Wufei closed his eyes. What was wrong with him? He had devoted his life to helping the weak, and the only thing he got back in return was the realization that those people would live another day. This should have been enough. Normally, it would have been. This time it wasn't.
Eyes closed, he smoothed her hair and tried to wipe the dirt from her face. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. They stared back up at him. The life in them was gone, destroyed by his selfishness. The muscles in his chest tightened, and he held back the cry of pain that was slowly being born in the depths of his throat. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored it. He couldn't leave. She had died because of him.
"Wufei, let's go, we have to go back to the safe house," Duo's voice said. To Wufei, it meant nothing. Only the dead woman meant something. Only his weakness, his selfishness meant something. Nothing else mattered.
"Duo, come on," Heero said flatly as he slid into the car.
Everyone was in the car except for Duo and Wufei. Duo wouldn't leave until Wufei came. That was his decision, and there was no way anyone was changing it.
"Leave, " Wufei snapped, glancing over to Duo once.
"No, man, I'm not gonna leave you here like this," Duo argued.
The veins in the Dragon's neck bulged a little. He wanted to be alone. He always wanted to me alone. It was his destiny. Chang Wufei was destined to be solitary all his life.
"Please. C'mon! I'll be quiet until we get to the safe house, you have my word!" pleaded Duo, putting his other hand on Wufei's shoulder.
"Take your hands off me, and LEAVE!" Wufei snarled. He snapped his head around, jaw set in a grim line, eyes boiling with pain.
Duo couldn't stand to see his friend like this. He didn't flinch at Wufei's shout, and he felt his eyes stinging with tears. He opened his mouth to speak, but the roar of the car's engine brought his eyes to the red pick up truck.
"We're going, Duo. Can you walk to the safe house?" Quatre's gentle voice asked him.
Duo nodded a little and called, "yeah, we'll walk. Thanks, man. See ya."
Duo caught the look of jealousy in Heero's eyes and frowned, then turned his attention back to Wufei. As the car sped away, the braided boy shook Wufei gently.
"C'mon, man. Pull through this. You are strong, just."
Wufei stood and turned to look at Duo, his eyes closed. When his eyes opened they were full of a bitterness Duo had never seen before. It scared him.
"I am dishonorable and weak. You can do without me," Wufei spat.
Now Duo was starting to get angry. He wanted to hit Wufei, but he knew it wouldn't solve anything. It would only make things worse. "Fei.we all care about you. We need you. You have never let us down. So just come. We can't do anything for her. She's gone"
Wufei grinded his teeth together. This was his fault. He was to blame.just another burden on his shoulders, that is all it was; he couldn't let go. He couldn't stop seeing the look of horror on her face.
"Fei?" Duo said. He looked worried now.
"Maxwell, I told you to leave."
Duo shook his head. He had that little stubborn pout on his lips, and his eyes were narrowed and determined. He reached out to pull Wufei toward him, but the Chinese boy took a step back. Duo glared at him.
"C'mon, Fei, this is stupid. We have to go to the safe house," Duo said.
Wufei eyed him, then shook his head and looked to the dead woman. He said, "go without me."
"You are not worthless! Now let's go! It's getting dark, and the streets around here are dangerous."
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Wufei turned away from Duo and walked away. That was it. Duo couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't change the stubborn pilot's mind.
"The war with OZ may be over, Maxwell," Wufei said as he walked. "But my war is not."
Duo didn't get the chance to ask what Wufei meant by that. The Dragon was gone, melted into the darkness of the streets. With a sigh, Duo Maxwell shook his head and walked in the direction the car had gone. He needed a drink, but he thought it would be better to go see this safe house. He knew there were probably drinks there. He hoped there were, anyway.

As Wufei walked, he reflected on the battle his friends and him had won. Mostly, though, he thought about the girl. She had been running away from the threat only to run into the arms of a gleefully waiting death.
"I am useless." Wufei murmured softly to himself. The streets were dangerous. Duo had said so himself. Why hadn't he believed the braided pilot?
"Hey, kid!"
Wufei froze at the sound of the voice. Who was it? And what did he want? The voice was definitely male. Narrowing his eyes, Wufei dropped into a defensive position and stared straight ahead. He knew the voice had come from directly in front of him.
Blinking once, Wufei, without letting his guard down, slowly began to retreat back the way he had come. Perhaps he should go back to the safe house. He knew how to get there. His heart began to pound in his chest while he backtracked. He didn't hear the sound of shoes anywhere. Maybe the strange man had left? Wufei hoped so.
A solid hand fell upon the young boy's shoulder, and he flinched violently. When he tried to turn around, Wufei felt his attacker's fingers dig harshly into his flesh. The Chinese boy held back a cry of pain while moving away from the fingers.
"Take your hand off me." Wufei growled.
The man behind him chuckled. Wufei felt hot breath brush over his left ear, and smelled the wretched stench of day old alcohol. The boy held back a cough, but he couldn't help the sudden feeling of nausea in his gut. His knees felt weak; Wufei could hardly stand anymore. The grip of the hand over his shoulder was turning into real pain, and it was all he could do to keep from moving away from it. Wufei knew that would hurt even more.
"You're coming with me, sweet thing," the man said smoothly.
"I am not. NOW LET ME GO!" Wufei shouted while he choked on his own bile.