A/N: Hi guys. I was kinda surprised that so many people actually read this fic, which I seem to write on forever already. Since most of you are happy as long as I keep writing even if the updates are irregular, I won't be updating each week. I'm taking Spanish and Japanese classes now, so I'm quite overwhelmed with work anyway. But I try to get chapters done asap. Alright a big thank you to everyone who took the time to review! It's very encouraging that there is still someone out there who actually enjoys reading Duo's misfortune. dk-joy (You seem like a very considerate person. In this chapter Duo is getting bugged again much to his dismay. Hope you don't mind too much.), Shadow Chaser (Good question but if I would answer that where would be the suspense? Btw, I already dropped some hints in other chapters.), CuriousDreamWeaver (Oh faithful one, I bow before you. Yup, Duo likes Kenji but it's just too hard for him to admit that.), Mystical-Maiden (Well, Duo hates to be called a baka by Heero. Wu Fei was pissed and used the word to get Duo riled up. When I write 'baka' is Heero's special nick name for Duo it's only meant sarcastically. Since in this story Heero used to call Duo more often 'baka' than Duo.), Yasei Raiden (Well, you won't see much of Duo's plan in this chapter… Great that you still sticking around to r&r!), Countdown (Good to hear you like surprises. One is coming right up in this chapter.), ZaKai (Yeah, the thing is this story is supposed to be a trilogy and I'm still writing on the first part. That almost makes me cry. That's why I'm thinking to stop after the first part.), Meestyna (Really! It's great that you took the time to review.), Clarobell (How long this story will be? Originally this whole thing is a trilogy but I'm still writing on the first part. So that makes me think if I shouldn't just stop after I get all this here finished.), GundamPilot03 (Thank you! Danke! Merci!), Lady-Frisselle (Well, I still hope that Duo is going to get Kenji out of there without blowing the place up.), Gigglegal (That was a very nice review! You made my day when I read that! Thanks for sticking around!), LovleySakura (Ah, someone else who likes surprises. Well, I'm curious as what you think of this chapter.), Raelyn-Mage (No, no, no. I could never pair off Wu Fei and Duo. I'm sorry. I think Wu Fei has a good influence on Duo and the other way round. I'm sorry if I made you think that there could be more between them than a developing friendship. That's what both of them need, I think.), Eternal Sailor Darkness (Thank you! Good to know you like what I'm writing!), F-Inu-Demon (I'm feeling honored. Hope you'll stick around even if the weekly updates didn't work out.), Meiran Chang (Wow, that was one hell of a review. Thanks a bunch. I hope I got the dialogue form right this time. My beta-reader is lost forever and I'm on my own again. Btw, you are a very attentive reader but I didn't mention who the voice was in Kenji's head. I also dropped some hints concerning Heero's ability to remember his days as Kenji. Shonen ai would only be probable if I stick with the idea of writing the whole trilogy since it wouldn't fit in the first part.), Prozacfairy (I'll try. Duo prefers to do things himself. At least he knows he gets them done and on top of that, right. He's not very trusting in my fic.) and Kit (Thank you!)

>> Sorry, about the format. Somehow, different font sizes aren't compatibel with this new programm anymore.

Chapter 18: Friend or Foe?

'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.' Duo cursed inside his head as he wound his way through the L2 colony ventilation system. 'God damn it! You owe me brat. If you wouldn't be such a cute kid I'd probably act more sensible.' Duo knew very well that he'd get in major trouble with his comrades for going against group orders like that. They were in a war after all and solo projects were frowned upon. They had to act as a whole to be successful but Duo kept telling himself that Yuy always did his own thing so he should be excused for doing things his way for once. 'Besides no brat, no asshole,' he reasoned in his twisted logic. It was hard to admit but the 01 pilot did serve a certain purpose even if he hated that guy's guts.

The young pilot robbed on all fours through a very tight spot and kept telling himself that this way would be quicker and much less trouble. He was doing this for their small rebel group and it was definitely better than starting to negotiate with those assholes. 'As if you could make a fair trade with a street gang.' Duo snorted. Having grown up on L2's streets he knew well enough that everybody acted to his own advantage and being part of a gang upped your chances of survival since you had more or less someone watching your back. Survival and security were made in numbers. That he made it on his own after having refused to enter into another gang after his old gang was wiped out by the plague, only spoke for his skill and will to survive.

The slim pilot carefully robbed on his belly though the tight opening and then pulled himself through it with pure strength. He dropped quietly to the ground in a crouch. Right now he was below Sector 9. The government had abandoned this part of L2 after it had been almost completely destroyed in the Eve wars. Now all what was left were ruins and rubble. The floor was bare metal. Only the richer areas on L2 had some artificial grass spots or cemented streets. Below the surface a maze of tunnels spread all over the colony. They were used for transportation, ventilation and to regulate the pressure from the center of the colony where a huge reactor produced the needed energy. In the better parts of L2 those tunnels were lined with shops, movie theatres, fitness studios etc. Though in Sector 9 they were called the catacombs because if you ever took a wrong turn you'd be as good as dead.

But Duo had grown up in this sector and the tunnels proved useful to hide out or to take them as short cuts for raids in the better parts of town. The black clad teen moved stealthily covered by the darkness. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light from the red lights covering the metal walls. Duo turned around a corner knowing that an exit should be ahead of him. He felt the presence before the barrel of a gun was pressed to his temple.

Duo froze.

'What the fuck?' Scythe's pilot narrowed his eyes at the figure beside him. 'How did he do that? Nobody can sneak up on me,' he cursed in his mind. The outlines promised the statue of a boy about his age though the shadows concealed his face even if he was only an arms length away. Duo felt a slight push with the gun and he moved slowly backwards into the dim light. As the figure followed him out of the shadows Duo did a double take.

Before he knew what he was doing he snapped at the other boy. "What are you doing here! Aren't you supposed to be dead?" The shaggy haired boy managed a grin, still having the gundam pilot at gunpoint.

"Good to see you too, Duo. I could ask you the same question actually." The other grinned at him outrageously.

Duo snorted falling right back in his snotty street kid behavior. "You know it takes more than THAT to kill me," he sneered.

"Oh, I think killing you isn't the problem. We got past that. But making sure you stay dead, that's giving us some trouble."

Duo frowned. "Us? You didn't leave your pack to team with those idiots above, didn't ya? Oh, and care to take that gun out of my face?" He carelessly slapped the weapon to the side and the owner didn't resist. Instead he put the gun away and leant against the wall crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Raising an eyebrow he asked Duo: "So? And what if I did run with them now?"

"I'd think you're an bigger idiot than you already are," asked the longhaired teen annoyed.

"Gee thanks. And here I am to help you out." He uncrossed his arms and scowled at Duo.

But Duo waved him aside. "Listen. I admit we have a lot to discuss but I'm a bit in a fix here and I have to get going. And by the way I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP."

"Oh, yeah. How could I forget?" The platinum blonde haired teen sighed dramatically. "The mighty Shinigami doesn't need help from anybody."

Duo grinded his teeth. "I didn't ask for that name."

"Yeah, but you get what this shitty place dishes out at you. Just your luck that this nickname sticks to you just like- ouff." The blonde sacked together as Duo had his fist deeply burrowed into his stomach. He grimaced.

"Touchy, aren't we! But face it Duo, death clings to your every fiber and L2 can smell that. They know it, I know it, you know it. There's nothing you can do about it but use it to your advantage." The blonde rubbed his stomach and backed up a bit from the angry teen in front of him. "You can't change who you are Duo. No matter how much you try to fool the others or yourself."

Duo's eyes still blazed but he knew that he had no time to stop and battle it out with the other boy. The issue wasn't worth it. He had more important things to do. The young pilot wordlessly sidestepped the other boy and walked to the ladder behind him.

The other boy sighed and threw his hands behind his head. "You know you didn't really change that much Duo. Still that angry distrusting kid I –" Before he could finish that sentence Duo whirled on him and this time he pointed his gun at the platinum haired boy.

"Shut up, Zen. Don't go there. I left the streets behind to fight those assholes. You know I had no other choice."

The blonde let his arms fall back to his sides and said solemnly. "I know Duo, but that doesn't mean you have to leave us behind, too. We are your family. Even if you don't belong to a certain gang, you still belong to us and not with them. Soldiers, mercenaries, scholars or rich little boys who play war." Zen said disgusted.

"Bullshit. When have you ever cared about what happens to me? All you ever did was trying to get me killed. You can eat your sentimental crap. As if I believe any of the lies you spout and just what would you know about our mission." Duo said with scorn.

Zen tilted his head to one side. "Let me guess. Kill the bad guys? Achieve peace and harmony between earth and the colonies? A better life for us street rats?" The blonde threw his head back and laughed bitterly. "You are full of shit if you believe the outcome of your battle against OZ can change anything here. Take a good look at earth how they deal with slums and street kids there. They are ignored, Duo. Here's no money to make. Therefore we are not interesting enough for those capitalism pigs." He leveled those strange bright blue eyes on Deathscythe's pilot and advanced on him. "Or do you think maybe that YOU have a future out there?" Zen looked intently in Duo's eyes that stared defiantly at the slightly older boy. But the blonde shook his head seemingly satisfied with what he had spied in Duo's indigo colored eyes. "No. You know as good as me that there can be no happiness for the like of us. No matter how far we run or where we hide." The blonde backed off again to give Duo some space.

They were both silent for a minute before Duo couldn't take it anymore. "Why didn't you ever kill me for real if it's that what you are after?" he demanded to know. "As long as I can remember you were interfering with whatever I was doing. Not that it wasn't good training," he mumbled.

Zen laughed. "Oh, come on, Duo. I think you should have figured out by now that I don't want to kill you for real. It's just my job to TRY to kill you. Since you never die anyway why should I hold back and maybe endanger myself?"

For a second Duo could only stare openmouthed at him. "ARE YOU MAD? What kind of twisted logic is that?" he seethed.

"Hey, hey, keep it down. You don't want us to get caught, ne!" Zen tried to sooth the other teen. "And it's really not my fault that you survive the strangest things. Death just has a thing for you." He slapped Duo on the back and laughed nervously. "If a certain someone wouldn't want your head on a silver platter, I think we'd make the greatest buddies."

Duo scowled at him. "Sure."

"Aw, Duo, what's wrong with you? I can't remember you being that grouchy. Where did that carefree attitude disappear to?" Zen put a hand on his hip and wiggled his finger at him.

Duo sighed and raked his hand through his bangs. "Let's just say I had one hell of a week and I am in need of a brat free vacation," he muttered the last part.

Zen looked confused. "Boy, are all the other pilots spoiled brats? Must be tough on you. My sympathy."

Duo laughed but shook his head. "I'll survive that, too." He turned to walk towards the exit but stopped once more. "Look, I promise I'll come back to clear things up with your boss, ok! Don't interfere with the other pilots. This is only between us." With that he walked over to the metal ladder concealed by the shadows. It would lead him up into one of the older ruins where he knew Maze and Cutter and the rest of their gang had their hideout. His sources were very reliable and obviously their gang hadn't changed their headquarters since he had left. 'A very stupid mistake,' Duo thought, but good enough to use to his advantage.

"Don't forget where you belong, Duo. Sometimes it's easy to confuse an enemy for a friend but it works the other way round just as well. Before you go, take this." Zen threw Duo a small object, which the pilot caught effortlessly. Holding it up in the weak light, the object turned out to be a key card. Duo looked surprised at the other boy, raising his eyebrow in question.

The blonde shrugged. "Can't have my favorite sparring partner getting hurt by the likes of those idiots up there. They upgraded the security and the technology around the place." He pointed his thumb upwards and gave Duo a toothy grin. "Good luck, kiddo." Zen tipped his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute and turned to vanish into the shadows.

Duo could make out a muttered "Not that you need it!" from the other boy before Zen's profile vanished completely into the darkness. A grin tugged at his corners as he climbed up the ladder. 'Looks like luck is on my side again.' With that thought in mind he entered the lion's den.

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Hate it? Like it? Want more? Well, write me! Btw, I really hope you don't hate Zen. He probably won't appear anymore in this part anyway. Only if I stick with the original idea of writing a trilogy he will show up again. But I'm not so sure if I should really do that considering when I started writing on this part….