors that he would inflict on Terra.

Just as he took off, the little girl put out her hand and he ran into it. Trying to push by her, he found it was impossible. She was only an eight year old girl, there was no way that she could hold his superior power back. But her arm was an unstoppable force. Heero grunted and jumped over her arm, and ran to Terra.

He could feel his heart pounding in his head, just the chance to kill Terra was unbelievable. Now that he had started to realize the true potential of his power, he could kill her so simply now. Heero felt something graze his back and he turned roughly to see what happened. The girl had reached into his back and had pulled part of a wing out, and she was now holding it securely. Heero growled softly and nearly backhanded the child, but those eyes. Slowly, the child shook her head.

She knew something he didn't.

Heero stared at her for a moment, waiting for something to happen, but Relena only cried out for him one more time. Heero whipped around to see what had happened. Terra had a tiny box in her hand, and Relena was curled up into a ball, whimpering.

"What? Do you want some more?" Terra bent down and placed the box to Relena's stomach and Relena's back arched involuntarily. Pain forced her eyes close and a raw cry escaped her throat as sparks flew from her stomach with the stench of burning flesh.

"Stop it... please..." Relena begged and pleaded, tears ran down her bruised and bleeding cheeks. Heero took another step forward, but he felt the familiar tug. Heero turned and glared at her, but she had on a similar glare of anger, frustration and outrage. Heero glared her down, but she held firm.

"What do you know?" he whispered harshly. But he already knew that she wasn't going to say anything. "We don't have time for this! Is there something I should know?"

The girl stared at Terra and Relena, and then at him for a moment, like trying to decide how to phrase something, and then she let go of Heero's wing and glared at him. Heero felt the demon draw the wing back inside of him, growling in pain. She had a strong enough grip to hurt the wing, and stop him in his tracks.

This kid was not human.

Heero gave her one last glare before he ran towards Terra with renewed strength and might. Terra had apparently not seen him or heard him, which was appreciated. The value of surprise was never to be underestimated.

But as he hit the light and she didn't stop pressing the odd electrifying device against Relena's stomach, Heero became unsure. What did the girl know that he didn't?

As he got within a foot of her, Heero almost paused, waiting for a reaction, but Terra was still grinning as she hurt Relena more and more. Relena's voice came out strained, and cracked, as she tried to call for help again.

As soon as he heard Relena call out, he drew up his foot and executed the perfect kick to Terra's head, but as he prepared for contact, there was none. He look down as his still raised foot and saw it passing THROUGH Terra's head. Terra was laughing, oblivious to Heero.

Heero put his foot down and the reality of the situation fell on him. He looked into the darkness and could barely make out the little girl's form.

"I'm not really here am I?" Heero almost stated as he saw the extent of Relena's wound. Her entire stomach was black and covered with melting flesh. Her head was bruised, dirty and had many lacerations. One of her eyes was swollen shut and was bleeding badly. Relena's leg had pieces of bone sticking out of the flesh and the blood was dripping off of them in steady, untamed rushes. The pool of blood that surrounded her was slowly growing.

Terra finally removed the device and surveyed the damage. Terra smiled, "Why do you continue to call out for him? What is so special about him? What makes you want to be with him forever? Why do you believe that he can save you from ME?" Terra asked frustrated, "Why? I cannot understand this!"

"You wouldn't know love if it bit you in the ass," Relena tried to get out, but her voice was so pained and hurt that it sounded more like a whimper.

"Why him? Why is he so special?" Terra screamed as she backslapped Relena. Relena tried to say something, but it came out as a muffled moan, "TELL ME!" Terra commanded as she grabbed Relena's jaw roughly, "Tell me or I will shatter your jaw right here and right now!" Terra threatened.

"Because," Relena tried to say, but her eyes were rolling up in the back of her head.

"I warned you," Terra growled as she squeezed Relena's jaw slowly. Relena yelped as Terra's arm tensed and struggled against the bone. Suddenly the bone snapped on both sides of Relena's face, and her one good eyes seemed to bulge out due to the pain. Bone was jutting out of her cheek as refreshed screams filled the room.

Heero had to take a step back. The blood that gushed out of her cheek and mouth was horrid. To see her as broken as she was, and coughing up blood was wrong.

Terra slowly stood and then left the circle of light. Relena curled herself into a protective ball and cried, each sob painful and only further aggravating her wounds. Heero's knees felt weak as Terra returned with a long stick.

"Do you know what this is?" Terra asked as Relena moaned softly, her whimpers dying down, "It's a little gift that I picked up from The Valley of Angels," Terra smiled and stroked her toy, "I don't suppose you know what it does do you. Well, you see, in it, it has a parasite, like the flesh eating disease, only much faster. Its very painful. I have had this for awhile. I was waiting for the right time to use it. I want to savor this moment. You see, I stick the pointy end in you, press a little button that injects the parasite and watch it take over your body," Terra smiled like a child.

Heero felt everything around him stop. She was going to kill Relena. This was it. He could not imagine what she had been through already. Everything that he was fighting for, the very reason that he even stayed in the Valley of the Angels, the reason why he didn't go back, the reason why he cared, the reason why he lived was laying before him, battered, bruised and dying, and he was helpless. Heero screamed with rage as the futility of the situation hit him.

His heart reached out to help Relena, but he was left with nothing. He yearned just to comfort her, to help her. She was the only hope for peace between the Earth and the Colonies, how could Terra do this? She was sick and twisted, and Heero only wished that he could carry out his revenge now.

Terra's smile only widen as she jabbed the rod into Relena's side. Relena's head shot back and she screamed louder than Heero had ever heard her. The Queen of the World was falling victim to this psychotic maniac and it was killing Heero. Heero wanted to throttle Terra now. He knew over three hundred ways to kill someone, yet none of them seemed right for the terror that was before him. She was too evil for words.

Heero remembered the scars on Luke's back and shook his head. Terra had probably gone through the same torture. Is that why she was so thrilled at the sight of pain? Was that why she could only hurt others? Heero felt a twinge of sympathy as she drove the stick deeper into Relena, but Heero nearly hit himself.

She was a monster. Luke wasn't like that, she deserved no sympathy for what she was doing to Relena. She deserved to die! Heero stormed toward Terra, hate fueling his unending rage. Heero felt the resistence again and he looked at the child beside him. She was looking at the scene too, but her hand was stretched out in front of him, preventing him from moving. Heero looked at the forearm that pressed against his thigh, and the clenched fist. The girl was so small, but she seemed so much older than she looked. She had so much hatred, and yet so much control. She was wise beyond her years, and knowledge that surpassed logic. She was an amazing eight year old, yet somehow, it only sent chills down Heero's spine.

It was too much like him.

Another tortured scream sent Heero's focus back to Relena, and his soul cried out. He just felt so damned helpless. He felt like he was a victim as well as Relena, and there was nothing worse. Heero didn't know what to do. He couldn't do anything, and he was left feeling helpless again, which only frustrated him more, and provided him with more misery.

Heero could feel himself getting tired. He was tired emotionally, he was tired physically, and he was tired mentally. His agony turned to tortured frustration which only led him to more pain. Like a downward spiral, he was getting worse. He didn't want to deal with Relena dying, he didn't want to deal with the merger of the two worlds, he didn't want to deal with the feelings of bitterness left by Sage, he didn't want to have to deal with magic, the girl, ghosts or anything. He was getting tired and weak, and he didn't know how much longer he could go on. Everything that he had ever lived for, ever fought for was dying or dead. He was fighting a losing battle and it was destroying him. He didn't know how long he could last with the fatigue tugging at him.

So Heero did the only thing he could, stand and wait as Terra killed Relena.

"How are you doing Queen? Are you having a fun time feeling the pain? How does it feel to have your life come to and end before you can even realize that there is no such thing as peace? It is unattainable! Without war and fighting, as humans, we cannot exist! Do you not understand that? Does not even your precious Heero show that? Our life is forged in pain and therefore we all die feeling that same pain! Life is all about the pain and the useless struggle against it, don't you see? Without pain, war, fighting and suffering, we are nothing!" Terra shouted as she drove the stick deeper into Relena, "Scream for me Relena, SCREAM!!!"

Relena sobbed as Terra moved the stick around inside of her, stretching the wound and making it larger, and more painful. Defenseless against Terra, tears streaked down her face.

"HEERO!" she screamed as the sobs over took her, only causing more pain as she tried to speak, blood spurting from her mouth and cheeks.

"That's my baby," Terra cooed as she prepared to press the release to set the parasites free to ravage her body, "Tell me that you love me," Terra squeezed the button, and Relena screamed as she felt the tiny organisms invade her.

Heero lunged for Terra again, but the girl's hand remained strong. Heero realized it was all over. Terra had won. Relena was gone, there was no hope for Earth, she had taken Sage away from them, and now it was as if she was taking him too.

Heero watched as Relena screamed and cried out, her body contorting into impossible positions. Parts of her flesh were being eaten away and Heero could see the bare bone through all the blood. The carnage became more apparent with every second as what skin was left was being eaten away at impossible rates and Terra was watching with utter fascination and intrigue.

"No," Heero felt his knees get weak as Relena seemed to stare right into his eyes with her one good one. Just as she looked, he could see it slowly being eaten away, leaving only black gooey residue, as the parasites that were growing bigger by the second were eating away at her iris.

Relena screamed again as they finally ate away at her pupil. She had to close her eyelid which was half gone. She tried to draw her hands up to her face, but there was barely a bloodied mess left for her to protect herself with. Heero could tell that the parasites were devouring her voice box as well as the last words escaped her mouth...

"Heero..."

Heero's legs gave out from underneath him as he fell to the ground in a heap, luckily the girl was there and she caught him and tried to hold him up, but he was almost twice as big as she was, and she had to reposition herself to avoid falling over. Heero barely clung to consciousness as he heard Terra scream.

"Stop calling for him! Can't you see that he's not here? Can't you understand that it is impossible for him to come back to you?" Terra yelled at Relena. There was barely any movement from Relena. Terra shouted again and then stopped.

Relena made a slight movement, but there was barely anything left to move.

"Did you know that the last thing that the parasites eat is your brain? They don't destroy the nervous system till last," Terra shook her head as anger filled her, "You can feel him can't you? You can feel his goddamn presence!" Terra screamed, "You are here, aren't you Heero! Come! Come save your precious Queen! Come out come out where ever you are!" Terra screamed at the top of her lungs with frustration.

Heero clenched his fists. It was hell wanting to be there, to help Relena, kill Terra and save the world, but he could barely move. The tiny girl stroked his sweat soaked forehead. Heero looked up at her, and she had no emotion on her face, but she stroked his head and then with frosted eyes she kissed his forehead and he felt the world fade from around them. The last thing that he saw was Terra kicking the corpse of Relena. Pain surged up from within him and he tried to say something, but no words were there, only excruciating anguish to call his own.

Heero closed his eyes and felt the comfortable void flood around him. His soul was torn and he could feel it bleed as he saw Terra kicking the bloodied heap that was barely recognizable as human.

As he felt soft grass materialize underneath him, Heero struggled to hold onto the void. There, nothing could hurt him, and nothing mattered. He could be free there, no pain, no struggle, nothing.

Heero felt the tears bubble up from within him as he wept for everything. He couldn't take it. He was cracking, and he didn't know if he would ever be the same again. He just felt so tired...

The little girl took Heero's head and laid it against her chest as she sat, and Heero lay half on the ground, and half on her. He just cried. There was nothing else to do at that point, and nothing that he could do.

It could have been hours, days or even seconds later, but Heero finally calmed down enough to stop. He had finally accepted that Relena was dead, beyond what even Katara was, and that there was not even a body left from him to bring back. Heero held onto the girl for dear life. It was as if he were to let go then the world would fall apart beneath him. Heero just needed to hold something then, he need more reality. Heero opened his eyes and looked around. It was a simple green field. It was the same as before, nothing had changed, nothing had moved.

Heero felt like asking if it was a dream, but the hurt inside was too real for it to have been a dream. Maybe what day it was would be a better question. Heero felt years older than when he had gone to sleep that night. It was high noon now, and the earth was warming underneath him. Heero felt the calm and steady heartbeat of the girl that he was clinging to. Finally, Heero forced himself to let go and stand.

His hands hurt, and everything around him spun as he felt the head rush take over for a second. Heero wished that he could just put himself into soldier mode and go, but the pain was too great to push to the back of his mind.

As they began walking back, Heero wondered what he would say, what he would do. Should he say anything? How would he explain to them where he had been. He wasn't even sure of most of the details, things had just happened and they seem jumbled in his memory.

As they reached the campsite, everyone was very somber and Katara leapt up to greet Heero.

"There is some very, very bad news Heero," Heero looked around, Quatre had been crying, Wufei held his head in his hands, and the others didn't seem any better.

"Relena's dead," Heero stated before Katara could even say anything.

"How did you know?" Katara asked, startled. That certainly made her job easier.

"I saw it," Heero said quietly before sitting down. There was some food cooking, but the thought of food made him feel sick to his stomach.

"This is too fucking much," Duo shook his head, "Anyone want to come kick Terra's ass with me?" Duo spoke roughly and it scared everyone. He was always so nonchalant that hearing that tone seemed too foreign.

"We need to be rational," Luke spoke softly.

"Yeah, well, sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves is getting us nowhere, so what do you suggest?" Duo shot back angrily.

"Everyone is angry Duo, but we need to finish our mission before we can carry out petty revenge," Dusk spoke calmly.

"Our mission?" Katara turned to Dusk.

"You need me to find the stones, and I want to stop this as much as you, so if you don't mind, I would like to accompany you," Dusk spoke softly. There was silence, but no objections brought forth, "If no one minds, I would like to find the Ancients' scrolls, they would have the information that you need about the stones," Dusk offered.

"Where are the scrolls?" Luke asked after everyone thought for a moment.

"They would be in the mountains, but I can't give you an exact location till I get close to them," Dusk explained.

"Then everyone get a jacket, because we are leaving now," Luke's eyes never left Dusk's.

Dusk stood and brushed herself off, "I can make you guys some big thick coats, its going to get really cold," Dusk warned.

Half an hour later, they were ready, suited up in very big, very heavy coats and the Dusk was already leading the way. The mountains were close by, only an hour ride. Quatre had offered more than once for Dusk to ride on his horse with him, but she had said that she felt better walking.

The little girl had chosen to ride with Heero, somehow he wasn't surprised. He couldn't explain it, but he was starting to get attached to her. She barely ever left his side anymore. He still wasn't used to her eyes, but he didn't know if he would ever get used to them.

The first hour everyone had been silent as they followed Dusk. She was surprisingly a very fast walker, and kept her pace quick, and steady, never faltering or slowing.

"So," Duo was getting bored and fidgety, "What should we name the kid?"

"I think we should let Heero name her since she seems to like him so much," Dusk giggled softly, it was a beautiful sound.

Heero had been barely paying attention to the situation as they talked, but when he heard his name, he realized that he didn't know what he was being asked.

"Heero?" Katara asked, a little concerned. Heero liked the new Katara, she was nicer, gentler, "What do you want to name her?"

Heero looked down at the child that was sitting in front of him. He had no desire whatsoever to name her, but he knew that they needed to call her something besides 'kid' so he thought. He wanted to name her something that meant something.

"What about 'Peace'?" Heero finally said after he couldn't think of anything else. It was either that or Relena, and he couldn't think of that right then.

There was a short silence which was shattered by Katara who jumped in after everyone else was quiet, "I think that is a beautiful name. Its perfect," Katara batted a flirtatious eye at Heero. Heero had to control himself from blushing as Peace looked up at him.

"I think its good too," Luke agreed.

"Then its settled," Dusk smiled, "Her name will be Peace."

"Are you getting anything yet?" Quatre asked through chattering teeth. The winds of snow had picked up, and the temperature had fallen drastically. It was amazing how much the climate had changed as soon as they started up the steep mountain range. Once they had made it to the mountains, half an hour had put them into freezing temperatures.

"Yeah, we're getting closer, but I can only say that we should be heading east, other than that, I am too far away to tell," Dusk responded as the high winds forced her to take shelter in her jacket.

"Do you know how much longer?" Katara asked shaking. The horses were getting tired and so were the riders.

"I don't know, I am getting some very strange energy readings. But these mountains are old, and I could be picking up residual energy patterns," Dusk shook her head, "In any case, it'll be another half an hour before I can tell you anything more," Dusk could feel her feet going numb and her fingers losing feeling. She only wished that she had more Ancient blood to help guide her to where the scrolls were. The reading was so faint that it was hard for her to find where it was coming from.

"Do you think these high winds have anything to do with the Ancients?" Heero asked as the blizzard continued to blaze around them.

"If you are asking if there are any Ancients in these mountains, I wouldn't be surprised, for us to find one, I would be," Dusk laughed, but it was lost in the coldness.

It seemed as hours passed with every little talk or progress, the storm was worsening, and the horses were beginning to slow down in the cold and the snow.

"I think we should stop and let the horses rest and get warm," Luke spoke up, after he used his power to check up on the animals.

"Then let's find us a cave and start a fire," Dusk called as she used her power to search for any cavern large enough for them, "There's a cave a few minutes ahead of us," Dusk told them as they continued on their way through the unknown.

"I don't know about you, but I am getting more interested in this Guardian stuff, tell me more," Duo shivered in the cold as he spoke. He needed to get his mind off of Terra. His anger was burning deep and hot, and he needed to control himself until he got a chance to unleash his rage on her personally.

"Well, I don't know too much, but it is usually female, though it isn't unheard of to have a male Guardian. Some of the mothers claim virgin births, though it is proven that sometimes the baby does have a father that the mother says she did sleep with. Each guardian has specific traits unique to them, such as not all with have their every statement come true, but some may see into the future, while others may not. It totally depends on the Guardian, and it also totally depends on the situation for which they are called. If the world is being attacked by aliens, then the person may have more control of mind and elemental stuff, opposed to seeing into the future and matter manipulation, it all depends on what is needed for the specific problems," Dusk was about to continue when she stopped suddenly.

"You feel it too," Katara's breath came out in small white cloud of mist.

"What is it?" Quatre asked feeling the surge of power wash over him.

"Shit," Luke whispered as everyone was absolutely still.

It took a few seconds for anyone to see anything through the thick snow drift, but as soon as the dark shadow appeared in the snowfall, everyone knew immediately what it was.

Wufei took a deep breath as he spoke the word everyone was thinking, "Dragon."

~End Chapter 18~

Author's Tidbits: More plot for you!!! ^_^ Well, the chapter was rather dull I thought, but I am getting so sick of this story, I don't know if I can do good anymore. -_- oh well, no more exams!!!

Back to the Index