"Ow! Hey, watch it asshole!" Duo Maxwell tightly grasped the controls of his beloved Gundam Deathscythe Hell as a harsh blast flung him forward. The two mobile suits that had hit him from behind now darted around the giant black mass and quickly sped away. "Oh no you don’t!" The braided pilot growled darkly as he chased after them and carefully targeted the suits. "No one escapes the God of Death!" With one quick swing of his bright green thermal scythe, the enemy mobile suits were no more and the remaining scraps were plummeting to the ground. "Score two points for Shinigami and zip for the bad buys!" Duo cried gleefully. He was beginning to laugh, extremely pleased with his victory. To add more insult, he made Deathscythe Hell stomp on the pieces of scrap metal that remained on the ground. "That’ll teach you bastards to hit me!"

"If you were more careful, Maxwell," A teenage boy’s annoyed voice abruptly came over the com-link. "You wouldn’t have gotten hit at all."

"You’re just jealous, Wu-man!" Duo managed thought fits of semi-psychotic giggling. "You just aren’t as good as me."

"Jealous? Why, because your fuel tank is leaking and mine isn’t?"

"Nani?!" Duo’s laughing instantly ceased and he looked at his fuel gage, which was dropping at a rapid pace. "Oh SHIT!" He shouted in fury. "Those damn bastards messed up my fuel lines!" A sudden blast from a Virgo suit’s weapon rocked Deathscythe’s cockpit, slamming Duo into the unprotected side. "Kuso!" He cursed as the butt of his gun dug into his ribcage. He quickly loosened his shoulder rig so the gun’s pressure lessened, then turned around to obliviate whatever poor soul had dared to mess with him.

Duo felt the Gundam’s massive frame shaking as he headed back to the battle. He would be completely out of fuel soon, and then he’d be in big trouble. "Oi, Duo," Another teen’s voice came over the com-link and Quatre Raberba Winner’s image appeared on a static-filled screen. "Do you still have enough fuel to make a safe landing?"

"Yeah, I think so," The braided boy replied after a quick glance at his fuel readings.

"Good," Quatre said with a reassuring smile. "There’s a warehouse about two miles to the north of here. I’m pretty sure that’s where the hostages are." The Arabian boy explained, going through the mission verbally. "If you hide Deathscythe Hell in the nearby woods, you should be able to get in there unnoticed. Wufei and I will keep these guys busy so it should be no problem for you. I’ll call back up so we can get the hostages safely out of here."

"Sounds like a plan," Duo said calmly.

"And you’ll save us about an hour on rescue time," Wufei added. "We’ll be home in time for dinner."

Duo rolled his violet eyes and sighed. "Right," He murmured, trying to hide his tone of boredom. "I’ll handle it while you guys have all the fun." With that, Deathscythe Hell turned to the north and sped away.

"Ahh! Ow!" Duo cried as he crash-landed in the woods. He knew the landing was going to be rough about fifteen seconds before he hit the ground, but all he could do was brace himself. The impact bounced his small body around as the Gundam uprooted small trees and dug up hunks of earth while it slid to a stop.

Duo groaned in pain as he tried to figure out why he had made such a rough landing and he was now sitting practically upside down. He sat completely still for a few minutes, mentally checking his body for broken bones. Everything was fine. He was only bruised and somewhat shaken. "Jeez that hurt!" Duo winced and rubbed his head. Several strands of his long cherished hair had come loose from his braid, but the American had to push them aside for the time being. There were more important matters on hand...

Like how he was going to get out of the cockpit.

After several moments of futile struggling and cursing, Duo fumbled with the safety harness and finally got it to unbuckle. He managed to catch himself between the console and the seat instead of just plain falling. Slowly, the braided pilot turned and noticed the fuel gage; now reading to be completely empty.

"Sorry about that buddy," Duo said, patting the console as he pressed the release hatch. "But if we were gonna go down, I wanted to get as close to that place as possible. I’ll be back for ya, don’t worry."

As Duo made the short trip to the half-open escape hatch, he heard Quatre’s voice come from the com-link. "Daijoubu ka?" He asked in concern.

"I’m fine,’ Duo answered. "Deathscythe is okay too, just needs fuel. I’ll call you back once I get the hostages."

"All right. Good luck."

Duo muttered an inaudible response as he re-fastened his shoulder rig and checked the bullets in his gun. He tightened the rubber band on his pride and joy, hi s waist-length chestnut brown braid, then forced the door to open wider and squirmed out. As his feet landed on the ground with hardly a sound, the American quickly surveyed the area to make sure no one had seen him. Once sure he hadn’t been spotted, he began making his way to the nearby warehouse. He twirled his braid casually in his hand as he walked along, complaining about how the God of Death should not have to walk anywhere.

"Aw shiiit," Duo whined as he got a good look at the warehouse from behind a tall oak tree. The only thing that separated the braided boy from his goal was two hundred yards of a wide-open field, where enemy soldiers could easily spot him. Four armed men stood guarding the only entrance, two heavy doors placed at the front of the building. He sighed and looked at the rest of the facility. Several open windows hung fifteen feet from the ground. "Kusooo," Duo growled. Getting into this place was not going to be fun at all.

The braided boy nonchalantly ran a hand through his thick hair and sat down to think. He leaned against a tree trunk as he silently ran over his options. One: Attack the guards and take them out. Bad idea. Duo had only one gun, and four against one were bad odds even though he was a Gundam pilot. Two: Attempt to do an impersonation of Trowa. The windows were much too high to climb into, especially since there wasn’t anything to climb on and he sure as hell wasn’t an acrobat. Three: Strip down and run across the field butt naked. It would have worked if he had someone else with him. It definitely would attract attention.

Duo sighed and let out a frustrated whimper. "Everything is so much easier with Deathscythe," He commented angrily. "How in the hell am I supposed to get in there?"

A misplaced sound suddenly caught Duo’s ear. The blaring vehicle horn drew the braided boy’s attention back to the side of the building. He climbed slowly to his feet and looked across the field. Sure enough, a large orange and white truck had been parked next to the windows. Duo grinned, "Perfect." He whispered. Now there were two ways in. He could either sneak past the distracted guards, or climb from the truck to the windows. Getting past the guards seemed easier. All four of them were talking with the driver of the truck.

Duo smiled to himself and crouched low in the grass and bolted for the door. He was the fastest of the Gundam pilots easily, and it was doubtful that even a cheetah could have caught him as he rushed to his target.

No one ever saw him as he snuck in, tiptoeing right past the small group of guards. This surprised Duo a bit, considering that by the time he reached the doors, he was so out of breath that his loud breathing should have been able to attract people for miles. He leaned weakly against the heavy closed doors, waiting for his heart to slow down. He kept one hand on his loaded gun as his half-open eyes scanned the small area. Feeling safe, the braided boy started down the closest dimly lit hallway. "Stupid wannabe terrorists," Duo commented as he started down the hall. "Don’t even have enough security to keep out one Gundam pilot."

As Duo turned a corner, a sharp, angry voice shouted at him from behind. "Hey you!" An older man’s voice shouted. "What are you doing in here?"

"Spoke too soon," Duo muttered as he heard a gun’s safety click, then felt cold metal press firmly against his back. A strong hand grabbed the braided pilot by the shoulder and roughly spun him around and pushed him into the wall.

"Hands up boy," The dark haired man ordered as he casually placed his silver revolver under Duo’s chin.

"Shit." Duo hissed. "Shit, shit, shit." He slowly raised his arms above his head and flashed an angry glare to the terrorist as the man took his gun.

"Who are you boy?" The man demanded. "What the hell are you doing here?" Duo remained silent, keeping his glare steady. The man laughed and pressed the gun more firmly underneath Duo’s chin. "Well kid? Are you a spy for the other side or just some stupid punk trying to play a hero?" Duo growled, but still did not speak. "I don’t think I need to tell you that you’re in a pretty sticky situation here."

Duo’s lips curved into an evil little smile as the man’s face turned red, furious at the braided pilot’s lack of response.

"Who the hell are you?!" The terrorist screamed at the top of his lungs. He stepped forward and smacked Duo across the face with such force the young pilot stumbled and almost fell. The man then harshly grabbed the boy by his long braid and shoved the barrel of the gun into his mouth. Duo’s violet eyes went wide in fear and surprise. "Now brat," He shoved the gun farther into the boy’s mouth and he choked helplessly. "Start talking and maybe you’ll get this thing taken out of your mouth before I shoot you! Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?"

Duo made a muffled sound and the terrorist removed the gun from his mouth.

"What did you say?!"

"I said," Duo smiled evilly as he raised one leg off the ground and kicked the man squarely in the chest. "It’s none of your damn business who I am!" The American pounced on the terrorist, driving him back into the wall, then punched him with all the force he could muster. The man slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Just for the record," Duo laughed as he picked up his gun, which the terrorist had so kindly dropped. "I’m Shinigami and you’re lucky I’m in a good mood." He quickly replaced his gun and walked off again in search of the hostages.

He was about fed up with the endless maze of twisting hallways when he came across another heavy set of double doors that were strangely unguarded. Without hesitation, Duo pushed against the doors, but found them to be locked. Unfazed, he tried again, but the doors refused to budge.

"Kuso," Duo muttered, extremely annoyed. He placed his shoulder against the door and pushed for all he was worth, but it was useless. The braided pilot stood and glared at the door for a few seconds more, then suddenly remembered the lock pick he always kept in his hair. He smiled and stuck the pick into the keyhole, and within a few moments, had the door unlocked and partially open. He quickly looked around to make sure no one had followed him, then slipped unnoticed into the room.

Duo stepped into pitch darkness and total silence. "Hello?" He called, squinting to try and sense any motion. "Is anyone in here?" He heard a soft cry coming from his left and he turned towards it, but he had only gone a step or two when something hard and heavy cracked across the back of his head.

"Oh my God! D-daijoubu ka? Gomen nasai, I...I thought you were one of those guards!"

Duo forced his eyes to open despite his now pounding head when he heard the unfamiliar voice. "Wuh?" He moaned without even looking to see who had spoken to him.

"I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard. I was frightened."

As the stars dancing in front of his eyes cleared, Duo looked up at the person standing over him. It was a girl, just a few years older than he was. She was tall and thin with red hair hanging freely over her shoulders and wide green eyes. The American pilot remained silent for several moments, waiting for the pain in his head to diminish a bit. "What happened?" He finally asked.

"I hit you," the girl said apologetically. "I’m really sorry. Are you okay?"

"You hit me with what?" Duo moaned.

The girl sighed and lifted a lead pipe she was clutching tightly with both hands. "With this," She said, sounding a little ashamed.

"Lead pipe," Duo said softly, still rubbing his head. "Yep...that’s about what it feels like."

"Are you sure you’re all right?"

"Fine. It takes more than one hit to keep me down."

"But...I hit you pretty hard. You were out cold for a few minutes."

Duo sighed. "Yeah, don’t tell the papers that you knocked out your rescuer when you get out of here. It would look bad for both of us."

Duo sat up woozily and shook his head, clearing the last few cobwebs from his mind. He looked past the girl to a cluster of frightened people huddled against the opposite wall. "Is everyone here okay?" He asked, turning his gaze back to the girl.

"Aside from some bruises and scratches, everyone’s fine," She reported. She looked at Duo again as he climbed ungracefully to his feet. "Are you sure you’re all right?"

"Me?" Duo grinned brightly as he stood up straight. "I’m fine. I’ve got a really hard head."

"Did the terrorists capture you too?"

"No, I’m here to rescue all of you," The braided pilot said proudly.

The girl’s eyes widened. "By yourself?"

"Not quite. I have two friends watching my back outside."

The girl’s eyes grew even wider. "But...there are at least twenty mobile dolls out there!"

Duo smiled again, almost diabolically. "Not anymore." He turned and walked to the still frightened group of nearby people. "All of you get behind me," He ordered as he started back towards the door. "I’ll get you all safely out of here."

The group formed a somewhat organized line behind the braided pilot and followed him out the door and down the twisted paths of corridors until they came to the main entrance. Duo opened the door just a crack and looked quickly for anyone guarding the area. He smiled not seeing a soul around. ~~ Over-confident idiots don’t even think they need to watch the door. ~~ Duo thought as he looked over the general area one more time. ~~ Guess they weren’t counting on a Gundam pilot showing up. ~~

Duo pushed one of the doors open and held it with his back. "Everybody head for the woods as fast as you can!" He shouted. "Don’t stop running until I say!" He and the red haired girl followed behind the group, making sure no one got off track as they headed for the safety of the tall trees. Once they reached the woods, the braided American led the group back to where he had left Deathscythe Hell and was more than relieved to find a truck waiting to get the hostages out of the area. "Thank God for Quatre’s connections," Duo murmured to himself as he helped the people into the truck. Just about everyone was on board and Duo was ready to tell the driver to leave when he heard a shout coming from inside the truck.

"My daughter!" A young woman cried hysterically. "My daughter isn’t here!" A woman with long black hair made her way to the front of the truck and was beginning to climb out when Duo stopped her.

"Don’t worry Ojou-san," Duo said reassuringly. "I’ll go back and find her."

The woman looked at him gratefully. "Thank you," She said, still wiping tears from her eyes. "Her name is Claire. Please find her! She’s only three, she must be so scared!" The woman burst into tears again, despite the attempts of some others to calm her down.

"It’s okay," Duo said, again in the same reassuring tone. "I’ll bring her back safe and sound."

Without another word Duo started back towards the warehouse, but he hadn’t gone far when he heard footsteps close behind. He turned sharply in an attack position, but relaxed once he saw it was the same red-haired girl following him. "You don’t have to come," He said. "It’s my job to do this."

The girl smiled. "I owe you for hitting you," She said quickly. "Besides, I’m kinda used to situations like this. I’m a police officer. By the way," She said as they quickly moved to another tree. "My name’s Iris. Iris Keane."

"I’m Duo."

"There a last name with that?"

"Not that I can tell you."

"So then you’re either a secret agent or you’re already taken."

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Lucky girl."

"Huh?"

"I mean any girl that has you is certainly lucky. They don’t get much better looking than you, Duo. Whoever your girlfriend is, I’m jealous."

Duo smirked, not wanting to reveal to her that there really wasn’t a girlfriend. However, he didn’t know what she’d think if he told her he actually had a boyfriend instead.

He didn’t give an answer as he crept a few feet closer to the warehouse. He spotted a small figure surrounded by several larger ones near the corner of the building. ~~ Kuso! ~~ Duo thought angrily. ~~ Now the guards decide to show up! ~~

Twirling his braid in one hand, Duo watched the small group as he tried to come up with a plan. He turned slightly and looked to where Iris was kneeling near a tree. "Stay here," He ordered in a whisper.

"What? Why?"

"Just wait here. This could be dangerous."

Before giving Iris the chance to argue again, Duo began to move closer and closer to the figures. He kept himself as close to the ground as possible to stay hidden. He wasn’t expecting to run into one of the guards.

"Get to your feet and put your hands up kid!" The soldier ordered, nudging Duo’s side with his foot to get him to hurry.

"Dammit!" Duo growled, carefully moving his gun from its holster to his pocket so it wouldn’t be noticed as he climbed slowly to his feet. "Twice in one day. I’ll never be able to live this down."

The impatient soldier suddenly wrapped a hand around Duo’s braid and yanked him to his feet. "Stupid, aren’t you kid?" He said, digging his gun into the American’s back and clicking off the safety. At the same time his other hand gave the long hair a hard yank. "You couldn’t leave here without that one little girl, could you?"

Duo growled and jumped at the guard, hitting him hard enough to knock him to the ground. He lost his balance and fell on top of the soldier. As the two of them hit the ground, a second soldier grabbed Duo from behind and pulled him back to his feet. Before the Deathscythe pilot could even react, the man had one strong arm around his neck and the other holding a gun to his head. The first soldier quickly scrambled to his feet and pointed his gun at Duo’s chest. Immediately the braided boy began to swear and struggle against his captors. The soldier holding him by the neck quickly changed his position so he was holding Duo at the waist and pinning his arms down as well with his gun hand. The other hand moved to cover the boy’s loud mouth.

Instinctively, Duo did the only thing he could think of. He bit down as hard as he could on the unwelcome hand. The second soldier screamed in pain and jumped back, freeing the American pilot and allowing him to attack the first soldier again. He hadn’t quite wrestled the guard to the ground when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Duo Maxwell, pilot of Gundam Zero-Two, stop now."

"Nani?" Duo looked up in shock at the sound of the voice. "Iris?"

The girl smiled as she brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear and pulled out a gun. "Sergeant Iris Keane. I’m part of a significantly large organization working to rebuild Oz. You just foiled our plans. That means you’re going to pay."

"Huh?"

Without any further explanation, Iris stepped up to Duo, seeing one of the soldiers had managed to get a hold of him by the arms. She put her gun to his left shoulder and fired without hesitation.

Duo’s entire body went limp for a moment from the overwhelming sudden shock of pain. By the time he had regained his senses, one of the soldiers had a knife at his throat and Iris had her gun aimed directly between his eyes. He vaguely heard the little girl crying a little ways away. He clenched his teeth and glared at Iris, a low animal-like growl forming in his throat as he tried to get his mind off his screaming shoulder.

"I’ll bet you’re wondering what I was doing with the hostages if I was the one in charge of this entire operation."

"Thought crossed my mind," Duo shot back, his voice amazingly not wavering despite the pain he was in.

Iris smiled as though she had been waiting to reveal her plan to him the entire time. "The captives we have been holding are the families of men who own land where important Oz facilities used to be. None of them knew each other, so it was very easy for me to pretend I was the daughter of someone important. The real plan was to lure in a Gundam pilot or two. We can always assassinate people to obtain land, so I stayed with you until the hostages were released."

"So all this trouble was just for me?" Duo said with a dark smile. "I guess I should feel honored."

Iris’ eyes narrowed in anger as Duo grinned. She quickly raised one foot and delivered a sharp blow to the braided pilot’s already injured shoulder, receiving a cry of pain in response. "Don’t be a smart-ass kid," She warned as she turned to walk away.

"What do you want us to do with him Sergeant Keane?" One of the soldiers asked as he and his partner struggled to keep Duo still. A third came over to help with the situation, grabbing his hair and one arm.

Iris stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Are you kidding? Kill him. The less Gundam pilots there are to deal with, the better. Plus we’ll be in for a pretty big bonus."

Duo felt the cold knife press against his throat, then relent at the sound of the little girl crying.

"Don’t do it in front of the kid," Iris ordered angrily. "Take him around back and shoot him."

"You aren’t even going to ask me what I want on my tombstone?" Duo asked, sounding rather hurt.

"I don’t think you’ll be needing a tombstone," Iris replied with a cruel smile. "Because no one is ever going to find that cute body of yours." She nodded to the soldiers and started walking to where a fourth soldier was standing with the girl in his arms. Iris nodded to the other three soldiers and they began to drag their captive to the back of the building.

Duo smiled slightly to himself as they forced him along. At least he wouldn’t have to kill these assholes in front of that innocent little girl. As they reached the rear of the building, one soldier shoved him into the brick wall, sending an agonizing rush of pain through his arm. "Don’t worry kid," He said as he stepped back and took aim at the braided boy along with his comrades. "This will all be over before you know it."

A dark smile crept over Duo’s face as he slowly reached one hand for his pocket. "I know," He replied darkly. Faster than anyone could follow, Duo whipped his gun from his pocket and fired at the closest soldier, hitting him squarely in the chest. As he fell to the ground, the remaining two panicked.

"He has a gun!" One exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Duo grinned. "Shit, these suckers are dangerous! Who the hell in their right mind would let a kid like me have one? Well, as long as I have it, let’s see if I’m old enough to figure out how to use it!"

He fired once at a soldier who dared to charge him and he fell at his feet. The other, seeing what happened to his partner, turned and ran as fast as he could. But it was no use, Duo quickly gunned him down too. He smiled, pleased with his work, and returned his gun to its holster as pain again returned to his shoulder. "Itaiii…" He whimpered softly, falling to one knee just until the wave of pain passed. He remained still for a few long minutes, convincing himself that he couldn’t pass out here. Finally he managed to get back to his feet and stagger off in search of the little girl Claire, Iris, and the last soldier.

Duo peaked cautiously around the corner of the building and saw Iris screaming into a two-way radio and the remaining soldier holding the girl. The American pilot managed to sneak up on the soldier without Iris noticing.

"Put her down," He ordered in a gruff tone.

The soldier gasped and spun around, almost dropping the girl in the process. "You!" He said, almost stuttering.

"Hi," Duo said with a menacing grin, removing his gun from its holster and taking careful aim. "Are you gonna put that little girl down or am I gonna have to blow your brains out?"

The soldier shook his head. "Yuh-you wouldn’t risk hitting the kid," He said quickly, panic rising in his voice.

"I’m a pretty good shot," Duo replied calmly. "I don’t think I would."

The soldier believed him and put the girl down, reaching for his gun as he did so. Duo fired once and shot the gun out of his reach. "Bad idea," The braided pilot said as he started towards the soldier. "Not very ni-Ahhh!" A second bullet tore through his left shoulder, just below where the first one had hit. Reacting on impulse, Duo spun around and fired once, hitting Iris just above the hip. She shrieked in pain and dropped her just-fired gun as she fell to the ground. Duo’s gun fell from his fingers and he sank to his knees whimpering in pain.

Seizing the opportunity, the guard ran at Duo and hit him in the back. The American started to fall, but the soldier caught him by the hair and held him up. Duo clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists. It was all he could do to keep from screaming. He looked down as the soldier pulled again and noticed the gun he had shot away lying on the ground, almost within reach. He moved his good hand towards it as the soldier spoke.

"Maybe just a little more damage to your pride boy," He said, removing a sharp knife from his pocket. "Then I’ll kill you." Duo struggled desperately upon hearing the menacing words and seeing the knife out of the corner of his eye.

"NO!" He screamed as loudly as his voice allowed. "Don’t do that! No no no! You can’t! No!" The soldier moved quickly, ignoring Duo’s furious and fearful cries. He held the knife to the top of his braid and cut through it slowly until he had severed the entire mass of hair.

Duo’s eyes grew wide with shock and complete horror. He knew right then he wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He couldn’t feel any emotion except for the horror from what had just happened coursing through his veins. Without even looking, he elbowed the soldier in the gut and stood up. He shakily reached one hand to the back of his head and ran his fingers to the end of his hair. It had been cropped cleanly off and left no strands hanging past the bottom of his ears. He whimpered softly as he let his hand droop back to his side.

"M-my hair…" Duo stuttered, trailing off as something dark and sinister seeped into his being and began to take over. His lively violet eyes became clouded and dark and looked utterly inhuman. The soldier noticed the change and took several terrified steps backwards, forgetting that he had left his gun within the reach of the American pilot. Duo casually picked it up, then raised his head and fixed his gaze on the soldier.

"Wh-wh-what the hell are you?" He choked as he continued to back away, utterly terrified.

"Me?" An evil grin spread across the boy’s face as he cocked the gun and took careful aim. "I’m Shinigami…The God of Death,"

"You’re not human!" The soldier gasped as he tripped and fell to the ground.

"Not anymore," He replied darkly. "No one sees me and lives to tell about it." Without another word he pulled the trigger, killing the soldier instantly. But he didn’t stop there. He continued pulling the trigger until all the bullets were gone then continued firing blank shots at the dead soldier. He neither felt nor heard any thing now, not the pain in his profusely bleeding shoulder or the horrified screams of the little girl nearby. Tears finally began to stream down the sides of his face, but they meant nothing to him now. Nothing did and nothing ever would again.

Everything that Duo Maxwell once was lay on the grass behind him in the form of a three-foot long gorgeous chestnut brown braid. It was the one thing he had treasured, the only item he had as a memory of his childhood. Without it, everything about him was lost…Without his braid there was no Duo, only Shinigami. Nothing would ever mean anything to him again.

His eyes gazed blankly at the soldier’s body as he continued to fire invisible shots at the corpse. He didn’t even notice the blood beginning to stain his shoes. Tears still spilled down his face unchecked, but he still gave them no notice. An eternity passed before he heard a soft voice that managed to catch his attention.

"Duo?"

He whirled around quickly and aimed the gun right between the dark blue eyes of the new intruder. Quatre gasped slightly and looked at the gun for a moment before looking back to the American pilot.

"Duo, that gun is empty."

It was then that Quatre saw the tears rolling down Duo’s pale cheeks. They didn’t seem to belong there. His eyes seemed flat and dead, void of even the tiniest spark of life, not something that could produce tears. Something was very wrong here.

"What’s wrong?" Quatre asked gently, brushing Duo’s ragged bangs aside to get a better look at his heart-shaped face. He noticed the familiar rope of hair was missing from the back of his head, replaced by a few short strands. "Oh…Duo," The blond pilot wrapped his arms around his friend’s shoulders and hugged him tightly. "W-who did this?" He asked, feeling about ready to cry himself.

Duo didn’t answer.

Quatre looked at the gun still in Duo’s hand and began to pull it away from him. It was easy since the other boy had no grip at all. The Arabian threw the firearm away and looked Duo squarely in the eyes. "Daijoubu ka?" He asked softly.

Duo blinked. What a stupid question. Wasn’t it obvious that he was not all right? He wasn’t okay and he never would be again. However, an absurd smile spread across his face and a soft, hysterical laughter began to build in his throat and ended up sounding completely insane.

Only a minute passed before Duo’s legs wobbled and gave out. A combination of pain, exhaustion, and grief overcame him and he collapsed against a waiting Quatre. The world around him became dark and quiet as he slipped into the comfort of unconsciousness. His laughter faded into eerie echoes before dying out completely, along with all that was left of Duo Maxwell.