Standard disclaimers apply

thoughts are in italics

He was always there, sitting at the bay window, staring out into the bright lights brought about by the bustling night life of the city streets. And every time he did, he plunged further into the abyss of despair. Because that was a world that he could never be a part of. He was a monster, a freak of nature.

I was born to die. My road to hell is well paved. No one can save me. They don't even know of my existence. This is how I will be forever. Cold. Forgotten. Alone.

No one could understand his plight, his pain, his utter lack of hope. When they looked at him, they all saw someone else. Someone that he may have once been but no longer is. They were ignorant of what he had transformed into, the thing he was now.

My fate was encased in stone. I was destined to suffer. No god will ever smile on me, I am like many others, forgotten and abandoned. No amount of wishing and hoping can save me. I was doomed from the bitter start.

Closing his bloodshot eyes, he cried inwardly, soundlessly and tearlessly. He knew that he had no right to cry, to weep, to grieve. However, he was still part human after all, he craved to be saved or at least be found.

Duo Maxwell stretched his sore limbs in his ramshackle office after a day of hard work. There had been a sharp increase in deliveries as the festivities grew nearer for the first celebration of the end of the Eve Wars. Business was booming, profits were sky rocketing and he could easily afford a bigger apartment and a host of other luxuries. Life was getting better but he could not shake off the feeling that he was missing something. Something very important. Something that he should really be worried about.

No sense in worrying about something that I have no idea of. Maybe it's just my bad habits acting up again. You'll be surprised at the amount you pick up on the streets, Duo laughed at himself. Being a Gundam pilot made just about anyone paranoid.

Just then, his trusty razor phone started to beep loudly, sounding more like a baby's shrieking than a techno ring tone.

"Great!" groaned Duo, picking up the phone. Just what I need, more work. I should just retire and travel around the world. It's not like I can't get my hand on that amount of cash. Smiling thoughtfully, Duo pondered over the idea out loud, "That would make me the bane of bankers worldwide, wouldn't it?"

After stifling his laughter, Duo picked up his call, "Maxwell Deliveries here. If you can pay, we can deliver."

"Nice to see you are well, Maxwell," a familiar husky voice sounded over the receiver.

Duo immediately recognized that voice and bolted up from his seat. "Lady Une!" he yelled in surprise, "What are you doing?"

"Calling you. I have a mission that I hope you can deliver."

"You heard what I said. If you can afford it, I live to deliver."

"Good. I'm sending you the information right now."

"I'm on it," Duo replied cheerily as he cut the line off. Any distraction from delivery work was a welcomed present. Especially if it meant he could get some exercise, the life after the war was getting a little too tame for his taste.

In his haste, he missed Lady Une's strained last words, "You must succeed."

Duo was dressed in a simple black shirt and a comfortable pair of slacks as he leaped without a sound onto the step of the backdoor of a mansion, Number 13 on Black Winter Avenue.

Let's see…This is the house. Quite a spooky place, looks like it got cut out from one of those old vampire flicks, Duo thought wryly. "Let's see what secrets you have to hide," Duo whispered as he took out his trusty lock pick.

Duo successfully unlocked the trade of the art system that protected the single backdoor with just a few minor twists and turns of the pick. Slipping silently inside, Duo had a hard time suppressing his laughter at the sheer stupidity of the owner who thought that lock could stop him.

Well, Duo thought to himself, not everyone has my level of skill. I am the master of stealth to begin with.

With a slight grin, Duo slithered his way through the corridor that led to a Spartan kitchen. It was devoid of people but was swathed in what smelt enticingly of cinnamon bread. The lights were switched off but the silvery moonlight from the window allowed Duo to make out the layout of the kitchen easily. The kitchen top was so clean that it seemed like the kitchen had never been used before.

"Someone must be a hygiene freak; this is the cleanest kitchen ever. There isn't even a spot of oil on the stove," Duo commented as he swiped his finger over the stove-top.

Shifting silently on his feet, Duo approached the door that led out of the kitchen. Habit had him placing his ear on the door frame to pick up any noise. It was only when he reached to grasp the door knob that a faint clinging and clanging of metal was detected.

As the noise grew louder, Duo slowly slipped into the shadows, his left hand fingering the small air pistol that he hid in his back pocket. The air pistol had been specially modified to shoot bolts of air strong enough to pierce flesh without the noise that is usually produced with a conventional gun. It was absolutely perfect for such missions where silence is more than golden; it was life.

Wrinkling his nose a little, Duo's mind started to race as he tried to anticipate his opponent. What kind of object would make a sound like that when a person walks? I know that there are certain fighters who favor knives but blades hardly make that kind of noise. In fact, most weapons don't make any sound at all when a person moves…

Could it be chains? Duo thought suddenly, well, this is kind of a creepy place and looks just like where you would find a headless ghoul or two.

After giving the issue a thought, Duo had to laugh silently at his own stupidity. Lady Une's information had stated that she suspected the owners of the mansion were harboring prisoners here. How foolish he was to think that there were such things as ghosts and ghouls. Even if there were, he was the Shinigami, they should be stuttering in fear at his presence instead, not the other way round. The sound was probably from the chains that they used to cuff the prisoners. Chains were bulky but they were a lot easier to obtain than cuffs since the Security Council had opted not to impose a ban on such a setup. It was easy to make chains to hold someone nowadays, since it was not illegal anyway.

As the door knob started to turn, Duo crouched lower to brace himself for the possible attack. When in doubt, Duo cheekily grinned, always be ready to attack. It is always easier to apologize than to escape. Besides, I can always have fun while fighting.

With that last thought, he watched the door open noiselessly, turning smoothly on the well oiled hinges that glistered under the dim candlelight from the adjacent corridor. The corridor was barely brighter than the kitchen.

A tall figure stood in the doorway with a set of chains chaining both hands together. It allowed the captive to move his hands for a range of one meter from each other, even if it did make a loud clang of protest for every move. Board shoulders and well defined muscles that pressed against a long sleeved shirt indicated that he was probably a man.

Meanwhile, Duo was kept busy as he cursed his rotten luck. The man's back was facing the light, blocking off any chance of making out his features. Other than the cap of unruly hair, the man was virtually faceless and this made Duo's choices limited.

I don't want to risk hurting him, he's probably a prisoner, Duo's thoughts raced in his mind at the speed of light. But if I can't make out his expression, I can't be sure if he is a friend or foe.

When the man made no movement, Duo assumed he was dazing. This caused him to lose his footing as the figure spoke.

"I know you are there. You can come out now. It's no use hiding anymore."

Seeing that he had been caught, Duo walked out from the shadows to face the figure, pointing his gun at him, of course.

"So sorry, buddy. It looks like you are obstructing my way," Duo said pointedly, his plait flying as he shook his head in pity. "You can either keep very quiet or I will help you shut up."

"That gun is useless here. An air pistol can inflict some damage at this short distance but that still cannot render anyone useless unless shot at certain pressure points at the body. I believe that my skills are not so mediocre, Duo Maxwell."

Duo jerked as cold sweat started to pour out of his pores. The situation had gone from harmless to downright freaky. The prisoner was not your ordinary prisoner. He did not quiver in fear at the sight of someone else, nor did he ask to be liberated. He was cold, calculating and not about to be frightened into submission. He knew at first glance that the gun was an air pistol, not something your off-the-street Tom, Dick and Harry could do. He had a very impressive eye for weapons and most importantly, he knew who Duo was.

"How do you know who I am?" Duo asked evenly, taking deep breaths to keep his shock out of his voice. His hand trembled for a second before it steadied to the practiced position prided by the veteran soldiers.

"I know who you are. I know your past, more than you allow others to know. You can't keep secrets from me," the figure calmly drawled, completely unfazed by the fact that he was being held at gunpoint.

"I asked, WHO are you?" Duo asked again, his patience wearing thin. He did not like the situation one bit and was anxious to get it over and done with.

"I am the angel from your nightmares." With this line, the figure went out of focus and the next thing Duo could remember was the world becoming darker.

Hope you like it so far

pls R&R