Notes: OK... it's official. I need help. I mean, I actually wrote this! <ahem> (You'll see!)

This is a serious story, angsty at times, and I just know I'm going to get flak for what I did to Duo. But, remember, I like Duo! I just like to mess with the characters I like (I'd really hate to see what I do to characters I don't like!!)

Comvilingytis is an imaginary disease, created for this story.

This is AU. And, thanks for comet for giving it a once over. Any grammar mistakes left are mine. (I know I'm forgetting something... I almost always do.)

WARNING!: This is unfinished! And, I only have a general idea on where to go next. Even though, I have comet prodding me on this (And others).

Pairings: None at the moment, may change. (Probably will, knowing my mind.Will advise when/if it changes.)

/thoughts/
[sign langugage]
{written}

"We're cut off," Wufei ground out, glaring at the dead end he and the other three pilots, Trowa, Heero, and Quatre, had been herded to on their escape from the OZ base they were sabotaging.

"Then, we take as many of them with us," Heero said, pulling out a second gun and whirling to face the approaching troops.

A loud snort sounded in the silence and the shadows seemed to move. The pilots stood, dumbstruck, as the troops coming toward them were mowed down by some unseen enemy, cut to ribbons, the wounds cauterized as the bodies fell. Moments later, the shadows coalesced into what looked to be a human sized black mecha, holding a scythe. Turning to the pilots, it looked them over and nodded, satisfied that they were unhurt.

"Who are you?" Trowa asked.

The figure gave a jaunty bow. As it came up from the bow, the figure faded back into the shadows.

"Hey! Come back here!" Wufei yelled.

/If this was an anime, I'd be able to press a button, and my armor would just go poof!/ Duo grumbled to himself as he took off his body armor and placed it into the case he created for it. /Of course, if this was an
anime, I'd have a stupid transformation sequence, and I'd probably be cast as a girl./ Making a disgusted face, he shut and locked the case before going to make himself something to eat. /It was nice seeing the guys, even for a second. Good to know that Heero is the same self-destructive idiot he was when I knew him. Why the hell did that virus have to happen to me?!/ Slamming his hand against the counter, the still braided ex-Gundam pilot growled silently.

The doorbell of his efficiency apartment rang at that moment, stopping him from one of his frequent descents of self pity and depression. The bell was soon followed by a loud banging. "Federation Police! Open up in the name of the law!"

/The name of Oz, you mean,/ Duo replied with a snort. He then sighed silently as he ran back to the case holding his armor and folded up scythe. Not having enough time to put everything back on, he slung the case onto his back and scurried out the window. Instead of going down, like the men after him would expect, he climbed up the fire escape to the roof.

Judging the distance to the next building, he decided that he wouldn't be able to make the jump without wearing his suit of armor. Going against OZ physically instead of in a Gundam had made him stronger and more agile,  but he knew his limits.

Hiding in the shadows behind a heat exhaust tube, he slipped the case to the ground and started to pull the armor on. In the beginning, it had taken him up to half an hour to put on the armor. Now, his best time was four
minutes.

Tucking the empty case under one arm, he grasped the extended energy scythe in the other and made a running leap for the next building.

"He's on the roof!" a voice called out.

/You can't kill me if you can't catch me!/ Duo thought maliciously as he jumped from building to building, the enhancements in his armor giving him twice the jumping power. /Woooooo!/

"Duo! Duo, It is you!"

/Quatre,/ Duo mentally sighed to himself, giving the blonde pilot a smile.

"Duo, where have you been? We've been worried sick!"

The American cocked his head to one side. /Worried sick? Why?/

"Professor G just told us that you were no longer piloting a Gundam, so not to count on you for missions! What happened?" Quatre continued, not yet noticing that Duo hadn't said a word.

"Duo, why are you quiet?" Trowa asked.

Duo shook his head, in shock at the callousness of the scientists. /Then again, I shouldn't be surprised,/ he thought, his mouth quirked in a sardonic smile.

Heero came over to the three and paused in his step in shock before joining the conversation. "Baka."

/Good to see you too, Heero,/ Duo thought with a blinding grin.

"Well, Duo, say something!" Quatre exclaimed, poking the braided man in the chest.

Pulling out the small notepad and pen he carried around, Duo scribbled out something, tore off the page and handed it to the blonde Arabian.

"What do you mean, 'you can't'?" Quatre asked after reading the note, confused.

Duo was already scribbling some more on the next page in the notebook.

"'No voice?' Laryngitis?" Heero asked, reading over Duo's shoulder.

Duo crossed out what he was writing and started over. Finishing, he handed Quatre the paper.

"I had comvilingytis. Didn't get the cure quick enough. So, no voice," Quatre read aloud, his voice somber. "I'm so sorry, Duo!"

Duo gave a shrug and a blinding smile.

"That's why you're no longer a Gundam pilot?" Trowa asked softly.

The American nodded vigorously. Then, after peering at his three friends, he scribbled something else out and handed it to Quatre, who read it aloud. "I have to go, I'm late for an appointment. Nice to see you again!"

Duo waved and started to saunter off.

"Oh, no you don't!" Heero growled, grabbing the American's braid before he got out of range.

Duo silently screamed in pain at the pulling on his braid before turning to glare at Heero, who still held onto the end.

"You still have some explaining to do," Heero said.

/Like what?/ Duo thought, tilting his head to one side, confused. Then, after retrieving his braid from Heero, he shrugged and walked away again, fading into the crowd.

"Duo!" Quatre called out. "Come back!"

"Duo was here?" Wufei asked as he appeared beside the other three pilots.

"Yes, and he left just as suddenly," Trowa replied. Heero then told Wufei Duo's story.

/Why did I have to run into them?/ Duo asked angrily, clutching the bag of electronics to his chest and stalking down the mall hallway. /I don't want their pity! That's why I disappeared!/

Walking at a good clip, he quickly made it to the vehicle he had 'liberated' from a long term parking garage and gunned the motor, leaving the shopping center and his friends behind. His happiness at having the parts needed to upgrade his suit of armor evaporated as he sped through mostly deserted streets.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he slowed down and thought realistically. Even though he saw the pilots, there was no way they could know he was the armored figure that had saved their asses a few weeks ago and who was helping keep OZ off balance. Plus, they had no way of tracking him, since he was now returning his stolen car to the spot he had borrowed it from and wasn't using any of his known aliases. He had started from scratch, cutting all ties, when he went 'rogue'.

/Rogue, my ass. They train me for years, give me a Gundam, have me fight an almost impossible war. Then, when I lose my voice, they pull the rug out from under me and make me persona non grata. I will do what's necessary to create peace between Earth and the Colonies. Just because I can't talk doesn't mean I can't fight,/ Duo thought to himself determinedly as he entered the garage and parked the car.

"Here's yet more reports on that guy in the armor. He attacked the base we were going to demolish tomorrow. Not much left of it," Wufei said, throwing a pile of papers onto the table.

"New mission," Heero said as he walked into the room.

"What?" Trowa asked, straightening in the chair he had been sitting in.

"We're to find the guy with the body armor and determine who he works for. Dr J and the others are concerned at the level of technology he has," Heero replied. "Also, Professor G's new pilot for Deathscythe will be rendezvousing with us in a few hours. This will be his first mission."

"I still don't think anyone but Duo should be handling Deathscythe," Quatre said, slightly angry.

"I agree," Heero said with a nod. "Anyone coming into the team this late in the game is a liability. We know how Duo reacts in the field, and he knows Deathscythe better than anyone, probably even Professor G."

"Duo," Professor G said, looking up at the braided man that had appeared before him wearing a bulky trenchcoat.

Duo handed the scientist a piece of paper with the words {I heard you're looking for me} written on them.

"I have nothing to do with you since you became unfit to fly a Gundam," G replied primly.

Duo gave a snort and pulled out a pad of paper. Scribbling quickly, he handed over another sheet of paper. {Like the idiot piloting Shi is doing a great job. He's lucky he hasn't gotten captured or blown up yet.}

"He's operating well within the parameters I set before I gave him Deathscythe," G said defensively. After a pause, he glared at Duo. "And, how do you know about his performance?"

Duo pointed to the first piece of paper he had handed G.

"And, I told you I'm not looking for you! The only one I'm looking for is..." G trailed off, finally understanding. "You're the one in the armor!"

Duo gave his best maniacal grin.

"But the suit of armor... Who created it? Which scientist is helping you?" G demanded.

Duo scribbled some more. {No scientist. All mine.}

"Bull shit. You don't know enough about that field of science to do something so advanced."

{You think so? Well then... Let me tell you why Derek is having such a problem with the cloaking controls on Shi. I re-calibrated them after you installed the upgrade. Got them to run at 102%. He's behaving as if they were working on your calibrations, which run at 72%}

"Impossible."

{Why are you looking for me?}

G glared. "Give me the suit of armor. Obviously, you created it using my work, so I own it."

{Take it from me,} Duo wrote, glaring back.

"Hey, doc! You in here?" the new pilot of Deathscythe called out before entering the room.

Duo snorted and shook his head before turning to look Derek over.

"Hey, you're the last pilot of Deathscythe!" Derek exclaimed before grinning maliciously. "From the performance I've been getting out of it, you didn't take great care of it, did you? I can see why he had you replaced."

The braided man's eyes narrowed at the insult.

"Derek, incapacitate him!" G called out, quickly backing away from Duo. "But keep him alive!"

"You got it, boss!" Derek said, advancing on Duo, cracking his knuckles and trying to intimidate the slightly shorter man.

Duo rolled his eyes, then gave one of his best 'Shinigami' grins while motioning Derek to move closer.

The current pilot of Deathscythe obliged him, coming forward and swinging a punch towards Duo's chin. Duo ducked easily and brought the heel of his hand up and slammed it into the other man's stomach, driving the air out of him.

Derek fell back, gasping, the fight gone out of him. /Pathetic,/ Duo thought, shaking his head. Pulling out his collapsed scythe, he pressed the trigger buttons, which caused the small rod he had hidden on his body to
extend to the full length and a blue-black energy blade appeared at one end. Duo swung the scythe above his head and brought it down, centimeters from Derek's neck. Derek was frozen in terror at coming so close to death.

Disgusted, Duo walked away and glared at G. Leaning his scythe against the wall, the blade turned off, he pulled out his pad of paper and scribbled for a few moments, keeping G and Derek within his peripheral vision at all times.

"Pathetic! You replaced me with him? The only thing 'better' about him is, he can talk!" G read aloud. Glaring, he turned to the American. "He came out as to be expected, given the time frame and material I had to work with.

{The other pilots will refuse to work with him. He's not ready for combat.}

"Hey! I am too!" Derek exclaimed when Professor G read the note aloud.

[You are scared to die, you prick,] Duo signed rapidly, [That's one of the biggest requirements to being a Gundam pilot, being willing to die for the colonies.]

G, who understood sign language, turned to look consideringly at Derek. "He seemed to be willing to do what was necessary during training."

Duo's eyes widened slightly. When G turned to him again, he signed some more, [Training and actual combat isn't the same. Had he even killed before you got him?]

"According to the background check, he had. But, it was from afar," G replied.

[You should know that killing face to face is different from killing from a distance,] Duo signed. Seeing Derek slowly come up from behind him, he whirled, his energy scythe in his hand. Slamming the unlit scythe into the
side of Derek's head, he dropped the new pilot, who fell unconscious.

[Stop looking for me,] Duo signed on turning back to G. [Stay out of my way.] With that, he pulled a helmet from under the trenchcoat and let the coat drop to the ground to reveal the suit of armor he was wearing. Fading
back into the shadows, he disappeared, leaving G to stare pensively down at the current pilot of Deathscythe.