Yatta! ^^V Finally sewed Part 2 together! (Dang, the rest is gonna take a while.... =p A thousand years or so? Ah! Figured it out. "::" Marks sentences in italic form. More accurately, you see "::" at the beginning of a sentence and at the end, then it's italicized. "::" stands for thoughts, while just ":" stands for telepathy, but right now, there's only thoughts so that doesn't matter right now... =p. Saa, hope you enjoy! ^.- Laters~ (PS- Yea, the outline's in here again... and it'll be here every other time too, what am I talking about? ) Chapter 1:"I fell in love with a beautiful stranger." Duo's complementing the end of the war... and his feelings for Heero. Chapter 2: "If I'm smart, I'll run away. But I'm not, so I guess I'll stay." When he tells Heero of his feelings, he gets told off. He goes and self-destructs. Chapter 3: "And everywhere I go. And everybody knows. To love you. Is to be part of you." He returns to Hell and gets his memories "burned out," and is sent back to Earth/humankind for his work. Chapter 4: "I have a taste for danger." People start noticing some weird quantity of death increase in the neighborhood. Chapter 5: "I looked into your eyes, And my world came tumbling down. You're the devil in disguise..." Duo remembers Heero with his persistent hunting of the killer... Chapter 2 "If I'm smart, I'll run away. But I'm not, so I guess I'll stay." An amethyst orb silently slid to one side, targeting its quarry. The silent figure hunched ominously before his ever-constant laptop, deep in thought. Slender fingers suddenly danced lithely over the keys, rapid as the results produced. The dark shadow let out a bemused sigh. ::Same as always... Ne, Heero? I swear... you should marry that piece of machinery you lug around and tinker on all day...:: The darkness shifted, quietly detaching itself from the wall with fluid ease. Duo insidiously materialized behind the other's position. Heero's eyes narrowed intently on the words scrolling past his screen. "Hora... what's that?" Duo asked mildly, a parody of detached interest as he craned over Heero's shoulder to peer at the laptop's screen. Heero wasn't one who was easily surprised, but the curious, distracted voice that suddenly spoke over his head was one of the few exceptions. What happened next was one of his rarely seen automated responses to those kind of surprises. "Egh!" Heero half-yelped, half-gasped, upending his chair to smash over the intruder's head. Duo's face was priceless as he viewed the immobile, steel, 35- pound chair rush towards his face. Violet eyes blinked as he decided he'd much rather not have the object firmly embedded in his head for the next decade and took a graceful step out of the way... ...losing his footing and landing ungracefully on his butt in comical disarray. Following in that act, Duo slipped into his persona. "WAHH!!! Heero, baka! Watch where you're swinging that!! Geez! Can't a guy comment on your choice of computer software without getting his skull caved in?!" His voice froze as he saw the look on Heero's face. ::Kirei... I didn't know Heero could have that kind of expression...:: Heero's startled eyes shone with an innocent, sky-blue light as tousled threads of fine, ebony-sable wreathed his pale face. The ethereal moment broke as Heero narrowed his eyes, the chill, dark, metallic blue reasserting itself. "Duo," Heero glared, speaking in a frigidly controlled tone. "How did you get in here?" "Huh?" Duo replied intelligently. "How did you get in here?" Duo blinked nervously. "Err... the door? You know, most people would be asking what, or why instead of _how_..." Heero frowned. "You obviously entered to disturb me.... I did not ask *where* you came in, don't make me repeat myself. How did you get in?" Heero's voice was turning testy, an edge accenting its normally monotonous tones. Behind his blank facial expression, Duo silently cursed himself for being the impulsive moron he pretended to be. He knew precisely what Heero meant. How did he enter virtually undetected by Heero's finely attuned senses when he had always been sensed before? "..." Heero stared at Duo intensely. Duo simply looked sheepish albeit mildly nervous while maintaining a clueless theme to his expression. "Errr... I dunno. If I didn't come in by the door, I must of materialized out of thin air..." Duo gulped, as Heero briefly closed his eyes. The temperature in the room seemed to drop by ten degrees. Duo carelessly kept up his babble, letting his mouth run away. While the logical side of his mind observed the state of his concern's mood in analytical precision. Finally Heero opened his eyes emotionlessly, his mouth betraying him with a twitch of exasperation. "I should have known better than to expect a coherent answer." The icy atmosphere of the room dissipated. "Heero... I..." Duo stumbled. Violet orbs went soft with a sort of wistful longing. Heero completely ignored or missed the look misting over Duo's eyes. "Never mind." He cast a sour look over his working area and moved to straighten up the disarray. "I... wanted to tell... ask you..." "What?" Heero inquired coolly, not sparing Duo a glance. "Are... have you... ever... felt anything for someone?" Duo asked tentatively. Placing the chair back on its legs, Heero shut off his laptop and removed the CD from the drive. "No," he replied curtly. Duo was hit by an indescribable emotion. "A... Aa." Heero flashed a look at him. "If that's all, I'm leaving." He brushed past Duo as he headed for the exit. "Demo, Heero!" Duo shouted after the indifferent figure moving sure-footedly to the door. "Nanda yo?" Heero inquired coolly. "Boku... boku..." Duo stammered incoherently. Seeing the faint traces of irritation in his roommate's eyes, he quickly decided to throw it all in. "Heero..." The beautiful angel turned, an eyebrow raised ever so slightly. "Ai shiteru." The cobalt eyes widened with surprise. His lips moved soundlessly in an echo. "Nani ten do?" A girl's voice came softly from the direction of the door. Duo jerked, eyes wide. He quickly took in the regal blue eyes... framed by long, golden hair... "Relena? What are you doing here?!" Relena stared at Duo confusedly. "You've got to be kidding me." Absently twirling long strands of honey blonde hair, she darted a decidedly puzzled look at him. "You're... you're a guy!" she half sputtered, losing some of the usual arrogance accompanying her composure. Recovering, Duo narrowed violet eyes, pursing his lips into a thin line. "Dakara...? Love has no limitations, no regards for appearance or looks. All that matters is the heart... the soul..." Fiery vitality glinted meanacingly through the pools of liquid darkness. Moving with a liquid grace few had ever seen him use, Duo produced a gun from god-knows-where and aimed it squarely at Relena. "Demo, ojousan... why are you here?" The sudden release of the catch was deafening in abruptly tense atmosphere. "Ne... ojousan..." Duo whispered softly, his normal humor suddenly gone, something dark... insidious... taking its place. "Naze doko wa?" "I invited her." Duo's attentions splintered at the words the quiet voice uttered. "Na...ni?" The gun in his hand drooped... Never missing a beat, Heero quickly swerved, lashing out with a high kick, knocking the weapon out of the braided boy's hands. Duo abruptly found himself weaponless, pinned to the floor, by the one he was most vulnerable to. "Heero..." The shock in the deep purple eyes rippled, mirroring the state of mental imbalance warring in Duo's mind. "That's right..." Relena said, appearing behind Heero, recovering herself. "Heero asked me out, ne...!" ::Asked... you...:: Duo numbly echoed. He looked in askance at hard, icy, azure. "...Heero...?" Frowning slightly, Heero nodded his confirmation. ::It hurts...:: Duo noted vaguely, from a distance inside his own mind. ::Hurt...? Why does it hurt? I never hurt before... before I met _him_.:: Feeling the muscles fall lax beneath his arms, Heero grudgingly released Duo. Duo absently picked himself up, eyes unfocused. Ignoring the gun, ignoring the pain lancing from his hands, Duo's awareness skipped to the most important thing. Hazy violet suddenly solidified into cool, crystalline, lavender ice. If looks could kill, Relena would have been long dead and decaying... "Heero asked ya out, ne? Since when has he done anything of the sort to anyone, much less you?" If the cold amethyst inferno burning into her soul from the normally, carefree Deathscythe's pilot's eyes hadn't rattled her, the cold, calculating, lethal tone accenting his casual remark certainly did. Normally when faced with that sort of aura, most people had the sense to pacify. Unfortunately, since Relena was one of the reckless, headstrong types who'd charge into an explosive-laced battle to simply deliver a letter by air she did the other thing. Provocation. Unwitting provocation, but still, all the same... "Since when he admitted he likes me." Relena rebounded, a stubborn tilt gracing her chin. The warmth of the room suddenly seemed to evaporate, the impotent fury radiating from the single, offended personage of the room casting a spine-chilling wrath fit to smother and decimate any further comment. It felt like being at ground zero to an implosion of absolute fury. Even Heero was subdued by the daunting rage tainting the air with palpable indignation. "Oh...?" The liquid steel accenting Duo's voice did not go unnoticed. With effort, Heero forced himself to relax and focus around the intense emotion vibrating through the air. Relena had no such skill and was shaking uncontrollably as she finally realized the amount of feeling Duo was emitting. "Duo. What are you doing?" Heero interjected himself between Relena and Duo. "She is not part of your concern. Therefore, if you have something to say to me, say it." Startled violet lit upon Heero's face, as Duo registered the words. The atmosphere regained some normalcy as Duo digested the words and shifted to a saddened quality. "Heero...," Duo began, "I... I really, really love you. I think I've fallen for you the first time I saw you. I just didn't realize it. Even though I thought you were an attacker..." Glistening violet slid sideways to gaze silently at Relena. "In my entire life, my entire existence. I have not felt for someone as I have felt for you. I don't know how it happened, but I swear to you... I will never love another as I love you. No matter what, I am yours. Heart, body, and soul." Heero stood motionlessly, Relena's eyes were wide and amazed at the depth of devotion Duo was declaring himself to. "I know I can't make up your mind for you... but I wish you could give me a chance. I would grant you anything... your every wish will be done..." Duo finally raised pleading eyes to meet Heero's still face. "But I... I won't have you unhappy... If you really like Relena... then I'll give it up. If you think you'll be happy with her, then I won't get in your way... Please, Heero..." ::Anything::. A long silence ensued. ::I'd give anything...:: Heero lips parted... ::And if you refuse me... I'd give you that too...:: A moment that froze forever, burning into his memory for eternity. "Duo, get out of my face." The words were a knife in his heart. He stared silently as Heero casually turned around, throwing his heartfelt confession, his fragile declaration of affection that he had never, ever said to anyone else, anytime, anywhere... any life, disdainfully aside like small trifle easily swept aside. ::He always had a talent of doing that... to the most important things...:: Deathscythe's pilot thought dazedly. Duo felt his world being reflected, slowly breaking, shattering apart into so many tiny shards of icy glass... He closed his eyes, lowering his bangs in front of his eyes, so wouldn't have to see them leave the room. Together... A faint sob tore at his throat. Duo ruthlessly strangled it. "What the Hell am I going to do now...?" he asked quietly of the deserted room in a husky, despair-ladened whisper. ::How am I suppose to live... alone again?:: "Heero..." Relena's forehead creased in anxious sympathy. "Should... should you have put it so bluntly? I... I think Duo was really serious...!" "..." Heero lifted his vivid eyes. "Giving him false hope is cruel." "But..." Relena's eyes darkened with the sorrow she felt for someone else. "It still hurts Heero... couldn't you have worded it more gently? He was sincere... I didn't think he was bent that way, but... Love is like politics... you have to be careful of what you say..." Heero eyed her. "What would you prefer that I say to him?" Relena dropped her gaze, and looked at the floor at they walked. Frowning, Heero halted. "Relena...?" She looked at him in that certain way that left him feeling guilty no matter what he had done. "Heero... I don't know... but..." She looked away. "..." Heero voiced his acknowledgement. "I... will explain myself to him when we return." "Really, Heero?" Relena brightened. "That would be wonderful!" "If that settles your worries..." Heero murmured, resuming walking. "It would." "Don't worry, then. Just enjoy yourself. We were planning on... on having fun, right?" A glint of humor appeared in Relena's eye as Heero mouthed the unfamiliar word. "Yeah..." She answered, a smile blossoming on her face. "Quatre." The young master of the Winner's estate started at the low voice, his silent companion quickly withdrew a gun, his reflexes as impeccable as ever. "Dare da?" Trowa inquired coolly, emerald eyes glinting with cold, reflecting brilliance. "Mou~" a black shadow detached itself from the darker side of the recreation room, uncoiling with the lethal grace of a predator. "Forgot me already? I'm *so* crushed... Duo da." The wraith with long braided hair winked audaciously, seemingly brash as ever. Trowa's brow furrowed in slight consternation as he lowered his weapon. Quatre took it on to express both of their extreme exasperation. "Duo no baka yo! Don't _do_ that!" Covering up the rueful flinch at the first reprimand, Duo raised his eyebrow in askance. "That's meant to be humorous, right?" He crossed his arms languidly. "You, a Gundam pilot who's went through nuclear-class explosions without a second thought, are uneasy at the thought of someone popping up suddenly beside-" "You?" Trowa's soft voice asked dryly, suddenly beside the black-clothed pilot. "Like this?" "ACK~!" Duo involuntarily took a step back. He flushed. "Oh alright~" he groused. "I see your point..." He glared at Trowa whose flat expression somehow portrayed the perfect image of innocence. Quatre coughed indiscreetly. "Saa, Duo. What is it?" The normally expressive pilot went strangely still. Quatre blinked. The shadows seemed to eat Duo alive, making him a part of them. "Duo?" Quatre asked, slightly troubled. The Duo that answered him wasn't one he knew. Like one condemning oneself, Duo had the air of dismal sacrifice as he lifted his eyes to look straight into Quatre's eyes with all the seriousness of a priest. Violet glittered like the broken edges of shattered glass, sparkling with unshed tears. "I'm requesting the removal of Gundam Deathscythe Hell from your sanctuary lock, stock, and barrel." In contrast to the dark significance of the moment, Duo idly twirled the ends of his braid with a finger. Quatre felt his jaw drop. Trowa lifted an eyebrow. "Nanda?! Naze?!" Quatre asked, shocked at the sudden turn of events. Sighing threatically, Duo threw up his hands in exaggerated frustration. "'Cause, truthfully, I just can't get anyone to wash it, it's been gathering too much dust down here... I need to go dunk it in the ocean or something." "Duo..." Trowa reproached quietly, as a strain of sweatdrops appeared on Quatre's head. "Na~ni?!" Duo asked in a singsong voice. He cringed as Trowa gave him the Look. He shifted uneasily as Trowa's stare intensified on him. "Geez! You trying to reduce me into a quivering mass of helpless remorse or something?!" A brief pause as Trowa continued to stare. "It's working..." Duo grumbled. "Duo." Quatre soft voice held no demand, but the compel to explain himself was undeniable. "Mou~" Duo sighed, running a hand through unruly, chestnut bangs. "I... I just can't stand it here no more..." Quatre looked hurt as Trowa's displeasure displayed in a slight narrowing of his eyes. "...feeling like a parasite, living off the joy of others..." Duo's eyes were dark and empty. "Gomen ne, Quatre, Trowa. I can't take it anymore. I... gotta go." Both addressed blinked at the alteration of theme at the end of the Deathscythe pilot's sentence. "Eh?" Quatre tentatively questioned. "What are you talking about? You're doing nothing like that! In fact, we're depending on your spirits to cheer _us_ up..." Duo smiled, but the impression his hopeless eyes conveyed was of eerie desolation. "Iie... I'm glad you think of it that way... demo..." His hands gestured aimlessly. "..." Quatre didn't like the direction Duo's mood was going. Not one bit... "Onegai, Quatre..." Duo whispered softly. "Let me go..." The unusual words were enough to set Quatre on alarm; the double meaning interrupted behind the misleading words was swiftly sending Quatre into a dangerous panic. "Duo-what are you going to do? Promise me it's not anything rash or-" Quatre exclaimed in wary concern. Duo blinked in deceptive bewilderment. "Eh? I just wanna move out to think stuff over! It's not like I'm going to jump off a cliff sans parachute or anything..." He scratched his head in mild puzzlement at Quatre's fading agitation, mussing up the base of his braid as he did so. "Aa." Quatre's slender frame relaxed. Trowa gave Duo an appraising look under the fringe of his long bangs. Duo was aware of that. He was also aware, that despite not having lied, he hadn't exactly told the complete truth either... ::Nope, I don't plan on jumping off a cliff... what a melodramtic way to go...! It's not my style...:: Duo chuckled mirthlessly. ::And I do want to move and out and think stuff over... I just might not return, that's all... Not surprised to see Trowa hasn't dropped his guard... Ah, Quatre... you're too trusting... while it's good for the soul.... It may be your downfall one day...:: "Saa~" Duo carelessly waved his hand, end of braid attached. "Do I have your clearance?" He grinned devilishly albeit sheepishly. "Can I go?" "...." Quatre stood indecisive. "Trowa?" The blonde tipped back his head to ask the former pilot of HeavyArms, trusting his judgment to be sounder than his own. Trowa tipped his head to one side, emerald glinting calculating as he studied Duo's flawless mask of sheepish humor. "Aa... I don't see why not..." The leaf-green closed briefly from view. "Duo... I hope you know what you're doing." For a second, the mask slipped... then it was firmly plastered back into place. "Shinjiten," Duo retorted, smiling. "Trust me. I do..." "When are you leaving?" Quatre inquired mildly. "Now." For the fourth time in one hour, Quatre found himself wordless with surprise. Trowa wasn't fairing much better... "..." Heero gazed at the building with apprehension. "This is...?" Relena pouted at the wary look he was giving at the entrance. "Heero~! It's an amusement park! Relax! It's somewhere were people go to have fun!" She stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. "...aa..." "Two tickets please!" Relena rummaged through her purse, withdrawing the money for it. Before she could do anything else then take it out, Heero stepped in front of her and silently handed the vendor his own money. Relena gave him a startled glance. Heero raised an eyebrow. "I invited _you_." was all he answered. "Heero..." Relena eyes were thanks enough, Heero shifted uncomfortably, turning back to the vendor. The vendor bemusedly tore out two tickets. ::Kids these days... ahh....:: He rung them up on the cashier. Tapping in one last command, Duo leaned back from the computer screen in satisfaction. Numbers scrolled by with staggering speed, processing the directive. Duo's eyes calmly flickered over them. From a distance behind the figure, Quatre and Trowa were startled by the rate of data Duo, whom they _thought_ was barely operative in this area of expertise, was absorbing. "Yosh!" Duo pushed himself away from the desk, getting up from his chair. "Kanyou." He extracted a disk from the central processor as the monitor registered into a blank screen. Turning, he raised an eyebrow at Quatre's slightly dumbfounded expression. "What?" "Iie... nothing..." Quatre murmured, smiling gently. "You cleared up all the records so quickly...!" "..." Trowa regarded Duo in a new light. "I take it you're leaving now...?" Smiling, Duo rakishly swept them a bow. "Hai~!" The tone was somehow self-mocking, with a hint of wistful sadness... "Aa..." Quatre said, head drooping slightly. "I... we will miss you! Come back as soon as your problems are resolved, alright?" Duo stood silently a moment before heading for the door. "Duo?" A boy turned with a soft smile and promised. "Hai." ::But my problems will never be resolved... they'll never go away...:: "I'm be moving off with Deathscythe now..." A demon turned the other way, heading toward its salvation, going to its rebirth... it's transportation awaiting in the hanger. Relena gleefully accepted the HUGE stuffed animal Heero handed her. "Heero! I can't believe you won this! Su~goi!" Heero stared at her puzzled, wondering why she liked the object so much. Then his lips twitched faintly in a smile. "Relena, I _am_ a pilot. Coordination is required." Looking up at him, she gave a mildly miffed expression. "Well, if you put it *that* way..." She grinned mischievously. Heero suddenly had another one of those premonitions. A sudden thought hit him as Relena dragged him off to one of the numerous prize booths being held. ::I wonder what Duo's doing... He's probably...:: ::Deathscythe... ore no tamashii...:: Duo gazed wordlessly at the sheen of metallic ebony glowing off the clear, endlessly reflecting surface of his machine. Unconsciously aware of it, he started walking, no, _flowing_ to his destination. Step after silent step, advancing to his beloved weapon, his companion that had kept him company for a majority of his short life, the guardian that had never, ever left him... "Duo!" Quatre hailed the black-clothed teen worriedly. "We'll see you again, ne?" ::See you again...:: Duo stopped, staring sightlessly ahead, slightly lowering his posture. "Iie." He waved a hand, not turning back. "We won't meet again..." He resumed walking towards his Gundam. "Duo..." Quatre whispered. His hand twitched as he involuntarily started to reach for the fading shadow whose steps carried him farther away. Trowa gently placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Eh?" Quatre looked up at the silent boy, surprised. "At least I don't think so... maybe..." Duo turned to meet their eyes one last time, as he started to enter the cockpit of his Gundam. "Fate has a way of defying the most logical assumptions..." He gave them a wry, devil-may-care smile. "Ja ne minna~" Duo cheerfully flipped them a peace sign. "Iku zo, Deathscythe!" A flicker of long, long, dark hair and he vanished inside the innards of the machine, metal walls sliding shut with a clank where he was just standing moments ago. Duo... Quatre repeated silently in his mind as he watched Deathscythe Hell went online. ::Why...:: he asked himself quietly, ::why do I have this... this feeling what you said is true...?:: He watched as the distance between the Gundam and the hangar increased rapidly. ::Duo...:: As if sensing Quatre's thoughts, Trowa gave a comforting pat. "Duo will be back." ::Darkness....:: Duo flew blindly. ::All I see is Darkness...:: Deathscythe boosted speed, trying to outrun itself. ::All I hear, I feel, I know... is Darkness...:: Deathscythe shot off, swerving crazily in random patterns, a fiery spark of light in the emptiness of space. ::I was _born_ from Darkness...:: Deathscythe froze in mid-flight. ::I have always _lived_ with Darkness...:: The fire in Deathscythe's eyes dimmed in some abrupt revelation. ::I will _die_ in Darkness...:: Soft laughter quietly formed in the cockpit. Duo's slight frame shook with bitter irony. Shinigami lifted dark, hazy orbs of infinite eternity... "I... I am no longer necessary...!" ::I can no longer deny my Darkness...:: The silence of space responded to his declaration. The volume of heart-broken laughter rang clear in the blackness. "Ore... ore wa.... I lived my childhood, trying to find the meaning to life. I found my purpose for living here in the course of war! And... after my purpose was eliminated by the world's vote of unanimous peace... I realized the soul reason for my wretched existence..." Silent tears fell with crystalline serenity, dissipating on the cold, unresponsive metal of his Gundam. "And even that was taken from me!" ::I have to return to the Darkness...:: Duo let the tears fall... he let them cry out in all the pain, all the sorrow he endured for his life... he let them drain himself dry. He hit the side panel with a forceful thump. ::Because I _belong_ to the Darkness.:: He stared at the one thing he denied during the course of his private conflict... his private war.... with dry, indifferent eyes. "All is born from Death and must return to Death. I was born Death, made human, and now I must return to Death... turn back to Death, *be* Death..." Amethyst glittered coldly in the fragile vessel of a shadow. For a brief second... the hard ice sheeting his eyes softened, a last tear sliding out in despair... ::Why...?:: Cold, dark, indifferent crystal reformed. "Deathscythe. My partner. I turned you from lifeless elements to an avatar, a weapon of Death. I now ask you to come with me, merge with me, return with me... back to the Hell we crawled out of. Ne?" The soft humming of electricity lifted the silence, and the Gundams' pilot seemed to receive an answer. "Saa... I guess I am melodramatic... Iku zo... Zutto." Wreathed in darkness, Shinigami seemed to smile... "Sayonara..." ::Why...?:: Duo hit the self-destruct. ::_Why_...?:: A soundless explosion rocked the depths of space, blinding in its intensity, but unnoticed by all. It was the death of a fallen angel... and the rebirth of a Child of Hell... ::Because I _am_ the Darkness...:: A lost soul fell...