They settled on a small café located a block from Duo's apartment. Solo lead Duo to a booth in the back corner where they were out of sight of the entrance. The tables around them were empty, and the waitress seemed oblivious to their presence.

"Okay, start explaining, Death."

Solo smiled, his lips twisting up. "One moment." Duo rolled his eyes and waited for the other guy to speak. The waitress approached their table, placed a plate of food in front of each of them, and then left. Solo continued, "Sorry. I figured that you might be hungry so I thought food would be in order."

Violet eyes were staring at the waitress as she served other customers. He knew that they hadn't ordered, and her eyes when she had approached the table had been so…empty. "What did you do to her?"

"Just a quick spell. Don't worry about it unless you would rather discuss that than why I need your help."

"No, I'd rather know what's going on. Why do I now have four people back at my apartment? Why is some guy threatening me and people that I didn't know until this week? Why are there assassins staking out my apartment? And where does the detective come in?"

His questions earned him another laugh from Solo. "You are such a curious little man. It will be easier if I start from the beginning. I am Death. You can call that a good thing or a bad thing, or whatever else you want, but I am in the market for souls that have come due."

"Come due?" asked Duo.

"Everyone has a set amount of time on earth. When their time is over their time has 'come due', and I take their souls; leaving their lifeless corpses."

"What a pretty picture you paint. What does that have to do with me?"

"I haven't got there yet, Duo. Slow down and let me tell my tale. There is something to be learned from every story; if you listen."

"I'm listening. Please, continue."

"Thank you. Several thousand years ago, I screwed up and told Life that I was a better judge of character than she. She got mad and forbade me from using my powers to their full extent."

"She says 'no more' and you listen?"

The smile that Solo gave that time was more friendly than mocking. "In this world, everything is a balance. Death without life is impossible. I listen because without Life by my side I have no purpose and therefore would cease to exist. Anyway…"

"Sorry. Go on."

"Thank you again. A week ago, I became aware of a slight problem in the book." He paused and waited expectantly, then, "You can ask."

"Oh. What book?"

"The Book of Death tracks every soul that enters and exits the life-plane. Somehow, the coming due times of the souls had been switched with the time of the other. I sent a servant down to correct the error and did not notice that it hadn't been corrected until it was too late."

"Duo and Duet." Duo said quietly, understanding spreading across his face.

"Correct. By the time I noticed, your body was gone in an accident, leaving your soul homeless and without destination. Duo's body was physically still alive at the hospital, but no longer had a soul to occupy it. The only way to put your soul in his body would have been to use my magic."

"But you can't."

"Right, so I had to find another way. Love was the only answer, since Life would rub it in. Talk about temperamental. But Love couldn't do it without your consent. So I made up a pretty little fairy tale about how you had to live up to your beliefs and sent you into the body of one Duo Maxwell."

"Why couldn't you just kill his body and let my soul go on?"

Solo shook his head, grimacing slightly. "Duo's accident wasn't an accident. You were supposed to be kidnapped by Yuy, but he failed to do so. You were already figured in as a player in this game. I've been talking to Life and the Fates about you and the situation you're currently in. So far we've basically agreed that we'd let you play it out."

"Play it out?" Duo asked, hearing the telltale pause that indicated that Solo wanted him to ask.

"I'm allowed to give you certain bits of knowledge and help. I'll pop in occasionally to advise you, but until then, I have three instructions for you to follow. Number one, trust your instincts. If someone doesn't seem trustworthy, then don't trust him. Like today."

"Yeah, I get that. That Lowell guy isn't just going away, is he?"

"Not likely. My second bit of advice is to figure out who your friends are and then pay close attention to them. Everyone that is important to you may end up being an ally when you need one. Do not let your feelings interfere with what you know is a good idea."

"Is that the third piece of advice?"

"No. The last tip I'll give you for today is to put aside your disappointment. Not everything I enticed you with in the beginning was a lie. And you may find out that what you're going to get in return is far greater than what you originally thought."

"Thank you, Solo. I'm sure that I can solve your riddles by dinner time." Duo said sarcastically. Inside, the words were churning in his head, disorganized and confusing.

Death stood up and extended his hand. Duo stood and shook the offered hand. He went to break the contact, but Solo tightened his grip, not letting him go.

"I lied. There is one last thing to tell you before we part ways for now. Go home and ask your new roommates to teach you how to defend yourself. You never know when you'll meet up with your next enemy, and it's always best to be prepared."

Solo turned and started towards the exit. As he passed by the other diners they seemed to hesitate in mid-conversation or action, but they didn't look up or acknowledge him in any way.

"Hey, Solo!" Duo called. None of the patrons noticed him either. "What happened to Duo's soul that you couldn't just put him back in his body?"

The other man turned and looked at him for a moment, his black eyes narrowed. "His time came due."

"Why him? Why not me?" Duo asked. Instead of answering, Solo waved slightly, and then disappeared. No smoke, no fireworks. Just vanished from one second to the next. "Well, damn. As if I wasn't confused enough before."

~~~~~_____~~~~~

It was not possible for Cathy, Trowa, Heero, or Wufei to say that they knew Duo Maxwell, but when he finally reentered the apartment shortly before two o'clock that afternoon, the tension following him was palpable. Cathy was the only of the four to attempt to approach him, but he simply looked at her out of thundercloud filled eyes and stalked by, going to his room and shutting the door. She sighed, frowning as she turned back to her brother, Heero and Wufei, who were sitting on the couch. "We should tell him something. It's dangerous for him to wander around like that."

Duo chose that moment to reenter the room, which was a good thing because the other three had nothing positive to say about him. He looked at them all with violet eyes, his lips pinched together in thoughtful disapproval. "It's not like it would matter if I died, since I'm sure that the three of you could manage very well in finding another apartment to invade." He leaned against the wall, stretching his legs out in an almost casual manner.

"I'm sorry, Duo," Cathy apologized, once more stepping towards him. He held up a hand.

"Don't apologize. It's not like anybody has really lied to me. In fact, I'd say that if we stretched out my secrets in comparison to yours, we'd find that they measured about the same." His eyes caught Heero's and he raised an eyebrow, waiting to see what the other man would have to say. When he had told Heero about being Duet, it had been with the understanding that Heero was just another human being, susceptible to the same belief systems as normal people. However, Duo had doubts that someone who dealt with death everyday as an assassin would be truly willing to believe not only in reincarnation, but also in the fact that Duet's soul had taken over the body of someone who had been alive longer than she had.

Duo was living it, and he wasn't sure if he believed it.

Wufei stood up and faced him, his feet shoulder width apart, his hands clasped behind his back. "I tried to convince them to stay at my place, but they refused. Tell them to leave now, Maxwell, and I'll have them out of here. They had no right to bring an outsider into their problems."

"Get over it, Detective." Duo waved his offer aside, pushing away from the wall and making his way to the kitchen. "You're all welcome to stay as long as the rest of the people in this building are not harmed. The moment their lives become endangered, we're all out here. I include myself because I don't think that Odin Lowell will be forgetting about me anytime in the near future." He opened a cupboard, shut it, opened the next, and pulled out a glass. From the fridge, he took a gallon of milk filled the glass. He placed the gallon on the counter and turned around, facing them over the counter that separated the two rooms. "I have some questions, and I want complete honesty from all of you."

Trowa and Heero looked at each other, then at Wufei. He closed his eyes and nodded, a gesture of defeat. He didn't want anyone involved that didn't have to be, but it seemed that Duo was stuck in their mess.

"We can't promise to tell you everything, but we won't lie to you," Trowa answered, standing up so that he, too, could face Duo. Heero stayed on the couch, the back of his head turned to Duo.

The braided man nodded, taking a drink of milk and then sitting the glass on the counter in front of him. He leaned down, supporting his weight on his forearms as he looked at the group in front of him. "Are you all part of the corporation? What part does each of you play? How is the detective involved? Why was Cathy kidnapped and hurt? What in the world do I have to do with anything? And who's going to teach me to defend myself, because I really don't want someone to be able to beat me up without anytime of struggle?"

Duo decided then and there the he liked Cathy; she laughed, throwing her head back in a full-throated chuckle that filled the apartment for a brief moment. Her brother looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She waved him aside and sat down on a chair, her body shaking in quiet laughter. Wufei looked at her, shook his head, and took a seat back on the couch. Heero stood up and moved across the room, standing by the far wall from Duo for a moment.

Finally, he turned around, and Prussian blue met crystal violet.

"Where do I start?" Heero asked, his voice just loud enough to be audible from across the room.

"Start with what you can tell me of the corporation," Duo requested, settling himself to lean against the wall comfortably. Heero nodded, taking a stance much like the one Wufei had taken up earlier, except he crossed his arms in front of him.

"The corporation is a well-guarded secret. In the past it as worked equally as an ally to several government agencies as well as anti-government," He started.

Cathy took over, "When he says government, we're not just talking the United States. The network includes all but the smallest and poorest of the third world countries. The origin of the corporation is unknown to all but the agents with the highest clearance. Everything is on a need to know basis and all a field agent needs to know is the target and the price. We're bounty hunters with a semi-permanent contract. You're in until you die or until they let you go. There is no escape and there is no quitting."

"Each agent is specialized in certain fields. Training begins at the earliest possible age," Trowa continued when Cathy stopped, "And employment within the corporation continues until the ones in charge decide that there is no longer a need for that agency."

"All agents are replaceable," Wufei added. He was leaning back on the couch almost casually, if one didn't look at his clenched fists. "The corporation rarely sends more than one per mission, and as a policy never sends aid."

There was a pause as they gave Duo a moment to absorb everything. When he judged that enough time had passed, Heero asked brusquely, "Questions?"

Duo nodded, but didn't speak for a moment. "Why are you here? It sounds like there must be enough room or money for you to find someplace safe to hide."

Cathy shook her head. "The corporation does not accept weakness. All agents are expected to take care of themselves. We do not have partners; we do not claim family or friends. We keep to ourselves unless we are prepared to handle the risks ourselves."

"We are loyal to the corporation and the corporation is only loyal to itself. It will help cover up the work of its agents up to the point when that agent becomes a liability. Then they are contracted and assassinated," Heero spoke calmly, his blank face revealing nothing. As Duo met Cathy's and then Trowa's eyes, he felt a chill pass over him. Here were people who would kill him without a second thought. They took the lives of others everyday. "Question?"

"Stop sounding so much like a teacher. Yeah, I have questions. This is kind of new, you know," Duo growled in frustration. "What part does Detective Chang play in all of this?"

Heero looked down, leaving Duo to assume that he communicating silently with Wufei. Blue eyes looked up again. "That is a story for later."

"No," Duo shook his head. "I want it now. What part does he play? How does he know Odin? And for that matter, who is Odin Lowell? What part does he play?"

"Odin Lowell used to be an agent. Or to be more precise, he held one of the top positions in the corporation. Three years ago, he had a partner. They both had a double-identity in law enforcement. He turned on the partner and almost got him killed when he started work for an opposing agency. They're not as established as the corporation, but they've managed to take several of the top agents and turn them. They're smaller and more protective of their agents and so it is more difficult to track and kill them, because they work in groups. They frequently try to turn agents to their agency," Heero answered part of Duo's question.

Trowa shifted slightly, showing a small measure of discomfort on his face before he locked it behind his watchful expression. Duo met his green gaze squarely, waiting for him to speak. The only time the tall man moved was when he prepared to speak. "That is where Cathy and I come in. We started with the corporation and were contracted to infiltrate the opposition. We were found out, but the agent decided to try for cash in the bargain. He was going to kill her as ordered unless I brought him the money he knew I didn't have."

"He managed to trace all of our funds," Cathy took up the conversation, placing a hand on Trowa's arm. "He froze our accounts, knowing that without our money, Trowa would have to go somewhere else. He had hoped that he would find someone he could later blackmail for money, but he didn't plan on the fact that he wouldn't live that long."

"Okay, that brings me up to date on you two." Duo nodded at brother and sister, then moved his gaze back to Heero. "You're turn."

"Classified," his tone said no argument.

"And I'm getting nothing on Woofee until he's ready to talk to me, so we're full circle, and I still feel as if I know nothing." Duo slumped against the counter, dropping his head so that his spiky bangs brushed the tiled surface. "Okay, here's the deal. It seems that you're as stuck with me as I am with you. You can suffer; I plan on having some kind of epiphany within the next few hours or days, after which I'll know exactly what's going on. Barring that, I need to learn to defend myself; I need to know exactly why you're here as in why you're in my apartment because your explanations suck; and then I want to know what's supposed to happen next, because I'm pretty sure that something is going to happen."

"Acceptable," Heero replied. Without looking up, Duo knew that the others agreed, simply because none voiced a disagreement.

"Great. I'm so glad that we agree." He felt a gentle hand on the back of his head, but didn't bother to look up. The only person in his apartment at that moment that would even consider reaching out to him was Cathy.

"Maybe you should go to bed," she suggested quietly.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Duo straightened up and gave her a dim smile. "I'm going to take a nap. I'll see everyone in a couple of hours. Don't do anything exciting without me," he joked softly. The other three men were already immersed in a conversation that excluded the both of them. He narrowed his eyes as he rounded the corner and turned towards his room. "Good night, everyone."

Trowa looked at him and nodded, but neither of the other two gave any indication that they had heard him. Cathy walked with him, placing a momentary hand on his arm. "Sleep well, Duo."

"Thanks."

~~~~~_____~~~~~

It was still afternoon when Duo shut the door behind him, but he managed to effectively blot out the sun by closing the blinds and the curtains. Then he hung the top blanket from the bed as an extra form of blockage against the sun. He took off his shirt, shoes and socks, and then crawled into bed, pants still on. He lay on the top sheet, now the top covering on the bed, and stared up into darkness. The bed was still unfamiliar, although his body was already adapted to it. The joy of having your body broken in before you get it.

He closed his eyes, drawing his right foot up so that his knee was pointed towards the ceiling. His left arm was crooked behind his head. With the door shut, the apartment was completely silent except for the ticking of the alarm clock on the bedside table, although he didn't do more than glance at it before he lay down, he knew that it was only about four in the afternoon. Too early to actually go to sleep and probably too late for a nap, but at the moment he felt tired. Drained would have been a better word.

In the stillness of the room, it didn't take very long for the silence to lull him to sleep. His breathing evened out, his heart rate slowing as he fell into slumber. On the other side of the door, the conversation had moved from whatever its original topic had been to Duo.

"Someone should check on him," Cathy said quietly.

"He's a grown man, he'll be fine," Wufei countered.

There was a slight pause, and then Heero looked towards the door. "He's not as strong as you think he should be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Cathy. Heero didn't respond. "Listen, we know that we're all on the same side, and now we have Duo to worry about. If there's something about him that could endanger his life, we should know about it."

Trowa shook his head in disagreement, "We all have our secrets to tell. If Duo and Heero have one between them, it is best left between them until they are ready."

Wufei snorted, "These secrets are likely to get us all killed."

"You're one to talk, Woofee," Cathy interjected heatedly, her brown eyes boring into the detective with unerring intensity. "You were the first to refuse to share with us today, so don't start in on him. Only weak hypocrites criticize others for things that they themselves do."

"Stop arguing. Someone should check on Duo," Heero's proclamation was met with silence.

The four looked at each other, then at the door, and then back at each other. Finally, one sighed.

"I'll do it." The voice was grudging.

Back to Rae-space. The next five chapters are split. Choose the one you read based on the pairing you would prefer:

Chapter Twelve: Dream: 1x2/2x1

Chapter Thirteen: Dream: 2x5/5x2

Chapter Fourteen: Dream: 2x3/3x2

Chapter Fifteen: Dream: 2xC

Chapter Sixteen: Dream: Non-pairing

And yes, you read the one correctly. What is the point of illustrating that love knows no gender if I do not include straight pairings? Only a hypocrite criticizes others for the things he himself does.