Duo screeched as Wufei walked by the HUGE birdcage with over 50 birds in it at the house where the boys stayed. (Actually, it’s one of Quatre’s many mansions.) Wufei stopped, looked at the cage, shrugged and walked off.

Duo sighed. He looked down his little beak at his little talons. “How did I get myself into this mess??” he thought. He began to think about how he had become a bird...

Quatre was going back to his colony for a business trip. He decided to get a little gift for his friends before he left. The gifts were beautiful. They were little glass models of each of their Gundams. Unfortunately, Duo’s model had broken when it was shipped. Not having enough time to buy another, Quatre decided to give Duo something else. And that little something else was a gorgeous parakeet charm with a ruby stone in its mouth. That was when everything started to go wrong.

All the guys had gotten their gifts, and were thanking Quatre. Quatre then asked if he could speak to Duo alone. When they were left alone, Quatre said to Duo, “This is an Arabian charm...It goes back way, way into the past. As with a lot of Arabian things, this charm contains magic.” With this Duo exclaimed, “Ooh ooh!! Does that mean I get to make three wishes from a genie??” Then Quatre replied, “No...this is NOT a magic lamp. See this ruby in its mouth. Never, EVER touch it, because if you do...you’ll turn into a parakeet.” Duo shuddered at the thought and nodded his head.

Duo recalled Quatre’s warning very well. He sighed. Curiosity had once again gotten the best of him. “Curiosity killed the Duo,” he thought to himself. He continued remembering his living nightmare.

It was late that night, and Duo couldn’t sleep. No one else was awake. So Duo decided to take a look at the charm Quatre had given him. He picked it up gently and started feeling the intricate pattern on the glass charm. That’s when he forgot Quatre’s warning. Duo touched the ruby. Nothing happened. Duo suddenly became very tired, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Duo felt....very small. He tried to get up, but the blanket was covering him. That’s when he saw it. He had wings!! At first, Duo was overjoyed at the thought of being able to fly, but then he remembered. He had touched the ruby...he was now officially a black parakeet.

When Duo was late for breakfast (and he never is), the guys decided to go check on him. So Trowa went to Duo’s room and knocked on the door. No answer. Trowa knocked again. Still no answer. Trowa decided to just go in. As Trowa walked in, he saw that Duo was not there. Then Trowa saw the black parakeet in the middle of the bed. Being an animal person, he went over and picked up the parakeet.” Hmm...wonder where Duo went?? Oh well, he wanders off sometimes. And when did we get a BLACK parakeet??” Trowa thought. He shrugged, put the parakeet in to the cage, and rejoined the others.

Duo sighed once again. He had not figured out how to “speak” with his new mouth yet. So when he tried to say “help”, it came out as “cheep”. Duo had only one hope left...Quatre.

Duo remembered that Quatre was coming back that day. He was SO HAPPY!! Quatre would be the only one that would think of him turning into a parakeet. His hopes were up once again.

Quatre came home early that afternoon. All the guys (even Duo!) greeted him warmly. “Hey guys...where’s Duo??” Quatre asked. Heero shrugged and replied, “We don’t know. He just disappeared.” Duo flew all around the cage, trying to get their attention. Wufei then said, “All we found was a black parakeet in his room.” Quatre paled. “Is something wrong Quatre??” asked Trowa. Slowly, Quatre answered, “The bird. Let me see the bird.” So Trowa went and got the bird (who hopped on his finger VERY eagerly). Quatre took the bird and said, “Duo? Is that you?? If it is...chirp three times.” The bird chirped three times. Duo had FINALLY gotten his message out. Quatre paled even more. He had found out the dreadful truth. Duo was a bird.

“Quatre...are you SURE you’re feeling alright??” questioned the Chinese pilot. Quatre nodded his head as he pored over old Arabian magic books. Duo hopped around the table. Heero asked (for the millionth time), “Are you SURE that that’s Duo??” The Arabian just nodded his head, and kept looking for the spell to bring back Duo. Trowa just stood there, and watched.

The next day...”I FOUND IT!! I FOUND IT!!” exclaimed Quatre, as Duo chirped happily beside him. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei walked into the room with that sleepy look about them. They yawned and asked, “You found what??” Quatre showed them the spell to turn Duo into a human again. The guys all went, “Oh. I see.” They went back to bed. Quatre got up and started to do some magic.

A little while later, Duo was back to his old self. He smiled at Quatre, and Quatre smiled back. Quatre turned back to the stove to make breakfast. “Man, I wish there was a spell for making breakfast,” mumbled Quatre.

Quatre and Duo had finished their breakfast. Heero, Trowa, and Wufei had not come out yet. Getting worried, they went to go check on them. They found them alright, but not as humans. Quatre and Duo found the others as birds! Quatre picked the birds up. There was one with a brown head, a dark blue chest, and a light blue bottom (that one’s Trowa). Another had a brown head, a green chest, and a black bottom (that one’s Heero). The last one had a black head and a white body (that one’s Wufei). Trowa stared. Heero screeched. Wufei screeched and glared (It’s kinda hard to glare when you’re a parakeet, no??). Quatre and Duo laughed, and set about to perform the spell again.