Chapter 3: Something Unfolds…maybe laundry?

By: AutumnHime

"So how was your day?" Duo asked his blue-haired companion as they both stepped off the motorcycle in front of the apartment complex in which they lived.

"It was okay," Amy replied, but the smile on her face lacked conviction and her eyes had a few glimmers of shadow in them.

"C'mon Ames. I know you better than that. The glasses that you don't need but always wear have disappeared and your uniform is sporting grass stains. What happened today?" Duo questioned his friend once more, indigo eyes gazing into her cerulean ones.

"I got picked on by bullies again, okay? This time they pushed me into the mud and stepped on my glasses."

"That generally doesn't bother you, Amy. What's the rest of it?" Duo pushed.

"The guy you were waving at as we left school? The girl that approached him tried to help me during lunch. But I just blew her off and now I feel horrible. She was only trying to be friendly and nobody else at that school even tries."

"Don't worry about it, Ames. Just find her and apologize to her. Everything will be okay," Duo comforted his friend, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "By the way, what did you say that bully's name was?"

"Rob Eedee. Why?" A light dawned in her eyes as she realized to whom she was talking. "Duo, you can't. Don't!"

"Huh? What did you say, Amy?" Duo looked confused for a second. "Never mind. I'll see you later." With that, Duo got back on his bike and roared up the street towards the red sun hanging low in the sky.

"Stupid boys who never listen," Amy fumed. "I'd better go after him." She ran a few yards, stopped, and realized she had no idea where he had been going. "Stupid boys," she muttered once again. Head high, indignation written all over her face, she spun around and stalked back to the complex.

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"Sorry, Ames, but guys shouldn't pick on girls." Duo grinned maniacally as he gunned the engine of his motorcycle.

A few minutes later, having stopped long enough to look up Rob Eedee's address, Duo pulled up in front of a nice bi-level house in a nice quiet suburb.

"Guess you just can't tell with some families," Duo muttered the cliché deadpan before ringing the buzzer.

"Yes?" A tinny voice came through the intercom. It crackled with static.

"Mr. Eedee? My name is Duo Morrise. I have a package for you from Amy Mitchell. She said it had something to do with your homework?"

"Really? I'll be down in a second." A minute or so later, a teenager came out of the house. Good-looking, clean-cut appearance, in general a seemingly nice, friendly guy, Duo noted off-hand. That wouldn't help the boy. He always knew the people that the hand of Death would touch. This was one of them.

"Just a minute, please. Let me open this gate." Duo stood idly, waiting for the teen to finish, listening to trees and enjoying the sun on his face.

"All right. Give me the papers." Rob blinked. The messenger guy had disappeared. Wind whipped at his back and suddenly the bully felt a hand on his neck.

"Who…who the hell are you?"

"Let's just say that I'm a friend of Amy's. If you touch her, threaten her, get your cronies to hurt her, or cause her pain of any sort, I will come after you. In fact, if she comes home with any expression other than happiness, even if you had nothing to do with it, I will come after you. And so you don't forget, my mark is now on your neck. Oh…and Death doesn't lie. I would be very careful, if I were you."

Before Rob Eedee could turn around, Shinigami had disappeared; bike, leather jacket, and all.

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"That was fun." Duo smiled as the now pasty boy rushed back into his house to lock the doors, the windows, and find a suitable weapon…probably a spork. "Now to find the girl that Amy said tried to help her."

Duo thought for a moment, sorting the energies of the people in the city. Most people fell into the lowest class. They could not focus their energies into physical constructs, and their wellsprings were limited. These he colored white. The next level were much fewer, maybe one for every hundred of the lowest class. These were the normal psychics—empaths, a few telepaths, the rare telekinetic, and even the occasional pre-cog. They had the ability to use slightly more of their brain than normal humans, generally did not realize their own powers, and who relegated any uncanny experiences to intuition or coincidence. These he colored purple. Next came the actual ranking psychics. They appeared at about a one for every thousand of the first level. They had the same powers as the second rank, but more horsepower to their engines, say. He colored these green. The fourth rank, and he was surprised to find the seven or eight he did in the city, had more powers than even that. They had a lot more oomph to everything they did, generally realized what they were doing and probably could rival Wufei and Triton at the moment for power…that would change when Triton and Wufei woke up, of course, but for now…these he colored blue. The last group contained people that were the avatars of gods, more or less. They should have been at a ratio of one to 999,999,999. And this was true for the world. In the city, however, there were more than there should have been. The only two he knew personally with that much power were himself and Cat because they had woken up. The actual amount was three…and the only person that he knew that could have that power at this time was…

Ares! Ares, damn your eyes, answer me! Duo called. I know you can hear me. Duo unfortunately received no reply, and the energy he knew had to be Ares faded until it was at a level with normal humans and he lost it. "Huh…that's a neat trick…wonder where he learned that?" Duo muttered, confused.

"Alright, let's try Cat."

Cat…Cat…earth to Cat…Duo yelled telepathically.

Yes, Duo? Cat's reply came back in what Duo perceived as streams of light, just as Duo knew that Cat perceived his voice as being dark.

Hey, Cat, you know that girl you picked up from school today?

Yes?

Where can I find her?

Why? Cat's voice contained a little more than just curiosity. There was a level of protectiveness that Duo had not expected.

I need to thank her for trying to help the friend that I drove home today.

 She's with me currently, so if you'd care to home in, this is our location. Cat sent a picture of a small quiet café on an avenue shady with oaks.

Great. I'll be right there, Duo told him.

Two minutes later, Duo entered the small café and waved at the duo.

"Hey, Cat, how's it going?" He asked casually.

"Not too bad, Duo." The blonde man smiled at his brunette friend before turning back to an openly curious Serena. "Serena, I'd like to introduce you to Duo…"

Morrise, Duo supplied telepathically.

Without missing a beat, Cat continued. "…Morrise. Duo, this is my cousin Serena Tsukino."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Duo. Would you care to join us?" Serena gestured expansively at the booth.

"I don't know," Duo replied as he slid in next to Cat. "Who's paying?"

"Cat." Serena deadpanned, her bright blue eyes glinting with laughter.

"Excellent. I'll have the whole menu." Duo winked, and customers throughout the café turned to stare at the happy trio as their laughter pealed throughout the rest of the building.

Their laughter, finally dying into small hiccups and giggles, started back up again as all three grabbed at the same napkin to wipe their eyes. When the hysteria finally ended, Duo's expression became serious.

"Actually, Serena, I would like to thank you."

Serena looked confused. "For what? I don't know you, do I?"

"No, you don't. But you know a friend of mine, Amy Mitchell."

"Amy? Yeah, she goes to school with me."

"Well, I wanted to thank you on hers and my behalf, and apologize on her behalf. She told me you tried to help her this afternoon when she had been ganged up on by bullies, and she told me that she brushed you off. She doesn't have too many friends so saying thank you is slightly difficult for her. It was very kind of you to try to help." Duo gazed straight into Serena's eyes as he spoke, and his sincerity touched her.

"I'm sick of the bullying and the typecasting that goes on at that school. Amy looked like she needed a friend, and if she ever wants one, I will always be here. It was my pleasure to help." With that, Serena slid out of the booth. "It was nice to meet you, Duo. Cat, I have to get home."

"I'll take you." Cat offered.

"Nope, that's ok. It isn't very far from here, and you should visit with your friend." Before Serena could walk away, Duo grabbed her hand, pressing a small rectangular piece of cardboard into it.

"Thank you again for helping Amy. If you ever need anything, anything at all, call me, please." He released Serena's arm, and both men watched as she walked out of the restaurant and up the street.

"Well, do you want to talk here, or should we go somewhere else?" The question caught Duo off guard. He was still thinking about how strange laughing and talking with Serena had felt. It had been so strange that the sensation was familiar.

He shook his head, braid whapping him on either side of the face. "Let's talk elsewhere. I want to walk." He slid out of the booth, took a few bills from his wallet and waited while Cat paid his part of the tab. Once more, the two men acted in unison, walking out of the door and strolling up the street.

Eventually, they reached a park, and, as nobody else was around, plopped down on swings, arms wrapping round the chains and feet kicking lazily at the dusty hard ground formed after countless feet had skidded while attempting a stop.

"You first." The statement came in unison, the two old acquaintances reticent despite having known each other for at least two lives.

Duo laughed. "Alright, me first. I haven't recovered my full memory," he admitted, hating his weakness.

Cat noted the shadows in his indigo eyes, but said nothing.

"I remember some women…more girls, actually, but they… I think they held our lives, and I remember thinking that I would give my life so nothing would happen to them. I don't remember what they looked like. Only the small things remain where they are concerned. A laugh. A gesture. But that's it. I remember cursing somebody before I died during the war that ended the Silver Millennium. I know I cursed that person because one of those girls had died…and she had died because I couldn't get there in time. Do you know how that feels?" Duo looked up, the pain in his eyes bottomless.

Again Cat said nothing, merely looked at his old ally and newfound friend.

Duo sighed, closed his eyes, pulled the ponytail holder at the end of his hair loose, and began to pull apart his braid. "Of course you do. You did the exact same thing, didn't you?" He paused again, looking at Cat. "There are other things as well. I remember the faces of my brother Gods. You, of course. A man with only one eye, green as emeralds, showing, who speaks rarely, but one listens when he does."

Cat breathed a single word. "Nanashi."

Duo continued, staring at his hands. "Another, this one rather more disciplined in appearance. His black hair always pulled back so tightly it's a wonder he wasn't constantly complaining of headaches. His piercing onyx eyes only softened when he stared at those girls and only then when he thought people weren't looking, and his cunning and sense of justice often caused the rest of us headaches."

"Shenlong," Cat whispered; his eyes wide with memories.

Once more, Duo spoke. "And the last, the most dangerous of all of our brethren. He had unkempt brown hair, more weapons than an army, and his cobalt gaze froze people in their steps."

"Ares."

"And I know where all of the brethren are now." Duo finished his tale and straightened swiftly. "I have other memories, but those are the most important ones." He turned to his friend again. "Your turn."

"I remember probably as much as you do. I remember the Queen and her advisors—the black cat Luna and the white cat Artemis. I also have this flash of Nanashi, Shenlong, Ares, you, and me on horses standing at the top of a crest. We are dressed for battle, in armor the like of which I have never seen in this lifetime, staring at the carnage of a battlefield. Earth fills the night sky. And…" Here Cat paused, wondering how to word what he next had to say. "I remember the Princesses."

Duo's eyes widened, pupils dilating so much that they turned his eyes black.

"There were actually nine of them, but four of those nine generally stayed off of the moon. The other five were ours." Cat laughed, a harsh sound. "More precisely, we were theirs."

Duo grabbed Cat. "What did they look like? Cat, what did they look like?!" Cat bowed his blonde head.

"One of them…one of them is Serena. Better known to you, perhaps, as Princess Serenity, the Tsuki no Hime and my one-time sister." An image burst open in Duo's head of himself helping a girl about sixteen up off of the floor where he had knocked her. Her gold hair had been bound in a French braid and her wide blue eyes laughingly peered into his.

"Another," Cat continued, "is your friend Amy, I believe. At that time, she would have been known as Princess Ami, the Mizu no Hime.

Duo stared at Cat. "Amy?" he whispered. And the last time he saw her face in the Silver Millennium swirled through him.

Nephrite snapped and Ami screamed as dark energy enclosed her, draining what was left of her life-force.

A wordless scream dark with graveyards rang out, the echo of one heard only seconds before. Energy blacker, more terrible than the Negaverse's, and yet more brilliant as well, darkened the sky. A harsh voice, cold, devoid of any softer emotion spoke from the direction of the stairs. "Bad move, Nephrite."

"Shinigami..."Ami whispered and fainted, her coloring gray.

 Indigo eyes swept over the hordes of monsters crowding the area. The monsters fell without a sound. The God of Death then turned the power of his gaze on Nephrite. "Now, you die." he declared. He gathered all of his energy into one single area, and called his scythe back into existence. Rather than the normal green glow, the blade of his scythe had turned black. "Dark Scythe Destroy!" Shinigami leaped into the air, aiming his attack at Nephrite. A line of power shot out, sweeping through the middle of the Negaverse general's body.

"Enjoy my realm, jerk. And when you come back, I'll be there, too!" he muttered, tossing his braid around to lie straight down his back. He landed softly on the ground next to Ami's body, and let go of his Ultra personality. As Duo, he gathered her to him, and fell unconscious, the use of so much power too much for his mortal frame.

"How could I have forgotten Ami?" Duo spoke at a level only Cat could hear.

Cat, sympathetic towards the anguish his friend must be going through because he had felt the same when he had remembered Rei's death, sat there for a few seconds before speaking. "You didn't forget her, Duo. Somewhere, part of you remembered her." Duo looked up, life sparking under the ashes of his pain. "You found her again in this lifetime. And you protect her now as you always did back then."

"I hate it when you're right, Apollo." Cat smiled, a brief quirk of his lips. Duo inhaled deeply. "What about the rest of them?"

"Are you sure?" Cat looked surprised, but at Duo's nod, forged ahead. "There was also the Hi no Hime. We knew her better as Rei, high priestess for the kingdom, the Tsuki no Hime's best friend, and my betrothed." With an iron will, Cat kept those memories from flooding back. "She was tall, fiery as Martians generally were, with red-black hair and violet eyes. Next was the Ai no Hime. Minako, Captain of the Guards for the Tsuki no Hime, the body of which the princesses formed. She was related to Serenity and I—cousins, I believe. Minako had long blonde hair, a bright smile, and eyes that were blue as a summer sky. Last but not least was the Ki no Hime. Makoto had brown hair, green eyes, and an electrifying personality…" Cat's eyes widened. "In fact, she looked an awful lot like that girl whose bike we were admiring today."

The sound of children's laughter stopped their conversation. The two men blinked, glanced up, looked around, and noted that while they had been chatting, people had arrived at the formerly deserted park.

"I guess it's time we got going." Duo declared. "I'll see you later, Cat." With that as his goodbye, the Shinigami disappeared.

Seconds later, so did Apollo.

What neither of them noticed was the young man that had been sitting in the branches of the tree above their heads. His eyes narrowed in concentration, he disappeared as well.

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A file appeared on the glowing screen of a computer. "Finally," Wufei sighed, "we have something on Hiiro deBello." Triton nodded in agreement and the two began perusing the contents.

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"But I don't want to go to Japan!" A foot encased in an orange sneaker stomped itself delicately on the floor of a boarding bridge at the airport.

"Truly, Mina, that's just too bad. You don't have a choice. You ARE going to Japan, you WILL meet your betrothed, and that WILL BE the end of THAT." Her mother declared, tired of the tantrums her daughter kept throwing. "Do you understand?"

The classic blonde beauty nodded her head morosely, picked up her carrying case which held her cat, Artemis, and finished boarding the plane.

Twenty minutes later, she was on her way to Japan.

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Okay, that's the end of that chapter. I know that most of you are tired of it taking me three months or more to update my stories but I really can't concentrate on them. I've tried! I think I'm going to abandon one of them, but more on that later.

C ya hopefully sooner than three months later.

Ciao

AutumnHime