A/N: I had fallen behind on all of my fics. And I am very sorry for this. It's my mother's fault. She won't get me the internet, and then my cousin now blatantly refuses to post for me. And yes, it's the same one who says they suck. But anyway, I will not be able to fulfill my weekly deadlines as expected because school is now ending and report card day is actually this coming Friday. And I am officially screwed. My physics, math and biology grades will definitely land me into the pit of shit. I'll probably be on boredom arrest. The pc will be confiscated (UNFAIR!!!) , my phone privileges, my games and iPod will forever be lost to me and I might not get anything for Christmas. Cruel and unwarranted punishment. The price I pay for living on an island with little contact to the outside world such as this one.*Sigh* I'll continue this explanation at the end of the chappie.

ALRIGHT!!! Now onto more pressing matters, this is the part where things get even more interesting. I'm sorry if Q-man's part went horribly wrong, but I was bored that night and got a little carried away…

SAME VOICE-OVER RULES APPLY

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CHAPTER SIX

++I'm probably twitching now. There he is, sitting there with that one expression on his face while he stares at me in contemplation. I don't know whether to run, or sit there. It felt like either way, he was going to do something so frightening I'll probably piss myself just worrying about whatever the hell it is. Heero had been the same way this morning at the breakfast table. I'm surprised I even had the stamina to eat with all of them. And on the following morning no less. I must be really losing my mind. Wufei had me paralyzed with his narrow eyed stare; and Quatre had this broken look in his eyes while he looked at me. Not even Relena was there to help me out (a.k.a try to screw me over one way or another). I was trying my best to ignore it, but I couldn't do it. I'd completely lost my appetite then. Well, I was still hungry, but I couldn't eat anymore with them staring at me like that.

Eventually I ended up squirming under their intense gazes. Damn near bristled where it was so uncomfortable. Then, I couldn't take it anymore. No matter how much the thought of them planning something deadly frightened me, I had to do something.++

…………….

Duo put down the fork full of food and sat back with his arms folded across his chest. He frowned at the others and eyed them suspiciously.

"What are you planning?"

"NOTHING!"

Duo had all but flew out of his chair and hid behind something that could barely protect him. They'd lashed out so suddenly, his hand was on a knife, ready to attack. His heart felt like it was about to tear his ribs apart in a drastic attempt to get out of his chest. He looked at them all, wide-eyed and skittish beyond belief.

It took him a second to register what they'd actually said (shouted) and he lowered the knife a little and asked between heavy heartbeats:

"What's wrong with you guys?! Christ! Are you trying to send me to an early grave?! Damn near gave me a heart attack!"

They looked at him sheepishly and mumbled apologies, all looking unbelievably flustered.

Duo blinked and slowly backed away from the table, half full plate of breakfast in his hand and heading toward the fridge. He absolutely hated wasting food. He'd seen what ungrateful people did and knew what it was like not to have food at his fingertips. He'd just eat it later after the mission.

"Duo?" Quatre ventured. Duo knew what he was asking and offered to answer the unasked question.

"Not a soul alive I know could eat being stared at by four Gundam pilots with a look like those. Not even me." He couldn't lie. It made him uncomfortable beyond belief.

++I couldn't sit there being scrutinized by those people. Especially Trowa. First he shows himself as a person who dislikes sob stories. Then he decides to become apart of my sob story. Now he's got that blank look on his face again (as usual) but this time he's just staring at me. It was almost dangerous. Don't ask me how a totally blank expression can ring alarm bells in your head. But if anyone can do it, it's Trowa. I think he's out to get me.

Don't look at me like that. Although not highly so, it's still possible that Relena had somehow brainwashed the poor sod into finding ways to torture me until he either drives me insane or kills me. I'm betting on the kills me part. I got twenty bucks on the line. Take it or leave it.++

……………………….

Duo looked around the seemingly empty room and gave Trowa a silent green light. Both Preventers silently crept into the main hall and began their search.

It had been a simple mission with arrests and the like. All the danger included. They were in a 'warehouse' that happened to have a grand entrance hall. Hell, on the outside the place looked a hot mess. But the interior could actually rival Quatre's current estate. Duo held back a whistle as he took in the sights. There where countless stolen paintings lining the walls; an authentic diamond chandelier hanging just above them, glittering in the pale moonlight. They'd been on the lookout for the majority of the day and watched all external activity going on around the 'warehouse'. Five men had entered the building and still were now as the two officers snuck around the vicinity.

Duo, being the stealth master that he was, silently crept toward a closed door on the other side of the room. Upon opening the door, he saw that it was a staircase leading to who knows where. Clicking his tongue, he signaled for Trowa to come and take a look.

The mere knowledge that the European was mere inches behind him made the hair on the back of his neck rise. He had this sneaking feeling that something was going to happen tonight, but couldn't say what it was to save his life. All he knew was that it was something horrible.

Trowa went down first without even indicating that he was going to check it out, Duo following close behind. The braided Preventer felt a bead of cold sweat roll down the side of his face. Oh yeah. Something was bound to happen tonight. His trademark adrenaline rush wasn't gearing up for nothing. Suddenly Trowa stopped, Duo nearly running into his broad back. The tall man inclined his head, as if listening to something. Duo did the same. It took a second, but he heard the faint noises of people talking and laughing. It was coming from another corridor to their left. He smirked despite his current apprehension. Time to have some fun. There were just some things hard to shake from the war, but he'd managed to rein in his customary 'woot!' in order to proceed professionally.

The room where the sounds were coming from was dark from the get-go, almost making Trowa think that they'd gone the wrong way. But just to be sure, they went in anyway to do a thorough search for the stolen goods and illegal drugs.

In Duo's books, that was rated number six of the dumbest things they'd decided to do as Preventers. As soon as they were about to go back, the door closed seemingly of its own volition, and the talking instantly stopped. There was the sound of another door opening. From where, they couldn't tell. It was way too dark.

In an instant as if on cue, the light was turned on, momentarily stunning the two before it was turned down low. Duo would've thanked them, but they'd had them trapped. And until they were let go, he saw no gratitude coming forth. There were indeed five of them. Two ravens, one blond, one Latino and a red head. Duo gave all of them a once over, determining their weak spots and estimating how long it would take to bring them down. Beside him, he saw Trowa's gun hand twitch ever so slightly.

Uh-oh. Not a good sign.

The red head, whom the American figured had to be the ring leader, stepped forward, knowing full well that the other four wouldn't let the two officers hurt him. The were held at shotgun and pistol point. Getting out of this with only bullet language wasn't the wisest of choices at that point. Duo just hoped that nothing else goes wrong.

He looked at Trowa and then at Duo and back at the European with a smirk.

"Looks like this one brought another little lamb to the slaughter house, boys." Duo could almost hear the grins on their faces and Trowa's tension.

Dangerous emerald narrowed at the man standing before him. The only thing that held him back at the moment was concern for his partner's safety. But if it weren't for Duo, he was sure he'd have this guy on the ground with sixteen holes in his body before he could say die.

"And here I thought killing your girlfriend may have taught you a lesson," the red head continued. "What was her name?"

Girlfriend? Duo looked at both men, hoping for an explanation.

"Ah, yes," the man answered his own question. "Catherine, yeah?"

Duo's eyes widened a fraction as the words sunk in.

Cathy was dead? Cathy, the expert knife handler who lived at worked with the circus Cathy? Dead?!

Duo looked at Trowa and thought back to a few weeks prior. And come to think of it, Trowa did seem a bit off. Whenever anyone mentioned the female circus performer, he always got this sad look in his eye. So that's why he always tensed up when Duo joked about her using him for target practice while drunk if he managed to piss the acrobat off. If this hadn't been a dire situation, he would've given Trowa a hug, no matter how much the dude terrified him.

Then it clicked to him. What did he mean by that first remark? He'd better not be talking about him.

"You're outnumbered," came the Latino's heavily accented voice. "Put down your weapons."

Well, one of this guys' goons actually did have sense. But not enough to know what he was getting himself into. The two Preventers did as bidden, Trowa albeit way too reluctantly. They guy was just itching to snap some necks. Duo knew the feeling all too well.

Standing back up, he redid an assessment of the other occupants of the room. If he was correct, they might have some sort of backup in the room on the other side of the door in the room. And if he set off the wrong trigger, then they were done for.

Think, Duo, think!

"So," said Duo, deciding that the silence wasn't helping him any since he was a plan-as-I-go sort of person. "Since, you're going to kill us anyway; why don't you let us in on your little scam, huh?"

A little too blunt for anyone's taste but he wanted to get out of this room. It was cramped. Cramped spaces with walls so close together made him less than uncomfortable. And this was the quickest way to do it. He just hoped they made it out alive. He really didn't need to stand here and look down the barrel of a shotgun. It's almost as bad as Heero pointing one of those deadly fingers at you.

The red head walked up to him and laid a hand on the American's chest, easing him back until his back came in contact with the wall. He took a brief look over the man's shoulder to meet Trowa's…worried? Gaze. Duo's attention snapped back to the man before him when he felt the hand go lower a fraction.

"My little scam…" he came closer to the braided ex-pilot with a not so nice glint in his eyes. "Is to use this precious body to my liking…"

Duo cracked.

"Over this dead precious body!" He kneed the man in his groin and proceeded to take out the others, Trowa following suit once he'd seen the blow dealt by Duo. They'd all struggled, guns fired, blows were dealt and received. And in no time the two Preventers had them rounded up and ready to send off to prison. But they weren't expecting what happened next.

The other door opened to reveal a rather handsome brunette with hazel eyes and a braid to rival Duo's that had a large bead at the end. He was flanked by two burly men.

He smirked. "Isn't this the same one who'd gone and gotten his girlfriend killed? I never thought I'd see you so soon again; circus boy."

Duo nearly had to pick his jaw up off the floor. He nearly had his hair and now he'd gotten his claws on the name he'd chosen for Trowa? That's where he drew the line.

"And look, he even brought another lady friend with him."

And he'd just crossed that line. But before he could do anything about it, Trowa had lunged for the man with the intention of maiming him. With his bare hands.

Duo saw the other two moving in to try to get Trowa. But no way. Duo wouldn't have that. Trowa was the best shade from the sun at the best of times. Heero could only serve as an umbrella1.

Trowa saw red. He couldn't care less of those around him. He wanted blood. And loads of it. This man wasn't enough for it. Blow after blow, more blood came from the man. Trowa was ready to land the finishing blow when he felt someone hovering over him. He didn't know or care who it was. As far as he was concerned, their leg was broken in three places and they had a bullet in between their eyes. All he could see and breathe was the man he wanted to kill. Him and that damn braid he always flaunted. And he saw the brown braid. Swinging so sickeningly around in the air…

Oh, that's when it was over.

Trowa grabbed his knife and threw it at the middle of the braid.

Duo's step faltered as he felt a burning sensation in the back of his right leg. Dammit he'd been shot. But before he could gather his bearing in the midst of the searing pain, he heard a gun shot and pain rippling through his chest. He'd barely clung to consciousness when a sharp object dug into his back, parallel to the gunshot wound in his chest. Before he hit the ground, he look for the culprit, but could only register the demonic gleeful look in Trowa's eyes as he went down.

++You could not believe the shock I was in as I lost consciousness. I never thought he'd actually attack me. Pony up that twenty bucks, people. It's going toward my funeral. ++

Trowa calmed down a bit and began to take in the damage in the room. The criminals were all unconscious, and the leader was within an inch of his life. And Duo…

Upon the sight of seeing his precious gem, Trowa nearly collapsed. He was at the other's side in an instant, his uniform pants soaking up the other's blood. Carefully, he pulled out the knife and began to assess the damage done to the young man's body. When he saw the bullet to the chest, he never thought he'd have to dial those numbers when Duo was with him. In a haze, he'd called reinforcements to take the culprits away and requested -- no demanded -- that Sally be brought over with them.

He held the limp and dying eighteen year old in his arms, begging the other to hold on just a while longer. It was bad enough that he'd lost his 'sister' to these buffoons. But he couldn't afford to lose Duo. The others couldn't afford to lose Duo. He'd been the one to glue them all together in the beginning. To lose him now would tear them apart (understatement of the millennium).

Trowa held the other close to him when the most amazing thing happened,

Duo stopped breathing.

………………………

1: If you remember correctly, Heero has this giant mop of hair. Use your imagination.

A/N: I manage to survive another night with this unholy affliction of the pain in my throat. But this is why this chapter is slightly longer. I think. But it's all you're gonna get 'till this crap in my throat goes away.

NEXT CHAPPIE:

WAR-ZONE