Mel: *looking through dictionary on her computer* Ah! Here it is!

Daichi: So, what is it? *looks over Mel's shoulder*

Mel: Hey, guess what? You were both right.

Tsuru: *scoffs*

Mel: Aw, don't be bitter, Tsuru. Just because you have to share the glory…

Tsuru: *glares at Mel*

Mel: ^_^() anyway, here's what a knell is….

Knell \'nel\ vb 1: to ring especially for a death or disaster 2: to summon, announce, or proclaim by a knell

Tsuru: So it wasn't a noun. *sticks tongue out at Daichi*

Mel: o.O Don't act like a kid. There's another definition here.

Knell n 1: a stroke of a bell especially when tolled (as for a funeral) 2: an indication of the end or failure of something.

Mel: See?

Daichi: So it's the sound of a bell…

Mel: Now that that's taken care of….

Legal Crap: Hi there, this is Headache, we met at the end of last chapter! Remember me?

Mel: Uh…. Oops? *trashes legal crap* ^_^() gomen, I heard this great comercial on the radio where a voice is Headache and keeps trying to set up an appointment with this girl so he can make her head hurt. She won't scedual him in… *laughs*

Daichi/Tsuru: o.O

Mel: …() I thought it was funny….

Daichi: *shakes head* and now on with the show…

Trowa gently pulled Quatre aside as they walked up to Duo's room.

"Trowa, what's wrong?" Trowa shook his head slightly, and made Quatre put down the milkshake they were going to give Duo.

"Tell me, exactly what's wrong with Duo?" He ran his hand along the side of Quatre's face, concerned for him.

"I can't tell you for sure… but Midii and her brother came up with a program that taps into brainwaves in order to steal information. It was modeled off of the piloting program and hardware that allows the pilot to control the suit by moving." Quatre paused to sigh as Trowa sat down. He didn't want to sit next to him because he knew it would be hard to get up again, but he was too tired not to give into the urge. "I don't know exactly how they did it, but they managed to get this virus into Duo's head. She… Midii controls it from her laptop, and that's how she found us. She can see what Duo sees, hear what he hears, and tap into his memories. The virus was supposed to be harmless and work in the background… but it's trying to take over instead. That's what keeps pushing Duo back." Quatre sighed again, and leaned against Trowa.

"What's happening to you, Quatre?" Trowa ran his fingers through Quatre's hair, noticing why it was so pale. White strands of hair were scattered throughout his locks.

"I'm not sure…" Quatre closed his eyes and groaned slightly as he forced himself to stand up. "We're not going to get anything done sitting down. Let's hurry up and give Duo his meal." Trowa shook his head as he watched Quatre leave the room, then followed.

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

"We don't have any food left, and my gundam is the only one left with enough fuel to get us anywhere useful."

"Himistu, I'm not letting you pilot that. You still haven't recovered from that battle." Nakushita watched helplessly as his lover got dressed, preparing to leave.

"If we wait any longer, neither of us will be strong enough to pilot anything." Himitsu sat down on the bed next to Nakushita and ran a hand through his black, unbound hair. "You look so much better with your hair down."

"I'm not letting you pilot that. That's final." Himitsu nibbled slightly on Nakushita's ear, sending ripples of pleasure through his body.

"We need supplies, and we need food." Before Nakushita had a chance to continue the argument, Himitsu pressed his lips over his mouth. He didn't need to persuade his lover to open his mouth, it did that on its own automatically. Nakushita pulled back after a moment, and glared at Himitsu.

"This is serious."

"I understand." After a moment's silence, Nakushita sighed.

"I'm not going to let you pilot Ukiyo. I'll do it for you if you show me how." Himitsu hesitated, then nodded.

"Alright. It shouldn't take long. Either you can, or you can't." Nakushita sat up strait as Himitsu's hand brushed against his privates before he stood.

"N-now?" Nakushita looked up at Himitsu, disappointed. His lover offered him a hand to help him stand up.

"You want to learn how to pilot Ukiyo, don't you?" Nakushita glared at Himitsu, then stood without his help. Himitsu smirked, and slipped his arm around Nakushita's waist to lead him out of the room. Nakushita glared at Himitsu once again, but didn't move away from the warmth. "And you're so kawaii when you're mad at me."

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

"Morning, Duo. I brought you breakfast. I hope you don't mind a milkshake, because I'm afraid that's all I have the energy to let you eat. Unless you want to make a suggestion…" Quatre waited for Duo's voice to appear in his mind. He would probably be grumpy because of what had happened the night before. "Duo?"

The boy seemed dead to the world. Quatre couldn't feel his mind at all. It was as if he really was the empty shell he looked. The drug must still be in his system.

Quatre walked over to the nightstand and put down the glass he had been carrying. He smiled sadly and brushed the bangs away from Duo's face.

"How are you feeling?" Trowa stepped into the room, a slight look of worry on his face. Quatre sighed, watching Duo's hair dance in the slight breeze. He looked so empty, and unlike before, he looked dead.

"He looks so cold…" Quatre couldn't understand what was wrong, other than the missing cheerful voice in his head. When he finally noticed what it was, his chest tightened in fear. "H-he's not breathing…" Quatre quickly pressed his fingers against Duo's neck, searching for a pulse. He could feel the warm blood pressing through the restricted vein. The slow beating of Duo's heart echoed in Quatre's ears. He closed his eyes in an effort to escape the loud noise, and instantly felt like the ground had disappeared out from under his feet, and he was falling…

A small jerk on his shoulders sent his mind reeling. He was seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting hundreds of things at once. It was as if he were living an entire lifetime in an instant, everything he could detect had a memory attached.

"…atre! Quatre!" The boy slowly opened his eyes. Trowa was holding him, his eyes wide and his voice shaky.

"Mmmm…" Quatre weakly tried to lift a hand up to Trowa's long face, his fingers gently passed across his forehead and over his eyes. Quatre desperately fought to focus on the face in front of him, how his skin felt, and how his voice sounded… But memories were tugging at his mind, demanding his attention. "T-Trowa? P-put me down…" As soon as he said this, he slipped out of Trowa's arms and hit the floor.

Trowa stared at Quatre for a few moments. He mouthed a silent apology before he sank to the ground. Fatigue overtook him and he felt his mind drift off…

…while Quatre felt it invading. His vision had gone completely black save for the horrible memories that weren't his.

…Tears trickled down the side of his face. He couldn't understand the concept of sorrow…

…He was hiding in the dark, compacting himself as small as possible. Light streamed in from above him as he was dragged out of his 'safe' box…

…A girl with blond hair crying, asking for him to shoot her. He couldn't do it, because she still had a home to go back to…

…He was running into a wasteland, what used to be his home. He had the horrible guilt of knowing that no one survived, and it was all his fault…

The memories continued to blend together with his own. He was loosing the ability to separate them. Personalities and thoughts melded with his own, He continued to drift through an abyss of contradicting souls.

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

"Trowa! Trowa, wake up!" Trowa's eyes felt like lead. He nodded slightly, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy whoever wanted him up. "Trowa! Tell me what happened!" Two hands placed on his shoulders tried to shake him awake.

"Nnnh…" The movement brought a sharp pain to life in his head, and he forced his eyes open to make it stop. "Wh…who?" Deep blue eyes bore into him, slightly covered by a few strands of dark brown hair. His light copper skin glistened with sweat from worry. "H…Heero?" The word seemed foreign on his tongue, and he was worried he hadn't said the right name.

"Yes. It's me. Now what happened here?"

"Duo… wasn't breathing…" He turned his head to the side to look for Quatre. The boy was lying on the floor, his eyes half open and fluttering so one could only see the whites of his eyes. "I dropped him… too tired…" Heero sighed and stood up, pacing across the room. Trowa's eyes drifted back down to Quatre's twitching body. His fingers jerked slightly, as if he were trying to close his hands around something… "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

"Trowa?" Trowa closed his eyes again. "No. No, don't pass out. Try to stay awake." Trowa heard the words as if he were under water. Nothing was clear, and he had to think about what was said to comprehend it. He didn't have the energy to think…

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

"Trowa! Trowa!" Heero slammed his fist into the wooden floor, cursing. He reached into Duo's stash and pulled out his gun, then stormed down the steps. "What did you do?" Midii turned around slowly when she heard the click of a safety.

"I was trying to disable my program. I—" She stopped when she felt the gun pressed against her throat.

"I want you to take that laptop with you. We're going up stairs." Midii nodded numbly, and carried her still open computer with her as Heero lead her up the stairs. She gasped as she saw the two boys lying unconscious on the floor.

"Trowa…"

"Duo. Look at Duo." Heero roughly turned Midii's head toward the braided boy on the bed. Midii's eyes widened as she saw him. She quickly enabled the parts of the virus she had begun to take down, and Duo's chest began to rise and fall again.

"I… I think the virus is keeping him alive…" Heero glared at the girl, then looked down at Quatre. "I… I can't take it off without killing him. Unless there's something else we can use to keep him alive while I take it down…"

"We'll wait until Quatre and Trowa wake up." Heero hesitantly lowered his gun. Midii sighed with relief as the cold metal left her neck. "Get out." She nodded, eager to get away from the crazed lunatic. Once the girl was gone, Heero ran a hand through his hair.

'Dr J was right. Duo's condition is causing too many problems.' He gently carried Trowa into his room, then came back for Quatre. The blond boy thrashed out as Heero tried to touch him. His eyes snapped open for a moment, then closed again. Heero decided to leave the boy where he was for the time being.

To be continued…

Mel: Gomen… I know these chapters are getting shorter and shorter… but I'm trying to get them out as quickly as possible. I'm grabbing every bit of spare time I can get so I can work on this. I'm really trying to get this finished.

Tsuru: o.O weren't you playing FFVIII yesterday?

Mel: Yes, I was. But the only reason I got away from my paper was because there was a lightning storm outside, and it was hailing!

Tsuru: so?

Mel: You don't leave your computer on when there's lightning outside, baka. It could fry your computer.

Daichi: Yours is already messed up.

Mel: Don't remind me….

Tsuru: Her D drive won't show up on the computer. She's lost access to all of her songs.

Mel: *cries* it's not fair!!!!