Okay, this is the first part of this story. I really want to know what you think, so please review. If you
think I should keep going, tell me. I personally don't know what to think of it, so I figured it would be best
if I got the readers' opinions.
The Dungeon of Shinigami
All was silent, except for the clock, that was quietly ticking in the dark. A teenage boy sat at a small table,
drinking some water, as he nervously tapped his fingers on the table's chocolate colored surface. Every so
often his cobalt eyes would glance at the clock. Then, he would look out of the window and at the moon.
Where is he? He scratched his head of brown hair while yawning. Laying his head down, he slowly closed
his eyes. His tired body began to relax, and he drifted off to a deep sleep.
He slept without being disturbed, until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. "Heero, wake up," came
a voice. Heero Yuy, who had been sitting at the table night, grunted, and brushed the hand away. "Heero!
Heero!" The Japanese's eyes flew open as he shot up from the table. He appeared to calm down, as he
looked at the boy that woke him up. Quatre Raberba Winner sighed.
"I must have dozed off," muttered Heero. "What are you doing down here?"
"I came to check on you, and eat breakfast."
"East breakfast?" Heero's eyes went to the window. The sun had already risen past the horizon. He had
been asleep all night.
"Maybe not...I'm not that hungry." Quatre's greenish blue eyes looked downcast. "He never made it
back, Heero."
"What?" Heero quickly asked, hoping he had misheard.
"He never made it back." Heero look down at the glass of water. He had heard correctly.
"I see." What he felt at that moment was a numb sense of calm. "He'll manage."
"But...."
"He'll manage," said Heero again. Just then, Trowa Barton came into the kitchen, where his two fellow
gundam pilots stood.
"We just received an E-mail from an unknown source. I tried to trace it several times, but I was
unsuccessful." Trowa handed a white piece of paper to Heero.
"A printed copy?" Inquired Quatre. Trowa silently nodded, as the blonde peeked over Heero's shoulder
to read the letter.
Gundam Pilots,
Late last night I found a Duo Maxwell, while he was completing a mission that had been assigned to
him. I persuaded him to surrender, and to hand over his gundam, known as Deathscythe. I hope you are
pleased to hear that I have not turned him in yet, but am holding him captive. If you wish to see him again,
I ask that one or more of you meet me at the park, near the lake, at midnight. I'll be wearing a pink
carnation. There, we will discuss Duo Maxwell's safe return. If you fail to come, I will turn Mr. Maxwell in,
where he will be tortured and eventually executed. I hope I have made myself clear. I hope, for Duo
Maxwell's sake, that you'll be there.
"Duo surrendered?" Quatre blinked with surprise. "Why?" Heero kept his expressionless face, as he
muttered,
"I don't know." Then, he crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it on the floor.
"Are we going?" Inquired Trowa.
"No, we are not going," replied Heero, as he walked out of the kitchen. I'm going.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Heero glanced down at his watch. Midnight. He looked at the lake, and saw the
moon's reflection. It was a beautiful, cloudless, night. Too bad he wasn't here to enjoy it. The trees swayed
softly in the wind, as he sauntered over to the bench. He looked around for someone wearing a pink
carnation, but not only did he not find that, he couldn't even see any other people. The park was deserted.
He knew the high plausibility of this entire thing being a trap, but his best friend's life was at stake, and he
was willing to take that chance. Just then, a man with a trench coat sat own next to Heero. The man
unbuttoned the top, revealing a pink carnation, pinned to his shirt pocket.
Meanwhile, Duo Maxwell moaned as his violet eyes fluttered open. He couldn't tell where was - his
vision was blurred. He rubbed his eyes, and soon afterwards, he could see. The room he was in was cold,
and quiet. The floor was made out of wood, and was extremely dirty, with dirt and grease absorbed in it.
The walls weren't in very good shape either. Looking up, he noticed cobwebs along the ceiling. "Oh, boy,
who ever lives here really needs a maid." He got up, and walked over to a wooden stairway that was across
the room. "Ow," he complained, as he rubbed his sore shoulder. "I must have gotten pretty beat up.
Slowly, he walked up the stairs that creaked with every step. When he got to the top, he tried to open the
door, but it was locked. "I'll try ramming it, then." The braided American flung himself at the door, but it
didn't budge. He tried this six or seven times, and still didn't make any progress. A bruised and wearied
Duo sat down and leaned against the door. "I really did it this time. I wonder if the others know I'm in
trouble. How did I get here, anyway?" Then, he knew. Remembering how he got captured in the first place,
he sighed.
Flashback
His assignment was to kill a Colonel Opelt. No reason had been given on why, but in war, you learn
to shoot first and ask questions later. It didn't really matter to Duo Maxwell. Opelt was currently in a
mansion that was in the mountains somewhere. It was beginning to be difficult to find. "No one escapes
from Shinigami," he said, smiling. "I'll find him eventually." It was extremely dark outside, as the night was
cloudy. He couldn't have come in the middle of the day, though, could he?
As he piloted Deathscythe, he wondered how this mission could be so easy? All he had to do was find a
mansion, and destroy it. That was no problem for the God of Death. "Now if I can only find that mansion..."
As soon as he said that, he thought he spotted something. Yes...there it was. "Man, this Opelt dude knows
how to live!" Sure enough almost hidden completely by the trees, there stood a large, white mansion, with
too many windows to count. It looked like something from a fairy tail. "To bad the great Shinigami's going
to demolish it." He smiled briefly. "NOT!" He stepped a bit closer to the estate, and the gundam slowly
lifted up its scythe, which was made from thermal energy.
Just then, a woman's face appeared on the screen, which was in front of Duo. She was quiet beautiful,
but her smile was evil. She had quite a bit of makeup, including blue eye shadow, and brick red lipstick. She
brushed her long, red hair out of her face, as she softly said, "Hello, Gundam Pilot.. What brings you here?
Then again, why am I asking you that? It's obvious you've come to destroy Colonel Opelt, and the mansion
along with it, but are you sure you really want to do that?" Duo's violet eyes narrowed, as he scowled.
"What do you mean? Who are you?" Demanded Duo angrily. How dare she interrupt my mission! Now
she'll die!
"In good time, love. In good time." Duo raised the scythe right above the mansion. "I'm warning
you...don't do that."
"And why not?!"
"Because if you do, you will destroy your comrades." Duo looked the screen with suspicion. What was
this lady trying to pull?
"They're not even with me," he said coolly.
"That's right," replied the woman, "they're with me - inside the mansion." The picture on the screen then
changed, and Duo saw his four comrades together. They all seemed beaten and battered - especially Quatre
and Heero. WuFei seemed to be bowing his head, standing away from the others. Quatre was leaning
against a weary Trowa, but Heero was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees.
"What did you do to them? Duo made a fist of rage. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" The woman
laughed.
"Nothing any worse than what you're about to do." The braided pilot looked down. She was right. If he
blew up that mansion, he would never see his friends again. So, what was he supposed to do? Which matter
the most? The mission, or his friends?
I am Shinigami, said Duo, silently, I cannot...no, I will not let this get in the way.
"So, what will it be? What is your decision?" The woman's voice could be heard. Just then, her face
once again showed up on the screen.
"You're toast, lady. Say good-bye." Deathscythe stepped ever so close to the mansion. The woman,
however, only blinked her green eyes in slight surprise.
"I figured you'd might say that. You are a gundam pilot. You're missions always come first, but I didn't
expect them to come before your comrades."
"Well, they do, so shut up and leave me alone. Nothing is going to change my mind." He raised the
scythe over the roof. He felt his eyes burning with tears. "Good-bye." Then, the scythe came down, but, it
suddenly stopped. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it.
"What's wrong?" Inquired the woman, as she grinned. "Having...second thoughts? If you want to come
get them, they're in the basement. I wouldn't recommend it, though. Especially if you value you life!"
"Prepare to meet Shinigami...you're final fate!" Growled Duo, as the cockpit opened. He quickly
lowered himself down, and ran inside of the mansion. Deep down inside, he knew he would more than
likely not make it out of this alive, but, he was so blinded with anger and hate, he just didn't see that. No
one seemed to be around, as he checked all of the doors. They must all be in the basement, he thought. He
was in such a hurry, he didn't even bother to notice the white walls, and the beautiful paintings that hung
from them. Finally, he found a door that led to some stairs. Since they went down, he figured that's where
the basement was.
He hurried down the steps, gripping the gun in his pocket. Heero, Quatre, Trowa, WuFei...I'm coming.
When he reached the end of the stairs, he slowed down a bit, as he turned to his comrades, that were
huddled together in the corner. He took one last step before they disappeared. "WHAT?!" He heard a
woman's laugh behind him.
"Technology is so wonderful these days, don't you agree?"
"Crap. It was...it was only a hologram," muttered Duo, as he whirled around, to see the woman that he
had spoken with earlier. "I'm assuming you're Colonel Opelt?" The woman laughed again.
"No, I'm his cousin, though. You can call me Lantanna." Duo eyed her carefully. She was wearing a
blue tanktop, along with some blue jeans. She smiled. "Now, we have some things we must discuss, then my
cousin and I will decide what to do with you." Duo slowly approached Lantanna.
"I'm all yours."
"There's a good boy." Then, Duo whipped out his gun and aimed it at Lantanna. He chuckled a bit, and
motioned the young woman over to the corner.
"Now, what shall I do with you?" Then, before he knew it, several men tackled him from behind, and
pinned him to the ground. That cause him to drop his gun. After a few minutes of kicking him, he finally
seemed to give up, as he laid on the floor. Smiling, Lantanna picked up the gun, and gave Duo one last kick.
"Shame, shame," she said casually. "There will be none of that. I suppose our discussion will have to
wait until later." With that, her and her three guard went up the stairs.
"Miss Lantanna, who is this guy?" Inquired one of the guards.
"That's none of your concern right now." The last thing Duo heard was the door shutting, before his
worked went black.
End Flashback
"How could I have been so foolish?" Wondered Duo, as he stared at the ceiling. "I've got to get out of
here - somehow." Then, he noticed a vent. It was just the right size for a teenage boy to crawl through. It
was awful high, though, and nothing to stand on. He rested his head in his hands. There was nothing he
could do, except wait for something to happen, which he hoped would be real soon.
Heero Yuy looked at the man, and at the pink carnation. "I see you received the E-mail." Heero
remained silent, but nodded. There was a long pause before Heero spoke.
"I didn't come to the park this late for the fun of it. Start talking." The man snickered.
"You're a straight forward, down-to-business young man. I like that." His green eyes sparkled. "Let me
introduce myself. I'm Colonel Joseph Opelt." Colonel Opelt, who looked to be in his late 20's, extended his
hand. "What's yours?" Heero didn't take the general's hand, but only stared at it.
"This isn't a social visit. Just tell me what you want so I can get out of here."
"Right. Well, as you can see, I am a normal soldier from the Romefeller Foundation, trying to do the best
I can. I live in a mansion, but money is starting to become scarce for me. I rarely get paid, and my bills are
becoming difficult to pay. I blame most of these problems on our leaders. They do nothing for me. You can
see my reluctance in turning Duo Maxwell in, even if it means a promotion."
"I get it," muttered Heero, "you don't like the high staff."
"Ah, so you understand. Anyway, Duo Maxwell had apparently been given an assignment to destroy me.
Most likely because I had done much research on the gundams and their pilots. I know a lot about you.
More than you think. Take Duo Maxwell for example. I know he was raised in a church, mainly by two
people. Father Maxwell, and Sister Helen. Hence his last name Maxwell. He calls himself 'Shinigami', or
the 'God of Death'. I could go on and on." He smirked. "I know a lot about you, too." Heero shifted
uncomfortably on the bench.
"You still haven't told me what you wanted."
"I'm getting to that." He took a brief pause before he went on. "I will give you Duo Maxwell, and leave
you all alone, in exchange for one million dollars in American money, and my life." Heero narrowed his
eyes. "I know that's a lot for you to think about, so that's why I suggest you come with me to my mansion.
That way you can see that Duo Maxwell is in alive and well."
"And if I refuse to come with you?" Opelt smiled, as Heero felt something extremely sharp press against
his neck. Then, from behind he heard a woman's voice.
"Omae o koroso."
There's chapter one. Please Review!
think I should keep going, tell me. I personally don't know what to think of it, so I figured it would be best
if I got the readers' opinions.
The Dungeon of Shinigami
All was silent, except for the clock, that was quietly ticking in the dark. A teenage boy sat at a small table,
drinking some water, as he nervously tapped his fingers on the table's chocolate colored surface. Every so
often his cobalt eyes would glance at the clock. Then, he would look out of the window and at the moon.
Where is he? He scratched his head of brown hair while yawning. Laying his head down, he slowly closed
his eyes. His tired body began to relax, and he drifted off to a deep sleep.
He slept without being disturbed, until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. "Heero, wake up," came
a voice. Heero Yuy, who had been sitting at the table night, grunted, and brushed the hand away. "Heero!
Heero!" The Japanese's eyes flew open as he shot up from the table. He appeared to calm down, as he
looked at the boy that woke him up. Quatre Raberba Winner sighed.
"I must have dozed off," muttered Heero. "What are you doing down here?"
"I came to check on you, and eat breakfast."
"East breakfast?" Heero's eyes went to the window. The sun had already risen past the horizon. He had
been asleep all night.
"Maybe not...I'm not that hungry." Quatre's greenish blue eyes looked downcast. "He never made it
back, Heero."
"What?" Heero quickly asked, hoping he had misheard.
"He never made it back." Heero look down at the glass of water. He had heard correctly.
"I see." What he felt at that moment was a numb sense of calm. "He'll manage."
"But...."
"He'll manage," said Heero again. Just then, Trowa Barton came into the kitchen, where his two fellow
gundam pilots stood.
"We just received an E-mail from an unknown source. I tried to trace it several times, but I was
unsuccessful." Trowa handed a white piece of paper to Heero.
"A printed copy?" Inquired Quatre. Trowa silently nodded, as the blonde peeked over Heero's shoulder
to read the letter.
Gundam Pilots,
Late last night I found a Duo Maxwell, while he was completing a mission that had been assigned to
him. I persuaded him to surrender, and to hand over his gundam, known as Deathscythe. I hope you are
pleased to hear that I have not turned him in yet, but am holding him captive. If you wish to see him again,
I ask that one or more of you meet me at the park, near the lake, at midnight. I'll be wearing a pink
carnation. There, we will discuss Duo Maxwell's safe return. If you fail to come, I will turn Mr. Maxwell in,
where he will be tortured and eventually executed. I hope I have made myself clear. I hope, for Duo
Maxwell's sake, that you'll be there.
"Duo surrendered?" Quatre blinked with surprise. "Why?" Heero kept his expressionless face, as he
muttered,
"I don't know." Then, he crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it on the floor.
"Are we going?" Inquired Trowa.
"No, we are not going," replied Heero, as he walked out of the kitchen. I'm going.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Heero glanced down at his watch. Midnight. He looked at the lake, and saw the
moon's reflection. It was a beautiful, cloudless, night. Too bad he wasn't here to enjoy it. The trees swayed
softly in the wind, as he sauntered over to the bench. He looked around for someone wearing a pink
carnation, but not only did he not find that, he couldn't even see any other people. The park was deserted.
He knew the high plausibility of this entire thing being a trap, but his best friend's life was at stake, and he
was willing to take that chance. Just then, a man with a trench coat sat own next to Heero. The man
unbuttoned the top, revealing a pink carnation, pinned to his shirt pocket.
Meanwhile, Duo Maxwell moaned as his violet eyes fluttered open. He couldn't tell where was - his
vision was blurred. He rubbed his eyes, and soon afterwards, he could see. The room he was in was cold,
and quiet. The floor was made out of wood, and was extremely dirty, with dirt and grease absorbed in it.
The walls weren't in very good shape either. Looking up, he noticed cobwebs along the ceiling. "Oh, boy,
who ever lives here really needs a maid." He got up, and walked over to a wooden stairway that was across
the room. "Ow," he complained, as he rubbed his sore shoulder. "I must have gotten pretty beat up.
Slowly, he walked up the stairs that creaked with every step. When he got to the top, he tried to open the
door, but it was locked. "I'll try ramming it, then." The braided American flung himself at the door, but it
didn't budge. He tried this six or seven times, and still didn't make any progress. A bruised and wearied
Duo sat down and leaned against the door. "I really did it this time. I wonder if the others know I'm in
trouble. How did I get here, anyway?" Then, he knew. Remembering how he got captured in the first place,
he sighed.
Flashback
His assignment was to kill a Colonel Opelt. No reason had been given on why, but in war, you learn
to shoot first and ask questions later. It didn't really matter to Duo Maxwell. Opelt was currently in a
mansion that was in the mountains somewhere. It was beginning to be difficult to find. "No one escapes
from Shinigami," he said, smiling. "I'll find him eventually." It was extremely dark outside, as the night was
cloudy. He couldn't have come in the middle of the day, though, could he?
As he piloted Deathscythe, he wondered how this mission could be so easy? All he had to do was find a
mansion, and destroy it. That was no problem for the God of Death. "Now if I can only find that mansion..."
As soon as he said that, he thought he spotted something. Yes...there it was. "Man, this Opelt dude knows
how to live!" Sure enough almost hidden completely by the trees, there stood a large, white mansion, with
too many windows to count. It looked like something from a fairy tail. "To bad the great Shinigami's going
to demolish it." He smiled briefly. "NOT!" He stepped a bit closer to the estate, and the gundam slowly
lifted up its scythe, which was made from thermal energy.
Just then, a woman's face appeared on the screen, which was in front of Duo. She was quiet beautiful,
but her smile was evil. She had quite a bit of makeup, including blue eye shadow, and brick red lipstick. She
brushed her long, red hair out of her face, as she softly said, "Hello, Gundam Pilot.. What brings you here?
Then again, why am I asking you that? It's obvious you've come to destroy Colonel Opelt, and the mansion
along with it, but are you sure you really want to do that?" Duo's violet eyes narrowed, as he scowled.
"What do you mean? Who are you?" Demanded Duo angrily. How dare she interrupt my mission! Now
she'll die!
"In good time, love. In good time." Duo raised the scythe right above the mansion. "I'm warning
you...don't do that."
"And why not?!"
"Because if you do, you will destroy your comrades." Duo looked the screen with suspicion. What was
this lady trying to pull?
"They're not even with me," he said coolly.
"That's right," replied the woman, "they're with me - inside the mansion." The picture on the screen then
changed, and Duo saw his four comrades together. They all seemed beaten and battered - especially Quatre
and Heero. WuFei seemed to be bowing his head, standing away from the others. Quatre was leaning
against a weary Trowa, but Heero was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees.
"What did you do to them? Duo made a fist of rage. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" The woman
laughed.
"Nothing any worse than what you're about to do." The braided pilot looked down. She was right. If he
blew up that mansion, he would never see his friends again. So, what was he supposed to do? Which matter
the most? The mission, or his friends?
I am Shinigami, said Duo, silently, I cannot...no, I will not let this get in the way.
"So, what will it be? What is your decision?" The woman's voice could be heard. Just then, her face
once again showed up on the screen.
"You're toast, lady. Say good-bye." Deathscythe stepped ever so close to the mansion. The woman,
however, only blinked her green eyes in slight surprise.
"I figured you'd might say that. You are a gundam pilot. You're missions always come first, but I didn't
expect them to come before your comrades."
"Well, they do, so shut up and leave me alone. Nothing is going to change my mind." He raised the
scythe over the roof. He felt his eyes burning with tears. "Good-bye." Then, the scythe came down, but, it
suddenly stopped. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it.
"What's wrong?" Inquired the woman, as she grinned. "Having...second thoughts? If you want to come
get them, they're in the basement. I wouldn't recommend it, though. Especially if you value you life!"
"Prepare to meet Shinigami...you're final fate!" Growled Duo, as the cockpit opened. He quickly
lowered himself down, and ran inside of the mansion. Deep down inside, he knew he would more than
likely not make it out of this alive, but, he was so blinded with anger and hate, he just didn't see that. No
one seemed to be around, as he checked all of the doors. They must all be in the basement, he thought. He
was in such a hurry, he didn't even bother to notice the white walls, and the beautiful paintings that hung
from them. Finally, he found a door that led to some stairs. Since they went down, he figured that's where
the basement was.
He hurried down the steps, gripping the gun in his pocket. Heero, Quatre, Trowa, WuFei...I'm coming.
When he reached the end of the stairs, he slowed down a bit, as he turned to his comrades, that were
huddled together in the corner. He took one last step before they disappeared. "WHAT?!" He heard a
woman's laugh behind him.
"Technology is so wonderful these days, don't you agree?"
"Crap. It was...it was only a hologram," muttered Duo, as he whirled around, to see the woman that he
had spoken with earlier. "I'm assuming you're Colonel Opelt?" The woman laughed again.
"No, I'm his cousin, though. You can call me Lantanna." Duo eyed her carefully. She was wearing a
blue tanktop, along with some blue jeans. She smiled. "Now, we have some things we must discuss, then my
cousin and I will decide what to do with you." Duo slowly approached Lantanna.
"I'm all yours."
"There's a good boy." Then, Duo whipped out his gun and aimed it at Lantanna. He chuckled a bit, and
motioned the young woman over to the corner.
"Now, what shall I do with you?" Then, before he knew it, several men tackled him from behind, and
pinned him to the ground. That cause him to drop his gun. After a few minutes of kicking him, he finally
seemed to give up, as he laid on the floor. Smiling, Lantanna picked up the gun, and gave Duo one last kick.
"Shame, shame," she said casually. "There will be none of that. I suppose our discussion will have to
wait until later." With that, her and her three guard went up the stairs.
"Miss Lantanna, who is this guy?" Inquired one of the guards.
"That's none of your concern right now." The last thing Duo heard was the door shutting, before his
worked went black.
End Flashback
"How could I have been so foolish?" Wondered Duo, as he stared at the ceiling. "I've got to get out of
here - somehow." Then, he noticed a vent. It was just the right size for a teenage boy to crawl through. It
was awful high, though, and nothing to stand on. He rested his head in his hands. There was nothing he
could do, except wait for something to happen, which he hoped would be real soon.
Heero Yuy looked at the man, and at the pink carnation. "I see you received the E-mail." Heero
remained silent, but nodded. There was a long pause before Heero spoke.
"I didn't come to the park this late for the fun of it. Start talking." The man snickered.
"You're a straight forward, down-to-business young man. I like that." His green eyes sparkled. "Let me
introduce myself. I'm Colonel Joseph Opelt." Colonel Opelt, who looked to be in his late 20's, extended his
hand. "What's yours?" Heero didn't take the general's hand, but only stared at it.
"This isn't a social visit. Just tell me what you want so I can get out of here."
"Right. Well, as you can see, I am a normal soldier from the Romefeller Foundation, trying to do the best
I can. I live in a mansion, but money is starting to become scarce for me. I rarely get paid, and my bills are
becoming difficult to pay. I blame most of these problems on our leaders. They do nothing for me. You can
see my reluctance in turning Duo Maxwell in, even if it means a promotion."
"I get it," muttered Heero, "you don't like the high staff."
"Ah, so you understand. Anyway, Duo Maxwell had apparently been given an assignment to destroy me.
Most likely because I had done much research on the gundams and their pilots. I know a lot about you.
More than you think. Take Duo Maxwell for example. I know he was raised in a church, mainly by two
people. Father Maxwell, and Sister Helen. Hence his last name Maxwell. He calls himself 'Shinigami', or
the 'God of Death'. I could go on and on." He smirked. "I know a lot about you, too." Heero shifted
uncomfortably on the bench.
"You still haven't told me what you wanted."
"I'm getting to that." He took a brief pause before he went on. "I will give you Duo Maxwell, and leave
you all alone, in exchange for one million dollars in American money, and my life." Heero narrowed his
eyes. "I know that's a lot for you to think about, so that's why I suggest you come with me to my mansion.
That way you can see that Duo Maxwell is in alive and well."
"And if I refuse to come with you?" Opelt smiled, as Heero felt something extremely sharp press against
his neck. Then, from behind he heard a woman's voice.
"Omae o koroso."
There's chapter one. Please Review!