Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Death's Promise [Book 1 of 3] ❯ Flying ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 4: Flying

"I still say the gates aren't much to look at. I mean, look at them! They're just... gates! Literal gates! Swinging hinges and everything! How uninventive. I mean, all the other major gates are optical illusions of some sort, and Purg at least LOOKS cool. Then here's Heaven, the so-called 'best' corner of Limbo, and it's got such a pitiful entranceway! There's something really ironic in that." Noticing that no one seemed to be listening to him, Duo simply shrugged. "Hey, Heero, what do you think? I'm right, aren't I? Aren't they bor-- Heero?" He glanced over to notice that Heero was simply staring at the gates, mouth partially open, eyes narrowed. Duo sighed. Really, he hated Heaven. Heaven was just like a teasing thing: something to make everyone else jealous. Heaven was like... God showing off. No, better yet, Heaven was like a carrot, tied to stick, that's held in front of a horse to make the hungry animal run. Divine torture. Hephess was SO much nicer. Sure, it didn't look as pretty, and it didn't feel as nice, but at least it was real; Hephess was a haven more so than Heaven ever could be.

Quatre, however, had a completely different opinion. The angel stood in a trance at the sight, leaning forward slightly. Only the small beating of his wings kept him from falling on his face ungracefully. He smiled with joy in its purest form, his eyes lighting up with it, becoming the color of the blue water in a forest stream. "Home." Quatre whispered the word, savoring the feel of it on his tongue. He laughed brightly, anticipation of being reunited with his fellows obvious. Duo smiled, shaking his head at angel's affection. That was the one good thing about Heaven: it made some people very happy. Hephess just couldn't do that. "Well, Quatre," Duo whispered, "Welcome home."

"Quatre!"

The young angel looked to where the rich voice had just come and locked eyes and smiles with his elder angel made holy gatekeeper. His smile widened and he beat his wings harder, propelling himself through the air and landing in a great hug with the woman. "Saint Lucrezia, it's so good to be home! I missed you so! I missed Heaven so! I missed everyone so, so much!"

The saint laughed like the chimes of bells. "You've only been away for a few hours, Quatre."

"I know," His smile still bright, Quatre replied, "but what a long few hours it's been!"

The saint smiled down at the boy in her arms, then pushed him back lightly to eye the new crowd critically. "Ah, yes..." She trailed off, finally locking eyes with Duo. The two exchanged glances before Duo approached. She bowed deeply, her wings arching back in a magnificent display. "Death-sama, it is an honor, as always."

"It's mutual, Ms. Noin, I assure you." Duo grinned, then nodded toward the group behind him. "Let's get 'em in and out fast; we're running a little late, and I've got to get home before my kids start worrying about me." He winked and the woman smiled in return.

"Of course, Death-sama." She smiled proudly, "If this group's members are all as humble and righteous as the last group your messenger brought, I am sure you shall be on your way in no time, and with a very light load, at that!"

Duo raised an eyebrow, his smile drooping slightly. "The last group? Why, was something wrong with them?"

The saint laughed, "Oh, praise Our Glorious Father in Heaven, no! Why, all but one of the entire group was permitted into Paradise! I nearly cramped my hand writing in all those names." Laughing again, "It was absolutely a glory to do! So many righteous souls..." she trailed off with a smile.

Unlike with the souls, the musical laughter of the sainted angel didn't seem to affect Duo, who remained frowning. Thoughtfully, he asked, "Really? ...Huh. That's quite a coincidence."

A new, deeper voice responded, "Really. I'll vouch for it." His attention turned towards a shadowed figure who was leaning back against one of the gates, his head bowed, long bangs tossing black shades across nearly three-quarters of his face. The boy's arms were crossed casually, and it seemed as if he had not even spoken. With a cloak that was nearly identical to Duo's, only shorter and without a hood, he looked out of place leaning against the vibrant ethereal wall behind him. And yet, he seemed to blend in with the shadows of it: so much so, that no one had even noticed him standing there until he had made himself known.

Duo grinned brightly and called out, "Hey, Trowa! What're you still doing here?" as he approached the figure. Trowa stood up from his casual stance and bowed to Duo out of respect.

Quatre found himself staring at the shadowy figure, but tore his eyes away quickly and stared at the ground instead. He looked back up when a tiny voice called his name. He smiled at the girl. "Yes, Silvia?"

The girl pointed in the direction where Duo and Trowa were speaking quietly to each other. "What's that?"

He smiled at the girl. "That's a shade." Then, he thought of how to describe the dark figure to the girl in terms she'd understand. "He's one of Death-sama's helpers. Like an angel of Death."

The girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "Angel? Where are his wings?"

Looking wistful, Quatre replied, "He's a different kind of angel."

***

"So you still haven't told me what you're doing here, Trowa. And what was Noin talking about anyway? What was with the last group?"

Trowa smiled thinly in appreciation of Duo. It was impressive that a deity with such power could act so lighthearted. Sometimes it worried him, but then he quelled the thoughts. Duo could take care of himself. "My group only had one damned soul. The rest entered Heaven. I offered to take him," he nodded towards a lone soul sitting outside the gate and looking longingly through the bars into Heaven, "to Purgatory. Apparently, he's Roman Catholic and connected Purgatory to punishment. He refused to go. I told him that it was not necessary to frightened, and that Purgatory was beneficial, but the soul would not believe. He claimed not to trust me." The shade smirked. "Though why he would trust you, Duo-sama more than I, I cannot know."

Duo laughed, then asked. "So you just stuck around here to wait for my group, huh?" Trowa nodded, and Duo nodded in approval. "Good. We don't need any more souls getting lost then we already have. I think the ghosts are getting more brash than they used to be. Power in numbers and all that. We'll have to look into it later." Trowa nodded, then glanced over Duo's shoulder with a raised eyebrow. Catching the expression, Duo turned, coming face-to-face with Heero.

"Duo, what's going on?"

"Heero," He said grandly, "This is Trowa, my child, my shade, my coworker, my friend. Trowa, this is Heero." He gestured from one to another and Trowa extended his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Heero." Heero accepted the handshake hesitantly, glaring at the pale gaunt hand of the shade. After they let go, Trowa regarded Heero carefully before commenting. "You remind me of someone."

Heero narrowed his eyes, still untrusting of the dark character. "Who?"

Trowa smirked, though the expression barely moved his face. "Myself." He turned to Duo. "Are you anxious to return to Hephess? I'll take the souls the rest of the way, if you'd like."

Duo shook his head, but smiled in appreciation. "Nah, kind of getting attached to this group. Besides, I have something real important to discuss with Une."

"Important? Should I be aware of this?" Trowa asked outright, but Duo shook his head.

"Later. I'll let you all know when I get home, okay?"

Just then, Duo felt a tug at the back of his cloak. He turned, and upon looking down, he noticed a wide pair of blue eyes. "Um, Mr.-- Mr. Death, sir..."

He smiled down, "Yeah?"

The girl backed up a bit, pushing Heero lightly between herself and Duo. "I, um, I wanted to know if my kitty would be in Heaven, 'cause I don't want to go without her..."

Duo laughed lightly, sitting down on the ground so that he was lower than the girl and, thus, less threatening. "Why didn't you ask Quatre, Silvia?"

Silvia looked down at her feet. "He's talking with that tall lady angel, and if I asked her, she might make me go in before I know."

"Ah." Duo said nodding, "Smart." The little girl blushed lightly at the compliment. "What's your kitty's name?"

"Snowy."

Duo smiled. "I'm sure Snowy's in Heaven. You know, I think I remember a kitty... what did it look like?"

"Well," the little girl started, "She was white and fluffy and she had yellow eyes."

"Oh, I remember her." Trowa interrupted, nodding.

Heero watched them all with a stupefied look. They weren't having a conversation on whether a dead cat was in Heaven or not. Someone tell him that they were not having that conversation! God, he hated children. Everyone turned into morons around them.

Silvia's eyes widened with hope. "Really?" The shade nodded again. Silvia smiled brightly.

Duo stood up, "Oh, by the way, Silvia, this is Trowa."

The shade kneeled and extended his hand to the little girl. She held back for a minute, then reluctantly gave him her hand. She whispered softly, "Hi."

Trowa smiled softly and took the little girl's hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it lightly, then whispered back, "It's nice to meet you, Silvia." The child giggled at the show of affection, then stepped back, looking around. "I should... probably go... Thank you!" With that, she ran off. As Trowa was about to stand up, he saw a pair of pale bare feet in front of him, the edges of muddied white robes covering them. He looked up slowly and his eyes beheld the radiance of a young angel smiling down at him, long silky white robes, pale neck, pink lips, sky-blue eyes and a golden halo of hair.

"I'm Quatre." A voice like bells.

Eyes unblinking, he whispered. "Trowa."

The angel's smile only grew as he repeated the name to himself silently.

After a moment of resonating silence, Duo interrupted, "Maybe you should check on Silvia, Quatre."

Quatre stepped back blushing as Trowa stood, robes unfolding to their full length. "Yes, I probably should." He laughed nervously, then turned and began walking back toward the little girl. "Good-bye, Trowa."

Trowa watched the angel's back as it walked away, noting every pristine white feather. "Bye."

Heero glared at Trowa for a minute then asked, "You did not really take a cat to Heaven, did you?"

Duo grinned. "Nah, cats are too small, hard to keep track of. Most non-venomous animals go straight to Heaven. We don't have to lead them because of natural instincts and all that. Unlike human souls, animals almost never get lost. Pets, though, don't have very good instincts, so we usually help the larger dogs and tamed horses." He nodded toward the greyhound that was meandering its way toward the gate. Heero shook his head. Pets in Heaven. It just sounded so pathetic. Duo just nudged his shoulder. "If you had a pet, maybe you'd understand." Duo grinned, turning back to Trowa. "So you waiting around for us or heading out now?

"I'll follow your group, I think. Limbo is always rather boring without you around Duo-sama, and I don't have another shift for a while yet."

Duo smiled brightly. "Perfect!"

***

As all this had been transpiring, the newly arrived souls were telling Saint Lucrezia their names and birthdays. The saint would find the name in a large book on her pulpit and tell the soul whether he was permitted into Heaven or not. If he was, then the gates would swing partially open, and the soul would be welcomed into a shimmering gold light, the gate closing behind. If not, then the soul was cast back into the group to wait for an escort to Hell. Almost all of the souls were allowed entrance, only about six or seven remaining. When Silvia had been accepted, she had dragged Quatre in with her, and hugged him when they were both inside. She had then ran off happily to find her cat. Quate had laughed, then walked back out to stand by Lucrezia as she finished the last few souls. Slowly, the line became shorter and shorter, until only Heero was left.

Unwillingly, he approached the pulpit, head bowed. Why was he even bothering? Heero knew he was going to Hell, despite what Duo had said. Sighing, he rattled off the information the saint asked of him. "Heero Yuy, AC 180."

Lucrezia scanned the long lists of names for that day and found it, pointing at the name with a delicate first finger. She then pronounced, "While most of your, what we refer to as, 'secondary sins' might have easily been forgiven by His Holiness Our Lord, you have broken two commandments and committed two deadly sins. Thus, you must be sent to Purgatory for cleansing."

Hearing that, Duo walked fluidly and peered over Saint Lucrezia's shoulder. "Do you think he has a chance?"

"I honestly don't know," She spoke adjusting his glasses, "From what I can see, he actually could be able to make it through." Lucrezia eyed Heero as if looking through him. "There is a righteous soul beneath all that blood somewhere." Heero looked away, glaring at nothing. The saint turned her head to glance at the deity leaning over her and whispered. "But you know as well as I, Death-sama, that repenting is up to the individual." Then she spoke in a normal tone. "Heero Yuy is henceforth banished to Hell unless he first passes through Purgatory and returns with the proper certification. Until then, he is denied access from Heaven. This is the word of Our Father."

Heero stood there, his face a mask of apathy as that now familiar voice in his mind laughed at him, pointing and shouting "I told you so"s. He turned his back on the saint and Heaven, staring off into the whiteness of Limbo. "Let's go then."

Duo stood for only a second longer before shrugging and announcing, "You heard the man. Let's get going." He grabbed the reins of his horse and began tugging it away. Heero and Trowa followed shortly behind, then slowly, the rest of the bedraggled souls who had nowhere else to turn tailed along as well. A few seconds later, Quatre began following them out.

Lucrezia called out, "Quatre! You just got home! Where are you going?!"

The angel paused mid-flight, and turned with an apologizing smile. "I've never seen Hell's gates, Saint Lucrezia. I-- I think this may be a learning experience for me."

The gatekeeper regarded him with a bewildered expression. "Why would you want to?! There are some things better left unlearned, Quatre!"

Biting his lip and casting nervous glances over one shoulder, Quatre nodded. "I-- I know, but..." Finally, he just begged her with wide blue eyes and a sparkling smile. "Please?"

Sighing, Lucrezia nodded. "Lord in Heaven knows I cannot keep you here. I may keep the gate, but not you, you stubborn child!"

Quatre grinned. "Thank you, Saint Lucrezia! You have no idea what this means to me!"

"Be careful!" Her eyes begged him. "Please, Quatre. I don't know what I would do if harm came to you, brother. The guilt would be on my head for--"

"I know!" He smiled reassuringly. "I know. And I will be careful, I promise. Thank you!" Quatre dove off in the direction the group had taken, flying faster away from home than he ever had before. He hadn't lied; of course he hadn't! Angels don't lie. They physically can't. It was true: he had never seen Hell's gates. It was also true that this trip would most definitely be a learning experience. Of course, the blonde angel had an ulterior motive as well, but the saint didn't need to be burdened with that; she had enough on her holy mind.

***

Heero was unconsciously walking in step to the music playing in his head. The words were dark, their meaning darker, but the music was light. There were no instruments, was no definite tune. There was only the voice. A lone, solitary voice, a child's voice, a small girl's voice, singing to him in broken notes, pausing as if the words were difficult for her small mind to recall. As she sang, Heero heard nothing else but that hollow haunting melody, the high pitched whispers of a child in an empty playground, surrounded by blood yet untouched by it. There was picture of the child in his head, now: that girl with fiery hair cropped short, the sparkling threads of them dancing across her equally red eyes. Her lips were much too dark to be naturally colored, perhaps tainted by maroon lipstick, and a pale pink tongue and glistening white teeth ran over them as she sang prolonged "l"s and "f"s. Every so often, the girl would pause in her song to giggle and wave in Heero's direction before once more prancing around in a circle, whispering then shouting the silky words of the dead language.

"In die illa tremenda," She laughed, "quando coeli movendi sunt et terra," Her voice built and she shouted to the grey sky hovering over her small form, "dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem!" She turned to Heero, her eyes dancing with joy, knowledge, and flames. "Tremens factus sum ego et timeo!" She smiled, shaking her scarlet hair, "Discussio venerit atque venture ira: coeli movendi sunt et terra." Heero sat on the charred grass nearby, watching the small girl dance around the battlefield as she cavorted, laughing and singing. He couldn't smile. There was nothing to smile about. The girl was teasing him, though she acted so flippantly. She wasn't normally like this, this... immature, this... childish. She was acting this way for a reason, he knew it. He just couldn't figure out what that reason was. He was drawn into the song, unable to catch a defined chorus, yet unable to get the tune out of his head. It would drive him mad if this kept up. But on the outside, he simply walked.

***

Duo was very worried now. Heero had "zoned out" (as Duo had come to refer to Heero's extended lapses of attention) his share of times along the trip, but nothing like this. Now he was walking only because his feet didn't stop moving; if there had been a brick wall in their path, Duo was sure that Heero would've walked right through it without realizing. The soul's eyes were completely vacant as if he were somewhere else entirely. But that's not what had Duo worried. What had Duo worried was the humming. Heero, the guy who barely spoke, wouldn't smile, and never laughed, was humming; what's more, he was humming a very upbeat childish tune (something similar to Ring-Around-The-Rosy). He'd been walking like that ever since they left Heaven, and no matter what Duo said, Heero continued being oblivious to everything but that song only he heard. Duo had seen these symptoms before, to a lesser extent, and was even more concerned because of it. Death was not happy with the way this was going.

***

Quatre, on the other hand, was quite content with his current situation. Without having Silvia following him, the angel had found someone else to talk to: someone a little older, a little darker, and a little more... aesthetically pleasing. Trowa didn't seem to mind the company, either. "So, if you don't mind my asking, how did you become a shade anyway? I'm not quite positive about how one goes about it."

Trowa smirked. "Why? Are you considering converting?"

The angel laughed, "No, I'm perfectly happy with my status, thank you. Oh, no offense to Death-sama, of course." Trowa nodded in understanding. "I'm just... curious.... about you."

"It's not all that interesting."

Quatre smiled. "I don't mind."

***

"Dies irae, dies illa!" Her eyes were glowing with red fire now as she danced around Heero, singing to him. "Calamitatis et miseriae!" She giggled with her childish voice, smiling brightly as she kneeled down and washed her hands in a puddle of hot blood.
"Dies magna et amara valde!" Her eyes locked with Heero's as she finger-painted the blood onto his face. "Veneris judicare saeculum per ignem!" The last notes held, the child's stare at Heero with her glowing scarlet eyes unbroken as one bloody finger slid down his cheek. Then, her childlike smile fell, and the battlefield around them tumbled down like pieces of glass, leaving only darkness, Heero, the child, and the blood between them. Her eyes even with his, she spoke in a deep voice that was completely different from the one she had just been singing in. "Nil inultum remanebit per ignem." Heero tried to move, tried to speak, tried to wake up, but found he couldn't. He was riveted to the spot, unable to defend himself from the demon child. As if to answer him, the girl smiled again brightly, her eyes containing the innocence of a child's once more. She looked around at the blackness they were in, then giggled at the emptiness she saw. "Diebus fatalibus. The day has died." The girl turned back to Heero, still smiling, "Only we remain. The fire never burns out entirely; it simply takes another form." She giggled again, "You'll see," then tapped Heero on the nose with one bloody finger. He blinked out of reflex, and as he did, the world flashed like a burst of fireworks.

He woke up to a blinding white light. He was walking, still walking, always walking, through the cardboard white of Limbo. Something inside him laughed. Something inside him cried. All of him shouted his hatred for children.

The shout came out as more of a growl. Duo glanced over at the noise and muttered, "Morning to you too, Sunshine."

Heero turned sharply, his eyes finally back in focus. "What--" He looked around. "What... was...?"

"A vision." Duo answered simply. "Or a warning. Or a threat, maybe. Or maybe it was just someone playing with you. We've all got real twisted senses of humor around here, you know? Then again, maybe it was just a nightmare, a hallucination brought on by stress." He muttered noncommittally, "Could be anything, really." He absently stroked the silky black hairs of his horse's neck as their group continued walking.

Suddenly, Heero was paranoid again. With a sharp tone, he accused, "Did you do it? Why would yo--"

Interrupting, Duo laughed. "It wasn't me. Trust me, Heero. When I send you a vision, you'll know it's me sending it."

Why did Heero not like that answer? Why did it unnerve him? And yet, at the same time, why did it-- "Duo?" An alternate question suddenly found its way to his mouth without his even realizing it: a question that seemed far more important now than ever. Duo looked over in acknowledgment. Navy blue eyes expressionless, Heero asked with a dead tone, "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't let me go to Hell?"

Laughing, thought it was obviously forced, Duo asked. "What's to explain?"

Heero glared at the blank path before him. Of course, it didn't look any different from the white expanse he had been walking through for the past few hours, but he had a pretty idea where he was being led, like a sheep to the slaughter. He muttered, "It certainly looks like we're headed there."

"We are."

Heero turned at the simple statement, watching Duo's profile closely. "But, you sai--"

"Trust me, Heero." Duo continued watching the path before him steadily, his shining violet eyes intense but his face otherwise expressionless. "I know exactly what I'm doing." After another minute of silent walking, Duo smiled fondly. As if lost in memory, he commented lightly, "You know, you remind me of someone."

Curious, Heero asked, "Who?"

Duo shook his head. "Never mind. You don't know him." He smirked mentally, his thoughts adding, "But you will."

***

//AD 1940//

"Death-sama...." A woman sat behind a small wooden desk, papers messily strewn across it. Her hair was a light brown, almost red, twisted into twin buns just above her neck. Her eyes matched her hair: deep brown at first glance, but with flecks of brilliant yellow and red mixed in. She was holding a handful of papers, each full of hard black words of what looked like Latin, written across every white page; there weren't even margins, just endless lines of thick dark ink. The brunette glared at the boy dressed in black who was sitting on her desk as if he owned it.

Duo grinned at her innocently. "Yes, Ms. Gatekeeper, Ma'am? Something wrong?"

Her expression still hard, her lip curled slightly, the gatekeeper spoke through clenched teeth, "You're missing one."

Feigning shock, Duo jumped from his perch on the desk, "Missing one?! Oh no! I've lost a soul! Dear me, how DID that happen?!" He scoffed, falling back to his place on the desk, ignoring the sheets of paper he gracelessly sat on. "I'm sorry, did you have a point, Ms. Une? You know souls get lost all the time."

Une ripped a paper out from under him, holding it up to the deity's smiling face. "This says that the soul not only made it to and was rejected from Heaven, but that he also made it to Purgatory. We have records about these things, Death-sama, kindly don't lie about them." She slammed the paper down, her head held up triumphantly.

"Why does my name sound like a curse when you say it, Une?" He smirked.

"Because it is." She retorted sharply. "And don't try to change the subject, Death-sama."

Duo shrugged. "Okay, yes, the kid made it to Purgatory; did I say he didn't? I lost him some time after. Guess it was too much for him. He's probably on his way back to Human now to join a band of ghosts or something." His expression became a bit darker. "I told you I lost him; so I lost him." He leaned closer, his face becoming grim, eyes becoming a bit brighter. "You're not questioning me, are you, Demon?"

Une leaned back in her wooden chair, a small smirk creeping onto her dark lips. "Of course not, Death-sama." Duo was about to affirm a "damn straight," when Une held up another paper that he hadn't even seen the demon pick up. "But this paper is. It says here that a Mr. Wufei Chang was escorted to Hephess by one of your shades not even two hours ago, and that he is due to take permanent residency there, by your order."

Duo shrunk down a bit where he sat. "And you already have papers proving that?"

Smirking openly now, Une replied. "Hell is the most efficiently run section of Limbo, Death-sama; Second to none, I am proud to say."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah," standing up from his perch. "Well, I'd love to stay, but I've got things to do, people to see, shades to appoint; you know how it is. It's always nice chatting with you, Une, but I'll see you later, all right? Okay!" He grabbed his horse's reins and began walking away when Une called out.

"His Unholiness Treize-sama wants that soul back in Hell where it belongs NOW, Death-sama!"

Duo stopped in his tracks, rigid at the tone. He turned around sharply. "Understand me, Gatekeeper." He spoke in all seriousness. "Wufei isn't coming to Hell." His voice kept Une wisely silent. "With the war going on, there's more people dying than normal, so I want to break the shifts down a bit. My children have too much strain on them, and I will not allow them to get worn out because 'Treize-sama' is a tight-ass." Une balked at the expression, but remained mute as Duo continued sharply, "I need another shade. It's not open for discussion. And Wufei's it. Why? Because he's the perfect candidate for reasons I don't expect your tiny demonic mind to comprehend. And if Satan doesn't like it, he can pay a visit to Hephess, and we can have a little business discussion, all right? Great. Schedule it in some time. I have things to do." With that, he mounted his horse and began galloping off in the direction of Hephess.

Une scoffed, growled out a string of obscenities, then scrawled something quickly on a piece of paper. She stood up from her desk and turned. Facing the gate behind her, she sighed, mentally preparing for the wrath she might face. Then, she stepped through the gate to find Treize-sama. She hated to see him upset, and she hated Death-sama for upsetting him so often. Treize-sama seemed to be more and more on edge lately...

***

"Finally! Now THIS is a gate! Look at that craftsmanship! Definitely worthy of a portal. Not as nice as Hell's, Hephess', or even Limbo's, but a lot better than Heaven's, don't you think?"

From his place a few feet behind Duo, Quatre replied meekly, "I prefer Heaven, myself."

So, this was Purgatory's gate; they had finally made it. Twin pillars of white marble stood proudly, towering above the souls' heads. There were screaming faces carved into one silky column, the minute details presenting agony in the stones' expressions. In the opposite pillar were faces full of relief, some crying, some laughing. The faces were literally raised from the stones, jutting out; their pupil-less white eyes stared straight through the souls, searching them. Heero tried to avoid the gazes, stepping marginally to one side or the other, but the eyes seem to follow him, mocking him, begging him. This wasn't good. Something about this unnerved Heero deeply. Whatever was inside was not something to look forward to. He was in no rush to go through those pillars.

Stretched between the twin pillars was a mirror. Duo had carefully stepped to the side to avoid being reflected, and the souls themselves had no reflections to speak of; thus the only things jading the clear silver were a small star-like burst of light and a hovering grey shadow: seemingly the reflections of the angel and shade. Idly, Heero wondered if Duo had a reflection and, if so, what was it? He sighed. Another question to go unanswered.

After only a few seconds upon arriving at the gate, a figure suddenly stepped through the mirror. He was a tall, thin man with great rose-colored wings arching off his back. Unlike Quatre's wings, however, his appeared to be a different type; they were made entirely of short feathers, the long pinions missing. Apparently, his wings were not meant for flying. The man wore long white robes with red trim, and his hair was a silvery white color and very thin: like spider's silk. His face was pale and gaunt, and his eyes were sunken in and beady with bright pink irises. There were heavy creases in his high forehead, but not a single line near his mouth: it looked as if had done a lot of frowning and had yet to smile. This was probably the case. The man spoke, "I am judge. You will receive instructions inside. Follow." And with that, he turned and reentered the mirror, the metallic surface gleaming white as he did so.

No one moved to follow. Duo laughed to lighten the mood. "Don't mind the judges. They're intimidating, but they're harmless." His mind tacked on, "Basically."

After a bit more prodding from Duo, and a few reassurances from Quatre, the few souls began plodding through, glancing around uneasily. No one knew what to expect, and from the looks of the judge, they weren't going to like what they found. Heero turned to stare at Duo with questioning eyes. The boy in black simply shrugged an apology. Heero turned and glared once more at the arch, looking anywhere but the images' eyes. He looked up; stretching the length of one pillar to the other was a large polished block of equally white marble. Within the stone were calligraphic letters, looking as archaic as the gate itself. Heero read the words to himself, "Nil inultum remanebit." He frowned at the familiarity of the phrase, glancing over at Duo. "That's Latin?"

Duo looked up from his thoughts, "Hm?" He looked to the arch where Heero pointed. "Oh, yeah. Old gate, old language. Plus it's a universal thing. Wouldn't be very fair to put it just in English or Spanish, would it? And listing ALL of the known languages would've taken forever! Plus then they would've needed a bigger gate." He grinned.

Not sharing the humor, Heero continued glaring at the phrase, his eyes drawn to it. "What does it say?"

Laughing, Duo teased, "What, you don't speak Latin?"

"No, I do." Heero shook his head. "I mean, I did. I learned it, but that was years ago and I've never really needed to use it. I only remember a few basics now." His mind added silently, "So please tell me I'm translating it wrong."

Duo shrugged, then read the phrases. His voice lowered as he easily spoke the dead language, and he sounded more like the voice one would imagine a deity to have. The inflections of his voice, the way they rolled off his tongue, his smooth accent, and the meaning of the words themselves were all more than enough to send shivers down Heero's spine. "Nil inultum remanebit." He turned and stared at Heero's profile, taking in the soul's empty expression. "Nothing shall remain unpunished."

Sighing mentally, Heero muttered, "I thought so."


******


A/N
- Just note: if I were working in an html document rather than a .txt, the Latin would be in italics.
-What the little girl was singing were Latin lyrics to "Libera me," which was written by Alessandro Manzoni (correct me if I'm wrong). The translation of what she sang is, "In that awful day when the heavens and earth shall be shaken, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire! I am seized with fear and trembling! The trial shall be at hand and the wrath to come: the heavens and earth shall be shaken. ... That day, that day of wrath! Of calamity and misery! A great day and exceedingly bitter! Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire!"
-I don't speak Latin and have never taken courses in it. I'm using all of the resources I can to find these phrases, their translations, and then alter them to my needs, so if you see something wrong, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at Kacfrog711@cs.com.