Chapter Eleven

Two days ago, everything had been fine.

Harry had gotten a surprise while sitting on the front porch with Quatre, in the form of Hedwig suddenly swooping down to land on his shoulder. He'd been ecstatic at the reemergence of his first friend, and the rest of the Gundam pilots absolutely fell in love with the beautiful creature.

The bird had chattered and screeched and whopped Harry on the head with her wing a few times before settling down and mothering him. He had fondly referred to her as a mother-hen, to which she took offence and whopped him again. Quatre had found it hilarious.

Trowa had taken him to meet Cathy at the circus, as well as introduce him to the large cats. Oddly enough, it seemed as though being a feline animagus created an 'in' with the carnivores, and Harry could be seen cuddling with them later. Any doubt by those at the circus that he was Trowa's brother was trounced then and there.

There were now many pictures to prove it to those that still doubted.

Quatre and Harry's relationship had grown by leaps and bounds as well. That wasn't too surprising, however, considering the spontaneity of it to begin with. It was a pairing that worked, and it worked well. There had been a sudden lack of nightmares from those two lately, and the whole mansion was praying it would stay that way.

And then they had gotten their mission call two days ago.

And now they were on a hill, hidden behind trees, completely surrounded by a terrorist cell they'd been sent to take out with any force necessary. But their information had been incorrect and the six of them were vastly outnumbered.

Duo, being their best in stealth, was sneaking up the hill, trying to get a better look at their opponents. Tension was thick in the air, especially when 02 no longer had the cover of the trees. Harry, suddenly sensing something was wrong, inhaled sharply just as gunfire erupted. He felt Duo fall, heard Trowa's choked gasp and the half-aborted movements of the others. But the terrorists were moving towards Duo, their Boss in the lead.

And Harry moved, practically exploding from the trees much to the surprise of the other pilots and their foes. He leapt, his form twisting, much as it did with the animagus, and yet rather different. He landed on all fours, towering over Duo's fallen form, snapping black wings out and knocking aside many mercenaries. There were screams and gunfire, but the bullets didn't do much damage, and a taloned front leg swept through the panicking terrorists, knocking them aside.

Trowa ran, sliding to a stop next to Duo, under the griffin that had to be the size of an elephant. He wasn't going to question his younger brother's spectacular shape-shifting, instead focusing on his injured lover. Around them, Heero, Quatre and Wufei were taking down terrorists under Harry-Griffin's watchful eye, because it was obvious that this magnificent creature was not blind.

Trowa bit back a sob as he carefully cradled Duo. Blood covered half of the pilot's face, coming from a deep bullet graze on his temple. Two more bullets had connected with his chest, through the Kevlar, and another had gone through Duo's thigh. The terrorists were using high-caliber weapons, and it showed in the damage done. There wasn't much hope for the Gundam pilot to survive this one.

Harry gave a screech, sounding much like the eagle half of him resembled, one large paw landing close to where Trowa held Duo. The conscious pilot placed a hand against his brother's paw and it moved away, this time more carefully placed. "Duo, baby," Trowa whispered, emerald eyes filling with tears as he watched Duo struggle for breath. "Please don't leave me. Please, love."

Harry's ears flicked at that desperate plea. He cast his sharp gaze about, noticing that all the terrorists were dead or otherwise incapacitated, and that the other three pilots kept glancing over, looking worried and heart-broken. He flicked his wings, rearranging them along his back, and very carefully backed up.

He eyed his brother and friend, seeing them for the first time and not liking it. If he could, he would have frowned. Because Duo was dying. And he wasn't going to allow that to happen.

He'd lost far too many friends and family already.

He carefully bent, placing the tip of his sharp beak in the crook of Duo's neck and pulled his magic around him. Trowa hardly noticed, he was so distraught. But he did notice when Duo suddenly stiffened in his arms. The pilot's back arched and he choked on both blood and air, coughing congealing blood from his lungs. The wounds healed, and Trowa blinked at the fresh scars (as even Harry had his limits) and at the sight of the streak of white hair that Duo now sported from temple to the end of his braid.

"Tro?" Duo whispered, amethyst eyes blinking blearily. "My head hurts."

Trowa gave a gasping sob, holding Duo tighter as he unconsciously rocked him. Harry backed up more, changing back into a human and stumbling as darkness surrounded him again. He hated that. He'd finally been able to see again…and it had been taken away.

Quatre caught him, holding him close and whispering his thanks as he watched his two friends. "Couldn't lose anyone else," Harry whispered in reply, his voice slurring with his overall exhaustion. He'd definitely used far too much magic. Quatre caught him as the world went black.

When he awoke, he found himself being practically snuggled by his older brother, who was murmuring his thanks in his ear. He mumbled something in reply and went back to sleep, still far too tired. Trowa gave a small chuckle, and settled down next to him for the night, Duo on the other side. The bed was plenty big enough.

A day later saw them all back at Preventers. Duo seemed slightly out of it, quieter than usual and somewhat dazed. Harry had assured them that he would be back to his normal rambunctious self within a few days, that forcing a magical healing was what had taken it out of the pilot. They all believed him.

As it was, they were discussing a new case that had just been completed by Wufei and Trowa. Harry was nursing a headache that he had gained upon waking up this morning. Duo glanced at him, concerned. "Are you alright, Har-bear?"

"Mhmm," Harry hummed, kneading his fingers into his temples. "Just a headache." He shook his head gently and looked in Quatre's direction. "What are we doing about the mission report?"

The others all shrugged, giving noncommittal answers. "We're not exactly sure what to say about your magnificent shape-changing," Heero admitted softly. "How, exactly, did you pull that off?"

Harry shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. Although I'm pretty sure I could do it again if I needed to." He winced as the headache spiked and then turned to help Quatre write up their mission report, as the others followed.

Trowa stood, grabbing a file. "Would you like to go with me to turn this in?" he asked Harry. The younger agent smiled and stood as well, holding back another wince. They spoke softly as they traversed down the hall.

Harry paused, frowning as he placed a hand against his head. Trowa turned as well, eyeing his little brother with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?" Harry mumbled something and then dropped, Trowa catching him in shock.

Two days later, Harry awoke from his coma-like state, blinking open his emerald eyes to look over at his brother, sleeping by his bedside. Quatre walked in then, and stopped in surprise, when Harry looked at him and whispered, "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Harry?"

Harry sat up, careful not to wake Trowa, and kept his eyes on Quatre. "You wouldn't believe how good it is to finally see you."

The End.

Sorry people, I got tired of writing this. I'm in the middle of doing school now, as well as searching for a house and trying to work out possible house payments, so I'm busy. And this just had to end. So it's over now. I apologize. Bye!