It was ridiculously easy for the two men to sneak in to the facility. Since the owners thought it was still a secret they hadn't bothered with hiring any human security. And their mechanical security was weak, thanks in part to 10 years of peacetime reducing the need for innovative technology in such areas.

Once they were in, they went separate directions. The plan was to plant their bombs from one end of the building to the other, and then meet up back outside where the others should be waiting with an escape vehicle. If all went well they'd be nearly back to the hotel by the time the building blew.

"All charges planted in the East wing," Heero radioed to his comrade.

"Two more to go on my end, then I'm outta here. See ya on the outside, Buddy."

"Roger that." Slowly and quietly Heero made his way back in to the main hall that they had entered through, admiring the rather brilliant design of the building as he did.

He made it back to the hatch they'd busted in through without a problem but instead of heading out, for some reason he found himself waiting. Any second now Duo would radio him that he was on his way. Then they'd be off, and back to their boring lives once again.

The radio crackled for a moment and there was a blip of voice, but then silence. Really he knew better than to respond in a situation like this. It was best to keep the radio silent except when safety was certain. Still, Duo's extended silence was beginning to worry him. He pulled the radio from his pocket and prepared to press the button when a familiar and entirely unwelcome sound echoed from the Western hall. In an uncharacteristic jolt of emotion, Heero Yuy's heart skipped a beat.

"Duo?"

He could faintly hear footsteps running his direction from the hall. But then the radio crackled to life. "Guards… Headed your way…Get the hell out, fast!"

There was pain in the man's voice, which only confirmed Heero's fear. "How bad are you hurt?"

"It's just my arm, I'll be fine. Are you gone yet?"

Just then a stranger with a gun burst around the corner. Heero pulled out his own weapon and downed the guy with a shot to the head before he had even been noticed. Still, even as the stranger fell to the ground, the ex-pilot was glancing down at his watch. Only 8 minutes until detonation. He put the radio to his mouth once more. "Where are you?"

"I'm still trying to find a way out… there's more guys, I can hear 'em, but I can't see 'em."

"Stay put."

"What?! Heero, don't…"

But he had already turned his radio off and begun sneaking down the hall toward his comrade. Very soon he too heard the sound of unfamiliar voices. Three or four of them just up ahead. Ducking in to a doorway, Heero waited. A quick glance at his wrist revealed only 6 minutes to go. He would have liked to wait for the others to come to him, but he had no time. He had to find Duo and get out.

Peeking out he watched the three guards come in to view, and watched one of them point at the floor. They were following something which lead them to a locked door. They pounded on it and yelled to the man inside.

"We know you're in there, and we know you're hurt. Come out quietly and we won't have to hurt you any more."

Now Heero knew what they had followed. It was a blood trail… Duo's blood trail. At the sudden realization of how much danger his friend was in, he flung himself into the middle of the hallway and began firing away at the guards. He took two out before the other two could duck in to corners. While they were still hidden away he charged forward and tucked himself in against the door with the blood stains. "Open the door," he commanded almost as calmly as his old self would have. The door opened and he found himself being pulled inside.

"Christ, Yuy, what the hell's the matter with you! You were supposed to get out of here, but no, you run right back in to the ambush…"

"How's your arm?"

"It hurt's like hell, thanks for asking. Now how do you propose we get out of here, since, you know, those bombs of ours are gonna wake up any second now."

"Three minutes, 32 seconds," Heero corrected with another glance at his wrist.

"Oh, well, excuse me…"

"Can you still shoot."

"Yeah, sure, they missed my good arm."

Heero nodded, and slammed his fist into the control panel that opened the door. Crouching, he pulled a gun from one of the downed guards, undid the safety, and handed it to Duo. "Our only chance is to run for it."

"Hey, that kind of plan hasn't failed us yet, right?" He tried to sound cheerful despite his obvious pain.

Again Heero nodded, and then shouldered up to the door. "I'll cover you."

Duo accepted the plan, knowing there was no time to argue about who went first now. He readied his gun and bolted in to the hallway. Immediately the hidden guards started firing, but Heero and Duo both countered their shots. When one of the guards fell, Heero too jumped up and began to make his escape. By the time they made it to the lobby they were pretty sure the last guard wasn't following them any more.

Heero dropped his gun and rummaged through his backpack for something to help them break out. There was no way Duo could make it out of their original hatch with only one arm. Finally he was about to grab a grenade, but before he could pull it out he saw Duo flinch, heard him shout, "Look out!" and felt himself behind shoved aside as one more gunshot sounded. In retaliation Heero threw the grenade in the direction of the shot and stayed low until the explosion was over. As his hearing returned to normal the first sound he recognized was a cough. Scrambling to his knees he leaned over Duo, who lay on his side wheezing and hacking. Grasping his arm, Heero made his friend lay back, only to finally notice the new wound in the left side of his chest. Involuntarily he uttered a defiant "No," as he pressed a hand against the pulsing hole.

Despite his situation Duo managed to smirk. "Looks like the God of Death isn't gonna make it outta this one, Buddy."

Heero didn't realize it, but he was shaking his head. Still determined to get his friend out, he tried to get him to his feet. But Duo fought him with all the strength he had left, pushing his friend away.

"I'm serious, Man, forget me and save yourself."

Save himself? Leave Duo there? How could he? If the Gundam pilots were his friends, then Duo Maxwell was by far his best friend. They had never let each other down in all the time they'd known each other. How many times had Duo saved his ass? And how many times had he saved Duo? Now he was being asked to go against that unspoken code of theirs. "Not a chance."

Very suddenly Heero rose to his feet and sprinted across the room. Duo tried to ask what he was doing, but only managed to choke on blood. But his buddy was back soon, pressing his hand to the bullet wound again.

"What…?" It was all he managed to choke out, but Heero understood.

"I disabled the charges in this room. We'll be alright in here, and the other charges will blow us a way out of here." He glanced at his watch, then added, "Just hold on another minute or two, alright?"

Duo laughed as best he could and muttered something that sounded like "You got it, Buddy."

But Heero could see his friend was fading fast. He lifted his friend's back up off the floor, in part because he hoped the angle would ease his breathing. But it also served to make him feel closer… safer.

He began to feel the explosions at the far ends of the building, and held tight to his friend. Although he knew he couldn't be heard over the noise, he found himself saying "We're almost there." And it was over as quickly as it began. But Duo was still fading. Giving him a little shake, Heero nearly shouted in order to keep his friend conscious, "Duo… Duo!"

The injured man cringed, but finally managed to look up at his buddy. And for the first time ever he saw tears in the soldier's eyes. He tried to say "Heero," but it came out more as grunts, and he wheezed violently afterward. But his hand managed to creep up to the one holding his wound, and he gave it a squeeze.

Heero's shoulders suddenly slumped, and he hung his head. "I'm sorry, Duo." He felt one more squeeze to his hand, and a chest heave of a laugh. He looked up just in time to see one last smirk cross his friend's lips before his face relaxed completely. Heero held tight to his friend for a few moments more. His tears finally began descending his cheeks as he found himself thinking that this couldn't possibly be real. The body in his arms couldn't possibly be Duo Maxwell, The God of Death, his favorite comrade and best friend. It wasn't possible that there would never be another smart-mouthed comment or mischievous grin to look forward to. For a few more moments Heero Yuy found himself hoping that his dearest friend would wake up to laugh at his pointless tears.

And then Duo's still active radio crackled. Quatre's voice begged for confirmation of life. The old Heero Yuy sprang back into action for a brief minute, and he gathered up his backpack, sliding it up on to his back. But then he knelt back down. He reached out to close Duo's violet eyes forever, a task that tore at his heart. And then, as gently as he could, he scooped up his lifeless friend in his arms. As he trudged toward the exploded hallway in search of an exit, he found himself talking.

"How could you think that I would ever leave without you? How could I abandon you… the one who always came for me. How could I leave behind the best friend I never asked for?"

By now he was cresting a pile of rubble and stepping out into the field. On the other side of this grassy expanse were their three other friends, waiting to see if they were alive. What would they say when they saw Duo? Heero tried to quell all emotions he could feel, in order to be prepared for anything. But no matter what he did on the inside, he could not stop the tears streaming from his eyes.