As he was concentrating on one of the bolder suits attacking him from the front, more came up from behind, showering Deathscythe with bullets. Duo cursed as he was thrown around like a ragdoll in the cockpit and sparks started to fly. He wiped blood from his forehead before it could trickle into his violet eyes and grit his teeth angrily. A low growl rumbled from his throat as he destroyed the remaining suits one by one.

After the battle was over he sat panting in the cockpit, looking at the monitors and screens to make sure there were no more suits remaining. Instead of blips on a radar to detect approaching enemies, he was greeted by lights that flashed warnings of just how beat up Deathscythe was. He took the controls and managed to crash land his gundam on a snowcovered hill just miles from the battlefield.

With the press of a button the cockpit was opened and Duo spilled out, his fall to the ground broken by the powdery, fresh fallen snow. He blinked, trying to bring his fuzzy vision into focus and looked down as a drop of crimson met pure white and expanded as more ruby droplets continued to pour from Duo's side.

"Well, Deathscythe buddy, looks like this is it." He said weakly, but managed a grim smile as he looked at him lifeless metal comrade lying haphazardly in the snow.

Duo let himself fall to the ground and closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to claim him. As he lay there, his blood mixing with the snow, the wind shifted and the smell of burning death caught in his throat. His eyes flew open and he saw a shape moving towards him. It appeared to be an animal, and it would have looked equine had it not been made entirely of flames. He blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating as it continued to advance toward him. Then suddenly, it stopped and lifted it's head to sniff the air, like a rabbit that senses danger, and with little hesitation it turned and went back from where it had come.

The putrid odor of war and death receded and in its place came a sweeter, muskier scent, like that of the ocean, drifing on the breeze which was now not as cold and biting as it had been.

Duo searched until his eyes fell on a sight that took even his breath away. A hundred yards to the west, just in front of the sinking sun stood a creature of insurpassable beauty. It looked somewhat like a horse with fur as soft and white as the freshfallen snow it was treading on, long graceful legs that ended in dainty silver cloven hooves, a mane and tale flowing in soft blue cascades, deep wise blue eyes that seemed to shift like the waves of the ocean, and a single horn spiraling up from its forehead. The colors of the horn sparkled and shifted like the northern lights as the pied rays of the sunset shone on it.

Duo continued to watch in awe as the elegant creature came ever closer, the smell of seashore now wafting through the air. He would have moved back, had he not been frozen in place, when the beast lowered its horn calmly, as if to deal judgment on the gundam pilot. It seemed all Duo could do was watch as the horn pierced the skin above his heart. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that it had not hurt at all, and that his wounds seemed to have closed.

He wondered briefly if he was dead, but before the question could leave his lips, it was answered. The creature didn't answer out loud, or even telepathically, but without words through music that could be heard only in the heart, like the song of the stars. Fear seized Duo's heart for a moment, but it was immediatly dispelled. He wasn't dead, the creature wasn't some celestial seraphin. No, Shinigami was still earthbound.

'Why did it help me?' He mused to himself, and once again his question was answered. They were kindred, both outcasts, both with a love of places that rejected them. For a moment a feeling of encouragement ran through Duo's veins, as if the creature was lending him its strength, pleading with him to continue fighting for the world they both loved.

Duo struggled to keep his eyes open longer, but was growing more weary every second. Before long he gave into sleep, reassured by the gentle presence that willed him to go on.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

The creature was still nearby watching when help came to the one with the braid in the form of a kind hearted blonde boy. The creature felt relief knowing it had helped one of The Five. They had a light about them, these pure hearted warriors. Even after fighting so many battles, with the blood of hundreds on their hands, they still retained a kindness, a purity that made them shine.

Regret filled the creature's heart for a moment and it turned its noble head to the heavens, sending up a prayer. A prayer that these five would continue to fight for what they loved and believed in, that they would not be betrayed by those they fought for, that they might win their fight, that when the end finally came, no matter what it might be, the sacrifices made by them would not be forgotten, that they not be disregarded and have their lives fade into oblivion . . . . that they not share the fate of the unicorn.

"He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."
-"The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge


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