A/N: Omg, I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait! My muse and I had parted for a little while, yet she came back once I decided to just move ahead in the plot. Because of this the story may not take long to end, but it was either that or stall a month. I hope all the action in this one makes up for the wait!

Ch. 14

Somehow they had managed to get their work done by Monday morning—which was no small feat, Heero couldn't seem to keep his hands off of Duo for more than a minute—and were ready for the tests. Well, Duo would be if his butt wasn't so sore.

"Are you alright Duo?" Quatre asked during science for the fiftieth time.

"You'd think Heero was in heat or something," Duo mumbled back. Sitting in a chair for two hours at a time to do tests was not what he needed right now. So he simply opted to finish the test as soon as possible and then sleep some, it'd take his brain off the pain.

"Any last questions," their teacher asked.

"Why must we suffer these damned CRT's anyway?" Duo asked.

"School system rules, now shut up and begin the test," he shot back. Duo sighed and opened his test book; it was going to be a long week.

At lunch Duo opted to lay on his stomach after he finished eating, to give his sore behind a rest.

"Are you alright love," Heero asked as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you really a werewolf and some sort of moon phase has caused you to go into heat?" Duo inquired. Heero laughed and gave him a wry smile.

"I'm sorry love," Heero answered. "I wonder myself if that's the case. I'm sorry." Heero leaned over and kissed the top of Duo's head.

Duo sighed. "It's okay; I can't stay mad at you when you act like that."

"You're soooo lucky Duo," Stephanie commented with a wistful sigh. "You've got a regular prince charming that's kind and considerate, romantic, and can't keep his hands off you."

"Of course," Trowa remarked with a sly smile, "isn't that the stereotype of all gay men?"

"Oh why is life so cruel?!" Stephanie cried as she swooned to the ground dramatically. "All I ask for is one man like that, one man, as payment for my lifetime of servitude!"

"Cut it out Steph," Duo retorted, "just because you can't get one doesn't give you the right to drool all over mine."

"Caught red handed, damn," Stephanie replied. Duo rolled his eyes and rested his head on Heero's lap as Heero began to stroke his hair. It was soothing. He drifted off to sleep contently, and was rudely awakened by the bell. Grumbling, he went to his next class of Hell.

By Wednesday he was feeling a bit better. That still didn't stop him from simply laying with his head on Heero's knee after school at Quatre's pool though.

"You really can't stand tests can you," Quatre asked him.

"Nope," Duo answered. "Tests are fucking easy and I'm done in ten minutes, and then I have to sit still and can't even go to sleep for the next two hours."

"You poor thing," Wu Fei snidely commented.

"Fuck off Fei," Duo retorted.

"Let's not start another fight," Heero said as he began to stroke Duo's hair. "We don't want a repeat of yesterday." Duo had to grin in remembrance; after flipping water onto him after turning into his mer form—he'd finally been able to do it consciously—they had found out that an angered Wu Fei turned into a half-Dragon thing, complete with tail, scales, and fiery breath. No wings though.

Wu Fei smirked from where he sat. Duo stuck his tongue out at him.

"Let's just practice again," Trowa interrupted. Duo sighed and regretfully dragged himself from Heero's lap.

"You first," Duo stated. Trowa shrugged and closed his eyes. He slowly grew stripes and claws, and then opened his eyes. "Is that it?" Duo asked with one piqued eyebrow for Trowa hadn't ever transformed before. Trowa nodded.

"How about you Quatre?" Heero interjected before Duo could make a rude teasing comment.

"I can't transform," Quatre answered, shaking his head. "I have found that I can read minds easier if I concentrate, and have been practicing on a few staff members that I have gotten permission from." Heero nodded.

"Fine," Duo exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. "I'll go turn into merboy because it's so obviously my turn!" Duo grumbled and got into the pool.

Duo emptied all the air from his lungs as he rid himself of his swimming trunks and shirt. He dove, taking in a deep breath of the air in the water. He felt his legs attaching and melding into each other, lengthening as they did. He felt his short wing-fins grow from his arms as he sped along the bottom, and soon it was as if they were helping him fly beneath the waves.

Okay, so it was a pool and not the ocean, it wasn't his fault if a poetic metaphor fit the sensation better.

Duo felt his ears grow, and knew the transformation was complete. He swam up to the surface and hung on the side of the pool, staring at his friends. "Happy?"

"You did it the first time," Quatre remarked. "Great job Duo!"

"Yeah, yeah break out the champagne," Duo replied with a roll of his eyes. The air tensed and changed. Duo felt spines rising up on his back as his coloring changed to a violent purple. Something threatening was coming.

"You've never done that before," Wu Fei commented, oblivious to the change in the air. "What's up?"

"Don't you idiots sense that?!" Duo hissed. He looked upward to see a bat-winged man dive down towards them. All instincts on the defensive, Duo shoved a hand upward. He closed his eyes and reached deep inside for the great ball of power inside him. He had secretly practiced on various plants in the house with his father's help—his dad turned out to be very adept and familiar with magical ongoings—and was now able to aim his death waves at different objects. Controlling the course and releasing one or two at will was about all he could do, though.

He shot the black wave at the winged man just as the others noticed it. The batman—Duo would laugh at that name later—dodged with skilled ease as he swooped out of the dive. With one mighty beat of his wings he was soaring upwards, Heero in his talon-toed grasp.

"Heero!" Duo cried as he summoned up the power to hurl another wave.

Heero clung to the legs of the creature in something that was not quite fear. He had always loved high places, it simply felt like he belonged in the air, yet he hated someone else being in control. He couldn't even handle someone else driving a car he was in, which was why he always walked instead of taking a taxi.

"Mission complete," his captor said into a small mike. "I've got the objective; I'm taking him back now doctor." Heero frowned at the one-sided conversation. Wasn't Dr. G acting suspiciously lately? Could it be him?

Heero was brought out of his musings by a storm of black waves that the creature was now dodging. He wasn't scarred of getting hit by them; after all…… wait, would it work with this creature too?

Heero closed his eyes and concentrated on the talons loosing their hard grip, and being more like fleshy toes. He soon felt the change. Giving a silent cry of triumph Heero concentrated on the man being human once again. A few moments later the creature started to falter, as if loosing his wings.

"Fei!" Duo cried as he saw the batman begin to transform back to a human. He jumped at Wu Fei, who swung him around once and launched him into the air towards Heero.

"Heero!" Duo called out. Heero opened his eyes and looked at him as Duo shot upwards with his arms reaching out. Heero let go of the man as Duo got close, instead falling to grab Duo around the waist. Duo's tail wrapped around him for better support and Duo opened up his arms, using them to glide as the batman crashed into a tree.

"Thank you, koi," Heero remarked as they slowly circled down to the pool.

"No problem," Duo replied. "I couldn't loose my lover to a creature of the sky now could I?"

"You seem to handle the sky just fine," Heero retorted. That comment had hit a spot in his pride for some unknown reason.

"Yeah well," Duo continued, "I like the water better." Duo gracefully landed in the water.

Okay so it was the equivalent of a boulder doing a cannon ball, it wasn't as if he had hit the ground!

Heero came up for air at the same time Duo did. Duo sheepishly grinned at him and Heero couldn't help but to laugh.

"What was that all about?" Trowa asked. Wu Fei was busy chasing the frantically transforming batman off with his fire-breath. Duo shrugged as Heero gave Trowa an incredulous stare. He expected them to know?

Quatre's brow was creased in strain and answered, "I think I can read that he was sent to capture Heero for Dr. G to—ah!" Quatre went sprawling backwards and Trowa rushed to his side.

"You okay Quat?" Duo anxiously inquired.

Quatre rubbed his head and replied, "I'll be fine with some rest, he threw me out rather forcefully."

Wu Fei came trotting back, trying to return to normal as he did. "I chased him off," he informed them.

"Okay so the now-singed batman is after Heero to deliver him to G," Duo commented. He turned back to his human form as well as Heero climbed out and handed him his clothes. Duo put them on and accepted a hand up from Heero. "So we should grab enough stuff to last a while, call Sally and tell her, and then hole up here as his bodyguards. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded, and so soon they set off to get their things from their houses. Duo was going to get Heero's from Heero's house and then move on to his own. The Maganac and Quatre were guarding him while they were gone.

About two hours later they were still waiting for Duo when Quatre's butler showed Mr. Sullivan in. He seemed deeply troubled by something.

"Is Duo here?" he asked before anyone could speak.

"No, is something wrong?" Quatre replied.

"He had called, explaining the situation," Mr. Sullivan explained. "But that was two hours ago, and then one hour ago he said he was heading home. We've been looking for half and hour because he was taking longer than he should, and we can't find him!"

"What's wrong here Mr. Sullivan?" Sally asked as she came into the room.

"Duo's missing!"

"Shit!" Sally cursed as she hit a nearby end table. "He got him."

"What's wrong?"

Everyone turned at the familiar sound of Dr. J's voice. They saw him and the others—excluding G—standing in a doorway.

"G got Duo," Sally told him.

"What's going on?" Heero demanded. He didn't like this turn of events one bit.

"G has recently started carrying out his plan of mass destruction," J informed them. "He has set up a giant magical amplifier that will direct Duo's unique abilities all over the Earth and colonies. We have been unable to find out where it is, and only recently found out about his plans. Yet that shouldn't have been a problem," he blamed them.

Heero looked at the ground in shame.

"We thought he was after Heero," Quatre defended his friends. "The bat creature tried to abduct him and not Duo after all."

"No doubt a ploy to get Duo to come willingly." J brushed off the remark.

"We'll get started on finding him now," Heero stated as he stood up. With a nod to Sally he rushed up to his room so he could work on his laptop.

He slammed the door shut behind him and collapsed on the floor, pounding his fists into the carpet so hard he could feel the wood beneath. How could he have been so stupid?! G was Duo's doctor; of course he would be after him!! They should have gone out in guarded teams, or not at all!!

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He starred at his now bloodied knuckles, splinters sticking out of a few places.

Quatre entered the room and sighed at the site. "Please Heero," he told the brunette, "Don't do this. We couldn't see it coming, even if we should have. Let's clean that wound, get to the Preventer headquarters, and then we'll start searching for him. Alright?"

Heero stood and nodded. He walked out the door and headed down the stairs. Quatre sighed and followed. Duo was the only one who could get Heero to take care of his wounds when he got like this. Quatre truly believed they were meant for each other, they completed each other and supported each other.

Yet at times like this it seemed so extremely unhealthy. Neither one really knew what to do when the other was missing. At times like this they would draw into themselves, Heero into his solider mask and Duo into his smiling one. The way Heero withdrew from humanity was disturbing, but not as frightening as Duo not allowing himself to acknowledge the problem unless he was alone. Quatre had found him during one of those time periods. The depression that had assaulted him had frightened Quatre more than almost anything else he had experienced.

Quatre sighed as they headed to headquarters. He just wished the two fools would be able to get through this and come out wholly intact.

Duo opened two heavy eyelids. He gazed about the room, not feeling fully there. He must have been drugged or something.

"Glad to see you up Duo," he heard a familiar voice say.

Duo craned his neck. "G?" he weakly asked. He couldn't see the old coot anywhere.

"You can't see me because you now exist on my plain," G answered.

"What?"

"I have a rare magical power, and I am able to become the air in any space I wish to occupy," G explained. "That is why the atmosphere feels so heavy."

Pieces of a puzzle began to click in Duo's foggy brain. "And you used this technique to train me, didn't you?"

"Very good. It helped you put up a sedative resistance, helped you to make your brain function properly and quickly while feeling foggy and slow, as well as maneuver and fight in a tense atmosphere. All of this made you faster and even more efficient during normal circumstances."

"Ingenious," Duo retorted. He could feel the lead-like air in his lungs. It was sickening to learn that it was actually G.

"Yes it was. And now comes the second part of your training. This world is sick, war will always continue as long as these humans are around. What the world needs in order to truly obtain peace is a new beginning. You are going to be the messiah that brings that about. Not J's stupid human solider. How they could all think he was worth more than you I'll never know. That old coot's got too much pride in that idiot tool."

Duo felt rage spark through his languid demeanor. "Heero is worth more than you could ever think, or even J could think for that matter," Duo growled. "He did bring peace about, and time after time he defeats those whishing to destroy it with no thought of his own safety besides the fact that he doesn't want to make me sad by dying!"

Pressure exploded in his head, air bubbles from his blood stream turning to beat him. Duo let out a blood-curdling scream as the pressure threatened to kill him in agony.

Insolent boy you know not of what you speak! G's voice rang in his head. You are a God! What can that mortal possibly have that's better than you?! What could he ever do for peace that you will not?!

The pressure suddenly disappeared to be replaced by an odd relaxing sensation. It was as if he were floating in a sea that massaged his every sore muscle.

Poor child, you just don't know, G said in a now gentle tone. Yet how could you? You just simply don't understand. The world you live in idolizes people like Heero and shuns true wonders like you. Yet we'll make them see, they'll realize soon enough.

"How?" Duo croaked out. He was so weary; he could hardly make his eyes blink. "I'm the God of Death, how can that bring peace?"

Only through Death can life truly begin again. As it is on earthen forests, so it will be with the humans. Destroy them and then raise the only generation still alive with reverence towards all life. That will stop wars. That will enable true peace. You'll see, we will raise them to be better.

Before Duo could protest the insanity of this plan the lead air around him changed subtly and forced his brain to slip into sleep.

A/N: There it is. The plot unraveled, what will happen next? I'm going to go pound furiously at the keyboard some more now, because I want to make up for the long absence. I would also like to finish the story before school starts on the 20th. I may have another chap. up later on tonight, TTFN!

P.S.- Yes, I made Dr. G a crazy, but it seems very much like something any of the doctors could easily end up doing doesn't it?