"This will never work, Harry," Duo muttered.
"Yes, it will. Stop slouching and stand up straight."
"She'll never believe that I'm you."
"I can prove that, so don't worry about it. Now, what are you going to say when you see her?"
"There's this voice in my head that would really like to talk to you."
Duo's hand smacked him across the face.
"Try it again, Duo."
"This voice in my head sucks, but it would rather suck face with you?"
Duo's fist crashed into his jaw.
"You said you'd cooperate. Why are you making this difficult?"
"Maybe I lied. Maybe I don't like being used."
"Maybe I've been waiting two lifetimes for this, and I'm a little determined, okay?"
Duo rubbed his jaw. "Fine. But once I do this, you're gone, right?"
"I promise. You do this for me, and you'll never hear me again."
"There's one more thing I have to know, Harry."
"What's that?"
Duo glanced down at his new clothes. "Before you died...were you gay? These clothes do not establish my manhood!"
"First, just because my fashion sense is superior to yours does not mean I am gay. Second, I'm going through all this trouble to see a girl. Third, if I was gay, don't you think I would've made you do something both homosexual and humiliating by now?"
Duo thought for a moment. "Does the porn site count? That was humiliating."
"No, Duo. That was merely a trap used to trick you. And it worked out quite well."
"Shut up." Though Duo couldn't see it, he could still feel Harry's superior grin. "And wipe that grin off my face!"
* * * * *
Melfina found that the best way to deal with depression was to satisfy her sweet tooth. Since her metabolism was faster than the average human's, she had no problem keeping weight off. But after three milkshakes, an ice cream sundae, and a chocolate bar, she still hadn't stopped thinking about Harry.
She was just considering another milkshake when there was a loud knock on the door. With a sigh, she walked over and opened it.
The boy that stared back at her was overdressed, to say the least. But before she could say anything, he held up a bouquet of yellow roses.
Melfina blinked, and wondered if she should accept them. "Um...do I know you?" asked.
"Yes. No!" The boy shook his head. "No, not exactly. I am...was...a friend of Harry McDougall."
"Oh." Trying not to sound too depressed, Melfina took the flowers and invited him in. "What's your name?"
"Duo Maxwell," he replied as he walked past her.
Melfina gasped. "What happened to your face?!"
"Huh? Oh, this?" he asked, pointing to the purple bruise on his chin. "I...uh...got into a fight on the way over. Stupid pirates tried to rob me, but they didn't get a single wong!"
Melfina didn't really believe that, for some reason, and noticed he seemed to be a little nervous. "Is something wrong?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch.
Duo stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "This is going to sound extremely weird, but I'm not crazy." He sat down beside her. "I came here because this guy in my head wanted to see you."
Melfina blinked slowly. "Okay," she said after a moment. It was obvious that she was starting to regret inviting him in.
"No, seriously! I know you think Harry's dead, but he's not. He downloaded his brain waves to the El Dorado's computer, and then to me. You know, like when you save a file on a disk? Well, he saved himself to me."
"Duo...that does sound pretty crazy. Maybe if you had some proof, I could-"
"Proof! Right! Something only you and him would know! Um...let me think. Wait, I got it! He first told you that he loved you at the Galactic Leyline! Whatever that is..."
Melfina's eyes widened. "H-Harry?" she stammered.
"He says you can talk to him directly if you take my hand." Duo held his hand out to her.
Melfina hesitantly placed her hand in his.
A blank expression appeared on Duo's face.
"Hello, Melfina. It's been a while."
"Harry! It's really you!"
"Yes, my angel. I've found you at last. You can't imagine how hard I've searched for a way to be with you. We were meant to be together, Melfina."
Melfina sighed. "Harry, I've missed you...but I'm in love with Gene now."
There was something like a mental sigh. "I know, Melfina. I can accept that. But...I have to be near you. Please. You're the only one who can truly understand what it's like to be...me."
"What are you saying, Harry?"
"I'm saying I want to stay here, with you and the others."
"Harry, that's sweet, but...you can't just keep Duo's body. He needs it."
"That's no trouble. I still have my old body. Once it's rebuilt, I can download myself back into it."
"Then...you've told him about the consequences?"
Duo's face twisted as he fought to regain control of his body. "WHAT?! Consequences?!"
"Yes, Duo," Melfina explained. "If Harry's inside you too long, he won't be able to download himself to anything else."
"HEY! You never told me that!"
"Well, if you had cooperated early on, I would have!"
"Harry." Melfina squeezed Duo's hand. "You're starting to sound like the old you. The one that I was afraid of. I don't like that version of you."
"You're...right. I'm sorry, Melfina. It's just that I've looked forward to this day for so long..."
"You can stay with me, Harry...but only if you promise to leave Duo's body immediately. I want you to download yourself into one of Gilliam's drones so Duo won't be in danger."
"Yeah, and I'm with her!" Duo insisted. "Let's get Duo out of danger FIRST!"
Harry sighed. "Very well. But we must begin repairs on my old body right away."
"That's no problem. I'll have Jim get right on it as soon as he gets back." Melfina smiled. "It's nice to have you back, Harry."
"Hey, Harry?" Duo asked.
"Yes, Duo?"
"I gotta admit, your gal pal is QUITE the babe. Good eye!"
"Duo..."
"What? Just because YOU can't touch her yet doesn't mean I can't-"
Duo's fist crashed into his jaw.
"OW!"
Melfina blushed and turned away while Duo literally began beating himself silly.
* * * * *
Will Harry's old body be able to support his brain waves? And once Duo's
free, what's he gonna do? What's Gene got to say about Harry's return?
Find out...um...some day?