Yo yo yo...this is a totally weird fanfic, my first as a writer...please tell me if it’s any good! This is kinda OOC for all the Gundam guys, and its like somewhere in the time frame of the 49ep series (ummm...just read it. I’ll figure out where it goes someday!) If you are coming back for the second time, the new part is at the bottom (duh...)
disclaimer: the gundam boys are not mine( no matter how many times I wished on shooting stars). Please don’t sue me, because I’m not even a broke college student yet. I’m a broke high school student! Well here it goes...
The Death of Shinigami
Corn Maxwell
“Get out of there Duo!” Quatre’s voice echoed from the loudspeaker. Duo was staying behind, trying to fight off the Leo’s one by one. Every time he managed to kill the surrounding mobile suits, a new batch appeared surrounding the Deathscythe.
“Duo!” Duo heard Wufei’s words. “Baka, get out of there! We’re defeated, we have to go before we get ourselves killed!” Duo was having a very bad day. First, Heero went off on a mission with Trowa.
<Flashback>
Duo: I’m coming with you!
Heero: Duo, stay. Omae O Korosu.
Duo:*sigh* Hee-chan, you’ve said that to everyone, but you haven’t actually managed to shoot one person!
*Heero pulled a small handgun out of the small of his back, and proceeded to shoot Duo in the foot. *
Heero:Baka, stay. And don’t call me Hee-chan.
*Duo pouts while Heero exits the room *
Duo:Holy shit! That bastard actually shot
me!
<back>
Duo could feel the Leo’s moving in. The hole in his foot was now the least of his worries. He had a broken arm, with the bone sticking sickenly through the skin, and he was bleeding from the head. “Man,” Duo said, “I’m staring to feel a little woozy.”
“Maxwell! Damn you! Get out of there
before you pass out!”
<flashback>
Quatre eyed Duo warily as Duo entered the room. “Duo, why are you limping?”
“A little incident involving my mouth and Heero with a gun.”
“Heero shot you?” Quatre asked in horror. “ Duo, you shouldn’t put up with that crap!”
Duo replied, “ Yeah, Master Q, I probably shouldn’t...” Quatre raised an eyebrow as Duo sat silently.
All the sudden the vidscreen lit up, and Duo pasted back on his manical grin. “Nice to talk again, Hee-chan!”
“Hn,” Heero answered. “Trowa and I have completed our mission, and are coming back to refuel. Dr. J has assigned us another, so Trowa and I...”
“No you don’t,” Duo said with a grin on his lips. “You two got your mission, let us have ours!” Quatre sat, trying to repress a giggle in the background.
Heero spoke, “Duo, you’ve been screwing up a lot of our missions lately. I can’t risk you on this next one.”
“Thanks, Heero,” Duo thought, his smile flickering. Quatre pushed Duo out of the room, and closed the door. When Duo peeked back in, Quatre had a wide smile and Heero was sighing.
“You’re heading up this mission
Duo, but if you screw thi up...” “Don’t worry,
Hee...” “I mean it Maxwell,” Heero said
forcefully. “This mission better be over before Trowa and I
return.”
<back>
“Over?!”Duo thought with a grimace. It will be over! “Shinigami runs...” Duo said, his teeth clenched.
“Then run, Maxwell!” Wufei’s voice was heard.
“Shinigami hides...”
“Duo?” Quatre asked.
“But,” Duo finished, “Shinigami NEVER tells a lie!” Quatre finally realised what Duo was talking about.
“Duo, GOD DON”T!” Quatre’s words came too late as the Deathscythe exploded in a brilliant show of fireworks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Duo’s awake!” Quatre ran in the main living room of his estate, tears running down his face.
Trowa proceeded to drop the tea cup that was in his hand, and Wufei tripped over a chair. “What?” Wufei asked, picking himself back up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Stupid,” Duo thought to himself. “You were supposed to die Duo, can’t you do anything right?” Duo looked down to the cross on his chest, bringing back memories of the past. “I don’t deserve to live!” Duo said quietly, “IT’S ALL MY FAULT!” Duo kicked his leg, which made a disgusting snapping sound.
“Shit!” Duo looked up to see Quatre and Trowa looking at him with shocked expressions, and Wufei starting towards him. Duo put back on his grin and managed to choke out, “Heya Wu-man!”
“Maxwell, don’t hide behind that smile. You have been acting pretty damn suicidal lately, and that self destruction sure didn’t help much!” Duo kept the smile on his face.
“Wufei, that was just my mission. I’m as happy as a clam,”Duo giggled. “Speaking of, where’s my Hee-chan?” All the sudden Duo felt a hand grab his collar and soon he was staring into hard cobalt blue eyes.
“Maxwell, the mission wasn’t supposed to destroy the Deathscythe! We need it for our missions!” Duo kept the smile on his face, trying not to let Heero see the pain inside. “I think you should take a break from piloting. There is obviously something wrong with you, and I won’t let that affect our missions.”
“Hee-chan, you don’t mean it right? You need me...”
“We need Deathscythe, we don’t need you!” Duo’s smile vanished.
“Okay Heero. I’ll go on a vacation. In fact, I’ll leave now!”
“Duo, you’re hurt!” Quatre said. Duo pulled himself up, and made a dash for the window. He opened it quickly and jumped out and landed on a branch in a nereby tree. He then proceeded to jump down the branches of the tree. He felt his burned and broken arms burning underneath him.
“I am Shinigami, pain is nothing!” He jumped to the ground, and his leg snapped. Duo grimaced and proceeded to run to the flight hangar. “No...” Duo thought, and he headed in the direction of the spaceport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo grabbed a window seat, and proceeded to glare out the window. “Sir? Would you like something to drink?” Duo looked to a cute flight attendant.
“No,” Duo said, giving the flight attendant a wink. She giggled and walked to the next seat. A voice came over the speakers.
“Welcome to Aircom, thanks for choosing our airlines!” Duo recalled getting the ticket. It was a booked flight, and he had managed to snag a ticket off a very confused tourist. The pilots wouldn’t be able to find what plane he would be on, and he doubted that they would think he would leave the colony. Duo had no idea where he was going, nor did he care. He turned his attention back on the intercom. “It’s a rainy day in our destination, strange weather for L2...”
Duo jumped up. “God, not L2!” were his last thoughts as he faded into nothingness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jerome looked in to his patient. “How could a boy withstand that much injury and board a plane unnoticed?” He looked at the mysteryious boy’s clipboard. Concussion, several compound fractures, a punctured lung, and third degree burns.
“Maxwell...Helen...its all my fault...Solo,” the boy mumbled in his sleep, tossing about in the hospital bed. His braid wipped off the bed.
“No one should experience that sort of pain, especially a young man,” Jerome thought. The young man’s eyes snapped open. He jumped out of the bed, and collapsed to the floor. Dr. Jerome calmly walked over, picked up the boy, and set him back on the bed. Duo looked up at the man.
“Great, capture #3. First you won’t die, then you get captured by Oz for the THIRD time! Heero’s probably laughing his ass off right now...” Dr. Jerome started laughing.
“This is a hospital! You were half dead when you were brought here.” Duo looked surprised. Dr. Jerome added, “This is the Maxwell Memorial Hospital.”
“So this is L2...”
“Yes my son. By the way, my name is Father Jerome. I will be your doctor.” Duo grabbed his chest and glared at the doctor.
“Where the hell is my cross?” Dr. Jerome laughed.
“This must really mean something to you,” he said as he pulled the glittering gold cross out of his pocket. “Surgery had quite a time getting it off.” Duo grasped the cross and looked at it lovingly. He then proceeded to put it around his neck. “Well, what’s your name?” Father Jerome asked.
“Just call me Shinigami!” Duo said, remembering to put on his manical grin.
“Well, my son, you will be staying with us a while, perhaps two or three weeks.”
Duo’s head turned, “Father J, I can’t stay that long,” Duo said, the grin still on his face, “I have buisness to take care of.”
“You’re still young. There’s no one your age who couldn’t take a 3 week break.”
“I know five,” Duo said, chuckling to himself. Father Jerome lifted an eyebrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How’s the patient doing, Jerome?” A young, wide eyed nurse asked the doctor.
“He will be fine, physically at least. Still, there is something very wrong with that boy...”
“Father Jerome, I know how you feel about helping people, especially after the death of your brother. But you know we are very full, and we need to release patients ASAP!”
“Maxwell would have helped him!” Father Jerome said forcefully.
“Your brother is dead, Jerome.”
“I will help him, for Father Maxwell’s memory.” The nurse sighed and began to walk away.
“You have other patients, Jerome. There is a young boy we found in an alley, in the room beside your ‘Mystery Patient’.” Father Jerome sighed, and went to check out the newcomer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo crept out of the room, looking both ways to make sure the coast was clear. He crept past the nurses station, which was deserted. Duo let out his breath. This was his first night at the hospital, and he was determined to escape. It was around midnight, and Duo walked silently down the patients corridor. He turned a corner, and his walk turned into a mad dash for the exit. All the sudden, a figure appeared from nowhere. *CRASH*
Duo was on the ground with a small body on top of him. He looked up to see a boy of about 7, with large violet eyes and long, reddish brown hair. “You all right, kid?” Duo asked, concerned. Duo felt a tickling at the back of his neck, a feeling that most likely would have been unnoticed were he not a Gundam pilot.
“I’m okay, mister,” the kid said, walking away as he spoke.
“1...” Duo counted, “2...3!” Duo heard the patting of little feet as the child came back down the corridor. Duo raised an eyebrow.
“Where’s Cathy’s bracelet?” the kid said, cheeks puffed and eyes dancing.
“Where’s my cross?” Duo asked, with a grin on his lips. The kid sighed and threw Duo the cross,and Duo handed the child back his bracelet. “Next time, don’t steal from a thief!” Duo said with a smirk. The small boy’s eyes filled with amazement as Duo began to walk out the door. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his ear. “Father J, hehe, I was just going out for a walk!”
Jerome looked at Duo and the child in the hall, and sighed. “Back to your rooms, the both of you!You two are bundles of trouble. I’ll have to keep a closer watch on you.” The boy stuck a tongue out at Duo as the father led Duo back to his room.
“That kid is going to get it!” Duo decided as he drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo had this dream many times before. He crept to the rubbled church, his hands shaking. The sky was a blood red, miming the color of the bloodstreaked ground. Duo’s eyes began to water as he looked upon the many bodies of his friends. “Duo,” a voice said.
“Sister Helen,” Duo said, his voice shaking. “Are you alright?” Sister Helen laughed, a very weak laugh.
“Duo, take care of yourself.” She took out a cross and placed it in Duo’s hand. “Father Maxwell would have,” Helen’s voice cracked as her eyes welled in tears, “wanted you to have this.” Duo looked at the cross, and noticed it was the cross that Maxwell always had on.
“He’s...” Sister Helen nodded. Duo hid his face as tears began to roll down his cheek.
“Continue to fight for the oppressed,” Helen told Duo. “Even god fought when all else was lost. To protect the weak, that’s your job.” Duo nodded as Sister Helen took her last breath, and her head rolled to the side.
“Its my fault,” Duo said, his voice angry. “Father Maxwell, Solo, Siter Helen, Kody, Marie,” Duo looked at the rest of the bodies as each of their faces were etched on his memory. “It’s all because of me!”
A body layed at the alter, a body Duo hadn’t noticed before. Duo looked upon the undamaged alter. The body had not been killed in the initial attack. It was a little girl, and a child came and pushed Duo aside. “My god!” Duo thought, as he recognized the boy as the one from the hospital.
“Cathy! Speak to me!” the little boy let a sob emit from his mouth as he noticed the condition of the girl. Duo tapped the boy and was surprised as the boy turned around and looked into his eyes. They reflected the dead, violet eyes that Duo saw in the mirror every morning.
“It can’t be...” Duo thought. A scream errupted from the rubble of the church.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerome awoke at the sound of the horrendous scream. He jumped out of his cot and to the room where the scream had originated from. When he opened the door, he recognized his “Mystery patient’, who was awake. He had his sheets clutched in a death grip, and sweat was pouring down his face. Jerome attempted to approach the boy, but soon found the barrel of a gun pointed in his face.
“Get away, man. I’m death, I’ve killed enough already, but if you don’t leave, so help your soul!” Father Jerome just stood his ground, then placed a hand on Duo’s shoulder.
“If it takes my life to help you
find the truth, then go ahead, shoot me!” An image flashed
through Duo’s mind.
<flashback>
A group of streetrats surrounded the young man in the priest’s uniform, but the preist didn’t seem the least afraid. A young boy with wild hair was the leader. “Why won’t you children come with me?”
All the children began to talk at once, but the leader hushed them, and they became silent. “Why would we want to come with YOU, preist?” he said with malevelance. The boy’s violet eyes pierced through the preist’s heart. Something had happened to this boy...
“You could get food and shelter, a nice home, and learn about god...”
“God?” the boys eyes grew wild, and he pulled a gun out of his waistband. “Where was god when Solo died? And my parents? “
“Kill me if it will put you in a good home,” the preist said, putting his hand on Duo’s waist. Duo probably would have shot the man, if not for something he was holing in his hand.
“It’s Solo’s lock of hair...” the boy whispered.
“Do you think I was a preist all my life? I was once a petty theif, just like you.” The preist threw Duo back the lock of hair and smiled at all the children’s bewildered expressions.
“My name is Duo,” the boy said, sticking out his hand, surprising the preist. The preist took the boy’s hand.
“My name is Father Maxwell.”
<back>
Father Jerome watched as Duo dropped the gun and fell to his knees. He said one word that made Jerome’s eyes go wide, then Duo passed out. That one word was, “Maxwell.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Duo will come back.”
It had been a week since Duo had made tracks from Quatre’s estate. The Deathscythe, with the help of Howard, was totally fixed, and shone with a new coat of paint. The problem was, the braided pilot still had failed to contact them.
“Heero,’ Wufei’s voice cut through the air, “you know Duo as well as the rest of us. He tends to take things overboard. He probably won’t come back until we track him down and you apoligize!”
Not only had the pilots been lacking a fellow Gundam pilot, but they were tightly wound, and were about to snap without the cheeky attitude of Duo.
Quatre finally spoke up. “We are all about to kill each other. Without Duo, we have no one to be annoyed with, to smile with, and most of all, to keep our mind off the war! WE can’t go on like this. We have to find him.”
“Not to mention,” Trowa said, “we are down one pilot. No one else can control Duo’s suit.” All eyes turned toward Trowa.
“You’ve tried?” Quatre asked. Trowa’s face turned a deep scarlet. Heero laughed.
“What is this world comming to?” Quatre thought to himself. “Without Duo, Trowa speaks, and Heero laughs. This is getting dangerous!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Father Jerome was surprised that his ‘Mystery Patient’ had awoken the day of the incident. For the last couple days, he had been bright and cheery, like nothing had happened. Jerome had finally let Duo take a shower today, and the braided boy was ecstatic. “That is one strong kid...” Jerome thought to himself.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” A scream came from the shower, and it sent a chill down Father Jerome’s spine. A few minutes later, a very disgruntled Duo emerged from the bathroom. Father Jerome could not help laughing at the circumstances.
His braid was nice and orderly, like usual, but there was something very strange about the hue.
“It’s PINK!” Duo yelled. Not only was it pink, it was NEON pink. “Where is that kid, I’m going to kill him!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo spent the entire morning washing pink dye out of his hair. The “kid” had disappeared. The good thing, was that the dye disaster had given him some time alone to think.
“I wonder what the guys are doing right now? Heero’s probably typing away at his damn laptop. I miss him, though.” Duo sighed. “Oz is getting off easy without Shinigami around! I wonder if they’ve noticed I’m gone yet.”
All the sudden Duo’s train of thought was interrupted by the TV.
“It is now official. In a battle with Oz two and a half weeks ago, the pilot of the Gundam 02 self detonated. The Gundam was completely destroyed. The pilot was determined alive until yesterday, when Oz came into contact with the Gundams. 02 was missing, and the Gundams performance was easily countered by the OZ space force. Now the pilot of the Gundam 02 is determined dead.” Duo’s mouth dropped open. “Yesterday, the Gundam’s were heavily damaged, and were forced to retreat from the base they had been attaking. This is Sally Johnson with the Noon News. Back to you Nick!”
“Sally, it looks as if the colonies will be safe for the time being, with the threatning shadow of the Gundam’s out of the way!” Duo shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. Not only were they not looking for him, they were fighting without him.
An excited nurse ran in the rooom. “Did you hear that? A Gundam was destroyed! We are safe! This is a time for celebration!” The nurse looked at the boy, usually cheeky and cheerful, who was now looking stoic. She decided to go get Jerome.
“They’re fighting without the Deathscythe, Heero was right, they’re acting like they don’t even need me!”
Jerome walked into the room of his ‘Mystery Patient’, and was surprised to see him staring at the wall, looking stunned. “What’s wrong?” Jerome asked him.
Duo remained staring at the wall. “One of the Gundams were destroyed. They are our only hope of peace. Why must the colonies act as if they are enemies?”
“The Gundams are fighting Oz, and Oz is teamed up with the colonies. It looks as if the Gundams ARE the enemies!”
Jerome looked at his patient,who closed his eyes and clenched his fists. “All the Gundams have been taught is how to fight. They have the hearts of soldiers. If everything fails, and all odds are against them, they will continue to fight. Sorrow, war, death, that’s their life. They observe it every day. They are young, god damnit, and the continued powers of Oz has stolen their youth. They don’t look for credit, because they know what they are doing is right. But, now even their own homes have abandoned them. All they have now is their own hope that peace will finally be obtained.”
Jerome looked at his patient and nodded, “Complete pacifism can not be acheived by merely talking, people must realise the true face of war, as ugly as it may be!”
Duo looked at Jerome, confused. “I was always a Gundam supporter. They support the little people, protecting the weak, that’s their job!”
Duo laughed. “I underestimated you, Jerome.”
"As did I you, Shinigami."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He'll be back!" Heero said, exasperated. It had been three days, and the search for Duo had been totally unsuccesful.
"You know Duo," Wufei said, "he tends to take things a little overboard. For all we know he probably left the colony."
"Well, we have to find him," Heero said, "we are down one pilot!"
"Heero," Quatre said, a little angrily, "he's not just a PILOT, he's a friend, and I'd figure after being his partner you would understand!"
"Understand?! He drives me up the wall with all his insane chatter, and then annoys me to death until I either have to leave the room or punch him. One time I put scissors to his braid, and he looked like he was about to be killed. He is shallow and self absorbed!"
Quatre nodded. "He may be a little shallow, but still, he's a good friend and a great pilot..."
The silent Trowa walked into the conversation. "You guys say Duo is shallow, right." The rest of the group got quiet. Trowa did not speak much, but when he did, it was usually important. "Duo is as shallow as Heero is emotionless." Wufei and Quatre shrugged, but Heero had a strange glint in his eyes. "Duo is about as happy as I am mindless."
Quatre begn to protest. "Trowa, that's horrible. You are no where near mindless..." Trowa put a finger to Quatre's mouth. "Duo is as lost as Wufei..." Trowa said, and Wufei's eyes grew wide. "I am quiet, but I observe," was Trowa's last statement as he walked out of the room. The three looked at each other, and looked away with unanswered questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo was quiet. And if the Gundam pilots were around they would have known that it was dangerous when Duo was quiet. He was either steaming mad, or thinking of a way to embaress one of his friends. Well, today it was a strange mixture of the two.
"How can I get that kid back?" He had a breif idea, and then a smirk glanced across his face. "Perfect..." he whispered, then got the supplies ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Father Jerome peeked into the nurses station one last time before heading off to his room. He glanced about the walls, cracked and devoid of any color. Anyone else would have thought the cause of helping the people of L2 was useless. Jerome knew better, or he had learned after Maxwell died. He had built the small hospital on top of the site where the church had once stood. He wiped away a tear.
Maxwell always said that where there was a will, there was a way. Maxwell did everything in his power to help people, and he died for that. Even Jerome wouldn't mind dying for that much of a rightuos cause.
/gods right/ he thought with a smile, thinking of a literature lesson long passed. He thought of the last two days. He was so close to giving up his mission. But in the past few days, he had seen his work, and had been blessed by the presentation of the young man. And the small boy, they had brightened up the hospital a considerable amount. He climbed in his cot and looked at the ceiling where a single fly stood very still, seeming to defy the laws of gravity. Father Jerome said a prayer, and fell asleep with a slight grin on his face, dreaming of happy children and pink braids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo sneaked into the small child's room. He had three rolls of toilet paper in his hands, and some party makeup.
/this is going to be fun!/ Duo thought with a smile. Suddenly, the boy began to whimper, and then to cry. He let out soft sobs, and his whole body shook.
"Cathy..." he said, the tears trailing down his cheek, oblivios to the braided pilot in his room. "Cathy, I won't let them hurt you...what are you doing to Cathy? CATHY!!" the boys shoulders shook with pain, and Duo's eyes widened in recognition. Duo walked over to the boy's bedside and held him in a tight embrace. At first, the small boys violet eyes shined in protest, but then sobs shook his body and he cried on Duo's shoulder.
"It's all right," he said softly, "and it's not your fault..."
"It is my fault!" the boy screamed. "I was her friend, and I was older, I was supposed to protect her!! I failed..."
"You were friends, and it won't do any good blaming yourself if she is gone. I'm sure she doesn't blame you!"
"She suffered a fate worse than death..." the boy said. "They could have just killed her on the spot. She begged them too. But they wouldn't give her the pleasure."
Duo had forgotten how mature the children of L2 had to be to live on the streets. "Kid, I'm here for ya. If you ever want to talk about it, you know where I am..." The boy ignored Duo, who sighed and walked out of the room.
"Wait," the boy said hesitantly. Duo walked back in the room and sat down on the bed adjacent to the boy. "Cathy and I were best friends. Everybody called Cathy my sister, because we were so close, I guess she did look like my sis. We were just kids, trying to scavange enough to live off of. It was hard, but we were proclaimed the second best pickpockets in all of L2. "
Duo shuddered, realising *who* the best pickpockets were. "We were contented with our life, I kinda wanted a family, of course who doesn't? But for the time, it was alright. We managed. But then the war broke out. And the Oz soldiers came." The boy's voice broke in tears. "They took Cathy and...made her..." the boy broke off into hysterical sobs.
"Shit! They didn't!" Duo said, his eyes wide.
"I ended up here, after the soldiers had roughed me up and left me to rot in the gutter," the boy said with an intense hatred. The boy sighed, and stopped talking. Duo exited the room, letting the boy get some much needed rest. He wandered back into his room, and the bed creaked as he sat on it. He stared at the wall and his mind brought up the events of the day.
"It's the war," Duo muttered, "the damn war has taken away innocence."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, more is coming soon! I love you guys, and tune in for more in part two of The Death of Shinigami!!!!!
love ya ^.^ Corn