This is for the Strange Days contest

This is for the Strange Days contest. This

pairing was a challenge issued by a friend who thought it

would be an interesting combination. Okay - and somewhere

along writing this chapter there was a complete plot shift and

now things are heading away from where I originally intended

- its no longer so light and fluffy. Hmmmm... guess that's

what happens when you let those pesky characters make choices!

Title: Two Become One 2/?

Author: Rhina

Pairings: You should get a hint this time! Possibly....Maybe....

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WARNING: Angst

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Disclaimer: I don't own the GW boys or their female counterparts

otherwise I'd be retiring instead of dealing with the likes of the

school board. I don't own the song "Two Become One" by the

Spice Girls either - thank goodness, who'd want to lay claim to

them?!

lyrics

~~~ scene change ~~~

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Say you believe it, Say you believe it

Free your mind of doubt and danger

Be for real don't be a stranger

We can achieve it, we can achieve it

With a stretch of cramped legs and arms, Duo exited the

transport terminal and took a deep breath. "Ah, good ole

Earth," he commented with a smile.

Hoisting his bags further onto his shoulder, he leaned out and

hailed a passing cab. Directing it to the nearest hotel, he

watched the scenery pass by as he accustomed himself to the

sights of the new city he would call home.

After quickly settling in at the hotel, his temporary abode until

he had a chance to find more permanent accommodations, he

decided that there was no time like the present to check in at

HQ. The flight had been long and boring, but it had dropped

him off in the middle of the Earth day, so at least he should

attempt to get something accomplished during these daylight

hours, despite his body's clamoring for some much needed rest.

Catching a cab once more, he headed across town toward the

massive Preventer Headquarters just outside of the official

city limits in a quiet secured office district. In fact, it looked

so blatantly normal, Duo was pretty sure that most people never

even realized what they were working next to.

With a lithe movement, he swung his six-foot frame from the

cab and paid the driver. Striding carelessly up the stairs to the

main entrance, his deep violet eyes lit with pleasure and his

braid swung merrily behind him. He could feel how good a

move this had been just by the simple act of climbing these

stairs. The fresh Earth air surrounded him and the bright sun

promised a good life here.

Entering the building by the front door, opposed to his normal

routine of finding the most obscure access point and entering

there, seemed almost out of character for him. He looked

around at the impressive foyer of the place before spotting the

pert redhead receptionist behind the long sleek black desk.

Standing next to her, her back facing him, was a very shapely

blond, with long hair streaming down her back and a nicely

fitted uniform. He definitely hoped that the face fit the

gorgeous creature's visible assets for it would certainly be an

acquaintance worth making in that case.

Disappointed that the blonde moved away before he could

even see her face, he went about making eye contact with a

pair of blatant green eyes. Duo smirked with pleasure and

strode over to her side. "Things are definitely looking up,"

he purred under his breath. "Beautiful women always did like

a man about to don a uniform after all."

Leaning flirtatiously against the desk, he inquired about the

whereabouts of Commander Une, whom he was due to report

to today. With a warm smile and a slight come hither look in

her eyes, the receptionist agreed to take him wherever he

needed to go.

"Oh baby," he whispered down near her ear as she stood.

"You don't have any idea where I want to go."

As they flirted throughout the trip up to Une's office, Duo

paid attention with only part of his mind, while the other half

was busy memorizing the layout and noticing who was

working in the building. The secretary was nice and it was

always good to have someone to flirt with, but he was here to

do a job so he wasn't going to be totally distracted from that.

But he kept the old adage of all work and no play makes Duo

a dull boy firmly in his mind as he encouraged some

familiarity with an arm around the pretty girl's shoulders.

Just outside of Une's office, the pair nearly ran into a Chinese

man, striding purposefully from the room.

"Wu-man!!" crowed Duo with delight, immediately leaving

the secretary behind to impulsively hug the dark haired

glowering man. "I wondered when I'd get to see you!"

"What brought you here _Duo_?" asked Wufei, purposefully

delineating Duo's name, reminding Duo how much he detested

the shortened nominclature he had been awarded by the braided

pilot of Deathscythe. "One had hoped you were staying on L2

for good now."

"Nah," said Duo, brashly ignoring Wufei's stiff posture and

delightedly hugging him again. "I missed you too much to

stay away."

"How....special," drawled Wufei with sarcasm, his glare

daring the other man to touch him again as his body shifted

to provide more space between them. "One hopes then that

you are making only a brief visit."

"You're gaining a sense of humor Wu-man, as caustic as it

is!" cheered Duo with enthusiasm. He smiled broadly at

Wufei's deepening scowl. "And good news for you, I'm here

to stay for a bit. Une gave me a job!"

"More's the pity," grumbled Wufei, turning on his heel.

"Now if you'll excuse me, _I_ have work to do."

Giving the secretary a pointed look, Wufei hurried on his way.

Noticing at that moment that Commander Une had appeared

in the doorway to investigate the commotion, the secretary

also decided that it was time to vacate. Duo watched her go

with some pleasure and certain in the knowledge that he'd

work on building their relationship later.

Une stood quietly in the doorway for a moment, her eyes

appraising the figure before her. His lean youthful form had

filled out into that of a lithe young man. Unconscious grace

seeped through him making his movements subtle and

tantalizing to the senses. His long chocolate colored hair was

woven into the familiar braid and the black clothing encased

and displayed his fine form and muscles gained doing heavy

Sweeper work. Those startling violet eyes peeked into his soul

and radiated the life that he loved. It had been a long time

since she had seen such a fine specimum of a man.

"Trust you to stir things up the minute you walk in a building,"

commented Une dryly, ushering Duo in to the polished space.

Entering the quiet space, Duo regarded his new superior

officer careful. Her long chestnut colored hair brushed her

shoulders and cheeks gently as she moved. Her blue eyes had

softened with age and experience. Long fingered elegant hands

punctuated her gestures and her slender form had that delicate

turn a woman's should. Careful examination though brought

to light the dark circles beneath her eyes and the slight tremble

to her hands. Something was upsetting Une and that startled

Duo deeply.

"Hey, at least I walked in," retorted Duo, settling himself in a

chair in front of the desk. "There were probably about a million

other ways to choose to get here."

Une shook her head and silky hair brushed against smooth

cheeks as she smiled ruefully. "For the headache hiring you

is likely to cause me, I hope the pay off is worth it."

"Hey, what more do you want than to have my charming self

around?" asked Duo with a disarming grin, large hands

spread in an innocent gesture.

Une smiled in response and then sobered slightly. "Actually

that would be nice, but the reason that I called you here is a

little more important than that."

Duo instantly came to attention and looked directly at Une's

serious expression as he leaned forward to meet her steady

gaze. "This is something more than the fancy dancy job title

you gave me, isn't it?"

Thoughtfully Une nodded and looked Duo over carefully,

those blue eyes looked concern yet somehow hopeful at the

same time. "The job offer is real and I would like you to

accept it. There's just a little something extra that comes as

part of the package."

Intrigued, Duo raised an eyebrow in her direction. It was

unlike Une to be all mysterious and classified with her

information. This must be something really big for her to be

playing her cards so close to her chest. Spotting the shaking

of her hands as they picked up a pen, it made her more than

a little nervous in Duo's mind. He decided it was definitely

the key to those dark circles under her eyes he had spotted

earlier.

Standing and gesturing Duo to follow her, Une led the way

to a concealed alcove in corner, hidden away by some potted

plants. There she pressed a small key and a slender door

swung open. She led Duo into what seemed to be a second

office with only a small desk, several cabinets of files and a

computer. It was an impersonal space, meant to conceal and

never reveal its secrets.

The door clicked shut behind him as Duo stepped into the

room. Une clicked a few of the keys on the small computer

console atop the desk and a white noise generator began

whirring, hiding those secrets a little further.

Duo looked around at the room in amazement. Duo always

knew she had more than a few secrets, but he never suspected

anything this involved. "Never would have guessed this room

existed myself."

"I know," said Une, leaning against the desk, arms folded

across her chest in a concealing gesture. "Working with Treize

made me paranoid and I had this room built for my own

benefit when the headquarters were being designed. Only

myself and one other gentleman know of its existence."

"So what's with all the secrecy, Une," queried Duo, leaning

against the file cabinet to his right, violet eyes awash with

curiousity. "It's rather unlike your ice queen reputation."

Une smirked. "Thank you for considering me at least partly

human. It has to do with the Preventers."

"Being that we're in Preventer Headquarters, this would seem

to be the perfect place to bring up such an issue," teased Duo,

his eyes sparkling merrily attempting to lighten the serious

attitude.

With a weak smile, Une shook her head. "It's not that easy.

It has to do with someone betraying Preventer agents from

the inside - one of our own has been selling us out."

Shocked into silence, Duo's violet eyes grew hard and

deepened in color, shining with the light of a dangerous sense

of protection. "Who?" he demanded.

Pushing a hand through her silky brown hair, Une sighed.

"That's the problem. I can't tell, so I started out having to

suspect everyone in our organization. Until recently I was

literally doing that! I didn't want to tip my hand that I knew

it was someone on the inside, but yet, I had to do something."

Duo nodded in agreement, his own countenance thoughtful as

he considered the possibilities. He desperately wished to

soothe the older woman across from him. "With so many

employees, are there any you can rule out just by the fact that

they wouldn't handle such sensitive information?"

Une shook her head in the affirmative. "I've done that, weeding

down through the candidates until I actually have a section

where the leak must work."

"Where?" demanded Duo roughly, sensing that it had something

to do with his new job assignment.

"Development," stated Une, concurring Duo's suspicion. "I

know you've worked on and off for us for years, and when the

head of the department resigned, I thought it would be a good

time to bring in someone on my side."

Duo stared blankly into space, his thoughts busy with the

complications and implications of what had been happening.

"And you're sure it wasn't the director?"

With a sigh, Une nodded. "He was nearly 75 when he retired

and was loyal to the Preventers because I backed Relena and

that was what he wanted. He couldn't have hurt a soul. All he

wanted was a place to putter and test his experiements. There

wasn't a deceptive bone in his body."

Riding the train of his thoughts, Duo continued to question

Une, garnering more and more information about the

sabotaging of Preventer agents. Some times it was undercover

agents that were blatantly exposed by underhanded means or

devices that did not work the way that they were supposed to

or the agent was prepared to use it incorrectly, sometimes

resulting in fatal accidents. Une had managed to keep the

information under raps at the moment, but it was fast becoming

out of her control. The press were closing in, sensing a story in

the many deaths or 'accidents' surrounding the work of the

Preventers.

"I want to get to the bottom of this," growled Une, pacing

along the small space. "I want it stopped and stopped right now.

No one hurts my agents and gets away with it."

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Duo smiled slightly at her words,

but it never quite reached his eyes. Somewhere deep inside, the

soul of the Shinigami peered out once more and Une shivered

slightly. The glow faded slightly and the laughing, smiling Duo

returned once more.

"Well, first things first," said Duo, rubbing his hands together

determinedly. He had never been one to back down from a

mission of any kind. "I need a tour of this establishment and

one of those snazzy uniforms."

Une nodded and caught the wink Duo threw her way.

"Uniforms really attract the ladies after all," he added, making

Une's smile broaden.

With a laugh, the two emerged from the inner office. Une

immediately picked up the telephone and summoned Wufei

back to her office. "I want him to give you the tour because he

knows why you're really here. You and he are the only ones

privileged to know this information."

Duo smirked. "Trusting the two of us together Une? Not

perhaps your wisest move."

"Perhaps not," laughed Une, tossing her hair back over her

shoulder. "But this way I figure you'll either get along or kill

each other, thereby saving me the trouble of dealing with it

either way."

Duo laughed heartily as Wufei knocked smartly on the office

door and slipped in on silent feet. With a nod, Wufei

understood that Duo was now fully aware of the situation and

his role in the operation. A long look passed between the two

men and boundaries were set and partnership - even friendship -

was reaffirmed in a glance.

Une rolled her eyes at the masculine peacock preening and

settled for getting down to business. She handed Duo several

files and a security card, coded for the highest security level

possible, and a small laser disc. "That's the information you

will need to do your job. Keep with you at all times. We will

provide you with any other equipment that you need through

the standard requisitions - I believe you're aware how that

works."

Duo simply nodded, accepting the items and immediately

clipping the badge to the front of his shirt.

Une then continued with her instructions. "Wufei, I want you

to take Duo around and show him the facility and where things

are. Make sure and get him fitted for a uniform and into his

office to begin his duties. There's still a workday left here boys."

Knowing that they had been dismissed, Wufei and Duo turned

as one and quietly left the office behind. After they had shut

the door behind them, Wufei briskly led Duo down to the main

floor and down a side hallway to a small supply room that was

lined with pressed uniforms.

Snickering to himself slightly, Duo selected one of the short

feminine skirts that functioned as part of the dress uniform.

"What do you think?" he asked Wufei. "Does wonders for

my figure, doesn't it?"

Wufei only snorted in response, taking the offending item

away from Duo and dragging him over to a selection of more

appropriate clothing choices. "Try these." He smirked slightly

then. "Unless you're more of a ladies man that we previously

realized."

Duo immediately looked indignant and without another word

but a scowl for Wufei, who was immensely pleased at having

scored a point against the brunette, he grabbed the appropriate

uniform and headed for the small bathroom to change.

While Duo was busy doning the uniform that represented his

new career, Wufei collected extras of the items for him and

stuffed them into a regulation bag.

"How do I look - dashing?" asked Duo as he came out with

his 'civilian' clothes in a lumpy tangle. He posed flashily for

an unimpressed Wufei, preening deliberately.

Rolling his eyes in disgust, Wufei held the bag open to accept

the clothing and then thrust it at Duo. "If you mean the ladies

shall go dashing away, then you look presentable."

Laughing at the joke, Duo slung an arm around Wufei's

shoulders compainably. For a moment his dark violet eyes

darken and he spoke quietly. "Let's rock and roll."

Silently nodding in agreement, Wufei led the thoughtful Duo

from the room. In relative peace, except for Wufei's quiet

explanations or Duo's joking commentary, the pair worked

their way back to the development section of the Preventer

Headquarters.

Located a slight distance from the offices and main work areas,

they walked down several flights of stairs and through a series

of concrete tunnels before reaching the main entrance.

"Une wanted this area to have privacy, security and the ability

to run the needed tests without having it located in another city

entirely," commented Wufei as the entered through the main

security doors, displaying their ids and palm prints for the

guards on duty.

Duo scanned the area as he entered through the checkpoint.

He was looking for anything and anyone who was a security

risk. His nerves were taunt and his senses fine tuned as the

Shinigami prowled through his skin, staring out through dull

colored eyes. Information was sorted, classified and stored

until needed. He wasn't sure what could possibly lead to a clue

now, but he was looking for any lead to help Une.

Wufei noticed the increase in the intensity of Duo's gaze and

nodded in thoughtful agreement with Une's choice. Whenever

there had been something wrong with any of them, it has

always been Duo to rush in to pick up the pieces. His pure

passion for LIFE not death was what made him an ideal protector

of others and defender of the right to live. Wufei admired the grit

and determination that Duo had always possessed and it was what

made him such a good friend.

Leading without a spoken word, Wufei guided Duo through the

main testing areas. He quietly introduced staff members as they

came across them. Each greeted the new comer eagerly and

launched quickly into a prompted discussion on the work they

were doing. They were an enthusiastic bunch, mostly geeks and

scientists busy with their projects and experiments, their minds

solving complex electrical problems even as they carried on a

distracted conversation.

Finally reaching the office area, Wufei introduced Duo to the

department's director's assistant. He was a good-natured brash

young man, working in here for his first year. Duo immediately

like short dark haired man and knew that he was a source to be

cultivated. The man introduced himself as Kyle Norseman and

looked very relieved to meet his new director and seemed quite

eager to please.

Duo pulled open the door to his office then, eager to inspect

'his' space. "My own.... what are you doing in here?"

demanded Duo, startled to see a pale haired young man searching

through the files in his cabinet. "I thought this was the

Director's office."

The man across from Duo swallowed nervously. His naturally

flushed cheeks, turned a deeper shade of red, showing through

the roots of pale hair. Limpid blue eyes played hide and seek

behind the thick lenses of his glasses. Nervously a hand pushed

up the glasses at the nose piece and he cleared his throat.

"I'm Carver Fultz," said the man in a hesitant voice. "I'm the

assistant director of this section. Since there's no director at

the moment, I've been managing things for Commander Une.

In order to do that, I needed a couple of reports from this

cabinet."

With a nod of understanding, Duo smiled reassuringly at the

man, relaxing his guard slightly. "Didn't mean to scare you,

I just didn't think there'd be anyone in my office," commented

Duo, holding out his hand in greeting. "I'm Duo Maxwell, the

new director. Une hired me this afternoon."

Carver quickly excepted the hand offered to him and shook

it vigorously. "Glad to have you here! I was getting a little

sick of doing all that paperwork anyway! I wish I the

Commander had informed me sooner of your arrival and I

would have made sure that we were prepared."

Duo waved off the concern with a flick of his hand. "Not

important in the slightest. She briefed me on a couple of

things and then you and I can sit down and bring me up to

speed tomorrow morning. Right now I'm just going to get

settled in."

"Certainly sir," said Carver respectfully, nodding to both

Duo and Wufei. "I'll just get back to my own office and

begin working up a list of information that you'll be sure to

need."

With the click of the shut door signaling his departure, Duo

moved closer to Wufei and lowered his voice. "Make sure

that I get a copy of all the employee records. I want to go

over them tonight."

"That should be in the stack that Une gave you," noted Wufei,

gesturing at the files Duo carried. "But I'll make sure."

Duo nodded. "I'll bring in some of my own stuff and sweep

this office for anything out of the ordinary. I'll let you know

in the morning if there's anything that I need."

"Certainly," agreed Wufei, raising the level of his voice.

"Being that there is still part of the day left, I'll leave you to

get to work. I'm sure that there is something for you to do

here."

Duo laughed and escorted Wufei to the door. "You could

say that."

Wufei scowled his good-bye and took his leave then, heading

back to report briefly to Une and then to his own work.

Immediately Duo turned to Kyle and began his own work,

referring to his assistant for advice and help in locating needed

files and information.

For nearly a solid week, Duo worked hard. Late into the night

he searched files and databases, cross-referencing sources,

searching for the illusive key to the sabetour. Each day he

pried a little more at the secret, uncovering a new facet or idea

he had previously overlooked. The employees under his

direct supervision became wary of his presence at times and

others rejoiced in his quick wit and ready laugh. Carver and

Kyle became indespensible with their aid and helping him dig

for needed information. Even all day every day was never

enough and his research then lasted late into the night. The

Shinigami fed on the work in the late night hours, driving his

burning desire to find this person.

At the end of that week, there was another 'accident'. Duo

personally investigated this one. He came away disgusted

with the ingenuity of the traitor and more determined than

ever to stop the madman, as he had come to be thought of by

Duo. His conclusions were frighteningly cold and calculated

and his time for making deductions was running out.

He came to share his information with Une that evening and

found her crying in her office over the loss of 'her' soldiers.

Nothing haunted him more than the sadness in her eyes and

the helplessness that he felt at seeing her pain. Tenderly he

folded her in his strong arms and gathered her close to his

warmth.

"I will get him Une," vowed Duo in a growl. "I will."

"And I'll help him," stated Wufei, having entered the room

on silent feet. He moved to stand next to Une, laying a hand

against her strong arm. "Don't worry. His weakness will be

revealed."

Duo nodded in agreement and Une smiled weakly at the two

men. "I'll believe you guys, but get me some results soon!"

"Done," said Duo firmly and Wufei smiled, relaxing the

tenseness from his body. Une's pain disturbed Wufei for some

reason. There was something about seeing her cry that affected

him deeply, but it was nothing that he could put a finger on.

Noticing the dark circles beneath the eyes of both Duo and

Une, Wufei promptly came to a decision. "I don't think we're

going to get anything done tonight though."

"Too weak to work?" teased Duo, a smile on his lips but never

lighting his eyes.

"As if, but you soon will be without a little relaxation," scowled

Wufei. "So I propose a little relaxation for all of us. After all

Sally...."

"Sally!" cried Une, interrupting Wufei as an expression of

dismay crossed her features. "I forgot all about Sally!"

"Sally?" asked Duo, puzzled slightly. "Is she here? I haven't

seen her around at all."

Wufei nodded. "She works as the head of the Medical

Division so I doubt you'd have much contact with her at

this time. She's throwing a party tonight."

"She's heading out on a mission and just wanted an excuse

to see people before she left," said Une with pursed lips.

"Perhaps I should cancel the mission."

With a shake of his head, Wufei negated the thought. "You

know her, she'd just go anyway. But we can at least head out

to the party. Besides, all work and no play...."

"Makes Duo a dull boy!" laughed Duo and Une and together

the trio left the office, heading for Sally's and the party.

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C&C ?! I've never written ANYTHING this plot intensive before

so I am really interesting in hearing what ya'll think!