Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams of Love and Violence ❯ Chapter 1

Dreams of Love and Violence

Pairings: 1+2; 3+4; implied 5+Sally

Warnings: violence, angst, shounen ai, naughty language

Setting: Between space battles on the Peacemillion; a soldier's romance

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing characters belong to Mixx Entertainment, Koichi Tokita, the SOTSU Agency, Sunrise, Kodansha and anyone I may have forgotten, not to me. I make no money off of this.

Duo opened his eyes slowly, expecting the harsh lights of an interrogation room. Instead, he found himself inside a small room only dimly lit by a trickle of fluorescence from the tiny window in the steel door. He could hardly see through the gloom, the lights must have been darkened for the artificial night cycle, but even so, it was too bright for him. He closed his eyes again.

At least the hammering in his head had died down to a faint throb that pulsed with every heartbeat. Of course, the rest of his body more than made up for that relief with sharp twinges of pain that ran along his muscles. He tried to take a deep breath to clear his thoughts, but halfway there his cracked ribs reminded him to stick with shallow breaths. Well, maybe the rest of his body had escaped mostly intact. He tensed one of his arms and felt the wires wrapped around him, holding him fast.

No other way to find out, he told himself, and violently tore at the wires.

A moment later, gasping in agony, he lay perfectly still. Every injury flared up and seemed to burn when he moved. Cold chills raced across him, but within a few minutes, the pain dropped into the background again.

Broken arm, he started the list off, broken leg, cracked ribs, maybe a concussion, definitely blood loss, and God only knows what internal injures--

"Duo, is that you?"

The weak voice forced Duo's mind away from his injuries and back to his surroundings. If he listened closely, he could just discern the sound of someone a few feet away, struggling to breathe. Duo forced himself to turn his head, and he spotted the silhouette of another prisoner, also bound in those damn odd wires.

"Quatre?" he whispered, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah," the other boy answered. From what he could hear, Duo was fairly certain that Quatre was better off than he was. The blonde sounded merely exhausted, not in pain. Of course, with Quatre, one could never really be sure.

"Are we the only ones in here?" Duo asked, wishing he could see clearer.

"We're the only ones who got caught," Quatre replied. "I think everyone else got away."

"Think they'll come back for us?"

"Those three? Maybe, if they can. Duo, are you all right?"

Duo nearly laughed, but that would have hurt more. "Not quite. Four guys decided to rearrange my vital organs. You?"

"Just one guy. I'm not as durable as you are."

They both sighed, then winced when it hurt.

"Hey, do you know why they like wires instead of plain old restraints?" Duo asked, trying to fill up the silence.

"These guys...they're running on a tight budget," Quatre answered. "Restraints cost more than they care to spend."

"Then why bother keeping prisoners?"

"I don't think they were planning on keeping prisoners alive for too long. I...could be wrong...they might...not have restraints...because they didn't care to leave survivors..."

Duo thought about that for a moment. "I wonder why they're keeping us, then."

"Don't...know," Quatre's voice started to sound even fainter, as if he was close to blacking out. "Hostages, maybe?"

Duo groaned miserably. "Just wonderful. I love being the damsel in distress." Disgusted that he was in such a vulnerable position, he shut his eyes, intending only to rest them for a moment. Instead, he fell back to sleep, lapsing into unsettling dreams.

"Quatre, you gonna be able to keep up?"

"Duo, quit teasing me 'till we're out of here, I'm nervous enough as it is!"

"Hey, as long as you aim straight and don't shoot me, don't worry too much!"

"Look at it from my point of view, I'm working with the god of death!"

"See, you can't be too nervous, you're laughing--" I stop talking suddenly and hug up against the wall, and beside me Quatre does the same. Down the corridor, a small group of men float by, blissfully unaware of our presence. A moment later they disappear, and I hear Quatre sigh. Must have been holding his breath.

"Okay, come on," I say, and he follows just behind me. I have to slow down so he can keep up, he's not as fast as I am, especially not with that duffel bag he's carrying. I wonder if he knows. I'm sure he must be nervous still, and I open my mouth to start up the banter again, but Quatre puts his hand on my shoulder and points ahead.

"There's the main engine room," he whispers. "But why isn't it guarded...?"

"The intruder alarms haven't gone off," I answer. "Otherwise we'd be swimming in enemy soldiers."

We glide to the door, and to my irritation we find it locked up tight with a number key. "Damn it, no one said these'd be locked, who the hell locks their main doors?"

"Wait a minute," Quatre says quickly, holding me back from merely shooting the lock out. He takes a small packet of something from his vest and tears it open. Dust spills into his hand. He holds it up to the lock and gently glows the grains against the number pad, and a few numbers fade out. After briefly considering, Quatre pushes them in a certain order, and the door slides open.

"Cool," I have to admit, and it keeps me from telling the whole ship we're here. "What is that stuff?"

"Just regular old dust," he smiles as we float inside. "There's the computer console."

I nod and close the door behind us, glad that he's finally relaxing a bit. I head over the console and look over the controls. Stand military design. This would have been easier for Heero or Trowa, but the shafts we had to crawl through were so cramped that their bodies just wouldn't fit. Sometimes it pays to be smaller. Quatre heads out along the edges of the machines, pulling explosive charges out of his duffel bag and placing them in key areas. I press the last keystroke and the dull hum tells us the engines are now off-line.

"Hurry up, Quatre, the guards'll be here any minute now!"

"I'm done, set them!" He races to join my side and we take off. I shut the door again, which cues the charges to start the one-minute countdown. We hear the startled yells coming from down the corridors, and abruptly the red alert sirens blare out.

"One of the others must have set that off," Quatre grumbles.

"Wufei," I say knowingly. "He's probably killed the captain and crew by now."

A blast rocks the ship, then another even closer to us.

"The engines have gone," Quatre tells me.

"The lets do the same," I reply. We continue racing down the corridors, avoiding as many troops as we can. "Y'know, this would've been easier if we could've just blown this ship up."

"I know, but an exploding ship would attract too much attention," Quatre says in his infuriatingly logical frame of mind. "We can't afford to face a large military force yet."

"If Heero hadn't decided drag us all into a fight with a fleet of Oz suits--"

"It wasn't a fleet, and as I recall, you were the one we had to drag away."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I sigh.

We both duck into the beginning of the long ventilation shafts and start crawling down the darkness. I don't normally like putting myself into enclosed spaces like this, but at least this time I have company.

"Duo, you're still ahead of me, right?"

"Come on, Quatre, it's not that dark."

"I'm afraid it's dark enough for me."

"Bad night vision?"

"When I was a little kid, I always slept with a nightlight," he admits to me, with an ironic laugh to his voice. "Calmed me down, but it ruined my night vision."

"Don't sweat it, I'll take it easy for you," I say casually, then almost stop as I realize what I've just said. "Hey, Quatre, man, I didn't mean--" I try to apologize, but he chuckles, interrupting me.

"It's all right, I know I'm not as physical as you guys are," he says softly, but lightheartedly. "As long as I'm not a handicap, I don't mind."

I want to tell him that's an awful way to think, to allow himself to be treated like a weakling when I know he's not. This isn't the time or place for a pep talk, though, so I force myself to derail that train of thought. I'll talk some sense into him later.

"Duo, wait, there's someone up ahead!"

I stop as he grabs my left ankle, holding me still. He's right, how come I didn't see that? Damn, his eyes must be really photosensitive. There's several people standing near the very end of the shaft, waiting to see if someone will pop out. "All right, let's back up and find another way out. I can't believe someone set the red alert off before schedule."

"We'll chew him out later, we need to find the alternate route now."

We both crawl backwards, and I start to get that nervous feeling in my stomach when things get super-unpredictable. "Be careful when you get out," I tell him.

"I know, I know," he says, obviously impatient.

I smirk. If improvising makes me a tad uneasy, it makes him downright edgy. We finally get back out, and as I stand up, he's dropping the duffel bag and pulling a handgun he'd hidden somewhere in his clothing. I take out my own gun and walk beside him down the corridors, taking a different path than before. Hopefully these next shafts won't be blocked up. If they are, we'll have to make a break for the mobile suit hangars and steal a pair.

"There they are!"

We both turn in unison and face a handful of soldiers coming at us. They're pretty close, I briefly wonder who the moron was that yelled out our warning, then dive at the first one. He didn't expect me to leap forward like that and tries to back away. Instead he slams into the guy behind him, giving them both concussions as they collapse onto the metal floor. The third one is bearing down on me pretty fast, so I stay on the ground and sweep his legs out from under him. Unfortunately he lands on top of me, pinning me on top of the other two. He's still capable of swinging and proves it by landing a few good punches, and the slowest soldier is about to join him. A door not too far away slides open, and three more soldiers appear. I feel my heart twist up in anxiety, I can't admit to myself that I'm about to panic.

Before they get any closer, though, all three of them are suddenly thrown back in rapid succession. Blood spills in perfect circles in the air, slowly falling to the floor. The soldier about to pounce looks up just in time to catch a bullet in his chest and fall backward. The one on top of me hasn't noticed his fallen comrades and puts his hands around my throat, trying to choke me. Our faces are only inches apart, until I blink, and his face has magically disappeared, replaced by mangled blood and bone. His body slumps down on mine until I push it off.

Quatre's in front of me, his handgun lowered. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he hates shooting like that. "You all right?" he asks as he holds his hand out.

"Yeah, I can't believe that guy fell on me," I answer, taking his offered hand. We both take off down these endless corridors. "That was a pretty good shot," I tell him as we run. "You nailed that guy without even splattering me with blood."

He smiles despite his mood. "I'm a fairly decent marksman. My teacher said I had a natural gift for it."

We turn another corner and come up behind another batch of soldiers who haven't realized we're right behind them. I launch forward and nail the first two with my best moves, kicking out a third while two bullets take out the last two soldiers.

"Two for two!" I'm surprised, I've rarely seen anyone as good a shot as that, especially in combat conditions.

"Duo, behind you!"

I turn and spot another troop right on top of me. There's no time to swing as they bear down on me. Quatre kills one of them, and I hear him changing cartridges. Another one takes the dead soldier's place, while two more grab my legs. I crane my head around to get a glimpse of Quatre, he's aiming at my attackers while five more are coming down on him.

He lets off three good hits before he's knocked down. He cries out in pain but still forces himself to land on his back and fire once more. He kills as many as he can until he's got to change cartridges again, and even though he's fast, there's just too many of them. One big soldier viciously kicks him and slams his knee down into Quatre's wrist, forcing him to drop the gun. I wince in sympathy as I hear that wrist crack, but then I feel my own bones cracking and breaking. I can still see Quatre, that soldier has his hands around his throat, and my friend can't fight back with just one arm. He reaches into his pocket for the last cartridge, and I wonder what he's going to do. To my amazement, he shoves the slim shaft of metal directly into the man's left eye. Blood sprays out and some of us gasp. Somehow the soldier doesn't fall. He yells in anger and pain and continues to strangle Quatre. I'm sure he's killing him but I can't be sure, and finally one last kick to my head puts me out.

Quatre watched Duo as he slept, wincing each time he whimpered unconsciously. Duo had obviously received the worst beating. His left arm was completely bruised, which meant it was likely broken. His left foot was also twisted around at a painful angle, and the wires wrapped around him dug into his skin.

Quatre smiled softly. At least Duo had been quiet when they bound him. I came to while they were tying us up. He closed his eyes again. Duo's body was merely tangled in wires. They'd strung the wires around Quatre so tight that he could only take in shallow breaths. I should have played dead, but the urge to fight back was too strong... Instead he now had a deep bruise and a welt rising on his cheek where he'd been backhanded again, to quiet him. He tried to twist his hands around and instead felt the wires bite into him, putting pressure on his broken wrist. He stopped trying to move and gazed back at Duo. "I really do hope they find a way to come after us," he whispered, even though his friend couldn't hear. "I know Trowa will come. At the very least they'd put us out of our misery."

The door suddenly hissed open, and the light overpowered him for a moment. The glare pounded against his head, and when he finally looked up again, a tall soldier stood in the doorway. He looked around the corridor to make sure they were alone, then entered and let the door close again. Now that the tiny cell was dim again, Quatre could make out a couple features on the man's face. It seemed oddly familiar...he swallowed his gasp. The man was wearing an eye patch. This was the man he'd rammed the cartridge into.

Quatre shot a quick glance at Duo, but his companion was still unconscious. Of course, he wouldn't have been able to help even if he had been awake, and Quatre almost felt relieved that he was alone in this. He had a feeling he knew what was about to happen, and he'd rather no one saw.

How can I be so calm about this? he wondered.

It was as if he was no longer in his body when the first strike landed on his face, slamming him against the wall. He watched himself slide sideways onto the floor, the wires cutting cruelly into his skin. The soldier kicked him once in the side, then again, but he hardly felt it.

Shock, he realized. I'm going into shock now, and I don't feel the pain. Thank God for minor miracles.

"You wanted to shove something into me," the soldier snarled, forcing him onto his stomach. "Now I'm gonna shove something into you."

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Quatre shut his eyes up tight and decided it was better not to fight. Play dead. Don't give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing you hurt. Quatre actually smiled at that. It was something Duo would've said to him. "I won't," he whispered inaudibly.

Then the world exploded into little stars and sparks as the pain hit. Had the shock worn off? No, this simply hurt more than his body could compensate for. He held his breath, ignoring the man's grunting laughter, but he couldn't stop himself from struggling to break free. Fire ran across his back, and he realized that was the wire slicing through his skin. His clothing felt slick, and when he looked down, he was covered in his own blood.

Please let this be over soon, he cried, not knowing who he was talking to. Please, please, make it stop.

And then it was done. His clothing was rearranged so no one would know what had happened, and he was left face down in a pool of blood. The door opened up, then shut. Biting back his scream, he twisted onto his back so he wouldn't drown, then blacked out.

"It's an Oz ship all right," Trowa says, his hair falling into his eyes for a moment as he stares into the console. I try not to let myself be distracted and keep my eyes on the screen.

"They're heading for the same asteroid we are," I add.

"Looks like we're not the only ones after the gundanium," Duo says, relaxing against the wall.

"Do they know we're out here?" Heero asks.

"You don't think it's a happy coincidence, do you?" Duo replies before I can answer.

"I'm not sure," I ignore his comments and answer Heero. "They haven't brought along any troops, which they would do if they thought we were nearby. But then, this satellite is pretty far out of their way, even for gundanium."

"So let's just blow them out of the sky," Duo smirks again. "It'll be fun."

I shake my head. "No way, if an Oz ship disappears then they'll know we're here and that we needed this satellite to repair our gundams."

"Quatre's right," Trowa nods, and I have to focus so I don't get lost in his voice. "We can't let them know we're here, not yet."

"But we still have to keep them from the satellite," Wufei enters the conversation. "We'll need to disable the ship and make sure no one knows until we've taken the ore and vanished."

"All right, I haven't had the pleasure of a sneak attack in a long time," Duo grins. "Dibs on the engine room."

"Let me bring up the schematics," I say softly, pulling the diagrams on screen. "This shouldn't be too hard. Wufei would be best for taking out the captain and crew, and Heero can go with him to knock out their computers from the bridge." All of them are quiet as they listen, and it feels somewhat reassuring that they trust me to come up with the best battle plans. Nerve-wracking for me, though. "Duo and I will have to take out the engines."

"'Have to'?" Trowa asks.

I nod faintly. "The shafts we'll have to take are...well...cramped. You guys wouldn't fit."

There's a muffled snort from Wufei, and he chuckles. "Well, if you must, you must."

"Quatre, I'm not that short, and neither are you!"

I give Duo an apologetic look. "You want to stand next to Heero or Trowa and say that again?"

He glares at me, then turns his head and sulks. Wufei starts to laugh again.

"Trowa, you'd better hit their barracks, that way we can all get out again."

He nods quietly. I wish he'd answer me, I'd love to hear him speak again.

"But how do we get on board if we can't use our gundams?" Duo grumbles. "Unless you all want to cram into Deathscythe with me?"

"We just need to take some of the Tauros suits we stole and come in faster than their radar can detect," Heero answers. "If we enter in different areas, it'll be easier to get in."

"Then it's decided?" I ask.

They all nod.

An hour later, we're already coming in close to the Oz ship, landing as gently as we can on the hull. I can barely see anyone besides Duo, the ship is so large. With the special modifications on these suits, they'll stay attached to the ship until we come back. Duo and I come out and step onto the ship, and I help him find the main shaft. All Oz ships are built with air locks for maintenance so this really isn't so hard. When we're inside, we remove our helmets and leave them at the entrance so we aren't wandering around in them. And then we start moving inside.

The floor suddenly shook beneath Quatre, rousing him. He glanced up, unable to orient himself. "How long've I been out?" he asked no one in particular.

"No way to tell," Duo answered from the darkness. "You still in one piece?"

"For the most part," Quatre replied. There's no way I'm going to tell him what happened. I couldn't bear that. "What are you doing?" he asked, hearing him moving around.

"Performing a miracle," he groaned. "I can get out of anything."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"I'll make a believer out of you yet," he mumbled, and Quatre heard something metallic hit the floor. Abruptly Duo's hands fell on him, pulling the wires loose. "Geez, they really did you up tight. No wonder you couldn't move." He tried to ignore the blood drenching Quatre's clothes and face.

There was another tremor along the ship, and Quatre realized that the ship was under attack. "They came for us," he whispered in relief. "Duo, are you up to an escape attempt?"

"Always, although I might be a bit slow." He helped Quatre rise up, then suddenly toppled into Quatre's arms. "Okay, maybe not."

"You lean on me, all right?" the blonde said, holding him upright.

"No way, you've gotta go on without me," Duo said stubbornly. "I can't walk straight."

"And I can't see straight," Quatre told him. "Duo, I think I've got a concussion. If we're gonna get out, we've got to go together. You have to guide me."

"It's gonna be a bad case of the blind leading the blind," he laughs humorlessly. "Besides, the door's locked."

Quatre shook his head. "No, it's not. Come on." He stood on Duo's left side, so he doesn't have to step on that foot, and when they got to the door, Quatre tried to push the button to make it open. He missed twice, though, and finally Duo took his hand gently and held it to the keypad. Now he hit the button, and the door slid open.

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"The door didn't lock behind the last guy to leave," Quatre answered. "I didn't hear it click. To the vents or to the hangar?"

"The hangar," Duo answered. "We've got a better chance stealing a couple mobile suits than climbing through shafts with busted bodies."

Another blast rocked the ship, followed quickly by another.

"We've got to get out before the others come in," Duo said suddenly. "That way they know we're not locked up now."

They started out into the corridor, keeping an eye out for enemy soldiers. For some reason, there didn't seem to be any around where they were. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the brighter light, Duo turned to ask Quatre something. Instead, he gasped in horror.

"Quatre...your eyes," he stuttered.

Quatre lowered his face, knowing exactly what Duo meant. "They're all red, aren't they?"

Duo nodded silently.

"It happened when that soldier strangled me," Quatre explained. "They'll go back to normal after a week or two."

They staggered around a corner and into an open elevator. Again Duo had to help Quatre operate it, but finally they were riding down to the lowest level, where the suits were kept.

"I hope there'll be a few suits left for us to steal," Duo sighed, cradling his broken arm tighter against his side. "Otherwise, this is gonna be a short trip."

"There will be, if Trowa managed to kill even a few of the soldiers."

The elevator halted a minute later, and Quatre waited for Duo to tell him it was clear before moving out. Duo had to lead him left or right across the floor to the flight suits, but it was Quatre who helped Duo maneuver into his suit, trying to keep from jarring his injuries.

"Are you sure you can pilot a mobile suit?" Duo asked as he helped Quatre get into a flight suit. "I mean, we could both double up. It'd be a tight fit, but..."

"I'll be fine," Quatre answered tersely. The pain in his head was starting to get worse. "It's just my aim that's off. Do you think you can contact the others, let them know we're coming out in enemy mobiles?"

"No problem," Duo nodded.

Quatre helped Duo sit back into a Tauros, then glided over to a second Tauros and got in, bumping his head on the back of the chair. His screen flickered to life, and Duo's face appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Quatre, just remember when you aim for a button, hit the one in the middle!"

"Very funny, Duo." Quatre brought up the ship's diagram so he could find the way out, but while he was staring at the screen, something odd caught his eye. "Duo, call up the ship's diagram on your screen, will you?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Silence for a moment. "Hey, wait a second, since when does a ship have two hulls?"

"Not just that, look how thick they are! This ship was built to take heavy artillery!"

"And dish it out, too. There's more weaponry than defense. I think this whole ship's outer shell is made from gundanium...but that would mean they didn't need this satellite."

"Duo, would a hit penetrate that hull?"

"No way, it would bounce right off. This thing...oh man...Quatre, this thing's here to kill gundams! I think it could do it, too!"

"This was a trap," Quatre realized. "That's why they didn't have restraints, they didn't expect to catch us. They were going to engage us in our suits."

"Man, we were the perfect bait to pull the others in," Duo groaned. "And there's no way they're gonna be able to destroy this ship."

"Then we'll have to do it."

"What?! Are you crazy?"

"Duo, that's the second time you've asked me that."

"And you've never given me a straight answer. Quatre, how could we destroy this thing? We'd have to get into the computer and find--" Duo sighed. "Stupid me, we're already in it. Okay, genius, how do we do this?"

"There's a large storage area in the center of the ship, I'll bet that's where they keep their fuel. If we were to light that up, we could destroy the inside of this thing, and then the hull would just be an empty shell."

"And just how do we get there?"

"Not through here. We'll have to go outside and through an outer entrance to get to it, but that passage is also really small. The gundams won't fit."

"Well, we are the short ones, right?"

Quatre laughed at that. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" He followed Duo out, both of them heading along the side of the ship while Duo called the other gundam pilots.

"Duo?" Heero asked in surprise. "Is that you in there?"

"Yeah, me and Quatre are in these two Tauros suits, and we'd appreciate it if you didn't fire at us." His voice was strained painfully, as if he was struggling to stay conscious.

"But where are you two going?" Wufei demanded, slicing through three enemy suits at once. "You're in no condition to fight."

"This whole thing was a trap," Quatre told them as fast as he could. He didn't turn on the view screen, keeping the transmission audio only. He didn't want Trowa to see him bloody and mangled. "This whole ship's made out of gundanium, it was sent here on a search and destroy mission."

"There still has to be a way to destroy it, no matter how strong it is," Trowa said firmly.

"There is, in the fuel storage," Quatre answered. "One good shot into it and the ship should explode. I think I can--"

"I'll do it," Trowa cut him off. "I'm sure Heavy Arms can handle the blast. Everyone else should clear out."

"No, you'll need more than just bullets to set that fuel off," Wufei argued. "Get those two out of here, I'll handle this."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Quatre yelled. "There's no way you'll fit!"

"I'm sure we can carve a way in," Trowa said.

"No, that kind of force will set it off prematurely, and then you'll get stuck within the blast!"

This time Trowa didn't even respond, ignoring him as he called up the diagram to find the way in.

"They're not listening to me," Quatre mumbled. He stared at his controls, then made up his mind. I can still beat them to it. I know where to go already. "Duo, get out of here," he said simply.

"Wha--Quatre, no, you won't make it!"

It was too late. Before they even knew he was moving out, he had found the entrance and started the run inside. There was a large blast door in front of him, part of the hull, and it took half a minute to cut through it. Every second he did, each pilot was yelling at him to get back out, but he only tuned them out of his mind.

"Quatre, please," Trowa tried one final time. "Let me do this. Your suit will never make it out in time."

"I'm sorry, Trowa," Quatre whispered, tears stinging his eyes. "But it's better this way. At least now you won't have to see me like this. You can remember me the way I was." You'll remember me before I was battered. You won't have to see my eyes now, or how I've been slashed all over. Or... he shut his eyes hard and tried not to think about that last one.

"What? Quatre, what are you talking about?"

Quatre turned off his communication controls and continued through the dark passageway, hoping the others weren't trying to follow him. The sides of the shaft bumped against his mobile suit, but after a few seconds he was right in front of the storage area. Plainly marked on the door was the bright yellow symbol for flammable chemicals. He glanced back the way he'd came. It would be difficult, and it was probably futile to even hope to survive, but he couldn't give up that easily when survival was only a few dozen meters away. He backed up as far as he could while still keeping a clear shot, giving himself a head start on his retreat, and aimed for the yellow blur in front of his eyes.

*

Outside, the enemy pilots had discovered that a gundam pilot was inside one of their Tauros suits. Duo maneuvered as fast as the suit would allow, firing madly at each target in an attempt to drive his frustration away. Now I know you're crazy, Quatre, he thought to himself. There's no way you're gonna make it.

"Duo, the beam cannons are locking onto you!" Heero yelled, knowing Duo wasn't paying any attention to the ship now.

Duo turned too late. One of the cannons fired directly at him, bathing him in a brilliant yellow light. His suit grew red hot and parts of it sloughed off, leaving him exposed to the vacuum of space. Somehow his own flight suit had stayed intact, and part of the mobile suit was operable, but he couldn't direct it anywhere. He was effectively dead in the water. Three enemy suits bared down on him, guns aimed. He closed his eyes.

Three explosions lit up the screen for a moment, and he looked out again. Heero's gundam was coming up behind him, and all that was left of the enemies were floating scraps of metal. Duo smiled as the larger suit cradled his damaged Tauros in one arm.

"I knew you'd come," he whispered weakly. The blast had re-ignited the pain in his arm and ribs.

"Just hang on for a few more minutes," Heero told him. "We need to get out of the range of the explosion."

Duo would have answered him if he hadn't passed out first. The three gundams abandoned the remaining Oz soldiers, who had no idea what was about to happen. As soon as they were a mile out, a dazzling burst of light flared up behind them, followed by other smaller blasts.

Trowa turned and gasped. He didn't recognize the sick feeling welling up inside of him, he just knew something vital had suddenly been torn out. As soon as the glow started to fade, he headed back.

"Trowa, what are you doing?" Wufei asked.

"I have to see if he made it," was the only response.

While the others waited, he slowly scoured the blast site, examining every spot of thermal radiation and each scrap of metal. Several bodies drifted around him, but all their helmets had either cracked or they had been burned up in the explosion. After he had finished searching the center, he worked his way out, losing hope as he came farther and farther out. He turned his gundam around, about to leave, but something flashed across his view screen. It was tiny, far in the distance, but as he enlarged it, he recognized it as a human body hanging weightlessly, half-in and half-out of a mutilated Tauros. He came closer and scooped the suit up gently, bringing it close to the hatch. He cautiously came out of Heavy Arms and pulled what he could now tell was Quatre out of the Tauros, carrying him back into his gundam. His faceplate misted every few seconds, which meant he was breathing deeply. With Quatre comfortably tucked into a tight corner, Trowa sighed in relief and rejoined the others.

*

Trowa carefully took Quatre out of his gundam's cramped hatch and set him on the floor, removing the scuffed helmet and placing it next to his own. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the injuries he could see. There was a large bruise next to Quatre's eye, shading part of his face in a violet hue that extended to his hair which was matted with blood. He gingerly put his fingers to the boy's eyes and forced one open just enough to see into.

Completely red, that's explains the bruises on his throat. Someone throttled him. He opened up the flight suit and pulled Quatre out, grimacing when he found the slashes on his skin and the broken wrist. His breathing was harsh and irregular, but that was probably just shock. The head injury would be the worst.

He glanced over at Heero, who was working to dig Duo out of the mangled Tauros suit. "Are you going to need any help?" he called.

"Wufei's cracking the exterior right now," Heero shook his head. "It'll take a little longer, but we're halfway there. Go ahead and take care of Quatre."

Trowa nodded silently and hefted Quatre into his arms, carrying him into the infirmary. "I'd better get you cleaned off first before those cuts get infected," he said quietly, knowing his charge wouldn't answer. As he took him to the shower unit, however, Quatre moaned and squirmed, trying to push himself away. His red eyes fluttered open, but he could only see a large blur floating in front of him.

"Where...where am I?"

"It's me, Trowa. You're back on our ship," he whispered. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I...fired at their fuel tank...and I...outran the flames...but...I don't know, I can't...remember after that."

"I found you drifting after the explosion," Trowa said softly. He reached over and turned the water on to a thick, hot mist. On a spaceship, water was a premium, not to be wasted.

Quatre stiffened as Trowa began to strip his bloodied clothes away. "No, stop, I can...do this alone...Trowa, I said stop!"

"Quatre, don't argue. You're in no condition to do anything right now. You could pass out again any minute."

"But..." he tried to slip out of Trowa's grip, but instead he knocked his broken wrist against the floor. He hissed in pain, holding it close.

"Quatre, don't fight. Just hold still, you'll be all right. Quatre?" He paused and stared down at his patient, who was now breathing deeply. The added pain must have made him black out. "Good...get some sleep. This will be over soon."

He placed Quatre in the light flow of water and allowed the heavy clots of blood to run break up and run out before he started to wash the rest away with a soaked sponge. Quatre's body visibly loosened up as his muscles relaxed and his breathing became even steadier. While he worked, though, Trowa noticed something strange, something other than blood flowing down the drain. On a hunch, he lay one hand on Quatre's side and felt along his back until he came near the end of his spine. Sure enough, there were more bruises.

"No, no, stop," Quatre suddenly groaned, twisting in his sleep. He blindly put his hands out in an effort to fight Trowa, and tears trickled down his cheeks.

"Quatre..." Trowa whispered, grief-stricken at the sight. He knew exactly what it meant. "Who did this to you?"

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, he dried him off and started the process of bandaging up each and every slice in the smooth skin. By the time he was done, half of Quatre's body was covered in gauze. Without bothering with anymore clothing, he picked him back up and eased him into one of the beds there, leaving his damaged arm out from under the blankets.

*

Searing pain woke Duo up out of his comfortable sleep, dragging a scream out of him before he had the presence of mind to swallow it down. Someone's hands were grasping at him, and he tried to lash out in defense. His good hand was pushed gently back down and his broken arm wasn't touched, which meant that it was a friend holding him. Reluctantly he opened his eyes and found Heero gathering his limp body up out of the broken mobile suit.

"Wha...are we back?" Duo whispered, allowing himself to be picked up and cradled. "Where's Quatre...?"

"Trowa has him," Heero answered in his usual curt manner. "Don't worry about that now. We need to get you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine," Duo grumbled, pushing ineffectually against him. "Let me go."

"Drop him once and see if he asks for it again," Wufei called from somewhere out of sight.

"You wouldn't be that mean, would you?" Duo grinned. He struggled to lift his head high enough to see anything, but he was simply too exhausted. He set his cheek against Heero's chest and closed his eyes, snuggling even closer for warmth. "Heero, is the Oz ship gone?" he wondered, not really caring.

"Yes, Quatre destroyed it. Wufei is going to gather the gundanium we need and then we're leaving."

"Mm-hmm..."

"You still awake?"

"Mm-hmm..." He's so soft, even if he's real wiry. His arms are so comfy, and I can hear his heart...

"Are you even listening?"

"Mm-hmm..." He heard the door to the infirmary open, but he didn't move.

Heero looked up in surprise at Trowa, who had just finished tucking Quatre into bed. Instead of speaking and attracting Duo's attention, Trowa motioned that he was heading back outside. Heero nodded in understanding and took his charge to the bed right beside Quatre's.

Duo sighed contentedly, ignoring the pain for a moment. Nestled in Heero's arms, being taken care of, what more could he ask? All too soon that soothing feeling was stripped away as he was set down on a flat mattress. A firm pillow was eased beneath his head, and his broken arm was placed on another pillow. A cruel sting pressed into his shoulder, though, and he glared at Heero. "I could've done without the drugs."

"Duo, look at my hand."

Duo tried to focus on Heero's outstretched hand, the smooth lines, the fingerprints that had been scarred away, but he could only see a blurry outline that faded in and out. "Hold it still, huh?"

"You can't focus properly, and your left eye is dilated farther than the right."

"Concussion?"

"Concussion." Heero took a pair of ice packs and softly set them around Duo's breaks, hoping they would keep the swelling down a little. He watched the clock for several minutes, while Duo drifted in and out of consciousness. Duo glanced around the room as much as he could and spotted Quatre on the opposite bed. He smiled wearily.

"Thank God...he survived..."

"He got off a lot better than you did," Heero said rather unsympathetically, looking over the blonde pilot.

"Yeah, well, he didn't challenge a whole troop to a fistfight," Duo defended himself.

"That was intelligent, he's not skilled enough for that," Heero nodded.

"He's a better shot than you are."

Heero glared at him until he realized Duo wasn't joking. "He is?"

"For a pacifist, he sure can kill. Every bullet took out a different soldier. Guy even got one not an inch from me." Duo sighed and looked back up at the gray ceiling. "Y'know, as dangerous as all of us are, I think he's the most lethal."

"If only because he looks so weak," Heero agreed. "Have those drugs kicked in yet?"

"Not quite. 'Nother couple of minutes, maybe."

"How did you two get out so easily?" Heero asked, suddenly changing the topic. "There were hundreds of soldiers on board that ship."

"They probably didn't think we could still move around," Duo laughed. "You shoulda seen the way they had us wrapped up in wires, they didn't even have restraints. They had Quatre bound so tight...wait a sec..." Duo glanced back over at Quatre, his eyes narrowing. "Those wires were tight, but they...weren't sharp...they shouldn't have cut into him...not unless he was struggling violently." He said the last soldier forgot to lock the door...but he would have mentioned that before when I woke up...what happened while I was asleep? If he heard it click shut..."They hurt him," he said abruptly.

"What?"

"Heero, they did something to him...while I was out...I don't kno' what...bu'...th'y..." His words slurred as the painkillers took their effect.

Without warning Heero seized Duo's arm and pulled in the proper direction, and the bone snapped back into place. Duo gasped in agony, but he knew it was nowhere near as bad than if Heero had done without the drugs. Heero went to the end of the bed and set his ankle. Tears sprung to Duo's eyes, and he blinked rapidly to get rid of them. At least he gave me some painkillers, though, instead of setting my breaks the way he does his.

Duo was about to ask something else when he felt something exceedingly strange on his forehead. Heero's hand was tenderly stroking his hair, pushing the loose bangs from his face. Stunned, Duo said nothing, simply enjoying the ministrations that he had never hoped to expect. Heero's skin felt cool against his forehead, maybe he had a fever, too, but the pain was all worth it now.

All too soon, Heero froze, then drew back as if he expected to be burned. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you in an hour."

Duo sighed sadly, but he fell asleep before he could take another breath. Heero gazed down on him for a few more seconds, then glanced at the other bed. Quatre's breathing had finally returned to normal, and his sleep seemed restful.

I'll come back in half an hour and make sure they can wake up, he said to himself. He quietly left, trying not to disturb either of them, but pulled up short at the doorway. Trowa was leaning against the wall, staring up at him.

"Wufei's already gone," he said tonelessly. "He said he'd be back in a few hours."

Heero shut the door, but he didn't move from there. He felt too tired to move.

Trowa stared down the hallway, head bowed. "They hurt Quatre," he stated, his voice flat as if he was reporting statistics.

Heero nodded. "I know."

Trowa seemed mildly startled. "You do?"

"Duo does, too, but his thoughts are too fragmented to figure it out yet." Heero stared into his eyes. "They did more than just hurt him."

Trowa sighed. "It's hard to think that even Oz could sink to such levels. I thought they believed in the honor of battle."

"They don't believe in following any rules of war," Heero shook his head. "I don't think they have any sense of honor left at all." He paused for a moment. "Does Quatre know we've found out about it?"

Trowa closed his eyes. "No, I don't think so. He'll be devastated if he finds out."

Heero narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"That's what he meant during the fight, when he said he didn't want me to see him. He was willing to die to keep us from knowing everything."

"To keep you from knowing everything."

"What?"

"Isn't it obvious? He didn't mind Duo seeing him covered in blood, but I'll bet he put up a fight when he found out you were the one taking care of him." Heero knew he was right when Trowa lowered his gaze again. "He specifically didn't want you to know how badly he'd been hurt. Of course that can only mean one thing."

Trowa folded his arms and didn't reply.

Heero didn't force the issue. "I'll be back to wake them up in an hour or so."

Trowa shook his head. "No, I'd better wake them up now. Duo's injuries are bad, but Quatre's head trauma was severe. There...could be damage."

Heero looked up sharply. "Permanent damage?"

Trowa shrugged. "No way to tell yet."

"All right, I'll be working on my gundam, then. I'll let you know when Wufei gets back."

Trowa watched Heero disappear down the corridor, then headed back inside the infirmary. Duo seemed to be sleeping so soundly he hated to wake him up, but he placed his hand on Duo's shoulder anyway, gently rousing him.

"Mmm...has it been *yawn* an hour already?" Duo mumbled, about to sit up.

Trowa lay one hand across his chest, holding him down. "No, I wanted to make sure I could still wake you. It's only been a few minutes."

"Y'know, we wouldn't have this problem if we could get into hospitals," Duo growled irritably. "Can't believe...you woke me up...so soon..."

"Then go back to sleep," Trowa told him.

Duo was out the instant his eyes closed again. Trowa shook his head, Duo had to be the worst patient anyone could be forced to take care of, but at least he was being fairly civil right now. He stepped over to Quatre's bed, his shoes tapping lightly on the floor. He glanced back over at Duo to make sure he was fast asleep, then gazed down at Quatre, gently brushing the hair from his face. Quatre turned slightly to one side, towards the soothing caresses against his skin.

"Quatre? Quatre, wake up. Quatre?"

The blonde pilot opened his eyes only halfway, giving a faint cry when the light hit him. He moved his good hand to cover his face. "It's been an hour?" he asked in a weak voice.

"No, but I needed to make sure you could wake up. I'll let you go the full hour this time."

"Could...could you dim the lights a little, too? It's awfully bright in here."

Trowa didn't mention that the brightness was due to the new sensitivity in his damaged eyes. He just nodded and brought the light down a few notches. He realized he still needed to get an ice pack on Quatre's wrist, but his patient was asleep again before he'd brought it. At least it shouldn't wake him up, he told himself as he applied it.

*

Wufei sighed exasperatedly as Shenlong landed on the floating rock, the impact jarring his teeth. He'd almost fallen asleep during all those boring yet delicate maneuvers to keep him from crashing. Five pilots and I'm the one who ends up digging for rocks. He spared a few seconds to stare out over the dark expanse of space and the distant stars. Even their ship seemed tiny surrounded by nothingness.

"All right, Nataku" he said, breaking the silence. "Let's get this over with."

Unimpeded by any obstacles, the ship's lights cast his long shadow across the asteroid, illuminating most of the exterior rock. As he took a step, a bright shimmer ran over the rough surface from roughly a meter in front of him to half a kilometer out.

"At least this gundanium is at the surface," he smiled humorlessly. "That cuts our time in half." He took a step back to steady Shenlong before he started the intensive work, but as he shifted his gaze, something odd flickered in the distance. That's strange, he thought to himself. Stars don't shimmer out here, and we haven't seen any other anomalies...

Disregarding the gundanium for a moment, he brought up his long-range screens and narrowed in on the spot he'd seen that tiny flash of light. He zoomed in once, then readjusted and zoomed in again. Still nothing. I know I saw something, something isn't right, he growled inwardly. I can feel it. He zoomed in one more time, focusing on an even smaller area. He blinked in shock. There were several Oz enemy suits, most of them battered and charred but definitely operable. Survivors from the explosion? How on earth...? But wait, where are they heading? He stretched Shenlong's scanners to the limit, focusing even farther ahead of the apparent survivors. Something blurry appeared, and when he cleaned the image up again...

Damn! That was fast! he gasped, startled by what he saw. He could recognize the shapes of two Oz starships surrounded by smaller ships that he could hardly make out. At the rate they were moving at, it would only be a few days before they arrived. When the first ship had been destroyed, they must have come immediately, and if that first ship had been a trap--

"This was their contingency plan," Wufei realized. "If their trap didn't work, then they'd just overwhelm us."

He looked back down at the shimmering surface of the asteroid. There wouldn't be much time to get this ore out and create the alloy, especially on their small ship, but they needed to make repairs and fast. No time to waste. With a harried sigh, he started his work, knowing that the Oz fleet might be able to see the light from his sword.

*

Several hours after he had put Quatre to bed, Trowa walked into the gundam hangar, silent as usual, and spotted Heero up on top of his Wing, fixated on repairing a tangled mass of wires. Heero glanced down at him for a second, then returned to the machinery.

"Are they all right?" he asked, knowing already what the answer would be. Trowa wouldn't have come in so quietly if they weren't.

"As well as can be expected," was the reply. Trowa walked along the catwalk, heading for Heavyarms. He leaped up onto the gundam's shoulder, but he didn't bother looking over the battle wounds marring the metal surface. He sat down against his gundam's neck and put his knees to his chest, hugging them close as if he was a child again. His head lowered until his hair completely masked his face.

"He's crying in his sleep," he said suddenly.

"What?" Heero halted between reconnecting wires and stared at him. Duo or Quatre? The thought of those cheerful violet eyes blighted with tears caused him to glare at empty space.

Fortunately Trowa didn't look up to see that glare. "Quatre...he keeps crying...and after a few minutes, he wouldn't stop thrashing around."

"Thrashing?"

"Like he was trying to fight someone off."

"Is he still fighting?"

Trowa shook his head. "I...tied him down so he couldn't move."

Heero didn't respond. He went back to fixing the wires. Trowa instead closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, perfectly balanced on his gundam. It had been such a long day, he couldn't force himself to stay awake.

I drop down into the corridor with little problem. The alarms haven't gone off, so no one knows we're here yet. I stare around my environment for a moment, just to orient myself. There really isn't any need, I only do it to be thorough, but Quatre never makes a mistake with diagrams. Quatre...

Back to the task at hand. I pull my oversized backpack around to my front and unbutton the flap. Zippers would be too loud. I'm at the start of the hallway, so I take the first explosive out of the bag. The metal package is small enough to fit into my hand, but it's incredibly dense. The bag itself weighs more than two hundred pounds. Should be more than enough to do the job. I place the explosive against the control panel. Once it goes, the chain reaction should also take out the wiring and cause even more destruction.

I press a single button on the top of the cube, which makes the red light there flash. It's armed.

I leave a flashing light at every door I pass. There are two long corridors to pass through, but finally I run out of doors. There is only one bomb left in my backpack. I pull out the radio detonator and run far from the bombs, hoping to get well out of blast range.

That's when I hear the dull hum of the engines as they power down and go offline. Duo and Quatre must have finished their mission. I turn and face the corridors of explosives, now just faint red sparks in the dark distance, and activate the detonation sequence.

The ship's red alert sounds just before my explosives ignite, meaning Wufei and Heero have killed the captain and crew. The alarms drown out the screams of dying Oz soldiers. A few survivors stagger out, but they are riddled with shrapnel. Mission accomplished. I whirl to continue back up to my mobile suit--

--and come face to face with a troop of fully armed Oz soldiers.

"Freeze, rebel scum!"

They all point their weapons toward me, and I hold still, raising my hands into the air as if in mute surrender. I think my silence unnerves them. Their leader takes a step forward and gestures erratically with his firearm.

"Drop the bag, kid, then turn around!"

So they want to shoot me in the back. I can see it in his eyes. I allow the backpack to slip down my arm into my hand, and they all take aim again, as if I could launch an attack with an old, thread-bare bag.

Odd. Oz soldiers usually aren't that perceptive.

Without any warning, I whip the bag into the air and kick it into their midst. Bullets ring out, but they are frantic and fire without watching where the bullets are going. The detonator is still in my hand, and knowing I am far too close to the blast, I press the button.

I feel my body thrown across the floor and up against an unyielding wall. Momentarily stunned, I watch as pieces of that troop rain down the hall, blood flowing freely in rivulets. Fortunately I haven't taken any hits from that blast, it was just the concussive force that hurt a bit. Careful not to slip on the pitiful remains, I run back the way I came, heading for my suit. There's another explosion that can only be the engines. I don't run into any other troops roaming around, so maybe I've killed most of the soldiers. I shake my head as soon as I think that. I've only cut the number in half. That means the other pilots are probably catching hell...

..."Quatre, please, calm down, you'll only hurt yourself if you keep fighting."

"Let me go...please...let go of me!"

Quatre pushes against me with more strength than I thought he had even though he's still asleep. How on earth can Duo still be asleep? I thought he was joking as usual when he said he could sleep through earthquakes. If I hadn't made him wake up a few minutes ago, I'd think he was dead.

"Get away from me!"

I remind myself to stay focused and keep my concentration on the blonde boy in front of me. He's struggling to escape from his nightmare. I put both hands on his shoulders to steady him, then give him a very soft shake, just enough to force him to open his eyes. His pupils have contracted into mere pinpricks so that I can hardly see them, but even though the lights are dim he still shuts them up tight.

"Wha...Trowa? Too bright...can't see..."

I spare a few seconds to turn the lights as far down as I possibly can without becoming blind. All I have now are silhouettes and layers of shadows. Quatre is merely a rough outline that I can hear shivering under his blanket. He sits up and tries to hold the thin blanket around him, but he can only use one hand.

"Let me get you another cover," I murmur, and I see his outline nod once. I move to the cabinets in the corner and take out an extra thick cotton blend. I already know that his shivering isn't because he's cold, but this will still help. I carry it to his bed and spread it over him, helping him pull it up to his chest. Sprawled across his lap is his broken wrist, cradled safely out of harm's way. He slammed it against the bed frame several times, it must hurt terribly, but if I give him more pain killers, he'd be close to an overdose.

He looks at me, I can see his dark head turn, and I wonder if he can see me without light. "Trowa...did the entire ship explode?"

I hadn't noticed until now, but the room is so deadly quiet I can't help but hear how raspy and weak his voice is. "Yes, and it nearly took you with it."

"Were there any survivors?"

"You were the only one I found still alive."

"Oh..." Quatre sighs. "Good...is everyone...all right?"

I nod. "Duo was hurt pretty bad, but then you know about that. And you--"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Quatre..." I sit down on the edge of the bed, just behind him, and put my arms around his body so I can draw him close. What am I doing? He doesn't resist, leaning back into my embrace with no resistance. He isn't showing any hostility to my touch. How strange, I've never noticed how unbelievably soft he is. His hair is just below my face, a few silky strands brush my skin. He's still nude, and his bandages make holding him tricky. His bare skin is starting to pick up the chill, so I bring the blankets up around his shoulders. He rests his head on my shoulder as if I'm his pillow, and his muscles lose their tension. Is he asleep? His breathing has become amazingly steady and deep, but then I hear him yawn and he snuggles closer to me. No, he's still awake. I catch myself steadily caressing his arm, his hair. I brush the back of my knuckles over his cheek. I wonder how coherent he is, if he knows what I'm doing or what I'm feeling.

"Are you going to be all right?" I ask softly.

At first he doesn't answer, but a moment later he stares up at me. "You said every Oz soldier died in that explosion?"

"Mm-hmm." I actually find myself smiling softly when he lowers his head back to my chest and snuggles closer. I hold him closer so my body will warm him up, and I gently plant a kiss in his hair. "I didn't see anyone left."

We stay like this for several minutes, but finally Quatre sighs, then pulls away, leaving my arms quite empty. "I'm tired, Trowa. I'm gonna go back to sleep."

I can't argue with that, and I get up, helping him lay back down on the mattress. They aren't the softest beds in the world, certainly not like what he's grown up with, but I've never heard him complain once about anything. And besides, the rest of the crew doesn't bother us. Now that I think about it, the crew tries to stay far away from us. We're always going to be alone, aren't we?

His light rasping tells me he's finally drifted off again. I sit beside him for a moment and slide my hand into his, quietly keeping him company. Reassuring him that I'm here. That he's safe. Protected.

It isn't enough.

Twenty minutes into his sleep, he starts to moan. The sounds are small at first, like a puppy's whimpers, and I caress his cheek. It calms him for a second or two, but then he cries out as if suddenly burned and backs away against the wall at the other edge of the bed. He flails at me, striking me on the shoulder, but it does more damage to his bandaged wound than to my skin. I catch his arms in my hands, and I stand up, pushing his arms down on the mattress. I hate to do this, but I can't let him hurt himself like this.

These medical beds are perfect in several respects. They're comfortable, firm, adjustable...and they have built-in restraints. I attack his good arm first, holding it down against the bed and pulling one of the long straps from beneath the mattress. I wrap it securely around his wrist, avoiding the bandages on his cuts, and when I finish securing it, he can no longer move that arm. I do the same to his other arm, only I'm careful to avoid his wrist. I couldn't bear causing him more pain. One more strap crosses his chest to hold him down firmly, and I finish off by binding his ankles down as well. His movements become small and tame although he keeps crying, but at least he isn't damaging himself any further.

His eyes snap open and he gasps for breath. "Trowa!"

"I'm right here," I say too quickly, leaning over him. "It's all right, I'm here."

"Why...? Why have you...?"

"You were fighting in your sleep, I had to quiet you down somehow."

Quatre remains silent for several seconds. "Oh. I understand."

His voice is so sad, so utterly unlike him. "I didn't want you to hurt yourself--"

"It's all right, Trowa," he says, and I can barely see the hint of a smile. "It's all right. I understand. Don't worry about it. I...I'll be all right. If I can just...get...past the...dreams..."

He lapses back into unconsciousness, and he starts to twist and turn almost immediately. I try to tell myself that this isn't something I can make better with the pull of a trigger, but it hurts to accept it. I squeeze his hand once more, then get up and walk toward the door. I look back before I go, just to make sure they're both okay, then turn the lights off.

Heero stared at Trowa, making sure he was fast asleep, then finished up with his gundam's wiring problem and slid down along the arm to the catwalk, retrieving his laptop on the way. No one else was nearby to see him except the occasional crewman, and they tried not to meet his eyes. Heero never tried to engage them in conversation, or even ask a rare question.

Heero knew the crew was a little intimidated by the gundam "kids," more so for specific pilots. They didn't know what to make of Trowa, always so silent. They stayed clear of Wufei, especially after the Chinese dragon had decapitated a spy on board. They'd only heard about it in rumors, likely started by Duo, but they believed it, spread it and embellished it until they expected him to bite their heads off in fanged jaws. And Wufei, in an effort to limit distractions to his work, didn't dissuade them.

The crew liked Duo well enough, but they had noticed how his attitude was capable of changing without a moment's notice, especially when he was drinking. They found out how well he could hold his liquor, that only another gundam pilot could match him, but when they discovered what he was like when he was drunk...it had taken hours to clean up the mess he left behind. Only Duo could rile up grown men into a food fight. And one poor bastard had gone and jerked his braid. That's when human flight had been achieved until he crashed into the wall.

The crew was a bit more careful around Duo after that, but it had taken more of a demonstration for them to fear Quatre. What? Fear that pretty boy, the blonde kid who smiled at everyone and drank tea and was so polite? The pacifist? The one who ignored the derisive whispers behind his back? Yes, after that drunken soldier put his hand on Quatre's shoulder, spinning him around and swinging wildly at his flawless face. They could see that the blonde was the least physical of the five, but even so, the Arabian did a textbook job of disabling the soldier, leaving him on the floor before surreptitiously letting the medic know about the injured man in the hall. Of course he'd had to be flawless. His weaker strength didn't allow for any misplaced blows.

And Heero? No one got close to him. All of them were too afraid. He heard them whispering every now and then, "look, that's the one that self-destructed," "he's not afraid of dying," "I heard he sets his own broken bones," "I heard he's a homicidal maniac," "I heard he jumped out of a building once."

Damn Duo, spreading all those rumors, he cursed inwardly, but he knew it was also partly his fault. After all, he'd allowed people to see him jump out of that building, to see him set his leg. He'd leapt out of his gundam and hit the self-destruct in front of everyone. And it was just Duo doing his best to tease him.

He came up to the infirmary and was about to go in when he heard someone running up towards him. His hand reflexively went to the gun tucked behind his back, but when he looked up, he relaxed a little. Just Sally. She didn't look happy.

"There you are!" she cried, pulling up in front of him. "Do you think you guys could give us a little more warning the next time you decide to jaunt off and take on a damn ship?"

"We took care of it," he said tonelessly.

"I thought we had a hull breach in the hangar, and then I was sure spies had stolen five Tauros suits. I didn't think you guys would go anywhere except in your gundams."

"Our gundams would have been spotted immediately," he explained, trying to keep his patience. "The smaller suits were better, and expendable."

Sally sighed. Geez, you should know better than to argue with these pilots. You can't win. "Look, just tell me next time, and at least let the medics on board check up on Duo and Quatre." She noticed Heero's wide eyes and his step back in shock. "They're the ones we haven't seen lately," she explained quickly, "and the crew knows you're using the secondary infirmary. I know you don't want anyone else in there, but--"

"Fine, as long as one of us is in there with them," he agreed, even though his instincts told him not to. He wanted those two pilots better as soon as possible, it was worth the risk of a spy slipping in as long as he was there. "You can tell one to come by now."

Sally sighed again, turned around and headed back the way she came. Heero watched until she was out of sight, then went inside the infirmary. He blinked in surprise. The room was pitch black, so much so that the light from the corridor only reached a few feet inside. He felt along the wall and found the dial, turning the lights up just enough to see dim shapes.

On the left side of the room, Quatre no longer struggled in the straps wrapped around him. His sleep seemed peaceful now, not full of the nightmares Trowa had mentioned. At least he was in deep slumber now, beyond dreams. Heero stepped beside Duo's bed and stared down at him. His braid was still messy and hung off the side of the pillow, nearly touching the floor. Heero pulled it back up, and his hand briefly touched Duo's hand. The skin was cold to the touch. Knowing he would probably wake the sleeping boy up, Heero put his laptop down and set his own hands on the cool skin, using his body heat to warm him. He moved his hands up Duo's arm, gently avoiding the break.

"Mmm..." Duo started to moan and turn his head. His eyes fluttered open and focused weakly on Heero's.

"S'been anot'er hour, I take it?"

Heero glanced at the digital readout glowing red in the corner. "Yes. How do you feel?"

"I've been better," Duo smiled. Heero's hands were still on him, distracting him from the pain in his leg and arm. "I...thought you'd be fixing...Wing..."

"There isn't much I can do without gundanium," Heero shook his head. "Wufei isn't back yet. It should take him another hour to return." He glanced around the room, then peered at one shape in particular and found what he was looking for. In the open cabinet, next to the pile of blankets, was a box of black eyeshades. He released Duo and took out two pairs, stepping towards Quatre first. He deftly slipped the first set over Quatre's face and made sure it fit snug. The Arabian didn't stir once.

Heero went back over to Duo and wondered how he was going to do this around that braid. He sighed and nodded to himself. "Hold still," he said, then knelt and guided the eyeshade over the braid, turning it back around before he fixed it over Duo's eyes.

"Hey, what the--!" Duo cried out, raising his hand to pull it off.

"I said hold still," Heero said sternly. He seized Duo's hand and forced it back down onto the bed. "I'm going to turn the lights back up, and I don't want to blind you."

"Coulda warned me," Duo grumbled, and he shifted his body a little.

Heero ignored the pilot's complaint and went back to the light switch. Once the lights were back on, he stepped back to Duo's side and gazed down on him. With his eyes blindfolded like that, he looked utterly vulnerable. Not thinking about what he was doing, he reached out and touched Duo's throat, his fingertips slowly tracing up to his jaw and onto his cheek.

Duo held perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe as Heero's heated touch ran over his lips, then rose back up to smooth his hair back a little. He screwed up his courage and tensed his hand. If he could just grasp Heero's hand, hold it close to his mouth--

The door slid open, and Heero drew away as fast as he could, as if he was a child trying to grab a cookie. Duo would have snarled furiously and whipped off the blindfold so he could see who had just ruined one of the best moments of his life, except his ribs decided to remind him right then that they were injured. He groaned and turned his head aside into the pillow to muffle his voice.

Heero all but glared at the medic, who was not surprised at all by this cold reception. She'd seen the gundam pilots before, albeit never on the sick beds. They'd always been the ones to send people to her. It was strange to see two of them on their backs.

"I thought you five didn't get hurt," she said to Heero. She went to the counter at the side and started pulling out a few supplies. "You seemed indestructible."

"And to think...they almos' got the shinigami, too," a weak voice laughed from the other bed.

Duo had to grin. "Hey, I thought you were asleep."

"Your grumbling woke me up," Quatre said. "Thanks for the eyeshade, Heero."

Heero barely acknowledged him. He was busy keeping an eye on the medic, making sure she didn't use anything not unwrapped in front of him.

"Have you given them any painkillers?" she asked him suddenly, not taking her eyes from the packages in her hands.

He nodded silently and motioned at the white bottle on the counter. She examined the label to herself, then looked directly at him. "Do you know how to draw blood?"

Heero tilted his head in mild surprise but nodded again.

"Good, here." She handed the proper equipment to him on a tray, giving him a knowing smirk. "I'm sure you probably don't want me to do that myself."

He didn't respond. He just placed one tube into the first tiny vial, attached the needle to the other end, and picked up Duo's good arm. Duo sucked in his breath and held it in nervous anticipation.

"Man, I hate needles..." he whispered just loud enough for Heero to hear. He felt Heero's fingers probing his arm, searching for the proper vein even though he hadn't wrapped the rubber band around his upper arm.

The medic rolled her eyes, thinking Heero had no idea what he was doing. "It would be easier if--"

Suddenly Heero turned Duo's hand back over and pushed the needle into the top vein, filling the vial quickly. Duo forced himself not to hiss in shock, but he knew this was Heero's way of cutting down the sting. Ten seconds later, Heero pulled away and handed the vial over.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered.

She watched as he did the same to the blonde pilot, who didn't even twitch as the needle went in. Then she saw why. "Why is he restrained?" she asked nervously.

"His dreams were violent," Heero answered, saving Quatre the need to waste energy speaking. He undid the straps as fast as he could, freeing the blonde in case the medic really was a spy, even though that was a slim chance now. While Heero took the blood back to her, Quatre sat up and leaned against the pillow he'd propped up, relaxing in that position.

"Have I missed anything?" he asked quietly.

Heero leaned against the wall just a few inches from Quatre so their conversation would be private. "No. Wufei is still out collecting the gundanium. He should be back in a couple hours or so. You should get back to sleep."

"Don't feel like it," Quatre shook his head. "I still feel a bit disoriented, but that's it."

"All right," the medic said, turning to Duo. "What's hurt?"

"His left arm and ankle, his ribs are partially cracked and he has a minor concussion," Heero said for him.

The nurse frowned as she stared down at Duo. "Hmm, you don't have much room on this pillow. Maybe we should get rid of some of this hair so you can--"

"No! Not the hair!" Duo cried. "Heero, don't let her cut my braid off!"

"Hn."

The medic let the subject drop and instead examined the bandages around Duo's arm and ankle. "Did you set these breaks?" she asked, looking up at Heero.

Heero nodded.

"Not bad fieldwork," she admitted. She glanced up at him. "But this isn't the field."

"More than any of us usually get," Duo chuckled, defending Heero. "At least we get painkillers here."

"No one in their right mind would set a break without painkillers," she protested.

Duo started to laugh louder. "You wanna tell her?" he asked.

Heero only glared.

She looked at Heero in skepticism, then dismay. "So you're the one they talk about," she said slowly.

That caught Heero off guard. He knew there were rumors, but he didn't think any of them were actually subjects for conversation. "'They'?"

"The crew," she answered, moving over to Quatre. She examined the bandages before she noticed that his wrist was also splinted. "They say you're the one who sets his own broken bones," she said to Heero. "That's never wise."

Duo held in his laugh and waited to hear what would come next. To his disappointment, Heero didn't reply.

Assured that the wrist was set properly, the medic gently lifted Quatre's eyeshade for a second and winced when she saw how red his eyes were. "That explains the bruises on your throat," she whispered. "Poor thing. Does anything else--?"

"No, that's it, really," Quatre interrupted her, edging away from her hands.

She obviously wasn't convinced, but she let it slide. "Well, you should still get some sleep. Both of you."

Duo groaned loudly. "Sorry, but I only follow one doctor's orders, and he'd tell me to get back into the cockpit."

"Stubborn," she said, but she still smiled. It was impossible not to like these two. The other one, though..."I'm going to run a few tests on those samples you drew," she told Heero. "It'll take me awhile, so if you don't mind--"

"Use the room in back," Heero said firmly. "They're both going back to sleep."

"You're worse than Chang, you know that, right?" Duo snapped.

"If I leave you alone long enough you'll fall asleep again," Heero replied. "You know that."

"Hmph. You won't let her cut my braid off, though?"

"You worry too much about your hair."

Quatre smiled at the tiny argument. "But you're going to stay, right?"

"Mm-hmm. I won't leave."

"Oh, good." Then I can go back to sleep if I don't have to worry about the medic. Now if I can just go without the dreams again.

Heero watched the blonde fall asleep, still resting against the pillow. "You too, Duo. Duo?" He looked over at the other pilot. Duo was snoring lightly again.

He really is an annoying patient, he said to himself. He pulled the chair that Trowa had left beside Quatre's bed over to Duo's. He watched the medic take the vials to the back, then leaned against the bed frame. His hand brushed Duo's arm, which was still rather cold, and he sighed in exhaustion. They'd all been working relentlessly for God knew how long, and the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with him. He left his laptop on the counter, too tired to work at the moment. He put his hand on Duo's while he stared aimlessly around the room. There wasn't much to look at, all the walls were gray, except where they're broken up every few feet by lights. Wufei is beside me, sword already drawn even though there are no soldiers in sight. The bridge is only a few meters away, but we can't risk rushing and setting off the alarm before Trowa's finished his work.

"How much longer are they going to take?" Wufei hisses, looking up at the digital display at the end of the corridor. We've been waiting here for five minutes.

"Duo and Quatre must be in the engine room by now," I reply in a low whisper.

"Trowa should have destroyed those barracks by now."

"There are nearly two hundred rooms to blow up," I tell him.

He sighs exasperatedly and readjusts his sword. I know how he feels, but I keep my frustration masked. Why haven't the engines gone off-line yet? There's always the chance that they've been captured already, or even killed, and we'd have no way of knowing. No, that's not true, I remind myself. The intruder alerts would sound. The thought that they're all right reassures me for some reason.

"If we don't hear anything in one more minute," I say quietly, "we'll go in anyway."
Wufei nods. "They've had more than enough time--"

Without warning the door to the command center opens up and two soldiers start to come out, their heads cast down. Wufei and I glance wildly around for a place to hide, but there's nothing. I suddenly realize a drawback to this plan. We exchange a brief look and nod silently.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the soldiers yells, spotting us finally.

I take aim and fire at both of them, killing one but only wounding the other. Inside the bridge, I can see the captain and first mate turn in shock. Wufei runs inside, leaping as he reaches the door and landing between the two. The guards inside can't risk firing amongst their own officers, who are so stunned they fumble clumsily for their weapons. Wufei's sword cuts through the first one's throat and completely decapitates the second. Blood pours onto the pristine metal surface. That's when we hear the engines power down.

I follow him in and fire at the remaining crew. Several of my targets go down instantly, but one of my bullets misses and the soldier is able to slam his hand down on a large red button before my second bullet takes him down. I run up to the console he was at, and my worst fears are confirmed as the red alert goes off ship-wide. Two explosions rock the ship, one right after another.

"Can you shut it off?" Wufei yells over the sirens. He keeps his eyes on the door to make sure no one surprises us.

I growl as I try different maneuvers."No, it's automatically locked me out." I bypass the main network and move to the secondary systems. "All I can do now is knock out their communications, but at least they won't be able to tell anyone we're here."

"Are you done? I can hear troops heading this way right now."

"Almost...there!" I finish the last keystroke, then fire into the main computer interface to make sure no one can fix the damage. "Let's go!" I change cartridges and run beside Wufei, who waits for me to fire at the first soldiers that come into view. As a handful of them drop, he covers for me while I reload. I hear them shoot at him, but he's only second to Trowa in the acrobatics he can perform. He easily dodges their assault and cuts down another group. I take out the last two and keep up while he leads us back to our Tauros suits.

There are few soldiers between us and our escape, and I wonder where the rest of our enemy is. Probably attacking the others. Either that or there weren't too many left after Trowa's mission. We both reattach our helmets and head back up the exit shafts, floating through space to reach our suits. As we lift away from the ship, we spot a small group of enemy suits launch from the hangar and attempt to outrun to our ship. Wufei immediately goes after them while I notice Trowa climbing out of an escape hatch.

"Are you all right?" I ask over the radio. He's not usually this slow.

"I'm fine," he replies. "I just don't like moving through space without a tether. Go on, I'll catch up."

"I'll see you back at the ship." I'm certain Duo and Quatre will be out soon, they're probably just being cautious. I rush out towards our ship to help Wufei, who has already engaged the enemy...

...I gently ease my Tauros into the hangar and jump out. Wufei is floating calmly next to his suit, watching as Trowa comes in.

"Where's Duo and Quatre?" Trowa asks as he climbs out of his suit.

Wufei stares at him in surprise. "I thought they were coming in after you."

Trowa shakes his head. "No, they weren't behind me. I didn't see their suits, so I thought they were already in."

I grab the suit's surface to steady myself. "They didn't come before us. They must still be on board."

"But if their suits were gone," Wufei argues, "then either they left or..."

"Or Oz caught them," Trowa finishes.

"Damn it," I mutter. They'll be put in restraints and interrogated...beaten is a better word for what Oz considers interrogation. Especially after they fully understand how we've destroyed their crewmates...no. Oz won't stop at beating them. They'll torture them. "We have to go back."

Trowa and Wufei seem shocked that I'm the one who said that. Not surprising, seeing as I'm faintly startled by it myself. Once the disbelief wears away, though, Trowa nods.

"This time we take the gundams," he says softly. "We don't need the ore that badly. We can destroy the asteroid--"

"We don't have to forfeit the gundanium," Wufei interrupts. "It would be an injustice to Quatre and Duo to waste their sacrifice. As soon as we have rescued them, I will retrieve as much as we need and then destroy the rest."

"Acceptable," Trowa says. "And we'll destroy that ship as well."

How strange, to hear anger in a voice that is usually so stoic.

"We'd better warn Sally," Wufei says.

I shake my head. "No time. It'll take too long as it is to get there, and the battle could take hours. There's no way to tell how long Quatre or Duo can last. We go now."

We waste no more time talking and dash off to our gundams. I watch as Trowa and Wufei climb into their suits, but when I close up Wing's hatch after me, all I can think is that whoever hurts those two is going to die with all the pain I can inflict on them.

"Heero?"

"Heero?"

Heero glanced up over Duo's still body, his gaze settling on the medic in front of him. "What?"

"Looks like you fell asleep," she smiled sympathetically at him. "I think you should follow your own advice and join your friends in dreamland."

He sat up and looked over both Duo and Quatre. Both of them seemed all right, despite their injuries. "Did you find anything?"

"Hmm? Oh no, nothing to worry about." Knowing he wouldn't take her word, she handed him the clipboard with the report and the test results, along with the diagrams.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked, masking the wonder in his voice. If she'd had time to draw all this up...

"At least three hours," she replied. "Look, there's nothing else I can do for them unless you want me to put them in casts or..." her voice trailed off when she saw his glare. "No, I didn't think so. Somehow, you don't look like the type that would approve of the luxury of modern medicine." She stressed that word almost angrily. "I can't force you to have them treated properly--"

"They're gundam pilots," he all but growled. And Duo would kill me if I made him walk on a cast and a crutch. And I wouldn't give a depressed Quatre anything he could use as a weapon, not even plaster. "If you're finished, you can go."

Her eyes fired up in rage, not only that she was being dismissed like a servant but that he would allow these two to go without decent treatment. "You are the cruelest and most reckless person I have ever met!" she hissed, then turned on her heel and escaped his cold glare.

"Thanks, Heero," Duo laughed. "That's the last time any of the doctors will come see us."

"Good." Didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. "Go back to sleep."

"Wufei isn't back yet?"

Hmm...good question. "Go back to sleep." Heero turned off the lights and locked the door behind himself, forgetting his laptop as he went.

When Heero reached the hangar, he found not just Trowa but Wufei as well. The Chinese pilot apparently had just jumped out of Shenlong, one arm slung around his helmet. Both of the pilots were locked in conversation and didn't see him at first.

"Did you get the gundanium?" he asked as he came closer, noticing the scuffing on Shenlong's hands.

Wufei turned to face him. "Yes, but we don't have much time. I spotted an Oz fleet fast on its way here."

"How long?"

"Three days, at the most. Maybe only two." Wufei sighed wearily. These battles were taking a toll even on his iron nerves. "And there's more."

"More?" Heero asked.

This time Trowa responded. "There were survivors from the ship Quatre destroyed. Not too many, but they'll know for certain about us, and how damaged our gundams are. And how badly they hurt Duo and Quatre." He looked away, his dark eyes staring at the iron grid of the catwalk.

"Then we have to fix those gundams fast," Heero said, quieter than usual.

Wufei motioned to the bottom of the hangar, where the workers were already gathering what he had collected. "Once it's ready, we can start. When the fleet gets here, though, we're the only ones who'll be able to fight."

Trowa nodded. "It would be best not to tell Quatre or Duo."

Heero didn't respond, reaching down to get his laptop. Then he remembered he'd left it in the infirmary and he groaned, heading back. If Duo decided to check his files...

*

Quatre stood still next to Duo's bed, a thick blanket wound around his body, and stared into the glowing screen. He looked up nervously at the door. "Duo, you shouldn't...be doing this," he rasped.

"No, I shouldn't..." the braided pilot agreed. "But I see you were curious enough to get out of bed and look." He typed in another word. A little window popped up again and flashed ERROR. "Dammit, what the hell could Heero use as a password?"

Quatre shrugged. "Did you try Relena Peacecraft?"

Duo grunted with a shudder but he typed it in anyway, using a couple variations. "Nope, not that!" he crowed in triumph.

Quatre wondered what he was so happy about, and his analytical mind started to wander. Now why would he be so happy about that? There's no reason not to like her...except that Heero seems to tolerate her more than most people...but that would mean... He put his good hand to his mouth to muffle his startled gasp of discovery.

Duo, however, was oblivious. "Hmm, hadn't thought about using names, though..." He typed in various other names that might be of interest to Heero.

"Duo," Quatre whispered softly, knowing this could hurt the pilot if he was wrong. "Try your name."

"Huh?" Duo gazed down at the screen as if it might bite him. "My name? No way..." But the way he touches me, sometimes, when we're alone and I'm perfectly still...maybe...D-U-O-M-A-X-W-E-L-L.

ACCESS GRANTED.

Duo smiled and tilted his head. Oh, Heero...Dark thunderclouds of skepticism rolled in. But then maybe he just rotates our names as passwords, and this just happens to be my turn. Still...

Quatre smiled, relieved that he'd been right on both counts, suddenly groaned and grabbed the edge of Duo's bed. Duo immediately closed the laptop and pushed it to the end of the bed, then turned and put his arms around Quatre, steadying him.

"What's wrong, man?"

"The room's...starting to spin..." Quatre leaned heavily into Duo's embrace, his head slumping onto his shoulder.

Duo swung his legs over the side and gingerly put his good foot on the floor, following it as lightly as possible with the other. "C'mon, we gotta get you back into bed." As he wobbled on one foot, his hand brushed something leaning just behind the head frame of the bed. He looked over and saw a crutch there.

"Self-righteous medic," he grumbled even while he was thanking heaven she'd had that foresight. He pulled it under his left arm while holding Quatre upright with the other. Somehow he managed to guide Quatre the few feet over his mattress and help him into it, but as soon as Quatre was safe on his back, Duo accidentally slammed the crutch into his ankle.

Now I remember why I hate these clumsy things, he gasped. Damn bitch of a friendly nurse making me rely on this when I didn't need the damn thing... The pain overrode his equilibrium and he started to fall backwards, knowing if he knocked his head again, the concussion could get seriously worse.

Two rigid arms coiled around his waist and shoulders, holding him up only halfway through his fall. He looked up and found Heero's deep gray-blue eyes boring into him.

"My Heero," he whispered before he could stop himself.

Heero scooped him up off the floor and carried him back to his bed, carefully situating him on the mattress and dragging the blankets up to his waist. "What were you doing out of bed?" he asked, examining Duo's ankle to make sure it was no worse for wear.

The American pilot shrugged. "I had to help Quatre back to his when he started to faint. I don't think his concussion is much better. Maybe--"

Heero wouldn't let him rattle on and change the subject. "And why was he out of bed?"

Duo bit his lip like a naughty child mindful of punishment might. "We were trying to get into your laptop."

Heero glared at him, making Duo wilt and look away quickly. As his head snapped to one side, though, his braid flew around and landed in his lap. Heero picked the end of it up and inspected it, forgetting about his laptop for the time being.

"When was the last time you brushed this?"

"Um...four missions ago?"

"It's all disheveled. Turn aside a bit."

Duo willingly complied, not sure what Heero was planning. "You're not gonna cut it, are you?"

"No."

Duo watched Heero undo the band holding the braid and toss it away somewhere, and then slowly begin to unravel his hair. His fingers caught at times, jerking in the tangles and loops that had formed over time. Duo winced at one particular pull that seemed to bite at his skin. He shot a glance at Quatre and was mysteriously pleased to see the blonde boy was fast asleep. He was all alone with Heero running his fingers through his hair. Grazing the skin on his back.

Once Heero reached the top of the braid, Duo heard him open a drawer beneath the counter and pull something out. A moment later, he felt it.

Heero was brushing his hair out. He swallowed his contented groan and closed his eyes in absolute comfort.

"I never knew you had so much hair," Heero admitted in a sotto voice. "Have you ever cut it?"

Duo smiled proudly. "Only once. That's several years worth of growth there. I'd hate to cut it."

"Why?"

Duo's smile faded. "We...didn't have very much...at the orphanage. My braid...it was one of my few real possessions. Plus," he forced himself to sound cheerier, "it's gotten me through some rough scrapes. It's saved my life a few times."

"Hn." There was no sound except that of the bristles gliding through his long hair and Quatre's light breathing.

" No one ever expects to get strangled with a braid," Duo started to ramble, filling up the silence anxiously. "If I whip it around, I can get enough force to knock a small weapon out of someone's hand. And it makes a good pillow at night, in Deathscythe's cockpit. And sometimes, when the weather's super cold, it keeps me warm. And--"

"Duo," Heero said firmly, starting . "You're rambling. Calm down."

"Does it show?" Duo laughed humorlessly.

"You're trembling."

"I...am?" Duo stared at his hands. Sure enough, they were shaking ever so slightly. "Oh..." He shook his head to get rid of these odd feelings he was getting and groaned in pain as his head started to pound. He put his hand up to his forehead to cool himself down, but he still toppled backward as the pain blotted out his balance.

Once more Heero caught him, bracing his body upright. "These spills are starting to become a habit. Just hold still and relax."

"H-Heero, I'm...starting to...feel dizzy," Duo whispered. "I-I-I n-need to...l-lay..."

Before he could say another word, he found himself being guided down to the mattress and his head and shoulders positioned just right on the pillow. The blanket was pulled to his throat and tucked in, and then he felt Heero resume braiding.

"Better?"

"Mm-hmm," Duo mumbled, not trusting his voice to remain steady. Not only was the sick feeling washing over his body threatening to make him cry in front of Heero, but he'd also had the other boy's hands on him, holding him. He allowed his eyes to close, and a moment after that he was fast asleep. Heero finished tying off the braid and leaned onto the side of the bed, intending to rest for a few seconds.

The door whooshed open, startling Heero, who was afraid it would be that medic again. Instead it was Wufei, arms folded and looking down at the floor.

"Some of the gundanium is ready," he whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping pilots. "We can all begin making repairs now."

"That was fast," Heero responded, blinking rapidly.

Wufei shook his head. "No, you've been in here for awhile. Look at the clock."

Heero looked up at the readout and groaned. "I didn't feel that tired...seven hours?"

Wufei raised one eyebrow. "Are you all right?"

Heero snorted and nodded, rising up out of his seat. He scooped his laptop up and gazed down at Duo one more time. "Have they improved any?"

The Chinese pilot nodded once. "Trowa came in and checked after them every hour." And stroked Quatre's hand each time. And you have no idea that Duo was squeezing your hand when he woke up. "You slept right through it."

Heero shrugged it off and walked past him. When he arrived at the hangar, he didn't return Trowa's quiet questioning look and instead jumped up onto Wing. He settled into the cockpit and plugged his laptop in, then opened up the top. He was about to type in the password when he saw that the screen immediately brought up a window informing him that access was still granted, despite the number of hours between log ins.

What? Password already entered...? he wondered. But then...Duo and Quatre must have guessed...then Duo knows...no, he didn't say anything. He doesn't feel anything...then why was he trembling...he's injured, that's why...but he guessed the password..

He groaned and leaned back in his seat, screwing his eyes tight. He could feel a major headache coming on strong. This was not going to be a good battle, he just knew it.

*

The hangar was eerily silent, save for the occasional sound of metal striking metal and the whirr of a soldering torch. None of the regular engineers had volunteered to help the pilots with their repairs, but that was mostly because it was the three quiet boys in there. If it had been "the blonde kid" or "the braided one" working there, they might have been a bit more willing to offer their assistance. Instead, they steered clear of the Chinese dragon, who always had his sword with him, and away from the one everyone said was a cold-blooded homicidal maniac. The tallest boy wasn't so bad, but his silence was unnerving to say the least. A few of the braver crew members peeked out into the hangar once in awhile and were always startled to see him leaping across his gundam back and forth from the catwalk without hesitating. Those kinds of fearless acrobatics bordered on suicidal, and watching him was almost frightening.

"You do realize you're putting on a show for the crew," Heero mumbled through the insulated wires he held gently between his teeth. His left hand was busy on the control panel while the other was flying across his laptop.

"I can't help it if they want to stare," Trowa replied quietly, bounding back onto Heavy Arm's shoulder with a case full of bullets.

"Could close the damn door," Wufei snapped. He threw a glare at the gawkers, most of whom immediately disappeared. "I think you just like having an audience." He smirked when Trowa predictably didn't answer. "Explains why you like the circus so much."

Suddenly a box of bullets slipped from Trowa's hand and plummeted down to the hangar floor. He closed his eyes in mute aggravation and slammed his fist into Heavyarm's metal siding, the stress of constant work for two days catching up to him. Heero noticed and sighed.

"I still think we should lay the gundams down while we repair them," he said, dropping the wires to the bottom of his cockpit. "We wouldn't be so far up then."

"There isn't enough room to put five gundams down," Trowa said, shaking his head.

"We only need to repair three," Wufei said softly. "Quatre and Duo will not be fighting. You know that."

Nothing was said, although the two pilots looked away.

"Unless you think they can handle the battle--"

"No!" Heero and Trowa stared at each other as they said that. They both returned to their machinery, neither of them speaking.

Wufei leaned against his gundam's head, arms folded across his chest. His repairs were all but finished. All he needed was for the diagnostics test to come back positive. He began to polish his sword, which drove the last of the spying crewmen away. "Why not? They are not weak."

"They're in no condition to fight," Heero insisted.

"You would fight, if you were in their place."

"They can't fight, not with those concussions." This time it was Trowa who broke the silence.

"They need their rest," Heero added.

The hangar was quiet again.

"Have you told them about the Oz fleet yet?"

Silence. That answered Wufei's question. "And what will you say when we must disappear to fight? What will they think?"

"Two of us need to stay behind to protect the ship," Heero said, not so sure of his answers now. "They're the best suited. That's all."

Trowa nodded.

"And you're not trying to protect them?"

"Of course not."

And that's when Wufei started laughing.

Heero glared at the other pilot, not surprised that Trowa had opted to remain silent. "What's so funny?"

"You two are..." Wufei smirked and kept chuckling. "You're such cold, efficient soldiers, but when it comes to those two pilots..."

Heero turned back to his laptop, not wanting to listen. "They're not up to fighting such a large force, they need their rest."

"And yet you think they can repel an attack on the ship if we're defeated?" Wufei raised one eyebrow.

Heero didn't respond.

"You don't want them on this mission?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I told you, they're injured."

"And I told you that would make no difference, if it was you."

"I don't want them getting in the way."

"Liar." Wufei was almost shocked by the amount of anger in Heero's look. "Both of you."

"What are you talking about?" Trowa asked.

"It's so obvious," Wufei sighed, putting his sword away. "You love them."

Heero went back to his laptop. "No, I don't."

"I suppose you'd offer to help braid anyone's hair?"

"I don't have time for this." Heero ignored Wufei's amused looks and immersed himself in the Wing's schematics.

Trowa's gaze went from Heero to Wufei, who climbed back into Shenlong when the diagnostics were finished. Could he be right...? Is that what I feel toward Quatre? Do I...love...? He pushed the disturbing questions from his mind and jumped back to the catwalk, heading to the floor to retrieve the fallen bullets. He would need every last round for this fight.

The hangar door opened up again, and Heero glanced out of the corner of his eye at it, expecting more uninvited gawkers. Instead he spotted Sally coming in, a worried look on her face. She looked around the hangar once, then again, then leaned over the catwalk railing, searching for something.

"Um...is anyone in here?" she called out.

She can't see us, Heero thought, realizing that they were all hidden out of sight, either in their cockpits or, in Trowa's case, directly beneath her. He really didn't want to talk to her, but she never came by unless she had something important to tell them. With a muffled groan, he stood up and stepped out onto his opened hatch. "Yes?"

"Oh, there you are!" she smiled ruefully. "I thought you should know that Oz fleet is only five hours away now. We're moving back as fast as we can, but they're still going to catch up."

"We're almost done with repairs," Wufei told her, stepping out of his Nataku. "We can leave in a few minutes."

Heero nodded in agreement. "We passed a small asteroid belt about two hours ago. We can fight there."

Sally had blinked in surprise when Wufei came out. "How many of you are in here?" she wondered. I had thought this place was empty!

"Only three of us," Trowa answered curtly, coming up the catwalk with the bullets under one arm.

Mildly startled at his sudden appearance, Sally leaned back and folded her arms. "Speaking of which, do you really believe you can push back an entire fleet?"

"We're not going to push them back," Heero said calmly. "We're going to destroy them."

I guess that answers that question, she told herself. "But even all five gundams aren't going to have the firepower necessary--"

"Three gundams," Trowa corrected her.

"We will have more than enough strength to defeat them," Wufei insisted.

"Three?" Sally wondered. "That's not what Quatre and Duo said."

"What?" Heero demanded.

She nodded. "I just came from the infirmary. Both of them looked like they were getting ready to join the fight."

"You told them about the fleet?" Heero growled.

"I didn't need to," she shook her head. "I don't know how they found out, but they already knew. In fact, it probably wasn't that hard for them to figure it out. You guys have been spending an awful lot of time in here."

"You two had better talk your sense into them," Wufei said casually to the other pilots.

They both glared at him, irked by his words. "Your" sense? Heero grumbled silence. He jumped down from his hatch, certain that he could finish his repairs even with this minor interruption. As he walked silently past Sally, Trowa landed on the catwalk just behind him and walked beside him to the infirmary.

*

"Duo, something isn't right," Quatre murmured, easing into his clothing. The pants had been the hardest so far, but the shoes would be worse. Laces...I don't know if I can do that yet.

"I know," Duo grumbled, doing his best to gently pull his cap on with one hand. He didn't want it pressing against the sore spots on his head. "They should have told us something by now. Wufei has to be back, they must be repairing the gundams now. Why would they keep that from us?"

Quatre shrugged and focused intently on his shoes, using all of his dexterity and skill to accomplish that simple task. "Maybe they think we're too injured to do anything right now."

"I know Heero wouldn't have a problem fighting if he was as busted up as we are. Trowa's probably the same. No, they would have said something."

Quatre sighed. "Or maybe they think we're too weak to handle what they can. Maybe they think of us like kids."

Duo closed his eyes when he heard that. "No...I'm...I'm sure they don't...think about us that way...I mean, we're gundam pilots just like they are. We're not children." He gingerly put his shoes on, wincing slightly as he slid the heavy material over his broken ankle. "Damn, that stings."

He had finally gotten it settled comfortably on when the door opened and the two pilots entered. Duo smiled grimly at Heero, leaving Trowa to Quatre's hurt glare.

"Hey, Heero, didja finally decide to clue me and Quatre in on the party?"

"You know about the Oz fleet coming in?" Heero demanded coldly.

"Oz fleet?" Duo wondered. "When will they be here?"

Stupid! Heero mentally kicked himself. Duo hadn't known about it and you just told him!

"Five hours, give or take," Trowa answered quietly.

"That explains why you've been avoiding us," Quatre realized.

"Then you know that you have to stay here," Trowa added.

Quatre looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

Trowa stepped closer, sitting down on his bed. "You're in no condition to fight," he insisted. "You need to rest and get better."

Heero nodded in agreement. "This is one fight you two are going to have to sit out."

No one spoke for several seconds. Finally Duo stared up at Heero, who searched the violet eyes for signs of acquiescence or sadness. There was instead a cool lack of emotion that would have sent a chill down Heero's spine if he hadn't known Duo couldn't fight right then.

"Quatre, you were right about the way they feel about us," Duo said, his voice colder than Heero's could be.

Heero and Trowa opened their eyes wide in shock. Did they know how they felt...?

Quatre nodded dismally, knowing exactly what Duo was talking about. "Yes. We're only children to them."

Trowa shook his head. "Quatre, that's not--"

Quatre looked away and refused to meet his eyes. "You wouldn't hesitate to fight, if our positions were reversed."

"Yeah, but we're not as strong as them," Duo all but snarled. "We would probably just get in their way. We're just a handicap."

"Two albatrosses around their necks," Quatre nodded.

"That isn't true," Heero said firmly. "We'll need two pilots here in case that fleet gets by us."

Duo started to laugh. "Hey, Quatre, I think they think we're mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah, they keep us in the dark and then they feed us bullshit."

Despite the situation, Quatre laughed at that. "I don't suppose they thought this out too well. If we're too sick to fly, then how could we defend the ship?"

Duo carefully stood up and glared back at Heero. "On the other hand, if they think we can defend the ship, then logically we can fight with them in the attack." He started for the door.

Heero moved to block his path, and Duo's eyes darkened. "Out of my way."

"No." Heero didn't give Duo any time to respond. He slid around beside him and pulled him backward, easily sweeping him up off the floor once he'd lost his balance. "Your gundam isn't repaired and only at half strength, and you are in no shape to fly it."

He forced Duo back onto the bed and began fastening restraints over his arms.

"Let me go!" Duo yelled, swinging unthinkingly with his broken arm. Fortunately Heero didn't block it, which was his first instinct and which would have snapped it again. Instead he caught his wrist and pushed it back down, binding it down with the thick strap. Heero nodded at Trowa, who started to tie Quatre down as well.

Knowing it was useless to fight, Quatre watched passively as Trowa worked. "You can be so cruel sometimes," he whispered.

Trowa finished with his legs and leaned down over him, gazing into his eyes while he locked the last strap over his chest. "I just don't want to see you hurt," he whispered so that only Quatre could hear him.

"I'm already hurt," the Arabian sighed.

"Quatre..." Trowa hesitated. The information he had could only cause Quatre more pain, but he had to explain his actions to the blonde. "There were a few survivors from the ship you destroyed," he said slowly.

"What? You said--"

"I know, but I was wrong. I must have missed a few. Quatre...they might know what happened to you...how badly they hurt you..."

Quatre looked up into Trowa's eyes. He knows he knows oh no merciful Allah, he knows... "You...know...that...?"

Trowa nodded. "I...I know they...raped...you. And I won't let you back into that kind of environment again."

Pent up anger flashed through the blonde pilot. "How dare you make that decision for me? I am not broken, I am not weak, I can do this--!"

Trowa put his fingers over Quatre's lips, hushing him. "I know," he said. "You probably could. But I can't think straight when you're in danger." Wufei was right, he realized. "I...almost lost you before. I won't risk that again." Then, ignoring his better judgment, he bent and pressed his mouth against Quatre's.

All thoughts of the upcoming battle slipped from Quatre's mind as he surrendered to that kiss. He could only think of how he wanted to reach up and hold Trowa, press his stronger body on his, but the straps around his arms were more than enough to hold him. Tears sprung to his reddened eyes, stinging them, and he glared at Trowa as he pulled back. Anger and fear and confusion all mixed around in his head, bringing on another headache.

"Don't go," he whispered, furious that he was reduced to begging. "You know you can't fight them all off, let alone destroy them."

Trowa caressed Quatre's cheek almost tenderly, revealing his rarely seen caring side. "I'll survive. You stay here and rest. We'll be back soon." He stood up and glanced over at Heero, who had finally managed to secure his own struggling spitfire down.

"Dammit, Heero, let me go!" Duo fought desperately. "Three gundams can't possibly take out a whole fleet! You need us!"

Heero raised one eyebrow as he watched him, not listening at all to what he was saying. Instead he was mesmerized by the frantic writhing of his bound captive, the way his body seemed to contort and thrash uselessly. Hn. I wonder what how he would act if I put the eyeshade back on...?

"Heero, Trowa, if you guys go out, you're even crazier than I thought you were! Are you trying to be suicidal here?"

Not bothering to explain his actions, Heero left Duo trapped there and headed for the door. Once Trowa had also left the room, Heero turned back to the two helpless pilots. "Don't bother trying to get loose. I'm going to lock the door from the outside, so you might as well just quiet down and get some sleep."

"'Quiet down'?!" Duo all but shrieked. "Heero, don't you dare--!"

The lights were flipped off and the door closed on him mid-sentence, and they both heard the automatic lock slide into place.

Duo growled deep in his throat, pissed off beyond sane levels. It wasn't just that Heero was going off half-cocked into a no-win fight without so much as a good-bye, but being tied up and dismissed like some kid you could just send to his room in punishment...!

"Stupid Heero, I'll show you," he spoke to no one in particular, twisting around again. "No one does this to me. I'll get you, somehow...you're gonna wish you hadn't patched me back together...and now that I think of it, you didn't give me decent painkillers, either, so I owe you for that...and hanging around with that stupid Relena-I-can't-do-anything-but-whine-chick...what the hell's so cool about pink, anyway...?"

"Duo, what are you doing?" Quatre asked, straining to see his comrade in the darkness.

"Ranting," Duo replied, panting for breath as he paused. "And getting out of these straps, too, but that'll take awhile, and the silence is getting to me."

"Oh..." Quatre nodded in understanding. Trowa kissed me, he loves me, he wants me...he's going to die if we don't do something... "Are you sure you can get out of them?"

Duo smirked. "Doctor G didn't pick me 'cause of my good looks and natural charm," he said wryly. "'Course, it'd been weird if he had...you know what they say about guys with big noses....eww...bad mental image there..."

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Why did he pick you, then?"

"Because..." There was an audible sound of fabric tearing, quickly followed by a triumphant laugh. "Nothing can hold the shinigami for long."

"Duo?"

"One arm free," the braided pilot answered. "Give me a few more minutes for the others, and then I'll get you out of there."

"Hurry," Quatre whispered. "The way they were talking, it sounded like they leaving soon."

*

"How much longer 'till they get here?" Heero asked, busily packing another asteroid with explosives.

Shenlong peeked up over a large asteroid as Wufei tried to minimize the light reflecting from his gundam. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"This area's mined," Trowa radioed.

"Then all we have to do now is wait," Wufei said. He gazed out over the asteroid belt behind him and chuckled darkly. It was a plan worthy of even Quatre's strategical skill. Normally the Oz fleet would skirt the belt, hoping to avoid possible hull breaches with the largest floating rocks, but with the bait of the gundam pilots so close, they would have no choice but to barge their way through. If we're lucky, we'll get the two main ships, and then we can pick apart the third one and the survivors.

KRAKOOM!

One of the smallest asteroids nearby burst into billions of fragments as a bright yellow beam of plasmic energy roared into it. Shenlong and Wing backed away behind larger rocks, trying to mask their location.

"Wait's over," Heero said. "Mobile dolls coming in at twelve o'clock."

"I'll take those," Wufei said. "You get those battle ships in the minefield."

Heavyarms and Wing pulled alongside each other as Shenlong charged into the midst of the Virgo suits, dodging back and forth to grab their attention before darting to one side, luring them away from the main battle. One lunge of his left arm destroyed their command shuttle, leaving them to run on their own limited intelligence. Without thinking about a probable trap, they left the fleet and followed Wufei.

That's the first wave of MS, at least, Trowa thought. "We can lure that smaller ship into this area, then bring the other one in after," he said, already firing his boosters to get close enough to alert that ship to his presence. He sprayed the side of the ship with a few bullets, just to annoy them, and wound up with not just the ship following him, but also with another pack of mobile dolls on his tail.

"I'll get those," Heero said, coming in behind him.

The glowing streaks of energy flying around Heavyarms ceased almost at once as they concentrated solely on Wing. Trowa didn't even look back at Heero's battle as he drew the smallest battleship closer. The beam cannons, unable to lock onto his erratic flying pattern, fired randomly in hopes of a lucky shot amidst the sheer amount of rounds. Finally in range, Trowa maneuvered Heavyarms just behind one of the few asteroids that hadn't been rigged to explode, feigning a malfunctioning propulsion system. Eager for the easy kill, the ship lunged in amongst the boulders that normally would not have proven a serious problem to their hull.

Have to be careful to mask this first strike, Trowa told himself, or else they'll know it's a trap. The battleship came near enough, so he pushed the asteroid forward and darted back again. They must be laughing, thinking I'm so weak I'm attacking with pebbles. He drifted back, slowing down as the beam cannons powered down. They must want to finish me off with one shot and broadcast the pictures home as propaganda. Just a little closer now...The mined asteroids hovered around him now, turning lazily in the vacuum. He pushed himself back again. The battleship put on a burst of speed, obviously to knock the asteroids away.

Heavyarms suddenly zipped away in a blur just as the hull slammed into a rocky pack of explosives. Brilliant light flashed up around the ship as the concussive force tore a hole in its side, and while flames rushed through its insides, things and people were sucked out into the cold nothingness of space. Trowa attacked, making it seem like his gundam had done that damage. If he was lucky, he could use this mined area again.

On the other side of the battle, Wufei had finished off his pack of MS and had already engaged the largest battleship, striving to keep it from attacking the other two as they whittled away at the fleet. As he twisted and spun around the onslaught from the beam cannons, he spared a second to see how Wing was doing.

Almost every mobile doll was locked onto Wing, and for good reason. It seemed to cut through huge swaths of automated units, never losing speed despite the electrical shorts running up the left arm. Apparently a few dolls had hit their target.

Wufei grinned when he spotted the smallest ship laying demolished amongst the asteroids. Trowa was fast approaching another ship, this time tricking a few dolls into a circle around him so that the stray magnetics from their shields pushed another mine at the next battleship. This fight seemed to be going well. He dived again at the remaining battleship, eager to finish things.

That's when the underside of the ship opened up and wave upon wave of mobile dolls fell out, rushing to engage all three gundams. Wufei gasped in shock. There were hundreds of dolls there.

"It...it's not a battleship!" he yelled to the other pilots, who turned to see. "It's a mobile doll carrier!"

"Get inside the minefield!" Trowa told them. "Those asteroids will help reduce their numbers when they fly in!"

Wufei nodded, but he took a long time to head in that direction. It was better to take out as many dolls as he could on his way than to just fly straight in. After a moment, though, he realized that he was having an easier time than the other two. The dolls were mainly after the wounded Wing or Heavyarms, who had destroyed two ships already. With a bitter smirk, he decided to show these automated troops just how dangerous he was.

Trowa, meanwhile, raced through the minefield as fast as he could, keeping a fairly safe distance from each mined asteroid. There were three mobile dolls close behind him, but their shielding played havoc with the metals inside the mines. Those asteroids started to drift randomly, occasionally crashing into the dolls farther back, who couldn't dodge the fast-paced bombs.

Heero's Wing, however, was having a far more difficult time. For some reason, the enemy suits that hadn't gone after Trowa had all decided to attack him. Wing's electrical systems had been damaged, making him slower than usual, and he was nearly out of all his munitions, save for his energy sword. Out of Wing's peripheral vision he could see the Shenlong exploding a handful of mobile suits inside the last battleship, destroying it within the blast, but the damage was already done. They were effectively caught in a swarm of dolls. He could see Heavyarms shedding its huge rotating gun and pulling its sword, but Trowa was also close to exhaustion. Seeing no other solution, Heero dived into the minefield.

"Trowa, get out of here," he said coldly. "I'm going to ignite all of these at once as soon as there are a majority of dolls in here."

"You'll need all three gundams in here, then," Trowa replied. "To pull them in."

"I'm on my way," Wufei called in. "I've got the rest of them on Nataku's tail."

"Heero, move out of the asteroid belt," Trowa said, avoiding another blast of energy rounds. "You won't make it out in time if you're the one to detonate."

"No, I have to be the one," Heero argued. "Wing's not fast enough to do much damage in heavy combat. You two have to be out first to pick off the stragglers. Are most of them in now?"

Shenlong suddenly raced by him, turned, and blasted several of the dolls following him. "They are now! Quick, light the field up!"

As Wing took aim at the largest pack of explosives, Heavyarms and Shenlong burst up and out of the asteroid belt. The heat from the detonation beneath them followed at their heels, and when they turned around to look, the glare was still too bright to see through. Almost a third of the dolls had escaped the blast, but the rest had burned up and floated like slag in the dimming space.

"Trowa, can you see Wing in there?" Wufei asked as he started to attack the remaining dolls.

Heavyarms scanned the area frantically, knowing the dolls would search out the last gundam as well. The moment he caught sighed of the gundam, floating powerless in the fragments of rock, a handful of dolls spotted it as well. He fired his thrusters as they took off, knowing full well that he wouldn't reach Heero in time.

Heero opened his eyes, trying to stare through the blood that obscured his vision. He knew he should be surprised that he was still alive, but he couldn't focus his thoughts that coherently. The light in his gundam had dwindled to a backup red light and the static glow on his cracked forward viewscreen. His entire body ached, and he smiled grimly when he saw the small pack of mobile dolls approaching. He could see Heavyarms farther behind those, but there was no way he would overtake them. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, waiting for the final shot.

A dark shadow fell across his viewscreen, blotting out its light, and Heero looked up in confusion. Something...had moved in front of him? His audio had failed, so he couldn't hear anything outside, but he could feel the shockwaves of large explosions in front of him. After a minute, the shadow in front of him moved back, revealing a tall mobile suit with black wings.

"Deathscythe?" he whispered in disbelief. "But that means..."

"Hey, Heero!" his radio crackled weakly. "Good thing we got here just in time, huh? Looks like half strength is still better than sitting dead in space!"

"Duo, is that...you?" he gasped.

"The one and only," the cheerful voice came back. "You sound awful. Better just sit this one out while we take care of things out here."

"But...you're injured..." Heero protested.

"If you hadn't noticed, so are you. Just stay put, and I'll get you out of here once this is all done."

With that, Deathscythe flew off, easily evading the rounds fired by the dolls. His ammunitions had not been replaced so all he had to use was his energy scythe, but it seemed to suffice. The glowing blade cut through doll after doll, visibly reducing the enemy. If Heero hadn't known better, he'd have thought Duo was at full operating capability.

Or maybe he just enjoys showing me I was wrong, he thought.

On the other end of the battlefield, Trowa found himself faced by more than a dozen suits. Without the battleships to control them, though, they'd been left to their own artificial intelligence, which told them that it didn't matter if they survived intact as long as the gundam pilots were destroyed. Choosing the best tactic to annihilate the gundam in front of them, they all began their self-destruct sequence. It was one thing for them to explode when cut apart. The self-destruct, though, would ignite every possible fuel source for a more devastating effect, powerful enough to perhaps even destroy a gundam.

Trowa gasped in shock and tried to fly out of range, but his thrusters had taken a hit, rendering him even slower than usual. Out of bullets and too far away to use his sword, he stared at the line of automatons before him. "Looks like I won't be coming back after all, Quatre."

Something flickered to his left, and before he could turn to see what it was, a slender curved blade flew into sight and cut through the row of mobile dolls. A second one followed immediately after, slicing into mobile dolls the first blade had missed. Unable to properly self-destruct, the resultant explosions were no where near as violent as they would have been. The blast still rocked Heavyarms, but it recovered with minimal damage.

"Trowa!"

"Quatre?" Trowa looked up and saw Sandrock directly in front of him. "But...we locked you in."

"Yeah, with the best escape artist in the group," Quatre smiled. "I'm glad you two forgot about that. Are there any more mobile dolls out here?"

Trowa looked around and saw that the remaining dolls were being cut down by Wufei and Duo. "Not anymore...can't you see?"

Quatre laughed sadly. "Yes, to a point. I can see two Heavyarms, two Deathscythes, two Wings..."

"Quatre, you shouldn't be out here, you're concussion is still bad...wait a moment...how were you able to take down those dolls then?"

"Sandrock showed me which line of dolls was real. Its sensors still work, Trowa, they've just been taken down a few notches, that's all. And if there aren't anymore dolls left, can I ask you to do me a favor?"

Trowa nodded. "Of course."

"Can you help guide me back to the ship? The navigation's still fried, and I can't see where anything is."

Trowa smiled despite himself. "Just fly beside me. I'll take off slow so you'll have no problem staying with me."

Deathscythe, finished with the slicing of the remaining dolls, flew back to Wing and grasped it firmly in its arms. "Okay, Heero, time to head back!"

"The...others?" Heero murmured, wondering if Duo could hear him.

"Don't worry about them, they'll follow! But I need to get you back before you keel over. Hold on tight!" Deathscythe turned toward their own ship far in the distance and started off, flying at full speed and leaving the others behind.

"You still alive in there?" Duo asked.

"Hn."

"Oh, good. I'm gonna be really pissed if you die, I still have to pay you back for leaving me tied up like that. It hurt, you know, getting out of those straps. I'm not as strong as you are, tearing those things apart nearly broke my arm again. And do you have any idea how hard it is to bypass those electric locks on the door?"

Heero sighed. He knew Duo was just talking to him to give him something to focus on, but it forced him to stay awake, too. He couldn't escape the pain through sleep, although that probably wouldn't have been a good idea, he had to admit. Merely leaning forward on his viewscreen, he shut his eyes and allowed the time to slip by while he kept his mind on what Duo was saying...

Finally! Duo smiled in relief as he brought the two gundams into the hangar. He pushed Wing up against the wall so its joints would lock and hold itself upright, then set Deathscythe right next to it. Leaping out of his hatch, he had just landed on the catwalk when he saw Wing's hatch open and Heero stumble out, blood still streaming from above his eyes.

"Heero, no! Stay put!" Duo yelled. Too late, Heero collapsed, toppling from the hatch. Duo leaped forward, trying to catch him, but he only managed to snag his arm. Heero's weight pulled him forward as well, and Duo fell hard onto the catwalk, Heero hanging precariously over the drop to the floor far below.

"D-Duo?" Heero whispered, looking up slowly.

"Heero, reach up with your other arm!" Duo cried, straining to hold Heero with one hand while his other was wrapped around the railing. "I can't hold you up for long!"

"I...can't..." Heero gasped as he tried. He glanced at it and saw blood streaming from his shoulder. "I can't make it move."

"Oh, geez," Duo moaned, trying to pull Heero up. A moment later he gave up. "Damn...there's no way I can pull you up."

"Let me...fall," Heero said weakly.

"You've gotta be crazy," Duo argued. "I'm not letting go."

"It's...not a...fatal height," Heero insisted. "I...won't--"

"No way," Duo said firmly. "You have a habit of falling head first, and that would kill you."

"But...I'll drag you over."

Duo shut his eyes tight, doing his best to ignore the pain in his injured arm as it held the railing tight. "If you go, I go."

"Duo...no...you can't..."

Something in Heero's voice made him look down. Duo froze in shock as he saw something sparkle in Heero's eyes and spill down his face. Tears?

"Heero?"

"I'm not...worth your life..." Heero whispered. "Don't...sacrifice yourself for me...let go, Duo."

Duo shook his head furiously. "No." His arm was starting to go numb, and he could feel his fingers beginning to slip. He looked back at his other hand, and carefully hooked his leg around one of the railing supports. Once he had his other leg next to it, he brought his hand around and grabbed Heero's wrist, relieving the pressure on his other hand, but now he was dangling half way off the catwalk.

"Duo...please..."

"Why the concern all of a sudden?" Duo hissed, trying to ignore the imminent danger beneath them. Let's see, if we do drop, I can get under him and break his fall...maybe he'd survive...

"Because...I..." Heero stared at the far wall, unwilling to look into Duo's eyes. He mentally prepared himself for Duo's disgust and for the fall that would surely follow. How had Wufei said it? Oh, yes... "I...love you."

Duo's mind halted, and he nearly let go in disbelief. A moment passed in silence. And then Duo started to laugh. Heero looked up in confusion. That was not the reaction he'd expected.

"You picked...one hell of a time to admit it," Duo grinned. His tightened his grip.

"Duo?"

"If you think I'm gonna let go now, you really are crazy."

"But...we'll both fall! Let me go and save yourself!"

"I can't live in a world without you, Heero."

At that moment, the hangar doors opened up again and two more gundams came in.

"Heero!" Quatre cried out in alarm, vaguely able to make out the scene before him.

Trowa, who could see clearly, could tell how close Duo was to slipping from the catwalk altogether. Not wasting any time jumping out, he put Heavyarm's free hand beneath Heero, trying to raise it gently up towards them.

Duo's strength finally gave out and he tumbled off with Heero, both of them landing a few feet below on the gundam's hand. True to form, Heero did indeed land the wrong way, stunning him. He could feel his body being pulled into Duo's arms and picked up.

"Can you make it to the infirmary alone?" Quatre called out.

"No prob!" Duo smiled, jumping from the hand to the catwalk and heading for the infirmary, floating through the light gravity that kept some of the weight off his leg. "Thanks for the lift, Trowa!"

Trowa smiled, then frowned when he saw Sandrock's hatch open up. "Quatre, you stay still and wait for me!"

"Wha--? I'm fine, Trowa!"

"I said stay put!" He rushed out of his own gundam as fast as he could and leaped across to the other hatch door. Fortunately he found that Quatre had obeyed him, sitting down back inside the hatch.

"You are going back to the infirmary," he smiled mildly at Quatre, who lowered his red eyes. "And this time, you're going to stay there until you're better."

Quatre sighed dismally and hung his head down. "But it's so boring..."

Trowa tilted his head in amusement. "You've been around Duo for too long," he whispered. "Take my hand. Maybe once I check you over, I can...let you rest up...in my room."

Quatre perked up immediately and smiled at Trowa, who had offered that rather tentatively. "I'd like that."

Outside, Shenlong was finally coming closer to the ship. Taking care of the last dolls had taken longer than he'd thought, and he could just make out Heavyarms and Sandrock heading into the hangar. With a tired sigh, he prepared to slow down to a reasonable speed until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his attention to it and guided Shenlong away from the hangar. Something was jutting out from the ship's normally streamline shape.

Oh no, he inwardly gasped when he recognized it. One Tauros suit firmly locked onto the hull, near one of the maintenance shafts. Its body was badly mangled, but the cockpit had remained intact. How did I miss one? It must have left the fight early and headed straight here. Wasting no time, he flipped on his communicator and radioed the ship's main deck.

"Wufei, is that you?" Sally came back.

"Sally, there is intruder on board! His suit's up here on the hull, he could already be working his way through the corridors!"

"Hell," Sally muttered. "All right, we'd better go to red alert. Wufei, can you bring that suit in? It'll at least replace one of the suits we lost."

"Once I'm certain it is not rigged to self-detonate," he answered, and he cut transmission.

Inside the ship, Sally sighed and closed her eyes. "Would it kill him to finish off one damn conversation? All of them are nuts..."

The red alert caught Trowa and Quatre off guard, the scarlet sirens going off around them. A small group of crewmen came up from behind them, about to pass them by, when Trowa reached out to hold one back. "What's going on?"

"You don't know?" one asked, staying back just long enough to tell them. "There's an intruder on board! He could be anywhere, so keep your eyes open!"

As he caught up to his comrades, Trowa looked down at Quatre, who had half closed his eyes. The flashing lights, though faint, were enough to hurt his vision. "We'd better get to the infirmary and make sure Duo and Heero are all right."

Quatre nodded, and they both started walking again. "I guess we missed a few again," he whispered.

Trowa lowered his eyes. It was going to take time reassuring his little one that he would keep him from being hurt--

His thoughts were cut off as something heavy slammed into his side, pushing both of them to the left. He saw Quatre stumble back, his slighter weight pushed farther, and felt strong arms coming around his body. His own hands moved towards the unknown person and brushed a handgun in a holster. Acting on instinct, he snatched the gun out, but it slipped from his fingers and skidded across the metal floor. A cruel punch hit his stomach, then jerked him back up for a vicious strike to his head. Whoever held him was stronger than he was, with the added advantage of surprise on his side.

Quatre turned and froze. He recognized that face, with the patch over the eye and that evil smirk...his legs refused to obey him and went limp, forcing him to the ground. Not again not again no no no! Trowa, hurt him! but that thought faded when he saw Trowa handled like a puppet. That last hit must have dazed him.

"Hold still," the familiar voice growled, this time at Trowa, "or I'll blow your damn head...off--?" His spare hand fumbled for the gun that was no longer in his holster.

Quatre would have laughed at that shocked face if it was anybody else. He made a move to get up and his hand fell on top of something cold. His fingers unconsciously curled around the handgun, settling into the trigger and holding it up at the enemy in front of him.

The Oz soldier held still when he saw the gun in his hand, then relaxed and chuckled once he recognized who was holding it. "Well, well, it's the little pretty one," he sneered. He pulled Trowa's limp body up farther, using him as a shield so that only his head showed. "Go ahead and shoot."

Quatre swallowed nervously and tried to aim, but this time there was no Sandrock to tell him which was the real soldier. If he shot wrong, he might hit Trowa. No, if I am wrong, I will hit Trowa. He struggled to focus, but there were still two soldiers and two Trowas in front of him. If he didn't hurry, that soldier might be able to snap Trowa's neck. The crew is never around when you need them! "You are a coward," he said firmly.

"Put down the gun," the soldier snarled.

Please, Allah, please, Quatre whispered in his mind. Without allowing himself time to change his mind, he raised the gun, aimed, and fired.

Time froze for one instant as both Trowa and the enemy collapsed. Quatre cried out in fright and scrambled forward, tears streaming from his eyes. Blood filled the corridor from the exit wound, but who had he hit? He climbed up on top of them and stared down. Trowa's eyes were still closed, but the soldier's eyes were wide open, with a perfect little hole between them. I've never been so relieved in my entire life thank you thank you thank you--The door next to them opened up and Duo's head appeared.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" Duo asked, then looked down at the body. "Oh, gross! Quatre, you okay?"

Quatre smiled and nodded. "Yes, but I think Trowa's unconscious. Can you help me get him in here?"

"I'm not unconscious..." Trowa mumbled, turning to his side.

"Hang on," Duo grinned, giving Quatre a hand up before they both guided Trowa to the free bed.

Once Trowa had a chance to sit down and catch his breath, he smiled at Quatre. "And I thought I would be helping you in here."

Quatre's smile grew bigger and he threw his arms around him. "I'm just glad you're all right, I was so terrified I would hit you!"

Trowa shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't."

"Was that was the red alert was for?" Duo asked, sitting back on the other bed. "The guy with his brains in the corridor?"

Quatre winced, but his smile turned into a grin. "You have such a way with words, Duo."

"Maybe we should let the crew know the guy's dead," Trowa suggested. "At least it would stop the sirens."

"Nah, I'm sure they'll find him in a minute," Duo shook his head. He glanced over his shoulder at Heero, fast asleep with a few bandages swathed around his head and shoulder.

"Will he be all right?" Quatre asked, motioning towards Heero.

Duo grinned and nodded. "Just a little blood loss. And he won't be using that arm for awhile, but otherwise, he got off easy. And you two?"

"Nothing an ice pack won't fix," Trowa answered. "But you two still need a lot more bed rest."

Duo grumbled at him. "Spoilsport."

Quatre merely sighed.

*

Heero woke up to warm hands brushing back his hair and gingerly removing the bandages. "Duo?"

"Yup, it's me," the lively voice came. "You're lucky I'm taking pity on you, or else I would have brought that nurse in to treat you."

Heero didn't reply, but that didn't phase Duo. "You've been out for a couple hours, and I figured you probably didn't need these bandages anymore. I'll leave the one on your shoulder for a few days, but this should come off now. I'll need to wash that blood out of your hair."

"Don't bother with that."

Duo chuckled. "Believe me, I know exactly what'll happen if you let the blood stay in there. It just gets messier and messier until you can't stand it anymore. Don't worry, I'll give you a nice hot shower and put you to bed in my room."

"No, my room," Heero said sternly, closing his eyes again.

Duo's shoulders drooped with disappointment. "All right...your room," he whispered.

"It's larger than yours," Heero added. "It'll be easier for you to sleep there than the other way around."

Duo's grin returned, and he bent down and gently kissed Heero. "I love you...hey, wait a sec, why is your room bigger than mine?"

"You wanted the one closest to the mess hall."

"Oh, that's right," Duo remembered. "Well, how about that shower, huh?"

Before Heero could protest, Duo scooped him up into his arms and carried him toward the shower. "Don't worry, I promise I'll be gentle."

"Duo, you should be the one resting."

"Then you oughtta let me finish this so we can both get to bed, right?"

*

Quatre yawned and pulled the side of their heavy blanket back around his shoulders. "Warm?" he asked.

Beside him, Trowa smiled and drew the top end of the blanket over both of them. Quatre's smaller body nearly disappeared beneath the thick cloth. "I'm all right. How does your head feel?"

Quatre snuggled closer to Trowa, glad that he had a slightly oversized chair that they could fit in comfortably. "Better. I can see you clearly now."

"And your wrist?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Quatre lay his head on Trowa's shoulder, closing his eyes. "This is wonderful."

Trowa eased his arms under his boyfriend's body and gathered him onto his lap, holding him tight. His fingers ran leisurely through Quatre's hair, lingering to brush a few stray strands from his beautiful eyes. Quatre's good hand slid under the blanket and onto Trowa's waist, and with a tiny smile he tilted his head up and lay a soft kiss on his companion's jaw.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know, and I love you. I'll always take care of you, little one."

"Will I always be your little one?"

"Forever. Someone to treasure and cherish."

"Even though..." Quatre's voice trailed off, and he huddled against Trowa's larger body.

Trowa sighed and put his finger beneath Quatre's chin, making him look up. "Quatre, you aren't broken or damaged or degraded. No matter what that soldier did to you, he can't hurt you anymore. You're safe..." he took a quick, soft kiss between his words, "you're warm..." one more kiss, "and you're in the arms of someone who loves you with all his heart."

And the next kiss lasted long into the night.

*

"I thought I might find you in here."

Wufei turned from Nataku and glanced at Sally, who was coming towards him along the catwalk.

"Everyone else has had the good sense to go to sleep," she smiled.

He smirked. "They may be in bed, but I doubt they are asleep."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. What are you doing here?"

She leaned against the railing and folded her arms. "Just to make sure you were all right. I figured that if you'd been injured, none of the other gundam pilots would be around to get you to the infirmary."

"I am fine," was the quick reply.

She shook her head. "No, you're tired, I can tell. When was the last time you got some sleep?"

Wufei shrugged and considered. "Four hours, last night..." he paused as he realized that he'd been running rather hard these last few days. There was the day of the battle, then getting the ore, then repairing the gundams without much of a break, and then this last fight..."Perhaps I have been awake too long," he conceded reluctantly.

"But you're not going to go to sleep just yet?"

He raised one eyebrow, as if to ask Can you tell?

She smiled. "It's fairly obvious, Wufei."

He stared back up at Nataku and answered her question. "Not just yet. I have just returned from a battle, and it will take a long time for me to sufficiently relax."

Sally nodded quietly. Half a minute later, she looked back at him. "Well, since you're going to be up for awhile, wanna go get some coffee at the mess?"

This time both eyebrows rose, but a tiny smile barely played over his face at the same time. "I suppose so, woman."

"Wufei, why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Call me 'woman'?"

"You are a woman, right?"

"Yes, but...I mean, why do you make it sound like an insult?"

Wufei sighed, but he still moved beside her as they headed for the mess hall. "Ask me that later." As they passed through the door, he flipped off the lights in the hangar, then shut the door.

The End