Author's note: This is a SHOUNEN-AI fic (1+2, 3+4), pretty safe to read (not lemon-y fresh) ^_^.

"Whoo-hoo! You all shall feel my wrath!" Duo screamed manically from within his Gundam. After dispatching the mobile suits in front of him, he found himself surrounded by more. Before he could make his next move, the suits were blasted from behind by Wing's cannon. Duo couldn't help but grin as Heero's face popped up on his monitor.

"Looks like we've stepped on a very big bees nest!" Duo shouted as he flew up to his teammate.

"Mission accomplished." Heero stated. Before they could make a fast escape, they were surrounded by all sides.

"Here comes the workers! Where's the pesticide when you need it!"

"Duo..."

"You think you can destroy Death! Ha!" Duo whooped while he began swiping at the closest mobile suits, only to be replaced by more. "I think it's time for you to meet your maker!"

"Duo, retreat now." Heero ordered as he blew away a clear path, "I'll cover you."

"Oh no you won't," Duo stated as his scythe tore into a suit, "you'll just stick around and play Mr. Self-Destruct on us."

"Du-" Heero started before Duo's face popped up on his screen.

"There are too many of them, I know." Duo stated quietly, his violet eyes showing a brief flicker of fear. He grin faltered, but he resumed to smile. "You'll push that button the second I'm out of range. Better to lose one pilot than two, right? Either we fight our way out together, or Shinigami makes his final grand exit. Your pick."

There was a brief moment of silence as Deathscythe continued its endless assault on the enemy. A suit flew up on Duo's blindside, only to be blown away by Heero.

"Let's go."

"All right! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Duo cheered as another OZ mobile suit fell victim to his scythe in an explosive display.

"Behind you!" Heero shouted as he saw a large missile heading right towards Duo's Gundam.

His warning came too late. . .

"Wonder how their mission is going. They should be back soon." Quatre mused as he tuned his violin.

"They'll be fine as long as Heero doesn't kill Maxwell." Wufei answered from the nearby couch, his face buried deep into a book. Quatre made a brief face at the Chinese pilot before running his bow across the bridge of his violin.

"Argh!" Wufei groaned as a very loud and grainy noise began to come from the instrument. Quatre stopped playing, humor dancing in his blue eyes. He turned towards the window and began to play a soft, melodious tune. Soon Wufei felt like he was outside himself, and the sun was dancing on the waves at his feet. He closed his eyes to enjoy the music when it suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes to see why Quatre had stopped playing, only to find Trowa standing in the doorway, his green eyes focused on the Arabian. Muttering silently to himself, Wufei resumed reading his book.

"Hi Trowa," Quatre said cheerily, his chin still resting on the violin, "where are you headed?"

"I've got rehearsal." he answered as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll be home later on tonight."

"Um, I was wondering if, perhaps, uh," Quatre stammered, a small blush rising to his pale cheeks, "could I come along?"

"Well I-"

"I won't get in the way, promise, and I told Catherine I'd stop by more often and I have nothing better to do than worry about the other guys' mission and I'm really bored, I'm slipping into Duoism's, perish the thought, oh my gosh I'm babbling. . .or never mind I'll find something to do," Quatre rambled as he quickly placed the violin in it's case and began to toy with his vest.

"Quatre." Trowa interupted, "I see no problem in you joining me. Would you like to come along Wufei?"

"Un-uh. He wasn't kidding about the Duo stuff. By all means, take him. If he wants to ogle you all day is fine by me as long as I finish this book before Maxwell returns and ruins my state of mind."

"NO!" Quatre screamed as his legs seemed to give way from beneath him. Wufei and Trowa quickly ran to the blond pilots side. Quatre was shaking violently, his hand clenched tightly to his chest. Trowa grabbed Quatre's shoulders gently and lightly shook him.

"Quatre, what is the matter?" Trowa asked calmly, though deep inside he felt his fear growing.

"Something is very wrong." Quatre gasped as the shaking subsided. The three pilots jumped as a butler entered carrying a telephone.

"It's a Mr. Yuy asking for you, sir." the man stated. Wufei stood and took the phone, simply stating to the man that Quatre was unable to speak at the moment. Quatre watched in silence as Wufei's face changed from pure calm to an unreadable expression. The pilot did not exchange a word with Heero, he silently nodded his head. Quatre began to sense that Wufei had gone into some sort of shock. Hanging up the phone, Wufei stood staring at nothing, his eyes slowly reaching the other pilots.

"It's Duo," he stated quietly.

The three pilots reached the Intensive Care Unit in complete silence. Quatre was the first to spot Heero in the waiting room, his expression was unreadable, but he looked extremely pale. Quatre remembered to what Wufei had murmured after he informed the other pilots of the incident.

"Heero's voice. . ."

"Heero!" Quatre cried as he ran up to him, "where's Duo? Is he ok? Where is he? Have you heard anything from the doctors? Damn it! Say something!"

Heero looked up at the shout and looked at the distraught teen. He hadn't realized anyone was there at all. Trowa and Wufei walked up and Trowa placed a comforting hand on Quatre's shoulder. Quatre choked back a sob as he turned and buried his face in Trowa's shoulder.

"Everyone's hurting," he whispered, and Trowa pulled him into a quick hug. Wufei sat next to Heero and they both stared unseeingly at the wall. The four pilots stayed that way for what seemed to be an eternity when the doctor finally entered the room. The tall woman looked at the chart in her hand scanned the room.

"Is the guardian of Duo Maxwell here?" she said softly. Quatre broke free of Trowa's embrace and walked up to the woman, he body language and voice completely professional.

"My name is Quatre Winner, and I shall be taking all responsiblity for the cost of Mr. Maxwell's care."

"Well, yes," she said, surprised. In all her years in this profession during the war, no person has ever claimed responsibility for an orphan. Not to mention that this boy seemed to be same age as the patient, if not younger. But she was no fool, she knew the Winner name well. "Mr. Winner, I'm Dr. Beacon. We've finally stabilzed Duo."

"How is he?"

"Duo sustained a concussion in the accident, but he was awake and alert when he was brought in by Mr. Yuy. He has a few bumps and bruises, which should heal within a few days--"

"However,"

"However, the force of the impact had caused a blunt object to smash into his lower back causing trauma to his spine. We do believe a few vertebra has slipped and are preventing communication to the rest of his body--"

"What are you saying?" Quatre said, his voice faltering.

"He can't walk," Heero suddenly choked out, his voice calm and yet forced at the same time. "Duo couldn't walk. . ."

"From what we can tell so far, he is paralyzed from the waist down."

To Be Continued. . .