SHINIGAMI

CHAPTER THREE.-going home

Duo shut his eyes as he fell, the warm wind blowing over his face and making his clothes pull tight against his body. it was strange to him that people always thought of underground as being cold and scary, to him it was always warm and the safe, the darkness wrapped around him like a thick velvet blanket holding him safe and secure like an old friend . he had never been claustrophobic he liked tight spaces they seemed to make him feel at peace, maybe that's why he felt so at home in the cock pit of the deathsythe. he braced himself ready for the barrier ahead that surrounded his home to keep out the living. it shone ahead sending out a grey light as it flowed like mercury in a ribbon of rippling silver across the walls of the tunnel. duo's decent halted in front of it. he reached out and touched the silver light and gasped in shock as icy cold spread up his arm, in hurt badly like his bones had turned to ice in his body. he gritted his teeth and pushed harder hissing in pain, but the barrier refused to give.

duo stepped away from the wall of silver he folded his arms staring at the barrier for a while as if his stare could melt it and then he grinned placing his hands palms down towards the floor.

" have it your way dad, guess I have to come back as Shin or not at all ne?"

with that he through his head back and let loose an inhuman scream, his eyes shimmed violet then midnight blue before becoming fathomless black as purple and blue eldritch shot up from the ground wrapping around duos body in bands of fire. he walked up to the barrier again and through his braid over his shoulder before placing his hand against the barrier once more. as the black fire round the now duo Shinigami body touched the silver light it caused it to shrink back letting duo pass thorough easily before his eyes returned to normal.

duo hit the ground cat like before straightening up and dusting himself off, his landing made no sound, noise didn't exist down here. he looked around at his former home.

the tunnel duo was stood in led into a cathedral size room, giant black coulombs of stone disappeared into the high ceiling hundreds of feet above his head where they met with great carved gothic arches. the whole place reminded the pilot of a rib cage of some great black beast he shuddered when he remembered this is where he came from. the floor was covered in fine black sand and small shiny black pebbles, duo stepped forward to enter the large room and heard a crunch, looking down at his feet he realised that it was not tiny black pebbles he was walking on at all but a carpet of living insects writhing and scurrying everywhere. duo began to feel nauseous and leaned against the wall with his eyes shut to try and compose him self, taking deep breaths he suddenly felt the beam under his hand breath. opening his eyes he came face to face with first a fork tongue and then a pair of dripping ivory fangs.

his eyes widened as the snake began to wrap itself round his arm it's glistening black scales tightening around his flesh. panicking duo staggered back and tripped over his own feet hitting the ground hard. the insects began scurrying towards him a purple black sea of shiny bodies, in desperation duo scooted to the far wall only to be met with more snakes detaching from beams and heading towards him, their bodies flowing like oil over the black stone.

duo felt helpless lost and alone he wanted heero and to get out of here, he put his arms over his head waiting for the first bite, " I shouldn't have come here" he thought "I don't belong here anymore, I was a fool to think I could help quatre" quatre as if that name gave him strength he stood up, he was here for quatre, his father had taken his friend and he was here to get him back, he looked at the snakes and bugs around him and laughed kicking at a snake near his foot. he was the god of death this stuff didn't scare him, what was he thinking? Life above really had changed him

" is this the best you've got father ne? parlour tricks man could you get more hammer house of horror? oh but don't feel bad I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover!!"

as quickly as they came the creatures disappeared and duo was once more stood on sand, he entered the large room ahead that was glowing with a blue light. duo was stood by the banks of a river, on the far side of the bank stood the entrance to the underworld, great black gates reached to the ceiling like a giant mouth, on either side of the gate stood a hooded figure about 9 feet tall their heads bowed. on duos side of the river stood thousands of people most dressed in rags. they paced up and down the bank, some weeping some talking to themselves others were just stood staring blankly. one woman clutching a baby grabbed duo's sleeve her eyes were sunken and hollow, her face haggard with starvation

"why , why, why did this happen?" she shrieked at him duo turned his head away he couldn't get distracted and he knew better than to try and answer the deads questions by the river Styx. these people were the dead from the village oz had bombed, among them were the dead of other oz attacks all of them civilians, none of them could find peace until their deaths were avenged and oz was destroyed,. until that day when their souls were at peace and they could go on to Elysium they had to remain on the bank replaying their death over and over for eternity. duo carried on walking towards the river, he knew quatre would not be here, his soul was at peace, which meant he would have to travel to the palace of Hades to get him back, and time was running out if he didn't get to quatre within 48 hours then both he and quatre would be sent to hell forever.

elspeth chang wytches cavern http://www.kjkemp.fsnet.co.uk