Mel: Well, you have P-chan to thank for this! *glomps her* She's helped me get back on track! Arigatō gozaimasu!

P-chan: ^^

Duo is Sick, Chapter 6 ½

Mel: It's six and a half because the other one was too short! Not even worth the half of a chapter I gave it… ^_^()

Kate gently picked up the slender black object, cradling it in her arms. Heero was obviously very annoyed by the fact that he didn't have his laptop. Kate had also figured out that if Heero didn't get it back soon, he would injure himself trying to get it.

The little blond girl slid down the stairs and into Wufei's room, where Heero had fallen asleep the night before. She was slightly surprised when she saw Duo in the bed, and Heero sitting in a chair near by, his head slightly bowed and his hands clasped in his lap.

Kate smiled at the sight, and gently placed the laptop on the table top next to the 01 pilot, being careful not to wake either of the two sleeping boys. Heero probably wouldn't think about who got him his laptop, and if he knew, he probably wouldn't express his thanks openly. Kate had been around people like him before, so she understood. In her years of treating soldiers with her father, she had come in contact with all sorts.

With the laptop safely near its owner, Kate slipped out to help Trowa make breakfast. 'Or eat it…' she thought with a giggle, as she inhaled the delicious scent of scrambled eggs.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Heero's eyes snapped open. Someone had been in the room, and he hadn't noticed. The brown haired boy mentally attacked himself before he saw the laptop on the bedside table.

'Who was in here? Why did they bring me my laptop?' Heero shook off the disturbing thoughts that had cropped up in his mind, and opened the slender black case.

A new message appeared to be in his mailbox, but it had a lock on it, with no place to enter a password. Heero easily cracked the code in less than five minutes, then he opened the message.

Be more careful with our connections. Don't leave things unattended to, or we may run into more problems than expected. Find your mission, and make sure 04 doesn't put words into your mouth anymore.

Heero stared at the letter for a few moments, then retrieved the deleted mission. He had previously investigated an unlicensed satellite base, and found that it had connections to OZ. Dr. J had asked to take on the rest of the research to find out what was planned. Now, Heero and the other three available pilots were to obliterate the base as soon as possible. There was a warning stating that there would be a fleet of MS guarding the small colony, and there was at least one new model to be on the lookout for.

After a few moments, Heero gained access to the reply Quatre had sent, refusing the mission. The forgery had been perfect except for one thing: Heero Yuy never refuses a mission. It was his job to follow all orders. Dissent was not an option. Quatre needed to be taught a lesson, just like Heero had been taught to be a soldier throughout all those years. He had to learn.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Duo pressed his hands to his throbbing head, trying to relieve some of the pain. It hadn't helped him any when Heero snapped his laptop closed, sending vibrations through the braided boy's body.

Duo opened his violet eyes in time to see Heero leave the room. His mind nearly shattered in pain at the commotion that was about to occur.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Quatre put his fork down, his eyes widening in fear.

"Quatre?" Both Kate and Trowa looked at him, concerned. "Daijobu?" Quatre didn't answer. Instead, he turned to face Heero, standing in the doorway. The blond boy could feel the rage pouring through the perfect soldier, even though his body movements gave nothing away.

"You invaded my privacy." Heero walked further into the room, until he stood directly above the small Arab.

"Heero, I—"

"You invaded my privacy, and then you impersonated me." Before Quatre had a chance to reply, he had been lifted out of his chair, and slammed into a wall. Heero clamped his hand around the other boy's neck, and lifted him a few inches before whispering into his ear, "Traitor."

Quatre coughed slightly in an effort to open his windpipe, put Heero's death-grip didn't loosen. When Trowa leaped out of his chair to help, Heero slipped his gun out of his pocket, and aimed it between the two emerald eyes, glistening with concern.

"Heero," Quatre managed to choke out. He could feel his mind slipping from lack of oxygen, and his vision was blurring horribly. He closed his eyes, and felt something click in his head.

'Stop it! You're killing him!' Heero's voice echoed through Quatre's limp body, seeping into the corners of his consciousness.

'He needs to learn. There is no excuse for what he did.'

'Let him go! He's your friend! There's no need for this! Put him down!' Quatre curiously listened to Heero's mental battle before slipping a level further.

Quatre felt himself inside Heero's mind now, instead of the other way around. Heero felt the new presence, and dropped Quatre in surprise.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Duo watched as Quatre's head slammed into the floor. "What the Hell is wrong with you! You could have killed him!" Duo ran up to Heero, ignoring the throbbing pain throughout his body, and shoved the gun away from Trowa. "Heero! Look at me!" His last action had completely thrown off Duo's sense of balance, and he gripped onto Heero's arms to stay upright.

"Hmmm….. Can someone help me up?" Quatre's voice was groggy and soft. Duo twisted his head to watch as Trowa offered his hand to the blond youth. "Arigatō…" Once on his feet, Quatre shook his head a few times, tousling his soft pale hair.

"Quatre…" Heero looked at the boy he had almost killed with lost eyes. Trowa stepped into his line of sight, silencing him.

"Just leave. We'll talk about this later." Heero nodded, and turned to walk away.

"Iiiiaahh!" Duo fell over when Heero moved, sending horrible pain waves through his body. "I-itai…." Kate laughed softly and offered her hand to Duo.

"Need help?" Duo nodded, and took the hand. Before Kate had a chance to react, Duo yanked on her arm, pulling the girl on top of himself. "Aaaai! Leggo!" Kate giggled uncontrollably as Duo began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Duo?" Trowa arched an eyebrow at the two on the floor.

"Not now Trowa. I'm on a mission." Duo tried his best to imitate Heero's monotone voice. "Omae o TICKLE!!!!" The braided boy then renewed his attack on the blond child in his lap. Quatre smiled and sat back down in his chair.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"A-Are you alright?" Trowa asked, unsure of how to approach the situation.

"Hai." The blond boy picked up his empty plate, and walked over to the sink to wash it. "Don't be mad at Heero." Trowa stared at the boy, dumbstruck.

"Don't be mad at Heero? Quatre, he could have killed you!" Quatre shook his head before placing his hand on Trowa's shoulder.

"He wouldn't have. Besides, he's going through more pain than I was." The blond boy put his hand gingerly on his chest, then pressed it against Trowa's. "Try to understand. It wasn't his fault…" Trowa sighed heavily and nodded. He knew what Quatre's gift could do, and he had come to accept that the boy knew the right way to handle most situations.

"Alright. But what do we do—"

"Ack! Quat! Hide me!" Trowa was cut off when Duo flung himself behind the blond boy. Kate giggled and brushed herself off, giving the three boys her sweetest smile. "Don't let her fool you T-man. She's vicious!" Quatre shook his head and Trowa rolled his eyes. Though Duo was only trying to amuse the small girl, he was taking it a bit too far, and at anything but the right time.

"Duo, cut it out." The braided baka put his hand on the counter and tried to get up. He looked as if he was standing on ice, and lost his footing. When Quatre bent down to see if he was alright, Duo flashed everyone a lopsided smile.

"See? She knocked me over with her mind control! She's dangerous!"

"You want help?" Quatre offered his hand to Duo. The grounded boy nodded and grabbed on to it, standing up obediently. The two just stood there for a few minutes, staring at each other. Quatre's eyes widened slightly, and Duo's breathing slowed.

"Quatre? Duo?" The blond boy quickly let go of Duo's hand, and turned to face Trowa.

"I'm going to have a word with Heero now. I'll be back."

"No." Trowa stepped between Quatre and the door, blocking his path. "I don't think that's a good idea." Quatre sighed.

"If you're that worried, you can come too. But I honestly don't think he'll be any danger."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Quatre quietly opened the room to Heero's room and looked inside. Heero was working at his laptop, ignoring the two boys who had entered.

"H-Heero?" Quatre hesitantly moved further into the room, not quite sure how to approach the fragile boy. "May I talk to you for a moment?" Heero made no sound or movement to acknowledge his friends words. "I-I'm sorry for what happened earlier….." Quatre was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. He could sense the tenseness that enveloped the room. Trowa was a bundle of nerves, prepared to leap into action at the slightest threat. Heero was completely lost, unable to untangle his rational mind from the web of emotions that had formed. "Heero, look at me."

Trowa walked over to Heero, and lifted him out of his chair by the shirt. The perfect soldier was too perplexed to do anything but allow Trowa to continue. "You nearly killed Quatre. And now he's coming up here to apologize for what you did! The least you could do is listen to him!" Heero refused to move, either away from Trowa, or to let on that he had heard.

"Trowa…" Quatre put his hand on Trowa's shoulder, urging him to leave the disoriented boy alone. The tall soldier shrugged him off coldly, completely focused on his victim.

"Let go of me," Heero spoke quietly, being careful not to let his confusion show in his voice. Trowa removed his hand from the green tank-top, and forcefully lifted Heero's head.

"Not until you learn to show your friends the respect they deserve," The uni-banged boy hissed.

"Trowa! Stop it!" Quatre pressed himself between Trowa and Heero, wrapping the shorter of the two in his arms. "Leave him alone…" Trowa stepped back in surprise. He looked on as the blond boy gently ran his hands in comforting circles around Heero's back. The tense boy slowly relaxed, letting his head rest against the fair, soft hair.

Trowa quietly slipped out of the room, feeling as though he were intruding. Quatre smiled once the tall boy had left the room, and proceeded to help Heero untangle his thoughts.

Heero was still suffering from the intense grief of loosing Relena, as well as the anger and guilt towards Quatre. Heero had unsuccessfully tried to bury these emotions, only managing to confuse himself more. Quatre moved one of his hands into Heero's messy brown hair, untangling the dirty threads.

"Gomen nassai…. Gomen nassai…." Heero continued to chant the apology into Quatre's ear, and softly cried. Quatre could tell that Heero wasn't really in control of himself at the moment, and in a few hours, he wouldn't remember this at all.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Midii sat cross-legged in the middle of her tiny room, her laptop on her neatly folded legs. She had been trying to get her new source of information on line for a few days now. But so far, something was interfering that she hadn't planned on. Sighing, she opened her mail to check for assignments.

"Joy…" She muttered, without the least bit of enthusiasm in her voice. They were being sent to 'guard' the colony that contained Midii's satellite. She had been granted soul access to it in order to pinpoint the location of the other five gundams. However, there was 'reason to believe' that the pilots would be attempting to 'obliterate the innocents on the colony'.

Midii laughed at the wording of the message. It was quite obvious that they had just tried to ice over the fact that they had tipped off the other team that they were up to something, and now it was time to ambush them.

"Ahh… They joy's of war…." Midii had always believed that war had no point, particularly this one. However, as in all wars, you needed to pick a side if you wanted a chance for survival.

"Any news?" Nakushita slid into the room and peered over Midii's shoulder.

"Hai. We've been put on ambush patrol…." Nakushita glared at Midii, and picked the laptop up.

"What are we going to do with the boy?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it." Nakushita raised an eyebrow at Midii, who just smirked.

"Fine… I'll go tell Himitsu."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

'Great, just what I need… another opportunity for Heero to kill himself….' Though Duo's thoughts about the mission were negative, he acted like his normal Shinigami self, and bragged about how he had turned the field in to scrap metal in the last battle.

"Yeah, including poor Trowa…." Kate laughed at Duo, and gently wrapped her arms around Trowa's chest.

"That… wasn't my fault…." Duo stuttered, trying not to show his uneasiness.

"He's right. I hadn't expected there to be other gundams…." Everyone turned to face Trowa, wide eyed and jaws dropped.

"What?!?"

"That's why I couldn't defeat them… I was up against three new gundams."

"Are you sure?" Duo leaned forward in his chair, anxious to learn more.

"I'm positive. I don't think anything but Gundanium could put up with those attacks…"

"Do you think they put one at the base?" Quatre looked over at Heero, afraid of what the answer would be.

"I don't think they would waste such a weapon on that little colony, but it's something to be prepared for."

"Great! I wanna have a go at those guys! No one can withstand the wrath of Shinigami!" Duo leaped up out of his chair and struck a pose for the others.

"Duo, this isn't something to joke about." Heero's stone cold voice didn't dim Duo's enthusiasm for a moment.

"I'm dead serious! If those guys think they can hurt my buddy and get away with it, they've got another thing commin!" Duo punched at the air, making Kate giggle. He flashed her his trademark smile and made another swing, purposefully making it look like he missed and fell forward with the aftermath of his punch.

"Baka..." Heero muttered under his breath, trying to hide his amusement.

"Hey Trowa! I think I can solve your Gundam problem! Come with me to the hanger, will ya?" Duo spun around to face Trowa and grinned.

"Alright…." Trowa slowly sat up, giving Kate a chance to move off of his lap.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"Trowa, answer me this. WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THERE WERE GUNDAMS!!!!!!!" Once away from Kate, Duo let loose the question that had been bothering him since he had heard about what happened to Trowa. "I would have helped you! You know that!"

"Exactly." Trowa looked up at Deathscythe Hell and frowned. "It would have been pointless for both of us to lose our gundams." Duo's jaw dropped in surprise at how calmly Trowa had said this.

"What the HELL WHERE YOU THINKING!!!!!! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!!!!"

"I know. But it's better than both of us." Duo lost his voice for a moment, but he barely noticed since he couldn't think of anything to say. "Now what am I going to do for this next mission?"

"…. Y—you…. I was going to suggest you take Altron….. You know how to pilot it.… and I'm sure Wufei wouldn't mind…." Duo didn't try to yell at Trowa for changing the subject. There was nothing more to say…. For now.

"That would work… for now…" Trowa nodded absently, before turning to leave.

"I'm not done yet. I still want to know…." Duo's legs felt like jelly beneath him, and he wavered dangerously close to the edge of the platform. "…wh-why don't you and Heero care….." Duo lost his footing completely and fell to the ground with a metallic thud.

"Duo?" Trowa ran over to Duo and picked him up.

"….care if you die….." Duo's eyes slid shut, plunging him into total darkness.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Wufei was already awake when Himitsu walked into the room, but decided that it would be in his best interest if he appeared to be asleep. Wufei kept his breathing slow and even and let all of his muscles relax.

"I know you're awake." Wufei growled inwardly as he sat up in his bed.

"What do you want now?"

"I simply came to inform you that we have no food to spare for breakfast. None of us are eating." Himitsu sat down on the bed beside Wufei and handed him a small white bundle. "However, I saved you your dinner from last night." Wufei stared at the pitiful meal, before reluctantly taking it. "You'll feel better after you eat."

'Not that he really cares,' Wufei thought as he took a bite of his sandwich. He had decided to play along with his captors until he found an opportunity to escape. With such loose guarding, he would probably have only one chance.

"I have some business to take care of, so I'll leave you now." When Himitsu turned around to leave, Wufei leaped on top of him, knocking them both to the ground. With grace equal to Trowa's, the boy flipped forward and ran down the hall, remembering the way to the hanger.

Ukiyo was the Gundam that had caught the Chinese boy's eyes as being the most appropriate to escape. Quickly scaling the beautiful object of war, Wufei slid into the cockpit. His well thought out escape plan completely escaped him when he saw the almost empty room.
"What in the gods names is this?" The metal room was almost a perfect dome. A set of gloves and a helmet hung from the top with wires, and a large sphere was buried most of the way into the floor. Almost immediately after he had spoken, the helmet moved overtop of him and covered his head.
A warm black haze enveloped his senses, blocking him from the outside world. When Wufei reached up to take the helmet off, he felt liquid fire rushing through his veins, filling him with unbearable pain.
"Midii, don't turn that off. He'll be lost inside the computer." Himitsu's voice sounded fuzzy and distant, but still sent trills of pain through the poor boy's head.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Himitsu dragged Midii into the cockpit of Ukiyo, knowing that the young boy had entered it. Wufei was slumped against the wall, wires wrapped around his neck and waist.
"First get the wires off of him. I'll try to disconnect him from the system." Ukiyo's operating system was much different than anything else. It had been based on the Zero system, and modified to give the pilot complete control of the MS. The movements and thought patterns of the pilot controlled the suit, improving reaction time and flexibility. The problem was, like the Zero system, very few people had the ability to handle the system. In addition, the MS would only let a specific few pilot it, rejecting all others. Wufei was one of the lucky ones, he hadn't been killed on contact.
"What's it doing to this one?" Midii gently brought Wufei to the ground and watched as his eyes fluttered aimlessly in his head.
"I can't be sure…. Kuso! Midii, help me break this code. It won't let me in." Midii picked up her laptop and attached it to the main computer. After a few moments of grumbling, her eyes lit up in surprise.
"It's giving him access to the data files…. No… it's recording his thoughts?" Himitsu looked at Midii in surprise before shutting the computer down.
"His mind is his alone. Let's get him out of here." Wufei looked around slightly once the helmet was off his head before passing out from the stress of the system.
"He was lucky…"

"Hai…."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

A/N From here till the end of the chapter is the fist part I ever wrote. You can thank this little spark for this mess of a story. Oh, and thank P-chan too! She helped me get here!

Duo woke up with a gut feeling that something was wrong. First off, he couldn't remember falling asleep, or how he got in his room, for that matter. He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't move at all. He felt numb all over.

'Damn' he thought to himself. 'I guess I'm going to have to tell them I'm sick.' He tried to call out Heero's name, but he couldn't get his mouth to move. Duo's head rolled lazily to the side, and he began to feel fuzzy. Tiny pinpricks covered his entire body, and he felt like he was sinking into the bed. He lost the ability to judge distances as his eyes blurred, then came into focus again. He moved his head again, which sent a jolt of pain down his spine. Quatre was standing in the doorway, a look of concern on his face.

"Are you alright? You look sick." Duo stared at Quatre for a moment, trying to find the strength to speak.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just hungry." He forced himself out of bed, and started to walk towards the kitchen. Quatre didn't try to stop him, he just looked on with the same worried face.

Duo swayed slightly when he walked, so he put a hand on the wall to keep himself steady. He got to the staircase and looked down, they seemed to be twice as long as usual. He took one step forward, and missed the stair, sending him head first down the steps.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Heero was headed upstairs with the excuse of working on his laptop. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was worried about Duo. He knew he was sick, and too stubborn to admit it, and that worried him.

'What if Duo has that virus? If he doesn't calm down, it could kill him. I don't think I would be able to live with myself if that happened…' Heero stopped. 'no. I can't let myself get close to him. Such emotions only bring pain, and are distractions to the mission.'

'Stop fooling yourself. The only reason you're scared is because you don't want to hurt Duo…'

'Hurt Duo?' The words echoed through his mind. Yes, he didn't want to hurt Duo. He couldn't let himself get close to him, it would only bring pain. Heero turned the corner just in time to catch a very disoriented Duo in his arms.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Duo grinned weakly at Heero. "Never knew ya felt that way 'bout me." He pulled himself up slowly. Heero frowned

"You're sick. Go get some rest. If you push yourself too hard, you won't be able to fight." Duo's joints burned, and he felt very cold.

"I'm fine. Stop worrying about me and get yourself ready for the big mission tomorrow." He took one step toward the kitchen, then stumbled Heero grabbed him under his arms to steady him, then looked him straight in the eyes.

"Go to bed." Duo studied Heero's eyes, trying to see what emotions he was hiding. The silver in his blue eyes was swirled, and seemed to glow. That always meant that Heero was scared, but why? Why was Heero worried about him? He just had a stupid cold…

"I told you, I'm find. I just…" Duo paused. His head felt fuzzy, and he couldn't think. He put his hand to his head and closed his eyes, trying to sort through his thoughts, to remember what he was saying.

"Stop fooling yourself. You can barley stand, your eyes are blood shot, and you're as pale as a ghost." Duo's knees gave way, and he slumped against Heero's chest. He could just barely feel the warm arms wrap around him, and lift him into the air.

"…fine, really…" The soft, rhythmic movement of Heero's walking comforted Duo, and he allowed himself to close his eyes.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

'Duo, you idiot. You pushed yourself too hard. I'm not going to let you go on the mission tomorrow.'

'But you need him. If he doesn't go, you'll probably get killed'

'If he goes, then he'll die'

'then abort the mission.'

'I can't do that, We'll have to go without him.'

'You know he'll do everything he can to go with you'

'I know that, but I can't let him go this time. I can't loose him…' again, Heero had let his emotions surface. He couldn't let himself do that. He had to focus on the mission, but he still wasn't going to let Duo get himself killed.

"Is he alright?" Quatre asked as Heero passed him in the hall.

"He'll be fine, he's just exhausted. Go make him some soup for when he wakes up, he hasn't eaten all day."

"Aright, I'll be back." And with that, he left the room. Heero gently placed Duo on his own bed. He was very pale and very cold, but what worried Heero the most was that he was too light. How long had he been sick? Days? Weeks?

'He needs to see a doctor.'

'We can't now, everyone is a potential enemy.'

'But what if he has the virus?'

'If he has the virus, all they would do is keep him in bed, make sure he eats, and pump him full of pain relieving drugs.'

'At least he couldn't go on the mission'

'He isn't going on the mission, and if he has any sense in that tiny thing he calls a brain, then he'll know that.'

'He'll also know that you'll try to stop him, but he will try to come anyway.' Heero looked at Duo, his breathing was forced, and in quick gulps.

"Duo…" Heero said. He pushed Duo's bangs off of his forehead. Duo let out a sigh and shuddered. He was very cold. He needed to warm up or his body would go into shock. Heero retrieved all of the extra blankets in the house, as well has his own, and covered Duo with them.

"Thanks…" Duo said. He turned over onto his back and smiled at Heero. Quatre walked in with some hot minestrone, Duo's favorite. He propped himself up and ate half the bowl before he fell asleep again. Quatre took the soup back to the kitchen to store it. Heero decided that it would be a good idea if he stayed with Duo for the night. He pulled up a chair and leaned against the wall. He was soon fast asleep.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Duo woke up with a start. 'Oh shit! The mission' He looked around, trying to see what time it was, looking for some sign that they didn't leave without him. He saw Heero right next to him, asleep in a chair. Had he been there all night? Duo decided that if he was going to go on the mission, he would have to leave right then, before Heero could stop him. Duo edged out of bed as quietly as possible and left the room. As he passed the kitchen, he realized how hungry he was, and grabbed a box of donuts and a glass of orange juice to eat as he left. Duo decided that because he was supposed to be the first one there anyway, leaving a few hours early couldn't hurt. He finished his pitiful breakfast and climbed into the cockpit of DeathscytheHell. The fact that he might be too sick to handle the Gundam never occurred to him…

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Heero woke up at 6:00 on the dot, just like every other morning. But today, he was the last one to wake up. He looked beside him, expecting to see the sleeping figure of the braided pilot, but the bed was empty.

'Duo left already. He decided to start the mission early.'

'How long has he been gone? He could be in trouble?'

'If Duo's in trouble, it'll be no one's fault but…'

'Mine. It will be my fault. I let him get out, I didn't stop him… I'll have killed the one person that ever meant anything to me…'

'Stop attacking yourself. It wasn't your fault, Duo isn't dead yet. Now go complete the mission..'

'I killed Duo, just like I killed Relena. Now both of them are gone, and it's all my fault…'

'Stop that! Duo isn't dead yet. Nothing was your fault! Now go get Duo before he gets hurt!' Heero went down to the kitchen and found a note attached to the fridge.

Heero,

We've gone to get Duo, Trowa told me not to wake you, that you'd be of more use to us after a good night's rest. When you wake up, go through with the mission as planned. We'll take care of Duo.

Quatre

Heero clutched the note in his hand as he raced for his gundam. 'Doctor J was right, I should never get close to anyone. It only brings them and me pain. It would be better for both of us if I were killed in this battle, it would save Duo from more suffering than he had to go through.'

'You can't just leave the other pilots. Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, they need you. And you know damn well that Duo is on the brink of insanity. If he looses someone else close to him, especially you, he would probably take his own life. You know you can't do that to him.'

'I killed Duo, and now I have to pay. At the end of this mission, I am going to kill myself, and rot in the depths of hell for the things I've done.'

'You know that killing yourself is only going to make yourself feel better. By taking your life, you'll only force your pain onto Duo. He won't be able to cope with that. You can't do that to him!!! You can't…' Though the voice in Heero's mine screamed at him, begging him to spare himself, he had made up his mind. At the end of the mission, he would be dead. It didn't matter to him if he were killed, or he killed himself, just as long as he was good and dead…

To be continued…

Mel: ^____^ I did good! I did good! Now don't expect anymore from me until I've had a half decent weekend to work on it. Maybe the rest will come out in short bursts like this….

Tsuru: Or maybe she's just going to make you wait another 2 months.

Mel: You're one to talk! You didn't help at all!

Tsuru: *shrugs*

Mel: REVIEW!!!!! NOW!!!! OR FACE THE WRATH OF DUO!!!!!! *imitates Duo* Omae o TICKLE!!!!! ^________^