Their chance came when both Anna and Tav predicted an attack on the complex they were in. at the time the news came as a big relief. Cyber hadn't been heard from in weeks and they were starting to worry. They knew he was alive because his mind was still there if incoherent. By the time they finally got a coherent thought out of him they were frantic. They had just a little over a week before the attack and they didn't want to leave him behind to die.

Cyber, please can you hear me? Please you're really starting to scare us. This from Anna.

Come on Cyb, Shelby added I know your there and we need to talk. We're gonna blow this place. With a mental chuckle I mean really blow this place and we're not leaving without you.

Leave me alone! Came a desperate mental wail. I can't leave here now. Just let me die with the others.

Never! From all three minds. Even Tav who was normally moody and difficult to talk to refused to even think about leaving him in this place when they destroyed it.

Cyber what happened? What did they do? Anna asked gently.

You want to know what they did?! THIS IS WHAT THEY DID! Cyber broadcast his image in his mirror to them. The other minds couldn't help recoil in horror. They removed his restraining device and replaced it with an implant designed to interface with computer circuitry.

Shelby's first impulse was to mentally push at her own device. She felt it move and waited for the shock, but it took a few moments before it zapped her. Maybe if she pushed fast enough, she could remove it! Guys! I made it move! Giving them an image of what she just did. Cyber your coming with us, and when we get out I'll help you get rid of that thing.  

Duo felt a stab of grief from adult Shelby and knew that Cyber wasn't alive anymore. No he died from what they did to him. Perhaps it was from her sudden pain, but Duo noticed her memories were moving faster.  She skimmed rather quickly over the details of their escape. He understood that they used their abilities to increase the destruction of the attack. They stole what they could of their files and escaped in the chaos.

Within weeks of their escape Cyber started to get sick. It hurt Shelby that she couldn't remove his implant without killing him right away. Cyber used the few months he was free to build his friends fake identities and transfer money from various members of Romefeller to accounts they could access.

Tav took Cyber's death the hardest. He'd disappear for days before Cyber died. After his death the girls wouldn't hear from him for weeks. Each time they did hear from him, he was more sullen and depressed than the time before. They suspected he'd returned to his metazone habit, but had no idea how to intervene from a distance.

            Anna, Shelby they heard Tav's call. It felt distant, like it was from another continent.

Tav?  Both girls responded. Then Anna took over the conversation. Tav we've been so worried. Where are you?

I want to thank you. You've been the closest thing to family I've ever had. And I'm sorry.

Much to their horror he cut off the connection, but not before they saw he was about to shoot himself.

There was another stab of grief from Shelby for just a moment before Duo felt her sever her own connection to him

"So Anna and I have been alone ever since. We've been hiding for thirteen years now."

The sudden return to reality in Shelby's apartment was jolting. Duo was struggling with what he'd seen. Even though he knew it to be the truth, he still wanted to doubt it. How fair was it that he would meet the woman of his dreams only to have such a major obstacle to their happiness? How happy could they be? Knowing madness and death was her future? Was he being punished for his past sins?

It never occurred to Duo that Shelby could 'hear' his rejection of her. She felt like someone blasted a crater in her chest. There was so much more she could have told him. She wanted to tell him all about being Deathscythe. About all of the help she gave him and the other gundam pilots during the war. When he was alone, or unsure, or hurt and he would talk to Deathscythe it was her that would listen. It was her that loved him even then.

She didn't tell him any of it. She needed him to accept her for what she was first. Hoping she was doing the right thing, she offered him an out with the hopes that he would return.

"I understand I'm asking you to accept a great deal. I can offer you a small assurance. I am not going to go crazy. In all of our potential futures, Anna has never once seen us go insane. Unfortunately in most of the ones she has seen, it is unlikely the public would ever believe that." She could even feel the doubt in him to that statement. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, and her throat starting to close on her. She was going to loose him.

"I think you should leave now." She said quietly "If you decide to…I mean if you should change your mind…well if you have any quest…" she drew a deep breath. "If you're ever ready, you know where to find me."

Duo knew she was offering him a chance to escape without making an ugly scene. As much as he dammed himself for being a coward, he took it. He wasn't prepared to handle anything like this. Not yet. He needed time to think, to sort out the chaos that was inside him. So he left.