Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Forged Together ❯ Chapter 21 ( Chapter 21 )

a/n- I have this mental image if what Sanc castle should be like but I'm unable to put in into words properly. I was thinking of a central ball room with high roofed ceiling, like you'd get in the cathedrals…and the rest of the castle standing over it. Ah- wish I could draw a floor plan but I'm not that talented and I want this story over with. One more chapter I think.

 

Chapter 21

 

The Ball was a formal gathering for the rich and the beautiful; as far as Trowa could see, it was a success. Several ministers had come to tell Relena how much they appreciated her effort to bring about such distinctions after the war. While Trowa had been under the impression that the gathering was going to be for over a hundred people, he was pleased to find the total number of invitees amounted to sixty eight. A little more if you counted the press and the serving staff.

 

“I can't invite everyone I want to and put them together in one room,” Relena had said in light of his observation. “The people here are those who get along with each other, at least to the point they can stand to be in the same room. Plus, if I invited that many people, my chef would kill me.”

 

Trowa nodded, doing a quick sweep with his eyes, one hand resting on Relena's shoulder, the other in his pocket, fingering the hilt of one of his throwing knives. The Ball room was large enough to house all the people, the buffet tables and the platform on which Quatre performed. A few were dancing to a slow rendition of an old Earth song the blond was playing on the piano in the center of the room while the others wandered around, talking softly. The entire room was decorated with Sanc colors from the table clothes to the curtains. Someone had skillfully placed the tables in front of the windows, a clever move since in the case of emergency, metal gratings were programmed to seal the French windows. The doors were another matter but to have them slam shut on someone was a risk they could not afford, so their locking mechanism was not automated.

 

The room had three doors; the main door, the door which connected the Ball room to the rest of the Castle, and a separate door for the kitchen and serving staff. In Trowa's opinion, it was two too many entries to watch. Quatre was in a good position to observe them, but he was also hemmed in by the piano, so he was in no position to move quickly. Wufei had been overwhelmed by the two reporters Relena had invited to cover the event, the moment he had been introduced as the only survivor of L5 and many of the other colony representatives also wanted to speak with him.

 

Trowa could see Wufei and Dorothy, making an odd but interesting couple - with her fair Nordic looks in contrast to his darker exotic appearance. Trowa was glad the other girl had been assigned to Wufei since Dorothy had also been brought up to deal with press and the dignitaries, perhaps with more diplomacy than Wufei.

 

Most of the scientists and inventors also seemed to have found people of interest to talk to, though not always in line with their areas of work. One woman, a lady from the Gifted Youth Foundation, had been interested in recruiting Quatre after having heard him play the piano, under the impression he was twelve years old. This had left Relena and Trowa snickering softly to each other while the blond had blushed crimson, which only served to reinforce that impression.

 

A waiter moved smoothly through the crowd, carrying a tray full of glasses filled with Champagne. Relena reached for one, just as Trowa took one as well. He sipped his minutely, holding the liquid in his mouth and tasting it. Then he looked at his date and nodded so she also took a small sip off hers. It was good to drink something cold since they were both feeling the effects of dancing non-stop for over half an hour.

 

“This is stupid,” Relena said from a side of her mouth. “What if it's poisoned and you ingest it?”

 

“It could still be poisoned,” Trowa pointed out. “Slow acting… or something that reacts with the right combination, say your favorite food.”

 

“You know how to make me feel better,” Relena said with a small smile as she took a bigger sip. The former Queen of the World was a surprise to Trowa; she did not have the loud brashness of Dorothy but she was starting emerge as a person with a strong sense of humor and a stronger sense of duty.

 

“I don't get it,” he finally said. “Why kill you?” Trowa had always been a mercenary at heart and the finer points of politics eluded him. Like Heero, he was much more comfortable taking orders than questioning them, but now he was starting to learn the power of knowledge.

 

“Just think of what happened to the first Heero Yuy,” she said softly. “If they kill me now before I can get everyone to form an alliance, everything will be lost. If they kill me in public, say for example at a peaceful ball I'm hosting in my Castle, broadcasted on national television, then people will realize that there are those who do not want peace. If there is no one to rally the people together for peace, all will be lost. I might be just a figure head but at least I'm something.”

 

Before Trowa could react to her last statement, an old man, a former Romefeller member who had openly supported Relena, stopped to speak to her for a moment, asking her about a German inventor who had also come to the ball.

 

“Amazing isn't it?” Relena said with a bright smile. “He really did invent that Space engine that works on water…. I don't understand how it works…” small giggle which now Trowa was starting to see for what it was: a part of her act. “…but his credentials are impeccable.” She skillfully changed the subject, showing she knew exactly what information the Count Friedmann had been probing for. “I heard you were going to start the launch of a series of space probes to look for habitable planets beyond the Solar system. How exciting.”

 

After a few pleasantries, the Count walked away, leaving Trowa feeling stunned. “That was amazing,” he said. “How did you know all that?”

 

“I stayed up all night memorizing the names and what's-what of everyone coming here,” Relena said with a grimace. “Some people have secretaries to remember such stuff but I plan on depending on myself for a long as possible.” She hid a yawn behind her glass and smiled faintly. “I'm so tired. All I want to do now is curl up in bed and go to sleep.”

 

“Just a few more hours, princess,” Trowa said as he smiled blandly at an older man who wanted to talk to Relena about the improvements in the music sector. No doubt, brought on by the sight of Quatre who, like a child prodigy, was playing his violin with skill. However, Trowa could see that playing the violin did not please the blond as it should have. It forced him to keep his head in one position, not the ideal way of keeping track of the room's occupants.

 

“Well, we seem to be faring better than those two,” Relena said pointing to where Wufei, after his unveiling to the world, was standing, hounded by reporters, being held back by Dorothy. The announcement of the survivor of L5 was not something to be taken lightly and even as they spoke, Trowa could see there were people struggling to be able to talk to Wufei about something… anything. The cover story was that as the Clan leaders' son, Wufei had been off colony at the time of the attack, but he wasn't sure if the story would hold under close securitization.

 

He had not spoken to Wufei since the day he'd punched him and he was not about to start now. For all his grand speeches about honor and justice, when it came to baser things in life, Wufei had proved to be no different than anyone else. Now, dressed in red and black, a haughty expression in place, it was hard to imagine him as one of them. Unlike Quatre, Wufei fell into the role of a rich, a pampered boy's part easily, his temper simply helping to cement it.

 

“We should go there to see what's eating him up,” Relena said softly. “I don't want another diplomatic incident.”

 

“We can always talk to Dorothy,” Trowa said, reluctant to face the Chinese boy. He gave one last look over his shoulder at Quatre who was looking elsewhere, and sighed. No matter what, he wished it was a blond male hanging onto his arm and not a blonde female but there wasn't much he could do about that. Heero had not spoken to any of them and Duo was practically camping in the top tower - all because Wufei couldn't keep his pants on. Trowa was also aware that he had played a part in it as well; he had used Heero, no matter what, and it did not sit well with him. More than anything else, the feeling of guilt was something new to him. When he had been nameless and did not care if he lived or died, guilt was not something he answered to, but now he could barely meet the eyes of the other pilots.

 

“Good idea,” Relena said as she stopped to keep the glass on a tray held by a sulking Heero. “Heero…” she said then looked around to see if anyone had caught her slip. Heero was assigned to the kitchen end and he had chosen voluntarily to act as a waiter.

 

“Anything else, my lady?” Heero ground out sullenly, not looking at Trowa, and the other boy had to bite back a laugh. If all the serving staff glared at people like that the party would be over long before the proper time.

 

“You really should fire him,” Trowa said into Relena's ear, loud enough for the people around them to hear. “He's so rude.” It was expected of him to behave that way since Trowa had been introduced as a son of a rich mining baron from off world.

 

“I suppose I should,” said Relena, falling into the role quickly. “But I believe people can change…even bad-mannered house boys.”

 

Trowa almost chocked on his drink at that and looked at Relena who was smiling teasingly as him. Heero glared at both of them then walked off, eyes roaming the floor for danger, mindless of people who reached for the tray only to find it gone before they could pick up a glass.

 

Relena and Trowa walked sedately through the throng of people, avoiding a lot; smiling at a few and Trowa had to say it was success. There were all sorts of people who were discussing things other than war, even though some of them had body guards.

 

“What's the problem here?” Relena asked as she stopped in front of the group of reporters, a riled Wufei and an amused Dorothy.

 

“One of them asked something inappropriate from Wufei,” Dorothy whispered to the other two.

 

“What?” asked Trowa, letting his eyes sweep the floor. Quatre had his eyes closed, violin under his chin, playing a slow, sad melody, winding up the instrument before switching to the piano. Duo was nowhere to be seen and was most likely on the top tower, checking out likely targets.

 

“Something in the line of him and me,” Dorothy said with a smirk. “And the continuation of his clan.”

 

“Well, it's been relatively quiet, so something's got to brighten the party,” Trowa said in a mild voice when the ground trembled.

 

“You just had to speak,” Relena muttered as the guests started to react. They were all survivors of the war and knew to recognize an explosion, even if it wasn't plainly heard. “Damn, what is it now?”

 

“Explosion in the town.” Noin's voice was cold and crisp in Trowa's ear. “Nothing serious…we are looking into it.”

 

“Keep everyone from panicking,” Trowa said softly to Relena. “Noin says it's an accident but we both know accidents don't happen without a reason. Just make sure people don't leave in a group. To do that we'll have to open both gates and that could cause problems.”

 

“And I don't want anyone dead on my account,” Relena said with a sigh. “Where's the mike? I'll have to make an announcement.”

 

“On the stage next to Quatre,” Trowa said, leading Relena towards the podium with a firm hand under the elbow. “Come on, I'll clear the way for you.”

 

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1--

 

Duo knew it wasn't necessary for him to stay up there once the security was arranged but he did not want to go down and face the music, so to speak. He had acted like a bastard, throwing himself at Heero after accusing Wufei of cheating on him then screaming at Heero in front of the others. He was sorry that he had ever talked Wufei into having a relationship with him.

 

He was so good at destroying everything he touched - and now it was only loyalty to Relena that was holding them in place. Otherwise, he would have run and hidden before the night was over -- perhaps in the junk yard where he belonged.

 

But he liked Wufei and he felt something for Heero. Well, Heero had been his first crush after all, and as far as he could see Wufei was also interested in … From his perch near the roof Duo could see the tower-shaped explosion in the town far below and felt the slight tremor as the shockwave traveled the distance.

 

“Lady Une?” Duo asked as his comm chirped in his ear. “What is it?"

 

He walked to the edge of the tower and looked down at the central garden and the top of the ball room where the faint notes of the piano could be heard. The ball room was high-roofed, almost three stories tall, so there was no floor above it. Duo could see the faint light seeping up from the skylights.He did not belong down there with the wealthy and he was not going to intrude now. But he was hungry and wished someone would remember there were men up on the roof while they were stuffing their faces.

 

“There was an explosion in one of the gas factories,” Lady Une's voice came through crisply. “They are requesting help to evacuate some of the injured personnel. They also report that some of the workers may still be trapped under the rubble and need rescuing.”

 

“Don't send any troops from our ranks,” Duo snapped while he could hear Heero snapping something equally similar. “Damn, if I can get to Deathscythe I can go help.”

 

“No,” Lady Une shouted. “Let's not confirm the presence of a gundam in the Sanc region.”

 

“Fine,” Duo shouted then ducked as a helicopter flew directly over the castle. “Damn,” he swore going for his gun, knowing it was useless against an aerial attack. He pointed it up anyway and swore again when he saw the World Press logo on the bottom. “We have a media copter going directly overhead. Weren't they told that the castle is a no fly zone?”

 

“Hell, yes,” Lady Une shouted back, cursing. “But we can't shoot down the press.”

 

Duo looked up as more and more helicopters, some of them medical services, flew overhead. He looked at the men on the top towers and spoke loudly. “Good thing we didn't arm the automatic ground to air missiles. Don't get trigger happy there.” The man, a sergeant of the Sanc home guards, nodded while Duo stepped back to look at the next commotion.

 

He could hear the front gate opening and looked down to see some of their guards with the distinctive Sanc crest leaving as some vehicles drove in. “What's going on?” he shouted over the comm, ignoring the snipers who were looking his way in surprise. “Why are the gates open and why are there cars coming in? Isn't there anyone to search those?”

 

“Duo,” Noin's voice came through slightly breathless. “We have sent some of our guards out to help with the fire,” she explained. “And since our security is no longer tight, some of the guests have requested for their own bodyguards to be given entrance.”

 

“Are you crazy?” Duo shouted, running to the corner from where he had a sweeping view of the road leading to Sanc City. “We…” he paused as automatic gun fire swept over the top tower. The corner he was in probably saved his life since the shadows hid his black clad form but most of the sniper team he had on the roof were not that lucky. Duo rolled flat on his back and watched with horror as one of the World Press copters hovered close as a group of men grappled down to the top of the roof with inhuman speed. Before he could even aim towards the intruders they had landed on the tower.

 

As drops go, it was clumsily; the copter swerved to avoid getting shot by the ground troops and some of the men being dropped fell clear off the target onto the ground below. It did not deter the rest who dropped easily and much to Duo's dismay, landed neatly, crouching. He could see depressions on the stone where the intruders had dropped, which meant they were heavy; probably body amour and weaponry.

 

He counted four men, excluding those who'd missed the landing.

 

“Noin,” Duo hissed into his comm. “Don't send anyone to the roof, it's got to be a decoy. The ball room is where everyone should concentrate on.”

 

“Duo,” Noin shouted back over the sound of the machinegun fire and the copter blades. “Get off the roof, now. We can seal it off from the floor below.”

 

“I'm trying,” Duo shouted as a piercing noise filled his left ear. Cursing he pulled off the ear plug and threw it away. Their communication was being jammed, which meant it was useless anyway. He rolled to his feet and pointed the gun at the first of the intruders and fired. Once. Twice. Trice. The man did not even flinch as he shot back at Duo and only his quick reflexes saved him from being gutted. He aimed for the head and had the satisfaction of seeing the man fall backwards with a third eye. Damn, he'd hoped to catch the guy alive but it had been a case of either him or them.

 

He dodged to the side as the wall behind him exploded into small fragments of sharp stone, raining down on him like thousand biting needles. He looked at the sniper team placed on the roof, most of them dead, some soon to be. “Aim for the head,” he screamed over the sounds. The sniper rifle was no match for the body amour of the intruders and he was not going to be able to fight them with his hand gun alone.

 

Duo dived to his left, aimed for the next intruder and groaned as a grenade rolled his way. In movies, he knew there was always enough time for the hero to pick it up and throw it over the side. And had it been Heero on the tower and not Duo then Heero might have done just that, but Duo knew better. The delay between it leaving the owner and exploding was very small, and he did not have the body armor to protect him.

 

Rolling his eye at his own predicament, Duo ran to the edge of the tower, hooking the grappling hook on his belt on the top turret as he jumped off the side. Even as he fell, Duo knew he had made a mistake. He had jumped off the side facing the ball room, which meant the rope was too long. He was going to get splattered on the side of the ball room floor unless he did something, fast.

 

He slowed his descent, wrapping a gloved hand around the rope, kicking off the side of the wall, cursing as his knees protested. Damn, if he had been on a space ship, zero G would have given him the perfect arc, but with Earth gravity, there was no such luck. Even as he fell the last couple of feet, Duo did his best to aim for a proper landing place. In the last moment he swung, pushing off the wall, and at the apex of his swing, snapped off the harness and dived headfirst towards the skylight. He shot the glass with the last of his bullets, even as he crashed through the tinted glass, remembering, at the last moment, to bring up his arms to cover his head.

 

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

 

With half a dozen of well-dressed idiots doing a wonderful enactment of a coop of headless chicken, Trowa had a hard time keeping Relena safe. If he could at least back her to a wall, he'd have only one side to protect. He tried to steer her around the mob of people who, in their panic, wanted to talk to the former Queen of the World and be reassured that everything was fine. He was scanning the room when Relena gave a small startled gasp and he spun around hand on her shoulder, other hand bringing out a throwing knife.

 

Relena was watching a full scale fight which had sprung up at the main gate between some armed men and a fraction of the bodyguards the dignities had brought with them. Noin or perhaps Lady Une had activated the security measures since the metal grills fell over the open French windows with a loud ring but the door remained open. Trowa looked at it with a grimace. The pressure sensors on the door had been turned off to prevent it from trapping a prominent guest in the middle.

 

“The door,” he said hurriedly. “We should close the main door, that will keep them outside and Noin's backup can take care of whatever is happening outside.”

 

Someone must have come to the same conclusion, since when he looked back he could see Dorothy struggling with one of the old-fashioned solid iron door panels. A few guests must have gotten the same idea since they were all struggling to help Dorothy. However, even as the door was pushed half closed, a blue-armored figure broke through forces out front and almost made it through. Trowa took aim and threw his knife, aiming for the head. It bounced off uselessly and he cursed. Even as he thrust Relena back and rushed towards the door, Wufei came up from his right, unbuttoning his ridiculous overcoat. In a single move, Wufei took off the coat and threw it over the intruder's head, which gave Trowa enough time to spin-kick the blue-clad form off the door step.

 

He turned around, letting Wufei take care of the door as he reached for Relena again. He had to fight to the instinct to rush over to Quatre and see if he was all right. Quatre had no weapons on him -- unless he planned on beating people death with his violin -- and looked like fragile a China doll in his white ruffles - Trowa wanted desperately to protect the other boy and not Relena. However, no matter what, his duty was to the blonde female (who was not Dorothy), so he had to stick to her side. He watched, amused, as the door clanged shut under the weight of the guests even as those outside tried to force themselves inside. Wufei had produced a large sword, apparently from thin air, (or maybe that coat had served a purpose[1]) and used it to retaliate against a few outsiders who wanted entrance. Trowa could see that some of those who wanted in were guests who had wandered out into the garden but there was nothing he could do about it.

 

“Barton,” Wufei snapped, appearing next to him and standing slightly behind Relena. “We've lost central comm.”

 

“At least this room is secure,” Trowa said, glad to know Wufei was watching Relena's back. He trusted the Sanc security force but Wufei he was sure of. No matter what their personal differences were, he knew when it came to a fight, Wufei would back him up all the way.

 

“Look,” snapped Wufei even as he pointed towards a commotion further down the hall, near the door which led to into the Castle. “We have to get her to a safe place.”

 

“Where?” Relena said dryly. “Under a table or behind a curtain?”

 

“That would give the press a field trip,” Dorothy said drolly, appearing next to Wufei. “Why don't you go and see what the fight is about while Green-eyes and I keep this end secure?”

 

“Can you?” Wufei asked suspiciously.

 

“Oh, well” said Dorothy as she looked around. “Right now, I'd give my right arm for a rapier but even without it, I can still manage not to fall on my face.”

 

“Someone should go and close the connecting door,” Wufei said even as elbowed a tall, elegant, redhead in a trouser suit as he forced his way through to the other end of the room.

 

“Well,” said Trowa, looking around. “It's taken their attention off Relena for the time being but what we need is a bigger distraction to get her…”

 

Just then Duo crashed through the ceiling.

 

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

 

Wufei was half way across the floor when the skylight fell inwards in a tumble of broken glass and one figure dressed in all black.

 

“Duo!” he screamed for all the good it did, even as he changed directions. However, he knew he was not going to stop the fall and watched with sickening fascination as Duo dived to the ground. Duo seemed to hang in midair for a moment and Wufei could see everything clearly. The glass, like sprinkled water, surrounding Duo, whose wide purple eyes showed surprise but no fear, his half-length braid flying alongside him. Then the moment was gone and Duo was on the floor - on top of a dark-haired Gundam pilot who had stepped in to break his fall.

 

Wufei could feel his knees weaken with relief even as he rushed towards Heero who was calmly helping Duo to his feet. He turned to Wufei, his face blank and said, “There were two in the kitchen I had to take care of.”

 

“Oh, man,” said Duo, starting to sag abruptly and both Wufei and Heero caught him from either side.

 

“Are you hurt?” Wufei asked.

 

“Duo,” Heero said as well.

 

Duo pushed a few stray hairs out of his eyes, his face bleeding from numerous small cuts. “Just give me a few seconds to get my bearing, will you?” he said a little shakily. “I just jumped without a parachute.”

 

“How's the situation on the roof?” Heero asked hastily.

 

“We've lost the roof,” Duo said. “Call Lady Une and ask if any of the other men placed on the roof made it out alive. If not, it's rigged with explosives so have someone blow it up. The Castle is strong enough to withstand the loss of a few layers of stone.”

 

“How many on the roof?” Heero asked urgently.

 

“Four,” Duo said. “Plus the two that fell off during the drop…I took out one.”

 

“Took care of the two that fell off,” Heero said. “The armor was impressive but there is a neck joint…if you can aim for it. Two came through the service entrance…” He shrugged to show that they were also dead.

 

“We were herded here,” Wufei said as Duo shook free and started to stagger away. “What are you doing?”

 

“Going to find some food,” Duo said, reasonably. “I'm starved.”

 

“Wufei,” said Heero, looking at the Chinese boy for the first time since the incident in the fencing room. “I've secured the back door. Try to get Relena into the Castle.”

 

“I'll secure the door,” Wufei said, understanding that the inner Castle would be safer. “You get her here across the room.” He was about to sprint across the room when the last exit slammed shut decisively and the room became as quiet as a tomb.

 

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

 

The people stilled in mid-motion at the sound and for a moment, no one moved. Seemingly oblivious to the whole incident, Duo calmly wiped some blood off his brows and reached for another …er…chocolate cake and had stuffed it into his mouth when he felt something cold press against his back.

 

“What?” he said, looking around, trying to speak and chew at the same, time and sighed in resignation when he saw a stylishly dressed female with a small handgun in her hand. “You got something against eating now?”

 

“Get into the middle of the room,” the female said in a low voice, her expression blank.

 

“Why me?” Duo wailed even as he grabbed a sandwich off the table, pushing the fork towards him.

 

In reply she gave him a once over, pointedly looking at his utility belt with the grappling hook attached to it, the black clothes torn from his fall and his boots that had seen better days.

 

“I thought this party didn't have a dress code,” Duo said with a shrug as he started to eat, thinking about making a grab for the fork, but stopped as the woman flicked the safety off. “All right, all right,” Duo grumbled as he turned around and started to comment to Heero on the quality of service when he realized his companion was nowhere to be seen. “Of all the…” he started to speak when the women's eyes rolled up and she sagged to the ground like a puppet. He looked up the see Heero standing over the fallen figure, looking worried.

 

“You should stop your clowning,” Heero told his brusquely. “She was really going to shoot you.”

 

“I…” Duo started to speak but Heero was already moving towards Wufei who was making some sort of speech to a gun-bearing gentleman wearing a suit, which resembled something an 18th century Tsar would prefer. Wufei was also waving his sword over his head in a threatening gesture, which would have been effective if he wasn't drawing attention to him. Two more of the invitees produced hand guns.

 

“But we searched everyone, didn't we?” said Duo, falling to his knees, still a little unsteady, as he reached for the gun that had fallen from the woman's grip. The second time a gun was pressed to his shoulders he knew there would be no Heero to rescue him since Heero was on his way across the room to stop Wufei from being shot to pieces.

 

“Get up,” the voice behind him was controlled and low. Again, Duo was impressed by the professionalism of the people who were involved in the coup. There was no hysterical screaming from the gun-wielding invitees, no trigger-happy idiots or unwanted words. These people were good….but how…who…

 

“How did you get those in?” Duo asked in desperation even as he was being herded with the rest of the guests towards the center of the room.

 

But he already knew the answer. These people had brought in the weaponry with them as a last ditch attempt, should they fail to storm the castle. They hadn't really searched the guests for weapons since it was an open insult they'd never live down. Still, damn, they'd scanned the guest list and checked these people's background and there was no reason as to why any them should be carrying guns…let alone six of them.

 

“If you think we are going to give into your demands…” Wufei started, bringing up his sword.

 

Duo tried hard to steady his shaking legs as he realized just how close Wufei was to being shot. These people had guns - semi-automatic, by the looks of it -- and one sword wasn't going to be good enough for the job. He took a couple of breaths to steady his head and wished someone would hit Wufei over the head before he did anything stupid.

 

Heero hit Wufei over the head… hard… and as the Chinese boy dropped to the ground, turned around and kicked his wrist so the sword slipped from his grip.

 

“Your uncompromising ways are going to get us all killed,” Heero told him brusquely as he helped a scowling Wufei up, then held up his hand over his head to show he had surrendered. Wufei looked more subdued as he stood, cradling one wrist against the other as he let Heero lead him to the middle of the room. Certain guests stared at them but what most of their attention was on was a stern looking gentleman, dressed like a Victorian nobleman, holding a gun to Relena's head.

 

--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

 

The formal guests were allowed to leave, leaving only a bare handful in the large room; the members of the press who were brave enough to stay, Noin, the gundam pilots, Relena, five gun-wielding men and the man in charge. (The woman Heero had knocked out remained unconscious which was a good thing.) Dorothy had refused to budge until Relena had ordered her to leave with a few selected words which, at least to Duo, sounded like a prearranged signal. Oh, well, nice to know there was a back up plan. They were capableo f taking in the intruders if their attention had not been Relena who was facing down a gun barrel. They just couldn't risk her getting shot.

 

The man in charge of the entire operation was one of the invitees, a former Romefeller member who had also openly supported Relena.

 

“Let everyone else leave. The person you want is me,” Relena said calmly while her fingers dug into Trowa's arm. Trowa could feel the slight tremble and knew she was scared but she was hiding it well.

 

“Enough,” Baron Dobtcheff said, softly. “I really didn't expect it to come to this,” he added in a slightly offended voice. “Your security is good…Princess, which is why I had to resort to this… as a last resort.”

 

“So this has become a hostage situation now?” Heero said as he stood with his arms crossed, scowling.

 

The Baron pointed towards Duo and gave a wry grin. “Let's get rid of the uninvited guest first, shall we?” he said. “Didn't you know it's not polite to crash a party?”

 

“Everyone's a bloody comedian,” Duo said, glowering at the well dressed woman who was about to shoot him. Just as he was about to decide on some drastic action, Wufei stepped between him and the woman. Just as swiftly, someone jerked Wufei aside while dragging Duo by the belt so he hit the floor, hard.

 

“You don't need to do anything rash,” Heero said as he stepped over Duo. “What is it you want now?”

 

“Fine,” the Baron said, glaring at Heero but making no move to repeat his actions. “Just the Princess and I'll be on my way.”

 

“You failed,” Relena said firmly. “You have no way out, you are trapped. Even as we speak, Lady Une is calling for backup and you will never leave here alive. Surrender now and I'll make sure you get a full pardon…”

 

“Don't tell me what to do you upstart,” the Baron practically fumed. “We of the Romefeller voted for you because you were a girl and easily controlled. Don't assume we gave you power so you can think on your own.”

 

“For your information,” Relena grated out angrily. “That's just what I'm doing. Tell your men… and women to drop their guns and …”

 

“I'll shoot you if you don't shut up,” the man said as he fingered the trigger of his ancient gun. It was a gold and silver, ornamental by the look of it but probably functional.

 

“Your threats are meaningless…” Relena said firmly.

 

The Baron pulled the trigger… and Trowa stepped in the way, pushing Relena to the side.

 

“Trowa!” Duo screamed before he could help it as red bloomed on Trowa's chest and he slowly sank to his knees. It was accepted that only Lady Une could get shot and fall down gracefully. Trowa supported himself on one hand, the other pressed to his chest while Relena gave a little scream and fell to her knees beside Trowa.

 

“What do you want me to do?” she asked one hand around Trowa's shoulder the other trembling as she fiddled with her dress. She was almost in tears, her eyes looking imploringly at the man who was holding a gun over her. Duo moved towards Trowa as he slowly slipped to a side and tried to force him to lie down.

 

“So,” the Baron said with glee. “That's the way to make you obey. Well, I'll shoot him again just to make sure…” he swung his gun towards Duo, who in his black clothes stood out the most “…or someone else this time.” He peered closely at Trowa who was struggling to stand up despite the blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. “Who're you boy?”

 

“No one,” Trowa bit out as he slipped and fell to his knees, coughing up blood. “I'm no one.”

 

“Come on, Tro,” Duo was mumbling as he pushed back the annoying hair. “Just stay still…you're going to be all right…” The green eyes underneath it were bright and alert.

 

“So, you are together in this?” the gentleman said as he looked down at the boy and girl, kneeling on the floor around one bleeding boy. “I'll have to make sure there is…” Everyone jumped, startled at the sound of music, someone playing the piano. As the Baron looked up, at that moment, his gun pointed towards something other than Relena's head.

 

“Everyone, down,” Quatre's voice ordered clearly across the room and Wufei and Heero dropped to the floor immediately

 

The Baron stopped, surprise evident in his eyes, as he looked at the small, smoking hole in his chest, a little to the left. He slowly lifted his right hand, the gun still present, and felt it and gasped. Heero sprang to his feet, bowling down on of the Baron's followers as Wufei did the same facing the other side.

 

“No one move!” said a clear voice as the last of the five stood by the piano where he had been ignored as the pale blond who played the piano. “I'm going to kill you all one by one if you don't put down your weapons.”

 

Duo was impressed. Quatre sounded as if he meant it and, with the modified sniper rifle Sally had given him in his hands, he looked very convincing. He peeked up from his position on his knees but he did not get up as he was too busy applying pressure to Trowa's wound to stop it from bleeding. Duo did not even look up as Quatre shot two more people and Heero was Wufei took out the remaining attackers. It was all too easy in the end…if only there wasn't all that blood soaking through his fingers.

 

[1] one word - Highlander….falls off chair laughing.

 

A/N- oops.

My computer has an annoying virus which is turning everything into exe folders. I'll probably have to format the whole thing which is starting to piss me off. Here's to hoping Norton will come up with a solution.