Author's Notes: I want to thank snowdragonct for another really nice review. I also want to thank Kaeru Shiso for the multiple reviews. I always appreciate knowing which lines stand out to my readers and what parts you connect with most. I've actually read Band of Steel (I'm a sucker for musical fics because I'm a musician myself) and enjoyed it a lot. I loved the sexy edge you gave to Duo.

This chapter is on the shorter side, partly because it's a transition between sets of characters, but mostly because of the storyline events going on in the series. I hope this chapter shows the emotional gut-punch that episode 10 really is for everyone. The next chapter is a long bit of Duo & Quatre, due to the month-long gap in the timeline for them, but don't fret - Heero and Trowa will be back in the following chapter and everyone will be back in the one following that.

Chapter 5 – One Minute (Episodes 10 & 11)

The alarm went off early the next morning, but Heero was already awake, staring at the ceiling as the events of the past few days replayed in his mind. Duo's head was on his shoulder, one arm draped carelessly across him, and he tried to be careful as he slipped out from under him and got out of bed. He dressed quickly and made sure that most of their things were packed before attempting to wake Duo.

"I know you like to sleep in," he said softly as he leaned down over the other pilot. "But we need to go check on the Gundams before class so that we can be out of here before lunchtime."

Duo mumbled sleepily and incoherently back, but a few minutes later, he was dragging himself out of bed as well. By the time he'd gotten dressed, Heero had left and returned with pilfered drinks and cakes from the vending machine. The sugar woke Duo up in a hurry and he hummed softly as they made their way to the main quad.

They were almost to the school gates when Relena spotted them, and Duo wondered how long she'd been staking the place out. Her obsession with Heero bugged him a little, but he was in far too good a mood to let it get to him.

"Heero!" she called, waving at them excitedly.

"Morning, good looking!" Duo called back, waving and grinning. "Pretty nice day today, huh? Gotta get to class." He sailed right by her and Heero followed him, not even acknowledging her presence.

"Thanks," Heero muttered once they had veered around behind the science building and taken another path to the main gate.

"Did ya see the look on her face?" Duo chuckled, pleased with himself.

Heero didn't say anything, as the last topic he wanted to discuss was his stalker, and so the two walked in companionable silence until they reached their Gundams. Climbing up into Wing, Heero was relieved to see the blinking light that meant he had an incoming message and Duo yelling to him confirmed that he wasn't the only one. The mission to destroy the supply of Taurus units was standard in almost every way, except for the fact that OZ had been wise enough to set up two travel routes. One is sure to be a decoy…

At the end of the transmission was a note from Dr. J, asking him to try and get online soon so that he could deliver an extra message face to face. Not sure what the added content was, Heero decided that he ought to be alone to receive it.

"It's the same, isn't it? The two routes?" Duo asked as they started back towards the school.

"Yeah," Heero nodded. "We have even more reason to get out of here and start moving towards the routes. Can you go get our bags while I hack into the school computer and delete our files?"

Duo was vaguely bothered by this mission, but felt unable to put it into words. "We probably shouldn't leave at exactly the same time either. I'll put our stuff in the Gundams and then come back to find you."

"Agreed."

The two pilots parted ways at the main gate and Heero headed for the administrative offices, which wouldn't be open for at least another hour. The lock on the door was an easy pick, and a moment later, he was seated at the computer, deleting their files. He tried to ignore the way his stomach clenched in an unfamiliar way as he erased all evidence that they'd ever been enrolled and nearly jumped when Dr. J appeared on the screen. How the hell does he know when I'm online?

"The Taurus is a problem," the scientist intoned with a worried expression. "It has the ability to learn from accumulated battle data. I wanna trust OZ's control system, but it's possible the machine will ignore the pilot's commands and act alone. If the command to kill overrides the pilot, the consequences could be significant. Destroy it, otherwise it'll be a menace to mankind."

"Mission accepted," Heero muttered before shutting the system down. He had just finished when he felt the vibration of very light footsteps and the door opened behind him.

"I've come to say goodbye. I have a bad feeling about this." Duo pushed the door open and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes. "OZ's transport plan is good. They'll be taking two routes; by air and land. Heero, could you take the air route? I'll fight them on the ground." He turned to walk out of the room, tossing back over his shoulder. "We'll lose unless we have our own plan, this time."

Heero watched Duo leave the room, surprised to see the other pilot so serious. When Duo didn't reappear after a few minutes, he rose from the chair, locked up the room behind him and headed back into the forest to retrieve Wing. It was time to start the next mission.

o/ You're going crazy
Running on empty
You can't make up your mind
You try to hide it
But you had to say it
Restless all this time /o

The sound of metal grinding upon metal burns itself into Duo's brain as he bodily wrestles the OZ train off of the tracks and he knows intuitively that this mission is about to go horribly wrong.

The victory of saving the unnamed Gundam pilot's life is brief, because mere moments later, an unfamiliar man is on the screen in front of him. Time is moving so fast that he can't breathe, can't keep up—

"Who's this guy?"

The voice of the pilot he rescued comes back to him over the channels. "The person who's been sending orders! To one of us five Gundams!"

OZ is threatening the colonies, using them as a hostage and the man is surrendering, but refusing to hand over the Gundams. Duo has no idea what's going on - there is fighting all around him and there is an explosion he senses more than he sees.

It feels like his very nerves are on fire and another pilot – the name Trowa registers in his brain because the pilot he saved is yelling it with everything he's worth – is talking to them now too.

"Because they bluffed with the colonies!" Duo is yelling to no one in particular.

"We can't fight any longer!" The same voice he rescued is replying again and they are all fleeing now.

Duo doesn't stop running until he is very alone, deep in the forest. And then he screams out his incoherent rage as he beats his fists against Deathscythe's controls until his hands are raw and red.

Heero Yuy is dead.

o/ So completely drained from every thing that's in your life,
It's so wrong but you had to scream every thought you kept inside /o

At some point, Duo had raged himself into exhaustion, but several hours of sleep in the cool, dark cocoon of Deathscythe's cockpit was enough to bring him to his senses again. He had to hit an off switch on his emotions and not focus on what had happened yesterday. If he even allowed himself to start thinking about it, he'd lose it again. I've got to pull myself together… for the sake of the mission. Heero would have wanted… Duo shook himself sharply. There was still a small chance that Heero might have survived the explosion. All reports he'd seen yesterday seemed to say otherwise, but Duo had always been optimistic at the core.

Though it felt like an eternity had passed, flipping a few switches told him that it was only mid-morning of the next day. There were planes flying overhead and Duo flicked through his monitors in annoyance. "There's really no way out, with all this security. Besides, to swipe a carrier, I'd have to cross the desert to get to an airport."

Before Duo could pull up another screen to do a search for nearby airports, a flashing light distracted him and Deathscythe zoomed in to focus on a figure standing on the cliff, signaling him. The boy couldn't be any older than he was, with a shock of pale blond hair and goggles protecting his eyes from the harsh winds coming off the desert and into the forest.

"That guy…" Duo mumbled to himself as he walked Deathscythe towards the blond. "We're in the same boat. With all those planes looking for us, you're stuck too." He held out one of Deathscythe's hands and the other boy jumped onto it, quite at ease with letting the Gundam carry him up to the cockpit. Duo opened the door and raised a hand in greeting. "Are you also a Gundam pilot?"

"Yes," the boy replied, gesturing behind them. "My Gundam is hidden in the brush against the cliff."

"This place is totally swarmed with OZ planes. Do you have any idea how you're going to get out of here?"

The blond gestured for Duo to let him down, so he hit the controls and watched through the main window as the other pilot jumped down off of Deathscythe's hand and looked back up at him. "A large sandstorm is coming. That's when we'll cross the desert. Wanna join us?"

Duo contemplated it for a moment as he looked down at the other pilot. It wasn't as if he had any better ideas. "Yeah, I do. I could use some sympathy."

"And I need time to think."

Duo followed the other boy to his Gundam, surprised and defensive to realize that he wasn't alone. A screen popped up and the blond's face appeared. "Don't worry, they're with me."

The surprises continued as he joined the other pilot and his companions on their trek across the desert through the raging sandstorm and discovered that their destination was an underground base. Finding no reason not to trust him, he followed the group down out of the storm.

As he made sure all of Deathscythe's controls were shut down, Duo listened to the conversation going on outside. The other pilot was greeting the people here as if he was friendly with them, but several people were arguing about what had happened last night.

"A sensible person wouldn't use the colonies as a shield!" The tall man who seemed to be Quatre's right hand declared to the other man who'd come to greet them.

"We're to blame, for not stopping them."

Hearing this, Duo hopped down from Deathscythe and went to stand beside the other pilot and agree with him. "Yeah, we're totally to blame." There were a hundred things Duo wished he could change about the previous night and he tried to push those thoughts from his mind. The blond pilot was arranging for their Gundams to be fixed, and Duo snapped out of his thoughts to thank him as he came closer.

Once they were standing face to face, the blond spoke directly to Duo. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Quatre Raberba Winner."

Duo knew that name and he blinked in surprise, getting a little excited. "Winner? You're the Winner family's heir? The influential and financial power of the Arabic nations?" He glanced quickly around the large room filled with the mobile suits of Quatre's companions. The Winner name was famous in the colonies and he wondered how the sole male heir had ended up a Gundam pilot. It seemed almost absurd to him. "No wonder everyone looks up to you around this place."

Quatre was used to that response and decided it was probably better to be up front with the other pilot. "Our family is all pacifists. I disinherited myself to come out here."

That surprised Duo even more, but also forced him to give Quatre a respect point. His belief in this cause must be strong to have willingly given up being heir for it. "Yeah? It takes all types, I guess. I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell. I might run and hide, but I never tell a lie." He tried to inject some of his usual humor into the words, but they fell a little flat with the sharp memory of the last time he'd said them.

"Would you like to take a look around?" Quatre smiled kindly at him as if he was aware that Duo wasn't really all there at the moment. "We could also get something to eat."

Duo smiled gratefully and nodded. "Fine by me." He followed Quatre and his friend, who he introduced as Rashid, across the room and to a flight of stairs. At the very top, a door opened in the ceiling. Duo hopped out, then pushed aside several strands of hanging beads in the doorway to reveal a village.

It was like exiting into a different world, for the sandstorm had passed and the sky was clear blue again. The village center was decorated in streamers and the sound of laughter drifted towards them. A group of dancers performed on a stage several yards away and great platters of food were laid out on tables around the area.

"Wow. A festival!" Duo started to feel his mood lift a little as he took in the scenery and the happy people, hands on his hips, and Quatre came to stand a step behind him. "Looks like a gas!"

"They're celebrating the return of us 40 Maguanac soldiers," one of the other men standing nearby offered.

"Yeah?"

"The nation opposes the Alliance Military and defends itself," Rashid added. "The Maguanac are the front-line troops."

"They are?" Duo responded in surprise, watching as several girls came to bring flowers to the soldiers and convince them to come and enjoy the festivities for awhile. He took a step back to stand beside Quatre, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're more like heroes than front-line soldiers."

Quatre nodded seriously as he watched the soldiers sit down to eat with the girls. "Everyone's completely united now. That's why this nation is so positive."

"This nation is unified and is gonna stick it out to the end." It was a statement more than a question, as Duo contemplated what he'd learned about Quatre and his friends so far.

Quatre studied Duo back just as carefully. He's so different from Trowa… less guarded. "What about us?" Quatre hoped that he'd finally found someone who would talk to him as openly as he wanted to talk to them. The secrecy, he felt, was damaging the overall goal. If they didn't start working together, the whole situation was only going to get worse. He thought of the pilot who had given his life to the cause last night and his empathy made him feel somewhat ill.

"There's a lot I wanna talk to you about. Okay, Quatre?" Duo could see no reason not to confide in the other pilot, even if it still felt a little awkward to be here after spending so long at the school with Heero. As the name passed through his mind, Duo felt his stomach drop into his toes and tried to focus on what Quatre was saying.

"Of course. I've got questions, myself." He didn't miss the pained look that had passed suddenly over Duo's face and he smiled again, reaching out to touch the other pilot's arm lightly. He could read the grief in Duo's every gesture, but only because he was so sensitive to the feelings around him. "Let's get something to eat, first, and then we can go upstairs where it's cool and quiet to talk."

Duo nodded and followed his new friend over to the tables covered in meat, bread and fresh fruit. He hadn't really had anything to eat since leaving the school, and realized how hungry he really was. As they sat together and ate, Duo observed Quatre's interactions with the people of the village. Even though the other pilot seemed delicate in stature and sweet in voice, Duo noticed that he spoke in a very authoritative manner that quickly revealed his intelligence.

"No, I really don't think we'll stay long… OZ is still looking for the rest of us and we're not far enough away from the search radius for my comfort. I don't want to endanger everyone here." Quatre shifted his gaze from Rashid to Duo and inclined his head a little. "Duo, if you're finished, we can go upstairs and discuss things."

"I wouldn't mind a little quiet." Duo didn't want to reveal a lot in front of all these people, even if Quatre seemed to trust them. He waited until the other pilot had led them into one of the nearby brick buildings and up a flight of stairs. The room they entered was small and plain, but comfortable. As Quatre moved to prop open the window with a stick, letting in what little breeze there was, Duo turned around one of the wooden chairs to sit on it backwards, his arms resting on the top of it.

"Now we're all alone," Quatre started, gazing at him expectantly as he turned away from the window.

Duo decided to throw caution to the wind. There wasn't a whole lot to lose right now, as he had no one to turn to and no idea what to do next. He was less and less sure that they'd be seeing any missions come in anytime soon. "There's five, right?"

Maybe he will be open with me… "Yes. Just the five of us that met at New Edwards." Quatre wondered a little if Duo and that other pilot, Heero, had spend any time together. He'd been trying to piece together whether the five of them were allies and this could be the confirmation he needed.

Not wanting to give too much without getting anything in return, Duo remained vague. "I came here from the colonies."

Quatre walked towards Duo and sat down on the bed beside the chair, sensing the game Duo was playing with him. It only further convinced him of the similarities between them. "I did as well. The five of us are very similar, don't you think? Our mobile suits and our missions. Not to mention, our goal to destroy OZ." There, I've put it out there. I'm trusting you so you can trust me.

An energy crackled inside Duo at those words and he swallowed back feelings that threatened to bubble out. I want those fuckers dead more than ever. "OZ destroyed peace in the colonies. This mission is revenge. I've been fighting under those orders."

"Me too. That's when I was given the mobile suit." Quatre could hardly contain his excitement and his mind raced with what he should ask next. He and Duo stared hard at each other. Should I ask who gave it to him? Is that too bold?

"Same here," Duo replied with a nod. He took a deep breath and started to recite. "Don't worry about the colonies."

Quatre knew what he was saying the moment he spoke and echoed his words beat for beat. "Destroy them first. That's your responsibility."

"Just the same…" Duo mused, completely unsurprised. And if two of us have the same mission statement, then I'd wager all five of us do.

"Yeah, word for word." It has to be all of us. We're meant to be allies, meant to work together. I knew it.

Duo's fists curled as he clenched his teeth. "I've always fought believing I'd be better off dead than live under OZ's rule."

"Me too," Quatre responded without hesitation, his mind going immediately to the events of the previous day. "But to kill yourself…" He didn't miss the flinch that flickered across Duo's face at his words, but didn't press him for an explanation.

Duo was quiet for a moment and he took a long, shaky breath before answering. "Heero ended up doing it. He took his life." Saying it seemed to make it final and he warred internally about the truth of those words. Hadn't he seen the guy practically jump out of a building and live?

Sensing the wave of grief as if it was tangible, Quatre looked down at his hands and closed his eyes for a moment. "The colonies have no intention of fighting. The colonies can't be sacrificed. Your friend was the perfect role model." He was sure now that the other two pilots were friends.

"I never would've imagined that Heero was so stubborn…"

"The colonies were a clear target once the Gundams got going," Quatre started awkwardly, not sure what to say as Duo's eyes remained unfocused on anything in particular. "We should have expected OZ to make the threat it did. But what I can't figure out is exactly why he self-detonated so quickly; why he didn't try to flee with us. The message from that man never said to destroy the Gundams – it just not to hand them over."

"I don't believe he's dead!" Duo snapped these words out so sharply and suddenly that Quatre jumped a little. "I know what OZ's reports said, but I… I just don't know that I can believe it."

Quatre reached out to touch Duo's shoulder lightly and sympathetically. "Neither of us saw it with our own eyes. Maybe you're right."

"The report said another pilot took his body," Duo mumbled, blinking furiously. There was no way he was going to cry in front of anyone else, especially another Gundam pilot that he hardly knew. "Do you know the other pilot?"

"His name is Trowa," Quatre answered. "We spent about two days together right before the New Edwards disaster, but I don't know much about him. He – he plays the flute, but he's not very talkative." Quatre colored slightly, realizing how odd that statement sounded, but it was the truth. He didn't know much about the other pilot except that he very much desired to see him again. "I don't have any idea how to try and contact him. And I don't even know the fifth pilot's name."

Me neither," Duo sighed. "But I am glad to finally know for sure that we're all meant to be allies."

Quatre didn't get a chance to answer him, for at that moment, one of the soldiers burst into the room in a panic. "Master Quatre! Rashid asked me to fetch you! We have a problem!"

o/ You just can't escape it
You're losing patience
You wonder what went wrong
Everything changes
Happy then jaded
Always a different song /o

The moment of peace was abruptly crushed as the two pilots jumped up and ran down the stairs, following the solider to where Rashid and some of the others had gathered. Duo had very little to say about what they should do, and remained silent and sick to his stomach as he watched OZ attempt to destroy more lives. Listening to Rashid make a speech to all of the kind and innocent people of the village about what heroes the Gundams are only made him angrier and he was unable to hold his temper as he and Quatre made preparations to leave.

"This battle was personal long ago," Duo muttered as he and Quatre prepared to load their Gundams into a carrier. "I can't stand OZ."

"I feel much the same, Duo," Quatre replied, closing the back hatch of the aircraft once Duo was on board. His hands flew quickly over the controls as he readied the craft for take-off. "I wish we could stay and fight, but once OZ realizes we've gone, they'll likely leave this village be and that's more important."

"I just feel awful," Duo paced the cockpit once and then moved to open the door to the freight area. "It's our fault they're under attack at all. I feel like mission has been nothing but a screwed up mess from day one."

"We have to stay strong – giving up is not an option," Quatre glanced over his shoulder at Duo as he guided the aircraft out of the base and into the air. The night skies would be a strong cover for their escape and if they flew all night, they could be at their destination by midday tomorrow.

"But giving them hell is," Duo grinned, bright and hard. One parting shot from the God of Death. "Quatre, could you circle the sky just once? I can't help them now. But I wanna do something."

Quatre smiled, his turquoise eyes widening in surprise. He was touched that Duo cared enough about his troops to try and help them, though he hardly knew them. "My pleasure!" Bringing the aircraft around once more, Quatre watched on his monitors as Duo opened the rear hatch. "See you again, Maguanac Corps," he whispered.

Looking down at the Earth whizzing by, Duo angled his gun for maximum damage. Every explosion loosened the tight knot that had been in his stomach since yesterday, so he made sure that his aim was deadly. He wanted any survivors to carry the message back to OZ that they had fucked with the wrong guy. "Next time we meet, the colonies' thoughts will be united. Count on it!" As Quatre soared away from the sight of the battle, Duo closed the hatch and made his way back to the cockpit.

"Thank you," Quatre told him quietly. He was impressed with the accuracy of the other pilot and wondered what other tricks he had up his sleeve. "If it's okay with you, I think it might be better if we stick together for now."

Duo folded his arms behind his head, watching Quatre's piloting skills out of the corner of his eye. He didn't think they were quite as intuitive as his own, but he was damn good – better than Duo had expected. "Seeing as you're my ride, I think it would be pretty rude of me to start making demands now."

Quatre chuckled a little at Duo's odd sense of humor, but it made him feel less edgy and certainly less alone in this mess to have a friend. "We need to get out of the search radius, find somewhere a lot less populated to lay low for awhile. I have no idea if we're going to see any missions right now, but it would be better to monitor OZ's movements from a secure location."

"And you have just such a place in mind," Duo lifted his feet to place them up upon the controls, reclining in his seat as best as he could. Things were changing fast, but he'd always been pretty good at adapting. He had a feeling it was going to be a long ride and he hadn't gotten much sleep recently. He trusted this other pilot and he didn't much feel like examining the hows or whys. "You have such a place in mind because you - Quatre Raberba Winner - you always have a plan." Duo's tone of voice implied that the statement was meant to be a compliment, but also a tease of how easily he could read the other boy.

Quatre blushed sharply at both the tone and accuracy of the assessment and nodded. "Duo, have you ever been to Africa?"

o/ One minute you laugh,
The next minute you're slowly sinking into something black,
I get the feeling that lately nothing ever really lasts,
I keep trying to get up but I keep falling back,
And you love,
And you hate,
And you wait,
Cause one minute goes Fast /o

Up Next: Chapter 6 - The Animal Song